# Night's Embrace: Part 1--A Touch of Darkness



## Rystil Arden (May 11, 2006)

(OOC: The tumblers were finished, if I remember right, and Shan and Sulannus were talking to the guards who said that extradition and elven vigilantism were technically not legal but nobvody would probably prosecute if you did it)


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## jkason (May 11, 2006)

Sounds about right to me. The tumblers were looking to meet back up with Shan and Sulannus to show them their meagre take.

jason


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## Jolmo (May 11, 2006)

Checking in. Here's how the old thread ended for Shan and Sulannus:[sblock=RA and Sulannus]*The guard posts is sparsely manned with a few guards on duty in the area.*

"Halt, state your business," one of the guards calls out in greeting to the pair.

---

"We wish to report a crime," Sulannus says, looking past the guard into the post. "Do you have a superior on duty? I'm sure the watch will want our full report, for a woman was attacked and kidnapped before our very eyes."

---

"Another kidnapping?" the guard sighs, "You can give your testimony to the lieutenant then, if you want.  Follow me."

*He leads them into the small post to a desk where another guard is filling out some papers.*

"Lieutenant, sir?  We appear to have a visitor from the east who claims to have information on another disappearance, sir."

"From the east?" he looks up at the two newcomers and nods, "Ah yes.  Greetings, daughter of Sil'derr'an.  You have information for me?"

---

Sulannus nods, unconsciously assuming a courtier's posture, with her hands clasping each other and her back straightening.

"As I came to your city, I noticed in an alley what I first thought to be a brawl...but on closer examination turned out to be a fight for survival. An unseen voice cast spells, summoning monstrous beasts, which this warrior..." she indicates Shan, "and several others, fought bravely. At their side was a young woman, unconscious on the street."

"I joined them, but the creatures were too much for us. Though we finished them, they wounded us gravely, and the man who conjured them...a mage who seemed invisible to us...took the woman for reasons unknown. This happened two days ago, we were still too wounded to report yesterday."

Finally she lifts a curious eyebrow. "Has this, or something like it, happened before? And if so, would you consider accepting our aid?" Again she glances at Shan and hastily adds, "Should the others be willing, of course."

---

(My own post is missing. In short: "I am willing and it seemed the others were too. Do you think the same person was responsible for all kidnappings?")

---

*The lieutenant addresses Shan first.*

"Is it the same person?  I wouldn't know.  There could be one kidnapper who made a few kidnappings, an original who made only one kidnapping with copycats, or even disappearances that weren't kidnappings.  We aren't really sure."

*He turns back to Sulannus.*

"An elven vigilante?" he raises an eyebrow, "While our peoples have always been at peace and have been on good terms since our alliance against the northern hordes, you still have no rights to extradition within our domain according to the law.  Thus, I don't have the authority to authorise any vigilante actions you would take, none of the guards in the city do...However, if there is really a crazy mage on the loose, I'm sure that were you to take action 'without our knowledge', there would not be many who would call you down for it."[/sblock]How about the character sheets? I have the original version of Shan on disk, does everyone else have their character?

The goody xp from the other thread will have to go to Shan.


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## Boddynock (May 11, 2006)

I'm here. Let's get the party back together ASAP, so that we can get on with it.

Jolmo, I've got my copy of Kelloran - just waiting for the RG to go up before posting it again.

And by the way, I am officially downloading a copy of every thread I'm a part of, every time I post!

'Nock


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## Legildur (May 12, 2006)

I have my December version of Blunt available, but it lacks the experience points gained from the battle in the alleyway, and his current hit point total as well (I think about 3-4 hit points).  But yes, tumbling show had finished for the day with (IIRC) 12cp?  And we are now just waiting on Shan and Sulannus to return from the watch.


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## jkason (May 31, 2006)

RA: What time of day is it in game now?

thanks,

jason


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## Rystil Arden (Jun 1, 2006)

jkason said:
			
		

> RA: What time of day is it in game now?
> 
> thanks,
> 
> jason



 I believe that the tumblers told me they wanted to spend something like 4 hours working at tumbling, so it is midafternoon now.


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## jkason (Jun 16, 2006)

Timing question again: about how long does it take to get from the alley back to the temple meeting place? 

thanks,

jason


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## Rystil Arden (Jun 16, 2006)

jkason said:
			
		

> Timing question again: about how long does it take to get from the alley back to the temple meeting place?
> 
> thanks,
> 
> jason



 It takes about ten to fifteen minutes at a brisk pace.


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## Shayuri (Jul 12, 2006)

Agh...I give up. I am weak, and need guidence.

GM - Can we get a hint? Not about the tracking down of the girl and mage and all. That's good adventuring. But this whole "You're broke and unemployed and there are wolves after you," thing... Are we missing something that should be obvious? Are our brains just collectively failing? It's really starting to strip the polish off the chrome here...

Just thought I'd put in my bid.


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## Rystil Arden (Jul 12, 2006)

Shayuri said:
			
		

> Agh...I give up. I am weak, and need guidence.
> 
> GM - Can we get a hint? Not about the tracking down of the girl and mage and all. That's good adventuring. But this whole "You're broke and unemployed and there are wolves after you," thing... Are we missing something that should be obvious? Are our brains just collectively failing? It's really starting to strip the polish off the chrome here...
> 
> Just thought I'd put in my bid.



 Well, there's a reason that adventures go adventuring and kill people for their stuff, I guess.  Like many adventurers, you guys didn't take any Profession or Craft skills (correct me if I'm wrong on that), so other than your ability to fight (skills used as a guard or soldier), as first level characters, you don't really have much of an advantage on a common labourer, and if any labourer with the gumption to go asking around for a day or two could get a significantly better job than that, well, then there wouldn't be a slums full of poor people, right?  

If you can beat the mage, though, I suspect you should be able to loot enough of his stuff to be okay.  Other than those mentioned above, most ways to make money involve either training in a Profession or Craft or else a fair sum of money up front.  

Without a job, if you need a bit of money now, you may be okay on that front--Sulannus probably has good enough credit, if she reveals her family name, to warrant a loan.


