"Aye, I don't doubt you are right, I'll give it a go, I'm already wearing the ring afterall..." So saying Byden makes the ascent again and attempts to reach the face.
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Byden shrugs, "Uh, like a swirly rainbow?"
Once he regains the ability to speak Byden groans, "The eyes of this big stone face went all swirly with color and then it started blowing up a wind that knocked me back. Not sure what triggered it exactly, but I could make out some marks on the floor, maybe someone tried to resist and managed to avoid getting paralyzed by the whirling eyes?"
"Woh.... pretty colors..." Byden manages before finding himself paralyzed by the whirling colors, then the wind strikes him and helpless to arrest his backwards progress he tumbles towards the drop and over it. But fortunately the Ring of Feather Fall activates allowing the paladin to sink safely down to the floor below.
"I'm gonna try setting whatever this is off before you come up Ratchet, might as well use this ring right." Suiting his words the half orc paladin bulls forward towards the mouth expecting to be rammed, and attempting to keep a wide stance so he has some chance to resist any attack.
Byden shrugs, "Either that or she wants us to think she's given up. Let's keep our eyes peeled."
"He, they don't call me eagle eye, but the probably should," Byden says, his expression deeply self satisfied.
Byden keeping his voice to a whisper asks the others, "Anyone know why there's an elf woman following us? I generally don't enjoy people sneaking after my business. Couldn't be anyone you know could it Erethyn?"
"No obvious threats, there's a corridor with a great big stone face at the end. Looks like someone shoved a pickaxe up his arse. You want to come up and check for traps Ratchet, from the looks of Corpsey down there, if there's anything its probably just going to throw me down, so maybe I ought to just try to set it off? Oh, hang on somethings made like gouges in the floor... Maybe the big face pushes you off the edge or something?"
As the group make their way back to the tomb Byden fills Erethyn in on their experiences so far, "So we've had to solve a couple, of puzzles, Ratchet's dealt bwith a load of traps. We fought wolves that were lairin' in the entry, swarms of acid oozing beetles, couple of bigger beatles, an evil egg - don't ask I don't know - this sort of beetle-like thing with like scythes for legs. Oh, and there was this flooded bit where I fought a thing made out of water and then somekind of undead - was a right bugger I can tell you! Found a few freshish corpses to, four maybe?" He pauses and looks thoughtful, "There's this room with all these colored lanterns hanging from chains, and you sort of point this fake sarcophagus at the one you want to activate. We seem to have covered most of them, they made elevators activate and such, but there's at least one place we haven't explored which is going to need one of us to climb up this long shaft. We found a splatted corpse at the bottom so there's probably some trap, or something, but we've got a Ring of Featherfall now so one of us ought to be able to go up there pretty safely. Either me or Ratchet I'd say, what do you think Senna, Ratchet. Maybe I ought to go up make sure there aren't any foes obvious then climb back down and let Ratchet search for traps?" Once they reach the ancient tomb Byden makes straight for the shaft and slips on the Ring of Featherfall before stripping off his armor, slinging his shield over his back and carefully climbing up using the wall, and Ratchet's pitons and rope to make things as easy as possible, with little concern for time it takes to set up.
Lol, it always seems like Portable Anvil ought to be an oxymoron.
573.94gp after we've all chipped in for the Cure Light Wand.
Byden blinks, nods and shrugs, "Don't seem to matter to me, as long as they are willing to pay what we'd get elsewhere, might even be handy, save us some time. You trust them though, why are they so interested? That place was clearly built by evil, or at least unscrupulous, creatures, I'd not want to give anything over to those with dark plans for it... But I suppose it makes sense that they would want stuff from their order back, but next time we'll meet them together and I'll give them the once over with the old detect evil eye. Maybe we'd better stick together in town to just in case..." The half orc shakes his head and points over his shoulder, "Anyway, found us a new healer. This is Erethyn, my old boss trusted him and he knew how to read people, can't think of anyone more trustworthy we are likely to happen upon. Erethyn this is Ratchet the other member of our little band. I suppose if you are all ready we could head back now, its going to take too long for my armor to get here to be worth waiting, and besides I need to be able to pay for the bloody stuff when it gets here..."
