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Skald: "Did you see the Akora at the dock? Typically just the tender, The Lash, stays there to run crews out to the watchtowers."
Arne shares what he knows. Skald: "There are maybe three score in total, split between the base and the watch stations. I think there are two watch stations at the entrances to this cove. The captain's name is Sculfer and he is a fierce fighter. The two highest mates are seers. A volve named Nixie and seidr named Jovan. Sculfer trades off running the ship with Nixie. Jovan is less popular and spends most of his time in the grave mound in the hill. He has some creature that follows him and he brings ancient hex stones from there that the captain implants into his face for power. Most of the crew are either in the longhouse or ship. The officers share the two small huts."
The enslaved men exchange looks and Arne says, Skald: "We would like to go home and hope that you are successful. What do you wish us to do?" Jim senses that the words are sincere though they seem uncertain if the outnumbered group will in fact be successful.
The older man nods. Skald: "Those are names that I have heard. Broken Bay raiders. Alfhild has been known to sell her spoils in Halgrim. I am Arne and the twins are Barga and Harga. We are from a village on Battlewall. We joined a whaling crew but had no luck and the Akora took us. Only we three survived."
The thralls don't understand Kaul unless Jim translates his comments to Skald, but the ax does attract their attention. Skald: One of the brothers ponders Kaul. "Dromaar, but not from Flintyreach. The ax is Ulfen. Did he win it in battle?"
Corliss doesn't detect any impending threat outside the barn, but is distracted by his shivering. He wonders if he might be warmer in a pile of goats despite the stink.
Jim knows that thralls are enslaved people in the Ulfen culture. They are generally captured in battle or condemned to service as punishment for committing a crime.
The first one seems older than the other two that look like brothers. He answers in fluent Skald. "We are thrall. The Southerners captured us and now we tend the goats and do as they tell us. You are with the Southerners?"
The men squint at the sailors. They appear Ulfen, fairly malnourished, unkempt hair and beards, and dressed in rags. "Ebben, Carl," one says. Another whispers to the first in Skald asking what the sailors want. The first one shrugs.
Corliss scans the barn and finds no unknown magics in the area.
The crew feel their way around the outside of the fence and barn until they come to the entrance. Once inside, they stand dripping and cold as Dingus opens his lantern's aperture a little more to reveal the herd of goats staring at the newcomers from their pen. Against the opposite wall, three ragged looking men stir with the rattle of chain links.
Dingus casts an invisibility spell on Kaul to aid with his reconnoitering. Not that anyone without dark sight can see beyond their nose under the thickening cloud cover and sleet. He is gone a very long time though every moment crouched in the cold and dark seems like hours so it's hard to say how much time is passing exactly. Eventually, Kaul clears his throat causing nearly everyone to jump. The spell is still in effect so it couldn't have been that long. Kaul explains that there does appear to be a watch on the boat, which is only a single-masted cutter which seems odd. He started with the barn thinking it likely the least guarded location. Slipping through the door, found a herd of goats and three men but they were chained by their legs so he was able to slip away without any trouble. The barracks were inhabited. He could tell by the snores he heard even over the sleet when he put an ear to an oiled hide window. He didn't disturb the two smaller cabins thinking they could be officers.
Any better, Kaul?
Jim gives an involuntary shiver at the mention of goats as he crouches lower and covers his groin. Corliss also shivers when a particularly soggy snowflake lands on the back of his neck and it begins to gently sleet.
Corliss blinks into the darkness at the large barn on the other side of the pens. Not having grown up on a farm, he may not realize that livestock might need shelter sometimes.
The crew sneak down to the fenced enclosure. They are empty but do emit the familiar scent of goats. There are no signs of any remaining vegetation, but evidence of the inhabitants remains in the form of small piles of pellets and the stink of goats.
Jim easily spots many tracks in the loose dirt and rubble in and around the entrance to the ancient building. It looks more like a couple people entering and leaving many times rather than a large group.
Kaul sneaks to the entrance of the ancient dome and looks inside. Some dirt and other rocky rubble have accumulated just within the entrance. Beyond, strange tessellating designs cover the curved pale walls and the thick layer of dust on the floor shows signs of recent disturbance. Two circular iris-like portals possibly of metal seal off exits to the southeast and northeast across the round chamber.
The crew creep down to the dome. It is a little over 30 feet in diameter and embedded in the rock with about two-thirds emerging from the slope. It is made of some sort of smooth stone so white that it appears to glimmer in the faint moonlight. On the water-facing side, a set of double doors stand half open into the dark interior. It is hard to make out many details below through the gloom and drifting mist but the buildings look recently built and sturdy enough to withstand a stout north wind.
