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Xefas
2013-06-12, 09:24 AM
Links:
Chapter 1: Into The Stolen Lands (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15421390&postcount=4)
Chapter 2: Hinting At The True Enemy (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15528717&postcount=13)
Chapter 3: The Monster Wakes (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15599935&postcount=17)

Chapter 4: Questionable Management Decisions (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19578823&postcount=22)
Chapter 5: The Monster Takes A Break To Play Civ5 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19583312&postcount=24)

What Is This?

I'm going to be playing through some significant portion of the Kingmaker (http://paizo.com/pathfinder/adventurePath/kingmaker) series of modules, in which a group of player characters, beginning at level 1, explore some wilderness, fight some bandits, found a kingdom, and do some other stuff that I don't know about yet, because I've purposefully made sure I have not been spoiled as to the adventure path's contents. (As much as possible, anyway. I know that you found a kingdom! And, pretty much whatever is in the Kingmaker Player's Guide. Which isn't a lot.)

So, of course, please do not post spoilers for the Kingmaker adventure path. If forumites wish to talk amongst themselves about spoilers, then I just ask that you clearly mark it, and put it in spoiler tags, so I know to avoid reading it.

However, things will be highly atypical compared to your standard campaign journal. For one, because of scheduling, time constraints, physical distance, and all those great real life factors that prevent all of you from just playing RPGs 24/7 like you want to, I'm going to be doing this... 1 on 1. Just me and the GM. Over skype voice-chat. I've done this a few times (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14606654&postcount=86) before; the link goes to the one session I transcribed.

To make up for the lack of party banter, I'm going to do my best to transform the bare-bones skeleton of the events that we play through into a fleshed out, interesting story. Everything will still happen exactly as it did in the game we played, but I can add stuff like internal thoughts and considerations and character development that may not come out as starkly at the table without other PCs to play off of. And maybe clean up some of the combat stuff; make those rolls sound a little more flashy than the descriptions we could've, perhaps, come up with on the fly. I'll also include some of the more relevant chatter between the DM and I, or just notes left by me, in brackets with the word 'note'. Like so, [Note: This explanation is probably too thorough.]

For two, I'm going to be playtesting The Teramach (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=286983), a base class of my own invention, posted on these very boards. It's all about rage. Think of it like a beefed up, somewhat exaggerated barbarian variant.

Because I am but one man, and the first adventure is meant to be played by four level 1 characters, I will be granted the experience and wealth-by-level of a 2nd level character to compensate. That, and sweet sweet solo XP, is what I'm going to rely on to get me through this.

For three, it's a Pathfinder module, but we're going to be goin' by plain old 3.5e rules. There're a lot of little changes, as far as I know, and time is a factor, so we're going to err on the side of expediency, and not learn all those new tidbits. Things seem more or less compatible anyway - the GM might have to rule on whether a Perception check should be a Spot or a Listen, but that's hardly a problem.

Audience Participation

So, this is something that interests me and I want to try it, just to see what happens. First, I'd really like to see some Alignment Critique. I've put "True Neutral" as my character's alignment, for now, but what I'd really like is for the forum to offer feedback on what alignment you think they acted like during a given Chapter/Session. Just, overall. Did the bad outweigh the good? What are good intentions worth? Are they drifting towards law or chaos? Have I been consistently pushing one way or the other, to the point where an actual alignment shift is appropriate? I'm very interested in hearing opinions on this.

Secondly, less important, but still potentially rewarding, I'm going to attempt to end each chapter/session with the main character going to sleep. If you want to participate, and ask the main character something, I'll attempt to answer in-character, from the perspective of conversing with figments in their dreams. I, of course, reserve the right to ignore questions that the character couldn't/wouldn't answer and not feel bad about it. My hope is that this will lead to a more fleshed-out and three-dimensional character than I would have otherwise been able to make. I'm certainly not a professional writer; I suck, in fact. Maybe, together, we can be stronger. (As a beautiful side effect, I can get some of my roleplaying fix between sessions, without committing to a whole other game.)

Thirdly, I know there's some kingdom-building stuff later in the game. Once I know more about that, I may be able to determine other ways that the audience can participate, such as voting on a royal crest, or naming members of the court after forumites, or taking advice on what kingdom~y actions to perform.

Prologue/Backstory For The Main Character

Usel, back when she went by a sweeter name, was the eldest child of a farming family that lived in a small, relatively new community in the rugged wilds of Rostland. Although she was not born there, she was too young to remember the time before that; before her parents sought the peace and tranquility of a new life far away from the rapidly urbanizing lands around Restov. She was already an adult when a bad fever took her father during a particularly harsh winter, but the farm still thrived with her at its helm, and the strong backs of her three younger brothers, and youngest sister. Despite a broken heart, she had spent decades building the callouses and sunburns of farm life, and things continued as they always did.

In her time, she encountered a few courtships now and again, entertaining a few but never accepting. Not for lack of interest, no, but for other, more awkward factors. It was her father's farm, for one. She ran it, sure, but it'd always be his in her mind. With a husband? Well, she wasn't too certain about the inclination of the law on such matters, but it seemed like it'd shake out to him claiming ownership of the place - maybe fighting it out with her oldest brother. It'd be drama one way or the other, and she couldn't see herself siding against her family in anything. And, besides, she didn't really know what to do when things got all romantic to begin with. Contemplating the lawful implications of marriage was ludicrous. Even when she was young, it felt like she was missing the secret healthy-relationship handshake, or whatever it was that everyone had but her. Sometimes she said too much, and sometimes she didn't say enough. Flowers? What do flowers mean? What do you do with them? She didn't dance, or sing. Or wear dresses. A dress was money not being saved for the hard times to come. She was pretty sure you were supposed to bathe more when you were in love, wash your hair and so on, but its not like the well went forever. There was family and livestock working out in the sun all day. If the rain was late enough, the aquifer would dry up, and then she'd be trekking miles out of the way to haul water up from the river.

But that was fine, she still had her family.

The sun was going down on a mild winter day, the snows long gone from an unusually early spring, when the brigands came in from the south. Usel had been hard at work, replacing the roof on the property's stable that had been damaged by a particularly nasty wind-storm the previous day. By the time she noticed the visitors, they were already heading for the main house. She casually put down her tools and made to return, not assuming anything urgent.

With her siblings at knife-point, she agreed to stay compliant. "Take anything you want. Just leave us be." That had been what she said. It was when one of the less intelligent bandits made disquieting advances on her sister, that the previous sentence melted away, and she had put one enormous ham-like fist where his otherwise unbroken face would've been. They didn't like that. The offending bandit didn't rise from his new unconscious position on the floor, but the others quickly overwhelmed Usel. Outside, they deliberated for a bit, before lashing her to the side of a wagon, facing out into the fields. There, she watched, for what felt like hours, but only comprised a few scant, terrible minutes, her entire family put to death, and flames begin to rise across the buildings and grounds of her father's farm.

That's when they came for her, too. A brigand, with a broken nose, two black eyes, and a variety of bruises and missing teeth, holding a knife, and grinning, lead the way. And then? She lost it. She lost everything, there. Everything that was left. When someone has a bad day, they get told that they, at least, still have a job - food on the table, a roof over their head, a future to look to. When someone loses their job, they get told that they, at least, still have family. Family is the most important thing in the world, and they'll always be there to catch you when you fall and support you through the tough times. When someone loses their family, they're told that they, at least, have their health, and their freedom, and their humanity. They feel loss and pain, and that means that they're human. As long as we remember who we are, we can have hope. And if you have hope, not all is lost.

Usel didn't have any of that anymore. She felt the ropes around her arms twist, and heard them snap, though she wasn't entirely aware of why. She made a fist around the bruised man's hand, and it crumpled with a sound like a walnut cracking. She pushed, and his elbow came free. His screams died with two fingers through that tube of meat that runs through a man's neck. So did he. She couldn't remember what it was called. A shining piece of metal went into a shoulder. Someone's shoulder. It was attached to her, but it wasn't her's. She knew that much. The metal fell to the ground with its wielder's body. All of him except two bones. She was holding them, one in each hand; the bones that are supposed to be in front of the warm place in your chest. It was warm, wasn't it? Probably because she was running. The others were running, too. Running from her. She didn't know why. She had something to tell them, but they just kept running; running into the ground, losing their feet. Leaving her. Whatever it was that she had to say, she decided it must have been sad. The last one was crying. She took the lower part of his head for safe keeping. What was that called again? The part with all the teeth. Two whole rows. On the inside, he was smiling, so maybe it wasn't sad after all. And then, as she looked at that smile, smiling back at it, something began to crawl away from the edges of her mind. Like the first moments of lucidness as the veil of sleep lifts, the world came crashing in, bringing logic, and thought, and understanding back to her.

Days went by. Usel didn't know how many. She lay under a tree. Sometimes she cried, and screamed, until her voice was hoarse. And sometimes she slept, but then she'd wake up, screaming. Sometimes, she just stuck her fingers into the dirt, and drew little nonsense patterns, or watched passing insects. One day, she went looking for a stream, and lay down beside it, drinking to quench her body dying of thirst. She didn't bother to brush the bugs aside, or the slime growing over-top of the little pools. She threw up a few times, but that seemed comforting, somehow; maybe she would just spill out whatever was making her feel bad. Eventually, she got hungry. Hungrier than she had ever been before. An ache so primal and pervasive that it brought her to thinking, briefly, of life, and living, rather than the opposite, which had become so popular to her of late.

By the time she had hiked into town, she smelled like a slaughterhouse, and not entirely because much of her visible skin was caked in blood, and some of the countryside that had dried there with it. The bandits that had remained after the village was sacked didn't even try to rob her. They just assumed she was some kind of wight, or maybe one of the uglier fey, and attacked on sight.

The less said about their fate, the better. But a few days later, Usel was fed, washed, clothed, and equipped with whatever odds and ends still remained un-looted from the town's remnants that she could carry on her back. Although deserted, the little village had contained one thing Usel found value in. A poster was nailed to a post in the square that hadn't been there the last time she'd come to town. Something about "bandit warlords rising in the Stolen Lands", "increasingly bold incursions into southern Rostland", "agents of justice needed", "inquire with the Swordlords of Restov". There was nothing left for Usel in this world. Or, at least it felt that way. Nothing but, for now, vengeance. It just seemed like the thing to do. The only direction she had. If someone was behind the atrocities committed here, then they needed to be stopped before they could hurt anyone else. And if she died along the way? As was highly likely? She doubted that she'd care overmuch.


The Character Sheet

Profile
Usel, Teramach 2
Medium Humanoid (Human), True Neutral
XP: 1,000

(32 point buy)
Str: 18, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 8

Offense
Initiative: +2
Speed: 30ft
Size/Reach: 5ft/5ft
Bab/Grapple: +2/+6

Melee Attack: Unarmed +6 (1d3+4) [20/x2]
Full Attack: Unarmed +4/+4 (1d3+4) [20/x2]

Ranged: -

Defense
Hit Points: 22
Armor Class: 16
Flat-Footed: 14
Touch: 12
Fortitude: +6 [3 base + 2 ability +1 trait]
Reflex: +5 [3 base +2 ability]
Will: +5 [3 base + 0 ability + 2 feat]

Feats and Skills
Feats: Improved Initiative, Two-Weapon Fighting
Bonus Feats: Steadfast Determination
Skills:
Intimidate +4 [5 ranks, -1 ability]
Jump +9 [5 ranks, +4 ability]
Listen +2 [2 ranks, +0 ability]
Spot +5 [5 ranks, +0 ability]
Survival +5 [3 ranks, +0 ability, +2 item]

Mythos
Exceptional: Retribution Will Follow (Hate Feeds The Meat), Fury Is Freedom
Excellencies: Wordless Terror Demonstration, Mind-is-Meat Understanding

Mythos Points: 750

Equipment
Miscellany
Backpack
Parchment, Ink, and Pen
Fishhook and Thread
Flint and Steel
Waterskin
20 Days of Rations
3 Pints of Oil
3 Torches

Tools
Masterwork Survival Kit
Dagger
Mandolin
Antitoxin
Rope (50ft)

Money
20gp, 2sp, 7cp

Amechra
2013-06-12, 10:44 AM
Watching with bated breath (and ready to move this post if you need me to.)

Mighty_Chicken
2013-06-12, 02:45 PM
Im looking forward for this!

Xefas
2013-06-12, 06:39 PM
Chapter 1: Into The Stolen Lands

A fort loomed in the distance, its tall wooden palisade looking rickety and overworn even at great length. Winter had faded many weeks ago with the onset of an early spring, although it had only officially been Pharast for a few days yet [Note: I'm told "Pharast" is the month of "March" in Pathfinder Land, which I will assume is the name of the planet until told otherwise.]

The young lady, Usel, no longer young, only a lady by the more liberal definitions, and whose real name was decidedly not Usel, had just trekked over 40 miles earlier that day, nearly completing her journey; her destination, of course, the isolated fort now slowly growing in size inside her vision with each step. The walk had been pleasant enough. The road was reasonably maintained, the verdant plains and short, gentle hills pleasing to the eye, the sound of birds and insects tweeting and chirping in their springtime rituals as entertaining a backdrop as one was likely to get. She had overpacked, of course - a habit instilled in her by her mother. The travel from the city of Restov to this outpost was only a few days, but she'd packed rations enough to last her a month, with some creative stretching. But, it wasn't like she wasn't going to need them, eventually. After all, she had a job to do. A fancy, royally mandated job.

She had a charter and everything. It read:
"Be it so known that the bearer of this charter has been charged by the Swordlords of Restov, acting upon the greater good and authority vested within them by the office of the Regent of the Dragonscale Throne, has granted the right of exploration and travel within the wilderness region known as the Greenbelt. Exploration should be limited to an area no further than twenty miles East and fifty miles West and sixty miles South of Oleg's Trading Post. The carrier of this charter should also strive against banditry and other unlawful behaviour to be encountered. The punishment for unrepentant banditry remains, as always, execution by sword or rope. So witnessed on this 24th day of Calistril, under watchful eye of the Lordship of Restov and authority granted by Lord Noleski Surtova, current Regent of the Dragonscale Throne."
Very fancy. Very official. Originally, she had been more in for the "hanging bandits" part than the sightseeing. In her life, she'd hardly been outside her farm, the nearby village, and the road between. And that was just fine with her. Why go anywhere else when everything you need is right there? But, now, well... suffice it to say, there wasn't anything there for her anymore. She didn't have a home and, in her mind, she never would again. So, with nothing to do for hours while she walked, she thought about it, and decided that maybe playing the part of the explorer wouldn't be so bad. Maybe, somewhere out there, was something that, in some small way, could fill the gaping, burning wound left in her heart and soul. Revenge, at least. She anticipated some decent revenge.

[Note: Because I'm probably a little too verbose, and managed to turn a session of a few hours into a full nine pages of story, I'm going to break this chapter (and probably all chapters) into more easily digestible parts. Read one, go about your life, come back and read another when you've got time/interest, go about your life, come back, etc, etc.]

Part 1: Oleg's Trading Post

The tiny wooden room was cramped - barely large enough to lie down comfortably in, and yet the squat, unstoppably hairy man that had ushered Usel inside had somehow managed to cram an entire desk and three chairs into it. The chairs had to stand at an angle to the desk such that one's legs could have room to meet the floor. And, even then, they did so barely.

There were some short, curt, introductions. Not disrespectful, although it was clear neither party was in a heavily sociable mood at present. The man's name was Oleg, and his skin managed to look both impressively leathery and greasy. Though the latter was likely from recent and rigorous labor. Upon confirmation that Usel was, in fact, sent from Restov to aid with the banditry, he appeared noticeably happier.

"Excellent. Indeed, we, that is - the wife and I, have a decent stockpile of food here at the trading post, so you need not be concerned for your men if the occupation lasts longer than expected. Those ruffians are going to be difficult to flush out of the woods with any manner of haste. I suppose if there are too many soldiers to keep inside the palisade, I could potentially scrap together enough materials to build a temporary perimeter extending from the northern wall..."

Upon slightly later confirmation that, in fact, Usel was the only aid sent by Restov to help with the bandits, he was considerably less happy.

"One man?! They sent one man?! What am I to do with you, exactly?"

"Technically speaking, I'm a woman."

"Don't mock me, boy. I should-"

That thought was swiftly diffused by the entrance of Svetlana; presumably, the aforementioned wife. Apparently she had a stew going outside, and Usel was invited to dinner. "If the young sir wants to help, an extra hand is better than nothing." Usel considered correcting her, as she had Oleg, but judging by the colors his face was turning, he was going to need to relieve some of that blood pressure before any more was discussed about their visitor, lest he pop an important vein.

Food did the trick, as it often does. Around the small cooking fire built in the large, open courtyard of the walled trading post, the three sat and ate stale bread and hot stew, watching the sun go down. Svetlana made small talk about things she'd heard from passing hunters and trappers, the post's primary clientele. Something about a unicorn in the western forests, and some particularly obnoxious trapper throwing his lot into banditry. It made a decent enough segue, and Oleg seemed to have cooled down enough to speak with civility again. So the three conversed about the post's bandit troubles. Apparently, they'd been showing up towards the beginning of each month for the past few months, extorting tribute. They even stole Svetlana's wedding ring at one point, though she was quick to, loudly and emphatically, proclaim that it was no big deal and she was just happy no one got hurt. Each time the bandits have come, its been with fewer people, and it just so happens that they're due within the next couple of days.

"And you talk as if you're going to do something about it. I promise you, don't expect help from me on any damned suicide mission clunking around in that head of yours. I have a wife to think about. I plan to have kids some day. You make trouble, you're on your own."

"I understand. If they won't listen to reason, and give up the life of banditry, I'll have to engage them... less peacefully. You have a lot to lose, and I don't. I don't expect you to risk your life for someone that you just met."

The idea of fighting the bandits left a cold ache in Usel's stomach, though not because of the threat of injury or death. The opposite, in fact. She'd seen what it, or she, or whatever, could do to a few poorly armed and disorganized ruffians with more greed than sense or skill with a sword. She hoped she could end it non-violently. An idea that Oleg found unabashedly hilarious.

Part 2: "You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry" And Other Truisms

The bed was hard. But it was a bed, and with a roof over her head to boot, so no sensible person had the right to complain. Usel got to her feet before dawn had broken; not a single night of peaceful sleep had graced her for weeks, and tonight had been no exception. She lit a candle, and sat outside the little wooden shack Oleg had erected to fit a group of four or so guests within the walls, arms around her knees, staring unfocused at her boots. An onlooker might've thought she was just bored, but she wasn't. Those tough, old boots were patched to hell, darkened and worn by thousands of days working in the fields. They were the last thing she had that reminded her of home - and "homesick" didn't begin to cover what she was feeling. Even her body felt weirdly alien and... 'new' somehow. She'd always been tall - for a girl - stocky, strong, all those things that hard work does to you, but she hadn't done anything notably strenuous for a while now, and yet still seemed to be putting on pounds of muscle with each day. It was unnatural. Her hair, too, was getting longer than she liked. She often grew it out during the winter, and with all the commotion since spring had arrived, hygiene nor fashion was the first thing on her mind. Now it might be a matter of practicality, however. If she was to faff about hundreds of miles of uncharted wilderness, fighting bandits and who knows what else, a long tangled mop of hair seemed a poor choice. So, as the sun rose, Usel tied everything up into a set of short braids, and tried not to think about the people she might have to kill today.

And those people arrived shortly after noon. The sound of hoof-beats slowly overtook the spattering of sausages frying for lunch, and the clang of hammers as Oleg and Usel set about repairing the few leaks remaining in the storage house's roof. Oleg set down the hammer, and made to open the gate for the bandits; the four of them that had come. Clearly, he didn't have much faith in Usel's plan, but it was she that they came face to face with as the doors creaked open.

"Stop." The bandits did so, though out of sheer disbelief rather than compliance. The man in the lead, a little older than the others, and with a surprisingly well groomed (relatively speaking) beard, short with integrated moustache, spoke, and the others took the opportunity to grin menacing, dismounting their steeds, and advance on Usel, a threat clear from every movement of their body language. "Oh, I can tell this visit's gonna be extra fun. The way Oleg and his old lady just snivel and cower is entertaining, sure, but I've always hoped someone would cause trouble. Life at the top of the food chain can get so incredibly dull." He, too, dismounted his horse, and drew a long, razor-sharp dagger, probably recently polished and sharpened. "Tell me, lad, which hand do you favor? I'm cruel, but I'm not heartless. Boys? Grab him."

Of the three lackeys, already looming dangerously close to Usel, one of them lunged to grab her. He missed and, in response, she socked him straight in the jaw with her right fist, hard enough to send him off his balance, lurching back. When he spun to face her again, a second blow with her left, to his upper cheek, floored him completely. She put her arms down, unconcerned. She wasn't sweating. "It's 'lass' actually, and I'm ambidextrous."

There was a moment where no one moved, and no one said anything. Oleg, watching stealthily from behind the storage house, opened his mouth unconsciously, and his corncob pipe fell dramatically to the ground. No one noticed. [Note: I was actually told to roll a Spot check to see Oleg dramatically drop his pipe in surprise. Despite having a good Spot check, I rolled terribly and missed it. Usel will never have that validation, it seems.]

