Andrew Torgerud's page

To the wall of names, we commemorate one of Caydan's finest.

Thorval, son of Thorval, son of Thorval, son of Thorval, son of Thorval, son of Thorval, son of Thorval, son of Thorval, son of Thorval, son of Thorval, son of Thorval, son of Thorval, son of Thorval, son of Thorval, son of Sven, son of Thorval, son of Thorval, son of Thorval, son of Thorval.... oh you get the idea.

Apprentice to a Fey Sorceress. Creator and Master of the Fey Spells "Hit real hard", "Diplomacy", "Get Real Mad", and of course "squeeze the Troll until his head pops off".

Wrestler of Krakens and Orcas, rider of whales. Pathfinder extraordinaire. Incapable of knowing leftie from rightie. We worship in the temple of Cayden and drink to his memory.

Thorval's Tombstone: "I punch him in the face. Are we friends now? I punch him again. Are we friends now?"

I met Jack at Con of the North 2012. Though it wasn't for a short while after that we really spent time together - and the next decade just wrote itself.

Whether it was the time I could have ended Lucius in Golemworks; When he cast Insatiable Lust on his ally Lady Brokahn; or when we finally found our true selves in Lucky and Thorval, son of Thorval, son of Thorval.............

An amazing GM. A fabulous and creative player. A true ambassador to Pathfinder and Starfinder. A Gencon special onto himself.

We may never see his like again.

*tips the cap and the beer*

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to SkalCon we go.

Lya seems to breathe slowly. "We did what we could. Many... too many... lives lost. But we managed to redeem one... more than one. And Shelyn's mercy see her in the afterlife..."

Lya keeps her eyes lowered.... sombre in her repeating...

"...all the lives we've destroyed so far..."

dramatic pause... Lya raises her eyes with confidence and conviction.

"Love is never born of evil."

"I lead by example, not with my blade. Where my blade passes, a life is cut short, and the world’s potential for beauty is lessened."

"Query my faith at your leisure. I gladly examine it and reaffirm it. But shall we turn the mirror? You turned a blind eye just a moment ago to your own thoughts and words... 'all the lives we've destroyed so far'"

"How would Aroden look upon those lives you destroyed... that you plan to destroy. Would he smile, pat you on the back, say 'job well done'? Or would his eyes show what you cannot see now... the price is too high! Even if your plan could work, even if Aroden could still pass the Test... How could he look on you with favor for murdering so many in your quest?"

"Please hear my words, feel them in your soul. Turn away from your course. Honor his legacy, honor his destiny. Help us put an end to this and save lives rather than destroy them!"

diplomacy, 3 auto aids: 1d20 + 21 + 2 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 21 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 31

what is this! reroll!

diplomacy, 3 auto aids, 4 stars: 1d20 + 21 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 21 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 4 = 50

Lya steps into the room with her glaive across her back, calmly listens to the woman, carefully considering her words.

"I have devoted my life to my goddess, just as you proclaim your dedication to Aroden.

We have spoken to your faithful tethers, your Harbingers of Fate, your anchors in this effort; and as you say, they yet live. No bloodshed was needed, nor desired. Just as many serpentfolk we met in Sessegishoss were likewise spared when reason was seen. Even their beloved dinosaur lived through not one but two encounters with us. I emphasize these events to demonstrate that you assume that death and destruction is our goal. It is not."

Lya breathes for a moment letting her statement ring true.

"I am a paladin, one devoted to love, truth and the pursuit of Inner Beauty. Shelyn as my witness, my compass, my eternal rose, I do not want bloodshed in this room. We did not travel through time to plunder - indeed we couldn't if we wanted to - the Sky Key would not allow us to take those treasures back to our time. Just as you cannot succeed in your goal to bring back Aroden.

History is written, and Aroden can't come back - and you tarnish his great legacy by murdering so many to futiley try. Your mind is being twisted by the Sky Key, just as your Harbingers suffered. Please see reason - find the meaning in Aroden's teachings - let go of this evil plan and live to honor his memory again!"

I am going to wait to roll diplomacy until anyone who wishes to speak can

Seeing Lilybeth over-exert herself, Lya moves up grants her Shelyn's blessings.

LoH to remove fatigued

Lya sees her allies target the ooze, and decides to confront the "Avatar" instead, striding slowly and purposefully towards him.

"And you believe Aroden would approve of you, taking his guise, twisting it for your own purposes? Taking advantage of his people? Summoning such a horrid creature as this ooze?

