Ossitha is generally in favor of burial, except in the cases of those killers who were truly horrendous.
You do notice that the blood appears to only have one set of footprints inside the pool of it. If this is a sign that all this was put together or if only one person hung the lad is unclear.
Also of interest, he the rope the boy is hanged by is not actually tied to the rafters, but wrapped about them with the end under one of the heavier pieces of furniture. The noose around his neck is also quite crude, and looks as though whoever tied it was somewhat new to the concept of knots.
The curious message seems to be crude with a crude tool, you imagine it might be difficult to get the precision to get curves easily. It's quite possible that the capital letters are merely a way to simplify the 'writing'. From the state of the corpse and the blood, you'd say whatever happened here occurred perhaps a week or so past. It's entirely possible the message was left before or after the corpse, though.
Hopefully you folks see this, but the second storm that hit us on the east coast knocked out our cable station. Thus I haven't had service for about a week, I hope you're all still keeping track of the threads, and if you read this please post something.
If any more of this kind of stuff happens I'm gonna tear my freaking hair out.
Sorry, had a bit of a surprise 'vacation' from the internet. Carrier 's building got damaged by the second bit of snow or something. I hope some of you folks are still checking the thread. I guess I'll find out sometime soon.
The smell grows stronger as you approach the back door. The rear entrance is unblocked and open, swinging back and forth slowly in the breeze. A horrid scent of decay and blood billows forth from the building, strong enough to gag anyone with a sense of smell nearby.
Fort save (DC12) or nauseated while in the building or near the back door
When the door opens, you can catch a glimpse a large amount of dried blood pooled about the center of the main room. Above the gore hangs a well-dressed corpse, seemingly in festival wear and dead from the noose around its neck. The poor soul used to be an older human boy, perhaps in his late teens. Across from him you see words carved into the furniture used as a barricade, the markings similar to those on the outer stone walls.
The message is curiously capitalized, and reads "ToNIghT Is youR TuRN".
Sorry for the wait on this one. Snowstorm knocked out our power, not to mention I had to spend a lot of the past couple days shoveling.
The other house is decorated in a much larger number of cuts across its face, especially around the doorway. The door, conversely, is pristine and tightly shut. From outside the house you can see furniture and supplies pushed up against the windows, presumably as barricades of some sort. The coppery smell of blood covers the area, though the outside looks relatively clean. A soft creaking noise emanates from inside, though the source is unclear.
The bird giggles like a small child and flies away. One of its tail feathers floats down onto the ground. It heads towards the great cloud of birds over the town.
The other door inside the house appears to lead to a closet pantry, though most of the food seems inedible. You notice a few things that might be considered heirlooms or valuables, but nothing of real monetary worth. You also notice a lack of weaponry and a distinct lack of defensive forethought put into the house's design.
The house looks unoccupied, and as though it has been for a while. A few tables and chairs are overturned, but the damage is rather minor compared to the exterior. It seems almost like the family that live here left in the middle of a meal, plates left uneaten. There is no outward sign of a struggle, which strikes you as quite odd given the exterior damage. It would seem quite ordinary were it not for the sundered door, rotting food, and layers of dust.
A raven lands on the shed near the house and gives a few horse squawks before uttering a quite haunting mimic of a human voice. "He's coming," croaks the creature, its head turning to the side in a curious manner.
You all notice a number of large cuts placed into the stone at odd angles. From a distance they looked simply decorative, but they prove to be quite deep. A great deal of time or force would probably be needed to make the gouges with typical tools. Small flakes of red line some of the edges of the cut. You have suspicions of what the material is, but it's generally too fine of particles to tell for sure.
The ground holds a scattering of fresh bootprints, possibly a day old or so. They look roughly human-sized and shaped, but something about them seems off.
A closer look in the doorway shows a large living space with a hearth, bed, water pump, kitchen, and other various necessities of life. A small door leads to another room. Most notable, though, is the two large pieces of the front door laying in the middle of the floor. They appear to have been cut apart with a horrible precision.
