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Crown of Aeons - Pathfinder in Ravenloft

Game Master Dennis Harry

Who Has What:
The Party begins picking up the items, Kenzo takes the Frayed Rope of the Hanged Man, Sterling takes the Scarab Vial of Bonegnasher, Zyblina takes the Spider’s Web decorated Jar of Soulcatcher, Teofila takes the Moldy Spellbook of the Splatter Man, Cole takes the Masterwork Smith’s Hammer of the Mosswater Marauder, Sergei takes the Oversized Bloodstained Handaxe of the Lopper, it feels natural to hold these items for each of you, though you’re not entirely certain why…
Zek and Bastion are left to carry either the Silver Flute of the Piper of Illmarsh or the Collection of Holy Symbols of Father Charlatan. Zek takes the symbols while Bastion takes the Flute.

Initiative:

Zyblina[dice]1d20+1[/dice]
Sterling Starshadow [dice]1d20+4[/dice]
Kenzo Hagetora [dice]1d20+4[/dice]
Cole Burns [dice]1d20+2[/dice]
Sergei the Haunted [dice]1d20+3[/dice]
Bastian 'Ogre' Zorovich [dice]1d20+0[/dice]
Zek [dice]1d20+5[/dice]
Teofila Agarici [dice]1d20+3[/dice]

Perception:

Zyblina [dice]1d20+5[/dice]
Sterling Starshadow [dice]1d20+4[/dice]
Kenzo Hagetora [dice]1d20+8[/dice]
Cole Burns [dice]1d20+6[/dice]
Sergei the Haunted [dice]1d20+7[/dice]
Bastian 'Ogre' Zorovich [dice]1d20+5[/dice]
Zek [dice]1d20+7[/dice]
Teofila Agarici [dice]1d20+9[/dice]

Van Richtens Journals:

Van Richten's Journals
There are four journals in the chest. The first is from ten years ago. The next then leaps forward in time to about five years ago. The third journal is a dream log. The final journal is the most recent which describes the incidents that led up to his death.
Rudolph's earliest journals are not present, perhaps they were lost or perhaps they are back in Lepidstadt University.
The first journal goes back about ten years ago wherein the Professor discusses his first encounter with agents of the Whispering Way, but he does not discuss exactly what the Whispering Way is except to say:
The Whispering Way is more than just a cabal of necromancers. I see that now. Undeath is their fountain of youth. Uncovering their motivation does not place me at ease as I thought it might. Their desire to be eternal simply makes them more dangerous.
The rest is quite interesting but the Professor himself circled the above entry.
The second journal covers his time mainly at the University and traveling about Ustalav as a "consultant" no longer actively hunting the denizens of the night that roam the land. The circled entries in this journal consist of the Doctor meeting all of you! He cross references meeting those of you individually with page in his dream journal wherein he met people he named as similar to you all but different. Darker in demeanor and purpose. His most extensive writing is on Sergei, he appears to believe that Sergei may be an individual pulled out of what he calls his dreamworld. The stuff of dreams come to life.
The group continues to read through the second journal, finding more references to yourselves as characters that inhabit his "dreamworld". However, he does not state your alter-ego names from this dreamworld. The journal discusses how he goes out of his way to track each of you and your careers creating "chance" encounters with each of you. Whether to provide guidance or assist with your work, or to simply ensure that you have the proper mentors.
The dreamlog focuses on his life as hunter of the dead within this land named Barovia. There are also neighboring lands, though he does not mention them by name, wherein he encounters foes many of which are described in his "Van Richten's Guides".
In addition to his dreamlog, the third journal discusses the Doctors travels to a place called Brandescar Prison. It was in this place that he met with Sergei directly. Based upon his writings, Sergei did not belong in the prison and it was never clear why Sergei was even placed within the prison other than his mysterious appearance on the island of Talingarde. However, the warden refused to allow Sergei to leave and be given to the Doctor's care. The Doctor believes, but never shared with his colleague at Brandescar Prison, that Sergei may well be an "escapee" from his dreamworld! From a place he names Barovia.
By the end of the third journal, the Doctor has decided to retire. The decision is to ensure that he can independently print the treatises that he wishes to print and to continue to pursue his dreamworld analysis without any teaching work interference as his days are simply too busy at the college to do so properly.
The fourth journal is the most recent and the most troubling. The Doctor's notes seem to indicate that his interest in printing his "Guides" are being blocked from widespread print.
Within the last two months though his attention is taken up by something far more sinister.
Two Months Ago:
It is as I had feared. The Way is interested in something here in Ravengro. But what could it be?
One Month Ago:
Whatever the Way seeks, I am now convinced their goal is connected to Harrowstone. In retrospect, I suppose it all makes sense—the stories they tell about the ruins in town are certainly chilling enough. It may be time to investigate the ruins, but with everyone in town already being so worked up about them, I’d rather not let the others know about my curiosity—there’s plenty of folks hereabouts who already think I’m a demonologist as is.
Twenty Days Ago:
It is confirmed. The Way seems quite interested in something—no, strike that—someone who was held in Harrowstone. But who, specifically, is the Way after? I need a list of everyone who died the night of the fire. Everyone. The Temple of Pharasma must have such a list.
Eighteen Days Ago:
I see now just how ill prepared I was when I last set out for the Harrowstone. I am lucky to have returned at all. The ghosts, if indeed they were ghosts (for I did not find it prudent to investigate further) prevented me from transcribing the strange symbols I found etched along the foundation—hopefully on my next visit I will be more prepared. Thankfully, the necessary tools to defend against spirits are already here in Ravengro within my own lab.
Still, it is time to send missives out! I will need assistance from my closest allies. My dreams indicate that they are all somehow linked to... it all.
Two Days Ago:
This evening I return to the prison, risky as this venture may be. It is imperative the Way does not finish. My caution has already cost me too much time. I am not sure what will happen if I am too late, but if my theory is right, the entire town could be at risk. I don’t have time to update my will, so I’ll leave this in the chest where it’ll be sure to be found by Kendra, should the worst come to pass. Hopefully my work will delay the Way's efforts and by then my friends shall arrive and with their help I can set this right. Then I trust some secrets, long dormant, can be revealed...
On Verified Madness
None of the aberrations are familiar to her. In the margins, the Doctor writes notes on the creatures. His notes in every case, show that he seems familiar with each creature based on his dreams. He makes a distinction between "dreams" and what he describes as his "dreamworld" claiming that none of the creatures had ever been encountered in his dream world. He conjectures that perhaps some of these creatures may dwell in a place he calls the "Nightmare Lands".
The Order of the Palantine Eye
The Order appears to be a semisecret society of scholars and philosophers who explore and study dusty secrets hidden in the past. This particular book contains ancient ceremonies both magical and mundane mathematical theorems. In the back of the book are some notes scribbled by Rudolph. It appears that he was hoping some members of this society could substantiate findings from his dream journal but he appears to have had no luck.
The Yellow Book
As it turns out, Ogre is indeed merely looking at pictures as the language is one that he cannot read. It appears to be made up of the odd phraseology that the group found in the main house. However, instead of a few jotted notes, it is the entire text.
The pictures that the book depicts are... odd. Creatures that appear unnatural and unsettling. There is a feeling in the pit of your stomach as you stare at them overlong, as if you cannot pull your eyes away.

