Milk and Tea - OOC

[Archemist]

Greetings, players!

This will be the OOC thread for the Milk and Tea campaign, a colonial/steampunk 5e game. The original Recruitment thread can be found here (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?656190-Milk-and-Tea-5E).
The IC thread is here (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?656339-Milk-and-Tea-IC).

It started with Tea and Milk. Not the drinks - the guilds. Aveiro had always been a rural state, dominated by two main exports. Tea, from farmers always eager to devote any spare land to lucrative tea plants, sometimes even land that should have been growing food instead. And dairy, via the rancheros, grazing their cows wherever possible, clearing forests one day and making the finest cheese on the continent the next. On any continent, really.

One might think Tea and Milk would go together nicely. But these groups didn't mix. Milk had been winning: From local mayoral races to the ruling Landowners' Council itself, the Milk faction had the edge.

And this would have been fine, perhaps, if Aveiro was alone. It wasn't. Still under the thumb of the kingdom of Daelesa across the sea, many in Aveiro wanted independence. Milk wasn't having it, though - they wanted Daelesa's help in starting a war against their neighbor Belo Campo, which had lots of good ranch land to the south. So Tea had naturally started making more and more pro-independence noises. And rumors were that they were getting some financial backing from Aveiro's neighbor to the north, Minas Gerais, a halfling kingdom that predated the Daelesian arrival.

Your characters find themselves in Aveiro's largest city, Amarelo, and the streets are feeling charged with nervous energy as another mayoral election approaches.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Friedrich_Hagedorn_-_Vista_do_Rio_de_Janeiro.jpg

Edited to add:
I'm going to try to sum up the various factions and their relationships, starting with the Old World:
Daelesa: the colonial power that owns Aveiro.
Otral: the colonial power Ara's from, a smaller ally of Daelesa. They own some more fringe colony area north and west of Aveiro, but mostly isolated settlements.
Vanicia: a larger colonial power neighboring the first two. It is a bit more magitech in its style and it is the original colonial power of Belo Campo.

The "New" World:
Belo Campo: a mostly independent republic to the south of Aveiro. It has some magitech and interestingly, its aristocracy is mostly elven. The elven natives there allied themselves with the colonists in their independence efforts against Vanicia.
Aveiro: where you are! Aveiro is a giant area of land in the middle of the continent and while its east coast is pretty firmly under the control of Daelesa, its other borders are... flexible. Its exports mainly head back to Daelesa but go everywhere as it is a great environment to grow the food that the Old World's big cities need, cheaply. Much of Aveiro's labor is native "servants" and poor refugees, so it is not as technologically advanced or as organized as any of the above. Aveiro has a ruling council of Landowners that has a lot of power over local affairs but hasn't ever gone against Daelesa. And since most of the settlements are a long ways away from each other, local mayors have a lot of power too, at their level, almost like regional governors or lords.
Minas Gerais: The halfling nation to Aveiro's north. They were here first, but were happy to just live off the land in their little burrows before everybody else showed up.

Aveiro's factions:
Milk: the ranchers that currently control much of the colony's power. They're loyal to Daelesa since Daelesan soldiers enforce their policies on who they can trade with and what products leave on which ships. The ranchers get priority over the farmers, often, and have less tax on their goods leaving the colony. They also tend to get first dibs on new land around settlements that has been conquered in the west.
Tea: the farmers who grow tea (among other things). The leaders of the faction are mostly plantation owners but Tea includes many villages and family farms or homesteaders, too. They tend to favor more progressive policies and want independence from Daelesa, since they don't get to keep much of their profits.

Go ahead and post your sheets/backstories again for reference and pick a color to speak in. Also feel free to discuss how your characters might have interacted, if you like.

[animorte]

Kamp favors this color.

Kamp: Character Sheet (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2788972)


Always kept to myself, ya know? Was always smaller than the rest of 'em. So I watched. I always watched and remembered what I saw. Learned a few tricks along the way. There's so much going on and we're each a little piece of it, even the ants on the ground, bees in the air, and spiders in between. Those are the most fun to watch. They don't care what's going on out there, just doing their thing.

So, I left and took some of those little guys with me. I didn't mean to, but it's like they were watching me too. Anyway, I figured out that others don't really care what's going on in those darker places, as long as you leave them alone. I fit in, but when somebody came at me, I would always have some bit of information. The more I hung around, people started to figure out I knew things. So I made some coin out of it, learned a few more things, and moved on. I started keeping track of what I watched, who I watched. I got pretty good at finding a way to make the information work for me. For the right price, me and my swarm might be able to figure a few things out.

Mostly, we just watch... and wait...

Added: Looking forward to more detail as I'm thinking Kamp is from the side with Tea, where some areas likely went hungry, but he grew up on the outskirts of civilization, gradually making his way to greater populace with more opportunity to learn and share information. Also, eventually making some friends, perhaps a few whose path he'd crossed before. Definitely open to having closer ties with somebody of similar origin and experience.

Kamp: Hero Forge (https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D40071633/)

Confirmation of accepted applicants?

[Archemist]

animorte, you may have jumped the gun slightly - but you've ended up in the right place, haha. Sorry if my table yesterday was confusing - it was meant to just be compiling the submissions I'd seen. :smallsmile:

My plan is to have IC up by tomorrow morning, for what it's worth - so we have a little time to introduce the characters here as you like.

Is everyone here familiar with Roll20.net (http://roll20.net), if I were to put encounter maps there? I can also just keep things on the forums if folks prefer.

[JNAProductions]

Forge is not a living being in the way most understand it. She is a construct, made of blended steel and other exotic alloys. Despite, or perhaps because of, her technically unliving nature, she has a spark in her-the spark of magic. She wields the might of the divine, though even more curious, she pays no heed to the realms and words of the gods, preferring instead to live in the moment and in this reality. She spends her time wandering, learning new magic, new smithing techniques, and perhaps even upgrading her own body. Forge often takes time to help those in need-from a simple Cure to an injured farmhand, to fixing horseshoes on a steed, to fighting off a pack of wolves, she stands proud in the face of adversity.

She is a huge fan of metalwork, from sculptures to scaffolding. She could go on for literal hours about smithing technique, alloying, and all manner of other minor details most people don't care about.
She doesn't like rust monsters, for obvious reasons. She also dislikes pipe organs. "The vibrations rattle my gears," she says.

If given 1,000 GP, she would likely invest them into the most promising pupils of a tinker, smith, or similar. She has, for now, reached the limit of her abilities to upgrade herself, and would like to let others learn so she can further enhance her form.Forge's Sheet (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2788554)

Forge is still working out her own mental abilities, as they came with a minor carryon. A spirit, a vestige, an apparition... Something that is not her that is in her mind. It hasn't seemed to be anything but benevolent so far-it lets her communicate silently with others, scan surface thoughts with some effort, and has even provided bits of advice via mental nudges. But she doesn't know what it is-and that concerns her.
Couple of ideas for what Forge's passenger is-feel free to use them or not!

1) A deific messenger, from a god that wants Forge on their side.
2) A remnant of whatever spark was used to make Forge-her creator, after they passed? an innocent child, forced into the confines of a metal shell? an ancestor of some kind?
3) A more nefarious spirit, masquerading as a wholesome one in an attempt to gain a foothold into the world.Forge, reporting for duty!

I've used Roll20, but often won't have proper access to it. So long as I can just say where Forge must go, though, it should be fine.

Forge will talk in indigo.

Forge might've paid for assistance from Kamp once or twice. She's not exactly subtle, whereas Kamp is much sneakier, thus providing a good complement when needed.
Bota and Forge could quite possibly have interacted with similar groups of people-healing those in need. Both being oddities, though Forge a little more obviously one, they might've felt kinship for one another.
I don't see tons of interaction here-possible small encounters, since Forge would often be amongst beggars and others in poverty, but not much reason for the two to have spoken a ton.
Perhaps she had commissioned Forge for a metalwork project? Or possibly Forge worked with some of the soldiers for a stint. Also not seeing a ton here.