Shelyn worked with Aroden. Hand in Hand to create the greatest works of art and beauty in all of Azlant. To see someone claim to be his avatar... to use this hideous creature to scare his people. It is incomprehensible!"

perform(oratory): 1d20 + 29 ⇒ (8) + 29 = 37

Lya steps in front of Faustus to confront him in common. "You claim to be all for law, and yet you would deceive these desperate souls into surrendering their souls to your evil god. We may be fellow agents, but I will not allow your lies to take advantage of these frightened people."

"We have many enemies, both on our world and beyond."

"Not unlike the Worldwound where demons and devils pour in frequently."

Lya's Exchange boon covers the cost of the swan boat so i am good with doing that.

Lya strides 10 feet forward, glaive held un-threateningly.

"Please, realize this magnificent creature and yourselves are outmatched. See reason and we can end this bloodshed. We are not from here and have only arrived magically. Why must we quarrel? Shelyn would not want such a beautiful creature destroyed."

activating Authoritative Vestments for a swift action Diplomacy check

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 21 ⇒ (13) + 21 = 34

or heal you when you get your butt kicked.

"This is truly amazing."

I honestly dont mind the GM deciding in specials to keep it rolling. but when in doubt let's go left. i vote caverns."

back from the brink? the game is yet young. just give us time :D

ow ow the arm twist... i've been recruited

Player Name: AJ Torgerud
Character Name: Lya
PFS & Character Number: 824-4
Faction: Exchange
Day Job Roll: 600 gold. take 10, lots of exchange shenanigans

Why is no one stanning Abjuration here?

Because this is the Recruitment thread.

and because if they fight a true Abjurer... they lose

Should I keep botting them and roll their saves so that we can finish the adventure one way or the other, or wait for one or two of the AFK players to return?

In general, rolling saves for the players isn't the same discussion as Botting. As a GM and a player, I always want the GM to roll mass-party saves in response to a bad guy's spell. Everything slows down far too much otherwise.

If the spell is serious enough to think a reroll may be wanted, then the GM can halt progress and ask if anyone wants to reroll the save. If the consequences aren't life threatening or dire, I just move on without offering the reroll.

"now miss... as the ancestors cried at the orc horde.... 'don't judge a dwarf by his tale.'"

Any "sub-optimal" class can still be just as effective as the more popular, advanced classes.

A somber Shelyn Paladin, covered in a black funeral robes stand in front of the Wall of Names.

"It is with great sadness that I stand here before those gathered... Our beloved Elite squad of Pathfinders, Pathfinder SWAT, has been taken away by Charon, the Horseman of Death."

"We know this only because their newest member, Deputy Bollywood, survived the encounter with Charon; aided the ill-fated Siege of Gallowspires in dismantling the relic, and held back the vengeance brought upon the fleeing survivors before falling in the final battles. Some reports describe her final opponent as the mythical creature thought of as the Grim Reaper. Her body too was never recovered. Ambrus Valsin, their Cap'tain, has pronounced them as Killed in Action, with highest honors."

Turning to the Wall, and nodding to the wizards standing ready...
"We here remember:
Dick Shaft. The shield that led the way.
Dicky Serpico. Combat medic with a gift for acquisitions.
Rikki Gunderson. K-9 unit and her faithful companion Crunch.
Detective Dixon Hill. Flash bang Grenadier specialist.
Willy B. Sniper and former favored of Aroden."

The only downside about paying to make things more difficult for S.W.A.T. is that most people will be busy themselves in the special. Will there be special announcements about killing S.W.A.T. at strategic points in the special?

Ooh, for those of us NOT in the special... Can we pay extra for ringside seats to watch S.W.A.T. shenanigans? Who do you all have tormenting you as a GM?

You can totally buy a ring side seat!

And our GM will be none other than Tonya!

As a charity table, we (the 6 of us) went above and beyond to chip in $200 for her to run this game.

Yes absolutely!

An extra chair shouldn't be much trouble. and who knows? maybe they might want to try some ACG?

Ah, I've started dreaming about party composition for my SkålCon games... The most wonderful time of the year.

mmm party composition...

Smoked Salmon... Grilled Caesar Salad... Keg of Cider... mmmmm

Glen Shackleton wrote:

What I wouldn’t give to make it to this crazy con one day...

You are always welcome, Glen!

It's not that long a drive! How about next year?

Shawn Goldman wrote:

Any chance of alternate programming to the PFS special on Saturday night? I can run a SFS scenario if there's room.

If we can find a spot and some people, I still have yet to play 1-28, 1-30, and 1-37 and would be very appreciative of being able to knock one of those out!

If Shawn wants to run it, and you guys don't mind a loud Interactive special around you... I suppose I can add one table.

The author tables only have 6 paid-in players each. So there isn't any flexibility in who can join the table.

If the question is more related to whether you may request the names of the players who are also signed up, the headquarters/committee staff won't provide that information.