The other two lackeys quickly drew their swords and lunged for Usel, though they weren't anything resembling competent warriors, and she had little problem shifting around the clumsy swings. Their leader, on the other hand, dropped his dagger to the ground, and drew his bow, swiftly planting an arrow into Usel's left shoulder, letting loose a shout of approval upon confirmation of his success. Usel looked absolutely terrified, and he liked that. What he failed to see was that she didn't look pained; just scared. A shrill roar began to rattle up from her throat, and the bandits mistook it, at first, for a terrified scream of surrender. The roar hit its crescendo right as Usel's fist shot, lightning fast, into one of the lackeys' gut. When she pulled it away, there was an odd sort of concave, and he slumped to the ground, a slurry of blood and otherwise internal components dribbling from his lips. The monstrous woman turned to the last two bandits, howling, her spit flecking the face of the one unfortunate enough to be near her. Recognizing this, he bolted, narrowly dodging a swipe from her as he did so.

The leader shouted some half-hearted insult at him and, instead of going with another arrow, hurled a bottle of alchemical liquid at Usel, which ignited upon contact with the air, wreathing her in a cloak of searing, unnaturally red flames. She didn't flinch. Instead, she cleared the distance between them with a few effortless strides, and raked a set of deep grooves through the flesh of his left forearm, as he brought it up to protect himself, scooping the meat out with the blunt force of her fingers alone. Properly horrified, the man turned and ran for it, but she was too quick, charging after him, and striking him a solid blow to the soft connection between skull and spine. His legs flew out from beneath him, and his face planted into the ground.

Still on fire, Usel watched the last lackey, which had slipped away from her earlier, ride off on a horse. Something in those inhuman eyes was mournful of the loss, but they quickly turned to the fallen bandit leader. Rather than make to put out the flames, she instead concerned herself with removing his head; one hand on his scalp, and one on his neck, and then progressively more force. It lifted off with a pop, and that was what she used as a club to crack open the skulls of the other two, unconscious, ruffians, shrieking and howling like a crazed animal the whole time.

It was only after they were dead that the fog receded, and Usel knelt, panting, wide-eyed, shaking, and flung the severed, now macerated, head away from her. She stayed there for a few minutes, uninterrupted, glaring with glassy eyes at the dirt. Her body didn't seem to want to work. Eventually, Oleg approached, with cautious, but even steps. He had retrieved his corncob pipe, and Usel looked up at him, puffing on it lightly, but remained silent. A moment passed. "Well. ****. I was hoping to get the roof done before lunch, but Svetlana says it's ready. And, of course, we're gonna have to string these jackasses up on the south wall afterward. If the rain gutters are gonna get put up before nightfall, we'll have to haul ass."

Another moment passed. Usel cracked a smile. There wasn't really anything else to do. She could cry some more; moan, and scream, and curl up into a ball and pity herself for whatever was happening to her. But she'd tried that once already, and it hadn't actually fixed anything. So she smiled. "I guess we'll haul ass, then. What's for lunch?"

Part 3: Otherwise Known As "Oleg's Free Inn, Quest Hub, and Knick-Knack Emporium"

The next morning, Usel sat on a log across from a fire to which a pot of porridge was congealing for breakfast. Svetlana had abruptly left her company a few minutes prior. Oleg was off, implementing his plan to make the bandit corpses they'd hung from the south wall all the more threatening by tying wind-chimes to their ankles, so they whistled elegantly while flapping in the breeze. Regardless of the practical merit of such a plan, he seemed to be enjoying the idea of it significantly. So, alone, she reached for her mandolin, and propped it up on her knees, plinking at it gingerly, trying to remember the few lessons she'd gotten many years ago, from a booze-sodden bard the family had caught squatting in their barn, and felt too sorry for him to simply kick him out immediately. They put him up for a few days on the condition that he work. He was dreadfully bad at doing so, to the point of being a hazard to the others, so Usel accepted mandolin lessons as payment instead.

After a few minutes of warming up, she felt an odd prick of inspiration, and began to play, despite the fact that the mandolin she had recovered from the raided remnants of her home-town was dreadfully out of tune, but she couldn't recognize it, not actually knowing anything about mandolins. "Once, there was a maiden... ...who struck-"

"Sorry to interrupt you, dear." spoke Svetlana, suddenly appearing from one of the shacks. "But I was hoping to-" her voice lowered, "-talk to you without Oleg around."

It seemed that Svetlana wanted to do something nice for her husband. His favorite food was Moon-Radish Stew, and she hoped to make it for him, as a surprise. But they grew a long ways to the south and she didn't feel safe leaving to pick them with the banditry running amok as it was. The request was simple; Usel was going out exploring anyway so, if she happened on some, she should bring back a bucket of them for Svetlana. Simple enough. They talked as Svetlana changed Usel's bandages from the previous days' fight. The arrow wound was, miraculously, hardly visible anymore, though burn marks stilled remained on her right chest, shoulder, and bicep.

[Note:
Me: Did you just give me a fetch quest? A fetch quest? Collect 10 of 10 radishes and I'll give you a worn leather cloak of the monkey?
DM: Its a sweet gesture between a husband and wife. 'Fetch Quest?' That's silly.
Me: Why are you laughing?
DM: Hhhhehehe, JUST YOU WAIT AND SEE]

Oleg returned shortly, and porridge was spooned out for everyone. Svetlana made a brief shushing motion to emphasize that Usel shouldn't mention the radishes. Over breakfast, they talked about Usel's plans for exploration, and what little Oleg knew about the lay of the land south of his post. It wasn't much, but he directed her to a bounty board upon which four posters were affixed. He seemed convinced that their subject matter might come up in her travels, and she should be aware.

[Note:
Me: I have nothing to say to the fine folks who write for Paizo other than, "Thank you for naming this fine establishment 'Oleg's Trading Post' and not 'Oleg's Player Character Headquarters and Quest Hub'. That would've been a bit on the nose." So, are the quest rewards randomized, or do I get to pick from a set?
DM: You complain about this, but not about the fact that you're spending your first level fighting generic faceless bandits and kobolds.
Me: If it's old and cliche, but I like it, it's a classic. If it's old and cliche, but I don't like it, it's trite and unimaginative. That's how media works. And I like me some kobolds.]

"My mom always said they look more dog-like." said Usel, reading a wanted poster with a picture of a scrawny, relatively humanoid lizard somehow dextrous enough to wield a sword and shield. "Kobolds? Nah, ugly little lizard bastards. Cowards, the lot of them. Not too bright either. And cruel, what's more. If they all wound up stuck on a spike somewhere, I wouldn't miss 'em." Oleg offered, then added, "Oh, almost forgot. I put that one up there.", he gestured at a picture of a sleek, predatory creature not unlike a snake the size of a man, but with the mouth of a shark and the forelegs of a lion. "Tatzlwyrm. Just as vicious as they look. Doesn't that head look positively grisly? I think one would look fantastic mounted on my wall." The other two posters were, predictably, an offer made by the Restov authorities; money for bandit heads. And, not so predictably, one for an unusually huge and violent boar that had been harassing (and occasionally maiming) trappers in the area. "Oh, and..." Oleg added when Usel started to leave to gather her things for the journey ahead. His voice was suddenly low, "...do you remember when you first got here? Svetlana mentioned that the same bandits that were extorting us had stolen her wedding ring? I searched those bodies you, uh, dealt with, and none of them had it on them. I know she says it's not a big deal, but I know my wife. It would mean a lot to her- to both of us -if you could keep an eye out for it when you run into more of them."

[Note:
Me: I'm strongly suspecting a 'gift of the magi' situation after I complete these quests. "Oh Svetlana, I sold all the cookware so I could pay the adventurer to get your ring back!", "Oh, but Oleg, I sold my ring fingers so I could pay the adventurer to get radishes for me to make your favorite stew!"]

Usel agreed, of course, and made her final preparations. At last, she waved goodbye to her hosts, amidst promises that she'd always be welcome to stay there, and a not-so-modest parting gift for her help; 50 gold pieces and three vials of strangely colored liquid that the pair promised were, in fact, magical, and would heal and protect her with the divine power within. Usel found the concept of, somehow, bottling faith a disturbing one, but accepted nonetheless. Were spiritually enhanced beverages commonplace in the big city? Such an odd idea.

Part 4: This Is Why I Don't Go Hiking

For the rest of the day, Usel hiked south and east. At first, she'd taken to her assumed duties in earnest, painstakingly scribbling out every detail she came across into a map on the parchment she'd brought. After a few miles, however, the endless expanses of majestic green fields and pristine brooks and fascinating wildlife sort of blurred together into a tedious tapestry of natural beauty and, likewise, the map became more about generalities. With the sun going down, Usel decided to make camp, and poke at her mandolin a bit more, seeing if she could find her previously interrupted inspiration.

[Note: Now seems like a decent time to explain some of the special mechanics for Kingmaker. I can't go into too much detail, because I don't actually know all the details. The DM is divulging them as necessary, so its all I can go on.

Essentially, there's a hex map. Each hex is about 12 miles across. You can just travel through a hex if you want, taking time based on your movement speed and the type of terrain, but you also have the option to spend time performing a special Explore action (which also takes time based on the terrain and your movement speed). Some significant places and events can be spotted, and optionally engaged, by just moving through the hex. But it's my understanding that the really good stuff requires you to Explore the hex or, in some circumstances, Explore + Make a Sucessful Skill Check. Plus, for each hex you Explore, you get +100 bonus experience points. And, I'm also told that, during the kingdom-building phase of the Kingmaker modules, it will benefit you in some way to have explored some stuff beforehand.]

The next day, Usel returned to her exploration, walking in a roughly spiral pattern outward from her camp, noting anything unusual or interesting as she went. Alongside the understandable dread, when she found the enormous clearing littered with a cornucopia of discarded bones from every mammal indigenous to the region, human included, scattered in an eerily circular shape in the middle of nowhere, she was also a tad bit relieved that she'd have something to catalogue other than yet another thicket of trees or rocky outcropping. Common sense and self-preservation told her to leave, after jotting down the location of the creepy bone circle. Curiosity, boredom, and obligation told her to, quickly, cautiously check out what was at the center of that ring. Because, I mean, c'mon, it was obviously interesting enough to lure dozens of other people to their death. It's probably really cool.

As Usel reached the center, there didn't seem to be anything there. Just, completely flat, uninteresting dirt. With a sigh, she turned to leave, just before a sharp scrambling sound exploded up from behind her, followed almost instantly by the pang of muted discomfort she now associated with what, a scant few weeks ago, she would've considered intense pain. She whipped around as fast as she could, facing an enormous, very fat, very hairy, spider - nearly as big as herself, with dark brown fur and sharp, clicking mandibles now coated in her blood; a false, earthen door eschew behind it.

[Note:
Me: D=
DM: Are you okay?
Me: D=
DM: Dude?
Me: DDDDD=
Me: This is all of my nightmares.]

Fortunately, the wound seemed superficial. She could tell it hadn't really hurt her by the fact that she wasn't lapsing into an insane bloodlust. Which, at this moment, she would've almost considered that frenzy a boon. Of course, that thought, of accepting whatever affliction she had, scared her more deeply than any rabid, herculean spider ever could. Better to die with the integrity and values she'd been raised to uphold, with love and loss in her heart, than to live as a murderous animal. Usel shoved aside another mandible darting at her throat and, with the other hand, struck the soft underside of the spider's head with a firm blow, noticeably jarring it. It darted in for another strike, narrowly missing its prey's abdomen, before scuttling backward into its hole, and closing the door. "Maybe its had enough?" murmured Usel under her breath, cautiously, defensively inching a few steps backward. Unfortunately, no, it hadn't. It darted back out once more, striking a solid blow to her left thigh, and quickly retreating back into its hole.

"Get back here, you EIGHT. LEGGED. FREAK (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0271367/)!" boomed Usel's voice. [Note: I had to.] The spider's venom, by the way, never had a chance, being fought off by the white blood cells from hell itself. She rushed the spider's den, sinking her fingers into the makeshift door, and wrenching it open, before hurling it away into the boneyard like a discus. If spiders feel shocked bewilderment, this one was feeling it now. It made one more desperate jab, missing entirely, before the wild woman lept bodily onto it, beating it about the head with both fists. It lurched, hissed, screamed, and finally lost its grip on the sticky walls of its tunnel, falling 25 feet into the black depths, landing with a crunch. Usel managed to catch onto the side of the pit as she fell, which was clearly dug in such a way as to be easily climbed. The sunlight now streaming in illuminated the creature's corpse, but also that of a bandit, identifiable as such by the stag-shaped amulet Oleg had pointed out to her that all of the bandits which had attacked his post wore. The man, while exsanguinated, was still fresh. Usel emitted a few hisses and growls of her own, descending the shaft, before nudging the bodies, as if to make sure they didn't need additional killing. It didn't take much longer for the red to leave her mind and her vision, and other than a slight light-headedness, she felt fine. It concerned her how much easier it was each time the rage took over. That had been number four, by her count, and it was already difficult not to think of it as a useful tool, rather than the perverse subversion of her will and identity.

Pushing those thoughts back, for another time, she made to leave the pit. Only... the bandit. She told Oleg she'd look for the ring, and any of the bandits could've had it. So, she pulled open the thick webbing around the bandit's body, and rifled through his pockets. No ring, although she found ten gold pieces; which, she pocketed after a little hesitation. It wasn't like he was going to be using them. For a moment she even considered taking his leather armor - after all, it was probably valuable. But what kind of desperate, creepy weirdo goes to the trouble of stripping a corpse naked at the bottom of a spider nest just for a little coin? If he hadn't been a bandit, she might've even considered setting up a proper pyre and giving him a little funeral rite. It wasn't fitting for an honorable man to rot in this dank hole. Fortunately, he wasn't an honorable man.

Part 5: You No Take Candle Radish

Usel awoke the next day, having returned to her previous campsite, safely away from that godforsaken hole in the ground. She wasn't much when it came to medical care, but she had at least covered the wound on her leg the night before and, now, she could barely feel it. After a short deliberation over breakfast - some dried jerkey, hard tack, and preserved berries; yay trail rations - she decided to swing to the west and then, hopefully, in a few days, return to Oleg's. It was her first time charting the great unknown, and the solitude and hard tack was getting to her.

After some more hiking, a moderately dense tree-line came into view. Usel recalled Svetlana mentioning something about a forest nearby, and this must have been it. She was less enthused about the change in scenery when night began to fall, and the bugs came out. Huddled beneath a large oak tree, praying fervently that the camp fire would distract any biting insects long enough for her to get some sleep, Usel drifting into unconsciousness, resolved to purchase a proper bedroll when she returned.

Two more days passed, uneventfully, as Usel mapped this section of the forest. It was her immensely scholarly observation that the area had quite the proliferation of trees. And, less sarcastically, a few noteworthy trails no doubt left by trappers. She had yet to actually meet a trapper, or anyone for that matter. Was that odd? She didn't know. She hadn't been in the exploration business very long, but it felt odd, certainly.

On her way back northeast, headed in the direction that the more reliable celestial bodies, such as the sun, divulged was toward Oleg's Trading Post, Usel stumbled upon a clearing in the wood that she hadn't yet found. It was a decent size, larger than any others she had happened on, and some of the earth had clearly been tilled and then, subsequently dug through. Off to the side were three buckets full of oddly colored vegetables that matched Svetlana's description for Moon Radishes, as well as many more empty buckets. Four kobolds lay, bellies bulging under their patchwork armor, sprawled on the ground nearby. Usel approached slowly and cautiously, unarmed, and waved at the little creatures.

"Hello. Little ones? Uh. My name is Usel and-" That was all she could say before the little cretins lept to their feet, grabbing the spears each had lain next to them. They hissed some serpentine, heavily accented language at her that she'd never heard before. "I don't suppose any of you know what I'm saying? I, uh, I'm not looking for trouble. I'll just go, now, I guess." The kobolds certainly didn't undertsand her any better than she understood them, and they clearly had more violent resolutions in mind. One moved aggressively, spear outstretched, attempting to catch Usel as she backed away, but she was too quick and struck first, knocking the kobold silly with one punch. The other three scampered to surround her, striking to maim or kill with each thrust, but their stubby arms and clumsy movements proved little threat. Usel kneed one in the jaw, sending it crashing to the earth, and back-handed another, who staggered a bit, then collapsed. The last remaining kobold backed away slowly, and Usel chose not to follow, hoping it would flee. But, once it gained a little distance, it produced a sling from the grubby confines of its person, and lobbed a rock at her. Unamused, she charged it, and sent it realing with a solid jab to the throat.

Now came the real conflict. Three buckets of radishes lay before her, and its four guards lay unconscious nearby. With her incredible strength, it wouldn't be any trouble hauling all three back to the trading post. But was it right to take them at all? The radishes certainly seemed to belong to the kobolds she had just beaten senseless. They'd prepared the land, and grown the vegetables, and it was their food. On the other hand, they'd just tried to kill her when all she'd wanted to do was talk. Oleg had said they were cruel, violent creatures, and that seemed to be the case. Maybe, from a certain perspective, it would be right to take the food from them. They're bad, so inconveniencing them is good? Yet another part of her - a warm, safe, terrible part - told her that the radishes were hers, simply by right of her having taken them. It was a cold, cruel world out there, and no one had any more right to anything than what they could protect with their own strength. Men had laws, sure, but in the end, those laws were defended at the end of a sword. Might did make right, with the perspective of the mighty defining what was right. It wasn't that much farther in her internal spectrum that a similar voice told her to kill the fallen lizard-men, lest they only threaten her life, and the lives of others, upon regaining their senses and continuing about their wretched lives. If she let them live, would she be, at least in part, responsible for any ill deeds that they performed hence?

In the end, Usel decided to take a single bucket, and leave the rest. It would've been different if the kobolds had been starving, but it was spring, and they clearly hadn't been missing any meals. This was enough for a decent stew, and Oleg and Svetlana would both be very happy, and they'd been nice to her, so she wanted to return the favor. And, to be honest, the "threatened with murder-by-spear" factored in to no small degree.

Part 6: New Arrivals

Night had already fallen by the time Usel finally arrived back at the trading post. She had to make a racket in order to rouse Oleg so he could come open the gate. When she finally entered, several new faces met her. A man, about her age, with hair so short that it was likely he shaved it down to bald with semi regularity, and heavy armor, clearly donned with haste after hearing the commotion outside, introduced himself as "Kesten Garess, and you are?" Three younger men, who stood behind him in a subordinate fashion, and had not thought to armor nor arm themselves, dutifully stifled yawns, and did not offer introductions. Another man, this one on the verge of being referred to as "elderly", the last vestiges of his hair swept across in what could no longer really be called a 'comb-over'. He wore simple robes, and though he looked like a man with a lot on his mind, gave his best attempt at a smile anyway. "Jhod Kavken, pious and devoted priest of Erastil, at your service, my good man".

Kesten was, by his word, a mercenary, hired to lead some of Restov's least promising recruits to the ass end of nowhere, where neither he nor they could cause any trouble, and protect some remote outpost with no strategic or economic value. Jhod was, as he said, a priest of Erastil, come to aid in the exploration of the Stolen Lands as spiritual support. Here, meaning both wisdom and restorative magics. Too old for actual adventuring, he planned to stay at Oleg's and do what he could for travelers. While Usel was not particularly religious, her family had identified as followers of Erastil, and observed his traditions, rites, and holidays, so the two found some common ground there.

Usel relayed the Moon Radishes to Svetlana, sans the story of how they were acquired, and she squirreled them away in a store room gleefully, amid many 'thank you's. Oleg looked a bit surprised, perhaps confused, but certainly delighted. Later, as Usel prepared for bed, alone in the shack despite the many visitors, as Kesten and his men had brought and set up their own accomodations, and Jhod, having eventually discovered that Usel was, in fact, a woman, thought it improper to share a room with her, Svetlana not-quite-covertly deposited a purse of coins for her, before disappearing again. It looked unusually full. Upon checking, she discovered a full two hundred and fifty gold coins inside.

As she lay her head down to sleep, her mind did not wander to nights alone in the woods, giant spiders creeping up from beneath the earth, the deaths of her family and friends, the brutal madness that she suspected was slowly overtaking her, or the lives she had ended with her bare hands. No, all Usel could think about was "Two hundred and fifty? Gods damn I should've been doing this adventuring thing my whole life!"


