Samanthea "Sam" Scarnetti's page

Hey folks, sorry for my extended absence. It's been a combination of work stress and in-person GM'ing commitments, but I'm feeling overwhelmed with everything going on in my life. I'd thought - I'd hoped - that things would blow over in a week and I'd fall back into the swing of things, but it's just not happening and it's not fair to everyone else in this game to have me "here-but-not-here". I need to withdraw.

I wish you all the best of luck with the game, and it has been wonderful playing with you even for the little time I had. Punch something for Sam, and may the dice be ever in your favor!

Superstition can work well if you don’t plan on casting beneficial spells once combat starts, though it’s easier to work around since allies can choose to drop in and out of accepting the rage each round (there’s no fatigue unlike a barbarian’s rage), and the feats further down the chain are quite lovely. That being said, the skald themself can’t drop the rage as easily, so I guess that’s something to keep in mind.

What does your character think is important? What would they be excited to be able to do? That can help decide ties for me sometimes.

When it rains, it pours. 3 characters got to level up over the weekend. XD

Brawler 3:
- +9 hp (31)
- +1 BAB (+3)
- +1 Will (+5)
- Throw Shield (archetype ability)
- Feat: Improved Shield Bash

Sam watches the mayhem and nods appreciatively.

If Ayala is still conscious after all that, Sam can come out of delay.

Oh, I see now. Yesterday when I checked the map Ayala was still in the little room. Weird.

With nobody sneaking up on the mustached man just yet, Sam turns on a heel and slips behind the dwarf to get within punching range.

Cestus, Bless: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 7 + 1 = 12
Silver Bludgeoning damage: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

Sam growls in frustration as the passageway ahead is quickly clogged with other Pathfinders and instead keeps an eye out behind for more of the Tower Girls. Or anything else in this place that might try to sneak up behind the group.

Delay

Sam smashes one of the rats without any further fanfare.

Unarmed Strike, Bless: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 7 + 1 = 19
Bludgeoning damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

Sam growls, adjusts the blunt piece of silver on the glove, and kicks open the northern door.

I guess that would be the top door?

"Name's Sam. Yours?" The warrior stands ready still for further trouble, one hand on hip and the other holding the nail-pierced shield.

Sam nods approvingly at the surrendering-woman’s decision, then strides purposefully back through the crowd to get in the tower defenders’ faces. “We aren’t scared of you or your rats. Surrender and keep your lives.” The warrior does not speak the implied “or else…”, letting it hang unseen in the air.

Father always did say the best threats were the ones not spoken. ‘Course, he didn’t appreciate that being used against him.

Double move.

Sam blocks the sword with the shield, then punches back twice. Words are not needed by the tight smile across the dark-clad warrior's face betrays a sense of excitement, if not enjoyment, at the prospect of violence.

Flurry: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13
Nonlethal Bludgeoning damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

Flurry: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14
Nonlethal Bludgeoning damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

Flurry, then 5 ft step back into the hallway.

"Sh*t. They got Gul." Sam tightens the strap of the shield and flexes the silver-plated glove. "Looks like you got your work cut out for you keeping that mustache unshorn, Umazura."

Two on one? Don't like those odds. One on one? Much better.

The dark-clad warrior remains still, waiting for the two tower women to approach rather than advancing into the room.

@GM, do you want us to roll initiative?

Sam hoists the shield and nods. “Umazura, you get to watch him.” A nod in the mustached man’s direction. “Keep him from running up front and getting skewered.” The dark-clad warrior takes the lead, feet stepping lightly in preparation for trouble.

I’m sure there’s going to be enough feathers ruffled if we come back to the manor with one less person than we left with. Let’s not make it two.

Oh man. Yeah, that’s why I wanted to check with folks about Sam before starting to play. I had another game where I didn’t realize there was a NE necromancer in the party, and both me and my character were not okay with that to the point that I withdrew (I’d come in as a replacement character, so it would not fair to ask an original player to change). Now I try to be up-front and transparent about things so that doesn’t happen again.

