[PGRiS] Night of the Walking Dead PF1 (closed)

Game Master djpika

First item of note - I don't see signs of another PGRiS session running, so is it worth polling someone in here? It might be a nice cushion for Chuufa to deal with RL stuff.

Second - I see Bam wants to check in on Mordu first, but the previous suggestions were to check out the plantation. If I say that you're able to see him talking to the constable when you near his house, would that be sufficient or did you want to ask for more questions/possible update? If the former, I'll transition you guys to the plantation...

1. Fine with me.

2.

If I say that you're able to see Mordu talking to the constable when you near his house, would that be sufficient?

Yes. I vote let's go to the plantation.

That sounds like it works. Let's do it.

Yes to both.

Bam wants to make sure he's alive, but spotting him across the way will suffice. He said he'd let us know if he notices anything else noteworthy, but we can check in with him after the plantation.

Should we bot Chuufa for the Disable Device roll on the locked door? He may not be able to post any time soon. If so, I'm happy to do it.

Sure, it's worth a shot. Might as well see where that goes, although it's unlikely given the DC. If it fails, the party will have to decide if it wants to come back at a later time, literally break in, or break in under the cover of darkness (or something creative). I know having the battle map out there might trigger some player meta gaming, but it's mainly there to make distances and placement easier.

So it looks like the PGRiS Discord isn't drawing any attention, so if anyone knows a good candidate, please let them know.

Sure, it's worth a shot. Might as well see where that goes, although it's unlikely given the DC. If it fails, the party will have to decide if it wants to come back at a later time, literally break in, or break in under the cover of darkness (or something creative). I know having the battle map out there might trigger some player meta gaming, but it's mainly there to make distances and placement easier.

Note that an amazing lock has a DC of 40. I would have given it to you guys with a natural 20. That said, the difficulty is the usual game mechanic of saying "try again later" or "find another way" or "dead end". As a conversion, the RAW is a -60 to pick the lock, but 2E uses percentiles for thief skills, so it maps more to a -12.

Also recall what I mentioned about allowing timing...

Fair, but these PCs don't know that. You know they have to try.

Fair enough. I was just trying to save a couple of rounds of posting.

@all - Any leads on adding a 5th?

Not from my end. Sorry.

Not yet, but I just pinged again in a couple of discord servers to shake a stick in the bushes one last time.

Regarding what to do next, Mordu said Fr. Brucian usually heads out to the swamps around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. He also said to check in with him tomorrow (which is now today) for more information.

@DM rel20: What time is it now?

If we have time before 2:00, we could stop by Mordu's place for a chat. If it would be just before 2:00 by the time we return to town, we could stake out the church to watch for Fr. Brucian's exit and follow him into the swamp. If we think he might have already left, we can try to pick up his trail.

Thoughts?

It was close to noon before leaving to Mordu's and then the plantation, so I'd say it's 1:30ish now.

So that would have to be a really quick chat if we didn't want to miss Fr. Brucian. Either we have to be willing to end it abruptly or else chase Fr. Brucian from some minutes behind (or, gulp, split the party).

I say we follow Fr. Bruican first and foremost. Mordu will have extra time to watch for things while we're gone and can report more to us when we see him afterwards.

Yep, I agree we should follow Father B and ideally don't split the party.

Sounds good. Agreed.

I'll be camping and at Scout camp from July 1-9 and have no idea if I'll be able to post while I'm gone. Fingers crossed, but please bot as needed.

I'll be in a similar situation this weekend, although I can't have anyone bot for me :P

I moved the game play up a bit, just to get a little more eventful before what looks like a holiday slow down. A cliffhanger would be appropriate for such a delay :)

Anyways, enjoy the camping Bam and to everyone, have a great 4th. Dig out the smoker, make some great BBQ, and pour the beer and sangria.

Ability damage, or permanent ability drain?

Bam's is ability damage. Sebastian's is, unfortunately, ability drain.

Hmm... I have CON damage in my header, but I can't remember what that was from. If it was from another day, it should've healed overnight and I just forgot to update the header.

