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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: Usually in-game time in Kingmaker flows *much* quicker than out-of-game time, buuut...
23 Calistril
Surrounding Farms; G5
Viridian Outskirts.
Snow was falling. Again.
It did nothing to slow the band of adventurer-barons. They followed the signs left by Sootscale's agent to the edge of Viridian, then beyond it into open country. Though the humans could only just see by the half-light of the grey dusk, they made no light to give away their approach, trusting in Sootscale's guidance.
The trail led to a lone barn not ten minutes outside of town. Together the Greenbelt Party met Sootscale's agent—Adela herself—behind one of the ubiquitous stone kames that dotted the hills.
"The target entered that barn about half an hour ago. At least three other women have followed, and I don't know how many more before I got here. Nobody has come out since."
Kyrie fixed her eyes on the door to the barn. No sense wasting time. She glanced back to the others, their weapons were drawn and ready for a fight.
Without further ado the four descended on the barn, snow crunching under the heels of their boots. She paused only for a moment to throw open the barn door.
Inside the barn was dark and empty.
She stepped into the barn. Miguel threw up some spell-lights to get a better look. A skiff of snow tracked in the door, but the hardpacked dirt didn't reveal any trace of the Gyronnan cultists.
The party swept through the barn, wary of any surprises. At the far end of the barn, Kyrie spotted something. She met Miguel's eyes. He saw it too. The ring of a trap door, concealed by dirt and straw, set into the floor.
Giles 42/42 - 16 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 55/55 -
Miguel 41/41 - 18 arrows
Zeran 42/42 - 28 bullets
(You now have a moment to prepare any buffs or abilities you want to activate before you go storming into the cellar. Technically, you can have cast anything you want to back at the rock, but I found an arbitrary cut-point here so I took it so I don't end up staying up to 4am posting again.)
Posted on 2018-02-07 at 03:18:15.
Edited on 2018-02-07 at 03:18:49 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: When stuck, introduce a character with a gun.
23 Calistril
Viridian City; G5
Capital of Volga.
Jhod Kavken burst into the fort's front hall. He gasped for breath, face was red with cold and exertion. There was panic in his eyes.
"Tanya's gone," he said.
It took a moment to get full sentences out of the middle-aged man, but the party learned that he had left Tanya with her midwife, Niska, to fetch something for her fever, and when he got back the both of them were missing.
Hardly a moment later, silent as a shadow, Sootscale stepped in the door Jhod had left open. "I hope this isn't a bad time, my lords. The mark was last seen headed toward the edge of town. My agent is moving as we speak. I advise you get ready quickly."
Jhod stared at Sootscale, horrified. He turned to the party. "It—no. It can't be a coincidence. You—you don't think, My wife?"
Giles 42/42 - 16 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 55/55 -
Miguel 41/41 - 18 arrows
Zeran 42/42 - 28 bullets
Clay 46/46 -
Cat: Uninjured, Less Grumpy
(Since it's been more than a year since I last posted, I thought it would only be fitting to have a small in-game timeskip to keep things moving. If you want to flesh out how exactly you guys came about tracking down a suspected cultist, by all means we can nail it down a bit, but I wanted to re-open with a bang.)
(It is evening, just before dusk. The sky is mostly grey and a light snow is falling.)
BONUS: For a mash of notes from Giles' questioning scene and some new material cooked up on the spot for the other team, see below:
21 Calistril
Viridian City; G5
Capital of Volga.
(Giles + Miguel)
Giles sat across from the girl. "My dear even if you have done something wrong as far as it goes its nothing illegal as of yet, so you have little to worry about. Tell me what you know of these rumors of this cult floating around."
"Cult? I don't understand, what does this have to do with a cult? If I haven't done anything wrong, why are you here?" It didn't take an inquisitor to see the girl was not hiding anything. She earnestly had no idea what was going on.
"Well, aside from the fact that I basically live here, Liz... erm, the Madam has said you got into a fight with one of her boys the other night, is this so? What was all that about?"
Estela eyes widened. "I didn't mean to hit him!" she blurted. "Well, I guess I kind of did. I was just so angry with him. That smug asshole is always talking about how much money he charges for each trick, then he turns around and steals one of my clients! It's not fair!" There was a flash of genuine pique, but she sunk back into her bed in defeat.
"Moll always says people like that are going to get what's coming to them in the end. When I saw him the other day, I just couldn't take it anymore. I wanted to wipe that stupid smile off his face."
Here was something, perhaps. "And who might Moll be, then?"
She shrugged. "Moll's just—somebody I know. Kind of took me under her wing. She used to be one of Mistress Lape's long ago, I heard. What's any of this got to do with her?" Giles saw something click in her head. "Oh, no, sure Moll talk bit about getting back at people for all they've done to her, but it's just talk. That's just how she is. She's actually kind of nice once you get to know her."
"Never fear, my dear. It is simply a baron's duty to understand his people and their drives. You can rest assured that you are not in trouble, though do try to avoid such, overt retribution in the future."
Giles put his hat back on and stepped out of the room. Miguel's eyes shot up, relieved. He rose from one of the common room cushions to meet Giles, awkwardly extracting himself from the idle affections of a few of the brothel's unoccupied staff. "So, did you find anything?"
"Only one way to find out."
(Kyrie+Zeran+Clay)
"You can lie to your husband and you can lie to your priest, but you can't lie to your laundress," said the laundress from Clay's list.
It had taken a bit of patience, but once they firmly established that they weren't here about a noise complaint from her neighbours or to ask for money, she grew more talkative. While she was highly opinionated on virtually all matters, not much of it was of any use to the investigation until she began to rant on moral hypocrisy (as she called it).
"Only thing I can't stand," she said, adding another thing to the list, "is when people go around looking down at people around them, but they ain't better than anyone else, like that Coleson woman up the street. Takes her two seconds to make anything about her and how patiently she suffers while her husband is away. But I told, you, you can't lie to your laundress, and that woman's cloak always comes back with fresh dirt on it, smelling like a barn. Who does she think she's kidding with her pious homebody act, anyway?"
Posted on 2018-01-01 at 04:19:00.
Edited on 2018-01-01 at 04:23:28 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Carrion Crown Adventure Path - Free Form
Subject: The Skipping Song
3 Pharast, 4711 AR. The Unfurling Scroll - Ravengro.
Kendra, Carlyle, Lavender, and Meryl decided to head out for the day, to take a break from the gloomy atmosphere of the Lorrimor Place. As they passed from shop to shop they attracted their share of poorly veiled curious eyes, though perhaps less outright gawking than they had the first day.
Though the townsfolk showed obvious interest in the watching strangers to their town, they seemed to keep a marked distance from them unless spoken to, and preferred to interact with Kendra whenever possible. Even still, the adventurers couldn't help but notice a subtle awkwardness between many of the townsfolk and Kendra, too.
Kendra had a few books from her father's library that she wanted to donate to the schoolhouse, so just after lunch they traveled up the north road to near the edge of town. An unremarkable building backed by farm fields like any other in town, the Unfurling Scroll was marked by a small flock of children out enjoying their lunch break.
"I shan't be long," Kendra said. "You two are free to wait out here and soak up some of this lovely sun." She disappeared inside the schoolhouse-cum-magic shop.
As they waited, the three noticed a group of five young girls, dressed in shawls and dresses, playing a skipping rope game. The girls, who all looked to be sisters, rotated from skipping to passing the ropes with expert timing so as to keep the game going without missing a beat, all the while singing what sounded like a Varisian nursery rhyme.
Carlyle hadn't been paying close attention to the lyrics of the rhyme until a fragment from one of the lines jumped out at him—
"—With a hammer, killed his wife.
Now he wants to claim your life."
His mind immediately conjured up the horrifying image he saw floating over him at the wash basin last night—a bedraggled looking dwarf with dark eyes, carrying a smith's hammer in his hand.
Now more intently he listened to the other verses from the start.
"Put her body on the bed.
Take a knife and lop her head."
The next girl jumped into the ropes and sang the next verse.
"See the blood come out the pipe.
Feeds the stirge up, nice and ripe."
Switch.
"Drops of red, sparkly an' bright.
Splatters spell her name just right.
Switch.
"With a hammer killed his wife.
Now he wants to claim your life."
