Codex Pathfinder Adventures (Logs from Session 1 posted!)

[Angelo85]

Yeah nice write-up, though as Lightbane mentioned some out of character stuff got mixed in here and there.

 

[Mrowak]

Yeah nice write-up, though as Lightbane mentioned some out of character stuff got mixed in here and there.

Yeah, as I said - it's more of a transcript than writeup. Sometimes I felt ooc stuff was necessary to give characters proper motivations, and explain why we were taking such and such course of action. Some of it got mixed in it all, though. I tried editting it now but Codex threw me 'can't reach the server' error so I say, fuck it.

 

[lightbane]

Assuming next session is this sunday 19th as we planned, I think I'll be able to make it (unless something bad happens). Hopefully the Summoner I made will work perfectly, otherwise I could be forced to yet rethink another character.

 

[Mrowak]

Seems to me bros I have a problem. Since last Saturday gamesurge hates me with passion - keeps banning me (g-line) whenever I try to connect. I don't have this issue with any other IRC service I am using. It appears to be the issue with one of the proxy servers my ISP has opted for, but I am not certain. I've tried to fix everything, but with little to no cooperation with gamesurge administration and my ISP the endeavour is doomed to fail.

Long story short - I won't appear on IRC this Sunday. Therefore, I ask Angelo to PM me IP address of the next Maptools server when he sets it up (it sometimes changes), so I can join you directly. Thanks in advance.

Also, I was going to write up our investigation summary today but I am kind of exhausted. Will do that tomorrow.

 

[Angelo85]

I'll post the IP in this Thread when the time comes, just in case anybody else wants to pay us a visit and can't use IRC either.

 

[lightbane]

That sucks, perhaps Ulmi will have to ask one of the reserve players as a temporary replacement.

 

[Quilty]

Just dropping by to confirm I'll be playing on the 19th.

 

[Ulminati]

Players in the campaign should have received a message in their inbox.

 

[Mrowak]

A very short summary of what we know so far.

Since last time relatively little has changed. We are still in the dark about the whole Whispering Way deal, still we don't know anything substantial about the Harrowstone prison, we don't know anything about the prisoners. I blame 'dem rolls.

We do have the new set of questions, however. Firstly, who was the mysterious individual who has set stirges on us. My bet is it was some agent of the Whispering Way using some magical trick or device to lure the bloodsuckers to us. From OOC knowledge we could assume it was the shopkeeper-wizard, but it's just a conjecture that our characters have no way of knowing, and it might as well prove completely wrong lead.

Secondly, there's the matter of the madman scribbling some letters on the Harrowstone memorial. Exactly to what end did he do that, we have no idea... yet, From his words:

: You shall not prevent our escape! The woman will die again!

we can infer the following: we are dealing with multiple spectral undead with ability to possess human beings. From this update we know that:

Originally, Harrowstone housed only local criminals, but as the prison’s fame spread, other counties and distant lands began paying to have more 16 dangerous criminals housed within this prison’s walls. At the time of the great Harrowstone Fire, the number of particularly violent or dangerous criminals imprisoned within the dungeons below was at an all-time high.

So we can assume those ghosts or whatever they are the spirits of the prisoners, somehow magically bound to the ruined jail. What deserves particular attention is who bound them, or rather, who plays some part in locking them for good. Again:

: You shall not prevent our escape! The woman will die again!

Who on earth is that woman that evil being was talking about? This is a far-fetched guess but so far we know of only one woman that might have been in the prison:

Harrowstone is a ruined prison— partially destroyed by a fire in 4661, the building has stood vacant ever since. The locals suspect that it’s haunted, and don’t enjoy speaking of the place.
Harrowstone was built in 4594. Ravengro was founded at the same time as a place where guards and their families could live and that would produce food and other supplies used by the prison. The fire that killed all of the prisoners and most of the guards destroyed a large portion of the prison’s underground eastern wing, but left most of the stone structure above relatively intact. The prison’s warden perished in the fire, along with his wife, although no one knows why she was in the prison when the fire occurred. A statue commemorating the warden and the guards who lost their lives was built in the months after the tragedy—that statue still stands on the riverbank just outside of town.

There you go, mates. We have practically no tangible proof that the woman in question was the warden’s wife, but then again common sense dictates that it couldn’t have been anyone other than her.

Let’s try to infer what might have happened. One day the fire broke out in Harrowstone prison. Whether it was caused by accident or due to prisoners’ rebellion (more likely) is insignificant for now. In the ensuing commotion the prisoners tried to escape, but someone - a woman - prevented them. This is purely OOC but probably she sacrificed herself in the process - as far a real world folklore and ghost stories (aka. narrativium) go only such act could have ramifications in another life. Now she is the only thing that stops the ghosts of prisoners from… running away?

