Alright well it's been 2 weeks without any real update. Im pretty much done checking this daily. Maybe once everyone is ready for more regular posting I'll come back.
Hope this maybe picks up in the future.
I haven't heard anything from pinvendor since last monday, although he got a post elsewhere on friday.
I did some checking. Three months without a gameplay post will move a campaign to 'Inactive' status and it will be off of our character page, or at least at the bottom where it doesn't take up so much space.
:(
I hid the gameplay thread and it removed it from my character page, per the pmg. The only problem is it doesn't even go into inactive games, so PM me if it starts again, because I don't see it.
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Spirit of Pinvendor looks around at the empty old thread. He blows some of the dust of it and likes what he finds underneath.
"Maybe there is still a chance for you," he says to the lonely thread...
The young lad hears a distant sound, slowly wandering into view.
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I wanna play a Bardbarian.
I wanna play a Bardbarian.
ROFL
¬_¬
Ali looks around and realises he's on the side of the bandits..... against Power Metal.
*Cautiously cases the joint to determine if anything can benefit her.*
Eeep, forgot this party were a bunch of Mercenary "Wannabe Kings". Ali looks at bandits. 'Rock & Hard Place'
So we going to push on from here? Or restart as new characters and maybe get a bit more party cohesiveness. Find another player to bring it up to 4? Thoughts?
Pushing on from here might be easiest, DM prep wise. (Plus I like Ali's intro) And the current PC's have done a ton of stuff.
If we wanted to add new, we know a lot of mafiosi who might play.
We should at least finish this combat. Ciri wants to kill something!
How about this? We can finish the combat that has been in limbo. Recruit if desired. 'Reset' the party so to speak after the combat as to who will actually be adventuring. You can even leave Arielle behind as much as that breaks my heart.
That sounds reasonable.
Also post
That's good to hear.
\m/
So its been 7 hours... how come the combat isn't going along huh huh huh!?!?!
A little slack! I am moving and packing. I wasn't expecting everyone to be ready just like that, lol. I guess I should have. I will get something together tomorrow hopefully.
Already he's slipping behind! Yeesh!
Fine, I'll ask you guys some stuff for my home game.
I'm about to run through the RotRL AP(I'm DMing) but I really want to have a low magic set up. I want magic items to really wow the players, each one truly being powerful and have a history to it. Is this a doable thing with RotRL? Thoughts? I posted a thread about it...
I'm going through RL for the first time right now and we're not very far along, so I am completely unqualified to answer that one, ODV. Sorry to be useless. :'(
One thing to remember is that prewritten 3.5/PF modules assumes magical items as part of the player characters' power progression. For something like an AP based very much around magic (sin/virtue magic), you will end up needing to make a lot of adjustments to the creature encounters, especially those which have energy and/or magical resistances. RotRL assumes players will have access to plenty of magical items and spells.
Based on the pregen characters, the AP was originally tailored for the "standard" party (fighter, wizard/sorcerer, cleric, & rogue), so expect your players to be either very underpowered or very overpowered if you go the route of rare "super" magical items. The trouble you'll face will be the variety of enemies that are encountered. You may give the PCs a great magic item...but without the diversity of several lesser powered items, you may see the players struggling against enemies that have immunities to the more overpowered version you give them.
Also, keep in mind that healing and other "white magics" are assumed. Many parties in 3.5/PF can't survive without some supplemental healing magic items and potions. You should read the thread Treppa is playing in. Her character has cheated death based on healing potions, magic, and a nifty new magic wand their healer just received numerous times, and they're still in Sandpoint doing Book 1. Treppa can testify that there is just not enough healing without the magical supplments.
If you do decide to go the route of more rare but powerful magic items, just bear in mind that you may need to reduce the difficulty of some encounters; a "weakened template" as it were, may need to be applied to some of the enemies. You may also want to consider what the PCs will be facing up ahead and provide them with an added puzzle/encounter which grants them an "overcharge" of sin/virtue points or temporary blessing of the gods to help offset the problem of reduced power from fewer magical items. Also, you could have the magic items they do receive have more than one ability. This would make the artifacts more general and less specific.
E.g. The players would have found a flaming sword, a dagger of cold, and a bow of lightning arrows. Instead, you provide them the Triple Fang of Cerberus which is a longsword that can switch between the energy types but takes a move action, require the hero can speak, and she must pay 1 hp by allowing the metal to absorb blood from a cut the hero inflicts on herself.
Just be careful of always giving them the exact tool they need. They will start to expect the latest magic item is the key to the next battle. Limiting the magic items may require you to go through the AP (or at least the current book) and strategize where you are going to place these magic items and plan their abilities closely. It's not impossible but in a prewritten adventure that assumes the availability of such magical items, you may find it difficult to give the players the right balance and keep things interesting.
Another thought, you could consider keeping very low level magical items. The more utility magical items so to speak. But they run out, or drain and have to be replenished or just flat out discarded and new ones purchased. Then you can have some powerful ones show up here and there that don't drain. This would allow your players to have some utility on the fly but would encourage conservatism, but still let you give them the awesomegodkickingboot weapons and armors with the stories and the players will be thankful to have them.
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From reading many of the threads about low magic games. The less magic items, the more powerful casters are (as they need them less).
I chatted a bit with the Puffin about this, and his take was that Runelords may be a difficult AP to do without magic weapons. Apparently at some point, the party is given the ability to create them willy-nilly because they will need 'em. Not having read the AP, that's more than I really wanted to know, but thought I'd pass on that little bit, at least.
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ODV's desire isn't to do this without them entirely, but to make them meaningful and powerful. The sin/virtue weapons that the party can make in the endgame would definitely fall into that category and would therefore still fit in ODV's overall plan if he chooses to run it this way.
