I enjoy playing Kaede, but I'll be honest, writing up a post is hard for me.
Outside of a simple combat post, Most posts take me a minimum 45 minutes to an hour. And heaven forbid I try to write up something complex, that takes several hours of me trying to tweak it to sound right, staring at it while I berate myself on how short it actually is, try to futilely brainstorm on more to add, and inevitably lose it to some god-forsaken forum bug, (like the 2 I've lost this week because I forgot that the forum can be buggy as hell sometimes and I need to copy what I write before posting,) and give up for the day.
I'm willing to keep going, but if you feel that you'd like me to step aside, I'm also willing to leave so you can run this better.
I know you're mainly speaking to the GM, but I just want to put my two cents in and say that I don't want Kaede to go anywhere. I think she's a great character and would love to be able to have Tera bounce off her some.
As far as writing posts are concerned, I've learned not to sweat things too much. Honestly, PBP has helped my writing improve a good bit, though there are times where I just can't muster the energy to come up with something better than just posting that my character is staying out of the way.
This is just my two cents, so feel free to take it or leave it. I'm going off some speculation, so this may not be in anyway accurate to what's actually going on. If that's the case, then just ignore this part.
I think what's happening is that you're having a hard time getting into Kaede's head. Her personality is a subtle one and it's hard to identify sometimes, and that can be hard to write. Tera, having such a strong and forceful personality with very powerful emotions, is actually pretty easy to write. She's goofy, caring, and sneaky. She's an entertainer and extremely extroverted.
There are a few things that you can do. I know that imagining how Tera would react in certain scenarios has certainly helped me, and it could also work for you. Trying having a conversation with Kaede. Talk to her as yourself then try to imagine her responses. Another thing to try is figure out what the core of Kaede's character is and use that as a guide post for what you write. If I had to pick out Tera's core, I'd say it was impulsive entertainer, which is odd for a LG character. Kaede's core, to me is serene strength. She's tough minded and she can get as emotional as the rest of the group, but she doesn't panic, and she doesn't give in to fear or let her emotions control her.
As for getting faster at writing, try flash fiction and give yourself a time limit. If I'm being honest, this is pretty much what PBP is, Roleplaying via Flash Fic. ;)
In general, don't worry about length or complexity. As long as you post something, I think you'll be fine. None of us are grading you on how well you do. :)
@Kaede- I’d enjoy not losing anyone, and I definitely don’t want anyone to feel forced out, but ultimately it’s up to you whether or not you want to commit to posting regularly.
and, staying in a character’s head can be challenging but the things she suggested might help. finding a character or characters in fiction that reminds you of Kaede can help too (because you can ask ‘what would X do in this situation), or you could change her personality some to make her easier to write (people do change over time, and she’s been through kind of a lot). the good news, hopefully, is that if you do get into the swing of posting regularly that usually helps to keep you in touch with the character.
Poor Tera. She's paying for my mistake. I had added it all up and gotten 1945, turns out I had goofed. I thought I was only asking for five more, not thirty.
Hopefully the quick apology and showing him the dagger and explaining why she hadn't shown it to him in the first place will smooth those feathers.
Lol- he’s been dealing with hagglers for over a century, 30g on almost two grand is nothing!
Yeah, but still pretty embarrassing for her. I figure she also doesn't have much experience haggling.
So I'm definitely in the 'occasionally struggling to get a post in every day' camp and I know it... I'm enjoying Kaelaah although I will admit that I have struggled to really know where his character is headed - I think I had envisaged quite a lot of interaction with Roakkad during his early adventuring, and using that as a foil to explore / understand what it meant to be Shoanti - but that kinda never happened what with Roakkad taking a dagger to the chest...
...if folks do feel Kaelaah is slowing things up or not really adding much then I'm kinda okay (I definitely have too much on my plate after all) with hanging up his adventuring boots and leaving him in the cathedral.
For my part, I'm not looking at what people have done... I'm just looking to the future. I'm not faulting anyone for what their posting patterns have been in the past, I'm hoping (and asking) that we can recommit to regular posting moving forward. We had originally talked about 1/day, which I know (all too well) can be a lot when things are busy, or you're having trouble getting in your character's head, but I think targeting a slightly more modest 5/week would let us generate some momentum without being too stressful .
If your issue really is just having too much on your plate to make such a commitment, we can move Kaelaah (safely) into the background and you can pop in once in while for some RP at the cathedral, and have the option of coming back later if/when you have more time. But, if you're thinking about hanging it up because you've lost your feel for the character, I'd be glad to work with you on figuring it out (maybe work in some RP opportunities with the Shoanti Sheriff Hemlock, or you could talk more with Sister Amet'Ra about living outside your native culture), and I know Tera and Sal have expressed some willingness to talk with or help people having trouble with their characters too...
