GM Peachbottom's War for the Crown

Game Master Peachbottom

Also, I'm wondering if I would somehow be able to contact the local Pathfinder lodge to try and buy some scrolls of Aram Zey's Focus to make sure we'll be able to disable magical traps. I know it's a faction specific spell, and Xallis asking is the rough equivalent of trying to get an employee discount at a place you quiet 2 years ago and haven't called since. But it's always worth a shot.

Probably should have spent my Persona phase on that haha

Oh, and if possible I'd like to spend my trait for free weekly consumables to get a scroll of lesser restoration. That seems like something that would be good for the party.

Yes, to both of those. You can get the scrolls of Aram Zey's Focus and use your trait to get the lesser restoration.

Hey @Xallis and @GM, I realized last night that Henrika's circlet of persuasion should apply to her initiative too. It says "all Charisma-based checks" and Henrika's initiative is based on Charisma because of her Noble Scion feat. However, it's a competence bonus, so it doesn't stack with her cracked dusty rose prism ioun stone. So Xallis can save his 450gp, and just take Henrika's.

Also, it looks like Xallis was using Diplomacy for his Persona improvement roll, and I believe Xallis has a once-per-persona-phase bonus of +4 to Bluff or Diplomacy, which would make his reroll a success.

Oh, and @Trevor, the circlet of persuasion uses the head slot, not the headband slot, so you can wear both it and a headband of inspired wisdom. :)

Hey @Xallis and @GM, I realized last night that Henrika's circlet of persuasion should apply to her initiative too. It says "all Charisma-based checks" and Henrika's initiative is based on Charisma because of her Noble Scion feat. However, it's a competence bonus, so it doesn't stack with her cracked dusty rose prism ioun stone. So Xallis can save his 450gp, and just take Henrika's.

Okay. Yes, if you use Charisma for initiative, the circlet of persuasion will apply to your initiative bonus.

Also, it looks like Xallis was using Diplomacy for his Persona improvement roll, and I believe Xallis has a once-per-persona-phase bonus of +4 to Bluff or Diplomacy, which would make his reroll a success.

Okay. Good catch. Xallis' result is a success. His Charm facet goes up to 9 and he gets the Friend in High Places bonus (the same as I posted for Henrika). That bonus seems to be the same no matter which facet reaches 9 ranks.

Oh, and @Trevor, the circlet of persuasion uses the head slot, not the headband slot, so you can wear both it and a headband of inspired wisdom. :)

Trevor's Envoy Ring gives the same bonus and doesn't stack. That's why he's getting rid of it.

Trevor's Envoy Ring gives the same bonus and doesn't stack. That's why he's getting rid of it.

Oh, whoops. That makes sense!

For Henrika's Highly-Placed Friend, would the former lieutenant and presumably now commander of the Taldan Horse qualify? I figure it should be someone pretty high up in the military who would value Henrika's family name, and who might have the support to be able to stand with her against Maxillar Pythareus.

Oh, good catch(es) Henrika! I'll spare myself the gold on that ioun stone and maybe pick up a different item in its stead.

Feels nice being one point away from the top of a political ladder. May have to plan a special event for the Big Ten.

Does the Warpriest have a visible Spell Component Pouch or Divine Focus?

The warpriest has a silver holy symbol of Gorum. I assume you are asking so you can use Abadar's Crossbow. The holy symbol would be worn around her neck, so I'll let you try it.

Tychus, question. I was looking at your character sheet when working on a post. Where does the +2 shield bonus to Tychus' AC come from?

I also realized that I should be acknowledging your grit points. Maybe you've kept track on your own. But Tychus definitely has gotten a bunch of critical hits and kills. I'll try to make a mental note to mention earning grit points from those situations.

Gunslinger and Inquisitor are both classes that I don't have a lot of familiarity with. So feel free to remind me of anything I might overlook.

The spell affects all enemies in a 30' radius "who hear it," which I assume includes Embla, even though she's invisible. I am looking forward to seeing which way you rule on whether or not this is considered an attack for the purposes of confusion. :)

I'd say a normal demoralize action might be a gray area. But since blistering invective is a spell that results in damage, I think it's safe to say it is an attack. So Henrika will draw the attention of all of the confused enemies. Until someone else hits one of them. My understanding of confusion is that confused enemy will target whoever attacked it last.

Also, yes, Embla is affected. Invisibility does not protect her.

