Dotdottydotdot
Hello all!
Posting Rate: I'm gonna stand on a soapbox here for a moment and it might ruffle feathers and if it does, I apologize ahead of time. I don't mean any harm with it.
Post rate is the most important thing in a PbP. This is from a few years experience both playing and running PbPs here on the forums. Posting consistency is the second most important. Posting rate just means you post often, posting consistently means you post daily, and those things are close but not the same thing.
Example: I don't post for 3 days but on day 4 I make 8 posts. It looks like I've posted 2/day but in reality everyone was waiting on me for 3 days this week.
In a PbP, unlike a tabletop game, people are generally waiting on you to do something for them to respond to, so when you fail to meet your posting commitment you aren't just stalling the GM, you are hindering ALL the other players.
All that being said, can we agree to a set of posting expectations?
I propose one post per 24/hours in Gameplay. That way, the longest anyone has to wait is about 1 day.
Also, a tip I give my players is to post daily regardless if their characters don't have anything to add as a GM it lets me know they are at least still following the thread. Something like
Zat thinks to himself, boy this talking is really taking a long time...
It not only lets everyone know you are still here, it also keeps your posting consistent.
Typically I post in the morning at home between 4-7AM CST and then periodically throughout the day from my office (depending on how busy I am that day) until about 4PMCST. I sometimes post after that from home but I usually am busy with wife/kids after that.
I welcome everyone elses ideas on this
I agree...I usually am pretty consistent. No one will be needing to wait for me, unless something out of the ordinary impacts my schedule. I have played in DaWay's games before, and he is well aware of my posting habits.
Zat: I also game with you in Asmodeus' PbP as Narnel.
Dotting the thread. I agree that keeping up the posting energy is important. Going too long saps the momentum, badly.
Checking in here to see if I added my stats to my tagline correctly and ask a couple of questions that I didn't want to clutter up the Gameplay thread with.
I love the idea of starting in media res. However, I'd like to make sure I understand the basic situation before I jump into the game.
It sounds like we've all been traveling to Greenest together? Is it just the six of us or are there others (merchant wagons, caravan guards, etc.)? Is it safe to assume that we have all gotten to know each other a little already, at least superficially (i.e., enough to know each other's names and vocations)?
Sorry if these are obvious questions, but I didn't want to start my first PbP by making assumptions that I'd later have to retcon.. I'd like to avoid as many newbie mistakes as I can!
dot.
Curious if one can dot the discussion thread and have it show up on the campaign page. So a bit of an experiment.
EDIT: Nope. You have to dot the gameplay thread.
Wait, hold on...
Dwarf
Half-orc
Gnome
Elves (x3)
Torches?! We don't need no stinkin' torches! This entire party has darkvision. Sweet! This could come in really handy.
I like the idea that we were all part of a caravan heading to Greenest for personal reasons. We can do the bonding over hardships thing and then reveal our motivations once the dragon is not attacking the town -- assuming we all survive.
That being said, we were traveling with each other for a few days now, so we probably at least now each other's names.
Sounds good... I'd assumed the situation was something like that. And a baptism of fire is a good way to forge a group.
Anyway, that gives me enough to go on... Thanks!
I can post everyday. I love this stuff!
Done!
OK. I have a long post in right now and I have a couple questions about going forward.
1. Do we determine our own Advantage/Disadvantage by knowing the rules or will you DaWay ask us to re-roll after?
2. Does anyone have a problem with how Adrick is being portrayed? He can be a jerk in certain situations until he warms up to you.
3. Does anyone need me to "tone down" the Dwarven accent? I'm cool either way. I like doing it at the table so it comes through in the writing.
4. Is anyone having as much fun as I am? This is super exciting for me!
Always a blast...so far, so good!
Testing out the dice format:
@Adrick: I definitely don’t have a problem with the way you’re portraying Adrick. It’s in character, so I don’t think anyone will take it personally. And the accent is fine, so far… I’ll let you know if I need a translator!
As for me, I’m definitely enjoying myself! I particularly like the idea of starting with some action, but also being able to play out meeting the group via flashback at the same time. That’s a neat trick and one of the advantages of the format, I suppose.
I don’t know if I’ll be able to post every day as often as I’ve been able to manage today, but I’m going to try to contribute as much as I can.
Cheers!
Protip, Zat> You might want to use hyphens between the words when you do the speed speech thing. It'll make it less brain hurty to read. You can also make it bold and italic to really distinguish it.
"This-is-how-it-looks-when-I'm-speaking-very-fast!"
Posting in Gameplay thread in a couple of minutes.
Thanks DaWay!
Its supposed to be brain hurty, thats the point of it =)
If Zat has something important to say, he will take a breath and say it slowly.
