GM Harrow’s Curse of the Crimson Throne - AE

Game Master GM Harrow

Sorry for separate posts, but I wanted to make certain the discussions were not jumbled.

For my next post, I'm trying to gather exactly where everyone is:

Regarding another player, most of the people I would be willing to ask have already played/run CotCT, and one of the only others I can think of doesn’t play arcane casters. There is one person I could check in with, though

EDIT: Yes, Abella is heading back to the sanctuary for now

Thanks for letting us know, GM. I don't know anyone in particular who's looking for a game, so I'll defer to you and others about a new player. Agree that we now seem light on arcane magic.

Minor correction: Shrike went to Zellara's, then spent the night at home, then went to the Gray early on the following morning.

Re: the brooch, I agree with Abella that in the current situation, it just doesn't seem practical to try to use the brooch as leverage with anyone. We don't know of any real intrigue yet — as described, so far as we know there isn't even an organized anti-queen faction we could negotiate with, just a bunch of disconnected mobs.

We could try to find out what the reward is from the queen and haggle in some way for more money or non-monetary rewards, but as far as I know we don't yet have anything non-monetary we specifically want from her, and trying to drive up the price of the reward just seems likely to make her angry at us. Pippip, if you can imagine something specific that's not one of these options, please feel free to describe what you're talking about and I'm happy to discuss it here or in-character.

As it stands, Pippip made an IC suggestion of using the brooch to get 'access' to the higher-ups (which we are already kind of planning on doing, by personally going to return it to the queen), Shrike and Abella expressed some skepticism (and Shrike asked him a question), and then the matter was dropped.

Minor correction: Shrike went to Zellara's, then spent the night at home, then went to the Gray early on the following morning.

For the purposes of indicating where everyone is now, her trip to Zellara's wasn't germane. :P

I have received a potentially positive response from the the player I had in mind. Once they have had a chance to give our little game a quick skim and what not, I may see about having them started by next week. I'll keep you posted and begin introductions if appropriate.

Yup, that's pretty much what Audria did. She'll be starting the day at the Sanctuary. GM, can I assume that Brother Theolan healed Audria's wounds and her STR damage (currently down 2)?

I'm sad to hear about Lina's player going. I don't know of anyone that is looking to play. Thanks for keeping us posted, however.

Hi, everyone!
I'm the aforementioned player.

I had planned to finalize everything over the weekend but we had a bit of an emergency.

But this is what I'm looking at so far.

I've read through a decent amount of the posts and skimmed the discussion a bit. I've also read through everyone's character sheets/backstories. I am exceedingly impressed and, to be honest, a little intimidated, by what you all have done so far.

A couple of things I wanted to go bring up before I put backstory/NPCs in black and white:

1. Audria, you have the unhappy childhood (tortured) trait. I was planning on the religious version of that. Given that my character looks to be the oldest of the group at 32, how would you feel about our characters having met at some point? Dal would've left Lamm long before Audria was taken in but, I had this notion that Dal had spent years trying to undermine Lamm and help others escape. Also, hi! It's me, Chapel.

2. Pippip, kind of a similar question given your past meetings with the Bellflower Network. Though, I see their differences in that Dal loves Korvosa. His deity is the empyreal lord Lorris. There's basically nothing on the deity beyond domains and areas of concern (charity, the disadvantaged, volunteering.) Dal wants to save the city from itself in a way. Also, again, hi! Thsi is game 3 now lol

3. If anyone has anything else. Suggestions, concerns, please let me know. This is your game that I am joining.

I'm striving real hard to get a bunch of stuff posted. Sorry for all the delay recently.

@Dal: Why, hello there Mylock! Looks like we get to be in a game together after all. :D

I like the idea of Audria and Dal having met before. We can brainstorm some things here or in PMs. Whichever is more convenient/comfortable for you. I think you'd know Eliana as well, since the two of them have been best friends for about as long as they've known each other. Maybe Dal was the one that pointed them to the Dockside Doxies after their run in with an imp in possession of some alchemical mischief?