The house answers only with silence, save for the rattling of shutters against their windows as a soft wind blows. Something does seem odd at a glance, as hinges attach a thing strip of wood where the door should be. The place seems only disused for a brief period of time, the grass rising just above a normal human's shin (and just above Dieter's knee).
The smell of rotting food drifts from the doorway, adding to the undertone of abandonment. A small garden near the side of the house is filled with weeds and herbs left unharvested.
Perception checks at this point may reveal more to be found at the front of the house. Let's hope that Maz comes back, if not, I'll NPC him until the end of the adventure.
Sorry to hear that MoFiddy, I'll take control of Taerl for a little bit, and then remove him in a way that leaves you able to come back if things clear up for you.
Ok Eric, I'll put you in someplace where it doesn't seem too outwardly weird. Should be in a day or so, given the current pacing.
the house on the left looks a slight bit more primitive than its neighbor across the way, having only a single story and appearing to be missing a door. Opposite it stands a larger house, with a second story of only about half the size of the first. You spy a few bits of wood in some of the features, a sign of relative prosperity in the fairly treeless lands of Aracht.
Which of the homesteads are you guys going to try for first?
The birds are crows, and possibly a few ravens. They aren't messengers of Ossitha, but they are strongly associated with her thanks to their tendency to cloud over battlefields after combat. Even so, they mostly spend their time on the ground, picking through the dead, not flying above the field.
The trip to Dela Faroth is but four uneventful days long. A trek from the stony walls of the city, through the sown farmlands local to Kingsblood, and over the rolling hills of the outlying wilderness. Near the end of the second day, Dieter catches sight of a dark, winged shape in the sky, but it quickly proceeds west of your destination and is not seen again.
The outlying farms of Dela Faroth slowly come into view in the early evening of the forth day, accompanied by an unpleasant silence. Only the cawing of distant crows and crunch of hooves on dirt break the stillness. The farmhouses you can immediately see as you crest the hill look completely deserted, and not a single animal walks about the pastures. A slight chill pervades the spring air; and a vague tingling sensation crawls up your spine, as though you are being watched. The hills of Aract hide the village center from view, but a cloud of dark birds drift lazily above where you suspect it is.
Two stone farmhouses sit about 100 feet off either side of the road, along with barns and storage sheds. Off in the distance, just before the rise of the next hill, sits another farm house. Other than the lack of people and animals, nothing seems outwardly amiss.
Okay, strange question. When we purchased our abilities with pointbuy, what was the total points we had to purchase them with?
I seem to have a little problem with my ability scores. (Not really a problem, but a little skewed in my head.)
It was 20 point buy.
I do so apologize for not posting recently, I promise that tomorrow will feature at least some activity on my part, and possibly a lot. Technically I mean today. Sunday. BLARGH, too early! Or late! I'm tired! BLARGH!
Things might be a bit sporadic over the next few days. Grandfather decided to have a heart attack, so have been spending the week mostly around family. Don't worry too much, he's doing better, just wanted to make sure you weren't getting worried about the game not continuing.
I'll hopefully be able to post something later tonight, probably just the 'travel to town' and possibly town introduction.
The guards aren't actually talking before you approach, mostly they just seem to be standing quietly but bored. You get a slight impression the two don't really like each other that well.
The two nod slightly at Hagrym, one shrugs as he asks his question.
"That all depends. " Says the shorter of the two, lisping slightly, "Some dwarves like ponies, others horses. Any of this bunch are good though, they'nt combat trained, but they're trained enough not to spook at everythin',"
The other grumbles to himself slightly, but unhitches the horses and ponies for the group. A few children start to gather around the area, attracted by the animals and weird-looking people.
You only need ranks in Ride for the difficult stuff. No real problems for just regular travel.
The meeting place is also attended by a pair of young guardsmen, standing next to a number of respectable looking horses and ponies. Also among the number is a donkey loaded down with enough provisions to last quite a while. The animals are all well built, though they seem more bred for heartiness than any degree of show. The creatures seem to be almost indistinguishable from each other, each one nearly the same shade of chestnut. New tack and harness adorn the beasts, with plenty of bag space for any additional supplies.
