Illessa's page

I'd like to cancel my Battles subscription please

There's a fantasy RPG currently looking for funding on Kickstarter called Conclave which is heavily inspired by tabletop (it feels very like 4e to me, though others disagree). It's an asynchronous multiplayer game played entirely in the browser, so it's great for just setting up a party with friends and firing off your turns and some chat banter during coffee breaks.

There's an open beta currently running at http://www.playconclave.com and I've been having a lot of fun with it, so thought it might be of interest :). It's very early days so the quests are short and there's no character customisation other than class & race, but the HTML5 interface is pretty slick, the writing is decent, there are various decisions over the course of a quest that the party can vote on that affect how the battles are set up, and the fights can get nicely tactical.

Could I cancel this order of a print copy of We Be Goblins please? My FLGS got hold of a second kit for Free RPG Day +1 since the first was so successful and I snagged a copy second time around :).

Yesterday I received my April subs shipment (#1383048). Unfortunately my March shipment (#1361672) still hasn't arrived, despite shipping on the 18th of March. The April shipment was a little faster than usual, but 2 1/2 weeks is a pretty typical time for me. I think the longest I've ever waited is a little over 3 weeks, so I'm worried my March shipment is lost.

Is there any chance of a replacement?

(Disclaimer - I'm horribly biased since I know the author but thought this was worth posting)

This weeks Monday Monster over at Kobold Quarterly, the Pallid Herald, is well worth a look if you're running Seven Days to the Grave. It exists to spread disease and makes for a perfect servitor of Urgathoa, so I was thinking of using it as a handy PFRPG replacement for the Leukodaemon or a late-on sidequest if the party is short on XP.

Thanks to the Kobold Quarterly blog for bringing my attention to this, DriveThruRPG are currently offering an utterly astonishing bundle of over 150 pdfs generously donated by publishers from systemless games to OGL/PFRPG/4e 3PP products to WorldWorksGames kits. In total the pdfs are worth over $1000.

The whole thing is yours for $20, all of which will be donated to Médecins Sans Frontières to help in the relief effort in Haiti, and if you want to give more, then there's the option of donating in $5 or $10 increments which DriveThruRPG will match in a donation of their own (over $5000 has already been raised by gamers via these donations alone).

The bundle can be found here. Thankyou so much to OneBookShelf and all the publishers involved for their incredible generosity, giving us an amazing product in exchange for donating to such a worthy cause.

Can anyone think of an alternative to the Harrow Deck of Many Things to reward the party for bringing Zellara and Venster to their final rest? The problem is that I don't think the deck will be fun for me or my party, whilst I really enjoyed reading about the HDoMT, it's far too unpredictable for my tastes as a GM (even if I remove the craziest ones I'd still need to leave in loads that are unbalancing, a pain to adjudicate or introduce distracting sub-plots at the end of a campaign just to make a decent-sized deck). I also don't think my players will particularly enjoy it, their characters are a smart, relatively cautious group, and drawing from a DoMT isn't a smart move, even with a free redraw; a couple of them might draw a card if they were in a particularly reckless mood, but I doubt it, two of them definitely won't.

Anyway I've been wracking my brains trying to think of something suitably cool to give them that fits the scene as I quite like the way it ties things off neatly, and I'm coming up blank, any suggestions?

My group have just finished Skeletons of Scarwall and before they head back to Korvosa they're intending to go back to the Storval Plateau to contact the Sklar-Quah and try to enlist their help in igniting rebellion and/or deposing the queen. They got just about as many respect points as it was possible to get in History of Ashes (despite the conjurer and favoured soul being bare-faced cheats during the trial of the totems) and they're willing to negotiate as necessary. Obviously they aren't able to give Korvosa back to the Shoanti, and they can't return the Fangs of Kazavon as they've already determined where they're going, so they're intending to offer:

• A guarantee that the Midnight's Teeth will be guarded in a secure location (they're going to Celestia as part of the payment for a Planar Binding)
  
• Unrestricted access to the city as long as they respect Korvosan law
  
• A place on the ruling council for Sklar-Quah representatives from outside the city (once the queen is deposed they're going to try to set up a council of community leaders including representation for the Chelaxian, Korvosan, Varisian and Shoanti population, with Neolandus Kalepopolis chairing with the tie-breaking vote. They're also considering having the council democratically elected, although that's mostly so they can appeal to Andoran for aid getting set up)
  
• The palace and pyramid would be given back to the Quah to guard and control
  

The party are well liked in the city (they really went above and beyond in 7DttG) and they're in regular Sending/Dream contact with Neolandus, Vencarlo, Cressida and Trinia (who accompanied the party throughout HoA, but went back to Korvosa in SoS in the hope that she can be a rallying figure and symbol of defiance for the resistance), so would they be willing to go along with this idea? What would the Sklar-Quah's response be? If they do agree, what would they be willing/able to do?

