The OOC thread for chatter, questions, and the like.

Hello folks.  I don't know why you are coming here but I am coming home to see my grandmother.

Hello all.

Arell is a native of Falcon's Hollow and a Paladin of Abadar--he was off at the temple in Absolom for training when this nonsense broke out.

...so he probably knows your grandmother, Hester. :)

Hello there, great to meet you. I'll be playing Caleb, a mercenary come out here to find his fellows who went missing out this way.

Arell probably knows me as well as Grannie Carien except I had red hair, green eyes and freckles back in the day.

Hi everyone! No one knows me, as I was just wandering and exploring when I wandered upon the situation with the quiet town, and being nosy, decided to help!

I am an Undine Shifter, and I focus on aquatic forms, so watch for the crazy crocodile lady!

EDIT: I should have my sheet ready in a day or two!
This message was last edited by the player at 21:02, Fri 21 Feb 2020.

Everyone has been added to the game. I'll kick things off shortly.

Hello everyone! I will be playing Bristle Chonk. A changeling cleric of death and knowledge, raised in an orc clan, and an experienced adventurer. She was sent by a religious order/deity/church or something (still working it out) to investigate what is going on, since she has a certain level of knowledge about dark magics and also happened to be in the area.

Hi all,

I feel very much the polar opposite to Arell and Bristle, for I am Illix, the tiefling rogue from Rahadoum, and very much an atheist. So, no miracle healing for me!

Hello all. Dhampir sorcerer here. Looking forward to a good, tasty game. :)

I had a question regarding costs. The standard wealth for a level 6 character is 16,000, which means the most we can spend on one item is 8,000. Crafting an item is cheaper than buying it outright. Is the 8,000 limit applied to the crafting price, or always the standard buying price? (I am wondering if I would be able to make a Headband of Inspired Wisdom +4 with the correct feats)

In reply to Bristle Chonk (msg # 11):

I think in theory you would be able to do it. However I believe you have to be 8th level to craft such a headband.

Good catch.

I think my sheet is finished.

It's pretty much gear for me. I'm trying not to blow it all too quickly on a few things, and realise I can't get other stuff I want. The most expensive singular thing so far is Mithral Chain Shirt +1 for 2100.

Just letting folks know, I am sick (appears to be a cold but my respiratory and immune systems are weak, so it sucks all the same), and have a party tonight. So IC may not drop until tomorrow. Many apologies.

Thank you for letting us know. I still have some work to do on my character sheet anyway, so I am not in a rush.

And with final purchases locked, Arell is done as well.

(stupid +2 greatsword costs 8050 GP)

In the process of buying things, I stumbled onto a great list of mundane equipment.  So if you're like me and A. have a Haversack, and B. want a bunch of stuff to put in it, without looking up a bunch of costs and doing math, look no further.

(found at link: https://docs.google.com/docume...cjG8eVgBQEUYgTs/edit )

List (minus the masterwork backpack because Handy Haversacks are a thing):
     Wandermeal (12), Halfling-Ration (2), Canteen (2), Candles (10),
     Fishing Line & Hooks, Bells (5), Magnet, Compass, Winter Blanket, Bedroll,
     Mirror, Silk Rope (50’), Powder, Chalk, Earplugs, Notebook, Ink/pen,
     Charcoal, Flint & Steel, Tindertwig (5), Oil, Bullseye Lantern, Mess Kit,
     Soap, Grappling Arrow(or hook),Signal Whistle, Sling, Deck of Cards, 1/4
     of a Large Tent, Bandolier, Belt Pouch

     Traveler’s Any-Tool, Holy Water (2), Alchemist’s Fire (3), Alkali (2),
     Tanglefoot Bag (1), Potion of Endure Elements (1), Oil of Create Water (1),
     Potion of Lesser Restoration (1), Potion of Delay Poison (1),
     Oil of Purify Food & Drink (1), Ioun Torch (heighten it to lvl 4 for 350gp total),
     Liquid Blade (1), Caltrop Bead, Silver Battle Aspergillum, Cold Iron Dagger,
     Durable Adamantine Arrow [total cost: 985 GP 5 SP 6 CP spent]
This message was last edited by the player at 04:04, Sun 23 Feb 2020.

My character sheet is done. :)

Doesn't a magic weapon have a total cost of weapon + masterwork + enchantment? So a Greatsword +2 would cost 8350?

The masterwork cost is included with it being magic.  So no.  No it doesn't.

Are you certain, because everything I've seen mentions it doesn't include the cost of masterwork, as you need to be masterwork before it being made magical, and doesn't discount the cost of the masterwork from the enchanting.

This includes reading guides online.

From the SRD weapons page

Linky: https://www.d20pfsrd.com/equip.../#Masterwork_Weapons

That's for effect, not cost. You have to pay for masterwork to be enchanted. It's just the bonus on to hit is the same, which is why it has to be stated.

Okay NOW I've finished.  Moved my hand crossbow into the handy haversack to reduce my weight carried.

I disagree with that interpretation.

I base my interpretation on the word "automatically" (i.e. without doing anything else) and the idea that I'm not paying for a sword I have to be enchanted, but rather that I'm paying for an already enchanted sword.  Further, my interpretation has precedent in when upgrading a sword from +1 to +2 the difference between the two prices is discounted.

Of course I will defer to the DM for final ruling.  It doesn't actually ruin my calculations--I have enough gold to masterwork my current sword if need be.

Yes, you have to pay the masterwork cost as well.

Fair enough, good to know.

In reply to Arell Kirkwood (msg # 28):

Arell would you be up for some shared backstory/history?

GM, I believe my character sheet is finally complete! It took longer than I would have liked, since I was away from my desktop computer much of the last couple days and had to do most of the work from my phone. Bleh. But hopefully everything is satisfactory. Let me know if I messed anything up, or misinterpreted anything and I will fix it as soon as possible.

My sheet is done, I'm just waiting on approval to send it in a nonstandard way, my phone is too tiny and uncooperative to deal with editing one of those fixed width sheets.

Eh?  Oops.  I hope I haven't done mine in the wrong format.

Hey Caleb, you have no pic, so what does your character look like? :)

Right, apologies for that. I have yet to figure out the portrait function, so I've been looking for art on google. It is surprisingly hard to find good art for a crossbow user that matches what's in my head.
The description I wrote down is as follows
Caleb is tall, with a lean runner's build. His skin is tanned in a way which suggests a life spent working outside, and has numerous scars which speak of a life of violence. His dark hair is cropped short and his blue eyes are continuously scanning the surroundings. He dresses in simple, functional clothes when not armored. His crossbow is always slung over his back or in arm's reach.

From the tracks, does it look like they were in a hurry? Like, were they fleeing, or just walking? Walking could indicate some level of control over the population.

It varies. Some might be running, others are walking or stumbling.

I'm ready for night, and will be using the available time as I mentioned, preparing our holdout spot as best I can.

I think the only other thing we might want to do before nightfall is check buildings for additional light sources, like lanterns and such. (Which I will mention IC once I have time to make a post there).

Bristle could also animate the bodies that were found to provide some extra defenders, but I figured the other PCs might find that a bit too distasteful...

I don't have a problem with it. After all, Caleb likes magic that's on his side.
I'm more or less ready to move on to the night myself.

I am also I'm ready for night....what a night to be cursed. :)

Post will be incoming tomorrow.

Somehow, I forgot to mention that Hannah is wearing glasses. Oops, lol.

Did the shadows attack before or after Bristle prepared her spells for the night and removed her armor. The post says "as Bristle is moving for her bedroll," but I am not sure if that means she is heading there right after changing shifts, or heading there right before going to sleep.

Right after changing shifts, she is still in armor and has not prepared spells.

Ok, cool. Thanks.

Ralla is explicitly standing behind me.  Do I get an Attack of Opportunity?

Yes, you do.

Oh, I am so sorry for forgetting to post it, but the Taldan coins I found come out to being 20,000 gp in assorted coinage.  Split seven ways and rounding for convenience, everyone gets 2,857 gp and 14 sp worth of assorted coins.

