DM Tarfugal's page

Hey DM Lil Eschie, I am not intending to return as a player in this game. I have to say that what you did was very kind. I am glad that this campaign will continue to progress.

Cheers and Good Luck!

"No doubt astonishing for me, you certainty have my respect, I am not sure if I would call this home myself." Ionnia Teppen shivers a bit, but continues to move the party forward on the path. Her stature carries a certain elegance as she continues to walk. She bears no weapons at hand along her equipment, she is not that kind of warrior.

The gm has returned bearing great tidings. I have posted in the gameplay thread and my posts should be consistent from now on.

My apologies for the long wait. I have dropped the Second Darkness campaign I was dming to focus completely on this one. Thus, the adventure continues. And I have asked if the players in the second darkness campaign would like to create characters for the two spots open, before I open a recruitment for the great masses of the paizo message-boards!

Kinda quiet here, how's it going GM?

I sent him a message a few days ago but haven't heard back he hasn't done anything in the other game of his I play in,. I hope he comes back soon. If for some reason he doesn't do you guys want to try and find another gm? Really hyped to keep this game going as I feel this will be a fun group to play with.

Hey guys! My apologies for the long pause here. I read the pm you sent Nessa. Do to whats going on for me, I am going to focus my attention on my Reign Of Winter campaign as the only campaign I am dming. Which means, unfortunately, I am going to drop Second Darkness.

However, there are two spots that are open for the Reign Of Winter campaign if you guys are interested.

The current heroes of Reign Of Winter!

The roster is as follows:

Mirri Willowthir-A Elf Sorcerer who has wandered aimlessly into an unexpected adventure.

Doctor Gil-A Assimar Oracle that is out to spread his faith, despite his weakness.

Tiferet Odinsdottir- A Assimar Skald out to find more personal stories of adventure and greatness

Arthorion Aegas-A Elf Barbarian searching for his missing child.

Again, my apologies guys. But with the focus on one, I should be able to procure more quality.

"Not walls, but the village armory could be an excellent place for a solid defense. The population consists about 150 people. No doubt it will be a tough fight to have Heldren still stand. There's not much talent considering that it is a rather small town, but they have enough manpower for one go. Also, there are some characters in the village that are a bit more notable and stand out with their abilities. Ionnia Teppan is one of them."

Isker wipes a tear out of his eye, "Your words ring well in my ears. Would not want them to take this town. While my son is dead, my daughter still lives, I could not bear to lose the only child I have left."

He draws another breath with a warning, "I have seen the technique of bandits, they lack none for the most part. But be careful, they cut foes down with the will that they have."

Upon getting ready and gathering whatever is needed, Ionnia Teppan departs with the volunteers to the dangers down south. "Your help will not be forgotten."
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Near the Border Wood.

The foreboding winter slowly, but surely makes it's presence as the travel continues. What became a light sprinkle, became a sharper cold breeze. But, soon enough everyone's shoes step into deep snow near the trees of the border wood. The kind of cold that is being experienced is something that perhaps no one has experienced. It rattles the bones, it churns horror and dismay, and while the sun of summer was still strangely out, this has no influence over the cold.

Upon getting closer to the trees, Ionnia Teppan says sincerely, "Let us be careful as we draw near to the site. All we need is to follow the trees around a bit more. I never felt a chill like this."

The context is working on the job for the week. The results will effect how the week goes.

Everyone make a roll please. Afterwards, I will move the story along.
Nessa-Diplomacy
Cameron-Profession (Gambler)
Borgmurch-Attack Roll or another skill check listed above
Dolgrin-Perception
Hal-?

Agreed. Balancing a party from a mechanics point of view is something that can be approached 'scientifically', but foreseeing character / player dynamics can be somewhat of an art. Made all the more important by the fact that very few campaigns on those boards end because of suboptimized parties encountering a TPK, while plenty of them slowly wither away due to the various players failing to gel and gradually losing interest.

Sorry to hear about Volaticus. Though losing 2 out of 6 players early in the campaign seems to be a sad yet common occurrence; do you think this might be a good time to recruit a 5th character? I'd recommend a healer but, then again, see above: intriguing > optimized.

Diversity in mechanical party ability does change the game design and balancing. Diversity is great for each member feeling a contributor to party goals(This is an assumption that I am making). But, the dm can reduce certain challenges that the party lacks the sufficiently to handle abundantly. That's why I like a 6 player party (Allows for overlap). I want players to play what they want to play. I would say trapfinding is one example in this iteration of Reign Of Winter that has not been covered. I will probably as we go along reduce the number of traps(there will be some, muhahaha).

Balancing is the most challenging aspect in game design.

I will start recruiting 1 or 2 more people soon. For this first outing I will have a npc or 2 join you guys.

You could perform with your bow. Just make a attack roll for your check. :)

"Excellent! Nessa, I believe you will do a fine job in management. Cameron, you seem like a gambling man. I like it! Care to be managing our gambling rules and processes? You could deal some cards as well." He stands up, looking at Dolgrin with a sustained smile. "And what is your name? You are well armed with versatile weapons. Hopefully that will keep this place well protected." Saul walks up to the smallest of the party. "Yes, you will be the real gold goblin. A small person can actually cast a large shadow if they work on it. Perhaps, you can entertain guests with your great hunting abilities. Can you shoot targets well?"

Yeah, the goblin is really good, he is playing that well so far. I think I see the possibilities of many mis-adventures for the goblin and tiefling in the future.

Indeed! DM Arneste did a great job with party composition.

Your offer is very generous, I only feel I should decline it as I don't have enough free time on my hands to participate in more than 2 campaigns while maintaining a high enough level of posting...

As for Svartokshe, I'd be sad to see him go. With him being a border-line worshiper of the demon Lord of (among other things) misogyny, and Tiferet herself praying to Tolc, Kostchtchie's arch-rival for the control of the frozen wastes, I had envisioned some potentially interesting character interactions. O well.

I hope everything is all right with Volaticus?

