Expedition Planning Discussions

[Stirling]

Just giving the heads up on future expeditions leaving on Oct 1st. I have two characters:

Foxy who wants to explore westward towards the ruins of the Monoc mages and the anciednt city of Zavarra. Looking to recruit all character classes and journey light and swift on horseback.

Isaachar lowly priest of Gwanwen, available to join any expedition in need of prayerful support.

[Zhym]

Who is the DM over the westward territory where Foxy wants to explore? If it's Alethan, it'll be a few weeks. If it's Marullus, I know he wants to wrap up a couple of current expeditions before starting any new ones. He even has one existing expedition on hold. So another expedition in that direction probably won't happen for a while. I'm guessing months, at the current pace of updates. Maybe years. Which is fine! Slow updates are way better than no updates. But new expeditions should probably plan to go into areas run by sub-DMs if they want to get started soon.

I think it makes sense to leave any transaction involving the Sigil of Zavarra until the expedition is actually about to leave and the DM is ready. Who knows who might be back in town and available for the mission by then?

[Marullus]

The nearer "expansion westward" is handled by Rusty Tincanne and is easily accessable as part of the shared world.

For those orienting the Zavarra map to the Gameworld map, I'll remind you of the salient IC facts.
* Zavarra is twice as far away - it skips past Rusty's zone and is effectivelly a zone of its own when you get there
* It was built by the wardens as their "life in prison" option - those who couldn't remain in society were sent there
* It is thus encorcelled to prevent finding it or leaving it
* The Warden's Sigil points to the city, thus allowing the finding of it

I'll just be explicit - it's a great sub-zone, but is possibly a one-way trip within near-term timelines. Take your PCs there with that intention.

[Marullus]

01 October 2021
Begin new expeditions on this date.

01 October 2021
The day begins dreary, damp, and cold, fall fading swiftly to winter. It is completely overcast and drizzly in the morning, turning into a soaking downpour which lasts all afternoon. The day begins at 57 degrees and never gets appreciably warmer.

With the equinox past, the days now dive into darkness, heading towards the winter solstice with less than 12 hours of light in a day. By the end of November, the freezing temperatures will arrive and last through the winter. The farmers of Gaul speak of the long nights with no small amount of fear - by late December, the sun will crest the horizon for less than seven hours with the dimness of twilight only slightly longer - pitch darkness will reign over 12 hours each day and the farmers huddle inside against what roams at those times.

Sunrise: 7:14am, Sunset: 6:49pm
Moon: Quarter moon waxing, moonrise 1:11pm, moonset 8:27pm

I recommend people set out on their fall expeditions. Weather will be a factor in expeditions over the winter. When people set out on Winter expeditions, then we advance the clock to Spring with everyone else accounting for those months of downtime per above.

Reposting that here. There is one opportunity to get out for Fall Quests after the Festival, then we're looking at Winter issues. Please discuss and divy up what your doing (and who is DMing it) for when the Fall Festival ends. The Fall Festival runs concurrently. This means that, once you decide what quests are going out, they can start. You can concurrently play at the Fall Festival at the same time (because nobody dies at the festival).

Quest options that I know of so far:

• Foxy - leading a group for Eruanna westward to rescue a lost bastion. (GM: Rusty Tincanne)
• Blackjack - leading a group up-river in his giant canoe to meet the orc tribes on the mountain to the north (GM: Still needed)
• Bremen - leading a group to hunt the wolf-man monster who slaughtered a patrol of his knights (GM: Marullus)
• Markd - return trip to clear the noble estates at the city of Nystoreath (GM: Still needed? Marullus?)
• ? - Any effort to clear the goblins, ogres, white dragons, etc. which remain in the territory now claimed by the Dwarf-King (GM: Zhym)
• ? - Any effort to clear the City of Zhint on the plains northwest of the city. (GM: Alethan)

[Zhym]

Let's not forget Clay's currently paused mission, which it would be great to un-pause if possible.

Nobody has their sole PC in that expedition, do they?

[Marullus]

...I'm only referring to new missions that people can choose to go on currently. Clay's mission (and wrapping up the three others) are not options for PCs to join.

[Zhym]

Well, yes.

I'm just suggesting that you might consider restarting expeditions that are on hold before adding more expeditions that you would DM.

[Marullus]

True enough.

[Stirling]

leading a group for Eruanna westward to rescue a lost bastion.

Foxy has no knowledge of this place. After the Festival concludes (and subject to a DM in place), Foxy plans to scout westwards for more selfish ambitions. Though establishing a stronghold is one of those.

