Pathfinder Character Generators

More tools for players! Now With Reviews!

FREE - PFRPG Character Generator by Venture Captain
http://venturecaptain.com/
It's got potential for an early beta generator, but needs to be developed further.  The parts that are more complete are fairly well automated.
Here's three things:

1. Equipment and Spells tabs are merely placeholders in the current form.  There's really nothing there, yet.

2. Some useful information isn't present in the finished PDF.  An example is the inherent bonus column has no information, where you would see racial modifiers to the final ability scores, even though that information is clearly presented in the entry form.

3. Space is a premium, which not all character sheet authors take to heart.  In the finished PDF, here, the fields are relatively large and the black bordered titles take up an unnecessary amount of paper.

FREE - 3.75 Pathfinder Character Generator (BETA 0.9.6) by Treasure Trove
http://www.trovetokens.com/pathfinder.html

Pretty clean form, if you like things compacted into one screen.  Data entry utilizes a fluid interface, but provides less guidance, requiring more knowledge of the character creation rules.

Here's three things:

1. Unlike Venture Captain's generator, this one doesn't highlight or gray out items based on previous selections, such as bonus feats for a given class.

2.  No automated equipment or spell selections, but at least you can enter the information, unlike Venture Captain.

3. You can't see all of the effects of your selections, such as modified skills, until you generate the character sheet.

FREE DEMO - The highly praised Hero Lab by Lone Wolf
http://www.wolflair.com/index.php?context=hero_lab

This review only covers the demo, the limitations of which will not figure.  To begin, you have to install it, so no instant access advantage as with the above options.  It's integrated with a variety of game companies' output to the point that it wants you update it whenever applicable.  It's also relatively complex, a bit like comparing images created from Windows Paint and Adobe Photoshop; you get what you put into it.

Here's three things:

1. Well-automated and extensive selection processes, though I was unable to enter material not available in their database, such as an official Trait from one of the Adventure Paths.

2. A few minor errors, such as penalizing the attack roll of a gnome using the otherwise Exotic Gnome Hooked Hammer [see next thing for fixing].

3. The software permits editing of data that goes beyond simple user input, allowing for customized selections.  So, if you know and enjoy tinkering behind the scenes, this may be for you.

Updated Pathfinder Character Sheet

While creating a Gnome Sorcerer, I discovered an error using the PDF character sheet put out by James the Bard, one of several that were addressed and corrected in a September update.

Should you be interested in using the latest version, it can be downloaded here:

http://www.jamesthebard.net/blog/?p=278

I still like writing my character sheets out in pencil most often, but like to keep up on the technical advances.  If you're more digitally inclined, I highly recommend this PDF.

Addendum

Expanded sheets from Happy Camper at the Pathfinder Database (including APG classes)
A whole set of class-specific Pathfinder character sheets from Dyslexic Studeos (including APG classes)

Kingmaker Session Recap: December 18th

Summary via Will (edited by Brian):

We finished up with the kobolds.  Since Dunk was not present this evening, we put off the attempt to convert the tribe to the worship of a good-aligned god for the moment and just agreed to meet up with the kobolds again in a few weeks to discuss the matter further, over a feast.

We elected to explore the hex containing the kobold's lair more fully, but were unable to complete our explorations.  The Shrike River runs through the center of the hex.  It's quite large and deep, and we were unable to cross it.  So only the northern half of that hex has been explored.

We then followed the river east looking for a crossing, and found one the next hex over.  Sort of.  It was a soggy rope in poor condition with a sign saying "Nettle's Crossing, 5 copper; ring bell for service."  There appeared to be a ruined house on the opposite shore.  We rang the bell, and a hideous slimy undead thingy rose from the crumbled ruins of a what may once have been a bridge slightly down stream, and said "You ... are not ... [my tormentors]."  We conversed with it a bit; it asked us to dump the Stag Lord's body in the river, which we could not do just then since he ain't dead yet.  However, the undead thingy (presumably Nettle in a previous existence) did not seem interested in anything at all other than exacting his vengeance on the Stag Lord.  We elected to leave him be for now.

Having determined that the party had sufficient rope to run a new line across the river, Grendel stripped off his armor and handily made it across to the south side.  We secured both ends of the new rope, and then Verdessa attempted to climb across.  A mere forty feet from shore, her grasp slipped and she was swept away by the current, fetching up painfully on a rock (right where the undead Nettle made his appearance).  She hollered at us to ring the bell in hopes that Nettle would save her; but when we rang it, he popped out again and said "You .... are not ... the Stag Lord" and then went away again.  Somewhat put out, Verdessa attempted to summon a (rather confused) dolphin to rescue her.  Sadly, by the time it positioned itself to help her, the spell ran out, leaving her stranded once again on the rock.  Telvin swam out with another rope and hauled her in.

At this point it was decided that maybe this wasn't such a great idea after all, so the party signaled Grendel to come back, which he did, leaving the new rope in place against future attempts.

The party explored another hex to the north, finding a dead lightning struck tree. Telvin, recalling the map he had found tucked in the boot of a dead brigand in the trap door spider's lair, suggested that they look around more carefully; and Dunk located an area of disturbed earth.  Raynor just happened to have a shovel in his equipment (!) and so the party dug down, unearthing a cache of goods wrapped in a leather cloak: a masterwork dagger, a couple of wands, and a damaged spellbook which none of us can use (not being wizards).  Grendel finished installing spikes on Dunk's light shield.

Then we hightailed it for Oleg's, where we:

1) Returned Svetlana's ring to her (Verdessa took it to Oleg and suggested he re-propose to her with it, which was a great success).  Oleg offered us a line of credit up to 1,000 gp as a reward.

2) Sent a note in announcing our successful establishment of an alliance with the Sootscale tribe.  Reward: 800 gp (expected to arrive in about a week, give or take).

3) Left Little John behind.  He announced that he was tired of bumping his head on the ceiling of tunnels that were too small.

4) Collected some previous orders, including a healer's kit (Raynor), [a climbing kit] (Verdessa), and a new combat-trained horse for Telvin, a lovely palomino mare with a little heart-shaped birthmark on her left foreleg. Name: Baloteague.

5) Put in some new orders: a silver holy symbol of Torag to present to Chief Sootscale as part of our attempts to persuade the tribe to convert, a military saddle and a set of masterwork armorsmithing tools for Telvin, and probably a couple other things that I have forgotten.