Finally, the youngest jumped in to sing the last verse in the song.
"Tricksy father tells a lie.
Listen close or you will die!"
What the hell kind of nursery rhymes did these people teach their children in this town?
Posted on 2017-09-13 at 16:11:42.
Edited on 2017-09-13 at 16:12:18 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Carrion Crown Adventure Path - Free Form
Subject: This NPC came to me suddenly last night while deciding who would come to the house.
2 Pharast, 4711 AR. Lorrimor Place - Ravengro.
Kendra's brow furrowed. "Now what would cause the ghost of a dwarf to haunt my house? I confess I don't know very much about restless spirits, but I'm pretty sure that they usually only linger in places that were significant to them in life or in death."
Miss Lorrimor chewed her fingernail in thought. "We should try not to let ourselves get carried away, though I'll admit, it does seem rather alarming in light of recent events. Perhaps tomorrow I shall ask one of the acolytes from the temple to have a look. For tonight, though, as long as there are no further apparitions, I shall get ready for bed."
3 Pharast, 4711 AR. Temple of Pharasma - Ravengro.
The next morning the four crossed the river over to the Temple of Pharasma. The grand stone structure was easily the most elaborate building in Ravengro, with arched gothic windows and characteristic sombre steeple. Aside from the main doors, the eastern façade featured an intricate stained-glass mural depicting the goddess herself, stern faced, presiding over the judgement of a soul too detailed not to be some prominent, poorly liked historical figure.
Without much difficulty, they tracked down one of the dozen acolytes responsible for the day-to-day of the temple's operations—a young woman no older than Kendra or Carlyle. Kendra explain their problem in brief.
"And your friend is sure he saw something supernatural in the water closet?" She cast a skeptical eyebrow in Carlyle's direction.
With a sigh, the acolyte agreed to come over. "Better have a look, then, just to be sure."
The woman started in the washing room. She quickly looked over both rooms, then knelt down beside the basin for a long while, holding her spiral holy symbol and muttering a prayer for clarity and insight. When she finished, she got to her feet. Raising her hand to her face, she intoned, "Gray Lady, reveal to me those who cling to this world and flee your judgement."
The acolyte's eyes shone with pale silver blue light as she turned slowly in place, carefully scanning the room with her spell. After a full rotation, she stepped out into the hall and completed a short circuit of the house. Within two minutes she returned to Kendra, the glow in her eyes dimming.
"It appears that whatever your friend saw, there are no restless spirits in your house at this time."
Kendra thanked her and let her return to the temple.
She turned to the others. "Perhaps the gloomy atmosphere in this old house is merely playing tricks on our brains after all. How about we head into town for a bit today?"
Posted on 2017-08-08 at 04:36:53.
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Topic: Carrion Crown Adventure Path - Free Form
Subject: Something Strange going on in Ravengro
2 Pharast, 4711 AR. Harrowstone Memorial - Ravengro.
Carlyle asked the assembled gawkers if anyone from the town had gone missing.
They turned to him, looking at him as if momentarily confused that he was directly addressing them. "Missing?" Carlyle heard one turn to another. "Oh dear, you don't think,?" "Surely we'd have heard,?" "I haven't heard anything."
The small crowd gossiped among each other. They cast regular glances in Carlyle's direction, but none ventured forth an answer to his question, until one woman in her forties took up the initiative.
"We're a small town. If anybody's gone missing overnight, likely we'll hear about before noonbell, ‘less it's somebody as lives alone. Could be animal blood, though. Plenty of livestock around on the farms, and wild ones besides."
Carlyle sighed in relief. Didn't seem like there was going to be any more suspicious deaths to solve. "Good, good. Just want to make sure the last thing you fine folk need is someone being hurt."
The woman remained reserved, but inclined her head. "‘Preciate it."
2 Pharast, 4711 AR. Lorrimor Place - Ravengro.
The group returned to the Lorrimor place. Caleb followed aimlessly, staring out of the corner of his eye at corner of his eye at Lavender, only to be unwittingly invited inside by Kendra. Kendra put on a fresh pot of tea while the other settled into their corners of the study, setting up equipment and picking out books as they saw fit.
Something unusual was happening in Ravengro. The lot didn't know what, but they knew to be prepared. Lavender and Carlyle set up their alchemy labs and soon set about brewing and distilling concoctions. Meanwhile Meryl enlisted Kendra's help picking out a stack of books that might have information on the shadowy Whispering Way cult that Lorrimor mentioned in his journal.
Caleb watched Lavender and Carlyle work for a while, then took to a chair with a book, helping Meryl flip pages occasionally.
By lunchtime Kendra and Meryl had made scant progress. All they had found so far was that the Whispering Way was a sinister organization of necromancers that had been active in the Inner Sea region for thousands of years, making the cult much older than any of them realized.
With Kendra's confidence that something in her father's library must have more information about this cult, given the focus of his study, they returned to their reading while Caleb went out to chop some wood. If it was truly as old as it was, there was virtually no way Lorrimor didn't have something about it.
After several more hours, Kendra and Meryl had unearthed another interesting tidbit about the ancient cult to share. Though their practices remained an elusive mystery only hinted at in most of Lorrimor's books, Agents of the Whispering Way were known to seek alliances with powerful undead creatures, and many were themselves undead. In fact, the most notorious of the cult's members was the mighty lich, Tar-Baphon, also known as the Whispering Tyrant, who had thousands of years ago conquered Ustalav and made a bid to take over the world. Despite his infamy, the society of necromancers predated him millennia even still.
(Personally I always found the idea that a cult of necromancers were often members of the undead a bit of a given, though admittedly I'm sure there is a pointed distinction between them and necromancers who prefer to remain among the living even as they wield the undead as puppets. Remember, in my setting, necromancy is not inherently evil, just most of the uses for it are.)
(Bonus, the lich tyrant reigned for a few centuries between 3200's and 3800's. That around a thousand years ago from the current date. The living part of his life was actually thousands of years before that, and the Whispering Way is still older than that.)
Posted on 2017-07-28 at 03:03:12.
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Topic: Carrion Crown Adventure Path - Free Form
Subject: Monumental Desecrations
2 Pharast, 4711 AR. Lorrimor Place - Ravengro.
Carlyle met the sheriff's gaze innocently. "Well, after dinner I spent most of the night in that room over there, working on my schematics."
Meryl worked her way between legs to Kendra's side. "As you yourself observed the previous sun, my lady and I stopped by Jominda's place, where we had mind to offer what help we might as fellow apothecaries. Shortly after, we went to the general store to pick up some supplies. Mrs. Avanaki was very taken by my lady's cuteness, as she could not stop staring."
Sheriff Caeller glanced at Lavender, who buried her face under her hat again.
"When evening rolled around, we joined Kendra and Carlyle at this lovely tavern on the river, just before coming back here to rest. Despite being older than she looks, my lady does still require rest much like that of one of her apparent age."
Kendra confirmed for both of them. "What's going on?" she asked.
Benjan's mouth twisted to one side, visibly weighing the group's alibis and deciding how much to let on. "There has been an incident at the old Harrowstone Memorial. It was vandalized sometime late last night or early this morning. I am currently in the process of crossing out the list of potential suspects."
"The memorial? Oh dear, that's not far from here."
"My concerns exactly," said Benjan. He tipped his hat to Kendra. "My apologies for disturbing you, Miss Lorrimor. Your father was a good man." He nodded to Meryl and Carlyle without further comment, then turned down the street.
The moment the sheriff was mostly out of earshot, Meryl muttered, "So quick to assign blame." She turned to Lavender. "My lady, I believe you should not speak with that one. I've seen his kind before."
Lavender signed a response.
"Perhaps it is too early to say, but given what he said to you the previous sun, I doubt he will see with unshrouded eyes."
Carlyle grabbed Bethany and slung the crossbow over his shoulder. The crew headed out to view the monument for themselves.
Instead of going north into town, Kendra turned along the south road, leading them down to the riverside. On a barren hill south of town, clearly visible by the light of day, loomed a bleak-looking fortress. Even from afar the structure carried an atmosphere of bleakness and disuse.
Soon they came upon the monument. A moss-covered stone statue some 25' tall looked west over the river, bearing the likeness of a proud, muscular man wielding a truncheon. At his feet on the blocky stone base was carved a list of names.
