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Thus far, that level of poisoner has really paid off. :)
OH. MY. GOSH. Man oh man all I could do is laugh at such a turn of events. Too funny. You know, in the deepest part of my mind, there was a little voice telling me:
Little voice: Don't worry, it's AK.
Practical voice: But he's dead. There's NOTHING he can do. If he attacks, it's not gonna be enough to kill him. He'll be dead next round.
Little voice: It's A. K. Trust me.
Practical voice: Doesn't matter, there's no way out this time. He's done and then it's just a matter of time until we're done.
Little voice: Whatever, dude. All I know is it's AK.
What I completely forgot about was the poison. And he failed on a 13? Especially a fighter type? Fortitude being their best save also. Not only that, but you also hit both times. So, to sum it up, you took your chances by attacking and amazingly hitting twice. You also gambled at the hope that he'd fail his save on a 13. Fantastically gutsy. But looking at it, there really was little else you could do. It was practically all or nothing.
Still, that was :)
Only, and I mean ONLY, AK. That's just greatness, I gotta say. :)
Lol :).
All credit to Tatya for Alazandaru's survival. And a ridiculous constitution for a rogue. The dice gods are making me work hard in return for their generosity.
My thought process was something more like-
Oh god, its the frog all over again...
I have to agree that thus far it's a very nice team effort. Just in this battle, Tatya and Alazandaru both contributed to Barhold dropping. Bostarg's actions kept Hogan from running (though it did prevent me from learning the chase rules, something I haven't had a good reason to really read through), and Morthos has kept the other two soldiers at bay.
I'm interested in seeing what you all try next!
Hey, that game looks familiar...
Amendment proposal-
If either lackey guard survived their respective stabbings, subtly stabilise him and leave him on the road, as though left for dead. This sows unrest on the other end, at the fortress, as he will attest that Desnans slew the captain and rescued Hogan. Should have them at each other's throats.
Pros-
Causes the soldiers to mistrust the Desnans, sows more chaos.
Cons-
No real chance of passing Morthos off as Barhold. I'd argue that unless we were going to do that extremely soon though, that ship has sailed anyway.
One extra man to fight at the fortress when we take it.
If either lackey guard survived their respective stabbings, subtly stabilise him and leave him on the road, as though left for dead. This sows unrest on the other end, at the fortress, as he will attest that Desnans slew the captain and rescued Hogan. Should have them at each other's throats.
Tatya has stabilize learned. Will cast it on the least injured lackey, if either are still alive.
As long as we take Barhold's body, a witness can't be sure he's dead. After all, he could have rolled a natural 20 on the Fort save vs. coup de grace.
Dragging a bleeding corpse with us will make it even easier for them to track us, however. Maybe set a grass fire to consume the signs of our passage? Is there a river or the like around here we could wade up or down to break the trail?
Bostarg, level up your profile already.
Did Alazandaru/Skorm make it back to the inn? Has the news arrived in Aldencross yet by the time the rest of us get back there?
Meh, these are the kinds of situations that make me squeamish about playing evil. More arrogant paladins to put in their place; fewer helpless, weeping innocents.
My longest-running PbP character is a cleric of Desna so I'm very conflicted OOC about killing Desnans. I don't blink an eye over Iomedaeans. ;D
I've actually been deciding what Alazandaru would do here... On the one hand his cold intellect and penchant for ritualistic murder (see backstory) would drive him to slay her... But killing a woman is a line he has not yet crossed...
Meh, these are the kinds of situations that make me squeamish about playing evil. More arrogant paladins to put in their place; fewer helpless, weeping innocents.
While this wasn't my intention when I set up the scene, I would like to say if I do enter any realm of discomfort let me know. We all have certain lines we don't want like to cross, and I'll do what I can to avoid those in the future!
Also more paladins is always good!
I was pondering the logistics of secretly sneaking a stiffening corpse back into town from the widow's place under cover of darkness in the middle of a curfew and suddenly had a vision of Alazandaru and Morthos Weekend-at-Bernie'sing Hogan to the mayor's shindig. :D
Fumbletongue and sow thought might both come in handy during a public speech/town meeting. What did you pick as second-level spells, Mark?