After a good night's rest, the party forged out again, and proceeded to explore seven or eight hexes.  In most of them there were no encounters; we rolled safely for once.  Raynor's horse got caught in a bear trap, but survived the encounter and was healed.  We found some blackberries, and spent a little time tip-toeing through a field of tulips.  Eventually we looped back around.  There was a rainstorm.  The following night, we were ambushed by a whiptail centipede (of the same sort that almost did for Dunk in the mite's lair).  It caught Verdessa with her pants down -- err, with her armor off, but she made her save against its initial attack and danced away.  Dunk and Telvin rushed to attack, Dunk forgetting his armor in his haste; but they backed off when Verdessa shouted that she was going to try to entangle it.  She cast the spell, and although it made its initial save, its rear half got thoroughly caught in it.  The party backed off a bit and shot it full of arrows, though it turned out to be close enough to take one nasty hit at Raynor (down to zero HP).  In fairly short order, however, it was dead, and Raynor healed himself back up.

The next day we explored a section of forest, and encountered a grig, such as the ones that tormented the party so earlier in the game.  The grig had not intended to reveal herself, but failed her stealth check miserably. The party diplomatically said "How kind of you to show yourself to us," and after a number of fulsome compliments, determined that Raynor was the only one of the party who had not yet established good relations with the Fey.  He handed over a potion of cure light wounds, and promised to bring some alcoholic beverages back as an offering later.  The grig was content with this, and became quite chatty, revealing the locations of several nearby things -- including the location of the temple of Eristil guarded by the angry bear that the cleric Jhod has been looking for.  The rest was stuff we already knew about, except for some kind of hot spring, which the grig said was currently inhabited by some friends of the fey who would probably be done with it in about a year, but who would like some flies if we could find any big enough (?).

And that's where we broke off for the evening.  After adding up all the XP for exploration, the whiptail centipede, and so on, the party reached level 2, hurrah!

The next meeting should be Saturday January 8th.  [Mark your calendars!]

Things, Part Two (brought to you by Penny Arcade)

I may have felt this way once, very early in my experiences as a GM, but you, my players, are safe, probably.

Kingmaker Session Dec. 4th

Kingmaker Session Summary via Will (with proper name corrections by Brian):

You may recall that last time we broke up in the middle of cleaning out a dungeon full of mites.  We picked up from there.

Most of the session was occupied with finishing with the mites – there were ten left, plus two more giant centipedes (thankfully not as dangerous as the really enormous one that we ran into last time).  The only really notable part of that battle came when Verdessa managed to roast Grendel's buttocks with a Flame Bolt while trying to target a centipede through his legs, at the very same moment that a mite jabbed poor Grendel in the groin. Oh, and Telvin managed to trip and fall twice in a row on the same mite.

We also discovered a hatchery for more centipedes, and destroyed the eggs, except three that Verdessa collected to make an omelette.  Once we scoured the place for treasure, we headed back to the surface.  Little John was exceptionally grateful to get out of the cramped mite caverns, and stretched until his lumbar vertebrae popped, which made him feel a lot better.

After resting (remaining days till Stag Lord fails to receive tribute from Kressle: 16), the party headed south to the encampment of the Sootscale Kobolds, led by Mikmek, the kobold we freed from the mites last time. Once there, Mikmek persuaded the guard -- Nikpak -- that the time had come to take out Tartük, the shaman who had led them in the worship of old Sharptooth, a nasty god thing who is evil and, um, you know, not very nice. Together they led us into the kobold lair, where the two of them persuaded

Chief Sootscale of the same -- the Chief, after a brief internal struggle, smashed the idol of Old Sharptooth that the party had found in the mite lair.  The chief, plus Mikmek, and two nameless kobolds, led the party to Tartük.  The area was quite cramped; Dunk, Little John, and Grendel waited outside while Verdessa, Raynor, and Telvin went in with the kobolds.

They found Tartük brewing some foul reddish concoction in a cauldron, his raven familiar perched on his shoulder.  Chief Sootscale had angry words with him, Tartük cast Shield on himself, and the fight was on.  Chief Sootscale and one of the nameless kobolds went toe to toe.  Raynor blessed everyone (except Tartük), and Verdessa summoned a mighty eagle which promptly killed Tartük's raven.  Telvin worked his way around Tartük and struck him a firm blow in the back (10 damage).  Tartük turned on him, raised a wand; Telvin was overcome with fear, and fled.  Chief Sootscale swung and missed, the nameless kobold gouged Tartük quite badly, and then Raynor stepped in with his rapier and coolly stabbed the shaman through the heart.  Telvin, who had in his terror fled the room and embraced Dunk, came to his senses to find Dunk slapping him.  "Let us never speak of this again," he suggested to Dunk.

Ecstatic at Tartük's demise, the kobolds all ran from the room and began celebrating out in the main chamber.  The party could hear some kind of song begin out there, seemingly involving the words "yub yub", as they efficiently stripped Tartük and pocketed some treasure which (cough cough) probably belonged to the kobolds.  Oh, and they found what appears to be Svetlana's wedding ring.

During the celebration, Dunk approached Chief Sootscale with the idea of converting him and his tribe to the worship of Torag.  This has not yet been resolved; the party has indeed made an alliance with the Sootscales, but the Diplomacy and Knowledge (Religion) checks to see if the party can convert them or not got put off till next session.  After all the XP got added up, we're getting reasonably close to level 2.

All in all, a most satisfying session.  Next meeting is the 18th; we'll probably finish up the conversion attempt and then return to Oleg's.  I figure Little John is going to get left there on guard duty […] though Little John is very handy in a fight, we're just going to park him till [his player] can rejoin us.

Kingmaker Session Nov. 13th

Kingmaker Session Summary via Will (with proper name corrections by Brian):

As you may recall from last time, the party discovered a great sycamore tree.  It was ailing, and common talk in the region holds that it is infested with mites.  The party's druid (Verdessa) and ranger (Telvin) were greatly incensed at its condition, and the party had just found the entrance to the lair of the mites at the end of last session, with Telvin dropping down to begin exploring, stealthily.  I didn't remember that he had rolled an 18 on his stealth check, and we proceeded as if he had a 22.

Inside, Telvin found two mites engaged in a peculiar game.  Each one had a miniature catapult; they were taking turns firing caltrops at one another's open mouths.  One of them, being particularly sharp-eyed, spotted Telvin and charged him.  He drew his dwarven waraxe and brained it with the flat side, instantly rendering it unconscious.  The other party members came slithering down the hole into the cavern, bringing tiny cascades of sandy dirt down with them.  Little John lit a torch, and Raynor began casting Light cantrips as Telvin grappled the remaining mite and demanded to know what happened the mites had been doing to the tree.  The mite repeatedly told Telvin to die, which he declined to do, and then it squirmed free and ran off down a thirty-foot shaft nearby.

Telvin and Dunk (the paladin) pursued as the others dealt with light sources.  Raynor cast Light on a dagger for Grendel; for Verdessa, he cast it on an arrow, which she tucked behind her ear.  It looked very fetching in among her locks of teal hair.

