Carrion Crown (on the Farm)

[DarkOne-Rob]

1. What game system are you running (D&D, Call of Cthulu, Palladium, GURPS, etc.), and if applicable what edition (Original, Classic, Revised, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 10th, etc.)?

Pathfinder D&D – the Carrion Crown Adventure Path, with some detours by me.

2. What 'type' or variant of game will it be (i.e. "Shadow Chasers" or "Agents of Psi" for d20 Modern)? What is the setting for the game (eg. historic period, published or homebrewed campaign setting, alternate reality, modern world, etc.)?

Fairly bog standard Pathfinder – the stuff on the Pathfinder SRD that has been released by Paizo is all fair game. At this point I am not interested in any third-party material, homebrew, or gestalt characters - sorry.

3. How many Players are you looking for? Will you be taking alternates, and if so, how many?

At least one more, possibly up to three more to bring the party total up to six.

4. What's the gaming medium (OOTS, chat, e-mail etc.)?

Play-by-post, right here on the GiTP forums. We will also have a Discord channel for OOC communication.

5. What is the characters' starting status (i.e. experience level)?

1st level. We will be using milestone leveling rather than keeping track of XP.

6. How much gold or other starting funds will the characters begin with?

Maximum starting wealth for your class.

7. Are there any particular character classes, professions, orders, etc. that you want... or do not want? What are your rules on 'prestige' and/or homebrewed classes?

Any class released by Pathfinder is fine, although any type of arcane caster, ranged, or beefy tank would probably be most welcome by the current party of barbarian/rogue, oracle/paladin, and skill-monkey (bard/investigator/inquisitor/vigilante, the player is still working on their exact build).

8. What races, subraces, species, etc. are allowed for your game? Will you allow homebrewed races or species? 'Prestige' races or species?

Any of the standard core races are fine. Any race that is worth 12 RP or less is fine, although again, no homebrewed races please. Willing to consider races that are above 12 RP on a case-by-case basis.

9. By what method should Players generate their attributes/ability scores and Hit Points?

20 point buy, Maximum HP at first level. HP thereafter will be determined by either taking the average, rounded up (i.e. 4.5 becomes 5), or by rolling for it but you MUST accept the results of the die roll (even if it comes up a 1).

10. Does your game use alignment? What are your restrictions, if so?

No Evil.

11. Do you allow multi-classing, or have any particular rules in regards to it?

Standard Pathfinder multiclassing.

12. Will you be doing all of the die rolling during the course of the game? Will die rolls be altered, or left to the honor system? If players can make die rolls, which ones do they make, how should they make the rolls, and how should they report them?

Rolls will either be using the forum die roller, or on Discord.

13. Are there any homebrewed or optional/variant rules that your Players should know about? If so, list and explain them, or provide relevant links to learn about these new rules.

Mostly bog standard Pathfinder, with a modified Hero Points system from the Carrion Crown Player’s Guide bolted on. The basic jist is that each player will get three Harrow cards for each “book” of the adventure path, and may spend 1 card as desired to get a bonus (dependent on the suit and/or alignment of the card), or 1 card to avoid otherwise fatal damage.

14. Is a character background required? If so, how big? Are you looking for anything in particular (i.e. the backgrounds all ending up with the characters in the same city)?

A character background of modest size is requested, including how your character met Professor Petros Lorrimore (please choose one regular trait and one trait from the list of adventure path traits from the Carrion Crown player’s guide).

15. Does your game involve a lot of hack & slash, puzzle solving, roleplaying, or a combination of the above?

I expect there to be a mix of all of the above. There are a number of mysteries the PCs will be confronted with that will require investigation, research, and interrogating/interviewing people in order to unravel. Carrion Crown is also a horror adventure path, and so while punching the monster in the face until it goes away is a valid tactic, running away or finding a clever way to circumvent problems is likely to be a wiser course of action.

16. Are your Players restricted to particular rulebooks and supplements, or will you be allowing access to non-standard material? What sources can Players use for their characters?

Again, no homebrew, psionics, playtest, or homebrew material. Anything else that’s on the Pathfinder SRD should be fair game though.

Further Answers from Below:

1) Disadvantages - You may take two disadvantages to gain two additional background Traits. One of your 2-4 Traits must, of course, be one of the Carrion Crown AP traits to explain how you know Professor Lorrimor.

