Guys, I'm really sorry to say this but I believe I'll need to take a prolonged vacation from PBP. I'm currently passing through something that I've not yet been able to figure out, but I'm feeling incredibly anxious and a bit panicked. I feel like my live is slipping through my fingers, and I desperately need to grasp it once more, or else I might go entirely crazy and perhaps make some decisions that I'll for sure regret in the future.
I'm not still sure if PBP hampering me or not, but I've been feeling that in many occasions, I'm posting more because of my commitment to all of you, and less because of my own enjoyment. I still believe this is an amazing hobby and I hope to find the root of my problem and come back to you. You are all awesome and it really pains me to leave you in the dark for now. I hope you understand.
I believe I need not to say that, once I started playing with you, I had all the intentions to continue to the end... however, many times stuff don't happen as we wish. I honestly don't know how much time I'll be gone, so I comprehend if you want to look for another GM. Actually I hope you do so, because if I'm not able to return, it would be a shame for all the effort and enjoyment we have together (at least I had).
The worst thing of this decision, is the feeling that I'm letting you down, something that I can't stand. I hope you understand.
Once more, thank you for all the amazing time you've proportioned me.
The Sword Knight Allamar, as well as her followers, were quieter than usual when you lead them to the abandoned temple. At first, some of her followers implied that the carcass of the vine was nothing more than a regular vine, but then another one, far more experienced, pointed to a couple distinctions, leaving no doubt of what the creature was. Silent, Allamar turned her back to the temple and marched back to her own, silent and, perhaps, frustrated.
A couple minutes after you come back to the jail, Cimri enters the building holding a piece of paper. "Oh, finally! I've been looking for you... we still have these damned pamphlet problem to solve... any ideas?" From her hands, you recognize the same pamphlet that Cael found the previous day, bearing a sketch of an armored woman wearing an angelic helm and with the words "Will you come when she calls?".
Feel free to RP more among yourselves. It is still early, probably around noon.
Sorry for the prolonged delay! My intention was to update yesterday, but my internet died from 19:00 to 24:00, which is when I have access to all my books! I'll update today.
With a smile in his face, Mr. Ingoes takes you coins and shakes your hand once more. "You and your companions are always welcome in my humble home! If you ever find yourselves in need of any other item, don't hesitate in looking for me."
You are probably one or two hours ahead than the others, so it is quite possible that they'll be already coming back to the Jail by now.
Melani, Pava, Vicenzo:
As you examine the room a bit more, Melani discovers that this basement was in fact a completely secret room. Vicenzo examines the dried blood and the bones, coming to the conclusion that they are almost a decade old... coincidently, he recalls that the mayor disappeared about eight years ago.
Taking a second look at the symbols on the ground, he also discovers that, aside from a regular shrine and altar, there are also signs of a ritual... the clues points towards a greedy man, even if devout, trying to reach beyond his station, and probably punished, grievously.
Aside from some completely ruined, and unreadable, tomes, you find nothing else in the basement or in the manor.
With this, unless you have anything else to do in the manor, we could assume you are all back together at the Jail.
Alamar looks at you without with doubt, not really understanding your point and soon starts to continue her sermon. However, a couple of those listening to her appear to take your words in consideration, even if most of them are still believe this is some sort of divine punishment. An old and wrinkled man approaches you. "Well, perhaps ya could lead us there... so we can take a look at that place..."
Alamar isn't happy again but as others seem to agree with the old man, perhaps and important person to have swayed the other's opinions, the Sword Knights sighs before coming towards you. "Perhaps we should do just that! Come, lets take a look at the Old Lodge."
Cael:
"Ah, a fellow lover of the waters! We have many retired sailors among our oldest citizens. I, myself, am much more a businessman than a sailor, even if I love the idea." By his talk, you are fairly sure he loves the opportunity of making fortune on the docks, and not the waters themselves.
"It is a peculiar item, and it is not common for me to find... 825 pieces of gold is a more than fair price. If I recall, ordering one from the major cities, plus taxes and shipping services would cost much, much more." You don't see any sign suggesting he would lower his price. In truth, he is correct... a commissioned wand would cost much more, without taking in consideration the time involved between the order, the crafting, and the shipping.
Melani, Pava, Vicenzo:
Neither of you find any key or an easier access, leaving Pava little choice. With a precise kick, the knight opens the door, actually causing small damage to the door, even if the lock is probably ruined. Once inside the house, you notice that it is not entirely true that it hasn't been looted, for you find not a single piece of decoration or art. However, you find no trace that it has been stolen... most likely, the same group that put the sheets above every furniture was also responsible for taking the valuables away. Thinking about it, since this is the former mayor's house, the notary, Wenbrade Brakenbol, might have some information about it.
The design of this house is not much different from the ruined Ash House, suggesting the same architect might have been responsible for both the constructions. Aside from the usual rooms, lavatories, and kitchen, you also find a quite sizeable hall, large enough no hold a sermon. Surely not ideal, but quite passable.
While inspecting one of the rooms in the ground floor, what appears to be a smoking room, Vicenzo accidently finds a secret door to the basement. After calling the others, you descents a short flight of stairs into the dark. Vicenzo conjures some globes of light and you soon find a quite shocking scene: a conjuration circle drawn in old blood, an altar with a symbol of a diabolic man with three horns, and scattered bones of what appears to be a man and a cat. There is also several stains of blood all over the place, much like as if a human and a cat had exploded inside this room.
Melani quickly identifies the symbol above the shrine as one of Mephistopheles, the Lord of the Eighth, an archdevil known for his contracts and the severity of his punishments.
After you help Cael bring the second corpse back from the old lodge to the church of Iomedae for burial preparations, you sneak into the shadows and back to the jail, where you are able to transform yourself into Anya. Soon after you are back to the church.
