GM Jiggy's The Order of the Griffon (5e) (Inactive)

Game Master Jiggy

Discussion thread created.

Day 1 weather:
3d10 ⇒ (5, 4, 1) = 10

Once you've made your profile, copy/paste the following in to the classes/levels line of said profile:

Class 1 | AC XX | HP XX/XX | Perc +X | S+X/D+X/C+X/I+X/W+X/C+X | Spells: 1st (2/2) | HD 1/1 | Insp: [ ]

Fill in the appropriate information in that line. Obviously, if you don't have spells, remove that part. Once you start gaining limited-use abilities like Channel Divinity or (if you become a Battle Master) Superiority Dice, I'll want that in there too.

Once you've got that in place, feel free to go ahead and dot the Gameplay thread.

Thanks!

Is this Golarion or Mystara or Genericland?

I think it might technically be Mystara, but I know nothing of that setting, so it's gonna be a bit more like Genericland. If this conversion goes well, though, I might find places to enrich the setting-immersion for future groups, so in a sense you could all think of yourselves as pioneers. ;D

Reporting for duty.

Remember to copy/paste, please-and-thank-you.

Here's a bit of relevant geographical knowledge that all your PCs would have:

The adventure begins in Radlebb Keep, a medium-sized walled city. To the north is a large and dense forest, and to the west is a mountain range that runs roughly north-south. A road extends southward from Radlebb Keep, then loops down under the southern tip of said mountains before coming back up northeast toward the ruins of Koriszegy Crypt, which lies between the mountains and the western coast.

At the point where this road passes the southern tip of the mountains, another road branches off to go further south, then turns east and (roughly) follows the southern coast to eventually reach Specularum, a substantially larger walled city, which is situated near the mouth of a large river. Were you to cut through the wilderness rather than taking the road, Specularum would be roughly east-southeast from Radlebb Keep (a substantially shorter but more dangerous journey than taking the road).

If you were to follow the river inland from Specularum, you would head mostly north (and slightly east) and pass through a less-dense area of forest. Eventually, a large bridge offers a crossing over the river, giving access to another city on the eastern side of the river. This city is called Kelvin, is walled like the others, and is of a size somewhere between that of Radlebb Keep and Specularum.

Ahh - it IS Mystara. Love the setting!

Alright, let's talk about Inspiration.

I discussed this idea a little in the Recruitment thread, but here it is again:

Rather than try to keep track of all of your traits/ideals/bonds/flaws so that I can award Inspiration by the normal method (which I find cumbersome as a GM), I'm going to tie inspiration to good posting habits.

If you scroll up, you'll see some information regarding your current location, the weather, and so forth. Among that is your name, followed by something that's supposed to be an empty "meter". Each day that you post in Gameplay, you'll get a point toward filling that meter. When it's full, you'll gain Inspiration and the meter will be emptied, ready to fill up again. Note that I won't restart the meter until I see that you've marked your Inspiration in your stat line under your name.

Thus, if you post consistently, you'll gain Inspiration every 12 days. (I might change this number if this proves to be too fast/slow in relation to the pace of gameplay.)

Now, that's the baseline. Particularly good roleplaying or otherwise awesome posts can gain bonus points, getting you Inspiration sooner. Also, awesomeness might be rewarded in other ways, such as restored Hit Dice or extra treasure.

Anyway, I think that's it for housekeeping. I should have the first real Gameplay post up soon(ish).

I love this idea... I'll steal it.

Edit: Spells are now at the bottom of the character profile

Amazing first mission! I love it. Fits my character very well. Investigation AND persuasion both! Lets hope the dice don't flub out on me like they did just now.

I just want to say I'm here, but sick today. Reading makes me feel... iffy. Catch up tomorrow.

-Posted with Wayfinder

Both in character and out of character, I wasn't necessarily expecting the guards to attack us!

Sorry about that team, I hope you guys aren't irritated by my brash/blunt manner of play.

In-character, I was hoping that would happen. Out of character, some information might have been nice first. Not really your fault, though a bard you aren't.

As for Spidre, he'd better get it together if he ever wants his revenge. Can't even cut down a lowly guard? Pah!

-Posted with Wayfinder

This is something I was hoping would NOT happen. I was hoping to get more time before just waltzing into the guard post

We are outsiders and the guards will claim we attacked them. If we kill them all, we look like murderers.

The ONLY hope we have right now of not being screwed is to find people in jail who will colaborrate the story of corrupt guards

@Pietro and Thyra:

The husband nods. "Aye, we used to be able to look to the town guard for protection and safety, but not anymore. It seems like something's changed, like their loyalty is no longer to the city. Between them, the thieves' guild, and the wolves and monsters; it seems the only people left to be trusted are the Order of the Griffon. If you get in over your head, I would definitely suggest visiting the Hall of the Griffon here in town."

We may need to call on the guys to bail us out of trouble :(

If we kill them all, we look like murderers.

Oops

I think a casualty or two is acceptable if we can take SOME prisoners.

We are going to need a Zone of Truth spell here and some good luck to get us out of this crap. Hoping we can find some of the people jailed for speaking out to help us out of this mess by collaborating.

Ideally I would have worked best from the thieves guild angle - no one would weep if we went nuts in there and we could keep a few prisoners for questioning to prove the corruption or even if there was a link. Still lets see if we come through this in one piece before we worry about anything else.

Sorry Halsere, in the future I'll try and let you take the lead in the future!

These guards were particularly hasty to be hostile though.

