GM Omelas's Destiny of the Sands (Inactive)

Game Master panegyric

@Theshen: I completely agree with what you say and that was more or less what I was trying to get into when writing that I hoped we were all open to suggestions. Thank you for putting it in a clearer and more eloquent way.

As it is probably clear now, Waylund decided to leave the game after a couple of PM exchanges with me.

It is something I would have rather ended in a more pleasurable note and with some mutual understanding reached, but my diplomacy skills only go so far.

Feel free to share your thoughts here. I take responsibility for this event and am open to any criticism you might have on how I handled it.

Once that is done, I would like to continue the game, if you are still interested.

First of all, I am still very interested in playing in this campaign and I would rather see it continue.

Second, the lot of a GM can be tricky indeed. Sometimes there are irreconcilable personality clashes. Sometimes players make assumptions that spoil their enjoyment or others' for the game. Even something as simple as what roleplaying entails can be a point of contention. As someone who had to deal with player issues myself, I can sympathise with the difficulties involved. I suppose the main thing is to try to encourage communication, and as far as I can see you're already doing that.

I don't see what you could have done differently. I've been pbp-ing for over a decade, with dozens of different people, and I've never witnessed ...whatever it was that just happened. For my part, I hope I haven't been playing in a way that upsets other people, and if I have, please let me know so I can do something about it.

My apologies for being largely absent this past week or so. Real life has been very demanding, but I promise to be more involved as soon as my travels end next Monday.

I have, however, been paying attention to the threads, and applaud GM Omelas for his handling of the situation. As he said himself, sometimes diplomacy can only go so far.

I actually thought the rp was pretty fascinating; this is the kind of dilemma that I enjoy tackling IC, and which often gives rise to fun intra-PC clashes. Fun, of course, as long as the players trust each other and are chill. Unfortunately that doesn't seem to have been the case, and - well.

I'm all for continuing! We have an excellent group, an even better DM, and a fun adventure to pursue. If you guys can be patient with me for just a little longer I'd love to still take part, and think we should see this kerfluffle as growing pains that we can now move beyond.

I'm in for continuing the story as well, and I want to thank GM Omelas for his thoughtful and clear thinking on this and the stress on open communication.

I was hoping that a group discussion might be educational all around, and we'd all learn things about each other's world.

In moving forward, though, I'd like some feedback on how better to have phrased my statement here, which is clearly what triggered Waylund.

(I have no clue what the "ooc power games" bit was about and I prefer not to get into a mind-reading discussion)

Thank you to everyone who PMed me with support, as well.

In moving forward, though, I'd like some feedback on how better to have phrased my statement here, which is clearly what triggered Waylund.

I will say that starting with "uh" might be interpreted as giving a dismissive tone. And a person is entitled to opinions about how others are roleplaying their characters. However, if those are to be voiced, it should be in an effort to make the game a more positive experience for all involved, not to feud.

I will say that starting with "uh" might be interpreted as giving a dismissive tone.

I see that now. Thanks.

Thank you all for your understanding and opinions. And thank you above all to the support you have given Rawiya.

Without violating the confidentiality of private messages, I believe that Waylund's frustration comes from a small episode very early on. If there's one silver lining to this unpleasant business, it's that it might give us pause to consider how important it is to be open and address problems sooner rather than later, when they've become too big to tackle.

My post for the day is very short, as I've had my hands quite full behind the scenes. I'll resume regular posting tomorrow.

I have a very important question regarding leprosy, since the answer to it will largely determine Theshen's next actions.

My question is: between his Heal score of +4, and his lay on hands, would Theshen know if he is able to do any good for these lepers?

By RAW, it appears that Theshen could spend a while (10 minutes per leper) treating them, thus giving them a bonus to their next save to resist the disease. But things may be different here, or he may not have the ability to treat it effectively.

Treat Disease

To treat a disease means to tend to a single diseased character. Every time the diseased character makes a saving throw against disease effects, you make a Heal check. If your Heal check exceeds the DC of the disease, the character receives a +4 competence bonus on his saving throw against the disease.