That's a LOT of money for this sleepy little town.  Yeah, I know there's the logging company, but still...

Wow, that is a ton of cash...

That is a lot. I will add it to my sheet. Although I suspect a portion of it will go back to any villagers we might end up saving.

Shifter with crocodile form + monk = GRAPPLE BEAST! Don't let me get close!

I should give you Resist Energy: Fire, then you can fight with my burning skeletons surrounding you for protection without getting scorched!

I'm down! With all my bonuses, I will have about a +12 on any grapple checks.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:43, Tue 10 Mar 2020.

Long distance touch attacks first with magic hand (which is a spell-like abiity) then with a five foot reach (long arms) if she's in the second row. This combined with disrupt undead as a cantrip to be used at will for all day) means a slow but steady accumulation of damage against the undead.

In reply to Caleb Miller (msg # 48):

That is a ton of coin. Guess we found treasure already.

GM please let me know when it's been a day in game time and Ralla heals from the 1 point of wisdom damage. :)

I have lesser restoration if you need the boost.

In reply to Arell Kirkwood (msg # 57):

I think she will be ok. If she gets hit a bit harder next time, I think it will be needed. :)
This message was last edited by the player at 04:17, Fri 13 Mar 2020.

Bristle had that spell prepared too, and she had to either use it or lose it, so she used it on Ralla. Ralla heals 1d4 points of temporary ability damage.

Strong willed Croc lady!

13:19, Today: Hannah rolled 26 using 1d20+7.  Will Save.

Not so strong-willed strange little girl.
19:04, Today: Hester Darkeye rolled 18 using 1d20+6.  Will save.

Bristle's will is like adamantine!

14:08, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 28 using 1d20+13.  Will save.

@GM...is this a Fear Effect?

Because then everyone would get +4 to the roll because Paladins are awesome.

Not a fear effect - it is a mind-affecting effect, but not fear. Specifically, it's a mind-affecting phantasm based off of the nightmare spell.

Are folks ready to move forward? I don't entirely know what your plan is right now, but I'd like to keep up some momentum. (Though don't stress about it if you don't have time to post right now - I am very aware that life happens.)

I am ready to move forward. Right now all Bristle is doing is getting ready for the day and making sure there are no major changes to the town from the day before. If there is nothing noteworthy, I think she is ready to lead her skeletons in the direction of all the tracks into the woods.

Happy to move on.  Hester has no plan but she's adaptable and happy to follow.

I'm also good to go forward. My current plan was to first check if my bolts survived the night, then to ransack the town of anything remotely useful such as oil for lanterns, firewood and kindling and so forth. The last thing I wanted to do was try and follow any trail left by all those dead things, see where it is they came from.

Would any of the Falcon's Hollow Natives have any idea where "the cave" they keep seeing might be?

Good question. You can roll knowledge (geography) if you'd like.

17:58, Today: Arell Kirkwood rolled 5 using 1d20+1.  Knowledge Geography Where's the Cave?

Well, I definitely don't know where it is.

I'm not a native of Falcon's Hollow, but I do have a decent amount of K. Local, could I roll that to see if I know any local legends that feature a cave?

Nah, this is a geography specific check. Local wouldn't pick it out.

Luckily Bristle cast Lay of the Land on herself the night before, and has Guidance prepared for the day, bringing her Geography bonus from 6 up to 12.

18:44, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 28 using 1d20+12.  Know: Geography - where is the cave (with Guidance and Lay of the Land).

Bristle remembers that there is a cave to the northwest, Halson's Grotto. It's got a bad reputation, but then, the wilderness around these parts all has a bad reputation. Halson's is different, though, because it has a specific folktale surrounding it. Sometime around when Darkmoon Vale was settled, Sir Elias Halson was one of the major people in the settlement that later grew into Oregent. He was a paladin of Sarenrae, who fought the dark things in the woods on behalf of the settlers. He went to the cave that now bears his name in pursuit of...something, a demon they say but then villagers around here hardly know what the different types of fiend are. He slew it, so the story goes, but died in the doing, and left a warning to leave the cavern well alone.

How much of the story is accurate is hard to say, but it matches the direction and the appearance of the stone, so Bristle is fairly sure that's the place she dreamed of.

Hi Everyone. I'm fine to move on as well.

That is a ton of useful intel! Bristle will definitely share what she knows with everyone, which I will mention in the post I am about to make.

This is what I was imagining for a marching order:

Caleb, scouting for traps.
Wall of burning skeletons.
Hannah and Bristle immediately behind the skeletons, with fire resistance 10
Arell, Hester, Ilix, and Ralla behind them.


Or would it make more sense to switch Bristle and Arell, so he can more freely use his greatsword?

Well, I don't have fire resistance.  So, I probably shouldn't be too close to said flaming skeletons.

I'll give fire resistance to you instead of myself. So that is Resist Fire 10 for Hannah and Arell. And 0 for Bristle. It lasts 1 hour.

Oh, regarding the Fort save in the first chamber - everyone takes 3 negative energy damage. Those who get under a 14 also take 1 Strength damage.

Those? I thought I was the only one.

I'm not sure if everyone rolled already, but possibly. I didn't check in great detail.

I'm so sorry, everyone. I have been awake for about 12 hours this week, total. I came down with some sickness, likely the flu, but my local hospitals will not test me for the important stuff until I am at death's door! But, rest assured, as soon as I am well, I will be back.

Oh dear, hoping for a quick recovery Hannah.

Yes, get well soon!

Should we be rolling initiative?

Yes, please, forgot to mention.

Everyone was very busy while I was sick! should I be rolling both the fort save and initiative, or skip the fort save?

Eh, you can skip the fort save.

Crap, I was not paying attention when this combat started, lol.

15:45, Today: Hannah rolled 10 using 1d20+4 ((6)).

Players are up on initiative, btw - the werewolf thing's action was the bite.

Is the werewolf registering as fully undead in Bristle's Deathwatch glasses now?

Yes, it is.

Remind me, are we posting in initiative order, or just somewhere in the PC turn?

Also, did this thing need to pass within AOO range of me to take it's action?

In reply to Hannah (msg # 95):

Somewhere in PC turn, strict initiative order is too obnoxious in PbP. It passed by you but you were flat footed at the time as you had not acted yet, unless you have an ability that allows you to take an AoO while flat footed.

Just a heads up. The power cord to my computer fried yesterday, and my attempts at getting a replacement failed.  So it may be a few days before I'm posting regularly again.

Are we at a spot where the GM is waiting for player input, or at a spot where players are waiting for GM input?

I was waiting for anyone else to say they were going down - I wasn't entirely sure.

So I know this is never a fun thing to read, and I won't sugarcoat it. This game is great, I am enjoying it a lot. But right now, dealing with both probable-influenza and medication discontinuation, I'm in too rough of shape to realistically run games. It wouldn't be fair to you to deliver a subpar experience, and that's what will happen if I try to force it right now.

To be clear, I'm not canceling this game. I am, however, putting it on a temporary hiatus. I don't know how long this will take to resolve, but if you're still interested in playing when I'm back to a state where I can run it, I'd love to resume. For right now, I just can't run it in a way that would be up to my standards, and trying to force it will just make me feel worse without providing a quality experience for you.

Many apologies.

Cwtches bach!  Blessings to you.

Thank you for letting us know. In all likelihood, I will still be here when you are ready to resume.

Ouch.

I hope you feel better soon.  Best of luck to you.  We'll be here when you're feeling better.

Okay, still in the thick of it but starting to ease back into normal life. Hopefully my physical condition doesn't worsen again soon.

Was anyone planning on responding to the info Bristle shared? ...

Yes, I was planning to answer but things kept happening irl and I kinda forgot. Sorry.
Just out of curiosity, how deep does the water look? Are we talking waist deep, chest?

It's about chin deep - deep enough you'd have to swim, wading wouldn't cut it. Bristle sees a large bear, but nothing outright aquatic.