The New Character Sheet

Profile
Usel, Teramach 2
Medium Humanoid (Human), True Neutral
XP: 2,650

(32 point buy)
Str: 18, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 8

Offense
Initiative: +6
Speed: 30ft
Size/Reach: 5ft/5ft
Bab/Grapple: +2/+6

Melee Attack: Unarmed +6 (1d3+4) [20/x2]
Full Attack: Unarmed +4/+4 (1d3+4) [20/x2]

Ranged: -

Defense
Hit Points: 22
Armor Class: 16
Flat-Footed: 14
Touch: 12
Fortitude: +6 [3 base + 2 ability +1 trait]
Reflex: +5 [3 base +2 ability]
Will: +5 [3 base + 0 ability + 2 feat]

Feats and Skills
Feats: Improved Initiative, Two-Weapon Fighting
Bonus Feats: Steadfast Determination
Skills:
Intimidate +4 [5 ranks, -1 ability]
Jump +9 [5 ranks, +4 ability]
Listen +2 [2 ranks, +0 ability]
Spot +5 [5 ranks, +0 ability]
Survival +5 [3 ranks, +0 ability, +2 item]

Mythos
Exceptional: Retribution Will Follow (Hate Feeds The Meat), Fury Is Freedom
Excellencies: Wordless Terror Demonstration, Mind-is-Meat Understanding

Mythos Points: 750

Equipment
Miscellany
Backpack
Parchment, Ink, and Pen
Fishhook and Thread
Flint and Steel
Waterskin
13 Days of Rations
3 Pints of Oil
3 Torches

Tools
Masterwork Survival Kit
Dagger
Mandolin
Antitoxin
Rope (50ft)

Expendables
2 Potions of Cure Light Wounds
1 Potion of Shield of Faith

Money
330gp, 2sp, 7cp


The Map

So, here's a crude little 'shopped map I made as a visual aid, representing the map that I am (and Usel is) recording as I explore. To the north of the Trading Post is a bunch of stuff that doesn't concern us, like civilization. Green spaces are plains, and green spaces with my questionable rendition of trees on them are forest. I'm told there will eventually be some other terrain types - I'm assuming it'll be pretty standard; hills, mountains, marshes, tundra... probably not desert. But, for now, plains and forest is all we've got.

http://i.imgur.com/euK6wFa.png

Doorhandle
2013-06-12, 09:25 PM
Alignment feedback: mentally slipping towards chaotic and less so toward evil, but still firmly true neutral at this point. possibly even a little good, due to minor kindness towards kobolds.

First question: Is it you who commits those horrific rages? or is it something... else?

Vauron
2013-06-13, 01:04 AM
I'm gonna agree, most of the leaning was toward chaotic. Frankly the only things she did that I couldn't see a good character do was the particularly gruesome way of applying the coup de gras to the bandits.


First question: Is it you who commits those horrific rages? or is it something... else?

Usel has the mythos Retribution Will Follow. It puts you into a rage, giving +4 STR, DEX, and in her case, CON. It also requires you to focus on people who dealt damage to you if reasonable.

Doorhandle
2013-06-13, 06:15 AM
I know. (I wanted to see what SHE thinks her rage is.)

Xefas
2013-06-13, 09:34 PM
First question: Is it you who commits those horrific rages? or is it something... else?


"That's... actually something I spend a lot of time thinking about. I'm not sure. As screwed up as it would be for someone else to be pulling my strings, I think I'd prefer to believe that, instead of the alternative. Before the bandit raid, I'd never killed anyone before. I'd killed animals for food, sure, but I didn't even like thinking about that too much while I was doing it. I just don't think I have that sort of thing inside me.

On the other hand, what do I blame, exactly? One of the things my parents always stressed was to 'take responsibility for your own actions'. Foisting the blame on some invisible demon so I can have a clear conscience would just make me a coward.

On the other other hand, this doesn't feel normal. Every day, I feel stronger, faster, and... now that I think about it, more confident, too. Maybe 'confident' isn't the right word. Crazy? Not once, but twice, I've chosen to, while apparently calm and rational, face down four armed people with my bare hands. That's just stupid. But I won. And that's even weirder.

I don't really know what to think."

Salbazier
2013-06-13, 10:26 PM
Awesome thread. :smallbiggrin: Slightly less amusing than the adventure of Invisible sword princess but we have actual drama in exchange so its all good.

Alignment: What doorhandle said.

Second Question: If it was possible to capture the bandit alive, would you do it? If yes, what would you do with them afterward (kill them anyway after interrogation, torture then kill them, indentured them, enslave them, sent them away, left them to rot in a cell, or what)?

Xefas
2013-06-14, 12:20 AM
Second Question: If it was possible to capture the bandit alive, would you do it? If yes, what would you do with them afterward (kill them anyway after interrogation, torture then kill them, indentured them, enslave them, sent them away, left them to rot in a cell, or what)?


"It's complicated. I certainly plan to subdue them in some way. I don't go around planning to murder people. It would be easiest if they just surrendered, but somehow that doesn't seem likely.

Once I've got them? Well, the law is pretty clear. Any fair trial ends in them being hanged. I could do it, or I could escort them back to Restov for someone else to. It's awful business. But, there isn't much in the way of options, is there?

Back home, if somebody was caught stealing, or adulterating or what-have-you, they were turned over to the family they'd harmed, in order to make whatever reparations that family deemed appropriate. Although, I imagine that sort of system only works with small communities. And one where everyone is, more or less, relatively decent.

Here, we've got a group of folks who've abandoned society altogether, and taken to robbing, and potentially murdering, anyone weak enough that crosses their path. Can I turn them over to their victims? Maybe, but if they're alive in the first place, or have living relatives, how do I find them? Can I imprison them? With what prison? I don't have the means to reliably contain, feed, shelter, and transport a large number of people for any useful amount of time. Can I let them go? Sure, but I have no reason to think they won't just go right back to hurting people.

If some other option presents itself, I'll gladly consider it. Otherwise, I may just have to accept my role as executioner, as depressing as it'll be to do so. Unless I find the bandit behind all this. The one with the silver stag crest. In that case, I do know who's been wronged, and I won't feel bad about exacting my dues."

Salbazier
2013-06-14, 11:30 AM
Third Question/Follow-up: Then, if they are going to be hanged anyway, would it not be more expedient to intentionally plan to kill them from the start? After all, the purpose of trial is to determine guilt and appropriate punishment. Regardless of the propriety of it, if the punishment has been decided beforehand and any trial would meet the same end, then a trial would not serve any purpose and would just be a farce, isn't?

Xefas
2013-06-14, 11:26 PM
Third Question/Follow-up: Then, if they are going to be hanged anyway, would it not be more expedient to intentionally plan to kill them from the start? After all, the purpose of trial is to determine guilt and appropriate punishment. Regardless of the propriety of it, if the punishment has been decided beforehand and any trial would meet the same end, then a trial would not serve any purpose and would just be a farce, isn't?


"I had to think about this for a while, but I believe my thoughts are thus.

If life must be taken, it must not be taken lightly. If I begin considering the deaths of others as a simple job to be done; made as efficient, and easy, and lucrative as possible, then that's one step closer I would be to thinking like the bandits do. In this case, the process of capture, judgement, and sentence is not to determine guilt. It's to acknowledge them as people to be punished, and not animals to be slaughtered.

Though, I do expect Oleg to profess the opposite sentiment."

Xefas
2013-06-30, 07:28 AM
Chapter 2: Hinting At The True Enemy

Oleg stepped out into the soft light of the early morning, holding a few items of his stock, which he passed to the lady standing expectantly nearby. A handful of coins were exchanged, and Usel strapped her new bedroll, crowbar, and map case (after carefully tucking her fledgling map inside) to her increasingly cumbrous backpack. The last item, she kept in hand - a new roll of parchment. Over breakfast, she planned to copy the contents of her map, and leave the secondary one here, with Oleg, while she continued her exploration. How terrible would it be if something had happened to it on down the line, and she never thought of making a redundancy?

Still, the self-satisfaction she felt as she alternated scribbling and spooning porridge into her mouth, at having come up with such clever foresight was tempered by a bit of foreboding and something not unlike guilt. The previous night, her nightmares had taken a new form. In them, she had seen herself, standing in the square of a skyless city, its white-shadowed occupants cheering for her, as she sentenced a long procession of criminals to a grisly death. And, not far away, she could see a second creature, wearing her face, who lurked in a dark pit beneath the road, and where the criminals slipped and fell within, it tore them apart like some great and terrible animal. The people cheered for it, too.

There wasn't much to guess. Usel had been hurt, and she'd come here for revenge. Revenge, in fact, had been all that had kept her on this side of the mortal coil, for a time. But there was something about a bed, and hot food, and financial security that sapped that heat from her. It's easy to hate when you're cold and starving and alone. But in times like these, she could still hear the words of her parents to her, and her words to her younger siblings, of compassion and humility and the value of human life. They felt right.

Of course, there was that other voice, now, too. A voice that came from that pain that had driven her here; an echo drawn forth from the holes in her life where her family had been. For all their preaching and virtue, they weren't here. They were dead and gone and never coming back. It was she, Usel, who had survived, and she had done so by being strong, and angry, and ruthless. She had killed in order to live, and it was that strength that had won the day, not justice or compassion. Her newfound anger had kept her safe, kept her alive, opened new opportunities for her, shown her a world outside of her little farm, and had even provided more disposable income for herself, via a few days work, than she'd ever had at any point in her entire life. That was with her fighting it. What could she do if she didn't?

"So, what're you gonna be doing with those horses?" interrupted Oleg, as her stomach did a cold little flop. "Uhh, what?" she responded. Oleg explained that he'd been taking care of the horses that the bandits had left behind after their decidedly unpleasant departure from the land of the living. He didn't know whether Usel was claiming them as hers, and didn't want to sell them if that were so, but there was the matter of their upkeep. Usel shrugged, "Those bandits had been fleecing you for months. It's the least they could do to reimburse you a bit. Plus, it's not like I have any-" her brow slumped suddenly, and she slapped her own forehead with one flat, opened palm. "...actually, I would like one of them. It just occured to me that it might make all this traveling about a bit quicker, wouldn't it?" Oleg looked to be surpressing a laugh, but nodded politely. So, they worked out a deal. Oleg would take the two other horses and, in exchange, provide Usel with a saddle, saddlebags and other sundries, and settle her stabling fees up until this point.

Part 1: On "Adventuring Instincts"

"You're probably just going to get eaten by some giant spider, or a swarm of rabid duck-bunnies or something." The horse didn't respond, but simply kept plodding along at a steady pace through the grass, as it gradually gave way to patches of rougher, rockier ground, and the land began to roll into progressively growing hills. "That's why I'm not going to name you. It'll just make it sadder when it happens. Plus, you're a bandit horse anyway. I still don't know if I can trust you." The horse snorted softly, and waggled its head slightly, non-committally. Usel seemed to consider it to be more meaningful than it was. "Okay, okay. You may have, potentially, saved my ass today. I'll admit that. But even so, one good deed doesn't redeem a life no doubt fraught with equine banditry."

She was referring to a close encounter the two of them had early that day. They'd spent the majority of it exploring the hills to the southest of the Boneyard, where they were now, but on the way, an entire pack of irate boars had charged the pair out of seemingly nowhere. If Usel had been on foot, it was likely she would've been torn apart on the spot.

[Note: Apparently, the DM finally got a random encounter on me. Which turned out to be four boars. Boars, for reference, are challenge rating 2 each. This makes me think that the module fully expects you to take the bandits' horses at the beginning, to be able to escape from stuff like this. There's no way a party of four level 1 characters, on foot, are getting out of that without casualties, if not a full TPK. Fortunately, the DM did the not-so-subtle hint with Oleg earlier. If he hadn't, this journal would probably have ended very anticlimactically.

Part of me wants to chide Kingmaker for being so needlessly lethally designed. The other part of me, that started this hobby with AD&D, is just disappointed in myself for missing the horses, not haggling with Oleg for every copper piece I could've gotten from him, and being out here without a wagon full of 10ft poles and flasks of lamp oil.]

As night began to fall, Usel directed her compatriot to settle beneath the branches of a nearby tree, where she could make camp for the night and cook up some dinner. That particular tree was somewhat auspicious, given that it was the only tree for miles around. And it was shaped like a gnarled talon, completely devoid of leaves and moss. Nothing suspicious about that.

[Note:
Me: I fully expect there to be some kind of evil fairy, or witch, or a ghost dragon made of witch-ghosts living in this tree. I search the area. I take 20, even.
DM: Usel isn't really that genre-savvy yet, is she?
Me: She got mauled by a trapdoor spider the size of a great dane. I doubt she'll ever sleep again without poking every mound of dirt within a hundred feet first.]

Lo and behold, as Usel poked around the area while her supper was coming to a boil, she found a set of tracks. Tracks which lead to a freshly upturned patch of earth at the base of the horrible claw-tree. It was far too small to be a grave and, given the location, she assumed someone must have buried something valuable here until they could return to claim it. As a reasonable human being, she didn't dig it up and take it, because it obviously didn't belong to her.


Part 2: To Thicken Plot, Add 1/2 Cup Cornstarch, 1 Spooky Ghost, Stir

The next day was mostly uneventful, as Usel continued to explore further southeast until she hit the bank of a decently sized river, easily 300 feet across, and extending far beyond her sight in either direction. What she could see, however, was some kind of structure not too far up the river from her. It looked small, or possibly broken down, but it seemed worth checking out.

Twilight was closing in as she arrived at the little burnt down shack, most of the ashes long swept away, and weeds already beginning to reclaim it. A signpost stood close by, which read "Nettles' Crossing. Toll: Five Coppers". It took Usel a moment to notice what it was talking about, in the dim lighting, but she was eventually able to make out a single sodden rope, dangling close to the water's surface, affixed to short posts on either bank; presumably, what was left of a real bridge.

Usel cursed, audibly, since is seemed unlikely that there would be another bridge within any reasonable distance, and she wasn't willing to risk the prospect of swimming her horse across such a wide, and likely deep, river. She'd just have to remember to come back some other time to finish exploring the area beyond. As it was, by her reckoning, she was getting pretty close to the Eastern boundary of her charter anyway. Still, this was as good a place as any to set up camp for the night.

But rest was not hers to have, it would seem, as she woke with a start amidst the dark hours. At first, she thought it must have been another nightmare, featuring yet more blurry, shadowed men and women applauding her acts of killing, that had stirred her. Once she saw the truth, she wished it had been.

Beneath the near-absolute blackness of a crescent moon, all the land was shrouded, save for one patch of water in the center of the river. From its bleak depths, a cold and unnatural light shone. All was quiet; Usel couldn't help but note the eerie detail, as neither cricket nor owl, nor even the babbling of the river's waters could be heard. She looked at that light, momentarily transfixed, a growing chill creeping up her spine. She had almost convinced herself that it must be some odd reflection of the moon's glow when, suddenly, a black, bloated and disheveled hand, its joints broken at odd angles, rose from the gentle waves, without parting them.

The horse was awake now, and it had obviously noticed what was happening. It looked frightened, and Usel was certain it would have bolted if it were not for the tether attaching it to a nearby tree. Its pathetic whimpers didn't do anything to calm her nerves, however.

As the hand rose up, carrying with it a similarly horrifying form, all rotted and shriveled and ballooned with excess liquid, its pure-white eyes swiveling to Usel with an unpleasant squelching sound, she hopped to her feet. The dead man proceeded to glide across the water, switching to a more normal stride once it had reached solid ground. The thin, wispy mop that remained of its hair seemed to dance in its personal ghost-light on unfelt winds. Usel stood her ground. Certainly not out of bravery, but out of fear and indecision.

None of the parts of her that she was familiar and comfortable with were prepared for this. Her father had never taken her aside and told her what to do when the dead rise to walk the earth. The rites of Erastil that she had grown up with mostly concerned matters of the natural world; not that which lurked beyond its veil. At no point did the "farmer" skillset and the "fighting ghosts" skillset intersect. Run! She had to run. There was nothing else to do. But her legs didn't want to move. Her eyes didn't want to leave that horrible wraith for a single moment, lest it kill her, or worse. Every ghost story, and nightmare, and black figure in the dark frothed up from her memory, and she was quite certain she was about to die.

Most of her was. But not that voice. Not the voice of her pain, and her loss, and her anger. It didn't tell her that things would be okay. It didn't tell her that she was going to live. It didn't care. All it said was that this abomination needed to be destroyed, to be ravaged, to be punished for daring to presume to threaten her. It had a throat that could be torn, and eyes that could be gouged, and a belly to sink her fingers into. And that's what it needed. That's what she needed. It was just more meat to be broken and humbled like all those bandits had been. That thought was horrible, sociopathic, warm, safe, and inviting. It rose like bath-water up around, fighting off the cold of the night and the shiver of fear in her body.

The monster was very close to her now. Her muscles tensed, prepared to lunge, to attack. And then the ghostly figure spoke. "You." its head jolted to one side with an inhuman jerk. "-are not the one I seek." There was silence; every muscle in Usel's body remained coiled with absolute tension, but did not yet release. "Aid me then, living one. To put me to rest. Throw the Stag Lord's body into this river. Do this, and my wrath will be quenched. Spurn me, and my retribution shall fall upon you, that you may never know rest again, mortal."

More silence. Usel was thinking, and with each rational thought, the fires in her mind abated. "Stag Lord? Is that- ... is his crest a silver stag? Do his men wear such a symbol?" The creature bent to one side, exhaling a rotting mist as it did so, mingled in a hiss of displeasure. "Yes." it spat, simply, before turning back towards the river. Usel fought the urge to pounce at its exposed back. "I seek this man as well. Tell me, where is he?" But the living corpse had already begun to shamble back to the water. The moment its foot touched the river, its shape began to fade. The light dimmed further and further until it winked out entirely, a faint whisper drifting forth in the new, empty dark. "West" it said.


Part 3: It Was A Learning Experience, Really

Needless to say, Usel had gotten an early start that morning. Going back to sleep was out of the question. After she'd calmed her horse down, fed it and herself, and groomed it a bit, there wasn't much to do except mill about waiting for dawn. Once it was light enough to travel safely through the rocky scrubland, she did so, setting out westward, to find this 'Stag Lord' the ghost had spoken of.

Hours drifted by. Usel scribbled on her map absently, her mind in other places. An odd sight as she crested a particularly large hill snapped her out of the daze. There, easily visible from a few miles away, was the largest tree Usel had ever seen. And it wasn't just big, it was titanic, a hundred feet tall or more, its branches splayed outward in a massive canopy that smothered much of the life beneath it, and its bloated tangles of roots rising at the base to form something like odd wooden caverns.

"What do you think? Can't be that important, right? I'm on a manhunt, afterall. If it doesn't end up on the map, who's going to know?" The horse smacked its lips once, and nosed at the ground. "Right. I suppose it does look like a good place for a nap." And she was a little more tired than usual, at the moment. So, the two made there way beneath the boughs of the great tree and, with the light of the afternoon sun completely shaded from them, rested among its roots.

Adding to the new experiences she'd had in the last few days, Usel awoke from her nap, for the first time in her life, by being stabbed through the face with a knife. Eyes snapping open, incoherent rage filling her, numbing the pain of her ruined right cheek, she flailed with one thick arm, and caught her attacker with it, feeling its body crumple under the force. With a howl that spattered blood from her gaping mouth in all directions, she hopped to her feet. In front of her were six squat, ugly blue creatures, only a few feet tall. Their bodies were mostly head, and their heads mostly eyes; huge, squinted, vaguely insectoid eyes, perched over too-wide mouths filled with sharp teeth. They danced and squirmed unnervingly, hands clutching a variety of sharp, jagged, occasionally rusty implements drawn from the filthy rags that served as their clothing.

[Note: Yes, I did just get coup-de-grace'd. For 4 damage. This is why real adventurers carry backup scythes. Daggers are terrible tools for assassination. Go figure.]

The five conscious bug-men charged at Usel, brandishing their weapons impotently, none of them causing more than a meaningless scratch. In response, she sent two of them careening face-first into the ground at deadly speeds, and spat a fountain of blood into the face of another (which was more emotionally damaging than anything). The remaining three made to bolt away, but Usel caught one in the back of the neck as it fled, and quickly charged after the other two, beating them into submission as well. Before her senses returned, she'd already twisted their little bodies into an unrecognizable pulp. The transition back to sanity was almost seamless this time, if only because Usel had just survived an unprovoked murder attempt, and therefore her standard emotional state was still furious. Wiping the stinking guts on the sides of her pants, she went to check on the four 'survivors', though the term was swiftly becoming impractical, as they were all rapidly bleeding to death. Usel might've been able to save them, if she worked quickly. But she'd just been stabbed in the face while she slept. She murmured something callous and vulgar at them, instead, but it was incomprehensible through the gaping facial wound.

[Note: Always search before you sleep. Always search before you sleep!]

Dusk was swiftly settling and, so as not to be an even easier target in the dark, Usel lit one of her torches. In its clear light, she could see just how much she was bleeding; more than her numbed nerves had let on, and the knowledge made her anger seethe all the hotter. It was odd in how normal it was - what with her wounds miraculously healing nowadays, even if they scarred, she had just assumed this would as well. The only thing she could think to do was to cauterize it, and that wasn't going to be fun. She pulled out her long metal dagger, and looked at it grimly.


Part 4: In Australia, Bug Squashes You

[Note: I leveled up. New Mythos: All-Consuming Rampage Release]

Usel had come out the other side of it cackling, sprinting through the wooden arches and overhangs of the great tree's roots, eyes swiveling madly around, searching for any trace of her prey. The hot steel had hurt; hurt more than anything she could remember, more than the knife that had caused this in the first place, more than the alchemist fire whose blistered, warped scars she still bore, as if something had wanted her to feel that, had wanted her to lose it. She had clutched the side of her ruined face, and smelled the faint hint of cooked meat, and she'd wanted to scream. But there was that voice again.

"You didn't deserve this." it said. "Those things weren't people. They were monsters. This place? This tree? It's probably their home. There are probably more of those monsters here. Maybe they're watching you now? Waiting for you to go back to sleep. But they don't understand. They don't understand what they're doing. You can show them, though. You can punish them for what they've done, not just to you, but probably to others as well. How many have they killed, do you think? You can make them understand why they don't deserve to be alive anymore. And there's no one to get in your way. No people for you to worry about endangering. There aren't any people for miles. Only monsters here."

And so she laughed - a curiously hollow thing with her too-wide smile - and took off running.

