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Yes, we have arrived and mostly moved in and unpacked. The rest of the appliances were delivered yesterday, so we can live like civilized people again.

Unfortunately, one unwanted thing that followed us is 6 projects that I was previously working on in CA. The guy who was supposed to take them over gave his notice the day we were pulling out. That brings to 4 the number of underlings who have quit or been fired while working on my jobs.

So I have four new projects here and six old ones. Fun fun fun!


NSpicer wrote:

Great. It would be fantastic to meet some of you folks. I won't have a rental car (as I'm taking the shuttle to the hotel and back to the airport), but if you drive up and know the area, perhaps you can just pick me up at the hotel and we can go to the mall or some other nearby restaurant for lunch. I hope Santinj can make it, too.

--Neil

Superstar buys, right?

Congrats.


My grandma lives in Tacoma. I can stay there. Also, I was near that hotel (on the other side of the freeway) a couple of times for work in 2007. We were doing a seismic retrofit of the Key Bank building on 4th and 106th. There is a mall a couple of blocks west and the ususal assortment of lunch-type restaraunts near that.

With regards to the Con, I don't know if I can firmly commit to being there long enough to take advantage of it and I'd hate to tie up a ticket and then not be there for more than 1/2 of one day.

I'll check into some options, though.


NSpicer wrote:


If you'd care to meet, why not venture up for PaizoCon in Seattle? I'm planning to skip GenCon and head out there this year instead. I believe they still have tickets available. And travel/hotel costs couldn't be any cheaper right now. In fact, you could even crash in the room I'm sharing with Eric Tillemens if you'd like. So, c'mon up and we'll game like it's 1999...or, well...you know.
--Neil

I honestly don't know if I'd care to attend the convention, but it's only a 5-1/2 hour drive from Eugene. I'll at least go up and meet you for lunch. If Santinj@ is able, we can go up together.


With the 4e Players Handbook 2 going on sale tuesday, I thought I should pre-order a copy. So I went to Amazon and entered "Players Handbook 2" in the search field and here is what it thought I wanted.

Couldn't stop laughing.


santinj@ wrote:

On a semi-related note: I started a new google group called EAGL or the Eugene Area Gamers League. Here's the URL:

http://groups.google.com/group/eagamers

JSL and Dreamer, check it out if you get the chance (yeah, right--I know you're both busy). I'm hoping it'll have some utility in getting folks in the area together to play games.

It looks like I'll miss the gameday on the 21st both there and here. But definitely check it out if you can. It might be a good place to recruit.

There is a thriving yahoo group for RPers at the local gamestore here. They also use a tool called warhorn (www.warhorn.net) to handle scheduling and sign-ups for games. I'm going to try to talk to one of the organizers in the next two weeks and get some ideas for running events.

We should have our keys by 5pm on 3/31. The earliest the van could arrive per the movers is 4/1. Assuming they are not delayed, that's when we'll be unloading.

My parents will be down from Washington, but my mom will probably take the kids and my step-dad will be recovering from rotator cuff surgery. My father-in-law, at least one brother-in-law, and two exchange students should be coming from Newport. I'm going to try to get my sister and her husband down from Portland (but if they come, I might put them to work cooking some food for everyone - they are both chefs). Also, there will be one guy from work, some family friends, and possibly help from our church.


I have offered on house in Eugene. Offer accepted. Waiting for bank, inspection, etc...


To me the point of this round of the competition is whether the candidate can take his or her concept and stat it according to the appropriate 3.5/PF rules. This isn't the pretty, touchy-feely part of RPG design that is being tested here. This is "can you do the math?" and "can you apply the rules correctly?" and "can you dot every 'i' and cross every 't' in the technical side of the job?"

For several judges to criticize Neil's work when he took on a challenging combination of templates and class levels and did it right is appalling.

Look guys, no offense, but if you want pretty little statblocks for everything, ditch 3.5/PF and adopt 4e. Seriously. You write these ridiculously complicated rules, claim they're much better than the "grossly over-simplified" system that Other Game Company came up with, then when someone uses your rules correctly, you slam them for it?

Too often, I have read stat blocks full of obvious errors, improperly applied templates, butchered abilities, pointless feat choices, and other rubbish that shows how little attention some designers are willing to pay to the rules of the game.

If the intent of this round is to see who can write the shortest stat-block, then y'all can vote for the 1st level Fighter who has alot of money and uses high-level hirelings to rule the world with an iron fist. I'm voting for Neil.


I'm still alive. Here's what our last 6 weeks have been like.

I walked into work at 7:30 on Monday, Jan 5 refreshed from a 2 week break that turned out to be more relaxing than I expected and my boss pulled me into the conference room, closed the door and said, "Do you still want to move to Oregon? One of the three engineers in the office there just turned in his notice and they have a ton of work lined up and need help ASAP. How soon can you get up there?"

We had been planning to move, but in July or early August. This change cut three months off my wife's exam prep time, and has caused us to cram what we expected to be a 6 month process of house hunting, packing, and moving a family of six into 13 weeks. On top of it, while a couple of construction market sectors have totally shut down causing our SF office to lay off two junior engineers, my work load has continued to be huge. I have four projects under construction, two in the permitting process, and one under design. I will soon probably have at least one other project under design as well.

If there is good news in this, its that they probably can't lay me off anytime soon and the loss of the other guy in Oregon means that my uncertainty about the amount of work in that office is somewhat allayed by the knowledge that I will have at least as much work to do as the other fellow would have if he stayed on. In other words, the office will not have to generate more work than it otherwise would have to accomodate me.

Also good is that having to do this quicker will mean it should be done sooner. And I hope that once it is done I will be in a place mentally where we can continue the game.

I have been playing RPGA Living Forgotten Realms (4e) adventures at the local game store and that has also been an avenue for getting back into a good place with this. It is fun to be on the other side of the DM screen and to see the decisions I make in character development pay dividends in the adventure. While the LFR style is far from perfect, it has been a good outlet and a chance to work through some of the DM burnout I was starting to feel in October.

I sincerely hope that moving to Eugene will be the reset button that I need to get our campaign back on track. In the meantime, I will try to be around here more for the next 6 weeks or until we have the internet disconnected. I will keep you posted. And I'll try to check out the Superstar stuff and vote for NSpicer.

One last thing: Santinj@ if you are lurking, I'll be in Eugene all of next week (2/16-2/21) and would love to get together if you are willing to hang out with people you met online. Please email me: legruej at yahoo dot com.


