Moved the conversation here to keep the thread tidy. From my perspective we have all covered that the plan is to ambush the Sczarni making the delivery, capture one of them, question him about the remaining size of the Galowed gang and then decide if we want to send him back with a warning that the Kitten is under Aspis protection or simply go and take out the gang in it's entirety?
If anyone is/was unclear on this please let me know.
Check. I just wasn't sure why we'd want an impromptu torture room, but I'm down with that. I blame sleepless nights.
I'm certainly ready for the ambush. Did everyone catch my proposed disposition of our forces?
Can you diagram it here? :-p So that we have a clear plan of attack.
The map is up. Let me know if you have questions.
I take it the "#" squares denote difficult terrain? Stacks of boxes or trash, ect?
Either way, I would suggest Halsanna on the roof above the door. Yolanda inside with Morris. Myself, Daeron and Abramov loitering at the north mouth of the alley?
Anyone have any additional thoughts, alternatives?
Correct. #'s are crates and trash.
It's also worth nothing that both of the adjacent buildings are only one story tall.
Sounds good to me. Just a fyi: I cannot heal any of you (yet) with my extracts.
We should place a crate or cart with soft materials somewhere close to Halsanna's position so that she has a relatively easy way to get down in a jiffy.
Daeron isn't particularly combat savvy unless he can get off a sneak attack—not sure if that changes anything, but good to know at least.
Just stay behind me and pick your moment :)
I agree about the boxes, maybe move the crates from O21 to N16 or so?
Feral, how many stories is the Kitten?
Two stories.
I can prepare a shield extract. This will boost my AC by 4 for a whole minute so that I have a very respectable 22 AC. Sadly, I do no damage unless I sneak attack.
Two stories.
In that case Halsanna should likely set up on the roof of the art gallery instead.
Ready!
I'm ready.
Lady Yll was born ready.
All set!
It shouldn't be too hard to get a running jump across the alley onto the roof of the other building, right?
Since the other roof is lower, no.
It'd be DC 10 acrobatics.
Who is around and going to be available for the next couple hours?
I'll be here.
Sorry folks, was out last night. Be around for the rest of today though.
Heh, I typed up my post and in the span of 20-30 minutes you guys raced past me yeah :)
What it be reasonable/efficacious to use Cause Fear in a forceful Q&A?
There probably isn't one. It'd make them shaken but you could do that well enough with Yolanda's vicious barbs.
Ok, I have something on my mind but I'm not entirely certain the best way to put it. Please bear with me if I do a poor job of it...
Over the course of our game I have noticed what might be described as a lack of initiative from some of my campanions. If anything is left ambiguous or undefined there tends to be a lull in the game as people seem uncertain how to or simply unwilling to step in and move things along on their end. This isn't necessarily a problem, it's just something we should define as a group so we can act accordingly.
I'm curious to hear from each of you what role(s) you are interested in taking in our campaign. Do you want a larger presence, to switch back and forth from the position of driving the plot, are you more content to just "come along for the ride" and step in where things are specifically asked of you? What exactly is your preferred playstyle is what I'm curious about?
Thus far I think it's fair to say that Kalam has been doing the lion's share or plot advancement/planning. I don't mind this at all, my main goal is to make sure everyone is comfortable with that. I realize some of the hesitation may well be because don't want to mess with what has so far kind of been my show. If that's the case, let me know, I want everyone to have all the input they would like. The last thing I want is for someone to feel overshadowed.
Thanks in advance for your input.
Feral, I hope you don't feel I'm stepping on your toes here. I just want to get a better understanding of our group dynamic.
I'm trying to play Yolanda as a fundamentally reactive (and lazy) person when it comes to things not directly associated with her hedonism, but I'm getting a little bored with being so reactive. I'm debating taking a greater role in helping you move the plot along.
By no means are you stepping on my toes Kalam. In fact, I was planning a post like this for the past couple weeks.
From the posts that I’m seeing, folks are still interested in the game but there’s a definitely lack of initiative. I’m not sure how much of this is on my end and how much is on your ends. Is the scenario and objective too obscure? Are the details too vague?
If Kalam and Yolanda want to be the big movers of the plot with the rest of the team reacting when they feel it appropriate, I’m okay with it.