Black-Ice is an interesting gritty character. With his hate for winter witches, there would be some interesting developments between him, Tiferet, Mirri, and the rest of the party. He also infused winter as a primary enemy of his character's psyche. The setting being a representation of all of his tragic experiences. What kind of change will he have when he returns to a setting that he has tried so hard to escape? Will he grow to admire Tiferet and Mirri, despite his hatred for winter witches?

That is the hard part about recruiting. I want interesting chemistry between the party to explore themes of the campaign. This is relatively subjective. Besides looking at each character in isolation, you have to look with a bird's eye view of the entire party as a whole. See possible conflicts, agreements, and developments. It is not a precise process, it is not standardized. I welcome the challenge. :) Besides the role playing side of things, I have to think about mechanics as well. But, I don't feel like that mechanics/rules are on one side and rp/art are on another side, they are blended together to create a fun game. This game accounts that we use 100% of our brain.

Unfortunately, Volaticus is dropping out of the adventure.

Yuleg patiently listens to the conversations amongst the party. He exchanges his judgment on the matter,"A search party could be an excellent choice of action. Don't expect to win against large numbers. Make sure to come back swiftly, if you see any large movement. If it comes down to that we need every able person here to stand and fight. I am not sure if they moved on, but I would recommend going south down in the border wood. Follow the west tree line and you should find the remains of my comrades."

"Yuleg, what happened to my son?" Isker moves through the crowd urgently.

The face of the dwarf remain solemn. War carries sadness and grief along with it. "Your son... He passed away... Gorum would be proud of his service."

This was instruction in of itself, horrible instruction. Isker quieted down as he is staring at the ground, his face stricken with dark melancholy.

Ionnia Teppan steps forward to intercede,"I am the mayor of this town. I have been singing songs all day on that wooden stage in celebration of 400 years of Heldren standing here.. If my voice goes hoarse... then so be it. The reason that we have celebrated this holiday today is to understand that even when this winter comes we will endure. We have endured famine in our past, we have endured grief in our past, and we will endure bandits in our future. I will join these recent visitors as part of the search party. Crazy as it sounds, it is in your great interest to take up arms in the defense of Heldren. We shall not flee, we shall fight. Be benevolent to your neighbor as our founders have taught us and by the great gods, protect your neighbor."

The people roar in approval.

The way I understand it, Arthorion, Gii, Mirri and Tiferet have agreed to form a scouting / ambush party... Isn't Svartokshe's player also the same GM who vanished on you, Mirri? If so, it does not bode well for him being active anytime soon, alas.

I dunno about Volaticus, though the way I see it, 2/3rds of the group having reached a consensus is enough to at least start moving the game in that particular direction (obviously the GM gets the last word).

I was just waiting a bit to see what Black-Ice and Volaticus are up too. I have feeling that I will have to replace Black-Ice with another player soon.

I phone called Volaticus to see what was going on. :)

Yeah, he was playing in another game I am in and took over for us yesterday since our gm vanished. Maybe he's waiting for everyone to post? Not sure.

Speaking of the Second Darkness AP, I wrote my character out of the campaign. Would any of you (excluding Volaticus and Mirri) like to play in the Second Darkness ap? I am looking for one person to fill a spot.

It has just started.

The Second Darkness roster is:

a seductress tiefling sorcerer,

a luck bound Human cleric of Desna,

a racist elf ranger,-Racist towards humans.

a goblin slayer,- best goblin role playing I have ever seen so far.

and a dwarf Bloodrager,

Yandasana responds in a polite tone, "I will humbly decline your offer. The risks outweigh the rewards." Yandasana smiles and leaves the Gold Goblin not to be seen again.

Saul smiles, "Well, I am happy that most of you agreed to work here. You will work directly for me. We have several different jobs that need to be done in the Gold Goblin. Dealers, bouncers, croupiers, or greeters are the common stuff. I will leave it up for you to decide. Your salary will be 10GP per week with a cut of the gambling hall's weekly profits."

Here's a list of stuff you can do for a 4 hour shift.
Bluff- Spend 4 hours a day cajoling citizens and tricking them into visiting the Gold Goblin.
Diplomacy- Spend 4 hours a day managing the help and greeting customers at the Gold Goblin.
Intimidate- Spend 4 hours a day working as a bouncer for the Gold Goblin.
Perform- Spend 4 hours a day performing for customers at the Gold Goblin.
Profession (Gambler)- Spend 4 hours a day working as a croupier or dealer at the Gold Goblin.
Spot- Spend 4 hours a day looking for cheaters at the Gold Goblin.
If you guys have ideas for other skills that might help out the Gold Goblin, just give a pitch of what you would like in the discussion thread.

Is Tarfugal still around?

I am still here. :)

Saul declines respectfully to Nessa's offer to sit on his lap. "I have a story to tell. This won't be brief." Saul speaks loudly to have one of the waitresses hear him, "Can we have some wine? My new friends must be quite thirsty after there little exercise." Most of the employees have left, but a waitress does come in with some fine wine and even a potion of cure light wounds. "I am thankful that you stayed. Set the tray down on my desk. That will be enough." The waitress leaves, leaving only Saul and the pcs in the office.

"I have something to confess... It is a matter of trust for me to tell you my life. As you well know, Riddleport is full of gangs and criminals. And I was once in the same boat as them. I led a gang myself, been through many dangers and such. It was surely thrilling, but such a passion comes at a terrible cost. My wife is dead, murdered by thugs similar to those who I commanded. My sons are now exiled, so I have no heirs. I lost all the fortune that I had once had. I am getting old, I can't play that game anymore. When you lose so much..."

Saul pauses for a moment in contemplation, "I want to change my behavior. Coming clean is all I want. Have a business with no trouble. Unfortunately, I have made enemies in my past life. I want to let my past go, but they surely won't."

Saul lets out a sigh, "But... I can't stop trying... would like to join me in giving the Gold Goblin another chance? You will get a salary, lodging, free meals, and be junior partners of the Gold Goblin. Does that sound like a fine deal? Your help out there proved your credentials to me."

