Carrion Crown (private) (Inactive)

Game Master Whack-a-Rogue

No worries, maybe I can help! You're correct that Harrowstone Prison is where the adventure leads: it's literally in the title of Book One. ;-) You're welcome to explore it at any point: my prior warning was because it's quite dangerous for 1st-level characters. Now that you have more HP and resources, it'll be more manageable.

The block you're currently running into is due to the fact that this is a ghost-hunting adventure, and you haven't finished the "learn the spooky backstory" portion of the investigation. ;-) This is partly due to the fact that the party researcher (Lady Shae) has been dealing with out-of-game difficulties and hasn't been able to do as much as they'd normally be able to in that department. There are also a few things that you may or may not have overlooked....

- The creepy song the children were singing
- Old Man Harkon's drunken mumblings while he was being escorted home
- The reoccurring late-night ringing of the temple bells that Father Grimburrow doesn't know the cause of
- Whatever's being spelled out by the bloody letters
- The stirge attack during Sorsul's performance and the music only Kendra could hear
- The spirit Lady Shae saw in a mirror

For research locations, there's the Professor's library, the temple library (you've learned most of what you can here, though), and the town records (mostly destroyed during the fire, but some might have survived). There are also people in town who know things - you just need to find them. Pevrin isn't going to know anything about the Whispering Way, for example, but he does know a lot about the town and its goings-on. There's also a time component: the monument vandalism doesn't happen every night, so staking out the area once isn't guaranteed to get results. ;-)

You also found a spirit planchette. Its use is limited and slightly risky, but it can potentially be helpful if you're really stuck. :-)
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Ultimately, though, all of this is optional. If you'd prefer to go straight back to the prison and power through, that's perfectly fine: you'll still complete the Book, but you won't necessarily get the information about what's been happening to Ravengro and find a way to stop it. At the end of the day, though, once your in-game month is up, you'll (presumably) be heading to Lepidstadt to deliver the Professor's books and will probably never come back here.

Very useful! Thank you.

Yes thank you, I apologize if I sounded whiney...

@Sorsul: Just making sure I have the mechanics correct. You're using your Shadow Strike talent and turning Gibs's shadow into a Shadow Lurk, correct? That means no fatal thrust since you don't have the Spell Attack feat. I'm guessing the Will Save DC is 16?

Yes! Sorry forgot to delete fatal strike.

Saving throws are 10+ 1/2 level (1) + Casting Stat (5) so yes I believe it is 16

Sariel: As Gibs himself is not undead, abilities that specifically target undead won't work on him.

I was hoping it would work on whatever was possessing him. Let the round stand, if it doesn't have any effect, he will try something new the next round.

There aren't many things that can target a possessing creature, unfortunately. You're looking at certain dispel spells, the Exorcism talent from the Fate Sphere, or attempting to possess the body yourself via magic jar or similar effects.

Bump. If we aren't going to heal him, can we fast forward to the guards?

I was hoping lady shae would chime in, I guess Sariel can 'channel' if we think talking to him is important, if not we should move on.

This is a good time to hit Level Three. Don't forget about the resistance bonus to saving throws!

Going back to Harrowstone at night. Very brave... ;-)

I totally forgot it was night....

I'll get Sariel leveled up...

Level 3! So exciting :D

HP: 6 (class) + 1 (con) + 1 (FCB) = +8
ABP: +1 Resistance
Ref: +1
Skills: +4
BaB: +1
Feat: Steadfast Personality
Armorist: +1 enchantment to natural attacks

It’s really hard to pick what enchantment her natural attacks will get.

Frost feels thematic, but many undead are resistant
Shock works well and not many enemies resist it
Ghost Touch usually don’t do anything…until it is a game changer.

I think the choice is made each time the shadow manifests. So that means ghost touch can be up only when is needed

Sorry for my absence. Birthdays then sickness. But I am around now. <3 Ill get Lady Shae leveled up tomorrow.

It's cool Lady Shae, we get it, RL happens. Honestly, I've started taking a class and it's cut severely into my 'free time.' So, I'm down to seven games (more than half my normal number) and trying to weigh out how many of them to stay in.

With that, here are the changes for Sariel @ lvl 3.
+ 5 HP
+ 1 Fortitude, Reflex, Caster Level
Resistance +1
Channel energy 2d6,
Feat: Necrotic Heart
Magic Talent: Powerful Charm
Skills @ 5: + 1 Influence, Knowledge (arcane), (divine), (History) and Lore (Vampires)

My wife and I are going away for the weekend, we'll be back late Sunday. This will be the first mini-vacation since I started here on the boards that I have not taken my laptop along so as to be able to post. However, I will be able to post Monday morning. It is the weekend, so please bot me only if absolutely necessary to keep things moving.

Have a nice trip!

YBD Is it ok if we assume lady Shae gives Sorsul a 'candy' and move on, or should Sariel use a 'channel energy.?

I'll keep Lady Shae running in the background while we wait to see when/if Garnet is up for taking her back up. As such, she has several spell points available for healing candies (1d6+3), divination (yes/no questions), and fire blasts.

As a heads up…my computer is dead. Until it gets fixed or replaced, I’ll be on my phone only. It shouldn’t matter too much, but it will make using maps harder.

Cool, I saw the heads up in another game, I'll move Sorsul with Sariel until you give us a heads up :)

Thank you, I appreciate it

The safe is free of traps but is securely locked (Disable Device DC 30 to open).

Is it a combination safe or does it use a key?

It uses a key.

