Home for a "quick stop" tonight. Going back to get the daughter's car tomorrow, so, another 7 hours on the road for the round trip. <shrug>
Life should be almost normal for work on Monday, and after.
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I am 3ish hours East of home, with my 27 year old daughter in a neurological ICU. She is supposed to be in observation for 24~48 hours. Beennworking this issue since 0500 local this morning. I make no promises about posting on my phone through this.
Most of my games on the forum are in pause right now . . .. Something in the water?
"Even so, those of us who haven't seen an opera performed before would probably have loved to be here last night. New experiences and all." He sighs. "Don't know the next time we'll have time, now." [1]
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Boram are you? I'm Sorika Zan. The bigotry has not yet begun to show. Not a one of you are real people. <wink>
Estel looks at Iradyiel with an obvious question in his face, then glances around the room at the others. Hesitantly, he responds "O-okay. If anyone thinks they'll need these at some point, please, speak up." The elf simply nibbles, picking up individual items from the plate, apparently at random, and enjoying each before moving on to the next piece.
"Well, is the jail closer? I'm not sure why you are all set to wander an area none of us know, trying to find people we don't know how to identify, while also trying to keep our mission a secret. I think more information would do us good. Maybe there's somewhere else we should go to learn more about these gangs before we move into their turf? Maybe not, but research is always part of the job, right?"
"As for what I do . . .. I've been trained to get permission to enter sacred ruins and sites, to work my way through these ruins and deserted catacombs, to find what still lies within, and to hopefully bring the best pieces of it back for further study. I know, that's what were all supposed to do, but, I mean I've been trained for specifically those bits. I can fight, but I'm not a warrior. I don't have magic or healing of note. My knowledge of history and the cultures which came before is more accidental than useful. I'm best at dealing with the things left behind, in the moment they are discovered."
As the Venture Captain speaks, offering them space in the lodge, Estel simply nods, acknowledging the offer without comment. When she offers lunch, though, Estel breaks into a big smile. "Mom always told me to accept any meal a Venture officer offers! I try to be a good son." He's not laughing, but he's obviously having fun with it. -----
The elf nods. "Really good quality garnets, but smaller than the normal cut, so they won't fetch as much as the normal, larger stones. Still a small fortune. Probably get 150 for them in a fair deal." He bounces them in has hand before looking back to Iradyiel and extending that hand towards him. "Sill want them?"
Short, quick version: Ethnic Varisian nomads "owned" Varsia. Thus the naming relation. The Cheliax empire invaded, violently took over, and continue to view Varisians as lesser beings. The loss of Chelaxian power has not eliminated this attitude/behavior. There's some heartburn on the Varisian side, as you might expect.
Track what we carry. Got it. As for loot distribution, I'm a team player kinda guy. I think that the vast majority of the time, it is quite clear to the group where to put something so that it best benefits the group as a whole. Efforts to distribute things evenly tend to break putting things where they are the best benefit, eventually if not real quickly. Ties and near ties can be handled with comparisons about who has made out better in the past. This process mandates that everything be available for use as hand-me-downs, of course. Don't sell replaced items that somebody else could be improved by using. The generic utility items that are good for everyone start much harder to figure where they will best serve the group, but as the group falls into roles, even they become easier to identify. Got somebody who dishes out lots and lots of damage compared to everyone else? Her Will save just got more important than mine. Do we have a combat wall build? If it is an AC build, then protective magics need to stack on the wall to keep it standing. If it is a low-AC HP/DR build, then Con and DR boosts become prioritized there. We don't know for sure what our combat roles are going to settle into, but once we know, we'll all know, really. And, of course, sometimes story reasons may have someone pass up something everyone else assumes they should get. Never forget that the story is why we're here.
"I'm not so sure. A visit to . . . Arvesoar, was it? . . . will eliminate a possibility completely, quickly, and could also teach us more about these gangs. Even if it proves the dead end we expect, we could come out of it with more information that could make the rest easier. Couldn't we?" He looks to his companions, then to Sheila. "Also, I don't think any of us knows how to tell if we've found Natalya. Is there anything you can tell us that will help with a positive identification?" ---- Once the group is settling things down and preparing to move on . . .. "Iradyiel? Can I see the garnets? Try to estimate their quality?"
