In that tense it makes no sense to me. What do you mean?
You mean from the strix nest?
so 125 each? I am not really sure what to purchase on Fhingle other right now than a wand.
Sounds good to me!
My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.
The assorted jewelry and keepsakes are 750gp.
I added my coin, I will add the Wand to Fhingle as well?
You want to try something different, or shall I simply throw the next mission at you?
Boss, how do you feel about the Rumor-making rules from Ultimate Intrigue?
I don't know them
Fair enough. I'll look around to see if I can find them somewhere.
Hello?
Gah, sorry, haven't found it yet. My parents both underwent different surgeries this month, so I've been at their house doing pretty much everything. Not a lot of time for fun.
This wasn't specifically aimed at you. Just wanted to poke the game, as you, Fhingle, or Logan could post in game or discussion. Sometimes, when there is no dot, no one checks and the game stalls for no reason.
Ah, gotcha. I have time now.
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This wasn't specifically aimed at you. Just wanted to poke the game, as you, Fhingle, or Logan could post in game or discussion. Sometimes, when there is no dot, no one checks and the game stalls for no reason.
I'm back now.
But your post raises an interesting question. This game has felt stalled out in general for a bit; even when we have had an active quest it hasn't felt like it was really going anywhere in particular. Maybe because our actions seem to have very little effect on the word. I think we need more direction, Foxy, maybe longer posts from you, maybe some sense of the world moving forward. I love Saul and what we've done up to about a month ago or so, but I haven't felt any enthusiasm from you for quite some time. The world is starting to feel a little dead to me. I don't want to give up on it, but we need more direction and more things to do. We can't create those things on our own.
In game I'm waiting for Logan. The sailor was his drinking buddy first, so he gets to tell if he comes along at least. And the sailor is sitting at the docks. So best case that is in front of the bar Cassius was in, before joining the talk.
As for the enthusiasm. I like the sandboxy style of the adventure, but obviously it doesn't work for the group. Fhingle outright ignored the chance to solve who is haunting your basement.
And my first attempt to get you to help the captain also ended with you dodging away. So the quest giver scheme is back with the guy with the exclamation mark over his head.
For my part, as the "new guy" I was reluctant to go nuts with proactivity, but that's done now. Cassius is the kind of fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants guy that would totally "Yeah, sure, let's do this thing with the captains!"
how did I ignore it? I didn't see something Fhingle could have done but I may have misread something.
I gave you a spoiler when you looked over Rexus shoulder and the D100 roll was high enough. You didn't react to it.
1d100
spoiler=Fhingle: You notice a page on the desk that looks different from the rest. Though you can't read it just like the others.Rexus informs Fhingle on his progress which is taking up speed and he actually managed to decipher some pages.
Ok, might have been too subtle a hint. But as you can't read infernal...
I must have missed that one or just didn't think he was a hint sorry
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In game I'm waiting for Logan. The sailor was his drinking buddy first, so he gets to tell if he comes along at least. And the sailor is sitting at the docks. So best case that is in front of the bar Cassius was in, before joining the talk.
As for the enthusiasm. I like the sandboxy style of the adventure, but obviously it doesn't work for the group. Fhingle outright ignored the chance to solve who is haunting your basement.
And my first attempt to get you to help the captain also ended with you dodging away. So the quest giver scheme is back with the guy with the exclamation mark over his head.
All the other PBP games I am in are more railroady than this one, and I wonder if sandbox games are just hard in this format. It is hard to have a conversation about what to do next because in a live game that would take five minutes but in a PBP game that can take a week.
It is often said that sandbox games are actually more work for a GM than a railroaded game because you need to continually present situations for us to react to. I would encourage more detailed posts and more things happening in general, Foxy. If you have to fast forward the prescribed timeline of the AP, please do it. Reading the players guide, it actually seems like there is supposed to be long sections of empty days where the daily grind is just handwaved. We don't really do that at all. We play every single day and I just don't think that is how the AP was written.
We need a GM to lead more in order for this to be successful. I'm not saying it is easy. I think it is really challenging to run a sandbox game but ultimately it is on the GM to be the mover and shaker and put us in positions of choice and peril. The players can't create that themselves.
