KC's Age of Worms

Game Master Kobold Catgirl

As a reminder, if you PM me I'll pass you an invite to the discord server.

Oh, sorry, I didn't see this! That would be fantastic.

I am reasonably confident that I'm back for good. New roommate means I'm not the only cook or the only income anymore. It's been a long 365 days.

Also, I am taking this return slow, so I'll just let y'all know that this first encounter is unlikely to be very high-stakes, so we don't need to stress too much about positioning and optimal maneuvering for it.

I've got some real life pet emergency stuff to deal with, might be a while before I can post again. Feel free to bot me until then.

Hope your pets are ok, Jelani. Doesn't sound fun.

Oh, yeah, geez, best of luck.

Gosh, I missed this game.

Same. =)

Not gonna lie, you know what I haven't missed? The internecine little rules and restrictions of Pathfinder. I'm too rusty on theorycrafting and behind on the latest hot rules gadgets (well, "latest" for 1e) to really do what I want with NPC design, and Pathfinder sort of expects the GM to design leveled NPCs according to a specific ruleset, as opposed to 5e's looser guidelines.

Both systems have their strengths, but 5e's strengths do suit me better.

I will admit that I've become a 5e convert fairly recently.

PF1 is a much better semi-simulationist system but as far as actual gaming, 5e has grown on me.

Honestly, if/when I do run Savage Tides after this campaign, I might just switch over to 5e. We'll see.

Honestly, if/when I do run Savage Tides after this campaign, I might just switch over to 5e. We'll see.

I'd be down for that. :)

Of course, that's assuming you manage to save Oerth. If Kyuss wins, it's a moot point. Kinda a downer ending in that case, though.

Honestly, I'd probably mod 5e a bunch, too. I get what they were going for with the proficiency system simplifying skills, but I'm a Pathfinder gal and I like points and customization. The most fun I've ever had in character creation is in systems that let me pick the points for everything, like GURPS and VTM. Just give me a bunch of numbers and let me make them go up.

I played 5e extensively 4-5 years ago, and it just wasn't my bag. I played two campaigns to level 12, one to 8, one to 5, and a few oneshots. Each of them had pretty much the same problems:

1.) Every character of a "type" plays the exact same way. All casters are identical. All martials are identical. Most subclasses of specific classes are largely identical, with mostly cosmetic differences.

2.) Combats take too long. I don't know why they decided to trim down the numbers for attack rolls, AC, saves, and everything else, even the DAMAGE numbers...but not monster HP. Monster HP is nearly identical (or sometimes HIGHER!) by CR than 3.PF monsters, despite the fact that people deal about a quarter of the per round damage, and almost all the save or lose spells are gone.

3.) It's just as much of a fun-killer with its rules as Pathfinder, but with far fewer means to bypass those issues. I eventually got fed up when the party was each granted a cheap magic item of their choice; I picked a Ring of Jumping for my Barbarian, because it seemed neat. As it turns out, Barbarians can't use magic items while Raging or some horseshit, so it was basically useless when I wanted to use it. The character died because of this.

3a.) The extreme lockdown of options. You can't play an archer Barbarian, oh no, that doesn't fit the "class theme". So none of your class features work with ranged attacks.

At every turn I felt like the game was designed to frustrate. I don't think it's a bad system, at its core, but I feel like it does its job way worse than many similarly rules medium systems, like Savage Worlds. I will always shill for Savage Worlds. 5e has too much vestigial D&D-ness to be a true "easy breezy" RP system, without the advantages teh crunchier editions of D&D brought.

5E does feel a lot easier to mod--like, if the GM says an archer barbarian with magic jumping is fine, the homogeneity of the system makes that a quick fix. It's not for everyone, though.

Maybe, but most of the other systems I play either are too (Savage Worlds, Final Fantasy d6, Mutants and Masterminds 3e) or are already extensively "modded". Pathfinder with Spheres of Power/Might in play is nearly perfect IMO.

Not gonna lie, you know what I haven't missed? The internecine little rules and restrictions of Pathfinder. I'm too rusty on theorycrafting and behind on the latest hot rules gadgets (well, "latest" for 1e) to really do what I want with NPC design, and Pathfinder sort of expects the GM to design leveled NPCs according to a specific ruleset, as opposed to 5e's looser guidelines.

Both systems have their strengths, but 5e's strengths do suit me better.

IMO it is cool and good to make up/convert NPCs on the fly. Odds aren't great we're going to be interacting with them for more than 3 rounds anyways.

But yeah, Pathfinder just has some incredibly glaring weaknesses. They printed rule 0 and the underwater combat rules in the same book!

I like the streamlined and rebalanced nature of 5e but I do also think it is a frustrating system for building characters if you're used to the options overload of Pathfinder. Not that I had much system mastery but my archer cleric felt like real dead weight in a party with a fighter and a (IIRC) wizard.

