Crown of the Kobold King

Game Master Wandering Wastrel

Itzi found a picture that we're basing our characters off - so I can't change away from halfling. Hence also the over-the-top completely normal reaction! ;)

Fixed that for you. ;)

Right, enough of this frivolity; I have a world to build.

Following the school of the Starlit Span, using her longbow for her magical attacks and dabbling heavily in woodslore, Yvana would probably find a kindred soul in the fellow worshiper of Erastil, Barlus Chorton.

Would they likely be friends? If so, is there any more info about him?

Barlus is almost 2 different people. In town, he's irascible, on edge, argumentative; never short of a word or two, particularly when he feels he's not getting a fair price on the meat and pelts he brings back from the forest (Kreed's lackeys control the High Market and impose a "tax" on anything that takes their fancy). In the forest, he's calm, almost serene; even as he puts an arrow into a boar or stag from 50 yards away, or skins the pelt off a rabbit or fox he has trapped. He has gone deeper into the woods than anyone else in Falcon's Hollow - well, deeper than anyone else who has emerged to tell the tale, anyway.

He has gathered around him a small collective of likeminded souls who (for whatever reason) find the company of others to be difficult, and who prefer their solitude. He has taught you the way of the woods, where to look for markings, how not to get lost, how to find food. He doesn't tolerate squeamishness about hunting, killing and skinning or gutting your prey; but he doesn't tolerate wanton destruction, either. He has done his best to instil in you the teachings and creed of Erastil; but always by example, rather than speechifying - in the forest, he can go for days without speaking to you; and often has.

In the last few weeks, he's been getting increasingly secretive, going off without the rest of you into the forest, beyond even where you would dare to follow his tracks; and when he comes back, he's spending a lot of time with the priestess of Iomedae. The obvious assumption seems like the wrong one, somehow - you can't envisage the two of them together; but they're clearly up to something, and he isn't confiding it to you, for whatever reason. In fact, it's been several days now since you last saw him at all.

So, the wizard/magic-user situation.

Despite being a small town in the back end of beyond, Falcon's Hollow is well served in matters of the arcane; the wash of money from the valuable lumber it extracts from the surroundings may not trickle down to the masses who actually do the extracting, but it does enable a high standard of living for the higher-ups; meaning that magical services are in demand and can be paid for.

Brickasnurd Hildrinsocks, the only gnome in Falcon's Hollow, is a wizard of minor repute by the standards of the world; but here he is someone of means. When he's not being paid to find arcane solutions to people's problems, the gnome runs a store called Goose N Gander; a labyrinthine muddle of winding aisles and precariously balanced shelves stocked with everything someone living on the frontier might require, and a fair amount of clutter that almost no one requires. There’s no apparent method to the store’s organization, and one might find a variety of unusual items (such as a gourd of alchemist’s fire shaped like a baby; a petrified house drake hollowed out into a bull’s-eye lantern; or an unnaturally cold and stubbornly blood-stained chisel) stocked among the usual domestic staples, dried foods, and mining supplies. Brickasnurd claims to find some of his most curious inventory during long walks in the woods, but some say the gnome keeps counsel with several of the cryptic fey who still lurk amid the groves of Darkmoon Vale. A small number of magic items are for sale at the Goose ’n’ Gander, but only for those with the patience to search for hours through the bric-a-brac in order to locate them.

Those of a more sinister intent can attempt to gain the services of the necromancer Sharvaros Vade, who generally works for Kreed when he isn't conducting his own experiments. The wizard occupies a stone tower overlooking the dreary souls of Falcon’s Hollow from its place of prominence on the Perch, the hill at the east edge of town. Within, Sharvaros conducts gruesome experiments on corpses discarded by the town. Occasionally, the recluse requires a live subject for his research, generally an out-of-towner supplied by one of Kreed's lackeys. Sharvaros’s only living companion is his frail daughter Savram, a pale young woman whose mother’s identity remains a mystery. Many locals claim the child was born from a dead consort, thus explaining her spindly frame and ivory complexion. Whatever the truth to the stories, her dhampir heritage is undeniable for those who know to look for such things.

