Zsófia Dobós's page

I've been thinking a lot about how to write fey/fae characters (I prefer the spelling "fey" for fantasy roleplaying, but fae definitely has its place in literature overall). Fey in D&D are something of a catchall category of mystical creatures from different mythologies, and Pathfinder added to that. Recognizing that there are multiple folklores which are represented, how do you like to play with or write with fey? For my purposes specifically within this game, my intention for the NPC fey is to lean on Greek drama and Shakespeare as the two touchstones for style. I'm not totally sure exactly what that looks like yet, but I'm thinking iambic pentameter if I can swing it, Greek choruses, weird prophecy, etc. I'm not expecting our fey PCs to adhere to this, I encourage you to play as you like. But when I think about Nyrissa, Count Ranalc, and The Lantern King, I very much think of it in terms of Shakespearean tragedy with elements of Greek irony.

I love any opportunity to use theatrical language and devices (and I agree with you that "fey" is superior for our purposes). Some fey are timeless or ancient humanlike creatures based on folklore, and I think having them speak like they are in a play is a great way to emphasize these qualities. But "fey" in Pathfinder and especially in Kingmaker also includes lots of nature spirits for which that sense of grandeur isn't usually needed, as Jack says. If you want to emphasize their similarities more, their cadence and choice of words would certainly accomplish that, and I imagine would lead to some excellent dialogue.

Much like I asked of Hurley, it would also be helpful if all of us shared the story beats we want to see for our PCs. Not just in a 'I wrote it in the backstory' sort of way but more an explicit 'Ta Bayang performs the Darkhallow and uses the ritual to replace the Forgotten Prince as an archfey' or 'Szofia beheads Joffrey Baratheon on the Iron Throne' kind of way. If we all have the same signposts it would help us all write in the right direction.

Well, most of my intentions for Zsófia involve meddling with the noble politics of Brevoy and regulating our new kingdom. I figure we will set up our capital city at the site of the Stag Lord's fort like the module prescribes, and an important goal for her subsequently is leading a team to explore and settle Candlemere, with the goal of turning the island into a major city supported by several villages around the lake. I think she'd want to turn the tower into a temple to Shelyn. Then I imagine she will mostly just be concerned with improving our kingdom and resolving the various threats against it.

Diplomatic relations with the Dragon Throne and the Swordlords are both personal stories for her. I think it would be fun to play a surprising romance and courtship with Noleski, perhaps engineered and manipulated by his sister, but it probably wouldn't lead to a marriage even if they fall in lurve because there is no way they could be political equals. Under the right circumstances I could see them having a child together (I wouldn't want to play any of that out, of course!) because that would create a ton of interesting situations and feels.

I don't know what would best resolve her Swordlords character threads. One way to resolve her grudge against them would be for her to beat Jamandi Aldori in a duel, and for her to thus admit that Zsófia is as good as a Swordlord. I have no idea how that could happen, especially as it would be something of an international incident and a diplomatic nightmare for Brevoy. But if they somehow insulted Zsófia or our kingdom, I could see her demanding satisfaction in a duel, and political pressure forcing Jamandi to participate and perhaps even let Zsófia win. I think Zsófia would catch on and become even more furious, and demand that her opponent hold nothing back.

Zsófia will step back for most of the nature-themed plots, including things that touch on Nyrissa. Very late game, it might be that we come across Zsófia's mother, a former servant of Nyrissa and imprisoned by her, but that's a revelation that she is not expecting and I don't know how it will affect her since she chooses to believe her mother was an avatar of Shelyn instead. Might lead to a crisis of faith, but it might also lead her to double down on Shelyn and her hatred of fey machinations in human affairs.

If we are going to make these kinds of decisions, more or less treating the Kingmaker AP as a known text for us players, should I maybe buy the AP? I've played Book 1 before in 1st edition but it's been a while. Beyond that point I have very little idea of what happens and who NPCs etc. are at all. I don't imagine I'd have much to say about the ones I don't know one way or another.

I don't think you have to buy anything to tell some good stories. :) Having at least one player who is more or less blissfully ignorant of the module's plots is charming, in my opinion. Might help to keep us all honest, in that options for dealing with various events might not occur to the rest of us.

As much as I'm willing to run with delegated narrative control, I don't think a Pathfinder game can work without a dedicated GM guiding the helm. At least once we get into combat, we need regular posts. I've been waiting for GM Hurley to figure out their posting schedule, as their last post said they would do now that the holidays are over. I'd prefer it if we could all commit to a daily post, even just to check in, as I think that keeps things going forward at a reasonable pace, but if that's not possible it would help to have a sense of what is. No offense intended, but if it's going to be a post every two weeks, I don't think this game will ever get off the ground.

