Rise of the Runelords game in the middle of the second book seeks GM


Recruitment


Heyo, I'm in a game where our GM just up and left about a month ago. I took over to keep things going, but I just don't have the bandwidth to continue. If you're interested, you can find the link to the gameplay thread below.

http://paizo.com/campaigns/AnotherRotRLByDMCrispy/gameplay&page=last

All of us really want to keep going, so anyone looking for a solid core of players shouldn't be disappointed.

WARNING! Spoilers for RotRL ahead! (Where we are precisely):

We are currently in Magnimar and have not yet begun exploring Aldern's connections to the Brotherhood of Seven and the Skinsaw men. The GM had one of the character's families killed by Faceless Stalkers and when I took over, I had two of the characters kidnapped, imprisoned, and then escaping thanks to a divinely empowered spell. Meanwhile, the rest of the group has either looked for clues in the house or gone to recruit another character's parents in helping to locate the two missing characters.

As of right now, we have the group at the house discussing what they found, which includes hints of where to search next (The sawmill and Aldern's townhouse,) the group going to enlist some help arguing outside of the door to the house/shop of the people they are looking for, and the two kidnapped, then escaped characters being hauled off to the Arvensoar for questioning.

If you read the last five or so pages, that should give you a firmer idea of what's going on.

I'll also be getting the others to describe their characters and situations here in so you can have a better idea of what you're getting into.


Hi, I'm one of the players, Jessica DuMorne.

Jessica has led a largely sheltered life until now and is having things thrust at her that prove to her she was wrong to view the world as she has. It's a harsh, scary, and dangerous place now. Despite the changes to her world view she is still too trusting and will continue to be. Jessica has too much optimism in her for anything else and her desire to believe that people are better than they are will be both her greatest strength and weakness in the end.

She recently witnessed the replacement of her family by murderous creatures upon her return to Magnimar from Sandpoint and has been devastated by it. Her and Kiley's recent kidnapping however had brought her confidence back and her desire to show those behind the murders why you don't anger a priestess of love by attacking her loved ones, hell hath no fury after all. She' also going through the first love of her life via the pc Tal, while it's been rocky at times she's very much fallen for him.

She's also been learning that family is about more than those who birthed you, you can choose them as well and she considers all of the party as members of her family now.

As far as Jessica's build she's currently Cleric (ecclisiathurge) 5 and I plan on taking her into the evangelist prc next level. She's very much a support/heal character as her combat abilities are not superb.


Hey guys,

I might be interested in taking over your group. I was a major player here back in 2011-2012 but due to some rather unusual events had to leave the boards and have tried a couple of come backs but most have fizzled out on my part. I understand with my recent history taking me on as a GM is a risk but I have had a rather successful run in the past and had several people trying to get into multiple games of mine. I am a student but I'm taking a semester and the summer off before starting graduate school so I will have a lot more time to dedicate to posting and running things after the new year starts but am able to jump in now.

If your willing to give me a chance I'd be willing to pick up where you guys left off. Rise of the Runelords is by far my favorite game to run!


Grace is an opera diva from Cheliax. Born on the streets, she was "discovered" and brought into the opera, trained to become a star soprano known as "Wicked Grace".

Eventually, she realized how horrible her homeland was and escaped with a fellow opera singer, Elisai. Together they made their way to Sandpoint, the most obscure location they could find that still would give them work.

There, they fell in with the rest of the party. Grace couldn't take part in all their adventures due to contractually obligations but is now a full party member.

Grace is very much a social creature. Her music magic is mighty, to be sure, but she specializes in social interactions. She's interrogated stubborn prisoners and forged treaties with goblins. She also serves as backup healer, should the need arise.


Kiley's a native of Sandpoint and lost her parents in the events that took place five years prior to the game. Her father was murdered by the Chopper and her mother died after being severely injured in the fire that claimed Northern Sandpoint. She was taken in by Ameiko shortly after she opened the Rusty Dragon and caught Kiley trying to steal some food from the kitchen. She wasn't there when the party cleaned out the Catacombs of Wrath, but she's been there for everything else.