Sorry for not posting anything in the last 10 days. RL has become an unmitigated disaster at work. I have had to take over for the guy they forced out as well as the guy who transferred up to SF. And the person who was assigned to work on one of my other projects basically hasn't. Meanwhile, I have one major project under construction while the architect continues to design it. We have already lost a ton of money on it and I am stressed out by the fact that this mutton-head's incompetence is now directly affecting my performance bonus, which is money we are relying on to move to Oregon next year. Additionally, I have had a few other jobs pan out in less than ideal fashion over the course of the year, so I'd be struggling to maintain my usual performance record even without this loser on my record. If there is any good news, it is that the contractor, fabricators, and others on this job agree that the architect is incompetent, too. But the funny thing is, his firm thinks so highly of them, they promoted him to principal and let him open a new office in SF (they are based in NY). And the donors paying for the project (it is a new office bldg at Stanford) like him so much, they took him on a 6-week trip to Russia in the middle of the project (i.e., when he was supposed to be designing the building).

I have therefore coined the phrase "New York Architecture" to refer to any attempt at architecture so bumbling and error-prone that the building cannot be built as drawn. It is a good thing that the contractor is skilled enough to build it inspite of the architect's shortcomings. But it has meant alot of extra work for me or time that should have been spent on other projects (or this game) wasted on revisions and urgent redesigns to accomodate yet another architectural error.

As a Stanford alumni, I have half a mind to file a complaint with the University over misspent funds. But most of it is being paid for by a richie-rich donor, so I don't really mind wasting their money as much. I just wish I weren't wasting it in the evenings and weekends redesigning the same stair case for the 4th time (because NY Architecture does not, apparently, require conformance with the CA fire code!?!).

That said, I cannot commit to any schedule for resuming the game until at least the end of the year. Hopefully by January most of the structural work (i.e., steel and concrete) will be in place and it will literally be too late to make changes. Usually at that point in a job, our role diminishes significantly and I will be able to duck or redirect most of the questions that do come my way.
So, how best to manage restarting the game? Should I send an email? (I'd need your addresses) Should I just post here? Should we start a new thread?


I've been slammed by work again today. I'm at least going to take a stab at the items though, in the 5 minutes I have here.

Let's assume the following:

1. The fire ability is transferred to Salome's scimitar. This gives it +1 fire damage on a normal hit and +1d6 fire damage on a crit.

2. The cold ability is transferred to Ehlissa's sword. The effect is similar to the fire.

3. The ranseur can be made into a mithril breastplate or heavy shield, your choice.

4. The goblet is identified with the following property: Once per day, you can put in 200 gp worth of magical reagents (e.g., ground gemstones) and it produces a potion that grants +4 to Int based skill checks and +2 to save DCs for abilities based on Int (e.g., Wizard spells); however, you take -4 to melee attacks and damage and Str and Con based skills. The effect lasts for 4 hours and leaves you exhausted.

5. The box functions basically as a bag of holding; however its appearance is disguised by illusion magic. It requires a key to open, which you eventually deduce is the shield emblem worn by the quassit. I will reveal the contents in game.

6. You create a wand of cure light wounds (50 charges 1d8+1 healing per charge).

7. After all that, you each have 500 gp to spend on additional equipment.

8. You also have the flamethrower, some books, and the shield amulet (once per day casts shield at CL 1 as an immediate interrupt).

I will try to get on the game thread tonight.


Hmm. It has been awhile and I'm sorry for that. I had an issue come up at work last week that had to be resolved immediately. And since I am again without any useful assistance, I had to deal with it myself.

I am not going to be able to post today because I have a seminar to attend after work until about 10:30. But I will work on summarizing the action and move the plot forward in a lengthy post that I hope to put up tomorrow.

At that time, I'm also going to post a summary of the loot. Since the crafting system has engendered more questions than I will ever have time to resolve, I'm just going to convert the several items worth converting (e.g., the hot and cold kukri and the mithral ranseur) into things worth having and give the amount of extra cash for purchases.

Again, sorry for the delays. I'm just dealing with alot of other issues right now. It was comforting to hear a contractor lambast the architects I've been working with as thoroughly incompetent yesterday, however. So I'm not the only one who thinks that.


Now that everything is settling down here, I am able to resume the game. My plan is to post in-game later this week (Thursday or Friday), probably. But I have a few requests of everyone first (see below).

Actually, the new baby has been less disruptive than visiting relatives and the ill-timed departure of my colleague at work. Thanks to him, I had to take over a project that has been going on for more than two years and is constantly sprouting new appendages. The client also tends to be disorganized and poorly communicates their objectives, so we typically have to do everything twice. It's really like two projectes, in that sense.

Meanwhile, while I was out of the office waiting for the baby, the other guy who was helping me on some stuff decided he'd rather work in the SF office - so he moved up there - and the person helping me on a third project got reassigned because of some emergency on someone else's project. When I have an emergency, I usually have to deal with it myself. But when someone else does, all the help gets reassigned. It's really frustrating because now I'm a week behind on my other project - a week that will probably end up coming out of my Christmas vacation.

Anyway, the three things I absolutely need before I will post in game are:

1.) Disposition of the loot. If any loot has not been resolved, just note it as such. This includes any new purchases. There should be abundant info on this in this thread or the house-rules thread. I probably will not have time to re-post any of that. If you want it, please go find it.

2.) Update to fourth level. Please make all appropriate changes in your profile and not the important stuff (updated hp, new feats, etc) in the thread.

3.) Disposition of the PCs. I.e., post an action in game.

Thanks.


No baby yet. Which means I'm at work and my bosses have taken the opportunity to load me dowm with more thankless tasks. Oh, and the guy who was helping me on two large jobs quit/was forced out last week. But Mr. 2 miles of roof deflection still has a job. Go figure.


Ben Blackstone wrote:
Having noticed that the Gobbo is still within striking range of the poor barkeep, can I spend my Action point for an extra attack this round?

In general, yes. And anything you can do to get it out from under that table will help. Remember if you hit with Thunderwave, you push it. Can you try to push it to the right (on the map) away from the Hob? Then Dravos can get to it next round.


I'd like to stick with Dravos in this game (or whatever becomes of it). And if you would like to keep Kriv as an NPC, I would be fine with that, too.

If I had to create a new character, I'm thinking human two-weapon ranger multi-classing with fighter. Two bastard swords (or maybe the new d12 axes out of Adventurer's Vault). Pit Fighter paragon path (add Wis bonus to weapon damage). Action Surge (human feat that gives you +3 to attacks when you spend an action point). All very nice.

And I agree that Santinj@'s departure just happened to hit a slow point in the game and a busy point in several of our lives. There are no hard feelings.


Ragadolf wrote:


Hm. 'Analyzing Tubular Walls',... Is it just me, or did I read properly? You had to get with a programmer to FIX a problem with the program that your using, because it wasn't coming to the correct numbers/conclusion. And you knew this because it wasn't coming up the same answer that YOU did? Which tells me that you had already done a portion of the math involved, and you are secure enough in YOUR work that you knew the program was off. (Slidell, eat your heart out!) ;P

We have a program the analyzes concrete columns. The building Code requires concrete columns to have > 1% reinforcing. We were trying to analyze a wall, which is allowed to have as little as 0.3% reinforcing. When the staff engineer entered the wall into the column program, it flashed a warning that there wasn't enough reinforcing. Rather than tell it to proceed anyway, she told it to take a penalty for insufficient reinforcing. It took a few tries since I was working at home for her to get output to match my program. But yes, my program was right before her output. :)


Aelwyn wrote:


I guess this means damage could range from 12 to 31, depending on the success of the attacks.