This demon wolf creature came from the Blighted lands and possibly out of a sunken pit or chasm from which the necrosis permeates. It serves another 'master' and is in league with the Mages of Monoc, who previously bartered for the lives of the kidnapped children taken by the goblins. Foxy wants to eventually raid the ruins where these mages lair.

She had hoped to return to the goblin halls and use them in some way but this has been turned over to the dwarves of Drunil and Foxy, is not in best relations with Thundreds' kin.

She would support other folk, a priest of Eruanna perhaps to establish a bulwark against the demons, dead and humanoid incursion into settled lands. Hopefully the place would become a base and good recruiting ground for a troop of rangerly cavalry that patrols the frontier.

Hope that explains any character motivations for the planned trip.

[Spearmint]

Amistad

With a troop of cavalry it doesn't make sense to push a river boat expedition. So Amistad and Sir Piers are switching to recruit for an overland expedition. I have a wagon and draft horse so any dwarven recruits (Olaf) may drive that.

The eight man canoe, having been commissioned may be made available for another player should you wish to explore upriver.

[Zhym]

Now that the expedition is going overland, Olaf is indeed interested in going as an emissary of King Drunil.

Although it might be fun to send Lug instead. Hm.

[Spearmint]

Olaf, on behalf of Drunil adds some extra diplomacy roleplay, sending ranger Lug (ranger/tracking/foraging skills are useful to the group), and we traverse the forest and he gets his animal companion ....

[Lobo89]

Tanor is most interested in a low-level expedition, the most likely appearing to be clearing out goblins in the Dwarf-King territory. It looks like Zhym is the GM for that area?

[Rusty Tincanne]

Lobo: did Tanor move to the White Tower? Was he looking for employment with the Knights of Baudhil? I could tell from your post. If so, you should try and gain an audience with Bremen.

He is leading an expedition (theoretically) looking for a talking wolf-beast thing, but also searching for an old, abandoned outpost. If Tanor joins up, the party could focus more on finding the outpost, which might be safer and more lucrative. We already have one other new character anyhow.

[Lobo89]

Rusty - Marullus suggested I make my first IC post at the White Tower since everyone is currently there for the festival. I think otherwise it would have been in Gaul.

Ideally, I'd like to go on an expedition with other low-levels, but understand if that's not possible. Really just trying to avoid being a tag along first level that isn't able to contribute in a higher level group.

[Spearmint]

Joining in an expedition can be as much about role play as roll play. Perhaps you should think about where best your skills might be expressed and what experiences you might learn.

Amistad's expedition to the orcs could certainly give you a specific role within the team and not just 'making numbers up' or tagging along at the back.

Welcome to the forum.

[Rusty Tincanne]

Really just trying to avoid being a tag along first level that isn't able to contribute in a higher level group.

Joining in an expedition can be as much about role play as roll play.

Agreed. There are tons of ways to add to an adventure without being a combat monster or expert mage, or whatnot. And being nestled in with a bunch of higher level characters really helps with the possibility of your life level character surviving longer.

Bremen's expedition has only 3 PCs so far, and he could bring along some NPCs, but I'd prefer to keep it to PCs, (I'll bring along a 6th level fighter though for insurance.) And there might be more treasure involved in finding an old outpost than there is in walking through the woods in search of an orc tribe. Maybe.

[Zhym]

Rusty, if you want to bring a fighter along, Lug could use something to do. His previous mission with Bremen was profitable, so he doesn't have quite the same qualms about adventuring with Bremen that Olaf might. What's Bremen's mission, again?

Lobo89, another advantage of a 1st-level PC adventuring with high-level PCs is that you rack up XP really fast. Any decent high level mission will put you at 3rd level when you get back (after maybe spending a little cash for some self-promotion XP).

[Rusty Tincanne]

Having Lug would be great. The premise is to find (and kill) the wolf-were-thing, showing Bremen cares about his men and keeping his region safe. But that is IC roleplay. If we never find the creature, but instead, locate the old Kalorim-horse-knight outpost, that should be fine. He'll still be out there looking, and he will come home with information, and possibly an expansion of his sphere of control.

Depending on who else wants to come along, Bremen can bring Stantz and/or Father Clauson. And some mounted men to carry loot.

[Zhym]

Oh, dear. Killing a wolf-were-thing. It's not the only wolf-were thing, is it? If so, a Ranger of Beith might have a problem setting out explicitly to kill it. Or is being a wolf-were an affliciton, not a species, and maybe in the category of bad things that need to be destroyed? Is it threatening the fuzzy forest creatures, maybe?