Monty Haul's Storm King's Thunder - 5E

Game Master Steve Geddes

Campaign Day: Day twenty two. Campaign Map: Varisia

Current Time: Oathday 28th of Pharast 4712 - midmorning

Weather: Sunny and Warm.

Current Goal: Find the Frost Giant Harshnag.

Loot!


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This is for discussion. I also get a fair number of Private Messages and check them daily if you have anything you want to discuss with the DM privately - or the old spoiler tag is fine too. Whatever suits you.

It's also a place you can grant one another inspiration - there's no voting or permission required. If someone does something you think deserves inspiration - nominate them here and they have it.

Remember you can't get inspiration more than once, so if you get it - spend it and then do more awesome things. :)

The Exchange

Thanks GM Monty Haul. I'll take a look at Coronei this evening. After that I'm at a UK Con until Monday so posting will be unlikely.

Anyway good to see scranford and filios got in, and I look forward to getting to know the rest of you.

Cheers
Frenchwolf


Male Mountain Dwarf Ranger (Soldier)/5; HP: 61/61; AC: 19; Initiative: +3 (Adv); Passive Perception: 13; Inspiration: 1

Again, thanks GM Monty Haul! Yes, great to see you two made it as well. This should be a fun one! Dorin is ready to roll!


Welcome to both of you. (Monty is probably fine, lets not be too formal! I answer to Steve too. :p)

Thanks for the warning about the con, French wolf. The timing should work out fine. Hope you have a great time.


Male Daytona 500 DM / 12

Thanks other Steve... Looking forward to rekindling old acquaintances, and developing new ones. I'm busy most of the day with Hurricane prep, as I seem to be at Ground Zero, but if the power holds on I'll get a alias up later today. If you don't hear from me for a while it's not that I'm not interested, I'm just without power or internet, or I've landed somewhere in the land of Oz, and haven't found wifi yet.


Saves:
Str +5, Dex +2, Con +4, Int -1, Wis +1, Cha -1
HP 16/39 | AC 15 | Init +2 | Passive Perc: 13
Usable:
Rage 2/3, Short Rest HD 3/3(1d12+2)

RAWR! The Barbarian made it! Thanks for the selection Monty, super stoked about playing a lower level 5th edition camp.. Like I said my only involvement with it has been with converted a 2nd edition high level guy. A change of pace from pathfinder will be nice as well..

Kraz is complete as far as I can tell, so he's ready to go!

Can you start a gameplay so we can dot it? It doesn't show up in tabs until you dot the gameplay so..


Human Rogue 4 Fighter 1 | AC 16 (17 when dual wielding) | hp 39/39 | hit dice 4/4d8, 1/1d10 | Second Wind []

Silvio is very excited about being part of such a talented group as this. He can tell that great adventures awaits! Trust Silvio, he knows these things.


With that being said, is Silvio's sheet OK? Anything missing from it or from the "status bar" on his user name?


Saves:
Strength +0, Dexterity: +6, Constitution+4, Intelligence +2, Wisdom +2, Charisma +7
HP 60/60 | AC 16 | Init +5 | Passive Perception: 18 darkvision | Inspiration: N

Thanks for the invitation!

I think the only thing I need to work out is how (or if) to use my rolls rather than point buy. As far as I can tell, stats have a much lower impact on this edition than last. With that said, the stats are really ridiculously high. I think my final stat spread would be 14/18/18/16/14/18 (with the half-elf adjustments). I'm up for any advice on how to handle that from more experiences 5th Edition players.

Also, should we roll for trinkets or would you prefer to? (If we're using trinkets, that is.)


Saves:
Str +5, Dex +2, Con +4, Int -1, Wis +1, Cha -1
HP 16/39 | AC 15 | Init +2 | Passive Perc: 13
Usable:
Rage 2/3, Short Rest HD 3/3(1d12+2)

My only critique Silvio is that you are not stated with your rolled stats.. With the +1 to all from human you would end up with 17, 16, 16, 16, 10, 10 to work with.. Much better than your current stats..

Pik imo the gods were with you.. Its a random roller and you got lucky. I have no issue with you using what you rolled. My 2 cents anyways. 4d6 brings variance in, you just happened to roll in the 95th percentile..


Saves:
Strength +0, Dexterity: +6, Constitution+4, Intelligence +2, Wisdom +2, Charisma +7
HP 60/60 | AC 16 | Init +5 | Passive Perception: 18 darkvision | Inspiration: N

I suppose that is the "price" of rolling. ;)

I just wanted to make sure it wasn't going to make things crazy. (Either the game itself or the other players.)