It takes you but a couple seconds to know that the church is once more planning to take advantage of the deaths, going on with the rumors that Erastil was unpleased with the current state in Longacre. Unsurprisingly, the locals are somewhat buying the story... perhaps it would be interesting for you to provide a counter argument or tale to vanquish such rumors, and even some proof of what really happened.
Cael:
After you helped Ahreni bring the second corpse back from the old lodge to the church of Iomedae for burial preparations, you walk around town looking for a merchant willing to sell you the wand Vicenzo mentioned. Unfortunately, words travel fast in Longacre and all of them were already aware that you were working for the Archbaron. Nevertheless, none of them had such wand in their possession, with the exception of the church itself.
Frustrated, you start to move back towards the jail when a familiar figure approaches you... the same man who was waiting beside your side at the jail when you arrived and who delivered the letter to that other man who was previously working with your current companions. "Mr. Melum!" The man greets you. "I don't believe we were formally introduced... I'm Ingoe Zoags!" Offering his hand, he comes closer to you and whispers. "I'm not sure if your companions mentioned it to you, but we have an agreement... I've been 'hired' to provide rumors about what is going on in town, however, this time, I'm here to offer you another deal..." He taps is nose as he smiles, before suggestion you to walk with him.
"I've heard you are having difficulties to find some items around town... and, as it happens, I'm the responsible for managing the docks and, from time to time, I end up in the possession of some interesting items, if you know what I mean." Once you reach the inside of the jail, he removes an item from within his coat, a long piece covered by a black cloth. Once he unwraps it, you notice it is a black and polished wand, surrounded by reddish runes, some of which are in Infernal. "It is in my full interest to help you to achieve all your goals, gentlemen, so I thought you'd be interested in such item... of course, I'd expect some sort of compensation... I fully believe a 10% contribution is something entirely fair." He smiles at you, expectantly.
Melani, Pava, and Vicenzo:
After about ten minutes walking along the road that would, eventually, lead you to the Scarlet Crown, you take a branch on the road towards northeast, and soon are able to spot a quite luxurious manor. You walk five minutes more before arriving, though.
A two story building, this house is clearly one of the largest and most impressive homes in Longacre, even if it shows clear signs of abandonment, like a cracked window, dust-covered windows, and a wild and untended garden. Without entering the place, you already know that, at least apparently, this would be a pretty good place for a temple. As Vicenzo rubs his sleeves on a window, he can see that its interior still has its furniture, covered by yellowed sheets... it appears that, against all odds, this place wasn't entirely looted.
As you inspect the body, you find similar wounds to those that Nobes sustained. He bears both bruises suggesting some beating, and marks of constriction... taking the creature you just now eliminated, it is quite obvious what was responsible for his death. The only single difference between the two men's wounds are that, this one, is considerably thinner, and, upon close inspection, you notice a couple vines buried beneath his skin, probably the mechanism from which the vine used to feed itself.
While inspecting the temple, you find nothing of value or interest. It appears that since it had fallen to neglect, it was thoroughly looted. The state of the construction is also poor, meaning that it would take a lot of time, effort, and gold to bring it back to some use... it is barely something more than a clearing with a couple pillars.
Knowledge (local) DC 12:
You don't recall the name of the man, but you recall seeing him with Nobes once or twice. Perhaps they were friends or partners in something.
@Melani: Your heal indeed stabilized Ahreni, but then she took damage once more thanks to those damned thorns of those entangling plants... this is why I was rolling reflex saves for all of you, even those who were already entangled.
@Everyone: I need a direction before I move you forward!
@Melani: Pava is correct. I mislabeled the concentration check as 'Pava' instead of you. Sorry about that.
Vicenzo lobs the vial of alchemist's fire with perfection, hitting the plant right in its middle... and nothing happened. Apparently, this variety of plant is particularly resistant to fire. However, the splah of the substance was able to burn the foliage around it. Noticing the opportunity, Pava broke free from the plants entangling her and stepped forward.
With a clean and precise move, the knight thrashed the assassin vine completely, uprooting it and sending it flying towards the closest stone pillar. It did not move anymore. A victory at last...
Meanwhile, Ahreni was still bleeding behind Vicenzo.
Combat Rolls:
Strength DC 13 - Pava:1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23pass Stand Aside Double damage and push target 1 square in any direction.
@Cael: The 1 damage was caused by the thorns of the entangling plants. By the entangle spell, if the plants in the area have thorns, it deals 1 point damage with a failed save.
@Melani: Even moving 10 ft. on the previous round, you are still 20 ft. from the plant, thus within the 30 ft. radius of the spell.
Vicenzo grabbed Ahreni and moved her outside the deadly reach of the plant, almost getting caught in the process. In front of him, Pava called her Gods for their favor, helping her release herself from the grappling plants, but Cael had not the same luck... however, he stroke once more with his spear, harming the plant again.
Behind him, Melani was trying to call her God for help, but the entangling plants broke her concentration, ruining her spell.
Meanwhile, the entangling plants managed to grab Pava once more to her frustration, and thorns pierced her flesh yet again. The assassin vine, now with fewer targets within its reach, tried to attack Pava, but the knight managed to shake the blow thanks to her armor.
Melani
Assassin Vine [14 dmg; grazed (-1)]
Vicenzo - up
Ahreni
Pava - upEntangled Cael - upEntangled
Round 3
Melani - upEntangled
Assassin Vine
Vicenzo
Ahreni
Pava
Cael
Entangled: An entangled character moves at half speed, cannot run or charge, and takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls and a –4 penalty to Dexterity. An entangled character who attempts to cast a spell must make a concentration check (DC 15 + spell level) or lose the spell. Entangled creatures can attempt to break free as a move action, making a DC 13 Strength or Escape Artist check.
