Shattered Star

Game Master Zesdead

ooc- my view is most like Briana's... my preference is to keep that stuff 'off camera' unless there's an important reason to do otherwise. That said, I've also seen and read more things than I care to recall and, I'm sure, can handle whatever we end up with.

ic- Teldon has zero puritanical inhibitions about sexuality, but he is pretty inexperienced and may get embarrassed or uncomfortable about things because of that. (The vast majority of his experience has come in the past couple of weeks but he and Briana have yet to 'seal the deal')

Wasn't offended at all and I thought it was pretty funny (as did Briana)! :)

I'm going to sound like a total b@&~# here, and I know it, but... when I open the game and every other post has someone mooning over their lover, or flirting with someone, or getting all gushy, it puts me off of posting. I'm here for a game; Shadlah's here for dungeon-crawling and a sense of purpose. Neither I nor my character is here for a soap opera. When it's every post, and you think about the span of time a post covers, it reminds me of the "men think about sex every seven seconds" myth. It's an awful lot of mooning.

Yeah, I feel rotten for saying it, but it's honestly putting me off of posting because of how prevalent it is.

You don't sound like a bongo* at all Shadlah and I'm sorry for making the game seem like a drag. I know the romance-in-game angle isn't for everyone and as you said, the primary plot of the game is the adventures of a group of people trying to recover the pieces to an ancient artifact, not the story of their love lives. I'll dial back the mushy stuff on my end and start tagging stuff under spoilers if needed so it won't distract from the other stuff happening. I'm also sorry if it's been off-putting to anyone else, too.

I also feel that I owe you an apology too for not doing more to make Shadlah feel more connected to/included in the group. I have had in mind for awhile to have Briana approach and inquire more about the Shoanti but between RL stuff happening for people and in-game events it hasn't felt like there's been a good time for it. If you're up for it, I was thinking the trip out to the Lady's Light would be a good opportunity to finally do a little more 'get to know you' sort of talk. Hopefully that'll help things a little.

*A webcomic I read replaces b!tch with bongo every time someone uses it in the comments section, which makes for amusing reading sometimes!

I enjoy the fact that our characters are not just exploring ruins, fighting and pillaging, but have dynamic and realistic relationships, be it friendhip or love.But that's my own taste of roleplaying.

Except one recent joke I made, I don't remember things being sexual between our characters..

I think it's important for us all to be able to communicate our expectations and things that are bothering us. I can move stuff into spoilers too, but I agree with Arsith: we've been at this game for just over two years and the thing that's kept it really interesting (for me at least) has been RPing the interpersonal relationships. I played in another dungeon delving PbP (2 of them actually) where that kind of RP was minimal or non-existent and, for me, after 6-8 months posting started to feel like a chore. I know that for the last couple days the gushy stuff has been pretty prevalent, and I am sorry that's been off putting for you, but (for my part) I try to make moments like this count relationship-wise because we often let the romance fall completely into the background for weeks or months at a time. Like I said, I'll try to use more spoilers so it's easier to ignore.

I've been fine with it, but I can see and understand why Shadlah wouldn't be. That said, I hope this hasn't been an issue in the RotRL game I'm GMing.

I'm with Teldon on this: Dungeon-delving in a PbP format can get very tedious; the intra-party RPing is very much the most interesting part of this campaign, and why it's easily my favorite of all the PbPs I've played in!

I've been fine with the romance angle, too.

In-game romance is very much a rarity in games I've played in. This one is actually only the third time I've been in a game with an ongoing in-game romance between two PCs in over 30 years of gaming... and the last one was back in the early '90s. (In that game, my PC ended up marrying another PC; the officiant of the ceremony was a third PC. And, of course, enemies attacked the wedding reception!)

That said, maybe putting the romance scenes under spoiler tags would be a good idea.

*sings "bad romance"*

I don't have a problem with the romance in general. It just doesn't seem realistic that pet names would be flying in the middle of combat when things are tense. There's a lot of time in the game where combat isn't threatening to break out, and I would assume semi-professional adventurers would know that romance has its place, away from immediate danger.

