The Missing Warhorse

A few days have passed since Ameiko's rescue from the Glassworks and the heroes' subsequent exploration of the strange dungeon that Brodert Quink, Sandpoint's resident sage, refers to as the Catacombs of Wrath. Brodert, a balding scholar of Varisian history and engineering, claims to have spent 2 decades of his youth studying with dwarven engineers at Janderhoff and 3 decades as a cataloger at the Founder’s Archive in Magnimar. He remains baffled and enraged that his learning and obvious intelligence haven’t afforded him more prestige.

Brodert has been studying ancient Thassilonian ruins for the past several years and has recently become obsessed with the Old Light. No one believes his theories that the tower was once a war machine capable of spewing fire to a range of more than a mile, and this casts some shadow on his claims that the complex the adventurers discovered deep under Sandpoint is actually the lair of an ancient Thassilonian Runelord.

Following his investigation of the catacombs, Brodert beleives the statue that once held the cold-iron and ivory masterwork ranseur to be Runelord Alaznist and that the strange well that spewed forth the 3-fingered creatures, that he calls sin-spawn, was a minor runewell keyed to the sin of wrath. That is before the party cleverly drained it of its power.

Ameiko, much occupied with the business of getting the Glassworks back into operation, has not been at the Rusty Dragon very often. She has not forgotten her rescuers however, as Bethana succinctly summarised several days ago "Ameiko says your gold is no good here" and the heroes have enjoyed the homey hospitality of the Rusty Dragon ever since.

And so it was that as the evening shadows started to gather, heralding another enjoyable evening in front of the fire at the Rusty Dragon that two bedraggled merchants staggered in and threw themselves into some chairs at an empty table.  Pulling off their boots and rubbing at their blistered feet, the story of their misfortune was not long in coming. In short...goblins.

"We were coming down the Lost Coast Road and about 6 miles out of town, just after we'd crossed the Thistle River, the little blighters swarmed all over us. We barely got away with our skins but once they'd clapped eyes on Shadowmist they seemed to only care about that horse. We ran, but they've stolen our wagon, the supplies we had and that magnificent horse."

"The only compensation is that the warhorse really gave them what for," pipes in the second merchant, "I saw him send one flying about 15 feet! I hope he gets away, I'd rather have lost him than know the goblins had chopped him to bits."

It takes no time at all to ascertain that the goblins had all the markings of those pesky inhabitants of Thistletop.

Catacombs of Wrath, Part 2

The heroes return to the catacombs to finish their exploration.  They quickly discover an Ancient Prison with 2 sinspawn arguing over a pile of bones.  Blukvard makes good use of the magic dagger!...and then proceeds to bite the sinspawn.  Leena solves the 'riddle' of the prison pit...

They stumble across the goblin hero Koruvus, now hideously mutated by...well by something!  Wielding the cold iron ranseur against Koruvus, Leena does some seriously heavy damage dancing around the pits.  They discover the zombies that Koruvus has been guarding, but Candrak is reluctant to waste arrows shooting at them.  Leena has the idea of using the magic returning dagger to kill the zombies.

Further still and the party finds the collapsed stairs; one lot going up; and the others heading down...to what?  No matter for they are both blocked.  Faint voices are heard at the stairs heading up and Blukvard cleverly speculates that the voices are the townsfolk.  That doesn't explain the eerie howling that seemed to come from the blocked stairs heading down.

They discover Erylium's meditation chamber and Candrak happily launches into the levitation room after the loot.

Finally the party battles the Vargouille, a hideous creature like a head with wings.  It's scream is death though, and Leena and Shala are quickly paralysed for the duration.  Luckily Candrak and Blukvard slay they creature releasing them from their spiritual bondage.

Loot

• silver dagger
• longsword +1
• masterwork handax

Party Experience

600xp  (Vargouille - Washing Pool)
1200xp  (2 Sinspawn - Ancient Prison)
1000xp  (Koruvus, Hero of the Seven Tooth Tribe...and some zombies - The Prisoner Pits)
200xp - killing the zombies
3000 xp Total

Blukvard  (6570 xp)

1000xp (Party XP)
50xp (RP - guessing the voices are the townsfolk)

Candrak  (6770 xp)

1000xp (Party XP)
25xp  (RP - Mystery bonus XP)

Leena  (6520 xp)

1000xp (Party XP)
50xp (RP - zombie + returning dagger idea)

vargouille

Catacombs of Wrath, Part 1

After a brief chat to Ameiko, the heroes rest up and venture down the dark tunnel, previously bricked up to keep such heroes out...or maybe to keep something else in...they quickly find the guard cave and Leena shows her prowess by defeating the Sinspawn within quickly and efficiently.  Taking the door out of the old storeroom they make their way down a long tunnel and find a small shrine raised up on a platform of gray stone.   Sitting atop the platform is an ancient altar, little more than a jagged block of black marble with a shallow concavity on top of it, filled with what appears to be filthy water.   No-one dares take a sip...

The heroes enter the large chamber adjoining the shrine room and find what can only be described as an eldritch cathedral, complete with an eerie 'well' glowing with eldritch light.  They are quickly attacked by a female quasit and find themselves in a battle for their very lives.  The quasit summons another of the three-fingered creatures from the strange well and the perceptive heroes notice the worried look on its face as the well dims noticeably.  The summoning continues, this time with magic spells, as the quasit summons first a Lemure devil and then a dire rat to aid it in its struggle with the heroes.  As the battle progresses Leena, in a moment of intuitive genius shouts that the creature is vulnerable to cold-iron weapons.  Candrak acts swiftly, taking up the cold-iron ranseur dropped by the three-fingered creature.  The effects on the quasit are immediate.  but is it too late?

