Congrats and welcome to the game!
First game post will be up tomorrow, but in the meantime, take a moment to discuss some things between yourselves. Specifically, what you bring to the table, your relationships with each other and the NPCs (remember that you've all been together on this boat for at least a week or two), and whatever else you want.
Dotted and deleted in gameplay as it just looks neater to me :)
Hey all delighted to be playing with you all :)
Tamas is part of the crew, generally competent, willing to help, but also a condescending know it all who seems to be invariably patronizing. You have likely seen him with his precious deck of Harrow cards telling fortunes for others aboard the ship, and they seem to come true more often than not.
But perhaps the most notable thing about him is the pony sized stegosaurus he occasionally brings up on deck, having both paid and had to join the crew to secure the creatures passage.
His Harrow Chosen traits lets him use augury twice a week.
So basically he's a nice guy, except that he think he is better than you, which is probably pretty darn annoying. 8 Charisma and the Condescending drawback :) Party diplomat he is not.
In combat both Tamas and Ravi are decent martial combatants, out of it Tamas has high heal, survival, prof cookery, sense motive, and perception. Ravi is astonishingly nimble for an armored stegosaurus :)
Hi - likewise looking forward to getting to know those of you I don't already; which is most of you, this time round, I think.
Karathiel boarded in Corentyn, Cheliax, so has been on the Jenivere for a while. She hasn't told anyone that her job is to get the prisoner to his destination, but it was clear for the first few weeks that she was 'on duty' at all times, and not doing much in the way of relaxing. By now it seems clear that nobody is going to try and spring him from the ship, so recently she's been a bit more willing to be sociable. As the ship gets closer to its destination, she will inevitably get more on edge.
As far as the NPCs go:
- she appreciates the captain and first mate for having made her life easier by putting Jask in the brig and taking responsibility for him
- she hasn't got to know Aerys very well, but has seen her half-elven features and might well commiserate with someone else who is at odds with their heritage
- she is - oddly enough - willing to put up with Gelik; the fact that he's willing to talk means that she doesn't have to say very much, and can just enjoy a quiet drink while giving the appearance of being sociable. All she has had to do is nod occasionally and look politely interested
- she appears to have nothing in common with Ieana, Ishirou or Rambar and hasn't gone out of her way to talk to them - they've likely barely exchanged a word over the whole voyage
- she has managed to make some sort of friendship with Sasha, along the lines of an unspoken agreement: I won't ask about the missing finger if you don't ask about the eyes, OK?
In terms of interactions with the PCs, this is obviously far more open-ended and will depend a lot on how she's approached. Karathiel is reasonably easy to get on with, but she's not big on giving second chances. Lose her good opinion and it's a long climb back. Being an elf, she isn't very good with humans: after all, why invest all that energy in something that won't last six decades? Exceptional humans get an exception from that; and (to metagame for a moment) PCs are pretty exceptional people, whatever their race.
Tamas likely hasn't done himself any favours, though... Karathiel has a tendency to see the ship's crew as merely animate extensions of the ship itself, rather than as people in their own right. She's midly interested in his stegosaurus companion, but any insolence from him would be reported to his superior officer. Befitting a follower of Abadar, her worlview is along the lines of 'a place for everything, and everything in its place' - insubordination is out of place and therefore has to be dealt with.
Torfrun's stowaway status would be cause for alarm if it weren't so obvious that she is running from something (even if Torfrun hasn't said anything, Karathiel is a bounty hunter and skilled at reading people); it therefore seems unlikely that she is part of a plan to spring the prisoner. Torfrun seems friendly and approachable and they likely get on fairly well.
In combat, Karathiel relies on her marksmanship with her pistol. Out of combat, she has good perception, sense motive, stealth and survival skills. Just don't ask her to be the party face.
Apologies for the wall of text - I look forward to creating a good game with you all.
Thanks for picking me, GM! My posting will be a bit terse to start with, as I am just (like, less than five minutes away from) leaving on vacation. Wayfinder still works on my phone, though, so I'll be able to keep up even if the hotels don't have WiFi.
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Dotting this thread also.
Dot!
