Perhaps you should do two show.
The Harpwizard Christmas Show for Old Geezers and the Harpwizard's Rock and Roll New Years Bash.
Tattoos, tie dyes, and black leather?
Hippie motor cycle gangs? That's my closest guess ;)
Perhaps you should do two show.
The Harpwizard Christmas Show for Old Geezers and the Harpwizard's Rock and Roll New Years Bash.
You may laugh, but that is exactly what I am doing. The five o'clock is with the concert grand where I will dress up in the tux and give an acoustic set. The six o'clock set is where I will put my jeans on and my clubbing shirt and I will strap on the electric harp. I still have to invest in some leather, but it will already be a different wardrobe. I am not quite ready to go out like Geddy Lee in a tea shirt, but something different anyway.
Well, I'm not quite use to this place being quite so quiet. Usually when I get home on a Friday night I have something to read and post.
Everything is running so slow. I have a feeling after next week there is going to be at least 15 posts a day. Seems like everyone is finishing up coursework or dealing with the usual responsibilities that come with the holidays. I am a bit envious of some of the campaigns I see in the sidebar ticker. They seem to be really active.
Tomorrow is my last exam. I am "studying" for it right now, but I am not terribly worried about it. After that I will be nearly entirely free to post.
Good luck! I did the second half of my schooling online so tests were always a cake-walk. Gotta love being able to review your notes while taking the test.
@Zanith
Normally, this is a pretty active campaign. It feels very strange for me to be waiting for posts to show up. However, I know these guys are really dedicated, so if they are not posting, there has got to be a lot on their plates. Thanks for your patience and we will see how things unfold this week.
@Everyone
Hey folks, I have a few questions for you regarding moving you along versus waiting. How much do you want me to make decisions for you? For example, with the decision to stay at the hut or follow the trail, or the decision to camp or press on, I ended up simply making a decision for you. In some ways, these are minor decisions and waiting for consensus from everybody may hold up the party. Do you prefer me to wait until you have announced your plan to me or should I simply play it by ear. For example, shall I assume you are all going north next and post the next encounter, or should I wait until you inform me of that plan. I notice that you are all very polite and flexible and nobody is quick to take the leadership role and make a decision for the party. For me, let's just say that my biggest trouble watching indecision and not posting. However, I will if you prefer me to wait. Please let me know what would bring the greatest enjoyment for all of you.
So, the other morning a huge dead elm tree in my yard fell over and just missed my car. My wife thinks I am the luckiest person alive! I have to agree with her. Today, my eighty something year old neighbor helped me out when he got out his chain saw and chopped up the entire trunk into little logs. The geezers I play for up in northern Vermont are actually all pretty tough!
It's no problem. I understand everyone has things going on.
I enjoy when the DM pushes things forward, but I don't speak for everyone. The beauty of Play by Post is that it allows us retroactively post what we may have done to some extent. Minor changes such as deciding to move on and camp a little later is fine. I just wouldn't want to go headlong into a dragon's cave without having input from everyone. I don't mind having a group leader. So far it seems Bofus is filling this role to some extent, but I may be mistaken by the change of pace we've been experiencing.
DM Harpwizard, I really hope you knocked on wood after admitting to being the luckiest person alive =P. I wouldn't doubt your story one bit. Those Northeastern backwoods folk are a hearty breed ;). I told my wife if we lived in a forested area that there wouldn't be any trees around the house in a 200ft radius. The threat of them falling wouldn't be my motivation though, it would be constant leaves, twigs, and extra junk that falls from them all too often that would push me to do it.
80 year old geezers - you aren't thinking of my father are you? He just had his 81st a month ago and has been cutting back on things, sold his bulldozer and tractor a few years ago, and limits himself to about 3 hours of skiing a day. Still has a chainsaw if you ever need one, pretty sure he sold his jackhammer though.
And regarding trees - we lost one in our backyard, actually a branch fell off, was about 2 feet in diameter. My better half decided the rest had to come down, was about 6 feet in diameter.
