[Farol / PF2] Prey for death

Game Master Farol

Foreseeing great opportunity to defend, or replace, the Blood Mistress, our conspiratorial hero communes first with the Mysterious Ng before He Who Walks in Blood.

"Mysterious Ng! That I will never know nor understand your motives and movements, trust now that you may be unable to predict mine. A great upheavel plagues the ranks of the Red Mantis, the organization I have all these years infiltrated, seeking to place myself at the center of their Great Libray of Profane Lore. Today, I pray that my Commitment to Wander be blessed by your Invisible Gauntlet. There is No Knowledge that is not Power!"

"He Who Walks in Blood! That the Deity of War should fall by your Sabre is a Testament to the Fear that All should feel for you. I, your Humble Servant, come now to the Defense of the Greatest Organization that carries out your Divine Will. Know that those who seek to Sow Seeds of Discord will come to a Bloody Reckoning. May our Conduct continue with the Integrity only those in the Highest Profession can Embody!"

In the morning, new insights come with his understanding of magic, as walking the thinnest path between Gods has taught him that the truest expression of magic must be flexible!

Sien activates the invisibility rune on his armor and slips in to the city.

Stealth: 1d20 + 29 ⇒ (15) + 29 = 44

Or maybe he doesn't. NOBODY KNOWS.

After observing the people entering for a bit, Ann hides behind a bush to change into regular-looking clothes and attempts to hide in the crowd as it meanders into the city.

Stealth: 1d20 + 25 ⇒ (11) + 25 = 36
If you think Deception would be more appropriate, the roll's result becomes 32.

Hammid heads to a known safehouse, and activates his network.

Stealth

Stealth (Master) vs Ilizmagorti: 1d20 + 26 ⇒ (2) + 26 = 28

You split and try to enter with the wave of people, You agree beforehand where will you meat I guess at Moonlight safehouse? Or in some taverns and then you will go there

Sien passes through without any complicaitons, the number of merchants, mercenarioes and others people of doubtful professions are always plenty to get in. You learn along the way that normal people tend ot pay tax to enter and to leave, and the level of the tax varies depending if someone is living in the city or not. It cna be anything form 1 silver piece, 1 gold or 100 gold.

Ketsu follows through another gate, and her attempt is closer to being spotted, but she also is able to pass without much trace.

Ann Does better and gets in... however Moonlight, well, Moonlight tries to sneak behind the cart he is pushed by it to a wall and gets spotted

"You! Trying to sneak into the city? Who are you and what are you doing here"

You see a group of 3 guards now looking at you, and you definitely bring attention to yourself.

Moonlight how do you handle it, before we get into the city and do some rolls, use networks etc

Are we close enough together so that we can help each other out?

◆◆) Figment

Deception w/ Untrained Improvisation w/ Figment (+2) vs Guards: 1d20 + 15 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 15 + 2 = 18

Hammid draws on his Vernai training to create the sounds of something approaching them from the rear, but...

Wow, I think the dice don't want you to get in.

About are you around, well depends on definition of splitting the party. Would you split it to be in a eye contact with one another? would you observe the gate after passing through? Up to you to decide

There are four armed guards at the gate, and plenty of bystanders and watchers. You suspect that breaking in could be done, but that it catch a lot of attention.

The guard seeing what is happening grabs the sword.

"You are trying to sneak in without paying!" he yells and all guards are looking at you holding their arms

"Leave and don't come back! You have no entrance to the city!"

They kick you out, You got awarded with 1 visibility point, such event will raise awarness and given enough of those you will be targeted. On this gate the difficulty will be harder and if caught again outcome can be worse. You can spend 1 hour traveling to another gate. But now, Moonlight is outside and everyone else is inside. So unless you have magical ways of contacting you can not coordinate.

Is Moonlight likely within 500 feet of a quiet, unobtrusive spot where Sien can Cast a Spell for 1 minute? If so, Sien will find a quiet spot, use a scroll of clairvoyance (casting time 1 min, range 500 feet), and see what Moonlight is up to. If Moonlight moves to another gate, Sien will advocate that we all move parallel to him, and Aid his entry somehow.

Sien has Read Lips, so he should be able to tell what people are saying through Clairvoyance. If it seems reasonable for Moonlight to know this about Sien, Moonlight could even mouth his plans, knowing Sien might be watching.

Unless it's very obvious that it wouldn't work, I'm going to say that Sien uses one of his (two) scrolls anyway, even if the chances are slim that it would work. Like, even if Moonlight happens to be out of range, but Sien thinks he might have been in range, Sien would use the scroll anyway.

I feel like Ann would've recommended scattering immediately upon entering, just in case of a situation like this. That way the whole group couldn't be implicated.

Per the previous agreement, Ann is waiting within sight of the rendezvous point. What's taking them so long? She itches to go find out, but feels that the chances of passing each other like ships in the night are not in her favor. And so she waits.

How much is 500 feet, some feet are bigger than others ... 154 meters, yeah you should be able to do it

Sien finds and inn nearby the gate and finds a restroom, the stench is unbearable but he soldiers through. Sounds from the next cabin would work nicely to cover Sien's casting incantation, what would you do for a fellow assassin. He is able to cast a spell breathing when he thinks he would pass out ...

Sien seens and hears guard catching moonlight

"Leave and don't come back! You have no entrance to the city!"

What moonlight will gonna do. Moonlight has a mask right? No lips are visible? Just for the technicality of that.

Moonlight leaves and doesn't come back...

...at least, not visibly...

Moonlight leaves and doesn't come back...

...at least, not visibly...

◆◆) Invisibility (Rank 2)

Stealth (Master) vs Ilizmagorti: 1d20 + 26 ⇒ (20) + 26 = 46

Sien watches Moonlight cast a spell, and then he drops the kids off at the pool before reporting that Moonlight is probably making another pass through the same gate.

Since Sien wouldn't have known Moonlight's roll, he would have attempted to create a distraction. Using his charlatan's gloves, Sien picks up a piece of meat from a local vendor and drops it between two dogs for them to fight over.

Moonlight vanishes like darkness at dawn slips through the gate, without a sound. He goes down the streets making sure to time the end of the spell when no one can see him, to not just pop up randomly.

Later on you meet at the designated spot.

And now you face a decision, you know that your guild is searching for you, which means that a lot of contacts that you may had could not be trust worthy. You should stay in the city without leaving traces as you expect that someone may be checking inns and taverns.

[ooc] Do you go with disguises? Sleeping on the street alleys/ stealing food? Looking for abandoned building? How will you start asking around who could be involved to start follow the trail to understand who would be responsibile?
Every action can result in you gaining visibility points sending assassins after you... dam dam dam [/oor]

Ann suggests: "I think we should sleep in separate locations, and not necessarily at the same time. The less our schedules align, the harder it will be to pin us down."

