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Post by Wolfgar on Feb 13, 2012 9:09:57 GMT -5
Back in Devonshire for some much needed R&R. We have got Colby (19 days), Fin (11 days) and Dan (13 days) training. Mary is working hard on identifying things. Trommer and Danakes are replenishing bind wound treatments. Paavo has offered his services to the Sir Eldon. Bolo is making himself scarce. Friedrich dreams of glory in the gladiator pits of the old empire. Ingrid and Marcus have time on their hands. Here is a partial list of what we would like to do in town: Settle in at Lord Sherlane's.
Give information about battle plans and assassination attempt to Lord Sherlane and/or Sir Eldon Graves. I wouldn't expect much of a reward. But certainly continued good relationships with them.
Commence training for Dan, Colby and Finn.
Mary Tanner attempts to read Feldspar's book again for 5000 xp bump. If successful then she too will need to train.
Otherwise Mary Tanner starts identifying items.
Maybe have Finn tutor Mary in Feldspar's book.
Ask alchemist to identify potions. Offer to sell him a copy of the formula for the water breathing potion. Offer him the gargoyle horns in trade for either identifying potions, making potions or selling other potions and/or spell ink. Offer him phase spider(s). Ask him to make 15-20 new spell inks.
Stock up on bind wound treatments.
Have Ingrid and Dan cast Remove Curse to see if either the curse from the Pit or the effects of the fountain can be removed.
Paavo will cast remove disease on anyone looking under the weather.
Friedrich and Mary visit Fenhold to assess the situation.
Purchase more pearls.
Ingrid should spend a week reading the book of Wisdom unless Trommer is set on reading it.
Ask about having spells books covered in dragon hide. Or having dragon hide sacks made.
Purchase additional spell books.
Determine treasure shares.
Other tasks around town happen.
Finish training.
Determine what spells were researched.
Others help with identifying items.
Finish identifying items.
Divide items.
- Ask around about selling/trading unwanted magic items. Maybe the church will trade for some healing potions.
Update spellbooks.
- Create scrolls and/or potions.
Do any experimentation needed for existing or new items to make sure we know how to use them.
Open quantum box.
Investigate ritualistic killings happening around town?
Prepare to leave on next adventure.
Here is where we stand on the magic items. identified: - red coral ring: ring of swimming
- silver unicorn ring: dimension door up to 36" once/day
- a glowing ring on a chain: spell storing: cure critical wounds, cure serious wounds
- a fine black robe: Deep Pockets robe
- a plain gold ring: provides benefits of an Armor spell
- a lightstone: sheds light in a 60' radius
- the (long)sword of Sylaire: Dragon Slayer
- peacock feather fan: summons the wind; once/day
- silver dreamstone pendant: makes dreams come true. It is very powerful and can be used but once per week. Also it must be recharged after each use and this can potentially be dangerous for the dreamer...
- a large ornate shield: cursed, missile attractor
- a silver sword brooch: summons an enchanted sword. Wear it, touch it with an empty hand. Once a day. Release the sword.
- a shield-shaped brooch: summons an enchanted shield. Wear it, touch it with an empty hand. Once a day. Release the sword.
- wooden box with dancing bear: plays enchanted music when opened
- a fine saucer & teacup: sings when removed from saucer, knows over 100 songs!
- book of wise sayings and proverbs: increases wisdom by one
- a silver-bound book: some of the Silver Princess's musings on the nature of magic. libram of silver magic
- cleric scroll {Loviatar}: Cause Serious Wounds x3, Harm x1
- a scroll tied with a red ribbon (Enchant an Item)
- a scroll tied with a blue ribbon (recipe for a potion of water-breathing)
- a scroll tied with a green ribbon (Wall of Bone, Scry)
- a scroll tied with a white ribbon (Beckon)
- a scroll tied with a black ribbon (Magic Jar)
- a scroll (Invisible Stalker)
- "Entry-Level Enchanting," a spellbook
- "Introduction to the Dark Arts," a necromancer's spellbook
- "Invocation for Idiots," a spellbook
- "Mastering the Elements," a spellbook
- "The Art of Conjuration," a spellbook
- Animunculi, Creation of, a miscellaneous tome detailing the creation of gargoyles and lesser automatons.