Kiley's the most emotionally unstable of the group. She doesn't take betrayal well, and when Tal cast a spell on her to calm her down while raiding Thistletop, she was afraid of him and what he did for a while. She's very attached to the silver Holy Symbol of Desna she wears because it was her mother's and the only thing she has left of either of her parents.

She is a comforter by nature. After capturing Nualia, Kiley was the one that managed to get her back on track. Kiley was with Jessica, trying to console her, when she was kidnapped, and wound up being kidnapped herself. She was ensorceled by a mage working with the group that kidnapped the pair. The mage tried to get Kiley to fight Jessica, but failed to overcome Kiley's will and instead beat her into unconsciousness before imprisoning both her and Jessica in a demi-plane.

Mechanically, Kiley's the wrecking ball of the party. She uses a halberd to hack, stab, and trip opponents. She'll be a fighter for the foreseeable future, and I'm looking forward to when she can trip and attack in the same turn.

RotRL SPOILERS! GMs only!:

In regards to the mage I mentioned, it's Xanesha.


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DM Mathpro wrote:

Hey guys,

I might be interested in taking over your group. I was a major player here back in 2011-2012 but due to some rather unusual events had to leave the boards and have tried a couple of come backs but most have fizzled out on my part. I understand with my recent history taking me on as a GM is a risk but I have had a rather successful run in the past and had several people trying to get into multiple games of mine. I am a student but I'm taking a semester and the summer off before starting graduate school so I will have a lot more time to dedicate to posting and running things after the new year starts but am able to jump in now.

If your willing to give me a chance I'd be willing to pick up where you guys left off. Rise of the Runelords is by far my favorite game to run!

Not to be rude or anything, but why would you start up GM'ing another RotR group when you just recruited a group of players, then vanished without a word? Perhaps you could try to pick that campaign back up before trying to start a new one?

Not trying to be mean, but it only seems fair to at least give your previous group a post saying whether or not you were at least coming back to it. In the campaigns I've had to fold up before due to RL time constraints (a dual-group, simultaneous timeline Kingmaker I had high hopes for but did not foresee various RL issues developing to botch it), I made sure to at least give that courtesy, and have not tried to start another group as DM since.

Also, not trying to start an argument or flame war in this thread, but I just wanted to express concerns.


Thron wrote:
DM Mathpro wrote:

Hey guys,

I might be interested in taking over your group. I was a major player here back in 2011-2012 but due to some rather unusual events had to leave the boards and have tried a couple of come backs but most have fizzled out on my part. I understand with my recent history taking me on as a GM is a risk but I have had a rather successful run in the past and had several people trying to get into multiple games of mine. I am a student but I'm taking a semester and the summer off before starting graduate school so I will have a lot more time to dedicate to posting and running things after the new year starts but am able to jump in now.

If your willing to give me a chance I'd be willing to pick up where you guys left off. Rise of the Runelords is by far my favorite game to run!

Not to be rude or anything, but why would you start up GM'ing another RotR group when you just recruited a group of players, then vanished without a word? Perhaps you could try to pick that campaign back up before trying to start a new one?

Not trying to be mean, but it only seems fair to at least give your previous group a post saying whether or not you were at least coming back to it. In the campaigns I've had to fold up before due to RL time constraints (a dual-group, simultaneous timeline Kingmaker I had high hopes for but did not foresee various RL issues developing to botch it), I made sure to at least give that courtesy, and have not tried to start another group as DM since.

Also, not trying to start an argument or flame war in this thread, but I just wanted to express concerns.

Thank you for expressing your concerns. Unfortunately I had unforeseen life issues come up that is none of anyone's business on this public form as they are very personal family related issues involving my children. I have been following my previous thread and was about to see if people want to pick things back up but it looks like most of them have moved on. I agree with you and will still touch base with them after I post this and would be willing to do both. As I said in my intro post this is my favorite AP.

