Saps are simple weapons that cost only 1 gp. If we can buy limited and simple goods from in and around the temple, equivalent to what would be available in a large village, I hope we can buy those? And if Garrett is interested but wants to stick with ranged options, there are halfling-used sling bullets called softstones (1 sp/10 bullets) made of elastic fibers that deal nonlethal damage, without the -4 to-hit penalty taken by blunt arrows. Those and a sling (no listed cost, like a club or quarterstaff) might be available here at GM discretion.
Other than that suggestion, I'm ready to move on whenever. I thought from before that Abella wanted to take the brooch directly to the Korvosan Guards since her sister used to be one, but if we think we should go to the Eye of the Peacock for next steps re: the brooch (including perhaps selling other trinkets?), that's fine with me. Garrett and Shrike at least also want to go to Zellara's house, then the Gray, to lay her head and her son's head and hands to rest near each other before her head rots any more. That will be in the opposite direction though, and I think there was more support for taking care of the brooch first.
Those are the two most urgent priorities I can think of, but I think everyone probably wants to sell loot and make purchases. I even know exactly where Shrike wants to go first: Slicing Dicers, a weapons shop on Eodred's Walk in Midland that specializes in bladed weapons, even exotic and magical ones. I'm thinking she sold her father's masterwork elven branched spear there several years ago and would like to buy it back now or just barter the two masterwork kukris for it (or one like it.) That's also a likely place to be able to unload other weaponry like the +1 dagger. But that would entail the shop being open, which we can't be sure of until we go there, of course. Similarly, there's Trapper's Hole for all kinds of bows and arrows, except crossbows.
Beyond that, she wants to start escorting home some of the kidnapped Lambs, at least those who have homes they want to go back to. I will need GM rulings on how many that's possible/wanted for, where she will need to go, etc., since I don't feel comfortable just deciding it.
Just a heads up that I’m really exhausted today and might not be able to contribute much today
Other than that suggestion, I'm ready to move on whenever. I thought from before that Abella wanted to take the brooch directly to the Korvosan Guards since her sister used to be one...
I may have missed this, and that's certainly an avenue you can take. I generated the jeweler's shop mostly to provide a goal in case anyone felt directionless.
@Abella: Get some rest!
I will once work is over in…4.25 hours.
I would prefer to take it directly to the guards if possible, as if it really does have royal provenance, it’s a bad look if someone finds us taking it to a jeweler.
You probably would only have to worry about that if the jeweler is a known fence. Lots of people go to jewelers to get things examined or appraised for verification, identification, or just insurance purposes. Nefarious intent wouldn't really be assumed especially if you didn't know a piece was a stolen item.
If you lead off the visit with, "We found this in a crime lord's den after rescuing some children. Any way to help us find the owner?" you'll definitely be less suspicious. ;)
Regarding shopping, the city's current state of turmoil makes exotic items very difficult to find while those which may not be exotic, but more specialized scarce as well.
I feel like saps and blunt arrows would fit into that category, but since I know you're trying to find ways not randomly kill Korvosan citizens, I'm going to give a boon.
Look for an update in the gameplay shortly.
Okay, I didn't intend for Audria to be that much of a mood killer. :P
Everybody okay? I know we're all probably busy, but still kinda odd for the thread to just go silent for a whole 24 hours.
I guess my store is too intimidating…
It’s my wife’s birthday, so I’ve been rather busy. Be patient, dears.
It’s my wife’s birthday, so I’ve been rather busy. Be patient, dears.
What are you doing here then?! Go spend time with the missus! (In all seriousness, I hope the both of you are having a great day.)
I guess my store is too intimidating…
Foreboding foreplay, did you say?
I'll see myself out.
Given that the Hellknights seem to be looking for an excuse, I figured Audria would forgo her armor and just carry a staff with her. Should have mentioned that earlier. Sorry for not doing so.
It’s my wife’s birthday, so I’ve been rather busy. Be patient, dears.What are you doing here then?! Go spend time with the missus! (In all seriousness, I hope the both of you are having a great day.)
We are! They actually are asleep on the couch next to me it was so full of activity, hence me having a moment to post hehe
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Alright, I have to admit something about myself in an effort to regain control of my own hopes and expectation.
I am way too creative for my own good. 90% of the time I'm not actively engaged in something else requiring focus, I create stories or work on stories I've already thought. All in my own head, sadly, so nothing commercially available until telepathic movies become mainstream.
Consequence of this condition, whenever I join/run a PBP, I start envisioning things to come in the future. It doesn't help that I've completely read CoCT, so knowing the whole story has caused me to start imagining your characters doing the heroic deeds the campaign requires. A nice visual movie of own making. Also, music is a huge trigger for me, so discovering "I Am The Door" by Confidential MX (the song you hear in the new Ahsohka series trailer) has really gotten the imagination wheels spinning.