At the end of the day, I like you all as players and I like all your characters- I think it would be great if we kept the whole party together! But, I also think that for the game to stay engaging we have to get it back to a better rhythm and its up to each person to decide if they're willing and able to commit to trying to do that.
I am super excited about book 2. and I am happy to commit to posting 1/day. I'm eager to develop Marcus' personality now that he isn't in a post-torture mindset anymore. I'd like to re-tool some of my mechanics, (I'll talk to you on the side about options, Nate) but otherwise I'm ready to roll!
Okay, so, checking in on my own life here, so y'all can get a feeling of where I'm at.
Still unpacking from the move. Still stressed financially (we need to buy a washing machine, and at least three more large bookcases so we can finish unpacking). Dropped PFS due to poor decision-making from three of my four state VOs (including VAs). Convention this weekend. Work is hell (literacy intervention is mentally and emotionally draining, and I work with some very disadvantaged children). Actually feeling depressed over the changeover to Pathfinder second edition (which I don't like) and the fact that there'll be no more first-party support for what is honestly my favourite RPG (meaning fewer groups, and, even if I chose to go back, no 1e PFS). Losing myself in video games to cope. Playing in an Exalted game that runs all day Saturdays and leaves me feeling like I've just eaten a large Christmas dinner (exhausted and satisfied). Losing my job in a few months, right before Christmas, with no idea if I'll get it back next year, or even if I *want* to - and if I don't take it, what the hell will I do?
Game-wise... I'd love to stick around, I'm just feeling a bit lost right now. I lost my steam at the end of book 1, and then the forum issues made it *impossible* for me to pick it back up again. I'd like to try being better at this, maybe when we pick up book 2. I'm just sort of floundering at the moment.
In regards to the last post. I hope that I didn't make any of you uncomfortable. I'm writing outside of my comfort zone a bit, and that's always risky.
@Ronnie: You know I'm always here if you need to talk. I feel for ya and I hope that you and Zache can continue. Maybe once we get going, Tera and Zache can have a heart to heart. :)
Sorry to sort of stall again... partly grad school is kicking my ass this week, but partly I'm just struggling to figure out how to proceed... I've got 3 players ready to commit to near-daily posting and 3 that don't seem to feel able to do so... When half of us are posting frequently and half aren't, the half who aren't get pushed to the background--their personalities get lost and they lose some agency because decisions often get made in the days between posts--plus, when someone tries to include them in conversation or let them shine in a situation for which their character is well suited the whole game can grind to a halt waiting for a response. It hasn't seemed super functional, to me.
So... there's 4 solutions I can see, and I'd really like everyone's feedback on these, please. Feel free to PM it to me if for any reason you'd prefer that to posting openly.
1- we stick with really uneven post rates and hope/assume everyone is having fun at whatever speed they're posting
2- we reaffirm a posting rate closer to the original expectation and have characters move to sort of glorified NPC roles if/when their players don't feel they can keep up
3- we agree on a new slower posting rate so that our slower posters can be more engaged with what's going on (and I may abridge some things to maintain some sense of progress)
4- we split the group into two table with the fast posting table taking on more complex missions with more RP opportunities and the slow posting table handling more straightforward assignments (hopefully with points of intersection where the two parties can interact)
2 would be my vote as well.
You all want to try to speed things up again, Sure go for it....I'll try to keep up.
So I am going to pitch in with a vote for option 2 and an honest admission that I'm just going to struggle to meet that expectation - even in my GM'd games I am only managing a couple of posts a week and so I'm going to have to start reducing my payload. I have really enjoyed this game, you are all fine players and Nate's a great GM but - especially given that we are between books - I'm going to request that you push Kaelaah off to glorified NPC / bit part character. Maybe, if and when I get more time to be able to focus on PbP, Kaelaah can rejoin at some point in the future...
But, rather than being an active participant (and by extension, slowing down the progress some folks are itching to make) it is time for me to pull up a seat, dish out some popcorn and watch this fine game instead.
I'm going to give Zache another day or two to respond or else we'll have to assume that they're opting for #2 . I'm going to bring Tera and Sal back to Sandpoint now so that you can all take care of distributing loot, buying stuff in town (if you want), and getting back into the swing with a little RP. We'll start Book 2 on Friday.
I'm going to push in a vote for option #2, and start setting alarms on my phone to post more often.
