RangerWickett
Legend
I like the idea, though officially I'm going to leave ancient ancient history vague, so folks can pencil in the details if they want.
Redbadge's Campaign (there will be spoilers)
Isklexi
First Post
Naturally I wouldn't expect you to change that (nor should you). The vagueness of the ancient history is exactly what enabled me free reign to build Cal's backstory.
That time traveling episode could be interesting. Depending on exactly when they show up, they could run into a very different Cal.
[sblock=spoiler]The adventure write ups have also hinted that later on the PCs may have a hand in Srassama's resurrection. It gives a perfect opportunity for Cal to promote his agenda. "Why bring back a failed god when you can replace her and give the Eladrin the god they deserve?" It could pave the way for Irony (the party's eladrin bard) to take the demigod epic destiny (or something similar).[/sblock]
That time traveling episode could be interesting. Depending on exactly when they show up, they could run into a very different Cal.
[sblock=spoiler]The adventure write ups have also hinted that later on the PCs may have a hand in Srassama's resurrection. It gives a perfect opportunity for Cal to promote his agenda. "Why bring back a failed god when you can replace her and give the Eladrin the god they deserve?" It could pave the way for Irony (the party's eladrin bard) to take the demigod epic destiny (or something similar).[/sblock]
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Isklexi
First Post
It looks like Bellicose's player will get some time off soon, so we can finally get back to Zeitgeist. However, I don't think huge stalls like this is good for our game.
Does anyone here on the forums have suggestions for moving the game forward while Bellicose is not available? I don't want to play his character for him while he's away since it's his character, but short of having Bellicose prone to crippling illness or lightning strikes, I'm not sure how to gracefully explain the character's absence and reappearance as the player's schedule allows.
Does anyone here on the forums have suggestions for moving the game forward while Bellicose is not available? I don't want to play his character for him while he's away since it's his character, but short of having Bellicose prone to crippling illness or lightning strikes, I'm not sure how to gracefully explain the character's absence and reappearance as the player's schedule allows.
gideonpepys
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.
He could stay on the boat, maintaining contact with the others through the messenger wind, if they have it (and showing up at each city).
Or his secret identity could be separate to theirs, so he communicates and gets involved only when absolutely necessary (ie. whenever the player shows up). The rest of the time he hides out in second class.
I had absence problems myself, which were much more difficult to explain than normal!
Or his secret identity could be separate to theirs, so he communicates and gets involved only when absolutely necessary (ie. whenever the player shows up). The rest of the time he hides out in second class.
I had absence problems myself, which were much more difficult to explain than normal!
gideonpepys
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.
I ended up with one player posing as a train guard (he's since been captured by Luc & Bree); another falling victim to side effects of the Malice Lands and ending up in a strange coma; a third going off to complete the Damata Griento side-quest all by himself.
In the expanded clergy vault, I had to send one through the collapsing ground to get him out of the way during the fight with Ottavia (breaking his back in the process) and subject a second to an intense psychic assault to drop him for a session too.
My methods are getting more and more extreme. It's only a matter of time before I kill a player for being absent. A mean a character. Kill a character...
In the expanded clergy vault, I had to send one through the collapsing ground to get him out of the way during the fight with Ottavia (breaking his back in the process) and subject a second to an intense psychic assault to drop him for a session too.
My methods are getting more and more extreme. It's only a matter of time before I kill a player for being absent. A mean a character. Kill a character...
Isklexi
First Post
Our recent session went off without a hitch, woohoo. The party did really well on the cover story skill challenge, so there wasn't any combat at all this session.
The constables boarded the Khalundurrin to make their way to Beaumont. Before boarding, Bellicose received a present from Kaja; the package contained 3 magical bullets. Two of the bullets were incendiary rounds made by Valando, and the last one was a special bullet Kaja had made after being inspired by the badger gun Bellicose had given her; the bullet has the power to summon a bleak golem for one battle. The trip to Beaumont was completely uneventful, and the biggest hassle was the droning customs agent at the Danoran harbor authority.
The constables arrived well in advance of the train's departure, so they payed for lodgings in a hotel and entertained themselves; Bellicose and Kirk took in an opera (The Barber of Seobriga) while Irony took her entourage (Rai and Doran) to dine at a fancy restaurant. Ostensibly this was to stay in character for their cover stories, but I think they just wanted to show off before getting on the train.
The day of departure, the constables met Xorin Marchand, the train's conductor; Marchand happily gave the first class patrons a tour of the trains engine and first class accommodations (he led them around the economy and coach cars to avoid bothering their first class sensibilities). The constables returned to the first class lounge in time to see a family of wealthy and distraught looking half-orcs leaving the lounge. Bellicose believed that perhaps the imposing blonde woman at the bar had driven them away with prejudiced comments; he approached the woman making a mildly racist comment and was immediately rebuffed. Having stuck his foot in his mouth, Bellicose fled to the economy class cars to investigate there. Irony, Rai, and Doran stayed in first class to take advantage of the breakfast and keep an eye out for any new first class passengers arriving. Bellicose and Kirk went to the economy class cars looking for possible suspects.
