Ha! So glad you gave it a go. Did you get the earlier seasons, or just watching season 5 on Netflix?
We're almost finished with the lot now, and it's having definite benefits in the cooking department. I've already been inspired to make two savory tarts (one with a soggy bottom that I wouldn't have even noticed without Paul Hollywood's voice in my head) and my wife made 5 loaves of bread (actually, 4 loaves and some buns) and two trays of macaroons last week alone.
Mmmm.
There is a definite benefit. Girlfriend made me a steak and ale pie for dinner last night. It was awesome.
We've only seen Season 5.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Nice. Mmm. Pie. Yeah, that's decided it. I'm making pie tomorrow night.
Elon laughs as he pulls his beerskin from one of Barley's saddlebags. He pops the cork and takes down a nice draught of pale ale, which is refreshing in the sweltering heat of the jungle.
"You got 'em!" he yells as encouragement, enjoying the show.
As Ciaran get stomped and gored, Elon grimaces. "That will leave a mark..."
"What do you think? Even money on the mastodon, Rahui? Metzli, you think they can handle it?" he asks from the sidelines, trying to determine the odds of winning and if there is a few coins to be made.
Just a note here... this is a particularly deadly combat for a group of 8 level 4 PCs. If you wish to leave yourself out of the combat entirely for character reasons, that is all up to you. However, I would expect that your fellow party members react appropriately. Ejection from the party or some flat-out PvP (post combat) would not be unreasonable reactions.
Think about it from the perspective of those players putting their characters' lives on the line here (Ciarán is one hit away from unconsciousness or death). If some others don't even attempt to make a difference (whether by damaging the thing, using curative magics on the wounded or even just trying to find a decent tactical position). How would you feel?
Strangely, Bazsil isn't and won't be angry with Elon. He doesn't have high expectations for the dwarf anyway. Less races, like dwarves, should stay out of human's way when they are doing heroic/daring/amazing things...like dying or slaying the impossible.
/me flicks oiled curls back
Bazsil makes a good point. The dwarf should stay out of the way so Baz can get squashed instead.
-Posted with Wayfinder
No (head) butts, no glory.
Sorry I haven't posted recently. I'll get my stuff together and get one up today.
So... just letting you know that these situations are a bit tricky for me as a GM. This is a sandbox adventure (always was) and so there's no particular reason you can't stay for months before heading off, or to head off the very next day. You've also got no clear reason to go in any particular direction (or even to go on the mainland).
There are eight of you, and over PbP we're not sitting at the same table waiting for someone to just take the lead and decide what to do next.
So... to solve the issue of "what to do now" or "where do we go next" I'd like to have one of our frequent posters (you know who you are) put their hand up to be a de facto party leader. This won't mean you get to make all the decisions or even have a higher status than the others, but you would be volunteering to help drive the action and to determine the direction of exploration on the island from a meta-game perspective. The idea would be that you make a decision and everyone agrees by default (posting about it if they disagree).
Exactly the kind of leader you are will depend upon who you are, your existing specialist role and your own view of the situation.
So... any volunteers to lead this crew? I'm happy if someone has a better idea for pushing the action also.
Oh, and splitting up is also a very viable option. 4 people per party is plenty... just be sure to bring your running legs.
Looks like we have 0 volunteers, but 1 vote for Femi. I'd really like for someone to put their hand up (as opposed to being thrown in). Remember, your character doesn't have to be an actual leader. I just need a player to help with pushing the action forwards.
Normally an adventure happens in a linear fashion and I can do this as a GM. With this Sandbox, I don't want to make decisions for you (especially when I know what the consequences will be).
If we don't have someone leading, the adventure will fall apart. I can invest some effort into making the plot more linear and stringing a thread through things - but it will seem contrived (because it will be contrived) and will take out one of the aspects of this campaign that I think is great: the sheer joy of exploration and choice. Also, I really don't want to.
If you're struggling for threads to follow, please see my post about gathering rumors. You don't need ranks in diplomacy to ask questions.
Keep in mind that this is 1st Ed D&D, so asking 'where the treasure is buried' (you know what I mean) is a perfectly legitimate (and maybe expected) line of questioning. No-one seems to have even queried further about the rumored dragon!