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## Shayuri (Jul 12, 2006)

Arr...the ironic part is that I often DO take a Craft or Profession skill. But as idle noble, Su actually doesn't have any such skills as  part of her background. Hee hee.

I chortle at it.

And of course, she has IC reasons not to flaunt her family too. Bahahaha!

But you are correct, sir. Find the mage, sell his swag. It's the Adventurer Way.    Thanks for the cheer up.


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## Rystil Arden (Jul 12, 2006)

Shayuri said:
			
		

> Arr...the ironic part is that I often DO take a Craft or Profession skill. But as idle noble, Su actually doesn't have any such skills as  part of her background. Hee hee.
> 
> I chortle at it.
> 
> ...



 That actually is pretty ironic   But yes, killing people and taking their stuff is the adventurer way!  

When I ran this for my FtF group, they actually didn't have any money problems at the start, but later, a somewhat-eccentric NPC actually suggested to them to do an unrelated sidequest  involving rumours of treasure and danger just to get richer and more powerful when they were afraid they weren't strong enough to defeat their enemies


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## Boddynock (Jul 13, 2006)

Well, Kelloran has Profession (Innkeeper) +3. I just assumed that trying to find any sort of work in an inn would be compromised due to whatsisname's influence - you know, the one who took over the Armpit.

'Nock


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## Rystil Arden (Jul 13, 2006)

Boddynock said:
			
		

> Well, Kelloran has Profession (Innkeeper) +3. I just assumed that trying to find any sort of work in an inn would be compromised due to whatsisname's influence - you know, the one who took over the Armpit.
> 
> 'Nock



 Ah, it might be possible for Kel to find another job at an inn or tavern, but it isn't easy to find one that pays well, especially for someone just starting out who they don't know if they can trust.  It almost certainly wouldn't be enough to pay for everyone though, but it could do for Kel at least.


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## Boddynock (Jul 13, 2006)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> Ah, it might be possible for Kel to find another job at an inn or tavern, but it isn't easy to find one that pays well, especially for someone just starting out who they don't know if they can trust.  It almost certainly wouldn't be enough to pay for everyone though, but it could do for Kel at least.



Hmm, well that might be worth considering if everything else draws a blank. So far the adventuring life hasn't proven to be very ... lucrative.


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## Rystil Arden (Jul 13, 2006)

Boddynock said:
			
		

> Hmm, well that might be worth considering if everything else draws a blank. So far the adventuring life hasn't proven to be very ... lucrative.



 Adventuring tends to be pretty bang and bust.  It's like winning the lottery, I guess, and maybe that's why you see so many thugs with good weapons--they could have been adventurers down on their luck


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## Boddynock (Jul 13, 2006)

RA, I'm starting to get a bit bummed about all the dead ends. Is there _anything_ you can dangle in front of us to get us headed in the right direction? I know I'm probably just being obtuse but I'm beginning to feel as if there's no way forward. This game has been limping along for a while now - and I'm worried that players will just fade out. I've enjoyed it, though, so it's not one I'd like to lose. So some encouragement would be very gratefully received! 

OK, so getting that off my chest, what are our ways forward?

We could join the longshoreman's guild, and actively seek work on the docks. After all, if we're keen, which we are, that'd be a perfect excuse for us to be approaching people there.
It's already clear that Gather Information won't work, because we don't have enough cash to fund the enquiries.
Kel could try and find a job in one of the inns or taverns, and use his position to Gather Info ("How about another drink, on the house? Just don't tell the house! Now, about this mage ...")
Kel and Titus could go off and pick some pockets - Kel lightfingering and Titus providing some muscle if Kel gets into trouble. Then we would have to explain where the money came from to the others. (Bloody paladins.)
We could go back and hit the Armpit ... but I got the feeling whatsisname could wipe the floor with us, no trouble.
I still think Gather Information would be our best way forward. _We just need to come up with the readies!_
Have we already explored the question of a Wizards' Guild? Would there be any way to track the movements of a visiting mage?
_*Wait a minute? Wasn't there some promise of shared information from the watch captain (or somebody)? I admit it - I peeked - but the others might have forgotten this lead.*_
If that's a possibility, can we just fast forward to the time when they can go and pick up that information ... and get out of this bog?


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## Rystil Arden (Jul 13, 2006)

I think you have a lot of good ideas here.  Gather Info could be quite useful.  There wasn't a mage guild in this city, but you could definitely look for a loner mage to help you out--want to try a Knowledge (Local) on that?  The guard captain was going to get you some info--I believe a list of persons known to be missing currently.


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## Boddynock (Jul 13, 2006)

Moved to the RG thread.


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## Rystil Arden (Jul 13, 2006)

Uh, the Night's Embrace RG would be super!  Just search for Homebrew and Last Year in the Rogue's Galley forum and it should pop on the first page.


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## jkason (Jul 13, 2006)

D'oh! Sorry about not having copied over Titus. Somehow I missed the recreated RG thread. He's in there now, though.

jason


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## Legildur (Aug 2, 2006)

You mean that Blunt climbed a 60ft wall with only 3 hit points? Sheesh!  He should be more careful..... oh wait... that's my fault


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## Rystil Arden (Aug 2, 2006)

Legildur said:
			
		

> You mean that Blunt climbed a 60ft wall with only 3 hit points? Sheesh!  He should be more careful..... oh wait... that's my fault



 Three is indeed pretty low.  I think it was due to being very very negative before resting 

Jolmo, does the 3 count the extra night in the Hedge Mage's house?


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## Legildur (Aug 2, 2006)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> Jolmo, does the 3 count the extra night in the Hedge Mage's house?



I suspect not.  I thought it was about 3 before we set out to tumble and entertain for the day.


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## Jolmo (Aug 2, 2006)

I'm afraid it does. 

There was a list for current HP after the last clerical healing and then everyone but Shan got +4 for a full days rest. Unless we spent another 8 hours at some later point that's it. Hmn, we did arrive at the inn in the evening and leave it in the morning a day later I think, so it's possible it should be one full day plus one night for one more HP...


