So who's running the next game? I'd volunteer, but I'm DMing two other people games right now, and I'd like a chance to play Rakish. :)
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In my profile.
As an FYI, I will not be able to close this game when we're done. When I took over as DM, I requested a DM transfer, but it hasn't gone through yet. The Paizo Customer Service backlog is a couple of weeks right now, so I should be able to close the game in another week or two.
DDEX 1-7 Drums in the Marsh
Magic items:
Keoghtom's Ointment
As an action, one dose of the ointment can be swallowed or applied to the skin. The creature that receives it regains 2d8 + 2 hit points, ceases to be poisoned, and is cured of any disease. ====== Whoever has the fewest magic item gets first choice to take the ointment. If they pass it up, the next person with the fewest gets the choice. And so on.
With the king slain, all the remaining Lizardfolk on the island flee. The surviving humans, elves, and halfling let up a cheer! You release the final captives, and there are plenty of rafts to ferry everyone back, and even some of the livestock! After releasing the dragons, you destroy the drums, and the swamp becomes dark and quiet for the first time in over a week. With the loss of the clan leaders and the king, the remaining lizardfolk don't have the will or the numbers to reasonably recapture the escapees. The large group scares most marsh predators away. It takes many hours, but you eventually escort the rafts out of the marsh and up the river. The captives who understood draconic relay the story of what happened. A dragon named Throstulgrael is stirring up trouble in the marsh. He killed the previous leader and displayed his head on a pike. Then he assigned tribal leaders to the three tribes and had them run a contest - who ever could capture the most prisoners would become the new tribal king and their tribe would reign supreme. Live warriors were worth the most. Live non-warriors next. Livestock worth the least. None of the tribes wanted each other to win, so they didn't help each other. The guy who was supposed to be king after the previous one died - before the dragon came - was who you fought. He was trying to run a coup of the whole thing and take back the three tribes for himself. He hated the dragon. The dragon was due back at the end of the contest, in a few days, to declare the winner and feast on all the spoils. But now that you've destroyed the tribes, the dragon will come back in a rage and kill off any remaining Lizardfolk in revenge.
The king roars again, and stabs at Ravvek with his trident, twice!
The lizardfolk attacks Krissna, being the closer target.
Krissina casts Hellish Rebuke as a reaction to the attack.
The king attacks Draco.
The king uses his special Skewer ability with his trident attack! He deals an extra piercing damage to Draco and then gains temp HP equal to that amount!
King: 47/78 + 6 Temp HP
King: 47/78
Krissina and Glenda are near each other. Lizardfolk is going after them. Currently 20' away. Ravvek and Draco are near each other. King is engaged in melee. The two groups of party members are within 20' of each other.
The lizardfolk launches it's javelin at Krissina, and then charges Glenda (he'll be there next round).
The king roars and charges Draco, attacking twice with his trident.
Lizardfolk: AC 15, 18/22
You make your way over to the muckmarsh clan area, currently empty of all lizardfolk as the other tribes all battle it out against each other. It seems one-sided; those with the weapons clearly outmatch those without. And while it seems obvious to you, it also seems obvious to several lizardfolk as they change sides mid-battle and start following the orders of the uprising king. You quickly unlock the cage in the Muckmarsh area, releasing another 18 humans and halflings. They seem pissed at their capture, and emboldened by the fact that humans, elves, and halflings all now have the numbers of a small militia, they charge into battle to get revenge. This draws the attention of the king, and he sees you. He grabs his lieutenant, and heads towards you, intent on killing you as proof that he is worthy of the title he is trying to claim. Initiative
Glenda throws Fynn again and it knocks the lizardfolk to the ground. He does not stir. Acting quickly, you unlock the cage and free the prisoners. There are 12 humans and wood elves. They thank you profusely, and several of them start looking around for weapons. They find pieces of wood that they brandish as a club, or rocks to throw. As you release the prisoners, you hear a barbaric yawp. The same lizardfolk seen earlier - the one tearing down the effigies on the other island, has emerged from the water. He moves swiftly onto the island right up to the leader of the muckmarsh tribe, and he kills him. The muckmarsh guards go from brandishing their weapons at him, to following his orders. He has taken charge of the muckmarsh clan. His first orders to them are directing them to attack the Rootwater clan. The muckmarsh section of the island is currently free of lizardfolk as the entire clan moves to attack the other clans. DC 15 Wisdom (Insight): It's obvious to you that this lizardfolk leader is the true leader of the clans. If he's taken down, most of the lizardfolk will disperse from the island.
