Opening discussion thread.
First order of business, thanks for your submission! Very happy to have this group here, and excited to get started.
I have a number of things I need to get posted, but I should have most of the important information uploaded by Thursday. As such, I'll plan to have the first Gameplay post up Thursday evening.
In the meantime, please double-check your characters and make any last minute changes that you deem necessary. And let me know if you hvae any questions.
I get to play with the guy who literally wrote the book on PbPing. That's pretty cool.
Finishing details on Karlak tonight/tomorrow morning now that I've gotten chosen.
Thanks GM!
"He said characters."
The massive, six and a half hulking beast of a tiefling grabs his player firmly by the collar and belt, and drunk-tosses him out of the thread, like a tavern bouncer with a halfling that's had too much.
"Sorry" The huge red skinned fiendling rumbles, his voice surprisingly meeker than you would expect from such an imposing figure. "Won't happen again."
He fidgets nervously for a moment, finds a chair, and sits down, folding his claws over his lap, as his huge knees fold up nearly to his chest. Need bigger chair. Could I...sit on the table? No. Must look normal. Must...act...normal.
"What?" said the pale man, looking as if he just woke up from a dream. He looks around, confused for a moment. "Oh, sorry. Hello."
He scratches his head. "Is this the right place?"
The elf has been standing to one side, reading a thick book while a small bird perched on one shoulder occasionally chattering in his ear. Oddly, he would sometimes murmur something back.
At the sudden commotion, he looks up curiously.
"I believe so, though that would of course depend on what you think the right place is. Hello. I'm Lemnis. Can I assume that you are also here with regard to a charter from the Swordlords?"
He glances at those who have already arrived, a friendly expression of polite interest on his face.
The bulky tiefling blinks at the elf and the strange pale humanoid, thinking him no more than an alibno, and he raises an eyebrow quizzically, as if confused.
"Wait. Charter? Um. I found a note. It said that 'good men of...'...um...hold on." He reaches a hand into his belt pouch and fumbles around a bit, pulling out a small folded parchment, and begins to slowly, carefully unfold it. You can see sharp fangs as he bites his lower lip in concentration, reading the words with difficulty. "...strong cal-i-bur...are needed to bring...to bring..." He begins sweating, noticing he drew attention to himself, and smiles nervously, which considering his mouth full of razor sharp teeth, is more than a little disconcerting to see. "...I'm sorry, um...but it basically said kill bandits, right? Um. That's...that's what we're here for, right? So they can't keep...robbing people? That's what the scribe I gave a silver to said 'right of summary judgement' meant. Right? Um...is that the...charter? 'Cause I'm here for that."
He stands up and seems like he is trying quickly to straighten out his armor before giving up. He takes in a deep breath, and you see his eyes roll to the side just a bit - as if trying to remember or recite something. He extends a hand between the two men.
Okay. No mistakes. Don't sound strange. Don't mess up. Be human.
"Hello. I am Karlak. I am very pleased to make your acquaintance, my good sir. Um...sirs." DAMNIT! The wince is almost, but not quite, unnoticeable.
I get to play with the guy who literally wrote the book on PbPing. That's pretty cool.
Aw. Shucks. :)
Glad you like my work. If you haven't read it yet, Painlord wrote another guide that expands on mine. It taught me some great stuff. In particular, his explanation of The Push and The Hook are fantastic.
The troubadour in the jester's mask watched in quiet, sympathetic pain as the big red fellow awkwardly read his way through the charter. He eyed the others, cataloging their reactions and manorisms.
Well, at least I won't be the weird one for once.
Wow, fast group! I've opened Gameplay and put you all together waiting on His Eminence, Lord Darun Malwen, High Magister of Restov and First Advisor to the Lord Mayor.
You have all heard of Lord Malwen, but he keeps a relatively low public profile. Most people think he stays out of the spotlight because he is a powerful wizard who prefers his privacy. But those could just be rumors. Somewhat strangely for a noble, he seems to have the grudging respect of both the ruling elites in Restov as well as the common folk.
