Sky King's Tomb

Game Master Lia Wynn

I think Korox has the right point that ICly Dyrm can agree with . The Dwarves are shaken. Further more, spiritually speaking, an act of humility and tolerance might be seen as balancing the arrogance and intolerance of the past. What better way than to ask an Elf to partake at the center of a ritual?

During the course of the AP, each PC will gain a Relic. Relics are a special type of Invested magical item that can grow with the character who possesses it.

Each relic has a baseline function. Skysunder is a +1 striking clan dagger.

Adamntine Echo, the armor shard is a +1 armor potency rune.

Uniter of Clans is a Diplomat's Badge.

Those Relics maintain that basic functionality and will auto-scale when appropriate.

However, each Relic can also gain three special powers: two minor and one major. The first minor power is gained when it is invested. The second minor power and the major power are gained when certain conditions are met. You will know what those conditions are, and it will be up to you to make a case to me if you think you have met them.

When a power is gained, you will have a choice - each relic has its own list of powers - and I will let you know what the choices are at that time.

If you have questions, toss them out.

Cool visual on the revelation scene. This really came to life for me.

All of the relics are useful, but I would think the dagger would be for someone more inclined to melee than Koros, expecially since he already has a striking rune on his hand crossbow.

The armor potency rune is of course useful to any who wear armor. Korox would take it if nobody else is interested... but see above for more useful for those who frequently enter melee.

Koros is definitely not the talker in the group... so whoever leads in conversation should take the beard clasp.

If we go with purely who has the highest Diplomacy for the Diplomat Badge, then Jaxi is the highest. I'm not sure if she can really be called the "Face" though, since it seems like other characters have had better success on that front.

I don't think you necessarily need a face. In some games you do, but between multiple social skills as well as the luck factor of dice, means that having a single character dedicated to all social style challenges can blow up in your face.

I think that this group has a number of people, as you have shown, that can handle those types of checks.

Also note that the Diplomat's Badge has a very nice activation.

Daggers aren't really Dyrm's thing (beyond the usual dwarven custom) as he much prefers his great axe. He'd consider it an honor to care for Skysunder but would not likely use it.

His preference would likely be Adamntine Echo as more AC is always useful, but he wouldn't put up a fuss for it and others might need to bump their own defenses up

Just so things don't stall, GM Lia, are you waiting on us to start investigating the leads provided, or will there be more information provided?

At this point, I was waiting more on the holiday weekend, and for you to decide what relics you wanted.

The investigation is very free-form. Obviously, the ghost of the king who has been dead for thousands of years can't give you more info than he has, so the investigation itself will be driven a lot by what you all want/choose to do.

Re: the relics.

Jaxi has expressed interest in the Badge.

Korox and Dyrm in Adamantine Echo.

There is a chance for one more relic in this book, and two more in book two, so you will all end up with one.

The Diplomat badge is a good fit for Zothan, since his Escoteric Lore helps with the activation ability, but he’s happy to wait and see what else becomes available.

He already has two weapons with striking runes, so the dagger is not really relevant either.

I’m on a gaming retreat with some friends, so limited posting until Sunday evening.

I could realistically use all three of these items, particularly with my focuses on melee and diplomacy. Particularly the armor rune, given how squishy I am >.<

Well THREE of us eying the armor rune just complicates things. I'll withdraw Dyrm's interest to get it back to 2 again

Jaxi has no use for either the armor rune or the dagger, but I will admit that Zothan is correct about the Esoteric Lore helping with the Diplomat's Badge. Jaxi will let Zothan have it.

While I agree that Halanestra - or really anyone - could use Adamantine Echo, I would argue that Skysunder would be best for her. She might actually use it in melee, and it's a solid melee weapon.

Korox tends to shoot for physical attacks, Jaxi is rarely in melee, and Dyrm uses the axe.

That is not saying she has to take Skysunder, just making an observation.

I actually don't see myself using the dagger, now that I think about it--I'm really relying on my main-gauche as my off-hand for the parry action and its +1 AC. I could switch out the rapier, but I just got the striking rune for it. I'd hate to claim an item that's supposed to grow with me that I don't actually end up using. Also, Halanestra as an elf would feel pretty uncomfortable using a dwarven clan dagger. I'm probably most likely to use it, but not as my primary weapon.

To be blunt, if everyone's just gonna go "Oh I've already got a striking weapon", no one's going to claim it. Everyone who does melee already has striking runes, so it's irrelevant. Does Jaxi have to claim it and literally never use it just so someone has it, rather than it sitting in a bag somewhere? :V

Fair point. I'll take it, then :). If I have better support in melee when I'm not the only one standing against chapter ending bosses, I won't need the parry action as much--and that means more damage!