Forge's Sheet (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2788554)

[Lentrax]

Aranarei Kalythross (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2788649) will speak in this color.

Aranarei Kaylthross is the youngest child in the House of Kalythross. Her status, and her minor abilities with magic made her ideal to perform her duties as an officer in Her Royal Majesties army to gain some prestige for the family. So her father, Chalcei, Duke of the House of Kalythross, purchased her commission as an Ensign at the age of 14. She was able to purchase her way up to Lieutenant and during one of the wars on the Subcontinent, she purchased her Captaincy, but before she had served long enough to purchase her Majority, she received a letter from home.

An outbreak of disease had ravaged the family, and in the chaos that came after, her family’s holdings were threatened. So she sold her commission, and on the voyage home, she began studying her arcane texts in earnest, knowing that every scrap of power would be needed to restore her House’s position in the gentry. Upon her return to Oural, she found her family in disarray. Her eldest surviving brother had taken over the title of Duke, but his health was rapidly declining. With no one else healthy enough to do so, Aranarei made the decision to make another voyage to try and increase her House’s holdings in Aveiro, hopefully to stabilize the family’s position in court.

I have a Roll20 account, but haven't done anything with it yet, so I am not familiar with it, but we'll see how it goes.

[animorte]

Ah, I see now. :smalltongue:

I have no experience with Roll20, but I've always been interested in the idea. I'll give it a look (though I mostly access here through my phone). Just going into work, so I'll be checking in periodically to interact this evening.

It should be noted that Kamp has acquired information from/for various alignment and class of folk, generally leaning toward the greater good in that everyone has a part to play, but likely has some unconventional contacts (provided working with the DM).

I definitely see the interaction with Forge and agree that they compliment each other nicely.

[Ridai]

Against all odds, rocking that gloriously mid statline, Senhor Bota Secreta (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2788648) and his spiffing hat are gonna get that mayo!

Aranarei
in the works

Daniela
So there Daniela was, going about her usual spy business, when a particularly juicy target entered the tea house, a merchant unusually secretive in his ways. He also came with bodyguards, making things a bit more difficult. But he was meeting a larger land-owner, so who knew what she might learn! At the same time, Bota was there, as locals had invited him after he did a bit of healing (mostly via handing out treats). He was not all that familiar with tea, but he heard there was milk in it! To his dismay, there was no milk. But even worse, there was so much porcelain. On all tables. Near edges. Heavy breathing ensued as Bota tried to keep it together and not test how close a cup could get to the table edge. Daniela and Bota had a brief interaction when she in her servant role tried to suggest teas to Bota, while Bota tried his best to be polite and keep both front paws flat on the table and in place. Spy business was getting rather aggravating because of how pushy the bodyguards where, but just when one of them got a bit rude at the supposed servant, Bota got startled, accidentally pushed a cup of tea off the table, burned his tail, startled even more, and bolted in seemingly all directions while meowing loudly. Daniela used the chance to snatch a document or two with no one the wiser. Bota remembers the nice lady who gave him something to cool his tail (after being reassured the tea wasn't out to get him), and some milk!

Forge
Perhaps they met accompanying a caravan, Forge to seek out a blacksmith in the town they were heading to, Bota just randomly traveling but welcoming not having to walk himself and mostly lying in the sun (though he had to make himself useful via healing, mending, and protection). So the two would chat, help people out, generally having a neat time. Once they reached the town, the people were a bit weirded out by Forge, but she seemed to at least ply a good trade with a respectable blacksmith, so she was out of everyone else's hair. Bota, meanwhile, was seen as an ill omen. So in the evening, when it was pouring outside, Forge saw a familiar cat with a hat, drenched from head to toe and looking rather miserable, since no one would allow him inside. Forge convinced the blacksmith to let Bota inside, and the grateful Bota helped cook food, aided Forge's trade with a bit of magic, and dried off close to the fires.

Kamp
Perhaps Kamp was hired to investigate alleged sightings of a beast in the forest, stealing food from the village at night. Bota was also there, handing out treats (goodberries) to the villagers to tide them over the food shortage. They chatted a bit on a chance meeting (Kamp also got asked if he needed a treat), though the cat seemed nervous. Through their respective investigations (or rather, for Bota, shenanigans), Kamp happened upon the shrouded food thief, who turned out to be a man living in the village, stashing what he stole in a small hidden hut. The beast, meanwhile... was Bota, who was seen in his giant cat form when accidentally came across the thief unknowingly while fending off wolves, but didn't get a good look at the guy. The thief pinned his deeds on the giant beast as a diversion, and was growing rather lazy in his attempts at stealth, since no one wanted to face a giant beast. Kamp easily found all the evidence, locations, and the man himself, the two apprehended him, Bota was no longer afraid of possibly getting lynched if someone connected the giant beast to the cat, and they went their merry ways.

[Lentrax]

Interactions With other PCs:

It is possible that she would have met Forge while commisioning some kind of work. But It is also just as likely that they met at some point recently and had a conversation about magic, Ara being an obvious wizard (That fancy staff giving it away) makes that likely.

Reading the backstory lends me to think he is an info broker? So Ara may have paid for a name or two of someone she wanted to meet?

She possibly met Ara in a market. Her noble nature and obvious wizard possibly marking her as a mark for some cash and maybe info?

Not sure yet.

[Archemist]

An attempt at a synthesized backstory:

Aranarei Kaylthross is the youngest child in the House of Kalythross. Her status, and her minor abilities with magic made her ideal to perform her duties as an officer in Her Royal Majesties army to gain some prestige for the family. So her father, Chalcei, Duke of the House of Kalythross, purchased her commission as an Ensign at the age of 14. She was able to purchase her way up to Lieutenant and during one of the wars on the Subcontinent, she purchased her Captaincy, but before she had served long enough to purchase her Majority, she received a letter from home.

An outbreak of disease had ravaged the family, and in the chaos that came after, her family’s holdings were threatened. So she sold her commission, and on the voyage home, she began studying her arcane texts in earnest, knowing that every scrap of power would be needed to restore her House’s position in the gentry. Upon her return to Oural, she found her family in disarray. Her eldest surviving brother had taken over the title of Duke, but his health was rapidly declining. With no one else healthy enough to do so, Aranarei made the decision to make another voyage to try and increase her House’s holdings in Aveiro, hopefully to stabilize the family’s position in court.
GM notes: The trip to your home country takes about two weeks, a week or so longer than the trip to Daelesa. Options (your choice) for your "holdings" in Aveiro: Tea plantations, a mid-sized Ranch (Milk faction), or "untamed" land granted to you by your king on the far border with Belo Campo. Your military service likely involved some conflict with native fey and the founding of an outpost on the Belo Campo border called San João, which is a possible place you could have met Forge or Kamp.


Forge is not a living being in the way most understand it. She is a construct, made of blended steel and other exotic alloys. Despite, or perhaps because of, her technically unliving nature, she has a spark in her-the spark of magic. She wields the might of the divine, though even more curious, she pays no heed to the realms and words of the gods, preferring instead to live in the moment and in this reality. She spends her time wandering, learning new magic, new smithing techniques, and perhaps even upgrading her own body. Forge often takes time to help those in need-from a simple Cure to an injured farmhand, to fixing horseshoes on a steed, to fighting off a pack of wolves, she stands proud in the face of adversity.

She is a huge fan of metalwork, from sculptures to scaffolding. She could go on for literal hours about smithing technique, alloying, and all manner of other minor details most people don't care about.
She doesn't like rust monsters, for obvious reasons. She also dislikes pipe organs. "The vibrations rattle my gears," she says.
GM notes: Do you know the purpose for which you were constructed originally? With the Wanderer background, I think you've traveled pretty widely around Aveiro's continent and may even be "from here" if you want.


Always kept to myself, ya know? Was always smaller than the rest of 'em. So I watched. I always watched and remembered what I saw. Learned a few tricks along the way. There's so much going on and we're each a little piece of it, even the ants on the ground, bees in the air, and spiders in between. Those are the most fun to watch. They don't care what's going on out there, just doing their thing.

