Search Posts
Now that the creatures were out, the ranger dropped his bow and picked p his spear. One of the monsters had already been hit and Alxite concentrated his attack on it, trying to out it down once and for all. He lunged with his spear...
...but failed to connect. the ranger yelled at Ishirou, "C'mon Tian, let's see that fancy blade of yours!"
As Ishirou surfaced, the ranger let go of the rope and picked up his bow and arrow. He sighted and waited for whatever was coming to come within view. When the first creature appeared, the ranger let an arrow fly, hoping to at least hurt it bad enough that they would lose the grip on the rope and fall back down. "C'mon, don't let them come out!"
Alexite dropped his bow and gripped the rope almost bowling over Jesari. He yelled down to Ishirou, "Grab the rope! We'll pull you up." With his bow close at hand, the ranger prepared to bring up the Tian; Tito chattering wildly urging him on.
Profusely sweating from the exertion, the ranger was both relieved and curious when they finally found the entrance. The sight of the skeleton certainly was unexpected. After a brief inspection, he could not discern its purpose or reason for being there. Maybe to keep the secret The next thing that happened was Ishirou trying to destroy the wooden plug. Here they were in a 10-foot deep hole, standing on this plug that the Tian was trying to destroy. Alexite held up his hand after the first hit, "Stop this! Look at where we are. If we break this, we'll likely fall right through. We need to dig around it." After a couple of more hours, they finally broke through and looked down at a deep shaft. Alexite pulled out his bow and checked the straightness of an arrow, "Well, Mr. Treasure hunter, why don't you go down there and I'll cover you with my bow?" He looked at his companions, "Can one of you send a light down there for Ishirou to see better?"
Happy to have spent some time in a productive manner with Ishirou, the ranger asked him, "Yeah, what's the story about this treasure. I'm sure there's a story right?"
Seeing the ghost fumbling with the locket confirmed that this was what it wanted. Alexite continued to back away and asked, "You have what you want. Do you want us to put the locket back in your ship, in your cabin? Just tell us what you want and we'll do it."
Alexite was at once relieved that the ghost was interested in Ishirou but also scared as what happens. He repeated his question to the apparition, "Who's this Aeshamara you're looking for?" With Tito trembling on his shoulder, the ranger backed away from the ghost and Ishirou.
Taken back by the apparition, the ranger gets up and slowly back away. "We are not thieves; we're castaways. Who are you and who's your beloved?"
Alexite is pleased with Sasha's attitude. "Your skills are valued here in camp. We'll have you come explore with us next time. Soon, I promise." With a nod for Tito to climb onto his shoulder, the ranger says goodbye.
With a little bit of coaxing, they managed to convince Jesari to come with them and take a look at the Brine demon. Alexite carefully lowered his companions before tying off the rope and clambering down himself. Tito was already waiting for him below. At the sight of the treasure, the ranger softly whistled, "The craftsmanship of the dagger is exquisite and the artist did a superb job on the picture inside the locket>" But it was the papers that made ranger smiled, "This is the proof to exonerate Jask!" He turned Jesari guessing that she knew more about legal documents than Kali'da, "Am I reading this right?"
"A treasure map? The Tian has a treasure?" Alexite was not buying it, "Does that mean that he marooned us here on purpose?" He thought for a moment, "So if he wants us to help, is he willing to share the bounty or is that greedy bastard expecting to keep everything for himself?" "I don't know about this. I would think that he wants to hurt you so you did well in not going by yourself. But if we all three go together, now that's different." The ranger thought some more, "To be honest with you, we are just exploring the island so we can still do that while looking for the Tian's treasure. If we find it, then we can evaluate how dangerous it is to try to retrive it. In the meantime, he can hopefully change his attitude towards us. If for whatever reason we can't find it or get it, then at least we can say we tried." The ranger smiled, "I say we do this provided two things: we all share the loot and he changes his attitude no matter what the result is as long as we give this a fair chance of success. Do you think he would go for that?"
