GM Angelina's page

Greetings, wonderfully patient players!
I sincerely apologize for the delay.
End-of-summer family fun and travels transitioned quickly into teacher-madly-getting-everything-ready-for-the-school-year craziness, which has now merged into first-couple-weeks-of-school chaos.
I still have what I hope is an exciting story that I would like to share with you in this game, when life calms down a bit. So I hope most of you will be able to hang in there and stick around for a bit more. I understand if you can't.
Peace and joy to you all! :)

My apologies for the delay. Family stuff. Nothing bad.
More game soon!

Also, Sister Az, I think several party characters specifically don't trust those Church leaders who may be involved in or influenced by Kingdom politics, since you're searching for a mastermind mass murderer who stands to benefit from a possible Kingdom heir being killed. It's different from simply not trusting any Church folk. Even Arabeth, who IS Church folk, would rather be staying somewhere more independent. :)

Arabeth, Poterol, Cernan, Marius, please post in character what name you would speak for yourself in gameplay. The scribe is waiting to copy it down.

I'll move the game along soon, bringing you all to hopefully meet with the General.
Here in discussion, please note if your character plans to enter the Command Center or wait outside with Aeryth and the mounts.

Cheers! :)

Talking Turtle it is!
Before you head there, however, I assume you deliver your other message from the Pope and try to talk with the General at the Command Center.

And, yes, Sister Az. We can assume your group left word that you'd be headed to The Talking Turtle Inn with both the Pope and now with The Lord Mayor.

Also, as for temporary residence, please stick together as a group. Either everyone stays at the Cathedral Complex in the four rooms offered by the Pope, or you all head to the Talking Turtle Inn run by Alice Treekeep's Aunt Bertha Bethel, or you all seek some other lodging.
Please vote on this here in the discussion thread.
Everyone please vote CATHEDRAL ROOMS or TALKING TURTLE or OTHER.
Thanks! :)

Marius? Poterol? Would either of you like to be the tie-breaking vote? :)

Gameplay post up!

You may add any final comments or questions for this meeting with the Lord Mayor, then everyone (except Chap and Aeryth) please post in character in the gameplay thread what name your character would give. You get the sense that the more complete the name given, the more preferable.
Also, as for temporary residence, please stick together as a group. Either everyone stays at the Cathedral Complex in the four rooms offered by the Pope, or you all head to the Talking Turtle Inn run by Alice Treekeep's Aunt Bertha Bethel, or you all seek some other lodging.
Please vote on this here in the discussion thread.

Everyone please vote CATHEDRAL ROOMS or TALKING TURTLE or OTHER.
Thanks! :)

Ah, good stuff! Nice RP, guys!
I'll craft an appropriate response by The Lord Mayor as soon as I can ... This isn't over just yet ... but I'm headed out of town today, so my responses will likely be sporadic for the next week... Please feel free to add more in gameplay if desired. I'll get results of checks back when I post again.
Peace! :)

Skill checks other than charisma-based skills are still a legitimate option ...

Sister Azmaria made a nice diplomacy check.
Anyone else there want to make one, or make any other kind of a check?

So, Sister Azmaria, does your journal contain descriptions of your dream visions from Angelina?

EDIT: Also, no worries about the posting delay!

EDIT 2: And, Sister Azmaria responded to my above question via PM with a "yes," so I will proceed accordingly.

Another game post is up! :)

Aeryth and Chap wait outside in the still-bustling plaza in the dim twilight with the cart and mounts. (and Rex?)

Poterol, Cernan, Eli, Shyness, Marius, and Arabeth (and Sister Azmaria?) bypass the massive columned main entrance of the Hall of Justice and head to the specific side door described by the Pope.

You knock and speak the specific passwords given to you by Pope Gregory. Upon entry, you hand the sun-stamped scroll from the Pope and your letter of recommendation from Lord Mayor Vertin of Vigilant over to be given to Lord Mayor Lincoln of Resplendent. You are asked to wait in a simple room with wooden benches for a reply.