The dwarf steps off his horse and lands on the ground. He looks at Tiferet curiously, " Dead! By the bandits under Rohkar Cindran. He is not a man to cross blindly. He was previously a acquaintance to Lady Argentine, but now he is mad, hiding along with whoever worshiped his leadership. Obsessive would be a mild word to describe him. I would doubt he would kill Lady Argentine given his previous association with her. But, I would rather not imagine what he would do. Does not make it any better that there is snow in the border wood."

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Darnen Euphram's point of view. In the border wood, away from Heldren.

Darnen talks cheerfully, "You ought to see Heldren, ain't much. But my own father raised me there. I miss my sister the most, a fierce one she is."

This was Darnen's first outing as a member of Lady Argentine's guard. Yuleg approaches the group of well armed young people. Yuleg exclaims with a loud bellow,'Your father is near isn't he lad. Aw, what a chump!" Yulegs laughs with a friendly wit about him.

"I heard from him some tales of what my father had done with you."

Yuleg replies with a smile, "Have you? Well go on, tell me."

And so went a grand night of conversation over a campfire. Lady Argentine was well protected in her cart. She had no need to be outside or in other terms, she did not want to because of the cold. The warm company around the fire was not strange, but the winter was. He did not remember anything close to this near Heldren in the summertime.

"With the weather like this, I have a feeling that the my birthplace festival will not be celerbrated tomorrow."

But then... A large group of well armed bandits with tattered rags slammed into the campsite without any hesitation. Blood begins to fly and spray over the fight that has just ensued. Within a second he feels a strong piercing pain in his front side. He drops to the floor with a hard impact. Under his grasp for air he croaks, "Yuleg." He hears the cling of metal and roar between both sides.

Suddenly... he finds himself moving. Yuleg is dragging him to safety, "Hold on! That wound can be taken care of. You said Heldren was in the north, right?"

The dwarf continues to drag him toward the horses. With a hard lift, he finds himself on the horse. Yuleg yells towards Darnen, "With me." Yuleg is on his own horse.

Darnen suffers another intrusion from a well thrown spear. His arm was removed from his body. Darnen screams in pain and falls off his horse.

The bandits catch up to him. His vision is merely a blur as he loses more blood.

"Looks like the one of them got away."

"No matter, I will be having a private conversation with Lady Argentine in her cart soon. Viktor, Take 50 well armed men and women in 2 days time and sack Heldren."

"Yes, Sir!"

"We need as much supplies as we can to survive this strange winter. Leave none of them alive. Like this one."

Darnen's head leaves his body.
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The hardest test for Heldren. Day of the festival. Which conveniently... the pcs are here. :)

A dwarf comes to a abrasive sounding stop on his horse in the towns square, "I bring news! Where is the mayor of this town? Is this Heldren? Bandits are a day away from sacking this town. They march, well armed."

The dwarf is well armed and wears finely made armor. He bears a sign on his left shoulder plate.

The butcher approaches the dwarf, "Badits? I dont tink thy be badits close."

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Tieferet's awakening.
Strangely enough, many people did not remember much of last night in the Silver Stoat. Alcohol beavarage consumption was at a all time high. However, Argus Goldtooth remembers the great tales that were told last night. "Ahh, Tiferet, glad to see you are awake. I very much enjoyed your stories last night. If you are in need of a haircut, I will give you one on the house at my barbershop..."

With a quick dart of his head and eyes, he makes sure no one is listening. Argus whispers, "And... perhaps... you can help me with my girl trouble... Tessaraea... has been eyeing me lately..."

He quickly stands to his feet, "But no matter! Enjoy the festivities! We are friendly bunch here in Heldren." After a sharp pat on Tieferet's back, he happily walks out of the Silver Stoat with the intention to jaunt around.
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The Sparring Practice.

Tieferet's sparring opponent was a boy of 15 years. He had a certain quickness in moves, but could not deal with Tiferet's more heavy handed swordplay. "Ouch, where did you learn that? Don't worry I just got few bruises."

He is clearly lying...

Nonlethal damage to Opponent: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

Isker observes the match, "Boy, you spent to much time dodging. Not enough striking! Consider this, if you step back to dodge a blade, all your opponent needs to do is walk forward and gut you. Your doing all the work for her. That is why you have the welt. Now, strike!"

After a few more rounds the boy thanks Tiferet for sparring with him. Hopefully, the boy will learn better next time.
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The performance.
The singers step aside for Tiferet's performance. The performance earns some clapping and hollering afterward. One of the singers congratulates your performance, "Excellent use of multitasking. I am not a drummer myself, but I can feel the rhythm."

She continues, "My name is Ionnia Teppen. I have not seen you around here before. Please do enjoy yourself in Heldren. Looked like you were having a good time on stage."

She smiles and begins the next song.

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Black-Ice's Purchase.

The gnome responds, "Well, I think you ought to have it for free, lad. I have seen you staring at the sky for long periods time. As if the winter has cursed you for eternity. The winter can be very cruel. I feel that the cold has not shaken off of you. If this object helps to distract you from it, then please take it. Making and building things with my hands has made me certainly distracted. I mean, I can't stop thinking of new things to build or to do. The people around here say it is my nature. But I feel like I got it from my brother."

The gnomes face returns to a solemn state, " I have not seen my brother for so long. I don't know if he died or what. He was all I had... Heldren has become my family now. My only advice.. is you ought to find people that you care about. Here, take it."
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Doctor Gil's Q and A of the towns people.

Most of the local's seem to have not really any strong opinions about magic. Except the town's butcher, "Magec fer wht? Don't need no stinkin magec! U understand me point. I chop, simple. Magec, not simple. Dannger in magec! No dannger in I choping. Magec boook lys, kheats, and steels. Heer wht me sey magec men."

And on he goes...
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Happy new years everyone! I was a bit busy this week with all the holiday shenanigans. Starting tomorrow, I will be keeping a daily pace. Watch out! :)

Would you rather we use the ARG rules for Aasimar age categories, or just declare they simply age as humans do? Both are fine with me, mostly a matter of self-consistency between Tiferet and Doctor Gii... (since I figure it would have no in-game mechanical consequence whatsoever, I'm not aiming this question only at the GM – Seranov's input would also be greatly appreciated!).