I often do not mind when you move things forward at all. When there is a decision to be made on something like which road to take or whether to stay in a cabin or tent it, I am usually fine with either decision. I can post Mantooth's indifference if that makes you feel better about making the decisions for us, provided others are ok with you pushing the story along.
@DMHW
Was the tree as large as that Norwegian Spruce?
"80 year old geezers - you aren't thinking of my father are you? He just had his 81st a month ago and has been cutting back on things, sold his bulldozer and tractor a few years ago, and limits himself to about 3 hours of skiing a day. Still has a chainsaw if you ever need one, pretty sure he sold his jackhammer though."
Actually, he knows your father really well. They both use to work for AMC together. In fact, my neighbor is still on ski patrol at Tuckerman's every summer.
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On moving the story:
having been brough up in a tabletop environment (where we're a captive audience for hours at a time), I'm very much UNaccustomed to the DM making decisions for the group. However, in the PBP universe, it does seem to make sense that relatively minor decisions (that would otherwise hold up the story progression) might need to be given a bit of a nudge.
My only real concern is that there will be times when we all think it's an innocuous decision, but DMHW will refuse to make it. Taht's when we konw it's NOT a small decision! It's why as a DM, when a player says "are there any traps?" I never say "no," I always say "Not that you can see!"
So, if we (and by "we" I mean "I") can get past that hang-up, I'm OK with DMHW giving a nudge when he feels it's necessary.
On Trees and Luck:
Dude, you're the 2nd luckiest person alive. *I'm* the 1st. That Halloween snow storm, we'd lost power and our generator wasn't working. So our next-door neighbor stopped by to have a look, and he couldn't figure it out either. As he was walking back in his driveway, a huge branch fell off our front lawn tree and on my car. Not only did it miss my neighbor by about 45 seconds, my car didn't have a scratch. This was a BIG branch, too--the house shook when it fell. (we ended up spending $2,500 to have a tree service take down that huge tree *sniff*, and several others plus tops/branches that had fallen in that mess--that's clearly not part of the "luckiest" thing)
Now, in the interest of moving events along, I have simply moved you west, but this is an example of what I often wonder. In discussion, Bofus says, "West!" Now, should I take that discussion to mean that is what you all do, or should I wait for the discussion to end and someone post something that says "We go west" ? Feel free to continue this discussion in the OOC Thread and give me your thoughts.
In general, I think I prefer a statement that says what you do, instead of a character in dialogue telling me what you are doing. In other words, save the dialogue for your discussions, and actually post that you go west if that is the decision that is being made. Does this make sense.
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well, I wasn't comfortable saying "we go west", but I'm fine with voicing my opinion (which was in character in this case).
For something like this, if someone else had been first to voice an opinion and no one objected for "a certain amount of time" (totally up to DMHW), I'd be fine with you actually having us follow tha tcourse of action. Heck, if I had a problem with it, I shoudl hvae checked the board more frequently!! :-)
You guys are always easy to please! Well, let me proceed as I have, but please feel free to retcon anything if I have moved you guys along too quickly. I will let you know if I need you to make an urgent decision.
Just so you know, we all agree with your decision until you make a bad one, then we will disagree with it.
And what the heck, I actually try to do some work for a few hours, and you guys put up 11 posts. Nice.
And what the heck, I actually try to do some work for a few hours, and you guys put up 11 posts. Nice.
Yeah. No kidding. 17 posts in the game play and 6 in the OOC after getting back from 12 hours of work.
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Just so you know, we all agree with your decision until you make a bad one, then we will disagree with it.
heh. Spoken like a lawyer and an American!! :-)
And what the heck, I actually try to do some work for a few hours, and you guys put up 11 posts. Nice.
