Fisher St Club

Game Master Mighty Glacier

The Player's Handbook

March 18


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Starting money was $5,000.

Yes, the documents made it clear that you can get funding on mission-related purchases. (Remember to take receipts!)


Sorry for the lack of posting, been really busy over the last week and this was one of the two games that fell through the cracks a bit, for various reasons.


No problem, especially because of the holidays. These days are busy times for many people, I'm sure. So it's not a big deal if you don't post much. Of course, it'd be good if you did.


I'm hoping that people would get more active and show more interest in the game. I don't want to GM this if people don't want to play this. Some of you clearly do want to play this, and that's awesome! But we really need everyone posting to make this interesting.

By the way, G-unit (aka Malcolm) hasn't posted in over a month and hasn't responded to my PM. He's no longer a player in this game.


Male Human

i'm gming a game he's in as well, he hasn't posted in about that long for me either


I've been waiting for us to meet back up. I had zero clue where to go from there.


I think and issue with me is that in the situations I've been is generally only on PC at a time that seems to be able to participate meaningfully, for now I'm just waiting will to finish his conversation.


Dirty Commoner/2 || HP: 0/0, AC: 10 (10, active buff) (FF: 10 [10 w/active buff] T: 10) || Init: +0, Fort: +0 Ref: +0 Will: +0 || Per: +0

Aye, I have to agree. I do want to play this (both the game, and the system you've used are interesting to me), but it feels like everyone still has to wait for a turn. In the sense that only one or two people at a time can really do anything. And online, where each "turn" has a habit of taking a full day or more for one reason or another, it gets rough to stand around.


Adrien Chevalier wrote:
I think and issue with me is that in the situations I've been is generally only on PC at a time that seems to be able to participate meaningfully, for now I'm just waiting will to finish his conversation.
Green Smashomancer wrote:
Aye, I have to agree. I do want to play this (both the game, and the system you've used are interesting to me), but it feels like everyone still has to wait for a turn. In the sense that only one or two people at a time can really do anything. And online, where each "turn" has a habit of taking a full day or more for one reason or another, it gets rough to stand around.

Hm, excellent points. Can you think of a way to get everyone more involved? Break free from the structure where only one can contribute at a time?

The last time I GM'd I endorsed a policy of "Null post is better than no post". Basically it means that I'd rather see a post about someone talking banter or fiddling their thumbs (like how Adrien does here), as opposed to there being no post at all. If your character doesn't have anything important to do I'd like you to think of a way to make it not boring.

But you're absolutely right. This is a problem with this game (and, to some degree, most PbP games). Introducing a mechanic for "Aid Another" might be a solution?


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Maybe, or more dense encounters.

Take this scenario. We have one guy picking a lock, and everyone else is just waiting for the results of said lockpicking.

At best, we're all "on watch", which is a passive Perception check. After the lock is open, it's basically just going to be Jake rolling Perception.

Now if we had somebody interrupt us in the middle for example, the guys with Deception and People can shine at the same time. And more and more varied and layered from there.


"Mister Jingles" wrote:
Again, not sure what intimidation would fall under... I could argue that a physical threat like this might fall under Endurance (physical/mental toughness), but of course I have a bias on that. I'll roll a straight d20 and you can determine what modifiers if any apply.

Hm, never put much thought into how intimidation would fit into the rules. I suppose I mentally filed it under "NPCs do what they would normally do = no Diplomacy", but it makes sense that PCs would be able to gain advantage by intimidation.

Let's say there are many ways to intimidate, and some skills used for intimidation work better than others for certain people. For example, a police officer wouldn't be intimidated by waving around a gun (Shooting), whereas a superstitious person would be more vulnerable to spooking (Occultism).

You, tough guy, can totally use Endurance to intimidate. Flex some muscles, show those guns.

I guess some skills are easier to justify than others (Melee, Endurance, and People are the most simple ones). I struggle to think of ways to intimidate with Agility. Maybe by showing off your deft hands by playing with a weapon? And good luck figuring out how to use Driving to scare someone.


Dirty Commoner/2 || HP: 0/0, AC: 10 (10, active buff) (FF: 10 [10 w/active buff] T: 10) || Init: +0, Fort: +0 Ref: +0 Will: +0 || Per: +0

You must be the only person I've ever met who only rides in cars with good drivers then.