So far Aeryth and Chap are waiting outside the Hall of Justice with the mounts while Arabeth, Poterol, Shyness, and Eli head in to talk to the Lord Mayor.

Cernan, Marius, and Sister Azmaria ... will you be heading in as well?

Your group travels a short distance from the Cathedral to the massive and impressive Hall of Justice to speak with The Lord Mayor.

Aeryth volunteers to wait outside with the cart and mounts.

Does anyone else wait outside with him this time, or does everyone else go in to speak with The Lord Mayor? If you would prefer to wait outside, please speak up in character to do so.

FYI on timing... with travels tomorrow and the next day, I will most likely get into RP with your next NPC contact Monday evening or soon thereafter ... It sounds like you'll probably be headed to The Lord Mayor, then the General?
Please feel free to continue discussion amongst your characters.

So, which first? Hall of Justice (Lord Mayor) or Command Center (General)? Any character can take the lead.

Since it's been a while, I'm reminding you of this quote from a previous post about the Pope:
"He carries two scrolls sealed with a prominent golden wax sun stamp, which he hands to you. He gives you precise directions to the Hall of Justice and the Command Center, including which doors to knock on and exactly what to say to obtain entrance and audience with the Lord Mayor and the General."
Those of you who were there would know this.

Game post is up! :)

To Recap: The Pope wrote two letters for you to deliver to the General and the Lord Mayor for him. While you go to deliver the letters, he will be going to speak to the Queen to share the news of Lord Hawkthorne's death, which seemed to shake him quite a bit. After you deliver his letters to the Lord Mayor and the General, your group can choose to return to the Cathedral to spend the night, or can seek lodging elsewhere. Either way, the Pope is interested in meeting with you again sometime soon and sharing updates on your mutual investigations into this fiendish activity.

Sister Azmaria, Arabeth, Eli, and Shyness, now bearing two letters with papal seals, head out of the Cathedral and rejoin the others (Chap, Marius, Aeryth, Cernan, and Poterol) waiting with the mounts and cart in the courtyard.

Feel free to discuss what has happened and clarify where you're headed next.

Game on! :)

Hi, all! It's been a crazy week, but the family is more-or-less healthy, grades are in, and tomorrow is my last day at the school to wrap things up before break. I hope to be continuing our story tomorrow, and I hope you'll all be continuing the journey. Thanks for hanging in there with me! :)

FYI
Even though weekends are usually my more prolific posting times, today we're headed out of town to a big family get together for the weekend, so it's possible major posting won't resume until next weekend.
Feel free to RP a bit more, if desired, but don't count on quick responses from me for a bit.
Have a lovely weekend, all! :)

I'm leaving gameplay where it is for now until Sister Azmaria or Arabeth or Shyness have a chance to post any more reactions to or conversation with the Pope before they rejoin the group and you all deliver the letters to the Lord Mayor and the General.

Picking up on items mentioned in the discussion thread...

As the Pope writes letters for your group to deliver to the Lord Mayor and the General...

Eli, Arabeth, and Shyness wait in the sitting room.

Sister Azmaria steps out, informs a guard that she will be returning shortly, heads through the Cathedral, and finds Cernan and the rest of you waiting with the mounts and the cart. Sister Azmaria gives a brief update on what's going on and obtains the Hawkthorne family crest ring to deliver to the Pope. She returns to the sitting room to await Pope Gregory's return.

Sister Az, you got in a good first impression with the Pope with your high diplomacy and religious etiquette knowledge, as well as what you said in both your posts speaking with him. His reaction to Eli's blunt mistrust would have been harsher if your posts hadn't come first, so your role was most definitely not useless.

The Pope is currently writing two letters for you to deliver to the General and the Lord Mayor for him. Your rolls impressed him enough for him to trust you as his messengers. When you go to deliver the letters, he will be going to speak to the Queen to share the news of Lord Hawkthorne's death, which seemed to shake him quite a bit.

After you deliver his letters to the Lord Mayor and the General, your group can choose to return to the Cathedral tonight, or tomorrow, or whenever. Your conversations with the Pope do not have to be done. Your posts opened the door to his continued interest in meeting with you and sharing updates on your mutual investigations into this fiendish activity.

