DM Darkblade Giantslayer Campaign (Inactive)

Game Master GM Darkblade

No worries, hope you feel better. Hill giants are not gentle.

Hey all, I'm back. Thank you all for your well-wishes! I am working on getting caught up and will hopefully have a post up tomorrow!

This is getting overcomplicated.

Let me recap, and correct me if I am wrong:
Delia: go back and observe
Groin: go up and further explore the first floor
Leira: advance to northern door
Adir: no preference expressed
Songan: we should keep together, no preference expressed
Dundin: wants to explore, no preference expressed

So it seems most people wants to do things up. If Songan, Dundin and Adir can define more clearly were they want to go...

It seems we will move fastest out of this point if we go up again and further explore the first floor.

But we need to decide, because we are sending contradicting inputs to the GM and he most probably doesn't have were to move the thread right now.

PD: I can see the stairs in the map. I just felt that was player knowledge, but we might know from previous approaches or local maps.

If no one adds anything I would say the most practical is you move us back upstairs Darkblade, or we can fast-forward the 1st floor exploration with the stairs finding and get to the point we are now.

I personally do not have any preference for were to explore as long as we get the adventure moving and do not stagger.

I think that we should fully explore ground level of the ruins. For some reason I was thinking we had already been through it all.

Is everyone ok with the flow of combat thus far, handling initiative, the map program, etc.?

So far, so good. Sometimes the map is a little cranky, but it works.

Yeah, sometimes the scaling is slightly off on the pdf interactive maps. I have not worked out all the kinks in resizing for ditzie yet.

I am happy with it thus far.

How do I link to the map?

Hello all.

The map is posted Here

We will be using ditzie for combat mapping purposes.

The idea is pretty simple. At the start of an encounter I'll post a map which will have movable tokens atop it. You click the link and move your token to where you want to go. The next step is important, click ENTER and copy the new web address, paste the new web address in a link included in your post. The next person should always use the person before them's link. Make sure to use the copy of the map that the player before you posted.

Its also very important that you click the Preview button before you post, especially when you moved in combat. Clicking the Preview button before you post refreshes the feed without posting, so you can make sure your post is correct before you commit to it. Please preview every post before you submit it, editing if something's needs changed.

Unfortunately Ditzie doesn't always work well on touch devices. You can view the map but can't interact with it. In the case you may need to post from your phone or tablet, just describe your movement with your post and I or another player will move your token as soon as possible.

When I hit enter after moving a token, I get invalid left value at x_8 on my computer. I haven't tried it with my phone yet.

I get that sometimes, the tokens are not locking to the grid due to the image size files vs the background file. You may have to nudge the image back from the direction indicated, down for top, right for left, etc.

If you don't want to wait for Songan or you think it cannot be pickable, I can try out the knock scroll.

Anyway, we can explore other rooms while waiting.

Did we check out that door to the north?

Just to help us move on. What does everybody want to do at this point?

If possible I would love to attack the Troll before he can reach the building. It has the risk he might raise an alert, but as some of you have pointed out we otherwise will have to fight against all the creatures at the same time, but we might listen what the troll talks out with the others.

So... would you try to stop him before he enters or shall we stealthy move after him?

It is not clear to me from Songan post what he wants to do.

Attack troll: Leira
Stealthily follow troll: -

Delia would definitely agree on attacking the troll. We do not want to have to face a troll with the assistance of other enemies... We should take it out, now, before too many reinforcements can arrive.

Ambivalent.

Songan is kind of ambivalent as well. If everyone else wants to attack the troll, of course he'll help, but he will follow the lead of the others here.

Well, almost 6 days have past (12 since we hide), so let's recap and see what do we have:
Attack the troll: Leira, Delia
Stalk the troll: Dundin
Passive: Songan, Adir
Without activity: Groin

It seems Leira and Dundin have started to follow the troll. For lack of a clearer decision that seems good to gather more information and it is imposing as an already happening action.

