For introducing yourself, asking questions, banter, and all your OOC needs.

I'll be the first to break the ice and say hello. I'm excited to be here. I'll be playing the possibly a little mad half-orc oracle for our group.

Great, while you'll be off to the side giving the Princess nightmares, I'll be here as her sworn protector, making sure she's safe.

(Cavalier, Order of the Lion)

Haha, but who knows, the princess might be a Half-Orc too! :D

But anyway, Half-Orc Oracle, now that is unique! And given the storyline of this game, an Oracle is quite the appropriate choice.

While you two will be doing the grunt work, (or just grunting manically the throes of prophecy :P) Jerec will be doing the advising, and the lore-spouting. 50 shades of Gandalf vis a vis the Fellowship if you will.

Hello all, I shall be either a soulknife or an investigator. I haven't decided yet...:-)

If someone other than me is having the nightmares, we might have a bit of a problem. If the princess does end up being a half-orc, that would be one heck of Shrek twist.

@Jerec: See now that's what he need: every group needs a wise, old wizard and I'm not any of those things.

@ Aria: I've never played with either a Soulknife or an Investigator before so that will be interesting.

@ Urle: I'm also curious what your mount is going to be Mr. Stalwart Protector.

Yep, we're definitely going Soulknife. I seldom get the chance to play psionic characters so...:-)

A horse, for the time being (unless GM permits something more exotic)


I am aiming for the Mammoth Rider prestige class, which should be fun.


I am admittedly, struggling to figure out what feats I want to take.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:42, Sun 13 Jan 2019.

Not gonna lie, that sounds amazing.

I have a little something I wanted to add to the world, but I wanted people's opinions first:

Small gods.  While we'd have the regular pantheon doing their usual thing, I would also use very small gods too.  A sacred tree on a hill that watched over the health of a small village's fields, the gods of rats for the sewers of the capital city, the spirit of a single spring - none of them demand or require much in the way of worship, but they can give small boons (or plagues) to those whom they favor (or who anger them).

I mostly used the small gods for campaign flavor and the occasional complication - it was an interesting way to reward the players for being clever with a small god, or to vex them in small ways if they decided to kick the rat god into a drain.

Does that sound like something you guys would be interested in having as an element, or would you rather skip that?

That actually sounds very interesting...:-)

Sounds very Exalted-esque. I like it. It fits well with my character concept too.

I have posted in The Story about the small gods of Pearl Fort for your perusal!

Davor and Flisk have probably been talking. Do these gods manifest physically? Do they have shrines other than the locations/objects they are associated with?

Since small gods are often a single object, their shrines tend to be very, very small, perhaps no more than a small carving (to indicate a small god is near) and some offerings to indicate their presence.  Small gods are usually quite physical.  Flisk is the literal cobblestones of the road at the front gate of Pearl Fort, Mogolob the oyster goddess is a real being you can visit.  Small gods are often offered little prayers or offerings, and often use their offerings in a real way.  Mogolob is offered small bits of food and small stone carvings: the food she eats, the carvings are used to decorate her shell.  Flisk is offered gossip - pausing to share a bit of news on the cobblestones is an offering and prayer to her.

All small gods have indications that they are nearby, though some are more obvious.  A magnificently large oyster or splendidly tall tree, a rat of unusual size and sleekness or a cat with extraordinary eyes and seemingly impossible powers, these small gods have less need for symbols.  For less obvious gods, like Toron (who is a stone in the town hall) or Suplash (the god of the well water), a carved symbol (no larger than the palm of a small hand) might be the only indication that they're there.

Small gods have no priests and rarely grant more than the smallest of spells.  Their favors (or curses) tend to be small and limited in scope.  A curse leveled by a greater goddess like Sarenrae works anywhere in the world and on any subject.  A curse leveled by a small god only works on those who are in close proximity to the small god's sphere of influence.  They are gods, however small, and any curses (or boons) will persist.  Someone who has won the favor of the greater goddess Sarenrae may be blessed in all things she watches over.  Someone who has won the favor of Flisk, the goddess of cobblestones, may never trip on her cobblestones, and rarely will hear nasty gossip about themselves.  Conversely, if you anger her, you may always trips and often hear nasty rumors.

How is everyone else coming along on their characters?

I got a little side tracked yesterday. Still need to pick spells and finish gear.

I’m almost done but currently too busy with RL. I’ll hopefully finish everything tomorrow.

Done...:-)

I'll need until saturday; I have much of the technical stuff added in notepad but need more time to agonize over and choose spells, feats, traits & equipment (i.e. the fun stuff :P )

Once char gen is done and the game begins I'll have no problem meeting the posting rate though.

I expect I will be able to finish tomorrow.

Alright, I think my sheet is done.

Just FYI, I can pretty much do what a rogue does when it comes to traps should the need arise...:-)

Good to know.

I'll be pulling light cleric duty, but I'm mostly a fighty type.

All righty then - Looks like Amber, Aria, and Davor are all finished, and Jerek and Urle still need to finish their sheets.  We can start the story even without character sheets being finished, but can I get an ETA on those who haven't gotten them done yet?


I should have a start on the game thread probably later today.  :)

I'm off till Friday, and the last two things I need to do is picking feats and equipment.

Considering that almost every campaign I've ever done has been as a level 1, picking equipment later on is going to be a little bit tricky for me, just because I'm not used to doing it. Help in that regard would be appreciated. (I can do it on my own I'm sure, but I feel like there's a good chance I'll cock something up)

+1 Weapon (2,300 + Weapon cost)
+1 Armor (1,150 + Armor cost)
+1 Shield (1,150 + Shield)
+2 Stat Booster (4,000)
Ring of Prot. +1 (2,000)
Amulet of Nat. Armor +1 (2,000)
Cloak of Res. +1 (1,000)

~13,600gp (This total does not include armor, shield, and weapon costs. )

Which would leave you ~2,400 gp to buy barding for your horse, secondary weapons, and adventuring gear.