Ooh, I like unadulterated loathing, but I've never seen it used in-game yet. It has fantastic roleplay value in destroying people's relationships and breaking their hearts and combat usage as a debuff: designate an ally as the loathee and set them the task of staying within 60 feet of the enemy at all times, thus denying him standard actions. Great fun.
All right, apologies time.
I have been lax in my posting as of late and just want to explain why. A few weeks ago I found out some possibly bad health related news of myself (nothing life threatening). I was supposed to go get some blood work drawn on it. I instead chose to follow the most mature approach of skipping my appointment and trying to ignore it. The fun part is I've been becoming more and more depressed on it, and that always ends up in a spiral out of control and has affected everything I do (PBP included). So I'm picking up the pieces of what I've screwed up and moving on with things. I'll be rescheduling my appointment tomorrow.
As far as my games go, I'm not giving them up because of the depression. That would be giving in. I'm going to be getting in my updates tonight and getting them moving again and keeping them moving. I'm sorry for my sporadic posting and hope you guys will forgive me.
And yea, that's a nice spell. Can't wait to see how you guys handle things at the mayor's speech!
Busy time of the year for me at work. There'll be issues with posting at times. Just a heads up.
I have been giving this a great deal of thought, and I've finally come to a decision. I've decided to shut down the games I'm running.
Simply put, things have changed for me since I started running them. Professionally I'm taking more and more trips it seems, which cut into my available free time, and my responsibilities have increased. The amount of time I spend their increase similarly.
My personal life has similarly been suffering, aside from my recent medical news but also the travel and having moved aside from that. Attempting to make new friends, meet new people in the community, it all takes time.
I tried setting up a posting schedule to keep me going, but trial and error showed it takes more time for me to get a post in than I thought, and DM/GM posts take quite a bit longer for me. At this point, I miss a post and start to stress on it, which causes me to doubt myself, and that in and of itself makes me take longer to post.
So I think the fair thing for me to do for you all is to step down at this time. If there's anything I can do to help out, let me know. If someone wants to take over, I'll do what's needed to pass it along.
I wish to apologize for this as well. I hope up to this point people have had fun, even with the delays. This is not a decision I'm coming to lightly, I do enjoy running them. I just don't believe I can keep it up with the way things are right now.
I'll keep the game open for a few days so everyone can see this post before making it inactive.
Darn. I had really enjoyed this one.
All the best King M. GM PbP fatigue is a real b$~~~ and I understand. Thanks for the game.
My campaigns page is full of dead games due to the last couple of weeks lol. Only my 3 and DM S's are actually active...
Thanks for ending it straightforwardly, King Mark, rather than letting it die by abandonment.
I'm faring a little better than you, AK: four plus my own left. :) Is Dave not running Skull & Shackles anymore?
I echo AK's sentiment. I enjoyed this one myself. It was easily one of my favorite games, with Morthos being one of my top pc's I enjoy playing. You're a solid GM and I found this group to be a very good one. I thought the way we all handled the "evil" part of it was fantastic. This bunch clicked well. A really, really good group.
And an absolute thanks for running it, bud. And thanks for letting us know you were stepping down. Absolute class, in my opinion. Too many times have GM's just vanished without a word, while they post everywhere else.
I do not DM, but I do realize that it is far easier to post as a player than as a DM. That's why I won't. Because I just don't have that kind of time. I still don't see how folks - like AK and Mark - run as many as they do. I just cannot fathom that at all. I'd just curl up in the fetal position and weep in fear if I got myself wrapped up in that many. :P
Hate to see it end but it's been fun, folks.
Take care of yourself, KM. Hope things settle down for you soon, my man.
Thanks for ending it straightforwardly, King Mark, rather than letting it die by abandonment.
I'm faring a little better than you, AK: four plus my own left. :) Is Dave not running Skull & Shackles anymore?
True, I forgot that one. Its plodding along... slowly.
I just cannot fathom that at all. I'd just curl up in the fetal position and weep in fear if I got myself wrapped up in that many.
I feel the same about Mark's PbP habit ^^.