Alright then, to keep us from going endlessly around in circles, I suggest the following distribution based on everyone's input:

- Korox claim the armor rune
- Halanestra claims the dagger
- Zothan claims the Diplomat's Badge

Dyrm and Jaxi wait and see what else appears. And obviously, we can redistribute if the last two relics are a better fit for someone who already have one.

Sound good?

You can redistribute relics in the future, and as Zothan already knows, and Korox and Halanestra will soon find out, the baseline properties of any relic are just that, baseline properties.

On a side note, the investigation may start out slow. You have allies you can lean on for help, but it is very freeform and gives you a lot of creative and narrative freedom in how you pursue it.

You all can start when ready.

Alright then, to keep us from going endlessly around in circles, I suggest the following distribution based on everyone's input:

- Korox claim the armor rune
- Halanestra claims the dagger
- Zothan claims the Diplomat's Badge

Dyrm and Jaxi wait and see what else appears. And obviously, we can redistribute if the last two relics are a better fit for someone who already have one.

Sound good?

Sounds fine to me!

Just going to point out that Dwarven Clan Daggers do have Parry. So you're not actually giving that up by using it, Halanestra.

Yup, you're right, Jaxi, thank you. I will be claiming the dagger. :)

10-4 Never a bad idea to keep the Healer up. :-)

The game started one year ago today. The group has gone through changes, but you are doing really well and should finish book 1 shortly. We've done a good job with pacing and posting, and overall I am quite pleased.

Thank you. I'm trying to make Dyrm more involved RP wise, as before I had him so introverted that it backfired on me.

Happy anniversary to us!

Hooray! Really looking forward to the next two books :)

I’m about to give up. I may be dense, but I have no idea what I’m supposed to be doing.

Glad you said something; I'm having similar difficulties myself. Everything I come up with is a dead-end. I've been trying to give others in my sub-party a chance to post but I imagine their quietness is borne of the same lack of direction. Besides trying to find Fazil or joining the thieves' guild (... even though Halanestra doesn't do that kind of thing any more...) I'm out of ideas.

To be fair, all the bakery group had done, until Jaxi walked inside, was walk around the building.

At the Broch, Dyrm and Korox are trying to convince a corrupt person to do something out of civic duty. They do have the ability to make progress. They can also leave and link up with the rest of the group.

The real issue here is that you guys did a terrible job, and I don't mean to be harsh when it came to investigating Jirelga's gear. Not everyone rolled, no one rolled on more than one thing. You left non-skill-based ways to examine items unexplored at all, and you made no effort to reach out to people that you had worked with before to see if they could determine anything.

As a result, you are more in the dark than you should be at this point. But, there is no time limit, and this is a good group. You'll figure things out. You also have a lot of tools at your disposal

Sorry for the lack of posting on my part, I've been skimming posts but not had the bandwidth to post. I'll punch in with the bakery group shortly.

In hindsight, perhaps sending all three diplomats off together and leaving the socially awkward dwarves to negotiate with a grumpy prison warden was not the best idea. Let's try to distribute the social skills more evenly in the future.

As for how to handle the warden, may I suggest a bribe? As Lia points out, he's a corrupt individual motivated by profit. Alternatively, let Dyrm put those Intimidation skill points to use.

In general, it's my experience both as a GM and a player that this type of open investigation usually requires a fair bit of handholding and nudging on the GM's part. You've done much of that already, Lia, but if we seem lost, don't be afraid to drop more hints (or ask if we want them).

And throwing us a lifeline when someone is about to make a serious misstep, like Dyrm revealing info we've been asked to keep quiet about, is much appreciated.

As a GM who knows the entire story and all the hidden info, it's easy to think "Why aren't these guys doing all these obvious things?" while all the players are muddling about going "WTF is going on, I'm so lost..."

It's not a sign of poor GM'ing or dense/lazy players, it's just the nature of the beast - especially in PbP where players are often in 3-5 games at a time and skim-reading posts during bathroom breaks while trying to juggle real-life responsibilities and distractions :-)

I will say, Jaxi did point out that the group could investigate the tools that Jirelga had. They were high-quality tools made by a local clan, and there was the option of going to talk to them about when they were made, if they knew what they were being used for, etc etc.

I will say, Jaxi did point out that the group could investigate the tools that Jirelga had. They were high-quality tools made by a local clan, and there was the option of going to talk to them about when they were made, if they knew what they were being used for, etc etc.