- The Book of Shadows, a miscellaneous tome detailing the steps necessary to infuse a being with the essence of shadow, i.e. shades, shadow goblins, shadow demons, shadow dragons. Also contains the spell Summon Shadow.
- The Demonomicon, a large desk reference book
- 3 vials of rose-colored liquid: healing
- a red syrupy potion: cure disease
- a vial of pale blue liquid: lethal poison
- a leather glove - ignites in magical flames 2/day when the wearer wills it to burn
- a wand with an ivory tip: polymorph. command word - Muto.
- wooden wand. detect secret doors. command word - Detecto.
- a large faceted green emerald. cursed.
- a large glowing orange gem (Arcadius). teaches magic.
- a cord belt. bind spell 2/day.
- golden puzzle box. opens gate to another dimension.
- colorful beads. prayer beads.
- a bag of beans. as expected
- 6 pouches of violet dust. detect magic.
- a perfume bottle. protection from good.
- chalky white potion. potion of strength.
destroyed: - demon sack [evil]
- a broken black candle [evil]
- 3 silver-lidded jars [evil]
other items: - ruby (broad)sword of Spartusia
- a soulgem
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Post by Wolfgar on Feb 13, 2012 9:19:57 GMT -5
Other possible activities: - update weapon proficiencies
- learn new skills
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Post by Ginger on Feb 13, 2012 10:44:15 GMT -5
Ingrid should spend the month reading the book of Wisdom. I'm happy to hear a case for why Dan should read it instead, but since Ingrid is level capped, it seems best for her. We could also give it to the Church if they'll give us some type of boon, or perhaps to guarantee the Inquisition will cast a blind eye towards us.
PS. I updated our master spell list to include Jump (which I forgot) and Invisible Stalker, which we got on a new scroll.
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Post by Friedrich on Feb 13, 2012 11:24:11 GMT -5
Friedrich has been without direction in this human dominated land. First losing his shadow then being branded with the mark of Zargon on his arm. This was never so evident as his most recent excursion where one day he was considering joining the Silver Princess and the next contemplating leaving this land all together and going off to fight in the gladiator pits off the Old Empire. But now he may have found his purpose. He will split his energies between the adventuring group and Fenhold.
Friedrich will ask the group to liquidate some cash as he imagines that it will be needed there.
OOC, I'm assuming that there will be plenty of "problems" with the current condition of Fenhold and spending money on improvements will make friedrich more popular there.
what is a reasonable amount to give him to go to Fenhold while others train? Maybe 3000GP?
Would anybody like to accompany me there? Danakes or Trommer would be quite useful for the journey and weeding out any undesirables from the surrounding areas.
I will bring Mary there as well. I want her to become familiar with the area and she could certainly be the put in a position of authority there of some kind. In the future I could see myself leaving her there to run the place while she trains or does something that requires her to be there for a while and Friedrich is off somewhere getting into a fight.
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Post by Ginger on Feb 13, 2012 11:33:12 GMT -5
I think 3000 GP is fine for Friedrich and I think him bringing Mary along makes sense. It would be good for her to identify things, but if we're going to wait 30 days for someone to read the wisdom book, Finn and Colby will be able to handle all of that.
Another to-do for the alchemist is to get him to start making spell ink while we're training. We could use another 15-20, given that we have a ton of spells to duplicate for the different magic-users. Perhaps as part of the compensation, Colby will offer to assist him in potion brewing.
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Post by Wolfgar on Feb 13, 2012 11:54:46 GMT -5
Dan does not need the book of wisdom. Wisdom is the only stat he cares about and he should make 18 in a couple of levels, just in time for 4th level spells.
When we arrived in Devonshire we had about 24,000 gp worth of stuff. Some of that stuff already belongs to people - Paavo fine cloak and ring, Marcus's possessions, incidental money, etc. There is a 4,000 gp gem which is magical, so that shouldn't count. We are converting the pearl necklaces to spell ingredients. And gems and jewelry only converts at 90%. Assuming henchmen (Dan and Mary) get 1/2 shares and there are 10 shares total. That comes out to roughly 1,500 gp each share. (I haven't done the math.) So Friedrich and Mary together would be 2,250 gp. So I am fine giving Friedrich that money.
