Won't be able to level until I get home tonight. Been trying to theraflu-sleep through being sick for the past four or five days as well, so apologies for being sluggish on updating. Seems like I'm through the worst of it though.
Levelled up.
HP: +7 ( 5 + CON)
Unarmored Movement +10 to speed
Ki points :2
Flurry of Blows
Patient Defence
Step of the Wind
I am out of town and my books until the 19th. Please DMPC me as necessary until then.
I am out of town and my books until the 19th. Please DMPC me as necessary until then.
Will do Grommund.
Regained use of Martial Adept superiority dice.
I was taking a look through the manual and it seems that the only other way to get more superiority dice is to take Figher-Battle Master.
Is the your understanding as well , DM?
HP: 4 + CON = 6
New Spells: magic missile and comprehend languages
Other:
Regained use of Martial Adept superiority dice.
I was taking a look through the manual and it seems that the only other way to get more superiority dice is to take Figher-Battle Master.
Is the your understanding as well , DM?
Correct
Regained Second Wind and Action Surge with Short Rest.
Home from my trip, I'll try to resume normal posting ASAP. I have a lot of things to catch up on.
Initiative
Need to figure out my level up today between taking care of the baby, and then I will post for the combat. Sorry to be holding things up.
Level up:
5+3= +8 HP, to 19 HP
CUNNING ACTION
Starting at 2nd levei, your quick thinking and agility
allow you to move and act quickly. You can take a
bonus action on each of your turns in combat. This
action can be used only to take the Dash, Disengage,
or Hide action.
Werebear attacks Kuiper with disadvantage
Initiative
Athelwyn, are you still around? Waiting on you.
Siann readied net attack
Dorin Maul attack on bear with advantage from net.
bludgeoning.
Bear attacks the netting AC 10 with disadvantage.
slashing.
Damage from the Maul rerolls 1s and 2s for GWF.
Siann and Grommund, please post up.
Sorry, was halfway through a post last night....but kids !!!! Post coming soon!
Heads up everyone, I am changing the way I run combat in all my PbP games. Details below. I will also add this to the Campaign Information tab.
Combat in PBP is much different than it is sitting around a table. As such, there have to be some ground rules laid out for when we do get into combat so it flows smoothly and freely without any loss of immersion or slowing the game down needlessly. So the following will be used as a basis for how combat for this campaign should flow.
Initiative
Initiative is a simple d20, modified by an individual's DEX. Pretty simple. However, the book indicates that everyone rolls initiative, and then the GM rolls for each group of opponents, and then you order everyone top to bottom individually. And while ordering people isn't the issue, it's in the actuality of posting in initiative order that things become an issue.
Therefore, we will be using group initiative. When initiative is called for, I will roll for each group of enemies (like, say, all the kobolds in one roll, and all the orcs in another, etc.), and then I will roll initiative for every PC individually. Once all PCs have rolled initiative, I will add them together and divide by the number of party members to get the average dice roll, and I will take that and compare it to the rolls for all the groups of enemies. PCs will then act in the turn based on that highest score.
For example, say the PCs are fighting a group of 2 Kobolds and a group of 2 Orcs at the same time. We'll say 4 PCs for this example. And we'll use the following examples as the initiative rolls.
PC 1 - 11
PC 2 - 21
PC 3 - 16
PC 4 - 12
Kobolds - 9
Orcs - 21
So we will find the average PC initiative roll by adding them up (11+21+16+12=60) and then dividing that number by the nimber of PC's (60/4=15) The average PC roll is 15, so all PCs end up going on that initiative roll. The Kobolds rolled a 9, and the Orcs rolled a 21 as well. The initiative order would therefore be:
Orcs
PCs
Kobolds
If the PC's roll ties with a roll for a group of opponents then then the PCs go first. I always favor the PCs in initiative, and I generally give tie-breakers to the PCs unless the situation calls for something else.
Anyhow, this is how initiative will work. Everyone rolls, but you all go on the average roll from across all PCs. So adding a Initiative feat helps not only the person taking the feat but the entire parties average. After all we are a team right? In addition to this, we only roll initiative in the following instances:
1. At the very start of combat; OR
2. When a new combatant enter combat.
For the most part, we will only be rolling once at the start of combat and using that initiative order throughout; only in rare cases will additional combatants enter an ongoing combat, forcing a new initiative roll.
