I will for sure. I'm hoping once the dust settles I might be able to find the ability to keep something running and start over.
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Guys, I really don't want to but I think I need to cancel this game. My personal life is kind of in shambles right now and I really can't give a definitive date when it'll stop being that way. I'm sorry. I really wanted to continue this and make it work but I just can't right now.
So, I think it's time I officially shut this down. I feel like I've lost steam repeatedly and we've lost a few people and it's just... never felt like we had a full group for the game. I'm sure I killed plenty of excitement over this game with my inconsistent posting and I apologize. It's rough but it happened. All of the games I played in have died off and I've just gotten burnt out on running games; I was never the kind of person who could be the 'Forever DM', unfortunately. I've got one game still running and another game over Discord trying to get started but I'm just not able to focus on keeping games running. I hate to disappoint, but I don't feel like I can reasonably keep this running. I would put it on hiatus but since I've stalled us out so long it feels disingenuous to do so and pretend I'll come back and get running at a regular pace. I would love to but it's not really fair.
Hey everyone, I think I'm just gonna shut this down. The entire last page is about 85% Mephiston replying to me, and it doesn't seem like we've got a lot of engagement here. I'm sure plenty of that was my fault for my inconsistent posting, but I'm not really up for running what amounts to almost a one-man game. I've been having a rough time finding motivation to keep my games running considering all but one game I was playing in died off, and I'm just burnt out on only running games right now. Sorry guys. I really wanted this to work but it just isn't panning out. Between these problems and us dropping players, I'm just not feeling it.
Waiting on you all at this point. Where do you want to go?
Tentatively interested, although I'm not sure what kind of character I'd want to run. I had a pretty fun Alchemist I played a while back in a game that fell apart, but I might pitch something else instead.
Marcus takes a closer look at the Aspis footprints, and counts two dozen distinct boot prints in the soil. The prints are pressed deeper into the soil than he would've suspected if they were traveling light, and it's unlikely a scouting party would be quite so large. Only one set of footprints seems to step lightly where the others trod so heavily, several paces ahead of the others. However, Marcus also a set of footprints far behind the others, these stopping about thirty feet behind the other sets before peeling off back into the jungle. These footprints are small, maybe half the size of a normal man's, and are curiously barefoot.
So, remember when I said I had energy to post again? My place of employment then desired to fire one of the other people working my shift and the person they hired never showed up for training, so I'm back to working more than I'm supposed to. I'm going to keep trying to post regularly despite that as the other issues have gone away, but I ended up working seven days straight to cover for the person they fired and, despite the fact that I was supposed to have a bit of time off after that, they tried to get me to come in a day later and work again and now I'm working extra shifts this week too. Hopefully by next week or so this'll be sorted out at work and I'll be back to normal.
Actually, this is something I've got in the works because I honestly agree with you on that. Part of the reason I haven't given out all of their names and such is that since I've been busy lately I haven't finished writing up stuff for all the NPCs, but also because I had the intention of introducing some of them over time as the sailors were actually going to be part of your kingdom building; at the moment you only have one boat with a singular crew, but as time goes on and you were able to perhaps acquire more boats or crew I was going to make it so you could upgrade crew members using BP for your kingdom. Since Azlant exists more as a series of islands than a big landmass, a navy is generally going to be a lot more important. Right now all the sailors are generic warriors, but you will be getting to know them and perhaps learn the direction you might want to take them in once your colony gets going.
The group sets out as the sun just begins to raise over the horizon, leaving the cave behind with the soldiers and the dead creature with Garrick keeping watch over them all. The party heads northeast as they follow the river near their cave, leading them up and away from the beach. Marcus passes by what he's certain is the tracks of the Aspis soldiers; they've made no attempt to hide their passing and the uniformity of the boot prints suggests these aren't the colonists they're looking for. The tracks head due north through the river by his reckoning, although he's not able to tell much else without a thorough examination of the tracks. Perception (DC 20): Not much farther down the river, you spot the first sign that anyone or anything has ever lived here; while clearly it has been worn away by vegetation growth and the passing of years, you do spot what must have once been a trail through the jungle.
