After the day I had today, and seeing things piling up on my desk faster than I can get through them, I'm starting to fear that I may not even be able to return in the near future. Despite an amazing holiday in Quebec, I'm already feeling ragged from excessive overtime, with no end in sight. As a result, my energy is low, and I presently don't even have any enthusiasm for gaming (that should tell you something). My promotion a few months back has become a curse as much as a blessing... hence, I've begun to search for jobs elsewhere, with the hope that they'll enable me to restore a sense of normalcy to my life.

So if you'd be so kind as to park my character, I'll hopefully be able to return some day, when time and my energy levels permit...

My apologies for the disappointment, and thanks all for your understanding...

After the day I had today, and seeing things piling up on my desk faster than I can get through them, I'm starting to fear that I may not even be able to return in the near future. Despite an amazing holiday in Quebec, I'm already feeling ragged from excessive overtime, with no end in sight. As a result, my energy is low, and I presently don't even have any enthusiasm for gaming (that should tell you something). My promotion a few months back has become a curse as much as a blessing... hence, I've begun to search for jobs elsewhere, with the hope that they'll enable me to restore a sense of normalcy to my life.

So if you'd be so kind as to park my character, I'll hopefully be able to return some day, when time and my energy levels permit...

My apologies for the disappointment, and thanks all for your understanding...

Brendan

So just a throw out to everyone else. I'm fairly inclined to leave the group as is as we are quite close to finishing up the psuedo Hollow's Last Hope installment. After that if we want to continue I'll put a notice up for other player(s).
Let me know what people's thoughts are. Cheers

Yeah, sounds OK to me.

I should probably post more often, I'm feeling a little guilty reading posts when I just don't have time to reply.

But I'll be here.

I think I may be seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. Job interview tomorrow... and even if I don't get the new job, all proposals associated with my current job should be in by the 24th of October, new staff hired, etc., so life should become a bit more balanced. I'll keep my fingers crossed and will keep you posted...

Thanks for your patience, all...

I think I may be seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. Job interview tomorrow... and even if I don't get the new job, all proposals associated with my current job should be in by the 24th of October, new staff hired, etc., so life should become a bit more balanced. I'll keep my fingers crossed and will keep you posted...

Thanks for your patience, all...

We can take a call then if we need/want more or new players.

I think I may be seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. Job interview tomorrow... and even if I don't get the new job, all proposals associated with my current job should be in by the 24th of October, new staff hired, etc., so life should become a bit more balanced. I'll keep my fingers crossed and will keep you posted...

Thanks for your patience, all...

Yeah things haven't been moving at a frantic pace but seems like we're still moving ahead. Assuming people happy?

TwiceBorn wrote:

I think I may be seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. Job interview tomorrow... and even if I don't get the new job, all proposals associated with my current job should be in by the 24th of October, new staff hired, etc., so life should become a bit more balanced. I'll keep my fingers crossed and will keep you posted...

Thanks for your patience, all...

Welcome back good to hear from you and that the light at the end of the tunnel would appear to be closer.

Yeah things haven't been moving at a frantic pace but seems like we're still moving ahead. Assuming people happy?

A query to all re the reserve points. Do you think they are helpful/necessary or not needed?

A query to all re the reserve points. Do you think they are helpful/necessary or not needed?

Yeah things haven't been moving at a frantic pace but seems like we're still moving ahead. Assuming people happy?

Are you happy?

Yeah, I'm having a good time. I am forgetting my reserve points, though... I'll have to try to remember those.

Can't say that I honestly care one way or the other on the reserve points, to be honest. Since I've got the clerical duties (har har), I can't help but feel like we haven't needed them so far. Actually, that's probably entirely my fault (well, me and the druid I suppose...)

If they seem like too much work for no real benefit (which I think is the case so far), I say we drop them. I may change my story if I get killed...

Also, I'm still having fun...

Hey guys,

Sorry, I seem to be hitting another busy stretch... may not be able to post until next weekend or so. Sorry about the inconvenience...

