# The Reconquista OOC



## Branding Opportunity

*IC THREAD* 
*INFO THREAD*

_Players in this game:_

_Rhun (Reivik Dalrak Dwarf Bard1/Barbarian2/Fighter4/War Chanter4)_
_Thanee (Latalya Elven Fighter1/Wizard6/SpellSword1/EldritchKnight3)_
_J. Alexander (George Anarion Elven Rogue11)_
_James Heard (Mavic Larigne Human Wizard11)_
_Scotley (Morley Human Ranger 11)_
_Bloodweaver1 (Anastasia Winterheart Human Fighter2/Paladin6/Cavalier3)_
_hafrogman (Gregor Human Druid 10/Warshaper1)_

*ORIGINAL INTRODUCTION*

Greetings all,

I am pressganging for a new medium-level mini-campaign set in the World of Greyhawk, specifically the March of Sterich. The time is CY 592, eight years after the invasion of the March and its neighbors by the humanoid and giant forces from the Crystalmists and Jotens. While the Grand Duchy of Geoff is still under non-human control, Sterich was able to drive off most of its occupiers four years ago, although much of the country still lies in ruin and it is a far from stable realm.

In order to muster support against the invading forces, King Skotti of Keoland promised titles and land to anyone who could provide soldiers to come to Sterich’s and Geoff’s defense. In the aftermath of the war, the March is now overrun by petty nobles, many of whom lay claim to the same land, and some whose titles are shaky at best.

Sterich’s capitol, Istivin, is at the center of their squabbling, but something else is amiss in the city. When the liberating forces first fought their way back there in CY 586 no trace remained of King Galmoor of the giants, or indeed of any destruction after the initial raids of 584. In striking contrast to other liberated towns, which had been destroyed, most buildings in Istivin remained in perfect repair. Though most of the returning citizens noticed few differences, the city’s buildings seemed to cast longer shadows than before the war. Men in taverns seemed more likely to raise a fist in anger. A rash of mysterious fires consumed the homes of several important clerics.

Nights now find the streets of Istivin nearly empty, even of city guards. Those brave souls who dare the darkness do so in great haste, running from place to place with weapons drawn. Many have disappeared in the city at night.

It is to this that the PCs now return.


BASICS:
Players will take the part of warriors (in the general and not the NPC-class-specific sense of the word) who have been battling the humanoid and giant forces through most of their adventuring careers. Having served the people of Sterich, Geoff, Keoland and the Yeomanry well and dutifully they now come to Istivin to claim their rewards at court. In order to tell this story, I will use the mini-campaign “Istivin: City of Shadows” from _Dungeon_ magazines #117, 118, and 119 as a backdrop.

I am looking for 4-6 players who are interested in playing both an old-fashioned Greyhawk D&D game, and dealing with the challenge of clearing their newly-earned land, and establishing themselves as lords of it. There are still many dangers to be faced in Sterich, and any PCs who specialize in fighting the giant menace will find themselves in great demand during these adventures. In addition, PCs who have a connection to the drow (either being one, or being drow-hunters) will eventually find their skills useful (_hint, hint_.)


CHARACTER CREATION:

LEVEL: 11 (at 60,500 XP)

RACE: Any of the common races from the PHB 3.5, and in addition: Gray Elves, Wood Elves, Mountain Dwarves, Deep (Stout) Halflings, and Tallfellow Halflings. Non-standard races are allowed but discouraged, and there is so much animosity against many of them in the March that players will either have to be VERY good at disguise or be willing to do a lot of talking (mainly in the form of “Don’t kill me, I’m on your side!).

ATTRIBUTES: 32-pt. Point buy (plus don’t forget stat adjustments at 4th and 8th level). 

CLASS/PRESTIGE CLASS: All Core classes and most from the “Races of” and “Complete” series (ask me). I’m also fond of Malhavoc and Green Ronin’s books, so if you want to use something from there I'll probably say yes, but run it by me first, please. The main point is that they make sense within the campaign setting of the “Reconquista.”

HIT POINTS: Max at first level, after that half your hit die, add one (if your HD is d4 or d6) or add two (if it’s d8 or above) and your Con modifier.

SKILLS AND FEATS: Any from the Core, “Races of”, and “Complete” series. In addition, you can use the Greyhawk Regional Feats presented in _Dragon_ magazine issues #315, and #319. If you don’t have access to these, let me know, and I’ll tell you what is available to you, depending on your home region.

MONEY/EQUIPMENT: Standard amount for 11th level PCs from the DMG (66,000 gp)

HOME REGION: Everyone needs to be from somewhere, with citizens of the Sheldomar Valley preferred. You can be from other areas of the Flanaess, but it should be the exception, not the rule.

CAVEAT: I’m sure I’ve forgotten some aspect of character creation, so please feel free to ask.

I will choose the first 4-6 who post a completed character sheet (stats, equipment, description/history) to this thread.


INTRODUCTORY SESSION:

Before we start the first adventure, I’d like to try something a little different. Since we’re starting at a fairly advanced stage, there is probably a lot of shared history between the PCs. Well, actually, I’m saying that there is a lot of shared history, period.

In order to create this backstory, I am planning on posting 8 or 9 short adventure synopses, those adventures which brought the PCs (as a group) from 1st to their current level. After each synopsis, players can make short comments as to what they learned from that adventure, outstanding monsters or traps overcome, magic items they acquired/made, friends lost or found, mortal enemies made, new classes begun, etc; everything that normally happens during the course of an adventure. These descriptions don’t have to be long, a short paragraph will suffice. In addition, players can add more normal life events which occurred between adventures, such as marriages, births, deaths, training with a wise, old man, travel, enlightening experiences, etc.

The reason I think this will be interesting, is that not only will it create tons of material for role-playing (“This reminds me of the time you polymorphed me into at otyugh for three days!”), but it will ground the players within the setting, giving everything a context. That +2 keen kukri that the rogue owns will be the one that he nicked off the high priest of Vecna while they were battling the gnoll iconoclasts in the Vevse Forest.

If this is something that sounds interesting, please let me know. I’d like everyone to be able to post 2-3 times a week.


COPY OF ADVENTURE SYNOPSES

FIRST ADVENTURE SYNOPSIS
[sblock]
THE SETTING

It was the 3rd of Fireseek, 585 CY and it was the beginning of the end. Fate, that most inscrutable of mistresses had brought you all to the village of Fitela, on the southern banks of the rushing Davish river.
Much of the March of Sterich was already in flames, put to the torch by large bands of marauding orcs and bugbears who slaughtered every living thing in their path. Sadly they were only the vanguard of the main assault. Once they had drawn out the brave Sterich halberdiers and the rightly famous light cavalry onto the field of battle, the giants of the mountains appeared out of nowhere. They drove a blinding snow in front of them, freezing unprotected men in their tracks. Thousands died in these assaults, and the brave men and women of the March’s forces, blinded and half-frozen, retreated in desperation to the capitol Istivin. This had been a week-and-a-half before.
The village of Fitella was in a panic. The village alderman, in consultation with the local priest of Allitur had decided to wait for further instruction from the Earl. They hoped that he and his forces would be able to stop the advancing forces at Istivin, safe behind the enormous, protective curtain walls which had withstood assaulting armies for centuries. At the moment, the battles back west seemed far away, although they were beginning to inch closer.

THE PLAYERS ASSEMBLE

Reivik had been in the easternmost Joten fort, doing general labour on the fortifications and collecting stories from the soldiers stationed there, until the invasion began.
In accordance with the evacuation order, he left southern Sterich. It seemed that the most sensible course open to him was to travel to the capital - he was neither militia nor general army, but if he wanted to do some good in the war, the army's mustering point seemed a likely place to start.  Fitela lay on his route...

Mavic spent the last couple of weeks assembling his band of warriors and hiring unsavory mercenaries from the Sea Barons. It was obvious that his father wouldn't leave the manor, so with the help of his trusted lieutenant Gregos he determined that the risk was worth doing. Heady with pride and arrogance from his adventures, he was sure that with some effort his band of skirmishers would be able to infiltrate the giant lines and rescue his family from their own stubborness. Besides, if he didn't do it then no one would- his brothers were surely attached firmly to the backside of that coward Querchard and his armies. Rumors said that everything south of Mittleberg was lost, but his family had been in the area for generations and knew every hidden cave and hob den to hide in for miles around. They were alive, if only in Mavic's reckless mind.

Latalya was traveling in northern Keoland, when the news of the invasion raced across the kingdom and reached her and the other adventurers she was with at that time. They disbanded immediately. One of her traveling companions had family in Fitela, while the other two where headed for the western front for similar reasons. Latalya decided to accompany the first. On their way southwards, they passed several treks of farmers and other simple folk, who were fleeing away from the waves of attackers with all the belongings they could carry.

FIRST BLOOD

Your group found yourself huddled around an enormous fire which had been started in the barn-like town hall. Most of the townsfolk of the village and the outlying communities were gathered here for warmth and comfort. It was the middle of the night, yet fear kept everyone from finding sleep. All were waiting for word from the capitol, but none so far had come. Anxious faces looked around, or stared blankly into the fire, unable to fully grasp the enormity of what was happening.
Never ones to just sit around for the end, you decided that despite the near-whiteout conditions outside, you needed to venture forth. You had heard that even this far east growing bands of humanoids had been spotted in the high saddle east of Mount Holeen, only a six hour journey on foot in good conditions. This news, however was more than two days old and you feared that the enemy would not be content to remain there.
Just before sunrise you headed out. The wind had blessedly died down, and the falling of the snow seemed almost peaceful now. An hour out of town you spotted a group of at least 40 or 50 man-like creatures, approaching at quite a clip. Fearing the worst you set up and ambush, but quickly realized that these creatures were too small for giants, and did not have the gait of an orc or a bugbear. Thankfully they turned out to be dwarves from a Holeen mining camp. They were lead by Grinnur, “The Hammer of Moradin”, pulling improved stretchers laden with their wounded.
They reported that there was indeed a band of bugbears which had attacked their camp the day before. The dwarves, under the concise leadership of the Hammer had given them quite a bloody nose, retreating into their mine, and using the enclosed tunnels to their advantage against the much larger bugbears. This had worked until the cunning humanoids had started an enormous fire it entrance, using the logs of the buildings of the mining camp as fuel. Unwilling to be trapped like rats, the dwarves had fled using an old, abandoned shaft which led them to an exit much higher on the mountain. From that perspective they could see a huge force of orcs only a few miles away, headed their way. Realizing that they were not equipped or provisioned for a prolonged battle or siege, Grinnur decided to retreat to Fitela, and warn the people there.
After conveying these events to you as you traveled together back down the mountain, you spotted the larger humanoid force behind you coming over a ridge. Nervously you realized that the slower dwarves would be overrun before you reached the village.
A cunning plan was hatched, and a magical evacuation order was sent with all possible speed to warn Fitela. Your group stayed behind to slow down the approaching hoard.
Your plan worked and in addition to slowing down the bugbears and orcs, you were able to kill a great many of them, without being overrun yourself. In the end, however, their overwhelming numbers forced you to hasten the rest of the way down the mountain.
The delaying tactic had worked and had given the dwarves and the villagers enough time to begin shuttling people across the icy rush of the Davish. The miners had also begun laying various traps for the invading army around the village.
Although your continued actions and the dwarven traps picked off more of the attackers, eventually you were beaten back to the banks of the river. Less than 50 villagers remained there, waiting for the boats to return from the other side to pick them up.
On the pebbly banks of the Davish is where you made your final stand, back to back with Grinnur and a select group of his dwarven warriors in addition to a few of the militia men from Fitela. Grinnur’s flaming warhammer sang with the power of the Forger of Souls, and many an orc fell before him, but many of your brothers-in-arms died as well. Then, the biggest bugbear you had ever seen, covered in scars from countless battles made his way through their ranks, bellowing out a challenge for one of you to meet him in single combat. He boasted that to simply slaughter you would too easy and not earn him enough glory, and that if he were killed, he would let the rest of you go.
Grinnur was about to step forth and accept the challenge when you realized that he was far too tired and cut in too many places, and that he would not survive this encounter.  Anastasia, still barely 20 years old, and vastly inexperienced, stepped up to the challenge  before the dwarf could say something.  "I will accept your challenge! I will defeat you, in the name of Mayaheine, for the people of Sterich! You will go NO FURTHER!"  At this, the bugbear only smiled a gaptoothed grin and hefted his weapon unto his shoulder.

It was then that the rescue boats finally approached from the far bank and began loading the the villagers. As the last of the folk of Fitela pushed off, you realized that you might never see any of them again. Unwilling to abandon your champion, your group and the remaining dwarves were now surrounded by hundreds of orcs and bugbears, and there were barely two dozen of you left.
The one-on-one combat began well, with Anastasia landing a few decisive blows.  She strode forward, completely without fear, and began her assault on him.  Sadly this did not last long, as the bugbear chieftain had the strength and endurance of a bull Oliphant. A few mighty blows from his enormous battle maul later your champion lay on the ground, grasping for breath with her armor caved in.  Her last thoughts before loosing consciousness were, "This cannot be. I cannot allow my weakness to cause my people to suffer! Never again!"
At that moment a missile weapon/spell came from another one of you and struck the bugbear through the eye/caused his head to implode/burst into flame (you get it, you get to pick) and he collapsed in a lifeless heap.
You figured that now the end had finally come, when one of the orc chieftains began to laugh. He applauded your group for their treachery, and belittled the dead bugbear champion for agreeing to such a stupid challenge. “Still,” he proclaimed, “we are not a people without honor and you defeated him. Therefore you may go.”
A few of the bugbears began to object, but at the command of the orc leader, their objections were permanently silenced. It seemed that the head orc had been planning a takeover for a while.
“You think you live flatlanders,” the orc chieftain went on, “but in truth you and all your peoples are already dead. There is no point in killing you here.”
Realizing that it would be better to live and fight another day, yet with very heavy hearts and spirits, your group made their way downstream, the orc’s jeering laughter ringing in your ears. [/sblock]

COPY OF SECOND ADVENTURE SYNOPSIS
[SBLOCK]About two weeks after the defense of Fitela you find yourself at Godakin Keep (see regional map in post #223 (http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=2245453&postcount=223), on the border between Sterich and Keoland.  You could have spent the time in many different ways: recovering from the wounds sustained in battle, protecting the fleeing refugees from Fitela, gathering information about enemy troop movements, trying to rejoin the main body of the Sterich army, attempting to protect your home, etc.
Whatever you choose, you end up at Godakin.  It is the lynchpin which secures the defense of the entire region, as it sits on the confluence of the Javan and Davish rivers, controlling water access to both Sterich and Geoff.  In addition to providing an inroad into both of these countries, the Javan River also forms the natural western border of Keoland, and is vital to that realm’s defense.  If any serious bid is to be made to retake the lost territories, Godakin must stand.
Since your defense of the villagers the war in Sterich has only gotten worse.  The giant and humanoid armies have advanced much faster than expected, pushing Earl Querchard to declare a general evacuation of all of Sterich.  He was convinced that this was the only viable option by the loss of Morrard, a small keep 45 miles northwest of Istivin.  The lord of that manor believed that he could withstand a siege.  The giants, however, were not interested in anything of the sort.  With heart-wrenching ease they scaled the walls of the keep with simple grappling hooks, while orc shamans on a nearby hillside chanted foul spells of protection.  In the end, the keep was burnt to the ground, although one survivor was allowed to flee the devastation in order to give account of what had occurred.  The Earl feared that the giants would have similar success in Istivin, and withdrew.
Now the Earl’s court is traveling as fast as it can down the King’s Highway towards Flen.  The regular army is being used to defend the fleeing population, while the Sterich cavalry, under the command of Marshall Karri Velthundle launches hit-and-run attacks against the pursuing armies’ flanks and rear.
Upon first arriving in Godakin Keep you undergo intense scrutiny by its defenders.  Refugees have been pouring over the border from Sterich for weeks, setting up makeshift camps in the shadow of the castle.  All crave the defense of the keep’s strong walls, yet few can fit inside  Eventually someone who knows one of you vouches for you and you are let inside.
Within the keep you find everything in an uproar.  Volunteers from all over Keoland have been pouring into this part of the country, wishing to volunteer to defend their neighbors.  Sadly, the local baron is not the best at managing large groups of people, and many are beginning to get tired of just sitting around, waiting for orders.
Eventually you decide to take surveys of the local warriors, dividing them up by experience and specialty.  Knowing that there is a large lack of good intelligence you organize and lead small scouting parties into enemy-controlled territory, and also make contact with small groups of sympathetic demi-humans and creatures who are willing to be of assistance.
Back at Godakin you start suspecting that the seneschal of the baron is more than he seems.  After carefully monitoring his movements for a few weeks and using divination magic, you discover that he is secretly passing messages to a foreign power.  Unable to get definite proof of this, and worried that the baron would not believe you (or worse, might be a co-conspirator) you follow the seneschal’s messages which eventually lead you to a seemingly abandoned house in a nearby boggy forest.  Infiltrating the house you discover that it in fact houses a cell of agents working for the Despot Turrosh Mak, new lord of the Pomarj.
You eventually clear out this cell, discovering that the Pomarj had formed an alliance with King Galmoor of the giants, in addition to a quite nasty tribe of local goblins.  The Pomarj agents were planning on taking and holding Keep Godakin from the inside, thereby cutting Sterich and Geoff from any outside assistance.  In return, Galmoor was to promise certain mineral rights in the Jotens and Crystalmist mountains.
Armed with this evidence you return to the Keep, confronting the seneschal in front of the assembled court with his treachery (but not before a big battle erupts between you and those loyal to the overlord of the Pomarj.
[/SBLOCK]

THIRD ADVENTURE SYNOPSIS:
[SBLOCK]We now take a large leap forward in time from your adventures at Godakin Keep.  The time is early Coldeven, 586 CY.  The war for the liberation of Sterich and Geoff has been raging with many successes and failures for the last two years.  The Confederacy for the Reclamation of the Occupied Territories (or just Confederacy) now holds the banks of the Javan River, and is beginning to make inroads into the heart of Sterich.
Spies have recently reported that something strange is happening among the Occupation forces.  After the betrayal of Hilden’s Grange last fall, where the orc chieftain Yagga One-Ear turned against the eldritch giant sorcerer Hawesti, there has been much infighting among the occupying forces.  Reports of skirmishes between the giants and their erstwhile allies are heard with growing frequency.
Even stranger, there have been no reports of King Galmoor in Istivin since last Sunsebb.  None of the magical or mundane spies of the Confederacy seem to know what happened to him; he simply seems to have disappeared.
Without a strong central leader, the giants are becoming sloppy, and lesser leaders are siphoning men and resources to benefit their own territories.
The forces of the newly titled Marquis Querchard, with the support of King Skotti, are taking advantage of this by striking hard and fast against the nonhumans.  Still headquartered in the Keolandish town of Flen, they have just begun a new campaign whose ultimate goal is to retake Istivin.

Your group has been kept busy over the last two years.  Currently you are under command of Valtgraf Jorgen Wallur, a famous gnome noble from the Stark mounds.  Based in his secret, underground base about 50 miles north-north-west of the ruins of the village of Steryn, you have been conducting spying and hit-and-run operations against the local occupation forces headquartered at Oytpass Keep.  You are also in contact with the wood elf forces of the nearby Oytwood, who are currently trying to keep the trail that leads to their sylvan home open.  Most recently a small band of mountain dwarves under the leadership of Chief Kurgi Hammerhand have crossed back over the Javan and have joined your group.  They are here to support the retaking of the Oytpass Keep, but ultimately wish to retake their lost communities in the western Stark Mounds.

For this adventure, I’m going to leave it up to you to decide on exactly what happens.  The only thing that is essential is that at the end of the adventure the Oytpass Keep is held by you or allied forces.  How exactly you achieve this is up to you.

Forces on your side:
1.  Gnomes of the Stark Mounds under Jorgen Wallur
2.  Mountain Dwarves under Kurgi Hammerhand
3. Wood Elves from the Oytwood
4.  Some Human Forces (mainly light infantry and skirmishers) from Gorna
5.  The young adult Copper dragon Maetus who lives in the Stark Mounds, who although he is selfish, has no great love for the giants and their allies.
6.  The Sisters of Righteous Vengeance, a flock of harpies from the White Oyt River valley whose initial attempt to ally with the giants was rudely dismissed and who are now out for a bit of payback.

Forces against you:
1.  The defenders of Oytpass Keep.  A collection of hill and stone giants.
2.  Bonespear and Bloodmoon tribes of gnolls and flinds from the Stark Mounds.  They know the area exceptionally well and are good at many of the same tactics you are.  They are led by a powerful flind blackguard.
3.  The fallen of the battle of Gorna.  Mainly wraiths, specters and wights who haunt the Stark Mounds at night.  They are not allied with the giants, but present a constant danger to anyone traversing the Stark Mounds at night.
4.  The Tuskbreakers, a small band of near-feral wereboars working for the giants who have difficulty following orders.

Locations which you might avail yourselves of:
1.	Oytpass Keep:  A small keep surrounded by a tall curtain wall.  It sits an a steep-faced hill overlooking the road.  Its defensive towers contain ballistae and catapults, and the gates are defended by numerous murder holes, boiling oil dispensers.  The walls of the keep were reinforced magically and have heightened hardness and hit points.  The main gate is magically warded and has the equivalent of SR 25.  This effect can be dispelled, but this only lasts for 1d6+1 rounds.
2.	Valley of Sorrow:  Highly haunted area as a result of the Battle of Gorna in the 5th century CY.  It is reputed to hold a magical weapon of some power.
3.	Grey Wood:  A small forest once connected to the Oytwood.  Home of the Tuskbreakers who inhabit a complex on connected tunnels.
4.	Ruins of Soraoh:  Ancient Flan standing stones in the Stark Mounds.  Used as a gathering place for the local gnoll and flind tribes.
5.	Oytwood Trail:  Connects Sterich to the Oytwood.  Not maintained by anyone.  Ancient path first used by the Flan people over a thousand years ago.
6.	Roothome:  The underground base of Jorgen Wallur’s band of gnomes.  Not a full gnome community, more of a bolt hole for raids and hunting.  Well-stocked with supplies and weapons.  Not sized for Medium or larger-sized folk.[/SBLOCK]FINAL ADVENTURE SYNOPSIS
[SBLOCK]FINAL ADVENTURE SYNOPSIS

In the fall of 590 CY the group is hired by the Dwarven Union for the Liberation of Occupied Holds and Other Sundry Communities (D.U.L.O.H.O.S.C.) to investigate and if possible liberate the dwarven hold of Eagle’s Nest.  It is located within the peak of the Witch’s Hump, a mountain between the Dear and White Oyt rivers.
The Union’s sources have revealed that although the Eagle’s Nest has been held by a family clan of fire giants and their hobgoblin mercenary allies since around 585 CY, there may be some upheaval happening.  The hold sits on a large mithral (or mithril for the Tolkien purists) vein, so the Union members feel that it is essential that it be retaken.  The party is hired partially because of their reputation in the retaking of the Oytpass Keep during the war.
The Union has recently received confirmation that a number of dwarven slaves have been brought to this location to assist in the mining and smelting of the precious metal.  The melting in particular is quite difficult, dangerous, and labor-intensive process, requiring dangerously high heat, and the dwarves’ reluctant expertise is greatly needed.  The work is being overseen by a misshapen half-illithid derro who has been employing his psionic or magical powers to keep the miners and metallurgists in line.  This information was provided by a dwarf miner named Nadolf Pickstrike who managed to escape less than a year ago.
The party travels through the Stark Mounds where they encounter a raiding party of dire badger-riding gnome rangers and druids, who have recently relocated there from the north-eastern regions of the Stark Mounds.  They are tracking a large band of gnolls who have been despoiling the lands around Gorna.  They are mainly interested in this task, and are only secondarily interested in fighting the larger humanoid and giant menace.  They seem to know nothing of the Eagle’s Nest.
After arriving in the vicinity of the Witch’s Hump, initial scouting reveals that all of the mapped entrances to the hold, including the supposedly secret ones, have been made impassible or are heavily defended by traps and/or monsters.
The only seemingly undefended access to the Nest is through the ventilation shafts which descend over a quarter of a mile into the mountain to the foundries of the hold.
The party makes camp for the night in a well-hidden cave nearby.  During the night they are partially surprised by a large drow raiding party.  Rather than attacking, however, the dark elves indicate their desire to parlay, stating that fighting would only result in needless heavy losses on both sides.  In addition, they state, your goals might be mutually compatible.
Whatever the party decides to do, one observant member of the party notices that the drow spokesman bears an unknown drow emblem which arouses his/her curiosity.  If the party agrees to the parlay, the drow reveal that they have heard of the Eagle’s Nest but have avoided it due to the strength of its defenders.  They are currently focusing their attentions elsewhere and agree to withdraw without incidence.
If you attack, the drow quickly retreat.
The next day you make your way to the top of the mountain, employing some stealth.  Your carefulness pays off when you realize that an invisible, yet powerful air elemental guards the top of the shaft.  You quickly dispatch it before it gets a chance to alarm its masters.
Following this encounter, you devise a way of lowering your party the quarter of a mile down the shaft.  As you descend you notice that the gets colder and colder.  Near the bottom you discover to your dismay that an enormous batch of brown mold has been planted here to provide some defense and aid in the circulation of air.
Once you devise a way around this obstacle you find yourself near the ceiling of a cathedral-like cavern.  Dozens of forges line the floor, heated by geothermal forces.  Scores of human-sized humanoids make their way between them, guarded by a handful of vigilant fire giants.
Through some subterfuge you eventually manage to defeat the surprised giant guards, including one who seems to be a wizard who paradoxically focuses on cold magic.  Upon approaching the dwarven slaves, you find they have been horrifically transformed to better deal with the intense heat found here.  Strange, heat-resistant scales have somehow been grafted onto their bodies, so that they barely resemble dwarves anymore.  In addition, all seem to be under some form of mind control.
Through magical or mundane means you break one of transfigured dwarves’ control.  At first he is overcome with grief at the sight of his new form, and begs to be killed.  After being calmed down a bit, he realizes that he can still be of some use in freeing his companions.
With his help you track down the half-derro slave lord and defeat him in a pitched battle after first overcoming his enthralled umber hulk bodyguards.  Before the party is completely over, the remaining fire giants return slightly bloodied from a raid, but soon flee before your onslaught.
Freed from their mind control the mutated dwarves liberate the rest of the slaves, but decide that they do not wish to return to their surface.  Refusing further aid, they meet and tell you that they wish to travel further into the Underdark, and make a new home there, far way from everything they know.[/SBLOCK]
For reference purposes (and following Thanee's suggestion), here's the map of Sterich.
[SBLOCK]

[/SBLOCK]


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## Branding Opportunity

I realized that since buying my first Greyhawk book back in 1985 (the boxed set), I've only run one actual Greyhawk game, the Village of Hommlett.  Wow, do I have a hankerin'.


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## Hypersmurf

Colour me interested 

Battling humanoids and giants?  Sounds like a job for Reivik Dalrak, Dwarven War-Chanter...

[sblock]
	
	




		Code:
	

[b]Reivik Dalrak[/b] [Elf-Kin ([i]lit.[/i] 'Brother of Vermin') Heavy-Hammer]
NG Male Dwarf Brd1/Bbn2/Ftr4/WarChanter4 [i][CWar][/i]

-----
[b]Personality, Appearance, History[/b]

Reivik looks much as any other dwarf - short, stout, with a proudly-braided 
black beard covering craggy features.  While he has been known to wander 
about in his 'mail nightdress', particularly while relaxing, he is far more 
comfortable while on the road in his suit of full dwarven battle-plate, 
intricately worked with the history of his family in runes inlaid in the steel.

Reivik's weapon of choice is the greathammer Bar, a massive two-handed 
adamantine war-sledge forged by his great-grandfather, and the origin of his 
family name 'Dalrak'.  A faint groove on the right shoulder of his battle-plate 
shows where the shaft of the hammer rides as he walks, specially added to 
the armour to prevent the weapon sliding about awkwardly.

'Reivik' is a traditional name amongst his family - rumours have long dogged 
his line about an ancestor dallying with an elf.  It seems extremely unlikely 
that the incident ever in fact occurred, but mud sticks, and so did the name.  
Rather than fight an impossible battle against gossip and whispers, the family 
adopted the name and bore it proudly.  Truth or not, it is indeed the case 
that the Dalrak family have a tendency to get along better with elves than is 
normal for dwarves.  Reivik has inherited this trait, to an extent - he speaks 
the elven tongue fluently, and has spent much time in their company.

Reivik's passion is for stories, anecdotes, and legends - he has memorised many 
of the tales of the elves, as well as those of his own people, and is always keen 
to recite an apt tale for any given situation.  His childish excitement at the 
prospect of any new myth or history far belies the stereotypical dwarven 
dourness.

On the other hand, Reivik has a somewhat shorter temper than most dwarves, 
and is given to the occasional tantrum or fit of rage when overly frustrated or 
provoked.

At present, Reivik is out and abroad, returning from a campaign against the giants...

-----
[b]Basics[/b]

[b]S[/b]  16 +2 +4 = [b]22[/b]
[b]D[/b]  11    +2 = [b]13[/b]
[b]C[/b]  14 +2    = [b]16[/b]
[b]I[/b]  13       = [b]13[/b]
[b]W[/b]  12       = [b]12[/b]
[b]Ch[/b] 12 -2    = [b]10[/b]

[b]HP   107[/b] [+22 while raging] (6 + 16 + 28 + 24 + 33) 
[b]AC    24[/b] [- 2 while raging] (10 + 1 [Dex] + 11 [Armor] + 1 [Deflection] +1 [Natural]) [Battle Plate]
[b]AC    17[/b] [- 2 while raging] (10 + 1 [Dex] +  4 [Armor] + 1 [Deflection] +1 [Natural]) [Chain Shirt]
[b]BAB  +10[/b]
[b]Fort +15[/b] [+2 vs spells, +2 vs poison]
[b]Refl + 7[/b] [+2 vs spells]
[b]Will + 7[/b] [+2 vs spells, +2 while raging]
[b]Init + 1[/b]
[b]Spd   30 ft.[/b] [Battle Plate]
[b]Spd   40 ft.[/b] [Chain Shirt]

-----
[b]Feats[/b]

Combat Expertise
Power Attack
Cleave
EWP (Greathammer)               [i][RoS][/i]
Weapon Focus (Greathammer)      [i][RoS][/i]
Improved Critical (Greathammer) [i][RoS][/i]
Dwarven Armor Proficiency       [i][RoS][/i]

-----
[b]Skills[/b]

Speak Dwarven
Speak Common
Speak Terran
Speak Elvish
Speak Giant
Speak Goblin
Speak Draconic
Perform (Oratory)   14 +0    = [b]+14[/b]
Listen               9 +1    = [b]+10[/b]
Knowledge (History)  5 +1    = [b]+ 6[/b]
Intimidate          14 +0    = [b]+14[/b]
Tumble               5 +1 +2 = [b]+ 8[/b]*
Climb                5 +6 +2 = [b]+13[/b]*^
Jump                 5 +6 +9 = [b]+20[/b]*^ [+4 in Chain shirt]
Balance              5 +1 +2 = [b]+ 8[/b]*

* ACP: -6 in Battle Plate, -1 in Chain Shirt
^ +2 while raging

-----
[b]Equipment[/b]

+4 Belt of Giant Strength                 16000  
Bar, +1 Giantbane Adamantine Greathammer  11030  [i][RoS][/i] 
+2 Battle Plate                            6650               
Boots of Striding and Springing            5500               
Wand of Silence (CL 3)                     4500               
Armbands of Might                          4100  [i][CAdv][/i]
Cloak of Resistance +2                     4000               
+2 Gloves of Dexterity                     4000               
3x Wand of Cure Light Wounds (CL 1)        2250               
Ring of Protection +1                      2000               
Amulet of Natural Armor +1                 2000               
Heward's Handy Haversack                   2000               
Masterwork Silvered Waraxe                  420               
Masterwork Cold Iron Waraxe                 360               
Masterwork Whip                             301               
Masterwork Chain Shirt                      250               
Masterwork Tower Shield                     180               
Mundane Equipment                           330
                                         ------               
                                          65871               
[sblock]
Thunderstones, 3
Daggers, 2      
Handaxe         
Whetstone       
Flint and Steel 
Chalk, 10       
Javelins, 6     

In Haversack:
Crowbar
Bedroll
Caltrops, 5
Candles, 10
Fishhooks, 10
Grappling Hook
Hammer
Ink, 2 vials
Inkpens, 5
Mirror
Oil, 5 flasks
Paper, 100 sheets       
Pitons, 10
Rations, 10 days
Rope, Silk, 50 ft.
Sacks, 5
Spade
Waterskins, 2
Tindertwigs, 10         
Tanglefoot bags, 2
Sunrods, 5
[/sblock]
                                
-----
[b]Racial and Class Features[/b]

[b]Dwarf[/b][list]
[*]Darkvision 60 ft.
[*]Stonecunning
[*]Stability
[*]+2 saves vs poison
[*]+2 saves vs spells and spell-like effects
[*]+1 attack rolls vs orcs and goblinoids
[*]+4 Dodge bonus vs giants
[*]+2 Appraise/Craft on stone or metal[/list]

[b]Bard[/b][list]
[*]Bardic Music 5/day
[*]Bardic Knowledge +4
[*]Countersong
[*]Fascinate
[*]Inspire Courage +1[/list]

[b]Barbarian[/b][list]
[*]Fast Movement
[*]Rage 1/day
[*]Uncanny Dodge[/list]

[b]War Chanter[/b][list]
[*]Inspire Toughness
[*]Inspire Recklessness[/list]

-----
[b]Bard Spells[/b]

0: 2/day, Save DC 10[list]
[*]Light
[*]Detect Magic
[*]Mage Hand
[*]Prestidigitation[/list]

-----
[b]Attack bonuses[/b]
                                                                [b]Raging[/b]
+1 Greathammer       +18/+13   1d12+10   19-20/x4     +20/+15   1d12+13   19-20/x4
Javelin                +11      1d6+ 6      20/x2       +11      1d6+ 8      20/x2
Silvered Waraxe      +15/+10*  1d10+ 5      20/x3     +17/+12*  1d10+ 7      20/x3
Cold Iron Waraxe     +15/+10*  1d10+ 6      20/x3     +17/+12*  1d10+ 8      20/x3
Disarm with Whip       +19                              +21                       
Trip with Whip         +17     Trip +8                  +19     Trip +10          
                                                                                  
 *includes -2 penalty for Tower Shield

[/sblock]
-Hyp.


----------



## Ferrix

Heh... classic!  I'll give it a go!  Hopefully I'll be able to get a character up in time before everyone else beats me to it.


----------



## James Heard

I'll work on a character, though I admit I have nothing just yet on what I'd like to play.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Colour me interested
> 
> Battling humanoids and giants?  Sounds like a job for Reivik Dalrak, Dwarven War-Chanter...




 Either you are an amazingly fast character creator, or Reivik has been sitting around for a little, waiting to jump back into action.  Either way, good job!  


 Ferrix,
 It's not often you find gamers who quote Krishnamurti, very cool.


----------



## Seeten

Anastasia Winterheart, Paladin of Mayaheine, now moved to Rogues Gallery


----------



## Thanee

Sounds like a classic!  Let me express my interest as well, then. 

Here's a first draft of a character (now updated!):

[SBLOCK]*Latalya*
*Female Elf, 1st-Level Fighter/6th-Level Elf Wizard/1st-Level Spellsword/3rd-Level Eldritch Knight* (XP 58,360)
*Medium Humanoid (Elf)*

*Hit Dice:* 1d10+6d4+1d8+3d6+22 (68 hp)
*Initiative:* +4
*Speed:* 30 ft. (6 squares)
*Armor Class:* 20[24] (+4 Dex, +6 armor, [+4 shield]), touch 14, flat-footed 16
*Base Attack/Grapple:* +8/+12
*Attack:* _+1 Magebane Adamantine Longsword_ +13 (1d8+7/19-20) or Darkwood Composite Longbow (+4 Str bonus) +13 (1d8+4/x3)
*Full Attack:* _+1 Magebane Adamantine Longsword_ +13/+8 (1d8+7/19-20) or Darkwood Composite Longbow (+4 Str bonus) +13/+8 (1d8+4/x3)
*Space/Reach:* 5 ft./5 ft.
*Special Attacks:* Spells
*Special Qualities:* Elf Traits, Generalist Wizardry, Summon Familiar (Bat), Natural Link, Ignore Spell Failure 10%
*Saves:* Fort +13, Ref +9, Will +10(+12 vs enchantments)
*Abilities:* Str 14(18), Dex 16(18), Con 12(14), Int 18(20), Wis 10, Cha 10
*Skills:* Climb +5(1), Concentration +21(12+2cc), Jump +11(5), Knowledge (arcana) +11(6), Knowledge (architecture & engineering) +6(1), Knowledge (local) +6(1), Knowledge (nature) +10(5), Knowledge (religion) +6(1), Knowledge (the planes) +6(1), Listen +5[10](0), Ride +6(2), Search +14(7), Spellcraft +20(11+2cc), Spot +8[10](1cc), Swim +5(1), Tumble +11(5cc)
*Feats:* Combat Expertise, Improved Trip, Scribe Scroll, Practiced Spellcaster, Craft Wondrous Item, Sudden Silent, Power Attack, Arcane Strike
*Alignment:* Chaotic Good

Latalya stands 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 107 pounds. She is 122 years old. Her long, silverblonde hair is bound to a single braid, a few strands of hair framing her fine-featured face with emerald eyes. Her slender figure is dressed in comfortable black leathers, on top of which she wears her finely crafted chain shirt of interlinked silvery vines. Along with her backpack, she wears a sheath on her back, which holds her adamantine longsword, next to which she has her darkwood longbow slung over one shoulder.

Latalya speaks Common, Elven, Draconic, Orc and Giant.

*Spells:* As 9th(11th)-level wizard
_Wizard Spells per Day (4/6/5/4/3/3; save DC 15 + spell level):_
0 - _4_;
1st - _6_;
2nd - _5_;
3rd - _4_;
4th - _3_;
5th - _3_.

*Spellbook:*
0 - _Resistance_, _Acid Splash_, _Detect Poison_, _Detect Magic_, _Read Magic_, _Daze_, _Dancing Lights_, _Flare_, _Light_, _Ray of Frost_, _Ghost Sound_, _Disrupt Undead_, _Touch of Fatigue_, _Mage Hand_, _Mending_, _Message_, _Open/Close_, _Arcane Mark_, _Prestidigitation_;
1st - _Alarm_, _Endure Elements_, _Protection from Evil_, _Shield_, _Mage Armor_, _Mount_, _Unseen Servant_, _Comprehend Languages_, _Detect Secret Doors_, _Detect Undead_, _Identify_, _True Strike_, _Charm Person_, _Tenser's Floating Disk_, _Magic Missile_, _Disguise Self_, _Nystul's Magic Aura_, _Silent Image_, _Ray of Enfeeblement_, _Enlarge Person_, _Expeditious Retreat_, _Featherfall_, _Jump_, _Reduce Person_, _Critical Strike_ [CV];
2nd - _Resist Energy_, _Glitterdust_, _Locate Object_, _See Invisibility_, _Scorching Ray_, _Invisibility_, _Mirror Image_, _Command Undead_, _False Life_, _Alter Self_, _Bear's Endurance_, _Bull's Strength_, _Cat's Grace_, _Darkvision_, _Fox's Cunning_, _Knock_, _Rope Trick_, _Familiar Pocket_ [CA], _Bladeweave_ [CV], _Swift Fly_ [CV], _Sonic Weapon_ [CV], _Wraithstrike_ [CV];
3rd - _Dispel Magic_, _Magic Circle against Evil_, _Nondetection_¹, _Phantom Steed_, _Arcane Sight_, _Clairaudiance/Clairvoyance_, _Tongues_, _Heroism_, _Suggestion_, _Fireball_, _Fly_, _Haste_, _Keen Edge_, _Greater Magic Weapon_, _Secret Page_, _Shrink Item_, _Slow_, _Water Breathing_;
4th - _Dimensional Anchor_, _Stoneskin_¹, _Evard's Black Tentacles_, _Dimension Door_, _Leomund's Secure Shelter_, _Charm Monster_, _Fire Shield_, _Otiluke's Resilient Sphere_, _Illusory Wall_, _Greater Invisibility_, _Rary's Mnemonic Enhancer_², _Polymorph_, _Stone Shape_, _Orb of Force_ [CA], _Assay Resistance_ [CA];
5th - _Break Enchantment_, _Major Creation_, _Leomund's Secret Chest_, _Summon Monster V_, _Wall of Stone_, _Dominate Person_, _Hold Monster_, _Sending_, _Wall of Force_, _Mirage Arcana_, _Persistent Image_, _Magic Jar_³, _Overland Flight_, _Telekinesis_, _Greater Blink_ [CA].

*Equipment:*
*Head:* _Headband of Intellect +2_
*Eyes:* _Eyes of the Eagle_
*Neck:* _Amulet of Health +2_
*Torso:* _Tunic of Steady Spellcasting_
*Body:* _+2 Mithril Shirt_
*Waist:* --
*Shoulders:* _Cloak of Resistance +2_
*Wrists:* _Bracers of Strength +4_
*Hands:* _Gloves of Dexterity +2_
*Finger:* --
*Finger:* --
*Feet:* --

*Other Equipment:* _+1 Magebane Adamantine Longsword_, Darkwood Composite Longbow (+4 Str bonus), Silver Arrows (60), Cold Iron Arrows (60), Cold Iron Morningstar, _Heward's Handy Haversack_, Traveler's Outfit (3), Bedroll, Winter Blanket, Scroll Case (2), Belt Pouch (2), Sack (4), Silk Rope (100 ft.), Soap, Waterskin, Sunrod (10), Tanglefoot Bag (6), Tindertwig (10), Spell Component Pouch (2), Diamond Dust¹ (1000 gp), Ivory Plaque² (50 gp), Crystal³ (100 gp), _Boccob's Blessed Book_, _Pearl of Power (1st)_ (2), _Lesser Metamagic Rod of Empower_, _Lesser Metamagic Rod of Extend_ (2); 16 gp, 5 sp, 0 cp.

*Background:* <work in progress>[/SBLOCK]

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Seeten said:
			
		

> I have an idea for a brave, noble paladin, but I am at work, away from my books. I wont be able to go further than concept until I get home in 6 hours. Post from work, yes, create characters, no. Sadly.



Plus the fact that you'd have to carry all those hardcovers around with you everywhere!  Hard on the back.

On the subject of Paladins, I want to point you to Dungeon magazine issue 104, and Dragon magazine issue 306.  The former contains specialty paladins of Al'Akbar, Azor'alq, Heironeous, Hextor, Pholtus and Tritheron.  The latter describes paladins dedicated to Mayaheine, Murlynd, Pelor, Rao, and St. Cuthbert.  Let me know if you need any info on these.


----------



## Seeten

I dont have any copies of dungeon, so I am totally without. I'd love the info, though, my email(which I cant check till home, is seeten at gmail dot com), I am currently thinking something like fighter 3, Paladin 3, Paladin prestige 5, or fighter 3, paladin 8, depending. Female human, probably from a local area. Crusading against the giants and evil, dastardly humanoids, to protect the land and its people. Assuming I am a Paladin of a god, I'd be likeliest to pick the God most revered locally, though not guaranteed. St Cuthbert and Heironeous are the good gods of smiting/vengeance, no? Isnt Hextor evil? How could one be a paladin of hextor?


----------



## Thanee

I'd guess that's similar to the alternate versions in UA then? CG and LE paladins and so on.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Seeten

Dont even get me started on a Blackguard. I've been looking for a place to play that for ages! *chuckle* That'd depend on the tone of the other characters, though, Smurf looks pretty NG, I'd hate to go all LE on him and such. =)

I'd like to go all mounted combat/smitey on my enemies. Preliminary work is done. Depending on others, I can go face for us too. My charisma is looking huge.


----------



## Thanee

I highly doubt, that an evil character would work here. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Seeten

I already have my dastardly necromancer anyway. I'm all for paladin/divine crusader, or some such. I need to dig up another cool mounted feat, though, the SRD is so sparse.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Seeten said:
			
		

> I dont have any copies of dungeon, so I am totally without. I'd love the info, though, my email(which I cant check till home, is seeten at gmail dot com), I am currently thinking something like fighter 3, Paladin 3, Paladin prestige 5, or fighter 3, paladin 8, depending. Female human, probably from a local area. Crusading against the giants and evil, dastardly humanoids, to protect the land and its people. Assuming I am a Paladin of a god, I'd be likeliest to pick the God most revered locally, though not guaranteed. St Cuthbert and Heironeous are the good gods of smiting/vengeance, no? Isnt Hextor evil? How could one be a paladin of hextor?



I am also at work at the moment, and didn't bring the magazines with me today, so a specific answer regarding the Greyhawk paladins will have to wait a wee bit.

I did however, bring the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer with me so I can tell you that the local gods of choice in Sterich are: Heironeous, Pelor, Elohanna, Berei, Fharlanghn, Ulaa, Fortubo, Zilchus, Allitur, Beory, Mayaheine, and the dwarf pantheon.  If you need the favored religions of other realms (Keoland, Yeomanry, Geoff, Grand March) let me know.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> I highly doubt, that an evil character would work here.



I agree with Thanee that it wouldn't work for this game, but that would have more to do with arguments about methods than anything else. I tend to run games, and the Greyhawk campaign includes this idea as well it seems, that you can have LG organizations and countries battling each other. An example of that would be the Knights of the Watch. They include many Good characters who wouldn't think twice about attacking a group of Bakluni on sight and asking questions later, especially of those Bakluni were on the Watch's home turf.

I can also see LE defenders of Sterich fighting alongside LG ones, both taking orders from a LN commander. Both would grumble about their leader's methods and tactics, from the opposite point of view, of course.

But in terms of party harmony (especially considering that many, if not most of them have been adventuring together since level 1) it would be better if everyone were good or neutral. A truly evil character would have been ousted long ago. Of course that doesn't mean that individuals wouldn't perform questionable actions from time to time. War, after all, is a pretty stressful and personality-warping activity, which no one escapes unscathed. Just look at the soldier's stories coming out of Iraq and Afghanistan these days.


----------



## Seeten

I was originally conceiving an LG Paladin, and continue to do so =)

I want the god to be a god of war, seems more appropriate to the setting/times as described, and I think its Heironeous that is the god of war. So, since he is a locally worshipped sterich-ian God, he seems to work perfectly.

What about local organizations? War efforts? I guess we'll get to that. =)


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf,
Quick comment on the subject of your heirloom weapon.  A concept that I have loved for years, and have been wanting to incorporate into a D&D game is the basic concept of magic weapons from the _Earthdawn_ game.  If memory serves, the more you research the history of a weapon, the stronger it becomes.

A similar idea was presented in a Dragon magazine article a few years back (something about "leveled magic items") where you sacrifice XP to improve the power of the weapon.

I'm not saying we should incorporate this, just thinking out loud ... well, typing out loud anyway


----------



## Seeten

I would argue that evil doesnt mean insane or stupid, and doesnt commit needless atrocities for no reason. I have LE people who could easily be taken for LN, with codes of honor and conduct, but even so, thats neither here, nor there, as this particular Paladin is a shining, if blood spattered, example of good, and right.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Seeten said:
			
		

> I would argue that evil doesnt mean insane or stupid, and doesnt commit needless atrocities for no reason. I have LE people who could easily be taken for LN, with codes of honor and conduct, but even so, thats neither here, nor there, as this particular Paladin is a shining, if blood spattered, example of good, and right.



Agreed.  You might also take a look at Mayaheine.  She's a young, up-and-coming demi-goddess who was a Paladin of Pelor in her mortal life!

OK, enough kibbitzing on my part.


----------



## Thanee

Any idea how to handle Item Creation?

I'm making an Elven Fighter/Wizard, I think.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Ferrix

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Ferrix,
> It's not often you find gamers who quote Krishnamurti, very cool.




  I'm a bit of an odd gamer.

I'm thinking of playing a rogue-type, basically a semi-decent crimelord character, who runs a large network of rogues, informants, etc.


----------



## khavren

I've never played in greyhawk, would it be an issue if I wasnt' totally familiar with the background? And how would a tattooed monk sound?


----------



## James Heard

Okay, I've been futzing around with Etools a little for a N Human Wizard. What about Leadership? Are we allowed to have cohorts and such, or would all that just get in the way or what?


----------



## Ranger Rick

Not knowing where to put this:

A very young elf emerged within during the wars and became a trusted spy than deputy of warlords. This elf was very quick and seemed to be super nimble. Yet compared to the solidiers around him, he looked as fragile as a tooth pick. His name changed to George so that others could pronounce it.


He learned his craft well and would always be the second fiddle. Never taking command as he had not the ambition to be a true leader, he would always be loyal to whom he followed. Initially being a spy, he would learn to enter any "locked" domain. Chests otr doors where inconsiquential. No one had privacy with George on the prowl. He also never seemed to need sleep so enemies could not seem to catch him unaware. However, to his enemy he was totally ruthless. He killed with no quarter given and had zero mercy for the fallen. Wounded where never taken. Using invisabilty and his boots of speed he would effieciently kill all those who opposed his leader. Some thought of him as an assasian but he was not. He was not one easily fooled and lo be the poor underling who did try.

His forest home was dystroyed in the wars and he now claims to be a citzen of the Sheldomar Valley.

Name George Anarion
Rogue 11
Elf
Lawful Neutral 

str 10
dex 20 (+2 racial +2 level)
con 10 (-2 racial)
int 16
wis 12
cha 10


Fort 6
Reflex 15
Will 7
BAB +8/+3
AC 21 (10 + 3 leather +3ring +5 dex)


Ranged +13/+11 Bow 1d8 (under 30’ +6d6+1)
Melee +14/+12 Rapier 7d6 15-20/x2


Feat: Nimble Fingers, Weapon Finesse (Rapier), Improved Critical (Rapier), Improved Initiative, Point Blank Shot


Skills Ranks Mod Synergy Total
Balance 12 5 2 19
Bluff 13 0 0 13
Diplomacy 14 0 4 17
Disable Device 14 3 4 21
Hide 5 5 0 19
Jump 5 1 2 8
Listen 14 12 17
Move Silently 14 5 0 19
Open Lock 145 4 23
Search 143 2 19
Sense Motive 14 10 15
Spot 14 12 17
Tumble 752 14


Possessions: 
Handy haversack: Thieves’ Tools, Masterwork; silk rope 50’; waterskin; bedroll, caltrops, fish hook; flint&steel; grappling hook; mirror; spade; 3 days of rations, vial of anti venom.,


Leather Armor +1, 
Ring of Protection +3
Ring of Sustenance
Hand of Glory
Ring of Invisibility
Boots of Speed
Rapier MW
Longbow, composite
Efficient Quiver
60 arrows

Languages: Common, Elven, Orc, Sylvan
Class: Sneak attack +6d6, trapfinding, Evasion, Trap Sense, Improved Uncanny Dodge, Feat


----------



## Ranger Rick

Ferrix said:
			
		

> I'm a bit of an odd gamer.
> 
> I'm thinking of playing a rogue-type, basically a semi-decent crimelord character, who runs a large network of rogues, informants, etc.




I was thinking rogue, but not as a head guy.  Mine is more the trusted LT.


----------



## Seeten

Well, it frees me up from needing bluff, if y'all are roguing it up. You know, with the amount of war/battlefield stuff, a Scout might be cool, or even scout levels, or something, for all the roguish types?


----------



## Ranger Rick

> INTRODUCTORY SESSION:
> 
> Before we start the first adventure, I’d like to try something a little different. Since we’re starting at a fairly advanced stage, there is probably a lot of shared history between the PCs. Well, actually, I’m saying that there is a lot of shared history, period.
> 
> In order to create this backstory, I am planning on posting 8 or 9 short adventure synopses, those adventures which brought the PCs (as a group) from 1st to their current level. After each synopsis, players can make short comments as to what they learned from that adventure, outstanding monsters or traps overcome, magic items they acquired/made, friends lost or found, mortal enemies made, new classes begun, etc; everything that normally happens during the course of an adventure. These descriptions don’t have to be long, a short paragraph will suffice. In addition, players can add more normal life events which occurred between adventures, such as marriages, births, deaths, training with a wise, old man, travel, enlightening experiences, etc.




I think this is an excellent idea.  I have my rogue open ended.

However, I can also see the party not necessarily togeter for all 11 levels, but passing by.  Injuries will way lay one for a bit or the inherent mobility of someone with a PC mind set during a long war.  I think it would be similar to comrades for a time, than seperated by other individuals and fighting & meeting on the battlefield as allies commanding different troops, than becoming comrades again.  They know of each other and may even write, but they are more like ships on the ocean.


----------



## Ranger Rick

Seeten said:
			
		

> Well, it frees me up from needing bluff, if y'all are roguing it up. You know, with the amount of war/battlefield stuff, a Scout might be cool, or even scout levels, or something, for all the roguish types?




I thought you where thinking of a Paladin?

As for Scout, I do not have that info, only the srd.  Therefore I needed to build a simple character.


----------



## Manzanita

Wow.  This sounds very cool.  Greyhawk games don't crop up too much around here. Sounds like I'm a little late on the game, and I just started another game where it took me like a wee to draw up a 10th level PC.  I'd love to join and play a mystic theurge.  Maybe I could be an alt.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> Any idea how to handle Item Creation?
> 
> I'm making an Elven Fighter/Wizard, I think.




 One thing which I hadn't mentioned was that I want to start everyone halfway between 11th and 12th level (at 60,500 XP). One of my favorite things about D&D is the simple act of going up a level (with all the adjustments it entails). Not setting everyone’s XP at the minimum for the level puts that experience much more within reach.

 That should give you enough XP for item creation without having to drop back to 10th level, right Thanee? Just subtract the gold from your starting money. As for having enough time, I was imagining that y’all will not be a green group. This war began eight years ago, and I was thinking everyone would have been involved from the beginning.

 If you want to create items for other party members, be my guest if you feel like it (final decision rests with Thanee if she decides to play the Fighter/Wizard), although I’m going to limit each character to one item with a market price of 27,500 gp or under, or two with a market price of 7,400 gp or under. Otherwise she would have spent all of her time creating magic items.

_I modified my first post to reflect the addition of the starting XP level._


----------



## Seeten

I am doing Paladin, but with a large charisma, I am doing diplomacy/sense motive, also.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Manzanita said:
			
		

> Wow. This sounds very cool. Greyhawk games don't crop up too much around here. Sounds like I'm a little late on the game, and I just started another game where it took me like a wee to draw up a 10th level PC. I'd love to join and play a mystic theurge. Maybe I could be an alt.



Only three people have submitted a fully detailed character so far, Manzanita, so I wouldn't give up hope completely.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Ranger Rick:  Any way I could convince you to play a similar non-Lawful Evil character?  I think your rogue could be turned into a LN character with few changes.  I'm just concerned that you and the LG Paladin would spend all your time at each other's throats.  I don't see dispatching downed foes as intrinsically an evil act, especially if he does it to protect himself and his comrades rather than for the pure joy of it.

I don't object the alignment out of hand, just for the inter-party tension it might create, but I'm willing to discuss this.

How do others feel?


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> As for Scout, I do not have that info, only the srd. Therefore I needed to build a simple character.



I agree that a scout would make a lot of sense in this setting.  That class is as close as a core class comes to mimicking a member of the modern day “special forces.”  If you’re interested you can email me at agreenshields at nyc dot rr dot com, and I’ll email you the info.


----------



## Ranger Rick

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Ranger Rick: Any way I could convince you to play a similar non-Lawful Evil character? I think your rogue could be turned into a LN character with few changes. I'm just concerned that you and the LG Paladin would spend all your time at each other's throats. I don't see dispatching downed foes as intrinsically an evil act, especially if he does it to protect himself and his comrades rather than for the pure joy of it.
> 
> I don't object the alignment out of hand, just for the inter-party tension it might create, but I'm willing to discuss this.
> 
> How do others feel?




I have no problem switching alignment.  I picked LE to reflect his loyality and fidelity to his lord.  Long wars generally lead to authoritarian figures.  But no problem.  I will edit the change.  Actually, being a second in command to a paladin can really bring out dynamics of different styles.   i.e. The literal exectution of orders instead of the spirit of the order.  i.e. Go disarm the prisoners = all the prisoners are now without arms......you get the drift.

LN it is.

=====================================

Seeteen:  These PCs are battle weary commanders.  You can never have to much diplomancy.


----------



## Seeten

I'm in no way an alignment nazi, and I wont be "using detect evil" on my companions all the time, but I wouldnt knowingly associate with an evil person, a person who is obviously evil, unless commanded to do so by my God.


----------



## Seeten

Before I do a full on personality/history, I'd like to have a more full idea on Gods and such. I do have the skeletal framework on the character done, ie, the stats are basically done.


----------



## sophist

Six people already.   But you can put me on the backup list, just in case.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Information about Greyhawk deities can be found on the following website:

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=lg/articles/lg20030521deitiessearch

Let me know if you need more.http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=lg/articles/lg20030521deitiessearch


----------



## Thanee

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> That should give you enough XP for item creation without having to drop back to 10th level, right Thanee?




Yep, that's fine. This way, the cost for creating items also won't be neglectable, since I will then level up later. I also think that's the best way to handle it (that is, just give everyone some more XP). 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Scotley

Given that only a few full characters have posted I'll take a shot at getting a human ranger ready to post. Sounds like a fun game.


----------



## Seeten

How do I do the sblock thing for spoiler text?


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Seeten said:
			
		

> How do I do the sblock thing for spoiler text?



Like this! [SBLOCK]Spoiler text.[/SBLOCK]Hah, hah, just kidding. You begin it with the words "sblock" in square brackets, and end it with "/sblock" also in square brackets.


----------



## Thanee

Would you have a problem with an item, that grants Fast Healing 1 (continuous _Lesser Vigor_ for 8,000 gp, with a clause, that the item must be attuned to work (worn for some time (8h or a day) before it begins to work))?

With the amount of healing we'll probably have, that might be a good idea.  

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Seeten

Moved to my original post.


----------



## Seeten

deleted


----------



## James Heard

Ok, here's the mechanics sans equipment and a lot of other important stuff that I should probably put in there, in sblocks because right now it's just a crappy etools stat block anyways.

Under construction and still subject to change depending on the background write up and commentary from the peanut gallery
[sblock]
Mavic Larigne, Male Human Wiz11: CR 11; Medium Humanoid ; HD 11d4+11(Wizard) ; hp 38; Init +4; Spd 30; AC:10 (Flatfooted:10 Touch:10); Atk +5 base melee, +5 base ranged; AL N; SV Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +8; STR 10, DEX 10, CON 12, INT 20, WIS 12, CHA 12.
Skills: Concentration +9, Decipher Script +13, Knowledge (Arcana) +18, Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) +8, Knowledge (Geography) +12, Knowledge (History) +15, Knowledge (Local) +17, Knowledge (Nature) +10, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) +15, Knowledge (Religion) +10, Knowledge (The Planes) +12, Spellcraft +21. 

