MoF's Hells Rebels

Game Master MordredofFairy

1) Steal whip.
2) Don't get caught.
3) ????
4) Profit!

There you go, an easy, step-by-step guide to stealing whips for profit!

For you bargain-conscious Steam shoppers among us, Beamdog--makers of the various Enhanced Edition versions of the legendary Infinity Engine D&D games--is running a 24-hour sale (though it's a bit less of this post).

NWN Enhanced: $6.
PS:T Enhanced, BG Enhanced, BG II Enhanced: $5 each.
IWD Enhanced: $4.

That's $25 dollars for 5 of what are quite possibly the most influential and popular D&D PC release in, well, ever. There's literally hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of gaming to be had here and that's on the unmodded, base games with no DLC.

Hi everyone,

In about two months, my wife will be giving birth to a baby boy. I've decided that I ought to free up some time to help more at home once that happens. While that doesn't mean giving up PbP altogether (I hope), it does mean reducing the number of games to something more manageable. And this will be one of those games I regrettably will be giving up at that time.

Perhaps Varuzhan will do something stupid and heroic. Or perhaps he can continue on as an NPC. Regardless, it's been fun gaming with you all! Best wishes for all of you and for this game moving forward.

Cheers,
Varuzhan / Tazo

Congratulations on the impending sprog. Bummer that it requires your absence from the game though.

Congrats, V! I wish you and your family the best luck going forward, and hope to see you around the boards.

Agreed with the two above.

It has been fun having you! Best of luck with your child : )

Aye, I hate to see you go, but it's probably wise.
I know I underestimated the change of daily routine both times.
Thanks for sticking with us for so long, and only leaving for such a noble purpose. Best of luck to you and your kid.
I know it's early, but who cares :)

That said, the same offer is true for you as for the others who left: You can return with V or another Character, he'll only die a heroic death or generally be offed if that is specifically requested.
I am pointing that out because despite my best efforts, the game has been rather slow-moving in at least the past year - that means little pressure to move forward quickly and may be just right with a newborn at home. So - if you change your mind after it's there and decide to stick around, I'm perfectly fine with that - just saying ;)

Lol, yeah, we're not exactly on a schedule here, as Mordred rightly points out. So maybe you can stick around :D.

Also, Mordred, PM your Steam name and I'll add you. Then you can be poked awake there as you requested. I totally promise to abuse my power to reach out to you in ways other than this site!

To all my games:

My wife gave birth to a baby boy yesterday! He came two months early. Mom and baby are well. Expect some delays in the near-term before I can catch up. Please bot me as needed.

Well congrats again, Varuzhan. Hope everyone does fine, don't go nuts dealing!

Oh dear! I hope everything will work out smoothly from now on. And more good luck : )

Oh wow. I guess all the congrats on the board that were given early encourage him! Glad to hear both are well. I hope everything will continue to be fine!
Good luck and congratulations again!

On another note, yeah, I'll update tomorrow, I wanted to twice this week -_- I'll also send the Steamname when I do so, just wanted to give Miranda a chance to say yes or no as well, but so far she diplomatically avoided the offer :)

Hmm an offer you say? I think I'll need to take a look at what that was. Was it the steam thing? If so then it's mainly that I am lazy about it but yes :-P

I very much tried. I wrote, and I am almost done. but between the little one crying and me falling asleep next to her bed until a minute ago, I'll go to bed and finish post tomorrow morning. I'll send out the PM's though before heading to bed.

Oh no the distraction of all the shiny things worked. The appraise roll ate the one 10+ result she had...

By my count I have now used 3 out of the 4 bonuses. The one left is the lady with her distraction dc bonus. Uhh can I just slap it onto this too?

I'll check tomorrow.
Fair warning: I did spell out Exotic Weapons and Eastern Weapons.
Firearms (as well as Stone Age Weaponry) are their own categories, at least on the SRD.
I did not put a limitation on materials on purpose. And I am willing to let it fly, but do remember: If a normal shop has that kind of thing in stock, that means it's not particulary rare. Just saying. Also, since Boros was to specifically deliver a batch, chances are whatever is in the shop is an early model, prone to misfire or with other issues...if not...well...(just a friendly reminder that aspects you establish within the game world are welcome, but will affect canon.)

Firearms are a weapon that can be different categories of weapons; in this they're also exotic weapons :P

(I was even gracious enough to not ask for a laser pistol or something! Though I think those are actually a real separate category with their own feat and all. Not a 100% though!)

But yeah I see what you mean. She'll settle for some exciting fire lances or something. (Aka really crappy firework. They sound similar to those korean rocket/arrow artillery so they're convincingly eastern. Also they're pretty much useless in a fight so there's that...^^)

Could also just skip those sort of things completely. I'll let our gun-expert weight in I think! But the main draw was that they provided easy noise.