The masterwork cost is included in the enchantment so it would be 2000 for the +1 Weapon and 1000 for the +1 Armor and Shield. Otherwise though those are the 'required' magic items that you're basically expected to have.

No it isn't. I think you are thinking about mithral, adamantite, and other special materials were the MW cost is included.

rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/76125/how-to-calculate-the-costs-of-a-weapon-enchantment

An example of creating a magic weapon

I stand corrected, I definitely was thinking of special materials. Goes to deduct 150gp from his character sheet.

Due to a more than normal hectic weekend, I need some more time to finish up my PC, but I've already started modifying my sheet and added Jerec's description, so Jerec will be good to go in the first few roleplay only posts if we start right away.

Blarg.  I thought I was going to have time tonight to get the IC thread up, but likely I won't (usually I have a fair amount of office time at work so I can write some posts) but alas, I am needed on the floor.  I shall try to get the post up in the morning!

Question, which set of gods do we want to use?  We can use the Pathfinder-default Golarian deities (which I am nominally familiar with), the Greyhawk deities (also nominally familiar with, but much more so than Golarian) or the 3.5 Forgotten Realms deities (very familiar with).  What would people like to do?

My order of preference is GH-Golarion-FR

No preference honestly. I have limited familiarity with all of them.

I’m not familiar with anything either, so I’ll leave it to the others to decide.

I'm partial toward the FG deities myself...:-)

Hey all, work has been busier than usual (end of month, have to get the pounds out), so I won't be able to update until Monday night at the earliest!

So, I have a question. All of us have been hired to find this heir and escort them somewhere. However, we don't know who this heir is. Have we been told how we would recognize this? I ask this because my character would simply shrug at this point and walk off. While something unusually magical has happened (it is a magical world, so not unheard of), it appears the young woman is not interested in discussing it. None of my business as nothing untoward has happened. Or was there a foretold sign/portent that would reveal this heir to us?

The gods (and/or spirits) have been a bit more active lately, and those who pay attention to their whispers and visions have seen forces gathering here, in Pearl Fort.  Those of you who have been hired have been told that you would be contacted when the heir was found; for those not in tune with the gods, you might not have been told any more than there was a noblewoman needing protection.  More information would be forthcoming at a later date, and you each have a contact in town you can speak to further.

For those employers who let you know they were getting divine inspiration for this job, they let you know there would be some sign of the god's favor.  However, this particular omen took everyone by surprise.

--

Helena, where are you running to?  A store, alley, docks, warehouses, house, inn, city gate, garden, tavern, waterfront, temple?

Just away, without an specific direction nor a plan. Just plain fight or flee instinct

Davor is more engaged in the confrontation with Amber now than with Helena. Half-orc chasing a girl through the streets of town? Not great optics. The more pressing issue is not getting stabbed.

Alright. Davor can probably relax and sip a cup of tea now that Amber already went for Helena. That is, if she can convince her to come back though.

I think I'm going to go with the Grayhawk deities, just for future reference.  :)

In reply to Amber Elamaine (msg # 44):

You'll have to explain this concept. You say you put leaves in hot water and then drink it? Lowlanders are very strange.

Is it still raining over Helena?

When Helena fled, and finally fainted, the rain indeed did stop.

Welp, we got the first flop out of the way. You're welcome

Nat 1s suck. The bane of every player since the dawn of time...:-(

Do these guys trigger Detect Evil once they get close enough? It should still be up at this point.

Oh yeah, evil all over the place!

Sweet. Just wanted to make sure before I threw out a buff.

To summarize Protection from Evil: everyone has +2 deflection bonus to AC (does not stack with a Ring of Protection if you have one) and a +2 resistance bonus to saves (does not stack with a Cloak of Resistance). That may just end up being a net +1 depending on your gear. There's some other stuff that comes up with specific saves against spells and summoned evil creatures so check the full description if that situation arises.

On the subject of buffs, I threw one out because there was no call for initiative. I've had GMs with all kinds of different rules for how trying to squeeze buffs in before combat works so just let me know if I need to amend anything.

Initiative can get... unnecessarily messy with people's varying posting rate/times.  I'll likely privately roll initiative and assume people shall act in a fairly consistent way with their character for a default.  That's also what the Standard Adventuring Procedures (which you can put on your character sheet) are for.  If you standard is, "Default ranged attack with shortbow at 30' or less for possible sneak attack, move for a clear shot, hide afterwards to snipe. If pressed to melee, flank if possible and attack with rapier to sneak attack," then I know what you do with you if you're delayed in posting.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:44, Sun 17 Feb 2019.

Fair enough.

Guys, I'm going to be traveling overseas for two weeks (needful family thing).  I will have internet access, but my ability to post will not be certain.  I shall try to update as I can.

Ok thanks for letting us know.

Good to know I'm not holding things back. I've been busy with work, school and family n_n...

The other day my 2ds memory card died, and took all of my saved games with it. Now I have to go back and unlock every single character on Mario Kart, raise a new Pokemon party from scratch -I had just made it to postgame... and in crystal that takes foreeeever-, and survive half of RE revelations again. You know, stuff that took me years of sporadic play and the occasional mini marathon when I've been bedridden...

I promise I'll make backups more often in the future...

Now, into the actual game, how exciting, I finally get to be a bystander during an actual fight..

In reply to Helena (msg # 58):

Trying not to get hit is a full time job.

Thanks for the heads up GM.

Hello, everyone. I'll be your dazzling, show-stealing new player, fresh off the waitlist. Nice to meet you all! :)

Welcome Teana!

@DM: Can you tell us how many enemy's are still active? Would like to know this if possible before posting my update!
This message was last edited by the player at 20:28, Sat 23 Mar 2019.

Yes, we've brought in Teana and also Zenna, a human ranger!  Say hi guys!  Aria dropped out and Amber stopped responding, so I will be introducing our newcomers soon!