Feats: Craft Wand, Craft Wondrous Item, Enlarge Spell, Improved Initiative, Leadership, Maximize Spell, Scribe Scroll, Spell Focus: Evocation.
Spells Known (Wiz 4/6/5/5/4/3/1): 0 -- Acid Splash, Arcane Mark, Dancing Lights, Daze, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Disrupt Undead, Flare, Ghost Sound, Light, Mage Hand, Mending, Message, Open/Close, Prestidigitation, Ray of Frost, Read Magic, Repair Minor Damage, Resistance, Touch of Fatigue; 1st -- Expeditious Retreat, Feather Fall, Identify, Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Obscuring Mist, Protection from Evil, Ray of Enfeeblement, Unseen Servant; 2nd -- Blindness/Deafness, Flaming Sphere, Fox`s Cunning, Scorching Ray; 3rd -- Clairaudience/Clairvoyance, Fireball, Gaseous Form, Lightning Bolt; 4th -- Detect Scrying, Evard`s Black Tentacles, Ice Storm, Reduce Person, Mass; 5th -- Cloudkill, Cone of Cold, Fabricate, Transmute Rock to Mud; 6th -- Chain Lightning, True Seeing.
Spells Prepared (Wiz 4/6/5/5/4/3/1): 0 - Dancing Lights, Flare, Prestidigitation, Ray of Frost (s), Read Magic; 1st - Feather Fall, Mage Armor, Magic Missile (s), Magic Missile x2, Magic Missile x2, Ray of Enfeeblement, Unseen Servant; 2nd - Blindness/Deafness, Flaming Sphere, Fox`s Cunning, Scorching Ray (s), Scorching Ray x2; 3rd - Clairaudience/Clairvoyance, Fireball x2, Gaseous Form, Lightning Bolt (s), Lightning Bolt, Lightning Bolt; 4th - Ice Storm (s), Ice Storm, Reduce Person, Mass; 5th - Cone of Cold (s), Cone of Cold, Fabricate, Transmute Rock to Mud; 6th -- Chain Lightning (s).
Possessions: 
Goods: Coin: gp (66000) (66,000 gp).
Animal, Weasel, Male Animal, Weasel : CR 1/4; Tiny Animal ; HD 11d8 ( Animal) ; hp 19; Init + 2; Spd 20, Climb 20; AC 43; Atk + 3 base melee, + 9 base ranged; +9 ( 1d3-4, Bite ); SA: Attach (Ex) ; SQ: Scent (Ex), Low-light Vision (Ex), ; AL N; SV Fort + 3, Ref + 5, Will + 8; STR 3, DEX 15, CON 10, INT 11, WIS 12, CHA 10.
Skills: Balance +10, Climb +10, Concentration +9, Hide +11, Move Silently +8, Spot +3. 
Feats: Weapon Finesse.
[/sblock]


----------



## Thanee

James, you might want to swap Maximize Spell for Sudden Maximize from Complete Arcane (allows you to apply Maximize to one spell spontaneously without raising the spell level once per day; you cannot use it normally, tho, only that one time each day; prerequisite is any other metamagic feat). That's pretty nifty for a wizard. 

Also, you have 45 hit points.

One question, what does the (s) in the spell list stand for? I first thought specialist slot, but he doesn't seem to be a specialist wizard. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> Would you have a problem with an item, that grants Fast Healing 1 (continuous _Lesser Vigor_ for 8,000 gp, with a clause, that the item must be attuned to work (worn for some time (8h or a day) before it begins to work))?



Given that a _Ring of Regeneration_ has a 90,000 gp market price, and only heals 1 hp/level every hour, and given that Fast Healing 1 restores 1 hp/round (or basically all of your hp an hour unless you are, like a CR 50 creature  ) I will say that 8,000 gp is a smidgen low, even with that clause.  I know that the _regeneration_ spell is a much more powerful spell than _Lesser Vigor_, but in their in-game usage they are virtually the same.

As an alternative, I would recommend someone taking one level of cleric or druid, and buying a _Wand of Lesser Vigor_ created by a suitably high level cleric or druid.


----------



## Thanee

Ok. No problem. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## James Heard

Thanee said:
			
		

> James, you might want to swap Maximize Spell for Sudden Maximize from Complete Arcane (allows you to apply Maximize to one spell spontaneously without raising the spell level once per day; you cannot use it normally, tho, only that one time each day; prerequisite is any other metamagic feat). That's pretty nifty for a wizard.
> 
> Also, you have 45 hit points.
> 
> One question, what does the (s) in the spell list stand for? I first thought specialist slot, but he doesn't seem to be a specialist wizard.



In order  :
1. I thought about it, but I like having multiple maximized MM and fireballs.
2. Yeah, like I said I cut n pasted from Etools which doesn't do specialized PbP rules very well.
3. He's an evoker with prohibited schools in Enchantment and Illusion. I'm debating on if I should change that, considering the whole "giants" thing though. 

Basically I wouldn't have posted him as rough as he is right now at all except everyone else seems to be rolling like a stone down hill toward completion and I won't be able to work on him for several hours tonight and I thought I'd let everyone see _something_.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

For all you non-spontaneous arcane spellcasters out there, remember that you can buy a spell and transcribe it into your spellbooks for the cost of a scroll of that level. I'm also going to rule that in addition to the spells that you gain from research every Wizard level (see p. 178 of the 3.5 PHB), you found two spells every CHARACTER level (of any level you can cast) through adventuring (making killing enemy wizards very popular among this crowd.)

I can see the following conversation happening in the midst of batte:

Figher: Quick, Pointyhat, take out that spellcaster before he kills us all!
Wizard: What? That guy? He's just a sorcerer, not worth my time.

Oh, and don't forget that if you use the magic word, party members might let you copy spells from their spellbooks. If wizards have anything over sorcerers, it's versatility.


----------



## Seeten

Also Deleted.


----------



## Seeten

Branding, I am looking at the LG Deity list now, and Mayaheine looks basically just like Heironeous, except Demigod instead of Full, what would be the difference as far as choosing her? Would I be more influential? (Big fish small pond scenario?) Or is she more revered in Sterich? (doesnt really say that)


----------



## Seeten

Or leadership and a Cleric cohort. I like the cleric cohort idea.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Seeten said:
			
		

> Or leadership and a Cleric cohort. I like the cleric cohort idea.




Potentially worth noting - James has Leadership, but no cohort figured out yet 

Your point buy looks off, somehow - a 15 in Str costs 8, and a 17 in Cha costs 13.



> Str: 16(18)+4 (7) Class Level 4 +1
> Dex: 10 +0 (2)
> Con: 14 +2 (6)
> Int: 10 +0 (2)
> Wis: 12 +1 (4)
> Cha: 18(22)+6 (11) Class level 8 +1




-Hyp.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Either you are an amazingly fast character creator, or Reivik has been sitting around for a little, waiting to jump back into action. Either way, good job!




He's been sitting around for a week or so at 9th level, but missed out on a game... didn't take much to tweak to 11th 



> Quick comment on the subject of your heirloom weapon.  A concept that I have loved for years, and have been wanting to incorporate into a D&D game is the basic concept of magic weapons from the _Earthdawn_ game.  If memory serves, the more you research the history of a weapon, the stronger it becomes.
> 
> A similar idea was presented in a Dragon magazine article a few years back (something about "leveled magic items") where you sacrifice XP to improve the power of the weapon.
> 
> I'm not saying we should incorporate this, just thinking out loud ... well, typing out loud anyway




I'm certainly up for the idea... after all, who better to research the history of a weapon than a War Chanter?  

-Hyp.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Seeten said:
			
		

> Branding, I am looking at the LG Deity list now, and Mayaheine looks basically just like Heironeous, except Demigod instead of Full, what would be the difference as far as choosing her? Would I be more influential? (Big fish small pond scenario?) Or is she more revered in Sterich? (doesnt really say that)




Mayaheine is classier.  She's hip.  She's now.  She's edgy.  Yay!

Heironeous is a stuffy deity for boring old retired Paladin judges.  Blah.

Wouldn't you rather worship "Yay!" than "Blah."?



-Hyp.


----------



## Seeten

Thanks Hyper, I dont use pb much, and I was at work. Stat errors crept in. I know you and Thanee will catch all errors, so I am good to go. =)

If he has a cohort already, I am gonna finish out with ftr 3/pal 5/CVL 3.


----------



## Thanee

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> For all you non-spontaneous arcane spellcasters out there, remember that you can buy a spell and transcribe it into your spellbooks for the cost of a scroll of that level.




I used the 50 gp x spell level formula given in the PHB for the service of copying from someone else. Is that ok, too?



> Oh, and don't forget that if you use the magic word, party members might let you copy spells from their spellbooks. If wizards have anything over sorcerers, it's versatility.




I actually thought about that, given that we were some times together already... but didn't figure it in now. But that's easily done afterwards by just adding back the above "service cost" for some spells.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Thanee

Seeten said:
			
		

> [METAGAME]
> I am willing to go Favored Soul 3 or Cleric 3 instead of Fighter 3, due to the party's egregious lack of healing magic, and then Paladin 3 and War Priest 5. If We have a concensus yay, or nay, I'll work it up that way. I'm at home with all my books now, so I am set to go.
> [/METAGAME]




You could also go pure Paladin, that's probably better than adding in some FS or Cleric levels with Lay on Hands and a decent Charisma. At 11th level you even get a 3rd level spell.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Scotley

*Morley Human Ranger*

Okay, a work in progress, but here's what I have so far.

Human Ranger 11
60,500 exp.
Neutral Good

Str: 14 (6)
Dex: 19 (8) +2 level bonuses +2 Gloves
Con: 12 (4)
Int: 12 (4)
Wis: 14 (6)
Cha: 12 (4)

Hp: 79

AC 23 , Touch 14, Flat 17
Init +4 (Dex. +4)
BAB +11, Grap +13
Speed 30’ (base 30’, light load)
Fort +8, Ref +10, Will +5

Melee

+14/+9/+4 +1 Glaive, 1d10+3 19-20/x2 2,008 gp
+14/9+/+4 MW Warhammer 1d8+2 19-20/x3 312 gp
+12/+8/+3 MW Dagger 1d4+2 19-20/x2 
Lance

Ranged

+17/+12/+8 or +15/+15/+10/+5  Mighty +1 Shocking Comp. Longbow, 1d8+3+1d6 electrical, 19-20/x3, 110'r 8,600gp (quiver)
60 arrows (quiver) 3gp
+15/+10/+5, MW Dagger 1d4+2, 19-20/x2, p/s 10'r 302gp (x3) (two in boots one at shoulder)

Medium, 6'1" tall, 165 wt, 31 yrs old
Black hair, Gray eyes, Tanned skin

Speaks  Common and Giant 

Skills 112 (6x14+14Int+14Hum.)

Appraise xx (+1Int)
Balance xx (1+4Dex +2syn) ac
Bluff xx (5+1Cha)
Climb (5+2Str) ac
Concentration (2+1Con)
Craft Bowyer (4+1Int)
Diplomacy xx (+1Cha +2syn)
Disguise xx (+1Cha +2syn)
Escape Artist xx (+4Dex) ac
Gather Information xx (+1Cha)
Handle Animal (5+1Cha)
Heal (6+2Wis+2 Kit)
Hide (4+4Dex) ac
Intimidate xx (1+1Cha+2syn)
Jump (5+2Str +2syn) ac
Knowledge (dungeoneering) (3+1Int)
Knowledge (geography) (5+1Int)
Knowledge xx (local) (1+1Int)
Knowledge (nature) (5+1Int)
Listen (10+2Wis)
Move Silently (6+4Dex) ac
Profession (+2Wis)
Ride (8+4Dex) 
Search (2+1Int)
Sense Motive xx (1+2Wis)
Spot (10+2Wis)
Survival (14+1Wis +2syn—following tracks)
Swim (2+2Str)

Feats
-Point Blank Shot (+1 attack and damage within 30’)
-Rapid Shot (Extra ranged attack at -2 to all attacks)*
-Precise Shot (No penalty for firing into melee)
-Track (Follow trail with survival check)*
-Endurance (+4 on certain saves/checks, sleep in light or medium arrow)*
-Improved Precise Shot (Ignore less than total cover/concealment)*
-Many Shot (Fire 2 arrows at once as a standard action at -4 or 3 arrows at -6)*
-Weapon Focus Bow
-Improved Critical
-Improved Buckler Defense

Human Traits
-Bonus feat and skills

Ranger Abilities
-Proficiency with all simple and martial weapons
-Proficiency with light armor and shields (except tower shields)
-Favored Enemy (+6 Damage, Bluff, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, & Survival vs. Giants)
-Favored Enemy 2 (+2 Damage, Bluff, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, & Survival vs. Elves, Drow)
-Favored Enemy 3 (+2 Damage, Bluff, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, & Survival vs. Outsiders, Evil) 
-Wild Empathy (as Diplomacy check to improve attitude vs. animals 11+1cha+2syn) 
-Combat style Archery
-Bonus Feats
-Woodland Stride
-Swift Tracker
-Evasion
-Animal Companion
-Divine Spells

Spells per Day
-1st Level 2
-2nd Level 2
-3rd Level 1

Gear

Armor +2 Mithril Breast Plate +7 AC Max. dex. +6, armor check penalty -1 8,100 gp.
Shield +1 Darkwood Buckler +2 AC no armor check penalty 1,205 gp. 
Explorer’s Outfit over armor
Boots Winged 15,000gp
Gloves of Dexterity 4000gp

Quiver of Elonna, (left shoulder ) 1,800gp
Backpack (center back) 2gp
Bedroll (below backpack) 1sp

Healers’ Bag 50 gp (larger belt pouch)
Alchemist’s fire x2 40gp (Bandoleer)
Thunderstone x2 30gp (Bandoleer)
Smokestick x2 40gp (Bandoleer) 
Potion of Cure Light Wounds x2 100gp (Bandoleer x2)
Wand of Cure Serious Wounds 11,250gp
Restorative Ointment 4000gp 

Waterskin-2 water and wine (side of backpack and belt) 2gp and 10gp
2 Torches (backpack) 2cp
Flint & Steel (Belt pouch) 1gp
5 Tindertwigs (Belt pouch) 5gp
Trail Rations- 6 days (backpack) 3gp
Silk Rope 100’ with grapnel (backpack) 15gp
Travelers’ outfit (backpack) 1gp
Tent (horse) 10gp
Animal Trainer's Kit 75gp
Camouflage Kit 40gp

Light Warhorse 150gp
MW Military saddle 210gp
Saddle Bags 4gp
Bit and Bridle 2gp
MW Studded Leather Barding 250gp

Coins- 8379gp, 7sp, 8cp (pouch)
gp gems (pouch)

Appearance/Personality
-Morley is a moderately handsome man of early middle years. His face is somewhat lined from a life spent outdoors. He wears a short beard and mustach neatly trimed. His skin is tanned and marked with a few scars. He is jolly fellow who enjoys his friends or the company of a good tavern. His wit is sharp and sometimes has a bite when someone offends him. He is polite to a fault and his manners are surprising well honed for one who spends so much time in the wild. He is rarely seen in anything other than his armor and well worn comfortable looking clothes suited to the outdoors. He wears a leather hat with a broad brim to shield him from rain and sun. A large Warhammer hangs at his belt and a quiver loaded with weapons and arrows is on his back. A large Mastif dog dressed in studded leather is usually at his heel.  

History/Background
-Morley was born in Sterich. He grew up on an isolated farm and spent his youth roaming the woods near the family farm. Eventually, his family's land was overrun by humanoids and giants during the invasion. Morley used his woodcraft to help his mother and siblings escape just in time. His father was part of the militia that fought the invaders. He is lost and presumed dead. Morley vowed to fight back and regain the land his family lost. His mother and youngest brother now live in Istavin. The middle brother is in the army, while his sister is a priestess of Berei. The family have been followers of Berei for generations, but Morley is not a deeply pious man.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Thanee said:
			
		

> *Skills:* Climb +5(1), Concentration +16(12+2cc), Jump +11(5), Knowledge (arcana) +11(6), Knowledge (architecture & engineering) +6(1), Knowledge (local) +6(1), Knowledge (nature) +10(5), Knowledge (religion) +6(1), Knowledge (the planes) +6(1), Listen +10(0), Ride +6(2), Search +14(7), Spellcraft +20(11+2cc), Spot +10(1cc), Swim +5(1), Tumble +11(5cc)




I give up... how do you get +10 on Listen?

0 ranks, 0 Wisdom bonus, +2 Elf, +3 Bat, +2 Alertness when the bat's nearby... I make that +7.

What am I missing?

-Hyp.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Scotley said:
			
		

> Okay, a work in progress, but here's what I have so far.




"Morley Human Ranger"?

That's not a whole lot of progress 

-Hyp.


----------



## Thanee

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> What am I missing?




The Natural Link ability from the 3rd Elf Wizard substitution level. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Scotley

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> "Morley Human Ranger"?
> 
> That's not a whole lot of progress
> 
> -Hyp.




Okay, how about now? Still I have a good bit of work to do, but should finish up a little later this evening.


----------



## Ferrix

Hrm... seems I might get ousted... *sniff sniff*


----------



## khavren

let me know if this good and if I made it in under the wire.

[sblock]

Balima
9th monk, 2nd tattooed monk
A tall thin man, gaunt but wiry, his head shaved bald. He has sunken dark eyes and tends to stare just a bit too long at people.
Stat Points 
STR 10
DEX 16 +3
CON 12 +1
INT 10 
WIS 19[21] +4 [+5]
CHA 9  -1

Bab +7/+2
Fort +10
Ref +13
Will +15
HP: 91
AC: 28
Feats:
Flurry of Blows
Unarmed Strike
Evasion
Still mind
Ki Strike- Magic
Slow Fall - 40 ft
Purity of Body
Wholeness of body
Improved evasion
Stunning Fist
Combat Reflexes
Improved Trip
Improved Grapple
Exotic Weapon Prof -Spiked Chain
Weapon Finesse
Skills:
Tumble: Total 17 [ranks 14 + dex 3]
Spot: Total 19 [ranks 14 + wis 5]
Listen: Total 19 [ranks 14 + Wis 5]
Climb: Total 14 [ranks 14]
Gear:
Ring of Prot +3
Spiked Chain of Giant Bane +2
Bracers of Armor +3
Brooch of Shielding
Bag of Holding type 1
Amulet of Natural Armor +2
Incandescent Blue Sphere Ioun stone (+2 wis)
Cloak of Resistance +1


Balima was a foundling raised by the monastry, he lived there happily until his 26 year when the Giants and thier Kin overran the monastry and destroyed it. Luckily for Balima he had been sent to bring the respects of his Abbott to a nearby hermit who was a master of the Painted Fist combat style. Of course, Balima did not see it as luck and dedicated himself to destroying the creatures that took away his life. He continues to train with the Hermit as he can inbetween gathering with his chosen compatriots for quests against the Giants.

[/sblock]


----------



## Ferrix

Scotley said:
			
		

> Okay, how about now? Still I have a good bit of work to do, but should finish up a little later this evening.




You're missing an additional favored enemy.  As a ranger 11, you should have 3.

*Sniff sniff* Guess that means I'm out.  Have fun all.


----------



## Seeten

As I am not the John Cooper of character stat blocks, I would appreciate if any interested or enterprising party would like to have a look over Anastasia for statistical errors or oversights.

Yes, I changed my mind 99 times on classes, I know. As Thanee states, just go Paladin 11. Elegant, though I lose 2 precious precious feats. Well, I'll deal. =)


----------



## Hypersmurf

Thanee said:
			
		

> The Natural Link ability from the 3rd Elf Wizard substitution level.




Yup, that'd do it 



			
				Scotley said:
			
		

> Okay, how about now?




Check some of your pricings - a +2 Mithral Breastplate is 8,200, not 10,100; potions of CLW are 50gp each.

-Hyp.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Seeten said:
			
		

> Elegant, though I lose 2 precious precious feats. Well, I'll deal. =)




Although you still have one too many, I think 

1, 3, 6, 9 plus one for being human is five...

You're also wearing two pairs of gauntlets 

-Hyp.


----------



## Seeten

LOL! Locked Gauntlets of Ogre Power maybe? heh

I lose my Divine Shield. *cry* That hurts terribly.

Oh well, level 12 is coming soon, right?


----------



## Branding Opportunity

I'm happy to report that Scotley with his Ranger is the last one under the wire. I am unhappy to report that this means that Ferrix and khavren are now official alternates. You'll be first in line if anyone drops out (which happens quite often).

Seeten, here's what Dragon magazine says about Paladins of Mayaheine. It's pretty much all flavor text with a special feat you have access to, which is nothing special, though.



[sblock]Valiants
Motto: Fortitude within and Valor without.
Allies: Followers of Pelor
Enemies: Iuz, Fiends

Paladins of Mayaheine are few. Theirs is a young order of scarcely a handful of years, having arisen after the recent arrival of their patroness in the Flanaess during the Greyhawk Wars. According to the doctrine of the faith, Mayaheine was once a mortal paladin of Pelor (albeit from another world or plane), a fact which drew many Pelorian paladins to her service upon her arrival on Oerth. While most of her paladins emerged from the ranks of existing Pelorian knighthoods, Mayaheine’s fame grew stronger with each year. Her tolerant doctrine espouses equality between men and women; as many as three in five of her holy warriors are female.

Mayaheine’s faith dedicates itself to the protection of the faithful, the good, the downtrodden, and the innocent. This goal, according to their teachings, is best accomplished by honest and honorable force of arms designed to fortify the defenseless. In so doing, the paladin becomes a human bulwark against evil. The Shield Maiden’s paladins tend toward more martial attitudes and pursuits then their Pelorian cousins, lacking the Sun God’s focus on matters of light and darkness.

Paladins of Mayaheine typically wear flowing tabards cinched t the waist with a golden cord or girdle. Proud of their burgeoning faith, most of Mayaheine’s followers wear their patron’s holy symbol emblazoned on their tabards. The paladins favor light blues, greens, and tans, but as of yet have no standardized uniform. The Shield Maiden’s valiants tend to prefer bladed weapons, particularly the bastard sword. They always carry shields.

A great degree of optimism surrounds the arrival of Mayaheine, an emotion shared and fiercely espoused by the example of her paladins. These holy warriors usually operate alone or in small groups composed of like-minded clerics and warriors. The religion has yet to develop significant sects or sub-societies. It doesn’t sport much of a hierarchy either, although the church maintains close ties to its origins with the Pelorian faith, which leads to great cooperation between the two religions. Mayaheine’s clergy asserts that the Shield Maiden herself inhabits the Flanaess, though she has not been witnessed by anyone other than the faithful since the close of the Greyhawk wars. If she does maintain an Oerthly stronghold, it has never been found. Instead, her religion is headquartered around Nyr Dyv, with its largest chapter and training house in Hardby. Paladins of Mayaheine strengthen the front against Iuz in Furyondy and the Shield lands, doing their best to shield the helpless from the depredations of the Dark Lord of Dorakaa.[/sblock]

The special feat that only valiants (paladins of Mayaheine) have access to is as follows:

[sblock]SHIELD MAINDEN’S GRACE
You can channel energy to grant grace and spiritual calm to your companions.
*Patron:* Mayaheine
*Prerequisite:* Divine grace, turn undead
*Benefit:* Spend one of your turn undead attempts to grant a touched creature the protection of your divine grace. The creature applies your Charisma modifier at the time it was touched as a bonus to all saving throws. The Shield Maiden’s Grace lasts a number of rounds equal to your Charisma bonus. You can’t use the Quicken Turning feat (_Complete Divine_, p. 84) to speed up the use of this feat. The bonus from this ability does not stack with a paladin’s divine grace.[/sblock]


----------



## Seeten

Mayaheine sounds cool. I'll go with her. My description is already there, pretty much.  That feat is sorta cool, considering I..

[sblock]
would get to give out a +6 to all saves for 6 rounds!
[/sblock]


----------



## Seeten

Also, on the first page, I'm no longer fighter 3 pal 8 its straight paladin 11 now.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Seeten, now that you put it like that, maybe it's not such a bad feat after all. Certainly fits with her championing the defense of the poor and downtrodden.

P.S. for everyone: I've added a Rogue's Gallery thread http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=131591

You should post your characters there once we're done tweaking them.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Seeten said:
			
		

> Also, on the first page, I'm no longer fighter 3 pal 8 its straight paladin 11 now.



Straight paladin 11?  I've heard of racial substitution levels, but sexual orientation substitution levels?

Sorry, couldn't resist


----------



## Branding Opportunity

More kibbitzing, but you know, I live vicariously through all of you. After all, DMs tend to run games they'd like to play themselves *sigh*

Here's a Paladin spell that just seemed too cool not to post. It's from Malhavoc's _Book of Hallowed Might (3.5)_.
[SBLOCK]*Armor Contingency*
Conjuration (Calling)
*Level: *Clr 1, Pal 1
*Components: *V, S, M
*Casting Time: *10 minutes
*Range: *Touch
*Effect: *One suit of armor
*Duration: *One hour/level
*Saving Throw: *No
*Spell Resistance: *No
You set up a contingency with your armor, so that if a predetermined event takes place during the duration, the armor appears on you, fully donned and prepared. Such an event can include a specific word or gesture from you as a free action. The armor must be within one mile per level for this spell to function, and it cannot bring anything else with it. For example, you cannot attach your weapon to your armor and expect it to appear with the armor. A shield cannot be prepared with this contingency, only a suit of armor. An obvious contingency event might be, “If I am attacked.”​Material Component:A few drops of scented oil[/SBLOCK]

Speaking of things divine, how does everyone feel about not having a cleric in the group.  Does that mean I have to go easy on all of you?


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Here's a Paladin spell that just seemed too cool not to post. It's from Malhavoc's _Book of Hallowed Might (3.5)_.




It was a +1 armor special ability - 'Called' - in Defenders of the Faith, too.

Unfortunately, at 50gp per hour, it's pretty expensive as an oil... though I must admit, I'm tempted!

-Hyp.


----------



## Seeten

I have the book of hallowed might =)

Um, I heal 66 a day with lay on, and I have 3 cure lights, 3 cure moderates and 1 cure serious, and a wand of cure light...

The down side is, I'll be charging on my mount, crashing into people, like 60 feet away from the mages, so I hope they dont, as we say in WoW, draw any aggro...

I'm best at healing injury out of combat, not in it.


----------



## Seeten

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Speaking of things divine, how does everyone feel about not having a cleric in the group.  Does that mean I have to go easy on all of you?




You know, much as I didnt want to, I offered to go all Cleric/paladin/war priest, but my fellow players said no =)


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Speaking of things divine, how does everyone feel about not having a cleric in the group.  Does that mean I have to go easy on all of you?




Well, we still don't know what Mavic's cohort'll look like.

11th level, -2 for a familiar, +1 for Cha, +2 for great renown (we're heroes, right?  ), gives a Leadership score of 12 - there might be an 8th level cleric right there!  

I'm packing three wands of CLW for out-of-combat healing, but at the moment, our horsey-girl's our main healing battery!

-Hyp.


----------



## Seeten

yay for level 8 clerics!


----------



## Seeten

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Well, we still don't know what Mavic's cohort'll look like.
> 
> 11th level, -2 for a familiar, +1 for Cha, +2 for great renown (we're heroes, right?  ), gives a Leadership score of 12 - there might be an 8th level cleric right there!
> 
> I'm packing three wands of CLW for out-of-combat healing, but at the moment, our horsey-girl's our main healing battery!
> 
> -Hyp.




ROFL. If I had a cohort, it'd be higher level than me!!


----------



## Hypersmurf

Seeten said:
			
		

> ROFL. If I had a cohort, it'd be higher level than me!!




"Regardless of a character’s Leadership score, he can only recruit a cohort who is two or more levels lower than himself."



-Hyp.


----------



## Seeten

Well that means I could recklessly get 3 straight cohorts killed, and still have 9th level clerics rushing to my aid. =)


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Mayaheine is classier. She's hip. She's now. She's edgy. Yay!
> Heironeous is a stuffy deity for boring old retired Paladin judges. Blah.
> Wouldn't you rather worship "Yay!" than "Blah."?



I just have to say, this made me actually laugh out load


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> I used the 50 gp x spell level formula given in the PHB for the service of copying from someone else. Is that ok, too?
> 
> I actually thought about that, given that we were some times together already... but didn't figure it in now. But that's easily done afterwards by just adding back the above "service cost" for some spells.



Yes and certainly.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> I just have to say, this made me actually laugh out load




I'm sorry, did you say bonus XP?

Well, all right, if you insist 

-Hyp.


----------



## Scotley

Okay Morley is pretty much ready for action. I'll do a little error checking tomorrow and maybe buy another minor magic item or some special arrows. 

As to the Cleric issue, the Paladin can help and Morley can cast a few, very few, healing spells. I gave him a couple of magic items that should help out as well, so maybe we'll be alright. I guess I could pick up a couple of scrolls if there are some divine spells the group thinks might come in handy that are on the Ranger list. 

I left the history very vague as this point in hopes of adding some shared details.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Scotley said:
			
		

> I guess I could pick up a couple of scrolls if there are some divine spells the group thinks might come in handy that are on the Ranger list.




Heh.  Scrolls.

Every now and then, I start to think "Maybe I should get a scroll of..."

Then I remember - oh, yeah.  I'm the Bard with 10 Charisma.

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> It was a +1 armor special ability - 'Called' - in Defenders of the Faith, too.
> 
> Unfortunately, at 50gp per hour, it's pretty expensive as an oil... though I must admit, I'm tempted!



I also just realized that with her paladin mount's "share spell" ability, the spell would armor both of them at the same time.

Very cool.

Oh, I am such a dork


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> I'm sorry, did you say bonus XP?
> 
> Well, all right, if you insist



Yes, I insist that Hypersmurf gets 200 bonus XP. The dwarf, however, doesn't get anything 

On a completely seperate note, here's a feat from _Dragon_ issue #315 that I thought someone might want, given the historical background.
[sblock]*Giantkiller (General)*
Your experience fighting giants has given you a tactical advantage against them.
*Regions:*  Geoff, Keoland, Sterich
*Benefit:*  You gain a +4 bonus on attack rolls to confirm critical hits against gaints, and you gain a +2 dodge bonus to your AC against giant's attacks.
*Special:  *You may take this feat as  fighter bonus feat.[/sblock]


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> I also just realized that with her paladin mount's "share spell" ability, the spell would armor both of them at the same time.




No, it wouldn't - it's not a spell you cast on yourself.

Oddly, it isn't even a spell you cast on your armour - it's an effect spell!  It should be Target: one suit of armor, not Effect: one suit of armor.

But it's the same reason you can Share a Mage Armor spell, but not a Shield spell.

-Hyp.


----------



## Thanee

Seeten said:
			
		

> Um, I heal 66 a day with lay on, and I have 3 cure lights, 3 cure moderates and 1 cure serious, and a wand of cure light...




I'm afraid, I think you calculated bonus spells from Cha, but Paladins cast via Wis.



> The down side is, I'll be charging on my mount, crashing into people, like 60 feet away from the mages, so I hope they dont, as we say in WoW, draw any aggro...




No? 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Thanee

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Speaking of things divine, how does everyone feel about not having a cleric in the group. Does that mean I have to go easy on all of you?




We'll see. 

Generally it's not so bad, we'll just have to burn through a few wands, I guess, but with Craft Wand (Wizard) and _Cure Light Wounds_ (Paladin) available, we could make new ones for rather cheap in a day each.

Of course, I'm still pondering Arcane Disciple, tho that might work better for our wizard with the Healing domain (Pelor, altho he looks more Boccob), I would only pick up the War domain, anyways, but the Wis requirement is simply too high to fulfill. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## James Heard

I've wrote up my character with a Cleric cohort - but after I'd already worked on the concept for a rather long while I noted that there's a slight difficulty in the spontaneous casting for clerics of Wee Jas. If anyone has a significant problem with the fact that our cleric is going to have to actually memorize cures then I suppose I could figure out some other dour and scary god for my little band of freedom fighters to worship, or even cheer things up a little somehow by revising the background in a more major way.


----------



## Thanee

You could make a Favored Soul cohort. 

BTW, the DM builds the cohort, not the player, you only choose race/class/alignment.
Of course, many DMs let the player build the cohort, anyways.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Thanee

I noticed, that in Keoland, where the Sheldomar Valley is, they have their own language, Keolandish.

Does this replace Common, or is it in addition to Common?
Do people use this language more or Common?
Is it an automatic (like the FR regional languages) or a bonus language?

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Thanee

James, 18 starting Int costs 16 points not 14. Just a typo, tho, calculation seems to be correct. 

Also, since when is _Neutralize Poison_ a wizard spell?

Then about learning spells, as our dear DM said, we could copy spells from each other (unless you object), given that, you could learn the one 3rd, two 4th and two 5th level spells you bought from me, if you swap them some (i.e. make _Waves of Fatigue_ one of the spells you learned for free and then learn _Wall of Force_ instead from me, because I have the latter, but not the first).

This would add 21 (sum of spell levels you bought) x 50 gp = 1,050 gp to your pouch (or even a bit more if you used scroll costs for the buying cost).

Likewise, I could save some gold that way. Would have to look at it in detail to see, how that figures out. Of course, that would require your approval and that you won't drop any of the spells you have listed now, in case you're still editing your spell list. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## James Heard

Keolandish is a dialect I think - Common with a distinctive accent laced with Old High Oeridianl. I only chose it as a separate language for my character because I'm thinking he might have spent some time snobbing it with the bored minor nobles of Keoland as their hick wizard mascot, so he can be a little more bitter. Besides, doesn't everyone learn the languages of their enemies? 

Anyways, Keolandish is the second most popular language-dialect in Keoland. In Sterich that position is taken up by Flan. *shrug*


----------



## James Heard

Thanee said:
			
		

> BTW, the DM builds the cohort, not the player, you only choose race/class/alignment.
> Of course, many DMs let the player build the cohort, anyways.



Any alterations the GM wants to make is certainly welcome, I was just trying to save everyone some time by knocking it out myself and looking to see if it would rubberstamp itself.


			
				Thanee said:
			
		

> Also, since when is Neutralize Poison a wizard spell?



Probably a typo, or fatigue, or cross-polination from doing three things at once while cut n pasting.


			
				Thanee said:
			
		

> You could make a Favored Soul cohort.



Maybe I'll look into it, but I'd have to borrow the book I think. Miniatures, right?


			
				Thanee said:
			
		

> Likewise, I could save some gold that way. Would have to look at it in detail to see, how that figures out. Of course, that would require your approval and that you won't drop any of the spells you have listed now, in case you're still editing your spell list.



Well, I've got to go figure out if I've somehow slipped a Cure Light Wounds in there too now that you've noted that I've got Neutralize Poison on the list. I think it's pretty set right now though, mostly because I'm probably too lazy to make a sincere effort to change it radically now. Gotta go double check things though. Later.


----------



## Thanee

Favored Soul is in Complete Divine (but you also find the class in the Miniatures Handbook).

It's basically a spontaneously casting Cleric. Pretty neat.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## James Heard

D'oh! Serves me right for not even looking.


----------



## Thanee

The Favored Soul is pretty perfect as a cohort, I think, as it saves the trouble of going through spell preparation. I'm not sure, if cohorts get PB stats, tho, I think they would rather have elite array just like other classed NPCs, but BO can surely tell us how he wants to have it done.

BTW, you could use the extra gold to buy some material components for your expensive spells (_Stoneskin_, _True Seeing_, etc), you don't seem to have any, yet. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Seeten

Cant the Cleric of Wee Jas take the feat, Spontaneous Healer from Complete Divine, so he can swap out for cures and for whatever Wee Jas swaps out for naturally?


----------



## Seeten

If we have a real cleric, I want my cavalier levels back! =P


----------



## Seeten

Particularly now with bonus spells on wisdom...my wisdom is terrible! I'll set her back to ftr2/pal6/cav3 at work. Heh, I am not normally wishy washy. =P


----------



## Seeten

Ok, Anastasia is back to the original fighter/paladin/cavalier. This is the last rework, I swear. Magic items are done, background needs the work mentioned in OP, otherwise done, personality, appearance done, stats and accounting done, barring anymore errors that may have crept in. I might have the horses barding wrong, I couldnt find barding rules anywhere in the SRD.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> I noticed, that in Keoland, where the Sheldomar Valley is, they have their own language, Keolandish.
> 
> Does this replace Common, or is it in addition to Common?
> Do people use this language more or Common?
> Is it an automatic (like the FR regional languages) or a bonus language?



Although the Living Greyhawk rules say that you only get the languages listed in the PHB, I will house rule (because it makes more sense to me) that any human born in the Sheldomar Valley (Sterich, Keoland, Geoff, Yeomanry, Gran March) knows Keolandish as a bonus language.  In fact, there will be humans you will meet (especially in the backwoods) that will only speak Keolandish, not Common.  Common is the trade tongue, while Keolandish is more what's spoken in the home.  Having grown up in Europe, I'm very big on regional languages!

While I'm on the subject, if you want a complete list of the major Greyhawk languages you can check out http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=lg/articles/flanaesslanguages

Also, while I'm in a Greyhawk-specific mindsight, everyone make sure that you pick a home region (or country), mainly for flavor.  The humans could also think about what racial stock they are from.  Humans originally from Sterich are generally either Oerdian, Suel, or Flan, although there's been lots of mixing in the last few thousand years, and pure examples of each race are generally the exception.

For more information on races, and lots of other things Greyhawk-related you can check out the Living Greyhawk Campaign sourcebook http://www.wizards.com/rpga/downloads/LGCS_v4-2.zip (PDF file).  Note that I am including this for general informational purposes only.  This will not be an RPGA game, and many of the rules in this document do not apply.

For RPGA material on Keoland you can also check out http://keoland.living-greyhawk.com/, and for Geoff http://www.rpgageoff.com/, and for the Yeomanry http://yeomanry.living-greyhawk.com.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

James Heard said:
			
		

> Keolandish is a dialect I think - Common with a distinctive accent laced with Old High Oeridianl. I only chose it as a separate language for my character because I'm thinking he might have spent some time snobbing it with the bored minor nobles of Keoland as their hick wizard mascot, so he can be a little more bitter. Besides, doesn't everyone learn the languages of their enemies?
> 
> Anyways, Keolandish is the second most popular language-dialect in Keoland. In Sterich that position is taken up by Flan. *shrug*



As noted above, Keolandish will be a bonus language for local humans.  Flan is more rare and will cost you a bonus language slot, or a rank in Speak Languages (with a note that only bards have SL as a class skill).


----------



## Ranger Rick

You all where busy last night.


Seteen, your flip floping is pretty funny reading when read as a whole.

I think a cleric cohort is a wonderful idea.  However, I have lost track who/what we do have.  Seeten's flip flops have muddied the water a bit for me.  

I will post my rogue in the rogue's gallery.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Seeten said:
			
		

> Paladin's Mount(Su)
> "Faith" (Heavy Warhorse): HD: 8d8 +30(66 hp) AC: 25/11/24(+6 NA, +5 Barding) Ability Scores: Str 20, Dex 13, Con 17, Int 8, Wis 13, Cha 6, Speed: 60' Init: +1 Atk: 2 hooves +13 melee (1d6+5) and bite +8 melee (1d4+2).



You mentioned not having the info on barding, so I thought I'd look it up for you.  Barding that give you a +5 armor bonus would be chainmail barding, which would cost you 600 gp, and would reduce the horsey's movement to 40'.  Heavier barding than that would not affect the mount's movement, btw, although it would allow her/him to only run 3x her movement on a run, rather than 4x.

Also, here's another note from the PHB (p. 131) that might be of some import to you:

"A barded animal cannot be used to carry any load other than the rider and normal saddlebags.  Because of this limitation, a mounted warrior often leads a second mount loaded with gear and supplies."


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Also, Seeten, as a 6th level paladin you still get to _remove disease_ 1/week.  You forgot to list that on your RG character sheet.Oh, and that Fort save, that's just obscene


----------



## Seeten

I'd prefer to go with Platemail barding. But, as I cant afford it, I'll go with banded mail! Plus I get ride checks to negate hits on the mount, so in theory, he ought to be very safe.

I assume most of the time we're travelling with soldiers, or whatnot, so wagons/trains can carry superfluous gear. If we're "Adventuring" I am will bring my arms and armor, and thats it. Anastasia isnt big on tons of extraneous gear/supplies/etc.


----------



## Seeten

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Also, Seeten, as a 6th level paladin you still get to _remove disease_ 1/week.  You forgot to list that on your RG character sheet.Oh, and that Fort save, that's just obscene




Oops, will fix. Heh, my saves are outrageous. My bad one is better than one of the RG characters good save! Ahh, Paladinhood. It has its perks.


----------



## Seeten

Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> You all where busy last night.
> 
> 
> Seteen, your flip floping is pretty funny reading when read as a whole.
> 
> I think a cleric cohort is a wonderful idea.  However, I have lost track who/what we do have.  Seeten's flip flops have muddied the water a bit for me.
> 
> I will post my rogue in the rogue's gallery.




Heh, I deleted some of the posts, too. You know, we had no healer whatsoever for a while, I was worrying. All worked out when James Cohort arrived. *happy*

Then I could go back to the true conception of my character, with the unstoppable charges.  I wouldnt want to be the giant on the business end of that lance.


----------



## Thanee

Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> However, I have lost track who/what we do have.




There's a list in the first post on this thread. Not sure if it is completely up to date, but at least close enough. I think James decided to not specialize, otherwise it looks all right.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Ranger Rick

Thanee said:
			
		

> There's a list in the first post on this thread. Not sure if it is completely up to date, but at least close enough.
> 
> Bye
> Thanee




I know, but I started reading where I left yesterday.  I think I am caught up.


----------



## Seeten

I'm still chuckling about the 10 charisma bard. I love it.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Seeten said:
			
		

> I assume most of the time we're travelling with soldiers, or whatnot, so wagons/trains can carry superfluous gear. If we're "Adventuring" I am bring my arms and armor, and thats it. Anastasia isnt big on tons of extraneous gear/supplies/etc.



I'm sorry that I wasn't more clear about this, but the actual war against the giants is now over.  Much of the country is still in ruins and refugees continue coming in from abroad, but only the border forts which protected Sterich from raiders in the Crystalmists and Jotens are still held by giants.  The troops still perform small actions here and there, but the major battles seem to be over, which is a good thing, because the Sterich armies, even with help from abroad, have been severly depleted and exhausted by the ongoing war.  I guess you might think of it like what the US is currently up against in Afghanistan.

An additional thing that you should be aware of Seteen, is that the adventure I'm planning on running, unmodified, has a lot of indoor stuff.  I don't want you to feel like a third wheel with all your mounted combat feats.  If that means you have to "reimagine" your character once again, I apologize, I know you've gotten enough practice already


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> I will post my rogue in the rogue's gallery.



Sorry to once again be living vicariously, but you decided against the skirmisher option?  I'd be more than happy to email you the details


----------



## Seeten

OMG. You did not just say I need yet more reimagining!


----------



## Ranger Rick

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Sorry to once again be living vicariously, but you decided against the skirmisher option? I'd be more than happy to email you the details




I decided against nothing. I only have a 3.0 PHB somewhere in my house and the SRD on the net. I have heard of the scout class but I do not have any details. I have never heard of the skirmisher. Therefore, how do I get this info? I can not seem to pm you. Any help is appreciated.

I tried to e-mail you just now.  Maybe it will work.


----------



## Seeten

How much indoor are we talking? If its 50/50 I'll deal with it. A level 11 Paladin only has 5 feats total, and only 3 of my 7 are mounted, which means I'd only be out 1 feat compared to a similar paladin who didnt use mounted combat, by no means unviable, and in outdoor situations, I'd be at a significant advantage.

However, if we're talking, like, the entirety of the first two adventures are inside, well, I need a redo. *chuckle*  If you give me an idea on the scope of the indoorness I'll make an informed decision.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> I decided against nothing. I only have a 3.0 PHB somewhere in my house and the SRD on the net. I have heard of the scout class but I do not have any details. I have never heard of the skirmisher. Therefore, how do I get this info? I can not seem to pm you. Any help is appreciated.
> 
> I tried to e-mail you just now. Maybe it will work.



Sorry, I meant Scout, not Skirmisher. I'll email you the details when I get home.

Believe it or not, if you go to the Amazon.com website and look up "Complete adventurer" and then click on "look inside", they actually have the first page of the class description in full text, although it's missing all the mechanics.  But better than nothing right now, and I was certainly not planning on emailing all the flavor text 


* Seeten*, I'll take a look at the mags when I get home as well, and give you a more definite answer.


----------



## Seeten

Sounds good. I'm at work again, of course, and so again with access only to the SRD, so I cant do much idea work on the reimagining. I'd love to add mettle to my saves, so if Thanee and Hyper are around and have ideas, I'm open to listening. (This all assumes we're all indoors, and it isnt my fault this time!)


----------



## Ranger Rick

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Sorry, I meant Scout, not Skirmisher. I'll email you the details when I get home.
> 
> Believe it or not, if you go to the Amazon.com website and look up "Complete adventurer" and then click on "look inside", they actually have the first page of the class description in full text, although it's missing all the mechanics. But better than nothing right now, and I was certainly not planning on emailing all the flavor text
> 
> 
> *Seeten*, I'll take a look at the mags when I get home as well, and give you a more definite answer.




Thanks I am on it.

No I am not.  Only the Ninja is covered.  the page with the good stuff is not there.


----------



## Seeten

I can scan the Scout page and send it to Ranger Rick if he wants, once I get home in 2 and a half hours.


----------



## Ranger Rick

Seeten said:
			
		

> I can scan the Scout page and send it to Ranger Rick if he wants, once I get home in 2 and a half hours.




The local WOTC store closed up and I have not figured out where else to even look for these books.

Awesome, thanks Seeten.  Email it to the place below.

  daddy.voodoo   @    gmail.com


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Seeten said:
			
		

> I can scan the Scout page and send it to Ranger Rick if he wants, once I get home in 2 and a half hours.



If you could do that it would be great.  Thanks for the work, Seeten.


----------



## Seeten

No Problem.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

BTW, Seeten, a good friend of mine lives just across the harbor (or should I say harbour!) from you.  I've visited before and like it there quite a bit.  Nice, laid back town.


----------



## Seeten

Hehe, friends in Halifax are good to have. I live in Halifax and Dartmouth, depending on my mood and which year it is. Last year, Halifax, this year, Dartmouth.

My face to face game is in Halifax.


----------



## Hypersmurf

James - don't forget to add Mavic's Dex bonus to his AC 

-Hyp.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Seeten said:
			
		

> I'd love to add mettle to my saves, so if Thanee and Hyper are around and have ideas, I'm open to listening.




Pious Templar (Complete Divine) gets Mettle at level 1, and it fits with a smitey Paladin concept.

Base Attack Bonus: +5.
Knowledge (religion): 4 ranks.
Feats: True Believer, Weapon Focus (patron deity’s favored weapon)

Now, that costs you a few feats, since you need to pick up True Believer... and since Mayaheine's favoured weapon in the bastard sword, that's another two for EWP and WF.

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Seeten said:
			
		

> How much indoor are we talking? If its 50/50 I'll deal with it. A level 11 Paladin only has 5 feats total, and only 3 of my 7 are mounted, which means I'd only be out 1 feat compared to a similar paladin who didnt use mounted combat, by no means unviable, and in outdoor situations, I'd be at a significant advantage.
> 
> However, if we're talking, like, the entirety of the first two adventures are inside, well, I need a redo. *chuckle* If you give me an idea on the scope of the indoorness I'll make an informed decision.



So after looking at it, I'd say about 1/3 is outdoor, while the rest is indoor, just in terms of pages devoted to it.  If you wanted to keep your character as she is, I would throw in more outdoor stuff.


----------



## Seeten

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Pious Templar (Complete Divine) gets Mettle at level 1, and it fits with a smitey Paladin concept.
> 
> Base Attack Bonus: +5.
> Knowledge (religion): 4 ranks.
> Feats: True Believer, Weapon Focus (patron deity’s favored weapon)
> 
> Now, that costs you a few feats, since you need to pick up True Believer... and since Mayaheine's favoured weapon in the bastard sword, that's another two for EWP and WF.
> 
> -Hyp.




I looked at it, but the reading of it gave me the impression that they mostly guarded temples.

I am looking at CDiv right now, actually, give me a sec.

Sounds very much like a temple guard. I suppose guarding the temple(s?) during wartime might involve leaving, as Mayaheine might only have 1...

I could do Cleric 3(war, protection), Paladin 7, Pious Templar 1, Cleric(war) gives Weapon Prof: Bastard Sword and Weapon Focus: Bastard Sword, etc. 

On the plus side, I do see we will be having plenty of outdoor encounters, which means I am still good to go, but man, mettle is sweet with my saves.


----------



## Seeten

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> So after looking at it, I'd say about 1/3 is outdoor, while the rest is indoor, just in terms of pages devoted to it.  If you wanted to keep your character as she is, I would throw in more outdoor stuff.




Yay!

Also, I emailed Rick the Scout info.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Seeten said:
			
		

> I looked at it, but the reading of it gave me the impression that they mostly guarded temples.




Quite probably - I'm away from my books, so I couldn't check the flavour text.

It's one of the very few classes that grants Mettle - and obviously Hexblade doesn't mix with Paladin 

-Hyp.


----------



## Seeten

Well, I dunno, it doesnt say you cant be LG as a Hexblade...and I'd get +12 to all saves. And Mettle. ROFL.

Oh, the the little munchkin on my shoulder yearns to be let out, I assure you.

Pious Templar reads like temple guard, but the flavor text does specify "NPC" Pious Templars guard temples. Pious Templar is a really neat PrC, I think I mentioned it on page 1.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Seeten said:
			
		

> Well, I dunno, it doesnt say you cant be LG as a Hexblade...




Er?  Aren't they "Any Non-Good"?

"Ex-Hexblades: a hexblade who becomes good-aligned loses all hexblade spells and all supernatural class abilities."

... hmm.  You'd lose the Cha bonus to saves, but Mettle is [Ex], not [Su]...

-Hyp.


----------



## Seeten

Why do I argue? I know you are always right...


----------



## Seeten

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Er?  Aren't they "Any Non-Good"?
> 
> "Ex-Hexblades: a hexblade who becomes good-aligned loses all hexblade spells and all supernatural class abilities."
> 
> ... hmm.  You'd lose the Cha bonus to saves, but Mettle is [Ex], not [Su]...
> 
> -Hyp.




So if I were a Hexblade Blackguard, I WOULD have a +12 to all saves and mettle. Sick sick sick.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Seeten said:
			
		

> So if I were a Hexblade Blackguard, I WOULD have a +12 to all saves and mettle. Sick sick sick.




Well, to all saves vs spells and SLAs.  Other saves, Arcane Resistance doesn't apply to.

-Hyp.


----------



## Seeten

Still nasty.  *files that idea away*


----------



## Thanee

Seeten said:
			
		

> I'd love to add mettle to my saves, so if Thanee and Hyper are around and have ideas, I'm open to listening.




Mettle = Pious Templar. I doubt you want to multiclass with Hexblade (non-good requirement) and I do not know of any other class, that gets this ability. 

Hmm... maybe I should have read to the end before answering... 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Ranger Rick

Seeten said:
			
		

> Yay!
> 
> Also, I emailed Rick the Scout info.




Thanks.  I got it.....sort of.   It is missing page 13+ descriptions of the class abilities.  But no biggy, the stats are included.

I notice that the write up says disable device is available, but it is not listed as a class skill.  Nor is open locks.  This 10' movement looks like it may be a bitch to describe in a PBP.

Therefore, if I pick scout, the party loses a lock smith.

Also, If I do pick scout I would convert to being a dwarf.  Therefore anyone have any strong feelings?  Playing a scout would be a neat change, but I am comfortable playing a rogue.

I appreciate any feed back.



PS I notice after I decided on being a dwarf you wrote about 3/4 of the adventure is indoors.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> I notice that the write up says disable device is available, but it is not listed as a class skill.




Yeah, that's been debated, and the general conclusion seems to be that the class doesn't get Disable Device as a class skill.



> This 10' movement looks like it may be a bitch to describe in a PBP.




It depends on how the DM handles his mapping.  If combat's clearly mapped, it's no problem.



> Also, If I do pick scout I would convert to being a dwarf.  Therefore anyone have any strong feelings?  Playing a scout would be a neat change, but I am comfortable playing a rogue.




I've got no problem having another dwarf on board 

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

So here are some questions for everyone:

What's your preference for combat?  Players giving general ideas of what they will do 2-3 rounds at a time, or fighting it out round by round?  I tend to like to go round by round, because so much can change in a six second interval in this game, but I know it slows things down a lot.  As I don't have a lot of experience at this, I thought I'd ask if anyone had a strong opinion either way.

On the subject of the adventure summaries for levels 1-10, I've sketched them out and am ready to start as soon as the final touches are put on the characters.  I guess we don't necessarily have to wait, and could plow ahead now.  I don't want these introductory stages to drag on for too long.

I thought I'd handle these summaries as follows (and please feel free to make comments, I'm just making this stuff up as I go):  I post a short (one or two paragraph) synopsis of the adventure, giving the basic who, where, what, why, and when.  After this happens you can feel free to make up whatever details you like that let us know what part your character had in everything.  You could also tell us in which particular adventure you acquired a magic item which you now possess.  You could also say that your character didn't participate in this adventure, but then let us know what s/he was doing.  You could even start with a completely different character at 1st level and then kill him off as we go along, replacing him with your current one in the next installment.  Finally, you could just let us know why that particular adventure was meaningful.  All in all, you can be as terse or verbose as you wish.

Do you think these should go in thread, or in the IC thread?

The basic outline I've sketched out starts with the second giant invasion in CY 585 (the first unsucessful invasion happened eight years before that (CY 577), but was ultimately thwarted by a noble band of adventurers; if you're unfamiliar with that story, you can check out the 1st ed AD&D module series G, D, and Q.)  Because the whole of Sterich had been reclaimed by CY 588, except for a few of the border forts guarding the Jotens and the Crystalmists, your adventures then move to Geoff.  It is there that you spend the next three years, with some excursions elsewhere, just for fun.

n.b.: I've changed the current date to CY 591.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> It depends on how the DM handles his mapping. If combat's clearly mapped, it's no problem.



Combat will be clearly mapped.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> What's your preference for combat?  Players giving general ideas of what they will do 2-3 rounds at a time, or fighting it out round by round?  I tend to like to go round by round, because so much can change in a six second interval in this game, but I know it slows things down a lot.




I prefer round-by-round, but unless things change drastically and unexpectedly in the middle of a round, you can generally get away with one post from each player with a few conditionals in it per round.

I know that if one ends up with a poor initiative, though, one can end up sending several revisions of one's intention by the time it gets to the end of the round, as the other characters do things you hadn't considered...!



> I guess we don't necessarily have to wait, and could plow ahead now.  I don't want these introductory stages to drag on for too long.




You can at least post the first one... Rick and Seeten are nearly finished deciding on what characters they want to play, so we can get started on the background... 



> Do you think these should go in thread, or in the IC thread?




I can see arguments either way   But I'm inclined to say IC.

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> Thanks. I got it.....sort of. It is missing page 13+ descriptions of the class abilities. But no biggy, the stats are included.



Here's a summary of what is on page 13.
*Trackless Step (Ex):*  Basically the same as the druid class feature.
*Bonus Feats:*  Acrobatic, Agile, Alertness, Athletic, Blind-Fight, Brachiation*, Combat Expertise, Danger Sense*, Dodge, Endurance, Far Shot, Great Fortitude, Hear the Unseen*, Improved Initiative, Improved Swimming*, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Mobility, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Quick Draw, Quick Reconnoiter*, Rapid Reload, Shot on the Run, Skill Focus, Spring Attack, Track.  You must meat the requirements for the feat.
*New Feat from this book.
*Evasion (Ex):  *Like the monk class feature.
*Flawless Stride (Ex):*  Move through any terrain that slows speed at normal speed and without taking damage or suffering any other impairment.  This does not include terrain you need to make Climb or Swim checks to get through, nor does in include magically altered terrain.  Doesn't work with medium or heavy armor or load.
*Camouflage (Ex):  *Use the Hide skill in any natural terrain like the ranger class ability.  Same armor/load restrictions as the ability above.
*Blindsense (Ex):  *Like the monster ability.

The rest of the abilities are for levels above 11th.

Hope that helps.


----------



## James Heard

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> What's your preference for combat?  Players giving general ideas of what they will do 2-3 rounds at a time, or fighting it out round by round?  I tend to like to go round by round, because so much can change in a six second interval in this game, but I know it slows things down a lot.  As I don't have a lot of experience at this, I thought I'd ask if anyone had a strong opinion either way.



Personally I'd just as well flip a coin and say "heads you win, tails you lose" as anything else for a PbP game.  Seriously, combat's not one of my big things in any game I'm playing that doesn't involve German tanks. Even when I'm GMing sitdown I tend to let my players do all the gruntwork of beating themselves up after I've set up the situation, they enjoy rolling dice more than I do anyways.


			
				Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Do you think these should go in thread, or in the IC thread?



Maybe they could go here and then get posted neatly and logically with some editting and formatting in the IC. Sort of like a story hour?


			
				Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> The basic outline I've sketched out starts with the second giant invasion in CY 585 (the first unsucessful invasion happened eight years before that (CY 577), but was ultimately thwarted by a noble band of adventurers; if you're unfamiliar with that story, you can check out the 1st ed AD&D module series G, D, and Q.)  Because the whole of Sterich had been reclaimed by CY 588, except for a few of the border forts guarding the Jotens and the Crystalmists, your adventures then move to Geoff.  It is there that you spend the next three years, with some excursions elsewhere, just for fun.
> 
> n.b.: I've changed the current date to CY 591.



Yay, I've been wondering just how old Mavic would finally end up being.


----------



## Hypersmurf

James Heard said:
			
		

> Personally I'd just as well flip a coin and say "heads you win, tails you lose" as anything else for a PbP game.




[horrified gasp]

-Hyp.


----------



## Seeten

My character is totally done, Hyper, and is not being revised. Branding said 1/3 is outdoor by the book, and he would modify to have even more outdoor, with %50 outdoor, I am perfectly happy with my choices.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

James Heard said:
			
		

> Personally I'd just as well flip a coin and say "heads you win, tails you lose" as anything else for a PbP game.  Seriously, combat's not one of my big things in any game I'm playing that doesn't involve German tanks.



While I agree that combat takes waaaay too long in PbP, I also feel that if we simplify too much we'd basically have to redo the entire combat system.  Certainly any feat that involves movment would suddenly become nearly pointless.  I think D&D shows its wargaming roots in this regard.  Tactical movement is a huge part of 3rd edition.  You could get away with "I swing at the orc" in 1st and 2nd.  Not anymore.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

James Heard said:
			
		

> Maybe they could go here and then get posted neatly and logically with some editting and formatting in the IC. Sort of like a story hour?



I really like this idea.  That way if people's descriptions didn't quite match up, we could iron that out and then I could post all the finished intro on the IC board.

I already have a great picture that I'll include with the intro to our post.  It's one of my favorite Dragon magazine covers ever!


----------



## Hypersmurf

Seeten said:
			
		

> My character is totally done, Hyper, and is not being revised. Branding said 1/3 is outdoor by the book, and he would modify to have even more outdoor, with %50 outdoor, I am perfectly happy with my choices.




And I'm just glad I didn't decide to go with the mountain plate.  15 foot move in an outdoor adventure?  Yowch 

-Hyp.


----------



## James Heard

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> [horrified gasp]
> 
> -Hyp.



What? Otherwise we might have to wait a few months to find out if we need to make new characters to storm the castles with  Statistically, any party I'm playing with probably has less than a 50% chance of surviving anyways. So, you know, just trying to help things out.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> I really like this idea.  That way if people's descriptions didn't quite match up, we could iron that out and then I could post all the finished intro on the IC board.




Works for me 

-Hyp.


----------



## Seeten

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> And I'm just glad I didn't decide to go with the mountain plate.  15 foot move in an outdoor adventure?  Yowch
> 
> -Hyp.




I was originally going with mithril full plate and a mithril shield, and said, hey, my horse does my moving, who cares!

And now %50 ofthe time, I am SLOW. =) You wont slow us down any more than me, at least? =)


----------



## Hypersmurf

Seeten said:
			
		

> And now %50 ofthe time, I am SLOW. =) You wont slow us down any more than me, at least? =)




Hell, if I'm in my masterwork PJs, I move at 40!    In Battle Plate, I still go 30.  And Tumble, albeit badly 

-Hyp.


----------



## Seeten

Oh yeah! Barbarian Dwarf! Hehe, ok, I am totally slow indoors.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Seeten said:
			
		

> Oh yeah! Barbarian Dwarf! Hehe, ok, I am totally slow indoors.




[sigh]  Now I'm looking at my equipment list, trying to figure out if there's a way I can come up with 9k in gold to make my Battle Plate mithral and keep my 40 ft. speed while fully armoured... but I probably won't bother 

-Hyp.


----------



## Scotley

In answer to your questions. I perfer to do combat round by round. If the pregame is any indication this group will be posting frequently enough to may combat move along well. I too like the idea of posting the summaries of previous adventures here and them moving an edited version to the IC. 

In answer to questions you didn't ask. I agree that is one of the all time greatest Dragon covers. And finally, given the repeated revisions I think Seeten should start and kill off characters in every past adventure summary.   

Most posting has been hindered by my travels with an ancent laptop and only dial up speed. Once I return to my highspeed connections at home and work next week, I'll be a more frequent poster.


----------



## Seeten

I am fine with round by round also. I can post frequently, even while doing other things, I have dual monitors, and this site is up on the second.


----------



## Thanee

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> What's your preference for combat?  Players giving general ideas of what they will do 2-3 rounds at a time, or fighting it out round by round?




I greatly prefer round-by-round (players posting actions at the beginning of the round, DM sorts them by initiative and lets them resolve, possibly changing them a bit to fit, in case they make no sense anymore, due to the resolve of any previous actions; players should be encouraged to consider what the other players have posted in terms of actions for the round already, even if they go after them in initiative, when posting their own action), since otherwise it's more like DM playing with himself! 

