I'm sorry to tell you this guys, but I gave it some thought and decided that I should end this game.
I've really enjoyed the time spent, but I don't feel like continuing it further. Now that I think about it, I should've started with something even smaller - a one-shot maybe, but not a full module as my first GM experience in PbP.
I welcome any critique you might have and if I will start any other game you'll be the first ones to know about it.
I'll leave the game active until weekend and then mark it as "inactive".
Thanks for your time and good luck in your current and future games!
I'll make a recruitment tomorrow or Friday. So, we're looking for a divine character and a roguish one. Or do you think the party balance is a myth? =)
Guughwa seems to be very pleased.
"Good. You find eggs north-west near big river."
The landscape along this bend in the northern river fork breaks up into dozens of small islands crowded with trees. Countless tropical birds roost in these islands, but one island hosts a large flock of mischievous coral capuchins.
You count almost thirty eggs, protected by three tiny pink creatures.
Kn. Arcana DC 16:
Coral Capuchin are a local breed of magical beasts that resemble playful, flying monkey-fish. They are naturally thieving little creatures, and waste no time in attempting to swipe shiny things from any explorers they encounter.
Although Coral Capuchin are amphibious creatures, extended time outside any water harms them, so they must regularly be either submerged in water or thoroughly wetted down.
Their bite bestows these qualities upon the victim.
Sorry for not posting, and sorry again, but I won't be able to post until Monday, at least - the part-time I took turned out to be quite time consuming. But that's just for two more days. Three max.
"A task?" she muses and her eyes spark. "Yes, I have task. You bring me twenty my favorite eggs - capuchin eggs - and I may give you cauldron you want."
"Very precious! Song'o not wanted to give it - it is enchanted. They said you can have weapon and set or armor enchanted for it. That's why I took it."
"Yes, Wise and Great I," Guughwa looks very pleased by your words and disregards that you don't speak her language. "I know much. I know Song'o, I have their cauldron. I not want return it, but I may trade. You sing for me - I beautiful and glorious. You give as many things this cauldron worth - I give it back. I grant you answers."
The creature displeased by your ignorance of her language, clicks her pincers.
"You not understand language? Why you come here see Great I?" she speaks in a gurgling accent.
When you enter the small cave you are meet by a strange creature, who you guess is Guughwa. She resembles a cross between a turtle and a crab, with flippers instead of legs, a red snapping beak, and two blue-red pincers. The rest of her body is mostly green and she wears a brown necklace around her whole body.
"ആർ ഗ്രേറ്റ് യുക്തിമാനും എന്നെ കാണാൻ വരുന്നു?" the creature gurgles looking at you and clicking her pincers and beak.
The path to the waterfall takes almost five hours and by the time you arrive the sun begins to set. You do not face any serious threat on your way to the Guughwa - which seem to confirm Zaahku's words about dangerous predators.
Five breathtaking cascades of water tumble over the twenty-foot-high, vegetation-covered cliffs surrounding the pristine pool. A mist clings to the water’s surface, thick with the scent of a dozen flowering plants. A pastel rainbow of eggshells litters one side of the pool.
Perception DC 14:
A small cave can be seen behind one of the waterfalls.
Kn. Nature DC 12:
There are eggs of more than 20 different bird and reptile species in the mess.
Kn. Arcana or Local DC 13:
Some of the eggshells come from coral capuchins — a playful magical beast. They also seem to be set aside in a place of honor.
Kn. Planes DC 20:
Tojanidas are bizarre natives from the Plane of Water that resemble mixes between monstrous crabs and enormous snapping turtles. Originally elemental beings of water, tojanidas were bound into their strange forms long ago for unclear reasons, and no longer know how they might eventually return to their pure and formless state. Determined to preserve their pride, the grotesque tojanidas ply the waters of the planes seeking hedonistic pleasures—especially culinary ones—and the adoration of other races. Loquacious when addressed with the proper respect, they make excellent heralds and emissaries for more powerful beings, and often enjoy posing as such even when operating on their own. When riled, however, tojanidas make fearsome opponents, violent and eager juggernauts with snapping jaws and clacking pincers.
Adult tojanidas are roughly 6 feet long and weigh several hundred pounds. When threatened, a tojanida can retract its limbs most of the way into its shell, which is an irremovable part of its body. The ring of eyes completely encircling the tojanida's shell along its rim makes the creature extremely difficult to catch by surprise. While tojanidas adore eating, as they find flavor and texture to be two of the most fascinating senses, they don't actually need to consume food, instead drawing sustenance directly from the currents of arcane energy all around them via the magic of their shells.
