FYI, the first post of adventure 9 is up, but only Djack is currently in scene. No rush anyone else posting in-game as I know we're still deciding stuff about characters.
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Juna 27 The late afternoon sun hangs low over Albarra, turning its adobe walls and red-tiled roofs the color of old copper. Wind carries the smell of roasting maize, dust, and horse sweat through the narrow streets. Bright woven banners snap between wooden balconies, and bells toll lazily from the Temple of the High Seven. As Djack makes his way toward The Friendly Mesa, a familiar voice cuts through the noise. "By salt and wind and The Seven, if that isn’t Djack Nymball himself." A man steps out from the shade of a building awning. He’s tall and lean, wearing a weather-stained cloak over light armor. A curved saber hangs at his hip, and a scarf is wrapped loosely around his neck. His hair is dark and flowing, his smile is unmistakable. Ricardo Gama. Old friend, and sometime rival. His grin widens as he approaches. "Look at you. Still walking humbly like an urchin on the street. I half-expected you’d be dead or rich by now."
Up to you. There's no problem with being focused if that's what you prefer to take.
I'll allow it if you decide to do so.
Approved.
A Handy Haversack is probably sufficient in volume for what you're looking for, and much cheaper than a full-on Bag of Holding.
If you'd like, I'll allow you to take a couple free ranks of Profession(Cook) instead of a trait. Certainly won't unbalance the game any.
Absolutely.
Certainly, it fits well thematically with the level we're at. Amideo hasn't exactly gotten in a ton of power attacks, so I'll allow the swap.
Everyone remember to add your new magic item/effect to your character sheet when adjusting your level. Also, you will have about 4 weeks of downtime in-game. Please write me your downtime activities (Mayum 30-Juna 25, late spring, Albarra climate similar to Oklahoma City) in a 2 paragraph or more post in Discussion. For completing this, you may add one Trait (a regular trait or an alternate racial trait for your race, either one is fine with me). You need not complete the downtime post before the next adventure begins; any time in the next month or so real-time is fine.
The fighter you damaged is looping back for you, but won't be able to fire this turn. The other, an incoming (just forward and starboard), fires its lasers as it approaches. The updated Map is after their actions.
Betty's action.
Round 2
Despite his clear piloting superiority, The oncoming Cyleerin vessels get "the drop" on The Betty. Fortunately only two seem interested in her, as the rest move on through the fleet. At this point, Vaelorin is hearing comm chatter on the Fleet's military channel. Diasporum Raptors are on their way.
The Cyleerin fighter manages to fire a torpedo at The Betty as she swoops past.
The torpedo explodes harmlessly off your rear starboard, though close enough the shock wave causes some shaking.
My goal is to have the intro to the next adventure up by the end of the week.
Within minutes, the entire party finds themselves back in Albarra, several days travel over mountains and plains avoided.
The next morning, Mayum 29, the heroes of Albarra are once again on the move. Having squared things away in Luln, you head out toward the forest exit. That's when Zia snaps her fingers, and begins rooting through her bag for something.
let me know when you're ready to move on. The adventure is essentially over, save one last little scene that will happen when you leave Luln.
Itzakun nods. "<Yes, we have learned somewhat of what transpired; the forest has ears, and a voice, of course.>" Once the pleasantries subside, and Amideo is deep in negotiations with Itzakun regarding what parts of the retrieved treasure Luln might find most interesting, Rocko speaks with one of the Elven Rangers here in Luln. Together, they spend some time discussing techniques.
I've been away from Paizo as I'm sure you guys have noticed. I've never succumb to the winter blues before... trying to get back in the saddle as it were. I am planning a Djack-focused story as the next adventure. Maybe that will help get you back into the swing. Stay tuned. Meantime, take care of yourself.
Both of Burlap's shots strike home, causing obvious damage to the hull of the approaching fighter.
