Hell Squad Pbp discussion


Play-by-Post Discussion

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This will be our thread for OOC discussion, ideas and notes, and complaining about the messaboard monster eating 45 MINUTES OF TYPING BECAUSE I'M TOO STUPID TO COPY MY POSTS BEFORE POSTING THEM. It's OK, I'm not bitter or anything. :)

The main thread is Hell Squad Pbp.

The wiki for keeping track of NPCs, places, and so on is Hell Squad Pbp Wiki.

So, post away. And remember to copy/paste your posts before you lose them. Smart people do that. Or so I've heard.


Woo_Hoo! I'll join the wiki tonight, can't access from the dream-killing office machine...ciao!


Male 3.0: Simulationist 8 / Dramatist 5; 4e: Actor ( Explorer multiclass) 4

Still curious about the posting etiquette for the game. I'm getting ready to do my second post. How much narrative freedom do we get? I mean I'll probably shoot for conservative anyway, but I'm curious for maybe some guidelines so I can know where my bounds are. It's just a pretty new kind of game. Thanks!

Scarab Sages RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16

Hey everyone.

The game is looking to be very interesting so far.

Grimcleaver has a great question about narrative freedom. I may have gone a little far in my second post, if so let me know and I can edit it. I think a little freedom is a good thing, so long as no one starts trying to top each other. That could quickly lead to "I do X, which completely obilterates all of the bad guys, before anyone else can act." Not that I think anyone would plan to do that, but it could be a slippery slope.

Also I had two questions:
1) Does Refuge use a normal calendar? Also what is the current date and year. I was thinking of keeping a journal for Darius on the wiki site and being able to have dates on the entries would be cool.

2) Would everyone mind posting the ages of their characters here in this thread? It is going to affect how Darius relates to other characters, since he will defer to older, more experienced (in his view) people most of the time. If you haven't picked a specific age just an approximate age will be enough.

Thanks,
Rusty


Age: 26, though he looks a fair sight older. He got a late start training, and although he's a fair bit older than most monks of his level of training, by something like five years, it was only the declining health of his mentor that even let him out into the world at all--or likely he'd STILL be trying to get it right.


Male Human Paladin 4/Moral Compass 3/Master GM 1 (ex-Retail Ninja 2)

Good questions.

Ah, narrative freedom.... I'm guessing err on the side of 'conservative'. Sometimes things will surprise you, but I don't want to go into the detail of:
post: I swing
post: you hit its armour
post: I swing again
post: you kill it
post: I shout "huzzah"
post: a dragon eats you.

It's fine to say you "cleave through its armour and splat into sensitive bits" but I might say "it's surprisingly resilient, and you think you see chainmail underneath its robes". If so, I'll try to quote the last valid line before I interrupt, so everyone knows where to go from. Does that sound OK?

Otherwise, play with the storyline a little, introduce NPCs, have fun with it... just, as I said, no Conan-ing. It's fun to read, but there's more than one main character here.

Calendar: I'll work something out. The thing I mentioned in the history page of the wiki in "ought-five" is meant to have been not too long ago... long enough that "ought-five" is in living recent memory, far enough that it's not referred to as "last year".

Gimme a little while to work out bugs, I'm going to work on a compiled timeline of "1905: Brother Thomas born. 1926: Lily's parents die, etc".

Other: I'd like to say "well done" to everyone so far, this has been a really fun project for me. Posts are coming pretty quickly, and everyone seems to be avoiding treading on each other's toes so far. Compiling the wiki and keeping track of everyone is an enjoyable challenge too.

Liberty's Edge

Human

I'm adding bits to my profile as I go, in snatched moments at home.
Apparently I can't seem to amend profiles at work, despite being able to post normally.

Age 36; I'm assuming I'm not a 'typical D&D adventurer'.

My avatar looks a bit more haggard than that. Oh, the weight of things man was not meant to know!


Male Human

Riven is a normal looking man with pale blonde hair tied in a single braid running to his middle back with sparse strands hanging down his sharp features. His blue eyes reflect a sense of loss that resides deep within his soul, a sadness that has yet to be healed.

He tends to keep a clean shaven appearance for the sake of professionalism.

6'2" 225lbs and 26 yrs of age

Riven is normally seen wearing plain simple brown or dark color clothing when not in his Breastplate. When armored up he has a Greatsword on his back, and multiple weapons on his belt (dagger, Shortsword and mace) attached to his pack is a quiver and Composite Shortbow. The items that stick out the most are the Greatsword, Armor and bow all of superior quality.

Though currenlty in the market Riven is in his simple clothes with a hooded cloak and armed only with his Greatsword.

Scarab Sages

Male Bullish

Signed up to the wiki; it's looking nice, with NPC portraits and descriptions.