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Bad Guy: "FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PLEASE! STOP THE CAR!"
PC: *evil grin* "Okay." Driving Intimidation: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24

GM: "...You do a 360 on the wrong lane, whilst dodging the incoming cars. It's almost a miracle you don't crash. And then, you stop the car."

Bad Guy: "I will literally do anything you say."


Dirty Commoner/2 || HP: 0/0, AC: 10 (10, active buff) (FF: 10 [10 w/active buff] T: 10) || Init: +0, Fort: +0 Ref: +0 Will: +0 || Per: +0

So, what state does Quilsana replace? Or do we just have a really weird pattern of stars now?


Will Wesson wrote:
We need Adriens turn right?

Kinda but not really. Sometimes there's no need for input some players. If Adrien has anything worthwhile to do, all the better.

I want to put thought and effort to my posts, so it happens that I can't/won't post every day. Today is one of those days when I'll probably take it slow.

By the way, Milo, roll another Computers. It's your Occupation Skill.

Green Smashomancer wrote:
So, what state does Quilsana replace? Or do we just have a really weird pattern of stars now?

The Magic 8 Ball says: "Ask again later." Huh.

There's no answer for this question (yet), which means I did not envision this to be very important. I imagine it that in alternate!America, each state is replaced with fictional ones. Is there a reason you ask?


Dirty Commoner/2 || HP: 0/0, AC: 10 (10, active buff) (FF: 10 [10 w/active buff] T: 10) || Init: +0, Fort: +0 Ref: +0 Will: +0 || Per: +0

Mostly an idle question, thinking about the game. Will is meant to be from backwoods Minnesota, mentioned in his backstory and such. I wasn't aware the other states didn't exist.


Male Human Commoner 2/ Philosopher 2/ Gamer 5/ Writer 5
Green Smashomancer wrote:
Mostly an idle question, thinking about the game. Will is meant to be from backwoods Minnesota, mentioned in his backstory and such. I wasn't aware the other states didn't exist.

So he's from backwoods Winnesota? Known for their "Winnesota Pleasantry" manner of speech and customs, and their love of the Winnesota Huscarls football team? It's the location of one of Artemiy's favorite American films, the cult crime hit Largo.


Dirty Commoner/2 || HP: 0/0, AC: 10 (10, active buff) (FF: 10 [10 w/active buff] T: 10) || Init: +0, Fort: +0 Ref: +0 Will: +0 || Per: +0

See, I was under the impression that the first setting question ("People don't drink Coca-Cola, they drink ____. ") was the extent of the reskinning of everyday nouns. Products and property, not as much places and people. What reinforced this (I guess, wrong?) impression for me was when I sent a PM to the GM mentioning that exact thing, and he hadn't mentioned the alternate states. So, I just kinda figured we grew an extra state for the sake of gameplay.


Green Smashomancer wrote:
See, I was under the impression that the first setting question ("People don't drink Coca-Cola, they drink ____. ") was the extent of the reskinning of everyday nouns. Products and property, not as much places and people. What reinforced this (I guess, wrong?) impression for me was when I sent a PM to the GM mentioning that exact thing, and he hadn't mentioned the alternate states. So, I just kinda figured we grew an extra state for the sake of gameplay.

Again, the setting is whatever the plot demands it to be. If you want Will to be from Minnesota (not Winnesota), then by all means. Then we have established two states out of fifty (Quilsana and Minnesota). Plenty of room for future development.

And you're also right, the Bland-name reskin doesn't apply to all things. Products and propery, not countries. There's also a mix of alternate history going on, but that doesn't stretch quite as far to imply changes in geopolitics. (Notably, the Cold War is still a thing, at least to some degree, as established here.)

Sorry if I accidentally confused you. Is everything clear and satisfactory now?

Will Wesson wrote:
They're pretty far away if I'm picturing the scene correctly. Unless they're hiding AK's in their pants, I don't think we'll see much anyway.

The equivalent of "Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies". Two G-men pull out assault rifles and gun you down.


Dirty Commoner/2 || HP: 0/0, AC: 10 (10, active buff) (FF: 10 [10 w/active buff] T: 10) || Init: +0, Fort: +0 Ref: +0 Will: +0 || Per: +0

Yes, that works for me for the most part.


