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thermopyle's page
410 posts (1,458 including aliases). No reviews. 1 list. No wishlists. 3 aliases.
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This is shaping up to be a tough fall all around, but maybe especially for teachers and students. Good luck to everyone!
Lathiira - it sounds like you had a good time with Avengers. From what I heard the Ms. Marvel story line was really good. I hope they patch it without breaking your save.
GMDQ, thanks for giving us some rope (to hang ourselves?) on this escapade. I hope it doesn't become too much extra work for you.
While we wait for Morton to arrive Chad and Kahuranga could go shopping for sleeping potions and sedatives. They could also look for a way to make a copy of the ring on short notice.
Thren and Lark can do information gathering to look for anyone that knows anything about Morton. They could even trying doing it in disguise. Maybe we can figure out if he frequents one of the brothels. Then we could plan our attack either inside the building (heist) or outside (mugging).
Chakam - either of those missions (or something else) interest you? Once Morton arrives Chakam can tail him around in animal form.
Anyone have preferences for how to go after Morton?
Thanks, y'all.
I knew I could count on Lark's first mate to carry on in his stead. Better luck next time on actually getting us all squashed.
Hey y'all, I'm alive. It's been a very tiring month+, but I feel I'm starting to come out the other side of it.
I'm not caught up with the in-game posts yet - anything I should look out for in particular? I assume everyone is in great shape since Lark hasn't been leading you headfirst into peril ;)
I've got family visiting this weekend through Monday or Tuesday, so this will be a slow posting weekend for me. That is, even slower than usual...
GMDQ, first, I hope you're feeling better. Second, what do you think about Lark using Disable Device to release the winch and let the anchor's own weight do the work of lowering it? Lark would be willing to break the winch for now if would stabilize the ship and let him get back in the fight.
I think I'm good. The naming is confusing, but there is a rogue talent named "Ninja Trick." That talent allows choosing from the ninja trick list. It doesn't grant a ki pool, but doesn't seem to have any extra restrictions.
Right, the anchor is still up. Belina and Rosie did work together to "reverse course," as much as that can do while we're on this reef.
GMDQ - did you get my email about taking the ninja trick "wall climber" as Lark's rouge talent? With that I think a double move would get Lark up the mast high enough to jump over the fire and down to the winch.
The jump itself should automatically succeed with Lark's leaping acrobatics and then another check to try and avoid fall damage. He'd still take proximity damage from the fire, but not the damage from passing through. Plus he has to get over the wall of force anyway. Do you agree, does that all make sense?
GMDQ - on the battle map it looks like one of the higher-level cutthroats is over by Maheem and Barry. Is that right? I don't see them listed in the turn order.
If it is one of them would Lark automatically notice them or would Maheem perhaps call it out as a new threat?
Those NPC assignments work for me.
I thought Ravenna Laren stayed at Port Peril to study. She was to complete the education we paid for and then join us afterwards.
Sorry I was MIA this weekend. I will post in game and work on leveling Lark.
Chad - welcome back!
I don't remember off the top of my head, but I'll try and check.
Threnody, nice touch with the ghost sound.
GMDQ wrote: Lark, I don't think you moved more than 5 feet, did you? You should have at least two more attacks. Lark had not yet drawn a weapon. I think that means he had to use a move action to draw or a free action as part of movement. Either way, only a standard action left, so no additional attacks.
GMDQ wrote: Staggering away, he shouts, "Kee't watery tart 'way fr'me!" Now we see the violence inherent in the system ;)
GMDQ, I'm glad you're stating to feel better. I hope your allergies and asthma stay under control.
It's been a crazy spring here, we literally had snow (a dusting) last Wednesday. I think the weather has finally, finally turned and I expect our allergy season will now roar into full gear.
GMDQ, for future reference, how long does Besmara's Tricorne take to transform? I was thinking about dropping it next to a couple of brawlers and then activating it as a distraction, maybe try and get everyone's attention and stop the fight.