I would recommend Friedrich take his money in silver and some gold. There are not going to be a lot of people in Fenhold who take break a 100 gp gem. He might want to meet with Sherlane to discuss running a city before he goes.
Of course if Mary goes off then we have no one to identify magic items until Finn finishes training. Which is fine. It is all out of game time (hopefully).
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Post by Friedrich on Feb 13, 2012 13:32:08 GMT -5
My calculations are slightly different. 24000 - 4(magic gem)-3(pearls) comes to 17000 x .9 equals 15,000/8 comes out to 1912.5. So I guess going by that calculation Friedrich would get closer to 2000GP. Mary and Dan get roughly 950 each which I guess covers training costs.
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Post by Wolfgar on Feb 13, 2012 13:44:18 GMT -5
I divided by 10 = (9 full shares + 2 half shares). A full share for each of Trommer, Finnious, Colby, Friedrich, Paavo, Danakes, Bolo, Ingrid and Marcus and half shares for Dan and Mary. So Dan and Mary get 750 gp and everyone else gets 1500 gp. Of course Colby used 6300 gp for his training so he is taking some peoples' shares. Paavo and Dan are fine with this. They will denote their shares to Colby after tithing to the church. And then the magic users will need more money for writing spells and creating scrolls and potions. If not enough people give up their shares we will need to find the money from some other source.
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Post by Ginger on Feb 13, 2012 13:59:41 GMT -5
Does Ingrid have tithing to do? What has she done in the past? I think the Wisdom book is worth way more than her fair share of the loot, so she wouldn't need any more compensation than what she needs to tithe.
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Post by Wolfgar on Feb 13, 2012 14:24:28 GMT -5
I don't think we should start using magic items as a share of the loot. There is too much inequity there. I think coins and valuables should be in one pot. Magic items should be in another pot.
Ingrid does not tithe since there is no Dwarven church in Devonshire. In the past she hasn't asked for anything more than training funds. Paavo has to tithe as a paladin. Dan tithes because he belongs to the Church.
Friedrich's request is the first time anyone has asked for a large sum for their personal use outside of training costs. If we are going to start letting people withdraw money from the company account then we will need a different way of managing the treasure.
One option would be for everyone to have their own account. Treasure is split into shares. Members borrow from one another to fund training. Debts are settled according to terms between characters.
Alternatively you could have a single company account. Shares give you a dividend but there is still the bulk left in the company account. Dividends are determined collectively. The company pays for training.
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Post by Ginger on Feb 13, 2012 15:02:24 GMT -5
I agree with Paavo that I don't like giving money for personal use. However, giving money to Friedrich seems more like a training/tithing cost to me than a personal cost. Having property could be very useful to the party. If the taxes he collects get kicked back to the party coffers, I don't mind investing some money up front to solidify his claim to the land.
Fenhold is far, but not that far. He could go there, check it out, and them come back and we'll discuss what projects are worthwhile to spend on.
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Post by Friedrich on Feb 13, 2012 15:58:07 GMT -5
@paavo: your math is right (as usual). I didn't take into consideration Marcus and Ingrid and thus was dividing by 8.
Regarding ingrid and the book of wisdom. I agree that giving Ingrid the book to raise her level limit in principal is a good idea. In practice it might be irrelevant. IIRC, a dwarf with an 18 wis can reach level 11 which is 675,000XP. 900,000XP would get her to 12 level and require a 19 wis but that will never happen because of the xp required.
Remember she splits XP with her fighter class and only gets1/2 to begin with. Assuming she can reach an 18 wis through leveling each party member would need 3.6 million XP before her advancement was capped by not having a high enough wisdom.
I don't really care who gets it, I'm just pointing this out.
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Post by Wolfgar on Feb 13, 2012 16:15:35 GMT -5
IMO, Fenhold is not a party expense. It is entirely Friedrich's responsibility. By becoming lord of the property he is responsible for all expenses and taxes, and reaps any income from it. How he chooses to pay for it is up to him.
I do think it is a good idea for Friedrich to do some reconnoitering before investing anything into Fenhold. But that is up to him.
