10d6 Lightning Bolt: No Saving Throw

[ArcanistSupreme]

So we begin.

Using the Forum Functions (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/misc.php?do=bbcode)
Site Rules (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/announcement.php?f=13&a=1) (This one can be skimmed the fastest)

The Cast:
The Grey Pilgrim (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=181773)
Grug (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=183017)
Orpheus (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=183234)
Jakeamonium (and Raven too!) (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=184052)

The Setting:
NOTE: This should be the final map. I didn't put the city names in because that would clutter it up too much.
http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs164.snc3/19168_294774516937_648101937_3713778_3754353_n.jpg

Kvash
This nation is a happy, agricultural society. At least it was 500 years ago before the Breaking of the Bridges. No information has been available since that time. Travelers attempting to enter the country report being turned forcibly away by its inhabitants and often by armed patrols of undead...

Aramor
Aramor is a largely rural and agrarian society, also known for its advanced magic. About 50% of the population is an elf/half-elf mix, while the remainder is a fairly equal blend of the remaining races.

Fosh
The oldest nation on the continent of Calunta (subject to change), Fosh is an industrialized nation, but it is largely dependent on other nations for raw materials. About 50% of the population is made up of humans, while the remainder is a fairly equal blend of the remaining races.

The Great and Holy Nation of Heironeous
Founded on the principles of Heironeous (may His holy name be forever blessed), this TGaHNoH is home to a militant population that seeks to spread the influence to the other (read:misguided) nations. The soldiers that call TGaHNoH home are a common sight across the continent, as they take it upon themselves to uphold law and order. They respect local laws, but prefer the far superior Code of Heironeous, which they will enforce when possible. The population of TGaHNoH is a blend of all races with a slight human majority. Only about 75% of its citizens are located within its borders at any given time, however, as many of them are off spreading the guidance of Heironeous (may his fist forever smite ungodly heathens).

Sorj
Approximately 70% of all precious metals currently in circulation come from the mines of Sorj. They are also the top exporters on the continent of iron, coal, tin, copper, and puppies. About 50% of the population is made up of Dwarves, while the remainder is a fairly equal blend of the remaining races.

The Neutral Ground
The largely unsettled area that lies between Fosh, The Great and Holy Nation of Heironeous, Aramor, and Sorj is known as The Neutral Ground. No nation is permitted to claim it as a territory (see Treaty of Ngrlonguk, 947) and this made it an ideal location for the trade city of Tlaka. Merchants from all corners of the continent come here to sell their wares. Tlaka is the biggest city on the continent is home to an even blend of races, with a slight dwarven majority (due to its proximity to the dwarven capital, Mytyr). The only other settlements on the island are small (such as Hommlet), and many have sprung up so recently that they do not appear on many maps.


Additional Information
Available on Request

[god666LOLLIRONY]

Guessss who? anyways let's refer to each others actual names, or ingame names when appropriate.
Disregard what that jake said?
edit:
I think I want to actually know something about this world before I make a traveling decision..

[god666LOLLIRONY]

Here I'll merge matthew's two posts

Delete the space after the 1st bracket to make the tag work. Quotation marks not required.

This one will roll a number of dice (=) to what you put in and give you the total .
"[ roll]10d6[/roll]"
""
This will do the same except it will give you each dice roll instead of a total
"[ rollv]10d6[/rollv]"
"[roll1]"
This will give you the total of the best X dice rolls, X being equal to the number after b.
"[ roll]4d6b3"
""
This will do the the same as the preceding one except it will give you the individual dice rolls instead of a total.
"[ rollv]4d6b3[/rollv]"
"[roll3]"
This will add a set modifier to your rolls (=) to the number after the plus sign.
"[ roll]4d6+12"
"[roll4]"

I should have my character sheet and backstory ready tomorrow.

[ArcanistSupreme]

Orpheus cries out as he takes 31 points of humiliation damage and is blinded.

[uddingBrain]

So I got this all done and here is my character sheet.
http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=183015

I don't know if you will be able to see it cause I marked it as not public but if you have the direct url, you might be able to see it. I have no way of testing so let me know.

BY the way this is chris, I forgot the P in PuddingBrain and don't care eoungh to change it.

[uddingBrain]

This should work Better then
http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=183017

[hestbechinator]

Here you go:

http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=181773

Please post Treaty of Ngrlonguk, 947.

[ArcanistSupreme]

The entire treaty comprises some 1200 pages and is too big to post. However, with a successful Knowledge(History) or Perform(Lawmaking) check, I can give you specific details about the various subsections of the treaty or generalities about the treaty as a whole.

[god666LOLLIRONY]

okay, cool. Some questions.

What's with the bridges(if that's what they are)? ie who built them , why are they there, what are they like

What's the recent history, let's say 50 to 100 years, of this continent?

What year is it?

Can you go into a little more detail with the latitude that citizens of The Great and Holy Nation of Heironeous are allowed to act in other nations? Because in our case it seems like it's slightly frowned upon if they kidnap people, but not too big of a deal. Even if that's outside of the norm, I just want to know; do they have to provide proof, does it have to be something illegal in the current country, etc? And who makes laws in the neutral grounds?

Are all the PHB races represented? Any non PHB races?

Also, it would be cool if you could eventually provide detail about specific areas inside the countries, but it's not necessary?

And if needed, here are two bardic knowledge checks:
[roll0]
[roll1]

[uddingBrain]

You mention the destruction of the bridges. Who destroied them, how many/ which ones were destroyed? Were they rebuilt? Is this even that important a part of the mythology?

Backstory considerations: Where would I find druids? Are they rare? I'm thinking of coming from a convent (not sure if that's what you call them right now) of them. Also if I were to write a backstory, should I post it here or what?

Also i'm assumeing the big tan area is a large hot area filled with sand. (carefully avoiding an embaressing spelling mistake of that geographical feature)

also I was thinking the whole time that god was Nick but I now realize that it may be grey. Can someone clarify for me?

[god666LOLLIRONY]

It's nick. Grey's character can't do bardic knowledge checks, also.

There's not supposed to be a question mark after necessary in my last post.

Oh and you're missing a feat on your character sheet Chris, you should have five.

[uddingBrain]

nope I only have one flaw so I only have 4 feats.

Also if you are interested I now have a backstory. If random things seem weird or unclear, please let me know so I can fix it. This was put together very quickly.

[ArcanistSupreme]

I'll provide more details later, but know the bridges were a collaborative effort between the different nations. Their destruction was also a joint effort by every nation except Kvash. Only PHB races and an extremely limited number of warforged are represented.

Nick and Chris: consider getting avatars so it's easier to see who's talking at a glance.

P.S.-Nuns live in convents, not druids.

[uddingBrain]

you are correct the word i was looking for conclave and i also found it so it's all good

[ArcanistSupreme]

It's not a document that is in circulation, and no one in living memory has read it in its entirety. If you have your heart set on reading it, give me a knowledge(history) check to see if you even know where the document is. P.S.-It's a trained-only skill.

Chris- Grug can't have gone to Kvash because no one from the other nations has been there in the past 500 years. If you change it to Fosh, that would be cool.

[god666LOLLIRONY]

Ah Chris, I didn't even know you could possibly take less than the maximum # of flaws. I've often heard druidic circle used as a term for a group of druids.

Wow, instead of several more posts of this little back and forth, may I suggest that the grey pilgrim can go to the largest city on the continent's assumed well stocked libraries. They probably have a book detailing the basic workings of it since it sounds historically and currently important.

And hey we should call the next saga in our chapter "A Promising Start".

[uddingBrain]

Amaror actually sounds more like what I had in mind. If that doesn't work then Kosh is fine.

I'm going with conclave cause circle is just too geometrical.

[ArcanistSupreme]

Amaror actually sounds more like what I had in mind. If that doesn't work then Kosh is fine.

It's going to have to be "Fosh" (not Kosh, I think you're thinking of Kvash). It'll tie in better with the Grey Pilgrim's backstory, and with the world view I have in general.


Wow, instead of several more posts of this little back and forth, may I suggest that the grey pilgrim can go to the largest city on the continent's assumed well stocked libraries. They probably have a book detailing the basic workings of it since it sounds historically and currently important.

They don't believe in libraries. But seriously, I'm pretty sure that Jake just wants to put me in a tight spot for saying the treaty was 1200 pages long.


And hey we should call the next saga in our chapter "A Promising Start".

I like it. Go ahead and call it that.

EDIT:

What's with the bridges(if that's what they are)? ie who built them , why are they there, what are they like

As stated before, they were a collaborative effort. They are massive stone bridges wide enough that ten horses could easily walk abreast. All are built high above the water to allow ships to pass beneath them. The nations built them to facilitate commerce and to try and show good faith toward the other nations.


What year is it?

2010AFN (After Founding of Nations)


Can you go into a little more detail with the latitude that citizens of The Great and Holy Nation of Heironeous are allowed to act in other nations? Because in our case it seems like it's slightly frowned upon if they kidnap people, but not too big of a deal. Even if that's outside of the norm, I just want to know; do they have to provide proof, does it have to be something illegal in the current country, etc? And who makes laws in the neutral grounds?

Unfortunately, you were busy taking private lessons with a local barmaid when this was covered in Bard College. You did look over a friend's notes, though, and you vaguely remember something about them basically enforcing local laws. You can't remember who decides the laws for the neutral territory.


What's the recent history, let's say 50 to 100 years, of this continent?

I'll cover this when I got back from class, but suffice it to say you are quite knowledgeable on the subject.

[god666LOLLIRONY]

http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=183234

My backstory is partially written and if need be I will give it to you tomorrow afternoon.


They don't believe in libraries. But seriously, I'm pretty sure that Jake just wants to put me in a tight spot for saying the treaty was 1200 pages long.

Unfortunately, you were busy taking private lessons with a local barmaid when this was covered in Bard College. You did look over a friend's notes, though, and you vaguely remember something about them basically enforcing local laws. You can't remember who decides the laws for the neutral territory.

He just asked for the treaty originally, before either of you got into caring about how long it actually was. It's really not a big deal to tell basics unless for story reasons you can't commit to telling.

Well I'm interested in reading more into how it actually works, since it could be highly relevant in the future. Also I grew up in Tlaka so I think that at least give me a basic idea on who makes laws and rules in the neutral grounds. But I wouldn't mind reading into that either.

[ArcanistSupreme]

My backstory is partially written and if need be I will give it to you tomorrow afternoon... Also I grew up in Tlaka so I think that at least give me a basic idea on who makes laws and rules in the neutral grounds.

Sooner would be better, as it influences the answers I give. For example, I didn't know you were from Tlaka, which changes my earlier response concerning the laws of the Neutral Ground slightly.

You were still playing hooky that day, but from frequent encounters with the law, you know that an elected council determines the laws of Tlaka, but you don't think that they have much power outside of the city limits.

Back on the subject of the region's history:
All in all, since the founding of the Nations (0AFN), the continent's history has been relatively peaceful. The nations keep mostly to themselves, but international relations are amicable and they don't hesitate to help one another in times of need. Friendly relations aside, Calunta is not without conflict.

Within the past hundred years, trouble has begun to brew in Fosh. Fosh, which has always prided itself in its technological (nonmagical) achievement, began a massive program of industrialization around the turn of the century. Forests were cut down by the thousands to fuel the furnaces of industry, and this angered the Druids of Balance for obvious reasons.

While the Druids were typically incredibly tolerant of what they deemed "unnatural alteration of the landscape" (aka settlements and resultant destruction of nature), this massive deforestation not only struck them as blasphemous, but it also was creeping dangerously close to their homes.

What transpired next is unclear, as the tales are many and conflicting. Some say the Druids animated the forests to strike back at the Foshians, others claim the Foshians launched a preemptive strike into the heart of the forest. Yet other tales tell of a negotiating party from the Great and Holy Nation of Heironeous that was murdered (though by which side varies with the teller). In spite of the variety of explanations for the instigation, the end of every tale is the same: Fosh became the site of a short but brutal war.

One horrible year later (1925AFN), after dozens of offenses and counter-offenses, the High Circle of Druids called for a council with King Moriken of Fosh. There they conceded to leave Fosh and end the war, if only the king would promise to end the destruction of the woodlands and allow them to regrow in return. So the Forest Wars ended, and the Druids of Balance left for Aramor with the reinforcements the Aramorian's had sent. The paladins of Heironeous that had marched to the defense of Fosh also returned home, and peace has lasted to the present day.

In Fosh, the king carried out his promises, and eventually his successor, King Phillip II, even allowed small sects of Druids that were not affiliated with the Druids of Balance to resettle the woods.

EDIT: And here's the gist of the Treaty of Ngrlonguk:
Although Tlaka is the largest city on Calunta, its library is surprisingly small. Nearly all of the books and records located within it are related to commerce, and this leads to a rather limited selection of material. While the treaty is definitely related to commerce, you are unable to find anything related to the political context of the treaty. Only by cross-referencing several different legal volumes are you able to come up with this summary:


No Nation may claime the Teritorey lying to the North of Sorj, to the South of the Grate and Moste Holey Nation of the Exalted Heironeous, to the East of the Nation of Aramor, to the South and to the East of Fosh, and to the South and East of Kvash.
No Nation maye create Lawes that Restricte the Actions of the other Nations within the aforementioned Teritorey.
This Teritorey must Remaine forevere a Neuwtral one, and any Atempt to create an governminte within its Boundaries will be met with a Great Force from the other Nations.
The other Nations maye form Setlements within this Neuwtral Teritorey.
The Grate and Moste Holey Nation of the Exalted Heironeous has the Power to enforse the Lawes within the Neuwtral Treritorey.


So, with all of this in mind, what are you guys going to do?

[Jakeamonium]

Jakeamonium (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=184052), standing by.

[hestbechinator]

DM: thank you for the information on the treaty, that is perfect. I also like what you did with the Druidic Circle and the nation of Fosh.

The Grey Pilgrim: "Friends, let us find an adventuring guild. This whole situation with Revan has put a bad taste in my mouth, and I want to leave it behind me. I wish to find an adventure that will be beneficial to the people of Calunta; I also understand the importance of money to you all, and I can definitely find uses for it through donations. I regret our original encounter with the paladins of Heironeus, and I hope that through our adventures we will be able to make amends with TGaHNoH."

[ArcanistSupreme]

New map up. This should be the final version. I might add more locations as you find them, but that might get too crowded...
Dude, if this takes much longer, I'm just going to do a solo campaign. By myself. It will be awesome. And totally not lame.

[Jakeamonium]

Back Story

Deep within the boundaries of a small segment of the Raudarian wood, a hero was born. She then quickly named him after his father, a name he would soon hate.

His mother was exiled from her town for cheating on her husband with a hero by the name of Jakeithist. This hero was atheist and loved song, but was a dwarf looking, side burn wearing bad ass. He quickly abandoned her after her exile.

He was then abandoned at a farmers house with a note explaining his name and situation. He grew up hating his father for abandoning him and his mom. He vowed he would find him and kill him in an epic way. Jakeimonium first needed gold for the quest at hand and was hired as a mercenary for Revan...

[Jakeamonium]

We should abandon all previous quests and start a new, I would like to move on to new places.

[uddingBrain]

Jakeamonium (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=184052), standing by.

Red October Standing by

"I agree. Leaving this nasty business behind us seems to be the best option. I also want to revisit the 66k silver still located in the lighthouse. Myabe we could find a quest that takes us back that way, at least to see if the coin is still there."

[Jakeamonium]

"Where would we find a quest that leads us to the lighthouse?"

[god666LOLLIRONY]

Red October, Standing by
Simply Red, Standing by.

"sure lets get out of here for a job near the lighthouse, but only for a spell. There are insufferable arsehats like our friend Revan everywhere, Tlaka is as fine a place as any in the world my friends. I do have a few errands to run before we leave that shouldn't take more than a afternoon (ie library)."

Is there protocol for looking in the spoiler tags that are answering other people's knowledge/spot/etc checks?

Reiterating chris's ques earlier, is the sandy yellow part of fosh a piping hot dessert?

@DM. Turns out I was using bardic knowledge more generally than intended, it's mostly for notable (or obscure) items, places, or people; rumor or gossip. Since you just gave the the biggest event to happen this century I don't feel like I discovered too much info I wouldn't have anyways.
Here's a decent summarizing of bardic knowledge I came across.
http://www.enworld.org/forum/d-d-3rd-edition-rules/211699-how-do-you-handle-bardic-knowledge.html
edit: it is a pretty wide open ability so a lot of the latitude for deciding uses is up to the dm.

[ArcanistSupreme]

Is there protocol for looking in the spoiler tags that are answering other people's knowledge/spot/etc checks?
Yes. I will post spoilers for each character that made a check and everyone will be on their honor to only look at their spoiler. In the case of your bardic knowledge check, I just put out in the open since everyone would end up wanting the same information anyway.

Most of the time it will look like this:
Orpheus:
If you are not Orpheus, you are a bad person

Reiterating chris's ques earlier, is the sandy yellow part of fosh a piping hot dessert?

Fosh has no sandy yellow part. There is, however, one in Sorj. That is a rather hot desert, but it is not a dessert.

@Orpheus:

@DM. Turns out I was using bardic knowledge more generally than intended, it's mostly for notable (or obscure) items, places, or people; rumor or gossip. Since you just gave the the biggest event to happen this century I don't feel like I discovered too much info I wouldn't have anyways.
Here's a decent summarizing of bardic knowledge I came across.
http://www.enworld.org/forum/d-d-3rd-edition-rules/211699-how-do-you-handle-bardic-knowledge.html
edit: it is a pretty wide open ability so a lot of the latitude for deciding uses is up to the dm.

Reading that thread, I feel that I gave a fairly good response. I tried to stick to generalities, and there is still a lot of uncertainty in there, but it still revealed a lot of information that might not be widely known.

