Elven team in Campaign Elves vs Dwarves -- Dwarves and Gnomes Keep Out (Inactive)

Game Master Chainmail

You can do your talking and plotting here.

I posted this also in the recruitment thread as this thread was only set up as i was typing.

sounds like we have a good strategy so far. though I as you said plans don't always work, but I am sure that we will get to know our characters and each others we will fall into a wining strategy. yes biffing and flanking sounds good to me, I've played ninja's and a rogue/bard gestalt before so it seem to be my strength in helping others to not die and get the win.

I am glad you ask about time zones Talon, I'm GMT. It is a good idea to run in initiative order and to stay an action or do an action for those that done post in time. It stops campaigns slowing down and helps everyone to work together and do actions and strategy's that compliment each other.
Though as some of us are on different time zones, can I request/suggest we post a start time for the first post of each encounter 'session' of game playing as it where. the time different is no issue for me playing wise, I'm a night owl anyway but it would be nice to not miss out on the chance of an action if I knew the first post was gong to be at 15:00EST for example then i know to check the boards from then and I can follow the action and to be there to post promptly when it comes to being my characters turn.

Elorin, do you have CLW as one of your spells? If not, we only have the druid's prepared slots for healing. We might be able to pool our cash and get a partially charged wand or some scrolls. I've got about 20 gold for the cause.

Reposted from the other elf thread... this one's gonna be our Discussion thread from here on out, right?

When everyone looks expectantly at Telethal, he hastily yanks the twig out of where he'd been jamming it in the hole where his right ear should be. He points to himself with a self-conscious look, "Telethal. I'm good at fighting…" he lifts his long weapon, "… especially with this. Killed a bear with it."

A thought strikes him (and judging by his excited reaction, it doesn't happen often), "Oh, I saw a guy fight someone else with some kinda magic that made him bigger… any of you can do that for me?"

---

Basically, normal reach barbarian stuff here. One combo we may want to think about monopolizing on is having Seltyn Enlarge Telethal so he can hold the line more or less by himself. A healer or caster could take refuge behind him somewhat safely. Use him for cover.

Telethal's not gonna have a great AC, so if we're in really tough fights, we should do our best to keep a healer close enough to make the difference if things go sideways for Telethal.

i agree with the over-all suggestions here. While Telethal won't be as effective at range, once he can upgrade to some decent armor (decent light armor or mithral breastplate), his speed will really become an advantage. So he could be even more useful as a meat-shield for you guys while you whittle away at our enemies from afar.

Yes I have CLW, not to worry there. I get the others as I level up aswel

repost from other thread

Elorin Silentall hear. Bard of much renown (at least I will be one day) Happy to make you warriors braver, rogues swifter and archers hardier. I can heal wounds and confuse the enemy. As well as strike deadly blows. As my father used to say when asked for a good strategy, hit em hard hit em fast, make sure they don't see it coming.

Lets not forget that the dwarfs are not our only enemy. Yes we may have fought against them in the war but at least they where upfront about their stand point. The humans where the ones who betrayed us. Who used us to win their war and then turned on us. I have seen this happen many times and Though I am not fond of those short hairy cretins, frankly I would much rather see our kind raised to the glory we once where and show the humans that they are not the only one's round here in charge, than go hunting cave men.

Flanking offers many advantages in battle as does ranged cover, we seem to have a good mix so far. I can sling spells as needed and hope to go down the effect minds route, make us harder and them easier to hit also get a bigger bash-ier weapon, though I always have room for a few healing spells if needed. I see myself as an all rounder, helping others kill and taking every opportunity to jab anyone that gets in my way.

I don't know the enlarge spell Telethal suggested, but I agree that it's a great idea. I'll ask around and see if I can copy it from a scroll, or a sympathetic wizard.

Point taken about rushing past decisions. I was putting future events out there that I know where not influenced by past decisions. I can stop that. Also we can allow more time for roleplaying.

This is my first PbP as a GM, but by no means my first Pathfinder campaign as a GM.

I realize I will also put out of game discussions here. Sorry for contaminating our story thread. I see how it can be a nice log of your greatness when done right.

Point taken about rushing past decisions. I was putting future events out there that I know where not influenced by past decisions. I can stop that. Also we can allow more time for roleplaying.

This is my first PbP as a GM, but by no means my first Pathfinder campaign as a GM.

Not a problem. I GM a PbP, too, and it's not that easy. It's different from a table game in a lot of ways. Typed communication doesn't carry all the nuance of face-to-face, so people might not understand where you're going.

The advantage is that you can take your time looking over the rules and whatnot before you post, and be concise when you hit submit. If anyone's confused, you can explain yourself a little more, or even turn the clock back and give a brief timeline of what happened when.