The guards seem mostly bored than anything else, standing calmly by the steeds with little real interest in the duty at hand. You're almost certain they didn't even see you approach.
"Do feel free to leave and arm yourself, Mr. Trimn, I am sure the others are eager to get going as well, though I do feel I need to explain the terms slightly."
"I am not offering you a total bounty of 2,800 gold pieces for the danger you may face, Mr. Stolzdorf. That is the amount I am willing to pay you apiece. Unless the market for weaponry has experienced a great influx of demand, I do hope that would be more than a simply masterwork weapon. I am certain I can arrange for transportation and provisions. While as for the paperwork, my clerks have already drawn up the proper forms."
He produces a small packet from a desk drawer and slides it forth, smiling slightly in his humorless way.
The dog munches further on his bone, big brown eyes staring at the group. He seems to focus a bit more on Talos than the others, his tail noticeably stops thumping on the floor when he does so.
"Mr. Taerl, if I were aware of the problem enough to answer that question, I would have sent a slightly more specialized group to deal with exactly the problem at hand. As it stands, I can only hope that the community has been abandoned due to those living there coming into a great deal of money. It is a hope I do severely mistrust the chances of, however."
"As for your purpose there, I wish for you to take care of whatever problem has arisen there to the best of your ability. If a small army has materialized at Dela Faroth, or some other problem of similar scale, your mission will only be to report back to me with your findings. If it is something you feel you can handle, please do so."
"Payment shall be in gold, and proportional to the effort you are forced to expend. I am willing to put forth 200 pieces each simply for the effort of going forth and discovering... whatever it is that may be discovered. If you are able to deal with the problem, I am willing to give up to an additional 2,800. This, of course, shall scale down if the task put before you is a rather simple one."
I finished her BG, let me know what you think about it.
Thanks.
Seems decent enough, not terribly sure if you'll get to use it, though. I might be able to bring you in on the next adventure-thing, depending on how well the group does.
I apologize for not posting in the main thread today but I have a serious migraine, so I can't really think too easily right at the moment. Might be able to if I can get my hands on some advil or something later tonight, but I doubt it.
Inaris answers quickly, after only a brief pause to confirm that Dieter is finished.
"Usually the traffic is little more than grain shipments and a small number of trading caravans. The caravans have modified their route to bypass the area, due to rumors of it being dangerous. I'm unsure if there is much merit to the rumors, as none of them seem able to specify why it is dangerous."
"My messenger was fairly well trained at the art of stealth, but was not the most efficient of combatants. I sent him before I had heard of the traders shunning the area, so I do not believe he went equipped for any real danger. I do hope that he remains alive, but I am hesitant to thing the lack of communication is due to benign reasons."
"Dela Faroth has had bandit problems in the past, but infrequently, and they generally left the actual farmers alone. The animals in the area are the typical rabbits and the like, though I believe some giants have migrated from the Black Spires area to near Dela Faroth. We haven't had trouble with them, but it's always possible they are our cause."
"While I suppose if could be one of the dragons from Lake Dragge, I find it somewhat unlikely that one could travel that far without being noticed by anyone whatsoever."
He slightly raises an eyebrow and motions with his hand for any further questions.
Inaris smiles thinly at Taerl. The expression is not hostile, but has a certain coldness to it.
"I fear that you'll have to go with that question unanswered. At least for the current time being."
He listens carefully to Maz, and nods softly.
"Very well, I suppose questions can wait until the task is explained. My city is currently in a state on the brink of peril, although it is a disaster that will not affect it until next season. There are methods by which I can mitigate the damage, but as of yet I have been unable to ascertain the extent of the danger."
He pauses momentarily and procures a small portfolio of papers from his desk.
"To the north of the city is a rather large farming community, Dela Faroth, that provides the city with a great degree of its staple crops, most of which is procured by the Council of Thirteen from the local lord as payment in exchange for training of his bodyguards and other services of a similar bent. But a couple of weeks ago all contact was lost with the area, and even my own messengers have failed to report back from the region."