This is from the stirge encounter, I believe. You've rested since then, so this would be gone before the newly applied damage.

Sebastian Amanar wrote:

Ability damage, or permanent ability drain?

Bam's is ability damage. Sebastian's is, unfortunately, ability drain.

Ooof. That hurts.

Hi yall, Paledim mentioned this game, and I'd like to put my hat in the ring if you're still looking for a player.

It looks like you could use trap breaking, and social skills. Is that right? Anything else?

I have a few options I'm considering. All involve Spheres, which I see Paledim is using for Sebastian, but I want to check them before going too far down the path of exploring/building any of these.

ALL the ones I'm considering would have trap breaking (including magical traps), all would be able to stealth/scout well, and all would have social skills.

1. Unchained Rogue with Canny Scoundrel (Spheres of Might) and Grifter (Spheres of Guile, their new more skill-focused stuff). They'd probably be a dual dagger wielding (melee and short-range thrown), sneaky, social (CHA-based) character, with some dirty trick and maybe disarm shenanigans built in. Probably highest damage of the options, at least when I'm getting sneak attack.

2. Scholar (a SoM martial class with 1/2 BAB and d6 HD). That sounds very odd, but they actually work out very nicely. This one would be the absolute MOST skills, and would have the ability to use INT for (at least some) social skills...as well as being a great with knowledge skills, and skills in general. They'd be a pretty squishy but versatile and capable ranged combatant, likely with skill in *creating* (as well as disabling) traps, and/or using various improved alchemical creations. They'd also be a top notch healer.

3. Spheres of Might's Minstrel Bard archetype...and it's a doozy of an archetype: trading away both all spellcasting AND all bardic performances, for a really unique, potent set of support/buff/debuff/social abilities. Probably lowest damage of the three builds, but with the ability to contribute in a variety of other ways.

While the first build explicitly uses a Spheres of Guile progression (as well as a SoM progression)...the (pretty recently released) Spheres of Guile system lets anyone at 1st level trade their class skills for a few SoG talents (at least two of which will give back class skills, plus a little bonus). I'm excited to play with it so (if allowed) I'll use the optional trade-in for my Bard or Scholar concept. SoG seems light on combat utility, but has some wonderful skill-focused talents.

DM, any concerns or questions with the above? Players, anything you think the party particularly needs? Or preferences from those three?

OH! And if I go scholar I'd love to play a kobold. There's a Spheres variant kobold that boosts the standard kobold stats slightly, bringing them in line with most other races. Would this work?

Interesting options! We definitely need social and lockpicking/disabling skills. I get the feeling we're heading into some serious encounters fighting undead, so I'd lean away from the squishy Scholar. While the Minstrel Bard is intriguing, I prefer the Unchained Rogue/Canny Scoundrel/Grifter. That type of character seems likely to ruffle Bam's feathers, resulting in some fun roleplay.

Side note: your link to the Minstrel goes to the Scholar.

Reminder that I'm leaving town tomorrow and will be gone for 9 days. I may not be able to post at all in that time, so please bot as needed.

Bam, thanks for the thoughts, and for letting me know I messed up the link. Here's the right one: Minstrel.

Hi gyrfalcon! And a warm welcome!

While someone with Diplomacy and Sense Motive would be great, I agree with Bam that the fightiest class of the three would likely be best.

I'm not bothered about race -- I'll let you sort that out with the GM ;)

🎊

Oh, and sorry, peeps. I have been neglecting this game because I thought someone said we were slowing down for the July 4th holiday.

I will get a post up for Manfri within the next 24 hours. Sorry about that.

Apologies once again to everyone involved for the subsequent late posting from over a month ago since the last time; pretty much have only checked in just today from my last posting due to the unpredictable schedule resulting from my eldercare duties.

Unfortunately, I'm unable to guarantee any reliable postings in the near future due to that but I will try to provide the relevant dice rolls required when I can make the posts.

Did also want to mention my gratitude and welcome to Gyrfalcon for stepping up to join with the party for a much needed hand in the midst of all the mist-filled, swampy fun that Ravenloft loves to provide wayward adventurers from all realities. :)

Thanks for the warm welcome, Bam, Manfri, and Chuufa!