Blukvard decides to summon his own creature from the strange well and contrary to Blukvard's hopes, immediately attacks him.  This thrid summoning from the strange 'well' is the last straw and the light dies from its 'waters', the quasit flies into a rage and the heroes' very lives hang in the balance.  Leena grabs a second cold-iron ranseur from the wall displays behind the well and the tide finally turns the heroes' way.  The quasit, sensing its doom is nigh, turns invisbile and looks to escape, but Candrak with a surprising sixth sense (given he showed no sense in rushing into the basement after the goblin) cleaves the quasit just as its escape seems assured.

The heroes are battered but victorious, beating a retreat back to town with a sense of having defeated a great evil and their first serious loot: a small +1 cold iron returning dagger; a tiara; and a small obsidian (un)holy symbol to some strange god that they later learn is Lamashtu, goddess of monsters. 

The only question remaining is...will the heroes return to the depths again?

Experience

Party XP

600xp  (Sinspawn - Guard Cave)
1200xp  (Erylium - Cathedral of Wrath)
1800xp  (3 Sinspawn - Cathedral of Wrath)
400xp  (Lemure  - Cathedral of Wrath)
135xp  (Dire Rat - Cathedral of Wrath)
1200xp  (Destroying the Lesser Runewell - Cathedral of Wrath)
5335 Total Party XP

Blukvard XP (5520 xp total)

1780xp  (Party XP)
50xp (RP - summoning the sinspawn)
1830xp total

Candrak XP (5745 xp total)

1780xp  (Party XP)
75xp (cinematic - Candrak kills Erylium after she goes invisible and tries to escape)
1855xp total

Leena XP (5470 xp total)

1780xp  (Party XP)
25xp (cinematic - Leena defeats the Sinspawn in the guard cave single handed)
75xp (R1880P - figuring out that the quasit is susceptible to cold-iron weapons)
1880xp total

Note...apologies...

I have lost my notes on "mystery XP" for the last couple of sessions sorry...

Trouble at the Rusty Dragon

The heroes have become regulars at the Rusty Dragon. Ameiko runs a very adventurer-friendly establishment, and the locals who frequent the establishment’s tavern enjoy hearing stories of derring-do and hijinks from the tavern’s visitors. Merriment was in much abundance the night of the boar hunt with Aldern Foxglove, when a surly visitor slams the tavern’s door open and bellows out a sharp-tongued command in a strange language, interupting the revelries.

Bethana Corwin, the halfling maid, whispers to the heroes "oh dear...it's Ameiko's father, Lonjiku Kaijitsu". Lonjiku is an elderly Tian man and one of Sandpoint’s most well-known nobles. None of you understand the language he so sharply speaks. The other patrons of the bar, however, recognizing him and knowing of his reputation for wrathful outbursts, grow very quiet and interested in their meals. Lonjiku stalks farther into the tavern, his eyes scanning the room for his daughter when Ameiko rushes into the front room, a ladle dripping with soup in her hand, to find out what all the ruckus is about.

The two argue in a strange language for a moment as Lonjiku gesticulates wildly and Ameiko finally tells him to leave her inn in Common (albeit with a string of creative and frankly shocking profanity). Enraged, Lonjiku tries to grab her by the hair to drag her from the tavern, but she dodges and brains him with her soupy ladle, spattering fish stock and potatoes all over his hair and outfit. This act of public defiance seems to wound Lonjiku’s pride more than anything else, and after he sputters for a moment, he finds his voice and utters, "You’re as dead to me as your mother," before leaving the tavern. You see the tears in Ameiko's eyes as she bravely picks up her ladle, inspects it, pulls a hair out of the mess, and says, "I’ll need a well-cleaned ladle now, since jackass stew’s not on the menu." The resulting cheers and laughter from the tavern’s patrons help her attitude immensely as she heads back to the kitchen saying something about "needing to check the soup." Bethana quielty tells you "she'll be ok in a little while, best not to mention it."

A few days later the proprietor of the Rusty Dragon mysteriously disappears and the heroes follow the trail to the glassworks!

There they discover Tsuto in league with the goblins, Lonjiko Kaijitsu dead, and Ameiko bound up in the basement, ready to be hauled off to Thistletop.  After a running battle with the goblins, Candrak pursues and is confronted by Tsuto without backup.  Things go badly for Candrak before Leena and Blukvard catch up to offer aid.  Tustu sees the tide of battle turn against him and makes a break for it, escaping down an old smugglers' tunnel to the beach below Sandpoint. He leaves behind his diary, left behind in his rush to confront Candrak.

Leena and Blukvard give chase while a badly wounded Candrak carries a barely conscious Ameiko up out of the basement and into the streets of Sandpoint to the gasps of the waiting crowd.  Discretion being the better part of valour, Leena and Blukvard catiously follow the trail and find tracks in the sand leading northeast towards the goblin stronghold at Thistletop.  They investigate the bricked up entrance to a mysterious side tunnel halfway along the escape tunnel.  Where does it lead?  They wisely decide to wait to investigate.  Something bad lurks within that ancient passage.  Why would someone brick it up anyway?

Ameiko is conscious but badly wounded and after Father Zantus ministers to her remains distraught at her brother’s treachery. Tsuto revealed to Ameiko that he and several other mercenaries were led by Nualia and hinted that she’s got big plans for Sandpoint’s future. Tsuto warned Ameiko that she didn’t want to be in town when those plans came through, and offered her a chance to join his group at Thistletop. Ameiko recoiled at the suggestion and slapped her brother in shock that he’d sunk to such a low. He responded by unleashing his goblins on her. They overwhelmed her and left her bound in the basement of the glassworks.  She is grateful for being rescued, but eager to warn her father until Candrak breaks the sad news to her.  

