If nobody else does, I believe I might be giving Maddok a reason to do that fairly soon :)
(cue "Evil-DM" laugh)
OK, I follow. I can see about helping Maddok on that front. I think part of his spotlight has been co-opted by both the intelligently malicious weapon and the invisible cabinet of auras, so our attempts to discuss all three have left less focus for Maddok's prospective transformation.
On the "Characters" tab, in addition to the aliases and regular posting names for those who "belong" to this campaign, I also see two additional aliases for Caepio and Feral; Byarsh Gyvualinn and Gallard Stormeye. I can try getting those removed from this campaign, if it matters to you.
I am on travel at the moment and will be able to catch up on Thursday.
It doesn't matter much to me but I think you can edit that yourself in the Edit Campaign section.
Ah, Byarsh is a character in a different, less prolific play-by-post. If you can remove the alias from this campaign, it would make good sense to do so.
Um, you're up in the IC thread.
Heh, how do you do that?
It's never on purpose. After work while getting dinner I tend just to look at and answer quick updates. The longer strings of posts require more attention than I can spare for those first 30 minutes or so.
I'll see about at least double-checking on whether or not we've initiated combat the next time I pull open the OOC instead of the IC thread.
I understand. Enjoy your dinner.
It doesn't matter much to me but I think you can edit that yourself in the Edit Campaign section.
It doesn't look as if I can remove them entirely from there. I can set whether or not a player is active, and whether or not a character is active and/or an NPC, but there's no "remove from campaign"-button. At least as far as I can tell.
After messing with my own game I can confirm it appears that way. Bummer.
My poor Tiefling. The dice-roller doesn't seem to like her stealthed-withdraw tactics any more than you do (3 twice in a row) :(
It seems to be time for The Beast to go bestial on her :)
It will only work in conditions exactly like those though (narrow corridors with no way past, and those with ranged capabilities or acrobatics either not close enough or unable to see her). Essentially she was simply running for her life, and with The Beast's 50-ft move it was just a matter of time before he got in a position to catch up to her.
Hmm..
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Ranged attacks are going to be a problem in either case but as long as there's something to make charging not an option it could be pretty effective.
That whole situation made me really want my Shoanti Bolas though...
Why are they exotic? =(
I will be out for all of today. If bad things start happening, Yahirma will most likely try to backpedal to safety and use Ill Omen and Misfortune to back up the others.
Thanks for the heads up!
Are, have you considered creating a gmail account?
Painlord and I use it from time to time for quick back and forth communication.
DM Are:
Point #1: That was a funny session of postings and deletions. lolz.
Point #2: The movement rate is killing me. I'm looking for new and different armor. Maybe that bloody decapitated tiefling has something worthwhile. (This medium armor is also stealing my evasion too.)
Point #3: I might have been making mistakes earlier: you can't tumble to avoid AoOs in medium armor. Apologies if I did that before. Doy. Won't do it again.
Point #4: My action is the best action available to me, I think.
Are, have you considered creating a gmail account?
Painlord and I use it from time to time for quick back and forth communication.
Or Yahoo.
Or AIM.
Any of them. :)
Point #1: That was a funny session of postings and deletions. lolz.
I realized that with a 20 ft speed you wouldn't be able to use Acrobatics to get past with only a single move action, so there was no point in keeping that post :)
As to the other point: I'm not really a fan of instant messaging systems; How much would you say it helps?
It helps a lot when there's a small correction you need to take care of or something you need a clarification on that you'd rather get an answer for quickly rather than wait on to resolve a post.
"Hey, you posted that you wanted to X the target at Y but he's gone now. Did you want to target Z instead?"
"PC A just got critted. Did you want to use Misfortune on that?"
"You forgot your caster level check to beat the SR. Can you edit your post to include it?"
It saves time for anything like that. Also, our exchange about the overrun maneuver could taken place over IM.