Today, however, the moss was joined by a brownish-red spray of blood, and the carven stone plaque was painted over with a large, bloody brown-red ‘V'. A small crowd stood around the monument, gawking and speculating.
A familiar lanky boy broke off from the crowd and ambled up to the party. "G'mornin' Miss Lorrimor. Mister Carlyle. Miss Lavender. Miss Fox." Caleb stuck his thumb over his shoulder. "Come to see the memorial?"
(Note that the V doesn't cover the entire base—it sits on the left as if somebody had started writing something but stopped after just one letter. You may investigate the scene of the crime as suits you, and/or ask other questions about what you can see or hear around the area.)
(Also note that it is not necessary to respond to Caleb in any significant way. This is my way of saying he has rejoined the party for now. Feel free to rp with him and/or each other, though.)
Posted on 2017-07-19 at 15:31:01.
Edited on 2017-07-19 at 15:32:42 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Carrion Crown Adventure Path - Free Form
Subject: Let the plot begin, at last.
1 Pharast, 4711 AR. The Laughing Demon - Ravengro.
BGM: Town Theme
Zokar Elkarid gladly welcomed Kendra and her guests as they peeled off their coats at The Laughing Demon. His earlier sombreness had vanished completely since that morning. The jovial barkeep ushered them to a table, pulling out a chair for Meryl.
"Normally I don't allow any manner of pets at the table, but seeing as how you lot protected my son and I from those thugs, I reckon I can make an exception," he said. "Now, can I get you lovely ladies anything to drink? I recommend the liquid moonlight—it'll put a little fur on your chest, guaranteed."
The crew soon discovered that Zokar's sense of humour extended to the main fare as well—such house specials as vampire steaks, corpse chowder, and wolfballs. Kendra ordered the corpse chowder and a mug of moonlight while Zokar urged Carlyle to try the spider eggs, harvested just that morning.
By the time they left the tavern, night had fallen hours ago. Kendra led the way home with a magically conjured light.
2 Pharast, 4711 AR. Lorrimor Place - Ravengro.
The next morning Kendra's eyelids were marked with black ash. Though her eyes showed she had been crying, she maintained her composure while she made tea and sausages for herself and Carlyle.
Just as breakfast was coming to a close, their meal was interrupted by a rapid,
knock, knock, knock, knock
at the door. Both Carlyle and Kendra stood up to get it immediately, but Kendra was first out of the dining room.
Kendra opened the front door to reveal Sheriff Benjan Caeller standing on the patio.
"G'morning, ma'am." He tipped his hat to Kendra. "I hate to disturb you so early, but I'm going to have to ask you if you are able to verify the whereabouts of your guests last night." He glanced over her shoulder on the word 'guests' as they trailed out of the dining room after her.
(Kendra will of course speak to confirm, but I figure I ought to let the accused have their first chance to proclaim their innocence.)
Posted on 2017-07-15 at 18:10:21.
Edited on 2017-07-15 at 18:11:50 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Carrion Crown Adventure Path - Free Form
Subject: Ravengro by Day.
1 Pharast, 4711 AR. Town Square - Ravengro.
BGM: Town Theme
Kendra returned the small strongbox to storage for the time being and gave the key to Carlyle.
Both the apothecary and the smithy lay among the businesses that surrounded the circular plaza that served as town square, so the mourners left together.
By the light of day, the plaza hummed with quiet activity. The strangers attracted more than one second glance, though most had the decency to pretend not to be looking. A young girl went wide-eyed when she saw Lavender, then as soon as she passed, loudly asked her mother, "Mom, why is that girl purple?"
"Hush, I told you it's rude to point. She's a gnome," her mother said with the confidence of somebody who has never seen a gnome in her life.
Kendra stopped in the shadow of the gazebo at the centre of the plaza. "The Laughing Demon is just down that street to the riverside. We'll meet there for supper in about an hour."
The three split up, Kendra going to the general store.
1 Pharast, 4711 AR. Jominda's Apothecary - Ravengro.
A small garden lay next to Jominda's Apothecary, at the moment populated only by the wintering remains of last year's crop.
Lavender reached for the door handle, only for the door to swing open before her. A tall man with a wide-brim hat stepped out of the store. He bumped into Lavender, nearly tripping over her in the process.
"Oh, pardon me, miss, I didn't—" The man stopped when his eyes fell on Lavender. There was a flicker of recognition. "You must be Lorrimor's witch friend, then." He glanced down to Meryl when he said the word ‘witch'. "My name is Benjan Caeller. As sheriff of this fine town I ask that you avoid getting into any further disturbances for the duration of your stay."
Meryl seated herself primly, clearing her throat under her breath. "No one can avoid time, and time needs no invitation to bring events with it. You may be assured that we do not hold an open invitation, but such is little comfort - what happens will happen."
The sheriff's head jerked back in surprise. He looked back to Lavender, frowning. "I'm not sure I like your fox's tone of voice, miss. Ravengro is a peaceful town and it's my job to make sure outsiders don't go bringing trouble with them."
Benjan stepped out from the apothecary entrance way. "So long as you—the both of you—remember that, I'm sure we'll get along just fine."
Lavender winced, then clapped, before signing in Meryl's direction, who added, "My lady did want to clarify that the witch you've heard of is her mother, though she is happy to inherit the title. She does not seek to cause trouble.
"As for what I said, none of us can know what lies tomorrow. For instance, I couldn't have said there would be a fight at the cemetery—in which, I also note, neither of us were aggressors..." Meryl nudged Lavender past the man toward the door.
Benjan bit his tongue. "Fair enough. Let's keep it that way, shall we?" He tipped his hat to the witch and her familiar. "G'day, miss."
The two watched him head off down the street. Meryl turned to Lavender. "Seeking blame for the future in the present is not going to serve him well," she muttered. "Eyes on one side will not see the other."
The doll and fox stepped into the apothecary. An array of sights, sounds, and smells greeted them, some familiar, some not so much. The floor was strewn loosely with fragrant meadowsweet, and bundles of herbs hung from wooden beams. Vials, flasks, and earthenware containers lined the shelves, holding every sort of concoction or decoction imaginable.
On the counter sat a large scale with several weights, as well as a mortar and pestle. Aside from these was a small flask of a clear, bright green liquid, next to an open herbal manual with a diagram of a fennel plant on the page.
Jominda appeared around the corner, carrying a glass of the green liquid. "The apothecary is closed toda—oh, it's you from the funeral. Lavender, was it? What brings you to my little shop?"
1 Pharast, 4711 AR. Ravengro Forge - Ravengro.
The metallic ring of hammer on iron reached Carlyle even before he opened the door. Inside the smithy, a broad-shouldered dwarf woman well into her second century presided over a low anvil. In one hand, she held a glowing nugget of iron with a pair of tongs and pounding on it with the hammer in her other hand.
At Carlyle's entrance, the smith took the nugget from the anvil and dunked it into a barrel of water with a fierce hissssss. She set down her tools, then turned to Carlyle looking him up (and up) and down. Without comment, she wiped her brow.
"Aye?" she said. "What do you want?"
(Carlyle recognises that the smith is probably over 150 years old, or the equivalent of being in her forties for a human.)
Posted on 2017-05-19 at 03:25:04.
Edited on 2017-05-19 at 03:25:39 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Carrion Crown Adventure Path - Free Form
Subject: Long post full of fancy lists, then you're free to go.
1 Pharast, 4711 AR. Lorrimor Place - Ravengro.
"I do wonder if any of those tomes might be of related material to the questions he had for her on one of those occasions that he visited," Meryl mused to Lavender.
Kendra picked up the key off the table. "I suppose there is only one way to find out," she added. She paused, staring at the key in thought.
Lavender tilted her head, looking to Kendra and starting to sign , "that she actually use a bed."
"Of course, she—er," Kendra turned to Lavender "—you are welcome to borrow all the beakers and vials you need. I'm sure we have a spare alchemy lab around here somewhere I could dust off for you."
Kendra excused herself for a moment to fetch her father's chest mentioned in the will. She returned a moment later, carrying a small oak and iron affair. She set it down on the table, then took a step back. She pulled the key out from a pocket, but hesitated.