As you said yourself, there is way too much change happening in a short time.

If you make maps for combat, it's even more important to go round-by-round.



> Do you think these should go in thread, or in the IC thread?




I would make it a special IC thread, afterwards, we start another one for the "real" IC.



> I've changed the current date to CY 591.




Isn't that the current year, anyways?

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Thanee

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> The basic outline I've sketched out starts with the second giant invasion in CY 585 (the first unsucessful invasion happened eight years before that (CY 577), but was ultimately thwarted by a noble band of adventurers; if you're unfamiliar with that story, you can check out the 1st ed AD&D module series G, D, and Q.) Because the whole of Sterich had been reclaimed by CY 588, except for a few of the border forts guarding the Jotens and the Crystalmists, your adventures then move to Geoff. It is there that you spend the next three years, with some excursions elsewhere, just for fun.
> 
> n.b.: I've changed the current date to CY 591.




591 CY - 122 yrs. = 469 CY
577 CY - 469 CY = 108 yrs.

108 yrs. seems like a reasonable starting age, so I was about 1st-2nd level during the first giant invasion. 

I have updated my character sheet with background information now, with the above in mind (still in the works, tho).

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Seeten

Just got in to work, and watching thread with interest.


----------



## Ranger Rick

After much internal debate, I am going to leave him as a rogue.  All things considered the lack of locksmith skills was a big factor.  The other factor is that the scout appears to have little things that just do not seem ok to work with.  Blindsense seems not very helpful, and the 10' travel to get extra damage seems not very good.


The rogue/spy stays as is.


----------



## Seeten

So the only one missing from the RG, then, is Scotley's ranger?


----------



## Branding Opportunity

*Lots of History*



			
				Thanee said:
			
		

> Whole districts in Geoff are deserted, small bands of humanoids are still causing trouble on the borders, while petty nobles squabble over the spoils in Sterich.



I wan't sure if you were saying this or not, but I wanted to make it really clear that much of Geoff is in fact still occupied as of CY 591.  It's only Sterich that has been mostly cleared of its invaders, with only some of the border forts remaining in giant hands.
Actually, because I seem to think that the history of all this is so important, I will take a little time and give you a bit more recent history of the area (Sterich, Geoff, and Keoland just so that I don't have to spend forever doing this!   )  This is all coming verbatim from the _Living Greyhawk Gazetteer_ which WotC published back in 2000 (heh, I almost said CY 2000!), and material from the more recent _Dungeon_ magazines.

I'll put in in spoiler tags to conserve on space.  I know, it’s incredibly long.  I hope to begin posting the adventure summaries this evening (I’m working all day).

BTW, if you want an INCREDIBLY exhaustive timeline of Greyhawk history, you can go to a great site called Canonfire! and this page in particular:  http://www.canonfire.com/htmlnew/ghchrondex.php

STERICH
[SBLOCK]*STERICH*

Sterich is a land rescued from nonhuman occupation only to find itself embroiled in struggles between returning nobles.  The boundaries of the reclaimed territory generally extend from the western banks of the Javan River to the east, through the lowlands of the Stark Mounds, down to the Davish River and around, in the south, to the Jotens (where fighting continues).  The mountain lake, the source fo the Javan River, remains a hive of evil activity, and the villages and mines nearby are completely abandoned
.
The distant western Crystalmists were once the home of several competing clans of mountain dwarves.  When the nonhumans invaded in 584 CY, many clans withdrew into their strongholds, while others fled the hills to warn their human allies.  Since the nation has been reclaimed, five different clan holds have failed to send representatives to the court in Istivin.

The military of Sterich, though blooded badly in the reclamation campaigns, has emerged as a well trained force with a handful of canny generals experienced in battling (and beating) nonhumans.  A strong contingent of 1,500 halberdiers fors the heart of this force, which is supplemented by light infantry and renowned light cavalry.  Unfortunately, the military’s division of power declares that most units are under the control of a lord.  Since the lords are now squabbling among themselves for regained land, soldiers once united against a common enemy have turned upon each other.


History:

Settled in as a client state of Keoland by relatives of the Grand Duke of Geoff, Sterich was founded as an earldom with the primary purpose of creating a stable political power with easy acess to the mines of the surrounding hills and mountains.

Sterich existed for centuries in the shadow of the great western mountains, and faced countless dangers spawned above and below those frozen peaks.  Incursions of giant raiders were a constant problem, but always one the Border Companies could handle.  That is, until organized giant attacks began in earnest in 577 CY.  These attacks overwhelmed the Border Companies, and a foul curse fell upon the capital of Istivin.  The entire citadel of the earl and a good portion of the city was swallowed in an immense black hemisphere.  This black dome was part of a plot by the demon-queen Lolth to absorb the world of Oerth into her layer fo the Abyss.  It took the timely intervention of a stalwart band of adventures to defeat the giants and avert Lolth’s plans.

In recent years, Sterich had grown distant from the Keoish crown, and had been allowed, in most cases, to care for its own affairs.  King Skotti had for years treated the earl of Sterich, the proud Querchard, more as a favored relative than a vassal.  The two often spent holidays in each others’ capitals, visits celebrated with much more vigor in Istivin than in Niole Dra.

Perhaps because king and earl shared such strong bonds of friendship, it came as a surprise to most Sterish folk in 584 when, with ranger reports of looming nonhuman activity in the western mountains, King Skotti failed to send any troops to Sterich’s defense.  In truth, the king had long despaired over Sterich’s virtual independence (a relic from the reigns of his predecessors), and implored his friend to swear fealty to Keoland, conceding much of the mine take to Niole Dra.  Querchard refused.

The earldom paid in blood.  Within a score of weeks, uncounted legions of nonhumans, seemingly led by powerful giants, surged from mountain strongholds, quickly overwhelming Sterich’s petty baronies.  Istivin was abandoned within days fot eh first attacks.  Most other towns were put to the torch; stragglers were butchered and cooked on flames fueled by whole villages and towns.

Many Sterish followed their earl to Keoland.  Others, angered by the lack of Keoish action (but oblivious to Skotti’s opportunistic offer) fled to the Duchy of Ulek or Gran March.  In the latter, many joined the nascent Knights of Dispatch and planned the recapture of their lands.  Regardless of where the Sterish fled, most believed the occupation to be but a brief era in the history of their great nation.

In early 585 CY, King Skotti (perhaps realizing the terrible cost of his opportunism) promoted the exiled Querchard to the rank of marquis.  Reasoning that a semi-independent subject added more coin to the treasury than a wasteland controlled by ogres and gnolls, the king of Keoland promised rich rewards for each recaptured barony, and mustered troops in the city of Flen, intent to recapture lost lands.  These soldiers were joined by mercenaries and knights, all of whom hungered for a decisive victory in a decade that had provided so many grim defeats.

The first gains came in late 585 CY, when the Keoish force freed the town of Fitela from a fierce enclave of orcs and their kin.  Much to the surprise of those who had fought inconclusive battles in Geoff, the armies discovered few giants in Sterich.  Interrogations revealed, however, that the occupying forces were loosely aligned under the banner of once King Galmoor, reputedly a powerful giant in residence of Istivin.  As the armies marched west to the capital, past depressing smudges of ash and ruin that had once been villages, all prepared themselves for the worst.

When finally the army gained Istivin, in Readying 586 CY, no trace remained of King Galmoor, or indeed of any destruction after the initial raids of 584.  In striking contrast to all other liberated towns, which had been destroyed, most buildings in Istivin remained in perfect repair.

Patchwall 587 CY, saw the liberation of all the cities of the heartlands, providing the army with a stable base from which to mount village-by-village attacks upon the nonhuman holdings to the west.  By Coldeven 588, the whole of Sterich had been reclaimed.

The march is now controlled by Marchioness Resbin Dren Emondav, a dark-skinned, large-framed woman who took her husband’s role upon his disappearance in 590 CY.  The marchioness is reclusive, emerging from Krelont Keep only to announce new laws intended to shield the citizenry from the chaos outside the city walls and protect themselves from each other.

Beyond Istivin, supernatural terrors are few.  Mundane problems exist in abundance.  Though King Skotti’s promise of wealth for each freed barony enticed many minor nobles to take up arms against Sterich’s oppressors, it also generated a dangerous greed in the populace.  This has resulted in several legal (and sometimes physical) battles with multiple claimants to the same property.  As the marchioness rightly supposes and Skotti fears, many of the contesting nobles are not nobles at all, but opportunistic con artists hoping to carve land and a rich reward from the misfortunes of a largely deceased aristocracy.  In some cases, evil men have harbored designs upon still-living nobles; assassination is now relatively common throughout the countryside.  While for a brief period in 588 CY it looked as though Sterich had rebounded from invasion, the country remains threatened by its internal disorder.[/SBLOCK]


----------



## Thanee

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> I wan't sure if you were saying this or not, but I wanted to make it really clear that much of Geoff is in fact still occupied as of CY 591. It's only Sterich that has been mostly cleared of its invaders, with only some of the border forts remaining in giant hands.




Oh, I probably misinterpreted something then. I thought the invasion was repelled and the war was over? That's not the case then? 

With "deserted" I was mostly speaking about the humans and so on, which was my impression from the LGG entry (only browsed over it, didn't read it in detail yet).

And good idea with the history parts, that's certainly helpful, as not everyone has the LGG (I do, BTW ).

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Seeten

Great stuff.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanks, Seeten.  As stated above, I'm at work all day and then have rehearsal after that, so I won't be home to give more background and start on the adventure synopsis until after 10 EDT.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> Oh, I probably misinterpreted something then. I thought the invasion was repelled and the war was over? That's not the case then?



In Sterich it's a bit of a "Mission Accomplished" situation (if you catch my reference).  The war proper was over in Sterich by 588 CY, but there are still plenty of smaller skirmishes being fought to this day, in addition to numerous forts and manors in southern Sterich still under controlled by humanoid or giant forces.


----------



## Thanee

Ok, but how about Geoff? Let's see, if I get things right...

The giants first invaded Geoff and conquered it.
Then they used it as a staging area to attack Sterich.
In Sterich they were eventually fought back and repelled (588 CY).
Since then the war rages along the border between Geoff and Sterich (and still does in 591 CY).

Is that correct so far?

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Seeten

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Thanks, Seeten.  As stated above, I'm at work all day and then have rehearsal after that, so I won't be home to give more background and start on the adventure synopsis until after 10 EDT.




I'll be face to face gaming tonight until 10EDT anyway, so thats all good. Tonight, its Berk, Half-Orc Barbarian2/Fighter5. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!

And stuff.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> Ok, but how about Geoff? Let's see, if I get things right...
> 
> The giants first invaded Geoff and conquered it.
> Then they used it as a staging area to attack Sterich.
> In Sterich they were eventually fought back and repelled (588 CY).
> Since then the war rages along the border between Geoff and Sterich (and still does in 591 CY).
> 
> Is that correct so far?



Very nearly.  The invasion of Geoff and Sterich happened at roughly the same time by different but allied groups of humanoids and giants.  It was never discovered if the giants masterminded this, or if they were pawns of a hidden group (as was the case during the unsucessful invasion in 577 CY.)


----------



## Thanee

Ok, I will keep that in mind. Thanks! 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Seeten

Are we a group of friends who adventures together, the command structure of an army of some sort, or famous ancillary pieces of different armies that fought in seperate but related areas during the wars/skirmishes?

I suppose part or all of this will end up answered in the prologue, but I'm a jump the gun sort of person.


----------



## Thanee

I have further updated my background. I also mentioned how our group came together (after the first giant invasion, that would be somewhere around 580-583 CY; in 585 CY the second giant invasion happened, where we were already supposed to know each other (or at least most of us, some might have been met during that second war, maybe)), let me know if that's ok with you all. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Seeten said:
			
		

> Are we a group of friends who adventures together, the command structure of an army of some sort, or famous ancillary pieces of different armies that fought in seperate but related areas during the wars/skirmishes?
> 
> I suppose part or all of this will end up answered in the prologue, but I'm a jump the gun sort of person.



I thought it would be more of a "special forces" or mercenary thing, although, as you said, I figured we would handle it during the intros.  I'm not wedded to any one idea, and I am willing to change the intros depending on which direction you go on this.  The adventurer MO seems to fit more with independent or semi-detached groups.  Of course, it all ends up depending on what exactly you are fighting for (national pride, survival, money, conquest, ideas, etc.)


----------



## Seeten

I cant be part of a mercenary group, I dont think, too many high minded ideals. And if I led it, it would be a military group, under church auspices. I cant just go selling my services out to the highest bidder. I could form a "mercenary" company based on saving the citizens, but it wouldnt be in the least mercenary in any usual meaning of the term.

I can see where I would have trouble being in the army, where the Marquis and his fellows seem sketchy, and so does the King, so I can see me organizing a grass roots movement, but I'd do so under the auspices of my church, like a crusade sort of deal, Joan of Arc style.


----------



## James Heard

I left a bit open between "apprenticeship in Niole Dra" and "the Giants come" I think,  but after the invasion of Sterich Mavic should be pretty much a resistance fighter I'm guessing. My little band of rangers isn't very "good aligned", being a group led by bitter almost-nihilist followers of Wee Jas, but they were probably very active near the Jotuns in the war.

Anastasia could have provided the conscience that prevented atrocities from the Reddogs from happening fairly easily?


----------



## Seeten

Thanee said:
			
		

> I have further updated my background. I also mentioned how our group came together (after the first giant invasion, that would be somewhere around 580-583 CY; in 585 CY the second giant invasion happened, where we were already supposed to know each other (or at least most of us, some might have been met during that second war, maybe)), let me know if that's ok with you all.
> 
> Bye
> Thanee




I think what you have so far seems good. In 580, Anastasia was 15, so she was not active at that time, but in 582, 583, around 17-18 was around the time she began to participate in her first soldiering. Around 585, She had heard the call. 

I see it like this, she was originally inspired to take up arms to protect her people/fight for her homeland. She starts out small, a regular soldier, just trying to get by. In the dirt, grime and blood of war, she has an epiphany/religious experience and goes from freedom fighter/soldier to full on crusader/protector. Her natural charisma and leadership force her into a position of leadership, not to mention the void in leadership/character shown by the King/Marquis. 

I can definitely see her associating mostly with people of strong character(ie the PC's).


----------



## Thanee

I left it pretty vague on purpose, this way it will probably fit with most other background stories. It doesn't even *need* to be *this* group, which I mentioned there, we could as well have come together later during the second invasion... 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Seeten

James Heard said:
			
		

> I left a bit open between "apprenticeship in Niole Dra" and "the Giants come" I think,  but after the invasion of Sterich Mavic should be pretty much a resistance fighter I'm guessing. My little band of rangers isn't very "good aligned", being a group led by bitter almost-nihilist followers of Wee Jas, but they were probably very active near the Jotuns in the war.
> 
> Anastasia could have provided the conscience that prevented atrocities from the Reddogs from happening fairly easily?




Absolutely. Right up her alley. She'll also be the first to charge, for a righteous cause, and the first to weep for the fallen afterward.  I see her as the glue that keeps everyone together, providing the hope for a better future, and an example that it is possible to have hope, and ideals, even in the harshest of times.


----------



## Seeten

Thanee said:
			
		

> I left it pretty vague on purpose, this way it will probably fit with most other background stories. It doesn't even *need* to be *this* group, which I mentioned there, we could as well have come together later during the second invasion...
> 
> Bye
> Thanee




Just mentioning when I'd come along in your progression.


----------



## Ranger Rick

We are talking several years of warfare.  Anastasia may not have the fiber to be a mercanary, but I bet she is ok to lead them if her Lord hired them.

I do not think we need to be together all these years.  I feel that we drift in and out amongst each other.  

We could be getting back together again to assist Antasia in a claim of repayment.

I went and beefed up my background a bit.  I realize that as a spy, my lord (TBD) may have asked me to be a merc.  In a nut shell, I set up a sleeper hook for branding to use in the future.


----------



## James Heard

Cool, I just double-checked and Mavic was 19 for the First Giant Invasion - just old enough to have completed his apprenticeship and maybe earned a level or two during his wild and devil-may-care years. I see him as having an almost unreasonable hatred for giants and the things opposing Sterich though (which would explain those 1st level rangers hooking up with him)...I'm not sure if he'd be up for many "normal" adventures that didn't involve his caricature of patriotism in some way. Who knows? Maybe the whole character-outlook will change during the backstory?


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Just to clarify, I was initially proposing to begin the group background in Fireseek 585 CY (6 years ago).  That doesn't mean that people didn't have a life before that (especially the demihumans), and might have even known each other, but 585 is when the majority of the group first got together.  The giant invasion of 577 was aborted when the heroes of the Demonweb Pits pulled the rug out from under the drow who had masterminded the whole thing.  That "war" never caused the level of devastation that the 585 invasion did.

People seem to want to go back further than that, though.  Should we start the synopses in 577 CY with Seeten and the younger humans joining once we get to 585?


----------



## Seeten

Its more, Mercenaries are below her standards, then her not having the fiber. She isnt the sort to do jobs for money. She does "work" in the church sense, (works) not in the "job" sense, for the ideal, ie, she goes to war to protect the people, to save lives, to bring justice and retribution to the guilty, not to make money.

In fact, the very idea of being paid to do what is right would be rejected out of hand. She wouldnt object to her friends being rewarded for their hard work, but she considers the results to be payment enough.


----------



## Ranger Rick

Seeten said:
			
		

> Its more, Mercenaries are below her standards, then her not having the fiber. She isnt the sort to do jobs for money. She does "work" in the church sense, (works) not in the "job" sense, for the ideal, ie, she goes to war to protect the people, to save lives, to bring justice and retribution to the guilty, not to make money.
> 
> In fact, the very idea of being paid to do what is right would be rejected out of hand. She wouldnt object to her friends being rewarded for their hard work, but she considers the results to be payment enough.




Sorry I used the wrong wording.  Trying to balance a quick post between work.  I do understand what you mean by merc work being beneath her.

All the more reason a paranoid Lord wants me to get in her good graces.  Her loyalty & honesty will allow me to pass on info about the church back to my lord.  Of course I could be barking up a wrong tree and there is no lord.


----------



## Seeten

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Just to clarify, I was proposing to begin the group background in Fireseek 585 CY (6 years ago).  That doesn't mean that people didn't have a life before that (especially the demihumans), and might have even known each other, but 585 is when the majority of the group first got together.  The giant invasion of 577 was aborted when the heroes of the Demonweb Pits pulled the rug out from under the drow who had masterminded the whole thing.  That "war" never caused the level of devastation that the 585 invasion did.




That works perfectly, Anastasia was 20 during that time, and would have just taken up the mantle of Paladin of Mayaheine.


----------



## Thanee

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Just to clarify, I was proposing to begin the group background in Fireseek 585 CY (6 years ago).  That doesn't mean that people didn't have a life before that (especially the demihumans), and might have even known each other, but 585 is when the majority of the group first got together.




Yep, I'll finish/fit the background, along the way. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Thanee

I just noticed, that all five characters posted in the RG so far have a different alignment. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> I just noticed, that all five characters posted in the RG so far have a different alignment.



I hadn't noticed that.  Oh boy, I guess there will be a lot of discusions.


----------



## Seeten

Most of them are within a step, though, or are still good. That sketchy elf wizard/fighter is a weird chaotic type, tho, we'll have to keep our eyes on her


----------



## James Heard

Mavic's alignment issues probably revolve around things like this:

"But sir! They're Eeeeevil! Evil I say, did you not see them kill the hostages?"
"They're fighting _giants_ son. We'll clean the house once we've swept out the trash."

My cohort's probably more...decisive in her alignment.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Query - the towns recaptured before Istivin were destroyed; Istivin was intact.

The armies went on to reclaim the other heartland cities - I assume they were damaged or destroyed also?  Istivin is an oasis of sorts amidst the carnage?

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Query - the towns recaptured before Istivin were destroyed; Istivin was intact.
> 
> The armies went on to reclaim the other heartland cities - I assume they were damaged or destroyed also?  Istivin is an oasis of sorts amidst the carnage?



Every other village, town, manor, castle and keep was burnt to the ground by the giants and their humanoid allies in the 585 CY invasion, complete tabula rasa.  Istivin was basically untouched except for some minimal damage which had occured during the initial raids while its inhabitants were still there (late 584 and early 585).


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Every other village, town, manor, castle and keep was burnt to the ground by the giants and their humanoid allies in the 585 CY invasion, complete tabula rasa.  Istivin was basically untouched except for some minimal damage which had occured during the initial raids while its inhabitants were still there (late 584 and early 585).




Creepy.

"The distant western Crystalmists were once the home of several competing clans of mountain dwarves. When the nonhumans invaded in 584 CY, many clans withdrew into their strongholds, while others fled the hills to warn their human allies. Since the nation has been reclaimed, five different clan holds have failed to send representatives to the court in Istivin."

Does that mean that there are clans that _have_ sent representatives?  And is there any hint as to why the five are shunning Istivin?

-Hyp.


----------



## James Heard

I think the implication is that the five clans unspoken for might have been lost during the struggles or at least still under siege and unable to send messengers.


----------



## Seeten

Sounds like a job for...

SMITE!


----------



## Branding Opportunity

James Heard said:
			
		

> "But sir! They're Eeeeevil! Evil I say, did you not see them kill the hostages?"



I'm sorry, but all I can think of after that sentence is:  "Mum, dad, don't touch it, it's eeeevil!"  10 XP for anyone who can place that quote.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> I'm sorry, but all I can think of after that sentence is:  "Mum, dad, don't touch it, it's eeeevil!"  10 XP for anyone who can place that quote.




Time Bandits 

My DVD copy's en route from Amazon as we speak, in fact... 

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Time Bandits
> 
> My DVD copy's en route from Amazon as we speak, in fact...
> 
> -Hyp.



Correcto!  10 XP for the Smurf.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

*More on Sterich*

A bit more about that old country between the mountains.

*Proper Name*:  March of Sterich
*Ruler*: Her Magnitude, Resbin Dren Emondav, Marchioness of Sterich, Stewardess of the Great Western Gate
*Government*:  Feudal monarchy owing fealty to Keoland
*Capital*: Istivin
*Major towns*:  Istivin (pop. 12,100)
*Provinces*: Seven counties, each with three to fifteen low baronies (conflicting baronial claims make final number per county uncertain in many areas)
*Resources*: Silver, electrum, gold, gems (II-III)
*Coinage*: [Keoland standard] griffon (pp), lion (gp), eagle (ep), hawk (sp), sparrow (cp)
*Population*: 144,000 -- Human 79% (OFS), Dwarf (mountain) 8%, Halfling 6%, Gnome 3%, Elf 2%, Half-elf 1%, Half-orc 1%
*Languages*: Common, Flan, Dwarven, Keolandish, Halfling
*Allies*: Keoland, Gran March, Ulek states, Bissel, Yeomanry
*Enemies*: Nonhumans and giants of the Crystalmists, Iuz, Pomarj


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Correcto!  10 XP for the Smurf.




Woohoo - I'm on 210!

790 more, and I'm a 2nd level Smurf!

-Hyp.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> *Enemies*: Nonhumans and giants of the Crystalmists, Iuz, Pomarj




Ahh... the giants are from the Crystalmists?

That lends a lot of credence to James' reading of the likely dwarven situation...

-Hyp.


----------



## Seeten

So I just got from my tabletop D&D game, and our party of 4 7th level characters was dice fudged out of a tpk against a cr 7 monster. If my barbarian had Close Quarters Fighting, we wouldnt have needed a dice fudge. You know, I debated it with myself long and hard for the barbarian, and I did again for the paladin, and again, chose against it. If I get grappled by a giant, I am gonna scream, I swear.


----------



## Scotley

In cyberspace nobody can hear you scream.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

*Geoff*

Since you'll be spending part of the intro in this country, I thought I'd include this info as well.

GEOFF:
[SBLOCK]*GEOFF*

Overview
The land of Geoff is utterly devastated.  Its villages are ghost towns, and armies of orcs and giants of all varieties have inhabited the cities, taking as slaves those humans they did not kill and eat.  Few buildings have escaped ruin, and the land’s forests are being harvested for unknown purposes.  Nearly everything that once was Geoff has been erased.  The giants hold all land from the Crystalmist mountains in all directions but east, where the Realstream, Dim Forest, Oytwood, and Stark Mounds demarcate a chaotic, violent border with Gran March.
Geoff’s isolated position accounts for some unusual weather.  Morning fog is common near the Dim Forest, giving northeastern Geoff a reputation for secrecy and hauntings.  Rain is plentiful, though thunderstorms are short, violent affairs.  Winter brings significant snowfall, especially in the west and mounts.
Before the wars, Geoff was well known as a source for wool and furs.  Animals, both wild and domesticated, once freely roamed the countryside.  Most of these were captured and eaten by giants and orcs, though the deer population had grown following the loss of their foremost predator (humans – the orcs and giants eat cattle and horses).  Roving packs of wild dogs range widely throughout Geoff, creating yet another hazard in an already frightful realm.
The giants’ gains were hard won.  Geoff’s archers predominantly sylvan elves and half-elves, picked off the first giant forays, allowing the full evacuation of the capital and much of the southlands.  Eventually, Geoff’s defense broke.  Cavalry and pikemen were little match for seemingly countless bands of giants and nonhumans.  Little evidence of an organized Geoffite army exists today; survivors long ago pledge themselves to Gran March or newly liberated Sterich, and they encourage the retaking of Geoff from afar.  The largest group of those warriors is based in the all-but-annexed town of Hochoch, between the Dim Forest and Oytwood.

Recent history
In 584 CY, orcs and giant-kin of the Crystalmists worked together, systematically invading and destroying western villages in a series of calculated attacks that appeared to be orchestrated by an unknown entity.  By Harvester, the entire nation had fallen to the giants.  The duke, wise Owen I, fled to Shiboleth, where he was greeted by friendly nobles of Gran March.
Those Geoffites who could not escape the nation began a guerilla war against the giants, striking from secluded hideouts in hills and woodlands.  Aided by gnomes and elves, these humans gained only minor victories.  By 586 CY, most resistance cells had been discovered and slain, the few survivors retreating deeper into the woodlands of the east.
A vicious, violent push into Geoff came in 588 CY.  Orchestrated by leaders of the Knights of Dispatch in Hochoch, the action saw a great deal of fighting in the Oytwood, where a small army of lesser giantkin was defeated with great bloodshed.  The push was taxing, however, and the soldiers of Hochoch now mount only small raids in the west, awaiting money and manpower to support a reinvasion of the destroyed duchy.
Very little information on the current status of the nation has reached the outside world.  It is known that Gorna is in ruins, and that a fire giant named “King” Mogthrasir rules from a crudely wrought stone castle in Pest’s Crossing.  The giants call the land “Tjalf,” which means “toil” in their language, and accurate representation of the life of the few surviving humans in the region.  Whether Mogthrasir plotted the invasions and is the overlord of the entire region is unknown, but doubted.[/SBLOCK]


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Seeten said:
			
		

> If I get grappled by a giant, I am gonna scream, I swear.



Um, they're Large or Huge creatures with stupid strength.  They are very, very good at grappling.  Wait until I throw the frost giant reaping mauler at you guys! Heh, heh, heh.





jk


----------



## Seeten

I swear if it happens, my level 12 feat is CQF, and my level 15 is Clever Wrestling.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Seeten said:
			
		

> I swear if it happens, my level 12 feat is CQF, and my level 15 is Clever Wrestling.



Level 12?  Level 12?  You think you'll make it THAT far!  Muahahahahah!!!!!


----------



## James Heard

Thank goodness for Hold Monster and Gaseous Form.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Seeten said:
			
		

> I swear if it happens, my level 12 feat is CQF, and my level 15 is Clever Wrestling.




Hmm.  My alternate idea for this game was a grapple-specialist dragon disciple.

Be interesting to take a shot at the frost giant reaping mauler... 

-Hyp.


----------



## James Heard

Tossing out the map of Sterich from the Paizo WE for 117. Um, if that's a problem I'll remove it. Just thought it might help some?


----------



## Branding Opportunity

James Heard said:
			
		

> Just thought I'd toss out the map of Sterich from the Paizo WE for 117. Um, if that's a problem I'll remove it. Just thought it might help some?



OMG! Now you will know when I fudge the travel time between Kragmere to Istivin Crossing!  

Seriously though, I would advise not looking at the rest of that web-enhancement ... it will spoil your appetite for RP fun.  Remember, the joy is in opening the presents and being surprised.  If you already know what's inside, where's the fun?


----------



## Seeten

I do think I'll make it to 12, yes =)

And as for Greyhawk, although I know lots about it, like, all the salient overview PHB type stuff, I know NOTHING mapwise/gazetteer wise. So its all new to me! =)


----------



## James Heard

> Seriously though, I would advise not looking at the rest of that web-enhancement



It's mostly the maps to the other adventures in the issue - though I think it has a map of Istivin in there too. I was just looking for a good map of Sterich, and guess where the pointers to the best one were? I've captured the map of Keoland from the Keoland thingee now too, and I'm looking for a good map of Geoff to use. I might end up stitching them all together and revising them to work together for the game (and just because, y'know, I'm like that - soul of a cartographer).


----------



## Branding Opportunity

OK, I'm writing the first intro post.  Just to start your brains working, figure out a reason for being in the village of Fitela in eastern Sterich at the beginning of Fireseek, 585 CY (see map in James Heard’s post above).  Here's the situation:

Giants, ogres, and orcs have been pouring out of the Jotens and Crystalmists for two weeks, and much of south-western Sterich is already believed to be overrun.  The border forts along the Crystalmists, completely unprepared by the size and ferocity of the assault have either collapsed, or are being besieged and on the verge of collapse.  The enemy is believed to hold the southern banks of the Davish river as far north as Reluse, and on the northern banks has captured the village of Poignard.  The forts along the Jotens north of Mittleburg still stand, but have begun reporting greatly increased movements of humanoids and giant-kin in their vicinities.  Earl Querchard, in desperation, has just called for a general evacuation of all of western and southern Sterich.  Local militias are to assist in this evacuation and not, repeat, not confront the enemy unless it is to protect the evacuees.  All members of the militia and general army currently east of the Oyt road are to converge on the capitol for further orders.

In addition to the terrible news on the western front, this is one of the worst winters that anyone can remember.  Deathly cold winds have been blowing off the mountains, carrying with them much snow and ice.  When the winds die down, the sound of giant trumpets and the baying of winter wolves can be heard in the far-off distance.


----------



## Seeten

Fitella looks like it will need all the help it can get to get the people evacuated. As a self-appointed saviour of the people, and a young, and possibly still naive young lady, it would appear I am there to save as many lives as I can, while listening to the Earl's Edict.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

So here's a question for anyone who is a bit more tech-savy than I am.  I know I can copy bits of PDF files using the "Snapshot Tool".  But where do I copy them to so I can save them as JPGs or GIFs?  I'm running Windows XP, and don't have photoshop or anything fancy like that.  Any ideas?


----------



## Seeten

Paint? MS Word?

You can copy them as either, really, or RTF, or whatever. I use Photoshop, so I snapshot, click new in photoshop, and paste, but MS Word is equally good. You can even do an export into word, and it'll ask you what format to export it into.


----------



## Seeten

and with that, I am off to bed. I'll be at work in 7 hours, and no doubt posting. =)


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> So here's a question for anyone who is a bit more tech-savy than I am.  I know I can copy bits of PDF files using the "Snapshot Tool".  But where do I copy them to so I can save them as JPGs or GIFs?  I'm running Windows XP, and don't have photoshop or anything fancy like that.  Any ideas?




Got Microsoft Word, I presume?

Snapshot the picture.  Paste it into a blank Word document.  Save as Web Page (type .htm, not .mht).  There should be a FILENAME_files directory where you saved it - the image will be in there as a .jpg.

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Got Microsoft Word, I presume?
> 
> Snapshot the picture.  Paste it into a blank Word document.  Save as Web Page (type .htm, not .mht).  There should be a FILENAME_files directory where you saved it - the image will be in there as a .jpg.



Brilliant!  That did the trick.  Thank you very much.

So here's the map of Geoff you wanted (albeit not the best quality).


----------



## James Heard

Or you could just do what I did and grab screenshots with a handy freeware screencap tool. It's actually less work for a lot of things, though occasionally I admit the quality diminishes. I'm probably going to have a go at working on those composite maps of the Sheldomar tonight.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

James Heard said:
			
		

> Or you could just do what I did and grab screenshots with a handy freeware screencap tool. It's actually less work for a lot of things, though occasionally I admit the quality diminishes. I'm probably going to have a go at working on those composite maps of the Sheldomar tonight.



If you want, I have a larger PNG version of that picture that is much better quality.  It's too bit to upload here, but I'd be happy to email it to you (.4 Megs).


----------



## James Heard

> If you want, I have a larger PNG version of that picture that is much better quality. It's too bit to upload here, but I'd be happy to email it to you (.4 Megs).



I took a bunch of pictures of the (really poorly executed but very detailed) Living Geoff maps I think. So now I think I've got enough of Keoland, Sterich, the Yeomanry and Geoff to make a pretty good map. Should be fun.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Just to start your brains working, figure out a reason for being in the village of Fitela in eastern Sterich at the beginning of Fireseek, 585 CY.
> 
> The forts along the Jotens north of Mittleburg still stand, but have begun reporting greatly increased movements of humanoids and giant-kin in their vicinities.  Earl Querchard, in desperation, has just called for a general evacuation of all of western and southern Sterich.  All members of the militia and general army currently east of the Oyt road are to converge on the capitol for further orders.




Reivik had been in the easternmost Joten fort, doing general labour on the fortifications and collecting stories from the soldiers stationed there, until the invasion began.

In accordance with the evacuation order, he's leaving southern Sterich.  It seems that the most sensible course open to him is to travel to the capital - he's neither militia nor general army, but if he wants to do some good in the war, the army's mustering point seems a likely place to start.

Fitela lies on his route...

-Hyp.


----------



## James Heard

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Giants, ogres, and orcs have been pouring out of the Jotens and Crystalmists for two weeks, and much of south-western Sterich is already believed to be overrun.  The border forts along the Crystalmists, completely unprepared by the size and ferocity of the assault have either collapsed, or are being besieged and on the verge of collapse.  The enemy is believed to hold the southern banks of the Davish river as far north as Reluse, and on the northern banks has captured the village of Poignard.  The forts along the Jotens north of Mittleburg still stand, but have begun reporting greatly increased movements of humanoids and giant-kin in their vicinities.  Earl Querchard, in desperation, has just called for a general evacuation of all of western and southern Sterich.  Local militias are to assist in this evacuation and not, repeat, not confront the enemy unless it is to protect the evacuees.  All members of the militia and general army currently east of the Oyt road are to converge on the capitol for further orders.
> 
> In addition to the terrible news on the western front, this is one of the worst winters that anyone can remember.  Deathly cold winds have been blowing off the mountains, carrying with them much snow and ice.  When the winds die down, the sound of giant trumpets and the baying of winter wolves can be heard in the far-off distance.



Mavic spent the last couple of weeks assembling his band of warriors and hiring unsavory mercenaries from the Sea Barons. It was obvious that his father wouldn't leave the manor, so with the help of his trusted lieutenant Gregos he determined that the risk was worth doing. Heady with pride and arrogance from his adventures, he was sure that with some effort his band of skirmishers would be able to infiltrate the giant lines and rescue his family from their own stubborness. Besides, if he didn't do it then no one would- his brothers were surely attached firmly to the backside of that coward Querchard and his armies. Rumors said that everything south of Mittleberg was lost, but his family had been in the area for generations and knew every hidden cave and hob den to hide in for miles around. They were alive, if only in Mavic's reckless mind.


----------



## Thanee

Seeten said:
			
		

> So I just got from my tabletop D&D game, and our party of 4 7th level characters was dice fudged out of a tpk against a cr 7 monster. If my barbarian had Close Quarters Fighting, we wouldnt have needed a dice fudge. You know, I debated it with myself long and hard for the barbarian, and I did again for the paladin, and again, chose against it. If I get grappled by a giant, I am gonna scream, I swear.




The last grappling monster we stumbled into had a grapple check of +44 (we were about 11th-12th level by then)... and eight arms! 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Thanee

[SBLOCK]







			
				Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> OK, I'm writing the first intro post. Just to start your brains working, figure out a reason for being in the village of Fitela in eastern Sterich at the beginning of Fireseek, 585 CY (see map in James Heard’s post above). Here's the situation:
> 
> Giants, ogres, and orcs have been pouring out of the Jotens and Crystalmists for two weeks, and much of south-western Sterich is already believed to be overrun. The border forts along the Crystalmists, completely unprepared by the size and ferocity of the assault have either collapsed, or are being besieged and on the verge of collapse. The enemy is believed to hold the southern banks of the Davish river as far north as Reluse, and on the northern banks has captured the village of Poignard. The forts along the Jotens north of Mittleburg still stand, but have begun reporting greatly increased movements of humanoids and giant-kin in their vicinities. Earl Querchard, in desperation, has just called for a general evacuation of all of western and southern Sterich. Local militias are to assist in this evacuation and not, repeat, not confront the enemy unless it is to protect the evacuees. All members of the militia and general army currently east of the Oyt road are to converge on the capitol for further orders.
> 
> In addition to the terrible news on the western front, this is one of the worst winters that anyone can remember. Deathly cold winds have been blowing off the mountains, carrying with them much snow and ice. When the winds die down, the sound of giant trumpets and the baying of winter wolves can be heard in the far-off distance.



[/SBLOCK]

Latalya was traveling in northern Keoland, when the news of the invasion raced across the kingdom and reached her and the other adventurers she was with at that time*. They disbanded immediately. One of her traveling companions had family in Fitela, while the other two where headed for the western front for similar reasons. Latalya decided to accompany the first. On their way southwards, they passed several treks of farmers and other simple folk, who were fleeing away from the waves of attackers with all the belongings they could carry.

* The adventurers mentioned in her background would then best be someone else, I think. 

EDIT: Background updated in RG.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## James Heard

It might be interesting if Latalya had been adventuring with one of Mavic's older brothers perhaps? One with a more pleasant disposition and more noble spirit? Then he'd be off to talk Mavic out of doing something stupid and foolhardy, and Latalya would have a contact at some point with Mavic even if his older brother was the one she was adventuring with and bonded with more? Plus it would make your character one of those infamous "friends of my older siblings" for mine, which I think would start things off with a weird vibe. I love weird vibes, they make for more interesting conversations.


----------



## Thanee

Sure, sounds good. 

That would probably be one of the other two then, yes?
Maybe one that has some similar looks (like Mavic) to reckognize.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Here's another IC/OOC question for everyone.  In that coldest of Fireseeks in 585 CY, how old and what level was everyone?  You can say you're 1st level, although I'm not holding everyone to a standard level progression throughout the adventures we'll be describing.  You could already be second or third and then miss a few adventures later on, etc ...  Or you could start with a completely different character and have that PC killed off or wander off, leaving room to introduce your current PC later.

(Side note:  I once was in a Realms game with a newish DM back in '87 or '88.  We had just gotten that first FR box and was very excited, and felt if would be more realistic if he didn't adjust any random encounter tables for our level (we were all 1st).  I swear, I went through four or five PCs before I was able to reach 2nd level.  It became a running joke among the group *sigh*.)

Pardon my momentary digression.  The reason I need to know your starting levels is not just for completeness, but also to judge what kind of challenges you would have been able to defeat at the time.  If I described you guys single-handedly taking on a frost giant skald during the first adventure, you would have a right to be a little skeptical.

In order to move this part of the game forward, I was thinking of waiting for two days (not counting weekends) between each of the adventure synopsis posts.  That should give everyone enough time to post their descriptions, right?  If you miss one, that's no bigee, you can always add something later if you like (remember we'll be collecting the posts for our IC thread), or we'll just assume that nothing particularly spectacular happened to your PC during that adventure.

On the subject of adventures, I've also been realizing that because six years pass between the first and most recent of your adventures, your characters will be having quite a bit of "downtime".  This is generally something which most games don't deal with, certainly not in their mechanics (except for Ars Magica, which rocks!)  It might be interesting to figure out how your PC supports herself when not on an adventure, or if she has another passion/interest/family that takes up her time.  As has been guessed, most of the adventures will deal with the giants and other humanoids of the invasion.  There will be less standard "adventures" (e.g. let's go explore the ancient tomb of the lich king of Argleblarg!), although I mighty try to sneak in one or two


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Seeten said:
			
		

> ACP: -4 in Full Plate Armor



Just noticed this, Seeten.  How do you manage this, especially given your magical heavy steel shield?


----------



## Seeten

ACP on the shield is normally -2, +2 magic negates? I am not a talented rules lawyer, if I am wrong, let me know =)

Of note, though, is I dont believe I have any skill which uses an ACP. LOL.


----------



## Seeten

In answer to the question, in 585, Anastasia was 20 years old, and was a fighter 2/Paladin 1, and has just heard the call of Mayaheine.


----------



## Thanee

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Here's another IC/OOC question for everyone. In that coldest of Fireseeks in 585 CY, how old and what level was everyone?




Latalya was 116 yrs. old then and at least 5th level, I'd say. She has already seen one war (where she was 1st or 2nd level back in '77) and afterwards some adventuring as well.



> (Side note: I once was in a Realms game with a newish DM back in '87 or '88. We had just gotten that first FR box and was very excited, and felt if would be more realistic if he didn't adjust any random encounter tables for our level (we were all 1st). I swear, I went through four or five PCs before I was able to reach 2nd level. It became a running joke among the group *sigh*.)




Heh. Sounds like Phantasie III. 



> Pardon my momentary digression. The reason I need to know your starting levels is not just for completeness, but also to judge what kind of challenges you would have been able to defeat at the time. If I described you guys single-handedly taking on a frost giant skald during the first adventure, you would have a right to be a little skeptical.




Heh. One PC in my own PbP had an event in his background story, where he (alone) killed a Rakshasa, which led him to change his name to something akin to that word.

The PCs started at 2nd level. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Thanee

Seeten said:
			
		

> ACP on the shield is normally -2, +2 magic negates? I am not a talented rules lawyer, if I am wrong, let me know =)




ACP is just one better than normal for the item being of masterwork quality, which all magic items are. I think full plate is -6 normally and heavy shield -2, so those would be -5 and -1 respectively, for a total of -6 (I tend to write those as -5/-1 for armor/shield, because sometimes you don't use your shield, in which case the shield's ACP does not apply).

Unless you fashion them from mithril, or another esspecially light material.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Seeten said:
			
		

> ACP on the shield is normally -2, +2 magic negates? I am not a talented rules lawyer, if I am wrong, let me know =)
> 
> Of note, though, is I dont believe I have any skill which uses an ACP. LOL.



Enhancement bonuses do not affect the ACP.  You do get to reduce the ACP by one, because all magical armors and shields are considered masterwork quality.  Only making the armor or shield out of special materials will let you reduce the ACP further.

Damn! You have to be pretty quick on the trigger to beat this group!


----------



## Seeten

I'll edit the ACP to -6 then. Still of note, I have no ACP skills. =)

If I ever need to swim in my armor, well, Imma be drownin'.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Seeten said:
			
		

> If I ever need to swim in my armor, well, Imma be drownin'.



Hmm, that gives me an idea for an adventure


----------



## Seeten

If the adventure involves a ship or a big river, I wont be in my full plate


----------



## Thanee

I think I picked up _Water Breathing_. 

That was probably *after* that adventure... 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Seeten said:
			
		

> If the adventure involves a ship or a big river, I wont be in my full plate



Damn! Foiled again!


----------



## Ranger Rick

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Here's another IC/OOC question for everyone. In that coldest of Fireseeks in 585 CY, how old and what level was everyone? You can say you're 1st level, although I'm not holding everyone to a standard level progression throughout the adventures we'll be describing. You could already be second or third and then miss a few adventures later on, etc ... Or you could start with a completely different character and have that PC killed off or wander off, leaving room to introduce your current PC later.
> 
> (Side note: I once was in a Realms game with a newish DM back in '87 or '88. We had just gotten that first FR box and was very excited, and felt if would be more realistic if he didn't adjust any random encounter tables for our level (we were all 1st). I swear, I went through four or five PCs before I was able to reach 2nd level. It became a running joke among the group *sigh*.)
> 
> Pardon my momentary digression. The reason I need to know your starting levels is not just for completeness, but also to judge what kind of challenges you would have been able to defeat at the time. If I described you guys single-handedly taking on a frost giant skald during the first adventure, you would have a right to be a little skeptical.
> 
> In order to move this part of the game forward, I was thinking of waiting for two days (not counting weekends) between each of the adventure synopsis posts. That should give everyone enough time to post their descriptions, right? If you miss one, that's no bigee, you can always add something later if you like (remember we'll be collecting the posts for our IC thread), or we'll just assume that nothing particularly spectacular happened to your PC during that adventure.
> 
> On the subject of adventures, I've also been realizing that because six years pass between the first and most recent of your adventures, your characters will be having quite a bit of "downtime". This is generally something which most games don't deal with, certainly not in their mechanics (except for Ars Magica, which rocks!) It might be interesting to figure out how your PC supports herself when not on an adventure, or if she has another passion/interest/family that takes up her time. As has been guessed, most of the adventures will deal with the giants and other humanoids of the invasion. There will be less standard "adventures" (e.g. let's go explore the ancient tomb of the lich king of Argleblarg!), although I mighty try to sneak in one or two





Let me answer this with a question.  Assuming my basic generic spy for the Lord is feasable.  Who/where would this Lord be located?  Having this info, I can come up more with my movements.

As for my down time, I would be employed as a spy/police.  Level say I just turned 5th at the start of the invasion in 585.  That might make me a bit high, but than skipping an adventure or two is not bad either.


----------



## Scotley

Morley was likely just a kid during the invasion. That was ten years previous? I'll adjust his age downward a little. Let's say he was 15 and just 1st level. He was just able to get his family out of danger. He had to support his mother and younger siblings since the family lands were lost and so was his father. He spent some time as a woodcutter or hunter, maybe did some construction type work as people have been returning. I many ways Morley still sees himself as a simple man working to support a family rather than an adventurer. He doesn't care for all these so-called nobles coming in and taking over land that used to belong to free men that Morley knew. I'm thinking his own family lands are in the shadow of one of the forts still held be giants, so he is still struggling to get his own back.


----------



## Thanee

1st invasion was 14 years ago (577 CY), 2nd invasion started 6 years ago (585 CY). It's now 591 CY.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> Let me answer this with a question.  Assuming my basic generic spy for the Lord is feasable.  Who/where would this Lord be located?  Having this info, I can come up more with my movements.



Let's say that you work for Baron Veaublanche, who has a small manorial estate just north of Javan's Ferry.  (See James' map on the previous page for the location.)  It's an old family, that's about to die out as the baron is quite old and he has no male heirs.  He makes most of his money from the ferry across the Javan river, which is quite wide at this point.


----------



## Ranger Rick

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Let's say that you work for Baron Veaublanche, who has a small manorial estate just north of Javan's Ferry. (See James' map on the previous page for the location.) It's an old family, that's about to die out as the baron is quite old and he has no male heirs. He makes most of his money from the ferry across the Javan river, which is quite wide at this point.




That works great. Let me mull over this a bit.

Based on the Map from post 223.  During the initial invasion in 577 the Baron was shrewd enough to realize his ferry liveyhood was threatened so he gather a milita from the Javan's Ferry village and proceeded through the capital city & north toward the border.   This was one of the 1st milita's sent to fight the giants.  George had lived in the forest to the north (Oyt or Dim?).  The giant invasion pushed him southward so he can avoid them.  George was in the capital city when the baron's army marched by.  George tagged along hoping to steal something like a payroll.  He was caught but stayed with the Baron.  The Baron's milita was defeated and retreated.  As the Baron regrouped during the darkeness, the adventurer's defeated the giant invasion.  The Baron saw the adventurer's rewards and was worried that next time his land may be the reward.  The Baron with George's help set up a spy network and taught George diplomancy so he can employ some psy ops in the capital.

George was back at the Baron's manor at the time of the invasion in 585.  George was in the mountains & noticed the Giant build up and massing.  George went straight to the Baron to let him know and prepare.  The Baron was getting parinoid and senile so he set up a small police force and appointed George to lead it.  As the Giants attacked, The Baron went to the Capital to offer his services as a military commander with militia.


----------



## James Heard

> Here's another IC/OOC question for everyone. In that coldest of Fireseeks in 585 CY, how old and what level was everyone?



Mavic was 27, and probably had just turned 6th level (had just gotten his Leadership feat)


> On the subject of adventures, I've also been realizing that because six years pass between the first and most recent of your adventures, your characters will be having quite a bit of "downtime". It might be interesting to figure out how your PC supports herself when not on an adventure, or if she has another passion/interest/family that takes up her time. As has been guessed, most of the adventures will deal with the giants and other humanoids of the invasion. There will be less standard "adventures" (e.g. let's go explore the ancient tomb of the lich king of Argleblarg!), although I mighty try to sneak in one or two



I just figured that Mavic might have spent some serious time going after "non" challenges, tracking down and killing lone monsters that were't high enough CR for his level.


----------



## Ranger Rick

James Heard said:
			
		

> Mavic was 27, and probably had just turned 6th level (had just gotten his Leadership feat)
> 
> I just figured that Mavic might have spent some serious time going after "non" challenges, tracking down and killing lone monsters that were't high enough CR for his level.




Could he have visited some of the Human Lords (like mine) in the area?  BS and drink and carouse and look for work?  Maybe do card tricks or even have have your own apprentence?


----------



## James Heard

> Could he have visited some of the Human Lords (like mine) in the area? BS and drink and carouse and look for work? Maybe do card tricks or even have have your own apprentence?



Not at that time, unless he was just weaseling for people to help him infiltrate the Giant lines. That could be interesting I guess, if George was one of those guys that Mavic got George to follow him on his fool's errand west of Mettleberg? He might have known some of the Keolandish nobility from before though, since he was operating out of Niole Dra for more than a decade and I'm guessing even in Keoland nobles have to show up every so often and tell the King that he's The Man. As for card tricks...that doesn't really seem Mavic's style, even when Giants hadn't been involved. Maybe for small children, pretty girls, and kobolds though...


----------



## Hypersmurf

Seeten said:
			
		

> If the adventure involves a ship or a big river, I wont be in my full plate




Masterwork PJs - don't leave home without them! 

I figure Reivik was around 3rd/4th level at the start of the second invasion... picking up some proper martial training (fighter levels instead of barbarian) from the soldiers in the fort while he did his labouring.

In downtime - initially, an unskilled manual hand for support, and storyteller/historian as a hobby; later, as skill ranks begin to outstrip the Cha handicap, he'll start telling stories to put food on the table.

-Hyp.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Seeten said:
			
		

> I'll edit the ACP to -6 then. Still of note, I have no ACP skills. =)




Mine aren't _too_ bad - Jump +14, Climb +7, Tumble +2 (I love the image of tumbling in Battle Plate  ), Balance +2...

... oh, yeah.  Swim -6.

-Hyp.


----------



## Thanee

Heh. It is kind of weird that the dwarves can tumble in full plate... 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Seeten

Jump: -3 (0 ranks), Climb: -3(0 ranks), Tumble -6(0 ranks, 0 dex), and swim! -7(0 ranks)


----------



## Hypersmurf

Thanee said:
			
		

> Heh. It is kind of cool that the dwarves can tumble in full plate...




Fixed it for you 

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

*First Adventure Synopsis*

OK, I know I said that the adventure synopsis would be short ... sorry.  The next one will be shorter, I promise!

You probably won't like the ending, but I figured this is a war, and things don't always work out for the best.  You can't always be the one on the horse, riding off into the sunset.

Please feel free to modify and add to the basic story as you see fit.  I will try to make the next one a little more open and malleable.  But hey, I'm learning   

[SBLOCK]FIRST ADVENTURE SYNOPSIS

It was the 3rd of Fireseek, 585 CY and it was the beginning of the end.  Fate, that most inscrutable of mistresses had brought you all to the village of Fitela, on the southern banks of the rushing Davish river.
Much of the March of Sterich was already in flames, put to the torch by large bands of marauding orcs and bugbears who slaughtered every living thing in their path.  Sadly they were only the vanguard of the main assault.  Once they had drawn out the brave Sterich halberdiers and the rightly famous light cavalry onto the field of battle, the giants of the mountains appeared out of nowhere.  They drove a blinding snow in front of them, freezing unprotected men in their tracks.  Thousands died in these assaults, and the brave men and women of the March’s forces, blinded and half-frozen, retreated in desperation to the capitol Istivin.  This had been a week-and-a-half before.
The village of Fitella was in a panic.  The village alderman, in consultation with the local priest of Allitur had decided to wait for further instruction from the Earl.  They hoped that he and his forces would be able to stop the advancing forces at Istivin, safe behind the enormous, protective curtain walls which had withstood assaulting armies for centuries.  At the moment, the battles back west seemed far away, although they were beginning to inch closer.
Your group found yourself huddled around an enormous fire which had been started in the barn-like town hall.  Most of the townsfolk of the village and the outlying communities were gathered here for warmth and comfort.  It was the middle of the night, yet fear kept everyone from finding sleep.  All were waiting for word from the capitol, but none so far had come.  Anxious faces looked around, or stared blankly into the fire, unable to fully grasp the enormity of what was happening.
Never ones to just sit around for the end, you decided that despite the near-whiteout conditions outside, you needed to venture forth.  You had heard that even this far east growing bands of humanoids had been spotted in the high saddle east of Mount Holeen, only a six hour journey on foot in good conditions.  This news, however was more than two days old and you feared that the enemy would not be content to remain there.
Just before sunrise you headed out.  The wind had blessedly died down, and the falling of the snow seemed almost peaceful now.  An hour out of town you spotted a group of at least 40 or 50 man-like creatures, approaching at quite a clip.  Fearing the worst you set up and ambush, but quickly realized that these creatures were too small for giants, and did not have the gait of an orc or a bugbear.  Thankfully they turned out to be dwarves from a Holeen mining camp.  They were lead by Grinnur, “The Hammer of Moradin”, pulling improved stretchers laden with their wounded.
They reported that there was indeed a band of bugbears which had attacked their camp the day before.  The dwarves, under the concise leadership of the Hammer had given them quite a bloody nose, retreating into their mine, and using the enclosed tunnels to their advantage against the much larger bugbears.  This had worked until the cunning humanoids had started an enormous fire it entrance, using the logs of the buildings of the  mining camp as fuel.  Unwilling to be trapped like rats, the dwarves had fled using an old, abandoned shaft which led them to an exit much higher on the mountain.  From that perspective they could see a huge force of orcs only a few miles away, headed their way.  Realizing that they were not equipped or provisioned for a prolonged battle or siege, Grinnur decided to retreat to Fitela, and warn the people there.
After conveying these events to you as you traveled together back down the mountain, you spotted the larger humanoid force behind you coming over a ridge.  Nervously you realized that the slower dwarves would be overrun before you reached the village.
A cunning plan was hatched, and a magical evacuation order was sent with all possible speed to warn Fitela.  Your group stayed behind to slow down the approaching hoard.
Your plan worked and in addition to slowing down the bugbears and orcs, you were able to kill a great many of them, without being overrun yourself.  In the end, however, their overwhelming numbers forced you to hasten the rest of the way down the mountain.
The delaying tactic had worked and had given the dwarves and the villagers enough time to begin shuttling people across the icy rush of the Davish.  The miners had also begun laying various traps for the invading army around the village.
Although your continued actions and the dwarven traps picked off more of the attackers, eventually you were beaten back to the banks of the river.  Less than 50 villagers remained there, waiting for the boats to return from the other side to pick them up.
On the pebbly banks of the Davish is where you made your final stand, back to back with Grinnur and a select group of his dwarven warriors in addition to a few of the militia men from Fitela.  Grinnur’s flaming warhammer sang with the power of the Forger of Souls, and many an orc fell before him, but many of your brothers-in-arms died as well.  Then, the biggest bugbear you had ever seen, covered in scars from countless battles made his way through their ranks, bellowing out a challenge for one of you to meet him in single combat.  He boasted that to simply slaughter you would too easy and not earn him enough glory, and that if he were killed, he would let the rest of you go.
Grinnur was about to step forth and accept the challenge when you realized that he was far too tired and cut in too many places, and that he would not survive this encounter.  Instead, one of you stepped forward before he could say something and accepted the challenge.
It was then that the rescue boats finally approached from the far bank and began loading the the villagers.  As the last of the folk of Fitela pushed off, you realized that you might never see any of them again.  Unwilling to abandon your champion, your group and the remaining dwarves were now surrounded by hundreds of orcs and bugbears, and there were barely two dozen of you left.
The one-on-one combat began well, with your champion landing a few decisive blows.  Sadly this did not last long, as the bugbear chieftain had the strength and endurance of a bull Oliphant.  A few mighty blows from his enormous battle maul later your champion lay on the ground, grasping for breath with his/her armor caved in.  At that moment a missile weapon/spell came from another one of you and struck the bugbear through the eye/caused his head to implode/burst into flame (you get it, you get to pick) and he collapsed in a lifeless heap.
You figured that now the end had finally come, when one of the orc chieftains began to laugh.  He applauded your group for their treachery, and belittled the dead bugbear champion for agreeing to such a stupid challenge.  “Still,” he proclaimed, “we are not a people without honor and you defeated him.  Therefore you may go.”
A few of the bugbears began to object, but at the command of the orc leader, their objections were permanently silenced.  It seemed that the head orc had been planning a takeover for a while.
“You think you live flatlanders,” the orc chieftain went on, “but in truth you and all your peoples are already dead.  There is no point in killing you here.”
Realizing that it would be better to live and fight another day, yet with very heavy hearts and spirits, your group made their way downstream, the orc’s jeering laughter ringing in your ears.[/SBLOCK]


----------



## James Heard

Mr. Bugbear said:
			
		

> He boasted that to simply slaughter you would too easy and not earn him enough glory, and that if he were killed, he would let the rest of you go.



OotS Translation: Please send me an appropriate challenge for my level so I can earn some XP. Tangent translation: Bugbears are dumb. Dead bugbears can't hold their bladders, much less bands of villagers.

That is all.


----------



## Seeten

Branding said:
			
		

> The one-on-one combat began well, with your champion landing a few decisive blows. Sadly this did not last long, as the bugbear chieftain had the strength and endurance of a bull Oliphant. A few mighty blows from his enormous battle maul later your champion lay on the ground, grasping for breath with her armor caved in.




Anastasia, still barely 20 years old, and vastly inexperienced, steps up to the challenge.

"I will accept your challenge! I will defeat you, in the name of Mayaheine, for the people of Sterich! You will go NO FURTHER!"

She strode forward, completely without fear, and began her assault on him. unfortunately, though brave, and worthy, her inexperience did not help her in the end, as his last series of blows caved in her shield, and smashed her to the ground. What she thought was her last thought.

 "This cannot be. I cannot allow my weakness to cause my people to suffer! Never again!"


----------



## Hypersmurf

Whoever did in the bugbear, it likely wasn't Reivik - he's not exactly a ranged combat kinda guy.

The dwarf did, however, take careful note of the devices of the orc clans, and a description of the orc chieftain - a name would be even better.  A less-suicidal opportunity to even accounts would surely present itself in the future...

He also crafted a poem detailing the event, from which he is inclined to chant the occasional line when it seems Anastasia is acting particularly Paladinish and needs reminding of her own mortality...

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

*Quick FYI*

I'm going to be out of town starting Saturday morning, and won't be back within posting distance until Sunday evening.


----------



## Thanee

Maybe you should also edit the adventure synopsis into the first post of this thread and add links to any other threads (that is RG and later IC). 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Thanee

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Please feel free to modify and add to the basic story as you see fit.




One thing, that is not covered yet, and which I think we should somehow include is, how we actually came together as a group then. 

As far as things go, we didn't know each other before the village yet. Of course, if you just changed "your group" into something like "the remaining warriors" (which is all of them, including the dwarfs and whatnot who were left behind), and then the group as such (us six) only formed after this incident, that would work, too, I think.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> Maybe you should also edit the adventure synopsis into the first post of this thread and add links to any other threads (that is RG and later IC).
> 
> Bye
> Thanee



Good idea.  Will do once everybody has added their part in it all.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Thanee said:
			
		

> As far as things go, we didn't know each other before the village yet. Of course, if you just changed "your group" into something like "the remaining warriors" (which is all of them, including the dwarfs and whatnot who were left behind), and then the group as such (us six) only formed after this incident, that would work, too, I think.




