GM Cellion's Rusthenge + Seven Dooms for Sandpoint Double Feature

Game Master Cellion

I've pinged both of them again. If I don't hear from them soon I'll just transfer their characters into the background and scale things down for the three of you. Thanks for botting in the meantime San!

Would it be worth recruiting a player, whose character could be from Iron Harbor?

The other option is to see if Tao had any inkling of returning (or also with another character).

San: would you like to split the botting duties in the meantime so that it's not all on you?

I'm open to someone else botting one of them if they want. Level one non-casting characters are pretty simple though. It's no big deal. Bastiano with all his investigator things is the biggest complication. My strategy with them is to keep Bastiano out of major danger and Sidonie, seeing the other guy go down so easily, was going to try to knock the other one out. Figuring the teen wouldn't want to kill as a first thought.

Side note, do we get some kind of Harry Potter/Tardus tent if we take these people out!! I mean, no... we shouldn't just murder people for their loot...

You're doing great San! I'm swamped with work, so I have my hands full just controlling Autumn.

I'm open to someone else botting one of them if they want. Level one non-casting characters are pretty simple though. It's no big deal. Bastiano with all his investigator things is the biggest complication. My strategy with them is to keep Bastiano out of major danger and Sidonie, seeing the other guy go down so easily, was going to try to knock the other one out. Figuring the teen wouldn't want to kill as a first thought.

Side note, do we get some kind of Harry Potter/Tardus tent if we take these people out!! I mean, no... we shouldn't just murder people for their loot...

Let me know which one you'd rather keep and I'll bot the other.

As a small update, I spoke with Bastiano's player and he's planning on stepping down from the game at least for now, given his real-life workload. I'll check with him on whether he's OK with his character continuing on for a short while as a botted bonus character. No word yet from Sidonie.

I am open to adopting an additional player to bring us back to 4 active people, however since we are mid way I would prefer to pick up a player you know and vouch for who is interested rather than opening a recruitment. If we're still low when we wrap up Rusthenge and head into Seven Dooms I'll start a proper recruitment to fill in the remaining spot. Based on my discussion with Tao when they left, they weren't interested in the style of game this is.

Let me know if you all have any suggestions for pick ups.

Let me check with some people I trust and gauge interest.

I'm pretty new to 2e and the boards so I don't have any suggestions.

Know anyone personally? No so much. There's a group of people on a discord server that regularly recruit for games. I joined a Kingmaker game that started in 2019. A few members came in and out in that time including the GM but one of the other players took up the mantle. I can ask if anyone wants to jump in here or at the start of Seven Dooms.

I have an applicant that I’m going to send your way GM.

San has a single elixir of life purchased for just such an occasion. The one he offered to Tao back on the island in fact.

But he is still sickened. Would that cause a complication?

Hello everyone! GM Cellion has invited me to join this game. I'm starting to read through the original recruitment post, etc.

I'll be creating my character from scratch. What roles do each of your characters play in the party? What gaps would you like me to consider filling? I want to make sure my PC complements your team well.

Feel free to reach out with any questions. I'm looking forward to playing with you!

Well, unless things get better quickly, San will be playing the role of corpse... otherwise he's an archer fighter with the plan to eventually take eldritch archer. He has a particular interest in magical artifacts represented by his training in arcana and occultism as well as planning to take the quick id skill feat at lvl 2. We're currently hurting for a tanky front line but dont let that sway you to much. We started off pretty squishy anyway. I was trying to be a stand-in but San doesn't have the Con to last long. Our plan to kite enemies doesn't last long when I forget to run away...

Welcome to the game!

But he is still sickened. Would that cause a complication?

Dang, I forgot that you can’t drink potions while sickened. Does San have any hero points left? Autumn’s first aid will literally be a roll of the dice.

@Warah: Welcome to the game! Looking forward to gaming with you!

Autumn is an occult caster (Sorcerer, Hag bloodline). She serves as a face (all 3 social skills) with a penchant for deception and leans heavily into enchantment and illusion magic. Next level I plan on taking the ‘Lie to Me’ skill feat; I might also take the rogue archetype to add Stealth and Thievery to her skills.