And so, unless there are any objections:
Asking around the district that caters to adventurers such as yourselves, your party is quickly directed to the largest (and only) adventuring guild in Tlaka. This guild, famous for producing dozens of heroes and legendary adventurers, is known as the Sword and Board Adventuring Guild. The building itself is enormous, taking up an entire city block and dominating the local skyline with its five stories. Many colorful characters are moving about the place, some swapping stories as they walk through the enormous oak doors, others showing off new moves in one of the many courtyards, and still more discussing business by the elaborately carved fountain that sits in the plaza in front of the guild. It is clear that if you are in search of an adventure, you've come to the right place.

[uddingBrain]

Sorry but I don't remember exactly what the deal with Jakeamoniom is. Could someone remind me if he is in our party or what.

[hestbechinator]

New map up. This should be the final version. I might add more locations as you find them, but that might get too crowded...
Dude, if this takes much longer, I'm just going to do a solo campaign. By myself. It will be awesome. And totally not lame.

Just wanted to show you guys the DM has been typing secret messages. Just highlight his posts and you will see them.
Yes Jakeammonium is in our party. Remember his raven? His chain? We decided to keep him, don't question it.

"Unless there is a quest near the lighthouse, I do not think it would be best to go back there. Let us go into this grand guild and find an adventure that will help people. Maybe something that will give us a chance to atone for the paladins of Heironius that we killed." Enter the guild

[ArcanistSupreme]

The Grey Pilgrim:
Please refer to the title of the thread.

As you walk though the massive front doors, you find yourselves in a massive atrium. Dozens of adventures are moving across the polished oak floors. A group of heavily armed dwarves are consulting with an elf about their weapons in one corner. Against the far wall, several impressive mahogany desks are set up, behind which five receptionists of various races are busily organizing files and helping both adventurers and people that appear to be clients. An armored half-orc is checking a list of names and giving a scrutinizing look to a party of of gnomes. The constant hustle and bustle gives the feeling of importance and excitement to everything that goes one within these enormous and extravagant halls.

[god666LOLLIRONY]

He's in our party because he's a PC, is the crux, Chris.

"I'm sure we'll find something that'll be in that direction.
...
But don't forget my thinking Grey Pilgrim(Grey for short?). If we take a mission that pays well and does no evil and probably even a little good, than the extra gold you donate will do much good too many a person that wouldn't have it otherwise. I think that's a thing to keep in mind"

Enter the guild. While talking I'm eying the people showing off their moves, I wouldn't mind taking part in a test or showing of skills.

[uddingBrain]

"Let's hurry up and do this and get back on the road. I've never been one for cities. And in response to the grey pilgram, and money we can get and invest in obtaining greater ability, allws for us to do greater good"

OFF TOPIC: The greater good

[hestbechinator]

Right, any money. And there is a lot of easier money to get than going back to that tower. We don't know what has moved back in, whether the treasure is still there, or whether a new dragon or relation to the one we killed is hanging around. The tower could now be under the protection of the Paladins for all we know. The time we spend going back to the tower and taking the silver back to Tlaca to exchange could be used to make money, gain experience, and help people somewhere else. All I am saying is we should aim to help people, skills and money will come with that.

As the Grey Pilgrim: I get in a line for one of the receptionists. When I get to her I ask her about available adventures, or the person I need to talk to about that. Party of four, a dusk blade, druid, bardbarian, and barbarian; level 4, wants to help people.

[ArcanistSupreme]

As the Grey Pilgrim: I get in a line for one of the receptionists. When I get to her I ask her about available adventures, or the person I need to talk to about that. Party of four, a dusk blade, druid, bardbarian, and barbarian; level 4, wants to help people.

First of all, you sexist pig, the receptionist is a man. Secondly,

"Oh, adventurers are you?" the male half-elf replies, looking you all over. "You look a bit tougher than you say you are. And, as card-carrying guild members, I'm sure you're well aware of the need for adventurers as tough as yourselves." With this, he gives you an expectant smile and waits for you to laugh.

[god666LOLLIRONY]

(Assumed we're discussing this before we get to the clerk for expedient's sake.)
"We've already killed one and a half dragons, I feel your spell arm and my sword arm are up for dessert. There's no need to go through that idiotic tower again either when we can just fly and scale it, the money is there for the taking, we will see if we're near the area to partake."

I add after what the grey pilgrim(seriously do you go by anything for short?) said to the receptionist: "Jobs that pay good coin for good deeds of course."

@clerk: "Haha, well said. Oh we are tough, even with only 12 tiers between us we already have a dead dragon to our name and a half dragon too. But I'm afraid we do not have the guild membership you tell of to top it off."

[hestbechinator]

I was kind of hoping the whole conversation would just happen. I go up to the clerk,and we have a mission. Just assume I respond with whatever will get us a good adventure where we are helping people, it is challenging to us, and we make good money. When did we get a guild membership?

[ArcanistSupreme]

I was kind of hoping the whole conversation would just happen. I go up to the clerk,and we have a mission. Just assume I respond with whatever will get us a good adventure where we are helping people, it is challenging to us, and we make good money.

You get an adventure that meets the exact specifications that you requested. The adventure happens. You make lots of money. The end.

But seriously, The clerk gives you a confused look, but quickly recovers. "Ah, so you're new blood. Excellent, excellent. Would you like to sign up for the Sword and Board and start receiving the wonderful benefits today? Not only do you gain the security of steady employment, but you also receive discounts on guild merchandise (that's the sword bit), free stay in the guild hostels across Calunta (that's the board bit. Get it?)," he says with a chuckle, "and access to the superb training and resources that the guild has to offer. For only a minimal* percentage of your earnings, all of this can be yours for life. So, what do you say?"

*Minimal is being used in a highly subjective manner in this case

[god666LOLLIRONY]

"oh yes let us just peruse the contract or whatever it is we sign for just a moment."

what was the joke the clerk was making when he first spoke?
Calunta?

[ArcanistSupreme]

Very well, let me just find the right one here, he mutters as he rifles through a drawer. "Here we are."

He hands a sheet of parchment across the desk, upon which is written the following:


25% of the payment for a completed guild contract shall be payed to the Sword and Board Adventuring Guild.
Guild members receive a 5% discount from all guild owned shops, which may increase or decrease based on performance of guild duties.
Any treasure discovered during the completion of a guild contract is property of the discoverer(s), provided that it was not in any way obtained illegally.
Treasure may be exchanged at guild-owned shops either for guild credit equaling 3/4 of the item's market value or for 1/2 of the item's market value in gold.
Adventurers may stay in any of the many guild-owned hostels or inns across Calunta free of charge, though food and/or extra accommodations may cost extra, depending on the location.
Guild members may store treasure and gold in any of the Sword and Board Adventuring Guild high-security vaults. Gold deposited in this manner will receive 3% annual interest.
Training is available to any guild members at no additional cost while they are not currently in the process of completing a guild contract.
Members of the Sword and Board Adventuring Guild are not permitted to take adventuring contracts that are not created through the aforementioned guild.
Abandonment of a guild contract without reasonable cause* and/or first contacting the Sword and Board Adventuring Guild to find a suitable replacement will be met with a reprimand, forfeiture of earnings, fines to compensate the guild for wasted resources, and, depending on the degree of the infraction, possibly dismissal from the guild.
Killing, injuring, enthralling, capturing, or otherwise impeding a fellow guild member from completing his/her/its contract will be considered an act of war against the guild and shall be met with dismissal from the guild, forfeiture of earnings, fines to compensate the guild for wasted resources, and, depending on the degree of the infraction, possibly death.

*Reasonable cause is defined as any of the following: extremely probable loss of life, either of a guild member or a person without guild membership; endangerment of person(s) without guild membership; situations you are untrained and/or unequipped to handle without further guild assistance; conflict of interest situations including but not limited to hostage situations involving loved ones, conflicts that may result in the destruction of non-equipment assets owned by the guild member in question, and contracts that a guild member has a vested interest in leaving uncompleted due to personal reasons; nations, regions, states, cities, or any other governing body wishing for the removal of the guild member in question from the area; and any other reason the Sword and Board Adventuring Guild deems as reasonable.

"As you can see, there are a multitude of benefits to being a card-carrying member of the Sword and Board Adventuring Guild. Shall I summon a guild representative to work out the details and start you on your first guild contract?

@god666LOLLIRONY
The joke was clearly about the name of the guild, which anyone with a sophisticated sense of humor would have understood and found hilarious.

[god666LOLLIRONY]

"Quite possibly! Just one moment my friend while I ask my comrades." Move out of line to discuss.

So guys what do you think? Clearly the most ridiculous part is that you can't accept other contracts, but that statement is kind of vague. I guess the 2nd would be that 25% of commission is lost but assuming the missions are decent/competitively paying it doesn't seem that bad at least for now (+there are discounts that will ameliorate).

@Matthew: What's the definition of a contract as enumerated here? What's the selection at their shop(s) like? Comparable to any?

[ArcanistSupreme]

@Matthew: What's the definition of a contract as enumerated here? What's the selection at their shop(s) like? Comparable to any?

I'm going to pretend you asked the receptionist.
"Well, I'm not too clear on the definition of contract. You'll have to ask the representative about that. I think it's something like a mission for the guild. As for the selection of our shops, you'll be hard-pressed to find a wider variety in all of Calunta. Because every shop is backed by the guild and the fact that the shops are able to exchange items to best suit the needs of their area, you will nearly always be able to find what you need. I think there is also some kind of payment plan available for guild members, but you'll need to ask the representative."

[hestbechinator]

Quietly to Orpheus "We can talk to the representative. However, I don't like all the restrictions the guild places upon us; there are too many instances where the guild can make changes at will. I don't know how extensive their influence is on the continent, but I say we amicably part ways right now and take our chances on our own. Let's head north to Fosh and see what we can make happen."

[uddingBrain]

"I don't see how it hurts to talk with the representitive about these questions. The 25% fee is meaningless compared to the extra trade-in value on treasure. other contracts would need to be well defined and we should also find out if there is a way to leave the guild amicably."

just so you know matthew, I will check the forum as often as is convienent, and you sending me messages to do so will only deminish my willingness to participate.

[ArcanistSupreme]

just so you know matthew, I will check the forum as often as is convienent, and you sending me messages to do so will only deminish my willingness to participate.

Personally, I want to keep this moving so we don't get bored and quit. I really don't feel that it was out of line to send a reminder when you hadn't posted for three days. However, if you feel I'm being unreasonable, then how long is a fair amount of time to wait before sending a reminder and/or moving on without the input of that person (this question is for everyone)?

[god666LOLLIRONY]

Eh, I was going to offer my .02 but i really don't care it's your girls problem.

Anyways, I believe we are agreed that we will at least talk to the rep. Whenever you guys are ready to move to that point.

[Jakeamonium]

"Lets talk to the rep, Im not to worried about the restrictions they aren't very enforceable."

[ArcanistSupreme]

"Very well, I'll summon him straight away." As exciting as this sounds, "summoning" turns out to mean that the half-elf simply walks around the desk to a door leading out of the entrance hall and shouts, "Hey Skipper! We've got some new blood out here. Are you busy at the moment?"

"No, no. I always got time for some newbies," replies a gruff voice. "Send 'em in."

The half-elf motions for you to follow him. He leads you down the hallway that is quite as elegant as the hall you just left. Deep red carpet muffles your footsteps as you walk down the tapestry-lined passage. Beams of sunlight shine from the high windows onto suits of armor and statues of the guild's heroes. Stopping in front of a door halfway down the hall, he bows and waves you through. After you have all entered, he gives you a last smile and walks back to his post.

"So, you're interested in the guild, eh?" booms the gruff voice. The source of the voice is a grizzled man with long, grey hair pulled back into a ponytail. He sits behind yet another impressively massive desk with his feet propped up on a corner. An eye patch covers his left eye, giving him a dashing and debonair look. "Name's Gilligan McGuillicutty, but everyone calls me Skipper. But enough with the pleasantries, let's talk business. Do you have any questions before you sign the contracts and join our ranks?"

(Is this too much detail? I got kind of carried away, but would be happy to keep it up if it either (a) adds to the setting or (b)doesn't make a difference.)

[hestbechinator]

I don't have any problem with that amount of description.

The Grey Pilgrim gives a slight bow to Skipper, and says "Hello, I am The Grey Pilgrim; I have some questions for you Mr. Skipper. We would like to know what constitutes "other" contracts; if somebody needs our help, and we assist them, and then they offer us a reward, are we not allowed to take it? Or is this just apply to other guilds? Also, is it possible to leave the guild at some point if we are unsatisfied? Will signing this contract bind us for a certain amount of time?"

[uddingBrain]

I really don't feel that it was out of line to send a reminder when you hadn't posted for three days. However, if you feel I'm being unreasonable, then how long is a fair amount of time to wait before sending a reminder and/or moving on without the input of that person (this question is for everyone)?

If you happen to look at the date I last posted on the 11th. Then came the 12th, a Friday. I then receive a text on Saturday telling me to go check the forum. By my count, that is missing one day. Had I missed 3 days, sure let me know, i've probably just not thought about it, but missing a single day does not constitute slowing the game, that's my vote anyway.
If there is something that is moving very quickly and i'm not giving my input, then Nick or Matthew can decied what I would do.

Now that my rant is done, "How would we identify guild owned shops, or even other guild members. My life has led me to be a bit aggressive when I encounter powerful people I don't know. I wouldn't want to attack someone I shouldn't by mistake"

Quitely to Orpheus "I don't know how to put this concern delicately,so maybe you can help, but what if we encounter other guild members persuing a mission that goes against our moral convictions. It is said that we can refuse a mission on moral grounds, but that doesn't stop them from sending someone who won't have a problem finishing the job. Signing up for this will probably end with us at war with this guild as soon as we discover them doing something we find distasteful."

[god666LOLLIRONY]

Yeah detail is fine, why wouldn't it be? But I don't think you should go to overboard with jokes, just saying. Is Calunta the entire continent? How big are these land masses anyways?


"Nice to meet ya skipper, I'm the Grey Pilgrim's companion, Orpheus."
*
While other people are asking him question or he is answering them, me and Grug are whispering into each others ear.
"Hmm, yeah, I'll try to figure out if we're going to run into any of that. Regardless I feel like we're not going to be in this guild for the long term, just shorter to help support and establish ourselves."
*
"I also have some questions for you, hopefully before your ears gets tired of newbie questions. Do you provide money exchanging when you deposit or withdraw gold? What are the exact punishments for not completing a mission? And finally can you give us a rundown of what kind of missions this guild accepts and gives out, and what we might receive? Does Sword and Board ever refuse any contracts it receives for any reason or reasons, what are they generally?"

[ArcanistSupreme]

The Grey Pilgrim gives a slight bow to Skipper, and says "Hello, I am The Grey Pilgrim; I have some questions for you Mr. Skipper. We would like to know what constitutes "other" contracts; if somebody needs our help, and we assist them, and then they offer us a reward, are we not allowed to take it? Or is this just apply to other guilds? Also, is it possible to leave the guild at some point if we are unsatisfied? Will signing this contract bind us for a certain amount of time?"

Skipper waves the question aside with his hand. "The contract clause is pretty much just a formality. When guild members take contracts, we want them to focus most of their efforts on completing them. We don't have a problem with you helping other people while you're on a job. And," he says as he leans forward conspiratorially, "if you get a little something extra and the contract still gets completed, so much the better. Guild members do that kind of thing all the time, and even when they get caught the worst thing that's ever happened is a minor slap on the wrist. Basically, we'll never assign you more than one guild contract at a time except under special circumstances, and as long as that contract gets completed within the expected time frame, there's no problem."


"Nice to meet ya skipper, I'm the Grey Pilgrim's companion, Orpheus."
*
"I also have some questions for you, hopefully before your ears gets tired of newbie questions. Do you provide money exchanging when you deposit or withdraw gold?"

"Nice meetin' you too, but don't worry about askin' too many questions. It's my job to answer all of the questions you have, isn't it? And as for the money changin', we sure do, so long as the money is deposited first and then withdrawn. For some nonsensical bureaucratic reason, you can't just walk into a guild bank and change money without an additional fee. The upside of it is that when you do do it our way, there is no extra charge."


"What are the exact punishments for not completing a mission?"

"Well, that one depends on a great many things. Did you try your hardest or did you just decide you didn't feel like doin' it? Was the guild notified of dificulties you were havin' or did you just nip off for a holiday without tellin' someone? Were there extenuatin' circumstances or were you actively not completin' the mission and so on and so forth," he explains, leaning back in his chair and folding his hands across his stomach. "If it was outside of your control, then nothin'll happen to you. We don't punish people for doin' their best. Dependin' on the severity of what you did or didn't do, however, you could wind up with some pretty nasty fines or a guild contract on your head."


"And finally can you give us a rundown of what kind of missions this guild accepts and gives out, and what we might receive? Does Sword and Board ever refuse any contracts it receives for any reason or reasons, what are they generally?"

In response to this question he drops his feet off of the desk and assumes a somber expression. "Well first off, we never, and I mean never do anythin' illegal. If a client comes in and asks us to do something like that, we tell 'em to shove off, regardless of the amount of gold their payin'. If it got round that we did that sort of stuff, not only would it be bad for business but those paladins of The Great and Holy Nation of Heironeous would be on our heads faster than you could say, 'smite evil'. No, we steer well clear of that type of business. This is especially true as one of our clients are the bigwigs up in Jaron." Putting his feet back up, he continues. "As for the type of contract you'd be doin', it'd probably be pretty basic stuff at first, you know, saving a town from an orc tribe and whatnot. As you move up, you start tacklin' the bigger stuff like giants and assassins. It depends on how well we think you can handle situations based on past performances.
"So, unless you have any further questions, I have some questions of my own. What sort of experience do you have? Could you give me the names of some people that could attest to your ability to be a successful guild member? Would you prefer to work individually, with the party you have now, or would you like to be assigned to other parties? And, of course, when would you be ready to start?"

