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Yeah this has been a pretty rough few weeks, I was ill for longer than expected and still kind of am, but more over my father had a minor heart attack Saturday. So there's been dealing with that and the holidays at work. No plans to stop the game now. I just wanted to let everyone know what was happening.
Father Emil:
The body is warm to the touch, but barely. She seems to have been dead for around fifteen minutes, taking into account the fact that she’s out in the elements. You detect nothing of Goblins, whether they’re lying in wait or their retreat has been shrouded by the rain remains to be seen. Koayi:
There are no clear signs the Goblins were here other than the bodies and the open door. The knife in the back of the second body resembles the kind that Stinkuk’s tribe used. Rhaym and Pelner:
You see nothing of the Goblins or their presence besides the bodies and the door. It is dark and the rain has been heavy though… Rhaym:
There’s a faint aura of evil in the air, though it’s not localized to the door once more. Inside of the “temple” the only sources of light left are the magical ones that you’ve brought with you and the two large torches on the outside of the building shining faintly inside. As Pelner goes further in and the dancing lights follow two benches can be seen off to either side of the body. They’re stone and sit directly in front of huge plaques. The engraving on the plaques can’t be made out at this distance, though the one on the left is completely filled while the one on the right only goes half way down. Between the two plaques is a closed door.
Pelner weaves his way between the headstones to where the body is slumped over. There's a large red puddle running toward the edge of the steps when he arrives and without any kind of close observation the body can be seen to be that of a dead human woman. Koayi's light casts shadows over the lower half of the corpses face as Pelner passes. Rhaym:
There's nothing evil currently in the area. If Pelner peers into the door there's another figure laying face down in a pool of blood with a jagged makeshift dagger sticking in her back.
Reed explains to the group before they leave: "Those few temples that are here in the town are hard to really call temples some of the time. Desna and a lot of the less judgmental sort of gods tend not to have the most organized flock," he coughs slightly, shielding his mouth with his sleeve. The rain and the wind is less pronounced than before, but still going strong. It's only block over and a few up to the next temple and you have no time in the rush to get there. the small ravine-like trenches that run along the cobbled street for drainage rush away from the direction you're headed and back toward the sea. A flash of lightning reveals the graveyard that stands before the small building, the "temple" of Pharasma. This was the nearest of the buildings that was marked on the map. The building is stone and has the look of a mausoleum. Two huge covered torches mark the front steps and shed light on a figure slumped over in such a way that the door is held open. The figure is much larger than any Goblin.
It appears that only Marisma and Reed were there at the time of the attack and that Reed fended them all off single-handedly. Reed waves Emil away after the first round of healing is done. ”Save it, friend. There might be others out there that need your help more.” He braces himself against the floor to get back to his feet, careful not to put too much weight on the leg. Reed gives a hearty chuckle at the kiss on the forehead. ”I think that breakfast can be arranged for everyone involved.” Koayi:
The Goblin wears a necklace of small feet and teeth that seem to belong to several rabbits. The fur on the feet is stained with grass and something yellowish and sickly looking. The Goblin also wears jewelry made of grass and some sort of insect. Reed yells to Marisma to fetch him a piece of parchment and he draws out the location of the other temples in the area. There aren’t many of them and they aren’t far.
Reed looks up at Emil with confused recognition, the lines around his mouth deepening with shadows as he grimaces. "It would have to be you that suddenly showed up to save me, wouldn't it," he smiles. Emil (about Reed's condition):
Reed has been slides pretty badly just above the knee, the blood coming out is dark and thick. But the most worrying thing is the knife that the Goblin's must be using, they're probably filthy and could lead to an infection. You manage to clean the wound very easily though. Koayi:
While the tribes might not be known by name, it's well known that rain and filth never bothered Goblins. There are Goblin tribes in the nearby plains and some that come from the mountains to the West, judging by the light gear these are carrying you'd guess they're from the former. Emil (Goblin Knowledge):
You imagine that the Goblins come from nomadic tribes because of the light gear and their rough look. Something seems to be causing them to push into the middle of the city and you remember what Stinkuk said about the voices in their heads and the voice's owner knowing when they found what he wanted. It only makes sense that someone is using the Goblins as a kind of remote viewing components--they don't need them to know what they're looking for or to bring it back, just to see it. The promise of fire and mayhem was just to get them to go. Reed gets into a sitting position, his hands gripping the cloth that Emil has placed around his leg to stop the flow of blood. His eyes are a piercing blue and despite his age (which is easily higher than Emil's) he's got a full dark head of hair. He looks to Koayi and smiles. "If it weren't for Emil over here I would have guessed the gods sent me an angel." He coughs roughly. "Ugh, first these damn allergies and now I'm having surprise surgery from Goblins. Is Marisma okay?"