The tower itself is a sturdy, ugly edifice without much in the way of adornment. A handful of gargoyles stand sentinel atop its upper parapet, and observers swear they change location and posture over time, speculating that Sharvaros uses these stony thralls to collect the victims of accidents and violence to fuel his research. At some point, no doubt, the pitchforks and torches will come out when the townsfolk finally pluck up the courage to do what needs to be done; but for now, the necromancer operates beyond the law provided that he continues to have Kreed's protection.

Sorry that took so long - I've run through about three different character builds this morning alone, but I'm finally done!

Meet Siobhan, a human Redeemer Champion. She's young, idealistic and sees herself as the protector of all those innocent and downtrodden! No doubt she's going to be violently disabused at some point but until then she's a hero and she's going to act like it!

... and not a halfling.

sigh

Yeah, I know, 'Let It Go'.

If anyone's interested, here's the original inspirational image: Vyana and Siobhan

OK, one more NPC to be going on with.

Lucia is friednly and approachable, perhaps a little too soft for her own good. This is a hard town. But she’s no pushover – one of the sheriff’s deputies has taught her the basics of fighting with sword and bow, and she’s no great warrior but in a fight she won’t disgrace herself.

The deputy Lucia is closest to is a dwarf by the name of Tabrik Splint, who has by far the sweariest vocabulary that Lucia has ever encountered but is a surprisingly good teacher. Tabrik is unabashedly outspoken about Thuldrin’s corruption and the need for a change in leadership, and probably the only thing that keeps him this side of Pharasma's gate is the protection of the magistrate, with whom Tabrik is in a stormy romantic relationship. Their almost diametrically opposed ideologies about what’s good for society only adds further passion and fuel to their romance. In the words of James Thurber: love may be blind, but desire doesn't give a good g*#**@n.

I'd expect Scupper at least knows of Payday Teedum. Probably took a beating from him now and again like nearly every goblin at the mill. But he's maybe also done the foreman a favor or two by healing a couple of his boyos with his potions or providing something to go boom when the man needed to really put an exclamation on a point he was making. Course, Scupper wouldn't do that if other goblins (or even other short folk like the halflings) were the targets. Other longshanks on the other hand...well outside of Laurel, Scupper doesn't much worry about their squabbles.

Falcon's Hollow is built almost entirely of wood. As such, flammable materials like lantern oil are strictly regulated - and don't even ask about alchemist's fire. That said, it's possible that Scupper has been paid to remove the occasional boulder and stubborn tree root from the ground. More recently, he's been asked to tend to some very strange-looking injuries in the lumber camps, not from axes or being crushed by a falling tree. Nobody will say anything, but some of the victims the goblin has tended to have rambled about intelligent wolves, setting traps for the loggers to walk into. "Payday" has made it clear that if Scupper says anything about this, he and everyone he cares about will suffer. But one way or another, rumours are slowly making their way back to Falcon's Hollow...

Those eyes are *creepy* af imo.

I like Siobhan :) If she knows Cirthana then Lucia probly knows her, although Lucia is early 20s so maybe a bit older thatn her. It's funy, I thought Lucia would be one of teh younger ones in a group but we have a goblin and a teenager! Well, WW did say he wanted a "yoour first adventure" theme so he should be happy.

I don't think Lucia and Vyana would particulay know each other unless Vyana goes to Jak's tavern? I also don't think she and Succupper move in the same circles either.

EDIT - I've ben jumping from pic to pic but I think I've found the one I like.

@WW -yes, yes. lautgh it up - but I like this one of her.

Those eyes are *creepy* af imo.

You're not the first to express that sentiment. I choose rather to describe them as 'haunting' or 'fey-like'. ;)

I like Siobhan :) If she knows Cirthana then Lucia probly knows her, although Lucia is early 20s so maybe a bit older thatn her. It's funy, I thought Lucia would be one of teh younger ones in a group but we have a goblin and a teenager! Well, WW did say he wanted a "yoour first adventure" theme so he should be happy.

I don't think Lucia and Vyana would particulay know each other unless Vyana goes to Jak's tavern? I also don't think she and Succupper move in the same circles either.

Lucia and Vyana probably know each other (small town - everyone knows everyone), just not very well at all. All their interactions have probably been because of their common friendship with Siobhan.

Lucia Wriothesly wrote:

Those eyes are *creepy* af imo.