Male 3.0: Simulationist 8 / Dramatist 5; 4e: Actor ( Explorer multiclass) 4

This is a great game. I just had to say that. I am really really liking this. Thanks everyone. This game is a blast!


Hague Koltair wrote:
...Two running steps and then nothing under his feet but air. He landed in the mud with both feet, an explosion of muddy water...

Grimcleaver that was a particularly dramatic entrance BTW. Kudos!

Scarab Sages RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16

Thanks for posting your character's ages guys. I guess I should say that Darius is 17 so may be the youngest. Don't know about Lilly/Pariah though, background says 16 but not sure how long ago that was.

Anyway, Darius pretty much fills the role of the "Green Kid" that every good cinematic team needs. Let's just hope he doesnt die early (yeah Doyle, I'm looking at you) to provide character development to the Tragic Hero types. :)

Dark Archive RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32

Rusty Ironpants wrote:
Thanks for posting your character's ages guys. I guess I should say that Darius is 17 so may be the youngest. Don't know about Lilly/Pariah though, background says 16 but not sure how long ago that was.

Lily's 23. It says on her Paizo profile.

Scarab Sages

Male Bullish
Rusty Ironpants wrote:
Anyway, Darius pretty much fills the role of the "Green Kid" that every good cinematic team needs. Let's just hope he doesnt die early... :)

Maybe you'll be like Horst Bucholz in 'The Magnificent Seven', and be last man standing while all us old farts buy the farm.

Just don't say anything stupid, like "This is a picture of my girl back home", or "This is a lark; bet we'll all be home by Christmas!", cos that is the kiss of death in any story...

Scarab Sages

Male Bullish

I notice me and Hellard are commenting in first-person, whilst everyone else is narrating in third-person.

I wonder if there's any reason behind those choices? Any armchair philosophers want to take a guess?

Dark Archive RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32

Snorter wrote:

I notice me and Hellard are commenting in first-person, whilst everyone else is narrating in third-person.

I wonder if there's any reason behind those choices? Any armchair philosophers want to take a guess?

I've always been uncomfortable with first-person narration. It always feels forced and awkward to me. Unless I'm talking in real-time, as I would be at the gaming table, third-person is the natural tone for my prose.


Male 3.0: Simulationist 8 / Dramatist 5; 4e: Actor ( Explorer multiclass) 4

Well I can only comment as to myself. But my feeling is that a thread like this reads nicely in third person, since while you can have several "hes" and "shes" it's weird having a bunch of "Is"...unless you're a beholder, then I guess anything goes.

Oh and by the way, I swapped the image for Kairn. Just not wretched enough. The way I envision the old dwarf, he's dying of old age and illness. The other guy just looked way to young and virile. This guy looks like you wouldn't want to get any on you. He looks like he lives in a sewer. I dig that. Anyway it's more what I had in mind.

Scarab Sages RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16

Fatespinner wrote:
Lily's 23. It says on her Paizo profile.

Ahh.... I didn't realize people were posting their character's stats on the profile page. I will have to do that as well.


Male Human Paladin 4/Moral Compass 3/Master GM 1 (ex-Retail Ninja 2)
Snorter wrote:

I notice me and Hellard are commenting in first-person, whilst everyone else is narrating in third-person.

I wonder if there's any reason behind those choices? Any armchair philosophers want to take a guess?

Luke thinks it is strange to wonder about posting in third-person while referring to the 'self' in first person. Or do I?


Male Human Paladin 4/Moral Compass 3/Master GM 1 (ex-Retail Ninja 2)

Actually, I did just notice: I'm still dictating Hellard's posts in "you do this, it does that" format, while for nearly everyone else, I'm now saying "Hague hits this. It breaks to pieces from his smell, etc".
And, having checked, I just noticed that I posted "Brother Thomas, you do this" and "Riven, the woman you helped...". Hmm.

I wonder if that's related.

Perhaps if I get immersed enough, I'll start dictating messages to myself.

Scarab Sages

Male Bullish

I'm easy either way; I take the point that for an external reader, we're all 'hes and shes' to them, so that may be the best way to go.

If this were a campaign journal, then the diary entries would be first-person, but in a pbp, no single person should hog the p.o.v.

Scarab Sages RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16

Blue_eyed_paladin wrote:


Calendar: I'll work something out. The thing I mentioned in the history page of the wiki in "ought-five" is meant to have been not too long ago... long enough that "ought-five" is in living recent memory, far enough that it's not referred to as "last year".

Gimme a little while to work out bugs, I'm going to work on a compiled timeline of "1905: Brother Thomas born. 1926: Lily's parents die, etc".

That sounds cool. Do you know the date of the day the game starts?


Male Human Paladin 4/Moral Compass 3/Master GM 1 (ex-Retail Ninja 2)
Rusty Ironpants wrote:

That sounds cool. Do you know the date of the day the game starts?