Hey guys, looking forward to this game! Evalina is primarily a scout, having high Perception and Stealth. She is a focused archer but could also take a melee role if needed. She also boarded in Magnimar, having a long time to know the other passengers... here is her thoughts about the PCs and NPCs:
PCs
Torfrun: I see Evalina and Torfrun as natural friends. Both are rangers with skills with the bow and sword, both are girls running from man and both boarded in Magnimar. If Torfrun is interested, Evalina could have even saw the chase in the port and helped her to board in and even sneaking some food... she could see her as the sister she never had. [friendly or helpful]
Karathiel: At least in the beginning Evalina would keep a distance from Karathiel because of her eyes... As an Ilsurian, Evalina values her city's freedom and has no love for Asmodeus/Cheliax and thinks Karathiel's eyes are a result of tainted devil blood instead of drow... since Karathiel doesn't talk about it, it'll take sometime before she changes her mind. I also see a little rivalry between archery/gunner for which is the best weapon! [unfriendly until knows the truth about her eyes]
Chikura: No formed opinion and nothing against him. If he is nice with her, she will reciprocate. [indifferent or friendly]
Jakeline: As a public worshiper of Asmodeus and Cheliax, Evalina will not like her for a long time (sorry)... Evalina has the provincial drawback and 'follows' the dogmas of Ilsurian's three gods (Cayden Cailean, Erastil, and Iomedae) so she is an automatic 'rival' of Jakeline, probably disagreeing with her even when she knows she is right. [unfriendly for a long time :(]
Cethel Iphesilia: It looks like he is pretty friendly so Evalina has no reasons to not like him, even more thanks to the similarity between Cernunnos and Erastil. [friendly - helpful]
Tamas Dolchescu: As an Ilsurian, Evalina has a pretty strong prejudice against varisians, thinking them as thieves. Noticing his physical appearance and his harrow reading skills she would not think twice before thinking about him as another Varisian Thief. [unfriendly]
NPCs
Aerys Mavato: Evalina is pretty friendly but if someone doesn't want to socialize, she won't be the one go after them. [indifferent]
Alizandru Kovack: Due to the military training and lifestyle of Ilsurian, Evalina learned to live and respect order and law so she is quite fond of the captain way to run his ship and command his crew. [friendly]
Alton Devers: No formed opinion and nothing against him. If he is nice with her, she will reciprocate. [indifferent or friendly]
Gelik Aberwhinge: Evalina is pretty fond of the gnome for his stories, especially those regarding the sea since she also imagines her father as the protagonist. [friendly]
Ieana: Since she is a Varisian, Evalina automatically dislikes her, even more with the rumors about she being a secret lover to the captain, imagining that, as an untrustworthy thief, she is trying to manipulate or trick him.
Ishirou: Evalina mostly leaves the man to himself, noticing he is not really into the make new friends thing. [indifferent]
Jask Derindi: Since the captain ordered for the man to be left alone, Evalina has regarded him as little than furniture. [indifferent]
Rambar Terillo: No formed opinion and nothing against him. If he is nice with her, she will reciprocate. [indifferent or friendly]
Sasha Nevah: No formed opinion and nothing against her. If she is nice with her, she will reciprocate. [indifferent or friendly]
Karathiel: At least in the beginning Evalina would keep a distance from Karathiel because of her eyes... As an Ilsurian, Evalina values her city's freedom and has no love for Asmodeus/Cheliax and thinks Karathiel's eyes are a result of tainted devil blood instead of drow... since Karathiel doesn't talk about it, it'll take sometime before she changes her mind.
I like it - I hadn't thought about the possibility that she might be mistaken for fiend-tainted! Karathiel can obviously sense Evelina's discomfort, but will assume it's because she has fought drow before, or possibly lost someone to a drow raid. She would in turn therefore keep her distance from Evelina, so as not to cause her further upset.
This is exactly the sort of misunderstanding that could easily be cleared up with a 30-second conversation, so - naturally - I expect it to persist for most of the AP :-)
First, thanks for having me, despite the grief I've put Saroune though. :)
That said, I really am happy to be here, and I'm looking forward to Serpent's Skull. Its the only AP before Iron Gods or Giantslayer that I don't have any of the books for, so I have no idea what to expect.
So, onto how Torfrun relates to the PCs.
Tamas Dolchescu: Torfrun finds Tamas to be, perhaps, the single most irritating thing about her voyage. She doesn't understand why he looks down on everyone, nor why he has such faith in the Harrow. Given her heritage and upbringing, she is wary of magic, and Tamas' personality is enough to give her fits by itself. In short, Torfrun doesn't like him much.