As for when they would have met, well, she was with Lamm from just before she turned five to when she was not quite fourteen. She's sixteen now. She and Eliana had been sneaking off to Shelyn's Sanctuary since they were nine or ten. Maybe Dal was the one that complimented her on her hair.

Just kinda spitballin' here.

Anyway, Happy to see you again and even happier to be in a game with ya! Looking forward to when Pockets and Talanaliel meet for the first time. That's sure to be fun.

Alright, team. Got up a post waiting for your input which can be hashed out here out-of-character or in-character in the Gameplay. Plus a little bit of fun advancing the little sub-plot-leading-to-the-main-plot I started a while ago. I hope you enjoy!

I wasn't expecting almost near silence (thank you, Merula). I guess my posts weren't as exciting as I'd hoped. (x_x)p

Sorry, been busy, got distracted, and didn't get back around to posting until just now.

Welcome, Dal! Glad to have you. Glad you like what you’ve seen so far as well :D

I wasn't expecting almost near silence (thank you, Merula). I guess my posts weren't as exciting as I'd hoped. (x_x)p

Patience, dear.

I’m still getting back in the swing of things. I’m only just starting to feel normal again. Plus I’m stuck in the office today and can’t exactly type a big post

As far as what we would like to do, I think we all know Audria's vote. We've got 4 to 6 more kids to find.

That said, I think Audria would be up for going after vermin or helping out around the neighborhood. Playing vigilante is going to make her very uncomfortable, and while she's come to terms with the fight against Lamm and his lackeys, she's not the type to hurt people if she can help it.

So, here's my preference.

1. Find the rest of Lamm's Lambs.
2. Charitable Work.
3. Vermin hunting.
4. Cracking down on looters and other opportunists.

@Pippip: I'm not sure what you're going for here.

Pip realized they were going to split up to take care of personal business. He wanted the group to be excited about the brooch, but they did not see it as anything to be used or exploited. Knowing nobles and how they thought, Pip decided to investigate the brooch and the missing seneschal.

Riding to a local craftsman, Pip carried a detailed drawing of the brooch he was obsessed with. He was going to get as many copies made of the brooch as possible in the shortest amount of time. The craftsman looked at Pip curiously, and Pip explained "The queen is coming into power, when she recovers her brooch everyone will be wearing them. I need as many made as you can!!"

Pip hands over some money and will pick up the each article as it is made -- paying for the first one in advance.

1. If you're at a silversmith's shop in the current city environment, they either are closed or in a neighborhood far too rich for what you would have available to pay.
2. If you're anywhere else, say a woodcarver's, I'll be generous and say you find one open, but you're literally getting exactly what you described: a facsimile of the brooch's design as interpreted by that craftsman which will in no way resemble the real thing given the precious metals and gems that would be needed to replicate the piece.
3. If you're trying to find someone willing to full on create a forgery of the brooch, that's likely to be an actual quest in itself as you will need to find someone with the kind of skill and have access to the materials who would be willing to do this. Quite frankly, if it was that simple, there's been ample time for someone to create a forgery and claim the reward, so don't expect a forgery to be easy.

Besides, my read of how Korvosa and Ileosa see each other is that Korvosa sees her as a spoiled brat and a spend-thrift while Ileosa sees Korvosa as a backwater and its people as beneath her and only worthy of contempt. I doubt that people are going to be wanting to wear copies of her brooch out of pride in their new monarch. Seems like marking yourself as a queensman would be a good way to get a beating in some parts of the city.

@everyone: Does anyone have an idea besides visiting the queen? I'd like to find the rest of the orphans from the fishery before we do. I don't think we'll have time to once the ball gets rolling, and I know that Audria is going to want to do that.

Just as a thought, some of us could go looking for the rest of Lamm's Lambs while the rest set up an appointment with Queen Ileosa.

...while the rest set up an appointment with Queen Ileosa.