One of my favorite TTRPG games that isn't D&D is called Ars Magica, and it has woven into it an idea called "troupe-style" play. It is a system designed to give all the players more buy-in to the story by assigning them as game masters over different aspects of the setting. It is supposed to lessen the burden of running the game for the primary GM, and also make it possible for everyone to play a main character (though usually the primary GM plays a character that doesn't adventure much). Everyone plays multiple characters, and often when a new NPC or companion is introduced by the GM someone else takes over playing it at the table.

I bring this up because if our well-intentioned GM cannot manage everything about this game, they might be willing to delegate some of it to us in a similar fashion. In Ars, we usually try to assign aspects of the setting to players with characters that are not very involved in those adventures, but it might be that the opposite is better here because those of us with characters that are extremely invested in certain story elements would probably be able to storyguide them better, and I suspect would be more engaged in pushing the story forward because it affects their character. But I know that can also feel a bit monomaniacal, and one of the reasons we went with our various character directions is because we want to discover things through interaction that we didn't come up with ourselves, so playing both sides of these scenes is kind of disappointing. :)

Speaking for myself, I hesitate suggesting such a system because I know I'm a terrible GM. I have good intentions and I aspire to do a good job, but the two or three times I've put together a game and recruited it has fallen apart pretty quickly. So I wouldn't advise us relying on me to run the game in GM Hurley's absence, even temporarily. But I might be able to run a combat or two, I suppose. I do have the 1E and 2E Kingmaker PDFs and I'm somewhat familiar with what is going on. If I were to nominate myself to take over some part of the game under GM Hurley's occasional guidance, I might suggest I govern the Stag Lord and his bandits. We're coming up on our first encounter with them, and I might be able to get us through it with minimal involvement from the GM. It's not ideal, though, just warning everyone.

You could allow players to take narrative control with particularly high rolls, assuming anyone cares about that? Like a Survival roll of 10+HD might let the player declare what the weather will be?

Oleg's Trading Post, The Stolen Lands

Zsófia bows politely to the steadfaster and his wife. "A pleasure to meet you," she says brightly. "I am Zsófia Dobós. Your hospitality is most appreciated, for we have been traveling for three days, and have henceforth consumed more dust than dinner. I would like to know more about these criminals you expect in the morning, but there is no great rush to dive into the details before the meal." She chuckles.

What is Oleg’s wife’s role in the trading post operations? (I don’t remember her name offhand, since I’m not at home currently.)

The Road to Oleg's

Zsófia purses her lips and remains silent during the twenty-cited dye discussion, marveling at her companions' (apparently) extensive knowledge of such down-to-earth matters. She does subtly encourage everyone to continue traveling as they talk by starting to walk herself, now regretting her choice to slow down the party with her own topic.

"I have studied maps of our intended route," she admits, when Silver Dawn brings up their destination. "Since we left Restov on the first day, we have been more or less traveling west along the Shrike river. I'm not sure exactly when, but at some point the road and water diverged. These lands that we now traverse still might be considered to be part of Brevoy, since they are technically north of the river. They are mostly fields and scrublands watered by the Shrike and its smaller tributaries." Zsófia's speech is studied, and she sounds almost like she is reading from a legal document arguing for suzerainty based on proximity to water and water rights. "I would be curious to know if Goodman Oleg considers himself to be a Rostlander."

The Road to Oleg's

Zsófia laughs, nodding to Malylev. "I hold no illusions concerning the enthusiasm or number of my presumed subjects and vassals, my friend. These heavy titles I carry are mostly for Brevoy's hungry maw to chew upon, not to feed those who live here on the frontier. My relationship with House Surtova may benefit us in the long run, but for now it seems like more of a liability. In any case, since what I bring to our endeavor is less on the practical sensible pioneering gumption end of the pitch and more on the looming dangerous political trouble side, I felt you all deserved to know the lay of the land, at least from my perspective."

She scrunches up her nose as she realizes she will probably have to address her relationship with the Swordlords. "I fear that bridge is fallen and burnt already, Silver Dawn. The Aldoris and I, ah, are not on as good terms," she admits diplomatically. "I think we are unlikely to receive any further goodwill from them going forward. I have what I think are very good reasons for my dislike, which I do not like to discuss, and I have never cared to learn why they have never respected me." She huffs a haughty breath through her nostrils and closes her eyes, then opens them again. "So it may be that we will be glad of the king-regent's favor if it becomes necessary for us to negotiate with Brevoy over matters of state."

