GM Edwin's River Queen
Game Master Insnare

One of the things I liked in the movies from the 30s/40s (like Riverboat Queen and Maltese Falcon) was that the characters had some real grit (and some grime) about them. They weren't universally likeable, and they were all doing their own thing. I think Edwin and Poulain are taking us there admirably. Angelo's a bit too slick to show his dings too openly at the moment - but Poulain's got him on the white-man's-privilege (white-vampire's-privilege?) thing.

I was also just thinking that the Pathfinders' little statue is also the perfect anchor to scry on us, or at least track our movements. And potentially may turn into a lion just to directly eat us if the Pathfinders don't like what we're up to. Just something to keep in mind.

Mem'Biri?

Did you or your character screw up my PC's name? If it's you then you are forgiven. :)

However, if it was your character, then Mem'basi will have something to say about it.

just me - apologies.

...and too far gone to edit.

you've gotta give Angelo credit though - he recognized Mem'basi (see - I can be taught :) as an 'expert'.

Yeah, I'm having a ball playing Poulain. Already one of my favorite characters, net or real life.

Poulain - I'm with you. I _never_ play a 'face', and I'm having great fun with Angelo. :)

Just figured I would remind you guys that the Girallon threat is only 10 miles away. Which is about a 3-4 hour hike in the jungle.

OK - I've just got to throw a 'suspension-of-disbelief' flag on the play. Real-world rates, 3-4 mph hiking is outside edge. Regular, practiced hikers count on about 15 (maybe 20) miles per day on clear, open trails like the Appalachian Trail.

Through dense, un-trod jungle, with rivers and swamps, a cautious expedition would count on 3-5 miles per day. So for 10 miles you'd be looking at 2-3 overnights, with all of the associated camp standup, cooking, etc.

So - just where my personal experience is taking me in the conversation.

Fair enough. its been awhile since I hiked. I ll move it forward tomorrow morning then.

Scrolls of Purify Food & Drink is an Orison, so that's 12.5 gp per scroll (which only does 1 cubic feet of food/drink).

1 cubic foot of water is pretty good. I'm wondering if Mem'basi knows/uses the orison... it's unfortunately not one I've got. Trail rations should be pretty durable for a week or two.

1 cubic foot of water is pretty good. I'm wondering if Mem'basi knows/uses the orison... it's unfortunately not one I've got. Trail rations should be pretty durable for a week or two.

The druid has purify food and water and detect poison so we're covered.

With regards to hike rates, don't forget that both druid and ranger are 'local' and it's what they do for a living so they should be able to guide the party fairly fast and keep them out of trouble.

I would imagine that both know of some places to camp, places to avoid, etc.

Hey DM,

There was a miscommunication on my part. When I said,'We must find another way', I meant we would back away far enough and take a way around the trees we just identified as dangerous.

Anyhow, what are we up against now? Are these large ants? Small ants in a swarm? Just a few normal sized ants that can be brushed away?

More info would be helpful.

Thanks!

I understood but these trees are a bit misleading. Thats why I wrote roots because, you thought you were safe but not.

no problem they are swarms...

I understood but these trees are a bit misleading. Thats why I wrote roots because, you thought you were safe but not.

no problem they are swarms...

OK, got it.

How do you feel about the spell 'produce flame' affecting swarms. The concensus seems divided on that one so I deffer to you Almighty DM. :)

What happened to Poulain?

Basically, he went straight through and since his survival check was so high he didnt have any problems. Produce flame would work but it will cause damage to the person you use it on.

Basically, he went straight through and since his survival check was so high he didnt have any problems. Produce flame would work but it will cause damage to the person you use it on.

I was thinking of using it on the swarm itself. What's your ruling on that?

And just so everyone knows, you should all be getting benefits from Poulain's expertise:

Terrain Bond (Ex) At 4th level, a warden forms a bond with the land itself, enabling him to direct others in such terrain. When in his favored terrain, the warden grants all allies within line of sight and that can hear him a +2 bonus on initiative checks and Perception, Stealth, and Survival skill checks. Also, as long as they travel with him, the warden’s allies leave no trail and can’t be tracked. The warden can choose for the group to leave a trail, or even for specific members of the group to leave a trail if he so desires.

Ok,I'm still confused. People are fighting, others are 'out of the scene'. Meanwhile, Mem'basi has a couple of useful spells that can be used: Produce Flame which may be used against swarms but I'm waiting on the DM's call and Hide from Animals (up to 4 people for 10 minutes).

However, I just don't know where people are., who's doing what where?

Please clarify

I edited my last post to clarify.

Following mem'basi around, trying to outdistance the swarms before sanctuary wears out...

And I'm following Angelo...

Hey all,

We have to do something because this game is not going anywhere...

Do we all want to play?

Is this pace agreeable to everyone except me?

Is this what a typical PbP game is like?

Thoughts?

For me it is going very slow. I had expected people to help. Maybe I shouldn't have developed the intrigue side of the story so much but it seemed you guys were digging it. Normally, I would push it along but this is a combat and I really cannot without blowing it off.

You tell me what you want.

I play in several PBP, and it's often slow like this.

I like to think of PBP as a nice little diversion, but that it's not like a regular In Person game.

Also, it's completely understandable if you think it's too slow.

For me it is going very slow. I had expected people to help. Maybe I shouldn't have developed the intrigue side of the story so much but it seemed you guys were digging it. Normally, I would push it along but this is a combat and I really cannot without blowing it off.

