Combat Map - Turn 57

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Gallows of Madness: A Foul Breed - GM Turn Post 2

Please advise how you plan to proceed with your investigation. You are starting at #16, the town hall. It is a complex that dominates the center of Saringallow. Several large buildings overlook the rest of the town and serve as its administrative headquarters.

I believe that I have heard votes for the Witch’s End Tavern (#10) and the Saringallow Orchard (#14) so far.

Please provide a single-file and a double-file marching order.

I believe that I have characters from everyone but Steve. (He claims it is complete but has been having Internet connectivity issues which prevents him from giving me a copy.) I will work on posting character links and updated files over this week.

Gallows of Madness: A Foul Breed - Turn Results 1

Q: Have there been other notable events in the past two weeks? Say, a festival? Religious ceremony? Wandering priest taking up residence? Government official visiting? Any madmen recently removed from town?

A: No, nothing that stands out.

Q: What sort of insects (Ants? Roaches? Flies)? Did the vicious vermin appear shortly after the first youngster went missing? Why do you think the events are related?

A: There has just been sighting so far. Mostly the reports are of large beetles and crawling things. No one has been directly confronted by one. I cannot tell you if the events are related or not but the timing is suspicious.

Q: Who has seen these bugs? Exactly how big are they? Where and when were they seen?

A: There have been several reports by various citizens. Accounts differ but the creatures are reported to be somewhere between cat and dog sized. All the reports have happened within the last several days.

Q: Do you have any idea what might have happened to the apprentices?

A: “No, I truly don’t. From what I gather, their masters mostly think they’ve just momentarily run off. The longer they’re missing, however, the more worried the townsfolk will become. I do hope you find them safe and sound soon.”

Q: Is the missing haberdasher apprentice the son/daughter of the master?

A: Betrona is the daughter of the haberdasher, Petrello Pindlion.

Q: We should have a look around the park. It looks like the apprentice disappearances ring around it. And what better place to look for Nature's Creatures than a park?

A: That is not a park but rather Saringallow Orchard, the community apple orchard. The family that previously tended the trees left to fight in the Goblinblood Wars and never returned. In the 15 years since their departure, the responsibility of caring for the trees and harvesting the apples has rotated between citizens who lack a livelihood of their own.

Q: Sorry can you tell us about town history?

A: Trinelli sighs and gazes out the picture window beside her desk. “It’s a painful history,” she admits, “but more than a hundred years ago, our town was little more than rural holdings belonging to Cheliax’s House Sarini. At some point, the Sarinis began dabbling in diabolism. It made everyone uncomfortable by all accounts, but no one said anything until it was too late.”

She pauses, and when she continues her voice is filled with palpable anger. “Those horrible nobles exsanguinated several innocent youths in service to their dark patrons, like they were nothing but toys. The townspeople rose up, and in their rage, they hanged every Sarini they could get their hands on. They changed the town’s name to Sarini Gallows as a warning, though it eventually became Saringallow. Since then we’ve never knowingly suffered a Sarini’s presence in our town.”

The mayor takes a deep breath, calming the passion that welled inside her while recounting the tale. “However,” she continues, “We paid a price back then even beyond the lives of those young people. During the hangings, the townspeople began turning on each other, accusing folks of diabolism at every turn. The real villains lost their lives, but so did many innocent people, and I can’t allow that to happen again. If I do, I’ll very likely have blood on my hands.”

Q: We were all under the assumption that we don’t want to ask a bunch of questions because we don’t want people to get fear and move out of the city causing panic. Why do you believe that will happen?

A: Trinelli pauses as if unsure whether to continue, before taking a resolute swig from the large mug of tea on her desk. “As you likely know, the people of Saringallow are a superstitious lot, and with good reason—our community has been through its share of hardships, particularly when it comes to our vulnerable youth. If folks begin to assume that foul play is behind the apprentices’ disappearances, they might decide to mete out justice against an innocent person. Or if they come to believe the two situations are related, they may begin to suspect a diabolic or otherwise foul influence, and there would be panic in the streets. Under no circumstances can I allow that to happen.”

Q:  Do you not have the skills to investigate this matter yourself or are you too busy?

A: “I would, but you can see how busy I am.” Mayor Trinelli gestures to the mess of documents around her. “And if I were to step away, my absence would soon become obvious. On top of that, I’d have to involve a least a small contingent of the guard—they’re a talkative lot who would no doubt reveal the nature of my inquiries. You see how my hands are tied. I need help, preferably outside help. You seem like the perfect candidates.”

Q: I don’t suppose we could get an advance on payment? It looks like we'll need some anti-vermin gear...

A: I am sorry, while I am sympathetic to your concern, I can only afford to pay for actual results. 

Thursday, February 23, 2017

On Vacation

I am on a short vacation with Sarah. I will post the answers to your questions by the beginning of next week.

Sunday, February 19, 2017

Gallows of Madness: A Foul Breed - GM Turn Post 1

The plush red carpet and oak furniture upholstered with velvet lend this room an air of comfort, but it’s also clearly a place of official business, with several layers of administrative papers, staff memos, maps, and charts covering the wide surface of the solid desk in the center. From her tall-backed chair behind her desk, Mayor Sandra Trinelli looks up, shaking herself out of a deep concentration. A subtle look of relief flashes across her face as she motions to the oversized chairs in front of her.

