dickie's page

4d6 --> 8

4d6 --> 12
4d6 --> 8
4d6 --> 18
4d6 --> 6
4d6 --> 14

Incredible. A 6 isn't even on the point buy chart on d20PFSRD. In point buy terms, this totals 20, minus whatever a 6 ability score would take away. Since a 7 is -4, those stats probably total 16 or 14 point buy points.

I'm going to think a minute about creating an interesting character with such extreme abilities, or if I want to come back and use point buy 20.

Maybe you should be doing a classic wizard. That's some Raistlin coughing up blood stats right there lol.

24-4-14-11+3=-2

The initial four was back at the Blissful Badger, then 14 with the hell hound bite, 11 hell hound fire breath, then three back from Theren. So I was close. Jack should be at -2 and stable. And I bet you thought the paladin was going to end up being the tank. I did, lol.

Thanks everyone, I wouldn't toss any submissions out that trickle in for the next few hours while I'm asleep, but thats pretty much that.

As I said the other day, I will make the final call in a few days, hopefully not a super long wait, but it depends on how work and RL goes the next few days lol

The town of Arwyll Stead is in trouble!
It’s leader, Wate Arwyll, has requested the aid of heroes of good moral and physical strength to deal with unusual orc activity and sightings of rumored devils. The terrain and town are rugged, orcs lurk everywhere, and now devils may be preying on the homesteaders? Heroes with grit are needed!

Important Things to Know:
Post rate might vary depending on RL issues, generally more role-playing scenes are easier for me to update more quickly. More adventure or action scenes, such as those that require maps or combat, are slower.

We will be using standard experience, as opposed to benchmark leveling.

The characters will have been together since they were level one or two, prior to beginning this adventure. Feel free to come up with the team’s “origin story” up to the start of the adventure as you will.

There is a major NPC you will meet early. This NPC has relationship benefits. For more information, see Relationship Rules. Because it is certainly possible for that relationship to develop into something romantic or physical, I will note that my default is the “fade-to-black” once things get too hot and heavy. PG13, generally speaking.

It is highly recommended that at least one character speak Orc. Infernal will also be useful.

There is some availability on downtime, but generally speaking, the story moves fairly quickly once it begins. The town the story takes place in will be the only settlement the characters have easy access to.

Mapping will be done using Roll20.

To Submit a Character:

Provide the Basic Crunch:

Here is a very brief timeline of the most important plot points up to this moment! I'll have a GP post coming in the next couple of days.

Also note: The corporate credit card has it's own +25 wealth bonus.

Timeline of Events

~1000 years ago - A woman with powerful psychic abilities rises to power and is beaten back by a "wizard" who manages to send her mind to a protodimension using an opal called The Heart of Darkness while her body ages tremendously slowly on Earth.

July 9 - The Heart of Darkness is stolen from an Australian museum.

July 12 - A presumed terrorist bombing occurs in Brazil. Scores are killed and dozens are kidnapped.

July 14 - A band of kidnap victims from the mall bombing manage to escape from their captors and go into hiding while they learn what happened.

July 17 - The former victims, now turned investigators, have an encounter with Klaus and his cyborg bodyguard. After the fight, they discover Klaus had been delaying them long enough to re-kidnap another victim of the July 12 mall bombing.

July 18 - In the early morning hours, the investigators are given a deep briefing on the entire situation by Doug "Tanomoshi" Campbell, manager of a special projects division of Oyama Corporation. They're offered a job to dig deeper into the events surrounding the Heart of Darkness

July 22 - The crew departs for Sydney.

Hey GM. It looks like this got restarted and I'm tempted to see if you want to work Nabilla back in. I'm a little slow right at the moment (adjusting to a new job and other IRL stuff) but if you want the cat back I could be ready to go in a few days to a week. She was always fun and had one of my favorite names ever, lol

FYI - I have been dealing with major internet connectivity issues. I hope to have this resolved by the end of the week and will resume typical posting ASAP!