Looks like it's thee, me and Caleb, Bristle.  Our beloved leader seems to have departed.

I still exist.  Honestly thought this game was done for.

It may be. But I am more than happy to continue if it is not.

I thought that perhaps by poking the body with a stick, we might find out whether there was life in it yet.

I'm still around, deepest apologies for my silence. I've had some things happening, but it's not fair to vanish without a word.

Okay, checking in. First off, I want to deeply apologize for my sudden absence and prolonged silence. Not to get too personal, but because of some insurance difficulties, I've been off of numerous medications for the past three months. Quite honestly I don't even know whether I said anything about it in this game. My memories are pretty garbled. Turns out going off of half a dozen psychiatric medications at once can be pretty, uh, difficult to manage, shall we say. So, if I didn't say anything about the game going onto hiatus, I apologize for my silence. If I did, well, I still apologize, because I definitely was not providing updates and clarity on the topic of what's been going on. I didn't engage with you in the way that I should have, and I do genuinely regret that I handled things so poorly with respect to communicating with players.

I just now got a measure of stability back, I'm back on the meds, etc. It's resulted in some sharp improvements in my functioning. I'm actually feeling able to work my way back into social hobbies and interaction, and while there's a possibility of serious backsliding, right now things are more or less working over here.

I'm not going to pressure anyone into playing. I know it's been a long hiatus with no real communication. I'm not assuming that everyone is still interested or that anyone necessarily thinks that I'm a reliable enough GM to invest time in, after that whole thing. It's totally understandable that people would feel like this game is dead and should stay that way, or that it was a waste of time, anything of that nature. I get that. It's also possible that people just don't have the ability to start this again, and I get that too.

I did, however, want to at least let people know what's going on. I want to apologize for the mishandling of the situation on my part. You deserve at minimum an explanation of what happened, and not all of you have gotten that. So, there's that. And on the off chance that anyone does want to get this going again, and is still invested in the game concept and characters, I want to throw that out there as a possibility. I can't really promise that things will work out this time, either, but I want to say that it's a possibility I'm willing to try for if people are interested.

Thank you all. Again, apologies.

Speaking for myself, no worries about your disappearance. Life happens. And real life should always come first. Thank you for the update and I am glad you are feeling better.

As for the game, I am still interested in continuing. I am in whether we pick up where we left off, or fast forward to the end of the mission (if not enough players return to continue). Bristle Chonk is a character unlike any others I have played, and I have been enjoying the setting.

Oh blessings to you ylva. I have experienced psychiatric issues myself but I have the good fortune to live in the UK where I don't need insurance to continue with meds.  I am sorry you experienced that and I can imagine how it must have been.

As for the game, I've got a lot of games going now and I'm not sure how often I'll be able to post but I'm happy to try.

Okay, well, I've talked to Caleb and he's also still interested. So that gives us three people with at least some interest and ability. That seems like enough to at least make some kind of attempt at moving forward, to me. Might have to recruit a couple more to keep things going smoothly, but three is enough to have some kind of continuity I think.

As for whether to pick up where it left off or skip forward, I'd definitely lean towards the former. The thing is that this scene specifically is one that has some definite importance to the larger story of the game, and I think skipping over it would make it hard to segue into the larger-scale narrative. So if people are all right with it, I think the best way to pick this up again is for me to do a post that has maybe a quick recap of what's happened so far, and then advancing the conversation that you were in the middle of. Then, after the currect scene and story arc is complete, we can start looking into picking up new people, since it would make...a lot more sense to add people after that than in the middle of a dungeon-type arc.

Does that sound all right to folks?

Sounds cool. Happy to carry on on that basis.

That works for me!

Works for me as well.

Glad to see this back.

So just to check in - are people feeling all right about what's going on? As in, is it getting to be frustrating? Just checking because it can be hard, as a GM, to tune mystery based plots - there's a delicate balance between "it is so obvious why is there a need for another clue?" and "I am just trying to guess what the GM is thinking right now." It's been a bit now of back and forth with people rolling knowledges and trying to get more information that way, so I figured I might be hitting a little too far to the obscure or unintuitive side. If so, I can try to be a little more explicit in the information I'm giving, or give you an OOC hint of some kind.

I'm not sure Hester has any intuition but usually I am so I'm guessing I'm erring on the side of wandering round in a daze and hoping someone else knows what they're doing.

Thank you for asking this. The recent info I have been given for skill and knowledge rolls has been extremely helpful. However, I still feel like I am missing a piece of information that connects everything together, keeping me from making that last leap to, "Ah ha! That is what we must do!"

We have a village plagued by shadow creatures and nightmares, the living and undead seem to be mind-controlled by some entity (likely the woman in the dreams), there is a demonic altar to evil werewolves (destroyed), a semi-undead non-rotting werewolf (destroyed), undead werewolves that seemed to be under something's influence (destroyed), a pool of dead things, and a ghost with a well-preserved yet disturbing corpse. Even with all that, I haven't quite been able to piece together how we are supposed to "fix" the village. It seems obvious we should face the dream-woman, but I don't know how/where to find her in awake-world.

Overall I am really enjoying this plot and the roleplay, but I guess I wouldn't mind an extra nudge in the right direction.

Okay, that's a pretty easy one for me to provide a hint on.

In terms of directly addressing the woman you saw in your dreams, who seems to be a likely cause or other factor in what is going on, you're basically right that you don't have a way to find her right now. It's not intuitive how you would go about reaching her or what she is.

However, in terms of simply resolving the current, immediate situation in the village, you don't necessarily need to, because you're talking to a piece of that situation (or were until she vanished). Annabelle is not seemingly the one that is doing this, but she is definitely connected - you've already seen enough factors pointing at that to make it apparent. Whatever power is doing this was not able to do it before she was here, and she has some influence over how it manifests specifically. It's fairly reasonable to move from that to the conclusion that in order to address this situation enough to buy time for a more comprehensive solution, the best approach you currently have available is to lay the ghost to rest and hope that the power doing this is not able to act as freely without her involvement.

Ah, that is good to know. I was leaning toward waiting to deal with Annabelle until after we faced dream-lady. Which would not have worked.

I'll bring it up IC after someone else posts. Unless, of course, they bring it up first. Which is fine by me.

So, just as a sort of observation thing that I don't think I really mentioned sooner but which you would certainly be aware of - there are basically three ways out of the cavern you're in. You can try to go back out the way you came in, which you know there's an exit, but it does entail going back across a lake and up a moderate climb before moving through the cavern. There's following the river onward - it flows out of the lake and down another tunnel. Or there's going straight up by some means and seeing if the shadows are covering a gap or passage in the roof of this cavern that would lead straight up to the earlier cave that you entered through.

Mentioning because it seems like there's a consensus on what to do at this point, so the question becomes how to do it.

I was assuming we would go out the way we came in. Unless Bristle can determine if it would be quicker and safe to follow the water with an appropriate knowledge roll?

13:35, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 21 using 1d20+7.  Knowledge: Nature or Geography, with Guidance. (possibly 26)

If she can use Geography and it counts as a check to "avoid getting lost," then she gets a +5 to her roll from casting Lay of the Land within the last 24 hours.

Hm, yeah, I'll say that it counts. There's a pond about a mile from the hill you entered through, which everyone assumed was fed by a spring. It seems extremely likely that spring is actually this underground river, based on the direction it's in. So, while it's hard to be absolutely certain that it would be safe, it seems pretty probable that there is an exit in that direction.

Sounds like we are going out the way we came in. A bear skeleton shouldn't be too heavy to pull up with rope, right? A bear zombie on the other hand would probably be quite heavy.

Or could it take 20 on climb checks? It has fast healing, so a few falls shouldn't be much of a problem.

Excellent! That concludes the first chapter of the game, more or less. The immediate danger is passed, the undead shadows seem to have vanished, and Annabelle's spirit has been put to rest. Questions remain, but at least the imminent threat appears to have been quelled.