More than that. 12+5 = 17 if one hits.

Response to NSpicer:

Spoiler:

NSpicer wrote:


A number of things are starting to stand out for me in this encounter. One, I didn't realize longbows were so much more powered up in 4e. They do 1d10 damage now? And, in addition to that, you get to add your Dex modifier as a bonus to the damage. Layer on an ability like Hunter's Quarry and a Ranger can pretty much deal an extra 1d6 damage to his target of choice every round...at range or melee. Somehow, that makes the Rogue seem more underpowered to me. An extra 1d6 damage from Hunter's Quarry is equivalent to a Rogue's sneak attack...only it doesn't have to be a sneak attack. I thought the classes were balanced in relation to one another? Am I missing something in this assessment? I'm sure Fabes or JSL can clear me up...

Strikers do a hell of alot of damage. In the WWDDGD event, I played the rogue and was routinely dropping 20+ damage with rapier and sneak attack. Note that sneak attack is 2d6, not 1d6, so it is a little more damage than hunter's quarry. But rangers get better weapons (i.e., d10 damage) vs. d4 or d6 for rogue (d8 for rogue with rapier, but that requires a feat, since you aren't proficient by default). Warlocks eldritch blast is d10 damage and they can curse someone for an extra d6.

For damage volume, the strikers win every time. But they are a little squishy compared to defenders and they generally lack the ability to attack multiple enemies (except with a couple of powers). Warlocks do not have any multiple target powers, that I recall.

NSpicer wrote:


Secondly, these close blast attacks are certainly useful against minions, but anything stronger than that and they don't seem to have a lot of value at low level.

There are powers that are minion clearers by design. The dragonborn's breath weapon is one of them. Also, if they have a push effect, like the wizard's thunderwave, they are great for getting you out of trouble. Some classes (wizards, clerics) have some higher damage blast powers at high levels.

NSpicer wrote:


Thirdly, in the first combat, I find myself always using one of Ceelie's "special" attacks (i.e, the at-wills, encounter, etc.) on every turn. They're always more advantageous (mechanics-wise) than any other option. I noticed this same thing in the playtest I ran for D&D Game Day a couple of months ago. The Wizard and Cleric pretty much used their at-will abilities all the time in lieu of any other attack option. That's because they were simply more reliable in a metagame sense.

Well, in any edition, the wizard is better off casting a spell than playing with his dagger. And the cleric's ranged at-wills keep him free to heal allies and move behind the lines to aid those who need it. In general, at-wills *are* better than basic attacks. There are times when a basic attack is better, as you might see when we roll around to Dravos again. But in general, you at-wills are your first line of offense and the basics only come up as OAs or when another power grants a free basic attack.

Monster basic attacks are typically better (i.e., more like PC at-wills) than PC basic attacks. This is because monsters don't have the whole slew of other options PCs have. Instead, they do one thing and do it well.

NSpicer wrote:


Fourthly, it feels like you do a lot more in one turn now than you could before. Move...then charge-attack in order to move even further and still get an attack off. Shift, draw weapon, attack, then move. Seems like a lot to pull off before the other side reacts or counters you. But I don't know. It's still early. These observations are only half-formed right now anyway. But I thought I'd share them before they slipped away.

I think someone said of 3e that combat would be a blur as the combatants warp around the battlefield in *their portion* of the six second round. In fact, it means you actually move faster when there are more combatants.

I have always had a problem with the six second round. In the time it has taken me to write this, a 30 round combat could have occured. I think the best solution is just to remove the six second round from the game entirely. Does it really matter how long a round is? Only when you have in-combat and out-of-combat events occuring simultaneously. But even then, six seconds is so short that it is almost irrelevant. How much can really happen during a four round fight? What makes a better story: if the sleeping guard in the next room wakes up on round 1 and rushes in on round 6 or if he wakes up on round 1 and must spend until round 50 putting on his armor?

4e goes a long way towards this by making durations either one round, save ends, until end of encounter, until extended rest, or permanent. So there can be no more argument about durations like 1 min/level and whether the wizard's shield is still up after the rogue finally picks the lock on the fourth try.

As to being able to do more in a round, this is mainly due to a number of actions being reduced to minor actions. This includes picking something up, drinking a potion, and using some powers. I think this is an improvement. In 3e, I'd frequently read tactics sections that said "at the beginning of combat, this creature casts A, B, C, D, E, and F on itself, then starts to fight. I'm thinking by the time it screws around for 6 rounds, it is dead! I like that people can buff and fight simultaneously. It keeps people in the game.

There is also a deliberate effort to make movement more relevant in combat. So now there are alot more abilities and powers that let you disengage once based or otherwise encourage you to do something other than stand still and swing. But the system does still have some "gamey" limitations. Watch Dravos next round (if the goblin lives) and you will see one.


NSpicer wrote:

Okaaaay...

::scratches off the idea of keeping the group intact for a run through CotCT using PF rules::

I might still be interested in this. The above criticism of Paizo was largely from the perspective of DM. As a player, I'm willing to do more work for *my* character than I'm willing to do for a pile of cannon fodder as DM. That is the *big* systemic difference between 3e and 4e. The DM's job in 4e is *much* easier and *much* less tied to the intricate mechanics laid out for PCs. There is essentially a set of bottom up rules for generating PCs and a second set of top down rules for generating monsters.

But if you are willing to DM...

I'm still interested in either an elf or half-elf beguiler; in some sense it would depend on your method for ability score generation, since I'd need high Dex and Int. I'd be willing to PDF and email you the Beguiler rules from PHB II. Aside from changes to the spells in PF (which I assume we would adopt), I'd run the character otherwise as written, even if the result is underpowered.

I think the beguiler is very well suited to an urban setting and fits well with the background implied in the CotCT players guide.


I had said at the time, though not here, that Paizo's decision to make their own variant of 3rd edition was the worst possible option from my perspective. I cannot really support 2 systems simultaneously, so they forced me to choose - and I'm choosing to go the other way.

Adding to my frustration is that, as I prepare and DM this adventure, I come across instance after instance that would work better in 4e than it does in 3e. The initial goblin raid, Tsuto, the uber-goblin, even the quasit - all would be better encounters in 4e. The wrathspawn would be a better monster in 4e. The upcoming encounters would all be better. Finding Thistletop has major skill challenge written all over it.

While I understand the difficult business predicament 4e left Paizo in, and I see literal truth to the "we can't tell the stories we want to" line, on the other hand, I just want to say "Get over yourselves!"

