Dude, no joke. That sounds all kinds of sweet!
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Yeah, I think Giantslayer's weakest bit is actually the events straight out of the gate where it's a bit sandboxy. Once Act I is done though, I think the rest of the AP would sail along quite nicely in a pbp. I hope you guys are enjoying your run through! =)
If it makes any difference, we'd likely outpace the game James & I are in within a few weeks once we start. It is seriously slow. Also, I don't recall it being mentioned, but is Giantslayer at all on the table? I would be happy to share my pdfs with you, mott, if there's any interest there. Then again, your little Taldan teaser sounds good too! But I know how much more work goes into a homebrew like that.
I'm settling into my new position so I should have a little more leeway (like today, for instance) to post more frequently. Then again, some days are going to be crazy and I won't get a chance at all - it's just the nature of the beast, I suppose. We're still 2 and a half books from finishing Reign, so I kinda hope we don't wait for that to wrap up before starting another excellent game together. =) --- On the topic of Hell's Rebels, I am playing through it on the boards presently, but it is a slooooowwwww game. James is in it with me, as a matter of fact. I'm enjoying it thus far and the AP veritably BEGS for the players to rip speeches straight from V for Vendetta and Les Mis right out of the gate. The sub-system Mott was referring to is one we've gotten hints of, but our GM hasn't rolled it out in full yet. It does appear to be daunting, at least to my eyes. Players take on roles in the rebellion (similar to kingdom roles in kingmaker) and there appear to be sheets and stats for teams of operatives that level up and get promoted throughout the AP. I know that kind of thing really appeals to some folks. And, if that seems like something any one of us would like to dive into, to track it all and be our shot caller for it, I say we do it. As we've discussed before though, I'm just not that person. =) I think we could have kept up with the kingdom building stuffs just fine, Mott, if we hadn't lost Orin like we did. Sadly, no one in the current group seems to be really taken by it.
I'm happy to continue on with this AP, but I also feel like if anyone wants to bail because they aren't enjoying it then we should switch. So, my vote is to stay, but I also think votes to switch should be weighed as 5 votes =P
I'm happy to go with the group decision here because, frankly, y'all are the best group I've tucked into on these boards and it's a rare thing where I can say I genuinely enjoy the posts and writing styles of every player in the game. I would also just like to say that, while I feel more friction in our gameplay here than in Reign, I still really like the cast of characters we have here. At least for what I'm envisioning for Sicarius, this group is just perfect for his growth. So, I'm up for switching to something new if that's what we feel will be most rewarding, but I'd also be perfectly content to stay the coarse and see if we can find our stride here. Either way, I'm with y'all through and through! --- Addendum: On campaigns with rules subsystems, I always really struggle with them. Like in our Kingmaker game, Mott, I feel like I constantly have to have the PRD open or a link to the new rules up on the other monitor every time they come up. I was in a Jade Regent game some time back and the caravan rules were brutal, so much so the game folded as soon as they were introduced. Subsystems like that, I think, are a lot better at the table where everyone can talk it out in a handful of minutes, but in pbp I think they really suffer.
Fortunately, the business is mostly straightforward and no tempers were pressed during the chore. With the work done, he slips off to a quiet point on a lonely dock for a time to practice his forms and strikes. By the time the sun sets into the water, Sicarius has worked up a healthy sweat. Satisfied, and strangely feeling more at peace then he ever had before, he stalks off back toward the bustle of Bloodcove to find Sandara and to secure a room.
---
"Hmm. It's running low in the water and against the wind. Not sure how it'd manage that kind of clip. Strange enough to run it down and investigate, Gez- er, Captain?"
If there's a treasure map that falls into our possession at this port and the X happens to be between here and Tidewater Rock I would not mind the little detour. It'd be a bit less hand-wavey than plunder appearing in our hold ex nihilo and could be a brief spat of prototypical pirate fun! =)
Given the smaller size of Blood Cove and this bit from the campaign tab:
do we want to bother with offloading our plunder now and turning it into coin? Would we rather burn some of it to boost some infamy checks or something?
Brood smirks as he watches Sandara leave, thinking inwardly that she might cut deeper than his daggers. The smirk, likely missed by the other officers anyway, quickly vanishes as his typical scowl returns, though this time it's augmented by one eyebrow arched curiously.
