Sordello's page

Another way to make the zoo, or collection of buildings that equal a zoo, unique to the character is to rule that is gives a "masterwork" type bonus to the character's research related skill checks. Basically, a biologist's master workshop. Tying other, non-realm management related bonuses to the "zoo" is a good way to continue to encourage this player's creativity without unbalancing the realm management system. I would discourage adding too many negative consequences related to the zoo. At least to me, I generally encourage things that strengthen a player's bond to the campaign setting, and tacking a too many random encounters or other negatives might make the zoo idea divisive among the party.

On another note, I have been toying around with the idea of having the non ruler PC's (ie everyone but the Baron/Duke/King) be able to buy their own buildings. In this case, I am thinking to allow characters a one time offer to purchase a building (2,000gp per BP in this case). Since they own the building, it would not count against normal monthly building limits. I was not going to have it generate normal bonuses, but rather generate a monthly revenue based on a fraction of the building's cost and determined by a profession check. If characters adventure, then they can hire an expert to run it for them, which will cut into their margin. I was thinking this might be a cool way to give each character their own "pad" plus a personal stake in the local economy. The biggest thing I worry about are structures with magic item slots. Let me know what you think.

I would recommend something simple, and probably heavily base my interpretation off the picture in the castle tile in the players guide. I would say a small keep (3 stories) with towers and wall, and small gate house. I'd probably have a stable and great hall to round it out. If they build it on the site of the Stag Lord's fort, I would probably just extend that basic map out, with similar extras as what I listed above. Later - Joe

Hey yall, I am still around. My guess is Alluvian is still in the middle of switching posts and coming back from the Middle East, no worries here. I am ready whenever things can pick up and look forward to continuing the game. I hope everybody had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Later - Joe

"Curses!" Sordello moves forward while drawing his sword, attempting to close on the nearest zombie. He attacks with his longsword if close enough, (7) + 3 = 10.

OK, thanks for sticking with it. I was pretty busy this weekend, as I am finishing off my terminal leave and going back to my civilian job. I had about 10 play by post chess games going on when I redeployed and really got hammered because of all the distraction. Congratulations this veteran's day. Later - Joe

"Look sharp ladies and gents, someone approaches."

Sordello remains alert but composed, leaving his sword sheathed and not wishing to alarm the newcomer. Hopefully our luck has to improve at some point.

"Next time, I'd say go for more conspicuous and bring the glaive. I think we came pretty close to wishing you really had it along."

"Well, I'll face a the possible danger above over the certain danger behind us any day. Besides, I have heard that several orders of Hellknights are well regarded for the mineral spas where they take captives to be be questioned," he smiles at Gene. "I say we move now and be cautious once we get top-side. Personally, I would prefer to exit here looking maybe a bit less conspicuous by putting my weapons away."

With that, Sordello sheathes his sword and prepares to exit the tunnels.

"I guess we are here at last. Although with our luck, I hate to consider what's probably waiting for us on the other side of the door, probably Asmo himself."

"I think I will only need one bath, so long as I find some attendants with the right skill level and charm."

Sordello makes sure his hook, line and pack are secured. He shoulders his pack and then draws his longsword again.

"Hurry along. I'll be the rear guard and do my best to cover our trail as I go over."

"I think Koveless has the right of it. If we all work together, we can probably create enough space to clear the passage."

Sordello puts away his hook for now. He gets up next to Koveless and starts trying to clear a way out.

"Although I do recommend somebody keep watch to prevent anything from sneaking up on us while we are caught here."

"Like I said, the only way we are going to get caught by lumbering knights is if we have to backtrack and run smack into them. This poses that kind of problem. We need to either try to get across this fast, or else decide to backtrack one intersection and go around before they can cut us off. If its any help, I do have 50' of silk rope and a grappling hook. Janiven, do you think a lateral route can get us to the safe house exit?"

Sordello digs through his bag and pulls out the line and hook. He surveys the blockage to see if its possible to either use the hook to drag some of the debris of the top, or possibly climb high enough to squeeze over the top. At this point he seems intent to make a quick survey in case the group needs to backtrack.

"I'll just drag the corpse up to the next intesection and place it a few feet down a side hall, nothing fancy. More than anything else, I think we just need to keep going at a steady pace. We should be able to keep ahead of fully armored Hellknights as long as we don't get trapped or have to backtrack."

While playing a ranger with no CON bonus, I'll take whatever I can get. On a cool note, we got to 3 pages on the main thread, I small milestone. Later - Joe

"I am still not so well, but thanks for asking Genevieve. Sometimes, Desna asks her patrons to make their own luck." He smiles at Klegg. After that, Sordello pulls out one of the potions and drinks it. He carefully puts the potion and stopper back into his bag to avoid leaving behind any clues. "Then again, I get the feeling that Desna would perhaps more fully restore my health with a night at a nice inn with music, wine, and proper company."

That's alright, nothing like getting back in grove by throwing a goblin ambush out there all licketdy split :p

"Asmo's bowels!! There's a goblin back here, beware, there's probably more around!"