Byden shakes his head sadly, "He passed away, nearly a year ago, nothing dramatic just his heart they said, he was old an we aren't all as long lived as you elves. I think he was satisfied with his life, and with what he'd done, I'd be glad if I could say the same one day - not to soon though. As for our group, we've one more a dwarf, Ratchet, who knows about traps and is some sort of alchemist, handy fellow, I'll introduce you." The paladin moves off gesturing for the others to follow as he seeks out Ratchet.
Byden smiles ruefully, looking sheepish, "Ha. Right you are M'am. I'll be sure to get it back to you I'm sure that wands and, um, bat poop and such, aren't cheap. This money is just for a down payment sadly, good armor ain't cheap. Ahhh, well, thank you Senna its appreciated." Then he shakes his head slightly, cheeks perhaps a little ruddier than usual, and squares his shoulders, "Right, anyway, I've out the word out to the lads that we're looking for a new member, preferably with a bit of healin' ability. And, um, wait I know that fellow, remember going to see him with Sir Lorton, if I remember rightly we just might have ourselves a likely lad, or elf right there..." Moving forward Byden waves at the elf approaching as he asks, "Its Erethyn ain't it? Don't know if you remember me, but I was Sir Lorton Birch's Squire. I know I was still being a prick last time we met, but the old boy rubbed off on me and I'm following in his footsteps - well probably a bit over in the mud, but you take my point. Anyways we're looking for a healer, don't suppose you'd be interested in a little high risk high reward adventurin' would you? Its a good cause, you can't go paladining in your skivvies, so I need coin if I'm to be anything close to useful. Course I've got me some such now, but the place we're exploring has been jam packed with stuff just begging for a smiting..."
The next day Byden seeks out some of his old buddies from the garrison and gets them to put the word out that the group needs a healer, he also asks if they know anyone who might suit. After accompanying the others to sell the loot they decided to rid themselves of he makes for The Captain's Blade where he purchases a beautifully made longsword, hardly grumbling at all about the three hundred and fifteen gold pieces he has to pay for it. Then he heads over to the Osgood Smithy and asks, "How much would I have to put down for you to measure me up and start making me a set of full plate? I don't care about pretty as long as it's functional."
Diamond Lake Info reposting for convenience.
Ah, works for me I'd thought about suggesting it actually :)
"Hmmm, you know what I think you get a meal with your room actually. No point spending coin when you don't have to, we might as well eat at the Inn. And we ought to think about recruiting a new member with Adotiln off, I can heal a bit now, but not enough for a death trap like that up there. How do we put the word out?"
When they lug the goods back into town Byden suggests they go for a meal at The Hungry Gar, or The Rusty Bucket, to discuss what they ought to sell and what they should keep. Upon learning that Adotiln does not wish to continue with them, he slaps the dwarf on the back and thanks him gruffly for his help, gladly consenting to him taking the Pearl of Power. "I'm going to take a room for the night at the Able Carter Inn and get a bath before we eat though. I was staying at Jalek's Flophouse before and I don't recommend it, I swear there was more bug in my mattress than straw."
Well we would not get much for the Wand of Shatter and against tough foes with non magical weapons its amazing, and the Wand of Unseen Servant seems like it could be handy in a tricksey dungeon like this one. We just wouldn't get that much for them and they could be very handy IMO.
I am aware of that, it's very handy, but Lay on Hands is better and makes it a touch redundant. It is probably better to only use a wand out of combat though.
That's a good point I'd be okay with that, and we could always choose to sell the ring after we've dealt with that drop. Byden could use the Pearl, but not for 2 levels so I don't see the point in holding it. So lets see that would be 823.93 gp per share if we split it three ways and give Adotiln the Pearl of Power as his share. If we go in for a cure light wand it would be 573.93gp each. I like that better, if Ratchet and Fanguar are okay with it? I suggest Senna carries it as she has a good UMD and Byden and Erethyn have healing of their own - I think Ratchet does to?
