worthless shit
Sometimes the person who posts this forgets to categorize things. It generally goes here.
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PF Roll20 Demo Part 1 – Intermission
Hello!
So overall, I think the first game went fairly well! We had some hiccups in the beginning, but I think we hit our stride near the end. I’d say you guys are about 2-3 hours away from completing this module.
Instead of a full blow-by-blow which will be the post after you guys finish, I’ll post your guys’ loot, battles, and experience points so far sans some special XP awards.
Firstly, the loot:
Goblin Chest:
- A small sable pouch containing 20 gold pieces
- (Masterwork dagger) – a well-made dagger in a lacquer sheath
- (50GP) – A pea-sized ruby
- (Cure Light Wounds) – A glass potion vial containing a fizzing orange liquid (CONSUMED)
Hobgoblin corpses:
- 4 sets of stinking studded leather (one taken by Theodore)
- 4 light steel shields painted with black hands
- 3 longswords, slightly rusted
- 1 longbow made of yew
- 20 arrows fletched with vulture feathers
Statuary:
- (Energy Heart) – A large, flawless ruby
Engorged goblin corpse:
- A wooden dragon toy that flaps its wings when the tail moves
- (Wand of Magic Missile, 4 charges) – A wand made of polished oak
- A leather pouch containing 14 gold pieces
Island:
- (+1 Dragonsbane Longsword) – A black sheath containing a longsword with a golden dragon hilt
- (potion of levitation) – A bottle containing a milky white potion
- (potion of invisibility) – A flask containing a clear potion
- 175 gold coins in a leather sack
Secondly, the encounters and XP:
1. 4 Hobgoblins (CR 3) – Hobbler, Hobby Hobstar, Hobnobber, “Hungry” Hob Gadling
2. Fountain Room (CR 1/3)
3. Statuary/Altar (CR 1)
4. 2 Giant Spiders + 1 Spider Swarm (CR 4) – Wuda, Wrydda, and the Pretties
5. 2 Reefclaws (CR 3) -Hydrox, Oreo
Total XP (per person): 560
Thirdly:
The 65 point stat thing was unexpectedly constraining for feats, so I’m going to allow everyone to add a total of 5 more points in statistics. My only stipulation is that don’t make a stat higher than 18 before racials.
I’d like to finish this on Saturday night at 7 PM if that’s good for everyone. Just let me know on Puppyrush or Facebook if that doesn’t work.
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PF RollD20 Demo (6/8/14) – I Hate Sandpoint. It’s Coarse and It Gets Everywhere.
Hi everybody!
Since the Pathfinder Society attempt at the comic book store didn’t work, I thought I’d give RollD20 a shot as a DM. This isn’t going to replace the normal in-person Pathfinder game, but if we can make this work we may be able to use it for when we don’t feel like driving.
So far, I’ve got Greg, Enoch, Eric, Steven, Jack, and Bob (tentative based on computer situation in Florida). I have a few ground rules and basic stuff to lay down so here goes:
Time: June 8, 2014. Setup/debug at 1 PM, game start at 2 PM. Game link to be sent over Facebook and Steam at noon.
Sign-ups: Greg, Enoch, Eric, Steven, Jack, Bob (tentative)
Module: Modified version of Black Fang Dungeon from the Beginner’s Box. This is more of an ‘on your honor’ thing, but please don’t look at the map or the encounters! If the RollD20 voice chat sucks, we can migrate to the PPR Ventrilo server.
Story:
“A few weeks ago, livestock started to disappear from nearby farms. Sometimes a half-eaten corpse is found, sometimes only bloodstains. The people of Sandpoint are afraid, and mayor Kendra Deverin is growing desperate. She hopes some heroes will volunteer to search out this menace and put an end to it before it kills a person. She’s offered a reward of 1,000 gold pieces to the group that stops this mysterious creature. Although no one has seen the killer directly, a long black fang was found in one of the animal corpses, prompting the locals to dub the unseen killer “Black Fang.”
You have decided to go on a quest to put an end to these brutal killings. Rumor holds that Black Fang is living in an old cave not too far from town, which has been used as a den for many monsters over the years. You’ve gathered your gear and are now approaching the entrance to this dungeon, but you still have a few moments to get to know your fellow adventurers.”
Character creation rules:
1. Stats: Allocate 65 points any way you wish before racial abilities. We got a possible 6 people, and in the regular Chesapeake game we have 5 people at 75. This made for some real powerhouses and easy encounters, so hopefully this’ll balance that out somewhat. This makes you several points lower than the pre-made characters in most modules.
2. Alignment: Only rule is no chaotic evil.
3. Story: Don’t get too bogged down with your backstory besides a basic outline in case you don’t like your character (see 6).
4. Class/Archetype: Any first party class/archetype can be used. Greg was looking at the alchemist I know, and Jack was kind of leaning towards a Mad Dog barbarian.
5. Make a DNDSheets please. This is just so I can see your characters and what you made. (Greg: I can help make your character on Saturday if you want to hang out.)