"Would you do the honours?" she asked, holding the key out to her guests, now technically charged with the contents of the chest.
Carlyle took the key from Kendra gladly, then popped the chest open. Inside were several old tomes, topped with a much newer looking book. A scrap of paper on top of the journal read ‘Read me first!' in red ink.
Carlyle obliged and flipped open the leather-bound journal, taking a seat so the much shorter girls could peek over his shoulders. The earliest entries dated back over a decade, and concerned themselves with the day-to-day activities of the retired professor. As they flipped through, they found one entry circled in red:
Ten Years Ago: "The Whispering Way is more than just another cabal of necromancers, I see that now. They seek undeath as a fountain of youth—they practically treat it as a form of apotheosis. Uncovering their motivations does not place me at ease as I thought it might."
Quickly flipping through the journal, they found several more entries similarly circled:
Two Months Ago: "My research into the undeath cult calling themselves the Whispering Way has not been in vain. My suspicions are now confirmed. As I feared, the Way is interested in something here in Ravengro. It seems trouble has followed me even in retirement. What could they want with such a tiny hamlet as this?"
One Month Ago: "Whatever the Way is after, I am now convinced their goal is in Harrowstone. In hindsight, I suppose that was obvious, given the stories they tell in town about those ruins. It may be time to investigate the prison for myself. I'd rather not ask in town about it, though—enough folk here already think I'm some sort of demonologist or witch or whatever without me drawing attention to myself by chasing ghost stories."
18 Days Ago: "I see now how poorly prepared I was when I set out to investigate the ruins of the prison. I am lucky I did not venture deeper into the prison or I fear I may not have escaped alive. The restless spirits of Harrowstone (I cannot name them, as I did not think it prudent to take the time to identify their nature) surprised me and prevented me from transcribing the strange symbols etched along prison's foundation.
"I will have to be more prepared for my next visit—thankfully the necessary tools to defend against restless spirits can be found here in Ravengro. I know that the Church of Pharasma once stored them in a false crypt in the Restlands at the intersection between Everdeep and Black Path. I'm not certain, but I doubt the current clergy even know what their predecessors have hidden down there. If my luck holds, I may be able to slip in and borrow a few items unnoticed."
17 Days Ago: "Tomorrow evening I shall return to the prison. It is imperative that the Way does not finish what they have started. I don't know for certain what the purpose of their ritual is, but if my theories are correct the entire town could be at risk. Yet, I cannot inform the townsfolk of the danger, or I suspect they would merely ban access to Harrowstone, which I doubt would be effective at hindering my enemies in the least.
"If I fail and the worst should come to pass, this journal will have to carry my last words in this life. If there are any who would seek to follow me, I cannot stress enough the importance of knowing the nature of your enemy, for knowledge of the darkness provides the surest path to victory over its plans. This advice I have always given, yet there is no more time for me to follow it. I must go, and I pray all this will have been so much needless fretting. Nevertheless, Kendra, if you are reading this, I am so sorry I had to leave you like this. Know that you are strong as your mother."
"Oh," Kendra was dumbfounded. "Oh dear, ex-excuse me." She stepped out of the room suddenly, leaving Carlyle and Lavender with the remaining tomes. There were four in total.
- The first tome was bound in jet-black leather, with a faded title in silvery script, On Verified Madness. It was dense with text, featuring sparse sketches of tentacles, constellations, and other horrible aberrations. It appeared to be a treatise on alien monsters and their potential ties to the Dark Tapesty—the name for the dark gulfs between stars. A note tucked inside the cover read; " Return to the care of Montagnie Crowl, professor of Antiquities, University of Lepidstadt."
- The pages of the next tome were heavily yellowed, and the sickly brown cover sported a small depiction of a fly with a stylized skull for a body. It was a copy of Serving Your Hunger, the sacred text of Urgathoa, hedonistic goddess of and undeath. The margins were heavily marked with Lorrimor's handwriting, commenting on the contents. A note inside the cover read; "Return to the care of Montagnie Crowl, professor of Antiquities, University of Lepidstadt."
- The next was am unremarkable, thin tome, marked as a translation of The Umbral Leaves, sacred text of Zon-Kuthon, the twisted god of pain. Fortunately the translator chose to use standard paper, rather than the traditional flayed human skin. A note inside the cover read; "Return to the care of Montagnie Crowl, professor of Antiquities, University of Lepidstadt."
- The final tome was bound in rich purple, with a brass scarab set with a single eye. The covers were rimmed with polished steel and clasped with a small, but intricate lock. The key was nowhere to be found, but a note tucked into the clasp read; "Return to the care of Judge Embreth Daramid—with discretion," complete with home address.
(Barring other activity, Kendra returns several moments later. She comments that she has a few errands to run about town, but she suggests that the three (four) of you go out to Zokar's for dinner and celebrate her father's memory.)
(It is at this point that you more or less have the run of the town for the rest of the day. It is later in the afternoon, but time yet remains to visit locations around town. Kendra/I can provide a list of and directions to various shops. Upcoming Town Theme: Carnivale OST--while made for more of a dirty-thirties dust bowl town, I found this soundtrack fit the insular feel of Ravengro best among those listed. Any time we are in and around town, assume one of these songs is playing in the background)
Posted on 2017-02-03 at 03:59:01.
Edited on 2017-02-06 at 13:14:10 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Carrion Crown Adventure Path - Free Form
Subject: The Last Will and Testament of Professor Petros Lorrimor
1 Pharast, 4711 AR. Lorrimor Place - Ravengro.
Kendra went to the door, then paused a moment to take a breath and gather her spirits. Her expression tightened back up just a bit, the knowledge of the occasion creeping back in and reasserting itself. Finally, she opened the door.
Councilman Vashian Hearthmount stood on her doorstep, precisely punctual. Kendra held the door open for him to step in. "Councilman, do come in. We were just having tea and getting acquainted."
The councilman regarded the two with hardly a side-eyed glance, looking as though he had just tasted something rather bitter. "Quite. Now that we are all here, shall we get down to business?"
"Oh, yes, of course."
Kendra led the way to a cozy study lined with books. Vashian took his seat at the head of the table and produced a scroll case with an unbroken wax seal. He broke the seal and opened the case, only to be interrupted by an iron key dropping out of the case onto the table, clattering noisily. The councilman, undaunted by the disturbance, unfurled the scroll and began to read.
"Harrum, hem herm, harre-hem, hem," he began.
"I, Petros Lorrimor, being of sound mind, do hereby commit to this parchment my last will and testament. Let it be known that, with the exception of the specific details below, I leave my home and personal belongings entire to my daughter Kendra. Use them or sell them as you see fit, my child.
"Yet beyond the bequeathing of my personal effects, this document must serve other needs. I have arranged for the reading of this document to be delayed until all principals can be in attendance, for I have more than mere inheritance to apportion. I have two final favors to ask.
"To my old friends, I hate to impose upon you all, but there are few others who are capable of appreciating the true significance of what it is I have to ask. As some of you know, I have devoted many of my studies to all manner of evil, that I might know the enemy and inform those better positioned to stand against it. For knowledge of one's enemy is the surest path to victory over its plans.
"And so, over the course of my lifetime, I have seen fit to acquire a significant collection of valuable but dangerous tomes, any one of which in the wrong circumstances could have led to an awkward legal situation. While the majority of these tomes remain safe under lock and key at the Lepidstadt University, I fear that a few I have borrowed remain in a trunk in my Ravengro home. While invaluable for my work in life, in death, I would prefer not to burden my daughter with the darker side of my profession, or worse still, the danger of possessing these tomes herself. As such, I am entrusting my chest of tomes to you, posthumously. I ask that you please deliver the collection to my colleagues at the University of Lepidstadt, who will put them to good use for the betterment of the cause.
"Yet before you leave for Lepidstadt, there is the matter of another favor—please delay your journey one month and spend that period of time here in Ravengro to ensure that my daughter is safe and sound. She has no one to count on now that I am gone, and if you would aid her in setting things in order for whatever she desires over the course of this month, you would have my eternal gratitude. From my savings, I have also willed to each of you a sum of one hundred platinum coins. For safekeeping, I have left these funds with Embreth Daramid, one of my most trusted friends in Lepidstadt—she has been instructed to issue this payment upon the safe delivery of the borrowed tomes no sooner than one month after the date of the reading of this will.