The Road to Oleg's

Momentarily perplexed by Ta Bayang's statement, Zsófia gives the fetchling a strange look. Then she nods to Malylev and Jack, slowing down to acknowledge her as they all travel. She scratches the nape of her neck, and sighs. "Candlemere is located within the Stolen Lands, and was once the county seat of the Narlmarches, technically making me a marchioness. I was given the title by the king-regent of Brevoy as a favor to my father, who is... well, a good friend of his. I do not know much about the estate, but part of my reason for joining this expedition is that I want to scout and secure the lands and thus prove my claim. But it is a delicate political situation, for it means I am somewhat beholden to the Dragon Throne, personally. Our charter comes from the Swordlords, but by including me in the party, it is tacitly endorsed by Brevoy as well." She looks around at the group, which has slowed almost to a stop as she talks. "It may be that Rostland does not want us to succeed in carving out our new kingdom, for as I understand it, these charters are meant to create neighboring countries that will act as a check on Brevic authority and potential allies to the Aldori cause. I am not that. I am sorry I could not say as much where there were so many listening ears hiding in the curtains." She smirks cheekily at Jack. "I welcome your thoughts," she adds, trying her best to sound sincere.

Should I add that I expect to inherit "all the lands of the Shrike river?" she wonders. No, I suppose it does not matter, except to provide legitimacy to a claim upon the lands if they are contested. Better to hold the details of her father's true identity in reserve. And she is still nervous about revealing too many secrets before she knows very much about her companions.

Oh whoops, you’re right Jack! Sorry Malylev, I did read your post.

I figure everyone should get a chance at a first post before I start doing concentrated roleplaying, so I'm still waiting for Malylev and Trillium. If you folks are waiting for me to say more before you post, let me know?

The Road to Oleg's

Zsófia trudges along behind the wagon and the animals, holding her head at a delicate, jaunty angle and blinking a lot. The great sense of shared camaraderie she felt at the private impromptu party last night had led her to drink much more than she should have, and she was feeling it keenly today. "Dear sweet Trillium," she murmured, "could you please play your traveling music just a bit more softly? I know I embarrassed myself terribly last night by singing along with you, but today my head is providing a thumping percussion accompaniment and I am hoping you can help me bring the volume down."

She winced as she knew she would soon have to talk about subjects she had managed to avoid the night before, now that they were no longer within range of the Swordlords' ever-vigilant ears. It-- is-- possible-- that they have ears among us nonetheless, she thought, cradling her head in her hands again, but now that we are on our own-- I think-- we-- must-- roll the dice. They all deserve to know-- at least some things-- about my purpose here. She sighed and began to prepare herself.

The Road to Oleg's - Day 4

As she had done the last few days, Zsófia is content to let others more fluent with the language of the wilderness take the lead, and to walk behind the cart and animals placidly. Truth be told she is growing tired of all the walking, though she finds that she doesn't mind the camping as much. Especially with how talkative several members of the expedition become as the night gets softer. She is pleased to realize that she wants to like them all-- even the elves, to whom she thought it would be difficult to relate. Ta Bayang still gives her pause, she admits, as an otherworldly creature made of magic and shadow. But Zsófia is willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Her thoughts wander backwards to the first day of their travel, when she still had a terrible headache from staying up carousing most of the night before. As determined as she had been to come clean with everyone about her political relationship with the Brevic king-regent and House Surtova once she was away from all the Swordlords and their near-certain spies listening at every corner, her delicate condition had made her more taciturn and quiet. Twice she had resolved to broach the subject as they set up bedrolls and prepared a meal together, but both times she had chickened out. No-- not chickened out, but decided that the moment was not right.

Her procrastination is now weighing heavily on her mind. She is running out of time, and she knows that if she is going to talk, it must be today. But while she chooses to wait to lay her own secrets bare, she realizes she has not sussed out her companions' loyalties at all. If one or more of them is a spy for the Swordlords, sharing her information with them is dangerous. She does not wish to cause the party strife or concern. She wants to trust them, and to earn their trust in return.

But on the other foot, she reasons, the group's political ties to Brevoy and Rostov are now four days away, and growing ever further. Mayhaps it doesn't matter to any of them from whence their allegiances came, so long as they are all united in their respect for their expedition and the charter that had been granted to them. Relations with other kingdoms is a problem for another day. She bites her thumbnail as she trudges on, racked with indecision.