Another possibility - after this incident, we go our separate ways... and then when we happen to all be in the same place on a later occasion, the "Hey, weren't you at Fitela?" effect leads to us banding together...

-Hyp.


----------



## Seeten

Situations like this can definitely have a strong effect on long term friendships, though. Life or death situations tend to do that. I hear stories from war veterans to that effect all the time.  But yeah. =)


----------



## Scotley

Morley would be a logical choice for the mystery archer who downed the Bugbear. Not exactly sporting, but he is very pragmatic. Let's assume he was second level and 16 years old, and thus more of an archer. 

Morley had fled from his families lands in Southwestern Sterich at the foothills of the Crystalmists. Carefully taking back trails and little know ways Morley guided his Mother and siblings away from the attacking hoard. They had traveled to the village of Fitela arriving half frozen and nearly starved. He lost a couple of toes and the tip of his least finger to frostbite and his sister was sick with a fever. They had no money and few belongings. Morley was angry and frustrated and joined the band who were fighting. During the battle his own homemade bow had been broken. He took up the bow of a fallen warrior as the duel between Anastasia the Bugbear got underway. The warrior had a huge pile of dead foes around him, but Morley took no notice. He pulled on the warrior's quiver its beautiful elven workmanship obscured by the blood of the fallen. Morley watched the brief dual in stunned silence like all the others. As Anastasia went down his heart grew cold. Thinking he was dead anyway Morley reached back and pulled the final arrow from the quiver. It was marked with arcane runes and fletched with feathers the color of flame, but Morley took no notice. The pull of the bow was huge, but Morley was a strong lad with mucles born of hard labor swinging a forester's axe and pulling logs. He strained to draw the bow back and released the arrow at the bugbear. His aim was true and the arrow caught fire and crackled with energy as it left the bow. It flew directly into the bugbear's eye. Such a shot was devestating and called forth the special magic of the arrow. It burst with flame adding terrible fire to the already horrible wound. Morley was as stunned as any other by what he had done. Men pounded his back and asked his name. Once they realized they were free they began to move away as a group. Morley continued to clutch the amazing bow in his hands as he walked away from this battle. He never learned the name of the fallen warrior who's bow and quiver he would cherrish from that day forward, but every year on the anniversary of the man's death he would light a candle for this lost soldier who's magic had made the simple forester a hero. 

Objections? Suggestions?


----------



## Seeten

Sounds good. About the party dynamic I was expecting so far =)


----------



## Scotley

Anastasia and Morley would likely be known for their deeds this day and might well be thrown together because of it. It isn't much, but it could help form the core of a group. When next someone is looking for heroic fools their names should come up.


----------



## Seeten

Its totally true, too. You dont even need to be successful, just famous.


----------



## Thanee

Latalya and Fenrin arrived in Fitela, when the fighting had already begun. It was threatened to be overrun by the orcish horde by then. There was no trace of Fenrin's family, their farmhouse had already been burned down. In the following battle, Fenrin died, and eventually only a dozen warriors remained...

After Morley put the arrow through the bugbear's eye, Latalya acknowledged the farmboy's marksmanship with a simple compliment. _“Good shot, boy. Couldn't have done it better.”_

In the aftermath, once the survivors had distanced themselves from the orcs far enough, Latalya had recalled seeing a familiar face among them. Every now and then, she would glance over to Mavic, trying to remember, where she had seen this face before, but did not say anything about that yet.

Bye
Thanee

P.S. Oh, and Hypersmurf's suggestion above does sound good as well.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

*Brief out-of-town comp access*

Scotley, just out of curiosity, is your ranger ready to post on the Rogue's Gallery thread?


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> P.S. Oh, and Hypersmurf's suggestion above does sound good as well



I like it as well.


----------



## Scotley

Hypersmurf's idea works for me as well. I shall put Morley up in the RG now. I still need to select default spells and a couple minor items. Sorry for the delay, due to bad weather and bad airlines it too me 13 hours to get from New York to Memphis.


----------



## Seeten

After this initial outing, Anastasia is definitely buying better armor. No silly Bugbear should be able to crumple it up. Also, a better sword is in order. Mayaheine, grant my prayer. Or something.


----------



## Ranger Rick

Below is my version of the ending of the 1st synopsis.

[sblock]The Baron for reasons unknown to George had been sent by boat to deliver a message to the Mayor of "Fitela”.  As George had delivered the message both he and the mayor determined that the town needed to be evacuated.  George headed down river and was able to convince several boat owners to rescue the beleaguered towns people.  George than proceeded up river in the last & slowest boat.  The faster boats had arrived and were filled with refugees.  On the faster boats retreat down river, the boat master figured he did not need to proceed.  George convinced the boat master to keep going.  Despite hearing the jeers of the orcs, as they grew closer, George continued to persuade the boat master to keep going up river.  The crew saw nothing, but sound traveling over the water did create many a frightened crew.  George arrived soon after the death of the bugbear, and landed at the location the group of adventures/soldiers had been walking.  George convinced the party that he was the last boat and than assisted in getting the wounded aboard as well as all the other walking people/humanoids.  The boat was extremely overloaded, but it still floated.  Luckily they where headed downstream.  Morley’s story was all anyone can talk about.  The boat traveled even slower so there was much time to rehash Morley’s shot.  

George did find Morley and shook his hand in congratulations.  George introduced himself and told Morley, that without his shooting skills, George’s efforts to gather these boats and help everyone retreat would be for naught.  George soon convinced many there that even though he had missed the arrow’s flight, George was a key participant (through his gathering of a fleet), in the duel.  Some started to say George and Morley planned this out together to demoralize the Orcian Army.[/sblock]


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanks for everyone's response to the first synopsis.  I'll be posting the second synopsis early this evening.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

*Second Adventure Synopsis*

Here is the second adventure synopsis.  I want to move this ahead a bit faster and get to the IC role-playing quicker, so I'm going to try posting small synopses every other day (yeah, I know, I said this one would be shorter.)

How does that sound?  I don't want us to loose too much momentum.  As a newcomer to this sort of thing, is loss of momentum often a problem?


[SBLOCK]About two weeks after the defense of Fitela you find yourself at Godakin Keep (see regional map in post (#223 ), on the border between Sterich and Keoland.  You could have spent the time in many different ways: recovering from the wounds sustained in battle, protecting the fleeing refugees from Fitela, gathering information about enemy troop movements, trying to rejoin the main body of the Sterich army, attempting to protect your home, etc.
Whatever you choose, you end up at Godakin.  It is the lynchpin which secures the defense of the entire region, as it sits on the confluence of the Javan and Davish rivers, controlling water access to both Sterich and Geoff.  In addition to providing an inroad into both of these countries, the Javan River also forms the natural western border of Keoland, and is vital to that realm’s defense.  If any serious bid is to be made to retake the lost territories, Godakin must stand.
Since your defense of the villagers the war in Sterich has only gotten worse.  The giant and humanoid armies have advanced much faster than expected, pushing Earl Querchard to declare a general evacuation of all of Sterich.  He was convinced that this was the only viable option by the loss of Morrard, a small keep 45 miles northwest of Istivin.  The lord of that manor believed that he could withstand a siege.  The giants, however, were not interested in anything of the sort.  With heart-wrenching ease they scaled the walls of the keep with simple grappling hooks, while orc shamans on a nearby hillside chanted foul spells of protection.  In the end, the keep was burnt to the ground, although one survivor was allowed to flee the devastation in order to give account of what had occurred.  The Earl feared that the giants would have similar success in Istivin, and withdrew.
Now the Earl’s court is traveling as fast as it can down the King’s Highway towards Flen.  The regular army is being used to defend the fleeing population, while the Sterich cavalry, under the command of Marshall Karri Velthundle launches hit-and-run attacks against the pursuing armies’ flanks and rear.
Upon first arriving in Godakin Keep you undergo intense scrutiny by its defenders.  Refugees have been pouring over the border from Sterich for weeks, setting up makeshift camps in the shadow of the castle.  All crave the defense of the keep’s strong walls, yet few can fit inside.  Eventually someone who knows one of you vouches for you and you are allowed to enter.
Within the keep you find everything in an uproar.  In addition to the refugees, volunteers from all over Keoland have been pouring into this part of the country, offering their swords in the defense of their neighbors.  Sadly, the local baron is not the best at managing large groups of people, and many are beginning to get tired of just sitting around, waiting for orders.
Eventually you decide to take surveys of the local warriors, dividing them up by experience and specialty.  Knowing that there is a large lack of good intelligence you organize and lead small scouting parties into enemy-controlled territory, and also make contact with small groups of sympathetic demi-humans and creatures who are willing to be of assistance.
Back at Godakin you start suspecting that the seneschal of the baron is more than he seems.  After carefully monitoring his movements for a few weeks and using divination magic, you discover that he is secretly passing messages to a foreign power.  Unable to get definite proof of this, and worried that the baron would not believe you (or worse, might be a co-conspirator) you follow the seneschal’s messages which eventually lead you to a seemingly abandoned house in a nearby boggy forest.  Infiltrating the house you discover that it in fact houses a cell of agents working for the Despot Turrosh Mak, new lord of the Pomarj.
You eventually clear out this cell, discovering that the Pomarj had formed an alliance with King Galmoor of the giants, in addition to a quite nasty tribe of local goblins.  The Pomarj agents were planning on taking and holding Keep Godakin from the inside, thereby cutting Sterich and Geoff from any outside assistance.  In return, Galmoor was to promise certain mineral rights in the Jotens and Crystalmist mountains.
Armed with this evidence you return to the Keep, confronting the seneschal with his treachery in front of the assembled court (but not before a big battle erupts between you and those loyal to the overlord of the Pomarj.[/SBLOCK]
I've also copied the synopses to the end of the first post on this thread as a reference.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Here's a thought:  Should we start the IC game, and finish these intro synopses at the same time?  As I stated I don't want to drag out the intros for too long, especially if it's something that people aren't really that into.  I just thought they might add some sound RP foundations.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Here's a thought:  Should we start the IC game, and finish these intro synopses at the same time?  As I stated I don't want to drag out the intros for too long, especially if it's something that people aren't really that into.  I just thought they might add some sound RP foundations.




I think they're a great idea... but in answer to your question above, momentum _can_ be an issue.

I'd be inclined to say let's get three of the synopses out of the way, then start the game while back-filling the other four.

I'd quite like to get a little more of a look at the characters I've known for years before jumping into the main game, but seven chapters will take a while to get through 

-Hyp.


----------



## Scotley

I'm enjoying the synopses and getting a better picture of my character, but right now the group is posting at a high frequency and I hate to see that fade before the real action starts. I'll second hypersmurf's suggestion and say that one or two more synopses and then we start the action and continue to backfill. Be aware that this will be sort of like running two games for you as DM. I'd hate to see you overcommit and get burned out. Keeping up with the posts of an active group like this can be taxing. 

As for the lastest bit of history. Morley would likely have gotten into the keep based on the reputation gained from his previous encounter. Having been impressed with Anastasia's bravery would likely seek her out as a companion as well as the others he has met. Being a simple fellow, he would try to apply common sense to the problems of overcrowding. Organize them logically and keep them busy. He would likely be more of a hanger on during the revealation of the seneschal's treason. Morley would be brave in the assult on the abandoned house and useful in tracking the messages, but most of the investigative work would be someone else's time to shine.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Selected verses from 'How Grinnur Saved The People Of Fitela':

_Ol' Grinnur showed his teeth,
True as always to his name.
But young Winterheart stepped up,
the champion's place to claim.

...

'twas misplaced pride that left her flat,
dropped by a giant gob'...
But that's what comes of sendin' a girl,
to do a dwarf's job.

...

They've called him 'One-Shot Morley',
Ever since the day
He stuck an arrow through an eye,
a bugbear chief to slay._

-----

Selected verses from 'Something Is Rotten In The Keep Of Godakin':

_The maggot in the apple,
The weevil in the bread.
Even thus, the baron's seneschal
sought to get ahead.

...

It's said that from the Pomarj,
only two things ever come:
Murdering, villainous pirates,
and wicked humanoid scum.

...

You'll often hear of goblins
that they've no music in their breast.
But their shrieks, in truth, are melodious,
with a hammer through their chest..._

-Hyp.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Upon re-encountering Anastasia and Morley at Godakin, Reivik introduced them both to their parts in his recording of the events of Fitela.  I trust Anastasia eventually forgave him?  

Early on in journey to the Pomarj agents' hideout, Reivik learned a valuable lesson about swamps, and the deceptive nature of solid-looking ground, and the wisdom of listening to the advice of one's local guides.  He was eventually retrieved before he actually drowned, but it took a great deal of scouring and polishing later to get all the mud out of his battle plate... and the padding underneath, he eventually discarded and replaced after it became apparent that no amount of washing would completely eradicate the foetid swamp-smell.

The futility of trying to stop a raging dwarf with an adamantine hammer by hiding behind a door was demonstrated when Turrosh Mak's head agent barred himself in his room while his subordinates fought outside.  The bar was no match for the Bar, and the hammer made short work of the barricade.

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Nice additions, Hypersmurf.  I especially like the poem, of course.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf,

I was thinking more about the idea of "leveled magic items" which I talked about earlier in this thread in regards to your enormous, friggin' hammer   I thought I might run the ideas from the article by you, in case you might be interested.
The article "Leveled treasures" appeared in Dragon Magazine #289, and discusses the ideas and mechanics behind creating magical weapons and armor.  The concept behind them is that most are heirloom weapons.  Each generation must learn the great power which is stored in them, and unlock them.
The mechanics are handled as follows.  All leveled items start as simple +1 enhancement.  To simulate the parallel growth of the wielder with the weapon or armor, the user devotes XP for the increases, just as if he were creating a magic item.  The bonus is that they don't cost anything, although it does mean that the character advances slower than everyone else (except magic item creating spellcasters perhaps.)  The table below shows the costs:



		Code:
	

Equiv. Bonus     Req. Level     Total XP Weapon     Total XP Armor
     +2               5           1,600                   800
     +3               7           3,600                 1,800
     +4               9           6,400                 3,200
     +5              11          10,000                 5,000
     +6              13          14,400                 7,200

The table goes further, of course, but for our purposes that's all we need.
There are a few other caveats to these weapons.  You can never spend so many XP that it reduces your level.  Double weapons cost double, and the wielder of the weapon who contributed the XP is the only one that gains these enhancements.  To everyone else it's just a standard +1 weapon.  Also, you have to actually be using the weapon or armor while gaining the XP.

If you wanted to use this system, you'd gain a bit more gold at the cost of the XP, but it would also mean that you could keep on increasing it.  Or, you could increase Bar up to a +3 equivalent bonus.  It's up to you.  If you like the idea, feel free, I just like providing options that enjoy the role-playing experience.

P.S.:  One thing it doesn't mention explicity, is that you can't "trade in" enhancements.  Once you've unlocked one, it stays.  Also, I think it would be a neat idea to closely tie the unlocking of an enhancement into the storyline.  For instance, the "giantbane" enhancement would have very clearly tied into the war in Sterich and Geoff, which makes sense.  Also, you don't obviously have to add a +1 enhancement every time.  You could save up your XP and then add a +3 enhancement all at once.
P.P.S.:  Since your armor is also heirloom, you could use these rules for that as well.  Just be aware that with two such items, you'd be loosing a lot of XP.


----------



## Thanee

> (see regional map in post #223 (http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php...&postcount=223)




You can link the map directly (or just show the image in the post, maybe in the first post of this thread?), which probably makes more sense...

MAP

[SBLOCK]
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





[/SBLOCK]

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Thanee

Latalya knew, that the forces to attack the invaders would be gathered around the better defendable castles, and therefore she went with the refugees from Fitela, along the river and towards Godakin Keep, which seemed a logical choice to stage the counterattack, near the frontline and well-protected with the river in between.

But traveling with the refugees was not enough for her, so she often went south to attack small orcish raiding parties together with other guards. These harrassing runs, while fairly successful, could not hope to slow down the huge army, but at least it made them feel better to down some of their foes in battle, and in the end, every single orc would count.

Meeting some of the other survivors from the Fitela stand again in Godakin was a sign of good hope for Latalya. She also noticed the familiar face again, and this time chose to approach the man, who turned out to be Mavic, brother of <Name of Mavic's brother>, with whom Latalya was traveling a while ago. He was eager to hear news of his brother, but there was little Latalya could tell him after the point where their little party had disbanded.

The elf also noticed the girl, that so bravely and foolishly had stepped up to the challenge in the fallen village, when she was busy surveying the volunteers and afterwards helped her organizing them into something akin to an army. This human was destined to become a great warrior one day, if she would live to see it.

When they had followed the lead to the Pomarj agent's hideout, Noctra, Latalya's bat familiar, had noticed one agent sneaking away from the slaughtering, but the elf quickly took flight using a spell and followed the fleeing agent to stop him dead in his tracks.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Seeten

Anastasia spent little time in recovering, once becoming conscious, she healed herself, got a quick blessing and cure from the local priest of Mayaheine, and got back on her horse. She brought a group of young knights from the local area with her, and began striking into the flanks and rear of the giants, always just a little too fast to catch, but with precision and daring. Halfway through the charge, the trumpets would blare, right before flying out of the woods and into the giants flanks.

The riders would always have people in the woods near the giants, watching their numbers and movements, and began to see strange messengers. Working with the rest of the army intelligence, they uncovered the plot of the seneschal of Godakin Keep. Anastasia, surrounded by friends, and witnesses, points at the Seneschal, and delivers the accusation. 

"Seneschal <Name here>, you have been plotting treason with the Joten King Galmoor, on behalf of the Pomarj, for MINING Rights. Bartering away the lives of the loyal soldiers and citizens of Sterich, for your own personal gain. Your agents are captured. That is High Treason, Seneschal. May the Gods have mercy on your soul."

At Reivik's poem, about her "bravery" and the like, she laughs, a real laugh, and tells him he has a real talent with words.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> You can link the map directly (or just show the image in the post, maybe in the first post of this thread?), which probably makes more sense...



Good idea, Thanee.  I've added the map to the end of the first post.  It's wrapped in an sblock tag, FYI.  I didn't know I could do that!


----------



## Ranger Rick

Baron Veaublanche George’s Lord lives a few miles North of Godakin Keep. Because the party and the dwarven soldiers are all on the same boat, the boat would have sailed down the river to Godakin Keep. This is why we where all in the same place. 

About two weeks after the defense of Fitela you find yourself at Godakin Keep … is traveling as fast as it can down the King’s Highway towards Flen. The regular army is being used to defend the fleeing population, while the Sterich cavalry, under the command of Marshall Karri Velthundle launches hit-and-run attacks against the pursuing armies’ flanks and rear.

This road uses Baron Veaublanche’ ferry. After landing at the keep George would have reported the loss of Fitela. Than he would have hurried up the road to visit Istivin. Finding out that city is being abandoned, George would have reported back to Baron Veaublanche and then head south to Godakin Keep.

Upon first arriving in Godakin Keep you undergo intense scrutiny by its defenders. Refugees have been pouring over the border from Sterich for weeks, setting up makeshift camps in the shadow of the castle. All crave the defense of the keep’s strong walls, yet few can fit inside. Eventually someone who knows one of you vouches for you and you are allowed to enter.

Within the keep you find everything in an uproar. In addition to the refugees, volunteers from all over Keoland have been pouring into this part of the country, offering their swords in the defense of their neighbors. Sadly, the local baron is not the best at managing large groups of people, and many are beginning to get tired of just sitting around, waiting for orders.

George upon his return would have known the local Baron is useless as this keep is a neighbor of George’s Lord. He would not have been around in the initial organizing of the troops, but he would have organized & led the scouting parties.

Eventually you decide to take surveys of the local warriors, dividing them up by experience and specialty. Knowing that there is a large lack of good intelligence you organize and lead small scouting parties into enemy-controlled territory, and also make contact with small groups of sympathetic demi-humans and creatures who are willing to be of assistance.George would have had some knowledge of these local lands. His knowledge would also be increasing during these scouting forays.

Back at Godakin you start suspecting that the seneschal of the baron is more than he seems.Word would have gotten back through the scouting and I would seek out both Lataya & Mavic to help figure it out as magic messages is beyond my knowledge. After carefully monitoring his movements for a few weeks and using divination magic, you discover that he is secretly passing messages to a foreign power. Unable to get definite proof of this, and worried that the baron would not believe you (or worse, might be a co-conspirator) you follow the seneschal’s messages which eventually lead you to a seemingly abandoned house in a nearby boggy forest. Infiltrating the house you discover that it in fact houses a cell of agents working for the Despot Turrosh Mak, new lord of the Pomarj.This infiltration would have showed everyone my ability to get into locked rooms. Many of the doors had traps and all where disabled allowing us the stealth to come up unopposed to a door that has a bar. By now the tension was at a highpoint. Everyone was hyped on adrenaline. Therefore when I announced my failure to remove the bar across the door, the rest of the party took care of it 

PS. Through this synopsis: Below is how George would perceive everyone. I am trying to get let everyone have a handle on how comfortable and familiar he is with the party.

Anatasia would probably not be high on the radar screen as of yet. To George she is but another fighter and nothing special. Remember George came late to Fitela and because of Morley's deed, Anatasia was nothing but a 2 bit hack who got wacked real hard.

Morely is the hero of Fitela. 'nuff 'ced

Lataya & Mavic would be mages that helped George plug a security leak. Therefore their worth would have increased.

Revik also would not be high on george's radar screen. He would probably be nothing more than a dwarven bard who went on the raid to the boggy forest.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Wollte nur ganz kurz auf Deutsch hallo sagen.  Bin in Oesterreich geboren und aufgewachsen, aber habe auch drei Jahre in Berlin gelebt.  Ich lebe jetzt schohn fast 17 Jahre in New York.

Sorry, folks, just needed to say "hi" in German.


----------



## Thanee

Hallo!

Nice. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## James Heard

Mavic would have likely have rejoined his remaining older brothers with his followers as a cavalry officer and spent the majority of the time harrying the invaders from horseback and committing reprisal raids and scorched earth tactics in the face of the invaders. I'm not sure that Mavic's able to be the equivalent of a magical messenger at all really. Anyways, say that Mavic and his brothers were something a little more than a company of light skirmishing cavalry with Mavic riding point because he was the most expendable and the most able to defend himself in a way to return with information. Mavic probably wouldn't even care if Iuz himself were fighting the giants with him at Godakin, sympathizers and agents could be dealt with once Sterich is free. In fact, he'd probably make a point of announcing that. His brothers would sniff, but Mavic would try to give the agent a chance to die with some honor against the giants rather than being hung outright. This might appear noble and good, and Mavic's aware of that, but it's more likely that Mavic's simply being cold-blooded and noting that every able defender counts.


----------



## Scotley

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Wollte nur ganz kurz auf Deutsch hallo sagen.  Bin in Oesterreich geboren und aufgewachsen, aber habe auch drei Jahre in Berlin gelebt.  Ich lebe jetzt schohn fast 17 Jahre in New York.
> 
> Sorry, folks, just needed to say "hi" in German.




Kühlen Sie, ab war ich in Manhattan alle letzte Woche. 

It has been a long time since high school German, so I used an online translation, forgive any gramatical errors.


----------



## Thanee

I'm afraid, Scotley, but that sentence makes very little sense in german. 

I could only make out of it something with "cool.........I was in Manhattan the whole last week."

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> I could only make out of it something with "cool.........I was in Manhattan the whole last week."



I translated it more as, "Are you chilling?  But was I in Mahattan all of last week?"  

Just kidding. I got it.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> There are a few other caveats to these weapons.  You can never spend so many XP that it reduces your level.  Double weapons cost double, and the wielder of the weapon who contributed the XP is the only one that gains these enhancements.  To everyone else it's just a standard +1 weapon.  Also, you have to actually be using the weapon or armor while gaining the XP.




I presume that since the column is "Total XP", to increase from +2 (1600) to +3 (3600) only costs 2000 XP, right?

If, for example, an heirloom weapon is +1 (original) Giantbane (paid 1600XP), is it possible to pay a wizard 10k gp to make it Flaming, for example... or can further improvements only be made via the heirloom 'unlocking' process?

Does the unlocking require time (meditation, etc), or can a new power be 'discovered' by paying XP in the middle of combat?  (eg while fighting wraiths, suddenly find that the weapon strikes true by paying XP to give it the Ghost Touch ability... which is 'locked in' thereafter, of course.)

At this point, I'm thinking about paying 2400XP to make Bar's Giantbane ability an heirloom power, and the second 'plus' on the armor an heirloom power, and using the 9000gp thus saved to make the armor mithral instead.

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> I presume that since the column is "Total XP", to increase from +2 (1600) to +3 (3600) only costs 2000 XP, right?



Yes, the number listed in that column is the total number of XP that must be spent to attain that level.



			
				Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> If, for example, an heirloom weapon is +1 (original) Giantbane (paid 1600XP), is it possible to pay a wizard 10k gp to make it Flaming, for example... or can further improvements only be made via the heirloom 'unlocking' process?



Yes, further enhancements can be added that are not "leveled" but they are added to the total equivalent bonus of the weapon or armor, in terms of calculating cost, even if those enhancements haven't been "unlocked" yet.  What that means is that even though your hammer only functions as +2 equivalent bonus weapon at the moment (bane and the +1 base enhancement), in actuality its equivalent bonus is much highter.  So your next question probably is, well, how high is its total equivalent enhancement bonus?  Well, rolling a handy d6 and adding 4, the answer is: 6.  That means that according to table 7-9 of the DMG, adding the flaming enhancement would sadly cost you 26,000 gp, not 10,000 gp (from +6 to +7, not from +2 to +3.)



> Does the unlocking require time (meditation, etc), or can a new power be 'discovered' by paying XP in the middle of combat?  (eg while fighting wraiths, suddenly find that the weapon strikes true by paying XP to give it the Ghost Touch ability... which is 'locked in' thereafter, of course.)



Not having play-tested this rule, and therefore not fully knowing the game consequences of what I am saying, I will say that you can add it at any time, although it would be preferable if it is at a dramatically-appropriate time.

If all of this makes you want to reconsider this optional rule, be my guest and chuck it.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Well, rolling a handy d6 and adding 4, the answer is: 6.  That means that according to table 7-9 of the DMG, adding the flaming enhancement would sadly cost you 26,000 gp, not 10,000 gp (from +6 to +7, not from +2 to +3.)




Ah, okay.  But presumably if I then wanted to 'unlock' another +1, it would be the +2-to-+3 XP cost, since the Flaming is sitting 'on top' of all that... rather than +3-to-+4.



> I will say that you can add it at any time, although it would be preferable if it is at a dramatically-appropriate time.




I wouldn't dream of doing it any other way!  

Sounds like fun - I'll make the changes to the sheet in the Rogue's Gallery.

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Ah, okay.  But presumably if I then wanted to 'unlock' another +1, it would be the +2-to-+3 XP cost, since the Flaming is sitting 'on top' of all that... rather than +3-to-+4.



Yes, correct.  You'd get to pick the enhancement and when to apply it.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> I'd be inclined to say let's get three of the synopses out of the way, then start the game while back-filling the other four.  I'd quite like to get a little more of a look at the characters I've known for years before jumping into the main game, but seven chapters will take a while to get through



I agree with your point, Mr. Smurf.  Let's try one or two more synopses, and then going with the IC stuff if that's OK with everyone.

Everyone?  What do you think?


----------



## Scotley

One or Two more synopses and then the IC works for me.


----------



## Seeten

Hypersmurf is always right, and thus, I concur with his ruling.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Seeten said:
			
		

> Hypersmurf is always right, and thus, I concur with his ruling.




"It's the way he flies - ice cold, no mistakes.  He wears you down, you get bored, frustrated... do something stupid and he's got ya."



Seriously, though, I got caught out earlier today in a thread about energy drains 

-Hyp.


----------



## Ranger Rick

Scotley said:
			
		

> One or Two more synopses and then the IC works for me.




Ditto.

Is it possible to get everyones self evaulation of each other?  I did that earlier.  I think how we read everyone's posts does not always match how it was intended to be written.  Understanding how we percieve each other can help us bond.  As it can force us to tweak those perceptions if need be.


----------



## Seeten

Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> Ditto.
> 
> Is it possible to get everyones self evaulation of each other?  I did that earlier.  I think how we read everyone's posts does not always match how it was intended to be written.  Understanding how we percieve each other can help us bond.  As it can force us to tweak those perceptions if need be.




After the first chapter, Anastasia has noted a couple of the "fellowship" doing some worthwhile things, Reivik, for example, but mostly has no idea who any of the people are. George is the boat guy, which was helpful, but she was unconscious/semi-conscious for that part, so she has no clear idea what he did, Morley killed the bugbear, but again, she wasnt cognizant of it. 

After the second chapter, Reivik was there with her for the agent arresting, and for the Seneschal scene, so she is getting to know him, and his (bad) poetry fairly well. Latalya assisted with organizing the ragtag band into an organized fighting force, and Anastasia has taken notice of her as well. Morley, it sounds like, helped with catching the messages the Seneschal was sending, and Mavic was either with her, harrying the giants lines, or, known to her, as another group of harriers.


----------



## Thanee

@Seeten:

Here's a part I had written above:



			
				Thanee said:
			
		

> The elf also noticed the girl, that so bravely and foolishly had stepped up to the challenge in the fallen village, when she was busy surveying the volunteers and afterwards helped her organizing them into something akin to an army. This human was destined to become a great warrior one day, if she would live to see it.




I was just assuming, that your brave paladin with the Jean d'Arc-ish attitude would fit perfectly in this role (that is surveying the volunteers and trying to make an army out of them), which was also written in the synopsis.

If you don't think it fits, then I'll remove that part above. 

Just asking, since I havn't seen you mention it somewhere.



			
				Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> Is it possible to get everyones self evaulation of each other?




Anastasia - A young girl destined for greatness, still a bit reckless/foolish, tho.
Reivik - A dwarven poet with a rather strange (well... dwarven) taste for music, but also a capable fighter. A welcome sight, as his poems enlighten the allies and his hammer smashes the foes.
Mavic - A brother of one of her former adventuring fellows. She doesn't really know much about him yet.
George - Latalya hasn't really noticed George much yet.
Morley - Well, he's the archer that killed the bugbear, of course. A green boy who has a great aim (for a human) and a good heart.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Seeten

Hey Thanee:

Yeah, I forgot that part, I'll edit the above post to be reflective.


----------



## Ranger Rick

I will be offline till monday.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

*Third Adventure Synopsis*

Here's the third adventure synopsis, which is a little different than the first two.  Let me know what you think.  As before, I am copying the synopsis to the first post of this thread for reference sake.

[SBLOCK]We now take a large leap forward in time from your adventures at Godakin Keep.  The time is early Coldeven, 586 CY.  The war for the liberation of Sterich and Geoff has been raging with many successes and failures for the last two years.  The Confederacy for the Reclamation of the Occupied Territories (or just Confederacy) now holds the banks of the Javan River, and is beginning to make inroads into the heart of Sterich.
Spies have recently reported that something strange is happening among the Occupation forces.  After the betrayal of Hilden’s Grange last fall, where the orc chieftain Yagga One-Ear turned against the eldritch giant sorcerer Hawesti, there has been much infighting among the occupying forces.  Reports of skirmishes between the giants and their erstwhile allies are heard with growing frequency.
Even stranger, there have been no reports of King Galmoor in Istivin since last Sunsebb.  None of the magical or mundane spies of the Confederacy seem to know what happened to him; he simply seems to have disappeared.
Without a strong central leader, the giants are becoming sloppy, and lesser leaders are siphoning men and resources to benefit their own territories.
The forces of the newly titled Marquis Querchard, with the support of King Skotti, are taking advantage of this by striking hard and fast against the nonhumans.  Still headquartered in the Keolandish town of Flen, they have just begun a new campaign whose ultimate goal is to retake Istivin.

Your group has been kept busy over the last two years.  Currently you are under command of Valtgraf Jorgen Wallur, a famous gnome noble from the Stark mounds.  Based in his secret, underground base about 50 miles north-north-west of the ruins of the village of Steryn, you have been conducting spying and hit-and-run operations against the local occupation forces headquartered at Oytpass Keep.  You are also in contact with the wood elf forces of the nearby Oytwood, who are currently trying to keep the trail that leads to their sylvan home open.  Most recently a small band of mountain dwarves under the leadership of Chief Kurgi Hammerhand have crossed back over the Javan and have joined your group.  They are here to support the retaking of the Oytpass Keep, but ultimately wish to retake their lost communities in the western Stark Mounds.

For this adventure, I’m going to leave it up to you to decide on exactly what happens.  The only thing that is essential is that at the end of the adventure the Oytpass Keep is held by you or allied forces.  How exactly you achieve this is up to you.  If you have major problems with this, please let me know.

Forces on your side:
1.  Gnomes of the Stark Mounds under Jorgen Wallur
2.  Mountain Dwarves under Kurgi Hammerhand
3. Wood Elves from the Oytwood
4.  Some Human Forces (mainly light infantry and skirmishers) from Gorna
5.  The young adult Copper dragon Maetus who lives in the Stark Mounds, who although he is selfish, has no great love for the giants and their allies.
6.  The Sisters of Righteous Vengeance, a flock of harpies from the White Oyt River valley whose initial attempt to ally with the giants was rudely dismissed and who are now out for a bit of payback.

Forces against you:
1.  The defenders of Oytpass Keep.  A collection of hill and stone giants.
2.  Bonespear and Bloodmoon tribes of gnolls and flinds from the Stark Mounds.  They know the area exceptionally well and are good at many of the same tactics you are.  They are led by a powerful flind blackguard.
3.  The fallen of the battle of Gorna.  Mainly wraiths, specters and wights who haunt the Stark Mounds at night.  They are not allied with the giants, but present a constant danger to anyone traversing the Stark Mounds at night.
4.  The Tuskbreakers, a small band of near-feral wereboars working for the giants who have difficulty following orders.

Locations which you might avail yourselves of:
1.  Oytpass Keep:  A small keep surrounded by a tall curtain wall.  It sits an a steep-faced hill overlooking the road.  Its defensive towers contain ballistae and catapults, and the gates are defended by numerous murder holes, boiling oil dispensers.  The walls of the keep were reinforced magically and have heightened hardness and hit points.  The main gate is magically warded and has the equivalent of SR 25.  This effect can be dispelled, but this only lasts for 1d6+1 rounds.
2.  Valley of Sorrow:  Highly haunted area as a result of the Battle of Gorna in the 5th century CY.  It is reputed to hold a magical weapon of some power.
3.  Grey Wood:  A small forest once connected to the Oytwood.  Home of the Tuskbreakers who inhabit a complex on connected tunnels.
4.  Ruins of Soraoh:  Ancient Flan standing stones in the Stark Mounds.  Used as a gathering place for the local gnoll and flind tribes.
5.  Oytwood Trail:  Connects Sterich to the Oytwood.  Not maintained by anyone.  Ancient path first used by the Flan people over a thousand years ago.
6.  Roothome:  The underground base of Jorgen Wallur’s band of gnomes.  Not a full gnome community, more of a bolt hole for raids and hunting.  Well-stocked with supplies and weapons.  Not sized for Medium or larger-sized folk.

Let me know if you need more info.[/SBLOCK]


----------



## Ranger Rick

Like I said earlier I am offline till monday.

Anyone feel free to write me into your deeds.  The orders would be to go do something, and you would be ordered to inculde me in on the raid.  Particularly if it involves buildings and locked boxes.

For the most part, I would be seen coming and going into the head honcho's office.


----------



## Scotley

I have a couple of ideas. 

1) We make hit and run raids on the Flind/Gnoll group in such a way that they pursue us afterward. We make for the mounds just before sunset with the enemy close behind. We link up with Maetus and the Sisters of Righteous Vengeance who fly us clear of the undead leaving the Flind and Gnoll forces to face the undead alone. 

2) Having hopefully weakened the undead we return to try and find the magic item which could either be one of our more powerful items or something we pass on to higher forces for use in the battle.


----------



## Hypersmurf

After several indecisive skirmishes with the flind's troops, it became apparent that the gnolls were not going to meet the allied forces in a stand-up battle, but would continue to harry and disrupt the Valtgraf's plans.  Reivik recalled an old elven story, however, that appealed to the gnome commander's prankster's nature.  A picked force of elven and human skirmishers drew the blackguard and his core warriors into a pursuit that brought them into an area of the Mounds selected by Maetus, and a team of dwarven sappers triggered a rockslide that cut off the main pass back out again.  At first, the gnolls considered the matter a strategic oversight - while the landslide was inconvenient, they would be able to clear it in a few days, and the terrain did not allow the allied forces to capitalise on the trap with archery from above... and meanwhile, the skirmishers were trapped as well...

But Maetus was able to ferry the humans and elves away.  The gnolls were still trapped out in the open in the Stark Mounds as night fell, and the wraiths came out... and even a powerful blackguard can only command so many before the rest close in...

-----

Reivik has tended to avoid spending too much time with Hammerhand's dwarves.  His family name has many mountain dwarves eyeing him suspiciously, and all in all, he finds the wood elves and Wallur's gnomes to be more pleasant company...

-----

A mixed group of gnome and dwarf miners, with some wood elf druids for support, were key in the taking of Oytpass Keep.  Rather than attacking the enchanted walls or gate, the team instead went _under_ the walls, with the druids using Soften Earth and Stone to change the rock of the hill into soft clay, mining under the cover of a Silence spell courtesy of a cleric of Moradin.

At a prearranged signal, Maetus the dragon dropped his invisibility spell and performed a strafing run across the front of the keep, surprise and the dragon's Frightful Presence providing enough of a distraction to the gate guards that a picked strike force could enter the keep through the tunnel and open the gate.

Naturally, even without a fortress to give them a defensive advantage, the giants still gave a grim account of themselves in the battle that followed, but after a long and bloody struggle, the Valtgraf's banner adorned the walls...

-Hyp.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Scotley said:
			
		

> 1) We make hit and run raids on the Flind/Gnoll group in such a way that they pursue us afterward. We make for the mounds just before sunset with the enemy close behind. We link up with Maetus and the Sisters of Righteous Vengeance who fly us clear of the undead leaving the Flind and Gnoll forces to face the undead alone.




Snap! 

-Hyp.


----------



## Scotley

Great minds think alike?


----------



## Hypersmurf

Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> Is it possible to get everyones self evaulation of each other?




One-Shot Morley brings a grin to Reivik's face.  The man strikes him as a dependable companion.

Anastasia concerns Reivik at times - he feels there's a line between confidence and madness that she's inclined to walk a little too closely for his comfort.  But she gave a decent account of herself for a novice in the fight with the bugbear ('... right up to the part where you got killed...'), and acquitted herself well in the Godakin Keep fight.  He's happy to fight beside her, as long as she doesn't get too far out in front of her support...

Latalya - well, Reivik's always gotten along well with elves, and with the exception of George, he's the only other member of the team who speaks Elvish.  Of the five, she's likely the one Reivik feels the most comfortable around.  Her excellent taste in swords doesn't hurt, either 

George comes across as someone handy to have around, but Reivik doesn't have much of a feeling for his personality yet.  He hasn't really featured in any of the dwarf's poetry.

Mavic hasn't particularly registered with Reivik yet, either - no horseman, he hasn't spent a lot of time with Mavic's cavalrymen.  He's somewhat disapproving of Mavic's attitude towards the seneschal's treason.

-Hyp.


----------



## James Heard

Anastasia is a good, honest warrior. Maybe too good, or too young, or both. She means well, but she one of those in the Sheldomar that don't understand the big picture or the balance and sacrifices that must be made to reconquer Sterich. Part of him is jealous.

 Reivik isn't the sort of person Mavic likes, but he's the sort of person he finds useful. While he doesn't have much use for poetry himself, he recognizes its value in waging war. Wars need heroes to give men hope, so if Reivik wants to make people heroes then Mavic is all for it. 

 George probably registers as a good yeoman in the same way his own rangers are. He and Mavic probably haven't talked, but I'm betting Mavic's vicious bunch of ranger cavalry and George operate in the same circles of a different crowd.

 Morley's probably in the same boat as George, with higher credit. He's probably not gone out of his way to make friends with Morley, but he's noticed him and made note. He's probably spoken aloud to his older brothers and others in the military about him. Not only are heroes useful, men will follow them. Since they must follow their heroes into hell this time, every single one counts.

 Mavic probably knows quite a bit more about Latalya than she knows about him, because brothers talk amongst brothers about pretty girls often. She's probably associated more with the brother than for her own sake though, "Cale's friend Latalya" is probably more likely to come to mind than any other notion.
***​ As for the skirmishers idea, I'd like to step up to the plate for that one. Mavic's still needing to find a reason to win that Medal of Gallantry, have his first cohort be killed, lose some brothers... What better way to get a whole bunch of people killed than to bravely volunteer for a near suicide mission. To increase the lethality though, I'd like to suggest that not only would it be beneficial to draw out the gnolls, but to use the wood elves to draw out some of the giants as well into the same trap...If we go with this Mavic would probably be trying to enlist Morley and Anastasia to join the light horse massacre as well, being brave heroes and all that. George would probably be begged to be involved in tightening the noose too, as someone who wouldn't shy away from committing people to die if it meant a great victory.

 At some time before all this, news would probably come definitively on the fate of much of Mavic's family and aid in his (already) nihilist mindset.


----------



## Hypersmurf

James Heard said:
			
		

> If we go with this Mavic would probably be trying to enlist Morley and Anastasia to join the light horse massacre as well, being brave heroes and all that.




Speaking of light horse massacre - I'm not certain it'd be possible to extract the horses from the trap.  It's not the sort of mission you'd want to take your favourite mount on, because it's got even less chance of making it back alive than you do...!

-Hyp.


----------



## James Heard

So that would be part of the plan, it's not like Mavic would be terribly upset if he lost a horse at the expense of a bunch of giants and gnolls.


----------



## Hypersmurf

James Heard said:
			
		

> So that would be part of the plan, it's not like Mavic would be terribly upset if he lost a horse at the expense of a bunch of giants and gnolls.




No, but Anastasia Horseyheart might be 

-Hyp.


----------



## James Heard

Maybe - but Mavic wouldn't consider that part. *shrug* Greater good and all that, and inviting all the young fools you know to take part in something foolish and damn the consequences.


----------



## Thanee

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Speaking of light horse massacre - I'm not certain it'd be possible to extract the horses from the trap.  It's not the sort of mission you'd want to take your favourite mount on, because it's got even less chance of making it back alive than you do...!




Summoned horses don't die. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## James Heard

They just faaaaaade away, like old paladins - right?


----------



## Thanee

During the last months, the adventurers probably got to know each other a bit better, and they often worked together or at least in the same region. Having learned, that they can trust each other, it was just natural for them to stay together as a group.

When they were in the Stark mounds, Latalya often wandered into Oytwood, it was good to be among elves for some time, and to reflect over everything that has happened in the last years in the tranquil woods.

On one occasion, a troop of skirmishers and scouts was attacked and inflicted by the Tuskbearers. One of the Sisters of Righteous Vengeance, who at this point were still unknown to our side, had observed the battle and came to bring the news as an act of friendship and also offered to help (hoping to fulfill their own agenda this way). Sadly, there was little they could do for the inflicted allies, lacking the healing herbs or magic to cure them, so a force had to be send in to kill them all before they gave away too much of their plans, once transformed into werecreatures themselves. The Sisters were part of this force, as they are not susceptible to lycanthropy. This act sealed the alliance with them and they gladly helped with gathering intelligence afterwards and with hit-and-run strikes against the giants' forces.

Latalya was with the strike team to enter the keep, while the dragon distracted the guards. She planted a _Suggestion_ into the mind of the head of the guard, a Stone Giant, and made him order the guards to open the gate to pursuit the dragon, while the allied troops were hidden outside. Once the giants realized the trick, it was too late and the strike team inside was already attacking them from behind while the main force outside headed for the gates and inside the keep to smash them.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Hypersmurf

Thanee said:
			
		

> She planted a _Suggestion_ into the mind of the head of the guard, a Stone Giant...




Gotta love those +7 Will Saves 

-Hyp.


----------



## Thanee

A hill giant would be an even better target, but I suppose the head of the guard would be one of the tougher guys. 

It's roughly a 50% chance to work, that should be fairly reasonable to work. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Hypersmurf

Thanee said:
			
		

> It's roughly a 50% chance to work, that should be fairly reasonable to work.




And if not, you can always try it again!  

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> And if not, you can always try it again!



Tee, hee, hee.


----------



## Thanee

You say it. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Seeten

Over the last year, Anastasia has grown from bold and inexperienced, into bold, and slightly less inexperienced. She does tend to lead from the front. She doesn't ask anyone else to sacrifice themselves before she would sacrifice herself. However, she suffers from youthful exuberance, tempered with the zeal of a crusader. She considers the Flind Blackguard a personal affront, and one that cannot go unchallenged. Not content to simply collapse a mountain, or part of, on the gnolls, the Flind leader must be confronted, and defeated, as an example to Blackmoor, the Giants, and those who would attack Sterich from within, or from without.

That said, during the harrying, and skirmishing, Anastasia conspires to have her friends and companions cut the flind off from his support, for a second Mano -i- Womano confrontation. This time, older, wiser, and MOUNTED, during the skirmish, when he was cut off, Anastasia charged. Her horse, Faith, a blur of motion, a golden nimbus winked into existence around her lance point. The Flind got the point, much to his unfortunate chagrin, though he skillfully maneuvered his shield into place as she struck, her lance point struck with deadly force, piercing his shield, and straight on through to the heart. He moved as though to swing his sword, causing another motion, Faith wheeled, and Anastasia brought her sword to bear. It too glowed, a nimbus of golden light surrounding it, and with that, she struck, calling out, "Blackguards, Fiends, Giants and Gnolls. Your day is here. Your doom is come. No more do we strike from shadows and darkness. Sterich will be free. All attackers will answer to us, her defenders. We do not tire. We do not rest. We will strike, this I promise you, until not a single one of you remains. This I promise you." As the last word came out, she parried the weakened swing of the Blackguard, and smote him through, her sword blazing through with the power of her faith, and magic.

Once the gnolls are taken care, Anastasia will be more than happy to fight over the keep.  Once inside, the gate, She fought in the courtyard, on horseback, as much as she could. She rallied the troops more than once for a countercharge against the giants, both out in the courtyard, and again, inside the keep, at the end of the day, victory was theirs.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Seeten said:
			
		

> That said, during the harrying, and skirmishing, Anastasia conspires to have her friends and companions cut the flind off from his support, for a second Mano -i- Womano confrontation.




Manoido -i- Womano, surely?

-Hyp.


----------



## Seeten

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Manoido -i- Womano, surely?
> 
> -Hyp.




If you say so!?


----------



## Seeten

Also, I hope Anastasia comes off right, her speeches should carry force of will, not just bravado, and are passionate, and powerful, her charisma is probably better than my own, though I admit, my own personal charisma is sometimes higher than I'd like too. =)


----------



## Hypersmurf

Seeten said:
			
		

> If you say so!?




Ah, forget it.  Just a 'gnolls are humanoids' thing.

-Hyp.


----------



## Seeten

lol

Here I thought you were going all proper...italian? On me...


----------



## Thanee

If someone was going italian (tho, I think it's spanish, but those two languages are almost the same, anyways) on you, one would point out, that it is mano a mano, and mano does mean "hand" and has nothing to do with "man". 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Hypersmurf

Seeten said:
			
		

> Once the gnolls are taken care, Anastasia will be more than happy to fight over the keep.  Once inside, the gate, She fought in the courtyard, on horseback, as much as she could. She rallied the troops more than once for a countercharge against the giants, both out in the courtyard, and again, inside the keep, at the end of the day, victory was theirs.




Bar's Giantbane power was awoken by a feat of legendary prowess during the course of the grand melee in the courtyard - the greathammer blasted its way through one of the stone giant defenders and into another, felling both with one mighty swing.

[OOC: Unlikely, but not impossible, assuming a couple of very lucky attack rolls.  Guessing Reivik to be about 7th level at this point, an average critical on a raging full power attack deals 138 points of damage... enough to drop a 119 hit point stone giant and trigger a Cleave.  Confirming two crits while shunting all BAB to Power Attack requires incredible rolls (two natural 20s, since that was before he took Imp Crit, followed by a couple of 14+s to confirm), but hey... incredible rolls happen every now and then!  And I figure there should be a good story to explain the heirloom ability  ]

-Hyp.


----------



## Seeten

Thanee said:
			
		

> If someone was going italian (tho, I think it's spanish, but those two languages are almost the same, anyways) on you, one would point out, that it is mano a mano, and mano does mean "hand" and has nothing to do with "man".
> 
> Bye
> Thanee




Good to know. Here I thought it was man to man. I did know it was Italian...go me!


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> [OOC: Unlikely, but not impossible, assuming a couple of very lucky attack rolls.  Guessing Reivik to be about 7th level at this point, an average critical on a raging full power attack deals 138 points of damage... enough to drop a 119 hit point stone giant and trigger a Cleave.  Confirming two crits while shunting all BAB to Power Attack requires incredible rolls (two natural 20s, since that was before he took Imp Crit, followed by a couple of 14+s to confirm), but hey... incredible rolls happen every now and then!  And I figure there should be a good story to explain the heirloom ability



I like the story, and it's just the kind of hook I was thinking of for "unlocking" the weapon's ability.  You know it's funny, because 3e D&D combat has such a strong underlying structure, everything can become very predictable at times.  You know that the average stone giant will have so many hp, and your weapon, on average, will do so and so much damage.  It's nice to see that incredible, heroic actions can sometimes still happen in these rules (just not very often, of course.)

I guess that's why they added hero points to Eberron, so that these kinds of situations would happen more often.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Here is another picture of the local area.  Doesn't have much detail, although it does give you more of an overview.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

And here's a little GIF for Seeten


----------



## Seeten

Looks like a spellfire card.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Seeten said:
			
		

> Looks like a spellfire card.



Hmm, not sure, might have been used for Spellfire.  I got it from "From the ashes".


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> I like the story, and it's just the kind of hook I was thinking of for "unlocking" the weapon's ability.  You know it's funny, because 3e D&D combat has such a strong underlying structure, everything can become very predictable at times.  You know that the average stone giant will have so many hp, and your weapon, on average, will do so and so much damage.  It's nice to see that incredible, heroic actions can sometimes still happen in these rules (just not very often, of course.)




Heh.  I can just picture the scene around a gaming table, too, when that second 20 comes up...

Like the time I rolled 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 for a 5d6 Lightning Bolt 

-----

"There's a challenge for you, One-Shot," Reivik commented to Morley after the battle with a grin.  "Next time, let's see you take out _two_ bugbear chieftains with a single arrow!"

-Hyp.


----------



## Seeten

Later that night, at the bar, while the tales are a recounting and the ales they are a mounting, Anastasia steals the bar, and examines it for "cheating". Once determined its loaded, she says, You dice cheat! This thing only has 20's on it!!


----------



## Hypersmurf

Seeten said:
			
		

> Later that night, at the bar, while the tales are a recounting and the ales they are a mounting, Anastasia steals the bar, and examines it for "cheating". Once determined its loaded, she says, You dice cheat! This thing only has 20's on it!!




Hey!  I imagined rolling those attack rolls fair and square!  

(Actually, the chances of those two crits are about one in three thousand; the chances of the maximized lightning bolt are more like one in eight thousand.  I've done the second one with fair dice, so I don't see any reason why the first one couldn't happen!   )

-Hyp.


----------



## Seeten

To be fair, I am not sure what is even possible with the charge on the Blackguard.

Lets work it out. I see her as fighter 2/Paladin 4 around this point, so about the same level as Reivik, I think, so she has spirited charge, but not deadly, which means the lance charge is...

3d8 + 42? If we assume she is power attacking for a boatload, the charge bonus for sure, but if she full power attacks, its what, 9, so 18, 18 +14(smite, divine might, str) 32 x3 = 96 + 3d8. If this attack is also a natural 20, that is 128(96 +32) + 4d8.

I know Hypersmurf will come point out all my math errors =)

But that looks like a total mashing to me! If he is still up after all that, well, that sword stroke definitely finishes it out. Hehe

Hrm...smite adds 6 to my attack roll...thats...a lot of dmg.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Seeten said:
			
		

> I know Hypersmurf will come point out all my math errors =)




Well, remember, a lance has a x3 critical, so a critical combined with a Spirited Charge is x5, not x4.

But that's probably overkill, since it wouldn't leave him up for the followup   So just make it a moderately Power-Attacked Spirited Charge.  You're relying on skill and valour, not luck!  

-Hyp.


----------



## Seeten

So true. 

Assuming a reasonable power attack, of 8, (the charge bonus and charisma bonus) thats 16 +14 for 3d8 +90. Most likely he is dead as a nit, and half off his horse/whatever before he is struck by the sword. Wow, this is why I never do the math ahead of time. Thats less dramatic =P


----------



## Branding Opportunity

*Out most of the weekend*

Just a quick FYI, I'll be checking in here from work tomorrow (shhh, don't tell anyone!), but I won't get to the next (and probably last) synopsis posting until late Sunday as I will once again be out of town.  Hope everyone enjoys their weekend.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Seeten said:
			
		

> Assuming a reasonable power attack, of 8...




I presume you mean 6, since PA is limited by BAB 

-Hyp.


----------



## James Heard

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Just a quick FYI, I'll be checking in here from work tomorrow (shhh, don't tell anyone!), but I won't get to the next (and probably last) synopsis posting until late Sunday as I will once again be out of town.  Hope everyone enjoys their weekend.



That's ok, I'm out of town until sometime Sunday starting Friday afternoon.


----------



## Thanee

No problem there! 

As for the lance-strike, our paladin in CotSQ killed a beholder (almost twice) in one strike recently, the moment it had closed its central eye and our lights went back on, death came flying from below. 

Spirited Charge on a flying mount, Smite Evil, Power Attack, Divine Might (and not even a critical  ).

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Seeten

Ok, so 3d8 +84...that is still death I imagine. Hehe. Love this lance thing.


----------



## Ranger Rick

Luckily I am online for a few moments.  Branding would this scneario be to dark?  If it is I will edit it out. [sblock] A high level assisnation attempt is planned for the Galmor the giant king.  

A high level assassain is teamed with George and maybe another PC or two (maybe Mavric?)  We go in and assinate the giant.  But he is to big to hide so we put an invisibility ring on him and carry him away and thean hide him.

If this is doable I will add to it.[/sblock]


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> Luckily I am online for a few moments.  Branding would this scneario be to dark?  If it is I will edit it out. [sblock] A high level assisnation attempt is planned for the Galmor the giant king.
> 
> A high level assassain is teamed with George and maybe another PC or two (maybe Mavric?)  We go in and assinate the giant.  But he is to big to hide so we put an invisibility ring on him and carry him away and thean hide him.
> 
> If this is doable I will add to it.[/sblock]



Ranger Rick:[SBLOCK]It isn't too dark, but if you look atmy last synopsis post you will see that he has already disappeared.  If, of course, you're saying that you guys were the ones who did the disappearing, I'll rule that you snuck in there before it was known as part of an assassination attempt, and you were the ones that discovered that he had vanished.[/SBLOCK]


----------



## Branding Opportunity

I've got two things on my mind.

First, I was thinking that just because we start our IC game, doesn't mean that we can't continue expanding the characters' back stories through continuing the synopses.  That way, if things get slow (or even if they don't) we can always post something vaguely IC somewhere.  I've always enjoyed running games with the same characters in multiple time periods.  One always informs the other.

Here's the second question.  For the final synopsis, would you like another Reconquista-specific story, or would you rather have something more standard D&D-ish?


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Here's the second question.  For the final synopsis, would you like another Reconquista-specific story, or would you rather have something more standard D&D-ish?




Something like "While searching for the magic item of power supposedly buried in the Valley of Sorrow, the six of you trigger an ancient teleportation circle and wind up dungeon-crawling your way out of a ruined evil temple"?  

-Hyp.


----------



## Thanee

I have no specific preferance, let the others decide. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Seeten

I'm all good, Anastasia is fun to play =)


----------



## Scotley

I have no real preference, but perhaps a chance to aid the dwarves would give Morley a chance to aquire his mithril armor?


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Scotley said:
			
		

> I have no real preference, but perhaps a chance to aid the dwarves would give Morley a chance to aquire his mithril armor?



Actually, I had planned that your most recent "adventure" would involve the dwarves, so I'll take you up on that suggestion.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Mith_ral_.  Mith_ral_.

-Hyp.


----------



## Thanee

No, it's Mithril, they misspelled it in the DMG. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Hypersmurf

Thanee said:
			
		

> No, it's Mithril, they misspelled it in the DMG.




Hey, who's playing the dwarf here?  

-Hyp.


----------



## Thanee

As if dwarves knew anything about rare metals... 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hey guys, just wanted to quickly check in and let you know that I was not able finish the final synopsis this evening.  Tomorrow is a busy day for a day, but I'll keep my fingers crossed and perhaps I'll be able to do it then.


----------



## Seeten

Alright...*goes to get the whip*


----------



## Ranger Rick

> *Post 321......*Reports of skirmishes between the giants and their erstwhile allies are heard with growing frequency.
> 
> Even stranger, there have been no reports of King Galmoor in Istivin since last Sunsebb. None of the magical or mundane spies of the Confederacy seem to know what happened to him; he simply seems to have disappeared.




It was determined that King Galmoor should be eliminated.  Therefore a secret assignation team was gathered and trained for an attempt on the King’s life.  The leader of this raid was an experienced professional assassin who was known by the nom de plume of B.O. (Bo).  Assisting BO was George, Mavric and two other dwarfs.   We go in and assassinate the giant. George was assigned for his knowledge of the surrounding area and the belief that he can assist in by passing traps et. al.  Mavric had shown an aptitude for volunteering on dangerous missions.  He was also deemed to be an expendable mage should problems arise.  Therefore, he was given several scrolls of high-level spells to ensure the party survival.

The basic plan was to find King Galmoor, quickly kill him and than seeing how he is to big to hide, an invisibility ring is to be put on him.  The party would carry him away from the scene of the murder and hide him.

Like many military plans, this one went awry.  The party was inserted via teleportation and quickly and silently got to their planned killing zone.  However, the king was not around.  The party conducted a massive search and could not locate him.  The combed the area for two days.  Luckily they where not compromised and they where able to reach home safely and undiscovered.  During their search they determined that no one knew where the king was.  The entire local court was in chaotic, disarray due to the disappearance.  This chaos helped shield the party and allowed their escape.  When brought the news the generals where relieved that the king was missing and there was no moral consequences arising from the attempt.


----------



## Thanee

Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> The basic plan was to find King Galmoor, quickly kill him and than seeing how he is to big to hide, an invisibility ring is to be put on him.  The party would carry him away from the scene of the murder and hide him.




Once dead, you should be able to _Shrink Item_ the corpse, which is probably more effective, especially when it comes to carrying it. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Ranger Rick

Thanee said:
			
		

> Once dead, you should be able to _Shrink Item_ the corpse, which is probably more effective, especially when it comes to carrying it.
> 
> Bye
> Thanee




Well I never knew about that spell.  That comes up to another question or two.  

How many cubic feet is a giant?  (or what is the min level (2 cubic ft/level) the mage must be be to shrink him) 

Can a wand do this spell?


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> Well I never knew about that spell.  That comes up to another question or two.
> 
> How many cubic feet is a giant?  (or what is the min level (2 cubic ft/level) the mage must be be to shrink him)



Well, if he was already dead you could just take his head and shrink that.  That would be a lot smaller.  Without a head, they'd have a bit of trouble bringing him back.  The chance of them having a 13th level cleric around would be smaller than a 9th level one.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Well, if he was already dead you could just take his head and shrink that.




"I'm a Rogue 6 / Assassin 2 / Psychiatrist 3..."

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> "I'm a Rogue 6 / Assassin 2 / Psychiatrist 3..."



Ow, ow, ow, ow, that was so bad it hurt!


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Well, here it is, the final installation.  As stated before, if we feel like it, we can continue creating more backstory, but I'd like to finally move on to the IC game now!!!

P.S.: Also copied to the first post of this thread.

