
Unafe Two-Hearted |

Still utterly buried with work writing. It will pass, but not as quickly as I'd hoped.
Writing the posts I care the most about--real RP for a character like Unafe who's voice and intentions matters to me--turns out to be the hardest for me to write.
I'm hoping to change that soon...and in the meantime to at least give short posts that don't create so many delays, as I know PBP can really run out of momentum and this game matters to me.

leinathan |

Hey guys, I've come around and want to implement a beneficial rules change in this game:
The Elephant in the Room Feat Tax Rules. This changes the way a few feats (the Improved [maneuver] feats, for instance) work and removes a few from being feats, granting them automatically to everyone. I suggest you read the link just in case I don't specifically mention something that affects you. Here are some changes:
Everyone can now use Deadly Aim, Power Attack, and Combat Expertise whenever they like. Point-Blank and Precise Shot are merged. Weapon Finesse and Agile Maneuvers are free. Dodge and Mobility are merged. In addition, you all count as having the replaced feats for pre-requisites.
Changes include:
Salla gets two bonus feats to replace Deadly Aim and Point-Blank Shot, and Rapid Reload (heavy crossbow) changes to (crossbows).
Cai'nan gets two bonus feats to replace Power Attack and Weapon Finesse. Weapon Focus/Specialization (glaives) changes to (polearms).
Nicholas gets a bonus feat to replace Weapon Finesse.
Ciervo gets a bonus feat to replace Mobility and Weapon Focus (daggers) changes to (light blades).

Nicholas Tyrel |

I think I might go with something flavorful and take Tenebrous Spell. It's a good enhancement for my shadow spells since I can apply it without casting at a higher spell slot.

Unafe Two-Hearted |

leinathan, how far back to get out of waste deep to thigh deep, if we go straight back the way we came (with and without Haste)?
You said "You think that to the northeast and southwest is drier land in between the Mwangi Expanse and the Sodden Lands, and to the north are inhabited human settlements, but they're likely too far to simply run to."
I was assuming we could quickly back up...but if we'd still be waste deep after backing up for a minute or two then I'll reconsider that.
Also, how fast can we go while waste deep (with and without Haste)?
Thanks!

leinathan |

Unafe - in answer to your question:
Waist deep water is difficult terrain. You can go 60' per round while in waist deep water and under the effect of haste, however... I intended that simply keeping moving constantly and quickly is enough to avoid combat.
You can only make it a few hundred feet under the effects of haste, which is too far to contemplate making it anywhere significant under the effect of the spell. However, the "which direction do you want to go" is more of a "how much of the day would you like to use" kind of question.

Cai'nan Blakros |

I am going to bow out of this game. I have been busier in RL, and want to focus my more limited PBP time on more active games, and this one hasn’t seen a post in almost a month.
Good luck everyone in all your gaming and life endeavors!

Nicholas Tyrel |

I kind of meant to get to this a while ago, but I wasn't sure exactly what to do. If we just want to let it rest, that's fine by me.

Ciervo Lorenz |

I'm sorry to lose Cai'nan and I feel bad about not posting, but I am still interested in continuing this if you're willing. It's just a matter of seeing if Salla is still with us and trying to pick up some momentum again.

Salla Fletcher |

I'm still here and enjoying the game. If you want to continue I'm good.
It's been fun,if a bit slow lately. :)
It's the perils of playing a silent character like Salla, usually I play much more vocal types, so I tried something different with her.

Unafe Two-Hearted |

I'm afraid I get a good deal of the blame here: this scenario is very much rooted in Unafe's backstory (and knowledge of polygot!) but I've been very spotty.
I'm at least somewhat less busy now and very excited to see how this plays out, if you're up to keep us rolling.

Ciervo Lorenz |

Are there any modules or APs that you've really been itching to run? If it's something that you really wanted to run in the first place, it might take off a bit more easily.

leinathan |

Well,
I've been wanting to run Carrion Crown again, or Strange Aeons. I like horror things, and Carrion Crown is actually really fun and cool.
However, APs are slow, and I'd want some... structure-changing edit to string the adventures together faster. A lot of the coolest stuff in APs doesn't happen until like... level 7 or so.
I also can't really buy new APs, and I have:
RotRL, Legacy of Fire, Second Darkness, Council of Thieves, Kingmaker, Carrion Crown, Jade Regent, Skull + Shackles, and Reign of Winter.

Salla Fletcher |

I'm running Skull & Shackles and Kingmaker games on this board.
I'm playing ROTRL & Jade regent on this board.
I've never played or even looked through Legacy of fire, Second darkness, Council of thieves and Carrion Crown.
I do agree with starting at a higher level, with Kingmaker I'm bumping the players up quickly to get book one out of the way. Most AP's take the first book to set the scene and give the players a few levels. Serpents Skull is the only AP I can think of that was a great low level adventure. Shame it was all downhill after that.

Ciervo Lorenz |

I dunno. The earlier levels can be painful, but taking them away kind of takes the whole "little guys become the big damn heroes" thing a lot of APs have going on. That and I'm not a huge fan of having to do a huge amount of shopping during character creation. :P
Legacy of Fire is the only one I can think of in which book 1's plot could easily be removed.