"I must have missed a magical trap. They were too big to be in the box, so they must have been summoned, but I never saw the trap."
Sczarni? Sounds Varisian. Street gangs, maybe? Estal thinks to himself. "A Thassallonian artifact would indeed be an important find!"
As Rosalyn accepts the assignment, Estel listens with a minor smile on his face. "Gems have a magic all their own. One that can solve other problems. Don't judge them too hastily." Finding this woman sounds like it would have been a problem before she vanished. This is probably going to be a problem.
Sorry. Really bad day at work, followed by the older grandchild acting out all night. I'm almost clamed down. Let's go see what's happened here . . ..
"Tie him?" Estel remembers something about a thing called hog tying, and tries to duplicate it, wrapping the rope around the forelegs, above the elbows, then looping around the neck a couple of times, pulling the rope tight enough to force the two points closer than normal, and then around the rear legs, also above the elbows, again pulling the rope tight enough to force things closer to gather than normal, then back to the neck for a couple of loops, and then around all 4 paws, before starting to weave the rope through the legs like a lashing, finally securing the rope to the thing's leg with a clove hitch.
"That worked out bet . . .. Oh. Yeah, grab the rope." Estel will hold the sleeping dog-thing down. One hand at the throat, the other at the back hip, hopefully coming in from the thing's back, and not the side the paws are on!
Estel looks uncertain as he grabs his sap and attempts to knock the loose one out. Expecting it to take more than one hit, and probably more swings than that . . ..
I understand the solution is a somewhat common slang-term for cash, even though the traditional formal definition fits the theme better. The slang use would make the word far more obvious to British players than American.
Solving the puzzle is easier if you remember the author is British, not American. The difference in common language use is very important in this case. That should help, without flat out giving the answer away. And I had honestly forgotten about this puzzle until the anagram clue came up. I really had. Didn't get much further through the module, sadly.
Player already knows the answer to this puzzle. I had forgotten, but I remember it now. I am going to try not to ruin it. If someone else wants to set a marching order, I'm fine with it.
"Looks to be. And moving the letters around seems like the right idea. Try flipping letters to make ulcer."
1) As everyone else finds one way or another to recognize the famous Pathfinder, Estel simply nods and adds "Thank you for gracing us with your presence, Ms. Azmern." ---- 2) While Lady Heidmarch describes the puzzle box, the elf's mind is working. I wondered what that was. Now I get to play with it? ABSOLUTELY. When she declares this an audition of sorts, Estel actually laughs. "I hope we do not disappoint, then!" ---- 3) As the others start examining the box or the documents, Estel watches them for a moment, listening to how they start. "Yes, we should probably keep Marius away, and assume the box is trapped. The notes will obviously fail to tell us if it has been opened, because such notes would share too much about how to open it, I expect. If we have to assume it hasn't been opened, then we have to assume it could be trapped. It probably has been opened, but that doesn't make it safe to assume it is safe . . .." He looks to the half-elf and human. "See anything interesting in the notes? I'll trust your judgement on that point while I give the box a better look." As he speaks, Estel pulls a leather-wrapped set of small tools from his belt pouch. "What do you have to say, little box? how do you want to be caressed?"
"Hmmmm . . .. Keeping your secrets for now, are you?" He clears the table space around the puzzle box before picking up an oil lamp and bringing it to the box, using it to alter the play of light over the surface as he tries to look deeper, and closer . . ..
The elf kneels as the cat arrives, offering the back of a hand as well. If allowed, he'll scratch the base of the ears, where so many animals seem to enjoy the attention. "Not really. I'm in a Lodge. I'm home. Just not close to my family."
