Hello selected players and welcome. Introduce yourself to the others and get to know one another some. You will NOT know each other IC to open the setting.
Please note: I would like to give each of you an option to select another semi-finalist (that's one total, not one each) if you choose to. The group will run with 4 as suggested in AP, but leaves you skinny if someone drops or is away. My other 2 groups are 5 and 6 and I have just beefed up CR and loot accordingly.
So if you have a vote you can choose:
1) no one
2) Shoanti Barbarian
3) Cleric of Cayden Cailean
4) Urban Ranger
5) Elf Wizard.
You can answer here or by PM, most votes will win, you may select up to 2, but we'll only take one. I will break any ties.
Will be working on your opening hooks and will get you introduced In-Game ASAP.
I'm in favor of either the Ranger or Barbarian.
What are folks thinking for tactics in combat?
Of our group:
- The Monk of the Sacred Mountain thrives best when beginning and ending the turn in the same place (although this kicks in more later than sooner). Staying in the same place rather than flitting around can help Dolgrin bring his flurry of blows to bear. Monk+Dwarf+Steel Soul=High saves vs poison, spells, or spell-likes.
- I see Viviana, our cleric, has a polearm and a decent chance to hit, so fits in the second line close to those who might get hurt (like Dolgrin, lol) but still a bit behind so as not to be an easy target to reach.
- Gudada, our rogue looks to be a mobile troublemaker with his dirty tricks. Looks to be melee with rapier and eventual finesse.
- Beagan, our arcanist, looks like he could get our opponents to do the fighting for us. Or if he's feeling playful, run in for that touch power or make them drop their weapons or fall to the ground, etc. Or if he's bored, shoot the crossbow, I guess.
=So it looks like 3/4 are melee focused (or work best when within melee range)
Of the potential adds, two seem to have something of a range focus, which might be handy in the group:
- The Wizard: High dex (but low BAB) and a longbow (+gravity bow for extra damage), tripping magic missiles, etc.
- The Ranger (if I've found the right character): High Dex with high BAB, if he gets the right bow can add a bit of strength to it, the right feats to shoot into combat, etc.
(The other two are more-or-less melee focused)
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RP-wise:
- The ranger is a bit depressing and I can see Dolgrin becoming impatient and annoyed with such self-doubt (is that a good thing or a bad thing?).
- The wizard seems to have some foreknowledge from his bosses (prophecy?) but I don't know how he'd play out as I don't see much about him. This is RotL so I expect to eventually find a whole bunch of spellbooks that a wizard could use, but we could just sell 'em.
Of the other two, Dolgrin could be colleagues with the barbarian (same campaign trait) or drinking buddy of the cleric.
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TL;DR: So my vote is either the ranger or the wizard. If I really had to choose between them, I suppose I'm leaning towards the ranger, but Dolgrin's eyes are starting to roll.
Viviana was designed to maximally annoy anything that tries to hit her but you are right as healer i prefer not to take chances and stay back.
:)
Now i have never seen monk in play,do you think that Dolgrin can make it as main front fighter?
(don't take it as offence pls i really have no idea)
If you have doubts i suggest extra cleric or extra mele, otherwise am fine with any choice or even 4 members.
I'll wait to hear from Gudada to formally decide. If I'm counting then it would be 2 votes for the ranger, 2 votes for the barbarian, and one each for the wiz and cleric.
I also need Gudada to approve his opening hook then will be ready to start the game. I expect it'll be after the work day ends. Will send him a PM to remind him.
Dolgrin, that all sounds about right! :)
I'm really excited to start.
Sorry, I didn't think to look here until I to of work just now. Heck, I was in bed before you started this discussion last night, though, so I guess my thoughts on the matter didn't really matter . . ..
<snip> I replace my vote with the below, less helpful, comments.
Dolgrin: Roughly. I figured once we got some money 'Dada could add some ranged capability, too.
I'm not offended. It's a very good question that I had even asked myself.
According to the forums "Monks suck". I've played with some very effective monks, though. It may depend on the archetype and build. I haven't seen much from the archetype I've chosen, however.