Sorry I've been a little less participatory than usual of late, folks! I switched to a new position last week and the new job has just been bonkers.
Not for the first time today, Brood's hand almost reflexively drifts to rest on the pommel of one of his several daggers as the image of Offal's split throat flashes unbidden through his mind. Rather than act on the impulse, Sicarius just furrows his brow a little deeper and shakes his head as he turns back for the Murder. "Bray all you like dwarf. Bray all you like."
Sicarius grunts in pain as one of the phantasms plunges its sword straight through his back and out the front of his abdomen. "Damn ghosts." Clutching his bleeding stomach with one hand and his cutlass in the other, he follows after Gezza and Nim to escape the hold of the ship.
Status: HP: 8/27 AC: 22 (17 T / 15 FF) CMD: 19 F/R/W: +4/+4/+4 (+2 vs enchantment, immune sleep) Arcane Pool used: 1/6 Tidewater Hydraulic Push (1/day): [ ] Besmara's Blessing (1/week): [ ] Spells Prepared: Cantrips (3) - acid splash, flare, read magic Level 1 (2+1) - magic missile [ ], monkeyfish [ ], shield [ ] Level 2 (0+1) - frigid touch [ ] Ongoing Effects
Brood angles nearing to the listing vessel. "Might be some grateful crew aboard, or some grateful booty. Either way, neither bunch cares to sink to the bottom so it's probably worth a look."
Sicarius calls out as they pull up nearer to the trawler, "I thought at first they'd gotten away, but it looks like that's their dinghy there, sinking faster than this heap."
"We just nearly doubled our crew. They've got tongues they can wag." When Gezza offers up the captain's quarters though, Brood just frowns and shakes his head. "That's not necessary. I'm not saying you were wrong, even if I disagree with the course we settled on. But in my experience, mercy like what we gave those dogs just leads to gettin' bit in the ass. Chum for the sharks doesn't hold a grudge." He then sighs, shrugs, then leans back in his chair, "I'll follow your orders, so long as we're not pressganging anyone. And when you want someone dead, all that needs to be done is for you to say it. Not just to drop bodies for the sake of dropping bodies, but when violence breaks out, putting the other guy down quick and hard is how you'll keep you and your crew alive the longest." Sicarius then looks around, his brow still furrowed by his perpetual scowl and takes a breath. It wasn't often he spoke so much, after all.
Brood looks ready to slice the Chelish captain's head free from her shoulders, but shrugs at Gezza's decision and sheathes his cutlass. He sees to the lockup of the devil-worshippers and the scuttling of the Mane once the booty is secured aboard the Murderin' Murder. --- Later, in the officers' quarters, Brood looks to Gezza and the others. "Any reason in particular we left those Chels alive? Seems to me we left a potential problem in our wake that some spilt blood would've prevented."
Brood scowls at the Chelish captain as she hisses back at Cargas. "Mercy? Is that what you call being locked in the hold of a burning ship?" His eyes flit from the sharp, curved edge of his cutlass back to Gezza and his fellow officers. His scowl remains the same, and his posture doesn't change, yet there's still something in the look makes it plainly clear he's asking for permission to cut the cruel captain down with one quick stroke.
Brood watches the Chelish dogs closely, stalking behind them as they line up and lay down their arms, his cutlass still shimmering with his additional weave of arcane magics. He waits for Offal to come over to the Mane and take up a watchful presence as Gezza had ordered, but then Nim sends Magilla and Brood shrugs to himself. Hmmpf. I guess that works too. With the actual ape in position, the elf then joins his captain and the other officers back aboard the Murder. "Sounds like a fine plan, Gez- Captain. Though I'd rather we just slice the throats of the remaining Chels, if you're still in a merciful mood maybe we leave them with their longboat intact and some extra holes in the hold as a parting gift?"
"These dogs're worse than Harrigan," Brood mutters as he storms up the boat and slips around the central mast, coming face to face with Offal's remaining assailant. "Time's up," he growls as he strikes out with his cutlass, slashing high at the Chel's face.
Status: HP: 27/27 AC: 22 (17 T / 15 FF) CMD: 19 F/R/W: +4/+4/+4 (+2 vs enchantment, immune sleep) Arcane Pool used: 2/6 Tidewater Hydraulic Push (1/day): [ ] Besmara's Blessing (1/week): [ ] Spells Prepared: Cantrips (3) - acid splash, flare, read magic Level 1 (2+1) - magic missile [ ], monkeyfish [ ], shield [X] Level 2 (0+1) - frigid touch [ ] Ongoing Effects
As the vessels close, Brood calls up a defensive spell as he rips his cutlass free and moves into position.