The young elf, excited, pulled another book from the shelf. Traps of the Monuments? There should be plenty in here to learn! he thought to himself as he took that book back to the seat he's been using to read different Society tomes through the night. He finally starts to doze off, falling over the book, when one of the servants taps him on the shoulder. Again. A little harder. As he startles awake, the servant says simply "I believe you are going to be late for your appointment if you don't go now. I'll put this book away, too." The elf's eyes pop wide open, the over-wide that the sleep-deprived frequently show when trying to display they aren't tired, and he scurries towards the office, reaching the door as it shuts behind a servant on the way out. He pauses for a moment, straightening his clothes (an explorer's outfit, in browns and dark reds, with only a dagger and belt pouch currently on his person) before opening the door and moving into the room. He spots the others. "Hello! I assume we're here for the same meeting, then? I'm Estel. Second generation Pathfinder. Spent the last couple of decades at the Mordant Spire." It is hard to tell age with elves, but, he seems young to have been working as a Pathfinder for decades already. He has blond hair cut short, dark eyes, and seems thin, even for an elf.
I'll build the tags when I'm on the computer again tomorrow night. Was checking on my phone on the way to bed. Currently watching WandaVision, and just started watching Titans to try to prep for the 4 hour extravaganza which is being released this month. Currently rereading A Secret Atlas, and have one of my Celtic Myth books lined up for afterwards. I was drinking my way out of Texas A&M when I met my wife of nearly 38 years so far, so we cheer for Aggie football. I started gaming in the Summer of 1979. I built a wizard using the brand new AD&D Player's Guide, and we ran using the Red Box DM rules.
I think this is the smallest applicant group I've seen for an AP run on here. Does this AP have a reputation I don't know about, or do you think the limited build options kept people away?
The real world has to take precedence. Period. Nobody here's going to be upset about you needing time to address that kind of loss.
As an extension of Ting Ting Ting's thanks, I would like to reinforce: You need to pick the characters you want to watch. If the GMs choosing to run these games don't enjoy doing it, soon enough, nobody will get to play. It is more important to me that you enjoy running your game than it is that I get in it. The more happy GMs, the more chances I get to play, anyway! I hope everyone selected manages to have fun, too.
And rebuilt. Submissions are awfully Rogue heavy, though, aren't they? <sigh>
Estel - Hope all is well with your wife and the recovery. I also agree that real life is more important than games. If something ever comes up if you are chosen please let me know. I would like to read some of the DM style of the one you enjoyed. Could you share a link to that game? Finally... I am sorry for the complete rebuild, but maybe with what has been submitted something else might strike you the right way? Well, we're a few years past that surgery at this point. Things have settled out pretty well. I remembered the wrong surgery. As per my apology post, this was her full knee replacement, which my posting history suggests was 13 months ago. She had some recovery problems based on not doing her exercises, but she's gotten past those. The good news is there's nothing more on the horizon . . .. The GM whose style I have enjoyed is Jack (last name unknown), who uses the handle "AllenDM". He uses quite a few more alternate rules than I normally like, and can get a little directive about PC behavior now and again (though I have learned with reason), just to make sure that you don't think I think he's practically perfect in every way. He does a great deal of emotive, descriptive text about the environment and people with whom you interact. His custom maps include reference images to help you see things in your mind's eye more clearly. The longest-lived (and slow-moving) game I've played with him is here. As one of the original players in a 3-year-old game, I'm only recently advanced to 2nd level. If I can enjoy the presentation, I don't need break-neck speed.
Looking back at Estel, there's basically no part of the build that won't have to be replaced. That's actually kind of impressive. Heck, he was even built with the Elephant in the Room Feat Tax elimination rules. Yeah, just a complete rebuild from the ground up. <shrug>
Howdy! I started to play this AP with a GM whose style I really enjoy, but I ended up dropping because my wife went into the hospital for a triple-procedure open-heart surgery. For several months, these boards ceased to exist for me. Playing games just isn't that important, by comparison. Looking back at the campaign, it appears the campaign as a whole failed shortly afterwards, which is really, really sad. Obviously, I need to redo the mechanics of Estel for your build instructions. Easily done. Just takes time without the software. <grin> With how common player loss is, though, I would strongly recommend selecting more like 6 or 7 characters for the starting set, probably doubling up on anything critical to getting through the storyline. Certainly not my call, though. Just a suggestion. I'll post again after completing the rebuild. Edit: Hmmmmm . . .. Will be even slower, but will probably be much easier to dig the books out in order to comply with your source limits than trying to do so online. Normally, I use the Archives of Nethys for rules text, as they are the official host of the Pathfinder SRD. I frequently double-check on PFSRD20, though, because they do a MUCH better job of including errata and other rulings with the rules, but they have none of the setting descriptive terms anywhere in the site. Neither site does a simple exclusion down to specific book sets, though. <shrug> Thus, pulling the books down should be better.