Experience

Party XP

1080 xp (8 Goblins)
400 xp (defeating Tsuto Kaijistsu...sort of..)
1200 xp (RP - Rescuing Ameiko)
2680 total Party XP

Blukvard

890 xp (Party XP)
890 xp total

Candrak

890  xp (Party XP)
25 xp (cinematic moment - carries out Ameiko from the glassworks)
0 xp (RP - discretion is the...nope...charging into the dungeon alone dumbass bonus)
915 xp total

Leena

890 xp (Party XP)
100 (discretion is the better part of valour...finally..."ooh look, a dungeon so deadly someone else bricked it up" - frankly I was amazed)
990xp total

Discretion is the Better Part of Valour

Monster in the Closet

Fresh from victory in the forest (and full of roast boar) the heroes once again find themselves in the comfortable common room of The Rusty Dragon. Ameiko's spicy fare always seems to hit the spot.  On this occasion however, their repast is noisily interupted by a distraught Amele Barett.  Her hurried tale involves poor Aeren, whose arm has been gnawed badly by a goblin commando, who had sneakily hidden in the closet. 

It appears the Gresgurt hid in the closet when the raid started to go bad for them....and then promptly fell asleep, completely forgetting to escape.  Aeren's dog, Petal, natural enemy of goblins, would launch into such a barking fit every time he tried to sneak out that he instead decided to make a nice little hole to hide in.  Aeren's father Alergast, didn't beleive the goblin in the closet story until they rushed in to Aeron's screams as Gresgurt was busy having a quick snack, having finally dispatched Petal with a piece of broken horsechopper.

After quickly seeing to Aeren's wounds, the heroes enter to the disturbing scene of Alergast being slowly eaten by Gresgurt in somewhat graphic, and let's be honest, pretty messy manner. They dislodge father Barett and Gresgurt leaps into the fray, angered at the loss of his dinner. Leena makes shot work of him. Despite Candrak's compassionate attempt to shield her from the worst of it, Amele Barett sees things in a less heroic light as the 2 1/2 foot wide bloody smear of Alergast across Aeren's floor leaves very little doubt that her husband is quite dead. 

Sheriff Hemlock takes in the scene with his usual stoicism and Adam recruits Hilda Higgins to help the kiddies. Amele is taken to the Cathedral and Father Zantus gives her a little something.  Being back in the cathedral unexpectedly giggles loose some distant memory in Blukvard, driving him to question the gravedigger, Edwards, about Father Tobyn's foster daughter, Nualia, who was also lost in the fire, although her body was never recovered.  Edwards is reluctant to speak ill of the dead, so the investigators seek out the Sheriff, who fills them in on some of the rumours about Nualia and a Varisian boy, Delek Viskanta.  They learn how Delek disappeared, and the beautiful Nualia was rarely seen outside the Chapel after that.  Six months later the church burned to the ground. 

Mobbed Up

Following the leads around town the heroes decide it's time to check out the seedier side of Sandpoint and head to the local Sczarni hangout, The Fatman's Feedbag.   The reception is frosty, the ale isn't.  Leena spots someone she knows and realises too late that it's Garrett, someone she definitely doesn't want to encounter again.  Tensions are raised as the tavern falls silent and the heroes are badly outnumbered.  A number of bandits stand up and Candrak and Blukvard wisely inch towards the door.  Not Leena though.  The bad goes start slowly towards our protagonsits, the smart ones keep moving towards the door.  Leena gets lippy.  In a (forced) stroke of insight Leena realises its the Sczarni (the Mafia) and that she should leave now or things could get bad.  I guess things got bad. More guys stand up and the way out s still clear.  Blukvard and Candrak have by this time made it outside and sent for the Sheriff's help.  There is still time to get out and yet more nefarious types stand up to join the others. Bewilderingly Leena stands her ground.

When the Sheriff returns with the watch and enters the Fatman's Feedbag, they search it top to bottom but there is no sign of Leena or the beating was heard to take.  Realising that the back door of the tavern faces onto the very same alley that Wacthman Joffrey's house also backs on to, a decision is made to enter and search the house.  Leena is found beaten unconscious and relieved of her weapons and coin.

Presumably in the hope that Leena has learned her lesson, Candrak re-equips her with a weapon out of his own pocket.  blukvard picks up some very fine work from the cranky tanner.

Grim News from Mosswood

The next day they are summoned to the Mayor's chambers where they meet Shelelu Andosana, and elven ranger who monitors the local goblins.  She bears grim news from Mosswood.  Sandpoint hasn’t been the only place in the region that’s had goblin troubles. In short, there’s been an increase in goblin-related raids along the Lost Coast Road, particularly in the dale between Nettlewood and Mosswood. Only a day ago, a farm south of Mosswood was burnt to the ground by a group of goblins. Shalelu was thankfully nearby, and while the farm couldn’t be saved, she did rescue the family and drive off the goblins; the family is staying at a nearby farm for now, but the goblin problem is obviously not going away.

Sheriff Hemlock announces that he’s taking a few of his men south to Magnimar to see about securing additional soldiers to station at Sandpoint for a few weeks, at least until the extent of the goblin threat can be determined. While he’s out of town, he’s asked Shalelu to sniff around Shank’s Wood, Devil’s Platter, and other places where goblins live to see if she can discover anything else about what’s going on. He would also like the heroes to maintain a public presence in Sandpoint over the next few days, if they don’t mind. “The locals seem to have taken to you,” he says, “And seeing you around town will do a lot for keeping worries down over the next few days.”

Shelelu joins you for dinner and regales you with tales of the goblin tribes and 'heroes' in the Sandpoint hinterlands. Canrak and Shelelu clearly share a lot of things in common.  They both like the outdoors and know a disturbing amount of goblin trivia for a start.

Experience

Party

600  Gresgut
900  investigations into Nualia

1500  Total Party Xp

Blukvard

500  (Party XP)
25  (RP - Heals Aeren Barett)
50  (RP - Help from Hilda Higgins)
75  (RP - "she's not dead")
100  (RP - discretion is the better part of valour)
25  (RP - "let's make our presence known" by patrolling)

775  Total XP

Candrak

500 (Party XP)
25  (RP - covers the barrett body so the family cant see)
100 (RP - discretion is the better part of valour)
50  (mystery bonus XP)

675 Total XP

Leena

500 (Party XP)
25  (cinematic moment - killing Gresgurt the closet commando)
--   (RP - discretion is th...no, wait...Leena was a dumbass)
75  (mystery bonus XP)

600  Total XP

Candrak's Fun Facts about Goblins #10

Goblins Believe Writing Steals Your Soul

The walls of goblin lairs and the ruins of towns goblins have raided are littered with pictures of their exploits. They never use writing, though. That’s not lucky. Writing steals words out of your head. You can’t get them back.

