Discussion for a Kingdom of ashes

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

Stuff

I agree-- oath rocks!

Magical scrying and the like can be useful, as well--we can give it a try however, I wonder if they won't have a protection against it.

Team Sneak has lots of stuff already worked out-- aside from being super sneaky, we'll have non-detection for them and invisibility for the cross over no man's land just outside of the city.
Archon and L'Aurel have worked hard to become as super freakin' sneaky as they are--might as well take advantage of it!

In a way Oceanus is the main source. We can easily assume that one of the blades is there--and that the individuals searching for it have information that we don't. We need to get our hands on it.
When Oceanus is ours, we continue on the quest for the rest of the blades--beginning with the Isle of Mourning because it's right next door.

I'm working on figuring out where all the portals are--we found a couple at the beginning of the campaign...
But, I don't think that they should be destroyed. First, I think we need to look for a way to cleanse them and "lock" them--the cleansing process when wrong last time--let's see if we can do it right this time because they could be a very useful tool.

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

Thirty-five days with no major mishaps. So….what to do?

Xath realizes that it is important to find Mr. Miagee, as he may have crucial information about the whole shebang. She goes to find Kaereth, hoping that he will know where Mr. Miagee has gone too.

Justice does the same-- Mr. Miagee's men and women are incredible warriors-- they would be an incredible addition to the army of the phoenix..

This is another reason why I do not believe that destroying the portals is a good idea-- I could be wrong, but Mr. Miagee still has people in the West... if done correctly this time, we should be able to use those portals to bring them here.

Secondly, I think that sending a message to the monastary somehow is a good idea... they should all be nice and healed up now. Maybe their warriors can come to our aid at Hyrwl and fight for the Army of the Phoenix...

 

[Archon]

life as a scout

"4. If a permanent settlement is to be made here, we must know more about the resources of the area. Send out cartographers and scouts to determine sources for food, water, resources, etc. We also need to determine key danger areas, locate them and prepare appropriate defenses. "

During the five weeks Archon has spent time in the surrounding area with L'Aurel and Greylock and the two of us should be able to deliver information about the area in an informed manner.

try so scry. i hope it works, it'd save us unnessesary risk. but if it doesn't, Archon is more then willing to infiltrate Oceanus.

anyway, it's good to hear plans forming.
mik aka "bus boy"

 

[The_Universe]

Xath realizes that it is important to find Mr. Miagee, as he may have crucial information about the whole shebang. She goes to find Kaereth, hoping that he will know where Mr. Miagee has gone too.

Good idea. Waiting on Jeremiah on this one.

In general, Xath will work with the Duke, trying to help the refugees of Oceanus set up permanent residences. There are certain orders of business to take care of in order to set up the new city.
1. Separation of useful specialties: Masons, Loggers, Carpenters, Food Preparation, etc. Those with skills not inherently useful to this situation (IE, sailors, dockworkers) should be put to manual labor or should be apprenticed to the useful skills.
2. Set up of a 24 hour crèche. Everyone will serve work shifts in the crèche while others work on setting up the new city. Those children old enough can be used as messengers and put in charge of menial tasks.

Interesting ideas, here. A lot of the people whose trades aren't useful here in the woods are probably being absorbed by Frarathir and Arfin's militia, though. Maybe you want to include a "signing bonus" to induce people to join either your growing army, or a part-time militia?

The Creche is interesting. What does the Baroness think?

In general, remember that the Duke is just advising Kat. She's the authority (self-declared), and everyone treats her as such. Even the Duke. But, he presents lots of advice.

In most situations such as this, the economy is reduced to a barter system and takes quite a while to recover. In order to prevent this, the duke and baroness should use the funds allotted (17,100 gp or some part thereof) to keep the economy stimulated. Firstly, all laborers should be paid a standard wage for work done, as though the entire populace were working for the government. Therefore, technically the Barony and the Duke “own” every resource produced until the trade market is stable enough to hand it back to the people.

Interesting idea. Probably a very good one. There will still more than likely be some bartering going on, but this will stabilize things a bit. Once more, depends on the Baroness.

If a permanent settlement is to be made here, we must know more about the resources of the area. Send out cartographers and scouts to determine sources for food, water, resources, etc. We also need to determine key danger areas, locate them and prepare appropriate defenses.

Um...it's a forest. It has all the things that forests have. No major rivers or streams, but it's possible to dig some wells, etc. Sanitation may be an issue in the long run, but other than farmland (which is in short supply) you're okay. None of the people here are farmers, anyway, so you're probably on a very meat-heavy diet.

A defensive barrier should be set up about the circumference of the expanded city, leaving some room for growth. It would be wise to use a combination of manual defenses and magic. Hopefully the remains of the mage tower will help as they are defending themselves through this. Around the wall, trees should be cleared out about 100 yards away from the wall, eliminating the chance of surprise on the city. If the army of Oceanus decides to move, the city should not be undefended.