Dont' you HATE that?!?! It's worst, IMHO, with the threads that include folks on teh otehr side of the globe, and there are a bajillion posts while I'm sleeping. D'OOOOOHHH!!!
haha, I told Tirion in another thread that I need to find a job that allows me to post during the day. It's going to be one of my career goals now ;)
There are times when it is great. However, it can also be a big distraction. You always want to know what is happening next, and you cannot help but keep checking.
I am on the negotiating team for the local teacher's association. So tonight I went to a Union meeting. We ended up going over to a nearby high school in Barre to show our support for their negotiating team. There were almost 200 teachers lining the hallways and we stood silently holding signs that said "We are United!" as school board members walked down the "Gauntlet" of teachers to get to their negotiation meeting. It was an impressive sight and a tremendous show of support for the teachers. I hope they can come to some agreement in their negotiations.
Tirion, if you can just edit the post, then do it. I won't resolve the round until everyone has posted and then I will even do it in order of initiative.
I am curious why you would edit it to say ignore this post when you can simply rewrite it to what you want it to say, especially since there are no dice rolls in the post.
ok, will delete the first post if I can
Well, I suppose deleting it works too, but you could have just simply edited it. No matter. It's all good!
Hello everyone, sorry for the light posting again. I had a full past couple of days of interviewing people for an internship position at school and had packed my computer in preparation for going home. I am now home and free to post. Though I am not entirely sure how Mantooth should proceed in this situation.
Mantooth, Its great to hear from you! In regards to deciding what to do, I probably would not worry about stealth one bit. There is a blazing fire and the entire keep has been alerted to your presence. I would go out there and take down as many as you are able before you are all overrun! If you cannot reach a creature within one move (20 feet) you may do a double move for the round. If you can charge straight at a creature, you may do a charge attack.
Zanith, I've seen a variety of things for summoning creatures. Let's have your summoned creature appear exactly one round later and attack on your initiative round. However, you do not need to decide where it appears until it is time for it to appear.
Hey folks, I hope you are enjoying this battle. I find it very exciting! However, it takes me about an hour to actually write the post when it has this many monsters, players, spells, effects, and other stuff happening. If you spellcasters have time, could you please include the spell with its url address when you cast one. I often look them up and find myself looking under a variety of windows to access the information. This would be one less thing to search in the middle of the battle. You guys are usually pretty good at this, but please be sure to also include the Saving Throw DC. You are probably thinking, "Hey DMHW, I've told you that about a hundred times!", but just pretend my memory is like a sieve when I am posting combat. Thanks everyone!
I posted this at the campfire, but I thought you would all enjoy the The Real History of Rush
I will post again around 11 pm EST tonight. Let's see if we can get everyone wrapped up for round 4.
Can someone give me advice for what to do in Round 6? I'm not entirely sure how being tripped affects giant Mantooth, especially with the AoO.
Sorry Mantooth, I edited my post. Since the worg did not make the attack the trip will not work. So you have nothing to worry about yet. However, you will have a free attack of opportunity against worg that was tripped by Tirion.
Bofus, I was just reading about the feather token (whip), grapple, and the condition of grappled. Your attack does hit and the CMB check does beat the CMD. Although this does restrict him a great deal, it does not look like it prevents him from attacking you. Well, I should say, it does not prevent him from attacking you if you are standing within his arm's reach. I am curious how this is going to unfold!
Well, I have a Christmas gig this evening. I will be back to post tonight. Let's see if we can wrap up round 6 tonight! Thanks everyone!
Thanks everyone for posting today! That was another two rounds resolved (Three within the last 24 hours)! I really appreciate it. With these big battles that go for 10+ rounds, I guess I just don't want them stretching out for a week! If I make a mistake, please correct me, I am juggling a lot of numbers and actions. Have a great evening folks!
Sorry I did not get my posting in, if you want to change anything, I just posted my actions for rounds 6 and 7. You are doing great.
So Thordak, are you finished with exams yet? You are posting a bit more. Are you over the worst of it? So when do you arrive back home?