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## Rystil Arden (Aug 2, 2006)

Yeah, I think everyone should have precisely 1 more HP (up to a maximum of your max HP of course)   Yay 1 HP!


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## Legildur (Aug 11, 2006)

I'll be out of town for two days, so can RA NPC Blunt for me during that time?


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## Legildur (Oct 4, 2006)

RA.  I really, really, don't understand what is happening with the RG thread for this game.  Twice before I have searched for the RG thread.  And twice I've come up empty.

I followed the link you posted in the IC thread and that worked fine.  I've since replaced the Whisper Gnome with Blunt.

But what I don't understand is that I can't find the RG thread except by the link you provided?  If you navigate from the messageboards to the Rogues Gallery, I can't see any sign of the relevant thread... Hang on!  Just had a thought.  Maybe my settings are hiding older threads.....

Edit: Yeah, that was it.  I was relying on the forum default (which must be at least a month).  After switching to 'show all posts' I could see it on the 3rd page (3rd page didn't exist before).


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## Rystil Arden (Oct 4, 2006)

Legildur said:
			
		

> RA.  I really, really, don't understand what is happening with the RG thread for this game.  Twice before I have searched for the RG thread.  And twice I've come up empty.
> 
> I followed the link you posted in the IC thread and that worked fine.  I've since replaced the Whisper Gnome with Blunt.
> 
> ...



 Ah--that does it.  My suggestion in getting our thread quickly is to go to the bottom and show all threads with the category Homebrew.


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## Legildur (Oct 4, 2006)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> Ah--that does it.  My suggestion in getting our thread quickly is to go to the bottom and show all threads with the category Homebrew.



Ah well, I have all my relevant PbP threads sigged, so it's just a matter of clicking through there now.


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## jkason (Oct 4, 2006)

RA:

I'm trying to get my bearings a little in regards to where everyone is amongst the pile up here. Shan and Kel are off the boxes, as is the boar. Titus dug Sul out of the boxes, but how far is that from the action with the boar? And, does Titus have to traverse crates to get to the boar if he decides to join the melee / runs to stabalize Shan? 

For now, shooting the sling works fine, but I'm just trying to get things straight in my head if the situation changes.

thanks,

jason


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## Jolmo (Oct 6, 2006)

Diehard means that Shan automatically stabilizes, though I guess Titus may not know that.

RA, missed the post above?


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## Rystil Arden (Oct 6, 2006)

Oh--did he mean that was this round's actions?  Okey doke!


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## Shayuri (Oct 6, 2006)

Hey hey. Lemme preface this with a profound hope this doesn't come off as being whiny/rules lawyery/etc. Of course, with that preface, one expects it to be precisely those things, and I suppose to some extent it is...but I think they're valid questions/observations nevertheless.

1) Superboars. Ferocity is a nifty ability, but I just wanna make sure it's being used correctly. It allows a boar to keep fighting without penalty when disabled or dying, but it doesn't remove the condition altogether. It still loses a hit point each round that it takes a strenuous action. Ferocity just removes (as I understand it) the inability to make a full round of actions, and the tendency to fall unconscious. It seems to me that, if that one hit point drip per round under 0 was being observed, herr boar would have fallen a round or two earlier.

2) Silent mages. This may just be a condition of limited player knowledge, and if so, gleefully ignore.   It just seems like, for a mage whom we can hear chanting spell effects, he sure doesn't make much noise climbing out from under boxes, or over difficult cratey terrain. Might just be an oversight, but it seems like if they'd heard him clambering around, they could have acted sooner to smack him...and with a better idea of where he was.

Again, hope I don't come off as being overly nitpicky. This is just a very tough battle, and I feel justified scrabbling for any break we can get.


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## Rystil Arden (Oct 7, 2006)

> It allows a boar to keep fighting without penalty when disabled or dying, but it doesn't remove the condition altogether. It still loses a hit point each round that it takes a strenuous action. Ferocity just removes (as I understand it) the inability to make a full round of actions, and the tendency to fall unconscious.




True.  The boar still fell at the right time.  It has high Con.



> It just seems like, for a mage whom we can hear chanting spell effects, he sure doesn't make much noise climbing out from under boxes, or over difficult cratey terrain. Might just be an oversight, but it seems like if they'd heard him clambering around, they could have acted sooner to smack him...and with a better idea of where he was.




The Listen DC was fairly high, so nobody could pinpoint him.


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## Legildur (Oct 10, 2006)

Invisibility

Looks like with the mage casting, that the Listen check (as a free action each round) to pinpoint him would be DC 20 (0 for speaking and +20 to pinpoint).  But need to add +1 to DC for each 10ft of distance.


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## Rystil Arden (Oct 10, 2006)

Legildur said:
			
		

> Invisibility
> 
> Looks like with the mage casting, that the Listen check (as a free action each round) to pinpoint him would be DC 20 (0 for speaking and +20 to pinpoint).  But need to add +1 to DC for each 10ft of distance.



 Yep, that's the minimum base DC anyway in an otherwise-quiet environment.  Add in distance and possible other add-ons for distractions or loud noises to get the final result.


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## Jolmo (Oct 19, 2006)

Bump

Seems like one or both of the elves will approach an innkeeper, either at The Unicorn's Fancy or a similar inn. Anyone care to make the final decision?


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## Legildur (Nov 13, 2006)

RA, I'm trying to reconcile Blunt's experience point awards.  I had 150xps from the initial fight with the summoner (before the big EnWorld crash of 2006), and nothing since then.  Did I miss the award for the most recent battle with the summoner? (on a side note, I'm trying to recall how Blunt had 5 hps before the day's rest..... I thought he was only on 1... but happy to be shown how wrong I can be).


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## Rystil Arden (Nov 13, 2006)

Legildur said:
			
		

> RA, I'm trying to reconcile Blunt's experience point awards.  I had 150xps from the initial fight with the summoner (before the big EnWorld crash of 2006), and nothing since then.  Did I miss the award for the most recent battle with the summoner? (on a side note, I'm trying to recall how Blunt had 5 hps before the day's rest..... I thought he was only on 1... but happy to be shown how wrong I can be).



