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This here will be the discussion thread for the campaign.
It'll be a bit of time before I set the gameplay thread up, so why not use this time to perhaps see how your characters know each other?
Well, in Sandpoint, Ekan has been often at the House of Blue Stones (which I'm told is kind of a meditation area dedicated to Irori) but he's also a passable cook and may have done odd jobs elsewhere cooking in addition to his making food for his mentors.
Some might know him that way. However, there's more to training than meditation, he may have been spotted doing the young martial artist in training thang, as he ran laps around buildings, poised in crane stance on the shore's edge, and so on. :) So folks might have noticed him doing such.
Enormously gratified to have been chosen! Thank you!
I'll make a more proper introduction when I get home from work, this evening. As a restaurant GM, my weekends are my busiest working times. So, it may be close to midnight. =( Nevertheless, I've never had a problem posting at least once a day, so have no fear in that regard!
I'm eastern US, GMT -5, North Carolina. I'm on the wrong half of 30 and about to get married to a beautiful woman who is remarkably indulgent of the time I spend on Pathfinder! =)
As far as Ilya is concerned, don't be surprised if he "remembers" some of you, even if you've never met...
Thank you for picking this loud mouthed barbarian GM, I hope we'll all have a great time with this AP.
Fulko has been in town for less than a week, spending most of his time in the Rusty Dragon inn, and knowing him he's probably already well known amongst the people who work at and frequent the inn.
Howdy all! Glad to be here with everyone.
As I mentioned in the recruitment thread, Nicat's story would work very well with the archaeologist archetype, as well as the arcane duelist, so I'm happy to play either. Would you all prefer a bard that can inspire courage in the gang and do other sorts of bardic performance, or one that can fill the rogue role on traps and sneaking? I had also offered to be the Knowledgeable one, but it looks like Ilya can take the lead role in that.
As to how folks might know Nicat - he grew up in Sandpoint and is a pretty well-known fixture around town, always getting into things he shouldn't, juggling kittens he shouldn't, trying to balance on the fence in front of the mayor's office and landing on the mayor. He's also very inquisitive, so would likely have asked Ekan why he's always running around and might have turned up at the Rusty Dragon to earn a few coins performing, so would likely be known to Fulko, if he notices performers.
DM Runecat - would you mind opening the gameplay thread so we can dot it, even if you won't have our starting post up for a bit? Makes it easier to track when there are posts to check out.
Edit: Ekan - just noticed you're also Ollivor in Barcas' Skull and Shackles game! They call me Doran over there, nice to be in another game with you.
Done. The gameplay tab has a thread for dotting now.
I'll wait until everyone's had a chance to post here before I start talking about house rules & stuff.
As to how folks might know Nicat - he grew up in Sandpoint and is a pretty well-known fixture around town, always getting into things he shouldn't, juggling kittens he shouldn't, trying to balance on the fence in front of the mayor's office and landing on the mayor. He's also very inquisitive, so would likely have asked Ekan why he's always running around and might have turned up at the Rusty Dragon to earn a few coins performing, so would likely be known to Fulko, if he notices performers.
That sounds like a great way for Ekan to eventually strike up a friendship. Ekan is... reserved, but if Nicat inquired he might learn WHY Ekan wanted to learn how to fight, and the subject of giants would certainly put cracks in the human's normally stoic exterior. :)
Edit: Ekan - just noticed you're also Ollivor in Barcas' Skull and Shackles game! They call me Doran over there, nice to be in another game with you.
Hey! Great that we both made it then! I look forward to meeting another of your characters ;)
Howdy all! Glad to be here with everyone.
As I mentioned in the recruitment thread, Nicat's story would work very well with the archaeologist archetype, as well as the arcane duelist, so I'm happy to play either. Would you all prefer a bard that can inspire courage in the gang and do other sorts of bardic performance, or one that can fill the rogue role on traps and sneaking? I had also offered to be the Knowledgeable one, but it looks like Ilya can take the lead role in that.
As to how folks might know Nicat - he grew up in Sandpoint and is a pretty well-known fixture around town, always getting into things he shouldn't, juggling kittens he shouldn't, trying to balance on the fence in front of the mayor's office and landing on the mayor. He's also very inquisitive, so would likely have asked Ekan why he's always running around and might have turned up at the Rusty Dragon to earn a few coins performing, so would likely be known to Fulko, if he notices performers.
I say go with whatever archetype you feel like playing, and yes I'd say Fulko is the type that would notice performances and he is quite talkative so it wouldn't be far fetched for him to have approached Nicat and struck up a random conversation or two.
Hi, guys! So glad to have been picked, thanks GM Runecat!