Glenda's fish slaps against the lizardfolk, just as Ravvek's blade pierces its flesh.
You guys are hidden, so you can all get a surprise attack on the lizardfolk.
Group stealth check successful! You sneak your way onto the island. Between the flashes of light and the drums, it's easy to go from one but to the next, waiting around a corner for a Lizardfolk to turn around, and then darting to the next hut. As you go from spot to spot between the flashes of light, you find yourself mere meters to the first cage. There is a single lizardfolk guard, and he has not seen you.
I keep trying to update this game, and as soon as I start someone asks me to do something. I'll get a post up sometime tonight.
There are enough rafts attached to the island that you could steal to transport everyone back home. But not enough to also include livestock.
So I think we're down to four players. Average party level is now classified at Very Weak for this adventure, due to the few number of players and average level. You should be able to handle this without too much trouble. If you're planning on sneaking, please roll a stealth check, with advantage. If you're planning on attacking, please roll an initiative.
So I think we're down to four players. Average party level is now classified at Very Weak for this adventure, due to the few number of players and average level. You should be able to handle this without too much trouble. If you're planning on sneaking, please I'll a stealth check, with advantage. If you're planning on attacking, please roll an initiative.
The question of Rakish is an interesting one. He can definitely be there for purposes of me passing information to the group, but I'm less certain about whether he can participate in combat and any skill checks (and what rewards my PC gets vs the DM rewards).
I'm going to wait one extra day to give everyone a chance to catch up and read. This is primarily due to the site issues. I'll also PM everyone who hasn't responded yet.
Ah. You must have loaded the page while I was driving to lunch. Didn't put up the map until after I ordered food. :)
Map issues: What's wrong with it? It seems to work fine for me. Edit: I tested the link with a friend. He said it worked for him, too. It's a Google docs link - maybe there's an issue there?
In the center of a massive, slowly swirling eddy is a long island that appears to be taller and larger at one end. From your vantage point, you can see two distinct encampments of lizardfolk. Each has a ragged banner with different markings on them. You can just see the top of a third banner hidden behind a cluster of six massive drums in the center of the island. Destroyed wooden huts and crude fortifications sit on a low mound around the drums, and down into the water. Two large wooden cages lashed together from tree limbs dominate each encampment. One appears to contain humanoids. Animal-like sounds from the other ones imply they hold livestock. Each cage has tall poles with winged decorations similar to those on the outer island. About a dozen lizardfolk roam each encampment. Some are guarding the cages, while others work on large rafts at the water's edge. The lizardfolk seem more interested in keeping an eye on the other tribal groups than watching for other dangers. The marsh thunderdrums boom away, covering most sounds in the area and making speech difficult on the island. The drums pulse with a magical blue energy each time they are struck, a side effect of the minor enchantment that drastically raises the volume. It lights the whole island. Each clan has their own encampment on each arm of the Y-like island. The King's huts, and those of his lieutenants and bodyguards are mounds of wood and debris. In the center of the island stands a pike with a half-dissolved lizardman skull on it. The mound, bordered by the drums, is something of a no-man's land between the clans. The clans only deliver captives to their own encampment. Deliveries are guarded to keep the other clans from stealing their catch en route. The Muckmarsh are on the northeast arm, the Rootwater are on the southeast, and the Dusk-Dusk are due west. Each group has ten lizardfolk, plus an average lizardfolk turned-clan leader who would be king. There are three or four rafts beached on at each camp. The Muckmarsh clan is armed with primitive swords, shields, and javelins. Only the clan leaders and shaman of the other two clans are so equipped. The Muckmarsh cages hold 18 humans and
You know have to decide what you're going to do. It's night right now - will you go in now or wait for dawn? Will you stop the drums? Will you rescue any of the people of animals? If rescue, who will you decide to rescue? Id you want to rescue more than one group, which will you go after first? How will you do it? Will you attack, sneak, negotiate, or something else entirely?