Hey guys,

Sorry, I seem to be hitting another busy stretch... may not be able to post until next weekend or so. Sorry about the inconvenience...

Thought I'd just mention this if anyone is looking for some good ol Viking reading. Tim Severin wrote a trilogy of novels (simply called Viking Trilogy). The first is Odinn's Child, second Sworn Brother and the last is King's Man. Severin is an excellent writer of non-fiction (if you haven't read St. Brendan's voyage I highly recommend it) and this is his first foray into historical fiction. The trilogy follows Thorgils an ardent follower of Odinn and the old ways amidst the backdrop of the rise of Christianity in the north. The books are fairly picaresque as they mostly follow an account of his travels (the first book takes place mostly in Iceland, Greenland, Vinland and ends in Ireland). Severin makes heavy use of the Icelandic sagas with several situations and characters directly from them. The last two books are pretty neat as he travels through Finland, through Russia to Constanipole. The last book centres on King Harald, William the Conqueror and the Norman Invasion.
The books are good read though the main flaw is Severin still writes mostly as a historian. His detailed settings/societies are great but Thorgils is a pretty passive protagonist (things happen to him more than he makes things happen). A few episodes suffer from essentially being a retelling of the Icelandic sagas (particularly the sections dealing with Grettir). The Constantinople stuff is quite good though. If you're in the mood for history with a veneer of fiction they're pretty good.

Hey guys,

I will not be able to post until Sunday. My apologies for the inconvenience...

I'll be on holidays from Dec. 24 - Jan 4, but should be able to post on most days during that period.

Wishing happy and safe holidays to everyone, and ditto what French Wolf said... thanks for the great game, all!

Thought I'd just mention this if anyone is looking for some good ol Viking reading. Tim Severin wrote a trilogy of novels (simply called Viking Trilogy). The first is Odinn's Child, second Sworn Brother and the last is King's Man. Severin is an excellent writer of non-fiction (if you haven't read St. Brendan's voyage I highly recommend it) and this is his first foray into historical fiction. The trilogy follows Thorgils an ardent follower of Odinn and the old ways amidst the backdrop of the rise of Christianity in the north. The books are fairly picaresque as they mostly follow an account of his travels (the first book takes place mostly in Iceland, Greenland, Vinland and ends in Ireland). Severin makes heavy use of the Icelandic sagas with several situations and characters directly from them. The last two books are pretty neat as he travels through Finland, through Russia to Constanipole. The last book centres on King Harald, William the Conqueror and the Norman Invasion.
The books are good read though the main flaw is Severin still writes mostly as a historian. His detailed settings/societies are great but Thorgils is a pretty passive protagonist (things happen to him more than he makes things happen). A few episodes suffer from essentially being a retelling of the Icelandic sagas (particularly the sections dealing with Grettir). The Constantinople stuff is quite good though. If you're in the mood for history with a veneer of fiction they're pretty good.

Yeah I haven't seen it but that pretty well confirms what I've heard. Ignoring the historical butchering, pedestrian characterization and just about any other imaginable fault is it any good for just action cheese factor?
The only good viking movie I can think of is Erik The Viking which isn't really one to begin with. There's that old Kirk Douglas movie The Vikings which not bad is not good either just mediocre.

Wyrd_Wiklund wrote:

Yeah I haven't seen it but that pretty well confirms what I've heard. Ignoring the historical butchering, pedestrian characterization and just about any other imaginable fault is it any good for just action cheese factor?
The only good viking movie I can think of is Erik The Viking which isn't really one to begin with. There's that old Kirk Douglas movie The Vikings which not bad is not good either just mediocre.

What, no love for the 13th Warrior? C'mon...

Will are you still with us? Haven't seen a post for sometime.

Yeah I haven't seen it but that pretty well confirms what I've heard. Ignoring the historical butchering, pedestrian characterization and just about any other imaginable fault is it any good for just action cheese factor?