I am fine with human age categories or aasimer age categories. I would figure it as having a longer period of being at Tiferet's youthful peak (Well fit and the like) compared to humans not closely related to celestial ancestors. At age 60 to 150 your character would change from the character's young adult self (that she had at 15-20 years old, same as a common human) to middle aged and so on to the next aasimar age category (pretty slow change though). The less closely related to your celestial ancestor, the age category will be more human in older age.

Just realized I've never explicitly stated the object of Tiferet's Attached drawback. It's her Holy Symbol, an artifact from a time before the witches passed down from generation to generation among her clan, and a memento of what they once were and what they aspire to be again.

OR, as per the drawback's description, I'd be happy to have our GM pick another item of his choice in its stead – mostly to alleviate my sense of guilt over my particular choice potentially having netted me one free trait. Or even better, as I've seen happening, have you, DM Tarfugal, pick a drawback for me from scratch, with both its repercussions and ramifications.

I am fine with that. Let thine holy symbol be thine prized gift. Sounds like something that could be interesting to roleplay with. :)

First post is up. Hope everyone had a good time yesterday.

Neat. In that case, I believe Gii and Matias are 100% ready to go. :)

Excellent!

Also, I gave Zoren six tricks on top of the bonus trick, as per DM Tarfugal's ruling on animal companions.

Cheers! :)

I feel your pain and I join you in your invite. I oftentimes end up with lingering doubts whether some construction I've just used was phrased correctly or not, so if any of you happens to spot a couple of oddities here and there in my prose, corrections would be most welcome (especially coming from a soon-to-be ESOL-certified teacher). Thanks!

Hopefully, we will all get better at what we do in this campaign.

Does that mean we get the Deific Obedience (GM) feat for free then?

;D

Despite the oncoming unnatural winter drawing near, the festivities in Heldrin begin. Heldrin has rarely seen so much excitement or concern. Hunters from the nearby Border Wood speak of unnaturally cold weather at the height of summer that descended on the forest just days ago. Heavy snow followed, and those who returned spoke of an uneasy presence in the woods. as well as new, dangerous predators. No one knows what what this means, but the town's sooth slayer, Old Mother Theodora, claims dark times ahead.

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Town Hall

Heldren’s town hall boasts a clock tower overlooking the town square. Its clockworks were imported from Quadira some time ago, and are kept in working order by Orillus Davigen who can usually be found up in the tower tinkering with the machinery. The clock tower’s bells ring every hour from 6 am to 6 pm, and can muster the militia in case of attack. On the wall outside the front door hangs a notice board with local news, job openings, and goods for sale.
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Armory

A dirt path winds its way up a low hill west of town to the single door of this square stone tower. The tower is 30 feet high, with battlements on its roof and arrow slits along its walls. It is completely open on the inside, with no interior floors—just a wooden staircase running along the walls to the roof. The tower serves as Heldren’s armory and a place of refuge for the villagers in case the village is ever attacked. In times of peace, the tower is usually unoccupied, but a selection of simple arms and armor is stored inside for the militia.
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Isker’s Smithy

Although he spends most of his time shoeing horses and repairing farm tools, Heldren’s blacksmith, Isker Euphram, is quite skilled in battle. A veteran of Taldor’s army, Isker served in Zimar and on the Qadiran border for years before retiring to Heldren. His chain shirt, pike, and short sword are still in good condition, oiled and wrapped in a chest kept in his house behind his shop, and Isker has taken it upon himself to oversee the training of the village’s militia. He keeps a few weapons for sale in his shop and could craft other suits of armor if needed. His daughter, Xanthippe works as his apprentice. When not at her father’s forge, Xanthippe’s likely to be found at the Silver Stoat, holding court with her numerous suitors. Although widely considered the village beauty, Xanthippe is as proficient with her fists as with her hammer, and those few of Heldren’s young men who have tried to woo her too aggressively walked away with black eyes for their troubles.
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General Store

Heldren’s general store carries everything a villager needs, as well as most gear an adventurer requires. Heldren sits on the road to Zimar, so plenty of trade passes through the village. The store’s proprietor, Vivialla Steranus, takes advantage of this brisk trade to stock her shelves.
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Willowbark Apothecary

A well-tended garden sits in front of this equally neat house, the home of Tessaraea Willowbark, Heldren’s resident apothecary. Tessaraea is a relatively new transplant to Heldren, having arrived in the village only 25 years ago after a failed adventuring career up north in the River Kingdoms. She is quiet and somber, and most of the villagers believe she suffered some great tragedy in her past, such as the loss of her one true love. In fact, it was Tessaraea’s brother who died on an ill-fated adventure, slain by a group of trolls. Devastated by his death, she gave up adventuring and moved south, settling in Heldren and taking a human-sounding surname when she opened her apothecary shop. Tessaraea sells a variety of herbs and all of the special substances and Items and a surprisingly large stockpile of alchemist’s fire—since her brother’s death, Tessaraea has had an unreasoning fear of trolls, and almost obsessively crafts the stuff for the inevitable moment when she must face them again.
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Barbershop

An artist with razors and scissors, Argus Goldtooth offers shaves, haircuts, and dentistry, as well as “leechery and other surgical proceedings.” Argus is a fair healer, though he’s prone to prescribing leeches for most maladies, from stomach aches to broken bones. Argus also offers gold teeth to replace extracted ones, and is his own best customer—his easy smile reveals more gold teeth in his mouth than original ones. Though he would never admit it to anyone, Argus has something of a crush on his neighbor, the apothecary Tessaraea Willowbark. Argus has never acted on these feelings, but the two have struck up an unlikely friendship, and it’s not uncommon to find Argus helping tend Tessaraea’s garden on Sundays or sharing a pint with her at the Silver Stoat in the evenings.
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The Silver Stoat