[SBLOCK]FINAL ADVENTURE SYNOPSIS

In the fall of 590 CY the group is hired by the Dwarven Union for the Liberation of Occupied Holds and Other Sundry Communities (D.U.L.O.H.O.S.C.) to investigate and if possible liberate the dwarven hold of Eagle’s Nest.  It is located within the peak of the Witch’s Hump, a mountain between the Dear and White Oyt rivers.
The Union’s sources have revealed that although the Eagle’s Nest has been held by a family clan of fire giants and their hobgoblin mercenary allies since around 585 CY, there may be some upheaval happening.  The hold sits on a large mithral (or mithril for the Tolkien purists) vein, so the Union members feel that it is essential that it be retaken.  The party is hired partially because of their reputation in the retaking of the Oytpass Keep during the war.
The Union has recently received confirmation that a number of dwarven slaves have been brought to this location to assist in the mining and smelting of the precious metal.  The melting in particular is quite difficult, dangerous, and labor-intensive process, requiring dangerously high heat, and the dwarves’ reluctant expertise is greatly needed.  The work is being overseen by a misshapen half-illithid derro who has been employing his psionic or magical powers to keep the miners and metallurgists in line.  This information was provided by a dwarf miner named Nadolf Pickstrike who managed to escape less than a year ago.
The party travels through the Stark Mounds where they encounter a raiding party of dire badger-riding gnome rangers and druids, who have recently relocated there from the north-eastern regions of the Stark Mounds.  They are tracking a large band of gnolls who have been despoiling the lands around Gorna.  They are mainly interested in this task, and are only secondarily interested in fighting the larger humanoid and giant menace.  They seem to know nothing of the Eagle’s Nest.
After arriving in the vicinity of the Witch’s Hump, initial scouting reveals that all of the mapped entrances to the hold, including the supposedly secret ones, have been made impassible or are heavily defended by traps and/or monsters.
The only seemingly undefended access to the Nest is through the ventilation shafts which descend over a quarter of a mile into the mountain to the foundries of the hold.
The party makes camp for the night in a well-hidden cave nearby.  During the night they are partially surprised by a large drow raiding party.  Rather than attacking, however, the dark elves indicate their desire to parlay, stating that fighting would only result in needless heavy losses on both sides.  In addition, they state, your goals might be mutually compatible.
Whatever the party decides to do, one observant member of the party notices that the drow spokesman bears an unknown drow emblem which arouses his/her curiosity.  If the party agrees to the parlay, the drow reveal that they have heard of the Eagle’s Nest but have avoided it due to the strength of its defenders.  They are currently focusing their attentions elsewhere and agree to withdraw without incidence.
If you attack, the drow quickly retreat.
The next day you make your way to the top of the mountain, employing some stealth.  Your carefulness pays off when you realize that an invisible, yet powerful air elemental guards the top of the shaft.  You quickly dispatch it before it gets a chance to alarm its masters.
Following this encounter, you devise a way of lowering your party the quarter of a mile down the shaft.  As you descend you notice that the gets colder and colder.  Near the bottom you discover to your dismay that an enormous batch of brown mold has been planted here to provide some defense and aid in the circulation of air.
Once you devise a way around this obstacle you find yourself near the ceiling of a cathedral-like cavern.  Dozens of forges line the floor, heated by geothermal forces.  Scores of human-sized humanoids make their way between them, guarded by a handful of vigilant fire giants.
Through some subterfuge you eventually manage to defeat the surprised giant guards, including one who seems to be a wizard who paradoxically focuses on cold magic.  Upon approaching the dwarven slaves, you find they have been horrifically transformed to better deal with the intense heat found here.  Strange, heat-resistant scales have somehow been grafted onto their bodies, so that they barely resemble dwarves anymore.  In addition, all seem to be under some form of mind control.
Through magical or mundane means you break one of transfigured dwarves’ control.  At first he is overcome with grief at the sight of his new form, and begs to be killed.  After being calmed down a bit, he realizes that he can still be of some use in freeing his companions.
With his help you track down the half-derro slave lord and defeat him in a pitched battle after first overcoming his enthralled umber hulk bodyguards.  Before the party is completely over, the remaining fire giants return slightly bloodied from a raid, but soon flee before your onslaught.
Freed from their mind control the mutated dwarves liberate the rest of the slaves, but decide that they do not wish to return to their surface.  Refusing further aid, they meet and tell you that they wish to travel further into the Underdark, and make a new home there, far way from everything they know.[/SBLOCK]


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Now that we're about to embark on the IC game I'd like to ask your advice on a subject.  In your experience, what are things that kill a PbP game?  I'm not talking individual preferences here, I'm asking what things objectively can kill a game?  The most obvious one, of course, is if the GM stops posting, so you don't have to mention that 

ADDENDUM:  Would you mind pointing out some (in your opinion) really great IC threads?  I'd be interested in getting your opinions.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> The work is being overseen by a misshapen half-illithid derro who has been employing his psionic or magical powers to keep the miners and metallurgists in line.  This information was provided by a dwarf miner named Nadolf Pickstrike who managed to escape less than a year ago.




Hmm... what rhymes with 'half-illithid'?  A misshapen half-illithid derro is too cool a villain not to make it into a warchant!



> The party makes camp for the night in a well-hidden cave nearby.  During the night they are partially surprised by a large drow raiding party.  Rather than attacking, however, the dark elves indicate their desire to parlay, stating that fighting would only result in needless heavy losses on both sides.  In addition, they state, your goals might be mutually compatible.
> Whatever the party decides to do, one observant member of the party notices that the drow spokesman bears an unknown drow emblem which arouses his/her curiosity.  If the party agrees to the parlay, the drow reveal that they have heard of the Eagle’s Nest but have avoided it due to the strength of its defenders.  They are currently focusing their attentions elsewhere and agree to withdraw without incidence.




I'm not sure how Latalya-the-elf and Anastasia-the-paladin are likely to react to the thought of a parlay with the drow, but Reivik's certainly up for the idea.  I'd also like to step up as the emblem-noticer... lousy Spot score, but Bardic Knowledge, Knowledge (History), and a general tendency to curiosity about minor details contributing.



> The next day you make your way to the top of the mountain, employing some stealth.  Your carefulness pays off when you realize that an invisible, yet powerful air elemental guards the top of the shaft.  You quickly dispatch it before it gets a chance to alarm its masters.




Air Elementals have lousy Will saves, but are horrendously air-mobile.  We'd want a Will-based spell that prevents it escaping... though they're immune to Paralysis, Sleep, and Stunning.  May I suggest a Glitterdust from Latalya (lets us see the elemental, and a good chance of blinding it as well), followed by a Tasha's Hideous Laughter from Mavic (Will save, or do nothing for ten or eleven rounds, elementals get a save bonus but aren't immune), followed by a whole lot of full attack madness from the melee crew?



> Following this encounter, you devise a way of lowering your party the quarter of a mile down the shaft.  As you descend you notice that the gets colder and colder.  Near the bottom you discover to your dismay that an enormous batch of brown mold has been planted here to provide some defense and aid in the circulation of air.




I notice Mavic has Cone of Cold in his spellbook, though not prepared... likewise Ray of Frost for both Latalya and Mavic.  Is it at all likely either of them carried a scroll or wand of a cold-based spell?  (Damn it, with a name like 'Winterheart', Anastasia should be carrying a Frost longsword, not a Holy one!)



> Through some subterfuge you eventually manage to defeat the surprised giant guards, including one who seems to be a wizard who paradoxically focuses on cold magic.




Hmm.  Normal approach to dealing with wizards is to send someone to grapple them.  I'm not sure that works when the wizard's a fire giant!

I definitely see some Ring of Invisibility sneak attack action in George's part in this battle, though.

-Hyp.


----------



## James Heard

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Hmm... what rhymes with 'half-illithid'?  A misshapen half-illithid derro is too cool a villain not to make it into a warchant!



Insipid comes immediately to mind. "Daft insipid half-illithids drafting dwur for tasks with deft deviousness" comes along a little while later. Sorry.


			
				Smurphenator said:
			
		

> I'm not sure how Latalya-the-elf and Anastasia-the-paladin are likely to react to the thought of a parlay with the drow, but Reivik's certainly up for the idea.  I'd also like to step up as the emblem-noticer... lousy Spot score, but Bardic Knowledge, Knowledge (History), and a general tendency to curiosity about minor details contributing.



Mavic would parlay with demons if it meant killing more giants and anyone who had anything to do with giants. He's pretty one dimensional in his predictability actually.


			
				Papa Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Air Elementals have lousy Will saves, but are horrendously air-mobile.  We'd want a Will-based spell that prevents it escaping... though they're immune to Paralysis, Sleep, and Stunning.  May I suggest a Glitterdust from Latalya (lets us see the elemental, and a good chance of blinding it as well), followed by a Tasha's Hideous Laughter from Mavic (Will save, or do nothing for ten or eleven rounds, elementals get a save bonus but aren't immune), followed by a whole lot of full attack madness from the melee crew?



Mavic might toss Magic Missiles at it, but he'd not likely start off with anything that could be better used against giants (seeing the theme?) If things got bloody, or distracting, he'd be more likely to Hold Monster the damned thing and let everyone finish it off. It's more humiliating to slaughter giants while they're giggling than Held anyways.


			
				SmurphaliciousSmurphenator said:
			
		

> I notice Mavic has Cone of Cold in his spellbook, though not prepared... likewise Ray of Frost for both Latalya and Mavic.  Is it at all likely either of them carried a scroll or wand of a cold-based spell?  (Damn it, with a name like 'Winterheart', Anastasia should be carrying a Frost longsword, not a Holy one!)



Fire Giants = Mavic becomes Mavic "Too Cool" Larigne. 


			
				WarpSpeedSmurphy said:
			
		

> Hmm.  Normal approach to dealing with wizards is to send someone to grapple them.  I'm not sure that works when the wizard's a fire giant!



_Ray of Enfeeblement_ + _Evard's Black Tentacles_? If we knew a Fire Giant mage was coming into the picture then Mavic would probably exchange_ Mass Cat's Grace_ for _Antimagic Field_ too.

The only problem I see is that Mavic is likely to give any poor scarred abomination of a dwarf the rest he asks for immediately, rather than trying to calm him down or any such nonsense. If he's not knowing himself enough to have come to grips with things already then he's not likely to know any good Intel for killing more giants either. Mavic would just chalk it up to another horrible thing done to people of his country and that he'd done in the name of his country and not worry about it... So, just saying, either Mavic shouldn't be there for some reason or someone more noble (or at least with a persuasive argument) should have stepped up and kept Mavic from executing a wizard-old-skool-bare-knuckle-coup-de-grace on the poor guy.

Ugly Dwarf: "Ooooo, Poor me. I want to die!"
Mavic: "Sure thing buddy, you shall be avenged." *crack* 
Narrator: "FATALITY. MAVIC WINS!"

Or something like that.



Mavic's fun.


----------



## Seeten

Before I do the full respond to Branding's Synopsis, let me just mention Anastasia will urge Mavic away from attempting to be "Helpful" with the desperate dwarves.

Also, Do the Dark Elves detect as evil? If so, how does the rest of the group react? I wont attack and endanger lives, but...I wont exactly bargain with the devil, either.


----------



## Hypersmurf

James Heard said:
			
		

> If things got bloody, or distracting, he'd be more likely to Hold Monster the damned thing and let everyone finish it off.




No, he wouldn't 

_*Hold Monster*
Enchantment (Compulsion) [Mind-Affecting]
This spell functions like hold person, except that it affects any living creature that fails its Will save.

*Hold Person*
Enchantment (Compulsion) [Mind-Affecting]
The subject becomes *paralyzed* and freezes in place.

*Elemental Type:* An elemental is a being composed of one of the four classical elements: air, earth, fire, or water.
An elemental possesses the following traits (unless otherwise noted in a creature’s entry). 

Immunity to poison, sleep effects, *paralysis*, and stunning.
_
That's why I suggested Tasha's... Hold Monster works on giants just fine, but doesn't do a damned thing against an elemental 

And it's not 'bloody' or 'distracting' that worries me.  It's 'elemental escapes down the shaft with a Fly speed of 100 ft (perfect) to warn everyone we're coming'.  Magic Missiles don't stop that from happening 

-Hyp.


----------



## James Heard

Hyp said:
			
		

> And it's not 'bloody' or 'distracting' that worries me. It's 'elemental escapes down the shaft with a Fly speed of 100 ft (perfect) to warn everyone we're coming'. Magic Missiles don't stop that from happening



Mavic's not likely to be particularly concerned with that, since the worst/best outcome for that is that the monsters come out to fight instead of waiting inside to be slaughtered. We're intent on taking a location right? If they're going to run then we still win. If they prep beforehand then we can wait it out. If they make more traps then we can bypass them. Basically the overall strategy doesn't change, and their preparations in the event of a lack of surprise aren't tremendously troubling to someone like Mavic. If it were incredibly important ("Wait till I tell my Master Iuz that you're here!") then Mavic would just seal up the tunnel completely with Fabricate. Or kick a random party member wearing better armor down the hole to slay the thing before it started yammering. It's an unimportant encounter- because there are no giants involved, nor anything remotely suggesting that the thing is anything more than a sentient mobile trap. It's probably more annoying than anything else to Mavic, whose not going to "waste" anything that he'd rather be using on giants and giants' minions on "some dumb elemental". 

Seriously, given a choice of targets between a couple of runty hill giants in rags and a decent-sized dragon Mavic would probably kill the hill giants first - even if one of the other characters was getting eaten. The dragon would just be a distraction, and obstacle to dispatch after killing the giants so he could get back to the business of killing more giants. Killing giants is how Mavic feels good about himself for being such a jerk, probably the only way besides keeping his strays that he's collected clothed and fed. Yes, he's smart enough to know better. But he's more than a little bit nihilistic too. *shrug* Magic Missiles are easy to justify on just about anything though, so MM is probably what everyone's going to get from Mavic on distractions. That's the reason he's got two wands, he's probably blown through many more MM wands than that too.


----------



## Hypersmurf

James Heard said:
			
		

> Mavic's not likely to be particularly concerned with that, since the worst/best outcome for that is that the monsters come out to fight instead of waiting inside to be slaughtered. We're intent on taking a location right? If they're going to run then we still win. If they prep beforehand then we can wait it out. If they make more traps then we can bypass them. Basically the overall strategy doesn't change, and their preparations in the event of a lack of surprise aren't tremendously troubling to someone like Mavic.




[blink]

Knowledge (Arcana)
Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering)
Knowledge (Geography)
Knowledge (History)
Knowledge (Local)
Knowledge (Nature)
Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty)
Knowledge (Religion)
Knowledge (The Planes)

... well, okay, Knowledge (Tactics) doesn't feature.

But the synopsis notes "The next day you make your way to the top of the mountain, employing some stealth."  Why are we employing stealth, if he's of the opinion that if we let them know we're coming, it just makes it easier to find them?

If the guardian was a flying invisible giant, Mavic would take him out fast before he could give an alert, but since it's an elemental, it's allowed to go tell all the other giants to get ready for us?

Letting the elemental get away makes it _less likely he gets to kill giants_.  Stopping the elemental from giving an alert means _more giants get killed_.  If killing giants is all that has meaning, then preventing that alert is a high priority!

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

James Heard said:
			
		

> Mavic's not likely to be particularly concerned with that, since the worst/best outcome for that is that the monsters come out to fight instead of waiting inside to be slaughtered. We're intent on taking a location right? If they're going to run then we still win. If they prep beforehand then we can wait it out. If they make more traps then we can bypass them. Basically the overall strategy doesn't change, and their preparations in the event of a lack of surprise aren't tremendously troubling to someone like Mavic. If it were incredibly important ("Wait till I tell my Master Iuz that you're here!") then Mavic would just seal up the tunnel completely with Fabricate. Or kick a random party member wearing better armor down the hole to slay the thing before it started yammering. It's an unimportant encounter- because there are no giants involved, nor anything remotely suggesting that the thing is anything more than a sentient mobile trap. It's probably more annoying than anything else to Mavic, whose not going to "waste" anything that he'd rather be using on giants and giants' minions on "some dumb elemental".



I'll just quickly put in my $.02 here to note that in IC-terms you are quite aware that one fire giant by itself is a CR 10 monster.  The idea that you'd be taking on more than a dozen (say CR 18), which you knew were there because of the escaped dwarven slave, in addition to any other minions they had around, might give you some pause.  Because of the ongoing war, more than a few giants you've had to deal with in the last five years have had class levels as well.  You definitely might think that a standard, frontal hack and slash might lead you to a quick and shallow grave in the foothills of the Crystalmists considering that at this point you're still 10th level.

Note that I have no truck with your characterization of this PC, just providing some extra information that would have crossed your mind.


----------



## Ranger Rick

Let me add my $.02.  I assume the employer would give us some intel/help.  Common sense says to gather scrolls to use.

Drow - To parlay or not to.  With my LN status, helping Drow directly/indirectly for a common goal is not a problem.  I realize using diplomancy/bluff (currently+18/+12) skill is not for other PCs, but George would use his skills to help to convince Anastasia and Layta to let the Drow go.

Air elemental - George does have a "hand of glory" and being cautious and having 20/20 hindsight, he would activate see invisibility.  Therefore, with a spot (something less than his current +17) he should be able to notice just about everything and help assist the others who use "see invisibility"/"true seeing" to notice everything as well.  

Enemy Mage - Sneak attack and invisibility ring and haste (boots of speed or scroll spell) should allow me to help incapacitate the mage.  Maybe back then I had a giant killer weapon which I no longer have and that would have assisted in the mage dispatch.

Enslaved Dwarves - Again using the diplomancy/bluff (currently+18/+12) skill, George would convince them to live and fight and have them leave with a favorable view of our party


----------



## Scotley

A couple of thoughts on how Morley could contribute to this latest story--he would be in favor of the parley with the Drow, knowing little of Elves he would not immediately assume that the darkskinned variety are evil and they are not related to the current mission and thus avoiding a confrontation is logical. Having worked with Dragons and Harpies, a dark skinned elf is not a stretch for Morley. He has little in the way of specialized magic to deal with the elemental, but his winged boots would make it easier for him to engage the creature in melee, which is how he would be most valuable. I think that during his career Morley faced a lot of presure to continue the glory of his first battle. That amazing shot would be hard to live up to. He might well have experimented with alchemist's fire and alchemist's frost arrows. The later could have been employeed against the mold while safely passing over using the boots. Morley has focused his favored enemy ability on giants and thus, is pretty effective against them--especially when using his bow. He would likely have strongly encouraged the modified dwarves to go on with life despite changes to their bodies. He would likely have told stories of those who were successful survivers of the war despite losses and injury. Among those would be the story of a simple farm boy refugee who arose to glory because he refused to accept defeat.


----------



## Scotley

On games--as you said the disappearing DM or player syndrome is an issue, one which we'll just have to trust one another to resolve. I wish there were some sort of relibility rating system to help avoid this. Of course a total party kill sorta takes its toll on the game too.    Next up I would say that player and character conflict is an issue. Sometimes players or their characters just can't get along. I am dealing with this in a game I am running right now. Also, the same sorts of things that lead to bordom or dissatisfaction with face to face games apply here. The DM should encouage the group to stay together or at least make sure everyone has something to do when there is a split. Make sure everyone has a chance to contribute when building adventures. Based on the synopses so far I'd say you have a good handle on this one. Posting schedules can be an issue too. Some players are only able to post week days while others are weekend posters. The players who can post all the time can be a problem too, because they tend to steal the spotlight from the less regular posters. Sucessful groups seem to be the ones that can find a balance that is satisfying for all the players. 

As for good IC threads, I'll list a couple of games that I enjoyed very much with the unfortunate report that both games ended due to the disappearing DM. 

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=105607

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=92996

Just for fun I'll list my current game as well as it might be instructive given that I am a first time play by post DM though I have many many years of gaming and DM'ing experience and have played in several online games. The players in this game were all new to play by post and a couple are new to the current edition of the game. I've made some mistakes and we've hit a few bumps along the way, but overall it has been fun. 

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=123248


----------



## Thanee

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Hmm... what rhymes with 'half-illithid'?




Half-derro, half-illithid,
with a twitching eye-lid?



Bye
Thanee


----------



## Thanee

Some quick comments:

Latayla's Sword - Somewhere between the last and this synopsis, Latalya will have received her sword. Not entirely sure where. Maybe a cooperation between dwarven metalworkers and an elven enchanter. I suppose, it could have been put to good use here.

Drow - Latalya will actually urge the party to accept the offer of diplomacy. Her reasoning is, that drow that wish to parlay are a rare breed, which should be kept inside the cycle. 

Air Elemental - Noctra can blindsense it, that would probably have let to some _See Invisibility_ to be turned on or a _Glitterdust_ to then dispatch the guardian.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## James Heard

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> But the synopsis notes "The next day you make your way to the top of the mountain, employing some stealth."  Why are we employing stealth, if he's of the opinion that if we let them know we're coming, it just makes it easier to find them?



Mavic wouldn't particularly be happy about the stealth thing either, but since it's written into the script I suppose someone must have convinced him. Mavic is probably more ok with hit and run raiding than sneaking. He's not _particularly_ honorable, but I figure his tactics of choice probably owe more to holier-than-thou paladin brothers than rogues. He's just too bloodthirsty and too morally flexible to actually employ those tactics as they were intended. He probably considers himself as "better" than actual paladins, because when he employs LG tactics he "gets what needs doing done" rather than shying away at the last moment because it wouldn't be fair.


			
				Still Smurphy said:
			
		

> If the guardian was a flying invisible giant, Mavic would take him out fast before he could give an alert, but since it's an elemental, it's allowed to go tell all the other giants to get ready for us?



It's not "allowed", but Mavic's not likely to consider it a credible threat or target right from the start. If he were overruled in the matter of stealth, there's likely to be some fair bit of pouting involved too. 


			
				HypCoolSmurphy said:
			
		

> Letting the elemental get away makes it _less likely he gets to kill giants_.  Stopping the elemental from giving an alert means _more giants get killed_.  If killing giants is all that has meaning, then preventing that alert is a high priority!



Mavic's doesn't give giants that sort of credit really. They're dumb, brutish creatures that rely on their strength rather than their wits. When you kick them, they kick back. They lack willpower and mental fortitude, and they're lesser creatures. He recognizes that they're dangerous, but in the same way wild dogs are dangerous. That is, even if they've got alerts going on they're not likely to respond in an appropriate or credible fashion to Mavic. Yes, I know it doesn't make a lot of logical sense. Mavic's beyond "normal" logic though, he's a hate and spite-filled racist. The only way he thinks he's ever going to prove those qualities as not inappropriate is to kill giants and become a hero, which he knows deep inside he isn't. 

If giants are the only real evil you focus on, to keep yourself from feeling dirty and evil yourself, then every other evil is merely an obstacle that you're not going to pay much attention to.


			
				Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> You definitely might think that a standard, frontal hack and slash might lead you to a quick and shallow grave in the foothills of the Crystalmists considering that at this point you're still 10th level.



But if he thought that would be the best way to kill the most giants then Mavic would all for it...

Seriously, I think Anastasia and Latalya are just going to have to provide morality and reason to Mavic a lot of times. They're the only people around that are likely to prompt any natural respect from Mavic. I should have made a more reasonable cohort.  :\


----------



## Thanee

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Hmm.  Normal approach to dealing with wizards is to send someone to grapple them.  I'm not sure that works when the wizard's a fire giant!




Annis Hags can grapple quite well. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Thanee

James Heard said:
			
		

> Seriously, I think Anastasia and Latalya are just going to have to provide morality and reason to Mavic a lot of times. They're the only people around that are likely to prompt any natural respect from Mavic.




I guess that could work. As an elf, Latalya will generally prefer caution over blindly charging in. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Hypersmurf

James Heard said:
			
		

> Mavic's doesn't give giants that sort of credit really. They're dumb, brutish creatures that rely on their strength rather than their wits. When you kick them, they kick back. They lack willpower and mental fortitude, and they're lesser creatures. He recognizes that they're dangerous, but in the same way wild dogs are dangerous. That is, even if they've got alerts going on they're not likely to respond in an appropriate or credible fashion to Mavic. Yes, I know it doesn't make a lot of logical sense. Mavic's beyond "normal" logic though, he's a hate and spite-filled racist. The only way he thinks he's ever going to prove those qualities as not inappropriate is to kill giants and become a hero, which he knows deep inside he isn't.




I'm just... concerned.  I can see Reivik trusting Anastasia, and Latalya, and Morley, and George, as comrades-in-arms and companions, people he'd trust with his life and to watch his back.  But I can also see him saying "Sure, I'll do your mission... as long as that psycho isn't on board."

Someone who chooses to ignore tactical considerations and realities in favour of his own version of reality isn't someone safe to work with.



> But if he thought that would be the best way to kill the most giants then Mavic would all for it...




... but it isn't.  It's the best way to kill the fewest giants, because once you die, you can't kill any more of them...

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Scotley:  Thanks for your responses to my questions.   I'll take a look at the IC threads you mentioned.


----------



## Thanee

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Now that we're about to embark on the IC game I'd like to ask your advice on a subject.  In your experience, what are things that kill a PbP game?  I'm not talking individual preferences here, I'm asking what things objectively can kill a game?  The most obvious one, of course, is if the GM stops posting, so you don't have to mention that




Breaks. Too many and too large breaks. Especially from the DM.
Losing interest. Either as the DM or a player.

As the DM, generally don't wait too long for a response from a specific player. To push things along, it's ok to take over the control over the PC for a moment. Of course, one should try to act reasonable and within character.

As a player, don't just wait for the DM to throw you something to reply to. Also reply to the other characters' questions and/or actions, and every now and then, also post something (especially, if there seems to be nothing else to do for you), just to let the others know you are around. Usually a good opportunity to bring out some character traits, too. Not every post needs to be super-relevant for the plot.



> ADDENDUM:  Would you mind pointing out some (in your opinion) really great IC threads?  I'd be interested in getting your opinions.




CLICK

That is (was) one game, where the DM did an outstanding job IMHO. 

And I think this here is one of the better OOC threads. The idea with the background synopsis is pretty cool! 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## James Heard

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> I'm just... concerned.  I can see Reivik trusting Anastasia, and Latalya, and Morley, and George, as comrades-in-arms and companions, people he'd trust with his life and to watch his back.  But I can also see him saying "Sure, I'll do your mission... as long as that psycho isn't on board."



That's fine with Mavic though, since he wouldn't particularly care whether or not everyone hated his guts if there were giants to kill though he'd be disgusted at anyone who let their personal feelings get in the way a chance to kill giants. To be certain, Mavic isn't there to watch Reivik's back. It's just not likely to come to mind as important all of the time.


			
				Hypersmurph said:
			
		

> Someone who chooses to ignore tactical considerations and realities in favour of his own version of reality isn't someone safe to work with.



People who take time off to spend valuable training time wasted on learning ancient dwarven  chants aren't anyone Mavic would particularly pick as his first choice either.  The singing and the poem writing?   Mavic probably feels generous that he's letting Reivik come along, whether or not that's really the case at all. Reivik's probably the embedded journalist to Mavic.


> ... but it isn't.  It's the best way to kill the least giants, because once you die, you can't kill any more of them...



Either he's less important than a lot of giants in which case he's proved himself by taking a bunch out or he's important enough that death would just be an interruption while loyal Sterich citizens recognized his greatness and raised him. He's not a cleric, but he _is_ as devout follower of Wee Jas. Even in death he'd be proving and testing himself.

If you can't wrap your head around it any other way, consider that my creepy cohort is the cleric. If she's the only high enough level cleric around to travel with then maybe Reivik can come down from his high tactical standards long enough to recognize that _she's_ useful whether or not Reivik thinks that Mavic is a ticking time bomb personality.

Anyways, if Mavic were less flawed then he'd be less interesting to get inside his head. Basically I think he's a nutjob on a teetering precarious balance right now. Either he slips deeper into the darkness, or he somehow comes to grips with everything. I mean really, eventually the war is over, right? And basically Mavic's got a bunch of ideals that he doesn't exactly follow and that he's pushed aside in favor of expediency. I figure he either goes NE and ends up the lonely guy raising zombies to fix his tower, or he eventually repents and goes LG on everyone.


----------



## Hypersmurf

James Heard said:
			
		

> People who take time off to spend valuable training time wasted on learning ancient dwarven  chants aren't anyone Mavic would particularly pick as his first choice either.




Eminently fair 

Okay - well, the synopses have certainly helped in that respect.  Reivik's gonna be awfully wary of Mavic's state of mind...!  

-Hyp.


----------



## Ranger Rick

Mavric = psychotic?


Let me say a few things about a PC's intense hatred. It is good as long as it is tempered by reason. As a PC gets older reason does occur. That is the logic behind wisdom getting plused up in old age.

In real life, those that survive have learned to control their hate. In 1ed I had a PC with an intense hatred. After 2 failed assination attempts that where littlerally a die roll between life & the trash pile, it made sense to calm down. The GM made some obvious traps & back than assination was a percentile live or die roll. He informed me he was going to keep doing these attempts as I grew more powerful.   I learned real quick to tone it down.

I would think after several years of war and experience, Mavric would learn to control his hate and relent to stealth.

Controlling hate is not the same as making it not so severe. In fact the hate can grow. 

I would not be surprised to see George egg on his hatred though.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I have seen PBP die because the GM can not post as much. In my opinion the GM probably needs to post twice as much as the players. This shows that he is moving the game along and is responding to everyone.

Branding I think that so far you are on track with this.


----------



## Seeten

Anastasia has her sword, Clarity, by now, and her lance, Conviction, as well. Mayaheine provides and protects. 

Parlay with Drow. Well,  +21 diplomacy, so negotiations are a strong point. What do I know about drow? I have no particular knowledges that cover it. Assuming I dont know a drow from a normal elf, I'll assume, if they seem evil, that they are untrustworthy, but self serving, and negotiate from that standpoint.

Why doesnt a glitterdust + lance charge fix the air elemental? I am sure it does outrageous dmg to any single target guy. Can my horse make it up there?

Once we descend, its a horse free zone, which is a sad thing.  I'll need to rely on divine might and shield, and large amounts of smite. Holy works against fire giants, so they have something they can fear. Clarity. Take that, evil monsters!

I dont sense any great speechifying opportunities, except maybe with the drow and dwarves, but Ana doesnt understand self pity, so Morley's effort is better placed anyway.


----------



## Seeten

On the subject of Mavic, Anastasia will absolutely not allow any mindless killing, behind the back antics, finger cutting off answer getting sessions, or other on the brink episodes. That is to say, she will use her force of personality to quell that sort of thing the second it reappears.

It is ok to hate giants. Anastasia hates them. It is ok to want revenge, Anastasia is the Paladin of a goddess of Vengeance. It is ok to kill as many giants as you can to make your homeland safe, and Anastasia will help everyone do so.

It is not ok to recklessly endanger lives, comrades especially, or even your own, murder in cold blood something that isnt evil(murder in cold blood all the giants you like, but dont torture) and it isnt ok to just basically be the next thing to evil.

Anastasia has standards. She doesnt hold people to her standards, and she doesnt care what you talk about over the campfire at night, "I want to kill every giant on earth...slowly" whatever, but she does care about actions, quantifiable actions that can get others killed. Anyone who is a danger to the mission, is staying back at camp, no matter how powerful. Anyone who cannot follow the battleplan, even if he is the genius who thought it up, isnt trustworthy enough to risk life and limb with. She also cares about her friends, Mavic included.

So, I guess what I am saying, is this: I dont think Mavic would ever drop to the depths of insanity around Anastasia, because she'd turn on him and unleash the glare of doom. Anastasia is jovial and kind, and spends most of her time laughing and having fun, but she can turn that off, in an instant, to cold calculating fury. And woe, literally, to those on the other end of it. Not only is she a force of nature, personality wise, her god fully backs her up.

So. Go mostly as nuts as you want, as long as you dont endanger anyone. I know Mavic has mentioned "Unless Anastasia" several times, so I assume he is aware of the above, but this is the expectation. It probably happened once, a couple years ago, I dont imagine it'd ever happen a second time.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

As the PCs reactions to the drow have been mentioned a number of times by different people I thought I'd address how much you do or do not know about the dark elves.

You all know quite a bit, mostly from hearsay I'd say, unless you want to say that you've had personal dealings with them before.  You know for a fact that they were behind the first, unsuccessful giant invasion 14 years ago, and that they partially absorbed Istivin into a black globe of power at that time.  They were trying to absorb the city into Lolth's level of the Abyss, known as the Demonweb Pits, but were ultimately thwarted by a powerful group of adventurers.  They were never seen in large numbers in Sterich, preferring to let the giants to get their hands dirty.

The elves in the group would have been taught some basic information about the drow (strengths, weaknesses) during their upbringing.

Everybody knows that they are very cunning and sly, and are not to be underestimated.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Seeten said:
			
		

> Why doesnt a glitterdust + lance charge fix the air elemental? Can my horse make it up there?




"The next day you make your way to the top of the mountain, employing some stealth."

It doesn't _sound_ horse-friendly... 

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Seeten said:
			
		

> Why doesnt a glitterdust + lance charge fix the air elemental? I am sure it does outrageous dmg to any single target guy. Can my horse make it up there?



I didn't describe the area around the Witch's Hump much, but I was imagine it as a smallish wooded mountain.  A horse could be lead but not ridden, and would obviously have a hard time being very stealthy, unless magical methods were used.  A paladin's mount is certainly a lot smarter than a regular horse, and could probably make it up there without too much trouble, but would have similar stealth issues.


----------



## Seeten

Ok, pas de horse.

Um, I am the unstealthy, by the by. I am not even approaching stealthy. I make Mavic's watch me come you bastards approach look stealthy.

-6 ACP in full plate. Stealth? I hope someone cast silence on my armor.


----------



## James Heard

I suppose Mavic could cast deafness on everyone and just let them _think_ they're all being really quiet....


----------



## Hypersmurf

Seeten said:
			
		

> Stealth? I hope someone cast silence on my armor.




I carry a wand.

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

James Heard said:
			
		

> I suppose Mavic could cast deafness on everyone and just let them _think_ they're all being really quiet....



LOL!!!


----------



## Seeten

Hehehe.

I really do like our party. Good dynamic. I think this: Look back at whats come before should be the norm on these.


----------



## James Heard

Seeten said:
			
		

> So. Go mostly as nuts as you want, as long as you dont endanger anyone. I know Mavic has mentioned "Unless Anastasia" several times, so I assume he is aware of the above, but this is the expectation. It probably happened once, a couple years ago, I dont imagine it'd ever happen a second time.



Actually I imagine it's a slow, painful process really. Raised around a bunch of older brothers of the Lawful Stupid variety (perceived or actual) his whole mindset revolves around chasing and avoiding that. I imagine a lot of times Mavic's a tired taskmaster who reads too much and goes around trying to engender support for the war and be the person he truly wants to be. When giants are involved though, he sometimes just slips. He's smart enough to know it's all his own fault, but not mentally strong enough to not lay the blame for everything in his life on anyone but giants. He might feel some sort of shame at getting caught torturing giants, but he'd not likely stop the inclination and it wouldn't stop him from being a sweet guy around kids and a gentleman when he's not actually fighting. I'm muttering through Mavic's inclinations and personality core more than you might even notice on the norm depending on your experiences with him.

As for him growing past it, honestly I like to keep things like that open for actual play. If Mavic resolved his issues "off screen" without some actual effort then I'd feel like I were cheating myself. "And then he realized that he'd wasted his life on hating" just seems like a letdown really. Figuring out if he's going to be a good person or a villain seems to be the most important aspect of the character, and I don't often get the opportunity to create personalities like his. Anyways, apologies if he's a bit...harsh and hard to swallow. Characters like this are easier to dish out at higher levels, since characters created and leveled in game like this tend to have their complexities run their courses. 11 actual levels of play with this guy would be awfully depressing, but with him sort of running in and out as a thread of other character's lives doesn't seem like it would be that bad.


----------



## Seeten

I dont mean to "resolve the core issues" I mean the "Magic missile the air elemental and possibly kill everyone" instead of "Insert better plan here", etc.

Anastasia is LG, but she isnt a prude, or an ice queen, or an idiot. She isnt out to change anyone, or even convert them, she's out to save Sterich, and drive out the invaders. Along the way, she'll enjoy time with friends, and such, and make allowances for uniqueness, and what have you. 

I guess what I am saying is being with Anastasia opens you up to her incredibly upbeat personality, her easy smiles, even in the face of adversity, and her kindness, and being too dark opens you up to the other side of her, which isnt quite as nice a side to be on.  Given a choice of one or the other, I'd choose the upbeat side as often as I could. YMMV =)


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Greetings everyone,

I'm in the process of writing the first IC post (it hasn't been posted as of right now), but I wanted to talk about a few things first.

To begin with, I want to thank everyone for giving the whole Adventure Synopses idea not just the Old College Try, but wholeheartedly embracing it.  By throwing yourself into the character development the way you did, you really have brought the PCs to life for me.  I think all the "work" you did in this thread will serve us all well in the IC game.

Having said that, I think it's probably a good idea if we focus on the main plotline of the IC game, which will be trying to figure out what the heck is wrong in Istivin.  I have a feeling that in a PbP game, you spend so much time working through just the main plot points, that you rarely get the chance to deal with side stories.  I will attempt to keep on introducing plot elements tailored towards individual characters, just to keep things interesting, but they'll probably be more for flavor.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> I'm in the process of writing the first IC post...




Ooh... anticip... ation!

-Hyp.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Seeten said:
			
		

> Um, I am the unstealthy, by the by. I am not even approaching stealthy. I make Mavic's watch me come you bastards approach look stealthy.
> 
> -6 ACP in full plate. Stealth? I hope someone cast silence on my armor.




There's a nifty new spell in CAdv - "Iron Silence".  Bard 2/Cleric 2, removes ACP for Hide and Move Silently on one suit of armor/3 levels, duration 1 hr/level.  Mavic's cohort is one level off being able to handle all three suits of plate armor 

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

I've posted the first introductory IC post HERE!

Individual posts concerning background and possible side-quests will soon follow.


----------



## Thanee

Eventually, I plan to update the background in my character sheet with the bits from the synopsis, which would feature Latalya and maybe a few other bits and pieces, that come to mind (like how she aquired her sword; some kind of reward most probably).

Bye
Thanee


----------



## James Heard

Yeah, I think I probably need to revise Mavic a little so that any of the Sterich Police can readily profile him in case he goes off the deep end and the vague little tidbits that have been concluded from the synopsis'.

I'm trying to decide whether or not Istivin would trouble Mavic enough that he'd just consider it as a continuation of the war, or if he'd just feel lost and small without someone to fight and people thanking him for being a vicious so and so. Oh John Rambo, where are you now that I need to channel you?


----------



## James Heard

I thought we were waiting for individual intros before we began posting in the IC? Am I two posts behind and ticking people off, as usual?


----------



## Thanee

Hmm...



			
				Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Individual posts concerning background and possible side-quests will soon follow.




If that (see above post) was what you meant, then just edit the individual introductions into the first post and we can likewise edit our posts to accomodate. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

James Heard said:
			
		

> I thought we were waiting for individual intros before we began posting in the IC? Am I two posts behind and ticking people off, as usual?



I was thinking that everyone could post a little bit about their time in Fitela, or perhaps what they had been up to until then.  Once everyone has done that (although that's not mandatory of course) we can continue in the "present" which is in Istivin Crossing.

The individual posts I mention above will be more about other things which you might do in Istivin.


----------



## Thanee

BO: [SBLOCK]Why only am I having this feeling, that our "not-remembering" of the capital was not just that, but rather have magical roots and is somehow connected with the visit of the Drow parlay group in that recent backround synopsis...

Also, was there actual memory loss, like "Istivin, what was that again?" or was it more akin to "Oh, right, Istivin, I havn't been there for a long while." ?

Was it just us six (or seven with cohort), or do other people also have not thought about it, from what we heard?

Maybe I'm just paranoid... [/SBLOCK]

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee:
[SBLOCK]The memory was definitely more along the lines of "Oh right, Istivin" although you do think it's weird that you haven't thought of it in a while.  You can convince yourself (if you so choose) that this might just be memory playing tricks.  In a world where enchantments spells exist, I would think that people would be pretty sensitve to the possible effects of them.

Now that you think about it, nobody has mentioned it much lately, although as noted before, you've been away from this area for a while.

Basically what I'm saying is that you think it's a little weird, but you're not totally convinced that there's anything malicious behind it.  I guess which side of the "simply forgotten/magically manipulated" argument you end up on depends a lot on your basic personality.[/SBLOCK]


----------



## Thanee

> but I believe the answer to your question, is that the High Paymaster of Zilchus had already visited Godakin Keep before performing his ceremonial duties in Fitela.




That part took me a moment to figure out, too. But eventually I realized, that it only makes sense that way. 

BTW, at one point you called the High Paymaster "high priest", at least I suppose this is a simple typo. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Thanee

BO: [SBLOCK]Ok. I'm mainly wondering, because the drow tried something with Istivin last time (that thing with the dark globe you mentioned above). It's all just one big conspiracy to do something with Istivin!  It must be. Well, I guess we will find out eventually... Anyways, Latalya will keep these thoughts in mind, tho she is hardly convinced and therefore keeps them for herself for now.[/SBLOCK]

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> BTW, at one point you called the High Paymaster "high priest", at least I suppose this is a simple typo.



Actually it wasn't a typo, it was just a more generic term for his title.  He's the head of the church in Sterich, and his official title is High Paymaster (among many other titles).  High priest is like calling a Catholic bishop a high clergyman, which is why it was not in caps.


----------



## Thanee

Ah, I see. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Hypersmurf

Just a quick note - I'll be out of town for about two days.  Sorry about the timing!

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Just a quick note - I'll be out of town for about two days.  Sorry about the timing!



No problem Mr. Smurf, thanks for the heads up.

FYI, I'll be updating the "What do you know?" post (#5) on the IC thread, so you should check that out from time to time.


----------



## Thanee

@Ranger Rick: I think the "windmills" part was just a thought, not spoken loudly. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Ranger Rick

Thanee said:
			
		

> @Ranger Rick: I think the "windmills" part was just a thought, not spoken loudly.
> 
> Bye
> Thanee




Damn color blindness....Ok Let me go and reword it.

Edit: Actually, no I won't.  I have been with Morely on and off for 6 years.  It would make sense that even if he thought it, I would have sensed his feelings/body language/etc. enough to realize what he was thinking.

I would think the Don Quixote quote is more out of place than finishing a comrade in arms thought.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> I would think the Don Quixote quote is more out of place than finishing a comrade in arms thought.



You'd think so, but Don Quixote is actually the avatar of a diety who roams the planes in search of people to inspire with his heroic folly


----------



## Scotley

*Posting Conventions?*

BO, 

Most DM's list a guide to posting for their games. I usually put thoughts in _gray italics_ and have everyone pick a color for things their character says aloud as well as using quotationmarks. Some folks like to use a specific color for OOC comments as well. However, I see that Thanee uses italics for speech and everyone has different ideas about color use, so it could get confusing--and indeed already has. If Ranger Rick is in fact colorblind we should accomdate that as well. Some direction from you might facilitate understanding. Just my two copper's worth.


----------



## Ranger Rick

Scotley said:
			
		

> BO,
> 
> Most DM's list a guide to posting for their games. I usually put thoughts in _gray italics_ and have everyone pick a color for things their character says aloud as well as using quotationmarks. Some folks like to use a specific color for OOC comments as well. However, I see that Thanee uses italics for speech and everyone has different ideas about color use, so it could get confusing--and indeed already has. If Ranger Rick is in fact colorblind we should accomdate that as well. Some direction from you might facilitate understanding. Just my two copper's worth.




I was joking about the color blindness.  However, I can not use the color function or font format due to my PC.  I either need to write my colors in MSword and copy it or do the [color = xxxx ] coding.


----------



## Scotley

Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> I was joking about the color blindness.  However, I can not use the color function or font format due to my PC.  I either need to write my colors in MSword and copy it or do the [color = xxxx ] coding.




I suspected you were, but my job is about accomdating people with disabilities, so I get a little carried away sometimes. 

You might be able to fix your color limitations. Go to the 'my account menu' and select 'my user control panel' one there you should a choice to 'edit options' on the left pane. Once there scroll down to the bottom and look for 'Message Editor Interface'. There are three different choices there. Try each of the three choices one at a time and see which one works best for your browser/operating system. Someone with more technical knowledge may be able to give you better advice, but that may help. Be sure you are running an updated browser. Are you using aol by any chance?


----------



## Ranger Rick

Scotley said:
			
		

> I suspected you were, but my job is about accomdating people with disabilities, so I get a little carried away sometimes.
> 
> You might be able to fix your color limitations. Go to the 'my account menu' and select 'my user control panel' one there you should a choice to 'edit options' on the left pane. Once there scroll down to the bottom and look for 'Message Editor Interface'. There are three different choices there. Try each of the three choices one at a time and see which one works best for your browser/operating system. Someone with more technical knowledge may be able to give you better advice, but that may help. Be sure you are running an updated browser. Are you using aol by any chance?




No AOL and I am behind several comapany firewalls.  I will try what you said though.

Thanks  It worked.  I need to ping that mad austrian mod for not letting me know about this.


----------



## Thanee

I actually use the code-tags for color and everything else. No fancy button-clicking for me. 

I generally put thoughts in italics and do not color them, so they do not stand out so much; speech is within quotation marks (“...”) and colored, and I also write it in italics to further differentiate it from the narrative text.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Scotley said:
			
		

> BO,
> 
> Most DM's list a guide to posting for their games. I usually put thoughts in _gray italics_ and have everyone pick a color for things their character says aloud as well as using quotationmarks. Some folks like to use a specific color for OOC comments as well. However, I see that Thanee uses italics for speech and everyone has different ideas about color use, so it could get confusing--and indeed already has. If Ranger Rick is in fact colorblind we should accomdate that as well. Some direction from you might facilitate understanding. Just my two copper's worth.



I'm pretty laissez-faire when it comes to posting conventions, as long as it is clear and consistant.  It doesn't bother me if different people use different methods, once again, as long as it is clear and consistant.  If anyone gets confused or has trouble reading someone's posts, say something here and we'll address it.

This does bring up a related issue, which is dice rolling.  I like to roll most of the dice in non-combat situations, especially if I don't want you to know how well you did on a particular skill check.  Just let me know if you want to make a skill check.  In combat, I'll let you do your own dice rolling for attack and damage (and anything else related), and then will describe the effects.  I'd prefer it if you use one of the many online dice rollers.  How does that sound?


----------



## Thanee

I only see one problem with that...

In combat, I suppose, we post actions for the round and you will resolve them in order then.
That's how it is usually done (resolving every action seperately takes way too much time).

Given that, it's just natural, that declared actions will not always work, make sense (after some other actions have been resolved), and so on.

In this case, unless the player had some sense of precognition and gave directions, it's for the DM to alter the PC's action for the round accordingly (sometimes a simple delay will do, sometimes a change of targets, sometimes a whole new action has to be done, where I (when I DM) generally try to use only "simple actions" (move, attack, etc), and generally avoid using up spells and such for the PC; but that depends wholly on the situation at hand).

Anyways... because of this, rolling dice up front while declaring the action (there really is no other time to do this) might not work so well and you will often be required to roll other or additional dice. Working all of that in (including the inevitable errors, that will be done while rolling dice) and mixing it together is probably just more work, than picking up your d20 while writing up the post for the current round and rolling all the dice yourself.

Therefore, I would recommend that you (the DM) roll all dice all the time.

I just think it's easier for you that way. 

If you like it better, we can certainly also do it the other way, I'm not opposed to that or anything.

Invisible Castle has a pretty decent online dice roller, if we need one.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> Therefore, I would recommend that you (the DM) roll all dice all the time.
> 
> I just think it's easier for you that way.
> 
> If you like it better, we can certainly also do it the other way, I'm not opposed to that or anything.



Hmm, now that you explain it that way, it makes a lot of sense to do it this way.  I yield to your superior knowledge and post count


----------



## Scotley

I am happy to have you do all the dice rolling. In my current game I'm letting the players roll their own dice, but they are commited to posting pretty much every day. It does make things a good bit more confusing. We use invisible castle. If you look at the thread for my game you'll see it is more than a little chaotic to do it that way. I was trying to keep players used to only face to face games where they did all their rolling happy. We are making it work, but it is a real pain in the posterior. I have been resolving actions as they come in rather than posting summaries, which only adds to the madness. As I said above, I am more than happy to have you do all the dice rolling.


----------



## James Heard

I'd be happy to let anyone do the die rolling as well, mostly because I'm fairly anti-dice (to the consternation of every irl gamer I know) by long habit.

As for posting format, I like Sandy Brown so I pretty much just stick with it for dialog and twitter back in forth between grays for OOC mostly because I can never remember the right one. I tend to type them out longhand in notepad or something first unless I'm in a hurry. Thoughts...Sometimes italics, somtimes as internal dialog. I'm trying to find a natural space that keeps my normal writing tendencies intact as either one or the other, but I tend to use both in normal fiction so it's a little difficult. I've been debating whether or not I should use a different color tag for Mavic's follower's dialog too, for clarity.

Also, I've noticed my posts tend to be a little long? Is that a problem for anyone? Part of it is because, as has been noted, Mavic's a little apart from the rest of the 'boon & friendly companions' because of his being a PTS nutjob. The rest of the blame lies firmly with me talking/writing too much and not as much.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

James Heard said:
			
		

> Also, I've noticed my posts tend to be a little long? Is that a problem for anyone? Part of it is because, as has been noted, Mavic's a little apart from the rest of the 'boon & friendly companions' because of his being a PTS nutjob. The rest of the blame lies firmly with me talking/writing too much and not as much.



The length of the post didn't bother me at all, Mr. Heard.  I actually wanted to let you know that I was very impressed by your first IC post.  I liked the style, the content, everything.  Because of your cohort, you will be able to have long conversations "with yourself" so to speak, which is fine as long as you don't forget about everything else in the party


----------



## Scotley

I too was impressed with your post. I try to include such posts when I DM, but lately I've been too busy. I expect to reduce the number of games I am in by attrition. The problem is I keep getting tempted by new games. I should block new threads in the 'talking the talk' forum. The point is, if you have the time go for it. No complaints here.


----------



## Ranger Rick

BO go roll.


OOC Horses.  Do we all have mounts on board or not?  I never thought of that as we get ready to play.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> OOC Horses.  Do we all have mounts on board or not?  I never thought of that as we get ready to play.



My thought was that if you have a mount listed among your possessions (or as a companion) you have it.  If you want to change that now, go ahead, we'll grandfather it in.

Speaking of companions, Scotley, do you have one?  Do you want one?  It comes free with fries with your ranger.

ADDENDUM: All the spellcasters (you know who you are) should pick spells as well.


----------



## Seeten

Warning, I post %50 work and home, and cannot access invisible castle from there. (work)


----------



## Thanee

Speaking of spells, Latalya will use two free 3rd+ level slots in her standard spell selection together with two of the three unused uses/day from the second _Lesser Metamagic Rod of Extent_ to cast _Greater Magic Weapon_ on both her weapons every evening, before resting, unless they were needed for something else. Any left-over 4th+ level slots will be used for _Rary's Mnemonic Enhancer_ (2x 1st, 1x 2nd, 1x 3rd). With one additional 2nd level slot, she will make an _extended Familiar Pocket_ then, using the remaining daily use from the rod. The other slots are filled with _Arrowmind_, _Critical Strike_, _Bladeweave_ and _Phantom Steed_.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## James Heard

I'm off for the weekend (or some portion of the weekend) soon and won't be able to update until I get back. Hopefully everyone gets out of the hospital soon and the holiday visitors (sometimes it's inconvenient to live next to beautiful beaches) will peeter off for a while.


----------



## Ranger Rick

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> My thought was that if you have a mount listed among your possessions (or as a companion) you have it.  If you want to change that now, go ahead, we'll grandfather it in.
> 
> Speaking of companions, Scotley, do you have one?  Do you want one?  It comes free with fries with your ranger.
> 
> ADDENDUM: All the spellcasters (you know who you are) should pick spells as well.




In that case I will be with out a mount.  Maybe I can hitch a ride.


----------



## James Heard

Like I said in my post, I'm fairly sure that as long as everyone in the group is reasonably polite to Mavic's followers they'd lend mounts to get up into town as long as someone else led them back down so they weren't hiking themselves. They're soldiers, hurry up and wait is a mantra and they've all worked with everyone before (unless some of them are "reinforcements"). 

It's certainly not going to ruin their comfort or endanger them if they end up sitting around shooting the crap with sailors for a little while. I'm positive they'd feel more comfortable on the docks for a little while than hanging out in court, or talking about court, or even the suggestion that they'd have to go to court at some point. Who wants to stand at attention for that long?


----------



## Scotley

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> My thought was that if you have a mount listed among your possessions (or as a companion) you have it.  If you want to change that now, go ahead, we'll grandfather it in.
> 
> Speaking of companions, Scotley, do you have one?  Do you want one?  It comes free with fries with your ranger.
> 
> ADDENDUM: All the spellcasters (you know who you are) should pick spells as well.




I have a war horse could I add a pack animal?

Mmmm fries, I do want an animal companion and have mentioned him (a big dog named 'Beau') already in my posts, I have just been slow to stat him out. He is now added to my character post in the Rogue's Gallery. 

I have been working to compile a list of ranger spells from the various complete books and hope to have my selections up tonight or tomorrow at the latest. 

Finally, I still have several thousand gold unspent. I'd like to add a couple of ranger scrolls and a potion or three to my inventory and convert the remainder to gems if that is acceptable.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Scotley said:
			
		

> I have a war horse could I add a pack animal?



In one word, sure.



			
				Scotley said:
			
		

> Mmmm fries, I do want an animal companion and have mentioned him (a big dog named 'Beau') already in my posts, I have just been slow to stat him out. He is now added to my character post in the Rogue's Gallery.



Sounds good.  Don't forget to advance him/her!



			
				Scotley said:
			
		

> I have been working to compile a list of ranger spells from the various complete books and hope to have my selections up tonight or tomorrow at the latest.



Great, don't worry about having to post any of them, I have all the complete books (to the detriment of my credit card.)  And yes, I actually own a copy, not just a pirated PDF!  Man, I'm getting defensive in my old age ... well, early old age.



			
				Scotley said:
			
		

> Finally, I still have several thousand gold unspent. I'd like to add a couple of ranger scrolls and a potion or three to my inventory and convert the remainder to gems if that is acceptable.



This is a note for everyone else as well:  Feel free to keep on adding to your equipment and counting it as "I got this a while back."  The deadline for that will be once you step foot in Istivin.  After that, you'll actually have to find a vendor who sells whatever you are looking for.


----------



## Thanee

Do we have to step into Istivin?   

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> Do we have to step into Istivin?



No, of course not.  Just try not stepping into the city ... we'll see what happens.

OK, so I have to admit, I'm a bit fan of visual images to inspire role-playing, and set a mood.  I remember last year when I started an Iron Kingdoms campaign, I printed out a score of images and glued them on the wall next to the gaming table.  I don't know if anyone else enjoyed them, but I sure thought they were inspiring!

So I'm afraid you'll have to bear with me.  If pictures don't do anything for you, just skip this whole section.

Here's the one I've mentioned before.  Great image of soldiers fighting a REALLY pissed off giant (well actually it's supposed to be Kostchtchie, but don't worry, I'm not going to throw a CR 26 demon lord at you ... quite yet.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Here's another Dragon magazine cover (by Elmore) from my misspent youth which I thought is very appropriate to the whole Reconquista storyline.  Here's a team that found that this particular hill giant was a bit beyond them.







This is a small one, but it's the heraldric device of Sterich:


----------



## Scotley

I don't know about the rest of you, but the DM posting images of characters getting killed is making me feel nervous instead of inspired.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Scotley said:
			
		

> I don't know about the rest of you, but the DM posting images of characters getting killed is making me feel nervous instead of inspired.



LOL, I hadn't thought of it in that way.  Hmm, there might be something to that though.


----------



## James Heard

I'm just glad that Mavic shaved, and that he doesn't carry any illustrative weaponry that might be used as a starting off point for a visual of the giants punt-kicking him into Geoff.

I've had a radical change of plans, so I shouldn't leave on my roadtrip until sometime Saturday afternoon. Not only do people invite themselves to visit on holidays, they show up a day early. 

I'm trying to muddle up a timeline addition to Mavic (RICK! M A V I C, not Mavric! Mavric makes me think of Tom Cruise movies. I'm going to start singing "Danger Zone"!!! Pleeeease? ) 

Anyways, I'm not budging on into Istivin until I've double and tripled checked my nutjob for errors and clerical mistakes.


----------



## Ranger Rick

There is a reason I use simple names.  They are easy to remember.  Sorry.

FYI, I will be off line from this afternoon till Tuesday morning.


----------



## Thanee

Is it just me, or does that shield look like it won't be a whole lot of help on the first cover? 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Ranger Rick

BO,

I hope I did not go to far with George's character.  I will write in the guard's friendship part in recap 4&5.

Also, the competitive juices arose in me and I thought it was a great way to snub Antasia's boast thinking that she had a faster magicial horse and insuling the loser by calling him "george".

If it does not work with your plans, I could erase it all and just stand inline.


----------



## James Heard

Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> There is a reason I use simple names.  They are easy to remember.  Sorry.



Dude! It's 5 letters! It's less complex than Melissa or Johnson!!  It's right there with Smith!


----------



## Ranger Rick

James Heard said:
			
		

> Dude! It's 5 letters! It's less complex than Melissa or Johnson!!  It's right there with Smith!




Dude, it may be 5 letters but it is not as common as melissa johnson-smith.

Edit: James,
Oh and the King Galmoor fiasco was not my fault ffft 

Why would tallking about a veneral disease get the crowd into a panic?


----------



## Thanee

@James: Did you name your brothers or rather the one, which Latalya knows from her past?

Bye
Thanee


----------



## James Heard

Thanee said:
			
		

> @James: Did you name your brothers or rather the one, which Latalya knows from her past?




Yep, I think it's all in my mega-rogues gallery post. I think in the Timeline bit right now, but I'll eventually move it to someplace else where it can be seen a little more clearly. The timeline is currently at the end of Background. At the end of that post I've also got all the Reddogs named and semi-statted via "this is what a normal one looks like and this is how each is different". Buren or 'Cale" (which I have no idea why as of yet he would have two different names, maybe he adventured under a different name to "protect the family name") is the brother-adventurer. 



			
				Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> Edit: James,
> Oh and the King Galmoor fiasco was not my fault ffft



It's never anyone's fault.


			
				ranger rick said:
			
		

> Why would tallking about a veneral disease get the crowd into a panic?




How many illiterate peasants who've spent the last several years getting pounded on by giants know the difference between "venereal" and "cooties you catch from being _near _the pretty girl"? Disease isn't something I think I'd fun with in an environment where cholera and dysentary would have been pretty common for the last several years.

In any case, you're doing it to _Anastasia_. That's a lot like accusing Joan of Arc of shenanigans to get backstage at the Kiss concert in Mavic's eyes. Or to put in a more complex manner, Mavic idolizes Anastasia because of her honor and purity of spirit and anything that challenges that doesn't just say something bad about Anastasia it says something bad about Mavic's judgement. It would be like suggesting that Latalya had betrayed Mavic's brother, or that the Reddogs were cowards, or that Mavic was half-giant because his mom liked to drink heavily on hiking trips up into the Jotens. 

Better to pick on the dwarf  Reivik's just a warrior-dilettante fighting battles so he can sing showtunes about them...


----------



## Ranger Rick

My humble apologies.  I forgot you talking about how Mavic sees Anastasia.


----------



## Seeten

Anastasia just hopes to deflect it off. Probably not a good idea to panic the crowds and such. She doesnt look plagued, nor like the sort to be plagued, and she looks more trustworthy than George, plus her diplomacy is +21. Better safe then sorry.


----------



## James Heard

No problems, to be fair if I were the one playing a rogue everyone would have to be watching themselves around me a lot more. You know, like pouring buckets of fire ants into her armor while she was sleeping and telling everyone she was _actually_ a he ("Oh yeah, just check out the way it carries that sword. You ever see a lady do that, bub? Doubt me? Tell you what, I'll give you 10 gold if you just waltz right up there and prove me wrong, go ahead. It's a paladin, what is it going to do? Chop your head off for a little bad manners?")  

Mavic's too uptight though. He's like Batman, without the sense of humor and lighthearted banter.


----------



## Ranger Rick

Seeten said:
			
		

> Anastasia just hopes to deflect it off. Probably not a good idea to panic the crowds and such. She doesnt look plagued, nor like the sort to be plagued, and she looks more trustworthy than George, plus her diplomacy is +21. Better safe then sorry.





Aye on the crowds.  That is why I changed it to something non contagious.  And with my +18 diplomancy, I am not far behind.  Tack on a +12 bluff and I could do some convincing myself.

Along this topic.  How will we present ourselves in court.  I assume I would be silent with the king and if need be work/convince the "kings" cabinent to go our way?

PS I have one more reply IC when we get together. than I am done with the "tom foolery".


----------



## Branding Opportunity

This is a note to Rick, but it applies to everyone else as well.