Tychus, question. I was looking at your character sheet when working on a post. Where does the +2 shield bonus to Tychus' AC come from?

I also realized that I should be acknowledging your grit points. Maybe you've kept track on your own. But Tychus definitely has gotten a bunch of critical hits and kills. I'll try to make a mental note to mention earning grit points from those situations.

Gunslinger and Inquisitor are both classes that I don't have a lot of familiarity with. So feel free to remind me of anything I might overlook.

Magical Buckler we had found a while back. Row 100 in the Treasure sheet. If I attack I lose the 2 AC for the round.

For the Grit, I've been tracking it back and forth.

Good call on the attack, Tychus-- I don't think Hulgra can take an attack of opportunity against Tychus, because she is confused and currently focused on Malphene.

Confusion is my favorite status effect to have in this game. Hell, it's more fun than some buffs.

That confusion spell really removed all spellcasting and tactics from the fight. My only consolation is the enemies can still hit in melee decently.

I'm guessing that Huldra would have been a lot more (terrifyingly!) effective if she could swift-cast buffs, so kudos to Tychus for removing her holy symbol too!

Hey GM, another question about the confused condition: it says the character cannot tell the difference between friend or foe. Does that mean it cannot provide a flank to allies? Or maybe that it provides a flank to allies AND enemies? :)

"A confused creature cannot tell the difference between ally and foe, treating all creatures as enemies."

The confused character isn't anyone's ally but they are threatening everything within their reach, so a confused character could provide flanking for both enemies and allies.

Even though under confusion it says the confused character won't make attacks of opportunity against anyone besides their current target, I think they are still considered threatening the other spaces around them for the purposes of flanking and such.

Confusion is my favorite status effect to have in this game. Hell, it's more fun than some buffs.

To clarify, I mostly mean on my own PCs. Losts of fun roleplay.

Also! As an eidolon, Navia is not banished at negative HP. She's actually knocked out and bleeding like any normal PC. She is only banished when killed (or hit with a banish spell, naturally) It just that her last banishing was due to being completely atomized by a goat.

Also! As an eidolon, Navia is not banished at negative HP. She's actually knocked out and bleeding like any normal PC. She is only banished when killed (or hit with a banish spell, naturally) It just that her last banishing was due to being completely atomized by a goat.

Oh okay. Then I'll put her back. She's at -4.

I'm guessing that Huldra would have been a lot more (terrifyingly!) effective if she could swift-cast buffs, so kudos to Tychus for removing her holy symbol too!

Warpriests can be scary!

In the treasure, there's a +1 longsword that Malphene can upgrade her masterwork longsword with. There's a ring of protection +1 if any cohorts need. And did you guys ever decide who is taking the luckstone?

Henrika has the luckstone.

So, what to do with the Bravos? Julania said not to kill them-- what did she have in mind? I would assume we are interrogating them, and the foremost question on Henrika's mind is: Where is Merkondus? Now that it's clear (from what the bard said) that Merkondus is overtly acting against the council, we should seize him before he can flee, and also collect evidence of his double dealings.

For dividing the treasure, Jack's already got a cloak of resistance +1 and a ring of protection +1.

Tychus would prefer to keep them alive if possible. Can he do a Knowledge (Religion) check to see if Gorumites would generally prefer to die in battle?

You know, I'm happy with my latest post but I am just now realizing I pretty much locked everyone else out until the GM replies again.

Oops.

It happens sometimes, but usually we can roll with the time differences between us pretty well! I thought it was a great post too. :)

Happy Easter

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend! The show I'm currently in opened on Friday, so I've been busy and tired but I'm coming back to things now. :)

I'll get a post in soon. Just doing some catch up at work.

"Speaking of which, our last 'friendly conversation' reminded me that I should set some gold aside for a contingency. I assume you all are well off enough to consider the same thing. When we next get the chance, we should pool our resources and make sure we can call in that favor in a day's notice."

Bluff to pass a secret message: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (3) + 16 = 19

I'm sorry. I've been trying to figure out what you are saying but I can't figure out what you are trying to imply.

Raise dead money

Raise dead money

Yeah that. The mercs turned down Xallis' offer but it also reminded me, the player, that we're at that level where death becomes a curable status ailment.

This is all Henrika's fault! :D

Henrika, can you recommend how Trevor can help you?