Telvin and Dunk climbed down the shaft (which was full of roots offering easy handholds) to the next room.  There they found seven mites, six plus the one that had run away.  Five Sootscale Kobolds were tied to the walls there; four were dead, and the fifth was being jabbed mercilessly by six mites with sharp sticks.

As Telvin and Dunk arrived, the fugitive kobold alerted its fellows to their arrival, and the group turned and attacked.  Grendel came climbing down the shaft as the mites crowded in upon Telvin and Dunk, but could not find room to get down.  Upstairs, Verdessa, Little John, and Raynor hovered anxiously.  Little John kept a sharp watch on the corridor leading the other way from the initial chamber, but nothing emerged from it.  Raynor made a couple of impromptu necklaces out of rope and cast Light on them, so that every party member was equipped with a light source (except the dwarves, who have darkvision anyway).

The mites attacked, and succeeded in dealing some minor damage to Telvin and Dunk; Telvin took a five-foot step to the side and clove one in twain.  Dunk raised his waraxe to do likewise, but accidentally buried the blade int the side of the shaft above him, right between Grendel's ankles.

Grendel kicked it loose and dropped down cat-like into the room below, while Verdessa began the descent above him.

There in the dark chamber they fought; Telvin did for another one, as did Dunk and Grendel, leaving four on their feet.  Three began to back off,  while one stayed behind, unaware that its comrades had abandoned it, until it was too late and it was cut down (by Grendel, I think).  Verdessa popped out of the shaft as Grendel, Telvin, and Dunk advanced on the mites.  Two fell to their blades, and the final one fled.  Verdessa swiftly plucked the shining arrow from behind her ear and sent it speeding into the dark after the mite; but alas, it missed, and buried itself in among the roots hanging from the ceiling further down the corridor.

Above, Little John glumly contemplated the difficulties of navigating such a cramped and narrow space, but resigned himself to it and began climbing down the shaft.  Raynor, having collected the unconscious mite and popped it in a sack, hemmed and hawed for a while, deeply reluctant to leave the exit, but eventually joined the others below.

Dunk gazed at the imprisoned kobold and determined that it was evil; but Telvin pointed out to him what a glory it would be to Dunk's god if he could convert their entire tribe to the worship of Torag.  They interrogated the kobold.  His name is Mikmek, and he told the party that the mites and the Sootscale tribe had been fighting because the mites stole a statue of Old Sharptooth, the god they venerate under the direction of the shaman Tartük (the U is an oooo sound).  Mikmek seemed frightened of Tartük; when asked what he thought of eliminating both Tartük [ed. actually there is no umlaut, but I think it looks better with one] and the worship of Old Sharptooth, and converting his tribe to the worship of Torag, Telvin was sure he saw a flash of hope in the creature's eyes, though Dunk remained doubtful.

In any case, Mikmek agreed to help them scour the den of mites, and they freed him.  They did not give him a weapon, and told him to stay back in the event of combat.  Raynor healed Dunk's wounds before they moved on after the mite that got away.

At the east end of the room, the party found a narrow chasm, filled entirely with criss-crossing roots.  A tunnel had been carved through the roots, and a series of handholds installed to ease passage.  Verdessa's arrow of light had fetched up just on the opposite side.  Raynor cast Light on a rock, which the party tossed down in amongst the roots to see how deep it was; about thirty feet, and all filled with roots.  Telvin crossed, and Grendel after him; then, up from the dark in one end of the chasm, came an enormous centipede.  Verdessa knew it at once as a Whiptail Centipede, cried out to avoid the tail, and tried to pacify it with a Calm Animals spell; but it was a creature of pure instinct, and too stupid to be affected by the spell.  Its long, slithery body was greatly obstructed by the lattice of roots, but it lunged up its head and struck at Little John, dealing him a dreadful blow and laying him out on the floor, bleeding terribly.  (14 points of damage, bringing John to -4.)

Raynor channeled positive energy, healing every living thing in the area (+4, Little John at 0 hit points).  Grendel scrambled to pull out his bow.  Weakly, Little John scrambled back a few feet and swallowed a Cure Light Wounds potion while Dunk moved past him into position to strike at it (LJ to 5 hit points).

Telvin stepped coolly out onto the treacherous footing of the root-mass, lifted his waraxe, and with a guttural shout struck a blow so mighty it slit the centipede lengthwise, sending shards of chitin and globs of verminous intestines showering over the area.  (Rolled a natural 20 on the attack roll; on the critical confirmation roll, a SECOND natural 20, and Brian ruled that the critical hit would gain a +1 to the critical multiplier, for a total of 4d10 + 12 damage, which came to 35).

Though grievously wounded, the centipede yet lived.  Verdessa blasted its face with fire.  Inspired by Telvin's strike, Dunk decided to leap forward through the air and bring his axe down on its head.  But alas, he misjudged the height of the ceiling, lost his axe, and fell flat in the dirt of the passageway mere inches from the mandibles of the centipede.  Hissing in agony, the centipede lurched forward.  Its hindquarters separated and fell away as it gave Dunk a kiss he will never forget, clamping its jaws down on his face.  (19 damage, Dunk's hit points down to -9, succeeded on a fortitude save versus poison, and Brian's said it's definitely leaving a permanent pair of mandible-shaped scars, and possibly affect his Charisma score.  I suggested giving him a +2 history bonus to Intimidate.)

Raynor reached forward in the passageway and cast a Cure Light Wounds spell upon him (Dunk to -2, stable); and from the opposite side of the chasm Grendel nocked an arrow, drew, and pinned the last writhing segment of the centipede to the roots below it.  Its jaws slackened and it fell dead, away from Dunk's prostrate form.

Verdessa laid a hand on Dunk's shoulder and cast Cure Light Wounds (Dunk to 7 hp).  Slightly the worse for wear, but still in generally good shape, the party made their way across the chasm -- Verdessa deftly plucking her arrow of light from the roots as they passed -- and continued deeper into the mites' burrow, a wide-eyed Mikmek following after.

The narrow passageway soon broadened out into a larger chamber.  At places the floor had been worn smooth by the passage of mite feet, and at one end of the chamber stood a rickety table made of wood held together with twine and covered with a dirty, red-and-white chequed table cloth.  On top of it lay an odd sort of map made of twigs, dirt, and stones.  As the party entered, they spied a mite mounted on some strange creature.  Telvin thought it must be a spider, but Verdessa recognized it as a sort of giant tick.  That, plus four other mites instantly initiated combat.  Little John stepped smoothly into the room and cut down one mite with a single blow. The others swarmed in on the mounted mite, the leader; as soon as that mite was down, the others threw down their weapons.  The tick continued to fight, biting poor Dunk (down to 2 hp); and, incidentally, diseasing him.  But in short order the party squished the foul thing, leaving it a flattened stain on the floor with legs poking out around it.

