Welcome to the game.
For those of you that haven’t played PbP before, this discussion thread is for all the out-of-character talk that we do: comments or queries on rule interpretations, random stuff about life, letting people know if you’re going out of town so you might be posting a bit more slowly for the next few days, that sort of thing.
Gameplay thread is where the action happens – where we make the story about your characters and how they save the world. We generally use third-person past tense, like
Thring smiled as he saw his enemies approach. Drawing his sword, he charged toward them, screaming the war-cry of his ancestors.
Speech is marked in bold:
“This is how you have your character talk out loud,” he explained carefully.
Anything your character thinks but doesn’t say out loud goes in italics:
I really hope they don’t find this too patronising, he thought to himself.
Like I said earlier, rule-queries should go in this discussion thread, but if you need to ‘break character’ for any reason in the gameplay thread, there’s an out-of-character font: for example
Hope that helps – any questions, let me know.
I’ll put a gameplay post up Monday.
In the meantime it might be worth have a talk about whether your characters know each other already, whether you live in the town or just outside it, that sort of thing.
Hey guys, Merrick checking in. Can't wait to get started. As far as potential for connections, Merrick has been in Falcon's Hollow all his life. He was here when the plague hit and is currently looking for a cure for his mother. He's a scout and fletcher for the Lumber Consortium, but that work has taken a back seat with the recent events. He's 25 years old, so relatively young, easy to get along with.
Fantastic! I'm very much looking forward to this.
@GM would you like me to put my updated (corrected) sheet here, in a PM, or the original post? Additionally, thanks for the primer on PbP. The only question I can think of now is about how rounds work in this. Does everyone post what each of their characters are doing in a given round and then wait for a response from you or how does that work? Also, how does dice rolling work?
As for Abelard, he has never been to Falcon's Hollow before, but he has served as a keeper of the archives and local historian in the nearby small city of Carpenden for over 50 years. He's relatively well know now by the locals there and he often travels in the vicinity when his insight is requested, most commonly for archaeological digs or for assistance with the preservation of historical sites. Although, Abelard hasn't been to Falcon's Hollow himself, Merrick might know his grandson Gerald who just began working for the lumber consortium around a month ago. Abelard is 86 years old at this point so he doesn't get around as much as he used to. However, a letter from Gerald inspired him to make this "short trip" to Falcon's Hollow for a visit. At the point when he arrives, he is entirely unaware of any problems currently happening in the town.
@Merrick - thanks, helpful to know.
@Abelard - good questions. If you click on your alias, you'll see the "profile" tab. click on the "create profile" link and post the text from your character sheet (the most up-to-date one) into the text box. Hit 'Submit Post' and it should then be visible to everyone. See this link to one of my old aliases if you're looking for an example.
Combat
I will roll initiative when combat starts: I will roll for the group as a whole, using the average initiative value. When it's the group's turn, you can all then post. Depending on whether or not I'm online, I will either resolve things as we go or provide an end-of-turn summary once everyone's posted.
Dice rolling
There is a "dice" function, much like the "spoiler" function or the "bold/italic/ooc/strikethrough" functions.
It works like this:
type an open square bracket [ and then the word "dice" like so
[dice
then you can type "=" followed by the nature of your dice roll, e.g. =Reflex save, or =Longbow attack, or =Sword
Then you type a close square bracket ] then the dice you are 'rolling' along with any bonus or penalty, and then you type [/dice] at the end and the result looks like this:
MISTAKE
I've been away from PbP for too long: we post in the present tense in the gameplay thread, not the past tense. So my example in the post above should be
Thring smiles as he sees his enemies approach. Drawing his sword, he charges toward them, screaming the war-cry of his ancestors.
My bad.
Hello! Thanks for choosing me for you game. I'm looking forward to the adventure.
Ethan is a newcomer to Falcon's Hollow. He has just recently completed his decade long apprenticeship, and has struck out into the wide, wide world as a missionary for the Church of Erastil.
Along with preaching, he also acts as a traveling healer and midwife; he uses his healing arts as a means of demonstrating the virtue of strong, supportive, and involved interest in one's community.
As for how long he's been there as of the beginning of our story, I'm flexible. Whatever makes the most sense to everyone else is fine with me. If anyone else is a newcomer, we could have traveled the road together and may have gotten to know each other before arriving. Abelard and I, for example, may have met on the road to Falcon's Hollow.
Hi all, Congratz on being selected! I'm looking forward to playing with you all. Thanks, GM Wastrel, for picking Boruk for this game. Thanks as well for the primer on PbP, it's pretty useful!
