DM Púca's page

Sorry to see you go Storyteller. Take care and maybe see you around again some day.

Yeah, fair enough. That better place I was expecting never came. With the enhanced unemployment compensation ending and no extension in sight things have actually gotten much worse.

We will need to recruit another player to continue and that's not feasible at this time. By now I think you're prediction Roya that things aren't going to get any less crazy before the end of this year at least is probably right.

I'll inactivate the game and if we fell like it we can revisit starting again in 2021.

Ha! No, I don't feel pressured. I do intend to get this started again, hopefully soonish like within the next couple of weeks.

I won't complain about the last four months. I've personally been very lucky. Nobody I know has died or even been sick. My job has continued on without interruption and I get to work from home.

But I'm very weary. Human Services is a difficult place to be right now. Just keeping track of policy changes, state emergency legislation, and where resources have been exhausted or not is a full-time job. The workload is massive and clients are deeply stressed and anxious. It's much more like working a crisis hotline now. I haven't had much extra energy for posting.

There's been some good news recently though. For example the moratorium on evictions has been extended to March of next year. So we don't have to start worrying we're going to see huge numbers of people suddenly homeless all at once come the second half of each month like we did when the moratorium was being extended to cover the next month just before it arrived.

Anyway, the game will start again, it's just a matter of when.

Hey everybody,

I'm sorry for going missing on you. It's been a very hectic couple of weeks. At work we had two back to back short notice and short deadline extra projects added on top of our regular work. With what free time I've had I really needed to do other things than sit in front of a computer yet more.

Things should be getting back to normal now, and I'll be catching up on reading up to date on posts and posting myself. Within a day or two I should be all caught up and back in the flow.

Correna's knock is met with silence.

The door is standard, the same as used in the rest of the house. It is unlocked so Correna opens it and slips inside, Roya and Gen trailing behind her.

The room is a sort of back hallway with a second stairway up to the second floor. The only furnishing in the room is a broken side table.

There are two doors at the far side of the room. The one to the right probably opens onto the large, deck like patio they could see from the outside. The other is under the stairs. The door under the stairs has been secured in crude fashion. The knob has been struck off, and an iron spike has been driven into what used to be the lock.

A search of the kitchen turns up nothing of interest.

There is one door you haven't tried yet on the ground floor. I've put a red dot on the map to mark its location. Otherwise there's the whole second floor awaiting you :)

Between Roya's and Correna's strikes on the ooze it is split into three pieces. Even an amorphous blob can't survive such dismemberment.

Combat Over!

Although the ooze now has victims to choose from, it continues to harass Correna. Its appendage smacks into her harder this time and the acid burns more severely.

Correna takes 6 hp damage

The blob turns out to be a very quick mover, that and the difficulty of telling exactly where it begins and ends against the backdrop of similar looking mold cases Correna's acid to miss the thing.

It slides down and off the fireplace, following Correna out into the room. The wobblig appendage it has created swings at Correna and just barely clips her. Aside from a minor thump on the leg, the spot where it touched her burns as if from acid.

Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14

Damage: 1d4 + 1d8 ⇒ (1) + (1) = 2

I forgot to update the map last time. It's updated now. Both Gen and Roya can act!

As Correna checks inside the oven, something out of the corner of her eye catches her attention. The colorful patten of mold on the wall by the oven seems to shift and move just a bit.

It's enough of a warning for her to draw back just before a club-like blob forms and swings down to hit the spot where she had been a couple of seconds ago.

With her full attention on it now, Correna sees a small shifting amorphous mass attached to the wall. The appendage that struck at her extends from the mass. It draws back after failing to make contact with her and begins to reposition, almost like a snake readying a strike, to try again.

Correna has the initiative and acts next.

Correna opens the door and finds the kitchen. A sickeningly sweet scent hangs in this room’s otherwise stale air. Mold and fungus grow up the side of the northern and eastern walls, both of the the external walls. Only the northern wall has windows though. They are bayed like the northern-side windows in the room across the hall where the ghostly family appeared.

