
reitoei |

Yeah, I'm seeing 750 GP as the cost of a Wand of Cure Light Wounds... I was thinking they were cheaper when I posted that. No biggie - we can save up and Garrok will just have to not get himself killed in the meantime.

reitoei |

This couldn't be more off-topic, but it's a project I've been working on for several months and it just went live last night. I was hoping it would be some of my OTHER work that eventually appeared in Rolling Stone, but this is pretty cool, nonetheless!
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/jerry-garcia-gets-a-digital-makeover -20140117
Is it morning yet? :)

reitoei |

Not lately, though I have a project lined up for Spring... I'll be helping a guy I recently met finish his album when he finishes moving and gets his studio set up. His releases are in iTunes as The Weightlifters - if you like Elliot Smith, it's totally worth checking out.
If I save up and can pick up a nice Roland kit, I'll be able to contribute to the ongoing recording exploits of my old band Riviera - the songwriters are working via file-swapping on new material (since a couple of them are in Portland now), but it's hard to contribute drums when you need to rent space, mic everything up and whatnot.
Congrats on the guitar progress! My foray into trying to pick up the bass didn't really pan out. Might as well be the fish for all the use my hands are on one. :)

Thunderous |

Wow, Rei did something that was featured in Rolling Stone, very cool.
Glad to see you are still doing something with music too. I used to think I would have loved being in a band, but now that I look back on my life, I think it wasn't meant to be (I am not one to pack a bag and tour or anything crazy like that).
I always wanted to learn guitar too, but I have a long list of things I want to do... we'll see what happens.

Katarina Tzvana |

Re-posting this in every game I'm in, since server rollback destroyed my last post:
Due to family issues, health concerns (just a touch of the flu, but still), and a terrible crisis at work all of my time is taken, and I won't be able to consistently be present here on the boards and play.
I'll try my best to write something whenever possible, but at the very least till the 28, when a work deadline I can't possible afford to miss is set, my presence here will be sporadic at best.
I'm deeply sorry for any inconvenience this may cause, and I give every GM permission to bot my characters any way the see fit, if the need arises.
Thank you guys, sorry again, and happy gaming! ^_^

GM Riatin |

Just wanted to answer a question that had come up a few weeks ago and I forgot to comment on. Someone asked about how we should do buying stuff and I dont think I commented on it. For now, just to kind of play up the setting I want to keep the shops 'in character' as there are NPC's I want you to meet and roleplaying encounters I can throw at you. As that stuff becomes familiar and the encounters fall off we'll just hand wave it.
I'm still kind of getting a feel for the group and how much roleplay vs. actual get to the chase you guys want to do and judging from there so if things are a bit slow and you want to move on, just let me know, I'm fine with whatever.

Katarina Tzvana |

Hey guys, I'm back! ^_^
I just need a little time to read all the posts I've missed, and I'll be up and running again! :)
Anyway, I'm thrilled to be able to play again, and hope I didn't cause too much trouble with my absence.

GM Riatin |

Just curious - are there breakpoints specified in the AP where XP is awarded?
You know me, Long - I just want to see that XP bar fill up. ;) Just wondering how it works.
There are many different ways of doing xp and I've considered several of them along the way. One of the ways is to just give out XP as each encounter finishes and then each player keeps track as you go along. This way can be very encouraging to the players and the GM can easily reward behaviors that are encouraged (roleplaying, daring heroics, ingenuity, or forethought) and while I really like this method it can get cumbersome especially if some encounters are bypassed and you can have PCs lagging in level at important places if you dont keep on top of it.
Another popular method is for the GM to track the XP until a new level is reached, this is the method I most commonly use cause it honestly allows you to be lazier than the above method in live at-the-table games (totaling XP at the table at the end of a session can be a headache when people are rushing off and you still want to talk to them). This disadvantage to this is that players don't get to watch their XP accumulate and its not as easy to point out additional xp rewards unless you make a conscious effort to do it.
A common method with the AP's (since they tell you in the beginning of the AP) is to just advance your PC's a level at certain intervals within the game. For instance, the Hero's start into The Mad King's DungeonTM and you automatically advance them from level 3 to 4. This keeps the PC's at the appropriate level for whatever segment of the adventure they're in and if they miss a few encounters, it's no problem at all, they're rewarded more for advancing through the story than getting tangled into side quests and the like. This is what I'm using for my table Skull and Shackles game, mainly because its a big sandbox once you get past the initial phase or two. Disadvantages are that players dont get to see XP pile up, and rewarding for behavior is almost non-existent (it really is a valuable GM tool). Advantages are that a GM can really be lazy with bookkeeping and has the freedom to adjust encounters as they need to be adjusted without worrying about any XP repercussions (leveling too fast or too slow, or needing to drop the CR or increase CR due to stronger or weaker parties).
And there are more but those are the ones I've used in the past or present.
As of yet I haven't decided which method to use for the whole thing, I was just going to see what direction you went and adjust accordingly.
Rise of the Runelords uses a fast xp progression so you really level quite quickly. If you're just looking for a frame of reference, or looking for a total, each character would currently have 721XP out of 1300 needed for level 2.