So, I left and took some of those little guys with me. I didn't mean to, but it's like they were watching me too. Anyway, I figured out that others don't really care what's going on in those darker places, as long as you leave them alone. I fit in, but when somebody came at me, I would always have some bit of information. The more I hung around, people started to figure out I knew things. So I made some coin out of it, learned a few more things, and moved on. I started keeping track of what I watched, who I watched. I got pretty good at finding a way to make the information work for me. For the right price, me and my swarm might be able to figure a few things out.

Mostly, we just watch... and wait...

Looking forward to more detail as I'm thinking Kamp is from the side with Tea, where some areas likely went hungry, but he grew up on the outskirts of civilization, gradually making his way to greater populace with more opportunity to learn and share information. Also, eventually making some friends, perhaps a few whose path he'd crossed before. Definitely open to having closer ties with somebody of similar origin and experience.
GM notes: Kamp having seen the pros and cons of the Tea guild faction is great. You probably have indeed encountered any/all of the other PCs around the wilds or in some anti-Milk-faction work. Do you have an opinion on the natives of the continent vs. the colonists, though? Fighting alongside Ara might be just as likely as against, especially if you and/or Daniela want to have deeper connections with the wilds and native elf/centaur/fairy or halfling groups.


Having been born as the illegitimate child of a ranch owner's wife and a native fey, with her and her mother both being sent away as soon as she was born, Daniela could expect to live and die in poverty as an outcast child. For her early life, she certainly seemed to be following this trend as her and her mother were forced to beg in the street. But as she grew toward adolescence, she showed a talent for all manner of mischief and thievery. With her experience as a courier and a petty thief, she was recruited into a local gang where she honed her skills. Daniela didn't lose her heart, however, and made sure to support her mother with whatever she could spare. And when she started hearing rumblings of the tea farmers' bid for independence against the ranchers, she made sure to join up to get payback on the people who had wronged both her and her mother. She was placed as a spy, posing as an easily-ignored servant among various ranchers to gather intelligence and cause trouble. Her very reason for being in town is to meet with her contact after being sent in on a shopping trip.
GM notes: Being "half fey" definitely works. How "visible" is your fey-ness? Just the ears? We'll say you haven't been in the capital city Amarelo very long, but have made some Tea faction contacts, including a half-orc man named Rodrigo da Silva who's done some behind-the-scenes work and delegated a couple tasks to you as well.


An awakened house cat, charged by his owner "Mama Shanty" to do penance for his extreme laziness and indifference by nurturing life until he has learned his lesson. After eight years of traveling, what appreciation Bota has gained for people and doing his work is also accompanied by being perpetually grumpy because of how many times people are ungrateful for his help, or how often people try to spit on him or kick him (or worse) because they think he is fey. Worse, he has been inflicted with enough empathy that he wants to continue, and no matter where he goes he ends up where he is needed in some way. Bota has trouble following the dizzying politics of the peoples, something about tea versus milk, and milk people starting bad things. But, well, bad things are coming. Mama Shanty hasn't forgiven him yet. And someone needs to be there for the people in the crossfire. Hopefully they remember to be grateful. He has adopted the habit of haggling for some kind of reward or return favor for his healing (within reason).

GM notes: I'm thinking you may be from the Old World / Daelesa and were a ship's cat for a little while, if you like the sound of that. The "New World" is a little friendlier and you absolutely can have traveled into the wilderness and developed some shifting skills to survive among the larger jungle cats. But I like all your PC interaction suggestions and think it'd work well tie you to most of the others, especially "working" with Daniela, which makes for a fun pairing.


Other notes: I'm super surprised that none of the character submissions went for guns in this setting. Others may have them, though, especially folks from the Old World. :smallbiggrin:

I'm going to try to sum up the various factions and their relationships, starting with the Old World:
Daelesa: the colonial power that owns Aveiro.
Otral: the colonial power Ara's from, a smaller ally of Daelesa. They own some more fringe colony area north and west of Aveiro, but mostly isolated settlements.
Vanicia: a larger colonial power neighboring the first two. It is a bit more magitech in its style and it is the original colonial power of Belo Campo.

The "New" World:
Belo Campo: a mostly independent republic to the south of Aveiro. It has some magitech and interestingly, its aristocracy is mostly elven. The elven natives there allied themselves with the colonists in their independence efforts against Vanicia.
Aveiro: where you are! Aveiro is a giant area of land in the middle of the continent and while its east coast is pretty firmly under the control of Daelesa, its other borders are... flexible. Its exports mainly head back to Daelesa but go everywhere as it is a great environment to grow the food that the Old World's big cities need, cheaply. Much of Aveiro's labor is native "servants" and poor refugees, so it is not as technologically advanced or as organized as any of the above. Aveiro has a ruling council of Landowners that has a lot of power over local affairs but hasn't ever gone against Daelesa. And since most of the settlements are a long ways away from each other, local mayors have a lot of power too, at their level, almost like regional governors or lords.
Minas Gerais: The halfling nation to Aveiro's north. They were here first, but were happy to just live off the land in their little burrows before everybody else showed up.

Aveiro's factions:
Milk: the ranchers that currently control much of the colony's power. They're loyal to Daelesa since Daelesan soldiers enforce their policies on who they can trade with and what products leave on which ships. The ranchers get priority over the farmers, often, and have less tax on their goods leaving the colony. They also tend to get first dibs on new land around settlements that has been conquered in the west.
Tea: the farmers who grow tea (among other things). The leaders of the faction are mostly plantation owners but Tea includes many villages and family farms or homesteaders, too. They tend to favor more progressive policies and want independence from Daelesa, since they don't get to keep much of their profits.

Apologies for the wall of text. They are a side-effect of campaigns with some intrigue. And I haven't yet made an official map for this campaign, lol. Soon... I know my intent was to start tomorrow but I may give it another day or two for Earth Traveler to check in and to keep chatting about character stuff for a minute.

[JNAProductions]

I'm thinking...

Forge awoke in an overgrown basement. Vines creeping in from the roof above, moss covering the floor, and the faintest rays of sunlight beaming in from where a tree root cracked the flooring above. She was surrounded by discarded scraps of metal and old gizmos long since faded in potency.

There was a book on the ground near her, where it had fallen from a table with its legs rotted away. But when she went to examine it, it crumpled to dust, time having taken its toll.

She gathered what she could from the room, and left.

[Ridai]

I was thinking Bota spent most of his life in Aveiro, partially building reputation (whether that is mostly good or bad remains to be seen). But he could have started years back as a young ship's cat who was very lazy and eventually got charged by Chauntea (or a Chauntea-worshipping sea witch?).

My initial build idea was a broom-riding magical gunslinger Hexblade, but then I rolled and had to go Moon Druid. :smalltongue: (But to be fair, it would have been basically an Eldritch Blast thing instead of actually using guns, since EB just seems better)

I don't yet have a good sense of what Ara does in Aveiro and what sort of problems she might have run into, but the backstory seems to still be in progress, so I am waiting with that.

Also, how are we handling Wild Shape HP? Are the wild shapes' hit dice also maximized, or should I use the average given in the monster entries?

[animorte]

More interaction!


Kamp retains information well, but even then Forge is a difficult one to forget. He recalls a specific time in which she was in need of a repair or an upgrade. Not out of the ordinary for a construct, but she sought to use it for the benefit of others. Now that was something special, she played her part well. Naturally he had a lead on the matter and was able to delve deeper and acquire further what she needed. They went their separate ways, but he left having learned an interesting type of lesson. No excuse is good enough to ignore those in need.



Kamp is very familiar with areas of poverty and it's rarely as simple as a bad year for crops. Thievery draws more attention in places of need. He appreciated the effort of a certain catfolk, making an extended effort to fill in the gaps and help others. A collected effort on both of their parts made the ordeal a simple one, and he was glad to be reminded those playing their part even in the most dire of times.



Kamp would never have traveled as far north as Ara lives, but she's traveled a lot. He's definitely crossed the paths of soldiers through town. Perhaps she needed some business investment detail or military positioning to avoid ambush. If she's aligned with Tea, then he's likely helped her acquire intel on others. If she's aligned with Milk, then he probably has something on her.