What was once a table lies decayed and slumped to the floor at an angle. A door and a stone hearth occupy the west wall of the room, the oven’s door slightly ajar.

Correna's search of the room doesn't turn up anything very interesting. There are a couple of books on the floor by the sofa, by damp has turned the pages between the covers into mildewy lumps that can no longer be separated into single pages. An old wicker box holds rusted knitting needles, yarn, and thread.

Taken together Corrina can imagine the ghostly vision she saw was one that occurred frequently in the evenings when Sir Roderic and his family lived in the house.

Where to next? There's another room on the opposite side of the hallway. There is also one door left unexplored back in the spider swarm room.

Before Corrina and Gen can even finish their replies the scene fades away, leaving the room as they first saw it. It is again long abandoned, with broken furniture and windows covered in mold.

As Correna slips into the room, a vision of shorts manifests. The room shifts its appearance so it looks like it must have back when the house was inhabited. The furniture is no longer decrepit and broken. The mold covering the windows is gone, and instead rosy evening sunlight comes into the room through them.

It is also now inhabited by what could only be Sir Roderic and his family. He sits on the couch reading a book aloud. Although the words seem familiar, you cannot make out exactly what they are. But by the expressions on faces and tones of voices, it must be amusing.

One child sits upon Roderic’s knee while the other two sit on the floor around him, listening to him read. Roderic’s wife, Andella, sits next to him on a chair doing needlepoint.

The warm, contended scene lasts only moments. The family suddenly shifts, their skin sloughs away in wisps of shadows to reveal skeletal faces. Roderic turns to the door where you are clustered. He points accusingly toward the interlopers and shouts “Get out!” in a gasping voice.

Everyone feels a wave of raw, cold fear wash over them. Correna and Gen manage to stand their ground, but Roya flees screaming.

Correna leads the way back into the hall. From the doorway it proceeds straight on (a 90' turn to the left in the hall's direction from the front door) going behind the stairs to the second floor.

The first door Correna comes to is on the left. Like all the other doors so far it is unlocked. As the door is opened, Gen could almost swear she hears something like the giggling of children mixed in with the squeaking and scraping of the door.

The room is large, with a set of bay windows on the outside wall. It looks like it was a cheerful and inviting room at one time, but now a moldering sofa sits along the south wall of this room, and once-comfortable chairs sit in front of mold-covered windows.

Sure, I'll let K Local stand in for Geography.

Correna's fingers turn out to be buttery, but failing to lift the cabinet turns out to not be so bad. In the process Gen notices the wood on the back is quite loose. She has no problem pulling the pieces away to look inside.

Most of the cabinet's contents were ceramic, now broken beyond use. But there is also a silver serving set, a large silver decanter, and a set of six copper mugs, all needing a good polish but otherwise in fine shape.

The desk drawer contains only old pen nibs and a dried-out jar of ink. However, a piece of paper is stuck to the bottom of the drawer by a film of mold. It’s jagged around the edges, as if it was ripped out of a larger sheet of paper. The stuck and moldering page shows an “X” in the middle of some woods, and the letters “St. Hs.,”.

I work for the Oregon Department of Human Services. We're expecting to be hit with maybe the biggest rush of benefits applications ever due to statewide service sector closings.

I'm going to be pulled off my normal job to help process intakes somewhere between sometimes and a lot, and it's possible overtime could become involved.

I don't know what this is going to do to my availability right now, posts from me could become spotty at times depending on how things unfold. It's getting pretty crazy right now.

Within the two rooms you've checked so far there are 2 thing you haven't checked. The 1st room (cockroaches) has a desk with a drawer. 2nd room (spiders) has a large, tall cabinet that has fallen over doors down. The box on the table contains a set of silverware.

Oh I hear you Roya, it kinda annoying.

I can rationalize the need in a way. It's a weird world where there are oozes and such that might eat you. So if a person's traveling it's one of those safety first best practices things.