GM, you asked me why Boruk would worship Gorum over the traditional dwarf deities. I've answered below.
If it's important to you and you really want it, fight for it.
In fact, the reason he first went to the arena was to learn more about the deity from the local High Priest, unsurprisingly, one of the best arena fighters at the time. The High Priest, a female dwarf by the name of Hilda Ironhands, was only too happy to show Boruk how to properly worship Gorum, by beating him around the arena, much to the amusement of the other fighters. The laughter and heckles of the other fighters caused Boruk to lose his temper and suddenly Hilda had to actually concentrate on the fight rather than just humiliate Boruk. She recognized the Battlerage Boruk was in. This was often considered a gift from Gorum to those he favored by many of his worshippers. She knew to wait out the rage and defended herself until, exhausted, Boruk came out of the rage. She saw his potential as both a fighter and a worshipper of Gorum and decided to teach him how to control and use his rage as well as teach him some finer points on fighting. Boruk found the lessons invaluable, particularly for controlling his rage, and became a devout follower of Gorum in the following years.
Although he is the God Boruk worships most, he doesn't solely worship Gorum, he will often whisper prayers to the dwarven gods and sometimes make offerings to them.
Boruk would have been in Falcon's Hollow for many years prior to the start of the plague, as he has been searching for his ancestral home believed to be somewhere in the caverns surrounding the town. Most locals would probably know this as he would be asking around for information on its whereabouts. When not working as a blacksmith for the Lumber Consortium to pay the bills, he would probably be staying in a room in the local inn Jak'a'napes. He would spend most of the rest of his time exploring the surrounding area looking for clues to the whereabouts of his clan's old home. The rest of his time he would spend in the local tavern The Sitting Duck, a hotspot for the adventurers and explorers who pass through town, asking them if they have any information on the whereabouts of his ancestral home.
He would almost certainly know Merrick, as a scout, he would have information on the surrounding area that Boruk would find useful and Boruk may have even asked Merrick to keep an eye out for anything to do with his search. He could have even gone on scouting trips with the half-elf as part of his search.
He might know of Gerald, either through his work in the consortium or by meeting him in the tavern. He's unlikely to know Parundar, Abelard or Ethan very well as they have only recently arrived. He may have met them in the tavern for a drink or two and asked if they saw anything about his clan's old home. Alternatively, he could have met them on the road on a return trip from one of his searches.
@Ethan I like the idea of meeting up with you along the road. Abelard has secured a carriage ride to Falcon's Hollow along the eastern road and would be happy to have someone else join him.
@Boruk I'm not sure how the timeline will work either, but Abelard would be very interested in discussing your ancestral home with you. He may even have some ideas on its location or at least the history behind the place. Even though he hasn't been to Falcon's Hollow specifically, he is a scholar of the area and particularly of ancient civilizations. There's no guarantee he's heard of it, but I'd say there's at least a decent chance he came across a mention of it in a book or two.
@Abelard Great! Boruk would definitely be interested in a scholar of the area. Perhaps Gerald, knowing of Boruk's search, introduced us shortly after you arrived in town? If Ethan took a carriage with you, Boruk could meet you both in the tavern while you're having a drink?
@Abelard I like connection with Gerald. Especially if he's of similar age he could be a good friend.
@Boruk Agreed on having a good connection there. Merrick would definitely be the kind of person to lend a hand with something like that. Professionally I could see him getting his arrowheads from you to craft his arrows for the Consortium.
@GM what's the general attitude towards the Consortium here? It definitely read on the wiki like they're not the most benevolent but that might have just been me reading into things.
@Merrick - good question. The Consortium is not a nice group and unquestionably exploits the the labor force, but they're the only game in town and they control most of the important positions, with the exception of the sheriff (who's popular) and the local priestess of Iomedae (who isn't). Neither of these two has much power, and they're too much trouble to be worth killing, so the Consortium basically ignores them. (If it's a helpful comparison, think of some of the mining towns from the old Western films)
But, this module is not about taking on the Consortium so you don't need to get into too much detail about it.
On a completely different topic, can you fill in the stat line for your character - look at what the others have done if you need a reference. Thanks!
@Boruk: thanks for that detailed explanation, gives me a good feel for your character.