Harrowstone Map Guard Key

Within Harrowstone

Harrowstone Grounds

Ravengro Map

Ravengro Town Gazeteer:

A: Town Square. Simple wooden gazebo serves as the hub for Ravengro's gatherings. The town's favorite stray dog, Old River, is known to hang around here during the day.

B: Posting Poles: poles where townspeople can post all sorts of messages for the town, ranging from news to sales to advertisements.

C: The Laughing Demon: Zokar Elkarid runs this warm and friendly tavern.

D: Ravengro Town Hall: in classic small-town style, Ravengro citizens use this for virtually everything, from weddings to council meetings.

E: Temple of Pharasma: Vauran Grimburrow, the Father from the funeral, is officialy in charge of the temple, but any number of a dozen or so acolytes actually handle the day to day going-ons. The temple sells various healing and holy related items.

F: Ravengro General Store: Luthko and Marta Avanaki run the general store with their five daughters. While the store usually caters to local needs, the town is big enough and on a populated enough route to stock most simple adventuring items.

G: Ravengro Forge: Jorfa is the dwarven master of the forge. One of Ravengro's most valuable resources, she is as standoffish and quiet on her past as one would expect.

H: Jominda's Apothecary: Jominda Fallenbridge keeps a well-stocked supply of pharmacological provisions, both herbal and alchemical.

I: Ravengro Jail: a relatively small jail serves as Ravengro's home for the occasional drunk citizen. Sherriff Benjan Caller runs the jail with his four part-time deputies.

J: The Silk Purse: two moneylenders work out of this building, Luramin Taigh and Quess Yearburn. They have loans available for collateral to farmers or other potential clients. They also sell some of the items that have failed to me reclaimed.

K: The Outward Inn: board and breakfast run by Sarlanna Val. Highly reccomended, if you don't have a free place to stay that is. Local musicians and storytellers often visit for evenings of entertainment.

L: The Unfurling Scroll: Alendru Ghoroven, a retired wizard-turned-teacher teaches reading, math, and history, as well as beginning magical theory. In addition to teaching, Alendru supplements his income by buying and selling minor magic items (primarily scrolls) that he’s purchased or created.

M 1-4: Council Member's Houses.

N: The Van Richten Residence: formerly the professor's house, it is now Kendra's. And your current lodging.

O: Harrowstone Memorial: Other than the looming ruins of Harrowstone on a nearby hill, Ravengro’s most distinctive landmark is a 25-foot-tall, moss-covered stone statue that overlooks the river. The statue depicts a proud, muscular human man dressed in leathers and wielding a truncheon—a depiction of Warden Hawkran. A total of 25 names—the guards who died in the fire of 4661, as well as the warden’s wife, are chiseled into the statue’s stone base.

P: to The Restlands: a large stretch of moorland reserved for interring Ravengro's dead. Thanks to the Pharasmin church's influence in town, Ravengro's graveyard is large and well tended.

Q: Gibs Hephenus, the man who started the fight at the professor's funeral lives here.

R To Harrowstone: this reminder of Ravengro's original purpose looms over the town from atop its bleak hilltop, a constant inspiration for tall tales and bad dreams.

Sanity Rules:

Sanity Score: This is sort of like mental hit points. It’s the sum of all your mental stats (Wisdom, Intelligence, Charisma) less any damage to those scores.

