Lol! Yes, we simply must spread the Kurse around. But I get him regardless of which table he ends up at, so... I win! ^_~
I assembled the summaries from the three prior scenarios for our replacement players or anyone else that would like a refresher on the plot. Beware, they are long (and skinny) since I didn't edit out all the page-breaks. XD
The PCs are asked by Venture-Captain Themis to
locate a recently kidnapped Pathfinder named Cestis.
Additionally, she informs the PCs that they are also
looking for a missing agent of the Aspis Consortium
named Kafar who was kidnapped at the same time. She
introduces the PCs to Nefti, Kafar’s timid Chelaxian
assistant, and orders the PCs to follow Nefti’s only clue:
that he believes the kidnapped victims from the auction
are being held at a dockside tavern in the shipyards
called the Inn of the Unlucky Sailor, currently closed for
business while being remodeled.
The PCs are guided by Nefti to the Inn of the Unlucky
Sailor and find a druid and his dire rat minions guarding
some of the Cassomir citizens who were at the auction—
they also find Kafar, drugged and unconscious. At the
inn, the PCs learn from the nearly enslaved citizens that
they were broken into two groups after the kidnapping—
the second group was taken to a ship, called the Prancing
Prince, docked at a nearby wharf. The kidnapped citizens
admit they’re not sure where the Pathfinder Cestis is
being held, but if he’s not at the inn, they must have taken
him to the Prancing Prince.
The sun sets over Cassomir as the PCs arrive at the
Prancing Prince. The ship appears deserted—no sentries
or sailors on deck at all—but the PCs soon discover more
kidnapped Cassomir citizens below deck guarded by a
group of half-orc monks hired by Dalirio to guard the
ship until such time as the Groetus cleric could gather
enough funds to hire a crew for the Prancing Prince and
sell these citizens into the Inner Sea slave market—a sale
that would gather him a large sum of gold for his plans.
The PCs do not find the missing Pathfinder here,
nor do they find any clues, but just as they’re about to
leave the ship, they encounter Luscilia Ismacco, Dalirio’s
sometimes lover and the woman to whom he trusted
the Prancing Prince and its valuable cargo. Luscilia is
accompanied by several undead that she was bringing to
help guard the ship. Once the PCs best the cleric and her
undead minions, they can learn the location beneath the
shipyards where Dalirio and his remaining cultists are
gathered. The PCs may also encounter a group of cultist fighters
arriving dockside to help man the ship.
The PCs then travel to a warehouse in the shipyards,
where they find a trap door in the office that leads
down to a two-level basement below. The first level is
trapped and guarded by a Nature’s Cataclysm druid and
his dire rat animal companion. The second level is the
secret headquarters of Dalirio’s cult—where the PCs
encounter the mastermind himself and his heucuva
minions. Dalirio and his heucuva’s are guarding dozens
of Cassomir citizens including Cestis, the missing
Pathfinder.
The PCs are summoned to the Cassomir Pathfinder
Lodge by Venture-Captain Hestia Themis to investigate
the last words of Hestia’s recently deceased friend,
Contessa Arieta Patrizia. Specifically, Themis is curious
if the story about an artifact that can make rats larger
and more violent is true, and she’d like the PCs to go
into Cassomir’s Locker, the sewers, catacombs, and
entire older city blocks below the city. She knows exactly
how the derros got Arieta below the city when she was
kidnapped and gives the PCs directions to a sewer grate
in the Imperial Naval Shipyards.
The sewer grate leads down into a room in the sewers
occupied by a spider that that the derros put there to keep
intruders away. They also trapped the grate at the center
of the room so that unwary PCs fighting the spider might
find themselves at the bottom of a pit. Once the spider has
been defeated, the PCs explore deeper into the massive,
wide-open Cassomir sewers and find a room with the
corpses of several wealthy Cassomir citizens floating
in the middle. All of these citizens appear to have been
beaten to death, giving the PCs a small mystery to think
about.
A short while later, the PCs find a dry room with stairs
headed to the surface. The stairs open into a large hidden
closet in a storage warehouse near the sewer grate the
PCs used to descend into the sewers. This room appears
to be the main entrance for whomever is responsible
for Arieta’s kidnapping to get below Cassomir. The PCs
find a lot of supplies here—supplies guarded by Grench
Teppish, a cleric of Groetus and the twin brother of
Dalirio Teppish, and his mite slaves on loan
from the derros. Once the PCs defeat Grench and his
mites, they can move deeper into the sewers.
After a while, the PCs find a room that’s been dammed
off from the rest of the sewers, revealing a very old sewer
grate of a style not used in Cassomir for hundreds of years.