Folks, it was a busy morning at work (in France chatting to a load of folks about work programmes over the next ten years) so I haven't really weighed into this until now... I have chatted with Shadlah off-line to understand where the core of the issue is... and it's pretty much as she has posted (just above)... and therefore, in the spirit of wanting a game that we all enjoy, I have PM'd (all of you actually) with a suggested course of action that should, relatively naturally, get us back on an even keel...

Hopefully it doesn't feel like too much of a bossy GM intevention and, as always, any concerns, feel free to PM me.

None here, just hopping this isn't too sudden of a realization of Joanna's part.

As soon as Briana mentioned alter-egos I had this weird thought wherein Teldon, Zee, and Briana all take a level of Vigilante the next time we gain a level... :3

Hahaha- interesting... That would make it easier to run a business as my alter ego...

That sounds like it'd be a blast. When we finish Shattered Star, we should see if we cane do q game base around that.

I think we already told her once before she could contact us through the Heidmarches, didn't we? I tried, a little, to find it but my search-fu isn't great and I have a doctors appointment so I'm out of time. But if we did tell her that before we could continue with it?

So, unless you folks have got more stuff for Officer Kasadei or fro Lockerbie Brast's widow, we can move things on... which is Teldon, Ziomarra and Briana to the Aspis Consortium and Joanna, Arsith and Shadlah where? You could start looking for Kandamerus or you could try and head, through the sewers, to tell Lockerbie that you have delivered his 'message'.

Look for the guide. I was thinking we'd all head out to the crow together to catalog what we've missed and get sketches and stuff. I do want to get an exit post in, but I can flex time it.

As a note, I wont be able to post tomorrow, passing the first part of a professional exam

Good luck Arsith! :)

Oops, forgot about this. Good luck! I hope you ace it.

So... I'm a bit of a twit. See, one of my PFS regulars pointed this out to me:

You can increase the power of your spells, causing them to deal more damage.

Benefit: All variable, numeric effects of an empowered spell are increased by half, including bonuses to those dice rolls.
Saving throws and opposed rolls are not affected, nor are spells without random variables. An empowered spell uses up a spell slot two levels higher than the spell's actual level.

Shah should be doing a lot more damage with an empowered blast than she already is.

^Don't feel bad; there are so many rules and variables and other such things to keep track of it's a wonder I don't miss or overlook more than I do...

So... I'm a bit of a twit. See, one of my PFS regulars pointed this out to me:

Empower Spell wrote:

You can increase the power of your spells, causing them to deal more damage.

Benefit: All variable, numeric effects of an empowered spell are increased by half, including bonuses to those dice rolls.
Saving throws and opposed rolls are not affected, nor are spells without random variables. An empowered spell uses up a spell slot two levels higher than the spell's actual level.

Shah should be doing a lot more damage with an empowered blast than she already is.

...wow!!!

Okay, roll some dice and let's see how those Magnimar thieves hold up... and, tbh, they aren't the kind of folks who are going to fight to the death!!!!

Wow, a bit of a mood whiplash going from Joanna's last post to Rowenna going crazy! Totally didn't see that Jo had posted right before I did, heh. I hope that wasn't too much; if it is then just pretend that all she really did is maybe dart under another table and back again and the post is just her version of what's happening :)

It's fine. After that, I think we needed some levity. :)

Sorry for disappearing again! Between deadlines at work, lots going on in my personal life, and a last-minute trip to Boston, I just haven't been able to carve out time for gaming.

I think things are starting to calm down a bit, and I'll be able to resume daily posting.

Glad to have you back and I hope things will calm down for you soon!

I didn't realize it until I saw the post count, but we just hit 5,000 posts.

*throws confetti*

Here's to another 5,000 posts and the good health of everyone, especially the GM. :D

Huzzah!

Congrats everyone.

Eeeeeeee! :D

Congrats everyone!

Cool... 5,000 posts and rising... like Joanna says, here's to another 5,000 posts and more adventure.

...and just as a bit of fun, here's a reminder of what was happening each time we clicked around the next thousand posts...

December 2014: 1,000 posts - Ziomarra accepts the call from Lady Heidmarch to retrieve the Sihedron.