Karathiel Fellgaze: Because of her eyes and her initial demeanor, Torfrun would have been nervous around Karathiel until the elf began to open up. Torfrun would have probably asked about elves from other places and the rest of the world in general since she had would have only dealt with Snowcaster elves, if any elves at all, in Irrisen and she'd been too busy running to pay attention on her way to Magnimar. A lot of this would have become painfully obvious when she would have asked, "Does it snow in Alkenstar too?"
Chikura Mutota: Being one of the two people that boarded at the Jenivere's last stop, Torfrun would probably know Chikura the least. Given his personality, though, she probably gets along well with the man, all things considered.
Jacquline: Given her views and her open association with the Asmodean church, Jacquline is the person that Torfrun likes the second least. Jacquline's opinion that order is the best way, damn the effects on the people under it, has often caused Torfrun to just walk away from a conversation in disgust. The inquisitor is also the only other person, besides Tamas, that Torfrun has wanted to deck on the ship.
Cethel Iphesilia: Cethel and Torfrun have talked a great deal since he came aboard. She wanted to learn more about where she was going, and in exchange, she agreed to tell him about Irrisen and the White Witches. She's come to enjoy the time she gets to spend with the gnome, and has even asked him to join her in the galley as she prepares the ship's meals so she can try to wheedle some recipes he might know out of him.
Evalina Braeton: (Consider that offer accepted) When Torfrun was looking for a way to get on the Jenivere she was pleasantly surprised to find that Evaline, one of the guards that had been hired on, was willing to help her sneak aboard. Even though she was caught shortly after that, Torfrun never admitted that Evaline helped her get aboard, or find food. She and Evaline became fast friends and Torfrun hoped that the two of them could find work together. The only thing that the ulfen woman has found annoying about the other woman is her narrow-mindedness in certain things. Having lived in a world where she was forced to wear blinders and be hobbled just because of her heritage, she finds Evaline's provincial attitudes a bit annoying, though the two of them are of a similar mind where Jacquline is concerned.
Okay let's see... To a large extent Tamas probably recognizes his own social short comings, but almost cannot help himself. Despite this he is a friendly fellow within his own limitations and likes everyone aboard except the chef - who willfully makes awful food, despite many helpful lectures on how he could improve.
Karathiel: He has likely had little interaction with Karathiel, has never met an elf before, and has no idea all elves do not have red eyes. Quite curious, and would like to get to know her, but there is little time with being a diligent stegosaurus carer and crewmate.
Chikura: His reaction to Chikura would change quite drastically if he discovered he was a Diviner. Tamas thinks a great deal of divination, and indeed was fairly disappointed when he understood he was a druid rather than a sorcerer - his druidic education was either self taught or very briefly picked up from a druid acting in the capacity of vet to the menageries creatures. Either way he is favourably disposed to wizards and would have attempted to talk about divination in a slightly deferential manner.
Jaqueline:He is unlikely to have had much contact with Jacqueline, but would find her views deeply objectionable being an escaped slave. That said he would probably pity her and try to educate her rather than get angry - though he would not reveal his former enslavement, to her or anybody in the short term.
Cethel:Presumably Cethel would have been interested in Rava, and potentially Harrow, and Tamas finds his optimism endearing. Gnomes love of asking questions is very appealing to Tamas who know it all that he is is willing to offer a theory on pretty much any subject, actual knowledge being beside the point.
Evalina: Tamas does not understand why Evalina dislikes him, having had very little interaction with her, and never really having experienced any prejudice against Varisians other than from Chelaxians, where it was more prejudice against slaves. He would like to change her opinion of him, because the poor girl is clearly misguided, but at the same time he is aware that his irksome nature is unlikely to win her over anytime soon, too busy to try, and not likely to see her again once the voyage is over.
Torfun: Given that he did not have time to take over in the galley Tamas has been very approving of Torfun's muscling in there. Since there has been such a noted improvement he has barely offered any tips. He finds himself a little flustered around her, and thus often avoids her gaze and company never having enjoyed the pursuit of things he has no talent in. It has lately become apparent she does not think much of him, and talking to her would be unlikely to help matters so he seeks to distance himself as much as possible.
General interactions: Cethel is always eager to have conversation, and he loves to ask questions, particularly about things that are new to him (like dinosaurs or guns). However if someone doesn't want to talk, he respects that, and doesn't pester them.