No one really gave us a direction to head, so I'll just choose randomly I guess? 1-50 will be northwest, 51-100 will be northeast.
Northeast we go!
Amusingly enough, as the group rolls up on the club they were told to visit, a downpour drenches the streets of Seattle. The club, Neon Rain, looks to be an upscale establishment; its neon signs are diffused through the rain and cast a vague pink glow across the block. Inside, new-age smooth jazz plays through the speakers, and upon asking the attendant they point you upstairs toward the private conference room. After the group has cleaned up, they only get a few stares from regulars that notice them as outsiders. At the top of the stairs, two orks that you can only assume are Mr. Johnson's bodyguards, motion for you to stop. "Arms out to your sides, we need to check you for weapons." The other ork has his hand in his jacket, his hand clearly gripping a weapon. "Once you're clear, you can head on through. Mr. Johnson is waiting for you."
Sorry folks, someone called out of work and I had to come in on... not a ton of sleep. I know I've kept you waiting a while, but something will be up soon.
Hey all, I'm finally back in business. I'm sorry I haven't been posting, but I just haven't had the mental energy. Between picking up extra shifts at work and what I thought was me being sick, I was just too tired to formulate something like this. My doctor upped one of my medications and I've been feeling better, so I should be back to my normal posting rate now. Sorry I was gone for so long. I'll have a post up here tomorrow. Trying to get all my games moving again in one night is still a little too much for me right now, but I'll be getting an update schedule rolling here shortly.
Hey all, I'm finally back in business. I'm sorry I haven't been posting, but I just haven't had the mental energy. Between picking up extra shifts at work and what I thought was me being sick, I was just too tired to formulate something like this. My doctor upped one of my medications and I've been feeling better, so I should be back to my normal posting rate now. Sorry I was gone for so long. As for Garrick, I'm not sure where he is. Last time I spoke to him he had some health problems in his family, and he since has dropped most of his games? I shot him a PM to see if he'd like to continue the game. I hope he'll get in touch with me soon, regardless of whether he wants to play or not.
"When I was younger, I almost died from a snakebite. I startled it in a riverbed, and it bit me before I could get away." One of the sailors walks up toward the last embers of the fire, pulling up the leg of his pants slightly. Two red marks are left on his calf, the only mark of his prior attack. "I managed to stumble back to my home before I collapsed, but it took me days before I came around from the fever. I couldn't walk for weeks." Another of the sailors steps up, pulling his coat over his shoulders. "I left Oppara after my brother and I accidentally killed a man who attacked us in a bar fight. I haven't set foot in Taldor since. I set my mother and father up with a home in Varisia after my fist few voyages so I wouldn't have to risk going back." The other sailors step forward to share personal details about themselves, before the one who had suffered the snake bit speaks up. "So... where do we go from here? It looks like there isn't much to the south of us other than beach and the ocean. We need to find those settlers before Aspis does... or whatever that is." He jerks a thumb toward the body of the ugothol, and shudders. "You all seem to be better suited for this; you've fended off sahuagin and had adventures, Where you go, we'll follow."
Hey all, I'm finally back in business. I'm sorry I haven't been posting, but I just haven't had the mental energy. Between picking up extra shifts at work and what I thought was me being sick, I was just too tired to formulate something like this. My doctor upped one of my medications and I've been feeling better, so I should be back to my normal posting rate now. Sorry I was gone for so long.
Mephiston takes a look up and around the bend in the hall, coming to what appears to be another secret store room. Barrels of what he believes is likely ale along with bags of sand—probably to stem any leaky walls in Grozz's domain—sit alongside the shallow pools so common down in the Siphons. It doesn't make much sense to have a secret door just to head here, and Mephiston's intuition tells him there's likely another secret entrance or exit to this room, but he can't seem to find it. However, as he heads back to tell the group, he hears quite a bit of muffled noise headed from the other passageway, what sounds like several shuffling footsteps and... laughing?
