Morning, May 1. Wind, moderate breeze, from south southeast.
The poor weather continues through the night, but it does stop raining in the morning. The party, tired, worn down, happy to be under a roof and in comparatively comfortable circumstances, just doesn't feel like waking up at the crack of dawn. You have the rooms until noon, assuming you've paid for a single night (I know in some cases, such as a bedstead, you will probably want to find a more pleasant place to rest through the day).
Some of the party will want to rest, and therefore won't be going shopping. We should settle on who. The rest of you can purchase at the market or, if you wish to sell something, see to pricing the objects you've found. Let me know which vendor on the market page you'd like to approach with that.
The day is comparatively dry up until noon, but the weather is still brisk, a few points above freezing. Thankfully, you don't have to be outside more than a few minutes at a time.
56 comments:
I'm at 20 out of 30 HP, so I feel up to going shopping.
I think the best places to hock the stuff would be to take the stones to the sculptor and the book to the printer. Although, I would like to have Engelhart look it over before we hock it.
I'm liable to rest the entire day.
Cast Cure Light Wounds: 1 in d4 for 5 total points of healing.
I think I'll be doing some praying to the Lord for this ill luck to pass.
Oh, right, the book!
Would you suppose I can look it over without disrupting my rest, Alexis?
I don't suppose there's any sort of "mage's guild" kind of thing in Stavenger? I remember there was one in Dachau, but we might be too small and remote to warrant any kind of institution like that up here in Norway.
Yes, I more or less skipped over that before, Engelhart. The book is not written in the common language. It seems to be a collection of thin, stick-like calligraphy that bears no similarity to anything you've seen - even such things as cuneiform, Egyptian, Cyrillic, magic or even the druidic you saw on the surface outside the barrow.
The book is about 11 inches by 9, with about 200 pages ~ and these, too, don't feel like paper made from sheepskin (parchment) and certainly not rag paper.
Lothar, do you want to go to the printer first or the sculptor?
Nope. The Mages do not form guilds, as they do not sell anything. The closest thing would be the apothecary's, who sells items to mages and others. That's where the semi-magic healing salve comes from.
[If there was one in Dachau, it has since been disbanded. I have changed in my world-thinking since 2009]
I think I'll rest today, paying for another night and some edibles to be determined when I get off work.
The book, I think, is something we should ask around about for a while. If anyone has any ideas about who or what sort of person would be interested in the old barrows, I'm all ears.
Alexis, I'm interested in hiring on some relatively young person to carry some things. I don't intend for them to come into the barrow at all, but if they did it wouldn't be any farther than the elevator chamber, to work the pulley.
How much does it cost to hire a non-combatant?
If I were even an amateur in teaching, I'd take on a proper squire and have them reload my crossbow. If something like that were available, I'd be all over it.
Pandred, if you're looking for someone without combat experience, whom you'd like to just start off from scratch (a boy or such), the price wouldn't be high. If you don't want them to ride a horse or do more than just employ weapons, carry things, help around camp, not cook, we're talking 65 c.p. per month. You still have to feed them.
The enlistment is the same process as for any hireling. You can find one in a day if you don't care too much about quality; it will take as many days as it takes to roll under your wisdom. Engelhart's wisdom being higher, he could probably find a good youth for you more quickly. But this is not something either of you can do while resting.
That's fine, we'll be here a while.
So, such a youth WOULD be able to do something like load my crossbow in a fight? Would their morale start at any significant disadvantage? Being a child, would their hp be low enough that a single blow could kill them?
Well, a single blow could kill Pandred, but . . . yes, chances are the hit points would be in the 3-6 range, possibly higher, possibly lower. The younger the youth (not lower than 11), the less stats he or she would have. A child accumulates stats with each year. But you could purchase right up to a mature adult for the same price.
Load the crossbow, yes. Fire it? Likely not. It would be a morale check to even attempt to do so. And the non-proficiency penalty would be like -5 (equivalent to a druid's).
