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1) I am based in Southeast Asia (UTC +8) so my posting hours may be unusual (especially for those in North America). I usually update at least one or twice per day. Just to keep the game moving, please post at least once every day and at least once during the weekend.
2) Please keep all posts and communication in all channels limited to a PG-13 level and be both positive and inclusive.
3) Please label all three of your actions. Even if you think what you are doing is obvious.
4) If I am unavailable for longer than 24 hours, I will let you know in the Discussion Tab. Out of respect for your fellow players and myself, I ask that you do the same. Real life happens, and real life will always take priority over the game, but out of fairness for your fellow players, please let us know if you will be unavailable for an extended period of time.
5) Please note that on the following days, my posting can get unpredictable:
Tuesday/Thursdays - all day, as they are the 2 busiest days of my work week
6) Please complete the Macros and the Slides linked at the top of the page.
7) Questions, concerns? Feel free to share them in the Discussion tab.
8) Let's have some fun and tell a great story together! After all, that's what we are here for.
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Whenever the farmers, shepherds, and weavers of Grayce become physically ill or psychologically disturbed, there are knocks upon our hero's cozy cabin. A sign hangs above it, and has been sitting in the "In" position for not quite 30 minutes as a lovely sun shines it's rays over the horizon.
Maddegan - a pharmacist and scholar of minor repute who settled in the village for the better part of a few years now (to continue work unperturbed by the exuberance and hullaballoo of the big city) waters her herb garden out front.
She waves to the nearest neighbor to happen by "Good morning, [redacted]" "Looks like it's going to be a nice day out?" the aloe vera, calendula, hollyhock, and other flowers and medicinals absorbing the light and returning in vibrance of promise.
Sahad is not from here. In fact he is a long way from where he once hung a shingle and sold toys that he carved by himself out of wood.
He's out for his morning walk when he's jolted out of his reverie by a friendly greeting (he tends to be wrapped up in his mind very often).
"Oh! Good morning, Maddegan. Uh, yes. Very nice day for a walk."
He smiles weakly and looks at her, not knowing what to say next.
Sahad is an olive-skinned man from Katapesh who is typically wrapped in light fabrics and light colors.
Rosamund is a pretty, small halfling, walking around with pots and pans clanging off her backpack.
"Hello, I'm Rosamund. Have you had lunch yet?"
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The halfling smiles with his eyebrows when he sees Rosamund. He is wearing a black bowler hat and suit. He has thick and curvy hair, a pale skin that contrasts sharply with his costume.
I would have lunch with you anytime, my dear. My name's Nob Cutton with double T.
He smiles.
Often people have fear of me because of my occupation. I'm undertaker. By the way, my dear, what are your measurements? Just in case. You'll never know.
He smiles.
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Feeling as though she is suddenly intruding upon Nob and Rosamund's conversation, she hands the former a small potion whose label reads Maca & Ashwagandha Tincture and turns her attention to Sahad.
"Very nice day for a walk indeed" and promptly follows him off her property for a morning stroll, winking at him "Let those two get acquainted, no?" her Ustlavic accent thick as honey.
Maddegan turns to follow Sahad and trips over a leg lying across the path. A snort and a grunt emanate from a form lying halfway in the alley. A disheveled and dirty man stirs on the ground before beginning to yell.
"HEY I'M SLEEPING HERE!" He tries to sit up only to fall over again. The man reeks of booze and there are several stains on his clothes that you do not want to examine closer. He blinks up through bloodshot eyes at Maddegan and just grunts. "Drug dealer."
He spots Rosamund and a smiles comes to his face though his teeth are in worse shape than the rest of him. "Breakfast, please!" Nevermind that it's after noon already. The drunk struggles to his feet, stumbling about as he pulls out a flask from his clothes and takes a long swig. He turns toward Sahad and frowns. "Never seen you before. I'm Thomas. Care for a drink?" He stumbles towards the man with his flask outstretched.
Sahad looks down and becomes quite self-conscious that someone is joining him.
"Let those two get acquainted, no?" her Ustlavic accent thick as honey.
"Oh, I suppose so!"
"Never seen you before. I'm Thomas. Care for a drink?" He stumbles towards the man with his flask outstretched.
"Well, I'm Sahad. No thank you, it's far too early and not the right occasion."
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While Thomas Howe is looking right at her, Maddegan swipes his flask, pours out half of it's remaining contents, and producing a vial of her own from her overcoat, dribbles in a little moderately blue fluid which bubbles a little upon contact with alcohol.
◆) Quick Alchemy ➤ Affliction Suppressant
"Try that instead" she returns his brash attitude with that particular brand of kindness that remains the immovable object to his unstoppable force "Consider it a dare"
She leans in to the impossibly reserved Sahad - a fellow intellect! - and explains that "It's to see if it'll affect his temperament by any measurable magnitude over the short term" and giggles as she adds a joke "Given the sheer range for possible improvement - however marginal - I remain confident of a partial rejection of null hypothesis!"