Edit: OH hey Valeria...sorry didn't recognize your user name...I should have. I've checked in with the other group. If you want to continue this discussion via PM's feel free but I don't want to pollute this thread to much with our drama lol.


Delendir Farnes wrote:

Welcome to any potential GMs! I think this is a great opportunity for anyone looking for an active and reliable group who enjoys character interactions in addition to advancing through the story.

Thank you Delendir


Welcome to any potential GMs! I think this is a great opportunity for anyone looking for an active and reliable group who enjoys character interactions in addition to advancing through the story.

Delendir is a stout middle-aged half-elf ranger looking for redemption. The taint of murder darkens his past and when he thought to have obtained the peace he was struck by the violence of the wilderness (his home was raided by giants, he believes, while he was hunting). He is a determined, traditional man without manners, but nonetheless he is very caring and seeks to defend Sandpoint and the party members for some reason feeling he is responsible for them.

So far he has been the main explorer through the whole adventures, worked as the group quartermaster and tried hard to find things to keep following the clues and duties when the party was struck by dark events. He is the only one who has no one in the party very close, although he has some interesting relationship with Tal and Daud. He covers that close friendship needs with Ghina, his hawk animal companion.

Mechanically he is the eyes and trapper of the party. Competent but not specialized either in ranged or melee combat, he complements the party as it better fits the situation, either from afar or close combat joining Kiley and Daud when needed.


DM Mathpro, as much as we appreciate the offer to take over, there are some concerns. I'm afraid that those concerns are great enough that we would not feel comfortable with you taking over. We do thank you for showing an interest and being honest with us, and I hope that if we ever do have to go through this again, those concerns will have been alleviated altogether.

Again, sorry for turning you down.


If you guys are still searching, I wouldn't mind throwing my hat in the ring. I've been wanting to get a game going again for some time after my last game fizzled out. It went for over a year before dying out due to player issues (all but two of the party had real life issues come up consistently which led to a lot of down time). I do own RotRL AE and Original editions, and know exactly where you guys are at. The main thing I should mention is that I do live on the East Coast, and work from 8-5. After that, I'm pretty much open to post. If you guys have any concerns or questions, feel free to ask me, I'm an open book. Finding a new GM is definitely a rough decision to make, so I don't mind if you take your time in getting back to me.


Would also like to add that I've played with Halvor in my current Rise game I'm a player in, as well as an attempted game with Tal (who's character I found interesting).


Oh hi, Kyrian! I'm playing Gwyn in that RotRL game you mentioned.

I'll have to wait for the others to have their say, but feel free to ask any questions and I'll try my best to answer them.


*palms his brain through his forehead for completely forgetting that minor detail*

I completely did not realize that lol. Well you know my posting rate, well, as long as we can stay consistent. I tend to get quiet during lulls. Which is why I've been wanting to get a game going recently because we have slowed down there. I can't wait til we get going back up because my evenings are extremely boring right now and I'm trying not to flood the game with posts, although we should probably do that anyways. Anyways, enough of that game, we can talk there lol.


I know the feeling, trust me. Anyway, I think everyone else is on a different time than us. I'm in the Southeast US, CST.

So, any questions while we wait on a verdict?


From me or from you guys?


Verdict: Us. I'm the only one that's expressed an opinion, and the others have a stake in this game too, so it's only fair to let them get their piece in.

Questions: From you. I'm more than happy to help answer any that you may have.


My main curiosity is your guy's posting rates so I know how much I'll need to keep up. As far as character details, that's something I'd ask for if you guys take me.


*waves from the Southeast*


DM KLS wrote:
My main curiosity is your guy's posting rates so I know how much I'll need to keep up. As far as character details, that's something I'd ask for if you guys take me.

We typically post about once a day on average. Some of us post more, some a little less, but not by much.