Kamp has been near areas of poverty a bit more than in those of higher class. They probably didn't meet until after she had been established, but they could easily have been on a shared mission (knowingly or not). He could have even been her contact at some point.



If pressed by somebody worth mentioning it to, Kamp would claim the side of Tea. To a potential client he is a friend of coin, favors, and information. Of course, the more desperate folk are, the more they're willing to pay to discover the truth in many different ways (including food supply and blackmail). This could be anywhere from the darkest alley to the brightest peak.

While he prefers to spend his time in the shade, other informants have difficulty placing a bet against him. Anybody who learns of his trade expects him to be seen anywhere with just about anybody.

Kamp consistently spends time back and forth anywhere between Belo Campo and Minas Gerais. He certainly feels more at comfort in the presence of fey, as they tend to have a greater appreciation for nature and the flow of life, in which everything is its own little piece of the bigger puzzle.

He's probably helped to organize trade structure on a very small scale. While he tends to avoid politics, his ulterior motive of a greater good can be encountered when he's not at the mercy of dangerous patrons.



My plan for Kamp is a great deal of reliance on his swarm-keeping. I'm wanting to basically flavor most of his abilities as the swarm he is so closely attuned with, if that's acceptable.

Mage Hand: obvious, comes with the subclass description :smallwink:
Alarm: a perimeter of cicadas or crickets
Entangle/Web: ant hills and spider webs that corrupt the battlefield
Faerie Fire: fireflies that latch onto every surface
Mending: worker bees/ants as pseudo-nanites coming together to reconstruct the target
Thieve's tools: see where I'm going with this, haha.

[Earth Traveler]

Hey everybody! Sorry for the late response... I work nights and I've been a little preoccupied today.

--


snip

I think this is going to depend on what faction your family is aligned with. If you end up picking the ranchers, then Daniela probably knows something about you, at least, and maybe robbed her at some point. :p


snip

LOL... that was pretty good. Probably the most they've interacted so far, though.


How "visible" is your fey-ness? Just the ears?

I was thinking the ears and her having some of the angular features of fey. Enough that she might pass as human at just a brief glance, but anything more wouldn't have that mistake happens. +1 to the capital city point.


snip

Yeah, I like this idea. I'll flesh it out a little more.

Link to Daniela's character sheet (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2789447) before I forget.

Interactions with other characters:


With Ara's family owning a large amount of land and not using it to grow tea, they naturally drew some ire from the Tea guild. However, some basic investigation revealed they were trying to remain neutral on the Milk-Tea feud, and thus began a carousel of sabotage attempts, which included Daniela, in an effort to drive them into selling their land for cheap. Daniela also has a personal dislike of Ara and her family for their role in conquering and oppressing the native fey.



Probably never met. Daniela was only living on the streets for about ten or twelve years.



Outside of one comical interaction, these two have probably not interacted much, outside of maybe seeing each other slink around.



Fellow outcasts have likely at least seen each other, and Daniela has definitely met with Kamp to make use of his information-brokering services. She probably doesn't quite trust him knowing that he's only in it for the money, but she knows that he's reliable (even if she doesn't like all the creepy-crawlies he keeps around).


Almost forgot, Daniela will be using this color.

[Lentrax]

An attempt at a synthesized backstory:

Aranarei Kaylthross is the youngest child in the House of Kalythross. Her status, and her minor abilities with magic made her ideal to perform her duties as an officer in Her Royal Majesties army to gain some prestige for the family. So her father, Chalcei, Duke of the House of Kalythross, purchased her commission as an Ensign at the age of 14. She was able to purchase her way up to Lieutenant and during one of the wars on the Subcontinent, she purchased her Captaincy, but before she had served long enough to purchase her Majority, she received a letter from home.

An outbreak of disease had ravaged the family, and in the chaos that came after, her family’s holdings were threatened. So she sold her commission, and on the voyage home, she began studying her arcane texts in earnest, knowing that every scrap of power would be needed to restore her House’s position in the gentry. Upon her return to Oural, she found her family in disarray. Her eldest surviving brother had taken over the title of Duke, but his health was rapidly declining. With no one else healthy enough to do so, Aranarei made the decision to make another voyage to try and increase her House’s holdings in Aveiro, hopefully to stabilize the family’s position in court.
GM notes: The trip to your home country takes about two weeks, a week or so longer than the trip to Daelesa. Options (your choice) for your "holdings" in Aveiro: Tea plantations, a mid-sized Ranch (Milk faction), or "untamed" land granted to you by your king on the far border with Belo Campo. Your military service likely involved some conflict with native fey and the founding of an outpost on the Belo Campo border called San João, which is a possible place you could have met Forge or Kamp.

I would imagine that most Otralans would have made claims to 'untamed lands' to avoid getting themselves (overtly) involved in the political dealings of other colonial powers. I would say that the Kaylthross's holdings are small, perhaps only a couple hundred acres of jungle and mountain which everyone thought useless. Of course, such an environment is very suitable to the growing of some types of coffee, which makes the family holdings slightly more valuable, but also sets the Tea faction against them, even though the family has tried to stay out of their politics.

This sort of addition, makes it more likely that Forge would likely have been hired by the family to help with the constructing of metalworks on the grounds, probably a mill of some kind? No, wait. Repairs. her family hires out to anyone who will help them repair damage done by attempted sabotage of the family's machinery.

Because of the natural rivalry in the beverage markets, this would make her family a target for espionage and possibly sabotage from Tea faction agents, which could provide opportunities to have interacted with Daniela (gathering intelligence on the Kalythross estate?) and possibly Kamp.

And I can definitely see Daniela having nothing but contempt for Ara, since Ara was part of the military campaigns against the Fey. Which might make it more likely that she sees Ara and her family as against the Tea faction, even though Ara considers herself neutral in the whole thing. And if Daniela and Bota end up having been partners in the past, that would make it likely that Bota or Daniela gathered intelligence on her and her family and it ended up getting into Kamp's possession.

And as for Kamp, I could definitely see Ara having paid for information during her years of campaigning against the fey. He probably does keep information on her, just because of the natural rivalry between the competing hot beverages.

[Archemist]

Only fair for you folks to respond in kind - I appreciate the enthusiasm and ideas! Consider everything GM-approved that you've mentioned, about the holdings and Faerie Fire flavor and such.

Ridai, I hadn't considered Wild Shape hp... Max does seem slightly OP potentially so let's still go with the listed values. This may seem like a downgrade instead, I know, but I'm willing to reevaluate if it seems like an issue in the first couple encounters.

Since everyone's here now I will go ahead and post an IC thread tomorrow morning if that sounds good. Also, I do realize California isn't the actual center of the universe, so apologies in advance for when I say things like "tomorrow morning" when it's already tomorrow in Germany. :smalltongue:

Anyhow, last chances to tweak those character sheets and think about those allegiances. It feels like most folks are coming down on the side of Tea, which is fine by me. And in a tumultuous political landscape, who knows what might happen. :smallwink:

[JNAProductions]

Looking forward to the IC! :)

[Ridai]

Only fair for you folks to respond in kind - I appreciate the enthusiasm and ideas! Consider everything GM-approved that you've mentioned, about the holdings and Faerie Fire flavor and such.

Ridai, I hadn't considered Wild Shape hp... Max does seem slightly OP potentially so let's still go with the listed values. This may seem like a downgrade instead, I know, but I'm willing to reevaluate if it seems like an issue in the first couple encounters.

Since everyone's here now I will go ahead and post an IC thread tomorrow morning if that sounds good. Also, I do realize California isn't the actual center of the universe, so apologies in advance for when I say things like "tomorrow morning" when it's already tomorrow in Germany. :smalltongue:

Anyhow, last chances to tweak those character sheets and think about those allegiances. It feels like most folks are coming down on the side of Tea, which is fine by me. And in a tumultuous political landscape, who knows what might happen. :smallwink:
Using standard wild shape HP seems like the standard behavior. I couldn't tell you whether going with that or maxed HP is better or not. Really, I am more worried about how to use Wild Shape, since that eliminates talking, and ending it burns the use, and Bota really doesn't have any meaningful offense outside of wild shape.

