BugbearDM's page

To the Damned Troop,
I’m sorry for not posting as often as I had promised to in the past. You would all be well within your rights to either leave or at least ask for an explanation, and the fact that you haven’t is something I’m grateful for. There are a few excuses I have (too much homework, tired from work, etc.) but the real reason is rather basic: I’ve lost motivation. I don’t have the same drive that I did when I started this game, and I’ve been very tempted to call it quits.
But I can’t do that. Not when you guys have already stuck it out this far with me. To give up on you now would be unfair. So I’ve decided that I’m going about this in a different way: rather than treat it like a game, I’m gonna treat it like a story. I’m throwing out my old notes and starting off this idea fresh.
If you guys can be patient for just a day or two more, then I promise that by this Sunday at the latest, I’ll have a new post for you guys, and I’ll start taking this game more seriously. And I’ll make sure to involve you guys in some proper action.

Thanks again for staying,
BugbearDM

Expect a post tonight. Sorry for the delay.

Brain drain? As Lady Vellexia would instantaneously inform you, it could actually improve my intelligence because Rorek speaks ith a female intonation You cant drain less then zero! he pauses.

She is of course lying because of course she is. he deadpans.

F&+! me, she is totally going to place me there, Qlippoths beneath bugger my lovelife. As he offers the Succubus his Elbow, in a completely not literarry way and is ready to stride into the building alongside her.

Better on my Elbow then above me dropping a f+#~ing tree. Which this one probably has in her skillset, given her outfit.

[dice=Diplomacy to banter along, amuse her and maybe improve attitude]d20+11

Ntropa smiles at you, a surprising intensity in her eyes. She doesn't hook arms but she does gingerly grab your elbow and shoulder, and you briefly feel her squeeze your bicep eagerly. She giggles. "That was spot on hahaha!"

What is a Lady like you doing on a dunk like this though? Must have been a dreary experience, how long did you have to suffer it? Is there at least anything worth playing with in the slave pens?

Ntropa rolls her eyes and her expression sours. "Oh you don't know the half of it! It's so unbelievably boring here. All they ever do is cut up slaves and plant them, cut down trees, and sing their sad work songs. Not to mention the work bosses are constantly trying to get me to hook them up with big money. There are days when I'm tempted to take the express route out-" She pantomimes hanging herself and sticks out her tongue. "But this is part of my 'Pseudomortal Botany' class so I can get my degree and do some real work. My coworkers say that Succubi have no chance at getting Fey souls down below but I say f*** em! They'll see: just a few more decades and I can ditch this dump and prove my hypothesis right."

Also, Axiomite? This "Minmaximus the unhittable" Oracle Scaled fist guy by any chance, who was like, really certain that being incredibly hard to hit would protect him from everything? I remember, I think Lady Yzalina charming him, telling him she wants to protect him, and then transferring her very restrictive Corset onto him via that guardian armor spell. I have to admit I chuckled pretty hard at that. And dont ask me why I know Yzalinas Corset is restrictive, 95% certain you have seen the clip.

Rorek merrily banters along with Ntropa.

Her eyes widen at the mention. "OMG I remember that! That clip was viral on AbyssTube for a full year! Those dumb Lawful types always think that they have things figured out and then BAM! All the magic in the universe can't fix stupidity." She pauses for a second. "Well, I guess it can, but you get what I mean."

Query: Can Vellexia, in character, speak to people who are not Rorek or Mendax?

Vellexia can tell Rorek to say things to the rest of the party, might in a pinch be able to use Sending to communicate a simple message, anything else and she'd have to be physically present. Which Mendax would not be cool with.

Sorry about the delay! Things have been a bit crazy at my house. 100% promise this time: expect a post no later then 5:00 PST today.

Just noticed that I urgently need to redo my skill selection.

Reason: my insinuator powers require frequent knowledge diplomacy or knowledge religion checks to propitiate outsiders that are not Neutral Evil. DC for these is currently 16 (will increase to 17, where it will then stay most likely). I would need to switch my skill points over from intimidate to diplomacy if that is permitted.

Oh, sorry! Forgot I needed to confirm this. Sure!

Hey, Nat 20 right out of the gate, auspicious start!

For my 'special question' I attempted to 'ask' it in roleplay -- Portia trying to remember what she studied about this place in the days and weeks after her negotiations with Mendax back in Westcrown.

Sorta a 'Who is Mendax's direct superior if not Asmodeus? Or if that's not appropriate or the answer is useless cuz it Is Asmodeus, then is there a rival of Mendax here in Malebolge, perhaps someone who covets the Castle.

Something like that -- Who here does Mendax worry about?!

I'll just answer that question here then, although unfortunately there aren't any really good answers. Mendax's boss is Asmodeus, as you all can already tell. Granted he does still have some responsibility to Mephistophiles, the ruler of the ring, but as a Contract Devil he has a direct line to the big guy himself.

As to devil rivals of Mendax: he doesn't have any. This is unique enough to make note of, since all devils usually have someone they're feuding with, but among Mendax's peers there's no one he has a special enmity with. He's instead the rival of a certain powerful demon, but I haven't brought that up yet since I'm waiting for Tariq to post.