"I, Petros Lorrimor, hereby sign this will in Ravengro on this first day of Calistril, in the year 4711 AR."
Once he had finished, Councilman Hearthmount looked to Kendra, who thanked him for his service and dismissed him.
She turned to Carlyle and Lavender. "Well, that is rather a lot to absorb. Thank-you again for coming. I myself am going to need at least a few weeks to decide what exactly I am going do with all this. In the meantime, I would be happy to offer you room and board here for the month—free of charge."
(Soon I will turn you loose to spend the rest of the afternoon and evening as you desire, but first, Kendra is going to go fetch the chest where the late professor has stashed his books.)
(P.S. as you might have heard when you were down here, I've taken to pronouncing ‘Lepidstadt' as ‘Lep-id-shtadt'. Also random, maybe useful note, Calistril is the month that comes directly before Pharast)
Posted on 2017-01-29 at 18:24:50.
Edited on 2017-02-03 at 04:01:06 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Searching for Advice
Subject: Totally
That absolutely does make sense, and can be a good way to highlight the difference between two characters' ways of thinking.
Posted on 2017-01-25 at 03:58:38.
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Topic: Carrion Crown Adventure Path - Free Form
Subject: Time for tea!
1 Pharast, 4711 AR. Restlands - Ravengro.
When Meryl cleared her throat to speak, she received a share of peculiar looks from the assembled mourners. If they did not expect a eulogy delivered from the mouth of a fox, however, they kept their objections to themselves, possibly out of respect for Meryl's role in defusing the earlier melee.
Father Grimburrow thanked the visitors for their kind words. It may have been their imagination, but it almost seemed as if the corner of a smile briefly graced the old priest's face.
After the ceremony, Kendra said her goodbyes to the others and saw them off. Councilman Hearthmount stopped to tell Kendra that he had matters to attend to, but would stop by later that day for the reading of Lorrimor's will.
Once the guests had all departed, she turned to the strangers from out of town. "So, it looks like we have some time to kill. Why don't we return to my fathers—er, my place for some tea to freshen up?"
(provided agreement)
1 Pharast, 4711 AR. Lorrimor Place - Ravengro.
By the light of day, the Lorrimor place was a cozy, modest home that reflected the decidedly scholarly bent of its owner. Every room featured at least one fully stocked bookshelf, complemented with stacks of books decorating every available surface.
"I'm sorry the house is such a mess—we don't get many visitors, and when we do it's mostly academic types who wouldn't notice it anyway. How do you take your tea?" Kendra stopped on the way to the kitchen and back pedaled. "Uh, Lavender, was it? I'm sorry, I never asked, do you take tea?" (,) "Ah, I see—and would your familiar like something to drink?"
Kendra returned several moments later with a tray for the tea. "Now, you simply must tell me all about yourselves. My father met all kinds of strange folk in his years, but I so rarely have a chance to get out of this tiny town."
(This is it, the moment you've been waiting for. Official character introduction time!)
Posted on 2017-01-24 at 23:43:36.
Edited on 2017-01-24 at 23:46:27 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Searching for Advice
Subject: Bookishness
I may not have the reading chops of Tann, but I have looked into the matter with more than passing depth before.
You'll probably want to pick either 1st or 3rd. Unless you're going really avant garde, most of the time 2nd person is the field of Choose-Your-Own-Adventure style books, to convey that the reader is involved in the narrative. I could see some shorter stories that could work with it, but in a longer work, sticking with the bread and butter is the way to go.
Now I don't really have a strong preference between 1st and 3rd person, but they each have their own strengths. I have heard that 1st person is often easier for a beginning writer, though I started in 3rd so be that what it may. Regardless, 1st person generally confines you inside the head of a single protagonist (unless you go switching viewpoint characters between chapters or something), but has the advantage that everything you describe comes to the reader through that character's own perception of the world, which can tell you as much about a character as any amount of description or action. For the same reason, it gives a much more immediate relationship between the reader and the protagonist.
On the other hand, while in 3rd person you generally want to limit your narrator to knowledge of one character (for example, Harry Potter is told more or less exclusively through Harry's perspective, even through it's written in 3rd), you have much more freedom to move the 'camera' around and describe events in a slightly more objective tone. Another advantage is that you can even reveal what a character is thinking even when they don't want to admit it to themselves.
Regardless which you use, though, one tip I've learned is to avoid letting a character by themselves for too long (which I've heard is more of a problem for 1st person, since you start needing contrivances to have them 'overhear' plot developments). Generally a character alone starts getting contemplative, which means they're not physically doing much. Rather than let them narrate their thoughts, give them somebody to argue or discuss with, who can offer questions, challenges, and counter thoughts. Of course, like in every rule of writing, there are exceptions and you must do what works for you, but it's good to know the rules before you learn how to break them.
Posted on 2017-01-23 at 00:18:32.
Edited on 2017-01-23 at 00:19:43 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Carrion Crown Adventure Path - Free Form
Subject: In Loving Memory of Dr. MacGuffin, PhD, MD, MOc, NPC
1 Pharast, 4711 AR. Restlands - Ravengro.
With one unconscious, another in a headlock, and four more on the retreat, the remaining half of the small mob lost its focus. The ringleader behind the mob was nowhere in sight.
"What is the meaning of this?" cried a voice from further down the path
The stragglers shrank away from the voice like chastened dogs. They swept away from the path, revealing a small, wizened old man with long, bushy white eyebrows, wearing black vestments trimmed with silver, and a prominent spiral holy symbol of Pharasma around his neck. The startlingly spry old priest marched onto the scene, flanked by two men carrying shovels, also dressed in black—the gravediggers.
Father Grimburrow shifted his glare from Kendra's split lip to the unconscious thug laying next to the path, and grabbed for his holy symbol. In a voice that suggested years worth of recitation, he murmured, "Lady of Graves, see these souls and ease their pain."
A ring of silvery light spread from the symbol to encompass the entire congregation, followed by a spiralling surge of energy. At once there was a groggy groan from the downed farmer as the life-giving energy healed and revitalized everybody in the ring. Though fully healed, the man's fighting spirit was considerably dampened.
The old priest rounded on the farmers. "You all should be ashamed of yourselves. Every one of you has family buried here. It is not your place to decide who can and cannot use these grounds. Now be off with you, and think on how you'll be judged when the time comes."
The farmers, including the man released from Caleb's headlock, departed with their heads hung in shame. The rest of the funeral carried on without a hitch. The gravediggers lowered the casket into the open plot, followed by a short sermon from Father Grimburrow. Finally, before the grave was filled, Grimburrow invited attendees to share stories in celebration and memory of Professor Lorrimor's life.
(When you think about it in real-world terms, a 30' radius AoE is kind of huge. Anyway, here comes the time to describe how you met Lorrimor and what you knew of him. Note that no further mobs will be formed should Meryl take the reins (probably), and a short, sombre pipe melody may be fitting as well.)
(In other notes, I didn't play it up here since neither of you got injured, but 4d6 healing from channeled energy means everyone in the 30' radius is full health now.)
Posted on 2017-01-20 at 05:24:14.
Edited on 2017-01-20 at 05:25:27 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Carrion Crown Adventure Path - Free Form
Subject: Ravengro Welcome Wagon
1 Pharast, 4711 AR. Restlands - Ravengro.
"Get the coffin!" called a voice from the back of the crowd.
Kendra took a step back. "You'll have to go through me," she shouted. A long, thin dagger appeared in her hand from some unseen fold.
Kendra held her hands, with her dagger, in front of her chest, over the brass amulet around her neck. Power flowed from her fingertips and formed into a glowing ring of runes around the eye of her amulet as she spoke the short incantation. The runes vanished and a shell of force wrapped around Kendra's torso.
She glanced over her shoulder at Lavender. "Stay behind me and keep your head down."
The diminutive doll called on her own power, crafting a spell in her own way as she played a melody on her flute.
The thugs came at them with no training or unity. Two came directly at Kendra and Lavender, while two others on either side ran around them to get at the pallbearers.