The last few weeks have just really been awful for me. I cannot remember the last time I was that sick. Its been a decade or so if I had to guess! Every time I thought I was getting better, a few hours later I got worse! I rarely get "sick-sick" but when I do whatever I have makes up for lost time and that's been the case for me the last couple of weeks! Finally getting to feeling like something normal, so updates coming shortly!

Sorry y'all, I've been sick, my lady's been sick, and I've been sick again. I ran out of energy and have been in and out of sleep too much to get either Star game updated, hopefully I'm back to 100% tomorrow!

OTOH. I did find a better map I'll upload and update when I update the game!

Sorry y'all, I've been sick, my lady's been sick, and I've been sick again. I ran out of energy and have been in and out of sleep too much to get either Star game updated, hopefully I'm back to 100% tomorrow!

I'm on Discord as Dickie#4462 and am working on creating a server with an open lounge as well as separate channels for different games. Hopefully back to normal levels of overtime lol!

Add me if you want, not required by any means, but might work out for me long term with PbP and other gaming.

Lack of clarity on my part: the pursuing TGs are WAAAAAAAY far back. You three are a turn or two from the city's edge, they're about 10-15 minutes behind you! Hinted at by noting the occupants couldn't be seen, but let me say explicitly that I considered the illusion a total success, lol.

Natalya ably hops over the rickety barrier while Sokkla opts to barrel through the decaying wood of the fence. She scratches herself on a rusty nail in the process. Fortunately for Tormnyr, she clears the path. Unfortunately, that also keeps the path clear for their pursuers!

Damage: 1d2 ⇒ 1 And a DC 12 Fortitude save to avoid contracting filth fever!

I think the improv people call that a, "yes, and..." lol

And I think that firmly establishes something about who exactly Sokkla is.

Honestly, I don't see us leaving them behind, especially since we just have to turn around and go back in to accomplish our mission. But I get that it is the story.

Wait, Bel... no...

So, are we someplace where the two groups can see each other yet?

Yeah, I could have handled it better, just didn't want to keep the party split forever or have extra work with bots make me avoid updates, which I could easily see me doing. I probably should have just addressed the point in Disccusion. Chalk it up as a learning experience on my part.

Tormnyr can be considered to understand that the Crow has chambers inside based on what Captain Heidmarch and Natalya have said off screen.

My character isn't there to see it, but uh, whoops. That's the blonde that I pushed off the roof?! Did her evil deity bring her back to life then?

Yes and not exactly, but kinda-sorta, sure lol. It is something that could, maybe help work an otherwise optional subplot into things down the road. They set the optional encounters in some books way off in left field, so any potential threads could be useful.

Besides, she was the first real threat y'all faced and she for sure made that fight a challenge. I feel like she deserves a touch more screen time, maybe (maybe not) a recurring nemesis role, as a result.

I haven't found the same sort of "in" yet, or a rival for the other group yet, but their luck will run out soon, I'm thinking...muhahaha! =P

Since wave 1 is down at the Underbridge, I'm going to resolve that real quick because the reveal is always fun!

The two thugs are quickly dispatched, as the rotting blonde leaps from rooftop to rooftop moving closer staying mostly out of sight. Natalya hears the question posed by Tormnyr and watches, catching a glimpse of the woman. "Terisha? My gods, what happened to you?"

A raspy voice shouts back from behind a chimney, "Ask your Pathfinder friends! You will all pay for this!" The sound of running boots on the broken cobblestone street heralds several more thugs converging from opposite directions!

The Underbridge folks have one full round before more goons show up! Currently the alley you're in is strewn with small bits of trash, a few objects or nooks large enough for cover. You could move to another location such as the larger street in one direction of the alley, or a dilapidated three story tenement in the other.

The more tactical side over in The Crow will get an update within 24 hours (hopefully, RL permitting, lol!)

Lol, now that's going to be in my head the rest of the day.

In the Crow

Zadira quietly picks through everything to find some interesting historical artifacts. Firstly, the amphora itself would be worth some coin anyway, but when she picks it up, Zadira finds the weight rather extreme for a simple vessel. Inside are coins! Nearly two pounds worth of ancient Thassilonian coinage. Lastly, she finds a bronze statuette depicting a giant-like creature with runes etched all over the surface of its skin.

