You are welcome guys, and good luck!
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Hey guys, my contacts have yielded nothing, I'm afraid. Feel free to use that or similar in looking for a GM. Just start up a new recruitment thread titled "Looking for GM: Curse of the Crimson Throne" or similar, with an explanation similar to mine above. You should be able to find a GM. Post it at about 9pm-ish USA eastern time to get the best exposure. Let me know if you get no response and I can try bumping the thread a little for you, or also try other channels. You could also try contacting the online VC, Jesse Davis (IronHelixx) for help, but he's probably going to be overly busy until the end of December sorting out PbP Gameday 4.
I like you too! It's one of the prime reasons I thought to post here with Chris so absent. If you can't find a GM at all for the game, do PM me. I know a few GMs out there (and I know some folk who know even more), and I might be able to hook one of them in to help you guys out.
Hey guys... remember me? Well, two of you hopefully do. ;-) Just thought I'd let you know that Chris (DM Crispy) is absent from our games also... and also without word. Very unusual for him. I sent an email to (what I'm sure was) an alternate email address of his (it was AOL... so that's why I think it's not his real one). No response as yet from that either. We never managed to get his cell number, so... we're stuck too. We've gamed together for a year and a half or so, and this has never happened before (for longer than 48 hours). Anyway, since we'd played together before and I knew Crispy was still running for you - I just thought I'd let you guys know (erm, that I have no more info than you do). We are also in the 'hope he's alright' boat. We just want our Chris back. I think best case at the moment is he had to quit PbP cold turkey for one reason or another.... and it's temporary. I don't want to think about alternatives. Either way, though, it may be an idea for you folk to look for an alternative GM (maybe only to step in for a little while).
I never looked at it that way, Gaius. Yeah, it must have been frustrating at times. I love optimizing characters (not quite min-maxing, but still getting a lot out of a build). Not sure if Crispy would allow it, but you could always look at rebuilding your characters for book 2 if you're not happy with their performance. In the old days, I used to prefer RP builds and to hell with optimization, but 3rd Ed D&D and then Pathfinder have gradually made it so you can't survive with sub-par builds... especially when you play published material. Anyway, I'm truly sorry if I took too much away from the rest of you. I definitely was pushing forwards on purpose, and my posting frequency meant I was usually pushing first. Can't help those dice rolls, though! I think the BBCode loved my eidolon.
”Thank you my friend,” says Zart, as a tear rolls down his face, ”But I think I need to make this part of my life’s journey alone.” Even as Raamanti begins to object, Zart closes his fist in a gesture that ends Raamanti’s tie to this world. Struggling against the dismissive magics for the first time in his life, Raamanti claws at the ground. He tries to cling to this plane even as his body elongates and flattens, drawn inexorably towards the waiting fetchling shadow caster. After several painful and tense moments, the eidolon becomes a shadow once more. The newly returned shadow does not exactly mirror Zart or his movements - it wavers and twists, and seems more bulky at times than it should. Another tear falls to the ground at Zart’s feet. It is the last piece of himself that he leaves behind in this city that was his home for so long. Silently, he walks off and blends into the night.
”Well, my friends,” says Zart, looking far more downcast than any of those assembled have seen him since the recovery of his daughter, Donna, ”Ethical differences aside, I have sensed a divide between us. Donna’s absence has also been weighing on me. We had been apart for so long, and now I have sent her away because this city is failing. What if I die, as we nearly did below, trying to save it only to never see my daughter again, and to have her never return to this place? What would become of Donna should I never see her again? How can I, a lone and not even so powerful summoner, possibly hope to work against the forces at play here? ”No, I do not like the answers to these questions at all,” Zart shakes his head slowly, ”I will be leaving Korvosa to follow Donna. She needs me and this city does not. I helped avert war, and my duty to it is now done. I pray that Trinia is alright, but fear that she will not live much longer. Daud, I don’t believe you can get the justice you seek in this city. Maybe someday I will return and discover that I was wrong. I just can’t take that chance today.” Zart moves away a little, and allows Raamanti to say his farewells.