Sorry for my continued absence. I've been feeling pretty fatigued lately and I just haven't felt up to posting. I think I might be sick and I just can't really put anything together. If it doesn't go away soon I already have a doctor's appointment scheduled so I'll talk to him then.
Sorry for my absence. I've been feeling pretty fatigued lately and I just haven't felt up to posting. I think I might be sick and I just can't really put anything together. If it doesn't go away soon I already have a doctor's appointment scheduled so I'll talk to him then.
Sorry for my continued absence. I've been feeling pretty fatigued lately and I just haven't felt up to posting. I think I might be sick and I just can't really put anything together. If it doesn't go away soon I already have a doctor's appointment scheduled so I'll talk to him then.
He cane out of our Kingmaker game, yeah.
And we're back! Sorry that was longer than intended. My connecting flight home was cancelled on the 16th so I was stranded in Charlotte for the night, and I had to get a hotel room and sleep for about two hours before getting up to catch my flight to a much farther airport from my home because no more flights were heading into my preferred airport the next day. That meant I was basically a zombie for a few days while I had to adjust my sleep schedule back to being nocturnal. Now though, I finally feel vaguely alive enough to get back to posting. I should be back up to around 4-5 posts a week, which is about what I was at before I left and seemed to be a better pace for everyone. At this point, you guys can start exploring the island to find traces of these missing colonists or to see what Aspis is up to. You'll need Survival checks to glean much meaningful information for the time being, or a Perception check at a -5 penalty. You can also roll Climb to get a good view from the high ground, giving you a +5 bonus on your check. Pick a hex on the map and that'll be what you get information from.
Worried or baffled by the events that have transpired during the night, the group has trouble getting a restful night's sleep; the quivering mass that remains of what was the captain is hard to ignore, and the strange creature that masquerading as his cloak is still clearly somewhere on the island. For the hours they do manage to find sleep, it is fraught with apparitions and nightmares; anyone in the morning who inquires will learn everyone at the camp was plagued by nightmares of drowning while being watched by a series of glowing red eyes or trapped in monstrous tentacles; you can almost feel the slimy appendages drag at your heels as you wake up and move around in the morning. As the sun overtakes the horizon, the ugathol still lays still in the middle of the camp, now clearly dead. The creature appears to have dried out, almost like clay, and has hardened into a solid mass rather than the undulating mass of flesh seem before. There remain no signs of the Aspis thugs or the missing colonists, at least not near your camp. Taking the high ground might allow for a better vantage point to spy anything unusual, or a location where they'd be likely to hole up.
Mephiston heads down the passageway as the group cautiously steps over the previously noticed pressure plate, and continues down the corridor. As they round the bend, they cross into another room and notice another set of bloody spatters on the floor, although most of them appear to be much older. The now russet-colored cobblestones on the floor almost hide the smaller pools of blood from your current quarry, and those themselves almost hide what is distinctly a footprint; it looks mostly human, but it almost looks like there are chunks of flesh missing from the outline. Around the room, Mephiston spies some bear traps strewn around the floor with loose rubble and gravel scattered around. It seems likely that at one point these traps were meant to be covered, but whoever traveled through here must have revealed the traps by accident in their haste. As Mephiston starts to head down the only available path, his eye catches what looks like another hidden panel in the wall. Approaching carefully out of fear of a trap, the Chelaxian runs his hand along the grooves until he feels a catch, and the wall slides open to reveal a hidden passageway. It breaks off in two directions, one heading to the south while the other heads east.