As for enemies - there were still 6-8 active when Jerec cast his spell, with what sounded like more out of his immediate line of sight.  However, the obscuring mist currently active in the room, courtesy of Davor, has rendered sight beyond five feet impossible.

Hello all

In reply to Storyteller (msg # 62):

Unfortunate, but inevitable reality. Welcome newcomers!

Also, I make no apologies.

Drat, my character worked slightly better in Golarion's religious framework. Oh well, she works with the Greyhawk pantheon too. :)

Hello Teana  and Zenna!

Welcome Zenna! :)

GM: Before I make a post, does detect evil tell me anything when I look at the stairs or the trapdoor?

The stairs has an aura of evil in the upwards direction.

Indeed, the two newcomers do not radiate evil.

Awww, are you saying Jerec memorized 'Polymorph to Chimpanzee' for nothing? :(

Don't tell them about the iron sheet I have in front of me.
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0202.html

In reply to Jerec (msg # 71):

You won't make a monkey out of me.

Looking for reasons for Zenna to NOT rush inside to try to save Amber. :)

A giant explosion which no one could possibly survive?

Otherwise, my first thought is that the mission trumps everything.

You could set something else on fire to distract the mongrels so Amber and Aria could get out, or fake being Helena to get them to follow you, or trust that your friend knows her business and will sort herself out...

Or dive back in to rescue her; all are quite valid reactions.  It was just necessary to shift things along one way or another.  If you wish to go back (or just linger) to make sure Amber and Aria get out, that's totally fine.

Hey guys, work is being a little more hectic than normal; lots of people are taking Easter weekend off.  Update (with an unexpected visitor) on Monday!

Just to clarify out of character for the rest of the party, the only concrete things Davor got from his vision was that there was a pit of vipers under the star lady and that there were four apparent paths: escape to the sea, to caves, to the mountains, and to the forest. I think the caves lie along the seashore path based on an earlier Know: Local check. I don't have any specifics on the forest or the mountains.

Mountains sound like a cool idea.

Coincidentally, the mountains are the area Davor will be most familiar with.

Hey guys, I just need an in-character declaration of intent to know for certain what we're all doing...

We were suffering from "everyone was expecting someone else to make a move" syndrome. I think if this happens in the future I'll have Teana be more assertive about taking leadership.

Yeah, we definitely were. I kept thinking I'd wait for more input on the options. Executive decision made!

Can I get a description of Helena?

In reply to Zenna Kern (msg # 84):

Oh, yes. I keep forgetting that. These couple of months haven't been nice to me, but I couldn't let the chance pass.-Just in case, I'm a player too n_n°- Ok here's a provisional one:

"Helena is a young woman in her late teens. Physically she is frail and unimposing, being both smaller and shorter than average. She wears simple but somehow elegant and tasteful clothing that she has managed to sew herself over the years. She usually decorates her long and black hair with flowers and other simple ornaments that she manages to put together like ribbons and bows made of surplus fabric."

Ahhh. So you a young thing? :)

Helena
Would you mind putting your description on your character details for us to reference when necessary. Since you're the central character on which this entire game is built, we need as much detail and character involvement as possible.

Glad it's you instead of me ;)

I put in Helena's provisional description for now, and she can update/elaborate as she pleases!  :)

Ok, let me try to explain what happened. Helena saw these people offering help and transportation. And she wants help and protection. However she does't trust the group offering help, seeing them as potentially no better than the mongrels, just in sheep's clothing. Add being in the same ship as them, their ship. That was too much.

Well, it happens.

Anyway, the group is divided in opinion. Could our Heir make a decision?
This message was last edited by the player at 02:01, Sat 01 June 2019.

So whats'up?

We should be moving our bottoms north. That's what Helena's decided.

Yup

Yup, carrying on!

If anyone wants to bust out a Knowledge (geography) or Knowledge (local) check or similar for any significant settlements, landmarks, legends, notable beasts, populations, or tasty local cuisine, please give me a roll...

Busy weekend at work, update hopefully late Mon/early Tue.

I'm at the end of my energy right now, so: I'm taking a break from most of my games until this  damned heat breaks.

No worries, stay cool!

Apologies for the delay, I am currently swamped by work in RL.

No worries Jerec.

Hey guys, I am leaving for GenCon tomorrow and am not certain I'll be able to post again until the 5th! I may pop in if I have the time, but no guarantees.

Have FUN!

Wow lucky! Will you be picking up PF 2e?

Anyway enjoy yourself.

Didn't pick up 2e (have only managed to play 1 campaign of 1e so... want to give those books a workout first) though I did finally pick up the D&D 5e DMG and MM (already had the PHB).  Yes, I'm behind the times, but better late than never, eh?

But I ran a game about dinosaurs and lasers, played in a game where I was a brainwashed political prisoner, and got to meet some of my favorite game/game accessory designers, so it was a jolly good time!

Sounds like it! Welcome back.

In reply to msg #103

Better than me then. I'm still yet to get the DMG. I got the Monster Manual first, then the phb, then Xanathar's, I'll eventually get to it. There's just other books I want to buy first. Including two manga series I'm staying up to date with. It hasn't been a priority.

Welcome back!

Sweet Mother Hubbard - okay, note to self, do not put writing deadlines right next to vacations, because you do NOT always have time to do both well.  Sorry for the delay everyone!

As an aside, unless we don't have time for some reason, Davor will always cast magic vestment on his armor first thing in the morning.

Guys?  What's the word?

Helena?

Anyone can leap in with suggestions too, don't be shy!  :)

I have family in town this weekend so my posting may be spotty.

What happened to my post? I swear I posted concern for the magic pony!

Aww. Post your concern! Post! Post!

That's at least three rounds of prep if anyone else wants to do anything.

Do I need to make a check of some kind to free myself or, alternatively, can I attack despite being entangled?

Effectively you're grappled right now, so you can do a CMB check to get yourself out.  DC is 20.