Why am I talking about this? What usually happens is a cycle will occur where all of this super-creativity hits me like serotonin (heck, maybe it is making serotonin), and then I'm ramped and excited wanting to be creative...and everyone else is silent, doesn't have the same motivation, doesn't respond to my attempts for RP (not just as GM), etc., etc. Cue a type of creative crash where suddenly I don't know what to write because I'd already committed myself mentally to where I had thought or hoped it would go, but didn't.
So this little exposition is me trying to decompress myself from the completely behind the scenes hope I have for this campaign which it's highly probable none of you could ever live up to unless you're literally glued to the boards 24/7 waiting to write and post with me and each other as soon as 'X New' shows up. :P
They say you have to admit when you have a problem, so this is me trying to regain a real expectation of actual PbP and not my dream version. Letting that get the best of me has definitely led to burnout and losing my ability to keep a campaign alive. Not any kind of passive aggressive means to get more out of you guys. Just me admitting that I am always sitting here daydreaming about the perfect PbP campaign posting as if Real Life doesn't get in the way including my own. Doing my best to keep it real.
Naturally, I would love to know if there is anything I can do to assist any of you in case you're suffering from your own creative blocks. I'm just a PM away.
I understand, dear. I write in my own time as well and am currently working on book #2 while book #1 is with an editor, so I rarely run out of ideas myself. My problem is usually just time at the moment, as it’s the season of audits at work so I have to be working extra hard and not checking the boards as much.
I just always make myself remember play-by-post is a marathon, not a sprint. And every bit of writing we do is practice for the next bit, so it’s never truly wasted. When I was in grad school, I stuffed 30k words of writing on a novel in a folder and started over because I needed to, but I also knew I needed to write that 30k to get myself to the point that I could write the 80k+ I wrote after. If something doesn’t hit, just shrug and move on. It sucks, but that’s just how it goes sometimes, and it will have nothing to do with the quality of your work. People get busy, people get tired, people misread, people get inspired by a hook and get writing but forget to finish before people move on. The more you write, the more you realize you can just keep churning it out.
For what it’s worth, I think you are doing great and I’m enjoying what you ate bringing for us. Just settle in for the long ride, and we’ll go far
There's an Easter egg in Von Heller's conversation just for you, Audria.
There's an Easter egg in Von Heller's conversation just for you, Audria.
Oh fun. I'm glad I read this thread first.
;)
As for your other post, well, I can see myself writing that, so trust me when I say I get it and I get the need to tone down your own expectations as you build out scenes in your head. and imagine where the story will take you.
As a player, I've found that being open with everyone about what you'd like to get out of the character can help. At the very least, talk it over with the GM/DM/MC/whoever's-running-the-show.
I haven't found a way to control it when I'm the one in charge.
Beyond that, all I really have to add is point at Hrothdane's/Abella's post and say ditto.
Anyway, now off to see what poor Audria's gotten herself into.
Thanks for sharing that, GM. I definitely also get it to some extent, although of course as a player you really can only think through what you'd like your own character's arc to be. I agree that it's a marathon and not a sprint, and while I sometimes can do multiple posts in a day, I just as often need almost 24 hours between my posts to think about things and write one that is long enough or feels like a sufficient response to what others have written before me. And I want to give others a chance to post, too; I didn't have Shrike respond to Von Heller yesterday afternoon, although I did see it, because I suspected Audria or someone else would like to speak up at that point.
Crap, didn't think about that. I was more worried about if she could have seen Shrike with the mask off.
We could retcon what Audria said. I figured that she recognized Merula's face and hasn't quite gotten to wondering about why she has pointy ears as Shrike. I wasn't thinking about how much disguising may have been done.
All I can say is I'm sorry for not thinking this through or asking questions about how likely it would be for Audria to recognize Shrike as Merula. I'm open to just redoing the start of this conversation and pretending that Audria never said that Shrike was Merula.
No, it's totally fine! Rolling with surprises is part of not getting too attached to the story I've pre-written in my head, which is one of the fun parts of RP for me. And this makes perfect sense for Audria as a guess that has now been proven right. Lania is not an especially experienced vigilante, and she makes mistakes. Taking her mask off to reassure Isi it was her was one such mistake, and I knew when it happened that it might have consequences. Everyone in that room who was paying attention to their reunion knows Shrike can't be a full elf, for instance. At that point I was thinking she and Audria had not met before that night, since we had tossed around an idea for that but not confirmed it, so now I will update that to: she did not recognize Audria then, or she would (might) have been more careful.
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We hadn't and I that's one of those things I should have cleared with you. I know we talked about it, but like you said, we never really said yes they did meet each other.