She takes a few moments to ponder how to infiltrate a place where their faces are well known by most of the people.

@GM: What would our characters know about how common it is for Red Mantis Assassins to walk around wearing masks on their own turf?

"Just as long so you don't expect me to sleep in an alley, I'm sure I can find myself some appropriate accomodations." notes Ketsu-kiba.

In contrast to Ann, Sien suggests that they find a place big enough to house everyone.

"If we're in the same place, we can keep watch. If we're apart, any attack might be devastating. They could pick us off one by one."

Sien will advocate finding an abandoned structure, or ... uh ... making a structure abandoned. Straight up murder seems a little evil, even for evil PCs, but maybe we can scare someone into leaving.

"Hmm. Fair point. Moonlight?" Ann turns to the enigmatic man, awaiting his input.

If we're wearing masks or disguises when we scare people off, it *should* be okay to let them live...elsewhere.

So assassins do walk in the town with their masks, armors and weapons, at the same point the red mantis are looking four of you, so they may be checking for a group of four traveling together, they may have secret password set when you were away... it is not their first rodeo, neither it is yours.

"They'll be looking for four of us, so it's best not to travel or be seen together. We need to find out if they have a password to verify who's on which side. I can eavesdrop in plainclothes so no one expects me to know it. Anyone else?"

Stealth +25, Deception +21, can't read lips

Ketsu-kiba nods "I'm worried something will give me away, but should be able to keep my flair to myself."

Sien will find another outhouse by a guard tower to play Brawl Stars while pooping cast clairvoyance and spy on a new password. He'll also stick to the rooftops, so he could walk near someone but not obviously near them.

Ann and Sien moves to spy on the password

Ann trails some of the assassins wandering around the time, questioning different people. She stays far and waits for them to find another red mantis members to hear the passcode.

Sien at that time travels across the rooftops, he is perfectly aware that such behavior would cause suspicion, but he stays low and walks silently. He casts a spell to listen in on another group of red mantis, and you hear that the calling is:

Fate whispers to the warrior, 'You cannot withstand the storm.'
And the answer:

The warrior whispers back, 'I am the storm'

You believe that neither of you were spotted, however you are unsure how long the password will be there, as in normal cicrumstances it would be changed every 5 days.

Housing: not found, to look for right accomodation you can use Perception (to spot abandoned place), diplomacy (to rent something), another other skill that you may see fit: Religion to find shelter in some temple, deception to lie and get access to some place etc.

Gather information: Diplomacy (or for some Society), to gather information about who may know anything related to the contract, or anything else out of the ordinary, what higher profile people are involved in looking for you? etc

Day 1 actions
Sien: listening for password (1/2 successes)
Ann: listening for password (1/2 successes)
Moonlight
Ketsu
Visibility Points: 1

Mechanically, are Moonlight and Ketsu looking for a place for all of us to sleep, or just themselves?

Ketsu-kiba will spend some time looking for a fancy but not as well maintained place as it should be. Hopefully somebody who was once wealthy but is perhaps a little short on funds and eventually offer them a business opportunity.

"Ahh my friend, I have a business opportunity. I have some friends who have become obsessed with Clastria's pleasures of the flesh and are hoping for somewhere swanky to celebrate. I'm sure it's just a fad that will pass but they have entrusted me with a hefty sum. While their pleasures would only last an evening, it would take us several days to set up and clean up and restore afterwards. I'm hoping we can come to a rental agreement with enough funds for you to take a nice vacation for a week, lets say 10 days to be extra safe and enjoy any restorations we have completed when you return. And of course we will be discreet about our activities, and trust you will be as well. Tell your friends you've finally lined up the proper restoration and will vacation while you do so, or however you would like your story to go."

Deception: 1d20 + 26 ⇒ (15) + 26 = 41

While Ketsu-kiba sets up a location in town, Hammid searches the wilderness for a place to set up the Explorer's Yurt.

Ketsu-kiba will spend some time looking for a fancy but not as well maintained place as it should be. Hopefully somebody who was once wealthy but is perhaps a little short on funds and eventually offer them a business opportunity.

"Ahh my friend, I have a business opportunity. I have some friends who have become obsessed with Clastria's pleasures of the flesh and are hoping for somewhere swanky to celebrate. I'm sure it's just a fad that will pass but they have entrusted me with a hefty sum. While their pleasures would only last an evening, it would take us several days to set up and clean up and restore afterwards. I'm hoping we can come to a rental agreement with enough funds for you to take a nice vacation for a week, lets say 10 days to be extra safe and enjoy any restorations we have completed when you return. And of course we will be discreet about our activities, and trust you will be as well. Tell your friends you've finally lined up the proper restoration and will vacation while you do so, or however you would like your story to go."

"Wow, how interesting proposal, and how odd, as it happens to me for the second time this year. My neighbors said some good things about them, apparently the sounds that came out of there was something that none of them have ever tried! " the owner seems eager to go for that bargain,

Assuming costs per Housing costs Quality home/apartment is 80 gp per month => 20 gp per week, if you want to overpay, are we saying 25 gp per week? 30? Assuaming that the price is reasoanble the answer is yes.

While Ketsu-kiba sets up a location in town, Hammid searches the wilderness for a place to set up the Explorer's Yurt.

Do you want to find it in the wilderness? In which case I would need a survival check, to find a place that is not traversed by hunters etc. And then every day you would have to pass through the gate, or you could look for a parcel in the city - society check, either a spot in some slums, or open it within abandoned building, or there could be place in poorer district where some would stay in shacks/huts/tents

Lets go with 30gp a week.

I'm not sure Sien has a say, if we're separated, but if he does, I suggest we stay within the city walls, especially if we need to be sneaking around at night, it would be much better not to have to make those Stealth checks to get into the city repeatedly.

Hammid looks for a place in the slums to set his Yurt.

Society (L): 1d20 + 29 ⇒ (13) + 29 = 42

When Ketsu-kiba shares the ruse she told their "landlord", Ann gives a single puff of a dry chuckle. "Good. No one will be suspicious of any odd noises. But we'd better not have to act the part." Ann spends her spare time training; she has no time or respect for hedonistic idle pursuits.

It occurs to her that she ought to pick up a disguise kit so she can move about the city more easily. She'll buy the Elite Disguise Kit for 40 gp.

Hammid finds a suitable place without much issues. Ann is able to buy disguise kit without much hustle. Being prepared and able to sleep comfortably you rest for the night

So far it seems that your presence have not disturbed anyone, when the following day you heard about some dragon showing up few hundred miles south.

And now, how are you planning to gather some information?
Gather information: Diplomacy (or for some Society), to gather information about who may know anything related to the contract, or anything else out of the ordinary, what higher profile people are involved in looking for you? etc
Ann
Sien
Ketsu
Moonlight

Ketsu-kiba will spend some time leaving false rumors about them. Bits and bobs about a singular figure that plausibly looks like one of us in disguise desperately looking to buy something outrageous.

