I'm in agreement with Avaria's thoughts on the matter. I've passed up a few other interesting recruitment threads because I know what playing in too many pbp games does to my concentration level.
This game has had a pretty good start, and I'd hate to see interest decline because of lag. Making posts like "Graverattler chews her food." as filler while waiting for someone is not exciting.
I'm generally all for giving an awol player a week (or more) to show up and explain their absence, the issue here though is that we have a player who is here part-time, which makes it a bit trickier (and isn't really fair to the people who are in full-time).
It seems like the first option is pretty overwhelmingly not supported. I expect that Victoria will probably log in and read all this tomorrow night... Hopefully she'll let us know her thoughts on option number 2 at that point...
hmmm......
What about the weekend before? I can't imagine your net goes down every weekend. :x I'd be more immediately accepting if this wasn't turning into a bit of a pattern or that you weren't late night/early morning generally before and after typical work hours during the week.
I don't mean to seem overly fussed, but I do think explanation is required for us to decide if giving it another chance is really the appropriate route.
The absence has been somewhat systemic, but if I was enjoying a game and wanted to continue I would hope for a little latitude from the GM and party members...
So we'll give Victoria one more chance. Please be certain that you're posting every day including weekends, and make sure to let us know asap if you're going to be absent for more than a day. It's not likely that people (myself included) are going to be very forgiving if this happens again.
Hey, I wanted to give you all little glimpse behind the curtain, and some insight into how this version of Golarion works.
Most people are fairly standard; PC classes may be a bit more common than normal but the commoners out tending fields are mostly still commoners and the majority of most city watches are just warriors. In some regions which I've made more dangerous (particularly Varisia) a fair number of NPCs will be of higher level than you might typically expect.
There are some people who are naturally gifted and excel beyond others at whatever they apply themselves too. These people are gestalt. Nobody in game would use that term (or really understand the mechanics of what's going on), but people like this often get noticed and may end up in positions where you might encounter them. Augustino is an example of this (a cleric/unchained monk).
There are other, even more rare, people who have characteristics beyond the normal limits of their mortal race. These people are mythic. There are many different names people like this might be called depending on the source of their power and what they do with it: blessed, god-blooded, rune-touched, and even hero are a few of the terms that might be used. Krotus was an example of this.
Being both (as the PCs are) is not unheard of but it is truly remarkable and people like this are very likely to be noticed. Some of you (like Victoria) really worked that into their background, and others are seeing how they've been noticed within gameplay (like Avaria with Aldern, or Jim with the rowdy sailors). You're not going to run into many others like this but will occasionally (like maybe the chief antagonist of each book or something like that).
I hope that makes you feel a little bit more like you sort of know what to expect (as characters who have lived in this world their whole lives would), without feeling like you have too much meta-game knowledge. I'm really enjoying the game so far and look forward to, hopefully, really hitting our stride now that we're all on the same page.
I am back in Mexico for 7 days. it should not affect my ability to post. (assuming Mexican double Hitler behaves)
Lol- that was great, Victoria.
If you'd like to actually be a lawyer you'll want to trade lore[law] for profession[barrister]. Lore would tell you more about like the history and development of various laws, profession allow you to actually navigate through various judicial systems. Your choice which one you really want (or if you want to split those ranks up).
Is there really anything that needs to happen between now and either our audience with Ameiko or our meeting up with Aldern? If no, do people want to explore Sandpoint other than to buy gear?
I'm just trying to get a handle on what we're shooting for so that Jim sitting around being lazy doesn't actually hamper game flow/create more work than necessary for the DM.
Today is my son's 7th birthday so I won't have time for a real post for a few hours. Justinius' trip to the store should be pretty quick/easy to deal with. If nobody wants to ask around about anything, Avaria can let us know what she wants to do about things with Ludo and I'll post on that too (don't let that hinder anyone from continuing to RP).
Happy Halloween!
I know some of you don't have a lot going on in the game at this exact moment but anyone who posts today (before midnight Pacific Time, about 6 hours from now I think) gains...
Avaria's Shopping List
Climber's Kit
~ Avaria can't help but think 'cave' when the thinks 'dragon' and has decided this is a must-get item.
Gear Maintenance Kit
~ Because you'd never want to lose a button on the road. Also her player loves fluffy items.
Crowbar
~ Run, Ludo, Run.
Map of the Sandpoint Area
~ Avaria would like to familiarize herself with the area.
hmm... not super sure there is any outward manifestation of detect evil, but youre in charge here
Using spell-like abilities functions as casting a spell in most ways... you actually provoke AoOs for using them, so there must be some observable concentration on your part, plus almost all spells (maybe all?) have some kind of visible and/or auditory manifestation. For detect evil that would probably be something simple like your eyes going pure white or taking on a soft golden luminescence.
He failed his know:arcana check to identify a spell effect that is in place, so he doesn't know what you did but he knows you activated some kind of spell effect.
Is it just me, or has paizo.com been down at least once a day for the past week or two? I've been off the boards for a couple of years, so maybe this is now normal?
Not just you, and no, it's not normal either.
Maybe it's the Chinese spambots.
They still have the RPG Superstar thing going, don't they? Did we hit a new round of it? I know sit crashes during that are known and frequent.
They announced the winner a few days ago, so no new rounds. Not really sure, but they are also shipping stuff out right now(including Bestiary 5), so there may be heavy downloading activities.
Yeah- the outages have been frustrating.
loving the posts from everyone, and I promise mine will get better when I get back home.