Candrak's Fun Facts about Goblins #9

They Get Stuck Easily

Goblins have wiry frames but wide heads. They live in cramped warrens. Sometimes too cramped.

Candrak's Fun Facts about Goblins #8

They Like Fire

Burning things is one of the great goblin pastimes, although they’re generally pretty careful about lighting fires in their own lairs, especially since goblins tend to live in large tangled thistle patches and sleep in beds of dried leaves and grass. But give a goblin a torch and someone else’s home and you’ve got trouble.

Candrak's Fun Facts about Goblins #7

They’re Voracious

Given enough supplies, a goblin generally takes nearly a dozen meals a day. Most goblin tribes don’t have enough supplies to accommodate such ravenous appetites, which is why the little menaces are so prone to going on raids.

Candrak's Fun Facts about Goblins #6

They’re A Little Crazy

The fact that goblins think of things like ovens as good hiding places reveals much about their inability to think plans through to the most likely outcome. That, and they tend to be easily distracted, particularly by shiny things and animals smaller than them that might make good eating.

Candrak's Fun Facts about Goblins #5

They’re Sneaky

An excited or angry goblin is a noisy, chattering, toothy menace, but even then, he can drop into an unsettling silence in a heartbeat. This, matched with their diminutive size, makes them unnervingly adept at hiding in places you’d never expect: stacks of firewood, rain barrels, under logs, under chicken coops, in ovens…

Candrak's Fun Facts about Goblins #4

Goblins Love to Sing

Unfortunately, as catchy as their lyrics can be, goblin songs tend to be a bit too creepy and disturbing to catch on in polite society.

Candrak's Fun Facts about Goblins #3

Goblins Raid Junkyards

Garbage pits, gutters, sewers… anywhere there’s garbage, you can bet goblins are nearby. Goblins are weirdly adept at crafting weapons and armor from refuse, and are fond of killing people with what they throw away.

Candrak's Fun Facts about Goblins #2

Dog Hate

Although goblins raise horrible rat-faced creatures called (creatively enough) goblin dogs to use as mounts (and ride wolves or worgs if they can get them—goblins are quick to explain that wolves are NOT dogs), their hatred of plain old dogs nearly matches their hatred of horses. The feeling is mutual. If your dog’s barking at the woodpile for no reason, chances are he smells a frightened goblin hiding in there somewhere.

Candrak's Fun Facts about Goblins #1

Horse Hate 

Goblins excel at riding animals, but they don’t quite get horses. In fact, their hatred of all things horse is matched only by their fear of horses, who tend to step on goblins who get too close

On the Level

To answer Johnno's question re levelling, let's try to organise a specific time to get the levelling organised.  I'd suggest doing your levelling in PCGen for your own records and updating characters manually in FG.

It's worth trying to explain the 'module' setup I'm using.  By 'module' I mean that in the FG2 sense rather than in an old school RPG sense.  If I'm ever on and you jump on and can't find your characters, it's because I don't have the campaign 'module' open because I'm working on one of the other 'modules'.  The caharacters are stored in the campaign 'module' only.  At the moment this is usually the "burnt offerings" adventure path 'module' or the "Sandpoint" location 'module' I have with all the Sandpoint stuff in it.  There's a bit of an overhead in switching between modules - exporting processes, etc.  Also bear in mind there isn't much I can do in the campaign module prep wise, so I'll be  just sitting there while you guys play with your characters in the main campaign 'module'.  Having said that I'm perfectly happy to set a time and let you guys spend as many hours as you want playing with characters.

It will be heaps better if we can coordinate though, so I don't have to stop what I'm doing prep wise whenever you jump on.  Of course you can just jump on and chat with me, or try out new features of FG no probs!  And chances are I'll be tired anyway, so I'll probably welcome and excuse to stop and switch off the brain.  If I'm on a roll though, or mid-way through building a particular bit please bear with me if I say "give me 30 mins" or something.  Just thought it was worth explaining that so yo don't think I'm just being annoying.

I have a heap of tokens too that I am slowly organizing.  These too are organised into the modules as seems to be the accepted sensible practice for memory or processing efficiency reasons or some such.  So I don't have the goblin tokens in the main campaign module, they are in the modules that need goblins.

Hit Points

As for hit points I am offering this deal.

Option 1 - take average rounded up.  

• D8 average is 4.5..rounds up to 5
• D10 is 5.5 rounds up to 6

Option 2 - roll and take your chances

Rolls will be done in FG for added nail-biting tension.  You can re-roll 1s and 2s but you have to take the second roll, according to my calculations this actually gives an expected outcome of:

• 5.25 for D8
• 6.3 for D10

So you can see that option 2 on average gives a slightly better outcome....but with an element of risk :-)  But you guys aren't wussy...are you?

Burnt Offereings

Having a week off is giving me a chance to read the module again, which is good because I seem to pick up something I missed every time I give it a quick read through.  Luckily the bits I've improvised so far have been gelling well with the published content and beleive it or not, I am already looking forward to sessions that I estimate will be 6 or more sessions away when I estimate you will discover X.  I just wish I could see the looks on your faces when it's all revealed!

Subscription Shipment #2

Got an email today that my next subscription shipment has shipped,  this time with the Adventure Path and 2 extra modules because I added in the module subscription and elected to start my subscription from the module before the latest one (so I started with 2).  All up, that's the 3 modules delivered for $47 plus perpetual download rights to the pdf versions the moment they shipped.  I reckon this Paizo stuff is some of the best quality RPG stuff that's ever been produced and they are selling for a very reasonable price.  Here's to a strong Aussie dollar driving cheap RPG costs :-).