Kirk found a nervous man in coach named Giles Bonhomme. The man clutched an oddly shaped case to his chest and claimed to be a musician bound for Cherage. Kirk resolved to attend the performance at the upscale hotel in the railroad enclave to see if the man was telling the truth.
Kirk returned to first class and requested that Doris Gavagne, the pianist, play an old Risuri war song. The blonde at the bar recognized the song and stuck up a conversation with Kirk about the Yearosal Wars. The woman, Brianne Kaldeckis, was also a Yearosal veteran though from the other side of the conflict. Kirk learned what had upset the half-orc family; a somewhat off color joke about reattaching severed limbs. They had an amiable discussion about the war including propaganda used by both sides, "they used to tell us you were all baby eating, tree hugging savages. What did your people say about us?". Their conversation was cut short when it came time for the train to leave the station. Attempts to eavesdrop on the half-orcs in the neighboring apartment were foiled by foreign language.
The ride to Cherage wasn't noteworthy until they reached the small city of Keskay. A corpulent woman with a strange shrouded figure in tow stole the spotlight as she swept her way into first class demanding service. Most of the party stayed in the first class lounge to observe the new passenger. They noted how the fat woman would only allow the shrouded figure to eat candied fruit from a pouch she brought with her, and Irony recognized several songs about tragedy the shrouded figure would hum before being silenced by the fat woman. Bellicose witnessed a flamboyant Tiefling in the 2nd class dining car. Bellicose was about to follow the man when someone in the dining car suddenly choked to death. The commotion only grew when a dagger and portrait were discovered on the dead man. Bellicose managed to nick the portrait as train security removed the corpse. Bellicose used the picture to locate a sleepy eyed dwarf named Verzubak Tantalovich. After talking to the man, Bellicose learned he specialized in the magical manipulation of probability, and he hadn't made many friends in the local gambling scene.
The evening in Cherage was the party's first shot at investigation. Irony, Rai and Doran decided to keep an eye on Elanor. When she left to hotel, Irony and Rai stayed behind to keep up pretenses while Doran (the manservent) slipped out to follow her. Doran followed along the rooftops and watched as Elanor left the railroad enclave flanked by Danoran guards. Doran decided not to risk leaving the enclave and doubled back to regroup with the team. Bellicose followed the tiefling (the one that wasn't a party member). He followed the man as he picked up a date and headed to a bar. Kirk watched Verzubak in the lobby until he left. Verzubak seemed suspicious of Kirk's scrutiny in the lobby, but Kirk managed to evade notice as he followed in the streets. Once in the bar, Verzubak made a toast, "to adventure, and never waking up in the same town twice, or at least not the same bed!" He then bought drinks for everyone starting with Bellicose and working his way around the bar. Verzubak stayed in the bar gambling most of the night until going to a burlesque show with other bar patrons. Bellicose followed the other Tiefling out of the bar staying out of sight. While the Tiefling was flirting with his girl in an alley, Bellicose spotted Bree walking down the road outside the railroad enclave. Bellicose decided to try and follow her instead, but the Tiefling stumbled drunkenly out of the alley and blocked his path. By the time Bellicose untangled himself from the drunkard, Bree was gone.
The constables all trickled back to the hotel over the course of the night. Doran ran into an odd spectacle when he witnessed a streaker outrunning the guards; most impressively was how fast the scofflaw was running (even faster than Doran himself can run). The constables pooled what they learned that night. Bree's late night sojourn was mysterious enough to warrant suspicion where there used to be none. Overall the party was still starved for clues as to who could be a villain.
The morning brought with it new opportunity and new oddball passengers. A strange Tiefling (no this is a new one) was accompanied by a woman with odd tattoos. The couple were using some kind of sign language, putting a dour outlook on any eavesdropping attempts. Elanor gossiped loudly about the new first class passengers naming the Tiefling Luc Jierre, the Sovereigns shut in nephew. Elanor's gossiping also revealed her occupation, a "matchmaker". Irony realized the shrouded figure with Elanor was likely an Eladrin slave. Kirk was distracted by the other new prominent passenger, a well dressed businessman that had a briefcase handcuffed to him. When approached the businessman was not very talkative and quickly shut down any attempt to start a conversation.
Kirk and Bellicose took part in the little safari on the way to Orithea. Bellicose used his own rifle much to the admiration of some of the other safari goers. The safari was eventually interrupted by a strange man shouting at them from further up the train. The train security quickly hopped along the roof to get the man off the train top. Malia insisted that everyone leave the matter in the security forces' hands (if a passenger fell off the train she'd be in big trouble). The party spent the rest of the trip to Orithea trying to think of ways to separate Elanor from her victim.
