The Keep of Grunwich Forest - The Courtyard

Discussion for the game, of Grunwich can happen here!

• Maps:
  • Color Layout of the Castle◊
  • Province of Riltplait◊
  • Keep Layout◊
  • Faded Library Map◊
  • Castle Layout, Crude◊
  • Post repair, Keep Layout◊

• Costs of the Keep

Structure.

• To build.

• 25000 Keep, 2000 per tower, 15000 the inside.

• 5000 Others, Stables, East Wing Building.

• 20000 Walls, 3000 per tower 2000 per wall.

• To repair - Half of it.

Gatehouse repaired, basic gate on it. All walls are up though some are in disrepair.

• Furnishings, per room:

• Basic - 25 gold - Spartan furnishings for a room, depending on its use. Small wooden bed with straw or a hammock, crude wooden tables, no adornments, merely the basics. 10 of these, bought
• Comfortable - 50 gold - Normal furnishings for a room, depending on its use. Beds of bigger size are available with nice matresses, some simple adornments and accessories, nice tables and chairs. 2 of these bought
• Rich - 100 gold - Expensive furnishings for a room, depending on its use. Luxurious beds, finely carved tables, a few art pieces and plenty of accessories. 1 of these, bought

• Armory Stocking - Basic - 100 - Stock the armory with a selection of simple weapons, fit for general defence and the use of a guard. Spears, daggers, shortbows and light crossbows are the order of the day, with perhaps a couple proper blades, some small axes and the like. Bought
• Armory Stocking - Exotic - 300 - Stock the armory into a proper collection of arms, including a few of most everything. Variety of what you may find within goes way up. You can arm a nice amount of guards with swords, some light armor, longbows and crossbows. Includes Armory Stocking Basic.
• Armory Stocking - Armors - 1000 - Stock the armory with breastplates and below of armor, suitable for arming a small force of guards. Bought

• Kitchen Restoration - 75 Gold - Fix up the kitchen, setting in working order a few ovens, buying enough cutlery to handle about 30 people at a time and leave everything nice and tidy. Stock up the larder with a variety of common ingredients, allowing a cook to make balanced meals that aren't all too boring. Bought
• Kitchen - Rich Reserves - 150 - Stock up the kitchen larder with a good selection of ingredients, spices, liquors and the like, making for some fine meals and dining for a while. Increases the upkeep cost of the keep as it costs more to restock ingredients for meals. Bought

• Basic Stables - 10 Gold - Aldrik invites his friends, including a couple carpenter apprentices to a trip to the Keep where they spend a day or two constructing some makeshift stables, suitable for housing three horses. While not professional work, it will certainly be well done enough to not crumble and house the horses even in bad weather. Though only asking for meals and the chance to bathe in the nearby river, even the harshest of hearts will find it hard not to pay the charming village boys good for their service in helping a friend. Bought
• Fine Stables - 400 - Hiring proper labor to make some good quality stables, enough to house comfortable up to 30 horses and some more if required. Includes an office for the ones tending the horses to rest in and do their business.
• Kennels - 250 - Proper Kennels to keep dogs or wolves locked up or simply safe from the elements.

• Forge - 400 Gold - Prepare a proper forge within the Keep, to be able to smelt and work metal or create equipment. Fully equipped with the tools for the job.

• Library - Covering the Basics - 250 Gold - Some books from the adventurer's own personal libraries, some haggling with Gnomish book merchants, going to Endrest for a few special orders, some gifts from grateful people and a letter and some coin thrown at Lissa' college ensues the Keep has enough books to fill some shelves. A library with basic books and maps on a wide variety of fields ensues entertainment and provides a +2 on knowledge checks to do research on most topics. Bought
• Library - Greyoak Rangers Collection on Beasts and Creatures - 450 Gold - Contact the Greyoak Rangers and pay for a copy of their bestiaries, containing detailed information about the habits, physiology, combat, behavior and more of a wide variety of common and uncommon beasts and creatures. If read provides an additional +4 on knowledge Nature or Arcane checks to learn precise facts about a specific creature. If it's a beast within the bestiary and you study specifically about it, you learn their information and stat block. Bought
• Library - Master Fulner's Fighting Essentials - 150 Gold - Contact a city book seller to track down Master Fulner's collection of essential books detailing all there is to know about fighting techniques with arms and armors against a variety of foes. Incredibly handy for someone learning how to fight or for an expect to polish their skills in traditional combat. Grants a +4 Bonus on Knowledge checks to identify fighting styles and weapons, additionally, grants Inspiration if read before going to battle.
• Library - Mariuk's Magic Theory Collection - 750 Gold - Contact the Mariuk Magical Academy to pass a small examination and then be able to acquire their basic collection of magical theory books, beloved of any and all spellcasters. Includes numerous books on magic theory, rituals, the planes and other such topics, a well as a few magical scrolls. Gives a +4 on research on Arcane matters.
• Library - Others - On request or with more time, more collections may be created to be pursued or bought by the Adventurers.