Ken Henry Interview

Speaking of which, there was a pretty interesting interview with Ken Henry on the ABC site that I watched on tuesday.  It's about 35 mins so make a cuppa but a very interesting account.  He is of the opinion that the euro is doomed and always was, because of an unwillingness of member states to drive fiscal balancing between the member states. He also made a very interesting point about the criticisms of the stimulus packages regarding price gouging. His point was that it didn't really matter at a macroeconomic level if sectors of economy inflated prices to grab more of the stimulus money because the whole point of a macroeconomic stimulus response is to get money into the economy fast.  If someone inflates prices and takes some more of it than they should, then on a macroeconomic level that's actually good.  It doesn't stop them being scumbags, but its not damaging to macroeconomic strategy.

Dangerous Liaisons

With some ruthless interrogation the heroes discover much from the goblin prisoner, the trail leads to the graveyard and to the watchmen on duty the night before the attack.  What was so important about the body of Father Tobyn that the five tribes got together in an eleborate plot to take it.  And who is the mysterious "elfsy longshanks"?  What's happened to the missing watchman, Joffrey?  Is Williams really as innocent as he appears?  Leena sure doesn't think so!

Candrak, lured into a compromising position by the beautiful Shopkeeper's daughter, performs like a god.  Word is sure to spread around the ladies of the town that Candrak can really perform where it counts.  Where on earth did a young ranger learn to do that anyway?  When the father returned unexpectedly, things go south quickly.  Candrak takes his beating like a man and the Shopkeep's daughter cries foul. Leena is quick to believe her, and despite some breathtakingly obvious warning signs, Candrak takes a beating from Leena...again...and gets knocked unconscious...again...

The heroes take to the Tickwood with Lord Aldern Foxglove for a boar hunt.  Kitted out with brand new horses, courtesy of the good Lord, the party dispatches the boar with ease, but on the way home are ambushed by band of goblins, not at all usual for the Tickwood.  The danger is soon forgotten as the heroes once again find themselves in the Rusty Dragon Inn, sitting down to a fresh roast boar for the evening meal.  Aldern, already smitten with Leena, appears to be drifting into the realm of obsession.  Will Leena get tired of all this attention? Only time will tell...after all, he is a little bit rich, and that can make up for a lot of sins right?

Purely as a hypothetical, I wonder where Candrak will be in nine months?

Experience

400xp  (RP - questioning of the goblin)
600xp  (RP- unravelling the chain of events surrounding the goblin raid)
600xp  (1 Boar)
800xp  (6 Goblins)
400xp  (1 Goblin Commando)
2800xp  Total Party XP

Blukvard

930  (Party XP)
25  (RP - stopping to smell the...err...pie)
50  (RP - Investigations around the missing watchman)
50  (mystery bonus XP*)
1055 Total XP

Candrak

930  (Party XP)
25  (cinematic moment in the forest - 3 shots, 3 kills)
25  (RP - figuring out that the town attack was a diversion)
75  (RP - the shopkeep's daughter debacle)
50  (RP - bonus for actually sleeping with her - I never thought you'd do that - but what 24 y.o. bachelor with no ties to the town wouldn't sleep with the best looking girl in town)
75  (mystery bonus XP*)
1280 Total XP

Leena

930  (Party XP)
25  (RP - keeping Lord Foxglove on the hook)
25  (RP - defending Shayliss's honour)
25  (RP - keeping an eye on that liar Watchman Williams)
50  (mystery bonus XP*)
1055 Total XP

*  tempting as is it to assume that the "mystery XP" is a bit of random Dave balancing or something, rest assured there is method to the mystery, it really does mean something...

Dungeon Painter

The maps for the general store basement, battleground for often punched Candrak, and the forest encounter were created using a nifty little tool called dungeon painter.  It's online, free, and was pretty easy to use.  Obviously a little limited in what it can do, but none-the-less I had a basement ready to use in about 5 minutes.  Handy for those last minute "I need a map" situations.  I challenge any of you to load it up and not whip up a small dungeon...you know...just for fun :-)

Tokens

Well I think the few tokens I managed to grab looked ok and added to the whole experience.  Sorry I didn't have one for you in the rush to get them working Russ.  I spent most of the time fiddling about and searching the forums for a description on how to include them, but I have it sussed now.

Kudos to Adam this week for identifying how the modifiers pop-up thing worked.  And thanks for updating your individual modifier descriptions.  I noticed your Hawk Clan one John, worked well, I immediately knew what it was for whenever it came up. Thanks Russ for the quick support on looking up rules on the PRD and posting to the chat.

Love at First Fight

Leena, weary from days on the road, finds her way to Sandpoint and the Rusty Dragon Inn. Candrak recognises her as a half-blood runaway from the Hawk clan, earning a punch in the face for his trouble.  Goblins attack the town and disrupt the consecration of the Cathedral, and the three heroes are thrown together by fate in a bond forged in the heat of battle.

The Goblins are driven off or killed.  The heroes enjoy their new status as the talk of the town, having dispatched nearly half the goblins single handed.  Talk also abounds of the goblin that was captured by the sheriff and imprisoned for questioning.

They save both a bunch of school children and a visiting noble, Aldern Foxglove from being killed by goblins...and they all notice the rather besotted look that overcomes him whenever he spies the leggy Leena.