I think I'm still trying to get a feel for Daeron's character, and so I'm not always sure how to proceed with him. More practically, I can only check the boards at certain times during the day, and so I'm often just filling into the already moving plan. That's not meant as an excuse, but rather my willingness to kind of follow along unless something really strikes me. Hope this makes sense.
In case anyone misses it, I'm organizing a PBP for the Siege of the Diamond City PFS special. This is a timed event so you'll need to be posting regularly but anyone here that's interested is welcomed to join.
In Halsanna's case (and her Drawback, actually), not having a solid plan is hampering her ability to roll with what the group is doing. She's used to a chain of command, and clear instructions, whereas this is decidedly grey (and illegal) area.
I get that Me'mori, however I think Halsanna may need to learn to roll with it. From the feel of this campaign thus far, I don't think the uncertainty, or illegality for that matter is going to be going away.
That said, Kalam will do his best to use her effectively. Giving specific goals and at least the impression of an actual plan wherever possible.
As for my good buddy Daeron, following along should suit just fine. As we've gone along Kalam has developed into somewhat of an outspoken fellow :P He's fine being the face of the operation so to speak.
Yolanda, thanks for jumping in. In future it's not a requirement though. If you would prefer to remain appropriately lazy as a general rule that's cool too. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't stepping on any toes.
Just a heads up—I'm traveling this weekend, so my posting will be sparse, most likely.
Being paranoid and sporting a fabulous charisma score of 8 means Abramov doesn't very much like the social approach. That being said, I'll try to step it up.
It seems to have been a while since we've heard from the good doctor. I do hope nothing is amiss in your part of the world?
Nothing too serious. I've been having to travel back and forth all day every day of the week for my internship and am without a mobile phone .. but tomorrow my new Samsung S4 (finally!) arrives so I'll be connected 24/7 again! :)
Excellent news! Internships can be a major pain in the ass...
For once, I think we're waiting on you Kalam.
I'm in luck, to be honest. They're being really nice and are already treating me as any other member of the staff. It might have to do with the fact that I'm going to be working at a city archive, doing historian work ;)
That's pretty awesome! I was simply referring to the usual problems that arise when your internship involves a large amount of travel. At least you aren't having to find somewhere closer to stay for the duration. I know a lot of people who have ended up in that situation.
To be honest, one rarely has that problem when living in the Netherlands. We consider anywhere that takes an hour or more to get there to be 'far away' :p
Ah yes, I realized once I sent it that things are probably a little different for you than they are for me here in Canada :P
gp
Reposted here so there was not a mechanical post breaking the flow
A summary of what resources we have:
-Five characters, each with their individual strengths.
1. An alchemist with analytical capabilities and skills related to autopsy.
2. An inquisitor who can function as a detective/information gatherer?
3. A know-it-all rogue who can support the field operative(s) and people at HQ with his broad set of skills. The perfect partner.
4. A cleric who has a keen eye (though I'm afraid to let her anywhere close to fieldwork .. 'what matter one more body when we already got seventeen of them?!' .. I kid :p) and can contribute to fieldwork with that. On top of that, spells. Tons of cleric spells.
5. A fighter, who can guard any operatives in the field, or perform a stake-out. Once we get some locations where we can gather information, she's the perfect candidate to soak up some background noise assuming there's gambling involved.
Moving on, a summary of the general approach:
1. Map out the city, pin down where the seventeen murders took place.
2. Gather information on the murdered people, see where they're from. Pin it down on the board, put down their details in a map and see if we can puzzle something together.
3. Aspis resources @ HQ - the library can be a big boon, especially if we get some more knowledgeable agents to aid us (heh, if). Perhaps the alchemical boys and girls can help us with any weird substances we stumble upon .. or any potions we might need.
That's a fair assessment. Also, "only seventeen!?"
The Lady Yll is also handy at sweet talking and murdering.
Excellent summary. I think you nailed our individual talents quite nicely.
I would add to the general approach though :
4. Collect information of all other interested parties. Decide on a strategy to derail the efforts of each.
On 4. hehe, we could always plant fake evidence and or sabotage their progress. We got the necessary skills in the group.
That's exactly the sort of thing I'm talking about. One of the most important things will be getting to the impending 18th crime scene early in order to find and then dispose of evidence.