Well, today was our first session. I am running Curse of the Crimson Throne as a Pathfinder RPG Beta playtest at our FLGS, and we met today to create characters and get started. There are six characters in the party:
Half-Elf Sorcerer (Dragon Bloodline, Harrowed Feat)
Half-Elf Bard specializing in enchantments
Human Fighter wielding a longsword and Klar and with Endurance, Toughness, and Defensive Combat Training as feats.
Human Cleric of Sarenrae
Human Rogue
Human Fighter specializing in Combat Maneuvers (Combat Expertise, Improved Disarm, and Trip)
Humans were very popular because they are improved in Pathfinder (favored class is better, martial weapon choice, +2 any Stat, no penalties), and I gave the players a small bonus for choosing human since I wanted to playtest the race a bit. Half-elves were chosen because folks liked the way Pathfinder improved that race's abilities as well. One player had never played a half-elf in 3e before. The other had often played elves but not half-elves.
|
Way to go Marnak!
My group starts tomorrow with CotCT as a Beta playtest and I can't wait to dive in! Glad your first session went well, that shows promise.
I have 4 players for this game.
* Human Cleric of Iomedae.
* Human Warlock (father had a devilish contract)
* Human Monk
* Human Noble (from Black Company Campaign setting) /Rogue
We've played out the beginning meet outside the little home and will all meet for finner tomorrow at a local resturant to finish out the first meeting, then back to the game room for play!
-DM Jeff
Sounds like a couple of interesting groups. You're in for a lot of fun. My party is in the beginning portion of "Escape from Old Korvosa" at the moment, getting geared up for a rousing game of Blood Pig tomorrow. It should give us plenty of time to playtest the CMB in a variety of ways.
|
Everyone's seeming to love humans. I didn't think it was the Pathfinder rules before (really not much changed, EVERYONE got the extra +2) but now I'm wondering.
We're at the end of Seven Days to the Grave right now with the following party:
Aaron Chitward - LN M Human Monk 5 - Not much to say about him, likes to train.
Capziellys - LN M Elf Scout 3/Ranger 2 - Started out as a drug runner for the King of Spiders, decided to clean up his life and joined the Sable Company.
Kail Oberix - CN F Human Fighter 5 - Once a well-off daughter of a restaurant owner, husband killed, became a whore in Old Korvosa. Dual-wields and is the 'diplomat' of the group.
Silvanus Telm - NG M Human Illusionist 5 - A well meaning jeweler's apprentice with a finesse for illusions and a distaste for evocations.
Waydon Kane - LN M Half-Orc Druid 5 - Former otyugh 'wrangler', still a member of the Guard but his life has taken on more importance lately.
Amusingly, Waydon is the only one with any kind of family (mother and daughter).
|
|
Everyone's seeming to love humans. I didn't think it was the Pathfinder rules before (really not much changed, EVERYONE got the extra +2) but now I'm wondering.
As my wife pointed out last night, it's because Paizo crafted their human cultures to be so darn cool, specific and unique, they're now as fun or even more fun to fit into the role of Chelaxian, Varisian, Shoanti, as it is dwarf, elf, etc.!
-DM Jeff
I agree with DM Jeff and his wife that the human cultures in Golorian are very cool, and are a great incentive for players to choose the not-as-boring-as-you-thought human race! Interestingly, the two half-elves in the group were both raised by humans, one Varisian and one Chelaxian, suggesting that they too were attracted by the coolness of Korvosan humans.
I wish you every success with your COTCT campaign, I have my own thread here about how my own is going and will be interested to "compare notes" with you.
It has been a long time, but I finally found time to post this narrative summary of our campaign so far (for those of you who are interested).
We have now had three sessions (character generation/meeting Zellara; against Gaedren Lamm; and Death of the King/Meeting the Queen/City Gone Mad/Casing All the World's Meat). Also, one of the human fighters had to drop out (the one with longsword and Klar).