Alright, two people get 35 gold and 9 platinum. Four people get 45 gold and 8 platinum. Depending how much we metagame splitting the loot, we could also just do 10 platinum and 50 gold each if we only split it amongst those still posting.

Davor has Detect Magic, but no ranks in Spellcraft so hopefully our wizard can identify the items.

Jerec already expressed a desire for the wands. That's ok with me at least until we determine what spells they carry.

The longsword should go to someone who has proficiency (not Davor), though again we should try to identify it.

Same story for the armor, my guess would be Zenna, but we should find out what it is.

Let's ID the sword and armor before we plan who gets them.

Jerec offers free identifying services via skill checks & detect magic. With the GMs permission we can assume Jerec will take 10 on any checks, unless a higher DC is required; if so I can roll for it.

The white/crystal wand is an arcane wand of ice spears, 5th level, with 27 charges left, DC 17 Ref save.

The dark brown want is an arcane wand of swift girding, 3rd level, with 12 charges left.

The armor is Armor of the Supple Feline.  This suit of +1 leather gives its wearer the ability to twist and contort her body in virtually any direction. She gains a +5 bonus on Escape Artist checks, a +5 bonus on Acrobatics checks to reduce damage from falls, a +5 bonus to CMD, and DR 5/piercing or slashing.  In addition, the wearer +5 to Perception checks and gains low-light vision, their eyes becoming slit-pupiled like a cat's.  (This is based off of Boneless Armor, if anyone is interested.)

The sword is the Blade of the Raven Queen - a +1 throwing longsword that glows when magical beasts are near and allows one to speak with ravens at will.

If Zenna doesn't come back soon, I propose that we give the armor to Helena.

In reply to Teana Florin (msg # 121):

No objections here. Any longsword users amongst us?

Zenna is already gone, and I'm NPCing her, but I'm trying to get someone to take her and Urle over.  I already have a taker on Urle, so I'm hopeful we'll get someone for Zenna too.

Hi.
I do not usually take over other character but I have for once.
Allow me week to read up on what happening.
Over all I may make few minor changes to Urle but they be in the background.
He will carry on being Cavalier of lion for the most part.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:02, Wed 02 Oct 2019.

In reply to Storyteller (msg # 123):

Sounds good.

Welcome new Urle!

Just so y'all know, you are about 3 days from Greenbriar, being as you are right out of the Farlight Forest.  You'd have to backtrack towards the forest to get there at this point.

What about the gnome community/village in the distance? How far is it from the cave mouth, could we reach it before night fall if we walked straight to it? They might have information and mounts (or a quest!)

Jerec will discuss it IC, but just waiting for the results of Davor's spell.

In reply to Storyteller (msg # 126):

So we've by passed it completely?

You guys were a couple of days from Greenbriar when you were in the Farlight Forest.  Then you chose to go underground, and Caprin brought you to the First Circle (a bit of a distance away from your last campsite), then hustled you out to the safest area away from the mongrels they could find.

So you didn't exactly bypass it as head in a different direction.  You could circle back if you so wish.

Jerec - the smallfolk village could certainly be reached by nightfall!

If nobody else want or need the longsword Urle can use it.

But as I new I don't want step in and take it unless nobody else want it.

I'm not proficient with it. I think it's all you.

Yep, you should take it.

Okay, so:

Jerec gets the wands.
Urle gets the sword.
Helena gets the armor.

This is our treasure distribution? Anyone who objects, speak now or forever hold your peace.

(ELAAAAAAAAINE!)

In reply to Teana Florin (msg # 133):

Sounds good to me. Since there is a new Urle, we need to split the money six ways. I'll take the 35 gold and 9 platinum. One other will get that distribution. The rest get 45 gold and 8 platinum.

I'll also take the 35+9.

Give the armor to someone else. I mean I have a low AC, but having armor just makes me a target.

But you'll be an armored target!  ;)

Go ahead and have Helena refuse in-character if that's not her thing, because that's a character debate worth having as we carry on forward.

Hi everyone! I'm your new Zenna, thanks for having me. I need to get oriented but I'll try to get a post up by tomorrow.

Apologies for not posting over the past week and a half, work got insane. Going to catch up today.

I will post this weekend.  Work been big.
Also I need go through and sort number out as my first combat with this character.

No worries!  I plan on updating late tonight.  If you can't post, I'll assume you're protecting Helena/calling Demetria/Probably shooting a bow.

For reason which will became clear later on I think Urle make poor body guard.

He is to set for out right attack then defense of Helena.

Is the Chimera on the ground now?

Yes, sorry, the Chimera has landed with an intent upon big tasty mayhem.  Demetria looked like a nice big meal, as did Urle and Zenna. :)

Hopefully the heads will fail to cooperate and try to rush after all three at once.

What is the appropriate knowledge skill for a chimera?

Also, anyone else who wants healing from the wand, roll 1d8+1 for each casting and let me know how many charges you use.

Player to player?
Why are you using a wand to heal and not your main spells?

Oh and I think that Know nature.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:24, Sat 02 Nov 2019.

Yes, Knowledge (nature) or Knowledge (arcana) would be appropriate for knowing about a chimera.

And re: spells - Oracles have limited spells known, like a sorcerer, and Davor doesn't know the healing spells.  But as they're on his class list, he can use a wand of such magic freely.  His magical talents lie elsewhere. :)

Mystics are spontaneous casters. Maybe he had no room for healing

That is why I ask.  You see I made the same mistake.
I always put a cure light wounds on the first spells list but Ah I made big mistake.

You see following rule which few people notice about Oracle.

In addition to the spells gained by oracles as they gain levels, each oracle also adds all of either the cure spells or the inflict spells to her list of spells known (cure spells include all spells with “cure” in the name, inflict spells include all spells with “inflict” in the name). These spells are added as soon as the oracle is capable of casting them. This choice is made when the oracle gains her first level and cannot be changed.

So unless our Oracle is really evil he can cast every cure spell in the book.