Experience Points

11 goblins 1350 xp
1 goblin warchanter 400xp
1 goblin commando 400xp
1 goblin dog 400xp

total 2685 party xp

Blukvard

895   (Party XP)

50     (RP - leaving pet to guard the children)

25     (cinematic - stumbling leap over sacks to ignominious safety)

970 TOTAL XP

Candrak

895   (Party XP)

25     (cinematic leap onto barrels)

50     (RP - calm in the face of petulant runaway pugilist)
50     (mystery bonus x2)

1020 TOTAL XP

Leena

895   (Party XP)
25     (cinematic rock upon which goblins crashed in 2nd fight)
25     (mystery bonus)
945 TOTAL XP

Shoanti

Languages: Common, Shoanti
Favored Regions: Belkzen, Lands of the Linnorm Kings, Varisia
Favored Religions: Desna, Gorum, Gozreh, Pharasma, ancestor worship, totemism
Full Names: Arrow Catcher, Break Bones, Hawk Dancer, Eats What He Kills, Earth Hammer, One Tooth, Ready-Klar, Sky Whisper, Thousand Bones, Thunders When Sleeps, Who Kills Twice
Female Names: Ahalak, Beshkee, Imenda, Nalmida, Tanjah, Tekrakai, Yavenee, Zova
Male Names: Akrem, Belor, Garidan, Hargev, Krojun, Shadfrar, Vachedi
Appearance: Shoanti possess widely varying skin tones from deeply tanned to dark brown, although most are of a ruddy complexion. Hair is considered a dangerous weakness in hand-to-hand combat, so both men and women typically shave their heads, save for shamans and the elderly.

Shoanti Culture

Known for their warlike nature and proud traditions, the Shoanti are a disparate people, bound together by honor and tradition. Shoanti history is steeped in conf lict, from their brutally heroic legends to the defeats of the recent past and the harshness of their modern lives. Shaped by strife, the Shoanti are stalwart, tenacious, and suspicious people, oath-sworn to regain all that was once theirs and honor-bound to avenge themselves against all schemers who would dare call them barbarians.

When Shoanti youths reach majority, they must undergo a rite of passage to become adults. Upon completing this rite of passage, they receive their first tattoo. These tattoos are an important part of Shoanti life, and can be quite extensive and beautiful. Hundreds of different tattoo designs exist; each is chosen and traced by a tribe’s shaman, drawn from an expansive traditional assortment of symbols with their own varied meanings and implications.

The Shoanti are given a birth name when born, but once they becomes adults, they are also given a full name—it is generally by this honorific (which is always a short phrase) that they are called in everyday life. These full names can change several times during a Shoanti’s life. Birth names are generally used only by close family or lovers. Shoanti who abandon their clan to live among others typically revert to using their birth names as their standard name—a practice that many traditional Shoanti find shameful.

The Clans

The Shoanti are not one people but rather many quahs (“clans”) united by heritage, tradition, and lifestyle. These various quahs largely respect one another and their lands, making disagreements over resources, territory, and politics—widely held to be distasteful and duplicitous—few. When conf licts do arise, small skirmishes and individual battles between the quahs’ champions quickly determine whom the spirits favor. The current seven quahs are summarized below.

Lyrune-Quah (Moon Clan): Expert archers and hunters, these Shoanti hunt by dusk and travel by the light of the moon. They dwell in the Cinderlands of Varisia, and revere creatures that hunt by moonlight, such as bats and owls.

Shadde-Quah (Axe Clan): The Shadde- Quah are expert divers and fishermen, and prefer to dwell in the coastal regions along northern Varisia or the southern Lands of the Linnorm Kings. They revere creatures that rely upon the sea for their livelihood, such as fish or sea birds.

Shriikirri-Quah (Hawk Clan): This clan, more than any other, regards animals as holy and mystic. Few rival their skill as animal trainers. They revere all animals, but particularly favor the hawk. They range far in their travels, but can usually be found in north-central Varisia.

Shundar-Quah (Spire Clan): The Shundar-Quah see themselves as diplomats and storytellers—it is in large part thanks to their efforts that the seven quahs have enjoyed what peace they have with each other. Members of the Spire Clan revere the ancient Thassilonian monoliths that can be found throughout their preferred territories on the Storval Plateau or western Belkzen.

Sklar-Quah (Sun Clan): The most warlike of the quahs, the Sun Clan are the most intolerant of outsiders and the most likely to wage war against non-Shoanti. Their greatest warriors are the burn-riders—elite mounted cavalry who excel at using fire to win battles. They dwell in the southern Cinderlands, and revere the horse above all other animals.

Skoan-Quah (Skull Clan): The Skoan-Quah are the most sinister of the clans, for they associate with the dead and guard the many Shoanti burial grounds in the eastern Cinderlands and among the Mindspin Mountains. They venerate the spirits of animals and favor those associated with death, such as vultures or beetles.

Tamiir-Quah (Wind Clan): The Wind Clan are perhaps the most secluded of the quahs, venturing out of the mountains of northwestern Varisia or the southern Lands of the Linnorm Kings only to raid lowlanders for valuable resources. They venerate f lying animals above all others.

Death of a God

Just over a century ago, the god of humanity died. His name was Aroden, and he not only lifted humanity out of the ashes and terror of the Age of Darkness (an age that followed the meteoric cataclysm known as Earthfall), but founded the greatest city in the world—Absalom. He defeated the foul wizardking Tar-Baphon. He drove back the demon lord of the Locust Host from the nation of Sarkoris. He eventually left the world to join the divine host after setting humanity on course for a great destiny. Prophecies said that when humanity was ready to ascend back to the pinnacle it once held in the ancient times of Old Azlant, Aroden would return to the world to usher in a new Age of Glory. But instead of returning at the appointed time, Aroden, the god of humanity, died.

The death of the god of humanity marked the beginning of a new age. The previous ages had names to inspire and bolster the spirit—the Age of Destiny, the Age of Enthronement. But this new age is not a time of plenty. It is the Age of Lost Omens, for if a god cannot fulfill his own prophecy, what chance have any others of coming true? Aroden’s death scarred the world with storms and madness. To the north, the world split open and the festering armies of the Abyss spilled out through a tear in reality known today as the Worldwound. To the south, the idyllic gulf of Abendego was consumed by a perpetual hurricane whose winds and waves drowned nations. And in the heartland of the Inner Sea region, where Aroden had been prophesied to return, civil war erupted and thousands died before the diabolic House of Thrune seized power.

