Hmmm... When you first met the party, I did describe that two "writs" were near you (link), and I soon after described them as blank lodge invitations. I am not seeing if or when anyone noticed or grabbed them. But we can assume you took one and wrote your own name.
The stench of burnt flesh lingers in the cold winter's night air as the remaining companions come to terms with what has happened. Kneeling beside Istivan's cooling body with hands raised over his chest, Sookie's head and shoulders crumble. Somberly looking up at the others, she shakes her head. Tears begin to stream down her face. Though Rhia grieves the loss of her new friends, she feels strangely fortunate that Sookie, at least, has survived the night with her. When Sookie turns to her and asks if she is alright, the couple embraces. Zelda's two best friends have been taken from her. For the first time since their bonding yet harrowing experience in Ravengro, she is alone. Not really alone: she's got new friends here in this accursed forest for sure. But there is a dread in her heart, a fear for Aliseya's and Naught's welfare, she is beside herself. It also is now made crystal clear that the necromancer, Auren Vrood, and Aliseya's hag mother are allies. They both attacked tonight. Was the real agenda for this evening to capture Aliseya? Does the necromancer also want to turn her into a dark, power-craven creature like her mother? The loss of Drogeda tears a hole in Fulk's big heart. His longtime companion from his homeland is now gone, murdered so heinously by some foul necromancer he'd just learned about. And though he'd just met Brias, he felt as though a brother he'd barely known was gone as well. Christoph circles the camp, gripping his raised bow at the shadows. His gaze is the incarnation of Sternhood itself. Darting piercing violet eyes ensure that no square inch of this forsaken forest shall dare surprise him again this evening. It's bad enough that three have died and three more went missing in his company. He'd personally vowed to Magistrate Daramid to protect the three young ladies, and now two are gone. It's as if Severity must now compensate, somehow, for this unforgivable loss. ... Satisfied that the threat is truly gone for now, Christoph collects the body of Istivan, placing him down near the charred bodies of Drogeda and Brias. Christoph circles his piercing gaze around at each of the companions. As he glances at Sookie, Rhia, and Zelda: "Tomorrow, we will reach Ascanor Lodge. We'll learn where the necromancer is. And where he is, we will find Aliseya, Naught, and Sunny. And we will rescue them." As his gaze reaches Fulk, his fists and his jaw clench, as he adds: "And we will make the necromancer pay dearly for all the evil he has wrought." He picks up a shovel from a pack, and starts to dig the cold earth. With help, three shallow graves are dug in half an hour's time. Sookie says a prayer to her god Tsukyo, and offers some kind words about the deceased, before the bodies are then covered. A few crude markers are placed as headstones. With the brief ceremony completed, the companions bed down once again. Sleep is hard to come by for all, though the cold night remains otherwise uneventful. Before bedding down, Sookie notices Fulk's significant wounds. She places a healing hand upon his shoulder and, with her holy symbol in the other hand, Fulk feels an effervescent tingling sensation his wounds partially heal.
"Thanks love," Sookie says to Rhia on seeing her ancestors finish off the two zombies on them. Rolling out of her bedroll and standing up, she assesses the situation. She spots the two zombies and the floating hag remaining. Considering how well Ali seems to be doing, she opts to take out the nearby zombies first with one new friend down and another not looking so hot. With spear in one hand, she holds up her jade crescent moon symbol. Closing her eyes for a moment, she focuses on a prayer in a language unknown to the others. "Shindara ikiru koto ni shūchaku shinai."
Speak Tien: "Cling not to life when dead."
Zelda shish kebab's her zombie's head with her rapier, then slices its head off with her offhand sword. The head stops moving, and the body drops to the ground. Fulk smashes and rips his zombie to shreds, leaving a pile of broken bones and desiccated pulp on the ground. The two zombies trying to choke or bite Rhia and Sookie's necks are suddenly battered and blasted apart by Rhia's ethereal ancestral warriors. The specters from her past make both zombies' reanimation a thing of the past as well. Christoph's zombie's brains are splattered by the impact of his first arrow, causing it to fall to the ground motionless. His next two arrows indeed pierce the skulls of the two spellcasting zombies. Unfortunately, they both remain standing.