Kaul leads the way southeast in the misty darkness. Soon the way narrows with jagged peaks rising on the left side and a cliff dropping into the fog on the right. A game trail follows the edge of the peaks for some time. Eventually the fog thins and the crew can see the dark pinnacle rising to a zenith on the left and the cliffs giving way to a steep rocky descent down to a broad shelf of a beach. In the faint light of the crescent moon, the crew can see the base. It consists of a pier where the ship is moored, a wedge-shaped dry dock, two one-story structures, a barn and a fenced paddock. About halfway down the slope just to the south of the crews observation point is what appears to be an ancient dome structure rising out of the hillside.
Should I move us along?
With Kaul's burns and slashes mended, the crew consider their next moves.They are still most of a mile from the base. Given the dark and fog, they could probably walk right up to the place without being seen so sending out one or two sailors to take a look seems an unnecessary risk with unknown other dangers on the island.
Kaul's frenzied assault rips open some of his blistered skin and hinders him. He screams in rage and pain. Dingus casts a spell that augments his scrawny form with shadowy cobras that twist and lunge at the steamy s$@+es. He hisses loudly past his fangs and hops forward. This time the terrifying trick works and two of the steam imps flee. The last one pauses only a moment before following them. Kaul takes a swing as they flee ; and clips the last one but it isn't enough to stop it and the creatures disappear into the mist. Corliss and Jim definitely hear the combat ahead and race as quickly as they can through the dark and fog. They arrive shortly to find Kaul looking far worse than last they saw him and Dingus giving the battered thug the stink-eye.
Kaul rages and plows through one of the wispy wraiths with Lopper. Dingus releases two force fangs from his ring to finish it off. The three remaining creatures whistle with frustration as the continue attacking Kaul, but their resolve appears to be fading and none of their attacks land.
***********
Oh, the surgery was Feb 13? Hope the pup is doing well and has a quick and full recovery.
Kaul up
Corliss figures that there's little chance that the freakish eagle isn't connected to Dingus and it's equally unlikely that Dingus and Kaul havent gone off the rails already. He and Jim start up the incline to track them down. ***********
Kaul up.
Corliss hears the weird whistling cry grow nearer and then something circles in the fog overhead before dropping to the edge of the pool nearby. I look sort of like an eagle but with a featherless green-scaled head. It hops toward Corliss, gives a hiss, and then launches itself in the direction Kaul and Dingus took. ************** One of the steaming imps hovers above the melee and calls another boiling rain down on the group. The other three seem reinvigorated and slash at Kaul from all directions,
The steam imps encircle Kaul, slashing from all direction and he suffers several scratches.
Corliss hears something from the direction that Kaul and Dingus went. A whistle? No, just a bird.
Know Nature DC 13: It sounds like an eagle's whistle actually which is odd because eagles don't fly at night.
Covered in oozing burn blisters, Kaul painfully swings and misses.
Kaul doesn't pause to consider the last time he ended up too far ahead of his mates and surrounded by foes. He returns the favor to the boiling creature that slashed him with a punch, gravely injuring it. It flits just out of reach and calls a heavy cloud of steam above Kaul that sends a scalding deluge over him again while the three others surround and slash at the burned sailor.
I'll give Kaul another day to post and then get the party back together.
Dingus will be missed! I think there were many memorable moments including (off the top of my head) nearly burning down a lighthouse, fantasies about being serpent emperor of the world, holding on to the cursed dagger that led to a couple sleepwalking murders, bellowing for alligator backup, the Rod! and his aggressive and questionable fashion sense. But i totally hear and understand your dissatisfaction with the rules and lack of advancement- I think we've been L6 for a decade now :D Thank you for being a part of this madness!
Thanks. Definitely the biggest impact of P6+ is on the arcane caster power curve which is curtailed the most with the lack of access to higher level spells. That is by design I suppose and I was loosening up on that. Was thinking we could advance to P8 so that I can throw some bigger things at you all. I am concerned as well that I have far less experience with 5E and it's going to be a lot more work for me to convert material since I am riffing on all my old DnD3e to PF1 material for inspiration. DnD 5E may have similar monsters but they are often totally different challenge ratings and abilities so monster conversion will be a bit of a hassle. I guess my big concern is that we keep Dingus but lose the campaign. Obviously folks have a lot going on in real life and rejiggering the whole game and redoing the characters again after finally getting L7 done might be too much to ask.