6. Remember this is just a demo. Have fun with making your characters and try not to be too worried about party composition. Obviously, it might be a big tougher to play without a healer, but we manage in Bob’s game with just a Bard healing. Also, if we play more and you decide you don’t like your character after this demo, you can transfer your equipment and XP to a new character for free.
7. Starting Gold: Assume you rolled all 5s on the Starting Wealth formula. This’ll start you with slightly more gold than average.
8. Two traits: Can be anything as long you have the pre-reqs.
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Pathfinder – Carrion My Wayward Son Post-Mortem
Hi everyone!
Good session, even though we didn’t get through as much as I like. Limiting the game to 5 hours was a good idea, I felt a lot less exhausted.
Here’s what happened in the story:
While staying at the Highside Stacks, the party received letters from Dreng and Kormiggon Sussworth describing the mission from the Pathfinder Guild: spearhead a relief effort with the Church of Pharasma and re-establish communication with Mayor Heggiry, the main Pathfinder contact in Carrion Hill. The party made their way to the Church and accepted the quest.
The next morning, a wagon train of three wagons and horses was brought to the northeast gate of Kaer Maga. Driving the wagons was Brother Gallo, an animal trainer, embalmer, and midwife of the Pharasman Church. In addition, a mute woman veiled in black–incidentally, the one who bankrolled the wagon train–requested passage on the relief effort. Secretly, she passed a message to Valeria indicating that she was actually Esme Varisi, the intelligent undead from the Godsmouth Ossuary. A map and shipping manifest were provided for the group, along with instructions to meet an Urgir escort at a toll bridge in the Hold of Belkzen.
For the first few days out of Kaer Maga, the trip was uneventful. At sunset on the third day however, the party found the wreckage of a wagon along with the corpse of a Pharasman priest, along with smoke billowing over the cliff. Gunnar and Elorin scouted ahead and found that the smoke was coming from a camp of 3 Ogrekin and a warg. Unfortunately, the warg detected the two, and a battle broke out.
Gunnar was savaged by the warg, but the danger from the ogrekin was lessened by Shania’s Slumber Hex and Valeria’s Hold Person spell. Elorin managed to deliver a coup de grace one ogrekin, and the rest of the attacking group were dispatched without a problem. In the ogrekin camp, the group managed to find a valuable artifact: an illuminated manuscript of the Bones Land in a Spiral, the holy book of the Church of Pharasma. Brother Gallo identified it as an artifact in the Church at Carrion Hill. Grifflebore, along with Gallo, buried the body of the priest and performed final rites.
The party made its way to the toll bridge, where Elorin used the orders he was given by the Pathfinder Guild to secure passage across the Hold from the escort, Captain Urghosh of the Empty Hand. With the escort of 11 Orc archers, the party made its way to the ferry past Gallowspire without any trouble, and from there the group traveled to outside the Carrion Hill walls. The party noticed that the sky was unusually dark.
Outside the walls, the group was met by a Crow, one of the remaining guardsmen of Carrion Hill. The Crow, shocked that Pathfinders had actually arrived, gave them directions to Mayor Heggiry’s manor. The wagon train rolled down the deserted and ruined main street towards the manor, but just as the group was about to reach the manor, four Juju zombies attacked!
Grifflebore attempted to annihilate one of the zombies with a Radiant Charge, but it dodged out of the way at the last second, leaving a sizable hole in the side of an abandoned building. During the battle, a wall of smoke advanced from the south along with an ominous bell tolling. Despite the danger and resilience of the semi-intelligent zombies, the group was able to defeat them thanks mainly to the powerful energy of Sarenrae channeled by Valeria.
As the last of the zombies was blasted by positive energy, the bell tolled twice more, and the wall of smoke coalesced into a wraith named Tol’Thun the Twice-Living, Thrice-Damned! Gunnar ran towards the manor, and an Abbess of Sarenrae blessed his weapon to attack the incorporeal monster. As the wraith flew around the battlefield draining the party members’ strength, Shania cleverly cast Burning Gaze on her raven familiar and executed a tandem spell attack.
After a long battle, the party emerged victorious and rolled on towards the manor. There, they found that the remaining refugees of the town have all gathered here after a long internal siege by evil forces. The party met Mayor Heggiry and Abbess Almestra, one of the few remaining practicing clerics in Carrion Hill. Tarrig, a cobbler in town, was pressed to present his eyewitness account of the massive abomination that started the horror.
He wasn’t able to provide many details beside the symbol (a gate) the monster painted with the guardsman’s carcass, the man that was eaten by the creature (a person known as Old Man Marshan), and the creature’s apparent large-size and invisibility. Mayor Heggiry answered the party’s questions, and beseeched them to investigate the building that Tarrig mentioned in his account. He offered the remaining portion of the city’s treasury, 1000 gold pieces, and 500 gold pieces from his personal fortune on top of the reward from the Pathfinder Guild.