The three mites who had thrown down their weapons tried to sneak away; but Dunk, in an understandable foul mood, charged towards them and sent two careening backwards into the wall while one more jumped aside at the last second, narrowly avoiding the same fate.  The party then invited Mikmek to pick up one of the mites' weapons and finish them off; but alas, he wasn't doing too well when six more appeared from further down the corridor, portending a larger fight.

And that's all for the night.  A much more satisfying night's adventuring than last time!

Kingmaker Session Nov. 6th

Kingmaker Session Summary via Will (with proper name corrections by Brian):

Having survived the random encounter with three worgs from last time, our heroes rested up, and in the morning the cleric Raynor healed up the party (mostly, Telvin was at 50% HP).  Then the party traveled back to Oleg's trading post to recuperate, without incident.  On arrival they found that Telvin's mule Eglantyne had fled from the worgs straight back to Oleg's.

While there, a recent arrival told the party of a reward that had been offered for dealing with the Sootscale Kobold tribe (so called because their scales are soot-colored), who are ordinarily inoffensive but have recently been making a nuisance of themselves.  The poster that the traveler showed the party specified that a peace treaty would be welcome, but wiping them out to the last one would work just as well.

While at the trading post, Telvin requested that Oleg send for a new horse for him, to replace the one that was slaughtered by the worg.  Oleg gave  him a nice discount on a combat-trained horse, which should arrive in four days; and then even went so far as to rent his own horse to Telvin to use in the meantime, at the rate of 1 silver piece per day, with a nervous admonition "Not to let nuthin' happen to 'm now ...".

Dunk, having realized that he took the feat "Improved Shield Bash", expressed an interest in having his light steel shield equipped with spikes.  Oleg didn't have such a thing on hand, but he had the raw materials, and Grendel (who rejoined us this evening) made a successful craft check to install them in a week's time.

Telvin set about teaching the trick "come" to Eglantyne, but failed miserably.  He can try again in a week.   At this point, the party figured that 19 days remain before the Stag Lord will expect Kressle's group of bandits to pay tribute.  The party determined to go south and scout out the Stag Lord's camp to assess his strength before he becomes aware of the party's presence, exploring as they went.

In a day's travel south of Oleg's, they passed through two familiar hexes, and explored half of a third before setting up camp for the night, leaving the horses hobbled nearby.  The first watch passed without incident. During the second watch, a violent rainstorm blew up, making everyone in the party glad for the tents they had recovered from Kressle's camp.  The third watch was taken by our paladin, who proceeded to roll a 57 on his percentile dice TWICE IN A ROW.  The result was a group of THREE trolls, CR 5 each, right after a rainstorm that extinguished our campfire and rendered everything in the area soggy and unburnable.  Verdessa has fire spells, but only one per day, and NOT enough to take on three freaking trolls.

At the GM's prompting, we decided to mount up and run away. Boldly, like Brave Sir Robin.  Dunk ran to wake the others, and Telvin ran forward to slash the hobbles so the horses could move more freely.  The party came tumbling out of their tents -- Verdessa in her skivvies, on account of she can't sleep in medium armor -- and reached the horses about the same time as the trolls.  In short order all of the horses were unhobbled, except for Eglantyne.  Dunk the paladin, Raynor the cleric, Little John, and Grendel the fighter vaulted into the saddle and rode hell for leather into the night.

Verdessa mounted up mere seconds before the trolls reached her horse.  As the first troll arrived, she summoned forth a dire rat, which popped into being in mid-air and landed on the troll's head, then spurred her horse forward and circled a bit.  The troll could not reach it there; the second troll plucked it off its shoulders and took a thoughtful bite.  Meanwhile, the third troll seized the last horse, which Telvin had just freed.

The rat distracted the trolls just long enough for Eglantyne and Telvin to get close enough to slash the hobble, freeing Eglantyne to run for it (which she did -- straight back to Oleg's, again).  The third troll began feeding on the terrified horse, and with a growl of extreme frustration, Telvin rushed through the rainy night and flung himself up behind Verdessa, whereupon they joined the rest of the party in terrified flight – leaving the unfortunate horse to die screaming in the dark.

(Our paladin is the one who rolled the worgs last time, and he never gets to touch percentile dice again.)

Hours later they returned to the camp site, to find that two of the three tents were ruined, and the third battered but usable.  Verdessa's armor, Telvin's longbow, and everyone's bedrolls were untouched.

With the remainder of the day, they finished exploring the area, and happened upon small cave.  It was uninhabited, save for a small centipede which did not attack.  The party decided to spend the night there; and, having determined that the centipede was poisonous (though small), Verdessa roasted it with a spell.  At the back of the cave, Telvin found evidence of a rich vein of gold, which he revealed to the other party members.  He plans to write home to his dwarven kin in Highdelve to send a small group to establish a minehold there (with the understanding that the party will be entitled to a percentage off the top of any profits, assuming they agree to the scheme).

The following day they proceeded south, where they discovered an enormous sycamore tree, but one sadly afflicted.  The area had apparently been infested with mites.  Determined to save the tree, the party circled the area searching for the entrance to the mite lair.  They found a group of eight or so corpses, a mixed group of mites and kobolds, suggesting that the two groups have been fighting.  Finally, they discovered the entrance to the mite lair.  Telvin dropped down inside to see what he could see, with a stealth check of 18.

Kingmaker Sessions Sept. 4th and Oct. 9th

Kingmaker Session Summaries via Will (with proper name corrections by Brian):

Just as a reminder, at the session BEFORE this one: we finished up with bandit camp, explored two hexagons, and encountered three kobolds who had eaten far too many moon radishes.  We killed off the kobolds, but not before learning that there's a kobold camp somewhere to the east.  Also kobolds are nuts for moon radishes, which are kind of sweet.  Moon radishes are to regular radishes as sweet vidalia onions are to regular onions.  And they're good in soup.  We collected 15 lbs of them and loaded them on Eglantyne.

Now, for THIS session.

1) We went back to Oleg and Svetlana's trading post.  There were new arrivals there.

2) Three generic warrior types have arrived, led by a guy named (if I recall correctly) Kesten Garess. They are now a permanent garrison for the trading post.  Garess seemed depressed but wouldn't talk about it.

3) A cleric of Erastil named Jhod Kavken was there.  He reported having a dream about a lost temple of Erastil somewhere in the Stolen Lands guarded by an unnaturally angry bear, which is likely to be either a grizzly or a brown bear.  He feels a strong compulsion to reclaim this temple.  If we find it, he's asked us to come fetch him and take him there.  He offered free healing services to us for life in exchange.