Sanity Damage: this is like hit point damage done in physical combat (like a sword blow, etc), only, it affects your sanity score, not your hit points. So, if you encounter an attack on your sanity and suffer damage, you deduct that damage from your sanity score.

Losing Sanity and Gaining Madness:
When you’re faced with a monster that can do sanity damage, you have to make an immediate will save. If you save, most of the time, you will be able to ignore all Sanity damage (i.e. your mental faculties hold up) though some creatures may do damage regardless of your save (like Great Old Ones).

If you lose ALL of your Sanity (i.e. Sanity pool moves to zero), you gain a lesser madness (this is generally a temporary condition), I will not have PCs suffer more than 1 lesser madness at a time. This mechanic is for flavor not to annihilate PCs effectiveness.

If you lose ALL of your Sanity facing a Great Old One, that will trigger a greater madness. This is permanent though each PC will only ever gain a single one of these.

Losing Madness and Gaining Sanity:
Madness can be lost (and sanity restored in several ways).
1. Rest: Every 7 full days of uninterrupted rest heals sanity damage equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1). You’re letting your own sense of self and force of personality reassert itself and mend together the tattered fragments of your tortured psyche.
2. Therapy: Tell someone else your problems (mentor, counselor, confidante, friend, family, priest, advisor, etc). At the end,, the ally attempts a Wisdom or Intelligence check (whichever is higher) DC equal to the amount of Sanity you have lost. Success means you add their ability modifier (wis or int, whichever is higher) to the amount of sanity damage you heal.
3. Magic:
a. lesser restoration: 1d2 points once per day
b. Restoration: 2d4 points per day
c. Heal: 3d4 points/day
d. Greater restoration, psychic surgery, limited wish: all of it, if your sanity was below your edge (in other words, you still had more than half your sanity points left). Or, to 1 point below your sanity edge if you had more than half of your sanity lost.
e. Miracle and wish fix everything

Effects of Restoring Sanity:
Lesser Madness - If all of your sanity damage is healed, your lesser madness is removed entirely.

Greater Madness - If all of your sanity damage is healed, your greater madness is dormant. It will become reactivated if you again suffer a full loss to your Sanity score. A greater madness can only be fully healed with a long term psychiatric stay (1 month, which could well be played out over a downtime depending on how the chronicle proceeds) r the use of a Wish or Miracle spell (hard to come by in Ravenloft!).

Fear, Horror, and Madness:

I will NOT be using Madness rules as the Sanity rules already cover that.

Fear, Horror, and Madness saves represent the power of terror — a roleplaying tool to help players visualize the hysteria that often clouds the minds of characters in classic tales of horror.

Making the Saving Throw

Fear and Horror saves are considered Will saves in all respects. Anything that modifies a Will save likewise modifies Fear and Horror saves; anything that modifies saves vs. fear effects modifies Fear saves.

Fear and Horror saves all use the same basic mechanic: a Will save against a specified DC. Specific DCs depend on the situation and type of check being made and will be provided by me. Luck effects and resistance effects (such as those generated by a luckstone or a cloak of resistance) do not affect Fear and Horror saves; they are outside the purview of luck and are not "active" effects that would be resisted. Divine effects do aid Fear and Horror saves, however.

If a character succeeds at the Will save, then there is no effect, and she is immune to that specific source of fear or horror for 24 hours. If a character fails the Will save, then the margin of failure determines the result. Subtract the final check result from the DC; this result determines whether the character suffers a minor, moderate, or major effect.

Failure Margin Effect

1-5 points Minor
6-10 points Moderate
11-15 points Major
16+ points Major, plus additional effect.

When determining the results of failed Horror save, the player should also concurrently roll 1d4 for the DM to select a specific effect.

FEAR SAVES

A character should make a Fear save when facing overwhelming odds and/or immediate, dire physical danger.

Failure Results

Minor Effect: Shaken. The character suffers a -2 morale penalty to attack rolls, checks, and saves.

Moderate Effect: Frightened. The character is shaken and flees as well as she can. She can fight to defend herself if unable to flee. A frightened character can use special abilities, including spells, to flee; indeed, she must use such means if they are the only way to escape.

Major Effect: Panicked. The character suffers a -2 morale penalty on saving throws and must flee. She has a 50% chance to drop what she's holding, chooses her path randomly (as long as she escapes from immediate danger), and flees any other dangers that confront her. If cornered, she cowers. A panicked character may use a special ability or spell to escape.

Additional Failures: Fear effects stack. A shaken character who fails another Fear save becomes frightened. A frightened character who fails another Fear save becomes panicked.

Recovering from Fear

Fear effects last 5d6 rounds. Certain spell effects (such as modify memory or remove fear) can remove all Fear effects.

Note that as the characters level, the amount of fear checks will diminish as you confidence and power/abilities increase.

HORROR SAVES

The heroes witness scenes of terrible cruelty or behold events that simply should not be. Horror is a broader emotion than fear, and more intimate. Horror often permanently colors a character's view of the world, be it through the shock of realizing that such merciless events are possible or the paralyzing dismay of discovering some monstrous trait within oneself. Horror is the murderer of innocence. Possible examples of scenes that might require a Horror save include seeing someone torn limb from limb, watching a friend transform into a hideous monster, or learning that you slew an innocent bystander while possessed by an evil spirit.