As for knowing everyone, as a cleric of Shelyn, Sylvia would've chatted with Nicat whenever she was at the Rusty Dragon and he happened to be performing. She's probably also met Fulko while chatting with Nicat. It doesn't sound like he's going to be getting a lot of performances going!
Other than that she would be spending most of her time admiring the new chapel or walking through the trade district (if one exists), admiring the art there.
Hi Sylvia! Nicat would certainly be fascinated with your ability to draw on Shelyn to provide luck (i.e. bit of luck ability), if he had an opportunity to see it or even hear about it. He'd probably be eager to hang out and figure out how you do it (I've even considered having him dip a level in Cleric of Desna, though we don't really need the Luck domain twice).
It sounds like many of us would have hung out together at the Rusty Dragon - now I just need to decide on what Nicat's Perform skill is. I like the idea of him juggling, it fits with the luck notion and his personality, but it's pretty impractical if he's going to be performing at all in combat, since both hands will be pretty busy. I think Oratory, and him talking about his good luck and his foes' bad luck, will be the way to go, especially since watching someone juggle doesn't seem like it would inspire you to great feats of martial prowess.
As for Ekan - Nicat could have chatted him up, made some reference to giants (being such a giant himself), and invited him to come see a performance at the Dragon, if he ever actually gets up from the table and starts performing.
Edit: settled on Perform (comedy) since it includes buffoonery - which Nicat can certainly manage, and seems like it could include juggling all kinds of things - as well as joke-telling, which is probably how his descriptions of good and bad luck will manifest. I hear there's nothing harder to write than good comedy, though, so cut the little guy some slack, okay?
Lol! Nobody wants to admit knowing the weird, wild-eyed, blue-skinned wizard who's nostalgic about things that haven't happened yet, and looks forward to the stuff he's already done?!?!
Reporting in! I'm not exactly sure how well the others might know Eostre. She's an outsider to Sandpoint.
Well, it looks like the gang's all here! Time for a couple of ground rules:
When it comes to PbPs, initiative is one of those things that can trip up the pace of the game. If you're too strict with it, the pacing will tank.
That said, there are two systems of initiative I'd like to run by you:
A) The Party Initiative System
--> The way this works is thus: I calculate the party's average initiative and the baddies' average initiative. The team with the highest initiative roll goes first.
Pros: Combat is more fluid, and less likely to be tripped up by posting.
Cons: Math. And Initiative-boosting feats/traits/familiars are less valuable.
B) The Old-Fashioned Way
--> Much like on the tabletop, each PC's initiative will be rolled individually. For the sake of convenience, I will create a macro for all your initiatives and keep it handy for when combat breaks out. Same goes for the baddies.
Pros: Initiative boosting feats/traits/familiars are more valuable here. Easy to keep track of initiative order.
Cons: Pacing can easily be disrupted by prolonged absence.
Which option appeals to you most?
Maybe this is what you mean by option B, but I've actually found that a good way to do initiative in PbPs is for the DM to roll for everyone, as you suggest, so we don't spend days just rolling for initiative to start a combat. But the baddies all go on the same initiative number. Having multiple initiative numbers for a bunch of monsters slows down combats hugely, but it is nice for PCs who are built around going early (like the sorcerer dropping haste on the party) to be able to go first.
I'm not sure if I've stated this clearly, let me try again:
You roll for everyone, PC's and baddies.
You line up the initiative in the resulting order, and we all act in that order, some of us before the monsters, and some after.
After the first round, this basically becomes us and the monsters taking turns, much like under option A.
No waiting around, no math. And if it works for you, we all post when we're able to, and you just resolve the actions in initiative order, making minor adjustments as necessary (like if Nicat killed the goblin that Ekan said he's attacking, you put the attack on a different goblin, so Ekan isn't attacking a dead target).
Yep, that's what I planned for Option B.
Then I vote for Option B, and maybe we agree on a time frame after which a PC who hasn't posted gets DMPC'ed or otherwise bot'ed? You had said you were aiming for at least a post a day, so that could be our time frame.
What I do when gm'ing and like when playing is pretty much option B with a caveat. I'll set a day for when the enemies will go. Say combat starts on friday, and a group of PC's go first. After rolling initiative, I'll give them until Sunday morning to post their actions. If Sunday morning comes, whoever hasn't posted gets put on delay until after the enemies go. After that, it all turns into grouped combat, where I usually take actions as they're posted.
I like it and it makes things flow fairly smoothly. So Option B, I think. Initiative bonuses still count for something, and the flow isn't disrupted as much with deadlines in place.
Option A pretty much eliminates some of my best class abilities. So, I would strongly prefer to avoid that.