4) We were forced to report to Svetlana that we'd made no progress in finding her wedding ring.  Uh, because we kept killing off people without interrogating them.

5) On the other hand, she was thrilled that we had moon radishes, which are the prime ingredient in Oleg's favorite soup, and she paid us 250 gold pieces for the 15 pounds we'd harvested.  We split that amongst the players actually present -- 40% to me because my mule carried it, the other 60% divided amongst Verdessa, Dunk, and Raynor.  Little John declined due to a strange religious prohibition on profiting from radishes.

6) We stocked up on supplies and sold off stuff.

7) Glen and Grendel had big signs hanging in mid-air over their head that flashed on off.  They said:  AFK.  AFK.  AFK.  And that was kinda creepy, so we left them at Oleg's playing poker with the generic guards, who didn't seem to mind.

8) Verdessa was concerned that three guards plus a captain would not be enough to defend the outpost if it should come under attack.  But the bandits we killed off were also supposed to pay tribute to a bigger boss named the Staglord, who has antlers.  The tribute wasn't due for about two weeks, so we decided to take a couple of days and carefully explore the unexplored hexagons immediately south of the outpost, then head further south to reconnoiter the Staglord's camp (without getting too close yet, since we're still pretty low-level).

9) The first hexagon was full of plains, and had a solitary hut containing a wild-eyed hermit named Bokken, who promptly got named Bakken Formation after the oil shale in the west of the state.  He sold us potions he had made -- Cure Light Wounds and Endure Elements.  He asked us to bring him fangberries for his potion-making, which grow somewhere to the east, and the best ones are in the heart of the thicket.  Also he ranted at us for a bit.  His mother's name is Desna (NOT the goddess, as far as we can tell), and his brother (unnamed) chopped off Bokken's pinky finger.  He said his brother lives in a tree (?) to the east, and that if we meet him we should tell him to remember that.  We smiled and nodded and backed away slowly.

10) In the second hexagon, also plains, we came across a large circular area full of skeletons: boar, deer, elk, and a few humanoid mixed in.  The skeletons seemed to form a circle around a central location.  Verdessa cast Detect Plants and Animals, and found a large trap-door spider hiding ahead.   Then she cast Produce Flame (which lets you throw little balls of flame, kind of like snow balls only with more AGONY), which she hurled at its trap door.  It emerged, came running towards her, Telvin shot an arrow that missed, and then she hit it square with one more fireball and killed it. Nobody else got a chance at it.  Brian said that it had been taking half damage from the first four balls of flame which dripped down its pit.  With the others holding a rope, Telvin rappelled down its pit and found some random loot from its victims (10 gp, a short sword, a silver staglord amulet like the one from the bandit camp we wiped out, worth 20 gp).  Also, one poor sod the spider had caught had a peculiar map in his boot, showing a dead tree shaped like a claw on a barren hillside, with an X marked in blood over its roots.  There was some speculation that this might be the tree Bakken's brother is supposed to live in.

11) At this point we saddled up in order to head south and scout the Staglord's camp.  Brian asked Dunk to roll a percentile.  It came up 98.

12) We were all in the saddle and began moving away from the trap door; but before we could even leave the area, Verdessa and Telvin caught sight of some kind of large quadrupedal carnivore, probably a wolf, slinking through the grass ahead of us.  This one is A.  The others failed their perception checks to see it.  As we were discussing what it was, we caught sight of a second one (this one is B) to our left, and then a young adult voice cried out from ahead saying "Help! Help!  Please help me!"

Being a kindly soul, Telvin immediately shouted "Help is on the way!" and spurred his horse into charging, with an eye towards running down wolf A before it could hurt whoever it was.  Behind him, Verdessa dismounted and knocked an arrow as Raynor blessed everyone.  Then a third wolf (C) leaped out of hiding at Little John; but John's horse heard it and skittered forward a few feet in startlement, so that the wolf fell into empty air where the horse's flanks had been.

And the wolf said "Ooof.  Oh, damn."  Verdessa shouted an oath of her own, whipped around and sent an arrow speeding towards it, but missed.  Telvin heard this exchange, and in a moment of blinding insight realized that there WAS no helpless teen ahead; it was a cunning ploy by the wolf creature, which must be a Worg.

Meanwhile, the Worg B burst out of the long grass with a prodigious leap that swept the cleric Raynor straight out of his saddle onto the ground, grievously wounding him (down to 2 HP on the initial hit!).  Dunk leaped off his horse to do battle with Worg B, but missed.

As Telvin's horse careened forward, Worg A broke cover in an explosive leap, latching its slavering jaws onto the horse's throat.  Telvin went flying, jarring himself thoroughly as he fell flat in the long grass (3 damage, down to 13 hp).  He pulled himself up quickly, however, and ran over to try and save his horse from the Worg.  Telvin likes horses.

Speaking of which, back at the main engagement, Little John vaulted off his horse and slapped its flank as he landed, sending it careening off to safety rolling the whites of its eyes at the scent of the fell beast behind.  In almost the same movement he drew his longsword and turned to face the beast.

Raynor, terrified at being unhorsed so suddenly, rolled frantically away and stood unsteadily up.  Fortunately for him, Worg B turned his attention to the horse Raynor had been riding, savaging it before Dunk leaped forward and dealt the worg a glancing blow.  The horse escaped, but the worg ripped into Dunk (down to 1 HP!).  Verdessa, deprived of clear targets, ran up behind Dunk shouting words of healing that shored him up a bit (+3 HP).

Little John struck a mighty blow against Worg C.  Worg A finished off Telvin's horse in one more snap; and Telvin, shrieking with rage, missed a stroke at him.  Raynor called on the power of his deity, pointed at Worg B, and gave tongue to a Command: "SIT, BOY!"  But Worg B merely shook his head and snarled.  Dunk invoked the might of HIS deity for aid in smiting this evil creature, and missed.  Verdessa, unable to shoot clearly into melee combat, contented herself with smacking Worg B with her bow to distract it from Dunk's more lethal attacks.  Little John once more struck Worg C, which attacked him in turn but did no more than scratch his armor a bit.

Worg A turned on Telvin with a growl, and hit him (down to 11 HP), a favor which Telvin proved unable to return.  Raynor turned towards Worg C, and seeing an opportunity, ran over at top speed and slapped its rump while casting a spell of dazing upon it; but it had no effect.  Dunk tried once more to hit Worg B, with Verdessa's aid, but did only a small amount of damage to it.  Little John, mighty-thewed as he is, once more dealt horrific damage to his opponent, which turned to flee; but Raynor drew his rapier and pinned it to the ground, where it bled out its foul life.