This is also the first milestone of the game, so welcome to level seven.

Sweet! A satisfying conclusion to this chapter, and a level up! How would you like us to handle leveling up? Also, I don't suppose we would be allowed to greedily go back and collect Illix's gear, would we? I'll admit it, I'm a sucker for magic items of all kinds.

Schaweeeet!

Also at the very least we could bury Ilix

I don't have any particular problem with you grabbing his stuff and burying him. As for leveling up, you can refresh your HP and daily resources - there's nothing happening before the next rest anyway. HP is average for your HD. Beyond that I don't really know what you mean by how to handle it.

I wasn't sure if you wanted us to send you a message with all of the changes to our sheet from going from level six to seven. And I wasn't sure if you wanted the changes to happen immediately or if some sort of IC exposition needed to happen first.

Basically, I wanted to make sure it was okay or not for our characters to wake up the next day suddenly knowing new spell slots, skills, and feats.

It's kind of difficult to really make level based systems work in a way that makes much sense. Like, people don't work in that kind of abrupt way, it's much more incremental in reality. So of necessity there will be a certain amount of sudden increase in abilities that doesn't make a lot of sense. I'm fine with that happening overnight, though I am guessing there will also be a little downtime before the next event that really has a lot of mechanical stuff going on.

As for the other, yeah, a message would be appreciated with at least any major increases or capabilities.

And finally, I left a little space for any final notes IC about character reactions or details of the process of the burial before moving on to your next rest or sleep period.

Ok, cool. Sounds great. I will try to get all my changes and final post in tonight. I am camping over the weekend so tonight is probably my only real chance to do so.

Looks like my IC post will have to wait until at least tomorrow (hopefully I'll find a bit of free time before camping). In the meantime, could we get Ilix's gear list so that we can start splitting the loot respectfully dividing and making use of the items left behind in his sacrifice?

I don't have his actual gear list still, so let's go with the following:

-1 Belt of Incredible Dexterity +2
-1 Robe of Useful Items
-1 Wand of Infernal Healing (30 charges)
-1 Headband of Vast Intelligence +2 (skill ranks in Knowledge local)

When I finally had the time to make a post, the site was down. But I should have time to make a good post tomorrow during the day.

As for items, does anyone want to call dibs on anything? All the slotted ones are slots that I already have filled with more relevant items for my character (although it pains Bristle as a cleric of knowledge to not be able to wear that knowledge-boosting headband!). The wand isn't all that necessary for her either, since she usually has some better healing spells available, and she can even heal with her negative energy in a limited capacity.

Caleb's level up isn't too fancy, just some new trick shots and better grouping (clustered shots feat). Gotta love how straightforward martials can be.

I'm kinda meh on the robe since I already have one for infinite twine, the headband isn't all that great for me, I already have a dex belt, and I literally can't use the wand. I'm good.

I already have a robe (of needles).  Not sure whether I can use the Wand.  The belt or the headband would be useful though.

Anyone want to buy/destroy a burning cow skeleton for 100gp?

Honestly, the Robe of Useful items might be more useful if converted to cash, considering they usually go for 7000gp brand new. Even selling it at half value, 3500gp could make a loooot of new skeletons. ;)

They are kind of fun to wear although last time I had one, it was filled with ladders which was interesting to say the least.

Is it down to just Bristle, Caleb, and Hester for the main party now? Nobody else has posted for at least 20 days now.

If that is the case it sounds to me like the Dex and Int items should go to Hester. Should we keep the wand or sell it? OOC I am not great at using limited use items. I hoard potions in video games but rarely use them. :-P It sounds like we each have a robe-slot item that we already like better than the robe of useful items (although we could always switch back and forth). Should we keep the robe, or sell it and craft something else? Bristle can Craft Wondrous Items, although she isn't exceptionally skilled at it.

Also, what became of that dark dagger the group found?

You still have the dagger. And yeah, it's looking like just the three of you left.

Got the start of the next section posted. It's going to open with a lot of dream sequence stuff, so there may be a good deal of private messages at first.

I was planning to post tonight, but ended up not having quite as much free time as I was expecting. I will be sure to post tomorrow afternoon though.

GM, did the huge mob of hypnotized animals have people in it as well? Are there still-living people around?

There are a few. Not many.

Edit: They didn't show up during the one night you spent in the village. But there were a few of them around, and if you go back to the village you might find some.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:00, Thu 03 Sept 2020.

Post to move forward to the city. Let me know if there are any questions; if not, you can do pretty much whatever, until the festival surrounding the appointment starts.

Did we ever decide what to do with Illix's items?

-1 Belt of Incredible Dexterity +2
-1 Robe of Useful Items
-1 Wand of Infernal Healing (30 charges)
-1 Headband of Vast Intelligence +2 (skill ranks in Knowledge local)

I think Hester was getting the belt and headband. Were we going to try and sell the other two? I know Caleb said he couldn't use the wand and I had no interest in it. And both of us already had robe-slot items we liked better.

You can just assume those can be easily sold at the usual 50% buying price and split the cash, I'm fine with that.

Would it be difficult for Bristle to find a buyer for her burning cow skeleton?

Not particularly - she'd have to do it quietly, they frown on the undead locally, but discrete inquiries could find a buyer.

Oh, also, this is the point where I was thinking it would make sense to start looking for another couple players, so if people are all right with that I can put the ad out there and see if anyone bites on it.

Sounds good to me!

I'm all for getting new people, yeah.
Also, the thought occurs to me, we do still have a +1 vicious dagger that looks evil as all hell, we could sell that too along with Ilix's stuff if nobody especially wants it. We could probably get a bit extra for it if we find someone into stuff like that.

I am all for new blood.

I did some math and figured out what we should expect to earn when Bristle sells their items. Is there something she could roll to try and boost what she gets for everything?

Group's Items
Vicious +1 Dagger, 8302
Wand of Infernal Healing (30 charges), 450
Robe of Useful Items, 7000

Total value = 15752
divided by 2 when sold = 7876
divided evenly between the three in our party = 2625.333

You can roll appraise or diplomacy to try and get a higher rate than the base.

I added a Diplomacy roll to my last post. I had the perfect cantrip prepared for the occasion too, but unfortunately I rolled pretty low...

16:48, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 13 using 1d20+9.  Diplomacy, with Enhanced Diplomacy - selling items.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:51, Thu 10 Sept 2020.

Hello all! Sebastian here, Human investigator! Looking forward to joining the party.

Sebastian will be our first added player, I'm looking for another one or two more but haven't decided on them yet.

Welcome Sebastian!

Hello Sebastian and we!come to our little gang of misfits.

Thanks! If you're a group of misfits, I should be right at home!

Ok, I think my character sheet is good and ready for GM review. I'm pretty happy with how he came out, pretty solid all around, and matching the concept well. Excited to start playing!

Sweet! Were you thinking that Sebastian would have any past dealings with any of our characters, or no?

Hmm, I hadn't thought of anything in particular, but we could. He does have a personal grudge with "Whisper" which is how I was figuring he'd join the group.

The short version of his backstory is that he was a respected healer working in the bad part of a nearby (undefined) city who left recently followed by dark rumors of some sort of vileness. So if somebody wanted to hook onto that, they could be from the same city and known him from earlier.

Hey all! Another one of your new player's here!

Just look away from the pyromaniac fox lady with anger management issues! :)

All right, we've got everyone in now. I'm going to go ahead and move things forward just a bit.

Welcome Firea!

GM, how much was Bristle able to get for the cow?

Hester and Caleb, you guys okay to split our supply money evenly? That would be 2625.333 gp apiece.

Sebastian, despite being a cleric of death, Bristle is also skilled at the Heal skill. Maybe they have a history there? She would also not necessarily be a stranger to the "bad" parts of cities.

Bristle recouped the onyx cost on the cow, even - it's easier math. Don't forget you also got a pile of raw coin in the same chest you found the dagger in, as well.

Thank you thank you!