As for our gaps, I think they would be healing (as exemplified by San’s current situation) and a front line tank.

Welcome Warah!

For everyone else: I forgot to mention it because we jumped into RP at the beginning of Iron harbor, but you all should have gotten another hero point after rescuing Ordwi! Hope that helps.

Thanks for the input! After reading through most of the Seven Dooms Player's Guide (through the end of the Sandpoint Gazetteer) and skimming the Gameplay tab (mostly just reading GM Cellion's posts), I think I'm caught up enough to begin assembling a character.

I'm leaning towards a Desnan warpriest cleric with the Cathedral Child background. Perhaps she received a letter from a relative in Iron Harbor, asking for help. She had left before the man washed ashore in Sandpoint, and has been staying with her relative in Iron Harbor since her arrival. As soon as she finds out that folks from Sandpoint are poking around town, she'll come looking for you. Thoughts?

That sounds great to me!

Agreed, sounds good!

That sounds good to me - arriving to Iron Harbor by a slightly different vector but for a similar goal. Feel free to send me any characters you'd like me to include as you fill out your backstory in more detail.

@Warah: It may help if your PC knows at least some of the party. Autumn works part-time as a salesperson at the Sandpoint Boutique, and frequents Sandpoint Savories to indulge her sweet tooth.

Introducing Morga Blackhammer! She was born to lowly laborers in Sandpoint--definitely the bottom tier of society. Her parents managed to get her a spot as Abstalar Zantus's acolyte, where she's been ever since. A bit of her backstory is at the bottom of her profile page.

As far as relationships with the other PCs is concerned, perhaps any of them might have hired her parents for menial jobs and vaguely know her through them, or perhaps they've met through the Cathedral's scribing services. Thoughts?

I'll wait to dot into gameplay until this character is officially approved by GM Cellion, and I'll wait to make my first post until I get the go-ahead.

Looks like a great addition! Trained in medicine and divine font? I appreciate all the healing abilities but don't feel like you have to play Heal bot...

San's parents own a small curio shop in Sandpoint. They could have hired you and yours for some project or another I'm sure. Being elves, they've been there a long while.

Here are my thoughts on how our characters could be connected:

--Vildran: Being a scribe at the cathedral, she may have helped him with some tangential research at some point. Or she healed him when he sprained an ankle on a hike.

--San: When she was still young, her parents probably brought her along on some jobs for his parents at their shop.

--Autumn: Possibly Autumn could've paid Morga to carry home her shopping haul/groceries a time or two in the past.

--Vildran: Being a scribe at the cathedral, she may have helped him with some tangential research at some point. Or she healed him when he sprained an ankle on a hike.

The 2nd option fits his clumsy haplessness better :)

@Morga Sounds like a good connection. She was the "kid" that San had to keep company while the adults conversed/worked.

As for the current situation... we have some distance on the pursuing... I'm going to call them cultists...

Anyway, we could have our NPCs continue to flee while the three of us use longer ranged options to deter them from chasing. I can shoot a long way away with penalties only getting more accurate as they get closer. Up to 120 feet is only a -2. It looks like the longest ranged options for spells is 60 ft. Maybe we can do some illusory object shenanigans to create "cover" we can use to fall back through.

Even if we do get back to the mainland, where do we go now that they are actively chasing? Going back to Elsie's is not a good plan. Back to the boat and get out to the water? Run to the other Thessalonians to see how they react to their VIP passenger performing some sort of ritual?

In the context of an adrenaline fueled chase the first hope is they stop chasing at some point. Eg can they exit the circle of spires? Have they already?

If they do keep on us, we have a nice sudden excuse to bang on the door of stone home for help.

@Morga: That’s a good idea, but unfortunately it doesn’t fit with how I view Autumn’s personality or finances. I think it would suffice if they’ve seen each other once at the cathedral; San & Vildran can vouch for Morga and that’ll be enough.

For our current predicament, I’d say let’s worry about the cultists first. It appears we must choose between (a) dropping our prisoner so that we can move at full speed and successfully run away, or (b) standing and fighting so that we can keep our prisoner. Am I right that San is leaning towards (b)?