I don't want to cut off any good RP but before I go to bed tonight I am going to make good on starting Book 2. It'll probably be between 4 and 8 hours from now. Any loose ends that aren't tied up by then you'll have to finish in flextime spoilers.
Roger that. I think we're ready to move on anyway.
I'll be out of town from 10-25 to 10-30. I'll not be posting at that time. Bot me as needed.
That's fair. Honestly, Ven didn't have a lot to share, and your diplomacy rolls did get pretty much everything out of him (if you can pick it out from the anger and sadness), I just wanted to remind everyone about their abilities because I know there have been cases in the past where people forgot they were an option.
Also, I hope everyone is enjoying this investigation. If we'd followed our normal procedure of me automatically revealing everything you learn by taking 10 on your checks it would have mostly been just a few big info-dump posts, which would be faster but probably not as interesting. I'm trying to strike a balance of not getting bogged down on any particular element or scene but also keeping it interesting with rolls and progressive revelations/realizations . I hope that's working reasonably well (and, as always, I welcome any feedback).
I'm back from the beach, will be trying to catch up this weekend.
I'm back from the beach tomorrow!
Do I still need to roll for the spells and stuff or has there been enough time for Tera to take 20 on all of those?
Also, can I say that Tera has a set of theive's tools as well?
All caught up. :)
So, I just go home and while I was getting the mail, I had a little songbird fly into my car. Scared me half-to-death when it did because I couldn't tell what it was at first.
Same to you, young Lady!
Happy Thanksgiving to all y'all. Unless you're out of the US, then Happy 22nd of November!
Wife grabbed me for dinner and a movie the second I was out of work. I'll post as soon as I can.
For clearing out the ruins at Thistletop and your progress in the investigation thus, everyone will be 5th level once you’ve rested and recovered (tomorrow morning). With night falling as you return to Sandpoint I’m not anticipating any more dice rolling before then, so everyone can go ahead and level up. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask!
Okay, I don't get too much this level, but I do get a feat. My question for the party: Would you rather have Kaede boost her melee capacity(Likely Power Attack) or get a item creation feat, so the party can start to stockpile some healing supplies(Likely Brew Potion, Scribe Scroll, or Craft Wand)?
we already have a solid mix of healing in the party, and mine is only going to ramp up. My vote would be for combat goodies.
I know I’m not actually a party member but, for what it’s worth, I’m inclined to agree with Marcus. He’s got a handful of healing abilities, you (Kaede) have channel and spontaneous heals if needed, and I think Tera and Zache both know a cure spell or two... whereas with Kaelaah gone we’re down one dps .
That said, there might be a better option than power attack... you may want to consider slashing grace? Right now that’s an extra 2 damage per hit, with no attack roll penalty, and that’s likely to increase over time (like when you get a stat boost belt). The interaction between spear dancing style, bladed brush, and slashing grace is a little wonky but (since you’re willing to invest in bladed brush and the style despite all the overlap) I’ll grant you the most gracious interpretation of that interaction: bladed brush’s provision that it makes your glaive count as a one handed slashing weapon with a free off-hand would apply even when you’re using the style to 2WF with it.
@Everyone- as usual, please post your changes in discussion once you’ve updated your sheet.
It'll be the weekend before I'll be up to updating Tera.
Looks good, Sal. Thanks.
I apologize if gameplay slows down for a day or two- I'm having a PM conversation with someone that could impact some of what happens at the Cathedral, so I'm trying to wrap that up before I post about your return.
@Tera- We had talked a couple times about a variant mystic theurge for wizard/inquisitor... here's what I was thinking, in case you're still interested/curious. It's not nearly as specific as what I put together for Sal (largely because what you're doing isn't really specific to Abadar at all), but if you want to explore something more like her's we can talk about that.
Also, just a reminder to everyone else: as I've said before, if you have or get an idea for a prestige class for your character let me know and I'll put something together for you!
Okay....
HP +7
+1 1st lvl spell
+2 2nd lvl spell
Fervor healing increases to 2d6
+1 round of Sacred Weapon (5rd/day), base damage increases to 1d8
Feat(Power Attack)
Skills +1 in Perform(dance), Perform(sing), Diplomancy, Sense Motive, Spellcraft, Survival
Divine Gift - Resistance bonus increases to +2
FCB: 1/6 Bonus Combat Feat (up to 4 of 6)
not an exciting level for Marcus, but here it is....
+10 hp (up to 53)
+7 skill points (+1 diplomacy, +1 perception, +1 sense motive, + 4 UMD)
Feat-brew potion