Status: HP: 27/27 AC: 22 (17 T / 15 FF) CMD: 19 F/R/W: +4/+4/+4 (+2 vs enchantment, immune sleep) Arcane Pool used: 1/6 Tidewater Hydraulic Push (1/day): [ ] Besmara's Blessing (1/week): [ ] Spells Prepared: Cantrips (3) - acid splash, flare, read magic Level 1 (2+1) - magic missile [ ], monkeyfish [ ], shield [X] Level 2 (0+1) - frigid touch [ ] Ongoing Effects
Thanks for the support and well-wishes, guys.
Brood storms to the wheel, not waiting for an answer. "Leaving folk to burn or drown chained in their hold? I don't think so." The elf scowls darkly, and makes to come up along side the Chelish ship. "Grateful new crew on the one ship, oily chum for the sharks on the other."
I might be a bit slow to post for a while, folks. I'm sneaking this up from my bed in the Emergency Room at present. It's nothing life threatening, but I could be out of comission for a short spell.
I agree whole heartedly! If our adventures together over time give Brood cause to eventually temper himself and shift from Evil to Neutral, I would not be sad.
Brood steps in to flank the nearest dog with Magilla. As the ape draws the hound's attention, the elf lashes out with a quick slice of his cutlass.
Status: HP: 27/27 AC: 22 (21 T / 11 FF) CMD: 19 F/R/W: +4/+4/+4 (+2 vs enchantment, immune sleep) Arcane Pool used: 2/6 Tidewater Hydraulic Push (1/day): [ ] Besmara's Blessing (1/week): [ ] Spells Prepared: Cantrips (3) - acid splash, flare, read magic Level 1 (2+1) - magic missile [ ], shield [X], shocking grasp [ ] Level 2 (0+1) - frigid touch [ ] Ongoing Effects
"If it's like any other trouble we've seen, he'll be face down in the mud soon enough, Nim."
Brood's feet hit the ground and the cutlass leaps into his hand almost unbidden, additional arcane power curling up the blade. The elf scowls at the hounds and, realizing there wasn't any way to silence all of them quickly enough, he spared a moment to draw upon some of his defensive magics.
Status: HP: 27/27 AC: 22 (21 T / 11 FF) CMD: 19 F/R/W: +4/+4/+4 (+2 vs enchantment, immune sleep) Arcane Pool used: 1/6 Tidewater Hydraulic Push (1/day): [ ] Besmara's Blessing (1/week): [ ] Spells Prepared: Cantrips (3) - acid splash, flare, read magic Level 1 (2+1) - magic missile [ ], shield [X], shocking grasp [ ] Level 2 (0+1) - frigid touch [ ] Ongoing Effects
Huzzah! I'm also looking forward to when we can do piratey things to pirates instead of fisher-folk.
Brood shoots Bud a frown. "None of us know what that crap is."
Brood watches the exchange, still taking his measure of his fellow officers and captain. "I've got no problem slicing bellies and spilling guts, Captain. But I draw the line, and I think we should draw the line, at pressganging anyone. I'm out to kill Harrigan, not become him." He takes a breath, renewing his perpetual frown. "But this talk of a trading party sounds like a waste of time. You've a strong and violent crew, as Redfingers points out. Put that strength to work and give that violence an outlet."
Brood offers a nod in agreement with Fishguts. "The man makes a lot of sense when he's sober, Captain. The Rock's a fine goal, but one we likely need to work up toward."
Brood chuckles, though it sounds more like a grunt. "Besmara's always fickle, Captain." He shoots Sandara a glance at this, the look in his eyes saying without words, See? I've been paying attention.
Brood frowns at the meager spoils, but shrugs it off, attributing it to Besmara's fickle ways. Satisfied with the general results though, he returns to the Murderin' Murder pleased with the crew's performance.
Brood stalks through the captured vessel, nodding to those of the Murder's crew approvingly for a raid well raided. As he observes some of the dead defenders though, he shakes his head as he looks to the dwarf captaining the Elten Baide. "Captain Budos made you a generous offer. You should have taken it."