It's the same game, just different.

I also blew past the legitimate idea to go early. Having never painted in the PbP media as a DM and seeing boredom overcome most games I lurked on, I decided to make the pace fast.

It turns out it was too fast. Many players I dealt with were hack and slashers, so I had to keep their interest. Seems the players in PbP are better at Roleplaying.

Part of the problem is that all we have here is typed words on a screen. Therefore what is said takes on a huge amount of importance. What might have once upon a time in real life been discussed over twenty minutes of RP if not less, takes longer of these boards because you have to type it up, wait for others to respond and go from there. Also, because so much of communication is nonverbal in the form of body language, and we have none of that here, then once more more must be done to describe scenes and the like.

You are doing fine don't worry

I have to agree with what's been said. its difficult to do over posts what is done in real life. Ive never done this irl but I do appreciate the chance to rp things. Anywho its clear that you've got an awesome grasp of how to run these things and I'm excited to see where this goes. From my own perspective I'd appreciate a little leniency when it comes to rules. I just don't know the ins and outs that well.

The rules are pretty simple, but leniency will be shown I am sure. If you aren't sure of something, just ask.

I think you can take advice from Seltyn and Talon. They will be given suggestions (in the 20 word limit) and now they know to make sure you will have some help when you need it. The 20 word limit is to keep an unrealistically long discussion over 10 second actions.

Your build is quite good by the way. Did you seriously consider the shark or giant seahorse? I can get you an aquatic animal you can ride, but you will be limited inland. It is an option and I am learning to keep options open more today. I am sure Talon and Seltyn can advise you on this too.

I got confused because I didn't know who was talking. If the Lady is doing an augury, that's a really cool gift to the players, so give us a few lines about what's up. Put her words in bold, but give us a little "the lady casts the spell, and after a few moments of silence, begins to speak," sorta thing.

We're sorta co-writing an adventure novel.

On this page, you'll see an oracular sorta thing I did in the goblins campaign. I'm not saying it's awesome, but the players had a sense of time and place, then the "Lizard King" could spout some Doors-based poetry stuff that was kinda funny yet relevant, and really funny if you like the Doors.

Time and place move in all campaigns. You'll do fine. PbP takes some practice, and the idea for this is so cool, we'll all play, even if we have to back up now and then. You may have noticed that 12 players are all over this. That's a good sign.

Good advice, the augury was my attempt to rewind and undo my hasty fast forward and let the party roleplay and plan. Plus I have to get the dwarves started and ... well you know how it is when you are on many threads.

I was also surprised how fast things went. I thought, float this cool idea, have recruiting last a month, hope an experience PbP DM takes over the idea or collaborates, but then things started flying.

I guess this is pretty fast for the PbP forums?

I definitely didn't want the hot interest to die. I rushed your start some - so it came off unpolished. I toyed with adapting Kingmaker, but the original story worked quite well without it and I didn't want the kingdom development roles to detract from the story.

So I join four games and two die almost immediately (admittedly they were "rerecruitment" so I know to watch out for those. But it seems the life of the average PbP is quite fleeting.

It can be at times, but if you have a decent concept and so on, then things tend to work out ok and you have players that will keep on coming back for more and more.

To have recruitment last but 90 hours or so is incredibly fast for a PBP.

Could we have kept up the interest for a little longer and let you and Seltyn really make a selection from about 10 characters? Most of the threads I followed had to fight to keep five.

Then I needed another whole party (ideally about 10 more there). If this works I could try it again and insist repeat players go to the other side.

Yes, it's like drinking from a firehose. Your idea is awesome, and I hope it goes on a good while.

You're the GM, so you control the pace. It's perfectly legit to say "this started out quicker than I anticipated, so give me a day or two to get the dwarves up and running." We'll understand.

You've taken on a big job. That would be hard for any PbP GM, with 12 characters all wanting to have their moments of greatness. Just keep to your idea of how you want it to go, and the players who are enjoying it will stick around.

The augury was cool. We have an idea what to expect, and it sounds like a good fight is coming. We could play out getting on the boat, meeting the sailor, and planning our entrance to the dangerous port with what we know. We passed that, though, so just describe the port, and we'll take it from there.

You're doing fine. It just takes a little practice to get used to it. This is not hard to keep going. If anyone has a question, just answer it, and keep moving. It takes a while for everyone to settle in and establish a comfortable playstyle. You'll figure out what the players are like, what you want to see happen, and how to do it so that you're not bored or frustrated. If you're having a good time, we will, too.

I only allowed 4 players for my PbP. The more people you have, the more delays you get. If we lose some, try running with 4 or 5 player groups. Make the parties cover their bases. You can do it with 4, really.