Sariel: The second Will save is only for Sorsul. I don't mind switching it to you, but since you failed, you're paralyzed as per hold person. Would you like to change your action?

if you don't mind, I would rather not be paralyzed, so I guess I would change my action. BRB

No problem; that's what I figured. :-)

Sorsul, should we continue on killing skeletons or head back downstairs?

Well…I don’t think there is anything left in the room. We could use Sorsul’s reach and Shae’s bolt to kill them all without expending resources. Just time. But I don’t think it is necessary.

So let’s head downstairs

There's sickness going around work, and it's my turn to catch it. I blame the Kindergartner who sneezed in my face the other day. Hopefully I'll be back in the saddle in a day or two.

Darn those ol' kindergartners, Get feeling better, we're not going anywhere.

Welp, this was the sickest I've been in years, but I'm finally on the mend. I'll try to resume posting tomorrow.

Welcome back! Glad that you are on the mend.

(as the secret door is a DC 17 to notice).

Booooooooo

:)

Hey Sorsul. want to throw an aid another at the perception check, see if we can get the secret door?

Ok, it might be that I'm not remembering because I'm on my first cup of coffee, but:

This is an incorporeal undead. Despite being negative energy, wounds from the axe manifest as bloody cuts, and the blood drawn will turn to smoke and drift to the spirit.

Since Sariel is healed by negative energy, would the attack still do the bleed damage? OR is it possible that the negative energy actually heals the bleed damage it does?

I assume he has to take the bleed damage, but not sure. I'll think about it more while I go get my second cup of coffee.

Because the bleed effect happens after the negative energy, Sariel will still take the bleed damage each round. It'll likely be healed the next time he's attacked, but there's a chance the spirit will switch targets once it realizes its attacks aren't very effective against you. ;-)

Hey Sorsul, Sariel has a 'sorcerers' kit, which not include a rope, but your fighters kit has one, unless you took it out for weight, or aren't carrying it?

Right, good point! I always buy it, but I forgot that it includes that. Good catch

Oh, I forgot to mention: you've already destroyed the Lopper and Mosswater Marauder's manifestations. The Piper's haunt is the prison cells where all the skeletons animated and the spirit attempted to paralyze everyone. You successfully resisted that, so it won't reappear unless you specifically seek it out again.

Sariel: The first thing you notice when you take the spellbook is the name written on the margins of each legible page - your own.

The book contains the following spells: comprehend languages, dispel magic, false life, gust of wind, illusory script[/i], levitate, mage armor, magic missile, and summon monster IV.

Sariel took the collection of holy symbols....

Sorry, I meant Sorsul. That's the downside of the entire party having 'S' names: I get confused on occasion. ;-)

I don't check the boards as much as I used to, I do most of my posting in the morning, then check again a couple of times, early and late afternoon. But rarely post then.

I find myself at a bit of a loss. I try not to sandwich the GM between my own posts, I'd done it a lot in the past and felt like we lose other players. But it feels like in the two games I'm in with both of you (here and Mummies Mask) That everyone is still engaged and just busy in RL.

So, I wanted to ask, YBD, Grumbaki, would you prefer I post whether any other players have and keep things moving, or would you prefer I wait for more interaction?

I don't mind either way and I've played enough with both of you to hope you will be honest. I'm happy to push or happy to wait, I just don't want folks to lose interest.

Any thoughts?

On my end, I do apologize. Just had the family (me, wife and 5 kids) go through a week in UK (3 days Scotland, 2 days York, 1 day Oxford, 1 day London). I’m at the airport about to get onto a flight to Shanghai. I’m trying to keep up with my games but it’s a wee bit difficult. Even before this, the amount of work that went into planning this trip, along with getting my actual work done…for my wife and I we’ve been going to sleep at 2 to 3 each night for awhile. This trip is not usual for us, and I may have underestimated how much time and mental energy it is taking. :p For these games I tend to check, think of what response to do, and come back to it when I get WiFi/some downtime.

All this is to say…I’m here for this game and do thank you for taking the lead in keeping things moving. While I’m trying, it’s obviously not been enough.

Gosh, sounds like a great trip. I knew you were busy and it's totally cool, please don't feel like you've not been 'doing enough' I just wanted to make sure both you and YBD were cool if I kept things moving along. I don't want to monopolize the game, I enjoy playing with you two too much to rush it. But if it's better to keep moving I'm happy to do that.

Five kids, that's like your own basketball team, how do you sleep at all?

We've been in what's essentially a dungeon crawl for quite a while now, so I think it's better to keep things moving. Obviously, if something significant arises, we'll pause for interaction, but the standard "enter a room, read the flavor text, and move on" bits can be sped through unless people really want to slow down. :-)

Also, that trip sounds like an absolute blast, Grumbaki. I hope you and your family are making lots of memories. :-)

This haunt is complicated, so hopefully my explanation makes sense. :-)

Sorsul: When you get a chance, can you put up your attack routine? Physical damage affects this haunt, and a character's WIS damage can be removed if the corresponding letters are targeted.

So we are waiting for Sursul to roll and attack against the letters?

If so, my apologies! Also it seems like the dice gods punished me for the lapse.

Would it be possible to know what the to hit roll needed is? It would help in providing flavor text.

No worries! There's no to-hit roll required to hit the wall, so you just need to make a damage roll. :-)

Now's a good time to mention that the Splatter Man is bound to this chamber, so if he starts to overwhelm you, feel free to retreat. This is also the last real combat of the module. :-)