She sighs slightly and glances around at the others in the group. "Come to think of it, they did kind of seem to be searching for something. They were hunting in corners and flipping things over...they tore into a chest of my clothes as if trying to find something." As other members of the party enter the room behind Emil and his group, there's a slight grunt up ahead beyond the door. It's barely audible, but then you hear a man curse softly. "Damned Goblins..." there's a pause. "Where the Hell did they come from?" Emil: You recognize the voice as Reed.
Emil says, with some urgency, "I am familiar with this temple and Reed. I'll go and see to the wounded. The Calistria temple was also hit by goblins. We defeated them before they did much harm. Are there any other temples near here which may have been attacked?" Rhaym, Yverstrix and Emil make their way into the darkened front room of the temple. Someone has lit four candles at the corners of the room, but it looks as if the same thing happened here as in the Temple of Callistra--many of the candles around the room are out and there's the faint remnant of the smell of burnt wicks. Near the center of the room there is the lump of a Goblin body run through with a short sword, the blood spilled on the floor around him glistens in the candle light. Ahead there's a door with a smeared reddish hand print on it...
The woman seems to calm some after the others are gone and she slowly manages to bring her crying under control and finally stop. "My name is Marisma," she says. She looks at Sarmonia. "The Goblins we knew of are all dead, but there are other holy places about. Cayden Cailean and Callistra are probably the biggest..." she stops herself to sniffle here. "But there are shrines and smaller temples all over town. Do you think they're just attacking temples?"
Lil locks the door as the last person leaves. Koayi:
You know that a Temple of Desna is one street over from this temple and a few blocks up. Temples of Desna are few and far between, so this would be a very noticeable sight. Emil:
You know that a street over there is a Temple of Desna, you've visited it on more than one occasion and you know of a man who works within the temple, Reed. Though, this temple is little more than an observatory and a place for travelers to rest their heads. It's one of the few formal centers of worship for Desna, as most of her followers are loosely organized. The woman looks the group over. You can see her eyes are wide with fright. "The Goblins are all dead...some of the others at the temple helped to kill them, but they've hurt Reed--I'm not sure how bad it is," she breaks down crying. Koayi: I would say that it's a pretty noticeable thing on his clothes.
It's kind of sad. I write in present tense when I'm writing any story in first person; it feels like after so long it should come more naturally for me, but whenever I look over something it seems like there's some tense issues. I started a book and, while I usually write in third person and past tense, this character's voice seemed to only sound right in my head as present tense. So now all of my role playing only sounds right the same way. I'm just awful at proof reading, but I'm trying to be more meticulous lately.
The woman stands before Rhaym with her dark hair plastered to her cheeks with the rain water. "They've...they've been killed. They came into the Temple of Desna and just started tearing things apart!" the woman says glancing off to her side as if she expects something to sneak up on her.
As part of the group prepares to leave the room Stinkuk glances up at Koayi at Pelner's question. " Stinkuk up tell you--Stinkuk not know. Beggers, not let them hurt Stinkuk..." he pleads. For Those That Went Outside:
It's a cool rainy night and the salty sea wind whips through the narrow streets. Further up the cobblestones in the direction that Rhaym is looking you see a woman with her hands cupped around her mouth calling into the night.
"Goblins! We've been attacked!" For Those Who Stayed Behind: Konstantine walks out to the center of the room between the two staircases. "Lil, you supervise them in getting these bodies out of here. If the blood soaks into the stonework we're going to have a hard time getting it out. Pile the bodies on that filthy rug from Cassandra's room and wrap them in it to make them easier to dispose of," as she is saying this she glances up at the remaining temple prostitutes. "You all are to help her."