I've recommended several players in this game to Okoya, who is thinking of running a game himself.
Indeed - many thanks to King Mark for the time spent guiding us through what we managed of the first book. I had a great deal of fun, and would have no problems jumping back on your bandwagon if you were ever in a place where you'd feel like running a game again.
I'll also add - chin up. I've needed to shut down games myself as well, and it's not a poor reflection in any way shape or form. The missed post cycle can be brutal and it's one that I struggle with as well. As work's picked up I've had to be honest with myself that I'm not a fast DM anymore :P
The end of Book One in WotW is also brutal as far as DMing goes - so much to keep track of and there isn't really too much of a railroad that could be followed. With my PbP I ended up skipping it almost entirely.
As to the number of games I'm in... well the Campaign summary isn't three columns anymore... I'm only DMing five real ones nowadays... and the active games are probably less than ten or so (but some absolute corkers in there that have been going for a long time (Voodoo's Freeport, AK's Sargavan and Joana's Riddleport being the highlights).
The end of Book One in WotW is also brutal as far as DMing goes - so much to keep track of and there isn't really too much of a railroad that could be followed. With my PbP I ended up skipping it almost entirely.
I'll say. You know, I was just thinking that. It seems Book 1 moved along well and then you run into, 'Okay, you've got three weeks to do something, go!' That would probably work a lot better around the table, but for pbp it doesn't roll well at all. Fire Mountain Games did well for the most part, it's just that last bit that really makes it difficult on what to do. They left too much hanging, too much for a DM to come up with. It's one thing to tweak an AP, it's another to have to make up something entirely. That's why most folks run AP's, so they don't have to make up everything.
Personally, I'm a fan of a bit of railroad. I got no issues with a nudge here and there. It helps move the story along, I feel.
I can totally see why you would pass that up, Mark. But I'll confess, as a player I'd love to go through and wipe out everyone in that building/fort whatever it is. Of course, I also realize that's a bit ridiculous, but that's just the power gamer in me. :)
I've recommended several players in this game to Okoya, who is thinking of running a game himself.
That's interesting. I'll have to keep an eye out for it if he does. Of course, if he does decide to and I were to submit Morthos and he get picked up, I just don't know how well he'd roll with new folks. This group fit him soooo well. That is so hard to find.
Wiping out the fort is one thing - but it's thinning the ranks enough to let you do it successfully that's the issue. There are a bunch of high levelled characters and threats hiding in there (including the 100 guards) that would spell doom unless you manage to cull some of them first.
Dannnnng. I guess I was wrong. It's way more than ridiculous. It's suicide. :p
Lol! A hundred guards. Oh my gosh. A 100? Seriously? That's just too funny. My gosh that's a lot o' folks.
Tacitus of Morimun.
If the PCs started a straight fight with that lot, they would face a CR 14 fight. Actually, the battle would be harder than that (CR 16?), because the soldiers have a well-coordinated command, artillery (ballistae and stone droppers) and defensive fortifications as well as dwarven allies.
Worse, a credible direct assault would allow the watchtower to dispatch its ravens. Soon, Balentyne would be reinforced by garrisons from the hamlet of Aldencross all the way to the metropolis of Ghastenhall. Clearly, a direct assault is suicide. Instead, subtlety is called for.
I just want to say thank you for the kind words everyone! I can't express how much it means to me that not only are you all understanding, but would like me to come back to run. As things are right now, work generally slows down happens usually the first week of February. I don't know how things will be with me then at that time, but if I were to pick them back up that's when I'd start looking to do so. I'll try to send out an update to you all then. Once again, thanks for everything!
On a different note, when I ran this tabletop, I had to work to convince my player's to at least consider investigating. Their plan was to wait until nightfall and begin slaughtering the keep like a dungeon, not a single bit of information gathering. As it stands, they began doing some work to thin out the fortress itself and had a rather nasty encounter...