This is not currently an option. Approaching Castle Korvosa and engaging in any meaningful conversation (with the palace guards) will not be possible for two more days. Plan on 13 Desnus being the earliest, but you're by no means required to go on that day.

Sorry to be such a stickler about this, but I'm trying to create a reasonable passage of time for what occurs in the city. I like to keep some things feeling realistic despite the fantasy setting. The idea a city in turmoil literally becomes fine again overnight is just way too far beyond my ability to suspend disbelief.

Edit: I'm literally looking at inspiration from real world events which occurred in my own country within the last 3 years. Those riots went on for weeks/months in some places. Please allow me a few days in game time...

@Shrike/Merula: I'll respond to your post in a bit as I'm leaving for dinner, but I just want to state, the idea is the group's deciding their actions and possibly executing it before Shrike would return which makes her "in-character" vote non-existent. I certainly did not mean to dissuade you from offering an "out of character" opinion if you wish to do so.

Good point. I read more into some of the stuff you said than I should have apparently.

Also, if Shrike/Merula said she was going to be at the Sanctuary in the morning, Audria would wait for her, especially after her run in with the spiders.

@Shrike/Merula: I'll respond to your post in a bit as I'm leaving for dinner, but I just want to state, the idea is the group's deciding their actions and possibly executing it before Shrike would return which makes her "in-character" vote non-existent. I certainly did not mean to dissuade you from offering an "out of character" opinion if you wish to do so.

Oh, I misunderstood then. I thought that since the others were making the decision IC, I should not influence it OOC either. In that case, my OOC preference is to look for more missing Lambs as a group.

@everyone: Does anyone have an idea besides visiting the queen?

Well, for my part I'm slowly working down the list of priorities I named here. Finding all the remaining lost kids seems most urgent/time-sensitive, but after that, making arrangements for them is the next thing she will be focusing on.

I'm definitely not crossing my fingers that someone decides to do a ritual to commune with a Neolithid for information.

Hot damn, of all the checks to roll that on.

Pip was hoping they could hide the real brooch in a batch of forgeries as a way to avoid having someone just take the real brooch off of them or steal it from them.

As this is impractical, he will wait for the group to leave. Without Garrett, the connect with Garrett's family story line Pip was trying to pursue is OBE.

Speaking of Garrett, I have more news.

I reached out to Garrett's player raising concerns about their posting rate (1 post in the last 3 weeks) and requested they resign from the game. The player acknowledged the situation and understood, and they have graciously accepted my request.

At the moment, we have 4 active players with 1 new one waiting for their introduction. However, I just want to confirm everyone is still interested in continuing. Given how rarely they were posting, both Lina and Garrett leaving the game doesn't surprise me much, but I want to give everyone the chance to decide if they would prefer to continue or if this is a good point to part ways.

I think we are good to keep going with just the five of you if everyone wishes to continue, but if any more of you decide to take a break, I will probably look to adding more.

Sorry your intro has been so delayed, Dal.

This has been a stressful/busy week for me so I have actually welcomed the delay.

If everyone decides to part ways, it would basically be wash for me.

Personally, I would like to see where it goes but, like I said before, this is ya'lls game that I'm coming in to.

I'm sorry to hear that, Dal. Stress is everything I try to avoid whenever possible.

I'm certainly hoping everyone doesn't choose to leave! I'm still planning to run this, so I just meant if we lost enough, I would probably pause things to get some recruits!

I'm in. I want to see where this goes.

I’m not going anywhere :3

Pip is trying to adjust to a narrative intensive game. It will be a challenge to keep up with the amazing writing and flavor of those staying.

I have a two week business trip to CA-/this won’t help my goal of getting more involved and detailed posts. But I will stay as long as you feel Pip is pulling his weight.

I get lost when we go on multiple side quests at once—but I will try to keep up. I see spoilers and I am unsure which ones I can read. I generally try to avoid reading them to get info I shouldn’t have. Maybe that is making me miss things.

And the non lethal weapon shoppe was hilarious— I still smile every time I think of Pip ordering pastries there.