Firea is a Sorceress with the Elemental bloodline that happens to go down the fire path. :)

Cool. That is 100gp for the cow then. I believe we split the amount in the chest at the time we found it. I have "2,857 gp and 14 sp from village" on my list of items.

Well hello Firea.  A rogue who also has aberrant bloodline here.

Cool, just making sure you had it noted down - I know I've forgotten to write that kind of thing down at the time myself.

Hi, I'm one of the new players. I'm playing a Half-Orc ranger.

Voh'ren and Bristle might get along well together. She is a changeling, but was raised by orcs.

I always thought changeling's were a misnamed race. lol I mean, they never change into anything. lol

Interesting combination. :) Not sure how Firea will take that. lol

You might help him come to terms with his Orc side. ^_^ He plays up the Human part because he's worried about his Orcish rage.

Certainly possible. How long ago would we have known one another? Sebastian has had some ahh.. significant life changes in recent times that caused him to abandon his old life and go adventuring.

In reply to Sebastian Kosmin (msg # 183):

Yup. That just happened. Sebastian talking about a woman with red hair whispering in his dreams, and a red haired woman walks up behind him. lol The sad irony of that...

Hahah!

I see I've missed out on a bit of the fun. Hello new people, I'm playing Caleb. I look forward to gaming with you all.

I'm down for a fair split, yeah.

They could have probably met at any time within the last 8-10 years. Maybe at some sort of medical/detective lecture involving cadavers?

A very silly mechanics question, but by average HP do you mean like d10/2 = 5? Just want to make sure while I'm finishing up my character sheet.

Edit: Oh, and starting gold.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:13, Sun 13 Sept 2020.

In reply to Voh'ren Wildheart (msg # 188):

The average of 1d10 is 5.5, so normally average means you round up to 6.
As for starting gold, the WBL for a level seven PC is 23,500

In reply to Voh'ren Wildheart (msg # 188):

If you are using HeroLab it does have a feature that will figure average hit point's per level for you. Otherwise as far as I know the normal accepted way to get the average is take the highest possible roll on your hit die, add 1 to it, then divide by 2.

Starting gold for 7th.

Cool, thank you both! ^_^

Anytime. :)

Huh, I always play average is alternating high and low. So if you have a d10, you do 5 one level, 6 the next, back and forth. That's how I did HP for Sebastian. If you just take the higher value (all 6), that's an extra few HP.

So the way I handle average is more or less what Sebastian said. So for example, a d10 die gets 5 at one level and 6 at the next.

Easily fixed. :) I lose a whole 3 HP. lol

Okay, I THINK I finished my character sheet. I don't have Heroforge for it, so I have to do this with pdfs and a calculator. Let me know if I messed up somewhere.

Oops. I guess I calculated incorrectly too. Turns out I never updated my biography info when I leveled up either. Both are fixed now.

Cool. Does anyone have further actions to take before the inauguration festival?

They have a day or two, correct? Bristle plans to make some onyx gems and search for magic items that are around 4000 gp. Mostly wondrous items or rings or armors/shields that would be an improvement.

Cool. It's a pretty busy market, so you can probably find any items in that price range you're looking for unless they're particularly obscure or illegal.

I think I'm good to move forward. I'll probably stay on the outskirts of town unless the inn is fine with having a wolf around. :-p

Sebastian wants to gather information, although he's not very good at it (+2 on diplomacy, although I get to add inspiration die for free, so add another +1d8).

Alright, I was running through the math, and it is NOT worth the time for Bristle to craft gems for a day. 5-10 gp worth of onyx gems would not be a wise use of her time right now. Instead she will merely try and purchase up to 725 gp-worth of onyx gems (725), try and get her armor and shield enchanted to +1 for 1000 gp each (2000), and buy a ring of protection +1 (2000) and Boots of the Cat (1000). For a grand total of 5725 gp, before haggling.

And to reply to Sebastian's post, Bristle has a +7 to her Diplomacy (+9 if it makes sense to cast Enhanced Diplomacy on herself first). She will try to gather some info while she shops, now that she isn't going to be spending all her time trying to make gems. Especially if her companions can point her toward the best people to talk to.

IC post coming shortly.

---

Roll to try and haggle those prices down:
21:55, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 11 using 1d20+9.  Haggle with Enhanced Diplomacy.
Even worse than before. Or should I try to make a separate roll for each item?

Hester wants to try to find her grandmother, or failing that, to find anything she can about sleepers affecting the real world in dreams.

Sorry for not adding anything to the magic conversation. I don't have any magical knowledge or talents beyond Ranger spells. :-p

Would Bristle be able to find everything she is looking for, and be able to get her armor enchanted in a single day? (it usually takes 8 hours/1 day's work per 1000 gp in the cost, and she is providing the base masterwork armor.) I think I will hold off on buying the boots for now, in case they need the cash, but it would still be nice to know if she could pick them up later.

Yeah, you can find everything.

Okay, seems like everyone has their intentions solidified? I'll get a post up shortly.

Sorry for being so slow, my head has been swimming the past few days. I'll try to get a post up in the new thread today.

No worries, it happens.

I was hoping to get a post up this afternoon, but it looks like it will have to wait until tonight. Sorry for the delay.

I'm sorry, Firea, I don't have any skills relating to talking with people or investigating magic. I'm not sure what I can do to post, and I can't really make any suggestions because I'm still new to the game lore and am a little foggy on what happened before beyond the main points. x_x

No worries at all. You've picked up the main details already (that people are usually alone when they see Whisper while awake, and that they've usually seen her in her dreams beforehand). It seems like Bristle and Sebastian are going to be wanting backup on their next step anyway, so you'll have something to respond to shortly.

Don't worry Voh'ren, I'm out of option's myself. Anything that would have been a clue for me was nix'd in my line of questions. lol I was hoping for some other key similarities like points of interests they were being key'd to go to or something, but nope. lol

Anyone have any extra gold lying around? I can render us all immune from needing to sleep (and thus resistant to dream based attacks) at the price of 1000 gold and two first level spell slots. I have the slots, but I only have 140 gp myself.

In reply to Sebastian Kosmin (msg # 215):

I'm still trying to figure out why I took Gravity Bow instead of Keep Watch when I can sit here and fling fire all day. If Firea ever runs out of fire magic, ever, we need to not be fighting that person.

I'm honestly fine with you making that change, Firea - it hasn't been used yet and you're still getting adjusted to the game.

Bristle has a spare 1000 in case they had exactly that kind of expense come up. I was going to mention it in my next post, but it sounds like we may not need it after all though? Also, FYI, Bristle can Craft Wondrous Items, so if there is a cleric spellpage you need, she can make it. And with the next new moon three weeks away, the party may have a bit of extra time for some crafts too.

I am fine with making the change. Like I said, if we as a party hits a point where Firea ever runs out of Fire magic, we need to not be fighting whatever we are fighting because everyone else is running out of their stuff too! lol

So yeah, I'll switch Gravity Bow for Keep Watch. She can do 7 spells a day of that level, so losing 2 to keep everyone awake won't hurt much. It also makes sense for her because she'd of not been to happy about someone messing about in her head.

Alright, change made.

Just bring it up again when everyone meets up, and Firea will say she knows it. :)

On the other hand, it's good to have an at least somewhat decent backup plan just in case we run into something resistant or immune to fire.

I do have Ice Spells too. :) As well as a nice Crossbow without using Gravity Bow, a nasty Kumade, and a pretty mean bite. :) Got that covered. ;)

Plus it's not like I cannot re-grab Gravity Bow later.

Sounds good!

Should we be posting in the Firea and Voh'ren thread, or should we wait for a new one to open?

I was going to use the Firea and Voh'ren one for the continuation, since what Bristle and Sebastian are doing now is more or less what those two had been doing - trying to track Whisper in some physical way or investigate a physical person. It seemed unnecessary to add a new thread to the list for it.