Sorry, I haven't had a chance to post about this from the busy weekend.
I will volunteer to be the "group pusher".
In character it will be because Gado has so many things he want's to research, and like any man, he can only focus on one thing at a time, so the rest of the group will just have to wait for what they want to do based on when it fits in his schedule.
On a real note - if anyone has any issue with where I suggest to go, please speak up, either ooc or ic. It honestly doesn't really matter to me, but I am happy to make the decisions to keep things flowing along for everyone's sake.
Sorry, I didn't want to volunteer as I still feel like 'the new guy'. :)
I'm totally fine with Gado as 'leader' for this bit, and Gado, if you ever want to step down, I'm quite happy to take your place. Just ping me and I'll step up.
Thanks Gado!
No worries Femi!
Also - I would be totally ok with it if you want to be the guy. No worries about volunteering as the "new guy". You are already a regular by now :)
I will leave it up to you then. If you want the position, please take it! I will be happy to be the "back up pusher", particularly if we decide to split the group up.
All yours to start Gado. You're up for now and I'll stand ready to relieve you if you want a break. If we split up, you and I should be in separate groups.
Thanks!
Is this what you mean when you say 'frequent posters'?
It was a holiday weekend! Don't beat yourself up.
Only I am allowed to beat myself up. :) if you want to volunteer as well Mtumbwi, feel free :) we can share the responsibility
-Posted with Wayfinder
This is what I mean by frequent posters. You qualify on a usual weekday, too, John. :-)
Thanks for sorting this out, boys. It is much appreciated. I'll try to get a response up on gameplay in the next hour or so!
I thought I had by demonstration. Oh well.
Wow, you guys are posting machines...
I'll see if I can get a post up soon, but it'll be my last post today guys. I'll also struggle posting tomorrow - had a lot of stuff come up on the home front (nothing to worry about, just stuff that's keeping me busy). Most of it was due to my daughter's school unexpectedly taking off the first day back to school. FFS, like Winter break and MLK day in 2 weeks time isn't enough?
*ahem*
Anyway, my apologies for my slower rate today and tomorrow.
Sorry to kill the thread, was just getting tired of GM making Isle of Dread into a Twilight Fanfic ;)
Loved your post, Mtumbwi! Long, yes... but awesome and action-packed.
I'll get some responses to rumor-mongering up today (I think). Please do ask any further questions you have about the Isle now because once I'm done wrapping those up, I'm sending you off. You've had long enough (and big thanks to Femi for kicking off the second round of info gathering after the initial chat to Yatzil and Tenoch).
Sorry to kill the thread, was just getting tired of GM making Isle of Dread into a Twilight Fanfic ;)
I never saw twilight so I don't get this reference...
I did love the post though!
GM My thought was to take a longboat out, head up the coast a bit - see what is out there, then head back the day after the party. Then the day after the day after the party, we all head out to the tar pits I assume.
If that is not feasible, then we can all just head out to the tar pits.
How much time do I have to do crunch? - I have been sorely lacking in devoting time to crunch lately.
That's certainly feasible. I'm planning on moving it along mid-morning tomorrow.
Please please please can I get this?
Yes, but you will have to make nice with the Zombie Mistress so she can mix some up for you!
Like that is a bad thing. Post later.
I'm going to split the party and move it along to scouting and staying at the village later on today. Splitting the party is and will remain a viable option, but I just wanted to make sure you agreed on the mix.
@Aeslin and @Gratum: It has been a while since we've heard from you (Monday). I haven't heard either of you that you have been unable to post for any particular reason. Please pick up the pace or consider whether or not you have overcommitted by saying you can post daily on this game. I'd rather go ahead with fewer players than a full compliment of players who can't maintain the posting rate.
I know things didn't exactly get moving yesterday, so for those I haven't heard from since Wednesday, no hard feelings. :-)
In addition to the main Google doc map of the Isle of Dread on my tagline, I have also now added a Big Map of the full-resolution Isle of Dread image. I'll keep both maps updated as you explore.
The big one, I find, gives a bit more context and is more detailed than Google Draw allows me to upload.
Nice... I like it!