Ummm... a couple of days ago? :)

Let's call it a few days before Winter Solstice (and because every single fantasy world is in the northern hemisphere, we'll follow tradition)... about December 12th. And the year will be 416 as reckoned by the founding of Refuge (other kingdoms may/do use their own calendar years).

So, the date is December 12th, 416 Refuge.

Edit: This has now been added to the Wiki, and I think I've compiled nearly everyone's ages.

Grimcleaver, do we know how old Hague is (maybe we can check how many rings of dirt are round him)?


Male 3.0: Simulationist 8 / Dramatist 5; 4e: Actor ( Explorer multiclass) 4
Hague Koltair wrote:
Age: 26, though he looks a fair sight older. He got a late start training, and although he's a fair bit older than most monks of his level of training, by something like five years, it was only the declining health of his mentor that even let him out into the world at all--or likely he'd STILL be trying to get it right.

Yep.

Dark Archive RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32

I think I've finally settled on the best archetype to describe Lily's personal drama: Dark Jedi.

She's gifted with a powerful force that she is capable of invoking at her whim, but the more she calls upon it, the more it corrupts her moral fiber (and possibly even her physical body). If used in moderation, it can be controlled and contained, even beneficial, but when abused it becomes as deadly as any of the spells she's capable of wielding.

With great power comes great responsibility.


Male Human Paladin 4/Moral Compass 3/Master GM 1 (ex-Retail Ninja 2)
Fatespinner wrote:
...Dark Jedi...

Oh no... but I don't have anything black in my wardrobe. :o


Male Human Paladin 4/Moral Compass 3/Master GM 1 (ex-Retail Ninja 2)

Oh, and a reminder to everyone: I'll be leaving for GenCon Oz tomorrow afternoon, so tomorrow during the day (my time, that's GMT+10) will be my last opportunity to post for at least 24 hours, possibly longer (depending on availability of internet access in Brisbane).

So, if you want to find out who lives... everyone must have posted by about 16 hours from the time this post was submitted. No pressure...

Liberty's Edge

Human

Safe!

Two posts, just to be sure!


Male Human

Hmmmm, sounds good to me! Got a trip planned for Bath on the 18th and 19th of July, so I won't have internet access then either. :(

Scarab Sages RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16

July must be the popular time for trips!

I will be going to San Diego for ComicCon July 23-28. If I have any internet access at all, it will be through my pda. So if I can post, it will be relatively short posts only.

Dark Archive RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32

Since everyone else is sounding off here:

I'm not going anywhere in the next 4 months!

Okay. :)


I'll be going crazy...Plotting giving my gal a ring and a proposal :)But I'll be here...online that is.


Male Human Paladin 4/Moral Compass 3/Master GM 1 (ex-Retail Ninja 2)

Nice posting, everyone... I will have a 'reply' post ready later today, before I leave. I just hope everyone else is enjoying this as much as me.

Good luck with your proposal, Durendal. Hope everyone but Fatespinner has fun going away. Fatespinner, I think it's good of you to support local businesses.

Scarab Sages RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16

okay I am a little confused by the latest DM Post. Did we make it all the way to the parliment building before the "Mexican Standoff" between Riven and Pariah?


Male Human Paladin 4/Moral Compass 3/Master GM 1 (ex-Retail Ninja 2)

Uh, sorta... it was only about a block away. So you're midway there, you're having your argument about "fire vs. fire" (or zombies vs. zombies), and you can spy the big crowd, hordes of zombies, etc.

Also: If anyone's interested, I knocked up some PC pictures on Hero Machine and put them on the wiki. If anyone wants to change theirs or replace them, go ahead... I was just playing around with them.

Scarab Sages

Male Bullish
Durendal wrote:
I'll be going crazy...Plotting giving my gal a ring and a proposal :)But I'll be here...online that is.

Whoo-Hoo!

Join the club!

August 30 is the big day for us; we're not going away after, but we will be taking the kids to the seaside (Bridlington, where her aunt & uncle live) for two weeks before (August 9-23).

Scarab Sages

Male Bullish
Blue_eyed_paladin wrote:
Also: If anyone's interested, I knocked up some PC pictures on Hero Machine and put them on the wiki. If anyone wants to change theirs or replace them, go ahead... I was just playing around with them.

Those are quite close to the Paizo avatars! At least, within the limits of Hero Machine; did it take long?


Snorter wrote:

Whoo-Hoo!

Join the club!

August 30 is the big day for us; we're not going away after, but we will be taking the kids to the seaside (Bridlington, where her aunt & uncle live) for two weeks before (August 9-23).

Hey! Congratulations!


Male Human

Snorter and Durendal...CONGRATS to both of you!

