Acqua Alta Finale Discussion

[Malk0lm]

I think Nox's only goal would be to learn of another way to enter back into faerie. I think he has a bit of a vendetta to take care of.

In the intervening two weeks Noxias would like to search out any wizardly types here in the town and also spend some time at whatever passes for a library here searching for another way to create a gate or enter back into his home land. Additionally Nox will attempt to panhandle some money by performing "magic" tricks using prestidigitation since he will no doubt discover that he is broke.

I'm assuming that the gate in the scriptorium is now destroyed or unable to be used. However if it can be used then I think it will be better for Nox to "level up" a bit before attempting to return.

What do I need for Lvl4?

[Umiushi]

Good questions, everyone. I hope my answers will illustrate how I intend to handle the various issues brought up at this juncture.

. . .

I can't remember anyone else's "goals". My personal goal may benefit from meeting with the Noble of the land. Or at least meeting up with someone "highborn".

But considering my huge lapse in posting, I totally understand if my goals get put on the backburner.

In any case, I would like to resolve bring Polon back to his Father. To me that has been a long standing goal. It would be nice to resolve that (unless that is something I missed...).

Characters can and should be motivated by their personal objectives, but these should be agreed upon by the party as a whole. This is a safeguard against the situation you ran into yourself: what happens if the player who is the driving force has to leave the game? Myn and Morgran were trying to find a home for a number of displaced elves. How many players even remember who Myn and Morgran are without needing to look them up in old posts?

As for Polon, here is the relevant quote:

. . . you leave the place in peace, bring Polon and the scribes to the scriptorium where they are reunited with Duvek, Iniusy, Lywthast and the others. . .

As a reminder, Duvek is Polon's father, and he can't thank you enough.

Did Konstansz ever figure out about the shipment? Rescuing Polon was a side goal. Her main goal was researching the fate of a shipment of 'alchemical' supplies (for making homunculii?).

(but definitely Konstansz also wants to bring Polon back to his father)

It is safe to say that, for this sort of informational goal, if the player doesn't know the answer, the character doesn't know the answer, either.

I think Nox's only goal would be to learn of another way to enter back into faerie. I think he has a bit of a vendetta to take care of.
. . .

The common idea I want to put forward for all of these goals, and any others, is that the players must agree to choose one for the party. It can a full-on adoption of a player's goal, such as "let's find a way to return Noxias back to Faerie," or it can be something relatively trivial, such as "let's head down southeast to the villages there and see if any useful information presents itself." You should be aware of the advantages and disadvantages to any choice

Return Noxias to Faerie

• Advantages - clear success condition (Noxias returns to Faerie); clear reason for doing so (desire to help a fellow party member)
• Disadvantages - what happens next requires high impact and/or requires high commitment (Noxias leaves the party? Party accompanies Noxias in Faerie at the expense of their other goals?); difficulty of accomplishment (expense of gathering ritual components alone necessitates sub-missions; time to eventual accomplishment may affect other characters' goals)
• Special - Parties tend to gather wealth as they rise in level. The habit of adventuring can bring you closer to fulfilling this goal by itself. Therefore, this might be more appropriate as a long-term goal rather than an immediate goal. This is, in essence, similar to the idea you put forth that it would be good to "level-up," first.

Head to the southeastern villages

• Advantages - easy to accomplish; has the potential to advance many personal goals at once (but how much potential?); what happens next has low impact (Assuming no critical information is uncovered, the party can reevaluate their goals and decide on a new course of action without much consequence.)
• Disadvantages - benefits are unclear (Unless you have business there, what are the chances that your goals will be served by this?); potential for failure (no useful information found); success condition unclear (When do you know it's time to move on?)
• Special - Although this goal has little risk to the party, if there is no clear information to be found, i.e. if this is just a fishing expedition, then it presents a big risk of being a potential time-waster which must be considered in light of the slow pace of a pbp game.

Now, there are some goals that are clearly worse than others. I think "head to the southeastern villages" is probably one of those; there are other destinations that should be identifiable as having more potential value to the party. However, I doubt you will find any goal whose advantages outweigh its disadvantages by such an extent that it becomes the automatic choice.