Ex: "This Tian man, with a high voice and an ugly mustache was trying to buy ten whole pallets of Oranges. Oranges, what in Golarion would they need with that many oranges? I think I saw them headed to the docks next, I guess you'd need a boat to haul them all off."

Deception: 1d20 + 26 ⇒ (13) + 26 = 39

Having always presented herself as decidedly butch, Ann forces down a grimace as she dons a dress. She's had to dress like a lady for more than one job, and it never feels right. Pants are so much more practical. And wigs are itchy. And the bodice makes it hard to move, she grouses to herself. Recalling a particularly irritating incident from a couple of years ago, she grumbles: "If anyone flirts with me I'll split this dress and punch his face so hard it'll turn inside out!"

Once she's all gussied up to look like a typical member of the wealthy merchant class (with padding to disguise her muscles as "plump"), she bustles out (she hates bustling) to gather gossip. Of particular interest is information about which Vernai are searching for her and her party.

Diplomacy to Gather Information: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (13) + 17 = 30

Gather Information (Society, Legendary, Streetwise, Underground Network): 1d20 + 29 ⇒ (10) + 29 = 39

Hammid taps his Underground Network, who, over his legendary career, owe him a few favors, and won't snitch, even for a hefty ransom!

Sien could ask around, but he prefers to sneak around and try to Read Lips for information.

1d20 ⇒ 10
+18 Diplomacy (Gather Information), +29 Stealth (if allowed), +19 Perception (if that seems more appropriate)

Ketsu spends the day spreading rumors and false leads. He seems to be successful at it, as few hours later you saw some patrols heading to the docks.

Ann mingles with the merchants and begin to listen for gossips, and there are a lot. None about Vernai unfortunately but she does hear one of the Sisters from Hospice of Serenity is gathering information about any spotting of you. However which sister is it is unclear...

Sien follows a group of assassins and is able to read something about 'Nasha the Gnasher'. And he recalls that Nasha is a broker of information, and could know more.

Moonlight is the most successful one, he learns that Dockmaster Torvald
Kemp is keeping an eye on anyone trying to sneak into the town, and is particularly interested in anyone looking as you.

You have some leads to follow after, it is up to you to decide which would you follow:
- Dockmaster
- Nasha
- Hospice of Serenity

What does Ann know about the Hospice of Serenity? Society + 15

Intending to follow up on the lead she discovered, Ann changes her disguise entirely before making her way to the Hospice of Serenity. She wishes she could get word to the others first, but the less they're seen together the better, and she doesn't trust any of the urchins or runners in the city.

Deception to Impersonate a rando*: 1d20 + 21 ⇒ (14) + 21 = 35
*A random, non-specific person who would have a reason to go to the Hospice of Serenity, pending the result of the Society check above.

PCs, are we proceeding as a group or individually? They're looking for 4, but I see no reason to go 1 by 1. Maybe 2 and 2?

Hammid goes off to spy on Dockmaster Torvald Kemp...

Ann recalls that As one would expect in a rough-and-tumble port where violence is a frequent solution, Ilizmagorti has great need for healers and caretakers. The Hospice of Serenity presents a facade of caregiving and solace, and its members are quickly recognizable by virtue of their white and gold robes. In truth, the caregivers of this supposedly merciful operation are yet another cover for the Red Mantis, who maintain this abbey in the city slums as a front designed to keep watch over the downtrodden.

When Moonlight heads to the docks he spots first the usual...
Ilizmagorti’s waterfront is a constantly bustling scene, with dockworkers loading or unloading cargo quickly in hopes of avoiding fines for lingering too long. Merchants and hucksters push their wares, pickpockets look for easy marks, and travelers of all sorts come and go. He thinks to spot dockmaster from the distance, and he sees a middle-aged human man carrying leather-bound ledger that he keeps in a waterproof case on his hip, and he’s often seen jotting notes in its pages about suspicious activities he observes.

I would need a decision if you prefer to go separately or together, hitting a trap being solo may have consequences

Ann - Hospice of Serenity

Ann in disguise approaches where hospice is, she can see the building clearly, staying 30 to 40 ft away. The Hospice of Serenity is a relatively humble one-story stone building. Its 15-foot-high walls can be Climbed with a DC 30 Athletics check. At each corner of the building stands a 40-foot-tall minaret, while a large copper dome surrounded by several glass skylights adorns the main roof. The only relatively safe way to ascend or descend to or from the roof is via a flight of stairs in each minaret. Otherwise, anyone else who wishes to reach the roof must either climb, fly, or teleport.

As you approach you spot a tiny movement on the rooftop....

Do you observe it for a while, get inside of it? Take a turn to avoid the building all together?

Tracker:
Ann - Hospice
Sien - ??
Ketsu - ??
Moonlight - ?? (Docks?)

Sien will visit Nasha.

I'll trust the GM to work it out fairly.

Sien will visit Nasha.

I'll trust the GM to work it out fairly.

Sien goes to try and meet Nasha, who as far as he knows reside in Blood Circus.

The Blood Circus, Ilizmagorti’s notorious arena, is the dominant sight on the city’s northern skyline. Here, nightly gladiatorial combats and blood sports draw audiences from across the city, and those facing imprisonment, execution, or worse can sometimes find a way to escape their doom within its walls—or may at least trade one in for another. Overseer Saynak (sadistic genderfluid human gladiator) is the Blood Circus’s current manager and also its reigning champion. Between Shark standard gladiatorial battles, monster fights, or elaborate and violent races, there’s always something new to see at the Blood Circus. It maintains a list of regular gladiators who make weekly appearances in exhibition matches against monsters or condemned prisoners, one such gladiator being Nasha the Gnasher (conniving female iruxi gladiator).

The Blood Circus looms high over northern Ilizmagorti, a constant reminder of the entertainment and doom offered to the city’s people or inflicted upon its victims on a daily basis. The streets around the arena often throng with traffic, even late into the night.

When you approach soon you are directed to Saynak, he looks at you from head to toes "I am Saynak, what is your business here? You don't look like a gladiator, do you have terrible beasts to sell?"

"I'm here to see the Gnasher. I'm here to ... sell information."

Ketsu-kiba will go with Chi Sien, but let them do the opening questions until a more forceful personality is needed.

Ann - Hospice of Serenity

Ann in disguise approaches where hospice is, she can see the building clearly, staying 30 to 40 ft away. The Hospice of Serenity is a relatively humble one-story stone building. Its 15-foot-high walls can be Climbed with a DC 30 Athletics check. At each corner of the building stands a 40-foot-tall minaret, while a large copper dome surrounded by several glass skylights adorns the main roof. The only relatively safe way to ascend or descend to or from the roof is via a flight of stairs in each minaret. Otherwise, anyone else who wishes to reach the roof must either climb, fly, or teleport.