It didn't take too long to find the little earthen pit at the base of the tree's main trunk that descended in a sheer drop down into blackness. She could hear faint clicks and rattles from inside that could've been inhuman words. Without hesitation, she lept inside, one hand on her torch, and the other braced against the wall to slow her descent. She didn't descend for long, before reaching a floor of packed dirt that lead off in two directions. The ceiling here was dimuitive, assuredly sized for the little animals she was hunting, only about four or five feet high, so she knelt on all fours or, in this case, all-three, with the torch, and loped along like some kind of primate.

Down one tunnel, Usel finally emerged into a small room in which several wooden tables had been set. Across each were a variety of unpleasant instruments; makeshift knives, caltrops, broken glass, and what looked like the beginnings of several crude traps, as well as an awful lot of blood stains, and so on. Two more of the little bug-creatures sat at a table, fiddling with a primitive handheld catapult device, currently loaded with a shiny iron caltrop that glinted in Usel's torchlight. They barely had time to notice the flame before she'd cleared the entire length of the room, and caved in one of their skulls with a single solid jab. The other creature looked stunned and confused, staring open-mouthed for a long moment at the blood-stained, grinning, hulking woman before him. He turned the tiny catapult to her, and let loose with the caltrop, which bounced ineffectually off of Usel's forehead. It illicited another hollow laugh before she lunged over the table and replaced his windpipe with her fist.

Without skipping a beat, she was off again, hustling down the next corridor with as much haste as possible. Soon, a series of agonized wails could be heard proceeding the next room, and they did nothing but urge her on more. A few more moments, and the tunnel opened into something of an extensive torture chamber; its purpose was obvious even at a glance. Four, 'kobolds' Usel recalled dimly through the red haze, lay lashed with vines to the earthen walls. Three of them were already dead, naked and heavily mutilated, their blood and other wastes pooled at their feet. One was still alive, though only barely, its raw throat shrieking as six of the bug-men laughed and cut at him; at least until they saw the torchlight.

Usel was going to enjoy this. Two of the creatures charged her, but she swept her body away from their blades, pivoting so that her head swung downward, close to them, to laugh in their faces. They seemed unnerved in their last moments, before Usel's free hand had snatched up a long, jagged stick leaning on a nearby wall. It wasn't any kind of real weapon, though it had seen use in this room, black with blood, and still impaled with some unrecognizable remnant of a kobold organ. Once, it came down, skewing a vermin from brain to pelvis. Twice, it came down, this time with enough force to nail the second one's skull to the floor.

Clearly as stupid as they were weak, the other four moved to engage, but had similar luck in doing so. Blows were exchanged, until the last bug-man made to flee, scuttling on all fours down another hallway, deeper into the lair. Usel followed, paying the still barely-alive kobold no attention as she pursued the prey. A few more dozen feet of cave, and then the floor dropped out into a yawning chasm about 15 feet across, but far deeper; another corridor clearly visible on the other side. The fleeing, shouting bug-man was scrambling down the chasm on what looked to be pre-established footholds. As it shouted, something stirred in the dark.

At first, her eyes unable to make out any real details, Usel thought it must have been an enormous, impossibly huge snake. But, as it came into the light, she saw it for what it was; a centipede, jet-black and drooling venomous ichor. It lunged at her, confident and murderous, but its size, over 20 feet long and with a diameter to match, made it hard to orient itself properly, and she ducked under its flailing maw, before deliving a powerful uppercut, laughing madly the whole time. The beast shrieked, and bore down more carefully this time, but Usel merely shoved it aside as a normal man might do so with a small dog. Dropping her torch to her feet, she came at it with both hands, sinking them into its soft underbelly and tearing out gobets of flesh. It howled and spasmed, before scything its body upward, coiling up and around the opening Usel was standing within, to reveal a pair of long, whip-like black lashes that grew from the end of its plating. It lashed and bit at her, but she seemed to move through the motions of violence now like a dancer moves through the steps of a performance, dodging and weaving like she knew every step, until she saw an opening, and plunged a fist down into the soft spot where two chitinous plates met as the beast was shifting about. Its pain was evident; it didn't have much fight left in it. Desperately, it lunged forward, attempting to wrap Usel up in the coils of its body, to hold her and crush her, but as it did so, she reached out with her monstrous strength and separated it at the middle, letting both halves fall, squirming and bellowing back down into the chasm.

By this time, her former prey had already climbed down, and back up, and was escaping down the opposite passage. It probably thought it was safe! The idea brought forth more cackles, as Usel backtracked a few steps, picked up her torch, and then made a running leap, easily clearing the full length of the chasm, with room to spare. The little creature squeaked and ran as fast as its little legs would take it, and she followed, gaining with each stride, though she couldn't quite catch it before it had slipping into the next room.

Here, the tunnel opened up larger than any previous room, and there was some semblance of civilized furnishing; a table strewn with papers and maps sporting an incomprhensible scrawl, several wooden chairs in reasonable condition, some oblong stone cut into a mock-throne, and a modest pile of treasure off in an alcove. Around the table, five of the bug-men were standing, having risen to their feet upon hearing the fleeing one's cries. When Usel finally burst forth, one of them had dashed to the far side of the room, and clambered up onto its unorthodox mount; a tick the size of a large pony, covered in a thick, hairy, black exoskeleton.

Normally, that sort of thing would have disgusted her like few things could. But now, she salivated at the idea of real resistance; a gesture made all the more disturbing by the state of her mouth. But first things were first! She made a mad dash towards the surviving bug-man from earlier, who had mistakenly stopped running once it had begun cowaring behind four of its fellows. Casually walking past them, ignoring their puny stabs and slices at her as she did so, she pummeled it into internally bleeding unconsciousness.

It was cruelty, to be sure, but not as mindless as one might have first supposed. Her new position put a table and several bodies between Usel and the giant tick, limiting its avenues of attack. It wasn't able to charge her, and through the one gap it could exploit, her back would be to a wall, preventing its minions from flanking her. It was cunning, though ultimately fruitless - once the tick had made its way to her, its sudden speed of attack and vicious power took Usel by surprise, not only dealing her a notable wound, but knocking her off balance to where it could grasp her with its overlarge mandibles and front legs, grappling her against the wall, and draining her blood.

Rage like she'd never known poured through Usel's body like molten steel, so hot that she thought she might black out. But she didn't. She dropped her torch, and her muscles bulged outward, veins straining, and she threw the creature off of her, just in time to grab the nearby table, and whip it around in front of her to fend off the next strike. It worked, and as the tick lunged again, she brought the table crashing down onto the top of its neck, hard enough to slam its jaws onto the floor with an audible crack. It struck again, and again found success, tearing flesh from Usel's abdomen, but she kept it from getting a good hold with a hard knee to the mouth, and a second, this time horizontal, blow from the table. Splinters of wood and carapace spattered onto the floor.

The tick looked disoriented and in pain. It lurched backward, and the bug-men on foot scrambled away as they noticed the fight turning against them. The tick hit a third time, latching on once more, draining more blood, scything away ribbons of meat from all along Usel's body with its sharp forelimbs. In such close quarters, the table was useless, so she dropped it, and just went for the killing blow. Reaching a hand between her skin and the creature's mouth, she found purchase, and wormed her fingers into its mouth. It clamped down hard, but she didn't stop until she found something soft that she could get a good hold of, and tore at it wildly. The tick let go almost immediately, vomiting a cascade of internal juices onto the floor before it gave a final wobble, and collapsed to the ground.


Part 5: A Little Fast-Forwarding

"And then what'd you do?" asked Oleg, a note of mirth and excitement unmistakable in his voice. Svetlana hadn't reacted to the conversation much at all, alternating fussing with dinner, fussing with Usel's bandages, or pretending to be especially interested in the night sky.

"I chased down every single last one of them that I could find, and killed them all with my bare hands. Or that table, I guess. I found some eggs, too. I dunno if those belonged to the little bugfolk or to the centipedes they were breeding down there, but I squashed them too. Then I took what valuables I could find, trashed everything else, and did my best to cave the place in. I probably killed two dozen of them, or more. Its all a little hazy." Usel's recounted was somber, but even. Oleg had enough enthusiasm for the both of them, "That's amazing! I've heard trappers talk about those things before. They call 'em "Mites". The way I hear it, they've been a terror all over those hills for years and years. And you got 'em all! And the nest. Just... amazing. You're really doing some good, y'know?"

Usel didn't answer. She was tired. It had been three days since she'd fought the Mites, and she hadn't slept much since. She just sipped a little water in silence; with days of practice, she'd found the trick to doing so without slopping most of it down her front. Thanks to Svetlana, her face had met with something resembling actual medical attention. The two halves of her cheek were cleaned, and sewn together, and with any luck, scar tissue would reunite them with time. For now, there was a lot of decidedly left-sided chewing and sipping.

"And, uh, when you say valuables? Find anything interesting?" pressed Oleg. Usel rifled through her backpack for a few moments, before withdrawing a little statuette, wrapped in cloth. She handed it over. It was plainly an unwholesome thing; an ivory effigy of something horned and scaled, with clawed bat-wings, and a menacing visage. "Aaaah. Interesting." said Oleg, examining it closely. "Some kind of demon, I expect. Or devil? Ehhh, I always get them confused. Hey-" He turned and shouted out to Jhod, the priest of Erastil that had come to stay at the trading post some days ago, who was now sitting on the far end of the yard, quietly thumbing through an old, leather book. "Hey, Jhod? Jhod?! HEY! What d'you know about demons? Demons! Demons, Jhod, demons!"

The priest rolled his eyes with a sigh, giving the impression that Oleg had irreverently harassed him about religious matters more than once before. Oleg all but confirmed this with a laugh, before returning to the conversation at hand. "Hhhehe, I like the old man. We have fun. Oh? Anyway, it's quite well made. If you're looking to sell, I'll give you, uh... mmm... two fifty for it?"

Usel didn't both asking why on earth he'd want such a thing, but pronounced "Sold." as dryly as she could, and left to be alone. A bed was starting to sound good, even if she knew her dreams were certain to be troubled.


The New Character Sheet
[Note: In the "Off Screen" portion between the last two parts, I got enough XP from the rest of the Mite massacre and, later, some exploration, to get another level. I didn't include those parts because they weren't that interesting, and I know these journal entries are already going to be kinda long reads. I did the level 2 -> 3 jump in-play, because it was quick and I already knew what I wanted. For this last 3 -> 4 level-up, I waited until after the end of the session, so the newest goodies (Torn Muscle Ignorance, Hands Like Bloodied Meat-Hooks) didn't affect anything.]


Profile
Usel, Teramach 4
Medium Humanoid (Human), True Neutral
XP: 6,325

(32 point buy)
Str: 19, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 8

Offense
Initiative: +6
Speed: 30ft
Size/Reach: 5ft/5ft
Bab/Grapple: +4/+8

Melee Attack: Unarmed +8 (1d3+4) [20/x2]
Full Attack: Unarmed +6/+6 (1d3+4) [20/x2]

Ranged: -

Defense
Hit Points: 39
Armor Class: 16
Flat-Footed: 14
Touch: 12
Fortitude: +7 [4 base + 2 ability +1 trait]
Reflex: +6 [4 base +2 ability]
Will: +6 [4 base + 0 ability + 2 feat]

Feats and Skills
Feats: Improved Initiative, Two-Weapon Fighting, Intimidating Strike
Bonus Feats: Steadfast Determination
Skills:
Intimidate +6 [7 ranks, -1 ability]
Jump +11 [7 ranks, +4 ability]
Listen +2 [2 ranks, +0 ability]
Spot +7 [7 ranks, +0 ability]
Survival +7 [5 ranks, +0 ability, +2 item]

Mythos
Exceptional: Retribution Will Follow (Hate Feeds The Meat), Fury Is Freedom, All-Consuming Rampage Release (Torn Muscle Ignorance)
Excellencies: Wordless Terror Demonstration, Mind-is-Meat Understanding, Hands Like Bloodied Meat-Hooks

Mythos Points: 750

Equipment
Miscellany
Backpack
Parchment, Ink, and Pen (In A Map Case)
Fishhook and Thread
Flint and Steel
Waterskin
8 Days of Rations
2 Pints of Oil
2 Torches
Bedroll

Tools
Masterwork Survival Kit
Dagger
Mandolin
Antitoxin
Rope (50ft)
Crowbar
Light Horse + Saddle & Saddlebags

Expendables
2 Potions of Cure Light Wounds
1 Potion of Shield of Faith

Money
609gp, 119sp, 200cp


The Map
We have a new terrain type. Hills! These bastards make travel and exploration take much longer. Or, at least they would, if I didn't have a horse. On horse-back, the exploration time is still ~1 day, but traveling across the hex is slowed by a few hours. I've put them in brown.

http://i.imgur.com/GvTSxNn.png

Doorhandle
2013-06-30, 08:10 PM
Not sure whether you're edging towards chaotic or lawful here: on one hand, you seek excessively violent justice against those who would harm you and others, on the other hand ...the frothing rage. Not really getting more good or more evil currently: the rampage was horrific but somewhat justified, and you didn't victimise the kobold.

Also, I don't remember kingmaker being that murderous when I looked through the rule set. I mean, the mite's attempts to kill you in your sleep did make sense form an in-story perspective (Sleeping intruder! bring the pointy sticks!) but the boar thing was a surprise.

Dream question: Should you have gone back for the kobold? Was he caught in the collapse?

vasharanpaladin
2013-06-30, 10:25 PM
[Note: I'm told "Pharast" is the month of "March" in Pathfinder Land, which I will assume is the name of the planet until told otherwise.]

Golarion.

Also, bookmarked. :smallbiggrin:

Xefas
2013-07-01, 07:10 AM
Golarion.
Ah, that's good to know. Up until this point, whenever I had to refer to the world at large, or the continent, or basically anything outside of Brevoy or the Stolen Lands, it would either end up becoming a joke about Usel having 0 ranks in Knowledge (Geography), or a Firefly reference ("And we will call this land... This Land.")


Dream question: Should you have gone back for the kobold? Was he caught in the collapse?


"Should I have? Maybe. For all the bad things Oleg had to say about kobolds, they haven't yet impressed upon me the same hatred. Sure, a few attacked me that one time, but I'm willing to believe that was more an issue of the language barrier. In hindsight, it's hard to fault them for assuming I was a thief, when I did actually end up stealing from them.

Had I been more in my right mind at the time, I'd like to think I would have made it a priority to save the poor thing.

But, my actions aside, though, it's possible that he did survive. If I'm remembering accurately, the second time I went through that chamber, the kobold wasn't there. He might've found his way out before I collapsed the thing. Of course, if he went the wrong direction, or was simply hiding, then the chances of him having lived are slim."

Xefas
2013-07-11, 05:07 PM
Chapter 3: The Monster Wakes

[Note: Upon reaching level three in the previous chapter, I chose "Intimidating Strike" as my 3rd level feat. I went through the entire Mite lair without using it, nor even having a situation in which I considered using it. As such, the DM let me replace it before we started this chapter, which I don't think was unreasonable (I'm actually kinda interested, if anyone wants to give input - how many DMs have you played under that would/wouldn't let you replace a feat that you went an entire level without using once?). I picked Danger Sense from the Miniatures Handbook, which is very broadly useful, and possibly more thematic as something Usel would be interested in, anyway.]

Usel had been milling about the trading post for a few days as her extensive wounds healed and her lost blood repopulated itself. If Svetlana had her way, she'd be staying another week, but that was out of the question. There were things that needed doing. Amidst the spoils of her last slaughter, she'd found a crude map, marked in a language that she didn't recognize. In fact, no one at the outpost could even put a name to the odd scrawl. But, at its center, was a plain depiction of the great tree that the Mites had made their home in. And, nearby, there was a clearly marked settlement, complete with little doodle-drawings of tall, menacing creatures wielding a variety of weapons.

It wasn't a great lead on the bandits' location, but it was the only one Usel had. A pang of nervous anxiety ran through her whenever she thought of finally confronting the Stag Lord. It stewed in her stomach sometimes, a cold, loathsome thing made of fear and regret - and other times it fled into her chest, and burned hot with elated joy at the thought of finally resolving the source of her anger. Something told her that the meeting would be a climactic crescendo to her mindless, ever-growing wrath. And that would be fine. She could move on after that, with one less monster in the world.

Part 1: Suddenly, Party Time

For the first time, Usel had to wait in line to buy something from Oleg. More trappers had come in the previous night, and were restocking before heading out for the day. It seemed that the trading post's business had begun increasing in frequency, ever since Oleg had started spreading the word to any who would listen about the amazing bandit and/or Mite slaying woman whose protection it was now under.

And, invariably, with each new group that passed through, someone would ask Oleg to introduce them to her - some seemed to be expecting a glorious, golden-armored hero, while others had expectations more akin to seeing a sideshow freak, depending on what stories they had heard about her, and in which direction they had been exaggerated. The latter were less disappointed, and none of them appeared to want to share the post's little dormitory with her after meeting her, instead opting to more-or-less camp inside the fort.

After grabbing some more rations, and a replacement torch and oil, Usel set about the last errand she'd need before leaving. "Mister Garess! If I could have a moment of your time, please." she called to the group of four men huddled around a little makeshift table in their campsite outside of the fort. They were playing some kind of game with wooden cups full of dice. Which, seemed to mostly be what they'd been doing since they'd arrived at the trading post shortly after Usel had. Nominally, they were aid promised to Oleg by the authorities of Restov until the area was deemed safe. Their leader, a sullen man with a fondness for sarcasm and black humor, by the name of Kesten Garess, had made it clear that the job had been foisted on him as a form of punishment for reasons he hadn't yet stated, and that his "men" were green recruits that showed little promise, but not so little that Restov wanted them discharged; after all, if a war broke out, men like them would be outstanding fodder for the front lines.

Kesten glanced up from the game lackadaisically, saw who it was, and then seemed to move with a little more urgency. The two shook hands; a gesture of etiquette Kesten had not afforded anyone on his arrival. "What is it that you need, miss?" She explained that she wanted to borrow one of his men, to serve as a lookout on her next trip, so that they could sleep in shifts, and hopefully prevent another incident like on her last foray. He protested, citing that none of them would be very reliable, and certainly not particularly useful in a fight. She assured him that they wouldn't need to fight, or be put at risk; she would handle anything of that sort. "Still, the last thing I'd want is one of those lazy sods nodding off on duty and getting you killed. It, uh-" the contempt in his voice actually softened with compassion for a moment "- it doesn't hurt badly, I hope?", he gestured at Usel's still healing face. "No. Just my pride." she said. She meant to say it as a joke, but somehow it came out a lot more depressing than intended.

In the end, Kesten volunteered to go with Usel, renting one of the horses Oleg still had yet to successfuly sell. She offered to pay him for the trouble, but he insisted that he was already being paid to be here; he might as well do something, rather than just laying about the post uselessly.

Side by side, they set out for the great tree, and beyond. "It's like we're, y'know, in a party." Kesten said, smiling meekly.

"Party? This is still a solo quest. You're more like my henchman."

"Henchman? No, no, no, that won't do. I think if I died a henchman, my father would disown me posthumously."

"Oh? Well, don't worry. If you end up tripping and cracking your head on a rock, or getting stabbed to death by a bloodthirsty midget, or something, I'll just tell everyone you died saving me from a dragon, or a demon. Or a demon dragon. How's that? Bare chested, hair whipping dramatically in the wind, single tear rolling down your inexplicably now-chiseled jaw."

"I... I would like that very much."


Part 2: Viziers Are Evil No Matter Where You Go


That night, the two slept in shifts, as had been Usel's plan, and nothing came out from the dark to murder them. They had lunch the next day under the shade of the great tree, and by mid afternoon were closing in on the supposed location of the settlement marked on the Mite's map.

Once they had reached the approximate location, however, no settlement was to be found; only a particularly large and rocky hill, from the top of which one could see for an impressive distance. They might have continued onward, assuming the Mites had simply been poor cartographers, had they not stopped to rest and admire the view while it was available. As they sat in the grass, Kesten rambled about the tiresome intrigue of noble life; himself a member of House Garess, one of the noble families of Brevoy. Usel was about to ask him how someone with so privileged a status was able to merit banishment to a remote fort in the middle of nowhere, when a high-pitched, slithering voice came up behind them.

"Humansses? Humansses?" it called to them cautiously. The two quickly scrambled to their feet, and Kesten went for his longsword. Before them stood two kobolds, one of them dressed for battle, with shabby leather armor and a little spear, while the other wore a simple, heavily patched, tunic. The latter squeaked in fear, while the armed one exclaimed, "Nakpek! Nakpek not wants to fight humansses!" Kesten seemed prepared to charge regardless, but Usel put a hand out to stop him.

According to Nakpek, his fellow was named Mikmek, and was the kobold she had seen and, according to him, "rescued" from the Mite's lair. In reality, she'd done nothing of the sort, but he insisted on lavishing her with praise and thanks anyway, of which Nakpek dutifully translated as best he could. He had apparently spoken very passionately about her to his tribe, and now their leader, Chieftain Sootscale wished to meet her in person. Kesten insisted that it must be a trap, which was certainly a reasonable opinion, but Usel couldn't help but see sincerity in the kobolds. If they were acting, they were doing it extremely well.