Yeah; close friend of mine has a leading role. He even got an autograph by Bruce Campbell when he was in town for a book signing the other week. I was very jealous. :)
I'm giving some extra time due to the site being down for so long over the weekend. Also, I'm seeing "Evil Dead: The Musical" tonight and won't have time to post. :)
The Ringcurrent Islands are named for the source and shape of their ring-like arrangement. A large, slow moving circular eddy formed along one of the Twilight Marsh's deeper water channels, and the circular motion shaped a number of islands. The Muckmarsh tribe lives on and around the islands, which surround the King's Island. At night, the drums are tremendously loud and clearly located somewhere in the middle of the islands. You all gain advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks (bold for emphasis) when the drums overwhelm the ambient sound. The sharp eyed among you notice first, but eventually everyone sees that about half of the huts on the surrounding islands are destroyed or damaged. Coming up to the entire area, you approach the first of the islands classified as the Ringcurrent Islands. Up close, it is obvious that some of the huts have been physically knocked over or crushed, with logs snapped like twigs. However, many more of them are oddly destroyed, and the remains show signs of being dissolved or rotting away. Further inland, you see several a pair of ragged winged shapes hanging like decorations high in the tree branches. The silhouette of a large and powerful lizardfolk appears from behind the trees. It jumps high in the air, grabs one decoration in each hand and rips them from their ropes. It lands, throws them to the ground, and stomps them flat. The lizardfolk strides into the gloom. This lizardfolk is too far away to take any actions except for the most extreme ranged attacks, and doing so would give away your position. If you investigate, DC 12 Int (Inv):
Looking around the island, you find no other living lizardfolk.
You discover lizardfolk bodies in the rubble of some of the ruined huts. A successful DC 12 Intelligence (Investigation) check suggests that the bodies and huts show signs of being burned partially away by a very powerful acid. Searching the huts reveals basic weapons, shields, and other items common to a primitive village. If you look for the ruined decorations, you discover they appear to be crude effigies of a dragon. The island is long, but only a hundred feet or so across. On the other shore, you find another series of destroyed huts. Beyond the huts, you can see the King's Island in the center of the enormous eddy. DC 15 Wis (Survival, Track): You can follow the lone lizardfolk right up to the waters, where the tracks disappear. It seems to be headed back to the main island - King's Island.
The characters are invited or hired to investigate kidnappings along the Trank River. They meet their initial contact at the Crossing Inn and given known clues and the happenings of the past tenday. As the meeting wraps up, a farmhand named Taroo bursts in and frantically reports that his employers were kidnapped last night. Taroo pleads for help and the characters are encouraged to go with him downriver to the Renons’ farm, where he lives and works. At the farm are clues further implicating the lizardfolk. The characters may visit nearby farms, only to discover additional overnight disappearances and livestock theft. The clues spur the characters to head further downriver towards the Twilight Marsh. The weather turns cold and rainy. Overnight, the characters hear the drums for the first time. They are ambushed by the Dusk-Dusk clan (you attacked the scouts), following up from the night before. When the characters arrive at the Twilight Marsh, they are free to search however they wish. Along the way, they must contend with a giant toad attack and avoid or defeat lizardfolk patrols. They also likely run across a prisoner raft escorted by Rootwater kidnappers. The adventurers rescued the prisoners. Rescued prisoners can provide more clues to the events in the marsh, and are capable of finding their way out of the marsh without the party escorting them.
He brandishes a make-shift club, We dwarves can get the rest to safety. But you may need the raft if you have to rescue anyone else.
I'm not entirely sure. I think it's about another hour.
I'll try to post a recap a bit later, if I get time. Anyone else is free to do so if you get to it first.