A few months of la de da, and then... WAKE UP!!! DEATH IS HERE!!! :D Yeah, TBH it's time to cull the NPCs. Most GMs just let PCs disappear when their players go MIA, and every character I guess mysteriously forgets them somehow. But I like covering how the parting is done in-story. The downside is I can end up NPCing, like, 8 ex-PCs for a while, LOL. We might lose a PC if we're not careful, too... :o Everyone has rolled initiative now, I'll try to update the game over the weekend.
The companions settle in for the evening as Istivan takes first watch. Something troubles Rhia as she struggles to fall asleep... something she can't quite place. Nearby Sookie tries to help her, but Rhia's unease is not fully abated, and Sookie is sound asleep soon after. Eventually, Rhia drifts off into slumber as well. ...
"WAKE UP! DANGER!" Fulk, Rhia, Christoph, and Sunny awaken first to what sounds like the loud, sourceless, booming voice of Istivan warning them of danger. Looking in his direction reveals the faint trace of arcane effervescence from his fingertips, as usually happens after he casts a spell. He does so while struggling with what appear to be a pair of large hands wrapped around his neck, strangling him. The hands... have no body. Before any of you can stand or react, you then notice your own more immediate troubles. A shimmering figure materializes from out of thin air before Fulk. A wretched pair of clawed hands from a grotesque rotting human are wrapped around Fulk's neck as it materializes, choking the fiery half-orc. Kneeling beside Rhia and Sookie, a pair of rotting figures materialize over each of them. The one over Sookie tries to strangle her in her sleep. But the tweed-clad lady grabs the form's dark wrist as its clawlike fingertips seem to scrape against some unseen metallic surface at Sookie's neck. She opens her eyes in alarm and glances over at Rhia. Another rotting figure likewise is kneeling down to Rhia with an outstretched, clawlike hand. As it attempts to rip flesh from her beautiful face, Rhia feels the protection of her ancestors repel the claw from touching her. Sunny wakes up with, of course, a bright beaming smile as she swiftly dodges the looming animated rotting corpse reaching down to grab and strangle her. As Drogeda jumps up, another grotesque humanoid of some unknown kind (too decrepit to easily tell) begins to materialize in front of her. As she stands with bow in hand, its mouth unnaturally opens too wide with an unnerving bone-crackling sound. A dark fume jets forth, engulfing her body. Drogeda convulses in agony and drops to the ground. Brias as well is beset by yet another animated corpse of particularly decrepit condition. Before he can stand, he is also engulfed in a dark fume, and likewise convulses in great pain. Christoph adeptly dodges the rancid-fleshed grip of yet another undead assailant with a swift roll out of his sleeping bag, immediately grabbing for his weapons. Zelda is also assailed in her sleep by another creeping zombie materializing from thin air. The limber blonde kicks up and out of the way of her assailant's loose-fleshed hands. A horrid old crone with green warted flesh and a black hooded robe hovers inches over the still sleeping Aliseya and Naught. It speaks to Aliseya in an old, darkly whispered tongue. The very sound of it sends shivers up your spines. "BRZUL, E'NDJZ. AJ NYH'ZULDIKCH." Aliseya blinks twice, looks around wide-eyed as she stands, faces the hideous hag, and responds... in the same, deeply-unsettling language. "NYGH! Y'GLASKJH NASH! W'ZHK NAZGSH! HRUV Q'KHOT!" Naught wakes up now, and facepalms at the sight of the hag. Apparently it is a familiar sight to her... and she speaks in the dark tongue as well. "NASH GHTZ RJED..." Naught grabs her axe as she grimly glances around at the situation.
