Both my daughter and wife put my talking skills to shame.... but the former is deeply involved with Barbies and their outfit changes, and the latter trying to stop the former for a bath.  Great entertainment, but less typey-talky.

If she is adamant it would be destroyed, not resold, then no.

Even if not... it's not a strong issue like the books, more a distasteful item from distasteful deity.

Re: Moira and the Dagger
Moira's currently on a Quest from God™ as a condition for keeping her Stigmata (and presumably accessing future power-ups) that had two conditions: first was getting Foehammer back on the proverbial horse, which she's accomplished.  Second is bringing the church in Yartar a magical weapon of at least Rare/+1 quality.  It wasn't explained to her exactly what the purpose of these commands were, however, so she's effectively acting on good faith.

If all else fails, Moira intended to give over the Arrow of Slaying - Fae as her donation, as it qualifies based on rarity (and holding onto the Lycanthrope arrow seems like a good idea for us right now).  But she was also going to hand over the cursed Orc Slayer sword too (just because it's a cursed sword that needs to be uncursed or disposed of; its rarity is too low to qualify for her condition).  Moira assumes the church wouldn't just resell dangerous magical weapons because the Waukeen's following isn't really about murder and mayhem in pursuit of profit.  That sort of instability is a deterrent to fair trade, which is why Waukeen is similarly opposed to Mask - the god of thievery.


A fair assumption and one that most people make, both in-game and out.  Waukeen and her faithful basically operate on the idea that everyone should be equally wealthy and prosperous, and the way to obtain that ideal is through fair trade.  Hence why all of her followers are merchants in some measure.  Waukeenar on average naturally become rich as a result and a lot of people assume they're greedy misers, but that's basically against Waukeen's teachings and would merit some nasty retribution if it went too far.  It's why Moira is so adverse to the Zhentarim, as that criminal organization is focused on total monopolization of trade, hoarding wealth, and controlling markets.  They're antithetical to Waukeen's teachings.

That said, Waukeen doesn't really care about what's being traded, so long as it's a fair and profitable deal in and of itself.  She approves of setting up a trade deal to send food to impoverished citizens to the same measure she would of smugglers arranging an illicit contraband deal.  So while it's not impossible that the Church might resell contraband, it's unlikely because it would risk bringing bad attention their way from legal powers in the area and thus interfere with their ability to perform trade/harm their reputation.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:05, Mon 30 Aug 2021.

If Moira said she needs to do it for her faith, and the temple will do what needs to be done, that will be good enough for Moira - U'lin trusts her more than anyone, in most aspects.

Moira got a ping of recognition on the gems too, so to help clarify; it's not just necromancy but "Dark Magic".  IE, the bad stuff.  A merchant or Waukeenar carrying around such gems isn't inherently a bad/illegal thing, in the same way that carrying around all the component items to make meth isn't.  But anyone who's in the know can take one look and realize that no good can come of it.

Yeah, the set of thirteen onyxes is probably bad juju, though what kind of bad juju is up in the air.

Also, yay!  Writer's Block Smashed!  Now I just need to keep it from congealing again...  Hopefully that works for a while.  It's a nice feeling not to be in a depressed funk but it's frustrating when that doesn't help me be more productive.

Hey! Welcome back Zaiya!

Also I think this is enough info for me to progress stuff, but no update today. Had a rather bad case of insomia last night and am paying for it now @_@

Will see if sleeping early fixed it. Expect a morning post tomorrow. Otherwise, have a good night folks.

Sorry to hear that, DM.  Hope you have a better rest!

Feeling better now, was in a kind of stupor and then had to catch up on work :(

Current post is just to check that the party wants to be dropped off with the horses, and also to wrap up any loose ends I might have missed. Otherwise, we're back on the road to Yartar!

