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Michael, I am sorry to see you go! You were my first venture officer and a great sounding board. You helped me build the PBP region into a thriving community. However, I will say that sometimes all you need is some time off to rekindle interest. So... Maybe we'll see you in a few years. And if we don't... know that this community loves you. Hmm
Get better soon. I've been sick myself all week.
Let's hope we can get all of our PBPs restarted.
Chronicles have been sent, and this table has been reported to HQ! I'll be closing this campaign tomorrow. Hmm
Mayor Kimi nods with tears in her eyes to Vermithor and Rations. The village gives you a nice festive meal and places to rest before you set off on the Spirit Road again. Before you leave the Forest of Spirits behind you, a Risuchō appears, delivering a single cherry blossom as thanks from Sakura before departing. As you travel back to Hokkōshi, all the merchant caravans cheer you, many purchasing beers and hot rice bowls for you before they set off themselves. By the time you return to the Three Gates Lodge to report back to Amara Li, merchant traffic along the Spirit Road has fully resumed. Amara Li takes great interest in the history of the former Rahk Lo trading outpost, and wonders if the Rahk Lo might be invited to return to their trading post given all the merchant traffic that now passes through Silvertree. As for the records of criminal activity from the accountant’s office, her eyes gleam as she looks over the document. “Excellent work, Pathfinders. Studying this document will hopefully provide leads to tracking down some of the other Golden League cells throughout Tian Xia.”
I hope you all enjoyed this tiny author table of Silver Bark!
It's time to roll your day jobs - Lore, Crafting or Performance.
Vermithor closes on the giant seagull and chops his head off with his final strike. With the secret base is cleared of bandits and the temple has been cleansed, you can return to Silvertree. As you step into the center of the village, the fog begins to dissipate and the Risuchō leave one by one to deliver the mail from Silvertree to other villages. The villagers cheer as the fog clears, but the mood becomes more somber when you bring the news of the deaths of Kenji and Daisuke. Mayor Kimi thanks you for helping to cleanse the shrine and set the souls of the two young men to rest. "You have returned my beloved nephews to me, and cleansed our village so that we can once again be embraced by Sakura, and so that we can serve the trade along the Spirit Road. Thank you so much for all you have done for us!"
You crit it, which broke the hardness and took it out. I know that we missed out on a Bloodmoon monologue this time around, but this is a repeatable. You may get a bigger monologue later.
Big Katsu spends an action to stand up.
He misses Boris, and attempts to strike again.
Then the flash of light hits Big Katsu's eyes, reducing the damage he does to the furry barbarian. "Gah!" ★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★ Boris (-16)
HT attacks Big Katsu's body and mind. Vermithor crits Bloodmoon, breaking the legendary weapon - which was only a shadow of its former self. The naginata screams, then disintegrates into dust. Then Rations trips Big Katsu, who falls to the floor. "Wait! You smashed my pointy stick! It was gonna make me a god!" ★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★ Boris (-9)
Boris runs up and attacks Big Katsu, tenderizing the huge seagull with his morningstar. ★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★ Bloodmoon floats towards Vermithor, monologuing the entire while. "Do you not see my greatness? I was the naginata that Fumeiyoshi used to slay the moon! And now, I will cut you down!"
The first cut swishes over Vermithor's head, but the second hits its target! Meanwhile, Big Katsu yells,
He hooks Boris once, then stumbles a bit on the slippery footing of the dock.
