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Oh don't misunderstand me, I thought it was funny :) I don't have any problems with being less subtle either, I like when I GM can take when a player is thinking on the right track and reward them. (previous knowledge not withstanding... )
I actually VERY subtly hinted at it back in the interaction with Einhardt, when I tossed her one of my pieces of Jerky back in the intro scene. I am trying very hard not to be the kid in class who wants to show off because he knows all the answers :)
Which actually brings me to a side note... I am really enjoying how you are running this. It is obviously different than how I ran it, and the differences between a live table and PbP are what they are, but this is fun seeing it from a different perspective. For as long as I have gamed, GMing is something I haven't done very often, and I am starting to appreciate how fun it can be. I have been picking up pointers from all the GMs I have gamed with, live and PbP.
More than just the difference between live and PbP, there are some things that need to be changed for PFS. I also like to reward the lovely character backgrounds everyone has done by including those in the flavor where possible.
I also really enjoy adding in extra descriptive stuff, especially when the adventure as written inspires me (unlike Trial by Machine) and I'm always trying to push the action along. Mostly it's not even to finish the scenario / module quickly, but just to get to the next encounter that I'm excited about. I also don't want you guys to be waiting around too long before you can post your next action. There is a lot of combat in dungeon crawler modules like this, and my main aim is to keep it fun for all while not bogging things down.
Of course, moving things along hasn't proved a problem at all with this group - aside from the posting speed, everyone's builds are ultra-effective. Combats don't last very many rounds at all!
... also, just checked the map. I get the feeling Ophiuchus had a post he wanted to post and ran out of time, or it went missing: he's moved up next to a wolf. Ophiuchus, if it's missing, please post again. Otherwise, looking forward your next action. :-)
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@Hamilton: Sorry if I created any confusion when posting at the same time as you, on the map I was seeing if moving Einhardt would help the situation any. In the end, I didn't move either Vox or Einhardt. Sorry!
@Jaender: Yeah, that's pretty awesome! Except for the fact that in the middle of trying to use diplomacy on them, Vox is on his back like a flipped turtle, flailing his giant hammer around ineffectively :)
@Vox: Glad you like 'em. It's mostly for my own amusement.
I'm starting to mess with the combat map as required to note what's happening. I'll just delete dead foes, but unconscious and/or bleeding foes will get a red outline and a red line through the middle.
I'm not sure if I'll always annotate things like the wolf's withdraw action, but I'll try to do it if it helps to make things clearer.
Two combats in 24 hours... we'll have this dungeon down in no time! ;-) Don't forget about your wounded companions.
Ha. As an aside, if you were doing something perfectly reasonable and checking every 24 hours and happened to check last at midday yesterday, you would see:
Wow. Keep it up, guys! Keep it up!
@Silbeg: Good idea. Battle is over now, but next time you face off against multiple foes with the same icon, I'll do just that.
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As you can see... Trask is probably over-cautious as well. However, growing up in the River Kingsoms, and then spending several years fighting in and near the Worldwound will do that to a person, I would imagine.
BTW - all, I don't mean to offend by the way I am playing him... if I am bothering anyone, please let me know.
Why does Paizo censor the hole component? Is it so you can say ass? Yes it is. Arse the Australian / British way? Fine. Arse-hole? No problems. What a&*&%*$@ programmer fücked that one up? Probably the same one who didn't bother to do the unicode special character equivalency conversion before parsing the strings.
Erm... so, this game we're playing...
I prefer players to channel their own wishes into what their characters do... but to keep it within the bounds of in character stuff. Find a way for Strong Brute to want to go northeast. You should always enjoy your character's choices (whether bad or good ones). :-)
Erm, I think you know what I mean.
Time for bed, methinks. Starting to not make any tigers. Good blight all. Sleep fell.
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Looking forward to getting a target for Trask's Studied Target... perhaps THE slayer ability.
I'll have to remember he has it, though.
Move action vs a target he can see... well, if he keeps killing things with one blow...
I am working on getting his character sheet transcribed into something a little more palatable for PbP... just takes time, since I don't use Hero Lab. And, like GM Damo, I needs me some sleeeeep.....