As you approach you spot a tiny movement on the rooftop....

Do you observe it for a while, get inside of it? Take a turn to avoid the building all together?

Dressed as a commoner and bearing a care package for a fictional patient named I C Weiner, Morga dithers on the street for a bit to observe the building and the people coming and going from it. Her head follows the flight of some pigeons over the rooftop, though her eyes are focused on the spot where there was some movement a moment ago. Overall, she tries to look like a yokel who's trying to work up the courage to visit someone in the Hospice of Serenity, but is too nervous to enter.

Deception and Perception are both +21 if needed

Ann - Hospice of Serenity

Dressed as a commoner and bearing a care package for a fictional patient named I C Weiner, Morga dithers on the street for a bit to observe the building and the people coming and going from it. Her head follows the flight of some pigeons over the rooftop, though her eyes are focused on the spot where there was some movement a moment ago. Overall, she tries to look like a yokel who's trying to work up the courage to visit someone in the Hospice of Serenity, but is too nervous to enter.

Deception and Perception are both +21 if needed

Ann stays at a distance, and the building is quiet. When she recalls each time when she was here, you could hear moans, cries, screams at time, but now it is silent. She does not see anyone going in or out for that matter. When she waits for a moment there is a peasant approaching the door and pulling on a handle. The door are locked, but soon from the rooftop the voice is raised and a smiling face of an old woman looks downwards.

"Good day dear, it is good to see you again. I am afraid, that We moved the ill for few days to let the walls be sanctified again. Come back in few days."

The woman looks around and spots Ann "Come on here, I don't think I saw you here before ... or maybe did I? Are you Jane, the one who was brough here by her mother two months ago with a broken arm?"

"Come on here dear, "

"I'm here to see the Gnasher. I'm here to ... sell information."

"Selling information? Most certainly..."Saynak looks through his book and change few pages

How long: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

"Nasha is now preparing for a big fight, but she will be available in 3 days, around midday. Should I book you the slot? Mister ....?" says waiting for a name What name do you give?

"Of course if the matter is urgent, you can make a donation to the Blood Circus in which case meeting Nasha will be one of the perks for esteemed backers like you, 3,000 gold pieces is the minimal contribution."

You can wait 3 days, pay 3 k gold or try to convince them

This is a discussion thread for the ones that are chosen, more information to come, so far I have made a presentation That is also linked at the top It includes couple of information
1. Some background information about Red Mantis Assassins, the organization etc
2. Some rules for creating your PCs
3. There are still some pieces missing:
3.1 Players are not chosen yet - to come
3.2 I will add to the presentation some background information about the island and the citadel, to allow you to position your pcs
3.3 We haven't discussed the 'evil' aspect of this adventure, what we feel comfortable and what we feel not comfortable
3.4 We haven't discussed if we want to use some other way for discussion for this adventure (discord/slack/other?)
3.5 There is still no gameplay created to dot in - a bit on purpose

Ok folks, let me write some house rules:
- Be nice, be friendly, don't be a jerk - that goes all the time, you are all old-timers on the boards, but I will repeat it, when someone comes across as mean, rude etc, it might be just coming across, they may have bad day or there could be billion of reasons, give people benefit of a doubt
- If all goes well, we will wrap it up within 18 months ;) So prepare for a long game, from my end I Gm'ed Troubles in Otari, and I did not like how I did it ;) But I gm'ed the game to completion. This story resonated with me way more, and I enjoy small team of PCs (next point)
- This adventure is written for 4 players, and we will run it for 4 players ;) It gives less room for redundancy, and it leaves almost 0 room for drop outs.
- 4 players mean that you should agree who play whom, at level 14 the characters should be well rounded but you know
- I am 'hoping' to post at least once per workday, but my current occupation may make it hard, I experimented twice with GM'ing during that job and I was able to post at least 4 times a week and mostly 5 times a week. I may post during weekend which I always treat as 'nice to have'
- English is not my native language, and I will do typos, spelling errors and some grammatical ones ;) (I also use some tools to correct them, but nothing and no one is perfect). So please bare with me ;)

=========================

Above all, welcome all at Farol's interpretation of Prey for Death.

Hey WaterySoup! It is good to have you at my table, you were the most frequent Gm for my games, and I had some of my best games with you. Also you were one of the reasons why I decided to Gm, as I felt moral obligation to stop leaching on the society ;) Start giving and not just taking. Good to have you!

PirateRob, you have picked me for your Abomination Vault game and despite on how it ended I have very fond memories of that. You are a great GM and I loved how you run it, one day I hope to run games at similar level, I am also very glad that you signed up for this, despite playing at some of my society games ;) Super happy to have you!

Warah, we have been playing at starfinder and pathfinder games, I really liked your characters and how you played them, I did not play with you as a GM (which I hope to change), I liked how you perform at tables and how you act and respond.

Rainzax, we played couple of times together, you found your place to some of the games when I GM'ed, I really valued that few times when I asked players to fill some paper work, you helped out and filled it in. There are some paper works that I see necessary but I hate doing, so anyone who helps in that have a massive plus on my balance sheet. I also enjoyed your characters and how much RP you put into them. At the same time I appreciated when you invite me to your Fists of Ruby Phoenix, that you also slaughtered 3 weeks after I joined ;) So if a massive stone falls from the sky on your PC there will be a Ruby Phoenix fist on it ;) (joking)

It is pleasure to have you all at my table.

AFAIK all of you are in big country on the other side of the pond, and some of you are even on the same coast (I am not sure about Rainzax... ahh ok Midcoast, Maine, USA). I am located in Europe, and I post either during my morning, or early afternoon (which will mostly be during your night time)

Yarr.

Glad you had such a good time in Abomination Vaults, you were an absolute pleasure to have in that game. I feel like your recruitment questions are similar to mine. I always want to see that players are actually paying attention and not just applying because its there, seeing a little bit of creativity and getting an idea of their character idea, but not requiring actually built things.

I should have some time my afternoon today to start slowly working on transferring a vague character idea. Am most likely using bard or Marshal or something similar. Is there any info/advice in the adventure about character building other than Lvl 14/Red Mantis?

I just saw the link in the campaign header with the exact kind of info I was looking for.

Yes!

This is my fist foray past level 10 in PF2. Please bear with.

GM Farol
I apologize that I invited you to a doomed game. It was my first attempt at an AP, and I was unable to get the chemistry to click. Taking you was a bit of a Hail Mary, but ultimately I fumbled the ball.