[uddingBrain]

"Unfortuneately I have not been adventureing very long. Probably the biggest tesiment to my stregnth is the fact that I am here. I am considered an enemy of the druids that caused so much trouble in Fosh, an happen to still be alive after being attcked directly by a few of them. Recently, this party slew a young dragon, I never have been very good with my colors, help me out what was it again guys?. The proof of that is probably in one of your shops bu now. And on our way here, we also delt with a highwayman that happened to be a half dragon. We have also survived being in the middle of a nest of giant spiders. This may not seem too impressive, but these had much more powerful poisin than any I have encountered before."

[ArcanistSupreme]

"Unfortuneately I have not been adventureing very long. Probably the biggest tesiment to my stregnth is the fact that I am here. I am considered an enemy of the druids that caused so much trouble in Fosh, an happen to still be alive after being attcked directly by a few of them. Recently, this party slew a young dragon, I never have been very good with my colors, help me out what was it again guys?. The proof of that is probably in one of your shops bu now. And on our way here, we also delt with a highwayman that happened to be a half dragon. We have also survived being in the middle of a nest of giant spiders. This may not seem too impressive, but these had much more powerful poisin than any I have encountered before."

"You seem a mite young to have battled with the druids that were causing trouble in Fosh a hundred years ago, perhaps you ran into some of the druids that have begun moving back to Fosh? That aside, we in Tlaka have heard rumors of the monsters stirrin' in the east. If all that you've said is true, it seems like you saw a fair bit of the action that was goin' on, and you even live to talk about it, which sure is something. Is there anyone that could confirm this? Perhaps some townspeople or (assumin' you weren't just wanderin' around out in the wilds of the Neutral Territory for fun) an employer?"

[hestbechinator]

"Our previous employment was a simple archaeological find for a private contractor, and by this point I have no idea where he could be. We have had the encounters mentioned by my friend Grug, the armorer to which we sold the dragon carcass may remember us; otherwise we don't have much proof, so we would start with whatever contracts you felt comfortable giving us. I believe that we would like to remain in our current party."

[god666LOLLIRONY]

I whisper to Grug, "Does that answer your question well enough?"

@Skipper "Yeah the only guy who I think could proof for us is the armorer (whatever the shop and/or his name was) who we sold the dragon carcass too. I guess that half dragon had a lackey we took to prison but I doubt he's biting at the bit to do us any favors."

[uddingBrain]

I whisper to Grug, "Does that answer your question well enough?"

whisper back, "yeah that's fine"

Back to the subject "Something else just occurs to me. What, if in completeing a mission, we come accross another matter that requires our attention. If the mission is done, and we somehow inform the guild of it's completion, is there some time limit to collecting our payment? Also along those same lines, is there some frequency with which we have to take missions to stay part of the guild. I guess not with as easy as it seems to sign up, all kicking us out would do is all of us hae to sign some papers again"

[Jakeamonium]

"If you doubt our skill, I am willing to show you if you have a simpler errand that needs be done."

[uddingBrain]

"Or perhaps a demonstration? I have been itching for some action."

Just to be clear, I am not trying to be menacing. More of a helpful tone than aggressive.

[ArcanistSupreme]

"Something else just occurs to me. What, if in completeing a mission, we come accross another matter that requires our attention. If the mission is done, and we somehow inform the guild of it's completion, is there some time limit to collecting our payment?"

Skipper considers this question for a moment with a slight frown of concentration on his face. "Well, I can't guarantee that you'll never have a time limit to collect your pay, as sometimes payments are made with goods that are, by their nature, prone to expiration. For example, once an adventuring party was payed with a nest of dragon's eggs. However, the party failed to show up before they started hatching, so we got rid of the little fire-breathin' suckers before they burned the guild to the ground." He gives you a smile and continues, "Of course, in most cases you'll be paid with gold, though, so you shouldn't have to worry about hurryin' back to get your pay, just worry about completein' the contract in a timely manner."


"Also along those same lines, is there some frequency with which we have to take missions to stay part of the guild. I guess not with as easy as it seems to sign up, all kicking us out would do is all of us hae to sign some papers again"

At these words, the smile falls off his face and is replaced with a hardened stare. "The guild is neither as easy to hoodwink nor as forgivin' as you seem to think it is. Many have tried, and the few that succeed always end up dead within a year or so. If you are entertainin' thoughts of double-crossin' us before you've even joined, I'd recommend leavin' now and savin' yourself a world of sufferin'. As for completin' a set number of tasks, all we ask is that everyone does at least one mission for the guild a year to keep receivin' the benefits. Long-term missions that last longer than a year count for all the years durin' which they take place."


"If you doubt our skill, I am willing to show you if you have a simpler errand that needs be done."

"If we don't find your references satisfact-" Skipper's voice trails off in mid-sentence as he eyes Jakeamonium. "Well I'll be. Unless both of my eyes have gone bad, you're Jakeithist's boy, Jakeamonium, aren't you? Of course you are! I'd recognize his dwarfish stature and rugged good looks anywhere. Don't you worry about provin' yourself, lad. Any offspring of Jakeithist is a welcome addition to the Sword and Board Adventurin' Guild. I'm sure anyone you're travelin' with is just as worthy, too," he finishes with an enormous grin. He does, however, eye Grug suspiciously.


"Or perhaps a demonstration? I have been itching for some action."

"Well, unless anyone has any objections, we'll get you started on your paperwork right away so you can get on adventurin'," he replies as he pushes back his chair and stands. "If you'll all follow me, please."

[hestbechinator]

"Thank you for your time and patience Skipper. We all look forward to joining the guild" The Grey Pilgrim follows Skipper

[god666LOLLIRONY]

I cue Jimmy to start the inspirational 80's power ballad.
Follow Skipper

[Jakeamonium]

"You Know my dad????!!! How..... is he..."

[ArcanistSupreme]

"You Know my dad????!!! How..... is he..."

Skipper pauses in the doorway and turns back to face Jakeamonium with a surprised look on his face. "Know your dad? Of course I know him! I adventured with him for damn near twenty years, didn't I? He's one of the guild's best, if not the best. That man has gotten out of more tough spots than half of the other members put together, and he's brought back enough treasure for us to pay for most of this guild hall," Skipper says with a fond smile. "He is one of the foundin' members, after all. And, unlike the other codgers that started it, Jakeithist has kept adventurin' and bringin' back more recruits and treasure. Your father is truly an inspiration, and if he's half as good a father as he is an adventurer, you're a lucky son indeed.
"Now, let's get you all signed up before I start reminiscin' even more," he finishes with a chuckle. With that, he leads you back out into the hallway. Instead of heading back toward the main hall, he leads you towards the far end of the passage that you haven't yet seen. Pushing open the heavy double doors, you find yourselves in a vast room, filled with filing cabinets and shelves full of massive ledgers. Clerks climb up and down ladders to retrieve some of these tomes before returning to their desks around the edges of the room. In a cleared space in the center of the room is a small, round table set on a large, metal circle, which is engraved with the guild sigil.
"Oy, Borno!" barks Skipper. "We've got a couple of recruits that will be needin' contracts to fill out."
Borno turns out to be an elderly gnome sitting at a desk in the far corner.
"Right you are, Skipper," the gnome replies in a wheezy voice. After shuffling around with some papers in his desk drawers, the gnome brings a small stack of documents and sets them on the table in the center of the room.
"Thanks, Borno. Now, you lot need to fill out these forms in duplicate and then take them over to Borno. I recommend filling them out honestly, as we have ways of knowin' if you're lyin'," he adds, with a meaningful glance at Grug. "Once you've done that, go over to Gelna there-" a small halfling woman waves at you when her name is mentioned "-and she'll take your images so we can put portraits on your guild cards. After that's all taken care of, I can either give you a tour or you can explore the guild on your own while we wait for them to make your temporary membership cards. We'll have the full cards made up for you in about a month. I'll wait in my office while you take care of the forms."
With that, he turns and leaves the room. After walking up to the table and examining the forms, you see that they are basic information forms, asking for your name, birthplace, country of citizenship, and the like.

[hestbechinator]

The Grey Pilgrim follows Skipper's instructions.

[Jakeamonium]

While the ugly pilgrim is filling out the paperwork Jakemonium trys to make what he wants Skipper to think as just small talk.

With an expression of great thought (eyes squinted slighty, and a slight loving smile) and a very idealistic loving tone:
"My dad indeed was a great man and a huge inspiration. I haven't seen him, well, for at least a year. Do you know where I could find him? I have been dying to see him again."
(Bluff 1d20 )

[ArcanistSupreme]

"My dad indeed was a great man and a huge inspiration. I haven't seen him, well, for at least a year. Do you know where I could find him? I have been dying to see him again."
(Bluff [ roll]1d20[/roll])

Delete the space in "[ roll]" for it to work.

DM SPOILER. PLAYERS KEEP OUT (Seriously)
Sense Motive [roll0]

[god666LOLLIRONY]

(Bluff [roll0] )
Editing a post usually disables dice rolling tags to prevent cheating.

I want to read the contract before I sign to make sure everything is as I've heard. If it is I do all the bitch work.

What's the DM spoiler for? Just curious, though it is pretty tempting to look.

[uddingBrain]

I just realized we had moved to the next page. I've been checking the past couple of days and thought nothing had happened.

"I don't much like all this legal mumbo jumbo, but you lot seem good enough to me. I'll trust that you know what you're doin'. Lucky for me, I just learned how to read and wright. This could have been pretty embarassing"

To whomever it was that taught me how to read, "So the G goes like this right" Grug draws a q.

[ArcanistSupreme]

Editing a post usually disables dice rolling tags to prevent cheating.

Whoops, you're right. Go ahead and make another bluff roll in a new post, Jakeamonium.


I want to read the contract before I sign to make sure everything is as I've heard. If it is I do all the bitch work.

It is.


What's the DM spoiler for? Just curious, though it is pretty tempting to look.

I'm going to do PC rolls and NPC rolls that you guys don't need to see in spoilers like that. They'll probably normally look like this
DMIf you are a PC, you are struck with a lightning bolt (no saving throw) and take [roll0] damage. unless I'm feeling ridiculous, which could happen quite often.

[Jakeamonium]

Here you go (bluff)
[roll0]

[god666LOLLIRONY]

KKK, I'm ready whenever everybody else is.
lightning edit: I'm confused how Thomas's last post still has a dice roll result when it says it has been edited??? Also weird how the edit time is the same as the post time. Also I'm at -2.

[ArcanistSupreme]

"I know what you mean, lad," says Skipper with a warm smile. "I miss the man myself. As for his whereabouts, I'm not sure where he is, other than being on some business for the guild. I don't believe that the information is available to anyone except the higher-ups, but I can tell him that you were looking for him, if you like."

For those that have finished the forms and turned them in, you go and speak with Gilna.

"All done, are we? Very well, very well. Go ahead and stand on one of the imagers for me," she says, pointing at several circular metal plates about 3 ft in diameter set into the floor in an alcove in the wall. After you do so, Gilna tells you to stand very still. She then walks over to the wall and pull one of several numbered levers. At first, nothing seems to happen. Once Gilna lets you move, however, you find yourselves looking at mirror images of yourselves, although these images are frozen in place and remain standing on the metal plates.

"That'll do, dearies. Whenever you're ready, feel free to leave. We should have temporary cards made up for you by this afternoon. Parcho, we have some portraits for you to get started on," she calls to another clerk as she turns away from you and sets back to work.


lightning edit: I'm confused how Thomas's last post still has a dice roll result when it says it has been edited???

That is really weird. It's even a legit roll (click "Quote" to check). I haven't ever been able to do that before.


Also weird how the edit time is the same as the post time.

Not if you hit "Edit" immediately afterward.


Also I'm at -2.

You would be.

[Jakeamonium]

Before we left: to skipper
"Would you tell him that his son is now in the guild and wants to see him, that would be great."

[ArcanistSupreme]

"Of course I'll tell him! I'll bet you miss your old man terribly, and I know he misses you. If he has time, I'm sure he wouldn't mind givin' you some pointers next time you're both in town. Just make sure you let me know where you're goin' to be so I can tell him where to find you."

[god666LOLLIRONY]

Okay if there's time I'm going to do that research I talked about earlier at the library.

[ArcanistSupreme]

Okay if there's time I'm going to do that research I talked about earlier at the library.

There is indeed time. Gilna informs you that you can come by and pick up your temporary membership cards anytime you like after an hour or so. After stopping to ask directions, you find yourself directed to the guild library, which takes up nearly the entire east wing of the guild. The guild's collection is far more extensive than the Tlaka library. However, without a guild membership card, there is a nominal 5sp fee to use the facility.

@Everyone: Are there any errands anybody needs/wants to take care of now?

@Nick: Thanks for making me look through all three pages to find where you mentioned the library. [/sarcasm] Speaking of written material, I still need your backstory.

[god666LOLLIRONY]

I pay the 5 SP and begin to research the ruling apparatus of the Neutral Grounds/Tlaka, the aforementioned specifics of TGaHNOH latitude, and also the rulers and rulings of Fosh, Aramor, and Kvash, specifically their rulings (and attitudes) towards adventurers. Also once I get my ID I want to sell my Greataxe and buy a Greatsword and potentially something else, since I have 2000gp of money and gear sitting unused.

Backstory is still in progress, about 2/3rds done.

edit: I'm also going to inquire about training.

[hestbechinator]

The Grey Pilgrim takes a look around the guild, observing the layout of the building and all the different groups of people bustling about. He then finds a quiet spot in the courtyard to sit down and pray/meditate.

[uddingBrain]

I am going to look around the guild, maybe read a brochure if there is one. I would also like to inquire as to what type of training is available.

[ArcanistSupreme]

I pay the 5 SP and begin to research the ruling apparatus of the Neutral Grounds/Tlaka, the aforementioned specifics of TGaHNOH latitude, and also the rulers and rulings of Fosh, Aramor, and Kvash, specifically their rulings (and attitudes) towards adventurers.

Go ahead and give me a Knowledge (local) roll. This will only give you laws and a general idea of government in each area, but you don't have ranks in other Knowledge skills.

P.S.-You don't have to specify what area Knowledge (local) applies to. For some reason it applies to every locale.


Also once I get my ID I want to sell my Greataxe and buy a Greatsword and potentially something else, since I have 2000gp of money and gear sitting unused.

When you enter the guild shop and attempt to do this exchange, the proprietor informs you that, unfortunately, the discount and credit options are only available to members with the permanent cards, due to problems with forgeries and people joining just for the discounts in the past.


edit: I'm also going to inquire about training.

Training is available in abundance, be it to learn a specific technique or fighting style, or if someone is interested in changing their focus.


The Grey Pilgrim takes a look around the guild, observing the layout of the building and all the different groups of people bustling about. He then finds a quiet spot in the courtyard to sit down and pray/meditate.

You get an excellent feel for the guild before finding a beautiful and quiet courtyard filled with trees and quietly bubbling fountains to pray/meditate in.


I am going to look around the guild, maybe read a brochure if there is one. I would also like to inquire as to what type of training is available.

You find a brochure, and, though it takes you nearly an hour to decipher it, you learn much about the layout and aforementioned benefits of the guild. See above for further description of training.

[god666LOLLIRONY]

Go ahead and give me a Knowledge (local) roll. This will only give you laws and a general idea of government in each area, but you don't have ranks in other Knowledge skills.

P.S.-You don't have to specify what area Knowledge (local) applies to. For some reason it applies to every locale.

Yeah, what does this have to do with me looking up things in a library?
And I always thought knowledge local was weird that way.


When you enter the guild shop and attempt to do this exchange, the proprietor informs you that, unfortunately, the discount and credit options are only available to members with the permanent cards, due to problems with forgeries and people joining just for the discounts in the past.
I say, "That's weird, could you please point me to the part of the contract that enumerates that. I read it not 2 hours ago and it didn't seem to say anything of that sort."

[ArcanistSupreme]

Yeah, what does this have to do with me looking up things in a library?
And I always thought knowledge local was weird that way.

Knowledge skills often require the use of a library for in-depth and broad knowledge, such as what you are seeking know, and they still require ranks in the relevant Knowledge skill (This is not something I made up, but a ruling that is fairly common in the forums). Due to the nature of books (especially older books), you can't automatically find what you're looking for by looking in a card-catalogue or with casual browsing. You'll find books that might have the subject in their titles, and these books might have no relevance to what you are looking for. Only by meticulously studying and cross-referencing material, which can take weeks, months, or even years, are you able to know which books are best to look in, and this is represented by ranks in the Knowledge skills.

Go ahead and give me a Knowledge (local) roll.


I say, "That's weird, could you please point me to the part of the contract that enumerates that. I read it not 2 hours ago and it didn't seem to say anything of that sort."

The proprietor replies with a similar degree of sarcasm. "It doesn't say it in the contract. Like I said, we've been having problems with forgeries and people joining just long enough to get a temporary card and then dropping out of the guild without us seeing a lick of work. The person who signed you up shoulda warned you, but it's not my fault if they didn't. No permanent card, no credit."

Nick
I'm not trying to be argumentative or set this up just to take it away immediately. I honestly meant to mention this earlier and forgot. If it was a significant selling point that you got the benefits now, some bargaining retconning might be in order. I also didn't just want to concede to your argument for a better deal on treasure trade-in without a little work on your part.

[uddingBrain]

And I always thought knowledge local was weird that way.