Rhia and Fulk Only:
As you wake up to the horrid situation, you also hear the faint sounds of dark whispers in the air. It's as if the dark woods are whispering all around you, as you see no source. Zelda Only:
You recognize the levitating old crone speaking with Aliseya as the green hag you met once before... Aliseya's mother. Speak Aklo:
"BRZUL, E'NDJZ. AJ NYH'ZULDIKCH." = "Come, my daughter. It is time." "NYGH! Y'GLASKJH NASH! W'ZHK NAZGSH! HRUV Q'KHOT!" = "No! I will not! You gross, hideous thing! Leave us alone!" "NASH GHTZ RJED..." = "Not this again..."
GM Rolls: NPC init rolls in alphabetical order: Aliseya, Brias, Christoph, Drogeda, Istivan, Naught, Sookie, Sunny. NPC perception rolls in same order.
Enemy group initiative.
Zombie attacks Fulk.
Zombie attacks Sookie.
Zombie attacks Rhia.
Zombie attacks Sunny.
Spellgorged Zombie's Ray of Enfeeblement vs Drogeda.
Drogeda's Fort save.
Spellgorged Zombie's Ray of Enfeeblement vs Brias.
Brias's Fort save.
Zombie attacks Christoph.
Zombie attacks Zelda.
Hag casts charm on Aliseya, Ali's Will save.
Ali's special Will save vs DC 15.
Istivan's been taking damage for 3 rounds, kept silent by being strangled.
"The Mute Hag? Ew." Aliseya eloquently remarks at the sight of a card depicting a hideous crone creature, whom Zelda, Aliseya, and Naught are all too familiar with. The hag holds an upright palm facing the viewer. An eyeball, clutched in the hag's mouth, stares back at you, probingly. The artwork on this fine deck is so well done, you feel a shiver run up and down your spine. "Not her again..." she seems to recall to mind an unfortunate encounter from her own not-too-distant past. "Well!" she brightens up with a smile, perhaps a bit forcefully to not let Rhia feel terrified about her fate, "So this card represents insight, seeing into the hearts of others. It, uh, kinda can involve blood pacts, poisonous secrets, family infighting, and bad performances," she says these negatives more quickly as if to gloss over them. "Buuuut! Since you drew it upside down, it signifies unshakable loyalty, and clarity in communication!" Aliseya's eyes drift towards Sookie. Then they smile back at Rhia.
I thought work would abate by now, but alas... Probably another few weeks of this, then I'm hoping to get back to posting at least once a week or more. I'll be back tonight to post.
Sunny... yeah. We've played in other games for years here. I'll most remember Sunny as being the bubbly light that contrasts and balances my character Reijo, a very grim and angry man, from other games (check out my profile). It's weird: I feel like I want to go to the wake, but all I know is a name and that they lived in Australia. I'm not entirely sure they passed yet, though the long absence would suggest it. So... you're in my thoughts and prayers from the US, Sunny. Thanks for all the enjoyable storytelling.
Sure, Brias. Feel free. As for advice, I've not played a lot of witches before (just one actually, and briefly... although Aliseya has been called a witch LOL). But what you have looks good to me, and Rhia's advice is sound too. When we get to a certain point in the near future, I'm expecting the party to be just Rhia, Zelda, Fulk, and Brias, and I'm thinking of keeping one of the NPCs on. I think it's safe to say that Christoph is not coming back to the game. And, sadly, Sunny unexpectedly will not be with us going forward. Currently, I'm giving Zelda a few more days to post. I'll move the game along this weekend.
Speaking of our new adventuring buddies, I intend to do what I've done for past new party members: an intro thread for each new PC, introducing some background context and some character until each thread converges with the party's timeline. I'm aiming to start that up for you both this weekend.
Sookie grabs Rhia's hands as she helps warm them by the fire. She then pauses a moment to look Rhia in the eyes, as if to ask, after the fact, if that is alright. Without asking, she then removes her warm cloak and wraps it around Rhia's shoulders. "Would be nice to adventure somewhere warm for a change, wouldn't it?" She smiles at Rhia. Taking notice of Sunny's outfit, of mere netting and strategically-placed shells, as she skips off after more wood, she wonders aloud, "She must have the blood of a snow giant..." "Perhaps an adventure at that lass's island would be a nice change of pace? Must be quite warm there if her people dress like that!"