Folks, how do you feel about saving the exceeding food from a day of hunt in the form of rations? Rations usually last that longer because they're made of food easily preserved. I don't know if meat/vegetables are so easy to preserve to become rations. What do you think about it? Do you have any idea on how to get additional rations? OK, some metagming but maybe not much because Alexite probably knows more than Fabian about this subject. Meat can be smoked, dried, and/or salted to last longer. The waves in the seashore make a pretty decent cooler if you fashion a net (so fish won't eat it) and put stuff inside. Similarly, any fish caught could be kept alive in some form of net. Any veggies found could be buried. Fruit... fruit is stuff to preserve unless you go canning so let's forget fruit. Just some thoughts...
Well, let's have Alexite go hunting until we can get our rations count up to at least a day for everyone (i.e., we all still have something to eat if hunting is unsuccessful for a day). I know Alexite is not the most diplomatic of the bunch, but he will continue to reach out to the NPCs to get them at least 'helpful' so he will probably try his 'charm' on Aerys next.
The ranger was indeed taken back by Jesari, "It's not that I'm stubborn. I have tried talking to him several times but just can't get through to him." He considered his next few words, "It really comes down to survival. If we can't rely on him to risk his life for us then we shouldn't have to either. We need to look out for our people, meaning those that are willing to help. I'm not going to ask Jask to come hunting with us; that's not his thing. But the man has proven his worth and does his fair share. That's the kind of people we need if we are going to survive." He shrugged his shoulders, "If you can get Ishirou to start pulling his weight, then I have no problem with him so let me know how that goes."
Once more Alexite neared Jesari and Kali'da, "I think we have a problem. It's Ishirou. I talked to him yesterday, and he flat out told me that he would not risk his life for any of us. We can't have that type of attitude if we are going to survive. I have 'left the door open' for him to leave us and strike out on his own. I'm hoping that may shock him in to being more helpful, but I don't know. Beware of any underhanded tactic he may employ with you or the other castaways." He looked at them, "How's Aerys and Gelik doing?"
Ishirou looks at Alexite with a careless expression: "All my life I've been serving for free, boy. I won't do that again now that I'm free. I will help if that's needed for my own survival, but won't do anything more than that. People die. We have to deal with it. I saw people dying from savage monsters, starving, succumbing to disease, poisons, spells, ancient curses. We're no different. We are likely going to die here. If I can do something so save my own skin that would also allow other to be saved, well I think I'll do it. But otherwise, I won't risk anything for anyone, except if I get paid handsomely for that". Alexite was very frustrated with the Tian man, "Then why are you here? Why are you telling me this? Knowing you won't risk your skin for us, do you think we would risk it for you?" The ranger shook his head, "I am no boy. I have seen plenty of fighting in the Sargavan army before acquiring my skills in the wild. If you don't change your stance on helping us, it's probably best if you strike out on your own."
Back at camp after the funeral, Alexite is more somber than usual. He carefully goes through Hakeem's belongings and takes the CLW potion for himself. He then looks at Sasha, "Heads up!" and tosses the other potion (CMW) to her. "You earned it. Pretty decent swordwork, especially with two blades. I could never get my left hand to be very proficient. Where did you learn that?"
He sighs, "With the rations running low, the diseases running rampart, and the wildlife trying to eat us, we need all the help we can get. How about you come around and help out a little more?"
This leaves us with 3 active players. I think that we could even try to continue this way, without recruiting anyone else. Of course, I'd allow you to take a GMNPC with you to help balance the party. What you think about it? The pros for a party of 3 would be the increased speed of the game and the chance for me to focus more on your PCs. What you think about it? Would you prefer a fourth member or would you like to try a party of three? I think playing a game with three players will be tough but not impossible. I think the best number is five players because it allows for more player interaction and the game can go on if one player is absent (vacation, whatever). Only three players will also put a heavier burden on the DM since you would have to 'play' the NPCs more often. That being said, we would have to get creative to bring in another player or two, but I'm sure we could think of something (other castaways from the Jenivere?). If we are going to recruit, it may be best if we ask people that we know are good players first to see if they want to join us. While I'm here, I would also like you opinion about slightly increasing our posting rate for this campaign: I'm not going to ask you to post 5 times per day. I would be content with 2, especially when we are in combat and the posts tend to be not so descriptive after all. I think that increasing our posting rate would allow us to reach the adventure's climax sooner. What you think about it? Would you be able to do that? Maybe resetting to 1 post/day during weekends? I can certainly do small posts two (or more) times a day without problems on 'most days'. I just don't want everyone's post to be super brief like "I hit with my sword" and show the dice roller. BTW, I usually have more time on weekends to post (wife and kids sleep in late). Just some thoughts to ponder...