All right, that looks like some missions wrapped up.

Adrien and Will, you completed a mission. At least it wasn't a failure, and you did get some (useful?) info. For your efforts you get the Advancement Point. Once again, choose one skill, and the GM chooses another.

Artemiy, Jake, and Milo (Team 1): your mission was pretty cool, and a bit larger-scale than Team 2's. For your efforts, you get an Advancement Talent, as opposed to a simple Advancement Point. Begin the creative process, describe your AT here.

Advancement Talent wrote:

After completing a larger-scale mission, you get an "Advancement Talent". As a general rule, an Advancement Talent should be much less profitable than a full Talent. In practice, this means that it should be on the power level of: +1 bonus on a skill along with some other minor benefit, +1/+1 bonus on two skills, or some other benefit.

Once again, the process of designing a Talent (whether it's full or not) is art, not science.


Side note: Many players haven't made many in-game purchases. A little creativity can be a big help in the missions.

For example, how about night vision goggles? Or a weapon? Or a fake ID...


Male Human

Keep meaning to do that and getting sidetracked. I'll try and do that tonight, but with no price listed for things like a fake ID (and how would those of us without black market connections aquire the more shady items, anyway?) and no way to measure how effective the items would be, it's kind of hard to figure out exactly what to buy in the first place.

Will post more later.


Male Human

i've been meaning to just buy basic equipment and things...i have a bit of money burning a hole in my pocket


Will Wesson wrote:

Keep meaning to do that and getting sidetracked. I'll try and do that tonight, but with no price listed for things like a fake ID (and how would those of us without black market connections aquire the more shady items, anyway?) and no way to measure how effective the items would be, it's kind of hard to figure out exactly what to buy in the first place.

Will post more later.

Fake ID can be difficult (read: you'll need to go out your way) to buy without Black Market Connections, true. Without Black Market Connections, you'd need to spend time acquiring it. It can mean the time during the day ("off-screen"), or as a side-track during a mission ("on-screen"), or in secret (via PM); either way there'd be a challenge and a risk involved.

We're going with the price tags of IRL, or, when that's too hard or bothersome to find, with whatever feels right or makes sense. In other words, google it. If you don't find anything after 5 minutes, give me a PM or ask here.

As for how useful the things are, it's true that you're walking on uncharted territories. No one's played this game before, so no one can tell you whether you should invest in weaponry, get-away vehicles, gadgets, technology, etc. I might suggest a little bit of everything, or buy whatever you think would help on a mission, or buy what you think your character would buy.

Milo Halden wrote:
i've been meaning to just buy basic equipment and things...i have a bit of money burning a hole in my pocket

Money is a superpower, after all.

In retrospect, +$500,000 is beginning to feel a little low for a "superpower" that should be equal to a Talent. Hm.


Artemiy Sewick | Russian

Oh man, a full AT? Here's what I'm thinking, again keeping in mind playing off of what we did in the mission...

Back in the Game: Artemiy used to be a lot more hands-on with dangerous activities, and he's gotten rusty over the years. B&E work and a fistfight are more familiar activities to him than most people, and the struggles he had helped remind him of the way things used to be. He now has a +1 on Agility rolls and Unarmed melee rolls.

How's that look?


Male Human

After his lack of successes, Will decides he'll need a sharper tongue than usual. He gains +1 AP to a manipulation roll.


+1 to perception


"Mister Jingles" wrote:

Oh man, a full AT? Here's what I'm thinking, again keeping in mind playing off of what we did in the mission...

Back in the Game: Artemiy used to be a lot more hands-on with dangerous activities, and he's gotten rusty over the years. B&E work and a fistfight are more familiar activities to him than most people, and the struggles he had helped remind him of the way things used to be. He now has a +1 on Agility rolls and Unarmed melee rolls.

How's that look?

Looks fine, though it probably should apply on all Melee skill rolls, like usual.

Will Wesson wrote:
After his lack of successes, Will decides he'll need a sharper tongue than usual. He gains +1 AP to a manipulation roll.

The other half goes to Computers. Must be all those phone calls or something.

Adrien Chevalier wrote:
+1 to perception

And another in Shooting. If those suitmen had pulled a gun on you, you'd know what to do.

I'm noticing you're writing +2 on your character sheet. As a reminder, AP is not a +1 bonus. It's a 1-use "token" that you exchange to make a roll result better.


