The Enlightened are nothing if not patient. :)
Take your time!!!
As a heads up to all of my games, I will be completely unavailable from the 15th-20th. I will be in an area without cell service or internet and as such will be completely dark. Please DMPC me as needed to keep the game moving.
Hello all. After being laid off, then job hunting, then having family issues, and now starting in with a new job I've found myself falling way behind on everything.
I didnt' even realize now long it had been since I logged into Paizo....
I am now officially back and able to actually post daily (for real this time) but wanted to check in first, as if you have already moved on without me I understand.
If you are cool with me returning, please let me know and I'll catch up.
I know how disruptive those can be.
In my book, you're very welcome to return.
I don't think the party or the game has moved on from you, Yasala. The game has been put on hold/hiatus by Dain GM until he advises further.
Also, in my book, you're very welcome to return. :)
I echo the sentiments of the others!
Thank you!
I guess I'll just monitor and await the DMs announcement that we are resuming.
:D
"Wherever I have been, I am back..." - Gandalf the White; The Two Towers
I apologize for the delay; due to some personal issues I have been gone for some time.
A more detailed break-down on stuff can be found on the Discord server, but I hope this will do for now.
That said; the game will continue on our normal pace as of the start of the new year.
However, between now and then you will level up. Before you do so formally, I encourage you to consider your options based on what you will see on the boards in the next month.
During that time I will be making posts/updates, but on a MUCH slower pace (perhaps only a few times a week, though certainly more with those of you who wish to do more RP via PM to solidify personal quests/ideas).
The reason for the slow pace is because the mechanic for this game dictates quite a lot of "Down Time" between quests, as in literally months of downtime in some cases and this is one of those cases.
During this downtime players will be becoming more familiar with the city and each other. You'll be getting mainly narrative stuff to give you ideas for how you'd like to have your character develop, so most of what you will see in the coming month with will be story-telling RP rather than the usual Combat RP - very few rolls will be needed, except only to gauge things such as progress on how well your research may be coming, or how many people you impressed in a week via whatever it is you chose to do.
Essentially your characters are moving into a more mid-level style of play. You'll still be doing combat; but much of what you'll be doing will have a more social aspect - warriors may end up commanding small groups of soldiers in bigger style "town fights" and more diplomatic types might be gathering allies at the noble court, and that sort of thing - but that will begin to happen later at the start of the new year. For now, you'll be deciding what style of direction you want to progress and - when you decide that - any and all checks will be made to see how far you've come over a period of In-Game months.
This will not only provide you with the chance to bond better with each other at a realistic pace, but it will also allow you some breathing room as the pace has been pretty intense.
Some of you have personal objectives you've discussed, such as Talar's desire to find his sister. While he may not formally find her during the downtime, he certainly has the chance to begin to develop his contacts and - potentially - begin to create a bounty-hunting guild or crew (baby Yoda's need not apply ;)
Talar is not the only one who has long term plans, of course. I've spoken to some of you privately about your own ideas of what you'd like to do - but others of you may have things you'd like to flesh out, or even things you haven't decided on which you'd like to flesh out as the game moves forward - during this month time you'll have the chance to do decide what to do.
I should ask that any extensive RP between GM and Player be kept to PM only for the next month so as to have too much on the general board for everyone to read when it may only relate to one or two people. Also, given that much of what you MAY decide to do is likely a Personal Quest thing, having multiple posts on what a person does in their character's private time where all can read it doesn't make much sense. That is; share with the group if you'd like to, but not if you don't want to.
In the next few days I'll post a narrative on how the night ended for the party.
Before I do that I need to know one thing, however.
What do you do with the Guard Captain who was facing you in that ruined temple?
I should note you don't have to roll out how this will end; simply tell me what you'd like to do to him and it will automatically happen without fail via narrative. All that will matter is how your choice will effect things in game.
As a final note; while this game is built on the premise of gritty and dark, I have been finding that dark style a bit too discouraging. I'm not trying to make things Good Guys vs. Bad Guys, but I think it's reasonable that your characters are treated more heroically rather than simply cut-throat/mercenary types. While dark things will still be there, I'd like the game to feel a bit more positive, if that is okay with everyone?