Ok, the metamagically maximized extra busy spell I've been under has just lessened with one of the big things completed yesterday. If I don't post in several hours from the time of this post, I'll very likely be able to within the next few days.
What's the plan? Reijo walked up to the gate and knocked twice. He did not climb. Seeing Shaedeen successfully climb the wall (Sunny didn't roll so hot, LOL), Reijo decided to knock just as he's seen the savages do when returning. He is expecting the sleepy guard to open the gate, and is readying an attack on the cannibal. When the sleepy guard (presumably) opens the gate expecting to see fellow cannibals, I imagine he'll be surprised to see someone with clothes, a non-broken cutlass, and not sharp pointy teeth staring back at him with a maniacal grin. Reijo's hoping his cutlass meets the cannibal's face before the surprise wears off (hopefully!). He's also hoping Shaedeen and (if she made it) Sunny can also sneakily move in to flank the sleepy guard with him, perhaps as the gate starts opening. The lizard seems about 20 ft. away from the guard and is chained, so I'm not expecting it to be trouble - unless the guard is alerted to danger and unchains the lizard to sic it on us. We can decide about the lizard later, but I'm thinking the guard probably has a key to its chain. We take the key, and feed the guard's body to it to help keep it quiet. Not sure if letting it free will be better or worse for us (i.e. it might try to eat us anyway, LOL).
Just wanted to chime in to apologize, had a very busy weekend and I should really hit the bed soon. I'll try to post during the week if I can. Also, yeah Zelda and I have both been in this game since day one. It's been a fantastic run. I started out as a player with my character Aliseya Belododia, who became an NPC since I took over as GM a few years back. We've lost some really good players over the years, and a few good GMs (this game started in 2014!), but we've also gained some really good players in their stead (present company included). I endeavor to do the skills of past GMs justice. Looking forward to moving things along soon, and bringing the new orcs into the game. :)
As they converse, the companions wrap up their investigation, pack what they wish to keep, return to their horses and carry on along the Silent Path towards Ascanor Lodge. As the hours pass, the winter air grows colder. As sundown approaches, the companions decide to make camp for the night. By Naught's and Christoph's reckoning, they have perhaps another two days before reaching the Lodge. With a warm meal cooking over the campfire, Aliseya gives Naught a knowing look. The pair split off to a nearby tree, wisely remaining in direct line of sight with the others. They are discussing something important to them, judging by their body language. After securing the perimeter with Sookie, Christoph sits and is soon seen staring into the flames. His grim visage is lost in serious thought. Istivan cracks open a book by the campfire, and begins to read in the dimming light. Sookie unceremoniously takes a seat beside Rhia. Placing her spear and pack aside, she rubs her hands together for warmth as she speaks with Rhia, "It's quite nipplippy out now," her face blushes a bit after correcting herself. "Are you... warm enough?" She smiles awkwardly.
Drum roll please! ............... Congratulations to our two new PCs, who are... Brias and Fulk the Red! Brias and Fulk, please feel free to dot and post in the Discussion thread when you get a chance. Welcome aboard! Everyone else, this was truly a very tough decision. A few of you came very, very close in the final tally. Happy adventuring to you all, and I hope to game with you another time!
The time of reckoning is nigh... :) I'm expecting an active weekend BTW, so the announcement will probably be posted Sunday night rather than earlier (in US Eastern Time, that is).
20 new messages... wow, apologies for the delay. FYI I'm on vacation til Sunday the 16th, though I should be able to get back here tomorrow morning to catch up and post.