Also, we can assume your diplomacy roll carried forward through the conversation, causing you to add comments to soften Eli's bluntness throughout.

So, no worries, please, Sister Azmaria! You did your part in establishing a solid connection with the Pope and opening the door for future conversations as desired.

Peace and Blessings to all!

At present in gameplay:

Inside the Cathedral, meeting with Pope Gregory:
Arabeth, Sister Azmaria, Eli, and Shyness.

Outside the Cathedral, waiting with the mounts:
Chap, Marius, Aeryth, Cernan, and Poterol.

I must say, I'm surprised our two main seekers of knowledge are not inside the Cathedral seeking further knowledge. ;)

Those with the Pope, please continue gameplay discussion, asking any further questions you may have, pursuing those questions you have already asked that you think have not yet been fully answered, and scrolling up to read the Pope's previous posts in order to consider answering questions he has asked that have not yet been answered; there are several.

Those waiting outside, feel free to post character discussion with the others outside, or to just wait quietly at your option. :)

So far:

Inside: Arabeth, Sister Azmaria, Eli, and Shyness.

Outside: Chap, Marius, Aeryth, and Cernan.

Unknown: Poterol ...?

So far:

Inside: Arabeth, Sister Azmaria, and Eli.

Outside: Chap, Marius, and Aeryth.

Unknown: Poterol, Cernan, and Shyness.

Yes, they do!

After some time waiting, the guard returns with a priest who greets you and asks if you carry a letter from a certain someone in Vigilant for the Pope. When you produce the letter and say it is from Father Peter, the priest nods, takes it, and gestures for you to follow him further into the Cathedral complex.

The priest speaks...

"Welcome. Pope Gregory is indeed expecting you."

The guards look surprised as the priest ushers you past them, down a long corridor of doors, and into a comfortable sitting room with couches, chairs, a bookshelf, a desk, a small table, and tapestries with sun motifs decorating the walls.

"Please wait here. His Excellency did not know when you would be arriving."

The priest takes his leave, and you are left to wait again.

Sister Azmaria and Arabeth are both insistent that the Cathedral be visited first, and the rest of you acquiesce. You continue your long journey through the early-evening hustle and bustle of the Capital city streets, up the great hill, and toward the multiple large golden-roofed buildings at the top. With only a few questions directed at the locals, you are able to find the Grand Cathedral of St. Pelor, and it is indeed a striking sight, as the last fading rays of the sinking sunset glint off the great gold dome. You are not questioned as you enter the bustling outer courtyard with your mounts and cart and cross the enormous golden sun-shaped mosaic set into the tiles of the ground, but you recognize that you will definitely need to leave your mounts and cart behind in order to enter the Cathedral itself.

I will assume that Aeryth and any other characters who would prefer to do so stand guard outside the Cathedral with the mounts and cart.

Sister Azmaria, Arabeth, and the rest of you who are not guarding the mounts walk up to the doors of the Cathedral. Six guards stand on either side of the doors, observing the courtyard. One of them warns you that the Cathedral will soon be closing to the public for the night. When you ask about an audience with Pope Gregory, the guards' reaction is, at first, a mixture of amusement, disdain, and disbelief. However, Sister Azmaria and Arabeth can be quite stubborn and insistent, and finally their claims that the Pope is expecting them cause two of the guards to lead the lot of you further into the Cathedral.

The building is massive and beautiful. The barest hint of the smoky savor of incense hangs in the air. Mahogany benches curve out in rows around a central grand altar. Quite a few people still sit or kneel in the pews, many with heads bowed in prayer. A soft chanting can be heard from a choir of monks currently surrounding the altar. Candle-light barely illuminates a variety of works of art depicting various events in the life of St. Pelor around the sides of the Cathedral. The now-starry sky can be seen up through a circular opening in the top center of the great gold dome above.

The guards lead you around to an interior door. One remains with you to wait here in the Cathedral as the other passes through the door to notify and summon the appropriate persons.

