Mangroves of the Desert (Inactive)

Game Master Herkymr the Silly

I will wait to see if anything happens from putting on the bracers before I continue

Herk has been absent quite some time... Finals this week or something?

Hey everyone,
Thank you for giving me time to be away from this for a little bit. Things are slowing getting back to normal. I am ok at this point but giving a lot of support to my mom and younger siblings. I am going back thru the story and will be communicating with Herk on what he has Shadara doing so I can get back into rhythm.

Glad to have you back, I wish you well.

ill probably post again saturday. I fell and bounced my head off the cement at work. had a mild concussion still recovering so bit on the tipsy over side
glad to have ya back shadara

Crazy week with work. I'm hoping to get a new job - soon. Not sure if it will happen.

Thanks Herk,
I understand the concussions, I feel ya. Stay safe and take it easy.

I've been in a village in southern China for the last few days without laptop or internet.

Unless I'm misinterpreting or forgetting something, the supplies we got are:

Herk, is that correct? Also, did Mary manage to get the books from Quinten's father?

Unless I'm misinterpreting or forgetting something, the supplies we got are:

** spoiler omitted **

Herk, is that correct? Also, did Mary manage to get the books from Quinten's father?

YES ON ALL ACCOUNTS SORRY THOUGHT i SAID THIS ALREADY

Though myself guilty of going for long stretches without posting I would love to find a way for us all to write more frequently

So would I. Sometimes, though, I'm not sure how to respond to a post. It's much easier to answer ones with an obvious hook.

To be honest, I'm also worried I post too much. I don't want to take spotlight time from other players or deny them the opportunity to respond to something.

Shadara? Graghhh

agreed kaharn more frequent posting would be nice. I know I check atleast every other day if not daily. Quentin you never post tomuch. You help the game along and so much i appreciate it. mang helps alot when he posts as well.

I apologize again. I really try to post as often as I can. I've had some 12 hour days, sometimes a few in a row and that just complicates things.
Quinten, I appreciate that you post often. I want to post more frequently, but sometimes when I get the chance, no one else has posted between the times I have and I don't know what else to post. Other times, I have many RL events preventing me from posting at all. Trying to find a happy medium. Thanks for moving things along in my absence everyone.

My bad. I did that thing again where I write the post and preview and then forget to submit.

It's been a while since we leveled, I feel like we should have one coming soon. Next level will provide some fun things for me.

Making a renewed effort to post more frequently. I don't want to hold up the action and enjoy participating.
So then, is this area all sand, sand and rock, are there desert plants, sagebrush, cactus, joshua trees? Or is that part of what we have to decide. I'm just a little fuzzy on the details and want to know what we have to work with and the latitude/liberties available with the landscape.
Also, just got a new job! I gave notice to my employer and have orientation in a few weeks. Should be a better fit for me.

yes all scrub land like a high desert area few trees etc. work with that.

also I wont have time to post more until modnday probably I have a late shift today and then church tomorrow

also just a fyi our bab is due at anytime so If i dont post for a while check in with shadara and see whats up in RL for us

My posts may slow down for the next few weeks. I'm taking off work in early May to go to the final world championship for Star Wars: The Card Game, so I'll be working late and practicing in the evening.

sweet you playing or just going
?

I'll be playing. Star Wars doesn't have qualifiers, so I could play even if I was awful at the game. I'm decent, but I'll be thrilled if I make the cut and ecstatic if I come anywhere close to the finals.

It'll be fun regardless. Preparing is a great excuse to play the game, and at the event itself, I'll get to see unusual strategies and meet friends I've talked to online for years.

Sounds fun, Quinten.
I had a few ideas after posting. Did some research. Now I'm excited to use my crafting skills. I'm not concerned about using up my rope since I can make more, and relatively fast!
Of course, it does still take time.

btw my posting is apt to be hectic and hap hazard this week. just finishing up finals for this semeser and baby was due yesterday so we will have a new baby somtime this week as well. will try to stay wth it but well RL first.

thanks for the postings guys. I am reading them I just havent had a moment to do a real response to the next part. also I am hoping to have graggh check in as his part could easily be vital on this.

baby boy born 4-21-2018 8.4 lbs 21 inches zavier lee will be his name

Congratulations.

If I remember correctly, the painted dwarf came with us. Does anyone remember why? I thought she was there primarily to help Richard recover his memories.

Also, do we have a name for the triumvirate's daughter?

no name given. she was to be a guide of sorts

There is only the one suli, right? He is the one sitting waiting in the middle of the path?
I just want to make sure another one has not appeared from somewhere.

I start a new job tomorrow. New hours and better pay. Might give me more incentive to post while I have time, or it may limit it in such a way that I have to reserve time on the weekends to post. We'll see.

Yes, there's only one Suli.

That sounds like a good deal. What will you be doing?

I'm not sure! Even after working my first day. Can't elaborate now, but it will make sense. I'll explain later.

Okay.

I'm flying to the Star Wars: The Card Game world championship tomorrow and won't be back until Sunday. Until then, my posts will be slow.

good luck

Thanks.

good luck quinten

Graghhh?