You're not the first to express that sentiment. I choose rather to describe them as 'haunting' or 'fey-like'. ;)

I say tomato, you say I'm going to drink your soul liek I would drink a fine wine.

Lucia and Vyana probably know each other (small town - everyone knows everyone), just not very well at all. All their interactions have probably been because of their common friendship with Siobhan.

That makes sense :)

I'd agree that it isn't likely that Scupper knows Lucia and Vyana, but as you all said, it's a small town. And they very well might have heard about the little goblin who reads, writes and even actually cures an ailment or two for those who can't afford the most trustworthy curatives available through herbalist or temple. They might have even seem him sitting along a street, nibbling rat tails and reading some crinkled pamphlet, filthy broadsheet, or raggedy book. (Apparently, he also loves trashy romance novels that occasionally get thrown out by the wealthier folk in town.)

Not sure about Siobhan, might be they know each other given her past ties to the mills or maybe she's occasionally stopped some of the older, local 'big folk' children from picking on the goblin.

EDIT: Scupper may have some minor tie to Barlus in that he'd want to try and learn what the druid knows about the various mushrooms and fungi that grow in the deep woods. Whether or not Barlus is interested in sharing his knowledge with the goblin or simply tosses him out of the grove on his ear each time he approaches is up to the GM.

EDIT: Scupper may have some minor tie to Barlus in that he'd want to try and learn what the druid knows about the various mushrooms and fungi that grow in the deep woods. Whether or not Barlus is interested in sharing his knowledge with the goblin or simply tosses him out of the grove on his ear each time he approaches is up to the GM.

Works for me! Barlus' first reaction to everyone in town is dismissive ("Don't be stupid, course you don't want to go into the forest. It's not a vacation spot. Now don't bother me again.") but if Scupper persists then he'd get a heavy sigh ("Alright. Just the once, mind. And if something out there kills you don't come crying to me.). In Barlus' experience, most people don't go back after that, but anyone who does is alright by him. He doesn't really teach, but if you stick around him you can learn something useful. That said, it's been some time now since you last saw him.

I've had a long week and I still haven't done my stuff - weaponse, instrument and so on - but apart from that I think Lucia is sorted and ready for adventure :)

Don't worry too much about equipment, you're in town and you have a basic lifestyle that covers your everyday needs.

I'll get a gameplay post up in the next couple of days and we can move from there. What I'd like to do is run through 1 or 2 scenes with each of you for a typical/normal day (well, reasonably normal). I'll then have the adventure start a day after that. So, if any of you have thoughts on what your character does on a typical day then let me know otherwise I will just make something up :)

Well Lucia sings in Jak's tavern so her day probaly startts really early, going home when the tavern closes. Or maybe she goes to morning prayer at the temple, if that's a thing? Lucia is CG so Iomedae isn't her thing at all, but in a town when gong to chruch is a minor act of rebellion, she is *here* for it :D

Alorea usually spends time with the other halflings in Falcon's Hollow, helping them with various tasks and trying to lift their lot in life as best as she can.

Scupper still lives in the Consortium tenement adjacent to the mill where the constant smoke from the steam boilers hangs in the air and the glow of the dust burners illuminates the night. He spends the first part of his day in his dilapidated shack where he's set up a makeshift lab out of old bottles, rusty tins, cracked jars, a charcoal burner (actually powered by bricks of sawdust he's combined with a (most likely toxic to normal folk) glue of his own invention, and various bits of metal stirring sticks, springs and coils gathered from old scraps of mill machinery.

When not in his shack, he's either tending to others in the tenements; rummaging through the various scrap or junk piles around town for bits of useful items; wandering the nearby forest for herbs, mushrooms, fungi, and other interest flora to either sell to Laurel or use in his own experiments; studying with Laurel; or simply reading one of his ratty books in some alley or perched atop a crate or tree somewhere out of the way. Very rarely, he might be approached by Payday or someone else desperate enough to hire him to treat a wound or illness.

I've opened up gameplay so you can dot in. I'll do a post for each of you to get you into the game when I can find time, most likely tomorrow.