As pain shoots through Sordello's body, he feels his fury release with the curse he hurls. Stepping adroitly to close the distance on his attacker, he holds his buckler at the guard position while he swings his longsword through a falling, diagonal arc.

"The elder rangers never taught me how to clean one of these, and as much as I would savor cooking some of this up," Sordello kicks a troble corpse, "it would seem our pursuit is closing too fast for me to figure it out. I say we should be off, before we end up with trouble that doesn't squish so easy."

Sordello sinches up his backpack and quickly pats himself down to ensure that he didn't drop anything in the fight. He turns and looks expectantly at Corvus to lead the party out.

"Gorum's breath, these things are disgusting!"

Giving up on finesse, Sordello steps and then swings down hard, in a chopping motion, in an attempt to completely sever one of the offensive vermin.

OK, I will definately be a little more careful if its a combat where it would make a difference, like if someone was getting grappled, or whether its not clear if I would be firing a bow into melee or not. Other than that though, I will generally try to do what I can to keep things moving. Later - Joe

"Cursed vermin! These weren't the kind of rats I was hoping to find."

Sordello steps to the side while drawing his long sword, leaving the pack of four trobles where he was standing. Holding his buckler low to protect his legs, he swings his sword in a low, sweeping arc in an attempt to kill one of the vermin. The awkward angles makes the swing clumsy and unnatural.

Cool, I am going to simply post my response on the game thread, which will be slightly out of initiative order. I know my action will not take effect until my place in order, but I also don't want to hold up the group by waiting for the exact order. I assume Aluvian will simply queue up the actions in the right order. Rat bastages.

Hoorah, at least you'll be able to enjoy a cold one.

"I would say you are doing fine, Genevieve. I seemed to have inherited a lack of vigor from my elven father, which is fairly uncommon in my line of work. You seem to be doing better than I am right now, so I think we will be able to help each other make it out. Just remember, our pursuers are probably all in heavy armor, so if we just keep a steady pace, we should be able to stay ahead of them."

"I don't reckon our professions are all that different. I am just a little more into finding and avoiding folks, while you seem a little more adept at finishing them off. I'll use the caltrops if they get close, thanks."

Cool, thanks for going over. I just got back from my second (and last) tour six weeks ago. Things are nice and cool right now, so it will be worth the wait. Later - Joe

"Well maybe we can make our pursuit a little paranoid. I have some ink in my bag. I'll make a hasty fake mark here, an arrow up. A little sloppy, not exactly my best work. Still, now I cut a little fabric from my tunic, and put up here, 'snagged' on a ladder rung. If we move carefully out of here, I can cover our tracks. With some luck, maybe our pursuers will think we had a way to climb up here and lock the door behind us.

Once we get moving stay alert for any signs of rats. With the help of a light spell from one of the casters, some cloth, and food, I may be able to create a decoy by having a rat moving with a lighted bag of bait on a side track."

Why are you only seeing brown? Are you stuck overseas?

Just to Clarify the current situation, it looks like its Corvus, Blank, Blank, Blank, Sordello. To keep things moving along, I would humbly suggest: Corvus, Klegg, Koveless, Gene, Sordello. I'm not trying to step on any toes, rather, just throw a straw man out there so we can quickly get order established.

BTW, the weekend was great. We were in Shenandoah National Park, and things were brilliant. I also got to tour Lurray caverns, and was worried that if we went any deeper, I was going to have to fend off a bunch of drow with my leatherman. Later - Joe

"You guys move ahead. Don't be surprised if I occasionally drop back as I try to leave some false tracks and stop to listen. Don't worry, I won't distrub the marks, but I do think we should consider getting back to the surface and blending into the crowds to get to this safehouse. We are pretty conspicuous and easy to attack down here."

Sordello looks around and then spands a minute listening carefully to attempt to hear any pursuit. "I recomend we hurry and occasionally pause to listen. I wish I had some materials to set a basic trap, as that could help slow down pursuit. Still, unless anybody has a better idea, I think I might be able to stay in the rear of our group, using my skill in tracking to obscure our trail and false tracks away from our path." Sordello adjusts his position to be last in the group.

One more thing. I will be travelling this weekend with the ever lovely Mrs. Cav. Unless I miraculously stumble across an internet cafe at the National Park we will be hiking in, I do not expect to have access to a computer. I will attempt to take one more post after Aluvian does an update, if possible before I leave tomorrow.

I hope the action will continue and will leave "NPC" instructions for Aluvian below.

Cool, like I mentioned in my emails, I try to push the action as much as I can without stepping on the GM's toes (hopefully) and always giving a way to redirect to the GM. I think it helps when everybody tries to keep it moving, and this is going a lot better than a lot of other PBP's I have been involved in over the years. I am definately having fun!

"I was planning on taking the high road out of here, but it seems our hostess was well prepared." Looking to Morrosino, "do you know the way or would you like me to try to use my skill to find the marks?"

Upon moving into the sewer, Sordello pauses to allow his eyes to adjust, thankfull of Genevieve's light. He secures his bow unto his pack and draws his longsword. "I can't imagine making any feats of archery down here in these close quarters."