The morale would be 9 to start. They'd always have to roll it to enter combat, so your crossbow loading better be in a relatively safe place.
However, if your lackey is hit AND makes a morale check, they'll fight with all they've got. My offline party started with a 15-year-old girl with four h.p. they picked up in a town, who eventually survived enough fights that she became combat trained (500 x.p.), adding 2 h.p. Then she survived enough fights after that to accumulate another 1,000 x.p., whereupon we made her 1st level (having had no other system in place at that time). Jonida is still with the party (and insanely beloved).
Pandred, with a few levels, WILL get at least some training skill, so that is something to think about.
I head to the sculptor first, as that's likely to take longer and net us more secure cash.
I agree that podunk Stavenger is not the likeliest place to get a good deal or even any information on a book like the one we have, but getting down to Hamburg or even Copenhagen to find an interested party will be several adventures on its own. Heck, the original Senex characters still have a book they picked up on their way out of Dachau...
If the scribner pulls up nothing, we might try the apothecary or herbalist, see if they know of a Druid who might be familiar with the area.
[For general information. I am going to be available to run today. However, the people who usually live with my partner and I are leaving for Las Vegas on the weekend for five days. We plan to spend this time in cheerful, quiet reflection, with no little romance, meaning that I expect to be online much less for a little while. I will be around, I will see comments, I will even find time to answer a few, but I'm going to take this opportunity to rest is a quiet space for as long as it lasts]
But we can play just now.
Lothar,
As you enter the sculptor's shop, this being the only sculptor in Stavanger, you find yourself surrounded by pre-carved faceless busts and a collection of Christian imagery: angels, cherubs, saints, crosses, blank gravestones and smaller pieces (praying hands and small stone bible-carvings proliferate). The sculptor will look over the pieces you've brought in with a jaundiced eye, much displeased, and tell you, "I don't handle pagan garbage. Perhaps you should try the apothecary's."
Alexis, do we all receive the 20-40xp from taking the weather damage?
And I stay behind to rest and recuperate. 2hp!
[Take all the opportunity for quietude you can! As a happily married man with three children under 6 in the house, I definitely understand the need for extended periods of privacy]
Well, I suppose that didn't take as long as I thought it would. I collect my priceless historical artifacts and take them where they will be appreciated. Or at least appraised. To the Apothecary! I ask after the book while I'm there as well.
Guy's probably a Catholic anyhow...
I have thought long and hard about weather damage and experience. Long ago I decided not to award full experience for traps, calling it 5 x.p. per point taken from a trap and no general party bonus. I think I'll continue this for weather. Everyone can have 5 x.p. per point, or 10 x.p., except for Engelhart and Pandred, who get a 10% bonus. They get 11 x.p.
Thanks!
Also, enjoy your time with your partner!
Well, I could have made you role-play the scene with the sculptor, but I find that stuff a little dull. Rather than having us write the scene and play it, a more cinematic approach preserves the momentum:
[Scene: cut to sculptor's shop.]
Sculptor: Get this junk out of my shop!
[close up of Lothar's face, showing momentary turmoil, then haughty disregard. Cut to apothecary's shop]
Apothecary: Hm. These are very interesting pieces, pre-Christian era undoubtedly. Where did you get them?
[earlier scene has established that the Christian era in Norway began around the 11th century]
We found them in an old pagan burial mound that a late friend showed us. The Tomb of the Frog King, he called it. Do you know anybody who might be able to tell us about it or these statues? We also found a strange old book out there as well, writing in it like I've never seen before.
(Note I am careful not to reveal the location of the barrow during the conversation, jealous and suspicious as I am of people stealing me treasure... Arr...)