Chikura: Cethel likely gets along well with Chikura, and they both know the Mwangi well, so they can exchange information. Additionally, Chikura can speak Celestial, which is great for Cethel (Not sure if he'd know that, however)
Evalina: Evalina and Cethel are on friendly terms, as finding parallels between their gods is easy.
Jaqueline: The interactions between Cethel and Jaqueline are rather strained, as although they share in they're love and pursuit of knowledge, there is a stark contrast in terms of personality. (Our gods are diametrically opposed on the alignment spectrum! This should be interesting.) :)
Karathiel: Cethel finds Karathiel weapon very interesting, as he's never seen a gun before. He respects that she doesn't want to talk about the eyes, and refrains from asking about them.
Tamas: Cethel and Tamas can find much common ground, and Cethel is very interested in both the Harrow and Rava, so the two get along well, and Cethel is easily able to tolerate his condescendingness, as he's talked to a lot worse people over his life.
Torfrun: Torfrun is Cethel's closest friend on the voyage, as the two have quite similar personalities. Cethel is happy to share info about the Mwangi, and finds Torfrun's stories of Irrisen fascinating, as he's never seen snow or ice before.
First gameplay is up!
Hotel Internet permitting, I'll get a real post up tonight.
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Didn't get to the hotel until quite late. On a whim, we decided to stop at the space museum in Huntsville, and spent several hours there looking at cool stuff. More to come later.
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Didn't know you were in Alabama. If you are heading to Mobile, Wave as you pass Prattville. :)
Going the other way, I'm afraid. Today we're in Atlanta and going to the zoo.
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@Tamas: Crap... it was not my intention to confront you right now... I assumed you were not able to hear, since you did not hear Torfrun's words and Evalina was right beside her...
So, how you prefer, Tamas heard it or not?
Given that Tamas has responded in-game, you might as well play it that way: maybe the wind treacherously carried your words, maybe you were louder than you thought - this sort of thing happens all the time in RL.
Just my 2 cents.
Well Torfrun said muttering so I rolled listen, and got a low score, but it seemed like Evalina was speaking out loud. I generally think a little conflict can be good for RP and provide interesting character dynamics.
I am happy enough to go back if you feel it will be really problematic, but Tamas is not trying to start a fight, and would probably just call Anton over and make a comment about childish behaviour, if it looked like one was going to start.
I am certainly not offended out of character or anything, and think this could make for some potentially cool RP and help set up a character dynamic, but if you want it to be a whispered comment to Torfrun I don't have a problem with that :)
Not problem at all, I'll answer IC then! Was just making sure there are no hard feelings!
Finally, some time to post. The basics: Chikura started the voyage without a good understanding of the scale of the ocean. As something of a Maagambya chauvinist (in a not too snotty way, but it's all he's known), the wizard figured the trip to Absalom would be fairly quick, and it wouldn't take him long to learn all the Arcanamirum had to offer. He is still coming to terms with the size of the world, and the novelty of the voyage is beginning to wear off.
Cethel: Chikura and Cethel are likely to start out familiar with each other, as they both boarded in Senghor and are both from the Expanse. (Though it's not clear where Cethel is from, exactly - the Mwangi Expanse is a pretty big place. Chikura is from Rechiend's Plains and Nantambu; unfortunately, I can't access my map atm.) The oracle is personable enough, and knowledgeable enough about things Chikura is interested in, that Chikura will default to spending time with him.
Evalina: Since she was on board when Chikura took passage, the Zenj initially didn't cross paths with her until he found out about her outdoorsy skills. After that, he asked her lots of questions about the terrain, flora, fauna, and climate where she was from. The wizard has a boundless curiosity about such things; if asked, he'll tell her about where he's from, but he's far more interested in learning than teaching.
Jacqueline: As with Evalina, Chikura didn't really seek her out to start with. He may get into theological discussions with her - he's quite knowledgeable in that regard - but as a follower of the Empyreal Lord Rowdrosh his faith differs sufficiently from hers that such discussions are likely to be problematic.
Karathiel: Another one who's part of the background when Chikura boards. He may be interested in her firearms, but apart from that and possibly treating her as an opportunity to practice his Draconic he probably won't have much to do with her.
Tamas: Here's where things could get interesting. Chikura is likely to be familiar with the Harrow, as a potential Maagambya Arcanist he's going to eventually learn druid spells, and as a onetime herder of herbivores he's going to find Rava absolutely fascinating. He'll put up with lots of abuse from Tamas to discuss any of these things.
