Woot! Here!
I am more or less around, but student teaching is keeping me very busy.
Ha. I almost went to that beer fest, but it would have meant a 10 hour drive on Sunday to get back to work on Monday morning.
I'm still around and interested.
Where are you located, Wakati?
-Posted with Wayfinder
I'm in Minneapolis, but my family has a cabin up near Seney, in the UP. Just spent five days up there.
It's been over a month since we've heard from GM Olmek. I've checked some of his other games, and it doesn't look like he's posted in any of them for quite a while. I've sent him a PM, and will give him a few days to respond.
Are the rest of you still around and eager to play? If so, I'm willing to step in and take over as GM. It will take me a few days to get organized. If we hear from GM Olmek before then, great. If not, I will take steps to take over the game. Let me know what you think.
I also sent Olmek a PM, but haven't heard from him. Hope he's OK.
If you're up for taking this over, that would be amazing. Thank you. I've been having a lot of fun playing Dashil, I'd be sorry to lose the story.
Can you tell us a bit about your playstyle? Any house rules? Will you be changing anything based on what we've done so far?
I'd hate to see the game die, so that'd be great.
I'd like to think GM Olmek is still around, but it sounds like not :(
I've been playing PbP for about a year and a half, and GMing PbP since June. To date, I've only run several PFS scenarios, but have been wanting to try something longer. You can check out what I've run under my alias 'GM Alias'. Although I've been playing RL RPGs for a long time (starting with a certain Keep out on the Borderlands).
In general, I'm pretty flexible, and open to discussion on how rules are supposed to work. In my mind, the story comes first, and we will work out how the rules tie in second. I don't have any specific house rules in mind.
I will probably stick pretty close to the AP as written, without a whole lot of embellishment at this point. That may change as things progress. There may be threads of the bigger story arc that Olmek planted that I'm not aware of, which I won't be able to pick up. But I don't plan on making a lot of wholesale changes.
Feel free to PM me if you have questions or concerns that you don't want to discuss in public.
Bottom line, I've really been enjoying the characters and development in this game, so I really hate to see it die.
Wakati, that would be great - thank you. I've enjoyed playing with you all. There's lots of really good character interaction going on in this game.
I also hope everything is going well for Olmek. He's a good GM and seems to be quite a nice person.
I'm still around and eager to participate. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.
Well, it looks like we have a quorum, so we’ll move forward. I haven’t heard from Dmitri yet, but I’ll send him a PM before we get far along. I’ve sent in the request to transfer control of the campaign to me. I’m not sure how long that takes, but once it’s official, I will let you know.
In the meantime, I’ve read through the adventure, and have caught up on the game play thread. I’ve been able to figure out most of what Olmek was doing, so hopefully things won’t be too disjointed. I’ve decided I will be making a couple of changes. One, I’m not going to use the Trust Points mechanic. We are just going to roleplay through the town’s attitude, rather than keeping track of points. Second, I use Google Docs for maps. If you have a preference between Slides or Drawings, let me know. I’ve heard Slides work better when using phones or tablets, but I don’t use either, so I don’t have firsthand knowledge.
So, here’s a quick recap of what we accomplished and where things are at:
- Day 1: Funeral procession; reading of the will
- Night 1: Raven tap, tap, tapping at the window; Harrowstone and Whispering Way research
- Day 2: Desecration of the monument; Gib’s arrest; Rope skipping rhyme; more research; Antrellus’ camp; meeting with Councilman Muricar
- Night 2: Explored the crypt; explored the fountain; returned Lereia to her home
- Day 3: Found corpse of the raven; returned it to the girl; got permission to enter the prison; found the site where the Professor’s body was discovered
So by my reckoning, it’s about mid-day on Day 3, with the party starting to explore the prison. Feel free to add anything I’ve missed.
Any opinions on what I do with Wakati? I could DM PC him for a while, or I could just remove him from the game in short order. I’m open to either.
Stay tuned. We’ll get this train back on the rails.