A single guard is here (or more at higher tiers), though he
has the assistance of (and immunity to) the magical trap
placed on the sewer grate. A huge rat symbol is also drawn
on the floor here in chalk, something the PCs may have
seen before if they played through Shipyard Rats.
The old sewer grate leads down a ladder into an entire
city block of Cassomir that’s been built over and left
behind. The top of the cavern in which the city exists
appears to be the foundations of the sewer system above.
After some additional exploration of Cassomir Below,
the PCs find another bunch of mite slaves, this time
guarding one of the buildings. The mites should be
easily dispatched, after which the PCs enter the building
and see their first derro, a grey-skinned humanoid
with enormous bulging eyes and white hair. The derro
is accompanied by slaves and rats at higher tiers, and
brutally fights to the death. Finally, the PCs recover the
jet rat artifact, thus disrupting the plans of the derros of
Corgunbier for now.
On the orders of Venture-Captain Hestia Themis, the
PCs enter the formidable Swift Prison to interrogate a
Nature’s Cataclysm prisoner about those responsible for
the recent kidnappings. Once inside, Hestia’s man Garver
guides the PCs to a dank cell, wherein a crazed man
furiously paints unsettling scenes. The PCs must bring
some lucidity to the crazed painter in order to get him to
talk; once they do, he demands a favor in return for his
information. The PCs must go out in front of the prison,
observe the statue there, and then return and detail it for
the painter so that he might re-create it on canvas. Once
the PCs have done so, the painter rants about how his
“master” used secret tunnels to capture the latest victims
and suggests that the Cassomir engineering guild is the
most likely place to find information about these tunnels.
Little do the PCs know that the prisoner’s paintings also
contain clues that could lead the PCs right to the entrance
of the Crypt of Fools.
The PCs then head to Cassomir’s engineering guild,
the Hall of Wonders. They find it overrun with Dalirio’s
cultists, who torment the guild’s head engineer Queck,
a female gnome. After the PCs defeat the cultists,
Queck asks the PCs for help, explaining that the Cult of
Nature’s Cataclysm kidnapped several of her engineers
just moments ago. Queck warns the PCs that the cult
is using undead minions—specifically skeletons—and
that the skeletons helped capture some of her engineers
from the guild hall. She also tells the PCs that the
cult made off with several satchels full of ancient Old
Cassomir blueprints for a hidden graveyard called
the Crypt of Fools, which could possibly be the cult’s
new hideout. At this point, clever PCs may recall the
paintings seen earlier in Swift Prison—paintings that
contained odd symbols and detailed three Cassomir
locations. Assuming the PCs didn’t purchase or
otherwise acquire the paintings when they first visited
the crazed painter in Swift Prison, they can now do so.
Each painting contains hints about secret compartments
at three different Cassomir locations that each contain
one of the three clues needed to find the entrance to the
Crypt of Fools.
With the paintings in hand, the PCs locate the three
Ismacco-marked structures, triangulate their positions
in Old Cassomir, and discover the Crypt of Fool’s
entrance in the heart of the old city. At each Ismacco-marked
structure, specific skills or abilities unlock a
secret compartment which holds a parchment which
is both a clue to the Crypt’s location and part of the
combination needed to unlock its entrance. With the
clues in hand, the PCs find and enter the antechamber
to the Crypt of Fools, where they locate an ancient
fountain. Inspecting the fountain’s base reveals three
massive tumblers. Using the clues, the PCs can unlock
the entrance, which reveals a spiral staircase beneath
the fountain descending into darkness. As the PCs work
the tumblers, a derro-led slave procession approaches
from a nearby tunnel. Defeating the slavers allows the
PCs to rescue several kidnapped victims.
Within the Crypt of Fools stands a mausoleum larger
than all the others, bearing the name Ismacco across the
top. In front of it, a statue depicts a dispassionate figure
holding a gibbous moon aloft. The Ismacco crypt is the
secret entrance to the tunnel system, and the PCs locate
a ladder within that descends into the tunnel system’s
antechamber. It’s guarded by several of Dalirio’s cultists.
With the cult members defeated, the PCs descend
into the undercrypt and enter a chamber where Dalirio
transforms his kidnapped victims into skeletal soldiers.
Revealing his new undead form, he swears revenge on the
PCs for his death, but is defeated and destroyed again.
The PC's discover a secret plan to raid a building in
Cassomir, and try to warn the authorities but they pay no heed.