I've got a fair idea of what's going to happen next week, but I'd quite like to hear other people's opinions on the situation, as I admit, they kind of blind-sided me with this one :).

So we've already seen a few examples of this (in the "Interesting Resolution at All The World's Meat" thread), It seems this AP encourages some real innovative thinking beyond "Kick down the door", possibly due to the urban setting. So I thought a thread for people to compile interesting resolutions to the situations in the AP that come up in their games could be quite cool.

My party (Campaign Diary here) completely circumvented the Shingles Chase by sending Majenko (whom they'd "bought" from Devargo by bluffing madly to persuade him that the Raktavarna silver dagger was fabulously valuable) ahead to communicate with Trinia telepathically through the window in order to persuade her that they just wanted to talk and they'd smuggle her out to Trails End disguised as a Varisian woman to escape the mob. Who wouldn't trust a group of people who hang out with a very friendly, happy and well-fed pseudodragon? :D

Anyone else?

If anyone happens to feel like posting comments then cool, I'd really appreciate them, but please put plot related stuff behind spoiler tags. I'm going to send links to my players so I'd like it if they didn't get horribly spoilered, thanks :).

I finally ran my first session of Crimson Throne this afternoon, characters are fully detailed in the CotCT groups thread, but in brief:

Cyrus, Human Male NG Conjuror 1
Kendra, Human Female CG Urban Ranger 1
Mara, Varisian Female LG Fighter 1
Sunstep, Gnome Male NG Favoured Soul 1

GM Note: This is a sexy party! All Charisma 14 bar Sunstep who has a 16, though saying that, Mara is the only conventionally attractive one, Cyrus is rather more "intense" than attractive having the whole emaciated look of someone who has just come out of cold turkey, Kendra is kind of scrawny, but comes across as smart, well-spoken and scrubs up nicely when she's playing the noble. Sunstep is more the irrepressible kind of charismatic. Their combat capability is... interesting, Mara is the only one really capable of going toe to toe with anyone as she's built as a Falchion specialist Power Attack monkey, Kendra is an archer and will be taking Scout levels, Sunstep is built as a caster rather than a buff-and-tank so has a Str of 10 and Con of 12, and Cyrus is a Conjuror locked out of Enchantment and Necromancy with a Str and Con of 10 (eep) intending to do the whole chess master thing of summons, benign/baleful transpositions etc.

I was going to write up some quick descriptions here week by week, but Cyrus' player has written an in-character diary, so I figured posting those up with GM comments (some behind spoiler tags if it's long-term plot musings or something the players don't know for sure in character yet) would be far cooler. He makes no promises that he'll keep it up, and I'll probably take over for combat heavy sessions, we'll see.

So Cyrus' background (partly because it's cool, mostly so the first entry makes sense, I'm paraphrasing since I don't have a written copy, but I'll have him look it over to make sure it's all correct). Cyrus was born to Daniven and Loranna Zol, members of wealthy merchant families in an arranged marriage. He knows little about his mother, but his father was a very unpleasant man (some might say insufferable) who constantly belittled everyone around him. When disaster struck his father's shipping company, his father turned to drinking his fortune away. His mother left not long after, and Cyrus hasn't seen her since.

In an attempt to prove his worth, Cyrus stole a large quantity of his father's drinking fund to pay tuition fees for entering the Acadamae. Ten years later, he sneaked out of the Acadamae to show his father what he is capable of, only to find he had died in a fire four months earlier. This sent Cyrus into a depression (more from a lack of purpose than sorrow for the old man), he never returned to the Acadamae and eventually entered a spiral of drug abuse, fully seven months of constant Shiver use.