"I am put in the strange position of not knowing what is happening in a place that supplies a large portion of my city of half a million with most of their food. You can imagine how poorly this will go over with the portion that will be unable to eat while the rich, I am sure, will have little trouble in finding even the rarest of delicacies."
"As I have little intelligence of the area, I have no choice but to send a group of diversely skilled operatives such as yourselves to find what is wrong and attempt to set it correct again."
He gives the group a long, hard look, apparently done with his end of the conversation at the moment.
The gnome looks at Talos for a brief moment, then appears to consider that it isn't the weirdest thing he seen and bits the pair to follow him up to the Lord Mayor's office.
"I believe, Mr. Trimn, we are waiting for Mr. Taerl and his associate, who have just appeared at the door. I have been informed that the other whom I approached with this offer has...declined. Most unfortunate, but I am certain you will be able to succeed without their assistance."
"Please do sit everyone, I do believe there is much to discuss. Mr. Shedenha, please do shut the door."
The gnome bows slightly and closes the door behind Taerl and Talos.
"Now, before I give you the information about the task I have for you, are there any questions I might answer for you?"
A humorless voice sounds out from beyond the door. It barely raises above conversational tones, but is heard as easily as if the door was not there.
"Please do enter, My. Trimn."
The man at the window turns around slowly, revealing a slightly receding head of black hair with an accompanying thing black beard. The man's eyes are cold dark pits; if those eyes were to stare down a dragon, if would hardly be surprising. Despite the Lord Mayor's somewhat fragile appearance, he radiates an aura of menace. No the active, brutal anger of a tavern brawler, but rather the cold, calculating menace of a man who surely knows far more than any one person should. He slowly takes a seat behind the desk, moving with a slow efficiency.
"I do hope that this is not the entirety of those who wish to attend. I grow so concerned when people do not show for these meetings. The city can be so very dangerous for those unused to its streets."
Inaris's voice contains very little emotion, such that it is difficult to gage if he is expressing concern or making an oblique threat.
The dog continues to crunch away happily at the bone, eyes watching Kalathas briefly.
"Would you prefer to wait for a bit longer? I have made sure that you are my last appointment for the day, as dealing with such varied groups of people as this tends to be on a difficult to predict timeline."
The gnome directs the group directly upstairs and back towards the front of the building, where and imposing set of wooded double doors stand. They open to reveal a somber office distinctly out of character with the rest of the building. Dark wood paneling covers the walls, along with a wide array for filled bookcases. The floor is a thick carpeting rather than the stone of the halls and open rooms you passed to get here. Near a set of large, open windows is a large, clean desk with only a few papers and an inkwell on it. A number of elegant and simple chairs are laid out facing the desk, they look just comfortable enough to sit in for a few minutes.
A large crunching noise distracts you attention to a large dog sitting near the unlit fireplace on a small rug. The bone in the creatures mouth seems to be keeping most of its attention, though its rather intelligent eyes do briefly glance at you. The brown and white fluffy creature thumps its tail on the ground slightly, long snout grinding in a rather unnerving manner against the offending treat.
The tall, thin man standing at the window clears his throat, and you could swear he wasn't standing there looking out at the city before just now. He wears a brown coat that touches the floor, and stands with his hands interlocked over a silvery cane. He speaks with a dry, confident voice without turning to face you.
"Mr. Stoldorf, Mr. Hagrym, Mr. Ak'Varrim. It is pleasant to see you accepted my offer to see me, and that you are early. I do apologize for my dear Camfod's gnawing, but he rather insists on it. Please, have a seat. I can imagine you have some questions, though I would rather wait to answer most of them until any others who chose to take me up on my offer arrive."
Yeah, I suspect it's probably just not being able to post often, but if it's not enjoying the game or something of that sort, I'd prefer knowing. You folks also seemed to be getting tired of the current scene, so I sort of pushed ahead.
Mostly just want to see if it's something where I'll possibly have to take control if we get into combat, or if he can post more often, but is just a bit bored with the current bit that's going on.
The glistening diamonds of night fade slowly into the bright topaz star of day, the blue spring sky bringing with it only a few whispering winds for weather. The signs point to a brilliant day in Kingsblood, one to well follow the night shared by the group.