You may want redo the last post and I redo Urle last one.

Ah and do I get anything for being such a smart ass (most likely a slap from GM and player).
This message was last edited by the player at 02:02, Sun 03 Nov 2019.

In reply to Urle (msg # 150):

Man, they just casually buried that in the Spellcasting text wall didn't they?

I will add the cure spells to my list, but I honestly think I'll still use the wand. You never know when we're likely to run into trouble and want those spell slots. Better to save them for a fight. Plus, the wand is relatively cheap (and I already paid for it anyway).

Also, I edited my last post to include a knowledge check on Chimeras. I'm mostly interested in whether they're at all local to the region and prone to attacking large, well defended settlements.

Davour can Urle have an answer before we carry on.
I have my reasons.
Thanks.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:50, Sun 03 Nov 2019.

Thanks Davor.  And now you can see why I needed an answer.

A couple of questions:

-Would Jerec have heard about Thray Mountainson, being an advanced mage himself? If not could I make any Knowledge Rolls to determine this?

-Is the wizards tower on the way to Greenbriar and the sage? If not, approximately how many miles would it be from their current location?

Thray Mountainson is not precisely reclusive, he just prefers his own workshop and working with stone.  While he does collect creatures to assist him in his endeavors, he isn't known for letting them run amok.  His skill with enchanting stone is such that his constructs and golems of stone are said to be the finest in the land.  An apprenticeship with him would be a very valuable learning experience.

His tower isn't on the way to Greenbriar, but would require a detour of several days to the north and a very hearty climb.

*clings to wall. shrieks incoherently.*  Posting will resume after full shrieking has occurred, probably in a couple of days. Thank you for your patience. :)

I have activated language groups for everyone, so you can make use of them at will.  :)

If you haven't used them before, you'll note that in the "Insert a private line" menu there's an option for "language group".  You can highlight a text in that, and then only those who share the same language group can read those words.

Hey guys, sorry I've been a little more quiet as of late.  We're having some stuff done at the house which involves a lot of elaborate set up, and then I can't sleep there during the day while the work is being done.  If work is less busy I might be able to steal some time there at night and update, but if not I expect the next time I'll get is Thursday evening/Friday morning.

A most lovely Christmas and holiday season to you all!  Christmas activities kicked me in the butt, but I should be back now!

Sounds good. No worries!

Happy holidays to everyone! I'm not a Christian myself, but I've been bedridden with flu and fever over the past few days. Winter came with a vengeance here, and it'll be a few more days until I get back into the rhythm of life.

Sorry to hear you're sick. I had to fight off the flu last week. Serves me right, missed my shot for the first year in my life.

Jerec, then I hope your December was good to you, but I am so sorry you've been ill!  I hope your rest continues to do you good.  :)

Oops. I swear I can read.

Guys, I assume you'll be resting here, and then everyone can level up!  Then we shall proceed to the next disaster- I mean scene.  ;)

Anyone mind if our group takes a week in downtime while we level up? I have need of a training montage (or at least a montage involving consulting librarians and sages).

Works for me

Works for me too.

Old grumpy level update done.

I have also leveled up.

I am also working on a replacement for Helena.

Now anyone wanting to craft anything, do further research, consult the sages (on subjects related to the Heir or not), buy anything while we're here?

I'm going to be studying with the sages about stuff we discussed in PM, related to my level up. Elven magical lore!

Hello folks :-)  I've not had a chance to catch up yet but I've been giving a brief of the game and will hopefully be able to join in soon!

Welcome, new Helena!

Welcome!

In reply to Storyteller (msg # 171):

I'll send you a PM on what Davor wants to do.

Sorry for the delay - several things happened simultaneously that caused my time to be crunched.  Working on un-accordioning myself soon!

No prob :) Hang in there.

:thumbs up:

Anyone with a good Disguise check or Charisma check can give me 5 rolls (for Helena, Davor, Jerec, Urle, and Urle's mount) to help disguise the party members who aren't stealthing.  I believe only Teana or Zenna are stealthing or being an obvious diversion, which leaves everyone else going, "This is not the party you're looking for."  Jerec does have alter self in his spellbook, but that only lasts a minute per level, so that's not terribly helpful for a three-day trek, unless he wants to save it for occasional close scrutiny. It only works on him, though, so we'll still need some Disguise rolls!

This message was deleted by the player at 21:08, Thu 05 Mar 2020.

I hope you don't mind me interfering with your attempt, Urle. <3

In reply to Teana Florin (msg # 181):

Urle has only two wishes.

One is Helena is safe.

Two.  Someone else in his order takes over his role to protect Helena.


Until wish two if full filled then he will do anything to full fill wish one.
If it mean having to put dress on.  He do it.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:35, Thu 05 Mar 2020.

I'll remember that for later.

Awe Urle... why don't you want to protect me?! *pout*

Because Urle feels he will not do a good job and you deserve better.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:29, Thu 05 Mar 2020.

Awe.... sweet.  I'll have to learn that in character sometime :-)

Oh whoops I posted in the IC thread without reading here first. Sorry!

It's alright, there was some jumping the gun involved.

Edited my result to reflect Helena's Aid Another action.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:17, Fri 06 Mar 2020.

Which Know check would cover the symbol.  I have loads I could use.

Religion or Nobility would cover it.

OOC:
04:22, Today: Urle rolled 26 using 1d20+7.  Nobility.

Civilized religions are so strange.

Davor Spiritwalker rolled 8 using 1d20+5.  Knowledge: Religion.

Am back. Not dead. Do not have the plague. Slight flare-up of depression from current events. Shall boldly carry on as able!

Understandable. Glad you are plague-free!

No worries. Good to have you back.

Sorry for the long silence. I'm not sure how to explain it other than to say my heart just hasn't been it. I think it's best if you replace me. Thanks and enjoy the game!

Ok Zenna, thank you for letting me know.  :)

Sad to see you go, but thanks for playing while you did.