This changed when Cyrus met Vencarlo Orisini, when begging on the streets of Old Korvosa. On seeing Vencarlo walk past, muttering darkly about the latest political atrocity in the city, Cyrus engaged him in political debate in an attempt to coax some gold out of him. Vencarlo instead took him in and after extensive berating about wasting such a talented mind, put him through a harsh routine of drilling in an attempt to force him through cold turkey. Now, five months later, Cyrus is clean, and filled with a fervour to clean up the streets of Korvosa, he has been working with Cressida Kroft to this end (mostly via Vencarlo).

Diary of Cyrus Zol, 4th of Sarenith, AR 4707
Well, it’s finally my birthday, and I’ve come to a decision. I know that it’s possible to leave the Acadamae, and Drakus says he knows a way to do it and slip back in with no-one the wiser. I think it’s time I show the old bastard who fathered me what use I’ve been putting his money to. I admit, that theft’s never sat right with me. Perhaps after seeing what I can do now, he’ll finally understand. Though I’m not counting on it.

Diary of Cyrus Zol, 1st of Sarenith, AR 4708
I’d almost forgotten this little book. It’s been so long since I’ve had ink to write with, let alone inclination to document anything. Still, maybe it’s some kind of sign that I should put the last year behind me, and return to a more normal life.

I just received a very strange note. I reproduce it below, for it was inscribed on the back of a playing card, and the whole thing was an illusion! Not a simple one, to my eye. I suppose it could be some form of trickery, but who would go to such lengths to entrap me? Anyone with the power to use major image for a simple message would have no need of my meagre possessions. Still, I think I’ll leave a note telling Vencarlo where I’m off to, just in case. And why The Wanderer, I wonder? I know little enough of Harrow decks. Perhaps I should investigate the significance of such a card.

“I know what Gaedren has done to you. He has wronged me as well. I know where he dwells, yet cannot strike at him. Come to my house at 3 Lancet Street at sunset. Others like you will be there. Gaedren must face his fate, and justice must be done.”

GM Note: It's a hot Oathday, Kendra was mapping out the current political scene with the man currently living in her basement (whose name I don't actually know embarrassingly, I really need to get everyone to give me written backstories) and found The Juggler in a sheaf of notes (she made a save to disbelieve, damn natural 20s, Cyrus also managed a nat 20 save, cast Detect Magic and got a lucky Spellcraft roll to identify the spell), Mara was waiting for her next Harrow client and The Paladin dropped out of her deck, Sunstep was working in Basha's bookshop and found The Theatre in a volume on the worship of Saranrae.
--

Fate has finally delivered Gaedren Lamm into my hands! The note was an honest one, sent by a Varisian woman by the name of Zellara. It seems Lamm has robbed her of a son, another murder on his blackened conscience. The Watch have no interest in dealing with such a petty criminal; the fate of orphan children matters little to the law of this city. But I and the others Zellara has gathered will bring him to them, and justice will be done. My new companions are…a varied lot. A gnome, Sunstep by name, who worships Sarenrae; a Varisian woman called Mara who wields a sword almost as tall as I am; and a human girl who seems quite cultured, but declined to give us a name for herself. I suppose that caution is a natural reaction when thrown into a situation such as this. I am sure she will grow more trusting when she sees we are of one purpose. And speaking of caution, I must remember to leave another note for Vencarlo should Gaedren somehow overcome us.

GM Note: Kendra was hiding to watch people go in, but Mara spotted her and dragged her inside.