Also, it's not a downright bad choice. I will identify and recommend against "bad choices." I define bad choices as those that will move you further away from both your own goals and from the action of the campaign. The obvious bad choices are to return to where any character first came from (with an exception made for Noxias), namely from Byswell Town (Konstansz, Yrisz, Zephyr) or the Yu Valley (Rogur). If a character came from there, that means they had reason to leave in the first place. That's why Noxias is an exception, as he was forcibly tossed out. In the course of the campaign, you may eventually want to head to one of those two locations, but only after the situation changes to warrant it, i.e. something important is found or learned that explicitly leads the party in that direction.

Whatever the choice, it must be something that everyone can willingly work towards advancing, whether it's something as grandiose as traveling to another world, or as prosaic as traveling down the river. One of my pet peeves is when a player character suddenly "realizes," in the middle of an adventure, that they have no reason to be where they are.

. . .
In the intervening two weeks Noxias would like to search out any wizardly types here in the town and also spend some time at whatever passes for a library here searching for another way to create a gate or enter back into his home land. Additionally Nox will attempt to panhandle some money by performing "magic" tricks using prestidigitation since he will no doubt discover that he is broke.

I'm assuming that the gate in the scriptorium is now destroyed or unable to be used. However if it can be used then I think it will be better for Nox to "level up" a bit before attempting to return.

What do I need for Lvl4?

I'm going to resolve this out of order.

Spending time at whatever passes for a library - Noxias is welcome to spend his time at the Library of Saint Ioun, the building where he wound up when he first arrived in this world. The teleportation circle they can be used, but not freely. A magic ritual is required, and as with all rituals, it requires an outlay of components, which are expensive. The last of the components were used up by the party to get to Faerie, or destroyed in a recent fire when the party fought the Magus. As Noxias becomes familiar with the local currency and the scarcity of precious metals, he comes to realize that the replacement components might cost several hundred or even thousands of "staters," silver coins that have roughly the same value as the golden ducats of his homeland. The other problem is that Noxias needs to know the sigil sequence for his destination. Unfortunately, Noxias never bothered to learn teleportation rituals, and consequently does not know any sigil sequences. As for the ritual itself, there's a bit of good news. Polon has one more scroll with the ritual in his possession, and he will be happy to freely give it to Noxias. Noxias just needs to come up with the components and a valid sigil sequence.

Searching out wizardly types - If Noxias still needs to consult with wizards, he has the option of making a Diplomacy Check to search for them in an orthodox fashion, or a Streetwise Check to inquire through more unusual channels. There is only time to make one such check, so he'll have to choose. Other character may assist him through Aid Another rolls, but that will consume all their free time, too.

Panhandling - Anyone who appears idle over the next two weeks will be summarily pressed into a work gang where they will receive food and board in return for heavy labor. There is a lot of building that needs to be done, and anyone who has time to spare can engage in it. This has three major drawbacks. The first is that you will not have time to engage in any other behavior such as searching out wizards. The second is that if you seem to have valuable possessions (which you do), someone may decide that they will help themselves to it. After all, nobody is going to tolerate you hauling lumber while carrying a sword and staff at the same time. Finally, there is the logistical issue of how to get back into the party at the end of two weeks' time. Run away? That will have repercussions, later. However, it is important to remember that no character is in a vacuum. Duvek, Polon, and the rest are more than happy to put a roof over your head and share their bread with you. (Though Duvek is fretting about some major debts that he believes he will be held accountable for, soon.) Also, the other party members may be good for loans to get you back on your feet.

For level 4, the following occurs to advance your character:
I. Choose two different ability scores, and increase each of them by +1. If you increase an ability score from an odd number to an even number, the Modifier for that score will increase by +1. Increase all relevant statistics affected by that ability score accordingly. (See the list provided in the notes below.) If you increase your Constitution, your total hit points will increase by +1.