Heldren’s only tavern, the Silver Stoat, stands right on the town square across from the town hall. A fixture of village life, the tavern fills up with patronsin the evening as they gather to share gossip, hear news,and reward themselves for a hard day’s work. Anything that’s worth knowing in Heldren gets talked about here, and if asked where he got a particularly juicy bit of gossip or information, a villager will likely say, “I heard it from the Stoat.” Husband and wife Menander and Kale Garimos run the Silver Stoat as if it were their family kitchen—there’s always a seat at the table or a space by the hearth for a guest, or a warm bowl of Menander’s hearty stew for an empty belly. Menander works in the kitchen, cooking up his famous venison flank steak and numble pie. Kale tends bar, serving up the tavern’s signature brew, Three Devil Ale, which she brews in-house using imported Chelish hops. Heldren doesn’t get many visitors, so there is no true inn in the village, but travelers are welcome to a spot on the floor of the Stoat next to the fireplace for a night, as long as they’re up early and on their way. Those who linger risk a rude awakening from Menander’s wet mop in their faces.
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Livery Stable

At the stable next door to the Silver Stoat, Sophia Imirras offers horses for hire or sale, as well as stabling and grooming. Royal couriers on their way to or from Demgazi or Zimar often change horses here. None of Sophia’s horses are combat trained. Sophia also has two carts, a wagon, and a carriage for hire. A traveling noble gave her the carriage as a reward when she managed to calm the newly broken stallion he was riding before it could trample him. Both luxurious and ostentatious, the carriage sees most of its use at village weddings.
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Town Square

The most notable feature of Heldren’s town square is the large statue of a beautiful woman rightin the center of the town. Usually just called “the Lady,” thestatue has been here for as long as anyone can remember, and no one knows who it actually represents. Some believe the Lady was the founder of Heldren or some ancient, forgotten Taldan noblewoman or even a mysterious fey forest goddess. Others have more sinister theories—an evil witch turned to stone for her wickedness or a magical statue through which the satrap of Qadira can spy on Taldor. On any given day, a few entrepreneurs selling goods or produce can be found on the square, and a market is held on the last Fireday of every month. Elder Natharen Safander also hosts the annual Harvest Feast in the town square, during which the people of Heldren erect a giant bonfire in the square and bedeck the Lady in garlands of flowers.
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Ionnia Teppen’s House

The leader of Heldren’svillage council, Ionnia Teppen, lives in this simple two storyhouse just off the town square. Ionnia’s family has had a place in Heldren’s politics for generations, and her membership on the town council was all but assured. She is by far the most influential member of the council, and most villagers consider her the de facto mayor of Heldren.
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Temple of Erastil

Although Elder Natharen Safander is a cleric of Erastil, he tends to all of the village’s flock regardless of their faith. Though most of the villagers follow the teachings of Old Deadeye, the temple also contains shrines to Abadar, Gozreh, Pharasma, and even Sarenrae. Natharen doesn’t much care for the Taldan government’s intolerant stance on the faith of the Dawnf lower, and believes that in a village like Heldren the sun goddess is as important as the god of agriculture. Natharen’s wife, Zaarida, is a Qadiran transplant and faithful worshiper of Sarenrae, and assists him during services and with the temple’s upkeep.
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The Ginger Bread Carpenter

Heldren’s foremost woodworker is Tengezil Frimbocket, a gnome with a wildshock of electric blue hair. He decorates his creations with delicate and elaborate trim he calls “gingerbread,” a style that has proven quite popular among the well-to-do of Taldor’s southern cities. Tengezil claims to be from Wispil, but he is in fact an exile from the land of Irrisen, far to the north. Tengezil has a twin brother named Arbagazor, but the two were separated when they were young. Tengezil assumes his brother is dead…
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Heldren Sawmill

Heldren’s sawmill stays busy day and night cutting timber harvested by the village’s woodcutters into planks for shipment to Zimar and other cities, and stacks of lumber are always heaped outside. Partners Alexius Demetri and Lycio Vallant oversee the sawmill’s operation, which makes them two of Heldren’s wealthiest residents. Their large house on the north side of town is easily Heldren’s largest private home, nicknamed “Sawmill Manor” by the town.
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The Butcher of Jalrune

The name of this butcher shop refers to the supposed nickname of its proprietor, Perkin Tarimm, who claims to be a retired Zimar corsair. In fact, Perkin was nothing more than a common river bandit who took up the safer trade of butchery when the real Zimar corsairs almost caught him, and he has never butchered anything beyond the chickens and pigs that inhabit the yard behind his shop. Customers are welcome to enjoy one of the pickled sows’ ears in the large jar on the counter while they wait for Perkin to prepare their cuts of meat.
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Old Mother Theodora’s

Every village has its resident wise woman, and Heldren is no exception. No one in the village is sure just how ancient Old Mother Theodora is, but she’s been around as long as anyone in town can remember. Old Mother Theodora is Heldren’s most skilled midwife, and she helped deliver just about everyone currently living in the village. She’s also a soothsayer and hedge witch, and villagers come to her to have their fortunes told or buy love potions or herbal remedies.

-----------------------------------------

The mayor, Ionnia Teppen, would rather not have fatalist ideas circulating through the village. If the people are doomed, why not at least try to survive? Perhaps a person's thought contributes to his or her destiny. The sunshine will not be here for long.

People move around the town square to talk and socialize during the festival.The festival is a celebration of the day that Heldrin was founded. Vocalists perform select tunes on a improvised wooden stage.(Singing) Drinks and food are being served outside on behalf of the Silver Stoat. Some young men and women are sparring outside with wooden swords, while listening to the instruction of Isker Euphrim, the only truly experienced veteran in the village. Isker continues to instruct, "No not like that! A bandit would easily stab you blind at the least. If your opponent fears the blade, they have already lost." A old lady is telling stories to group of children on wooden benches. She speaks with a sense of comfort, "Oh dear, when you grow up you will be fine maiden. No need to stay still when your older, adventure abounds in far away places." The village carpenter obsessively shows his built models to anyone that passes by his booth.

The day bears fruit.

-----------------------------------------

Maybe you have heard some rumors among the townsfolk already.

Do you have an opinion on my animal companion's tricks known, Tarfugal? I don't see how it'll hurt to leave them as-is, and it'd be a pain to worry about training Matias the five extra tricks he would be capable of learning once we get started. But you're the man in charge, so I'll do as you wish.

