Really excited to join up once the inn-counter is over.
Get it? Inn-counter? :D
:D?
Ah i'm sorry, I forgot the immense cost of poison. my apologies, until we get some sort of income I wont have any
If we're "lucky" we'll come across a creature with poison.
Ah, well my fort save might cry if that happens :3
I'm guessing things slowed down with the holiday weekend. Hope no one let the turkey get the best of them. How can I help get things running at a quicker pace?
Turkey Coma; Curse; Will DC 15; Unconsciousness 1d4 hours, or staggered condition for 2d4 minutes on successful save.
haha - awesome.
Seeing some delays with paizo maintenance. Checking in as often as I can to see that things are back up.
You all ok? Things have slowed down considerably. I'd rather things stay moving, but if there is something from keeping people from checking in let me know.
I have been waiting for Nelith/Nimt, who not only goes before me in initiative but also is owed last round's actions.
(I also was traveling Thursday evening through Saturday evening. I did have computer access, but not all day long -- it might have slowed me down except I am "on hold" anyway waiting for someone else to take their turn.)
Understandable. I was expecting things to slow down for the holidays, but had hoped to get this first encounter wrapped up. I'll keep checking in.
I'm just waiting for my turn to come around
Until we hear from the others why don't we just go out of order to keep things moving.
Well in that case I'm waiting for Granita's response
Well in that case I'm waiting for Granita's response
I meant to post about that.
You all ok? Things have slowed down considerably. I'd rather things stay moving, but if there is something from keeping people from checking in let me know.
Here's a bit of a longer reply...
I'll start by citing a modern RPG aphorism: "No one minds a railroad if there's pretty scenery outside the window and the train tracks lead to awesome-town."
I have remained active because the adventure thus far has had pretty scenery and there is no evidence yet that we are not going to awesome-town.
But we're definitely on a railroad, and I would guess that others may be discouraged because of that.
Consider Shayne's railroad experience...
Zeroth, he was created with a backstory crammed as full as I could with optional "hooks" for the GM to use. So far nothing.
First, the tavern had no flour. Shayne wanted to be scary. He already has a head! With some flour he could pretend to be a ghost of some sort. The idea might be terrible, but it would have been fun and interesting. Yet it was immediately squelched: the kitchen has no flour and the enemies are described as immune to frights.
Second, he wanted to run outside before combat. Perhaps he could scare away the foes. Failing that, perhaps he could use his Fascinate Bardic Performance before combat began. But again squelch: the tavern has doors that lock patrons in!
Third, the main NPC very clearly states and emphasizes "Fight or Hide". Great. Shayne does neither of those well.
Fourth, he looks for anything useful in the kitchen. He finds (via a private message from the GM) nothing useful. Pots, pans, flatware, but no food at all! Even the fire is down to its "last bit of wood" so no improvised weapon there. Squelch again. The GM has reinforced that he wants only "fight or hide".
Fifth, Tolin seemed to be immune to Color Spray for no stated reason, and Granita has a +6 modifier to the Acrobatics skill. We start to feel like zero-level visitors on a stage of Mary Sues. (Remember the zeroth and third points--now Shayne really seems out-of-place, irrelevant, and expendable.)
Sixth, the GM encouraged dividing the party with some early encouragement to chose between staying downstairs or going upstairs. Then the party really does divide. Most GMs avoid a divided party since it slows down involvement for the Players; encouraging it again presents the message "the GM has a story to tell" rather than "the GM is helping the Players tell a story".
Seventh, leaping through a window required a Strength check? Are the windows really that sturdy? Would simply agreeing it worked hinder the story?
Eighth, when the GM wants something to happen he gives second chances: Aak's strength check to build a barricade, Granita's free-action Strength Check to help Silx up the stairs.
With so much railroad I am not surprised if some players have lost enthusiasm or quit. Especially since our recruitment did not provide a GM warning like, "Just so you know, part of starting zero-level is because I want the first combat to be something you suffer for story reasons, to gain in-character motivations for the real quest. Don't expect a fair fight. Be patient, knowing you will have plenty of opportunities to shine afterwards."
Well said. So do you guys think this is salvageable? Should I just assume those who have not been posting have dropped out? I'd be happy to be address your points one by one, but I'd much rather work to address the issues than argue over specifics.
Of course, if the damage has already been done than it doesn't seem like it's worth the time & energy to go through another round of recruiting while the players that stuck with it have to wait.
** spoiler omitted **
No, Granita does not have such abilities.
To me there are only two specifics, really. (No need for you to go through the account of Shayne's railroad trip step by step.)
(1) Assuring the Players that the PCs will soon have many opportunities to shine in awesome-town.