Well that's enough of a consensus, so I shall - very reluctantly - bow to the will of the people ;) Regarding the Ring of Feather Fall, will it? If it happens to the whole party only one person is protected if it doesn't then there would appear to be a 3 in 4 chance it won't be on the relevant person. I don't think its worth 1000gp. If you are talking about the shaft that the guy apparently fell from we could buy a 25gp scroll and have Senna ready an action to cast it if the person climbing falls, etc. It might but probably won't save you a bit of damage once, whereas putting that 1000gp towards better armor, or a ring of protection would almost certainly save you hp on a consistent basis. Some items are just not that good and should be sold. I'd rather have an item that will be handy always over an item that might possibly come in handy at some point and takes up a valuable item slot. So I propose we sell... +1 Shortsword for 1155gp
Giving us a total of 2971.8gps which when divided four ways would be 742.95gp each. Adotiln would take his share and the Chainmail, having netted 842.95gps worth of coin and gear with his armor upgrade which seems just about reasonable and we would all have a bit of spending money. Senna would get the Wands, Byden the +1 Armor, Ratchet the Goggles. Further I propose that we three chip in for a Wand of Cure Light wounds - if we can find one, its under the gp limit - reducing each of our shares to 492.95gp. Thoughts? If we did not sell the Ring of Feather Fall, I think we'd probably be obliged to make up some to Adotiln so we would end up with over three hundred gp less a piece which would rule out the purchase of masterwork weapons, etc.
No me neither really, not in a stable group at least, but I've often seen people get quietly sidelined and characters that want to buy non standard equipment suffer. I think either way it will result in much of a muchness, but I'd rather have records and not need them than the other way round. I also tend to be conservative and spend my wealth carefully avoiding using expendable items as much as possible and like to be rewarded for this, if I'm frugal and someone else is blowing charges of third level wands constantly I should have more wealth than them, etc. I think we've already seen we disagree about the value of a number of items, and I think PF often supports specialization over generalization. If I prioritize getting a cloak of resistance over other items I want I don't think I should be last in the que because I have high saves, etc.
And for the record the daylight rock I see as a party item that can be left outside of loot calculations since its a bit of an odd duck.
I don't really see that as a compromise it seems to be your system restated. I would argue that the debt in my system isn't a real thing it's just a balancing mechanic. You should be last in the que for stuff if you already have more than everyone else. Who gets to judge what is useful and what is best for each character I want to make those decisions for myself. If you only want the goggles to match your picture buy a pair of cheap goggles, if you value them as a magic item they should IMO count as part of your share. You are not being penalised for being in debt it's just a way to acknowledge your relative share of the spoils of war and keep things balanced. Not sure why its silly that if you have the most you don't get to keep getting more until everyone else has a similar amount. Seems only fair to me. In practice I think either way things will turn out virtually the same, it's in everyone's interest to take found items because they are half price. But we aren't all going to agree on what should be sold and what should not so having to use your share to pay for them at half price makes better sense to me. I think our relative positions are pretty clear and I'm happy to let Senna and Erethyn's preferences settle things.
Hmm, could I put in an order for full plate and get measured up for it Fanguar?
I don't like that kind of thinking and I'm strongly against it. I often want different equipment than the adventure turns up and I don't want to beg for it. By my preferred system everyone gets a set share, you don't want to do math so they don't surely? If you don't do the math how do you know shares are even? I practice it works pretty much the same someone can owe the party if an item comes up that they really want, etc. If you want it take it as part of your share, it's essentially half price. If you don't want it at half price then it clearly isn't a priority for you. I either end up feeling guilty or cheated by a less ordered system. I want to get the equipment I want, and for example don't really rate the holy avenger at all SR means helpful spells don't always work, even my own and if a standard action dispel is my best bet as a paladin I've failed at my job. Cold Iron is rendered almost useless by smite and I would rather sell it for 60,000gp and get a +1 Holy Undead Bane Vicious sword and a number of Scabbards of Vigor. A weapon that would have two less to hit, and do more damage, and not hinder my spells. I'll go with the groups decision, but I hope my position and vote are clear.
Mmmm, I see where you are coming from, but that tends to wind up with less assertive people getting the short end of the stick. PF assumes an even wealth by level and the math really is not that hard. I'm willing to keep treasure and I don't enjoy feeling like I have to ask for items I want and justify them to the group. It also seems unrealistic to me, you are risking your life raising a tomb for its treasure but aren't bothered about getting an even share? I agree about the daylight rock, partly because I think it's probably not expected to be treasure.