Once I get the answer for the Guard Captain I'll start writing out the narrative for everyone and it will be up in a few days.
See you all soon and thanks again for your patience!
I've replied to much of this in discord already but I have yet to give my reply to the question of the Guard Captain.
I think it's dangerous to attempt negotiations with him when so many of the party are wounded and Bjoern nearly dead of poison. That and the guard captain is a corrupt wastrel who will likely cause us trouble again.
That said, perhaps we could come out well in dealing with him. We have skills and martial prowess and could perhaps convince him to stand down.
My vote is to kill him and his guards to remove the threat before Bjoern collapses. I am open to being convinced otherwise.
Hello, all. :)
Since it's almost Christmas Eve here in Oz and I will be heading away for a few days to spend time with family, I would like to wish everyone a safe and Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays. Enjoy this downtime and see you back on the boards soon.
Best Regards,
Tairin.
Seasons greetings to all!
Happy Holidays to all of you as well!
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This is the new avatar for Tairin :)
Certainly less serene-looking!
I wasn’t going for less serene! Ha! Oh well - least the outfit is prettier on the new avatar. :)
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This is the new avatar for Tairin :)
I like the idea of the new avatar (as well as the look), Tairin. It suggests the change that typically happens at this level and I'm excited that you decided to make that change considering what I have planned for the next stage of the game :)
To clarify - I think that there are various "stages" of characters in a RPG character.
The first stage is typically level 1-5; when PC's have to deal with things like weather, using skills to find food and resources on the trail, getting to know the various members of a village or small town and learning how to survive.
The second stage I see is typically level 6-9; when PC's are situated in a town or city. They likely have a base (be it a house, castle/keep, ship, or whatever) some retainers (be it a mid-level NPC, possibly level 4 and possibly four or five level 1 NPC's as guards or servants) as well as some connections with mid-level nobles (possibly contacts with a Duke or Baron; possible connections with the Sorceress who is the guardian of the forest, that sort of thing) and enough wealth that worrying about micro-managing coin needed to buy food and drink for each meal is no longer important. Also, decorations/trappings of their "base" are now open to more creativity, rather than having to calculate the details of figuring out how much a tapestry costs against the coin you posses - it's now more lighthearted and fun (though, of course, within reason; having a tavern with linen sheets is one thing - having every bed in the tavern with embroidered silk sheets? That may need some explaining ;)
The third stage I think is roughly 10-16 - it's when a character begins to achieve the status of a Lord. It's when, generally, heroes are somewhat separated into their own "estates". The Wizard in a tower; the Knight in the castle; the Ranger in their forest keep, and so on. They generally don't worry about minutia of where to spend their coin. Instead, they are required to put out basic fees that take care of the upkeep of their estates and the payment of their NPC's. This is when things like "mass combat" rules for commanding your companies of troops come in to play; and heroes have to worry about things like making checks/roles to see how well their properties do each month. Meanwhile, being level 10-16 means that heroes are now gathering together much like they might in The Avengers or Justice League - teaming up to go on an epic quest to fight off the diabolic leader of some dark army or forgotten cult, and so on.
The final stage is when the characters are moving to level 20. By then they're kings/queens of their own nations and they each have their own armies and cities to take care of. They're at that point so powerful that they're no longer worried about buying things (except for the super-rare sacred weapon or armor that is so powerful it's not even available to purchase; you either craft it, or you go on a quest to find it in some ancient temple). And then, gathering all your Artifacts and powers together, the various Kings/Queens/Admirals/High Wizard, etcetera - they're the ones who are now teaming up to face something like a god/ancient one/cataclysm from another realm.
The reason I mention all of this is that, at this point, you're heroes have achieved the place when they are now roughly the Second Stage. Your raise of level means you'll be in a far better position and not have to worry about things like calculating the cost of beer in a tavern. Instead, you'll be dealing with a different set of challenges.
