Post-Lamia Planning - Take 3

[Zen]

[I figured it was best to specify which round of lamia we were talking about, since they seem to be an annual event.]

First, Kay would like to thank Sam, Eldthor, and Hal for healing her. She is really tired of these near death experiences and should have listened to her inner caution and taken that potion before rushing into battle, but when she heard the Lamia speak, and it sounded like she was directly addressing Eldthor, she didn't want to be too slow and have something bad happen... [OOC: this is actually the thought process that I had Kay use to make that decision, similar to Illian's choice to run through the blade spell. We're creatures of habit and, yes, one of us will probably get killed by it some day... We should both prepare new characters in reserve. LOL!]

Now, for planning...
1. We need to meet with Conna and inform her that the two Lamia, their dragons, and what's-his-name the giant-giant with all the runes are no longer a problem. It is Kay's opinion that it is probably best if we are NOT present for her little show-n-tell about Mokmurian's head. The less the rest of the giants know about the little folk who killed their big, bad, corrupt leader, the better!

2. There's a library with a very helpful librarian construct collecting valuable information for us as we tarry here! I say Anna memorizes this library WELL so we can teleport into it at will for research. Meanwhile, Dothan needs to start learning Thassilonian, post haste! [OOC: not that I'm telling Mike what to do with his skill points the next time we level up... it is totally up to him... It's just that, ya know... Dothan's our go-to knowledge monkey and while Kay, Eldthor, and Anna (at least) can help with translation, it really isn't quite the same as the knowledge mistress herself reading the source material!]

3. I know that Hal wants to kill him some ... wyverns were they? Whatever was in Cave #2 (or the box Carol Merrill was holding...) Perhaps we should double check with Conna as to whether those are an essential part of the local ecology, though... Perhaps they keep down the vermin and don't bother the giants or something?

4. We definitely need to make sure we can either fit the dragon treasure in our existing bags of holding, or set a nice teleport anchor and bounce back and forth! (It's not like we can't afford another bag or two now, especially if we temporarily put those spell books in a safe place and use that bag for a trip.)

5. Do we need to do anything with those bears, or do we just leave those for the giants as pets?

6. So... we just killed two more dragons and two lamia and there was practically no treasure... Are priestesses of Lamashtu ascetics of some sort? Do they demand the same of their dragons?

[Tahlvin]

For the bears, Eldthor will handle those. He has charm animal and speak with animal, so he'll try to convince them to leave the place and find a better den.

And once the giants leave, we'll want to explore the upper reaches of Jorgenfist as well. If it's mostly giant-inhabited, and the giants leave, then that will hopefully be something a few of the group can do quickly while the rest are off studying in the library.

[bralbovsky]

Hey, I disagree with being absent for the giant meeting. While I absolutely want Conna to run it, I also want the larger population to know two things:
First, we are ok with giants being part of the ecology as long as they play nice and stay put. I don't want to imply that they need to stay on some reserve, but that ritual sacrifice and necromantic magic will absolutely not be tolerated..
Second, we're here, and we will are capable of making good on the enforcement of that if necessary. This is easiest, I think, if Illian is visible, in all his pointy glory.

The bears can stay if they're our friends

The wyverns can stay if they're our friends


I'd love some kind of inventory of the places the giants avoided because of ancient creatures or traps.
I don't know how much leisure time we'll decode and own this place, but I am going to repeat the suggestion that we embrace the runelord role as a balance to the creepy voice we heard. I know there are more of us than seven, but if we focus on a virtue, and make sure we hit them all..
What would it take for all of us to have a conversational knowledge of Thassalonian?

I'd like to gear up as much as possible for our next push, and use the library to help predict what we'll be facing. Research questions to follow.

[Tahlvin]

Or Conna can take the bears with her, if she wants them. They seem to follow her commands, after all.

[Zen]

[Phoebe]

I'm not really clear on what a wyvern is in the context of this particular game - is it neutral? evil? etc. But Dwyn is not going to want to leave any dangerous baddies lurking around here who can terrorize the towns below. Friends of the giants are fine - dragons now on the loose and looking to roast villages, not so much. Maybe we have more work to do to clear out this place, even if the immediate threat of being overrun and quartered by armies of giants is being addressed by Conna. After all, remember crap like those red hats? Ooooooo I don't like those little red hats! We should poke around a bit before abandoning the area - also, we might gain further intelligence if Conna is willing to let Dothan stay in the library for a while longer. We need to know more about how these ancient sites were supposed to work, and what all these other runelords might be, what the boundaries on a map of their territories were, and so forth.

Dwyn also wants to fetch back her horse, and would volunteer to go back to that town, make sure everyone there is OK, and corral up the wagon and horses for transport home. I suppose now in the glamorous days of high level wizardry and teleportation and flight, we mundanes who like to ride our horses are quite passe. Nevertheless, we like our warhorse and still nurse the fantasy of actually riding our armored war horse in battle someday. Probably not. But if any locals report red hat sightings, I'll come mow them down.

[Mike]

Wyverns are essentially the dumb animal version of dragons. The are just creatures.

[Tahlvin]

Yes, they are neutral, and low-intelligence. But they are aggressive and mean. They are certainly the kill-first-and-ask-questions-later sort of creatures.

[Mike]

I'd they were brought in and if there are people nearby, they might be an issue. It's the equivalent of having a bunch of tigers living in an area... just bigger and more dangerous and with wings.