The party agreed, and the Mayor gave them an assortment of invisibility-nullifying and recovery items.
Here’s the important loot from the module:
– scrolls from the relief effort
– an illuminated manuscript of The Bones Land in a Spiral
– 4 masterwork short swords
Along with items from the Mayor:
– 2 potions of Lesser Restoration (a red potion that tastes like watered-down cherry juice)
– a scroll of Lesser Invisibility (a scroll with the inscription OOBAKEEP)
– 2 potions of Cure Moderate Wounds (a yellow potion that tastes strongly of lemon)
– a scroll of Invisibility Purge (a scroll with the inscription EGNIBSIVNI)
– a dose of Dust of Appearance (a bag of purple dust)
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Pathfinder – Carrion My Wayward Son (12/28/13)
Hi everyone,
I wanted to post a few things before the game on Saturday.
1)
It’s been a few weeks since the group explored the Temple and freed Kormiggon. Due to your service for both the Pathfinder Society, the Church of Pharasma, and the Duskwardens decided to upgrade your accommodations. Your characters are currently staying at the Goldenwood Boughs, a luxurious hotel located in the Highside Stacks, the well-to-do district of Kaer Maga.
Two letters have been delivered to you care of the Pathfinder Society of Absalom. One is from Kormiggon, the swordsman you released from the slavery of the Shadow Lodge. The other is from Venture-Captain Dreng, the leader of the Absalom Pathfinder Guild.
Here is the letter from Kormiggon (read this one first).
To accept, you’ll need to talk to the Church of Pharasma and specifically the leader of the church: High Priestess of Death Delana Karaheis.
2)
Unfortunately, I may not get challenges made in time for the game. There’s a lot of other stuff added though!
See you guys later!
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Pathfinder City of Perfect Strangers Final – Jailhouse Rock
Whoa, it’s been 6 months since we lasted played Pathfinder?! Whoops!
Sorry for the huggeeeeee delay in the write-up for the last session, but
I’ve been lazywe’ve had a lot of false starts and things going on, so the review kind of fell by the wayside! I’ll try to be a bit more timely from now on about posting these.Also, I didn’t post this because, embarrassingly, I lost some of my notes/materials and the challenges from the previous session. Fortunately though, this was a heavy-encounter session (I actually remember all of those!).
Plot Summary:
In the previous session after the ambush at the Meatgate, the party found a heavy key featuring a person praying. Shortly thereafter (and after defeating the Cult of the Skinsaw), the party was collectively brought to Dakar’s hideout for a rare meeting with the Duskwarden leader Captain Alphonse, Dakar from the Merchant’s Guild, and Besel Ardoc of the Ardoc family.
It was revealed that the key to a prison in Kaer Maga called the Temple. The prison had long since been abandoned as justice in Kaer Maga is generally meted out swiftly and brutally without such ornamentation as ‘due process’ or ‘jurisprudence’. In addition, it was revealed by Dakar that the leader of the Lodge was a former Pathfinder named Kormiggon Sussworth, also known as The Wolfslayer.
The Duskwardens, still stretched thin from a civil war in the northern districts, asked the party to bring in Kormiggon alive for a sum of gold before the actual Pathfinder Guild (or worse, the Korvosan Army) decided to step in and solve things. At the same time, Dakar’s envoy offered to double the reward if Kormiggon was brought back to Dakar dead.
Inside the entrance to the Temple, Gunnar and Elorin found that not only was the Temple being used, but it was guarded by a regenerating troll. Shania swoled up Grifflebore using Enlarge Person, Valeria provided the Guidance of Sarenrae to all, and the party laid waste to the troll without a problem.
Other hazards confronted the group, including a giant scorpion kept by the Lodge as a pet and the last remnants of the Shadow Lodge’s goblin forces. Two Shadow Lodge operatives, a draconic sorceress and a human rogue, also attacked the group. When Shania put the sorceress to sleep, a debate arose within the group as to whether or not to kill her. The debate was truncated by
poor DM’ingGunnar smashing the sorceress to death.The party rummaged through a kitchen, dug through trash and found coupons, and confirmed that this was indeed the place where the goblins from the Halflight Path were armed. They also found diary entries indicating that Kormiggon, disillusioned with the Pathfinder Guild, made his way to Kaer Maga and made contact with a mysterious man known as the ‘Keeper’.
Eventually, the party made their way to the jail part of the Temple, and there they fought with hobgoblins, a goblin shaman, and a menacing bugbear. The jail cells were used to keep the goblin army while they were under the Shadow Lodge’s command.
On the upper floor of the jail, the party encountered unusually icy conditions. The traps that were laid out for the group were frozen or broken to the point of being useless. However, one particular arrow trap using an adamantine arrow pierced through the ice without any problem.
At the end of the hall, the group found Kormiggon but he seemed to be under the spell of an ancient necklace given to him by (perhaps) the Keeper or the bard Wymund Pratt. The necklace gave him control over a powerful ice golem, which proceeded to attack the party!