In the case of the chance that their is the opportunity for one side or the other to get surprise on some of their opponents then I will notify the surprised player/s that they can not act until round two. Or notify you of which NPC's don't get to act in the first round.
The Turn
Because we are using Group Initiative, there is no such thing as Player A acts before Player B every round. If everyone acts at the same time, that just isn't feasible. On top of this, we have to deal with players and posting order; we can't very well say that Player C always has to post first; what if Player C is away for a day or so?
Due to this, we are using a "first-come-first-served" posting order for Combat. When it is the PCs turn, whoever posts first is whoever is acting first. When it comes time to adjudicate the round, I will adjudicate PC action in the order of posting. So if we have 4 players, and they post in the order of A, D, C, B, I will adjudicate them in that order during my next DM post. This will allow players to kind of see what everyone else is doing and react to it.
There will be times where even the above will result in 2 players targeting the same opponent or attempting to do the same thing, only to have the first poster accomplish the task and the second poster left with not being able to do anything. In these cases I will try to adjudicate properly by switching targets or moving you somewhere else that makes sense. There may be times when I have to post OOC to have the second player clarify a new action, but I will do my best to not have to do that so to keep the flow going.
Reactions and Saving Throws
There will be times where an opponent does something to a player where they will get to use a Reaction or a Saving Throw roll is required. For the most part, you will merely need to add reactions that you have available as part of your mechanics spoiler each round. (i.e) Name of Reaction - Condition that triggers it - What Happens. You don't have to list AoO's because everyone gets those but things like Sentinel that might trigger an attack, etc. Need to be listed in your mechanics block during combat. I don't have time to look up everyone's abilities everyday of combat so make sure reactions are noted.
If a saving throw is needed for some reason then I will roll that save for you so that I can process that action completely during the GM post and we don't have to wait for it.
DMPC me please
I am not a big fan of playing with myself (pun intended). If it has been over 24 hours since your last post and everyone else has posted their actions for the round except for your character then you will lose your turn in the round and then I will process and adjudicate the results (both monsters and PC's). This loss of turn will be noted and upon your return you will get to take the appropriate number of actions to catch up with everyone else. That way no one is waiting more than 24 hours for a single round of combat to resolve.
The only exception to this rule is if you have notified me in advance that you will be absent for a preset amount of time and arranged for me to DMPC your character in advance.
Be descriptive
Just because we are in combat doesn't mean to just post: PC swings his sword at bandit #2. (die roll) (wait for results). BORING!!!!
Be descriptive on what you are trying to do, how the attack maneuver looked: PC looses his longsword from his scabbard as he bounds over the table across the room, as it comes free the steel glints in the light from the lantern on the table as he raises it to strike, once he has closed the distance he brings the sword down in a overhanded arc with both hands trying to cleave the withered old man clean in two.
Sounds much better doesn't it and gives me tons to work with during resolving the round and it makes your PC look cool, just don't miss.
Thank god! This is how I’ve been running initiative for years in my PFRPG pbps. Makes things much easier, though if there are large numbers of one type of enemy breaking them up into a few groups is nice to avoid one person getting swarmed by 20 orcs who all act together after moving up or something like that.
I support initiative blocks as well. 5E combat is very fast-paced round to round (which is a big part of why I prefer it) so it should complement it well.
Sounds good !
Hope everyone is having a good Sunday. I will be out for the rest of the day running Adventures League at the local game store.
We've been dead in the water for most of this week. Is everyone still with us? I mean this game is really dragging with player participation.
Still here - waiting to head back to Milborne.
Because there is nothing for us to attach to? No plot that I can tell other than "go here and do an errand, now go do this errand, now go do this chore." The adventure is a bit slow on the start....I guess that's how old school adventures are, but PBP games need constantly moving railroad plot to push them forward, or they die quickly.
No one is authorized to make a decision for the group about what we do, and since we're not sitting around a table those discussions can take weeks if done through posting. Rather than get bogged down in that, it's easier not to post and let the DM move the group on to the next stop on the rails. If there is something clear and interesting to react to that isn't a group decision people will post. When there aren't rails well...this happens.