(2) Promptly uniting the party so the Players can enjoy interacting with each other as much as possible.
Looking back at your recruitment thread, you did not request a specific level of active commitment (the way some GMs specifically require one or two posts per day). Perhaps private messages can politely establish who is still participating and then work out an agreeable level of expected activity?
Working on getting in touch with players.
It's funny, you all have already shined from my point of view, but alas that isn't exactly what I think was needed. The tactics and role play have been great fun for me, but I need to do a better job of letting you all get that sense.
I don't believe Lareg is the type of DM to mary sue us. Yes a character like that will exist, but they are usually there for a reason. And normally at the beginning of games I just roll with whatever happens, because I know that's usually the setup that unfolds to become the rest of the story. I think you (shayne) are simply an very veteran player that was hoping to go way outside of the box on this one; and hopefully you will get to now that you have expressed your concerns to the DM. I for one, am definitely still in.
Also, in game, I am going to attach my rope and get Granita down first
I have some family commitments this weekend so although I'll be checking in, I may not be on as often.
@ Lucent - we should be ready for you soon. I tossed you a PM, but no worries if you can't get back to me right away. Looking forward to getting you involved.
One of the options provided for in the Super Genius Games Apprentice-level rules is for multi-class characters that are 1/2 lvl of each of two chosen classes.
In the not to distant future characters will reach lvl 1 at which point they can take their full benefits in their current class or opt for a 1/2 level in another class. Before I work out the details for what multi-class options are available, I wanted to see if anyone was actually interested in going the multi-class route.
Thoughts?
I'll be sticking with Oracle the whole way.
I'll be sticking with Oracle the whole way.
Noted. Tossed you a PM also. Will be glad to have you join us soon.
@ Aak Did you settle on your character set up? I know what the cleric swap there were some proposed changes that didn't end up happening as Lucent is joining us (recruitment thread). What did you end up deciding on?
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I am gonna stick with my cleric meat shield concept. Dual wielding and all that good Crusader stuff. Too much of a headache and pain to change him back :) Besides I plan on focus on buffing spells (ie: Bless, Enlarge Person and all the other buffs to make him a beast.
I do plan on going cleric all the way...easier and "though not give up caster levels" :)
Aak will be a good counter-point to Caylen's "not in the face, not in the face!" screaming/flailing battle strategy.
Also, when it comes time to introduce Caylen make sure to let me know some of the basic atmospheric stuff (time of day/weather, etc) so I can envision the scenario a bit better and interpret her demeanor properly.
Single class bard for me.
@ Shayne Noted. Are you on board for the next bit? Only seeing the perception roll.
Scratch that. Looks like the website was having issues. Things seems fine now. Toss a quick message here letting me know that things are fine for everyone else.
We're back up and running!
Saw one more brief hiccup, but things seem fine for now.
I'll be traveling Friday and Saturday. Hotels should have internet. But maybe not -- feel free to take my turns for me if it helps.
I figured things would slow down for people over the holidays. With the combat finished for now we can always back track to have questions / character chat. Safe travels!
Thanks for the well-wishes.
No internet in hotel after all. Made it to San Diego from Oregon, with a four-year-old and one-year-old in the car. Highlights include adventurous driving through snow and ice on CA 299 on Friday night, and laughing at a truck load of small watermelons decorating much of the way from Interstate 5 to Highway 99 when the former became a parking lot near Santanella.
I will catch up on reading and post as soon as I can.
That sounds like quite the adventure. I'll make the few needed rolls for you. I've put up the descriptions as spoilers so just check the rolls I made for you and the respective spoilers as you can. No hurry as things will slow down from me over the next few days also.
I've a solid idea of what Shayne and Lucent have going background wise. I have some bits pieced together from posts about what Silx and Aak have going.
However, I was wondering if there was any other bits you guys in mind (for SIlx and Aak) as far as background goes?
The Pool:
Drinking from the pool provides two benefits.
First, you gain +1 to an ability of your choice.
Please let me know which ability you decide to increase.
Second, you may chose to receive training if you reach the monastery. Such training will give you access to a bonus feat which will grant a limited ki pool of 1.
Ki Meditation (Ki)
Although you are not a monk or ninja, you have and can use ki.
Prerequisite: Wis 13 or Cha 13, you must have no levels in a class that has a ki pool.
Benefit: Once per day, after resting or meditating for 8 hours, you gain a ki pool containing 1 point of ki. When you meditate, select a skill in which you have at least 1 rank. As long as you have at least 1 point in your ki pool, you gain a +2 insight bonus to that skill; you may change this skill the next time you meditate for 8 hours. When making a skill check for the selected skill, as a free action you can spend 1 point from your ki pool to double your insight bonus to +4.