Sesion 2
After gathering as much information as they could from the denizens of the West Docks, Callic the Rogue, Legan the Sorcerer, and Oerik the Fighter left Bailer's retreat to scout and case the Old Fishery. Unfortunately, official duties ended up sidetracking some of the new friends they had met at Zellara's. Although they debated waiting for them, they decided that they could not wait for revenge on Gaedren Lamm and worried that he might abandon his hideout if they delayed too long. A plan quickly emerged. Callic would spend the day perfecting a disguise, transforming himself from a 23 year adult to a 16 year old orphan looking for work in Gaedren's gang. Supremely successful after ten hours of preparation, Callic managed to fool one of the leaders at the Old Fishery, a gnome who was himself disguised as a child. Although he wasn't able to secure a job in the short term, Callic picked the gnome's pocket of a key and learned about the basic layout and operation of the Old Fishery. He didn't see any sign of Lamm, however, and the group decided to stake out the Old Fishery for a few days to see if they could possibly attack Lamm on his way in or out. The group was worried about assaulting the Old Fishery with only three people, especially as they didn't want to have to hurt the orphans working there. During the stakeout, the party glimpsed the half-orc that had been mentioned by several informations and noticed the garishly dressed leader Yargin taking his dog out for a piss. They also confirmed that there were more children at night, that many children left in the morning for a day of picking pockets. It was decided to attack in the late afternoon, when the business in fish slurry was very light.
The great showdown began auspiciously with Legan casting his spell "Color Spray," which knocked out several of the dozen orphans in the loading dock area. The gnome called out the alarm and intimidated the other orphans to attack with their pitchforks. However, Oerik pushed through to the inner hallway and met Yargin and his dog before they could join the main fray. After several rounds of fighting, additional uses of "Color Spray," and the fall of the gnome, the remaining orphans fled. Yargin and the dog were soon dispatched. Callic, who was careful to use his sap so as to make sure none of the orphans were killed, now sprinted forward trying to find Gaedren before he could escape. A quick search turned up another room with orphans being put to work by the half-orc Giggles. Giggles was hit by a constant stream of "Daze" spells from the sorcerer and was killed by Oerik and Callic. The group was momentarily puzzled, still not finding Gaedren but eventually realized that he was probably held up in a semi-secret room below the main floors and accessible only from a pier beneath the back room. They burst into the room to find Gaedren calmly waiting for them, possibly overconfident because of his pet Crocodile, Gobblegut. Oerik engaged the croc and allowed Callic and Legan to advance on Gaedren. The gangster calmy shot Callic as he came on with his hand crossbow, hitting almost every time. Gaedren yelled out that he remembered his attackers and taunted them with stories of how he had murdered Oerik's cousin, killed Callic's parents, and sabotaged the "bastard" Legan's chances of entering the Acadamae. Callic came on in rage, despite being near death after being hit so many times. Legan, casting spells and slahsing with his fingernails, and Callic, using a weapon in each hand, cornered Gaedren and finished him off. Searching Gaedren's chest, numerous treasures were found, including a mysterious but clearly valuable brooch. The group retreated back to the abandoned wharehouse temporarily but needs a better base of operations it is clear.
Session 3
Legan, Callic, and O'Erik head to Zellara's after trying to contact Tia the Cleric and Mathis the Bard. They leave messages at appropriate places, e.g., the cleric's temple, where the bard performs, the Bailer's Retreat if we think they would come by: "Mission accomplished. Much to tell and discuss. Meet us back where we all found out the location of our objective."
Legan, Callic, and Oerik make it all back to Zellara's and begin dividing up the treasure. They decide to hold on to most of it for the time being but venture down to Eodred's Walk and successully sell the ring and the cigar box at Gemshare. They pass on the figurine. Oerik wants to wait to see if the others show up before selling more or investigating the brooch.
Despite being occupied most of the day with clerical duties and some sick children, Tia did indeed receive the message and headed to Zellara's place as well. Standing outside the building she raps on the door and waits for an answer. Oerik opens the door and welcomes Tia inside. With great excitement, he tells her about the showdown with Gaedren and is sorry that Tia couldn't be there to see his end. He is worried about the orphans and hopes that they will go to one of the orphanages. Oerik plans to donate some of his portion of the treasure to the city's orphanages. Oerik asks Tia to look at the items they recovered from Gaedren, especially the brooch to see if she knows anything about.
The moment Tia sees the brooch she recognizes it as a possession of Queen Ileosa herself, stolen weeks ago from a jeweler who had been contracted to repair a broken clasp on it! She has heard that the brooch was easily worth 1000 gp, but it would be instantly recognized as the Queen's property by any jeweler able to pay such a sum in the city.
Callic changes the subject and expresses some concerns about staying at Zellara's and wonders what they will be telling the neighbors. Do they even know Zellara is dead? He finds staying at Zellara's uncomfortable and wonders if another location can be found. It is clear Callic prefers a low profile and he is not sure staying in the house of a dead fortune teller qualifies.