I'm not sure if Bota has much allegiance to one side or another. He is more annoyed and confused at what both sides are getting into and all the politics over something simple like milk and tea.

[animorte]

Only fair for you folks to respond in kind - I appreciate the enthusiasm and ideas!
Quite excited myself! I already genuinely appreciate the layout of interaction, world included. I'll spend some time second-guessing my decisions, but I'm ready to go! :smallbiggrin:

[Archemist]

IC Thread (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?656339-Milk-and-Tea-IC) is up!

Go ahead and let me know your reactions, do a little character description if you like, but roll initiative if you do anything... spicy.

[animorte]

Ah, and just before I head into work for the evening. I'll get to it soon as I can!

[JNAProductions]

[roll0]
Init check, just so we don't have to roll it later.

If it ends up not being a fight... Then I hope this isn't a nat 20. :P

[Archemist]

You're hoping they'll stop - they're hoping you'll keep moving. Not quite to initiative just yet but I'll keep the roll for reference, sure.

[animorte]

Laughed at that entire Bota post, I did.

[Archemist]

Laughed at that entire Bota post, I did.

Yep, same! Now the hard part is trying to figure out how to respond, hehe. Is that much mayo enough of a health risk to start initiative? Hard to say.

Since everybody's had a chance to weigh in on the IC now (yay!) and is examining the scene, everyone should go ahead and roll Perception, at least.

[JNAProductions]

[roll0]

Perception!

[animorte]

My passive perception is wonderful (22). I should hope so, being Kamp's specialty.

Perception: [roll0]

[Ridai]

[roll0]

What it says on the alchemy jug tin.

[Lentrax]

Perception: [roll0]

[Archemist]

I'll try to put a little map together on Roll20 today and send out a link, see if that works out for folks. But we won't rely on that - this first little fight may not need it depending on how badly it goes for them, haha.

We'll do a group-Initiative of sorts so feel free to post IC before the enemies will act again. I don't require players to post in order of Initiative results but I may use it to resolve the order things happen in, if there's conflict with what people are trying to do.

The Command DC is 12, also, fwiw. Apologies if you spend your first turn bravely running away.

[animorte]

Hey, worse things could happen! :smallwink:

Initiative: [roll0]

Wisdom save: [roll1]

[Ridai]

[roll0]

Given the alley is 10ft wide and we are in theater of the mind combat, if Bota wild shapes into a Large form, does he block friendly movement and line of effect?

I'm planning on using a Medium form to not just block a frontal combat space, but better clear this up earlier than later.

[Archemist]

[roll0]

Given the alley is 10ft wide and we are in theater of the mind combat, if Bota wild shapes into a Large form, does he block friendly movement and line of effect?

Block movement, no - combat, maybe. Other folks who want to get into melee would either have to go first, in which case they might block you from melee instead of vice-versa. But friendly people can always squeeze by you if you want to let them through.

D O R X L You
D .. X

Let's say it's kinda like the above, where you could get to the leader (L) and one or two of the muscle (X) but maybe not the ones with daggers (D) or Rodrigo (R) and his friend (O). Does that make sense?

[Lentrax]

Wis save: [roll0]

Initiative: [roll1]

[Archemist]

I admit that in hindsight I would've been especially sad if Aranarei had spent the first round running away since the whole campaign was because Lentrax wanted to play, haha.

Edited to add: How did I not see "Rodrigo and Amigo"? It was RIGHT THERE, lol. Good stuff.

[animorte]

Just like Kamp to run away from the fight :smalltongue:

Oh, I have a GM question. Obviously, I have Magic Stone and wanted to make sure it's ok that I can throw two in one turn (at level 5 when I have extra attack).

[Lentrax]

I admit that in hindsight I would've been especially sad if Aranarei had spent the first round running away since the whole campaign was because Lentrax wanted to play, haha.

Edited to add: How did I not see "Rodrigo and Amigo"? It was RIGHT THERE, lol. Good stuff.

Ngl, it would be in keeping with every game I’ve been in lately rolling really low.

[Archemist]

Just like Kamp to run away from the fight :smalltongue:

Oh, I have a GM question. Obviously, I have Magic Stone and wanted to make sure it's ok that I can throw two in one turn (at level 5 when I have extra attack).

Short answer, yes. If they can be used for extra attacks with a sling they can be thrown as extra attacks too. Does that sound reasonable?

[animorte]

Short answer, yes. If they can be used for extra attacks with a sling they can be thrown as extra attacks too. Does that sound reasonable?
Exactly what I was thinking, thanks!

[JNAProductions]

[roll0]

Wis save.

Edit: Does leader woman have anything metallic? Jewelry, her own blade, anything?

[Earth Traveler]

Initiative: [roll0]

Perception: [roll1]

[Archemist]

[roll0]

Wis save.

Edit: Does leader woman have anything metallic? Jewelry, her own blade, anything?

Ah, the Heat-Metal-informed descriptions! I'll have to get back in that habit. She has a sword and does indeed have a chain shirt or the like under her more loose-fitting maroon blouse. (Perception! Plus also you're familiar with armor styles, I'm sure.)

When she cast her spell you did notice a silvery holy symbol she was clutching in one hand and you recognize it as a coin of Waukeen.

[Archemist]

Apologies for the double-post but I wanted to let you guys know that I made a little Roll20 game at the following link:

https://app.roll20.net/join/15314361/Cf7xwA

Let me know if that works and clarifies the situation somewhat. If you let me know who you are I'll assign your token to you so you can move it around. Click "Launch Game" to see the map.

It is relatively close quarters, sure, especially with a Large Cat in the way now. I purposefully haven't finished Bota's movement just yet - but honestly I'm thinking that rather than stop him early, he may just go bowling through everyone to get to the dagger-wielding folks at the back. Cats can jump, after all... Ridai, let me know if you'd be ok with triggering an AoO or two for the chance to just knock over the dagger folks with your pounce.

https://forgifs.com/gallery/d/294638-2/Cat-pounce-long-live-the-king.gif

[animorte]

The link worked for me. I've had an account, but never used it. It will definitely be a learning process. I joined the game and it looks good!

Also, animorte is consistently my name for everything so that's always helpful.

[Ridai]

Yes, absolutely going to draw OAs to get to the back row (who are presumably the knife people? I am unsure if there are knifers in the front to, since I'm not sure how much I can trust the token graphics). I drew a blue dot on the map for the position I want to go to.

Please note that Bota wild shaped into a Medium-sized form (see IC, and Deinonychus), not Large. The question about Large shapes in cramped spaces was more to clarify things ahead of time.

I was able to join the game and can see the map. I can't control any tokens, most likely since I don't have a character.

edit: Is it possible to have names for the tokens? It is a bit hard to tell who is who.

edit2: Since the first claw attack most likely hits, that means the second might hit due to Advantage. Should I do that roll, or do you want to do that?

[Earth Traveler]

I created a Roll20 account as Earth Traveler and I'm in. I'm not sure who's supposed to be who on the grid, though. If possible, I'd appreciate if future tokens were made using the picture I put on Daniela's sheet.

[Archemist]

I created a Roll20 account as Earth Traveler and I'm in. I'm not sure who's supposed to be who on the grid, though. If possible, I'd appreciate if future tokens were made using the picture I put on Daniela's sheet.

Good feedback, all, and I think I've fixed the nameplates and character pictures on the Roll20 at least. Let me know if permissions are still wonky.

[Lentrax]

I’m logged in, and so far I don’t have any problems. But if it changes, I will let you know.

[Ridai]

Good feedback, all, and I think I've fixed the nameplates and character pictures on the Roll20 at least. Let me know if permissions are still wonky.

I am seeing the nameplates and can affect Bota's token. All is well on my end.

I tried to add a health bar to Bota, but it encroaches on the space of the token above him, so decided against it.

edit: @JNAP: What spell did you cast?

[JNAProductions]

Heat Metal, of course! Probably should've noted that in the OOC Spoiler.

