GM Agent's Skull & Shackles

Game Master Heaven's Agent

Pacing seems to work. I'm on too much this week, but I know I'll be on less in August.

** spoiler omitted **

If they have speak with dead, I'm screwed. Otherwise, I think it's a pretty bad joke making me spend all day down there with a corpse and pray that they buy it.

Where'd I put that Bluff skill... ; )

I take it that his orangutan missed the boat, and won't be sailing along with the crew?

<has vision of orang-utan rowing behind Wormwood>

What does everyone think of the pacing? I'd like to keep major updates to one a day in order to allow folks the time to respond, with minor responses throughout the day as warranted and as I am able to do so. Anyone feel things are moving too quickly or slowly?

Pacing is okay so far; I thought it was a shame that Šeherzada missed an opportunity for a quip when things moved on so quick from Mr. Plugg's question about cooking, but that was more due to time zone differences than pacing. No matter!

It's going fine at the moment, but the time zone difference does mean it's highly unlikely I will be posting on US Fridays--that's my Saturday--but I may be posting on US Sundays. My Mondays are all topsy-turvy though, so it's a crapshoot most weeks.

Good. If they try to keelhaul me, I'll jump overboard and ride with the ape.

If there are RP moments you wish you had been on your computer to take advantage of, go right ahead and do so. Just precede your actions, comments, etc., with something like:

In response to Plugg's question about cooking: ... stuff ...

This will give you more opportunities to expand upon your character's personality and interact with each other and NPCs, without slowing the game too much. It's something I've found to be very useful in PbP games.

Enjoying the game and the pacing.

<has vision of orang-utan rowing behind Wormwood>

Totally made me think of the end of Big Trouble in Little China.... and the thought still terrifies me a little bit! :)

Pace: It's summer, and I'm on 'vacation' right now, so I'm able to post a little more. I like the pace, and I'd be afraid faster paced would eventually lead to me, or another player, getting left behind.

Why do I have this sneaking suspicion this is going to come down on me?

Ehhh, I'm prepared to let that happen. ; )

Pace is fine, but I will probably be the slow one .. but I'll be on twice a day ... sometimes family need my time but thats life ..

Hey folks. Don't know about the rest of you, but I would be perfectly happy slowing down for a few days to resolve all these multiple layers of events. No need to power through; let things happen as they happen. We are getting some pretty wacky things going on, like unresolved past events that may or may not affect our future decisions--all of which are occurring simultaneously in the real world.

So if everyone else is happy to do so, I would say we can push pause on the 'move the plot forward' part while we sort out who has what animal where, amongst other things.

That's basically the conclusion I've come to as well. I need to reevaluate how best to run multiple divergent sandbox elements. Ultimately I may have to hand-wave some things, and replace some of the AP's initial mechanics to fit better with a PbP environment. Until I do we'll slow down a little bit. i do apologize for the delay; I had not realized it would be this disruptive.

By the end of the first part of The Wormwood Mutiny the game changes to a more traditional party-oriented structure. It's just the first third of the book that poses these challenges.

Don't know if this helps you, but I think I'd do something like this.

Allow 48 hours for each part of the day, there seem 3 parts, so 1 day would take 6 days, or say make it a week to get role and roll playing in.

If there are interactions which need perception checks or something else, then use spoilers in the initial set-up post ...
e.g.

That saves several interactions and moves the game on, from a players point of view only opening the correct spoiler is easy and it adds to the suspense when you know there's something more you missed. And reading spoilers you shouldn't spoils the fun. Just some things that might provide a bit more structure around the free format ...

It might not work so well if the adventure requires this going one for several weeks (game time), but then I guess its like watches .. you have your 'normal' actions over time.

This may be like telling a grandmother to suck eggs, but I'll put it out there anyway .. :)

I'm fine with whatever decision we make on gametime pacing. And I have seen Cecic's idea used to good effect. Of course making spoilers for every possible check for each characters personal sandbox seems like it could be quite daunting. Whatever's easiest.