At 2nd level the MoSM gets Toughness and a +1 natural armor bonus. 4th level monks get an extra AC and at 5th, the MoSM gets a +2 shield bonus to AC when starting/ending in the same location. They get some DR later, but it's pretty minor. As a dwarf and with the traits he selected, Dolgrin also has +4 AC and +1 damage vs. giants, +1 attack and damage vs. goblinoids, orcs, abberations and magical beasts, and +4 saves vs. poison, spells and spell like abilities. Against certain opponents or/and with the right buffs, he should do fine. And every now and again I expect there'll be some flanking with Gudada for the extra +2. As this flavor of monk is best when remaining in the same place, it allows for more flurries, which use the monk's level as BAB (but with a -2 for TWF).
That being said, my initial thought was along the same lines that we could probably use another melee or healer, but when I looked at what we had, I noticed we didn't have any real ranged combatant which would be useful to go after any ranged folks hiding behind their own tank or getting some initial damage before the rest of us get close.
The barbarian is similar to Dolgrin in that he's going to need healing since AC will be lowish there too (although he certainly has the HP to survive a normally devastating attack and at least gets DR sooner and faster - I play the same archetype that's 8th level and he has a ton of HP but takes a beating nearly every combat). The other cleric also seems to be something of a melee person (rapier & weapon finesse) outside of the spellcasting (Enlarge Person and Bless can be handy).
The Wizard has mage armor, handy for us unarmoured types, along with the bow-ish spells. The ranger has Point-Blank Shot and Precise shot, handy for firing into melee without penalty and will just get better with the bow nearly every level.
I'm willing to see how he pans out though, even without a fifth player. If worse comes to worst, I could always dip a few levels into Brawler or Unbreakable archetype Fighter or whatever for some extras.
Check. After reading the response to Noro's comment, I went back and read the part that was SUPPOSED to represent how the Shoanti will be in character and not just the "Hulk smash" dribble.
My strong negative reaction was misplaced. I believe that either the Ranger or Barbarian could serve the group well. Ranged combat and possible additional healing later versus melee combat. Really not an easy choice, but the mechanical edge should go to the Ranged Combat. I think the writing edge goes to the Barbarian, though. Makes it a tougher choice. Nope, the edited thoughts don't help Doc Evil at all, do they?
Dolgrin/Viviana: I have seen quite a few successful monk builds that got in the middle and mixed things up. The ones that tried to be primary damage dealers instead of tricksters tended to have far more trouble being in the middle of things. I trust Dolgrin knows the character he built and is ready to deal with the results.
DM Doc Evil: I just looked over the hook. Not too bad, but you think too small. You don't hit the Baker on the way into the festival, while most of his wealth is in the cart in front of him. You wait until he's sold over half of it and THEN hit him. That way he still makes and keeps a profit and you have a chance to walk away with more. You hit PATRONS early in the day and street businessmen a little after mid-day.
Dolgrin/Gudada
Thanks for the answers, in this case i change my vote in favor of the ranger .
That way the 5th player will be someone about who we all agree.
Thank you for making it unanimous. I have sent our friend Alexander Kramer a PM to see if he handled his rejection well enough to consider joining us again. I will fold him in gracefully once he responds, the barbarian will be our alternate backup.
I am pleased to announce the gamethread is open for business. You may explore at your leisure, events (or my gentle hand) will bring you together as a group one way or another.
A Note on Dates:
Please note, there seems to be some confusion on exactly when the festival is held. The AP indicates the Autumnal Equinox but puts that date on 22 or 23 Rova (analogous to our calendar). The wiki’s I read show the date on 1 Rova. I choose to combine the thoughts and just move the Equinox to the 1st day of Fall Month, starting the seasons on a month's beginning makes more sense to me anyway.
Your belligerent objections are noted…and disregarded. Get your own world…
- The ranger is a bit depressing and I can see Dolgrin becoming impatient and annoyed with such self-doubt (is that a good thing or a bad thing?).
When I first wrote up the character, he definitely came across as unabashedly one-dimensionally heroic. Rather than starting the traditional heroic journey, I wondered what would happen if I opted to prematurely throw Aleks off a cliff right off the bat.