[Mike]

1. Conna's stuff is mostly wrapped up.

2. We are partly into the research already. We need an answer from Pat on how long Knowledge checks tale with the library + librarian, because I'm sure we can all think of another dozen things we need to know.

3. Sweeping and looting the grounds seems well in order. Whether or not the wyverns are part of that matters not to me.

4. Then where to after here?

4a. I want to see Sandpoint and Oshar and have some free time to work on my wings.

4b. We need to get somewhere to trade loot. Probably Magnimar,since it's all we know.

4c. If we knew where to look for this Runeforge, we could go there. Although from the research I've done, I suspect that entry into Runeforge will require Anna to master some complex and dangerous high level spell/ritual.

[Mike]

4d. Are there other places we should check in on? Hook Mountain? Turtleback? Others.

[Tahlvin]

Checking in on Fort Rannick/Hook Mountain/Turtleback Ferry would be a good idea. Especially since we're now the "owners" of Fort Rannick.

While the smart ones are doing the research, Eldthor (with the help of Illian, Dwyn, and anyone else who's not into books and research) will check out the rest of Jorgenfist, like that black tower.

Beyond that, Eldthor will accompany Dwyn on taking the long way back to Sandpoint, since he wants some time to play around with his new shape changing abilities. Dothan, Anna, Kay, etc., are welcome to teleport there and to Magnimar to get a jump start on cashing in our loot, making wings, getting our magic item wish list, etc.

[DMDarcs]

[Eliahad]

I mean, I'm shiny shiny sharp sharp, but /they/ don't know that. I'm just a little, little person to them.

[Eliahad]

And we should help clean up Thistletop, I think.

[Zen]

[Bluedevyl]

Getting back to the library, Anna makes time during her assistance of Dothan to ask the Clockwork Librarian to see if there is an extant copy of "The Merits Of The Martial Mind", an ancient defensive tome written in the Age of Legend by a (non-evil, fwiw) Thassilonian wizard by the name of Pros Sehadain.

"I discovered vague references to this title many years ago, far from here. It was assumed that all copies were destroyed when the Starstone fell, but if this library is as old as I think it is, this could prove incredibly valuable...". Noticing the odd looks she receives from Dothan and Kay, she quickly adds "Purely as a research tool, of course!"

[bralbovsky]

So, lemme see if I have this:

The runelords were/are all really badass magic users, and their schools roughly corresponded to their vices (which they later spun as virtues). Therefore fightery stuff - new feats, techniques, etc - are unlikely to be part of the library inventory except as curiosities.
Therefore some serious context about what the F is going on in terms of Karzoug and his former/potentially present rivals should be available.
Therefore we should adjust our wish lists accordingly to compensate so we don't get turned into hamsters or slugs when we meet these guys or their minions.

Conna is convincing and we're not even window dressing.
(I hadn't thought to present as a specific threat, just as a capable arm of setting things right. No matter, we don't really have political aspirations anyway.)
She/they may have some information about what areas remain occupied. I think this is important because a the possible magical discoveries, clues, etc, b the treasure that might help out c dangerous s***

This seems to me a better base than Rannick, since we'll likely return to the library often. If only the areas we're so popular in weren't in the process of being depopulated, we might be collecting followers to delegate this to.
I thought Thistletop was re-empty, tragically, but..... crickets.
We haven't really been away long enough to have stuff re-devolve, have we?

Let's be careful if we split the party, even to run errands.

[Zen]

I agree that this is a better base than Rannick, if the giants are planning to abandon it wholesale. Let's discuss this with Conna. We might even consider purchasing the land from her, since it is technically hers at this point? Signing a deed, taking legal ownership?

Rannick is too tied to Magnimar. Sandpoint is fine as a base of operation, but our being there puts people in danger to a certain extent. This fortress is defensible, remote, and as long as we have teleport spells, we can get here relatively easily. (Sorry to burn through your spells, Anna... Maybe we need to get an item for it? Kay won't be able to learn it for another 5 sorcerer levels... And there's probably one more rogue level in the mix somewhere...)

And... the Library... If we don't take possession of this place, I fear that Conna will find that library and it will burn like the fires of of the rings of hell themselves!

[Phoebe]

Agreed that we need to find out whether Conna and the Giants in her group are going to continue living here, and we need to make some provision for protecting the library. Dwyn does not care about the library, but I'm sure Dothan could convince her that some of the books are safe and useful.

I'd like to establish some regular method of communication between our group and the Giants, given that all of us are vulnerable to these threats related to runelords. We have a potential ally in Conna that is no small matter. I think Dothan and bodyguards should be dispatched to have a conversation with Conna and also a circle of her next in command, so we have a basis formed for future diplomacy and cooperation.

Dwyn is more motivated to go to Fort Rannick than to stay here, simply because the people in Turtleback Ferry seemed to need help, and the main deity in that area is Erastil. Out in this remote area of the tower, it's not clear what purpose she would be serving. She's still worried about that damn dam being powered the way it is. Engineers need to be brought in to find some workaround, permitting the floodgates to open through a neutral mechanism.

However, for a long time we've been at a point where it makes sense to park in one place for a longer period, utilize some of the skills that take time to accomplish, llike constructing magical equipment and try to figure out more about the forces threatening people in this area - i.e. the runelords. It would make sense to go to Sandpoint for a while and try to figure out the lighthouse and the ancient stones and such. This would also permit us to go to Thistletop and figure out what its role might have been in the ancient world, as well as trying to restore order to the place now after the attack from the Giants.