You are free to post here that you are playing at a certain table and would be interested in receiving direct messages from others also registered that table.

There are several changes to the GMs responsibilities. Individually they vary from quite minor to fairly bad but the combination looks daunting.

1) .....

That seems like a lot, especially right now when we're learning the new system

4, 5, 6, 10 years of doing it one way in one game system.... is complaining the only thing many people can do with a new system?

#5 & 6: Secrets rolls? Thank god! Players across the board cannot help but metagame if they know the dice number was likely pass or fail.i WANT to not know if I rolled bad or well. Give me legitimate reaction to bad rolls! Deception is a great new element when many have called for more GM fiat/control over the game.

#4: about damn time! There was never a good excuse to not complete reporting day of, next day latest. Force incentive on gms/organizers to do their jobs.

#2: has anything really changed? 10% more work?

#7: tbd... too early for me to make a call on positive vs negative... but it is way easier to keep a tally than running gold count.

My 2 cents.

I am planning to try another round of GM assignments next weekend if the players claim their table slots.

GenCon saw many SkalCon ribbons traded for $1 donations - $132 and 10 pounds in the war chest for Tubman! A great start!

Good News!

We have our next two authors confirmed! And these two are bringing the Pathfinder 1e ruleset back with Lost Spheres Publishing's City of 7 Seraphs!

Christen Sowards, Author Extraordinaire – bringing City of 7 Seraphs to life with his scenario "Ghosts of Legacy Hall"

Jessica Redekop, Author Extraordinaire – also bringing City of 7 Seraphs to life with her scenario "Cipher Obscura"

all volunteer assignments to date have been assigned.

I want to take a moment to highlight one of my favorite parts of Skål Con.. the Tubman Food Drive.

We had a simple thought.. why not include a collection of canned goods and offer a minor in game reward to the players?

It grew so much more than Food... It isn't even fair to call it a food drive anymore... Last year we collected and donated a Van-Full of desperately needed goods - Towels and Soap, Deodorant and Shampoo, Toothpaste and Diapers... and of course dry goods

I honestly cannot put an estimate how much the community has given the first four years - and we have no intention of stopping now!

So please check out the Tubmn wishlist - up 15 items per person will grant an increasing benefit for the weekend!

Year 5.

Phew. Who would have thought we would have made it this far? But I digress.. THE BIG NEWS!

SkålCon 2019 is moving locations! This year we’ll be at the Crowne Plaza Minneapolis West!

You may be familiar with this venue. It’s been the home of Con of the North for many years now, and we are excited to grow into this new space.

When: September 20-22, 2019

Where: The Crowne Plaza Minneapolis West!

How do i get in?! Register @SkalCon.org

As always we will donate proceeds to our favorite local charity: Tubman
(Tubman's donation wish list)

This year’s group of Special Guests contains many of our local favorites, and is growing by the week!

Tonya Woldridge, Organized Play Manager – running retired scenario “Blood at Dralkard Manor” as well as Pathfinder Second Edition kickoff scenario “Origin of the Open Road”

Thurston Hillman, Developer for Starfinder Society – running his very own exclusive scenario “Into the Perplexity: The Second Trial”

Jaye Sonia, Owner and Publisher of Storm Blood Studios, running his own Bloodlines and Black Magic scenario

Clinton Boomer, Author Extraordinaire – joining Jaye Sonia for Bloodlines and Black Magic, as well as another rendition of his retired Pathfinder scenario “Hands of the Muted God”

Jenny Jarzabski, Author Extraordinaire – running her newest scenario, Starfinder Season 2 kickoff scenario: “Pact World Warriors”

Scott Young, Author Extraordinaire – running his very own Pathfinder Society scenarios - but which will it be?

And these are just the confirmed special guests and events, with more to come!

Finally... Only Jon can truly wrap up an announcement like this:

I want to take a moment and thank everyone who has helped make our little con be such a success. I think how in the hell are we gonna do better than last con and Every Year y’all show me the spirit of giving is alive and well here. I’ve seen what our efforts do for Tubman and the people they help; knowing we make a difference in someone’s life makes all the work, all the late nights, all the cajoling (“Yer gonna come visit us this year, right?”), all the planning, and everything else involved with putting on a convention so worth it. I am humbled by everyone’s generosity. Truly, thank you so very much!

Watch this thread for updates about registration, as well as anyone else joining us.

Lastly, as always...
Lets do this people!

Lya takes a moment to look shocked, and glance at Faustus and Hao Jin...

Looking back to Tchekua, she begins "In the cosmos, law is the ideal... Likewise in this situation, there is no one answer. How you interpret it reflects your identity as the judge.