• Alchemical Laboratory - 250 Gold - Vials, pestle, mortar, some books, a decent collection of reagents and more is what is needed to start dealing with both chemistry and alchemy. Provides all the necessary tools to create alchemical mixtures and a +2 on rolls dealing with the same.
• Magical Laboratory - 350 Gold - Tomes, chalk, spell scrolls, books, magical implements, ingredients and the like, needed for crafting potions, doing rituals and all manner of magical research. Provides a +2 on rolls dealing with magical rituals or potion making.

• Altar - 150 Gold - Prepare a room for modest veneration of one or more deities, including seats, Holy Scripture, an altar with holy symbols and the like. Provides +2 on Knowledge Religion Checks when done within.
• Shrine - 350 - Prepare a room for the proper worship of deities, with a proper altar, decorations, some artwork of the venerated religions, Holy books and scriptures, incense and other details. Provides +4 on Knowledge, Religion checks and inspiration on the next spell cast by a worshipper. Also stocks a few flasks of Holy Water.

• Ballista - 500 Gold - A ballista. Why would you need a ballista? Who knows, but for 500 gold pieces you can have one.
• Gnome Engineered Ballista Array - 30000 Gold - Only available once all walls are fixed, these three ballistas per outer wall that can be moved on rails easily aimed up, down and to the sides.
• Ram - 1200 Gold - A siege capable ram to be used for cover by up to 8 people as they assault a gate.
• Mangonel - 1500 Gold - A proper mangonel to throw heavy stones or something else in times of siege.
• Suspended Cauldron - 200 Gold - A suspended Cauldron to use on gatehouse, only available once the gatehouse is fixed. Can be filled with burning oil or another substance to drop onto assailants.

• Community Treasury:
  • 852 gold.
  • Silver hairpin set with citrine.
  • Fine steel orb.
  • Electrum choker.

• Magical Items:
  • Silver Tongue - Staff of Charm.
  • Wand of Lightning Bolts.
  • Cli's Lyre.
  • +1 Magic Shield.
  • Amulet of Health.
  • Minor Magical Spear Against Undead.
  • Minor Magical Longbow Against Undead.
  • Minor Magical Dagger Against Undead.

The Inner Keep◊ so far.

Room breakdown:

edited 8th Mar '15 11:07:02 PM by daltar

Watchlisted.

Soon, the revolution shall begin.

Bad Faux, down. No revolutions here!

Of course not. I'm saving the revolution for the RP thread, Dice rolling is too time consuming.

Nooooo

Also, oh guys I should ask. In combat and checks, I'll ask of each of you, do you prefer to write the flourish of your attacks or let me handle it? I mean when I give the ruling for an attack or such, do you prefer to describe how you failed or succeeded or prefer me to make it up for you?

A bit of both. I think players should write their actions and reactions as long as they are potentially in control of them. So if I shot a goblin, missed, and it moved up and stabbed me, I'd write the parts about shooting at the goblin, (roll, miss) you'd write the parts about the goblin dodging, moving up and stabbing at me, (roll: get hit by goblin for Y damage) and then I'd write about the damage taken. We'll have to plan around attacks of opportunity though.

For clarity, should we put our proposed actions in spoiler tags at the bottom of our posts?

edited 20th Dec '14 5:01:28 AM by Pyrite

That would be good!

And yups, in other adventurers I've seen some people that prefer the DM to come up with what happens when you do an action ("And then your blade cleves the goblin in half, from the shoulder diagonally down to the groin, vanquishing him and driving fear into his remaining allies") and some that would rather direct those parts and say it.

Double post to ask, do you all have Dropbox? If you do, we can make a shared folder on which to have all the character sheets for easy reference and other materials. If you update the character sheet on dropbox, we'll all instantly get the updated version so its pretty convenient.

If not, well... everyone give me a link to your character sheets here, cause I'm going to many different places to find the links and it's dizzying @-@

Oh by the way, the check to know of giantkin is a nature knowledge check. If you wish, to do the roll to see how much your character knows of them I'll send you info. Faux has already done the roll privately.

I used Dropbox, as you are no doubt aware, and the link to my character sheet is up there. I should probably have uploaded a non-editable version.

Also, since the option was available: Sanna was not present at the negotiations and the rest of the party should be aware of this.

edited 21st Dec '14 1:36:13 AM by Pyrite

Alternatively, you could compile everybody's stats and proficiencies on your computer and keep track of them there.