Dunk tried once more to hit Worg B, with Verdessa's aid; and he hit it, but only a glancing blow.  Raynor rushed over to the battle with Worg B, missing a stab at it, while Little John pivoted on his heel and ran flat out to aid Telvin, who was over a hundred feet away from the rest of the party due to his attempted charge and grimly battling Worg A completely alone.  John approached in time to see the worg leap once again at Telvin, but overjudge its distance and go past him, whereupon Telvin brought his dwarven waraxe down upon it as it past, slicing its tail and a good chunk of its flanks clean off (13 damage in one hit!).

Worg B, embattled now and slowly losing ground, turned tail and fled. Dunk swiped at it as it turned; Verdessa fired an arrow at its back; Raynor charged just as fast as his legs could carry him; but not one hair of its pelt did they touch, and it vanished into the long grasses.

Worg A turned about, maddened with rage, and hit Telvin again (down to 2 HP).  Raynor took advantage of the clear space to call a burst of healing positive energy to himself, Dunk, and Verdessa as they began rushing across the field.  Little John arrived, pulled back his arm for a thrust at the worg, and got his couter caught on his cuirass (elbow armor tangled up with his torso armor), which took him several seconds to disentangle.

As the others rushed forward, the maddened worg once more snapped at Telvin, and laid him out dying in the grass (-8 HP, failed stabilization twice, and went to -10).

As Little John fumbled with his armor, the others began arriving.  Dunk and Raynor went for the worg.  Verdessa skirted the combat and fell to her knees, stanching Telvin's wounds to the best of her considerable ability (Heal check of 26, stabilized!).  Little John freed his arm and took a good chunk out of the already seriously wounded worg; but once again it was Raynor whose keen rapier severed the last strings holding body to soul.

The instant the final worg was dead, Raynor called again on the power of his deity, filling the area with positive energy -- once, twice, thrice, just enough to pull Telvin back from the brink.  Blinking his blood-crusted eyes open, Telvin slurred, "I dinna feeel s' good ..." and fell deeply asleep as the rest of the battered party gathered their terrified mounts and made camp among the bones of the spider victims.  Little John and Verdessa were untouched; Raynor and Dunk seriously wounded, but never lost their feet; Telvin came close enough to Death to feel the chill breath of the crypt rising to claim him.

Whew!  I am glad the rules about dying changed in Pathfinder, otherwise Telvin would have been toast.  In 3.5, you die when you hit -10; in Pathfinder, you die when you have negative HP equal to your constitution score, so Telvin would have had to go down to -16 to bite it permanently.

So, rolling high on a random encounter percentile is bad.  Brian said those worgs were CR 2 each, for a total challenge rating of 6 on the encounter, which is pretty serious for a party of five level 1 characters. We were lucky to get away with no deaths, other than my poor horse.  Eglantyne ran away.  Brian's going to have to determine whether she comes back or not.  It was pretty late when we finished up (almost 11) so Brian said he'd email us about the XP.

Sharpened Sticks: Not Just for Heads Anymore

A week and a half later, mere days from the next session, allow me to bring you up to speed.

In attendance:
James/Grendal, CG Human Fighter
Jim/Glenn, ?G Half-Elf Ranger
Lacey/Verdessa, NG Elf Druid
Travis/Dunk, LG Dwarf Paladin
Will/Telvin, NG Dwarf Ranger
Brian/GM

Of the two captured bandits from the highly successful ambush of the previous session, the PCs chose the one with cleaner undershorts to be their grudging guide back to the den of thievery whence he came.  The party traveled across the open grasslands south and west of Oleg's trading post.  On their way to the woods in question, an encounter did occur.  Noise and rustles out of view halted the party, curious of what vile threat lay beyond.  OK, it was a just couple of boar, but the tension was palpable, before they realized they were making a pig stop.  The druid played with her magical friend-making abilities on the lead boar, and then left the Will Save-failing sow to trail in the party's dust, ending with a heart-breaking "Don't go, Shane" moment that may never truly heal.

Soon enough, the river marking the path to the bandit camp came into view and the party proceeded on foot, but not before restraining their prisoner, lest he trick them or somehow warn his comrades of their approach, or think the PCs were the coddling sort that would never tie each of a man's limbs to a separate horse.  They did instruct him to the contrary.

Some ways in, on a boulder near the river's bank, they found another hapless thief, fishing and paying little dear attention to his surroundings.  With the rest of the group spreading out in a half circle formation in the woods around the man, the druid had yet another brilliant plan not quite half-formed before she embarked upon it.  Verdessa came out, addressed the filching fisherman, and attempted to bluff her way into his trust.  She claimed to represent a neighboring criminal element wishing to establish connections with his own group, specifically mentioning his feared leader Kressle.

It would have worked, too, if it wasn't for those meddling dice rolls.  Granted the bad rolls weren't universal, but they were key in the unraveling of the encounter.  First, the druid lost her sway over the bandit, his meager intellect overriding her suggestion that he bring her directly to the camp.  Instead, he would bring his fellows back to the fishing hole, where the Druid would wait.

What happened next should invoke a general rule: Low-level, armor-clad characters with no bonus to Stealth shall not decide to follow the enemy all on their lonesome.  Not only did Grendal alert the bandit to his presence, he also rolled a 1 on his Perception, which led to a gut full of arrows from a source he could no longer locate.  Completely evading the PCs in his escape, the bandit is sure to rouse the camp into defensive mode.

Perhaps disappointed in the turn of events, possibly recognizing the depleted utility of their prisoner, but probably mostly being reminded by the GM of his character's assumed disposition toward an evil entity, the Paladin's first action upon reaching their horses was to dispense some justice on their poor bandit.  That might be putting it lightly.  When you roll a natural 20 to angrily attack a prone character, let alone a man that's been dragged around by a huddle of horses held together only by the ropes attached to each of his limbs, you wind up with a fantastic effect of blood and gore that would seem to belong in some other more nausea-inducing campaign.

By player will alone, this series of nation-building adventures may yet devolve into something akin to a Rob Zombie production.  Not content to let headless thieves lie, the now healed fighter thought it would be good to send a warning to their bandit foes, should the brigands make their way past the old fishing hole at some point.  So, he fashioned a spiked pole, arranged to raise it near that place on the river, and hoisted it up and through the corpses' "anus."  His words, not mine.

Coming up: Rainbows and Kittens!

Kingmakerless Game Session

There were only four of us this past Saturday evening.