Sorry to hear it, GM. I am of course interested in continuing, and excited to meet Dal soon.

Thank you, everyone. I feel like we can proceed as planned without too much disruption. I'll try to get something written up later.

@Pip:

I personally prefer to only use spoilers if it’s something I’m trying to control the visibility of. Otherwise I get confused about what I am and am not allowed to read. Like if other people put things in spoilers but do not mention my character in the spoiler, I will usually assume it’s not meant for me to read. I always want to make sure I’m respecting other peoples’ desires to have parts of their posts not visible to me. I’ve had some GMs that are sticklers about nobody reading from spoilers they aren’t mentioned in, so I’ve just gotten in the habit.

When I’m juggling different scenes, I just use headings, usually with the OOC tag, to show which scene is which

I usually use spoilers not for secrecy but as a formatting aid or out of politeness to other players who aren't involved in a particular scene and might not wish to even know what happened in it OOC. For me, player knowledge and character knowledge already have to be kept separate in many ways, and I want to read everything everyone writes. The only exception is if the GM or someone else marks a spoiler as "secret," or "X only," I will leave that totally alone.

Pretty much with Lania's player here. I tend to use spoilers to break things up and to help keep things straight. If it's meant for someone specific, then I'll try to mention it in the title of the spoiler, but even then, I don't mind if others read it.

Thanks for clarifying— I will spoiler some more in the future.

Sorry for the quiet, busy weekend and then come into a crazy Monday workday. I was hoping the kind of holiday here in the US would have slowed us down a bit, but nope.

Don't worry. I'm sure those of us with the day off will be paying tomorrow. I kinda figured things got busy.

No worries, dear. It’s pride week here and we have a guest, so we’ve been busy here ourselves

GM, can Merula sell the dagger and kukris or no? If they don't have either the spear or the curve blade right now it's less urgent, but she wouldn't buy anything here anyway if they're going to try to cheat her, especially in a crisis like this. An extra 10 to 100 gp is nothing to a seasoned adventurer, but it is a small fortune to her. Moreover, those weapons' 'exotic' nature is already incorporated in their book price, which is higher than equivalent martial weapons, and this is a shop that specializes in bladed weapons of all kinds: magical, exotic, secondhand, and so on.

Just generally, I am puzzled by why buying and selling has been such a hassle. My understanding from the Core Rulebook is that "Nonmagical items and gear are generally available in a community of any size unless the item is particularly expensive, such as full plate, or made of an unusual material, such as an adamantine longsword. These items should follow the base value guidelines to determine their availability, subject to GM discretion." Even if we were treating nonmagical exotic masterwork weapons (or anything at all that we want to buy) as subject to the base value guidelines due to the unrest, if the settlement's current base value is at Village level or above (500 gp), there should be a 75% chance that any given masterwork weapon including an exotic one is available.

Pip will use the wand of acid splash if no one wants it.

Other PCs: Selling kukris and Lamm's dagger at half price. 1459 gp added to the loot list, immediately split out as 364.75 gp each to Shrike, Audria, Abella and Pippip on return to the Sanctuary of Shelyn.

I’ll try to get a post up later tonight. I’m having a very busy week and am more than a little exhausted

Thank you for the notice, Abella.

Looks like we're waiting for Pippip and Abella's reaction posts. As Abella didn't pass the check for Perception, if Audria chooses to ignore Shrike's evident attempt at Stealth or perhaps wishes to enhance Shrike's Stealth by being a distraction, it may make sense if Audria posts prior to Abella, and we can get things moving.

Okay, I'll go ahead and post then.

I wasn't sure if that counted as bluff or diplomacy, so I put what it'd be in either case. Pick which ever you feel fits best, GM.

Just checking, but should I wait for Blue and Purple's turn to be over or should I go ahead and post my actions?

Technically, yes. I didn't see this until now, sorry, and I've already posted anyway.

As a level 2 witch, I'm very happy with their dice rolls.