Aye, I like the idea of what you are taking on, but its massive in terms of the amount of difficulties due to delays and the like. We can cover the bases without problems I have no doubt, heck, one of the interesting ways to do it would be to add a gestalt element to the game. In all fairness, the devil generally is in the details, and that is the one thing that I have really felt is lacking. For example, I don't have a mental picture in my head as to what the Queen looks like. I haven't a clue what the room that we met her in looks like. The ideas that you have presented us are interesting, and I am looking forward to seeing how they pan out in the next week or so. I think Team Elf will beat the hell out of Team Short over there.

The augury was indeed cool, but needed to be introduced a little better is all in my honest opinion.

Knowledge is power. We know that there is a chance we are going to have to negotiate, and that there might be a really big combat coming. We can now prepare for that and hopefully win it and thus advance the plot. Plus, exp is always nice right? :p

On a lighter note, I am enjoying the game. Let us go to this fine watercraft and find out what is going on in this City that we must trade with.

Thanks for the suggestions about upping the picture that is painted. I will take care of this right away. I will practice improving an augury device too.

I have to say I think you are doing great considering you are DM'ing for two games that will eventually meet.
there have been a few 'hang on whats going on there' moment but you dealt with them honestly. (added the comment of 'that works'). you showed that this is a work in progress which immediately made me feel more comfortable and eased some of my worries. it is great as a player for a DM show they are adaptable and can make mistakes just as we can as players and most important you are willing to go to the players themselves for advise. i know many Dm's that are 'my way or the high way' and I choose the high way every time.

(cliche waring) a rocky road that leads to a jade palace is better than a smooth road leading no where.

the fact is you have things with this game set up that other Dm;s may not have, so as Seltyn said, feel free to say i need some time to sort the next part out' essentially you are running a game for 10 players, its going to take some time to settle in to it. Anyone who doesn't have the patience for that wont be missed.

Is the last post on gameplay too much?

A tiny bit. It's cool though. Broad strokes of description often do far more than the minutia.

If you had described the Queen as a woman of great inner strength, but seems outwardly fragile, her blonde hair down to shoulder length and the skin of her face beginning to line then that tells us just as much, and also in some respects allows us to use the one thing that is most critical in something like this. Our imagination.

Don't worry about it. GM'ing is hard work. I know this well. Do not start doubting yourself just cause you are running a big game. Take a step or two back, breathe and get it straight in your head what is going on when and where. Paper notes are your friend at this point, as I am sure you are aware.

Keep going with it, we will get there in the end.

Okay, lets see if druid wants a seahorse, make sure the cruch is updated (fighter needs to pick a weapon), and pick a sailing time. Departure can be accelerated by up to 24 hours. Elvish shipbuilders have determined that reinforcing ship for cover is not an option.

Dwarves will need little in way of description - He ugly and wears drab colors.

The druid I am sure has already said that he has a leopard animal companion, we can always retcon the whole issue with the fighters weapon. As far as a sailing time goes, I would like to be there for the dawn, but if that is not possible then a good 4 hours or so before the arranged time. We need time to get prepared for whatever we might face in the city.

Yeah, sorry. I kinda had him picked based on both the backstory I chose and figuring that most of our adventure would take place inland, as we attempted to regain the lost land. Leopards are incredibly versatile in terms of adaptation, and if he was going to find some creature to bond with, it kind of made sense. Anywho, still excited to see where this goes. :)

Alright, I'm off. Goodnight peeps.

No problem. Just needed to know as it gives the alternate landing plan a significantly better chance of success. No sea horse, but big cat.

By the way, the backstory was great. If you want to, you can make an avatar for your leopard.

Holy cow. This game is cooking.

I'm still here, just trying to catch up. At least I"m playing a quiet, socially awkward character.

Quick question about the weapon/gear upgrade (which is very cool, Chainmail). Do I need to straight-up upgrade a regular weapon? Or can I keep the weapon I have and upgrade my armor to masterwork chainmail or breastplate?

Telethal is hurting for AC more than he's hurting for damage output.

And just a general note. I"m only going to be able to post a handful of times a day during the week, and the weekends are a total crap-shoot. I have a family and it's the holiday season. I like this game, but don't want to be the guy that holds it up.

Let me know if this is an issue.

It is not an issue -- if you miss some we will cover for you.
Armor is acceptable to upgrade.

I do need to know how committed Telethal is to the elf side of the conflict over the humans. I assume since you joined the elves the number is at least 50%. You went through the six month training and heard the inspiring dialogue. Give me an elven commitment level over humans percentage for Telethal from 50-100%

Let's put it this way... If Telethal were a ranger, he'd have FAvored Enemy: Human.