The whole area of this combat is considered difficult terrain!
@Melani: Your channel evil ability only affects evil creatures (healing them) or good creatures (damaging them). Neutral creatures, which is the case of a plant, are completely unaffected by your ability.
@Pava: No, you can't. Difficult terrain prohibits 5 ft. step.
@Ahreni: You are at -3 hp, as written on the header of the campaign under the 'Party Conditions' spoiler.
The map is indeed missing. We'll be running this combat in theater of the mind mode. The Assassin Vine is at the center, with each of you at 10 ft. from it. Around the vine, in a 30 ft. radius circle, there is an entangle effect, thus making the entire map a difficult terrain area.
@Ahreni: Your hp was indeed full, I've remade my calculations. On the other hand, I misread the constrict rules, which means that you are indeed unconscious and dying. I thought about hand waving it, but this would mean that, this turn, it would maintain its grapple, meaning you'd take both the attack damage AND the constrict, most certainly killing you.
All of you watch as Ahreni is constricted until she loses her consciousness. With quick thinking, Vicenzo frees himself from the entangling vines, even if there is the chance of being held once more in the close future. Meanwhile, Cale thrusts his spear forward, even if just grazing the plant.
In an effort to save Ahreni, Melani channels her God's power, healing the fallen angel a bit.
With Ahreni unconscious, the vile plant releases it and lashes at Cael... luckily for him, in its eagerness, the plant hurts itself! On the other hand, the entangling vines around you get a hold on both Cael and Melani, leaving Vicenzo as the only one free from the plants, with their thorns piercing the others flesh.
Melani
Assassin Vine [12 dmg; grazed (-1)]
Vicenzo - up
Ahreni
Pava - upEntangled Cael - upEntangled
Round 2
Melani - upEntangled
Assassin Vine
Vicenzo
Ahreni
Pava
Cael
Entangled: An entangled character moves at half speed, cannot run or charge, and takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls and a –4 penalty to Dexterity. An entangled character who attempts to cast a spell must make a concentration check (DC 15 + spell level) or lose the spell. Entangled creatures can attempt to break free as a move action, making a DC 13 Strength or Escape Artist check.
The whole area of this combat is considered difficult terrain!
Following the trail and the footprints, you are convinced that someone run as fast as it could towards this trail, a fact clear by elongated boot marks. After less than a minute, you reach for the temple itself.
The temple, or the Old Lodge as the locals call it, might have been a beautiful place in its time, but today, after decades of abandonment, is nothing but ruins. All that remains of the church now is four sturdy posts and a mossy roof hanging over a half-sheltered altar in an overgrown thicket. On the ground, you can clearly see a large number of bones of both wild and domesticated animals.
The footprints lead to one of the posts, where a corpse lies still, wrapped in rope. As you come closer, you notice that those are no ropes, but vines instead. Cael and Vicenzo are able to recognize the plant around the body, but are not fast enough to react to it...
All around you, thorny plants wrap around your ankles, brought to life apparently by magic, even if you've heard no one casting anything. Some of you are quicker to react, but Vicenzo and Pava are entangled by the plants, their thorns piercing their flesh.
The gnarled vine, as thick as a man's arm and bearing hand-shaped leaves, convulses across the ground in an unnatural way and reaches for Ahreni while she was trying to escape the entangling plants. She almost loses the air of her lungs after she is slammed by the plant, and immediately latter she finds herself wrapped by the vine, feeling her muscles contracting... she knows she won't last long if nothing is done to save her.
Cael & Vicenzo:
You recognize this creature as an assassin vine, a carnivorous plant that collects its own grisly fertilizer by grabbing and crushing animals and depositing the carcasses near its roots. Vicenzo recalls it can crush its victim really quickly, while Cael remembers that this plant is completely immune to electricity. The vine call also animate other plants, making them entangle those around it.
Melani - up
Assassin Vine
Vicenzo
Ahreni Grappled (DC 19 to escape)
Pava Entangled
Cael
Entangled: An entangled character moves at half speed, cannot run or charge, and takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls and a –4 penalty to Dexterity. An entangled character who attempts to cast a spell must make a concentration check (DC 15 + spell level) or lose the spell. Entangled creatures can attempt to break free as a move action, making a DC 13 Strength or Escape Artist check.
The whole area of this combat is considered difficult terrain!
The man shrugs, answering to Melani. "We would carry him, of course... and the name is Gervard Moors." He then points to where Cael and Ahreni are standing, looking for clues. "We found him just there..." With this, he and the other man now grab the body properly and leave you to your investigation.
The rest of the crowd takes a little more encouragement before leaving you alone, but they eventually do. Finally, you are able to come closer to the temple's entrance, which is actually just a groove around an earth path. You assume it will eventually reach the temple if you continue in this path.
Cael:
You notice a couple footprints in front of the temple's entrance. The footprints suggests that someone entered this trail running. You also notice a couple drops of blood into the ground... they are already dried thanks to the earth, making it difficult to discern how long it had been spilled.
I just realized that we never formally did any healing overnight. Pava would have regained 2 due to rest, leaving her at 12/20. Was there other healing available, other than potions?
Actually Ahreni is wrong. With a full night of sleep, you only regain your level in hp. On the other hand, Melani still had her infernal healing spell, so you are now at full hp!
As you examine the man, you believe it was killed recently, probably during the night. Despite also having a couple hematomas and bruises, the cause of death was indeed strangulation.
As Cael is enveloped by whirling air, both men step behind with mixed feelings. They clearly don't want to back out, but are perhaps having second thoughts, since Cael seems dangerous for them. The one who raised his fist, withdraws it but continues to answer. "And what are you thinking we were just doing? We were bringing him to the Jail, as it is the custom in Longacre!"