Cool, I'll wait for the successful people to post. :-p

I've also got some spare gold I can contribute. I have 968 (minus however much ylva thinks is fair to buy some roasted meat for Kiru :-p). I would like to keep some of it because I have an animal companion to provide for (just in case we're going somewhere where wolves can't hunt or forage), and at some point I'll have to buy more arrows. I didn't have the skill points to spare for craft arms or craft armor just yet.

We don't need the gold anymore. :)

This is patently untrue. PCs always need MORE gold. :-p

True, can you imagine Firea biting people with gold canine's? :) That's a RICH bite. :)

Though her bite's already worth 4,000 gold because of one magic item. LOL!

I'll let you handle the reply in our thread Sebastian, since you were the one looking into where the librarian lived.

Will do. First, a question for the GM:
Did I actually get the missing librarian's name? I don't see it in the thread, but in the back of my head I was sort of assuming that I had received it. Is that the case?

GM, did we get the librarian's address/name?

Sorry. Yes, you got both - the librarian is named Roselyn Pilov.

Oof, sorry for not posting sooner. I recently got hired as a science teacher at a high school. I'm really excited, but I'm teaching three different subjects. I'm trying to get up to speed with everything at the school, but I'll try to post more regularly. x_x

No worries, I was afk last night and this morning anyway - helping a friend with a move.

Sebastian and Firea, Good Cop Bad Cop. She Charm's and Influences them, he Sense's if they are being truthful. lol

The funny thing is, Firea doesn't need sense motive to know something is up. lol

Oh, definitely, but sense motive would tell you what was up. Which might not be as obvious as you think...

Oh I'm sure. :)

GM, that writing in the private message to me was extraordinary. I feel a little sad that I am the only one who got to read it. You should totally post it here once Bristle has had the chance to share the information with everyone. It really painted a wonderful picture of what Bristle witnessed with her Detect Thoughts spell.

00:14, Today: Firea rolled 19 using 1d20+16.  Intimidation.

LOL, just...LOL!

Seriously? LOL! OMFG, that is sad. I cannot help but to laugh at that. lol

Sorry, I'm at a total loss on what else to do other than play her game. I don't think Voh'ren has any ties or backstory regarding Whisper, so I'm going only off of what bits I've read in our threads and the groups' reaction.

Bristle will wait for Whisper's reply to Sebastian before doing anything else noteworthy. So don't wait on me.

Hester, are you level 8?

No? Only 7 why?

Getting 8 ranks in a skill implied you were level 8. I was afraid and/or hoping I missed a group level up somewhere. :-P

Would it be all right if Voh'ren were to "borrow" a handkerchief or shawl or some other item of Roselyn's so that he has another source of her scent? Just in case Kiru gets distracted by, I dunno, whatever other weird and wonderful smells are in a capital city? *^_^*

SQUIRREL!

Basically this. :-p

Kiru is a Good Boy even if he is a wolf, but dogs are gonna dog.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:00, Wed 28 Oct 2020.

Sure. I'll get an IC post up tonight or tomorrow for Firea, most likely.

Bristle has an evil alignment, so a little petty theft won't phase her. Especially when it is warranted anyway. Besides, Bristle already stole some of Roselyn's booze so that she could pass her off as a drunk while dragging her unconscious body through the street. :-P

I figure Firea is helping Bristle. hehe So like a good cop bad cop sorta think which is freaking hilarious considering the evil character is playing good cop and the good character is playing bad cop. LOL!  Talk about role reversal!

Bristle has learned long ago that playing nice usually gets her further in life than letting her true impulses take over. Also, she might be evil, but she tends not to be unnecessarily cruel. Although she may also have different standards of "necessary" cruelty than most.

Firea is odd in that she can put on a tough exterior, in fact with an intimidate and bluff as high as hers she can wear the tough exterior very well. Trouble is, she actually has a kind heart and soul despite the shell she wears.

I am a big softie in real life, and all of my characters end up being big softies. It doesn't matter the system, concept, or even starting personality. The character eventually becomes a big softie.

Sorry I haven't posted, been super busy. Assume that Sebastian has been following along with Bristle and the others and not saying much.

Did Voh'ren and Kiru uncover anything at the river?

Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to include that. No, but Whisper did say that the book you wanted was ashes in the river, so...reasonable conclusion would be that she was telling the truth about that.

Everyone, should we reconvene and make some plans of action? GM, what time is it? And what sort of event schedule do we expect there to be for the coronation tomorrow?

It's late afternoon. The schedule has the inauguration happening in the People's Field at midmorning.

I was just doing some math related to Animate Dead out of curiosity. It turns out Bristle could Animate up to 224 common bats into zombies with a single casting of Animate Dead, if the area she casts in is Desecrated. (She has both spells prepared). It would cost 700 gp of onyx gems though. (Which she also has).

So if there is a bat cave nearby, it could end up being really handy! Imagine it: a crowd of people are put to sleep be Whisper, only for over 200 bats to clumsily fly out of a sack and wake them all back up. :-P

Well, that's an image.

Are people ready to move to the next day?

I was hoping the other party members would weigh in on Bristle's ideas first, and was also hoping to get my orange-text questions answered before the next day happens in case Bristle wants to act on them. (Which could probably all happen off-screen). But other than that, I think I am more or less ready to continue.

Oh! Did we want to try and figure out where Whisper's stash of spell components went?

Okay, well, for the amount of spell components - she bought them almost out of stock, so that's quite a bit. As for critters, if you spend time on it you can get a bunch of them, just a flock of pigeons in a park or the like.

I'm not sure if there is much I can contribute regarding a plan. Voh'ren would probably try to stoicly stay awake on his own (with Kiru's help, of course).

I'm thinking Bristle will spend a bit of time at the park/back alleys/wilderness scrounging up some critters with her Channel Negative Energy. I just realized I was mixing up CR and HD when doing my calculations for how many critters she could animate, and even a 1/8 CR bat has 1 HD. So I couldn't make a huge swarm for cheap after all. However, I'll still make a reanimated regenerating skeletal buddy for everyone, spending 250 gp of onyx gems to do so. Let me know what you want! Squirrel, raven (won't fly), racoon, turtle, frog, rat, etc. Just make sure it is something that could be stowed under your cloak and found around the city. If I haven't heard from you by the time I stat these up tomorrow afternoon, I'll just pick for you.

I will also select my spells for the next day after I stat up my newest undead creations.

Hmm, that's a good question. Use your imagination for Firea just remember she might need to shift into fox form at certain points.

Hey all, sorry for not saying anything for a while, real life happened and demanded attention.

Hester's touch is sometimes dangerous to the undead, so perhaps not for her?

Interesting. How so? What does your touch do to the undead?

Also, I forgot that I should probably make one for Kiru too. Maybe a little snake skeleton they can wear as a collar?

Here is what I made for everyone, pending Ylva's approval. (I sent more details to Ylva via PM). They all ended up having similar stats (8HP, fast healing 1, DR 5/bludgeoning, Immunity to cold). The main difference was their movements. The rats and snake can climb and swim, the squirrel can climb, and the raven can only hop 10ft at a time.

---

Bristle: Tiny Rat Bloody Skeleton

Caleb: Tiny Rat Bloody Skeleton

Firea: Diminutive Squirrel Bloody Skeleton

Hester: None (as requested)

Sebastian: Tiny Raven Bloody Skeleton

Voh'ren: Tiny Rat Bloody Skeleton

Kiru: Tiny Snake Bloody Skeleton

---

Hester, if you still want one, it will only cost Bristle another 50gp of onyx gems. Unless your damaging touch is positive energy, these bloody skeletons can reform after an hour even if destroyed. Let me know!

Thanks, sorry for not posting. It has been a rough weekend and start to the week. x_x

She does have just a hint of positive energy on occasion.

Hester or Caleb doing anything currently?

Never mind, sorry. I can delete my post if you like.

Nah, it's fine. You gave the order in time, it just...happened very fast.

Could a tiny Fox get through the crowd?

How far away is the stage? Does Raskovel look completely dead, or "as good as dead?" Like, would a cure spell still maybe save her?