If nothing else, it made him interesting enough that I'm looking forward to running him.
He's a bit of a wreck at the moment. Hopefully he'll claw his way back up (or further down as the case may be).
Thank you for making it unanimous. I have sent our friend Alexander Kramer a PM to see if he handled his rejection well enough to consider joining us again. I will fold him in gracefully once he responds, the barbarian will be our alternate backup.
I'm in.
Good to have you! :)
I'll get your hook and entrance tonight.
Welcome Aleksander
:)
Good to be here.
/me waves
Yes, I have watched a FEW Ren Faire juggling shows. I could probably keep imitating the patter and describing a variety of common tricks enough to cover a full 30 minute show. But that's an awful lot of work!
I give you a <golf clap> for the description. Nice!
Note: I'm going to be away for the Canada Day long weekend and then some. I might be online early tommorrow morning, but after that, I'll be effectively unavailable until Wednesday. It's possible that I'll be near some internet/wifi at times, allowing me to lurk a bit, but I can't guarantee to be able to post (as this is a newer game, I will make the effort to do so when I can). Feel free to bot me where necessary.
Thanks for the advance notice. Just an FYI to you guys, I am leaving tomorrow (Friday) for a week+ long beach vacation. I will be traveling tomorrow then at the beach house where internet coverage may be spotty. I will try to post some, but things may be quieter than i'd like until I return home on July 8.
Please note, I will post some jpegs of Sandpoint Characters in the Campaign Info so you have a visual of some of the key NPC's.
Good to know! Next weekend, I will be gone from July 4-7th, as I will be at PaizoCon. So, I will be back on the 8th as well.
So, was that too ballsy, or about what you expected from a dedicated expert (played by a rank amateur)?
I thought it was pretty slick and am taking notes for my own rogue PC. Sorry about the inconsistency of posting. I know it's hard to get the game started with this timing, but it'll get better soon. RAiny day at the beach so far :(
A Word About Format
Just to be clear, even though I being a post with an @character heading, these are okay to read for all players and do contain some references that may be useful later to all. Please read them even if not directed at you, and use your judgement for IC/OOC knowledge.
If I want to keep a post private (or if you do) then I/you will use spoilers with headers and everyone will respect that. OK?
Sorry to not post this first, but my intention was clear to me until the question came up in a different game.
As always, lmk if you have questions or concerns or want to provide feedback on the game. I am always up for constructive criticism and hearing things that you enjoy (or don't enjoy!) seeing or doing.
I have seen (and played) many ROTRL threads that jump immediatly (within the first post sometimes) into combat. Obviously, I'm looking for something with a bit more feel to it. This town should become like your home, and you'll get to experience many different parts of it. Most NPC's or details are provided for a reason, though the motivation may not be evident at the time they are introduced.
Have fun and explore, but tell me if you need something different.
Hmm. This need to address females as 'Milady' when nervous seems to be a verbal tic Aleks has spontaneously developed as a character.
Because of the format of PbP, I can't see your faces or sense your feelings about how the game is going. (Also, I need constant stroking...) Please take a moment and tell me something you like about the game so far, and something you'd like to improve.
It's your game, and I'm huge on tailoring it for you. I have fun running it my way, but others may differ. Combat will be coming I promise!
Honestly, I like that you're trying to get and keep each person involved.
I think I know why you're trying to push us forward right no, but I would have liked to see more delay, more opportunity for others to be involved in the RP. Heck, that's why I haven't responded in the game thread today myself, because I'm trying to give other people the chance to step in and get involved. I think you might not have given people enough of an opportunity to live their lives on this American holiday and respond.
Basically, July 3 through July 7 are one really long weekend in the USA this year. If you only expect 1 post form each player during a weekend, you really shouldn't expect more than 1 post from anyone until next week.
I've seen a whole lot more information about the module's story during what's happened so far than I have in any of the others starts for this AP I've been involved in. I LOVE that.
Gotcha. I'm on holiday myself this week but have been holed up because of weather (today was an exception) so I've been posting like mad. Thanks for pointing it out and I'll slow down and let folks respond.