Hey GM, any results on that attempt to harvest a fang and get some venom?

My bad! Yes, three doses we're harvested.

Cool. Cool cool cool.

Very cool indeed.  They keep their cool, even after separated from the coldfang's body.  Put them all together in a thick bag and you could have a cooler!  :D

As an aside before I post: given the particular significance of an eagle carrying a snake as an omen/symbol, is there any roll Davor should make (or perhaps a use of Wisdom of the Ancestors) to divine additional meaning from Zenna's clues?

There's an old legend or two that comes to mind involving eagles and snakes, one about the eagle as a representative of the sun who cast out a spy of the dark gods who had taken the form of a serpent, and another about one of the original serpents being the only one who could sneak into the conclave of the gods and steal their secrets for the animals, and the eagle had been the one to carry her there and back to the world so she could share those secrets.

So it could either be seen as an ominous omen of the dark gods trying to get involved, or a sign that the powers of the world are trying to steal secrets.

Or it could just be that a giant eagle was the safest, swiftest non-magical transport for a coldfang.

Love it. Thanks!

Can someone help me out with post I need for another game.
This going be odd but hay that rp for you.
Can someone post be the follow back who does not speak elvish.
So I can post it in another game.
[Language unknown: Wh ati ca.  U pein noho.  Me ntiounmen eveareoun m ere ioss iou atiinthas.  Pe Ni ri ionch trwa.]

The gm in another game will not set up private line for elvish.
I need post like in game as if you cannot or understand it.
But I know which players do have elvish so PM them.

Thanks.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:53, Tue 23 June 2020.

I'm not quite sure I follow, but I don't have elvish

Does what I put in blue make any sense to you?

I speak Elvish and it makes sense.

Oh, I understand. You're doing "Private to group..." so I can't see it at all. You have to use "The language group..."  and then it will show up as giberish.

In reply to Davor Spiritwalker (msg # 210):

Ah my mistake.  I should have used The Language group.
Can you see it now?

Yup. Looks like this:

[Language unknown: Te ngnedi ni.  He omio o.  N ecivenes acaiil lo ounomewhi ekyin stiio pere'mehi.  A Ta al chpono alteer.]

That is what I needed.

Thank you very much.

I'm guessing I don't get an AoO on the chuul that grappled me?

It's got grab, sorry Davor! And it did beat your CMD.

No worries, I figured it was something like that. All those AC buffs aren't helping my CMD.

I just have to decide whether to ignore being grabbed and smack it or try and break free.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:26, Thu 09 July 2020.

Hello all! Zenna the Third is here to help out. :)

Welcome. You look different today. :)

Welcome :-)

Moi aussi!

Hello and welcome!

I apologize for the delays, gentlebeings.  I had a writing deadline, and now work is being rather busy today.  If anyone would please give a summary of events so far to bring our new players up to speed, that would be great.  Jerec and Zenna, your sheets looked fine, so once you're up on the plot, you are good to post.

Thank you--sorry that work is being crazy, hang in there.

No worries. Thanks for the update. :)

What you need to know immediately: We're fighting three underground tentacle monsters. Kill. (Especially kill the one closest to me, since I got hit with a paralyze attack and might be in a bit of a spot. I kind of earned it by showing off!)

More generally:

We met Helena at Pearl Fort, where some mongrelfolk were trying to kill us (and did take down some of our first wave of players). We ran away.

We went to the Elven city of Greenbriar, dealing with some monster trouble (by which I mean a chimera - in a halfling village where we were going to have a nice dance! :( ) along the way. Helena helped us get in, and we spoke with the Elven Crowns, who revealed intelligence to us - most pertinently, that Helena's Imperial lineage lets her activate ancient war golems and other weaponry, which is why the guy behind the mongrelfolk wants his hands on Helena.

We decided to come to Vellowgrass, one of the Imperial vaults, to loot the place and be on a better footing for dealing with the mongrels' boss. The party as a whole were in disguise, but Zenna and Teana had separated. Zenna was scouting for the party all stealthily, while Teana was flying openly in a completely different direction from the party and making a big noisy spectacle of herself. The rest of the party (and Zenna) did have monster snake trouble, while Teana knocked off part of a squad of mongrelfolk before they could learn where the party was and where it was going.

After reuniting, the party's come underground into Vellowgrass, where after we blasted some fungi, a group of chuuls came running to attack the party. And here we are.

As a side note, Teana thinks that the Heir has two enemies, and that the guy behind the mongrels and the guy behind the monster attacks are separate threats.

---

So. Introducing my character. (I'm sure you've all been waiting with bated breath for this! ^.^)

Teana Florin, "the Windstorm." Half-elf, kineticist, air element. In battle, she flies around and blasts things. She's also the group's social face, 'cause she can lie like a bearskin rug. The party knows that Teana is a freelance adventurer from the South (where the Empire used to be) and that her employer has an interest in keeping the Heir alive.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 08:41, Thu 16 July 2020.

Excellent recap, has the group met Jerec/been adventuring with him yet?

He's right on the battlefield now. Was here from the start.

Jerec, in this battle, you've already busted out a fireball, a lightning bolt, and a burning arc, just FYI.

To add a little detail to Teana's summary (thank you!) - Vellowgrass the name of the plains.  The group had initially fled Pearl Fort to the Farlight Forest, as Helena had come under attack by mongrelfolk.  But when in the Farlight Forest, they were being hunted.  The encountered a myconid (mushroom-folk) who invited them to take the "Low Road", going underground.  The group traveled to the myconids' home, talked to them, and were guided out along the Low Road.  The road contained, on the ceiling of the caverns, fantastical cities and towns, but upside down, as if they'd grown there.  Their myconid guide said that magic of the ancient empire had grown their cities, and they grew "down as well as up".