Also, I have an Air Walk spell available. Fellow party members, who would it make the most sense to put it on? (I figure Bristle would be more aware of this than I, the player, am.)

The stage is about 150 feet away. I'm not sure you can tell at that distance how dead she is - roll a heal check I guess?

22:48, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 39 using 1d20+21.  Heal check - is she alive?

She's dead.

Cool (not for her), then we don't need to focus on helping her. We can focus on the other guy. I will get a post up tomorrow.

How far away is Bristle when everyone else reaches the stage? Halfway?

Sure, halfway sounds right.

Wow, the dice roller hates me. x_x

In reply to Voh'ren Wildheart (msg # 286):

Voh'ren does realize that the assassin/banker IS still alive right?

Oops, I saw bolt in temple and a headshot usually means a dead body.

I want to make sure that I am understanding the situation correctly. Who exactly are the guards saying that they have to take in? The banker, the party members, or both? If the party members, do they mean all of them, or just Firea, Hester, and Voh'ren who are currently on the stage? Or even maybe just Caleb and Sebastian, who are far away but are the ones who actually fired weapons?

Also, did the Banker make a save against Firea's Suggestion?

Party members on the stage as they are the ones he was ordered to arrest.



Yes, and passed it.

I'm a little tempted to lean into the storyline punch of getting falsely accused if only because we're dealing with something where the difficulties are obviously pretty high.

I will do my best to get up a new post within the next 24 hours. I ran out of time to do it today. Bristle's instinct is to cooperate until it becomes clear that they are going to be thrown under the bus, or be restrained by a jail cell or shackles.

Is Sebastian going with the guard?

Just letting people know, Sebastian has unfortunately had to drop due to real life commitments. I'll get a post up moving things forward later today most likely.

Just an FYI, Firea is staying as a Fox for now, and acting like a talking spirit familiar for our cleric of death. :)

Not to alarm anyone, but I can't find the list of locations we found that Whisper's librarian host had been spotted in my notes, I don't suppose anyone else wrote that down?

I honestly don't like our options here, and am unsure of what we're supposed to do as a party in the middle of the riot.

Firea and I looked for her near the river, but I couldn't find anything of note there on a pretty decent perception/survival roll. Unless I'm thinking this wrong and we need 30+ on the DCs, which I'm not able to reliably hit. x_x

Just to check in - is it still maintaining an enjoyable degree of not knowing what to do? This scene is meant to be a bit "in over your heads" but if it's becoming frustrating I can provide more input IC or OOC.

I think the problem is that I have no idea what the goal is right now. When I applied, I saw that we were supposed to investigate Falcon's Hollow. I jumped in toward the end, so part of Voh'ren's IC frustration is that he's involved in something he has no experience with.

OOC, I'm having fun, but I just don't know what exactly is going on. I went through the threads I have access to, but it didn't help me figure out much else. It's probably because I joined in later. However, my confusion kind of keeps me from posting more frequently.

I am definitely picking up the vibes you have been trying for. I don't really understand what is happening with the assassination and the riots, but I also feel like we aren't really supposed to understand yet. Still, it might be nice to get a bit more direction soon. A concrete goal that our group can strive for, even if it is a small goal. Something that can steer us in the direction of the overarching plot.

Yeah, What Bristle said, because right now, Hester thinks Whisper is what she will one day become whether she does anything or not but there's nothing in the immediate future that makes any sense.

I agree with Bristle as well. Before Firea goes nuclear would be nice. :) A nuclear fox could be bad. lol
This message was last edited by the player at 04:30, Thu 04 Feb 2021.

Bristle sums it up pretty well I think. I'm having fun, but a little nudge would be appreciated.

Hm, all right. Here's a nudge then. Whisper gave away that she can be in multiple bodies at once for this. Specifically to delay you. That's valuable info, so keeping you personally occupied was worth it to her.

What were you doing that no one else was? Investigating history. Maybe pay less attention to the big distracting riots, and more to, say, the historian you were planning to interview today.

I honestly didn't remember the historian. I thought we were just trying to stop the assassination, lol.

Oh right, Wren. I thought were were meant to meet her the day after the ceremony, that's my bad.

I also had forgotten about the historian. (Wren, was it?) Makes sense though. Now that we know OOC, we can have the realization start to dawn on our characters IC.

Have we already split up or are we still together?

I don't think we split yet since Hester was coming with us and she's still there.

Hester went with Bristle, but you could probably just send someone to tell them where you are headed quick, then catch up with everyone else again. Bristle is going to be slower than everyone else regardless, so feel free to leave her behind and run ahead. As long as she knows where to go, she will meet everyone there (eventually).

Ohh! The way she typed her post confused me. lol

GM, if nothing notable happens while leaving the note, I am fine with skipping forward to the next relevant scene.

Sounds good. I'll get a post up in a bit. Sorry, last couple days were...a Thing.

Sorry, just saw your post, GM. I hope everything is going okay.

Hey. Just checking in. The last two weeks have been a special kind of hell - the kind that leaves you a better person but the process of refinement sure as hell ain't fun. On top of that, I have a wedding next month and a move tomorrow. So I haven't been present in a while, and I apologize for that.

I'm still here and getting back into the swing of posting. If folks are still invested I'm absolutely still intending to run this.

I have no intention of going anywhere. Take all the time you need. I will still be here when you have time to post again. Thank you for the update though. Hope things get less hectic for you soon!

Same, I'm still interested in playing. ^_^ I may be a little slow as well because I teach three science subjects in high school, and putting all that together every week is a lot to do (especially with all the stuff they want new teachers to go through nowadays).

I'm still here and ready to play! :)

Still here. Happy to stay.

Just checking in since it's been a couple of days. Do people feel good about the game? Still enjoying things?

I am still enjoying it!

I was just waiting for an answer to my question. :-p

I'm having a blast, I was just waiting on a response from Wren as well.

Still awesome.

Cool. That seems like a good place to wrap this scene unless people have further things to say. (I'm not ignoring Voh'ren's question, but she has no real response to it.)

I think I am more or less ready to move on. I may still be interested in using Detect Thoughts and Bristle's knowledge domain touch ability on Wren just to help ensure she wasn't a Whisper agent this entire time. But it seems severely unlikely, so I don't mind if we skip over it if it doesn't flow nicely into the story that is going on.

Sorry I haven't answered, IRL kicked me in the Jimmy. lol

I'm having a blast. I love the playing Firea, and the game as a whole!

Though I am curious if Wren knows if her being a Nine-tailed Heir would be a boon for her or not since they are basically Daikitsu's chosen. lol She asked, but got no answer. lol

That's fine, but I would like her to answer this question. Voh'ren is very much on the Good spectrum of the morality alignment, and it might be easier for non monstrous races to get away with killing Whisper's puppets than a Half-Orc (like, I don't know their status in the world, so I'm playing him as being pointedly and overtly nonthreatening).

Just an FYI, no one needs to sleep. :) That is unless they refuse Firea's touch. ;)

Are we continuing in the current thread, or are we starting a new one? Also, any requests for spells for Bristle to prepare? Or are there any specific wondrous items they would like Bristle to create? We might have a bit of time for her to craft something.

I'll start a new one, you'll have some downtime. I'm sorry about the delay, I'm currently off my meds and it sucks rather hard.

Hugz Ylva.  I don't know what meds you're on but withdrawal from mine is horrible so Solidarity sister! <3

No worries. I just wanted to make sure we weren't in a situation where everyone was waiting for everyone else to post first.

Fellow party members, what is our next objective? Is there anything specific you guys have in mind while we wait for the code in the book to get decoded? I think we would have plenty of time in-game to plan and strategize, considering we don't need to sleep and can spend that time chatting or contemplating.

There is a riot going on, so normally I would suggest trying to help the authorities stop it. However, we're probably fugitives given that we left the jail.

Speaking for myself... 4'7" tall, 115lbs, black eyes (including the whites), silver hair, pale skin, extra long arms... somehow, I don't think I could stop a riot.  More like start one.