Ziomarra grins a mirthless smile and shakes her head. "Well, if I had been content to perform Harrow readings for tourists at two silvers a session, I would not have left Kaer Maga. And if I truly thought that secrets were meant to stay buried, I would not have petitioned to join the Pathfinder Society!"

April 2015: 2,000 posts - Teldon, having received a message that a contact who he fought dead is, in fact, alive and well, agrees to an arrangement that will, eventually, lead to Ravenmoor...

"Excellent" Teldon exclaims. As he turns to face Kyrot his eyes meet Briana's and his gaze lingers there for a moment longer than perhaps it should. When he realizes what he's doing, he forces his attention to the tiefling and continues, "Please inform Lord Fairfax that it would be my honor and pleasure to represent him... but also mention that there are 1 or 2 particular items of great interest to another benefactor with whom I have a previous agreement and I will, of course, need to honor that arrangement."

October 2015: 3,000 posts - the group, minutes away from discovering Nalathi murdered in a shack used by a cult of Ghlaunder, fight an Aranea...

The spider creature recoils as Ziomarra fixes it with her gaze - yet, despite the sudden lethargy which grips it, it easily avoids Briana's Mace attack.

March 2016: 4,000 posts - Deep below the Crow, the friends find themselves fighting hellhounds in a labyrinth attuned to a dark corner of hell...

With Aristh and Zee's summoned butterfly taking the fight to the second hound and Joanna and Teldon still facing off with the first, Briana decides that the best thing she can do for the moment is to hold her position lest she get in the way. Desiring to be proactive as well, she reaches out and places a hand on Teldon's shoulder to imbue him with a little extra insight on his next move.

October 2016: 5,000 posts - Seeking the next shard of the sihedron, the friends come to the aid of an unlikely guide...

Seeing Teldon taking care of the last of the thugs, Joanna turns and rushes to help the stricken Kandamerus.

Feeling a little winded as her connection to the divine power of her goddess fades, she turns to the others.

"Do we have a way of tying them up," she asks, nodding at the immobilized and charmed thugs, "any rope or something like that?"

So... I went looking for the aura details for Stone of Alarm... And ended up paying fifty-ish dollars for a seriously big (and quite cool) collection of Pathfinder / RPG pdf's from the Open Gaming Store (think it's okay to post the link in this little corner of Paizo's website?)

Dreamscarred Press and Raging Swan bundles for those who might be interested.

Yeah, those are some seriously great bundles, but unemployment sucks :P

Sorry for disappearing for a bit. Been pretty out of it the last few days.

Haladir (Zee's Player) posted in the Rise of the Runelords Game we're in and he's been having a rough time of it this past week. One of his friends from college was diagnosed with a massive, malignant brain tumor and had to have surgery to remove it. He's still in ICU when Haladir posted, and he, his friend's husband, and their children are all waiting to see what happens. I hope the news is good news, but with things like this, anything can happen. Please, just keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Thank you for sharing the news, Joanna.

Let's hope everything will end well

Hey, folks.

Sorry for my absence... as Adam ("Joanna") said.

I think I'm going to keep the games I'm GMing on hold for a couple more days, but I am up to returning to the games I'm playing in. I kind of need the distraction...

My friend's husband reports that my friend is still in the ICU. He's awake and alert, but not yet ready for cognitive testing to see what, if any, mental loss has resulted from the surgery or the tumor itself. And, of course, they don't yet know if the cancer spread before it was detected.

Thanks for bearing with me on this.

Perfectly understandable Zee. Will continue to keep your friend and his family in my prayers and we'll be happy to see you back in the game whenever you feel up to posting.

Yeah, just to echo what Briana said - if you are up for gaming, and especially if it's a bit of an escape, then go right ahead and get back into the game... and if there are times you just aren't up to posting then, of course, we'll understand.

Post coming soon. Shadlah's not happy with the situation, but I'm trying to figure out how to bring it across.

Enjoying the RP (and the bit of tension) that this situation has injected... just checking folks are comfortable with it... Unselm is present and I can quite easily defuse any escalating tempers. The main thing, after you've decided what you are going to do about Kandamerus, is probably for you to decide whether you are going to go for the hike or whether you need to arrange transport...