2) Background Skills - Sure, let's use Background Skills as well.

@SanguinePenguin, FarmerBink, and me. We need to confirm the remaining players and get PCs ironed out!

@Inspectre How about disadvantages for more traits? What about background skills?

[DarkOne-Rob]

Kristoph Harrisson is a work in progress, but largely done (as I've built him several times before. I need answers to the questions above (Drawbacks? Background skills?) and to buy gear.

Also, we will need healing support at low levels, but not much more past level 3. Until then Kristoph will be a sword-and-board frontline Paladin. Once he gets a level of Oracle things get interesting mechanically as he is able to help keep others alive on the frontline too.

[Inspectre]

I will update the Big 16 to reflect this, but in answer to the questions.

1) Disadvantages - You may take two disadvantages to gain two additional background Traits. One of your 2-4 Traits must, of course, be one of the Carrion Crown AP traits to explain how you know Professor Lorrimor.

2) Background Skills - Sure, let's use Background Skills as well.


Link to the IC thread

[Farmerbink]

I'll be honest, I don't even have a WIP sheet for Elian yet (unless I have one saved somewhere.....?).

BUT assuming a marathon mindset, I'm still invested. It won't always be my son's second birthday weekend while my mom visits and my wife works more than 48 hours straight o_O.

Mechanically, the plan is skills and (arcane?) support. I strongly suspect I'll settle on mesmerist or inquisitor, since dealing with undead is going to be *A THING*. If mesmerist, I'll be the spirit walker, if inquisitor, dealing with undead will be fairly direct, and probably blunt-force.

[Sarone]

I will start working on a character as soon as possible.

[DarkOne-Rob]

The party looks to be as follows so far (in no particular order):

1. "Tamara" - Halfling Rogue/Barbarian (skills and frontline)
2. "Kristoph" - Half-Elf Oradin (frontline with sword-and-board, healing anchor at level 3+, will take the Blind curse at level 3 with some significant RP attached). Doesn't know it, but is half-brother to Elian. They have no prior relationship.
3. "Elian" - Dhampir Bard (Dirge Singer) that will multi-class to Kin-Slayer/Heretic Inquisitor as he discovers faith through Kristoph. Does know he is Kristoph's half-brother.
4. Either a Mystic Theurge or a Battle Oracle (possibly also with the Blind Curse? Seems rather similar to the Oradin, but could be built to be very different)

I think we need a dedicated Arcane specialist or a solid archer/alchemist for ranged damage. I could see some overlap there pretty easily. Shall I advertise in the Looking-For-Players forum for something like that specifically, or are we still shifting on the four PCs listed above?

What will your PC be named, Sarone? I can start a chart for reference if we like...

Note - though we've spent alot of time on it, neither FarmerBink nor I want to derail the story with special snowflake business. Our intent is for the sidestory topics between our PCs to add to the story, not distract. I'm confident we would be happy to intermingle back stories with the other PCs if desired, though the AP doesn't really require that.

[SanguinePenguin]

I too will start making a character sheet, as Tamara's server did not survive the past decade. Her name is Tamara Whittlecrop Brockhouse.

Spoiler: Background (TL;DR)

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- Born into slavery in Cheliax.
- Parents fled to Augustana in Andoran to find a better life for her and brother, Kaaden
- Father becomes a shiphand and mother becomes a seamstress
- Leaves for Kerse with her brother, who grows obsessed with Kalistrade
- Tamara gets bored of this and leaves
- Takes job as a mercenary, wields a big sword
- Group attacked by gibbering mouther, Tamara retreats (reluctantly)
- Lorrimor hears about the incident and tracks her down
- Tamara happily talks about the event and the mouther
- She thought the bizarre creature fascinating, and talked to the professor for hours about other things like it
- The two maintain a reasonably close correspondence, Lorrimor even hires her twice

Spoiler: Background

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Tarama Whittlecrop Brockhouse was born into Cheliaxian slavery in the city of Westcrown. When she was just an infant, her parents fled with her and her older brother, Kaaden, to Augustana in the free country of Andoran. There, her parents made a better life for her. Her mother worked as a seamstress. Her father became a shiphand and was regularly away. When he was home, he would tell great stories of adventures and treasure to his children. Even as a baby, she smiled through everything.