A rank in knowledge local represents the character's contious effort and ability to enter a new area and find out what is going on. reading a book does not require the use of a skill, so if someone hands you the book with the information in it, then it woun't require a skill check, but because you have to locate the information yourself, in a limited amount of time, it is a skill check. It seems to me that having a wellstocked library and the advice of a good librarian would modify a roll greatly. So depending on the DC and Modifiers, it may not really require a roll, but that is a decision for the DM.
It seems to me though that if the information is in the library, you should be allowed a reroll to find it even though this is usually not allowed for knowledge rolls, at another time when he has more time to search.
Just my opinion.
Also if the whole thing about not getting the benifits untill having the guild card is actually in the contract, it seems we should have known about it. Even if we were not directly told, it seems that as spcific as nick was about saying he read carefullly, that he would know it. So either it was not in the contract, or it was and he knew about it. Nick said what he did exactly to avoid this kind of problem.

[ArcanistSupreme]

Has anybody ever tried doing research with actual books? What about research with old books that are in different languages and/or dialects that don't have indexes or tables of contents? I have, and it sucks. It takes hours to pick out little bits of relevant information, and that's in a well-organized library. I also feel that the Knowledge skill should represent knowing the lingo and good authors and sources. Just because you roll a 25 on a Knowledge check doesn't mean that you can regurgitate a textbook verbatim; it just means you can summarize it fairly well and you know what books to look in. For as broad a subject as "the laws of all of Calunta", I feel it is perfectly fair to require ranks in relevant Knowledge skills (otherwise what is the point of those skills?) AND a good library (even the best lawyers, who probably have something like +15 to Knowledge (Law) can't remember every law and subsection if they don't have a photographic memory).

HOWEVER, I am doing some of my own research into the subject, and if all else fails, you could pay a researcher. EDIT: As per the research I just did, I'm going to make it mandatory to hire a researcher unless you want to a)spend at least a week doing the research yourself or b)just name an amount of time spent researching and I'll give you that much information.

FINAL RULING: Doing research in a library will give you the information even if you don't have the relevant Knowledge skill, but it will take much longer, and particularly obscure information may not be available depending on the library. Consulting librarians might speed up the process, but it does not guarantee success. If you do have ranks in the relevant skill, you get a +2 bonus on the check as per a masterwork tool.

As to the guild shop stuff, I messed up and am working that out with Nick, so don't worry about it.

[god666LOLLIRONY]

research stuff
It's usually not especially relevant to bring up how difficult something is in real life as the end all of an argument. D+D exists as a constant compromise between reflecting realism and reflecting expediency & fun. Anyways I actually agree with your final ruling on what a library researched knowledge skill is, so here are some rolls. Keep in mind I'm consulting the (assumed) librarian as needed.

lightning edit: fufu**** it. @JakeamoniumI look for an opportunity to chat comfortably with you, and ask the questions* I was going to research. If he doesn't know, since these are questions highly relevant to adventuring, I'm going to see if an official or personage here would know. If they don't, if not I'm going to research as I said before, and also ask Jakeamonium(the handsome bastard!) if he wants to help.
*The ruling apparatus of the Neutral Grounds/Tlaka, the aforementioned specifics of TGaHNOH latitude, and also the rulers and rulings of Fosh, Aramor, and Kvash, specifically their rulings (and attitudes) towards adventurers.


shop stuff
I actually wasn't being sarcastic, more like curious. Anyways I've come to expect a degree of inflexibility over this issue, so I'm not too broken up. But yes the guild shop deals are the main selling points, as opposed to not being able to take other contracts or having 25% of your commission taken or nominal training and boarding benefits. I have no idea at this point if no immediate benefits would have affected my/our decision enough to walk. Let's just move on.

[ArcanistSupreme]

lightning edit: fufu**** it. @JakeamoniumI look for an opportunity to chat comfortably with you, and ask the questions* I was going to research. If he doesn't know, since these are questions highly relevant to adventuring, I'm going to see if an official or personage here would know. If they don't, if not I'm going to research as I said before, and also ask Jakeamonium(the handsome bastard!) if he wants to help.
*The ruling apparatus of the Neutral Grounds/Tlaka, the aforementioned specifics of TGaHNOH latitude, and also the rulers and rulings of Fosh, Aramor, and Kvash, specifically their rulings (and attitudes) towards adventurers.


Not sure exactly what you're asking Jakeamonium, but this sounds like a job for: GATHER INFORMATION! Go ahead and give me a roll.

[hestbechinator]

The Grey Pilgrim continues to pray/meditate, and decides to fast.

[god666LOLLIRONY]

Jakeamonium has a lot of ranks in different knowledge skills, so, I'm asking him if he knows the questions I want to research.

Okay gather information will take too long, not that I actually know what time of day it is. Now I'm just waiting on Jakeamonium's reply.

[god666LOLLIRONY]

To speed this up, here are some rolls if needed.
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[ArcanistSupreme]

To speed this up, here are some rolls if needed.
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

What is each roll?

@Everyone: Please label all rolls.

EDIT: Jakeamonium might know about the Paladins of Heironeous and some laws of different areas, but he won't know about governments or their attitudes toward adventurers. Go ahead and make a Knowledge (religion) and a Knowledge (local) check, Jakeamonium, if you want to help Orpheus. Orpheus, you could make a Knowledge (local) check of your own (I'll take the first roll of your last post as your check, since I think that's what you did it for). When Thomas replies, I'll post the results of both.

[god666LOLLIRONY]

What is each roll?
I don't care, I wasn't even committing to rolling anything yet. But I guess I might as well say knowledge local for kvash, Aramor, and whatever the 3rd relevant country is. Mod of +3.


EDIT: Jakeamonium might know about the Paladins of Heironeous and some laws of different areas, but he won't know about governments or their attitudes toward adventurers.


Knowledge represents a study of some body of lore, possibly an academic or even scientific discipline.
Local (legends, personalities, inhabitants, laws, customs, traditions, humanoids)
Answering a question within your field of study has a DC of 10 (for really easy questions), 15 (for basic questions), or 20 to 30 (for really tough questions).

A set DC that you meet, if you do, you know the answer. There's no mechanism for or way to decide that knowledge is unknowable to this skill, besides arbitrarily high DC's of course. The DC for all these question is pretty similar.

[ArcanistSupreme]

The DC for all these question is pretty similar.

It isn't safe to assume that. For example, the goings-on of a country nobody has been to for the past 500 years probably aren't common knowledge.

[god666LOLLIRONY]

Whoops, I meant Sorj, Aramor, and Fosh. Kvash can die in a fire. And I guess the DC for those three could possibly vary by up to five, which isn't that similar.

ninja edit: Though you could say the DC to figure out that Kvash is unfriendly to adventurers is pretty low!

[ArcanistSupreme]

Okay, here are Jakeamonium's knowledge checks:

Knowledge (local):

Sorj [roll0]
Fosh [roll1]
Aramor [roll2]
Neutral Territory[roll3]
The Great and Holy Nation of Heironeous [roll4]


and Knowledge (religion):

The Paladins of The Great and Holy Nation of Heironeous [roll5]

[ArcanistSupreme]

The results:

Sorj:
Orpheus, you recall that Sorj's laws are fairly typical of most nations (murder, theft, assault, and the like are illegal). The one law of note (or rather lack of law) that you remember is that there is no restriction against public intoxication. This is due to the dwarven love of good drink, and any laws limiting their ability to engage in their favorite pastime would be viewed as blatantly racist and would probably lead to open revolt.

Jakeamonium (Available with Jakeamonium's permission)In addition to the above information, you know that ownership of the land is divided up among the five dwarven clans: Urgosh, Nyorned, Kazamuud, Thorin, and Gorjen. These clans set the laws and pass judgement on those within their domains, and they also decide who is permitted to engage in commerce or mining within clan lands. This is strictly regulated and controlled not only by the Paladins that operate in Sorj but also by most of the dwarves that live there, as nearly all dwarves feel a fierce loyalty to their clans.

Another law of note is that importing foreign alcohol not of dwarven make into Sorj is an imprisonable offense and carries hefty fines. Sorjan dwarves are proud of their breweries, and a recent proliferation of inferior beers brought in by non-dwarves was seen as an insult to this great Sorjan tradition.

Fosh:
Orpheus recalls that Fosh is the land located to the north.

Jakeamonium (Available with Jakeamonium's permission)You also know that Fosh is to the north, but you remember that Fosh is an absolute monarchy. The monarch's will is carried out by local governors.

Aramor:
Orpheus, you can readily tell anyone that Aramor lies to the west. You think.

Jakeamonium (Available with Jakeamonium's permission)Aramor is ruled by a council of representatives that are sent from each major city. These representatives need not be residents in the major cities, and, in fact, most have been from the largely rural area surrounding the cites. This council decides on the allocation of resources within the nation as well the law of the land. An important facet of the law in Aramor is that the forest is something to be respected. As a result, logging and hunting are only permitted in specific areas that are designated by the council at the start of each year. These areas change every year to prevent deforestation or over-hunting in any one area. Logging or hunting outside of one of these areas or without a permit can result in anything from a fine to several years of imprisonment, depending on the degree of the offense.

The Neutral Territory:
Jakeamonium (Available with Jakeamonium's permission)The Neutral Territory does not have any overarching authority. All laws are made within settlements by the inhabitants of these settlements. Often, settlements made by residents of another nation simply use the laws of their home nation, but no connection (in theory) exists between these settlements and their home nations. A few settlements, however, are little more than colonies of their home nations, though they have been able to get away with this by trading freely with everyone. Other nations are not permitted to send armed forces into the Neutral Territory in any capacity beyond as escorts for trade caravans or diplomats. The exception to this rule are the Paladins of The Great and Holy Nation of Heironeous, who supplement the law enforcement of the various settlements. Most settlements do have some form of law enforcement, but they will nearly always defer judgement to Paldins operating in the area.

The Great and Holy Nation of Heironeous:
Jakeamonium (Available with Jakeamonium's permission)The Great and Holy Nation of Heironeous is a theocracy, ruled by the will of Heironeous. His will is interpreted by the current High Priest, who passes His instructions on to the other member of the Church and the Paladins. Residents of this nation abide by the Code of Heironeous, a strict set of laws that govern the lives of the faithful. Church attendance is mandatory except under extenuating circumstances, and taxes are paid as tithes and donations to the Church. Punishment is usually service to the Church, either in the form of labor, pilgrimage, or evangelism in other nations. The most extreme (in the eyes of The Great and Holy Nation of Heironeous) form of punishment is exile and excommunication, and most inhabitants view this as a severe punishment indeed. For foreign criminals, mark of justice is used liberally to enforce the punishments, and the removal of one of these marks is a capital offense.

The Paladins:
Jakeamonium (Available with Jakeamonium's permission)The Paladins of the Great and Holy Nation of Heironeous act as the law enforcement of all Calunta. They are not restricted by borders as are other officers of the law, so they are capable of pursuing criminals that escape to other nations

@Nick: If the main reason that you want to be able to purchase a greatsword is so you can use your weapon focus feat, why don't you just use your first level warblade weapon aptitude ability to change it to greataxe?

[uddingBrain]

This may be a dumb question but am I supposed to read the spilers posted above?

[ArcanistSupreme]

This may be a dumb question but am I supposed to read the spilers posted above?

Unless a spoiler has the name of a person/PC character over it, go ahead and read it. In this case, I don't think that Nick will care if you know what his character knows. However, there are spoilers within these spoilers that are awaiting Thomas's permission to be made available to the PC public. I am texting him now to get that done so we get the **** out of Tlaka and get this adventure back in gear.

EDIT:

The Grey Pilgrim continues to pray/meditate, and decides to fast.

Cute, considering you've probably been fasting since you hit level 5, so it really has no significance. Ehlonna smites you with:
10d6 lightning bolt, no saving throw. Take 10d6 damage.

[hestbechinator]

Finally, someone appreciated my joke.

Because of the length of time The Grey Pilgrim has been praying/meditating, he has reached nirvana/enlightenment/brahman.

[ArcanistSupreme]

Because of the length of time The Grey Pilgrim has been praying/meditating, he has reached nirvana/enlightenment/brahman.

Due to the immense pleasure brought on by this state of mind, you make a mess in your deerskin pants. Oh, and since I messed up the roll thing in my last post, the damage is [roll0].

Anywho, due to the lack of response of a certain PC, I'm taking temporary control of the character.

(To Orpheus) "I know much about these subjects, though Fosh is something of a mystery to me. Here is all I know." [The spoilers labeled Jakemonium in my earlier posts are now available to the party]

Are there any other errands (such as making use of the guild bank) that the party wants to run, or are you ready to talk to Skipper about getting a guild contract?

[uddingBrain]

"All this time in the city is making me restless. Let's get out of here quickly"

[hestbechinator]

Guild contract please!

[god666LOLLIRONY]

@Nick: If the main reason that you want to be able to purchase a greatsword is so you can use your weapon focus feat, why don't you just use your first level warblade weapon aptitude ability to change it to greataxe?
Probably because I didn't know I could do that. I will be doing that tomorrow morning, soon after the sun rises. Oh yeah what time of year is it?

Also those answers only partially answer my questions. It may have been unclear.. but me and my character want to know how each government treats/thinks of adventurers. Nuisance? Dangerous threat? Useful tool? Good guys? In extension of this, how does the law (or laws) treat them? Update the answers whenever you want, it's not really a big deal anymore at this point.

[ArcanistSupreme]

Probably because I didn't know I could do that. I will be doing that tomorrow morning, soon after the sun rises.

Wow, that was a lot of needless frustration for both of us :smalltongue:


Oh yeah what time of year is it?

I'd say early fall, which would explain the dryness of the trees in the forest that you burned down. >GLARE<


Also those answers only partially answer my questions. It may have been unclear.. but me and my character want to know how each government treats/thinks of adventurers. Nuisance? Dangerous threat? Useful tool? Good guys? In extension of this, how does the law (or laws) treat them? Update the answers whenever you want, it's not really a big deal anymore at this point.

I understood, but I felt that this fell more under Knowledge (Royalty and Nobility), as that is more a "varies with administration" thing than an attitude typical of the nation. I'm not trying to be difficult, I just want to establish precedents and follow the rules. And since it's not that big a deal: awesome.

P.S.- What is your vote?

[god666LOLLIRONY]

I still wanted a +1 Greatsword even when I forgot about weapon focus, so eh.



Local (legends, personalities, inhabitants, laws, customs, traditions, humanoids)
Nobility and royalty (lineages, heraldry, family trees(??),mottoes(??), personalities)
It's not really a very good precedent if someone had to actively ask you why you're not following through with their player actions, is it?

Contract.

[ArcanistSupreme]

Focusing on the "personalities" aspect of both Knowledge skills, I see the local personalities as more local (specific to a town or small area) governors, heroes, or celebrities; while noble/royal personalities would be those familiar on the national scale such as rulers, generals, or national heroes. And again, the attitudes are specific to the current rulers rather than the nation. Finally, I really don't have a concrete response for "attitudes towards adventurers," as it really depends on what the adventurers are doing, who they are doing it for, how they are going about it, and their attitude toward the ruler in question. I wouldn't worry about it until you have something more immediate, such as a ruler you are about to come in contact with, to deal with.

As the consensus is to seek a new contract,

"Ah, there you are! I was startin' to wonder if you were still interested in bein' part of the guild," Skipper says with a chuckle as he waves you into his office. "I suppose you're lookin' for your first contract, then. Let's see here..."

His voice trails off as he looks through the drawers in his desk, occasionally pulling papers out to examine them. "Here we go! It looks like the perfect contract for someone of your talents. The Nyorned clan in Sorj has been havin' problems lately with some of its goods disappearin' while they're in transit. It's been goin' on for a while now, and they want it stopped before it eats too far into their profits. We already sent a group down there, but they just sent us a message requestin' help. Seems that their havin' trouble pinnin' down who's behind it." He sets the papers on his desk and flashes a smile at you. "It's likely just some local cut-purses that are in over their heads, so it's nothin' too difficult or dangerous. Pay would be 3000gp apiece for each person on completion, which can be made payable to family if the job is finished posthumously. Is this to your likin' or should I look for somethin' else for you?"

[hestbechinator]

"That contract sounds like it will be perfect. We appreciate your help Skipper. Can we begin our quest immediately?"

[Jakeamonium]

Sorry guys for being away I didn't know my password and had to reset it which took wayyyy too long. Like two days.

"I agree with the grey pilgrim on this, sounds great."

[god666LOLLIRONY]

stuff about knowledge
Your logic is spurious, Local says laws, customs, and traditions. Royalty and Nobility has personality.

If you take personality of the ruler (or small council) to mean their world view and philosophy, if you take that to mean that they decide every laws based off that (with *no* latitude given to other governing bodies or the past), and then if you take that law to decide what what every other person or authority figure in the nation thinks of adventurers, then yes, you answer the question fully. Also they don't have laws and the ruler(s) decide everything personally.

If you take law to mean the laws of the land, you answer the question. If you take customs to mean a common repeated practice, then you get how a class of people (adventurers) would be treated. You can also say how adventurers are traditionally treated. How would the personality of the inhabitants affect their treatment of adventurersf you wanted, too.

And if you want to metagame and DM fiat the question and reasons for the question out of existence, well I guess that's your right as the DM.


Finally, I really don't have a concrete response for "attitudes towards adventurers," as it really depends on what the adventurers are doing, who they are doing it for, how they are going about it, and their attitude toward the ruler in question. I wouldn't worry about it until you have something more immediate, such as a ruler you are about to come in contact with, to deal with.
Well obviously you don't have to account for every single eventuality. I can also probably guess you will be treated poorly if you are committing genocide for the Ultimate King of Slaughter, or treated well if you are on a divine mission from their god. Let me give you some basics cause it's very difficult.
Random Nation: How would it treat adventurers from a well known guild? Who are just doing a private contract? Who are foreigners? Of a certain race or nationality? Who are caught skulking around? Who are caught breaking the law?
Is that a good start for you or do you need more? Depending on roll is how much you reveal, of course some of them are not always relevant, race for instance.