I myself don't have dropbox, so I don't think I could really go along with that.

You have my file but I don't have a dropbox; so you could upload it. Obviously the inventory updates would be trickier or at least no longer on me.

Alternatively, I could maybe convert it to Myth Weavers's online character sheet if you'd be alright with that being the standard.

Edit: Also, Melon, my character addressed yours specifically with an invitation to go drinking. This is a thing because I am the tank and I need to get to know my healer.

edited 21st Dec '14 6:48:27 PM by Fauxlosophe

As probably one of the highest CHA characters and definitely the most outgoing one, I probably should have gone to meet the gnome... But then, there's no guarentees Oisín would have been as friendly if you deprived him of his drinks for the sake of rushing things unnecessarily.

edited 22nd Dec '14 7:06:06 PM by Fauxlosophe

I kind of assumed our characters were already acquainted with one another to an extent.

edited 22nd Dec '14 7:24:38 PM by SonofMelonHead

We are! Casually drinking would be a way for me to get to know your character so Oisín can come off as knowing him and being used to bleeding alot in front of him when actual battle comes.

Hell, improvising stories of their past adventures in the guise of "Yeah, well remember the time I saved your ass from X" would be a good way to build on our still somewhat vague history and would blend seemlessly with casual drinking.

Edit: Here is my Mythweavers Sheet: http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=72993

edited 22nd Dec '14 11:24:00 PM by Fauxlosophe

Is everyone (aside from Oisin) okay with finishing up at the tower, or is there any more stuff that you feel like discussing? Sanna's done for now.

Oisín is in the Townsquare, so this is a handy moment for reunion.

Somehow I missed this thread entirely!

Ok, my players, I feel increased tension on the RP and between the characters. Please, let us speak stuff here and try to get into accord as I know that there are players here that are getting some measure of irritation. Lets try to discuss this stuff OOC before it boils over.

So please, if you have a request, something you want to understand of another player, or something that bothered you about what happened with yours, please, do air them.

edited 25th Dec '14 9:12:45 PM by daltar

Right, I assume at least in part this is because of Oisín who seems surprisingly controversial with the party. I've not been playing him as the most articulate or serious person, and I think a few points have been misinterpreted;

• The Porter thing was in order to turn the game to "we all meet in an inn". Once I realized the party prefered to hurry to interaction rather than wait for Melon to submit his sheet, I followed along then went for a drink afterwards as that seemed to be the plan, except no one followed then either. I've decided to play up this part of Oisín's character but he had two pints of porter which isn't too much to drink (you'd have to be a bit of a lightweight for that to hit you, Oisín meanwhile is a seasoned drinker) and I mostly had him drink that much so as to have what was left in the gallon fit into his waterskin.
• Squire Subplot/Aldrik: I made a point of hitting what looked like a couple of plothooks in the opening post when we were in the city. One of these was a boy enthusiastic to join the fight. I talked with Dalt and this character is essentially going to be an apprentice who can eventually take on PC levels. Fifteen was both historically and in this setting an appropriate age for someone to begin their training as a Squire (which means weapon bearing and generally assistance, not necessarily combat). Oisín isn't the wierd reckless one here, he's doing what is standard practice.
• Chronology: I tried to make light of the sudden rush in character, but there really isn't any reason for your characters to be looking down on Oisín in or out of character:
  • Firstly; both in and out of character, I beat you to the town square. Oisín was technically waiting on your guys and him coming along wouldn't have sped things up much.
  • Secondly; The attack was three days ago. To set an appointment we must have sent someone ahead (realistically, we'd have had to seek our and hire a courrier from a nearby village as we hadn't arrived in Riltplait yet) which would have taken a fair time as well, far more than two hours.

Finally, as a personal note; the majority of my D&D experience has been done under highly murderous D Ms. Daltar is not one, none the less the habits are in place; Oisín's departure was in large part to satisfy my need to be fully prepared to murder Giantkin.

Oisín definitely has the passion and stubbornness which Melon described but he keeps it in place mostly with common sense which I feel a lot of other players have over looked to portray him as a reckless drunk, rather than someone who's light hearted but has done more than the rest of the party (except Sanna, depending on what was bought) to prepare for this attack.

edited 25th Dec '14 9:32:23 PM by Fauxlosophe

I'm sorry for my part in ramping up tensions in the RP so far; I just feel like I'm having a bit of a hard time grasping Oisin's character. I can't really be sure how much of it is my own misinterpretations, but he seems too flippant about things, like he's a notch or two higher on the low-high fantasy scale than I've been reading the RP as. That's probably all on me, but the subtle disconnect is what's been rubbing me the wrong way, I think.