The group emerged from the Low Road in the Vellowgrass Plains, met the halfings and their village during a festival, killed a chimera party-crasher that seemed to be the property of a well-known wizard from the mountains (who sold such creatures).  They hustled away from Vellowgrass back to the Forest, found Greenbriar, learned a lot of things (and made/had things made, so the stop took a good two weeks), and then decided that if Helena was going to be used to open the Vaults, the group might as well arm themselves with the lesser items in the vault and keep the dangerous stuff away from dangerous people.  One such vault was in the "city" on the ceiling of the Low Road.

Which is where the group is now going.

On their journey back, they were attacked by a huge serpent known as a Coldfang, which had gotten Helena's scent.  The group killed it, but it was likely sent to find her.

The group has now descended to a mushroom "forest" they had to fight their way out of last time, and are now fighting two underdark chuuls (it was three, but one's been killed).

Sorry - a little overload at work.
Can you npc me until 1st August then I can pick thing up again.

Thanks.

If we're doing introductions:

Davor is a half-orc shaman (he's actually an Oracle), raised among an orc tribe living in mountains to the northeast. He claims to hear the voices of his dead ancestors giving him advice, but other than being half-mad he's surprisingly charming. He has recently managed to get free from one of these monsters' claws and is proceeding to chop at it with his signature ethereal greatsword.

Urle - I've got you, carry on at work.

Urle, for the record, is our cavalier, his order dedicated to protecting the royal line.  Excellent with lance, he and his mount Demetria are the first to put themselves between Helena and danger.

And I'm Helena.  I have no idea really what's happening but apparently folk believe I'm the long lost descendant of folk who have access to control these weird cities and powerful artefacts and now folk want me so they can get access to said cities and artefacts.

Interesting-I love it.

I assume I'll unparalyze soon?

Oh year--maybe I can move my medicine check from the horse to Teana. That just seems rude.

My apologies Teana's player!

:/

Teana is it a permanent effect that needs to be dispelled? I only have Lesser Restoration.

I assume it's just a short-term sliming for a couple rounds, but that's why I'm asking the GM.

It will wear off in a few minutes.

The scroll of phantom trap and the wand of vanish are arcane.  The other scrolls and wands are divine.

The breastplate and the red and gold arrow are also magical.  The glaive and shield are masterwork.  The robe is likely worth 100gp.

Jerec, can we get Identify on the breastplate and the arrow?

@Helena: Teana's waiting to collect the loot until Jerec identifies it. She probably could shove the breastplate and shield in her bag if we need to move.

If Helena wants to take the robe for safekeeping, of course, she's welcome as far as I'm concerned.

Ditto on the waiting for things to be identified. I did add all the Divine wands and scrolls to my inventory except the Know Direction wand.

Week busier than expected - work is being a pain, will need to wait until Tue the 11th to start posting again. Apologies!

No worries.

Windstorm. No power. Will post when able.

I didn't do it, I swear.

Hope everything gets back up and running soon!

Yeah, no worries.

I am back.
Will read up and be active from now on.

Hopefully when I back to work next month they stop giving three time as many address to deal with than normal.

That sounds rough, Urle, but welcome back!

I now in a position do to an update on what happened in my neck of the woods.  Search for "Iowa derecho" if you want to see exactly what happened, but what basically was going on was that on Monday, August 10th a massive windstorm hit my area around 1:30pm (I was asleep due to my nocturnal schedule, but I woke up in a hurry).  It was a derecho, a straight-line windstorm with winds up to 100mph, though it was about 80mph in my area.  Is sounded like a freight train and looked like a hurricane, with branches and bits of roofing flying by our front windows.  We lost power shortly after the storm and didn't get it back until late evening on Friday the 15th.  We didn't get Internet back until Saturday the 16th, and spent most of Sunday and Monday replacing the food we'd lost from our fridge and ice chest and doing chores we couldn't do with the power out.  We were very lucky in that we (or my parents in the same area) didn't have any house damage and very minimal tree damage. Some folks weren't so lucky. There were trees across roads, trees on houses, and some cities had very massive property damage to a huge amount of homes and businesses (one city to the west of us has people camping in their front yards as they have no place else to stay). There are still roads shut with trees and light poles across them, and we've lost an immense amount of trees everywhere.  Every day for a week the air is alive with the sounds of generators, chainsaws, and woodchippers.  It's going to take weeks to get the branches and trees cleared that fell down during the storm, more to remove the trees that are damaged but still upright, and every third house is sporting a tarp to cover lost shingles, roof damage, or worse. We're one of the lucky ones and I am very grateful right now.

I will hopefully be able to update the game tonight or tomorrow.

DAMN. I'm super glad you guys got through it okay.

That's pretty wild. Glad you're ok.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:15, Tue 18 Aug 2020.

Wow..... hang in there!! :-)

I hope my large post makes sense and adds to the game.
I hope GM happy with background to my order?

I also hope it make sense why Urle hate magic and very reluctant to use it.

It certainly does. :-)   Loving the background!   And Mr GM, feel free to move the part forward to the next encounter while we talk.  I know this is DnD so folk want to roll dice even if I'm more than happy to do 'talky' things!

I'm hoping that it isn't continued power issues. They haven't logged in to the game since update about the storm. Some places really did get hit hard.

Love, I live on this silly little island that everybody laughs at.
In 15 years of living at my address cannot remember ever having 12 hours with out electricity.  Think only twice I had internet down for like 24 hours as well.

Never been flooded out and their is river not far away and I am about 20 miles from sea.

Only time seen a gun was at the airports, let alone had one pointed at me or any of my friends or family.
Did get my car stolen but even that came back in-tacked and I was able drive it again.

Sometime we forget what we have.  Having am - Hay my like ok moment.

Take care everybody.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:45, Tue 25 Aug 2020.

I'm alive.  Had a vacation right in the aftermath of the storm and had a family member I haven't seen since Christmas come down for a visit (they've been isolated and we did a careful bit of social distancing, but it was still nice to see them), so I haven't been as free as I liked to post.

Update tonight!