The ice golem’s assault was brutal, and Valeria had to call upon Sarenrae several times to counter the golem’s ice breath. Shania managed to get Kormiggon stuck while Gunnar fired arrows at the golem and at Kormoggin, and as Grifflebore and Elorin assaulted the former Pathfinder, the spell on the ancient necklace broke.
Kormiggon, confused and penitent, used his magic flame rapier Wolfslayer to help the group fight the icy menace, but as the ice golem grew weaker it exploded in a burst of icy shards that wounded everyone around it. A few heals from Valeria and quaffed potions though and everyone was back up and moving in no time. Inside a chest in the corner of the room, the party found a few magical items that were left over from the Shadow Lodge’s dealings.
Kormiggon gladly turned himself in for his crimes to the Duskwardens. Surprisingly, Dreng–the aged leader of the Absalom Pathfinder Guild–made the journey to Kaer Maga to pick up his former protege. More surprisingly, Dreng offered to make the group full-fledged Pathfinders! With that, the session closed.
Major Loot:
– Mithril Chain Shirt
– +1 Flame Rapier (called the Wolfslayer)
– a scroll of Touch of Idiocy
– a set of adamantine arrows
– Cackling Hag’s Blouse
Encounters:
– Troll
– Advanced Giant Scorpion
– Draconic Sorceress + Rogue
– 4 Goblin Warriors
– 2 Hobgoblins, a Goblin Shaman, and a Bugbear
– Kormiggon Sussworth (level 5 swordsman) and an Ice GolemThe next game is scheduled for 12/28. More materials will be revealed this week.
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Pathfinder Retrospective (2/9/13) – Mister Drow, That’s My Name, That Name Again Is Mister Drow
Yikes, has it been 4 months?
This update is long overdue, but this’ll be fairly short, since most of the session was taken up with combat.
Session Summary:
In the previous module part, the party managed to slay Wymund Pratt, a lower level Shadow Lodge operative who was being controlled by someone in town, and his retinue. After waiting some time in the Starry Night Inn, the group was summoned by the Duskwardens, Besel Ardoc, and Dakar of the Commerce League in a rare alliance.
They give the party a key piece of secret information: the leader of the Shadow Lodge of Kaer Maga is a man named Kormiggon Sussworth, a former Pathfinder renowned as the “Wolfslayer.” In addition, Captain Alphonse reveals that the Duskwardens received an anonymous note requesting a meeting at the Meatmarket to reveal more Shadow Lodge-related information.
Ardoc, Alphonse, and Dakar give the party the quest to stop the Shadow Lodge once and for all for the reward of 2000 gold pieces. However, Dakar’s operative gives the party another choice: bring Dakar Sussworth’s head and get 4000 gold pieces instead.
With only the note in hand, the party goes to the Meatmarket. After a while eating pillbugs and sugar skulls, someone recognizes Gunnar, and a group of Shadow Lodge operatives–led by a gnome named Mickey Ticklefeet–attack. The party manages to slay the group with the time-honored method of “hitting them extremely hard.” One of the operatives has a key with a strange insignia, so the group travels to the Duskwarden barracks to discern its meaning.
There, the Duskwardens explain that the key is for an abandoned prison called The Temple. Also, the short-handed Duskwardens request the group’s help with a Duskwarden operative that has gone missing while investigating a cult in town. Between the two quests, the party decides to investigate the cult first.
Using the last notes of the Duskwarden as a guide, the group is guided to an old court house within the walls of Kaer Maga where a group of drow calling themselves the Cult of the Skinsaw have taken refuge. The cult apparently abducts people from out of Kaer Maga’s alleys and “judges” them in a show trial before they are executed by an entity called “The Bailiff.”
The group manages to fight their way through the courthouse, and defeat the inquisitor behind the cult and her anti-paladin cohort, saving the town of Kaer Maga from one of the two threats and nabbing a sweet shortsword in the process.
Extra Character Sheets:
Lahng, Eyeland, Ayeziti – level 1 drow fighters, “Peace Officers” of the court
Jynn, Tahnic – level 2 drow rogues, “Warrant Servers” of the court
(DNDsheets lost my character sheet for Adkov, the level 3 priest/”Docket Keeper”)
Adjudicator Izeret – level 5 drow Vengeance Inquisitor
Volruska the Spider Knight – level 5 drow Anti-Paladin
Significant Loot:
Masterwork Short Sword of Allying (a short sword with a 3-man phalanx engraved on the blade)
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Pathfinder: City of Perfect Strangers Part 2 – Assault on Castle Hoobastank Post-Mortem
Hey everyone,
Hope everyone had a good time rollin’ bones in City of Perfect Strangers. I had a good time running it and City of Strangers 2 looks better I think. I’m not too enthusiastic as to how the module ends though, so I’m going to punch it up a bit. Before I go into the plot summary, here’s some of the prep materials and other extra stuff. The next Pathfinder game will probably be February 9th.
Also, update your DNDSheets pretty quickly if you can, because I sometimes use the new skills/spells you get to write the challenges.