I figure this is us trying to convince Abrun that the Earl's accusation is flawed. If there's a skill check (I'd imagine Bluff because Henrika is changing the truth so as not to accuse Merkondus before we have proof) Trevor could aid the skill check. Or maybe you want to kiss up to Abrun with Diplomacy, to try to emphasize that we aren't the type to just murder people on the street for no reason: Would people who stuck up for the restaurateur like we did kill innocent people? If you think Henrika is sunk, you could claim you weren't there and try to help her from the outside if she gets imprisoned. :)

Yes, I know I made the encounter with the Earl kinda short. But I didn't really know where I was going with it. The Earl is probably cleverer than I am.

I figured he was trying to goad us into accusing him of attacking us without evidence. Fortunately Embla and the Bravos cautioned us not to do so until we had ironclad proof.

Nonetheless, that was an ass-puckering encounter! I was so worried for Trevor and his crew there for a minute!!

Yes, I know I made the encounter with the Earl kinda short. But I didn't really know where I was going with it. The Earl is probably cleverer than I am.

You know, I was half expecting us to have to deal with a whole trial subplot. Witnesses, judges, trying to make sure the jury wasn't being tampered with while being subtle enough to not look like we're tampering with the jury, etc. Play the track.

But it feels like we squashed it early with solid evidence in our defense. The case died before it could leave the nest!

I would suggest we invest in a scroll of raise dead with the 5k reagent cost rolled into it. That way between the divine casters and UMD we have ways to cast it. And another fun trick I did in Pathfinder Society was to buy 10 to 20 bags of diamond dust for restoration, each containing 100g worth. That way we can use them seperately or in batches of 10 for permenant negative levels.

Also, a wand of lesser restoration could be a godsend of an investment in case we deal with some nasty stat draining across multiple party members, which is a thing that can start happening at this level. And even if it doesn't, we have a cost efficient well of ability score repair that could last us halfway between here and endgame.

Now, what to do with the persona phase...

I'm down for party death insurance! ;)

I'm currently having computer issues at home. And it's a no-no to post at work, but I'm gonna try. Just wanted to let you know posting will be more sporadic until I get my computer fixed.

Okay, so for your raise dead kit, including material components in the scroll cost:

(1) Scroll of Raise Dead costs 6,125 gp

And since raise dead bestows 2 permanent negative levels, you'll also need 2 scrolls of restoration because each casting of restoration only removes 1 permanent negative level at a time.

(2) Scrolls of Restoration costs 3,400 gp (1,700 gp each)

And if you want to throw in a fully charged wand of lesser restoration, that'll be 4,500 gp.

_6,125
_3,400
+4,500
------
14,025 gp
-1,402.5 (10% discount)
------
12,622.5 gp final cost

This consumes just about all of the 13,160.5 gold you just received, leaving you with 538 gp remaining.

You can split that between you, for 107.6 gp each.

I'll update the treasure sheet to include these items.

Looks like people need a little more time to post, so I'll give you all another day.

Tomorrow I'll be away I'll day, so I won't be able to make a post.

Thanks for advancing the campaign, GM Peachbottom. For the life of me, I couldn't remember exactly what we learned about The Twilight Child!!

For the life of me, I couldn't remember exactly what we learned about The Twilight Child!!

Initially Icabhod’s agents investigated and reported the following:

Investigating the area around the Encircling Bower Theater and seeking out members of the Cult of the Twilight Child, the agents easily find open, honest, ordinary people who profess to be members of the cult. Although most members live near the theater, people from all over Yanmass have joined. Citizen cult members relate the following information. The agents report that the cult members’ openness and honesty was unnerving.

• Services are held at dusk every day; well-behaved visitors are always welcome.

• The cult’s headquarters is the former theater called the Encircling Bower. This once-grand place has become badly run down but is being gradually renovated. During ceremonies, congregants sit in the theater seats while the leaders administer the ceremonies from the stage.

• The high-ranking cult members all wear distinctive clothing: a sky-blue skullcap with a veil, and a tunic with a pattern of overlapping circles. Most of the higher-ranking members are aasimars, and so locals assume they’re trustworthy.

• The most anticipated part of each service is the appearance of the Twilight Child, the risen Prince Carrius, who speaks prophetic statements and performs miracles during the service. He literally rises up from a hole in the center of the stage during the service.