"Hey!" Thomas tries to grab the flask as she's pouring out some of the alcohol, then drops to his knees to catch the liquid. He slurps at the dribbles from his hands.
When Maddegan returns the flask, he glares at her. "Drug dealer" Then he sniffs at the flask and tries to look inside. He tentatively takes a sip. "Peppermint schnapps?"
He sits back in the dirt. He points to Maddegan and tells Rosamund, "Don't let her near the food."
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Sahad's eyes go wide watching the exchange. He takes a step back, before Maddegan leans in.
I think... I share your confidence.
In a world like Golarion, the man who rides up to the group, plainly drawn by the noise they're making, is not that unusual. Sure he has golden skin and antennae with feathery tips that sway and turn like a horse's ears seeking sound. His leather armor and the studs embedded in it are made from materials no one recognizes and both it and his weapons - lance and bow - are of designs no one has seen. But, other than that, he has two arms, two legs, two eyes, two ears, a nose, a mouth, just like any number of humanoid ancestries.
What is strange is the creature he rides in on. At first, with its long neck and tail and scaly skin, it seems to be some sort of dragon. But with its almost simian proportions and head, it seems like it is heavily crossed with some sort of ape. Still, it walks on all fours, though when its glowing eyes settle on a person, it feels as though it is looking into your mind as much as your body.
"I bear you fine greetings, fresh comrades. My travels have taken me very far and I require liquid refreshment. Do any of you individuals have the knowledge of an establishment where I may find such libations?" the man asks.
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Maddegan leans in to whisper conspiratorily to Sahad once more.
"Might need to keep more of that on hand. This one can recite the dictionary!"
She addresses the newcomer "Should be a Pub with a Stable just up that path there" trying to be helpful "We were just walking that way as a matter of fact" she looks to Sahad like 'right?'...
Thomas just stares at the strange man riding the alien beast. He glances down at his flask and then up at the man again. "Drink?" He extends the flask to him.
Sahad sighs in exasperation at Maddegan's remark.
Too much for one day!
Then realizes Maddegan is looking at him.
"Oh yes. Right..."
My daily walks are supposed to be peaceful, not turn into traveling mobs!
"I bid you great appreciation, fellow traveler," the man says to Maddegan with a bright grin that seems to light up the very air. There is a strange smell around him that has a soothing, faintly euphoric effect.
"And you as well," he continues to Thomas, taking the flask and the smallest of sips. He suspects the man keeps careful track of his alcohol. "Sharing libations is an excellent way to enhance friendly relations."
He sits back in the saddle after handing the flask back. "May I be so bold as to posit some queries? Why are you gathered here? Are you some sort of organization?"
Thomas encourages the man to drink more from the flask. "Oh, if you're not from here, drink up. You should experience all we have to offer. Hospitality and all that." He winks at Maddegan.
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The adventure begins shortly after you arrive in Grayce. While purchasing supplies at Grayce General Goods you're approached by Albin Derkensoor. From what you've heard around town, Albin is in his sixties, and his family moved to Grayce when he was still a child. Normally, Albin's eyes twinkle with cheer, but today his wrinkled face is a mask of worry.
"Folks have been saying there's adventurers in town, and by the looks of you, they're right. If that's true, I could surely use your help. I'll buy you a drink and tell you all about it, if you're interested."
"Albin. Do ya wanna tell us what that's about?" pointing out the folk shunning him.
"It is an honor and privilege to aid those in need. Myself and Fleet Mind shall be pleased to assist you in your task."
When they arrive at the tavern, Archeas lingers for half a minute outside, he and his odd mount staring into each other's eyes.
Then, he goes in and joins the rest of the group. "Indeed, indeed, it seems that you have somehow become afoul of your fellow citizens. Are you cursed?"
Surely Albin didn't mean that he needed the help of a drunkard, but as the group enters the Sing-A-Long Bar, Thomas follows you all in grinning to the barkeep. He points to Albin and says, "He's buying!"
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Perception:
Nob takes out his measuring instrument to measure the individual’s height. He stays at distance to do it because he doesn't want to be to weird for their interlocutor. You know people often don't understand very well his profession. But this precaution could be very useful if he needs to puts him 6ft under ground.
Oh... me? I look like an adventurer. Well, you don't need to buy a drink but I'll hear of your plight.
He follows Albin and the others that he already knows to the Sing-A-Long Bar.
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As soon as you're settled in, Albin begins his tale.
"Three nights ago, round about midnight, I was awakened by the worst sound I've heard in all my years. It was some sort of beast—of that I'm sure—but the cry it made was more like a laugh than a growl. A low chuckle, from deep in the throat, but louder than a peal of thunder."
"The sound was still echoing off the hills when my sheep began to scream. I rushed outside to find Euphis, my ranch hand, standing inside their pen hollering and beating on a shield. Once he'd calmed down, Euphis said he'd seen a monster bearing down on the flock. He managed to scare the thing off, but not before getting a good look at it. It was taller than you or me, even hunched over, and had eyes that burned like torches in the moonlight. The Path River Peeler, he swears it was."