II. Your "level bonus" increases from +1 to +2. The following statistics are affected by the level bonus, so they all go up by one:

• Ability Check bonuses (this is not the same as ability score modifiers)
• Attack bonuses (that is, the bonus to hit; not the bonus to damage)
• Defenses: AC, Fortitude, Reflexes, Will
• Initiative bonus
• Skill Check bonuses

III. Increase hit points. Noxias gains 4 hit points.

IV. Select a new Feat that you meet the qualifications for. Apply any bonuses of the feat.

V. Retrain. If desired, replace one Feat, Power, or Trained Skill with another one of the same category that you are qualified for. Note the changes to your character from losing the old ability and gaining the new.
Do not replace a Feat, Power, or Skill that is in itself a requirement for any of your Feats, Powers, Trained Skills, or Class Features. Do not replace a Feat, Power, or Trained Skill that is automatically granted by your Class, Class Features, or other Feats.

VI. Please send me an updated character sheet, noting all changes, as well as any changes to your equipment that may have occurred. It will probably be best to wait until after any distribution of spoils, should that occur.

Notes
1. Here is a list of what attributes are affected by increasing various ability scores, geared to Noxias:

• Strength - Increasing to an odd number has no effect.
• Constitution - Noxias's hit points will increase by +1.
• Dexterity - Increasing to an even number will increase the Base Modifier by +1. This will affect the initiative bonus, ranged attack bonus for basic weapon attacks, and all Dexterity-based skills.
• Intelligence - Increasing to an odd number has no effect.
• Wisdom - Increasing to an odd number has no effect.
• Charisma - Increasing to an even number will increase the Base Modifier by +1. This will affect all Charisma-based skills.

2. Do not add to bonuses and then recalculate them using your ability check bonuses instead of your ability score modifiers. In other words, don't apply the Level Bonus more than once when calculating bonuses.
For example, a 3rd level character with a Dexterity of 12 has a Dexterity Modifier of +1 and a Level Bonus of +1, which results in a Dexterity Check bonus of +2 and an Initiative Bonus of +2. At 4th level, the same character has a Dexterity Modifier of +1, and a Level Bonus of +2, which results in a Dexterity Check bonus of +3 and an Initiative Bonus of +3. Put another way, the "Dexterity Modifier" is solely based on the ability score: a character with a Dexterity of 12 has a Dexterity Modifier of +1, regardless of whether they are level 1 or level 30. The Dexterity Check bonus is equal to the Dexterity Modifier plus the Level Bonus.
No total bonus should wind up being more than one higher than it was before, at the end of step I. No total bonus should wind up being more than two higher than it was before, at the end of step II.

3. Recalculate your bloodied value and healing surge value. The total number of healing surges will not increase.

4. In all calculations, discard any fraction. A result of 3.5 becomes 3, and a result of 3.75 also becomes 3. This is particularly relevant for bloodied value and healing surge value, above.

5. Besides the long term benefit, one reason to consider increasing an ability score to an odd number is that many feats that have minimum ability score requirements have those requirements set to an odd number. Of course, it is more advantageous if you have a specific feat in mind before doing this.

[Umiushi]

For the party in general, please note the following adjustments:

• For any character that had to travel through the flooded woerd (Rogur, Yrisz, Zephyr), much of your equipment needs to be replaced: bedrolls, rations, clothing, torches, candles, rope and sun rods, if you have them.
• Zephyr, who has repeatedly immersed himself also needs a new backpack, pouch, waterskin, and pitons.
• Articles of fine clothing may be salvaged at a cost of 10 staters per article, for appropriate tailoring and cleaning.
• If any magical items fall into the above categories, they are exempt.

All of you are welcome to stay at the Scriptorium. Room and board will be free. For anyone who wishes to stay in the common room at the Inn of the Second Candle, the cost will be 4 staters for the duration. Konstansz and Yrisz have the privilege of staying at their respective dormitories, should they desire it, but have a responsibility as players to maintain contact with rest of the party during the interim.

Incidental expenses add up. Every character has 2 staters' worth of expenses that accumulate by the end of this time, which they should arrange to pay off, somehow.