Has anyone here played Dungeon World or another Apocalypse game?

I think my favorite system right now is VTM—not so much for the vampire stuff as the high variety between characters and the fluidity of character creation. I really like systems that encourage you to invest in specialized skills—the most fun I ever had with a character was with Tali, staunch Nixon supporter, reluctant vampire, and expert getaway driver in her crappy little beetle car. She was specialized to be especially good at driving in that specific car, so the GM made sure to occasionally put it in jeopardy, and it was really fun just having something my character was best at in the whole party. 5E would let anyone with a decent Dex and a higher roll outshine her, while Pathfinder would let me specialize, but only if I invested a bunch of weird feats and also paladins aren't allowed to drive because it was the rule in 3.5 and we can't piss off the grognards~

Honestly, if the alternative to 5e's lengthy combats is Pathfinder's rocket tag encounters, I'm not so sure there's a clear "superior" option. I don't think 3-round combats are necessarily a good thing—the real important thing is that a combat feel dynamic enough that you aren't just doing the same thing every round, while still getting the time to pull off interesting and complicated moves.

I've been rereading Aubrey's Eberron Campaign, and one of the best combats in it featured the party splitting up to lure a pack of worgs to their seemingly unprotected group. The way the combat played out, with the better-armed half riding to the "bait" half's rescue, is really thrilling and high-stakes—it's a big moment when the barbarian reaches the melee in Round 3, since at that point, it's still anyone's battle and the arrival of reinforcements is pivotal. That could never happen in high-level Pathfinder.

Basically, I think combats going for upwards of 5-8 rounds is okay now and then, since it gives more chance to make the combats complex and exciting. The problem arises when an edition just encourages a slog of "I hit them again."

The five 4E loyalists still on this website are laughing right now, I'm sure.

KC if you were ever interested in running a cross-discipline World of Darkness game I would be in 100%. I've been trying to get something like that off the ground for years and I think it has so much potential.

Honestly, I have never played any WoD outside of a single very fun VTM campaign, but we'll see when AoW is completed!

By cross-discipline, what do you mean? Vampires, werewolves, mages and changelings in one group, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria?

Yup! The systems in WoD have enough connective tissue that it's totally possible. The hard part would be weaving a story where the different monsters have a reason to work together and creating a challenges where everyone has unique opportunities to shine.

Honestly, I like the system better than the lore. VTM is fun because you're basically playing a Mafia campaign with superpowers.

Funny enough VTM is one of the ones I have almost no experience with. Changeling, Wraith, Werewolf, and even Prometheus are all my jam.

Vampire and Werewolf work reasonably well together, I've done that. I can see Mage getting thrown into that mix as well, although it would take the concept of 'squishy spellcaster' to an extreme. Wraith and Changeling (especially changeling) are a lot more isolated in terms of both lore and system mechanics.
Though shoehorning them together could be kinda fun- I can see playing a changeling who's getting super frustrated because he's seeing all this stuff that nobody else is, and he's using glamour left and right and NOBODY IS NOTICING IT.

My favorite of the World of Darkness games is Demon; had a fun (though short-lived game) where I played one masquerading as a nature god that lived deep in the Black Forest in Germany and granted requests in exchange for peoples' fealty (i.e. Soul Power). Was fun.

Edit: Speaking of Action Points, when was our last reset?

I'm not sure when the last reset was—probably just before this adventurer started, which, in-game, wasn't that long ago. Maybe a combat or two.

By the way, Feral, is Tanith level 15 like everyone else?

Yeah, looks like right at the start of this chapter. Which was August of 2019, but mere hours ago using in-game reckoning. I actually don't think there's even been a combat in that time. There weren't any fights on the plane of shadow, right? Just a couple near-misses?

Yeah, you talked to Lashonna, talked to the storm, talked to the orc, and now I hope you're all hyped for a big diplomacy session with Zyrxog—did I mention the only way to access the library is by getting ready for a big masquerade ball they're throwing in 3 months? Oh, but what will you wear?

Open-crowned hats are, I understand, worn at all the best illithid parties.

Oh, also, this is unrelated, but I don't want to forget: I am planning to implement a shift in how character replacement works after this installment. This might take the form of new PCs being capped at 17th-18th level, not getting Action Points, or having ulterior motives that won't always mesh with the party's.

It won't be an issue if you just wanna die and get resurrected, to be clear, and if it's really an issue we can work with it on a case-by-case basis. That said, in general, we have arrived at a turning point. Your characters are no longer going to be easy to replace, and anyone powerful enough to do so might well not be the kind of people you want involved.

So, y'know. Don't get soul trapped.