Tamara adored her older brother and followed him everywhere. Perhaps in an attempt to rebel against her mother, traditionally boyish activities fit her like a glove. She mostly hung out with her brother and two of his his young friends from school. Together, they had myriad adventures that ended in missing shoes and scraped knees.

Though her parents followed Abadar, Tamara was drawn to Desna like a moth to flame. Her brother, on the other hand, grew obsessed with the religion of the merchants of the north. He became a follower of the Kalistrade and moved to Druma. Tamara left with him, because she loved her brother dearly. However, once he began so entrenched in the cult that he wouldn't even make contact with his little sister, a disenchantment began to well in her rather quickly. She still loved her brother, but she was incapable of worshipping the value of property like he did. Perhaps while her focus in her father's stories were always in the adventures, his were always rooted in the treasures. With an "impure" kiss on the cheek, she thanked him for everything and left with a smile.

She was unemployed with few talents marketable to the civilized world. Craving adventure, she bought the biggest sword she could swing without falling over and looked for mercenary jobs. She landed one rather quickly (mostly because she was cute and friendly), and joined up with a troop. She found rousting bandits to be tremendous fun. She even took an arrow to the side with a smile (well, with a wince, and then a smile). Unbeknownst to her, her fellow mercenaries were shocked that she was such a terror on the field of battle - grinning ear-to-ear as she cut through her foes. She just loved every second of it.

Tamara's next job went less well by traditional standards of success, but she liked it even more. She descended into a dungeon with a small group of mercenaries. Things were fine until they encountered a horror beyond imagination. A disgusting, writhing, screaming blob of swollen eyes, toothed mouths and grotesque tongues. It spread madness with its screams. It spit acid at them. It melted the earth around it. One of the mercenaries was eaten. Even though its acid burned the back of her hand, Tamara thought it to be the neatest thing she had ever seen. Even the confusion it caused was fun! The group fled, much to Tamara's sadness. She would have liked to see more. The purple burn scar it left behind is her favorite injury to date.

An academic, Petros Lorrimor, heard about the incident and tried to speak with those who encountered the creature. Tamara was the fourth person he spoke to about the event, however, unlike the previous three, she was eager to recount (and even enthusiastically reenacted) the event. She pressed the Professor for more stories about these fascinating creatures - these aberrations. Lorrimor found her enthusiasm for the subject and generally positive outlook invigorating. She found a cheap place to rent a few towns away from the professor and maintained a close correspondence until his death. She would visit him whenever she could, because he always had the best stories. He even hired her for two brief jobs in the one year they had known each other.

Spoiler: Personality

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Tamara's mood mostly traverses varying degrees of happiness. She must be a bit mad, because she genuinely loves ever aspect of being an adventurer. Only boredom and innocents in danger upset her. She enjoys revisiting adventures through stories (completely oblivious that others may find the memories less pleasant). When a new horror seems terrifying to others, she is excited to see if they can best it. Even combat and injuries are faced with a smile. Her enthusiasm is generally met with confusion by others, but her overwhelmingly positive attitude eventually works its way under the skin of everyone around her. In combat, she often enters into a battle frenzy - unlike most battle frenzies though, her uncanny strength originates simply from how excited she is to be in the battle. She often reacts with pride toward well-placed swing or even a new injury on her. She is brazen to a fault, eager to protect others, and strongly motivated to stop evil. As she is basically devoid of fear in her life, she reacts strangely when subjected to supernatural fear. Outside of combat, she is very relaxed, quick to laugh and even quicker to come up with more ways to have fun. She is always informal, often to the point of seeming very rude to others, especially those in positions of power.

Spoiler: Appearance

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Tamara has a grin on her face nearly all the time. Conveniently, it is a warm, inviting smile - complemented perfectly by her warm, inviting brown eyes. Her face (even in the rare moments she is not smiling) is lovely - sharp jaw, round chin, lush lips, soft cheeks, dark eyebrows and a small nose. Both her armor and her clothing do absolutely nothing to accentuate her physique - with a helmet she would be indistinguishable from a man. Only through her maintenance of her dirty blonde hair does any self-consciousness about her appearance show. She regularly cleans, occasionally cuts and often even styles it. She never appears to be uncomfortable in social situations, at most, she will seem anxious to do something. She has a large purple chemical burn scar on the back of her right hand, she thinks it is great and proudly displays it and retells the story to any who ask.