Even if it appeared that the man would continue to talk, he is finally shut down by Pava. Not just him, but everyone around you.
The other man who was dragging the corpse approaches Melani, clearly shaken by Pava's threat. "W...we already told you what we know. When we woke up and left home, we found Nobes dead by near the temple. Then we decided to bring him to the jail... but you've arrived here first. We were not disrespecting him or anything... actually once we have reached the jail, we'd also ask for miss Alamar to arrance for his burial..."
Cael, just to let you know, if you intend to intimidate someone, you need to give me some rolls, otherwise I'll roll for you. The former gives you the option to react to the dice accordingly.
The two men that follow Cael cross their arms with incredulity in their eyes. "Hey, what are ya trying to say, boy? Are you accusing us of murder?" He spits on the ground, missing Cael's feet my mere inches. The other man, also enraged, shows Cael his fist. "You might very well try to frame us, you brat! We have nothing to do with it! The we just found the poor bastard there by the temple's entrance..."
The first one turns to the crowd speaking to the others and yells. "Ye folks! This one her is trying to frame us for Nobes' death! All the taxes aren't enough, it appears... now besides being responsible to bringing food to the town, we are also responsible for every sucker who drops dead somewhere!"
Meanwhile, Melani gets only a couple disconnected relates before the confusing starts. All she discovers is that the poor drifter was found beaten and strangled by the temple's entrance this morning.
Vicenzo doesn't notice anyone lying to you... it appears all the relates are true. The general commotion and anger is also pretty apparent.
Before you leave, Cimri nods at Ahreni's request. "I'll try... there are still a couple guys I could talk to..." Tossing her pouch into the air, Cimri leaves you to your thoughts.
---
With your decisions made for the morning, you leave the Ash House and, unlike every other morning, you don't head east towards the North Gate, but instead move south, walking along the west part of the wooden wall. You soon arrive at the Castle Gate, which remains closed, and then take the marginal road to your destiny, passing alongside Rohalendi's Hospice and a couple farms and orchards.
When you turn right on the road (west on the map), you find a small group of men and women surrounding what appears to be two men dragging a body. Before you are able to see more about the situation, you hear a couple rumors that Erastil is outraged by the developments in town and is now taking action against the archbaron and his agents... they don't notice you there initially, but when they do, they are smart enough to stop talking.
In the middle of the circle, you notice what appears to be a vagabond. His face is purple and there is a clear sign around his neck, suggesting the man had been strangled.
Knowledge (local) DC 12:
You recognize the dead man as Celwart Nobes, a local drifter. Despite being a vagabond, Nobes was an outspoken Thrune supporter.
With the end of the day, you leave the jail behind and move to the Ash House for som well deserved rest. It was a pleasant night... still a bit cold, but the cold nights of the winter were already giving place to spring. The sky was also clear of clouds, making it possible to fully gaze upon the countless stars above in the dark.
---
Caslistril 26 (last days of winter)
Another morning arises, once more a bright day with few clouds and an enjoyable temperature. Before leaving the Ash House, you notice five pouches in the parlor. Cimri already holds one of them, counting the gold coins inside it.
"Payment days, guys! 150gp as promised." She tells you, with a smile in her face. "So... have you decided what you'll gonna do today? There are quite a lot of options... plot the murder of the pesky Alamar, look for the pest distributing the pamphlets, look for a fine place to start a cult to the Prince..."
Each one of you (including Cael) got another 150gp, your salary at the beginning of the week.
As you walk around town inquiring about a flock to Asmodeus, you receive a lot of positive answers, even if you feel that most of them were given more out of fear than because of true worship to the Dark Prince. The few Iomedaeans you found, however, made it clear that such "blasphemous" temple would not take hold on Longacre.
When you started to look for places that could serve as a church, you've found a couple terrains where it could be erected, even if it would take quiet some time, and even a couple empty buildings, but nothing really grandiose. That was inside town. When you moved your search to the outskirts, you heard about an old and abandoned lodge of Erastil to the southwest (area 15 on the map) as well as the luxurious mayor's house, also abandoned, to the southeast (area 13 on the map).
Cael:
You had no problems buying your new gear and when you decided to lunch at the Last Stand Tavern, now run by Caggan's staff, you hear little if no important gossip. The only thing that caught your attention was some talk about some "fliers". When the group of merchants left their table, you were able to take a handwritten flier bearing the rough sketches of a woman in armor and an angelic helmet, with the words "Will you come when she calls?".
"Hum... I'm not sure if it is a good idea, Pava..." Cimri chimes in. "... I'm referring to the sermon in front of the church. I can see this evolve into a massive fight very quickly. Although, your other ideas are far more promising!"
@Ahreni: Sorry for not mentioning you in the last summary... the thing was that you found nothing since you rolled too poorly for what you were looking for.
It is way past the noon when you meet once more in the Jail after some wasted hours looking for information. Pava could not find anything more about the Glorious Reclamation with Vernal... as far as he knows, it has not arrived to Longacre yet. If he wasn't even sure if it was already looming over the town, he had no idea of its weakness aside from the fact that, if there is possible for it to have a representative in town, it would be Fifth Sword Knight Tileavia Allamar.
Despite his appearance, Vicenzo imagines that at least one quarter of the town worships Iomedae... obviously, it could be more, since many families are secretive about their practices fearing some retaliation from the Asmodeans. The fact that there is no church for the Dark Prince and the single temple in town is dedicated to Iomedae isn't a good sign.
It is already in the afternoon. You can try to gather more information, plan anything, or call it a day...
The Archbaron looks intently at Cael, as if he could see through him, or perhaps judge his morals... or even read his mind. After and uncomfortable minute, the noble gestures the newcomer to follow him to the corner of the room and pulls back the thick curtains of a nearby alcove, revealing a golden stand gripping a chunk of black crystal that smolders like a gigantic, hellish ember, filling the room with a crimson glow the color of blood.