Horror saves are typically prompted by unusual, unique situations rather than by creatures, so unlike Fear saves there's no quick formula to determine the DC. Instead, I will use my best judgment to apply a DC to the scene. As a rule, the more gruesome, abnormal and/or insane the scene, the higher the DC should be.

Failure Results

If a character fails a Horror save, the player should roll 1d4 and compare it to the effect category to select a specific symptom of Horror. If a character fails a Horror save by 16+ points, he suffers Sanity Damage on a one for one basis for each point over 16 (i.e. failing a roll by 20 would result in 4 points of Sanity Damage).

Failure Results

Minor Effect: (1) Aversion, (2) Fearstruck, (3) Frozen, or (4) Nausea.

Moderate Effect: (1) Nightmares, (2) Obsession, (3) Rage, or (4) Revulsion

Major Effect: (1) Fascination, (2) Haunted, (3) Mental Shock, or (4) System Shock

Additional Failures: Some Horror effects have outburst durations that are measured in rounds. A character can carry only a single Horror effect at a time. If a subsequent failed Horror save indicates a result of equal or lesser severity, I will use another outburst of the existing effect. If a failed Horror save indicates a result of greater severity, the existing effect is removed and there is default to the greater one instead. Horror effects do not stack.

Recovering from Horror

Minor Horror effects last one week.

Moderate effects last two weeks.

Major effects last thirty days.

At the end of this duration, the character rolls a recovery check (a Horror save). Use the DC of the original Horror save with a -2 morale bonus, since time and distance heal all wounds. If the character succeeds at this check, the Horror effect is removed. If she fails, the Horror effect persists for another duration period. A character can retry failed Horror recovery checks each time she reaches the end of a duration period. The -2 DC modifier is cumulative with each attempt.

Numerous spells and magical effects (such as modify memory or remove fear) can also remove all Horror effects.


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Cole Burrns wrote:

Lockdown! Heh.

=)

Heh,... ;P

Shadow's Status
Ragadolf wrote:
Cole Burrns wrote:

Lockdown! Heh.

=)
Heh,... ;P

LOL, not THAT kind of lockdown...

Male Weremonkey Rogue/Ranger/Trickster
GM Dark Shadows wrote:


Plus I'm supposed to get a new game up and running this weekend, but forgot it was Mother's Day and I'll be on LOCKDOWN all day Sunday.....

I don't suppose this a new game here on the boards, eh?!?

Cuz like, I need another Storyteller Shadow game in my veins, lol
Shadow's Status
Monkeygod wrote:
GM Dark Shadows wrote:


Plus I'm supposed to get a new game up and running this weekend, but forgot it was Mother's Day and I'll be on LOCKDOWN all day Sunday.....

I don't suppose this a new game here on the boards, eh?!?

Cuz like, I need another Storyteller Shadow game in my veins, lol

Yes, but alas it's full, the PCs wanted to keep the group number small and tight. If it opens up, I'll let you know!

Male Weremonkey Rogue/Ranger/Trickster
Storyteller Shadow wrote:
Yes, but alas it's full, the PCs wanted to keep the group number small and tight. If it opens up, I'll let you know!

Sad times! I would sell the souls of all of Waterdeep to get into another SS game!!

Shadow's Status

Updates Wednesday night, I'll be slammed at work between today/tomorrow/Wednesday during the day. Sorry for the delay!
Shadow's Status
Monkeygod wrote:
Storyteller Shadow wrote:
Yes, but alas it's full, the PCs wanted to keep the group number small and tight. If it opens up, I'll let you know!
Sad times! I would sell the souls of all of Waterdeep to get into another SS game!!

The Vampire Venice game is about to get a reset as that chronicle is almost over. There will be a mini chronicle as an Epilogue to the completion of this 13 year campaign that came to a close.

Let me know if that interests you...
Skills:
Acrobatics +7, History +4, Nobility +4, Religion +5, Linguistics (B) +6, Perception +8, Sense Motive +10, Sleight of Hand (B) +6, Stealth +7
Attacks:
[dice=Unarmed Attack]d20+3[/dice][dice=Unarmed Damage]d6+3[/dice] [dice=+1 Longbow]d20+4[/dice][/dice=+1 Longbow Damage]d8+1[/dice][dice=Flurry w/+1 Longbow]d20+3[/dice] [dice=Flurry w/ +1 Longbow Damage]d8+1[/dice]
ZA Monk 2; HP: 25 ; Init +4; AC: 16, T: 16, FF: 13; CMB +4, CMD 20; Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +6 (+1 Fort vs. Attacks by Incorporeal Undead); Sanity- 36/36; Legacy- Godefroy; Perception +8

Is that a Vampire the Masquerade game or something else?
Shadow's Status
Kenzo Hagetora wrote:
Is that a Vampire the Masquerade game or something else?

Vampire Dark Ages V20. Any interest Kenzo?

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Shadow's Status

Sorry folks, between my daughters school band performance, hanging out with the wife when I got home, and finalizing a massive battle in my Vampire PbP, I'm spent. Updates tomorrow as it turns out.

Well, that sounds like a full and fulfilling evening! ;)

Tomorrow it is!
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Shadow's Status
Ragadolf wrote:

Well, that sounds like a full and fulfilling evening! ;)

Tomorrow it is!