Hello everyone. As we come to the end of book one, I have made a decision: I will be leaving the game. This has not been an easy decision for me, and first and foremost I would like to thank everyone here for including me. I know accommodating another player in an existing group is never an easy thing, and I hope it has been an enjoyable experience for all of you. Thank you especially to DM Crispy for running a fun adventure. Primarily, I’ve decided to cut back on my PbP. Also, I caught up with the GM who ran (what I thought was) book 1 and part of book 2 for me before: turns out I've played much more than I had originally remembered. We only played about 10-12 sessions, but he skipped big chunks. I was waiting for a certain something (sorry no spoilers) to happen, but he said that it wasn't until the start of book 4. An honest mistake on my behalf, and he ran so little of the actual content that almost all of this felt new to me. For example, his adventure had nothing about Rolth (or his apprentice) or the dismembered Shoanti in it. He didn't like that plot line, so he trimmed it (and filled in the gaps where he needed to). Also, we captured Trinia, but there was no chase. Interestingly enough, we didn’t hand Trinia over to Croft. Something else happened for us in the next bit (no spoilers again, sorry). However, those are not the only reasons I have decided to leave. I’m putting my other reasons in a spoiler below, if you care to read. It’s a little critical, but I believe in being honest - and especially so at times like these. Further reasons:
So, without further ado my other reasons for leaving: The posting frequency is not my style. I prefer at least once per day, but if I’m honest, I really prefer multiple times per day. It has picked up of late, but it really does get very sporadic. Sometimes (for reasons beyond their control, I know) we were waiting for almost a week to hear from some players. For long absences, it’s nice to see (as we sometimes did) a quick discussion post to warn us. If for no other reason, it lets the GM know to bot that PC rather than waiting on them. The quality (or rather content) of the posts from other players here is also not my style. I like to play PbP like an evolving novel. The AP is the framework, but we make up the words. Many times it seems as though all the roleplaying from the GM and other players gets is a cursory read and then a one-line response. There are notable exceptions (that earlier bit of roleplaying when Zart was reunited with Donna being my favorite exception) but this dungeon really sealed the deal on this point for me. The last one is more a piece of advice than a criticism. It revolves around keeping things moving. A very well respected PbPer and community contributor, Painlord, has written a guide on PbP. This is his #1 point: Painlord's Guide to Advanced PbP, #1: Become the master of the Push and of the Hook > Always Be Pushing. There were so many times that I'd see posts that didn't advance the plot at all. Especially when you are posting only once per day or every other day, you need to make sure the GM and players are aware of what your next desired course of action is. Even if you have questions for the GM about what's going on, put in assumptions and help the game to progress. It's not just the GM's responsibility to say "you go there” - if it was, I'd just read an actual novel or play my PlayStation. Please do read that guide above, even if you only read the first point in it. There beautiful examples in Painlord's guide of what I'm talking about. It will make you a better PbPer and (most importantly) it will help all the games you're involved in to progress.
So, thank you again so much for including me. I hope you continue to enjoy yourselves in this game - after all, that’s what gaming (in any form) is all about. Epilogue post coming from Zart very soon. If you read that first, then this hopefully explains that!
Pyron is madder than this derro! Why, in the names of all of this plane's gods, is he conducting a job interview with the creature who almost killed us and threw a zombie into the room while cackling? Zart is openmouthedly flummoxed by Pyron's line of questioning. "We should heed Raamanti's advice," says Zart, looking around, "No point delaying any further. There's clearly nothing more down here for us so let's finish our questioning as quickly as possible. I don't know if there's anything else to learn from this madman... but I'm sure Croft has her ways. "Alternatively, I'm sure the clergy would be happy to have him," Zart says sarcastically, for the first time that any here can recall, "Or maybe he could teach magic at the local College of the Arts."
"When will he return?" asks Zart, trying to take as much advantage as possible from the madman's bout of cooperation. I wonder if this creature would even mind facing death. I wonder if my companions will allow it to face justice or just kill it when we're done. More and more, I wonder why I care...
