I love the thought experiment of how enchantment could be used for good irl. I also think if we were voting on whether enchantment magic were real, I would still vote "no". I would probably vote that way on most magic...

Severa keeps the archer illusions busy firing, moving, and appearing to dodge incoming shots.

Severa keeps the illusory archers firing.

Our job is to distract for the stealth team and I'd say we are being pretty distracting!

Get well soon!

Minor image. I can move them while concentrating.

Severa casts a basic abjuration (mage armor) and warns the group in a whisper "I will create some illusory archers to distract the goblins.".

Then she goes on the other side of the screen from Astella and creates an illusory group of archers firing at the wall.

Blue square.

Severa sneaks along with the others [smaller]"Alright so we will supply a distraction while the stealth team tries the tunnel, yes?"

I'm still a little unclear on that since we went back and forth a bit on whether there would be a party split to have PCs on the stealth team. We probably don't want to split the party so I think we all decided to be on the distraction team?

Severa nods enthusiastically "Oh yes! In fact, it almost led to a diplomatic incident when I forgot to slurp my soup loudly when the Ambassador's entourage was visiting a southern Duke!"

Just improvising off of Seska's conversational lead.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Severa discusses politics, culture, and magic with her travel companions while walking along obliviously.

Merry Christmas and happy New Year!

Apropos of nothing, I thought I should post an apology for ghosting this game five years ago, instead of always leaving you to wonder.

I was seventeen when I joined it - eighteen when I ghosted - and this game has always stood in my memory as probably the most fun one I've played in.

Some context is, I had just moved out of my parent's house after three years of being a hikkomori, and I was trying to get my feet under me. At the time I'd get short of breath and panicky when someone was just walking on the sidewalk across the street from me, and now I needed to get a job; I was a wreck.

It would have been kinder of me to say that I was going through something and to bow out of the game gracefully, or get permission and a party role to hang around without needing to post in places where I'd hold up the game by not being there, or any number of other things which weren't cognitively available to me as options at eighteen. I can only find it in myself to hold myself so culpable for something I did as a dysfunctional teenager, but I am culpable for not apologizing after the fact: so this is that apology.

I'm sorry it took so long to say this. I especially regret that I didn't apologize in time to tell all my old friends that I was sorry.

Great to hear from you, Brolin. I am glad that you are well. It is very normal for people to drop out of PBP games and I never take it personally. Once it happened because the person passed away IRL, which we found out from one of their friends. So I am glad that you are ok! You were a very fun player with an awesome character; I have always thought of you when I think of how cool the medium class can be. Take care!

To everyone else, I have finished my very intensive interview and am more present here now. So I will start resolving some of your chaos. XD

The poor, startled butler falls still as Hal takes control!

Severa nods thoughtfully to Astella as she listens to Neas. "That is very interesting and useful. Do you know of any rumors or hints as to the location of the new tunnel? Does the newer tunnel face the river like the old one?"

Severa nods to Strom respectfully "I am sure you will keep us all in good health, sir."

It starts with 33 charges, Strom. Are you cool with tracking those as the wand warden?

I have an interview for a faculty position this week so I'll be a little extra distracted. Sorry!

Severa makes sure there are accommodations for the Strom and nods to the allied casters "We are happy to help with so worthy a cause. If I may, we would appreciate a healing wand. We do not mind if it has been partially used. But this would significantly help us in our efforts against the raiders."

Do we have a party CLW wand? If not, a wand with 33 charges would be worth just less than 500 gp.

Sorry for my slow period over here. Friends in town, their tiny kids waking me up multiple times a night, work deadlines, illness. Hooray.

K arcana 1: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28
K arcana 2: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13
K religion 1: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16
K religion 2: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11
K nature 1: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11
K nature 2: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15

Severa gets to work and helps as much as she can. She knows a fair bit about magical theory but her knowledge of nature and religion, relevant to this ritual, proves a little more lacking.

K rel, human cleric: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18
K rel, dwarf cleric: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18

She bows to the two clerics as her group approaches. "We respect Saint Elaine the healer and the marvelous power of plants. Both are about the beautiful powers of life, in a sense."

Man I would love to visit Japan! Glad you had a great time.

Severa nods. "Alright then, I have a plan for how I would create a believable illusion to sow a little bit of chaos. Perhaps we could get the hostages out during the distraction."

Severa asks the goblins "What about rivalries of one ram with another that might lead to violence or disruption? Any of that or they held so perfectly in line by fear there is not even that?"

K local: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27

"Ah you speak of Neas, who knows many things not easily found in an archive. They could be a useful contact indeed." She turns to the others. "Personally, I relish the idea of a night infiltration. We could take out a few of the goblin warriors in a secret then I could ensure others see an image of goblins running from the scene of the killings. Lack of stealth could be a problem. Perhaps I could cast silence over all of us, but that would require me to get a scroll or other source so I could learn the spell."