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1st level rebuild
trade toughness for still spell
level to Sor2
+1 bab
+1 will save
+1 lvl 1 spell/day
+1 lvl 0 spell known (acid splash)
+1 lvl 0 spell known (prestidigitation) (human favored class bonus)
+6 HP
+6 skill points
profession (shop clerk)
diplomacy
kn: arcana
spellcraft
umd
sense motive
Purchases scrolls: mage armor (1) 25 gp, protection from evil (2) 50 gp Total -75 gp
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The closest thing I have to a murderhobo story is the time at convention where I played "Princess D&D" (trying to get girls interested in tabletop gaming, the DM has us take on the roles of princesses rescuing our prince).
In the opening narration, one of our princesses decided to stab her prince with a fork.
Yeah. That happened.
Also! Grim! I was thinking, Tresca should totally buy a wand of enlarge person to use on you. I'm keen on supplementing my ranged area-damage role with support spells, and I can think of few things as terrifyingly awesome as the ability to make Grim 14 feet tall. I could buy it now with a couple of prestige points, or I have to wait 1 more adventure to reach fame required to just purchase it with gold.
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Also! Grim! I was thinking, Tresca should totally buy a wand of enlarge person to use on you. I'm keen on supplementing my ranged area-damage role with support spells, and I can think of few things as terrifyingly awesome as the ability to make Grim 14 feet tall. I could buy it now with a couple of prestige points, or I have to wait 1 more adventure to reach fame required to just purchase it with gold.
And if you ever get a chance to play face-to-face at a con, there's usually some melee heavy at the table who will really appreciate the buff. That's a pretty good ice-breaker if you're playing with strangers.
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I am making note of those who are interested. But which AP (or module, maybe) is still up for discussion so the suggestions are helpful. I love to play up the creep factor, so I'm eyeing Mummy's Mask. Is there anyway to look up how much "PFS sanctioned content" is in them?
Mummy's Mask sounds like fun. I love the Osirion setting, though I haven't looked at the players' guide yet.
I'd also be especially interested in Serpent's Skull, Carrion Crown, or Skull & Shackles.
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Thats actually a good point about what AP to play. I am currently looking at getting in a few more games, and wouldnt want to get accepted into the same one we will be running.
Dont wanna pressure anyone, but could we come to an AP agreement soonish?
I wouldnt mind Serpent Skull. Was in a game that derailed on day 3 or 4, so havnt seen much of it yet.
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I wish I could give it another try. But between my current commitments and my poor experiences with PbP Ap's falling apart, I think I should bow out.
I think the PbP format works well with short things like scenarios and maybe even a short module.
I truly hope it works out well for you guys. If you need a replacement player in the future, look me up. It is possible some of my other commitments may have opened up by then.
Thats actually a good point about what AP to play. I am currently looking at getting in a few more games, and wouldnt want to get accepted into the same one we will be running.
Dont wanna pressure anyone, but could we come to an AP agreement soonish?
I wouldnt mind Serpent Skull. Was in a game that derailed on day 3 or 4, so havnt seen much of it yet.
Serpent's Skull does not appear to be one that has PFS sanctioned content. I did check out the modules suggested and could definitely see running something along those lines... but there are two APs that really just appeal to me. The Mummy's Mask and Carrion Crown are both well within my wheelhouse. Either way, we're bound to be completely sick of undead before it's all done. ^_^
I know Carrion Crown is a popular one, so that might narrow us down to Mummy's Mask if others are already in CC campaigns. I don't like the nautical themes as much or else I'd consider Skull and Shackles. I'd still like to play that one but I can't ever seem to get in one of those games either!
But while everyone else wants to cut back on PFS, I'm in nary a game now except for running you guys and planning to run my rl players through a scenario soon. I did finally get my last Gameday chronicle in and will be hunting a game pronto!
I'm hearing ya!
Went from running three tables in the PFSOnline play day to 0 again.
That said, those groups were like pulling teeth, I was expecting each group to do a session every 4 weeks and they came in at 6 weeks each. It was slower than a continental drift!
I'm hearing ya!
Went from running three tables in the PFSOnline play day to 0 again.
That said, those groups were like pulling teeth, I was expecting each group to do a session every 4 weeks and they came in at 6 weeks each. It was slower than a continental drift!
I saw that happening all over. Even I was not my usual conversation-stealing self. Andy and I will be better when we can be Kish and Grim, together again, we promise! ^_^
Normally a team of four is ideal, but then we had MIA players and stuff even with that few. My head still hurts.
I had no problem with game day. One group was on fire, they managed to complete four scenarios in the three month interval. Another two groups did two-and-a-half, one high level scenarios (you were in it), and one on lower-level ones.
I did try to run snows of summer in the three months period as well, but the high number of encounters bogged down process a bit. Which is kind of the reservation I have against running APs: I like the (typically non-pfs sanctioned) free-form roleplaying parts, but the sanctioned content tends to be straight-up hack-n-slash.