My lesson learned is to work with known quantities day one. The AP I'm running now - shared with two of the applicants you chose (and who I can vouch for with full confidence!) - is going a lot better, I think, because I recruited specifically from people who I have enjoyed playing various PFS games with. I know you agree with me because you chose them too.

And too, I have always appreciated sitting at a PbP table with you, and am very excited to be accepted into this game. I love the "assassin" trope with unreasonable guilty pleasure, and have inured myself against any spoilers that this game might entail. I will try and read the player's guide you linked by the end of tonight to get more acquainted with the scope and sequence.

I strongly dislike using off-forum apps for player communication. If this is a dealbreaker for you, please let me know, and I will quietly bow out.

Fellow Players
I will be playing an evil character, but one who will work together as a team. Moonlight will be your healer (plus TBD), and although I may write his character motives as selfish, as a player, I will play him to compliment the party dynamic as best I can. Unless I read something else in the Player's Guide that advises a different approach!?

That said, about 33% of his character has room for malleability. Here are some party roles the remainder of him can be built to cover:

Debuffer
Trapfinder
Precision Striker
Knowledge Recaller

Once I see what you all have cooking up, I will finish him off complimentarily.

Let me know if you have any questions?

=)

Edit: Little Gem I found

Here is my build skeleton so far.

A combination of Red Mantis Assassin stabby powers and tricksy/sneaky bard powers with a focus on teamwork with with things like Quiet Allies and Gang Up. (Can take other options if somebody particularly wants to cover either of those.)

Yarr.

Still working on this but Ketsu-kiba grew up in a small village in Tian Xia. Her family was quite insular but Ketsu-kiba was always curious about the distant/outside world and always acquired and read whatever books they could about the outside world. For whatever reasons they found the stories of Achaekek particularly enticing. Never happy with their surroundings and finding their "friends" and neighbors nothing more than rubes to be taken advantage Ketsu-kiba, despite her cruelness and cunning she could never manage to truly get ahead or escape her surroundings. Until one day she met a fugitive on the run from the Red Mantis assassins. Totally unexpecting to find a follower of Achaekek in distant Tian Xia, they were an easy kill despite being Ketsu-kiba's first. After completing the murder Ketsu-kiba finally found the wealth and opportunity to travel to Mediogalti island...

Still in progress, Going with Just Lucky, still have buy equipment, make the actual character sheet and continue to polish. Certainty things can change for party makeup, like if somebody else wants particular niche bits or to say go Revenant for negative healing across the board or something else similar.

Hello! Thanks for including me! This'll be my first character of any system above level 9, so I'm excited to explore and experiment.

Warah, we have been playing at starfinder and pathfinder games, I really liked your characters and how you played them, I did not play with you as a GM (which I hope to change), I liked how you perform at tables and how you act and respond.

That's because I've only dipped my toes in to GM one PF1 game and one PF2 Quest or Bounty for GM School last year. Neither were particularly positive experiences for me, so I've been hesitant to give it another go.

She was raised in a secretive cult that believes that (TBD) is/are a danger to the world and must be eliminated/assassinated. They breed and train with this sole purpose in mind. Several generations ago, all of their senior leadership and many of their texts were lost in a catastrophe. Today, they are a shadow of what they once were. My PC was the best of their best, sent out to begin their work, and immediately found out that her training was next to worthless. Since then, she's chosen to do whatever it takes to learn the skills necessary to achieve the goals she was given, no matter who she learns from or what she has to do to get there. Perhaps, along the way, her allegiance to the cult may falter.

For "Favored by the Blood Mistress", I think Excellent Assassin works best with her backstory. (Impressive Student would be my second choice, if needed.)

I'm leaning towards a human strength-based monk, but am open to input regarding party gaps/coverage.

For guidance on player creating, check the slides linked on top. There are few 'extras'
1. Favored by the bloody Mistress
2. Free archetype - red mantis assassin
3. Access to new wizardry school (I find it a bit meh to be honest), but it is there
4. Some extra items that are available

For Proficiency with sawtooth saber, I am inclined to just say that you are proficient with it, and free archetype red mantis assassin handles its progression

Whenever your proficiency in any weapon increases to expert or beyond, you also gain that new proficiency with sawtooth sabers.

========================

'I strongly dislike using off-forum apps for player communication. If this is a dealbreaker for you, please let me know, and I will quietly bow out.'

It is not a dealbreaker, I know that some (PirateRob) likes it, I probed to hear your opinion, I am fine with using forum for all communication. If other players votes for it, we will consider using it.

========================

Lvl 14 PC creation on a start:
1. It is not easy to do it right ;) so take your time, we are still days away from starting
2. I could consider giving you options to retrain some of the choices if the game proves that they were inefficient, or a sweet trap that lured you with the right words, and then proved to be pile of cow dung.
3. When you are ready, there will be an extra choice about your last job together, I will present couple of options and that jobs will give you extra item/boon/access to uncommon items.
4. Uncommon/Rare itesm/options/feats are on the table, following the rule: 1 Rare or 2 Uncommon items per player, please inform me of those choices explicitly. Keep in mind that rare/uncommon options from the Archetype are available for you per book writing.

========================
'Am I evil' - text from the book

Playing Evil Characters (( added also to the slides ))

The Red Mantis assassins are killers for hire who worship a cruel deity and rule over the city of Ilizmagorti. This adventure assumes that the PCs are part of this society, and as long as all of the players agree to this core assumption, the fewer personality clashes they’ll have with this adventure’s story. The core events that play out in Prey for Death don’t require the PCs to assassinate anyone that isn’t already of a villainous nature, and the plot doesn’t require them to pursue particularly vile or cruel activities in order to achieve their goals and survive. Still, you should work with your players to make sure they understand the kind of story they’re getting into. While Prey for Death is written with the assumption that the PCs are working for the Red Mantis assassins, and thus are likely to be evil in temperament, this should not be taken as an excuse by players to make the game uncomfortable for anyone—be they fellow players, the GM, or observers of your game. Before you run Prey for Death, have a talk with your players to make sure they’re comfortable with the idea of playing evil characters—or at the very least, characters who won’t have an issue allying with evil organizations.

A Shared Goal: This adventure assumes that the PCs are on the same side, and presents them with challenges that assume they work together. Inter-party strife is a surefire way to bring about the early end of a game session, and care has been taken in this adventure to avoid tropes where the PCs are expected to keep secrets from each other, work at odds from one another, or otherwise set up situations where working together isn’t the best option. Part of this requires that the PCs themselves build characters that not only work well together, but are, as a group, comfortable with tasks involving assassinations and other activities typically reserved for the villains in a campaign.