Severa looks around, pleasantly surprised at the town's performance. "Well done. I am glad there will be no funerals today, except perhaps by the goblins. That will make them think twice before their next attack."

Sorry to be so slow this week! I had a work conference and should have given a heads up.

Yes thanks, guys! It was a lot of fun and Sen was super fun/memorable.

Severa moves over to behind Estella to be a little safer and better able to support her ally.

Double move.

Since this campaign is closing, I figured I'd let you guys know about another TTRPG I'm involved in. Parhelion is a PF 1e Discord server with a living world where people take turns GMing. Your character levels up across quests and there are rewards for GMing that can help your character out. Click the link and take a look if that interests you. If you do, give me an @caster4life so I'm sure to see you came by and so I recognize who you are.

We could use good rules for combat in Parhelion's Void (which is kind of like space in that living world), so I'm considering proposing to the admins a modified form of Starfinder ship combat. I could certainly use help with such an undertaking if I ever have the time to do it!

Janebok listens with great interest, cocking her head from side to side as Vari-13 speaks. "Thisss is of utmossst importanccce. It could be pivotal in helping defend the Pact Worlds againssst the Ssswarm. I would like to help with the research. Technomancccy could be mossst ussseful." Vari-13 does not find Janebok the easiest person to get along with but Janebok's utter focus on efficiency and problem-solving help them make great progress on the energy project over the next few years.

I don't want to assume too much about how the project works out as that seems like the kind of thing that would reshape the entire setting, potentially.

Severa prepares to slow down the goblins when they re-appear from their detour.

Readied action to glitterdust to blind if I see 3 more goblins within the 20 ft diameter circle of a glitterdust with no allies who would be blinded. DC 16 will.

Severa looks forward to trying to help deal with the goblin army, even if traditional warfare was far from her strong suit.

K local: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20

GM, I'm a little confused about the contents of the spoiler. Is the idea that these goblins probably aren't mercenaries since they all have tattoos?

Severa nods thoughtfully. "I can help mostly with illusions or blinding crowds of them. But it is possible that we can negotiate with them, particularly if we can convince them that it would be too risky to fight us."

Apologies for my slower than normal follow-up. My computer screen is busted and my replacement computer has been taking far longer to get here than it should. Tomorrow it should be here!

Sorry. PC crapped out for a couple days. Just got it back to functioning.

Is Fairhaven another name for Fairbrook or am I missing something?

K local: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15
K geo: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26
K local: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13 Ah. Just missed the last one.

Severa looks at the half-elves and wonders aloud to her comrades "Interesting. It is unusual to see half-elves this far out. And we are in the area of an ancient battlefield, or so it is rumored."

Just FYI that I'm traveling for the holidays and will be spotty on my posting until January 2nd.

Just FYI that I'm traveling for the holidays and will be spotty on my posting until January 2nd.

Severa nods. "Yes I would be happy to help improve security before any exceedingly ambitious undertakings. Besides, that will give us time to research and plan for these snake women."

Severa nods to the king. "Yes, thank you your majesty. I would be happy to visit your archives after rendering any assistance, as well as furthering congenial relations between your nation and Avlee."

K dungeon: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17

Severa is also aware of the oozes and nods. "Yes that is a serious danger. I do not think I would do well against one of those."

Severa doesn't know what's going on and her best attempt at gathering info made zero progress. So she's mostly just listening right now.

Severa listens to the philosophical conversation with some interest and nods to the idea of using Copperneck as bait. That sounded interesting.

Yikes! Sorry about the wayward grease spell! I hope he recovers well!

This reminds me of a lizardfolk druid I had once who only spoke Draconic by default. I put a rank in linguistics at level 1 to get common but RPed him as still learning the language. He spoke with a thick accent, simple sentences, low IQ, and the like. Then one time, he was speaking with someone who spoke Draconic and he suddenly sounded totally wise and competent. It helps a lot to be working in a language you're good at! XD

Severa shrugs. "Alright then. I'll stick with my current contract happily enough." Inwardly, she shrugs. It was worth an attempt.

Severa explains "The maid was tied but is fine now."

Janebok decides to cast her last spell in preparation for this defense. "Thissss will help bottle them up."

Grease marked on map with yellow square. DC 15.

Yes I don't expect the illusion to lock this guy down forever, just hoping that he wouldn't immediately try to race through the blades and totally negate the use of the spell. If he spends a turn or two trying to interact with the blades, rolls a will save or two, then it's worth it to me.

What if we did the standard for Automatic Bonus Progression, i.e., you get ABP and half the standard wealth by level? Does that handle your issue of worrying about being too rich, Ghorza?

Sorry for my slowness this week! Was sick and muddling through the IRL stuff.

Hearing trouble, Severa finishes untying the maid and starts rushing up the stairs. Over her shoulder, she speaks in a rushed, low voice "Should be safe to get out."