We're doing fine; there shouldn't be too much more left to resolve. Off the top of my head:

• Finish the conversation between Šeherzada and Kroop.
  
• Finish the conversation between Šeherzada and the guy who lent her the knife this morning.
  
• Wrap up our own intra-party conversation.

Anyone have anything to add?

And then it's onto the nighttime ship actions:

• Šeherzada: sleeping. DONE
  
• Lucky: sneaking (bilges). DONE
  
• Mawimbi: sneaking (quartermaster's). DONE
  
• Strom: influencing Kroop. DONE
  
• Cecic: influencing an NPC.

Did I get that right?

I believe the first day's events are just about finished. We'll move on with Cecic's suggestion for a bit, though I am going to figure out some other way to approach this section of the AP; this structure does indeed last for weeks in game time, and I doubt anyone wants to stick to this structure for nearly half a year. :P

tempting.... but no.

I think our best bet is to let you determine what's important for the overall story and focus on that, yes?

And then it's onto the nighttime ship actions:

• Šeherzada: sleeping. DONE
  
• Lucky: sneaking (bilges). DONE
  
• Mawimbi: sneaking (quartermaster's). DONE
  
• Strom: influencing Kroop. DONE
  
• Cecic: influencing an NPC.

Did I get that right?

Cecic failed to influence Scourge in the evening, so DONE.

So Cecic can move forward to the next day when you want.

Excellent then. I'll get the introduction to the second day up today, and hopefully I can avoid such a stuttering progression in the future.

The format does seem pretty daunting.
I'm more than fine with GM Agent overriding our individual choices and lining them up to make it coherent.

For example, Mawimbi was going to retrieve his holy symbol from the quartermaster, but it was gone. So he didn't take anything. Now knowing that he was given it earlier in the day, he would have changed his night action... but instead it would be perfectly fine if GM ruled the action stands, but he was able to steal something else of use to another group member.
Or something like that.
Spoilers can help give options, I like that idea. "If: then: Else"

I won't be able to post much over the next few days as I won't have too much access to the internet. Back Monday/Tuesday ... Don't let me hold you guys up .. bot if you need

Local music festival .. working in the box office .. :)

I'll throw in my two cents; my suggestion would be to run each day in thirds, as Cecic suggested earlier. .

In the first half, inform the PCs of their jobs for the day and ask them for their job rolls and daytime ship actions. Then roleplay out any interactions that arise from those. Wait for all of that to resolve.

Then run Bloody Hour. I expect sometimes Bloody Hour will be a non-event if nobody is going to be punished that day. Wait for all of that to resolve.

Then ask PCs for their nighttime ship actions. Then roleplay out any interactions that arise from those. Wait for all of that to resolve.

I can't imagine it would take too long for us to go through each of those. But sometimes it might take 3-4 days, sometimes it might take half a day. Let the campaign proceed at the pace the campaign is capable of proceeding.

It makes her 'look and sound like a bizarre, insane fey creature'.

You mean something like a mouthy woman with iridescent hair and blue tattoos that move across her fair skin?

:P

Like Cecic, I'll be on vaca for 1 week from tonight. Ill post as I can, but it'll be infrequent at best. Please bot as needed.

@ Šeherzada: I'll let it slide this time, but for future reference spells with somatic requirements necessitate specific words be used in their casting. Without an ability that states otherwise, you cannot hide the fact that you are casting a spell in this way. Occasionally I may allow Bluff checks for this purpose, but only if I feel the situation warrants it.

Isn't that what verbal components are for?

Spell Components: To cast a spell with a verbal (V) component, your character must speak in a firm voice. If you’re gagged or in the area of a silence spell, you can’t cast such a spell. A spellcaster who has been deafened has a 20% chance to spoil any spell he tries to cast if that spell has a verbal component.

