After New Year's Court

[marcq]

See Session One for a recap of the first session and the current state of affairs as you know them.

I would like to use this thread to answer additional questions players may have (and I'll add the relevant answers to the page above) and determine what the party wants to do next.

Things are pretty wide open now so I'd like some discussion on next steps. We'll use this thread to determine direction of the next session (Oct 9). Whoever contributes determines next step, even if it is just Draeca.

Meaningful contribution on this thread is worth 1000 XP. Token contribution will get you 250 XP. Just one meaty post will qaulify for "meangingful"; I know you are all busy.

[marcq]

All is not lost for Eidos. Mottul suffered a similar defeat 3 years ago with much of their heartland in Eidos control. However, the presence of Mottul flying fortresses may make an enormous difference this time around.

• King Ferresh has heirs. Additionally, when he took the throne 100 years ago, there were stronger lines bypassed so they might provide heirs as well. Plus there are other senior lines to draw on for heirs.
• The Eidos regalia includes the throne (returned to Lykos after Law Day) and the crown (last seen on King Ferresh).
• Eidos needs to make sure a credible heir is safe.
• Eidos needs to learn how to fly its own flying fortresses. Perhaps an Eidos one can be captured. No doubt they are well defended but rapid success in conquering Eidos may open opportunities, especially if there are several flying fortresses or the Mottul forces are trying to capture Eidos ones and get them flying.
• Princep's Castelleon fortress may be at risk of capture if Mottul is trying to seize fortresses for their own use. It also has a portal straight to Lykos. Hopefully, Princep's people shut it down quickly.
• Most of the party has ties to Fina and can also expect Fina to form a nucleus of defense.
• Mottul knows the role of Fina and may make it a point to take out her or at least her duchy, which is adjacent to the Lykos lands and susceptible to an overland attack from Lykos.
• It would be safe to assume that more than just Lykos has fallen to Mottul. They were raiding from the Lykos portals and must have succeeded in a few places.

What to do next?

• If Princep knows of an heir, we may want to secure it.
• We could put ourselves at the service of our host, Ikon.
• We could try to get to Castelleon and make sure it is secure.
• We could look for a Mottul flying fortress and try to take it or at least learn its secrets.
• We could try to get to Fina and help her.

[SuperBeast]

Kestrel is most inclined to make contact with her sword master first. She needs to know if he still lives and if so, what he thinks the best plan of action is. Is there anyway of doing that?

[marcq]

Originally Posted by SuperBeast

Kestrel is most inclined to make contact with her sword master first. She needs to know if he still lives and if so, what he thinks the best plan of action is. Is there anyway of doing that?

You can travel to his location, get him to travel to where you are or contact him remotely.

You'll need to work out a portal path with the aid of one of the pathfinders (Princep or Leonus) if you want to go find him, assuming he is still at his last known location. We could try to resolve this out of game but would likely either take you out of play for a while or require the party to undertake this journey so this is probably a non-starter.

Alternately, you could explore having one of the dragons make the journey. Dragons could fly a long way. Draeca won't loan you Aura but if you have some long duration diminuation magic Draeca and Aura can carry you as could the bronze dragon. One of the flyers could also take a message.

On contacting him, I don't think the party has any direct means but your host, Ikon, is a highlevel wizard who may be able to assist with various spells or items. Please research any spells or items you would like to look into and I will reply here with what Ikon or others in Segestos are willing to undertake.

Marc

[sivousplay]

Just to let everyone know, Princep is going through his knowledge of portals, nobility, and flying fortresses. Upon fully comprehending my knowledge, I will make some suggestions. It seems that knowing where we might be able to go will play a major part in deciding what to do next.

jim

[marcq]

Originally Posted by sivousplay

Just to let everyone know, Princep is going through his knowledge of portals, nobility, and flying fortresses. Upon fully comprehending my knowledge, I will make some suggestions. It seems that knowing where we might be able to go will play a major part in deciding what to do next.

jim

I will be providing Jim with more data on this tonight (it is private data for his character due to among other things, his being a Pathfinder).