★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★ Boris (-9)
Did you know that there are Play-by-Post games on these very forums? Indeed, there is a discussion going on at our Cottonseed Lodge about starting a game for new players, and as a PBP newcomer, you count. I asked GM Lysle and GM Watery Soup to save a seat for you, but you should go post there now and say that GM Hmm (aka Hilary) sent you there. The best way to learn how to do Play-by-Post is to dive in the deep end and try it out, and these are on the Paizo Forums rather than on Discord. Still, here are the classic guides to playing PBP:
Lysle and/or Watery Soup, I may have another PBP newbie coming your way. I'm going to point drakkonflye to this discussion as they want to roleplay. Hmm
On a personal note, I do feel like the lack of GM incentives is starting to feel noticeable, at least when I compare GMing PF2 to SF2. I do feel excited to work towards my 3rd glyph and to accumulate ACP toward an expensive character concept. With SF2... I see an accumulating pile of GM Babies and a pile of ACP I have nothing to spend it on. It's kind of disheartening, honestly. So I'd encourage the Starfinder OP team to move quickly. I completely agree. I think that the current Glyph system as-is is what we should be using for SF2. It's a good system, it is clear, and more importantly, it would give us consistency across Organized Play. We made this huge step to make Starfinder and Pathfinder compatible. Let's make their organized play rule systems compatible as well. Hmm
Who Goes First?:
Bloodmoon floats menacingly in the air, but Boris... Well, he sees the biggest darn SEAGULL he's ever seen, and it inspires him to race into battle! ★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★ Boris
The four of you take time to cleanse the temple and set the souls of Kenji and Daisuke to rest. As you leave the temple, you hear the sounds of two people talking as they enter the docks area from the back entrance. "And when I become a god? Surely everyone will offer me all the cutlets I want! Breaded! Fried! Covered in tangy barbecue sauce, the world at my feet!" This voice, low and booming, is coming from a tengu wearing a huge floppy hat. "All this and more..." A sinister and more high-pitched voice, coming from a naginata covered in swirling blood. At this moment, Sakura's sprig activates, glowing with holy energy that glitters and lights up the entire cavern. "Intruders!" The naginata calls out to the tengu, "and they're here to foil our rise to greatness!" The tengu grins with a leering beak, tossing off his hat and revealing oni horns as he grows larger.
"...and remind me to hire a dialogue coach for you later," the bloody naginata mutters.
Boris rips the lid right off the chest! The locked wooden chest contains a purifying ladle—to prevent the Boss from being poisoned by underlings—and a smoke veil. ★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★ You move on, and find yourself in an eerily large underground dock area.
Water laps softly against the docks in this muddy subterranean cavern. Seven boats cluster around the dock, all usable and in good repair, and three tunnels lead back out to the Bunkatsu river. There are curving pictographs over the archways that lead to other parts of the complex. Along one wall is a frieze with several carved hobgoblin figures, each raising a hand in greeting. GM Screen:
Vermithor looks at the frieze of hobgoblin carvings, and remembers hearing about an underground tien hobgoblin clan called the Rahk Lo, and realizes that this place might have once been a trading post. Perhaps the bandits did not create this underground complex beneath the Forest of Spirits. Perhaps they found it. ★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★ Exploring the whole area, you find a narrow hallway with a back exit that leads to a narrow stairwell leading back up to the forest outside the village.
Water-resistant waders and raincoats hang from garment hooks near this back exit. ★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★ Backing away from the exit, you go beyond the dock area to where a pile of crumpled bodies lay.
The bodies of two young tengu men lie sprawled and broken in the entrance to this room, their black feathers scattered and mixed with a pile of mud, dirt, and broken tiles. In the center of the floor, a tiled mural of the moon has been ripped out and painted black, then splashed with blood. GM Screen:
Rations realizes with horror that these two young men, likely the mayor's nephews Daisuke and Kenji, have been sacrificed to desecrate this shrine. It was once a shrine to Tsukiyo, the god of the moon and friend to the lonely and outcasts, and has been rededicated in this grisly manner to his brother, Fumeiyoshi.
Vermithor smacks his face with the crowbar, and the small chest remains where it is, silently taunting all of you.