Strike boldly, Zsófia! she thinks. No more maneuvering. It is time to thrust or put up my sword.

She clears her throat. "Listen, my friends, there is something I feel I should tell you all. But I am not quite sure how to begin. It has to do with my title-- perhaps some of you heard me introduced as the Baroness of Candlemere?"

Additional point of clarification - you all would have set out on the morning of the 25th, it is now the 28th, so it's the fourth day of travel.

Oh, you did say that, I see. Sorry! I'll get to work on a second post that replaces the non-spoilered scene. It's tough to just jump in not knowing what kind of relationship we have yet after four days on the road. Everyone feel free to correct any bad assumptions I make in the spirit of getting the ball rolling.

The Road to Oleg's

Zsófia trudges along behind the wagon and the animals, holding her head at a delicate, jaunty angle and blinking a lot. The great sense of shared camaraderie she felt at the private impromptu party last night had led her to drink much more than she should have, and she was feeling it keenly today. "Dear sweet Trillium," she murmured, "could you please play your traveling music just a bit more softly? I know I embarrassed myself terribly last night by singing along with you, but today my head is providing a thumping percussion accompaniment and I am hoping you can help me bring the volume down."

She winced as she knew she would soon have to talk about subjects she had managed to avoid the night before, now that they were no longer within range of the Swordlords' ever-vigilant ears. It-- is-- possible-- that they have ears among us nonetheless, she thought, cradling her head in her hands again, but now that we are on our own-- I think-- we-- must-- roll the dice. They all deserve to know-- at least some things-- about my purpose here. She sighed and began to prepare herself.

"Never thought I'd die fighting side by side with a lumberjack..."

Make it a cold iron dagger hatchet! You know, just in case. ;)

I would love either way to hear Zsofia's official pitch to the party to pull is together tho. :)

I'm game, but it might make sense if she waits until we're on the road first anyway, so she doesn't have to include the Swordlords in her pitch meeting. (Well, at least not directly.)

Granted Zsófia has never been there, but from what I remember Candlemere is a small island that is fairly easily separated from the lands surrounding it, so it would have been easy for her father and the king-regent to declare it a single barony without having to include other estates in the package. The Narlmarches is big enough for its lady to be a marchioness, but I think giving her such a grandiose title would have been too much when it was just intended as a way to get her in the door at the Aldori Academy as a girl newly come of age. It should at least have seemed plausible that she was a young aristocrat that no one had ever heard of before, and "countess" would certainly have raised eyebrows. It probably doesn't matter, because the Swordlords were so well-informed that they knew immediately who she was and who her father was working with, and so they shut her down completely. But I still think her father would have tried to be subtle.

Also granted Zsófia likes raising eyebrows, and if she hadn't been asked specifically to keep her father's inheritance quiet for now, she might be declaring to everyone that she is the rightful holder of the lands of the Shrike River. She could have negotiated with Noleski Surtova to get him to "bump up" her title in exchange for her agreeing to go on this mission for him. So if we really want her to start as "Lady Candlemere, Marchioness of the Narlmarches," I don't think it breaks verisimilitude. I wrote something in her background where she thought disparagingly of one of the ladies of House Orlovsky and in her mind used the word "countess" as a slur. I imagine she's thinking of someone in particular whose behavior has struck her as particularly "countessy". So it might be particularly amusing for everyone if the party chooses it as a nickname for her, because she will try to be gracious and laugh it off but it will drive her crazy. It makes sense, because most people don't know what a marchioness is, and as Malylev pointed out "Countess Candlemere" sounds better than "Lady Candlemere".

Is that an option? :) As fun as it might be, I worry it would leave other players bored and uninvolved for a large stretch of time. But maybe we could use some of those tools the GM envisions where we have concurrent scenes in the present and in flashback?

@GM Hurley: Do you need anything else from us before we can get started? It seems like we have a pretty good framing device worked out, so I would imagine we should be able to begin in media rez traveling from Restov to Oleg's. Presumably we can have been briefly introduced to each other, but hurriedly sent off and left to get to know each other on the road?

Oh that's interesting. So she has a legal title from the Dragonscale Throne of Baroness to this land already? That might put her on the same social level as Drelev to our west. I wonder how that might affect the possibility of non-Surtova allies.