The only problem I had with your whole "VD" post is that you posted the reactions and actions of people other than yourself.  That's my job as DM.  Yes, we are telling a story together, and all of you are as important to the story as I am, but by moving the plot forward in even the small way you did (talking to the guard and getting let past the checkpoint), you made my job more difficult, believe it or not.  I had an encounter planned out, which now will have to be changed.  The guard would not have just let you in, even if he had known you, even if you had been his brother.  They had orders not to do that.  That's why there's such a long line.

I'm not mad, by the way, but these kinds of boundaries are important to me for storytelling purposes.  Only post for your character.  It slows things down, yes, but otherwise things can get very complicated.  No hard feelings.   

P.S.:  Don't worry about editing the post.  We'll just deal with it as is and move on.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> Is it just me, or does that shield look like it won't be a whole lot of help on the first cover?



No, that guy is about to become pancake.


----------



## Thanee

Just edit this part, then everything should be fine. 



			
				Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> George continues on down the line and approaches the guards. He sees a familar face and walks toward him. The guard salutes him and calls him Col. Anarion. George salutes back and shakes his hand, clasps the guards bicep and proceeds to discuss former brother's in arms. After several minutes of chit chat the guard escorts George through the checkpoint's road block and he awaits Anastasia much further in. George asks his friend the guard "if Mavic, Latalya, Morley, and Revik can be let in without further delay?"




Removing the underlined part (and adding "and George himself" into the question after that part) should be all that's needed to keep things as they should be, right?

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> Removing the underlined part (and adding "and George himself" into the question after that part) should be all that's needed to keep things as they should be, right?



That sounds fine with me.


----------



## Seeten

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> No, that guy is about to become pancake.




Thats because he doesnt have _Divine Shield_ like I do.


----------



## Scotley

Thanee said:
			
		

> Is it just me, or does that shield look like it won't be a whole lot of help on the first cover?




I don't know; it might be useful to the grave diggers that come to carry the body away.


----------



## Thanee

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> This is a note for everyone else as well:  Feel free to keep on adding to your equipment and counting it as "I got this a while back."  The deadline for that will be once you step foot in Istivin.  After that, you'll actually have to find a vendor who sells whatever you are looking for.




Made a last minute change to Latalya's equipment (dropping a few spells and stuff and changed the sword from adamantine to starmetal).

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Hypersmurf

Thanee said:
			
		

> Made a last minute change to Latalya's equipment (dropping a few spells and stuff and changed the sword from adamantium to starmetal).




Adaman_tine_.

What does starmetal do?

-Hyp.


----------



## Thanee

Right. Adamantine. Happens sometimes, that we germans confuse it with the german name. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Thanee

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> What does starmetal do?




Same as adamantine, plus some extra damage against extraplanar creatures.

It's in Complete Arcane. Just stumbled upon that earlier and thought that it fits better to an elf (adamantine is more dwarvish), mostly from the name of the metal, tho; and since we have a total of three quite similar adamantine weapons, a little change seemed appropriate. 

And hey, maybe we will encounter the occasional demon or such. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Thanee

Also upated my character sheet with how the free spells slots will be used on an average day.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Adaman_tine_.
> 
> What does starmetal do?



I admit, I had to look it up myself.  Speaking of which, there's a website that I want to highly recommend to everyone.  It's called "DnDIndex" and I use it almost every day when working on this or other D&D games.  It's literally an index of thousands of D&D terms from ALL the Third Edition WotC books (abilities, magic items, races, monsters, spells, etc ...) which you can search.  If it finds it, it gives you the book and the page number, and the category the terms falls under.  A great resource when someone mentions something like starmetal on a thread and you go, huh?  The result I got when I just searched for it was:


		Code:
	

  Item        Type       Book (D&D Version)       Page
Starmetal   Material   Complete Arcane (3.5)      p141


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Scotley, I was just looking over Morley's spell selection and noticed that you have given yourself a 3rd level ranger spell.  Your Wisdom score, however, is only 14, which means you don't get a bonus 3rd level spell.  Your "Spells per Day" should be: 2/2/0.  Sorry.


----------



## Scotley

Wishful thinging I guess, I'll correct that.


----------



## James Heard

BO: Is there any chance O'Suggill will be able to vouch for Mavic's claim? If he's as old as all that then he'd have been a younger contemporary of Mavic's father, right? I mean, Mavic's father would be ten or so years older when he was coming into his majority. Also, the statements from Merres and Anders, who were vassals from before the war? Those would help? Trying to look at this as something that at least has to come up in feudal courts every so often. 

I'm not going to be happy if I have to whip up a True Seeing scroll so we can all prove we are who we say we are.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

James Heard said:
			
		

> BO: Is there any chance O'Suggill will be able to vouch for Mavic's claim? If he's as old as all that then he'd have been a younger contemporary of Mavic's father, right? I mean, Mavic's father would be ten or so years older when he was coming into his majority. Also, the statements from Merres and Anders, who were vassals from before the war? Those would help? Trying to look at this as something that at least has to come up in feudal courts every so often.
> 
> I'm not going to be happy if I have to whip up a True Seeing scroll so we can all prove we are who we say we are.



Even though the war has taken many, there should be some people around that would be able to vouch for you, considering how long you fought in the freeing of Sterich.  O'Suggill would just be one of them, although you don't know each other personally.  Kerri Velthundle certainly could, given that you and the Reddogs fought alongside her.  You've been gone for a while, so the authorities might be a little suspicious at first, but once someone vouches for you, it shouldn't be a problem.

Apropos of nothing, pardon my liberal use of commas.  I learned German punctuation rules before I learned English ones, and in German you put them EVERYWHERE!  I still get confused.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Guardsman said:
			
		

> Truly amazing, I have never seen its equal.




Ah - there was a question missing from his list!

"You do no' by any chance happen to have six fingers on your righ' hand?"

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Ah - there was a question missing from his list!
> 
> "You do no' by any chance happen to have six fingers on your righ' hand?"
> 
> -Hyp.



LOL!!  That hadn't even crossed my mind.  I guess I am unconsciously channeling "Princess Bride".


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> If anyone gets confused or has trouble reading someone's posts, say something here and we'll address it.




Since we're both using Royal Blue, do you want me to pick a different colour?

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Since we're both using Royal Blue, do you want me to pick a different colour?-Hyp.



S'okay, I'm happy to do it.


----------



## Hypersmurf

As we wander the streets of Istivin...

Are there any obvious vantage points that would allow someone to be 'always watching' without resorting to magic? A particularly high tower that overlooks the entire city with ominous black windows, that sort of thing?

Is there an unusually strong guard presence on the streets, or any unfamiliar uniforms about?

Any holy symbols in particular evidence on people or buildings?

And new temples or shrines we don't recall from last time we were in town?

Lastly - is there an inn, tavern, or guild-hall that used to have a reputation for being a favourite haunt of adventurers?

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> As we wander the streets of Istivin...



I'm assuming this is just casual looking around, versus making Gather Information checks?


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Are there any obvious vantage points that would allow someone to be 'always watching' without resorting to magic? A particularly high tower that overlooks the entire city with ominous black windows, that sort of thing?



The only thing that would come even close to filling this bill would be Krelont Keep, which sits on the Promontory, an enormous basalt rock in the middle of the city.  The Keep houses the royal court of Sterich.  None of the buildings of the Keep is significantly higher than the others, although the Tower of the Marquis can be seen from the town.  An example of a similarly placed castle is the Festung Hohensalzburg, in Austria.









			
				HYPERSMURF said:
			
		

> Is there an unusually strong guard presence on the streets, or any unfamiliar uniforms about?



There actually seem to be less guards on the street than you remember seeing in the past, but only Mavic and Latalya notice and made a high enough Knowledge (local) check to be aware of this.  They wear the normal uniform of the town guard.



			
				HYPERSMURF said:
			
		

> Any holy symbols in particular evidence on people or buildings?



No, although while looking at buildings you notice that a lot fewer of the private homes have their doors open.  Even at this early hour, most people should be up and about.  They're either keeping the doors closed on purpose, or are not at home.



			
				HYPERSMURF said:
			
		

> And new temples or shrines we don't recall from last time we were in town?



No, but then you haven't walked all around the town yet.



			
				HYPERSMURF said:
			
		

> Lastly - is there an inn, tavern, or guild-hall that used to have a reputation for being a favourite haunt of adventurers?



Yes, and any your companions with at least one rank of Knowledge (local) could tell you that (i.e. Anastasia, Latalya, Mavic, George, and Morley).  It's called "The Fiddling Viceroy" and it is located just inside the Trade Gate (which is Isitivin's eastern gate,) and across the street from the West Citadel (barracks and stables for the Sterich Cavalry).


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> I'm assuming this is just casual looking around, versus making Gather Information checks?




Right.

... man, across six PCs, a cohort, some followers, an animal companion, a paladin's mount, and two familiars, we have a grand total of zero ranks in Gather Information.



> Yes, and any your companions with at least one rank of Knowledge (local) could tell you that (i.e. Anastasia, Latalya, Mavic, George, and Morley).  It's called "The Fiddling Viceroy" and it is located just inside the Trade Gate (which is Isitivin's eastern gate,) and across the street from the West Citadel (barracks and stables for the Sterich Cavalry).




Can I assume Bardic Knowledge might give similar information - 'relevant information about local notable people, legendary items, or noteworthy places'?

-Hyp.


----------



## Thanee

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> (i.e. Anastasia, Latalya, Mavic, George, and Morley)




...or just about anyone. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Can I assume Bardic Knowledge might give similar information - 'relevant information about local notable people, legendary items, or noteworthy places'



Oops, forgot about Bardic Knowledge, so you can include yourself with those "in the know."


----------



## Ranger Rick

Thanee said:
			
		

> Just edit this part, then everything should be fine.
> 
> 
> 
> Removing the underlined part (and adding "and George himself" into the question after that part) should be all that's needed to keep things as they should be, right?
> 
> Bye
> Thanee




Thanks for the help.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Just for my own benefit and sanity could everyone except for George and Morley post what their PCs are doing right now?  My schedule is getting a bit busy, and would be very helpful to have it all together in one place.  Just post it here, thank you.


----------



## James Heard

Mavic is taking Mishell and Meres to Krelont Keep to meet with O'Suggil and whomever Mavic warrants would be a good idea to have vouching for his family name and lands before the Marchioness. I think Latalya also wishes to go there, but she wants to feed the homeless before she goes, and Roen, the former baker, has been detailed to go help her. I was going to suggest that we _meet _near there, but I decided to wait to let others preempt GM-time if they needed to for scheduling reasons.

Eshanna and Anders are going to wait at Javan Gate for the rest of the Reddogs to arrive. I presumed the other PCs have given back the mounts anyone borrowed for the ride from Istivin Crossing from the dismounted rangers.

Thom Younger and Miggens are back at Istivin Crossing waiting for their rides and hanging out with the river swabs.

Thom Elder and Gemlem are presumably off leading mounts back to Istivin Crossing so that no one has to walk from the river.

And since I've began writing this I think Anastasia is coming to Krelont Keep as well. 

What's the singing dwarf doing?


----------



## Seeten

Not clear on Anastasia, though, I imagine the Marchioness is first on her list, and also perhaps the Church of Mayaheine. Can I get an idea where I rank in the Hierarchy of Mayaheine in the region? I am thinking its fairly high, I dont imagine there are many as powerful(read high level) as Ana is. Probably below the ranking clergy, and above the rest? Dunno


----------



## James Heard

I'm just thinking that with attempts on her life she's not going to be seeing anyone just on their word and polish right now. I mean, we all know we're well-established badasses in Sterich, but the Marchioness only took her position in 590 according to the LGG. There's no telling what she knows about us, she might have been the old Marquis's window dressing for all we know. In any case, her husband's one of the people missing.

I love the LGG 
***​What I'm finding frustrating is that I've always got one or two of my followers that I'm afraid I've sent off to do something else while I'm referencing them as present. I might rearrange my dry erase board next to my computer just to keep track of "where the 1st level rangers are running off to". I think next level Anastasia should take Leadership, with her Charisma she should have an enormous heaping pile of them and they can all be named Smitty. Share the love!


----------



## Branding Opportunity

James Heard said:
			
		

> What I'm finding frustrating is that I've always got one or two of my followers that I'm afraid I've sent off to do something else while I'm referencing them as present. I might rearrange my dry erase board next to my computer just to keep track of "where the 1st level rangers are running off to". I think next level Anastasia should take Leadership, with her Charisma she should have an enormous heaping pile of them and they can all be named Smitty. Share the love!



LOL!     They will be like George Forman's kids ...


----------



## Hypersmurf

James Heard said:
			
		

> What's the singing dwarf doing?




Reivik's less interested in heading to the high-falutin' end of town just yet... he's more likely at this point to join up with George and Morley than the other three, based on where people are headed.

DM - is that going to cause a problem, given that there's already some IC stuff posted for those two?

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Reivik's less interested in heading to the high-falutin' end of town just yet... he's more likely at this point to join up with George and Morley than the other three, based on where people are headed.
> 
> DM - is that going to cause a problem, given that there's already some IC stuff posted for those two?



Nah, I'll just update my post and you can add in to the conversation already in progress ... 

Speaking of which, I hope to get to more of the posts this evenings, but I may not, as I have my F2F game until 11 or so, and then it takes me about an hour to get home 

Oh, and I've decided to come out ... so to speak.  Even though I thought that Branding Opportunity was a quirky, yet catchy name, I don't like being known as just "Branding" and "B.O." is even worse.  From now on, you can just call me ... *DRUM ROLL* Alex.  That's my name.


----------



## James Heard

As long as Reivik wasn't going to rush off on us and take tap dancing lessons.  

"Yea wee giants fer me clickity shoes! Yarrrrrgh! Attack!"


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> From now on, you can just call me ... *DRUM ROLL* Alex.  That's my name.




I've caught myself thinking of you as 'Brandon' repeatedly.  (Eek, 90210 flashbacks!)

'Alex' works much better 

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> I've caught myself thinking of you as 'Brandon' repeatedly.  (Eek, 90210 flashbacks!)
> 
> 'Alex' works much better



LOL!  Just for clarification, THIS is not me!


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Yes, and any your companions with at least one rank of Knowledge (local) could tell you that (i.e. Anastasia, Latalya, Mavic, George, and Morley).  It's called "The Fiddling Viceroy" and it is located just inside the Trade Gate (which is Isitivin's eastern gate,) and across the street from the West Citadel (barracks and stables for the Sterich Cavalry).




Uh... confirm, Istivin's _eastern_ gate?  Or is the West Citadel by the _western_ gate?

By the way - I added a map link to the first IC thread.  Hope that's okay - makes it easier to find!

-Hyp.


----------



## Thanee

It's the western gate. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Thanee

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Just for my own benefit and sanity could everyone except for George and Morley post what their PCs are doing right now?




Latalya wants to do the following things:

- Go to a tavern (or food store or bakery or whatever is available) and pay them a decent amount of gold coins to provide the beggars with food.
- Accompany Mavic to the Marshioness and ask carefully about the point of the weird questions at the gate, and if there is anything to worry about.
- Go to the West Citadel and visit the Marshall.

In that order, so right now, she will be looking for a nearby tavern.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Hypersmurf

Just another quick note to say I'll be out of town for two days.

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Post deleted due to lack of sleep


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Thanee is correct as usual.  It is in fact the Western Gate, commonly known as Brink's Gate.




[blink]

So... Brink's Gate is on the exact opposite side of town to Brink's Hill?

I thought the Western Gate was the Trade Gate!

I'm so confused...!

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> [blink]
> 
> So... Brink's Gate is on the exact opposite side of town to Brink's Hill?
> 
> I thought the Western Gate was the Trade Gate!
> 
> I'm so confused...!



OMG, I apologize for all the confusion. This is what happens when you don't read back over the emails you're referring to before referring to them.  Just to clarify, the Fiddling Viceroy is by the Trade Gate, which is Istivin's WESTERN gate, and Brink's Gate is the EASTERN gate.  Just ignore me ...    I think I need sleep.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Just another quick note to say I'll be out of town for two days.



Thanks for letting us know, Mr. Smurf.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Seeten said:
			
		

> Not clear on Anastasia, though, I imagine the Marchioness is first on her list, and also perhaps the Church of Mayaheine. Can I get an idea where I rank in the Hierarchy of Mayaheine in the region? I am thinking its fairly high, I dont imagine there are many as powerful(read high level) as Ana is. Probably below the ranking clergy, and above the rest? Dunno



This is a question that I've thought about and come to a partial decision about.  Since the Church of Mayaheine is such a new organization it hasn't had much time to develop a strict hierarchy.  Because Mayaheine herself is an ascended paladin of Pelor (Mmmmh, Ascendant, makes me think of the Iron Kingdoms), paladins, especially female ones, are more common in her church.

So let me figure this out.  Loose hierarchy, but you are very respected.  You can expect that clergy and other paladins here would have heard of you, or would even know you.  As you worship a Lawful Good diety, you can be sure that loyalty and obedience (thought not blind loyalty and obedience) would be important, so parishoners would also be willing to help you out.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Just to let you all know, my posting may be lighter than normal for the next week.  I have a very busy week coming up, so I may not get as many chances to post long, detailed and well thought-out messages.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> Latalya wants to do the following things:
> 
> - Go to a tavern (or food store or bakery or whatever is available) and pay them a decent amount of gold coins to provide the beggars with food.



Most taverns would only just be opening.  You'd have a much better chance of buying food at the common market in Qualtine Square, which is the central square of Istivin and located just north of where you are now.  There are usually dozens of stalls selling everything from produce to cookware to haircuts there, and those vendors set up before dawn.


----------



## Ranger Rick

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Just to let you all know, my posting may be lighter than normal for the next week.  I have a very busy week coming up, so I may not get as many chances to post long, detailed and well thought-out messages.




Light = no problem
short = no problem
no detail  = eh I can live with that.
Not well thought-out?   What are you doing?  Trying to become a player?


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> Light = no problem
> short = no problem
> no detail  = eh I can live with that.
> Not well thought-out?   What are you doing?  Trying to become a player?



Damn, you discovered my fiendish plot!  I thought if I just faded into the background, someone would naturally pick up the ball and run with it to the endzone.


----------



## Thanee

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Most taverns would only just be opening.  You'd have a much better chance of buying food at the common market in Qualtine Square, which is the central square of Istivin and located just north of where you are now.  There are usually dozens of stalls selling everything from produce to cookware to haircuts there, and those vendors set up before dawn.




Ok, will keep that in mind.

_A little note:_ The numbers in square brackets [ ... ] listed with Listen and Spot are Latalya's values, when her familiar is nearby (within arm's reach), which currently is the case. But you rolled good enough, that they weren't needed, anyways. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## James Heard

I _hope_ Latalya gave back the mount, since I think Mavic's already got people leading them back to Istivin Crossing so that they don't have to walk. 

I swear, I'm glad enough that I didn't play a Sor. My Charisma would be high enough to make this Leadership thing more complicated than it is already. Coming up soon, whether I like it or not? Probably intricate backstories for the followers too. And names for their horses for people to borrow for trips, and eventually sidebar dialog about their soup being too spicy and how their sister's getting about in Flen...I don't know whether I should be afraid or proud.


----------



## Thanee

Both? 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> _A little note:_ The numbers in square brackets [ ... ] listed with Listen and Spot are Latalya's values, when her familiar is nearby (within arm's reach), which currently is the case. But you rolled good enough, that they weren't needed, anyways.



Ah, OK, I'll keep that in mind from now on.


----------



## Thanee

Added a note behind the two skills to make this more obvious. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Thanee

BO: Have you seen the spoiler text in my IC post (in the first OOC block)?

Didn't use the SBLOCK tag, just regular SPOILER, so it might not be completely obvious, that there is some text hidden. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Thanee

@Seeten: Anastasia has used her 1/day Burst of Speed earlier already. 

BTW, the distance is ~40 ft., you hardly need to move *that* far. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> BO: Have you seen the spoiler text in my IC post (in the first OOC block)?
> 
> Didn't use the SBLOCK tag, just regular SPOILER, so it might not be completely obvious, that there is some text hidden.



I hadn't in fact seen it, thanks for pointing it out.  You can bull rush him at the beginning of the first real round.  You can't do it in the surprise round, technically, as bull rushing is a standard action, and you only get either one standard or move action in the surprise round.  Normally you could bull rush as part of a charge, but since charging is a full-round action, you can't do that in the surprise round either.

I apologize if this is all old news to you, but since I'm still getting to know everyone I'll err on the side of verbosity for now (or maximum verbosity for those of us old enough to have played Zork  ).


----------



## Seeten

As the distance is 40 feet, I'll feel free to just double move, and pick him up halfway through? =)


----------



## James Heard

Oh well, maybe they'll let Mavic _Fabricate_ the rest of the temple repairs while everyone is going to the funeral...


----------



## Thanee

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> I hadn't in fact seen it, thanks for pointing it out.  You can bull rush him at the beginning of the first real round.  You can't do it in the surprise round, technically, as bull rushing is a standard action, and you only get either one standard or move action in the surprise round.  Normally you could bull rush as part of a charge, but since charging is a full-round action, you can't do that in the surprise round either.
> 
> I apologize if this is all old news to you, but since I'm still getting to know everyone I'll err on the side of verbosity for now (or maximum verbosity for those of us old enough to have played Zork  ).




This is wrong, tho. 



> If you are able to take only a standard action or a move action on your turn, you can still charge, but you are only allowed to move up to your speed (instead of up to double your speed). You can’t use this option unless you are restricted to taking only a standard action or move action on your turn.




Bye
Thanee


----------



## Seeten

Um, I am fairly sure I can have the horse move, and use my own move to grab the guy, cant I?


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> This is wrong, tho.



That's what I get for nothing reading all the way through the Charge description in the PHB


----------



## Thanee

Seeten said:
			
		

> Um, I am fairly sure I can have the horse move, and use my own move to grab the guy, cant I?




I think you might not have realized yet, that Anastasia gets no action this round. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Thanee

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> That's what I get for nothing reading all the way through the Charge description in the PHB




Heh. Sometimes it's not really easy to find all those little rule pieces.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> Heh. Sometimes it's not really easy to find all those little rule pieces.



And if it's one thing that 3rd edition combat rules have a lot of are little rules pieces.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

BTW, as you can see from one of my last IC posts, I like to describe spell effects and stuff like that.  Let me know if you already have a concept for your character's spells, or if my vision doesn't jive with your ideas.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> BTW, as you can see from one of my last IC posts, I like to describe spell effects and stuff like that.  Let me know if you already have a concept for your character's spells, or if my vision doesn't jive with your ideas.




Well, let's see... I have Light, Detect Magic, Mage Hand, and Prestidigitation.  And an Arcane Spell Failure that isn't pretty.

Go nuts 

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

FYI, I'll try to post responses to your last IC posts late this evening.  It's been a busy week.


----------



## Thanee

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> BTW, as you can see from one of my last IC posts, I like to describe spell effects and stuff like that.  Let me know if you already have a concept for your character's spells, or if my vision doesn't jive with your ideas.




That's fine with me. I'll try to remember and provide you with similar descriptions as appropriate. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Well, let's see... I have Light, Detect Magic, Mage Hand, and Prestidigitation.  And an Arcane Spell Failure that isn't pretty.
> 
> Go nuts



Funnily enough, Light and Detect Magic both have no somatic components, so you wouldn't have to worry about ASF there!


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Well, my schedule is going to be a bit more manageable now, so I'll be able to post more often again.  Onward and upward!


----------



## Thanee

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Onward and upward!




Doh! And I have used up my fly spell already... 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Ranger Rick

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Well, my schedule is going to be a bit more manageable now, so I'll be able to post more often again.  Onward and upward!





Great!


----------



## Ranger Rick

Post 192....







			
				Thanee said:
			
		

> “No, I'm afraid, unless they are extraplanar, evil termites or undead termites, the blessing won't affect them much.”




But do the have laser beams on their heads?


----------



## Thanee

I hope not! 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Come on, all I asked was for termites with frickin' laser beams!


----------



## Ranger Rick

The laser beams popped into my head when I heard about about evil and undead termites.

That would make a cool monster.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Question for those who have more experience on these boards than I do:  I'm guessing it's normal for there to be an ebb and flow of posting?  In either case, I'll try my darndest to keep things moving.  Personally, I'm really enjoying these characters and this storyline.


----------



## Thanee

Yes, that is entirely normal. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Scotley

Yes, such an ebb and flow is common. This particular group started out posting at an unusually high rate, at least in my experience. The weekends in particular are quiet. I was traveling for Father's Day, and didn't get a chance to post until now.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanks for the info, folks.  I'll stop fretting now


----------



## Ranger Rick

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Question for those who have more experience on these boards than I do:  I'm guessing it's normal for there to be an ebb and flow of posting?  In either case, I'll try my darndest to keep things moving.  Personally, I'm really enjoying these characters and this storyline.





Yes there is an ebb and flow.  However, seeing the GM keep posting is comforting.  If only 2 players post with out any GM input for weeks/days, things go bad fast.  I am a guilty party of not posting on weekends.  Compound that with every other weekend is 3 days long, I realize I am not always around.  I try to post a few times during the week I am around.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

I'm actually more concerned with doing my best to keep everyone involved.  I know when I don't post for a while (for whatever reason) it can sometimes be hard to get back into posting.  First, there are a lot of posts to catch up on, and then there's always my sense of guilt for having "let people down".  Maybe those are just my own demons 

In any case, nobody should feel that not posting for a while, or not posting as frequently as others somehow diminishes them.  We all have lives and this is just a sideline (albeit a fun one.)


----------



## Ranger Rick

About the game.

I orginially said I go down the stairs and out the 2nd story window.  I want to amend that I forgot about my boots of speed.

Also is the time I use this count as tomorrow or yesterday?  (10 rounds per day)


----------



## Branding Opportunity

We'll count it as today.

Family in town.  Will post more starting tomorrow or Friday at the latest.


----------



## Seeten

Been really busy at home, and at work, corporate firewall is updated, now blocking my access. So I'll be posting much less often, sadly. =(


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanks for letting us know, Seeten.  I'll keep NPCing Anastasia, but we miss your sparkling, energetic commentary!


----------



## Scotley

I will be traveling until midweek and unable to post. Please npc Morley while I'm away.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

I apologize for my absence this last week, but I was finishing a show (I'm an actor) and recovering from it afterwards, and just couldn't drag myself to the computer to do anything that required more brain power than play a few video games (half-heartedly).  I hope to FINALLY post updates this evening, as I have no other plans.


----------



## Scotley

Welcome back, I was a little worried when I was still the last one to post to the game after my trip. I look forward to your post. It's a great game.


----------



## Thanee

That's cool (both, being an actor and needing to recover from it ). 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Ranger Rick

No problem.

FYI I will be without a PC from tomorrow afternoon til Tuesday morning because of the holiday.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> That's cool (both, being an actor and needing to recover from it ).



But I should have given a warning, otherwise you might think I've buggered off.  I will be more considerate in the future.


----------



## Ranger Rick

Alex (correct?),

Do not forget about my boots of speed once I get dressed.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> Alex (correct?),
> 
> Do not forget about my boots of speed once I get dressed.



Yes, Alex is correct 

I did forget about the boots of speed, which brings me to an (interesting) point.  When describing your actions, would it be possible for everyone to list any appropriate modifiers/changes in the post?  You all know your characters much better than I do, and this will keep me from making silly technical errors and then having to go back and correct previous posts, which just slows everything down.
Think this is doable?


----------



## Thanee

Sure. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Ranger Rick

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Yes, Alex is correct
> 
> I did forget about the boots of speed, which brings me to an (interesting) point.  When describing your actions, would it be possible for everyone to list any appropriate modifiers/changes in the post?  ....Think this is doable?




I forgot about them in my initial post and then I talked about them in here.  (In fact I think you answered about that.) To be honest, this will be the 1st time I ever used them so I am a little unsure how it would work in the practical sense, not the book instructional sense.

I think it is doable.  The more we post, the more we get into that habit as well.


----------



## Thanee

BO: It would be good to know (also important for Scotley), whether Latalya's action works that way (and how flat, high, stable, etc the roof is ).

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Thanee

_Dimension Door_ ends the turn of the caster, but has no such effect on those transported (as written, that is, can get a bit wonky with delayed actions).

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> ... and this will keep me from making silly technical errors and then having to go back and correct previous posts, which just slows everything down.




On that note... 

... just a question about the crazy man's AoO vs the grapple.

Earlier, you noted "You could have run around him I guess ... Well, since he can't make an AoO, I guess that would have been possible."

If he has Improved Unarmed Strike or monk levels, ignore this... but if he doesn't, he's unarmed and doesn't qualify for an AoO vs the grapple attempt, right?

If it hadn't been for your earlier comment, I'd have assumed there was a reason and left it, but the "since he can't make an AoO" implies an oversight somewhere...?

-Hyp.


----------



## Thanee

Uhm, Scotley, doesn't Morley have his bow with him? 

That's actually why I chose the rooftop. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Yeah, the AoO might be a mistake on my part.  Reading the SRD I thought that when it said "you provoke an attack of opportunity" I thought that's what it meant for everyone unless you have the Improved Grapple feat or ability.  I thought the "you don't threaten the spaces around you if you don't have a weapon" rule only applied to AoO provoked by people moving out of threatened spaces.  Do you know anywhere where that is made clearer?


----------



## Thanee

You have to differentiate between provoking and performing an AoO, then it will be clear. 

Reivik provoked an AoO from the crazy guy.
The crazy guy cannot perform the AoO lacking a threatened area.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Hypersmurf

Thanee said:
			
		

> You have to differentiate between provoking and performing an AoO, then it will be clear.
> 
> Reivik provoked an AoO from the crazy guy.
> The crazy guy cannot perform the AoO lacking a threatened area.




I disagree there, actually   Reivik only provoked an AoO if he was in a threatened square.

_*Provoking an Attack of Opportunity:* Two kinds of actions can provoke attacks of opportunity: moving out of a threatened square and *performing an action within a threatened square*.

*Performing a Distracting Act*: Some actions, *when performed in a threatened square*, provoke attacks of opportunity as you divert your attention from the battle. Table: Actions in Combat notes many of the actions that provoke attacks of opportunity._

The grapple action is an action that provokes an opportunity... but like any other distracting act, it only provokes an attack of opportunity _when performed in a threatened square_.  If it's performed in a non-threatened square, it doesn't provoke an AoO that nobody can take; rather, it does not provoke at all.

There are plenty of actions that state "this provokes attacks of opportunity", but by the definition of AoOs, there's an implicit "when performed in a threatened square" attached.

Examples:

_Touch Attacks: Touching an opponent with a touch spell is considered to be an armed attack and therefore does not provoke attacks of opportunity. However, the act of casting a spell does provoke an attack of opportunity.

Spell Completion Items: Activating a spell completion item is the equivalent of casting a spell. It requires concentration and provokes attacks of opportunity. 

Stand Up: Standing up from a prone position requires a move action and provokes attacks of opportunity._

It doesn't bother to repeat the phrase "from any opponent who threatens"; it's already covered by the definition of AoOs.

-Hyp.


----------



## Scotley

Thanee said:
			
		

> Uhm, Scotley, doesn't Morley have his bow with him?
> 
> That's actually why I chose the rooftop.
> 
> Bye
> Thanee




True, but he doesn't have a clue who to shoot at.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanks for clearing up the minutae of that rule.  I think I understand it now.  I'll change the previous IC post to reflect these changes.


----------



## Thanee

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> I disagree there, actually  Reivik only provoked an AoO if he was in a threatened square.




Yep. The result is the same, tho. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

I updated the previous post on the IC board.  Sadly the results were almost the same!  He has a very good touch AC


----------



## Thanee

But you didn't add _Mage Armor_ or _Shield_ spells to the touch AC, right?

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> But you didn't add _Mage Armor_ or _Shield_ spells to the touch AC, right?
> 
> Bye
> Thanee



Nope, it's from a different source.  I may get confused with rules but I do know how to calculate touch AC.  He truly has a touch AC above 18.


----------



## Thanee

Okay, just wanted to be sure, since that is a common mistake (mixing touch and incorporeal touch AC). 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Nope, it's from a different source.  I may get confused with rules but I do know how to calculate touch AC.  He truly has a touch AC above 18.




If I'm rolling 2s, a 17 AC would have done it   Don't forget, I'm beltless, so my Str is currently 18, not 22.

Dibs on his ring of protection!

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> Okay, just wanted to be sure, since that is a common mistake (mixing touch and incorporeal touch AC).



No problem.  As you say, it's an easy mistake to make.


----------



## Thanee

If that ugly cloud wasn't so close Latalya could enlarge Reivik, but as it is, that would hurt more than it helps. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

I'm still waiting to hear from Seeten, James Heard to complete this round.  It's a holiday weekend for those of us in the U.S., so I'll give them a few more days to respond.  I'm NPCing George for the next week until Ranger Rick gets back.


----------



## Thanee

Uhm... Mavic (James) stayed in bed, IIRC. 

And didn't Seeten write something about being away, too?

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> Uhm... Mavic (James) stayed in bed, IIRC.
> 
> And didn't Seeten write something about being away, too?
> 
> Bye
> Thanee



Mavic is in bed but his cohort and followers are in the mix.  Seeten said that posting is difficult lately, but I'll wait a bit more to hear from him/her before NPCing.


----------



## Thanee

Right, forgot about the cohort... 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

I'm going to go ahead and NPC Anastasia, as s/he hasn't posted in a while.  Come back to the Five-and-Dime, Paladin, Paladin!  (A little Robert Altman reference).


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Here's a quick question for the rules gurus:  I'm currently working out this round, and have givin Reivik two attempts to establish a grapple, since he gets two attacks a round, and both are just touch attacks.  Does the crazy man get two attempts to free himself from the grapple once its established, if he also has a high enough BAB?  I'm leaning towards yes, as freeing yourself is a standard action, not a full-round action.  I'm not talking about his opponent doing this as part of the initial grapple check, but as a full-round action during his own turn.


----------



## Thanee

> When you are grappling (regardless of who started the grapple), you can perform any of the following actions. Some of these actions take the place of an attack (rather than being a standard action or a move action). If your base attack bonus allows you multiple attacks, you can attempt one of these actions in place of each of your attacks, but at successively lower base attack bonuses.
> 
> You can escape a grapple by winning an opposed grapple check in place of making an attack.




Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> Bye
> Thanee



You're the best, Thanee, and so fast!


----------



## Thanee

Well, I knew where I had to look for it.  You're welcome. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Let me know what you think of my changes to the combat round summaries.  I've added in (and in some cases slightly modified) your individual posts so that the round can be read as a cohesive whole.  I've also turned any damage caused during the round red, so that it's harder to miss.


----------



## Thanee

Looks good! 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Scotley

I like the summary, I think I'll steal the damage in red bit for my own games.


----------



## Ranger Rick

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Let me know what you think of my changes to the combat round summaries.  I've added in (and in some cases slightly modified) your individual posts so that the round can be read as a cohesive whole.  I've also turned any damage caused during the round red, so that it's harder to miss.





Nice job.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

We're so close!  He's almost subdued!  Just get those shackles on him.

I haven't heard from  Seeten in a while.  If something has come up, let us know, Seeten.  I know I was incommunicado for a while last week, so I don't have much of a leg to stand on in this regard, but I'm just checking to see where everyone is, posting-wise.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Ranger Rick,

By "Old Man" do you mean the guy that they're tussling with?  He's not that old, he doesn't look to be much older than 40.  Of course, in a place like Sterich, that is pretty old


----------



## Ranger Rick

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Ranger Rick,
> 
> By "Old Man" do you mean the guy that they're tussling with?  He's not that old, he doesn't look to be much older than 40.  Of course, in a place like Sterich, that is pretty old




Yes.  I thought he was described as old.


----------



## James Heard

He's a mage, and all us wizards r'bern old as d'hills n'trees?


----------



## Ranger Rick

James Heard said:
			
		

> He's a mage, and all us wizards r'bern old as d'hills n'trees?




You bet your sweet ass.


----------



## Thanee

Who are we waiting on? 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> Who are we waiting on?
> 
> Bye
> Thanee



James and Seeten haven't posted their actions for this round, but I'm going to go ahead as soon as I finish cleaning up the combat round on my other game.


----------



## James Heard

Sorry, today I had to deal with the hurricane and more importantly I couldn't think of anything really different to do. Maybe it's just my fine sense of spotlight time, and really wanting to watch everyone else do somethin'


----------



## Branding Opportunity

James Heard said:
			
		

> Sorry, today I had to deal with the hurricane and more importantly I couldn't think of anything really different to do. Maybe it's just my fine sense of spotlight time, and really wanting to watch everyone else do somethin'



Hope everything is OK given the weather.  Pictures from Pensecola looked pretty scary.


----------



## James Heard

Nah, pretty much a yawner here. I lost power for a few hours, and I still haven't gone out to see how many boats are in the main roads but that's pretty much normal for big storms. I had the largest of the debris cleared up before nightfall last night even, the only real problem I had is that my DSL connection is really fragile since I upgraded it so no internet for me during high winds apparently.


But anyways, even yawners you have to do a lot of stuff to make sure they stay that way.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Glad to hear that you weathered the storm with relative ease.  Someone seems to have something against Florida lately, that's for sure


----------



## James Heard

Nah, hurricanes are pretty normal - everyone's just edgy because we had a couple of bad ones in a row and that's just common sense. If the NW can produce a little rain for us anytime soon we'll do fine the rest of the season, but Florida's always a little naked without Texas sending us TS's during the summer.


----------



## Ranger Rick

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Glad to hear that you weathered the storm with relative ease.  Someone seems to have something against Florida lately, that's for sure





It goes in cycles.  Cat 1& 2 are milk runs and a Cat 5 is one hell of a bitch.  In the 90s NC was getting wacked pretty heavy so all in all it is not a big deal.


----------



## James Heard

Yup, and Dennis was so narrow that I used to commute to work the distance away from me that it was each day and I think the only reason the power _really _went off was that they turned it off to run tests. I won't be going to the beach anytime soon though, except on the bay side I guess.

Back to the game though, I appreciate you keeping up the brisk pace - even when I'm not able to keep up myself


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Ranger Rick,

Your character sheet seems to have some formatting issues.  I don't want to misread anything, would you mind clearing them up?  Thanks


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Your character sheet seems to have some formatting issues.  I don't want to misread anything, would you mind clearing them up?  Thanks




It looks like a paste-from-RTF problem - there were places where there were font, size, and color tags around single characters.

I've tidied it up - hope you don't mind, Rick!

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> I've tidied it up - hope you don't mind, Rick!



Behold the mighty power of the MODERATOR!!!!!!


----------



## James Heard

Thanks. I like the fact that we've got singing dwarves and elves named George in the party, and Mavic and Eshanna are the crazy ones.  It's just...awesome.


----------



## Ranger Rick

Thanks for the clean up.  It was cut & paste issues.  Now I know how to make a box as well.  Thank you very much.


----------



## James Heard

This would be cute time for someone's voices in their head to start replying.


----------



## Ranger Rick

It took me a while to understand you.  Now I do.

I will be gone on a 3 day weekend again starting Friday.  If I get pocessed, I would not know about it til Monday.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> It took me a while to understand you.  Now I do.
> 
> I will be gone on a 3 day weekend again starting Friday.  If I get pocessed, I would not know about it til Monday.



Yeah, those three day weekend possessions.  Of course, back in my day we used to call them benders


----------



## Ranger Rick

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Yeah, those three day weekend possessions.  Of course, back in my day we used to call them benders





If we where else where I would give you a different reply.....actually a reply.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> If we where else where I would give you a different reply.....actually a reply.



Where would we have to be?


----------



## Thanee

About illusions: I would probably grant a +4 bonus to the save, if you know there is illusion magic around (similar to when someone who has disbelieved already tells you).

On the other hand, I don't really think _Detect Magic_ should make it so simple (I use a house rule, to avoid issues with that spell and illusions... having it count as interacting and giving a false school reading, if the save does not succeed). 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Ranger Rick

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Where would we have to be?




A place that Eric's grandma does not visit........ever been to nothingland.com?  If you go, do not say you are from here, well you could.  Several years ago many people on here went there so they can say what they wanted to.  It is a nice group of people.  Many of the same people there are on here.  I know a few though that have different nics for both places.


----------



## Ranger Rick

Thanee said:
			
		

> About illusions: I would probably grant a +4 bonus to the save, if you know there is illusion magic around (similar to when someone who has disbelieved already tells you).
> 
> On the other hand, I don't really think _Detect Magic_ should make it so simple (I use a house rule, to avoid issues with that spell and illusions... having it count as interacting and giving a false school reading, if the save does not succeed).
> 
> Bye
> Thanee




Would elf's +2 help?


----------



## Thanee

Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> Would elf's +2 help?




No, why should it? It's +2 vs enchantments not illusions.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Ranger Rick

> against enchantment spells or effects.




I was not sure if that covered illusions.  Pretty obvious now that I think about it.


----------



## Thanee

Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> Pretty obvious now that I think about it.




Yup. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Hypersmurf

Just a quick note - I'll be out of town for 36 hours.

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Just a quick note - I'll be out of town for 36 hours.
> 
> -Hyp.



Thanks for letting us know, Mr. Smurf.  I also will be away from my computer tomorrow and most of Sunday.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Scotley said:
			
		

> being careful not to intrude on the privacy of his companions turned housemates



Why do I feel that this is about to turn into an episode of a MTV reality show


----------



## Branding Opportunity

James Heard said:
			
		

> Eshanna asked the prisoner, "Villain, have thee a name to gift us with in case you have a similar future difficulty in committing homicide. To have to wake up at night and worry myself wondering where yea might be," she paused, thoughtfully appraising the guardsmen. "Myself, I'd kiss the devil king's arse to prevent that, and be none the fool."
> 
> "Unless, of course, you lairds of duty might assure us that a short length of rope be the measure of the searching?"



Um, James, could you paraphrase the question in non-Eshannese for me?  I'm not quite sure what she's implying


----------



## James Heard

"Dude we just beat up, what's your name in case you wanna kill more people tomorrow? If I woke up in the middle of the night and had to worry about crap like who you were and how to find you I would be in a _really_ bad mood that even Iuz would be justifiably wary of."
then to the guardsmen
"Or are you guys going to just hang him at dawn and make my life simpler?"
***
What can I say? Hamlet was just about the first thing I ever read on my own.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Does anyone other than James' cleric want to do anything before going to bed?


----------



## Thanee

Nope. Have searched around, the assailant is probably long gone and there is little we can do to find him now, I suppose. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

I know this is getting a little ahead of myself, but I wanted to let all of you know that I will be away from my computer for an extended period in the not too distant future.  Specifically, I'm going to be out of town from August 15th through the 28th.  Just thought I'd give all of you just a little advanced warning.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

I'd like to move the story forward a bit if that's OK with you.  If you'd like to ask more questions of the guards, we can handle it either on this board, or as flashbacks on the IC board.

How does that sound?

Also, on a completely different note, Seeten, are you still out there?  Are you still interested in playing?  I'll speak for myself, but I was really enjoying Anastasia.


----------



## Ranger Rick

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> I'd like to move the story forward a bit if that's OK with you.  If you'd like to ask more questions of the guards, we can handle it either on this board, or as flashbacks on the IC board.
> 
> How does that sound?
> 
> Also, on a completely different note, Seeten, are you still out there?  Are you still interested in playing?  I'll speak for myself, but I was really enjoying Anastasia.





Ditto on the enjoyment.


----------



## Thanee

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> I'd like to move the story forward a bit if that's OK with you.




Yup, waiting too long is rarely a good thing.

I would wait only 2-3 days to give us a chance to reply to something, then move on, if noone does, and just assume a logical course of action.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## James Heard

Yup, we could just fast forward to getting XP and loot.  That would be kewl. 

Seriously, I don't mind at all. I was waiting for a further fast forward that we got at "buying the villa" than we got in the first place.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanks for the feedback.  I'm still getting a feel for the pace of this type of gaming.


----------



## Thanee

I really wonder what's up with Seeten, though. He was online recently.

Maybe he is working on thread subscriptions, which sometimes do not work properly?

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Ranger Rick

I use the arrow on the side that tells me I posted.  It is not the best, but it helps.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

I've calculated the XP for the last few encounters (conversation at the barracks, rescuing construction worker, confrontation at the gate, and the madman in the middle of the night).  It's not much, but I thought you would appreciate getting it.

Let me know if you have issues/find problems.

Breakdown is as follows:


		Code:
	

CHARACTER   Starting XP	Rumors	Pelor	Gate	Madman		TOTAL
Anastasia   60,500		275		275		61,050
Reivik	    58,100	275			275		58,650
Latalya	    58,200		275		275		58,750
Mavic	    59,180		275	825			60,280
George	    60,500	275					60,775
Morley	    60,500	275			275		61,050
Eshanna	    28,000				200		28,200


----------



## Scotley

Woo Hoo! Exp! Its a long way to next level, but at least we are making progress. I'm enjoying the game.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Scotley said:
			
		

> Woo Hoo! Exp! Its a long way to next level, but at least we are making progress. I'm enjoying the game.



Glad to hear it.  These were pretty low-key encounters that involved mainly RP, but I thought they were worth something.


----------



## Ranger Rick

I am firmly in the camp of everyone gets equal xp.

Why did we not all start with the same number and why don't we all get the same amount?


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> I am firmly in the camp of everyone gets equal xp.
> 
> Why did we not all start with the same number and why don't we all get the same amount?



You didn't start at the same XP because the spellcasters spent some of their starting XP on creating magic items.  I generally only give XP to players who actually participated in the encounter.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> You didn't start at the same XP because the spellcasters spent some of their starting XP on creating magic items.




Yup - only a few more months, and we'll be back to where we started!  

-Hyp.


----------



## James Heard

Revised spell prepared list for Grumpy 1 & 2. More buttkicking and subduing, less outdoorsy stuff.

Mavic's Spell List
Spells Prepared (Wiz 4/6/6/5/4/3/2)
0: Detect Magic, Disrupt Undead, Mending, Dancing Lights
1: Feather Fall, Reduce Person, Magic Missilex2, Ray of Enfeeblement, Unseen Servant*
2: Scorching Ray, Mirror Image, Blindness/Deafness, Tasha's Hideous Laughter, Flaming Sphere, Invisibility
3: Dispel Magic, Gaseous Form, Suggestion, Tongues, Lightning Bolt
4: Evard's Black Tentacles, Wall of Fire, Rainbow Pattern, Ice Storm
5: Feeblemind, Hold Monster, Wall of Force
6: Antimagic Field, Summon Monster VI

Eshanna's Spell List
Spells Prepared (Clr 6/6+1/4+1/4+1/3+1)
0: Detect Magic, Purify Food & Drink, Light, Read Magic, Guidance, Detect Poison
1: Bless, Bane, Divine Favor, Hide from Undead, Detect Undead, Sanctuary, Protection from Chaos(D)
2: Enthrall, Make Whole*, Shatter, Shield Other, Calm Emotions (D)
3: Remove Curse, Searing Light, Stone Shape, Locate Object, Dispel Magic (D)
4: Neutralize Poison, Divine Power, Dismissal, Order's Wrath  (D)

Unseen Servant is cast before we leave, instructed to clean and polish the villa.
Make Whole is cast before we leave, on whatever's the most broken and worn in the villa or needs the attention first (if the midden's broke or the roof leaks, Eshanna's right on that).


----------



## Thanee

James Heard said:
			
		

> Unseen Servant is cast before we leave, instructed to clean and polish the villa.




You'll have to stay there, too, while it does so. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## James Heard

How is that? It says that you can't send it outside the the range measured by your position when cast, not that you can't leave it in place and do other things. I'm not trying to send it out of it's range, I'm moving the caster away from the AoE.


----------



## Thanee

Heh. Well, that's one and the same thing, really. The distance is measured from your current position and ordering it to basically stay behind while you leave, is just like sending it outside the range.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## James Heard

I disagree, obviously.


----------



## Thanee

No problem.  Just saying how I understand the spell... it's not for me to decide, anyways.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

James Heard said:
			
		

> How is that? It says that you can't send it outside the the range measured by your position when cast, not that you can't leave it in place and do other things. I'm not trying to send it out of it's range, I'm moving the caster away from the AoE.



Actually the SRD says


> If you attempt to send it beyond the spell’s range (measured from your current position), the servant ceases to exist.




Note "current position" not your position when it was cast.  I'm afraid the spell is one you have to use when you're doing other things around the house.  It could probably get quite a bit of cleaning done during the morning, however.


----------



## James Heard

Nah, I'll just leave the place dirty. The elves will probably like the "nature" feel all the cockroaches lend the place anyways.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

James Heard said:
			
		

> Make Whole is cast before we leave, on whatever's the most broken and worn in the villa or needs the attention first (if the midden's broke or the roof leaks, Eshanna's right on that).



There are in fact a number of things which need fixing, although none of them are major.  Given that someone in the group has Knowledge (Architecture) this will not be a problem.


----------



## Ranger Rick

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Actually the SRD says
> 
> 
> Note "current position" not your position when it was cast.  I'm afraid the spell is one you have to use when you're doing other things around the house.  It could probably get quite a bit of cleaning done during the morning, however.





I have always done the spell like James did.  We always had the unseen servant tidy up the campsite/house we stayed at.

But than when I last read the spell (1ed) nothing was said about it being outside.


----------



## Ranger Rick

> While Latalya went upstairs to fix her hair and makeup,




Thanks for the morning chuckle.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

James, are all the Reddogs coming with you, or did you leave some behind to guard the house?  The reason I ask (hint, hint, hint) is that once you enter the sewer pipe things will get a bit more lethal (and I use that term in the loosest possible way) than they have been so far and 1st level rangers will not be making their saving throws as easily.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Also, what do we do about Anastasia?  Seeten hasn't posted in a blue moon.  Do I keep on NPCing her until we hear from Seeten or I find a replacement?  Would you want to go on without her?


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Also, Ranger Rick, I'll be damned if I can find a hp total for George


----------



## Ranger Rick

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Also, what do we do about Anastasia?  Seeten hasn't posted in a blue moon.  Do I keep on NPCing her until we hear from Seeten or I find a replacement?  Would you want to go on without her?





I vote to NPC him.  Than this way he can go out in a blaze of glory.  i.e. give him a dramatic death in the sewers.


----------



## Ranger Rick

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Also, Ranger Rick, I'll be damned if I can find a hp total for George




46  6 points at 1st level and 10*4 = 40 points for levels 2-11 and 0 con bonus.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> 46  6 points at 1st level and 10*4 = 40 points for levels 2-11 and 0 con bonus.



Thanks, I'll update my records.

Just as an FYI, I keep a log of hp totals in a spreadsheet, but you should also keep track of your own and update your character sheet every now and then to reflect your current state.


----------



## Thanee

At this point, I would have Anastasia pick up some other task, and not accompany us, having her stay in the general area that way, in case Seeten will somehow find his way here again.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## James Heard

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> James, are all the Reddogs coming with you, or did you leave some behind to guard the house?  The reason I ask (hint, hint, hint) is that once you enter the sewer pipe things will get a bit more lethal (and I use that term in the loosest possible way) than they have been so far and 1st level rangers will not be making their saving throws as easily.



None of the Reddogs were left at the house because last night our sleep was interrupted by mages on missions of assassination. There are more Dispel Magic spells with Mavic & Eshanna than without. I was considering whether or not I'd have them help tidy up the scholar's antimagic field while we were out, just in case his directions were more difficult than he'd otherwise noted. Anastasia could certainly make that sort of transition less traumatic, and it might allow for more tension in Eshanna if she's required to follow (since HER saving throws aren't exactly varsity either, I think).


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Seeten hasn't posted in a blue moon.




I've dropped him an email at the address he gave here.

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> I've dropped him an email at the address he gave here.



Thank you Mr. Smurf.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> I've dropped him an email at the address he gave here.
> 
> -Hyp.



Oh, and let me know if you hear anything from him/her, obviously.  Thanks again.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

*False Life question*

Thanee,
I assume that most GMs would calculate the Empowered False Life spell as follows: (1d10+10) x 1.5, and not [(1d10) x 1.5] + 10.  The reason I ask is because the feat says that it increaseses "all variable, numeric effects" and one could argue that only the "1d10" is a variable effect, as you could define your caster level as a constant, and not a variable number.  Mind you, I prefer to calculate it the former way, but I'm just thinking out loud.  This is not a spell I have much experience GMing.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

*Marching Order*

Hello all,

Now that you are about to enter into a "dungeon" area I'm going to need a marching order for 5', 10', and 20' corridors, and that includes EVERYONE.  Also, I'm going to need to know if you plan on having anyone scouting ahead at point, or skulking behind in the sweep position.

It might also be a good idea if you standarized positions/actions for the following events where tactical position and job assignment is important.  You can always change these, but since we're going to be dealing with so many people, it might be faster to standardized some of these things:

1) Opening doors
2) Disarming traps
3) "Securing rooms" (i.e. searching for hidden doors/items, securing all exits, sweeping for enemies, etc.)
4) Anything else you can think of that might fit into this category

BO


----------



## Thanee

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Thanee,
> I assume that most GMs would calculate the Empowered False Life spell as follows: (1d10+10) x 1.5, and not [(1d10) x 1.5] + 10.  The reason I ask is because the feat says that it increaseses "all variable, numeric effects" and one could argue that only the "1d10" is a variable effect, as you could define your caster level as a constant, and not a variable number.  Mind you, I prefer to calculate it the former way, but I'm just thinking out loud.  This is not a spell I have much experience GMing.




Check the PHB, there's an example with _Magic Missile_, which makes clear that, as long as the spell has a variable portion, the whole effect (variable portion + fixed portion) gets multiplied, not just the variable part.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> 1) Opening doors
> 2) Disarming traps




Sounds like a job for the Redshirdogs!

-Hyp.


----------



## Thanee

Here's a proposal:

<------ Walk direction

5' :

R_G_M_Mo_L

10' : 

R_L_Mo
_G_M_

20' : 

R___Mo
__M__
G___L

Reivik, being the best melee fighter, and George, trapfinder, should lead the way. The rest follows as appropriate.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> Check the PHB, there's an example with _Magic Missile_, which makes clear that, as long as the spell has a variable portion, the whole effect (variable portion + fixed portion) gets multiplied, not just the variable part.



Thanks for the additional information, Thanee.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Thanee said:
			
		

> Reivik, being the best melee fighter, and George, trapfinder, should lead the way. The rest follows as appropriate (I put Latalya next, cept in the 20' one, because she is also quite capable in melee, and Mavic and Morley will probably prefer to stay at range).




All looks fine to me.  If we're in a situation where we have a tight space and unknown areas ahead and behind, then at least if we get jumped at the rear, Morley can handle melee.

Cool.

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Sounds like a job for the Redshirdogs!


----------



## Thanee

Changed the 5' one... it makes more sense to have Latalya in the back when the space is so tight (she won't be able to help out in the front, anyways, Mavic can do that better with his spells), with Morley being able to use his bow from the second rank.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## James Heard

I take it then, that Eshanna is definitely going to be staying behind? The Reddogs could be told to file books and sweep for the scholar dude, but do we really want to leave behind our healing?


----------



## Hypersmurf

James Heard said:
			
		

> I take it then, that Eshanna is definitely going to be staying behind?




My inclination is to bring her (placing her pretty much beside Mavic in all those orders), but it's Mavic's call.

-Hyp.


----------



## Ranger Rick

Marching order sounds good thanee.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Remember also to include "Beau" the dog.  She may be "small" but she still takes up a 5' square


----------



## James Heard

I'm soooo tempted to start blowing spells so we don't have to crawl in tunnels next to Stinky the Crap-stained dog for however long this takes. Maybe I'll get to cast that _Unseen Servant_ spell after all today ("- or maybe I could coax you into allowing me to variant _blindness/deafness_ into axing Mavic's sense of smell? I could _ice storm_ it into filthcicles? Lay the ole' _wall of fire_ across it until we remove the taint with purifying flames...

Is everyone SURE that we shouldn't just blow a big hole into the middle of the city with _stone shape_ and _fabricate _spells so we can bypass Turd City? Ick and double ick.


----------



## Thanee

Just fit in who else is coming with us... wasn't sure about that, so I only listed the PCs for now. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Thanee

New proposal:

<------ Walk direction

5' :

R_G_M_E_BMo_L

10' : 

R_M_BMo
_G_E_L

20' : 

R__BMo
__M__
G_E_L

Reivik, being the best melee fighter, and George, trapfinder, should lead the way. The rest follows as appropriate.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Hypersmurf

Thanee said:
			
		

> New proposal:




I like the 10' and 20'.

But I notice that in the 5', you've managed to get someone in between Mavic and Stinky the Crap-Stained Dog, and that takes all the fun out of it... 

-Hyp.


----------



## Thanee

Eshanna protects Mavic from the biggest threat currently present... 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Scotley

*Morley Human Ranger*

The marching order works for Morley. Don't give Beau a hard time, remember his nose is many times more sensitive than the rest of you.     He is medium rather than small.


----------



## Thanee

> (good roll, eh?)




Yep, very nice! 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Moved from IC thread:







			
				James Heard said:
			
		

> OOC: Which reminds me, does Mavic know anything about this place? Why it's here, who built it, and what purpose it serves when you could fairly easily move this...crap... to the river?



Do you mean the Effluvium?  If yes, then let's make a Knowledge (history) roll for you ... OK, decent enough.
Well, you know that the Effluvium has been here for centuries, although it seems to have expanded to its current state of olfactory virtuosity in the past 100 years with the increase in population.  The number of people living in Istivin has grown steadily in the last century as the country has become more cosmopolitan.
At first it was simply a mid-size town full of ex-Keoish minor nobles who came here to carve out their own destiny, and it kept that character for centuries.  It was only relatively recently that the town turned into a city and that the country began thinking of itself as more than just a vassal state to the crown in Niole Dra.
An aqueduct to the river was never constructed because early on there was no need to, there were simply not enough people living here.  As stated, it's only been in the last century that the city could have really used it.  There had been talk for years of building a proper sewage removal system, but then the wars happened, and people become preoccupied with simply surviving.

So I hope that was what you were asking about.  If not, you just a history lesson on the subject of Sterich sewage, which I'm sure are very excited about.


----------



## James Heard

Yes, actually I am. Otherwise I'd be wondering what these guys were smoking putting their craphole in the middle of the city when they've got running water not so far away. I think Mavic's got something he can do after he finishes right these lesser wrongs - introducing proper plumbing to Istivin.

"Get off the Mavic, you lout! I've GOT TO GO!"

Of such things, one's place in history is assured.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

James Heard said:
			
		

> Yes, actually I am. Otherwise I'd be wondering what these guys were smoking putting their craphole in the middle of the city when they've got running water not so far away. I think Mavic's got something he can do after he finishes right these lesser wrongs - introducing proper plumbing to Istivin.
> 
> "Get off the Mavic, you lout! I've GOT TO GO!"
> 
> Of such things, one's place in history is assured.



LOL.  I had forgotten that the "crapper" is actually named after Thomas Crapper.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Ranger Rick,

Let me know if you want to revise your last post after my last IC post (the one about getting through the pool).

Branding O.


----------



## Ranger Rick

I revised it.  Thanks for the heads up.


----------



## Thanee

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> OOC: Guess I won't post 'til after the creature goes...  /OOC




Just delay to the beginning of the next round.

Maybe BO can figure that in automatically, when there is only one opponent, or all opponents act at pretty much the same time...

Just remove everyone who would normally act after the opponent from the first resolved round and add them on top of the second round; the opponent will then go last in every resolved round automatically, and the result is, that we - the players - will always find a situation at the beginning of a new round, where we can act without having to guess how the opponent's actions might ruin our elaborate plans. One PbP-DM does this, and it's really not a bad idea at all.

For example...

--- NEW ROUND ---
~ROUND 1~
Mavic 23
Morley 16
Latalya 16
George 14
Creature 10
Reivik 5
Beau 4
Eshanna 2

--- NEW ROUND ---
~ROUND 2~
Mavic 23
Morley 16
Latalya 16
George 14
Creature 10
Reivik 5
Beau 4
Eshanna 2

--- NEW ROUND ---
~ROUND 3~
...
...
...

...would become...

--- NEW ROUND ---
~ROUND 1~
Mavic 23
Morley 16
Latalya 16
George 14
Creature 10

--- NEW ROUND ---
Reivik 5
Beau 4
Eshanna 2
~ROUND 2~
Mavic 23
Morley 16
Latalya 16
George 14
Creature 10

--- NEW ROUND ---
Reivik 5
Beau 4
Eshanna 2
~ROUND 3~
...
...
...