To cast a spell with a somatic (S) component, you must gesture freely with at least one hand. You can’t cast a spell of this type while bound, grappling, or with both your hands full or occupied.

To cast a spell with a material (M), focus (F), or divine focus (DF) component, you have to have the proper materials, as described by the spell. Unless these components are elaborate, preparing them is a free action. For material components and focuses whose costs are not listed in the spell description, you can assume that you have them if you have your spell component pouch.

Haunted fey aspect does not list a verbal component--therefore doesn't that mean there isn't one? If a verbal component is required anyway, silence should affect somatic-only spells as well, which is not mentioned in the spell description for silence; only verbal components.

The final decision is yours as the GM, but requiring somatic-only spells to have a verbal component as well changes the way those spells work. (Not that there are many of them in the first place.)

Sorry, I misread the post; I thought you were talking about verbal components, not somatic. Still, what I stated generally applies to somatic components as well: the casting of a spell is unmistakable, unless you have an ability that allows you to hide aspects of its casting. Spellcraft is not used to recognize that a spell is being cast. It is used to identify what spell is being cast.

Ah, okay. No problem, message received and understood. : )

Are we paused while Strom/Mug is on vacation?

Nope, paused a few days while I polish off my final project (sorry, thought I gave a notice). The project I finished last night before passing out on my keyboard, in fact; aren't deadlines wonderful >.>

But it is done, and now that I am in a post-passed out state we can continue.

As Douglas Adams said: "I love deadlines. I especially love the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."

Got back from the festival absolutely knackered, but will be getting into the swing of things once again. Will post later tonight UK time.

Hey folks. Please tell me what, if anything, your characters would most want retrieved from the quartermaster, so I can help you out. At the moment, looking at your character sheets, I'm guessing weapons would be preferred (and Lucky has said as much already).

Greetings. I have a suggestion that might help if people don't mind.

Spend 5 days getting to know the ship and the crew. Then split the time into blocks(5 days or so) and then events. Figure out what you want to do in blocks and figure out how to roll. Then run a special event. and then a block of time again

Wants his weapons back oh yes ... his armor and crossbow with bolts first

Me weapon and me lockpicks, and I'll be a happy thief. Pirate. Rogue. Whatever.

Nothing huge. Just an orangutan. Leather armor and a spear were his only other processions still in the hands of the quartermaster.

just checking in

Thanks, Cecic. Things are slow, anyway. Too slow; once I get the basic background information available to everyone, so you can make more informed decisions and plans, I'll figure something else out.

Wanted to post an update, let you know I'm still working on getting things in order.

I have completed a listing of the Wormwood's Crew (Crew manifest). Feel free to reference the list as needed and/or desired. I intend to establish full articles for NPCs you have already had extensive encounters with in the coming weeks, and continue to expand upon them as we progress in the game. My goal is to update these articles as you discover information, so that the information reflected on the Obsidian Portal wiki will reflect objects, persons, and places of interest that you have learned about over the course of the campaign. Feel free to ask any questions you might have about the current list; it reflects information commonly known among the crew of the Wormwood that you would have heard or gathered through casual interactions.

I'm still considering the best method of approaching the current section of the AP; for now we'll continue on as we have (we'll progress to evening/night actions once Šeherzada selects gear), and I intend to present alternate methods for consideration shortly.

Very good sir (best Alfred/butler voice)

Cool

...Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum...

Apparently lack of pirates causes global warming.

Apparently lack of pirates causes global warming.

That would explain the increasing temperatures around here; and I thought we were finally going into Fall.

I'm rereading the first volume now, taking notes about what needs to be covered in the first third. I hope to compose some possible solutions today.