"If you are true about your purpose, Mr. Melum, then I must insist that you swear the Hellfire Compact. It is a formality and you don't endanger your soul. You must touch this crystal while swearing it... I swear my absolute allegiance to Archbaron Darellus Fex, Her Infernal Majestrix Queen Abrogail II of the Thrice-Damned House of Thrune, and the Empire of Cheliax."
You'll take 1 point of fire damage from it.
Once Cael has swore the compact, the Archbaron dismisses you. "Continue to do as we agreed and I shall be pleased. I'll informa Razelago to include Mr. Melum in the payment you shall receive today as we agreed."
---
Leaving the Scarlet Crown, you are back to the Jail without any trouble.
If you are gathering information about anything, I'll need the specific theme/subject, the diplomacy roll and a 1d4 representing the amount of time it took you to gather this information (even if you fail the check). I'll judge the DC based on the topic in question. Feel free to plan as you wish.
Before you leave the jail, you notice Anarxos is strangely quiet. Upon noticing your eyes upon him, he sighs before folding the letter and tucking it inside his vest. "A most unfortunate news... My old father is dying, and with my older brother missing thanks to this bloodied Glorious Reclamation, I must return home... effectively immediately, since this letter has already took too long to reach my hands."
You can notice a miss of feelings in Anarxos, most notably disappointment, but definitely not sorrow or sadness. The nobleman bows slightly to you before heading outside. "It was a pleasure to meet and work with all of you... I'll dearly miss the opportunity to further work with you and our benefactor. Please inform him of such unfortunate."
Please give a round of RP to say your farewells to Anarxos!
---
After leaving Anarxos behind, you guide Cael to the Scarlet Crown, the archbaron's manor on the outskirts of Longacre. A pair of rampant iron stags watches over the gate on the road leading up to the manor. Red glass shimmers upon the stags' horns, suggesting the source of the manor's name. Beneath the stags, a pair of grim guards keeps watch. Already knowing you, the guards make no effort to stop you.
The same halfling butler guides you from the front door to the archbaron's office, which is appointed in midnight ebony and crimson satin. Towering bookshelves, glassy-eyed taxidermic creatures, and curtained alcoves line the walls. At the far end of the room, a large desk and throne-like chair sit beneath a coat of arms displaying battling, bloody-horned stags. Behind the desk, a wide window overlooks the manor grounds, with the archbaron standing in front of them. "I've been informed that you've had already some loss in your numbers. It appears that it was providential of my part to send Pava here to assist you... now, it appears you are hiring more help?"
Hum, I believe I need some directions if you expect me to move this forward... we have a lot of conflicting ideas so far:
-> Make Cael's situation official with the Archbaron/Razelago;
-> Call it a day and rest until the next day;
-> Gather information and plan an assassination?
All are good options, but I need to know which one you'll attempt first. It is still in the morning.
@Cael: Go ahead and simply describe what you want. If you wish to roll, simply to allow some randomness here, go ahead and use Pava's suggested AC.
Sorry for missing my post yesterday... for some reason, Paizo wasn't allowing me to post anything, even send a PM! Every time I tried, I was redirected to the home page. Weird.
After closing the gate and finishing the pesky fey, you are able to resume your way to the Jail. It is still pretty early, even if you had a troublesome begin in this new day. When you finally arrive at the jail, there are two men awaiting for you besides Cimri... one is Mr. Ingoe and the other is a complete strange.
Mr. Ingoe smiles and waves to you, revealing to have something in his hand. As you come closer, you notice it is a piece of paper. "Good morning, gentlemen and ladies. I have received a letter for you, Mr. Voralius." The man smiles as it handles the letter to Anarxos and, after a short bow, he leaves you alone, walking towards the center of Longacre.
Cimri leaves the other man behind and comes closer to you. "Guys, I've found this man by the gates today... he wants to talk with you about a 'job opportunity'. He said he have some references, but he refused to show me before you have arrived..."
No need to worry about English not being your first language since this is also the case for me! Please dot and delete on the campaign tab so you can follow this game easier before you are able to join in.
I'm thinking about a way to introduce you, but since we are in a sandboxy part of the adventure, I believe it will be pretty easy to do so. Just be a little patient.
Good luck and congrats! If you ever need a new character again, let me know, I have a lot of character concepts for this campaign. And even though I didn't get selected I'd still love to hear feedback about my submission if possible; if not, I understand.
Sure I can, lazulin! The main reason I did not pick Blayden was because I though he would not really fit the party. All other players are LE and yours is CE. There are also other specific points about your PC that could generate trouble:
- His hedonistic nature: For someone who has a 'complete disregard for laws' (being CE), this seek for pleasure could put you against the party and even the city;
- Devils vs. Demons: One of the players is a cleric of Asmodeus and thus it would be inevitable to avoid a conflict if they discover your devotion to Jezelda, something you don't hide;
- Menacing appearance: The PCs have already been accused to work with 'monsters' so Blayden wild appearance would probably work against them, meaning that in character, they would have no reason to let you join them;
- Plot incompatibility: I'll not spoil this for you in the case you join another Hell's Vengeance game, but there is some sort of patron that would have no reason to 'hire' you. He would most likely send the guards after you.
The creature is a house spirit, a sometimes-helpful fey that usually binds themselves to houses and families. This one in particular, was an ovinnik, a fey capable of bringing great luck or misfortune with their touch.
You look around and see no signs of occupation, more enemies, or even anything valuable or useful. From the ground floor, you hear Anarxos voice. "Gentlemen, I have found something incredibly helpful inside the chest that was tossed on us..."