Could you connect the gameplay thread for ease of dotting?

Done.

My PC is more likely to seek out a Headband of INT tied to The Nine Hells. And, in Korvosa and Cheliax, one is more likely to find one associated with an ArchDevil or Circle of Hell.

Of course, metagame, sure, go after one more useful! But that ought to be the purview of the DM.

That said, the DM in this case could decide that the Devil Worshipping merchant who sold it to Portia made her an offer for one that would give her Lore on her worst enemies: a couple Demon Lords! But again, better to let the DM choose. (Maybe even an Apostle of Mammon sold it to her and so it has Lore: Mammon, and Lore: 'Mammon's most hated enemy Demon Lord.' ....Or ArchDevil Moloch and his most hated enemy Demon Lord. Or, since she's a girl PC, some misogynistic merchant sold her one on Lore: Nocticula and Lore: The Whore Queens.). So being honest, Portia Porphyria-Jeggare would have sought one on specific ArchDevil Lore. But she won't say 'no' to one with Lore on her enemies.

Alright, if you really want me to pick them, I'll combine your first two ideas: the skills will be Lore (Asmodeus) and Lore (Caina/Malebolge, the eighth circle). A headband perfect for a country of liars, flatterers and seducers.

Sweet! Now that everyone is here, let me post a few basic build rules:

• Stat Array is by build points, 30. I figure that this can be a stand in for the unholy power boost you get as part of service.
• Any race in the Advanced Race Guide is allowed, but monstrous races have to be built a level below weaker races to compensate.
• Any class you want (including the unchained classes if you wish) with two exceptions: nothing from the Technology Guide, and nothing from Occult Adventures. Those classes change the rules too much.
• Background Skills are in place.
• Called Shots and feats that involve them are allowed.
• This adventure does use Hero Points, but there are no feats or alternate racial rules for them: they’re just a reward for out of the box thinking and good roleplay.
• Standard Trait rules (two traits plus a third if taken with a drawback)

After some deliberation I've decided I'm not going to include Elephant in The Room, Automatic Bonus Progression, or Gestalt rules. They change the rules up too much and I don't want to have to keep track of them.

This means that the starting gold is 23,500 gp. Also, you can make your character sheet however you want, but it has to be something I can easily access.

Loving all these posts so far! You all chose some pretty interesting concepts for your characters. I'm thinking I'll keep recruitment open until Saturday night, then get an answer as to who is in the party by Sunday.

Exactly as the title says: in your personal opinion, given the time sink that a Play-By-Post campaign is normally, is it a waste of time (on part of the players or the DM) to run a one-shot in a Play-By-Post forum?

Hi! I'm a new DM looking to get some practice DMing. I figured play by post would be great since I don't have a very flexible schedule yet.

The adventure is Lachlan Winter's The Fiendish Felon, converted from D&D 5e to Pathfinder 1st edition. The basic set up is as follows:
The town of Bealy draws visitors from far and wide coming to see the "Night-Lights", a yearly event where pixies and sprites float from the woods to deliver gifts to the townsfolk. But when the local flora and fauna start becoming more aggressive, everyone is packing up, leaving the town on the edge of collapse.

Ideally I would like to run this adventure, it's sequel, and beyond if the party is up for it, although I understand if they can't.

A few basics:

• My virtual tabletop of choice is Roll20.
• When I do start the campaign I'll hold session 0 on Discord.
• I am all for new players, and am willing to teach them how the game works.

So, with all that in mind: anyone interested?

EDIT: I have changed my mind about the Discord Session 0. Session 0 will just be held in the Campaign's discussion tab.

A few points of clarification, your intention is to play the game essentially live, using Roll20 and/or Discord to facilitate in-time discussion?

I'd be interested in a play-by-post pitch, but this doesn't sound like that and I wanted to verify.

Sure! I originally just wanted to use Discord for the session 0, but I completely forgot about the Discussion tab on all campaigns. I'll change the pitch to support this.

As for Roll20, it's more about having an easily accessible virtual tabletop. You can join a Roll20 game anytime you want, so players can just move their character's around on the tabletop and then post what they are doing here.

Does that help clarify things?

Hi! I'm a new DM looking to get some practice DMing. I figured play by post would be great since I don't have a very flexible schedule yet.

The adventure is Lachlan Winter's The Fiendish Felon, converted from D&D 5e to Pathfinder 1st edition. The basic set up is as follows:
The town of Bealy draws visitors from far and wide coming to see the "Night-Lights", a yearly event where pixies and sprites float from the woods to deliver gifts to the townsfolk. But when the local flora and fauna start becoming more aggressive, everyone is packing up, leaving the town on the edge of collapse.

Ideally I would like to run this adventure, it's sequel, and beyond if the party is up for it, although I understand if they can't.

A few basics:

• My virtual tabletop of choice is Roll20.
• When I do start the campaign I'll hold session 0 on Discord.
• I am all for new players, and am willing to teach them how the game works.

So, with all that in mind: anyone interested?