The party kills the final lizard folk. Rakish takes you back to where he stashed the prisoners, and - at first - they look like they're about to attack Rakish, but as the rest of you show up, a communal sigh of relief can be heard. Thank you for rescuing us. We thought we were all dead, says one of the dwarves. Those local to the area recognize everyone except the dwarves. The dwarves, it turns out, were passing through when they were captured three days ago. Everyone else is from the local farms. They tell you a bit of what they know about what's going on: Three lizardfolk clans are having some sort of contest whereby the winner is the clan with the most captives. It has been going on since the drums began a tenday ago, and appears to end in a few nights. Most everyone believed there was only one lizardfolk clan, not three. Their names: Muckmarsh, Rootwater, and Dusk-Dusk clans. The drums call out the leading clan somehow. Before the contest, something powerful attacked the lizardfolk villages and killed a powerful lizard king called Scalecrusher. The lizardfolk constantly complain that they can't eat any of their victims until the contest is over. The lizardfolk have been pushing them steadily in the same direction for days. Rolk assumes it leads to their ultimate destination and thinks it translates as the Island of the Lizard King in the Ringcurrent Islands.
It's not a roleplay/rollplay debate, though. Both are aspects of the game, applied in fairly equal measure. It is a role-playing game, but it's also a roll playing game because many of the conflict resolution aspects of the game require us to roll dice. To ignore one and focus on the other removes a part of the game. To claim that the archetype is a poor choice because it doesn't enhance one portion of the game, while ignoring the benefits it can provide to other portions of the game isn't a good analysis of the archetype. The OP stated that it's a poor archetype because it doesn't advance combat and skill rolls. There's more to the game than just that, and the Phrenic Adept archetype can open opportunities in those other areas of the game.
There is an entire philosophy of playing the game which states that you shouldn't limit yourself to your stats, but rather play your character as best you can and let the dice determine what can and can't be done. I'm not entirely sure if I agree with it, but there are other definitions to role-playing than limiting yourself to a stat. People usually argue this as a counter to the idea that 8 int = retarded.
This is a good example where you wouldn't just dictate what you say as a reflection of your stats, but rather attempt to say something and let the dice decide how it plays out. I call this an In-character Decision (Thanking them for the invite) and Conflict Resolution (their reaction to your words). I'll talk about these below. Also, why does 8 Cha mean you're socially retarded? It's only 5% less on the die than the average person.
What you're talking about are descripters from results of the die or feats. When it comes to use of skills and role-playing, there are two concepts: In-Character Decisions and Conflict Resolution. The In-Character Decisions is the role-playing aspect of the game. This is when you make a decision about what your character is going to do. This is the role you've taken. That decision can be based on many things, such as character knowledge, personality, etc.. There are three ways to make an in-character decision: Role (using in character knowledge), Meta (using Player knowledge), and random (using a dice to decide). Conflict Resolution is when you can't make any further decisions until a conflict is resolved, be it a skill check, the swing of a sword, or something else. This is usually your skill checks and combat checks, but it can also be resolved by the GM simply dictating a pass or fail without the use of dice. If we take your invitation example, how do the other guests receive the thanks? The way you describe it, it seems you're advocating that the GM dictate how it's resolved. If we were to roll a die, the elegant version may have rolled a 1, whereas the inelegant version may have rolled a 20. What happens then? Perhaps the Lord says, "Oh thank Space, someone (censored) normal here. Come on, I'll show you where the food is." Either way is a valid approach, they key is that there are more than one way to resolve it. When the OP says that he only cares about the aspects of the game that can be solved through combat checks and skill checks, what he's saying is he only cares about conflict resolution via means of what the dice say. He's skipping all the other aspects of the game - aspects which may not require conflict resolution or have conflict resolution declared by the GM. Or aspects of the game which open up new avenues of adventure or help solve problems via any means other than the roll of the dice. For example, Phrenic Adept grants telepathy and two additional languages, meaning you can now communicate without speaking and it opens two new lines of communication with two new races that you may not otherwise have access to. And if you ever learn one of those two languages through another means, you get to pick a new language for your telepathy. Neither of those directly add to a weapon attack or a skill check, but both can be useful in many situations and can even solve problems that otherwise couldn't be solved (such as bypassing a language barrier, or playing telepathic mind games on an unsuspecting victim). So if there's someone at the party who speaks that language, you'll be able to start a dialogue with them and open up new avenues of the story. Or perhaps you could give your ally information silently as they communicate with the Court. Or many other ways to use it that require a bit of creative or divergent thinking. But he doesn't care about that, because it doesn't directly help with a button on the character sheet - it doesn't add to a combat ability or skill. He seems to be trapped in the idea that what's written down on the character sheet is the only or more important aspect of the game, and those numbers have to be maximized. He doesn't think beyond the character sheet. If he did, he may find uses for abilities which don't directly add to combat and skill checks.