[Ridai]

Oh right. Archemist, given the description of Bota's movement, how do you see Tabaxi climb speed?

To the best of my knowledge, it only makes someone climb faster, not better. Though that may be down to DM ruling.

[Archemist]

Oh right. Archemist, given the description of Bota's movement, how do you see Tabaxi climb speed?

To the best of my knowledge, it only makes someone climb faster, not better. Though that may be down to DM ruling.

Not sure if I understand the question - Tabaxi have a climb speed of 20', right? And you're asking if using Feline Agility lets you double that? I guess I'd imagine so. I'm just not sure what you meant by "better."

Mostly the description was flavor, taking some of the original confusion about who was where, and using the rule of cool to give you an Overrun/Trip for one of the guys (at the cost of a couple unarmed AoOs) in addition to your Pounce. It got you where you wanted to go, at least, but it probably won't be a regular occurence. :smalltongue:

The shapeshift confusion helped, too, haha. I thought you were Large since I hadn't seen your edited post at first. And you're not currently in Tabaxi-mode anyhow so you were using Deinonychus strength and speed stats for the charge down the alley, not just Tabaxi claws.

[Ridai]

I guess I'd imagine so. I'm just not sure what you meant by "better."

I keep having this expectation that climb speed doesn't just make you climb faster, but you also get better at climbing (better chance to climb/climb surfaces people normally can't), kind of what happened in 3.5. But in 5E, the character doesn't seem to get anything from climb speed expect climbing the same surfaces everyone else can, but a bit faster.

Of course, the Tabaxi climb speed (30ft as of MPMM) wasn't on anyway in that one moment, so I just confused myself. "Wait... can my climb speed scale flat house walls?"

[animorte]

I believe the climbing conversation here is about the actual nature of climbing (as in advantage on checks) or not. I think it's just the speed itself, irrelevant to skill, and the encounter at hand was more of a "jump off the wall" than anything else.

And I'll have a good roll one these days, you just wait! :smalltongue:

[Earth Traveler]

Daniela's bolt flies true and staggers one of the others. He stays standing, but his adventuring days may be over now that he's taken an arrow to the knee.

lol

I also have some questions:
- Is it okay if I retroactively spend some of my starting gold to purchase studded leather armor? I had a RP reason for not having it (that the metal rattling in her pack might be suspicious) but then I just realized this doesn't exist with a Bag of Holding.
- While everyone's talking about climbing, how tall are the buildings surrounding this alley?
- Just to get it out of the way: can I apply Sneak Attack damage to Attacks of Opportunity?

[Archemist]

lol

I also have some questions:
- Is it okay if I retroactively spend some of my starting gold to purchase studded leather armor? I had a RP reason for not having it (that the metal rattling in her pack might be suspicious) but then I just realized this doesn't exist with a Bag of Holding.
- While everyone's talking about climbing, how tall are the buildings surrounding this alley?
- Just to get it out of the way: can I apply Sneak Attack damage to Attacks of Opportunity?

I'll say yes to the armor and yes to Sneak Attack on AoO - my understanding is that Sneak attack is once per turn but AoOs happen on someone else's turn usually.

The buildings here are maybe 10' tall - single-story with sloped tile roofs.

[Archemist]

I think we were just waiting on Aranarei's turn before resolving this next round, if I'm seeing right. I'll give Lentrax a poke this evening also.

[Ridai]

I'll say yes to the armor and yes to Sneak Attack on AoO - my understanding is that Sneak attack is once per turn but AoOs happen on someone else's turn usually.

Comment from the peanut gallery: my understanding of Sneak Attack and how 5E handles "per turn" aligns with this. AoOs are triggered during other characters' turns, and thus you can potentially score a Sneak Attack outside your own turn. I saw people discussing tactics to specifically make this happen as often as possible.

[Archemist]

Geez, they have gotten very lucky this round. I wish I rolled like this in your game, Lentrax, haha. Crit against Forge: [roll0] - the leader doesn't have the disadvantage since she made the Con roll this time around. (She did still take the Heat Metal damage of course).

The Telekinesis from Aranarei was successful which I think pushes the leader back by Daniela - the swordswoman will provoke an AoO moving back up to hit Forge. She's really focused on stopping the burning armor thing since she's looking half-cooked already. So Forge should also make a quick DC 10 concentration roll to see if Heat Metal is still up.

[JNAProductions]

You don't get repeated Con Saves. Since she's wearing the armor, she doesn't get saves at all.

She just takes the damage and suffers disadvantage.

[Archemist]

You don't get repeated Con Saves. Since she's wearing the armor, she doesn't get saves at all.

She just takes the damage and suffers disadvantage.

That is not my reading of the spell. Anyone taking damage from the spell has to make the save. On the failed save, they had to drop it or have disadvantage. On a successful save, they could stay holding it and not have disadvantage. If you hadn't spent the action to cause more damage this round, there would have been no 2nd save but also no chance for the continued debuff. Does that make sense?

[JNAProductions]

Choose a manufactured metal object, such as a metal weapon or a suit of heavy or medium metal armor, that you can see within range. You cause the object to glow red-hot. Any creature in physical contact with the object takes 2d8 fire damage when you cast the spell. Until the spell ends, you can use a bonus action on each of your subsequent turns to cause this damage again. If a creature is holding or wearing the object and takes the damage from it, the creature must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or drop the object if it can. If it doesn’t drop the object, it has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks until the start of your next turn.

Bolding is mine.

There is no "If it doesn't drop OR if it makes the save."

[Archemist]

the creature must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or drop the object if it can. If it doesn’t drop the object, it has disadvantage

It's a slightly confusingly-written spell to be sure but the "or" is there, just in the sentence before. Worrying about whether or not you can drop the object is something that happens on a failed save.

Damage is no-save, which is still great, and going for the armor is still key, since given the choice on a failed save of "drop or disadvantage" the creature has to take the disadvantage.

And I've heard that some groups do read this differently, so if you want you can just file this under "Archemist's Quirky Houserule #1" or whatever.

[JNAProductions]

Not how I read it, but I can accept your reading.

Concentration save for me then, right?

[Archemist]

Yep! Forge took 11 slashing total, so between half-that and 10, the DC is just 10.

As a side-note, I appreciate your understanding response even though we read it differently. I'm not one who enjoys telling a player "no" on this sort of rulesy thing, especially when the stakes are getting-crit-or-not.

And looking at the Roll20 I suppose Daniela doesn't get an AoO after all from the telekinetic push - so it is the party's turn again, and Bota has started us off strong with the power of Moon-Druid shifting, haha. Ridai, the "current mood" pictures are perfection.

Lentrax, if you wanted to reposition on your last turn while the swordswoman was pushed away, feel free to move yourself on the Roll20 without provoking.

[JNAProductions]

I had a potential player in a game I was running once who fought tooth and nail for a pretty wrong interpretation.
My initial ruling was changed, since she found some Sage Advice indicating that PART of her interpretation was correct, but she just would NOT stop trying to get the rest of it.
So, I get it. You're the DM, your rules are what it is.

Though I probably would've Dodged had I known. :P

[roll0]

[animorte]

I will post my next round in as soon as I can.
#work

[Ridai]

And looking at the Roll20 I suppose Daniela doesn't get an AoO after all from the telekinetic push - so it is the party's turn again, and Bota has started us off strong with the power of Moon-Druid shifting, haha. Ridai, the "current mood" pictures are perfection.

Not gonna lie, I'm glad we still have regular 5E Moon Druid and Wild Shape, not what One D&D is going to do to those. Poor Bota would be having a really bad time.

Speaking of mood pictures, here is a non-cat-based one for Bota not having any wild shape uses left and thus being 26 HP (meaning several stabbings) away from no offense:
https://wompampsupport.azureedge.net/fetchimage?siteId=7575&v=2&jpgQuality=100&width=700&url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.kym-cdn.com%2Fphotos%2Fimages%2Fnewsfeed%2F001%2F277%2 F805%2Fe07.jpg
Bota may or may not have thought his cunning plan through. :smalltongue:

[Archemist]

Not gonna lie, I'm glad we still have regular 5E Moon Druid and Wild Shape, not what One D&D is going to do to those.

