Search Posts
Does the game use Golarion gods? Also, by very difficult, do you mean that characters need to be optimized up the ying-yang, or that it requires intelligent play? Please consider Venedictus. He was made for an aborted pbp of Age of Worms, but his backstory is easily changed to reflect him coming to The Camp. Feel free to check out the various pbps I've been in, including the one I'm currently GMing (Arcadia - Land of Opportunity) to see my playstyle.
Dara and Udaya notice that the wooden blockade is situated a foot or so in front of the entrance, allowing just enough space to slip behind it and into the passage.
Venedictus motions for everybody to hurriedly get inside the passageway, whispering some thanks to Umber. He'll squeeze in last, just in case he gets stuck.
"Someone might need help, or healing!"
"Use the ghost sound to make it sound like somebody is crying for help over behind that shed. It's pretty close to the mine, but not in it. When we come up and the guards ask us why we went into the mine when we weren't supposed to, we'll be able to say that we thought the cries for help had come from within the mine and we went to investigate them."
Venedictus looks around the mining camp, looking for something they could do to create a diversion (preferably something that wouldn't look too suspicious - they don't want to come up from the mine after several long hard battles and have an entire contingent of mine guards waiting for them). Anybody have any ideas? Something harmless they could set fire to would be classic, if also cliche.
"I would suggest that we take a 'lunch' break, just here by the mine entrance," Venedictus says, "and once the guards get used to us just hanging around here [b]not performing, they might drop their guard enough to allow us to nip inside."[/b] Much more quietly (but not quiet enough), he adds to himself"Besides, it'll be good to stop for awhile. I know that Shelyn teaches imperfect music sincerely offered is supposed to be of more worth than beautiful music from an insincere heart, but there has to be a limit."
"If it comes to it, I do have a certain way with music, not trying to brag or anything, but I'm quite certain that I would be able to distract the guards at the mine entrance so well that all of you could get inside the mine. Of course, I'd have trouble getting in myself if they're all enraptured with watching me sing."
"Of course not. We understand. Security and all." Bluff:
Once back at the inn, Venedictus has calmed himself down from his outburst, and tells the team that he has already secured entrance for the whole group into the Dourstone mining camp as pro bono entertainers and medics and emissaries of Shelyn.
"Well, I for one am not feeling in any particular hurry here, although it would be unfortunate if an innocent should get in this cult's way before him. Perhaps we should just plan on wiping out this cult, and taking Smenk off to some place like Korvosa, where a trial against him might get a fair hearing." "Or, we could just let it slip to Mr. Dourstone's ears that Smenk is looking for people to take out his little cult operation..." Venedictus swallows hard and pauses for a moment. Venedictus picks up the wine glass that was supposed to be for himself, and almost drinks out of it."Forgive me. It's just that that man and the people like him are why there is so much ugliness in Baslwief in the first place. I always figured, at least in the beginning, that if I ever got the chance to be in the same room with one of these slimeballs, that I'd do something a lot more noble and heroic than refusing a glass of wine." He hurls the wine glass at something ugly in the room.
"As you said yourself, sir, you are likely the first target of these cultists once they're ready to move. I'd certainly hate for their annihilation to be ... slowed because we had to waste time finding other ways to be 'resourceful'."
"Gaining entrance to the mining camp itself will be no problem. Once we're inside, we'll have to work a little magic to make our way into the mine proper. It would help immensely if you could provide us with some coin to bribe some guards and what not."
"Yes, ummm, neither am I," Venedictus says, refusing a drink. I think a bluff check is in order for that though:
Well, in that case, I guess this mine manager really manages to 'take advantage of him'. Venedictus makes a grand spiel about at least being able to bring the beauteous word of Shelyn to the miners, to take their minds off how hard they work, slipping in a few mentions about how healthier and happier workers are more productive workers. He then promises to return the next day to offer his services and that of his apprentices and colleagues. He then heads back to the inn to find Kullen sitting in his spot at their table. He pulls up another chair and gets caught up on the conversation.
Venedictus will fork out the 80gp to gain himself access to Dourstone Mine camp, and sell himself as an entertainer for the miners. He'll try to get access to one of the mine managers or mine bosses and sell himself as an entertainer for the miners to raise morale, hinting that perhaps his skills as a healer could also be useful. Of course, he would need his 4 assistants to have access as well, to help with the healing, and to use minor magic tricks to also entertain the masses. Bear and Dara he paints as being partially for his own security, partially as his apprentices. He also works a guidance spell into a demonstration of his skills. Diplomacy for mine boss: He attempts to negotiate a 'fair' daily wage for himself and his assistants, though he purposely allows the mine boss to 'take advantage of him'.
Venedictus will spend his down time doing something that truly grates against his principles: he'll set himself up on a street corner near the entrance to Smenk's mine and sing for the masses, maybe even with a little hat out on the ground. He's not really looking for the money, just making his presence a little more familiar to the locals in case they do have to sneak their way into this mine to look for this cult.
Venedictus will spend his down time doing something that truly grates against his principles: he'll set himself up on a street corner near the entrance to Smenk's mine and sing for the masses, maybe even with a little hat out on the ground. He's not really looking for the money, just making his presence a little more familiar to the locals in case they do have to sneak their way into this mine to look for this cult.
Venedictus is fine with that plan. Straight to Allustan's sounds good, unless of course, other people feel the need to stop for a drink on the way.
"I certainly have nothing against wizards at all, but we don't know him very well. So far, we've fought zombies, dealt with ghosts, gone down ancient elevating devices, played spin the bottle with a giant coffin, ridden a column of air, and searched the sarcophagus of a powerful ancient being - why are you balking at opening a box?"
