You think? The managers of WOTC believe they have an opportunity to transform their business from being a content publisher with some effective and well-established competitors, to being the operators of a subscription based, microtransaction funded, closed platform with no competitors. They want online tools to be the future of most of the players in this hobby, and they see a way to dominate that platform, and take most or all of the value within it, at the least effort/ cost to them. They want to be the Amazon/ Spotify/ Google/ of this market. They are quite prepared to upset existing players and creators, and bankrupt existing competitors, in achieving this. It's not personal - it's business. It's been attempted twice before (TSR and 4E) because it makes sense to try, and it could succeed. And now they think they have the dominant player base and online technologies to have a better chance than before. Do I like this? Absolutely not. But they are not fools. This makes sense from their perspective and they will do deals/ invest legal fees/ spin PR/ lie and deceive to make this happen. We need to understand their objective and motivations clearly, in order to try to achieve ours.
Paizo has had 20 years to plan for this - it must be something they put a great deal of thought to, build their work around, and consulted knowledgeable professionals on. All the things we are now looking at more carefully (eg what is the legal meaning of 'authorised' in the context of the OGL), they must have formed a view on long ago. I really hope that they, and the other 3rd party creators out there, have a plan that might ensure we remain a healthy, diverse and broad hobby. Rather than the sterile, monopolistic, cash cow that Hasbro are hoping to create. Hasbro is a corporation with pockets deep enough to spend $140M acquiring DND Beyond, and a plan for earning that back with a profit. This is a serious threat to our hobby.
With his legs kicking ineffectively in the air, Grimm's fierce tusked visage inches from the cultist's face. Over his shoulder he cries out to the others, "Incapacitate him, gag him, break his legs. We take him with us." To Oiyeron specifically, "We have no time for an interrogation here - let's get him to Caliphas. Oiyeron I will stand with you, but we have to move before those undead monstrosities," he points at the horizon with his polearm, " arrive here..."
The Inquisitor is somewhat confused by witnessing goblins cooperating with the town to avert a conflagration. Organised, well-intentioned goblins? Madness! Anyone would think that we'd entered a new Edition or something... He conceals his discombobulation behind his mustache, and, to test whether the Pathfinders have indeed entered a new Edition, attempts to perform 3 Actions:
He works diligently and with vigour alongside the townsfolk, but does not leave any of his kit unattended whilst around the goblinfolk...
Still in a dozy reverie at the rear of the party, Shardra appears to be distant, distracted even, by events occuring elsewhere in the spirit world. Shapes blur about her; two figures locked in combat: a cadaverous slow-moving elderly man versus a paunchy orange creature with flyaway hair. The older man appear to have the upper hand but his opponent is summoning foul magics or 'loor-soots' in his defence... Shardra feels her life being absorbed by this ugly yet addictive battle. "What? Oh, a foul un-dead horror? Ok, I'm back with you - sorry" Shardra snaps back from her thoughts and reaches for a spell to support the group. She calls upon her powers of fast reaction to intercede before the Mummy attacks... but her inattentiveness has cost her and she fails to react in time...
Castinus calls out a rapid-fire tongue-wisting warning as more debris rains down on him from above: "beware the tower - she sheds several slashing sea shells by the sea shore!"
Distracted by his verbal gymnastics, he fails in his physical gynmastics. As he recovers from the impact, he steps forward 5' to plunge his rapier into the beast's chest:
"By the Gods - I'll had terrible trouble with crabs before, but those ones are terrifying! Watch out, they can leave you itching like crazy!" Castinus draws his rapier and jogs onto the beach, pausing only to swirl his cloak for dramatic effect. As the fabric ripples in the breeze, it leaves a shimmering blue protective aura in its wake.
Shardra observes the Alchemist, the Ganzi and the Shoanti. The Tengu is missing, but otherwise these are the party she had been recommended by the half-elf, Castinus. She watches them for a while, assessing their contributions but more so, their equipment. Drifting into deeper thought on the nature and uses of adamantium, she catches herself, and recalls the importance of social bonds within a party venturing into the wilderness and facing unknown perils together. "I shall work extra hard to build a relationship with these ones" she decides. She stands, and bows. "I am Shardra."
Spurred on by the urgency of the task ahead, Castinus makes earnest arrangements with the others about where to meet in 2 hours time at the 'Crusty Bottom'. He then looks sideways at anyone who might be tempted to join him in a 'shopping trip', and utters the cunning codeword "...Pub?" before heading out for a drink or three.