@Everyone: can you let me know if any of the NPCs you know (family, friends, usw) have fallen ill? I know Merrick's parents are affected but would be good to know who else has.) It's not obligatory to know anyone who is afflicted, just trying to get a list. Thanks
@Merrick/Abelard: Would it make sense for Boruk, Merrick and Gerald to be good friends, as they would all be around the same age? I feel like it would give added reason for Merrick, Abelard and Boruk to have come together as a group to help out with the plague, especially if Gerald is one of those who fell ill. Boruk would want to help his friends and their families if they fell ill, especially given how he lost his own parents and doesn't want to lose anyone else close to him if he can help it.
@GM No problem, I'm still feeling out the character myself. Your questions help develop him more. I would be okay with you suggesting townsfolk who Boruk might know/care for who have fallen sick as well, given that he has been in town for a number of years.
@Boruk that is exactly what I was thinking as far as having Gerald mention Abelard's profession after getting to know Boruk and what he's looking for. Gerald might have even included something about having a friend that needed help researching a lost city in the letter he sent to Abelard.
@Everyone Gerald is in his early 20s and started working for the consortium recently as a lumberjack. He would definitely be looking for new friends as he doesn't really know anyone in Falcon's Hollow just yet and he's unsure of how long he will have to stay before he earns enough money to build a home somewhere off the beaten path. I don't know if he's infected yet or not. It really depends on the nature of the illness and if it's coming from a source that Gerald has regular contact with. For example, if it's a result of contaminated food that's served in the commissary or some type of poisoned wood, I think it's very likely he's infected. Maybe @GM can suggest something without giving anything important away?
@Abelard Great! That makes sense to me! So, Boruk met Gerald shortly after he arrived to Falcon's Hollow and, taking a liking to him, decided he would show him the ropes in the village. After a while, Gerald learned about Boruk's search for his ancestor's home and immediately thought of his knowledgeable Grandfather and sent him a letter to come visit and see if he knew anything that could help Boruk with the search. From the sound of things, Abelard would be very interested in learning forgotten knowledge of a lost civilization. What do you think?
Maybe @Merrick became friends with Gerald first and introduced him to Boruk or vice-versa?
@Boruk that sounds great and makes a lot of sense to me!
@Ethan I like the idea of meeting up with you along the road. Abelard has secured a carriage ride to Falcon's Hollow along the eastern road and would be happy to have someone else join him.
Cool. It sounds like that connection is taken care of, then. Ethan, being a missionary by nature, can certainly hold up his end of a conversation - so the two might have even established the foundations of a friendship by the time they arrive in Falcon's Hollow.
@GM when are we planning to kick this off? It seems like we're still missing a party member.
@Abelard The GM put a kick-off post in the game play thread. I went ahead and posted, so if you want to do so, we can do some conversational role play until things get up to full speed - if you're interested.
@Abelard - we are still waiting on Parundar, but if they don't post soon then I'll just start without them.
Ok, I'm going to go ahead and start. Really enjoying the conversation between Abelard and Ethan, feel free to continue it (in spoilers though so as not to disrupt the flow of the rest of the game).
I'm intimidated by how well you guys spell everything out. Hopefully I can keep up with your quality writing ;)
I'm experimenting with having NPCs (significant ones, anyway) have their own aliases. If it's too confusing then I can just post everything in one post rather than break it up like that.
Let me know what you think.
@GM Was Abelard able to go to the herbalist before this meeting or will that be resolved afterwards?
Sorry, I knew I'd forgotten something! By the time you got there, it was closed for the day, with only a few disappointed/desparate souls hanging around hopefully outside.
Haha no worries at all! I'll check back again some other time.
Oh shoot, I'm so sorry! I hope it's not too late. Thank you so much for accepting me!
Yeah, Parundar's quest here is simply to help. He'll gravitate towards anyone who has the same goal of fixing the problem.
Hi Parundar, glad you could get here. Just make up an alias like the others have done and we'll see you in the gameplay thread!
@GM Speaking for myself, I think having separate aliases for the NPCs is a great idea. It helps separate the general knowledge you give with your GM alias from specific info obtained from the NPCs. It also gives a nice flavor to the conversations the PCs have with the NPCs. The profile pic really helps with visualizing the NPC too.
As long as it's not too much work for you I'd be happy for you to continue this way.
Welcome to the game, Parundar. :)
|
@GM Speaking for myself, I think having separate aliases for the NPCs is a great idea. It helps separate the general knowledge you give with your GM alias from specific info obtained from the NPCs. It also gives a nice flavor to the conversations the PCs have with the NPCs. The profile pic really helps with visualizing the NPC too.
As long as it's not too much work for you I'd be happy for you to continue this way.
