new campaign began last night!

[efreund]

I just started my Pathfinder Zeitgeist campaign last night! Well, planning and chargen was last week, but last night is when the Coaltongue set sail!

We have:
A Dwarven Oracle (Apocalypse) Eschatologist
An "Eladrin" Sorcerer (Fey-Blooded) Vekeshi
A Human Investigator (Steel Hound) Technologist

The initial investigation was a little bumpy, as they had a bit of trouble with the overly structured format (the party not being familiar with 4e-style skill challenges), but we made it work, and got the four rabble-rousers before the crowd was let through.

The montage roleplay fell on its face a bit. Lots of just me talking, and the PCs didn't know when they were "supposed" to step up, versus just observing the dignitaries. I think I played Delft a little too strongly when I told them not to bother anyone important.

The sabotage scene was amazing. It was a tough-fought combat for only 3 PCs (all level 1) going up against 2 NPCs (both level 3), followed up by the (level 2) engineers. Also, an aside, the HP on the engineers seems incorrect: it's printed as 19, but then it shows that it's derived from 2d6+7. I guess they rolled max? I dropped it to 15, the only mercy I showed in an otherwise merciless run-and-gun fight. My group loved it, and said it was the best first-level combat they had ever played.

My favorite moment: the investigator is chasing the last saboteur as he's running into the release-valve room. The investigator has his gun out, the saboteur has his rusting antenna out. Saboteur spends his first move to move up to the value, second move to close it. The investigator double-moves to be adjacent to the saboteur, points the gun at his head, and tells him to stand down, or die. The saboteur takes the rusting antenna and attacks the investigator's gun with it! (I treated as a CMB attack with a non-proficient weapon; rolled in the open and succeeded.) The investigator's gun corrodes into rust, and I quickly explain the rules for broken firearms in Pathfinder: -2 to hit, and if you roll a nat 1-5, it explodes. The investigator PC indicates he understands, then declares that he's shooting the saboteur. Nat 4. The gun explodes for 7 points of damage. (Both attempt & fail the associated Reflex save.) This drops the already-wounded saboteur, and PC, who hadn't been hit yet this combat, soaks the damage and remains standing.

Having dealt with all of the threats, the investigator runs up to the deck, two rounds before the national anthem is due to end (not knowing that his party members had actually finished shoveling out enough firegems in the meantime so that there wasn't actually any more imminent danger), and begins shouting, waving his blackened hand in the air, and plucking shrapnel out of his trenchcoat with the other.

Great session, ready for the next!

 

[Theblazeuk]

We started playing a 4E on Sunday. We didn't do well with the crowd, I wasn't quite sure what to do other than keep an eye on things (and our bard's attempts to blend in with the drinking public went very badly) but we headed off a couple of things. Certainly nothing worse than a couple of rotten eggs happened.

The montage thing went pretty well, one of us just sulked at the crowd, the other went undercover as a servant and delivered a urine-brandy cocktail to a noble, and I had a dance with a noblewoman - sadly missing all attempts at preventing sabotage ahead of time!

Think we were a bit outnumbered in the engine room, we swept straight through two goons but all of us got set on fire dealing with some fire elementals (who were only minions but that -5 ongoing hit us hard). We made short work of them and I jumped into the room, but couldn't get close to the engine in time to save it thanks to some backstabbing and surprise attacks. Ended up locking the biggest threat out of the room whilst we struggled with the saboteurs and their muscle. By the end one of us is bleeding out on the floor, I've crit missed three times in a row and nearly died, and our mage is frantically moving firegems out by mage hand - but all too little too late. And it's made worst when the remaining NPC gives up on trying to get in the room and just locks us inside with a spell....

We end up locked in the room with an exploding furnace, even when our mage burns himself to a cinder by hauling all of the firegems out. I grab the bard off the ground, we force the door, our mage blows the valves to release steam - but it's too late. I hussle him through the door and just as the boilers about to blow, he fires a spell off that blows out the furnace and prevents the explosion from taking the ship out just as I slam the door shut.

Think I'm picking up a pistol next game so I can shoot through any doors before I slam it in their face

 

[efreund]

Arg!! During the initial infiltration the party managed to save Burton (the goblin rogue/surgeon from the primary infiltration team). Now they've got a level 5 NPC following them around. Noooooo.......