Diary of Cyrus Zol, 2nd of Sarenith, AR 4708
I write this in haste, for we do not wish Lamm to escape us. We struck at his base in the Old Fishery at dawn, discarding the idea of a night attack as being more beneficial to the half-orc in his employ that to our interests. We had hoped to catch his lackeys off-guard, but in retrospect I should have remembered that fishermen keep early hours. Picking the lock on the side door, Kendra – the human girl, finally introducing herself – stepped aside to allow Mara entry. Within we found some of Lamm’s orphans, thin and hungry, being overseen by the half-orc we had heard of, a great brute with a flail and a sadistic titter. Even as battle was joined, he summoned reinforcements from elsewhere in the building and then engaged us, dealing Mara punishing blows. With them fighting so close to the door, it was difficult to enter the building, but Vencarlo’s lessons allowed me to dodge past the half-orc to a better vantage point. I must remember to thank him for them the next time I see him, for from the strength of the brute, they may have saved my life. I impeded some of the reinforcements – a vicious-looking gnome and a large dog – with a simple conjuration, while Sunstep kept Mara battling and Kendra fired into the melee. Kendra has quite a silver tongue, as it turns out and managed to convince the orphans to turn on their hated masters, a turn of events that I viewed with no small amount of glee. In the end, the dog fled, and we took the other villains prisoner. Death is too quick a punishment for those who would harm and exploit children. They will rot in the jails of Korvosa for a long time, and every day will be justified. Note to self: I must investigate the powders I procured for use in my color spray spell. Its total lack of effect in the battle might indicate that they have lost their efficacy. At any rate, we now stand ready to descend beneath the Fishery and beard Lamm in his lair. His punishment has been a long time in coming, but with our help, justice will catch up with him before time does.

GM Note: This happened on the Fishery Floor, and yep, Cyrus' cross-class tumble from his training with Vencarlo undoubtedly saved him from a flail to the face that even if I'd rolled minimum damage would have dropped him to 0 (yay for 4hp). The battle between Mara and Giggles was extended and unpleasant, Mara took 15 points of damage over the course of the fight, with Sunstep's casting of Lesser Vigor on her in the first round constantly keeping her just above dropping. Cyrus occupied Hookshanks and Bloo with a Grease for a round, which kind of prevented them from getting too involved as they got in each others way on the walkway. Yargin got one shot off with his wand, which missed Mara due to Prot Evil, then got surrounded by orphans who jabbed at him until Giggles was out of the doorway and they could safely flee. The party took Yargin's wand, alchemical items and amulet, Giggles' light shield for Mara to use with her new sap she'd bought for the mission, the keys, and Hookshanks' disguise kit for Kendra. They left them their armour, and dumped all their weapons in the water. They stabilised the dying Hookshanks and Giggles, grilled the surrendered Yargin for info on where Gaedren was, then coshed him and tied him up ready to be carted off to the guard. It's quite refreshing to see a practical. but genuinely quite good party, going out of their way to avoid killing people and not being mercenary to the point of ridiculousness.

Note to self: There were many Watch, Hellknights, and Sable Company Marines about Korvosa this morning. Strange enough at any time, but stranger still at barely dawn. Perhaps the King has finally lost his battle with illness and passed on? One would hope not, for the Queen is an arrogant and self-obsessed creature, but why should we expect any better from royalty?

Spoilery GM Note:

Could I please combine these two orders and have them shipped when Yetisburg is released?

Could I also cancel Kill Doctor Lucky from order 949825? In my half-asleep stupor I utterly failed to notice that the shipping entirely wiped out any saving I made over buying it in the UK, so I'd prefer to save money and get an LGS to order it in :)

Thanks

Is it just me or does the initial hook (being asked to investigate the place by Deyanira) seem rather unlikely? Apparently Deyanira has been pleading with the guard for days but they won't help her as they don't have time to search for a single Varisian musician, but surely he isn't the only one missing? Apparently dozens of nobles were at the party and most of them must have family who didn't attend, Ileosa wanted them dead but surely even she couldn't prevent the guard from investigating when the families of all these nobles (and the servants etc) are clamouring for their loved ones to be found, at least not without drawing some serious suspicion. Plus no matter how overstretched the guard are, it must still be worth their while looking into the mansion when everyone who attended a ball there mysteriously vanished.
It's not really a problem, since I can always just have Cressida give the party a mission to go there, but I'm just wondering if there's an explanation.

Just been reminded, the other question is, particularly if pupils don't pay to attend, how do they go about recruiting? Presumably people don't just turn up and demand an entrance exam?

So I made this order on the 26th Mar and it arrived today, pretty speedy for a UK delivery so I'm very pleased there. :D

Unfortunately I ordered a City Market Flip-Mat and received a plain one, which is a bit annoying as it means one side is useless since I never use hex and I thought the city map could be quite useful as I'll be running CotCT. I assume there's no supply problems and this was just a mistake so if I decide to reorder I should get the right one?

The Harrow deck on the other hand is perfect, one of the loveliest things I've bought in a while, so thank you. Must write a review of it some time!