Before we give any money out we should all be in agreement on how treasure is divided among the party members, how much the company will keep and what expenses the company will cover (e.g. training, spell components that benefit the party).
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Post by Ginger on Feb 13, 2012 16:26:37 GMT -5
Ingrid has a Wisdom of 15 and a Strength of 16.XX. Increasing the level caps will be helpful, but bumping her WIS from 15 to 16 will give her an extra 2nd level spell and an extra 10% XP bonus. Down the line it will also be an extra level, but the immediate benefits are useful.
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Post by venger on Feb 13, 2012 17:15:45 GMT -5
Ingrid has a Wisdom of 15 and a Strength of 16.XX. Increasing the level caps will be helpful, but bumping her WIS from 15 to 16 will give her an extra 2nd level spell and an extra 10% XP bonus. Down the line it will also be an extra level, but the immediate benefits are useful. She's already getting the 10% bonus... =H12+(B60*0.1+B60)/4 When in doubt I just apply it.
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Post by Friedrich on Feb 13, 2012 18:22:07 GMT -5
Ingrid has a Wisdom of 15 and a Strength of 16.XX. Increasing the level caps will be helpful, but bumping her WIS from 15 to 16 will give her an extra 2nd level spell and an extra 10% XP bonus. Down the line it will also be an extra level, but the immediate benefits are useful. Ok, I agree with you. I didn't know Ingrid only had a 15 wis. This definitely seems like a good time for her to take the 30 days and there will be immediate benefits to her doing so. Regarding, the division of party money; I never really cared that much until just recently (when I started to care a tiny bit). I have no problem sharing the spoils of Fenhold with party members if it ever starts to pay dividends. Clearly, some party members require significantly more money for training than others, which is fine by me as well. It's also worth taking into consideration that quite soon, and all at once, Trommer, Friedrich and Paavo will need to train for their new attack routine upon reaching 7th level. Plus, I consider Mary's training expenses to come out of my end as well so I really can't complain. I assume that by the time we finish the Rain Bird quest Mary will be 5th level and the dwarf, ranger and paladin will be 7th so we are going to need a lot more money in the near future. So maybe Friedrich will go to Fenhold with 1000 GP for now. I gotta go with something ;D
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Post by agesilaus on Feb 13, 2012 19:55:55 GMT -5
I like the general idea of cash in one pot, to be divided up among party members (full shares) and NPCs (half shares). Since Fin has benefited from the communal cash system in the past for training, he's absolutely ok with Friedrich getting a little additional money to help in Fenhold. Plus it might be good to have a place in which to lie low at some point. With respect to the magic items he thinks the communal system works pretty well there too, except in a few cases like magic heavy armor (chain, plate, etc) that would be useless to MUs and thieves, just as wands and the like would be useless to fighters. He has a suggestion: should we make a list of ALL magic items the party owns? That way, should we ever run into something really nasty like, say, an ultrodaemon, someone may come up with a better way to use a particular item or three that was used in another situation in a different way. Just a thought.
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Post by Bolo on Feb 13, 2012 21:42:12 GMT -5
The gargoyle horns should go to the alchemist, either to be made into invulnerability potions, or to exchange for an equal value of other potions. Or if the alchemist wants to buy them for cash, as ingredients for his own use, Bolo would be fine with that too, if it's a good price. We appear to need cash. Bolo wants to do some experiments with the little white room ring. He wants to know: - How long can things stay in the room without disappearing? Is the time predictable? Is the time cumulative, or does the clock restart each time Bolo pops back into the room for a visit?
- What's the largest object that Bolo can take into the room? Is it just limited by what he can carry? Does it ever work to grab hold of something without actually picking it up?
- If someone else is holding onto Bolo when Bolo puts on the ring, does Bolo disappear into the room? If Bolo is tied to a doorknob with a rope, and he puts on the ring, does he go to the room, and when he gets back from the room, is he still tied to the doorknob?
- Can Bolo carry a living creature such as a chicken or dog into the room? If he leaves a chicken in the room, and then comes back an hour later, is the chicken still alive and well?
- How big is the room? If Bolo stands in a particular location, then puts on the ring, then walks to another location within the room, then takes off the ring, where does he end up relative to the location where he was standing originally?