 XP at 150 is correct.  The other group had someone who spoke Abyssal and was awake so they got the XP immediately, but I forgot that you didn't.  You'll get the next installment in a lump sum very shortly   As for HP, is that from healing?  I thought you were stuck at 1ish also, +1 from rest?


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## jkason (Nov 14, 2006)

Not that I want to make things harder for us, but...

From this post plus this one, I had Titus as -11. If my math's right, he's still at -2 after Nhalia's spell. Did he wake up due to the 10% chance for stable characters, or did I maybe miss something?

jason


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## Rystil Arden (Nov 14, 2006)

(OOC: Nope, you're right--looks like he's at -1.  1 for last night + 2 + 7 = 10.  Two orisons will fix that, so let's say she does that!)


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## jkason (Nov 29, 2006)

I think I've never been so happy to level up before. Questions as I work on the crunch:

Do we have to go through "training time" for taking the next level in our same class or ranks in skills we already have? 

How do you want HP to work (roll, average, etc.)?

Since it sort of matters in this case, specifically, do our new HP pile onto our existing current HP, or do we merely increase our max possible HP and have to wait to "heal up" to that new max?

thanks,

jason


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## Rystil Arden (Nov 29, 2006)

(OOC: No training required _unless_ you take something new that you didn't have already and nobody in the party can teach you, which then requires finding a trainer.  HP is generally piled on, but I typically won't give XP in the middle of fights so you won't have to worry about the mysteriously regenerating combatants issue with that. Roll HP and take half rounded down if you don't beat that (so for d6, roll and take 3 if you get 2 or 1))


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## Jolmo (Nov 29, 2006)

Getting half as minimum means Shan wakes up after all.  Everyone else is crowded in Blunt and Titus room I guess?


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## Legildur (Nov 30, 2006)

Blunt now 2nd level and character sheet updated.  And thank goodness for your HP policy as Blunt also rolled a 1!  Hopefully Blunt will now be able to contribute a little more effectively as he just picked up the Improved Trip feat.  With his extra skill ranks, and with synergies kicking in, his maneuverability has also improved.


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## Rystil Arden (Nov 30, 2006)

Legildur said:
			
		

> Blunt now 2nd level and character sheet updated.  And thank goodness for your HP policy as Blunt also rolled a 1!  Hopefully Blunt will now be able to contribute a little more effectively as he just picked up the Improved Trip feat.  With his extra skill ranks, and with synergies kicking in, his maneuverability has also improved.



 I hate rolling a 1 or 2 on a high dice and gritting as the party Wizard snickers with more HP, so I'm glad to provide an HP policy that prevents this


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## Legildur (Nov 30, 2006)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> I hate rolling a 1 or 2 on a high dice and gritting as the party Wizard snickers with more HP, so I'm glad to provide an HP policy that prevents this



A 1 or a 2 is like a death sentence for a melee type, as that means you are usually under spec against challenge rating appropriate encounters.  It usually means that the warrior starts playing the coward for a level or two until it averages out.  In our live games we get to reroll, but you must take the second roll if you do.


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## Rystil Arden (Nov 30, 2006)

Legildur said:
			
		

> A 1 or a 2 is like a death sentence for a melee type, as that means you are usually under spec against challenge rating appropriate encounters.  It usually means that the warrior starts playing the coward for a level or two until it averages out.  In our live games we get to reroll, but you must take the second roll if you do.



 That averages out about the same, but it still leaves the possible for a double whammy (or even more frustrating--a 2 that rerolls into a 1 )


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## jkason (Nov 30, 2006)

Titus is set for Ranger 2. He also benefited from the "take at least half" rule. 

jason


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## Boddynock (Nov 30, 2006)

Well, Kelloran rolled half hit points anyway:
Night's Embrace: roll hp for 2nd level (1d4=2)

With his CON bonus that means he picks up 3 hp.

So, he's going to go Wizard - which means he's going to have to find someone to train him. Am I right in thinking that, apart from BAB, hp and saves, nothing changes yet? (Unless I choose to advance some existing skills, which isn't the most efficient way of doing it.)

His BAB doesn't change: 0 + 0 is still zip.
His hp go from 7 to 10.
His saves take the standard bump.

Is there anything else?

Oh, BTW, life is extraordinarily hectic at the moment, so my posting will be patchy for the next while. I may throw in a few one-liners just to let you know I'm still here. Once you confirm what changes *actually* happen straight away, I'll try to update Kel's character sheet ASAP.


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## Rystil Arden (Dec 1, 2006)

You are correct--I will let you retroactively apply the unused skill points when you get some training


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## Boddynock (Dec 11, 2006)

RA, I mentioned that Kel would pay for the second night using the second gem. Did that work out OK? And should I assume that the same transaction takes place? That is, gem given and 45gp offered in change?

That would mean that the party has a grand total of 90 gp & 4 cp (from the tumbling - can't forget the copper pieces!)

'N


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## Rystil Arden (Dec 11, 2006)

Boddynock said:
			
		

> RA, I mentioned that Kel would pay for the second night using the second gem. Did that work out OK? And should I assume that the same transaction takes place? That is, gem given and 45gp offered in change?
> 
> That would mean that the party has a grand total of 90 gp & 4 cp (from the tumbling - can't forget the copper pieces!)
> 
> 'N



 Sure--that's fine


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## Legildur (Dec 12, 2006)

90gp?  Well, I think we need to spend 36gp on food (12 days by 6 people @ 5sp/day), assuming Nhalia joins us and requires us to purchase rations for her as well.

The rest I think we should save for when we arrive in the capital.  Not that 54gp will go far... but it's all we have.

Do we need to replace the rope we left in the warehouse?  I was going to add that after Blunt's experiences that maybe a climber's kit would be in order... but at 80gp that is well out of the question.

Maybe some sunrods wouldn't go astray for when we are ambushed at night on the road to the capital


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## Legildur (Dec 12, 2006)

Jolmo said:
			
		

> (OOC: That's because Shan's not in the room.  )



Whoops!  My bad. I just assumed he was because of Sulannus' comment.  Ah well.

