Oh dear. XD Good luck with it!
Have a heavy load of classes you're teaching this semester?
By the way, GM Redelia is wondering if you're still playing Bethella in the Faeries of Tulia game.
Sverix has had terrible luck with these things. XD I guess I should have spent more magic on this battle instead of trying to save most of it.
Life still crazy for you?
I'll probably be fairly busy towards the end of December as I'm getting married on December 22nd. :D
I just got my copy of In the Company of Dragons Expanded, and there's some interesting stuff in there about mythic Draconic Exemplars. I might ask about using some of it (perhaps toned down somewhat--the options come with an 'intended for NPCs only' warning, so they're very powerful even for mythic) when we reach that point in the campaign.
It's after December 10 now... are things starting to ease up for you?
I got a picture of Sverixalint that's about how I imagine he'll look at the end of this module--just starting to show the influence of his Complex Essence in having some silver scales.
Is life continuing to be crazy for you?
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Things are starting to ease up. Not as fast as I wanted. Finals week (which was the week after Dec 10) turned out to be a bear. I made a big mistake with my computational physics class. I set things up so that students could work at their own pace. Last time I taught it, I observed that some students were picking things up much faster than others. I figured, this way, I could spend more time with the ones who need it, and the ones who don't will get farther.
The result: every student went at the pace of "not nearly fast enough". Because nothing had due dates, they took that to mean they didn't have to do anything. They would work in class, but not outside of class (really, they should have been putting in several hours (6ish) every week outside of class). I started warning them partway through that they were all on a path to fail. Two times during the semester I reduced the amount that I said I expected them to get done. Finally, I told them I'd be in to work with them all of finals week... and they scrounged enough to barely pass. (I also interpreted my own announced grading as generously as possible without really being a grade fairy.)
So much for that idea. Next time, I go back to rigorous assignment due dates.
Today was the academic standards meeting where we discussed the largeish (~40) number of students who were on the block for suspension. That's always kind of depressing.
I've been kind of unplugged for a couple of weeks, recovering. But, I'm free enough now that I'll get things rolling again -- probably tomorrow.
Ouch, that does sound pretty painful. Hopefully the holidays help to dispell the gloom a bit.
I hope you had a good Christmas! I know mine was good. My wife and I are getting settled in together. :)
So... I've been thinking... if it seems like having time to run this game is never going to happen for you... I *could* go looking for a new GM. I'd hate to do it, because I always love your posts--you always do a good job at bringing the NPC's to life and describing the situation. But, well... I'd be willing to settle for a lower-quality campaign if the choice is between that and *not having* a campaign.
So... what do you think? Do you think you'll be able to get back to posting moderately regularly, or do you think your life is not going to be settled enough for that for quite some time? I'm willing to wait a while longer if you think you'll be back at it in a month or two, but I'd just like to know one way or the other.
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Yeah, that prediction of mine was a pretty huge fail.
I think I underestimated the degree to which I needed a break from my whole life after the end of last term. There were some additional kicks that came in sapping my energy and motivation to do anything, in addition to the usual end-of-term madness.
I should be able to get things going again soon. I'm going to start picking up the pieces of everything I left all over the floor.
Ah, good to 'see' you again! :) I hope life quits kicking you in the shins. :D
So any idea when you'll be back at it?
Because I really want to finally kill this demon. :D
:(
To expand on that frowny face, I take it things have not calmed down for you like you'd hoped? Hopefully you haven't had another emergency or unpleasant surprise come up.
I think I'm caught up enough to move this forward. Post incoming after the gym.
Excellent, thank you! :) Let me know if you have any questions about anything that's happened.
Did you keep everyone as allies from the original scene?
Are any of those allies dead?
I see that you made allies of the mongrelmen. Do you have any other allies? I'm slowly reading but it will take time.
Edit: One more quick question. You gave/loaned Radiance to Irabeth, correct?
Yes, Sverixalint did manage to keep all three of the allies from the initial scenes alive and happy, returning them to their respective homes. They've all survived.
Let's see, other allies... well, perhaps not really 'allies', but when Sverixalint ran into that group of crusaders that was trying to sacrifice a virgin to get 'demon-slaying powers', he managed to intimidate two of them into surrendering and got them to come to Defender's Heart with him. They were assigned to help Sverix check out the cultist hideouts, and... well, suffice it to say, by the end they were rather in awe of his prowess.
Their leader, by the way, Sverixalint disarmed and basically banished from the city in disgrace. So she could definitely return for vengeance at some point.
Other than that, mostly Sverixalint has impressed pretty much everyone around with the combination of his draconic might and his dedication to doing good and fighting demons.
Let's see, other things...
*Sverix has claimed a room in Defender's Heart where he sleeps and keeps his (small but rapidly-growing) hoard. The innkeeper makes sure to keep the young dragon well-fed whenever he's back.