Our Man the Dungeon Monkey HIMSELF dealt the final blow to the BBEG (or the BBGG depending on how you look at it it is Vampire after all)!

Skills:
Acrobatics +7, History +4, Nobility +4, Religion +5, Linguistics (B) +6, Perception +8, Sense Motive +10, Sleight of Hand (B) +6, Stealth +7
Attacks:
[dice=Unarmed Attack]d20+3[/dice][dice=Unarmed Damage]d6+3[/dice] [dice=+1 Longbow]d20+4[/dice][/dice=+1 Longbow Damage]d8+1[/dice][dice=Flurry w/+1 Longbow]d20+3[/dice] [dice=Flurry w/ +1 Longbow Damage]d8+1[/dice]
ZA Monk 2; HP: 25 ; Init +4; AC: 16, T: 16, FF: 13; CMB +4, CMD 20; Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +6 (+1 Fort vs. Attacks by Incorporeal Undead); Sanity- 36/36; Legacy- Godefroy; Perception +8
Storyteller Shadow wrote:
Kenzo Hagetora wrote:
Is that a Vampire the Masquerade game or something else?
Vampire Dark Ages V20. Any interest Kenzo?

How dark is the group? I would be interested in the game depending on the general vibe of the group. I do not tend to get really into evil campaigns.

Kenzo Hagetora wrote:
Storyteller Shadow wrote:
Kenzo Hagetora wrote:
Is that a Vampire the Masquerade game or something else?
Vampire Dark Ages V20. Any interest Kenzo?
How dark is the group? I would be interested in the game depending on the general vibe of the group. I do not tend to get really into evil campaigns.

I respect that.

My OTHER friend Pat (hereafter referred to as 'Tiny') Likes the Vampire/masquerade rules. All of them. (Mummy, Werewolf, etc)
But as a general rule, he wont allow any Vampire characters.
Due to their being inherently evil by their nature, just to survive.
(He may have allowed exceptions? Not sure) ;P

In HIS world, the Vampire books are all canon and exist, but they are his bad guys. The one thing that ALL the other groups agree on is that Vampires are bad, and they all put aside their differences (some more willingly than others) ;P in order to fight Vamps.
Shadow's Status
Kenzo Hagetora wrote:
Storyteller Shadow wrote:
Kenzo Hagetora wrote:
Is that a Vampire the Masquerade game or something else?
Vampire Dark Ages V20. Any interest Kenzo?
How dark is the group? I would be interested in the game depending on the general vibe of the group. I do not tend to get really into evil campaigns.

Two of the PCs are Humanity conscious and looking to find ways to "co-exist" with Mortals. One Ventrue one Toreador.

One of the PCs is a Setite descended from a line that is rogue from the rest of the Clan. His focus is on taking control of his Mortal family to set himself up as the serpent in the garden so to speak.

One of the PCs is a former Templer who escaped the purge. He's just trying to survive though his Humanity is slowly spiraling downwards. He's Salubri.

The final PC is a Cappadocian who took the Embrace to seek out the soul of his dead wife to try and bring her back to life, he's a somewhat political creature but is looking to return to that original goal.

However, this next chronicle builds significantly on the prior chronicle and will be relatively brief. Once this is done, we will be time skipping and playing the Childer of the current PCs.
Skills:
Acrobatics +7, History +4, Nobility +4, Religion +5, Linguistics (B) +6, Perception +8, Sense Motive +10, Sleight of Hand (B) +6, Stealth +7
Attacks:
[dice=Unarmed Attack]d20+3[/dice][dice=Unarmed Damage]d6+3[/dice] [dice=+1 Longbow]d20+4[/dice][/dice=+1 Longbow Damage]d8+1[/dice][dice=Flurry w/+1 Longbow]d20+3[/dice] [dice=Flurry w/ +1 Longbow Damage]d8+1[/dice]
ZA Monk 2; HP: 25 ; Init +4; AC: 16, T: 16, FF: 13; CMB +4, CMD 20; Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +6 (+1 Fort vs. Attacks by Incorporeal Undead); Sanity- 36/36; Legacy- Godefroy; Perception +8
Ragadolf wrote:
Kenzo Hagetora wrote:
Storyteller Shadow wrote:
Kenzo Hagetora wrote:
Is that a Vampire the Masquerade game or something else?
Vampire Dark Ages V20. Any interest Kenzo?
How dark is the group? I would be interested in the game depending on the general vibe of the group. I do not tend to get really into evil campaigns.

I respect that.

My OTHER friend Pat (hereafter referred to as 'Tiny') Likes the Vampire/masquerade rules. All of them. (Mummy, Werewolf, etc)
But as a general rule, he wont allow any Vampire characters.
Due to their being inherently evil by their nature, just to survive.
(He may have allowed exceptions? Not sure) ;P

In HIS world, the Vampire books are all canon and exist, but they are his bad guys. The one thing that ALL the other groups agree on is that Vampires are bad, and they all put aside their differences (some more willingly than others) ;P in order to fight Vamps.

I think that you can do a Vampire Game that does not go super evil. The game allows for it, but if you have a bunch of Tzimisce doing flesh things it can get to dark places very fast.