Were Vikings known to bring horses with them on their longships on long trans-Atlantic voyages? I'm sceptical, but I may be wrong...

Will are you still with us? Haven't seen a post for sometime.

Wyrd_Wiklund wrote:

Yeah I haven't seen it but that pretty well confirms what I've heard. Ignoring the historical butchering, pedestrian characterization and just about any other imaginable fault is it any good for just action cheese factor?

Sorry for the late reply, haven't checked this thread in a while. To answer your question: depends on what you consider good action cheese factor. I just found it tedious, redundant and stupid... again, just stating my opinion.

Were Vikings known to bring horses with them on their longships on long trans-Atlantic voyages? I'm sceptical, but I may be wrong...

B_Wiklund wrote:

Will are you still with us? Haven't seen a post for sometime.

Doesn't seem to have posted anywhere on these boards in a long time, even under another alias. His November 17 post as Hrafn seems to have been the last one he made... I hope he's alright.

Hey guys just to let you know I'll be moving on Mon (moving further north to Haines Junction, a rural community. I'm pretty excited about it as Haines Junction is a beautiful area in the mountains, right by Kluane National Park and the Tetsinshini-Alsek Park and it is a lot closer to Whitehorse, the only 'city' in the Yukon.) Depending on how long it takes northwestel to get my internet up and running I might be out of touch for as long as a week. I'll keep posting until Fri or Sat I imagine.

Werd dog. Give me a holler if you want to BS some stuff and bump the PBP thread.

Werd dog. Give me a holler if you want to BS some stuff and bump the PBP thread.

and i believe dog is spelt dawg or if your prefer daaawg.

Hey guys just to let you know I'll be moving on Mon (moving further north to Haines Junction, a rural community. I'm pretty excited about it as Haines Junction is a beautiful area in the mountains, right by Kluane National Park and the Tetsinshini-Alsek Park and it is a lot closer to Whitehorse, the only 'city' in the Yukon.) Depending on how long it takes northwestel to get my internet up and running I might be out of touch for as long as a week. I'll keep posting until Fri or Sat I imagine.

Anyway, I hope your move went well, and that you'll enjoy your new home...

Dang it, dawg, you live in prime backpacking country... I should impose on you and swing up for a visit sometime! ;-)

Anyway, I hope your move went well, and that you'll enjoy your new home...

(40 - 50 below is a bit of anti-fun)

Hey all,

This'll be a really busy week, work-wise. I may not have time to post until Friday... DM, feel free to NPC me in the meantime! My apologies for the inconvenience...

Cheers!

Hey all,

This'll be a really busy week, work-wise. I may not have time to post until Friday... DM, feel free to NPC me in the meantime! My apologies for the inconvenience...

Cheers!

Hey, so what's the plan, are we still rolling with the Dvergar slain? Just curious...

Nevermind if there's more plot planned, I'll roll with that too.

Hey, so what's the plan, are we still rolling with the Dvergar slain? Just curious...

Nevermind if there's more plot planned, I'll roll with that too.

Yeah, I'm running a PbP as well, and I went from 8 players to about 5, to 6, to 4, to 3, to 0, back to 3, now down to 2, then I emailed one player to ask if his character could do a cameo, and he's become one of the main players again. o_0.

Life can be tricky...

Yep well we've been doing this for now a little over a year... Hrafn's loss is a dissapointment as his druid character was a nice addition to the team and flavourful character in his own right.

As for the dvergar sorry if I rushed things going from the cavern to this last showdown (I don't think i'm giving anything away with that). The derro are as you might gather a potential 'seed' for later stuff if we keep going.

Other than that, if people are happy to keep going and see the rest of Norvanbard I'll put a notice for other player(s). After this combat (probably one more round) we'll lvl up.