Safety Tools: Evil PCs often do evil things, and it’s important to consider your and your players’ comfort level performing in-game crimes. Chat with your players about what to expect, where their boundaries are, and whether to include safety tools like those described on pages 6–8 of Pathfinder GM Core. This adventure features violence against combatants, but the PCs might also decide to endanger noncombatants, interrogate captives with the use of fear or threat, destroy property, or just generally terrorize onlookers. Remind the PCs that while Achaekek encourages the use of fear as a tool and condones the act of assassination, his faith (and thus the precepts of the Red Mantis assassins) don’t encourage acts of wanton sadism, and neither does this adventure.

This is text from the book as written, and i am fully in agreement with it.

When I read this Adventure, it does not look any different than any other society scenario dripping with blood ;) The whole difference is the assassin vibe, but for me it means more: Assassination in style of infiltration + killing and not biblical apocalypse, where 4 horseman goes through establishment and leave no one alive.

I don't have a strong opinion on using outside communication. DougH felt strongly about it for Abomination Vaults, and it generally worked out. Doesn't seem vital as long as people are on top of things etc.

I totally missed the free archetype note, reading is hard. Will go back and read again more thoroughly.

Auto trained in Sawtooth Saber certainty opens up more choices and eliminates some awkwardness otherwise needed to build the characters.

'Auto trained in Sawtooth Saber certainty opens up more choices and eliminates some awkwardness otherwise needed to build the characters.' - exactly my way of thinking, deity ask you to carry the blade, in book it is mentioned that for characters not using it, they should at least carry it while performing assassination ;)

For me the weapon is uncommon and not exceptional, so I want to make it more available to encourage you to use it, as if not here then where ;)

Warah's PC here.

For Proficiency with sawtooth saber, I am inclined to just say that you are proficient with it, and free archetype red mantis assassin handles its progression

Thanks! Reducing the feat tax makes it more enjoyable to build a character.

Regarding Discord: I only check it when I'm doing my PbP posting anyway, so there would be no practical benefit to me using it.

Just read the Red Mantis Free Archetype. Holy kidding, that puts a lot of power onto the table!

I'm leaning into the spellslots, shroud ability, and poison with:

2: Red Mantis Assassin
4: Basic Red Mantis Magic
6: Poison Weapon
8: Crimson Shroud
10: Fading
12: Expert Red Mantis Magic
14: Vernai Training

Looking forward to analyzing what you all come up with. Going to pick my spells next, then skills finalized last.

I may or may not keep the Poisoner (native) archetype, given that RMA has me thematically covered...

Is anyone going hard on Knowledge skills (4 traditions, etc)?

Watery Soup here. Sorry I'm late - the holidays have been busy. This is a placeholder character name. I'm going to post in Discussion with my main, but wanted to tap in with this name for future purposes.

1. Communication outside Paizo forums.

I generally disfavor this for the same reason as Warah - I check Paizo more often than anything else (including E-mail and Discord).

2. Geography

I don't think being in a different continent is a big deal. It's probably better for PbP games since nobody will be tripping over one another to post.

3. My build

I see a bard, a healer, and a STR-based monk. I'm eager to try out some of the options from the Tian Xia Character Guide (I bought it for "my sons" for Christmas) so I'll go aloof firmament magus (DEX/INT).

I started sketching a character out before realizing there was Free Archetype. But here's what I have:

Level 2: Spirit Sheath, Poisoner, or Alchemist
Level 4: Distant Waterbird's Poise
Level 6: Poisoner or Alchemist (Advanced Alchemy)
Level 8: Standby Spell
Level 9: Multitalented / Alchemist, if not above (or if not human)
Level 10: Advanced Alchemy
Level 12: Alchemical Power
Level 14: Magus feat (Arcane Shroud?)

Rank 7 Spell: haste (7th)
Rank 6 Spell: wall of force

Alchemical formulae: cave worm venom, nethershade

My character is going to lean into the infiltration bit. The concept is that they won't look like an assassin. I'm not 100% sure how that's going to work mechanically because I might need more CHA than I can afford.

I'll try to get a firmer idea tomorrow evening.

That is a cool avatar!

Ok, so Paizo for the win, the assassins have spoken.

When are you done-ish with your character take a look at the last slide in the presentation, you (as a group) would have to select what was your previous assignment, since they give you extra character build options think about which one would be cool, needed or useless, so that you can incorporate the benefit into your character (one of the options gives extra access to uncommon item/ancestry etc.)

For what last mission was we will create it like in 'One Word Story' exercise but it will be one paragraph per player with themes for each one of you:

Player 1. Description of a task - what is the job, how and why and where
Player 2. Preparation for the job, scouting, getting disguises etc
Player 3. Executing the task
Player 4. Leaving the place and escaping potential consequences

Ooh fun!

1d4 ⇒ 4 I rolled Player Four.

I’ll describe our clean or messy exit!

I’m going to add the following wrinkle: our Mark went down easy, but had extraordinary means, a contingency plan for in the event he/she was assassinated! But, due to our magic, we became aware that he/she had to be put down a second time, which made for a doozy of a second assassination, which is the “real story” being told…

Edit: I see our options are Assassination Completed (Moderate Divine Boon), Favor Performed (Uncommon Character Option), or Treasure Recovered (3000 gold each). I had assumed we were doing the first. I can adjust my story based upon what we decide. I do not feel strongly about one option over the other.

But will say that we should quickly decide on whether Favor Performed is up or down, because it has larger implications for character building than an extra boon or gold.

Does anyone’s character “crux” on an Uncommon option?

Favored by Blood Mistress

Just read this slide. I saw one character pick Just Lucky.

Moonlight will go with either Excellent Assassin or Impressive Student.

I do not want Fortunate Foundling because it does not really fit my backstory.

Last note to the team.

I’d like to split the role of healer into two buckets - During Encounter and Between Encounters - and take the largest part in the first of those two.

Which means I will use my Divine Font for big heals to preventatively forstall felling and reactively restore dying characters to the fight, but I do not want to be expected to nurse wounds between encounters - not taking Continual Recovery and Ward Medic skill feats - instead pursuing different functions for my skill feats and other spells.

So if either someone could pick up the slack for healing Between Encounters, or, everyone have their own way to patch yourself up, that would be my strong request.

After all, assassins often operate solo…

=)

Favored by Blood Mistress

Just read this slide. I saw one character pick Just Lucky.

Moonlight will go with either Excellent Assassin or Impressive Student.

I do not want Fortunate Foundling because it does not really fit my backstory.

I also prefer Excellent Assassin, with Impressive Student as my backup option, per this post. (No worries about missing it. There's a lot to track right now.)

When are you done-ish with your character take a look at the last slide in the presentation, you (as a group) would have to select what was your previous assignment, since they give you extra character build options think about which one would be cool, needed or useless, so that you can incorporate the benefit into your character (one of the options gives extra access to uncommon item/ancestry etc.)