I think its fine. Keep the tricks.

@DM Tarfugal: would you allow taking the Celestial Obedience feat? I'd have to wait until 3rd level to satisfy the requirements, but in the meantime I thought Tiferet could be performing the ritual for RP's sake as part of her ancestral traditions, finally unlocking its rewards once her Knowledge (planes) skill is high enough... To be more specific.

Sure! :)

That said, I see plenty of martial potential and not too many healers. Good thing I've picked CLW as one of my two 1st level spells.

I was surprised by how many martial submissions there were in the recruitment thread. Made for some interesting (Hard) choices.

This may sound like a dumb quesstion, but are we starting the same time our fearless leader Tarfugal said earlier or shall we start sooner or later?

Good question! At the earliest this friday, at the latest this saturday. I will be participating in a christmas eve party today. I will be celebrating christmas with my family tomorrow.

Honestly, a party with a couple Evangelists of different deities would be pretty hilarious to see. Religious debates, religious debates everywhere!

"The deities of Golarion are merely pieces of the great Tarfugal. The debate is over!"

I believe so. Make sure to double check, just in case (Possibly, I could be incorrect).

Yay! I got the alias set up, the only thing I changed was alignment, if that is ok, from CN to CG, meant to do it some time ago but forgot to. If you want me to stick with CN that is fine.

Welcome! :)

I am fine with the alignment tweak.

I need you to to change your point buy stats from 27 to 20.

I love using this: Point Buy Calculater

Out of curiosity what time zones are you guys in? I myself am in pacific standard time.

I am also in Pacific standard time.

I'm in GMT+1 (continental Europe – yep that's a full 9 hour difference!). Hope it doesn't interfere with the game's flow too much, though I have discovered it isn't that big of an issue in practice as it might seem.

[sudden_moment_of_clarity] In which I only now realize how, due to DST being anti-phasic between the two hemispheres, places like coastal Brazil and - say - Poland end up being just 3 hours away in terms of time zones for 6 months a year. [/sudden_moment_of_clarity]

I went to a high school with a huge portion of the student body being international students. It was a blast! :)

Welcome to the Discussion thread! Feel free to talk about anything in here.

Glad, I could crank it out quicker than even I expected. I know how agonizing it can be to wait for the dm's decision.

Thank you so much for applying everyone! I got 25 talented applicants! However... the party will be six heroes.

------------------------

Cue Music

Introducing the cast of DM' Tarfugal's Reign Of Winter campaign!

Mirri Willowthir-A Elf Sorcerer who has wandered aimlessly into an unexpected adventure.

Doctor Gil-A Assimar Oracle that is out to spread his faith, despite his weakness.

Svartokche Black-Ice-A Human Ranger escapes his tragedy, but will soon be reminded.

Tiferet Odinsdottir- A Assimar Skald out to find more personal stories of adventure and greatness

Arthorion Aegas-A Elf Barbarian searching for his missing child.

and Volaticus Tuefel-A Strix Magus focused on avoiding the chains of slavery.

No one is safe.

----------------------------

Cheers everyone! I hope to see you in other games!

23 applicants! Keep em coming!

@GM Tarfugal

Can Neutral evil or lawful evil drink blood?

Yes

That is a rather creative way to lay out character creation for a campaign! That alone has got me thinking of a character for submission. Lemme see what I can conjure...

Thank you for the compliment. Hopefully, it was something different. :)

Whoops! Yeah, sorry. It's Tarfugal, not sure why I thought it's you.

"Yes! My plan is working." (Evil dm grin) ;)

I'm sorry for this. But I'll have to bow out. Good luck on your adventure! And I'm sorry.

Live long and prosper!

DM Tarfugal, I see you are deluged with a storm of characters....it's truly snowballing...and yet, here's a submission. I promise not to flake. :D

I have no idea where this character idea came from, but here he is...Sunder...Sunder...SunderCat!

Welcome!

Submitting Joza Fersig, catfolk bard (Voice of the Wild archetype) for consideration! :)

I will consider it indeed!

The great update roster of heroes .

Mirri Willowthir

Doctor Gil

Einarr Windstalker

Runa Svaladottir

Grandma Mable

Svartokche Black-Ice

Zavier Vitoly

Aruu

Tiferet Odinsdottir

Michiel Ruyter

Arthorion Aegas

Mera Wist-Thrune

Breunor Boulderbasher

Saga Runesdottir

Marigold Hazemen

Morgun Deeplager

Cullen Jorgenson

Gaandik Fatebound

Lemona- Needs backstory

Kib Rootnasher

Shawruu

Joza Fersig

Seth 86's Druid

@ I don't Sparkle

I am not allowing chaotic evil characters for this campaign. If you wish to apply with something else, you can.

Gaandik was stranded just after second level, but would like to try again. He is the ultimate support cleric. He won't even pretend to be good in melee, just possibly buy a tower shield and stand in the way.

May go for the saving shield feat too later.

Welcome to the submission roster!

I made a human cleric (merciful healer) doctor as a pure support in a kingmaker campaign. His endurance and diehard feats saved him from many possible deaths. He was not built to be offensive at all, but sometimes I played him that way. He finally died after our succubus leader decided to give alchemist fire to a Will O Wisp worshiping tribe for consumption purposes. Our dm immortalized him in our kingdom (statue) because of the fearless actions of his character that struck against how he was mechanically built. ;) That guy could really soak up damage though.

@GM I figured he already had some brewing equipment before hand on his travels. Are you ok with this?

Yes!

The great submission roster of heroes so far.

Mirri Willowthir

Doctor Gil

Einarr Windstalker

Runa Svaladottir

Grandma Mable

Svartokche Black-Ice

Zavier Vitoly

Aruu

Tiferet Odinsdottir

Michiel Ruyter

Arthorion Aegas

Mera Wist-Thrune

Breunor Boulderbasher

Saga Runesdottir

Marigold Hazemen

Morgun Deeplager

Cullen

Gaandik Fatebound

I submit Mera Wist-Thrune, a Chelaxian diva extraordinaire! (Oops, Very sorry, I meant bard)

I meant awesome!