So if people want to keep running what would people be interested in? Originally, when I started this I had envisioned the Hollow's Last Hope adventure as a short intro and then proceed to a more free-form sandbox kind of style (ie flesh out adventures as per player whims). Assuming you get home safely you should also be the proud owners of a knorr (I mean every good viking deserves a ship) .I had no idea that it would take over a year for that 'short' intro. Haven't done many pbps until starting this one. I'd suggest going over the Norvanbard primer to refresh and see if anything catches your eye. That said all depends on what the group feels.

Just a query here re the action I had Dorvarr do. Pulling a comrade from the fray when he's in negative hp what is the best way to rule that? I know this has come up before in my games but I don't think I've ever stuck to one method.

Is it a full round action just to drag someone five feet? (losing Dex bonus while doing so) The ability to go total defensive and pull someone five feet back makes sense to me (the usual image of shield raised while dragging a friend back from the battlefield). Still taking the AoO to do so.

Anyways thoughts? This has been one of the often enough rule situations that I've never been clear on.

Seems like a fair interpretation. Looking quickly at the carrying capacity rules, it would likely be over the max lift, but less than the push/pull/drag total. This allows a 5' step as a full round action (pg. 162). If the character were much lighter, say a halfling or supermodel, then you could probably use the heavy or lighter load rules.

I probably wouldn't allow the total defense option, personally. Total defense to me has always been doing nothing but trying not to get hit. It's a standard action (pg. 142).

There you go. I'd maybe allow a charater to still benefit from his shield, but even that seems kind of unlikely. It would probably take 2 hands to drag someone properly.

Yeah, an attack of opportunity is probably in order in any case.

I certainly think it's fair to allow him to drag me to safety... but then I'm biased (and bitten). :D

I'm having a lot of fun, I didn't realise we'd been at this so long, but I'm still enjoying it. I think that Vlad would like to do something about the political structure (if that's possible) but he's willing to take his time about it- after all, challenging the 'finest swordsman in the land', Sihtric, is certainly not something he'd survive if he can't take a Worg, alone or with friends.

Still, having a boat would be cool. We could travel to the far lands, maybe even go to Thule, and perhaps gain allies in the battle to liberate our fine kingdom from that pretender!

A knorr? Wow, that's quite a prize!

Being the outcast that he is, Ragnarr is content to have finally found companions with whom he feels at ease and appreciated... so he'll likely follow wherever they go, he has no major goal of his own at this point (aside from winning Ragnhild's heart, however unlikely that may be... and perhaps someday seeking out his father).

He would also like to learn more stories about the gods from Dorvarr (so RPing opportunities to bring that out would be great).

The journey to Thule could be interesting.

I'm about to hit the sack right now. I did read over your posts guys and thats great. I actually just wanted to say I loved the skinning of Graypelt. Though man, after seeing enough people doing that stuff. Ugh. A lot of work and a lot of smell (not to mention the tanning). Nice touch!

hey its "Necrotic banana" heres my character, let me know if i got it all in order. i havnt come up with a background yet, i can if you'd like, i wasnt sure if the DM had a way to work me in yet or not. i have basic weapons and armor. So background and gear pending, this is it.

Pleased to meet you, NecroticBanana (only on the internet do you ever get to utter those words together...)

Pleased we'll be gaining some company, hope you have fun with us.

hey its "Necrotic banana" heres my character, let me know if i got it all in order. i havnt come up with a background yet, i can if you'd like, i wasnt sure if the DM had a way to work me in yet or not. i have basic weapons and armor. So background and gear pending, this is it.

Also I'll be leaving for Whitehorse the next couple of days. If I can post I will so there maybe some delays until Thurs/Fri.

Utgaror

Greetings and well met fellow gamers. My name is Aaron and I will be playing Kveldulf Two-Cuts. I've been catching up on the story so far and you guys have a good thing going. I'm glad to have a chance to be a part of it so thank you.

My character has been loaded into my profile. I'll have a background and physical description up soon. I started with starting gold for 3rd level. I noticed that the new druid seems to be starting at 3rd level but with 1st level starting equipment. Can I get a clarification on this?

Well, I'm also here.