So Leira and Dundin are out of their cover now, what you other folk think you will do on seeing that image, regardless of how Darkblade adjudicate the action result, and with the goal to help him move further the game thanks to having more feedback on your reactions?

At lot of Delia's response will be on what exactly she can see? If the lighting is Dark, then Delia wouldn't even see Dundin and Leira leave their cover unless they have some sort of light source... If it's Dim light, she might see their figures moving, and to be honest would probably assume they are moving to attack... Unless they appear to be stalking towards the troll.

Is there something specific that we are waiting on? Or did people just get a bit busy? That happens sometimes.

I don't have nightvision. If the closer group is moving in to attack, once a ruckus starts i'll run in.

I suggested message, but not on cantrip list.

Apologies all for my absence. I had intended to have actions posted yesterday evening, but unfortunately my day off was taken by sudden work. I am now pulling double duty the next few weeks and so I had to spend this morning getting a few things ironed out in my personal life to accommodate the shifting changes.

I will post the action tonight after work, but the basic synopsis will be as follows:

The flood troll will spot Dundin and Leira approaching from the north and look around quickly. If it only sees the pair, it will stalk towards them and engage, confident it can kill such the small pair. If it spies any others, unlikely while hidden, then it will turn and run back in the direction it came, seeking escape and to possibly inform it's brethren of your discovery.

Initiatives and ranges will follow tonight.

Again, I apologize for the delay, this change was thrust upon me suddenly. My hopes of attending Origins this week are now gone, but that is why we have our games, to escape the drudgery of real life. That said, I would like to know what I can do to perk back up people's interests and activity levels in the game. I know the investigation of Trunau went well, but the Plague House fell apart.

I can promise that the action will pick back up after this section, but if it does, and people cannot post in the extended combats that will follow during the siege of Trunau, then the party may well suffer. Those who cannot post every other day or so may be found standing defensively while others carry the brunt of the battle.

It will take everyone to make it through the last two sections alive, to preserve the fate of Trunau, to finally see Rodrik's killer brought to justice and to learn the reason why the Captain had to die.

Yuck! Sorry to hear about the extra work being heaped on you. I think the Plague House investigation is one of those parts that you run into with PbP format that seems to bog down a little due to the length of replying. Plus we just recently had a holiday weekend and I noticed a very low activity across the board last week.

I will work on being more active, as I know there was a spell where my activity dropped a bit!

No worries, I was just checking in to make sure I wasn't holding things up.

And I'm in it for the long haul.

=)

Don't worry Darkblade. I think the fault is more in our side and the limitations of PbP.

It is not easy to play the democracy and feedback driven type of game you use to play at real tables, even if everybody is posting at daily ratio.

It is true there was a bit of slow down in the boards due to holidays and PaizoCon, but I think we were getting slow and boring even before that.

My proposal is someone has to take the responsibility of moving the party on exploration situations like this Plague House, and we others reinforce and support his decisions, unless we see something really important is being forgotten.

I cannot myself do that job as a weaky sorcerer. You already saw what happened with that rats door.

Also, if you see some limitation, as now with the light, I think it is better to offer options to the GM within spoiler, so he can resolve whether the limitation applies or not. And always communicate if there are problems.

Dundin@ message is a great cantrip, I will look for it as soon as possible, I have my basics covered.

No worries Darkblade, you're doing a great job.

I concur with what the others have stated; you've been doing a fine job. I want to apologize for my own lack of posting lately; real-life has hit me like a ton of bricks in the last eight weeks. I haven't said anything to the group about it because I've never been one to burden others with my own problems, but it's also not fair to everyone else for me to keep things to myself when it might slow the game down, so I think it's time I let the cat out of the bag.

To make a long story short and not go any more in depth than I need to, after eight weeks of separation I've asked my wife for a divorce. Thankfully, we have no children and she's agreed after several long talks not to contest it; we've also worked out property distribution on our own, so there will (thankfully) be no attorneys involved. Even so, it was the most difficult decision I've ever had to make in my life.