Hey. First, I owe everyone apologies for vanishing without a word. I've come back to try to apologize for doing so, and to let you know that I have no idea when I'll be able to meaningfully return. That's as far s anyone needs to read. If you're curious, you are free to keep going, though. Why did I vanish? My wife had started an evaluation of her knees, scheduled to run for about 2 months. First appointment was on a Monday. Late that same Thursday we were told the evaluation was over and they were going to schedule her for a full knee replacement in her worse leg. We found out that next Monday that surgery was that Thursday, a week after we were told she would be having surgery. I took some sick leave to help her through the surgery and earliest recovery stages. I've been working half days, taking sick leave for the rest, for the past couple of weeks, trying to keep her from doing too much with the live-in grand kids and doing her exercises, with only partial luck. She's doing her exercises while I type, and the grand kids are down for their naps. Today is going to be the last day I PLAN to do the half-day thing. Thing is, even having been home so much more than normal, I've been going non-stop. We were two weeks past her surgery before I even got into the office where my computer sits, and we're over three weeks past it now and I've had to steal the time to let people know what's going on. I don't know how long it will be before I can reasonably expect the leisure time to properly contribute to these games again. I am sorry for vanishing, but I have to focus on my wife's actual needs before I play. Game specific: I really enjoy Jack's style, so walking away from these hurts more than some of the others.
"Should have had a door opening onto the deck out back. Have to see how stable the deck is, I guess. Let's go look."
"I would seriously be surprised if this abandoned building had a semi-obvious subtle way in. Crowbar is probably a better tool than picks. Oh, wait. Look. Yep. Crowbar." He scans to the left and right of the building. "Subtle might be under the collapsed porch. Might. Let's do a quick check and see if the doors are really boarded up or if it is a show piece." Estel moves up to the doors and gives them a good looking over.
Estel shrugs. "So, either we go in, or we wait and watch, as Alistar said. Problem is, I don't think we can watch this place without being noticed. We just don't fit in with the locals, do we? If we're going to be seen anyway, I would rather be seen trying to uncover things instead of just waiting. I say we go in now."
"Yeah, no need to worry about the drunks. Squatters, maybe. Went out of business several years back. Gambling debts or taxes or some such. In Dockway, right on the shore. Not a bad hidey-hole for slavers, I would guess.
"It is only stupid if it doesn't work. Doesn't mean it isn't dangerous, though. Things always are, as I understand." He looks around.
"I think I MIGHT remember something about this 'Puffy Pelican'"
"Sadly, I don't know the local situation that well. It would be best if we could offer them a chance to be seen as solving one of the publicly acknowledged problems. Only one that we really know about, and that's what we want their help with! Alistar may have the right next move, put our ears to the ground and see what the birds will tell us. Wish I was more knowledgeable and smarter, but I'm not." The elf shrugs, some frustration evident in his body language.
"Making them look weak is likely to provoke action, I agree. Making them look strong is more likely to initiate cooperation than aggression. The whole honey versus vinegar thing?"