Panting heavily from the exertion and loss of blood, the ranger goes about killing the remaining dinos. He carefully placed his spear point near their heart and put his weight behind the weapon. It pained the ranger to have to kill them but gave him some form of satisfaction, especially after one of them tore a deep gash in his arm. He gave the potion to Sasha, "Take care of her and I'll go see about Hakeem but watch out, there may be more flying 'Yellowings'."
Alexite slowly closed Hakeem's eyes and sighed, "Our friend has died, probably from the dino's bites. Which reminds me that I need to make sure mine is not infected or worse."
The ranger asked the elven woman, "Sizara, I need your help getting Hakeem back to camp. We can't leave him here." He now noticed that he was the only living male in the group. Glad to have such resourceful ladies, he asked, "Everyone OK? Can we get back now?"
The wound was deep and Alexite bled profusely from the serrated teeth of the flying dino, Alexite searched for the animal. Seeing the elven barbarian leaning over Hakeem made him react. In a voice eerily similar to a drill sergeant, the ranger turned to her, "Sizara, enemies still attack. Get over here now!" He then moved in to place with Sasha and lunged once more at the flying creature. But his weakened strike once more failed to connect with the dino.
"Aye! Good hit. And let's make sure the others that aren't flying are dead for good." The ranger waited for the creature to come close again and once more tried to impale it on his spear...
...but his weapon wasn't even near the flying creature.
Yeah, I learn new things all the time and since we're all here to have fun, it's all good. I think the misconception in this particular case stems in that you are right and moving past an enemy does provoke an AoO, but the 5' step is a special type of movement and that doesn't apply. And I'm glad you saw that it wasn't my intent to 'make it big deal out of it'. Thanks. Game on!
Alexite, actually you cannot take that 5 ft. step because you would be passing through an enemy's square. I would ask you to move your character otherwise, or allow me to roll an Acrobatics check for you in my post to determine if Alexite is able to perform that movement and avoid resulting AoO. Hey, I don't want to make a big deal out of this because you're the GM but are you sure? I know you can't step diagonally past a 'hard corner' but I think you can step past an opponent. I even read a thread. Like I said, it's your game so do what you think is right but I also want to know where you are getting your rule so I can apply it to my games.
The ranger frowned at the bad news and yelled back, "Fight it is then. Let's kill these one at a time. Concentrate on one target until it no longer moves!" Alexite then moved slightly to have a little dino between him and Sasha and lunged with his spear.
Is Hakeem's player no longer with us or was he just 'taking a break'?
Alexite was momentarily undecided. he wanted to go and help Hakeem but the flying dinosaurs were attacking. In the end, barely dodging a flying creature made up his mind. He tried to recall what Sasha said about these animals. He remembered that they were poisonous but were they territorial? Would they attack if they backed of? They certainly wouldn't be hunting a human? He yelled at Sasha, "Sasha, are these like your Yellowing? Can we get them to stop attacking?"
Spear in hand, he waited until the creature came within reach and lunged upwards.
The ranger's smiles suddenly turns into a grimace as he touches his arm where there felt like there was the tip of a thorn embedded in his flesh. "No need to thank me. It is I that should apologize for making you swim when you weren't comfortable. And it was all for nothing. We'll stick to the task at hand from now on which is to get off this island." He then adds as an after thought, "I'm not sure that I do know what is going on with Aerys. But if she has a problem, I wouldn't be telling everyone in any case. I really wish for everyone to start working together towards a common goal."
