The Celestial Bureaucracy |
I posted my message to Set in the KM thread.
Theoden going paladin is a possibility, given he has some levels in the class already, it's an elegant solution.
At this point, we could also recruit, or tweak existing characters. If possible, I would rather we keep the characters and personalities, even if the mechanics under the hood change.
What are your thoughts? Should we recruit a divine caster? Is the change to Theoden enough in your view?
Rikash |
Time flies? I think it's been almost half a year since I joined the PBP. :)
As far as healing types go, I think we'll eventually want someone but I think we can manage in the short term with just the change to Theoden. I can manage out of combat healing and a little bit of in combat healing with Manulani and his wand. Adding in Theoden's healing and we may be ok, but I think when we hit higher levels we're going to want more divine full casting options.
Alternatively, Raith could rebuild Akulayok as an archer divine caster of some sort. A shaman or a Cleric of Erastil would make decent sense, though you'd lose a little bit of the skill monkey thing. I'd probably be inclined to recruit as I like the characters we have now a lot.
The Celestial Bureaucracy |
Welcome TarkXT!
First, for equipment, you can use WBL guidelines (% of repartition included) for a character of level 7, as the players have recently leveled and don't have as much wealth.
Second, to integrate the story:
Would that work? Other ideas?
Rikash |
Delaying posting as the story hook you gave, DW, is too perfect for Theoden's dramatics. I think he ought to be the one to do the big reveal and tell the story of treachery and betrayal of the Erutaki. And of course the brave role played by our intrepid adventurers against the mighty, terrifying ice cliff.
Javell DeLeon |
Daeron Lareththor |
Yikes, scary stuff! I'm glad to hear you're ok. Take your time in returning and I hope you and your family are well.
TarkXT |
The car I was in. The front door is open because I opened it. This thing flipped twice after the blown tire and landed on top of the guard rail.
Another view. I'm around 6'6" (I don't know how that translates for europeans) so naturally I got smushed. With cuts along the top of my head and a concussion to match. My left elbow is badly bruised and a left clavical is fractured. All this along wiht little cuts everywhere like a deep one on my thumb and another in the ball of my right hand.
This picture gives a good idea of distance. Not that we could tell inside the car but apparently we turned 180 degrees in the middle of the road when we careened off and flipped twice over the grass before the guard rail caught us.
In the end my fiance walked out wiht some nasty bruises and lots of complaints about the hospital staff and my daughter got away without a scratch whereas I may have to replace this pair of blue jeans such as they are covered in dried blood.
The only reason I'm posting this I think, is because given how sudden, how fast, and you can tell by the pics how destructive, it all turned out I guess I'm simply amazed to still be alive. Sore, hurt, shaken, and going to have to worry about replacing the undoubtedly totaled care, but alive.
Javell DeLeon |
My gosh, man! A blown tire caused that? Man it's amazing how something that seems so minor could be so destructive. That is unbelievable. Well thank God you made it out of there alive, bud! Dang, dude, 6'6"! You're a tall fellow. And that car don't look big enough for you. :)
Well, you're typing so that's always a good sign. Rest up and get healed, bud. That is just brutal.
Raith Shadar |
I'm just waiting for the talk to be done. This kind of stuff is not Akulayok's area of expertise. If Daeron, Théoden, and Seila aren't going to push us through, I don't know what to do. Akulayok and Pavel aren't much good at this kind of stuff.
Daeron Lareththor |
Sorry if I've not been posting too much. I've got a few factors in mind:
1.) I've felt like I've been monopolising the talking to some degree and wanted to give others a chance. I can post more if that's preferable. :)
2.) I'm kind of busy at work (deadlines and such) and have been working long hours. It's put a slight damper in my ability to post. I'll go ahead and get something up later today though.
Javell DeLeon |
@Rikash: Post all you want, dude! Heck, never worry about such things.
And I really have no idea where to go with this. I am COMPLETELY at a loss on the point of it all. I'm not even sure how any information he gives us is pertinent in any way(for us as a group). I'm guessing there's a point to it all... I'm just not seeing it.
What power do we have anything to do about it way out here in the middle of nowhere's-ville? We're just outsiders.
I guess that's why Theoden is resolved to the fact this is a Erutaki problem and they're gonna have to settle this among themselves. *Shrugs*
James Keegan |
Yeah, I'm just finding this leg of things a bit underwhelming- and it likely has nothing to do with you or anyone. It's just that the Erutaki as written aren't very likable- they all seem dour and standoffish. After dealing with the dragon, my feeling was that anything else was their problem to contend with- I don't know if we would have dealt with the hidden shrine/trial at all without prodding, thus not finding a lead on Ameiko's relative. But I guess we had to find out that crazy old man Tunuaq was behind it all because we're the PCs? From there it's just a matter of shaking Tunuaq until he coughs up the plot breadcrumbs we need to follow to finally leave the glacier behind.