Urle, thanks for the backstory, that is excellent. Also for reminding me about your cleric abilities.  :)
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:22, Thu 27 Aug 2020.

I'm very embarrassed that I forgot to count Zenna's wolf.

No worries. :)

How could you forget about the cute puppy? :(

Speaking of headcount, do we need a new Jerec?

Yup, it seems so.  There were some other interested folks from the last round of advertisements, so I'll see if anyone else is still interested.

Looks like we have a taker on Jerec.

Post later tonight!

Welcome.

Hey new Jerec!

Hello all!  Thanks for the greeting.

I am reviewing the character and his history.   Will post in game later this evening.

Welcome to Jerec new player.

If it helps any I am not the first Urle.
I pick the character up near the beginning but someone had already played urle before.
The GM has been great and I was able to adjust Urle to fit what I wanted.
Which allowed me to add depth to Urle and I hope has make him interesting for other players.

Helena is also not the first player to play her character.
She pick her up and has developed her so hopefully you fit in with us all very quickly.

I think Davor's the only player we have from the original set, actually. RPOL attrition is like that.

I'm the original Teana, but I'm a replacement player and character who came in early.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's right though Davor's speech affectations have changed so much since we started that you might think someone else had taken over at some point :P

Storyteller's OG too of course.

Welcome :-)  I'm a replacement too! :-)

Greetings, Helena and Jerec!

Sorry for not posting for a while. With RBG's death and everything else going on, it really got me down. I'll try to keep up.

Questions for the DM:
When I get up to the top, the city is still upside down to me correct? Or does it magically reorient me when I get up there so that the others on the ground seem upside-down? If it is still upside down to me, I want to try touching the ceiling to see what happens.

Right now still upside down to you, even when you touch the "ceiling".

Sorry Davor, I totally missed your post on drinking the water when I had flew up there.

No worries. You're all scared. I get it :P

Apparently you can lead a horse to water! :-)

And make it drink, too.

The old parable lied, preciousss!

Shhhhh!

Don't tell Urle.
Hes got enough issues with the things he done with you telling him he destroy wise sayings and making wise people look foolish.

:)

Just out of curiosity, does Davor see the building from his vision?

Short version, you will when you get to the Symposium in the center of town.  But for now...

Going to be on vacation through the 9th of November, should able to resume on the 10th. Possibly could post before then, but no promises!

Have fun on your vacation and stay safe.  See you when you return.

Cool cool. Have fun!

Enjoy!

Merry Christmas everyone :)

Meowy Christmas.

Post whenever you're ready, Helena.

Merry Christmas!

PS - Sorry for the late reply - I completely missed your post!

I just assumed the holidays had taken you from us for a while.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:19, Fri 25 Dec 2020.

Hope everybody has a good Christmas.

I did! I hope everyone else did as well.

Indeed, Christmas was pretty good this year (we did a virtual present unwrapping with four separate households - there wasn't enough time for everyone to get tested and quarantined properly, and everything went swimmingly), and I hope it was good for the rest of you.  :)

Ponders a Christmas celebration in-game.  Hmm.  Wonder what that might look like?!

Midwinter celebration to celebrate the survival of the year?  Exchange of gifts to represent gifts given to heroes of legend?  Decorations representing the coming of spring (colorful greenery, artificial flowers?)?

Curling up by the fire to keep the cold away?

I could make everyone a flowery cloak? :-)

@Storyteller

I'm going to start casting buffs, but I don't want to go crazy. Should I post the spells in the order that I cast them and you can cut it off if/when we enter combat? Or would you prefer that I post them one at a time?

Was the language spoken elvish?

Goblin was the language spoken.

Davor, for pre-door-opening buffs, let's say 5 rounds, plus whatever you want to do in this first round.

Hey everyone,

I'm sure you noticed me slowing down my posting in the last few months and weeks. While I am enjoying DMing the game, I have had a flareup (or downturn, I suppose) of my depression due to work factors, home factors, and general world issue factors, which makes it hard for me to work up the wherewithal to post appropriately, or sometimes at all.  Which then can snowball into feeling bad because I haven't posted, but then being too depressed to post, which means I feel bad I haven't posted...

You get the drift.  ;)

I am seeking appropriate professional help to get better/make things more manageable (this isn't my first rodeo).

As we were heading for the end of this game after this major encounter, I am going to write up a summary, taking into account your actions, of the fight and do a closing scene to finish out the game.  Everyone will be free to post their own flourishes to the ending once I get it posted.  Thanks so much for gaming with me.

Everyone remember to take care of yourselves!

~Isida

Hi all.

Sorry I sort of drifted away from the game and had not posted for a while.
Working from home and keeping myself safe has drained me a lot.

I live alone.  Having come out of two very bad marriages.  The last of which ended with 2 years of me withdrawing into my self to survive.  I then ended up with my second wife returning to our house for two months when first lockdown happen in my country. :~
She gone again now. I do not know where she is and I am happy with that.

I have as I put it, gone down the rabbit whole (Alice in Wonderland reference) many times.  So I understand your drift Storyteller.

So.
Thank you again for letting me join your game.  Thank you for letting me change Urle a bit to make him my own character.  Thank you Helena because you allowed Urle to develop the way I wanted.
Thank you for all your hard work to run this game (having been a GM I know it take a lot of time).
I have enjoyed this game a great deal.

The world is full of both nasty and kind people.  Usually the nasty people drown out the kind ones.
But if you look carefully the kind one still their and what they do count (and are appreciated Isida).

So as The Storyteller said.
Everyone remember to take care of yourselves!

~James.

No worries GM, it has been a lot of fun. I may steal this premise for a game of my own some day.

Hang in there guys.  Lots of love from me and thank you so much for all the time and effort every (and you specifically Storyteller!!) have put into the game!

Thank you!

And a fitting finale.  Thank you :-) Hope everyone is doing well!

Yes, thank you!

Thank you kindly, GM.

I am well, myself. Teana's desires and ambitions remain incomplete, but that is another story for another time!