Despite their unnerving discovery, the group eventually succumbs to exhaustion and sets watches for the night, watching over their new prisoner until dawn breaks. Those on the watch will notice, however, that the creature never stirs so much as an inch; it's likely that the monster returned to its true form after finally perishing from the poison crossbow bolts it had been struck with. The night mostly passes uneventfully, with no sign of the Aspis crew or any sort of native life. The utter lack of sound other than the slight breeze and the crackling of the burning wood is, for lack of a better word, unsettling. Percepton DC 22:
Only barely succeeding in not succumbing to the monotonous silence of the island, you notice a stirring from near the body of the creature you knew as Captain Gallifrey. You ready your weapon, believing the monster is stirring, before you notice his cloak has moved quite a bit farther from his body. As soon as you stir or even seem to have noticed, the cloak unfurls into a manta-ray like creature while its bony tail lashes about on the stone floor. Quicker than you can blink, the monster flaps its fleshy wings and takes flight, skimming the top of the cavern and soaring off into the night sky.[/url] Rolls:
Sorry, meant to make that post and then I got busy. I'll try to post at least a few times while I'm gone, but I don't know how often that'll be. I'm posting from the Charlotte airport right now, and I'm only awake thanks to the ~50 ounces of coffee I've had so far today. I'm gonna get a post up before I board my next flight, though.
I forgot to mention here that I'm out of commission for the next week for the most part; I had seven days of work in a row and now I'm on my way to Memphis for a week. I'll try to post when I can, but we'll try to resume a normal schedule when I get back. Michael's player is moving pretty soon, so I think he'll probably be back after he gets settled in. I may leave him out of this run for the time being.
Apologies on the radio silence. I forgot to mention I was working seven days in a row, and now I'm in an airport on my way to Memphis for the next eight days. I'll try to post when I'm there, but when I get back I should have plenty of time to get back to a normal schedule.
Mephiston disables the device with a few quick motions, removing the internal trigger near the nozzle to keep it from spitting flame. Ahto creeps forward and looks around, and just before he steps on it he notices yet another trap; a pressure plate hidden in the floor, not unlike the ones they'd just stepped on. Looking to the left, he spots an odd seam in the wall that likely sports another trap. However, past the pressure plate he also spots a few droplets of blood scattered on the ground just around the bend. It seems they're headed in the right direction.
No, Investigation is a separate skill.
So, I have been trying to do a better job with frequent posting, I hope the pace has picked up a bit for you all. However, the next couple days will likely be pretty sparse from me. I'm working every night until the 8th (and I'm going to be horribly busy Friday and Saturday, I'm sure) and then I'll be away from home for a week until the 16th. I'm visiting my girlfriend in Memphis so I won't have a ton of time to post. I won't be going silent until then, but I'll definitely be posting less than I was before. After that I'll be back to trying to post as frequently as possible.
Marcus and the others return just in time to witness Gallidren's disturbing discovery, watching as the elf's fingers seem to warp the man's flesh like gelatin. A few seconds later, the captain's skin takes on a muddy hue and begins to warp and stretch, until the body no longer bears more than a passing resemblance to the man you thought laid in your camp. The body now resembles a hunched humanoid with thick forearms and crimson red skin. Its hands end in sets of thick claws, and its head resembles a ball of amorphous flesh with no face to be seen; the only hint of bodily functions is a disturbing, mosquito-like proboscis that juts out near where one might expect a mouth. As the creature's body expands, it rips open the captain's clothes leaving its smooth, formless body completely exposed. Its entire body, despite the reddish color, looks almost like a crude pile of clay. As the sailors stand there in stunned silence, the body almost seems to deflate and collapse further into itself, until it lies flat against the stone. Knowledge (Dungeoneering) DC 20:
The creature before you is an ancient weapon crafted by the mysterious aboleth; known as ugothol or faceless stalkers, these strange beasts were created via the aboleth's flesh warping to serve as the ultimate spies and infiltrators. Capable of disguising themselves as humanoids and using their disturbingly pliable bodies, ugothol were used as spies and assassins by the aboleth long before the fall of Azlant.
Ahto and Mephiston continue forward again, walking past another pair of stagnant pools. Mephiston notices what looks like a passage through the grate to his right, but it distracts him just long enough that his first hint of the trap is hearing the light click as both he and Ahto sink their foot into another pressure plate. The whole group hears the wall behind them grind open as worn down mechanisms part some of the old rock, and a huge gout of flame bursts out from the now-exposed nozzle jutting out from the new opening.