My current (mostly-formed, only slightly written) idea is a scrawny half-orc, raised by their half-orc parents, growing up poor on the streets of [city TBD]. Their first love has always been dancing, but they enjoyed gambling and rowdy fun, and got pulled into crime by their friends. They were never going to be the biggest or toughest–and because they were a half-orc, they were taunted and tested even more than most–but they learned to lean on their strengths, including the ability to treat fights like a dance: ducking quickly around the battlefield, watching their "partner" and stepping aside so they wouldn't get hit.

Mechanically, they'll be a the unchained rogue I mentioned above, using some Sphere of Guile (Performance(Dance), Body Control(Circle Dodge)) to cover the ways they incorporate dancing into their fighting style.

Hi yall, Paledim mentioned this game, and I'd like to put my hat in the ring if you're still looking for a player.

Welcome. I saw the post while I was away but responding from a phone in spotty connectivity would have been futile...

I haven't read any of the Spheres of Guile yet, but if everyone is ok with spot checking the build/rules, we can give it a go.

RE: race, I do not advise playing a non-traditional race without having a method to disguise yourself.

Most of Ravenloft's folk live and die within a score of miles from their birthplace and can spend their entire lives without ever knowingly encountering the supernatural. When combined with cultures rich in suspicion and superstition, the result is xenophobia.

Kobolds are asking for the villagers to grab their pitchforks and torches. If you want this risk hovering over your character (and the party), consider constant and reliable means of remaining disguised. Even then, one of the themes of Gothic Horror is The Unkindness of Nature.

Nature is not your friend. It is no one's friend. It does what it wants, and its wants often conflict with those of the needy. Rain seems to fall when dryness is needed. The sun disappears behind the clouds when light is necessary. The wind starts to blow when that hat of disguise is needed.

RE: background, you can choose to be a Ravenloft native or from Golarion. I think the easiest is to place your character in the inn; another guest, waiting out the imminent threat of severe rain. We can tweak how or why you're there. Otherwise a non-native would most likely enter washed up on the shores of the swamp.

Oh, and sorry, peeps. I have been neglecting this game because I thought someone said we were slowing down for the July 4th holiday.

I will get a post up for Manfri within the next 24 hours. Sorry about that.

No worries. I was trying to bang an encounter out, or at least something suspenseful, before leaving, but it didn't pan out. This group is active so picking things up again should be painless.

Thanks! How do half-orcs fit in that "non-traditional race" regard? I kind of like the idea that my half-orc PC has suffered some discrimination and suspicion...but I certainly *don't* want to set us up to be thrown out of town or attacked with pitchforks from places where we could otherwise find shelter! ;-)

(Here's an image of how I imagine him looking)

I'm starting to picture him as a half-orc...but if that'll cause too many problems then I can definitely reimagine him as another ancestry.

Re Spheres of Guile...if you accept it you can bring in a little or a lot, as you fancy. Here's a good place to start reading about it. Note that it introduces a bunch of interesting rules like degrees of alertness (alert --> distracdted --> oblivious --> asleep --> senseless). major and minor motivations, outwitting...it's both cool and perhaps a bit overwhelming...but you can ignore most of it. When I get my build together, I'm happy to highlight the relevant parts for his build, and you can safely ignore the rest.

And re reviews in general...between the details of my build and having a great game, I *ALWAYS* prefer having a great game. That means, if there's something you thought would be fine but isn't working well for you, I'm happy to change it as we go.

Apologies once again to everyone involved for the subsequent late posting from over a month ago since the last time; pretty much have only checked in just today from my last posting due to the unpredictable schedule resulting from my eldercare duties.

I wouldn't worry about it. If you find the time again to re-join, it won't be a problem. But until then, do you want someone to bot your character or would you prefer to remain at the inn?