Male Mountain Dwarf Ranger (Soldier)/5; HP: 61/61; AC: 19; Initiative: +3 (Adv); Passive Perception: 13; Inspiration: 1

You roll what you roll...I have no issue with the results - crack on.


Male Daytona 500 DM / 12

I agree. Go for it


scranford wrote:
Thanks other Steve... Looking forward to rekindling old acquaintances, and developing new ones. I'm busy most of the day with Hurricane prep, as I seem to be at Ground Zero, but if the power holds on I'll get a alias up later today. If you don't hear from me for a while it's not that I'm not interested, I'm just without power or internet, or I've landed somewhere in the land of Oz, and haven't found wifi yet.

Thanks for the heads up and fingers crossed everything passes for you as smoothly and safely as it can. No rush with trivial things like character sheets, of course! There's a few days leeway anyhow - it sounds like Monday 10th is when we'll kick things off at full speed. :)

I'll be thinking about you watching the news.


Kraz Thadoom wrote:
Can you start a gameplay so we can dot it? It doesn't show up in tabs until you dot the gameplay so..

Will do that shortly - when I DMed PBP previously there wasn't this new-fangled "campaign tab" business so I may miss doing something obvious from time to time.

Please feel free to prod me if I make similar omissions.


Patrik Ström wrote:
With that being said, is Silvio's sheet OK? Anything missing from it or from the "status bar" on his user name?

Hi Patrik. As our barbarian friend mentioned, you are entitled to use either the regular array or the stats you rolled, so if you want to replace them with the numbers you generated in the recruitment thread, that would be fine (or not - as you like).

I don't have a strong preference in terms of what's included in your stat bar - I will be posting from my laptop and have a file for each PC there, so I can access what I need easily enough without having to flick back and forth through tabs.


Pik wrote:

Thanks for the invitation!

I think the only thing I need to work out is how (or if) to use my rolls rather than point buy. As far as I can tell, stats have a much lower impact on this edition than last. With that said, the stats are really ridiculously high. I think my final stat spread would be 14/18/18/16/14/18 (with the half-elf adjustments). I'm up for any advice on how to handle that from more experiences 5th Edition players.

Also, should we roll for trinkets or would you prefer to? (If we're using trinkets, that is.)

Trinkets (and flaws/ideals/bonds) are optional - if you wish to use them, go ahead and roll. I find some players find them helpful and some don't. I'll be including those in my file on each PC if they're there but since inspiration is in the hands of the PCs, they'll have less mechanical impact and be more 'tools' to inform roleplaying.

With regard to stat choice - my idiosyncratic view is that decisions like that should rest with the players. The only real risk I can see with using your superman array is if other players feel they'll be relegated to "sidekicks" - given the chorus of approval from them, I think it's safe to say you have the green light (and as you observe 5E is reasonably forgiving in that regard).

Having said that (and this is not a request, nor even a suggestion but just a comment) I prefer playing characters with a weakness, so I'd probably swap out a 14 (or even one of the 18s) for an 8 or something. I only mention that to give you all your options - if you want to "adjust down" I'd be fine with that. But I'm also fine with using the numbers you rolled. :)


The gameplay thread is now in existence.


Dorin Stonehammer wrote:
Again, thanks GM Monty Haul! Yes, great to see you two made it as well. This should be a fun one! Dorin is ready to roll!

It's pretty minor, but I'm pretty sure Dorin's Con save should be +5 rather than +4.


Male Mountain Dwarf Ranger (Soldier)/5; HP: 61/61; AC: 19; Initiative: +3 (Adv); Passive Perception: 13; Inspiration: 1

You are correct, Monty! Good catch - I hate it when I short change myself like that. It is rectified. Thanks!


Saves:
Strength +0, Dexterity: +6, Constitution+4, Intelligence +2, Wisdom +2, Charisma +7
HP 60/60 | AC 16 | Init +5 | Passive Perception: 18 darkvision | Inspiration: N
Monty Haul wrote:

With regard to stat choice - my idiosyncratic view is that decisions like that should rest with the players. The only real risk I can see with using your superman array is if other players feel they'll be relegated to "sidekicks" - given the chorus of approval from them, I think it's safe to say you have the green light (and as you observe 5E is reasonably forgiving in that regard).