It's the expense that bothers me. There are always cool mundane things and gadgets my characters would totally carry around because they're neat and interesting to have, but pricy alchemical items eat up the extra starting cash.

As soon as the fleeing Roya gives her the distance she needs, Correna crisps the thickest clot of spiders. The remaining survivors scurry away to cover.

Roya suffers no serious ill effects from spider poison, just the welts from spider bites and the -5 HP they represent.

The fire from Correna's spell chars many of the spiders to a crisp. The remaining ones scurry away from that spot and around then onto Roya. As they start climbing her legs, some also bite!

Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 5

I need a FORT save Roya.

Correna and Gen are up again!

No, sadly Color Spray doesn’t work on them. But so pretty!

Paizo seems to really like swarms as nuisance encounters at low levels They show up in stuff all the time. I’m not sure why they’re so popular, but I will hazard a guess. They’re a changeup from the very low power enemies that can be one-shotted without putting the party at too much risk, or counting on the party to have developed counters to enemies who use smart tactics.

One thing I’ve noticed is low level swarms in Paizo products usually have rails placed on them. For example, they do not chase, or leave the room, things like that. They alter the drudgery of low level combats by presenting a threat that must be avoided or destroyed differently. That’s my guess at least.

I just prepare my characters for them as a matter of course now.

Correna opens the box and finds it contains a plain but very nice set of silverware. She has no time to look at it more closely though because suddenly hundreds, maybe thousands of small spiders begin creeping, then practically erupting up through cracks and crannies in the floorboards!

Correna and Gen act before the spiders.

Map Updated

Aha! Thanks Roya! I figured out the problem. In the old one maps were in the short summary location. Information there will display across all the tabs!

I think adding the map links to the top of the gameplay page would be the best since they will always be found in the same place.

I can't figure out how to do it though! I'm sure it's easy enough and I'm just missing something, but how to I edit pages other than the campaign page?

Correna finds the door to the next room unlocked. It swings open readily.

Two doors stand along the north wall of the room, and one stands along the western wall. A masterfully built table stands against the mold-covered windows in the room’s southeastern wall. Without their current mold covering, the windows would offer a wonderful view of the river.

There are several chairs around the dining table, which still has some crockery and an old wooden box sitting on it.

A tall cabinet used to stand against the far wall, but it has fallen over onto the floor.

Correna dispatches the second bug with great efficiency. She also noticed when she went after the first bug that even though the far side of the room sags and there are some holes in the floor, it seems to be sound enough.

What next?

Corrina bisects the cockroach with her swing, killing it instantly.

Ro's starknife gouges the other cockroach badly, but it carries on toward Gen since Ro has left the building :)

Gen's thrown dagger misses, but it's incidental since Correna kills it a moment later.

Gen sidesteps the cockroach's attempt to bite her.

Bug Bite: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12

Party is up again!

Correna moves into the room, heading for the old desk. Roya follows behind her, while Gen comes in last and places herself on the other sider of Roya so the girl is well shielded.

Almost as soon as you walk into the room, antennae poke up through holes in the floor in a couple of places. The antennae are quickly followed by insect bodies as two cockroaches the size of small dogs wriggle up onto the floor. Without hesitation they both scamper straight for the room's intruders.

Init Order:

Gen: 22
Correna: 11
Roya: 11
Bugs: 9

Everyone is up!

Map is updated.

Hm, I'm kind of baffled. I'd saved as "edit" but it was back on "view". I've reset it to edit again. Anyone who has the link should be able to edit. Try moving you icons. If you can position yourselves. If not, let me know and I'll poke around some more.

Given the high likelihood of combat in the very near future and 2 out of 3 players currently busy with RL, I'm going to hold just a bit before posting again.

No problem Shadow. Hope all is well!

First, Congratulations Roya! Second, Yes, enjoy it while you can. :)

Forgot about that detail. I think you can all move them now. Let me know if not.