Rolls:
Gallidren takes hold of the cloak and removes it from the captain, and for a moment he feels as if it has a mind of its own. It almost shudders as he removes it and sets it to the side, but afterward it lies entirely still. When he checks to make sure the captain is breathing, he finds the man's chest is entirely still. More alarming, however, is when he touches the captain's skin; he checks to feel if the captain is still warm when his fingers sink unnaturally into the man's flesh. Captain's Gallifrey's skin warps around his fingertips and retracts several inches as Gallidren isn't expecting the lack of resistance. When he pulls his hand back the captain's flesh once against billows outward, resuming its normal shape. Unlike normal skin, Gallidren notes the man's flesh has a texture somewhere between rubber and cured leather.
Just to be clear, you all are planning on continuing to follow the blood trail? There was some discussion otherwise, so I just wanted to double check.
Okay, we'll do corporate espionage instead. Everyone who voted seemed to vote for casino or the corporate extraction other than Alter, who voted directly for the corporate job. So, seems like that's the option that everyone's on board with.
"I'm interested in the corporate job too, actually. Johnson says he wants to meet us at a bar downtown tomorrow night called Neon Rain. He says to ask the bartender for directions to the private conference lounge upstairs. There'll be two bodyguards to check for weapons, anything bigger than a sidearm and the deal's off." Derek picks the pad up again and types for a few seconds and soon a little ding goes off before he pockets it and heads off toward his room. "Meeting's set up. Make sure you've got everything sorted before we go, they might want us working after the meeting. You never know."
Marcus fades away into the jungle, using his powers to carve fake footprints into the sand as he leaves, and as he leaves the scene he and the others hear the Aspis goons shouting about the footprints before fanning out in that direction to search for their thief. Meanwhile, Marcus and the others find it easy to abscond with the goods they've managed to pilfer. While they have a long night ahead of them to get back they've definitely gotten enough food for at least a few days. Back at the camp, Gallidren is keeping watch over the camp while Garrick continues making his alchemical supplies. While he doesn't see anything outside, he does hear an odd noise from the captain's resting place. When he heads over to investigate, he notices something even stranger; the unconscious man's cloak seemed to be rustling on its own, with not so much as a gust of wind passing through the cave. The captain himself seems eerily still, making the movement of the cloak even more confusing. Knowledge (Dungeoneering) DC 20: He's never seen one himself, but Gallidren does remember tales of strange creatures who used to disguise themselves as cloaks. However, these monsters tend to live underground rather than on the surface, and are usually partners with whomever wears them. As far as you know, he's worn the same cloak since you left Absalom.
The path continues southward, before splitting off in two directions. Mephiston notices that the blood trail continues down to the east, but to the west he sees what looks like some crudely dug catacombs. They're dug out of the wall with rubble lying in the center of the room, likely carved out of the walls with something like a pickax. Without venturing much further, he can see several withered legs jutting out over the edge of the catacomb. At the end of the hall—from the other entrance to the room—he spots what he's fairly certain is a pressure plate. However, he doesn't spot any trap in the room. Wisdom DC 10: You dimly remember someone saying there were rumors that Grozz had some pet ghouls to guard his lair.
Just checking in, haven't seen any posts in a few days.
Marcus crouches low and begins slowly dragging the first crate through the sand and back toward Annika and Janus. Despite being exposed and out in the open, Marcus successfully steals two crates and sends them back to the others. As they finish opening the crates and packing the food into their bags, Marcus begins to again lift another crate gently off the sand and toward the tree line. However, this time as he does so, something seems to catch the attention of the nearest Aspis grunt. He turns his head and notices the crate creeping away, and raises his torch as he approaches for a better look. "Hey, hey! What's going on over there?" The grunt shouts as he draws a knife from his belt, and a few of the others seem to be alerted by his call. "Who's there? Where'd you put the other crates?" The man does not, however, seem to notice Marcus standing far enough out of the range of his torch. If they start to search the area it will only be a matter of time until they spot him, but for the moment he still has the benefit of stealth. Janus and Annika are far enough back that fading away back into the jungle would be simple enough, once they've finished packing up the rest of the food they've managed to steal. The Aspis thugs are still restricted to the beach, at least for now. Dice Rolls:
Sounds good! Bronze, those are both decent ideas. However, do remember you could also upgrade your cyberware to a higher grade in order to gain more space in which you can get some new upgrades. However, specialty gear is never a bad idea. You can feel free to make some decisions after you choose your mission if you want something specific. Also, seems like we're interested in the casino as a party. I'll get us moving shortly.