When you come back downstairs, Anarxos is holding a beautifully crafted light crossbow as well as a bag. From inside it, he retrieves six vials of alchemist's fire and a thunderstone. "And this bag here is magical... it can hold an impressive amount of equipment inside... I believe it is called a bag of holding."
As Melani climbs up the ladder and channels the evil energy of the Dark Prince, you feel once more the familiar wave washing over you, healing your wounds and putting Pava out of death's grasp, at least for now. Vicenzo focuses his will on the tiny creature and soon it colapses atop a crate...
Combat Rolls:
Heal/Damage (channel evil):1d4 ⇒ 3 Will DC 14 - Snivvi:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10fail
Just to let you know, I'm keeping this opened for a little longer.
@MannyGoblin: Does Jerome's family name (Caulflower) was purposely similar to the word 'cauliflower' or it just happened? Saying this because I could see both the PCs and NPCs making such jokes, which could add some fun moments, but also add too much 'comic relief' for the atmosphere. Also, what were your thoughts about his class selection? Do you wish for him to be a full inquisitor, or simply picked the class because it is a 'cleric with skills'? Saying this because Jerome's personality is quite incompatible with what one should expect of an Inquisitor of Asmodeus.
Old Guy GM: Glad to have you here. You have some pretty good stuff here. What about to finish it? Also, so far Sebastian looks more Neutral than Evil... was that intended? If so, what are your aspirations for his future? How would he 'fall' into the dark side?
Faus Nasica: You have some pretty good stuff here, but allow me some comments. First, you gave me almost nothing about Faus's background... this isn't really a problem, but you'd be giving me free reign of it, since it would be impractical for me to have to constantly consult you if 'something would fit'. Second, please change all instances of 'Cimri Staelish' for 'Archbaron Fex of Longacre' (I wont spoil it to the other players, but this change makes A LOT of sense, while the way you tied yourself to Cimri makes little if no sense). Third, I've noticed you have very little presence in these boards... could you give me some assurance that you'll stick around for the time this game will take (around 3 years)?
Cael Melum: A wonderful start, but there are a couple things that should be addressed. First, I must warn you that this AP is not tied to see and ships, so you must be aware that, alongside gameplay, you'd need to change Cael's goals, otherwise there would be little sense for him to stick around. Second, even if I liked your background, I must say that it doesn't match his age... traveling to many places by ship, working in different areas, and so on doesn't really match a 21 old man, even if he started his 'adult life' around 15. I'd put him at +30 at least IMO...
Pava quickly gets to the second floor without endangering herself with the ladder. The roof of the Castle Gate's tower provides a nearly unobstructed view of all of Longacre. Even the Ash House, Louslik Tannery, and Scarlet Crown are visible in the distance. Aside from the view, a simple chair sits beneath a faded periwinkle canopy. She sees no one in here, though.
A couple seconds later she is also hit by a fiery ball, burning a large portion of her left arm... looking around, she notices a tiny creature covered in sleek black fur and with vaguely feline humanoid which holds flickering flames in its clawed hand. Although, before she is able to react, another flame hits her on her chest, bringing her to unconsciousness. Soon after both Ahreni and Vicenzo arrive at the rooftop, also seeing the tiny creature. "Get out of MY tower!" Yells the creature to you.
@MannyGoblin: Hum. If you can fit either idea in the theme and find a reason for they to want to work for the Thrune, go ahead!
@Old Guy GM: Thanks for the interest!
@alexgndl: No problem at all with two rogues, just take care not to step in Ahreni's toes!
@rungok: Unless I'm wrong, it appears Solomon was built with a 20 point buy, but we are using only 15 points.
Also, here are some thoughts about your background:
First of all, Salomon's background actually talks too little about him and second, I don't see how a 2nd level PC has some 'titanic power'.
Concepts: Why Kenabres, the city with more paladins per square mile in whole Golarion? Doesn't seem a place for a vampire family to hang out. Why not Ustalav where they can have some sort of free reign? If Solomon is the first born, doesn't he has responsibilities back in home? How was he able to leave? Would his ancestors let him leave if this would result in bad business and the loss of their heir/face? Why use a vampire mask if by simply seeing it any paladin would aim their wrath at you?
Goals: If your goals are to gain wealth and political power, should not he had to stay home? Why political power in Cheliax would be relevant for him? If he values so much his family, why leave to a godforsaken town far away?
Secrets: This whole thing is to make secrets that will be relevant to the game. Both your secret known and unknown are useless to this game, since the focus is Cheliax and not Kenabres.
Ties: So, Salomon is a diabolist, even when the vetala-born usually dislikes religion... who did that happen and why diabolism? Who is this Zach and how you met him? Your other ties, much like your secrets, are useless to this game.
And finally, why has he come to Longacre? This is the most important question that I need you to answer. I value background much more than crunch, and yours is lacking a lot...
Even if she tries, Pava isn't able to spot any enemy on the upper floor. In a matter of seconds, Ahreni climbs the stairs once more, failing to notice that the top 5-foot section of the ladder had been weakened, making it colapse under her weight. Luckily enough, she was pretty fast in her reaction and managed to jump before falling into the ground, grabbing the edges of the trapdoor.
A couple seconds later you hear Ahreni's cry of pain, and soon enough she is falling into the ground, too fast for any of you to react! Her face is severely burnt, and there is also blood running from her forehead in the spot where she hit the ground... she is still living, but just barely, and it could change in a second...
Ahreni:
The roof of the Castle Gate's tower provides a nearly unobstructed view of all of Longacre. Even the Ash House, Louslik Tannery, and Scarlet Crown are visible in the distance. Aside from the view, a simple chair sits beneath a faded periwinkle canopy. You see no one in here, though.
Suddenly, you feel hot flames hitting your face as you were about to climb up the hatch, and soon after everything went dark...