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@ Trask I think that we have all tried some different concepts and IMHO, everything works just as well as it did before. No complaints from me.
I don't use Hero Lab, but I do use PCGen - that was the gold standard in 3.0, and it still works today. Not like you youngsters with your fancy phones that do more than talk, and all that stuff you go On The Line for. And its free and I am cheap.
As there was information that Ophiuchus does not know (tracks I am assuming) he is waiting for people to say something before making a decision.
Ooh! Almost in the crypt. Some book-keeping stuff:
Can I please get a party marching order? This will be fore 5ft-wide corridors, where you will not be able to walk two abreast.
Also, what order will you be generally entering rooms in? Mostly, I just need to know who will be opening doors. You can specify someone different for locked and opened doors. I just don't want to have a discussion every time.
Finally, how will you be lighting any unlit sections of the crypt?
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Trask will suggest the following order.
Trask
"Sven" (Strong Brute)
"Rudi" (Roudantaimi)
"Poochie" (Ophiuchus)
Jaender
Vox and Einhardt
As for doors, this time we've got a skill-monkey that also is a solid fighter. So, Trask is willing to open doors, and such. Locked or otherwise, because if they are locked, he'll be the one to unlock them (or at least I assume that's the case).
He is also willing to let Strong Brute take the lead in the corridors, because, at worst, he can swing his Bardiche over the barbarian (granting cover to the target, but better than nothing).
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@Jaender. Funny. That'll suit you well in Thornkeep... assuming you don't level out. Are you going slow-track this level? Otherwise you'll be too high of a level for The Accursed Halls (1-2).
So, Trask is more than happy to be the trapsmith, but always good to have a backup. He's got the Trapfinder Slayer trick (gives him Rogue Trapfinding). He can also take a hit a little better than Jaender should something go wrong.
But, we can also trade off, if the little guy wants to be front and center!
so... order:
- "Sven" (Strong Brute)
- Trask
- "Rudi" (Roudantaimi)
- "Poochie" (Ophiuchus)
- Jaender
- Vox then Einhardt
What?!?! Seriously? Trial by machine was beginning of last month! I don't like piking on games, but that sounds like it's running even slower than the one Gunari and Lort were in (and we managed to recruit and complete the entire Trial by Machine during the last combat of that game). So early on, it's not a good sign. It's just not worth having your character in PbP limbo for that long for just 1 XP... so much time wasted hitting the refresh key...
Many was the day I wondered if I shouldn't have left the game when another character (Thaddeus, I believe) left due to slowness. I thought he was being a bit demanding and picky... but by the end I could totally see his point. Ultimately, it meant that I couldn't play Lort during GenCon and I had to play a whole bunch of pre-gens instead (so I could give Lort the credit). Sucked.
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Right now Jaender only has 1 xp, I believe this module gives me 3, so I will be level 2 heading into thornkeep... basically I will always have 1xp more than needed, but not one level... That shouldn't be an issue should it? I hope not!
Your character sheet (when I click through) shows Jaender at level 2? Or is he Jaender the Black #2? I think that's where I was confused. Sorry.
With a good diplomacy, I'd consider the Exchange.
The Grand Lodge, however, is a very good all-round option. The non-faction-specific rewards at the back are much nicer bang for your PP than the faction-specific rewards anyway.
Only 30 posts in the last 24 hours... we're slipping. ;-)
Good night all!
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While battle is wrapping up, I have a dilemma. Any suggestions for a faction for Ophiuchus? I for the life of me cannot think of a decent fit so I defaulted him to Grand Lodge.
I'd consider Dark Archive. He's already got a line in on the occult, so he could be using them to learn more about himself and his "curse". Plus, his cross-dressing could be interesting to Zarta Dralneen.
He isn't the typical DA character, but I can see it being an interesting fit.
From tomorrow and until Sunday, I will be in New Orleans for the weekend. I won't have access to my laptop during this time - and I've just realized that this means I won't be able to reveal map pieces to you (via Photoshop at the moment). I'll still be able to update, somewhat less frequently, on my iPhone.