The Cyleerin fighters continue their strafing run on the agricultural vessel next to The Betty. Explosions plume as vented atmosphere ignites. Two more appear in the near distance as the others move past. Vaelorin detects the one closest to straight ahead is changing its targeting computers to aim at The Betty, though the other is still targeting the agri-ship.
Upon your return to Luln, you are guided to the big tent where you stayed previously. Soon, the Elder, Itzakun, joins you with his retinue. "<Welcome back, travelers! I see you have returned, and with the fabled treasure, no less!>"
On the topic of resolving things with Rosentos, could Amideo have offered the newly freed residents to accompany the group back to Albarra to settle there? Seems like a nicer place to live than the creepy vampire village. Most of them would have chosen to remain, reaping the harvest of the land they've long worked now as freed men. I'll work the relocating of a few families that were interested into a later downtime post.
The temperature warms steadily as you travel on toward Luln, your minds still contemplating what you've just witnessed. What evils this world could wreak on its residents, and yet often with a chance of redemption, or at least, justice. By evening you approach the familiar features of the forest-village of Luln, it's large pyramid-temple taking prominent form in the closing distance.
From half a mile distant, the hilltop rise is only a dark crown of trees against the gray-blue of the sky, its details softened to the eye. Then the scream arrives. Even at this range, it cuts through the air: a long, rising wail that makes the leaves shudder and the birds explode upward from the canopy in a black, frantic cloud. The cry does not echo so much as press, like a weight laid upon the land. The treetops bow as if in a sudden gale, though no wind moves the grass in the valley below. A flash of motion breaks the tree line. Something pale and swift darts between trunks near the crest of the hill, too fast and erratic to be human. It stumbles—actually stumbles—and vanishes behind a stand of junipers. A moment later, a dark figure is flung clear of the forest, tumbling end over end before striking the ground hard enough to send a faint puff of dirt into the air. From this distance, it looks almost like a discarded cloak. The wail swells again, higher, sharper. The sound becomes visible in its effects: a ring of leaves tearing free and spiraling outward from the hilltop as though pushed by an invisible wave. The fallen figure tries to rise. It does not get far. It jerks, stiffens, then collapses flat, limbs splayed unnaturally. Above the trees, something lifts into view—an indistinct, hovering shape, long and trailing, its edges unraveling like smoke. The air around it seems to ripple. When it throws back its head, the scream that follows is shorter, focused, devastating. A shock ripples through the forest canopy, and several trees simply split, their trunks bursting apart from within. When the sound ends, the hilltop goes still. No more movement stirs among the trees. The pale figure does not rise again. The hovering shape lingers for a heartbeat longer, disburses into the air, finally free of the torment of a trapped spirt. All that remains is a quiet hill, scattered with broken branches and drifting leaves, as though the land itself has chosen to forget what happened there.
Yes, the purplish fighters. There are more of them, those are just the only ones currently in your area of the fleet. None of the fleet's fighters have entered this area of the combat, but of course you can send out comm transmissions of your plan. Sending encrypted tactics to the fleet will be a Computers check (probably from Vaelorin). Side note, the fleet itself will mostly serve as terrain for this battle, kind of like the opening battle in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith; tactically you're closer up than normal combats, so tight piloting checks will be harder but you can move further, and you don't really need to worry about weapon range.
Combat Map at top of page updated. Betty has initiative (I rolled off-line). Act first, or force them to act first?
Noted. I'll hop on and do a post tonight to try and get us back up and running.
Seeing as how the story is currently on the banshee/Rosentos completeion, did we already resolve the bodies of the minion vampires and what was to be done about the two werewolf servants? The servants were dead when you left them; being lesser vampires, they did not survive the combat in the same way as Rosentos. The werewolves, what you choose to do can happen off screen. I'd imagine the former slaves would want to execute them for being Rosentos' enforcers for several years. Alternately, Zia or Yoltzin can dispel the curse and cure them, suggesting to the newly freed residents that they instead imprison them for a period or exile them.