That's great. I've taken over a game on this board before - they take a while to respond, so keep bugging them (after waiting nearly a month, I literally ended up emailing them every other day before they replied. Once they did, it was plain sailing).
I'm fine with losing the Trust Points, they weren't making much of an impact anyway.
Not sure about what you should do with Wakati; I can't DMPC, but if you can then feel free to.
Remembering that I have played and run carrion crown before, I hope you'll put in the occasional twist. I promise I'm doing my best not to metagame.
Normally I wouldn't say anything, but as you've asked...
DMPCs are a difficult issue. I have seen entire articles devoted to it. The key message is "a good NPC is born to die" - once a DM gets too attached to an NPC it turns to poison the game. It's really hard for most people to be in that position with a PC they poured love and hope into.
Keeping him around for a short while to maintain continuity is a different issue. It takes a while for most DMPCs to really start to wear.
Now, if you are hoping someone else will take over eventually, that's a but different. Obviously in that case keep him around.
I actually use Sheets for maps. They look *terrible*, but come with a nice built in grid.
DMPCs are a difficult issue. I have seen entire articles devoted to it. The key message is "a good NPC is born to die" -
Heh. That's certainly my creed as a DM...
Hey, sorry for the absence. I think I'll be down, but I'm still rushing about trying to get stuff in order IRL.
DMPCs are a difficult issue. I have seen entire articles devoted to it. The key message is "a good NPC is born to die" -
I've used them in my home game, and always had them serve some purpose and otherwise stay in the background (like when no one wants to play a healer). I think they can be a useful tool, but they definitely have to be handled a little differently.
I'm good either way.
Heh. That's certainly my creed as a DM...
Ruh Roh. Juliet hasn't seen Tybalt in a while...
I think I'll be down, but I'm still rushing about trying to get stuff in order IRL.
Good luck. I hope you'll be around.
Well, that was quick. I now have control of the campaign tab. I've put up links to the map of Ravengro and one to the prison grounds. The big red X is where the Professor's body was found.
@Aduard: I'll throw in a few twists here and there, especially as I get more familiar with the rest of the story.
@Dmitri: Take care of the important stuff first. We will assume you are sticking around for now. Post when you can, but don't stress over it if you can't.
Since I'm not quite sure what to do with Wakati yet, I'm going to have him stick with the party for now, but let you guys take the lead on the action. I will figure out something to do with him.
Dashil doesn't have the haunt siphons - she doesn't know how they work and hasn't got the best Dex (they're thrown, right?).
I think we can just retcon that someone who recognised them (and has reasonable Dex) has held onto them.
^^ Ah, thanks. I remembered Dashil as having them, but perhaps I was thinking of the planchette? If they're thrown, I don't think anyone has an amazing dex.
Perhaps Radag should take them? He's got the +1 BAB and a +2 mod, which is more than anyone else, I think.
Yeah, she took the planchette; I figured that since she's resilient to such stuff, the Professor would have got her to use it in the past - but not the haunt siphons.
Let's spread them around, Radag plans on failing many will saves
^Ha! Brogol will take one then.
Just as a quick reminder, the rules for haunt siphons are here: Link
No attack roll is needed. You only need to be in the area of influence (which carries its own consequences).
So what's it going to be? In the front door, round the side, or back to the Lorrimor's for a nice cup of tea?
@Brogol: What's the deal with your stat line?
Yeah, let's split them up. Aduard will take one as well.
@GM Alias: Sorry about that. I figured this game was dead and was using this alias as another alias' phantom. Then I forgot to switch his stats back.
His stats are fixed, and phantom Brogol has now his own avatar.
@Brogol: Be careful. You might have to bring phantom Brogol back if you're not cautious. :-)
There is a new map linked at the top.
Two things I would like the group to do:
1) Come up with a standard procedure to deal with doors. I don't want to waste a bunch of time(or posts)on listen checks, check for traps, check for locks, etc. That is boring. So if you come up with a standard procedure, I will assume you use that for all mundane doors (and there are a lot of doors in Harrowstone). If there is a special door, I will deviate from the standard procedure.