Action/Time: 10 minutes.

Retry? Varies. Generally speaking, you can’t try a Heal check again without witnessing proof of the original check’s failure.

https://www.d20pfsrd.com/skills/heal#TOC-Treat-Disease

Leprosy

Type disease, contact, inhaled, or injury; Save Fortitude DC 12

Track physical (special); Frequency 1/week

Effect Healthy—Latent/Carrier—Sluggish—Stiffened; sluggish and stiffened are as Dexterity poison, stiffened is an end state

Cure 2 consecutive saves

https://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/afflictions#TOC-Diseases

Theshen is positive he can offer some relief to the lepers. It is likely most of it would be palliative care, as effectively treating the disease would require prolonged treatment and is considerably difficult (for the strain of leprosy he’s familiar with, DC12 for contracting but two consecutive DC20 to overcome it without magic).

Lay on hands at your current level has no mechanical function, but would offer them some respite from the pain and discomfort (which could have other effects, such as improving their attitude towards him).

It goes without saying that approaching them is risking an infection.

EDIT: by palliative care I don’t mean they wouldn’t get the bonus upon a successful skill check, only that Theshen knows it is unlikely these people’s condition would permanently improve without prolonged treatment.

Understood. Thank you for the clarification.

Or are we spending midday here?

Osirion being mostly covered by deserts, your regular travelling routine is:

Due to having stayed up till very late the day before, and with Nenet's need to recover from the poison, you have skipped the first step and only travelled 4 hours today. It is currently around 20:30/21:00.

Ah, for level 5 and Remove Disease, and level 10, when I can pick up the mercy that cures disease with lay on hands. ;)

Oh, good, an evening to look around!

Oh, good, an evening to look around!

That's the idea behind it. I intended this scene to be largely dictated by your exploration. I mean, it's like that pretty much all the time, but on this particular bit I'm taking a less structured approach.

Ah, for level 5 and Remove Disease, and level 10, when I can pick up the mercy that cures disease with lay on hands. ;)

Yeap, that's what I was thinking about =)

Guys, just published my post for the day, even if Theshen was the only one to have replied in the last 24 hours.

In case it helps people knowing when I will post, I will start adding an "expected next post ETA" to all my main posts. If no one has replied by that time (on discussion or gameplay), I will assume the current scene is not catching anyone's interest and thus will quickly wrap things up and move on to the next encounter (though ideally you will just let me know here so I'm not tailoring the game based solely on assumptions).

If you give me an estimate of the costs for the coffee pot and the coffee beans, I can subtract them from Rawiya's accounts.

I (probably) have more time to post than others do, so I'm trying not to hog the spotlight. I think I'll switch to "if the GM has posted, it's ok for me to post again even if no one else has" rule.

Yeah, I understand what you mean and usually try to follow a similar rule, though I allow myself to post more than once if all/most of the the other players have already posted and there's a direct interaction with my PC. I get more concerned when the GM posts get too close together out of combat, though, as that can mean the GM is failing in making things interesting or not leaving enough hooks for the PCs.

Completely unrelated: now that we lost Waylund, my plan was to just move along without a full arcane caster and make up for it with magic items and etc (instead of opening recruitment or asking someone to change their current class). However, a person just PMed me offering their services as either a magus or a sorcerer. They had planned to join the recruitment but had a somewhat serious health issue that occupied a lot of their free time, but now seem to be well on their way to recovery. I have briefed this person on the recent events and was very clear that that sort of behaviour was not acceptable; they seem to share our feelings. How do you guys feel about adding someone new to the mix?

I try not to post if little has happened, at least not before a gm post if it's quiet.

I believe that most people would have found the previous behaviour unacceptable. I have no issue with a new person joining the campaign so long as their entry makes sense and the player is willing to make an effort in the campaign.

I'm down to be joined, sure. And the "DM will next post" is a fantastic idea ...sometimes I'm silent because I'm busy and forgetful, but sometimes it's just because Shu-Kri has nothing to say.