[DarkOne-Rob]

Kristoph is done and ready for review (except for purchasing gear - I hope to get that done tonight).

---

With our party full to seven (!) we have the following so far:

1. "Tamara" - Halfling Rogue/Barbarian (skills and frontline)
2. "Kristoph" - Half-Elf Oradin (frontline with sword-and-board, healing anchor at level 3+, will take the "Blind" curse at level 3 with some significant RP attached). Doesn't know it, but is half-brother to Elian. They have no prior relationship.
3. "Elian" - Dhampir Bard (Dirge Singer) that will multi-class to Kin-Slayer/Heretic Inquisitor as he discovers faith through Kristoph. Does know he is Kristoph's half-brother.
4. "Lo'sais" - Mystic Theurge focused on "augmenting" damage and flexible support. PC will start as an Ecclesitheurge Cleric.
5. "Danior" - Grenadier Alchemist. Ranged artillery and alchemical support.
6. "Sorin Albu" - Military Psychic Arcanist, "God Wizard" style support.
7. "Necrolad (Name Unknown)" - White/Grey Necromancer. Arcane support with Undead-management.

We need everyone to work on their PCs and try to get them ready for review so we can start playing!

[Gyrfalcon]

Necrolad now has a name Aaron Eldaval.

The sheet is more or less complete - I still have some gold kicking around. I might go ahead and use some of it to scribe a scroll beforehand. He doesn't have a lot of strength, so his carry capacity is low.

Spoiler: Backstory

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Aaron Eldaval's birth was considered a miracle by his parents - if not for the aid of a priest of Pharasma, he and his mother alike would have died during the difficult birthing. When his parents thanked the old man, he looked upon the child with unreadable eyes and simply said that the Mother of Souls had decreed that the child had another fate. In gratitude, his parents pledged him to the temple's service to repay the debt they owed.

Growing up, the child was studious and obedient, soaking up his lessons like a sponge. He showed a keen intellect and the priests considered him a model student. But it was this intellect that led him astray. Growing up in Ustalav, it was inevitable that lessons on its history would linger on the horrors that the Whispering Tyrant heaped on the land. Aaron couldn't understand how the great Lady of Graves could tolerate the undead tyrant and allow his existence. To the faithful minds of his teachers, his questions smacked of heresy, and he was often punished for his questions instead of answered.

It was during these long periods of confinement that an idea took root in Aaron - that Pharasma's clergy and the other forces that fought the Whispering Tyrant had struggled and failed not because of his might, but because of their lack of knowledge. The Tyrant lived because none knew the secret of finding his phylactery, and while they might know how best to bash a skeleton to the ground, greater knowledge might give secrets of defeating the undead beyond brute strength.

Aaron was wise enough to keep these thoughts to himself as he entered the University of Lepidstadt, but that didn't stop him from continuing his forbidden line of study, drifting from religious texts to hints of darker knowledge, and then carefully raiding the forbidden sections for banned texts on the dark arts.

It was one late night that he was discovered, and his fate changed forever. He had found a necromantic text that laid out a method for animating corpses, and had successfully put it to use raising two rats which he then pitted against each other as he watched the flow of magic animating their bodies. He was discovered by Professor Petros Lorrimor, who angrily confronted the young man, assuming he was a worshipper of Urgotha.

The accusation enraged Aaron, as nothing could be further from the truth, and he showed the professor his notes as he rambled about his studies and findings. To Professor Lorrimor's surprise, the youth had managed to assemble a crude version of the [Positive Pulse] spell without outside influence and was charting the effects of positive energy on undead creatures at different levels of intensity and distance.

The Professor disposed of the rats and took Aaron under his wing. Already unhappy with his religious schooling, he had also felt Pharasma's displeasure more and more keenly - that night had been the last straw, as he lost any further divine connection with his deity. Petros helped arrange a scholarship in distant Absalom for the lad, learning the wizardly arts.