That said you're probably the best DM I've played with in a PbP so I'll forgive you if you don't want to. =P
Thanks :)
I can see how that would be useful, however, I think I'm going to continue to stay away from IM'ing systems. I'll keep it in mind though; I might change my mind eventually. Thanks for the suggestion :)
On a completely different note: Do each of you individually keep track of potential plot points that your characters might want to follow up on? I've considered going back through the entire thread and linkify all of my posts that could theoretically have plot-importance, but it would be a pretty time-consuming job. If nobody has a need for something like that, I'd rather avoid doing it.
Also, in the interest of everybody having a clear idea of how I'll adjudicate such things, here's an initial draft of a set of Posting Rules/Guidelines. Please comment on how fair, unfair, useful, or useless they are, make suggestions for changes, and criticize and/or praise at will.
Posting Guidelines:
- If a PC has been next for 24 hours without posting, that PC will be NPC'd for the current round.
- If a PC has been next for 48 hours without posting, that PC will be NPC'd for the current round, and remain NPC'd until its player posts again.
- If a player hasn't posted for 7 days, without warning in advance or during the first couple of days, that player's PC will leave the group at the first opportunity when it would be safe for the PC to do so. The PC will still be a part of the campaign.
- If a player has had two such periods of 7 days without posting and without warnings, that player (and his/her PC) will be removed from the campaign.
- If a player hasn't posted for 3 weeks, regardless of reason, that player (and his/her PC) will be removed from the campaign.
Plot recap would be good. I've skimmed through the stuff that occurred up until Maddok's joining the story but there were a lot of name drops and things along the way that I'm certain I didn't pay enough attention to.
As for the guidelines, they look fair to me. I'm a good deal more draconian in how I handle these sorts of things. Personally, I think that's far too generous. =/
Also, Yahirma mentioned a few posts back that she's going to be out through Monday. I don't know if you want to wait for her or not.
As far as I can see, her post from yesterday said she'd be out for all of "today" (which would be yesterday). I'm not seeing a post saying she'd be out until Monday.
How do you handle such things in your draconian-ness?
Tabletop gaming is a communal experience. Any number of people are expecting you to participate to the fullest. To not post for days on end without any sort of warning has always seemed really disrespectful (to me) of everyone else's time (in the same vein to me as neglecting your turn at the table because you're posting on facebook or some other rubbish).
That's one of the other advantages of IM communication. It gives a certain degree of accountability. If you see someone online that the whole game is waiting on you can poke them, "Hey, bro we're waiting on you".
Worst-case they can say, "Sorry, I'm busy. I'm not going to be able to post. Just NPC me".
That said, almost any sort of announced absence is cool by me. I'm not unrealistic. Being overwhelmed at work, away on vacation, or needing to take care of significant other/family/pet related responsibilities are all understandable. Just say something ahead of time.
Yep, I'm back (and posting in character before posting here! Aha!).
Yahirma's goals mostly overlap with the major campaign goals at present. Where she starts individualizing motives is on a personal front, as she started play with a fair helping of urban naivete.
- Find the root cause of the shadowbeasts
- Halt the advance of undead menaces within the city
- Adapt to the nuances of city life
I'm sure that in thinking through the plot a bit more, I could come up with a few more specific examples.
One thing I just realized: What is Appario's Paladin-code? Does he use the sample "Paladin of Abadar"-code from the Faiths of Balance book, or does he have a custom code?
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One thing I just realized: What is Appario's Paladin-code? Does he use the sample "Paladin of Abadar"-code from the Faiths of Balance book, or does he have a custom code?
Good question.
I don't own Faiths of Balance, but I'll see if I can peek at it on Monday at the gamestore.
That said, I don't think Appario thinks of himself as a 'paladin' or even if he knows what being a 'paladin' means.
I have large amounts of scorn for the stereotypical 'lawful stupid' paladin that some players seem to think needs to exist in all Paladin types.