Konstantine nods to Pelner. "You and the other travelers have my gratitude. You've got full use of the facilities here and a bed to sleep in as long as you're in town." She makes her way up the stairs and out of sight. Aoefol sighs. "Goblin bites and body clean up is a little too rich for my blood. There's someone warm waiting for me in my bed--I only hope the sound of skulls being bashed in didn't frighten them[ away." the elf strolls to a door off to the side of the stairs that almost blends right into the wall. He gives a small salute before departing. Those left are left alone with the clean up crew after the fight and a whimpering Goblin survivor of the Mudshades tribe.
Emil:
You see nothing marking the door or strange outside of the building before closing the door.
Emil has drawn the door closed and comes around the room slowly to check the wounds of others while the Goblin is being questioned. He applies healing to the bite on the bartender's hand, but finds no one else hurt. The skin pulls itself back together mending itself. Aoefol nods. "Thank you, sir," he says to Emil. "Mudshades tribe," Stinkuk tells Koayi and Yverstrix nodding his head. "All Mudshades here. And Creekskulls. And Riskaxes..." Rhaym exits out the door to quickly check the street. The sound of the rain floods into the room and a moment later Rhaym dashes back into the room screaming. "Wait! There is someone screaming for help!" the Paladin yells to the others.
Sir Rhaym:
There appears to be nothing in the street that would match the description of the of the kind of creature that would leave the aura that you're looking for. But there is something...a woman is screaming for help several doors down. She can barely be heard over the rain. Stinkuk looks at Koayi and then at Pelner. "Stinkuk no know. We not see who sent Madshades. But longshanks always have fire and shinys. Him said when we found thing, he would know. Say him care not for shinys or fire. Him could put words in Stinkuk's head. Put words in all the Madshades heads!" Koayi: You get the sense from the Goblin's body language that he is telling the truth of what he knows and has no desire to deceive you. He's afraid.
I seem to be having a slight problem with my typing. It's a stress related thing that happens from time to time and now that Emil mentions it I notice that I am missing words I mean to type and it's not super apparent to me. So I have started reading over stuff very carefully. If you notice that I've missed something or that it's unclear feel free to ask. I apologize if this inconveniences anyone in the game.
Emil:
Emil hears what might be distant sounds in the night, but no more so than the city usually has. Thunder and persistent patter of rain are the only things that he can detect after a moment. Rhaym:
There's a lingering aura of evil near the doors, but nowhere else. There is only one such aura and it belonged to a creature. Whatever it was, you can tell that it only recently passed. Most of the temple prostitutes are cowering and whimpering at the top of the stairs. They squat down behind the railing and peek out from between the rails. Only now are they beginning to sense that the danger has passed. Aoefol, seeming not too phased, is already cleaning up the glass and moving the tiny dead Goblin body to the side to do it. "Stinkuk is beggers. Don't big longshanks kill Stinkuk!" the Goblin cries shaking his head and struggling against his bonds. "Stinkuk and Madshades just come because we told there be shinys and fire for who bring back thing." The gnome who had been at the bar takes this as an opportunity to slip out. "I can tell this isn't my night. Lil, darling, keep the coin," he says as he slides past Emil.
Combat Order
Round One
Sir Rhaym is already in full motion toward the Goblin his chosen Goblin. His weapon slams into the Goblin’s head, sinking in and leaving the right side of his face flattened. The Goblin drops to the floor in a spray of blood and teeth. The two nearest Goblins to what Rhaym has done make for the door screaming in terror. The Goblin near Emil and the fire place seems drawn to the flames and the promise of small animals to terrorize. He reaches into a satchel at his side and throws a tiny handful of sand at Lil’s eyes.