"Where is your master, Rolth?" asks Zart once Gaius has returned his sight, "I cannot guarantee your safety amongst these folk, but I can assure you that you have no hope if you are not being helpful. While you're at it, why don't you tell us who decided you should have this particular corpse. Its selection was too... unfortunate... to be a coincidence." Zart will leave the threatening up to Gaius. He is simply stating the facts as he sees them, and helping the derro to see them.
Nice work finishing the guy off, Gaius! Great use of your abilities to get that crossbow out. Thought he was going to escape (or finish us off) for sure! That AC and his being out of reach could have easily been game over.
While the interrogation goes one, Zart helps Raamanti load the body pieces on the cart, and to make them look as respectable as possible.
"I seriously doubt we'd be able to convince this thing to cure Gaius's malady," says Zart sadly, "Even if it were so inclined, I doubt he'd have prepared a spell to undo his dastardly work. We will be able to get healing for Gaius at the Temple of Sarenrae, no doubt. Perhaps Field Marshall Croft will even have something to help him with. "That isn't to say that we shouldn't wake this creature and question him, though," continues the Shadowcaller, "I for one am extremely curious to discover where Rolth is. I'm not sure if we have explored this entire complex yet, but I get the feeling that if Rolth were here, we would have found him in one of those last few rooms we saw. "I don't think healing him is a good idea, but if Gaius could let us use his smelling salts, we may be able to safely get some answers."
It's time in this world at an end, the shadow eagle blends back into the shadows.
Zart pulls out his wand and casts enlarge person on Tolenn. "Go my friend!" he almost yells, "Smite evil!" He then follows after Raamanti as the eidolon chases the necromancer.
Zart steps up to Raamanti once more, closing the gap between himself and the necromancer. "Destroy him, my friend," Zart encourages his eidolon, muttering a now-familiar enchantment over him. "οδηγία"
Zart mutters an enchantment over Raamanti before retreating back a safe distance the way they just came. "οδηγία" --
Zart moves over to Raamanti, his poor wounded eidolon and chants shadowy words of soothing, healing magic. "ανανεωθείτε πρωτογενή κλήτευση χαρακτηριστικό της κατηγορίας άνθρωπος"
Ooh. Litany of sloth sounds great! Provided we are threatening him of course!
Nice work Gaius! Even if you can't reel him in, that -4 to Dex will work well. So... with Pyron's hex and a -4 total to his AC? Phew! Extra concentration check required for each casting (additional to casting defensively) from being entangled? Very sweet indeed. We may even win this one.
As Raamanti telepathically informs him of a floating creature, Zart decides he'll need a flying creature of his own. He begins a spell in the charcoal grey tongue of shadowmancy: "καλέσει σκιά αετός"
"Well now," Zart mutters forlornly, "It looks as though we have most of the corpse of the Shoanti. Let's see... the legs from the room with that tentacle beast, the arm from the rotting golem in the boarded up room, now the head... oh, it seems we are missing an arm and a torso still. Do you think the Shoanti man will mind if it is a few pieces short? Perhaps he will, maybe we should find the rest... oh, and we need to find the necromancer, Rolth. Mustn't forget about that. War is important to avoid, yes, most important. But can do both justice and prevent war. So we should." Zart seems to becoming more withdrawn and internalized. His manner of speech is as though he is talking to himself, or just himself and Raamanti, as he mulls things over in his head.
Zart looks genuinely confused, "I think we should let him live. I was saying that I wouldn't judge you for choosing otherwise. When our life is no longer in peril, we will need to have a talk I think. For now, though, let us just move along."
Thank you, my friend, replies Zart silently, nodding to his eidolon in approval. "I suspect that creature was more misguided than malign," Zart looks to the deformed, unconscious thing on the ground, before looking up to Daud, "However, I could see the mercy in ending such a wretched thing's existence. I don't suppose the authorities will treat it very well, and we can't very well leave it here. If Gaius wishes to redeem it, I believe he could make a decent go of it once we deal with Rolth." Zart turns, the same sad expression that usually covers his face seems somehow even sadder than before, and he continues after his eidolon at a healthy distance.
Not knowing quite how else to help his companions at this point, Zart moves up behind Raamanti and casts guidance, hoping the eidolon's next blow will be more accurate. Zart wracks his brain for any weaknesses this abomination might have.