I'm ok with Castinus being the runt of the litter in combat! He does at least have a part to play in skill rolls. 4 more modules before he hits 5th level.
"Honoured Tsuneo-San, my name is not important though some call me 'Pitt'. I am but the humble son of a humble father. I serve here, and in other places, at the whim of my masters. I would dearly like to hear first hand stories of your long life and rich experiences but I regret I cannot repay you in kind, for I have no stories worth the telling. I am" here Castinus bows deeply, " your very humble servant"
Lantern held high, rapier en guarde, Castinus advances gingerly down the stairs, carefully remaining several steps behind whoever is on 'detect traps' duty. Calling softly over his shoulder at the others, he offers some wise words he heard once from an elderly human "Be on your guard. There are older and fouler things than Orcs, in the deep places of the world."
Castinus examines Waggi's discarded studded leathers, sniffs then gingerly, then returns them. "I'll take the chain shirt. These leathers are now infested with the lice you caught from laying with your sister." He smiles at the archer, hoping he is still hitting the right note in Ulfen humour.
Good evening all... Jim mentioned in the opening threads that he was holding out a place for someone - I'm the idiot who forgot to check his PM's and missed the start of this mission! Or, am I an Aspis infiltrator? I'm grateful for the chance to play with you guys, and looking forward to seeing what horrifying deaths we're all going to meet in The Icebound Outpost. Oh and congrats to the new Dad, and Mum and baby too!
Two days after arriving in Cashill village the colour begins to return to the face of the big barbarian and his fever begins to break, and in the morning it is apparent that Iradyiel’s ox-like strength plus Chest Thumper’s medications and ministrations are finally successful at returning the big half-elf to full-helf. As the sun rises on Cashill village, and the noisy early morning prayers of Pious outside in the village longhouse reach your ears, you realise it is beyond time to move on. The poor rations, the constant buzzing and biting of the marsh-flies (who seem to relish the taste of new blood), and the way the village seems constantly divorced from the sun by palid mists, is beginning to grate. Time to leave in search of this monster, ‘Guughwa’. Later, at Guughwa’s pools
Aza: It might be nothing but catching Pious flexing his weapon arm in the morning sun, it looks to you as though his latest tattoos have a new theme. Several of the texts he has added along his sword arm, if looked at from a certain angle, merge to form a long lightning bolt pattern from hand to elbow. It’s probably nothing; it’s just new, that’s all.
Welcome all to the recruitment page for Ire of the Storm, a Pathfinder module set in the dark steaming jungles south of Sargava. The module takes a party from level 1 through to level 6 by the end - should the party survive that far to see it… This recruitment is for a replacement character to join a party of four after a fifth member had to drop out. The game has been running consistently with a steady pace and great quality RP since early June 2017 (here's the link:Ire Of The Storm), and we'd like YOU to help take it the rest of the way ! The existing party have all reached level three, and are made up of Iradyiel, a naive half-elf barbarian, Chest-Thumper, a half orc druid with his armoured ape, Francis, Pious a deranged human Inquisitor of Aroden, and Aza, a burnt and traumatised human Oracle. What they are lacking is arcane spellcasting - specifically, some offensive ranged capability or area control. What we are really looking for though is someone who can deliver a high quality and reliability of RP posts. It is of prime important to us in continuing this great experience. Here's the recruitment spec: crunch:
CHARACTER CREATION Classes: Core, Base and Hybrid plus Unchained Rogue are allowed. No third party content. No Summoners or Gunslingers. No others (don't ask!). Any Paizo archetype allowed. Races: Core only, any Paizo variant racial traits allowed. Starting Level: PCs will start at 3rd level. Alignment: Any non-evil. No direct PvP conflict. Ability Scores: 20 point buy. HP: Max HP at 1st level, average round up thereafter. Traits: two traits allowed from separate types Skills: Background skill variant used, 2 background skill ranks per level. Starting Money: As per core rules Other: No firearms, no ‘unchained’ rules beyond UC Rogue. Please, no posts asking ‘what about…?’ or ‘have you considered allowing…?’. These are the limits - please work within them.