It looks like things are picking up now! I was going to order the CoT path, as I usually DM, but I am enjoying playing this with no knowledge of the actual path and very little of Glolarion.

One question for Aluvian, my character has knowledge plains and evil outsiders for a favored enemy (maybe I should have picked Hellknight :p). Anyway, does Pathfinder use the same set of oustiders as 3.5E D&D? I just want to make sure that I can role play my character's knowledge realistically when the time comes. Thanks for any advice. Regards - Joe

"Unfortunately, it seems we have gone from the merry band of do-gooders stage, to the surrounded by Hellknight stage of this operation a little sooner than I would have hoped. We didn't even get to steal from the rich and give to the poor. Unless anyone has a better idea, I think we need to flee. I may know a way out of here."

Sordello sheaths his dagger, shoulders his pack, and straps on his buckler. Picking up his bow, he turns to the rest of the group.

Sordello tensly looks to Janiven, "Hopefully friends of yours?"

He gets up, moving a few steps towards the door so as to ensure he can help interdict anybody crashing through. His head remains on a swivel, checking the other exits to the room to ensure they remain clear and without sign of activity.

Sordello nods in agreement as he listens, perhaps calming down a little bit from his earlier intensity. "The issue with the shadows remains enigmatic. I have spent a lot of my time researching other-worldly phenomena, but still don't understand what is at hand. The people suffer greatly and fear much because of these things. I'd think we need more knowledge, perhaps there is a sage or library with such knowledge."

Sordello looks around once more and then grins as he looks back at Janiven. "While I know you are sincere Janiven, the matter of your interest has still not been addressed. Sooner or later I will need to understand whom or what you represent and what your agenda is."

With that, Sordello casually pulls out a dagger and a small piece of wood he had pocketed earlier and starts to whittle as he waits to hear what everybody else has to say.

"My life to date seems to amount to little more than a heap of unanswered questions. Despite all the confusion though, I know I was put on this world to wrest it from the infernal hordes. Until I get answers, I am content to strike the tyrants from beyond. I knew my life would come to this."

Sordello leans back in his chair with a sardonic grin. "So does anybody know where to begin?"

"Based on my experience, I doubt we are here to help each other directly. Rather, I would guess there is a congruence of our own agendas that has attracted Janiven's interest. I believe such an arrangement could potentially be beneficial, as long as everybody is forthright and we understand everybody's motives, including our charming hostess'."

"I have unfinished family business, mostly questions that need answered. Unpleasant questions that nobody seems interested in. I grew up here, but just returned after a five year absence."

"Perhaps you are correct. I seem to see worsening gloom everywhere I look in this town. It's probably just my perspective. At least there is pleasant company, food and spirits for now, small pleasures but not unappreciated." With that, Sordello winks and Janiven.

"Westcrown seems a little bit different than what I remember. It's hard to explain. Everything always seemed kind of false and murky here, but now there even seems to be even a bit of tension added to that. Of course it could just be me. My earlier memories were perhaps a bit biased and I am still just getting used to being back in town. At least the authorities seem just as helpful as I seem to recall."

With that, Sordello shows a little bit of a hurt smile and then resumes eating his meal.

Sordello turns to Kleggisnepp, "I am honored to meet a priest of Shelyn, especially here in Westcrown of all places. I can't imagine the local authorities are all that supportive. Myself, I do not primarily worship Shelyn. However, I do hold the practice of her faith in high regards, as I myself have a deep love of music. Your hand signs are odd though, has your faith adopted a clandestine greeting to perhaps avoid alerting authorities as to your activities?"

A well built half elf with ruddy blonde hair walks in. He is dressed plainly in stount traveller's clothes, colored in the green and brown shades of a woodsman. His cool blue eyes survey the room and then lock on Janiven.

"Please excuse the slight delay. This place was a little harder to find than I imagined. I hand't realized the location was abandoned."

He turns to Corvus. "At least it seems that you have arranged for some charming company. I am Sordello. Pleased to meet you."

OK, this should be the final draft. I added Scholar of the Great Beyond as my final trait and shifted my Knowledge Rank from Nature to the Planes.

The background is updated to ensure there is a more explicit reason for Sordello to have issue with the City government. In his case, they covered up his mother's death.

As mentioned, I will be offline until Monday. I look forward to hearing from everybody later and getting started.

You can reach me at nerfdragoon1994 at yahoo dot com. I will look at picking up the third trait you mentioned, and will tweak the character sheet to finalize.

I have played RPG's for a little over 25 years, having started with my old trusty red box basic set. Over that period I have often taken extended breaks from gaming. I recently took a government enforced break from gaming, as I was overseas, and have gotten home to find 3.5E totally abaondoned and 4E totally lame. I discovered Pathfinder a few weeks ago, and realized that the Lord really does listen.

I also tend to mostly DM, but am hoping to use this PBP to get my feet wet and develop a better appreciation for the rules so I can get a local game running. I live in Northern MD in case anybody is close. I have been trying to find a local gaming group with little luck.

Expect my revised sheet later tonight. I will be going camping Sunday night but should be back in the loop Monday evening. Later - Joe

Here is the character I came up with. Let me know if there are any questions. I look forward to getting started.