Well, safe travels, Tirion! I look forward to seeing you tomorrow night! It will be like a night at the Stone Wyvern!
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Bofus, I was just reading about the feather token (whip), grapple, and the condition of grappled. Your attack does hit and the CMB check does beat the CMD. Although this does restrict him a great deal, it does not look like it prevents him from attacking you. Well, I should say, it does not prevent him from attacking you if you are standing within his arm's reach. I am curious how this is going to unfold!
Believe you me, DMHW, these battles sure can get confusing--espeically when we essentially ahve at least 2 separate battles going on (mine, and the rest of the party--"hey, everyone, let's stay together" says Bofus . . . geeze). So I, for one, have ag reat deal of patience in this regard.
on the grapple . . .yes, being grappled does restrict one quite a bit. Being pinned is even more restricted. And THAT'S what we're going for here. Muahahahaha!!
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I have to celebrate an (if I do say so myself) awesome tabletop moment in my last game (Thursday night)
I'm playing a half-orc barbarian. We're currently level 5, so not super powered yet. I dont have a ton of options other than running up to something adn smashing it to bits (if you count htting with a falchion "smashing"), but I do have ranks in climb and swim, and I have the 'intimidating glare" rage power (this comes up in the story). But I don't currently have any levitation/flying options.
Our party is ambushed by bow-wielding canables in trees. We manage to get all but one, and I'm closest to that one. I'm raging (naturally), and think quickly "how am I going to get this guy???"
I drop my falchion (!!!) and power up the tree to get adjacent ot the archer. I ahve a standard action left, so I grapple him.
next round, I use my INtimidating Glare to intimidate him ("You don't eat me, I EAT YOU!!!") which works to get him "shaken." I then make the Combat Maneuver check to move him 5' to the side--off of his branch (which would have failed had I not given him the shaken condition!!), then with my free action, release the grapple.
smoosh.
THAT was awesome. A primary melee fighter takes out a guy withotu rolling a single Hit die!!
That is awesome!! Very impresive! I am certainly learning a great deal about grappling now!
So you must have needed to roll CMB checks. Does Intimidating Glare require a roll to Intimidate the cannibal? Does the cannibal get a saving throw?
Thanks DMHW. Each round takes a lot of work. Probably more in typing then anything else, and the formatting is a pain. I tend to like other message boards that have the buttons that can add the formatting for you. Sorry if I am adding a lot in OOC to my posts. I like to try and explain what I am doing since you are not familiar with my character yet. He is dedicated to reducing damage first and foremost, then healing what makes its way to the party. I just want to make sure I get effective uses out of all my spells ;)
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the "intimdate to demoralize" is you roll your INtimdate skill against a DC = 10 + target's HD + target's Wis mod. Every 5 you beat the DC by increases the duration by 1 round.
I needed my first CMB check (which is quite high while raging-- +24). Then he got a free "get free of the grapple" CMB check at +4 since I was moving him into a hazardous square, and this would have succeeded had he not be Shaken by my Intimidating Glare.
Come to think of it, we forgot the "maintain the grapple" check at teh beginning of the round, but I'm pretty confident I'd have made that.
Zanith, I think you're doing a fine job so far. Celestial crocodile--w00t!!!
Heh, thanks Bofus. I was going to use the Cheetah, but I noticed the crocodile could hit a lot harder, so I used him instead ;). Worked out well.
Zanith, Thank you for including OOC information in the thread! Especially as it relates to the combat at hand. In time, I will get all of these abilities, skills, conditions and spells clearly understood and memorized. But for the moment, I am still doing a lot of looking up. Even Tirion's web spell needs looking up frequently, even though it was become his favorite spell.
How are you feeling about the adventure? Your character, Zanith, certainly seems like a good fit! I look forward to seeing how the relationships unfold. As a DM, the pacing and the level of posting is always my biggest concern. I really like to keep things moving, but I need all of you to be enjoying yourselves and to feel balance between work, school and other things happening in your life. How does the pace feel compared to other campaigns you've played in?