Given the disastrous results last time they explored a wreck, Alexite did not recommend doing so again. He looked at the wrecks and longingly thought of the treasures they may find but passed on the opportunity. Now there was only survival and getting off this island.
The ranger touched his still tender shoulder and winced, "In that you're right. It is never too late to learn. I went from being a soldier to being a woodsman later in life so I can certainly relate. With your magic, you should a natural so I want to stay on your good side."
Tito was going back and forth fetching stuff that the ranger threw when he stopped to consider the question. "You know all of us, including yourself are going through a very difficult situation so you have to give people time to deal with this. And people deal with it in different ways." He shook his head, "While I would love to kick some sense into some of our less helpful companions, I bite my lip and try to do my part." He looked at Sasha in the distance, "Sasha has helped out so far so just let her be and I'm sure she'll come around. I'll talk to her about it when the opportunity comes up." He looked at the elf, "So just relax and don't do anything overly dramatic. Remember that what's funny to one person may be offensive to another."
Sorry for my confusion, but I thought we would be back in the main camp. Did we camp out twice out in the wilds?
Alexite smiled as he pulled out one more thorn from his body. Tito looked at him like the man was crazy and perhaps he was. In any case, the tanglebriar didn't look as bad when he first went in. It was all bad once the first thorn had pricked his skin. he hated to admit it but he had been a tad claustrophobic in there. "I sure hope Aerys does appreciate it and we can all start working together towards a common goal. Like getting out of here. Do you think she's ready?"
The ranger touched a large red welt where a thorn had gone deep in his skin. "It's OK and getting better I think. But I still feel queasy and not quite at full strength." He was quiet for a moment then added, "I really am thankful for your care. Are you a healer by trade or by necessity?"
Hey folks, do you prefer to have some time to roleplay a bit or you prefer me to go on and post now? I was going to add my successful (albeit painful) experience with the berries but I can write that later tonight (when I have time) and put it in a spoiler. I'm Ok with you moving things along.
GM, pardon the interruption. :) I started a homebrew PBP (Demon Hunters of Golarion) for which I will take various published works (mostly Pathfinder Scenarios and parts of the Worldwound AP) to craft my own campaign. The game is intended to start PCs at 4th level and roughly end at about 10-11th level (my sweet spot for gaming). Since PBP is slow, I was able to start the game but I still don't have all the pieces 'buttoned down' for the entire campaign. Would any of you be interested in critiquing and providing ideas to hash this out? If so, we need to carry this conversation to another medium (email probably) so we don't hijack this thread more than necessary. If interested, shoot me a PM with your email address. Thanks,
Hey everyone, I need to know where you want to head in the next day of travel before posting. Please mark your intended path on the map with a black line. Ok, I marked it, basically get back to main camp by way of the western coastline. I also want to move our main camp to this new spot we just found if it proves suitable or another close by if not.
The rangers smiled at their find. He had been looking for a place to move the camp. It was not very efficient to have to return to the same area as the island was explored. The first thing he tried to do was determine how old the camp was (and if it was still being used today). Where there fresh tracks? Humanoids? He then looked for any clue as to why these people abandoned the place. He asked the others to keep watch so they wouldn't be surprised by anyone or anything. "Sasha, come help me please. Sizara, you're in charge of watch while we search this place." If the camp was indeed abandoned, he made a note on his map to be able to find it again. "What do you all think? Any issues with moving the main camp here?"
Alexite smiled and announced, "These berries can help with recovery from sickness and even addiction, particularly the sickness caused by alcohol withdrawal." He looked at the thick wall of thorns and sighed, "But it looks like we'll have some problems getting to them." He tried cutting into them but it was slow going. He thought of fire. "Anyone have any ideas?"
The ranger awoke to screams. He rolls out of bed and grabs his hunting knife as he gets up. It was still dark so it was difficult to see but something was not quite right. Did the sorceress have fangs? Seeing the spider neatly sliced and bitten allowed him to relax his grip. he looks around before asking, "Has anyone been bitten?"