Sure! I'm up for a new arcane caster. Also, I'm back from traveling - apologies for the prolonged silence. I should be quite chatty moving forward :)

I'm fine with a new party member. This seems like a good place to add them. And while we're discussing this, what about Badhru? Do we need a rogue replacement too? Or are there enough overlaps to cover those abilities?

Cool that everyone so far is ok with the new party member. I've given them the go ahead. This is indeed a good place to meet up with them, but I'm not sure if they will have the character ready in time. But don't worry, I have backup plans for this.

Regarding Badhru, I am not sure. I messaged him last week and he had a mix of RL problems mixed with a bitter aftertaste after Waylund's behaviour. He said he would start posting again soon, but I haven't had any updates from him since then. I don't believe he's given up (yet), though; a quick stalking session indicates he hasn't been active on the forums since his last message to me, so it's possible his RL issues are still preventing him from posting.

If the worst comes to the worst, I think Asmani and Shu-kri can cover for him, especially if the new party member goes with a magus.

Hi there!

I PM'd GM Omelas to let him know the magus is ready. Including backstory.

I figured a magus should help in both the arcane and fighting departments.

Any critiques (apart from being long-winded, ha-ha) on my backstory would be appreciated.

Welcome Sorkesh!

That's a great backstory for our group. Can't wait to see how the dragon fits in.

Thanks! Should be fun.

Right! I actually read through the gameplay posts.

Not absolutely all of it. But enough to get the jist of what's been happening up to meeting the encampment of lepers.

Welcome on board Sorkesh. :)

Welcome, Sorkesh! Very excited to have you =)

As I said over PM, today's a bit of a busy day so I don't think I'll have the time to carefully read your background till later, but at a quick glance everything seems good to go.

Could you update your tagline with the template we're using and a bot me spoiler on your profile? You can check Asmani or Theshen's profiles for examples.

Welcome!

Thanks, All.

I reformatted the taglines: I think I've got it right.

Obviously, with his perception and sense motive modifiers he'll be prone to being inattentive and a poor judge of character. Can't have everything, eh?

@ GM Omelas:
Give me a cue when I should make an entrance in gameplay...

Apologies, but I will be slightly delayed with my post today, probably an hour or so.

No worries. But the heads up is appreciated.

If anyone missed it, I got the idea for Ptennisnet's name from an Egyptian who once met a mighty Gaulish warrior and his faithful companion.

Awesome!

I've got almost the entire collection of books at home.

Even though I first read them in Elementary school (a [u]long[/u] time ago), they're still just as funny as ever.

That looks like a fun comic

They're great. Just the names are good for a laugh.

Like the village chief, Vitalstatistix (among others).

Aha, that's why that name sounded so familiar! One of the few Asterix names that survived the french->portuguese translation.

My childhood was shaped by Asterix. It's an amazing comic and I now have the intro theme of the 1980s animation stuck in my head.

Asterix was great!

Let's not forget Obelix. He's not really fat; his chest just slipped a bit, that's all.

A couple of notifications, dear players:

* tomorrow is my relationship's anniversary, so I will be rather busy with other things. I will post at least once, but I can't really promise you a specific time. Probably earlier than usual, though, so the sooner you can post your reactions, the better;

* I am keeping Badhru bedridden until Eto, as you might have noticed. If he does not show any sign of life till then, I might have to set him as inactive.

And a spoilered clarification for those who pass the perception check (DC 15), as re-reading the post I'm afraid it was a bit confusing:

Congrats, then!

Congratulations and enjoy!

And thank you for the update and clarification.

Enjoy yourselves! What a lovely reason to celebrate.

Thanks, everyone =)

To avoid misunderstandings:
* Shu-kri went north;
* Rawiya followed her;
* Theshen went south;
* Sorkesh followed him.

As their actions:
* Theshen and Sorkesh will move north;
* Rawiya and Shu-kri will wait for them to arrive.

Let me know in case I got something wrong.

That sounds about right to me