Here's the recruitment fluff: fluff:
Bear in mind that 'Ire of the Storm' is more jungle exploration than dungeon crawl. PCs aligned to nature and weather themes will fare well but are by no means necessary. If you're interested in submitting a character, please include the following information in your profile:
I am particularly interested in your character’s motivation for being in the dangerous frontier lands in the steamy jungles of the south. Look, I'm not expecting an essay, just evidence that you've thought this through and have something we can all work with. I'll be judging people more on their history of gameplay postings than on oh-so-clever builds or novella-length backgrounds.
Here's the module intro - THE IRE OF THE STORM Originally named ‘Pridon’s Grave’ by the local Song’o halfling tribes, the upstart town of Pridon’s Hearth is the newest colony of the nascent kingdom of Sargarva, pushing the country’s borders further than ever before into the damp and swampy jungles to the south. Answering a call from the local land-owner for a second wave of colonisation, the PCs were drawn by tales of long-lost temples and the abandoned riches of long-dead heretical cults. However, since their arrival dark threatening stormclouds have been assaulting the town, and indeed the wider region. The colony's protective bastion, Fort Breakthrough, has been raided and the militia inside all slaughtered. The town itself came under attack from lizardfolk raiders in the midst of a terrifying unnatural storm. An exploration vessel, the Cobalt Eye, has now been twice wrecked on the coast, its first crew having been killed in the storm and reanimated by horrifying creatures from the plane of water. Through all this a party of erstwhile heroes, the 'Papaya Knights', have struggled to protect the townsfolk of Pridon, but it is far from certain that this mixed group of heroes and chancers will be enough to shield the growing colony from raging tempests and hostile monsters. Dare you join them, and brave the Ire of the Storm? ****************** I will close recruitment no later than midnight GMT after the long Thanksgiving weekend. I can’t wait to see your submissions, and to have you join our shared adventure. Good luck - and importantly, whether you are successful or not, thank you for any time you commit on this thread ! GM Abyss Dancer
With a rush, the party’s frontline warriors advance upon the levee wall. Chest Thumper and Francis make it to the foot of the barricade, adjacent to the prone and hog-tied figure of Sheriff Adaela. Iradyiel, just ahead, steps up onto the first line of sandbags, just beneath the hooded lizard above. Silhouetted against the boiling storm clouds out to sea, she prances atop the sea wall seemingly unperturbed that the battle has been brought directly to her. Chest Thumper:
Now you are up close to her you sense she shares your deep connection to nature, but fouled by a corruption, a toxic pollutant, that leaves you feeling almost nauseous. You revere nature in all its glory and majesty; there is something tainted and unnatural about her connection with the natural world. Standing astride the Sheriff, Iradyiel unleashes his greatclub with furious power laterally across the top of the wall, leaving his foe no room to dodge. The blow crashes into her right side, shattering her arm and dropping her to her knees. Struggling to her feet, she is powerless to evade Pious as he steps up and with both hands thrusts his longsword deep down into her chest, transfixing her through. "By the Last you have been tested, storm hag. And by my steel you shall be sentenced. Thus falls the unbeliever, the heathen and the foul!" She is not finished though. With a jerk, she lurches to her feet, yanking the longsword from Pious’ grasp. Standing tall on the wall above them she makes a dramatic sight as a wave crashes up behind her. Rain and sea spray running down her body, hood thrown back and impaled front and back by Pious’ longsword, she throws her head high and cries into the screaming wind, ”Aid me Gozreh! Strike those unworthy to witness your power!”
