Eindrið Lawspeaker's page

Hi, guys. To all my games: sorry I've been such a butt lately.

Basically, I was away from the internet for a while, but before and after that, I've been writing so much for work that PbP just felt like a chore. And I've come to realize that while I love my job, right now it's just not leaving me the time and creative energy I need forPbP, so, while I've sort of been sliding down that slope for a while, I figured I should actually tell all my games that I've gotta drop out.

Sorry to disappoint and potentially leave a bunch of people hanging at the end there, and I hope I was generally fun.

-Thunderbeard

Aid another: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 10 = 15

Eindrid, with little knowledge of sailing, instead offered up a few quick prayers to the Sea King that he might grant the men some additional wisdom.

"This is a Gatlish wreck," Eindrid announced. "These men likely sailed from Javik. I fear more bad news may be on the wind, but it would show the gods only weakness to let this slow our course."

"If you'll just give me a moment of prayer," Eindrid muttered, singing to himself as he looked over what Aelfrid had grabbed.

Casting Detect Allegiance, which allows me a brief vision of the military insignias of the dead/war paint of their boat etc.

Sorry guys, at conference, am distract

Also haha as usual, Eindrid is the weakest link at being a viking. Yay!

Fort 1: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26
Fort 2: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22
Fort 3: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (15) + 9 = 24
Fort 4: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25
Fort 5: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15
Fort 6: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11
Fort 7: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 18

Not that frail!

Sailor: 1d20 ⇒ 10

Eindrid managed to not completely make a fool of himself on his first journey, though certainly no sagas would be written about his time on the longship.

Eindrid similarly doubled up his own rations, and bought about 50 hs worth of various-quality ale and mead from what was available in town.

Oh, right. How much mead/ale can I get for 100 hs or so? As the ship's skald (and weakest rower), I should probably carry my weight by providing other sorts of aid...

"Next of kin?" Eindrid laughed a bit in reply, "Just give my share to the nearest temple of any decent god, though I'll be quite surprised if I'm the first warrior to fall in battle."

"And Eydis and I have had quite some time to prepare. But I suppose we'd better find out what Aelfred's ghost-beast eats, and buy enough of that to take ourselves out of consideration."

'Best not speak of dwimmer and cowardice at a time when we'd have the omens favor us," Eindrid suggested. "There will be plenty of time for boasting when we've made our gods proud, and for now maybe we can all keep our blades and words sheathed."

Ugh got distracted by steam sale + conference travel for a few days, bad combination. Sorry! Jumping back into games now.

Protection is... okay, but it doesn't stack great with armor/shield.

War is always good (and stacks well with itself, if you just pick up 1-2 momentum talents or maybe some rallies). Light is pretty cool, IMO, if you want to avoid dark.

Also I get soooome weather things eventually when I get to be a high-level bard, because masterpieces are weird like that.

Slayers get gobs of skill points, though. I wouldn't worry about it too much either way.

Eindrid eyed the newcomer and his scaled armor warily, but nodded a bit of approval at the fine weapons the man carried. "Eindrid Lawspeaker, chronicler of this voyage. Walk in the gods' footsteps and we'll have no quarrel. You've joined on for no mad reaving; the Jarl was a worthy man, and his ship seeks to honor his memory by removing a great evil from the lands he died in."

Eh, it seemed like one person getting annoyed and posting as such in multiple aliases. Props creating a character that fits in the setting! That snow leopard is gonna freak some folks out, but it is definitely a small enough animal to fit in a longboat.

How are we on re-recruitment? (people finishing things up, etc?) I noticed quite a few people sort of misinterpreting the idea of the game, but it seems we've got at least a few completed characters suggested now.

@Crayfish: The Norsk (I think that's what Northlanders are called) tend to do some seal-hunting. But there's also the Ulnat, which are a loose culture of various tribes, which I assume vary somewhat in culture; their relationship with the Northlands seems to be like the Icelanders and the Inuit (that is, sometimes trading partners or guides, but often enemies). (Eindrid is half-Ulnat, but not very into his heritage)

That said, we're currently about to sail very far North, so an Ulnat scout/guide/hunter who's come to work in the Northlands would certainly not be out of place thematically. I'd let Rednal answer your questions, but it's worth noting that any animal companion you take should be able to fit in a longboat for long sea journeys (that is, it probably shouldn't be too big).

Oh boy! Time for a second shopping trip I guess.