Contract sounds cool.

[uddingBrain]

"I don't have any family so if I die, my share can be distributed among the rest of the group, if that's possible. I'd relally like to get this started guys"

[ArcanistSupreme]

"I don't have any family so if I die, my share can be distributed among the rest of the group, if that's possible. I'd relally like to get this started guys"

"Unfortunately, we can no longer do this because we've noticed that parties that included that clause in their contract had suspiciously higher mortality rates than groups without it. Unless you have a charity you would rather donate the funds to in the unlikely event of your death, your share will go to the guild," he says as he leans back and folds his arms across his chest. "Now, as you all seem to like the contract, here are the details. Go to Mytyr (the capital of Sorj) and talk with Golin of clan Nyorned about the problems they're havin'. Make sure you keep those IDs handy so he knows that you are who you say you are."

At this point he grabs a quill out of a drawer and dips it in an inkwell on his desk. After he scribbles something on a small sheet of parchment, he leans across the desk and hands you the parchment. "Here is the address of the Nyorned clan hall. You should be able to find Golin, or at least where he is, there. Send word back to the guild if you run into any trouble that you can't handle. So, unless there are any further questions, you'd best get started on your first guild contract!"

Knowledge and stuff (spoilered for length)
Your logic is spurious, Local says laws, customs, and traditions. Royalty and Nobility has personality.

If you take personality of the ruler (or small council) to mean their world view and philosophy, if you take that to mean that they decide every laws based off that (with *no* latitude given to other governing bodies or the past), and then if you take that law to decide what what every other person or authority figure in the nation thinks of adventurers, then yes, you answer the question fully. Also they don't have laws and the ruler(s) decide everything personally.

I'm not saying that they have a hand in every incident involving adventurers. They do set the tone that will be followed, especially as they tend to handpick the people in office below them. This does not mean that the laws change based on who is in office, but it does change how closely the letter of the law is followed.


If you take law to mean the laws of the land, you answer the question. If you take customs to mean a common repeated practice, then you get how a class of people (adventurers) would be treated. You can also say how adventurers are traditionally treated. How would the personality of the inhabitants affect their treatment of adventurersf you wanted, too.

Suffice it to say that adventurers are treated as are people of most other professions. As long as they pay their respects and don't rock the boat, there is typically no problem. There may be small villages/groups of people that harbor resentments toward (or are incredibly grateful for) adventurers, but on the whole the typical attitude is fairly neutral.


How would it treat adventurers from a well known guild? Who are just doing a private contract?

See above.


Who are foreigners? Of a certain race or nationality?

Give me some more Knowledge (local) checks.


Who are caught skulking around?

Skulking around where? In the public market? In a dark alley? In a pub? In the king's private quarters? That's kind of vague...


Who are caught breaking the law?

They are treated as lawbreakers. The guild also frowns on lawbreaking, so this does not change how you are treated, and can actually make it harsher if you are caught (the guild fines lawbreakers and such).



Is that a good start for you or do you need more? Depending on roll is how much you reveal, of course some of them are not always relevant, race for instance.

While I appreciate the fact that you are trying to learn as much as you can about the world, but please try to limit questions to stuff directly pertaining to what you are doing. For me to try and figure it all out can get immensely complicated, as I need to make sure that I won't have to eat my words later. As I only have a very rough outline of where this campaign is going at this point, giving you broad, general responses can lock me down before I'm ready. I won't try and trick you with laws and stuff (HA! Drinking water at 12:35 is a capital offense!), and I will do Knowledge rolls for you if things like that come up. If this is an issue, I'm open to suggestions.

[god666LOLLIRONY]

@Matthew: Dear lord this is ridiculous, I'm just going to talk to you when I hopefully see you in person this weekend. Suffice to say, two heavily armed soldiers attempted to kidnap my character in the middle of the day in the middle of the street for something he had no idea would be any sort of problem, a great crime apparently. Because of that two people died, which he is very much regretful and regretting. He's trying to teach himself about the laws and customs of the lands so something like that won't happen again. THIS. REALLY. ISN'T. THAT. DIFFICULT.
I can of course, also argue why my understanding of the knowledge mechanic is correct.

Too Grug, "Grug I've never seen anybody take hits like you do, I don't think you have to worry about any kind of dying. Me on the other hand, I would like to have my portion given to the church of Ehlonna if I die." While I say that I give the Grey Pilgrim a good hard look, not super obviously of course. And if it's hard to not do obviously I wait until an opportune moment too.

[ArcanistSupreme]

Stuff you said.

Yeah, I think we must be having a communication breakdown or something, because I feel like I'm missing your point and I'm not conveying mine very well. Face to face (or fist to face, as the situation warrants) would be best.


Too Grug, "Grug I've never seen anybody take hits like you do, I don't think you have to worry about any kind of dying. Me on the other hand, I would like to have my portion given to the church of Ehlonna if I die." While I say that I give the Grey Pilgrim a good hard look, not super obviously of course. And if it's hard to not do obviously I wait until an opportune moment too.

@Orpheus, roll a Bluff check.

@The Grey Pilgrim, roll a sense motive.

DM OnlySense Motive [roll0]

[hestbechinator]

Sense motive: [roll0]

"In the event of my untimely demise, I wish for my earnings to go to the Temple of Ehlonna as well."

[uddingBrain]

Too Grug, "Grug I've never seen anybody take hits like you do, I don't think you have to worry about any kind of dying.

"If i'm doin my job right, i'll be the only one dying. My job to take the hits. No one will be dying before I do, got that." gives as harsh a glare as he can to the rest of the party. (this is pretty scary because of the +16 to intimidate.)

[god666LOLLIRONY]

[roll0]
Jake doesn't have to roll a sense motive,http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/bluff.htm it's under Delivering Secret message. Also skipper may have penalties to his roll!!

[god666LOLLIRONY]

Found the companion rule.

Discern Secret Message

You may use Sense Motive to detect that a hidden message is being transmitted via the Bluff skill. In this case, your Sense Motive check is opposed by the Bluff check of the character transmitting the message. For each piece of information relating to the message that you are missing, you take a -2 penalty on your Sense Motive check. If you succeed by 4 or less, you know that something hidden is being communicated, but you can’t learn anything specific about its content. If you beat the DC by 5 or more, you intercept and understand the message. If you fail by 4 or less, you don’t detect any hidden communication. If you fail by 5 or more, you infer some false information.

[ArcanistSupreme]

Well, Jake gets whatever message you were trying to send. Jake will need to know the message in order to act accordingly. If you don't want me to know, that's cool.

"Alright, the temple of Ehlonna it is." Catching the look you give the Grey Pilgrim, he adds, "it is a good temple to donate to. I've always liked the woods and beauties of the natural world. Maybe it's time for me to take a contract myself!" With that, he somehow gives you a roguish wink, in spite of the fact that he only has one eye.

[god666LOLLIRONY]

Does anybody have any last minute things to do before leaving Tlaka?? Oh, are we spending the rest of the day and night here? If we are I'm going to some Orphanages and donating say 100 gp among five of them. Trustworthy ones.

@Matthew What time of day and year is it?

[ArcanistSupreme]

@Matthew What time of day and year is it?

It's still fall, and it's now late afternoon.

EDIT:
As you leave, Skipper pulls a bottle and a glass out of a drawer. After pouring himself a generous measure, he puts his feet on the desk and raises his glass. "Happy adventurin'!"

NOTE: Pretend he's a little older than he looks in this picture. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/Li_Kenta/RequestAS.jpg

EDIT 2:
How do you guys want to go to Sorj?

[uddingBrain]

Could you be more spicific? It appears to me that our only option is "go south" finding a caravan or something that we could get hired to protect, or just trade protection for a ride might be nice.

[ArcanistSupreme]

Could you be more spicific? It appears to me that our only option is "go south" finding a caravan or something that we could get hired to protect, or just trade protection for a ride might be nice.

Or you could go alone, or you could walk, or you could buy horses, or you could pay for teleportation services...

I basically meant decide what you feel like and do it. Does that answer your question?

[uddingBrain]

I say we try to find some way of making the trip with a caravan to maybe make some money, if that doesn't work, then buy a casting of control weather, build a house, and have a tornado take us there. Ohh we can't afford a casting of control weather? then i guess horses will have to do.

[ArcanistSupreme]

I say we try to find some way of making the trip with a caravan to maybe make some money, if that doesn't work, then buy a casting of control weather, build a house, and have a tornado take us there. Ohh we can't afford a casting of control weather? then i guess horses will have to do.

Dude, you could totally afford the 910gp price tag. Assuming, of course, that you could find a 13th level druid. Pity the radius is only three miles and it's fall...

Come to a consensus and then choose the corresponding option. Please only select an option after you've decided, unless you decide as a group to try the other option after going over the first choice.

Attempt to find a caravanAs soon as you leave Skipper's office, you realize that you have no way to get to Sorj quickly. After briefly discussing this, you all turn around and walk back into his office. As you come in, he looks up from some paperwork and raises his eyebrow.

"Did you forget somethin'?" he asks in a puzzled voice. You explain what you wish to do, and he considers this proposition thoughtfully. "Hmmm, that's an interestin' idea. I don't have any caravan contracts currently, but I'll ask around and check if any of the other representatives do."

With this, he walks around the desk and leaves the office. After waiting for about twenty minutes, Skipper returns. "You're in luck," he says with a grin. "Borzo says there's a caravan leaving for Sorj tomorrow mornin'. Unfortunately, he just signed the contract to another group of adventurers, but he thinks that they'd be willin' to at least provide food and transport for you in exchange for your extra help. How does that sound?"

Buy horses and ride to SorjThe Grey Pilgrim leads you to the guild stables that he discovered while looking around earlier. Walking inside, you find an elf brushing down a black horse. Hearing the clanking of armor, she glances over her shoulder and see you. "How can I be of service?" she asks in a soft voice.

Thinking of this in a completely nonsexual way, you explain that you would like to purchase horses. "Where are you going?" she inquires. "The guild has stables in most major cities as well as many smaller towns, and if you simply make a deposit of 50gp or give me your guild account number, you would be able to take a horse to any of these cities and have your deposit returned, with a little taken out to pay for the service. Most adventurers find this to be incredibly convenient. If you aren't going to a city with a guild stable or would simply prefer to buy one, for 100gp I can give you an adventure-ready light horse with a week's feed. Which of these would best suit your need?"

Go ahead and respond once you've made a decision.

[hestbechinator]

I think it would be easier to get horses than find a caravan. Question for the DM: if we ride horses, how will Crocky keep up?

[ArcanistSupreme]

I think it would be easier to get horses than find a caravan. Question for the DM: if we ride horses, how will Crocky keep up?

You might want to look for a wagon.

[god666LOLLIRONY]

I think it would be easier to get horses than find a caravan.
Good catch Jake, something to ponder on the caravan ride.
I think caravan is fine, since it's right ready.

At some point I want to do what I posted I was going to do several posts ago..

[ArcanistSupreme]

I'm going to some Orphanages and donating say 100 gp among five of them. Trustworthy ones.

Assuming this is what you meant, didn't you do that earlier? Or was that Jake?

[god666LOLLIRONY]

That was Jake.

[ArcanistSupreme]

That was Jake.

Asking the Grey Pilgrim which orphanages are the most reputable and deserving of donation, you are given the addresses of five of them. Each thanks you for your small, but sure to be helpful, donations.

P.S.-Did you read the spoilers?

[hestbechinator]

I read the horse one and liked it, but wasn't sure if we could get a wagon with the guild rental. I haven't read the other one because I'm not supposed to. If everybody wants that one, I'll go with it.

[god666LOLLIRONY]

too lazy to copy
That had to be the least satisfying roleplaying ever.
Yeah did I miss something? I did vote caravan.

[uddingBrain]

we were supposed to decide as a group, not on our own, and then read one. so i still havn't read one cause i don't know which one we wan to do. Personally I want to vote for a caravan, cause if we can get pay for going where we want to go, or atleast not have to worry about camp rotations.

[hestbechinator]

Oh damn, I didn't realize that. Well, I've looked at the horse option, I won't say anymore, let me know what Thomas decides so we can go forward.

[god666LOLLIRONY]

Whoops, I've already looked at both. I wanted caravan before I read either of them though, but I really don't care enough to debate it if you guys want horses.

[uddingBrain]

so... it's been a few days since anything has happened. Are we still waiting for Thomas, or should I just cave and go read the caravan spoiler?

[ArcanistSupreme]

That had to be the least satisfying roleplaying ever.

Everyone got frustrated and bored when I did describe everything for Jake, and you specifically said "trustworthy ones", so I thought you wanted things sped up. Sorry.


Yeah did I miss something? I did vote caravan.

Read the post.


so... it's been a few days since anything has happened. Are we still waiting for Thomas, or should I just cave and go read the caravan spoiler?

Supposedly Thomas is having difficulty with his account again. As I have no idea what he would want, I proxied his vote to the Grey Pilgrim. But if all three of you can agree, go for whatever you want.

By the way, as this was an exercise in complete and total failure, I'll just do it the normal way in the future.

[uddingBrain]

it wasn't a totla failure, and if you do it again, i'm sure we would understand better. Nick, Jake, and I will be together tomorrow, so we'll try to come to a consensus then, while speaking fac a fac (french "face to face" minus a few accents).

[god666LOLLIRONY]

Everyone got frustrated and bored when I did describe everything for Jake, and you specifically said "trustworthy ones", so I thought you wanted things sped up. Sorry.
You mean from the guild hall? I'm not exactly sure what you are talking about, but I think we were more frustrated with the general pace beyond any technically extraneous description.
It was more of a shorthand for saying I wanted "trustworthy" "ones" ;D
Moving on, yeah we will post our consensus tomorrow around 7-730.

[ArcanistSupreme]

Stuff.

I meant when we were doing a live session. Which is probably the reason everyone got bored. Oh well, moving on.

(Assuming that you agree to the conditions and then just spend the night at the guild hall and go meet with the caravan the next morning .)

Spoilered for length
[i]"Jeepers, Skipper, that sounds swell!" you enthusiastically reply.
"Well, I'm glad you like it so much," he says with a smile. "They'll all be meetin' up by Gorgon's Gate (That's the south by southeast one for you that are new here). Just look for a group of six wagons, you can't miss them. Ask to talk to Glumora, and she'll let you know what she needs done. As for me, I'll let them know you're comin'. I'll see you when you get back!"

After leaving his office, you ask around about lodgings for the night, and you discover that there are two double rooms (and stabling for Crocky) available for free with your guild memberships. You even get a complimentary meal for signing up, and if all of the guild inns offer cuisine of this variety and quality, you may never eat anywhere else.

The rooms, unfortunately, aren't quite of the the same caliber. They are small, with just enough room for beds consisting of straw mattresses with one threadbare blanket apiece, a rickety wooden chair with a pewter washbasin on it, and a wardrobe so covered with grime that it is difficult to discern its original color. Both rooms have windows, but one is stuck open and the other is so dirty that barely any light makes it into the room. A strong smell of wet fur invades your nostrils the moment you crawl into the beds. Thankfully there are no bedbugs.

The next morning you wake up a little sore from the lumpy mattresses, but otherwise well rested. Realizing that it is almost time to meet with the caravans, you quickly collect your gear, scarf down a light breakfast (also on the house), and get Crocky from the stables (someone pay 3sp). Thanks to Orpheus's extensive knowledge of the city [I really want that backstory], you are able to get to Gorgon's Gate in record time, but you're still barely just on time.

After introducing yourselves to Glumora, a muscular, dwarf woman, she gives each of you an appraising once-over. "Well, you lot look tougher than the other party going with us, but I hardly think we need all this extra muscle. I'm doing it as a favor to Borzo, and don't forget that," she says with a challenging glare. "Each of the wagons is numbered as follows: front left is one, front right is two, middle left is three, middle right is four, back left is five, and back right is six. The numbering is by position, not by wagon, so if a wagon changes position, it also changes number. That makes it easier to keep track of things once the dung starts flying.
"Grugg, I want you on rearguard duty with Gordek. He's another bruiser-type, so you two should get along fine. You'll be in Wagon 6. Orpheus, you'll be in Wagon 5 to provide them with support if they need it. Grey Pilgrim, You'll be in Wagon 2 with Sovelith, another tree-hugger. If anyone tries to hold us up, just sic that crocodile on them. That means that you, Jakeamonium, will be up in Wagon 1 with me. The other two, Jennet and Elhandra, will be in 3 and 4, respectively. So unless you have any questions, get in your wagons because we need to leave half-an-hour ago."

Just acknowledge that you read and understood everything if you have no questions.

[uddingBrain]

"I thank you for allowing us to join you, and we'll try to be more help than hurt and I dare anyone or anything to mess with this caravan with all these adventures onboard. Uhhh... not that I hope something goes wrong. And just a thought, shouldn't the 'brusier types' be spread out among the wagons, instead of 2 being in the same place. I know my stregnths, and seeing hidin' things ain't one of 'em. If Gordek is similar to me, I'd bet he ain't too good at it either. So puttin' the both of us to watch the same place may not be the best way to use our talants."

[ArcanistSupreme]

"I know my stregnths, and seeing hidin' things ain't one of 'em.

You didn't put any ranks in spot?! You're a freaking Barbarian! It's a class skill for you! [/facepalm]

Glumora gives Grug a hard stare. "Look, I know what I'm doing. It's easier to spot things that are coming up from behind than it is to spot an ambush. Besides, Orpheus here looks like he has some reasonably sharp eyes, and if they're anywhere near as good at spotting bandits as they are at looking good," she says with a suggestive look at Orpheus, "then we're in good shape. So you just leave the thinking to me and get on the wagon."

