Ed's Dragon's Demand (Inactive)

Game Master fine_young_misanthrope

To everyone who is celebrating Thanksgiving: Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving you too Yasmin! ^_^

Happy gobble gobble holiday to one and all!

I hope all your dinners didn't need a fort roll!

I don't have edit access either. Do you need our emails to give access?

Added a new, hopefully editable, link to the campaign description.

I have edit access now. Thanks!

Iron Maiden! Air guitar!

Aside from me taking a few days off as I was all over Wisconsin and Michigan and not telling anyone, is everyone ok with the speed of the game and everything in general?

All good

I am fine with the speed of the game

Works for me!

Fine by me

The posting rate is not bad, but I feel the adventure is not running fluidly :/

Despite we have been playing for more than 2 months now, it has happened basically nothing relevant besides a tower falling to the grounds a haunt being found and a bird assassinated xD

I think the problem is basically on how difficult dungeon exploration is in PbP. Every small decision and reaction takes at least one day to resolve. Thus, things that work in real life like presenting a scene to the players and waiting for reactions before going forward are a bit more tricky in PbP.

For example in current situation, it could have helped to preview we would like to follow the secret door, and make Knowledge rolls about the water. Including a spoiler with the info, or roll for us would had speed up that part. As well, if the waters are not dangerous it would spped up to assume we will keep advancing to the next door and our character with the best Perception will inspect the door with take 20 or a roll if you do not like take 20.

With that we probably would had solved what the water is only 1 post, which means 3 days before, and player actions would be more meaningful, not just a roll here, a sentence there.

Similarly, while exploring rooms without much things of interest, it saves a lot of time to just place the description for various rooms with a number reference to each of them and let the players react to 3 or 4 of those rooms without big encounters. Those kind of things work very different to face to face sessions.

On Diplomatic encounters, it is possible to give more information in advance. Instead of just following a normal question answer interaction, it works better if both NPCs and players let their information and questions slip in a more 'briefing' way.

There is a resource with very good advice that can help the transition to PbP GMing. I really recommend its lecutre (taking it as advice not absolute laws of course):
Painlord's Guide to PbP GMing

The basic idea is due to format differences, PbP vs face to face, the PbP benefits from throwing a larger amount of information at the players on each intervention in contrast to face to face. PbP is contingent actions driven, while face to face is action-reaction driven. In PbP players can re-read the information until understanding, while on face to face you have to make sure they understand the first bit before throwing them the second.

I liked it a lot that you asked us about how we are feeling it. It is a very good GMs trait :D

I'll take any advice. I've always been a bit standoffish with regard to rolling for the players.

But,
I can use a ton of those tricks to move things along.

Thanks for the advice!

I concur with S points about exploring rooms with only fluff interest.

I did like how you resolved the fight with the raven without having to go through with all the rolls. That did seem like a fight that we couldn't use

Samuel-I think the biggest thing I took away from that post was I need to "push" and post/describe more. "Push" in that to speed things up, one post a day is fine, BUT I need to post more descriptions, be more active in the descriptions, and post more potential actions in spoilers. That's what I did with the next room. As you can see, there isn't much there, but I think I will do more of that.

I'm happy with the general rate of things, but you're right, speeding things up a bit can't hurt and any way to shave time off empty rooms will help a bit. Also, I need to quick save everyone's perceptions and init rolls so I can post that when you enter a room.

This kind of brings me to a weird place. How much do you want me to roll vs you roll. I know no one is really rolling, but does it steal thunder for me to post a perception check for you when you enter a room or walk into a trap? If people are fine with me posting a generic perception check for everyone when you enter a room and when combat really begins, then we will move with that. Also, I'll post a list of monster knowledge too. That way you know what you know. I don't make you spend any part of an action to "know" on your turn. You do or you don't. Sound good?

Thanks for all the help guys. We'll move this forward quicker in the future. As lone as everyone is having fun, then I am too! Expect a google docs link today with a list of "macros" for init, perception, and knowledge checks.

I'm fine with you rolling Perception or anything like that. That would move things along and the posts would be more about the story. We are all using the same dice roller anyway.

I am having fun with this. Great job GMing!

Please roll anything passive for us and logical active things too.

Passive: anything that happens just because we are passing by (mainly noticing something)

Active: In a dungeon crawl it makes sense that we check every door for traps, so take 20 there, however we do not want to take too much time going through so for noticing a trap in a corridor you would roll. Same for finding something hidden, we do cursory searches (rolling), but unless we specify we do not take 20.

I applaud you for asking!

See the third page of this google presentation for the macro's I use (and let the players fill in).

I think you got it and are in the way to make the things much more fluid :)
(clap clap clap)

I agree with Yasmin in all points.

Initiative should be always rolled by the GM, that way the combat can be started in the same post the party founds it.

I agree in face to face, I like to make my rolls, but in PbP I do not mind, I understand some like Initiative, Perception, Stealth and Saving throws are vital for the GM to roll in order for the game to move smooth.

What Yasmin says sounds very good to me

Two things I would like to add:

Some passive checks will probably change our actions (like finding that unexpected trap). It is fine to put this in a spoiler like you did at the door. That saves you from having to go through our character sheets when (as an example) a heal check is required to notice something.

The GM also does not need to wait until we all have posted to move the game forward. When 2 or 3 players have the same opinion, assume that is the way the party goes.

I've updated the map and game. Check out the latest post, and if you like it, that's how it will be from now on. I'll admit, we can cover two to three rooms at a day.