Welcome to the game, Parundar. :)
Absolutely agreed. :) And thanks for the welcome, Boruk! I'm excited to adventure with you.
Good to know, thanks. in that case I'll stick with it.
Hey guys, sorry not to get a post in yesterday. Woke up with what started as cold, ended the night with the flu.
No worries. Having the flu sucks. Hope you have a swift recovery!
No problems, Merrick. Hope you feel better.
And apologies to all, I've had a lot on today. I'll do better tomorrow.
Ethan gives a nod of acknowledgement as Boruk's pat on the back prods him to the front of the group.
"My friends," he begins in a loud, clear voice, doing his best to be heard over the wheezing, coughing and general bustle of the waiting throng. "My name is Ethan Sower. I am newly arrived in Falcon's Hollow, but I am all too aware of the Blackscour, and the suffering it has brought to your community. My companions and I wish to find a cure for the disease. I realize my face is as unfamiliar to you as my name, and you may not recognize others in our group. However, you must certainly know Masters Craghammer and Greenheart as your own. They, too, are willing to strike out in search of a remedy for your affliction. If, however, we are to find what is needed to brew an efficacious medicine, we must know what ingredients need collecting. I know that several of you have been patiently waiting since dawn's first light to see Mistress Gebre, and that our sudden arrival should, by rights, put us at the end of the line. Please notice, however, that none of us bear signs of sickness. We are not here for any poultices or panaceas. We are here only to consult with your herbalist, obtain a list of ingredients, and be on our way. The sooner we begin searching, the sooner we shall return with what is needed to brew a cure. I ask only that you please allow us to step in and speak with Mistress Gebre immediately. We will take as little of her and your precious time as possible, then we will be on our way."
Abelard: interesting ploy. Give me a suitable knowledge roll to see if you identify anything relevant.
I put it in the gameplay section.
I realize my post wasn't very clear. So to clarify: you can make one roll in each category (nature, lore, geography, etc).
I've updated my rolls accordingly. Although Abelard completely forgot everything he knows about geography (nat 1), being out in the wild like this has sparked an understanding of nature that is both profound and unexplainable (natural 20).
Ha, it's amazing that you got both nats within 2 rolls.
Sorry for delay in posting, I've been traveling.
Parundar: any chance you could add a picture to your avatar? It makes your posts easier to spot.
No problems! If you need help with anything let me know and I'll do what I can
Re: fatigued. I'd advise against it. By all means roleplay being exhausted, but don't apply mechanical penalties to yourself.
In the event of a combat, you'll be in trouble - and the rest of the party might need you!
Waiting for Abelard/Merrick before I post again, but Ethan's Diplomacy roll hasn't helped your cause much!
A quick note on Diplomacy: a bad roll will worsen the target's attitude. The hunters were indifferent (DC 15 to influence) but Ethan rolled suckily (it happens) and failed the DC by more than 5, pushing them from indifferent to unfriendly.
Luckily for you, I'd already decided this wasn't a combat encounter (in that they won't start anything if you don't). But, a successful aid another would have pushed the roll high enough to avoid the change to unfriendly.
It's important not to rely on one person to do all the interaction because occasionally they'll fail. If you see that someone has rolled really badly, step in and help.
Abelard would know that this sort of trap is reasonably common - they're used to catch predators like wolves because you can bait them.
The hunters you encountered were after rabbits (which require snares) and had bows in case they needed them against wolves and so on.
Bad luck this time - you were cautious enough to look around, and you rolled really well on perception, but the enemy had had enough time to Take 20 on their Stealth check thanks to the camouflage screen.
It probably won't apply to this fight, but I want to get a clear ruling on this now so I know how it will work in the future. If I cast a spell that affects a member of our party on the same turn as it was cast(for example enlarge person or haste), but that person has already posted their combat action, how do we resolve that? In the case of haste, would they just make another attack? In the case of enlarge person, would they add bonuses to attack and damage retroactively or re-roll everything? I definitely dont want to be disruptive, I just don't know what protocol is.
That's a really good question and it is a drawback of PbP.
In the interest of keeping things moving I will be using the "what happens, happens" rule that if you cast a spell after the person has posted, it doesn't affect their actions that they've already taken.
So enlarge person bonuses don't apply to an attack that's already been rolled, haste doesn't benefit attacks already taken, and so on.
It's not entirely fair, but otherwise you end up just constantly double guessing stuff that's already been posted. Which becomes a complete mess very quickly.
Ok no problem. That seems perfectly reasonable to me.