Oh, there can easily be laser pistols from Numeria. No charges left in the gun, though - and you'll have a hard time to recharge them.
If you do find a way, you'll probably also learn that the tripod-mounted laser machine gun that was on the same shipment was installed in a strategic position in the palace. *shrug*

Fireworks is ok. Wouldn't really expect it in a weapons shop, though. Why not settle for some thunderstones or similar 'vanilla' solutions? Not fancy enough? :)

As said, I was already prepared for some abusery there(Just let me quickly check if my Adamantine Katana is Masterwork, oh, it is automatically by courtesy of material- lucky me(that was what the appraise check actually was for - to check if such a thing is there, I misworded it though and also did not give the limitation by time(so you can only make a certain number of checks before wasting a 'turn') - so yeah, I messed up a bit and trusted you to handle it responsibly :) ) I just don't think explosives and firearms truly belong in a civilian weapons-shop considering the backstory so far(well, Boros part in it).

Tbh I thought alchemical weapons would be even less likely, since they don't look quite as good displayed on a wall :P

The main draw of grabbing a firearm is that they, unlike most exotic weapons, aren't quite useless (for the price of paying a feat to use time at least - and we have someone that already did that :P).

I suppose one of the "exotic to be fancy with it, martial otherwise" weapons could be useful too - but they won't explode as distraction^^

Should I just build a tower of fancy blades carefully adjusted to fall over at a slight nudge instead? Doesn't quite have the same style (cool halflings don't look at explosions!) but it'll carry less implications for the future.

Oh and before I forget! For laser pistols! Who doesn't like to shoot beams of pure money at their foes?^^

(I think there's some archetype of gunslinger [and possibly other classes] that recharge easier too, but that spell was the first thing that popped into my head!)

(Ab)using Blood Money and it might even be a semi-valid thing to do!

All right! So I found an exotic weapon Miranda could actually use that's worth stealing (maybe).

Cost 250 gp Weight 2 lbs.

Damage 1d3 (small), 1d4 (medium) Critical 19–20/x2 Type piercing
Range Increment 30 ft. (projectile)
Category ranged Proficiency exotic

A larger version of the wrist launcher, this device fires a single crossbow bolt instead of a featherweight dart. If you are proficient with hand crossbows, you are also proficient with heavy wrist launchers.

It's basically a slightly sneakier hand crossbow. This large version actually even does hand crossbow levels of damage :P

Let's go with this one instead of the boomsticks and see what happens : )

Using eldritch and forbidden rituals of the most unclean sort, I summon forth the presence of our GM. Arise from the terrible and unspeakable prison known as life to heed the call of those awaiting your dread words!

;p

Your call has been answered.

More practically: I've been on family holiday for the past couple days. I did post in a few games that I would be without internet between friday and today - not here because I did plan on updating the game before leaving. Alas, my time plan did not quite work out how I intended.

I am currently at work and quite busy (another video conference starting in a couple minutes), but if my girls permit, I will update tonight, otherwise I'll make sure I'll have sufficient time tomorrow morning.

I have not forgotten the summons - I got a maintainance message yesterday night (without ratfolk or gobbo) and a critical situation in work today - and right now, the girls don't seem to give me more than 5 minutes uninterrupted.
I'll stay longer in the office tomorrow if needed, but I'll update ASAP. Been way too long again :(

Woo-hoo, my unspeakable GM summoning skill actually works!

Too bad I didn't invest those skill ranks in the unspeakable money summoning skill though :p.

@GM Summoning - Good job :D

@Bolts - Yeah Miranda would be delighted if Boros identified them for her. She doesn't have Craft:Alchemy herself.

@Whip - She does have Objective Reading for magic item identification though. Takes some time she isn't willing to spend at the moment though.

However she does have Spellcraft so if that check doesn't take any time I could roll it?

You'll need some time to check them out, not something you do in passing.

If you stow them away and not use them for now, I'm also fine with pre-rolling the checks, so you can OOC decide what to do with them now, rather than wait until you have time to take a look.
(And/or I have time to write the Object Reading stuff when there's time to do so until such time as it actually takes place).

Giving Aldous another day to respond, but I'll update on the weekend.

Recently, several games I played in folded within a short period of time.
6 games in total, if I remember correctly.
While that is...not great, it also gives me some wiggle room and makes things less stressful overall.
So yeah, rather than opt for new games, I'll instead attempt to directly translate that change into posting frequency improvement.

Aldous player seems to be sick, they posted a quick note about it in some other games on the 14th of may. It sounded pretty serious so I think they might still be out of it (nothing worse then a bit of fatigue I hope!!).

In that case, get well soon, Aldous.

I don't mean to pressure anybody, I'm just saying when I was more busy myself, it was a convenient 'excuse' that I was waiting until you all posted, then taking a little longer to post myself.

But yeah, I'll try and match your posting rate when possible. Right now, there's only 3 of you so I figured I'd at least speak up.
Because considering one third of my games is suddenly over, it's finally a very realistic prospect to speed up my posting again.

@Boros: It was mostly meant in regards to V taking care of his young one - meaning the Vanguard is currently running on Autopilot.

Which in turn means that I get to deal with the challenges set before the group and decide on the solution. So it was mostly in a way of "don't play with myself".

I'll update tomorrow, btw.