You tell me what you want.

Here's what should be done about combat. Give whoever's turn it is 24 hours (and this may be too long itself) to reply. If they don't reply then take whatever action you think it's appropriate for the PC.

If this happens too many times (like the player is slacking off) without a good excuse then kick the player out.

Sorry, but I'm just not used to this waiting around so much.

Mind you that if all the players take their allotted 24 hours then 1 round of combat (assuming 5 players) can take a week. PbP combat is slow enough as it is with all the dice rolling without having to wait for individual players.

In a PBEM you give players 48 hours for 2 rounds of action so every 48-72 hours you get two rounds of combat.

Just some thoughts.

Fair enough...

For what it's worth, this is GM Edwin's game and I go at the pace he sets.

I also think the current encounter is not typical. With a couple of orcs to face, we'd be flying in to combat and role-playing would take a back-seat. What I see at the moment is posturing by the characters as they are weighing each other up. The ants aren't seen as a significant threat and so we are taking them perhaps too lightly.

This encounter is kind of a flavor encounter for the jungle. I take responsibility for not rolling initiative for you guys. After its over... lesson learned

I'm digging it ...it's faster than half the games I'm in!

OK, if you're going to start kicking people of the game then you have to make it clear who you are waiting on. :)

Seriously, I'm not sure who goes next so please clarify.

Thanks.

Corvus,

Yes it is GM Edwin's game but we all participate and make the game what it is. I agree that whether the game sinks or swims is mostly up to the GM but we can his job a lot easier by actively participating. The GM needs to know what we like and don't like, what is working and not working for us.

Just my 2 cents.

I'm pretty mellow about my PBP games.

However, an occasional nudge when us players seem to be floundering would be cool. :)

@Mem'basi - I understood you to be initiating a discussion, and I concur that the game is most enjoyable for all when we participate actively in shaping it. I did not take the discussion amisss, and hope others did not either.

With that said, I think there are some 'lessons learned' to take away from this encounter. More structure and clarity probably would have helped - both from the GM and from the PCs. The mechanics seemed a bit.. unclear, though it helped me (at least) when I stated what I was intending to attempt to accomplish, and Edwin told me what mechanic to be using. Another lesson learned - swarms are a pain, both for characters, and to adjudicate :)

In total - more than enough said about the ants. ick. run away!

First, I am not looking to throw anyone out of the game. Second, I guess I should have described the onslaught ant a bit better so that you would not have gotten the idea that you could just ignore the. I probably should have rolled initiative. I felt this was a little more loose than a gang of orcs.

They are almost dead here is the order for round 5:
Angelo, Corvus, Mem'basi, Poulain, Yoshiyaru. (Yeah I went alphabetical)Lets get the show on the road Ladies and Gentlemen.... :)

<doh!> Apologies for holding up the works.

Just checking but...don't we all get a +2 to initiative From Poulain's terrain bond?

How many empress cobras are there? How many cobras?

There is one Emperor Cobra an Empress and Now there is only one regular cobra left after you killed her brother.

Hey DM,

You're flanking! :)

I'd love to be able to flank too; that's how Zimba and Mem'basi work but I have no chance because I don't have a map.

I'd love to be able to charge and pounce as well.

Can we get a map of sorts or do we just assume these actions?

Thanks!

@edwin - two copies of attack against Angelo. Which one applies?

Its the second one.. I have no idea where the first came from because if the score had only been a 9 I wouldnt have wasted my time with the other crap... So weird...

@Mem'basi... I understand thats what you do but since zimba is further along on the initiative order and you both needed to move. It made more sense to allow the flank with Mem'basi because when Zimba attacked Mem'basi wasnt there yet... but now it won't be a problem.

Hey DM,

Maybe it's just me but it's hard for me to follow who's next, who's left, etc. While I think it's great for PCs to post out of initiative order to speed up the game, it confuses me. But please don't let that stop you from doing that; I think anything that speeds up the game is good.

Can you give us a brief update every time you post results. At least letting us know who's next, what round it is, and enemy status (who's left) etc.

Thanks

an update would be appreciated.

@poulain - well timed potion

@ALL - again, don't neglect flanking against the empress for round 4.

I am a bit confused... what update do you want. I rewrote the order, where I eliminated the dead cobra and that it is round 4... Now I am confused.

@GMEDWIN - I was somewhat unclear whether the emperor had gone down or not (it wasn't in the order remaining for the round, I assume because it went first). Positionally, I'm considering how to get to Poulaine this round, preferably without provoking attacks of opportunity that might put me on the ground as well. I'm assuming not, unless the empress goes down.

There are some other ambiguities (who's aligned with which bad guy, &c.) but I assume they'll resolve as we move down the initiative.

@ALL - BTW, I'm waiting a bit down the order to see how round 4 plays out.

In my head, Poulain now on the ground and Yoshiyaru were attacking the Emperor.

Corvus and Angelo are attacking the empress.

Zimba and Mem'basi will have to choose to attack either the emperor or empress because they just slew their enemy.

@ GMEDWIN - Which XP Track are we using (Slow, Medium, Fast)?

And how much xp are we starting with at fourth?

I like medium

Are we supposed to keep track of experience? Why don't you just tell us when it's time to go up a level?

Usually we keep track. Especially since things can happen where some folks get bonus xp.