On another note, Blunt is now a substantially better tumbler (from +7 to +10 modifier, a 43% improvement!) and so stands a chance to make some real money (silver pieces) if we need it.


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## Legildur (Dec 15, 2006)

Boddynock,

Do you want to continue handling the party's finances? If so, do you want to amend the pool of loot to reflect the rations (6x12=72 days) for everyone (including Nhalia), sunrods (pick a number) [do we need a lantern], and 50ft of rope (to replace that left behind at the warehouse).

RA, only Shan Murkly is wearing medium armor (chain mail).  So Jolmo would need to make a decision about that.  But Blunt would be more than happy for the party to spend 10gp on a suit of leather armor for Shan for both traveling and sleeping purposes.

Legildur


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## Boddynock (Dec 16, 2006)

I'm happy to go on handling the finances. I'll update in a while about the cash spent. I'm also in favour of buying leather armour for Shan. And while we're at it, Kelloran would like to purchase a rapier.

Kel would argue for torches instead of sunrods, or else a lantern.

Actually, it'll be interesting for Kel to realize that the party does trust him with the valuables!  

'Nock


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## Legildur (Dec 16, 2006)

Boddynock said:
			
		

> I'm happy to go on handling the finances. I'll update in a while about the cash spent. I'm also in favour of buying leather armour for Shan. And while we're at it, Kelloran would like to purchase a rapier.
> 
> Kel would argue for torches instead of sunrods, or else a lantern.
> 
> Actually, it'll be interesting for Kel to realize that the party does trust him with the valuables!



Have we got the wealth for a rapier (20gp) and still have enough to get us through a few days in the capital?  If so, then go for it.

Shan's amor seems more of a priority to me.

I prefer sunrods, for the extra burn time (thinking about encumbrance v torch's 1 hour at 1lb for each item), extra light radius (30ft v 20ft), and quicker activation.  But I acknowlege teh 2gp cost per rod could be an issue for us until the DM throws some wealthier opponents our way.


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## Rystil Arden (Dec 16, 2006)

I'll wait on purchases then before playing through the travel


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## Legildur (Dec 16, 2006)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> I'll wait on purchases then before playing through the travel



Well, if we're to leave the money handling up to Kel, then we'll leave the purchasing decisions up to him as well.

Rations 36gp
Leather Armor 20gp
Rapier 20gp
5 sunrods 10gp
50ft rope 1gp
arrows (20) 1gp

Would be 88gp of our 90gp.

Kel can decide what we do and don't need.


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## Shayuri (Dec 16, 2006)

I'd like to add another 20 arrows to that, if I could.


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## Boddynock (Dec 16, 2006)

"Oh, no! All my ... I mean, our ... lovely gold."

OK, forget about the rapier - but he will buy another dagger.

Do you know, I never bothered to look closely at sunrods before - I was always just put off by the price. I didn't even realize they burned for 6 hours as opposed to a torch's 1 hour.

Kel's got 4 days' rations already, so make that 34 gp for the food. That still gives us all enough for 12 days.

Rations 34 gp
Leather Armor 20 gp
Dagger 2 gp
5 sunrods 10 gp
50ft rope 1 gp
arrows (40) 2 gp

That's a total of 69 gp.

*Oh, I've just realized that Kel has a hooded lantern and a flask of oil. Would we like to go with the lantern and some extra oil instead of sunrods? We could save 9.6 gp that way.*

"And by the way, my rope was a silken one, so I hope somebody'll be replacing that later on. And you still owe me 30 gp for the healing ... although, come to think of it, maybe we'll call that quits.  Thanks, Nhalia!"


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## Jolmo (Dec 16, 2006)

Shan has 3 sunrods already, and apparently Titus has 3 as well. (Unless one of those were used?) So some extra oil should be all that's needed.

We have a total of 10 rations between us, so we can save another 3 gp there as well. 

The armor... likely won't be used much after the journey, but I'll abide if you think it's worth it.


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## Legildur (Dec 16, 2006)

Okay, it sounds like the sunrods are already taken care of, so we can leave that off the list.

Extra oil sounds smart to me.

Dagger is a obvious one for Kel.

I think the leather armor for Shan is a good idea as otherwise, instead of like 11 days travel to the capital we are talking 17 days.....  Even if we sell it at half value at the other end I still think it makes a good investment.


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## Rystil Arden (Dec 16, 2006)

Legildur said:
			
		

> Okay, it sounds like the sunrods are already taken care of, so we can leave that off the list.
> 
> Extra oil sounds smart to me.
> 
> ...



 I think Jolmo means that Shan would just be going unarmoured if you don't get the leather as opposed to stubbornly wearing his chainmail and slowing you down.  It seems like a good investment to me in case I roll you a hostile random encounter (or if I have a planned encounter ).  Once I know for sure about the armour, I can probably let you keep purchasing some of the simple sundries as we continue


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## Legildur (Dec 16, 2006)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> Once I know for sure about the armour, I can probably let you keep purchasing some of the simple sundries as we continue



Well, you can take the armor as a given since both Blunt and Kel support it, Sulannus and Shan didn't oppose it, and Titus hasn't commented on it.


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## jkason (Dec 18, 2006)

Since we took over a week in travel, I assume we're all finally back to full HP? I think our characters probably forgot what being whole and healthy felt like. 

jason


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## Rystil Arden (Dec 18, 2006)

jkason said:
			
		

> Since we took over a week in travel, I assume we're all finally back to full HP? I think our characters probably forgot what being whole and healthy felt like.
> 
> jason



 Nhalia would have gotten you guys healed back to full by the second day of travel at the latest by pumping out healing spells, so yeah


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## Legildur (Dec 25, 2006)

I'll be away for a few days and unlikely to have net access. RA, can you please NPC Blunt in the meantime. Most of the action is likely to be with Kel in any case as he gathers information for us to use.


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## Boddynock (Dec 29, 2006)

Got caught up in all the Christmas busyness, so I'm just bringing all the purchases up to date now.

Rations 31 gp
Leather Armor 20 gp
Dagger 2 gp
Oil (4 flasks) 4 sp
50ft rope 1 gp
arrows (40) 2 gp

That's a total of 56 gp 4 sp.