She has a title granted by the Dragonscale Throne to a smaller part of The Stolen Lands. I've been saying it applies to the Narlmarches, but since that's a pretty big chunk of land-- more like a county or duchy-- it might be better to say she's the Baroness of Candlemere instead, and for her to believe that her estates should also include the wild lands to the west.

Anyway, re: Tsia's aliases, I don’t want to overcomplicate things from the outset, it was just a thought. It’s not a class thing, except to the extent that some commoners might be wary of how they talk to knights and still more pretentious folk than that. “Silver Dawn” is Tsia’s default alias among non- ilverani/snowcasters.

I wonder if Tsia (being an occultist) will start to associate her different items of clothing with her different names? E.g. "Today I'm doing lots of Evocation, so I'm specifically wearing my 'Tsia The Burninator' hat." :)

So if Zsofia is the de facto leader of this ragtag bunch of wildcards, she might have had a say in who is on her "team", right? I think she certainly would have leapt at the idea of hiring Jack and Malylev, for their experience with the area and their wilderness skills in general. She is painfully aware of what a "fish out of water" she is outside of Restov. I don't think she'd know what to think of Ta Bayang, Tsia, and Trillium (the three Ts!). They certainly have useful abilities for a budding new kingdom, and I think their personalities would really appeal to her. She would think she can get along with them, and would hope that she can learn more about their different agendas as they learn more about hers.

I don't think she'll let on yet that she considers the whole kingdom her inheritance-- she'd rather wait until it matters. For now, her title is simply "Baroness of the Narlmarches," and she intends to find out all she can about her estates while following the conditions of their charter. I imagine that as she gets to know and rely upon the other PCs that she will come to think of the kingdom as "ours" rather than hers, and herself as more of a figurehead for their collective endeavors.

That's fine with me if you want to eliminate that angle entirely. I don't think we would need to, but I'll leave that up to you. I wasn't going to put a limit on the number of "Choral descendants" I was taking. Being a descendant of Choral is fine, being related to a "cousin" is fine. We haven't really established what happened with Myrna after Choral left, so it's possible she could have had other semi-legitimate children later on.

I feel like on reflection that adding the dragon descendant plot to Zsofia's story is gilding the lily, so I'll remove it.

If Zsofia's ancestor Zoltán Dobós was Myrna Surtova's uncle, he could still have been Choral's cousin by marriage, and that is enough of a connection to justify Zsofia's claim. I don't know what he could have done to impress Choral enough for him to grant his cousin a title, but maybe the dragon just didn't care about any of the lands south of Brevoy, so it seemed like a valueless gift. Maybe he had heard that the Stolen Lands were under the sway of a powerful faerie and unlikely to be conquered? Or maybe Zoltán made himself valuable to Choral in some other way, like providing powerful magic or something. I suppose Choral could have even just liked Zoltán, as improbable as that sounds, and they were actual friends! Whatever the reason, it might still get Zsofia involved in the plot, as Choral would probably recognize Zsofia as Zoltán's descendant.

@Zsofia Do you think Zsofia would herself consider vying for marriage to Noleski Surtova? That would make for some interesting court politics, it's a stacked field. As far as I can find, there aren't established ages for any of the Brevoy NPCs, so for now it's a lot of relatively young nobles running things in New Stetven. The Surtovas might be early 20s, Elanna Lebeda is probably around 18-20, Lander is still 12 and his mother Dame Saronna is currently head of House Lebeda until Lander comes of age at 15.

I like to think that most of the older nobles have put some distance between themselves and the court at New Stetven; the older adults are presiding over their estates personally and keeping their thumb on business and real feudal politics as they prepare for the inevitable war while their children play at being in charge in the capital. If the Vanishing happened in 4699 AR, that puts it at 7 to 8 years ago if we start in 4707. Perhaps the former head of House Surtova, Noleski and Natala's father, secured Surtovan regency over Brevoy but died somewhat recently, so the fragility rests on a young and brash Surtovan regent.

Whether or not Zsofia seriously considers courting Noleski Surtova for marriage probably depends on what is best for our new kingdom. I don't think she has any aspirations for his hand currently, though she found him charming enough and certainly appreciates his family's deviousness. I imagine the subject was briefly broached by Noleski's sister, basically privately telling Szofia "Don't get married any time soon, just in case." I'm sure they think whether or not a marriage happens is up to them, not to her. If they did send her a proposal, I think she would try to delay or refuse as long as she could get away with it. However, if our fledgling kingdom is in desperate need of northern aid for some reason, that's certainly a bargaining chip we'd have available to us.