Having said that (and this is not a request, nor even a suggestion but just a comment) I prefer playing characters with a weakness, so I'd probably swap out a 14 (or even one of the 18s) for an 8 or something. I only mention that to give you all your options - if you want to "adjust down" I'd be fine with that. But I'm also fine with using the numbers you rolled. :)

Yeah, my main concern was him shining in places where other people were supposed to be good just by virtue of his stats. It *seems* like that's less of an issue in this edition than in others but it's still something to look out for.

I like the idea of swapping one of the rolls for a lower number. My first instinct is to swap one of the 18s, but it seems like a lost opportunity there. How about dropping the 16 to a 10? Stats are still high, but not across the board. And while he won't have a weak stat in the sense that one is negative, he'll certainly not be able to outshine the combat characters as a Lore Bard. (I'm not going to be a grapple bard, after all!)

Edit: Character adjusted with the new stat-spread.


Saves:
Strength +0, Dexterity: +6, Constitution+4, Intelligence +2, Wisdom +2, Charisma +7
HP 60/60 | AC 16 | Init +5 | Passive Perception: 18 darkvision | Inspiration: N

On an unrelated note, for future reference: It's possible to dot a thread by creating a post, then deleting that post. Very useful for first posts in a thread before you have something to say! :)


Patrik Ström wrote:
With that being said, is Silvio's sheet OK? Anything missing from it or from the "status bar" on his user name?

Hi Patrik

I noticed that you haven't included the class feature for noble "Position of Privilege". If you don't like the fit with your character and want to come up with an alternate, I'd be happy to consider something.


Saves:
Strength +0, Dexterity: +6, Constitution+4, Intelligence +2, Wisdom +2, Charisma +7
HP 60/60 | AC 16 | Init +5 | Passive Perception: 18 darkvision | Inspiration: N

I was checking over some backgrounds and I was wondering if Kraz, you might be interested in our characters having met in Riddleport (relatively recently) and become rather unlikely friends in a bar after a fight. Maybe even just a couple of days ago?


Saves:
Str +5, Dex +2, Con +4, Int -1, Wis +1, Cha -1
HP 16/39 | AC 15 | Init +2 | Passive Perc: 13
Usable:
Rage 2/3, Short Rest HD 3/3(1d12+2)

Im sure we can do something yea. I'm quite busy at work today, so if you wanna write something up I'll read it and integrate it etc..


Saves:
Strength +0, Dexterity: +6, Constitution+4, Intelligence +2, Wisdom +2, Charisma +7
HP 60/60 | AC 16 | Init +5 | Passive Perception: 18 darkvision | Inspiration: N

I was thinking we could keep it rather vague and just fill it in as we go along. But, I may also have time today to write something up. We shall see if the inspiration strikes me!


Saves:
Str +5, Dex +2, Con +4, Int -1, Wis +1, Cha -1
HP 16/39 | AC 15 | Init +2 | Passive Perc: 13
Usable:
Rage 2/3, Short Rest HD 3/3(1d12+2)

That would be fine as well..

Edit: Perhaps you could have been his manager or promoter? I would think a bard would be good at that.


Saves:
Strength +0, Dexterity: +6, Constitution+4, Intelligence +2, Wisdom +2, Charisma +7
HP 60/60 | AC 16 | Init +5 | Passive Perception: 18 darkvision | Inspiration: N

Oh, that might actually be a good role for Silvio! Pik wouldn't get involved in a thing like that. It's too easy to get stuck in something illegal and he tries to stay as far away from gambling as he can get. (He has somewhat of a weakness for it, like his father, so tries to avoid any temptation when at all possible.)


Saves:
Str +5, Dex +2, Con +4, Int -1, Wis +1, Cha -1
HP 16/39 | AC 15 | Init +2 | Passive Perc: 13
Usable:
Rage 2/3, Short Rest HD 3/3(1d12+2)

Kraz's weakness is addiction as well, but in the form of substance.. I randomly rolled all his things like that, including his sweet trinket.

An empty wine bottle bearing a pretty label that says, “The Wizard of Wines Winery, Red Dragon Crush, 331422-W"....

Hopefully that has some significance at some point lol


Saves:
Strength +0, Dexterity: +6, Constitution+4, Intelligence +2, Wisdom +2, Charisma +7
HP 60/60 | AC 16 | Init +5 | Passive Perception: 18 darkvision | Inspiration: N

I wouldn't put gambling on Pik's "defining" weaknesses. More like a thing that he's aware of could become one if he wasn't paying attention. He *could* become addicted to alcohol or gambling (or at least he thinks he could), and he's afraid of ending up like his father.