And so it was that they were lead into a secret opening in the hill, otherwise obscured by an outcropping of rock and dense vegetation. The inside was surprisingly roomy, as if made for human-sized occupants, and its initial corridor ran deep, before entering into a subterranean common room full of more kobolds, going about their daily businesses. Mikmek was kind enough to hold a torch so that their visitors could see; the kobolds themselves didn't seem to have trouble seeing in the pitch black. As they traveled through, all eyes were on them - noticeably wary, but not necessarily fearful. They went about their work, and there was a pleasant hum of activity. On the opposite side, in a large alcove, was a raised stone platform sporting some chair-like protrusion obscured by brightly colored fabrics. Upon it sat a creature completely unlike what Usel had come to associate with the kobold race.

Chieftain Sootscale appeared larger than his tribesmen, though in reality his height had nothing to do with it. His posture was straight and confident; even sitting, his stance gave an impression of stability and strength. His head was held high, his limbs thick with wiry muscle, and his scales were a unique ashy black color, in stark contrast to the palette of browns that the others sported. He wore no armor, but his head was adorned with an impressive headdress made from a bleached skull and a halo of red and black patterned feathers. Jewelry of bronze and gold hung from every limb, as well as a multitude of piercings throughout his head and chest. A scepter of bone and iron, adorned with more feathers, was clasped in one of his hands. When Usel met his gaze, it wasn't menacing, but it plainly told her that he was not a creature to be trifled with by any means.

Despite his earlier protests, Kesten was first to offer the chieftain a polite bow. Usel noticed and hurried to replicate the motion. Sootscale nodded his head, expression never changing, and rose to his feet. When he spoke, it was with a slightly deeper tone than his kin, though still a bit high by human standards. Conviction oozed through every syllable. "Who are those with the courage to stand in the presence of Chieftain Sootscale?"

"Lieutenant Kesten Garess of Brevoy's Noble House of Garess." replied Kesten in a very practiced cadence. Usel had significantly more trouble. "I... I'm called Usel. I was a farmer. Now I'm an explorer in the employ of the Swordlords of Restov." She tried to stay even, but formal introductions weren't her thing. She felt like she was at something of a disadvantage without a fancy title.

The chief looked back and forth between the two, before very pointedly stepping to the side so that he was facing just Usel directly, raised to a roughly equal height by the stone platform underneath him. "You are the woman that Mikmek has spoken of. Who single handedly defeated the sworn foes of the Sootscale Tribe who dwelled in the ancient sycamore." The way he said it, she wasn't sure if he was asking a question, or making a statement. After a few moments of silence, she decided it must be the former. "Yes, sir. I am."

"Truly, then, your might is paralleled only by your magnanimity in rescuing one of my own." Usel didn't know how to respond to that. She mulled over a few options, but had apparently taken too long, as the chief continued, albeit lower this time, without projecting his voice to the far sides of the cavern. "It would honor my people to name you iejir'thurel to the Sootscale clan." At that, Usel glanced sidelong at Kesten, who gave a subtle shrug. "But we would ask one more thing of you..."

The chieftain explained that the Mites had stolen a very important relic from the Sootscales; a small ivory statue of, at least what they believed to be, a horned and winged kobold. The same one Usel had sold to Oleg. She didn't tell the Chief that, though; only that she knew where it was, and would be happy to retrieve it for him. "But I would beg a favor in return, your..." Kesten mouthed the word 'grace?' at her, with another confused shrug. "...grace. Do you know of a human settlement in these lands? They would be armed and violent, wearing stag-shaped pendants." The Chief did know of such a place; a large, lightly fortified camp north and west, in the forest. The kobolds had run into them a few times while searching for Moon Radishes, and they weren't on good terms. He offered to have Nakpek guide her there, once the statue was returned.

Fast forward three days of uneventful traveling. Usel and Kesten returned with the statue, but this time the Chief met them with a few of his guards in a smaller antichamber more privately separated from the main common room. Greetings were exchanged again, and for the first time, Usel saw the Chief's expression change. It curled into something like triumph as he held the statue aloft, before casting it to the ground, where it shattered, and he crushed it further with a solid stomp of his foot. "We are proud to call you a sister, mighty one. As a family, perhaps you would enjoy disposing of an uninvited guest that has plagued our house long enough." He explained that the statue had been the focus of a powerful curse that the tribe's shaman, Tartuk, had been using to blackmail the kobolds into doing his bidding. He had taken over the Chieftain's quarters, and turned it into his own little temple to heathen gods, within which he regularly sacrificed members of the clan. Usel didn't need a whole lot of reason to object to ritually murdering the innocent, so she readily agreed to help.

Tartuk's lair was as the Chieftain had described it. It stank, and with little wonder, as mutilated fetiches of meat and bone hung from iron chains in the ceiling, many of which appeared to be animals, though here and there Usel could spot a kobold's arm or leg, or most of a head still hanging from one. Mad writings in two languages Usel didn't know were etched into the walls, though she was beginning to recognize one as the kobold tongue. A cauldron bubbled with a thick red liquid in the center, adding a strong scent of salt and iron to the miasma. Tending to the cauldron was a kobold with brilliantly purple scales, adorned with green silks and feathers, a cruelly serrated sickle in his hand. His head arched low when he saw Usel and the Chieftain enter, like a dog expecting a fight.

"Ah! So thisss iss the human that-" began Tartuk, but Usel didn't give him the chance to continue. In the gap between seconds, she had gone from utter stillness on one side of the room, to looming over the shaman, grasping for his spindly throat. He wasn't expecting that, but began to bring his sickle up to bear regardless. It was cute, she thought, that he was expecting a fight. It wasn't going to be like that. Instead, she just pressed down on top of him with her considerable weight. Three feet of lanky skin and bones collapsed beneath six feet of solid muscle and, try as he might to scramble free, the little creature was stuck. He gibbered and spat, wisps of arcane energy popping and fizzling between his fingers, but he couldn't make anything of it. She squeezed and shook him violently, like a hound trying to snap a hare's neck, occasionally beating him against the rough flooring. Eventually, he slumped, barely conscious, and stopped fighting.

The Chief took it from there. His pronouncement was long and indignant, a list of grievances and transgressions that painted this thing as the worst kind of scum the world had to offer. Tartuk was quiet until Sootscale had finished. Then he just smiled, and cackled and grinned, right up until the Chief shattered his skull into bits with a single horizontal blow from the royal scepter. After a brief interlude where Usel cleaned bits of kobold off of herself, Chief Sootscale offered her a prize from among the tribe's treasury, which Tartuk had been holding hostage. In truth, she didn't really feel like she wanted anything, but looked anyway, to be polite. It just so happened that she was glad she did; in a bag of jewels (and other worthless baubles that might've been mistaken for real jewelry) was a brass ring set with a single pearl. It matched Oleg's description of Svetlana's stolen wedding ring perfectly. On the chance that it was the same ring, she claimed it as her own, which the Chief gladly granted.

That night, the Sootscales celebrated. They roasted an elk, and stewed moon radishes, and drank an acrid and bitter alcohol that tasted like licking an evergreen tree after a hard rain, then being firmly slapped in the face. Usel found it repulsive, but the kobolds were so very happy to have her there, and insisted, and she didn't want to disappoint. They even rigged up a series of torch brackets to illuminate the cave, so she could see the various performances they put on throughout the night and into the morning.

It wasn't until late afternoon that Usel awoke, and she wasn't the last one to. The torches had gone out, and she was gravely thankful that no sunlight seemed to reach the common area. Everyone languished in common illness for a few hours, the kobolds seemingly in full awareness of how unwholesome their brew was. They ate much more simply that night, telling stories of the tribe's past, and folktales, and legends.

Usel gained an appreciation for their culture, though it often came off as... not necessarily more petty, greedy, and vicious than human culture, but certainly more brazen about those things. In a human folktale, a brave knight would be cast as the hero, and would be exalted for his honor and courage and strength. The sinister magistrate would then be cast as the villain, being condemned for his use of trickery, manipulation, and ruthlessness. It seemed to Usel, that if the same tale was told by a kobold, both would be cast as heroes, albeit with conflicting goals, and the magistrate would be praised for using his natural talent at guile and deception, just as the knight would be praised for using his natural talent in being strong and fearless. If the magistrate had the strength of will to tax his people into poverty without feeling bad about it, then he was just as glorious as the knight with the strength of will to come stab him in the face and feed everyone.


Part 3: In Which Values of Monstrosity Are Measured

The next day, the trio of Usel, Kesten, and Nakpek headed to the northwest, with Nakpek sitting in front of Usel on her horse, guiding them. Most of the time, it seemed like he knew where he was going.

Night was beginning to fall, but Nakpek kept insisting that it was just a little bit further, so the group went further. And further. And further, until they could barely see in the dim moonlight, obscured as it was by the thick foliage. Just as they were about to stop, a warm glow caught their eyes. They dismounted, and scouted ahead; except for Kesten, whose metal armor made him less than stealthy.

Up ahead was a large clearing dotted with otherwise lonely trees that spanned both sides of an especially narrow part of the river the trio had been following up into the forest. Usel noted that there were at least two small wooden platforms high up in the trees, one on each side of the river, that likely had guards stationed on them; from distance and darkness, she couldn't tell for certain. On this side of the river was the camp proper, with piles of supplies, tents, and a roaring bonfire around which were several logs that seated seven bandits in total, who were drinking and talking loudly amongst themselves.

Usel told Nakpek to head back to the horses, and tell Kesten to leave if she wasn't back in ten minutes. He nodded, wide-eyed. "You go alone?" She nodded, and smiled weakly. "My sister is brave!" he said, a little louder than he probably should have. "Good luck! Good luck!"

After the kobold had departed, Usel took a deep breath and walked out from behind her cover, towards the bonfire. The bandits spotted her before she'd gotten within fifty feet, her shape still somewhat shaded beyond the circle of bright light cast by the fire. One shouted and pointed, the others nearly fell over each other scrambling for their weapons; mostly daggers and clubs, though one in particular snatched up a pair of hatchets from on top of a nearby crate, and stepped forward. This one was the only woman among the group, and also seemed clearly to be the one in charge, as the others stood slightly back or to the side. She was wearing very thick, practical leather armor, with her hair tied back with a bandana, and her build was notably broad and toned. Her black eyes were steady and cold. Usel just stood, until the woman shouted some profanity at her that, cleaned up, amounted to "Who are you?"

"My name is Usel. I'm acting as a servant under a charter granted by the Regent of the Dragonscale Throne and the Swordlords of Restov. I'm here to arrest you all under suspicion of banditry." The bandits exploded with laughter and shouted a lot of filthy and unkind things at her. "Please. I'm unarmed. I come as a peacekeeper only. If you come willingly, I can guarantee you a trial in Restov." She thrust her hands forward into the light, showing that she wasn't holding a weapon, for emphasis. The laughter continued, and one of them threw a knife at her, though it sailed too far over her head to even make her flinch at it.

"Do you know who I am?!" the woman shrieked, suddenly, and the other bandits were instantly quiet. "I am the Stag Lord's right hand! I've been slitting throats since I could walk! Do you know how much blood is on these hands? I'm a cold-blooded monster! A killer, a sadist, a freak. The demon bitch of the Narlmarches! Do you have any idea what we're going to do to you for coming here?!"

Bones popped and flesh tore inside Usel's body. She gasped, half in pain, and half from an indescribable rush of endorphins that hit her brain, and made her swoon a little. No one was talking; they just stared at the shadow outside the firelight, as it... grew. Its shoulders pushed farther apart and it gained a little over a foot in height, nearly all torso, with longer arms to match. At its apex, Usel's tunic gave way, tearing into two rags draped over each arm. Before they knew it, she had bounded over the fifty feet of distance between them, and grabbed hold of the bandit standing closest to the leader.

Their leader was barely level with the tip of Usel's ribcage. She looked up, slowly. Her face didn't change overtly, but something behind her eyes was full of fear. Usel could smell it on her. Beads of saliva ran down her right cheek, where the expansion had torn open a sequence of holes in the still-scarring wound there, which fell in droplets onto the woman's face. Usel shook the bandit with one arm, and his neck snapped audibly, before she dropped him in a heap on the ground.

Usel didn't raise her voice. She didn't shriek or hiss or growl. "Let me tell you what's going to happen, Miss Cold Blooded Monster." she said simply. It was just loud enough that the whole semicircle of bandits could hear, but barely. "I am going to kill your men. I'm going to murder every single one of them, just like I have this one here. Some of them are going to run. And that's just fine. I'm faster than they are. But not you. No, I don't want you to run. I want you to stay right here. Stand right in this spot until I'm done killing them. See? You get to live, because you're going to lead me to the Stag Lord. And after that, you'll be free to go. Unless you move. If you move one single step from this spot, I'm going to break every single bone in your arms and legs one at a time, and take you with me as a snack while I hunt for him. I won't eat you too fast, though. A couple bites a day; nothing you won't live through. Not until I do finally find him, that is. Then I'll pull out your tongue and your eyes, and leave you to bleed. Are we clear?"

Silence. Then, suddenly, action. Several of the bandits turned and bolted, while a few others dove desperately at Usel with their assorted weapons. She didn't bother dodging; their weapons struck, but she felt nothing. She grabbed one in each enormous hand, and squeezed until they stopped fighting. That seemed to break the others' morale, and they bolted too. Except their leader, who still hadn't moved a muscle. Usel gave her a smile, and took off running after the fleeing bandits.

A few minutes later, she returned, having caught and killed most of them, but they knew the land better than she did, and some had truly escaped. The bandit woman was still in the same place, though she'd dropped her axes and tears had begun involuntarily streaming down her face. Usel put a hand on her, and her mouth opened to scream, but nothing came out. She slung the woman over one shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and made to return to her traveling companions.

She didn't remember anything else until the following morning.

Part 4: The Following Morning...

Usel's eyes blinked open. Soft morning light was drifting in from between leaves in the forest's ceiling. She was sitting up against a tree, and the woman from last night was sitting up against a tree directly opposite her, though her arms were bound together, and bound again to the tree itself. Usel stumbled to her feet, placed a hand to brace herself, and vomited briefly into the undergrowth.

That woman didn't appear to have slept the whole night. She looked like she was scared to even blink while Usel was looking at her. One of the horses was gone. So was Kesten, she guessed. Nakpek was asleep, his back arched in what looked like a very uncomfortable position across a rock, with his head laying flatly upside-down on the ground, tongue lolling out. Usel nudged him a bit, and he rose slowly, smacking his lips a few times, scratching the back of his neck. He mumbled something drowsily in the kobold language, which had a rhythm much like a "Good Morning" would.

She asked where Kesten was, and he confirmed that he'd left the night before, after exchanging a few quiet words with Usel upon her return. Nakpek hadn't heard what they were saying. "And what else happened?" she continued. The kobold thought for a second, as if nothing else interesting could've possibly happened for her to be referring to. "I helps you tie up the quiet lady?" he offered. She sighed, and went to grab some rations from the saddlebags on her horse. But, after a moment, thought better of it. She didn't feel like eating. "I didn't seem different? Or anything?" At that, the kobold let out a loud chirp that might've been an odd laugh. "Oh yess! You very scarin' me. Thought I was gonna die!" his voice was good-natured, as if recalling a practical joke between friends that had happened years earlier. Usel apologized anyway. "What for? You not killin Nakpek. I help tie up lady, you sleep. I not understand is all."

At that, Nakpek drew out some of the provisions he'd brought with him, and started eating. Usel figured she'd leave well enough alone, and instead busied herself with turning the remnants of her tunic into some kind of wrapping to protect her modesty. Whatever had happened to her, it'd been mostly upper-body related, leaving her pants and boots intact, if a little stretched. After that, she went to address her hostage.

"This isn't going to be comfortable for either of us, but... I figure I should at least know your name." The woman seemed to become a little more lucid in response to Usel's apparent normalcy. "Kressle." she responded. Usel nodded awkwardly, and untied the knots that bound Kressle to the tree, using the extra length to make the ones on her person more secure. While she worked at it, she asked about the location of the Stag Lord. "It's a fort built up around some old ruin. Dunno what it used to be. If we follow the west side of the Thorn River down south far enough, we'll hit it in about three days. Less if you go by horse." the implied second part of that sentence was '...which you can't because that horse won't support all three of us, so you should let me go.' Usel ignored that implication.

Once the party had gotten underway, Usel couldn't quite decide on seating arrangements. Obviously, she wasn't going to walk while Kressle, the murderer, sadist, bandit, etc, etc rode. But she didn't feel quite right about riding around while Kressle walked. It would've made it seem like Usel considered herself better than the woman she was escorting and, at the moment, she certainly didn't feel that way. So they both walked, and Nakpek, confused, took the horse; watching him struggle to steer and handle it properly would've been quite comical under other circumstances.

Three days later, about noon time, as Kressle had said, a tall wooden palisade loomed in the distance, within which protruded several guard towers and what appeared to be crumbled stone walls from some inner structure. It was set on top of a steep hill, with a single path leading up to a fifteen foot high, ten foot wide gate that was at least several inches thick. The wall itself was just as tall, but looked to be even thicker. There was no way that at least two of the three guard towers weren't going to see her immediately, regardless of the angle of her approach, given that the area was clear of trees, or other significant cover, for a few hundred feet in every direction. So they stopped just short of the tree-line, and Usel helped Nakpek dismount.

"Well, its been fun but, no offense, I hope to never see you again." Kressle said dryly. Her tongue had loosened a bit as they'd traveled together, though that spark of fear in her eyes had never completely left. Usel didn't respond immediately, she started to undo the bonds, and then began redoing them around a nearby tree. "Hey! Hey! You said-"

"I know what I said." interrupted Usel, and Kressle stopped. "Nakpek? If I'm not back in... I don't know, an hour? If I'm not back in an hour, let Kressle go. Assume I'm dead, and go back to your people. I hope you'll survive okay by yourself in the wilderness." She was referring to the fact that the group had consumed the last of their food for breakfast that morning. He assured her that he would fine. "Right. Kressle. I know what I said. But I can't, in good conscience, just let you go. You know, criminal, murderer, all that. I wouldn't feel right just killing you, either. I said I wouldn't, you held up your end of the bargain, and... well, it just wouldn't feel right. Taking you back to face a trial in Restov would be the same thing, really. So, when I get back, I'll figure out what to do with you. If I don't come back, you're free to go. Fair enough? Oh, and don't try to escape, or Nakpek has my permission to run you through." Kressle didn't say anything, she just slumped and scowled.

Usel turned and looked at the fortress before her. This was it. The final battle. She was going to finally look into the eyes of the man responsible for her family's death. But first she had to get through that wall...


Part 5: The Siege

The two guards, longbows in hand, looked at one another from their individual towers, and shrugged, clearly confused. There was a lone woman walking up the path to the fort. She was walking slowly, her arms raised above her head. In her left hand was a glass bottle, and in her right hand was a long black metal rod with a short curve at the end. Otherwise, she had no weapons, no armor, no equipment of any kind, actually. And given her manner of dress, there wasn't much she could be hiding. "Should we shoot her?" one called to the other. "Looks like a civilian. Lets see what she wants, and if it's nothing important, we can use her for target practice."

As Usel neared, the guards began shouting at her about what her business was. She ignored them, walking right up to the gate, until it was within arm's reach. Then, she looked at the bottle in her left hand. Oleg and Svetlana had said it was magic, and that it would protect her. That first scuffle at the trading post seemed so long ago now. Usel had heard a lot of stories about magic, but the first time she'd actually seen it had been the little fizzled light show that had come from Tartuk during their wrestling match. Still, it couldn't hurt. She drank the contents. It tasted kind of like how parchment smelled.

"Hey! Are you deaf, lady? Say something or I'm going to put this arrow between your eyes!" shouted the guard. "I'm not going to hold you back anymore. Not this time. Please. End this for me." she said, which just added to their puzzlement.

Then, she began to change again. A feeling like a warm blanket on a cold winter's day wrapped around her mind. Her eyes peeked out from it, but she felt light, and relaxed, and withdrawn, as if her body no longer needed her input. She could just sit back and languish in the heat.

The monster at the gates swung its right arm back, and then put seven-feet-and-some-change of solid muscle into the swing, jamming its crowbar deep into the center of the wooden gate. Then, it grasped the left side with its left arm, and wrenched. The gate creaked for a handful of seconds and then, with a sound like a cannon firing, the bottom left corner of it splintered and pulled outward, leaving enough room for Usel to walk in comfortably. The guards fired their arrows, which sunk into the creature's flesh, without reaction. She wasn't done. With another tug, she tore the mangled portion of the gate completely off, dropping her crowbar in the process. This enormous slab of wood, she carried with her into the fort.

On the other side was a spacious courtyard between the palisade and the inner stone walls of the ruins. Four bandits had already come running out to investigate the source of the noise, and a fifth leapt down from the 'roof', which had likely been the floor of the second floor, when the structure had properly possessed one of those. This fifth one was huge and burly, like an ogre in miniature, hunch-backed and bow-legged with an oddly lumpy face. They took one look at Usel and prepared to charge. The normal ones did, anyway. The lumpy one just glared, open mouthed, drooling slightly. Usel smiled, foul and predatory, and approached. "Me am... in love." drawled the brute, right before Usel slammed him across the head with the broad side of the gate.