I should probably have enough time to retrain the Judgment talent into Aggressive Momentum, which might well be a lifesaver over the next two levels (that 2 extra party attacks whenever could've made a huge difference earlier) while possibly being better setting-suited (or at least not worse). Since our characters are now prioritizing war over diplomacy and all. This should be 200 gp.

Masterwork oars for +2 Profession (sailor) seem like a good idea right now. And I guess also a climbing kit. If Masterwork Cleats/Shoes for +2 to Acrobatics checks to balance are an option, I'll pick those up too, otherwise just a Balancing Pole. And a Compass if one is available.

I'd just like to add that it's worth having a way to cover for anything that might normally be "witchcraft." The Northlanders are generally distrustful and suspicious of magic, especially magic they don't understand. Our full-caster, Eydis, has quite a bit of magic, but it's due to being both trained as a healer woman and blessed by Odin. Eindrid similarly throws around some unusual stuff, but it's all in the forms of "Battle Chants," which he sings or invokes or whatever.

Some of the ideas mentioned above might be a bit tricky to explain to the characters around you without being intensely distrusted or even persecuted, such as a Soaring Blade's telekinesis and summoned weapons (vs, say, a throwing-focused class whose magic is more subtle), the Alchemy stuff (as Rednal mentioned, explanation is going to matter there), a Sun Warrior who shoots giant laser beams out of their sword(vs one whose light magic perhaps manifests in less dramatic ways), etc.

The GM will obviously have more thought-out opinions about all this stuff. I'd just suggest at the end of the day making sure your character feels like they'd be at home with vikings, either as a local or a foreigner who has been able to find acceptance.

"Aye."

Hmm. Do we have more downtime before the ship leaves (as in a few days)? I might potentially try to retrain one of my spheres if so, especially with new character coming in. (The Fate one that compels people to do things, since it's not super thematic or useful, into a momentum talent or something)

Oh, woops. Time to do the thing that bards do.

Knowledge (religion): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23
Knowledge (geography): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25
Knowledge (history): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9

"Well... I suppose you'll want a saga-keeper, when this is all done. I'll join; but you still need food, and other such. When do we plan to leave again?"

Annnd there's the plot! Neat!

Eindrid pondered a response. "I did not know the Jarl as well as most of you," he replied. "But he as as just a leader as could be found, and a generous giver of rings. I, too, have dealt with priests of this omen of darkness, and they are aberrations, without reason or honor. If even the possibility remains that they may deign to reave Southward, blood and battle-cry is a fair response."

"Jarl Olaf's bravery deserves repayment in loyalty and vengeance. But would you be the one to lead such an expedition? We are no berserkers, eager to die before striking a worthy blow--and I would not sail North again without oaths to act with the favor of the gods and the caution of the wise."

Regarding Favored Enemy: So far we've fought hordes of undead, as well as a few evil outsiders and monstrous humanoids, and no regular humans (yet). I'd recommend coming up with a story reason for your favored enemies, whatever they are.

Spheres of Power has some really cool "low-caster"/mid-caster options for classes not traditionally considered spellcasters—SoP adds cool low-caster variants for fighters, rogues, etc, and there's a feat chain that actually gives low casting, while bloodragers and rangers are pretty setting-appropriate (with arguably more useful casting through utility spheres), as well as a few other mid-caster options like hunter and skald.

Ohhhh cool, got it.

Eindrid looks at Eydis, assuming that there will be no further answers at the docks, and suggests heading to the tavern.

Hey guys! Existing character checking in. I'm a professional lawspeaker (viking freelance lawyer/cop) and sort of a paladin-lite. Light buffs and dueling. Our other character is a priest of Odin who heals and smites. Between us, we're actually reasonable at ranged combat as well as melee.

We don't have any huge gaps in abilities (other than maybe trapfinding), but with how the game's gone so far, I recommend not shirking on acrobatics/climb/swim. Heavy armor is rare, but shields have been a literal life-saver several times in this campaign, and I recommend not shirking on AC/survivability. An experienced sailor or smith could potentially be useful in the party, as could someone with some degree of crowd control/maneuverability.

Oh right, there's only two of us now. We re-opening recruitment?

"Quite," Eindrid added. "I've told our story up and down the coast, these last six months, and I'd prefer to hear a new one—or tell it to the Jarl himself."

Yeah—I'd say it comes down to whether he wants to keep posting, or if reducing game load for a while would make things easier on his end.

