I hope you guys can find a replacement GM. It's been a blast running for you.
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So, real talk time. I've mentioned upstream that things have been crazy at my job, ever since we got bought by a purchasing company about four months ago. Well, things have gotten crazier. The purchasing company laid off half the staff, and while I'm in the half that got to keep their jobs, that does mean that we have half the staff to do 100% of the work. As I don't anticipate much free time, I don't believe I'm going to have the time to run this game, at least not in the near future. I'd suggest putting the game on hiatus until I can, but in my experience, that's saying "the game is over" without actually putting that into words. You guys deserve a GM who can actually keep up with you. I'm really sorry about this - you guys are all awesome, and I would have loved to keep running for you.
Probably has something to do with the sporadic nature of the updates on my end. :P
"Could you?", Zea says, her eyes brightening at Talvek's offer. "I'd hate to have something happen to her. I mean, it shouldn't be too hard to find her - how many catgirls are there in Kintargo?" * * * Meanwhile, at the Long Roads, you all clamber down into the main room, where Laria has already set places for you. A large pot of black coffee sits in the center, and baskets of pastries await. "Have a seat, friends, I'll be over in a jiff!", Laria calls over her shoulder, working diligently on rolling and slicing cinnamon rolls for baking.
"Nothing bad," Zea says with a shrug, though it's clear she's not telling the whole truth. "Zea got stood up by that girl she was seeing," Pella explains, earning a towel thrown at her by Zea. "I told you, there were a lot of people at the protest, and then there was the riot and everything...", she replies, her sentence trailing off as she runs out of things to say. Pella gratefully accepts the assistance in the kitchen, and in short order, bowls of hot gruel are passed around. "So, Tal, did you have any plans for today?", Pella asks.
Zea shoots a glare at Talvek, her brow furrowing, narrowing her large yellow eyes. "It's about time you were up anyway, lazy bones!", she says with a snorting laugh. "And maybe you can explain to your mother that I did not 'bring any of this on myself'!" "Now that is unfair!", Pella says, turning her attention away from the pot of gruel upon the fire. "You're putting words in my mouth, young woman. I just said that there are people out there that will try to take advantage of you, and you need to watch yourself!" "You see what I mean, Tal?" Zea says again, turning back to him and gesturing towards Pella. "She seems to think I'm some naive farm girl lost in the big city for the first time!" The two women look to Talvek as they reach a silence, and the atmosphere in the room has become a bit tense.
Meanwhile, in a different portion of Kintargo... Talvek awakens to the familiar noise of pots and pans clanging about - no doubt Pella assisting in the morning meal. As he awakens, though, he hears snippets of a conversation, muffled through the walls and his own grogginess. It sounds like one of the younger girls - Zea, maybe? - is having an argument about...something.
Dawn arrives in Kintargo at its appointed hour, though much of the city is awake before light fills the sky. A large city like it is never truly silent, but now that morning has arrived it stirs to life. The citizenry go about their daily tasks, attempting to work within the proclamations handed down by the new regime. Somewhere in Jarvis' End, a shopkeep hangs a portrait of Abrogail II in accordance with the Second Proclamation. Elsewhere, a laborer quakes as he collects handfuls of grain that spilled from its sack under the watchful gaze of the Chelish Citizens' Group, despite the fact that it was they who spilled the grain in the first place. Light pours in the window above the Long Roads Coffee House, and the Ravens slowly stir to wakefulness. The smell of yeast-filled baked goods wafts up from the kitchen, and your stomachs growl from the evening fast. As you regain sense of your surroundings, you all note that Felicia's bed is empty, and her rucksack is missing. Sitting upon the pillow is a folded note. Felicia's Note: Hey guys, I'm sorry to bug out on you like this, but I'm not sure I'm cut out to be a leader. I mean, I hate House Thrune as much as the next gal, but really, what are our chances? Eventually, he's going to notice us, and we're going to be snuffed out like a burning candle at night. So, I'm out. Don't worry, your secrets are safe with me - I'm no snitch! Good luck, and... (the note trails off from there)
Happy holidays, everyone! I figure we'll get started again in the new year, once things settle back into a tolerable level of insanity.