The tengu sneak goes down in a pile of attacks from all sides, and the cloud of dust dissipates. Eventually, you spend time healing up both Boris and Vermithor before moving on to the next door. ★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★
This office contains one wooden desk, a coffee table with the remains of breakfast, and a comfortable chair. A small wooden chest lies under the bed. GM Screen:
Boris:
There are feathers in this room. Either Katsu is a tengu, or he keeps a dastardly seagull. As you search the room, HT discovers the boss's diary. The diary chronicles Big Katsu's rise to power within this cell of the Golden League, along with his favorite recipes for cutlets. He obsesses about his meals, the sauces he uses, and tips for braising and preparing the meat. Practically every entry talks about business deals followed by loving descriptions of his meals, or less loving descriptions of him punishing erring cooks. The entries reveal a ruthless cunning and honest self-appraisal. The Golden League cell has been hiding within Silvertree village for decades, integrating with the villagers and blending in seamlessly, so they can use the settlement as a hiding spot for stolen or smuggled goods until it was safe to move them. Big Katsu boasts about his cleverness in smuggling rare creatures right out from under the noses of protective Kami. But in the most recent diary entries, the handwriting becomes erratic as the boss extols Bloodmoon, a legendary naginata that has promised Big Katsu greatness. His entries become distrustful, worrying that his minions will poison or plot against him. The last entry states, “They don't want me to succeed, but I will crush them all like the insects they are.”
Yeah, I think this would have made a great repeatable.
Chronicles went out, and the game is reported!
Now would be a great time to roll your day job checks and double-check that everything is correct on the RPG Chronicles!
Captain Conziva nods, wearily. "I never should have trusted Cheliax for one minute. Yes, I'll join the fight alongside the Pathfinder Society, if you will treat me and my crew right." With Captain Conziva defeated, the streets and shipyard of Augustana are quiet once again and the citizens cheer as the Pathfinders return with the pirate captain. Venture-Captain Brackett is delighted that Captain Conziva agrees to join the fight against Cheliax alongside the Pathfinder Society. The Augustana City Council is less delighted when they hear that the Pathfinder Society has made a deal with the pirates, and Venture-Captain Brackett is drawn into negotiations with them as well. ★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★ You all get a chance to rest up and cannonball all you want in Augustana's harbor for a day while the Venture-Captain continues to meet with council. Finally, Venture-Captain Brackett invites you to one last meal in Augustana at the Brine Shark Bistro to thank you. While eating hot crab cakes and drinking wine smuggled in by Kitsch, Brackett and the two heads of Supply and Procurement update you on the ships that you have helped bring into the fight. Brackett leans back in his chair, exhausted. “The City Council talked my ear off about the damages Captain Conziva owes, and she and her crew have at least a week's worth of repair work ahead of them before Augustana will let them go.” Then he grins. “But they realize that they would rather get their revenge on the puppet master than the puppet, so Captain Conziva and her ship the Clawhold will be joining our fleet should fighting with Cheliax break out in earnest.” “Me and Nairaba have been holed up with Olad, and we've had some very productive talks,” Kitsch says, passing around more of the delightful smuggled Galtan wine. “You saved Olad's bacon by making sure his Shipyard didn't go up in smoke. He's so grateful that he offered us free repairs on the Scurvy Scamp's rudder and gave us a sweet discount on the ship as well.” Nairaba holds up a hand. “My turn! Our negotiations for the Lucky Duck were quite fruitful. Olad kept talking about the speed with which you maneuvered through the city! You impressed him so much that Olad's not only agreed to sell us the Duck but is offering for his crew to do a full cleaning of the vessel. I don't know if that'll rid of us of the infestation, or if we'll have to assign a crew of junior Pathfinders to do it, but I'm certain that vessel will stand us in good stead.” “We have one more piece of news,” Nairaba says. “Olad invited us to meet him down by the docks near his office after our meal.” Nairaba and Kitsch sign for the meal and lead the whole party down the hill toward the offices of Olad the Alright Shipwright. Olad grins when he sees the Pathfinder party and then points to a pristine battleship with sleek lines and many gun ports. “This beauty is my newly christened warship, the Breachill Battlecry, named for the Battle of Hellknight Hill. Cheliax tried to burn down my shipyard. I'm not having it! I'll sell the ship under favorable terms if you promise to use it to harass House Thrune and its goons. Stick some tar up their nostrils for me, will you?”