From the entranceway in the hall you can see two doorways along the right side. There is enough light emitting from both for you to tell the doors are not closed.

A peek through the door into the closer room reveals scattered furniture including old stuffed chairs. A small desk also sits in the room's northwestern corner. A door on the north wall leads to another room.

The far side of the room, closest to the river, sags downward. You know from what you saw outside this must be the portion of the house that juts out over the river due to the erosion of the riverbank. In places there are broken or missing planks allowing light to seep in from below.

The stairs on the left side of the hall go straight up to a landing.

Roderic's Wreck: Ground Floor

The map link is also posted on the campaign page. Sorry for the delay in getting this up. I'll try to pick up the pace.

The locket isn't heavily tarnished, which suggests it isn't ancient. Beyond that Roya can't tell how long it might have lain there.

Aside from the one weak board Gen stepped on, the porch is solid. Although it creaks she feels confident it is sturdy enough to hold everyone. She doubts the rope is necessary. A look through the hole left by the broken board reveals nothing to Gen except dirt a couple of feet below.

Gen tries the door and the knob turns easily. It is unlocked. Beyond the door she sees a hallway. A dank smell pervades the five-foot wide hallway. A set of stairs rises to the next floor, and the hallway turns sharply to the north past the staircase.

I'll get a map up soon.

With the rope secured around her, Gen carefully climbs the few steps up to the front porch. Her slow, careful testing finds the porch nerve-rackingly creaky but sturdy enough except for one board that breaks when she puts weight on it.

Gen pulls away and topples over, but avoids having her foot and leg go through the hole and injuring herself. As she lies prone she notices a silvery gleam up under the baseboard of the door.

She pulls the small object out and finds it to be a small silver locket. Opening the locket she finds a cameo of a young woman.

Oops, sorry. I missed that Roya had a readied action up above and was waiting for her. I went to the coast for the long weekend anyway though so I suppose it didn't make much difference. Anyhoo...

Correna handily bisects the stirge lying on the ground. Oddly enough Roya's waving starknife collides with the stirge attached to Correna's arm and slices it open. It releases it's grip and falls to the ground dead as well.

Combat Over

While Correna is left with a small puncture mark on her arm, she's none he worse for wear.

Once again your'e left standing outside the old house looking at the porch.

If I'm reading correctly, the stirge died before it could con drain since it died in the same round it attached. I might be wrong, but whatever.

I'll roll initiatives, but since a couple have already been rolled I'll use them. There's no surprise round, but given the stirges' 40' fly speed, I'm going to begin this as a simple combat with actions in order of initiatives. I'm not going to map it since they are tiny flying creatures and this shouldn't take long at all.

Gen is quick to get a spell off, but the stirges are quicker and quite agile. They are both among you by the time Gen's spray of bright colors flashes out. One, swooping at Gen, is caught in the spell's arc, and drops to the ground blinded and unconscious.

The other though has already found Correna. It clasps onto her arm, digging its barbed legs legs in to hold on. It plunges its proboscis into her flesh and begins to suck her blood!

Initiative:
Stirges
Gen
Roya
Correna

As you pause in the yard to decide on your approach, two small forms crawl out from under the porch stairs and take to the air. Their wings and size make them seem like bats at first, but as they fly nearer it's clear they aren't that at all.

In fact each of the creatures has 2 pairs of bat-like wings, with bodies and legs much more like those of an insect. You also notice compound eyes as they locate their targets and home in on you.

Alright! Off we go!

Indeed. Sir Roderick's old house, known locally now as 'Roderick's Wreck' is not too far outside of town. The house isn't quite as close as Correna makes it sound though.

It takes a little under an hour to walk from town to Sir Roderick's old house. The foot trail is very overgrown from disuse, but it's still an easy hike that follows alongside the river. Roderick's Wreck is close to where the river meets the sea, tucked away in an alcove that makes it difficult to spot from out on the river.