Another thought: PbP is a wonderful medium for getting to wax poetic and dice into characters’ thoughts, but it also has the challenge of being difficult to interrupt someone in the middle of their post. So if I do something that the rest of the party doesn’t agree with, the GM has to turn back time to let everyone else act before my action is finished, and that’s kinda clunky and awkward. I guess that’s another argument for being really transparent and open about stuff too (and using the Discussion thread to potentially hash things out ahead of time).

Sam raises an eyebrow at Elena's answer, then another at Gul's handiwork. "I guess it's a good think there's so many of us and that they're spreading themselves out so much. Hate to think what they'd do if they found this and then got the jump on us."

And why then did they let the first ones go, but kill these two? Looked like the same rabble to me. Something about the ropes mayb- The warrior's thoughts are interrupted by Axton's attempt to slip away. "Hey!"

Sam is too busy experiencing the thrill of mutually watching each other with Axton to notice when Gul slips away until it’s all over. “You folks sure you needed another person?” The question is asked more out of curiosity than malice or hurt.

As a player, I’m totally fine with how things are going - so don’t worry about that! Sam’s just trying to reconcile the assignment with the highly-effective results so far. XD

Sam keeps a close eye on Axton, ready to follow the man should he rush into the front line again.

Sam gives the ropes a few test tugs before trusting them fully. Can't be too careful with stuff like this - looks like it could collapse any second. At least there's plenty of stuff to grab hold of.

No problem with that idea. If we need someone to help pull folks up, Sam could wait until everyone's up before rejoining Gul at the front of the line.

Sam grins. "Oh good - more pests to squash. Go on, get out of here."

Apologies, I thought there was another enemy to go before Sam.

Sam assumes Axton's yelling can only be the signal and rushes forward between the two guards. "Surprise."

Unarmed Strike, Bless vs Yellow: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 7 + 1 = 17
Nonlethal Bludgeoning damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9

Move, then attack Yellow.

Sam holds the shield ready and nods. "No good at sneaking, so I'll wait here for your... signal." A grin accompanies the last word.

Sam shrugs, kicking away anything within reach and pulling out a rope. Within seconds the prisoner is hogtied. Well, hogtied might not be the best word for the mess of rope wrapped around her hands and feet. Maybe “tied up” or “handcuffed” or “what do you mean just wrapping a rope around someone’s hands over and over doesn’t count as tying them up?”. It doesn’t really matter as Sam rests one knee against the Tower Girl’s back, keeping her face pinned to the floor.

“Not quite what I’d call fun, but I’m sure there’ll be another chance.” The comment is directed at Gul, spoken as if uncertain whether the question had been asked or simply imagined.

Well that’s dumb. The Gameplay thread just stopped showing the new post notifications for this campaign. My apologies for not checking in sooner, and thanks for the bot GM!

Sam just stares in amazement as the mustached man walks out in front of the shield wall. He really must believe in his own invulnerability. Or else he's completely off his rocker. How many cousins marrying cousins in his line, I wonder...

Before Axton gets too far away, the warrior strides after him. Now I see why Sheila thought they needed a guard - apparently one was not enough.

Survival: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (19) + 0 = 19

"Looks like a dozen folks." Sam scuffs the ground of the old campsite with a booted foot. "Not enough trash for more than that. We keep tally how many we bash, we know how many might be left to smack."

Sam makes no comment about the privy.

The hallway is a cause for pause. "We got company." Shield is up, fist is clenched, gaze is locked on something by the stairs on the far side of the room.

Sam's face had grown steadily greener once the boat hit choppy water until it was almost a match for Gul and Umazura. As soon as the dock is within reach, the dark-clad warrior had been the first over the edge only to lie motionless on the cold, wet, slightly-slimy rocks while the rest of the expedition disembarked in a more graceful fashion.

Now that the world has stopped sloshing back and forth, Sam slowly gets up. "Sure." The nail-encrusted iron plate slides off its resting place outside the woolen cloak and onto the warrior's arm. A single silver-plated glove is pulled tight across calloused knuckles and long, rough fingers. "You want me to guard the door or something?"