His early childhood among humans was... difficult to say the least. He sought refuge among the elves as he realized why the other humans despised him, and the elves' aloof contempt is far, far better than what he experienced in his community.

Now, i've taken some liberties here, and if the general human population doesn't hvae this attitude towards half-elves, maybe just the community in which he grew up does?

And I'll go with a MW Breastplate, if that's okay with you. That's a 350g value, if that's fine. :)

If you need a percentage, i'd put him at 85% commitment level. Only some memories of his immediate family and a few close friends from childhood give him any sympathy for humans.

Masterwork Breastplate added to Gear, and stats adjusted accordingly.

Wow this moves fast. I gotta be honest, it might be too fast for me. I work, and am also a graduate student. While class is out until early January right now, I'm still likely to only make a single post a day. Once class starts back up, there are going to be days where I simply can't post. On rare occasion they stack up into multiple days during midterms and finals. If this is a dealbreaker, then I'll let someone else in.

For usefulness sake, however, I think it should be said that a standardized method of posting helps the flow of reading massively. Having everyone decide whether you use bold for speech or not is one thing. Putting inner monologue in italics also helps.

One thing that I would honestly say has to happen is that things that aren't in character be put in ooc tags.

Thus we have bold tags ([ b ][ / b ])
italics tags ([ i ][ / i ])
and out of character tags ([ ooc ][ / ooc ])
Just remove the spaces.

Also, if I'm still in, I'll be replacing my studded leather with masterwork stuff. Getting rid of that annoying check penalty.

I think once a day is fine. As long as we check in once or twice a day, it'll move fast enough. If you're really busy, just tell us and I'll make some rolls for you if that's all that's holding it up. I have a working student in my PbP, and he gets busy at times, so I just fill in and do what I think he would do, sometimes. His goblin is 5th level, now, so he survives pretty well.

In my group, weekends are pretty quiet. Most of the posting happens on weeknights. We've had people go on vacations, etc., but we keep things moving. It only grinds to a halt when I'm away and can't post.

Some players (like me) can be here a lot, others can't. We'll adapt. Your character is cool, so just play her when you can, and let us know when you're too busy. She'll do her part, and still be here when you get back. I won't get her killed, I promise!

Things usually go fast at first, then slow down a bit once we're all settled into the adventure.

Yeah, I'm around a fair amount because my job/grad school means I have to be on teh internets. And this is a nice distraction, lol.

But most weekend nights, and for a week after christmas (vacation ftw) I wont be around.

I agree with Velesia's formatting suggestions. The common format on these boards do tend to be bold for in-character speech, italics for in-character thoughts or inner dialogue, and blue text for ooc thoughts or comments.

For example:

Telethal glares at the humans, "GIVE US OUR DAMN SUPPLIES!". He hefts his Longspear to drive the point home. As he yells, he can't help but think to himself, Take one step forward, bastards... just one step.

DM, Telethal plans to go all violent and attack if they take one step forward.

That make sense to everyone?

Makes sense to me, I was more or less using those self same formatting things myself. Looks like things are really going well in the game forum, so let us continue the wonderful pace there and see whether we can assasinate the Mayor King of this city and claim it for our own. At least that way we wouldn't have to worry about those thrice damned supplies

Thrice damned. he he...

i agree with formatting, much like velesia i have uni and work. uni shouldn't get in the way much as i fin around 3pm gmt so i guess around 10am for you guys so it shouldn't get in the way to much. but work however might, i work two night a week and it is usually 6til 10-pm which is around 1pm to 5pm your time. so that might. other than that i can probably post each day. it just may take me a while to get round to posting.

Since I forgot before, I'm in central zone here. GMT-6.

Action is officially now slowed down. Enjoy the drama.
In the old days you spouted out tons of content in an adventure to get to the opening scene. In PbP I am learning to take it slower.

My goal was to get everyone hooked before they got involved in the holidays and never came back. We will definitely be taking a break over Christmas

I hope my recollection of the harbor and description are sufficient, but I can add no more.

"The challenges of landing in the harbor are insignificant to that of landing along the jungle coastline. As our young druid can verify, the risk of predators and natives is also great in the jungle."

I agree we need to tighten up our posts; I encourage you young ones to do so too. I am surely trying.

As you now know, the state of my heart and the actions of the elfmaids, will significanty affect my morale.

Some of you may be too young to remember the song Windfavor alludes to. It's this 1971 top 40 hit from an obscure band called Looking Glass. It's some nice pop ear candy from the days when all songs had singing. Yeah, I'm old enough to remember when it was a hit and heard it on AM (or medium wave, for our continental players) radio!

"The allusion was mine. The elven version is much older."