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”Hulloski, everyone! Sorry we're late. I've been a little under the weather and-”
A Half-Elf with gray in his beard placed a hand on the human’s shoulder, ”Howsbout you go on 'n’ let us be? I reckon you ain't lookin’ to wind up like that feller outside.”
The human glanced outside the thread, ”You wouldn't. You can't do anything unless I allow it. I'm in charge.”
Mac tíre squeezed slightly, ”Do ya feel in charge?”
”You're only saying that because I saw The Dark Knight Rises!” The human looked around the room again, ”Fine. I'll go. But just know that I'm going to point out your gray hair every chance I get. Just. Because. It. Annoys. You,” he turned and left the thread.
Mac tíre gave a small shrug to the other characters, ”He recently went and quit drinkin’ coffee….and my gray hairs don’ bother me none.”
”Well s#&&.
Andelis stood quietly in the corner as she opened her journal and began to write furiously. I appear to be surrounded by a motley assortment of fellows, some clearly more intelligent than others. She chuckled wryly to herself as she paused to push her reading glasses back into place. I'm not sure what my old mentor would have thought of our chances at succeeding where others have failed in the stolen lands. I find myself strangely comforted by their presence, however. It may not be logical, but I believe we may actually have a chance at doing what none other has been able to successfully do. At any rate, only time will tell.
Andelis closed her journal and looked at the young man standing next to her. She coughed delicately in her throat and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "You're still here? Don't you have classwork to do or something? Go home. I've got this."
Turning with a smile, she walked up to the others gathered and introduced herself. "Greetings friends, my name is Andelis Rovena, a disciple of the late scholar Tomias Ambrosius. I have studied both the art of conjuration, as well as the history of the stolen lands under his tutelage for the last decade. I am pleased to make your acquaintance."
The little bird on Lemnis' shoulder flutters excitedly.
"Look, Lem, another wizard! Think she has some spells you don't know? Maybe you should swap books. We've already read yours a hundred times."
"I'm sure she does, but manners, Ornil."
Lemnis smiles at those gathered.
"Please pardon my chattering friend. I'm pleased to meet you all. I do not yet know the full details of why we are assembled, but I look forward to working with each of you."
New Skills
Psychiatry (Int)
You are skilled at using scientific methods to treat mental issues, maintaining a strict separation between patient and caregiver during treatment.
Psychology (Cha)
You are skilled at treating mental issues by building trust and relying on specialized care, forgoing the strict regimen of more clinical methods.
Uses:
Immediate:
With a DC 15 check, the character may heal 1 mental point. This requires 1 hour, and may only be attempted once per day per patient.
Long-term Treatment:
With a DC 15 check, the character may heal d8+2 mental points. This requires both the patient and caregiver to focus on healing, and they may not undertake any other strenuous activity during this time.
If the character is suffering from a mental disease or serious malady, a successful long-term treatment may be available.
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Sanity Rules
Ready soon.
I apologize for how long my character sheet has been taking. A lady friend of mine visited this week, and a copious amount of marijuana, alcohol, and sex were involved. Absolutely superfluous amounts, frankly. I did not foresee this when I planned on being done in one day.
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As far as reasons go, that's a good one.
Omg omg omg. Color from outer space?!
It sure looks like it! That was an excellent story.
GM, great start! I am intrigued.
...and now my computer is broken. Really sorry about delays. This and last post all on phone.
I have opened up the Campaign Documents folder, the Google site where we can store any files necessary for the campaign. I'll have a link available on the Campaign Info tab (let me know if you can't access it).
There are currently a few files in the folder:
Charter
Greenbelt - Rough Map
Greenbelt - Exploration Map
The rough map is the one provided by Lord Malwen, and may not be 100% correct.
The Exploration Map is the one we fill in as you explore the region. When you have explored a hex, I'll fill in the space and post an updated version.
I'll also be posting some details about travel times/speeds, as well as the Sanity rules we'll be using. Those should both be uploaded tomorrow.
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For now I assume you want to head straight for Oleg's Trading Post, but please advise if not.