So what if the succubus is not CE? So what if there isn't a LE alignment? Since when did all the LE creatures in the multiverse play on the same team anyway? Never in any of my games, that's for sure. And neither did the CGs or LGs, for that matter. Since when does lack of a mechanic like LE alignment mean you can't have a Fearless Leader?!? Can you really not have CotCT without Erinyes devils? Really? You can't, I don't know, just call them "fallen angels" and make up a new monster? It's not allowed? Gee, and all this time, I thought 4e was the system that didn't allow you to do things, not 3e?

I am frustrated not that Paizo's products are bad, but I am coming to see their decision as cutting off their nose to spite their face. Rather than leverage the work of others to focus on what they do best, they are opting to repeat the work of others, and thereby focusing on what I don't need them to do.

Over the last 3 months every new Paizo product has screamed "This would be better in 4e" to me. So the "we can't tell the stories we want to" has just sounded more like inflamatory marketing intended to stoke the edition-wars (i.e., create a "need" for PFRPG) than like a statement of fact. And the community has taken this as blanket permission to puke all over any useful discussion of 4e.

For awhile, I was willing to hold out with Paizo, to say the writing and production quality were worth the effort to do conversions. But increasingly I have fallen away from that position. Of course it hasn't helped that WotC's content has been pretty good, while Paizo's quality has slid. Nor has it helped that I got the PF Campaign Setting on Amazon (print, shipped) for less than the PDF here. But now I feel resentful, like this has been a messy break-up, and I'm wondering why they can't just see things my way. In other words, it's time for me to move on.

Anyway, I just had a 13-story concrete building analysis dumped on me at work last week. It needs to be done by tomorrow. I had to come home at 1 today to pick up kids from school/babysitter, then spend the rest of the afternoon trying to code up a program to analize a tube-shaped concrete elevator core shear wall. Finally got that working around 6:30 after three calls back to the office to the staff engineer who is helping me on the project. The baseline data she sent me from another program (that only does rectangular walls, not tube-shaped walls) took three tries to get right. Now it matches my output exactly!

After that, counting up skill points from levels in 3 or 4 classes for NPCs does is not fun. Dealing with magic item creation rules that say a wand of clw at CL 2 is worth twice as much as a CL 1 wand but only heals one extra hp per use is not fun. Then open up the PFRPG for some leisure reading only to see that barbarians now have to keep track of "rage points" is not fun.

Maybe 4e is simplified. Maybe it's even over-simplified. But after what I have to do in an 8-10 hour work day, sometimes simple is a good thing. And I just don't see myself going back to 3e as a DM after this.

I am contemplating a way to convert all 6 adventures in RotRL into a heroic tier campaign. That's right - all 6 to get to 10th level. The BBEG would be about a level 15 solo monster and I would have to scale the level of several other "iconic" enemies down from their 4e MM stats to keep the levels in line. I would also award only 1/2 XP so there could be 200 encounters of party level over those 6 adventures. This would require tightening the focus on #2 and #3 and taking some of the crawl/combat out of #4 and #5.

This truely is a brilliant group and I have tremendously enjoyed the game. After it's over we will have to keep in touch on the odd chance that our paths will cross again.

Well, I've got kids to get into bed and tube-shaped walls to analyze, so back to work.


I've decided to put this game on hold until after our baby arrives. The due date is October 3rd, so that will have us starting up again the week of the 6th.

So, between now and the second week of October, if you could all update to 4th level and spend what portion of the liquid loot you like, we will be ready to pick up again with the journey to Thistletop. I hope to be able to finish by the end of the year.

I will try to stay caught up in the meantime, but I generally won't be able to post more than once or twice a week.

PsiFox: As regards Naelah's equipment, if you can track down our item creation rules, feel free to spend your craft points and up to 800 gp of materials. Otherwise, if you have access to the Magic Item Compendium, pick out a fourth level item and either one third or two second level items.

I don't really want to call a break, but I feel I must for a couple of reasons.

1. Both Dreamer and I have alot to do to get ready. Part of her internship is wrapping up this week, but she will continue to work at another part up until the bitter end. We do not have family nearby, so I will take some time off from work after the baby is born. Which, given the chaos that usually ensues when I'm away from work, means I will have to put in alot of extra time over the next three weeks to make sure everything is ship shape.

2. I had prepared several encounters around Vesh including the discovery of Horatio's identity and the lead ins to the second chapter in the AP. All that has to be scrapped and rethought now.

3. Honestly, I'm not at all looking forward to re-balancing the adventure. I have swung my mind into a 4e set and am finding it increasingly difficult to think in 3e terms. The old system seems clunky and inelegant. I can't just make things do what I want them to do; instead I have to fuss around with feats and skill points and class levels. Bah! I'm already dragging 3-4 hours of technical work home every night I don't need more homework on top of it.

4. Right now I have no inclination to continue past the end of Burnt Offerings. This adventure is really the jewel in the crown of the entire series. The others have their moments, but lack the immediacy and humanity of this one. They are more in the "go somewhere, kill something" mold. The transitions are also pretty choppy as each author obviously had to work off of incomplete knowledge of the other chapters. I would have to do some serious work to restructure this into something more to my liking. And the loss of Vesh hurts me here too, as I was counting on him for a big transition.

Also, to be perfectly honest, I have a pretty short attention span for messageboards and can only take so much of them at once. Here we are 3 months after the release of 4e and the Paizo crowd can't get over themselves long enough to even have a conversation about it without resorting to namecalling. I have just cancelled my PF subscription (as of today) and am selling a few of my PF books on ebay. At the same time, I've put in a pre-order for a few of Goodman Games' 4e products - and not through Paizo.

In other words, I'm moving on, voting with my wallet, and discontinuing my support of nearly all things Paizo. In the vein of moving on, I'm planning to cease participating on Paizo's messageboards as well. Frankly the 4e messageboard here is a wasteland, and, after skimming half of the Beta, I have no interest in PFRPG - it's actually filled with more unnecessary nuance and complication than 3.5, while fixing none of the real problems! (If you want to see a real problem, check out the Pun-pun link in this month's Dungeon editorial to see how you can get a kobold to infinite loop all his ability scores in about 6 levels.)

Now there are infinite loops in 4e, too, like a vorpal weapon (roll an extra damage die for each damage die that shows the max value) with 1d2 damage and an ability that lets you re-roll ones on damage dice, but there are no 1d2 weapons in 4e, so the loop remains theoretical and not actual.

Bottom line: I just don't feel like spending time here anymore.


Vesh wrote:
Inquiring with the guards at the north gate reveals that he--or someone matching his description--left alone in the last hours before sunrise.

As the young Varisian slips through the gate leaving the town of Sandpoint behind, a pair of figures emerge from the shadows of a nearby building.

One - tall, lean, and with a droopy mustache - looks to the other and nods silently. They mount a pair of riding horses and make their way leisurely towards the gate. As they apporach the guards snap to attention and salute sharply. The tall man returns the salute as the guards' lanterns glint off the steel of his sword and armor. The crest of Sandpoint is proudly displayed on his shield and his livery matches the blue-grey uniforms of the gatemen. The other figure wears a dark cloak, hood pulled tight leaving his face shadowed. He rests a heavy crossbow idly across his lap as he rides. Passing through the gate, the riders pick up speed as they make for the Coast Road.