Blessed (some might say cursed) with extremely long racial memories, tojanidas wander the oceans and lakes of innumerable worlds, attempting to find unusual physical pleasures or conversation capable of distracting them from the insufferable ennui and apathy born of remembering their ancestors' experiences. Though the tojanidas themselves may not appreciate the burden of memory, adventurers and scholars often seek the use of a tojanida's recalled lore.
Satisfied with the answer, Zaahku nods.
"A tojanida lives upriver, beneath a grand waterfall," she begins. "She is a... strange outsider - adores coral capuchin eggs that nest to the north, for some reason. She calls herself Guughwa and while she is wise and knowledgeable, when she settled she demanded a toll from us. In exchange for letting us live in "her" river, she claimed my cauldron of brewing. Can you bring it back? I can't face her myself. But please, do not kill her. Since Guughwa settled there we haven't seen any dangerous predators around here."
"Communication between our people?" she scoffs. "Not a single time when outsiders promised us something we benefited from it. Only lost. And Song'o heard many promises and bargains for decades."
There is however a thoughtful look in her eyes when she continues.
"But you did save Muhdzuzi. And, if what you're saying is true, uncovered the truth of this attack on your fort."
"Perhaps if you offer concrete help, so I know that I can trust you, I might be willing to help you," she pauses. "Can you help me with a problem our tribe has?"
"I am Zaahku, the elder of this tribe. There is no one else," the elder introduces herself.
"Well, that is terrible," she continues. "And I am grateful for your bringing Muhdzuzi back, but the lizardfolk problem is outsiders' problem, not the Song'o. We survived alongside the Mireborn for centuries."
Also, Visruþ, here's the spellbook Jheri gave you and copying/reading rules.
Spellbook:
This locked (you have the key, of course) spellbook contains the following spells:
1st — alarm, comprehend languages, identify, magic weapon, unseen servant
2nd — minor image, protection from arrows, see invisibility, spectral hand
3rd — dispel magic, heroism, slow
Wizard Spells and Borrowed Spellbooks
A wizard can use a borrowed spellbook to prepare a spell he already knows and has recorded in his own spellbook, but preparation success is not assured. First, the wizard must decipher the writing in the book (see Arcane Magical Writings, above). Once a spell from another spellcaster's book is deciphered, the reader must make a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell's level) to prepare the spell. If the check succeeds, the wizard can prepare the spell. He must repeat the check to prepare the spell again, no matter how many times he has prepared it before. If the check fails, he cannot try to prepare the spell from the same source again until the next day. However, as explained above, he does not need to repeat a check to decipher the writing.
Spells Copied from Another's Spellbook or a Scroll
A wizard can also add a spell to his book whenever he encounters one on a magic scroll or in another wizard's spellbook. No matter what the spell's source, the wizard must first decipher the magical writing (see Arcane Magical Writings). Next, he must spend 1 hour studying the spell. At the end of the hour, he must make a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell's level). A wizard who has specialized in a school of spells gains a +2 bonus on the Spellcraft check if the new spell is from his specialty school. If the check succeeds, the wizard understands the spell and can copy it into his spellbook (see Writing a New Spell into a Spellbook). The process leaves a spellbook that was copied from unharmed, but a spell successfully copied from a magic scroll disappears from the parchment.
If the check fails, the wizard cannot understand or copy the spell. He cannot attempt to learn or copy that spell again until one week has passed. If the spell was from a scroll, a failed Spellcraft check does not cause the spell to vanish.
Writing a New Spell into a Spellbook
Once a wizard understands a new spell, he can record it into his spellbook.
Time: The process takes 1 hour per spell level. Cantrips (0 levels spells) take 30 minutes to record.
Space in the Spellbook: A spell takes up one page of the spellbook per spell level. Even a 0-level spell (cantrip) takes one page. A spellbook has 100 pages.
Materials and Costs: The cost for writing a new spell into a spellbook depends on the level of the spell, as noted on the following table. Note that a wizard does not have to pay these costs in time or gold for spells he gains for free at each new level.
Cantrips - 5 gp
1st - 10 gp
2nd - 40 gp
3rd - 90 gp
With take 10 on Spellcraft you can copy any of them without rolling.
You finally leave Pridon's Hearth and Muhdzuzi takes the lead as soon as you enter the jungle. Rain and wind are less severe inside the jungle, in exchange for damp, bugs and beasts. None of which luckily took interest in two-legged prey, except for the usual mosquitoes - but you got used to those.