@Lucia, that works and Cirthana does indeed do a breakfast, both for the shift coming out of the Cutyard and the shift about to go in. It's reasonably well-attended, but very few stay for the prayers afterwards. On the topic of rebellion, yours has been noted - not just the church attendance but some of Lucia's songs as well. Unlike Siobhan, who's still regarded as just a kid (although this will probably change very soon!), Lucia is old enough to know better. Expect a small amount of trouble your way.

@Alorea, that works too although you have been in town for a while now and you're about to be (very politely) quizzed on whether it might not be time for you to move on.

@Scupper, that sounds fine. I think Payday is going to want to talk to you about a possible commission.

Posted. If the scene is out of place then I can delete it or we can ignore it. :)

I can work with that! I'll give everyone a post to get stuck into tomorrow.

she walks away whistling a jaunty tune. You recognise it: it's one you composed yourself.

I KIIIIIIIIIILLLLL HER!!!!!!!!!

But maybe nt just yet. Ow.

Do you wnat us to wait on posting until you've poseted for everyone?

Do you wnat us to wait on posting until you've poseted for everyone?

Nope. Absolutely not. Post as you will :)

Oh, and for avoidance of doubt: this is roleplay & scene-setting. No need to roll the dice for now, unless you're planning to do something unusually foolish.

@Scupper: Siobhan will absolutely have stepped in if you were ever getting picked on. It's pretty much been her mission in life for the last eight years or so, starting shortly after she was 'adopted' by Cirthana. She's been polite and nice but the two of you probably don't have much of a connection.

@Lucy: I'm glad you like her! Von likes you too! Mutual friends works well, Siobhan is a big deal around the village (at least for the 'young people') so it makes sense that we'd know each other. You might be the cool older girl that Von looked up to when she was much younger and their relationship has matured to something a bit more equal in the last few years?

@Everyone: sorry I've been silent. I completely forgot about this thread because it wasn't on my games page!

@Lucy: I'm glad you like her! Von likes you too! Mutual friends works well, Siobhan is a big deal around the village (at least for the 'young people') so it makes sense that we'd know each other. You might be the cool older girl that Von looked up to when she was much younger and their relationship has matured to something a bit more equal in the last few years?

That works for me. Lucia has ben trying to get teh various good facctions in town to work together - which is ironic bacause she's CG. Maybe Siobhan can help her on working out waht is the deal between Laurel and Crethana?

Siobhan Sable wrote:

@Lucy: I'm glad you like her! Von likes you too! Mutual friends works well, Siobhan is a big deal around the village (at least for the 'young people') so it makes sense that we'd know each other. You might be the cool older girl that Von looked up to when she was much younger and their relationship has matured to something a bit more equal in the last few years?

That works for me. Lucia has ben trying to get teh various good facctions in town to work together - which is ironic bacause she's CG. Maybe Siobhan can help her on working out waht is the deal between Laurel and Crethana?

I can answer that definitively: the only two people in town who know what the deal is between Laurel and Cirthana, are Laurel & Cirthana. Although that does give me the idea for another post.

Siobhan, who just doesn't lie (because that isn't something heroes do)

That's good, because lying is Anathema for Sarenrae :)

On spoilers: I have no objection to you reading spoilers that aren't marked for you, provided you don't use anything that's in there. However, the GM Screen really is private: it's somewhere I put notes to myself for things to use later on, and it contains spoilers for stuff I don't want you to know.

Busy today, I will post tomorrow morning.

No problems, RL always comes first! Thanks for the heads-up.

A minor correction: whatever it was that Lady Cirthana Gensar did with her life before arriving in Falcon's Hollow, it mostly left her more than equal to the task of raising a young girl through adolescence and into adulthood.

She looks at your arm in a momentary disbelief. "Siobhan Sable..."

OMG she used your full name to tell you off - she's *totally* your mum!

Wandering GM Wastrel wrote:

A minor correction: whatever it was that Lady Cirthana Gensar did with her life before arriving in Falcon's Hollow, it mostly left her more than equal to the task of raising a young girl through adolescence and into adulthood.

She looks at your arm in a momentary disbelief. "Siobhan Sable..."

OMG she used your full name to tell you off - she's *totally* your mum!

She really is. Siobhan only knew her birth dad, so while she isn't Cirthana's biological daughter, she is in ever possible other respect.

"If I saw you starving in the street, I'd teach you how to hunt, " Vyana mutters under her breath.