That means we have 43 gp 6 sp 4 cp in party funds.

Someone else - Blunt? - can carry the rope, Shan has the leather armor, Sulannus has the arrows, Kel will take the dagger and another flask of oil, which leaves 3 flasks of oil for others to lay claim to. By the time we get to the city, all the rations will be gone, I guess.

By the way, I've checked character sheets, and Titus only speaks Abyssal. I thought he was going to teach Kel to read Elven and Draconic - looks like he'll have to ask Sulannus for tuition in those languages!

RA, given that she's prepared to spend some time with him (and he'll learn from anybody who offers to teach him - he's *hungry* for knowledge), how long will it take for Kel to develop literacy?

'Nock


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## Rystil Arden (Dec 31, 2006)

Boddynock said:
			
		

> Got caught up in all the Christmas busyness, so I'm just bringing all the purchases up to date now.
> 
> Rations 31 gp
> Leather Armor 20 gp
> ...



 Hmm...well, he's got pretty good Int--Let's just say he's a fast learner and picked up the skills during time spent on the trip


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## Legildur (Dec 31, 2006)

Boddynock said:
			
		

> That means we have 43 gp 6 sp 4 cp in party funds.
> 
> Someone else - Blunt? - can carry the rope, Shan has the leather armor, Sulannus has the arrows, Kel will take the dagger and another flask of oil, which leaves 3 flasks of oil for others to lay claim to. By the time we get to the city, all the rations will be gone, I guess.



Thanks 'Nock.  I've updated Blunt's character sheet to take the rope and one flask. He is, however, well under his encumbrance threshold, so is happy to carry a little more gear if it will relieve somone of an undesirable encumbrance restriction.


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## Boddynock (Dec 31, 2006)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> Hmm...well, he's got pretty good Int--Let's just say he's a fast learner and picked up the skills during time spent on the trip



*Sweet!*


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## Legildur (Mar 28, 2007)

Hogwarts! I've not got any insight into what other threads to follow.

Except it may be useful to investigate whether there have been kidnappings here?


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## Shayuri (Mar 31, 2007)

Except that the kidnappings in the other town seem to have been aberrations on the part of the mage there?

I dunno.

I feel like we must be missing something, but I'm just not seeing it.


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## Legildur (Jun 12, 2007)

Do you wall want to contribute to the list of things that Blunt needs to research?

I'll try and trawl through the IC thread later... but there are a 1000 messages there... so any help would be appreciated.


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## jkason (Jun 12, 2007)

Well, Night's Embrace in general. Ways they were defeated in the past (weaknesses, etc). Possible information about their rituals which might allow us to uncover members in the city.

I'd say also info on the princess might be helpful, and about the details of her upcoming ceremony (these might or might not intersect with information about the ritual Night's Embrace are looking to attempt).


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## Legildur (Aug 2, 2007)

Sorry RA! I didn't realise that Blunt was already in the Library beavering away..... I thought we were all still together...


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## Rystil Arden (Dec 1, 2007)

: pokes with stick for Shayuri's benefit :


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## Shayuri (Feb 6, 2008)

Argh!

Remember way back when I was trying to decide what to take for Sulannus' second level, and then maybe I was going to make her a duskblade and...blah!

I'm just having deep problems with Sulannus, and I don't know what to do. Mechanically...thematically...conceptually... I messed up with her from the very start, not checking with Rystil for the appropriate background elements and just making assumptions about how things worked. Those assumptions turned out to be wrong, so her background no longer makes sense. Plus, the whole 'arcane archer' thing looks great on paper, but it's a long, awful slog to get to the point where it really works. Not to mention we lost a major melee character, so a duskblade would be great. But she's not built to be a melee character. She hasn't got the strength or constitution to make it work.

This is why I've been having trouble posting. I have no idea where to take Su...either RPwise or mechanicswise.

Any suggestions are appreciated.


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## Legildur (Feb 6, 2008)

What about the Champion of Correllon PrC in Races of the Wild? A decent melee class and could fit with Sul moving towards a more 'champion' against Night's Emrace if Sul thought it posed a threat to the elves.

Similarly for Pious Templar - as a champion of your god.


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## jkason (Feb 6, 2008)

Shayuri said:
			
		

> Not to mention we lost a major melee character, so a duskblade would be great. But she's not built to be a melee character. She hasn't got the strength or constitution to make it work.
> 
> This is why I've been having trouble posting. I have no idea where to take Su...either RPwise or mechanicswise.




Is it possible, given the circustances, that Rystil would allow you to swap around some of your scores? Flipping DEX and STR gives a better melee attack and damage on its own, but if you want a Duskblade with higher STR and CON, it strikes me that if you move your 17 from DEX to CON (dropping it to 15 for the racial penalty), flip the 14 to STR (since it no longer takes a racial penalty), then plop your 13 into DEX, you have a more workable stat block for the class you're looking at. 14 STR, 15 CON, 13 DEX (+2, +2, and +1 bonuses, respectively).  You aren't entirely re-statting the character because you're using the values you already chose, but wind up with mechanics you can maybe work with more?

As far as background, I'm afraid I've lost the thread where you really detailed that (back when we were pitching characters, I believe), but I seem to recall Sul was running away to be more resilient and self-reliant? That still all works, and you wouldn't necessarily have to change her characterization a lot; she's just more physically aggressive in this permutation, yes? 

jason


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## Rystil Arden (Feb 6, 2008)

I agree with Legildur and jkason that a rework can be done mechanically.  Also note that while we lost a major  melee character, most of the rest of the party is actually still major melee characters   This group was a bit unbalanced that way from the start (Paladin, Ranger, Monk, Fighter, Rogue), so if you still wanted her to be not a melee fighter (like Arcane Archer, etc), that would be fine for group dynamics.

As for the backstory, it works pretty easily if Sulannus's mother is dead or otherwise rendered incapable of transferring her political privilege (or else on the verge of being so)--if Sulannus is the heir, then her family would be pretty much insistent that she find a covarath _immediately_ because otherwise the family basically has no political leverage or say in anything.  She could easily be running away from that--that's not a commitment, or amount of pressure, that everyone could deal with.