...and so on.

It doesn't change the order or even initiative values of anyone, it only changes the time when the round is resolved. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

I like your idea, Thanee.  I think we'll use it.  Things here were busy yesterday and today, but I should be able to get to posting the first room this evening.


----------



## Ranger Rick

I will be off line friday till Monday so feel free to use George as needed.


----------



## Ranger Rick

I am on for a little while.

If someone can threaten the creature, than I can use my sneak attack using a bow because I am with 30'...correct?

But can I attack for the next 3 rounds? or do I have a big penalty?

But using my boots of speed I should have attacks at  +13/+13/+11  so 3 attacks all with a 6d6 damage bonus might help over come this creatures damage reduction?


What creature is this?


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> If someone can threaten the creature, than I can use my sneak attack using a bow because I am with 30'...correct?



Sadly, no.  This is an ooze and has no discernible anatomy.  They are immune to flanking, crits and sneak attacks.



			
				Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> But can I attack for the next 3 rounds? or do I have a big penalty?



Being "nauseated" means you can only perform one move action every round.



			
				Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> But using my boots of speed I should have attacks at  +13/+13/+11  so 3 attacks all with a 6d6 damage bonus might help over come this creatures damage reduction?



See above.  Even if you are attacking three times a round, DR counts against each of your attacks seperately.



			
				Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> What creature is this?



None of you have ever encountered or heard of this creature before.  I made the appropriate knowledge rolls, and should have told you.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> If someone can threaten the creature, than I can use my sneak attack using a bow because I am with 30'...correct?




Even if oozes were subject to sneak attack, this doesn't work - you only flank with melee attacks.  You'd need to deny an opponent his Dex bonus to sneak attack with a bow (flat-footed, invisible, blind, grappled, etc, etc).

-Hyp.


----------



## Ranger Rick

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Sadly, no.  This is an ooze and has no discernible anatomy.  They are immune to flanking, crits and sneak attacks.  Thanks I had no idea this was an ooze.
> Being "nauseated" means you can only perform one move action every round.
> 
> See above.  Even if you are attacking three times a round, DR counts against each of your attacks seperately.  That I realized, or else I would have said 18d6.
> 
> None of you have ever encountered or heard of this creature before.  I made the appropriate knowledge rolls, and should have told you.   In RL I wanted to know.  An ooze is what I was looking for.





My answers in green


----------



## Branding Opportunity

I'm still waiting for someone to start quoting from the Star Wars trash compactor scene


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> I'm still waiting for someone to start quoting from the Star Wars trash compactor scene




Well, I don't think "That's your imagination" is quite appropriate 

But "What an incredible smell you've discovered!" fits.

-Hyp.


----------



## Thanee

BO: A little note... Latalya currently has only a +11 Fort (+2 resistance vs EVIL), because she does not wear her _cloak of resistance_, if she were, the save would be +13 Fort (NO +2 resistance, as it doesn't stack with the cloak.

I doubt, that ooze-thing is really evil (tho, who knows, I've seen fiendish oozes before ), so her save is probably 4 points lower.

Likewise, Eshanna only gains a +1 from the _Magic Circle_ spell (and also against EVIL sources only), because she already has a _cloak of resistance +1_, which provides a resistance bonus as well).

That's the bad part about these spells... resistance bonus to saves and deflection bonus to AC, two rather common bonus types, though Latalya does not have a _ring of protection_ at least.


Latalya's attack roll is also 1 point lower, because of the -2 Dex (as I had noted in my last IC post).


Oh, and Latalya's initiative should be 10 now, right before the creature, as a result of the ready action. 

Bye
Thanee

P.S. You could also highlight (red color) the part "George becomes nauseated for 3 rounds", just for completeness' sake.


----------



## Hypersmurf

One more question   Do bonuses to saves vs poison count against the nausea save?  I know they do against the Hezrou's Fort-save-or-Nausea Stench ability, and the Ghast and Troglodyte's Fort-save-or-Sickened Stench ability.

Given that Mavic failed on a 25, I doubt that a +2 to Reivik's 24 would make a significant difference to the result anyway, of course, but there's always hope 

-Hyp.


----------



## Thanee

I also just realized, that it was probably the cold iron, that made Latalya's arrow deal damage. Haha! I just picked that one, since it is cheaper and doesn't do -1 damage as the silver ones (Latalya has no standard arrows ).

Anyways... can we determine, that it was the metal, that hurt the creature? It sure looks like it... if so, Latalya will relate this information to her companions, of course!

Guess, I'll just do so in my next post...

Bye
Thanee

P.S. Hmm... that makes the fiendish ooze theory a little more likely as well...


----------



## Hypersmurf

Thanee said:
			
		

> I also just realized, that it was probably the cold iron, that made Latalya's arrow deal damage. Haha! I just picked that one, since it is cheaper and doesn't do -1 damage as the silver ones (Latalya has no standard arrows ).




Alternatively, it's got DR 5/X, and your 7 points dealt damage while the 3 and 2 pointers didn't 

I've got a cold iron axe, but I'm more inclined to just try to blast through the DR with Power Attack...

-Hyp.


----------



## Thanee

Yes, but the description (creature repulses from the attack) wouldn't really fit, if it was just a meager 2 damage. Much more likely, that it didn't 'like' the contact with the metal.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee, here's something which will obviously tell you what's going on.  On your character sheet the bow shows up as a +2 bow in the stat block, but only as a darkwood bow in your equipment list.  Is it magical or not?  If it is, the arrow does damage, if not, then no.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> One more question   Do bonuses to saves vs poison count against the nausea save?  I know they do against the Hezrou's Fort-save-or-Nausea Stench ability, and the Ghast and Troglodyte's Fort-save-or-Sickened Stench ability.
> 
> Given that Mavic failed on a 25, I doubt that a +2 to Reivik's 24 would make a significant difference to the result anyway, of course, but there's always hope
> 
> -Hyp.



Well argued, Mr. Smurf, well argued.  I reviewed the creature and realized that it hadn't been completely converted to 3.5

You get your +2 poison bonus!  Sadly, it doesn't make a difference.


----------



## Thanee

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Thanee, here's something which will obviously tell you what's going on.  On your character sheet the bow shows up as a +2 bow in the stat block, but only as a darkwood bow in your equipment list.  Is it magical or not?  If it is, the arrow does damage, if not, then no.




It is magical. Temporarily.

It's a _Greater Magic Weapon_ spell (as explained in the small print under the prepared spell), that's why it's not listed as magical in the equipment list; the sword is also listed with the  permanent bonus there, but I have listed the temporary bonus under the attack entry, because that is what it counts as. I'm trying to keep these entries as current as possible, so it's always the actual situation, depending on what spells are currently active. Altho, I have not edited the equipment... which obviously led to some confusion... maybe I should do so, too. 

But I suppose it's still reasonable enough to (falsely) assume, that it was the cold iron, heh. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> It is magical. Temporarily.
> 
> It's a _Greater Magic Weapon_ spell (as explained in the small print under the prepared spell), that's why it's not listed as magical in the equipment list; the sword is also listed with the  permanent bonus there, but I have listed the temporary bonus under the attack entry, because that is what it counts as. I'm trying to keep these entries as current as possible, so it's always the actual situation, depending on what spells are currently active. Altho, I have not edited the equipment... which obviously led to some confusion... maybe I should do so, too.
> 
> But I suppose it's still reasonable enough to (falsely) assume, that it was the cold iron, heh.



Thanks for clearing that up, Thanee.  Especially at higher levels there are so many things to keep track of at the same time.  Perhaps I should start instituting a "Magical effects currently running" section on my Excel sheet I already use to keep track of hp.  Hmmm, not a bad idea.

Thanks also for keeping your character sheet as up to date as you do (and that goes out to everyone).


----------



## Thanee

Yeah, active magical effects are really important to keep track of... also the durations. Especially at higher levels... if you only check those every other day or the likes, it's really easy to forget something. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

I was out of town this weekend, but hope to be back in the saddle this evening!


----------



## Thanee

Just a quick pointer to my PbP campaign starting soon, in case someone missed it. 

I cannot guarantee spots, of course, I'll try to make it fair for everyone who applied.

CLICK

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Any chance of posting before Monday, James?  I would love to post one more round before I head out for the rest of August.


----------



## James Heard

I was under the impression that we were still waiting for someone.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

James Heard said:
			
		

> I was under the impression that we were still waiting for someone.



Um, no, I don't think so.  Unless I'm really missing something?


----------



## James Heard

No clue, with everyone spending most of their time thinking up synonyms and roleplaying ways to describe vomiting it's possible I'm just off. Posted some actions, regardless of the turn order. Not much to do except let the Elemental do it's job and try to live now I hope.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

James Heard said:
			
		

> No clue, with everyone spending most of their time thinking up synonyms and roleplaying ways to describe vomiting it's possible I'm just off. Posted some actions, regardless of the turn order. Not much to do except let the Elemental do it's job and try to live now I hope.



Drawing the wand is only is only a move action, which means you still have a standar action, btw.


----------



## James Heard

That's right, showing the depths of my confusion for the effects and order going on this round.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Sorry for the longer than planned absence, folks, but I'm back in the saddle.

Hope everyone had a good August.

Anyone make it to Gen Con?


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Sorry for the longer than planned absence, folks, but I'm back in the saddle.




Hey, I remember you!  

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Hey, I remember you!



It's good to be remembered


----------



## Scotley

Welcome back!


----------



## Ranger Rick

I thought we where in bad shape before.  How do we send healing to the other side in time to save Morley?


----------



## Branding Opportunity

MOVED OVER FROM IC THREAD:







			
				Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> _OOC: Bear in mind, of course, that it's a pretty unusual ooze that's subject to sneak attacks! /OOC_



Yup.  Be aware, Ranger Rick, that all oozes and constructs are immune to sneak attacks and crits.  You're going to have to wear this "guy" down the old fashioned way: direct application of some serious force.


----------



## Scotley

Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> I thought we where in bad shape before.  How do we send healing to the other side in time to save Morley?




He hasn't crossed over to the 'other side' yet...oh you mean of the chamber.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> You're going to have to wear this "guy" down the old fashioned way: direct application of some serious force.




Against AC seventeen!  Oozes and zombies are supposed to be the Power Attacker's friends!  

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Yeah, this is turning out to be a tough CR 12 critter, given the cramped conditions.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Yeah, this is turning out to be a tough CR 12 critter, given the cramped conditions.




I'm just trying to figure out where the AC comes from.  Tradition with oozes is size penalty, Dex penalty, no natural armor... do the misses on 14s and 16s seem to be coming from it nimbly evading, or bouncing off its armor plating?

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> I'm just trying to figure out where the AC comes from.  Tradition with oozes is size penalty, Dex penalty, no natural armor... do the misses on 14s and 16s seem to be coming from it nimbly evading, or bouncing off its armor plating?



It evades most of the blows.  Strangely enough, it's an ooze with a 24 Dex.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> It evades most of the blows.  Strangely enough, it's an ooze with a 24 Dex.




Bloody hell!

-Hyp.


----------



## Ranger Rick

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> MOVED OVER FROM IC THREAD:Yup.  Be aware, Ranger Rick, that all oozes and constructs are immune to sneak attacks and crits.  You're going to have to wear this "guy" down the old fashioned way: direct application of some serious force.





I know I forgot about that during the interval.

I will be gone until Tuesday.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

I would normally NPC Mavic and Eshanna at this point, but will wait another day considering that folks are probably out of town for the holiday weekend.


----------



## James Heard

Thanks, I only got back this afternoon. Hurricanes, holidays, and snotty little kids aren't being kind to me lately. Frankly I could take another hurricane if the little kids would just sit still for the stupid camera.

Um, if you don't hear from me after this assume that I've finally been washed away by the next one.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

James Heard said:
			
		

> Thanks, I only got back this afternoon. Hurricanes, holidays, and snotty little kids aren't being kind to me lately. Frankly I could take another hurricane if the little kids would just sit still for the stupid camera.
> 
> Um, if you don't hear from me after this assume that I've finally been washed away by the next one.



Yikes, was it the edge of Katrina you caught?


----------



## Branding Opportunity

One thing that I haven't mentioned explicitly, is that I am obviously not creating descriptions of the results of the your attacks, even though I am listing the numbered outcomes.  Normally I love to create intricate tales of blood and guts, but my combat posts are already too long and take a lot of time to calculate and proof.

So feel free to personalize the outcomes yourself if you so choose.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Also, I don't mean to kibbitz, but I would recommend that someone make their way over to Morley pronto (either drawing the AoO from the ebony blob, or tumbling) and slap that boy with a Heal check, even if you don't have ranks.  He did stabilize this round, but then he was hit with more acid, which means he's loosing hp again.


----------



## James Heard

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Yikes, was it the edge of Katrina you caught?



_We_ hardly caught the edge of the hurricane at all, but when everything to the immediate west of you suddenly goes offline everything goes nuts. We just got a few roads underwater that always go underwater


			
				Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Also, I don't mean to kibbitz, but I would recommend that someone make their way over to Morley pronto (either drawing the AoO from the ebony blob, or tumbling) and slap that boy with a Heal check, even if you don't have ranks. He did stabilize this round, but then he was hit with more acid, which means he's loosing hp again



Yeah, but there's only so far our resident cohort cleric can go in a round while weaving through traffic.


----------



## Ranger Rick

And how do we get over there?


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Ranger Rick said:
			
		

> And how do we get over there?



Well, sadly you don't know how deep the water is that the blob is sitting in, so your best guess is that you'd have to swim, wade, or jump.  Unless you can swing some other form of transport.


----------



## Ranger Rick

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Well, sadly you don't know how deep the water is that the blob is sitting in, so your best guess is that you'd have to swim, wade, or jump.  Unless you can swing some other form of transport.





Which is why we are in this situation.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Also, I don't mean to kibbitz, but I would recommend that someone make their way over to Morley pronto (either drawing the AoO from the ebony blob, or tumbling) and slap that boy with a Heal check, even if you don't have ranks.  He did stabilize this round, but then he was hit with more acid, which means he's loosing hp again.




Ah, right.  Okay.  I'll give it a shot.

Look for a change in the declared action.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> OOC: Here's the plan, which could go wrong in so many ways.
> 
> Free action: drop hammer.
> 
> Move action: jump (Jump +20 with ACP, Tumble +4 with ACP) towards the elemental, hoping it gets the message in time to catch me and redirect me towards Morley's platform, using the 'draw weapon or weaponlike object as part of movement' rule to draw a wand of cure light wounds. From the tunnel to the platform via the elemental is only 35 feet - within reach of one move action. Assuming the elemental cooperates
> 
> Standard action: Assuming I reach the far platform intact, zap Morley with the wand.
> 
> (This is a great plan! I'm excited to be a part of it!  ) /OOC



  I'll see your quote and raise you a quote!  "Fastball special" coming up!


----------



## Ranger Rick

FYI I am out till monday for the weekend.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

So far only two people have posted their actions for next round (although Hypersmurf's may count as two all on its own).  Anyone else know what they want to do?


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> So far only two people have posted their actions for next round (although Hypersmurf's may count as two all on its own).




Awww, g'wan... one move action, one standard action, that's only one round!  

(Or do you mean two people?)

-Hyp.


----------



## James Heard

Not really...Not engaging in some serious blow up at this point seems a little anti-Mavic. OTOH the only other option for living party members seems to be Thanee I think. Is the acid a continuous damage effect or is it something that's dribbling off the mob?


----------



## Branding Opportunity

James Heard said:
			
		

> Not really...Not engaging in some serious blow up at this point seems a little anti-Mavic. OTOH the only other option for living party members seems to be Thanee I think. Is the acid a continuous damage effect or is it something that's dribbling off the mob?



It's those damn tendrils that are flailing around it covered in acid.  That's why you keep on having to make Reflex saves to avoid it each round.  It's not a continuous effect.  They effect everything in its reach.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Congrats James Heard on just passing your "1000 posts" mark!

On a completely seperate topic, how are folks doing/feeling out there?  Ever since my absence things have been a little slow on almost everyone's part, it seems.  Are people still enjoying themselves?  Are we just getting too bogged down in this combat?  This CR 12 creature just has boatloads of hp, I wish it could go faster myself.  Combat in the PbP world is a tricky thing.

Anything you wish we could have more/less of?  Let me know, I have pretty thick skin and I want this to be fun for everyone (including myself, of course).

BrOp


----------



## James Heard

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Congrats James Heard on just passing your "1000 posts" mark!



Wow. Didn't notice...


			
				Brand New Opera Tuna said:
			
		

> On a completely seperate topic, how are folks doing/feeling out there?  Ever since my absence things have been a little slow on almost everyone's part, it seems.  Are people still enjoying themselves?  Are we just getting too bogged down in this combat?  This CR 12 creature just has boatloads of hp, I wish it could go faster myself.  Combat in the PbP world is a tricky thing.
> 
> Anything you wish we could have more/less of?  Let me know, I have pretty thick skin and I want this to be fun for everyone (including myself, of course).



Like I said, I'm a little slower all around. I don't even have a problem with the combat, though I think we're really suffering without our kick-butt Paladin and we've got "brand new party-itus" bits floating around from not having ever _actually _done this together I think.  I still have to look up everyone's character sheets a lot to figure out what they're going to do and why, and that's not normal for midlevel parties that grew up together.


----------



## Thanee

James Heard said:
			
		

> OTOH the only other option for living party members seems to be Thanee I think.




I have no idea what that means! 

@BO: I'm a little slow currently, tho I try to keep up. If you want to continue, when I have not yet posted, feel free to have Latalya just keep shooting for now.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## James Heard

I thought you had Dimension Door readied?


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Mr. Smurf, I just realized something kinda funny.  This maneuver you want to pull with the elemental is pretty complicated, and you know that thing only as an Intelligence score of 6.  Are you sure you still want to do this?   Who knows where or how hard it will throw you?


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Mr. Smurf, I just realized something kinda funny.  This maneuver you want to pull with the elemental is pretty complicated, and you know that thing only as an Intelligence score of 6.  Are you sure you still want to do this?   Who knows where or how hard it will throw you?




I'm hoping to just use it as a stepping stone, more than anything else...

It may go horribly wrong, but hey... Morley takes one more round of acid damage and bleeds for one more point, he's dead, and I can't think of any other way to get to him with a standard action left this round, so it's a chance I have to take 

-Hyp.


----------



## James Heard

This is obviously going to end badly.


----------



## Thanee

James Heard said:
			
		

> I thought you had Dimension Door readied?




Right (even though I still don't know how I could read this out of that quoted part ). But Latalya needs to touch the target, isn't it too crowded in the front to do so?

Well, if we coordinate that, it should be possible to get there with Eshanna or Reivik or even both this round.


----------



## James Heard

Thanee said:
			
		

> I still don't know how I could read this out of that quoted part



I just figured that you had a good reason not to use it. I know I've been not wanting to toss that Wall of Force in the first freakin' encounter, but it seems to be the only sure way to prevent any more damage from hitting Morley beyond simply killing the monster before it has a chance to act.  Besides, I was thinking more about untrained Heal checks and fresh targets for the monster than coordinated assaults.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> Right (even though I still don't know how I could read this out of that quoted part ). But Latalya needs to touch the target, isn't it too crowded in the front to do so?
> 
> Well, if we coordinate that, it should be possible to get there with Eshanna or Reivik or even both this round.



Taking a look at the map of the IC thread, touching Eshanna would not be a problem, as it's only one diagonal space away from you.  The additional benefit of casting _Dimension Door_ on her instead of Reivik is that you won't have to cast defensively as Eshanna's body is providing you cover and therefore preventing AoO against you by the creature.  Having said that, you certainly have the movement allowance to move up next to Reivik and cast the spell on him, although you would have to cast defensively, and would also draw an AoO from the creature as you moved to a free space next to him.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Sorry that the maneuver didn't work, Mr. Smurf, but it just didn't make any sense any more once Eshanna popped in right next to Morley.   

That critter was a lot tougher than I thought it would be.  For anyone who's curious what the creature was, I will put it in spoiler blocks so as not to ruin for those who would rather keep it a mystery:[sblock]Advanced Fiendish Reekmurk (advanced to 19 HD)[/sblock]


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Damn! Forgot about the ooze not being vulnerable to crits. I corrected the post.  It's still dead, though.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Sorry that the maneuver didn't work, Mr. Smurf, but it just didn't make any sense any more once Eshanna popped in right next to Morley.




It didn't make a hell of a lot of sense _before_ she popped in.

But it would have been a thing of beauty anyway 

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> It didn't make a hell of a lot of sense _before_ she popped in.
> 
> But it would have been a thing of beauty anyway



Yup, those kinds of moves are generally the ones you remember long after that particular game is over and you've lost touch with all the people you played that game with and you're sitting around a bar somewhere wondering where your life went ...


----------



## Branding Opportunity

I know I keep on blabbing and blabbing, but I was wondering the other day if we might not recruit someone to replace Seeten.  My first inclination would be to see if anyone would be willing and interested in playing Anastasia herself, since she's already been so integrated into the backstory.

Would you all be interested in getting her character back?  Do you think we've given Seeten enough time to get his/her butt back?  Would you rather just scrap the character and not ask for someone else?  I'm just thinking that it might be nice to have another melee-monster in the crew.

Let us know what you think.


----------



## Thanee

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> It's still dead, though.




But not dead, dead, dead! 

As for Anastasia, I'm fine either way. If someone wants to jump in, sure, though I don't really like taking over existing characters myself (that is, I prefer playing my own characters, I have no problem with someone else playine someone else's character ), but there certainly are some folks out there who don't mind that and it surely doesn't hurt to ask. If not, five is still a good number.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Scotley

I'd vote for asking for a player to take over Anastasia first, since we have worked a good bit on shared history/backstory. It should be faster than getting a new character developed and integrated into the story as well. But as Thanee said not everyone likes to play someone else's character. 

Thanks everyone for saving Morley! I played him foolishly and will try to do better next time out.


----------



## James Heard

I'm all for _anything _that gives us a Paladin healer/front line fighter at this point.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

OK, I'll try to see if someone might be willing to play our dearly departed paladin.  I'll use this board to advertise.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

*The Knights of the Reconquista are Recruiting!*

As often ... okay, as very often happens in PbP games we have lost one of our players.  Specifically, it was the player portraying Anastasia Winterheart of Sterich, Valiant of Mayaheine, Shield of the Faithful (Human f Ftr2/Pal6/Cav6).

Is there anyone who would be willing to fill her well-armored shoes?  I would like to keep her as a character, only because everyone has spent a lot of time integrating her into the group and the campaign in general.  Anyone want to play a melee-heavy female paladin-type?  She kicks butt, plus Mayaheine is a cool, up-and-coming goddess.  What could be better than that?  

*Preference will be given to khavren, Ferrix, Manzanita, and sophist, as they were the original alternates for this game, but if none of them are interested it's first come, first serve.*

Oh, if you want to change some of her feats, equipment, or skills around, that would be fine with me, as long as her basic personality/outlook/background stays the same.

If you're curious about what kind of a game I run, feel free to read up on them through the links in my sig below.

BrOp


----------



## Thanee

I will not be around from wednesday til saturday. Have fun in the meantime! 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Thanee

Ah, one question I stumbled over recently, when looking at Latalya's character sheet...

How do you do equipment (weapons in particular) resizing and _Alter Self_ / _Polymorph_?

IIRC the Rules of the Game article says, that they change accordingly (much like with _Enlarge Person_), while there is no mentioning in the rules (only _Enlarge Person_ says so) and there is the sizing weapon enchantment in Complete Adventurer, which mentions, that it's cool for spellcasters who tend to polymorph themselves (which, however, is taken word by word from the 3.0 version, so that doesn't say much, as usual).

Anyways... how are we going to do this? Do weapons resize or not? And what about worn equipment?

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Hypersmurf

Thanee said:
			
		

> Anyways... how are we going to do this? Do weapons resize or not? And what about worn equipment?




My reading in 3.5 has always been clothing and jewellery resize, armor will fit someone of the same size category (dwarf and gnoll are both Medium, no problem, but dwarf and gnome are Medium and Small respectively, so Altering Self from one to the other will cause armor to merge), and weapons retain their size category.

But as you note, RotG differs.

-Hyp.


----------



## Guest 11456

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> *The Knights of the Reconquista are Recruiting!*
> 
> As often ... okay, as very often happens in PbP games we have lost one of our players.  Specifically, it was the player portraying Anastasia Winterheart of Sterich, Valiant of Mayaheine, Shield of the Faithful (Human f Ftr2/Pal6/Cav6).
> 
> Is there anyone who would be willing to fill her well-armored shoes?  I would like to keep her as a character, only because everyone has spent a lot of time integrating her into the group and the campaign in general.  Anyone want to play a melee-heavy female paladin-type?  She kicks butt, plus Mayaheine is a cool, up-and-coming goddess.  What could be better than that?
> 
> *Preference will be given to khavren, Ferrix, Manzanita, and sophist, as they were the original alternates for this game, but if none of them are interested it's first come, first serve.*
> 
> Oh, if you want to change some of her feats, equipment, or skills around, that would be fine with me, as long as her basic personality/outlook/background stays the same.
> 
> If you're curious about what kind of a game I run, feel free to read up on them through the links in my sig below.
> 
> BrOp




I'll throw in the gauntlet so to speak if one of the designated alternates doesn't show.

Tailspinner


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Tailspinner said:
			
		

> I'll throw in the gauntlet so to speak if one of the designated alternates doesn't show.



Thanks, Tailspinner, you're first on the go-to list!


----------



## Thanee

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> But as you note, RotG differs.




Yep, that's how we play it in our PnP games, but everyone has different views on this matter, so I thought I'd ask BO before assuming how it works here. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> My reading in 3.5 has always been clothing and jewellery resize, armor will fit someone of the same size category (dwarf and gnoll are both Medium, no problem, but dwarf and gnome are Medium and Small respectively, so Altering Self from one to the other will cause armor to merge), and weapons retain their size category.
> 
> But as you note, RotG differs.
> 
> -Hyp.



I've reread the descriptions of the _Alter Self_ and the _Polymorph_ spells and I agree with Mr. Smurf.  Weapons will not resize.  If the new form is capable of wearing or holding the item it will not meld and remain functional.


----------



## sophist

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> As often ... okay, as very often happens in PbP games we have lost one of our players.  Specifically, it was the player portraying Anastasia Winterheart of Sterich, Valiant of Mayaheine, Shield of the Faithful (Human f Ftr2/Pal6/Cav6).
> 
> Is there anyone who would be willing to fill her well-armored shoes?  I would like to keep her as a character, only because everyone has spent a lot of time integrating her into the group and the campaign in general.  Anyone want to play a melee-heavy female paladin-type?  She kicks butt, plus Mayaheine is a cool, up-and-coming goddess.  What could be better than that?
> 
> Oh, if you want to change some of her feats, equipment, or skills around, that would be fine with me, as long as her basic personality/outlook/background stays the same.
> 
> If you're curious about what kind of a game I run, feel free to read up on them through the links in my sig below.




Hmmm,
I looked at it. I am not adverse to playing women, but paladins: and then a lot of wasted potential on the cavalier class.  :\

You found someone interesed anyways.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

sophist said:
			
		

> Hmmm,
> I looked at it. I am not adverse to playing women, but paladins: and then a lot of wasted potential on the cavalier class.  :\
> 
> You found someone interesed anyways.



Thanks for checking in and considering it, sophist.

Here's a question for everyone else: what do you think is the chance of Seeten every coming back?  If there is a chance, even if it's a small one, it might be better to let someone to just create a new character.  That way they would probably be more into the game.

Then again, we might not even need another person!   Hmmm ...


----------



## Hypersmurf

It's been a while... I can't remember how much information we have about where we're going, down here!

Do we know anything that would help us choose between south and not-south?

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> It's been a while... I can't remember how much information we have about where we're going, down here!
> 
> Do we know anything that would help us choose between south and not-south?
> 
> -Hyp.



You never saw a plan or map of the under-level you are currently in, so you're actually unsure which is the right way.  You know from the size of the rock the castle sits on that these corridors can't go on forever (unless they just keep going down).  Judging that any sane architect would put the sewer exit on the bottom where it can drain out, you're guessing that you're as low as you can go and that there can't be more than 5 or 6 levels above you before you reach the "ground floor" of the keep.

You know that whatever took control of the violent guard last night probably came from down here, and that its been growing for years.

You haven't seen any guards, so you're guessing that this part is abandoned.  It doesn't look like anyone's been through here in a very long time.


----------



## Hypersmurf

And is the 'break in the wall' deliberate construction, or damage?

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> And is the 'break in the wall' deliberate construction, or damage?
> 
> -Hyp.



Deliberate construction.  It seems to lead to a side-tunnel.  Once you post that you stick your head around one corner or other I will give you more information, which should help you quite a bit in your decision.


----------



## Guest 11456

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Thanks for checking in and considering it, sophist.
> 
> Here's a question for everyone else: what do you think is the chance of Seeten every coming back?  If there is a chance, even if it's a small one, it might be better to let someone to just create a new character.  That way they would probably be more into the game.
> 
> Then again, we might not even need another person!   Hmmm ...




Well...

Seeten was last seen on the boards: 07-26-05 (03:19 PM)

His last post in the OOC thread was: 06-23-05, 07:36 AM:
[Been really busy at home, and at work, corporate firewall is updated, now blocking my access. So I'll be posting much less often, sadly. =(]

His last post in the game tread was: 06-14-05, 04:19 PM:
[Anastasia smiles at Morley, Reivik and George. She also looks at the temple, more with an eye for good and evil than magic alone, and also focuses on the storm. It feels like there is much in the way of coincidence, far too much for it to be solely bad luck and bad weather.]

I could play the character until either he returns or the character dies or moves on.

Thanx,
Tailspinner


----------



## James Heard

Just a note: I'm away until at least Monday I think, and perhaps as long as Wednesday, depending on if I have to attend a funeral.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

James Heard said:
			
		

> Just a note: I'm away until at least Monday I think, and perhaps as long as Wednesday, depending on if I have to attend a funeral.



Thanks for the FYI, James.


----------



## Ranger Rick

I am out for the weekend as well....no surprise there.


----------



## Thanee

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> I've reread the descriptions of the _Alter Self_ and the _Polymorph_ spells and I agree with Mr. Smurf.  Weapons will not resize.  If the new form is capable of wearing or holding the item it will not meld and remain functional.




Ok.

One follow-up question then. Would you mind if I changed Latalya's Longsword into a Greatsword?  The 'problem', which I stumbled over is, that if Latalya _polymorphs_ into a large creature, which she will certainly do if using the spell in combat, then her sword becomes a light weapon for her, which means no Power Attack. 

And the last polymorphing question for now... how do you want to go about what forms can be assumed?

Geez, and sorry for bringing that up now, really should have thought about all the inconveniences with these spells initially. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> One follow-up question then. Would you mind if I changed Latalya's Longsword into a Greatsword?  The 'problem', which I stumbled over is, that if Latalya _polymorphs_ into a large creature, which she will certainly do if using the spell in combat, then her sword becomes a light weapon for her, which means no Power Attack.



Yes, that would be fine.



			
				Thanee said:
			
		

> And the last polymorphing question for now... how do you want to go about what forms can be assumed?



I'm not exactly sure what you are specifically talking about, but I was planning on following the rules as laid out in the _Polymorph_ spell, i.e. you can take the form any any aberration, animal, dragon, fey, giant, humanoid, magical beast, monstrous humanoid, ooze, plant, or vermin that you know.  The creature you transform into can't have more HD than your caster level (11).  You get any Extraordinary Abilities of the creature.  I'm sure you can come up with inconsistancies, so feel free to bring me up to speed with any controversial uses of the spell.  I have generally GM'd lower level groups, so the spell has not come up very often.


----------



## Thanee

> Yes, that would be fine.




Thanks!  It's still a -2 to attack for wrongly sized weapon then, but that's not as bad as making one of her more important combat feats disfunctional.



> I'm not exactly sure what you are specifically talking about, but I was planning on following the rules as laid out in the Polymorph spell, i.e. you can take the form any any aberration, animal, dragon, fey, giant, humanoid, magical beast, monstrous humanoid, ooze, plant, or vermin that you know.




And that is exactly what I'm talking about...

What exactly does Latalya know?  Or rather how do we determine/limit that knowledge?

I would assume, that she has seen most 'common monsters' and certainly also a few not overly common ones. She has certainly seen more monsters than what has been mentioned in anything we have written here on the board until now.

In any case, when I use the spell in future, it would probably be easiest, if I already know whether or not a certain form is alright, otherwise it will just hold the game up to find a suitable one. 

Here are some ideas for your consideration, how we could determine, whether she knows enough about a certain monster to assume its form:

1) All monsters from the Monster Manual I with a CR of up to 11 are ok. All others only, if they have been encountered in the game.

2) The various Knowledge skills are used to determine, whether a specific monster is known. The DC is 10+HD as usual (Take 10 is allowed, because it makes a lot of rolls unnecessary and thus greatly speeds things up). Additionally, all monsters encountered in the game are considered familiar.

3) Both 1) and 2) apply.

4) Something else?

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> 2) The various Knowledge skills are used to determine, whether a specific monster is known. The DC is 10+HD as usual (Take 10 is allowed, because it makes a lot of rolls unnecessary and thus greatly speeds things up). Additionally, all monsters encountered in the game are considered familiar.



I'm going to rule that #2 applies with the following exceptions, which you never had to roll for:

ALL Animals (MM)
ALL Giants (MM)
ALL Dragons (MM)
ALL Fey (MM)
ALL Humanoids (MM)
ALL Monstrous Humanoids (MM)
ALL Plants (MM)
ALL Vermin (MM; note that you can't turn into a swarm)

In addition you are familiar with the following creatures and never have to make Knowledge rolls for them:

Aberrations:
Carrion Crawler (MM)
Drider (MM)
Ettercap (MM)
Grell (MMII)
Hook Horror (MMII)
Otyugh (MM)
Rust Monster (MM)
Tentamort (ToH)
Umber Hulk (MM)

Animal:
Bonesnapper (ToH)

Dragon:
Cloud Dragon (ToH)
Dragonnel (Draconomicon)
Mist Dragon (ToH)
Shadow Dragon (Draconomicon or Dragonlance: Age of Mortals)

Fey:
Atomie (ToH)
Buckawn (ToH)
Quickling (ToH)

Giant:
Giant, Wood (ToH)
Taer (Unapproachable East)

Humanoid:
Mite (ToH)
Mongrelfolk (FF)
Skulk (FF)

Magical Beast:
Basilisk (MM)
Bulette (MM)
Blink Dog (MM)
Chimera (MM)
Cockatrice (MM)
Displacer Beast (MM)
Giant Eagle (MM)
Giant Owl (MM)
Griffon (MM)
Kech (ToH)
Manticore (MM)
Owlbear (MM)
Raven, Giant (Frostburn)
Stirge (MM)
Tyrg (Dungeon #112)
Worg (MM)

Monstrous Humanoid:
Grippli (Dragon #324)

Plant:
Kampfult (ToH)
Needlefolk (MMII)

Vermin:
Flail Snail (ToH)
Giant Death Watch Beetle (ToH)
Giant Dragonfly (ToH or Arms & Equipment Guide)
Gaint Slicer Beetle (ToH)


NOTE TO ALL: First person to _correctly_ guess where the above list of exception creatures is partially taken from gets 500100 XP for their character!


----------



## Thanee

Thank you, very elaborate and helpful! 



			
				Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> You are allowed to transform into advanced/templated creatures (up to 11 HD of course), ... Advanced and templated creatures ALWAYS require the appropriate knowledge rolls, even if they're on the list above.




I don't think you can transform into advanced/templated creatures with these spells, so that is not really an issue, anyways. 



> NOTE TO ALL: First person to _correctly_ guess where the above list of exception creatures is partially taken from gets 500 XP for their character!




Isn't that a bit much, considering, that would be like half the XP we got recently? 

Anyways, my guess would be, that those are monsters encountered in the old module series (Against the Giants and stuff like that), where this is based on, or a continuation of?

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> I don't think you can transform into advanced/templated creatures with these spells, so that is not really an issue, anyways.



Ah, I didn't know that.  Well, there you go.  



			
				Thanee said:
			
		

> Isn't that a bit much, considering, that would be like half the XP we got recently?



Agreed.  Changed in above post.



			
				Thanee said:
			
		

> Anyways, my guess would be, that those are monsters encountered in the old module series (Against the Giants and stuff like that), where this is based on, or a continuation of?



Nope, but a good guess.


----------



## Hypersmurf

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> NOTE TO ALL: First person to _correctly_ guess where the above list of exception creatures is partially taken from gets 500100 XP for their character!




The Greyhawk Appendix to the 2E Monstrous Compendium?

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> The Greyhawk Appendix to the 2E Monstrous Compendium?
> 
> -Hyp.



Ding! Ding! Ding!  And we have a winner, folks, well-played.

Give that dwarf 100 XP.


----------



## Thanee

*applause*

Ah... at least I wasn't _that_ far off with my guess then, at least the general direction was right. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Manzanita

Just a note to say I won't be joining this game.  Looks like a good one, but I'm still too busy, just as I was when this game started.  At least my games aren't dying...


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Manzanita said:
			
		

> Just a note to say I won't be joining this game.  Looks like a good one, but I'm still too busy, just as I was when this game started.  At least my games aren't dying...



Thanks for checking back in, Manzanita.


----------



## Ferrix

Ah... fun...  tomorrow... tomorrow... I'll try to read a bit more about the female paladin but I'm never really keen on taking over peoples characters.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Ferrix said:
			
		

> Ah... fun...  tomorrow... tomorrow... I'll try to read a bit more about the female paladin but I'm never really keen on taking over peoples characters.



Well, I've been having second thoughts about that lately myself.  Perhaps introducing a new character might not be such a bad idea.  Especially if that character were a fightery type ...


----------



## khavren

I've taken over characters before, but I'd have to read back through the IC read to see how vocal she's been, usually there is a distinct change in style even with an effort to keep it similar.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

khavren said:
			
		

> I've taken over characters before, but I'd have to read back through the IC read to see how vocal she's been, usually there is a distinct change in style even with an effort to keep it similar.



That would not both me, khavren.  I wouldn't want you to play an exact duplicate, but you could develop her as you see fit.  Otherwise you might spend time worrying about if you would be "getting it right," which is no fun.


----------



## khavren

What kind of role did she play in the party dynamic? Usually Paladins end up being the "face" of a party and to a degree the leaders.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

khavren said:
			
		

> What kind of role did she play in the party dynamic? Usually Paladins end up being the "face" of a party and to a degree the leaders.



To be honest, all of that had not really solidified, IMO.  The character wasn't around long enough.  She certainly was a moral force, but that's not that unusual for paladins.


----------



## Ranger Rick

The paladin was our moral compass,  but not necesserally the face.  We have a few here that can hold there own with diplomancy.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

So do any of the original alternates have a definite feeling yes or no about taking over the character of the paladin?


----------



## khavren

I just looked over the sheet you have a link to a page back, what religon is she? What kind of morals?


----------



## Branding Opportunity

khavren said:
			
		

> I just looked over the sheet you have a link to a page back, what religon is she? What kind of morals?



Funny you should mention that.  She is a paladin of Mayaheine.  There's a big PDF file you can download from the Living Greyhawk RPGA site that has information on all the Greyhawk dieties (which also happen to include the core rules dieties.)  You can find it HERE.


----------



## Ferrix

If Khavren want's it, I let him have it.  I'm busy and over-extended as is.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

I don't know if it's because of the absences, but the game seems to be lagging a bit.  I will move the story forward, maybe that will get things going.

If there's something else that needs to be addressed, please let me know.

BrOp


----------



## James Heard

Just a note, back in town, but I have to go take care of the inevitable rl stuff that piles up when you have to suddenly leave for a week. I should be able to stop in a little later on tonight or early this morning with my long-awaited return of IC bad attitude mageity.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

FYI, I'm going to be out of town this weekend starting tomorrow and might not be posting as much next week (we'll have to see.)


----------



## khavren

Allrighty, I'll take a stab at it. Let me read up on the IC thread


----------



## Branding Opportunity

khavren said:
			
		

> Allrighty, I'll take a stab at it. Let me read up on the IC thread



Excellent!  Take a gander at what we've put together, and welcome to the group!  Let me know if you have any questions.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

FYI, here are the current HP totals (please check against own calculations):

Reivik:  95 out of 107 (2 pts of Dex damage)
Latalya:  98 out of 68
Noctra:  34 out of 34
Mavic:  40 out of 45 (4 pts of Dex damage)
Malec:  19 out of 19
Eshanna:  56 out of 56
George:  46 out of 46
Morley:  25 out of 79 (2 pts of Dex damage)
Beau:  42 out of 42

Morley, your dog has more HP than you do at the moment.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

BTW, if anyone is bothered by my posting what I consider routine actions (opening doors, picking locks) please let us know.  I'm just trying to keep things moving.  Obviously I can't do this too much, otherwise the Mods will make me move this thread over to the Story Hour boards   I'll try to keep it in check.


----------



## Scotley

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> FYI, here are the current HP totals (please check against own calculations):
> 
> Morley:  25 out of 79 (2 pts of Dex damage)
> 
> Morley, your dog has more HP than you do at the moment.





He's probably smarter too!


----------



## Hypersmurf

Just a quick note to say I'm out of town for the weekend...

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Just a quick note to say I'm out of town for the weekend...
> 
> -Hyp.



Thanks for letting us know, Mr. Smurf.


----------



## khavren

ok, I've read up to when they enter the sewers, shall we do my visitibg the temple?


----------



## Branding Opportunity

I apologize for having been AWOL for the past few days.  New jobs, new bosses, new butts to kiss (figuratively speaking, thank goodness).

I should be back in shape very soon.

Thanks,

BrOp


----------



## James Heard

Cool, I'm going to be off for the long weekend though


----------



## Thanee

Good luck with your new job then. Hope it's fun and the colleagues are cool. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> Good luck with your new job then. Hope it's fun and the colleagues are cool.



Thanks.  Sadly it's only a temporary job, but such is the life I lead.  I change "day jobs" quite a lot


----------



## Branding Opportunity

khavren said:
			
		

> ok, I've read up to when they enter the sewers, shall we do my visiting the temple?



Sure, sounds good.  I'll post in on the IC Boards.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

khavren,

Would you mind picking a color for all spoken text? It really helps me differentiate it while reading.

Thanks,

BrOp


----------



## khavren

no problem is  this taken?  if so, what about  this  or  this  ?


----------



## Branding Opportunity

khavren said:
			
		

> no problem is  this taken?  if so, what about  this  or  this  ?



The green and the yellow would be best.  The blue is too close to Mr. Smurf's color.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Sorry, folks.  Work and work-related business has kept me very ... well, busy lately.  That, and I bought Civ 4 on Friday   

I'm still here and will begin continue posting in the next day or two.

BrOp

*copied to my other threads*


----------



## James Heard

It's ok. I bought Civ the other night too and have spent the last few days desperately trying to talk myself out of buying a new video card. One last chance to do it, and then I'm off to Walmart to swear off ATI forever.


----------



## Thanee

Good thing, computer games are not addictive. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Scotley

I will be unavailable until Friday, please npc my character as needed to keep things moving.


----------



## Hypersmurf

I'm out of town for the weekend.

-Hyp.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

*Resurrecting the Reconquista*

Hi there,

Just a quick email to get this thread started again.  Wow, it's been a long time.  It's gotten dusty in here.  Just look at those cobwebs.

So far I've heard from Thanee, Scotley, and James Heard, all of whom have expressed an interest in starting up the game again.  J. Alexander will be taking over George with some minor modifications, and if I don't hear from khavren in the next few days, Bloodweaver1 has expressed an interest in playing Anastasia.

Looking forward to getting things going, and again I apologize for the way I left it last year.

Now where did I leave my broom?


----------



## Branding Opportunity

*Summary*

Right, so I promised to post a summary.  I apologize that it is so long, but I swear that most of it is relevant to what lies ahead.  Here it goes.

In order to understand what is currently going on in the troubled march, it is helpful to turn our gaze back over a decade.  In the year CY 576 a great menace arose in the March of Sterich.  Lolth, demon goddess of the drow, attempted to draw the entire town of Istivin into her corner of the Abyss.  In order to confuse and distract the forces opposing her, she riled up local tribes of giants living in the Jotens, Crystalmists, and Hellfurnaces, in addition to organizing attacks by her loyal drow and their allied kuo-toa.  She was finally defeated by a group of adventurers, and the threat to Istivin was removed.

In 582 CY, a series of conflicts collectively called the Greyhawk Wars began.  Iuz, who had escaped magical imprisonment beneath Greyhawk Castle in 570 CY, returned to his homelands and tricked the northern barbarians of the Thillonrian Peninsula into attacking the Hold of Stonefist.  The resulting power shifts caused numerous other conflicts to break out all over the Flanaess, and many of Sterich's brightest and boldest answered the call, even though the March itself was considered on the periphery of the greater conflict.

Taking advantage of the decrease in serious opposition, the giants and humanoids of the nearby mountains organized under the giant King Galmoor and launched an attack on Sterich in CY 584.  Initially mountain dwarves from the southwest sent warning to Istivin of a force gathering near the headwaters of the Davish River.  Soon thereafter, contact with the dwarfholds ceased altogether.  Istivin moved against the threatening incursion but failed to anticipate the speed and ferocity with which the assault would come.  The nation's unprepared and undermanned border forts buckled under the fierce assault, and many of their surviving soldiers fled to the interior to defend the capital.  Sterich's western baronies fell quickly as the forces of the Giant King marched for Istivin.  Overmatched and unprepared, Earl Querchard ordered a complete evacuation.  The group you travel with first formed during this period when they assisted in the evacuation of the village of Fitela.

Humbled, Earl Querchard fled to the city of Flen, in the neighboring kingdom of Keoland.  Although now virtually independent, Sterich had been established as a Keolandish vassal state, and King Skotti felt some responsibility for its fall.  He promoted Querchard to the title of marquis, and installed the ruler at the head of a vast army of reclamation that struck back against the giants beginning in the early spring of CY 585.  When the blooded army hacked its way to Istivin, they discovered a completely abandoned capital, with no sign of King Galmoor or his savage host.  The city's ancient buildings remained almost wholly intact, unlike the other conquered settlements of Sterich.  A puzzled Querchard resumed his position of rulership in Krelont Keep and set to the task of liberating the whole of the land.

By Coldeven of CY 588, all of Sterich had been reclaimed, but true peace never came.  A shadow of dread and disquiet had fallen over Istivin.  Tempers flared more easily, and deadly accidents occurred with regularity.  Foul nightmares began to haunt the populace, and more and more of Istivin's folk found themselves caged in the city's asylums.  Other citizens vanished altogether, including the marquis himself, who disappeared without a trace over a year ago (CY 590).  The city is now ruled by his foreign-born wife, the marchioness Resbin Dren Emondav.  She is intelligent, though lacking in imagination, and sees the iron rule of law as the answer to most issues.  To this end she remains holed up in Krelont Keep issuing decrees to battle the parasitic nobility plaguing the city by day and the unknown terrors of the night.

The group you are traveling with, sometimes referred to as the Heroes of Fitela, arrived in Istivin  yesterday after having spent the past few years fighting against the remnants of the giant and humanoid forces still menacing Sterich.  None of you had been to the capital in years, and so its change in character came as a surprise.  First there were the lengthy and bizarre background questions asked by the town guard before they let anyone into the city.  Once inside it didn't become any less strange.  The group split to pursue different interests.  George, accompanied by Reivik and Morley made their way to the East Citadel to meet with a half-elf captain of the army named Garant Ren.  Upon meeting him the group discovered that Ren was more than a little obsessed with combating the ill-defined “threat” to the country, although he seemed to single out the many petty nobles squabbling amongst each other for land and titles.  Latalya, Anastasia, and Mavic, on their way to Krelont Keep to speak with the marchioness, saved the life of a mason working on the temple of Pelor.  Although his fall had at first seemed to have been an accident, it was later discovered to have had a more sinister, if undetermined cause.

After waiting for a long while at the gates to Krelont Keep, Mavic was told that he would not be able to gain admittance.  He broke up a strange fight between a human and dwarf lord, who seemed to have gotten into a violent argument over nothing.  Once he and his followers dealt with the situation, the entire party retreated to a townhouse Lord Larigne had rented for them.

That night they were awoken by a scuffle in the street.  Running to investigate, they found members of the town guard trying to apprehend a skinny, deranged-looking, but unarmed man.  The situation quickly escalated when he cast a _cloudkill_ spell, murdering most of the guards.  The spellcaster was subdued after a short battle and it was discovered that he was actually under the effects of a _magic jar_ spell.  The man, who had also been magically disguised, turned out to be a guard named Alanar, stationed in the dungeons under Krelont Keep.  Sadly he retained no memory of what had happened to him.  Despite quick investigation, no one could determine who had been behind his enchantment.

The next morning the party was summoned by a man calling himself Algorthas the Seer, who promised that he had information regarding the occurrences of the previous night.  He informed them that he had been tracking the changes in Istivin since the end of the occupation, and that he believed answers could be found in the deepest levels under Krelont Keep, dungeons to which no outsiders had access.  He provided the group with a way to access these deeper dungeons through an ancient run-off pipe.

After brief preparations the heroes found the access tunnel and discovered it let under the keep to a fetid collection pool.  Trying to reach a door on the far side of the pool they were attacked by some type of fiendish ooze who gave them quite a fight.

Once they disposed of it, they made their way into the dungeons proper, only to discover that the first few rooms they came across had been recently abandoned.  They found obvious guard stations with games, food and drink left scattered about, as if the owners had simply gotten up and disappeared only hour before.

That's as far as we've gotten, I believe.  If you have any questions about any part of this, please feel free to refer back to the IC thread or ask me questions here.

BrOp


----------



## Branding Opportunity

*New beginning*

In case you don't regularly check the IC boards, I have posted the start of the IC flashback in the Greyhawk - The Reconquista: Part I (IC) thread.

BrOp


----------



## Rhun

So BrOp,

Where are we restarting at...I read through the last page of the IC thread, and it seems that there is something down the western corridor making a dragging noise, but we can't see what exactly is going on. 

Is this where the adventure is restarting?


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Rhun said:
			
		

> Is this where the adventure is restarting?



We're actually going to be starting with a flashback to a moment that was not "played through" IC.  Everyone thought it might be nice to recapitulate what is going on and get back into character again.  I will also be introducing a major NPC in this flashback as well.

Once that has played out we will go back to where we left off: in the corridor with the PCs just having heard the dragging noise.


----------



## Thanee

Ok, waiting for the flashback (that's not the one you have posted already, right?) before posting. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> Ok, waiting for the flashback (that's not the one you have posted already, right?) before posting.



Err, I did actually post it in the Reconquista IC thread.  It's the little blurb about everyone hanging out around the townhouse getting ready to follow the Sage's advice and explore under Krelont Keep.  I thought it would be a nice way to get everyone RPing with one another.  I also want to introduce an NPC who will be arriving shortly.


----------



## Thanee

Ah, ok. Didn't have the time yet to actually read it, only saw, that something is there. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

So was the flashback a bad idea?  Did I not set it up right?  Too static?  Would you rather just get back to where we left off?


----------



## hafrogman

I present to you Gregor, hopefully everything is in order.  Let me know what you think, BrOp.

[sblock=Character]
	
	




		Code:
	

[B]Name:[/B]       Gregor
[B]Class:[/B]      Druid 10 / Warshaper 1
[B]Race:[/B]       Human
[B]Size:[/B]       Medium (5'7", 174 lb)
[B]Gender:[/B]     Male
[B]Alignment:[/B]  Neutral       

[B]Str:[/B] 14 +2  (6p.)     [B]Level:[/B]    11     [B]XP:[/B] 60,500 / 66,000
[B]Dex:[/B] 14 +2  (6p.)     [B]BAB:[/B]      +7     [B]HP:[/B] 112 (11d8+44)
[B]Con:[/B] 16 +3  (6p.)*    [B]Grapple:[/B]  +9
[B]Int:[/B] 12 +1  (4p.)     [B]Speed:[/B]    30'
[B]Wis:[/B] 15 +2  (8p.)     [B]Init:[/B]     +6
[B]Cha:[/B] 10 +0  (2p.)       

* +1 @ 4th level, +1 @ 8th level


                      [B]Base  Armor  Shield  Dex  Size  Misc[/B]
[B]Armor:[/B] 17             10     +5     +0     +2   +0    
[B]Touch:[/B] 12
[B]Flat:[/B]  15

                      [B]Base  Mod  Misc[/B]
[B]Fort:[/B] +12              +9    +3   
[B]Ref:[/B]   +5              +3    +2   
[B]Will:[/B]  +9              +7    +2  

[B]Weapon                Attack  Damage  Critical  Type[/B]
Sling               +10/+5    1d4+3     20/x2     B       (range 100')
Dagger              +10/+5    1d4+2     19-20    P/S


[B]Languages:[/B]
Common, Keolandish, Druidic, Sylvan
   

[B]Abilities:[/B]
Shapeshift (Predator, Aerial, Slayer)
Nature Sense
Wild Empathy +10
Woodland Stride
Trackless Step
Resist Nature's Lure
Venom Immunity
Morphic Immunities
Morphic Weapons


[B]Feats:[/B]
Blind Fight [Human]
Improved Toughness [1st]
Improved Initiative [3rd]
Power Attack [6th]
Multiattack [9th]


[B]Skill Points:[/B] 82    [B]Max Ranks:[/B] 14/7

[B]Skills:                 Ranks  Mod  Misc[/B]

Concentrate +16         13     +3
Heal +15                13     +2
Jump +6                  4     +2
Knowledge:Nature +16    13     +1     +2
Listen +15              13     +2
Spot +15                13     +2
Survival +17            13     +2     +2


[B]Spells[/B]

0:  6  (Create Water, Cure Minor Wounds x2, Detect Magic, Know Direction, Light)
1: 5+2 (Faerie Fire, Jump, Longstrider, Magic Stone, Produce Flame)
2: 5+2 (Cat's Grace, Lesser Restoration x2, Spider Climb, Warp Wood)
3:  3  (Neutralize Poison, Protection From Energy, Water Breathing)
4:  3  (Cure Serious Wounds, Freedom of Movement, Ice Storm)
5:  2  (Cure Critical Wounds x2)


[B]Equipment:                    Cost  Weight[/B]
+3 Wild Leather Armor      36160gp    15lb
+1 Sling of Distance        8000gp     -lb
 - Bullets (10)              0.2gp    10lb
MW Dagger                    302gp     1lb

Rod of Lesser Extend        3000gp     5lb
Pearl of Power 1st (2)      2000gp     -lb
Pearl of Power 2nd (2)      8000gp     -lb
Everburning Torch            110gp     1lb

Wand of CLW (50)             750gp     -lb
Wand of CMW (50)            4500gp     -lb

Potions 
 - CMW (2)                   600gp     -lb
 - Darkvision (4)           1200gp     -lb
 - Shield of Faith +3 (4)   1200gp     -lb

Belt Pouch (2)                 2gp     1lb
Healer's Kit (10)             50gp     1lb
Spell Component Pouch          5gp     2lb
Waterskin                      1gp     4lb
              

                    Total  65880.2

[B]Total Weight:[/B] 40lb / 58lb light load
[B]Money:[/B] 119gp 8sp 0cp

[/sblock][sblock=Background]A scruffy looking man in his early thirties, Gregor looks somewhat out of place in polite company.  Usually dressed in old, stained leathers with his shaggy hair and beard lying loose around his head and shoulders.  He often looks distracted or wary, but when his attention becomes fixated on something he is very much alert, and his eyes burn with a fierce life.

Gregor's early life was fairly unremarkable.  The second son of a farmer, born and raised in Sterich.  When he was finished with his chores, he would take to wandering, exploring the lands out past his father's plot.  Eventually he got bored with farming at all, and decided to move on.  An old druid who lived nearby took him in and began training him as an apprentice.  Gregor took to the life well, and when the old man died, took up his mantle.  He lived at the boundary between the humans and the wilderness, helping each in little ways as he could.

He was fairly well settled into his life when the invasion came, and utterly unprepared for the savagery and swiftness of the humanoid hordes.  He did his best to help some of the nearby farmers to escape, but there were many he could not get to.  He tried to reach one last stead, only to find it already burning.  Orcs and goblinoids gathered around the fire, and one spotted him.  He ran, and they gave chase.  Running headlong into the woods, heedless of direction, only desiring to get away, he found himself running into another patrol.  Trying to calm himself and remember his magic, he took the form of a wolf, and faded back into the woods.  He was spotted a few times but the horde far less eager to chase a mangy wolf than a fleeing man.

And so began a long descent for Gregor.  He tried to get away from the invaders, but they were seemingly everywhere.  He could not risk his normal form, he was far too tempting a target.  Far better to journey as the wolf.  He moved through the wilderness, but still the hordes blocked him.  He could only move around them.  He stayed a wolf for far too long.  He lived wild, while the horde occupied the Sterich.  At first it was simply safer, but later fear drove him.  The invasion had calmed, perhaps he could have made his way back to civilization, but the thought of being caught terrified him, and so he remained where he was, hidden.  Eventually he began seeing humans again, fighting back against the hordes, but he still did not reveal himself.  He fled the liberators as readily as the invaders.  Instinct drove him to stay away, stay in hiding.

Finally, when the land had been reclaimed he found himself slowly drifting back to himself.  Somewhere along the way, after years as an animal, he had lost his humanity.  But the villagers returned, and the farmers, and with them his memories.  After four years as a wolf, Gregor the man walked back into the world.  However, something was still missing from him.  The hills and woods haunted him, and so he made his way to Istivin, seeking to reclaim something by living among the humans.  But there is something wrong with Istivin as well, something savage, something to fear.  Gregor is not much better for living within it's walls, but he continues to seek himself there.[/sblock][sblock=Shapeshifting Forms][sblock=Predator, The Wolf]
	
	




		Code:
	

[B]Str:[/B] 18 +4     [B]Level:[/B]    11     [B]HP:[/B] 112 (11d8+44)
[B]Dex:[/B] 14 +2     [B]BAB:[/B]      +7
[B]Con:[/B] 16 +3     [B]Grapple:[/B] +11
[B]Int:[/B] 12 +1     [B]Speed:[/B]    50'
[B]Wis:[/B] 15 +2     [B]Init:[/B]     +6
[B]Cha:[/B] 10 +0       


                      [B]Base  Armor  Shield  Dex  Size  Misc[/B]
[B]Armor:[/B] 21             10     +5     +0     +2   +4 (natural armor)    
[B]Touch:[/B] 12
[B]Flat:[/B]  19

                      [B]Base  Mod  Misc[/B]
[B]Fort:[/B] +12              +9    +3   
[B]Ref:[/B]   +5              +3    +2   
[B]Will:[/B]  +9              +7    +2  


[B]Weapon                Attack  Damage  Critical  Type[/B]
Bite                  +13     1d6+8     20/x2   P/B/S     (magical)
Morphic Bite                  1d8+8


[B]Feats:[/B]
Mobility [Form Bonus]


[B]Skills:                 Ranks  Mod  Misc[/B]
Jump +16                 4     +4     +8

[/sblock][sblock=Aerial, The Hawk]
	
	




		Code:
	

[B]Str:[/B] 16 +3     [B]Level:[/B]    11     [B]HP:[/B] 112 (11d8+44)
[B]Dex:[/B] 14 +2     [B]BAB:[/B]      +7     
[B]Con:[/B] 16 +3     [B]Grapple:[/B] +10
[B]Int:[/B] 12 +1     [B]Speed:[/B]    30'  Fly 40' (good)
[B]Wis:[/B] 15 +2     [B]Init:[/B]     +6
[B]Cha:[/B] 10 +0       


                      [B]Base  Armor  Shield  Dex  Size  Misc[/B]
[B]Armor:[/B] 17             10     +3     +0     +2   +2 (natural armor)    
[B]Touch:[/B] 12
[B]Flat:[/B]  15

                      [B]Base  Mod  Misc[/B]
[B]Fort:[/B] +12              +9    +3   
[B]Ref:[/B]   +7              +3    +2    +2   
[B]Will:[/B]  +9              +7    +2  


[B]Weapon                Attack  Damage  Critical  Type[/B]
Talon                +12      1d6+5     20/x2    P/S      (magical)
Morphic Talon                 1d8+5


[B]Feats:[/B]
Fly-by Attack [Form Bonus]

[/sblock][sblock=Slayer, The Bear]
	
	




		Code:
	

[B]Size:[/B]       Large

[B]Str:[/B] 22 +6     [B]Level:[/B]    11     [B]HP:[/B] 112 (11d8+44)
[B]Dex:[/B] 14 +2     [B]BAB:[/B]      +7   
[B]Con:[/B] 16 +3     [B]Grapple:[/B] +17
[B]Int:[/B] 12 +1     [B]Speed:[/B]    40'
[B]Wis:[/B] 15 +2     [B]Init:[/B]     +6
[B]Cha:[/B] 10 +0       


                      [B]Base  Armor  Shield  Dex  Size  Misc[/B]
[B]Armor:[/B] 25             10     +3     +0     +2   +8 (natural armor)    
[B]Touch:[/B] 12
[B]Flat:[/B]  23

                      [B]Base  Mod  Misc[/B]
[B]Fort:[/B] +16              +9    +3    +4   
[B]Ref:[/B]   +5              +3    +2   
[B]Will:[/B]  +9              +7    +2  

[B]Weapon                Attack  Damage  Critical  Type[/B]
Bite                  +15     1d8+8     19-20   P/B/S     (magical)
Claw                +13/+13   1d6+3     19-20    P/S      (magical)
Morphic Bite                  2d6+8
Morphic Claw                  1d8+3


[B]Feats:[/B]
Improved Critical: Bite [Form Bonus]
Improved Critical: Claw [Form Bonus]


[B]Skills:                 Ranks  Mod  Misc[/B]
Jump +14                 4     +6     +4

[/sblock][/sblock]


----------



## Rhun

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> So was the flashback a bad idea?  Did I not set it up right?  Too static?  Would you rather just get back to where we left off?