Mdiway, ate least according to Muhdzuzi, you encountered a group of Song'o trappers, who at first didn't want to even talk to you and shot a couple of arrows at your feet, but after Muhdzuzi went ahead, they settled down and agreed to come along.
The settlement is built upon a particularly deep wetland, and you see that all of the huts are built atop bamboo stilts. Halflings living here seem to already know about you. They don't hide and welcome you, but nevertheless are suspicious of outsiders.
"Enkosi! Ndiza kubuya!" Muhdzuzi runs away into the village and returns in a ten or so minutes. "Mhlawumbi bekuya kuba ufile ukuba wena, ngoko ke nceda uthathe ezi."
He then thanks you once more and reunites with his friends, disappearing inside the village.
In about half an hour after your visit you see an elder halfling woman walking to you, accompanied by five warriors.
"Welcome, strangers. I see you've already made friends," she greets you in Common with a thick accent. "What brings you here?"
Polyglot:
"Thank you! I'll be right back!"
"I probably would be dead if not for you, so please take these."
Muhdzuzi's reward - a headband of inspired wisdom +2 and 4 potions of remove fear.
It is a simple holy symbol, there is nothing unusual about it.
"I like it no more than you, but what are the proofs? Gossips and words of an assassin - nothing more. And the note can be easily forged," Adaela helplessly shakes her head. "Yes, that was Hamsa's expedition."
"I didn't speak to Magdi much, but he was friendly and helpful," she remembers and ansewrs the second question. "Nothing. Just his usual things - clothes, an amulet, what little money he made."
"Not much, I'm afraid. I only know that Kanjo Arram was the apprentice of a cleric named Magdi Kukoyi who vanished during the recent expedition. The poor guy was penniless, away from home."
"It's my job," he answers indignantly. "I don't enjoy it like some psychopath. It pays well."
After one of you ran to Adaela's house and recounted everything, she soon appears at the scene.
"By Gods," she sighs. "That's awful."
She then asks that someone accompany her to the jail where she will write a report and order to clean up the bodies.
"It's a pity you didn't manage to save the poor man, but you did a great job nevertheless. You caught one of them. I'll interrogate him once more and decide what do with all of this tomorrow. You should rest now."
After a good night's sleep you meet Adaela to learn what her interrogation revealed.
"I'm afraid nothing more than he's already told you. And I'm afraid I' can't do anything at this point. Hamsa is the Count's close friend, I can't just accuse her without any evidence. Even with this assassin's testimony," she shakes her head.
The "guard" drops down on the ground, but Visruþ can see that he knows that the tiefling can't hear a thing.
"No need to be so angry, I like my life very much, that's why I surrender," he snickers at Trem, but starts answering his question nevertheless. "We're not just murdering people left and right, you know. We were paid - by Hamsa Gadd - to kill this youth, Kanjo Arram. No questions asked."
When you search assassins, aside from their equipment you find a sketch of Kanjo and a note. "Make it look like he left town."
Saurek:
You feel that he's telling the truth about them being hired by Hamsa, but you sense that he's not being completely honset about surrendering.
Dead thugs possessions: potion of cure light wounds, alchemist’s fire (2), thunderstone, mwk chain shirt, daggers (3), mwk short sword, forged guard badge, 64 gp - x2, except a thunderstone, since #1 throwed one at you. The one you question has the same equipment.
Also the sketch of Kanjo Arram and the note.
Trem's spell covers the ground with slippery grease but it doesn't hinder the two thugs, who continue to stand firmly. Moreover, the second thug manages to land a solid strike on Saurek, who is distracted by the dying man.
The "guards" flanking Sulia attack her one last time and, seeing as their associate has almost killed the bleeding man, run away.
The third guards finishes the bleeding man with a strike to the neck and joins the escape.
Your turn. There's a lot of AoOs to make. The Thug#1 gets an AoO from Sulia. The Thug#2 from Visruþ, Sulia, Sarari. The Thug#3 from Rekth. Sulia, remeber, that without Combat Reflexes you can make only 1 AoO per round.