Alright, here's what I've come up with:

Hand-Wave Daily Tasks We would generally assume you to complete your assigned daily tasks, bear your nightly rum ration, and skip over general Ship Actions.
Return Your Gear Everyone would receive any of their equipment that has not yet been returned; normally you would be utilizing Ship Actions to gather your items. This includes companions.
Emphasize Events I would highlight events, such as you wake-up call on Day 2, where everyone is likely to be together. This will help keep things moving and allow everyone the opportunity to participate. I would probably add a few events to address other things the daily tasks would otherwise provide. You would also be free to plan and instigate events of your own if you wish. Feel free to strike up in-character conversations to that extent here, within the OOC thread.
Individual NPC Interactions Separate from the Gameplay thread, these one-on-one dialogues could be used to gather information or chat up NPCs you have an interest in. These would take place either her in the OOC thread or via PM. Anything your discover or obtain as part of the individual actions would apply in the gameplay thread as soon as they are resolved: If you convinced an NPC to lend you his masterwork longsword, for example, you would have access to it in the Gameplay thread immediately. This will prevent backtracking of the plot while still allowing you a little freedom to do things on your own.

That the only thing I can think of at the moment. I'll continue to consider alternative possibilities throughout the day. Let me know what thoughts you may have on this subject.

Hey GM, here's my two cents: handwaving all that stuff would actually detract from the overall experience. I would prefer things went slow and we got to interact with the NPCs and define our place amongst the crew. Then when the presumably-inevitable mutiny does come (it's right there on the cover...), we'll have a much better feel for who's who, what's happened, the history between the characters, and we'll be able to move on from there.

Breaking the NPC interaction out into a separate thread would be handy, but has the potential to derail things if we get into combat in the Gamplay thread and we're still in the middle of a time-shifted negotiation for a weapon in another thread.

Honestly, I'm not in any way upset about the pace of progress, and would prefer to experience the challenge of befriending the crew of the Wormwood than to experience a series of rapid-fire events over which we have limited control.

I hope that makes sense!

I understand fully, Šeherzada. The problem with the current format is that it leaves some with nothing to do while we play out the interactions of one or two members of the group. While you've been away (not trying to single you out, it's just the most recent example), we've essentially had to place the game on hold; no one had anything left to do over the daytime shift, but we couldn't progress to the nighttime shift because you were attempting to acquire the group's equipment, and that can influence what everyone chooses to do later on.

Lucky and Cecic have had nothing to do for a week now, and a PbP cannot survive such sporadic bursts of activity separated by drawn out delays. I can't maintain interest in a game like that; I honestly don't have enough time to reread the book every time I need to post an update because it's been too long and I forget what comes next.

Once again, there's also the pacing to consider. As we are progressing now, we will be at the current routine of daily tasks for over a year before we can move on to the second part of the first volume. That's a long time to be playing a game where you have little to no control over your characters daily tasks and assignments.

The AP offers a lot of opportunity to explore and build relationships with the PCs. It would be a simple matter to go over and explore these events if we were all seated around a table, but the nature of this exploration does not fit well within a PbP environment. I'm open to different suggestions, but something has to be done.

I liked your suggestions GM Agent, and am looking for more of the meat and potatoes, rather than the tasty side-dishes. I do want the full NPC interaction, but the cost in time seems too steep. Seherzada makes some great points, but personally I think the individual NPC Interactions for each/some characters would allow the main group to progress faster & more importantly -together. No new suggestions here, and I did like all of yours. My 2cp.

Addendum: I am happy to go along with all these suggestions if it's what everyone prefers and will not spit the dummy about any of them. Should have made that clear too. : )

And I don't feel unfairly put upon either. My absence from the boards these last few days has to do with a four-day migraine (hence the lack of notice), but my deadlines and travel commitments at work in combination with two toddlers at home mean at the moment I have around 40 minutes a day to post. Can't get a lot done in that time. That will persist for the next two months or so.

So in the future, if I am holding things up like that again, please just adjudicate my actions. It's grossly unfair for my personal situation--planned or otherwise--to influence the enjoyment of the other players.

I guess that makes it four cents now? ; )