Hi all, my weekend filled up like crazy at the last minute. Sorry for the complete 'web silence'. I've always said that weekends are "as and when" kind of things for me, but I missed it completely. This will be the exception for me rather than the rule, but apologies nevertheless.
I will pick it up first thing tomorrow morning (just found a quick moment to post this).
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I just assumed you'd died.
I did have a post on Friday, but apparently it got swallowed by the Paizo web goblins. Sorry about that.
I have a feeling Damo will be up and ready to post in the morning and don't want to hang the game on me. I'd like to discuss this further with him.
Feel free to GMPC Bazsil if you'd like for this fight, GM Damo.
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You have 2 rounds to prepare. Please post both rounds of actions and let me know roughly the type of area you would like to make a stand in (I will assume you stand together): 1) The Pyramid; 2) The huts; 3) The graveyard; 4) The jungle fringe; 5) Hide and let the tribe deal with this.
No GMPC. I'll delay if I need to, but with 8 PCs and 2 combats, I'm busy enough.
For discussion, this is all I will say on this:
As above, I had enumerated the options. Bazsil was the only PC to say what to do, and I figured that it fit most closely with 'let the tribe deal with this', so 5). The other three PCs either said 'with Bazsil' (or words to that effect) or nothing regarding positioning at all.
I also inferred from Bazsil's postings that he wouldn't just let them fight alone if the tribe chose to make a stand, so I assumed he (and the others) would join the fray based on what happened over rounds 1 & 2. I picked another location and went with that - leaving in the option to go back to the hut to hide. I arguably could/should have chosen the huts, but the map pack I have had a kick arse jungle pyramid-type thing.
I hope you can see I'm not trying to be punitive, just trying to infer what the group decision was and moving on with it. I'm not flush with so much time that I want to rewrite my narrative.
If you're not happy with it, next time leave off on your posts with something simple like this:
or
As I noted in gameplay, let's move forwards please.
Hey all,
The more I think about it, the more I realize that I really need to stop playing PbP. There are a heap of things I'm not getting done that the 2 hours+ a day I spend on this could be put towards.
Add to that, PbP is starting to feel like a chore to me - especially when I haven't been checking it for a little while. For a fun pastime, that's madness. I would actually have more fun doing something productive and more work-like, such as getting back into some iPhone and web programming. GM Damo's rule #1, from way, way, way back was always to have fun and I'm going to practice what I preach.
So, I will complete all PFS scenarios that I'm currently in and then stop. If it's a trilogy, I am committed to finishing off all 3 (Destiny of the Sands with John, and Heresy of Man with Bold Strider). The Consortium Compact will be my last game with the alts. I really wanted to level up with you guys again, but not with the way I'm feeling right now about PbP. See more on the Drongos below.
Isle of Dread is the first to go out of my two GMed games. The end is quite a way off and I don't see a better spot to leave it, really. I honestly did try to spark it up over the last two weeks but just couldn't get my enthusiasm pumping. I hope it didn't show too much, and I really hope you guys still got a lot of fun out of it. I know I did. Now I just need to sit and have a think about all those hours and dollars spent in and on Campaign Cartographer getting the big map done and all the site maps I've done also. You saw maybe 5% of the big map, and none of the sites that I did up. Sigh. Oh, wait, the warehouse!
I may at some point come back to it in some way shape or form, so I won't PM any spoilers unless you know you won't be coming back to it in the event of a reboot.
With Reign of Winter, book 2 has a really satisfying ending to it. I can happily leave it there like a bookmark to come back to if and when.
For the Drongos, I'll have to see how it goes but I think I can enjoy just that game and playing through to the Eyes of the Ten with all of you. I'm going to take it a scenario at a time, but at the current pace the Drongos game doesn't take too much out of my schedule. The other thing to note here is that, in addition to having my fill of PbP, I've also started to have enough of PFS.
For all of this, if I find myself flush with time again, I will return. Also, if dropping Isle, Alts and the Beasts improves things for me dramatically, then who knows... maybe RoW will continue. We shall see. For now, plan for it to end after book 2.