Unafe Two-Hearted |

Hey leinathan, thanks for giving this one a go. I was excited to see where it took us but I agree that it's not flowing so likely makes sense to end.
I might well join a new game in place of this; I'll have to see. (As you know, I've gotten busier since this started, so me dropping to one fewer games is likely the best choice for me.)

Nicholas Tyrel |

Hmmmm, well, I have no particular problem with APs, and I like horror so I would absolutely be interested in playing Carrion Crown or Strange Aeons. I actually have old character concepts from both of them that I could tweak to function.
I'm currently playing Reign of Winter, Kingmaker, and Runelords and I've GMed Jade Regent and Skull and Shackles before, so I've gone pretty in-depth with those before.

leinathan |

There are another couple of players that are in another fallow game of mine, so... whatever we do, we'll have a full party of reliables for it.
However, it's looking difficult to choose an AP that's interesting that nobody has played... which perhaps means that I'll need to make some serious adjustments in order to make them fun or play some kind of gimmick (like Carrion Crown but in 1700s Earth).

leinathan |

OK, How about this:
"Raise your hand" if you're interested in pursuing a new game, probably a modified AP with a bunch of variant rules.
Please let me know the top 3 APs you'd be interested in trying out if you are.
I'll move us to another thread... I've decided that I want to do the thing.

Salla Fletcher |

Raises hand.
If you're going to modify the AP then I really want to play Skull & Shackles. I've run it live and PBP, but I've never had the chance to play it!
Carrion crown or Reign o winter would be my other choices.

Ciervo Lorenz |

Hm. Well, Strange Aeons is at the top of my list, but you don't own that one.
Carrion Crown would be second, though honestly, I'm not crazy about the 1700s Earth idea.
Reign of Winter is probably next in line, but I'd rather play something that everyone is less familiar with.

Nicholas Tyrel |

*Raises hand*
I have to think about specifics. I kind of like the idea of Strange Aeons or Carrion Crown. I'd have to think about a third one.
Also, I have a ton of APs in their entirety, including Strange Aeons, so I can send the PDFs for a lot of them if you're interested in running one you don't have.

Unafe Two-Hearted |

OK, I'm interested too!
Not knowing the APs that well though, I think less in terms of APs I want to get to do, than as potential characters I'd like to get to play. If some of these fit well in one of the games you imagine, that's the one that gets my vote!
* Unafe of course stays on that list, if there's a meaningful home for her.
Otherwise, in rough order that I'd like to get to play them:
* I'd like to get to play someone wrestling with a beast inside her (A daemon? some tie to Shub-Niggurath? Or even to Lamashtu?) Mechanically, if you were allowing Path of War, I'd play her as a Warder (Fiendbound Marauder archetype). This one's inspired by the comic Monstress, if you've read it.
* A zealot of Uskyeria, the Empyrial Lord known as The Saintly Slumberer. Would definitely have the Sleepy drawback, and would ideally build as a Path of War Zealot focused on the Sleeping Goddess discipline. Maybe a halfling?
* A dwarf who (shamefully, inexplicably) is drawn to the sky and then stars. Would be built as a Heavens Shaman and would be most interesting to play in a party that contained another dwarf or two, to play out the dynamics him being a misfit in a culture that fears and avoids the sky.
* I've also thought about someone who's skin is constantly crawling with scarab beetles. Would build as an oracle with the Infested curse, likely tied to Khepri (and so presumably coming from Osirion)
---
Otherwise, to answer your AP question more directly, the only ones you listed that I've played significant amounts of are RotR and Jade Regent.
EDIT:
I have a vague idea about someone tied to Curchanus (Desna's mentor god who Lamashtu slew and stole dominion over Beasts from) but it's still quite vague.

Salla Fletcher |

I'm playing Strange Aeons now with my live group, about to start the last book. So far I've been severely underwhelmed by it. Too much of a railroad though out, and really lacking any hooks to keep me interested.
YMMV though, I'm not a die hard mythos fan so the theme doesn't really interest me.

Nicholas Tyrel |

That's... kind of a fair assessment honestly, at least from my reading of the books. It's very, very railroady unless you're willing to put in a lot of work to make changes. So that might not be the best one to run if we're looking to be sure we pick something that will definitely get off the ground and keep us invested.
I might be a little biased because I've never gotten to play a Mythos themed game long term without it dying out, even though I am a fan.

leinathan |

Well, if that's a point against it, Carrion Crown is fairly rail-road-y... although Ch. 3 has a pretty good variety of encounters and the monotony can be broken up with extra modules and/or traveling encounters.
I need a bit of time to think about it. I obviously want to run Carrion Crown, but I need to think about how and the particulars and everything else.

leinathan |

Yeah, I definitely agree.
I am currently looking through different threads for fixes for a variety of problems I've seen in the books and thinking about chargen standards. Lots of extra work this week - I start my new part-time job, so I'll need to motivate during the evening in order to finish up.

leinathan |

Hey there,
I've done it!
I've just decided to run two tables of the same AP! Let's see what happens!
DBH and Kamenhero, report HERE please.
Mahorfeus and Gyrfalcon, report HERE please.
If you have a strong opposition to being broken up, please let me know and don't post in the new thread. However, I have another fallow game that I'm using to seed these games and I thought it would be fun to introduce you guys to each other!
When all has been dotted and signed, I'll shut down this thread.