The Age of Lost Omens has now entered its second century, and in the 11 decades since Aroden’s death, the world has become a darker place. A place where ancient, sinful wizards known as runelords threaten to waken from 10,000 years of slumber. A place where nations are ruled by criminals or devil worshipers or worse. A place where once-great empires now wallow in self-indulgent paranoia or bloody, endless revolutions. A place where nothing is foretold, and anything can happen. A place in need of heroes like never before—the Inner Sea of Golarion

Sola Fide

Well I've been holding off working on the campaign for the last few days which is why if you've tried to get into the campaign of a night it hasn't been there (because I haven't had it open).  I've done about 50 hours preparation so far and I didn't want to do a heap more given it was looking a bit shaky scheduling wise.  It's not that I am not keen, it's just a little harder to find the motivation to press on to hour 51 of the pretend world when the real world issues haven't quite been sorted out yet.  I am sure we'll sort out something, and so...

Subscription

Sola fide I subscribed to the Pathfinder Adventure Path series starting at AP #55 (the first of the Skull & Shackles Campaign) and then promptly pre-ordered the Rise of the Runelords: Anniversary Edition hardcover too.  I pre-ordered because for this particular special release pre-ordering entitles me to the PDF download too, which means it should be relatively easy for me to cut & paste material into FG2.

Henchmen

I'll prepare a couple of characters ready to fill the ranks on any night that someone can't play.   That way the party can continue with enough heft to 'get stuff done'.


By the way, MilSims has a sale at the moment.

Any decision on a night yet?

Are we playing tonight for example?

Characters

I have successfully imported Blukvard the Druid into FG with a combo of PCGen and the FGImporter utility.  So you can email me the PCGEN files for your characters to my home email address (the netspace one).

Dave casts Cure Light Suckiness

With the general bumminess of the way this is heading, I thought I'd share a couple of web sites I've stumbled across in my week at the PC preparing 'RPG stuff''

This is the coolest tiling terrain I've ever seen.  Watch the video, its like a eugenics programme where the genetic stock is from  old school and awesome.

Speaking of awesome old school stuff, can you believe this?  If I didn't still have my originals lovingly preserved in my RPG shrine I'd be on amazon instead of typing this.

I remember when White Dwarf was a pretty cool RPG magazine.  But there where any number of them, Sorcerers Apprentice I have here somewhere.  Anyway, Kobold Quarterly is an interesting little magazine braving the online RPG business with its narrow margins (profit margins not print margins) and keeping its head above water.

Community consultation about D&DNext (5e)

This next one needs no introduction....+5 Crossword of Slaying!!

In the Background

Just as you occasionally see a photo in which the goings on in the background are far more interesting than the foreground (often comically), tonight's experience proved to me once again how interesting character backgrounds can be.

Jacko the Druid

Jacko jumped onto FG2 tonight while I was building the module for the town (more on that later).  We bounced ideas back and forward about the background history of his character.  How he fitted in with the world and his reason for being where he is.  As we got in to more and more detail, his character's story really started to take shape.  I'm really impressed with where it took us and how it developed into a rich character story that really makes sense on a number of different levels.  Some obvious, some subtle.  I'm pumped!

Sandpoint Module

The other "background" at play in the campaign is the town of Sandpoint. This too has it's own character (and I'm pleased with how well the two are now merged for Jacko's character).  For the purpose of running the campaign on FG2 I've been trying to modularise components, so that I don't have one enormous campaign mess whenever I fire up the program.  I know you guys are interested in how we can use the Fantasy Grounds software so I thought I'd share a bit of how I've organised things.

I've basically divided stuff up into modules (FG's name for them).  I can load/unload the modules at will into the main campaign on the fly.  So for example if you are in Sandpoint I can have the Sandpoint module open.  This dynamically adds extra tabs to the relevant sections of the FG desktop.  E.g. A new tab appears in the story section that has just story entries for Sandpoint.  I have colour-coded (and for that matter symbol-coded) the tabs and ensured they appear with hover text when I load the module.  So for example all my town modules will be globe symbols on a bright yellow ribbon (tab).  When you leave Sandpoint on your adventures I can simply close that module and open any others I might need. This ensures I don't over load the system or (more likely) my brain by having thousands of entries to wade through. To give you a feel of the scale at the moment I have about 60 story entries alone for Sandpoint already.  There will be 20 or 30 more before I'm finished I am sure.  Another 130 so far for the main part of the module itself.

Class, Race & Time

Class

I understand from Jacko that you have all made choices regarding class as follows:

• Adam - Druid
• John - Ranger
• Russ - Warrior

Favored Class

Not sure if you guys have discovered this rule yet...  

Each character begins play with a single favored class of his choosing—typically, this is the same class as the one he chooses at 1st level. Whenever a character gains a level in his favored class, he receives either + 1 hit point or + 1 skill rank. The choice of favored class cannot be changed once the character is created, and the choice of gaining a hit point or a skill rank each time a character gains a level (including his first level) cannot be changed once made for a particular level. Prestige classes can never be a favored class.

Unless you post a comment to the contrary I am assuming you are all taking your starting class as your "preferred class".

Race/Gender

There are a number of plot points that are based around specific circumstances of party make-up, particularly race and gender.  Things like "the dragon eats the shortest available elf in the surprise round" so in order to maximise what I can prepare ahead of time, what would be really handy to know now is:

• Name
• Race
• Gender

Play Time

When are we going to play?  I see 4 main questions here:

1. What night are we playing? (Fri, Sat, Sun suit me best)
2. What time are we starting?
3. How often?  Weekly? fortnightly?
4. Are you ready to start now?  I could start from tomorrow night if you wanted

Getting the Most from the Blog

I quite like how useful the blog has been for delivering content quickly (especially now that I finally figured out how to get my cascading style sheets working - it doesn't help with design bad taste but it's at least consistent!)  I'd like to see the blog used as a central collaboration/discussion tool and steer away from the emails (which I'm not seeing).  The comments as a mechanism for discussion works very well (certainly on the fantasy grounds and Paizo forums anyway).