I just want to do something positive that helps. That's partly IC because that's Voh'ren's nature, but it's also partly OOC because I like playing good PCs.

Bristle probably won't be much help with riot control. Her only real method of crowd control right now is to channel negative energy until people fall unconscious. That, or create some undead enforcers using her robe of bones. Either of which would probably only make things worse...

She could cast Guidance on people constantly, or heal other party members if they get injured. And she could cast Groundswell on one person too, if it would help.

Alright, this is what I went with for my spell list for the day. Calm Emotions can help with riot control if needed, and hopefully Detect Charm and Detect Thoughts will help us root out Whisper Agents. I prepared Ancestral Communion, Speak with Dead, and Divination to potentially help us scrounge up information. And I prepared Detect Poison so that I can check everyone's food before they eat it (because I am a paranoid player at the moment ;-P ). If Detect Charm works and ends up being useful, it may be worth creating a Page of Spell Knowledge for so that Firea can use it too. I could also start creating/upgrading Cloaks of Resistance for those who don't already have them (although it will need to wait until I prepare Resistance). If anyone has any other ideas for useful wondrous items, let me know.

LV0:

• Detect Magic
• Guidance
• Detect Poison
• Enhanced Diplomacy

LV1:

• Comprehend Languages
• Detect Charm
• Detect Charm
• Cure Light wounds
• Sanctuary
• Air Bubble
• Forbid Action

LV2:

• Detect Thoughts
• Resist Energy
• Desecrate
• Ancestral Communion
• Calm Emotions
• Calm Emotions

LV3:

• Animate Dead
• Screaming Flames
• Dispel Magic
• Speak with Dead

LV4:

• Divination
• Spell Immunity
• Air Walk

Firea is the worst at stopping a riot, unless the rioter's are heavily armed. Easiest way to explain her is a light tank with the firepower of a heavy tank. So yeah, if you look at her spells as a fire elementalist you'll see she should be the last resort. lol

The way Firea found the last Whisper puppet was by using suggestion on it. lol A better method would likely be Detect Charm. Firea doesn't have a Cloak of Resistance herself, it would be a useful thing to have. I actually forwent it for the Ring of Eloquence so she could talk while in her fox form (and eventually cast while in it too).

Add to the she also has a spell lattice for Shield, and items that will allow her to recover a single level one spell like ability use, and 1 level 2 spell like ability use too.

Her sorceress spells and innate spells are as follows:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
INNATE ABILITIES
1st Tail: Dancing Lights 3/day
2nd Tail: Disguise Self 2/day
3rd Tail: Charm Person 2/day
4th Tail: Misdirection 2/day
5th Tail: Invisibility 2/day
6th Tail: Suggestion 2/day
7th Tail: Displacement 2/day
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPELLS
                Base     Ability  Misc.
Lvl    DC    Spell/Day    Bonus   Bonus     Spell Per Day    Spell Known
0      14       any    +    0   +  0     =       any       /      7
1      15       6      +    1   +  0     =        7        /      5
2      16       6      +    1   +  0     =        7        /      3
3      17       4      +    1   +  0     =        5        /      2

X = Memorized Spells.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯Spell Lvl 0¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Detect Magic
Haunted Fey Aspect
Light
Mending
Prestidigitation
Ray of Frost
Read Magic

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯Spell Lvl 1¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Burning Hands
Identify
Keep Watch
Mage Armor
Snowball

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯Spell Lvl 2¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Burning Arc
Flurry of Snowballs
Scorching Ray

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯Spell Lvl 3¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Dispel Magic
Fireball

I do have Wind Wall and Resist Energy prepared because they tend to be useful in most situations. I'm also playing a rather large Half-Orc with an equally large falchion and composite bow strapped to my back, and an armored wolf pup at my side. That would be great for active intimidation, but that's not Voh'ren's forte.

I've got all the useful adventuring doodads (handy haversack, ring of feather fall, ring of protection +1, cloak of resistance +2) and the traits and mithral armor that lets me be decently armored and still pretty stealthy (despite being a giant Half-Orc bristling with weapons).

If that means I'm going out alone, climbing on rooftops and leaping into crowds to fire warning shots, and playing BatOrc, then it's probably what Voh'ren would do. I don't think a ranger will be of much use deciphering old scripts or seeing through charm spells.

Just wanted to inform everyone, my internet's been out for the last two days, and Rpol is the first site I've found that works with my phone's data I apologize for my absence, I'm trying to get the internet back up at this moment.

Spells Level 0 (at will)

Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Ghost Sound, Touch of fatigue, Disrupt Undead
Acid Splash (Once per day) Dancing Lights (Once per day) Mage Hand

Spells level 1:  7 = (6 + 1) per day
Enlarge person (bonus for bloodline)
Mage Armor, Detect Secret Doors, Grease

Spells Level 2: 4 = (3+1) per day
Web

Also Acid Ray as a special ability:
Range 30ft, damage 1d6 + 1 + sorcerer level; currently five times per day.

Hey folks work is going absolutely insane, may not post for a couple days...sorry.

No hurry.  I have a trilogy to be working on in the meantime

No worries, good luck with work.

Voh'ren will head out into the city to try and protect people from rioters and their baser instincts.

Just waiting on Caleb's little side adventure to resolve before I post moving forward to nightfall and giving out results of various things that people are working on.

Caution is just paranoia that turns out to have been justified.

Okay, so you now have at least three distinct leads to follow. You could wait for the journal to be decrypted some and see what it says; investigate the brothel that Bristle's magic told her had some information about Whisper or how to stop her within it; or go and look into the fallen angel Crocutiel.

Any thoughts on which of these you'd like to go for first?

"Oh.  I've never been to a brothel", says Hester, all wide-eyed.

We can't really do anything other than wait with regards to the journal, so I'd vote for starting with whichever of the other two leads is closest.

Yeah, I'm with Voh'ren. With no idea how long it'll take to decode the journal, and the mountain being two weeks just to get there and back with who knows how long needed to reach the summit, the brothel is the closest avenue of investigation open to us.
Besides, I'm really curious about how a brothel factors into all of this.

Just caught up with reading the recent posts. I also vote for the brothel, since it is so close. Bristle may also be able to craft a useful item while they are in town, but I will bring that up in the post I am about to make.

Just what we need, someone like Firea in a brothel. She has no idea what a brothel is, much less what sex is.

Yes, no one would be able to tell that last one with all the flirting she did when you first met her. She flirt's big, but never moved past it. lol

For anyone interested, this is the pendant on the chain.

Hester knows what sex is... at least in theory.

Is Bristle mentioning the name Whisper?

Not yet.

Did Bristle notice any charm influences on Robin? Especially after mentioning Whisper's name? It seems unlikely given how Robin reacted, but I wanted to be sure before making my next post.

No charms detected.

By the way, you can roll Local or Religion for Nogortha, Local or Nature for Candlestone, Religion for Mount Callahan, and Arcana or Nature for the Fangwood.

Sweet, knowledge rolls! Bristle's forte. I have +12 (13 with guidance) in arcana and religion, and +6 (7) in everything else. But this seems like it would be a good time to use my Ancestral Communion spell as well. Which will give me an additional +6 on knowledge rolls for 7 minutes. I'll have to post and get rolls up later though.

I have +10 in Arcana dungeoneering and local but I guess what you need is history and geography.  Ignorance was never going to protect girls like Robin, Annabelle and Hester and the others for ever.

I can take a swing at the K. Local rolls, see if that nets anything.

I'd be happy to assist with the Knowledge Nature, but I've only got a +4 mod.

I have a bunch of info for Bristle to share, but I don't think my brain is functioning clearly enough tonight for myself to be able to relay it well enough to the party. (I am operating on very little sleep today.) But I will do my best to post it all up for everyone sometime tomorrow.

No worries. It happens.

Sounds like a plan is forming. People have at least another day to prepare while Bfistle finishes her lenses, and then off to the necropolis it sounds like.