Sunday Daud wrote:
*waves from the Southeast*

*Waves back*


Sounds good.


I'm fine with the idea of you taking over KLS.

As for me, eastern std time here so I'm not too far off from you. I manage 1+ posts a day most of the time. It varies depending on the day and what is going on at any given time but I try to make it no less than 1 if possible.


Hi KyleS!

Getting a new GM is such a difficult process, but taking over the work from another person is even a greater challenge, so all my respects and thanks for your attention.

I see your experience with the PbP format has been long but not very fruitful besides the game you share with Kiley. So let me add some questions here. In your opinion:

1) Why people start PbP GMing with long campaigns as APs instead of short ones as Scenarios and Modules?

2) What makes a PbP campaign to keep moving?

3) What does keep you interested to GM the same campaign and group through years?

4) What has interested you about our group?

5) How much daily time does it take running a PbP AP?

6) How do you want to manage encounters difficulty given we are 7 players in a 4 characters AP? (currently I believe we are playing below recommended level to adjust)

7) How do you want to manage initiative and maps?

I have much more questions but I do not want to scare you or any other potential GM that might be thinking on applying too :)


Ooh, questions... I like them. Okay, let's see what I can do here...

1) Why people start PbP GMing with long campaigns as APs instead of short ones as Scenarios and Modules?

Just as there are many types of players, there are different types of GM's. There are the story tellers, the dictatorial gods, the kick back and see what unfolds, the rule abiding and the rule tossing... The list could honestly go on. When it comes to play by post format, it allows for some of these GM's to experiment a little more and delve into something they may not be able to get at a physical table. The biggest portion being the story itself. With this format, it allows them to take the time to develop their cast of characters to interact with the players so that it's not seen as a "Well they tell you that..." but comes out as "He looks at your group and begins to explain..." which is followed by and actual explanation with their personality and their quirks. It becomes something to engage in, not just a short hand deal to save time at the table. And because of this, it allows the story driven GM's (such as myself) to actually delve into the world, to flesh it out, to surround the players in their environment so that the players don't just have to feel like they're competing for the most kills, but can actually feel like their character is actually making a difference in the world because they can see their actions and consequences unravel themselves. It's because of those reasons that I feel more GM's attempt to run long campaigns rather than modules in play by post format because it no longer has to be rushed or pushed aside by irregularities at the physical table.

2) What makes a PbP campaign to keep moving?

It's pretty simple really. As long as the players and the GM keep interest, then there shouldn't be a reason for it to stop moving. The key though is keeping that interest alive and flowing. It's a matter of the GM making sure that he gets to the players, involves them in what they're doing, making the player feel as though their character stands out, even if it's something everyone else considers small and trivial. It depends on the players to continue to drive the GM so that they can show their characters aren't just a one way street that follow the same path as everyone else. Showing the GM that their character is growing in the world the GM paints and showing that they want to keep the growth going. And to top it all off, it requires constant communication. I've seen games die due to the lack of it. Everyone has to be able to say "Hey, this week may be rough for me" or "I'm sorry about the last couple of days". Players and GM's who just drop and become unheard of for days or weeks on end just allow for the game to stall, and when it stalls, it's all over. Keeping that communication flowing so that if something happens, people know what to do allows the game to move forward and keep people interested in wanting to see what happens next. If it can keep interest, then it's just up to the GM and the players to keep the story interesting like it should be.

3) What does keep you interested to GM the same campaign and group through years?

Like I said earlier, I'm a story driven GM. I thrive on watching things grow and evolve. A character at level 15 is never the same character as they were at level 1. Being able to see that change and give influence to allow for those changes keeps me excited to keep going. If my players show that they want to grow, then I'm going to keep allowing them to grow.

4) What has interested you about our group?