Just to confirm, of all the items we got from Felgolos' lair, these are the stuff that Claire will be keeping/has already pocketed:

x6 tiny glass vials containing a murky black liquid
x14 satchets containing various colored powders of unknown composition
x4 Essence of Lust
x1 Giants Blood Pills (is this literally a pill of congealed giant's blood?)
x2 Elk Musk
x3 sets of barding, saddles, stirrups and other equestrian gear, enough for the party's horses
x2 bottles of "Horse Booster"
x1 Wyrmling Orb

As for the 6 vials and 14 satchets, I held off on identifying them because narratively stopping to identify them in the middle of the search didn't seem like something Claire would do, but if there is time after dinner, perhaps that could be done? If that's possible, I'd like to do it with Herbalism:

Herbalism: 16
01:44, Today: Claire Larkspur rolled 16 using 1d20+3.

The first two batches are the poisons and drugs Felgolos wants destroyed. With that check...

-Claire has no idea what the murky black liquid is, however her instincts as a healer tell her that it is a very potent (and dangerous) poison

-The colored powders are a bit more familiar - this is Leprechaun Dust, supposedly because its manufactured from the same magics the fey use to protect their hidden pots of gold. The dust is used by the rich as a sort of snuff, and gives a slight euphoria when taken in small doses. In large quantities, one of the imbiders' senses becomes highly stimulated to the point of being overwhelming, depending on what color is taken. It has a extra strong effect on magic users, causing them to sense the Weave in new and unusual ways. It is normally very expensive, and in some cities like Luskan and Yartar is seen as a sign of status.

If all colors are inhaled at once the imbiber falls into a catatonic state. While the base components are not addictive, the drug itself is commonly mixed with substances that create a mild to moderate addiction, to 'encourage' future trade.

-The Essence of Lust, Giants Blood Pills and Elk Musk are all aphrodisiacs. Besides the Musk, Claire doubts the names have anything to do with the ingredients used. The Church of Chauntea is aware that Giants Blood pills are commonly used by male aristocrats to uh. "Compensate". Indeed, the certain branches of the church actually manufacture similar such items (discreetly of course) for substantial donations.

Well, that was lovely, I lost internet for a few days because some construction guys cut our fiber cable.

Blech.

I swear, you have the worst luck with this sort of thing.  Have you considered buying lotto tickets?  The pendulum might swing in your favor for once.

was definitely not expecting campaign viagra.  Probably should have, but wasn't :)

I think I -did- mark this game as adult yes? I don't plan on running any explicit sex scenes (fade to black for sure), but stuff like this were common in medieval societies I believe, more so in a fantasy realm with literal magic dong enhancers.

One can't go into any corner store without seeing a bunch of 5-hour energy drinks and "enhancement" pills/drinks on display here in the modern world, so it seems perfectly reasonable to see that sort of thing in a fantasy setting where alchemy is a thing.  While I agree in not having anything too explicit for the sake of comfort, the occasional bit of salty humor and world building can be fun in the right measure since our characters and (I assume we players) are all adults.  Kinda falls into the same reason why a healthy but diminutive woman like Moira had reasons for buying contraceptives and pain meds from that last herbalist we met, after all.



I need to know what happened here.  I yearn.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:38, Thu 02 Sept 2021.

I have a suspicion that the way we eventually use these would be, for lack of a better word, epic.

The fact that the PC worshiping the fertility goddess is the one declaring this has me...concerned.

Agreed on many accounts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW2zKU3xnHk

Something interesting I came across while browsing around YouTube.  Seemed fitting for Claire's herbalist antics, particularly in the sort of old-timey applications and procedures.

In reply to Moira Ruadh (msg # 23):

Exactly! Out of curiosity, for those who know more about DnD lore, does Goldenfields take in well-to-do youth from the cities as acolytes? While my impression of Chauntea's faith is that it's largely peasant/rural centered of course, I can't help but think of Buddhist orders based in the countryside that would take in the occasional (well, I suppose in Kyoto's case, not merely occasional) noble scion/temporary political exile/etc.