"Now is our opportunity, while the little Moth is alone and his friends lie sleeping in their beds." growls the tall rider through clenched teeth.

As he raises his crossbow to the ready, the other replies, "Yes, Master Vancaskerkin."

We will resume the game around October 6th; although the baby's due date is the 3rd, so don't hold me to that exact day. See the discussion thread for details. In the meantime, I'll see you in Elsir Vale.

Spoiler:

A little prop to those who have read the adventure. Yes, I know all about you. Now if only you knew why he goes by 'Horatio' ;)


Please cancel my order for PF #14 (#1049299) and my pathfinder subscription. Thank you.


Arctaris wrote:
I wouldn't mind having the kukri (equivalent to a frost weapon?). Also, I'm remembering that there was a way to 'buy' feats. Am I remembering this correctly, and if so, how much would that cost?

The kukri does +1 cold damage; on a critical it does +1d6 cold damage. It is otherwise of masterwork quality.

A feat would cost you 500 gp + 4 craft points.


FabesMinis wrote:
I really do need an armour upgrade but don't know how to go about it...

You can add a +1 enhancement for 500 gp and 4 craft points. Remember, I don't require items to have a regular +1 before they get a +1 equivalent enhancement, so +1 equivalents are fair game.


I have a few minutes of quiet time, so I thought I'd at least figure out what you have. I am basing this off stated intent from previous posts as best as I can remember. I will hopefully be able to put up info in response to Zieke's inquiry into Thistletop over the weekend. I also need to review Naelah's updated stats and possibly work with Psifox to get her equipment up to par. While I am doing that you can finalize what you are doing with your shares of the loot.

Loot Received:
Nifty sword - claimed by Zieke; value about 2,000 gp. I think it is roughly equivalent to a +1 weapon in effectiveness

Heartstone - claimed by Mal; value 2,200 gp (book). You could sell it for 1,100.

Armbands - claimed by Mal; value 500 gp. Allow you to avoid one AoO once per day.

Cash payout: 2,500 gp

Jeweled dagger: 200 gp (masterwork)

Mithril ranseur: 1,000 gp (masterwork)

Kukri: 600 gp each

Candles: 8 x 50 gp each

Mundane: furniture (15 gp); mirror (25 gp)

Gems: 3 x 150 gp or 3 x 300 gp as components

Misc: books, flamethrower, dollhouse, skull w/ 7-pointed star, goblet (all value unknown)

Distribution of loot:
Sell items: dagger, ranseur, six candles, furniture, mirror +1,540 gp

Create item: transfer flame power from kukri to Salome's scimitar. cost: 500 gp (components) and 4 craft points

Create item: wand of cure light wounds (50 charges). cost: 375 gp (components) and 3 craft points (I strongly recommend this)

That leaves:
4,040 gp cash
25 gp worth of item creating components (Slidell, probably?)
items listed as claimed
items listed as misc.
cold power kukri (does Mal want this?)
2 candles (presumably to Slidell?)

I am going to suggest that rather than worry about the value of the misc items (yes some of them are valuable), you do what you need to with the cash and trust that they will sort themselves out.

IMO, Ehlissa could use a weapon or armor upgrade and Slidell probably would do best to make a wand. Naelah's upgrades do not need to come from this pool. I will work out something separate. Also, there is the matter of Ameiko's dagger and Vesh's butterfly amulet if any want to claim them. Otherwise, they will simply disappear from the game.


Dreamer wrote:


As for RotRL, I think it would be wise to set an actual date to resume for everyone to mark on their calendars -- so we all know when to reconvene and no one gets discouraged and drops out due to an indefinite wait.

I will do that before Monday - I promise.

I just got another concrete building analysis dumped on me at work - these are not easy tasks and I have only a week to do it. At least this time I have competent staff, not the McN00b who screwed up the last one so bad. He had the roof deflection at 2 miles! Moron. But I will still be very busy for the next week or two.


Celia 'Ceelie' Merveaux wrote:


I was planning on having Ceelie use her Sly Flourish either from range (with a throwing dagger) or by running up for melee (with the same dagger), while possibly drawing her shortsword along the way. I'm not sure how 4e handles quickdraw situations, but with minor actions as part of the game, that seems do-able. Can she still use Sly Flourish after a charge? Or is the charge itself her action? And with the hobgoblin in D14 being marked by Dravos (or otherwise focusing his attention on the dwarf now) does that grant any kind of combat advantage to Ceelie for a ranged sneak attack with a thrown dagger or as part of the charge?

Ranged attack w/ sly flourish is also a good option as the charge limits you to a basic melee attack (which is strength-based). However, the charge does grant +1 to hit and put you in position to flank next round. You do not take an AC penalty for charging as you did in 3e.

The reason I suggest the charge is that the hobs are soldier monsters and have high AC. If you have to attack AC, go with the option that gives you the highest attack bonus. Damage won't be a problem in this fight, but hitting might be.

Also, I think we need to base at least one of these guys so they don't run all around and base Ben, Kriv, and Alewyn. We also need to try to prevent them from all clumping together, which gives them an AC boost.

You don't get any advantage from the mark. The only way you are getting combat advantage in this fight is if you run and hide,flank, or by way of imposed condition.

Yes, this is shameless metagaming. I am justifying it in two ways. 1) the campaign is not continuing, so roleplaying seems less important; 2) for a couple of you, this might be your only 4e experience and I want to try to highlight some of the differences from 3e in the tactical game. Even though there are fewer combat options, there are many more viable options. Also, this fight is very loseable.


Wow. I know I missed a deadline on Sunday, but I was rather surprised to see all this.

John:

I'm sorry you have to bow out. It has been a pleasure to have you in the group. Between your consistent, thoughtful, and purposeful posts and Vesh himself, you both will be sorely missed. Vesh was an interesting, complex, and very realistic character and I was having tremendous fun playing off his personality - both his strengths and flaws. I think if there was a "face" of the party, it was him.

I always knew I could count on you to remember a key spoiler, hit an important DC, or make a lucky guess.

What are poor Shayliss, Ven, and Horatio to do without their favorite paranoid Varisian to torment?!?

- Jeremiah

Regarding the continuation of the campaign, I have also been having some unexpected (although not serious) demands on my leisure time over the last six weeks or so: having to accomodate my wife's schedule by leaving work early and bringing work home 2-3 days a week; the baby-sitter flakeout of late June; a poorly-managed project for an out-of-control client; inconsistent help from staff at work; incoming baby; and now having to juggle our cars around repaving on our street.

None of those amount to the seriousness of hurricane evacuations, job changes, or family problems, but they have still negatively impacted my ability to run the campaign.