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I had lots of problems with game day but I was running a full length module and didn't want to cut game play to meet a dead line. I had another GM that did that in a game I was playing and he bailed so I picked that one up as well.
Anyway I would be interested in Mummy's Mask but I don't think I will have someone as interesting as Kurse to play.
@Maro Vail: There are two ways that you can get PFS credit. You can simply play through the AP with which ever rules you would like and get a chronicle to apply to a legal PFS character like you said. Or you can use PFS legal characters and play the specific sections that are sanctioned and apply credit to those characters.
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I think them planning a game day to run at the end of school/start of vacation season for many places wasn't the best plan. I think they should stick to one shot VTT game days for summer and then do Sept-Nov and Jan-Mar for the PBP ones. Too much stuff happens in lives near the end of school/start of summer. Also, apologies to Shifty. I slowed down terribly due to a new baby.
All good mate, it was a collective crawl :p
Most of the guys are pretty quick and on it posters, I'll have another crack again shortly :)
Well congratulations on the new baby! No better reason to be busy in my book. ^_^
@Maro Vail: There are two ways that you can get PFS credit. You can simply play through the AP with which ever rules you would like and get a chronicle to apply to a legal PFS character like you said. Or you can use PFS legal characters and play the specific sections that are sanctioned and apply credit to those characters.
Yep, Kurse has the right of it. I'm not planning on skipping the over the rest of the AP, so I'm going for the first option. We'll play what amounts to a "home game" PbP Adventure Path, and when we complete the sanctioned sections, I'll send out Chronicles (one per book, but they are substantial!) for you to apply to a PFS character of your choice. The Chronicles will indeed be applied much like when you run a scenario with a pre-gen character, including having to wait to apply it if the PFS character is not yet within the level range.
Ooh, sounds like it will be a fun group! Remember we have some time before I'm ready to start the AP, have to schlep you lot through the sewers again first... not to mention buy the book! lol
Ok, combat approaches quickly now, so finalize all purchases by this time tomorrow. ^_^
Sorry for the delay, the first combat posts take a while for me to cobble together. But once I have my dice blocks formatted, I'll be able to crank future posts out more quickly.
It's unclear to me if the men are fighting against the rats or with them. Are they guards or threats? Would Tanselle know this?
I just don't want to shoot a friendly or innocent!
These guys are noticeably aggressive toward you, as are their pet dire rats. You've encountered Nature's Cataclysm rat-loving druids before, fire away!
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Have fun, Andy! Sorry to hear about your back, Matt. Hope you're feeling better soon! =/
So it looks like the sessions have been reported now and guess what...?
I got my first GM Star. o.O Whee! ^_^
Congrats, any thoughts on how to use your boon sheet?
Do you mean the Oread/Paragon boon? I'm contemplating drawing up an Oread Druid. The Menhir Savant archetype looks like it might make for an interesting character, play to the Oread's theme and strengths.
Are many people planning to use the Oread boon?
At the moment too busy spamming Aasimar and Tieflings before cut off in a few weeks to think of an Oread.
Oh! That's happening too? I read about the Kitsune/Nagaji/Wayang becoming legal for all but I didn't know the Aasimar and Tieflings were going by the wayside.
yep. play one now or lose it forever.
If the character has 1xp by 14th Aug it is grandfathered, otherwise its boon required for play. So given they are pretty rare around these parts all the local players have rolled at least one of each to play and placehold.
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Oh, good to know. When was this announced, I missed it apparently (any more announcements of this type?)
Good thing I have a lot of GM credit to be applied.
--edit: found it--
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Actually I was talking about this. You get to choose one from either the master of scrolls, the master of blades and the master of spells. You apply it to a single character and it gives you bonus and abilities based on the level of your character and how many GM stars you have. You only get one to start out, for every 50 games past 150 you get another one.
Yep Frind. 3 new races in (Wayang/Kitsune/Nagaji) and two out (Aasi/Tief).
Most of the factions are changing too, all on the PFS Blog.
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Hi all,
Unfortunately, I am going to need to take a bit of a break from the games, I think, and will pull Otiophon out of this one.
On the positive side, players were mentioning not feeling challenged, so maybe one group of 5 might actually be better than a group of six.
Sorry, and thanks very much for the fun games Bluedove and all!
~~ Matt
Aw... Sad to lose you Matt. Sorry to hear about your back, feel better soon! Hope we can game again sometime. ^_^
Take care Matt!! Hey, ask me if you need any help with your games while having a busy time.
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Sorry for my delays this week, folks. We've had more than our fair share of power and internet outages during the evenings and overnight, which is when I have the time to work on the updates. Hopefully I will have better luck tonight.