I will say, that Werewolf and Mage are more appealing to me generally. There were also some home made rules for creating Highlander- The Gathering characters as well that was cool. But the non-Vampire White Wolf games are also way less popular. Perhaps my most memorable battle of all time in an RPG occurred in Mage where I fought another Mage who was in a band on a stage. It was awesome.
Shadow's Status
Kenzo Hagetora wrote:
Ragadolf wrote:
Kenzo Hagetora wrote:
Storyteller Shadow wrote:
Kenzo Hagetora wrote:
Is that a Vampire the Masquerade game or something else?
Vampire Dark Ages V20. Any interest Kenzo?
How dark is the group? I would be interested in the game depending on the general vibe of the group. I do not tend to get really into evil campaigns.

I respect that.

My OTHER friend Pat (hereafter referred to as 'Tiny') Likes the Vampire/masquerade rules. All of them. (Mummy, Werewolf, etc)
But as a general rule, he wont allow any Vampire characters.
Due to their being inherently evil by their nature, just to survive.
(He may have allowed exceptions? Not sure) ;P

In HIS world, the Vampire books are all canon and exist, but they are his bad guys. The one thing that ALL the other groups agree on is that Vampires are bad, and they all put aside their differences (some more willingly than others) ;P in order to fight Vamps.

I think that you can do a Vampire Game that does not go super evil. The game allows for it, but if you have a bunch of Tzimisce doing flesh things it can get to dark places very fast.

I will say, that Werewolf and Mage are more appealing to me generally. There were some home made rules for creating Highlander- The Gathering characters as well that was kind of fun. But the non-Vampire White Wolf games are also way less popular. Perhaps my most memorable battle of all time in an RPG occurred in Mage where I fought another Mage who was in a band on a stage. It was awesome.

Over the weekend I'll give you a synopsis (brief as I can be as the game has been going on for 13 years [just shy of 15,000 posts over 3 separate threads]) of what took place so far and where the next chronicle is headed. Short version, the Prince of Venice just died and there will be a succession battle between his Childer, but other interested Parties are also going to claim a stake to be the power broker in that very important city. The current year is 1309.

Vampire is dark enough without going even darker.

Though on my home game I am running a short Sabbat chronicle parallel to the Camarilla chronicle and it's been pretty interesting.
Skills:
Acrobatics +7, History +4, Nobility +4, Religion +5, Linguistics (B) +6, Perception +8, Sense Motive +10, Sleight of Hand (B) +6, Stealth +7
Attacks:
[dice=Unarmed Attack]d20+3[/dice][dice=Unarmed Damage]d6+3[/dice] [dice=+1 Longbow]d20+4[/dice][/dice=+1 Longbow Damage]d8+1[/dice][dice=Flurry w/+1 Longbow]d20+3[/dice] [dice=Flurry w/ +1 Longbow Damage]d8+1[/dice]
ZA Monk 2; HP: 25 ; Init +4; AC: 16, T: 16, FF: 13; CMB +4, CMD 20; Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +6 (+1 Fort vs. Attacks by Incorporeal Undead); Sanity- 36/36; Legacy- Godefroy; Perception +8
Storyteller Shadow wrote:
Over the weekend I'll give you a synopsis (brief as I can be as the game has been going on for 13 years [just shy of 15,000 posts over 3 separate threads]) of what took place so far and where the next chronicle is headed. Short version, the Prince of Venice just died and there will be a succession battle between his Childer, but other interested Parties are also going to claim a stake to be the power broker in that very important...

Sounds good.

M Koldemar Fighter 1 / Soul shepherd master of many styles monk 1

It is hard to play actually evil characters, but I did it few times, even in generally good party. More challenge that way. And if everyone does their part and some things go unsaid, it can go over well.

Important thing is that no one plays over the top villain or just starts slaughtering peasants because... consequences
Male Human Kineticist 2, AC 13, HP: 26/26, Temp HP 3/2, Sanity 38, Burn 0/8, Burn Shard 0/1, Fort +8, Ref +6, Will +1 (Second Chance 0/1) Init +3, Per +7, Hero Points 1/1

The Way of the Wicked adventure path does a good job keeping evil characters from infighting, and reigning in the worst of their impulses for the sake of not drawing attention to the plans of the people in charge.
Shadow's Status

I ran a table top Forgotten Reals evil campaign that got cut short by my players just being too busy in real life to continue in any meaningful fashion, but we got to I believe level 12 (from 1st) acting first as agents of the Church of Bane (in a rigid hierarchy) and then transitioning into agents of Chaos, generally posing as a "good" adventuring company, for Cyric answering to one of his Avatars. They spent time with Cyric as a Mortal so it was a pretty interesting campaign with time jumps from 1356 DR through 1372 DR (which was the year the campaign was going to end anyway).

The only table top chronicle I didn't finish.
Male Weremonkey Rogue/Ranger/Trickster
Storyteller Shadow wrote:

I ran a table top Forgotten Reals evil campaign that got cut short by my players just being too busy in real life to continue in any meaningful fashion, but we got to I believe level 12 (from 1st) acting first as agents of the Church of Bane (in a rigid hierarchy) and then transitioning into agents of Chaos, generally posing as a "good" adventuring company, for Cyric answering to one of his Avatars. They spent time with Cyric as a Mortal so it was a pretty interesting campaign with time jumps from 1356 DR through 1372 DR (which was the year the campaign was going to end anyway).