But prior to that, it is safe to assuming the following:

• You can reach anything but the small distant islands via portal but the path may be convoluted and there may be a few cases where you find that Mottul controls the necessary portal. This assumes no path goes through Lykos.
• The Dragons can fly long distances. They could be used to reach any point in Eidos although you won't be able to take anyone by Azz and Draeca unless you find a way to diminish some folks.
• The winged humanoids like Gel can't fly to adjacent islands unless they are fairly close (<10 miles)

Marc

[marcq]

I've posted some information on the four Eidos flying fortresses on the Eidos page.

Members of the Pathfinder's guild have received some knowledge about portals that they are privy to.

If you have ranks in knowledge(dragon) (like Draeca), you may know the location of dragons who might be useful to ferry you about.

If you have ranks in knowledge(nobility), you will know something about the succession, now that Ferresh is dead.

Marc

PS The XP bonus may be greater than 1000XP depending on level of participation and what you propose.

[SuperBeast]

Originally Posted by marcq

...
On contacting him, I don't think the party has any direct means but your host, Ikon, is a highlevel wizard who may be able to assist with various spells or items. Please research any spells or items you would like to look into and I will reply here with what Ikon or others in Segestos are willing to undertake.

Marc

After weighing the options, Kestrel will see if Ikon can contact her sword master with some kind of spell (meaning I will look at the spells in the PHB and suggest a couple). Any travel is likely to be too costly in time, and time is short right now. The lives of many innocents lay in the balance.

If she can make contact, then she will do what he suggests. Otherwise, Kestrel is more inclined to find where the morttul forces are headed, and stop them from killing any more people. To her the lives of the people are more important than protecting a new heir, since we had no chance of protecting the previous king. Thus, protecting Castelleon or helping Fina are Kestrel's first choices at this point.

[marcq]

From an email to the group:

Do try to contribute to the discussion thread about where the group is going next. I'll be honest, there isn't really a wrong answer but it will definitely help if you feel you had some say on where you are going. Think of it as a chance to pick the type of encounters you'd like to be involved with.

For example:

If you want to go after the flying fortresses, then this line will involve trying to figure out how Mottul is flying their fortress. it will involved some raids, maybe some scouting in enemy lands, some research.

If you want to stop the undead armies of Mottul in their tracks, go to Fina's aid and fight on the front lines. Ophir combat isn't the meeting of huge armies, it is the meeting of warbands composed of people like the PCs (sort of Homeric battle, like in the ancient greek world).

If you want to build a new king, maybe be part of a new camelot, rally around the heir and beat back the Saxons, er, I mean the Mottul guys.

[sivousplay]

There are a lot of options at this point. Our ability to get to certain places will play a part, but I think we need to decide which of several "logical" paths we should take before we worry about how to physically get there.

There seem to be several key elements:
1). Royal secession - find and protect the next in line to ensure that the fight against Mottul is organized
2). Secure the flying fortresses - now that Mottul has discovered the magic, the other fortresses would be key assets in their attempt to control Eidos.
2a). Find out how the fortresses are flying and get the Eidos' fortresses "in the air."
3). Re-take Lyko and put the proper heir on the throne.
4). Find Fina and see what she thinks.

Separate to this there are any number of personal missions that people may need to undertake during this time of chaos and crisis.

My personal preference would be to start on all of the above.

The bulk of the nobility were at New Year's Court. King Ferresh and his heirs (Steen and Caulda) were in the melee. Their whereabouts will be difficult to determine and their chance of survival would seem dicey at best. Coming up with a quick way to determine if they are still alive would seem a good thing. Any resistance should rally to them.

If they are not alive, the head of the other major houses would be in line. Iolana (head of House Bastian) left on law day. Her major dwellings are in Lyko (as is the case w/ the other major houses). Finding her and any other nobles' whereabouts in Lyko will be difficult. She does have some other holdings in Edel which will be a little difficult to get to.