The house has two stories, and looks like a cross between a mansion and a cabin, constructed as it is out of pine logs. After the deaths of Sir Roderick and his family, the house was never again used, and the long neglect is obvious.

Approaching the house, it is immediately apparent that Roderic’s Wreck is indeed a wreck. The house slumps visibly toward the water, one corner edging dangerously into the river. Boards in the house’s walls have warped and popped free from their nails, peeling back like bark from an old tree. The front door hangs slightly ajar. The sound of buzzing insects, creaking tree branches, and the river flowing by hangs in the moist air.

Shadow: Sure Doomed Hero can come back. I'll send him a PM.

Correna: No, the gestalt was from the beginning and his character is already built for it.

So I've mostly reread the 1st book now and I'm going t take a slightly different approach this time around. The 1st book is more oriented toward mystery solving and is quite a sandbox with several different things going on. I think I'm going to limit the sandbox aspect of it since there was already some frustration about what to do when we left off last.

I think driving things forward by railroading you through some of the early stuff won't harm the plot development significantly and will help us move on toward bigger and better things more rapidly. In short, I'm going to facilitate stumbling across things you need to in order to better clarify for you what to do next.

Alright, I've started rereading the AP to get my head back in it. I'm looking at the latter part of next week to get restarted. Sound good?

I have a PM out to Shadow to see if he's still interested.

I'm sorry I've left y'all hanging for so long. I haven'y given up on this campaign. But compared to keeping up on posts as a player, there's more focused effort involved in running one. I'm getting there, things have settled down considerably. I'm still busy at work, which isn't going to change, but I also have minor repairs and upgrades to do and still some unpacking and organizing. I also have a new puppy who is very clever and quite wicked to contend with. :)

I don't have much in the way of holiday plans this year, and with some extra days off coming up around that time I expecting I can be prepared to relaunch around the beginning of December.

I'll get in contact with Shadow and see if he's still in.

I'm also sorry your attempt to jump start finding Kynae couldn't work out. There's a bit more to finding him than just walking around looking.

I don't want to give anything away, but book 1 is quite sandboxy. You have several story threads you can follow and they aren't necessarily to be selected then followed linearly to the end before choosing the next.

Also since the AP goes to 20th level, each book takes you farther than usual. You'll be level 5 by the end of book 1. The extra encounters involved mix in a tricky way with a sandbox scenario. Pick the wrong thread and follow it too rapidly and you can get really far in over your heads.

The idea of switching around some to other questions as you hit roadblocks following one line of inquiry is a very good one.You'll be spending quite a bit of time in Roderic's Cove so you might as well settle in and get to know the place. :)

Grial, I'm sorry you're leaving, and Storyteller I'm glad you're staying.

I'm sorry my posts have been so infrequent. The last couple of months have been far busier than I expected them to be. Back in the early summer I traded in my long commute position for one on a team launching a couple of new programs closer to home. The job is far more interesting, but since all the policy, process, and procedure aspects of the programs have to be built from scratch, it didn't cut the hours I was putting in at all.

On top of that posting during the workday isn't possible anymore so it actually cut my time available. There have also been non-work things coming up. Most recently I got started on buying a house, and it's crazy how much time that sucks up.

If you three are good to continue on with this campaign, I am as well. But I have to give fair warning that I don't know when I'll be able to commit to an update frequency. Things will probably continue to bump along slowly erratically for a while yet.

So, if that's alright with you all, we'll continue on with 3 players and not worry about recruiting anyone else unless it seems needed and the game is moving at a reasonable pace.

I'm afraid Kynae can't be found quite so easily. But that doesn't mean asking around town after him won't be productive.

Based on my experience having a 12 year-old son whose friends spend a fair amount of time hanging around the house, even if Silvio did think something was implied by Roya asking after Kynae (very iffy) it wouldn't matter in he least to him. Now if Roya plays Fortnite (and is good at it) that would mean something.

Sadly for Roya I suppose, she's going to find the great majority of boys her age just aren't where she's at yet on the subject of boys and girls.