An intense flash of light. A wave of heat. Utter silence. Some minutes pass. Pulling themselves up from where they were blown in the explosion, vision and hearing slowly begins to return. Etched into their mind is the moment a colossal lightning strike lanced through the air to strike Pious’ sword and thence the lizard, shortly before the vaporisation of her vital fluids blew her in charred chunks across the whole street. A singed set of robes remain atop a wall of sandbags turned glassily solid; impaled into them is Pious’ longsword, still smoking and with arcs of charge still running up and down the blade. And strangely, the scene about them has changed too. Gone are the entangling watery fingers but beyond this the ferocity of the weather has sharply abated. Whilst the storm remains, the furious hurricane-strength wind here has eased and the frequent lightning strikes have ceased. This is good, because the sea's waves have not diminished and the damaged levee is still allowing seawater to flood into the town behind. Aza:
With your natural affinity for the wind, you feel the lizard druid had been acting as a focus or amplifier for the storm’s anger, and that now this has passed with her. How this came to be you cannot guess, but you don’t feel that she was all of the answer; the colossal storm at sea, of which this storm is but a fragment, feels decidedly…unnatural, still. Jit:
With your stormborn bloodline, you felt a terrifying divine power manifest at the moment of the lightning strike. You can only speculate what that might have been, but the scale of power on display was simultaneously exhilarating and sobering. You judge that the lizard druid had been acting as a focus or amplifier for the storm’s anger, and that this has passed with her, for now... Pious:
You have just witnessed the divine – a channeling of potency so much greater than you have ever witnessed. Interpret this as you will… Everyone bar Francis:
Have you ever plugged a gorilla into a van de graaf generator? Every hair in Francis' fur is standing on end. He might not appreciate it, but aww – cute! ********************************** You are out of combat. Well done – that was epic, and a lot of fun ! Sorry Aza, Jit, for not waiting for your actions: when Pious' attack dealt the killing blow after going toe to toe with the lizardfolk druid for so long, it seemed only fair to write him up as the final blow. Next steps: Let’s have some reaction and RP before we go any further. Then: actions, questions ?
There’s sudden congestion at the corner of the chandlery. Aza steps back towards safety, but in doing so succumbs once more to the entangling water. Jit leaps away from the claws of the lizard behind her, barely fast enough as pursuing talons rake a tear in the back of her rain-soaked shirt. Iradyiel moves up towards her but slips in the rain, putting a knee into the empty stomach cavity of the fallen lizard warrior. The half elf surges forward again, a look of sour disgust on his face, only to have to put out an arm to save Chest Thumper from skidding backwards into the wall, as he in turn reels from the buffeting wind. Behind Jit the triumphant face of the lizardman emerges from the doorway, teeth agape and ready to bite. He is however entirely unprepared for the arrival of Francis’ fist; the ape had stepped smartly around Jit, set his feet and patiently timed a devastating haymaker to crack the lizard’s jaw. The effect was dramatic; lifted off his feet the lizard flew back into the store just as the last of the roof blew away and the rear section of the building collapsed inward. Only a pair of green-skinned legs remain, sticking out of the rubble Alone at the levee, Pious drove a powerful thrust upward into the hooded lizard, tearing into her other side. Screeching in pain, she abandoned her magic crafts and descended on him in a cascade of teeth and talons; "Mireborn!" she shouts; Pious finds himself in a whirlwind of attacks but somehow remained unharmed, even as his divine sponsor’s healing boon slowly knitted his wounds back together. Round 8
Round 9
Pious your crit narrowly failed to confirm, but in other news, I forgot to heal you +1 (to 3 HP) last time and you get another +1 this round too. Jit, you moved before Francis so got to G17 first; this means Francis had to go round and was denied a full attack – for all it mattered. And then there was one left – finish it! GM data: LF sentry#1: dead LF sentry#2: dead LF1: dead LF2: dead LFG: dead Reszavass: 18, LA x5, spells x2
Behind the levee wall a powerful wave impacts the quayside, sending a wall of salty spray up into the air to then be violently dashed across the quayside by the wind. Everyone struggles to keep their feet; further over where the sandbagged barricade has been sabotaged, more of the wave overtops the wall and flows further into the town. To the west, the loose fishingboat disappears with the terrible noise of shattering wood as it is crushed against the quayside. Chest Thumper keeps his feet as he crosses the treacherous cobbles, now awash with both seawater and the more perilous animated kind. Reaching out, he casts Guidance on Francis just as Iradyiel winds up for a mighty swing at the lizardfolk. The foe sees the blow coming and easily dodges it, but Francis, aided by divine insight, sees where that