I like this style, especially for a dungeon crawl where most of the rooms are pretty boring

GM, as an alternative this is how I would have written that last post

You open the door, and find...nothing! It's a drafty, empty, dark hall. You walk around the hall and eventually come to another door.

You check the iron door for traps, finding nothing you carefully open the door as you have many more and see a small, barred window, revealing a plain, ten-foot-square room with a windowless iron door on the opposite wall beyond. Room A10

Map updated

Why I think my approach is better:

1) There are far less spoilers, making the text flow better, which allows for better reading.
2) Throwing red herrings is nice, but they should mean something. There is no need to roll perception if there is nothing found. A red herring should come back in a later post, not in the same.
3) My way makes it clear who can read what spoilers.
4) Notice I assumed a take 20 on the door.
5) Posting takes less time with my approach (I am lazy...)

Note that this is all intended as positive feedback! My apologies if it reads as wanting you to force to adopt my way of GM'ing. We all have our own styles, this is mine.

I think that is the way to go GM fine!

Yasmin proposal has a great advantage, it takes much less time for you to post, which is very good because leaves you more time for other things and avoids GM burning.

Thanks for running and trying to improve things up!

checking in.

So, do you think we can still look for the crest somewhere else? Or should we risk facing the armor in combat?

Tagging in. I'm here, but silent.

Errata has arrived to correct the minotaur crossbow yet more dropping damage per bolt to 2d6 and 4d6 for two hits. This will be reflected.

Question on EXP. How would people like to do it? So far as a group you have defeated 3000 exp worth of enemies and traps in several various ways. Want to keep trap or advance as I call it?

Always in favor of levelling!

I'd vote for your just calling it when it seems right. Counting experience is far more hassle than its worth.

+1 to simplify and level whenever you see fit to it.

i agree with Solvi and Shriek

THE CHOICE IS MADE

THE CHOICE IS MADE

Awesome. I agree with the others. I just finished GMing Carrion Crown and I just had the PCs level at certain story points in the adventure. So much easier than calculating the XP.

So taking also into account the kobolds equipment we have found:

• 2 mithral daggers (+500 gp if we sell both)
  
• Treasure coins for 840 gp (140 gp/person)
  
• Treasure gems and box 800 gp (133.33 gp/person)
  
• 500 gp reward (83.33 gp/person)
  
• 3 potions of cure moderate wounds
  
• mwk studded leather (+175 gp if sold)
  
• mwk shortbow with 20 arrows (+331 gp if sold)
  
• 3x spears (+3 gp if sold)
  
• 5 gems worth 25 gp each = 125 gp (20.83 gp/person)
  
• 10 pp = 100 gp (16.66 gp/person)
  

So, assuming we only sell the spears, that is a total of:
840+800+500+3+125+100 = 2368 gp =/6=> 394.66 gp each

Who wants the mwk studded leather and the mwk shortbow?

I will sell my scale mail and buy a mwk breastplate.

We ready to move on?

So taking also into account the kobolds equipment we have found:

• 2 mithral daggers (+500 gp if we sell both)
  
• Treasure coins for 840 gp (140 gp/person)
  
• Treasure gems and box 800 gp (133.33 gp/person)
  
• 500 gp reward (83.33 gp/person)
  
• 3 potions of cure moderate wounds
  
• mwk studded leather (+175 gp if sold)
  
• mwk shortbow with 20 arrows (+331 gp if sold)
  
• 3x spears (+3 gp if sold)
  
• 5 gems worth 25 gp each = 125 gp (20.83 gp/person)
  
• 10 pp = 100 gp (16.66 gp/person)
  

So, assuming we only sell the spears, that is a total of:
840+800+500+3+125+100 = 2368 gp =/6=> 394.66 gp each

Who wants the mwk studded leather and the mwk shortbow?

I will sell my scale mail and buy a mwk breastplate.

Thanks for compiling all the loot!

I put your items in a spreadsheet. I got a slightly different total (2868 for selling everything except for the MW studded leather and MW shortbow).

Link to spreadsheet

(Putting and x in the Sell column automatically updates the formulas on row 12).

GM: are we able to sell everything in this small town?

Just putting up the map!

Here is the town proper.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1TEyjIz3VthTvCnGEMRz6VS5wb6FlJFWilTU aMEEByc4/edit?usp=sharing

You can sell and buy anything that you can typically afford. We're quisi Pathfinder legal here as you get to play but not use these guys normally in PFS. So keep that in mind. We haven't completed the next section so after the kobolds is when you would receive your first PFS credit.

Yasmin finds her way to the smithy. She looks around for a short while before asking one of the smiths, showing her two-bladed sword"Can I trade this in for one of better quality? Ideally I would like to get one with two superior blades, but I will have to settle for one with just one, because I lack the money."

Costs 350: 300 for masterwork + 100 for blade - 50 for refund for previous blade

After she has traded in her weapon she asks "So, beside that collapse, has anything happened of late?"

Shriek visits Chance's Smithy there, he asks to fix and reinforce his armor to a masterwork breastplate "Groar, the trip here was tough, my armor had suffered a lot of damage. Thanks for fixing it, I have business to deal here"

While the armor is fixed Shriek visits the close by Shrine of the Seven Roses "Good to see, you, just curious what all this is about. Any business at town?"

Oops! I should have posted in gameplay!

Jajajaja, I made same error after you! XD

Sorry for the delay in posting. I'll post to the gameday thread later today.

Hey Ed...great job so far with the adventure. Interesting story. I like how you are handling the roleplay and mechanics. If I ever GM a PbP, then I'll probably steal some of your methods of running the adventure.

thanks man! Glad you're having a good time. I'm not the best at this, but I'm trying to learn as I go!