"Well, I guess we should head onwards," says Zart, taking a cursory peek around, "Looks like Rolth has been experimenting quite a bit with corpse pieces. I wonder why he specifically wanted a Shoanti - or perhaps it was just coincidence. Given the situation in town, though, I doubt that anything that could start a war is coincidence. I for one would love to be able to question Rolth and find out exactly who sold him the Shoanti's body and if he knows why." Zart turns to the others, "But after more of this, you may have noticed my stance on these little white-haired creatures has changed somewhat. I still want them to face Korvosan justice, but it is crucial that they not warn their master... on the off chance he doesn't know we're coming already." With that little speech over, Zart casts resistance on everyone, finishing with Raamanti and another shield spell just as they exit the last room.
"Acid should be fine, so long as it is conjured and not something that spell resistance can overcome," says Zart, remembering golems' usual immunities, "But that assumes this is like a regular golem - when clearly it is not."
Zart searches his mind for anything he knows about this apparent flesh golem.
Realizing that his regular magics will be ineffective against this creature, Zart produces his wand of shield and enhances his eidolon's defensive capabilities. "Tolenn, I do not believe this to be our Shoanti," says Zart, casting a critical eye over the creature, "He's only holding that arm, it's not a part of him. I also doubt that our necromancer would board up his prized creation. Perhaps this was something he tried afterwards - or perhaps beforehand. Maybe it went wrong somehow, like those bone snakes earlier. Let's hope it isn't at full strength!"
"Yes, Daud, the fight is over," says Zart, repeating the obvious, "You are welcome. If we are going to press forward, best we do it sooner rather than later. Let us move along, Raamanti my friend." Before Raamanti and everyone leaves, Zart recasts resistance on everyone before using one more charge from his wand of shield on the eidolon.
"Well, my friends, if this is any indication of what Rolth is capable of creating, then we may need to worry," says Zart with a grim look on his face, "What do we possess in the way of healing magics? Gaius is the only one wounded, but I fear that if we go much further into this warren then we will sorely need more healing than whatever it takes to help him out. Should we retreat briefly to pick up some healing scrolls for Pyron to use? That way, we can at least heal up after battling these guardians." While everyone discusses what to do, Zart sits down in the room they were in previously and sets up some candles. He begins his minute long summoning ritual that everyone has no doubt seen many times before.
Noting the effectiveness of his strategy, Zart uses his innate summoning ability once more: "καλέσει τέρας, σκιά λύκος"
Knowing that another summons will immediately dismiss his previous summons, Zart nevertheless elects to have two wolves attacking almost simultaneously. Drawing upon his limited reserves of innate shadow summoning magic, Zart chants: "καλέσει τέρας, σκιά λύκος"
"This thing is called a Necrophidius," shouts Zart, indicating the creature his wolf just bit, "Watch out for their bite they can..." Zart notices that Gaius has frozen in place, "... paralyze you with it. Dammit! Hit them with bludgeoning weapons if you can, their bony bodies have a harder time of turning such attacks aside. "Pick up Raamanti's hammer and give it all you've got. These seem unfinished somehow, so they're likely to be a little weaker than the ones I've read about. Since I know about them, it means they are constructed and not undead in nature. Positive energy will do little against them." Let us hope the Shoanti flesh golem we destined to face is similarly hampered, Zart adds to himself.
Zart steps in a little closer and uses his telepathic bond with Raamanti and tries to identify what these creatures are.
Sensing that Raamanti won't be much good in a fight, Zart calls out, "Raamanti, drop your hammer!" before beginning to chant in the super cool tongue of shadowmancy: "καλέσει τέρας, σκιά λύκος"
Being too far for the back to be of much use, and not wanting to expend another summon spell, Zart instead casts guidance on Gaius. "Just imagine your goal, and this spell should help you to achieve it," promises Zart as he touches a moderately glowing hand to Gaius's shoulder.
"Raamanti is quite safe, so to speak," says Zart assuringly, "As an eidolon, he does enjoy certain privileges. I can always dismiss him should he encounter any real danger. Thank you for your concern, though." |