I don't know, I can't be too hard on the writing for this section, just because the mystery of who made the dragon so angry at the fantasy Eskimos is interesting- especially coupled with the threat of being forced out for offending local customs. But coming back to "why would we care?"- if we can't afford to risk being thrown out into the cold, I think the consensus would be to just leave it be until the spring when it's not such a big deal to be thrown out. So I had a bit of a problem with motivation for this part- which is unfortunate, because I like investigation games so it wouldn't be unwelcome. I can figure a way around Pavel not being diplomatic (usually by just having him blurt it out) but if I find it hard to care, well...
So I'm just eager to shake Tunuaq until he's empty of plot points and fast foward until we're done with the cold weather section, but that's just me.
The Celestial Bureaucracy |
Ok, Tark just joined in, so no pressure there. Your comments are welcome though.
I see what you guys are getting at. That is what I find challenging in running an AP. Part of it is better when there is less railroading, which means the players have to be keen and keep their knowledge fresh, or else they lose track of what they could do.
On the other hand, in an AP, there is bound to be railroading to get from one part to the next. This part (Tunuaq et al.) is pretty weak, and I tried to get it to new places (the trial, as he won't fight you like other usual DnD nuisances, the connection with Ameiko, which does not exist in the official AP).
But then, it's like James said: shaking the bad guy for bread crumbs. Boring...
I think this AP is currently running on fumes. I'll think on it.
Let me know if you have suggestions.
James Keegan |
I hope I didn't come across too negatively- because honestly, it's incredible for the game to have lasted as long as it has and I can't praise you enough for all the work you've put into it. I know all too well how tough it can be to keep a pbp going like this.
The other major problem to combat is just the time aspect- in an IRL game, information can move fast from session to session with easier retention but in a pbp, it's more difficult to keep knowledge fresh over time and I think that's also a hurdle to overcome with these long multi-level AP adventures.
Daeron Lareththor |
I'm definitely still interested in this AP, I agree with a lot of the other comments that this Erutaki village is starting to feel a little stale though. We proved our innocence and exposed nasty evil dude, inciting a nasty change which the Erutaki were understandably not thrilled with, but I'm ready to hit the road and go deal with this mysterious Amatatsu lady and then make it through the frozen wastelands. I'm really eager to get to Minkai as I know pretty much nothing about it in this setting. Should be fun. :)
The Celestial Bureaucracy |
I hope I didn't come across too negatively- because honestly, it's incredible for the game to have lasted as long as it has and I can't praise you enough for all the work you've put into it. I know all too well how tough it can be to keep a pbp going like this.
The other major problem to combat is just the time aspect- in an IRL game, information can move fast from session to session with easier retention but in a pbp, it's more difficult to keep knowledge fresh over time and I think that's also a hurdle to overcome with these long multi-level AP adventures.
Not at all. To be honest, I'm having second thoughts about APs and the railroading they create. On the other hand, it's a great opportunity to see a character grow and keep a focus for a story. It makes it epic.
That being said, I'm not interested in being the AI of a video game where only the fight counts. Character should have depth, and there shouldn't be an excuse to not participating in telling a good story as a group.
Meanwhile, time passes and people forget about the plotline and NPCs, unless they take notes or other efforts. If they don't, then they can only follow the story and not drive it. That happens to me often enough. Sometimes I look at the past posts, sometimes I ask for a recap IC ("Sooo... What do we know?").
It's the way I've found to stay in the game and not feel like I'm in a videogame.
I guess what I am trying to ask is whether that's what you guys are also looking for?
Raith Shadar |
I'll toss some of my views out there.
We rarely interact with the NPCs on anything more than a superficial level. A little narration and a tiny bit of interaction. I thought the plot was important, but not character development. I figured that was your DM style, Celestial.
When you basically gave the chance for an in-depth romance to a character that quit the campaign and said nothing to anyone, I figured your focus was on moving the plot along. You were using a character you didn't have to develop any kind of serious relationship with to do it. You could hand wave it all and make up whatever you wanted regardless of the present players. My assumption has always been that you liked a well-scripted plot, but with a superficial level of story and character depth.
I made Raith with the idea of an in-depth relationship with Ameiko. When that relationship basically occurred off-screen with a player that left the campaign, I assumed you had no interest in developing in-depth relationships between the NPCs. Since I'm accustomed to this type of DMing, I made a character I thought would fit that DMing model better. That was my motivation for replacing Raith.
I figured you understood my purpose with Raith that from the beginning. That's why I was surprised you tried to turn my character into a cuckold. I wasn't about to play a cuckold as a PC. When you let me change, I was ok with it because I liked the overall campaign.
Would you want to play a cuckold as a PC? Or anyone here for that matter? I seriously doubt it. No one wants to play a cuckold as a main character. They want to be the romantic lead, not the also ran.
A well-connected plot with a legitimate reason to pursue a goal involving role-playing and combat works for me. I definitely mix it up in my own campaigns. I make sure to keep a balance to make it fun for the players. Players generally like to roleplay a little and fight quite a bit. I'm ok with that paradigm the majority of the time.
Though I would prefer a really in-depth role-playing campaign online. It would give me a chance to flex the writing skills.