Brood's eyes narrow and flash in the glittering light as he brings the Murder bearing down relentlessly upon the Elten Baide. Then, with uncommon skill, he brings their vessel up along beside the fleeing ship. He shouts an order to the rest of the crew as they eagerly await the call to board. "Grapples ho!"
Oh, we're in front?? Hmm. Well, that will entirely alter the post I made =\ Ack.
Smirking as the Elten Baide's retreat is stymied by a large, errant wave, Brood seizes on the opportunity. As the other vessel struggles to right its heading, he leads the Murderin Murder in quickly, narrowing the gap.
From his place at the wheel, Sicarius nods at Budos' instruction.
Status: HP: 27/27 AC: 18 (17 T / 11 FF) CMD: 19 F/R/W: +4/+4/+4 (+2 vs enchantment, immune sleep) Arcane Pool used: 0/6 Tidewater Hydraulic Push (1/day): [ ] Besmara's Blessing (1/week): [ ] Spells Prepared: Cantrips (3) - acid splash, flare, read magic Level 1 (2+1) - magic missile [ ], monkeyfish [ ], shocking grasp [ ] Level 2 (0+1) - frigid touch [ ] Ongoing Effects
Brood's eyes narrow for another long moment before he finally nods. Satisfied his captain wasn't in immediate need of exsanguination, he set to his appointed task of preparing the crew for a bountiful haul, splitting them into two groups and, within the groups, individual pairs.
Brood looks long at Budos, "You mean to do to them what Harrigan did to us?"
Before the sahuagin's corpses are left as chum in the water, Brood returns from his patrol of the vessel and is sure to recover any weapons the raiders might have had, adding them to the Double M's armory.
As Ratline calls out the sighting, Brood catches his eye from his spot on the deck and gives the lookout a simple, approving nod. He then turns to Budos, waiting patiently for the captain's decision regarding how they approach the unknown vessel.
Sicarius catches Sandara's wrist as she strikes blindly, shaking his head. "If people weren't bleeding out on the deck, I'd have woken you differently." He nods to the deck. "Now hurry. They don't have long." --- With the crew saved and some of the raiders dead, Brood stalks the perimeter of the vessel in a fashion similar to the others, ensuring no other raiders had secreted themselves on board.
As Gezza ensures the wounded sailors aren't ushered to the Boneyard just yet, Brood slips back into his cabin and rouses Sandara with a shake. "Sandara. Sandara. You're needed on deck. Fish-things raided. Samms and several others are down."
Sicarius kneels down beside Barefoot Samms and tries to stauch the bleeding. "Redfingers! Hurry up!"
Brood frowns. "More fish-things." Shaking his head in disgust, he instills a bit of additional magic into the blade of his cutlass as he dashes for the nearest foe, the weapon flashing in a deadly arc as he strikes.
Status: HP: 27/27 AC: 18 (17 T / 11 FF) CMD: 19 F/R/W: +4/+4/+4 (+2 vs enchantment, immune sleep) Arcane Pool used: 1/6 Tidewater Hydraulic Push (1/day): [ ] Besmara's Blessing (1/week): [ ] Spells Prepared: Cantrips (3) - acid splash, flare, read magic Level 1 (2+1) - magic missile [ ], monkeyfish [ ] Level 2 (0+1) - frigid touch [ ] Ongoing Effects
Brood's eyes pop open with a start at the strange sound of curdled milk shrieking through a kettle. His brow furrows in confusion for a moment before he realizes it's Offal shouting as the dwarf flops out of his bunk and hurries off, tromping up above deck. Sitting up suddenly, the elf cocks his head to one side for a moment before hearing the rest of the ruckus up above. Flying from bed, he snatches up his cutlass, leaving the sheath behind, and rushes for the deck with a furious scowl. He mutters darkly as he dashes onward, "So help me if it's more of those squid-goblins." Status: HP: 27/27 AC: 18 (17 T / 11 FF) CMD: 19 F/R/W: +4/+4/+4 (+2 vs enchantment, immune sleep) Arcane Pool used: 0/6 Tidewater Hydraulic Push (1/day): [ ] Besmara's Blessing (1/week): [ ] Spells Prepared: Cantrips (3) - acid splash, flare, read magic Level 1 (2+1) - magic missile [ ], monkeyfish [ ] Level 2 (0+1) - frigid touch [ ] Ongoing Effects
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