Any character who still has their documentation and badges for weapons and armor, can get reimbursed for them. If you don't recall their worth, your documents probably got damaged or lost along the way.

If there is any outstanding retraining to be done, it must be done now.

For characters who wish to buy new equipment, items listed in the Adventuring Gear section from page 222 of the Player's Handbook, except for Ammunition, Arcane Implements, Everburning Torches, and Thieves' Tools, may be purchased without further inquiry. They may be bought at the listed price, except for journeybread and ritual components, which cost double due to the current shortages and scarcity.

Musical instruments listed in the Player's Handbook 2 may also be purchased at the listed price.

Other items are available, but may require additional measures and checks to be purchased within the time frame.


Finally, one location that I forgot to mention earlier, but may certainly be a valid destination, is the Monastery of Saint Ioun the All-Seeing, that the Library and Scriptorium are owned by. It is across the Yu River, to the north.

[yukonhorror]

Well, I'll spend the necessary coin to replace all of my stuff. I am up for helping out Rogur found out about whatever. I am also curious about the Homonculi and what the avandrists are doing.

[Palpatim]

Thanks for providing a satisfying ending summary in the story thread, Umiushi. For me, that's always the payoff.

From this point onward, Rogur and Yrisz's level will be calculated directly from their experience points. Noxias and Konstansz's levels will be boosted to keep up with the rest of the party's a while longer, of course, and regarding that, Noxias has now reached level 4.

Does that mean we will no longer be levelling up at 1/2 the XP normally required, or are you simply clarifying that Yrisz & Rogur are not getting an "extra" bump in XP?

I would like to suggest that we split the remaining funds among the party members in some equitable way. As a reminder, Zephyr as the unofficial walking vault has all the party's pooled funds. Perhaps those characters whose equipment was ruined can replace the lost items with goods of equal value, and then we split the remainder amongst the current party members?

Rogur would like to stay at the bookshop, if Duvek will have him. It's a lot cheaper than the common room, and more to the point, Rogur wants to chat with Duvek, Polon and the scribes. He's keen to find out more about this Cresta person mentioned in Erszebet's letter much earlier. He's hoping that Cresta is the "well-dressed woman" who started him on this whole adventure. To that end, he'll question Duvek, Polon and the scribes to find out anything he can about the late Magus' activities and visitors. Please let me know whether you'd like an in-game post (and if so, in what thread), or rolls to support this effort.

Please note that these are Rogur's personal goals. As long as the party goals don't directly conflict with them (e.g., returning to the Yu valley) I don't foresee any problems with making Rogur go along with whatever we as players decide.

From a story perspective, there are lots of juicy hooks and hints that Umiushi has laid out for us. I don't have time to make a proper post right now, so I'll revisit this in a later post, but I think we can find something interesting to do!

[yukonhorror]

I think questioning is easy enough, so let's start there.

[Umiushi]

. . .
Does that mean we will no longer be levelling up at 1/2 the XP normally required, or are you simply clarifying that Yrisz & Rogur are not getting an "extra" bump in XP?

I would like to suggest that we split the remaining funds among the party members in some equitable way. As a reminder, Zephyr as the unofficial walking vault has all the party's pooled funds. Perhaps those characters whose equipment was ruined can replace the lost items with goods of equal value, and then we split the remainder amongst the current party members?

Rogur would like to stay at the bookshop, if Duvek will have him. It's a lot cheaper than the common room, and more to the point, Rogur wants to chat with Duvek, Polon and the scribes. He's keen to find out more about this Cresta person mentioned in Erszebet's letter much earlier. He's hoping that Cresta is the "well-dressed woman" who started him on this whole adventure. To that end, he'll question Duvek, Polon and the scribes to find out anything he can about the late Magus' activities and visitors. Please let me know whether you'd like an in-game post (and if so, in what thread), or rolls to support this effort.

[/COLOR]Please note that these are Rogur's personal goals. As long as the party goals don't directly conflict with them (e.g., returning to the Yu valley) I don't foresee any problems with making Rogur go along with whatever we as players decide.