Two things happened in quick succession that Usel had become highly unaccustomed to. One, the brute didn't collapse. He was battered and bloody, but still on his feet. No normal man could've survived a strike like that. It was odd. Secondly, tears in his eyes, the bandit pulled his own slab of wood from his pack, this one more reasonably club-shaped, and hit Usel solidly in the ribs. And it hurt. A lot. It hadn't even been one of those times she meant to get hit because she knew it'd just be shrugged off. She had meant to dodge, but he'd been faster than her. And gods did it hurt. Unfortunately for the two of them, the monster knew nothing of love. His nature was one made only of rage, and rage poured into Usel, increasing her bulk even further, and causing her to bellow incoherently. The four other bandits decided it would probably be best to leave them to their slugfest, and quietly disappeared back into the fort.

Three more arrows sunk uselessly into Usel from the guard towers, and she swung again. And this time, the ogre-man's strength failed him, and he crumpled into a bloody heap on the ground. That dealt with, Usel charged up a nearby ramp that lead to one of the guard towers. The guard stationed there looked back and forth between the massive gate-wielding woman, and the twenty foot drop onto hard-packed earth, assuming one cleared the sharp points of the palisade's logs. He made his choice, and Usel never got to find out if he survived the fall, because the door into the fort's interior exploded open and a freaking owlbear heaved itself out from behind the too-small opening, yanking stones free from the wall as it did so. Fifteen hundred pounds (that's 680kg to everyone in the world except Americans) of partially feathered, partially furry death lumbered its way towards Usel, almost too large to fit on the ramp.

The monster, aided somewhat by being on the high ground, charged the owlbear, practically frothing at the mouth in glee. She cracked the narrow end of the gate against the beast's head so hard that the wood splintered a little further. It hardly noticed. Instead, it tore after Usel's legs, but she danced away from it, dealing a second mighty blow. It seemed to feel that one a little more, but was still undeterred. This time, it connected with one of its paws, knocking Usel's legs out from under her, before climbing on top of her for an imminent mauling. The poor bastard. In an astounding reversal of roles, that no owlbear has ever been prepared for, and certainly not this one, its prey relinquished its weapon, and reached its arms up and around, to put it into a bear hug. A strong one, that the actual owlbear was having trouble getting free of. Before it could force its way free, she had flipped the bear over, rolling them both off of the wooden walkway, with the owlbear taking the full impact of the fall. Terrified, it raked into her back with furious desperation, trying to get her off, but the more it struggled, the harder she squeezed. Just as its ribs were giving way, Usel felt a different stabbing pain in her back, and she glanced over her shoulder to see an impractically dressed man with long, flowing black hair and a sharp goatee, gouging into her with an ornate rapier. If she'd been in her right mind, she would've questioned why he wore a silk, embroidered ascot and half-shirt to a fight, but instead she simply throttled her victim harder.

[Note: Seriously. The DM pointed me to page 7 of the Kingmaker Player's Guide. They apparently reused the art for this guy in that book and, well... he appears to be wearing a half-shirt, some kind of fishnet sash, and a fancy ascot. He may also have highlights. I can't tell. And that definitely appears to be both eye-liner, and an eye-liner-drawn tear mark down his cheek. In a way, this makes me feel better about some of Paizo's impractically dressed women, because at least they gave us this ponce who seems to have stumbled into Ye Olde Hot Topic on his way to this fight.]

With another hard squeeze, the owlbear's ribs gave way, and it gave a final, unearthly shriek before dying. Usel rose to face this new attacker, who was at least kind enough to remove his rapier from her back as she turned around. "Aha!" he exclaimed. "Akiros! Spring the trap!" Usel tensed. A moment passed. Another moment. Nothing. The two looked over to a door, still swinging in its hinges, as a figure disappeared through the hole in the gate, trailing various odds-and-ends that hadn't been secured into their pack. The fancy man's eyes grew wide. "Well, heh. Heh. See, this is a misunderstanding. I would'nt have attacked you! Really, I wouldn't have! But... I just... I thought I was going to have back up. So. This is just embarrassing. If I could just-" he stopped mid-sentence, and bolted. Usel lunged at him, but missed by inches, and he fled around the corner. "Master! Master! We've got trouble!" he was screaming at the top of lungs. He finally made it to a door, and tried the handle. It was locked, so he began banging on it loudly, still screaming.

It was that moment that Usel felt the tingle of magic that had been buzzing around her ever since she drank the potion begin to recede, and her rage subsided a little, causing her body to shrink back to normal size. Pain flooded her senses, and so she reached into her pockets and withdrew the other two potions she'd received from Oleg. Her pursuit slowed, but did not stop, and as she closed the distance, she quaffed both drinks. The pain ceased, and her wounds miraculously closed. Not all of them, but most.

Just as the door opened, Usel's body contorted once more, filling out to its full, monstrous glory, and she tore it full off its hinges. The fancy man made to leap inside, but was shoved out again, where he landed on his ass in the mud. And then, from the hole in the wall, something emerged. Usel's howling had ceased, and she tilted her head to one side, examining it. She couldn't make up her mind about what it was. From one angle, it was a man with the trappings of a beast; armor of thick animal hide and a bear-pelt cloak had become his skin, gloves tipped with glistening black talons had become his hands, and the huge stag's skull, complete with huge, menacing antlers that made his shadow in the waning sun look twisted and demonic - that had become his true face. No skin, no vestige of his humanity was evident. From another angle, she could see an animal wearing the guise of a man; a pitiless, merciless storm of aggression and predator instinct confined and humiliated to a form that was not its own.

When the Stag Lord spoke, it may as well have been a wolf's snarl, or a bear's roar. There was nothing good in it. Nothing pure. Not even malice, or deception. Just rough aggression, and a will that needed to dominate all around it. "Fool." he said, addressing the fallen man. "I am not your servant. I am not your mother. It is not my place to act on your behalf. It is your place to act on mine. If you cannot save your own life, you are worthless to me. You are weak. You deserve to die. Now get to your feet, and face your attacker, or lie in the dirt like a dog and I will gut you myself." He slowly, steadily, and poignantly unsheathed a long, gleaming, freshly-sharpened longsword for emphasis.

The man with the flowing hair looked like he was about to cry but, shuddering, he rose to his feet, rapier in hand, and turned to face Usel. He didn't talk back. It was plain that he had learned through prior experience not to do so. He adopted a low stance, with his weight on his thighs, though the shaking of his legs made him wobble noticeably, and glared at the monster.

Usel wasn't smiling. She wasn't cackling, or howling, or drooling. Whatever madness had afflicted her, it was taking this as seriously as she would have, had she been in full control. The man charged, but Usel swung the door she'd acquired horizontally at him, and crushed him between it and the stone wall to their side. Disoriented, he swung wildly, and Usel ended him with a second hit, unscathed.

The Stag Lord looked on without disapproval, which Usel suspected was his form of approval. "Filth. One and all." he said. "But you? You are a beautiful creature, aren't you? I was watching, of course. I saw you send my men running, I saw you killing them. Never. Never have I seen someone like you. Someone who..." he trailed off. When he spoke again, it seemed like it cost him a little effort. "I think we understand one another, you and I." Usel glared at him silently. "We both pretend. We wear this disguise. We sit and we talk and we pretend like we're human, but we're not. We only exist in the fire of combat, when we tear out our enemy's throat, and feel the blood, and the heat, and the fury. In those moments, there is no thinking, no masks, no words - just hunger and excitement and death." More silence. "We could join together. I don't need these stooges. I don't need this fort. You could be my queen, and we could prowl these woods like animals, killing and taking as we need."

Usel started to advance, her footfalls so heavy that they visibly displaced dust and loose soil beneath them. "No, you are wrong..." she began, softly. "...I am not an animal." As the Stag Lord came within arm's reach, she swung the door with lightning speed, eclipsed only by the swiftness with which her prey's longsword scythed upward in defense, hacking into the door with enough force that it pushed the attack up and away. "I Am A Monster! And You Are Just A Pathetic Old Man!" her previously cool tone exploded, lashing blood and spit everywhere, as she deftly twisted, heaved, and wrenched, yanking the longsword embedded in the door out of the Stag Lord's hands, and sending it sailing away behind her. He didn't even hestitate; without a second's thought, the Stag Lord had hopped backward a few paces, drawn his bow, and let loose with an arrow. It sailed straight through Usel's torso, pulling a jet of blood and bile with it as it went. Her entire body tensed and screamed at her. She knew that another shot like that, and she'd be dead. But the thing controlling her arms and legs didn't know that. It just scrambled, overcome with bloodlust, dropping its weapon in the process, and swung its claws at the object of its hate. The first fist closed around empty cloak as the Stag Lord twisted away, but the second caught his arm, and pulled him in. He began to thrash and fight, but she was too strong for him. She thrust him up against the stone wall, and brought their eyes level with one another.

"I'm going to make you watch as I take you apart. I'm going to make you cry and sob like a child, so that the last thing you hear before I take your life, is the last thing I heard before you took mine."

And she did. It wasn't fast, and the old man, grizzled by age and hardship, fought valiantly, but he could no more overpower the monster than Usel's siblings could've overpowered his men, before they'd been gutted and thrown into their own burning fields. He died, and in his last moments, wailed like an infant, gibbering incoherently about his father and memories of kinder times.

Days later, when Usel crawled back into her bed at the trading post, she did just the same.


The New Character Sheet
*Actually, my character sheet won't make a lot of sense at the moment. I ended this update here, but the truth is that a lot of "wrapping up" happened afterward, including various quest rewards, and transitional stuff to prepare Usel for the next book in the module. I plan to do an Interlude that covers this stuff, and I'll post the character sheet with it.

The Map
http://i.imgur.com/7oDDnAe.png

Doorhandle
2013-07-11, 07:14 PM
Moralitywise: I dunno. On one hand, Treating kobolds with some understanding, and few of the victims thus far could be said to not deserve a messy fate. Also, possibly... guilt?

On the other hand... the ravening evil that is the monster was quite apparent.

Usel is certainly getting more lawful: keeping promises, and adhering to the few laws of the frontier.

Draken
2013-07-11, 11:08 PM
Alignment looks Lawful Neutral to me.

She just doesn't have the moral inflexibility that D&D all but demands of good characters or the depraved glee that it ascribes to evil ones. Even her last few streaks of cruelty were more personal catharsis than something that looks like it might become a modus operandi.

JerichoPenumbra
2013-08-13, 06:39 PM
Please tell me this isn't the end of this?

Xefas
2013-08-13, 07:42 PM
Please tell me this isn't the end of this?

Not necessarily?

The GM just got busy, is all. We were going over the Kingdom rules and stuff Usel was doing in downtime, and so on, but it was just getting hard to find a date to do the actual next session, with my changing jobs to having a relatively normal schedule, but him still having a weird (and for now, tighter) one. So, I just called it off for simplicity's sake, until such time as it's more convenient.

It happens.

Xefas
2015-07-24, 05:10 PM
I have mod permission to bump this thread with content, even though it's a few days past the Thread Necromancy limit.

Anyway, the stars happened to align properly again and we're back in action for the time being. Hopefully for at least a few chapters of content?

It took me a little while to get back in the saddle, and I'm not going to lie, some of the math for Usel's experience, gold, and mythos points post-chapter-3 might not be entirely correct. Two year transitions do that. But screw it! Whatever. I'll be fine.

The next few updates are going to be light on action. Mostly me writing character interactions to get them right in my head, and some kingdom building. The kingdom building doesn't actually take that much interaction from the DM, so you can think of these initial updates as one big session, but really it was me doing math, consulting the DM over skype, then doing some more math, over the course of a week or so, with a lot of the dialogue and stuff added in by me after the fact.

In truth, we sort of did all this stuff once already. After I posted chapter 3, we played a bit more. But neither of us remembered well enough, so we just did the character progression and kingdom building and aftermathy stuff over again. (And that's how the math might've been messed up. Two-year-old notes.)

Chapter 4: Questionable Management Decisions

Part 1: Apparently, Politics

Usel watched the flames rise higher, engulfing the small effigy she'd constructed, upon which sat the helm of the Stag Lord. Jhod, the trading post's resident priest of Erastil, had identified it as being imbued with divine magic, and assured her that its powers were not fiendish in nature; they seemed more aligned with the natural world. Still, it was the last legacy of a terrible man, and a symbol of the worst chapter of Usel's life, and she would always associate these things with it. Best to burn it, and let the last vestige of the Stag Lord die with it.

It wasn't like she needed it anymore. It had been proof enough, once an emissary of the Swordlords had arrived at Usel's request to survey her progress, that she'd defeated him, and quelled the banditry in the area. In fact, according to the emissary, the Stolen Lands had never been quieter. Hostile Kobold activity was down, there hadn't been a Mite sighting in weeks, and what bandits were left were fleeing south; they were the River Kingdoms' problem now. Apparently, she'd cleared quite a few bounties during her last adventure, which added up to a hefty sum; more money than Usel had ever seen in one place before. And it was all hers.

She was seriously considering taking that money and starting up a new farm somewhere far away, where she could live quietly and simply, and forget all about the Stolen Lands. Her obligations here were done; the charter was announced fulfilled, with the progress she had made, and the death of the Stag Lord. It made sense. Though, the question of what to do with Kressle was still a minor issue. Oleg had gone into fits when she'd suggested that the, ostensibly "former", bandit be allowed to stay at the post until Usel could find something to do with her. The return of Svetlana's wedding ring, and an easily overheard reminder to Kressle about what Usel would do to her if she even suspected that foul play was a possibility, smoothed things over into a rough, temporary peace.

Just then, the fire sparked and grew and twisted into a fountain of emerald light, before dying down. The body of Usel's effigy was melting away into ash, and with it, the spear she had recovered from Nettle's Crossing and its restless spirit, after fulfilling its request and hurling the body of the Stag Lord into the river. As the abomination's last earthly possession, it seemed safest to cremate it. Given the light show on its destruction, it too must have been touched by some kind of magic; all the more evidence to support its safe disposal.

Usel just sat and watched the flames, thinking. That farm idea sounded really inviting. But there was just something nagging her. Folks said that what she'd done here was good; that she'd helped people. They were grateful. But they hadn't actually seen the messy business of it. They hadn't actually seen what she was. Not really. Kesten had caught a glimpse, and he hadn't spoken to her since she'd returned to the outpost after the whole ordeal - almost a month ago.

And yet, good or evil, what she'd done was... impressive? No, it was downright miraculous, in a terrifying, otherworldly, impossible sort of way. She wasn't just some ordinary person. "Farming" is what ordinary people did. Her whole life, she'd accepted being ordinary; accepted the life that was given her, just being a tiny insignificant cog in an uncaring world that she couldn't change. That was, well... life. But she'd been given the rare chance that few ever get to do something great, and glorious, and amazing. She was special.

It was hard to resist that allure. So hard. The more she thought about it, the more she felt like the only thing allowing her to resist the temptation to poke at the madness seething in the recesses of her mind, and try to use it, to control it, to use it to - "help others" is what she sincerely told herself - was a lack of direction. What kind of opportunities were available to a woman whose skills included managing a farm, murdering bandits, shattering wood and stone with her bare hands, and bullying others into submission? That wasn't, y'know, inherently horrible?

Part 2: Assemble The Team

"Excuse me? No, no, this tramp was not the Stag Lord's 'right hand'! She was more like a regional manager at best. I was the Stag Lord's right hand! More than that, even. I basically ran the place, handled all the logistics, and everything. Sure, everyone was loyal to the crazy bastard, but I kept things running!"

Usel had asked everyone gathered about the large table, scattered with errant papers and maps, weighted against the winds of the open sky around them, to introduce themselves for the benefit of those who didn't already know them. Kressle had gone first, and she hadn't gotten two sentences in before their latest arrival had interrupted with blusterous shouting. A few months ago, Kressle would have probably shouted right back or, more likely, hurled a knife at his throat. But her disposition had improved notably under Usel's watchful eye. It is worth noting that her callous disregard for human life and inclination towards spiteful violence had not been diminished; she had simply learned to be more patient, quiet, and polite about it, which made her all the more dangerous in some ways. Now, she just glared stone-faced at him, waiting.

"'Akiros', was it?" Usel began; he nodded. "You've already elaborated to me the many skills that you possess that could be of value, prior to this meeting. You don't need to seek further validation from me in that regard. We're just here for introductions." Akiros Ismort, a tall, burly man with a wild mop of black hair and a short, but full, beard, clad in chainmail and carrying an armory of assorted weapons, was a fallen paladin of Erastil who had come into the employ of the Stag Lord only recently, but had risen to become his most trusted officer due to uncommon competence and resolute courage. Currently standing at the far end of the long table, he relaxed somewhat, took his hands off of it, and cleared his throat after a deep breath. "Yes, of course, Baroness." he said. Usel wasn't done, though. "Furthermore, if you plan to be working with us long-term..." With a lightning-fast flick of the wrist, she shoved the end of the table with enough speed and force that the opposite end skidded backward nearly a foot, colliding with Akiros' thighs hard enough to dent the greaves, and sending him reeling to the ground with a bark of pain.

Kressle smiled wickedly. Chieftain Sootscale nodded approvingly. Kesten stifled a snort of laughter. Oleg laughed without the barest pretense of restraint. Svetlana, alone, rolled her eyes and sighed disapprovingly.

"...I expect you to be civil with me and mine while you are in my presence."

The hundreds of laborers and assorted craftsman bustling around the assembled group didn't even notice, as they dutifully renovated, improved, and built upon the ruin that had once served as the headquarters for the Stag Lord's forces. It was already three stories tall, if one did not count the underground basement level, and growing steadily by the day.


Kingdom Sheet: Month 0

Hilmaland
Alignment: True Neutral (+4 Stability)
Size: 0
Control DC: 20
Population (Approx.): 250
Treasury: 50bp
Special Resources: -
Ongoing Events: -

Economy: 9 (+8 leadership + 1 taxes)
Loyalty: 4 (+6 leadership - 1 festivals - 1 taxes)
Stability: 13 (+4 alignment + 8 leadership + 1 promotion)

Promotion Level: Token (+1 Stability, +1 Consumption)
Taxation Level: Light (+1 Economy, -1 Loyalty)
Festivals Per Year: None (-1 Loyalty)

Unrest: 0
Consumption: 1 (+1 promotion)

--Leadership
Ruler: Usel (-1 Economy)
Councilor: Svetlana (+2 Loyalty)
General: Akiros (+3 Stability)
Grand Diplomat: Nameless NPC (+1 Stability)
High Priest: Jhod Kavken (+4 Stability)
Magister: Nameless NPC (+1 Economy)
Marshal: Chieftain Sootscale (+3 Economy)
Royal Executioner: Nameless NPC (+1 Loyalty)
Spymaster: Kressle (+3 Economy)
Treasurer: Oleg (+2 Economy)
Warden: Kesten Garess (+3 Loyalty)

Kingdom Sheet Explanation

So, this is where Kingmaker gets math-heavy. In D&D, one of the more math heavy games out there. Fun! (I say, non-sarcastically.)

This is Usel's kingdom at 'Month 0'. Turns in 'Kingdom-Time' are one month a piece, so this is before her very first turn, where she'll fix up the Stag Lord's fort into a castle, and declare the surrounding area her Capital City.

Important things! Kingdoms don't use gold pieces for their currency to do stuff with. They use 'Build Points', or 'bp', which represent a nebulous blob of goods, be it lumber, stone, ore, cattle, veggies, laborers, or whatever (and probably a combination of several of those). They can converted into gold, and gold can be converted into them, but they have a wonky exchange rate, no doubt for balancing purposes. The gist is that it's easy to throw adventuring gold into your kingdom, but hard to pull gold out of your kingdom for adventuring stuff. Which I'm fine with.

The stats that need to be worried about seem to be Unrest, Consumption, Control, Economy, Loyalty, and Stability, and everything else is used to tweak those things. The more active ones are Economy (to do money stuff), Loyalty (to do... people stuff?), and Stability (to do... government, lawy stuff???). Consumption is the constant turn-by-turn drain on your treasury, hopefully counterbalanced by a higher income, Unrest is how revolting your peasantry are (you wanna keep this low), and the Control DC is what you roll against to manage your kingdom, which grows as the kingdom grows in size, so its just harder to govern a bigger area. Makes sense.

The final thing to talk about are the Leadership Roles. You can appoint various characters to different roles in the kingdom, and they grant a bonus based on that position and how their ability scores synergize with that roll. High Priests, for example, do better with high wisdom. The Ruler does better with high charisma (which is why Usel absolutely sucks at it). In a standard game, you'd have a party with 3-5 PCs, likely each with a 16 or higher in one stat, and they'd fill the position that synergizes with that ability. Usel would make a great Royal Executioner! She's big and scary. But this is a solo game, so she's stuck as the Ruler, and has little grandeur and etiquette to call upon. Any slot you can't fill with a PC or a named NPC important enough to have stats is just filled with a generic dude that grants +1, and will happily step down if you find a replacement. Which I'm hoping to do for the three remaining slots.

Oh, and a leader only needs to spend one week out of the month performing their administrative duties to bring their full bonus to bear, so that leaves plenty of time for adventuring.