*We'd discussed Sverix gaining a number of followers as he rapidly grows in strength and skill. Basically, it seems like, in bleak circumstances like this, a beacon of hope like Sverixalint would quickly draw people to him. He might have to deal at some point with becoming more or less the center of a cult. :D This will be especially interesting if he's a Mortal Herald and therefore trying to encourage the worship of Apsu.
*Speaking of rapidly growing, given the way Draconic Exemplar levels work, Sverix is going to go from Small to Colossal over the course of the campaign (he's already grown to Medium). A few people have already mentioned he's growing quickly, but it's going to get kind of ridiculous as the campaign continues. We'd discussed adding some time skips between modules and in other places where some downtime made sense to make it not quite so quick, but it's still going to be incredibly rapid growth. We can probably blame it on the mythic power.
Another thought I had--I should probably point out Sverix's compulsions due to his two draconic essences. His main one is Brave (for bronze dragon), which compels him to stand and fight and requires him to make a will save to retreat. His second one is Honorable, which compels him to come to the aid of innocents and requires a will save to avoid doing so. Obviously, given demons, the combination of these two could get him in trouble.
Those two compulsions are going to make this interesting.
Oh, I anticipate they will. :) Part of what I've been building up as Sverix's character arc is going from a rather shy, uncertain runt of a wyrmling to a beacon of heroism that psychologically can't give up on saving people. I look forward to it causing him some interesting problems... while also being very inspiring.
Which may cause its own problems.
Sorry I know today's post was sort of a cop out. I gmed at a con this weekend and I"m exhausted.
That's fine. I can certainly understand being exhausted after something like that. :D
When you're *not* exhausted, I'd be fine with you rolling perception for me in a situation like this.
I apologize for the lack of post yesterday. The day just got away from me.
That's fine.
Oh, another thing I was thinking about--we'd been talking about playing around with the fact that Iomedae has tried to make an alliance with Apsu in the past, but Apsu has kind of gently rebuffed her due to his focus on fighting Dahak. This whole thing could be a reason for them to actually form an alliance.
I'll need to do some more reading on Iomadae and Apsu to see if I think that might work. Something along the lines of this isn't good for anyone including dragons.
The relevant bit in Inner Sea Faiths says:
"Following her completion of the Test of the Starstone,
Iomedae approached Apsu. Having researched the noble
dragon deity, she sought to involve Apsu more deeply
in mortal affairs and ally with him in the struggle
against the evil deities of the cosmos. Apsu’s dogged
determination to one day battle his son in the skies of
Golarion prevented any long-term alliance, but Iomedae
still left the attempt with a friend in Apsu. The two gods
agreed to defend one another should they ever come
under attack by other deific powers. Iomedae’s divine
servant Peace through Vigilance, a unique celestial gold
dragon, is considered the physical manifestation of the
agreement between the two gods."
Given that a Golarion overrun by demons would be a bad place to try to fight Dahak, I can imagine Apsu would be taking a greater interest in this war than in most mortal affairs. :D
We've been at this about a month. I wanted to check in and see if you are getting what you hoped for from this campaign.
Are the posts too detailed, not detailed enough?
Not enough NPC and PC interaction?
Do you feel as if I'm rushing you through or moving to slowly?
I want to make sure you are getting what you expected and hope for from this. Especially since it's just you and me telling this story together.
I'm enjoying it! You kind of jumped in at a difficult time, and I think you've been handling it admirably. Thank you!
Let's see, specific questions...
*I think the posts are about right detail-wise at present.
*Sverix is very focused on slaying demons and stopping their plans at present, so he's not being very talkative. As such, the amount of interaction is appropriate at present. He'll want to talk more with people while not in the middle of a 'mission'.
*I think you're following my pace at present, which is just right. :D I feel like I've been the one deciding when to push ahead, which works well for a one-PC game like this.
Wasn't the alchemist still in Sverix and Irabeth's threatened area when he threw that bomb?
Anyway, here's hoping Sverix can actually hit when he puts everything he has into it. XD
He tumbled and then tossed. So he was out of the threatened area for the bomb.
Let's hope so. :)
Had a heck of a time getting on the boards yesterday. Updating now.
Sverix isn't particularly concerned about spending a lot of time, given that there doesn't seem to be a coordinated response to his attack.
I'll get a post up today. Super busy weekend. Renaissance Faire on Saurday and running my AP table for Starfinder Society on Sunday.
I have to start making sure the GM posts get done first. :)
Oh, it's not a big deal. I was at GenCon Thursday through Saturday so I was only checking the boards occasionally. :D
I hope it was awesome. I have several friends that were there. It's a dream trip, but getting the budget for it will never happen.
Yep, it was pretty awesome. :) I met a couple people I haven't seen since college, and one of the artists I follow online.
That's awesome. One of my friends who does third party stuff for Pathfinder went again this year. He has a blast when he goes.
This site instability has been annoying.
It's going to be up and down until the end of the week from what I've heard. I'm still here, and haven't forgotten you. :)
I wasn't worried about that, just expressing irritation. :D Hopefully they've got it sorted out now.
I think we're back. Post incoming.
Hopefully the site will be stable now...