When the stake is removed and Rosentos' head is returned to the corpse, a quiet, wrong stillness settles over the trail, as though the birds all inhaled at once and forget how to sing. The neck stump and the severed head touch; veins like dark threads creep across pale skin, stitching themselves together in slow, deliberate lines. The head gives a faint, involuntary jerk, jaw clicking shut as if finishing an interrupted thought. For a heartbeat nothing more happens. Then the corpse arches sharply, spine bowing off the ground, fingers clawing into the damp earth. The chest shudders once, twice, and then his eyes snapped open. The vampire’s mouth stretch in a silent snarl, lips peeling back from teeth that lengthen as the last seams sealed themselves. Blood pulses with a strength that seems to make the forest itself recoil. Slowly, deliberately, Rosentos sits up. Above, on the roadside rise, the eyes of the banshee twitch, as if trying to cope with a hate so powerful as to be incomprehensible to the living and the restful dead alike. Shadows stretch long and thin between the trunks of trees, and the air in the woods grows still and cold. Yoltzin judges it to be best that the party leave the vicinity; if they must witness events, they should do it at a distance, for their own safety.
Sorry about my absence. Had some unexpected complications added to my life. I'll try to get caught up and back to regular posting. I get it. Life happens. Hope you're getting through it all okay.
I'm here! Appreciate your continued posting. I'm hoping Joyride will hop back on, at least. Can't really do this battle scene without a gunner and a pilot at minimum. I'll give it a few more days to see if interest perks back up.
Mayum 28 The trip back to Citlalmina's hill, covered with junipers, is uneventful. The weather cooperates, a bit chilly in the morning but warming up by the time you reach the hill in the early afternoon. While you are weary from lack of sleep, you are well-fed, the former slave-villagers having insisted on cooking you a veritable feast of a breakfast upon your announcing their freedom. Approaching the hill (now on your left as you travel back toward Luln, wagon laden), the unnatural form of the banshee once again appears at the top of the hill. Wrapped in sheets, you carry, separately, the head of Rosentos and his corpse. "Where is Rosentos?" the banshee repeats her previous query. She seems to have no memory of your previous encounter, her presence here a mere shadow of life, the personal hell of a woman trapped in a world to which she no longer belongs.
Haven't seen any reactions in a while. Is everyone back from the holidays?
Correct, you are level 7 as of completing the Rosentos combat.
Since the adventure proper is essentially over, gere's what I've got for next steps: 1. Free the slaves and provide some amount of reparations to them.
I'm honestly not 100% sold on it, I can change it out to something else if it's gonna be an issue. I can't really think of many items that fit the criteria, is all. It works fine for me, I can adjust. Honestly the next adventure has a lot of potential places you could use it.
Guess I best be prepping some outdoor encounters for the next adventure, or this is gonna get real claustrophobic.
Rosentos had: +1 Breastplate, +1 Heavy Mace, ceremonial sword (might have some historical value to the right person) and a Ring of Protection +2.
Level up! The long road to level 7 has come to an end.
It only takes an hour or so to search the rest of the manor house and find Rosentos' repository. It's hidden under a hatch in the lower level. Djack has no problem locating and disabling the deadly poisoned arrow trap near the entry. Inside, you find: 25717 cp
3078 gp in gems 43 pieces of jewelry
Items that stand out:
Amideo's instructions where to retrieve the treasure, and keep a reasonable portion for his Circuit's treasury. From that portion he can reimburse the party, the village of Luln, and the (former) slaves of Rosentos if he chooses.
Rocko's slam didn't do much to the Vampire's body, other than smash it's chest a bit. However, it did break open a floorboard, which is then easily inserted into it's chest. With the head removed and the body staked, you now have a choice; you may either destroy the head and body in fire (or cleanse the head with blessed water; either option will kill Rosentos finally). OR, you can take the staked body and head, separated, to the Banshee of Citlalmina, and offer her a final revenge. Also, not least, Amideo was charged by the Marques with finding the rumored lost treasure amassed by Rosentos, so a thorough search of the grounds before leaving the island is in order.