We have managed to limp along, but it really has been little more than a limp. While I expect my consistency to improve over time, it will probably not be back to a post-a-day for at least four weeks and maybe more like eight.

Given the demands of participating in several campaigns, I am wondering if we should put this one on hiatus for a couple of weeks to give our full attention to the 4e encounter. That will also give me some time to reshape story elements that I had hinged on Vesh and determine what the party needs moving forward. I will hold to my commitment to finish this module, but it is going to be rough for the foreseeable future.

Also, I would appreciate if others would chime in with an honest assessment of their desire/ability to continue.

I will probably not be able to post again until Friday. I will try to get a short post on the 4e game before then if my turn comes up, but the rest of my week is as good as shot.


PsiFox: upgrade Naelah to fourth level for starters. I'm one of those types who finds having multiple levels in the party more annoying than not. I don't know what to do about gear, other than to say that I havent' given out much treasure to the others either, until just recently. If you can track down our craft rules and come up with a level 2 or 3 item which Naelah could make, that would probably be best.

NSpicer: Regarding CotCT, the 3e character classes I'm most interested in playing are Beguiler and Duskblade, which I know is sort of obnoxious since you want to try the PF rules. I'd be willing to play them using the 3e class rules, though - even if they end up underpowered. Alternately, I could play a barbarian and see if I can get my charge damage up in the 250+ range... ;)

All: I will update the game thread tomorrow. Just to get things moving again, I will make some assumptions based on your latest discussions regarding the loot. I will provide info for Thistletop and start the conversation with Hannah. I want to get Naelah back as quickly as possible. I thought about having her locked in Hannah's basement, but she's already gone through that once. So instead, why not have her meet Vesh, Mal, and Sli at the Dragon after they unload the loot?

I think that conversation can begin anytime.


NSpicer wrote:


P.S. Are we in a holding pattern on the RotR game? What's our next step?

I am waiting for someone to talk to Hannah.

PsiFox, welcome back. We can work Naelah back in pretty quickly if you want. Number of party members is not a big concern to me.


NSpicer wrote:
Actually, I share your opinion about less variety and removing choice from the player.

This is true. Although in computer programming terms, one would say that 4e is more "strongly classed" than 3e, which is more "mutable".

That is to say, each 4e class is designed around a particular concept and executes that concept better than any other class.

In fact it is sort of unusual that the ranger is still broken into the bow/two-weapon paths. There seems to me little need to keep these two specialities in the same class. Because of this, the ranger is slightly disadvantaged in their number of choices at some levels - though I suspect this will be resolved with future supplements.

However, I do think they could have made two different classes: Archer and Two-weapon Dude.

On the other hand, in order to make the classes more generic, some fluff from previous editions (such as the ranger's association with nature) has been toned down.

Now a ranger does not have to be a "lone defender of the wilderness", but could also be a soldier trained in archery, an urban bounty hunter, an explorer (Dungeoneering is a class skill), a swashbuckler (two-weapon fighting), a ninja (again with the two weapons), even a samurai (two weapons and/or bow).

So, what does the ranger do better than the other classes?

In short, they will roll more attacks than other strikers (rogues and warlocks) and they have higher base damage then rogues. So, while they lack the high single-target damage of rogues and don't apply conditions like warlocks, they will reliably dish out a fair share of damage and can do it without putting themselves at as much risk.

They get multiple attacks against the same foe. This can do alot of damage, but generally they have to hit with two or more attack rolls to do it. So it is a high variance, high reward approach, but it also means that they are more likely to at least do something with their attack - getting a partial result is better than a complete miss.

They have more offensive interrupts than other classes. Try to attack a ranger - or his ally - and you could be dead before you draw your sword. Alternately, they can pile on the damage when an ally scores a hit.

They have some good defensive interrupts, including some that give them an extra attack.

They can pick the enemies out from between allies. All ranger area effect powers target only enemies. They also can target multiple specific enemies at range or move in melee to attack multiple enemies. At high level, they can target all enemies in range - minion killer, anyone?

One last interesting note on the 4e ranger: you have to pick ranged or two-weapon fighting at first level. However, these are not specifically requirements to use powers. The power requirements are only that you be armed with a ranged weapon or armed with two weapons. Therefore, the 4e ranger can actually switch between the two combat styles!

Whether that makes sense is another matter, however, as most characters will not have the budget to support three magical weapons commesurate with their character level. Nevertheless, it is interesting that the option is available.

For comparison:

In the 3e core, there are three valid ways to build an archer.

1. Fighter specializing in the longbow.
2. Ranger using the bow fighting-style.
3. Rogue armed with a shortbow.

Each has advantages and disadvantages.

The fighter has the most hit-points, the greatest accuracy, and the most damage potential (factoring in Weapon Focus and Specialization). However, he lacks any semblance of stealth, evasion, or a good reflex save. So when the enemy artillery responds to his arrow barrage, he's in a world of hurt.

The ranger has good hit-points, gets most of the nifty bow feats for free, is stealthy, has evasion, and has a good reflex save. However, the ranger also has a host of other abilities (animal companion, spells) that may not complement a player's ideal for their character. Also, it is harder to optimize the character across a broader spectrum of abilities. So if the player wants to use 4th level spells, they may be doing so at the cost of a point or two of attack bonus or damage. Conversely, if they optimize their bow use, they may do so at the expense of their higher-level ranger spells.

The rogue can drop a ton of damage with sneak attack and is even stealthier than the ranger. But, compared to the others, has the fewest hit-points, is limited to the short-bow, and is significantly less accurate.

So while 3e gives a host of choices, which is appreciated by those with the time, energy, and devotion to map them all out and figure out what they want, it also leaves the novice confused, overwhelmed, and second-guessing.

4e has removed some of that guesswork at the expense of having more options. If you want to play Hawkeye (from the Avengers, not MASH) or Robin Hood, play a ranger.

Dang, now I'm excited for rangers. Anyone want a slightly used dwarf? ;)


I'd like to thank Dreamer for putting that all together. It is great to have it in one place for people - including me - to reference.

I did see one inconsistency on my part that should be corrected:

• Naffer's description of Nualia: "Father Tobyn's daughter, aye. A strange one she was: pale skin, bright purple hair and golden eyes. Very beautiful. Elf, maybe? Not human, anyhow. Always had a kind word for me and never passed a beggar without givin' some coin...But I don't think she was happy. Always with the Father, always studying; nose to the books, as they say. He had great dreams for her, great expectations. But I don't think she shared them. Told me once she couldn't wait to get outta Sandpoint; to see the world. Pity she never did." -- p. 48

Nualia's hair is golden blonde and her eyes are purple. Maybe old Naffer was just hitting the pesh pipe a little to hard that morning. Yeah, that's the ticket. ;)

Meanwhile, as I noted on the other thread, I'm not likely to post much again until Thursday due to being out of the office during the day and busy with kids in the evening.

However, to keep it interesting, I think the aggregation of clues should represent several hours of discussion amongst the PCs wherein they put it all together. That ought to be worth something, so how about a 500 XP story award.