Are you including Hyrwl in this? Or is it a separate thing? As for constructing magical walls and defenses, I recommend that you look at the Stronghold Builder's Guide. I have a copy of it, but I bet you can download it, as well. It has the costs for walls, etc.

Scout parties should be sent out in all directions searching for other refugees who escaped but scattered to the wind. Since permanent residences are being set up here, this is as good a place for them to come as any.

Very good idea. Who's in charge of this? I'd appoint one of the PCs to be "Head Scout". Kat should choose who, probably. They can then organize teams, and lead a few themselves. This is also good introductory missions for your militia.

If we are missing skilled artisans from any crucial profession, word should be sent out to neighboring cities asking for aid.

This is a must. Perhaps you could use Arfin's diplomatic connections with the dwarves to bring some aid from Khaz Modan? They probably won't send soldiers, but they may send artisans, etc., assuming you can pay them. Kat and I were just starting to work on this. Perhaps you and she can coordinate more closely?

In addition, publicizing Link's re-acceptance of the High Elves could be used to draw them here, as well. All of these things take money, though, and 17000 ain't a lot.

That's the universe's take on things. Good work so far.

 

[The_Universe]

Justice does the same-- Mr. Miagee's men and women are incredible warriors-- they would be an incredible addition to the army of the phoenix..

This is another reason why I do not believe that destroying the portals is a good idea-- I could be wrong, but Mr. Miagee still has people in the West... if done correctly this time, we should be able to use those portals to bring them here.

Secondly, I think that sending a message to the monastary somehow is a good idea... they should all be nice and healed up now. Maybe their warriors can come to our aid at Hyrwl and fight for the Army of the Phoenix...

Agreed with the monastery. Not only are Miagee's people there, but there are powerful clerics, as well. But, the seas are dangerous (as you know). Crossing them will be difficult indeed.

On another note, most of the people already here are urban--and thus have few/no weapons. Any idea on how to get some of those? (Also, are you going to flaunt the law and use steeldrakes? If so, where are you going to get them?)

 

[The_Universe]

On Oaths

The Oath of Alliance, as I have said, is a great idea. The oath of whatever to Justice is less so. I REALLY LIKE that you have chosen a nominal leader, but if you're going to swear an oath other than the oath of alliance (and individual oaths of friendship), I'd swear an oath to either Jaine (as Queen), or L'Aurel (as Baroness). I suppose you could do both. Justice would still be the leader of 'The Circle of the Phoenix' but the group would have extra loyalty to a rightful ruler of one sort, or another.

Whaddya think?

 

[Xath]

Some Cool Beans

A magical item that would be really good for us to have.

Since we want to get rings that distinguish us as the circle of the phoenix.

Rings of the Circle of the Phoenix- Mithril rings with a phoenix carved about its circumference, Rings of the Circle of the Phoenix grant the wearers the Permanent effects of Rary's Telepathic Bond. They come only in pairs, however, more pairs can be added to the bond.

Cost: 15000gp per pair

Yes, they're pricy, but I think they're worth it. It's like having a silent mind telephone between all of us. It would be really good for L'Aurel and Archonis to have in Oceanus so that they could communicate without sound. They would also be able to communicate with us while inside.


Also, we have wands of Knock and Detect Secret Doors. Do either L'Aurel or Archon have use magic device?

 

[The_Universe]

Why not just enchant beans? The title of the post got my attention...you could put them in your ears...

Hilarious.

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

Telepathic Rings...

Justice has asked Arfin to craft the rings. She is waiting for his response...

At this point-- we cannot afford to have the magical telepathy as a part of the rings. (60000 gp for the whole lot) We have other responsibilities right now-- obligations-- like Seaborne's boat and the rest of the money we owe him.

However, after the Oath of Alliance, we have the ability to know eachother's Status and other stuff like that-- these abilities, though not as powerful as telepathy, serve similar purposes and will have to make due until we can affor them rings.

I think it is a great idea, though-- something that we will hopefully be able to get in the very near future!

 

[The_Universe]

"4. If a permanent settlement is to be made here, we must know more about the resources of the area. Send out cartographers and scouts to determine sources for food, water, resources, etc. We also need to determine key danger areas, locate them and prepare appropriate defenses. "

During the five weeks Archon has spent time in the surrounding area with L'Aurel and Greylock and the two of us should be able to deliver information about the area in an informed manner.

try so scry. i hope it works, it'd save us unnessesary risk. but if it doesn't, Archon is more then willing to infiltrate Oceanus.

anyway, it's good to hear plans forming.
mik aka "bus boy"

Scrying is tried. And fails. There is shield of some sort. The palace is blocked, but the city itself is open to scrying--making the entire thing blocked would be far too costly.

So, besides the palace, where else do you look?

As for the scouting, I need a spot and search check from both of you.