Thanks for being so big-hearted about this. If you're willing to roll with it, I think we can turn this into a pretty cool character moment.
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@Cinnabar: I just want you to know that the first part of your post made me laugh. Part of it was the thought of Audria turning into a monster is just silly to me. The rest was Shrike's reaction. :D
Haha, thank you. I liked the visual of the haystack, as well!
So, who if anyone is buying a nonlethal weapon? I think this side conversation is about ready to wrap up with another post or two. I also PMed you, GM, and I could reproduce that message here in discussion if you want. I didn't mean to produce awkwardness for any other players in interacting with the shop.
@Shrike: I received the PM, thank you. No worries on that.
@Audria: I've determined how I would like to handle the hair thing. It will fade away and disintegrate to its normal length once Audria calms down. Maybe into little images of roses or hearts or something Shelynite. It will also fade away if someone or something touches it. This will prevent it from being used as some kind of weapon by either the party or enemies since it will essentially be an ephemeral supernatural event. Yes, Audria's (new) ability of Spontaneous Hair of Emotional Damage will be (Su).
@Everyone: I hope to have a post up soon assuming work allows.
Works for me. :)
Just keep in mind Eliana has the same thing. ;)
It amuses me that Shrike doesn’t think the city law enforcement or officials would also be aware of the danger posed by the ubiquitous imps.
I guess the Sable Company riders could have incredibly expensive constant see invisibility/true seeing effects somehow, but short of that there's no way to prevent the little buggers from being anywhere they please. Shrike now knows they can turn invisible as well as fly; she doesn't even know yet that they can also take on the shape of a normal, common-looking raven or rat at will.
I actually forgot about the shapeshifting.
As for going in or not, Audria was suggesting that she go in alone. Garrett was offering to join her.
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Hey all, I'm planning on running at least a short game. I'm not sure what yet, but if you're interested and want a chance to help with building the campaign, then here's the link: Interest check Thread
I'm planning on keeping this thread open for a couple of weeks to give people a chance to hop in and join the discussion. Once I know where things are going, I'll get things fleshed out and get everything I need together before opening up a recruitment thread.
@Shrike: Sadly, even real world law enforcement must make do with the resources they have while being aware of the problems their culture and society allow to exist.
The Guard may not have everything they need to squash every devil imp, but it certainly doesn't mean they don't know that it is a problem. Shrike certainly has very high expectations if she believes law enforcement must be perfectly equipped to deal with every single problem 100% of the time. No wonder she became a Vigilante!
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I make no apologies for that pun. If Pinvendor didn't want one, he wouldn't have tossed that one right over home plate like that. :D
Sorry for being MIA. Wife’s birthday weekend, plus I seem to have caught the flu or food poisoning or something. Been down all day feeling icky. If I’m awake later, I’ll respond to the posts.
oof. I hope ya get to feeling better. Also hope the wife had a happy birthday!
Same, take care of yourself GM!
Take care!
Oh, Audria’s naïveté is so cute. The gnome was offering to buy your talking thrush!
Audria scoops Talanaliel into her hands as she stares at Master Nizlasty in shocked horror.
"Tallyfeather's not for sale!"
Yeah, I definitely interpreted that statement as him offering to buy Talanaliel and make her the shop's sparkly-feathered mascot!
As a group, we do have some things that could potentially be sold here: the garnet amulet, gold ingot, miniature gold crown, and silver ring. Shrike will bring it up in-character next time, if no one else does. Depending on whether the Eye of the Peacock also sells expensive knickknacks, the teak cigar case and scrimshaw kraken could be on the table too.
Well chalk that one up to me being naïve as well, because I did not catch that.
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Damn, I wish I had thought of this earlier...
Concept: Queen Ileosa actually is a social media star in Korvosa. Magical broadcasts of projected images have the city loving to watch her pampered spoiled life, but hate and envy her all at the same time.
It wasn't until I made the comparison that I realized just how brilliant and appropriate it would be for this campaign. /facepalm
Maybe if we wanted to make this one a bit silly or adapt it into a more modern fantasy.
But yeah, the toxic social media starlet is a perfect archetype for Ileosa.
Lol, I guess it depends on what you mean by silly. Since we actually live in a world where this "job" exists, and the antics of royal families of many countries even prior to the advent of social media have long captured the attention of their own subjects if not the world via the constant reporting by the press, I don't actually see this as unrealistic or at all unimmersive.
The Adventure Path and even the resource book Guide to Korvosa make it clear the citizens and nobility are aware of Queen Ileosa's spoiled behavior, so clearly this information reaches them somehow already. Mirroring the concept of "the Press" or social media in a magical way would actually just demystify how everyone seems to know all about it. :)
Of course, I feel it's a bit too late to introduce that now, since that kind of dynamic would have a lot of other implications you could have exploited (not in a bad way, just saying you would have been able to use it), so I'll consider that for the next game I run.