If she is to be held to the standard of guilt by absence... were you not a judge who agreed to her voluntary exile her on Axis? If she is held criminally negligent, are you not equally guilty by enforcing her absense?"

She takes a deep breath as she lets her words set in.

"These accusations seem not based in facts and written law, but in hypotheticals. If such an accusation had merit, would not the court of Axis have enforced such an expectation? How can a... how did their honor Tenth-by-Third put it?... fallible mortal accused of recklessness have been expected to return and act as guardian and benefactor if even this court did not see fit to impose that as her punishment?"

Perform (Oratory): 1d20 + 28 ⇒ (1) + 28 = 29 now that is not how you reward good roleplay RNG!

Perform(Oratory) reroll, gm stars: 1d20 + 28 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 28 + 4 = 52 but that'll do!

Lya will step forward, directing her testimony directly towards Zahal.

"On the Material Plane, there is a planet called Golarion. This planet has been subjected to many calamitous events... the Worldwound, Earthfall, the Pit of Gormux opening, the birth of Tar-Baphon. Countless lives lost, and untold civilizations great and small lost to forgotten history. Would it have been better to leave these sentient beings to the whims of time on Golarion?

I speak not of hypotheticals, nor of third-hand knowledge of the Society's Chronicles... Shelyn as my witness, I was there!"

Perform(Oratory), Inner Beauty trait: 1d20 + 28 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 28 + 4 = 42

Lya has played 6-18 From Under Ice

That Waking Rune table was insane. The GM brought the pain, put us on the brink of tpk... One of my favorite games played to this day.

163 tables of action over 3 days!

23 simultaneous tables of the stunning Solstice Scar D conclusion!

32 inches of snow already plowed away! With no more snow on the horizon for Friday!

68 hours to go until the magic begins! See everyone there!

Siege....12-13... greatest sub-tier of any Special ever. Very Excited!

We didnt get them reported on site - which tends to extend the time to completion. They are over half reported. Almost done

i am seeing 4 checks total...

kn:planes: 1d20 + 9 - 1 + 2 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 9 - 1 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 15
kn:religion: 1d20 + 9 - 1 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 9 - 1 + 2 + 2 = 13
kn:religion: 1d20 + 9 - 1 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 9 - 1 + 2 + 2 = 13
kn:arcana: 1d20 + 9 - 1 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 9 - 1 + 2 + 2 = 13

i.... can't..... wow.

Rogar stands dumbfounded. completely and utterly shell-shocked

yup! Rogar casts liberating command

Rogar is up to date

Lya turns to Glastor and whispers "Patience favored of Desna... your heroic tale of the strings will be told in time."

As Grippli concludes his telling, Lya picks up the story, eyes shut. delivered as a monotone poem reading

"The Luminous Libram.
The Slates of Klador
Asaru’s Grimoire of the Planes
The Tome of Stars and Moons
Elgar’s Forgotten Compendium
Incunabulum of the Ages

Starvation. Fasting of the body to purify the spirit.
Faith. The test of our convictions and our faith.
Humility. The test of Vanity.
Blood. A test of pain to fuel the purification.
Weakness. The giving of strength to one that needs it.
Charity. The test of one's selflessness."

Lya breathes deep and opens her eyes.
"The ritual complete,
a howling gale did swirl.
One became three, set loose upon Heaven,
our deepest regret..."

She bows her head respectfully to Altha.

Diplomacy, scenario bonus,grippli win, anointed champion: 1d20 + 18 + 4 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 18 + 4 + 2 + 2 = 38 assuming 2 from grippli

Perform (oratory): 1d20 + 25 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 25 + 2 = 35

Draa thinks a moment... "shouldnt we ask it a quest...."

I wouldn't mind starting a CORE character, though I would worry about getting him levelled up.

Start your stable. Multiple characters is always a good idea

With the constant web interruptions we need to be very patient. The site is down repeatedly during my best post time

Your paladin can't be any more conflict than a couple arrogant high intelligence casters :D

As for the one scroll of life bubble.... 5 pcs and an npc want benefit... so 6 way share of 700... 560 if gm allows my boon to discount it. Which equates to 93.3 gold per target.... 186.6 for fabian.

But only caster level 5 so 10 hours divided by 6 targets... 100 minutes each.

Two scrolls total 1260 with discount on one.... 210 gold per target... 420 for fabian.

And someone does have to keep the unused scrolls in the end and reimburse the others.

Or the monkey can get delay poison with Draa.

The modules are a good selection. Worth considering for them.

I've always ruled in specials that there are plenty of fellow agents to find spell casting services for clean up. Just pay the fellow pathfinder cleric of serenrae.

even on the same character that played version A.

ESPECIALLY this