2) Come up with a standard marching order. The group is free to change this at any time, but I want a standard I can default to in order to keep things moving.
Also, we are getting to the part where I start rolling a bunch of Perception checks for the party. Please make sure the Perception modifier is accurate in your stat line.
^^ Yeah, I've heard this AP is a bit rough in some parts. Probably not the best one to be the "rogue" in.
As for standard procedure, Brogol being the rogue will generally examine them, as I described in my previous post. He's interested in the doors themselves as well as what's behind them, so he'll be listening, examining and then opening, in that order. He'll then stand to the side to let the tank(s) through. If someone else would be happy to be the guinea pig door and trap guy, I'm happy to oblige.
How's everyone feel about their combat roles? Brogol can hold his own for a rogue type, but he's probably not got a ton of staying power (+3 attack, pretty good damage, 10 hp, 15 AC). He's pretty useless as a ranged fighter. For big bad fights, he'll perhaps take a round to buff himself, if I've got the right extracts prepared. I suppose he should be towards the front to take advantage of the melee possibilities, but I think everyone but Aduard is also melee, correct?
The only tank we have is Radag: Dashil can hit hard with the right Judgements up, but has limited hit points and AC.
If we encounter something, Radag and Dashil to take on upfront, Brogol to move behind it and try to flank (lots of nasties can't be sneak attacked, but most can be flanked, and that extra +2 to hit could make a huge difference).
Aduard to be the artillery: if we find something we just can't hit, fall back and let him hit it with magic.
Finally, on a metagaming point: we're all still First Level. Is this a sensible thing for us to do, or is there some subplot we've missed that would get us to Level Two before we tackle the prison?
I think that's a good strategy for combat, Dashil. Dmitri can do his reach thing from behind Radag and Dashil as well.
Brogol doesn't have much in the way of maneuverability, but I'll start sinking ranks into acrobatics. Should be able to get around bad guys fairly easily fairly soon, especially if I can spend some inspiration to do it.
As for marching order, looking at Radag, yeah, he's definitely the tank. 19AC, 13 hp on a ranger - that's pretty impressive! Would you be OK with taking point, Radag?
Perhaps Dmitri should be second, to maximize melee attacks if we get stuck in a hallway?
Then either Aduard, Dashil/Brogol, or Dashil/Brogol, Aduard, Dashil/Brogol to finish the order off?
Regarding metagaming, I agree. I worry that we're supposed to be 2nd level by now.
Radag definitely will lead from the front, how else would be be able to brag about the amount of hurt he lays down compared to everyone else. Looking forward to seeing what this adventure provides as opportunity to evolve or develop his personality. Let me know if it gets too overbearing, this is a fun group with lots of potential, although we just lost a divine caster... That happens too often.
^^ I love Radag. Personally, I hope you don't change a thing, at least until you feel it is time for him to develop. He's a great foil to Dashil and well, pretty much everyone else too.
Same here, he's really helped shape my own character concepts.
Don't forget the hero points! As long as we've all got them we have a degree of reserve we would not normally have.
Aduard's a powerful artillery, but he's not got many shots. Aduard's a fight-ender... once. After that he's down to Acid Splash. He's got low AC and low HP, so he really doesn't want to be in front line.
With Wakati gone, I think we're down a lot of healing. That's something we will need to look at.
Personality wise I have the same worry as Radag. That said, I think the fact we've a lot of strong, conflicting but allied personalities makes for a strong story.
Aduard can make Profession: jailer rolls (badly) so he'd try to work out what each door might be for given what it looks like and where it is.
I've forgotten - why are we here, apart from the professor?
I'd forgotten about the hero points. I'll have to review the rules on those.
My current plan is to keep Wakati around as an NPC, for the near term anyway. You'll have access to his healing abilities, but you'll have to get back to town to use them.
And don't sweat the metagame. You don't think I resurrected this game just to turn around and kill you off, do you? At least not ALL of you....