The only table top chronicle I didn't finish.

This makes me *long* for that Bane/Zhent game you ran here on the boards years ago.

I also think a game centered around 3 different worshipers of The Dead Three(with other PCs playing characters of aligned deities) would be a lot of fun as well!
Shadow's Status
Monkeygod wrote:
Storyteller Shadow wrote:

I ran a table top Forgotten Reals evil campaign that got cut short by my players just being too busy in real life to continue in any meaningful fashion, but we got to I believe level 12 (from 1st) acting first as agents of the Church of Bane (in a rigid hierarchy) and then transitioning into agents of Chaos, generally posing as a "good" adventuring company, for Cyric answering to one of his Avatars. They spent time with Cyric as a Mortal so it was a pretty interesting campaign with time jumps from 1356 DR through 1372 DR (which was the year the campaign was going to end anyway).

The only table top chronicle I didn't finish.

This makes me *long* for that Bane/Zhent game you ran here on the boards years ago.

I also think a game centered around 3 different worshipers of The Dead Three(with other PCs playing characters of aligned deities) would be a lot of fun as well!

That was the exact same game just on PbP, except the PbP game died young. :(

Male Weremonkey Rogue/Ranger/Trickster
Storyteller Shadow wrote:


That was the exact same game just on PbP, except the PbP game died young. :(

I think I've told you this before, but that was one of my most favorite games, and one of most favorite characters, even if it was so very short lived!

Shadow's Status
Monkeygod wrote:
Storyteller Shadow wrote:


That was the exact same game just on PbP, except the PbP game died young. :(

I think I've told you this before, but that was one of my most favorite games, and one of most favorite characters, even if it was so very short lived!

That's one I would love to pick up again but that's not going to be anytime soon :(

Male Half-Orc (Pyro) Kineticist 2 / VMC Sorcerer (Orc)
Stats:
HP 26/26 (-1NL) |Current Burn: 1 (Limit+1/rd)| AC 18 T 15 FF 16 | Fort +8 Ref +5 Will +1 | CMB +3 / CMD 15 | Init +2 | Perception +6|Sanity: 33/33 | Hero Pts: 2/-0 | Active:

Yeah, I'm much more a Werewolf/Mage player than Vampire. I even played those Highlander rules you talked about Kenzo! (My character was a knight from the War of the Roses! It was pretty well developed...) I tried playing Vampire a few times many years ago, and of course defaulted to Gangrel. I got bored quickly because the GM kept making us role-play our nightly hunt/juice up. I nearly got killed once by a farmer with a shotgun. It was horrible!

My favorite PC/Races from White Wolf were the alternate Werewolf races (Were-tigers and Were-Coyotes rock!), and my favorite WW character was a Were-Coyote I played in a Vampire game (They were less powerful than Werewolves so the GM thought it was OK) called 'Speaks Coyote.' He was big on the 'Teach the stupid vampires a lesson' type stuff. He and the Malkavian of the group kept the laughter rolling for hours!

Never liked playing evil characters. I've played tons of LN and CN (or similar), even one PC that was a true Sociopath, but never truly evil. As a GM however, I find that is the perfect time to let my evil flag fly. So I save all those bits and bobs for that time...I ran a Werewolf the Wild West game once that rocked my players few times.
Shadow's Status

Got stuck having to finish a draft response to an IDR, I'll post up tomorrow night, sorry for the delays! RL can quite get in the way of our fun!
M Koldemar Fighter 1 / Soul shepherd master of many styles monk 1
Storyteller Shadow wrote:
to finish a draft response to an IDR,

That's what all these fancy AI are for, to not let your games suffer :p

Shadow's Status
Zek'Karis wrote:
Storyteller Shadow wrote:
to finish a draft response to an IDR,
That's what all these fancy AI are for, to not let your games suffer :p

LOL, that would be pretty hard to do as most responses to that type of request are related to private, not public information!

What i do, is tough to duplicate so easily.
Storyteller Shadow wrote:
Zek'Karis wrote:
Storyteller Shadow wrote:
to finish a draft response to an IDR,
That's what all these fancy AI are for, to not let your games suffer :p

LOL, that would be pretty hard to do as most responses to that type of request are related to private, not public information!

What i do, is tough to duplicate so easily.

Good! That's called "Job Security"! ;)

Hmmm,... Just a thought,...
Technology is great and all, but just because we CAN do something, doesn't mean that we SHOULD.

I'm VERY,... thoughtful,... about all of this sudden surge in AI use.

I mean, don't we literally have DOZENS of movies alone, not to mention hundreds of BOOKS, that explain exactly WHY this is a BAD IDEA?!?!?!

O_o

Just sayin',...
Shadow's Status
Ragadolf wrote:
Storyteller Shadow wrote:
Zek'Karis wrote:
Storyteller Shadow wrote:
to finish a draft response to an IDR,
That's what all these fancy AI are for, to not let your games suffer :p

LOL, that would be pretty hard to do as most responses to that type of request are related to private, not public information!

What i do, is tough to duplicate so easily.

Good! That's called "Job Security"! ;)

Hmmm,... Just a thought,...
Technology is great and all, but just because we CAN do something, doesn't mean that we SHOULD.

I'm VERY,... thoughtful,... about all of this sudden surge in AI use.