Thanks for the "ease of perusal" posts and updates, candidates! I'll set the final decision date to Sunday, July 23, which is in exactly three weeks from the time I am now posting. I'll be on vacation from July 8-16 (I'll try to peek in, but no guarantees), so this should give us all adequate time. I've asked all the current players to message me their choices by Saturday, July 22nd, the latest, which should give me a day to give a final review and announce the decision. And no worries if you've not gotten 100% of your mundane gear worked out. Though you should have completed back stories and all stats including gear all worked out in your profiles, of course, if anyone wants to reserve maybe 25 gold or even 50 for the time being in order to figure out a few mundane things later, that should be fine. So if you wanted to make very minor gear changes even on game start day, like "Oh I forgot to buy a compass...", I'd be fine with that. As long as you're not making significant changes. Best of luck!
Hey everyone. If you haven't started yet, lets all try to review the recruitment candidates and each choose two to join us over the next few weeks. I'll set the deadline for Saturday, July 22, for each of you to PM me your two votes, and why you chose them. This way, I can review and announce the final decision to them on Sunday, July 23. If you don't have the time to adequately review them all by then, that's totally fine. Just let me know if you can't get to it. Feel free to post here in discussion regarding the general recruitment process or in the recruitment thread to chat with the candidates. But again, it's probably best to communicate with me by PM about any concerns, questions, or comments you have about one or more of the specific candidates. Also of note, I'll be on vacation July 8-16, so my participation here will be very limited at best during that time. I'll try to peek in if I can. Thanks, happy choosing, and Happy Independence Day for those of us in the US!
Sorry, I had a very busy weekend. I'll try to update the game during the week. Also, I just closed recruitment to new candidates. Check out what I posted when you get a chance.
Hey everyone. It looks like we've got a nice pool of candidates to choose from now. Let's give everyone who has applied another week to wrap up any final details and tweaks, if any. Recruitment is now Closed to new PC submissions. The two new players will be chosen from those who've already submitted at least a PC concept. According to my quick review, here are the candidate PC names (please correct me if I missed anyone): • Aleks Vane
Next Steps. Next Sunday, I will ask the PCs to begin reviewing all the PC candidates (if they haven't already). I'm thinking of giving the PCs perhaps a couple of weeks to then PM me their two picks. I'll have my own picks as well. Should there be a tie, as GM I will choose between the tied candidates as a tiebreaker. Also, I think that answers Brias's question. :) Thanks everyone for the great submissions! This will certainly be a tough choice for us.
Reijo awakens, taking a moment to find himself strangling a cervical spine from one of the dead skeletons in the cave. He also finds the skull, detached, lying next to him, and a headless, neckless skeleton to his other side. "SON OV'A SMALL-BALLED BUGBEAR!" he curses aloud of a bugbear born against all odds. As his gravelly voice reverberates from the cave walls, he angrily throws the vertebrae against the wall and jumps to his feet. After hearing the conversation of the others, he concludes: "A bloody witch be sendin' us nightmares, she be..." "...which means: they're bloody onto us." He reaches for his pipe and lights up, chilling a couple of notches as he contemplates this new discovery.
And I wound up working late today after all, of course. :) Shooting to update the game over the weekend.
Hey Brias. It's not mechanically necessary to have ranks in both to have earned an income. The question is, how did one earn their income? A craft skill models a career involving the creation of a specific set of related products. Craft (carpenter) for instance indicates a trained carpenter, or Craft (armor smith) a trained metal and leather worker who specializes in armor production and repairs. A profession skill models a career involving knowledge of how to perform a wider range of services that don't necessarily result in the production of a product. Profession (merchant) for instance indicates someone who worked in sales: they didn't necessarily make what they sell, but they know how and where to acquire things at a bargain and then convince customers to buy them at a profit. Or Profession (barrister), which is someone who worked as a lawyer. So if your character not only crafted alchemical items for example but, say, managed a medicinal shop, having ranks in both Craft (alchemy) and Profession (herbalist) would make sense. The former enables you to create alchemical items, the latter indicates knowledge of herbs and the broader herbal market: so where and when to obtain various medicinal herbs in the wild or in the market, general business practices (i.e. knowing things like local business regulations, where to get supplies, guild connections, etc.). As a GM, I also should mention that I do like to find ways of making seemingly less useful skills (like many Professions) more useful in unique ways. For instance, make a Profession (barrister) check to see if you know that the city you're in has an ordinance against wearing red hats on pain of jail time. Or make a Profession (gambler) check to see if your gambling connections can lead you to meet someone with information on your quest to track someone or something down.