The sand misses her eyes, but manages to hit the bottom of her face. ”Goddess! My mouth!” Lil yells, sputtering to get the sand out. The Goblin near Pelner gets back to his feet and readies himself to pounce on the Druid with renewed anger and some lingering confusion over how he fell. Father Emil’s sickle pierces the chest of the Goblin that threw sand at Lil and the creature goes limp and crumples to the stonework floors. Yverstrix manages to block the exit just before the Goblin running for it can escape and, right behind that Goblin, Sarmonia catches up with the second fleeing fiend and slices a deep slit into its throat. It drops to the floor gurgling blood and kicking until it goes still. Enel swoops down catching the Goblin running towards his companion off guard with a flurry of attacks. The Goblin thrashes about in a feeble defense, dropping the bottle of brandy to shatter on the floor and eventually dropping into the broken glass with red gashes and holes all over its face. Lil uses her chance to stand up. She can’t speak due to the sand in the mouth, but she holds the small otter close, protecting it from harm.
Pelner is able to direct the creature down from it's perch towards the strange being that holds the bottle of brandy. When the bird nears him, the small creature screams out in a gargled voice, it's beady red going wide. As it attempts to flee, Koayi and Emil get a better look at it and she manages to almost bonk the tiny fiend on the head. Aoefol nods to Koayi. "I'm alright, but that monster took the brandy," he says perhaps a little too distressed. Now others are pouring out of the shadow, four more tiny figures that you can all see to be grinning with the dagger like teeth of Goblins. They hold gnarled knifes and weapons made out of garbage. They wear armor that appear to be more than clothing mixed with trash and they edge into the circle of light around the group.
There's a crash and glass breaks. Aoefol yells out. "Get away from that you little bastard!" A small creature hops up onto the bar top cuddling the bottle of brandy before dousing itself in the spirit. It lets out a throaty, gurgling laugh before attempting to run away. When Aoefol grabs for it, it bites him. He yelps. There's a sound like small feet in the darkened corner and something heavy sliding across the floor.
The darkness is milky and black before Koayi and Emil cast their spells. The dull illumination leaves deep shadows at the edge of the cavernous room. Four moving lights come into being around Lil and the animals as she whispers something under her breath. Everything is silent for a moment except for the rain coming down outside. Sir Rhaym:
You don't hear or see anything, there's subtle light pouring in through the door outside. Yverstrix can make his way to the stairs in the low light, being careful of the small animals near Emil and Lil. The matron is on the bottom of the stairs, but says nothing. As he gets to the top of the stairs the temple prostitutes are talking among themselves in frightened, hushed tones. One of them, he can't tell which in this darkness, speaks up. "I'm sorry," she says almost as if disappointed, "I screamed...I don't much like the dark," she admits. There's a chill in the room and everything falls still again.
"It's been many a long year since I got involved with such exciting matters as those of missing persons and adventure. I can tell you that the city takes a lot from us and it gives very little in return and this city sees more than it's fair share of disappearances, though usually not of able bodied adults," Konstantine descends the stairs part way, a silent flash of lightning marring the wall with her shadow briefly.
Konstantine pauses at the foot of the staircase. "Ladies and gentlemen," she narrows her eyes back up at the gathering near the railing. "These people are our guests and Koayi is a welcomed worshipper, you will regard them as such. And I hardly think Lillian meant to get anywhere leaving her paying client behind to play with this man's ferrets." Konstantine points to the gnome at the bar sipping his wine whom Lil left behind.
"I see that we have guests because of the storm no doubt," a matronly woman with a purple dress tightly buttoned p to the middle of her neck stands at the top of one of the staircases with one hand resting on the banister and the other clutching the a shaw around her thin form. "I'm Konstantine, the High Priestess of this Temple. Make yourselves at home, take advantage of our wine and some warm bodied company. I just ask that you remain peaceful while within these walls," she says from her perch above everything. "The threat of this rain really has dried up any chance we might have had to see anyone in here for worship tonight." There's a scream from down the hall and an excited Halfing girl runs out. "Are they just here to hide from the rain. Pity," she looks over the group. "I like the tall one." "They're all tall to you," A man who looks human but has an unsettlingly beautiful aura about him follows close behind her along with an assortment of others who observe the new comers, Koayi and Lil from up high. "Look, Lil and Koayi are hogging them all to themselves," says a short haired redhead. "Oh, now you've gone and riled up the others," Konstantine says, her nose turned up and her eyebrows jumping at t he word 'riled'.
Aoefol pours the brandies and downs the wines for himself in quick succession. "Here you are," he says to the pair. "Not often that someone turns down free wine," his face looks slightly distressed but there's a smile in his eyes. The storm outside deepens. The thunder becomes more and more frequent and the lightning flickering through the windows paints the temple in white light for a few short seconds.
