DM Barcas - Kingmaker: Rivers Run Red

Game Master Isaac Duplechain

Berrin's future has been foretold, he is not to die this day ;)

Oh, you mean the future Borodin's from, that's CHANGED now, since he's here?

DOOM-DOOM DOOM-DOOOOOOM!

Oh, you mean the future Borodin's from, that's CHANGED now, since he's here?

DOOM-DOOM DOOM-DOOOOOOM!

*oh snap!*

Side note; How well does' Berrin know Borodin and Elsir? Have they been forthcoming with the possible future with the founders or what?

Borodin wouldn't necessarily volunteer information but if Berrin sought him out, he would tell the story as he experienced it.

Although to be fair, his outlook has changed somewhat since the Elven ruins.

Elven ruin.. oh yeah. I got some reading to do. To be fair though, Berrin wouldn't know what transpired there.

Borodin and Verik get along swimmingly well by the way...

Well, Verik gets along swimmingly with everyone so that's to be expected...

Well, Verik gets along swimmingly with everyone so that's to be expected...

Darkest Timeline Nikolai would disagree.

Oh. I have read that. Awesome narrative, would love to see that fight go down with dice rolls, epic barbarian vs. epic paladin/oracle and epic cleric? No contest.

Nope. You one round either and then it's one-on-one.

Don't let him scare ya, I would have had it wrapped up by round three ;)

You'd have been dead after round one, segment five.

Sorry about delay - work's been madness, and over Easter my mom arrived for an extended visit. I've been a bit preoccupied. I'll try to address it shortly :)

No problem. Let me know if you need some DMPCing.

Don't let him scare ya, I would have had it wrapped up by round three ;)

Dice-rolls. Show me dice-rolls.

Heh Berrin's post is too good for me to come up with anything, so leaving it for the new scene. Posting quick though to expend a CLW charge on him.

Awww.. I was expecting either a scolding or Verik turning even redder in the face as he handed Berrin his lance :,(

Well, on with business then. Nikolai's our champion right? Anybody got something to help him prepare? Buffs? Potions? His opponent wont be anything straight out of the bestiary. Out of the bestiary, sure, but buffed to hell and back I reckon.

Awww.. I was expecting either a scolding or Verik turning even redder in the face as he handed Berrin his lance :,(

Well I didn't want to post that would distract from the great timing of your post, or reset the scene after DMB moved us forward with the army status.

What Verik would have done though is to be mad and give Berrin one of his famous scowling looks, but would have realized Berrin wasn't trying to humiliate him further, and in the interests of being armed he would have done it. Add in the look of frustrated Verik awkwardly pulling the lance out one-handed because his other arm is strapped to a heavy shield, and then standing it up for Berrin to grasp before stalking back off towards Elsir.

The thing about the champion bit is that Nikolai doesn't trust Hargulka to keep to any sort of terms. It'd just be me fighting someone bigger then me.

Nikolai will step up to the front line and drive lizards into the river. If a champion rolls out to meet him, that doesn't mean anyone else should stop fighting, but Nik will definitely bring that sword to any champion's face.

Akiros' Keen sheathe...

Now THIS is a moment no one would have foreseen a year ago!

If there's a protection from evil or haste spell available, depending on whom the opposing champion is....

Let me get ya covered on that Steven - I'd like to hit him with a Shield of Faith, and can also get a Bless off if we're all about to go in. I have Pro from Evil, though it's only one minute from the wand, but depending on how this is shaping up you might get a few rounds out of it.

I could give you an energy resist 10.

Any level of help I can get is good for the champion schtick. My main concern is that Hargulka will insist one a one and one and that's bad for morale. I suspect that dude is cracked out.

But, I'll do what I have to with my usual unthinking fervor. : )

I could give you an energy resist 10.

I'm holding my communal resist energy for when you think we may need to cover ourselves from a potential wisp attack, but I do have that in reserve if you want to use your single-shot.

Any level of help I can get is good for the champion schtick. My main concern is that Hargulka will insist one a one and one and that's bad for morale. I suspect that dude is cracked out.

But, I'll do what I have to with my usual unthinking fervor. : )

Okay I'll post up as soon as I can giving Nikolai Shield of Faith (5 minutes) and Pro. from Evil (1 minute wand), unless/until you get a 2 minute version from either Akiros or Jemini.

I'd like to hold Bless until we all go in, especially if it's with the army, so Verik will cast that as soon as we understand how this thing is going to kickoff.

Oh ya! Almost forgot. Akiros can also give a protection from evil AND an Enlarge, both of which will last 2 min.

An enlarged Nikolai should be a pretty cool sight!

However, as he's only got 3 1st level spells, I'm waiting to see who the foe is to see if it will be worth it to blow 2/3 his spell wad on this one combat

However, as he's only got 3 1st level spells, I'm waiting to see who the foe is to see if it will be worth it to blow 2/3 his spell wad on this one combat

Probably not worth it, as Verik's Shield of Faith is +2 Deflection AC, which won't stack with Protection from Evil. Nikolai would only get an extra +1 Resistance Save out of the Pro from Evil casting really is all.

And a guidance spell will replace that.

WAAAAAAAIiiiittttt!!!!!!

I was about to try an Intimidate check when I realized the DC goes up for every target or somesuch, meaning, Nikolai can't convince the lizards to just bail if their champion loses.

Then I realized, we haven't made a Sense Motive check about this challenge thing. Is there any way to do that? Attempt to sense whether the lizards are just stalling, or prepared to leave if they lose, or intent on cuting us all up no matter what happens?