Thanks! How do half-orcs fit in that "non-traditional race" regard? I kind of like the idea that my half-orc PC has suffered some discrimination and suspicion...but I certainly *don't* want to set us up to be thrown out of town or attacked with pitchforks from places where we could otherwise find shelter! ;-)

Half-orc is better than kobold, but portrait selection shouldn't change anything mechanically.

Deformities are often seen as corruption or exposure to foul magic while in the womb, resulting in ostracization. Large teeth, green skin, or other unusual features will trigger this regardless of classic ugly or revised "sexy" orc. Villagers might not try to kill you upon sight, but some may keep their distance and watch suspiciously.

Some locations in Ravenloft react better than others; I could explain more, but a few players are new to it so I don't want to ruin the discovery of the world setting. That said, this adventure is primarily in Marais d'Tarascon, so if I'm doing my job, it should come off as a small, backwater swamp town mixed with southern plantation.

In case this helps, 3rd edition introduced an Outcast Rating for races. Humans are 0, Halflings are 1, Dwarves are 3, and Half-Orc equivalents are 5. These ratings map to penalties for certain social interactions. Mentioning this isn't to limit you to standard races, but the scale should give you an idea of what might put you past your comfort zone.

Thanks, that's very helpful! I was actually just coming here to ask more-or-less that. For many characters, I'd embrace the high "outcast rating"...but I'm building someone who's likely to be the only charismatic person in the party, and who'll have the full set of social skills, so I'd rather not start a lot of those encounters on the wrong foot just because of my ancestry.

I started playing with a Halfling option last night that feels promising. More to come soon.

BTW, a related Question: If we multiclass, do you use the unchained fractional bonuses rule?

BTW, a related Question: If we multiclass, do you use the unchained fractional bonuses rule?

I don't. 3E had some ridiculous builds with 6-7 classes. Plus I'd rather view 3pp material with the same baseline.

What are you leaning towards for your background? It would be easy to insert you into the current encounter if you think you'd be close to ready.

Back from Scout Camp. Catching up.

Back from Scout Camp. Catching up.

Welcome back. Get any badges?

@gyrfalcon - if you're close to ready, there's a combat that you can jump into...

Hey, pretty close, might be ready tonight.

I've been reading back through the adventures so far but haven't caught up yet.

High level, where am I? Thoughts on why I'd show up? Make sense for me to be a Pathfinder still?

Bam Ambermaul wrote:

Back from Scout Camp. Catching up.

Welcome back. Get any badges?

Yup. Napping During the Heat of the Day, Managing to Stomach that Disappointing Camp Food, and Bringing the Kids Back in One Piece. ;)

Hey, how are yall doing HP? PFS standard (Max at 1, then 1/2+1)?

Hey, how are yall doing HP? PFS standard (Max at 1, then 1/2+1)?

Everything else per PFS, I believe.

OK thanks, and I'm caught up on Gameplay! I have to say, I'm enjoying the writing, story, and RP so far.

DM, it seems like we're far from Karcau now, yes? I'm happy to be another Pathfinder sent after them, or someone else from Karcau who has wandered here for another reason...or to be from "here" (wherever that is).

What's your preference?

Either way, I suppose I could be in the Inn, or just walking by outside. I didn't quite get my character done, but I can finish her tomorrow I suspect. Almost there.

G'night for now though! (Your adventures so far are my bedtimes story)

hp 18 (2d6+6)

Or did we choose max HP for first *two* levels; or allow a roll option at some point.

I can't recall how I ended up with the max figure.

Ooooh, one more Q: can people with the relevant crafting skill have crafted nonmagical things (e.g. mwk weapons or armor) at the crafting cost?

Ok, looks like a VERY good time for me to arrive. ;-)

DM, the most pressing Q to help me finish my build is crafting. Knowing your thoughts on why I'm here would help too. I'd initially planned to my character be from Karcau, but I'm open to other options. That mostly just helps with RP and finalizing backstory.

Looking forward to diving it!

Ooooh, one more Q: can people with the relevant crafting skill have crafted nonmagical things (e.g. mwk weapons or armor) at the crafting cost?

I'm going to say no to this because it wasn't an option for the rest of the group.