"Muskmelons?!" Conziva blinks, lowering her sword. "Is it true? Do my crew live, still?' From the crows nest, a baby gorilla shimmies down the mast. It looks up at Hector, looking for its favorite treat. "Ook?" Despite herself, the Captain smiles. "Flotsam's looking for the muskmelons you promised him," she says. "Will you lead me to my crew and tell me of this 'alternate victory condition'?"
Bláinn and Ulvard both manage to hit the Captain once each!
Bob misses the Blue Monkey Goblin! ★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★ Meanwhile, the Green Monkey Goblin swings in to hit Quqotengir, as the beast is scary and right next to his Captain. "HANDS OFF MY CAPTAIN, YE OVERSIZED SLAB OF BACON!"
But he swings wide and misses twice. Blue swings away from Bob and towards his skeletal master in the longboat, but also swings wide.
For his last action, he shimmies up the rope back into the boat. ★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★ Captain Conziva (-23, Persuadable)
Boris joins the pile of bodies by the front door before making his way to the tengu sneak. The sneak preens. He survived an entire round with two barbarians! He's invincible! He lashes out at Vermithor.
Then the Flash of Grandeur from Rations hits, protecting Vermithor and dazzling the rogue. "Gah, get that light out of my face!" The sneak waves his Feather Fan, causing dust to rise in the area.
★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★ Tengu Sneak
Ulvard was clearly not listening to Hisaki, and his strike go wide of the Captain. "Am I supposed to be impressed by this?" Conziva asks. Meanwhile the Athamaru shoots his crossbow twice at Clarence who is still in the longboat. ◈ ◈ Reload ◈ ★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★ Captain Conziva
The tengu sneak who oiled the floor in anticipation of this mayhem snickers, clapping at the pile up of Pathfinder bodies in the entryway.
"'Blackbeard has a black beard...' Wait. What does THAT have to do with anything?!" Conziva asks. One of the goblins calls down from the masts. "Ook! Captain, I think someone dropped that one too many times on the head." The goblin gives a thumbs up to Bláinn's comment, though. "Good one!"
Indeed. If anyone who feels the same hasn't already, please check out HMM's plea for more sanctioned Starfinder Society content! Thanks for posting the link, Squark! I remain hopeful!
HT moves, falls prone, and sends needle darts flying into... a bed? He does not have the actions left to restore Vermithor's mind. Vermithor manages to get across the greasy floor and strike the Tengu once with his axe, but the tengu ducks the flail. ★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★ Tengu Sneak
"Yarr... That's so typical! You see a woman professional, and you have to comment on her looks. Did Blackbeard get hair critiques? Did he?" Captain Conziva snarls.
Who Goes First?:
★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★ To his surprise, the Tengu Sneak finds himself first in initiative, and keeps shooting! He does one shot at Boris, who he sees behind Vermithor, but Boris is not on the oily floor yet.
Then he shoots Vermithor again, but misses!
Then he swaps for his sword. ★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★ Tengu Sneak
You decide that it is time to check out the next rooms - the day shift dormitory at . As Vermitor steps in, he notices two things. One... the floor is super greasy. Two... there is a tengu standing on one of the beds, shooting at him!
The tengu gets off one surprise shot!
Who Goes First?:
★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★ "Yarr, you murderers won't get me that easily!" Captain Conziva shouts! "I'll gut ye and avenge my crew!"
She demoralizes Ulvard while dodging Ulvard's clumsy attack and then does a Pike and Strike!