Politically, marriage to the king-regent might be a way for the Surtovas to soothe some of the current instability in Brevoy, but I'm not sure it benefits House Surtova to bring House Lebeda into their family. It might be the expected path to an heir, and it might help to mend the widening rift between Issia and Rostland, but it basically gives away the throne, and it might lead Issia to boil over into revolt. And maybe Noleski doesn't want to get married for whatever reason? The king-regent might be privately countering that instead his sister should marry Lander Lebeda when he comes of age, with the same effect. And maybe she doesn't want to get married either. :)

@GM Hurley, I'll answer the questions you asked in a little bit, but it occurs to me that maybe it would be better to not have Zsofia related to Choral at all, to better distinguish Mal's story? With the bloodline as you've described it, I think Zsofia's relative granted the lands of the Shrike river would have to have been related to Myrna Surtova. That probably means they don't have any dragon in them. Zsofia's got a lot of story hooks already without that. What do you think?

(I’m not sure how close we’re meant to imagine House Dobós is to the Surtovas: enough to deal directly, but what keeps them together? Blood ties? Honour among pirates? Rank calculation and quid pro quo?)

I can elaborate a bit on what I envisioned, but we can always change things to work better if there's a snag. Zsofia's father is descended from a distant cousin of Choral the Conquerer, who according to legend was a good friend to the king and was granted "all the lands of the Shrike river" by his royal relative. The Surtovas know who he is and consider him a sort of bannerman of House Surtova, but his titles aren't common knowledge because until recently the king-regent has been unwilling to show his hand in the game of the Stolen Lands, waiting instead for the Swordlords to make the first move. Since Zsofia's father can't live a life of luxury in the capital city, he's chosen instead to become a pirate on the Lake of Mist and Veils, reasoning that if he is caught the king-regent will help him disappear to avoid making his plan public. It is an uneasy relationship: both of them hold something over the other and they both push the boundaries to test what they can get away with. "Friendship" they call it.

So Zsofia didn't grow up with any titles; she has lived in Rostov as long as she can remember and her wealthy father has paid a priest of Shelyn for her education and room and board. When she decided she wanted to attend the Aldori academy, her father arranged for her to receive a barony. I imagine this involved asking the king-regent to approve it, but it's possible he just forged the necessary papers and the king-regent's seal. Anyway, now that Zsofia's father has told her about her inheritance and the king-regent has decided to send Zsofia on an expedition to thwart the Swordlords' plans, he has granted her the title for real. But since the title ultimately derives from Brevoy, Zsofia might only have it as long as she serves the Dragon Throne. So that will keep her loyal, the king-regent thinks. By doing this, he also keeps Zsofia's father happy, which in his mind will keep the pirate loyal to him as well.

Another wrench in the works is that I imagine at least the king-regent's sister is aware that Zsofia might be a very eligible match for her brother's hand if the new Baroness of the Narlmarches can manage to establish a kingdom in the Stolen Lands. Of course there's no reason for them to get formally engaged yet, but it is probably one of the Surtovas' plans that they can easily expand their kingdom through marriage. That is likely another reason why the king-regent is being so accommodating of her.

I'd been assuming that Zsofia has been sent by House Surtova to join the Swordlords' expedition, not to establish her own competing expedition. We could still do that if we don't want to change the established framing of the campaign: that is, we say Zsofia is here with the blessing of the king-regent, but she is not working for him directly. And likewise, the others might have been hired by the Swordlords, but they aren't necessarily working for them directly either.

It might be interesting in any case if just as Zsofia has obligations of gratitude to the Surtovas, someone else (maybe Trillium?) has obligations of gratitude to the Swordlords, and so there is some diplomatic tension once we establish a kingdom and begin having to deal with our northern neighbors. We might initially be unsure if we're all on the same team, even.

I should say that I really dislike actual inter-party conflict, where it feels like players are working against each other, so if we set up some of us as competing with each other I think we should establish as a group that we the players aren't actually working against each other, and while our characters may have conflicting secondary goals, our primary goal is cooperative. Our characters are making their own kingdom, and I think it should ultimately feel like it belongs to all of them. It's worth emphasizing that. :)

I do really like the idea of doing something different with Kingmaker, and if folks are game to change the framing, I am too. Another idea is we could split the group to start. Like, three (or four, or five) of us are from Restov and have a charter from the Swordlords, and the others have a charter from the king-regent, and we happen upon each other at Oleg's?