I hope you find them interesting, and that your characters level with that in mind. That said, I'll have more about them up later today :)
@Dain: I approve of that summary and the implications for our characters changing roles in this campaign. :)
I changed my avatar again for Tairin based on the changes that will happen when she levels to 6. This one works okay with her physical colouring.
Oooh. The gold gives a hint of prestige.
I may not be available to post at all tomorrow.
Just stopping in to say I'm still here and keeping an eye on the thread.
I hope everyone is having a good new year so far.
Yasala, there are messages on Discord that you may be interested in reading. Likewise for Bjoern. Thanks. :)
Could you please link the discord server. Thanks
@Bjoern: I just PMed it to you.
Apologies for the delay.
Last weekend I had a fall during a medical issue; the fall caused me to sprain my index finger in my left hand. While that is not my primary writing hand, it does make it hard to type.
At this time it's gotten better. If I'm taking pain meds I can generally type for a decent amount of time (maybe 30-45 minutes) before the finger starts feeling cramped and tense. So I'm using that time now to bring people up to speed on what's up.
Regarding the last scene in game: You were confronting a guard captain and his personal/private guards. While his men are wearing the colors of the city guards, it's clear they work for him personally, his own private team of specialist protection. This fight was becoming awkward, and the long break in the middle of combat makes things difficult to deal with. That said, rather than have to RP out the rest of the combat in the MIDDLE of combat, what I decided is that you guys simply make the decision on what to do with the guard and his men. In short, if you want the guy and his men dead; just tell me, and he and his men will die. If you want the guy to be let off with a warning, or bribed - pretty much whatever you want to do with this guy and his men - whatever you decide to do, it will automatically happen.
You don't need to roll any dice, you'll be successful in your decision; just be advised that whatever you decide will be have consequences, so keep that in mind when you all make your decision.
Moving forward: Once we have the firm decision on the guard captain the game will move forward roughly 1 Month from the last scene. In OLD Dungeons and Dragons (which is where many of the gaming mechanics for this campaign were born from) this would be your "Training Time" - when you had the XP to level up, but you required a certain amount of Down Time to convert that leveling into a realistic process that shouldn't/wouldn't happen overnight just because you killed some tough guys.
You guys killed a LOT of tough guys - wiped out a minor deity/avatar by that cult in the desert and dealt with the assassins back in town. You have effectively leveled up; but your stats/changes won't happen for 1 Month formally. During that down time you'll be using your time to improve your condition in town. There are lots of ways to do that, it depends on HOW you want to improve your condition.
Improving your condition: You need to give me a loose goal for your character for the next Month via In-Game. For example, I believe that Tairin wants to pursue a position via High Priestess whereas Talar wants to try to find his sister (I'm sure the rest of you have goals, but I'm not 100% what they are, and I'm not even sure I'm 100% about Tairin and Talar, I may be wrong).
In any case, whatever goal you want to pursue, please tell me and I'll set a DC for you. You should know that the DC will likely be a ridiculous number, like 50, for example. The reason it is so high is that during your down time you'll be making weekly rolls to figure out how successful you are in your plans. The rolls will stack, with the highest roll you make confirming and the other rolls adding on Aid Checks to it. You can gain more Aid Check bonuses to your rolls if you elect hire out Mercenaries to aid you in your work - the more money you spend on support, the greater your odds at succeeding in your goal will be.
If you don't get the ridiculously high number (it's not likely you will, even with bribes and hirelings) that should be expected. The object of creating such a high number is to figure out how CLOSE you to get to achieving it during the downtime. If you get something like 42 out of 50 you may have a modest amount of Social RP to finish the goal - if you get something like 47 out of 50 you may have almost succeeded in your goal.
What I need: Hard answer on what you do with the guard captain and his men - AND - once that is completed and you return to your house, what you plan on doing with the rest of the month for your character.
NOTE: Once I have the vote on the guard captain I'll give you a brief summary of what happens for that week before you tell me your plans for the month and the week in general so you'll have more time to plan.
NOTE: Some of you have asked about making adjustments with your character. I do not mind that, so long as you discuss it with me privately how those adjustments would work and keep your character consistent in the game.