And since everyone is sharing personal news...just found out my wife is pregnant with our first!!!


Male 3.0: Simulationist 8 / Dramatist 5; 4e: Actor ( Explorer multiclass) 4

Trying to get a visual sense for the scene:

So you've got a big gate going into the Parliament area. It's locked, with guards trying to keep the peasants from storming it and letting the zombies into the noble section of town. A few dozen desparate townsfolk are pressed against the bars, with about forty undead filing in behind them. Three lower city guards are standing between the zombies and civilians, trying to fend them off with polearms. We've come in after the zombies.

That about right?

EDIT: To make it clearer and easier I did a little overhead map of what I had in mind from the post. Either just edit it or say what's wrong and right in it. That will be tons easier.

Here's the map!

Liberty's Edge

Male Yokel Thief/Expert

"Let us in! Damn you!"

Scarab Sages

Male Bullish
Grimcleaver wrote:

Trying to get a visual sense for the scene:

Here's the map!

Yes, that seems right. We have to stop the 'bacon bits' getting to the 'croutons'.

Liberty's Edge

Male Yokel Thief/Expert

What am I doin' on this thread?

<mumble, grumble>

Scarab Sages

Male Bullish
Riven Golarsson wrote:

Snorter and Durendal...CONGRATS to both of you!

And since everyone is sharing personal news...just found out my wife is pregnant with our first!!!

HUZZAH!

<raise flagon of ale>


Male Human
Grimcleaver wrote:

Trying to get a visual sense for the scene:

So you've got a big gate going into the Parliament area. It's locked, with guards trying to keep the peasants from storming it and letting the zombies into the noble section of town. A few dozen desparate townsfolk are pressed against the bars, with about forty undead filing in behind them. Three lower city guards are standing between the zombies and civilians, trying to fend them off with polearms. We've come in after the zombies.

That about right?

EDIT: To make it clearer and easier I did a little overhead map of what I had in mind from the post. Either just edit it or say what's wrong and right in it. That will be tons easier.

Here's the map!

Nicely done! That looks like what I was thinking...though I wasn't really picturing the guards on the otherside of the gate barring it. But it looks how things would happen!

Scarab Sages RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16

That sounds about right Grimcleaver. Except that I think the Parliment is just the city government building, not an entire section of town.

Also the three men defending the crowd are not guards, but Hellard(who we have not met yet, of course) and two commoners.

Liberty's Edge

Off subject...but are any of you going to Gen Con UK?? Just signed up for a Friday and Saturday adventures!!


Male Human Paladin 4/Moral Compass 3/Master GM 1 (ex-Retail Ninja 2)

Hello guys, I'm now back from Brisbane, exhausted but very happy. I spent WAAAY too much money, couldn't get internet access, and got roped into a game of a small 4-player GMless game called "Grey Ranks" which was quite fun.

Oh, and two of the other players were a couple of nice guys I met at the con, named Robin and Pete.
Oh my freakin' nonspecific deity! Talk about intimidating... but it was fun and enjoyable.

Babies: Congratulations to Azoun. Hope everything goes well.

Hero Machine: Probably about a half hour each, but I've been playing with that for a long time now. If you're not sure what you want, it'll take a while to browse things.

Maps: Yes, you have to stop the bacon bits attacking the croutons, otherwise the croutons will get all salty and taste like bacon... no, wait, this doesn't make sense. I like your map, but I better post my own to avoid confusion.

Posting: Thankyou all for continuing to post while I was gone, Wurzel McFurzel certainly had me rolling on the floor laughing with his cameo. If he survives, he is most certainly welcome to continue being a victim of the Nameless Horrors of Refuge.
I will have posted within the hour, hopefully.


Male 3.0: Simulationist 8 / Dramatist 5; 4e: Actor ( Explorer multiclass) 4
Blue_eyed_paladin wrote:
Maps: Yes, you have to stop the bacon bits attacking the croutons, otherwise the croutons will get all salty and taste like bacon... no, wait, this doesn't make sense. I like your map, but I better post my own to avoid confusion.

Cool. Glad your trip went well. We're going to be headed down to Salt Lake city from Wednesday to Sunday this week. A good friend is getting hitched.

Anyway your map looks awesome! Though with the undead all spread out in what is, really in all actuality, a way that totally makes a lot more sense--I might have to reframe who exactly Hague was targeting with his spinny-attack. What say the zombies around that southernmost palm tree are the ones that got drawn into it. That would leave two more groups, one to the NE and one to the W. Not that the other ones are out of the action, really...just drawn away from the Parliament and knocked down--or chopped up by other PCs.

Scarab Sages

Male Bullish

For some reason, I got it into my head you were away for a week.
Just popped onto the thread to see if anyone had added any more major real-life events.
Gaah! Gotta read the latest posts and add something, after I get some sleep...

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