For what last mission was we will create it like in 'One Word Story' exercise but it will be one paragraph per player with themes for each one of you:

Player 1. Description of a task - what is the job, how and why and where
Player 2. Preparation for the job, scouting, getting disguises etc
Player 3. Executing the task
Player 4. Leaving the place and escaping potential consequences

Which glorious paragraph shall I write?: 1d3 ⇒ 2

Job prep it is! I'll wait to get started on it until I've finished building my character.

Regarding choosing the last mission, here is the text to look up Achaekek's moderate boon. My preference is for Treasure Recovered, but I'm flexible. I don't think I'll need an extra Uncommon option.

Uncommon/Rare itesm/options/feats are on the table, following the rule: 1 Rare or 2 Uncommon items per player, please inform me of those choices explicitly. Keep in mind that rare/uncommon options from the Archetype are available for you per book writing.

I do something similar in my Ghosts game.

Unless I hear otherwise, I’m going to assume that all the Red Mantis Assassin feats don’t count against this total (Moonlight is planning on taking the Rare feat Vernai Training only if it wouldn’t count against this total. Happy to choose another though. I’d like to save my Uncommon slots for a couple skill feats!)

Going to assemble my list of Uncommons right now…

Regarding choosing the last mission, here is the text to look up Achaekek's moderate boon. My preference is for Treasure Recovered, but I'm flexible. I don't think I'll need an extra Uncommon option.

Death Knell, as a spell, while thematic, I think will largely be redundant with a Bard in the party.

Perhaps we could eliminate that option (Even though it would be a very fun story to tell…)?

GM,
I submit to you my two top choices for Uncommon Boon Slots:

Leverage Connections
&
Underground Network

Let me know if they could fit into your game, or if I should keep looking!

Still have a bit to finish off, but I've got the majority of this put together.

Uncommon Options:

Nightmare Rune
Dread Rune

Neither of these is particularly vital to my plans if for some reason there's any issue with either.

Some things to do:

Buy consumables
Add Special Abilities to sheet
Pick Spells
One Word Story (Last Mission)

Favored by Blood Mistress

Just read this slide. I saw one character pick Just Lucky.

Moonlight will go with either Excellent Assassin or Impressive Student.

I do not want Fortunate Foundling because it does not really fit my backstory.

I didn't think these were exclusive.

Moonlight is coming along too
Probably going to stick with Cloistered Cleric w/ Poisoner Dedication
Master Skills: Society, Medicine, plus one (either Religion or Thievery, depending on party)
Shuffled around Red Mantis feats (shifted out of Crimson Shroud and Fade)
Spells are coming along, I have a strong theme, but waiting to round out based on party

Yeah, so Favored by Blood Mistress is not exclusive, you can all be lucky ;)

For Uncommon things: dread rune + nightmare rune is fine and seems thematic

Leverage Connections & Underground Network - all good to take those as well, also seem thematic

And yes uncommon/rare elemtns of mantis assasin archetype does not count towards the limit

Still working on Ann's build. Had a setback and am going to be re-thinking some things this afternoon, but I should at least have her feat and skill progression figured out by the end of today.

I'm aiming for a strength-based monk who uses two sawtooth sabers for most attacks. She'll pick up at least one ability to allow her to recover some HP with a Qi spell.

No medicine here. Soothe as a signature spell, as well as some temp HP from Zealous Conviction for all you Achaekek fanatics as well as Gentle Breeze to help support healing.

I could end up with medicine feats/training if needed, am also considering taking Soothing Ballad for a nice focus point group heal.

Watery Soup,
Do you want to retain the Poisoner Archetype as part of your character?

If so, I was thinking of going a different direction with Moonlight...

Here is my planning for Ann. Profile page is coming, but one of my kids had to leave school early today, so I'm shorter on time than I had planned.

I've only used one Uncommon item: Assassin's Bracers.

For Favored by the Blood Mistress (Excellent Assassin), I get 6 common consumables up to level 13. My choices are:

3 Greater Healing Potions
2 Greater Elixirs of Life
1 Phoenix Flask

Equipment is purchased and listed in her profile. I think I'm finished building her out.

Watery Soup,

Do you want to retain the Poisoner Archetype as part of your character?

Uh, no, I was planning to drop it, since I think Alchemist Dedication is more useful.

I went ahead and went for expert in medicine with ward medic and continual recovery.

Regarding out of combat healing, my character will pick up a pearly white spindle aeon stone and formulae for soothing tonics. I don't think they have a way of replenishing versatile vials the way that alchemists do, so it'll be limited, but it's fast healing 5 for 1 minute (50 hp total), and they can make 4 of them on the spot, plus 4 of them per day with advanced alchemy.

Background: Noble (Heraldry)

Feat 1: ?
Feats 2: Spirit Sheath, Red Mantis Dedication, Dirty Trick
Feat 3: Toughness
Feats 4: Distant Waterbird's Poise, Quick Draw, Rolling Landing
Feat 5: ?
Feats 6: Alchemist Dedication, Poison Weapon, Read Lips
Feat 7: Feather Step
Feats 8: Advanced Alchemy, Gang Up, Quick Jump
Feat 9: ?
Feats 10: Standby Spell (Blazing Bolt), Improved Poison Weapon, Arcane Sense
Feat 11: Fleet
Feats 12: Alchemical Power, Crimson Shroud, Kip Up
Feat 13: ?
Feats 14: Arcane Shroud, Fading, Achaekek Lore

Cantrips: Shield, Gouging Claw*, Ignition*, Electric Arc, Sigil
4th: Fly, Sure Strike
6th: Wall of Force (x2)
7th: Haste (x2)

Alchemical Formulas: Soothing Tonic, Cave Worm Venom, Nethershade, ?

Gear: resilient rune, adventurer's pack, spacious pouch I, bracelet of dashing, lifting belt, crafter's eyepiece, choker of elocution, cloak of illusions, charlatan's gloves, mage's hat, pendant of the occult, wand of alarm (1st), 47 gp

13th level item: keen rune (13)
12th level item: greater striking rune (12)
12th level item: impactful rune (10)
11th level item: +2 armor rune
10th level item: +2 weapon rune
10th level item: greater invisibility rune

+2 greater striking keen impactful sawtooth saber: +27, 3d6+6 slashing plus 1d6 force (crits 19-20)

+2 resilient greater invisibility unarmored: AC 35, saves F+22, R+24, W+21

Max HP: 176

Master Skills: Acrobatics, Crafting, Stealth

To Do: Pick an Ancestry and Heritage (lol), and all the other special stuff from the slides (sorry, I've mostly been working on this off my phone, so I haven't looked at the slides very much).

Everyone so far has taken Fading, haha.

Maybe I should work it into Moonlight’s build and it can be our “thing”?!