In another PbP game I was in (S&S), we used initiative in blocks. Suppose Nicat, Sylvia, and I rolled a 20, 18, and 17 respectively. The enemies rolled a 15, and the rest of the party rolled lower. Initiative would go:
Nicat, Sylvia, Ilya - in whatever order they post in, basically first come first serve.
Then enemies go.
Then Ekan, Fulko, and Eostre would go in whatever order they post in.
Then begin second round again with Nicat, Sylvia, and Ilya in any order.
This works pretty well.
Yeah, that's more or less what I was trying to describe, Ilya. I find it works pretty well. I've been in a couple of games where the DM rolled initiative separately for each bad guy, and he isn't a super frequent poster, and combat took forever - that I do not want.
I'd like to go with what Ilya suggested with one addition, if a player does not post within 12-24 hours(up to you GM) their character will be botted or they will miss their turn. I honestly wouldn't go with Option B for a PBP game, the normal inattentive system just wasn't built with these kinds of games in mind and Option A as Ilya mentioned pretty much makes a number of abilities less useful. Which is why I believe we should go with Ilya's suggested system.
Eostre, what are your opposed schools? It looks like necromancy is one. I was originally going to drop necromancy and evocation. But, I may switch it around since we're going to have two full wizards in the group.
Happy Easter, by the way!
Happy Easter. I've managed to get a spring cold, so I'm a bit off, but as for A or B, how about I just yield to the majority's view on this one
Spring colds have descended on my house too, Ekan. My older son (16 yrs) missed school most of last week and finally managed to sleep last night without constant coughing keeping him up - and I woke up with his cold...
Perhaps Nicat is less blessed with luck than he'd like to think, or at least I am.
Well, so far, it's general consensus that Option B for initiative is the most appealing (with modifications for blocks, of course!), so unless anyone has other concerns they wish to voice, we'll go with Option B.
Now, for the 2nd issue I wanted to run by you:
Rise of the Runelords is notorious for how dark and graphic it can get in places, and as such, it's important to gauge how comfortable you are with this.
What level of gore/sex/violence would you be comfortable with?
Keep in mind this can and will be adjusted to suit player taste if anyone has any objections at any point.
Its hard to say what we are comfortable with, without knowing how far it goes in gore/sex/violence, so how far does it go?
Happy Easter to everyone!
I'm fairly comfortable with anything provided it's story appropriate and handled in a mature manner. If the cult of Nocticula is involved in some weird stuff that we have to get neck-deep into to stop, that's totally fine with me.
On the other hand, if the CN Rogue wants to make a big show of his run down hooker alley, so he can make a lot of jokes and innuendo... I can live without that...
Well, I would assume most 'sex' happens off panel or a 'fade to black' kind of thing but that might just be how I've seen it done in other PBPs. Violence is a bit more central to the genre, so I guess it could be more blatant at least IMO but might depend on how graphic folks get. I mean, if Ekan crits on someone, I don't plan on writing whole paragraphs about how he disembowels his foe painfully with his bare hands ;)
I should add that while my tolerance is quite high, my desire for those things is not. If something exceeds someone's comfort level, it will not ruin my fun to leave it out or tone it down.
I should add that while my tolerance is quite high, my desire for those things is not. If something exceeds someone's comfort level, it will not ruin my fun to leave it out or tone it down.
Same here, so if anyone gets uncomfortable do speak up.
I'd echo what others have said - I'm an adult, and I don't mind if some graphic intensity in these areas adds to the intensity of the game and the effect of the story we're all crafting. But I don't have any interest in gory violence and graphic sexual description for its own sake.
I'd particularly agree with Ekan's point - violence is part of a game where we engage in combat regularly, and part of the fun, even. But I don't come here to read about gnomes gettin' it on, or anything in that vein.
I'm glad the general sense around this seems to be the same so far, and that we've all expressed that it's okay to speak up if anyone gets uncomfortable. I appreciate your raising this before we get started, Runecat.
Looking forward to gaming with this thoughtful, creative bunch!
Thanks for your input so far, guys!
I'm just waiting for Eostre & Sylvia to weigh in on this before I start.
Gore and violence kind of go hand in hand, no? I'd have to say I'm of the school where it's kind of expected, but I'm not here for that. I'd much rather have it toned down, though, like the others have said. I'm not looking to read paragraphs describing how someone got impaled and disemboweled.
Sex I'm a bit more strict on. I'd prefer there to be little to no graphic sexuality, to be honest. I mean, PG-13 is fine, and some nudity is understandable if the story calls for it, but if we're talking rape or whatever, or having something happen to my character (or any of the others for that matter) that isn't consensual, I'm really not comfortable with that at all. I'm not sure if I'm the only girl here or not, but I'm sure you guys understand where I'm coming from.