reitoei |

Hey, Riatin - before I continue on in the combat, can you confirm your final positioning of everyone is intentional? Neither Zaf, Heiro nor Garrok are where we specified - it doesn't make a difference for me, but if Heiro were in J4 as he wanted, he'd be getting a concealment check as well.
I had imagined with the Enarge effect, Garrok would be occupying K3-L4. Again, it wouldn't effect my rolls at all - just what I had thought might happen.
If there's a reason our positions ended up different, I'm cool with that, but if it's a mistake, I don't want to go forward until it's adjusted.
Thanks!

GM Riatin |

Everyone should be where they asked to be in relation to the terrain and the goblins, the grid is the last thing I put on the pic after I adjusted everyone's position. So, the location names would change, but actual spot would be the same. I'll make another picture with the same relation as the last one and it should make sense, but I tried to ensure I moved everyone to where they indicated.

GM Riatin |

Here you go, using the same graph position as last time, which I agree was a mistake to change, I just got a bit sloppy on where I set my coordinate origin.
Garrok at k3
Zaf at G5
Kat at G1
Hiero at J4
As for the enlargement thing, I just took the leading edge from where you were and went backward as opposed to pushing your position out further than you may want to be. So I went from K3 to j2 instead of going to l2.

Thunderous |

We're all gonna die!
Or, at least, I might. That's what I get for rolling two 1's in a row (I don't know the odds for that, but they're pretty low) and then the goblins are rolling 20's... but I am a firm believer in coincidence and will accept my fate, whatever that might be.
Even if I were to somehow die, it would be better to die when we've only been playing a short while then at level 10 or something!
Save me Katarina, Zaf, Garrock, Caine, you're my only hope!

Katarina Tzvana |

I'm writing this for every game I'm in:
I'm deeply sorry I disappeared for as long as I did. As you may know I'm dealing with serious problems with my job, and in the past week I was hit with an issue after another, regarding work, family and health. I've been so busy I didn't have the time to even think about taking a few moments for myself. Of course, I should have posted as much way sooner than now, instead of just disappearing and leaving everyone waiting. Every day I would tell myself I had to take a few minutes to at least write a quick post about my inability to play, and every day something new and disastrous would happen that required dealing with without delay (yes, it's been one of the worst weeks of the last several years...)
My situation SHOULD be getting better starting next week, and I'll do my best to start posting again on Monday. Once again, I'm very sorry for disappearing like I did, and I hope I didn't cause too much trouble.
Hope to see you next week! :)

GM Riatin |

It's no problem, especially since everything was wrapping up for that encounter anyway. A few of these folks have heard me say that Real life stuff always comes first. :) Hope things are getting back on keel for you.
Work is pretty hectic for me right now as well, so my posting has dropped off more than I would like, but its not so bad I have to drop off completely. A few weeks and it should go back to normal, darn democracy and elections.