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Straight to Oleg's is fine with me.
Forgot to answer the "what do we do" question.
Lord Malwen mentioned that banditry in the Stolen Lands has decreased recently, but he believes the decrease is the result of "something" happening in the region. It may be related to the glass sphere, or they may be entirely unrelated, but either way, he wants to know what's going on.
Primary objectives are to:
* Find out what's happening in the Greenbelt
* Create an accurate map of the region
Secondary objectives:
* Find out anything you can about the glass sphere, what was inside of it, where it is from, etc.
* Eliminate bandits (killing is an acceptable legal punishment for banditry, and with the charter, your group is invested with the authority to carry out such sentences).
I'll put something in the shared folder so we can track quests and plots.
Straight to Oleg's works for me too.
I like how we were all like "yeah yeah yeah. Let's get there." Without any sort of charter or direction lol
Also, Oleg's sounds fine.
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I like how we were all like "yeah yeah yeah. Let's get there." Without any sort of charter or direction lol
Murderhobos gonna murderhobo.
I resemble that remark!
I like to think of it as self defense manslaughter vagrant transient lifestyling.
I realized right after hitting "submit" that I'm slowly giving everyone nicknames. Szemyan >> the Kid, Karlak >> Red, Andelis >> Lady.
Also, I promise he's not a grumpus.
Site issues prevented me from posting over the past few days, glad things seem to be settling down again.
I realized right after hitting "submit" that I'm slowly giving everyone nicknames. Szemyan >> the Kid, Karlak >> Red, Andelis >> Lady.
Also, I promise he's not a grumpus.
"The Kid" actually kind of works for Szemyan.
"Szemy the Kid" ... if he was a gunslinger. :)
Apologies for...well being just a s!*%ty player.
In the last month, I lost my apartment, moved in my brother's storage room more or less, caught MRSA, had a hospital stay, and overall had one of the s*&#tiest months in my life. I'm not going to be able to keep playing, catch up, or otherwise contribute. Sorry. I know nobody likes when a player has this happen, even when it is justified.
Good luck.
Hope things take an upturn for you. Things have been moving slowly, so if you feel up to coming back once your life is less chaotic, you know where to find us. Good luck.
Agreed, no hard feelings here. And definitely look us up when things get settled again.
As someone who, fairly recently, went through a run of crappy things I can sympathize.
Gods' speed.
That sucks, man. Army medic here. MRSA sucks.
I hope things take an upturn quickly.
It was round I-stopped-counting-at-ten. Apparently a colony formed in me, so any time I get a f$&!ing scratch I'm unacceptable.
Anyway, since you're all being so gracious as to forgive me, Imma get my ass back to work.
Glad to see you're still around.
Ditto.
As for the plans you are discussing in IC, I'm around and will be watching for some kind of consensus.
The suspense is killing me!
Better that than the enemy
Sorry for the delay guys. Sick kid, then he got me sick, and I woke up today not knowing it was Thursday.
Used to be that recovering after holidays was due to going out and having fun. Now it's recovering from wrangling children and fighting off whatever crazy plague is hitting the kindergarten this time of year. :)
No worries, hombre.
My niece and nephew put me out of commission for about a week last year.
Take your time. We aren't going anywhere.
Karlak's dark side is dark. Hey, when you've got 25% or so demon blood in you, things...happen.
I'm actually curious which side of his personality will be encouraged over the course of time. I mean...a psychopathic demon is really so practical to have on your team, but a big shy lug is so loveable, am I right?
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I'm enjoying the dichotomy.
I just wasn't sure. Around the corner is fine. Or inside the bunkhouse. Whichever will require less “retconning."
Sure, not a problem. I'll try to make sure scene settings are better explained as well.
I'm enjoying the dichotomy.
I hadn't originally planned to make him a total multi-personality, but more just a black-out-and-the-beast-takes-over type, but I think this has been more fun. Disassociative Identity Disorder as a result of traumatic past and literally having f!~!ing demon blood in your veins FTW!
Oh man, if it may have been possible to save Svetlana....
...maybe.....