Okay, I got to go as my hand is starting to cramp up. Please let me know your thoughts and I'll have something up soon.
Thank you again for your patience and I apologize again for the delay.
Dain, I'm sorry that your hand is that painful.
On decisions, Patenemheb is in favour of killing the corrupt guard captain and his minions.
Afterwards, Patenemheb intends to read through the library and laboratory at the mansion. He wants at the very least to be familiar with what knowledge and resources are available. He aims to absorb all that he can that is useful.
Please let me know if this goal is on the scale that is intended, or if it is too ambitious / insufficiently ambitious.
Patenemheb is also open to providing financial assistance for other goals, such as hiring trackers, spies, and mercenaries.
During downtime, Tairin will continue studying the tomes, scrolls and other articles in the manor library by day and then meeting with Jelah at the temple in the evenings as per our previous discussions. She will of course touch base with the other PCs over the course of days, weeks, month ... if she discovers any useful information in her various studies, she’ll pass it along to the other PCs.
I agree with Paten. Yasala is also in favor of killing them, and trying to either hide the bodies or find some way to make it look like the woman killed them if the first option isn't viable.
I will get back to you on downtime activities, it might take me a day or two to get back into the mindset and goals of Yasala to get a good plan going.
It'll be a nice change of pace to just go for violence instead of delicately stepping around the politics of the city.
As a heads up to all of my games: I am traveling from Friday-Monday and will likely be unable to post very much, please DMPC me as needed. My posting will return to normal on Tuesday.
Speaking of the in-game goals for the month, Yasala really has two things to work on.
She'll want to track down the slavers that she was contracted to work with during her smuggling time, not to contact them but instead to research them and see what contacts they might have to back home. Now that she broke the contract she needs to see if she's being viewed as a fugitive and if so what that means in terms of danger or her need to stay hidden.
Secondly, she realizes that although all of her training and experience smuggling and bribing/disguising/hiding/convincing people, her newfound friends seem to get into more violent confrontations so she'll want to find someone who can help train her in urban combat (this is RP to justify taking this level as Urban Barbarian)
Bjoern will check for ways to better migate the damage. Either try to find a better, more protective armor or shield.
If he can´t find either he will move to change his style to all out attack.
(Change sword and board to 2handed)
Reading gameplay now. Very much interested in continuing this campaign, provided that you're not pushing yourself too hard Dain GM.
Apologies for delay. This week has been tricky for me getting to update pbp.
To clarify -
1. I have largely been waiting to respond to see if Bjeorn will be adding in his opinion on what is going on.
I have no problem with what Talar recommended for Bjeorn to do, though I would have preferred to have heard it from Bjeorn himself. Basically, the game would have been moving sooner, but I honestly wanted to give everyone the chance to post. However, at this point I'm just going to move forward as it's been too long.
2. Right now there's a lot of chatter from potentially important people. This won't negate the fast-forward time-lapse stuff. However, it was meant to give you guys opportunities to have open avenues for your options to move forward.
So, for example, I know Talar wants to look for his sister. While he can do a generic Diplomacy Check to find clues, it seemed logical for him to at least give me a known NPC he'd like to start to talk with or work with. Once I had that information I'd have an idea on how to frame answers and the DC. As it stands, if I get no guidance and just a flat Check, that's fine - but the results won't be as good.
In any case, I'll have the campaign page up soon.
In response to Talar looking for his sister:
In character I'm basically at a dead end right now. I'm not sure who to as beyond just doing a generic diplomacy check. I tried going to that one pleasure house but that didn't yield anything. I suppose I could try other pleasure houses?
@Dain GM - did you want us to write up our plans for the month now? I thought we would be doing that after this upcoming visit but I can start drafting something now.
Also, in reference to Talar's dilemma...as I plan to spend some time conducting research into local connections to the underworld back home, but am going to be specifically targeting the slave trade, we could perhaps "handwave" that I find some clue that might be useful to him during the first couple days? That way he can have something specific to aim for with his current lack of specific targets.