[uddingBrain]

You didn't put any ranks in spot?! You're a freaking Barbarian! It's a class skill for you![/i]

have you opened a player's handbook recently? Cause if you had, you would know that spot is not a barbarian skill. I know that this charicter is not made how you would make it, but i do get spot when I can.

[ArcanistSupreme]

have you opened a player's handbook recently? Cause if you had, you would know that spot is not a barbarian skill. I know that this charicter is not made how you would make it, but i do get spot when I can.

Whoops, I knew Listen was so I thought Spot was as well. I must have gotten the Barbarian mixed up with the Ranger, as they are both outdoorsy types. Statement retracted.

[uddingBrain]

Yeah that happens.

To Glumora, "alright, you're the boss" I climb onto wagon 6.

and to prempt the the coming joke, [roll0]+10 for a climb check.

[ArcanistSupreme]

You successfully manage to climb into the wagon. Once inside, you find yourself next to a dwarf clad in chain mail. He fingers his battleaxe and gives you a suspicious glare. "Was Glamora wantin' somethin'? I though' we' be gettin' movin', not sittin' aroun' all day. I ge' pai' by th' tri', no' by th' hour. My axe arm's gettin' restless! Who're you, anyway?"

[uddingBrain]

"Oh, hi. I assume you're Gordek. My name's Grug and my party and I are joining you on this mission, and before you get all antcy, we're not taking any of your pay, just along for the ride. Nice axe, by the way, my friends are still trying to convince me to switch to a sword, but I find axes to be more sturdy. Anyway, we should be gettin' on our way soon."

also i just noticed the similarities between the name Tordak and the name Gordek.

[god666LOLLIRONY]

I'm sorry to say, but it's becoming more and more difficult to retain any interest in playing by post the campaign. We've accomplished about 1/3 of a reasonably paced medium length session's progress in two months and it's just wearing my desire to do this very thin. With eight posts in the last ten days, the pace has become even more geologic, I'm believing this is because of others declining interest and I want to test the waters for us agreeing to quit playing online. So what do you all think?

[ArcanistSupreme]

I'm sorry to say, but it's becoming more and more difficult to retain any interest in playing by post the campaign. We've accomplished about 1/3 of a reasonably paced medium length session's progress in two months and it's just wearing my desire to do this very thin. With eight posts in the last ten days, the pace has become even more geologic, I'm believing this is because of others declining interest and I want to test the waters for us agreeing to quit playing online. So what do you all think?

My vote would be to continue soldiering on, but I will go along with everyone else (by my choice, not because it's impossible to DM without players). It will, however, require more posts per person (at least 1/day(/every other day)). We might also need to either kick Thomas out, make him a DMNPC, or have him make the same number of posts as anyone else.

[uddingBrain]

I would like to point out that the person complaining about the speed hasn't commented in 13 days. This may be part of the problem. I am very nertral on the idea of continueing or not. I do find it realitively fun becuase actually role playing seems to be way more emphisized when playing by post. actually i would vote for continueing, but if even one person decides to quit, it would stop the rest of us, which is really the whole reason i started in the first place if you all recall. Anyway that is my 2 cents and will go with whatever the concencus is.

[god666LOLLIRONY]

Yes, thank you, I also noticed that he hasn't posted in thirteen days.. My actual point was that I know/believe us three not posting in that long of a period was because of our decreased interest. I do apologize for not going here to post but my desire was nonexistent.
Regardless, I'm not noting a problem that has apparated in the past thirteen days. I think *anything* less than a post by two players a day is frustratingly slow, otherwise a conversation with what, four or five exchanges, takes a week and a complicated in-depth one takes several if not drag longer. If everybody can commit to that I can consider renewing my urge to do this. Also if that seems duplicitous of me, keep in mind I posted more than anybody in the beginning.

[ArcanistSupreme]

...keep in mind I posted more than anybody in the beginning.

*cough* DM aside, I'm sure.

[god666LOLLIRONY]

Besides the Dm of course, that would require obsessive levels of posting from a PC.

[uddingBrain]

So just something I want ask, you have been disinterested for awhile, yet you fail to mention this and just make the ones playing (as few as that may be) wait?

Yes the pace is going to be slow, this is not supposed to be the only thing you do with your life. I don't see any way of speeding things up, besides serious threat of death for not participating. So if that is unsatifactory, then this is the end. But if we all realize that things will be slow, and they only go slower when we loose interest, then we may be able to have a little fun.

[god666LOLLIRONY]

Once again, I'm sorry for not posting in those thirteen days. I assume you're annoyed because I didn't do anything for a while and now I'm lobbying for ending it. It's because I feel a responsibility to post but no desire to post. I'm trying to resolve that, sorry I'm stepping on your toes.

So I put what I think is a desirable speed of play, well short of "serious threats of death for showing up."

[hestbechinator]

Let's ride.

Go to caravan 2, say to Slovelith: "Every day Ehlonna grants us is a beautiful one. I am the Grey Pilgrim, and I look forward to joining you on our trip." With a warm smile and a twinkle in his eye he continues, "This is my friend and companion Crocky; he won't bite unless he is hungry."

[god666LOLLIRONY]

After talking with Jake, I'll support Chris and Matthew in their desire to play online. Let's save the princess or whatever.
I'm hundurd percent pos'tive the stunning and mind blowing revelation I had when Chris told me that "this is *not(!)* the only thing you're supposed to do with your life"(emphasis mine) helped.

[uddingBrain]

So, I'm feeling the hate and deservedly so, but that was the only way I thought I could say what I had to say. I was annoyed that I had my time wasted for what feels like no reason.

And for the sake of keeping up the quota i am posting, but have no real actions to take.

[ArcanistSupreme]

Let's ride.

Go to caravan 2, say to Slovelith: "Every day Ehlonna grants us is a beautiful one. I am the Grey Pilgrim, and I look forward to joining you on our trip." With a warm smile and a twinkle in his eye he continues, "This is my friend and companion Crocky; he won't bite unless he is hungry."

The elf readily returns the smile. "G'day. May Ehlonna bless each of our steps today," he replies, completing the ritual greeting. "Crikey! That's quite an impressive crocodile specimen you've got there. Mind if I help ya get 'im on the wagon? I love andlin' critters like this! I ave a feelin' we're gonna be great friends, Pilgrim. Do ya mind if I call ya Pilgrim?"

The halfling holding the reins on wagon 6 calls out, "Oy, Glamora! Can we get moving or are we going to waste another day waiting around?"

Glomora looks annoyed and shouts back, "Shut your mouth! We're going now!" She turns and faces Jakeamonium and Orpheus. "Well, you two had better get in your wagons now if you don't want to get left behind."

She waits a moment as Jakeamonium walks off toward wagon 1 before turning toward Orpheus with an odd glint in her eye. "After we camp tonight, I think we'll rotate the wagon guards. What do you say to spending tomorrow on wagon 1 with me?"

[hestbechinator]

The Grey Pilgrim sends Orpheus a mental high five, and telepathically tells Orpheus to tap that.

To Slovelith: "Pilgrim is perfectly fine with me. And yes, Crocky is a great companion, I picked him up in the swamps of ___________ (to DM: where are the swamps again? In Fosh?). So, are you a friend of Glumora's, or are you part of the group guarding the caravan? Why are you heading to Kvash?"

[ArcanistSupreme]

The Grey Pilgrim sends Orpheus a mental high five, and telepathically tells Orpheus to tap that.

To Slovelith: "Pilgrim is perfectly fine with me. And yes, Crocky is a great companion, I picked him up in the Throkindle Swamp in Fosh. So, are you a friend of Glumora's, or are you part of the group guarding the caravan? Why are you heading to Kvash Sorj?"

Fixed it for you.

"The Throkindle Swamp, eh? No wonder e's such a beaut, comin' from there. But that makes yer one tough bloke! Even I wouldn't go into those swamps. Good onya!" he says with a hearty slap on your back. "As fer why I'm headed to Sorj, I've gotta make a quid, yer know? I talked it over with a couple of my mates, and we decided to join the guild. Now ere we are, on our first contract. So that's my story. But listen to me yabber on. Let's get Crocky up in the wagon so we can get goin' or Glamora'll be spewin'."

[hestbechinator]

The Grey Pilgrim helps get Crocky on the wagon, and gets himself prepared to leave. This is Grey Leader, standing by.

[uddingBrain]

This is Red 7 prepareing for attack run.

[god666LOLLIRONY]

So, I'm feeling the hate and deservedly so, but that was the only way I thought I could say what I had to say.
Not hate, just annoyance on a online forum, so not a biggie.

So timely, right after I committed to posting more, I'm going out of town today and my access to internet will be somewhat sporadic for the next six days or so. I'll try to post at least once every two days why I'm gone but no guarantee.

So rundown of this chick: how homely or attractive is she? Does she look stronger than I am? Is inter-species stuff a taboo in Tlaka? Sorry I kind of want to know before I say yay or nay. Text me answers and I'll reply if you be needing to move this part along.
I board up the wagon. Also, zone defense.

[ArcanistSupreme]

As soon as everything is loaded into the wagons, the caravan begins moving south along the road. You couldn't have picked a better day for traveling; the sun is out, and a light breeze is rustling the leaves. The wagons move quickly along the cobblestone road, and the time passes quickly as you chat with your fellow adventurers.

The first day passes uneventfully, and as the sun begins to set, the wagons come to a halt. "Let's set up camp here for tonight," Glamora shouts. The wagons circle, and soon a fire is built in the center of the circle. As everyone begins to settle down, Glamora approaches your group. "Well, it's time to earn your keep. Each of you needs to pull a two hour watch shift, after which you will wake up the next person in the rotation. Your watches are staggered with the other parties' by an hour, so you'll be with one person for the first hour and another for the last hour. So who's first?"

[uddingBrain]

"I'll take a middle shift, since i don't need any spells."

[hestbechinator]

The Grey Pilgrim will take the last shift.

[god666LOLLIRONY]

I'll take first.
And I'll be able to post more than I thought.

[ArcanistSupreme]

Orpheus:
As the rest of the camp settles down for the night, you and an elf, (which you assume is Sovelith) begin patrolling the outside of the wagon circle. The sun sets, and eerie shadows begin to play across the surrounding hills. Fortunately, there are few trees and the grass is relatively short, making it easy to spot any movement. About an hour into your watch, Sovelith goes to wake his friend. The moment he is out of sight, a movement at the edge of your vision attracts your attention. Fortunately, it is just an owl, silently searching for mice. A moment later, a woman in scale mail joins you in your patrol. After giving you a haughty once-over, she begins walking around the wagons in the opposite direction.

An hour after that, the moon has begun to rise and it is time to wake Jakeamonium.

Grug:
You are woken up by Jakeamonium nudging you with his foot. Rubbing the sleep from your eyes, you gather your gear and go to patrol. You find An eccentrically dressed man slowly pacing around the edges of the wagon circle, and you join him. The full moon shines brightly on this cloudless night, and eerie shadows play across the surrounding hills. Fortunately, there are few trees and the grass is relatively short, making it easy to spot any movement. About an hour into your watch, the other man goes to wake his friend. As he goes, you see shooting stars begin to fall to the south. On a clear and cloudless night such as this, the effect is quite beautiful. Jordek joins you a few minutes later, and he begins to patrol in the opposite direction, apparently uninterested in the beautiful phenomenon in the night sky.

An hour later, you go to wake the Grey Pilgrim.

Grey Pilgrim:
You awake to find Grug gently shaking you. Nodding to him, you wake Crocky with a touch and go to begin your watch. There you see a stocky dwarf clad in scale mail already circling the wagons. He hefts his axe and nods in your direction before marching out of sight around the edge of the wagon circle. Looking to the sky, you see the full moon just starting to set in the west. Its pale light casts eerie shadows in the surrounding hills, but the lack of trees and the relatively short grass will make it difficult for anything to sneak up on the caravan. A meteor shower seems to be winding to a close in the southern horizon, and as you watch one even seems to make it all the way to the ground before its light burns out. The night air is cool and refreshing, and it feels good to once again be in the wilderness, far from the hustle and bustle of Tlaka.

After an hour of patrolling and listening to the night's predators begin to settle in for the day, the dwarf leaves the outer edge of the circle to wake his companion. The moon has nearly set, and the sun is just starting to peak over the horizon. A morning dove coos in the distance, and you hear another dove give an answering coo. Sovelith strides from the wagons, fulling armed and alert. He smiles on seeing you and gives you the sign of Ehlonna before beginning his patrol. As the sun rises higher and higher, you hear people start to move around in the wagons. Soon the smell of breakfast cooking meets your nose, and you almost regret not needing to eat.

Soon everyone is awake, and the early risers are already beginning to load things back into the wagons. Glamora comes up to your group as you pack up your bedrolls. Alright boys, we're rotating the guard today. "Grey Pilgrim and Allie, you're in 5, Grug, you're up in 2 with Sovelith, Jakeamonium, it's you and Jordek in 6. So Orpheus," she says with a wink, "it's you and me in 1. Let's move out!"

The second day passes just as uneventfully (except for Orpheus and Glamora, if you know what I mean), and the time is passed amicably chatting with the caravan crew and other adventurers while enjoying the wonderful fall weather. At the end of the day, watch is again established in the same order. As Orpheus begins to unpack his things, Glamora lays a hand on his shoulder. "Why don't you join me in wagon 1 instead, as I've got an extra mattress in there you can use." She flashes a coy smile at you. "Or you can help keep my mattress warm."

[uddingBrain]

It may just be because it's late and i'm tired, but i really enjoyed the imagry you put into my turn at watch. Would it be alright if I read the other ones too?

[ArcanistSupreme]

It may just be because it's late and i'm tired, but i really enjoyed the imagry you put into my turn at watch. Would it be alright if I read the other ones too?

Not right away, but in a little bit. I also kind of cheated and used bits (like the intro) from yours in the other ones, which might lessen the impact.

EDIT: I could have kept going at this point, but I stopped for an RP break. If there is nothing you want to add, just acknowledge that you read it.

[god666LOLLIRONY]

Read mine.

[hestbechinator]

Read mine.

The Grey Pilgrim greets Allie amicably when they first get on the wagon.

Could I just get a summary of our interactions on the wagon during the day? I just want to know whether Allie and I have developed a positive relationship like the one I have with Slovelith, or whether she was a little more cold towards me.

[ArcanistSupreme]

Read mine.

The Grey Pilgrim greets Allie amicably when they first get on the wagon.

Could I just get a summary of our interactions on the wagon during the day? I just want to know whether Allie and I have developed a positive relationship like the one I have with Slovelith, or whether she was a little more cold towards me.

She meant Crocky, but called him Allie. Because crocodiles and alligators seem similar if you've never actually seen them both. It's a joke, son. You and "Allie" got along great.

EDIT: Anywho, back on topic:
The second night of doing watch passes in much the same manner as the first. The moon is often hidden behind the clouds tonight, but the terrain is much more open, making it far easier to see any movement. Aside from the goings-on in a certain wagon, nothing eventful happens during the course of the night.

Early the next day, however, something quite unusual interrupts the caravans progress. As the wagons enter a lightly wooded area, wagons 1 and 2 suddenly come to a stop. Looking south along the road, the reason quickly becomes apparent. A huge rock, perhaps 5ft in diameter, lies at the bottom of a deep crater in the middle of the road. Glamora jumps down from wagon 1 and stands so she is plainly visible to everyone.

"Alright adventurers, time to earn your keep. Let's get this rock out of the road. With all of us pushing, it should be easy, and it'll be quicker than trying to maneuver the wagons around these trees." With that she strides over to the boulder and begins examining it, presumably trying to figure out the best way to move it.

OrpheusIt is a beautiful day today, with a warm sun and a cool breeze. You couldn't have asked for a better day to move a giant rock. As you go to help move the boulder, you notice that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of large, black birds are perched in the trees around the crater, and every single one seems to be eying the party as they approach the rock.

Grey PilgrimIt is a beautiful day today, with a warm sun and a cool breeze. You couldn't have asked for a better day to move a giant rock. As you go to help move the boulder, you notice that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of crows are perched in the trees around the crater.

GrugIt is a beautiful day today, with a warm sun and a cool breeze. You couldn't have asked for a better day to move a giant rock.

By now, all nine of you have gathered around the rock. Slovelith and Jordek are both extricating rope from their packs, and Ehlandra is stretching in preparation. Glamora directs you all into position, and soon the rope is fastened around the rock so as to permit four people to pull while the remaining five push. Glamora and your party are assigned to pushing duty, while the other will pull.

Glamora looks around and asks, "Is everyone ready?"

[hestbechinator]

The Grey Pilgrim quietly says to the group of adventurers: "Do you notice the birds? It seems more than a coincidence that such a large number have gathered here."

[ArcanistSupreme]

Spoilered for size
http://www.wegotways.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/a_murder_of_crows_at_disneyland.jpg

[ArcanistSupreme]

The Grey Pilgrim quietly says to the group of adventurers: "Do you notice the birds? It seems more than a coincidence that such a large number have gathered here."

Upon hearing these words, everyone stares off into the trees. Everyone, that is, except for Glamora.

"Forget the birds," she says with a gleam in her eyes. "We've just found the largest amount of Solarium I've ever seen in one place. This is worth at least as much as all of the goods we're currently carrying put together. We're loading this onto the wagon."

"Um, guys?" says Jakeamonium as his eyes stare at the birds, "I really think we should get our weapons out because these aren't just crows, they're-"

At this point, two things happen at once. One, Glamora puts her hand on the meteor. Two, one bird flies up from its perch. Suddenly, they all fly upward en masse. The flocks gather in tight knots as they spiral high into the sky, then they suddenly whirl back down, like black clouds of feathers with thousands of sharp claws and beaks stretched towards their prey.