Bota may or may not have thought his cunning plan through. :smalltongue:

Firstly, I checked in on the Roll20 and reassigned the player control so hopefully that's working again. When I changed the portraits it had reset it to no player control, so, sigh, but now it's back on.

And yeah, the new Druid may behave quite differently. That said, they're pretty OP hp at the moment, but some in-between might've been nice. I used to play a polymorph wizard in 3.5 and loved the utility of having a variety of shapes at my disposal.

If Bota does go down, it was all for the love of mayo. Worth it. :smallbiggrin:

[Earth Traveler]

Just so we're all on the same page: Muscle 1 is the one with the letter, right?

[Ridai]

And yeah, the new Druid may behave quite differently. That said, they're pretty OP hp at the moment, but some in-between might've been nice. I used to play a polymorph wizard in 3.5 and loved the utility of having a variety of shapes at my disposal.
Oh yeah, wild shape definitely needs an adjustment to make it less of an absurd HP and damage source (especially at low levels). One D&D as of right now feels like it is overcorrecting so hard that you absolutely need good HP and Wis out of the gate, and even if you have them, you end up very squishy for a melee character, absolutely need to buff up before wild shaping, and get none of the monster feature/stats utility. Something in between would be nice.

I do like that 5E Moon Druid is there as a sort of "hey, if you don't want to worry about combat, just pick this and you become a pretty okay melee fighter when you need it" option. It's kind of similar to the convenience offered by Hexblades for "You got only one good stat, here is your option if you still want to have decent basic offense and defense". (I doubt Hexblade will return in One D&D the way it is now)


If Bota does go down, it was all for the love of mayo. Worth it. :smallbiggrin:
"It is time to go."
"Was I a good cat?"
"Yes."
"Does that mean I get mayo?"
"No."
"Aww..."

[Ridai]

Oof, double post, but I am seeing that Bota needs to make a Strength save vs getting restrained, so here goes:
[roll0] Restrained!

[Earth Traveler]

The screwed up part here is that I'm more likely to be entangled by this spell than the actual enemies...

STR save vs Entangle (if necessary): [roll0]

e: I take it back, it was a great call :3

[Ridai]

e: I take it back, it was a great call :3
Muffled "pffblpffblfflbff" cat noises in the background. :smallbiggrin:


I also realized I am very dumb and didn't actually check with Archemist about a rather important thing: how do you personally rule the Life Cleric's Disciple of Life feature applying to goodberries? Does the bonus HP healed apply to only the first berry or every individual berry?

[Archemist]

You guys are doing a good job of posting! I'll sum up this round in the IC in a few hours when I'm back from work.

To answer a couple questions, Muscle 1 IS the one with the letter, correct.

For the Life cleric question, I think the general consensus is that yes, each Goodberry from you restores 4hp instead of just 1. Is it a broken interaction? Kinda, but healing is just not great in 5e so I'm willing to give you a little extra source of it. Eating a berry is still an entire action, so it's not TOO broken. Using Hit Dice out of combat is also just a pain to keep track of, and Goodberry saves me having to put Potions of Healing around for everyone, so it all comes out in the wash.

[Ridai]

Yeah, that was kind of my hope, to cover out of combat healing (and maaaybe, in some rare circumstances, someone feeding a berry to an unconscious character). Having someone with boosted goodberries ended up kind of the easiest way to extend the adventuring day if an encounter went particularly badly, at least in my limited experience.

When I DM'd, I eventually just grew tired of trying to make a potion income happen for the group or dealing with how long short rests take and potential random encounters. Eventually just went "hey guys, rest whenever, just please don't start abusing it, and please don't camp like right next to enemies. Cool? Cool.", since we just wanted to go through a few dungeons. The "six encounters per day with two short rests" thing never really happened.

[Archemist]

Strength saves for enemies! woohoo Entangle, haha.

Muscle 1: [roll0] (who is looking quite hurt)
Muscle 2: [roll1] (hasn't taken damage from the party but is looking about half)
Rodrigo: [roll2]
Amigo: [roll3]

Con save for leader lady: [roll4]

[Archemist]

And given that she's withdrawing too, Str save for her also: [roll0]

[animorte]

Haha, I was afraid of that. But at least it's still difficult terrain.

[Archemist]

And apologies, I keep forgetting that in 5e Flurry is 2 attacks in addition to a regular attack from Muscle 1: [roll0] for [roll1] on Daniela.

It's almost kind of hilarious that you've got all four of them down to single-digit hp, lol. #2 and #4 started at half from the alley-fighting before you arrived, but still. And yeah, I may have made Heat Metal seem a little less powerful but it's probably going to be what dooms the leader lady even so. :smallbiggrin:

[animorte]

Kamp drops concentration on Entangle, now that the fight is over. I'll post in IC when I've got more time.

[Archemist]

My personal favorite way to get around "Knowledge Local" not being a thing in this edition is to do the following:

Everyone can make one (1) skill check of their choice and if you can describe what you're trying to do in a plausible way and roll decently I'll give you info related to that path forward. Background features can also be invoked as applicable.

You can roll Athletics if you want, for instance, and I would let you know the strength/physiques of relative personalities you've seen, maybe a contact at a local boxing ring, maybe you just happen to perfectly match the build of the messenger woman, etc. etc.

You can also gather some more information generally if you want via Investigation or History, though IC creativity would give a bonus to that as well. :smallsmile:

[animorte]

This seems to be especially useful at our current junction:

Criminal Contact:
You have a reliable and trustworthy contact who acts as your liaison to a network of other criminals. You know how to get messages to and from your contact, even over great distances; specifically, you know the local messengers, corrupt caravan masters, and seedy sailors who can deliver messages for you.

Kamp could find somebody to deliver it for them and, in the process, make an Insight check to determine if that individual has ulterior motives (don't they always?). [roll0]

He could also trail along and read some lips from Stealth and passive Perception via Observant feat. I'll save those rolls for their relevant time.

(I'm thinking to send the exact opposite of what the message intends - "delay for ~a few~ weeks", provided somebody can forge the handwriting. Just crazy enough it might work!)


Also, I would like to note that I'll be very busy the next 3 days so I will not have time to check in as much. About to start my 9-hour drive! :smalleek:

[Ridai]

Bota isn't particularly good in anything, but also isn't that much worse in what he's bad at than what he is good at, so he is, uh, versatile in his own Bota way.

With the main concerns being forgery at the moment though, I am holding off on checks, since I don't think he has much to contribute. He might be able to help once other matters become relevant, like maybe havign an escape route or needing to investigate something.

[JNAProductions]

Insight: [roll0]

The idea is that Forge has been observing people and seeing where the attitudes lie, discerning the situation.

Edit: But there was some shiny metalwork, and it distracted her. :P

[Lentrax]

Ara will make a history check. She is considering the military aspect of the conflicts between the factions, and if she can suggest plausible alternatives to throw off the timetable.

History: [roll0]

[JNAProductions]

I nominate our cat friend to gain Inspiration.
The image of a housecat just popping on a wizard hat to think harder is too good. :)

[animorte]

I nominate our cat friend to gain Inspiration.
The image of a housecat just popping on a wizard hat to think harder is too good. :)
I agree! I've been updating a cat-loving friend with this entire Bota character concept.

[Archemist]

Sounds good, yep - inspiration for Bota for sure, haha.

It's been a 3-day weekend here in the states so I was out a bit, sorry. I'll update IC within 24 hours or so now that I'm back around. I think the plan seems to be to deliver a forgery to the mail ship with some sort of confusion/delay-inducing message. I think Rodrigo will go for this and be able to help put something reasonable-sounding together, and Kamp will likely know someone who works down at the docks as well to help.

[Ridai]

"To his great surprise, his straw wizard hat makes Bota's thoughts suddenly flow like glorious mayo."

https://i.etsystatic.com/18315680/r/il/128c77/3542395763/il_fullxfull.3542395763_kl1k.jpg
Thanks for the surprise Inspiration! This is probably the first time I've actually seen anyone even remember that the Inspiration mechanic exists.