The Grand Offices of the city government do not bode as well. The positively enormous building is a remnant of King Hetarax's rule, and was previously his living space on the castle grounds. The King apparently enjoyed having a great variety of places to store his things, as several large taverns could easily sit inside the building with enough room for a sizable pool. Or possibly a very small lake. The massive stone building is faced with grand sculptures on every pillar and in great friezes near the many roofs. The grand double doors are similarly decorated, though no particular piece of sculpture seems to be of the same style or subject.
The armored guards stand at the open gates and eye you suspiciously as you approach, but don't stop you. The well-oiled front doors open easily, revealing a ridiculously large entry hall that seems almost carved from various types of marble. Seated awkwardly near the front is a large oaken desk that seems comically undersized given its surroundings. The older gnome gentleman sitting behind is looks almost like a miniature in comparison to the room.
MoFiddy, are you busy in real life, this not really interesting to you, or just not a frequent poster?
I'm willing to deal with whatever you throw at me, I've just been sort of holding back the speed of the game to let you get into it a bit and want to know what to do. I'm gonna assume for now that your guy just had some trouble finding the place, so he got there later and had a nice meal mostly to himself. The waitress told him some things about the others, but nothing too specific.
I'm fast forwarding for now, mostly since it seems everyone else wants to move on.
Eisha slowly rounds her way about the tables, holding a large platter filled with a great deal of delicious trifles. She smiles wanly as she places the tray nearby and begins handing things out.
"Sorry about the wait, they hold back the waitresses any times something like that happens. It's not often, thankfully, but some of the nobles have a bit of a temper. Gren likes to keep us safe, thank the gods."
The Griffon Beak looks somewhat vaguely like an upside down raptor beak made out of thick chocolate and filled with a reddish cake that oozes slight amounts of cherries. The top is sprinkled with small bits of shining silvery particles of incredibly fine sugar.
The most expensive item, ordered twice by Dieter, ends up being a set of four small candies that look for all purposes as though they are made out of gold and platinum. Scattered about the top are tiny bits that appear as though carved from much larger gemstones.
All the dishes are arranged in a fabulous fashion, with little touches that change them more pieces of edible art than desserts.
"Anything else I can get you gentlemen?" The young dwarven lass smiles brightly, though her eyes can be seen to flicker once or twice to the various delicacies spread about.
"Don..don' you use that...that elf shpeek on us...elf." Exclaims one of the swaying nobles behind the leader.
"Shut up, Simol, I'm doin' the... talkin'." The dark haired leader glares at the other behind him when he speaks, stumbling a little as he sways back to face the elf. He seems either unable or unwilling to perceive anything other than the half-elf. His eyes are ablaze with unfettered hatred when they rest on Kalathas.
"An' as fer you. You're a threat to everyone, a quick death'd be too good fer ya." He pauses briefly, as though it were an incredible threat, "We're too good men to kill summun' in the middle of a fine place like this...even if it's a pointy-eared bastard. Let'sh go."
"But-"
A quick glare silences the protest, and the four stumble outside. A disappointed quiet follows them, and conversation slowly resumes.
Kalathas, Hagrym, Talos:
Something seems distinctly off about the four young bucks. Nothing you can put your finger on quite easily, though. You get a vague feeling that the entire thing was more for the room than for you.
There is the unmistakable sound of a chair being scratched against the floor in just the tone that is looking for trouble. The sound repeats three times more and is followed by the curious silence that accompanies particular forms of improvisational entertainment normally found in much lower class establishments.
Four bodies of young bucks lurch to a stop nearest Kalathas, swaying slightly and giving off the scent of a rather large distillery that specializes in extremely fine liquors. The lead noble, slaps a hand in a feeble attempt at appearing threatening on the table. If in the proper state to actually unfurl himself, the human lad would perhaps be a towering dark hair menace. In his current one, he manages to look more clumsy and quite red about the face.
"Yeah...elf." Even intoxicated, the word carries a heavy threat, "Wossa little man said. You plannin or takin' all uz? I 'on't take to freaks threatenin' real people..."