Feel free to mention whether your character is with the main group in the Cathedral or is guarding the mounts outside with Aeryth. Also, please feel free to post in-character comments or reactions.

Game on! :)

Sister A,
I'm very sorry to hear about your aunt. I hope you have a good visit with her!

All,
alright, in light of the gameplay conversation still being strongly Cathedral-leaning for the most part, and in order to give Sister A a chance to be involved in the Cathedral conversation before she has to leave town, I'm going to rule that you all do head to the Cathedral first. I'll try to have the next gameplay post(s) up soon.

A good holiday indeed! Thanks! :)

As best as I can read the tally,
That's one tentative vote for #1 Talking Turtle Inn first (Chap),
two votes for #2 Dripping Quill Gazette first (Eli & Poterol),
two votes for #3 Grand Cathedral first (Arabeth & Sister Azmaria),
and three votes for #4 the General first (Cernan, Marius & Shyness).

So, it seems fairest the head to the General first, although the current in-character conversation seems mostly Cathedral-leaning.

Cernan & co, if you'd like to head to the General first, make some in-character arguments in the gameplay thread to convince your fellow characters, then perhaps some knowledge (local) or diplomacy/gather info checks to figure out where to go.

As best as I can read the tally,
That's one tentative vote for #1 Talking Turtle Inn first (Chap),
two votes for #2 Dripping Quill Gazette first (Eli & Poterol),
two votes for #3 Grand Cathedral first (Arabeth & Sister Azmaria),
and one vote for "the Authorities" first (Cernan) ... (Is that #4 the General or #5 The Lord Mayor?)

The only characters who have not yet weighed in on the matter are Shyness, Marius, and Aeryth (although Aeryth hasn't posted for a few weeks so we won't be waiting on him).

Shyness? Marius? Thoughts?

Third, please discuss, in character, where you're headed first and what you're doing there. Please plan on sticking together as a group for this next section of gameplay.

Please don't split the party. Let's keep this one narrative that everyone can follow. You can feel free to have your character step more in the foreground or more in the background based on which NPC is being met, but I'm asking for you to stick together. Also, don't forget, depending on what you learn, you may not want every NPC to know everything. You're playing a dangerous game here. And, yes, if you manage to get one of the more powerful ones firmly on your side, he could certainly help you to influence certain others.

So, so far Arabeth is a firm vote for #3.
Pick a number! Vote! :)

(I will, however, also mention that certain NPCs might speak less freely in the presence of certain other NPCs.)

Chap, that could possibly work! But you still have to decide who to go to first to suggest this meeting...

A player vote seems like a fair idea.
There are six options. Voting option #1-#5 means going to that place first.
Voting option #6 means seeking out a courier service first to send letters to your five potential contacts to suggest a common meeting.
Try to pick only one option for where to go first.
Remember, no matter where you go first, you can always (hopefully) go somewhere else next.
Vote! :)

So, you're writing letters to these people you've never met, including a pope, a general, and a mayor, paying someone else to deliver them for you, and just kind of hoping they all choose to show up at your suggested meeting place at your suggested meeting time?

I mean, you could try that, but I caution that you very well may not achieve your desired result.

Gameplay post up! You made it! :)

You continue your journey to the Capital. Poterol and Arabeth spread the healing love, and, within a couple days, all are back at full strength. Marius continues to further mend the wagon whenever he has a chance. Eli wears the imp's necklace and carries the corpse bag. Cernan crafts silver arrows as he can. You all try to keep an eye out for danger, but often find yourselves distracted with your thoughts.

Finally, after five more days of travel, you see it: the City on a Hill, Resplendent, Gem of Theramark. It's massive. And, you're relieved to discover, it's still there.

Only those of you from York or Sharn have seen anything like the size of this city. You do not notice any obvious signs of fire, destruction, or panic. In fact, Resplendent seems to be in quite good condition, with many shining roofs, and full of hustle and bustle. At the very top of the hill sit several large gold-roofed palace-like buildings. The setting sun reflects orange rays off the roofs, and the sky is tinged with rosy light on pink and purple clouds.