From a story perspective, there are lots of juicy hooks and hints that Umiushi has laid out for us. I don't have time to make a proper post right now, so I'll revisit this in a later post, but I think we can find something interesting to do!

It is the latter. The half-rate for experience will be valid for the entire campaign. My policy for leveling up is that people who have legitimately gained experience from the beginning of the campaign (Zephyr is the only one who is left) gain levels in accordance with their experience points. Every encounter thereafter, one PC gains a level in order of seniority: Rogur, Yrisz, Noxias, and Konstansz. At this point, Rogur and Yrisz's totals are so close to Zephyr's that they can gain levels based solely on their experience points while Noxias and Konstansz will still gain levels faster than their experience point totals.

After paying off the Matchless Gang, my records indicate Zephyr has 143 staters, 33 aeres, and 2 chaluns. Some small fraction of that represents Zephyr's personal funds, but I will leave it to Zephyr to make that distinction.

Polon does know of Cresta. She's an Imareskan, from the city that lies at the mouth of the Yu, far to the east. She might be about ten years older than Erszebet, but is nevertheless quite attractive. She has been an acquaintance of Erszebet's for the past two years, mostly showing up unannounced, presumably through the teleportation circle, and always stylishly dressed, favoring the color white. The Magus claimed she didn't know who Cresta was or why she took it upon herself to intrude upon her life, but always played the hostess to her visits, which sometimes lasted for weeks. Polon believes they were or became friends, but acknowledges that Erszebet tended to have a fairly reticent personality.

Starting about a year ago, Cresta sometimes turned up without using the circle and claimed that she had moved into Beil Valley. Even so, she would still disappear for months. Her last visit was over a month ago, in late spring, before Polon was formally chosen as Erszebet's apprentice. Polon and his family knew of her visits because the Magus was not used to company and had to rely on them to help make the place more livable when Cresta was around.

In terms of her personality, Polon observed that Cresta had no compunction ordering Erszebet around, even for trivialities, but was always very pleasant and proper to everyone else. The Magus always seemed a little livelier and a lot busier during the visits, in Polon's eyes.

The one thing none of them can tell you is why Cresta would visit in the first place. Any inquiries were always met with a shrug, a smile, and a line to the effect of, "Why would I need more of a reason than having fun with a friend?" As far as anyone can say, she was the only one who would call Erszebet a friend.

[Ithelryn]

I apologize for my silence of late, life has been very busy between work, squaring things with insurance companies, and doctor visiting.

While Yrisz has a pretty comprehensive backstory (that was lost on a failed hard drive some years ago), she isn't very loaded in terms of long term goals. She generally speaking tries to act for the greater good of herself and those around her, and faithfully represent the tenants of the Vulysen Sisterhood (who are known for their charity). Currently her job is to do so in Beilston Mound area so her mentor, the paladin Bieiris, can operate unencumbered by the non-combatant Yrisz while Bieiris tries to mend things at Temple of Lightning's Spear. It is my understanding that as long as Yrisz keeps the Sisterhood advised about her general whereabouts she can operate with utter impunity.

As for what she does for the next few weeks. Hmmm. For lodging she will split her time between the Scriptorium and the Sisterhood, staying at which ever needs her assistance the most at any given time. I'm sure the sisterhood are in need of extra healers with all the stuff that happens when you displace a populous.

Yrisz start by spending a day in rest at the Scriptorium. She will also visit with Lywthast and see how the girl is settling in and make sure that she isn't in need of cloths or whatnot. If Lywthast needs basic necessities Yrisz will help to provide them as well as she can.

If her stay proves overlong at the Scriptorium Yrisz will also pay 2 Staters to Duvek as she know's he is in a little financial trouble at the time.

What does anybody think of the possibility of picking up an adventure to help pay off Duvek's debts? I thought it was something like 200 staters he owed. We could manage that for a few days work, if the work proved hazardous enough.

Palpatim, I remember from E's notes that she didn't expect Cresta to visit until after the Path of Storms had past.

Perhaps (I don't know if she would have the time), Yrisz could help Noxias at least start his search leveraging her high diplomacy, which he would be conducting no doubt in the Alley of the Gods. Right?