The two kept in touch through correspondence, often writing in cipher of Common and Draconic as the study of necromancy was obviously a forbidden topic in Ustalav. While there, Aaron established a minor name writing fiction based on the dark myths of his home country. The income from his work was enough to support him and even earn a little gold on the side.

When news reached him that Professor Lorrimor had passed, he was already half-way back to Ravengro, having completed his studies and hoping to surprise his old professor.

[Farmerbink]

When I've gotten/taken the time to recreate Elian's backstory, I'll put it here. In the meantime, here's the sheet.

[OnceUponAnAxe]

Danior the Burned

Spoiler: Background

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“I was born near Arwyll Stead. It’s an old mining town near the Belzken Holds. My folks raised me to be a miner, at least they started to. Would have probably played out that way too, but Da had an accident. After that Ma didn’t want me anywhere near them ‘stinking rot pits’. So I stayed away from them and helped Ma in her shop.

See she had been the one what supplied the miners with poppers to clear up some of the tunnels or burn out spiders and other things. She also ran a brisk trade in poultices, tonics and salves. She was real good with dwarf powders, sylvan oils, and gnomish tinctures. Her shop made a fair living for us. I learned the basics pretty quick. I had a knack for it, really I had a knack for lots of things. Was never great at much, just good, but I knew my way around the shop.

It all went mostly the same for several years. I grew up looking over her shoulder obsessed with her little book of scratches and numbers. She was like some grand arch wizard, and I was just the fella in the tavern making jink off of card tricks and disappearing scarves.

In my mid teens Baron Rasktilikov’s boys came looking to rustle up some new sword arms, tried to press gang me and all my friends into ‘his lordships service’. I didn’t take much convincing, they promised adventure and a bag full of jingling coin. I marched off and never looked back. I made it half way cross the whole of the Ustalav before they discharged me, I was a whole sergeant when I left Old Rask’s service.

See Ma’s lessons with mortar and pestle came in handy in the army. They had me making big poppers and poultices the whole time. Gave me an entire squad of goons to teach my trade to. Did some work in pacifying the bandits and monster tribes on the borders.

It was during this time that I met the professor. During all that marchin’ and fighting’ this fella come sniffin round. Yeah he come through the Baron’s camp, finagled himself an escort on some work. The Baron wanted a ghost ousted from a local guard tower. So me and my boys took Old Spooks, the professor.

So anyway me and the boys took Spooks to the tower and assisted best we could. I lost three men and gained a patron...maybe a friend.”

He chuckled and grinned, it wasn’t a pleasant sight.

“Since The Professor has a talent for ghost busting and witch stompin’, the Baron would reach out to Ol’ Spooks whenever he needed a ghost laid low, or a witch wrangled up. Without fail, Spooks would ask for me and my squad of misfits to be his bodyguards. He paid good, and wasn’t bad company.

Our last ride out with the Professor is what got me my beauty mark here. We were chasing rumors of some sorta elf ghost up in the deep woods. The ghost was some sorta forlorn lover or something, anyway...that’s not important. What’s important is, she weren’t no ghost, and she weren’t alone. We got chased into Cloudwalker Span, the old ruins of some old aqueduct or something, by a gaggle of dead but live things. The horde had us pinned in place and we were running outa food...so, me and the boys did what we did best. We placed some charges, tossed some fire and blew the aqueduct. We were trying to to push through this horde of rot.

After a glorious explosion and roaring charge it was just me and Spooks. We had killed the dead things, but Ild been hurt grevious.”

He gestures to the raw weeping scar on his face.

“I don’t remember how it happened, but I was near death and slumped over Spooks horse. He got me back to camp, and that was the last I’ve seen of him, that was near a year and half ago.

So I was surprised, and honestly…deeply agreived to get a letter for this funeral. But here I am, figure we can put spooks in the ground and share a tale or three about the old nutter.”

Spoiler: Personality

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A bitter fellow, who once had an idealistic outlook on life. His life has led him to become much more pragmatic. However, old habits and tendencies are hard to shake and he still readily gets in the way of danger if it's required to protect those he cares about. He’s also got a soft spot for kids, often passing on a small firework or two to likely rascals when passing through towns. He’s to make friends, and slow to forget his friendships. He always finds the bright side of any disaster, even when it seems nothing could be gained from it. His youth in the mines taught him to value hard work and self reliance. His time in service to Rask re-affirmed those values and took away his youthful innocence. His recovery from from the brink of death has left him a bit jaded him to the plight of others, especially those who wallow in bad situations. He believes that any man can accomplish nearly anything if he simply believes enough in himself. Failure stings particularly harshly for Danior. His belief that he will always succeed as long as he keeps trying can leave him confused and frustrated when he can not accomplish his goals.