Some more unsolicited feedback which you are free to ignore... You are a very 'by the rules' GM and have experience with this very same AP. Therefore, I have no doubt that you can handle 'diseases and weather patterns' that you are throwing at the party. You are also playing with wandering monsters and those are also being handled well. And I do realize that you are doing this to show everyone that the island itself is a dangerous place (and you're doing a good job, too). However, from my perspective, I know I am not playing these games to have my PC overcome 'disease, weather, and wandering monsters'. I want my PC to be involved in some 'epic adventure'. And I dare say that this is what most players want as well. And that's not what's happening here and now in this game. I am also a firm believer that 'situations' (getting lost, encountering wandering monsters, diseases, etc.) are great roleplaying opportunities. But once you fight one snake, fighting another snake is more of the same. In a face-to-face game, the game moves quickly and you will get past the 'disease, weather, and wandering monsters' fairly quickly and move along with the story. PBP is much slower than that and if you keep rolling wandering monsters and us getting lost, then we will stuck in this pattern for the next few months. As has been suggested previously, perhaps you can downplay some of the environmental issues and move to the part of the story that is 'epic'. I think you will find that your players will be a lot more involved as well. Again, just my humble opinion so take what you want out of it.
Alexite grunted as he saw the other reptile, "Brace yourselves! There's another lizard." He cautiously backed into the cave while holding his spear in front of him. "Everyone get behind me and enter the cave but look to make sure there's nothing dangerous there." He turned to elven barbarian, "Sizara, with me up front. Let's slowly back away. Perhaps there's an exit on the other side of this cave entrance."
"Sasha, watch out!" Too late, the lizard had shocked the girl again; it was a wonder she still remained standing. Hoping to finish this once and for all, the stubborn ranger once more plunged his spear. But this time, he decided to use more caution to at least hit the dam reptile.
The ranger positioned himself better now that Sasha was in the fight. Trying to keep the lizard at spear's point, he once more struck with all his might. He wanted to pin the creature to the ground if not outright kill it.
Embarrassed by the humbling experience of losing his way in the jungle, the ranger was too preoccupied to have seen the lizard. The shock brought him to his senses, literally. Tito jumped from his shoulder and scampered up a tree as the ranger tightened the grip on his spear. He responded almost instinctively, by trying to stake the lizard with his weapon.
The ranger gathered up his belongings and beamed at Sasha, "See, I told you. It's your time for adventure." "About your pet. I talked to Gelik about them and he said that they are poisonous, is that right? Have you ever had one of these Yellowings?"
Alexite will lead the group east and then slightly southeast, trying to stay equidistant from the coastline. So jungle exploration today. He turned and said, "I think we also need to look for a place to move camp. We can't explore the island and have to come to this same place all the time so finding another campsite will also be part of today's exploration." He looked around once more before interning into the jungle, "Any questions?"
After a long day out in the jungle, the ranger approached Gelik. In a low tone meant to be heard only by the gnome, he asked, "Do you know what a Yellowing is? Sasha here is crazy about these things and I don't know much about them. I was hoping that you had come across them in your travels and could... you know... fill me in and make me look good in front of her." He winked at Gelik, "Any help is appreciated..."
Alexite shook his head while Tito ate a piece of fruit of his hand, "I can't say that I do know what that is. With a name like Yellowing, it must some sort of bird, right? Do they talk?" The ranger continued to ask her about these 'yellowings' and listened intently. When the conversation died down, he suggested, "I don't think there is a mandate that you stay back at camp. You obviously know what you are doing and are willing to help, which is more that we can say for others. Oh, did I mention that you have a good head on your shoulders. That's another good thing." He smiled, "Perhaps we can hunt enough in the next day or so while the others recover. Then you can come with us exploring, does that sound good?"
The ranger neared the sorceress, "Sorry about making you swim out to the wreck; we'll make sure to avoid that next time we're exploring." Alexite looks to see that the half-elven woman was not around, "I noticed you've become friendly with Aerys; do you think she'll help out around camp now? What's her story anyways?"