In order to move on, it seems the following must happen:

1. Talk to Hannah
2. Finish updating to 4th level
3. Equip: buy/sell/trade
4. Anything else you want to do in town
5. Go to Thistletop

Only 1 and 5 seem necessary to do IC. Maybe some parts of 4, depending on what they are. Is it reasonable to expect conversation with Hannah by this Thursday and plan to be on the road to Thistletop by next weekend?


I have updated Dravos to reflect the Traveling Missionary Background.

Also, next week will be really busy for me. I am at meetings (out of the office) all day Tuesday and Wednesday. Since my wife works those nights, I have to take care of the kids when I get home. So I won't be able to post until late in the evening (if at all) until Thursday.


I just noticed WotC posted character backgrounds (similar to PF campaign traits) for the AP. Can we choose one? If so, I'd like Dravos to have Traveling Missionary, which grants an extra language (I'm thinking Draconic), Religion as a class skill (I will be training it via the Cleric Initiate feat, though, not as one of my starting skills), and +2 on Religion, which saves me having to take Skill Focus to get a decent check modifier.


That's quite an impressive list of clues. And thanks for compiling them - I hope you are saving a local copy on your computer for reference. I think this has been time well spent and can represent what the PCs do over the next couple of days between buying/selling/and crafting as they equip for the journey to Thistletop.

I am tied up with work stuff most of this week, but will hopefully be able to post from home tonight.


Tequila Sunrise wrote:

Even so, CoD has a 50% chance to recharge each round so even with that strategy it would have been somewhat like trying to photograph a frolicking dolphin through a deck floor window.

True, but, once dismissed, it requires a standard action to reactivate the darkness. So, once its APs are used, the dragon must choose between CoD and attacking. Since the PCs can shift and then single move to retreat, there is not even an OA for the dragon when the PCs fall back.

One thing that this example illustrates is that 4e monsters work differently enough from monsters in previous editions (and from PCs) that players - even metagamers - are not necessarily going to hit on a good strategy without some help. This is a departure from previous editions where DMs were sort of encouraged to keep monster abilities secret from the players.

I know it sounds "gamist", but did you tell the players what kinds of actions the dragon was using on its turns (i.e., minor, move, std) or when it used an AP? That would give them a clue that CoD is a standard action, which is pretty important (I think) for defeating the dragon.

For their part, did the players attempt any knowledge checks to determine the dragon's abilities before or during the combat?

I think your experience is very valuable. As DMs, we are constantly surprised by assumptions and decisions players make. With the new edition, many old assumptions must fall by the wayside and players must be reminded to revise their habits and thought processes.


Cloud of Darkness does not appear to move with the dragon, however. So if the dragon activates CoD, the PCs should retreat, forcing the dragon to move and lose the benefit of the cloud. Once engaged in melee, the dragon is unlikely to use a standard action to activate the Cloud - unless it can do so with an action point. Therefore, once its APs are exhausted, it shoudl be safe(r) for the party to invest the dragon and force it to use its standard action to attack instead of CoD.

Lack of a wizard's area attack spells certainly hurts in this encounter - probably moreso than simply being short a man.

EDIT: Wizards have 3 at-will power choices that are close or area attacks and are not affected by Total Concealment. While the wizard is never going to solo kill the dragon 1d6 at a time, the ability to plink away at it when it goes dark is invaluable becasue it also helps force the dragon to move out of the darkness; or it will die 1d6 at a time.

Additionally, the dragon's weak defenses are Fort and Will, so if the party is not equipped to attack those defenses, they may have a tougher time.

It is definitely a tough encounter, though, and I'm not trying to say otherwise. Can you give us more info on the strategy the party used and what did/didn't work?


Zieke Halveran wrote:
Ehlissa Briez wrote:
Anyone can make Knowledge checks untrained but they can only get up to DC 10 information
Well, in that case, I'd roll a Knowledge (local) check, but Invisible Castle is down. Rolling here at work yields a... 1d20+2 = 13+2 = 15. So clue me in if Zieke knows anything helpful, JSL.

The following info on Hannah is common knowledge:

Hannah has lived in Sandpoint practically since the town's founding 40+ years ago. She is half-elven, which explains her still relatively youthful appearance. She is a lay healer (i.e., not a classed cleric) and is not associated with any one faith; but she is known to make offerings to Iomedae, Sarenrae, and Pharasma as suits the occasion. Throughout her tenure in Sandpoint, she is best known for her work as a midwife. Though not the only such person in town, she is clearly the most experienced and trusted. She also brews potions and provides care (think hospice) for the sick and dying.


I tried not to make it too abrupt. But it is time for the party to get moving - even if all loose ends in town are not tied up yet. The box and the cup may just have to wait until you get back from Thistletop. They aren't that important, anyway.

So you have cash and can sell unneeded gear. Then take a day or two to reload before moving on.


It is an issue for me with Dravos. If the first Red Hand war was only 10 years ago, that is perfect for Humans. Infants and young children born at that time would now be coming into their maturity.

But for Dwarves, I do not want to play a young guy who has just grown his whiskers - I imagine Dravos more removed from his youth than that. But I need to reconcile what he was doing such a short time ago.

In the long view, however, advancement is now so accelerated vs. 1e and 2e that character lifespans are seldom an issue over the course of the campaign. Cultural viewpoint is important, but seldom needs to be directly justified in context of campaign history. Background, on the other hand, does.

Look at Eberron, for example. The "impossibly long" Last War went on for 100 years - hardly the blink of an eye to an elf. Granted, it was primarily a human affair; but still a human and an elf would have drastically different perspectives on it and it would play significantly different roles in their backgrounds. For the human, the war would have been going on his entire life, but the elf would remember the time before it began.


The Mayor and Sheriff patiently listen to your exploits of the last several days. Although he is following every word, you also see the Sheriff rub his temples and blink his eyes more than once. Clearly the man is hanging on the verge of total exhaustion. Though less haggard, you also see lines of concern and worry etched in the Mayor's expression.

As you wrap up the summary with your suspicions about Nualia, the Mayor and Sheriff exchange another worried glance, but hold their peace.

Perception DC 18:

Spoiler:

In the brief instant their eyes lock, the Mayor mouths "Hannah" and the Sheriff nods slightly.

Finally, the Mayor sighs heavily and looks squarely at Sheriff Hemlock. He rises and bows again to each of you, pausing to shake Zieke's hand, and then somewhat to your surprise, takes his leave.

Before you can question the Sheriff's departure, the Mayor settles everyone down. But before she can speak, Slidell begins:

Slidell wrote:
"Mayor, I do have one request. You were kind enough to offer us a retainer to help protect the town. That offer was originally made to our former companion as well, whom regrettably has chosen to leave us. Salome's assistance was more than vital in the last few days. I think I speak for all of us when I say that we wouldn't have been able to do it, Shards and Shells, we probably wouldn't be alive, without her. I wonder if you might consider extending your previous offer to her?