Kingdom Turn 1

--Upkeep Phase
Stability Check: Pass!
My Unrest is 0: +1bp
Consumption: -1bp

--Improvement Phase
Claim Hex: The hex surrounding the Stag Lord's fort.
+1 Size, +1 Control DC, +1 Consumption

Found City: Riverkeep
-2bp, +1 Consumption

Riverkeep Build: Tenements
-1bp, +2 unrest

Riverkeep Build: Castle (1/2 discount for ruins)
-27bp
+2 Economy, +2 Loyalty, +2 Stability
-4 unrest
+1,600xp for Usel

--Income Phase
Generate Income: Fail

--Event Phase
None

Kingdom Sheet: Turn 1

Hilmaland
Alignment: True Neutral (+4 Stability)
Size: 1
Control DC: 21
Population (Approx.): 1,500
Treasury: 20bp
Special Resources: -
Ongoing Events: -

Economy: 11 (+8 leadership + 1 taxes + 2 buildings)
Loyalty: 6 (+6 leadership - 1 festivals - 1 taxes + 2 buildings)
Stability: 15 (+4 alignment + 8 leadership + 1 promotion +2 buildings)

Promotion Level: Token (+1 Stability, +1 Consumption)
Taxation Level: Light (+1 Economy, -1 Loyalty)
Festivals Per Year: None (-1 Loyalty)

Unrest: 0
Consumption: 3 (+1 size + 1 city district + 1 promotion)

--Leadership
Ruler: Usel (-1 Economy)
Councilor: Svetlana (+2 Loyalty)
General: Akiros (+3 Stability)
Grand Diplomat: Nameless NPC (+1 Stability)
High Priest: Jhod Kavken (+4 Stability)
Magister: Nameless NPC (+1 Economy)
Marshal: Chieftain Sootscale (+3 Economy)
Royal Executioner: Nameless NPC (+1 Loyalty)
Spymaster: Kressle (+3 Economy)
Treasurer: Oleg (+2 Economy)
Warden: Kesten Garess (+3 Loyalty)

Riverkeep Sheet: Turn 1

Base Value: 200gp
Defense: 8
Population (Approx.): 1,250

Magic Items For Sale:
None

District 1:
Castle (+2 Economy, +2 Loyalty, +2 Stability, +8 Defense)
Tenements


City Sheet Explanation

This one is a lot shorter than the kingdom sheet. Base Value is a measure of how varied the markets are in your city. Basically, any mundane item with a cost less than the Base Value can be assumed to be acquirable in the city. Magic items with a value of the city's Base Value or less might be for sale. You can make checks every month to find them.

Defense is for when the city is sieged. Reasonably, a castle raises your defense. Walls and stuff do as well.

If a city manages to attract powerful spellcasters, there's a chance every turn that they'll produce a random magic item, likely far in excess of your city's Base Value, and put it up for sale. Every turn, there's a chance an adventurer will buy the item, which means crazy magical taxes! Sweet, sweet magic taxes. Or Usel could buy the item, of course. I think it's also possible for the state to just seize a magic item by force, but I'm told the repercussions in Unrest and angry wizards are so crippling that it's not worth it.

http://i.imgur.com/gJabkqd.png

Vauron
2015-07-24, 08:34 PM
Yay, Usel is back!

Xefas
2015-07-25, 08:50 PM
Chapter 5: The Monster Takes A Break To Play Civ5

Svetlana Interlude

Usel slumped slightly in her chair, perhaps a throne in relative terms to the more plain chairs placed around the long table before her, but not a throne by way of a real monarch's perspective, her mind fatigued, but her body so frustratingly not so. Oleg and his wife, Svetlana stood off to her side, not taking a seat.

She'd known these two the longest among her compatriots. While manning their trading post, they'd worn rugged, practical wear, torn and patched by the circumstances of wilderness life, scuffed and muddied by the toil of days after more days of hard work. Now that they were advisors to, ostensibly, some kind of noblewoman, they'd cleaned up a bit. Svetlana more than her husband, eschewing mud-caked workboots and pants for a proper dress and the sundry fineries of a woman of some station.

Usel would have none of that for herself. She's had a harness of animal skins made, held together with straps around her torso, with the intent that they'd hopefully be able to stretch and survive the additional mass than the awakening of the monster inside of her brought on, along with a plain brown sarong and fur-lined buskin sandals, for much the same reason. With her ever-growing tangle of untidy and uneven braids that billowed out from her head not unlike the branches of a willow tree, she looked more barbarian than baroness, stalking the little makeshift town that had grow up around the Stag Lord's thoroughly refurbished castle in the last couple of months, the right side of her face still thoroughly and unbeautifully scarred. She unsettled people. She knew.

"If you would just review these tax proposals..." said Oleg, futily brandishing a rolled sheet of parchment at Usel, pretending she would grasp it if he was enthusiastic enough.

"I believe that's why I hired a treasurer to begin with. That's your job, no?" she said in a tired voice, fiddling with the edge of the table's lamp, which illuminated the dark room.

He sighed. "Look, straightening out a town's economy isn't the same as bartering furs off of trappers back at the trading post. I might-"

Usel put up a hand to cut him off. "I'm confident in your abilities, Oleg. I trust you. You're a fair man, and I stand beside whatever you decide for now." She gave him a look, not angry, but tired and stern, that told him the conversation was over for today. Grumbling, he turned and left the room. Usel expected Svetlana to follow her husband, but she didn't.

Svetlana's look of confliction caused her to raise an eyebrow. "Yes? Was there something else?"

After a moment, the woman nodded. "I-. I just. I'm feeling the same way, I think. Out of my depth? There's, what, a thousand people camped outside these walls?" She made a sheepish little gesture, her arms tucked close to her body, fanning her hands. "And you want me to advise you about that? About them? All these people? I'm just a housewife for the gods' sakes."

Usel considered that, and cleared her throat. "Right." she said, nodding. Svetlana nodded along for a moment, expectantly. But when Usel didn't follow with anything, she added a little, "...a- and?" by way of prompt.

"And so are they." said Usel, bobbing her head in an illustrative nod toward the nearby exterior wall. "Just housewives. Just peasants. Farmers, fishmongers. Hunters, whores, seamstresses, thieves, thugs, potters, basketweavers... Just people making a new life, like you and me. Just people. I need to know how they feel, what they need, how they think about me, how they think about this new life."

Svetlana furrowed her brow and shrugged. "But. But why me?"

Usel shrugged too. "Everyone I'd ever spoken more than a sentence or two with before I met you and Oleg is dead. Maybe there is someone better for the job, but I don't know them. I trust you, and I trust that you have compassion in your heart, and I trust you to tell me the truth, even when I don't want to hear it. That's all I really need."

Svetlana seemed to be mulling that over, nervously rubbing her wedding ring from side to side around her ring finger. Eventually, she must have made up her mind, pulling herself up straight and taking a step forward. When she spoke, it was a little more upbeat, a little more confident.

Kingdom Turn 2

Promotion Edict Change: Token -> None
Taxation Edict Change: Light -> Standard
-2 Stability, -1 Consumption
+1 Economy, -1 Loyalty

--Upkeep Phase
Stability Check: Pass!
My Unrest is 0: +1bp
Consumption: -2bp

--Improvement Phase
Riverkeep Build: Smithy
-6bp
+1 Economy, +1 Stability

--Income Phase
Generate Income: Pass!
+5bp

--Event Phase
New Vassals
+1bp

Kingdom Sheet: Turn 2

Hilmaland
Alignment: True Neutral (+4 Stability)
Size: 1
Control DC: 21
Population (Approx.): 1,750
Treasury: 19bp
Special Resources: -
Ongoing Events: -

Economy: 13 (+8 leadership + 2 taxes + 3 buildings)
Loyalty: 5 (+6 leadership - 1 festivals - 2 taxes + 2 buildings)
Stability: 14 (+4 alignment + 8 leadership + 3 buildings - 1 promotion)

Promotion Level: None (-1 Stability)
Taxation Level: Standard (+2 Economy, -2 Loyalty)
Festivals Per Year: None (-1 Loyalty)

Unrest: 0
Consumption: 2 (+1 size + 1 city district)

--Leadership
Ruler: Usel (-1 Economy)
Councilor: Svetlana (+2 Loyalty)
General: Akiros (+3 Stability)
Grand Diplomat: Nameless NPC (+1 Stability)
High Priest: Jhod Kavken (+4 Stability)
Magister: Nameless NPC (+1 Economy)
Marshal: Chieftain Sootscale (+3 Economy)
Royal Executioner: Nameless NPC (+1 Loyalty)
Spymaster: Kressle (+3 Economy)
Treasurer: Oleg (+2 Economy)
Warden: Kesten Garess (+3 Loyalty)

Riverkeep Sheet: Turn 2

Base Value: 200gp
Defense: 8
Population (Approx.): 1,500

Magic Items For Sale:
None

District 1:
Castle (+2 Economy, +2 Loyalty, +2 Stability, +8 Defense)
Tenements
Smithy (+1 Economy, +1 Stability)


Sootscale Interlude

Chieftain Sootscale had joined Usel's hodgepodge gang of underdogs only after great consideration, and she hardly had to suspect that he still held reservations about the descision. But she considered him a valuable asset and had assured him that the arrangement would always be reversible, with no hard feelings had. He was, after all, the only actual ruler she'd ever spoken with, albeit one who only oversaw a modest tribe of kobolds nesting in a hill. Still, it was something. Currently, he served her as a kind of scout, or border-guard, sending out patrols of his Sootscales to monitor the surrounding area for signs of returning banditry, and dissuading the natural wildelife from encroaching too close to her settlement. They did a good job of it, at least so far, and in return the Chief had demanded one of the smaller wages from the barony's funds, at least from the perspective of human value. Kobolds liked gold and silver, certainly, but they were also just as content with glass faux-jewelry and 'exotic' food that wasn't turnips or insects.

The two now walked in the waning sun, on the outskirts of the shanty-town that had built up around the Riverkeep castle, shacks crammed against one another, and sometimes on top of one another, their inhabitants eking out an existence, trusting Usel to give them a future.

"What would you do?" said Usel after a few minutes of silence. "If you were in my position, I mean."

Chieftain Sootscale glanced around, and Usel noted the few people still out and about at this hour were steering clear of them, and giving the tall-statured black-scaled kobold some unpleasant looks. "Run for my life before one of these humans tried to kill me and take my place as leader of the tribe. Your people, traditionally, do not suffer my people to live. They would not accept me." he said, with an even, rational tone, as if reciting the answer to an obvious mathematical problem.

Usel gave a short sigh. "I'm not sure they accept me either, to be honest. I look at the situation, I make my best assessment, I hand down laws and policies, make decrees, solve problems... I do my best, but not everyone listens. There's too many people living here to police them all constantly. I want to trust them to pay their taxes and do the jobs I give them and not to steal and what-have-you, but they don't seem to trust that what I'm asking is the best way to go. And this is the wild frontier, no centralized government to keep everyone in line."

Sootscale nodded. "And all of the humans who were pleasant and law-abiding likely stayed in their pleasant, law-abiding cities, rather than to come out here and risk everything they have with the bandits and wolves."

Usel stopped walking, and the Chief followed momentarily. "That... that too."

The kobold locked eyes with her for a few moments, then glanced away into the sunset, bringing his wooden scepter up and idly scratching the back of his neck with a rough patch on it. "Perhaps, if you have truly exhausted all of your options, it is simply that you have failed. Not all endeavours end in success. That is the nature of life. Perhaps governing is not the nature of you. Perhaps your natural state lies elsewhere."

Usel flashed back to the night spent with the Sootscale tribe, taking in their tribal legends of tyrannical dragons and mighty chieftains of ages past. Much had been spoken on the nature of dragons, and their primal, murderous rage that roiled out from them as physical flame great enough to fill caverns and slaughter whole tribes of kobolds had been exalted as the truest expression of that nature.

She gritted her teeth for a moment, and her face contorted, biting back on a moment of sudden anger. But it passed just as quickly. "I know what my nature is, Chief. It's not something I'm proud of."

The leathery muscles approximating where a lizard would have eyebrows narrowed on the Chieftain's face as he looked back up at her. "It is the nature of life to succeed and to fail, to gain and to lose, to grow and to die. This is the way of things and the way of things is not a tragedy. To deny who you are, to feel shame for what you are, that is a tragedy. Perhaps your people do not respect you because you lead them with two hearts."

His piece said, Chieftain Sootscale continued on. Usel could've caught up with him trivially - one of her strides was about six of his - but she felt like here was as good a place as any to watch the darkening sky and to reconcile her thoughts.

Creating A New Mythos

The morning sun cast a long shadow from behind the gallows Kesten had erected for the purposes of fulfilling his duties as Warden to the new settlement of Riverkeep. It wasn't much of an increase in station from being a disgraced soldier, all but banished to the wilderness, but he had hope. Cautious hope. If his new liege was as proficient at ruling as she was at mangling bandits, he thought, perhaps he'd have a shot at some real prestige, maybe even enough to rub in the noses of his family, still sitting pretty on their fortunes in Brevoy.

"Walk." he said, quietly, forcefully. He never sounded happy, but this was one of those duties that made him more morose than usual. The convict before him, though built stoutly as any man who'd spent their life in manual labor, dared not defy Kesten and his retinue of armed guards, but merely shuddered a little and slowly ascended the few rickety wooden steps to the platform and its noose above. A few hundred people from the surrounding shanty town had gathered to observe the spectacle.

As Kesten prepared to tie the noose, a fluctuation in the crowd caught his eye. They were parting for Usel, easily visible a head above most of them. She emerged from them, and stood in the open gap between the crowd and the gallows, looking up at him. She put a hand to her mouth, coughed once, and spoke. "What has that man been accused of?"

Kesten looked around, as if perhaps she were addressing some other execution. Seeing none, he let go of the noose, took a step forward, and made a small bow of coutesy. "Baroness. This man has been accused, and found guilty of, murdering his son-in-law in cold blood, motivated by some minor civil disagreement. He has no means to make reparations with, and has been duly sentenced to death by hanging."

Usel nodded once, mumbling something about "...that'll do." And then, more loudly, "Mister Garess, please undo the man's bonds, and bring him before me. I wish to allow him a pardon."

The convict's eyes went wide in disbelief, and Kesten's brow rose subtley, in his own version of shock. The two looked at Usel, and then at each other, and then back at her. Not prepared to question his lady before a crowd, he did as he was told, and withdrew a small knife, slashing the bonds tying the convict's hands together, then put a firm hand on his shoulder, and oriented him down the steps, and in front of Usel. Then he released his grip and took a step back.

He was a tall, strong man, middle-aged in weather-beaten clothes, likely a farmer or shepherd, slightly balding. He sputtered, at a loss for words, before swallowing and beginning with, "My lady, thank you! By all the gods-" But she put a hand up to stop him.

"Don't thank me, sirrah. I am not the one who is pardoning you. I am allowing you to pardon yourself." she said. His look got a little blank as he cast his eyes around Usel's face for an explanation, even glancing back at Kesten, who seemed just as confused. She continued, "A trial by combat. It's not a common practice, but sometimes we must place matters of judgment in the hands of the gods, rather than the fallible hands of men. Should they be watching, and see the purity of your heart, surely they will grant you victory."

There were several long moments as the convict looked around nervously, from Usel, to the crowd, to Kesten, to the gallows, down to his hands and feet. He brought a rough hand up and scratched the back of his neck enthusiastically, before letting out a heavy breath and looking back up. "Who'll I be fighting?"

Several minutes later, Usel nudged a severed femur with the toe of her boot, still meaty enough to roll towards the crowd. It had thinned as the display became progressivley more gruesome, and she could see a few puddles of sick marking where the front row of the crowd had slowly receded further and further away. Still, those who remained seemed oddly fascinated, even entertained. Satisfied, Usel dusted her hands together, though it did little to remove the blood, gazed about the assembled people, and thrust a finger towards them, sweeping it accusatorially toward all present. "Pay your god damn taxes." she said, and quietly strode away.

(Usel just bought the Beast Of Ten Horns And Ten Crowns (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?429062-3-P-Some-Kingmaker-Options-for-Mythos-Classes) Excellency. I was tired of the Economy penalty by this point.)

Kingdom Turns 3-12

Kingdom Turn 3

--Upkeep Phase
Stability Check: Pass!
My Unrest is 0: +1bp
Consumption: -2bp

--Improvement Phase
Claim Hex northeast of Riverkeep
+1 Size, +1 Consumption

Build Road northeast of Riverkeep
-1bp

Build Farms northeast of Riverkeep
-4bp

--Income Phase
Economy Check: Pass!
+5bp

--Event Phase
None

Kingdom Sheet: Turn 3

Hilmaland
Alignment: True Neutral (+4 Stability)
Size: 2
Control DC: 22
Population (Approx.): 2,000
Treasury: 18bp
Resources: Road x1, Farm x1 (-2 Consumption)
Ongoing Events: -

Economy: 18 (+13 leadership + 2 taxes + 3 buildings)
Loyalty: 5 (+6 leadership - 1 festivals - 2 taxes + 2 buildings)
Stability: 14 (+4 alignment + 8 leadership + 3 buildings - 1 promotion)

Promotion Level: None (-1 Stability)
Taxation Level: Standard (+2 Economy, -2 Loyalty)
Festivals Per Year: None (-1 Loyalty)

Unrest: 0
Consumption: 1 (+2 size + 1 city district - 2 farms)

--Leadership
Ruler: Usel (-1 Economy) -> Usel (+4 Economy)

Riverkeep Sheet: Turn 3

Base Value: 200gp
Defense: 8
Population (Approx.): 1,500

Magic Items For Sale:
None

District 1:
Castle (+2 Economy, +2 Loyalty, +2 Stability, +8 Defense)
Tenements
Smithy (+1 Economy, +1 Stability)


Kingdom Turn 4

--Upkeep Phase
Stability Check: Fail
Consumption: -1bp

--Improvement Phase
Claim Hex around Sootscale Tribe
+1 Size, +1 Consumption
+1 Resource: Sootscale Silver Mine

Build Road around Sootscale Tribe
-1bp

Build Farms around Sootscale Tribe
-4bp

Build Mills in Riverkeep
-6bp, +1 Economy, +1 Stability

--Income Phase
Economy Check: Fail

--Event Phase
None

Kingdom Sheet: Turn 4

Hilmaland
Alignment: True Neutral (+4 Stability)
Size: 3
Control DC: 23
Population (Approx.): 2,500
Treasury: 6bp
Resources: Road x2, Farm x2 (-4 Consumption), Sootscale Silver Mine (+1 Economy)
Ongoing Events: -

Economy: 20 (+13 leadership + 2 taxes + 4 buildings + 1 resources)
Loyalty: 5 (+6 leadership - 1 festivals - 2 taxes + 2 buildings)
Stability: 15 (+4 alignment + 8 leadership + 4 buildings - 1 promotion)

Promotion Level: None (-1 Stability)
Taxation Level: Standard (+2 Economy, -2 Loyalty)
Festivals Per Year: None (-1 Loyalty)

Unrest: 0
Consumption: 0 (+3 size + 1 city district - 4 farms)


Riverkeep Sheet: Turn 4

Base Value: 200gp
Defense: 8
Population (Approx.): 1,750

Magic Items For Sale:
None

District 1:
Castle (+2 Economy, +2 Loyalty, +2 Stability, +8 Defense)
Tenements
Smithy (+1 Economy, +1 Stability)
Mills (+1 Economy, +1 Stability)


Kingdom Turn 5

--Upkeep Phase
Stability Check: Pass!
My Unrest is 0: +1bp

--Improvement Phase
None

--Income Phase
Economy Check: Pass
+6bp

--Event Phase
Good Weather (+4 Stability for 1 turn)

Kingdom Sheet: Turn 5

Hilmaland
Alignment: True Neutral (+4 Stability)
Size: 3
Control DC: 23
Population (Approx.): 2,500
Treasury: 13bp
Resources: Road x2, Farm x2 (-4 Consumption), Sootscale Silver Mine (+1 Economy)
Ongoing Events: -

Economy: 20 (+13 leadership + 2 taxes + 4 buildings + 1 resources)
Loyalty: 5 (+6 leadership - 1 festivals - 2 taxes + 2 buildings)
Stability: 15 (+4 alignment + 8 leadership + 4 buildings - 1 promotion)

Promotion Level: None (-1 Stability)
Taxation Level: Standard (+2 Economy, -2 Loyalty)
Festivals Per Year: None (-1 Loyalty)

Unrest: 0
Consumption: 0 (+3 size + 1 city district - 4 farms)


Riverkeep Sheet: Turn 5

Base Value: 200gp
Defense: 8
Population (Approx.): 1,750

Magic Items For Sale:
None

District 1:
Castle (+2 Economy, +2 Loyalty, +2 Stability, +8 Defense)
Tenements
Smithy (+1 Economy, +1 Stability)
Mills (+1 Economy, +1 Stability)


Kingdom Turn 6

--Upkeep Phase
Stability Check: Pass!
My Unrest is 0: +1bp

--Improvement Phase
Build Roads around Riverkeep
-1bp

Build Herbalist in Riverkeep
-10bp, +1 Loyalty, +1 Stability, +1 Minor Item Slot

--Income Phase
Economy Check: Pass
+5bp

--Event Phase
Food Surplus (Consumption x0.5 for 1 turn)

Kingdom Sheet: Turn 6

Hilmaland
Alignment: True Neutral (+4 Stability)
Size: 3
Control DC: 23
Population (Approx.): 2,750
Treasury: 8bp
Resources: Road x3, Farm x2 (-4 Consumption), Sootscale Silver Mine (+1 Economy)
Ongoing Events: -

Economy: 20 (+13 leadership + 2 taxes + 4 buildings + 1 resources)
Loyalty: 6 (+6 leadership - 1 festivals - 2 taxes + 3 buildings)
Stability: 16 (+4 alignment + 8 leadership + 5 buildings - 1 promotion)