Looking at party skills:

Ann @ Athletics (M), Stealth (M), Deception (E)
Ketsu @ Deception (M), Occultism (M), Performance (M)... Medicine (E)? (perhaps instead of Occultism)?
Soup @ Acrobatics (M), Crafting (M), Stealth (M)

Ok I will max out Society (M), Medicine (M), and Thievery (M).

I'm going to abandon the Poisoner idea altogether - exploring options for replacing those dedicated feats.

And (re-)joining the Fading Train! We will be the party of Crimson Shroud!

This combo gives the party fast healing 7 for 1 minute (70 HP) every hour btw.

Got enough info to make final decisions by the weekend's conclusion.

=)

Looking at party skills:

Ann @ Athletics (M), Stealth (M), Deception (E)
Ketsu @ Deception (M), Occultism (M), Performance (M)... Medicine (E)? (perhaps instead of Occultism)?

Nope, just adding Medicine (E) via skilled human, and swapping out a couple skill feats since I don't need the ancestry to get trained in the saber.

Skills beyond trained for Ketsu-kiba:

Deception (M), Medicine (E), Occultism (M), Perofmrance(M), Stealth (E), Assassin Lore(E)

Just a note aeon stones are uncommon;) do they eat your uncommon slot unless you tak Pathfinder agent archetype, and weave in that you are Pathfinder in spare time ;)

I would like another Uncommon option.

My current is vote for Previous Mission is Favor Performed.

(also because “recovering treasure” seems… somewhat blasé for an elite assassin…)

I agree. Honestly, flavor-wise I think Previous Mission sounds the most interesting, but I don't have a plan for using that many Uncommon items, unless we look at consumables. Seems a waste to use that boon on a consumable, though. That's why I voted for treasure.

We could flavor the treasure job so it's more thematic. Maybe we had to kill someone to get it? Extracting payment with interest?

------------

For starting gold, I chose the Lump Sum option.

I am giving Horizon Walker a serious look!

Just a note aeon stones are uncommon;) do they eat your uncommon slot unless you tak Pathfinder agent archetype, and weave in that you are Pathfinder in spare time ;)

Wait, does the Red Mantis Dedication count as an Uncommon? We should have two, correct? So I've got a keen rune and an aeon stone right now.

---

First draft of my character is up. I went with the Just Lucky option to get a wand. I went with the items, since that was slightly more efficient than lump sum.

The character's name is tentatively "Chi Sien." Per Tien tradition, the family name is Chi, and the given name is Sien, so he should be referred to as Sien.

"Chi Sien" translates to "crazy" in Cantonese. It'd be used, for example, in the context of a driver cutting across multiple lanes to make an exit, and causing others to slam on their brakes.

Chee seen! (I don't know how to write it in Chinese.)

Let me or the GM know if that's a problem for anyone.

---

Character Backstory: Sien’s family wagered heavily on the Ruby Phoenix Tournament, and lost due to some underhanded dealings. Sien decided to murder the winning family’s patriarch, but coincidentally, someone else had paid the Red Mantis Assassins to do the same. Sien’s attempt, although unsuccessful, was impressive, and he was recruited to join the Red Mantis Assassins.

Hammid is 95% done.

House Keeping on Previous Mission:

Mission Type
Ann Hilate @ Favor Performed
Chi Sien @ ???
Hammid @ Favor Performed
Ketsu-kiba @ ???

Narrative Parts
??? @ Player 1. Description of a task - what is the job, how and why and where
Ann Hilate @ Player 2. Preparation for the job, scouting, getting disguises etc
??? @ Player 3. Executing the task
Hammid @ Player 4. Leaving the place and escaping potential consequences

Pirate Rob and Watery Soup - do you two have a preference on mission Type and Parts? Here is GM's post on it:

When are you done-ish with your character take a look at the last slide in the presentation, you (as a group) would have to select what was your previous assignment, since they give you extra character build options think about which one would be cool, needed or useless, so that you can incorporate the benefit into your character (one of the options gives extra access to uncommon item/ancestry etc.)

For what last mission was we will create it like in 'One Word Story' exercise but it will be one paragraph per player with themes for each one of you:

Player 1. Description of a task - what is the job, how and why and where
Player 2. Preparation for the job, scouting, getting disguises etc
Player 3. Executing the task
Player 4. Leaving the place and escaping potential consequences

If someone wants to swap Parts with me, I'm down, just lmk.

=)

@WaterySoup 'Wait, does the Red Mantis Dedication count as an Uncommon?'

No it does not, what I meant is that aegis stone is uncommon for characters outside of society. So if you want to use your uncommon 'slot' for that - by all means!

---------------------------------

Yes, Rainzax was correct in his assesment, we need to 'slot' two last places:
Player doing the description of the task should say what and where it happened (you should be starting anywhere but not on Mediogalti Island ;) - it is the island where there is Crimson Citadel, the headquarters of Red Mantis Assassins).

After we agree on the slots, then I will ask you to post that description in gameplay, with few rules:
1. Try to make it last few sentences at least
2. Try and describe what each PC did, did they have any ticks, their things that they do while under pressure (playing with their hair, playing with lockpicks, nervously looking around), go through other people character sheets and try to come up with something (the player running that character can use it later and use it while playing their character ... or ignore it completely ;))
3. We will then post it in order, so that you can reference the part that was mentioned before.

=====================

I will go through your characters, then we can get going, and I will be posting some more things, on how will we handle loot and xp and stuff ;)

I'll take step 3 Executing the task.

House Keeping on Previous Mission:

Mission Type
Ann Hilate @ Favor Performed
Chi Sien @ ???
Hammid @ Favor Performed
Ketsu-kiba @ ???

Narrative Parts
??? @ Player 1. Description of a task - what is the job, how and why and where
Ann Hilate @ Player 2. Preparation for the job, scouting, getting disguises etc
Ketsu-kiba @ Player 3. Executing the task
Hammid @ Player 4. Leaving the place and escaping potential consequences

Updated.

Remind me not to lose a game against Soup's character...

Haven't seen Watery Soup for a couple of days - hope he is okay - he does have the tendency to uber ketchup when he pops in though.

I have made some minor changes to Hammid (mostly shifting skill feats), and am finalizing his equipment. High level prepared caster is onerous in terms of slotting spells! This will be my last step once the actual character is complete.

GM,
If we go with Favor Performed and get the extra Uncommon option, are any of these spells welcome / more useful at your table / in this AP?

Drop Dead
Dominate
Ethereal Jaunt

GM,
Hammid casually took the Codex of Unimpeded Sight, a Common Legacy item, that references the Divination school that has slowly eroded with the Remaster.

Will you allow this item?

If so, how would you like to adjudicate it? I can forward 3 possibilities:

A) Only works with Legacy spells
B) Key it's ability to different trait/s (example: the detection, prediction, revelation, and/or scrying traits)
C) Make a case-by-case decision

Lmk.

=)