As they slog back down to town Byden says, "I don't think we discussed splitting the loot, but I'm for finding out how much everything will sell for and then splitting it evenly. If anyone wants to keep anything they can pay for it from their share at what we could sell it for. I want to try to get hold of some proper plate, maybe a better sword since this one is pretty dinged up."
Trouble is Infernal Healing is evil, I suspect it would even detect as evil? Its an evil spell with the descriptor. So Byden would certainly not allow it to be used on him and would probably feel obliged to try to persuade others not to use it. That said Byden's not a lecturer, but he won't be chipping in or using it, etc. I disagree with the Ring of Feather Falling being worth keeping, in my experience they come up so seldom as to be virtually useless and quickly become a waste of a ring slot. It might be useful in the climb we will have to do shortly, but only for one person and Byden could survive it anyway, etc. Darkness isn't much of a threat to us either, half the party has darkvision and the other half are primary spellcaster for whom it is only a small inconvenience. Deeper darkness is a third level spell so has to be at least caster level 5 and would thus not be dispelled - I assume caster level 5 for the daylight because assuming its either a true magic item or a permanency it would be much cheaper to create that way. I still say keep it, mostly because I suspect its real value would put us too far ahead of where we ought to be wealth wise. If someone wants to keep the Ring of Feather Falling I suggest they use their share to do so, its clearly not a party item IMO. Honestly my main priority is to get shares to enough for me to be able to afford Fullplate and if possible a MWK weapon. Assuming we are splitting things four ways with Adotiln before he goes - which seems only fair - we'll need to be pretty ruthless to get there. I would argue that as our only primary melee type Byden's AC being high is more important than very situational items. If we go with my suggested method then everyone can use their share to buy the items they proritize, and if nobody is prepared to spend half of an items value to get it I would argue its not worth keeping.
I normally agree, but we should have plenty of healing and a potion even at half sale value is less efficient than a cure light wand - which I would suggest we should probably buy. It's 25gp sale value vs 15gp a 1st level wand charge. With the majority of consumables I think you are better off in the long run selling them and putting the money towards items that give the party a long term benefit, though there are a number of exceptions mostly for get out of jail free type spells you would not always want prepared. My preferred method of treasure distribution is to split the sale value of everything evenly and then let players "buy" items they want at the sale value, but not sure if the group has agreed a treasure sharing method?
So lets see values I know we have and likely want to sell... +1 Chainmail 1300gp so 650gp sale
So sale value of 3446gp and 8sp. We needs values for... *The red metal altar.
Okay so let's try to put together a list of what we have got and see what we want to keep a sell, etc. *The red metal altar.
Was there anything on the skeleton that has fallen down from the high corridor btw? I suggest we sell everything save the Pearl of Power and possibly the daylight spell on stone - we could see how much we get offered for this, the daylight spell isn't as good as actual daylight sadly, though still great. I want to buy fullplate for Byden so the +1 Chainmail is obsolete. How are we planning to split treasure again?
Welcome aboard Patrick, looking forward to seeing what you come up with :)
Sounds good to me :)
Sorry to see you go Caffeine, best of luck :) Getting a fourth sounds like a good idea, I suggest opening a thread, I might try and steer a few people over, but there is nobody that springs immediately to mind.
"Well you aren't wrong..." Byden replies handing Senna back her bedroll.
Byden barks a laugh and strips off wrapping Senna's bedroll around his waist, "So we've got the lantern, the ring, the short sword - which looks pretty fine anyone want to take that? And what 45gp? Anyone know what this eight pointed star thing means? Seem to be a lot of them down here..." He shakes out his armor until it is dry, then begins to wring out all of his clothes one at a time. When he is finally satisfied he dresses and says, "Right well I guess we go and try the red lantern out?" And if there are no objections he leads the way back up to the lantern room, ahngs the red lantern and turns the sarcophagus towards it.
Grimacing Byden hauls the spoils, and the corpse out of the water, removing the ring and handing it over to Ratchet without a word as shakes off like a dog. "Anyone got some sort of magical replacement for a towel? Otherwise I'd like to get a fire going for a bit somewhere to dry off."
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