They also made nice with Nicolas Dupiers (the mine foreman; main enemy at seacave), and have not only teamed up with him to "take out the Risuri" but they also gave him all three golden icons. (He asked for them; they complied as price to secure his help.)

Throw in an air elemental, and they now have three hangers-on. I mean, I'm fine with Dupiers & the elemental, because they are weakfish and not dependable for RP reasons, but having a high ranking constable in their midst I'm really not happy about. It also doesn't help that I had been playing him as a curmudgeonly version of Deadpool, definitely comic relief. I thought it'd make a nice contrast for when they saw him wounded and needing an amputation. That backfired. They loved him and bent over backwards to rig something up to rescue him. *grumble grumble*

 

[hirou]

Well, there's a paragon-level golem stumbling about through the island, and especially unlucky (wink-wink) PCs can attract its attention. Add a wandering Danoran patrol, which overheard the commotion/was sent to capture the golem as a proof of inhumane Danoran practices (and therefore came in power), and suddenly Burton has to run away, leading them all away from the party (hiding in the bushes).

If you want to turn the absurdity a bit up, remember that the reality is fragile there. Burton survived a cave in in the underground tunnel? How about a cave in right under the clear sky, with whole world suddenly going insane around the party? Or a giant purple toad. Or a living blood elemental. Or clearly impossible flying creature composed entirely of eyes, literally anything can happen on Axis island as long as not many people are watching

 

[efreund]

Fun times in the city of Flint. I'm not great at writing these up, but I figured I'd share, if only to give the forums a little heartbeat.

Last night was our first foray into Zeitgeist in 2016.

On the way down from Cauldron Hill, the Vekeshi suddenly remembered that he had a secret meeting scheduled before dawn, and buggered out. The reduced party made their way to Sechim's factory to stop the arsonists. Key highlights I'd like to share:
- desperate to find a way to move the arsonists' cart, "the Intern" (as the party lovingly calls their late-joining skyseer constable) runs into Sechim's factory and finds a large iron dolly (the kind used to move crates around the factory floor). Eberardo, the halfdragon barbarian is guarding the flaming cart. The Intern pushes the cart ahead of her, and bullrushes the Eberardo. She rolls high and beats his CMD, so I rule that he can't stop the cart. Since the dolly is basically a metal sheet on wheels, it's basically about to clip his ankles, so I rule he gets a Reflex save to get out of the way. Nat 20. He jumps up on top of the dolly, and the Intern is pushing the raging Barbarian straight down the alley way!
- later, as the arsonists' cart's fire and had become a blazing inferno, threatening to ignite both the nearby factories, our resident Dwarven Eschatologist decided to do a suicide-bullrush to shove the cart into Parity Lake. I ruled that pushing the cart dealt 4d6 fire damage per round (which was pretty stressful for a 3rd level character!), so after pushing it partway towards the docks, he asked if the cart had enough momentum to carry it into the lake if he let go. I told him that I'd openly roll a luck die to determine this. Hedging his bets, the flaming dwarf, now missing half his beard, released the cart which ... *roll* ... tumbled into the lake in a gigantic plume of steam!
- Valando, the halfdragon wizard had fallen off of the roof and landed hard and prone, and our Dwarf hero is poised over him, axe drawn, threatening him to stand down. However, both of the other two PCs are up on the roof (the Intern, and an Investigator) notice that Eberardo is sneaking up on the Dwarf, ready to charge attack him from behind! So what do they do? They both shoot Valando. Eberardo charges the Dwarf ... and misses by one! (If he wasn't fatigued from an expired rage, the Dwarf would be dead!)

We also had an awesome knock-down, drag out fight with a Bleak Golem in a Creepy Warehouse, but there's less iconic moments from that. The Vekeshi Enchanter kept all the Lab Techs asleep, and they weren't able to destroy any papers. The rest of the party had a bitter-fought exchange with a Golem, and freaked out when it sped up during stage 3. Almost killed two party members. Maybe next time.

Speaking of which, the party is out of potions, and almost out of spells. And Dawn Square is coming up at the start of next session. Fun!