Absolutely! Lark is inordinately proud of his own tricorne and I'm very happy to see y'all getting into the fancy hat game.
I'm sorry to see the news from Chad while I was gone. Belated best wishes and I'll just hope they're able to return and see them.
It looks like y'all had a good and productive time last week. Those are some very fine hats.
GMDQ, how do we access the aft deck? Is it only via those stairs that appear to connect to an interior space? What's the vertical distance (for jumping/climbing) from mid deck to aft?
Happy Easter, y'all! I hope you get to enjoy something sweet and some blooming flora. Here in upstate NY we've got a few crocuses and the inch of snow we had Friday has melted off ;)
Chad - best wishes to your littles. It sounds like you're making the best of a challenging time.
GMDQ, would you like to try and schedule a time we're both online for some quick posts back and forth? We might be able to get through a couple hands relatively quickly that way.
Having a buff that helps and not getting caught - both tricky here. I went through our inventory and didn't find anything for CON. We don't have many alchemical items.
Pouring alchemists fire on my head would probably sober me up, but then I'd have other problems ;)
GMDQ, just to make sure I'm clear on rules, the second roll cannot make your hand worse only the same or better, is that right?
Even if the sum of the two dice is over 20, then you can take either of the two rolls, whichever is higher?
Other than that question I'm ready to start. I've not had any brainstorms about dealing with that high-test grog.
Chad, you called it, I was confused about who, exactly, would take the big bribe. I thought silver-teeth was just some minor graft along the way.
Also, nice pull with that scene from Hook. I vaguely remember seeing that movie, but no way did I recall that bit. Perfect!
Lark and I are both fine with flirting with NPCs. Probably both equally bad at it ;)
Thank you for checking in about it.
In other news, the students are leaving for spring break and not likely to return soon. My schedule will be about the same, maybe busier as we ramp up infrastructure for distance learning.
I think we can live without a corvus. Boarding grapples and planks have worked for us before.
How about we retroactively swap in a light ballista in place of the corvus? Our budget will stretch for the extra 400 GP. Then we can put two light ballista, the catapult and the ram on the Fearsome Tide. That leaves just one light ballista on the Whim.
We have "100 yards of especially fine cotton (can also serve as 1 Plunder)." We could use a set of flags for the ships and the fortress. We may not want to fly them until after we're free captains, but we could start getting them ready. I wonder if you could work a lighthouse into a jolly roger design?
I think we're pretty close to ready to head for port peril...
I love our weird LARP-ing dragon emperor ;)
Lathiira - can our dry dock (and attendant facilities) be used to build siege engines? Since we have that skill in the party now it'd be good to be able to use it. Otherwise, captains quarter's works for me.
Also, I do want to transfer our flag to the Fearsome Tide, if we can make it work. So we have to move all our equipment, supplies, the new siege engines, etc. While we're at it, let's bring the Redclaw and Osilir's shell in the hold. If we need plunder to impress the Hurricane King then that shell might help.
I've always enjoyed the effects of Haste, I bet Fly will be fun too!
If I were narrating our next steps, it might go like this. Hopefully this isn't too far off the mark:
The group goes on a huge spree of commercial activity. Chad is thrown in the deep end of his new job as quartermaster. Chakam is busy mounting their new weapons on the ship.
The Besmara's Whim sails east back to Yoha's Graveyard, once again towing the Gryphon Unfettered. Soon after some people report seeing an ominous shadow passing eastward as well. Surely that wasn't a dragon flying near Hell Harbor...
The Besmara's Whim, now with nothing in tow, sails west to Brightglass Isle.

GMDQ - I hope you had a good trip :)
Kahuranga - did you buy scrolls of Fly and Hostile Levitation, or did you decide on something else?
Chakam - Hopefully we can put you to work at some point in our dry dock on Brightglass Isle. Eventually we should build siege engines to defend the stronghold and for our other ship(s). For now, we'll just get some "off the shelf" here in town.