Thunderous |

So, when I just looted all those weapons, I feel like that isn't something that I would actually do, but on the other hand, it seems like looting what you can is an important part of any RPG. On top of that, I figure I have the strength to carry them, so why not?
Is looting everything you can typical behavior?

reitoei |

So, when I just looted all those weapons, I feel like that isn't something that I would actually do, but on the other hand, it seems like looting what you can is an important part of any RPG. On top of that, I figure I have the strength to carry them, so why not?
Is looting everything you can typical behavior?
I've kinda been wondering the same thing - as you say, it doesn't come off as particularly thematic... Obviously, checking for gold and magical items is one thing, but weapons and armor? On the one hand, it seems like for the time being we're still scrabbling for resources, but on the other, who wants to strip dead goblins?
I also wonder if this is a mindset that comes from computer RPG-ing or if longtime tabletoppers do it, too.

Thunderous |

Well, when I used to ay AD&D, most of the time we took anything that wasn't nailed down, but we didn't bother with encumbrance. Of course, that was a long time ago. I think you might be right though Rei, that it is a PC RPG thing to loot all, but it will be interesting to hear what Riatin (I keep wanting to type Longshadow instead of Riatin...) and Katarina have to say.

GM Riatin |

I say follow your inclination as a character. If you're ok with stripping filthy goblins of their armor and weapons and carrying them miles on your back its perfectly acceptable, if that's more than you think your character is up to then there's no need to.
Resource management is a very large part of the game and that's why I use encumbrance rules, cause carrying heaps of armor and weapons in my mind is very reality breaking. Goblin armor is small and rather light, so you could carry a fair amount as a group, but when it gets to chain mail or plate, more than one or two sets should be cumbersome. You probably wont get big sums for anything till you start finding some magic, but every little bit helps.
Masterwork things are a good source of gold.

reitoei |

Thanks, Riatin (Thunder, I also think typing that is weird, haha)... For the record, I actually think Garrok is more likely to do what Hieronymous did and bundle up the weapons to drop off at Savah's, but in this case, he was busy with the scout, so he didn't. I definitely feel like he's a trophy taker, but only to a point. :)

Katarina Tzvana |

I'm mortified beyond belief.
Just when I thought the worst was over and I had pulled through, it went all down to hell. Suffice to say I'm looking for a new job, and possibly in a few days a new home. Saying I've been miserable the past few days would be an understatement. To avoid falling into depression, I'm taking a few days off job-hunting and so on to 'reorganize my life', so to speak... Paradoxically, this means I should be able to spare the time to play a little bit! At least it'll cheer me up some! :)
Right now I really need some sleep, when I get up I play to come back, read all about what I missed and finally post something.
Thank you all for your patience!

GM Riatin |

Hope you're back on your feet soon, very sorry to hear that life has been difficult on you the last little bit.
I also wanted to apologize for not posting much the last few days, work and life have caught up to me for a while so I've been quite busy. Hopefully it calms down very soon, until then I'll try very hard to post at least once a day.

GM Riatin |

Katarina Tzvana |

YES! I have internet again!
Just when I thought I was starting to get a grip on my life again... the area where I live was hit by a minor flood. Fortunately damage was very minimal (thank god!), but a small landslide did break a major gas pipe, and severely F@!*ed up phone and internet services.
As it turns out, they were working on the line when the slide it, and they had to wait for the emergency to pass AND for the gas pipe to be fixed first before restoring everything else.
Add to that that my provider took its sweet sweet time to restore my service even after basically every other provider was done with it, and here I am today, tired, frustrated, quite a bit pissed (since unfortunately due to this I actually missed the deadline to send a curriculum for a nice job position I believe I'd have had an actual shot at getting... -.-'), but finally back on track! ^_^
I need to run right now, I have a job interview, but as soon as I get back I'll try to catch up with the game and post something!
With all my apologies (but it wasn't my fault, I swear! :o), it's good to be back! :D

reitoei |

Yay, Kat - glad to hear it... sounds like it's been madness there. One thing my sister learned while living in Europe... we in the US complain about how crappy cable/internet service appointments can be, but it's nowhere NEAR as bad as pretty much everywhere in Europe. Getting hooked back up there is a nightmare.
Glad you're through it! I on the other hand, look to be having a rough weekend... I'm back in Grand Rapids at the moment - my mom had a very minor heart attack early this morning, so she's in the hospital. I'm recently back from visiting and will spend the weekend here until they release her.
I hope everyone else is having a normal, calm, DULL weekend! :]