Torfrun: As with Evalina, Chikura is interested in the terrain, flora, fauna, and climate where she's from. Unlike Evalina, though, Chikura is going to find her stories of Irrisen frankly unbelievable. It doesn't get that cold. Ever.
NPCs coming later.
Chikura would likely have found out her distaste for anything resembling witchcraft at some point. She's a product of her raising, and in Irrisen, The Ulfen are just dogs that are expected to do as their are told and beg scraps from their Jadwiga betters. Also, not only does it get that cold, it stays that cold. This is Torfrun's first experience with anything approaching a seasonal cycle. Frankly, she'll find Chikura's descriptions of the Expanse just as unbelievable. It can't stay that hot. There's no way. Everyone'd sweat to death!
Chikura: sounds good. Karathiel doesn't talk very much, but she's good at listening and paying attention. She'd happily stay in the background whenever Chikura is talking about his homeland - Karathiel has found it pays to know something about your destination before you get there.
On a different note: I have just been called away with work to the other side of the world (like 8 time zones away). I'll be travelling today and will have intermittent access to internet.
I'll do what I can to keep posting, but apologies for any lag in dealing with things. I'll be there until 12 June or so. Sorry about this, especially with a game that's just starting! I will do my best to post as and when I can. I'm certainly not going to disappear.
Chikura Tamas has likely been deferential having a great respect for Wizards, and particularly diviners. And to be clear he does not abuse anyone, he is polite, he just tends to assume the role of teacher to a student or adult to a child - certainly bloody annoying, but abuse would not be the right word.
Loving the participation, guys!
Just a heads up, I'll be out of town and away from the PC from Thursday night to Saturday afternoon. I might be able to sneak a post in at some point, but I can't promise anything.
NPC interactions (having finally gotten my laptop working, so I can check the Player's Guide again):
Aerys: If she keeps to herself, Chikura will respect that, but the wizard is unfailingly polite to her. Indifferent.
Captain Kovack: Chikura will stay out of his way and let him run the ship. Indifferent.
First Mate Devers: The wizard will respond in kind to Devers' friendliness, taking an interest in anything he cares to share about the voyage, and about life at sea in general. Friendly.
Gelik: Chikura's patience with the gnome's boastfulness has worn thin. Indifferent.
Ieana: The Zenj is most interested in conversing with a fellow scholar, particularly one who's familiar with the ruins of Sargava. Friendly.
Ishirou: Chikura treats the Tian with respect. Indifferent to Friendly.
Jask: No interaction at all. Indifferent.
Rambar: Chikura's patience with the cook's gustatory repertoire has also worn thin. Indifferent.
Sasha: The wizard is interested to see her sea change in personality, but does not pry. Friendly.
And some replies:
Tamas: OK, not abuse. Say, rather, that Chikura will happily listen to what Tamas has to say; he's used to working with instructors who dumped CHA for INT ;-), so condescension doesn't bother him.
Torfrun: Chikura shares the Ulfen's distaste for what he sees as arcane casters gone bad, and will try to reassure her with tales of the mighty Tempest-Sun mages of the Maagambya Academy and their tireless defense against the forces of the demon lord Angazhan.
Rambar: Chikura's patience with the cook's gustatory repertoire has also worn thin. Indifferent.
"There's a reason they agreed to let me be the cook."
Torfrun: Chikura shares the Ulfen's distaste for what he sees as arcane casters gone bad, and will try to reassure her with tales of the mighty Tempest-Sun mages of the Maagambya Academy and their tireless defense against the forces of the demon lord Angazhan.
"Still say that you're fibbin' about there bein' no snow. It can't be that hot all the time."
I think she'd be cautious about believing what you are saying. Most of the White Witches, the Jadwiga, that she's met have either ignored her, or ground her face in their opinion of her. The three that didn't were too busy hurling spells at her to kill her.
Chikura definitely isn't doing any of those--he's listening to her with respect (even if he lives where the whole land is one big sauna, with no icy ponds to jump into when you're cooked enough). Perhaps it's that the Jadwiga are severely melanin-deficient, and that's why they're evil? Or something about the interaction between arcane power and Vitamin D deficiency?
"Wait and see." He chuckles. "Perhaps I will take a side trip from Absalom, when I have finished at the Arcanamirum. Your land sounds an interesting one."