If you want to back up, just LMK, we can do that easily in Pbp or play out of sequence scenes.
Glad you like the detail, I want you to feel immersed and have a sense of owning this place, makes you want to fight for it more when the time comes.
I'm enjoying the opportunity to muck about the town as well. Sandpoint is an awesome place going by the Gazetteer in the comic book, so I'm glad to be actually getting a chance to interact with the inhabitants.
If I have to grouse about something, it's the fact that although I'm having fun, though there is a feeling of being slightly disconnected from the rest of the group, though this looks to be resolving itself.
Yeah, ditto what Alek said. It's really great, but I kinda feel like I'm pretty disconnected from the group. I tried giving an opening for someone to notice the gnome by having him go crazy hooting and hollering, but no one bit.
Dolgrin likely won't need a purpose to fight. He really seems to want to avoid the festival and just get back out a'hunting, though. Doesn't really care about some human building re-built for some human gods.
Sorry I didn't notice at the time. I think the scene had advanced further by the time I posted and I wasn't sure you meant me or some other dwarf. "Ragged" indeed, lol.
Aleksander,Beagan
I don't think it has anything to do with your characters, no one has any strong connections yet.
That's my job i guess "the cleric is often the glue that holds the party together" and so on.
DM I like the game so far,about Viviana spells -same as today only exchange light for guidance.
Thanks all for chiming in. Let me know if you have ideas for improvment along the way. On with the show...
Yeah, I mean, it ain't like Viviana just posted the straight line DESIGNED to gather a member or two together . . ..
<g>
Can I assume that Lars went with the wagon (or perhaps that he has no supplies for the day)? It would give Dolgrin an excuse to remain with the group and go into the festivities.
Alternatively, Lars has the supplies and D goes with the group at least part way, since that's the way out of town.
I didn't see you ask him...
Lars is busy in the morning transporting the lunch to the churchyard, but will be available to help you get whatever provisions you need/desire after he delivers his load.
Do you have some idea of what you need?
That's what I figured, but I wanted to make sure. And not really, it was just the excuse for coming to town so it's a generic "supplies" for now, lol.
Whew! PaizoCon is over! What a blast. Still my favorite con experience each year.
And DM, I hope I didn't sound too complain-y. I'm really having fun so far, I was just expressing a concern. It's hard to get too motivated in-character when no one has acknowledged you. Ya know? But, everything looks to be picking up steam and I'm excited.
'Dada is loud and in your face, but he gives you a chance to get a word in edge-wise.
That may have something to do with why people are afraid to engage Beagan!
Smiling?
Are you saying I'm not giving others a chance to get any words in?
I'm poking fun at the character's displayed tendency to use as many words as he can find to say really simple things in as long a stream of vocalization as it can be expanded into.
<g>
We ARE supposed to be having fun, right?
Edit: I mean, I'm playing a pretty blatant stereo-type. There should be plenty of opportunity to poke at my character, too. We can have fun in this thread as easily as in the game play thread, can't we?
Glad you survived the Con, Beagan and glad your back in the thread.
Poking fun is all well and good. Just make sure everyone knows you're joking/teasing, it's hard to read inference in a thread or posting.
I think the cementing events for the party may still be in the future, so don't sweat it too much if there's not PC to PC role-play yet. It'll come and has already started.
Sorry about the delay , crazy weekend.....
Gotcha, Gudada. Seeing as though I'm not familiar with your posting style or humor, it's hard to catch on to jokes. Especially over reading dry text without knowing your inflection or tone. That'll come with time.
And I'm playing an over-excited gnome. What else do you expect? :)
Going to bounce out of the country on a business trip. Will have access to internet and other things, but posting might be a bit more spotty over the next few days.
Be back Friday 12th July.
Be safe, Alek. Drop us a line when you can.
I'm jelly. Even if the trip is that short.
Sorry for missing a post yesterday, I had my home game where I concluded my nearly 2-year run of Carrion Crown last night! Prepping for that took up most of my free time. But, I'm good now!