Hey FreeRadical. Yes indeed! Feel free to come up with something and post. :)
BTW Zelda, did you ever finish leveling up to 8? I just noticed your stat block says you're "Rogue 7". I do see 8 ranks in some skills in your profile, so I'm guessing you did level up and maybe just missed a spot?
Ok, thanks for your patience everyone. As I just mentioned in recruitment, I should have more time either Wednesday or Thursday night to check in and hopefully move the game along.
I'll have to get to bed shortly for work in the early am, unfortunately. I will really try to return and answer more questions tomorrow night, hopefully, or ASAP for sure. On the other hand, there's no rush getting your builds and stories all done. As mentioned, we post 1-2 times weekly: as you can see, that's because of me too. :) I work a FT job, a PT job, and have too many obligations on weekends. While I can't promise frequent posts, I can promise that I won't go MIA. As you can see, I've been playing or running this game since 2013. So unless something very tragic happens, I'm not going anywhere. :) We'll get there. Thanks for your patience.
Lobster - Hey, no worries about not making a caster. We're recruiting two PCs, so we might just want to bring in one of those and one of... something else. We shall see. :) So I think after reviewing the materials you've cited and your character's story, I think I'm comfortable with meeting you more than halfway... Permissions:
First the bad news. Regarding the mad dog barbarian or wild child brawler, I'm a bit cautious. We're dealing with classes that don't normally (i.e. without an archetype) have an animal companion feature. To be honest, I'm not fully familiar with all of the options you mention, and I know from past experience that there's the danger of overpowering characters in Pathfinder even when unintended. So I'm leaning towards keeping that off the table.
However, I'm definitely good with allowing a primal hunter, or even hunters more broadly, to qualify for Monstrous Mount. According to the prerequisites, they're excluding druids too (who have "nature's" bond, not hunter's bond). Kinda doesn't make sense to me to be so restrictive as to exclude two classes that feature animal companions so centrally. I guess they're targeting fighter-types, but I'm nonetheless fine with that allowance. On another positive note, I'm not seeing a reason you could not just take one level of primal hunter instead of 3 to qualify? So unless I'm missing something at midnight (which is possible), I think you could have an oozemorph shifter 7 / primal hunter 1. With animal companion at 1st level of primal hunter, I'd say you could qualify for monstrous mount by 4th (due to the skill rank requirements). Fluff: That is a cool concept. And his hatred for undeath would for sure be a bond with the party.
My biggest concern is whether that will be enough. We've got the potential for party conflict with at least one of the PCs: a stern, very good-aligned monster hunter. He has a hard enough time with the party oracle using speak with dead, I'm smirking at the thought of how he'd react to an evil worg companion, LOL. However, I do like a good redemption story. If you can promise a character that can cooperate (because I do not want to see inter-party conflict), and can write a back story that can convey the hope for growth or redemption along with his evil side, I think we can certainly consider such a character.
Ok, I made it back. Thought I'd get back to you all by Friday, but life had other plans... Let's answer as many questions as I can before falling asleep... :) (And if I do fall asleep before answering your question, I will do my best to get back on here tomorrow night or ASAP)
So far so good. Looking forward to it!
You can certainly count the cost of crafted items (i.e. potions) as part of your starting gear. I would not spend more than half on potions though, preferably less. I like the balanced approach (3rd paragraph below the table) given in the rules for starting wealth, though I am not strict about the precise percentages they give - as they state, different classes have different needs.