dodge will end. One fist reaches out and seizes the muscled lizard’s head in a crushing grip; the other hand sinks claws deep into its torso pulling most of its internal organs out into the square. The lizard, in slack-jawed shock at its dreadful injuries, falls to its knees before toppling face-first to the floor. At the levee, Pious summons the vestiges of his strength to thrust his longsword upward into the side of the hooded figure above him. In fury, she pulls back to cast another lightning arc at point blank range, just as Jit completes her magical scream attack. It has an effect, causing the hooded figure to reel back in pain, but fails to daze her as Jit had hoped. At least it does distract her attack; caught between targeting Pious or shifting her aim to Jit, her strike lances off into the air, lost in the storm. Behind Jit, the tearing sounds of the chandlery being pulled apart by the wind accelerate, With both doors open, there is a wind tunnel straight into, and out of the shop, and this is more than the structure can take. With a sharp crack the rear half of the roof takes off, making Jit start, and look over her shoulder. Worse, she spots the lizardfolk sentry has struggled out from the display cabinet and clawed his way forward, murder in his eyes, to cling to the doorframe just behind where she stands ! Round 7
Round 8
CT, you said you’d move to G15, which is occupied by Iradyiel. I put you at G14 instead – still close enough to cast Guidance on Francis, which just made the difference and finished the lizardman grunt! Iradyiel started the turn entangled, and ended his turn failing his REF roll again, so is still entangled. Aza’s turn 7 is pending – Aza, remember to roll REF13 to determine whether you end turn 7 entangled. Pious, you lucky bastard – that lightning stroke failed a touch attack to finish you off... Feels like the party are gaining the upper hand…or is that tempting fate? GM data: LF sentry#1: dead LF sentry#2: 5 LF1: dead LF2: dead LFG: dead Reszavass: 6, LA x5, spells x2
All hell breaks loose on the quayside and by the chandlery. Aza’s predicament, ducking and dodging from the claws and jaws of the enraged red-skinned lizard assailing her, draws a magical spell from Chest Thumper and physical assault by both Iradyiel and Francis, splashing through the grasping fingers of the enchanted water to reach her. Chest Thumper’s magical flare blooms in front of the lizard’s face, but in the chaos of melee, fails to distract him. Both Iradyiel and Francis’ blows lash out at the enemy without causing damage. In response, it lashes out at Iradyiel, and, momentarily tripped by the watery limbs, he is unable to prevent it clamping its teeth into his weapon arm, leaving a long laceration. At the same time the water attempts to grasp at Francis, but is instead dashed to droplets by the ape’s furious stamping. Pious meanwhile rushes the hooded figure. Struggling against the buffeting wind, the grasping water, and his own exhaustion, he makes it to the foot of the levee wall. To the right, a long section of the sandbagged seawall has been pulled apart, the sandbags scattered to allow the tumultuous waves to cascade through and burst onto the quayside. On top of the wall, maybe 5 foot above him, stands a more slenderly-built, olive skinned female lizardfolk, leering down at him along an elongated muzzle lined with razor-sharp teeth. Looking into her eyes, she appears to Pious not entirely sane; this impression is reinforced by the belt of human heads she wears at her waist, and her high-pitched cackling, too. ”Fools ! You think...(this bit is lost to a gust of wind)..of the Eye of Gozreh ! Death! Death to all!” At this, she conjures another unholy bolt of electrical power right into the face of Pious, who staggers, barely able to stand with an accumulation of grievous injuries, grasping the quayside wall for support. Directly behind this, the door to the chandlery is thrown open by Jit. As she fumbles with the lock, the lizardfolk hears her movements, and sniffing the air with his tongue leaps triumphantly to seize her. Standing at one side of the door frame, Jit came within a hairs’ breadth of his talons, but in mid leap the door bursts open and the power of the tumultuous wind and horizontal rain lifts him off his feet with a shriek of fury, tumbles him head over heels across the store, over a pile of sailcloth and into a wooden display cabinet ten feet away, with a shattering impact. Jit tries to blast him with a spell for good measure, but in the chaos, it misses its mark. Unsurprisingly; the store has transformed into a wild maelstrom of wind and airborne chattels; a shuttered window bursts open and the building’s wooden frame begins to groan and buckle… Round 6
Round 7
I’m assuming that Francis moved to F15 instead of ‘GF6’ as stated. If he’d moved to G16 he would have invited an AOO, plus I don’t think he had the movement to get there. Iradyiel started the turn free of entanglement, but ended his turn failing his REF roll, so is once again entangled, as is Aza. Pious, you took 4 damage from the lightning arc, and now are at a perilous 2 HP remaining. Jit, the lizardfolk has total concealment from you; your line of sight is totally obstructed by whirling merchandise and other debris. Both lizardfolk made their spell saves, but I'm not sure it'll save them in the short term... Over to you once again. Wow - how many combats go 7 rounds? GM data: LF sentry#1: dead LF sentry#2: 5 LF1: dead LF2: dead LFG: 7 Reszavass: +2, LA x4, spells x2