Options:
1. We go in the dark and I just describe things to you.
2. I reveal a massive chunk of the map and you promise not to use player knowledge.
3. I place Google Draw shapes over the bits you can't see and nominate someone who has already played and run this before (Jaender? Since you're not GMing another game for us... otherwise Hamilton?) to update the Crypt map by moving the pieces out of the way and revealing the monsters.
4. We have a brief hiatus.
My preferred option is #3, followed by #4. I'll need today to prepare for #3, but that's not a problem.
What do you guys think?
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I would happily offer to proxy whatever you need me to GM Damo! #3 would be my preferred option as well, but if people want to "take a breather" this weekend, that would be totally ok too.
Sven is right, your priority should be to enjoy your trip. So really the final decision should be up to you.
LSU v Ole Miss? Go LSU! Just because Ole Miss losing would help the Spartan's cause...
Ha, not going to see a game. Just some air boating, eating, drinking, gambling and golfing with an Aussie mate of mine who happens to be there for a bit of a vacation. He'll be joining us in Houston for Halloween after, too - should be fun.
Let's just say it'll be a combo of #3 and #4 - I'll allow for 3 (by fixing up the Google Map) but I will also default to #4 if I'm having too much fun to post on my phone. I'll also prioritize posting as Lort over posting as GM Damo. Either way, my posting speed will be way down from my usual (unless I lose my bankroll early on), but at least my phone has a decent wad of data for me to post without WiFi.
I've also made my GM Damo alias an active PC on the list so this game shows up on my GM Damo campaign list (since Throaty Mermaid also appears on that list - must have happened when I posted in discussion). Hope that's alright. It bypasses the appearance of the campaign which has been inactive for months and months now (I can look at GM Damo's list instead of Wilmannator's).
After some consideration, and realizing how much time this takes up to do properly - and I really want to keep doing it properly - let's have a hiatus. I'll try to do one last post tomorrow morning, and after that I'll post as Lort only. Just one game to occupy us for the weekend! ;-)
I may (if my flight isn't delayed and I get enough time) post on Sunday evening. Otherwise, definitely Monday morning.
So... let's see what we can rip through today!
So, the wife doesn't need the laptop now, so I will be taking it with me. This means (if the hotel has reasonably priced wifi) I will be able to post, albeit infrequently. Keep checking in, but don't expect miracles. ;-)
So, yeah, had a great night of Jazz, drinking, gambling, drinking... and more. It was awesome.
The absolute best, though, was an airboat ride with a true old school coonass swamp dweller. Saw some amazing alligators. There was also a lone raccoon on a small swampy island eating out of a deer feeder. So, picture this: massive fan on the airboat. Small raccoon on a small island surrounded by swamp. Turns the airboat so the fans, powered by a ford V8 engine, are facing the raccoon. Thick, thick New Orleans drawl:
"Well, I'm'a gonna give this here 'coon a Cajun blow job!"
Hammers the throttle. Deafening roar from engine and fan. Raccoon blown head over heels straight into the swamp.
Absolute classic.
How nice of Paizo to have a broken site yesterday - it's really helped me to keep up. ;-)
My 4G isn't working and I'm about to check out of the hotel. I'll try to post tonight or at the airport if I can find a hotspot. Otherwise, I'll "see" you all on Monday!
Oh, and I've also noticed that there is an error (or a "f*ck you" from the author) for this particular room. My GM didn't notice it in the game that still hasn't given me a chronicle sheet, and I can't tell you why, but without the adjustment I'm about to do, something doesn't happen that really should happen to make this a true level 1-2 dungeon. I'm not sure what the PFS rules are for modifying a written adventure when there is an obvious omission (I can't find an errata article on this module's issue). Thoughts?
Ha, found the GM discussion thread for Crypt. No "errata" keyword on the thread, messing with my Google-fu. The southwest door in the room you are in (area 6) is actually not locked.
The issue, as I can tell you now, is it is disable device DC 30, and yet there is no key for it anywhere. Also, the dungeon doesn't really flow properly if the players can't get through that door.
The southeast door is still locked up tight (DC 30).