Seeing their rations literally being gobbled up by the castaways, the ranger decided to go out hunting while his others companions recovered their health. He turned to Sasha, the defacto provider for the group, "I'm hoping you can show me some of the trails you hunted in the past couple of days. I would like to accompany you if you care for some company?" He checks the straightness of a couple of his arrows and chuckled, "I can;t promise you anything but I'm a pretty decent shot."
The ranger, with Tito on his shoulder, trailed after the huntress. While out and about, the ranger continued to win over his monkey friend with encouraging words and treats. Remembering how he broke the ice with his other companions, he asked, "Cute fellow, isn't he? What about you; did you have any pets while you were growing up? Where is home anyways?"
Alexite nods, I don't a think a day or two will make a difference, and I would rather everyone be healthy before we leave camp anyway. So I say we stay." He scratched Tito who had nuzzled in his shoulder, "Besides I think two days would be very helpful. We can hunt and fish and work on befriending the others. This place would be much better if everyone was pulling the same way. Does that sound good?"
Jask swiftly follows Hakeem in the tent where Sizara has been brought. Only Gelik, Alexite and Kali'da are now near the campfire. The gnome puts his forefinger in the soup and tastes it. "It's still good...The leaves have added a unique flavor to the soup...Want to try?", says the gnome with a joyful smile, before offering his own forefinger for his companions to lick. "By the way...I've had some time to think about my precious knowledge and my immense kindness has suggested me to share it with you. If my mind does not betray me, I have some memories about this island having a partially built lighthouse. Cheliaxian explorers long ago tried to colonize this island, but gave up for some reason. In accordance to the reports I've read, they began building a lighthouse before leaving the island...So maybe if you can find that lighthouse we can finish to build it and use it to signal our presence here and hope a ship rescues us". The ranger looks at the gnome with carefully concealed disdain. He smiles and shows his own finger, "I have my own, thank you." He then sits, "A lighthouse you say, eh? That should be a tall structure and we should be able to see it from far away. How complete was it? Where was it on the island? On the shore obviously but any idea where?"
Alexite shook his head in disgust as Aerys stormed off. He was about to give her a piece of his mind but paused as he saw Hakeem talk to her. Tito the monkey did not contain himself and went about to chitter angrily at the woman who had chosen to vent her anger on the tree. The monkey climbed the tree and yelled all sorts of things at the girl below. The ranger greeted Jask and Gelik before succinctly telling them all that had occurred during their exploration. He then asked, "So what happened here? And where's the Tian Man and Sasha?"
The ranger panted trying to keep up with Hakeem, "Yo there, slow it down some. I'm tired and the rest of us are doing worse. We need to take a break, here and now." It wasn't normal for the ranger to feel the jungle heat so much but his body was telling him differently. He turned to Sizara and examined her again, "You got bit, some sort of insect I bet; I know it. All we can do is have you rest and fight it off. You're a strong woman so you should be OK... with rest. I think we need to go back to camp but not tonight. We rest here and then go back to the main camp in the morning." He looked at his tired companions, "If you are feeling better, perhaps we can return to camp by a different way than the one we came, even if it's a little bit longer." he waited to see if anyone suggested anything differently.
Once on shore, the ranger removes his loop and helps Jesari on shore. "Still not perfect but much better than last time." He nods as Kali'da suggests to stay out of the water.
"Tito, your name shall be Tito." The ranger was having a good time with his new monkey friend who seemed content to travel on his broad shoulders.
Disappointed that the "Tattooed Lady" was as empty as it looked, Alexite excused himself with the others. "I'm sorry. I feel you all came here because of my urging and now we have nothing to show except Jesari's scars."
"I will swim right next to you and hopefully prevent you from being dragged under the current. You will also use the floating logs to keep yourself afloat." He looked at Sizara, "Please don't swim too far away from the others as they may need your help. Ready?" He then carefully jumped in the water and waited for the sorceress to follow him.
|