I'm fine with either, I just didn't want to start the posting since I am a newcomer!  I was hoping one of the old hats would sound off.


----------



## Bloodweaver1

Looks good to me. 
I just have to go through and read all of mt new character's post so I can be sure to get her tone right. 

-Blood


----------



## Branding Opportunity

hafrogman said:
			
		

> I present to you Gregor, hopefully everything is in order.  Let me know what you think, BrOp.



Looks good, hafrogman.  Go ahead and post it to the RG thread, please.

Something which I had been thinking about is what druids' reaction to the giant invasion of Sterich and Geoff had been.  Generally the organization of Greyhawk druids tend to stay neutral in the extreme, unless something outside the natural order is detected.  On the other hand, most members of the Old Faith are human, so that defending the faithful could be seen as a priority.  I can definitely see human and demi-human druids helping support and lead wilderness hit-and-run attacks on the humanoid occupiers.  Anyway, just something I am thinking about in order to more fully ground your background in the setting.

Any thoughts?


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Bloodweaver1 said:
			
		

> Looks good to me.
> I just have to go through and read all of mt new character's post so I can be sure to get her tone right. -Blood



Don't feel as if you have to exactly duplicate former interpretations of Anastasia's character.  Feel free to create the type of character you like.  She's your PC now after all.


----------



## hafrogman

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Any thoughts?




I would expect the organization as a whole to stay neutral, as you said.  But I wouldn't think they would bother enforcing neutrality on their members, especially if the giant invasion featured a lot of slash 'n' burn type activity in the area.  But in general, I would expect more individual activity, similar to Gregor's actions.  Self defense, defense of the faithful, or actions against all the kinds of natural attrocities one would expect from an army of evil humanoids (over hunting, killing animals for sport, destruction of wilderness, littering, etc.).


----------



## Thanee

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> So was the flashback a bad idea?  Did I not set it up right?  Too static?  Would you rather just get back to where we left off?




I'm just very busy currently... but things are calming down now... 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Rhun

Thanee said:
			
		

> I'm just very busy currently... but things are calming down now...
> 
> Bye
> Thanee





Sure, sure...you keep saying that!


----------



## James Heard

OK, I'm re-reading through everything (and wincing at some of my bad writing - I might revise Mavic's background a little just so it doesn't rot at my brain when I read it), and hopefully I'll have time to figure out a grand "Reddog chatter" sort of post to add from the flashback.


----------



## Bloodweaver1

Wow - I have read a lot of the posts, including the flashback and the adventure reminds me of a quest that I might have been apart of. Though I cannot be certain forsure, so time will tell. I will post something for Anastasia by tomorrow. Want to make sure I get the feel for her. 

-Blood


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Bloodweaver1 said:
			
		

> Wow - I have read a lot of the posts, including the flashback and the adventure reminds me of a quest that I might have been apart of. Though I cannot be certain forsure, so time will tell.



You mean you might have played this adventure before, or it just reminds you of another one?  If it's the former let me know, and I will change more details.

BrOp


----------



## Branding Opportunity

*Away*

I'm going to be out of town starting tomorrow morning (Friday) and will return on Monday evening of next week.  Hope everyone has a good weekend.


----------



## Rhun

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> I'm going to be out of town starting tomorrow morning (Friday) and will return on Monday evening of next week.  Hope everyone has a good weekend.





Have a good trip!


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Just a quick reminder to everyone concerning thwat the dwarven prince Dumple just said (and 100 XP to the first person who knows where Redmod Dumple originally comes from.)

Dumple talks about "what happened in Istivin during the war".  What he is referring to is the fact that the Giant King Galmoor conquered Istivin during the invasion in 584 CY.  A year later, Querchard, having just been elevated to the title of Marquis by King Skotti of Keoland, retook Istivin, only to find that it had been completely abandoned by the enemy.  Not only that, but unlike the rest of the towns, villages and holds of Sterich, which were flattened to the ground by the invaders, Istivin was basically intact.  It only displayed the damages wrought by the initial attack on the city.  It was almost as if the giants had never been there.  This was never explained.  Ever since then there has been a strange taint in Istivin which has grown over the years.


----------



## James Heard

Heh, I Googled. 

Dungeon Module G1-2-3: Against the Giants and Dungeon #117

Redmod Dumple, Prince of the Dwarven Court


----------



## Branding Opportunity

James Heard said:
			
		

> Heh, I Googled.
> 
> Dungeon Module G1-2-3: Against the Giants and Dungeon #117
> 
> Redmod Dumple, Prince of the Dwarven Court



True, but do you know how or where he appears in those modules?  (I didn't, I found him as I was browing those old adventures.  I just think it's kind of neat how they used the old materials as background.)


----------



## Bloodweaver1

Didn't the Gaint King commit suicide in the town square and in by doing so threw a curse onto the city? Or am I mixing adventures?

-Blood


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Bloodweaver1 said:
			
		

> Didn't the Gaint King commit suicide in the town square and in by doing so threw a curse onto the city? Or am I mixing adventures?



Yes, you are mixing adventures.  Nobody knows what happened to Galmoor.


----------



## James Heard

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> True, but do you know how or where he appears in those modules?  (I didn't, I found him as I was browing those old adventures.  I just think it's kind of neat how they used the old materials as background.)



He's a pregen character, like Morgan Ironwolf.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

James Heard said:
			
		

> He's a pregen character, like Morgan Ironwolf.



Woohoo!  We have a winner!

Mavic gets the 100 XP.

Thought it was a cool idea to take the pregen characters with the now funny-sounding names and turn them into the heroes of the Demonweb Pits.


----------



## James Heard

"That's LORD Fonkin Hoddypeak to YOU, worm!"


----------



## Rhun

Damn, I would have been able to answer that had I been online!

I still like Gleep Werp the Eyebiter, myself.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Rhun said:
			
		

> Damn, I would have been able to answer that had I been online!
> 
> I still like Gleep Werp the Eyebiter, myself.



Wait until you meet him in the next part of the story.  He turns out to be Latalya's cousin!


----------



## Thanee

NUMSI!? 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Bloodweaver1

During the time in this flashback, has the party met with oracle that tell us to head into the sewers yet? Or is that after this part? Sorry just trying to put the pieces together...


-Blood


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Bloodweaver1 said:
			
		

> During the time in this flashback, has the party met with oracle that tell us to head into the sewers yet? Or is that after this part? Sorry just trying to put the pieces together...



It got a bit confused earlier but I had originally meant for the flashback to take place after the visit to the smelly Sage, but before leaving for Krelont Keep.  Even though some of the posts above seem to indicate that it is taking place right after people wake up, I think it would give folks more things to talk about if it happens after the meeting.


----------



## Bloodweaver1

Ok cool. I just wanted to make I did not sound like fool when posting. 

-Blood


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> NUMSI!?
> 
> Bye
> Thanee



Gleep Werp the Eyebiter, folks, also known as Sardo Numspa, a.k.a. Numsi.

Did I get the reference right, Thanee?


----------



## Thanee

Not bad! 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

BTW, Bloodweaver, the dungeon you are exploring is under Krelont Keep, which is the fortress home of the Marquis and Marquise of Sterich.  It is not part of the city sewer system (Istivin has no sewer system).  The keep is situated on a tall rock outcropping in the middle of the city.

You probably wouldn't want to volunteer to folks that you are breaking into the dungeons underneath Krelont Keep.  That's a bit like admitting that you think something is wrong in the White House, so you're going to break in and figure out what's going on.  Even if your intentions are good (and how could they not be as you are a Paladin!), it would arouse serious suspicion.

Just an FYI.


----------



## Bloodweaver1

Point taken. 
I'm going to say that she got the vibe that the Prince was a former adventure and is all to familiar with 'risky' missions.    

I posted Anastasia new Character sheet in RG thread. 

Also I noticed that Anastasia was not with the party when they first went into the dungeon. Why did she go to the temple and where will she be when start back into the dungeon?


-Blood


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Bloodweaver1 said:
			
		

> Point taken.
> I'm going to say that she got the vibe that the Prince was a former adventure and is all to familiar with 'risky' missions.



OK, gotcha.  Didn't know you were going for that.  Yes, you may be right, he may understand it.  I certainly have not portrayed him as being a big fuddy duddy.



			
				Bloodweaver1 said:
			
		

> I posted Anastasia new Character sheet in RG thread.



Looks good, thanks.



			
				Bloodweaver1 said:
			
		

> Also I noticed that Anastasia was not with the party when they first went into the dungeon. Why did she go to the temple and where will she be when start back into the dungeon?



Anastasia wasn't with the group because we had already lost Seeten (the person who originally played her) by that point.  When we finish this flashback and go back to Krelont Keep I will say that you finally caught up with the rest of the group after having notified your superious in the Order.  You'll begin right away.  You obviously won't get the XP for killing the fiendish aquatic blob thingy, since Anastasia wasn't part of that combat.


----------



## Bloodweaver1

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> You obviously won't get the XP for killing the fiendish aquatic blob thingy, since Anastasia wasn't part of that combat.




CURSES!!!!


-Blood


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Unless there is still something you would like to ask Redmod Dumple or each other, I will consider the flashback over.  Once it seems that everyone has said everything what they wanted to say I will return to the action under Krelont Keep.


----------



## Rhun

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Unless there is still something you would like to ask Redmod Dumple or each other, I will consider the flashback over.  Once it seems that everyone has said everything what they wanted to say I will return to the action under Krelont Keep.




I'm good with going forward at this point.


----------



## James Heard

I've got no problems...


----------



## Branding Opportunity

*The new addition*

If everyone remembers, hafrogman will be joining us as a shapeshifting druid.  I've decided that it would make the most sense if we integrate him into the already existing backstory.  What I came up with is that his character Gregor fought with the rest of you during the assault on Godaykin Keep (I believe that was the name).  He fought valiantly at your side, but you have not seen him since (and that was five years ago in game time).  This was in the next to last of the "adventure synopsis" adventures that the original group and I came up with in order to create a deeper relationship between the characters.


Oh yeah, so he's the wolf


----------



## hafrogman

Hello all.

Thanks again for the opportunity to join, Branding.

It looks like you're refering to Oytpass Keep.  Godakin was earlier and not so much a "battle for" as an anti-spy mission.

Now to go introduce myself.


----------



## Bloodweaver1

Rhun said:
			
		

> I'm good with going forward at this point.



 I concur. 

Welcome hafrogman. Glad to have you aboard. 

-Blood


----------



## Scotley

Let's continue! Welcome aboard Hafrogman, always glad to game with you.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Sounds like folks want to get back to the action.  I will post the first "Krelont Keep" update this evening (EST).


----------



## Branding Opportunity

hafrogman said:
			
		

> It looks like you're refering to Oytpass Keep.  Godakin was earlier and not so much a "battle for" as an anti-spy mission.



You are correct.  Shows you what happens when you don't double-check your place names.

On a completely seperate question, does THANEE'S ORIGIANL MARCHING ORDER still work for everyone?  Where would you like to add Gregor?


----------



## hafrogman

Presumably you actually want to use the revised order?
http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=2457156&postcount=695

You're also going to need to add Anastasia back in.  Gonna get crowded.

Gregor can fit pretty much anywhere.  In spaces with enough room for bear form, he's a monster for the front, or he's healing in the middle, or bringing up the rear in case of attack from behind.

Presumably Gregor was with the paladin up until this new point.


----------



## Rhun

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> On a completely seperate question, does THANEE'S ORIGIANL MARCHING ORDER still work for everyone?  Where would you like to add Gregor?






Works for me! Or for Reivik, I guess I should say!


----------



## Branding Opportunity

hafrogman said:
			
		

> Presumably you actually want to use the revised order?
> http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=2457156&postcount=695



Yes, you are correct.  That is the correct link.



			
				hafrogman said:
			
		

> You're also going to need to add Anastasia back in.  Gonna get crowded.



Also correct.  Anastasia seems pretty melee focused, so should probably be toward the front as well.



			
				hafrogman said:
			
		

> Gregor can fit pretty much anywhere.  In spaces with enough room for bear form, he's a monster for the front, or he's healing in the middle, or bringing up the rear in case of attack from behind.



You also have some spell capabilities, which makes you a bit more versatile in terms of the marching order.  With the 40 ft. speed as the bear you can also get around pretty easily.



			
				hafrogman said:
			
		

> Presumably Gregor was with the paladin up until this new point.



Yes, that would be easiest to assume.


----------



## Scotley

Beau and Morley are fairly flexible too, but best with ranged, so near the back is great. Unless there is tracking to be done of course.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Once again ripping off Thanee's idea, I've added a "Party Conditions" section to the first post in the INFO THREAD.  This lets you know relatively how everyone is doing hp-wise, any conditions which might apply to them, and what spell effects they are under).  The conditions are as follows:


Unhurt:  It means you're um, at full hp, although other conditions may apply
Scratched:  Character is at 75% - 99% of his/her total hp
Injured:  Character is at 50% - 74% of his/her total hp
Seriously Injured:  Character is at 1% - 49% of his/her total hp
Disabled:  Character is at 0 hp
Dying:  Character is between -1 and -9 hp
Dead:  Character is dead. Time to call high priest of Pelor

Let me know if you think I made a mistake.


----------



## Bloodweaver1

How many people do we have in this party anyways!?! - j/k

So do we roll eight large? Pretty big.


-Blood


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Bloodweaver1 said:
			
		

> How many people do we have in this party anyways!?! - j/k
> 
> So do we roll eight large? Pretty big.



7 PCs, 1 Cohort, 8 followers, 1 animal companion and 2 familiars.

Note that the Reddogs (followers) are not in Krelont Keep with you.


----------



## Bloodweaver1

Damn... So do we have 8 people in the Keep?


-Blood


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Bloodweaver1 said:
			
		

> Damn... So do we have 8 people in the Keep?



Yup. Reivik, Latalya, George, Mavic, Eshanna, Morley, Anastasia, and Gregor.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

OK, file this under later-than-late, but I was just perusing the WotC document called "Living Greyhawk Dieties" from the RPGA website.  I discovered that Wee Jas is given the following domains:  Domination, Inquisition, Law, Magic, Mind, and Repose.  The first two and Mind are from Complete Divine, while Repose is from Sandstorm.

Since new folks are taking over characters and making minor changes to them, I thought I'd give the old-timers a chance to make a few adjustments here and there if they felt like it.

While I'm on the subject of gods and goddesses, that document also has good info on Mayaheine.  In addition, there is also specific info on paladins of Mayaheine (called Valiants) found in Dragon #306.  Let me know if you'd like to see it, Bloodweaver.


----------



## Bloodweaver1

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> While I'm on the subject of gods and goddesses, that document also has good info on Mayaheine.  In addition, there is also specific info on paladins of Mayaheine (called Valiants) found in Dragon #306.  Let me know if you'd like to see it, Bloodweaver.



Most def. Send it to me in an email if you can. Thanks!

-Blood


----------



## Branding Opportunity

*New Marching Order*

So here's the modified marching order with the addition of Anastasia and Gregor.  Now the question is what can you spell with it?

We'll see how this goes through the next combat.

BrOp


> <------ Walk direction
> 
> 5' :
> 
> R_A_G_M_E_B_Mo_L_Gr
> 
> 10' :
> 
> R_M_BMo
> A_G_E_L_Gr
> 
> 20' :
> 
> R__BMo
> A_M_Gr
> G_E_L


----------



## Branding Opportunity

*Apologies if needed*

Hi folks,

Just noted that it's been a while since J. Alexander has posted to either this or the IC thread.  I also noticed that J. Alexander was posting frequently until folks (including myself) pounced on him/her (sorry, I won't assume gender, even among gamers!) in character during the flashback for the comment about the Marchioness.

Now it may just be that you are busy, but I wanted to make sure that you weren't offended by the vehemence that I or anyone else went after you IC.  It in no way reflects on you personally.  Your posts were great, and the fact that characters were offended only served the storyline and was in no way meant as a personal attack.

In any case I apologize if this is the case, and apologize that I assumed this if you were just busy, J. Alexander.  I would hate to loose you as a player.

BrOp


----------



## Thanee

FYI: CLICK



Bye
Thanee


----------



## James Heard

Yup, Mavic's had a bad time of things recently, what with not getting in to the keep to get his ancestral lands that he's been fighting for years to retain and now all hinging upon an audience. And while Mavic privately doesn't care for his liege lady, now isn't the time to criticize her in front of powerful political entities that he's not an intimate of...Criticizing the marchioness can be done a lot more comfortably when she can't strip his landhold from his family.

Or to put it another way, if the marchioness required Mavic to make out with Beau right now, he'd be on top of it because it's that important to him.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

*Dragon*

James Heard:

Something I forgot to mention yesterday is that there is an article just about Wee Jas and her followers/philosphies/practices in the most recent issue of Dragon.  I don't know if you're interested or if you have access to it, but if you would like to see it I could get it to you fairly easily.


----------



## James Heard

I've read it and I own the magazine, but I can't remember which one it's in. On the other hand I'm pretty sure I read at least some of it and went "that's not how I'd do it." Sean Reynolds wrote it like all the other greyhawk gods articles, right? Maybe I'll ask him.


----------



## Rhun

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> In any case I apologize if this is the case, and apologize that I assumed this if you were just busy, J. Alexander.  I would hate to loose you as a player.





I'm in one of J. Alexander's games...he has just been exceptionally busy, and that is why he hasn't posted!


----------



## Branding Opportunity

James Heard said:
			
		

> I've read it and I own the magazine, but I can't remember which one it's in. On the other hand I'm pretty sure I read at least some of it and went "that's not how I'd do it." Sean Reynolds wrote it like all the other greyhawk gods articles, right? Maybe I'll ask him.



It's in issue #350 and yes, Sean Reynolds wrote it like all the other "Core Beliefs" articles.  Your milage may vary.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Rhun said:
			
		

> I'm in one of J. Alexander's games...he has just been exceptionally busy, and that is why he hasn't posted!



Thanks for the info, Rhun.  I just wanted to make sure.


----------



## James Heard

Well maybe I DON'T have it and haven't read it. Maybe I was thinking of something he'd said on his boards and mixing it up with the Boccob article, which made me more dedicated than ever to never running a character that supported that guy. 

I haven't even seen issue #349 out on shelves around here yet. I admit, I don't dwell over my FLGS checking each day either though. It's too far away to do that.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

*New Thread*

Following Thanee's shining example I have created a [COMBAT] thread for this game.  It can be found HERE.  Please post your combat actions to this thread.  Once everyone has posted, I will post the IC versions to the IC thread.

If you would like examples of how to post to this thread, please feel free to check out the [COMBAT] thread for Thanee's Pool of Radiance game.

BrOp


----------



## James Heard

Wee Jas Resurrected

That's about how I've been picturing Wee Jas, as a mighty Suel goddess of magic and death with a particular note in Sterich about ancestor worship and kingship thanks to survivors from that lost empire. While her followers realize that most other faiths regard her as something sinister and somehow intrusive into their new fangled gods and goddesses, she's something both more encompassing and less understood than those simplifications allow. She's the goddess of magic for one of the most powerful magical empires in the world, and she watched over her people during the Rain of Fire as a goddess of death. Some shallow faithful might misunderstand her lack of concern with their dismissal of their actions with undead, but Wee Jas doesn't concern herself with the undead because they are mere constructs and mostly outside her true dominion of death, the soul.

And I hope Sean got that right when he wrote the article, else I'm gonna have to rag him on it for making her lame like Boccob.  Wee Jas is the COOL magic goddess.


----------



## James Heard

Icons! Icons! Icons!


----------



## James Heard

More Icons! Icons! Icons!

Note: ENWorld is being a putz about the smaller version of this one, so I might have to go kick it around a little so the database will let me upload it.


----------



## Bloodweaver1

[Meta-Gaming] Death, evil, fading in and out... I'm guessing *Wraiths*. Hope everyone has a high touch AC or good Cha based Fort saves [/Meta-Gaming]

-Blood


----------



## Branding Opportunity

*Die-rolling or die rolling*

Just a quick reminder on my policy of the rolling of dice in my game:

Any check where your character would not know the outcome of a roll, I will handle.  This includes the following skill checks:
Appraise, Bluff, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Gather Information, Hide, Intimidate, any Knowledge, Listen, Move Silently, Open Lock, Search, Sense Motive, Slight of Hand, Spellcraft, and Spot.
Any other skill, attack, damage, save, level check, etc, feel free to roll using Invisible Castle, or let me do it, whichever you prefer.


----------



## Bloodweaver1

BrOp- I think the link for Anastasia character she leads to the incorrect version. Just might be me though. 

***Continues to look for cool Pld's pics.***

-Blood


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Bloodweaver1 said:
			
		

> BrOp- I think the link for Anastasia character she leads to the incorrect version. Just might be me though.



It wasn't just you.  Thanks for the heads up, I corrected it.


----------



## Thanee

(You mixed up Anastasia and Latalya (with the spell effects) in the list on the Combat Thread.)

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> (You mixed up Anastasia and Latalya (with the spell effects) in the list on the Combat Thread.)



Thanks, and in the [INFO] thread as well.  Corrected.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

James Heard said:
			
		

> Wee Jas Resurrected
> 
> That's about how I've been picturing Wee Jas, as a mighty Suel goddess of magic and death with a particular note in Sterich about ancestor worship and kingship thanks to survivors from that lost empire. While her followers realize that most other faiths regard her as something sinister and somehow intrusive into their new fangled gods and goddesses, she's something both more encompassing and less understood than those simplifications allow. She's the goddess of magic for one of the most powerful magical empires in the world, and she watched over her people during the Rain of Fire as a goddess of death. Some shallow faithful might misunderstand her lack of concern with their dismissal of their actions with undead, but Wee Jas doesn't concern herself with the undead because they are mere constructs and mostly outside her true dominion of death, the soul.
> 
> And I hope Sean got that right when he wrote the article, else I'm gonna have to rag him on it for making her lame like Boccob.  Wee Jas is the COOL magic goddess.



The article in Dragon seems to be fairly similar to the one on the Canonfire site, although I think the latter is better.  The former does contain a wee bit of crunch (a few new spells, relics of the faith, customized sommon list, and sample cleric NPCs) and goes into subjects such as holy days, myths of Wee Jas, the mage's and cleric's role in the faith, and aphorisms.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

*The Picture of Doria Gray?*

You know, Thanee, I just realized that the picture I picked to represent Latalya looks freakishly like your avatar.  She has almost the same expression and head angle and even looks a bit like her.  How weird is that?  Definitely did not mean to do that.


----------



## hafrogman

Icons for Gregor. . .

Large:
Bear
Dire Duck

Medium:
Wolf
Hawk
Man


----------



## Branding Opportunity

hafrogman said:
			
		

> Icons for Gregor. . .
> 
> Large:
> Bear
> Dire Duck
> 
> Medium:
> Wolf
> Hawk
> Man



I can't wait to see you stat out the duck!


----------



## Rhun

hafrogman said:
			
		

> Dire Duck




Now that's funny!


----------



## Scotley

I can't find anything I like better than the Lone Ranger...


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Scotley said:
			
		

> I can't find anything I like better than the Lone Ranger...



Then I shall keep him!  A bit of humor is never a bad thing, even if it doesn't quite fit into the setting.

On a sad note, Scotley, I just looked up "Nature's Favor" and it only gives a +1 bonus for every three caster levels. I believe that as an 11th level ranger you are only caster level 5, which means the total bonus would only be +1.  

On the upside, it's a swift action to cast, so you still have a full-round action to make if you like.


----------



## hafrogman

Rhun said:
			
		

> Now that's funny!




I just love the expression on his face.

Sadly it seems that I don't actually gain dire duck as a form.  But I should!


----------



## Thanee

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> You know, Thanee, I just realized that the picture I picked to represent Latalya looks freakishly like your avatar.  She has almost the same expression and head angle and even looks a bit like her.  How weird is that?  Definitely did not mean to do that.




Who is Doria Gray... 

Don't think they are _that_ similar, though.

I'm looking for a fitting avatar, but will most likely have to modify one myself. These here are quite ok, but would require some modifications still (changing colors in some areas (hair, eyes), etc). 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Scotley

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Then I shall keep him!  A bit of humor is never a bad thing, even if it doesn't quite fit into the setting.
> 
> On a sad note, Scotley, I just looked up "Nature's Favor" and it only gives a +1 bonus for every three caster levels. I believe that as an 11th level ranger you are only caster level 5, which means the total bonus would only be +1.
> 
> On the upside, it's a swift action to cast, so you still have a full-round action to make if you like.




I'll update the post. Maybe when I was making notes for the character I rounded up? I had down 6th level caster. Now to consider a full round action...


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Scotley said:
			
		

> I'll update the post. Maybe when I was making notes for the character I rounded up? I had down 6th level caster.



Just looked it up.







			
				SRD said:
			
		

> Through 3rd level, a ranger has no caster level. At 4th level and higher, his caster level is one-half his ranger level.


----------



## hafrogman

Thanee said:
			
		

> Who is Doria Gray...




Presumably female version of Dorian Gray . . . Oscar Wilde play.  Dorian lives a life of sin, debauchery and lascivious wassails (as Shakespeare would have it) but always maintained a youthful and innocent appearance.  All his sins and harsh living were reflected in a portrait of him instead of on his own visage.

I'm not quite sure what BrOp is accusing you of here.  Have you been leading a secret double life?


----------



## Branding Opportunity

hafrogman said:
			
		

> I'm not quite sure what BrOp is accusing you of here.



Hafrogman is right, it was a rather oblique reference to the Oscar Wilde book.  It wasn't supposed to make sense.  I just like to throw cultural references into my writing to prove that the enormous amount of money my family spent on my college education wasn't completely wasted.  

And I also like to needlessly hypertext things because I worked too many years as a librarian.


----------



## hafrogman

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> I just like to throw cultural references into my writing to prove that the enormous amount of money my family spent on my college education wasn't completely wasted.




Why do you think I felt the need to explain it before you could?


----------



## Thanee

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> It wasn't supposed to make sense.




Ok, that makes sense. 

Thanks for the explanation. 



> Have you been leading a secret double life?




Only one? 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Scotley

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Just looked it up.




Yes, I knew it was 1/2 ranger level. I guess at some point I decided that 5.5=6   

I corrected both the bonus and the duration in my original post as well as adding an extra action to toss a handy sunrod to the fore. Let me know if you'd like me to roll to get it where I want it.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Scotley said:
			
		

> Yes, I knew it was 1/2 ranger level. I guess at some point I decided that 5.5=6



There is a rule that one generally rounds down in D&D, right? Please correct me if I'm wrong.


----------



## Thanee

Here's a picture for Latalya that should work for now...

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Scotley

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> There is a rule that one generally rounds down in D&D, right? Please correct me if I'm wrong.




No you are correct.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

James Heard,

Are you readying an action this round?  You didn't mention anything in the [COMBAT] post, which is why I ask.

If you simply forgot, let me know and I will grandfather your readied action into the combat round which I will hopefully post shortly.

If you're simply sitting this round out, that's OK too ... just means I get to inflict more damage!

BrOp


----------



## Branding Opportunity

J. Alexander,

It would helpful if you reposted your version of "George" in the RG thread.  That way you can make modifications to it (hp, equipment carried, etc.), which would help me keep track of things as well.  Thanks.

BrOp


----------



## James Heard

Mavic doesn't have any clear targets and we're in a hallway under an important government building. Going before the threat shows up, he doesn't have any real reason to even pick out anything specific defensively to cast. As for anything "melee"...Mavic's mind just doesn't work like that until it hits the fan.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

hafrogman,

I'm assuming that you would like to ready an attack if one of the shadows comes close enough?

BrOp


----------



## hafrogman

Don't I go right after the shadows?

So if one is in range I don't need to ready?

Edit: oh right, two groups, two initiatives.  I guess I'm standing next to the wrong group?


----------



## Branding Opportunity

hafrogman said:
			
		

> I guess I'm standing next to the wrong group?



Wrong? Right? Who really knows anymore?  It's all just a little crowded party in the depths of Krelont Keep.

Also ...

J. Alexander, you might want to read through my last IC post again.  The bow that George is using is not very effective against the shadows.


----------



## J. Alexander

*George*

Thought I had posted it, i will do it this weekend....as for George's bow, in the draft i sent you the longbow is in fact a +2 longbow......


----------



## Branding Opportunity

J. Alexander said:
			
		

> Thought I had posted it, i will do it this weekend....as for George's bow, in the draft i sent you the longbow is in fact a +2 longbow......



OK, that makes sense now.  I had not referred to the email you had sent me.  I will update the last IC post to reflect that.

OK, I just checked and can't find the email.  Would you mind resending it to brandingopportunity at gmail dot com?  Thank you.


----------



## Bloodweaver1

This is the only decient female knight/paladin pic that I could find. 
So it will have to do. 


-Blood


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Bloodweaver1 said:
			
		

> This is the only decent female knight/paladin pic that I could find.
> So it will have to do.
> 
> 
> -Blood



That'll do Blood, that'll do.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

I'd like to get in one more combat round before the American Thanksgiving holiday, just so that we don't get bogged down completely.  Could everyone possibly make sure they've posted before the end of the day?

Thanks,

BrOp


----------



## Thanee

Just let Mavic cast _Magic Missile_ if he doesn't get around to state his action before the holiday. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Scotley

I'll get a post up now. Happy T-Day all!


----------



## James Heard

I don't know why I didn't notice we had progressed a round. I've been pretty busy, maybe I just had a case of my eyes glazing over while looking at my subscription page


----------



## Scotley

Actually, I don't think we have progressed. Morley's action was still the last one up.


----------



## Thanee

I think he's speaking of the round before that... 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## James Heard

Yeah, but let's face it: When I run games I'm one of those people who sometimes suggests that the players all move once combat starts to give me a better idea of the rotation for initiative...and when I'm playing at a table I usually just try to prep my actions beforehand and chime in when spoke to. Initiative isn't one of those places where I've got excellent game habits.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

J. Alexander said:
			
		

> Thought I had posted it, i will do it this weekend....as for George's bow, in the draft i sent you the longbow is in fact a +2 longbow......



OK, I updated the last IC post to reflect that you have been using a magical longbow this whole time.  Sadly it didn't make a difference, as the damn Incorporeal miss chance kicked in


----------



## Branding Opportunity

James Heard said:
			
		

> Yeah, but let's face it: When I run games I'm one of those people who sometimes suggests that the players all move once combat starts to give me a better idea of the rotation for initiative...and when I'm playing at a table I usually just try to prep my actions beforehand and chime in when spoke to. Initiative isn't one of those places where I've got excellent game habits.



I find that with D&D there are so many small things to keep track up that you ALWAYS end up let a few fall to the side.  It just happens that way unless you have a mind like a steel trap ... which I don't.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

I posted the next round on the IC thread, but am currently too tired to put the map up.  Will try to do it before I leave for the holidays tomorrow morning.

I will only be posting only occasionally Wed - Sun, as I will be away from home.

Happy Thanksgiving Day!


----------



## hafrogman

This may very well turn out to be my shortest lived character ever. . .

What happens if I take 14 strength damage while shapeshifted?
Am I dead anyways, or do I survive as long as my form's Str doesn't hit zero?


----------



## Rhun

hafrogman said:
			
		

> This may very well turn out to be my shortest lived character ever. . .
> 
> What happens if I take 14 strength damage while shapeshifted?
> Am I dead anyways, or do I survive as long as my form's Str doesn't hit zero?





Obviously this is up to the DM, but I would think you would stay alive as long as you are in your current form.


----------



## Thanee

And that's right, since your Str score doesn't hit 0 until then.

_Restoration_ to the rescue? 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## James Heard

Cheer up! You're the only character with any restoration spells memorized!


----------



## Thanee

Happy Holidays to those who celebrate them. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Rhun

Thanee said:
			
		

> Happy Holidays to those who celebrate them.





Indeed, Happy Holidays everyone!


----------



## hafrogman

Thanee said:
			
		

> And that's right, since your Str score doesn't hit 0 until then.
> 
> _Restoration_ to the rescue?





			
				James Heard said:
			
		

> Cheer up! You're the only character with any restoration spells memorized!




Aha!  But I can't cast restoration until I shift back to human form *WHOOPS* dead.    

My main worry is that technically, the bonuses for shapeshifting are enhancement, not base adjustments like wildshape.  So I'm basically waiting for word from BrOp     And a map.


----------



## hafrogman

Happy Thanks-Hana-Kwan-Christ-Shopping-Solstice!

I think I got everyone?


----------



## Thanee

hafrogman said:
			
		

> My main worry is that technically, the bonuses for shapeshifting are enhancement, not base adjustments like wildshape.




Doesn't make a difference... and Latalya can up your Strength far enough so you can cast your _Restoration_, just don't die before the combat is over. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Thanee

BrOp, there is one lil thing in the last round, which I would like to mention... Latalya wanted to attack Shadow E and then Shadow D, not Shadow F (quite on purpose, actually, she wants to help out Gregor there)! 

I only wrote, that she would attack Shadow D, if Shadow E disappeared from her first attack, which didn't quite take into account, that it wasn't there anymore to begin with when her turn came up, but the intent should have been clear enough, I guess. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Bloodweaver1

Just curious but is there a fort save against the str damage of the wraiths?


-Blood


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Bloodweaver1 said:
			
		

> Just curious but is there a fort save against the str damage of the wraiths?



There would be if they were wraiths, although then they would be damaging Con.  They're shadows, and strangely enough (I just checked the errata in case they changed something), you don't get a save.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> BrOp, there is one lil thing in the last round, which I would like to mention... Latalya wanted to attack Shadow E and then Shadow D, not Shadow F (quite on purpose, actually, she wants to help out Gregor there)!
> 
> I only wrote, that she would attack Shadow D, if Shadow E disappeared from her first attack, which didn't quite take into account, that it wasn't there anymore to begin with when her turn came up, but the intent should have been clear enough, I guess.
> 
> Bye
> Thanee



sorry, Thanee, I misread your intentions.  Will rewrite the IC post tomorrow or Friday.

I'm out of town until Sunday, so sadly there will be no map posted until then.  I'm sorry I didn't get to post it last night, but I was just too exhausted.

Oh, and I'm not going to kill Gregor on a technicality, so if someone can bump his strength before he shapechanges back to human form (and he doesn't get hit by any more shadows) he will be fine.


----------



## James Heard

What is Gregor's strength score at right now anyways?


----------



## hafrogman

James Heard said:
			
		

> What is Gregor's strength score at right now anyways?




For now he's okay.  -11 STR, 14 (3) base, 18 (7) in his current form.  But one more hit is like enough to give him that 3 extra points, so I thought I'd check.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Oops once again.  So Gregor is fine for now, although as you said, he won't be able to take much more.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

On a completely seperate note, I have a question about rebuking undead.  My understanding is that when one cowers one doesn't take any actions, and others get a +2 on attack rolls.  What I presumed in the previous combat round is that this effect only lasts until you get within 10 feet of the creature and attack it again.  After that it is no longer cowering.  The reason I had to assume that is because I couldn't find it explicitly stated anywhere.  I inferred this from the description of the "turning" rules.

Anybody know any better?

Thanks,
BrOp


----------



## Thanee

The part from Turn Undead:



> If you approach within 10 feet of them, however, they overcome being turned and act normally. (You can stand within 10 feet without breaking the turning effect—you just can’t approach them.) You can attack them with ranged attacks (from at least 10 feet away), and others can attack them in any fashion, without breaking the turning effect.




Note, that _you_ refers only to the cleric (who did the turning) here.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> Note, that _you_ refers only to the cleric (who did the turning) here.
> 
> Bye
> Thanee



Vielen dank für die Erklärung, Thanee.


----------



## Thanee

Bitteschön. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

I'd be curious to get feedback on the various ways I am formatting the combat round summaries.  Is it better to keep the OOC stuff in a smaller font?  Is it helpful to have certain information in a different color?  Should I add other categories to the color highlights?

I ask because I like to keep a balance between readibility and comprehensiveness.  There is so much to keep track of in a game such as this, so much information beeing thrown at you, that i think it's helpful to have things in easier categories.

Any advice ... well, maybe not ANY advice, but any helpful advice will be appreciated.

BrOp


----------



## Scotley

I found the formating you've done helpful, but it wasn't vital. If it proves to be too much trouble then I can live without. I certainly wouldn't ask for more. Keep up the good work!


----------



## Rhun

I like the way you have been handling it so far.


----------



## James Heard

Basically I recommend to people things to do like we're doing in the Reconquista and have  other people recommend to other people that "for this game, let's do something like this great game I've read here called the Reconquista." 

In other words, I think this is pretty much one of the best ways to do any of this Pbp gaming. If you decide to change anything for any reason I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt because almost everything has worked very well so far.


----------



## Thanee

Indeed. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

James Heard said:
			
		

> Basically I recommend to people things to do like we're doing in the Reconquista and have  other people recommend to other people that "for this game, let's do something like this great game I've read here called the Reconquista."
> 
> In other words, I think this is pretty much one of the best ways to do any of this Pbp gaming. If you decide to change anything for any reason I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt because almost everything has worked very well so far.



You make me laugh, Mr. Heard.  Now all I have to do is figure out how not to overthink things so much.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

*In and Out*

As a heads up I am letting you know that between Dec. 1st and 22nd I will be home only sporadically.  I've got a three week contract which puts me on the road for small stretches, probably three to five days at a time.  So if I don't update the stories for a few days, you will know why.  Sadly my laptop bit the dust about two years ago, and I haven't made enough moolah to buy a new one.  Otherwise I would be updating from the road with much greater frequency.

Having said that, I don't forsee the game coming to a complete standstill either.  Especially since you're about to come to a good part


----------



## Scotley

Just fyi, I will be out of touch until sometime Tuesday. NPC Morley as needed.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Scotley said:
			
		

> Just fyi, I will be out of touch until sometime Tuesday. NPC Morley as needed.



Thanks for letting us know, Scotley.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Combat Map added to my last post in the COMBAT thread.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Final Combat summary posted.

*XP Gained as follows:*
PCs:  943 XP
Cohort:  686 XP


----------



## Rhun

I have to say, Shadows suck!


----------



## Thanee

Shadows under Istivin? 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Just wanted to quickly apologize for not posting much this week.  Busy work-wise which is a good thing, as I didn't have a job before!

Updates coming before the end of the weekend.

BrOp


----------



## Rhun

It's all good BrOp. Happens to the best of us!


----------



## Thanee

Congratulations for your newly found business. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanks for the well-wishes on the new job.  It's only a temporary one (through the holidays), but that's they way things are in the performing arts.

Sorry for the extra delay as well, which was due to the job.

So there seems to have been a bit of confusion when it comes to HP and stuff like that.  Ability damage is listed pretty clearly in the first post of the [COMBAT] as well as the [INFO] threads.  In order to avoid this kind of confusion from now on, I will simply state your actual hp totals and not a more "realistic", but vaguer condition.  Please refer to either of the previous threads for the current totals.

Because folks aren't as damaged as you thought they were, you might want to revise some of the cure spells being cast.  Once folks have done that, I'll update the hp totals again.

I also wanted to let you all know that the show I'm doing is going on the road from this coming Saturday (12/9 or 9/12 for the Europeans) through the following Friday (Dec 15).  I don't think I'll be logging in from out of town as I don't have a laptop.


----------



## Bloodweaver1

I was about to make a post, but I was wondering what our opitions were?
Investigate the guard room or head back the other way?

-Blood


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Bloodweaver1 said:
			
		

> I was about to make a post, but I was wondering what our opitions were?
> Investigate the guard room or head back the other way?
> 
> -Blood



My new IC post should clarify this.



			
				Scotley said:
			
		

> The ranger bows his head and thanks for the healing. "I do thank you lady." He takes out a simple wand and calls upon its magic to heal himself of some of his wounds.
> 
> OOC: Cure Serious Wounds



Scotley, do you still want to cast this spell on yourself?  Morley is only down 11 hp.


----------



## Scotley

I guess I'll pass on the spell since he is down so little after all. Thanks.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Sorry again for the prolonged absence.  Finally back in town and at my computer.  Updates in the next day or two.

BrOp


----------



## James Heard

I think it's safe to say that everyone slows down a little bit over the holidays. I won't be able to post at all next week I think, depending on how much I can stand relatives.


----------



## Thanee

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Sorry again for the prolonged absence.  Finally back in town and at my computer.




Welcome back! 



> Updates in the next day or two.






Bye
Thanee


----------



## Scotley

Welcome back! As others have said, the holidays may slow things down. I don't expect to post much if at all for about a week after Friday.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanks again for your patience.  The brief tour took more out of me than I thought, but it is finally over now.  Just in time for the holidays!

I was a little confused about the healing spells everyone was casting, because of the differing accounts of exactly how many hp everyone had.  I've updated the Party Status in the [INFO] thread.  Let me know if you have any problems with my numbers.

Hope everyone who celebrates it has wonderful holidays.  Merry Christmas, Froehliche Weinachten!


----------



## Thanee

Merry Christmas! 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## James Heard

I think I was looking at our damage totals from one of the posts from before the "big break"? Perhaps I misunderstood them. It happens.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

May 2007 bring everyone all they can dream.

BrOp


----------



## Thanee

*A Happy New Year!* 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

hafrogman said:
			
		

> It looks like the status at the start hasn't had the restorations included.  I calculate 4 points of strength damage left for Gregor.



I had been updating the "Party Status" in the INFO THREAD and not the COMBAT THREAD.  I've taken care of that now.

I've also posted a map in the COMBAT THREAD.

BrOp


----------



## Thanee

Latalya was moving (60 ft. base move after _Haste_) to the other side (left wall, from the top view, not from her own viewpoint ) and much closer (10 ft. diagonally above and left from the demon, where the *other* small barrel is, so that she can take a 5-ft. step and be in striking distance).

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> Latalya was moving (60 ft. base move after _Haste_) to the other side (left wall, from the top view, not from her own viewpoint ) and much closer (10 ft. diagonally above and left from the demon, where the *other* small barrel is, so that she can take a 5-ft. step and be in striking distance).
> 
> Bye
> Thanee



Fixed (I hope)


----------



## Thanee

That's the right one. Thanks! 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

That was a mighty short combat.  Good job everyone!

Each PC member of the party received 707 XP for that encounter.  Eshanna earned 514 XP.


----------



## Rhun

_Hold Monster_ is such a great spell.


----------



## Thanee

Only when it works. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Rhun

Thanee said:
			
		

> Only when it works.
> 
> Bye
> Thanee





Well, there is that.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Rhun said:
			
		

> "How would a demon come to be here?" asks Reivik, cleaning off his heavy battle-sledge. "And more importantly, how many more of them lurk in these tunnels?"



Just FYI, the summoning of powerful evil outsiders is generally thought of as a pretty despicable (not to mention very dangerous) thing to do in Sterich.  With such of recent history of cross-planar shenanigans (see the old AD&D series "Queen of the Demonweb Pits), casting Gate or Planar Ally is generally a capital offense.  Luckily there aren't too many folks running around that are proficient enough to cast such high-level spells.

Just a little background to help see the dwarf's question from a socio-historical perspective.


----------



## Bloodweaver1

Just curious on what the hold up might be? 
The game is still going, is it not?

-Blood


----------



## Thanee

BO seems to be rather busy currently. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Rhun

Thanee said:
			
		

> BO seems to be rather busy currently.





I think he prefers BrOp. BO makes it sound like a personal hygeine problem.


----------



## James Heard

Oh, he does...But BO is a lot simpler to type, and even if he has an _enormous _ hygiene problem it's not really an issue on the internet much, is it?


----------



## Scotley

Computer users will have to bath more often once this tech toy gets added to IM.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=31&art_id=qw957450302238B226


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Sorry for dropping off.  During January the frequency of posts dropped off to the degree that I wasn't checking in every day, and then every other day and then ... well, you get the picture.  Apologies again.

BrOp or BO

P.S.: I was also waiting to see if anyone would cast Detect Magic, decide to take or not take the jewelry or suggest a next move.

P.P.S.:  There are 4 exists from this torture chamber, not including the one you came in through.  The one to the west smells like it leads to a collection of privies, the door to the east connects to a cell block row you've seen before (from it's eastern end, the one with the light in the middle).  To the south there are two doors, both torn off their hinges.  One looks like it leads to a storage room of some kind, while the other leads to another corridor which starts heading south and then turns due east very quickly.


----------



## Bloodweaver1

Welcome back!


			
				Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> P.P.S.:  There are 4 exists from this torture chamber, not including the one you came in through. The door to the east connects to a cell block row you've seen before (from it's eastern end, the one with the light in the middle).



This one has my vote. 

-Blood


----------



## Scotley

Likewise, welcome back. Morley would want to check out the storage room and the hall--the places where the door have been ripped.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Something which I should probably mention is my take on magic items in D&D.  Since we're dealing with a pre-industrial society, and since any permanent magic items requires so much time, effort, and literally a piece of oneself (expressed in XP) to create, no two will look alike.    Each will bear some attributes which reflect the artistic talent, personality, culture, or race of the creator, or the time in which he lived.  There is no such thing as a "standard" magic item.  Even something as mundane as a short sword +1 will bear markings and a design which may help identify the creator.  None of these characteristics will necessarily have an impact on how the item functions, although certain items may be worth less or more, depending on whom you try to sell it to.

As an example, let's suppose you come across an ancient scimitar +2, created by a Suloise high magus before the invoked devastation.  In game terms it would simply be a scimitar +2, but to a collector of Suloise antiques, or another magus of Suloise heritage it might be worth a lot more.  On the other hand, if you tried to fence the scimitar with a Baklunish tribesman from up north, he might offer you a lot less, given the ancient grudge between their two peoples.


----------



## Rhun

Cool, BrOp. I like that a lot!


----------



## James Heard

I'm getting shades of Prisoner of Zenda now for some reason.

*giddy*

I _love _The Prisoner of Zenda.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

James Heard said:
			
		

> I'm getting shades of Prisoner of Zenda now for some reason.
> 
> *giddy*
> 
> I _love _The Prisoner of Zenda.



I had to look that one up.  Never seen it, but the plot does look interesting, and I love Douglas Fairbanks movies.


----------



## James Heard

...

I just can't imagine someone denied the joy of at least one of the versions of The Prisoner of Zenda.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

J. Alexander,

For some reason I can't find a copy of the updated "George" character sheet on my computer or in the forums.  Would you mind adding it to the ROGUES GALLERY or emailing it to me at brandingopportunity at gmail dot com?

Thanks,

BrOp


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Sorry it took me so long to post the last combat round.  It was a big one and I was out of town all weekend.  Let me know if I made any mistakes or miscalculations.

BrOp


----------



## Thanee

Latalya doesn't have Combat Reflexes. 

But that doesn't really matter, since she wouldn't get any AoO, anyways, because of the Spring Attack (if that is the feat).

Bye
Thanee


----------



## James Heard

Sorry if this makes anyone's normal actions a little more difficult, but I figured being swamped by shadows from all sides again wasn't what everyone wanted to do either.


----------



## hafrogman

Oh, I'm not really complaining.  They were quickly killing us.  I just thought it amusing.

Gregor: I cast a spell
Mavic: I cast anti-magic
Gregor: Dammit.


----------



## James Heard

*shrug* It's what happens when spellcasters doing battlefield control go near the end of the initiative.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> Latalya doesn't have Combat Reflexes.
> 
> But that doesn't really matter, since she wouldn't get any AoO, anyways, because of the Spring Attack (if that is the feat).



See, that's what happens when you misread a character sheet and forget certain vital elements of what makes up a feat.

In either case it doesn't matter because nobody hit anyone during the extra attacks anyway.  But I will try to remember for next time.


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## Branding Opportunity

So here's a topic that came up for me during the last round.  When you folks are playing D&D, do you let the spellcasters determine which corner of the square they are standing in becomes the "center of effect for a 10 ft. radius spell" centered on the spellcaster?  The reason I ask, is that if you center a spell on the center of a square (where the spellcaster is standing) you run into the problem of spells only reaching half a square at their edges.


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## Thanee

I just let the spell cover all squares that are within the radius (as in, the caster could move there with a (radius) ft. move, ignoring obstacles) from the center of the square the caster is in.

Bye
Thanee


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## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> I just let the spell cover all squares that are within the radius (as in, the caster could move there with a (radius) ft. move, ignoring obstacles) from the center of the square the caster is in.



If I am understanding you correctly, Thanee, wouldn't that then cover a larger area than is actually listed?  What I mean is if you center a 10 foot radius spell on yourself and you are considered for game terms to be standing in the middle of your square, the spell would then cover half-squares on each end.  If I am understanding you, you are saying that one should count those half squares as whole squares?

Sorry this is so convoluted.


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## Rhun

I work it the same way as Thanee in my games. I count the half-squares as whole. So yes, it is technically a somewhat larger area than the true radius/diameter of the spell, but there isn't much you can do when you play on a grid.


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## hafrogman

Yeah, the games I've played in have gone the same way.  A 5' radius spell effects everyone within 5' of the caster (a 15' diameter effect, 9 squares).  And the rest extrapolate the same idea . . . like this.


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## Branding Opportunity

hafrogman said:
			
		

> Yeah, the games I've played in have gone the same way.  A 5' radius spell effects everyone within 5' of the caster (a 15' diameter effect, 9 squares).  And the rest extrapolate the same idea . . . like this.



Gotcha.  Thanks for the diagram, hafrogman.  I guess as long as one applies this to everyone (PCs and foes alike) it all evens out in the end.  D&D combat rules are complicated enough, no need to make them more so by worrying about half-squares.

Thanks for the info, all.


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## Branding Opportunity

Just a quick note that I have updated the [INFO] thread with a new picture, in addition to creating a separate post listing everyone's condition.  I've also removed the duplicate Party Condition listing from the [COMBAT THREAD].  It just didn't make sense to have to update two listings instead of one.


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## Thanee

Yep, just put up a link to the one condition post, when it is needed somewhere else (i.e. in the combat thread).

Bye
Thanee


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## Branding Opportunity

Just a quick note that I will post the next round of actions this evening (EST).  I hate to NPC folks but I want to keep things moving.

BrOp


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## Thanee

The bows shouldn't do anything against the shadows... you need magic weapons to hurt them (and even if the bows are magical, they really aren't from within the AMF). 



> An incorporeal creature has no physical body. It can be harmed only by other incorporeal creatures, magic weapons or creatures that strike as magic weapons, and spells, spell-like abilities, or supernatural abilities. It is immune to all nonmagical attack forms.




Bye
Thanee


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## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> The bows shouldn't do anything against the shadows... you need magic weapons to hurt them (and even if the bows are magical, they really aren't from within the AMF).



Shoot, you're right, of course, I'll change the post.


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## Branding Opportunity

Added a new picture to the [INFO] thread.


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## hafrogman

I shall be away from the 1st to the 5th.  
Try not to kill my character while I'm gone.

kthxbye


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## Bloodweaver1

Anastasia will stay with her action. 
She can barely move anyway....

"My Kingdom for a restoration potion...."   

-Blood


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## Branding Opportunity

You'll note that I changed some of the posts slightly in the final version of the last round.  I only did this when due to changing circumstances the original actions didn't make as much sense anymore.  In general I do my best to stick with what you've all posted.  Let me know if that's a problem in the future.


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## Thanee

> Latalya 5 - 2 = 3 vs. spell 35




Almost. 

Bye
Thanee


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## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> Almost.
> 
> Bye
> Thanee



Sorry I, duh, forgot to add your BAB into your grapple check.  I've updated it in the IC post, although it didn't make a diff vs. the spell.

BrOp


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## Thanee

Hey, double digit result! 

Bye
Thanee


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## Branding Opportunity

Been meaning to post this for a while.  Paizo accidentally sent me an extra copy of Dungeon magazine #141 (December 2006).  Does anyone want it?  I'd be more than happy to pass it on for free.  Let me know via email (brandingopportunity at gmail dot com), first come, first serve.

Br Op


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## Branding Opportunity

From [COMBAT] thread:


			
				Bloodweaver1 said:
			
		

> OOC: It is my understanding that the Shadows are in held in some kind of ‘stasis’ and will not return until Mavik’s ward expires? If so, Anastasia will move the south side of the cell opening and help the unconscious ‘King’ through.



Although that is not the interpretation I have ended up with, that is the one I began the encounter with, so it sticks.  They will stay "in stasis" until the wizard moves away from his current location.  As the field is moved away, they will reappear.

BTW, the Marquis is nowhere near unconscious.  

Br Op


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## Rhun

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> BTW, the Marquis is nowhere near unconscious.





Just give Reivik a round or two...he is working on it.


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## James Heard

IIRC, Antimagic removes the shadow's ability to strike from the ethereal plane. They're not in stasis or held or anything, they're simply unable to strike at anyone inside the antimagic field because they can't appear there. We should be glad they don't have _ghost touch _slings/crossbows.


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## Bloodweaver1

Well thats good to know incase there are any more of these things. 
I have update Anastasia's action for that round. 
Is also correct to presume that Mavrik's field also supresses the abilities from our magical items?


-Blood


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## Branding Opportunity

Bloodweaver1 said:
			
		

> Is also correct to presume that Mavrik's field also suppresses the abilities from our magical items?



Yes, that is correct.  Although it's Mavic, not Mavrik, otherwise I'd be making dumb Top Gun jokes all the time.


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## James Heard

Yup, I know I wasn't think of Top Gun when I kicked out the name. I think I was actually looking at "Manic" and playing around with changing letters out.


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## Thanee

James Heard said:
			
		

> IIRC, Antimagic removes the shadow's ability to strike from the ethereal plane. They're not in stasis or held or anything, they're simply unable to strike at anyone inside the antimagic field because they can't appear there. We should be glad they don't have _ghost touch _slings/crossbows.




Shadows are not on the ethereal plane, they are incorporeal, but nonetheless on the material plane.

Here's what happens with them:



> Summoned creatures of any type and incorporeal undead wink out if they enter an antimagic field. They reappear in the same spot once the field goes away.




Bye
Thanee


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## James Heard

Same difference then, all I know is that Mavic's not gonna sit around played into Shadow pincushion while there are big strong nonmagical arms to beat his king into submission and flee with.


----------



## Bloodweaver1

I will be out of pocket for most of this week. Please NPC my character as fit. I should be back by the weekend. Thanks!

-Blood


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## Branding Opportunity

Bloodweaver1 said:
			
		

> I will be out of pocket for most of this week. Please NPC my character as fit. I should be back by the weekend. Thanks!



Thanks for letting us know, Bloodweaver.  Since Anastasia can't do much right now, that shouldn't be too hard.


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## Branding Opportunity

Copies from IC Thread said:
			
		

> OOC: Trip Attack#1 17 + 6 = 23, hit! Opposed Trip check: Latalya 17 + 2 = 19 vs Marquis 10, success! Marquis is now prone; Follow-Up Attack 16 + 8 (BAB) + 4 (Magebane) - 2 (Str) – 4 (nonlethal) = 22, hit! Damage = 2d6 – 2 = Marquis takes 9 hp of nonlethal damage, (Magebane) 2d6 = Marquis takes 7 hp of damage; Attack#2 4 + 1 = 5, miss



Thanee, let me know if I messed up on the attack roll adjustments.  Even with a lower attack roll bonus, you would have still hit, due to his lowered AC.  I just crunched the numbers numerous times and couldn't come up with the ones you did.  Rather than delay posting the combat round, I thought I would ask you after the fact.


----------



## Thanee

Well, I counted the weapon as nonmagical since Latalya is inside the AMF (forgot to add in masterwork, though, I think ).

If you count the square the attack is aimed at (i.e. the Marquis', which is not in the AMF), then what you used is right, of course.

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Thanee said:
			
		

> Well, I counted the weapon as nonmagical since Latalya is inside the AMF (forgot to add in masterwork, though, I think ).
> 
> If you count the square the attack is aimed at (i.e. the Marquis', which is not in the AMF), then what you used is right, of course.



Duh, of course.  Since you were standing in the AMF (even though you were striking into a space not in the AMF) your weapon would have been considered non-magical.

In this thread I have generally always subscribed to the maxim:  "When it comes to the rules, Thanee or Hypersmurf are always right".  

BrOp


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## Rhun

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> In this thread I have generally always subscribed to the maxim:  "When it comes to the rules, Thanee or Hypersmurf are always right".




They are definitely hard to argue with. Stupid logic!


----------



## Bloodweaver1

I'm back and will be catching up with a reply later tonight. 

-Blood


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Bloodweaver1 said:
			
		

> I'm back and will be catching up with a reply later tonight.



Glad to have you back, Bloodweaver.

On a separate subject, I would like to address the absence of J. Alexander.  I sent an email a week ago, asking if s/he (don't want to assume) would be back, but received no reply.  I assume that means that s/he no longer wishes to play with us.

Seeing that George is the only lockpicker in the group (other than Reivik's maul) he might be good to have around.  Would you like me to post a call for a replacement?  I could also keep him as a steady NPC, as it is nice to be able to have a steady character to interact with the party IC.  Does anyone have any strong preferences?  I could go either way.

BrOp


----------



## James Heard

I've got no strong preferences, I'm pretty laid back as far as those sorts of things go.


----------



## Rhun

J. Alexander is about...he continues to post regularly in the games that he DMs here.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Rhun said:
			
		

> J. Alexander is about...he continues to post regularly in the games that he DMs here.



Thanks for the info, Rhun.  I will wait a bit more for him, but since he hasn't posted since December I don't know what else to assume.


----------



## Rhun

I left him a post in one of his games I play in...hopefully he will pop by and at least let you know what is up.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Rhun said:
			
		

> I left him a post in one of his games I play in...hopefully he will pop by and at least let you know what is up.



Thank you for that, Rhun.


----------



## Rhun

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Thank you for that, Rhun.




He responded asking for the links to the games, and it looks like Scotley sent them to him.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Rhun said:
			
		

> He responded asking for the links to the games, and it looks like Scotley sent them to him.



Thank you Scotley as well!


----------



## Scotley

Glad to be of service.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

Been busy IRL this past week, sorry.  Update coming tonight or tomorrow.


----------



## Rhun

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Been busy IRL this past week, sorry.  Update coming tonight or tomorrow.





No problem...seems like everyone has kinda been slow the last couple weeks.


----------



## Branding Opportunity

To my long neglected gamers,

Many apologies once again (seems to be getting to be a quarterly thing for me) for my absence. Job issues, a new girlfriend, lots of work and the tax deadline have recently conspired to rob me of much of my free time.

I haven't forgotten and Sterich is still far from safe.


----------



## Rhun

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Many apologies once again (seems to be getting to be a quarterly thing for me) for my absence. Job issues, a new girlfriend, lots of work and the tax deadline have recently conspired to rob me of much of my free time.





No problems, BrOp. We're about...or, at least, I'm about.


----------



## James Heard

I'm here.


----------



## Scotley

Morley is still ready for action.


----------



## Bloodweaver1

Present


-Blood


----------



## Thanee

Ditto. At least from monday onwards. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Bloodweaver1

Are we on hibernate mode again?


-Blood


----------



## James Heard

I dunno...I'm still active in other PbP games, just nothing happening in here.


----------



## Thanee

I can only guess, since Branding Opportunity hasn't exactly been around much lately, that his schedule is a little tight right now.

Bye
Thanee


----------