Realistically, the thing that makes the most sense is for us to split the treasure as though Felicia were still with the group, and then move forward from there. We're still in early days enough that this shouldn't make a big dent into WBL calculations.
Sorry about going AWOL like that - work has sapped my ability to check the boards during business hours, and I got hit with a nasty cold and automotive issues over the weekend, which soured my mood to doing anything but lie on a couch. However, I'm taking advantage of the servers being down today to FINALLY get this resolved! And let me tell you, you guys didn't make this easy. There's a lot of well-crafted and well-written submissions, so this was not easy. In the end, I had to go with what I thought was missing mechanically from the group, and what would create the best story possible moving forward. Talvek Drassed - welcome to the resistance! Everyone else, I hope you find homes for your characters - there's plenty of devil fascists out there, and they all need to face justice at the point of your sword!
Recruitment is now closed! Thank you to everyone who has submitted a character - I'll be conferring with my players to make the final determination. That won't be easy, since there's a lot of good work to sift through. Thanks again!
Totally cool with aquatic elves in this AP.
Yep, the alternative heritages are fine. Onispawn away!
That works for me.
She did! They are a pair of daredevil boots.
I'll be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the synthesist, mostly because that particular build can be easily abused. I won't say no, but I will say that you have a particularly steep hill to climb. As for chained/unchained, I think I'd prefer to unchain the summoner - it's easier to balance stuff that way.
I like it very much! The archetype was written with the assumption that Hell's Rebels has happened, but I'd be good with saying that your character is the person who founded the style.
To add to Lubella's point, there have been places in my home game where the PCs have indeed gotten the drop on enemies. In general, the archetype is probably better as written for NPCs, but I would be surprised (heh) if there wasn't a decently frequent chance to catch the opposition unawares. It won't happen every fight, obviously, but neither will you always be ambushed yourself.
Lubella's done a remarkable job of answering questions, but let me make sure I answer anything still outstanding.
Absolutely! I'm running this IRL as well, and one of my players decided she wanted to play a wing-clipped strix as well. Definitely approved.
Hell's Rebels probably does skew towards favoring stealthy characters over non-stealthy, but I wouldn't say everyone needs to be stealthy. My home game has an armored hulk bloodrager, for example. As for reflavoring archetypes, I'd prefer not to. In general, if you want to play an archetype that has ties to a specific region of Golarion, that's fine, but you will need to discuss why that character is not in Molthune, using your example.
Yes on both counts, although I'll go ahead and nix the random tiefling ability tables in advance.
*looks up Combat Stamina, eyes glaze over* Um. No. I don't even want to try to figure out if that whole system is balanced or not. Let's just go with no.
So, a mea culpa is in order. I fully intended on creating that two weeks ago, but ironically for this particular game, life is Hell. The company I work for was bought out a month ago, and they're keeping me working from open to close. By the time I get off, I either have something going on that evening, or I have no interest in even looking at a computer screen. HOWEVER! That's not fair to you guys. I finally created the recruitment post, with a closure date of 12/11. Once we have our fourth player, we can get back to the game. Once again, I'm sorry for the delay of game. My energy levels have been low due to the work situation, and I need to kick myself in the ass to get this thing going again! :)
I'm running a Hell's Rebels game here on the boards, and our little band of heroes has just hit level 2 - however, we're also down a player. I'm looking for a replacement for the swashbuckler. If you're interested here's what I need from you! I've alluded to my preferences on builds, but I'll go ahead and codify everything here. • Races: All standard races from the Pathfinder Core Rulebook will be allowed. Any other PC race, including custom races, will be considered on a case by case basis. For the most part, races recommended by the Player's Guide will be approved. • Classes: Any class created by Paizo with the correct errata. • Alignment: Any non-evil, though bastions of law may have conflicts in rebelling against a legal (though tyrannical) authority. • Abilities: Characters will be based on the High Fantasy (20 point) buy, found in the PFRPG Core Rulebook on page 16. • Feats: Any feat created by Paizo with correct errata, within reason. While I'm not opposed to powerful feats (like Leadership), I do have concerns about some of them (like Sacred Geometry). Most are fine, but I do reserve the right to nix one if and when something doesn't pass the sniff test. • Skills: We will be using the Background Skill system, because it's awesome. This is an urban campaign, and most of you probably either have lived in Kintargo most of your lives, or recently moved here, so you may consider taking a Craft or Profession that suggests what you do when you're not rebelling against a lawful authority. • Traits: Characters will start with two traits. One must be a campaign trait listed in the Hell's Rebels Player's Guide. I like the Drawback system, so if you'd like to have a third, feel free to utilize that. • Hit Points: Characters will start out with Maximum hit points for their class at 1st level. After 1st level characters will take the average each level. • Starting Gold: 1,000 gp. • Background/Personality: I'd like to know a bit about each of your characters - I'm not looking for a novel, but a bit about your life before the protest and what-not would be excellent. I'll be keeping the recruitment open for 2 weeks - submissions will close on 12/11, and I'll make a final decision on who makes the cut by the end of that week. Until then - DOWN WITH THRUNE!