Why does Noxias want to return Fairy, I thought he was persona non grata (person not wanted) in Fairy at this time. Or at least in some of the unseal courts.

Items for replacement or acquisition (my PH books are not unpacked and will not be until I have full use of my left arm so I might need help on some of the pricing):
one Full Pair of Common Traveler's Cloths
one Pair of Under Armor
one dark blue tabard (probably would be provided by the Sisterhood)
Bedroll .1 sp
Rations, 4 days 2 sp
Torch (2) 2 bp
Bedroll .1 sp
Living during the down time 2 sp (possibly 4 sp)
Candle (3) 3 cp
Chalk (1) 1 cp

Yrisz paid 10 staters to wear her armor (I don't know if that included her mace).

Story wise, the only mystery (other then the missing magic library) that defeating E exposed that we haven't examined was the note E had from Master Nemzpan, who was the old chief priest of the Church of Saint Avandra. I don't know what to make of it or even what we should do with the info. But I'll repost it and what we know of it here just in case it proves something we want to look into.

◦ Tucked into the above folio is a handwritten letter, "Master Nemzpan, neither His Reverence nor I have heard of an 'Izzmarg Expedition,' nor do either of us understand how such an undertaking, as foolhardy as it sounds on the surface, could concern our Temple's traditional guardianship of the Montane. Even overlooking the obvious geographical fact that Lake Izzmarg does not border the Montane in any way, there is the fundamental question of what any of this has to do with your work. You insinuate that we are in league with the Imperial Cult. I cannot deny it; we are: we're working with them to make your church's pretty, dancing dolls into a suitable weapon for the Bone Lancers. Beyond that, we do not know what you are trying to get at. Perhaps you should go about this from the other end: ask Master Acrod to help you hunt down this phantom company or about the details of our so-called alliance. The fact that a scandal from as far away as the Vodlaian Archipelago would involve your church in this valley in the middle of the Empire was, I hoped, a lesson that would rein you in from having these far-flung ideas. In summation, your request that we investigate and prevent any expedition to Lake Izzmarg is denied. I hope it will not come to my attention that you chose to circumvent us and take this nonsense to the Temple of Lightning's Spear. --Krushevx, Hieromonk of the Garden of Preparation" It is dated a little over a year ago.


Yrisiz has not heard of Acrod or Krushevx.

A montane is a region of alpine forest. Krushevx' letter made clear he was referring to a specific location with that name, but Yrisz doesn't know where that is.

Imareska is the largest city of the east, lying at the mouth of the Yu River. Among its other qualities, it is home to the Vulysen Sisterhood's Aucothian headquarters. Yrisz has never been east of the mountains, but she would know this; presumably the writing's reference to "the Imareska" threw her off.

Yrisz was not previously aware of any scandal involving the Vodlaian Archipelago.

The Sisterhood's presence is not strong enough in Beilston Mound to merit the presence of a powerful priestess that could undo such a curse. In terms of other places of learning, Yrisz is of course aware of the Imperial Hospital. The only location she can think of that the others might not know about is the Alley of the Gods, where the relatively unimportant temples crowd together. Sometimes the greatest wisdom is found in humble settings, but that place is sketchy, nonetheless.

Ariellana isn't aware of any scandals from the Archipelago making their way as far as here.

Lake Izzmarg
(Dungeoneering DC 15)
You have heard in passing the name "Izzmarg Fortress," now ruins that rest on an island in a lake of the same name.

(Ariellana - History DC 20)
"Izzmarg Fortress" is a regional nickname given to a box of tools or objects that is placed somewhere obscure, and because its owner never has a need for it, eventually forgotten about. Izzmarg Fortress is also the name given to ruins that lie somewhere up in the mountains, but even if those ruins are from the time before when Aucothia expanded into the east, why build so far from any pass or inhabited region? What would it protect, and where would it threaten? Are those ruins really of a fortress?

(Nature DC 20)
You have heard of this large lake in the barren highlands north of Beilston. A river from the lake, the Izzmarg Flow, joins the Yu River as a tributary a few miles to the east.