• The ceremonies stress community, togetherness, and reliance on nobility. Many tenets of the church of Abadar are used within the cult teachings, so most cult members assume the cult is an offshoot of, or perhaps even sanctioned by, the church of Abadar.

• The cult is entirely positive and benign, although some members have seen a strange figure watching them from rooftops or dark alleys as they come or go from the theater: a bald human man in gray and red robes wearing a red leather bird mask. All the cult members that have seen this man find him ominous and suspicious, but he’s never spoken with anyone.

Then Julania attended a service and reported the following:

The Encircling Bower is a circular building topped with a domed roof painted sky-blue with wispy white clouds. All visitors were welcome in the service and the auditorium was nearly packed to capacity when she attended.

10 Minutes before Dusk: An aasimar high cultist dressed in an outfit of a sky-blue skullcap, veil, and long tunic with a pattern of overlapping circles, quieted the guests and asked them to take their seats. She briefly acknowledged me and a few other new attendees and pointed us out publicly and welcomed us to the Cult of the Twilight Child with a wide smile. Sentries locked the entrances and then took up positions near the stage.

Dusk: The leader and three more high cultists came on stage. All were identically dressed and led a simple chant in Celestial as they walked in circles around the stage. The chant was repetitive and easy to follow even though I do not speak Celestial. Cult members in the audience chanted along, and some rang bells or chimes they had brought with them.

10 Minutes after Dusk: Nozzles around the stage sprayed a golden mist that slowly covered the stage and the audience. A feeling of euphoria came over me at this time.

15 Minutes after Dusk: The leader gave a short homily about the value of the cult as a community. Cult members in the audience seemed to hang on to her words.

30 Minutes after Dusk: Prince Carrius, who they call the Twilight Child, levitated up through a trap door in the floor and hovered just over the stage. Prince Carrius was hollow-eyed and dressed in golden robes with circle motifs. Although I’ve never seen the prince in person, he matched the description of Princess Eutropia’s departed brother.

After the prince rose, the leader pointed out a member in the audience and said, “Risen Prince, here is a man, a baker, whose neighbors owe him debts.” Carrius responded, “That which is owed to you shall be repaid, and shall multiply, as your dough rises beyond the pan.”. The man appeared assured by the prince’s words.

Then the leader selected a member in the audience who appeared ill and called her to come up on the stage. The leader held her shoulder while Prince Carrius gestured over the woman. Afterwards the woman exclaimed that she was cured and the cult members praised the restorative powers of the prince.

40 Minutes after Dusk: The prince descended back through the trap door. The leader asked the audience for those who had previously received the prince’s assurances to stand and testify to the prince’s power. Several members stood and attested to an improvement in their station, and they ascribed this to the miraculously risen prince.

50 Minutes after Dusk: The aasimar high cultists led the attendees in a few hymns. The leader left the stage between the hymns to great applause. The service ended, the guards unlocked the exits, and the cult members were invited to leave and go forth to spread the word of the cult. The high cultists retired backstage. Some cultists left offerings of fine food, money, or other items on the stage as they left. Many attendees chatted good-naturedly as they exited.

One Hour after Dusk: The cult sentries ushered out any lingering members and locked up the theater. Afterwards, I returned back here to report.

Sorry for the lax posting lately. Sleep schedule has been a parody of itself lately. I'll get something up tonight.

Also, Julania was used in my last Persona roll so she isn't around.

Also also, would Navia have noticed any of the invisible assassins with her 30 ft tremorsense?

Also, Julania was used in my last Persona roll so she isn't around.

Also also, would Navia have noticed any of the invisible assassins with her 30 ft tremorsense?

Okay. I'll remove Julania when I can.

As for the tremorsense, I did think about that but I didn't want to ruin the narrative so I hope you'll bear with me on this one. The attackers were in the church and invisible before you arrived. And I'm going to say they didn't move until they attacked so Navia only senses them the same round as they attack.

Technically, I know tremorsense just says you can sense anything on the ground. It doesn't say they have to move but I want to say if they are perfectly still, they aren't making vibrations to sense, at least for this encounter.

Fair enough. Worst case scenario, maybe Navia noticed a few vibrations and barely had time to begin to voice her concern before they struck.

But next level she'll be getting blindsense ;)

For the purposes of this encounter, do we consider Abrun at risk of bleeding out?

No, he’s not at risk. You just need to deal with the Hired Blades, then you can tend to him.