"-Murders of Crows." Jakeamonium finishes, as he pulls his chain from his side.

http://www.opednews.com/populum/uploaded/pic3-6890-20081118-13.jpg

Consider rolling initiative.

DM ONLY

Glamora [roll0]
Jordek [roll1]
Sovelith [roll2]
Jennet [roll3]
Ehlandra [roll4]
M1 [roll5]
M2 [roll6]
M3 [roll7]
M4 [roll8]

[uddingBrain]

I hate swarms.

[uddingBrain]

[roll0] +2 10 initiative

[ArcanistSupreme]

Did you know that you can do the modifiers with the roll? All you have to do is:

1d20+mod

DM ONLY
Jakeamonium [roll0]

[god666LOLLIRONY]

init: [roll0]

How many other warriors on our side are there that I think will be fighting in the battle?

Bardic Knowledge for Solarium: 1d20+4

[god666LOLLIRONY]

[roll0]
10chars

[hestbechinator]

Here we go. [roll0]

[ArcanistSupreme]

Battle Grid;
http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs477.snc3/26122_381445311937_648101937_4093762_234828_n.jpg

Thousands upon thousands of crows dive out of the sky and bombard the adventurers. They do not fly as crows normally do; instead they brush up against each other, and sometimes they even crawl over one another in the air. All you can see is a black mass of feathers and talons swirling in front of your face, and the effect is nauseating. You hear yelling as the other adventurers are engulfed, and from the sounds of whinnying and shouting, the caravan is being attacked as well.

@Nick: There are the four of you, the four other adventurers, Glamora (who you have learned knows how to use a short sword but isn't super combat-savvy), and a driver for each wagon, who will all be nearly useless in a fight. That's a total of 9 combatants and 6 noncombatants, in case you didn't feel like doing the math.

DM ONLY:

M1 [roll0] [roll1]
M2 [roll2] [roll3]
M3 [roll4]
M4 [roll5] [roll6]
Glamora [roll7] Ref [roll8] Ref [roll9]
Gordek Ref [roll10] Ref [roll11]
Sovelith Ref [roll12] Ref [roll13]
Elhandra Ref [roll14] Ref [roll15]
Hennet Ref [roll16] Ref [roll17]
Jakeamonium Ref [roll18] Fort [roll19] Ref [roll20]
Horse Ref [roll21] Ref [roll22]
Commoner Ref [roll23] Ref [roll24]

[ArcanistSupreme]

The crows tear into your flesh with their beaks and talons and then come around for another pass. As your skin comes away in chunks, you all take 9 points of damage. Jakeamonium screams, "MY EYES!!! YOU THRICE-DAMNED AVIAN MONSTROSITIES WILL PAY!!" He swings his chain about wildly, but it hits the meteor and stops before it does any damage. But as the swarm circles for a second attack, he gives a cry of rage and his chain lashes out, mutilating dozens of birds on contact. Raven gives a caw, and disappears into the black mass that seems completely unperturbed by Jakeamonium's assault as it bears down on you all once more...

In case anyone was wondering, there was a surprise round during which the crows and Jakeamonium acted, and then 1,2, and 4 went again. Orpheus is up. Whenever you are damaged by the swarms (you all just were), make a reflex save to protect your eyes. If you start your turn in a square with a swarm, make a fortitude save to avoid puking.

The order is as follows:

M1
M2 DM ONLY11
M4
Orpheus
M3
Grey Pilgrim
Elhandra
Grug
Jakeamonium
Gordek
Sovelith
Jennet
Glamora
Everyone else


Also @Nick: You can't recall ever even hearing about solarium.

[hestbechinator]

DM: my limits for wild shape are any medium-sized animal I've ever encountered? And Nick, what was that cool bat that you said I might be able to use? DM, read what Nick posts and let me know if that is an option.

Reflex: [roll0]

[god666LOLLIRONY]

Desmondu Hunting Bat from MM3
Otherwise I think there is Eagle. Also there's this dinosaur I sometimes hear about.


Okay, I'm going to begin Inspire Courage, with Badge of Valor and no War Drum or Inspirational boost. So +2/+2 to attack, damage, and fear effect dc's.
I'm going to draw my greatsaxe while moving (assumed it wasn't drawn) and yell to Grug, "Lets get back to back!", and move into position to do that. Trying to get as close to a weaker member (ie Glamora or a arcane type) as possible without interfering with my other actions.

ref [roll0]
fort if necc. [roll1]

[ArcanistSupreme]

You both manage to shield your eyes from the voracious birds.

@Jake: Go for it and we'll see what happens.

@Nick: Sounds cool.

The swarm attacking Elhandra and Hennet circles around for another attack.

DM ONLY[roll0] Ref [roll1] Ref [roll2]

Pilgrim, you're up. Start with a fort save.

[uddingBrain]

reflex save [roll0]

I'm going to hold action until Orphous's next turn so we can act together.

[hestbechinator]

Is it my turn? Okay here goes nothing:

The Grey Pilgrim speaks in ancient tongues, and his hair and beard are blown backward, as out of his staff comes a gigantic wind, which forms into a wall and surrounds the caravan. "Spellcasters fall behind the wall!" he yells.
Concentration check: [roll0]

Crocky readies himself for when the birds are close enough to attack him.

A retroactive reflex roll for Crocky: [roll1]
Remember he has evasion, so if he suceeds, he takes no damage.

[ArcanistSupreme]

Jake, I need a fortitude save to avoid nausea for both you and Crocky. And that's not quite how evasion works (I'll explain in person). You also need to specify the spell you are casting (even though I know in this case).

You here Elhandra scream, "Hennet, no! Hennet I'll...AARRRGGGHHH!! My eyes, by the gods! Take that, foul creatures!" Unfortunately, her blindness causes her swing to go wild, and the birds continue to tear at her and her fallen comrade.

@Grug: Are you sure you want to wait until next round to act? You'll effectively lose a turn, and you'll still need to make a fort save both rounds, unless you move during this one.

By the way, a 5 fails, so both Crocky and Grug have been blinded by the crows.

[hestbechinator]

Is the fortitude save every turn, or just when attempting to move?

The Grey Pilgrim:

Crocky: [roll]1d20+

The spell was wind wall, and I want it to form a square surrounding the squares of M and N, 17 and 18.

[hestbechinator]

Oops, Crocky: [roll0]

[uddingBrain]

I'm wondering where i should keep track of my HP so i'm going to do it here until further notice, It is 55.

Fort save [roll0]

I misintrupreted what Nick wanted to do so i'm changeing my action.

Grug yells, "I'll try to deal with the ones on the caravan while you guys deal with these. Come help when you can."

are there any other penalties to blindness besides just the miss chance? Am i not able to move effectively. I don't have my PH here so if anything i'm doing is impossible for me to do effectively, please let me know.

I'm going to charge the murder that is on the caravan. giving +2 to attack roll and -2 to AC. using full power attack for -5 to hit, +10 to damage, I take a huge swing.

Miss chance [roll1]
attack roll [roll2]
damage roll [roll3]

If anything about that action isn't right, such as not being able to charge/ not being able to move right/ not being able to attack through the wind wall then use this action instead.

move onto wagon 2
climb check [roll4]
tumble check (if aplicable) [roll5]

full power attack again without charge. Use the miss chance from above
attack roll [roll6]
damage roll [roll7]

here is what i am saying so it is not misinterpreted, I want to do the first option. IF that doesn't work, then use rolls from the second one any that apply except for the miss chance. IF I can't do the second option word for word, just use the numbers from it to do a basic attack. If I can't do that then let me know via text so that I can change my decision accordingly, as I will not be on again till late tonight unless otherwise informed


In case you didn't notice, the first option attack roll was a natural 1 so take that into accout if that is the one i'm doing.


**** i also forgot to add inspire courage so plase add those boosts too.

[uddingBrain]

fort save 13

5ft. step back to H15

move action to draw alchemist's fire and throw at intersection HI 16 17

Miss chance [roll0]
ranged attack [roll1] check my math here +5 base attack -2 shakey +2 dex +2 inspire courage

miss direction [roll2]

[ArcanistSupreme]

You fumble around in your pack until your hand closes around a bottle of alchemists' fire. Triumphantly, you pull it out and hurl it near the edge of the swarm to avoid hitting your friends and Glamora. Or, at least you try to. Based on the screaming and shouting you hear over the cries of burning crows, it sounds like you also hit all of your friends.

Pilgrim, Orpheus, Jakeamonium, and Glamora take 3 points of damage (1 from splash +2 for inspire courage ) as the flask explodes at the intersection GH 16-17.

[i]Meanwhile, the battle continues to rage. Jakeamonium curses as he is splashed with fire. He moves out of the mass of crows and swings at it with his chain, but, lacking the ability to see, his blow goes wide. Gordek and Sovelith both stagger out the swarm they were in with blood streaming down their faces as they draw their weapons. Glamora and Jennet have both fallen to the ground, and neither is moving.

The horse that was being attacked by the last swarm gives a whinny of terror and then blindly charges forward, that is, until it collides head-first with a tree. There is an audible *CRUNCH*, and then the horse falls to the ground. You can hear the other drivers trying to keep their horses calm.

Again, Murders 2 and 4 circle around for another attack, provoking AoOs from everyone that can still see. Orpheus and Pilgrim take 2 damage as the crows continue to peck and claw.

Both Pilgrim and Orpheus need to make Ref saves.

New Battle Grid (http://s975.photobucket.com/albums/ae238/ArcanistSupreme/DandD/?action=view&current=Crows3.png)

[god666LOLLIRONY]

@Chris
This is an online repository of all the core rules. Very useful.
http://www.d20srd.org/index.htm
Here is blinded:
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/conditionSummary.htm#blinded

I wanna say that the map seems kind of crappy. I think that even just saving a blank grid and text box key into paint and doing some quick terrain drawing for each battle could be better.

[ArcanistSupreme]

DM ONLY:[roll0] [roll1]

[uddingBrain]

Just throwing this out there as a consideration but it seems to me that inspire courage applies to the tasks i am trying to do. It helps me hit better (both attack and damage) by making me sharper and more confident in my abilities. Since I was obviously not trying to hurt my frineds, the song does not give me extra confidence in my ability to hurt them.

Another argument against the extra damage is that how well I hit has nothing to do with the damage the chemical reaction does. My extra ability to be more accurate with my blows, does not cause the fire to burn hotter, or spread wider. Those are my thoughts on the issue.

Second topic: Do i have any way of judging how many crows that died form the alchemist's fire. I know i'm blind, so if the answer is no, I understand.

How about this:

"Ohh, sorry about that frineds, but I need to know if that got enough of them to try it again."

also, since it hit in the middle, it does splah damage 4 times instead of 2 times to the crows, cause of the 4 adjacent squares.

[ArcanistSupreme]

Just throwing this out there as a consideration but it seems to me that inspire courage applies to the tasks i am trying to do. It helps me hit better (both attack and damage) by making me sharper and more confident in my abilities. Since I was obviously not trying to hurt my frineds, the song does not give me extra confidence in my ability to hurt them.

This wouldn't matter, as you think you are hitting the crows and not your friends.


Another argument against the extra damage is that how well I hit has nothing to do with the damage the chemical reaction does. My extra ability to be more accurate with my blows, does not cause the fire to burn hotter, or spread wider. Those are my thoughts on the issue.

These are my thoughts too. However, the bard entry for Inspire Courage (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/bard.htm#inspireCourage) reads as follows:


Inspire Courage (Su)
A bard with 3 or more ranks in a Perform skill can use song or poetics to inspire courage in his allies (including himself), bolstering them against fear and improving their combat abilities. To be affected, an ally must be able to hear the bard sing. The effect lasts for as long as the ally hears the bard sing and for 5 rounds thereafter. An affected ally receives a +1 morale bonus on saving throws against charm and fear effects and a +1 morale bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls. At 8th level, and every six bard levels thereafter, this bonus increases by 1 (+2 at 8th, +3 at 14th, and +4 at 20th). Inspire courage is a mind-affecting ability.
(Emphasis mine)

The issue is that alchemists' fire is a splash weapon, which is why I would apply the bonus. A concrete reference as to why the bonus should/should not be applied (Nick?) would be helpful.


Second topic: Do i have any way of judging how many crows that died form the alchemist's fire. I know i'm blind, so if the answer is no, I understand.

How about this:

"Ohh, sorry about that frineds, but I need to know if that got enough of them to try it again."

Beyond what your friends tell you and the agonized cawing of a lot of crows, you don't know.


also, since it hit in the middle, it does splah damage 4 times instead of 2 times to the crows, cause of the 4 adjacent squares.

Oh, good point. I would have missed that.

[god666LOLLIRONY]

Okay, when the map is larger I totally don't have a problem with it.

reflex
[roll0]

The only concrete thing I have to offer is the entry for morale modifier. http://www.d20srd.org/srd/thebasics.htm

I agree with both of your thoughts on why it wouldn't add on. I do think it's probably a gray area, under RAW it would obviously just happen, but logically it really isn't as clear-cut.

[god666LOLLIRONY]

Well..assuming I'm not blinded, I'm going to Rage, Snowflake Wardance, and Punishing Stance. Now Full-Attack.


[roll1]

[roll]1d6+1d12+18
1d6+1d12+18

[god666LOLLIRONY]

weak coding
[roll0]
[roll1]

[roll2]
[roll3]

I forgot about my two-weapon fighting modifers, so subtract two from my attack rolls.

[ArcanistSupreme]

Regarding the whole "alchemists' fire thing", the boards think that the bonus should apply since it's SU (the flames are hotter because of the passionate burning of your soul?). So that's what I'm gonna go with. Take 3 everyone.

Orpheus raises his mighty greataxe high and swings it hard through the highest concentration of crows he can come in contact with. Dozens are killed outright, and dozens more fall to the ground in various states of mutilation. His second strike hits the tail feathers of one unlucky bird, but other than that his blow does no damage. This is mainly due to the fact that the swarm seems to be dispersing, perhaps afraid of further retribution.

The swarm that was attacking Gordek and Sovelith, however, is alive and well. It is reluctant to let its meals escape as easily as the did, and it bears down on Gordek.

Swarm 3 now occupies EF 17-18. Pilgrim is up.

DM ONLY:
[roll0]

[uddingBrain]

Beyond what your friends tell you and the agonized cawing of a lot of crows, you don't know.


The point of my speaking was to ask the party so if any of them wish to tell me how I did, you would have to tell them in some way

[hestbechinator]

Current health: 13 hp

Reflex: [roll0]

The Grey Pilgrim 5 foot steps into square F15, and Wild Shape into the Desmodu Hunting Bat; he then launches himself into the air, at a height right above the swarms.

If I need to do a fortitude save: [roll1]

What about those attacks of opportunity you were talking about? Crocky isn't going to attack unless he feels the birds clawing at him.

[god666LOLLIRONY]

Oh I thought you were debating something different about Inspire Courage, of course it's going to add damage to the alchemist's fire. It doesn't make blades any sharper or clubs any denser. It just effects your ability to manipulate it to the greatest efficacy, so of course it'll affect alchemist's fire.

I thought you were discussing how it wouldn't have an effect because regardless of whether you know or not, it wouldn't effect your ability if you just f$$$ed up all together, doesn't make that fire burn any hotter ya know. Anyways, while I think this is reasonable, I decided it was too close to a ad-hoc ruling only for the sake of logic which can build up a slippery slope.

[uddingBrain]

My argument agrees with what you just said. It doesn't make the sword any sharper, so how does it do more damage? It makes me stirke more accurately, finding holes in defenses, being overall more effective with the weapon. It's important to understand that it is the user being effected, not the weapon. So how does the extra skill the user has obtaind, make him fail worse? The bonus makes the user find holes in his ally's armor and makes him target it?

Since It is not yet my turn, I'm just posting this cause I can. If anyone thinks it is slowing down progress, just tell me and i'll drop it right away.

[ArcanistSupreme]

Reflex You're fine and
If I need to do a fortitude saveYou don't (you only need to make a save if you start in a square occupied by a swarm, and Orpheus just finished off the one you were in).


What about those attacks of opportunity you were talking about? Crocky isn't going to attack unless he feels the birds clawing at him.

Crocky is blind, so he can't make AoOs. It was directed at you and Orpheus. Fahgetaboutit.


Anyways, while I think this is reasonable, I decided it was too close to a ad-hoc ruling only for the sake of logic which can build up a slippery slope.

Not sure I understand what I did/your argument. Please elaborate.


My argument agrees with what you just said. It doesn't make the sword any sharper, so how does it do more damage? It makes me stirke more accurately, finding holes in defenses, being overall more effective with the weapon. It's important to understand that it is the user being effected, not the weapon. So how does the extra skill the user has obtaind, make him fail worse? The bonus makes the user find holes in his ally's armor and makes him target it?

Regardless, RAW makes no distinction between whether the damage applies to allies or not. Let's say you threw the flask harder so the alchemists' fire would spread better. This would also affect your allies as they are covered in burning chemicals. Again, you are trying to hurt the crows better, but your allies got in the way.

EDIT:
Elhandra slashes her sword at the birds, but they dodge the blade with ease. With a scream of frustration, she grabs Jennet and starts to pull him out of the Murder. (She doesn't actually move, she just starts to.)


Since It is not yet my turn, I'm just posting this cause I can. If anyone thinks it is slowing down progress, just tell me and i'll drop it right away.

Now it's your turn :smalltongue:. But seriously, if you think I need to change something, it's fair to argue against it. I'd recommend asking the boards if you want a second opinion.