Not wanting to deprive our fellow players of further storyline, and not wanting to each run an additional character, we set aside Pathfinder and brought out Atmosfear: The Gatekeeper.  It's seldom a group of people can be called stupid so many times in under an hour, but that's the least of the Gatekeeper's harassment.  He sent us to black holes, made us lose turns, and ultimately beat us (even though we thought briefly that Lacey won, at only 17 seconds remaining, until we remembered she had the black key and much rejoicing turned to much disappointment).

Kalan took her leave after that and I capped the evening with my Doctor Who propaganda thing, showing the accessible episode "Vincent and the Doctor" to my remaining guests.  I forgot to mention to them that I have the most recent Doctor Who role playing game, in a box, somewhere, for another time...

Kingmaker Begun

The first Kingmaker session went off without a hitch.  One player short, but that's OK because the table, large as it is, seems to shrink once the players gather.  To the right is an image of the last moment of the evening, marking the characters' places on the map.

Storywise, the party managed to complete the initial encounter with the bandits hassling Oleg's.  It was your basic early level encounter, but I see I'm going to have to ramp up the difficulty a little.  Not only did the players easily best the bandits, they could have atrociously slaughtered them all (as it happens, only a couple were cut down like trapped beasts).  A couple of the characters didn't even get in on the action, it all happened with such ruthless efficiency.  There were two captives in the end, two that quite likely soiled themselves just before hastily throwing their hands up in surrender.

I'll designate this a good start.

Game Rooms (Web Content)

In my quest to better inform my wife of the legendary "game room" archetype upon which I seek to build and in some cases improve, I submit the following collage and corresponding album link:

Game Spaces (web content)

Related post: The Weekly Game

FYI: GF Game Guild Session #1

The schedule is set for Saturday, June 26th at 6pm.

OK, so Lewis Black is performing at the Fargo Theatre that night, but that would cost you around $50 for one evening, not including gas and a meal.  Instead, spend that money on something lasting, like a shiny new copy of the Pathfinder Core Rulebook, and attend the first of many GF Game Guild sessions at the Baier household.  Depending on who is attending this occasion and what game experience those people bring with them, we'll either jump right into something adventurous, or take some time to learn about the attendees and activities to come.

As some may have had it explained to them, I'll be running each game session based on who is able to attend.  The following notes elaborate on the arrangement.

Role Playing Systems
RPGs are the target activity of the GFGG.  The default system I intend to run is Pathfinder, with most of those games occurring in the Pathinder world of Golarion or in my own world of Lios.  I have decided not to invest in D&D 4th edition, but there are a number of 3.5 resources compatible with Pathfinder I will allow with permission.  I also anticipate running the d6-based Doctor Who: Adventure in Time and Space. 

Role Playing Groups
Simultaneous adventures or campaigns may be ongoing, with some players overlapping as they are able and willing.  While it makes planning for each session a more capricious affair, it does allow the flexibility I've found so needed given the difficulty of satisfying everyone's schedules.  My gaming habits in recent years have grown far too infrequent due to unavailable players.  That said, it is acceptable to have one or two missing players, occasionally, their characters running on autopilot.

Alternative Sessions
If there's an odd assortment of players that doesn't adequately constitute any one ongoing group, we will have other options.  This might mean running a one-session module, either pre-generated or on the fly (randomized encounter tables can be fun!)  It could also be a good time to engage in some board game hijinx.  We do have a Wii, if we really want to stray.  Also, there may be some special events that involve mixing game media.  I've got a fun, interactive TV-board game called Atmosfear (both VHS and DVD versions), that would be even better played in character.  At some point, guest GMs may appear, too!

More Game Table Decisions

This table is a tricky one.  While I could have purchased a set of table and four chairs for around $600, it wouldn't have been as good a quality as the beast (as I shall henceforth refer to it; see: Come to the Table (Wait! Not yet!))  I found the cheap, but nice enough Durango counter height chair at Furniture Row for $58 each.  After tax, times eight, it would run us (the chairs are for me, but the money is ours) about $500.  Not so bad considering the average chair suitable for my needs runs closer to $100 each.

The problem is money; what else?  We've got some to spare after our housing transactions, but the big project, costing around $2000, is the refinishing of the oak flooring upstairs (in progress).  That would be DeeAnn's current home amenity dream come true.  While my gamer heart's desire is only a fourth as expensive, it also serves a much more specific purpose and demographic.  Everybody uses the floor.  Everybody is welcome to use my would-be chairs, but the probable frequency is lower.  In fairness, I think it all balances out.  Increasing our project spending by a fourth may still not be so feasible.

An additional constraint on the decision is urgency.  Shipping rates are rising dramatically.  The furniture store manager said the costs haven't been passed on to customers yet, but they will be soon.  This fact makes the value on those chairs all the greater and more immediate.

My alternatives include haunting thrift stores, garage sales, and online classified advertisement sites.  None of these are at all reliable for attaining my desired quantity, quality, and style of chairs.  They don't all have to match, but I feel chrome and checkered vinyl, for example, would detract from the ambiance I'm aiming for.

I've considered building my own, temporary seating.  It's not out of the question, but the cost of raw materials may not run so far from buying new, prefabricated chairs.  There's also the indefinite construction time compounded by a lack of expertise.  Finally, I'd hate to be the proud owner of a hospital bill for one broken elbow due to some faulty carpentry on my part.

UPDATE:  I evaluated our budget and ordered 8 Durangos.  They'll be ready in about 2 weeks!

Come to the Table (Wait! Not yet!)

Well, I got a table.

I looked at the furniture stores and found a couple I liked.  Even in the clearance rooms, I was going to be spending $700-$900 for a table and four chairs, for the kind of size I really wanted.  I need to seat 6-8 players, right?  Yesterday, after returning this disappointing clearance item to Kohl's, I spontaneously decided to visit the nearby Salvation Army thrift store.  I knew used furniture might be the ticket.  Indeed, it was.

There's no internet at home yet and I haven't brought along an image file of the table to upload from work (Hi, this is me at work!) for you to see.  It will come.  In the meantime, I've tried looking online for a representative image and almost none do it justice.  It is a 54" (w/leaf) square beast!  Apparently, the average counter table is built with tapered legs and appears too delicate to bear the weight of a treasure chest full of doubloons.  Not so in my game room!

In surfing, I found the product to the right ($649.00 at ifurn.com; MSRP: $1622.50) most resembles the style and build of my table, only mine has much darker finish.  And, my thrift store model with slightly weathered surface came to a measly $125.

Unless everyone wants to stand, I will need to find counter height chairs, now.  Consider Part II of The Search for Gaming Space: The Game Table to commence.