At the core, we're here to honor the late Professor's last wishes and watch over his daughter before taking some rare books to a university in a month's time. The Professor's journal I think alluded to cultists being up to something at the prison. I think we suspect that the cultists may have killed the professor for discovering what they were on about.
And don't sweat the metagame. You don't think I resurrected this game just to turn around and kill you off, do you? At least not ALL of you....
Ah crap
And don't sweat the metagame. You don't think I resurrected this game just to turn around and kill you off, do you? At least not ALL of you....
Haha, who made fun of Wakati?
*casts sideways glance at Radag*
Aduard's a powerful artillery, but he's not got many shots. Aduard's a fight-ender... once.
Anyone check out Spheres of Power yet? Its 3pp, but it is Amazing. Deals with both the low-level 15 minute work day and the high-level obsolete every other PC issues with 9-casters beautifully, in my opinion.
Goddess, I don't have enough time to keep track of Paizo's material, much less any 3PP stuff... Can you give (edited!) highlights for the curious?
Also, I'm away for the next few days at a wedding (not mine, I hasten to add) - back late Monday.
Yeah, I'm curious...
Goddess, I don't have enough time to keep track of Paizo's material, much less any 3PP stuff... Can you give (edited!) highlights for the curious?
Also, I'm away for the next few days at a wedding (not mine, I hasten to add) - back late Monday.
Haha, if you mean within the Paizo TOS, I can do that. If you mean concise, well, I'll try. I'm still digesting the rules, so the following may not be completely accurate:
Gone is Vancian magic - spells per day, spells known, spell levels. Gone with it is obsolete spells known as you level up (no more planned obsolescence, like with cause fear, or unplanned obsolescence, like with blasty type spells). Gone is the 15 minute workday.
In its place are 20 spheres. Each sphere is essentially a theme (conjuration summons things, fate deals with buffing allies and cursing foes, elemental does blasty stuff, etc.). Each sphere gives 1-3 at will abilities, some of which can be buffed with spell points. Each caster gets level + casting mod spell points.
Each class gets talents which can be spent on additional sphere abilities (basically, spells). So, there is resource management in that you can buff your at-will abilities and use other abilities only so many times a day, but the at-will abilities are better than cantrips, so you're not going to be crossbow guy at lower levels.
Sphere abilities tend to be in line with spells levels 1-6 or 7, so gone are game-changing stuff like gate and wish. There are optional rules to put that stuff back into games, as well as rituals, invocations, spell-crafting, and all sorts of modular things you can add or take away from the system.
There are sphere versions of Paizo base, advanced, and hybrid classes, and a bunch of new classes that range from the specific (a shifting-focused class), to the build-a-caster (a gish class, a "high caster" class, i.e. wizard, cleric, etc.).
Because the spheres are themed, you can build a character that is themed (a shadow caster, a non-nature shifter, Carrie (from Stephen King), an angel casting light spells, etc.).
The whole system is incredibly modular, and in my opinion far superior that the legacy system that Paizo has on offer.
Have fun at the wedding!
Yes, sorry, have fun!
Okay Brogol, I just bought it after having a look at the preview. It does look interesting.
Awesome, Aduard! As a player that likes casters, I think you'll like it.
Alright, I hate to do this, but it's pretty clear to me that I just can't keep up in my PbP games and take care of all the stuff life is throwing at me right now. I thought things would get better once student teaching was over, but between looking for a new job, a new car, and a new place to live I just don't have the time to spend on these games anymore. :(
I really feel bad about leaving you guys in the lurch, but I haven't been able to give you guys enough of my time and attention for quite awhile now.
Sorry to hear that Dmitri :(
Likewise - sorry you can't continue. Hope life stops throwing things at you very soon.
Good luck with all that exciting stuff Dmitri.
Sorry I stiff armed you. :P
Come back maybe when you are able.
Good luck to you, Dmitri!
Should we be concerned that we don't have a cleric or oracle for this AP?
I hear a cleric really shines in this AP, so commence panic.
Do we want to recruit to shore up our numbers?
Good luck with all the new stuff in your life, Dmitri. Remember to enjoy it, even if it is stressing you out.