@lazulin: I believe we have all aspects already covered pretty nicely taking in consideration we have good melee combat, healing, skills, and arcane magic. That said, you are completely free to submit whatever PC you'd like to play.
@MannyGoblin: An inquisitor could certainly work, I'm just not sure if the tone of a Blackadder based PC would be appropriate for this game. I'm trying to create a more Evil-Evil game, and not a Satire-Evil or Funny-Evil game.
Unfortunately I've lost a player and now I'm looking for a replacement. We are currently between 1/2 and 2/3 of the first book but I'll refrain to explain a lot about what have happened in respect to those that see this post but do not eventually gets picked. I'll address such doubts after the selection.
The party is the following:
Ahreni, Fallen Angel - an evil aasimar unchained rogue (knife master)
Melani Starsmite - a tiefling cleric of Asmodeus (fiendish vessel)
Pava Arioch - a human cavalier (beast rider/emissary) [possibly retraining to fighter]
Vicenzo, Human Witch - a human witch surprisingly enough!
Character Creation:
Starting Level: 2nd level.
Abilities: We'll be using a 15 point buy. I know many DMs use higher points, but I prefer lower points to make it more challenging. No ability may be lower than 8 before racial modifiers and even so, only ONE ability might be lower than 10 before racial modifiers.
Classes: Anything from Paizo is allowed, with a couple restrictions:
-Barbarians, Rogues and Summoners use the unchained version. Monks may use unchained or not.
Races: Anything from Paizo with 11 race points or less is allowed, although core races are much preferred. The only exception of the 11 point races rule are Tieflings and Aasimars. To balance things, both Tieflings and Aasimars do not get their spell-like abilities.
Alignment: No good. We are the bad guys this time! Also, Lawful will have a preference against Chaotic. This doesn't mean that Chaotic is banned, but in a party of four, I'll pick no more than one Chaotic PC.
Traits: Two traits, one being a Campaign trait. You can take a drawback for an additional trait but I'll have the final word if it is a fair trade or not.
3PP material: Will not be allowed. Please do not insist.
Hit Points: Max at first level. Subsequent levels will be rolled, each PC receiving a free re-roll for each Constitution modifier. (Ex.: A fighter with Con 15, you'd roll 3d10 and take the higher)
Starting Gold: 1,000gp.
GOLDEN RULE: I think I took precautions to not allow any insanely overpowered build but if I think you are min/maxing, your chances for being selected are smaller.
Here is a quick link for the Hell's Vengeance Player's Guide. Please, PLEASE, read all of it for you to be more familiar with the setting.
Additional Rules:
Background Skills: 2 additional skill points to be spent in Background Skills. Craft (alchemy) and Perform (any) are not considered background skills for Alchemists and Bards/Skalds respectively.
Wound Threshold: Wound Threshold will be used to once more trying to make it more challenging. If during gameplay I sense it is causing more trouble than help, this could be removed. Both PCs and enemies will be subjected to this system.
Critical Hit and Fumble Decks: The Crit deck rules will only be applied to the PCs, since it is no fun to be beheaded by accident. Fumble deck will be applied to everyone.
Variant Multiclassing: Allowed for anyone interested.
Stamina and Combat Tricks: Fighters receive Combat Stamina as a bonus feat at 1st level. Other classes might select this feat as normal.
How to Submit a PC:
Crunch: Complete crunch, including equipment, spells and stats for any companions.
Background: I'm far more interested in your PC's fluff than crunch so a nice Background is a must since it will also serve as a sample of you writing skills and creativity.
10 minute Background: This is in Addition to the written background and isn't just another 'formatting'. The information in this small sentences are here to give life and color to your PC so please add different content from the previous Background. This section has the following steps:
-Step 1: Write at least 5 concept elements that you feel are important to your image of the character. These can be a concept overview, a list of important life events, a physical description, a personality profile...whatever you need to get an image in your mind.
-Step 2: List at least 2 goals for the character. At least one of these goals should be one that the character has, while another should be one that you, as a player, want to see developed over the course of the game.
-Step 3: List at least 2 secrets about your character. One is a secret the character knows, one is a secret that involves him but that he is not actually aware of yet. This will help me in creating plots that center around your character. I will also be creating a third secret which you as a player will not be aware of, so expect some surprises!
-Step 4: Describe at least 3 people that are tied to the character. Two of them are friendly to the character, one is hostile.
-Step 5: Describe at least 3 mannerisms, or quirks that your character has. They don't have to be elaborate, but they should provide some context and flavor.
I'm looking for a committed player able to post at least 1/day during weekdays and around 1/weekend. I know that sometimes life happens, but vanishing players will not be tolerated. If you have any doubts, please let me know and I'll do my best to help you.
I run four games in these boards, so far with a pretty good pace, with the oldest one almost reaching its one-year mark. You are of course free to check them, just to make sure my GM-style suits you.
This WILL NOT be a first-come-first-serve recruitment. I plan to keep this recruitment open for at least a week, but I might end it a bit soon if I found an interesting enough PC. In this case, I'll let you know with an antecedence of 24 hours. On the other hand, I might extend this recruitment for a couple more days if I'm not able to find anyone of my liking.
@Ahreni and all: Surely I can explain how this part works! I've spoilered it to respect any player who wish not to peek... it is 'spoiler free' in relation to the plot, but even so, this explanation might spoil a couple sensations.
How the game works:
In truth, this part only looks like a big sandbox game, but in truth it is Event Based. No matter where you are, there is a schedule of events that will eventually happen, which will move the plot forward.
There are also a couple events that can only be triggered if you go to a specific place, of course, but in this cases, there will be for sure someone to point you there... in any part of the book it assumes you'll have to wander from place to place looking for what to do.