I'm liking the adventure. This battle is intense! Bofus made a comment about the Kaals that I will be bringing up later for sure =). I like the pacing a lot. The battles move along swiftly and do not bog things down, while you have previously provided us ample time to role play. I feel that I may not be able to keep with the battles when I get back to the full swing of work (we are on a modified work schedule right now because of the holidays). But I also feel that it shouldn't be too much of a problem though since you allow quite a bit of retcon and 'dynamic' 'forecast' actions. Great work on that, by the way.
I think the biggest difference I have seen between this campaign and the other ones I have been is the dedication from you. Oftentimes DMs will lose interest or trail off, but you seem fairly consistent and dedicated to the game. You also have the guts to push things forward without having buy-in from every single player. There tends to be a fear from many DMs that they may upset their players by moving things along without first getting EVERYONE's input. This tends to delay the game a day or two and I think its silly. I rather have the game move forward, even if I had input but missed my chance.
I love jumping into games like these, and when I say 'games like these' I mean games that have a dedicated player base and GM. You guys seem like a good group of friends and fairly tight-nit. I really don't have any fear that the campaign will dissipate like some others I have been in. You have also been very welcoming, which I really appreciate. Thanks for working with me on a background and getting me set up with the basis to be part of the setting. I feel like I can add something to the game, which sometimes is lost in a lot of other games that an outsider jumps into.
Thanks for the high praise, Zanith. It is true that I know all of these players very well. In fact, I have DMed them all on a table top at different points in my life. Tirion and I were discovering AD&D together in elementary, junior high school, and in high school (from '82-'88). I met Bofus in college and we played in a weekly (2nd edition) campaign that I DMed for a couple of years ('91-93). Mantooth, Thordak, and the original Matthias were three of my students that got me side tracked in a particular Calculus class as I told them about this game. Two of them hijacked my calculators from me and returned them to me only on the condition that I teach them how to play this game! That resulted in two sessions of 3rd edition D&D. However, now that the three are away in college, this became the most reasonable solution to keeping a game going. Bofus told me about Pathfinder a few years ago and now I don't think I would ever go back. Since I know these guys personally, there is already a very strong friendship! I just think that it is awesome that we can keep those relationships going strong even over long distances and now with a younger generation.
Well Zanith, thanks again for joining us! We all appreciate your dedication and willingness to step in at a moment's notice! Be sure to let me know if there is anything I can do to make this game better for you and your all around enjoyment, especially with any personal goals you may have for your character. In fact, that goes for all of you, but you should all know that by now!
Zanith's Goals:
1. Free his father from prison or...
2. If his father is dead, exact revenge on the Kraal family.
3. Rescue his mother from poverty.
4. Fully understand what Lyra is and why he was chosen to receive the powers he has. This will probably come about at level 7 when she evolves, by the improved familiar feat, into either an Agathion, Silvanshee or Azata, Lyrakien .
5. End his own persecution.
I'm not all that eager to gain equipment or power and would rather give what I can to the group. He is beginning to think this group of adventurers may be his only chance to redeem his family and exact his revenge.
Zanith: Har! Well if ye don't want loot, Oi'll take it off yer hands!
Don't believe that DMHW guy, I never met the guy and have no idea what he is talking about. Oh, other than that we are doing dinner tomorrow night.
I'm musically challenged, but was curious, do electric harps have foot pedals? Does it light up when you play it? That'd be sweet!
I think I have seen it, but not heard it yet. My guess is it is like every other 35 string guitar - hmmm, don't recall many of those though.
The Silhouette is an electric harp that you can wear and play while you walk around. The concert grand has seven foot pedals, but the folks harps and the Silhouette do not. Normally the foot pedals are for changing the key, but key changes will be done with levers at the top of each string. Here is an example of two Silhouettes being played as a duet. Please note, that I cannot compete these these two girls and will not even try, but it will give you a sense of what I am talking about.