As figures fight on the quayside of Islandtown, another almighty lightning strike crashes to earth, detonating somewhere behind the party up the hill. At that very moment Francis leaps, Kong-style, into the wind and splashes down into the water-covered cobbles. He nearly loses his feet but, together with the lightning flash behind him, causes the lizardman to flinch and shield his eyes – a fatal error. Struggling to his feet and ripping free of the entangling watery fingers, Iradyiel’s greatclub first takes his legs out from underneath him, then returns in a practiced but brutal move to shatter his ribcage into a bloody pulp. Behind them, Chest Thumper sprints through the butcher’s shop and wrenches open the quayside door. As he does so, the wind explodes through the doorway like a charging bull: with the roof already weakened from the fighting and punctured by CT’s fall, the store literally bursts asunder. A hail of roof timbers, slates, the weathervane, and much of the inside of the house shrieks upward and flies away, scattered across Islandtown. Barely keeping his feet, ChestThumper pulls himself through the doorway, only to turn and realise that there is little left standing behind him but the doorframe. Now looking up into the driving rain, he sees Francis, Pious and Iradyiel standing dripping ahead of him. Having overcome melee foes, magic obsticals, and the perils of a fragile roof, their collective eyes meet those of the hooded figure atop the barricade. She snarls and unleashes another lightning bolt at the four of them, but it arcs away, uselessly. Across the other side of the yard Aza back-pedals for her life. She places herself the other side of a wooden roofpost at the corner of the chandlery, downing a potion of healing as she goes. The red-skinned lizardfolk in front of her senses her weakness, and lunges forward, slashing again with claws and teeth. Despite looming significantly taller than her, the heavily muscled lizard is obstructed by a whirling spray of water kicked up by the wall of wind protecting Aza, and takes chunks out of the wooden post instead. Beyond the rowboat, there is a brief and uneven chase. The lizardfolk sentry tears itself away from the animated fronds of entangling water, and charges snarling after Jit as she rushes through the door into the darkened and cluttered chandlery. With her low light vision, the gnome is able to manoeuvre around piles of stock littering her way and make it to the quayside door; rushing in behind her, almost on her coattails, the lizard loses her in the darkness. Jit hears a terrific ‘crash’ just behind her as the sentry runs into a ship’s wheel hanging from the ceiling and bounces off a heap of sailcloth; whilst for the moment he cannot see her, his claws are now literally inches from her back ! Round 5
Round 6
In a flash the tactical situation flips – three failed attack rolls and a failed perception check. Now we have no enemy between four burly warriors and the hooded figure atop the levee, but two bloodthirsty lizardfolk chasing down the party’s two full casters…
GM data: LF sentry#1: dead
The party shuffled into position, cautiously advancing on the grisly bed and trying to ignore the flies choking the air in this room. Slowly Pious advanced on the bed, sword held high. Irayiel ‘s glaive looped under the covers, poised to jank the blanket off the bed…and answering his prayers, a divine vision flooded Pious’ head, an insight into the future! the eyes, the many eyes are vulnerable, strike the eyes! Pious’ skin crawled in horror, guessing what was to be revealed... With one sweeping motion, Iradyiel lifted the blanket half off the bed. Only halfway, for the small knife holding down the paper note was jammed into the breastbone of the cadaver under the blanket and held fast, pinning knife, note, blanket and corpse. For under the blanket was the desiccated, dried husklike-body of the camp commander, Marcus Pendallion. It was missing its head, as had the other militia corpses, but here the rest of the body had not begun to dissolve into decomposition. Here, the rot had been drained by a nest, a carpet, a living writhing mass of hundreds upon hundreds of glistening coin-sized red-backed spiders. And disturbed by the motion of the blanket, that arachnid swarm surged forward in a fluid stream to seek new food ! It was from here that things started to go south, because it was whilst the party were recoiling in horror at this gruesome sight that they got their second surprise. With lightning speed the colony’s mother, a black-and-red backed monster of a hunting-spider a full six foot in length, leaped up like a coiled spring from behind the bed onto the ceiling above Pious, striking down on him with poisoned fangs the size of kitchen knives. GM rolls:
Stop looking !
Surprise Round
Round 1
With Iradyiel and Francis paralysed in shock, it falls to Pious and the rear of the party to act first. The swarm are diminutive in size. Pious, you have your 'True Strike to use on your first attack. Please note the new map added above. Please post reaction RP, and actions from the 4 PCs above. Go !