The whole Rebellion Points serves only to hasten the events if you get too much of them... for an example, you are ruthless, the rebellion will evolve faster, even creating additional problems for you to solve.
If you have some names to point, please send them to me via PM or simply post here, so I can have a look at them.
Pava is able to close the gate without any trouble and soon enough she is back inside the gate tower. Much like when they entered the building in the first place, Pava led the way to the second floor, with Vicenzo just behind her.
When Pava was halfway through the ladder, a chest us pushed through the hatch and soon hits Pava on her chest, robbing her of her breath and balance, which also hits Vicenzo a couple feet behind her. The chest, Pava, and Vicenzo all crash into the ground making a big noise!
@Anarxos: I'm really sorry to see you going... I really liked Anarxos and your posts are generally great. I have noticed that your posts were getting smaller, though, so I was actually expecting this to happen.
Thanks for letting us know. You'll be missed. I hope we are able to play some more in the future!
@Melani and all: This part of this adventure is actually pretty sandboxy, which seems to always be a problem in PBP, but could also be an opportunity since it allows you to fully develop your characters.
If any of you have any suggestions about this game, I'm surely all ears!
Well, now we have to find another player... I've taken a look a my list of backup players and I haven't found a good substitute (two of the players seems to have abandoned these boards and the other one is a quitter). I'll contact a couple people I know but if you have any suggestions about a good player, please let me know. If everything fails, I'll open up a new recruitment thread.
Zaggar smiles when the negotiations are finally settled. He also agrees with Pava's demands. "If you, wish, fine... it is a waste of coin in my opinion but it is your gold, and it will go to my pocket, so I'm completely fin with it... there are a couple orphanages in Ramesiana." When everything is settled, Zaggar leaves you to his room, where he intends to sleep early so he can start to track the missing woman.
The Gate
Neither of you find no sign of tampering with the gate... it is simply open. You then move to the gate's stone tower, finding a rickety wooden door. It doesn't have a lock, but several crates have been stacked against the door on the inside as a crude barricade.
The room inside the tower's base is drafty. The interior of the tower is completely open between the stone and flat wooden roof 20 feet overhead, interrupted only by supporting crossbeams and a well-used ladder that ends at an open hatch leading to the second floor.
The pulley system controlling the gate is situated on the southern wall, but the ropes have been cut, making the mechanism useless (you can still close the gate manually, though).
Knowledge (nature) DC 12:
It appears the rope have been gnawed through by tiny teeth.
Perception DC 14:
You notice a crack in the wall just wide enough for a tiny creature to squeeze through.
The gatekeepers' house is also nearby if you wish to investigate them. Not saying this to push you, but simply because a couple of you mentioned them.
Cimri was correct in her assessment and Zaggar was indeed at the Arch. He thinks about your propositions, weighting the two offers. "I have to go to Ramesiana anyway so adding a couple coins to my purse will be a pleasure... the girl's idea is easier and cheaper for ya, though... I'd just have to kill the b!#$& and her cub and soon I'd be on my way back to the Duke. I say 20 pieces of gold for the job."
He then ponders a bit before continuing, "To bring her back, it would take me roughly 10 days to fetch her I guess, which would be 4 pieces of gold a day since I'd be delaying the Duke's work, and more 10 pieces for the job... I'd prefer to simply kill her and ditch her on the woods, but you are the ones paying."
The Last Stand Tavern
Diplomacy DC 19 - Ahreni, society modifier:1d20 + 7 - 3 ⇒ (19) + 7 - 3 = 23pass
It takes 'Ania' the rest of the day to gather Caggan's employees and make her business proposition. In the beginning, they aren't really happy about the offer, saying that it was too soon to open it up again, but 'Ania's' honeyed words reminded them that opening the Last Stand once more would show the people that Caggan's determination and spirit had not left Longacre. In the end, they agreed to open it up on the following day.
This doesn't require 'Ania' to spend the day in the tavern, but showing up once or twice will be necessary to keep her ruse.
********************************
Calistril 24 (last days of winter)
A new day arises, once more with a clear sky. On your usual way from the Ash House to Longacre, you notice something really weird... the Castle Gate is opened! No one guards its towers, and only a daring soul or two have passed through, but by the archbaron's decree, the gate should be closed...
Please wrap your previous scenes quickly so we don't have multiple events at once!
Cimri nods at Pava's question, "As far as I remember, he would spend the night at the Arch and Lark and then resume his way tomorrow morning... if we decide to take his offer, we should probably do so tonight." She then awaits for your directions, uncertain if she should go for the hobgoblin or not.
Ahreni and anyone accompanying her to the notary:
Like many others in town, the notary is oblivious about Caggan's death, but he also shakes his head at Anya's request, "Unfortunately it can't be done within the law... Caggan isn't judged yet so his property is still his own..."
"On the other hand, nothing is prohibiting you from simply open its doors and run it. I don't know, but perhaps he has an agreement with his employees to run the place in his absence and perhaps you could talk to them and convince them in a way you all work together... I stress the importance of an agreement between you and them because in the probable event of not having a written contract, their word would weight more than yours, and I'd have no choice to make you leave the place... of course you are currently the law, so I'm not sure who to properly handle the situation in such a grievous event."
Melani:
You hear no new information of neither of your personal quests. Remember that you have already got directions for a man that matches Kol's description HERE.
Since there are still a couple decisions to be made today, I'll hold my hand in pushing you to the next day for another day.
The older guard shakes his head to answer, clearly relieved that they've done nothing wrong, "Na, they aren't related at all as far as I know... I actually think Ol' Jan's name is actually Janice..." he shrugs, knowing it would not matter the name of the old woman.
You still have a couple more hours before it gets dark... any more plans for today or should we call it a day and move forward?