"I'll get the little witch!" called one of the thugs, carrying a pitchfork. He raised his fork and swung down at Lavender with the blunt side. Between breaths the girl dodged the fork without losing control of the energy gathering around her.
The other swung with the back end of his hoe and caught Kendra sharply in the face. She flinched, then immediately came back at her attacker with her knife. The man suffered a long, nasty cut down his arm. He yelped and immediately dropped his hoe, clutching his injured arm.
Carlyle and Caleb meanwhile both found themselves immediately surrounded as soon as they set down the casket.
Caleb put up his fists and dropped into a defensive stance. "I don't want to fight you," he told the thugs.
One sneered at him. "Then lie down, boy, and let the men do what needs to be done." That one went to attack with the back edge of his sickle.
Caleb drove his fist into the side of the man's jaw without warning. The thug went out cold on the spot, his body landing backwards in a sprawling heap.
Carlyle drew a short sword from his belt. The thugs were too close to give them a good demonstration of Bethany's power. He was just deciding which one was uglier when Lavender's spell took effect.
"Somebody stop that witch!" Shouted a woman from the crowd, but it was too late. The small forest girl suddenly commanded the centre of attention, her spell subtly sending out waves of compulsion. Of the five remaining farmers, three shook off the effect immediately, but two, including the man standing over her, were ensnared, their eyes glazing over.
The fox at Lavender's side suddenly spoke up with a calm voice. "My lady suggests, wouldn't you say?"
",Bah, no good ever comes of dealing with witches, even miniature ones," said the man with the bleeding arm. He backed away from Kendra and turned to flee.
Meanwhile Lavender's spell made Carlyle's decision easier by splitting his opponents' attention. While one remained oblivious of him, he shoved the other back with the pommel of his sword. The thug staggered back, looked at the state of the gang, and turned to flee after the other.
On the other side, Caleb switched to an open-palm stance, then grabbed the last thug by the arm. He twisted until the thug dropped rake and yielded.
Kendra turned, her split lip bleeding slightly, to look at Carlyle, Lavender, and Caleb. "Thank you three. I'm sorry—I had no idea there were still folk in town who didn't trust my father, and I certainly didn't expect them to wait to show it until after, after he passed."
Before any could get a word in edgewise, Councilman Vashian Hearthmount (the thrice-chinned) cleared his throat loudly. "Harrum, herm hem. I am shocked and appalled at this attack. Locals should know better than to give heed to such superstition—even farmhands of such low character as that lot."
(Still perfecting the art of how we'll be doing this, but I figure with Zeakol currently occupied, it'd be best to go with a more D&D/Pathfinder style combat post.)
(Here you have a brief respite to react to events or fill in combat dialogue before I introduce the cheery local priest who is as we speak rushing down the path with gravediggers in tow. And also to give me respite b/c I ended up staying up later than I wanted.)
Psst, Dorian. 1337.
Posted on 2017-01-17 at 05:28:07.
Edited on 2017-01-23 at 01:30:46 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: My Creations
Subject: Neat
That one got my attention. I'm already starting to speculate just what these characters' journey would look like and what kind of world they live in.
Pretty neat 
Posted on 2017-01-15 at 04:24:53.
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Topic: Carrion Crown Adventure Path - Free Form
Subject: Spirited debate in the cemetery.
1 Pharast, 4711 AR. Restlands - Ravengro.
"You don't get it, woman." The ringleader of the thugs spat.
Carlyle called out from the casket side, "What is the meaning of this?" He tried to get Kendra's attention to stand back from the crowd, but she was entirely focused on the thugs.
The tall old man hardly spared Carlyle a glance. "The meaning of this is that we won't have a necromancer buried in the same place as our kin. I suggest you lot move out while you still can. Folks are pretty upset right now ‘bout this."
"Necromancer!?" Kendra went livid. Wordlessly, the toddler-sized doll skipped up to her side, fox at her heels.
Carlyle cut in, "Now see here, that is uncalled for. This man was a brilliant man, respected among his colleagues and an accredited professor. He was no necromancer, he was a good man and a great teacher. It was his belief that rather than shun the darkness, we can learn from it to better fight—"
"This matter does not concern outsiders. It was his foolin' around in dark magic up around the old prison that cursed this town, now clear out of our cemetery or we'll see you off ourselves."
"Curse—are you really that ignorant?" Kendra screamed.
At this point about half of the crowd stepped forward with their farm tools in hand.
(Bit of a rush job, but I got the point across. First real round of combat will start soon, I'll figure out initiative and get back to y'all on Discord.)
Posted on 2017-01-15 at 00:30:34.
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Topic: Carrion Crown Adventure Path - Free Form
Subject: Book 1: The Haunting of Harrowstone
~Sibelius' Carrion Crown Free Form~
29 Calistril, 4711 AR. Ravengro.
The wagon rolled into town just past dark the day before the funeral. Ravengro was virtually indistinguishable from a dozen other small farming towns passed along the journey—all quaint buildings with steep rooflines, skylines decorated with the sombre steeples of Pharasmin churches. The driver let his two passengers off at the circular plaza that served as the town square, directing them south down the main road to their destination.
Lorrimor's place stood near the south end of town, less than five minutes' walk from town square. The mismatched duo was greeted by a puffy-eyed Kendra Lorrimor, the good professor's twenty-five-year-old daughter, dressed in Pharasmin mourning black. She thanked them for coming and led them directly to their rooms.
1 Pharast, 4711 AR. Restlands - Ravengro.
BGM: Funeral March
The small funeral procession gathered around the entrance to the Restlands, the large and well-tended graveyard just to the north of Ravengro, which the travellers had passed on the way into town. Kendra briefly introduced the fellow mourners who came out to pay their respects.
First were Councilmen Vashian Hearthmount (the thrice-chinned, but never within earshot) and Gharen Muricar—both men in their fifties, together making up one-half the town's council. Next was the sombrely cheerful Zokar Elkarid, owner of the Laughing Demon tavern on the riverbank, accompanied by his thirteen-year-old son, Pevrin. Jominda Fallenbridge, the town's apothecary and one of Lorrimor's closest friends in town. Finally, a tall, lean boy in his early twenties named Caleb Foster, who arrived last-minute to join the congregation.
Kendra looked over the gathering, biting her lip. "I had hoped there would be more pallbearers available. I suppose that was a bit much to expect with things the way they are these days."
Lorrimor's coffin rested just before the entrance to the Restlands. As per local tradition, the attendant priest and gravediggers had gone on ahead to the gravesite.
Jominda was the first to step up to the casket, followed in short order by Carlyle and Caleb. Zokar glanced between the two councilmen and the diminutive girl with the fox, cleared his throat, then stepped up to cover the last corner. Kendra thanked everybody for coming once more, then turned to lead the procession as the deceased's closest living relative.
Stone markers along the gravel path named the winding cemetery trails; Ancestor's Walk, the Dreamwake, the Eversleep. Lorrimor's plot lay on the far side of the graveyard, near the north wall.
As the procession rounded the corner off the Dreamwake onto the Eversleep, a group of about a dozen locals came into view, standing directly in the way of the mourners. At least half of them came bearing an assortment of farm tools.
"What in the—?" Kendra muttered. Her sombre expression turned hard, but she did not stop the march.
As they neared, a wiry old man not carrying a tool stepped forward, scowling. "That's far enough. We been talking, and we don't want Lorrimor buried in the Restlands. You lot can take him upriver and bury him there, if you want, but he ain't goin' in the ground here!"
Kendra responded immediately, anger rising to the surface. "What are you talking about? I arranged it with Father Grimburrow last week. He's waiting for us! The grave's already been dug!"
(If you wish to contribute to the dialogue before hostilities boil over, now is your chance.)
(Despite perfunctory introductions, assume for now that none of the characters know much if anything about the others. Likewise, since there has not been enough time yet for our travellers to settle in, they are still wearing the weapons and armour they would be carrying for the open road. Between Carlyle's large crossbow slung over his back and Lavender's tame fox companion, this has earned the pair a fair number of bemused stares since they have arrived.)
(It's worth noting that Kendra is about 30' from the nearest of the thugs. The pallbearers are carrying the coffin more or less directly behind her—it will take all four pallbearers one turn to set down the casket without dropping it, but until then all have both hands full. Lavender stands behind the pallbearers alongside Zokar's kid and her fox, followed by the councilmen.)