The head of the other major house (Gorak of Caniad) also left the Court on Law night. He has major holdings in Lyko, but secondary in Attalene where one of the four flying fortresses in Eidos is. We can also get there easily.

As to securing the other flying fortresses, one is very near Lyko and where the king would normally retreat ... it's possible that there is a defense set up there w/ or w/out the king/heir, but being so near the Mottul attack, it could be dicey getting there or living when we do get there. Another is the previously mentioned on Attalene. A third (and the other major one) is my own (Castelleon) which I would like to get to. It's not easy to get there, but the trip to Attalene starts us on a "portal path" that could get us close. The 4th is held by a "neutral."

My thoughts would be to 1). quickly determine if we can find a way to see if an heir is alive and where they are 2). confer with them or Fina if possible to determine what resistance might exist 3). get to Castelleon as quickly as possible to secure what may be Eidos' only hope to stop the Mottul. 4). Get aboard the Mottul flying fortress to discover the secrets of magical flight and see if we can get the Eidos fortresses flying again.

What does everyone else think?
Princep

[sivousplay]

Another thought has come to mind ... we may want to consider speaking w/ or getting someone we trust to speak w/ the neutral (Abilyx) ... he possesses a decent sized flying fortress that we don't need in Mottul's hands.

Princep

[marcq]

Draeca:

Princep's points are all valid. I'll observe, though, that the heirs will be in hiding now and that the more straightfoward magic for contacting them (like sending) will likely be blocked by various protection magic. Contacting them might mean going to them directly but it would be worth trying indirect means first if possible. For example, the heir might be blocked but it is not practical to block all who know him so maybe we could scry a known bodyguard or companion and communicate through them.

Princep's thought on the flying fortress near Lyko is interesting. If the heir is holed up there, it might be worth trying to go to them there although that could be an 'alamo' kind of stand. Draeca would be up for that, though.

Both of those lines would benefit from a cyrstal ball to scry out people likely to be in either place. If no one in the party has one, we should see if Ikon will assist us in that matter.

Draeca thinks that if we can find some information that gives us a lead on the flying fortresses, we should pursue that angle. It would be interesting if we could defeat a Mottul party that carried with it the means to fly the fortresses. That is, if Mottul can fly multiple fortresses and if they are then going to attack the fortresses to get them and then make them fly, we could potential get the secret to flying them from the Mottul raider sent to seize the fortress. Aside from just hanging out in one of these in the hopes Mottul will attack, Draeca is not sure how to pursue that, though.

Failing that, rather than chasing heirs all over, she is inclined to go to Fina and fight the armies of Mottul on the ground. But don't forget that Mottul armies are full of undead and she has a thing about undead.

[marcq]

Don't forget that your portfolio friends represent people who will assist you. In most cases, it may not make sense to look for them right now but you do want to keep them in mind.

I prefer that you update your portfolio descriptions with the location of your friends' main residences and estates (if they have them) or other locating information. For instance, Draeca's friend Tug is in the service of a noble.

[marcq]

Originally Posted by sivousplay

Another thought has come to mind ... we may want to consider speaking w/ or getting someone we trust to speak w/ the neutral (Abilyx) ... he possesses a decent sized flying fortress that we don't need in Mottul's hands.

Princep

I think we should send someone towards Abilyx for the reasons you give but it would be better to send someone trusted and let the party head a different way.

Draeca is more inclined to head towards Pelion (where Fina is) and Larrisa, maybe stopping by Castelleon and Yor (for Princep's sake) on the way. Draeca has two friends (Tug and Tancred) in Larrisa and she is very keen to aid Fina as well.

Do one of the pathfinders know a way to get that way without going through Lyko? Draeca is willing to make the journey on her dragon and report back if there are no portal paths that support that line of advance. It would be nice to arrange some means to communicate, however before she left (should the group decide that is a good thing to do).