I'm interested. Let me put together a character. I think I'll go with a human hunter.

I am interested in what you come up with!

Let me throw my hat in the ring with Arthorion Aegas, elf barbarian with the mad dog archetype. I played him briefly in two RoW PbPs, but both games died right after the first combat...

I think I might have to cut down on the equipment depending on starting gold.

And in this corner we have Arthorion Aegas bringing on the smackdown!

Promised fluff! Of best quality and double-best length!

*heh* I like to write. =)

Yum, Yum, Yum! :D

Indeed they are. I have a core concept in mind for her, fleshing it out and will have it posted by tonight.

I am glad we could come to an agreement on how great vikings are.

Here's my dwarven Primal companion Hunter. I'll make an alias if he gets picked. I might take the divine hunter archetype as well (if allowed). But I'm not sure yet.

The point buy isn't correct, but I don't have access to my builder atm :).
He will be a bit tanky with his companion, and some support spells and skills.

Let me know what you think. And of course cheers on your b-day!

I am honored and humbled by you taking your time to post here. I cannot say that enough to everyone.

Greetings, I am Svartokshe Mar- ... nevermind, call me Black-Ice, most do. House_Arneste sent me here after hearing that there would be others who would join me on an "adventure". He also warned me that they would be asking about my story, personality, and abilities.

Venerable DM, my "fluff and crunch" is, I think, finished. Your honest review of my abilities and story would be appreciated. Also, a belated congratulations on celebrating the day of your birth!

"The DM god Tarfugal will consider Black Ice in the twists of fate."

I would love to join your group.

Thank you for applying! Looks interesting!

"Aruu is here. Ready for adventure in the human lands"

Here is my Feral Child Druid, details are in the Alias

Sweet!

Gii here was originally made for Reign of Winter, and he's still the character I want to run through it the most.

I've heard nothing but great things about RoW, and I'd love to give it an honest shake. I'm very much looking forward to your decisions. :D

Dual cursed oracle is an interesting archetype.

It is certainty going to be difficult in deciding who is in. There is just so much quality on these boards.

I had this character for a RoW campaign that sadly went belly up (we weren't that far in). I may rework her a bit (make sure she's 20 pt, etc), though her background will remain essentially the same.

Then again, there seem to be a few arcane submissions already, so I might also try something else. Haven't played an inquisitor yet.

It's fun to try on new classes. I tend to try to do a different class/role each time I play in a campaign. But, it is also nice to play a character to the fullest. Either way is fine with me. :)

Greetings (and... uhm... happy unbirthday)! I'd like to submit Tiferet Odinsdottir for your consideration, aasimar Skald and devotee of Tolc the Snow-Strider, empyreal lord of Cold, the Frozen Wilds, and Survival. I'm looking forward to better fleshing her out as soon as I have time to jot down a short background, for now I was envisioning her as one of the last descendants of an Ulfen clan of celestial paragons-worshiping warriors. They were driven away from their ancestral lands by the advent of the Irriseni witches centuries ago and are now selling their services as mercenaries in the southern lands, while struggling to maintain their northern traditions and identity alive.

Sounds good! I am curious on what is fleshed out.

Umbungo's Void listener checking in!

Excellent!

Hey so was thinking about this and a character concept came into mind. Zavier Vitoly, a grappler from the frozen north of Brevoy for your consideration please! Actually could you give a bit of guidance on the start of the AP? I always try to tie my character backgrounds into the starting setting but that's a bit hard to do. It seems like the characters just happen to be in Helden?

I will consider your character. Thank you for the submission! If you get in, I will most certainty help you tie your character into the setting.

I will look into a spirit shaman. The hybrid of witch and oracle. Hope to add some winter witch flavor to it.

Winter Witch is definitely flavorful in this campaign.

The only thing "mechanical" would be taking a tiger instead of a lion. Thats all. Nothing else changes. Just the companion species.

You have the green light from me. :)

Think I might switch my submission to a nature's fang druid who has come to Irissen to investigate the strange weather.

Todays forecast... endless winter...

I am looking forward to seeing what you will be submitting.

Great to see more interest and submissions! I am really excited about this guys.

WEll I have a super awesome idea but i dont know if its your cup of tea. So basically i know one of the modules happen on Russia so I was thinking on playing a Russian who somehow got in golarion trought random planar travel shenanigans of baba yaga. He speaks in russian accent for the GLORY OF MOTHER LAND oh and he would start as a gunslinger but will take his next levels as a trench Fighter. Would that fit? :D

I am actually really cool with this. I could imagine some awesome roleplaying with this character that you are the proposing. The only problem I see is that character concept is very very very ambitious. This means that I will be expecting an amazing backstory that makes a decent amount of sense for your character to even be in the adventure.

If you are up to the challenge... :)

The one that states that, since that particular spell has been changed in Pathfinder, the previous argument is moot: energy resistance x would only allow a character to ignore the first x points of damage from a particular source (however, having cold resistance >6 means that one could withstand a source of 1d6 cold damage indefinitely, acting for all intents and purposes as immunity to that particular hazard);

This one is what is going to be used for this campaign. I will be using the cold weather mechanics less and less as the story goes on. Winter is a central theme for this campaign that will always be dangerous... in other aspects...

:) Do you know when you might close recruitment?

I will be closing recruitment on December 21. I will be announcing the party sometime on December 27th after spending almost a week of agonizing over what the party should be (Also, because of christmas and shenanigans). I will run the first post on the gameplay thread on December 29th

Alrighty! Thank you for the birthday wishes.

Would you allow a Medium who channels different Winter spirits to augment himself and the party?

More than Likely Im going to first start out as Hunter.. Channel other spirits THEN go medium and channel MOAR spirits. I Plan on being then Tanky, Skillsy guy.

I going to have to veto this one because the occult classes are not published in a finalized form yet. However, once the the Occult classes get finalized and released I would be fine with you cross classing into that class.

I have an idea that I want to use but it requires a slight allowance by a GM. I want to use the feat:

Slashing Grace with a light slashing weapon, instead of a one-handed one. This would not be to use it for TWF. What do you think?