Tia agrees with Callic's concerns and seems to ponder over the situation a bit before offering a suggestion. "It seems that from the items you relieved Gaedren of, we have a rather large sum of money on hand. If we have intentions to continue meeting like this and there is no current favorable location, one option may be to pool what money can be made from Gaedren's belongings to purchase or rent something low profile yet convenient for everyone to access." she says.
Tia also insists that the holy symbol of Shelyn be returned to the sanctuary instead of sold like most other items found at Gaedren's. Following Tia's advice, the new friends travel to the Sanctuary of Shelyn to return the holy symbol discovered in the lair of Gaedren Lamm. They are surprised by how small the sanctuary is, the smallest of the temples in the city. However, the building is nevertheless one of Korvosa's most beautiful, and they are all glad they came. The square building is located in North Point and engulfs a small courtyard that is decorated with statuary, murals, and beautiful flowering plants. It doesn't feel cluttered even though it is full of artwork and plants. Melvin Reina is the high priest of the sanctuary, and he greets his visitors with warmth. He might even be too friendly for Oerik's tastes. He is very pleased that the party chose to return the holy symbol to him. They clearly belonged to one of his wealthy patrons, and he brings out the following items as a reward:
Elixir of love
Two Potions of Cure Light Wounds
Potion of Sanctuary
Potion of Eagle's Splendor
Melvin also gives each of the members of the party a rose from the sanctuary as a token of thanks and asks them to come again.
With the return of the Holy Symbol, Oerik suggests it is time to move out of Zellara's and into the rental house. He suggests doing so this coming weekend at the latest. He asks Legan to try to ask Zellara to manifest herself one more time, so she can wave goodbye to them with neighbors watching so that her subsequent disappearance won't be blamed on the party. In fact, Oerik suggests Callic leave a note from Zellara indicating her desire to leave Korvosa for a less "material life" so that investigators will conclude she has simply abandoned her house.
Oerik, Tia, Callic, and Legan begin the process of looking for a house in the city. They have decided to spend the weekend exploring the various options, getting an up close look at several of the possible houses available to rent. Zellara does, indeed, wish them well, giving them as clean a break as possible from their initial base of operations. After looking at their first house, near the University, they begin to notice increased activity in the streets with some of folks in the distance looking clearly anxious and worried. They press on and meet the landlord at another house in the Midlands area. After an extensive tour, they emerge to find that things have gotten much worse in the city. Smoke now arises on the horizon and alarm bells can be heard. Shouting, even screaming, can be heard. As the party tries to wind its way toward the smoke and shouting, things get noticeably and quickly worse. The party now hears the clash of steel on steel along with even a periodic detonation of arcane power mixed with the shouting and screaming. In the air above, griffon-riding Sable Company Marines can be seen. Eventually, they see a Korvosan herald shouting from a scroll, "The king is dead. Long live the Queen." Around the herald are hecklers and a motley crowd. Someone shouts at the herald "Hang the queen!" Another mob member spits "The usurper whore must die!" Shortly thereafter, a contingent of men clad in dark iron armor and wearing horned helms smashes into the mob. Someone in the mob shouts "Hell Knights!" and the angry citizens disperse. Before the party can even process this, a terrible cry is heard overhead and blood lands like rain around the party. A Sable Company Marine's mount has been terribly wounded by something and the rider and griffon are spinning in the sky. In great pain, the griffon totally succumbs and plunges with its rider into a neaby statue. The crunch of bone on stone can be visibly heard from some distance away. The party realizes that their fears have come to pass. The beloved King has died, and the city is divided over the new monarch, his Queen.
"So passes Eodred II, second of his honorable name, another victim of the Curse of the Crimson Throne. Korvosans, from poor to rich, from Varisian to Chelaxian, were taken by surprise by Eodred's death. Although his health had been in decline, it was well known that he was receiving care from the priests of Sarenrae and Abadar. Callic uncovers that even priests of Asmodeus had been summoned at the last minute to stave off Eodred's death! So, with some surprise, the monarchy passes to Eodred's lady wife, Queen Ileosa. Many in the city would deny the Queen her seat of power. With his passing, many citizens forget that Eodred had become a spendthrift and had not been able to rejuvenate the city's economy. Nostalgia for Eodred's rule has set in so quickly because of the seething anger that many feel for the Queen. Even the charitable on Korvosa's streets see her as a petulant gold digger. The anger at the King's sudden death and the frustration that the throne passes to the Queen has been stoked by the disappearance of the castle seneschal, allegedly slain in the rioting that broke out near the Castle when word of the King's death was first proclaimed.