“Normally, I’d exchange more pleasantries with my guests, but I fear there is no time,” she says. “The business that brought you here is quite urgent—it may actually be a matter of life and death.

“Let me explain. You may have heard that several young apprentices from various establishments in Saringallow have disappeared in the last couple of weeks. Every one of them has failed to show up to work, and nobody seems to know where they’ve gone.

“That’s not all. Rumors are spreading about sightings of enormous insects roaming about town. So far, the townspeople have chalked up such rumors to overactive imaginations, but I fear they might be real, and that they might have something to do with the missing apprentices. I have no proof that the situations are connected, but if folks get that notion into their heads, things are bound to spiral out of control.”

She shifts nervously, as if avoiding an uncomfortable implication, before continuing.

“Please, I implore you to look into this matter quietly and thoroughly—find out where our apprentices have gone and discover the cause of our vermin problem. Don’t jump to conclusions until you have investigated every possible angle; we need to be absolutely sure that we know who or what is responsible before we take any necessary law-enforcement actions.

“I suggest you start by interviewing the masters of every missing apprentice on this list I’ve compiled. I suspect that, collectively, they might shed some light on the youngsters’ whereabouts. That could in turn illuminate our vermin problem, but until we have more information, I caution you against suggesting to anyone that the two situations are connected. Beyond that, though, you have my full cooperation in this matter. If anyone gives you guff about your line of questioning, show them this letter.”

The mayor pushes a scrap of paper with several names scribbled on it across her desk, as well as a rolled-up, ribbon-bound letter written on thick parchment.

“As far as an incentive,” the mayor says, “I’ve pooled together 50 gold pieces as a reward for each apprentice you manage to find and rescue, as well as an additional 100 gold pieces if you can determine the cause of our vermin problem—and eliminate it. Do we have a deal?”

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Assuming that the party agrees to work for the Mayor, please post any questions that you have for Mayor Sandra Trinelli. Answers will be provided in the Turn Results post. Knowledge: Local and Knowledge: History checks may also be appropriate and could help fill in some details if you do not ask specific questions.

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Let's Get Started

I have 5 characters. Joe's guy still needs a little work and I am still waiting to get something from Steve. Rather than hold the game up for that, I am ready to get started. The first part does not require character sheet so I think we will be ok.

This what I have so far:

Steve - ?
Joe - Wahesh Captain, male Human Fighter
Matt F - Lady Emyralda, female Halfling Cleric
Bruce - Barnacleez, male Gnome Sorcerer and Lou G'Boo, his monkey familiar
Matt H - Cando Numida, male Half-orc Fighter
Dave - Ro-Mahn, male Human Rogue

Please feel free to introduce your character. You can reply to this post with your character description and origins.

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

The Votes Are In

The votes are in and you have picked module as the format. The vote was split between Normal vs. Core. The module is designed using material mostly from the Core Rulebook, so I have decided we will play Core. This also has the added benefit of introducing Joe to the game and PFS.

The module is Gallows of Madness and the first adventure is “A Foul Breed”. Each of the three adventures contained in the module are tier 1-3. That means to play them all with the same character, and earn the bonus chronicle, you will need to start with a 1st level guy.

I need everyone to create (or dust off) a 1st level Core PFS character. Please supply a Hero Lab .pdf for posting on the site. You will also need to find an image to represent your character on the combat map. Once I have all of that, we can get started.

Here is some context about the area where you will be adventuring. The events of the module take place in and around the Isgeri town of Saringallow. Isger is a vassal state of Cheliax located in south-central Avistan. The town’s mayor, Sandra Trinelli (human), has put out a discrete call for adventurers. The adventure begins with the PCs answering that call. Saringallow is a large town with a population 2,110 (1,800 humans, 200 half-elves, 60 gnomes and 50 other).

Friday, February 10, 2017

Updated PFS PBB Rules

I have updated the "Rules". They can be found at https://sites.google.com/site/zombiehomepage/Home/zombie-s-d-d-pathfinder-page/pathfinder-play-by-blog/RulesforPFSPlay-By-Blog.doc

Types of Characters

Let's hash this out now. What character types do folks want to play?

Welcome Joe to the Game

Joe Nochman has agreed to play. I am getting him set up with the blog, the rules for Pathfinder and PFS and maybe Hero Lab.

Please welcome him and tell him a little bit about yourselves. I expect he will do the same.

He is a veteran gamer but as far as I know he has not played D&D 3.5 or Pathfinder before. He may have questions and need guidance.

Thursday, February 9, 2017

Polls added

There are 2 polls on the right. Please vote so that we can determine what we will play.

Looks Like We Are Doing This

We need characters (Hero Lab .PDF please), images to use as your characters avatar and a decision on what adventure to play.

Once that is settled, we need to establish the marching order and any standing orders that you would like to implement.

If everyone gets their stuff together, I expect we can try to start next week.

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Possible PFS Play-by-Blog Revival

Is there any interest is starting this up again? We would need 4 players.

If so, is there anything we would like to change with the format? I know it can be slow to play as it is not live action but it does seem to work when everyone participates.

As to what to play, I would suggest lower level stuff, maybe the evergreens and/or quests.