GM Rolls:
[dice= "Guard" 2 Reflex save DC 15]1d20+5[/dice]
[dice= "Guard" 3 Reflex save DC 15]1d20+5[/dice]
[dice= "Guard" 2 Reflex save DC 10]1d20+5[/dice]
[dice= "Guard" 3 Reflex save DC 10]1d20+5[/dice]
[dice= "Guard" 1 Reflex save DC 10]1d20+5[/dice]
You remind me of my misses with a warblade I have in a DnD game I'm currently playing. I couldn't hit anyone for 3 years. Granted, it's a slow game and in those 3 years we had, like, a dozen combats maybe. I've only started to hit things during the last year. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure if that was supposed to cheer you up or depress you. :)
The assaulted man makes a run as far as he can, but the first "guard" makes a lucky cut and the man falls down. Next moment the third thug catches up and sticks his sword into the fallen man, who is now bleeding profusely and does not move.
The first thug also manages to land a strike on Rekth, leaving a deep cut. 7 damage for Rekth. His flanking buddy makes a successful lunge at Sulia, leaving her with an arm cut. 5 damage for Sulia.
Your turn. Sulia, you have an AoO against the 3rd thug.
Well, no diplomacy would have helped you in this case. Be it a even 30 or higher. Think about it - they're trying to kill a person. Would you allow a random person to just go past and check on that person? However persuasive they are? Sometimes dice and skills are not enough.
In response to Sulia's persistance, the guards pulls a stone from his pocket and calls his friends from the passage. The first "guard" then throws a stone at your legs, creating creates a deafening bang. Sarari, Sulia, Visruth are deafened. One of his associates runs up to help and both of them flank Sulia, but in his haste the second "guard" does not hit the target. Meanwhile, the third tried swings hes dagger at the man who called for help, but without any result for now.
Your turn. A deafened creature, in addition to the obvious effects, takes a –4 penalty on initiative and has a 20% chance to miscast and lose any spell with a verbal component that it tries to cast.
"No, no. Besmara is a goddess, and Aspis Consortium is a trade company," clarifies Adaela.
She answers any questions you might have, up until this enjoyable dinner eventually comes to an end. She wishes you good luck, and you leave her house, heading to the Stone Hall.
Walking through one of the streets you see a town guard standing in front of one of the passages between buildings. As you walk past him you hear a cry for help, quickly muffled.
Before the dinner starts she brings a bottle bottle of quality Eleder whiskey to accompany the meal.
Muhdzuzi, although does look a bit upset, actually seems to enjoy teaching someone his language.
Over the course of the dinner, Adaela tells you that she once was a holy warrior of Iomedae, leaving home to train in Eleder. For years she served her country, until one day her vows brought her face to face with her sister, who became a smuggler and major figure in Crown's End Besmara Cult. Adaela tried hard to redeem her sister, but to no avail. So, she forsook her vows, turned against her fellow soldiers, let her sister flee to the Shackles and then surrendered.
Given the circumstances, her sentence was lenient: enslavement to the Narsus family to compensate them for the goods stolen by the younger Praet sister. When Servius Narsus freed his slaves after bringing them to Pridon’s Hearth, Adaela used her training to help keep the peace, and the count eventually appointed her sheriff despite her previous lapse in judgment.
When the dinner is coming to an end, she asks you to listen to her warning.
"I don't think you've noticed yet, but Aspis Consortium has its own plans for Pridon's Hearth," she begins. "Hamsa Gadd knows much more than she is willing to tell about her expedition and if any member have survived, they could tell us a lot about the exact goals of the Consortium in this region."
She pauses for a moment, thinking about something and continues.
"You should talk to Kanjo Arram. His master was on Hamsa's expedition, I believe, so he's now looking for him."
Adaela describes you what he looks like and where you can find him.
Sulia, you know this without rolling.
Besmara (Kn. Religion DC 10):
Besmara, also known as the Pirate Queen, is a goddess most commonly worshiped by the sailor-folk of the Shackles or Ilizmagorti. She is said to captain her legendary ship Seawraith throughout the seas and waterways of the Great Beyond (especially the Maelstrom), making raids on places such as Hell, Elysium, Axis, and Heaven. Pirates don't tend to be a very religious lot, and generally only call on her on their death bed or if in extreme danger. Those few priests who do devote themselves to her, generally also are captains of their own raiding ships and have a fierce reputation. Her symbol is the jolly roger, a universal emblem of piracy, normally a white skull and crossbones on a black field.
Trem, Visruþ - you know this without rolling.
Aspis Consortium (Kn. Local or History DC 15):
Aspis Consortium is an unscrupulous multinational trade organization with a 200 years of history, based in Ostenso, Cheliax, but with interests in many parts of Avistan and Garund.