I believe that Appario will rigidly follow and enforce Abadar's core tenets (promoting civilization, trade, honest contracts) within the social contract of Westcrown. I try to play him with the belief that the best way for civilization to progress is to promote open and safe trade and, hence, the exchange of ideas and technology.
To the point in Westcrown, he believes that government has a responsibility to protect the people and foster an environment that allows trade, growth and civilization to exist. Since the current government is failing at that, Appario is happy to act to change things.
Hmm...I think that's what I think.
What say you?
On a completely different note: Do each of you individually keep track of potential plot points that your characters might want to follow up on? I've considered going back through the entire thread and linkify all of my posts that could theoretically have plot-importance, but it would be a pretty time-consuming job. If nobody has a need for something like that, I'd rather avoid doing it.
Appario has a couple of merchantilistic plans, but right now is committed to the destruction of the shadowbeasts.
In time, he wants to build his merchant empire and build a family business built around that.
If there are some big plot points that we're missing, a quick recap/hint sheet from you or in character would be nice.
Or we can just stumble about as well.
* * *
I, like Maddok, am a bit less forgiving when it comes to players missing days of posting.
I'm fine with players letting us know when they will be gone and missing for a period.
DM Are, the plan you outlined, seems fine if not too nice. I don't usually like such detailed outlines as then the subjects will just game the system exactly to avoid penalty.
I think it's pretty clear when players are engaged and interested and playing and when they are not.
Hmm...I think that's what I think.
What say you?
Sounds good :)
Coincidentally, those are almost exactly the same tenets given for paladins of Abadar in Faiths of Balance!
I am still out on travel - two week business trip with sporadic internet access. I will be back in my usual routines on the 22nd.
This last weekend, I was supposed to have regular internet access...and the hotel's router was kaput.
I will try to catch up this evening from Starbuck's.
Thanks for letting us know :)
Now that's dedication! I'm impressed :)
That thing isn't intimidating or anything.
I wanted to do a quick poll, how well am I portraying the idea that Maddok and the Beast are two separate (although obviously connected) entities? The Beast is supposed to be more primal, brutal, and warlike and I don't know if that's working. Also, I went with the gimmick of having the Beast only speaks in Shoanti because I was copying all the traditional exorcism movies where the possessing entity always speaks old Latin or Sumerian or something.
I think you're doing a fine job portraying that they're separate, especially due to the fact it only speaks in Shoanti. It works for me, anyway.
Thanks Are.
Appario contacted me early this morning. He's going to be out all day.
He can't really do anything to the swarm anyway.
Okay. Hmm, I suppose Derek can't either; It's probably best if I just skip ahead to Semenya, and both Appario and Derek delay until she's done her thing.
I think you missed a little damage on Semenya's spell. Her bloodline ability stacks with her favored class bonus. Her damage should have been 4d4+6.
You're right; I completely forgot the bloodline ability. Thanks :)
No problem!
Now that's dedication! I'm impressed :)
Posting during the mid-interview break! Take that decorum!
5 hours of interviews down, another 3 hours to go.
Good luck!
Edit:
Wait a minute. There's no post from you!
I will be back with regular posting access late on Sunday. Where I shall be in my own home and with my own cat.
Glad Semenya is finally getting to use Burning Hands!
We made a lot of great progress today guys.
Good job posting at a healthy pace everyone!
It's going to be a busy weekend for me, but I should be able to hop online for at least one more post before Sunday evening - hopefully 2+. At this point Yahirma is not feeling too spooked by these fears, and her tactic of letting the beefy melee types do the heavy lifting seems reasonable. Feel free to let fly with her spells or wand if things get sticky in the Hemophobia room.
I almost have to apologize for a walkover encounter here; I wanted to beef the encounter up compared to what the book said, but I got cold feet due to the Con-damage the vipers could potentially stack up :(
Of course, there's very little reason any of the characters would be afraid of snakes after that, so I suppose it did its job :)
I wouldn't worry too much. Mook encounters are all about sucking up resources. When we're in a possible gauntlet scenario every point of damage matters.