At this point, Albin holds up his calloused hands. "Now, Euphis is brave for certain, and I'd never question his word. But he's not the brightest guy. I can't say for sure what he saw. All I know is that my sheep are too frightened to graze their normal pastures. And I can't forget that laugh." Albin shakes his head. "If that thing wasn't the Peeler, it was something just as bad, or worse."
-Q&A-
To the others, Rosamund says, "We should probably ask around town first. But, I would like to look at that sinkhole."
You glance over to Thomas during Albin's explanation and the man is face down on the table with two empty cups next to him. Did he pass out already?
However, when Albin mentions the 40 gold reward and being able to stay at his home, the drunk sits up. "I'll take that! Extra pillows, please!" He turns to look at empty space. "Where's the sinkhole at? Don't want to fall in there."
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Wondering if she has a potion for being a pariah, our hero decides that such a complex outcome would be hard won by simple alchemy. The answer satisfies her curiosity, and she commits herself.
”40 gold then. I’ll start asking around” and with that, she whips up a blue tonic, which, upon imbibing, grants her skin a silver sheen, like the afterglow of an excellent massage, as well as expands the circumference of her eye sockets, balls, irises, and pupils, giving her the expression of a lost puppy.
◆) Quick Alchemy @ Lesser Silvertongue Mutagen
◆) Inbibe
Around town: "How can I protect my defenseless from the Path River Peeler?" she asks, her blinking audible.
The strange, golden skinned man listens intently to Albin's tale.
"We'll do it!" he declares. "A kindness to the citizenry of this collection of individuals. The thing tales tell.
"Yes, the sinkhole's the thing! Most likely 100% a formian. Formians are prone to liking being underground. No doubt this one came form that place. Though they don't laugh, so it was probably some sort of carapacial rattling."
He pauses, stroking his beard thoughtfully.
"Laughing formian of night
Strikes fear in hearer
We'll bring it into the light."
Sahad has been standing idly at the back of the group not being too forceful to speak over others.
They talk enough to cover me...
Still, he has thoughts on the observations provided so far.
Sinkholes can be natural occurrences. Still... I wonder if we shouldn't at least peek into it.
Others may not hear him muttering from the back. Then Archeas speaks up about the sinkhole too.
Formians? It's possible, but... how is he so sure?
Yes, we're glad to help!
"It will be most highly efficient to speak to the people here before we depart the town for the farm. I will begin," Archeas says.
He crosses the bar to the people who have been staring but avoiding Albin.
"I bid you high good greetings, citizen folk of this settlement place. My name is Archeas and I shall be determining the cause of the formian invasion. Please elucidate any information you have about the 'Peeler,'" he says.
His words may seem strange, but his pheromones are effective.
Thomas smiles, one filled with dirty, stained teeth, at the strange newcomer. He was weird, but he had good instincts. Thomas takes his flask and heads over to a group playing cards. "How about a drink?! It's on me!" He pours a small amount of the strong spirits from his flask into several cups. "Cheers!
"I heard that Albin's been cursed! No one wants to touch his sheep! Would you?"
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From talking to people, you found three solid leads in town:
* Jarelle Quaine, a ranger who patrols the pastures north of Grayce, is well respected in town. All agree that if anyone has solid information about the Peeler, it's her.
* Titus Horvat is a retired farmer turned amateur cryptozoologist and has been stirring up fears by telling wild stories about the Peeler.
* Damarys is a shepherd who lives alone in a cottage just an hour's walk from Albin's ranch. No one in town has anything nice to say about Damarys, and more than one person is certain she has something to do with the Peeler's sudden reappearance.
Maybe we should first go ask Titus to stop telling tall tales. Nicely, of course.
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"Yes! A 'cryptozoologist!' So he knows tales about this threat and also makes pretty objects out of precious metals. Quite a diverse set of understanding," Archeas says.
It is possible that he doesn't know what "cryptozoologist" means.
Thomas nods. "I like stories about crypto." He peers into his flask to see that it's full again and takes a drink.
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You all show up at Titus' house. They look flattered and immediately invite you into their house. "Come in! Come in! I take it you're here about the Peeler? Well, I've got my theories! Let's go to my sitting room." They immediately lead you to a parlor where you see shelves, as well as boxes, of scientific looking texts and sketches of various creatures.
"My uncle's collection. He was a professor of biology, you see, from the University of Lepidstadt. When he passed on I inherited all this. So, how may I assist you?"
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Maddegan examines his hoard of pelts.
”Yes. Seems you have everybody riled up. Shame on you, really” she looks for possible fakes among his stash ”But you can help us clean this up. It’s the right thing to do. What makes you think that the Peeler is loose again? Do you have any evidence to substantiate your claim? Or are you just blustering for attention?”
Sahad is stunned by Maddegan's directness.
I could never...
Realizing his stunned expression, he looks away to hide it while waiting to see how Titus responds.