Cautiously (taking 20 on perception) Kyrus eases into the room, examining the walls and floor as he does so. When the others join him, he takes the time to examine the immense stone wheel against the south wall . Out loud he says, "Guys! I can't be sure, but to me this looks like a wheel !"
Action 2 Umuzu takes the reefer with a grateful nod, and lights up. "The Cobalt Eye? She's a local legend round these parts. An old Cheliax barque of many seasons, she's sailed all over the Inner Seas. She's past her best, but still good for inland waters. I've been retained to lead a cartographic expedition upriver. Here, take one of these, I have copies." She handed Jamba a map. "There's talk of lost cities and hidden temples along this coast, and where there's ruins, there's loot to be claimed!" She leans back, inhaling deeply. "This is good, Jamba. When we get to Pridon's hearth, you should look up Heri Lightstep, the herbalist. He'll sort you out with some proper jungle herbs..."
You say that - you very nearly added a heavy crossbow bolt to your inventory earlier, via your chest... -Posted with Wayfinder
Seeing Fergal aiding the downed cleric, and refusing to be distracted by Jet's exposed thighs (after she ripped a bandage from her skirt), Arun at last contributes to the melee at the other end of the barroom. Sliding a wand from a sleeve within his sash, he places one foot on a chair, shoulder-barges a panicking merchant from his line of sight, and lets rip with a coruscating arc of emerald-green energy against the remaining hobgoblin. The blast bursts between the shoulders of Brunner and Bahran, catching a glancing blow against the hobgoblin's right shoulder and neck.
"Bravery and heroism indeed, master dwarf!" Arun explained, looking across at Khaz. "We can recount tales of carnivorous cauldrons and recumbent ravens! Although, " here he pauses for thought, "as my friend Fergal pointed out on the ride here, more worrying is the fact that we were ambushed by a warg pack, and intercepted a hobgoblin raider. There's little history of wargs crossing the river to this area. And hobgoblins are not normally solitary in nature; they are typically organised, regimented even." He shakes his head, "We ought to report this to the local watch commander here. The ever-stretched Nirmathis authorities have enough to worry about with the Molthians, without goblinoid raiders, too." -Posted with Wayfinder
Ahh. Are you sure that hobgoblin general is not still recruiting? The party are looking for an employer offering steady work and opportunities to develop our skills. And paid holidays. -Posted with Wayfinder
As the time nears for the caravan to depart, the bustle outside the village hightens. Drovers carry out final checks on their beasts, merchants tighten buckles and straps securing their loads, and goodbyes are called across a rising hum of activity. As the caravan is on the point of leaving, a black mare gallops up the street, ridden exuberantly by a tousled man wearing gaudy-coloured clothes and a sash festooned with scrollcases. It takes a moment before you recognise the rider as Arun, the portly mage who disappeared last week. In the short time since you saw him last, he seems altered somehow; leaner, tired, drained perhaps, but more confident and vigorous. And he smells of perfume with a smear of lipstick on his cheek. "Khaz! Fergus! JP! Hold up!" He reins in the horse at the side of the caravan, leaps down and embraces his companions, for marginally longer than they feel comfortable with. "How are you all? Khaz I am so sorry to have left you before you returned to the vault. You must tell me what you found. Oh, and I just saw Sariel and Laurel: it seems I am not the only one to have found sensual delight in Falcons Hollow, eh? Speaking of which, remind me later to tell you all about my sinful week with that mage, Re-zorza; after all, we have many hours to catch up together on the road ahead !" -Posted with Wayfinder
From your other campaign; here's some thoughts: I enjoy Arun from an RP perspective and I'd like to keep him thematically similar to how he is today, although he'd benefit from some tweaking to make him more relevant to the AP we are about to start. I have in mind to shift him from an illusionist to an Enchanter with the Animal Whisperer campaign trait. This means he'd bring some useful skills to the team (Handle Animal, Kn Nature, future crafting ability) plus the ability to use charm and compulsion spells on animals. I'd plan to keep his blacksmith background intact - I like the way it synchs with Khaz. Secondly, looking afresh at his current profile I see I somehow screwed up his ability point total when I changed it before. Sorry about this - it'll be in line with a 20-point build for our existing module when I finish tonight. I'll post a level 2 Arun here as well, assuming he survives the Dwarven ruins...
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