Einarid moved against the crowd, pushing to be one of the first ones to the ship. Before everyone headed home to their families, offloaded their provisions, and began spinning stories, he was going to try and get a quick first account of what had happened and to whom.

Diplomacy? Maybe?: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (20) + 13 = 33

Bump? Waiting on Hakon?

Only recently returned from riding the nearby trails, Eindrid spent a few minutes rummaging through his pack for the trinkets he had found on the cursed iceberg, a small sign that the party had done something in the past year as well.

Yeah I'm just trying to figure out whether I should track gold spent on gaining those resources or not...

Nooo, trying to gain capital to save up for the future.

Err, what? It's almost exactly like making items—according to UC rules, if you make the skill check, you don't actually get goods/labor/etc; you're crafting it, and can acquire it for half the normal GP (but some GMs don't stick a GP cost on it, which is what I was asking about).

Right so uh we *are* spending currency on it (at half-cost), then?

@Eydis, that's quite a bit, though are we not paying the reduced cost for it?

Eh, even untrained, I can ride... slowly...

With the seasons changing, it's time for Eindrid to return to the road; not one for farms and fields, he uses some of his newly-found wealth to purchase a horse, and takes to the road, visiting villages he hasn't set foot in for a year or two.

Still... there seems much treasure and honor to be found in service of Halfstead and its Jarl, and this time he sets to the road with the intention of returning after some months, merely doing what he can to earn favors and respect across the countryside, building up resources he might be able to call on to raise a hall of his own someday.

26 labor, 16 goods

Okay, seems like a decent haul for now.

Okay, my computer is finally fixed! Ugh so many games to catch up on, I think I've been good about these though because I can keep my post short.

Book-keeping with cash Ring-giving: 2860 gp (286 xp) for party.

1050 to trash chain shirt and pick up a mithral chain shirt instead.

200 gp to retrain 1 point of gained dex into one point of gained str

250 gp for a heavy horse and masterwork saddle

Are we still paying half-cost to earn capital through skill use?

Siiiiiix monnnnths?

Uhhhhh what am I even doing for six months.

Are we strongly encouraged to stay in Halfstead, or can I go visit some other nearby towns as a traveling bard and come back, as long as I happen to arrive back before the next plot stuff happens?

Eindrid shook his head. "We are men of the land, not the sea; and even if we took another ship, he's sailed far enough that a search may do little good. We can offer what prayers and rituals we can to the gods, in the hope that they find him in the dark Northern waters, and we can tell stories of his men's courage until they return."

"And we don't have any interest in drawing dark runes to dark gods. But thanks for the warning."

"We also found a few trophies and relics from the ruin, if those would mean anything," Eindrid commented.

Eindrid harumphed, but politely. "I've been 'farther north' before. Nothing but seals and ice giants in sight--or rather, nothing but seals and giant ice. The Jarl's crew may be bold and strong, but you can't fault us for feeling left out of that adventure, and without a lawspeaker or godi to recant the gods' praises we can't help but worry that they may find nothing but squalls and seals."

Oh my gosh it's Neve

"Might as well," Eindrid supposed, "But another few times through, and I may have to set it to a tune."

Eindrid continued to tell the party's tale as he helped unload the ship, keeping a keen eye on the spoils and supplies he had helped to find, and making sure everything went to the right place.

So I'll be away at a conference for the rest of this week... but also my keyboard is broken. Will try to post if I can, but feel free to bot me.

Eh... bardic masterpieces can give winds and lightning much faster than sphere talents can (might skip on lightning though, since I've already got weird words).

It's cool, I can always just hunt around for stories or something. I'm trying to stick to "magic that can be disguised as skaldic shenanigans" which means I'll mostly be going for passive effects and divinations anyway. Also oh man am I excited about some of the new level 10+ masterpieces (Winds of the Five Heavens is going to be epic at level 12-15, when I start being able to summon arbitrary hurricanes by shouting at people)

Oh, no, I meant specifically someone who could cast an Object Reading on the relics from the skeleton king. If it's too uncommon, I'll pick that talent up in a few levels anyway, so, eh.

Note that the *second*-most experienced priest of Wotan in Halfstead is probably Eydis.

Eindrid is a "paladin of Tiwaz" to the extent that such things are a thing, and can actually identify magic items; I was potentially searching for someone with the ability to identify *non*-magical items.