I don't see any reason why not, really.  While Chauntean faith is broadly depicted as similar to Catholicism, Chauntea herself actually has direct connections to Shou culture (from Kara Tur; Forgotten Realms' uncomfortable-by-modern-standards mishmash of Asian cultures).  That connection is actively present even all the way in Goldenfields itself, so blending in elements of Buddhism or Shinto into Chauntean religious practices strikes me as totally reasonable.  But yeah, be it monks, acolytes, nuns, friars... nobility either hiding out in their company, being banished to them after a scandal, or just coming to the fold of their own accord seeking a different direction in life has tons of precedent.  I'd say roll with it.  ^^

As for Goldenfields itself... it's kind of a big deal.  Like, Goldenfields is over 19,000 acres of farmland and basically feeds the majority of Northern Faerun, including major cities like Waterdeep and Neverwinter.  Goldenfields itself has a population in the thousands, so it's basically a small city on its own.  It's an extremely important asset in the region so, while it may be peasant/rural in attitude (especially given Goldenfields' religious dedication), it's also a major powerhouse on the sociopolitical stage.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:45, Mon 06 Sept 2021.

That makes sense! I knew Goldenfields was bigger than Nightstone at least, and I justified Claire's relatively polished grammar and vocabulary as being due in part to her clerical education in a monastic institution, but I didn't realize it was that big and important in relation to the wider world.

It's in kind of a funny spot in that regard.  Goldenfields' contributions to the region are super important and, if they wanted to, they could really throw their weight around... but they don't.  Like, at all.  They don't even charge neighboring cities for the food.  It's all charitable donations made in the name of Chauntea.  The whole place is functionally one giant temple owned, operated, populated, and protected by the members of its faith, the Druids of the Emerald Enclave, and sympathetic mercenaries.  They're a totally enclosed, self-sustaining, but not exclusionary, commune with the only real economy being what's basically an inn, a tavern, and a gift shop.  ^^;

It's also probably one of the safest places in the North, simply because of the role it plays in feeding everyone.  Any invading force that felt it would be a juicy target would immediately find themselves as the #1 enemy of every major power in the entire region and treated accordingly.  Basically the only thing that would try to attack Goldenfields would be monsters looking for a meal, but the Emerald Enclave has Treants and those guys are walking siege engines.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 09:23, Mon 06 Sept 2021.

Love to learn new things first thing in the mornin'.  Always feels like a good start!
Thanks, Moira.

Goldenfields is a major supplier of various grains to the Sword Coast, but its also one of the few large-scale orchards in the region, and one of the only places that is capable of growing fruit year-round. Its also a major grainhouse and center of the Chauntean faith. Many farmers still prefer to get their seed stock (blessed) from the traveling acolytes of the Grain Goddess, who get *theirs* from Goldenfields.

And yea Moiras' right in that Goldenfields is weird politically. In this campaign at least, the church there is one of the closest things you get to a neutral ground and serves as a political asylum of sorts - so there are actually a lot of noble 'retirees' in that area (usually older land nobles from the countryside who need constant care that their house, either due to politics or money, cannot supply). Its also not unusual for non-inheriting members of noble families (third or fourth child) to swear vows to a church, and Chauntea is pretty popular given how many barons are essentially land-owners. Many of the acolytes have noble background in this manner, though one is meant to cast away all past ties while serving the goddess.

(EDIT - sort of clarifying though, that the majority of the order is still made of rural intakes, usually selected by traveling priests and brought over. Many are orphans. The nobility that sign up are usually ones from the lower-rung of the noble houses, barring weird exceptions and political exiles as stated above. The comparison with Buddhist temples is quite apt.)

You have to be insane to attack Goldenfields. Pretty much no one would. Imagine turning the whole of the Lords' Alliance and assorted cities of the Sword Coast against you. Madness! Hahaha.

Hahahahaha-
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:15, Mon 06 Sept 2021.