The amphora is worth 35gp, the coins are worth 486, and the statuette is worth 300gp.

At the Lodge

Before the Captain can answer Tormnyr, a chicken rushes forward in a flurry of clucks and feathers. "Why hello, there, pretty bird," She says in a bemused tone. She quickly replies to Tormnyr before dealing with the interesting bird and woman chasing it. "Get our people out of the way. Avoid dragging the Society into a war with either gang. If you have to pick sides, back the Blades. Rumor is the Girls have lost the support of the Sczarni and right now they stand in the way of the expedition." She whispers while leaning close, keeping Natalya behind her as she says this.

Ebrylis hustles over full of apologies himself but Heidmarch shakes her head. "It's alright, return to your post." She squats and gazes at the chicken as it pecks and scratches for bugs just to the side of the trail, cooking her head to the side for a moment. She stands upright again and addresses Sokkla, "In Magnimar, the Augurs told me a great feathered bird bearing wisdom would arrive in a crisis. This might be the first time in one thousand readings they got something half right." She looks at the woman's weapons and Armor. "This might be a happy coincidence, are you by chance looking for work?"

It is a very simple alarm-type trap. Simply identifying it and stepping over it is good enough to avoid it.

Hye everyone! I'm looking for two players to replace some who recently had to step away from a Dragon's Demand game I am running.

The characters are still very early in the story, so it's a great time to get involved.

Now this is a little confusing, but
this thread contains the original build rules!

I volunteered to take this game over until such te as the original GM returns (if that ever happens...) and that is why the recruit thread is for a different game page and GM.

So if you're interested, post/dot here. Recruitment will be open for five days from the time of this post, or until a total of four characters meeting the original criteria are posted, whichever comes first.

Who do they have right now? Well, just the quick glance: a human barbarian, a half-elf cleric of Erastil, and a Dwarf druid.

Any other questions, just fire away!

Finally got the recruient thread up and will get some sort of post up to keep things rolling in the next couple days.

"Did you hear something?" One of the women asks the other. Both halt their game and turn to look toward the stairs. "Sasha? Is that you?"

I feel like Mick's been one paragraph-ing it in for a while and that made me feel bad because this group has some great RP and decided to dive deeper, but looks like i went overboard in the other direction. Sorry, not sorry, lol

Mick nods and whispers to Stringer, I think Pearl impressed them enough that she's safe in here, but Salvo, Kat, and I are going to make sure our exit route is clear of ambushers." He glances back at the young woman and tries to give her a half-smile, but it ends up more of a grimace. I hope she is okay. She grew up in a spot just as bad. Worse, probably.

On his way out the door he placed his hand inside his pocket and gently gripped his collapsible baton. Maybe I'm not worried about her physical safety right now. She's young and emotionally compromised. The last few days have been a real roller-coaster ride. She's up and down like two fat kids on a seesaw.

He knew she hadn't really had time to grieve properly.It wasn't until he started hunting monsters that he felt grief. He never made a misstep. Never lost a protectee. He kept his expense reports brief and well-documented. He never hit "reply all" to a corporate email. And he never felt anything. He knew the moment he finally did feel something for the first time since he had been separated from his brother.

He was working with a real team of pros. He pretended not to notice, but he couldn't help but tell they funded their work by engaging in some criminal activities. He saw Floorplan in Beth's hole in the wall loft, and he didn't think that bank was Haunted. Then again, in this line of work, who could tell. I have to hit these guys and gals up for gas money when we leave. I guess I've got some pretty good skills for armed robbery.

They were hard-core. They called their leader Cap and he called the job 'missions'. Bet Salvo knows him. Bet neither one can legally admit they know each other. Cap did not make a bad call. Mick knew because he had seen something similar and knew he made no errors that night despite what the company said.

This ghost had come out of nowhere. They weren't even hunting ghosts, but some cult that was snatching kids. Beth had just gone to scout their creepy headquarters or temple or whatever, a ghost had materialized. It went right after that pasty kid, Riley. Looked like he was wrestling him to the ground.