The words drop off with menace from wavering, beady eyes. The boys behind him cross their arms, their attempt to appear tough hindered slightly as one of their number stumbles from standing and half crashes into a barstool.
Eisha sits there, a bit stunned from the complete lack of fear displayed by the group. The first few seconds must have consisted of her wits scattering to the far corners, as it takes several long seconds for her to reclaim them. Even after she gathers her senses, the young dwarf stutters slightly as she reads off the desert menu.
The list is quite long and includes quite a few delicacies, including Chocolate-Covered Rellan Squid Egg and Helonth Griffon Beak (which, as the shaken waitress notes, has nothing to do with either griffons or beaks). The list also includes a large selection of dessert liquors.
Some grumbling comes from the table of young buck nobles, and a quick visual check shows a growing number of empty wine bottles piling up on the center of their table.
Their waitress passes by to refresh their drinks, and seems to become excellently skilled at just happening to overhear the situation. Her voice is a bit hesitant, as though she's not too terribly sure she should be speaking up.
"W-well, if I were you I'd be runnin' outa town."
"Eisha," calls over one of the two barmen, "don't be trying to scare them off, they're not the type to be frightened easy."
The dwarven woman grumbles a bit and leans in towards Hagrym's a bit to whisper.
"I hear that most of those Lord Inaris calls for never end up coming back. Mesha told me that she's hear he's a vampire, too."
The bartender nearest Kalathas chuckles softly and slides the half-elf's money back to him. The smile he flashes is obviously a little forced, but it isn't the worst fake smile Kalathas has seen directed at him.
"Don't worry sir, you're covered by the Lord Mayor with your piece of paper. What would you like to drink?"
The food and drink has thus far been nearly miraculous in its quality, the flavors of each striking you taste buds so that they leave you just short of stunned. The chef is clearly a master of their trade, and the wine and mead have been chosen with by someone who knows well what they are doing.
The room begins to fill with customers, ones possessing of enough money to know how to ignore you in the most insulting manner possible. The staff seem ecstatic to focus more on you than the high class custom.
Maz Ak'Varrim:
While not much seems too out of the ordinary in the Stag, a number of young nobles in a very conspicuous spot do glance over at the half-elf and begin to whisper amongst themselves.
You can't hear quite enough of their conversation to make out exactly what's going on amongst them, but you're quite certain they begin to focus on the loud half-elf when he arrives.
I'll note that I'm still here and watching the thread, but I will probably intervene very little in the first scene until either tomorrow or when everyone checks in. Feel free to keep going with it, though.
I wanted to bounce a char concept off you and see how it will work in your world.
Half-elf female rouge/sorcerer w/infernal bloodline, haven't decided on class breakdown yet, spells will be enchantment/utility, nothing flashy. Alignment will be neutral at best, bue to the elvish/infernal taint. Obviously disguise will be her skill focus feat, he he.
Thoughts, comments, suggestions?
It would work well. Technically, elves prefer the Fey sorcerer bloodline (they're descendants of a peculiar breed of fey who switched between seelie and unseelie depending on the phase of the moon), but the infernal would work just as well. I'd suggest focusing more on the rogue, as the current party is fairly heavy on spell-casters. Although, that may just be my intense enjoyment of rogues speaking.
The Stag has changed in far more than name, shifting from a middle-class inn of moderate means to one of the most upscale restaurants in the city. Tables made of richly inlaid wood scatter across the large first floor, lit by dim chandeliers of multi-colored, magically enhanced crystals. Soft music wafts over the diners, provided by a quite talented local bard. Mingling with the harp and quiet lyrics are smells of decadent and exquisitely prepared meals; the dishes that emerge from the kitchen are tiny pieces of paradise plucked from far and wide across the continent.
Hagrym and Dieter are both momentarily stopped at the door by a hulking Jocab, who lets them in after a brief flash of their letters. Hagrym is immediately lead to a comfortable table that seems to be one of the best in the house. A bonny young dwarvish lass arrives relatively quickly to ask if he would like anything to eat or drink.