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## Rystil Arden (Feb 21, 2008)

Poke?


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## Shayuri (Feb 21, 2008)

Heya. At work. Busy day.

I apologize for not posting last night. 

Would you be open, as an option, to me moving some of Sulannus' scores around a bit?

I am having ideas...and they intrigue me. Also, is my reading of the rules correct in that a Duskblade could qualify for Arcane Archer with no further multiclassing?


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## Rystil Arden (Feb 21, 2008)

I would say moving them a little is fine.  Changing something from like 8 to 18 or something similarly drastic might be a bit much, of course, to keep her character consistent, and I forget if she was knocked down low / almost killed in the first fight, but if so, let's not lower her Con (since she might have died with the lower Con), but otherwise, I'm game for some moves.

Bear in mind that when it comes to the channeling of full attacks (which, given the speed of PbP games will probably come up...never), I endorse the reading that you have to attack different targets, since each individual target can only be hit by it once.  Of course, if you multiclassed into Arcane Archer, you'd never have to worry about that anyway.  It does indeed look like a single-classed Duskblade has no problem qualifying for AA at level 6.


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## Legildur (Feb 22, 2008)

Shayuri said:
			
		

> I apologize for not posting last night.



Have I missed something in the IC thread??? <runs off to check>


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## Shayuri (Feb 22, 2008)

Hee, no... Rystil brought the OOC thread's suggestion to my attention, and I said I'd seen them and would post. Then a game of Supreme Commander got out of hand and... *cough*

But werry soon I will be fixing Sulannus up real good.

I like Rystil's idea for revising her background story, though I feel it could use some 'punch.' It seems kind of like a dubious, whiny, annoying thing for her to do...though I suppose some would say that fits her to a T. 

Mechanicswise, I think I'm finally settling. There won't even be a huge change. Of course the Duskblade retcon could be considered big...but it's explained in game by the lessons and so on. We'll just say she was -almost- a Duskblade before...and this pushed her over the edge.


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## Rystil Arden (Feb 22, 2008)

Shayuri said:
			
		

> Hee, no... Rystil brought the OOC thread's suggestion to my attention, and I said I'd seen them and would post. Then a game of Supreme Commander got out of hand and... *cough*
> 
> But werry soon I will be fixing Sulannus up real good.
> 
> ...



 Sounds like a plan to me.  @Story--If you would prefer less of an abdication of responsibility, there are other themes to explore (frex, sister who doesn't like Sulannus becomes heir and brings a man into power making her life miserable), but I fear that they move rather far afield from the original backstory you wrote, which is more-or-less homologous to my above proposal.


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## Rystil Arden (Feb 27, 2008)

Let me know when/if you're ready to continue


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## Shayuri (Feb 27, 2008)

Hee...yes. Sorry, less free time than I anticipated.

I'll put up a proposed revision asap...most likely tomorrow evening. But I am ready to resume the game, since we're not in a crunch-heavy zone right now. 

Speaking of resuming, don't forget the Rowaini game.


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## Rystil Arden (Feb 27, 2008)

Shayuri said:
			
		

> Hee...yes. Sorry, less free time than I anticipated.
> 
> I'll put up a proposed revision asap...most likely tomorrow evening. But I am ready to resume the game, since we're not in a crunch-heavy zone right now.
> 
> Speaking of resuming, don't forget the Rowaini game.



 I haven't forgotten--I didn't get a chance to update any games for the past few days.  Do I need to bump Night's Embrace IC?  I thought it was a waiting-for-the-players thing.


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## Legildur (Feb 27, 2008)

I thought we had finished with the halfling cleric and were moving north?


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## jkason (Feb 27, 2008)

I, too, thought we were done with the cleric and were forest-bound.

jason


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## Shayuri (Mar 6, 2008)

Ahem.

After taking so embarrassingly long on this, that I was seriously thinking I should just drop out rather than continue to hold the game up, I've decided the only answer is almost as drastic.

Sulannus will be a paladin or a cleric.

I'm leaning cleric with Elf domain, so she can still be an archer. Corellon, naturally.

That ALSO solves my background issue, because it lets me give her a spiritual calling. 

I am -really- sorry I've been such a horror over all this. I will make it up with vigorous posts IC. Thanks to everyone for patience.

In terms of this weirdly affecting the continuity, I have an idea. Perhaps the 'calling' by the Seldarine comes now instead of before...thus explaining why she couldn't heal us before and so on. I could even multiclass, though that has consequences for elves, so I'd rather not. 

Anyway, I -will- be posting a revised sheet tonight. It is number one priority on getting home.

Thoughts and comments are welcome.

Once again, thanks for not bawling me out.


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## Rystil Arden (Mar 6, 2008)

Zoinks!  If I had known that, I would have sent you guys Dhistan (Nhalia's brother) as the captive earlier instead of Nhalia.  All the other groups got him, but since you guys had no healers, I gave you his cleric sister instead.  Now we'll have two elven clerics of Corellon and Sehanine.  Maybe I can come up with a plausible reason to switch in Dhistan.  He's a more amusing NPC anyway.


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## Shayuri (Mar 6, 2008)

Hee. That was one reason I was drawn to this...I didn't want you to feel you had to use Nhalia... Mostly though, it just fits the character in my head better. Duskblade is good, but not for archers. I could ditch the archery, but then we'd be heavy melee, low casting and dependent on an NPC for healing.

It just makes sense. Mechanically, thematically, characterwise...ecumenically?

Plus, she even prayed already! During the fight...and it worked. See? 

Anyway...I'm really happy about this idea. It's kindling in my head. BOOOM.

I so rarely play clerics...I usually do druids. This should be fun.


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## Rystil Arden (Mar 6, 2008)

Hmm, I wish I had known that before you guys left the city though.

Looking at stats, assuming you put the 17 in Wisdom, it looks like if you still want to do archery, you'll have to put the 14 from Con into Dex and then the 13 from Str into Con, becoming 11.  Would the -3 maximum HP (1 from Con, 2 from lower HD) have changed anything in the first fight?