"As long as we are on the subject," Mayor Deverin replies, "Here is the 2,000 crowns I promised for removal of the Glassworks threat." She places a heavy bag of coins on the table before you.

"Now, as regards your retainer with the Town of Sandpoint, it is with a heavy heart that I must thank you for your service and release you from your obligation. The Sheriff's return bolsters our defense and makes your continued employment unnecessary. There is enough beyond the 2,000 in that bag to cover all that you are owed - including Salome, if that is your wish."

"Again, I'm sorry, but this applies to Zieke as well." She addresses the warrior directly, "We are in your debt, but the time of your employment by Sandpoint must come to an end."

"Thank you all again." She says earnestly and rises to leave, but pauses as Ehlissa speaks.

Ehlissa wrote:
She addresses the room, "I believe that we have enough evidence to indicate that Thistletop is where we need to be. The time to be there is now! Anything else is academic and will waste time. Lady willing, we'll bring the traitoress back here, and she will answer any questions you lot have anyway!"

"If that is your wish. I only ask that you finish your business in town tomorrow and depart with all haste." And with that, she exits leaving you to consider the bag of coins and your newfound freedom.

Wisdom or Nobility DC 12:

Spoiler:

Although she has just "dismissed" you from the Town, you also realize that the Mayor has uncluttered the political turmoil surrounding your employment. By releasing you from service, she bears no responsibility for your actions. She also allows the Sheriff to maintain his honor by not undercutting his authority. And finally, even though she is not directly paying you, your relationship is clear enough that Scarnetti will not be able to capitalize overmuch on your success (if any).

The bag:

Spoiler:

The bag contains 250 platinum coins and a parchment bearing the Mayor's personal seal. It is a map of the Lost Coast region showing Sandpoint and a dot off the coast about a day's ride to the north labeled "Thistletop".

To the side is scratched "Good Luck!" in the Mayor's handwriting.


As you all go about your business, the shadows grow long and the late afternoon gives way to evening. Salome wanders the mercantile district examining fine yarns and used looms. Zieke fusses with his new outfit in the privacy of his room at the garrison. Vesh, Mal, and Slidell spin tales of the day's adventures at the Rusty Dragon. And Ehlissa cleans up after a day of hard training at the garrsion practice grounds.

Finally, the sense of anticipation that has built over the day comes to a head. The first indication of something happening is a lone rider galloping through town at full speed. Heads turn and doors open. Minutes later, the call goes up, "The Sheriff has returned! Belor is back!" Youth run in the streets and people old and young crowd to the windows and doors as nearly the entire town turns out to watch a troop of ragged Magnimarian recruits march through town to the garrison. The show is quickly over as the last of the soldiers disappears into the walled fort and the giant double doors swing closed.

You know what is coming and don't have long to wait. Within the hour, guardsmen seek you out and invite you to an audience with the Mayor and Sheriff.

After a moment of preparation, you are escorted to the Town Hall and assembled in the same room where you had your earlier meeting with Sandpoint's Finest. Mayor Deverin and Sheriff Hemlock are there waiting for you. The Sheriff looks haggard and exhausted, but is standing ramrod straight and wearing a fresh dress uniform complete with a red sash and ceremonial sword.

He returns Zieke's salute and greets the others with a curt Shoanti bow.

The Mayor greets everyone by name and invites you all to be seated. Sheriff Hemlock is last to take his seat. Water is brought in a large pitcher and glasses are placed before everyone. After a few nervous moments, the Mayor addresses those assembled.

"Welcome home, Belor. I have received your unofficial report and that will suffice for now. However, while you were away, these folks have uncovered more evidence of evil happenings within - and below - the town. I would like you to hear their report before you retire for the night. Then we can discuss a course of action tomorrow. I would like to be resolved on a course of action before the coming council meeting."

The Sheriff nods, "Very well. Proceed."

The floor is yours...

ASIDE: the council meeting is not today. Today is Wednesday. The council meets on Monday. That is probably not enough time to finish the module, but definitely enough to resolve pending business in town and be on to whatever comes next.


Ragadolf wrote:
-Let's get through the mayor meeting.

This is where we are headed next. With NSpicer at GenCon and Santinj@ busy over the weekend, it did not make sense to push ahead without them.

Now that everyone has had a chance to conduct some personal business, I'll send the Mayor's people around to gather you up.


West SJ/CU here.

You might try checking out Game Kastle on Coleman & Brokaw in Santa Clara. They have a good RPG crowd there. However, most of the folks I know migrated to 4e pretty quickly, so you might not find exactly what you are looking for.


Slidell Stormraven wrote:

JSL-Question,

** spoiler omitted **

"Well, I think we can presume that the three-eyed jackal refers to Lamashtuu. But, a jackal Staring out of a giant's eye?" The mage shrugs his shoulders.
"Tales of the Runelords tell of entire clans of enslaved giants being used to build their monuments. The giants and the Runelords are as synonymous as the Runelords and the Runes themselves! I even heard one tale about magical giants used as army commanders. But, staring out the giant's eye. I don't know,..."

Waiting for JSL to answer the question before I say too much! ;)

Sli:

Spoiler:

Yes, Brodert mentioned that to you.


Slidell Stormraven wrote:

Sli's Knowledge (Local) UNTrained: (1d20+3=11)

Sli's Knowledge (Arcana): (1d20+9=17)

You do not know much about giants native to the Lost Coast of Varisia, but you do recall that the Runelords of ancient Thassilon enslaved entire clans of giants for use in building many of their fantastic monuments. In fact, giants are as much synonymous with Thassilon as the Runes themselves.


Aelwyn wrote:


What's the word on the street?
Streetwise (1d20=20)

Do I get a crit? :)

Yes. You killed the Word.


Seriously, though, Dravos may have stopped to buy some supplies upon arriving in town. Not wanting to attract the attention of the local dwarf community, he would have gone though a non-dwarf artisan/guild/merchant and possibly met Kriv there. Not wanting to arouse suspicion, he would make noises like "I'm just passing through and need some trail gear an' mountaineering supplies." You might be surprised to see him still in town a day or two later.


Vesh wrote:


Once Vesh enters and orders some of Risa's special potatoes and some hard cider, he puts his ear to the grindstone before continuing his conversation with Mal. Right now, he's just looking for what the talk of the town is. Vesh's Gather Information check (1d20+3=10).

The casual word on the street is that the Sheriff will be back soon - with fresh men from Magnimar. Someone even claims to have spotted an outridder from his column a hour ago while in the South Fields. "They look'd ta be only 8 ar 10 miles off - as tha harse trots!"

If the mostly Varisian crowd at Risa's recognizes you at all, they do not make noise about it like the folks at the Rusty Dragon. You can't tell if they are being polite, or just don't care.

Slidell: Check Knowledge Local for recent events, Knowledge Arcana for Thassilon.

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