2:10
Posted on 2017-01-14 at 03:09:04.
Edited on 2017-01-29 at 18:26:38 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Auguries of Destruction - Wheel of Fate
Subject: Izzy's not going to have too much to add to this
Izzy had been standing under her own power for all of fifteen seconds before Kara wrapped her broken wingarm around her again. The immediate threat of a fight ebbed as the raptors bickered with the green hulk, and with it, Izzy's concentration. If no one was going to try to kill them for at least a couple moments, maybe they would have time for a quick nap?
Then came the roar. Izzy's legs turned to jelly. Without warning her feet went out from under her—only for her to find herself flopped over Kara's arms. She did not have the presence of mind to resist her lot.
Sounds of carnage came to her ears distantly, as if from a memory of a dream. Though the barioth was dead, Izzy's clothes and armour were soaked through, and the cold had not yet dissipated. Her lips were starting to turn bluish as she drifted to the edge of consciousness.
Kara stood up in response to something the deviljho had said. Izzy's sword tumbled out of her hand. The unexpected motion roused Izzy momentarily. She looked around in a groggy haze, then to Kara.
"My pack," she mumbled. "Flat black rock, This big." Izzy showed Kara her hand, failing to keep it from shaking.
(Not to make this about me when a new character is being introduced, but Izzy's probably going to need some combination of shelter, dry clothes, and warmth before she's back to fully functioning snark status. Not that she's at emergency levels of hypothermia--the heat stone should sustain her until they return. With the mission more or less completed, the comforts of civilization are a just a short trek away for further character interaction.)
(In other news, it is apparently possible to eat an animal you've poisoned because in general you're only taking in a small amount of the poison in their body... though it highly depends. All the same, I figure Jho should be fine, save for maybe a little indigestion from the sheer number of substances applied to that body.)
Posted on 2017-01-01 at 03:56:50.
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: ~Push~
20 Calistril - the night before
Giles pulled his cloak tight against the late winter chill as he turned down the familiar streets to his typical evening residence. Viridian's first and most successful brothel had ruffled some feathers of the more conservative-minded, but the bawdy house had never lacked for business in the fledgling capital.
He doffed his hat as he approached the brothel. The door girl recognised him immediately and called out to him. "Giles! Welcome back!"
Giles bowed, kissing the back of her hand. "Thank-you," he said, rising. "Is Lizzie about? I need to speak with her."
The escort led him to the common room. "Mistress Lape is out right now—she should be back in an hour."
The common room was quieter than Giles would have expected for the season—normally the chill saw many driven to seek warmth and comfort. Nevertheless, these conditions suited his purposes. A few idle girls occupied one corner of the room, lounging in wait for customers. The door girl called to one of them. "It's your turn to stand out there," she said.
She caught sight of Giles and waved him over. "Look who's back in town!"
Giles spent some time chatting with the escorts—some disregarded the rumours of cultists as pure gossip, but others were quick to share what little they knew or had heard from clients. Word on the street was frustratingly basic—that a mystery cult of Gyronna had taken root, and that her followers were practicing dark, blasphemous rites in the night while upstanding townsfolk lay asleep in their beds. Those who had come from the River Kingdoms reiterated Zeran's story of Heibarr, a town in Pitax, where the Sacred Heretic's cultists were blamed for turning public discontent over river taxes into an open revolt that tore the town apart. Others added their stories of Gyronnans swapping newborns for deformed, human-like monsters and nurturing hatred in those around them.
Later when Giles got his chance to speak with the madam, she told him how the whole month had been slightly slower than usual—especially for Calistril, named after the goddess of lust—since the rumours began, though not enough to seriously hurt business. After all, their line of work was always in demand. Nevertheless, everybody knew that Gyronna's cultists were fallen and destitute women, so regardless whether any of her seamstresses actually fit the profile, the stereotype remained.
Inside her office, Lizzie set her whip on the table with a sigh. "All right, so level with me. If a baron is down here poking about for information about the latest rumour mill chatter, there's got to be something going on. Is there any truth to these rumours?"
"It is our duty as your leaders to investigate any and all concerns the citizens may have, no matter how farfetched, and if they turn out to be true, to deal with them to ensure the safety of our people. That's all. Given the severe implications of such a cult, if the rumours are true, that's all the more reason for us to take care of it sooner than later wouldn't you agree, Lizzie?"
"I'll take that as a yes, then."
Giles allowed himself a rare smile. "You know me too well."
"I've seen my share of politics. Anyway, the reason I ask is because I may have something for you. It could just as well be nothing, but as you say, ‘if the rumours are true' it could mean a lead. One of my girls got into a bit of a dispute with one of my boys recently. That itself isn't uncommon, sometimes my staff can be a bit territorial, but things escalated when she attacked him. Normally she's not like that, but besides giving her a timeout for a while to cool her head, I didn't put much thought into it. In light of these cultist rumours, though, I have to wonder if it might not be worth looking into—delicately. My goddess stands for vengeance, but the wise do not allow unchecked malice to be their own undoing."
Giles arranged to meet the escort the next day during off-hours, when they would be less likely to be observed should sensitive matters be aired overly loudly that might scare off customers or bring harm to the brothel's reputation. Finally, he retired for the night to pray to his lord.
21 Calistril
Viridian City; G5
Capital of Volga
After the meeting regarding the trolls' demands, the party split into two groups. Giles returned to the brothel, accompanied by Miguel on the insistence that nobody go investigate too deep without backup, should the trail lead them to a trap. The remaining three drew up a list of names based on Clay's knowledge of the town and of people most likely to be swayed to the cult's teachings.
(Giles+Miguel)
Mistress Lape showed the barons to the girl's room. Giles had Miguel wait outside in the even that he needed to pull a ‘good baron/bad baron' out of his hat. He soon realized he needn't have gone to the trouble.
Estela sat on the bed in her room. She was one of the newer faces in the brothel, so Giles didn't recognise her right away, but she knew who he was. Her eyes darted from the madam to the baron in doe-like alarm. "H-have I done something wrong, m'lord?"
(Kyrie+Zeran+Clay)
The three arrived at the residence of the first woman on Clay's list. According to what the guard knew of her, she lived with her family and worked as a laundress. She regularly got into heated arguments with her neighbours that sometimes devolved into empty threats, but coupled with her fondness for the drink resulted in the occasional night in the drunk tank.
Before they left, Jhod had cautioned them to take care—they didn't need to add to the rumours that the barons were interrogating random, possibly innocent women in town, with no substantial evidence to back them. Even worse, they didn't need to give these women further reason to resent their society and possibly fall in with the evil eye.
Giles 42/42 - 16 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 55/55 -
Miguel 41/41 - 18 arrows
Zeran 42/42 - 28 bullets
Clay 46/46 -
Cat: Uninjured, Less Grumpy
(In a moment of inspiration I modeled both of these women after people I know/knew in real life. The details are totally different, but the personality is the same. If need be, parts of these interrogations can play out on Discord/Skype, and I can help jog your memory what you're looking for again.)
Posted on 2016-11-29 at 00:35:20.
Edited on 2016-11-29 at 00:35:55 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: NPC chat
Zeran and Giles mused aloud about the possibility of paying the trolls to buy some time while they were busy dealing with rooting out the cult.
General Kesten grunted. "Hrm. I don't like it. Trolls are nothing but savage monsters. They don't think like normal folk—they don't care that we killed two o' theirs except that it gives ‘em an excuse. Paying this weregild of theirs won't stop them from killing anybody who stumbles across them, and the only message it shows them is that we'll give in to their demands."
(Zeran's Plan)
"That would be a risky plan, but it might just work to help us catch all of the cult, rather than try to hunt them all down one by one," Jhod commented. "But let's not put the cart before the horse. Before we can do anything, we have to find them."
Posted on 2016-10-08 at 00:39:07.
Edited on 2016-10-08 at 00:39:23 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: Kong of the Belt
21 Calistril
Viridian City; G5
Capital of Volga
Littel Mans.
You burn 2 TROL
Us SKOGTROL demand Wergild
You pay Tribute
-4 heds of Kow
-4 heds of Pig
-10 hands of GOLD
FOR EECH TROL BURN!!!