Pelner: No one in the temple seems to be of noble blood that you've heard any tell of. Though this one guy does have rather fancy armor...
[Spoiler =Koayi] The Elf is Aoefol. That's the only name he's ever given and he's a bartender for the Temple, so he's a co-worker too. What you know about him is that he's in a relationship with a young man you've seen come in the temple from time to time, but whose name you don't know. He doesn't speak much, but is usually friendly.[/spoiler] The Elvish man pours the brandy and wines as requested. He pours an extra glass for Yverstrix before he says, "Don't have mead, friend. The, uh, goddess she's not to fond of it. Jilted by a lover who practically lived off the stuff and all. It's just wine and brandy here...but we've got some Chelish stuff--Elvish grape stock. Very strong." He says the first part almost apologetically. "What kind of information are you looking for?" he asks. The Tiefling woman leaves the side of the Gnome at the sight of the small animals. She makes her way out to where Emil let them down, her heels clicking on the stonework floors. She glances up into his Emil's face, her eyes awaiting and answer and then she opens her mouth to speak.
Tread quietly in Riddleport, they say, and don’t look anyone in the eye. Tip-toe past the silent cathedrals of the Rotgut District with their heavy doors guarded by gurning gargoyles. In the poverty stricken streets whispers of a werewolf crime lord who devours children and the gnome sorcerer who is looking to unseat him. In docks that edge their way into the center of the City of Cyphers it’s night an uncommon sight for bodies to appear floating face down. Nobody expects the town guard to ever acknowledge their presence and they merely dispose of them. Another death un-mourned… A one hundred year storm, the old, sightless mystic in the skip had called it. The streets are mostly empty this time of night anyway and so very few of you have taken shelter in this temple of Callistra. Thunder booms outside shaking the glassware on the tables and the framed paintings of the goddess that dot the walls. There’s a small bar set against the far back wall of the room, wedged between two ornate, curved staircases where a beautiful, dark-haired Elvish man serves win and cider. Half melted candles cover the other surfaces in this front area of the temple painting everything in golden, flickering light. A gnome and a Tiefling converse at the bar, her tail making lazy trails down the lower half of his leg. Another crash of thunder outside. “Would you like a drink?” the Elf’s voice echoes through the room. “I don’t think this is letting up for a while,” he smiles.
Combat is something in the past that I've glossed over with groups. Usually I try to have everyone take all their actions at the start of battle and interpret them, but that takes a large portion of active control from the players and makes situational characters nearly useless. What I want to try instead and what's worked well in my Rise of the Runelords game and in a brief 5E game I was in is to have everyone roll initiative and take it one round at a time. You post in whatever order and I just go through and order it correctly. If there's something situation (if and then stuff) then you can post that, but you're not required to. I won't be using the map, combat will be simplified and distances from the group or certain players will be posted in feet and the rounds handled accordingly.
Yeah, a lot of the backstory stuff ended rather recently with the characters being in the city or headed directly there. There isn't a strong need for a connection to anyone and I don't want anyone having to change what they are or force there to be one (I hate the retconned forced meeting of characters in any medium).
The profile didn't seem complete. Typically you give stats, a few paragraphs of back story and the feats and other things taken. There was a bit of synergy between the others in terms of what they were working with writing wise and in terms of back story. I would suggest watching a lot of the recruitment and then reading the book that comes with the campaigns if it's an Adventure Path from Paizo official. If it's home brew ask the person who made it what kind of world they're going for. A recruitment thread for a dark and gritty fantasy world isn't going to want to take characters written like they're looking to play in a steam punk game of light hearted social intrigue. There's a lot a DM has to worry about in pbp because we don't usually know you and we're going to have to pick you and some others and hope that you all get along, gel well and can collaboratively weave a tale while partially acting and not bringing outside of the game knowledge...
I forgot that people could find this without being shown where it was lol. Also forgot that I had made it in anticipation. Before we start the game I kind of want to know if anyone wants to make connections between characters backstories. Maybe you all know each other or maybe this is just a chance happening. Hell, maybe you decided to start an adventuring company. |