I looked over PF2 again and it really feels like a totally different game to me. It's just not my cuppa. I guess that leaves DnD 5E. I think it could work but it will be quite different. More capturing the essence of the characters and really simplifying everything, maybe overly, I don't know. I tried converting everyone and maybe?
Jim- Ftr- battlemaster/champion?
If you all want to think about it some more and we can discuss here or PM me.
Certainly switching to PF2 would be the easiest solution. Question: Is everyone already playing PF2 and enjoying it? I know Jim runs it but has stated he's neutral about switching in the past. Im not sure if Kaul and Corliss are using it though. Also could be a big ask for folks to find time to redo their PCs. I'll look at PF2 again. I 100% agree 3e stuff falls apart above L10, thats why theres been all the acrobatics to tamp it down.
Scranford- I totally understand that PF1 is a complicated and increasingly obsolete system and I don't think you've ever been much of a fan. Probably doesn't help that arcane types are typically the most complex classes on top of that. We have talked about switching systems before but never really had any consensus. I don't feel PF2 particularly simplifies anything, the opposite in my opinion. As for AD&D, I don't think I could deal with THAC0 and all the unintegrated tables ever again. I could do DnD 5e as I've converted some PF1 stuff to run for my brother's family. I'd be a bit uncertain about the scaling of things and it would be a bigger time commitment for me but doable. IIRC Scranford was leaning more toward barbarian on the recruitment. No, I checked and it was an urban ranger initially, but then switched to 'try' a sorcerer. I am gonna guess that it never totally clicked, but you've made an amazing and memorable PC anyway. Scranford- Would you still want to play a caster if we switched systems? Is there a way I could simplify or take some of the work out of it in PF1 for you? How is everyone feeling about the whole PF6 unholy hybrid that I've constructed? I am more in love with the fluff of Golarion than the rule system. I feel the frustration crescendos at level-up time, but how about a temperature check?
Dingus- Did you want to take an action?
* you already have Rune (it's actually Artifice as written instead of Rune but that makes no sense for the god of runes.)
Kaul lets Lopper have a word with the offending fog fiend. for The sharp edge cuts deeply into the misty mobster leaving a gaping hole with water spouting out. It shrieks as it flutters irregularly.
Here's hoping all are happy and fully mobile again soon!
Jim is correct- P6 as written just adds a feat every level but I thought it'd be fine to add 1 hp and 1 skill point also. The L7 "True up" that we're doing for this level up is intended to just boost things more-or-less to what L7 would like like. So a bigger hp bonus and special class abilities for the additional class level. Following this we'd go back to the standard 1 feat, +1 hp, +1 skill point (to a max of 7 ranks in skills now).
Over the bubbling in the fog ahead comes a high-pitched shriek like a tea kettle and a boiling rain falls on Kaul and Dingus. More whistles and shrieks are heard as five ghostly figures swarm around the two sailors. They look really similar to the little flying devils at the Gold Goblin Gambling Hall in Riddleport but bigger, ghostly, and with no poison stingers. Instead, their bodies fade into the mist below the waist. Initiative Rolls:
Keelhaul Kaul- Dingus- foe-
Three of the boiling bullies dive at Kaul, slashing and spitting but only one claw slash breaks skin. Two more take on Dingus - one clawing at him while the other blows out a gust of scalding steam.
I am now considering the possibilities of a Druid maintaining personal Bioware, or possibly having a companion nanite cloud. Plantlike symbiote companion for low Oxygen atmospheres? Personal eco-suit of photo- and chemo- synthesizing commensals? Companion cybernetically enhanced lifeform?
Currently housing Full Metal Syndicate, Peace Through Vigilance, & Fidelis. We choose the narrow path.
Apply to settle on the mountaintop, in Ozem's Vigil
PM's are available on this platform. I'll send one. It should cause the envelope to the right of your username (in the very top line) to develop a number after it.
Wait.. Aren't you proposing what Mr. Ryan Dancey shot down in the post you're quoting?
What if you shift the application around a little and one can take their commodity sword to a smith to be customized?
I'm not sure that this is the thread for it. But, I may have just had an idea about the UI for crafting. I think, hopefully, that the right balance can even preserve the spirit of the Pathfinder crafting system. Crafting in this idea has mini games that are entirely optional. If one opts not to play*, then the character 'takes 10' and produces average product and skill advances modestly. If one opts to play**, then the minigame results count similar to a d20 result modifying the character's skill and advancing skill a tiny bit faster. I realize that this is an advanced goal. But this is the time to set them. Someone tell me if this needs to be broken out separately, please. * no 'ah hah' moments
I may be the odd one out but for both as a player and a GM I enjoy MORE options, I don't see the bloat issue everyone complains about. |