...and then whatever else you had planned within Magnimar for the day.

Don't forget, we still need to head back out to the Crow to inform Captain Brast that we've delivered the locket. While we're out there, we might as well get as many sketches, rubbings, and whatever else we can find as we can.

EDIT

So, I decided to go back and see what Joanna had left on the to-do list I made several months ago. Here's the updated version:

X Delivering Captain Brast's brooch to his wife, along with news of his fate.
- Letting Captain Brast know they've done what they set out to do.
X Writing a letter to Brother/Uncle Titus asking if there's a way to turn a ghoul back.
X Writing a letter to the Korzhas and seeing how they are doing.
- Finding out if the Golden Key has set sail. She could ask Lady Heidmarch to check on this for her since the less she contacts Mr. Donovan for now, the better.
- Laying the people we've found in the Crow to rest, if we haven't done that already.
X See how Shel is holding up.

While I was looking for that, I found where I'd rolled for the gender of Joanna's wolfy friend (Who I am really looking forward to meeting!)

Joanna wrote:

gender (1:Male, 2:Female): 1d2 ⇒ 2

Poor Teldon, ever the lone guy in a sea of estrogen...

I figured you guys might find it amusing to know that every time I've rolled for a character here on the boards since then, I have gotten a 2 (Female).

Geez, If I ever do a group shot of all my PCs, I'm gonna have three guys and about forty women.

Since I'm guessing it's probably around lunchtime or early afternoon currently, do we want to take care of those last couple of errands during the next day and then start getting ready to head out of the city? Trying to do it in the evening on the current day probably wouldn't work since Teldon has somewhere else to be and I'd guess that all or most of us would want to go if we return to the Crow to wrap up those loose ends.

Also to be honest I'm a little reluctant to do too much splitting of the group since both Zee and Shadlah's players are kinda on-and-off right now in their ability to post but I don't feel comfortable presuming what they'd want to do if we all scatter again for the rest of the day.

• Delivering Captain Brast's brooch to his wife, along with news of his fate ...Done
  
• See how Shel is holding up ...Done
  
• Writing a letter to Brother/Uncle Titus asking if there's a way to turn a ghoul back ...Done but awaiting a response
  
• Writing a letter to the Korzhas and seeing how they are doing ...Done but awaiting a response
  
• Finding out if the Golden Key has set sail. She could ask Lady Heidmarch to check on this for her since the less she contacts Mr. Donovan for now, the better ...Not Yet Done
  
• Laying the people we've found in the Crow to rest, if we haven't done that already ...Note that there were no dead bodies in the Crow - you did bring back some comatose folks and left them at the Arvensoar
  
• Letting Captain Brast know they've done what they set out to do ...Not Yet Done

Just tidied up the to-do list for you folks... I think we can add:

• Teldon and Briana (plus maybe Ziomarra) are heading to the Bronze House with the Aspis Consortium this evening...
  
• and deciding (plus maybe arranging) travel to the Mushfens...

Thanks Zed! I'll be hopefully taking care of the Golden Key one in the next couple of posts. :)

Trying to push the rest of us along a little bit. Sorry for the sluggish posts on my end; have been working a lot lately and sometimes I wind up too tired to post much of significance. I'm actually starting to think I need to drop a few games but the question of which ones is a tough one ;_;

Oh no. :(

I hope you'll still be in the Jade Regent game and the Divine RotRL game.

And this one obviously.

That said, I would like to check out the travelling faire. Joanna would bring that up as soon as the others come back to the Manor.

^Ironically it's the games that move more slowly that I think I'd be more inclined to drop but...hrrrnnghhhh...

They're like my (currently nonexistent) children - I love them all!

I know the feeling. Trust me.

For me, it's actually easier to drop games that are moving more slowly, especially if it's slow enough that I have trouble getting back into my character's head.

True! One thing that hasn't helped is that I jumped into a bunch of PFS games on here for Gamedy V and miiiight have overdone it just a bit. Thankfully most of them are drawing to a close so we'll give it a little more time and see how I'm feeling once they're done.

Also the traveling faire sounds like fun! :D