Most people see the Aspis Consortium, with its blank-and-white-sailed ships, as a diverse group of tradesmen and non-landed nobility with their own private army of mercenaries, hirelings, and cheap labor, who have no ties to any one nation. Due to Cheliax's decline in the Inner Sea region since the beginning of the Age of Lost Omens, which also lead to a severe downturn in Aspis profits, the corporation has had to become more aggressive, always trying to be the first to exploit a new resource or manufacture a need for an existing product. It also has had to diversify its interests from pure trade to becoming brokers and procurers of exotic and highly valuable items. This has increased its prestige with the nobility and the powerful who desire these goods, and most Aspis agents are given free rein by local governments to pursue their activities.
Their well-deserved good reputation for high profits and once-in-a-lifetime ventures, however, is balanced by increasing suspicions about their unscrupulous business practices. In the settled lands bordering the Inner Sea, the Aspis tend to maintain a pallor of respectability, but the farther one travels into the wild hinterlands, the more its agents' subtlety is replaced by open violence and cruelty.
"Jheri, you need to rest," she tells her brother and disappears inside. "You remember where the bed is right?"
"Of course I do, I've been here just a week ago," he answers weary, but turns to you before going into the bedroom. I haven't... properly thanked you, have I?
One armed man digs through his possessions and pulls out first a locked book and second a small bag with money.
"Here, take this. That's my father's spellbook and I think it will see better use in your hands."
"Jheri!" you hear a woman's yell.
"I'm coming, coming," the man finally comes inside.
Adaela appears few moments later.
"Thank you for helping him," she gives you a clinking bell. "Don't refuse, you deserved it."
"Now, would you like to eat? I don't want to brag, but I'm an excellent cook."
500 gp total and a spellbook. Visruþ, I don't see your known spells, only prepared. Do you have Read Magic?
With your help, Jheri gathers some of his belongings and, though still very weak, comes out of the house.
"I'm ready," he coughs.
You turn back to Pridon's Hearth and slowly walk back, with your new companion. The path takes more time with a sick person, so you arrive at Pridon's Hearth late in the evening. Jheri asks you to see him to Adaela's house, where he'll rest.
A short walk brings you to modest one-storied wooden house, not much different from many others in the town. Shortly after your knocking Adaeala Praet comes out and her eyes are immediately focused on her brother.
"Jheri! What happened?" she exclaims worriedly and invites everyone in. "Please, come in, no need to stay outside."
"Sick people should be treated, we can't just leave him by himself." "I know the basics - drink a lot of water or tea with herbs and don't move too much. Let the body heal itself."
Let's say he made his save yesterday and today is his second, at which he'll succeed (otherwise it might take forever). You can now leave him for himself, help him reach the town, even stay and cure him yourself if you want to. Or anything else you can think of.
Rekth's splashes the ooze, and Trem's acid spell along with Sarari's mace strike visibly damage the last ooze. It tries to retaliate, but Sarari dodges his pseudopods.
Your turn. Visruþ fails his stabilize check and thus has -4 HP. Trem - its AC is really low. You hit, so I rolled damage.
Both Trem's and Rekth's attacks hit their targets, sending ripples through slimes bodies.
The left slime pounces on the tiefling beating, grabbing and crushing him with its pseudopods. 22 damage. Visruþ is in -3.
The right slime retaliates to the dinosaur's headbutt with its own strikes, but none reach the target.
Your turn.
Visruþ - you already took an action when casting a spell and I assumed that "steps back" was a 5 ft. step. You can pull out your mace, but no step. I've returned you where you were, although even if you take that step the slime still reaches you, so it doesn't really matter. :)
Also guys, a reminder - don't forget to update your sheets. I remember Visruþ has new armor, but old AC in the heading. Not that it would've helped now.
Trem's attack makes a burn on the ooze, while Visruþ's strike does nothing but a squishing sound - the ooze just splits in two identical oozes, and then again when his electrical magic discharges. Now there are three oozes in the cabin. Rekth splashes into the original, spilling a considerable part of it.
The mindless oozes in their turn attack those closest to them. The original fruitlessly attacks Rekth, while the second and the third are getting closer to their prey.
Your turn. The map's on the 2 slide. Visruþ - well, it was worth a try. Saurek - I looked at pictures of Pachycephalosaurus and it makes no sense for that his Gore attack is piercing. He has almost no horns, so it will be bludgeoning.
As soon as both of you enter the cabin the poodle, which looked like a muddy puddle of water, begins to ball up into quivering brownish spherical shapes. The final result is sickly mass of protoplasm with long, dripping pseudopods that starts to slowly move towards you.
Your turn.
Here was a Kn. Dungeoneering check, but alas, none of you have it.