The constables boarded the Khalundurrin to make their way to Beaumont. Before boarding, Bellicose received a present from Kaja; the package contained 3 magical bullets. Two of the bullets were incendiary rounds made by Valando, and the last one was a special bullet Kaja had made after being inspired by the badger gun Bellicose had given her; the bullet has the power to summon a bleak golem for one battle. The trip to Beaumont was completely uneventful, and the biggest hassle was the droning customs agent at the Danoran harbor authority.
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The constables arrived well in advance of the train's departure, so they payed for lodgings in a hotel and entertained themselves; Bellicose and Kirk took in an opera (The Barber of Seobriga) while Irony took her entourage (Rai and Doran) to dine at a fancy restaurant. Ostensibly this was to stay in character for their cover stories, but I think they just wanted to show off before getting on the train.
The day of departure, the constables met Xorin Marchand, the train's conductor; Marchand happily gave the first class patrons a tour of the trains engine and first class accommodations (he led them around the economy and coach cars to avoid bothering their first class sensibilities). The constables returned to the first class lounge in time to see a family of wealthy and distraught looking half-orcs leaving the lounge. Bellicose believed that perhaps the imposing blonde woman at the bar had driven them away with prejudiced comments; he approached the woman making a mildly racist comment and was immediately rebuffed. Having stuck his foot in his mouth, Bellicose fled to the economy class cars to investigate there. Irony, Rai, and Doran stayed in first class to take advantage of the breakfast and keep an eye out for any new first class passengers arriving. Bellicose and Kirk went to the economy class cars looking for possible suspects.
Kirk found a nervous man in coach named Giles Bonhomme. The man clutched an oddly shaped case to his chest and claimed to be a musician bound for Cherage. Kirk resolved to attend the performance at the upscale hotel in the railroad enclave to see if the man was telling the truth.
Kirk returned to first class and requested that Doris Gavagne, the pianist, play an old Risuri war song. The blonde at the bar recognized the song and stuck up a conversation with Kirk about the Yearosal Wars. The woman, Brianne Kaldeckis, was also a Yearosal veteran though from the other side of the conflict. Kirk learned what had upset the half-orc family; a somewhat off color joke about reattaching severed limbs. They had an amiable discussion about the war including propaganda used by both sides, "they used to tell us you were all baby eating, tree hugging savages. What did your people say about us?". Their conversation was cut short when it came time for the train to leave the station. Attempts to eavesdrop on the half-orcs in the neighboring apartment were foiled by foreign language.
|
The ride to Cherage wasn't noteworthy until they reached the small city of Keskay. A corpulent woman with a strange shrouded figure in tow stole the spotlight as she swept her way into first class demanding service. Most of the party stayed in the first class lounge to observe the new passenger. They noted how the fat woman would only allow the shrouded figure to eat candied fruit from a pouch she brought with her, and Irony recognized several songs about tragedy the shrouded figure would hum before being silenced by the fat woman. Bellicose witnessed a flamboyant Tiefling in the 2nd class dining car. Bellicose was about to follow the man when someone in the dining car suddenly choked to death. The commotion only grew when a dagger and portrait were discovered on the dead man. Bellicose managed to nick the portrait as train security removed the corpse. Bellicose used the picture to locate a sleepy eyed dwarf named Verzubak Tantalovich. After talking to the man, Bellicose learned he specialized in the magical manipulation of probability, and he hadn't made many friends in the local gambling scene.
|
The evening in Cherage was the party's first shot at investigation. Irony, Rai and Doran decided to keep an eye on Elanor. When she left to hotel, Irony and Rai stayed behind to keep up pretenses while Doran (the manservent) slipped out to follow her. Doran followed along the rooftops and watched as Elanor left the railroad enclave flanked by Danoran guards. Doran decided not to risk leaving the enclave and doubled back to regroup with the team. Bellicose followed the tiefling (the one that wasn't a party member). He followed the man as he picked up a date and headed to a bar. Kirk watched Verzubak in the lobby until he left. Verzubak seemed suspicious of Kirk's scrutiny in the lobby, but Kirk managed to evade notice as he followed in the streets. Once in the bar, Verzubak made a toast, "to adventure, and never waking up in the same town twice, or at least not the same bed!" He then bought drinks for everyone starting with Bellicose and working his way around the bar. Verzubak stayed in the bar gambling most of the night until going to a burlesque show with other bar patrons. Bellicose followed the other Tiefling out of the bar staying out of sight. While the Tiefling was flirting with his girl in an alley, Bellicose spotted Bree walking down the road outside the railroad enclave. Bellicose decided to try and follow her instead, but the Tiefling stumbled drunkenly out of the alley and blocked his path. By the time Bellicose untangled himself from the drunkard, Bree was gone.