Danior’s greatest fear is that he will live, love, and die without ever having done anything truly of note or left a real mark on the world. He views his accomplishments to date as mere footnotes on the grand tale of his destiny. He’s not sure where he’s going…or what he’ll find when he gets there, but he knows it will certainly be one helluva ride.

Spoiler: Appearance

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He is taller than most men and far more muscular most humans. He has square shoulders and a thick neck. His hair is long and black worn loose. The wind often whips it into a tangled knotty mess. He might have been handsome once, now he’s a nightmare for most. Half his face is horribly scarred, a weeping mess of knotted burnt tissue. His nose is bent and knobby from the dozen or so breakings in his past. He pulls his hair away from the scar, displaying it like a badge of valor. His eyes are jovial but slightly world weary. He keeps his face clean shaven, paying close attention to the warped skin in his scars. He is always dressed in the vestiges of his old military uniform, a heavy suit of brigandine and leather. He dresses in blues and yellows, his pantaloons a remnant of his old uniform as well. He carries himself with a profound sense of pride, and has the look of a man capable of and comfortable with violence.

[Triskavanski]

btw

https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1921026

Just to make sure the sheet is in the thread and not just int he discord.

[DarkOne-Rob]

Knowledge (Religion) check, vs DC 15: (1d20+5)[10]

[Farmerbink]

In the interest of being 100% clear, here's Elian's sheet

know religion: (1d20+8)[19]

[SanguinePenguin]

Diplomacy: (1d20+7)[25]

[Gyrfalcon]

Since Inspectre said we can take ten on the initial checks:

Diplomacy (Take 10) - 10 + 4 vs DC 10
Knowledge (History) (Take 10) - 10 + 8 vs DC 15
Knowledge (Religion) (Take 10) - 10 + 10 vs DC 15

[Sarone]

Rolls for

Knowledge History (1d20+2)[6]
Knowledge Religion (1d20+6)[11]

I meant to take 10 with the Knowledge: Religion. That would be a 16.

[Inspectre]

For my future reference, Lo'sias character sheet

[Farmerbink]

Elian's perception: (1d20+8)[13]

If Kristoph's call gives any bonus, I'd like Elian to prioritize the big one, but *shrugs*

[Triskavanski]

(1d20+2)[20] init

[Sarone]

Initiative Roll (1d20+3)[12]
Perception Roll (1d20+6)[21]

My wife's birthday is today and I will be sporadic with meaningful access today.

Move action: Grab the crossbow and draw his holy symbol.
Standard Action: Cast Shield of Faith (AC +2, AC 13 Now)

[DarkOne-Rob]

Attack of Opportunity in Round 1: Falcata (1d20+3)[15] to hit, (1d20+3)[11] (19-20/x3, if applicable), (1d8+2)[6] slashing damage, (2d8+4)[9] critical strike damage, if applicable (miss)

[SanguinePenguin]

Tamara AoO Attack vs S19: (1d20+5)[15] Damage: (1d10+3)[9]
CC (23+): (1d20+5)[24] Damage: (1d10+3)[4]

[Gyrfalcon]

Spellcraft - (1d20+8)[10]
Perception - (1d20+1)[5]

[Farmerbink]

Not quite a guarantee:
(1d20+8)[20]

[Gyrfalcon]

Spellcraft - (1d20+8)[24]
Sense Motive - (1d20+4)[14]

[DarkOne-Rob]

Sense Motive: (1d20+3)[19]

[Farmerbink]

Spellcraft -
Sense motive (1d20+2)[4]

[Farmerbink]

Better than last time?
(1d20+2)[20] sense motive

[Gyrfalcon]

Sense Motive #2 - somehow it got messed up on my sheet and had an ability modifier of +4 instead of +0, so corrected that.

Aaron isn't great at sensing motives naturally anymore.

Sense Motive - (1d20+0)[8]