Basically, the reason why I think it's so perfect is because of the actual violent uprising at her ascension to the ruling seat.
Imagine one of the Kardashian clan suddenly gaining government office. What country would sit by and feel comfortable allowing a person who displays such stupidity or out-of-touch attitude and behavior to spontaneously become the person who makes all the decisions without any prior proof they were equal to the task?
If the U.S. Congress was suddenly comprised of all the people who appeared in The Bachelor or The Bachelorette shows, I'd be out of this country tomorrow. XD
Diplomacy 1d20+8=(2)+8=10
I admit I've refreshed my page more than 20 times already waiting for it. :P
I'm figuring here that the DC being 1 on that Knowledge check just means everyone knows it without having to roll, because even a 1 won't fail it.
I was actually wondering about how anyone not of the noble classes or direct servants Ileosa likely interacts with almost all of the time would know about her personality at all, and settled on "there are gossip/Society papers that chronicle such things about her and other nobles," equivalent to tabloids today. They could even have sketches of her so everyone can see how beautiful she is, etc. It still wouldn't be quite the same as reality TV without an even higher-magic setting than Golarion is, though.
Also, I just feel like even with her being widely disliked in Korvosa, this is more like one of the Kardashians being Vice President for four years and then the President dies. (Where the President is like a 60+ year old man and the Vice President is like a 20 year old woman.) Everyone should have been aware that she was one heartbeat away from the throne all this time, yes? That's what is surprising to Lania — that it's really not that sudden or unexpected, and it shouldn't be unusual under a monarchy to have an unpopular Queen or King, yet it sparked this very violent reaction.
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Sorry, it's coming. I just haven't had a chance to work on it.
As for the rest, I guess for me it would be immersion breaking, but that's always been subjective. I'd be right there with you on fleeing the country if Reality TV show stars were suddenly elected to Congress, but to be honest, I don't think we're that far off from that now.
One was president, so I think we are already there
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I say that because with magic artifacts, rituals, and stuff like the Sun Orchard Elixir existing in Golarion, no ruler should ever actually die. The fact that they do is kind of strange really, and at a certain point ruminating on it starts to break the immersion.
However, certain magical realities are taken for granted, like disease. People with enough power and money should basically never have to fear this thanks to divine magic. People may know Ileosa is next in line for the crown if the king dies due to her marriage, but on the face of it, no one really expected it.
The alleged 'Curse of the Crimson Throne' is 'an infamous superstition claiming that no monarch of the city of Korvosa shall ever die of old age or produce an heir.' What the AP description doesn't mention is just how young the monarchy of Korvosa actually is. The first monarch was crowned such in 4633—only 75 years from the current date. There have only technically been 4 (possibly 5) sitting royal rulers, all (except possibly 1) related by blood (Arabasti). The so-called curse, ironically, is more of a taproom gossip joke given that none of the sitting rulers coincidentally ever produced any heirs while crowned and all have died from conditions not considered normal aging.
The Curse of the Crimson Throne isn't an actual curse per se in that we can trace it back to ye olde Scarzni woman who was served bad soup at Eodred I's coronation party back in the beginning. The Curse is more like a conspiracy theory you find on Facebook when someone watches all the Avengers movies and points out things like "Every time Tony Stark makes a mistake, he fixes it the next time" or "Just like Thanos told him, all of Thor's attacks in Endgame are at the head."
Basically, while people have noticed the similarities, it's not an understood agreed upon 'thing.'
But, Spirit of Pinvendor, how does that relate to this situation of unrest and violence over Ileosa becoming queen? Because no one expected it would ever happen. While he would have been the first, people are more likely to have assumed Eodred II would eventually produce or name an heir. Maybe even adopted since that's a pretty common method for acquiring an heir in pseudo-medieval society which makes sense in Earth history given how easy it was to die back in those times. No one would have ever considered it possible that a king could actually be killed by a disease because of his ability to acquire divine magic protection.
TLDR; The Curse of the Crimsons Throne isn't a verified thing, and no one ever thought Ileosa would become queen (as a ruler over just a consort).
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Hmmm...I like that post, Abella. Some great dialogue. Just might have to give your 18 an increased crit range...
Let me think about that.
I'm figuring here that the DC being 1 on that Knowledge check just means everyone knows it without having to roll, because even a 1 won't fail it.
This is a safe assumption. I often use the forum's formatting strictly to amuse myself rather than any technical need. Mostly just because I can use it to draw attention in interesting ways, and it allows me to segregate information in posts in ways in which I can then admire my own cleverness.