Ah yes, like the old saying: teach a man to fish, and he will sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

I'd forgotten about Hero Points, thanks for putting them in your profile Vyana, it reminded me. PF2's advice is to start the game with 1, and then hand out one each "session" which in PbP is kind of tricky...

I'm going to go with 1 Hero Point per 100 gameplay posts, so you get another Hero Point with post 101, 201, 301 and so on. I'll do my best to remind you. However, please don't let me log on to find 15+ posts that are just two characters talking to each other, looking at nobody in particular ;)

However, please don't let me log on to find 15+ posts that are just two characters talking to each other, looking at nobody in particular ;)

Siobhan feels oddly guilty, even though she has no reason to.

before giving you another flirtatious smile. "Mind if I tag along? I'm kind of interested now, plus there's that whole cute face in distress thing you have going and I'm a bit of a sucker for that. Well, not in distress exactly, but in need of help, maybe?" She winks. "Or at least in need of a friend in town."[/spoiler]

NONONONONONONO

She is NOT your freiend

I KILL HER

I KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIL HER!!!!!!!

I'd have to roll a natural 20 to succeed at that Sense Motive, so not even going to bother. :)

This is the one thing I do want to see how it plays out in PF2: the DCs do generally look a bit high to me. That said, the bad guys (and girls women) in this town start at around CR4 and go up from there... there's a reason for what I said to Nik

@Vyana - it looks like we posted at teh same time but at cros purposes! Do you want me to edit my post?

If Lucia is wanting to chat, she could follow Vyana out. :)

She hasn't had breakfast yet, she's not going anywhere :P

EDIT - I got there jsut in time to change my post

@Sibohan - Depending on how alert Siobhan is right now, she might see the slight marks that show Lucia's been crying recently. But it looks like she's got a lot on her mind right now so it depends how self-absorbed she is feeling :)

Me: I'll just do a couple of posts to set the scene before we get into the adventure.

Also me: Hey, these NPCs they gave me are pretty cool, I should try and bring a few of them in.

Future me: It's fine! It's fine that we're 500 posts in and haven't started the adventure yet. It's fine...

Me: I'll just do a couple of posts to set the scene before we get into the adventure.

Also me: Hey, these NPCs they gave me are pretty cool, I should try and bring a few of them in.

Future me: It's fine! It's fine that we're 500 posts in and haven't started the adventure yet. It's fine...

I'd laugh, but I've read yuour Kinmaker campaign :P

:(

I still feel bad about the way that game ended. Covid plus a long depression; 2020 is not a year I would care to re-visit.

Looks like everyone else is fine talking among yourselves, at least for the moment.

Is everyone happy with pace? Too many posts, not enough, need something different?

The pace is good for me. :)

I'm at the point of feeling rather aimless. Other people have clear things going on right now and I don't. I'm not fussed about that, it's good for character building, but thought I should flag it up - if the 'side quests' take a whole lot longer than Von will just be twiddling her thumbs.

The pace is certainly good, no complaints, just not feeling that I'm part of it right now. No doubt that will be fixed when Alorea's date goes wrong/the goblin explodes etc etc. ;)

Pace and everything is fine by me. Just waiting on Vyana's response, but I'm assuming we'll find enough in common to start working on the wolf/Balrus issue.

Thanks for the feedback. I hear you Von, my plan is to wrap things up today and get into the game proper tomorrow so you should get more engaged then :)

I'm good. I don't thingk I've ever hated an NPC as much as I hate Jalane, but I'm having fun.

oh oh oh wait I've just remembered Oleg Leveton.

GM: Out of curiosity, has the goblin community been just as hard hit by the disease as the others?

GM: Out of curiosity, has the goblin community been just as hard hit by the disease as the others?

Yes, everyone in town (whether goblin, halfling or other) is equally affected by this.

@Alorea, I realised about 2 hours after posting last night that we hadn't done a scene where you'd officially met with the others (facepalm). My bad! Thanks for just going with it :)

Wandering GM Wastrel wrote:

Title drop

Smooth :P

Everyone's a critic :/

@Alorea, I realised about 2 hours after posting last night that we hadn't done a scene where you'd officially met with the others (facepalm).

No worries. I figure we'll get to know each other as we try to save people!