Mick barely knew the kid, but he sobbed that night thinking of the protectee who died. His brother. Riley. Cap said the kid would be alright. He was, eventually, but that night he felt like he screwed up all over again. But he realized he didn't. Cap didn't. Sometimes, s!#@ just happens.

That's why he came to New Orelans the first time. Mama had taken care of Riley. Something tried to "ride" him because he was sensitive to the spirit world. Sounded like demonic possession to Mick.

"Anything?" Mick asks Salvo once he's outside.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11

Yup, things happen, hate to see you go. You're always welcome back!

Everyone else, give me a few days. I need to decide if I should recruit someone to add in or figure out a way to merge tables (they're just downstairs in their game!).

I'm very sorry to hear that, but FWIW I personally have an open-door policy where I will try and work someone back in if they're able and want to rejoin in the future.

Would you prefer me to mark you inactive or let it stand for now?

For now I'm going to bot Bel until either an opportunity pops up during exploration to explain her absence or the characters leave The Crow at which point she will chase a pressing personal issue that suddenly ly came up.

This is why I tend to take more than four players to begin with, and at the moment four is where we are so I don't see a need to recruit someone to fill the spot just yet. Frankly, I think if I went below four on either table I might try and find a way to merge both tables. Ancient Thassilonian magic can do weird stuff, so it would be possible to find a way to merge two realities, lol. You're both in roughly the same place so far (way different paths getting there though).

Oops, I just realized fixing the map would have been useful, sorry I was in a rush before work, I'll have that updated when I get home or torrow afternoon at the latest.

Holy moly. Whatever ancient relic you absconded with was cursed, bring it back! Lol!

Once the boat is tied up, the recruits can take a moment to look into the exposed passageway that the Tower Girls haven't sealed or re-hidden yet.

Rubble from the colla psed wall has been pushed out into the chamber. Traces of recent habitation-bits of trash and rubbish and the odd piece of clothing or equipment-are scattered here and there, though the room now appears to be unused. There is a stone stairway to the north, and a narrow passage south.

I was like. 'Why they talking about climbing? Oh, I didn't revela the room and the line about the passage doesn't stand out!' Fixed that, lol. Map updated.

Map page updated! There is no lighting and ceilings are 10 feet high in corridors and 15 feet high in chambers unless otherwise noted.

It's okay to assume a full day or more of prep as needed. Don't forget it's possible, if you want, to visit those monuments. Many dungeons are away from the city, but this is right in town.

After thoroughly resting and preparing, the group heads to Dockway where Captain Heidmarch has arranged a rowboat for the recruits use. It doesn't take much time to get to the Crow.

It takes roughly 30 mins to row out there. 15 mins with a Profession (sailor) or similar check at DC 12.

The ten thousand year old piling rises two hundred and twenty feet into the air, and is two hundred or so feet wide at the waterline. Who knows how deep it goes unto the earth below the water.

A tall lancet arch at water level leads into a chamber at sea level within the side of the Crow. Inside is what was once a small, stepped terrace, now filled with sea water to the level of its top step. Three rowboats a re tied off to heavy stones placed on this step. Above, the ceiling rises almost all the way up to the top of the monument-an opening leads off this shaft to the west near the ceiling. At the west end of this room lies a small alcove whose floor shows the stains of countless campfires-the back wall of this alcove has broken through, revealing a passageway beyond.

Seven shards in total, so some might end up with two. Carrying three or more is not advised, lol.

The ioun stone part is neat, anyone who has played Ruins of Azlant know all about juggling ioun stones with other devices that do additional stuff, lol.

"One last thing," Captain Heidmarch says. "Each of the Shards is cursed, and it's abilites will not fully unlock for anyone under the curse." She holds out a pale blue rhomboid ioun stone. "You will need this for the Shard of GreedI. Be careful not to handle it without inserting that."

I will post the entrance to the Crow later today or tomorrow, trying to make sure the map is correct!

I think the easiest thing to do re: silver arrow heads is to just use the alchemical silver price, ignore the -1, however they're NEVER recoverable, even on a miss. True expendable, they're used up they're used up type of deal.

Otherwise let me know your next move when ready. Might be a long couple nights at work ahead of three day weekend, but will have lots of time for good strong updates this weekend.