Special: You can take the Extra ki feat to add points to your ki pool gained from this feat. If you have this feat and later gain a ki pool through multiclassing and reaching an appropriate level in a class that grants a ki pool, you must retrain this feat into a different ki feat.
Once a character has acquired a pool of ki points, he then qualifies to take additional feats of the ki feat type, which are described in the section that follows. Some feats affect the general physical, mental, and spiritual strength of the user and her ability to master the basic flows of ki energy. Other feats are more specifically dedicated toward refinement of a character’s martial or magical mastery and allow her to perform a number of amazing feats.
Note: Though the monks at the mountain monastery can help awaken ki in individuals who qualify for this feat with their charisma score, they are unable to provide further training (access to ki feats) to such individuals. They will mention the the monastery to the south. If such individuals gain a wisdom score of at least 13 in the future, they will then be able to receive training (access to ki feats) at the mountain monastery.
That's a really cool bonus! I'm going to pass on it for Caylen to stick in character, though it's possible she may change her mind if they stay at the monastery long enough. I'll play it by ear and see how it goes :)
Thematically once a character has been in the pool the feat is accessible at any time. Training at the monastery will always be available to those interested to 'unlock' the feat. It's not a one time offer so feel free to play it in character.
Initial hesitation may be entirely fitting for most of the characters and as they learn more at the monastery and in their travels their views might change.
Once (and if :-) the characters reach the monastery the campaign can open up as much or as little as you all like. I'm aiming for a sandbox feel after a couple of 'known locations' are established (small town & monastery area). Various character hooks will continue to be explored, but I also wanted to hear from you all.
What style of game do you prefer?
Right now I have a mix of prepared adventures (older stuff I'm adapting for Pathfinder) and some ideas for other types of encounters that I'd put together. The group will have opportunities to encounter more NPCs and events in the area will continue to move forward.
Looking forward to hearing from you all.
I'm up for any kind of experience, but what feels appropriate will all depend on what goes down at the monastery I guess. What makes the most sense for the character will all depend on how the story is presented to them, etc.
I'm also curious to know if there'll be any time-skips/training montage moments too. I purposefully made Caylen as young as possible in the event that something like this happened, it would be more evident if/when she grew up.
Oh, one other thing. I have a paid account on roll20.net that I use when I GM. I can set up a Gravel to Granite campaign and set you as the GM, if you wanted to use it for combat maps. It stays "on" all the time, so people can log in and move their pieces around, etc, without the GM needing to be there directly. Let me know if you'd like to use it :)
@ Lucent That would be cool, I've never seen roll20.net.
I'm also curious to know if there'll be any time-skips/training montage moments too.
That's a good question. Though I'd planned for some down time for characters once they get to the monastery, I hadn't planned on a great deal of time to pass.
Age wise, how young are you thinking Caylen is now (15 is what is listed in the profile)? How much passage of time would be appropriate before she's 'ready' to join the group? Basically, my read so far on Caylen has been that she feels like she is in way over her head. It would make sense if she was hesitant to continue after reaching the monastery, but I think all of us want her in the game.
I have some other ideas that I'll PM you about.
im pretty flexible ill play any style
I prefer narrative and exciting story to combat.
(But, yes, combat -- especially the threat of combat -- is a huge part of what makes the storytelling suspenseful.)
I have no preference to "railroad" versus "sandbox". Whatever the GM best feels would help him be wrapping our characters up within fun story and daring fights.
Some GMs cannot do railroading well. They need the Players to have freedom to provide some of the motivations and emotional ties because "selling" the combats is hard for them.
Some GMs cannot do sandbox well. They need the Players to agree to travel where led and do the obvious heroic thing because "selling" the story that connects this combats is hard for them.
Lareg seems quite capable. He has demonstrated being able to "sell" both combat and story. But I still expect one style is less work for him. So my vote is that he is free to do whatever he is more naturally gifted at.
@ Lucent That would be cool, I've never seen roll20.net.
I'm also curious to know if there'll be any time-skips/training montage moments too.That's a good question. Though I'd planned for some down time for characters once they get to the monastery, I hadn't planned on a great deal of time to pass.
Age wise, how young are you thinking Caylen is now (15 is what is listed in the profile)? How much passage of time would be appropriate before she's 'ready' to join the group? Basically, my read so far on Caylen has been that she feels like she is in way over her head. It would make sense if she was hesitant to continue after reaching the monastery, but I think all of us want her in the game.
I have some other ideas that I'll PM you about.
With a good enough reason, Caylen is ready to go otu on her own at this age. I just imagined different ways to tweak/change her personality if there ever was a time skip is all. Something I think would be neat if it happened (and not necessarily even right away), but not anything I'd counted on or need :)