Yeah honestly this campaign is awesome and I'm enjoying the group set up. Really different personalities and backgrounds on each character which I love to see. And nothing cliche either, which is a rare gem.
I'm enjoying this campaign too! This is my first time GMing a PbP so if anyone has any suggestions that they think could improve anything I'd love to hear them.
yea, stop making the npcs so easy to offend. I'm coming off as a jerk and I'm not trying to. lol
To be fair, detecting evil someone is pretty rude practice, like you suspect them of harboring evil. Judgemental if nothing else.
That said, how would you feel if someone cast spells at you? You have no idea what the spell is, all you know is they are making gestures and saying funny words. Casting is not subtle. You have no idea if you're about to be blown up or not. I'd not be please either.
Technically speaking, he was using a spell-like ability, which has neither verbal nor somatic components. Still rude, but hardly as spooky as full on spell-casting.
Employ subtlety, Paladin. If you're going to go around detecting evil, start it before you enter the building :P
I, too, am enjoying the RP from all sides.
All true. I thought an ability that was just 6 seconds of concentration would be a little less conspicuous. But certainly, lobbing spells around at people in towns is bad form,
SLAs still provoke, do they not? They must have some tell. Otherwise I've been doing it very wrong...
(edit: hahaha PROVOKE. And he provoked the guy he detected.)
All true. I thought an ability that was just 6 seconds of concentration would be a little less conspicuous.
In an attempt to avoid future frustration, I'll point out that activating a spell-like ability is a standard action, as is concentrating to maintain any magical effect.
I believe it's widely accepted that the SLA description is poorly written, as it does lend to one easily inferring that using them would basically be unnoticeable; logically this can't be the case as they provoke.
Hey Victoria, looks like Paizo's adding another Huge Monstrous Humanoid with Bestiary 5:
Tattoos cover the blue skin of this towering, six-armed giant, and large tusks jut from his lower jaw.
GEGENEES CR 16
XP 76,800
CN Huge monstrous humanoid (giant)
Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +24
DEFENSE
AC 30, touch 10, flat-footed 28 (+2 Dex, +20 natural, –2 size)
hp 250 (20d10+140)
Fort +13, Ref +14, Will +13
OFFENSE
Speed 50 ft.
Melee club +26/+21/+16/+11 (2d6+12), 2 heavy picks +26 (2d6+8/×4), 2 slams +21 (2d6+4 plus grab) or
6 slams +26 (2d6+8 plus grab)
Ranged spear +20/+15/+10/+5 (3d6+8/×3), 2 spears +20 (3d6+8/×3)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft.
Special Attacks clobber, extra attacks, multiweapon mastery
STATISTICS
Str 26, Dex 14, Con 25, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 11
Base Atk +20; CMB +30 (+32 bull rush, +34 grapple); CMD 42 (44 vs. bull rush)
Feats Awesome Blow, Combat Reflexes, Critical Focus, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Initiative, Intimidating Prowess, Power Attack, Quick Draw, Staggering Critical, Stunning Critical
Skills Climb +16, Craft (any one) +6, Intimidate +31, Perception +24, Stealth +17, Survival +11, Swim +16
Languages Giant
ECOLOGY
Environment any temperate or warm land
Organization solitary, hunting party (2–5), or clan (6–25 plus 1 clan headman [barbarian, druid, or ranger of 4th–8th level] and 3 venerable mothers [oracles or witches of 3rd–5th level])
Treasure standard
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Clobber (Ex) When a gegenees damages a creature with three or more successful melee attacks in the same round, the gegenees can perform an awesome blow combat maneuver against the creature as a free action. If the awesome blow succeeds, the target must succeed at a DC 30 Fortitude save or be dazed for 1d4 rounds, in addition to the normal effects of the awesome blow. The save DC is Strength-based.
Extra Attacks (Ex) When a gegenees attacks as a standard action, it can make two additional attacks, even if its movement would normally restrict it to one attack. These additional attacks must be made with its other arms, and are made at its highest base attack bonus with a –2 penalty.
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"I am created Shiva, the Destroyer; death, the shatterer of worlds. The dead night tiger made whole by the Master of Sinanju. Who is this dog meat that dares challenge me?"-Remo Williams
What do I have to do to be able to 'take 10' on attack rolls?....lol
Hey everyone- Justinius went into the hospital early this morning and had to have emergency gullbladder removal. He's recovering well and should be fine but he may not post much (or at all) for a little while.
Ooph. S+&*ty deal. No worries, let him know I (probably we) hope he gets better!
yea....hope hes ok!
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"Thank you all for your quick, and quiet, assistance in this matter. What did you discover?"
"Sir, what we have here is what we call a non-repeating phantasm, or a CR 12 free roaming vapor; a real nasty one, too!"
Lol- I just watched that on tv Sunday night
Hey everyone- I had to see a dr today for an ear infection... The drugs she put me on have my head swimming so I probably won't get a gameplay post up tonight. Feel free to interact with each other, or tell things to or ask things of Father Zantus. I'll definitely have a new post up tomorrow at the latest.
Whats the time of day around the report to Father Zantus?
Well, there's no such things as clocks but maybe like 5:45pm
I build a water clock and carry it around with me everywhere.
I'm not sure why Jim missed posting yesterday but I'll give him until tonight to get up a post before I GMPC him back to the party so that we can get everyone else moving again...
Sorry, I would've sworn I made my snooping post yesterday morning. I need to set a daily posting alarm on my phone or something!