Yep, keep the prisoner so we can get information about this ritual they were performing. Standing, not so much. Keep running away but stop to shoot at them every so often. They will eventually catch up, most likely before we can drop any of them...

Perhaps dropping the prisoner and running away is the better option after all.

@Autumn: Works for me! I was just guessing.

Yep, keep the prisoner so we can get information about this ritual they were performing. Standing, not so much. Keep running away but stop to shoot at them every so often. They will eventually catch up, most likely before we can drop any of them...

Okay, I'm good with this idea. We run with the prisoner, but San pauses every round to fire an arrow or two at the cultists--he'll be able to keep pace with those slowed by carrying the prisoner. Could San post to this effect? I'm not sure that Autumn would come up with this.

Maybe we can try to beg another healing potion off Elsie and happen to run in to another willing victim... I mean party member :)

I think interrogating at the boat is the best chance of finding someone to heal San to full health. :)

Somewhere in town, a dwarf visiting from Sandpoint overhears some gossip about another group of Sandpointers asking questions around town. Huh. What are the odds? Guess I ought to go say hi. ... Especially if they are looking into Stonehome. Brooding ominously about the fate of her great-aunt, she asks the gossips where she might cross paths with them.

San's player says there's still a question mark on the map we can explore before returning to get our collective butts whupped again and before kicking the hornets nest that is Stonehome. I was grasping at straws for an in character reason to go there though.

Sorry, that's a bit too metagamey for me. I can't think of a good IC reason to investigate the hut.

No worries! That's why I put my reasoning here.

Sorry, super busy today, no time for a proper post tonight. Autumn will follow the group in sleeping at Elsie's or Morga's.

Despite not wanting to tangle with the cynthigot again, we can try Rusthenge again in the morning.

Also, a vote to stay at Morga's relatives' house. No need to keep imposing on Elsie. Especially now that I'm running a tab...

Vildran had agreed that rusthenge became more urgent. The thing he hadn’t said is he also agrees they ought to get out of. Elsie’s hair since a shop makes less ideal lodging.

I agree with staying at Morga's and heading to Rusthenge. Given the likelihood of combat (with the cythnigot in particular), would it make sense for Vildran to prepare all Force Barrage spells tomorrow?

Yeah, he can do that. He'll just have to be extra careful to stay away from direct melee without his mystic armor (mage armor).

Looking at my spell selections for tomorrow. I'm leaning towards Bless and Fear.

Other options: Runic Weapon for San or Sanctuary (either cast it on someone who's about to die or on myself once it's time to start spending my turns healing)

@Morga: The cultists we fought last time were pretty easy to take down--no more than 8 hp, and no special abilities of note.

But the cythnigot was super tough. It had resistance to piercing damage, and I fear it may be immune to mental effects (it completely resisted Autumn's Daze spell) so I might replace Fear with Runic Weapon or Sanctuary. I'll try to put up a post later today to share this info IC.

Thanks! Runic Weapon should help San break even against the resistance, so I'll go with that.

Today's preparations:
Cantrips (1st Rank): Divine Lance, Guidance, Haunting Hymn, Rousing Splash, Stabilize
1st: Bless, Runic Weapon

Btw, I caught up with Sidonie's player. She was interested in continuing, but was tight on time to catch up and do so. For now, we'll assume that Sidonie is "off screen", and therefore not participating in any fights, but that she may be available to rejoin you guys later on.

Sweet! Sounds good. I'm sure the plucky adventurer's niece can swoop in from her hiding spot to rescue us when things turn bad again....

At least it looks like the sacrificed the dog over night? Do they just have a whole kennel of them in this tent?

I would say just collapse the tent but we don't get any information that way.

@San: Let's at least see what's inside first (though I'd prefer to cut a hole in the back than enter through the front) and then we can burn it down later. :)

Rolling knowledge? Na, San just does things. Now when it comes to particular artifacts, he'll try to know things.

It's funny that I should technically roll Thievery untrained as it's one better but I think using the trained skill makes more sense.

The crits give and take.

Btw, I will be traveling for the next week. I expect to update during this trip, but the posts will likely be at odd times.