I started the update, but I'll also have to resolve the pursuer actions after Miranda's diversion.
That is because the next section is an open canal, with no real cover. It's quite a bit away from the Warehouse already, so moving there should be no more dangerous than moving during the curfew, in general.
Unless, of course, your diversions failed and patrols got strenghtened in that sector.
(Depending on the situation, you may also opt to remain underground(re-enter the tunnels) or stay above ground and move faster(but risk being seen).)
I do have my notes, but I underestimated how much time it would take to resolve. I'll save in a text file and continue tomorrow. Apologies.

Pokes for our GM, for Aldous, and Varuzhan too if he's still lurking.

Another gentle bump!

Though I'm starting to believe that we might have to come to terms with our situation, even though it has been fun so far. What do you guys think?

Well, I was absent from all my games. (And Steam, if you checked there). Been spending some not-fun time at the hospital. Been back home for a bit, only started using my computer again a few days ago.

I'm sorry I didn't manage that update beforehand, but my current absence was beyond my capabilities to anticipate/warn/manage.

I'll try and get caught up with the games I play in, and I'll also update here.
It's been fun so far, and I know I was a less-than-optimal host over and over, but I'll push on and keep going.

Either way, I am back. Aldous, not sure. Varuzhan probably also nope.
We'll review our options in a week or so, right now, I'm mostly notifying you about my glorious return.
(And apologize for my unexpected absence.)

Sheesh, hope you're alright now!

+1!

Aldous/Fighting Chicken haven't been around since they reported sick. I really do hope they just had a lot of other things and a shift of priorities ...

Hi All,

I'm very sorry that I dropped off the face of the earth (and even moreso now that I realize my last post was about being sick - ugh). I've had a hell of a last couple of months.

I kept intending to get back to Paizo, but things kept snowballing, and it became harder and harder to do so, and I felt worse and worse about ghosting, which in turn made it harder and harder to come back the more I felt worse about it. I've come to realize that people who ghost on things - commitments, jobs, whatever - may often feel like they're drowning in stress and responsibility. At least I did.

So I'm back to apologize to everyone I've gamed with, because I value the relationships that I've formed here.

Thanks for running a fun game, GM, but I don't think I've got the time to continue on. Please mark me inactive.

Again, my sincere apologies.

And there we are at the "review options" point.

I found I had to go dig through the previous posts again before finding all the info needed to update, so first got all the other games up and running again(a much simpler task) - I intended to finally get going again this weekend.

Alas, first of all, thanks, Aldous, for letting us know.

Miranda: I know from Darkest Corners that you are not easily intimidated away :)
And Boros is also still here despite everything. So I would very much not like to drop the game, even if that would possibly be the easiest option.

I do have some thoughts on options to proceed, but I'd like to hear if you have any thoughts or suggestions yourself on the matter...

I'm glad to hear that you are alive and well here too : )

It was fun having Aldous around and I thank you for giving us that fun. And wish you the best of luck on your other endeavors!

---

I'm not sure how to proceed. We're in a big heatwave over here so I'm currently low on braincells to do things like that :P

I'm game to keep this going, really. So we find some fresh warm bodies to fill in the gaps, get them caught up, and rock onward! Here's hoping we hit book 2 of the AP by before Jan. 1, 2020 :D.

And Aldous, it'll be a bummer to not have you around any more, but hopefully you can get sorted out without gaining more wrinkles or gray hairs :D.

Thanks for the kind words all. Good luck with the game - I for one hope to see it continue on, as I'm fond of the PCs you all have built!

So I really haven't had much thoughts lately. Hmm. I do love this game but I'm not sure how much longer we can shake it around - and new blood would probably expect a bit quicker pace then our seasonal approach. How do you guys feel?

Âctually I am on that. Sorry, I should have kept you updated.
As you say, 2 people is not sufficient, and new people would expect pacing.
At the same time, this chase with different roles will not 'work' if I autopilot more than half of it. I am trying to fast forward that while respecting the checks you did make.

Again, my profound apologies. Whenever I believe I'll have some time to 'clean up' so to say, something eats away at that, so many small issues IRL that add up.

Honestly, I'm fine with waiting it out until Mordred has some time to shake loose and get things sorted here, including adding new bodies. It's pretty much the major advantage of PbP as opposed to face-to-face games.

Yeah aight. If you have a plan Mordred I'm up for trying it : )

So I couldn't help but see a new post in the gameplay thread ... It's exciting but not the way I expected. Got any more info : )?

Well, finally got stuff done and am technically ready to proceed. But since escorting a group of prisoners to your base is a great setup for introducing new people, I'd like to hear back from those first - then resolve.

Game lost patience with me and jumped to inactive, a couple hours after I sent out the PM's. We'll see if it works out this way. Considering the hiatus and the semi-constant pace(plus work IS still stressful) I decided against a public re-recruitment and directly contacted people. Depending on their feedback, I may contact others, but we'll get the show on the road again, shortly.

I also went over my notes - several ideas and plotlines needed to be altered or dealt with because they will not work over several years(people will forget stuff, and I'll always have to go back check as well).

Either way, I do have a plan and I did set it in motion.

Well, I'm waiting.

We'll see where this plan takes us then : )