Penny Arcade's Gabe on Role Playing by Email

Penny Arcade does focus on video games, a genre of "wasting time" I've had to suppress in my portfolio. However, those guys are lovers of all games, including the world's oldest fantasy roleplaying game, D&D. Several of their comics have spotlighted their own participation. I found the most recent post revelatory to my game mastering sensibilities:

Mailbag
Wednesday, May 19 2010 - 9:45 AM
by: Gabe

A PA reader and medic stationed just outside Baghdad sent me a mail this week asking about how I run my D&D games via Email. It just so happens that with the new baby I have not had time to run a proper game for my crew. What I decided to do instead is take them through a little adventure via Email until I'm able to get back to the table.

Email can be a great way to focus on story elements in your game rather than combat. Personally I like to make my Email adventures more about decisions and less about rolling.

For example my players have accepted a job that involves them transporting a prisoner. The road is obviously fraught with danger and the prisoner happens to be a powerful illusionist. So even trapped inside her cage she still manages to screw with the party. They are hauling the prisoner in a cage on the back of a wagon. Eventually they came to a huge chasm that had cut across the path. Here is what I sent out to them:

"After a few hours of hiking you reach a wide chasm that has cut across the path and blocked your path. It is 50 ft across here at its narrowest point and plunges an unknown distance down into blackness. It stretches out to either side winding around the mountain and out of sight. You can see the path continues on the far side of the chasm.

You stand staring across the gaping maw as the cold rain beats down around you.

From the cage comes the unmistakable sound of laughter."

I did not ask for any checks I just presented them with the problem. Here was one of the responses I got from the Gnoll Rogue:

Gnasc leans towards the cage, narrowing his eyes and fixating on the old crone while slowly smelling the air around her.

"Care to let me in on the joke?" he growls quietly to her, then tilting his head and smiling.

**38 insight check against illusion or charm**

You can easily do skill challenge type encounters this way as well. Maybe during the journey they get caught by a storm or a rock slide. I might ask the entire group to make endurance checks. For something like this we use an online roller but if you trust your group there is no harm in letting them role at home and post their results. Combat can be a bit tricky but it is still manageable. Personally I've run combat via Email a couple different ways. You can manage the movement of the monsters and the characters with rough descriptions and then ask for attack rolls. I've also asked for two rolls from all my characters in advance and then used those rolls to write up the combat in the form of a short story.

I've been using the character of the prisoner to really piss off a few of my players. She's getting into their heads and pulling out some bad memories from their past. I've been so successful at this that I've actually got them arguing amongst themselves. Some of them just want to push the cage with the prisoner in it over a cliff while the others are intent on seeing the job through. This has given them a lot of great opportunities to role play their characters.

Good luck with your Email adventures!

-Gabe out

Like my idiosyncratic aversion to online role-playing games, I've never wanted to invest effort learning the nuances of yet another virtual semblance of the "real thing."  Again, I see my gaming time as precious, and there is precious little of it to be squandered on anything beneath my preferred play style, which is face-to-face, around the table.

However, I've never been one to put on blinders.  I should be at least marginally informed about activities I've disavowed.  Through the tiniest crack of open-mindedness there may still be benefit, perhaps even enlightenment.  While I won't say this particular post from Gabe has thrown me into a whirlwind of self-realization regarding heretofore disillusions toward all manner of online gaming, I liked it enough to repost.  It's a short but satisfactory exposition of how to mess with players, applicable to personal interaction both digitally and within spitting distance.

My First Time as Dungeon Master

Setting aside the recent decision to use GM (game master) when referring to the one running the show, this post comes about as I do a little spring cleaning in the old hard drive.

I know what you're thinking: "Brian, how can you have time to purge files when you're in the midst of moving?"  Well, I'm tired.  And I was home sick today.  And I like the peace of mind that follows ditching refuse.

It happens that one of the files I decided to retain was named "BB-Magic Gate."  BB indicated it was material of personal design amongst the assorted gaming documents I had accumulated.  For clarity, I have renamed it "BB-Cape Sanvel Scenario" and dragged it into my new folder, "Old Material."  I really intend not to keep the quantity of half-conceived gaming miscellany I once hoarded on 5¼-inch plastic coasters known previously as floppy disks.  This particular file's creation date is November 17th, 2003, when USB drives were still counted in megabytes and cost $100+.

Anyhoo, what I have for you is a snippet of my attempts to be an organized DM.  This scenario ("CAMPAIGN STARTING POINT" - Ha!) lasted a single evening.  It's doom was spelled by my own amateurish notions of the PC-NPC relationship, and one player's pointed resistance to a suggestion I made regarding his elf character.  The last set of parenthesis should clue you to our resolution.

STORY DETAILS
CAMPAIGN STARTING POINT

Cape Sanvel

Tues. 09/16/03:

P     Any elves just arrived on a ship from the north on a diplomatic trade mission.  A high level diplomat heads the venture and is imprisoned for attempting to enter the city with a magical amulet (magical items are banned in the city without explicit permission).  The captain of their ship neglected to inform them of the law.

Ordinarily, anyone with magic items attempting entry would only have them confiscated, but given the relative power of the amulet and the prejudice against his race, the diplomat is being held without bail.  His attendants are left without their superior in a hostile environment, subsequent to questioning and release.

P     Unknown to the PCs, the wizard (Urin Alfgain) in charge of magical item control who confiscated Darwin’s potent holy symbol is actually the elves’ contact in Cape Sanvel.  He was unable to warn Humovust not to bring enchanted items into the city.

P     A human NPC (Nikolai) in the city to learn a trade has made a friend (Argyle the Gnome; Erik) but is preparing to head home (Perkwal) after word of Orc attacks.

P     One of the elves (Darwin; Matt) will leave the city, instructed to continue the quest for trade alliances with the region, having no success in the release of their superior.

P     Nikolai and Arygle offer to lead Darwin to Perkwal in exchange for aid they were denied by the sheriff of Cape Sanvel.

P     (Orikalcaum; Carl) has been traveling many months, and while near Perkwal is attacked by orcs.  The travelers from Cape Sanvel soon come upon the fracas.  The whole PC group should now be together and able to make decisions after the conflict.

Tues. 10/??/03:

P     Left Perkwal after defeating orc chief w/tainted magic vest.

P     Found 2 retreating orc groups; killed them.

P     Caught unawares by bandits.  Killed all the bandits but a Halfling (named ____________) who said the group had been hired by an orc tribe to the north, but knew not which.  An orc had been sent to accompany the group, but among the dead.  Halfling promises under Zone of Truth to begin life of a thatcher.

Tues. 11/18/03:

P     Ivelios arrives after searching for Darwin.  He tells him that  Himovust bids him return north with the ranger to the city of Cheresmar.  The links they hoped to establish with the southern populace have been foiled by unforeseen deeds of evil.   Ivellios does not have the details, but the two elves are to embark at once, with the involvement of no one else.  (This will allow Matt to change characters.)

P