GM Haladir's I6: Castle Ravenloft (Inactive)

Game Master Haladir

Well, I was really not expecting a fight against a coven of witches to be so tough! That said, I don't think I'll be using witches as bad guys much in the future, as their spells and powers are mainly "save-or-suck" effects, which aren't that fun to deal with as PCs. Too many of their powers cause their targets to lose a turn or otherwise limit actions, and that isn't fun to play through.

I also thought you would have been able to remove the polymorph effect on Theodora. Sorry for taking you out of the entire encounter!

That said, you found a lot of stuff. I'd like you to figure out who has what before we continue, as it will likely matter!

amulet of natural armor +1
ring of protection +1
Sihedron medallion
headband of mental prowess [Cha +2, Int +2; skill: Knowledge (religion)]
+1 cold iron returning human-bane dagger
potion of cure moderate wounds
potions of cure light wounds (3)
potion of spider climb
potion of eagle's splendor
elixir of fire breath
stone salve
universal solvent (2)
scroll of fly
scroll of breath of life
scroll of greater magic weapon
scroll of mass cure moderate wounds
scroll of restoration
scroll of magic circle against law
Spellbook, trapped with a glyph of warding (unread)
flask of acid (3)
flask of alchemist's fire (2)
vial of antitoxin (3)
tanglefoot bag
blue whinnis poison (3 doses)
greenblood oil poison (1 dose)

Monetary treasure:
miscellaneous jewelry (1200 gp total)
illustrated volume on herbalism (500 gp to a collector)

I'm fine with Damien getting the amulet and the ring of protection. Countessa should get the headband, while Verran should carry around the scroll of Breath of Life. I don't have a suggestion/preference on who takes the other items.

One or the other would be great. Not both!

I'll take the Amulet if no one else wants it, while Damion can have the ring. Smite Evil gives me a deflection bonus already against the target.

I'd also suggest that the rest of group split up the healing potions.

Okay: Daimon gets the amulet of natural armor +1 and ring of protection +1.

Thanks!

EDIT: Misread the earlier conversation. Sorry! (I think I need more coffee... I didn't sleep well last night.)

Daimon gets the ring of protection +1, Theodora gets the amulet of natural armor +1, and Countessa gets the headband.

Is anyone claiming the Sihedron medallion?

Not to throw a wrench into things, but if she's told the Sihedron medallion has a necromancy aura, Theodora won't use it.

Crap, totally lost track of y'all again. I can't seem to buy much time these days. First it was cons, then it was car stuff, competitive gaming, etc. I'll try to get back on the wagon as this is still fun. Will post properly tonight

My father is having open heart surgery in the next couple days, so there will probably be no posts from me until Sunday. If anything changes, I will let you all know.

Best of luck, to him and you, Justin. I hope that all goes well.

Best of luck to your father, Justin.

Sorry for lack of updates, folks. Life has gotten unexpectedly busy, and I just haven't had the time. I hope to get a new gameplay post up this weekend.

Thankfully, my father's surgery went as well. Thanks for the well wishes and good vibes, I appreciate them.

Life took an unexpected turn. It might be a few days before I get a chance to post again.

I'm back, and a bit sooner that I thought.

I intend to post an update later tonight.

Thanks everyone for bearing with me.

Hi, folks.

Well, the best laid plans, and all that.

I am still alive, and I'm really trying to figure out how to get back onto a regular update schedule. In the past, I'd been relying on my lunch hour at work to do the lion's share of my daily gaming posts. Right now, I'm under some very serious time pressures for two projects that are seriously overdue, so I've been putting in 50-60 hour weeks, including working through my usual lunch break.

And, of course, this happened at exactly the same time that we'd started doing some renovations in our house. So, after putting in 10-hour days at work, I'm also trying to do 3-4 more hours of work into my house every day.

This hasn't left much time for gaming.

The home renovations are now at a point where we can live with them in the current state for the winter. I'll get back in the spring. Hopefully by then, my work schedule will have slowed to the normal level of insanity.

So for the next week or so, I'm going to try to get in updates catch-as-catch-can, and I hope to get this campaign back on track not long thereafter.

Thanks so much for bearing with me on this!

Not a problem. I'll be here.

Hey, folks.

The US holiday of Thanksgiving is this week. I'm heading out tomorrow after work to spend several days at my in-laws' place. The wireless coverage from my carrier isn't great in their town, and I don't know the status of their wifi. Even if there is reliable service, I'm not sure what my posting schedule is going to be.

Long story short: I expect to be able to post tomorrow, but I'm not sure about my posting rate after that until next Monday (11/27).

(Not that it's been good at all lately...)

Hey, folks.

So sorry for disappearing again. My life has gotten complicated recently, and I've had scant little time for gaming.

I *think* I'm through the storm and will resume posting shortly.

Thanks again for your patience with me!

With the imminent approach of Christmas, I am going to be out-of-touch from the 20th-27th. My brother-in-law is treating my wife and me to a trip to Disney World so that she can see the Christmas decor before her vision is completely lost. To that end, I will be unable to post during that time. If I am in your game, please bot me as necessary. If you are in my game, I will try to find the time before Wednesday to make a brief post, but the game will be suspended until Dec. 28th. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a very Happy New Year to all!

Am sure that I am soon to succumb to the chaotic maelstrom of Christmas - so, assuming that I won't be posting in the Gameplay thread before the 25th, I shall wish everyone festive greetings...

Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

I'm back and will be spending today and tomorrow catching up. If you ever get the opportunity to do the Ultimate Disney Christmas Package, take it! For roughly $800/person, we stayed at a moderate resort (Coronado Springs), attended Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, got extra hours in the parks, attended an exclusive Christmas dance party, had an exclusive holiday buffet with live entertainment (and the food was fabulous), and received a special gift in our room on Christmas day that contained a picture frame, serving tray, chocolates, cookies, and much more! All-in-all, a wonderful vacation at an excellent price! BONUS: Because our resort was undergoing construction, we also received three exclusive Disney trading pins featuring Donald and his amigos with construction tools!

I was able to do most everything I wanted to do, with the single exception of Avatar Flight of Passage (my shins were too big), but my wife and brother-in-law did experience it and they thought it was a lot of fun! If you don't know, Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party is an exclusive event with limited attendance where you spend the entire evening in the Magic Kingdom, riding rides, seeing shows, and getting free treats!

Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled adventure...

That sounds fantastic!!

Merry Christmas and happy New Year to everyone!

My Christmas was wonderful, and New Year's Eve is shaping up to be a lot of fun, too. I'm tapping this update from my new Kindle Fire.

My December has been rather trying otherwise. I'll spare you the details, but some things beyond my control have been taking up practically all of my spare time.

I think that the worst is behind me now, and that I'll be able to return to regular posting after New Year's Day.D

Thanks for bearing with me!

Happy New Year!

--Mike "Haladir" Ferdinando, Ithaca NY, USA

Hi, folks.

This post pains me to write, but will probably come as no surprise.

While I very much want to keep going, I have come to the conclusion that I just don't have the time or wherewithal to continue GMing this adventure.

I know I was at a similar place in the past, and pulled the plug once before. If there comes a time that I am able to return to this game, I'll reach out to you to see who's interested in continuing.

Thanks to everyone for playing. I have very much enjoyed this game. I hope to finish the conversion of I6 to PFRPG at some point, and if/when I do, I'll send you all copies.

Thanks again folks, and sorry for having to end it before its conclusion.

--Haladir

:-(

I'm sorry to hear that Haladir, but I understand that you need to do what's best for you. If you ever feel the itch to start it back up, I'd be very interested in coming back.

As Theodora said, as a GM you need to do what is best for you - and as you aren't simply running but are also converting to PFRPG as we go, I can only guess at the workload... it's a shame and I would have loved to have seen this one through to Strahd's inglorious end - but I totally understand...

It's been great gaming with you folks and I'm sure I'll see you around on the boards :)

Sorry to hear, but as has been said, you must do what is best for you. If you decide to come back to it, please let me know. Best of luck.

Thanks so much for understanding, folks. You've all been great!

Hi, folks.

So... I went to mark this campaign as "Inactive," but I just didn't have the heart. Plus, I think that the crunch at work is mostly over for now, and that I'll be able to resume posting during my lunch hour.

If you can put up with a slow-going GM, I'd like to continue.

That said: One of the things I have found vexing about this PbP is the number of NPCs in the party. (At this point, I'm starting to consider Verran to be one, too.)

I need to keep Ireena around for plot reasons, at least for now...

So... are you all game?

Let's do it! I don't mind a slow game, nor the loss of NPC's as needed.If I have to take over as healer, I would ask that any healing wands the group has would find themselves in Theodora's possession.

No problem on the pacing for me. Slow works better with me anyway. Please keep Ireena, as Countessa would be rather, ehr... never mind. Forget I said anything. ;)

Okay! Let's move forward with this game!

It's getting kind of late tonight, so I'll update the Gameplay thread with the next round of combat tomorrow.

Cool, happy to run with this on a slow boil...

Ready

Con season is upon us, and in just two months, I will be running the game room for CoastCon (Biloxi, MS - March 16-18 if anyone is interested). This does mean that for the next two months, my life is very hectic and gaming must take a back seat. I'm not dropping, just giving warning that my posting may be slightly curtailed (more than usual). If I'm holding things up, just go ahead and bot me if necessary, though I will try to check in at least every other day (except weekends, most of which I will be busy).

If you're in one of my games, I'm apologizing now for any unnecessary delays. Just hang in there and we will plug through.

Hey, folks. I'm hoping to be able to pick up the pace a bit more in February. Thanks for bearing with me!

Hi, folks.

I am suddenly dealing with some elder care issues from 300 miles away. I'm not sure when I'll be able to resume regular posting.

Thanks for understanding.

No worries, I wish you all the best as you take care of that situation.

Yeah, as per other posts elsewhere... looking after your family is priority number one - hope all goes well.

Apologizing for my lack of posting. The con is this weekend and for the last four days I have been slammed with convention work. Things should be back to semi-normal on Monday.

Hi, folks.

As you can tell from my lack of posts in a month, I am still having a very hard time carving out time to GM this game. I think it is time to be realistic and say that I don't really see this changing any time in the foreseeable future.

I think is it time to say that I really can't continue running this game in good conscience.

I want to thank you all for playing. I have had a lot of fun with you all, and have really enjoyed this game immensely. You folks have been great!

If there comes a time when I have the time and resources to return, I'll contact you to see if you would be interested in picking this game back up where we left off.

Thanks again for being a part of this game, and best of luck to everyone!

BTW, barring a repeat of last year's travel hell, I will be at Paizocon this year. If any of you will be there, I hope we can meet up!

Just let me know if you want to get this started again, thank you for running.

Yeah, just to say thanks for running - Ravenloft is a load of fun... maybe one day we'll get to wipe the smile from Strahd's face :)

I'll be here, Just let me know when it is time to resume.