First, here’s the loot list:
– several potions of Cure Light Wounds
– scroll of Sleep (2) (scroll with the inscription TGHIN TGHIN)
– scroll of Mage Armor
– Ring of Protection +1 (a gold ring embedded with a single emerald)
– potion of Cure Moderate Wounds (2) (a bubbly yellow potion that tastes like lemon)
– scroll of Dimensional Door (scroll with the inscription DOA DOA)
– scroll of Silence (scroll with the inscription TEIUQ)
– Cloak of Resistance +1
– +1 chain shirt
– Cloak of the Hedge Wizard (Enchantment) (a green cloak made of gossamer)
– Robe of Infinite Twine (a coarse robe made of burlap-looking material)
– scroll of Searing Light (a scroll with the inscription ERIALOS)
– Aegis of Recovery (a small spherical pendant made of rose quartz)
– Ioun Torch (a small obsidian octahedron)Two things about this list:
1) I actually kind of forgot how many CLW potions there were total. Since there are so many and it might be a little broken for everyone to have a lot of them, you can sell them back for full price, rather than for the normal half price.
2) The only thing that’s been claimed so far is the chain shirt (which was going to Bob’s cleric) so feel free to claim stuff on Facebook or whatever. The shirt was listed as ‘+1 chain shirt’ in the equipment list for Wymund, so I’m not sure if that means it’s magic (i.e. armor check penalty goes down by 1 and AC goes up by 1), or just masterwork (armor check penalty goes down by 1 only).
Second, here are the challenges:
I had a few that I made on the fly to replace some of the ones that were impossible to get in this session. I think I’ll probably stick with this setup in future modules (5 for each of you, 15 for the party).
Third, here are the custom character sheets I made for Fulgach and Bessie:
Fulgach the Disturber of Bones, level 5 Cleric of Urgathoa
Bessie the Animated Auroch Skeleton, minion of Fulgach
Finally, here’s the encounter/plot summary:
The party left off investigating the whereabouts of a famous Kaer Magan golem maker named Besel Ardoc. Besel is the head of the prestigious Ardoc family, and he seemed to be connected to the goons that were guarding the murdered Collgardie’s house. Through investigating and talking to various citizens of Kaer Maga, they found out that he liked to drink, he never travelled without six iron golems surrounding him at all times, he liked to drink in the Downmarket, he drank at a pub called the Augur’s Entrails, and he talks to the proprietor right after the pub opened.
As the party tried to stealthily tail Ardoc, they soon realized that this was unnecessary. A clearly confused and inebriated (and well-guarded) Besel Ardoc introduced himself to the group and had a conversation involving Collgardie and the mysterious Shadow Lodge that was seemingly behind Collgardie’s murder. The party learned that he was hired as a middleman by someone named Dakar of the Commerce League to guard Collgardie’s house in case some of the murderers came back. Ardoc then subcontracted out the guarding to a group of hired goons. When the party asked where they could talk to Dakar, all they got was a laugh and a promise that Ardoc would contact a friend of a friend of a friend etc. to arrange a meeting.
Going back to the Starry Night Inn, the party was greeted by five burly thugs and a short man named Upton who introduced himself as an ambassador or emissary of sorts to Dakar. Dakar is a very secretive man, he explained, so certain measures were needed to ensure his privacy if the party actually wanted to talk to him. To that end, he had the party wear a set of bags enchanted with a Silence spell, and made them endure a long wagon ride to Dakar’s private residence.
Once there, Dakar quickly asked the party what they wanted. When they replied they wanted information about the Shadow Lodge, Dakar replied that he knew where one of the (supposed?) leaders was hiding, but that he’d require a favor later despite the fact the party seemed to be helping him out. He explained that one of the leaders, a man named Wymund Pratt, was hiding in the abandoned and condemned Naderi Theater. Armed with this new information, the thugs put the bags back on the party members’ heads and took them back to the Inn.
The next morning, the group snuck into the alley leading to the theater, and got ambushed by a group of armed and angry goblins and a human sorceress named Vadoma. Shania put Vadoma to sleep with a hex, and the rest of the party started to fight the goblins. Eventually, after a pitched battle that involved such highlights as Gunnar atomizing a goblin with an arrow and Grifflebore slamming another goblin on the head so hard the goblin shrunk two inches in height, the party won. They captured Vadoma alive, and brought her back to the Duskwardens for interrogation. Then, they headed back to the alley.
After having Valeria (fresh off completing a quest to find dangerous goblin artifacts) patch up the group, Gunnar and Elorin made their way down a junk-filled, deserted, trap-laden alleyway aptly called Trap Alley. Elorin took a glaive trap to the face, but then managed to disable an arrow trap and a swinging axe trap with relative ease with his new thieves’ loupe. Gunnar and Elorin soon made their way to the front of the entrance to the theater, but they found that the way was blocked by a robed man named Fulgach, his two goblin cohorts, and his powerful minion: the animated skeleton of a full-grown auroch bull.