Artemiy Sewick | Russian

Alright, I'll mark it on the profile with that change. Wasn't sure if it should apply to all Melee rolls--I know a lot of games and their designers are big on combat bonuses being more restrictive or costly than other kinds, so I figured I'd keep it narrower in case you wanted the same idea.


The log in the campaign info page is quite useful, but a list of the things we have found would be of great help to remember things. stuffs like the name of the victims, the day the died and etc.


Adrien Chevalier wrote:
The log in the campaign info page is quite useful, but a list of the things we have found would be of great help to remember things. stuffs like the name of the victims, the day the died and etc.

An excellent suggestion! I'll see what I can do. I'll list some discoveries you've made. To be clear, I'll only list stuff that you've discovered AND thought relevant. For example, if the ramblings of the homeless conspiracy theorist (see here) were somehow plot-related, it would technically be a thing you "discovered", but because you obviously didn't find it relevant I won't list it under the discoveries. Also worth noting is that just because you discover something doesn't mean it's true.

In a nutshell: Think of the list as a shortcut to the stuff you'd want to reference, not as a final list of progress made.

On a semi-unrelated note, there's a moderately significant typo in the list of victims. The first victim was 20 years old, not 29.


Dirty Commoner/2 || HP: 0/0, AC: 10 (10, active buff) (FF: 10 [10 w/active buff] T: 10) || Init: +0, Fort: +0 Ref: +0 Will: +0 || Per: +0

So, uh. Minor speed bump in our plan, but Sundakan (Jake's player) has caught a mild case of the ban hammer evidently.


Again >:(


Wow, that is indeed problematic. I heard a suggested alternative, that we could migrate to some other RPG forum where none of us is banned, allowing us to continue with Sundakan.

However, I do not want to do that. We've set the game up here, and it's very convenient having all of my PbP games in a same place. As unfortunate as it is, Sundakan will be forced to quit this game.

With that, we are down to four players.

Archae, Loup Blanc, Nicos, Smashomancer. What would you like to do in this situation?


Artemiy Sewick | Russian

In terms of in-game or out of game? In game, I've been musing over things and trying to decide what the best option is for Artemiy to take. Part of me wants to approach the men and make a bit of a scene, but we've already had one action-filled night, so we can probably skip it this time around. Might be best if he goes back to the car and just watches quietly.

Out of game, it's unfortunate, but I follow your thinking and I agree in the end that it's easier to stay here. If you're asking about bringing new players in, I'm not sure how we'd want to try going about that to make it make sense in game--maybe our host invites new people and they show up one night?--and I don't know that we'd need to do so in any case. We have a nice little group here.


It's not the first time sundakan gets banned. I think he create a new account, I don't know if he would ever want to do that though.


Dirty Commoner/2 || HP: 0/0, AC: 10 (10, active buff) (FF: 10 [10 w/active buff] T: 10) || Init: +0, Fort: +0 Ref: +0 Will: +0 || Per: +0

That is possible, but I'm in a game he's GMing on here and an he has expressed interest in picking that up on a different forum. So, it's possible he might be back, but I wouldn't count on it.


Will Wesson wrote:
Will Wesson wrote:

Well, uh, who am I covering now? Anybody? I guess I can just keep going to try and pull some information.

Before I can keep going, I still need an answer to this question. Am I still trying to cover somebody? If not, there's really no reason to continue trying to talk to these guys, since I couldn't even tell they were being shifty about the obvious thing they were shifty about.

But if I am still doing the same as I previously was, I guess I should have rolled Deception, right?

Players Handbook wrote:

Distract someone temporarily: DC 11 distracts them for a few seconds, after which they get an opposed People roll every 10 seconds to realize they’re being distracted, each time the DC of the People roll decreasing by 1.

If you want, we can treat it as though Jake was an NPC. So. If I remember/understood correctly, the plan was that while you occupy the suitmen Jake and Freeman slip inside Herring's building.

That DC 11 distraction is for "look at me! and not at the stuff going on in the background!", so yep, that works here. As a side note, it's not the same as "look, a flying pig! right behind you!". Do these things have proper, separate terms? They are both distractions, but different kinds of distractions...


So are you guys happy with just four players? Or would you prefer if there were more players?