Anyway, if what I wrote there is remotely true then, lads we’ve got to make haste. Why, you ask? Because Grotak happened to ask the right question:

so which were the letters we got now btw?

you got the letters 'V', 'E' and 'S'

This coupled with…

The woman will die again!

… leads me to believe the clock is ticking. This was some kind of ritual to “kill” the spirit of a woman. If the scribble was complete the wrights will be let lose. In other words, if we dawdle too long the shit is bound to hit the fan. Somehow I don’t believe arresting Gibbs helped much to remedy this situation. The specter can always possess someone else.

And yet we have still a lot to learn… For one thing what is the nature of the ritual performed by those spirits? Who was the woman who the ghosts want to “kill” (was it really the warden’s wife)? Who is the mysterious stirge attacker? How Gibbs came in contact with the evil wright who possessed him? Plus, all the questions from the first paragraph of this writeup.

What we should do now? As much as I would like to go head on to the prison, there’s still stuff that needs finishing. First and foremost, we need to question Gibbs. He may point us somehow to the source of all this mess, or at least give us a lead about the nature of the spectre that possessed him. That won’t be easy considering that we have to go past the sheriff, who’d be unwilling to allow strangers pester his prisoner. Father Grimburrow could offer some help here, if we approached him nicely. Plus, if the man were still possessed he could aid us in determining what the hell this spectre is.

Secondly, there’s the list of prisoners. My guess is, once we obtain it we will know a lot about the ghost we are dealing with. Another lead is the woman - what she did and how we may help (?) her… with whatever she is doing. Then there’s the issue of the ritual Gibbs performed. Come to think of it, it may be worth questioning him about it. We may also find some clues in the temple library.

Thirdly, there’s that shady merchant Edgar kind of unmasked. This is just a hunch but he may be responsible for that stirge attack on us. We should investigate him carefully, perhaps even shadow him. That would be an ideal job for Ulzir.

My plan for the next session is simple. Let us spend 3 more days max for research and interrogation. Vanessa and Grotak could diplomatically force their way to the jail, preferably with Grimburrow’s assistance. Meanwhile Alais will bunker herself in the library and hope Tzeentch will stop hating her guts. She will investigate the prisoners, the woman and the ritual Gibbs performed or the phenomena that is keeping spirits sealed in the prison. Ulzir and Edward/Isaac could sniff around that shady wizard merchant. We all ought to pay close attention to what happens at the Harrowstone Memorial. Should one more letter appear, we go into the prison immediately.

Naturally, all of this is how I view things. As you’ve seen a lot of this is purely a guesswork and may be totally wrong. That’s why I insist on further research. If we hurry up and boil the research down to a few roll checks (I don’t see how I could larp that), those three days would go past fairly fast. Still, we need to interrogate Gibbs first, and a solid plan and the strong powers of LARP will be required for that. Whatever we obtain in those three days will have to suffice. After that we head to the prison and scream like witless virgins and die in agony kick some arse. Oh, and let’s not forget to ask father Grimburrow to heal Ulzir.

Again, is there anything I missed? Is my perspective logical, or convoluted as hell? Do you agree on this course of things, or would you prefer to do something else (perhaps going straight to the prison)?

 

[Mrowak]

BTW, when do we play next, lads?

 

[Angelo85]

When the sun rises in the west and sets in the east. When the seas go dry and mountains blow in the wind like leaves.

Or in other words: No one knows for certain. Might be days, might be weeks. Or never. Only time will tell.

 

[Mrowak]

When the sun rises in the west and sets in the east. When the seas go dry and mountains blow in the wind like leaves.

Or in other words: No one knows for certain. Might be days, might be weeks. Or never. Only time will tell.

Duh.

That was more a question to Ulm when he might be ready and an appeal to the rest to organise and declare when they could play.

 

[Ulminati]

The matter I PMed about was resolved this saturday.
Stuff is extremely hectic at work right now.
Let me know when it suits people and I'll try to have an overview of when I'm available ready tomorrow night.

 

[Mrowak]

I can play this weekend either on Saturday or Sunday. If everyone goes for that I'd rather know in advance to make plans. Failing that, any subsequent weekend is just fine.

 

[Quilty]

I'm fine with any weekend.

 

[Angelo85]

This weekend Saturday would be better than Sunday for me, though Sunday could be fit in as well (98% guarantee at least ).

 

[Angelo85]

*bump* have the other two players contacted you in the meantime Ulminati? Is the next session happening on this weekend?

 

[lightbane]

This weekend? Sorry, no dice for me. In fact, it's possible I won't be able to play anymore, sorry Next Monday I'll confirm if that's the case.

 

[Ulminati]

I'm still trying to sort out scheduling, since my job likes sending me off to Finland, Sweden and Norway for days at a time to yell at people that are technically higher in the companys organizational chart than me. And for some reason, they're huge fans of making the trips Fri-Mon or Fri-Sun to save on airline ticket prices.