Lathiira - I like the idea of Thren having that nice bow. Let's get it!
We sold a ton of stuff for 13,350 gp
We spent 10,230 GP
We have 6,000 GP, two very nice tapestries (2 plunder), Jemma Redclaw's prosthetic arm (~6400 gp) and a few other things (Stalker's Mask, +1 trident, bunches of masterwork and regular weapons in the ship's armory, etc.)
Purchases
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200 - Sending (to Kelizar), 100 - Corvus, 300 - Ram, 550 - light catapult, 750 - scrolls for Kahuranga, 8,330 - +2 shortbow
To Be Sold
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Banded Mail +1, hide armor +2, quarterstaff +1, "+1" kukri (of Garundi make), mithral buckler (engraved with the image of a flame)
composite longbow +1 (+7 Str) with 32 arrows
2 unworked obsidian stones, 2 unworked abalone shells, 2 unworked rhodochrosite, bloodstone, garnet, rhodochrosite
divine scroll of neutralize poison (CL 7), 2000, divine scroll of barkskin (CL 3), 375, arcane scroll of daze (CL 1), 25, arcane scroll of water breathing (CL 3), 375, arcane scroll of comprehend languages (CL 1), 25
Here's some shopping list items. Cost in gold pieces, of course. I know it's taking a while, but I do feel like we're getting close. Hopefully we'll shortly be able to synthesize the to-do list with the shopping list and move on at least to Brightglass Isle.
200 - Sending (to Kelizar)
100 - Corvus
300? - Ram
550 - light catapult (if the ram doesn't take a siege engine slot)
750 - scrolls for Kahuranga
xxx - supplies for stronghold projects (lighthouse!)? (we still have 20 goods' worth of marble, wood, and fittings for building from Yoha's Graveyard)
What else?
So, we already had a couple thousand gold in the ship treasury for expenses and use by the party. We can bring that up to 10,454 GP by selling the loot listed below. There's more yet, so if someone needs a nice quarterstaff we can keep it and sell something else ;)
We also have a bad habit of not claiming and/or using all the scrolls we find. Please see the list further below. Who can use those?
To Be Sold
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Banded Mail +1
hide armor +2
quarterstaff +1
composite longbow +1 (+7 Str) with 32 arrows
2 unworked obsidian stones
2 unworked abalone shells
2 unworked rhodochrosite
bloodstone
garnet
rhodochrosite
Scrolls!
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divine scroll of neutralize poison (CL 7)
divine scroll of barkskin (CL 3)
arcane scroll of daze (CL 1)
arcane scroll of water breathing (CL 3)
arcane scroll of comprehend languages (CL 1)
This all sounds good to me so far. I do lean toward using the Fearsome Tide. I like the idea of inaugurating our next adventure with a new ship, especially one with a cool history.
I will do some math tonight on the loot sheet and get a list of things to sell to fund all this. I'm pretty sure we can afford it all.
Chakam - can you get the costs for the corvus and ram?
Lathiira or GMDQ - do y'all remember off the top of your head if we expect the Fearsome Tide to be ready by the time we get back to Ghoral Rey? If you don't I can dig through the thread later, but I wonder if that would represent an upgrade from the Whim.
Kahuranga - how much do scrolls cost at that level? I expect we'll be selling off a bunch of random loot to buy supplies and cover expenses (e.g. pay the crew). Anything left over belongs to the PCs.
BTW, we last paid the crew at Arena Town on the way to Hell Harbor. I think that means we're actually good for a bit on that front.
GMDQ, do I recall correctly you're going to take us into OOC downtime in order to cover some of the errands we need to run? Here's my rough to-do list:
1. Last call for shopping in Hell Harbor.
2. Deliver the Gryphon Unfettered to Kelizar.
3. Visit Brightglass Isle, drop off supplies, check on the stronghold and the Fearsome Tide.
3.a. Remember to roll influence checks for NPC crew members (up to two npcs, three rolls each and/or perform a favor)
4. Port Peril & a date with the Hurricane King
To everyone: what what else should we be doing?