Dieter is allowed by the staff to head to the bar, where the pair of human bartenders take his order. The taller of the two challenges the halfling to try and ask for something that might be a challenge. The other snorts, and points to the table where Hagrym sits, "That, my good sir, is the table we were called to reserve for you. If you would enjoy spending the night at the bar, we would be most glad for your company. It does get rather tiring dealing primarily with the young nobles most of the night."
Hammith, when or if Hagrym finds someone in the party he can trust who might be able to use the wand, he is going to try and persuade them to mage armor him when possible.
Perfectly reasonable, was just making certain. We all have brain farts, but I'd hate for such a costly mental flub so early in the game.
Game is in motion, barring any surprise appearances by Deranged, Stardust shall be our 5th.
Two questions before the link:
AlQahir, you gave Maz about starting gold, give or take. You're free to give away pretty much all of the 3,000 you're allowed to spend, but I don't find players often that altruistic. Would you like to take the extra gold?
Gerald, why does your monk have a wand of mage armor, but no UMD or way of really using it? You're free to buy it, I'm just making sure you didn't buy it while planning another character or something.
Kingsblood, the massive capital city of Aract. Named for the violent overthrow of the last king of the nation, the city has only borne the moniker for the past 40 years. During those years, it has transformed from one man's personal palace and castle to a metropolis housing nearly half a million people of an incredible number of races and occupations. The transformation has taken place under the guidance of one man, the Lord Mayor Inaris. A man surrounded by more rumors than should rightly follow even a man in his powerful position.
While Inaris is not the reason for your visit to the city, his influence is quickly noticed. Each of the five of you receive a letter in a black envelope, sealed with white wax in the shape of an embossed letter "I". The letter is handed to you by a guard captain, who leaves with haste as soon as the letter reaches your hand. While sealed, the letter may be easily opened, and is individually written in florid script to the recipient.
Letter Contents:
I, the Lord Mayor Inaris, wish to congratulate you on finding your way to my fair city. More than that, I wish to speak with you about a grand opportunity to aide the city. The rewards of this visit will be quite substantial should you choose to accept the duty I bestow upon you. If this offer interests you, find your way to the Grand Offices at the center of the city tomorrow four bells after noon. As it is fully the largest building in Kingsblood, I do not think the endeavor shall tax you unduly.
It should be noted that I have sent a quite similar notice to five others of similarly notable talents that you may be interested to meet. If you were to wish for a place to meet with each other tonight, I would suggest the Guilded Stag. This letter should allow you to enter and eat your fill without the banality of exchanging coin.
Yes, I'll be making the first post later tonight, I guess. I'll be making a few checks of your characters beforehand, to make my own cheat-sheets and check for anything strange. Generally that'll just be me rolling a 1 on my basic math or knowledge (D&D) skills, so don't get too worried if I bring anything up. There won't be much in the way of combat for a while, so we can work out anything of that nature in good time.
I've got a bit of a busy week, so I'll give deranged until the end of Thursday. We'll be starting with or without on Friday. Feel free to use the time to write up some background, make any changes you want, or just go fishing.
Might be some more background info coming for the starting city (leaning mostly towards Kingsblood at the moment). If anyone have any requests for any sort of info, I'd be happy to provide.
Yes, rolling for your Eidolon is just fine. It's basically another character anyway.
Everyone looks fine so far, though I worry that Deranged has gone poof. He was the Cavalier, meaning we may be lacking a dedicated tank. It's something we can work around, but perhaps he just took a long weekend.
Sorry I've only just replied, reformatting my computer took FAR longer than I had expected. Damn you Windows updates!
What are some of the major languages used in the setting? I'm picking bonus languages for high Int and I'm doubting the usefulness of Gnoll...
Well, aside from the ones in the PFRPG book, there are a couple unique ones.
Galaf - Language of an ancient, fallen civilization
Helonth - Language of a far off land of mystics
Slazu - Language of the undead kings of Morteya
Jocabi - Replaces Orc Language
Useful ones from the PFRPG include
Draconic - Lake Dragge is home to a large number of dragons. While many are violent, their vanity can be used against them. However, they tend not to be please with languages other than their own.