Do you know where Logan is?
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Hi Everyone
Sorry about the massive delays in my posting lately.
I'm actually finding that, to do this right, I've got to put in a lot more time and effort then I currently have. I like the idea of a sandbox game but I agree with Saul, I think this might not be the greatest format for that type of game.
When so much is riding on player driven events and story, I feel like more thought out posts and stories are required to make it really shine and I don't really have the time to invest in that. I check these pages mostly at work during downtime. When I go home, I like to spend that time to spend with my family.
Sorry to drop like this, but I think Logan's next move is to drink himself into oblivion.
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I am more than a little concerned that I write a thoughtful post about my concerns with the direction of this game and the only response is "Do you know where Logan is?" Do you want this game to get better or not? I'm not happy with it. I want it to get better. I'm not going to quit if we agree to to work at it.
I was short on time and only checking the gameplay. Writing in discussion took it off the dots, so I failed to answer yet.
Yes you're right and I'm giving you something to go along with. I'll see if I simply shorten the adventure, to stay in the day by day, or if I handwave a week with some rebellion events and a day with a mission played out.
As I told earlier, we're back in quest giver mode, so every time the game has no direct clues to act on, someone will come along, one way or the other. I'm not really happy with this, but it was fun to further the story with private eye jobs for Saul. Maybe we can come up with a way to do this, without it becoming the stupid: "Hey, you're the rebellion guys aren't you? I have a job for you."
Will check on the rumor making rules Cassius suggested. Maybe therre is a gem to find.
I'm sorry to see Logan go. He is an interesting character.
It will take work and I think like you said a Sand box is hard, we have also missed some things because that human interaction is not present.
I will do better to lead and pay more attention
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I'm sorry about Logan too. I guess this adventure was not his cup of tea, though to be fair, he never had a chance to experience it when it was at its best, closer to the beginning. I'm glad that we are all committed to making things better again! I will also try to put some extra thought into my posts.
(Another thing that doesn't help is that we do sort suck at level 2. It is too easy to miss clues because we have low skills and bad rolls!)
When the game was at it's best, almost all of the players had a life of their own. I had NPCs for most of them to keep everyone busy when not on a mission. So a lot of the life of the game got lost when Salonius and Meliandri left.
That might be a point to look for improvement.
So to summarize the current situation:
1) We're down to three players - that needs improvement
2) A life besides rebellion for the characters would improve game play. Especially if some of the players had such life together )a
3) Every game needs at least one player to take the lead )b
a) That's a deduction of my oldest game, where we have tons of RP fun, only interrupted by those tedious fights the AP puts on us.
b) Best dungeon crawl ever was when our bard opened every door without asking the rest of the party. She almost got us killed when she released a Seughati on the unprepared party but it was fun and never got boring.
As I got the time now, some thoughts about sandbox vs. railroady adventures. I HATE railroads in APs. Railroads are nice if they lead to something. Like that shop owner coming to the 'heros' to clear the basement of these oversized rats. Totally cool.
I don't know if you GM yourself, but the books are written in a way that no matter what the players do, the outcome is the same. It is in the limitation of the story that spans six books. If you'd let the players do what they want, more often than not, they'd leave the written path, or end it prematurely. We ended Skulls&Shackles because of this with sinking the ship of the arch nemesis in book three instead of five and called it a day.
...
With Hell's Rebels there is a setting where you can't run off the written path as ling as you stay in the city. But to bring that to life I as a GM need something to react to.
I'm good on expanding on ideas given by the players. You throw me a bone and I build a skeleton and add the flesh. You interact with something for a while and my mind starts running and it comes to life. Have you read the backstory of Professor Glenell? Setting Saul to find out what she is about would have been a whole sidequest, just from a drunk professor, Salonious looked down on.
Meliandra's aunt, scheming to get her nice under control.
What I can't do is fleshing out a whole city until you find something interesting. It'd be too much work, and IÄm not that good at that.