It's quite a sight.

First of all, Cernan made five more silver arrows, so, those of you who used them can restock. Chap, Eli, and Marius again have two each.

Second, reset your hp to full.

Third, please discuss, in character, where you're headed first and what you're doing there. Please plan on sticking together as a group for this next section of gameplay.

It's been a while, so, in case you don't feel like re-reading old posts to gather this info, here's a convenient list for you...

Potential Contacts in Resplendent:

1. Alice Treekeep recommends her Aunt Bertha Bethel's Inn The Talking Turtle.
2. Max Gelthis recommends talking to his cousin Gerry, a writer at the Dripping Quill Gazette.
3. Father Peter recommends speaking to Pope Gregory at the Grand Cathedral of the Church of St. Pelor.
4. Captain Ronald suggests speaking to General Garrund, head of Theramark's military.
5. Lord Mayor Vertin of Vigilant suggests speaking to Lord Mayor Lincoln of Resplendent.

You have a letter to each of these five Resplendant individuals from the recommending individual in Vigilant.

Game on! :)

Poterol, to avoid making you make tons of dice rolls, you can either roll your healing hex once, and we'll say that's what everyone gets today, or you can declare the low-side of average healing, and we'll say that's what everyone gets today.

Huzzah! Poterol, you are now aware of all the capabilities and dangers of this Necklace of Fireballs Type II (missing the 6d6 and one of the 4d6 spheres) as described on the d20pfsrd. Feel free to inform your fellows in character.

EDIT: link for NoF

Poterol can't tell what the magic necklace does either, so Eli wears it for now, as he described above.

After a thirty-minute rest stop, during which you catch no further sign of danger while Marius mends the wagon, your group then continues on toward Resplendant, much as before, although significantly more singed, and more spread-out at Chap's urging.

The rest of the day and night passes uneventfully.

Poterol and Cernan, please make another Spellcraft check for the following day if you would try again to identify the necklace.
All, feel free to add character comments, discussion, actions, perception checks, etc.

EDIT: Arabeth, for simplicity's sake, I was lumping the horses in with the mules as one group, which happened to succeed at both reflex saves, so they should all be more-or-less fine now, unless you specifically want to declare otherwise for your mount.

EDIT2:If I remember correctly, your group has now used up 5 of the 6 silver arrows Cernan made. So... Cernan? Want to do any more night-time crafting?

SSB rocks.

Also, just got Pathfinder Unchained for Mother's Day Weekend! Woo-hoo! :)

So, Poterol ... Spellcraft check? Perhaps with identify?

See gameplay...

Marius's magic slowly works to get the wagon moving again.

I'm ruling that it will take 30 minutes to get it to the not-pretty-but-no-longer-considered-broken state.

Cernan casts detect magic and examines the necklace held by Eli. He can tell it has a moderate magic aura, but he can't tell what it does.

DC 25 Spellcraft, Cernan. You can try again tomorrow. Any chance one of your not-yet-decided spells is identify?

So ... Cernan? You gonna roll a Spellcraft and see if you can tell your friends about the necklace's capabilities and dangers? Or, just gonna let Eli wear the pretty thing?

Also, Marius, how long would it take your magic to fix the wagon?

Does anyone have mending (or carpentry skill) to use on fixing the wagon?
If not, do you move on at half speed with a broken wagon or do you abandon it?
Is anyone trained in Spellcraft to attempt to identify the necklace?
Does Eli wear it? Put it in his bag? Or hand it to someone else?
Does anyone have anything else to say after all that?

C'mon, guys! I want to get you moving again, but I need some more player actions/decisions here. :)

Current HP, after Poterol healing people, is as follows: (Reduce if over Max hp.)
Marius 21
Rex 30
Sister Az 20
Eli 19
Chap 9
Poterol 15
Cernan 6
Arabeth 10
Aeryth 23
Shyness 8
Mules 20
Everybody can act, react, and discuss plans.
Game on!