- Does time pass at the same speed when inside the room? (Bolo can do experiments with pairs of lit candles to determine this.)
To the DM: If I need to construct a detailed series of experiments to test these questions, let me know. Will the silver sword brooch produce a short sword, if used by a short person? If so, Bolo would like to have this item to use against creatures that cannot be hit by his arrows. If the wand with the ivory tip indeed detects secret doors, Bolo would also like to have that. Bolo notes that his training does not cost the party anything, and that a lot of the magic loot we get is not useful to him. He thinks this means that he has a strong claim on the limited number of items that are useful to him. And of course gems. He likes gems. He likes cash too, but for a little guy, cash is harder to carry. Bolo wishes to purchase a grappling hook and 100' of fishing line. He already has a 50' rope. He will practice throwing the grappling hook attached to the rope. He will also practice shooting an arrow attached to the fishing line, with the other end of the line attached to the the rope.
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Post by Bolo on Feb 13, 2012 22:11:22 GMT -5
We have huge disparities in training costs, and magic items are never going to divide up evenly by value, especially if we allocate them based on who can make best use of them for the party. So I imagine that an immediate division, with IOUs between party members to meet cash needs, would eventually result in everyone owing lots of money to Bolo, who needs no cash for training and can't use a lot of the most valuable magic items. He'd like that, but the rest of the party probably wouldn't, so OOC it doesn't seem like a very good solution.
On the other hand, Bolo strongly opposes the idea that the loot should never be disbursed for personal use. He's in this to get rich. He's not interested in saving the world or pleasing the gods. So if he's putting his life on the line, he wants to be able to spend the proceeds occasionally. He's okay with keeping most of the loot communal, because he sees that as investing in the party's future earning capacity. But no payouts for personal needs? That's ridiculous!
On the third hand, while Bolo strongly supports Friedrich's right to get 1000gp for his expedition to Fenholm, he is confused about why this is a good idea. Surely the only reason to own a lordship is to extract the maximum possible revenue in rent and taxes from the downtrodden peasants? If having a lordship requires paying large sums of cash, then Bolo is really glad he doesn't have one.
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Post by Friedrich on Feb 13, 2012 23:58:59 GMT -5
On the other hand, Bolo strongly opposes the idea that the loot should never be disbursed for personal use. He's in this to get rich. He's not interested in saving the world or pleasing the gods. So if he's putting his life on the line, he wants to be able to spend the proceeds occasionally. He's okay with keeping most of the loot communal, because he sees that as investing in the party's future earning capacity. But no payouts for personal needs? That's ridiculous! Before I had Mary's training costs to consider I don't think Friedrich had ever gotten anything from the party treasure except for a suit of plate mail armor. I didn't really bother me though, but I understand full well that that outlook toward party resources will not be shared by all. I think Bolo should certainly be entitled to his share of the party spoils even if it means that Friedrich will have to be short on something that he wants. What's fair is fair. But again, I understand that my outlook won't be shared by all. Friedrich is not overly concerned with turning this into an immediate cash cow and is not always concerned about what's best for him, especially in the short term. Showing up to Fenhold without any money would look bad. Pumping some cash into the local economy hopefully will create a good first impression and make the place easier to govern and attract trade to the area. High taxation would provide a short term cash infusion but stifle long term growth. (at least that's what I learned in college ;D)
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Post by Ginger on Feb 14, 2012 11:23:39 GMT -5
I like the general idea of cash in one pot, to be divided up among party members (full shares) and NPCs (half shares). It seems to me that everyone will just end up with IOUs instead of gold. Colby has no real objection to using an official IOU instead of just having an understanding that the party gave him a ton of cash for training. Since Fin has benefited from the communal cash system in the past for training, he's absolutely ok with Friedrich getting a little additional money to help in Fenhold. Plus it might be good to have a place in which to lie low at some point. Sherlane won't always let us hang at his manor for a month at a time. Having another safehouse could be very helpful. Especially one farther from the Inquisition. With respect to the magic items he thinks the communal system works pretty well there too, except in a few cases like magic heavy armor (chain, plate, etc) that would be useless to MUs and thieves, just as wands and the