Both attacks hit! ★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★ Captain Conziva
The Eaglet looms above as the longboat approaches. Peering over the edge of the railing, a furious-looking nephilim woman with curling blue hair and horns glares down at anyone in the longboat, as does a goblin pirate atop one of the masts. From the top mast, a terrified baby gorilla wails like a human child. “How dare you!” Captain Conziva calls. “Wasn't it enough to thwart my plans? How much of my crew did you slaughter?”
Yeah, I've been fighting off a bit of depression, I think. I've been riding the trauma train for a month now. TW: Darkness:
I don't know if I mentioned that my library is two blocks from the site of a major school shooting. I could hear the shots. I knew the victims. I've been doing therapy, but I'm still dealing brain fog and nightmares. It's just been plain awful. But... I think I just need to get started again. So, let's launch you all into combat. I got the map ready a week ago and then stalled. I'm sorry about that. Hmm
The four of you - amazingly - manage to sneak past the two drunk and insensible snoring halflings. You move past the night shift dormitory back to a small room marked 'Accountant' on the wall in neat script.
Two plain wooden desks are crammed into this office. Built into the southern wall is a sliding door. The full incriminating records of the Golden League Cell's activities can be found in the storage area behind the sliding door. In tiny print, there are seventy years of every smuggled or stolen item or creature that has passed through these walls. One of the most recent entries notes the discovery of Bloodmoon, noting that the remarkable artifact would surely be worth thousands of gold pieces to the right collector in Goka, but that the boss seems unable to part with it. Hidden within her desk, the accountant squirreled away a spellheart smuggled from the forest, a thorn triad. When you come back out into the night dormitory, the two drunk halflings continue to snore, oblivious. What do you do next?
Venture-Captain Brackett blinks at Clarence's report. "Cannonballs?" Nairaba whispers, "That's not a ship assessment, Venture-Captain." Meanwhile, Kitsch grins and gives Clarence a thumbs up for the report, and then pauses to take notes. Then the Venture-Captain realizes what sort of cannonballs are being referred to, and groans. "Well, it's a good thing that you're not averse to being wet." Turning to the rest of the party, the Venture-Captain continues. “It sounds like you have had quite the time of it!” Brackett says. He raises an eyebrow in consideration and then gives the Pathfinder delegation an approving nod. “Well done. After all you’ve been through today, I hate to ask you to go out again. However, Lieutenant Starboard here believes that Captain Conziva has been spotted, holed up with a few of her crew in an unfinished ship called the Eaglet. Given that you were first on hand for the pirate attack, they’re giving you the honor of capturing the Captain.” Brackett pauses. “Handle this situation as you must, but I’d like to note that there is more than one way to build a fleet. Get Conziva to surrender if you can, because she and her crew could be a valuable asset for us. Even better would be if you could recruit her to join the Pathfinder Society in our coming fight against Cheliax.”
Having explored the training area, you decide to investigate the door just to the south of you, . It's closed but not locked. You open the door, and hear snores. There are two sleeping halflings sprawled out on two of the six beds, and on the floor are some empty sake bottles. Do you go in?
Today's going to be a bust as well. I'll catch you up tomorrow. There will be a response for Clarence tomorrow.
Today's going to be a bust as well. I'll catch you up tomorrow.
Nothing leaps out at HT and Vermithor in this empty little alcove. Weapons racks and two well-scarred practice dummies stand in this room. Vermithor spots a little bronze coin with a square hole and two carp engraved on it. GM Screen:
Rations has seen one of these coins before. These coins are tokens for the criminal organization known as the Golden League, a group reputed to be involved in open corruption, gambling dens, smuggling, protection rackets and organized crime activity.
Hey all, my crazy Wednesday is here. Updates later either late tonight or early tomorrow.
Rations takes out the bitey head, and once again ceramic pieces and gears clatter to the floor.
Havoc is very old and has issues at times with his gut where he makes us and himself miserable. He's a sweetheart, but I don't think we'll have him much longer. The medical issues keep affecting him.
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