Subscribe

You can subscribe to get alerts when new blog entries are posted.  There are a few ways to do this:

• you can open an individual post (ie click the post heading or select the post from the blog archive list in the right sidebar) then click subscribe by email at the bottom.  You need to be logged in to your google account for this.  Please don't anyone say you don't have a google account, because it's like saying you don't have arms.  You can live but it sure is hard to interact with the world.
• If you use blogger at all you can follw the blog from your blogger dashboard.  
• I think I could also set up an RSS feed, but then I'd have to figure out how to do that, and I think I can better spend my time reading up on druids and the starting town.

Ranger Danger

Ranger Danger

Things will certainly be interesting with 3 Rangers.  The first few encounters are quite easy so there won't be any problems there.  But as the module heats up the encounters start to get a bit tougher and towards the end there are some very challenging issues for you to face.  Some of these will require a certain amount of creativity and, more to the point, diversity to conquer. As it is you are only a 3 person party rather than the recommended 4, so you are already a little behind the 8-ball diversity wise.

Whatever Floats your Boat

Having said that, if you all want to play rangers then who am I to say "no".  It will certainly make knowing each other easy and it will sure make for an interesting game. What I'd really hate to see, though, is that I spend 50-100 hours working on the campaign (and I've already put in a lot of hours) only to have it fizzle out after a session or two because the party balance is so screwy you can't accomplish anything.  I'm just throwing it out there that some consideration would be appreciated if it ends up so messed up you can't help but get killed and have to start a new character.

On the plus side, an all-ranger group limits the amount of reading on classes I need to do.

Time Heals all Wounds

Rubbish.
Magic is what heals all wounds. You may want to consider to whom you will be turning when all these rangers need patching up.  Maybe you wont need it.  You'll probably be lousy with Cure Light Wounds when you finally hit level 7, I'm sure no one will need healing before then, what with the heavy reliance on non-confrontational role-playing you're all known for :-)

On the plus side, I haven't read any of the spell casting bits yet, so that might save me a lot of research too.  I should probably read the wound stabilisation and dying rules pretty thoroughly though.

All the Classes Rock

From what I can tell, PF has made all the core classes pretty awesome.  I don't pretend to have read them all, but just as an example, I think Bard has become a pretty playable class now.  Spells from level 1 and pretty decent combat capability.  It appears that Leonard Cohen is a level 20 bard with his ability to depress you so much with his songs that you literally take your own life. This  Bardic Performance stuff is on top of spells and from what I can see basically gives about 6 spell like effects per day at first level (assuming CHA 14) going up by 2 per level. So a 4rd level bard (with just 14 cha) is ripping out 12 performances a day plus plus 7 spells.

Fighters get more feats than a centipede and Druids can get all companioned up with pet wolf/bear/etc at lvl 1 as another couple of examples.  Barbarians can get a bit crazy too--+8 str rage bonus (and x1.5 damage bonus for 2 hander) combined with auto critical hit anyone?  If you fancy being a Barbarian but don't want to be a Shoanti, you can be a shipwrecked Linnorm (viking) who has been living in Sandpoint for a number of years.  Though obviously you're a long way from home and no free Shoanti totem spirit.  You still wont have any healing but at east you'll have d12 hit dice :-)

Character Creation

First order of business is character creation. Click the links in this post even if you don't think you need to because you already have the material.  It reveals a few cool things I've found this morning.

Character Generator

You can, of course, go all old school and use the Core Rulebook  to work out your character.  Please note we are using only the Pathfinder Core Rulebook  for the moment. However, I recommend downloading and using PCGen, an open-source (ie free) program for generating RPG characters.  This will guide you through the generation process without the need to understand intimately all the subtle differences between 3.5e and PFRPG.  If you do your character 'old school' I'll verify with PCGen anyway.  It's not pretty (like Hero Lab) but it's a lot more free.

1. Download and install PCGen
2. Settings > Preferences > Character Stats > Purchase mode > High Fantasy (20) > OK
3. File > New
4. Follow the "Things to be Done" list on the Summary Tab (I managed to nut it out at 2 in the morning so you'll figure it out)

Rise of the Runelords Player's Guide 

The Rise of the Runelords Player's Guide is available for free on the Paizo website.

1. Create an account at Piazo
2. Add   Rise of the Runelords Player's Guide PDF
3. Go to the My Downloads section and download your PDF
4. While you are there you can also grab the free Character Sheet if you like
5. There are some other freebies around the site if you look long enough

Rise of the Runelords Bonus Feats

You cannot have a bonus feat as described in this Guide.  This is because:

• the players guide was written for 3.5 prior to PFRPG.  
• You get more feats in PFRPG anyway
• in later adventure paths, these were replaced with "traits"

Exception - Varisian Tattoos and Shoanti Totem Spirits

• If you are (1) Varisian; (2) meet the prerequisite; and (3) come from Sandpoint- you can have a Varisian Tattoo as a free bonus 
• If you are (1) Shoanti; and (2) come from Sandpoint- you can have a Totem Spirit as a free bonus 

Traits

One of the exceptions to the only Core Rulebook rule is that you can choose a trait if you like.  You don't have to choose a trait, it's purely optional.

Get info on traits from:

• the bottom of the Advanced Player's Guide New Rules section of the PRD; 
• downloading the free Pathfinder Character Traits Web Enhancement PDF from the My Downloads section;
• PCGen > Feats & Abilities tab > Traits sub-tab (2nd row of tabs appears when you choose Feats & Abilities tab in 1st row)

Choose carefully though, I'll be expecting you to exhibit the trait and will assume that it is perceived as a trait of your character by others.  If you're claiming the benefit of a trait, I might be tempted to have some fun with it. For example, if you chose the trait courageous (+2 trait bonus on saving throws against fear effects) I could see myself tempted to ensuring you are actually "courageous".