Mephiston and Ahto give the grate a shove, and the weakened stone around it crumbles and collapses, and the two of them stumble into a pool of stagnant water. Crawling up onto the raised platform, the two of them plainly notice something new; bloody handprints are pressed into the stone where they climbed up, and a trail of blood and dripping water leads down toward a once collapsed pathway. Now though, the passage seems to have been cleared—perhaps more easily than you might have expected—and the wet, bloody trail heads south along that corridor.
"Records? I think they're with the police department. You're welcome to poke around in the records room though, if there's anything else you need. I can have what the police collected sent to you though, since Mr. Phillips gave you all the go-ahead to poke around. We could have it faxed to you, if you want. Where are you staying?" The woman pauses for a moment, her fingers pressing the buttons on her desk phone. "Or would you rather I just told them you'd be swinging by to take a look at it?"
Skulking off into the darkness, both Annika and Janus follow Marcus as he heads toward the beach to scavenge what he can from the Aspis supplies. While finding the location is trivial for the former bandit, the trek itself takes nearly another hour. When they arrive, many of the crates have been moved—likely to wherever they've made their base of operations—but about half a dozen remain sitting on the beach, guarded by Aspis thugs. A few carry torches, but the rest sit around a campfire on the beach. The closest of them stands about fifteen feet from the crates with his back turned, holding his torch limply in his hand. Marcus heads out of the cover of the treeline to move closer to the crates, until he can wrap the thin strands of aether around the boards and begin to slowly move them toward himself. While standing exposed on the beach, Marcus remains well out of the light of the torches, and provided he works slowly it seems unlikely the guards will notice.
Blue, go ahead and do the Initiation. I don't mind it right now, just that during character creation the BP to Karma conversion isn't easy to do so I preferred to leave it for in-game. I do ask that you give me a little snippet of what goes on in the initiation though (even if it's just in a spoiler). I'm seeing one for the casino and/or target extraction, and one who's fine with whatever. Anyone else want to plug something they're interested in? I will add that the casino mission will more heavily involve VR, but all of them would include it to a degree. The third mission actually involves it the most but there's a fair bit at the casino as well.
Mephiston heads down into the collapsed tunnel, the water coming up near his knees. Not much farther down, he spies another hallway that must have intersected with this one. One side of the tunnel has collapsed, but the other runs northward; he has to haul himself up to look, but Mephiston does spot some specks of blood running down the hall, although they look a fair bit older than the ones they've been following. Farther up, the tunnel dips back down, probably due to another collapsed passageway. The end of hishallway runs up against a grate, which Mephiston can tell is from a room he discovered earlier. The grate seems loose, like a good shove could dislodge it, but it's still in place for the moment.
Just checking in, still waiting on a direction to go. The blood trail is not immediately visible from your current location. Could be farther down the path or could have washed away in the water.
The few sailors with the group do their best to get the captain comfortable, taking a few bedrolls they took from the ship and leaving him close to the fire. The man is still horribly pale and his breath only comes in short gasps; it's hard to say whether he'll survive even after treatment. "We weren't able to grab much from the ship," one of the sailors says, gesturing to their meager supplies. Two of them had been carrying a crate full of what seems to be food, while others are carrying some basic camping supplies. "Most of what we took went with the colonists, but we don't know where they are right now. We might have enough food here for two days between the lot of us. Not all of us are going to sleep comfortably tonight, either." The sailor looks out of the cave, the sky slowly darkening as clouds roll in. The sun has now dipped below the horizon, and night is beginning to settle. Off in the distance, a faint roll of thunder echoes. "At least we'll all be dry in here."
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