Oisín has a low wisdom score and is a Paladin, I've played this into a self-aware idealism which is itself invested in very low fantasy concepts (I've cited "the Wanderer" as a source of inspiration to Dalt). Even then, he's acutely aware of his own failures and is keenly aware that sometimes pragmatism is the best option, though he's slow to take that path.

He definitely tries to take things lightly, but that's a part of his character and I thought it suited his oath; to spread light and to be light. As someone who's really messed up in the past (returned to find his friends dead and home lost) and hasn't forgiven himself for it, the flippancy is his way of trying to hide that.

Meanwhile, he's been pretty pragmatic in this game. He's done everything quickly and by the book; his Squire as I said before is about the right age for it, I've bought a lot of things that I didn't have originally which should slow the Giant down, if we meet him in the right circumstances and I have plans for how we should do that.

edited 25th Dec '14 9:45:23 PM by Fauxlosophe

I actually updated my sheet with the items, but I'm still new at this so I don't really know what's useful. I heard good things about a ten-foot pole, but I have no idea where to keep it.

Character-wise, uh... It's a bad sign when the Paladin's cheery and the Bard's angry, for one, but I'm with Red on the Paladin, of all people, seeming a little too flippant about the loss of human life, even if subsequent actions prove otherwise. Bear in mind that in-character, none of the other characters know what Oisin's done to prepare so far. All they know is that he went drinking and picked up a boy along the way, which is as bad as it sounds.

I will admit that I personally missed the timings for the attacks, because who leaves dead bodies out three days after a monster attack anyway?

Also, I seem to be the only one who's submitted his sheet for you all to view, so there's no way of telling if everyone else bought their items before the start of the RP - if you did, that's probably why we're so keen to skip that stage.

Squire: I figured you'd taken the Knight background (variant Noble). I suspect that our concern in-character is that the learning curve is a little steep for a complete novice, but Sanna is probably okay with that. ("Kids these days.")

edited 25th Dec '14 10:04:53 PM by Pyrite

It's in post 14: http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=72993

It's also odd that one criticism is that Oisín is too high fantasy and the other is that he is jaded to death.

Again; He's doing everything he can to make sure Aldrik is safe (while Squiring at 15 is standard practice and GM approved) and also beat you guys to the square. I just don't see how he's being flippant here except that he's not panicking as he heads out.

Also, Oisín explained his plan to Melonhead's character; he didn't originally have all of the traps on this sheet (which I thought you guys were able to view by now) and they should be pretty clearly visible on the horse as something not there before.

Edit; I thought about it, but Oisín's flavour is more dark ages, predating Knights so it felt out of place. Also, Folk Hero was more fun. But yeah, as I said, in the Middle Ages 15 was pretty standard for your first dip into the battlefield as a complete novice, carrying weapons and shields. It's been made very clear to Aldrik by Oisín and the rest of the party that he's not to risk his life here. But il the long run, while he isn't likely to level up to be a full GMPC party member, but could get a few levels of a PC class and definitely do some auxiliary stuff for us and enrich the setting a little.

For now, it's more something I thought would be interesting and I didn't expect this reaction to it as Dalt (see below) liked the idea.

edited 25th Dec '14 10:13:57 PM by Fauxlosophe

Faux actually got the timeline wrong.

The first attack was a week ago on the keep by the river. Three days ago, the party learned of it as it took four days in between the town deciding to send a call for help and for the news to carry away from Riltplait to where our adventurers were. Now, today as you reach the city, you learn that the night that just passed hours ago there was the new attack on the town walls and the abduction of Ria.

As for things... it's obvious that the party wanted to move quickly on with the adventure and that Faux took some extra time. The extra time is actually not wrong to take, as a few hours more or less won't change the fate of Ria and it may be good to prepare for the adventure. Taking into account that I'm your GM I won't punish you if, as players, you want to prepare and interact in the city before heading off for the rescue. I actually do like what Faux did with the recruiting of the squire, as he took a part of the game that was window dressing and integrated it into the adventure, creating a new character. However, seeing as the rest of the party preferred to move, I tried to make this delay and sidetrack go as fast as possible, replying to Faux as quickly as I ca so we could all march together.

As for Oisin's character, it seems like he is divisive with the flippancy of his attitude though the urgency the party was on may be somewhat overstated. Still, as my players, I wish we can truly overcome this and meaningfully iron out the differences and what may grieve us out here before it affect the game and worse, it may sour the fun we're trying to have with one another.

My apologies there; I assumed that we were responding to a message about both attacks and thus it must have taken place before we had the news three days ago, with the first attack happening a week ago.