That’s a good idea that we can still do once we’re done at our respective locations.

I will say, Jaxi did point out that the group could investigate the tools that Jirelga had. They were high-quality tools made by a local clan, and there was the option of going to talk to them about when they were made, if they knew what they were being used for, etc etc.

Yes, Jaxi did suggest that, but no one actually did that.

That's on us.

I do feel a bit stumped here.

I think a big part of what's been stymieing me with this is the point about keeping things to ourselves regarding our investigation. That's put me in a "don't talk to anyone about anything" mindset, and I have clearly taken that too literally. I was also pretty reticent to just barge in on a potential thieves guild operation given Halanestra's experience and knowing the trouble that kind of thing can bring. I genuinely thought we'd get into a fight with a half-dozen armed guards if we opened the door. The reason I didn't roll to get more info from Jirelga's gear is that the only skill listed was crafting. I have almost everything trained... but crafting is one of four I don't.

Regardless, feedback taken regarding not doing a good job here--though I'm still not sure what you mean by "non-skill-based ways to examine items". I'd love a hint there.

At the Broch, you will not get to see Jirelga. You could find out what it will take to potentially be able to. Dyrm was pretty close on his last roll.

House Tolorr doesn't want you talking about your overall quest. They do not want people to know you are seeking the High King's Tomb. Partly to protect the tomb, mostly to protect *you*. Subparts of what you do, you can talk about, or make up stories about. If that was not clear, I apologize.

Your investigation at the moment is to talk to Jirelga. As long as you don't tell the true why, and with what Dyrm and Korox have found out about the charges against her, once that is shared you'll have ample information to come up with other reasons why you might want to talk to her, even if they are not the real reasons.

You are correct that Crafting was the only skill called for. However, both Dyrm (with Lore: Highhelm) and Halanestra (with Lore: Underworld) could have learned things, you just rolled poorly. You were on the right track, though.

When it comes to overcoming a challenge in a TTRPG, there are four options:

1. Combat.
2. Skills.
3. Allies.
4. Magic.

Well, there is also a fifth: player intuition. You've only extensively used one of those in this, and partly have used another. Of the other two, one has not applied yet, and the other has not been tried in any way.

Campaign Info Spoiler has been updated.

Sorry, some RL stuff going on so I'm a bit slowish. Will try to post tonight

I hope the RL stuff isn't too bad. Please do make a post if you can! It's been almost entirely me and Zothan pushing things forward for the past week and I want others to have a say as well.

Well, I'm back... sort of... work has gotten extremely busy lately, so it's a challenge to find time to post. I'm going to go back and read the entire adventure again this weekend, make some notes, and hopefully figure out what we need to do.

All you need to do is read this week and check the tab in the Campaign Info. You guys have made a lot of progress this week.

So we definitely didn't buy these tools. I don't want to lie to the official if I don't have to--while Halanestra is pretty good at it, she'd rather not be caught in a lie if necessary, and telling the truth is easier. We could just be honest and say we don't have the name and go from there, or ignore the question entirely and focus on other things. Thoughts?

Dyrm tends to favor the truth as a rule. He's a bit of an old school goody two shoes at times

Tell the truth about not buying them, say we came into their acquisition through our own investigation into a related matter, and we were hoping that they could provide us with some information?

Good points. I’ll throw up a post and let Zothan take the lead in the conversation.

I've reorganized the Spoiler tab in campaign info to make it easier to read, and make some things clear, in case any of you want to add to what Zothan has said.

Thanks. I purpously left out mention of Toum Molgrade until he has a chance to respond.

If Zothan is going to be the party's primary face, I'd like to consider training out of my extensive focus on diplomacy--I've spent both a skill increase and a skill feat on it. I understand we can have more than one, particularly for party splitting situations, but I'm not sure it makes sense for me to spend so much on it if I'm not going to be doing most of the talking.

I certainly don’t want to monopolize the role as party spokesperson. And I hope that I have not given that impression. I’m sorry if I have.

Zothan is strong in all three social skills, so it’s natural for him to be an active part of any kind of social encounter, but that should not exclude others from participating. And on the RL front, I often have periods where I’m unable to focus fully on the game, so it’s great for others to jump in and push the conversation forward as Halanestra just did.

If anything, Zothan is actually better at intimidation than diplomacy and will be using demoralize more to resolve conflicts where diplomacy fails, so I could easily see opportunities for some good cop, bad cop situations.

... while Halanestra is apparently more on the friendly side of things, and has reformed from her larcenous ways, she would still bristle at being called a cop, but point taken :)