Thanks, Arcos! So, I've not heard back from Felicia, and it doesn't look like she's posted on the boards in a few months. I think we should reopen recruitment to get some new blood in the game. Thoughts?
I'll have an answer on Monday morning for you all.
I'm good with people doing PFS rules (which is what I do in my homegames as well), or rolling, but must keep whatever they roll. Doesn't really matter for Amalie, since she rolled PFS standard. :)
Also, I think we need to talk. It's basically been just me and Lubella pushing us through the Wasp's Nest (and at times, Lubella). Is everyone still committed to playing?
As the newly formed Silver Ravens return to the Wasp's Nest, they each reflect upon the long road ahead of them. It will take time, blood, sweat, tears, and sacrifice if they wish to overthrow the despot that rules Kintargo. Each of them wonder if they have what it takes to be the revolutionary force that the city needs. One thing is for certain - they are more resolute in their determination than they were when they protested in Aria Park just a few short days ago.
Laria sobs lightly into Lubella's shoulder as the mortal remains of Nan Comerivos slip beneath the waters. She sniffles and pulls a handkerchief from her sleeve to dab at her eyes and nose. "Dammit, I told myself I wouldn't cry," she says with a sniff. "Both of us knew the risks in this line of work, knew it could be our last any day. And that doesn't make it any easier to say goodbye."
Laria eventually rejoins you in the Wasp's Nest, wearing dark plain clothes. "The first time I met Nan was in Westcrown," she says at the service. "I was still a tiller then, rather than a fixer, and I was escorting a family to freedom in Varisia. Nan was our ticket into the free lands, and we shared a mutual hatred for the Thrice-Damned House of Thrune. On that trip, we got stopped by a Chelish patrol ship who insisted the come on board and do a search for contraband. Nan managed to keep our presence on board a secret at great personal expense. They found some of the minor contraband he was smuggling out of Cheliax, and paid a hefty fine. There'd been a few smugglers I'd known over the years that would have calculated that differently. He was one of the good ones, so I kept using him. I'll miss the damn rogue." She joins in with the singing, and tears drip from her eyes as his bones are committed to the Yolubilis. When all is said and done, she looks at the four of you. "Thank you for what you've done, but the work is only now beginning. We have a long road to travel, pardon the pun, if we want to free Kintargo from the despot in charge. We'll talk more about this tomorrow."
"You can do it now," Laria says with sadness in her voice. "I don't want to remember Nan like this. His body's been through enough. Which reminds me, I should clean up as well." She looks down at her clothes, which have stained red with all of the blood spilled by Korva in their tussle. "I'm in no state for a funeral, especially when the dottari are doing House Thrune's bidding."
"That actually will probably make things easier," Laria replies. "I was going to suggest we give him a burial in the Yolubilis tonight, tying some stones around his ankles so he'll sink, but that would solve a lot of problems. Same for the corby - Chough was her name, I think? I wouldn't commit them to the river in the same place, though. He shouldn't have to rest for all eternity next to the beast that claimed his life."