Yeah pin that's exactly why I thought it might work, because eventually those items have MEANING. Good points all around though. Casters do become more powerful, which I honestly might me more ok with haha. The party currently is wizard, paladin, ranger. Because there is less of them I hope to be running them a bit ahead of the curve, so they'll be a level higher than mostly needed. I'm thinking what I my do is allow + weapons etc but describe them as more quality made (I guess like masterwork but better).
Would allowing the party access to those stat boosting items be ok, but using flavor to make them seem more mundane/less magical?
Every really cool piece of gear I would like to provide a history of. But if EVERY item has a history then it also makes them less unique. If that makes sense?
The thought to allow a side boost to stats etc to compensate or the lack of magical enhancements is a good one as well.
The biggest thing is that I'm not used to playing games with magic gear abundant (and therefor less cool) and in running the Beginner Box adventure the party is given a +1 Dragon-Bane Longsword and it just bummed me out hahaha. Too much too quick!
Also, I read someone's idea about having weapons etc react to the heroes deeds, so in effect take on magic through use. I like that idea a bit. Maybe from being plunged through the heart of a dying ogre a PC's sword takes on its life force and strength, making it go from masterwork to +1 or something.
While I am perfectly fine running combat as a "post in order of initiative" manner as we have been, both DSX and Treppa are familiar with another of our cyber friend's PbP GMing style:
This is more of everyone posts when they can, and then the GM works out what happens and summarizes it. In a way it might my posts a little delayed while I work it out, and doesn't allow the flexibility of responding to your fellow PCs' actions as much, but if you would prefer that, I am open to it.
I don't like it that way. I don't like putting all the 'If the bad guy does this, I do that' conditionals in there.
What another GM does that I really like is somewhere in between. His initiative runs like this:
PC1
PC2
BBG1
BBG2
PC3
BBG4
PC5
PC6
He'll put up the init list with PC1/PC2 bolded. They can take their actions. Then he'll post for BBG1/2, then highlight PC3, who takes their turn. Then he does BBG 4 and posts with highlighted PC5/6/1/2.
It essentially clumps PC/Bad Guy turns. It works well!
That seems like a good hybrid. Still allows people to react, but doesn't slow it up as much as doing a per post initiative.
Just wondering if it's a good idea to put HP after our PC's Class in the profile?
And I like the hybrid.
Btw who's up?
Back to your question, ODV.
You could go with the FFVII workaround. Weapons and items themselves aren't magical, but come with "slots" where magical stones, runes, spirits, etc. can be added and changed. This could allow the potential for high magic, but the slots limit what the PCs can do or take advantage of. Then the more "legendary" swords could have histories by having high slot numbers or perhaps "favored" slots that boost specific types of magic if slotted.
Another possible "low magic" supplement would be that most humanoid magic is provided by alchemists through potions, unguents, solutions and salves. Then "+1" and "flaming" could be applied to a weapon for a once or twice use purpose until the potion fades and must be reapplied. Real magic weapons would be the work of powerful sorcerer artisans or dwarven runesmiths.
Just a couple of thoughts.
Or binding elementals and Ifrit's into weapons. They have "free-will" so few weapons/armour/cloaks are perfect and stay charged, as the creatures escape. Wind elementals deflect attacks, or Earth elementals harden the armour.
Or as you said describing weapons as Masterwork so that's why it's a +2, alternatively made from a special material.
What's the order again?
I'm not sure.... but pin's moving atm. He said he'd be on later.
Unfortunately, I have to sleep. ZZzzzz But that means early posts, tomorrow.
Could we get another reference map so we know where everyone is at this point? It's been so long I've forgotten and not sure who has shifted/still lives etc!
The maps have been packed up, so I am afraid one of my photo maps would have to wait until after this weekend, unless Treppa or DSX can do another e-map.
If it helps, I think the only people who have moved since we restarted is the bandit you just put into dying, Norri's little step just now, and Grub walking away with the water tub.
Ciri, Happs, hooded guy, Subotai, Oleg, Svetlana, Arielle and Ragnar are all in the same place.
The Ugly Woman charged up to Ragnar and would be in the square immediately left and down from him.
Ali has been crawling, but I wouldn't be able to tell you where he ended up. Wherever that is, Bandit 3 will be moving up to him.
edit: Bandit 1 is almost directly below Subotai on the outside of the building
Also, keep in mind the roof is on fire. It's Subotai's turn, he's taken 4 damage from the alchemist's fire, and if he remains where he is, he will have to make another reflex save to not catch fire since he's now standing in the fire on the roof.
Shut yer mouth spirit! I ain't fraid of no ghost flames!
The roof! The roof! The roof is on fire!
I might maybe be able to do a map....not as easily as at work, but....
Hey man no rush! It's the weekend soon enough!
Already is for me. Got drunk, listened to cheerleader stories, had Chinese food, avoided a snowball fight, got the last train home & sobering up....you know a Friday :P
Why would you avoid a good snowball fight? That's just silly!
Well, a half dozen 18 y.o. strangers - drunk on a Friday night. And a friend did slip over on her bum, at least it wasn't another friend who broke her upper arm last year in the snow.
oh snap!
I'm uhhh... making pasta? Livin dangerous right?
Um. I found the 2 RC points I've earned, but darned if I can see what to do with them. Did you have something in mind, pin?
If it's Guts, how long do the temp hp last? And can I use both credits at once to give myself 4 hp?
The Guts temp HP costs 2 RCs to use, so you would have to turn them both in to get the temp HP. The temp HP would last until the end of the encounter.
Oh, d'oh. Missed the transition point. Is there an action associated with invoking Guts?
I hadn't originally planned on assigning action costs, but I suppose it makes sense. What do you guys think would be fair? A swift action?