I figured. It's just that Torfrun has had a lifetime of every mage she meets is a jerk and that is not something you overcome easily. That respect and politeness is why she's cautious and not in flat out denial. :)
As for why the White Witches are such jack-holes, her favored theory is that they are so cold no normal man or woman will bed them. Who wants their nether bits touching what is basically a living ice sculpture after all? Besides that, she imagines that when two Jadwiga make love, they feel like they're heading into necrophilia territory and that just takes the fun out of it.
If asked about her love life, she just turns beet red and mumbles an answer before beating a hasty retreat to the galley, or shooing everyone out if she is already there. She has never had one, obviously. ;)
Karathiel shares Torfrun's distrust of magic; partly due to her ambivalence towards her elven heritage, and partly because she genuinely believes that Alkenstar's technology/science/progress is superior to arcane power. Her belief in civilisation is tied to her faith in Abadar, whom she sees as a god of rationality - again, a conscious rejection of her elven heritage (hey, they rejected her first).
That said, it's not personal, and she'll certainly appreciate what Chikura can do with his magic - she is just very quick to see any limitations (like spells per day).
And she's certainly not going to ask about Torfrun's (or anyone's) love life - that would open her own up to scrutiny...
Oh, hey. I only now realized that we haven't heard from Jacqueline since recruitment. I'll send her a message and see if she's still interested.
Been watching a lot of Alone, and The Island, and from the description we have this beach seems like the perfect spot for a camp so far - especially the nearby cliff, resources from the wreck, and the fact that the beach does not seem to fully submerge at high tide. Splitting the PC group is generally a bad idea and in PBP even more so since it slows things down and makes more work for the GM.
I would prefer to keep the PC group together set up a camp and then essentially have the NPCs man it while we go out exploring, and on missions, etc. That seems to be what the information in the Campaign tab is hinting at.
First, lemme say that Torfrun's attitude is not meant to be personal, it's just that Tamas seems like a Know-it-All and being one myself, I know how annoying that can get for other people.
The problem with setting up on the beach is that if a storm comes in, the surge is going to wash away the camp. Also, this isn't setting up a camp, this is finding a place to set up a camp. The idea is to use the supplies from the ship while we get things set up and gather enough food to eat without having to use preserved stores.
Ideally, a good camp site would be on the leeward side of the island with a good view of the shipping lanes and have a good supply of freshwater (a spring would be awesome.) Having easy access to the beach would just be a bonus.
Also, having GM'd in real life and in PBP, I have to disagree, it's about the same amount of work in either, and PBP has the advantage of allowing the GM to run things in parallel. If it is going to be a problem, then I ask that the GM disabuse me of the notion. If he wanted, he could just say "Yeah, you find a better site," or "No, you don't find any survivors" and move on.
Don't worry not taking it personally at all - I did take the condescending flaw - I tend to think conflict in character, carefully managed, makes for interesting RP and generally deeper relationships that spend much more time getting explored. And I do feel like a bit of a cheat if I drop charisma and don't play it.
Well we have not had any feedback on the survival to see if this would be a good sight yet, nor do we know if there is any more beach to be explored - I suspect there is not as I am fairly sure I used the beach map from this in another game, though possibly not an official one.
DMing in parallel is more work that enables you to do things more quickly, but not necessarily what you want as a GM - its enough work as it is for many. It can also create wealth and experience disparities, though both are solvable.
As a player I don't like it because it necessarily means I am missing out on parts of the adventure. Less adventure is not really a selling point for me :p
"Do you remember that time when we fought that awesome whatjamacallit!"
"No I was fetching water."
Plus there is nothing like half a party to attract TPKs.
Don't worry not taking it personally at all - I did take the condescending flaw - I tend to think conflict in character, carefully managed, makes for interesting RP and generally deeper relationships that spend much more time getting explored. And I do feel like a bit of a cheat if I drop charisma and don't play it.
Sorry, I can get a little paranoid sometimes about these kinds of things. Torfrun's learned that things are done a certain way for a reason, so that's likely going to cause friction between the two of them.
Well we have not had any feedback on the survival to see if this would be a good sight yet, nor do we know if there is any more beach to be explored - I suspect there is not as I am fairly sure I used the beach map from this in another game, though possibly not an official one.
As I said, this is one of the few APs that I know nothing about beyond the basics. I'm going off of common sense and what little survival knowledge I have.
DMing in parallel is more work that enables you to do things more quickly, but not necessarily what you want as a GM - it's enough work as it is for many. It can also create wealth and experience disparities, though both are solvable.