Rival expeditions is something that I remember being mentioned early on in the adventure path, but I don't think anything is ever done with it. Regardless of what we do with our characters, I definitely think there should be others out there who also have a charter from the Swordlords. I could even see the Surtovas hiring another group of explorers and pretending to be the Swordlords when they give them a charter, to muddy the political waters and make the Swordlords look bad.

I think Malylev's background describes him living in the Stolen Lands at the beginning of the campaign, right? Friends with Bokken? Some of us could be friends of Oleg's who have arrived to help with the bandits. Or maybe there's an elven delegation, since several of us are elves? Maybe there's a huge gathering of different groups with different agendas who all converge at Oleg's, a bit like the Fellowship of the Ring? ;)

I agree having the Gameplay thread started is really useful!

Hi there!

I often make edits after posting too. Sometimes I go back and read the last few posts of a thread again to make sure I didn't miss anything that got added after I saw it posted.

I don't mind if everyone calls my character "Zsofia" or even "Sofia", so that you don't have to copy and paste the special "ó" symbol. I'll probably try to be consistent about using it myself, but depending on how quickly I need to put a post together I might ignore it occasionally. I'll assume everyone's pronouncing it correctly unless anyone says otherwise. :)

I didn't mind the way the Google Doc was broken up into different files, though I generally prefer one complete document. It is certainly good information to have on hand!

Final Submission

I added a writing sample to the end of Zsófia's profile.

As far as her being a swashbuckler goes, I swapped the Vengeful Heart deed of renown for the Opportune Parry and Riposte deed, but I'm totally willing to work with the GM and the other players to come up with a solution if she later gains that class feature or others that rely on attacks of opportunity to function. I trust that it will work out for the better. :)

Here's Zsófia's profile, with her character stats built according to this campaign's specifications. Let me know if you'd like me to change or elaborate on anything!

Zsófia blinks, reorients herself, and then sketches out a quick bow to Alice while matching her smirk.

Round 21
Light on her feet and elated from dealing with the demon, Zsófia also retreats with a spring in her step.

Fort save (DC 18), charmed life, good hope: 1d20 + 4 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 4 + 5 + 2 = 16
Damage: 2d6 ⇒ (6, 3) = 9

The swarm catches her despite her high spirits, and she feels nauseous.

Glad you're feeling better!

Round 20
Zsófia steps forward and attacks in a flurry of stop-cuts and thrusts. She tosses her blade from one hand to the other as she attacks, distracting the creature's focus.

Blessing of Fervor: extra attack. Sweeping Wind Feint as a swift action. Full attack.

Bluff to feint (DC 10+BAB+Sense Motive), good hope, trait: 1d20 + 19 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 19 + 2 + 2 = 26
If that's successful, the creature is off-balance for all of her attacks this round (Greater Feint).

Attack #1 (dueling sword), good hope, Power Attack: 1d20 + 19 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (9) + 19 + 2 - 2 = 28
Damage #1 (good/magic/slashing), good hope, Power Attack, Precise Strike deed: 1d8 + 9 + 2 + 4 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 9 + 2 + 4 + 8 = 29

Attack #2 (dueling sword), good hope, Power Attack: 1d20 + 14 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (11) + 14 + 2 - 2 = 25
Damage #2 (good/magic/slashing), good hope, Power Attack, Precise Strike deed: 1d8 + 9 + 2 + 4 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 9 + 2 + 4 + 8 = 30

Bonus attack (dueling sword), good hope, Power Attack: 1d20 + 19 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (3) + 19 + 2 - 2 = 22
Damage #1 (good/magic/slashing), good hope, Power Attack, Precise Strike deed: 1d8 + 9 + 2 + 4 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 9 + 2 + 4 + 8 = 28

On the following round, if the creature should attempt to attack her, she will attempt to parry with her Parry and Riposte deed, using an attack of opportunity.

I just noticed I left 8 more damage (from her Precise Strike deed) off of all of Zsófia's attacks above! She has Combat Reflexes, so I'll roll several attacks of opportunity just in case.

Round 19
Zsófia offers a brief prayer to Shelyn as she rushes at the goat-demon and slashes at it with her blade.

As a swift action, she will use her sacred smite on it. She will accept the speed-increasing benefit of blessing of fervor and use her Dodging Dance deed, which lets her move half her speed as a move action and potentially dodge any attacks of opportunity with an Acrobatics check.