"Someone looking for the same thing as you generally can't help you find it. If they could, they would have found it without you. They know the area and the people, so any clues about the area would make more sense to them than to us. That suggests better secrecy or direct violence, sadly." He indicates Zograthy with an idle flick of his hand. "If you heard what was said, then it seems the cat burglars she was running with believe she kept a prize they expected her to share, and she vanished at almost the same time, with rumours of new, erratic behavior. Any help from them will probably require pledging to help them retrieve their item." He then flicks the same hand at Keezheekoni. "The thing these vanished seem to have in common, again, if you heard what was said, is that they come from the poor and undesirable elements of town, from people that the wealthy won't miss. Could be slavers. Could be a cult. Could be someone ready to start a revolution and recruiting an army. Could just be a deranged serial killer." Finally, he shrugs. "None of these sound like good choices for further research, but the one thing we expect will continue regardless of her state, is the people vanishing. So, I agree that's our best place to start. We're going to need to either establish some bait, or work out a way to watch a block, hopefully much more, of town and be ready to move if we see anything."
The generic post to share before attempting to recovery post: So, I got the flu. Not really over it, yet, but past the worst of it. I went to get tested to verify it was flu, and the care providers went down the "better safe than sorry hole" a might to far, in my opinion. Standard questions, designed to check for other, deeper concerns/problems, right? "Do you have any tightness in your chest?" "I've been coughing for about three days at this point, yes, I have a tightness in my chest!" So, they stopped everything about verifying the flu in order to check for a heart attack. Thing is, my fever had just started to break, and I was not only DRENCHED in sweat, but I was still actively sweating that hard. They couldn't get a good EKG read because the contact stickers wouldn't. Stick, I mean. They called an ambulance and transferred me to an ER, to make sure I wasn't having a heart attack. The ER team was focused on EXACTLY one thing, for obvious reasons. First thing they did different? They took that super medical tape and taped the sensors down. EKG told them almost immediately that there was no heart attack going on. I was still in that ER for nearly 15 hours . . .. IV fluids. Roughly 2.4 liters of fluid pushed into my system. Breathing treatment. Seems when I arrived in the ER, my O2 saturation was around 82. They started to admit me in order to watch my O2 saturation levels, but after I sat in their ER for that long without any further dips, they accepted it might not still be required and discharged me instead of continuing to wait for a room. Having an asthmatic wife means we have a nebulizer at home, and that helped sell the release, too. Still spending more time asleep than awake, for now. Missed a couple of Santa gigs the family had lined up. Went to a photoshoot with a family yesterday. I was there for about 10 minutes, just needing to sit and smile, but I stumbled into the house when I got home, completely exhausted. I'm supposed to go get caught in a neighbor's house tonight. Very worried about going. Just as worried about denying their kids.
"So, you know nothing, and your whispers are worth the same as time with the urchins. You avoided even telling us where she sleeps, or slept, something it seems you would know more about than you do your guesses."
The elf pulls a few shiny yellow coins from his purse an plays with them in his hand. "So, what do you know, fortune-teller?"
Estel misses what should have been obvious, but his companions ensure that the information is available. As the man quotes his price, Estel chuckles. "That far in debt to your supplier, are you? It took time to build that debt. It will take time to clear it. We could help you avoid his penalties for lack of payment, I think, and even contribute to the cause, but if you want that help, we won't be clearing the plate for you. Not unless you give us more than we expect, or hope, you can. And we won't know that until we've verified it, now, will we?"
When everyone gets a moment I would really appreciate if you set up your character profile like this: But, but, but Daaaad! That's like work 'n' stuff!
Hey. Real life. I live in a 3 generation home. This last weekend, both of the youngest generation (one is 2 the other just had her first birthday) got sick. So did their mom. Monday so did their dad. Somewhere in there, grandma got sick, too. Now I'm sick. At least the youngest seems to be over it. If you need to bot me to keep things moving, please do. I'm sorry, but I'm not even managing to focus to play spades on my phone right now, and that's amazingly brainless.
Not thinking much of it, Estel moves to the tent flaps and lifts one, holding it open for others to go through, while also hopefully lighting the interior a bit more than the dusk you expect in a fortune teller's tent.
"Should have seen this coming, don't you think? I don't know that you've left yourself any options, here. I imagine if you try to not pay them, they'll get a tad more pushy. Not sure I want to attack children to save you a few copper coins."
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