Also, also, I'll be out of town this weekend. Don't look for me to post from Friday night through Monday.

We love side-quests! ;)
Here's an updated list of loot. Please check under your name and tell me if I missed anything. The loot sheet is also updated.
Also, let me know if y'all have any better ideas for the few things I listed as "convert to cash." Chad & Chakam, any of this interesting as a "signing bonus?"
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Convert to Cash?
-a wand of scorching ray
- +1 kukri (of Garundi make)
-mithral buckler (engraved with the image of a flame)
-Potion of Inflict Moderate Wounds
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Threnody
- +1 mithral breastplate
-A quiver of 20 mithral crossbow bolts
-cold iron dagger (hilt is burned off, but otherwise of fine make with a maker's mark from Quent)
-magical pillow, eternally clean, soft, and fluffy
-Masterwork Light Crossbow, 20 bolts (Sandara)
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Kahuranga
-bracers of armor +2 (appear to be made of some kind of coppery metal usually used by underwater races)
-Campfire Bead
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Lark
-Tanglefoot bag
- +1 mithral chain shirt (some of the links have been treated with some kind of mineral to take on shades of blue)
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Loot!
I think this is everything from Miria's Rest (aka Yoha's Graveyard). It's also all on the loot sheet linked on GMDQ's stat line. Who wants what? Funding our stronghold and paying Kelizar are my priorities.
- The Gryphon Unfettered, it still floats! (but not much else)
-A quiver of 20 mithral crossbow bolts
-a wand of scorching ray
-bracers of armor +2 (appear to be made of some kind of coppery metal usually used by underwater races)
- +1 kukri (of Garundi make)
-cold iron dagger (hilt is burned off, but otherwise of fine make with a maker's mark from Quent)
-mithral buckler (engraved with the image of a flame)
- +1 mithral breastplate
-Potion of Inflict Moderate Wounds
-Tanglefoot bag
-304 gp in ancient taldan coin
-A chest of holding, acts as a bag of holding III
-scrivener's kit with a seal (for making wax seals) from the Taldan Navy, perhaps useful if you want to forge Taldan Naval documents... or to a collector
-A scrivener's kit that has survived the passage of time in a darkwood writing case
-20 goods' worth of marble, wood, and fittings for building (this can also be 1 Plunder if you prefer--yes, 20 goods does not cost out to this much, but it includes fancy trade goods like marble)
-Stone (15 goods for stronghold).
-100 yards of especially fine cotton (can also serve as 1 Plunder)
-hammocks fixable with mending and enough mosquito netting to help protect up to 50 people
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Threnody
-magical pillow, eternally clean, soft, and fluffy
-Masterwork Light Crossbow, 20 bolts (Sandara)
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Kahuranga
-Campfire Bead
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Lark
- +1 mithral chain shirt (some of the links have been treated with some kind of mineral to take on shades of blue)
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Corwin
- +1 greatsword (blessed, but not holy ;)
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Happy to put on a show. For some definitions of "show" ;)
Welcome, y'all! I'm looking forward to having you join us aboard Besmara's Whim.
Lark has a tiny bit of carpentry and healing. I don't think we have anything siege related.
I just couldn't let the moment past without a little shouting. No need to RP the pig roast unless we're really feeling the urge. Diagnosing and curing Kahuranga (and Taniwha!) is the real priority, followed by checking out Yoha's ship and settlement. Hopefully we can get back to Hell Harbor for recruiting in short order.
I second Lathiira. A quick skim of some of their posts looks good to me and we're certainly at a natural point to regroup.
BTW, Kahuranga, I never imagined having a giant spider help us move this statue around, but I think it's fantastic. I love the image of Corwin standing opposite your spider-form toting around a giant, scary statue.
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