Sorry guys, will get to it tomorrow, promised!

...Tomorrow is today!

Everyone please respond in all the Chapter 1 threads that you can see.  Hopefully you only see your own, but I want to check that I have the groups set up correctly.  I see that thread groups are different from private groups, so I dodged that mistake.  :-)

A lot of natural redheads are a bit orangey, but still if you tell a redhead she has orange hair you're probably asking to get slapped  :D

Well, Urvan's chapter 1 took me a lot longer than I expected, and now it is time for bed.  I'll get Ricka's and Scarlet's up tomorrow some time.

@Urvan  A fine bit of writing, and I admit that I had left you altogether too much to which you had to react, but you didn't do anything.  You need to tell me your next steps, and maybe make a Gather Information roll (i.e. Diplomacy), or something appropriate to whatever action you take.

Cool, will do.

Was again not quite sure what sort of pacing you are going for, I'm learning your style, and I'm sure it will get a little smoother as we continue.

It's all good.  That wasn't meant as a criticism, just a prompt.  Sorry if it came across that way.

@Ricka:  I realized that we didn't really wrap up your prologue.  Please respond to that, but I'll move forward on your Chapter 1, anyway.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:50, Mon 07 Mar 2022.

For one of the threads, I just posted a picture that is actually pretty large.  I exclusively use the responsive site for RPoL, so it doesn't matter that it is large, it just fits the screen.  However, I know that the "old" site made no effort to resize pictures, and it could be an issue on a smaller screen.  So my question is whether anyone cares.  (I had people who had an issue with this sort of thing in another game I ran some time ago.)  I can post just links rather than pictures, if that's easier for people.  Or just prompt you to use the responsive site, which I think is better anyway.  (That is r.rpol.net instead of rpol.net.  If you haven't tried it, you should!)

Comments?
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:34, Tue 08 Mar 2022.

I use the non-responsive (?) Site because I prefer a dark background, so if you could us links instead, that would be greatly appreciated.

A couple of general notes on your current task.

1.  It is important that you befriend the animal(s), such that it/they trusts you.  I have a plan as to how I will evaluate the result, but even describing how I plan to do so would be too much of a hint.  As always, thinking of possible solutions that I did NOT think of will go a long way to success.

2.  This isn't *ONLY* a stealth mission.  If that's all you use, you will probably fail unless you are extraordinarily lucky.

3.  Just because your mentor refused to answer questions doesn't mean that you shouldn't ask other people, or find information elsewhere.

4.  You can fail this.  You won't die or anything, but trust me that you really do want to succeed.

5.  As always, look for Easter eggs in the names.  :-)
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:32, Wed 09 Mar 2022.

Can I assume I know someone from this list? I mean, obviously not Urvan's new friend, but possibly Lady Stilwell, if that's well, still?

It would be fine, except that they are nowhere near you.  You are at Castle Moresby, the home of the Rheams, whereas Urvan is at the Palace, in Olympia (which is near Mt Olympus).  Castle Moresby is in Epirus, though I have to admit that I haven't given much thought to where in Epirus.  If you'd like to choose whether it is on the coast or more central, I don't have a strong preference.  You will be visiting the Palace, but not until, I think, the third adventure.  I don't have specific plans for the others ever to come to Castle Moresby, but if we get past the first 3 adventures I'll have to come up with something, so that's likely.

The Rheams are actually much richer than the Lexagenols, and Castle Moresby is larger than the Palace, though not as large as the entire walled section referred to as the Palace Compound.  Moresby is a real castle, which means it has its protective walls as part of the structure, whereas the Palace does not, though the compound is walled.  (I'm kind of making this up as I go.  I only just learned that there is a difference between a Palace and a Castle, in that a Palace is not a defensive structure.  I had been referring to the two locations with those names, just thinking the words were synonyms.)

So there are certainly a steward, steward's assistant, a chamberlain, a head cook, cooking staff, cleaning staff, a head page, and other pages at Moresby.  Feel free to interact with them and even to name them, since I haven't yet.  Remember that Ashander Rheam, the Duke, is an extremely successful ruler, which is a big part of why Epirus is so successful financially.  I'm sure that he has hired competent staff.  That doesn't necessary mean that they are not greedy or have other weaknesses that could be exploited, if you had to.

Note the post right before the one you quoted.  Everybody should be aware that I am constantly editing the posts in the NPCs thread, adding any new ones that I think are worth remembering.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:28, Fri 11 Mar 2022.

Here's a better image of what I'm imagining Ricka looking like.  (In a few years of course.)

https://imgur.com/RbqHrcF
This message was last edited by the player at 17:06, Fri 11 Mar 2022.

Nice!

I played around with MapTool and made a map of the Palace Compound.  It's huge, so I'm only posting a link.

Map of the Palace Compound:  http://zag.net/Pathfinder/Ellada/palace.png

The red building is the Kennel.  The northwest section is the royal family area.  The central south area, where the scraggly road has a turnaround, is the kitchen.  The small buildings are mostly barracks, and also some private apartments.

Much of the larger structure is three and even four stories tall, so it is a big place.

I wouldn't have had everything so regimented -- i.e. all the buildings are perfectly north-south -- except that it's the only choice with MapTool, and I didn't want to bother learning something new.

I started putting in trees and bushes, but then decided not to bother.  So the few you see are not all of them.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:21, Fri 11 Mar 2022.

Amazing orange hair! ;P

And how does Castle Moresby look like?

I'm get started on it, soon.  However, it is all one building, so there's less to see at the equivalent level.

How's everybody holding up? Not looking for spoilers of course but just wondering how people are getting along.

Urvan is encountering an array of skill challenges that are not exactly his forte, it's good for him though...builds character.

... I'm having a little bit of trouble keeping up posting in all of my games this week!  But I'll be trying to catch up this afternoon.  :)

Slowly finding my stride, I think?

My rolls do routinely suck, but I'm used to it :P I compensate by always playing to my strengths. I'm already having to find roundabout ways to go about some things for lack of some key skills, but so far it feels great.

Clearly you're having trouble prioritizing, which I completely understand.  I'll help you out with a rule of thumb that I learned many years ago.  Any games with the initials SA should be your highest priority.  :-)

@Urvan, I really like how you role-played your disastrous Diplomacy roll.  But you finished with Urvan walking away, head hanging in shame.  That is, you finished with the ball still in your court.  You need to try or do something else for me to have the world react to you.  If you need ideas, feel free to post your predicament here, if you'd like ideas from the other players, because this little mini-quest I only threw in there to add a little tension to the task you were trying to do, and it isn't likely to be re-used with the others.  I'll just make up some other annoying little side task for them.  :-)

It's been awfully quiet here.  I'm waiting for all of you.

Busy weekend on my end. Hoping to get a post up soon.

I think I will take you up on your offer though, to phone a friend.

Urvan has been asked by a member of a visiting delegation to find some ribbon of a particular color.

The Palace seamstress is unfortunately occupied with the Queen, and as such is under strict guard. He has already pestered the one chambermaid he knows and she was the one who recommended the seamstress.

He is having trouble thinking of how to obtain the ribbon now, and given that it is a fairly low urgency request he is only willing to risk so much to accomplish it.

Any ideas?