Feel free to create a character with that in mind. Just be careful... if other people have equal or better concepts to yours that don't require me to manipulate the rules, then they will have the advantage.

I'm waiting to see how some other recruitment threads pan out before submitting a character here but I'm certainly interested and will keep an eye on the thread.

Sure thing! A lot of great campaigns out there! :)

Rather going with a shaman druid. Front line combat character

GM: Instead of a Lion Shaman, can I re flavour it to a tiger shaman?

I am interpreting this as a change on a roleplay level, rather than a mechanical level. If that is the case, go right on ahead. You can be the ultimate badass lion or tiger shaman if you want to! :)

I'm thinking a Fire elemental wizard Ala Colonel Mustang.

Looking forward to seeing what you crank out.

I'm dotting with an alchemist. I'll play around with her a little, see if I can make her more interesting.

Sweet! I will be waiting! :)

Dotting two-fold: either a Linnorm Lands half-orc magus with a flame focus whose family hates witchcraft, or an Irrisen human ranger that hates the witches and their cold fey allies and somehow managed to escape the Witch-Realm.

- Murantos Wolf-Wing: a half-orc raised in the Lands of the Linnorm Kings after his clan, the Winged Wolves, split in two, one remaining in the Holds of Belkzen and the rest migrating to Averaka, a half-orc settlement. The source of their division? the difference between the arcane and witchcraft and which should be favored. Murantos' ancestor, a half-orc wizard, was exiled along with his followers and they found new allies in the Linnorm warriors and kings ... along with a new hatred of the witches of Irrisen.

- Svartokshe Marinter: an Irriseni human whose family was stolen from him before his eyes by the malice and mischief of cold fey. Despite the history of allegiance of the Marinters to Baba Yaga, Svartokshe came to blame the Queen of Witches for both ignoring his family and then allowing them to be taken from him. Using both guile and martial prowess, he escaped the guardians of Irrisen's borders and fled south, the ice and snow now a source of ire for the still young Svartokshe.

Will dot again with the chosen character and links to his page/personality/past.

Awesome, I like what I am seeing so far.

If you accept new players I would submit a feral child druid.

I have not set a deadline for character submissions yet. I would love to look at your submission.

If you mean that you are new to pathfinder, then don't worry. I like teaching new players! It is joyful, fun, and awesome to share knowledge around.

Do people still play fighters anymore? How about a fighter? I'm dotting with a fighter. After growing bored with the tedium of farm life, his father decided he had enough children, and so arranged for Michiel to apprentice with Ol' Ironhands, Heldren's master armorsmith.

The work was hard and grueling, but at least the red-hot forge kept the omnipresent cold at bay. After two years Michiel was at last feeling like he finally belonged.

Until the day she walked in....

Looking forward to learning more about Michiel.

Wind listener (Archetype) with the Void elemental arcane school. (Void listener sounded cooler in my head...)

Sounds cool to me too!

I will hammer out her backstory real soon, but may I submit Runa Svaladottir, viking (fighter) from the Land of Linnorm Kings!

Hammer away! Vikings are sick!

All the dotting. I have a great idea.

Ideas are very welcome here. :)

My submission, the armored skirt is a re-skinned armored kilt. I realize that focusing on ice magic so much might not be the smartest idea, but she will be taking very few of those spells outside of her bloodline spells. She is going to focus more on area control, fog based spells, walls, and pits, in addition to de-buffs like slow.

You are the first added to the submission list. Cheers!

Hello potential players! I am the friend that DM Tarfugal is reserving a spot for. I am looking forward to looking over your submissions.

He is indeed the friend that is reserved for the spot.

Hey, guys! Glad to see some interest! Today is my birthday, so I may or may not be able to answer your questions today.

In the meantime.. take a look at this! I wrote this little ditty in the past, but I still stand by it.

This the list of things that I want to keep maintaining.

1. Respect and Compassion: As a DM I must respect my players and take care of my players. Hopefully, Our respect and compassion will be a reciprocal relationship.

2. Enjoyment: I must make sure that everyone is enjoying themselves. Seriously guys, I am truly humbled by you guys taking your time to be in this campaign. Time is extremely valuable and limited. We only have so much time in our lives. I must make it worth your time.

3. Advocate: I will hear your questions and concerns to the best of my abilities. I will answer your questions. I will represent each one of you and help you guys out.

4. Story/Writing: I will fill my words with detail and decent grammar. I will make the best effort to make you guys care about the story.

5. Being Humble: I will accept criticism positively and work with you guys to constantly improve my DMing.

6. Risk Taking: I am going to take risks to give players unique and different play experiences. I will know the rules to break them properly.

7. Balancing: Keep the experience challenging, but not make the encounters broken.

8. Player Improvement/Learning: As a dm I seek for my players to truly benefit in this experience. D&D is an art form that has alot of insight. I will challenge you guys to take the next level as players in your writing and roleplaying.

9. Consistency: I will be consistently posting daily to move the campaign along. (Unless something makes me super super busy or an emergency.)

10. Determination: I will be determined and never give up on the players. I will seek constant improvement. There is always something I could do better.

11. We are really working together. We are working together to create a strong narrative. I am not seeking to win, but I am seeking you to learn and be happy through this campaign.

I am thee DM Tarfugal, out to find a party of winter badasses. The cold is a dark place where you will freeze to death with your 20 point buy. I will sing a song at your funeral no matter your class or race. Prepare for your doom with your average class gold and level 1 stats. By merely the power of Paizo material, you will fall. Take two traits or three traits with a fatal drawback. All alignments except chaotic evil is perishable."

All silliness aside... :)

I am excited to open a Reign Of Winter campaign in December!!!

I am going to take 5 players. I have 1 slot open for a friend of mine who will be the 6th player.

Make sure to take a look at the Reign of Winter Player's guide.

Please add a backstory to your character. I like strong character narratives. Quality is more important than quantity.

The deadline will be determined by how much interest there is.

Please ask any questions! I will be happy to answer them!

Cheers! Happy Holidays!