The party soon found themselves in another heated battle. The goblins, clearly afraid of Fulgach, beat a hasty retreat. Fulgach busted out with a powerful Visions of Hell spell that the party managed to shake off. Elorin charged at Fulgach with both swords drawn, Grifflebore attacked the skeleton, and Gunnar tried to pepper Fulgach with the arrows he gained from the amateur halfling fletcher he helped. With one mighty swing, Grifflebore managed to obliterate the skeleton, causing the already powerful Fulgach to channel the dark energy of Urgathoa to blast the party. Valeria and Shania were able to provide healing and divine guidance, though, and the party managed to survive.
They unlocked the front door of the theater with a key dropped by Fulgach, but they soon found that they were expected. A scroll of Alarm alerted Wymund to their presence, giving him enough time to summon three powerful wolves to help him take down the group. Wymund taunted them a bit, and then started to cast spells of his own. The large space of the dilapidated theater made the initial combat phase difficult, as Wymund’s spells (like Glitterdust) had a large range and the party was almost a hundred feet away. The wolves also stymied a frontal attack; Elorin tried to attack Wymund head-on and was ravaged and knocked unconscious almost immediately from a sustained assault by the wolves.
Eventually, the group closed the distance, and even though Wymund tried desperately to survive by using an Invisibility spell and a sneak attack, the group knocked him out. Unfortunately, as Wymund blacked out he hit his head hard on one of the seats in the theater, killing him and preventing the party from launching a full-scale interrogation. The party did managed to find a sheet with a number of cities and code names listed on it, along with a collection of magical items Wymund was buying to start his assault on the genuine Pathfinder guild.
The party now finds itself back where they started, the Starry Night Inn, awaiting news from Besel, the Duskwardens, and the Commerce League. There are also rumors that there’s a new threat in Kaer Maga that the Duskwardens are keen to see eradicated.
So, that’s it for right now. Be sure to leave more feedback about this session if you can and update your sheets with all your new skills and stuff.
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Pathfinder: City of Perfect Strangers Part 2 – Assault on Castle Hoobastank (1/5/13)
Well, well, well, it looks like we’re finally going to get a chance to finish up the first section ofCity of Strangers. Not much I needed to reiterate, except I did want to do something I forgot to do earlier: post the character sheets of the monsters from the sidequests.
Enoch (Shania) – Undead Guards
Eric (Grifflebore) – Tallow Boy Bernard
Jack (Gunnar) – Galgus the Mutant Rat
See you this weekend!
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Pathfinder City of Perfect Strangers Part 1 Post-Mortem: Crushin’ Lads and Rats
YO NERDS,
This post is literally 2 months overdue, but since my condo
I hope to all the gods in the heavenswill hopefully be ready in a few weeks, I think it’s about time to summarize the events that have transpired.Overall, this post is going to be pretty brief, since the module’s kind of gear-deficient starting out.
Firstly, here were the big complaints I got:
– The personal quests, while kind of cool, dragged on for non-participants.
– People kind of just assumed stuff during battle and didn’t coordinate, e.g. if someone wants flanking damage, they didn’t coordinate with another to assume position.
The personal quests were kind of a lark to get people seeing more of Kaer Maga and a bit of a test for me to see if I could weave some of the City of Strangers supplement and make new NPCs. They did kind of drag on for non-participants though, so what I’m thinking about doing for the start of the second module (not for the rest of the first part which we’re still on) is actually do a group-wide side quest, like investigating a bounty or a mini-dungeon. I think that’ll give me and you guys a chance to encounter classes we generally don’t go up against or play as.
For the second thing, I’d just say that if you want to do something like flank it’ll be great if you worked in-character and said something like, “HEY SO-AND-SO GET BEHIND THIS LICH AND WE’LL GET THE DROP ON EM'” or something. If you want something in battle, speak up is what I’m saying.
Second, here is the brief summary of the events:
The party had been staying at the Starry Night Inn in Kaer Maga with the Church of Pharasma footing the bill. They receive an invitation from a merchant named Tom Morrow the 3rd (grandson of the clownish zombie Svilennius controlled) asking for help with a minor caravan escort job. In addition, the note had a handwritten sentence from a Captain of the Duskwardens telling the group that they should take the job.
The job was fairly straightforward on the face of things–help the Duskwardens who were undermanned by the turf war in the Oriat district escort the caravan up the Halflight Path–but then the Captain reveals that they need the party for something else. Apparently, a group of people colloquially referred to as the “Shadow Lodge” has been impersonating Pathfinders and buying up a raft of magical items in Kaer Maga and elsewhere. The Duskwardens (among possibly other factions in the city) feel that if these psuedo-Pathfinders get too strong, then it may bring the wrath of real Pathfinders, if not the incensed armies of places like Korvosa, down upon Kaer Maga.