The rioting that broke out initially has subsided but small gangs and mobs of outlaws still spring up in the streets days after the King's death. Worse, dock workers have abandoned the seafront wards and caravan men refuse to unload wagons arriving at Northgate. Merchant ships and wagon convoys have turned around when they are blocked from unloading their goods. These Korvosan citizens are not helping the city, but they are protesting in the only way they can it appears. Food and staples are being hoarded and already prices have skyrocketed. In a sign of how desperate the times are, the Bank of Abadar has closed its doors and posted armed guards to protect its deposits. The Acadamae has shut its doors and will not allow its students out or visitors in. The Hell Knights have brutally restored order in some parts of the city, but their actions have further alienated some citizens, and many refuse to believe that the Queen actually knows how they are interpreting her orders to restore order. There are even rumors that junior members of the Korvosan Guard have broken under the pressure, abandoning their posts or even becoming part of the problem, aiding in the city's slide into anarchy.
Amidst all of this bad news, the party does learn one bit of good news. When they approach some harried members of the Korvosan Guard to inquire about returning the Queen's brooch, they learn that the brooch has been officially registered with the Guard as stolen property and a reward of 1200 gp has been offered for its return. The Guard are happy for this good news and arrange a visit for you with the Queen. However, due to the death of the King, the audience will not take place for one week. The Guard believes that order will be restored by that date and the Queen will have time to meet and thank you properly.
During the week that the party waits to meet with the Queen, they move in to their new rental house near the University, check on their family members, and nervously ponder the future of the city. Thankfully, the civil unrest continues to die down, and the streets are relatively safe by the time they set out to meet the Queen. Still, riots, fires, lootings, and similar events are reported in some distant parts of the city. And, even the safe streets are often filled with doomsayers and end-of-the-world lunatics. Most seem harmless but some are causing real mischief in their preaching. On the way to the Queen, a wild haired and sick looking old man fixates on Tia and tells her that she appeared to him in a dream and that she will die during a time of great sickness that is coming and that her death will usher in Korovosa's "darkest hour". Suddenly, the old man rushes at Tia and attempts to grapple her.
Tia was unable to throw off the madman, and he spit all over her face. Days later, Tia's fears were confirmed. She had contracted filth fever. Of course, the mad old man was not the only bearer of disease the group encountered on the way to the queen. After meeting up with the bard Mathis, who had been taking care of a sick family member, the party decided on Oerik's suggestion to take a short cut to Castle Korvosa. During this part of the journey, the group was travelling near the underground sewere system when an otyugh burst up from the sewers and attacked, grappling and infecting party members with its own diseases! Callic later noted that he had seen such a creature being corralled into the sewer system. He speculated tha they were actually used by the city to get rid of sewage and garbage. The creature was knocked unconscious and, based on Callic's information, stabilized before it died. The Korvosan Guard was called in and told of the breakout by the creature, and they promised to take care of it, thanking the party for their help. The party pushed on and entered the Castle after leaving their weapons at the entrance. They were met by Sabina Merrin, the Queen's bodyguard, who ushered them in to the throne room. There, the Queen still in mourning thanked them for returning the brooch, paid them 1200 gp, and offered them a position in the Korvosan Guard. The party accepted and were told to report to Field Marshal Cressida Kroft at Citadel Volshyenek. After depositing the party's treasure at the Bank of Abadar, they set out to meet with the Field Marshal. Realizing they were going to be a bit late, they sent Mathis on ahead. On the way to the Citadel, the party came across a band of toughs attacking a young aristocrat. They intervened with force, eventually knocking unconscious all of the toughs. They did not kill any of them thanks to Tia's healing. The Guard was summoned again and thanked the party for their help and for not killing any of the mob. They make it clear that they would have had to prosecute the party if one of them had died. The Guard and the party proceeded to the Citadel where Kroft met with them and offered them official status in the Guard and asked them to take on a special mission, capturing a renegade Guardsman named Verik Vancaskerkin who has been giving out free meat to the poor in an abandoned building in North Point. The party had begun to formulate a plan when Tia became very sick with filth fever. It took the party several days to get her well, even with the purchase of magical healing. Now fully recovered, the party turns again to Mr. Vancaskerkin....