Wow, this feels like a goodbye, but for most of you it really isn't. We'll still continue to roleplay for a fair few months yet with the Drongos and RoW. Fingers crossed that the dramatically reduced load helps it to be fun for me again. ;-)
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So, yeah... that's it for the Isle of Dread (at least, for the foreseeable future). I will truly miss it, and miss playing with all of you. Thank you so much for the time and energy you all devoted to this game. It has been a wonderful ride. We finally (just) got to the fūcking monkey, and it has gone away.
If you guys want to finish up the current fights, etc, that's great. I'm happy to do so. If you'd rather just wave goodbye right here and now, I'm (obviously) totally fine with that also.
Bazsil, your oily curls are forever burned in my memory.
Ciarán, this is not indicative of regular PbP... but through all the insanity, you held your own. Well done on your first ever PbP - and playing all the way from Australia, no less.
Mtumbwi, your obscene manner was an absolute delight and I really, really hope you manage to be resurrected in some way shape or form.
Gado, what is it with you, me and sexual roleplaying encounters?
Aeslin, I still struggle to see you playing a girl, Jack, but you did a smashing job with this one.
Elon, your beer and barley antics were so enjoyable to read - and even more enjoyable to visualize.
Gratum, I don't think we ever fully hit our stride together - but I was so looking forward to putting you on a ship again. Can't believe you volunteered for the longboat!
A special thank you also to Femi for stepping in to this craziness, and sorry I cut the game so short after you went to all the effort of character creation. Hopefully, you enjoy creating characters as much as I do.
If you would like to know the answer to any of the great mysteries and have no interest in signing on should the game ever re-start, please PM me and I will spill all (it's the least I can do for you).
Thanks again, everyone, and may all your roleplaying games be fun ones!
Sorry to see you go, but I understand your reasons. Good luck with your future endeavors.
Thanks Femi, you too! Again, really appreciate you coming on board to fill our diplomat role. You did remarkably well and if I ever rethink my life and reverse my decision to leave PbP, you'd be welcome at any game I run (and I would consider myself lucky to be accepted into any game you run).
Honestly, I am tremendously sad to see this go but totally understand and support your decision. I had a blast and I appreciate everyone's acceptance of me coming on late.
I wish everyone the best and look forward to gaming with you in the future.
GM We all know the time commitment to run games from preprinted adventures. To adapt from an earlier version, make the numerous modifications you did, and run it as well as you did was quite the accomplishment. This felt like such a well crafted story that I was completely immersed all the time.
As always I am so thankful that you allow me to play in your games. Should you cast Raise Dead on this one, you have one barely clad Mtumbwi ready to pick up Pronger and head back to the Isle of Dread.
Thanks buddy. While relieved to not have so much on my plate, I too am sad to see the game go. It was really fun at times, and in a world of more free time I would love to continue running it.
We'll have to see on that raise dead post GenCon. You never know.
I too am sad that this is dying, but I would never begrudge you the things you need to make life... well... life.
I honestly don't know how my PCs seem to constantly end up bedding your NPCs, but to be brutally honest... I don't want to know. Ha!
I am glad to have been a part of this game, and the itch to know what happens next will always be there. I will, however, hold out on the spoilers in the rare chance that this gets resurrected somehow.
Good Luck Isle of Dread! Take care of little scared Gado. May he have dozens of half-native children with many women.
Good luck of course to you as well Damien. I am glad and honored to be a part of your games.
I've already spoken to Damo, but I just wanted to say that the game was fun while it lasted! Elon will just be here on the island, making beer and croissants in Tanaroa should Barbarosa wish to explore more of the mysteries.
Glad that I got to meet with and play with all of you, though I am in other games with most of you. :)
Thanks for taking me along for this ride. It's been a lot of fun. Especially from what we remember about The Tale of How the Crew of The Audacious Became Barred from the Thirsty Scholar (For Life).
Hey guys (esp. Gratum and Ciarán), looks like nobody but the two of you are particularly interested in finishing off the last combat. Totally understand that one. I'll just let you know that it was a huge (literally huge) crocodile. Would have been some fun death rolling around and stuff, but I'm sure you would have been victorious.
I'll close down this game (mark inactive) either tonight or tomorrow morning.
Thanks again everyone for all the good times.