Then she will attack with her standard action.
Attack (dueling blade), good hope, Power Attack, sacred smite: 1d20 + 19 + 2 - 2 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 19 + 2 - 2 + 5 = 40
Damage (good/magic/slashing), good hope, Power Attack, sacred smite, vs evil: 1d8 + 9 + 2 + 4 + 10 + 1d6 ⇒ (1) + 9 + 2 + 4 + 10 + (2) = 28

If the sacred smite hits, it acts as a banishment spell with a caster level equal to her hit dice (7) on an evil creature. The will save is DC 22.
Caster level check vs SR: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15

Round 18
Zsófia moves with the others, ready to confront whatever new horror guards this secret entrance to the fort.

Zsófia leans against the wall and tries to catch her breath. "Has the priestess betrayed us, do you think? This has the whiff of a trap about it. Why, I doubt even the front gates of Fort Drelev are as well-protected as this underground passage seems to be!"

Round 4

Zsófia backs off quickly as the worms begin to swarm.

Also withdraw.

So when is Zsofia casting remove fear? How did she teleport into combat to get two strikes?

Oh, sorry, I guess I thought there was another round, where Ulricha opened the door and the dogs howled. My actions for round 1 included moving to the zombie and making a standard attack, so I thought I was already there for the full attack in round 2. Please use my round 2 post for round 3? Thanks!

Round 2
Zsófia glares at the creature before her, trying to discern if her fancy swordplay is having any effect. Her form is strong, her free hand waving in the air behind her to distract her enemy as she thrusts and parries with her flashing blade.

Attack #1 vs black-bordered zombie (dueling sword), good hope: 1d20 + 19 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 19 + 2 = 29
Damage (good, magic, slashing), good hope, precise strike, bonus damage vs evil: 1d8 + 9 + 2 + 8 + 1d6 ⇒ (1) + 9 + 2 + 8 + (2) = 22

Attack #2 vs black-bordered zombie (dueling sword), good hope: 1d20 + 14 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 14 + 2 = 22
Damage (good, magic, slashing), good hope, precise strike, bonus damage vs evil: 1d8 + 9 + 2 + 8 + 1d6 ⇒ (4) + 9 + 2 + 8 + (5) = 28

Did you overlook Zsófia in your summary, or does her absence maybe mean she didn't hit anything? :)

Round 1
Zsófia rushes forward to engage the nearest creature, resisting the urge to shout a battle cry since they are supposed to be sneaking.

Attack black-bordered zombie (dueling sword), good hope: 1d20 + 19 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 19 + 2 = 26
Damage (good, magic, slashing), good hope, precise strike, bonus damage vs evil: 1d8 + 9 + 2 + 8 + 1d6 ⇒ (4) + 9 + 2 + 8 + (3) = 26

Oh whoops, you're right Ulricha. She'll activate it after the first save and she'll include herself instead of Roci (sorry Vandomir!).

Zsófia peers around the corner as she hears the baying of the dogs. "By the light, that sound has an evil tone!" she remarks as she steels herself for the effect.

Will save (DC 16), aura of courage: 1d20 + 6 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 6 + 4 = 25
Will save (DC 16), aura of courage: 1d20 + 6 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 6 + 4 = 15
Will save (DC 16), aura of courage: 1d20 + 6 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 6 + 4 = 25
Will save (DC 16), aura of courage: 1d20 + 6 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 6 + 4 = 18

Recognizing the effects of the sound, she mutters a swift oath to Shelyn: "Lady, an it please Thee, please protect these beautiful souls from the fearful evil that here approacheth!" She blinks after saying this, startled for some reason.

She casts remove fear as a spell-like ability. This can affect three of us within 30', so she will point it at the ones who seem to be affected by the sound. Looks like that's Jorrast, Vandomir, and Roci! For 10 minutes, the fear effect is suppressed on them.

Zsófia bows to the Calistrian priestess in thanks for the information, and moves up beside Ulricha to be ready for trouble.

As the woman manipulates the cliffside, Zsófia looks around and speaks ably without moving her mouth. "Can you tell us anything of what we will encounter inside? For example, does this passage let us into the barracks, or perhaps someone's private bedchambers?"

Bluff: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (7) + 19 = 26

Zsófia looks around to make sure there aren't any other people nearby before the invisibility spell wears off. "Greetings," she says politely. "Point us and our swords at the villains of Drelev and many of your troubles will soon evaporate."

Zsófia takes Quince's hand in her left and Ulricha's hand in her right, initially awkward as she struggles to fit hers within the giant woman's grasp. "This will be quite the sight for anyone who can see invisibility," she snickers quietly.

Not me, alas! I'm guessing it was Markus and Quince activating them in the diplomatic group?