Learning that Captain Mott was married, they decided to slaughter his wife and wait for him to come home. Putting her in the bed, three of the five players waited in his room (the other two weren't sneaky) the halfling rogue in his bed, the two monks (zen archer and four winds) hiding behinds curtains. Wanting it to be enough of a challenge to at least be fun while not overwhelming, I decided to have him hang his armor in another room (describing the rack for it), but also described a weapons rack for his halberd in the bedroom which they didn't catch onto.
So into the bedroom comes a buck nekkid Captain Mott holding only a halberd to pull aside the blanket revealing his dead wife and the halfling rogue, snapping off some witty retort. The four winds monk moved up and the zen archer shot at him. Then the halfling rolled first on inish and brought him down even further. It was looking nasty already.
Then Captain Mott went. On the dice: 20, 19 to confirm crit (with x3 weapon), 19 for second attack. The 4th level halfling rogue who had maxed HP every level (sitting at 40 hp) and a 14 con went from full to deader than dead by something like 78 points of damage. Sadly I had rolled everything in the open so I couldn't fudge it down a bit.
The look on the two monks faces as they tried to decide to try and finish him off or to bolt was just plain perfect. The rest of Aldencross was handled with care after that.
Nasty. Reminds me of Buggula's first character. Greataxe crit and done. Just brutal.
And I agree with Mark. If you do ever decide to pick this up again, just let me know as well.
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We have an offer of DMship for our orphaned characters by the kind DM Aku
Hey, I was reading your other wotw thread, and I was thinking something.
Talk to your other players, and ask if they want me to assume your game as a new DM. I have a different DMing style, but I think we can continue that gameplay, so you dont need to start again. :D
Well, that is something to consider.
Anyway, thanks.
Aku.
At last! Now we can talk about AK behind his back. ;)
I just got through reading the discussion thread in KM's Second Parchment and would have to totally agree with them in the reason for not taking on a new DM.
This post and Price and Cain's post right after it say it best.
I know the point is moot now but, I felt bad about not responding when AK put the option out there but I was trying to think of a way to put it that wasn't offensive to the offering DM. Well, that and work's been killing me but that's another story.
I just feel those above linked posts put it in perfect perspective.
Was fun, folks. This was easily one of my favorite pbp's on these boards.
Good group with some solid chemistry all around. Sorry to see it end. It's tough to come by that very often.
I've actually been considering restarting the two games if people are still interested. Work has slowed down enough where I can devote time to posting again.
The big reason I haven't is the possibility of surgery. For a few months now I've been going to the doctor and it started off with a lot of doom and gloom because of my weight (I'm more than a little heavy). Also I had to see the cardiologist and go through a bunch of tests for both of them. At this point I'm not entirely certain how much of my fears were just me, but after all the tests I'm actually fairly healthy besides my weight. One issue is though that my BP raises too high with little exertion, so I need to focus more on my diet than exercise (not that I shouldn't exercise, but nothing strenuous). It was also recommended that I look into one of the weight loss surgeries.
Which is where I'm at right now. In fact, today I'm spending time filling out a pretty long packet of information about myself for the surgery which I need done before my first appointment. Next week I have an appointment with a nutritionist to begin a diet program as well.
So my concern has been if I start it up, then have this surgery shortly thereafter, it may end up putting another pause in the game while I recover. Plus I know in May I'll have a week I won't be able to post for my annual leadership conference. I at least want to get my first appointment with the surgeon before I commit to anything. But just to keep you all updated (since I haven't been as well as I should have).
I'd be up for continuing if we keep the same group together.
Mark's actually about to take off for three weeks of vacation so it might be a good idea not to start up right away anyway, if you choose to.
AK's in another WotW game with a different character; I don't know if he's still interested in playing Alazandaru with us.
Man, dude, I would SOOOOO love to continue this game. If you'd be willing to roll with it, I'm there.
And you take care of what you need to, bud. If we got to pause, we got to pause. It's all good to me. At least we'd have it back going again.
This group had such great chemistry, there's no way I could say no to not picking this back up.
You got my vote, bud.
And I hope all goes well for you with all you've got going on.
I'm up for continuing as well if things pan out - but obviously won't be back in full flight until I'm back from my holiday (should be mid April).
I'm in. Especially as things are a bit too full of conflict in my other Wotw game.