like would be useless to fighters.He has a suggestion: should we make a list of ALL magic items the party owns? That way, should we ever run into something really nasty like, say, an ultrodaemon, someone may come up with a better way to use a particular item or three that was used in another situation in a different way. Just a thought. Once we identify all of our outstanding items, we should allocate them and create a master list. The gargoyle horns should go to the alchemist, either to be made into invulnerability potions, or to exchange for an equal value of other potions. Or if the alchemist wants to buy them for cash, as ingredients for his own use, Bolo would be fine with that too, if it's a good price. We appear to need cash. Let's do this. Colby also has a dead phase spider in a jar that could maybe be turned into a oil of etherealness. I'd rather trade it for spell ink than cash, if he'll give us a better deal on it. I want to write a ton of scrolls to distribute to Mary and Finnious. On the third hand, while Bolo strongly supports Friedrich's right to get 1000gp for his expedition to Fenholm, he is confused about why this is a good idea. Surely the only reason to own a lordship is to extract the maximum possible revenue in rent and taxes from the downtrodden peasants? If having a lordship requires paying large sums of cash, then Bolo is really glad he doesn't have one. Exactly. I've now completely backtracked from my initial instinct to send Friedrich off with a bunch of cash. I think we're underestimating that 500 GP will be a fortune to the people of Fenhold. Remember that Friedrich is the lord. The elites of the town should be wining and dining him. Afterwards he can return to the party with a list of possible investments in the town and we can see what the best return would be.
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Post by Friedrich on Feb 14, 2012 11:46:41 GMT -5
OK, you guys have convinced me, 500 GP is good. And Friedrich has no problem allowing Finn, Mary and Colby (or any other party members) lay low once we have something set up. Like Colby said, training or making magic items for 10-20 days uninterrupted may become impossible once the inquisition is in full swing as Venger has hinted at. Fenhold is fairly remote and should be considerably safer.
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Post by Ginger on Feb 14, 2012 12:42:32 GMT -5
Colby whistles to himself. Enterprising people should inquire with the Devonshire Thieves' Guild to see if there's a branch in Fenhold. If not, we could see if they're interested in franchising.
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Post by Friedrich on Feb 14, 2012 13:29:44 GMT -5
Colby whistles to himself. Enterprising people should inquire with the Devonshire Thieves' Guild to see if there's a branch in Fenhold. If not, we could see if they're interested in franchising.hahaha! I figured that was going to happen sooner or later. As long as you guys don't get too out of control Friedrich would probably be willing to look the other way. Having friends in the underworld could also be quite value.
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Post by agesilaus on Feb 14, 2012 20:08:17 GMT -5
That was partly Fin's point.
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Post by Bolo on Feb 14, 2012 21:01:50 GMT -5
Bolo likes the tune Colby is whistling. He will mention it to the conductor of the Devonshire whistling club.
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Post by Bolo on Feb 14, 2012 22:42:50 GMT -5
High taxation would provide a short term cash infusion but stifle long term growth. (at least that's what I learned in college ;D) There's tax policy for long-term growth, and then there's asset stripping for short-term loot. Bolo is a short-term loot kind of guy.
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Post by Wolfgar on Feb 15, 2012 9:39:51 GMT -5
My guess is that Fenhold is going to make Willowsby look like a thriving metropolis. It is unlikely that there will be an alchemist, a jeweler, an armor, any priests or NPCs of note. It might be a good place to stash our stuff if Sherlane doesn't want it on his premises but I don't think it can be a base of operations. Of course I could be wrong.
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Post by Ginger on Feb 15, 2012 10:56:53 GMT -5
My guess is that Fenhold is going to make Willowsby look like a thriving metropolis. It is unlikely that there will be an alchemist, a jeweler, an armor, any priests or NPCs of note. It might be a good place to stash our stuff if Sherlane doesn't want it on his premises but I don't think it can be a base of operations. Of course I could be wrong. My hope is that it could serve the function of the Morningstar Inn in our original campaign. That was a day's journey from anywhere, but was still useful. As long as it's vaguely secure from being burned down, we could store some important but not vital stuff there behind Wizard Locks and things.
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Post by Wolfgar on Feb 15, 2012 13:40:33 GMT -5
We should go take over Damned John O'Crewet's manor. It is closer to Devonshire and likely easier to fortify.
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