Thorfinn slams hard into the door, preferring to go too hard over not hard enough. He stumbles a few feet into the room from his momentum.

There can be little doubt what purpose this chamber once served. The dank room stores an ancient rack, a fanciful brazen bull, an iron maiden, a cauldron, iron chairs with sharp edges and cruel protuberances, and a wooden table upon which sit various implements of torture. A bronze plaque affixed to the western wall depicts a crowing rooster above crossed spears. Underneath the spear, a short phrase is inscribed.

The phrase emblazoned on the plaque is written in Common, and reads, "Confession Cleanses the Soul-Pain Clarifies the Mind."

"You look weary, why don't you take a rest in that chair?" A voice whispers to Thorfinn.

Damage on fail: 1d4 ⇒ 4

Thorfinn: DC 15 Will save vs compulsion. Mind-affecting effect. Failure means you sit down in the spiked chair for 4 damage.

Had to run to work, map is NOT updated yet, but the room doesn't appear to be occupied so it's moot other than Thorfinn possibly sitting down. Will update within 24 hours.

I think it's just a rules thing because it is easier to say -1 damage than "adjust Hardness and HPs by," based on the way they talk in the flavor text about the durability of pure silver.

That said, arrows are one-use items (although I do allow the 50% chance to recover an arrow that missed rule if ammo really matters, like the second book of this AP...) so let me figure something out price/craft wise.

Which reminds me: the nice thing about this particular "dungeon" is that it's literally in the big city. Exiting and returning after a night at an inn or shopping for a specific tool or just supplies is not difficult. On the other hand, exploring the pilings is illegal, so it would be best to avoid being noticed because youre coming and going frequently.

"I'm still here. But I wish you had killed me," Natalya says with red eyes and a tear streaked face. "Ayala...she is going to be trouble. If it was just trouble for me, I wouldn't care, but if she finds put about the Pathfinders, she is going to lash out! Oh, gods, she has to be brought to justice or...killed."

Captain Heidmarch walks over to the young woman and squats down beside where Natalya is trying to let the chair envelope her. "Natalya, I need you to listen closely: this is not your fault. You were under a magical compulsion designed by some of the mightiest wizards to walk Golarion. I bear as much responsibility for your actions as you do, more perhaps. What's past is past. All we can do is move forward and do better."

"Sorry to interrupt," Her husband says, "But did you say, 'The Crow'? You've been inside?" Natalya weakly answers in the affirmative and the man lights up. "Fascinating! How large was the area you found it in? We guessed some pilings may hold large, even extensive, chambers."

"Huge," is all she says in reply.

Heidmarch grabs the shard from the ground and offers it to Zadira. "Humor me, if you will. Hold this and concentrate. Imagine a seven-pointed star, each point shaped like this shard. Don't worry, the curse is inert now, thanks to the ioun stone I placed in it. If my research is correct, the shard should tell you where the next piece of the whole is."

Lol, stupid autocorrect wanted ioun stone to be iTunes!

Thank you dice and Zadira for making that awesome, lol! She had 20 HP, she did 21, totally cool scene, hehe.

Don't worry, plenty of time for Q&A about this artifact to be done in character, but these shards are important pieces of the story AND magic items the group gets to keep and access during the AP. It's up to you who wants to carry it (and for the record, you can safely carry 2 max) but don't worry, more will be coming.

I'm adding the full deets on the Shard of Pride to the campaign info tab,, because it will tell you what it does when you touch it. Or the Captain will soon as well. When you locate other shards, which is the point, I will add them as well.

Everything else, the Captain will have to fill you in on, but I put up a big enough wall of text already, lol!

I probably updated and adjusted the map but forgot to switch the player view. I will check it when I get home but I'm almost certain I just have to drag the banner over, doh!

It turns out that the debate was unnecessary after Xylas pushes open the eat door and finds it loops around to the west anyway. The hall consits of more empty cells.

One cell, centrally located in the concealed hallway, does not stand open, but is instead shut tight. A square window is embedded in the metal door. As the group gets close a face pops up with a grimy, skinny hand reaching through the narrow bars.