No. Roleplay is in-character decisions using in-character knowledge, and is independent on what your stats and buttons are on a character sheet. Skills and abilities on a character sheet can be used to assist roleplay, but they are not the controller of them. The game is more than just pressing the buttons available on you character sheet. Exploration, Social encounters, and even Combat are more than the options presented in the book. The options on your character sheet are one aspect of the game. They are not the entirety of the game. Far from it.
I came to similar conclusions regarding the classes; couldn't really justify it on anything but a soldier. But is it really worth it? It doesn't seem to add to combat effectiveness, nor does it fill it skill gaps... You may not be aware of this, but there is more to the game than combat checks and skill checks. Like, there's at least two more pillars beyond combat, not to include the entire role-playing aspects of the game.
Manhattan used to have something like 6 million people living there a century ago. In the past 120 years, the highest population was 2.3 mil. I really don't see it getting as high as 6 mil.
16. There's a massive sale on their model of ship (how else did the PCs get their hands on one?) and they're therefore as common and as valuable as Mediterranean fruit flies. Hi, I'm Al Harrington, President and CEO of Al Harrington's Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man Emporium and Warehouse! Thanks to a shipping error I am now currently overstocked on Level 1 Starships, and I am passing the savings on to yooooouuuu! Paint it and attract customers to your business, make a splash at your next summer party, transport grandma, buy a gun and protect your crops, take the kids on vacation, make it a sweet sixteen. Whatever your Level 1 Starship needs are! So come on down to Al Harrington's Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man Emporium and Warehouse! Route 2 on Planet Weekapaug.
According to p. 133, the DC to identify a creature of average rarity is "10+1-1/2×creature's CR". I opened up my book and discovered that your quote isn't accurate. It's not 10+1-1/2×CR It's 10 + 1-1/2 × CR Notice the difference? They put spaces between each sign, but no space where the dash is located. The lack of space signifies that 1-1/2 is a single item by itself, and not 1 minus 1/2.
I will be running Part 2 of Knives for Torin Nomerthal as soon as my life calms down a bit. Give me a few weeks. I'll PM everyone in this game when it's up to give you first choice to join the game. I'll close this game in a few days to give everyone a chance to get the info for th Logsheet.
DDEX 3-12: Hillsfar Reclaimed
Magic items: 1 Permanent - Eyes of Minute Seeing (goes to Alysha, unless someone contests it). Please subtract your gold spent during the adventure. Skyreaver and Beryl have 1 Level of Madness. You can remove it by casting the appropriate spell, or purchasing Spellcasting Services at the beginning of your next game (40 GP for Lesser Restoration).
Yay, Jiro! I'm glad you had fun! Same goes for everyone else! This module was a bit different, and not very much combat. I like modules like that, for it reminds me that there are other pillars in the game (combat, social, exploration), and AL does take into account all three when they write adventures. It'll be a few days before I can get the log sheets up. I'm training three new people at work in two different labs, on top of all my normal work, so I can't go online at work like I usually can. And then tonight an old friend from the army will be in town, who I haven't seen in years, so I'm hosting dinner for him. And on top of all that, I'm still unpacking from the move. I'm hoping I can get the logsheets before the weekend.
This is the official end of Hillsfar Reclaimed, DDEX 3-12. Information for Log Sheets will be posted in a few days. Thank you for playing, and I hoped you enjoyed it.
The guard takes the gold and turns around. I must have lost you in the crowds, he says, half to you and half to himself. You make your escape, and after a few minutes Skyreaver comes around. Once into the sewers, you're relatively safe again, and you make your way back to Isthana. She thanks you for the information, surprised it was demons and not dark elves. She pays you the agreed upon amount and requests you stay close for future missions.
You have accomplished both goals, however, it's not the dark elves that are manipulating the First Lord - it's demons. As for searching her body got clues, this was posted earlier: Between the last of your attacks, you kill Thessaly, and as she dies her form changes from human to demon, revealing her for the succubus she is. When Ember searched the body, she found the pearl handled silver dagger (can be kept as a trophy or sold for 150 gp), and 98 gp.
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