"If he did, he never mentioned them," Laria replies with a shake of her head. "And if he did, then he was probably making someone very jealous back home. He occasionally bragged about having a lover in every port. I pried once to see if I could find out who it was here in Kintargo, but he just winked and said, 'I never kiss a boy and tell.' I let it slide after that, never seemed too important to follow up on, until now."
The playing cards on the table are a collection of 54 cards in six suits, quickly recognized as a harrow deck, painted with the vibrant colors and aesthetics of the Varisian peoples. Most of the crates are either empty or have spoiled food, but a few are filled with Varisian garments, finely embroidered and would probably fetch a fair price on the market. Finally, a satchel lying atop one of the crates contains a ledger and journal that Laria identifies as containing Nan's handwriting. A quick perusal corroborates Korva's story, up to his trepidation on informing the sisters that he was abandoning them in the Wasp's Nest. His final entry in the ledger indicates that he had been paid a large sum of money to transport "Varisian textiles" from Riddleport to Westcrown. Other than those two items, the satchel contains a coin purse with 72 gold pieces inside and an alabaster holy symbol of Abadar. Knowledge (local), DC 10: There's a small problem with the Varisian garments. The Fourth Proclamation proscribes the wearing of finely embroidered clothing for anyone not in the service of either House Thrune or the Church of Asmodeus, and these clothes definitely fit that bill. Finding a buyer might be tricky.
"Beats me," Korva admits. "I'll figure something out for us.
"Keep it," she says. "And if it's all the same, I think we'd like to chance it ourselves out there. I think we've overstayed our welcome by quite a bit."
Korva takes a look at the locket and nods. "That was hers. The shell was bits of her egg that we kept for her. The amulet...well, it wasn't exactly mine, but Mother produced it for us a few days before she disappeared. I had the runes translated awhile back. It reads 'mother'. I didn't want the memories, so I gave it to Chough. It..." She takes a moment, the conflicting emotions playing across her face. "It's probably for the best you did what you did. She'd killed a lot of people, and not all of them had it coming. You did what I didn't have the strength to do." She wipes a tear from her eye, and listens to Lubella's recounting of the events surrounding the Glorious Reclamation.
The tengu group together, and while still wary of you, have definitely softened their tone due to your display of martial prowess. "My name is Korva Fushi," the lead tengu says to Lubella. "And these are my sisters, Jay, Maggie, and Treep. We're all from Riddleport originally. It wasn't an easy life in the City of Cyphers, but we made it work. Mother worked as a thief and sell-sword, and taught me what she knew of how to handle a blade and lift a purse. She went on jobs to earn the coins to feed us, and one day, she didn't come back from one. Life's cheap there, and I had to raise us as best I could. I taught the girls what Mother had passed on to me, and we made a bit of a name for ourselves on the docks. People knew who the Fushi Sisters were. That meant we got attention, and eventually, we got enough of the wrong kind, so the four of us skipped town with our half-sister Chough." "Adopted sister," Maggie says, correcting her sister's mistake. "She wasn't even a tengu like us." "We didn't know that at the time!", Korva replies, admonishing her sister. "She was recently hatched and on the streets, and we'd just lost Mother. I had to take her in. How was I to know she was a dire corby?" "I'm just saying that if you hadn't done that, she wouldn't have killed that crime boss's second son, maybe we'd still be in Riddleport." "Don't start this with me, Maggie! Not today! Look, Chough may have caused us all sorts of trouble, but taking her in was not a mistake! Maybe I should have left her in Riddleport, but dammit, I considered her family. Right up until she killed Nan, at least. I thought I could control her impulses, but she tore into him when she learned we weren't going to be leaving here for Westcrown any time soon." "So that brings us up to now. The five of you have the four of us. What do you intend to do? I mean, if you're not here to turn us over to the watch or to drag us back to Riddleport, then what?"