Or, having seen him and how he works, sense Hargulka's motive to see how he'd treat a challenge in this situation?

Did you still want the Enlarge if your facing a major baddie?

Yeah....I don't respect it much, but I can't very well lose reach to any of the three brutes.

Thanks. Hope my AC holds up.

Hrm...well Shield of Faith and Enlarge Person AC differences seem to cancel each other out right so you're still at AC 20...but yeah AC 20...

(That's okay Steve, just embrace the Leeroy Jenkins you're about to do with Nikolai and it will all work out!)

AC 18 raging...

I could spot you an amulet of natural armor +1 or my half-plate.

No half-plate. Need mobility. But every bit of AC helps. I just feel it's gonna be one of those big three dudes, and I (meta) suspect that stupid will o' wisp. (Why else would a creature like that be mentioned in a scene like this?)

Are you going to take the Resist Energy as electricity from Elsir? I have the communal version but suspect that you're not going to be in touch range with the others if all of this gets going...

Yeah, Elsir, and electricity were what I was thinking. If someone casts cone of cold I'm a dead man anyway.

I have been doing some thinking about the next shift in the game and us moving ahead 2 years. Crafting wise, here are some of the items I can see myself and Verik crafting.

Gloves of Reconnaissance - See through 15 feet of stone.
Belt of the weasel +2 Dex and the big win is the compression ability.
Unfettered Shirt Freedom of Movement 10 rds a day.
Boots of Levitation Good defensive item at a cheap cost.
Might be a good idea for Elsir, since I can always act in the surprise round.
[url=http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/wondrous-items/wondrous-items/r-z/slippers-feather-step]Feather-Step Slippers It's cheap and allows you to ignore difficult terrain.
Gauntlet of Rust An ok ability but rather expensive for a one use per day.
Helm of the mammoth lord I like the fact that it gives a gore attack that would stack with Nik's claw attacks from his abyssal heritage.

Anyhow, just some ideas and I'll post some more later.

Since we have roughly two years of time to account for with the next book (assuming we don't TPK in this battle of course dun Dun DUNNNNN), I was thinking that the potential changes in relationships, profession and other "stuff" are pretty significant. Do our characters all interact in the same way with each other two years from now as they do now? Are there new NPC's (probably) and new developments (surely so) that change the way our characters behave? DM Barcas is going to provide some of this, but certainly not all of this needs to be left to the DM.

For my part I don't feel very well grounded with my character and his interactions if I don't have some of it written out or at least spelled out in a line-item fashion. Maybe it's a great opportunity as well to shake up some character interactions, or build in something for your character that moves him/her in a different direction that is interesting, or gives other players new ideas on interactions and such.

In addition to the leveling up, gear changes and such that we'll all do, I would recommend a rough template that would assist each character to bullet-point changes to their character in the two-year passage of time. Maybe it's just a post w/ spoilers in OOC with info, or maybe that runs over into in-game narrative. Everyone has their own style and time-constraints, but I'm putting this out there as a starting point.

************
Character xxxxx 4710-12 Changes

Professional & Political
(i.e. changes or actions in profession or duty, changes or notable actions as a Founder, politics of the Founder’s Council that has an impact)

Relationships: PC’s*
(i.e. changes in how character relates to other characters good or bad – new developments, issues, understandings, rifts, etc.)
*Significant changes that impact other PC’s should be something those players discuss together beforehand**

Relationships: NPC’s**
(i.e. changes in how character relates to notable NPC’s good or bad – new developments, issues, understandings, rifts, etc.). Also way to introduce new notable NPC’s that are part of the character’s life).
**Significant changes that impact NPC's may be something that needs DM approval and discussion, depending on what it's about and who it is.

Character Build
(i.e. level-up notes, gear changes, crafting notes, living and lifestyle changes, other stuff that changes the character in a stat block way, etc.)

***********************

Finally, I was thinking that two years allows for one or two twists or events in the character's development - something from the past that crops up or something that may give a new hook for DM Barcas to seize upon. I had two or three in mind for Verik actually, so I'm excited to see if I can work that into the narrative.

What do you all think?

Looks good to me.

Retraining is allowed, as well. You have ample time.

Heya, gang. My friend and writing partner Steve Rowe (Pestilence among the Four Horsemen) is in a contest to win a fiction writing commission at koboldpress.com. Please give him a brithday present. Hope over and vote for his very funny story about an established NPC in the Midgard world. Today is the last day to vote, so please spend a few minutes to give him some love!

I hope to get a post up tomorrow (Sunday).

Gonna need that haste and bless, gang.

I admit I'm a bit nervous at seeing Nik's hp compared to what the minotaur's likely are, but overall I think it's gonna be a pretty even match, decided by the dice (or maybe some sneaky tactics)

Haste and bless would for sure help, but if we only have one of each, my vote says we gotta save it for Hargulka and the trolls that will be sure to be with him.

Sorry Steve!

I'm not nervous at all, you're going to turn him into paste in 1.5 rounds and we need to conserve resources. There's more healing to go around than haste but I'd vote for waiting to cast it just yet.

Worst case scenario you'll have to sit out the rest of the battle and we'll raise you again after it, if Vindrago won't do it then we'll get outside help, maybe from the elves of Kyonin, and Nikolai will have garnered a reputation of willingness to lay down his life for Newhaven.

Edit: Plus you've got hero points to spread around.

I've got TWO. Mostly cause I suck at dice.

I'm not asking for the spells to be wasted on only me. I'm just saying, if there's a fight after this one, Nikolai's gonna need to go straight into it so as not to be fatigued.

Hehe. Uh-oh.

What would make a good addition to the party now?