"Hm," says the apothecary. "That rings a bell. Let me see that book again." Presuming Lothar does, the apothecary will add, "Yes, yes, now I seem to remember. There was a very old toad-worshipping cult in Rogaland, but that was a thousand years ago. They were all wiped out by the Vikings." He flips through the book. "I'll be the Amphibian & Reptile college in Christiania would be very interested in this." He takes a magnifying glass and studies the pages for several minutes. "I'll give you a thousand gold pieces for this."
Jackpot!
So, obviously we could detour here to Christiania, and potentially get a much higher price from a collector or sage on the amphibian cults.
I have a cousin there who could work as our hireling, should we head up that way.
The real boon here, I think is finding some way to pawn off these statues. Presumably a sage or someone similar might know of someone in the area who wanted them.
Alternatively, we go to the mason, and sell them for building stone.
Either way, I'm still interested in the barrow, just tossing out ideas for our future expeditions.
Pandred, since you aren't there, I'd rather you didn't speculate on what to do about the book or the statues. Since you've sent Lothar off to make the deal, it would be appropriate if, at the moment, you DID NOT GET INVOLVED.
I'm very tempted to delete your comment, but I'm sure Lothar has seen it anyway.
Lothar, please ignore Pandred. It isn't up to her. Feel free to sell the book if that's your judgement (you may haul ass to Christiania only to find you get less money for them). Also, it is possible that the apothecary will also buy the statues; you haven't asked yet if he'd be interested.
I ask for an opinion on the stones then, and wait for an answer on those before deciding about the book.
[Anyone still here?]
Lothar, the apothecary looks over the statues for a bit. He'll offer you 250 g.p. for the bear with horns, 220 g.p. for the dog-man, 190 g.p. for the dragon-snake and the 90 g.p. for the frog.
[Sorry for the silence, it was a looong weekend for me]
After thinking about it for a bit, I sell him everything. The stones, the book, all of it.
My reasoning about the book is this: None of us can read it, the nearest possible expert is in Christiania (which is a lot of GP away), and we're going back in any case to beat up the big thing behind the door. I'd rather do that with 1750 GP worth of equipment. Here's a thought, do we want to see about selling the frog lamp while we're here?
S'your call. My current share is gonna get me some ringmail or something, and I am more than fine with that.
Frog lamp doesn't look obviously pagan, and it's small. I don't know how much it might be worth.
After much consideration, I believe I will already ditch the idea of measuring x.p. by expenditure. I would much rather return to my old habits at this time and simply say that each person in the party gets an equal share of the sold material in x.p., so that the improvement is there and we can move forward.
Therefore, everyone should receive a base amount of 375 x.p. at this time. Pandred and Engelhart each add 10% to their x.p. gained, so they should add 412 x.p.
Please update your characters and, if you would, please let me know how much experience you have at this time.
I support this decision. My current XP total is 2,858.
Sure thing. My XP then stands at 2,767.
1781 XP.
Engelhart is almost at 3rd level.
I should warn Embla. Because I've shifted the assassin away from thief to fighter (with a corresponding improvement in THACO), and given a d8 for hit points rather than a d6, I've decided to increase the assassin's needed x.p. per level up by 7/6ths of the player's handbook. That means the assassin now needs 1,751 to be 2nd and 3,501 to be 3rd.
None of this has been added to the wiki yet, because I am a very lazy person. But I will get around to it.
Alexis, thanks for the heads up. It's a long way off, in either case.
I have 959 xp.
Alexis, is studded leather as sturdy as I can go, armor-wise?
Yes, Embla. I think I'll retain the assassin armor limitations. So studded leather is as tough as you can get. It with a shield is AC 6.
Is there anything else the party wishes to do the afternoon that Lothar visits the apothecary?
I am resting today.
I am also resting. Is there any way to increase the quality of healing with rest, or is 1hp/day the maximum without a high constitution? Basically I just want to know if shelling out for another bath or a massage or something is worth pursuing.
Embla, I can give you my Studded Leather when I upgrade.
Alexis, will Embla if I give her my armor need to get it refitted? What are the costs in cash and time associated with that likely to be?