I'm not ashamed to say that my faith in God has been a big part of what's kept me going these last weeks; if any of you are praying people, please know that I would covet any word you may send to the Father on my behalf and on behalf of my wife. This is going be a very difficult transitional period for us both.

Songan, I am sorry to hear that. I will definitely keep you both in my thoughts and prayers.

Best hopes for your bad situation.

That's a tough situation. I am sure if you have reached that decision is just for the best. I know how hard it is to see all plans to sink in the nothingness, and even if nothing will change those closeness bindings, with time things improve.

I hope you find some soothing here in our game. Your posting was really contributing to my game enjoyment.

Songan, I am sorry for your loss, for ending such a relationship can be a loss. The strength is there when you need it, and the prayers are there for the will to find it.

My condolences to you and your ex.

Trying to move above Dundin, keep getting an invalid x on left 3?

I should mention that when writing descriptive text, I may on occasion use game terms in describing events and activities. When those terms apply as game mechanics, I will include them in either Out of Context or Italics as appropriate to indicate such.

A stunned shopkeeper whose senses have been assaulted by seeing you kill an orcish marauder in front of him may not actually be stunned as in game mechanics, just temporarily lost from the moment, replaying the kill over and over in his mind, until brought back to reality by actions around him.

However, had Daktani snuck up on the merchant, banged his head between two metal plates while performing an Improved Dirty Trick, could well have been Deafened by the strike, and not merely experiencing a deafening ringing in his ears which would drown out normal conversation for a moment.

We are going to see who all is paying attention to the PbP and who ends the game in the ruins of the Plague House. We will need attentive players going into the next section, the raid on Trunau, and from my reading of the next three books in the AP, that need only further increases. The giants' playground is both sand-boxy and dynamic at the same time. They react to party actions and will coordinate. Delays will get the group pulped. A number of mechanics are introduced to track alarm levels, giant's outrage, citizens' resolve, sabotage effects, etc...

Hey guys, sorry I haven't had the opportunity to post. Working the afternoon shift this week and we have been so busy that none of us have even had a lunch break the past few days. I will try to get one in tonight, if not tonight, then tomorrow.

Sorry, I had an internet issue last night and in working with that I ended up moving Dundin in error, but this has been corrected. It is a move action to retrieve a scroll, which is not considered a weapon so is not performed as a free action while moving, for future reference.

Thanks for the clarification! There's no problem. I am happy that allowed me to cast the scroll this turn and help our stout dwarf.

Go go go Dundin! :D

We are going to see who all is paying attention to the PbP and who ends the game in the ruins of the Plague House. We will need attentive players going into the next section, the raid on Trunau, and from my reading of the next three books in the AP, that need only further increases. The giants' playground is both sand-boxy and dynamic at the same time. They react to party actions and will coordinate. Delays will get the group pulped. A number of mechanics are introduced to track alarm levels, giant's outrage, citizens' resolve, sabotage effects, etc...

Thanks for the heads up, Darkblade. How well do you think those mechanics will translate to PbP? Do you think that will affect them in a meaningful way given the format we are using to play out this campaign?

In regards to the deadliness of this AP, you are not kidding! A gelatinous cube is no joke in the narrow confines of this basement!

I think the mechanics introduced, being tracked and scaled over several sand box encounters, will translate fine to the PbP format. Some you will want to score up on, others quite the opposite.

The problem as I see it will arise when some thresholds are reached, for good or for not, and the game takes that proverbial hard left into the danger zone. If everyone is not up on their A-Game one sudden giant patrol squad could end things right messily. If you have to bumble in and out of a few key locations due to one or two players "playing defensive", you could trigger a whole valley of giant folk searching rock by rock for you, intent upon earning a bump up to the next training academy just for hauling in your mangled corpses.

And I quote, "Numerous ogres, trolls, and several varieties of giants have set up camps here, desperate for attention and waiting impatiently to prove their worth and be accepted... any attempt to attack the massed giants or the giant encampments would be tantamount to suicide..."