"Oh, gods, kind faces! Aroden bless you, noble souls! I ain't seen the jailers in ages, I think they forgot about us! We ain't
eaten in days and the water's all but gone-my cousins're both sick. I swear we'd give back the boar if we could, but we ate it, starvin' as we was. We didn't even know it was the baron's lands, didn't know we was poachin'1 I beg you, we're all gonna die in here! Kindness, noble souls, we've suffered
awful! Good Baron Sarvo wills it!" The prisoner pleads.

"Okay, a little too far with the compliments,' Natalya laughs, clearly happy with the praise in spite of her words. "Simple, I recently pulled off a series of feats I didn't think I was capable of. It resulted in a sort of awakening for me. I should be more proud of my abilities, and I should use them to achieve even greater heights. Yes, the Lodge will hold power that Society never likes to use. Always with the, 'this doomed the Azlanti' and 'this item curses all who touch it' nonsense. Hoarders, thays all they are. But first, the Tower Girls. One step at a time. So go, rest. If we are fortunate, low levels of resistance. If we are less fortunate, we must be ready."

Sorry, an additional delay coming. There are a lot of moving parts to this situation (more than you're currently aware of!) and I don't want to make an error like I did recently on the other table by trying to just keep it moving.

Sorry, been super busy with work. I'll get something up in the next 24 hours!

How safe is it? I mean. She did worship the deity of burglars AND assassins. OTOH, she didn't use poison when she attacked Bel...up to you if you think it's worth the risk or not, lol.

I would say a quick "taste" of something that turns out to be poison would be worth a lowered DC and/or effect.

"Truly, ma'am, we do not know what the boss wanted with the Vancaskerkin woman. Only rumors about trouble in the Tower Girls. She told us to watch her back and the house and to be ready to catch Vancaskerkin if she showed. When you attacked we thought you was with herI, y'know? Going in her hideout and all. She is trying to recruit a gang, but so far alls she has are some grimey goblins. Shes not offering much cash up front."

Also, retraining is okay with me, so even if you get minimum HPs you could spend time and money later doing something about it. There is a general sense of urgency between books, but it isn't so time sensitive that you will just want to rush into the next big expedition unprepared (at least, not until the end of the AP).

"No, sir, we have to go find my cousin what run off from your spell then find easier work! Never personal, sir, just need'n the money!"

I forgot to mention if you do recover her hand crossbow, yes it is also masterwork. I also forgot she had 9 bolts left.

Hey!

Level up! Wooo!

If I hadn't mentioned it before, roll HPs, but if you get less than half+1, take half HD + 1.

Yeah, you're beat up and low on spells, so if you don't want to go poking around Natalya's hideout I get it. No promises she will still be here when you get back though! If you do want to go in before getting a rest in, then at least new HPs, spell slots, and class abilities are active. Polly will continue to be botted until she either returns or you recover Natalya and/or her pilfered item, but I'm not leveling her lol.

We can drop out of combat assuming you will accept the paid thug's surrender. The one currently dazed will throw in the towel on his action since his employer just went down.

She's on a roof so which way?: 1d8 ⇒ 3

Eskander's flying debris finally hits it's mark and the woman drops, slowly dying on a dilapidated roof.

Got off a little early, so let's do this!

0 level spells for the win!

Polly whips out her sling and fires a bullet at the blonde. The small projectile only grazes the woman, but causes her to flinch and turn in time for Zadira's arrow to bury itself in her upper arm. She hisses through the pain. "Get out of my way!" shouts the woman moments before Eskander's spell clouds her mind. Instead of jumping down ready to strike with her short sword, she simply stands on the roof staring into the street.

Saria's spell also takes hold of it's target, giving Mallory a few seconds to breathe and only one threat to deal with. Although her own attack fails to land, the mercenary is likewise unable to hit. Clangs of steel on steel reverberate as the two exchange swipes and parries.

Round 7

Everyone is up!

Update by this time tomorrow, hopefully middle of the night. Sorry, went down the list alphabetically and could only get 2/3 major updates I need to do today :(

I've been extra exhausted this week, but I will have an update ASAP hopefully in 24 hours.