Promotion Level: None (-1 Stability)
Taxation Level: Standard (+2 Economy, -2 Loyalty)
Festivals Per Year: None (-1 Loyalty)

Unrest: 0
Consumption: 0 (+3 size + 1 city district - 4 farms)


Riverkeep Sheet: Turn 6

Base Value: 200gp
Defense: 8
Population (Approx.): 2,000

Magic Items For Sale:
None

District 1:
Castle (+2 Economy, +2 Loyalty, +2 Stability, +8 Defense)
Tenements
Smithy (+1 Economy, +1 Stability)
Mills (+1 Economy, +1 Stability)
Herbalist (+1 Loyalty, +1 Stability, +1 Minor Slot)


Kingdom Turn 7

--Upkeep Phase
Stability Check: Fail
Failed by >4: +2 Unrest

Riverkeep Herbalist Crafts: Divine Scroll of Detect Snares and Pits (CL1)

Royal Executioner: -1 Unrest

--Improvement Phase
None

--Income Phase
Sell Magic Item (Divine Scroll of Detect Snares and Pits): Pass!
+0bp

Economy Check: Pass!
+4bp

--Event Phase
Assassination Attempt: Nameless NPC Magister
Stability Check: Fail
Magister Roll Vacant
+5 Unrest, -5 Economy


Kingdom Sheet: Turn 7

Hilmaland
Alignment: True Neutral (+4 Stability)
Size: 3
Control DC: 23
Population (Approx.): 2,750
Treasury: 12bp
Resources: Road x3, Farm x2 (-4 Consumption), Sootscale Silver Mine (+1 Economy)
Ongoing Events: -

Economy: 9 (+12 leadership + 2 taxes + 4 buildings + 1 resources - 4 magister vacancy - 6 unrest)
Loyalty: 0 (+6 leadership - 1 festivals - 2 taxes + 3 buildings - 6 unrest)
Stability: 10 (+4 alignment + 8 leadership + 5 buildings - 1 promotion - 6 unrest)

Promotion Level: None (-1 Stability)
Taxation Level: Standard (+2 Economy, -2 Loyalty)
Festivals Per Year: None (-1 Loyalty)

Unrest: 6
Consumption: 0 (+3 size + 1 city district - 4 farms)


Riverkeep Sheet: Turn 7

Base Value: 200gp
Defense: 8
Population (Approx.): 2,000

Magic Items For Sale:
None

District 1:
Castle (+2 Economy, +2 Loyalty, +2 Stability, +8 Defense)
Tenements
Smithy (+1 Economy, +1 Stability)
Mills (+1 Economy, +1 Stability)
Herbalist (+1 Loyalty, +1 Stability, +1 Minor Slot)


Kingdom Turn 8

--Upkeep Phase
Stability Check: Fail

Riverkeep Herbalist Craft: Divine Potion of Owl's Wisdom

Royal Executioner: -1 Unrest

--Improvement Phase
Hire Leader: Nameless NPC Magister
(+5 Economy)

Riverkeep Build: House
-3bp, -1 Unrest

Riverkeep Build: Park
-4bp, +1 Loyalty, -1 Unrest

--Income Phase
Economy Check: Pass
+4bp

Sell Magic Item (Divine Potion of Owl's Wisdom): Pass!
+0bp

--Event Phase
None


Kingdom Sheet: Turn 8

Hilmaland
Alignment: True Neutral (+4 Stability)
Size: 3
Control DC: 23
Population (Approx.): 3,250
Treasury: 9bp
Resources: Road x3, Farm x2 (-4 Consumption), Sootscale Silver Mine (+1 Economy)
Ongoing Events: -

Economy: 17 (+13 leadership + 2 taxes + 4 buildings + 1 resources - 3 unrest)
Loyalty: 4 (+6 leadership - 1 festivals - 2 taxes + 4 buildings - 3 unrest)
Stability: 13 (+4 alignment + 8 leadership + 5 buildings - 1 promotion - 3 unrest)

Promotion Level: None (-1 Stability)
Taxation Level: Standard (+2 Economy, -2 Loyalty)
Festivals Per Year: None (-1 Loyalty)

Unrest: 3
Consumption: 0 (+3 size + 1 city district - 4 farms)


Riverkeep Sheet: Turn 8

Base Value: 200gp
Defense: 8
Population (Approx.): 2,500

Magic Items For Sale:
None

District 1:
Castle (+2 Economy, +2 Loyalty, +2 Stability, +8 Defense)
Tenements
Smithy (+1 Economy, +1 Stability)
Mills (+1 Economy, +1 Stability)
Herbalist (+1 Loyalty, +1 Stability, +1 Minor Slot)
Houses
Park (+1 Loyalty)


Kingdom Turn 9

--Upkeep Phase
Stability Check: Pass!
-1 Unrest

Riverkeep Herbalist Craft: Divine Potion of Resist Cold

Royal Executioner: -1 Unrest

--Improvement Phase
Riverkeep Build: Graveyard
-4bp, +1 Economy, +1 Loyalty

--Income Phase
Usel purchases the Potion of Resist Cold for 300gp

Economy Check: Pass!
+7bp

--Event Phase
Bandit Activity
Stability Check: Pass!


Kingdom Sheet: Turn 9

Hilmaland
Alignment: True Neutral (+4 Stability)
Size: 3
Control DC: 23
Population (Approx.): 3,500
Treasury: 12bp
Resources: Road x3, Farm x2 (-4 Consumption), Sootscale Silver Mine (+1 Economy)
Ongoing Events: -

Economy: 20 (+13 leadership + 2 taxes + 5 buildings + 1 resources - 1 unrest)
Loyalty: 7 (+6 leadership - 1 festivals - 2 taxes + 5 buildings - 1 unrest)
Stability: 15 (+4 alignment + 8 leadership + 5 buildings - 1 promotion - 1 unrest)

Promotion Level: None (-1 Stability)
Taxation Level: Standard (+2 Economy, -2 Loyalty)
Festivals Per Year: None (-1 Loyalty)

Unrest: 1
Consumption: 0 (+3 size + 1 city district - 4 farms)


Riverkeep Sheet: Turn 9

Base Value: 200gp
Defense: 8
Population (Approx.): 2,750

Magic Items For Sale:
None

District 1:
Castle (+2 Economy, +2 Loyalty, +2 Stability, +8 Defense)
Tenements
Smithy (+1 Economy, +1 Stability)
Mills (+1 Economy, +1 Stability)
Herbalist (+1 Loyalty, +1 Stability, +1 Minor Slot)
Houses
Park (+1 Loyalty)
Graveyard (+1 Economy, +1 Loyalty)


Kingdom Turn 10

Promotion Edict: None -> Standard
(+3 Stability, +2 Consumption)

--Upkeep Phase
Stability Check: Pass!
-1 Unrest

Riverkeep Herbalist Craft: Divine Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds

--Improvement Phase
Build Farms around Riverkeep (I can't believe I forgot to do this ._.)
-4bp, -2 Consumption

--Income Phase
Usel purchases the Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds for 300gp

Economy Check: Pass!
+5bp

--Event Phase
None


Kingdom Sheet: Turn 10

Hilmaland
Alignment: True Neutral (+4 Stability)
Size: 3
Control DC: 23
Population (Approx.): 3,500
Treasury: 13bp
Resources: Road x3, Farm x3 (-6 Consumption), Sootscale Silver Mine (+1 Economy)
Ongoing Events: -

Economy: 21 (+13 leadership + 2 taxes + 5 buildings + 1 resources)
Loyalty: 8 (+6 leadership - 1 festivals - 2 taxes + 5 buildings)
Stability: 19 (+4 alignment + 8 leadership + 5 buildings + 2 promotion)

Promotion Level: Standard (+2 Stability, +2 Consumption)
Taxation Level: Standard (+2 Economy, -2 Loyalty)
Festivals Per Year: None (-1 Loyalty)

Unrest: 0
Consumption: 0 (+3 size + 1 city district - 6 farms + 2 edicts)


Riverkeep Sheet: Turn 10

Base Value: 200gp
Defense: 8
Population (Approx.): 2,750

Magic Items For Sale:
None

District 1:
Castle (+2 Economy, +2 Loyalty, +2 Stability, +8 Defense)
Tenements
Smithy (+1 Economy, +1 Stability)
Mills (+1 Economy, +1 Stability)
Herbalist (+1 Loyalty, +1 Stability, +1 Minor Slot)
Houses
Park (+1 Loyalty)
Graveyard (+1 Economy, +1 Loyalty)


Kingdom Turn 11

Festivals Per Year: 0 -> 1
(+2 Loyalty, +1 Consumption)

--Upkeep Phase
Stability Check: Pass!
At 0 Unrest: +1bp

Riverkeep Herbalist Craft: +1 Heavy Mace (O_o?)

--Improvement Phase
Claim Hex around the Great Tree
+1 Size, +1 Consumption
+1 Cave Resource

Build Roads around the Great Tree
-1bp, +1 Economy

Build Farms around the Great Tree
-4bp, -2 Consumption

--Income Phase
Sell Magic Item (+1 Heavy Mace): Pass!
+0bp

Economy Check: Pass!
+5bp

--Event Phase
None


Kingdom Sheet: Turn 11

Hilmaland
Alignment: True Neutral (+4 Stability)
Size: 4
Control DC: 24
Population (Approx.): 3,750
Treasury: 14bp
Resources: Road x4 (+1 Economy), Farm x4 (-8 Consumption), Sootscale Silver Mine (+1 Economy), Great Tree Mite Lair (+1 Stability)
Ongoing Events: -

Economy: 22 (+13 leadership + 2 taxes + 5 buildings + 2 resources)
Loyalty: 10 (+6 leadership + 1 festivals - 2 taxes + 5 buildings)
Stability: 20 (+4 alignment + 8 leadership + 5 buildings + 2 promotion + 1 resources)

Promotion Level: Standard (+2 Stability, +2 Consumption)
Taxation Level: Standard (+2 Economy, -2 Loyalty)
Festivals Per Year: 1 (+1 Loyalty, +1 Consumption)

Unrest: 0
Consumption: 0 (+4 size + 1 city district - 8 farms + 3 edicts)


Riverkeep Sheet: Turn 11

Base Value: 200gp
Defense: 8
Population (Approx.): 2,750

Magic Items For Sale:
None

District 1:
Castle (+2 Economy, +2 Loyalty, +2 Stability, +8 Defense)
Tenements
Smithy (+1 Economy, +1 Stability)
Mills (+1 Economy, +1 Stability)
Herbalist (+1 Loyalty, +1 Stability, +1 Minor Slot)
Houses
Park (+1 Loyalty)
Graveyard (+1 Economy, +1 Loyalty)


Kingdom Turn 12

--Upkeep Phase
Stability Check: Pass!
At 0 Unrest: +1bp

Riverkeep Herbalist Craft: Divine Scroll of Curse Water (CL 1)

--Improvement Phase
Riverkeep Build: Mills
-6bp, +1 Economy, +1 Stability

--Income Phase
Sell Magic Item (Scroll of Curse Water): Pass!
+0bp

Economy Check: Pass!
+6bp

--Event Phase
None


Kingdom Sheet: Turn 12

Hilmaland
Alignment: True Neutral (+4 Stability)
Size: 4
Control DC: 24
Population (Approx.): 4,000
Treasury: 15bp
Resources: Road x4 (+1 Economy), Farm x4 (-8 Consumption), Sootscale Silver Mine (+1 Economy), Great Tree Mite Lair (+1 Stability)
Ongoing Events: -

Economy: 23 (+13 leadership + 2 taxes + 6 buildings + 2 resources)
Loyalty: 10 (+6 leadership + 1 festivals - 2 taxes + 5 buildings)
Stability: 21 (+4 alignment + 8 leadership + 6 buildings + 2 promotion + 1 resources)

Promotion Level: Standard (+2 Stability, +2 Consumption)
Taxation Level: Standard (+2 Economy, -2 Loyalty)
Festivals Per Year: 1 (+1 Loyalty, +1 Consumption)

Unrest: 0
Consumption: 0 (+4 size + 1 city district - 8 farms + 3 edicts)


Riverkeep Sheet: Turn 12

Base Value: 200gp
Defense: 8
Population (Approx.): 3,000

Magic Items For Sale:
None

District 1:
Castle (+2 Economy, +2 Loyalty, +2 Stability, +8 Defense)
Tenements
Smithy (+1 Economy, +1 Stability)
Mills x2 (+2 Economy, +2 Stability)
Herbalist (+1 Loyalty, +1 Stability, +1 Minor Slot)
Houses
Park (+1 Loyalty)
Graveyard (+1 Economy, +1 Loyalty)


Usel Character Sheet

Profile
Usel, Teramach 6
Medium Humanoid (Human), True Neutral
XP: 17,725

(32 point buy)
Str: 19, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 8

Offense
Initiative: +6
Speed: 50ft
Size/Reach: 5ft/5ft
Bab/Grapple: +6/+10

Melee Attack: Unarmed +11 (1d3+7) [20/x2]
(+6BAB, +4Str, +1 Enhancement), ([+4Str]x1.5, +1 Enhancement)

Full Attack: Unarmed +9/+9/+3 (1d3+7) [20/x2]
(Two Weapon Fighting -2)

Ranged: -

Defense
Hit Points: 56
Armor Class: 16
Flat-Footed: 14
Touch: 12
Fortitude: +8 [5 base + 2 ability +1 trait]
Reflex: +7 [5 base +2 ability]
Will: +7 [5 base + 0 ability + 2 feat]

Feats and Skills
Feats: Improved Initiative, Two-Weapon Fighting, Danger Sense, Deflect Arrows
Bonus Feats: Improved Unarmed Strike, Steadfast Determination, Improved Grapple
Skills:
Intimidate +8 [9 ranks, -1 ability]
Jump +21 [9 ranks, +4 ability, +8 speed]
Listen +4 [4 ranks, +0 ability]
Spot +9 [9 ranks, +0 ability]
Survival +7 [5 ranks, +0 ability, +2 item]
Ride +4 [0 ranks, +2 ability, +2 item]

Mythos
Exceptional: Retribution Will Follow (Hate Feeds The Meat), Fury Is Freedom, All-Consuming Rampage Release (Torn Muscle Ignorance), World-Breaker Grip
Excellencies: Wordless Terror Demonstration, Mind-is-Meat Understanding, Hands Like Bloodied Meat-Hooks, Nothing This Big Should Move This Fast, Beast Of Ten Horns And Ten Crowns

Mythos Points: 5560

Equipment
Miscellany
Backpack
Parchment, Ink, and Pen (In A Map Case)
Fishhook and Thread
Flint and Steel
Waterskin
3 Pints of Oil
3 Torches
Bedroll

Tools
Masterwork Survival Kit
Dagger
Mandolin
Antitoxin
Rope (50ft)
Crowbar
Light Horse
Masterwork Saddle
Saddlebags

Magic Items
Potion of Resist Cold
Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds

Money
5,909gp, 119sp, 200cp


http://i.imgur.com/ZKNobl8.png

Playgrounders Vote: Sidekick For The Next Adventure

The next chapter will probably be all adventuring, no kingdom building. I plan for Usel to bring one of her crew along with her as some NPC support. Instead of picking myself, I'm hoping that there are enough people reading this (lurking in secret) that I can get a vote going, and bring along the most popular choice. She can bring:

>Chieftain Sootscale, the Lawful Evil Kobold Rogue. He'll likely encourage Usel to become more accepting of her darkest self. He can be relied on to act calmly and with restraint. Mechanically, he's focused on speed and stealth.
>Kressle, the Chaotic Evil Human Rogue. She likely won't directly affect Usel's development a great deal. Left to her own devices, she'll act with violence and cruelty, but behaves around Usel. Mechanically, she's focused on flanking things to death with her dual-wielded axes.
>Jhod Kavken, the Neutral Good Human Cleric of Erastil (God of Nature). He will likely encourage Usel to deny her anger and forsake her monstrous power. He acts with kindness, patience, and trust. Mechanically, he's a feeble old man who will stay out of fights and mostly heal.
>Kesten Garess, the Chaotic Neutral Human Fighter. He'll likely encourage Usel to use her rage in moderation, treating it as a tool to be respected, but unleashed when necessary. He acts with loyalty, quiet courage, and occasional ruthlessness. Mechanically, he's a tough longsword/shield/heavy armor fighter.
>Akiros, the Chaotic Neutral Ex-Paladin/Barbarian. He'll encourage Usel to revel in her angry and violent urges. He's a glory-hound, short-tempered, short-sighted, moody, and confident. Mechanically, he rages with a longsword and shield (for some reason?).

I'm told Oleg and Svetlana are non-combatants. Anyway, I'm not sure how long y'all will have to vote, but likely only a couple of days, then I'll run with whatever is highest.

Draken
2015-07-25, 10:02 PM
I say Sootscale, he is a bro.

EdroGrimshell
2015-07-25, 11:25 PM
Playgrounders Vote: Sidekick For The Next Adventure

The next chapter will probably be all adventuring, no kingdom building. I plan for Usel to bring one of her crew along with her as some NPC support. Instead of picking myself, I'm hoping that there are enough people reading this (lurking in secret) that I can get a vote going, and bring along the most popular choice. She can bring:

>Chieftain Sootscale, the Lawful Evil Kobold Rogue. He'll likely encourage Usel to become more accepting of her darkest self. He can be relied on to act calmly and with restraint. Mechanically, he's focused on speed and stealth.
>Kressle, the Chaotic Evil Human Rogue. She likely won't directly affect Usel's development a great deal. Left to her own devices, she'll act with violence and cruelty, but behaves around Usel. Mechanically, she's focused on flanking things to death with her dual-wielded axes.
>Jhod Kavken, the Neutral Good Human Cleric of Erastil (God of Nature). He will likely encourage Usel to deny her anger and forsake her monstrous power. He acts with kindness, patience, and trust. Mechanically, he's a feeble old man who will stay out of fights and mostly heal.
>Kesten Garess, the Chaotic Neutral Human Fighter. He'll likely encourage Usel to use her rage in moderation, treating it as a tool to be respected, but unleashed when necessary. He acts with loyalty, quiet courage, and occasional ruthlessness. Mechanically, he's a tough longsword/shield/heavy armor fighter.
>Akiros, the Chaotic Neutral Ex-Paladin/Barbarian. He'll encourage Usel to revel in her angry and violent urges. He's a glory-hound, short-tempered, short-sighted, moody, and confident. Mechanically, he rages with a longsword and shield (for some reason?).

Hm, I'd probably go with Sootscale, he encourages her to accept it, not succumb to it, which seems like that she needs to do to me, and she may be able to learn a bit more about leading from him as well, something that may come in handy for her. She may even affect his path over time, which could be interesting, especially if he goes mythos and gets a few kobold mythos. Doubt that'll happen but it could be interesting still.

Mechanically, however, he covers a weak point for Usel, stealth, forethought, and intel. Besides that, he's been the one scouting areas (or at least his people have), meaning he'd probably know a good deal about the area and would be knowledgeable of features that could be of interest. And if not, this lets him scout out so he can better direct his own scouting parties.

Adam1949
2015-07-25, 11:29 PM
Excitement!

I say, bring along Kesten. He seems like a reasonable sort of fellow, especially (or perhaps despite) being a CN Fighter. But hey, at least he has a sword :smalltongue:

JenBurdoo
2015-07-26, 04:18 AM
This is really interesting! Makes me want to play. In terms of hoping for success I'd say Sootscale, but Kressle would be really interesting storywise; Usel has a strange mix of unassuming commoners and reformed-ish bad guys around her (counting herself in that last) and I want to see how the barony progresses with that feel; it seems unusual for PCs in such a story-rich game to be this brutal.

Edge
2015-07-26, 04:49 AM
Well, this is a fascinating read. Nice to see a Teramach that's more than "roar smash kill".

Regarding sidekick, I vote for Sootscale or Kesten.

SkipSandwich
2015-07-26, 10:15 AM
I love Sootscale, and am equal parts worried and curious about how he may end up influencing Usel. My vote goes to the Chief!

VoodooPaladin
2015-07-26, 02:04 PM
Sootscale! He can best aid us in headhunting for named NPCsprotecting our new barony, and in growing into a mature and terrifying dragonrespectable ruler.
Besides, if skulking around mostly-unexplored wilds and bandit compounds isn't the right time to use a rogue, when is?

commander panda
2015-07-26, 10:25 PM
sootscale. definitely sootscale.

also, i, too, want him to go mythos. he would be a perfect fit for a mythic kobold/bellator(?).

Quarian Rex
2015-07-27, 02:17 AM
Sootscale for all the reasons Ecto mentioned. It makes the most sense from a story perspective and seems the most interesting.

Also, me so happy this is continuing. Most of us play this game hoping that we can come out with some interesting stories. It's a joy to see the game produce such a good story.

Norngremlin
2015-07-28, 10:35 AM
Chief Sootscale sounds good to me.

THEChanger
2015-07-28, 09:14 PM
Sootscale. Mechanically fills the giant, woman-shaped holes left by Usel, and I would be rather interested to see how that relationship develops.

Tacitus
2015-07-29, 12:27 AM
I'd also toss out a vote for either Sootscale or Kressel.

TraceChaos
2015-08-02, 09:05 PM
Sootscale gets my vote, and I encourage you to encourage your DM to have him go mythic kobold.

Pseudo-dragon marshal get!