Giantslayer, for the thinking man's murder hobo...

Just wanted to pop into the discussion thread and let you guys know that I'm back for right now; hopefully there won't be a time when I'm gone again for so long. I'm about to be going on vacation with some of my family so there may be some times when I can't post, but I shouldn't be gone for days on end like I was this time.

Just to give everyone an update on the situation, all the legal stuff is pretty much handled now. I filed for the divorce and have a court date set, which my wife is probably not even going to come to. With all the paperwork filed and everything more-or-less settled I should be back on track to keep up with the AP again.

Let me again express my gratitude to Darkblade, and everyone else, for being patient with me as I got all this stuff taken care of. If anything else comes up, I'll definitely let y'all know, but I'm hoping nothing else is going to spring up that knocks me for a loop the way I have been.

Be strong Songan!

We are having a quite interesting multi-fight right now. As you probably have a lot to update, currently Delia and Groin are having the most problems. I think they will thank some healing for Delia or some control of the Jelly cube so it does not deal so much damage to them.

Yeah, this was the first thread that I've started catching up on. Seems like a lot of stuff has happened in my absence. A gelatinous cube is no fun to deal with in close quarters, that's for sure.

Darkblade, which of the groups do you presently have Songan aligned with? Or is he assumed to be watching the prisoner?

Songan and Jace were in their own group, awaiting an opportunity to join the others while watching over the prisoner.

You can either join one of the combat groups or act to fold Othdan into your guard group, however you feel Songan would approach the situation.

Welcome back, and I hope you are in better spirits. Time heals. Lame I know, but I had to recover after a failed 11 year relationship. It is doable, family and friends are the best balm for what ails you.

Thanks very much; it isn't lame at all. I agree wholeheartedly that family and friends have been one of the keys to my making it as far as I have in this process.

Also, I'm assuming that that sword we found is just a MW longsword, correct? I think I remember you mentioning that. Want to get my sheet properly updated.

Just a heads up to you guys. It's my son's 2nd birthday tomorrow and I will not be around tomorrow or Saturday (his party).

Delia will slam the door shut next round, as soon as Groin is clear.

Thanks very much; it isn't lame at all. I agree wholeheartedly that family and friends have been one of the keys to my making it as far as I have in this process.

Also, I'm assuming that that sword we found is just a MW longsword, correct? I think I remember you mentioning that. Want to get my sheet properly updated.

Masterwork, correct.

Good call Leira on knowing the holy water would still effect the Shadow Rats, even though I didn't mention if they were undead or not.

Since my first Pathfinder player died in her first session drained all her strength by a shadow, this became more of a nightmare to me, and I became quite experienced on fighting incorporeals ;)

A seasoned player sharing that table taught me the wizard and cleric of the party should always carry a magic weapon scroll at low level, and I got familiar with their force and magic vulnerabilities, and their undead traits.

When I read Shadow rat and Dundin sword going through its body it was like coming back for the nightmare. Fortunately this time I was prepared, and we had found some holy water ;)

That said I realise you might have strict rules how player and character knowledge should be separated. I tend to think creature types are common knowledge, like vermins have no brain and are immune to mind-affecting, elementals have no vitals and are immune to precision damage, incorporeals are undead, and undead are damaged by holy water. But you might want to play it different. Sorry.

No need to apologize, was more of a jab than a real issue. The rats are not actually shadows, they are in fact quite corporeal most of the time, and can only turn incorporeal for one hour per day. Had the rat stayed solid, perhaps the holy water might not have affected it, perhaps Leira would not have thought to use it.

Chalk it up to a good guess, I have, but remember, not all things incorporeal are undead and sometimes "Shadow" may only be descriptive flavor text. Had I described the shifting as being a smoky, ethereal wispy form would you have thought Phase Rat?

As for creature types, they are not common knowledge, which is why there are knowledge skills associated with them, and rolls are used to determine any "known information" available for combating them.