So if for example Fhingle got bored of cleaning tables and would become Saul's apprentice (as replacement for Alamara) I could easily throw in some infidel wife, a jealous husband and all the drama that comes with that. And while you're at that, I can throw in a clue that leads to the next mission. Or have you meet one of the quest givers in a more natural way.
Or we reanimate your contact and flesh him out. That would give me some characters you care about, which is much better than the: Some unknown stranger is in peril, go safe him! Which is stupid two ways, as no one would know to ask you, and you would have no incentive, but crossing Thrune.
...
Assuming we want to stay away from the railroad and keep sandboxy: for the player moving the game on there are several options.
a) Saul or Cassius take that role and go through the game so far in search for everything that might be a hint and follow that.
From the top of my head, there are the whereabouts of the mayor, Shensen, and the head of the tiefling movement. As well as a search for people who are hit hard by the new laws that might be willing to join the rebellion or have somthing to be done because of this, that needs heroes. Most of this will lead to nothing, AP wise, but I will make it fun. Like with the shop owner, who when asked about the perils the new ruler and his rats brought states: I really love our Queen, even if her third cousin once removed is a pain. But as you mention rats, there is this issue in my basement... I'll give you two gold and a 10% discount on everything you buy.
Also there is the evil gift dog from hell, you know about, where you could hit just out of spite.
b) I bring a player that takes this role.
The first game I started, had no players. It got better over time, but as no one reacted to my first post on the boards which was a recruitment post, I just played all four characters myself. There are other games I GM which tend to get slow every now and then, in which I play a character in the party, to give directions when the others lack motivation or have no idea where to turn to. In this game I only have NPCs and none of them offers themselves for that role. Rexus is a pen pusher, Vendlafek too self centered, Maggie works in the shadows not as a leader. So if no one else wants to take that lead, I'd come up with a high Cha character to move things along.
I guess Saul would object to that, but then you have to take on the challenge to lead.
I can also come up with a Dr. Watson to your Sherlock Holmes and only give hints, to nudge you in the direction.
Thoughts?
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I would like to explore Fhingle's backstory, but he has been very hush-hush tight-lipped about that.
Saul's move to sobriety was perhaps too rushed and too easy. I could do something with that. Cassius could help me with that... what is Cassius's bar? Maybe we need a little bit more of a rough and tumble hangout rather than the coffeehouse all the time.
Saul continues to flirt and fail with most females that cross his path. That could maybe go somewhere...
Saul wants to continue down the path of being some type of costumed superhero called Jackdaw. I would like to learn more about the original Jackdaw if I could.
I can force Fhingle to tell about his backstory with one post in gameplay`. :D
And open up a whole sidequest for Saul and the party at the same time.
Shall I?
NOOOOO!!!!!
No one has really asked about Little Mac's backstory. I will get things moving, I just didn't want to be the pusher in other games I am that guy
It is what he does, ask again, get him drunk?
Ok, once the situation with the fiendish rat resolves I make Fhingle the center of attention. Now that I have the whole sidequest in mind anyway...
Also, you may level up to three. It won't come into effect before the fight with the 'rat', but you can prepare.
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Before we jump into something new, Saul would like a chance to interact with Logan again- I can find him drunk at a bar probably. After that, it is up to you of course Foxy. He doesn't have to die. We could go back to my original idea of him being in jail and tortured at some point.
Sorry it didn't work out with him. Turns out that this type of adventure wasn't his cup of tea. Cassius has been quiet too so I'll ask him if he is still in.
It was nice while it lasted. Of course it is nicer to have a group over years that works great together. But I'm fine with people coming along for a while and leave when it's no fun for them anymore or life happens.
I need to check. Maybe it is my time to post in Cassius' part of the adventure.
I'm definitely still in! Was just waiting for the sailor to reply.
Btw, you're all welcome to discuss how to improve the game. And especially, how to fill the rows.
We hit some bumps, and were apparently most active before I even joined, but I'm enjoying things. I'm pretty easy to please and can adjust my style to how the game goes. I think more players would definitely help. Now as to a recruitment thread or reaching out to players we play with in other games, both have advantages. We've a better chance of knowing how consistently someone posts if we're in another game with them, but sometimes a fresh person from outside can bring a new dynamic.