Thanks. I ended up winning 4 out of 12 games, which put me in 40th place out of 53. I would have liked to do better, especially since I did well in the first four matches, splitting with a player that made Top 16 and one that ended at 19th. But it was fun to have an excuse to play the game, and I enjoyed meeting friends and people whose names I know from the game's forums. I also have a much better sense of the habits I need to develop to do well in a tournament environment, where the opponent has no reason to remind me about missed triggers and asking to take back a foolish move or spend resources in a different way can put them in an awkward position. I'm hoping I'll do better at Gen Con.

ill post more later this week. school is up and running again and I have had some med issues lately as well so things wiill slow a bit again for me

Graghhh? It's been two weeks...

I think Graghhh is long gone :/

I hope you're mistaken, but he's been quiet for some time.

i've talked with him briefly. His new job is a killer right now. he's trying to figure out something to do with posts and all but has been to bsy so he will most lilely be droppng ot. for now he is jst going to stealthily follow the party.

That's unfortunate, so this brings up something that has been in the back of my mind in the event we did drop down to 3 people. Given your propensity to run very high difficulty settings I had thought about asking if the three of us could gestalt out characters. That way we could continue just the three of us and we could more adequately function in the manner a larger group could.

I love gestalt, and I suspect it would make it easier to realize the warrior druid concept you're going for or the stealthy alchemist concept Shadara is going for. Quinten could be an even better negotiator and walking textbook as a Rogue with the Phantom Thief archetype or a more versatile but still thematically consistent caster as a Psychic or an Investigator with the Psychic Detective archetype.

However, I don't think a low player count is a justification for gestalt. In theory, gestalt is supposed to make characters more versatile so they can fill gaps other players would normally fill. But because gestalt characters still only have a move action, a standard action, and a swift action every round, it is often best to have an "active class" that uses actions, such as a wizard or slayer, and a passive class that provides bonuses to those actions or shores up saves and hit points, such as a fighter, rogue or occultist. That generally makes gestalt characters exceptional at their core role without making them more versatile.

Gestalt might also change who the characters are. I've had fun playing Quinten as a physically unremarkable character who understands magic but lacks the raw power of a true caster. If I end up with a solid reflex save or nine spell levels, it'll be harder for me to reconcile the mechanics his clumsiness.

I don't see that as a major hurdle, and I like skill points and strong characters enough to prefer gestalt. But if we do it, we should do it to make the characters tougher and more remarkable, not to plug gaps in the party.

I dont understand gestalt so someone would have to explain it ver very clearly to me so I could do some thnking on it. ALso I agree with qinten on the It shouldnt be to fill gaps in the party logic

Gestalt is a variant introduced in the 3.5 expansion Unearthed Arcana. In a gestalt game, each character advances two classes each time they level. They get class features from both classes, hit points from the class with higher hit points and skill points from the class with higher skill points. Also, if a save is high for either class, it's high for the character.

To put this in practice, suppose Mang decided to play an Unchained Monk//Druid. He's use the Monk's d10 hit dice instead of the Druid's d8. Both classes get four skill points a level, so his skill point total wouldn't change. However, he'd gain a high base attack bonus, a high reflex save, and the monk's class features, including the unarmed damage progression, unarmored AC bonus, and flurry of blows. That would make him an even more fearsome and durable combatant.

I could see Shadara going in several directions, but if she wanted to focus on archery, she could play a Ninja//Fighter. This would give her a good fortitude save, a high base attack bonus, extra feats, and the Fighter's passive bonuses to attack and damage rolls. Her bow would become extremely deadly, especially when she's able to use Sneak Attack.

I have several ideas for Quinten, but the one that I'm leaning toward is an investigator with the psychic detective archetype. That would increase his skill points from 4 to 6, give him a second set of spells, raise his reflex save, and allow him to add a d6 or d8 to most skill checks and to critical saving throws and attack rolls. Thematically, I'd fluff that as divination kicking in. Mechanically, it'd mean he'd be better at evading save-or-suck effects and even better at skills. For example, his history checks would be d20+17+d8.

I played gestalt in most of my 3.5 and Pathfinder games for nine years. I love the variant because of the flexibility it provides. If you want to play an arcane trickster, there's no need to worry about prestige classes. Just play a Rogue//Wizard. If you want to relive Outlaw Star as a gun-toting mage, pair a Gunslinger with a Magus that has the Eldritch Archer archetype. And if you want a master of magic, Sorcerer//Oracle or Wizard//Cleric are at your disposal.

The downside to gestalt is the extra mechanical complexity. It also can exacerbate the gap between players who know the system and ones who are new or choose not to optimize. More so than the base game, it requires players to pick concepts that are on comparable power levels and don't step on each other's toes.

If the players optimize, gestalt will also make them harder to kill by boosting their saves and hit points. In general, I'd consider this a plus, especially if you're fond of save-or-suck effects. However, it can make it more difficult to balance encounters, particularly if you want to put the characters at death's door.

just got a text from mang. His comp got fried so it will be a bit before he can post again. I think we should put game on hold for a bit until then. any obections??