Dirty Commoner/2 || HP: 0/0, AC: 10 (10, active buff) (FF: 10 [10 w/active buff] T: 10) || Init: +0, Fort: +0 Ref: +0 Will: +0 || Per: +0
GM MM MG wrote:
Will Wesson wrote:
Will Wesson wrote:

Well, uh, who am I covering now? Anybody? I guess I can just keep going to try and pull some information.

Before I can keep going, I still need an answer to this question. Am I still trying to cover somebody? If not, there's really no reason to continue trying to talk to these guys, since I couldn't even tell they were being shifty about the obvious thing they were shifty about.

But if I am still doing the same as I previously was, I guess I should have rolled Deception, right?

Players Handbook wrote:

Distract someone temporarily: DC 11 distracts them for a few seconds, after which they get an opposed People roll every 10 seconds to realize they’re being distracted, each time the DC of the People roll decreasing by 1.

If you want, we can treat it as though Jake was an NPC. So. If I remember/understood correctly, the plan was that while you occupy the suitmen Jake and Freeman slip inside Herring's building.

That DC 11 distraction is for "look at me! and not at the stuff going on in the background!", so yep, that works here. As a side note, it's not the same as "look, a flying pig! right behind you!". Do these things have proper, separate terms? They are both distractions, but different kinds of distractions...

First part sounds good (although it was just Jake, Will wanted Freeman around in case things went really south), but was that a "Yes, deception would be the proper skill for that?" I'm trying to make an attempt to figure out what each skill is actually capable of, since manipulation and deception are very closely related.

As for the party, well, I guess it would depend whether or not you would be adjusting the game in the future so we wouldn't be required to actually investigate a crime scene, since no-one else does that particular shtick.


Sorry about the long pause in gameplay posts. I have no excuses. I think I'll try to find some time and get back on.


Male Human

So posting this in all my games im going to be unable to post for 3 to 4 days Due to losing the ability to post hopefully i can fix my issue asap


Male Human

So... how is everyone?


Male Human

I didn't mean to kill the game with my idea, I swear.


Doin' fine.

No, Will, your character's suggestion was entirely reasonable (and in fact one of the directions I anticipated the plot to go). Your GM's been waiting for the others to react.

As always, remember that this is not a movie or a video game. Your characters do exactly what they want, and their wants are based on the players' wants. I, as your GM, can only nudge your (the players') wants by the way of win conditions; and that has already happened. That is to say, everything hereupon is in your (collective) hands.

If your cadre of civilian detectives does decide to step back, we'll have a time skip until (something) happens and changes the situation. And you can bet that I already know what that something could be. Either way, the plot advances.


Male Human

Uh, guiz?


Artemiy Sewick | Russian

Sorry, I've been having trouble coming up with anything worthwhile to post in this game for a while now. Doesn't help that I've had busy times with other stuff as well. I'll try and get something up soonish.


Yeah, don't bother, Loup Blanc. This just isn't working out.

It probably doesn't come as a surprise to anyone when I say that I'm growing tired of this game. My last GM post was about a month ago, and neither me nor the players have been itching to push the game on. Moreover, my GM posts have been increasingly sparse and sloppy. I can't say the player activity has been up-to-standards either, but I suppose that traces back to my sloppy job as a GM. Or maybe all this is just because of the homebrew system, who knows.

In any case, this post officially concludes the Fisher St Club campaign.

I am a bit sorry about how it ended. Not about the whole slow death thing, most PbP games die that way. I am a bit sorry that the intricate plots were unsolved and unresolved. I will probably never GM this exact story again, so I see little reason not to reveal some "spoilers" about the plot (if they can be called such). You may ask for those via PM. Not gonna write anything in these threads.

However, I may host a similiar game in the future. If any of you wished to play again, I would more than like to see the same characters, or similiar backstories. As such, there will be no "spoilers" about player characters. Some of you did have a couple plots.

It was fun while it lasted. I mean it.


Dirty Commoner/2 || HP: 0/0, AC: 10 (10, active buff) (FF: 10 [10 w/active buff] T: 10) || Init: +0, Fort: +0 Ref: +0 Will: +0 || Per: +0

Aw. Well, I'd like to hear how it ended. It was fun playing while it lasted. If you'd like, I would be willing to offer suggestions for the game system for future reference.

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