This is Dorian's work in progress... Looking good. I love the book he brought with him, too. :)
Colorfoot - That's great so far. With what I just posted in mind about connecting with the party, you might wish to add another layer to your back story to more tightly align with the party's purpose. Especially if you decide not to take a CC campaign trait that ties you to their mentor, Professor Lorrimor. Dorian - Speaking of rabbit trails, you in turn sent me on one in my previous post LOL. I'm glad you did though. Regarding your character's background (in the spoilers), that's certainly a cool angle to approach from. As I mentioned to Colorfoot, perhaps you can consider an additional layer to your back story in light of what I wrote about connecting with the party to more closely tie your agenda with the party's.
And now there are two. :) Yeah that's a good idea, Rhia. As I think about it, while I welcome your input as players, it would be best for me to handle questions like "Can I do this or that with my character?" Anything with an answer that could limit their creation options should come from the GM for sure. As far as you as players posting there, I'm thinking more in terms of general rules questions you know the answers to, as well as positive feedback for their concepts (PM me your private concerns or criticisms). For rules, like if I forgot to specify starting wealth in the creation rules and someone asks, and you recall what you did (as I have not changed the character creation rules), by all means tell them. Or if someone says they're thinking of a character that's on a mission to fight the Whispering Way, you can say great, that would be a great plot hook since our characters are on their way to kick some Whispering butt... hopefully. ;)
Recruitment has begun! I waited for this weekend as, I'm thinking, we can get more interest at the start of a weekend. I hate when that happens, Christoph. Ugh!
Sunny, yeah, sorry! Aliseya is my character. She was originally a PC in this campaign: another GM started this game and invited me to play. When I took over as GM, I made her an NPC. Christoph, Zelda, Rhia, and of course you are the PCs in this game (with two more to come after recruitment). Aliseya, Sookie, Naught, and Istivan are all NPCs (though I've been largely only posting for the first two).
So I'm going to officially open up recruitment this weekend. The Recruitment tab should alert you, but I'll post here to let you all know when recruitment officially starts. As I wrote earlier, with my availability somewhat limited, please feel free to check the Recruitment tab and answer recruits' questions that you know the answers to. I'll be sure to include character creation rules, start time expectations, back story context, and any other details I think of when the time comes.
Aliseya's eyes well up with tears as Zelda speaks of the late professor. Naught wraps her arm around her comfortingly. "Sorry, it's... like, all still fresh. It was... like, just over a month ago now, right? The funeral?" She looks to her friends for confirmation. "Gods, it feels like years ago..." "...we've been through a LOT since then." She smiles knowingly at Naught and Zelda in particular here. "Yeah," she turns to Sunny now, "I'm so sorry. Did you know he'd passed?" After Sunny answers, she continues. "Professor Lorrimor... he was like a father to me. After my own father died..." she gets choked up again here before proceeding, "I came to meet him while he was visiting my home country of Varisia. He... saw something in me, he said. I didn't understand this at the time, but I think I'm now coming to realize more deeply what he saw in me..." her expression grows worried, though Naught reassuringly rubs her upper back. "Anyway, like, I only knew him for a short time. But he really encouraged me to use my gifts to bring closure between the dead and their grieving relatives. Because I... like, kinda, speak with dead people sometimes?" She looks to see if Sunny either thinks she's crazy or is sympathetic. "I also see things... visions, like, things that sometimes come to pass? Anyway, he was like, so wise, and taught me some things about my abilities. And we kept in touch... until he, like... was... killed..." She breaks out into a moderate sob now. Naught does her best beside her to comfort her, though she as well appears quite sad (or mad?) with the revisiting of this great man's tragic death.
Thanks Zelda! Just wanted to clarify that the professor was actually killed by the Whispering Way cultists, not one of the evil ghosts. The professor was onto the cultists' plan to cast a dark ritual on the prison. He tried to stop them, but they killed him. The spirits of Warden Hawkran and his wife were keeping the evil ghosts confined to the prison. But the Way's dark ritual removed the warden's spirit from the prison, and enabled the cultists to take his spirit with them. The evil ghosts had only Hawkran's wife left to keep them in check. Slowly, they could exert more and more power and influence over the town and... the rest is history. Just wanted to clarify this because all characters (except Sunny, so far) know that Hawkran's spirit was taken by the Whispering Way cultists we're going after. They also stole the Seasage Effigy from Lepidstadt University by controlling the Beast to break in and take it (via the Count's "bondslave thrall" machine back at his castle). So there is a clear pattern the PCs are aware of: the cultists are collecting things for some greater dark purpose, and leaving a wake of distractions and tragedies to cover their trail. What their greater purpose is remains uncertain, however.