Master Nemzpan
(Ariellana - History DC 20)
Master Nemzpan was the chief priest of the Church of Saint Avandra in Beilston Mound. When the Edict of Evocation was presented and the Church was pulled down last autumn, he went missing and has not been found since.

Radimoth
(Streetwise DC 15)
Radimoth is Beilston's current Vogt, a tiefling said to be a devout adherent of Torog, the King that Crawls. He is very diligent in the imprisonment and interrogation of any that disturb the peace, most of the time. The current outbreak of uncontrolled violence is rumored to be a source of great personal frustration to him, frustration he readily shares with any who come into his sphere of influence.

Lake Izzmarg
(Nature DC 20)
You have heard of this large lake in the barren highlands north of Beilston. A river from the lake, the Izzmarg Flow, joins the Yu River as a tributary a few miles to the east.

A montane is a region of alpine forest. Krushevx' letter made clear he was referring to a specific location with that name, but Yrisz doesn't know where that is.

[Umiushi]

This is the seventy-second Acqua Alta Finale DM discussion post. The next DM discussion post will appear by 11 pm, Thursday, November 22nd.

You may note the lack of a due date for the player discussion posts. It is important to be involved in the discussion to try to reach a consensus. For those of you who are in a position where this is possible, please post as often as necessary to accomplish this.

The Thanksgiving holiday is coming up. I expect many people will be away or busy during that time. Therefore, it is my hope that agreement will be reached by Wednesday. If you really need more time, please explicitly post and request this, and I will provide the necessary extension.

Many good ideas have been presented so far. Now is the time to narrow it down to the one choice the party intends to pursue. Remember to balance your character goals with your desires as players when you come to a consensus.


In the coming week, I hope to post a current roster and equipment list. This may be compromised by my own schedule, but it is my intention to do so, in any case.

[Malk0lm]

Nox Lvl 4
+1 Dexterity and +1 Constitution
Retrain Thunderwave for Ray of Frost
Will train in Toughness

In anser to Ith's question: Nox was not well liked by the teacher's pet of a mage apprentice but he minded his own business just fine and did infact have some friends in faerie. He would have been perfectly content to continue his studies and then move on. But he was forcibly thrown out and that smarts.

So in that regard, Nox would like to spend his time learning about the ritual to return home and find out the components necessary. Then, because he doesnt have any money, it would be great to begin questing for those items to see if he can get them himself. I am hopeful that some of these components will be able to be gathered on the path to someone else's quests.

Right now I think we should let Tim pick the next path and Nox will go along with whatever that is, and it will hopefully bring him one step closer to his current goal.

[Umiushi]

One of the aspects of AD&D that I enjoyed was the necessity for player characters to take the time and effort to train themselves whenever they gained a new level. Unfortunately, the rules for doing so were not really employable as written. The amount of money required to reach level 2 was several times the amount of money that a character was reasonably expected to gain while at level 1, for example.

In an effort to explore the interesting story-side to training while avoiding its pitfalls, I have decided to try the carrot instead of the stick as a possible approach to reintroducing training into the game.

Here's the deal. Each of you may freely choose to take one training quest for your character for either level 5 or level 6. Here are your options, listed out:

• Do not take a training quest.
• Take a training quest for your character's level 5 daily power.
• Take a training quest for your character's level 6 utility power.

Because I don't want to completely distract the party with training quests, you can only choose to take the level 5 daily or the level 6 utility quest, not both.

This is what the quests look like:
Training Quest (for a Daily Power)
Level: 5
Start: You reach level 5. Select a desired daily power but do not give it to your character.
Goal: Obtain your chosen power. How you will accomplish that goal will be determined by me with your input.
Outcome - Complete Success: When you fulfill the goal, you immediately gain the use of your chosen daily power and a reward of 200 XP.
Outcome - Moderate Success: If you reach level 6 without having fulfilled the goal, gain a level 5 daily power other than the one you originally chose, in addition to everything your character normally gains from reaching level 6. If you fulfill the original training goal while you are level 6, you immediately retrain your current daily power to the chosen daily power and gain the reward of 200 XP. This does not count against your character's normally-allowed retraining, but you may not retrain your newly-gained power until you reach level 8.
Outcome - Failure: If you reach level 7 without having fulfilled the goal, you may choose to retrain your daily power to the power you originally chose. Whether or not you do that, even if you fulfill the original conditions of the quest in the future, there will be no effect and no reward.