Goblin - The goblinoids contantly war amongst themselves and the giants in the Black Spire Mountains. While not outwardly hostile to outsiders, knowing their language can sometimes resolve awkward moments with a sword to your throat.
Giant - For much the same reason as Goblin, though it is less useful as giants tend to smash things before asking questions.
Gnoll - Gnolls tend to be rather mercenary, so it's useful if you're looking for a guide or hired muscle.
Sylvan - Fey are present in most of the forests around Aract, though they tend not to show themselves unless the wish to make trouble.
Undercommon - Drow and Duergar aren't often hostile to surface dwellers, and trade with them when there are easy passages to the surface. They are typically much more difficult to find, though. If you were to find some, this language might be necessary to talk with any of them.
The Planar languages are used for much the same reasons and are about as useful as normal.
Fel Morath, the Law of the Pack LG Major Deity Symbols: Golden Wolf's Head, Silhouette of a Howling Wolf, Four Crossed Longswords, Wolf's Paw Above a Yellow Rose
Other Names: God of the Hunt, Wolf-Lord, Lawmaker, Justice, Executioner, Jailer, and Righter of Wrongs
Portfolio: Justice, Wolves, Hunting, Preservation of Society's Good and Order
Dogma: Follow the rules of society, so long as those rules are good and just. Face the consequences of any wrongdoing you commit. Usurp the true tyrants, defend the benevolent leaders.
Fel Morath is a god of supreme and uncompromising justice, who tasks himself with bringing those that go against society's rules their due. His creed is based much on the self-governing aspects of a pack of wolves, where those best able to rule do so and those that can overthrow them do, or suffer the consequences for failing to do so. Yet he cannot stand the tyrants that fail to care for their own people and force others to do their work for them. While he cares for all justice, it is cruel leaders and those that commit the foulest crimes that Fel Morath concerns himself most with. To these he deals out swift and terrible justice, sending his followers to execute them and to forever have the crimes they committed be perpetrated upon them.
During the few times he appears to mortals, Fel Morath has been seen in two forms. The first and most common is a gigantic golden wolf, nearly twenty feet tall and with softly glowing red eyes. In this form many have described him as having a wreath of yellow roses draped over his neck. His other form is that of a terrible and enraged knight covered in shining plate armor, wielding twin longswords that glow with a golden light.
The Worg Knights
Chief amongst Fel Morath's followers are the illustrious Worg Knights. Purveyors of justice and slayers of tyrants, each Worg knight is amongst the most well trained warriors in existance. Each Knight is also aided by a massive, incredibly intelligent wolf known as a Worg. These creatures are not pets, and serve as equals to the Knights in all matters of the order. It is said that to kill either Knight or Worg is to grant all the fallen's strength to the survivor, who becomes a being possessed with vengance for their fallen comrade.
I don't want to be bothersome, but I just noticed Fel Morath (don't know why I skipped over him to begin with), I think this is the deity I will go with as long as this fits with Jocabi in your world. Honestly I was looking through the deities by alignment and weapon since I only get profficiency with the weapon of choice of my deity. Unless Jocabi gain profficeiency with Falchions like half-orcs do, in which case it doesn't matter.
Yep, still have the greataxe and falchion proficiencies. Fel Morath is one of the deities I have the most information made up for. I can give you plenty of it if you actually want to make a character devoted to him. Worship of the different deities is mostly based on region rather than racial heritage, the ones I've provided are simply the ones common to Aract and friendly neighboring countries.
Could the small vials used to create alchemist bombs be used for sling ammunition? Since creating a bomb is a move action and loading a sling does not take an action (similar to notching an arrow) it could still be prepared and thrown in the same round. It would increase the range but use a normal attack rather than a touch attack. Seems like a fair trade to me. Has anyone seen this asked anywhere? What do you think?
I haven't seen it before, but it seems like a fair idea, so long as it loses the AOE damage portion of the bomb. More of a single target thing, useful in certain circumstances. I would probably rule a reflex save on it you roll a 1 for your attack roll, or risk it blowing up in your space.