This weekend is definately a no-go. Next one is a possiblity. Depends on whether I can have a flight booked from Oslo to Copenhagen friday night instead of Saturday morning.

 

[Mrowak]

I'm still trying to sort out scheduling, since my job likes sending me off to Finland, Sweden and Norway for days at a time to yell at people that are technically higher in the companys organizational chart than me. And for some reason, they're huge fans of making the trips Fri-Mon or Fri-Sun to save on airline ticket prices.

This weekend is definately a no-go. Next one is a possiblity. Depends on whether I can have a flight booked from Oslo to Copenhagen friday night instead of Saturday morning.

That's a shame. Do tell us when you have time, and when you feel like playing.

This weekend? Sorry, no dice for me. In fact, it's possible I won't be able to play anymore, sorry Next Monday I'll confirm if that's the case.

WTF happened brah? Sounds quite serious.

 

[lightbane]

Oh, not much, it's just like these days I'm VERY busy, I barely have enough time to do anything

 

[Ulminati]

Let the spam begin.

I'm afraid I'll have to put our LARP circlejerk sessions on indefinite hiatus.
When I stepped up to GM it was a more carefree, innocent time. In the meantime I've gotten a new job that likes sending me abroad and picked up a woman who has this crazy notion that just because I stick my cock in her means I should spend some of my weekends with her doing things like bowling, paintball, playing SSFIV on the xbawkz and hitting town for a few pints. (She beats me 9 times in 10 with chun-li )

I hope that - despite the no doubt unsatisfying conclusion I just delivered - the experiement nonetheless proved that an audience exists if someone else is willing to put on their dungeon master hat&cape. It was a truly enjoyable experience to witness you barely getting through the smallest of encounters with your lives hanging by a thread and it is with a heavy heart I had to decide to cut the ~6hrs/week I spent running and preparing this. Major :brofists: to you alll.

If someone is desperately curious, I can post mad spoilerz about the remainder of the module. Although Mrowak seems to have connected most of the dots in one of his previous posts. If someone else wants to put on their DM hat, I remain available and willing to share what I learned about running things over RPTools, as well as resources I've gathered to make DMing slightly less time intensive.

 

[Mrowak]

Well, it's sad that it ended up this way. I've been having loads of fun with our group. I liked the module a lot too. So far it's been very intriguing, but for some reason, I don't want to get spoiled. Thanks Ulm for leading our group of misadventurers. It's been a great pleasure.

I would even tentatively propose myself to take over as a GM, but me lacking experience with Pathfinder and RPTools, as well as having got a little bit rusty in the sacred art of GMing may be a major dealbreaker.

 

[lightbane]

Oh well, it was too good to last, its lack of gay sex was the thing that doomed it

 

[Ulminati]

I would even tentatively propose myself to take over as a GM, but me lacking experience with Pathfinder and RPTools, as well as having got a little bit rusty in the sacred art of GMing may be a major dealbreaker.

The pathfinder adventure paths (I can supply you with PDFs) are very well-written from a GMing standpoint. They contain a heap of useful background info for when players wander off the beaten path and the encounters and challenges are mapped out in a way that is easy to reference.

Carrion Crown and Kingmaker in paticular are Majestic™, with Rise of the Runelords being a solid campaign as well, though it suffers from being initially written for 3.5ed. Skull & Shackles starts in april and looks very promising so far. Richard Pett is writing the first module, and he tends to put the players in deep shit right from the word go.

Four things I learned that I would strongly urge anyone treading in my footsteps to do:

1) Anything that automates part of combat is a good thing. combat encounters take bloody ages when everyone's sitting around a table and even longer over the internetz.

2) Map player stats (str, dex, con, int, wis, cha, hp, ac, for, ref, wil, skills) onto their respective tokens. Do the same with your monsters (you can get some templates for this that makes the stats on monsters GM-visible only). It's WAAAAAAAAY faster being able to roll an attack and tell the players they take damage than rolling an attack, then digging up their character sheet/waiting for player confirmation before rolling damage.

3) Teach your players to use the tools. Simple things like "how to pass initiative" and "how to update my token to reflect (temporary) changes to my stats" will save you a ton of work.

4) Make sure at least one other player is a d&d rules geek that can rattle off spell effects and DCs, the grapple mechanics and the GP price on alchemists fire on command. Having a non-GM person at hand to answer player questions in combat leaves you free to concentrate on providing LARP and moving monsters about.

I wish you luck in your endeavours.
I can provide you with several good oneshot scenarios (including the tomb we only partly got to explore in our introduction session, and a paticularly funny 0th level adventure that casts the players as goblins) if you want to try your hand at GMing without commiting yourself to preparing stuff every x weeks for several months. Although you should be fairly warned that GMing takes prep time. You should expect to spend 1hr preparing stuff for every 1-2 hours of playtime for your players. This will probably be less once you gain some experience and build up a library of monsters, encounters, NPCs and plothooks that you can paste in on the fly.