I say this not to make anyone feel bad, to complain, or however else this may be construed, but from experience. I have 25,000+ posts of PBP on this site, and 99 avatars,virtually all of which were made for a PBP game or as an NPC. Since I'm only in 7 games now, that's a 92/99 failure rate, or 92.92% failure rate for PBPs on these boards (based on a sample of one over the last 3.5ish years).
It's safe to assume that when you post something like "Do you want to go back where you just came from for another 10g?" The answer of the players will be "No, that's boring." but the characters will agree because their players know that saying no will effectively end the plot. So, that makes it not even a real choice, and a pointless post you're asking us to make. It would work better if you just assumed we take the job, move us back to Milbourne and just keep moving it (the story) forward through the module book until the next combat encounter or NPC interaction that is more than boxed text.
If this adventure relies on PCs to drive the plot forward then we should just end the game now and stop wasting our time. Posting rates will not improve if the module goes on this way. I think I've been in 5 Kingmaker PBPs at this point and they've all died the same way. Sandbox adventures are horrible for this format in general.
Anyway, that's my two cents. I will keep posting when I can think of something more worthwhile than Grommund grunting, saying yes or no, or summarizing what he just did. I hope we can save and improve the game, if not there's no shame in putting it down. Either way I appreciate all the work you've put in so far Asmodeus, thanks! :)
I actually find that the longest running tables for PbP are the ones that are more open sandbox type campaigns with more roleplay than combat. Combat drags in PbP and the roleplay is only good if the players interact with each other to help create a story.
My Princes of the Apocalypse game is completely sandbox and the players are developing their own goals and story within the broader spectrum of the game. I just provide plot points and let them run with them.
Just rushing from one combat scene to the next and putting the game on light speed rails is not my idea of a fun campaign. However my Death House games have been really fun for a dungeon crawly type of room to room exploration.
My second table of this same campaign is far ahead of this table (Started at the same time), still has all the original six players and have both personal development of their characters going and multiple plot threads developed by interacting with the NPC's provided and asking questions and playing their characters. Seeking out different solutions than just 'Hey what do we fight next'
This is however not a campaign of jetting from one combat to another to progress the story that way. It is a campaign of exploration and interaction with the surroundings, and yes it is a sandbox and is driven by player activity.
I have no problem running the game, but I should not be the only one putting in work to make it run. It is a team effort.
Yeah, that can happen if you get lucky with a group with strongly motivated characters and frequent posters, but it's very rare. You should consider yourself lucky to have that be your primary PBP experience.
Grommund is motivated primarily by wealth acquisition. He might get involved in some larger story, but he's gonna need some kind of reason other than it's the right thing to do or whatever.
Something that has worked in the past in another game is to include a little footnote after a large write-up post with some specific points of interest. Not necessarily a full manifesto covering every possible plot-point and thread available, but some of the more pertinent things the characters would pick up on at a glance (that the players may miss).
As it stands, social butterflying on our own steam is unlikely. What's left of our party is made up of a dour pair of dwarves, a magocratic outsider, and a no-nonsense ex-mercenary monk. Our well meaning priest and jovial warlock have apparently dropped out, so we don't really have a "face" any more. We've got a quartet of the secretive hooded guys in the corner of the tavern to work with. Puts us at the impasse of breaking character for the sake of plot progression/development absent a strong provided path forward. A little leading by the nose might be warranted, or maybe even seeing if we can pick up a fifth player?
I am going to my brother's wedding in another country tomorrow. I probably won't be posting much for the next 10 days or so, as we're staying out in the mountains. Please bear with me while I'm absent.
All of you will get a surprise round on the goblin sentries if you are going to attack so if that is the plan everyone post up your first combat round actions. They are about 60 feet from you at the moment.
You also will have advantage on any ranged attacks from hidden for your first actions.
I have decided to go ahead and put this game out of its misery. I am currently running eight tables of games and this one is just moving at a snails pace and just isn't worth the effort any longer.
While the open sandbox nature of the campaign held promise, in actual play it has not done so well.
I apologize if anyone feels slighted by this action, but it has to be fun for all and right now it looks as if myself as well as all of you are struggling to keep the plot going.
I wish all of you the best. We gave it a shot.
Ah well, thanks for running the game Asmodeus. Hope to game with you again sometime.
Don't forget to set the campaign to inactive :)