,Or TROLS CRUSH 8 Littel Mans for Every TROL
Littel Mans submit to TRU KONG of BELT and STAY OFF SKOGTROL LANDS!
HARGULKA
KONG of BELT
QUEEN of GREEN.
The crude message was apparently written in blood on a dirty, untreated sheet of elk hide as big as a cot. According to the messenger who brought it to the capital that morning, the note was found by Falchos, the satyr, near the edge of the barony, wrapped around a boar-hunter's spear. The spear stood like a standard, sticking straight up out of the corpse of the unlucky hunter.
Jhod rubbed his balding forehead, absorbing the contents of the message. Kesten regarded the note with a sour expression. "I wonder if the Stag Lord ever had to deal with this kind of bullocks?" he mused out loud.
"I doubt it," said Tanya from her chair across the room. She chewed on a bowl of almonds at the recommendation of her midwife, Niska, as spring drew nearer. "I don't know what it was like down here before he died, but the way things were at Kressle's camp, it was mostly just us, a few kobolds, the odd fairy, and your standard wild creatures. We were mostly small enough to escape notice of anything bigger or meaner."
"At least the trolls are out there, not already inside the city." Jhod added with a sigh. "This cult business has me second guessing every face I see come to temple services."
Giles 42/42 - 16 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 55/55 -
Miguel 41/41 - 18 arrows
Zeran 42/42 - 28 bullets
Clay 46/46 -
Cat: Uninjured, Less Grumpy
(Just wanted to get this extra bit of information out there. I consider that troll note to be a true work of art. Bask on my works, ye humble travellers. Maybe after this we can get started figuring out what we're doing about this cult business. It's getting late now.)
Posted on 2016-10-06 at 04:50:54.
Edited on 2016-10-06 at 04:55:10 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Auguries of Destruction - Wheel of Fate
Subject: Hypothermia setting in. She's good for like one more attack before she loses balance and collapses.
One minute Izzy was staring down at the barioth, the next minute she was thrown from his back. Disoriented as she already was, she lay in the grass for a couple seconds, piecing together cause for the sudden pain in her backside. She never even saw the konchu spin away into the underbrush.
After a moment a single urgent though finally pierced the haze. Get up. She rolled over, trying to ignore how much she wished she could just stay lying down. Clumsily, Izzy got to her hand and knees. She scanned the ground to see where her sword landed, then realized belatedly that it had never left her numb, white-fingered grip.
"Izzy?"
Izzy looked up to see Kara approaching. "Hnnnn," she managed. She found herself practically being picked up off the ground. Kara's strength gave Izzy a stable focus to ground herself and find her own strength. Kara's body heat was like a small fire next to Izzy's cold numbness, even through the insulating scales.
"M'fine," she slurred.
"You're trembling."
"My bag," Izzy never got to finish her sentence, suddenly deposited in Kara's other arm. She wanted nothing more than to curl up on the nargacuga and go to sleep, but a nagging in the back of her mind prevented her from giving in.
Humanoid figures swarmed up to the edge of the clearing. Yellow velociprey. Genprey. Izzy pushed herself to her own two feet and squared her stance. The genprey yapped back and forth but for some reason Izzy couldn't concentrate on what they were saying.
Then the ground shook. Nothing dramatic, just a slight but tangible tremor. Izzy saw the deviljho. It was almost twice her height, probably no less than a hundred times her weight.
"Sh-Shit."
Posted on 2016-10-01 at 03:10:26.
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: Apostasy means 'defection or revolt' usually associated with renouncing one's religion
Traveling Home
19-20 Calistril 4702.
After departing the hut of the swamp witch, the party continued to map the lakeshore on their way back north. The following day they crossed the Skunk River back into Volga.
20 Calistril
Viridian City; G5
Capital of Volga.
The wagon cut fresh tracks through the recently snow-dusted streets. The returning barons had one stop before retiring to the old fort. They had nearly forgotten about the red-stained waterskin that they'd shoved beneath the driver's seat to avoid having to look at, but now it was time make a delivery.
The eccentric alchemist's shop was on the way back to the fort. Though it was later in the day, she was still bustling about. She was pleased finally to be able to test her theory—whether troll blood made a good catalyst to bind the magical energy in potions.
The party laid out their order for the potions (the half-elf assured them that they ‘probably wouldn't even taste the blood at all' in the final draught) and made an additional request to buy out her stock of fire oil. The alchemist estimated that she would be able to deliver the full crop up to Fort Viridian in one week's time.
---
No sooner had the party returned their horses to the stable and settled into their fort than a familiar scaled face appeared at their door.
"I wish one of these days I could be waiting for you with good news when you got back." Spymaster Sootscale's eyes held a grim humour as he stepped into the room. "Allow me to catch you up on what has transpired this time."
"In the last few weeks it has become apparent to us that the city of Viridian has become host to a secret mystery cult dedicated to the goddess Gyronna*. The elk-priest assures us these rumours are very troubling. With Baron Frodrick and his squire in Olegton on business as of last week, it has been left to myself, the priest, and the general."
"At present we are not prepared to combat this threat ourselves. My network is already stretched thin chasing rumours, and it is only thanks to the agent Frodrick left in charge of the investigation that we know these rumours have any foundation in the first place."
The ash-scaled kobold walked to the door as he spoke. He knocked three times. The door opened and a tall, broad man in his late thirties, wearing a chain shirt and cloak stepped in from the cold. The crooked-nosed, sour-faced guardsman was bound with solid muscle, wearing a placid expression somewhere between thoughtful and dour.
"This is Clay, one of Frodrick's guards. I have brought him so that he can work with you directly in this matter. His efforts thus far have proved invaluable in the short time since we have become aware of this problem."
Giles 42/42 - 16 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 55/55 -
Miguel 41/41 - 18 arrows
Zeran 42/42 - 28 bullets
Clay 46/46 -
Cat: Uninjured, Has a Room of Her Own, Less Grumpy
*Gyronna - Knowledge (religion) also called the ‘Hag Queen' and ‘Sacred Heretic', Gyronna is an unpopular deity who embodies hatred, heresy, and despair. Her unholy symbol is a bloodshot eye and she is worshipped primarily by hags (the monster species), heretics, and predominantly female castoffs from society and outcasts from other faiths. Her clergy is notorious for turning communities against each other and fostering hatred and apostasy.
Posted on 2016-09-28 at 20:55:40.
Edited on 2016-09-28 at 20:56:00 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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Topic: Kingmaker Adventure Path 2.0
Subject: I can't even find where the robe first activated anymore. I think I missed it.
18 Calistril
The Old Beldame's Hut; H4
Tuskwater Lakeside
The Beldame's bony fingers closed on empty space. Her mouth twisted with mild annoyance. "It ain't nothing worth the drama," she said, jutting her chin in the direction of Giles' sword hilt. "I happen to be something of an experienced thaumaturge. I noticed something on your robe that didn't seem like it had any right being there."
Elga held out her hand again, this time palm up. "If you let me see the robe, I might be able to tell you if somebody wove a curse into the fabric when they enchanted it."
(assuming Giles recognises the biting insects as potentially related to this ‘curse' and hands over the robe)
The crone accepted the black robe with one hand, then with the other she pointed two fingers at her eyes and muttered an incantation. She held the robe up at arm's length, pinching here and there with her bony fingers.
"Hmm, yes, that would be what the necromancy is for," She hunched in to peer at the robe closely, hardly an inch from her face. "Hrmm, I see, there you are you little devil."
Elga looked up from the robe sharply. "Yup. This robe is cursed." She handed the robe back to Giles. "It looks like the whole thing is magically infested with insect-forms that come out to bite and sting whenever you need to concentrate. Figure either somebody intentionally laid this curse on your robe, or else whoever made it done buggered it up spectacularly."
"Fortunately, you don't have to worry about it killing you, and remarkably it looks like the original enchantment intended still functions as normal. If you bought it recently, like as not the merchant is already long gone. What you do with it is none of my business, but you're probably best off getting what use you can out of the thing, then burning it, ‘less you know someone you don't particularly like. An in-law, perhaps."
Posted on 2016-09-03 at 04:47:21.
Edited on 2016-09-04 at 15:12:56 by Sibelius Eos Owm
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