Lubella strikes the tengu, already reeling from Felicia's mightly blow, and she's sent tumbling to the ground. Arcos lobs another arc of electricity towards the remaining tengu.
She dodges at the last moment, and while she avoids most of the blast, a few of her feathers smoke as the lightning singes her. Laria renews her assault on the kukri wielding tengu, hoping to bring her down swiftly.
The tengu dodges away, and is about to return her attacks when she sees Lubella drop the tengu before her. "Maggie!", she cries out in fear. "Treep, stand down!" She sheathes her kukri, and holds out her hands in supplication. "You wanted to talk...can we still talk?"
Felicia concentrates for a moment, holding her symbol of Sarenrae aloft, and a warm glow emanates from her, healing the wounds of her allies.
Color comes back into Felicia's face as her wound closes, and she wheels around to strike the tengu she and Lubella have teamed up against.
At last, she scores a mighty blow against her assailant, and it takes all the will the tengu has to remain standing. She begins a fighting retreat towards the boxes, trying to find a defensive position.
Arcos takes aim at the tengu that Felicia struck, summoning another bolt of electricity and hurling it at her.
She ducks as the bolt flies her way, but her feathers are singed by the passing arc. Lubella watches the retreating tengu, and looks back at Amalie. "Felicia needs your help, I've got that one!" She bounds after the other tengu, aiming a kick at the back of her knee.
The tengu falls to a knee, but spins around with her blade, aimed at Laria's scalp!
Laria pulls back just as the blade lashes out at her, but it does cut a gash across her forehead, and her blood begins to darken her platinum blond hair.
Amalie reaches out to lay a hand over Laria's wound - when she pulls it away, the bleeding has stopped and the wound is closed. Only some minor bruising is evident. Laria gives Amalie a low whisper. "Nice work, healer girl," she replies with a nod of approval. "OK, looks like we're trying to take them alive," Felicia says with a twitch of her tail. "I can do that!" She smacks one of the tengu upside the head with the hilt of her blade.
Having telegraphed her move, though, the tengu easily sidesteps the swing. The two surround the swashbuckler and stab at her with their blades and beaks.
Felicia laughs as the first strike comes near, and she attempts to parry the strike!
She's able to catch the tengu off-guard and strike her back, but the other one takes advantage of their better position and buries her dagger in Felicia's back. She's still standing, but her confident smile is waning from her face.
Lubella's strike is easily parried by the tengu, but Arcos' bolt connects squarely. She screams in pain as her flesh is scorched by his arc of electricity, and Laria follows it up with a hail of punches and kicks.
Laria clambers up the tengu already reeling from Arcos' blast, and delivers a sharp punch to the temple, knocking her to the ground. The nearest tengu spins in surprise, allowing Laria to catch her in the stomach with a blow. "What did you to do Jay?!?", the kukri-wielding tengu shouts at Laria, lashing out at her with her blade, then dodging away, back into the maze of crates.
The wound is deep, and Laria winces in pain as her tunic begins to stain red with blood. She tries to backhand the tengu as she retreats, but her opponent is too nimble to be struck by either halfling warrior.
Felicia and Amalie advance cautiously into the room. From the west, two tengu leap from the shadows with a warsquawk, brandishing sharp daggers and wielding them with inborn skill. A third races towards Laria, leaping upon her from atop the stacks of boxes.
Felicia blinks in surprise, but her guarded state allows her to parry the tengu's strike, just in the nick of time. She hops back, avoiding the second strike as well. Laria, for her part, throws the tengu off of her, and the pair square off.
Lacking an easy way to get into the fight, Laria races into the room, hopping over a stool to come to rest between the two tables. "Poor Nan Comerivos?!?", the tengu responds. "We paid good money to get out of Riddleport, and he couldn't even get us to Riddleport! Now he's dead, and where are we? Stuck in some bolthole in Kintargo! Take their stuff, girls, we're getting out of here tonight, with or without Chough!" She pulls her kukri free, slashing at Lubella, following it up with a stab from her sharp beak.
Lubella easily parries the blade, and dances out of the way of the tengu's bite.
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