As a GM, I don't use experience points and I tend to be pretty generous with treasure anyway, so this isn't something I've ever run into. It can be more work, especially if you have eight characters and do individual things with them, but I think its use as a narrative device is more than worth it. It's not my call in this case though.
As a player I don't like it because it necessarily means I am missing out on parts of the adventure. Less adventure is not really a selling point for me :p
"Do you remember that time when we fought that awesome whatjamacallit!"
"No I was fetching water."
Plus there is nothing like half a party to attract TPKs.
I wouldn't see it as having less of an adventure as an opportunity to have one that's a little more personalized. Might be a good idea to talk to the GM first though. In this instance, though, it makes sense from a survival standpoint to divide and conquer I think.
Still, not trying to cause an argument, just saying what I'm thinking.
I do believe that most survival experts would disagree about splitting up being a good idea in a real situation; but that is hardly relevant here and there seems to be a consensus.
Nothing wrong with a friendly civil argument :) If I go to Disneyland I want to go on all the rides not have my partner go on half, and me the other, and meet up having completed things in record time. And on top of that encounters will be designed and balanced for a full party, generally you will be fine but it only takes one tough encounter or some bad rolling to take out a small group.
Have been dealing with family stuff, so was largely afk for the past couple of days (and when there are lots of posts in the backlog, I prefer not to read them on my phone in a moving car...too easy to miss things).
So... any news about Jacqueline? If she doesn't show up I believe it will be easier to just assume she perished during the shipwreck instead of having another NPC from the zero mark...
There has been no word from Jacqueline, even after I messaged her. She's still posting under other aliases though, so I suppose it's time to move on.
So Chikura has decided that this is not the game for him, which opens up an arcane spot. Should I invite one of the other applicants?
I don't think we will suffer much without an arcanist at low levels, so I would say just bring in the next best applicant regardless of class.
But do we really need a sixth player? My experience is that games with fewer players tend to run smother and combats (which always takes a lot of time in pbp) is also faster.
Currently we have combat pretty much covered and IMO Tamas and Cethel will be able to cover our spell needs. If we really take another player, I'd suggest to indeed take another arcane caster since a combatant would be really redundant.
Sorry all - this is the first break I've had since 5 a.m. Friday, when it became clear that a majority of my fellow Brits were actually going to jump into the Abyss (and thanks for that, you cockwombles).
Looks like I'll have time this evening, if nothing else breaks. I'll try and post something then.
I voted to leave, like the majority of the country - mostly because I think that the EU is fundamentally undemocratic. Personally I will take an economic hit to actually be able to vote for the people who govern me, though I also think we might be better off long term as I do not think the one size fits all economy works - Greece and Germany being the obvious extremes. Pretty sick of sore losers moaning about it, that is democracy, and it does not change just because some people do not like the result. Calling people who exercised there democratic right silly names is just childish. Although anything that makes more work for me gets on my wick to :)
I'd like to ask, before this thread becomes derailed into political fight, to avoid such a thing at all costs... I'm from Brazil and have nothing to do with your motives and even if I have my own opinions about this matter, I'll keep it to myself since I do not live in the UK and our intention here is to have fun.
I've rarely seen a discussion with the themes 'politics', 'religion', and even 'sports' end well... here in Brazil there is also a common saying that these three matters are not to be discussed about, since we'll hold to our opinions forever, no matter what is the opposite arguments.
I have to agree with Evalina in the strongest possible terms. This is not the place for a political debate. If it must be done, take it to PMs.
On a lighter note, I like the British-isms. :)
On the bright side the English football (round not ovalish) team has risen to the occasion and given us all something new to be depressed about ;) And my apologies I should have just ignored that comment - I am starting to think I am a lot more like Tamas than I want to be! hope it doesn't end up causing too much trouble for you at any rate Karathiel :)
Why we called American football football is one of the great mysteries of my nation. (I am sure I can find out, I just like running my mouth. :P)
Is culture out? I'm working on a novel and still doing the world building, so I'm kinda curious how cultures outside the Southeastern US do things. Anyone care to give a 'Murican a primer?
If you want, I could help you in regards to a bit of South American culture. It could be an interesting contrast to you. For an example, both our countries (US and Brazil) where colonized by Europeans but the crucial difference was that the USA was an habitation colony and Brazil as an extraction colony...
Well, in the north, we have this amazing thing called indoor plumbing...
;)