Its not a bonus action...I fired a shot, and then hid. That is 2 actions...
That is what I meant about higher levels, Zat. You can do that with a bonus action at 2nd level.
Hmm. I thought hiding would be the move action but I thought wrong. Let the arrow stand, I'll wait till next level and start hiding.
If there is no threat to you, like I do not think there is now, use your action to attack. You still get to use Sneak Attack damage so long as an ally is engaged in melee (within 5 feet) or you have advantage. Ragnar will nearly always give you Sneak Attack.
Yes but hiding should grant advantage...
It does, if successful, and you need cover to do it. However, you don't really need it if you have allies within 5 feet of your target...you still get sneak attack damage. At 2nd level it will be moot. It is much better to be able to attack every round with sneak attack damage instead of every other round with potential advantage.
Once you start getting your Cunning Action bonus actions at 2nd level, sniping and zipping in and out of melee will be a lot better.
It's worth noting there's no self-contained "move action" in 5e. You get an action and you get to spend movement up to your movement rate. That movement can come before, after, or be broken up by the action. The actions are generally fairly specific and start on 192 of the PH. Then, some characters get (or will get) specific bonus action they can take along with their main action - Rogues get Dash, Disengage, and Hide as bonus actions and 2nd level. That's what will enable a rogue to attack, move, and hide all in one round.
Awesome, it was the move part that confused me. I was still in Pathfinder action economy (which I dislike and would rather 5E's all day long)
Hey. I'm gonna post later. I'm at my table game.
@Zat: I thought I'd mention this out of game...
Since you said you were planning to go the Arcane Trickster route, it occurred to me that we can lay the groundwork for Gilandiril to start teaching Zat some spells during downtime (assuming we survive long enough). If you're cool with it, when you pick up Arcane Trickster, you'll have a ready-made explanation for your newfound spellcasting ability.
Also, if there are particular spells you're interested in getting eventually, let me know and I can start adding some of them to my spellbook as we level up to help provide a rationale for you to be able to learn them. Fortunately, I've already got Mage Hand, so we've got your required cantrip covered.
Cheers!
In 5E spellcasting is so different...do you even need to scribe spells anymore? I thought you just had a certain number of spells known and you prepared using those.
However, I'm cool with the roleplay interaction!
Wizards still have to add spells to their spellboks. I'm a little unsure how arcane tricksters manage it though.
Mechanically, I don't think Arcane Tricksters require a spellbook... They just sort of gain their spells spontaneously.
So, yeah, it's definitely more of a roleplaying thing... It might be a neat way to explain how Zat learns to cast spells, beyond his innate magical nature. It would also provide a nice story connection between the characters.
We wouldn't need to have total parity between our spell lists, but having some crossover would reinforce the idea that Zat learned a few tricks from Gilandiril (and vice versa).
Cheers!
Arcane tricksters gain their spells through study and memorization (so they use Intelligence as their casting stat) yet otherwise behave like a sorcerer, knowing spells rather than prepping them from a book. So I think the role play opportunity of Zat learning spells from Gilandiril fits just fine. It might be that as a street urchin rogue rather than a wizard means his knowledge isn't as deep or theoretical and the magic is learned more by rote and is thus harder to change (spells can be swapped at level up).
@Rhen: Thanks for the insight... I wasn't sure exactly how Arcane Trickster worked, since I don't actually have the 5e PHB yet (just using the Basic Rules PDF, at the moment), but I tend to look for things like that to help tie characters together.
Speaking of which, it may have gotten lost in the shuffle, but I wrote a flashback post on Monday in which Gilandiril introduced himself to Rhen. Since you're the first one to say the word "Greenest" in dialogue, I figured I'd take the opportunity to start a conversation about our mutual destination.
Anyway, I realized that it may not have been clear from the wording of the post that Gilandiril was addressing Rhen, since I didn't refer to you by name. Just thought I'd mention it...
Cheers!
Hey guys. I had a rough night so I'll try to post on my lunch hour. Again, sorry for the delay.
Got a loot sheet for the campaign going here.
Yeah, but we don't know whose it is. If it's just cash it's untraceable. Nevertheless, I suggest we plough that money back into the local economy.
Yeah, I think we can probably worry about that later. I am pretty sure that we can be convinced to be paid for our efforts in defending the town at some point.
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So, I have been playing 5e for over a year now and have some house rules I would like people to vote on, these will slowly trickle in.
On initiative rolls, on a 20 you gain a surprise round, on a 1 you are surprised
On saving throws on a 20 you half the effect again, on a 1 either you are vulnerable to that attack or the duration is doubled.
Those sound perfectly fine to me.
In my home Pathfinder games saving throws that critical fail take the worst possible result. And for damage that means the character takes 50% more.