Djack:
Djack thrusts upward and, with one incredible feat of accuracy (or luck) pierces the precise location within the cloud where Rosentos' evil heart would be. The miss fades as a fully formed Vampire drops to the ground, momentarily unconscious but healing quickly.
Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it! And, have a nice day to those who don't (my company gave us Friday this week as well, so unexpected 4 day weekend, woo-hoo!)
ONE Frag grenade MK III (4d6) is in your reach for 1260 CR
Adventure 4: KNIVES IN THE VOID The slow pulse of thrusters and the low chatter of fleet comm traffic fill the bridge of The Black Betty as she glides back toward her berthing vessel. Around her, the renegade Diasporum fleet stretches into the void—patched freighters, converted haulers, and a handful of scarred warships all limping along toward the planet Golarion, only the vaguest of legends to guide them. It isn’t pretty, but it’s familiar. It almost feels routine. Status lights blink green across everyone's consoles. The stars wheel slowly as the Betty approaches. Then, without warning, the alarms scream. Again? things Alzura incredulously. This is the third Cyleerin ambush in as many weeks, though the number of fighters involved is much larger this time. Contacts blossom across the sensors—fast, erratic, and closing at attack speed. A heartbeat later, your viewscreen fills with streaks of ion fire as several dozen sleek, jagged fighters tear out of the dark. Cyleerin. Their hulls glow with cruel bioluminescent veins as they dive straight into the heart of the fleet, and chaos erupts. Ships scatter, some trying to form defensive lines, others breaking in blind panic. Explosions ripple through the void as random vessels are attacked, their drives and weapon pods punched apart in bursts of light. Fleet-wide distress calls overlap into a wall of noise. And then, right off your starboard side, the sanitation vessel—an ungainly workhorse everyone jokingly calls the “garbage scow”—takes a direct hit. For a split second, its shields flare bright blue; then they fail. The ship ruptures in a violent bloom of fire and debris, its hull tearing open as waste containers, twisted plating, and shattered lifeboats tumble into space. The transmission cuts off mid-scream. Where the vessel had been moments before, there is only a spreading cloud of wreckage. The bridge of The Betty goes dead silent. The threat display is lighting up with incoming vectors. The Cyleerin fighters are fanning out, some already turning toward you. The fleet's Raptor patrol is just beginning to respond. Whatever chances this was going to be a quiet return to berth are over. Roll for initiative.
Amideo's magic blade pierces the cloud, and a few drops of ichorous blood drips down it. Yet the cloud continues it's journey.
Rocko's first two attacks hit the startled spawn who thought he had Rocko under control. It drops to the ground, unconscious. Rocko then beheads the corpse for good measure. Top of Round 5 At this point, Rosentos is visibly shaken, and decides to flee. He transforms into a gaseous mist, and floats toward a funnel in the wall. You're unsure where it leads. Djack and Amideo can attack with opportunity as it does so. The Croc can likewise, though it can't grapple (for obvious reasons) and is unlikely to do much damage due to increased DR.
With a little help from his friend Yoltzin, Rocko breaks through the control ready to fight.
Rocko can take his full action.
We're getting ahead of ourselves a bit; technically he would have already made the second save BEFORE Yoltzin gets to him (as the command to leave the room triggered it) and so yes, get a third save. I'll allow either two saves at +2 (one against the new command due to it being out of character, and one after Yoltzin casts) or for Kevin to combine those bonuses for a single +4 save, since he hasn't rolled yet. His choice. And the player's a mathematician, so I'm sure he'll pick the one with the base odds.
Rosentos AOO:
Yoltzin takes a grazing hit from the vampire's mace, but is able to safely cast her spell on Rocko (giving another +2 bonus for a total of +4 on Rocko's 2nd save). The croc lashes out and, barely, manages to nip the spawn in the leg. It manages to pull free before grappled, however. |