The constables all trickled back to the hotel over the course of the night. Doran ran into an odd spectacle when he witnessed a streaker outrunning the guards; most impressively was how fast the scofflaw was running (even faster than Doran himself can run). The constables pooled what they learned that night. Bree's late night sojourn was mysterious enough to warrant suspicion where there used to be none. Overall the party was still starved for clues as to who could be a villain.
The morning brought with it new opportunity and new oddball passengers. A strange Tiefling (no this is a new one) was accompanied by a woman with odd tattoos. The couple were using some kind of sign language, putting a dour outlook on any eavesdropping attempts. Elanor gossiped loudly about the new first class passengers naming the Tiefling Luc Jierre, the Sovereigns shut in nephew. Elanor's gossiping also revealed her occupation, a "matchmaker". Irony realized the shrouded figure with Elanor was likely an Eladrin slave. Kirk was distracted by the other new prominent passenger, a well dressed businessman that had a briefcase handcuffed to him. When approached the businessman was not very talkative and quickly shut down any attempt to start a conversation.
Kirk and Bellicose took part in the little safari on the way to Orithea. Bellicose used his own rifle much to the admiration of some of the other safari goers. The safari was eventually interrupted by a strange man shouting at them from further up the train. The train security quickly hopped along the roof to get the man off the train top. Malia insisted that everyone leave the matter in the security forces' hands (if a passenger fell off the train she'd be in big trouble). The party spent the rest of the trip to Orithea trying to think of ways to separate Elanor from her victim.
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RangerWickett
Legend
I'm pretty sure every group has given Elanor her come-uppance.
Is the party at all suspicious of the Grientos? Any appearances by Cal this episode?
And no sea encounter on the way between Risur and Danor?
Is the party at all suspicious of the Grientos? Any appearances by Cal this episode?
And no sea encounter on the way between Risur and Danor?
Isklexi
First Post
Sorry for the slow response, I'm dog sitting, and he's a bit distracting.
The party plans to check out the Grientos in Orithea, but they may change their minds. They've dedicated the least effort into investigating the half-orc family. Maybe the children make them seem more innocent.
No appearance by Cal; he's staying in Flint to work on worming his way into local politics. Though if the party puts off beating Elenor until Nalaam, I'll throw in something extra for the fracas in the arena booths.
The party managed to pull of the cover story skill challenge with a full success, so they didn't encounter any obvious resistance on the seas. They did however neglect to personally keep watch during the voyage...
The party plans to check out the Grientos in Orithea, but they may change their minds. They've dedicated the least effort into investigating the half-orc family. Maybe the children make them seem more innocent.
No appearance by Cal; he's staying in Flint to work on worming his way into local politics. Though if the party puts off beating Elenor until Nalaam, I'll throw in something extra for the fracas in the arena booths.
The party managed to pull of the cover story skill challenge with a full success, so they didn't encounter any obvious resistance on the seas. They did however neglect to personally keep watch during the voyage...
Isklexi
First Post
I'm reading over the info for Lorcan Kell in "Cauldron Born". The players still technically have access to Kell's body since they killed him of their own volition in "Always on Time".
Given Kell's stated penchant for escape routes. I'm gonna go with the Ob pressuring him to bring in Kaja after she contacted him. The Ob went to the trouble of murdering her, and they don't want that to come back and bite them now. That explains how they would have been able to get Kell to personally show up.
I'm also going to limit what info Kell can give them if they call in Clergy help to speak with dead. I'm going to assume that the Kell in my campaign wasn't as closely tied to the Ob as assumed in the baseline campaign. The support he got from his deal with Cal made it unnecessary to get so involved with them.
Kell will be replaced in "Cauldron Born" with a newly minted super thug. This thug will be mechanically identical to Kell. Basically the Ob seized control of Kell's guild when he got offed, and they put a puppet figurehead in his place to run it.
This way I can keep the adventure mechanically the same while altering it thematically to fit what my players have done so far.
Given Kell's stated penchant for escape routes. I'm gonna go with the Ob pressuring him to bring in Kaja after she contacted him. The Ob went to the trouble of murdering her, and they don't want that to come back and bite them now. That explains how they would have been able to get Kell to personally show up.
I'm also going to limit what info Kell can give them if they call in Clergy help to speak with dead. I'm going to assume that the Kell in my campaign wasn't as closely tied to the Ob as assumed in the baseline campaign. The support he got from his deal with Cal made it unnecessary to get so involved with them.
Kell will be replaced in "Cauldron Born" with a newly minted super thug. This thug will be mechanically identical to Kell. Basically the Ob seized control of Kell's guild when he got offed, and they put a puppet figurehead in his place to run it.
This way I can keep the adventure mechanically the same while altering it thematically to fit what my players have done so far.
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