They task the party with going to a merchant named Collgardie’s house, as he was the one who first found out about these fake Pathfinders. On the way back up the Path though, a sophisticated cave-in trap blocks the party in a cavern with a set of goblins and a goblin shaman. The party emerges victorious, and notices that A) the trap is way too clever for goblins, and B) the goblins themselves were carrying potions marked with a strange symbol.
The party makes their way back to town, and after taking care of some side business, decide to visit Collgardie’s house. They find, however, that Collgardie’s been murdered, and a group of goons attack using strange weapons like stingchucks (skulls filled with vermin). After felling a few of the goons, one goon exclaims that the party was the one that murdered Collgardie and after some back and forth banter everyone stands down.
Clearly confused, the goons explain that they were there on the orders of a Besel Ardoc of the Ardoc family, an economically powerful golem merchant in the city who was a personal friend of Collgardie’s. The goons then go on to say that the party should seek out Ardoc.
As they explore the city and talk to the locals, the party finds out a few pieces of information about Ardoc, namely, he likes to drink and he travels with a contingent of powerful iron golems, but this isn’t enough information yet.
Third, the side missions:
– (Eric) Grifflebore Stuzen was contacted by a paladin of the Church of Iomedae in Korvosa to help maintain the secret information lines that the Church uses to keep tabs on things in Kaer Maga. This involved going to the Strapping Lad Social Club and delivering a coded message to a “Miss” Flowers, informing “her” that one of “her” boys revealed crucial information.
When the spy (named Bernard) was cornered by the blonde pig-tailed, pink sundress-wearing clay golem bouncer named Bubbles, the spy escaped via the rooftops. He confronts Grifflebore in an alley and attacks, but gets brutally beat down by Grifflebore’s paladin training and hammer.
The Church of Iomedae receives word about Grifflebore’s actions, and awards him a badge that can help with negotiation (or intimidation).
– (Enoch) Shania Casa was given a letter by an antiquarian in Kaer Maga who needed help identifying a magical stone that was purported to be related to the Pillars of Dream, a mysterious landmark in Kaer Maga that causes people to fall asleep. When Shania fell asleep between the Pillars, she dreamed that she was below Kaer Maga’s surface in a sadistic prison that straps people to chairs and causes them to have visions of horrible things. The object given by the antiquarian was revealed to be part of one of those chairs, knocked loose from the attacking forces of a creature known only as Anamnesis.
As the horrific shambling corpses of the prison helped Shania get free, several undead guards attempted to block the way out of the prison. Shania summoned a pony (!) and rode past them to get free.
Waking up back above ground, Shania goes back to the antiquarian and reveals the true nature of the item. The antiquarian was clearly shaken, but awards Shania a wand of Burning Hands and a tuning fork used for identifying magical items.
– (Jack) Gunnar was contacted by an excitable halfling archer (and amateur fletcher) named Adelard from the Warren district that saw him buy his composite longbow. Adelard needed some help fighting some sort of rat lurking in the sewers that had been vexing the halflings of the district for a while.
Gunnar accepts, and makes his way to a culvert where the rat had been sighted. He easily defeats a dire rat that had been lurking there, but Adelard surprises him by saying that the rat he killed has ‘only one head.’ A two-headed mutant rat bursts through the culvert wall and attacks. Eschewing his bow, Gunnar brings out his lucerne hammer to face the hideous creature. Drawing upon some hidden well of strength, Gunnar fatally smashes the huge rat into the wall, killing it instantly.
Gunnar goes back to Adelard, who is clearly pleased and impressed that the problem’s been dealt with. Adelard then rewards Gunnar with a quiver full of arrows he had been working on.
– (Steven) Elorin is contacted by the tengu rogues, whom the party had encountered in the Godsmouth Ossuary, who are asking for help retrieving a ledger held by Collgardie. The tengu wanted to give up adventuring after their disastrous time in the Ossuary, so they decided to open a shop. They believed that having Collgardie’s ledger would help them negotiate for better wholesale prices, so they tasked Elorin (who they correct guess to be a thief) with stealing it.
While in Collgardie’s house, Elorin comes upon a strange chest that looks to be the hiding place of the ledger, and finds out that the chest is in fact a Four-Trick-Trap Chest, a chest designed to administer deadly poison to those not intelligent enough to complete its questions. Elorin manages to pass enough of the tests to get the ledger and bring it to the Drinking Crow, a tengu bar.
The tengu are so pleased that they give Elorin a bag of junk they cobbled together, which includeda valuable loupe that hones trapfinding.
– (Bob) Someone from the Church of Sarenrae contacts Valeria to help search for several obsidian artifacts that have been favored by goblins in Kaer Maga. The artifacts seem to be idols relating to the four goblin Hero-Gods, and they seem to grant extra power to the goblins’ foul abilities.
The first artifact seemed to be in the possession of the shaman that ambushed the party in the Halflight Path. Valeria bartered for the second with a creepy old woman in the Ankar-Te district. A pathetic juggling goblin possessed the third artifact and sold it for a pittance to Valeria.
Rumor has it that the fourth was sold to a group of armor-clad goblins not longago.