A lot of free time on my hands for one to be honest lol. As Adam can tell you, we've hit somewhat of a lull the last few weeks which has freed my evenings up immensely. And I've grown tired of not running a campaign for people which is something I enjoy doing. So not only does this help fill my time of nothingness and boredom, but it would allow me to get back to running a game again. Seeing you guys lose a GM to only have one of you get up and run it shows to me that you all want this to continue. You didn't just all back away one by one, you kept it going. And I like that, it makes me want to provide a story for you all so that you can have fun playing and not worrying about who's going to run it next. After all, this is supposed to be a fun, not something that brings you down because of the effort needed (unless you already enjoy the hell out of doing prep work).

5) How much daily time does it take running a PbP AP?

It all depends on the circumstance. If it's a period of down time in which the characters are interacting with themselves or NPC's, then it's just a matter of taking as much time as felt needed to be able to provide references, look up details that help encourage the development, and whatever else that may come up. Once it comes time to get ready for combat, however much time it takes to get everything ready. How many monsters need to be at the ready, what would happen if the players tried different tactics, what needs to be on the map, what is the map in the first place. And then once combat actually begins, taking the time to read all the actions, the responses, figuring out what's happening to what and keeping everything up to date. How many rounds are left on that spell, how much longer until that thing in the corner will possibly wake back up... It's never just a matter of how many hours should be spent, it's a matter of how much effort should be given.

6) How do you want to manage encounters difficulty given we are 7 players in a 4 characters AP? (currently I believe we are playing below recommended level to adjust)

That's something I believe circumstance would have to dictate. A party of 4-6 typically can get away with minor changes as long as the characters aren't extremely supercharged with every magical device they can get their hands on. Keep in mind I say typically lol. More than that though takes effort in planning though because it's never just about how many more monsters can be thrown into the mix. Some situations will depend on the size of the encounter, what's involved in the encounter, how you have been progressing in previous encounters, so on and so forth. So as much as I hate to say it's a cross it when it comes type of deal, it kind of is in an essence for the simple fact that things can change unexpectedly.

7) How do you want to manage initiative and maps?

I use Google docs for the maps and lists that are needed, and as far as combat goes, I've adapted the "organized free for all method" as I like to refer to it as. Basically you would still roll initiative, and post your actions each round as they come up and you get the chance. At the end of the round, I'll go through the actions, arrange them in the order of combatants, and show the action that way. If something does occur that would provide potential issue, then I'll bring it up asking if you want to take a different course of action. As for the rolls, I leave it up to you guys if you wish to see my rolls. I personally don't like to use the dice here to roll because I've had slight issues of meta gaming with some players, so I find keeping mine behind the screen with my real dice allows for me to minimize those chances (not saying you all are a bunch of meta gamers, I just have different preferences thanks to them). Plus, it allows for me to make changes on the fly if, and I stress *IF*, a discretionary GM call needs to be made.

Yes, I can be a long winded bastard, I hear it all the time lol. But do those answers help you guys at all? And feel free to ask me more questions if you feel the need to or if there's something you want me to touch on more.


Thanks KLS, I am satisfied with your answers.

On my behalf that is all :)

I do not know if others want to ask more things or are there any other people beyond DM Mathpro and DM KLS interested in our game.


Glad to know my long windiness helped out lol.


Just gonna say, because of the amount of time I've had in the last few days, I seriously just read all 94 pages of what you guys have done up to this point. Seeing what your characters have gone through to get and idea of what came to be, I would be honored to even try and keep this game going for you. If this was Netflix, I'd definitely be binge watching lol.


Yay!


High praise indeed. :D


I really like the group so far, it's a very entertaining read for sure. I suppose just keep me up to date as to your guys' decision.


DM KLS, you want another great read, check out Adam's other Runelords game:

over here

things in this game are getting intense. lots of great reads.

sorry I am not hijacking the thread, I wish you all the best of luck, and happy hunting.


DM KLS, sorry for how long it took to get back to you, but everyone has said they'd like you to take over. Thanks for the offer, and we look forward to seeing what you do.

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