Training Quest (for a Utility Power)
Level: 6
Start: You reach level 6, and did not choose the previous training quest. Select a desired utility power but do not give it to your character.
Goal: Obtain your chosen power. How you will accomplish that goal will be determined by me with your input.
Outcome - Complete Success: When you fulfill the goal, you immediately gain the use of your chosen utility power and a reward of 250 XP.
Outcome - Moderate Success: If you reach level 7 without having fulfilled the goal, gain a level 6 utility power other than the one you originally chose, in addition to everything your character normally gains from reaching level 7. If you fulfill the original training goal while you are level 7, you immediately retrain your current utility power to the chosen utility power and gain the reward of 250 XP. This does not count against your character's normally-allowed retraining, but you may not retrain your newly-gained power until you reach level 9.
Outcome - Failure: If you reach level 8 without having fulfilled the goal, you may choose to retrain your utility power to the power you originally chose. Whether or not you do that, even if you fulfill the original conditions of the quest in the future, there will be no effect and no reward.

In summary, the reward for taking one of these quests is experience points: 20% of what you need to reach the next level. The challenge of the quest is that you have to temporarily forgo the use of your new major ability. The risk is that, depending on what happens in the party's future, it is quite possible that the quests will not be evenly balanced between player characters: some characters will succeed early, other characters will fail, possibly because of factors not entirely within their control. For example, if Noxias chooses to take the level 5 quest, and it involves seeking out the two wizards who each know one of the spells he is after, and the party travels to a place where neither wizard, or no wizard at all, can be found, things won't go well for Noxias's quest. However, there are two things to remember: the reward is permanent while the penalty is temporary; and nobody is obligated to take either of the quests.

Depending on the power chosen and the player's input, some quests may be relatively straightforward: e.g. find an expert, expend some time and money, and learn the power. Other quests may be more involved, perhaps reaching the level of a mini-adventure. Powers that are to be granted through introspection or inspiration are best handled by not taking training quests at all.

[yukonhorror]

I like the idea of training quests. I personally HATED training, (super costly money and time-wise). Also, our DM would cap your XP until you trained. I had a friend who was still 1st level by the time a companion was second level, because the companion was giving the time and money to train.

As for where we go next, I don't mind going to the Town of Cresta. Also, there is the "OTHER" word for the teleportation circle AND there is the freaky door upstairs we were warned to NEVER ENTER........

[Palpatim]

I like the idea of training quests, and Rogur will participate when it comes time to level him up, assuming he's still around.

I wouldn't mind going to try to find Cresta. There's only a tenuous connection to Rogur's personal quest at this point, but undeniable connections to Erszebet and potential badness happening in Aucothia. Plus, new environments to explore!

As far as returning Noxias to faerie, I'd be interested in hearing an in-character post from him about his plight.

--T

[Malk0lm]

As far as returning Noxias to faerie, I'd be interested in hearing an in-character post from him about his plight.

--T

Happy to oblige, but it's locked. I would like to RP the next phase of where we are going once the new thread is started. Perhaps we all meet around a table for our last meal before setting out?

[Umiushi]

To avoid any confusion, the locations of the two sigil sequences are already known: one led to Tanisaor and the other back to the tower of the magus, in Beilston Mound. Even if this wasn't explicitly noted in the narrative, any inquiries about the second sigil sequence would have been answered by Polon.

Cresta is the name of a woman who often visited Erszebet, and is referred to in the fragment of Erszebet's journal that survived the fire.

I wonder if it will be possible to decide your next destination through role-playing by Thursday. Nevertheless, I have provided a venue to do so. Please use the Intermission thread for any narrative posts needed to reach a consensus.