Alright I think this is the best plan I can think of given the lack of leads at the moment:
Let's set up a demand for a slave. Somebody new is in town, somebody of minor importance but of huge wealth, who wants to purchase a slave girl. Initially he will be unsure of his exact needs but as he develops relationships with the slave traders he will be more and more specific until he is asking for a slave girl exactly like Talar's sister.
The only question is: who can play such a character? Talar certainly isn't adept at disguises and certainly not lying.
Normally I would be more than happy to do that for you, but considering part of my plan right now is to research but avoid contact with the slavers who I broke the contract with I don't think I'm your lady for this one...
@Dain, I think this got overlooked in the discord chat:
Not sure about skill tests.
So far thinking:
Linguistics to study the books in the manse.
Spellcraft or craft alchemy or knowledge arcana to study the laboratory
Diplomacy? To gather information about Thoth-Apep, his power base, and his weaknesses
Is this is the sort of information you're looking for?
@Dain, I think this got overlooked in the discord chat:
Is this is the sort of information you're looking for?Not sure about skill tests.
So far thinking:
Linguistics to study the books in the manse.
Spellcraft or craft alchemy or knowledge arcana to study the laboratory
Diplomacy? To gather information about Thoth-Apep, his power base, and his weaknesses
Yes.
Weekend short post:
I don't currently have time to read that massive wall of text Dain GM just planted, but I quickly skimmed and it seems Yasala is also going with the others, so Talar will go as well. He doesn't think he'll have much success on his own given his track record.
Yeah. Although I do know that the folks back home are somehow involved in the slave trade here, my main goal is to figure out how much connection overall there is between here and there, not just the slaver angle.
Therefore I figured that making a high-powered connection and potentially meeting some other new people might be quite beneficial for my goals.
Will have to ponder for the armor.
In any case Bjoern will need a custom made armor for himself.
I am rather big and to be honest, well padded, and I need my armor custom made, too.
The people here in this city are most likely also less muscular and a lot smaller. He will want most liekly a half plate and for sure a helm.
Bjoern, in Dain GM's most recent post, he said that the market has M/W Half Plate, so you could purchase that via Tairin's diplomacy roll at "book price".
As for the helm, there was no mention by Dain, so perhaps that may need to be custom made?
Dain did say Bjoern could bring the remains of whatever armour he originally had on him to a local, expert smith who could craft a duplicate - this may take weeks in game to craft, however, and will cost around 30% more than standard price.
I read all this, but Bjoern was using a totally different type of armor before. And you all contribute so wonderfully in your expertise, I thought it was time that I could contribute a bit from my side :-)
A half-plate usually has a helm, but helms are... special.
You want something cool and great looking.
No https://www.mytholon.com/ruestungen/helme/offene-helme/8905/baldric-nasalhe lm?c=1473
or
https://www.mytholon.com/ruestungen/helme/offene-helme/8846/jupp-eisenhut?c =1473
More like something
https://www.google.com/search?q=ritterhelm+fantasy&tbm=isch&ved=2ah UKEwjFzoLHwdjnAhWB_4UKHaCQDdYQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=ritterhelm+fantasy&gs _l=img.3..0.42772.44290..44480...0.0..0.96.708.8......0....1..gws-wiz-img.. .....0i67j0i24.apQideGWGZE&ei=73xKXoWbK4H_lwSgobawDQ&bih=969&bi w=1920&rlz=1C1GCEU_deDE850DE850#imgrc=gHHsv1zGl-2m5M
A minor point for Patenemheb as he does not aim to get into combat soon, but what is the finest non-restrictive (as in no penalty to dex or skills) armour available?
Edit: just saw the piece about armour.
I imagine his silken ceremonial armour was a chance purchase from an eastern merchant.
I am currently reading through the new posts. I hope to add my own tonight. If not, I will do so tomorrow evening.
Perhaps it would be cleaner if the side mission Talar & Mal are on (their rp) is kept under spoilers so as to not confuse the main group’s rp with Thoth-Apep? Just a suggestion.
And, welcome to your official entrance into the game, Mal. :)
Welcome, Mal!
I second Tairin's suggestion about using spoilers.