"Is the strong aura coming from the box itself, or something inside? It seems a shame to take it back to Allustan and pay his prices when we may know enough ourselves to figure it out. Besides, this seems to me that it might be the biggest part of this collection. Allustan seems trustworthy enough, but dare we risk this prize being vakuable enough to tempt him?"
Venedictus whispers to Bear to distract Kullen for a moment, and then goes up to the girl and whispers to her, "Before we go, I just wanted to make sure...you did come here willingly, right? We wouldn't allow him to do anything you didn't want. You needn't fear him."
This guy is going to get so paranoid about coming home each night, now. Perhaps he'll realize that if he keeps coming home drunk every night, one of these times he'll really end up in hot water, and so he'll swear off the booze and become an honest, upstanding member of society. Either that, or he'll start coming home with his entire crew as backup. That'll work wonders for his rep, having to have his buddies help him check for bad guys under his bed.
They'll need some means of ascertaining whether or not Kullen is alone when he returns home, so perhaps somebody by the front windows/wall cracks?
"Then perhaps, if I may suggest, as eager as I am to sit my bones down in a comfortable inn with a hot meal and good drink, perhaps it would be smart to wait till nightfall before returning, sneaking into Baslwief and Cullen's house, and laying in wait for him to return from his night of drinking. It should freak him out a bit and his tongue should be well-loosened from drink."
Venedictus is fine with heading back to town and returning later.
Venedictus smirks at Fredrik. "I hope this thing has enough power..."
Venedictus gestures towards the funnel. "Ladies, at least, ladies with magical feather fall rings, first."
Venedictus channels again, several times.
"I think I can do that a couple more times before I need to pray again."
If Venedictus is adjacent to Dara, he'll hit her with a cure light and then move; otherwise, she'll channel excluding the warriors and move. Cure light: Or Channel:
Sorry folks, I was really unclear - got a bit tangled up with fluff description and didn't include mechanics. Venedictus had cast his new spell Inspirational Boost (which is a swift action to cast) which makes his inspire courage +2 instead of +1 for one round. All those attacks and damages should be 1 higher.
Venedictus will try to assess the difficulty of these opponents. If Udaya's vicious blow takes out one of these guys, he'll just content himself with continuing the inspire courage and give Udaya a bit of luck. If it's still up, though, he'll try his new spell, as a swift action invoking a short boost from Shelyn, adding an additional +1 to his inspire courage, then moves up and gives Udaya a bit of luck (rerolls any d20s for 1 round).
Venedictus, on his amazing initiative roll, begins to sing a chant of praise to Shelyn. The music is so beautiful that it cries out to be sung, and everybody finds themselves humming along. The music fills them with confidence, and their combat prowess becomes more in tune, their clumsy moves more graceful and precise, and their hearts stouter. +1 to attack, damage, and saves versus fear
But never came back down. Perhaps all the goodies in this room are 'up, up, and away'?
total xp is up to 2828 now? I have 3028, but that might be either wishful thinking or bad arithmetic.
Which way is the column of air rushing - up or down? He casts a light spell on a piece of rubble and tosses it over the side to see how far down the chasm goes.
Venedictus will let fly with a lightning arc.
Venedictus has a few channels left. He'll dash as forward as he needs to (can't see map at the moment) and channel.
Obviously, there's been so much ugliness in this place, that it's sapping Venedictus' new-found appreciation for life and draining his beauty power.
Seeing the storage room beyond, Venedictus chuckles. "It's alright, Bear. You can come out of the closet."
Venedictus gets paler and paler as each corpse begins "speaking". He hurriedly gets up as it looks like the young woman may make a pass at him. "The poor man. The poor sick, twisted, sad little man. He needed this to feel loved and appreciated."
Venedictus swallows and says, "I have an idea..." He waddles over and sits down in the empty chair.
"If this is the guy Smenck brought in to deal with the cultists, I can only imagine how depraved they must be."
"Does he..." pauses to swallow bile, "Did he eat here? Sitting at that tenth place for his own meals like he was hosting a party of the dead? This guy was sick! I think we need to cut off his head again."
"This is style?" Venedictus asks, gesturing to the head on a platter.
"Definitely not. Nor do I like the mention of green worms and unkillable zombies. If some cult has taken up residence inside Dourstone Mine to to study Spawn of Kyuss, then we need to put our escape-Baslwief plans on hold and investigate this further."
WOW is right. I think I feel dumber for having read that. I was kind of amused that that creepy bastard Shuriken thought it was a good idea. Kinda figures... Heh. I'm open-minded enough to accept that there are legitimate uses of acupuncture in treating many things, but the idea of having the party fighter down on the ground with half his intestines ripped out by a dragon's claws, and the party rogue comes along and heals it over by sticking some pins in the guy's feet, and then saying it's only an extra-ordinary ability... Needless to say, Venedictus won't be dipping into rogue levels, and will instead just take Craft Wand at 5th level to bang out heal sticks for the group.
The "Sneak-Healing" thread, where somebody is suggesting that since you can use inflict spells to get sneak attack damage against a living opponent, and cure spells to get sneak attack damage against an undead, you could use cure spells to get sneak attack "healing" against a living opponent, as in cure light wounds by a cleric 1/rogue 1 does 1d8+1+1d6. Then there's all sorts of nonsense about coup de grace healing out of combat for automatic double healing. Ben managed a polite response on the thread, which was more than I could do. Here. Some of the ideas people seem to get because there isn't a specific rule saying 'no' sometimes boggles my mind.
Venedictus shrugs, holding up the glass tube.
|