I mean, don't we literally have DOZENS of movies alone, not to mention hundreds of BOOKS, that explain exactly WHY this is a BAD IDEA?!?!?!

O_o

Just sayin',...

Agree 1,000%

M Koldemar Fighter 1 / Soul shepherd master of many styles monk 1

You don't mind your computer or your phone. Current level of AI is just glorified autocomplete. I work in IT in a bank, heavily regulated, but I use it all the time. It saves time with drafts, you can replace names and numbers or ask for the structure or to pull public info on the client, million other things not to replace you, but to do the boring part quickly instead of you
Shadow's Status
Zek'Karis wrote:
You don't mind your computer or your phone. Current level of AI is just glorified autocomplete. I work in IT in a bank, heavily regulated, but I use it all the time. It saves time with drafts, you can replace names and numbers or ask for the structure or to pull public info on the client, million other things not to replace you, but to do the boring part quickly instead of you

I'm ok with old school searches!

But I get your point.
Female Tiefling Warpriest

I have another craft fair tomorrow, which means I'll likely be out of action for a couple of days again.

If you need to bot Zy during the research scene, she'll take 10 on assisting(she lacks Local) if possible. She'll also cast guidance on whoever would like it, as often as allowed.
Shadow's Status
Zyblina Arvanxi wrote:

I have another craft fair tomorrow, which means I'll likely be out of action for a couple of days again.

If you need to bot Zy during the research scene, she'll take 10 on assisting(she lacks Local) if possible. She'll also cast guidance on whoever would like it, as often as allowed.

OK!

Good luck.

As long as 'they' (whoever THEY are!?!) keep IT (little computer pun there,) on a leash, I'm OK with it.

It's the whole "Were gonna let it AI run this one thing instead of people" part when I go:

"Waitaminute! We have FRANCHISES about this kind of thing!"

;P

Oh yeah, I have a long day (night) at work tomorrow too.
I may be able to post, but if i do it'll be LATE at night.
Shadow's Status

OK, finally updated.
HP 22/22; San 35/36; Rage 5/8; AC 14 (16 vs undead); DR 2/- vs undead; Init +0; Fort +5; Ref +0; Will +0; Per +5 3

Were those names from the module, or did you make them up?
Several of them match names from the Ten Who Were Taken.
Big Thumbs up to the Glen Cook fans out there.
Shadow's Status
_Bastian 'Ogre' Zorovich wrote:

Were those names from the module, or did you make them up?

Several of them match names from the Ten Who Were Taken.
Big Thumbs up to the Glen Cook fans out there.

Ding Ding! Guilty!

Yes. The "extra" 3 names are straight from those very pages :)
Shadow's Status

Just DM advice but I would roll to find info on a Prisoner OTHER than the Lopper, you've already beaten him....you can change subjects if you wish to.
Male Human Kineticist 2, AC 13, HP: 26/26, Temp HP 3/2, Sanity 38, Burn 0/8, Burn Shard 0/1, Fort +8, Ref +6, Will +1 (Second Chance 0/1) Init +3, Per +7, Hero Points 1/1

Good point.

That said, Sergei really wants to know why the lopper recognized Dilisnya.

If Cole shifts his focus, Sergei will too. He's following other people's leads during the research section
HP 22/22; San 35/36; Rage 5/8; AC 14 (16 vs undead); DR 2/- vs undead; Init +0; Fort +5; Ref +0; Will +0; Per +5 3

They do have cool names. Loved the whole Black Company vibe. Actually, I really like the rest of his writing as well. Dread empire maybe a little less.
1 person marked this as a favorite.

I have a couple of Glen Cook novels on my shelf, (might have read more?)

He is a type of author that I like. Fantasy + Action + fun/humor.

His "Garrett Investigates" novels (I have a hardback of the first 2-3) were pretty good.

I'm already a little bit lost. ;P
(So what else is new?) :)

I just made ONE search using max bonus. CLose but no kewpie doll.
Male Human Kineticist 2, AC 13, HP: 26/26, Temp HP 3/2, Sanity 38, Burn 0/8, Burn Shard 0/1, Fort +8, Ref +6, Will +1 (Second Chance 0/1) Init +3, Per +7, Hero Points 1/1
Ragadolf wrote:

I have a couple of Glen Cook novels on my shelf, (might have read more?)

He is a type of author that I like. Fantasy + Action + fun/humor.

His "Garrett Investigates" novels (I have a hardback of the first 2-3) were pretty good.

I loved the whole series. The first few set a really high bar though.

Shadow's Status

I will adjudicate these rolls, probably tomorrow I have a ton of work to do today/tonight. However, I note that this check can be rolled UNSKILLED/UNTRAINED as you are relying on research not recalled memory.
Lantern Lodge
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Silent tide map

If you like Garret, try reading the Eddie LaCrosse novels by Alex Bledsoe. He is another (non magical) detective in a fantasy world.

Alex Bledsoe also writes a modern fae series and a series of vampire novels (which can get pretty dark, warning).
Shadow's Status

Thanks for the recommended reading folks! It'll be a few years till I get to buy anything new but I'll keep these in mind!

Ditto!
I spoend way too much time (And money) in new/used bookstores, and not enough time in the library.

But I will add these to my "Books to Read (Eventually)" List. ;)
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