Almost suspiciously so, eh? ;)

By the way, after watching our pacing thus far, I've decided to shorten Inspiration from a 12pt track to a 7pt track. Might make further adjustments later.

CRITS FOR THE CRIT GOD!

Can someone tell the cleric to save some fighting for the fighters?

-Posted with Wayfinder

Note that there's no such thing as negative hit points in 5e; the counter stops at 0HP.

Oh, okay the way I read it was I should still track it just in case I take damage but upon further and better reading, If I take damage while at 0 and that damage is more than my Hitpoints than I instantly die.

I'll adjust it here in a second to reflect my current 0 Hitpoint status.

Assuming we live? Goblin bodies may make our case easier.

CRITS FOR THE CRIT GOD!

Looks like you borrowed some karma that you're paying back now. ;)

Assuming we live?

Pfft, you guys have got this.

...right?

Mkay, since we're having our first near-death experience, let's make sure we're all on the same page on some things.

First, unlike in Pathfinder, a dying character doesn't tick their way one point at a time toward their negative CON before dying. Three strikes and you're dead. Thus, tending to a dying ally is a far more urgent issue than it is in Pathfinder, so keep that in mind when deciding on your actions.

Second, part of the reason I clump initiative in PbP (not the whole reason, but part of it) is exactly this situation. Since Thyra had the highest initiative in the group, running strict initiative would basically cheat her out of a round of potential aid. That's dumb; high initiative shouldn't bite you in the butt if you happen to be the one who goes down. Therefore, how I run it is if someone successfully intervenes in the same "block" of initiative that the dying character would have rolled their third failure, the character is saved.

Third, I don't know whether 5E has specific rules for using the Medicine skill to stabilize a dying character (I haven't seen it if it does), but I do know that you need not be prevented by the lack of a healer's kit. In 5E, what the healer's kit does is let you AUTOMATICALLY stabilize a character; no check required. Therefore, it seems to me that even without a kit, you can use your action to ATTEMPT to stabilize a dying character with a WIS(Medicine) check. I'm gonna set the DC at 10.

Hopefully we won't be in this position too frequently, but there it is, just in case. :)

If I kill the injured goblin with the first strike, can I direct the second at the other goblin?

If I kill the injured goblin with the first strike, can I direct the second at the other goblin?

Yep, you can pick targets as you go. Heck, you could even put your move in between the attacks. (This is even true when you get multiple attacks in a single action, starting at 5th level.)

In the basic rules pdf under stabilizing a creature it lists a DC 10 wisdom medicine check to stabilize a creature. They are still at 0 hp but not in danger of death unless they take more damage.

So your intuition was correct :). I was just getting ready to use my second wind when I went down!

FYI everybody, I've got in-laws visiting for the weekend, so posting from me might be spotty between now and Monday.

Whoops, I forgot I was the healer!

Never seen a nat 20 be disregarded before. I was at least expecting a 'go to guard XYZ to report', but fair enough.

I didn't disregard it; it earned you the very important piece of information that the guards have absolutely nothing to fear from being reported to the proper authorities. (Dun dun DUUUUUNNNN!!!!)

I got it - it was thoroughly depressing.

Glad I didnt take the Friends cantrip. It is complete rubbish.

Interrogation via spells are possible as well. Anyone take Thaumatury? Combined with Minor image we could do all sorts of things to scare the crap out of the guards we interrogate and hopefully get advantage to our rolls.

I can do comprehend languages as a ritual which means I don't need spell slots to cast it if no one can speak goblin and they refuse to speak common... though my bet is they do - they'd have to speak some to interact with the guards. At worst case I can UNDERSTAND but not speak the language.

Thyra Fireforge are you sure your character is complete? It seems to lack a background as a result 2 more skills. Acolyte or Soldier background would both suit.

I was just investigating that as a matter of fact and I think you are correct.

My understanding at first of how background skills worked was that it added Religion and Insight to my list of skills I could gain proficiency in as a Fighter. Not that they are free skills!

I have adjusted my character sheet to add Survival, a skill I chose from the fighter list and Insight the other bonus skill from my background, acolyte!

It looks like I am the 'Face' character... Gawds preserve us.

We are a particularly un-charismatic party for what it counts. I have the second highest Charisma with a 10.

I can face. Really guys, let me.

I wish we had also hired a bard or a paladin. They are great at 'face' work.

And on that note. I vote we collect some guard uniforms for disguises.

We may be able to have a run at the theives guild though I'd ideally like a full rest first.

Phew, big post today. Let me know if you're lost or anything needs clarification.

Oh, also, you'll be leveling up to 2nd overnight when you rest. :D

I did mean to mention: Are we doing a faster XP track? We only got to level 3 in the last game, and I'd like to see more levels. But it looks like we're going with event-based leveling?

going to dip a level of rogue... all that spy work finally coming together and clicking.

I get the following: Light armor, one skill from the class’s skill list (perception), thieves’ tools.

I will take Expertise in Perception and Persuasion

I gain 5hps + con and Sneak attack (1d6)

I wouldn't mind a 5th PC as I think it lessens the load and buffers for drop outs but its the GM call. Halsere will also take the role of party rogue though it will be without stealth focus etc

I did mean to mention: Are we doing a faster XP track? We only got to level 3 in the last game, and I'd like to see more levels. But it looks like we're going with event-based leveling?

Yes, event-based leveling. Also, I anticipate higher levels (and faster) than my last campaign. Mostly to keep you from dying as I try to keep the feel of the source material. :/