Before we take this too much further, I think we should consult with Ikon and see if his magic can shed any light on the state of affairs. Does anyone mind if Draeca casts a "voice of the dragon" and tries to persuade Ikon to aid us? She is quite diplomatic with 'voice' up (around +30, I think).

Once we have a little intel, we can see if that reveals an obvious line of pursuit. If not, we can then let factors such as PC holdings and PC friends determine where to go next.

Also, note that Abilyx is neutral only in the sense that its ruler is not a member of a royal line. It still has its alliances (it tends to work with Talatha and Aheneus.)

[sivousplay]

I agree that getting Ikon to help us determine the locations of the nobles of interest makes a great deal of sense. Once we know the whereabouts of some/all of the nobles, we can come up w/ a "portal path" to get us to all the locations we need to visit.

Princep

[marcq]

Originally Posted by sivousplay

I agree that getting Ikon to help us determine the locations of the nobles of interest makes a great deal of sense. Once we know the whereabouts of some/all of the nobles, we can come up w/ a "portal path" to get us to all the locations we need to visit.

Princep

[Ref]: I'll work that up now. If you want to make any specifc requests, send me an email in the next few minutes.

[marcq]

I'll assume you allow one day to pass so that Ikon can do a good scrying/sending, etc. job. It is now 3 days after the melee disaster.

Here's what Ikon can discover:
Lord Steen appears to be styling himself King and is holed up in Jorguard with most of the senior members of the Diarmed family, including his sister Caulda. Jorguard is the flying fortress near Lyko. Ikon doesn't think it has been moved.

Duchess Fina is marshalling forces at her main palace at Cisar in Pelion.

Lord Galinor (Kestrel's Sword master) is alive and appears to be at the moment hiding in a cave with two other Kensai. Ikon could not tell where he was. Galinor and his companions did not seem seriously wounded but from dirt, blood and damage to their gear, it appears as if they have been fighting recently.

Merin Greybeard (Princep's wizard in charge of Castelleon when he is away) appears to be aware of the danger and seems to have the Castle on heightened alert.

There seems to be a large Mottul army marching northward along the shores of Bundel Bay on the way to Quivel and Pelion.

Lyko is firmly in the hands of Mottul. It looks like important captives are being held in the dungeon of the main palace.

Gorek, head of house Caniad is at his estates in Attalene.

Ikon found now sign of the House Bastian senior members.

[marcq]

Ikon has a basic crystal ball that Dracea's has convinced him to sell for an item of at least equivalent value. If anyone is interested, let me know.

Marc

[sivousplay]

I think that our group can be the more effective in a covert action against a flying fortress than we could in a pitched battle and we suggest we select a strategy that takes us that way. As an aside, I need to send Leonus to Yor to secure my holdings (he has been the steward there for nearly 100 years).

I would suggest a quick trip to Jorguard to see if the enemy fortress is there. I do not wish to get caught up in any huge battle there, but would hope that with our small numbers and diverse abilities we could sneak onto the fortress or attempt to learn of Mottul's plans to overtake other fortresses in Eidos. If we can discover the secrets to flying the fortresses and can get Eidos' fortresses aloft, then we have the best chance at turning back the invasion.

What do others think?
Princep

[marcq]

Draeca: I don't mind swinging by Jorgund but how are going to do that? Are there convenient portals for getting there? Or will just some of the more mobile party members check it out?

On a related note, I [Dracea] have a question for the Pathfinders: how many of the flying fortresses are connected by an active portal to the mainland? Those that are connected are probably (although not necessarily) well provisioned in terms of garrison and supplies and could be good condition.

If any of them are not connected by active portals, those are likely lightly garrisoned, if at all, and not well cared for (since it would be very hard to get supplies to them without a portal.)

If Mottul was looking to grab a few of Eidos' flying fortresses, the obvious ones to go for are any that are lightly garrisoned, such as ones without working portals. We should make sure they are properly guarded and if get reason to believe Mottul is looking to steal some of these, we may wish to keep on eye on them with the thought that we might be able to learn something from the raiding party.