No worries, Archemist, and yup, that appears to be the plan. Depending on how the delivery goes, Bota might use his knowledge check opportunity he hasn't used yet to learn something on the fly.

[Archemist]

JNAProductions, yep, you've rolled well on Insight and seen I'm trying not to split up the party just yet. I wanted to provide a little bit of IC motivation just in case that was where you were going with it, although it's not like Rodrigo is flush with cash. :smallbiggrin:

There's always a little bit of this hand-wave for parties doing subterfuge - in a TTRPG, you're always going to be the most distinctive individuals on the continent - and you've got a talking CAT with you, for mayo's sake. But if you want Forge to be slightly apart, tagging along behind the group, that'd be fine. If the party wants to work with that, I can definitely as well.

[JNAProductions]

JNAProductions, yep, you've rolled well on Insight and seen I'm trying not to split up the party just yet. I wanted to provide a little bit of IC motivation just in case that was where you were going with it, although it's not like Rodrigo is flush with cash. :smallbiggrin:

There's always a little bit of this hand-wave for parties doing subterfuge - in a TTRPG, you're always going to be the most distinctive individuals on the continent - and you've got a talking CAT with you, for mayo's sake. But if you want Forge to be slightly apart, tagging along behind the group, that'd be fine. If the party wants to work with that, I can definitely as well.

Nah, I'll edit my last post and have Forge relent.

Gimme a moment...

[Archemist]

And yes, Bota's cat-napping instincts are also spot-on - you can spend HD and take a short rest before heading down to the docks.

[Ridai]

And yes, Bota's cat-napping instincts are also spot-on - you can spend HD and take a short rest before heading down to the docks.

To illustrate. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RU4Sz7kxxc)

[Archemist]

Another excellent cat-post. :smalltongue:

Animorte, yep, your Insight is that Grimfa wouldn't have any reason to be deceiving you. He's never shown faction loyalty one way or another - he works at the dock and ships are coming and going with cargo from everybody, to everybody.

[Archemist]

Oof, the dreaded coffee intra-party conflict. Every GM's worst fear.

Do you guys want a little more time to play this out in the IC? I'm enjoying it, for sure, but if you're getting bored, we can wander along to the schooner and the continued thickening of plot. :smallbiggrin:

Or Lentrax, were you hoping to actually wander off to do something?

[JNAProductions]

I'm sticking out of it. I will be silent guard!

[Lentrax]

On the one hand, I want to skip it because I don’t want it to tear everything apart and slow it down

But the other part of me wants to see how it goes.

[Ridai]

Currently not in a headspace to deal with party drama, and I have trouble imagining Ara or Daniela listening to the well-meaning idiot that is Bota (who also doesn't know much about either), so I'll sit this one out.

[animorte]

I figured Bota and Forge would have better luck than Kamp. He doesn't mind being the peace keeper, but is more business oriented. :smalltongue:

[Earth Traveler]

On the one hand, I want to skip it because I don’t want it to tear everything apart and slow it down

I agree with this

[Lentrax]

I agree with this

There was a second half to that.

And I don’t think Daniela would have backed down on what she said. So unless anyone actually wants to stop her, Ara would probably have left.

[Earth Traveler]

Well, if sticking with good roleplaying means destroying the game, I'll just drop out since I'm not really feeling it anyway.

Have fun with the rest of the game

[animorte]

Aww, but I like both of them, each certainly valuable in their own respects.

[Archemist]

Well, if sticking with good roleplaying means destroying the game, I'll just drop out since I'm not really feeling it anyway.

Have fun with the rest of the game

:smalleek:

Personally I was enjoying Daniela but I'm sorry that escalated quickly. I'll move things along in IC - we can do this with just 4, of course, and I understand if you're not feeling it.

In real-life Brazil, it was the Coffee faction that was very contentious and held power for many decades, so this actually kinda tracks. But ah well. :smallsigh:

[Ridai]

Not gonna lie, motivation is kind of dumpstered at the moment. Game has barely started and things already escalated like this.

Not sure what Daniela will now do in-universe since that character is now out, and I'm not sure about Bota breaking "cover" by talking when he's already viewed as a possible liability.

[Lentrax]

Yeah. I didn't realize that it was going to go like that.

And for what it is worth, I am sorry to have brought the game to a dead halt.

[Archemist]

Not gonna lie, motivation is kind of dumpstered at the moment. Game has barely started and things already escalated like this.

Not sure what Daniela will now do in-universe since that character is now out, and I'm not sure about Bota breaking "cover" by talking when he's already viewed as a possible liability.

Same, sorry, between that and GITP forgetting to send me email notifications this week I've been taking a moment to figure out what to do next.

A quick poll on how to proceed?


Party of 4 presses on as normal
Abandon this game since it's still early days
Change direction to something more of the PCs can agree on


I'm willing to make this one a little more of a dungeon-crawl if that'd be more everyone's speed (less time for coffee, more hitting things, get to explore the jungle earlier than I'd intended).

I'm also willing to call it if it's left a sour taste of old milk (or mayo?) for folks. We'll go again another day.

[Ridai]

I'd say the game can continue if the rest is willing to, but we should probably take the current scene from the top in that case because things are really, really awkward right now.

I've no issue with what we are currently trying to do plot-wise (deliver the fake message and such without Milk people being the wiser), I'm not running on the assumption that scenes like this are just filler until we get to dungeons or the like (implying the latter to be the "real game").

[JNAProductions]

I'll echo that. I'd like to see this game succeed.

[animorte]

Hear! Hear!

[Lentrax]

I am fine carrying on since everyone else wants to.

Not sure how we would want to handle what happened.

[Archemist]

That is good to hear from folks. I will think about what makes sense to post in the IC today - I think I will just move us along to the ship with a minimum of retcon.

[JNAProductions]

[roll0] Perception check!

Edit: I'm sad now. :P

[Ridai]

This is indeed a [roll0]

[Lentrax]

Perception: [roll0]

And don’t forget, Kamp has advantage on wisdom checks for an hour. Unless something wrecked Ara’s concentration.

[animorte]

I will remember, yes! Thank you :smallsmile:

[Lentrax]

Let's see.

Insight checks.

For the Captain: [roll0]

For the Halflings: [roll1]

[Archemist]

Well there we go, critted insight, hehe.

Captain Moray seems worried that this little halfling band is after his cargo, and nothing to do with Ara or the party. He would rather leave than try to fight, even though the approaching craft are smaller even than his own - it's that if the Swift were boarded, his crew would be outnumbered pretty easily.

The incoming group isn't halflings. It's citizens pretending to be a halfling raiding party. Ara's first thought is that they're Milk partisans coming to get revenge on the party - but on closer inspection it looks like Daniela is in one of the canoes and urging them to row faster. So it's more likely to be a Tea-aligned group coming after the "cheese" that's aboard. It seems they've decided this might be their chance to strike a blow against Milk's trade with the old country AND disrupt whatever schemes they'd had.

[Ridai]

Wow, Ara with the Sherlock Scan! :smallcool:

[Lentrax]

Its the wizard way.

[Ridai]

Also, I found the theme of the current literal cat fight (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEb_U1n7b4Y).

[JNAProductions]

Also, I found the theme of the current literal cat fight (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEb_U1n7b4Y).

Nice. Nice indeed. :P

[Archemist]

As an fyi I am traveling until the 4th and will update afterwards as to what happens with the Tea raiding party - I’m open to suggestions as to where the party goes from here though. I may set up some more traditional encounters instead of the political stuff from here on out.

[Ridai]

I'm good with whatever. I'll try and have Bota contribute more in the way of ideas and/or direction if needed. Still trying to get a feel for how to best roleplaying "dumbassing forward effectively".

Hope you're having a good trip!

[animorte]

Still trying to get a feel for how to best roleplaying "dumbassing forward effectively".
This is/has been amusing. Keep up the good work!

Kamp would pick up basic provisions, nothing special. Ready to meet some Fey!