Good questions!
Eostre, what are your opposed schools? It looks like necromancy is one. I was originally going to drop necromancy and evocation. But, I may switch it around since we're going to have two full wizards in the group.
Easter was kind of busy for me, sorry for not posting.
My banned schools are Necromancy and Enchantment.
I'm okay with either option, though in the case of people depending on initiative for their class features, I lean more towards option B, with the caveat of players don't respond in time to be botted or miss their turn.
As for my comfort levels, I'm rather desensitized. As long as you don't go into INTIMATE detail ("The goblin's eating his face off" is okay, "the goblin is (insert graphic description of said face being eaten off here)" is not). And sexual stuff's okay with me. I come from a forum where sexually explicit roleplay wasn't a big deal. Rape and non-consensual sexual stuff is definitely something I'm not okay with, however. Like the others, my tolerance is high, but my desire isn't. If someone else is uncomfortable with something, I won't mind.
Thank you all for your input. I'll only go as explicit as a PG-13 rating for this unless you'd like me to go more than that.
Anyway...
I guess as an addendum to my previous statement...
I was talking to a friend earlier today who's actually played through this AP, and she said that you were probably talking about Book 2, and that I probably wouldn't mind it at all and that I'd probably get into the role. I have no idea what she's talking about (she wouldn't tell me), but there you go.
Ekan - we've got the ninja thing going on in this game! I beat you by 17 seconds in this last one. At least this time our posts fit together nicely.
Okay, this is a fun group. Some of the characters are very quirky. I get the feeling Ekan may end up playing the 'straight man' to some others, but that's fine. :) I'm certainly getting a better feel for him. For example, I suspect, if he has time later, he's going to go to the house of those pie makers and tend their lawn for them or whatever as a kindness. If he does it right, only those who heard his offer of help will suspect he did it.
Okay, this is a fun group. Some of the characters are very quirky. I get the feeling Ekan may end up playing the 'straight man' to some others, but that's fine. :)
Yeah, it seems that Ekan, Sylvia, and Nicat all live very much in the "Here and Now", whether that's for discipline, pleasure, or a lack of attention span... =)
Ilya kind of lives everywhere else but "here and now"... <_< , >_>
I'm finding Ilya's pondering of time quite fun and fascinating! Nicat is definitely about the here and now, though I haven't quite decided how to play his maturing as things get a bit grim later on in the tale, judging from what I've heard.
The conversation feels very...scattered right now.
I have a feeling I'll be pulling Straight Man duty with Ekan.
The conversation feels very...scattered right now.
I have a feeling I'll be pulling Straight Man duty with Ekan.
Yeah, Ilya's laying the temporal bit on a bit thick, at the moment. Just sort of establishing the character. I'll be scaling it back a lot, pretty quickly.
Now that everyone's been introduced, the conversations should flow more or less in the same direction. Plus: WOW! Page two in record pace! We are a fairly talkative bunch!
The conversation feels very...scattered right now.
I have a feeling I'll be pulling Straight Man duty with Ekan.
Yeah, Ilya's laying the temporal bit on a bit thick, at the moment. Just sort of establishing the character. I'll be scaling it back a lot, pretty quickly.
Now that everyone's been introduced, the conversations should flow more or less in the same direction. Plus: WOW! Page two in record pace! We are a fairly talkative bunch!
I hope we can do even better than this pace.
I am honestly loving this group so far, sure there is a lot of quirkiness, but I've noticed that each character has their own flavor of it, which in my opinion keeps things fresh.
Nicat is also laying it on a bit thick at the moment, to establish a clear personality - he won't always charge about quite so madly, though he won't give it up altogether, that's for sure. Of course, I've realized that piling on the personality has caused me to completely leave out his physical description - it's in his alias, but it's still nice to have in the tale.
I am also enjoying this group a lot, and am very pleased with the pace. Let's keep it up!
Well that roll was quite embarrassing...
Sorry had a bit of a Gandalf moment with the "Go you fools" comment.
I've GOT to quit crossposting with folks. Friend got into a conversation with me and when I finally hit reply, I find out I'm walking into an area that's about to be hit with sleep.
One nice thing about block posting is that it kind of self corrects. I got my post in before yours, and we're on the same block, so my action should happen first.
Since we are still at the first level GM, I was wondering if it is ok if I make a change to Fulko? I want to switch his Human Racial Trait: Bonus Feat with Focused Study, which won't change any of the current feats he has at level 1.
Sure. Go ahead.