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## Shayuri (Mar 7, 2008)

I don't know...I don't -think- so.

I was going to ask you about that too...

I guess I can't get the +2 to dex now.


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## Rystil Arden (Mar 7, 2008)

Shayuri said:
			
		

> I don't know...I don't -think- so.
> 
> I was going to ask you about that too...
> 
> I guess I can't get the +2 to dex now.



 You mean the +2 Dex -2 Str on top of the +2 Int -2 Con or just the +2 Dex -2 Con?  Both of those are for being a different subrace, so that wouldn't fit Sul's backstory, right?


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## Shayuri (Mar 7, 2008)

Hehe, yeah, yer right. If I'd made her a cleric from the start, she would have been a moon elf, I suspect...

But that's more of a change than I'm comfortable with in hindsight. So despite Int not doing much for her now, it shall be so.

Man...this is hard! I keep trying to find ways for her not to kind of bite...

Oh well. She'll probably be too busy casting heals and stuff to try to shoot arrows.

Is the Corellon in your game the same from Forgotten Realms? Same domains and such?


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## Rystil Arden (Mar 7, 2008)

Shayuri said:
			
		

> Hehe, yeah, yer right. If I'd made her a cleric from the start, she would have been a moon elf, I suspect...
> 
> But that's more of a change than I'm comfortable with in hindsight. So despite Int not doing much for her now, it shall be so.
> 
> ...



 Very similar.  The deities are similar, but some of the minor FR gods are more important in Sundaria.  The domains and such stay the same.  I use the Great Wheel and Planescape, so deities will stay consistent.


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## Shayuri (Mar 11, 2008)

Hmm...the RG fell off the threads, and for some reason no one's sigs are showing up, even in their first posts. Could we get a link to the RG? Sorry to be a pest.


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## Rystil Arden (Mar 11, 2008)

Shayuri said:
			
		

> Hmm...the RG fell off the threads, and for some reason no one's sigs are showing up, even in their first posts. Could we get a link to the RG? Sorry to be a pest.



RG.


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## Shayuri (Mar 11, 2008)

Thank you, sir.


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## Shayuri (Mar 11, 2008)

Okay! Sheet edited. It's a lot easier to do D&D characters when there's no gear. 

The only big question I have at this point is: Which domain? I'm torn between Protection and War. I'd take both, but I need Elf domain too.

Thoughts? I should note that Cleric Su is even more pathetic in combat than original Su. Hence the attraction of War.


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## jkason (Mar 11, 2008)

Well, Protection comes with Sanctuary as its first level domain spell. I seem to recall a couple of times where there was just one of us running around trying to keep us alive; Sanctuary might prove useful if you need a few unmolested rounds to heal folks up. 

jason


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## Shayuri (Mar 11, 2008)

Hee, true. But I can always prep it as a normal spell too.


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## Legildur (Mar 12, 2008)

Not sure if War is that powerful. If it fits the theme, then sure, go for it. The higher level domain spells are awesome, but not that much below that.


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## Rystil Arden (Mar 12, 2008)

The interesting thing about domains is that you only need one that has reasonable spells in it to take, since you can't pick from both.  Getting good domain powers is important too.  As they go, Protection is not so great, especially since the 1 time bonus has to be pre-buffed and only lasts an hour, and it doesn't stack with Cloak of Resistance.  War Domain's free Weapon Focus counteracts the loss of BAB for Cleric, and it also gives free weapon proficiency.  The trouble is that Corellon's Favoured Weapon is _not_ the bow, so the rather powerful combo of Elf + War domains to get two bonus archery feats at level 1 only works for Shevaresh.


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## Dire Lemming (Mar 12, 2008)

Hey Rystil, sorry to bring this up in an unrelated thread but since the game is dead I don't suppose I'll get an answer posting in it's threads.  Just what happened to Equivalent Exchange?


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## Shayuri (Mar 12, 2008)

Yeah, Rystil, I noticed that Corellon favors the longsword too...but it's still better than Protection's domain powah...

And I just can't see Su following another god. Gotta be Corellon. He da man.


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## Rystil Arden (Mar 12, 2008)

Dire Lemming said:
			
		

> Hey Rystil, sorry to bring this up in an unrelated thread but since the game is dead I don't suppose I'll get an answer posting in it's threads.  Just what happened to Equivalent Exchange?



 Momentum loss.  It seems to happen eventually to most PbPs, especially those with Mutants and Masterminds as the base ruleset for whatever reason.  I've only really seen games end a natural planned way in the Living X forums (but not Living Supers, since that falls to the Mutants and Masterminds thing)


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## Rystil Arden (Mar 12, 2008)

Shayuri said:
			
		

> Yeah, Rystil, I noticed that Corellon favors the longsword too...but it's still better than Protection's domain powah...
> 
> And I just can't see Su following another god. Gotta be Corellon. He da man.



 Yeah, Shevaresh kinda sucks anyway--pretty much usually powergamers who want him as a god.  The odd thing is that Sehanine Moonbow doesn't, despite her name, have a bow as her favoured weapon.  Not that she has the War domain anyway.


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## Shayuri (Mar 12, 2008)

It's actually extremely rare, it seems, for a god to have a ranged weapon favored.

I think the designers typically assume, consciously or not, that a cleric is basically a "divine fighter," and pattern favored weapons with that in mind. A war-domain cleric is supposed to get down and dirty in melee...

You'd think elf clerics wouldn't necessarily conform to that...but eh. I think I'll take War.

A little extra oomph never hurts, and since adventurers rarely engage foes at great range, someone running in to melee me will probably happen a lot.


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## Dire Lemming (Mar 12, 2008)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> Momentum loss.  It seems to happen eventually to most PbPs, especially those with Mutants and Masterminds as the base ruleset for whatever reason.  I've only really seen games end a natural planned way in the Living X forums (but not Living Supers, since that falls to the Mutants and Masterminds thing)




Poor Al... *sniff*  Now he'll never be reunited with his brother...   Except SPOILER in the movie... SPOILER

Well if you ever start up something like that again I'll be happy to play.


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