Fourth, ok so maybe this post isn’t too brief but whatever here’s the loot:
– a raft of Cure Light Wounds potions– a box of fine cigars (unappraised)
– a bottle of Cramshire’s Special Reserve Vintage wine (unappraised)
Recently, denizens of Kaer Maga’s underworld have been made aware of a certain purportedly “Ultimate” guide to equipment, and have started to outfit themselves and their stashes accordingly.
Finally, challenges:
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Call of Cthulhu – We Need a New King, This One is in Tatters (8/11/12)
This will be a quick rundown of what happened last time in our Tatters of the King campaign. Though the enormous video stream has unfortunately been lost, in a rare moment of foresight I had written down what happened and when as the investigation team moved through London.
The Players:
Enoch P. as David Davis, Crown Prosecutor
Eric S. as Doctor Nikodemus Prosper, German Paleontologist
David K. as Doctor Rowan Legume, Renowned Psychologist
Justin H. as Genevieve “Gigi” Genovese, American Socialite by day and Con-Artist all the time
Kevin A. as Walter Paige, an art student at University College London and amateur actor
Notable People:
Talbot Estus – writer of “Carcosa”, an adaptation of “The King in Yellow” for English audiences; loaned investigators The King in Yellow and Der Wanderer durch den See.
Jean Hewart – an attractive young dilettante, acted in “Carcosa.” Daughter of Lord Hewart, the Lord Chief Justice of England. Befriended by Gigi.
Walter Paige – a handsome but sickly young man who acted in “Carcosa”, he’s an art student at University College London.
Dr. Charles Highsmith – superintendent at St. Agnes’ Asylum for the Deranged in Weobley, Herefordshire. Contacted Dr. Legume with a request for assistance determining whether a rather unusual patient of his, one Mr. Alexander Roby, should be recommended for release.
Alexander Roby – he and his brother, Grahame Roby, are the only surviving members of the Roby family following the brutal murder of their father and sister. Claims to be their murderer, though he was found in another room soon after the murders, which were committed in such a way that Alexander was eliminated as a suspect.
Mark Evans – orderly at the asylum who snuck Roby writing implements in exchange for future favors from the powerful Roby family. Was chastised and ceased.
Price – orderly at the asylum who escorts the investigators around the grounds, to both Roby and Harriwell’s cells.
Lucius Harriwell – fat mental patient in the cell next to Alexander Roby’s. Blamed for the horrible murder of an orderly, Cuthbert Yates.
Cuthbert Yates – orderly murdered about a year earlier. Seemed to be an unprovoked, senseless attack. Enough blood covered the room for two men, and there were two blood types found at the scene, though none of the other staff at St. Agnes’ were wounded in any way following the attack.
Grahame Roby – brother of Alexander, and a prominent merchant banker. In a meeting with Mr. Davis, showed himself to be a blunt and uncompromising man, wholly convinced of his brother’s insanity and willing to make the necessary calls to ensure that Roby remains at St. Agnes’. Suggested David speak with Inspector Stephens if he wished to know more of Alexander.
Dr. Lionel Trollope – the Roby family physician. He was called when the murders happened at the Roby residence. Dr. Trollope was murdered several days after speaking to the investigators. Before he died he sent a letter to the investigators, explaining some of the history of the Roby family and Alexander in particular. In this letter several leads are brought before the investigators.
Detective Inspector Andrew Taylor – investigating Dr. Trollope’s murder. Spoke to David Davis about his recent meeting with the Dcotor. Informed of the strange man which seemed to be shadowing the investigators over the past few days, and suggested the investigators call him again if they saw him.
Vincent Tuck – private detective hired by Grahame Roby to follow his brother, Alexander, for three weeks in November of 1925. Revealed that in November 1925, Alexander met almost nightly with three men: Lawrence Bacon, Malcolm Quarrie, and a fourth man only identified as Edwards.
Lawrence Bacon – Tuck described Bacon as being older in 1925 than he seems today in 1929. The investigators met Bacon at his place of business, an antique and rare book store in London, and spoke to him through the bars on his door (which he did not open to allow the investigators to enter). He requested any business cards the investigators had on them and bid them good day.
Shadowy figure – a man has been tailing the investigators. The description given of this man, along with the description of Dr. Trollope’s murderer, fits the man who knocked out David Davis in a bar and instructed the investigators to stop what they’re doing or “you’re dead.”
The Story Thus Far…
Thursday, November 3rd, 1929 – We open on our investigators stuck indoors as snow continues to blanket London
Friday, November 4th – David Davis schedules an appointment with Inspector Stephens
Saturday, November 5th – Investigators receive news of Dr. Trollope’s murder; David Davis schedules appointment with Detective Inspector Andrew Taylor, the lead detective on the case
Sunday, November 6th – Find whistle, talk to paper boy
Monday, November 7th – Blizzard
Tuesday, November 8th – Meeting with Bacon; meeting with Vincent Tuck; encounter man in bar