Haha. :) Well, so much for opening recruitment last weekend. :) Will shoot for next weekend. It's going to be a busy one for me, but I'll see what I can do.
He comes to the same conclusion as Aliseya after a moment's reflect. He glances at her, "You're a font of knowledge, miss Belododia. I had to think on that for a moment before I recognized it." "Oh... like, thank you." Aliseya blushes, smiles, and looks down at the floor a moment before diverting her attention back to the elder host.
The sounds of light jingling jewelry resonate in the cool crisp morning air as Aliseya moves in to give a long, warm, and uninhibited hug to Angelov. "Thank you soooo much for your hospitality, Mr. Marduszi," she gently tells him. "You take good care. I..." She looks up and around, "...you know, she's still looking after her little brother. Always." As her friends reach the mounts, she pats her peaches-and-cream-colored halflinger horse very affectionately. "Aww hey Lexy! How are you doing, girl? Aww. Who's my cutie petutie? Who?!" She then keenly observes with almost-entirely innocent eyes what Christoph is doing with Sunny. Her brow creases ever so slightly as she listens in, even while continuing to effuse very sweet words, syllables, and gentle pats to her horse.
Hey everyone. Apologies for the long absence, work and other things have kept me quite preoccupied. I'll catch up and post within the next day or so for sure.
Great to see you back, Christoph! :) Work is driving me nuts lately too... Speaking of absences, sorry for mine! I had quite the busy week. Though I'll probably wait for Christoph to post... And it looks like you have some inter-PC discussion going on, too... Sunny mentioned she's looking for a "Master Lorrimor" (Professor Lorrimor?) Which of course I think all of you know who that is. As a reminder, Zelda and Ali attended his funeral at the start of this game (back in 2014!). And one or more of you also might happen to know him, too... Zelda is asking who might know about the dead noble's family. As a reminder (it's been a while...), Zelda was able to make out part of a name (his, presumably) written on a writ to Ascanor Lodge (where you're headed). Also, Rhia's spell revealed he was seeking a Cilas Graydon, whom Sookie identified as the "Margrave of Sturnidae". Though you may want to refresh your memory on what Sookie had to say about him.
Aw, thanks for the thanks and the kind words. :)
About a month ago, I posted that I had a plan to pick things up. I was excited to make it a surprise. But it has since occurred to me that for a particular reason (which I will divulge another time), it would be better all around if I just reveal the plan before proceeding. The Plan. I'd like to recruit a few new players to join this game. You may have noticed that I'm currently NPCing more than half of the party, LOL. Going forward, I'd like to stop that. It's time-consuming, but more importantly it understandably turns off some players (not that anyone's complained, but I've seen this happen elsewhere). So in effect, my plan is to replace the NPCs in the party with PCs, and soon. Why have I NPCed them for so long?:
As a GM, I prefer not to simply disappear PCs when their players leave the game. It feels like a strong splash of ice water taken to the face while you're engrossed in a novel. So, I like to NPC former PCs until I find a good story opportunity to change things up. I did not expect to still be doing so for this long. But I have had a good opportunity in mind that is fast approaching now, and so the time is nigh upon us. More on recruitment in the near future.
Looks like most of us are busy dealing with stuff. I'll move things along within the next 24 hours.
If anyone would like a masterwork cutlass by the way, Reijo has a spare he's not using. It's yours if you want it, just let me know. Reijo wouldn't simply give something of value away. He's hoping to hock it when he gets a chance. But we can just say in story your character pays him for it. Also, it's not necessary but I'd be happy to roleplay haggling over it if you'd like. :)
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