[uddingBrain]

See I probably wouln't have applied the bonus damage to anything with the alchemst fire, but i'm going to drop it.


Yeah i just occured to me that it is my turn so I guess i have to try to hit Murder 3.

Really, no one is going to help me get an idea of if the alchemist fire was a good choice? Oh well, probably not an issue.

move to G16/ draw weapon (drawing before 5 ft. step to avoid AoO)
Miss chance [roll0]
attack roll (full power attack): [roll1]
damage roll (full power attack): [roll2]

"Take this you stipid Birds"


I suck forgot the +2 damage from Nick, so 25 damage

also you said that everyone takes 3 damage, but I don't cause i'm too far away. Just keeping you informed. Still at 55hp

[ArcanistSupreme]

See I probably wouln't have applied the bonus damage to anything with the alchemst fire, but i'm going to drop it.

RAW, the boards, and Nick all agree that the bonus damage applies; it's just a matter of whether or not it applies to damage to allies. Come up with a concrete reference and you're cool.


Really, no one is going to help me get an idea of if the alchemist fire was a good choice? Oh well, probably not an issue.

Sorry, all the NPCs are blind too. :smallmad: That's right, other PCs. We're talking to you.


Stuff

With a roar, you bring your weapon down through the cloud of crows, but oddly you don't feel the blade connect with anything. You also believe yourself to be where the crows had concentrated their attack, but you don't feel them clawing at your skin any longer.

Around all of you, the fight seems to being growing less desperate. Sovelith, at least, has escaped, one of the swarms has dispersed, and the remaining one is contained for now.

Jakeamonium swings his chain in wild fury, and one of the departing crows has the misfortune to be flying in exactly the wrong place and is sliced neatly in half. Gordek has collapsed in the middle of the swarm, his limp form is nearly impossible to see through the mass of black. "Gordek, did you make it out, mate?!" Soveltih yells before drawing two swords from their sheaths and attacking the swarm. Swaths of birds are cut down, and the remainder flee before his onslaught.

DM ONLY
[roll1] [roll2] [roll3] [roll4] [roll5]

Jennet lies limply in Elhandra's arms, and Glamora does not stir from her slumped position against the meteor. Blood is streaming down her face, and all of her exposed skin has been heavily cut.

The swarm surrounding Elhandra and Jennet sees a new opportunity for more food, and it circles around to encompass Tordek, Elhandra, and Jennet. Ehlandra collapses, and Jennet falls next to her.

DM ONLY
roll1d6

M3 and 2 are now dispersed. M4 now occupies DE 16-17. Elhandra and Jennet share D16. No other NPCs have moved. New Grid up shortly.

[uddingBrain]

Alright i'm confused as to why M3 dispursed. Did something happen before my action so it got wasted? Or do you just really like making me feel impotent :)

[god666LOLLIRONY]

Concrete arguments are fine too I'm imagining.


What's M1 up too?

I'm going after murder 4. I'm yelling out to everybody something along the lines of kill it before it can regroup.
Also I'm going to position myself so if it wants to attack me it'll have to move out of Gordek's square, 15C I believe.

[roll0] I'm power attacking fully btw, I forgot to mention that in my last attack post.

[roll1]
[roll2]

[ArcanistSupreme]

Concrete arguments are fine too I'm imagining.

Give me one concrete reason to allow this. Just kidding, yeah they be cool.


What's M1 up too?

It seems that it is beginning to understand that it can't pass through the wall, and, unable to hover in place, has been forced to the ground.


I'm going after murder 4. I'm yelling out to everybody something along the lines of kill it before it can regroup.
Also I'm going to position myself so if it wants to attack me it'll have to move out of Gordek's square, 15C I believe.

[roll0] I'm power attacking fully btw, I forgot to mention that in my last attack post.

[roll1]
[roll2]

With a roar, you drive your massive axe through the swarm besieging the others. Crow parts fly in every direction, and you are spattered with feathers and gore. Seemingly terrified of you, these crows, too, disperse.

Pilgrim, you're up. Assume Elhandra lies there and bleeds during her turn, so Grug you're up after him.

[hestbechinator]

The Grey Pilgrim flies to L18, lands, and attacks the swarm through the wind wall.

Attack roll: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[uddingBrain]

Just because i'm blind does not mean that I have no ability to find enemies. I'm an experienced advenurer and have some experience fighting without being able to see. I would think I would know when something is no longer a threat. My turn getting completely wasted is rediculously unfair. I have looked all over the playe's handbook, and all it ives for blindness is the miss chance, the minus 2 to attack, loss of dex mod to AC and some skills get minus 4. Where does it say i get to waste entire actions because of my in ability to decer where my opponents are. I was able to detect when the things are moving so why can't i tell when they are no longer there? Anyway, sence i'm pretty sure you're just going to ignore my objection, I guess i'll take my turn.

I'm just going to use a chage on my healing belt healing, [roll0]
Putting me to full health of 64 and curing the blindness.

and the move to m15.

[god666LOLLIRONY]

Just because it doesn't list something in an entry for something doesn't mean it shouldn't be a part of it. Common sense is given some latitude. Now obviously there are non-visual cues you could go by that would not leave you completely contained if you're blinded.

Anyways, does it look like Elhandra, Gordek, or Jennet are still alive?

[uddingBrain]

My thought is that blindness is already a huge drwback, just the 50% miss chance is huge. This is What the game does to acount for the fact that you would be unclear on the location of things. But this way, not only to I have to overcome the miss chance, I also have to guess where the birds are on the grid? I agree, IRL i would have troble identifying where my enemies are, and maybe only have about half a chance of correctly gueeting to where they are, but the game compensates for that with the miss chance, at least that is my intrepretation of what the miss chance represents. By the logic of me not being able to see when an enemy is gone, I also would not be able to move around, i'd hit trees and such. This is represented by lowered movment. The game is designed to represent real world situations with modifiers and such things, and that is what it did with the miss chance.

Also in a regular play session, I would have known what was going on. I don't believe you would have sent me out of the room untill it was my turn every time. That is why it is represented the way it is, to keep the game moving smoothly, and not make one layer feel as though he is wasting his time. Failing a roll is one thing, but when the DM just makes him waste a turn, that is justwhat it takes to get people to feel alienated and to quit.

[ArcanistSupreme]

Anyways, does it look like Elhandra, Gordek, or Jennet are still alive?

They are, but in Jennet's case just barely.


Stuff

Look, I thought you had made a mistake and attacked the wrong square, as your action reported you moving into where the swarm which had just dispersed just was. I assumed you were rping the blindness, and the ":)" in your next post led me to believe your indignant response wasn't serious.

Look, the crows were still in the square, they just weren't swarming any more. You would have no way of knowing this without the others telling you (again, all of the NPCs are blind).

What happened here seems to be some form of miscommunication on several levels. Please don't get mad and attack me because everyone (yourself included) made mistakes.


Just to speed things up, Jakeamonium pops his healing belt and also moves within reach of the swarm. The swarm tries to fly, but is unable to get enough forward momentum to stay aloft.

Orpheus, your go.

[uddingBrain]

A blind person can't tell where there used to be hundreds of crows attacking and clawing that now they are not. Sound that used to be really concentrated in one area is now not so dense. You know when one can't see, they tend to concentrate on listening oh and i have ranks in that so i should be fairly good at it. Second, instead of answering the question I asked, you just moved on. I was trying to denote that i didn't want to start a fight, but something had definately gone wrong. Sorry, I should explan that the word impotnet coming from me means I feel either completely ignored or ashamed. I think the first is the closer application here.

I'm am overly angry at this and i don't really know why. Probably has somthing to do with it being 2:30 in the morning. I appologize for overreacting to this, but it is damn frusterating.

I acted without all of the information that was available to me. My action at the time was drivin by incomplete information that I was unaware I needed to complete. I'd appriciate in the future, if I waste an action, that I be informed if it seems oddly stupid to do.

Also, I get informed of all the others coming out of their swarms right after I make my action. If i'm able to know of the status of the others while i'm blind then i should know before my action.

I'm frustrated, not neccicarally angry. I undertand that mistakes have been made and am a little ashamed of what I have been saying, but since my first attempt at solving the issue went un addressed, i decided to take another route.

I hope that helps express what my meaning has been, and if it doesn't, then we can chat in person to maybe help me see what is going on.

[god666LOLLIRONY]

I'm going to spend a charge from my healing belt on Jennet. I think I was right next to him (?), if so I'm going to move over next to the swarm with my remaining move action.
[roll0]

[god666LOLLIRONY]

Whoops I accidentally added a five-hundred thousand in the roll.. If there's a way to figure out what the dice roll actually was, but otherwise I guess we'll just have to let this one stand..

[hestbechinator]

Nice tactic to lower the tension Nick.

The Grey Pilgrim will attack the swarm through the wind wall again.

[roll0]

[ArcanistSupreme]

@Chris, let's talk in person.

Jennet is so filled with positive energy that his head asplodes. The explosion continues to envelop everything, spreading a blinding white light that vaporizes everything and anything it touches. The pain is unimaginable as you feel every cell in your body burst with too much energy. And then, the material plane is wiped entirely from existence. The end. But then you blink your eyes and realize this was just a trick of the light. Jennet groans and opens his eyes. "What do you need me to do?" he asks sharply as he sits up.

I need an attack roll there, Pilgrim.

Grug, go ahead and act since regardless of whether Pilgrim hits or not the swarm will still be there.

[hestbechinator]

Its time to dudu du du du du du du duel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[roll0]

[uddingBrain]

roar

Move to attack with full power attack

attack roll: [roll0]

damage: [roll1]

[uddingBrain]

confirm crit: [roll0]

i'll use the first damage roll too so add this much

[roll1]

just so ya'll know, i would have just put myself at 0 hp. I think that's funny.

@Matthew, I understand that things went wrong and it's too late to go back so i'm not worried about this one, I just want to avoid having to act on incomplete information in the future.

[ArcanistSupreme]

With Grug's mighty blow, the crows suddenly become disorganized and begin flying in separate directions. Several try to fly off, but Jakeamonium's chain lashes out. "Kill as many as you can or we'll have to deal with them again later!" he shouts as he twists his chain to behead five crows at once.

Following his instructions sound like a very good idea, you do so. The crows trapped in the wind wall are cut down by the dozens, and any that try to escape out the top are prevented from doing so by the Pilgrim. Soon, not a single crow remains, and the wind wall slowly dissipates. Jakemonium calls for Raven, who quickly replies, "Up here, rawk!" Jakeamonium tenderly retrieves him from the tree and then activates his healing belt again to restore his familiar's sight. Satisfied that his companion is safe, he wipes his chain in the grass and begins picking feathers out from between the links.

Victory! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7tbddRS8lQ&feature=related) What do you do now?

[uddingBrain]

I'm going to try to acertain the status of the rest of the party. Is there imediate healing that needs to be done? If not, I'll talk to Glamora about if we still about moving the supplies in wagon 1 into to other wagons, or into my bag of holding. If everyone could tell me how much money of your's is in the bag, that would be helpful so that i know how much more I can put in there.

[ArcanistSupreme]

I'm going to try to acertain the status of the rest of the party.

Elhanna, Gordek, and Glamora are all bleeding, unconscious, and presumably blind. Sovelith and Crocky are also blind. The driver of wagon 1 and the corpse formerly known as horse are in a heightened state of being dead. Everyone else is okay, though shaken.


Is there imediate healing that needs to be done?

See above.


I'll talk to Glamora about if we still about moving the supplies in wagon 1 into to other wagons, or into my bag of holding.

Regardless of what this actually means, Glamora ignores you and continues bleeding.

@Nick: Would it be reasonable to ask for your backstory by a week from today?

[uddingBrain]

I'll use a charge each on Glamora and Gordek

[roll0] Glamora
[roll1] Gordek

whichever one looks worse first.

[ArcanistSupreme]

They both shake their heads groggily before getting unsteadily to their feet.

"Are all th' crows gone, la'?" Gordek inquires as he hefts his axe and glances around nervously.

And assuming that

I'll talk to Glamora about if we still about moving the supplies in wagon 1 into to other wagons, or into my bag of holding.

is supposed to say this

I'll talk to Glamora about moving the supplies in wagon 1 to other wagons or into my bag of holding.

"What do you mean moving supplies from..." her voice trails off as her eyes fall on wagon 1, and her mouth falls open. Its covering has been torn in hundreds of places by the attacking crows, and smashed crates have fallen out of the back. Hurrying over too it, she peers inside and her face falls.

"Well, there might be a little bit that can be saved, but for the most part it's all trashed. It was mostly food on this cart, and it looks like the crows made off with all of the meat they could get to, the jars of preserves have been broken, and everything else is so slashed up, smashed up, and generally covered with bird droppings that I don't know how much we'll be able to salvage."

After staring long and hard at the wagon, she turns around, and you are surprised to see that she is smiling. "But what's a little food when so much solarium has just fallen into our laps? Let's get what we can out of wagon 1, and then the first order of business is to load up that meteor!"

[hestbechinator]

If what you told me is true, and magical healing will cure the blindness, then The Grey Pilgrim uses Cure Minor Wounds on Crocky and Sovelith. Then he uses Lesser Vigor on himself.

Anyone else want a Lesser Vigor?

[god666LOLLIRONY]

@Matthew: Yeah that's fine, it has been 2/3rds written for a while now and in need of finishing. Also, I still work occasionally on the PrC.

I guess I could use a lesser vigor. Since an extra charge from my belt will be more convenient to use in battle

"They're are gone now, and we'll be soon too. By Kord we better be friend." I'm stretching and cleaning my axe while talking to Gordek. Also wiping off any stray bits of gore from myself.

Also I'm going over to Jakeamonium after Gordek, "Hey, good work, if only our reflexes were as fast as your head we might've avoided this. And just what is Solarium exactly?"

[ArcanistSupreme]

Also I'm going over to Jakeamonium after Gordek, "Hey, good work, if only our reflexes were as fast as your head we might've avoided this. And just what is Solarium exactly?"

He looks up from his chain and gives you a half smile, clearly pleased with the praise. "Your axe more than made up for any of your other shortcomings. My compliments." He pauses and wipes his chain on the grass before getting to his feet. "As for Solarium, I have only come across it a few times in my readings. It is exceedingly rare and valuable, as I'm sure you know, and items constructed of it seem to have some power to resist destruction. I've also read an account in which a wielder of a Solarium sword claimed that his blade was more capable of finding his opponents weak points than any other weapon. This may simply be a braggart's hollow tale, however, and I wouldn't put too much stock in it."

He glances over at the meteorite, around which Glamora is now shouting orders, and you see a greedy gleam in Jakeamonium's eyes. "Regardless of its properties, it is sure to fetch a fair price. I suggest we help Glamora to load it up." With that, he replaces his chain on his belt and goes to assist Glamora.

[hestbechinator]

The Grey Pilgrim casts Lesser Vigor on Orpheus. He goes to the remains of the horse that crashed into the tree, and spends some time praying over it.

[god666LOLLIRONY]

I pause thinking for a moment, and then follow him.

What's in the caravan? Generally speaking.

[ArcanistSupreme]

The Grey Pilgrim casts Lesser Vigor on Orpheus. He goes to the remains of the horse that crashed into the tree, and spends some time praying over it.

But you don't prey for the guy that got eaten by crows? Jerk.


I pause thinking for a moment, and then follow him.

What's in the caravan? Generally speaking.

Glamora is busy shouting orders, so you decide to ask one of the drivers. After sidling up to wagon 1 and grabbing a broken crate of vegetables, you turn and ask your question to the burly man with a bushy beard who you recognize as the driver of wagon 4. He gives you a curious glance over the barrel of apples he's carrying. "We've been on the road for two days and nobody told you what we were hauling? I woulda thought that things like would be important to bodyguards," he replies, completely unaware that this statement might be considered offensive. "Well, mostly we've got inks and dyes and stuff, you know, the kind of thing that dwarves don't make for themselves. We also had some spices in wagon 1, but it looks like most of that is ruined. That meteor had better be worth a lot, or this trip won't be worth it."

[hestbechinator]

Well, The Grey Pilgrim intends to pray over the whole are: the horse, the people who were killed, as well as the tree. But he certainly doesn't want to PREY over the guy who got eaten by the crows.

[ArcanistSupreme]

Hunting/eating corpses is totally a part of Ehlonna's religion. It's considered disrespectful if you don't. So you're still a jerk. :smalltongue:

[god666LOLLIRONY]

I um put the crate of vegetables wherever it was going and decline to continue moving boxes. "Inks, Dyes; anything else in there?" while ignoring the rest of what he said.

[ArcanistSupreme]

The man blinks a few times as he strokes his beard. "Not that I can think of. Dwarves have most of the raw materials they want, and they make better stuff than anything we can get for them, so we give them food, spices, and dyes. Sometimes we'll give them some animals, but they usually only want the skins or wool." With a shrug, he returns to work.

[hestbechinator]

Still praying. Not that it matters to anyone.

[ArcanistSupreme]

You're still there?! The caravan left five hours earlier!

EDIT: So no further RPing at this point? Just moving on?

[hestbechinator]

Onward! Giddyup! Up, up, and away!

[hestbechinator]

Ok, I hereby attack our useless thread:

[roll0] lightning bolt, no saving throw. We are all officially dead in this realm. I guess we have to continue playing in the real world now.

[ArcanistSupreme]

Sorry, the thread is in an anti-magic field. You'll need to do better than that.

[hestbechinator]

Stupid ****, ****, ****, damn.

I wildshape into a colossal dragon penis and use a mushroom stamp attack:
[roll0]

[hestbechinator]

Mother****er! They won't ****in show what I'm saying? DM, I have a question: **** **** with your damn **** **** ****eating and ****aduck ****ty **** **** ****.