Aid Rest is a skill that can help. With higher level you'll heal more hit points per day of rest (1 point per level), so that Lothar and Engelhart are healing 2 hp per day. The cleric will get more healing with time and eventually the party will acquire henchmen who can also help with healing and sage abilities.
Apart from that there are salves and potions, with other magical devices. Be patient.
Just would like to hear from Lothar on this last question.
The only thing i want to do today after selling the stuff is go back and discuss what our next step is with the group.
To get the money, you'll have to accept a letter of credit from the apothecary, who will then leave his shop in the control of an assistant while you walk along the street to a guild-officer, who will then pay you out the money as coins. The officer will ask you where you would like to have the money taken; he will provide you with four watchmen of the city for the journey. These are long-time men who have families and ties here in Stavanger, who obey the laws of the Kingdom of Denmark and who can be trusted to the highest degree.
Is there a better lodging that you'd like to look for, Lothar, than the beds the party is currently inhabiting?
I don't think any of us would mind a bit of an upgrade. How many private rooms would be available in an inn? Also, how many people can comfortably sleep in a private room that would also not break social conventions?
I think you can find four private rooms in Stavanger. It would not make sense to give your hirelings private rooms, but the attached common room would be comfortable for them. A private room will suit one person (they're not that big, more like a monk's cell).
I've had one since last evening, and docked my cash for today as well.
That sounds great! I direct the watchmen to the inn where Pandred is staying and arrange a room for myself and Embla, and I'll check in with Engelhart after the cash is secured.
Man, now that I've got money I want to go spend it...
The hirelings are probably going to want a cut. I'm pretty sure that, given previous guidelines in Alexis' blog in ancient days, we could get away with 1/100th share to each of them and still be seen as pretty damn generous.
Obviously our esteemed DM can correct me if I'm off base here.
A gift of 3gp and 12sp apiece isn't so bad though, altogether, and I too will be excited to burn through all of my new cash.
Giving a share is definitely up to the party. I have not installed a modifier into the morale for it, however, nor have I any plans to do so soon. As has been pointed out, the party is paying a steep cost for the hirelings; they are doing fairly well. Already their morale has improved by association with the party.
You might consider letting them have any plunder that is ultimately too heavy for the party to carry out, if that time comes. You might also take measures to ensure their life, rather than their wealth, so that they can continue taking your money with a minimum of risk, while feeling they are pulling their weight as far as their wage.
Lothar, assuming you've spent money for a room, can I assume you're going to shop the next day, so we can move to a new post and some healing can occur?
Engelhart, do you intend to cast cure light wounds today?
That sounds good on my end.
I'm now at -7 from full, which means I'll concentrate on other party members for today, particularly Bergthora, for she fought well and risked it all.
Whenever we're gathered, I cast Cure Light Wounds for a robust 7 points. I give two of these to Berthora, rest is up to the companions' wishes.
Just dole it all to Bergthora.
We're probably going to be in Stavanager for a few days, so there's no real need to split it up unless we think something is going to take us away from our rest and resupply.
I agree with Pandred.
Nah, but you need to account for the natural healing that should not go to waste over these couple of days.
I'll keep the two points on Bergthora (meaning she can recover the remainder with three days rest, one of which has already elapsed).
Like I said, five points up for grabs unless, of course, Alexis is willing to waive such micromanagement and declare us all healed since we're not pressed for time.
Natural healing won't "go to waste". Either you are actively avoiding doing anything but recovering or you are free to focus on, say, any other activity at all. Percentage-wise, she's down the most (1 HP left when we got into town yesterday night). The rest of us can stand to wait a day or two for a spell. I'm fine waiting to see if Embla calls dibs, but as my friend I'd rather see Bergthora healed before myself.
Give it to Bergthora - she bore a whole lot of pain in that fight. I'll take Engelhart's Cure tomorrow.
Okay, done, she's healed. Two remaining points on Embla, to start getting her on the mend.
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