Hm, bummer. I'd always planned that if Farrukh died he wouldn't come back (hell, at this point, most of the things that could kill any PC kind of preclude ever coming back...), but I really wouldn't want to come in as a lower level character than the rest of the party.

It makes sense, mind you, but that changes my potential future plans a bit. Hopefully it never comes up.

Like I said, there are other options than being lower-leveled. I'm also considering giving your APs some sort of boost after LoLR, and then new characters just have default or slightly weaker APs (basically the equivalent of having slightly less extra magical gear than everyone else). A new concept could also be integrated in such a way that it would work fine at the same level/APs as everyone else, too, if there was some sort of narrative downside or complication—we can talk about it in PMs if it comes up.

From the start of this adventure onward, the campaign is speeding up, with few breaks in between as we drive towards the finale. I want there to be a heightened sense of "the party could lose this thing if a combat or two goes south".

I'm not sure when the last reset was—probably just before this adventurer started, which, in-game, wasn't that long ago. Maybe a combat or two.

By the way, Feral, is Tanith level 15 like everyone else?

I'm 99% sure Tanith's actual sheet is 15 and his header is just out of date. I'll double check after work.

Like I said, there are other options than being lower-leveled. I'm also considering giving your APs some sort of boost after LoLR, and then new characters just have default or slightly weaker APs (basically the equivalent of having slightly less extra magical gear than everyone else). A new concept could also be integrated in such a way that it would work fine at the same level/APs as everyone else, too, if there was some sort of narrative downside or complication—we can talk about it in PMs if it comes up.

From the start of this adventure onward, the campaign is speeding up, with few breaks in between as we drive towards the finale. I want there to be a heightened sense of "the party could lose this thing if a combat or two goes south".

Any of those would be fine, it's really only the level gap that would bother me.

Injured dog is almost healed, chaos is subsiding on the farm. I should be able to post more regularly soon.

Confirmed that the sheet was up to date. I updated Tanith's header to reflect that info.

Happy to hear it, Jelani! Give the pup a pat from me.

By the way, are there any buffs that affect senses I should know about? Particularly See Invisibility and True Seeing and stuff like that.

Farrukh has scent, right?

It is not currently on; I need to choose between Scent and a number of other Stances, and I'm currently in the one that boosts my Initiative (among other things).

Cat hat to be put down, cancer, and I am not feeling well. I will post actions when my turn is up, but I have no energy for RP right now.

Crud, I'm so sorry. Take all the time you need.

My sympathies, Jelani.

I'm really dorry to hear that, man. Pets dying is one of the worst feelings in the world.

My condolences, Jelani.

Thanks guys. I'll be back soon I think.

If I may interrupt this battle to the death (and new round of bitter recriminations for the GM as she wonders why anyone with a soul would write an encounter with multiple ropers), I've been wondering lately about future progression for this AP.

Basically, the AP itself is plugging along smoothly. We have Library of Last Resort, Installment #10, Installment #11, and the finale. I know the horrible (and some not-so-horrible) plot twists and turns coming up, and I feel fine about all that.

What I'm wondering, though, is how you all feel about it. Specifically, what do you want for your characters? Historically, this has been a pretty character-focused play-by-post, I feel. A number of PCs, though, feel like their arcs have maybe reached plateaus, or concluded early. It's a long AP, and you can only draw out a character arc so long. Astraden's "lead a revolution in Diamond Lake" arc wasn't going to stretch on to #12, and neither was Carina's and Tanith's will-they-won't-they. Carina still has a lot of ground to cover, but not everyone is so lucky.

The way I see it, the current active arcs are sort of like this:

Eben: Continue to romance the blacksmith Lowri, keep Lorwi from harm while she works with Mahuudril, save the world
Carina: Get to the bottom of her "sister's" existence, as well as that of her birth mother, make sure her real mother's okay, save the world
Tanith: Protect Carina, destroy the janni known as Korush, save the world
Cuetzpalli: Figure out where Spiny has gone since the giant dinosaur fled the Free City, save the world
Farrukh: Save the world
Astraden: Save the world
Oh, and Clunk: Resolve the "outstanding contract" on this island. He's actually been a little vague about it.

What are your thoughts? Are there plot threads anyone would like to explore? Do we feel satisfied with the amount of character-focused storyline left to focus on?

I want to be sure that this isn't going to turn into the kind of slog where nobody's invested because their characters are "done growing".

Farrukh's main arc, such as it is, has been to become the kind of person who would want to save the world in the first place; he initially just wanted to make a lot of money and retire comfortably.

He also has a bit of a side goal now in making sure everyone else makes it out alive, which has gotten dicier and dicier as time goes on. I think he and Tanith are the only characters who have never died? Honestly the best way for Farrukh to go out (if he does) is taking a metaphorical bullet for someone else, or a similar self-sacrifice play for whatever pyrrhic end this campaign may have.