Stealth: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (2) + 0 = 2

Sam shifts restlessly, shield scraping across the boat’s hull. “Me too.”

"My name is Axton Vendian, and I have the impetus of generations of Thassilonian forebears driving me forward into destiny. These three each have the constituency of multiple bloodlines driving their purpose."

Sam raises an eyebrow at Axton's declaration. "Oh? Multiple bloodlines for the others, but only one for you? Had a cousin like that too - parents were so concerned about maintaining 'noble purity' that his family tree was a wreath. Couldn't even feed himself once he turned twenty." A smile cracks the warrior's lips. "Hopefully your 'destiny' doesn't involve as many diapers as his."

Begrudgingly Sam asks Sheila if the noblewoman has something silver that can be used to punch people. "Maybe some sort of glove with silver plates on the knuckles?"

Aka a silver cestus. Other than that, ready to go! Stealth plan sounds good, though Sam's not the sneakiest.

”So you’re the replacement?”

Sam sizes the half-orc up and down in turn before answering. "Sure. Probably."

"And if so, what is your capacity for VIOLENCE?!"

At the young man's loud question, the dark-clad warrior grins. "Too much for a proper noblewoman, but I'll let you judge for yourself." One foot nudges the, uh, modified shield that rests propped up where the floor meets the wall. The heavy nails protruding through the painted steel seem to unbalance the armament, causing it to rock back and forth wildly for a few seconds before slowly returning to equilibrium.

"Name's Sam. Sheila hired me to guard some agents poking around some old ruin. That you lot?"

Sam impatiently taps a finger against an arm, waiting for someone who wasn’t a servant or Sheila herself to come through the parlor doors. Gods, save me from another mouthful of this disgusting tea. The cup sits untouched on the edge of the tastefully-decorated table near a set of silver candleholders and a golden bowl. Everything in the room fits together in perfect harmony. Everything, save for two - the muscular fighter in a simple dark tunic and pants, and the long iron nails piercing through from the backside of a beautifully-painted red and white metal shield propped up against the wall..

If she’s trying to butter me up for something terrible, she’s doing it all wrong. Mother at least always made sure there was someone on hand to keep their eyes on you. Sam glances at the door and scowls, then shrugs. Whatever. She’s a Pathfinder - it’s probably some moldy tomb or something and she thinks I’ll back out if it’s not to my taste. If only I could back out of this tea as easily.

So then this is protecting some scholars? Yeah, I can do that. Wonder how many jobs it’ll take before she’ll finally ship me somewhere else. Unless… Oh gods, she’s gonna try to milk my family connections. Can’t wait for that one to backfire when she remembers I’m not part of the family anymore.

Sam glances at the offending teacup again, scowl deepening. Wonder what’s keeping all of them…

Alright, Sam's replacement is... Sam. XD I tried a few other ideas out, but none of them felt good like Sam's did. I thought through some things with the character's backstory and made them less confrontational and more "meh" in their responses, which should help with the foul language.

@GM, please give Sam's profile a look and see if there's anything you'd like to clarify or know more about. Everyone else is certainly welcome to look as well, but I want to make sure the character's "legal" by the rules of this game before worrying about getting them into the gameplay.

Speaking of which, how do you want to do that introduction @GM?

Hate to be the wet blanket but I'm not really a big fan of foul language. I hear enough of it at work every day and that in and of itself just flat out wears me out.

No worries - that’s why I wanted to ask ahead of time. I think I’ve got a good handle on Sam’s replacement and will report back over the weekend with more details.

Hello folks! This is Hawthwile with a potential new member of the team. I'm working on finalizing the details of this character, but I wanted to run something by everyone first. This character's immediate, knee-jerk response to most things is some variation on "f*ck", and it's likely to come out both in her thoughts and her speech. This is a rather core part of my understanding of her personality, so I'd like to make sure that everyone is alright with that. If anyone is uncomfortable, I can easily swap her out for something less disruptive.