A defining weakness would be his lack of trust in people that even he thinks of as friends.


Saves:
Strength +0, Dexterity: +6, Constitution+4, Intelligence +2, Wisdom +2, Charisma +7
HP 60/60 | AC 16 | Init +5 | Passive Perception: 18 darkvision | Inspiration: N

So, what I had in mind was Pik hanging out at a bar trying to make a little extra money playing his lute to pay for food and a place to sleep. It happens to be the same bar that Kraz is drowning some sorrows (perhaps after a fight, maybe a loss?) They joke a bit, mostly about how this town isn't friendly to outsiders. Maybe buy a few drinks, laugh a little too loud for the locals, get kicked out (without a fight due to some quick talking and people wanting not to get beat up by the massive half-orc) and end up.

If Silvio is his promoter, we could all decide that its time to leave this town and find a better way to make a living.


Male Mountain Dwarf Ranger (Soldier)/5; HP: 61/61; AC: 19; Initiative: +3 (Adv); Passive Perception: 13; Inspiration: 1

Not sure how Monte wants to play it based on where we atart, but Doran is heading back towards his Hold in Northern Varisia. I would be fine with having met the group in Riddlepot or on the road closer to our ultimate destination in the north.


Let's go with all of you having left riddleport together. You've had a couple of days travelling, the opening scene is drawing near to your destination. Dorin's caravan would likely have passed through Elbar's bluff on the way to Riddleport some months ago.


Saves:
Strength +0, Dexterity: +6, Constitution+4, Intelligence +2, Wisdom +2, Charisma +7
HP 60/60 | AC 16 | Init +5 | Passive Perception: 18 darkvision | Inspiration: N

First, since I've been reminded to roll for a trinket!
1d100 ⇒ 56 An old key

Hah, perfect! Added to the character's description.

As for grouping up, I like the idea of most of us having met either in Riddleport as we left or on the way. It seems like most of the characters are agreeable to wandering with companions if we happen along them on the road, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem.


Monty Haul wrote:
Hi Patrik. As our barbarian friend mentioned, you are entitled to use either the regular array or the stats you rolled, so if you want to replace them with the numbers you generated in the recruitment thread, that would be fine (or not - as you like).

I'll update the stats in the morning. I have give abit of a think about if setting one of the 15 on constitution. It's a good stat to have but I'm not convinced that Silvio should pick it before strength or intelligence. I'm going to lower one of the nines to a eight and put it on wisdom, since having a firm grip on reality is not what Silvio is about.

Monty Haul wrote:
I noticed that you haven't included the class feature for noble "Position of Privilege". If you don't like the fit with your character and want to come up with an alternate, I'd be happy to consider something.

That's just an omission on my part. The "Possition of privilage" feature is a good fit for Silvio. He isn't the stereotypical noble, but he does consider himself kind of a "pop star".

Pik wrote:
Oh, that might actually be a good role for Silvio! Pik wouldn't get involved in a thing like that. It's too easy to get stuck in something illegal and he tries to stay as far away from gambling as he can get. (He has somewhat of a weakness for it, like his father, so tries to avoid any temptation when at all possible.)

Silvio is sadly to unorganised to be a manager. He is however a unembarassed fan of himself and and his companions.


Saves:
Strength +0, Dexterity: +6, Constitution+4, Intelligence +2, Wisdom +2, Charisma +7
HP 60/60 | AC 16 | Init +5 | Passive Perception: 18 darkvision | Inspiration: N
Patrik Ström wrote:
Silvio is sadly to unorganised to be a manager. He is however a unembarassed fan of himself and and his companions.

Fair enough. Though it could have been less of an organized promotion and more of a "I do the talking - You do the hitting" kind of thing. It could also have been a very short term partnership. Like, maybe a week or so? Maybe you even notice that it's just not working that well *because* Silvio isn't all that good at the actual money side of things and decide that it's time to skip this town. ;)

But in any case, I think it's fine if some of us met in town and some on the road. So really, whichever you prefer should work out fine!


Patrik Ström wrote:
Monty Haul wrote:
I noticed that you haven't included the class feature for noble "Position of Privilege". If you don't like the fit with your character and want to come up with an alternate, I'd be happy to consider something.
That's just an omission on my part. The "Possition of privilage" feature is a good fit for Silvio. He isn't the stereotypical noble, but he does consider himself kind of a "pop star".

Great.


I have updated Silvio's profile with the rolled stats and the background feature. I think I'm set to go.


Saves:
Str +5, Dex +2, Con +4, Int -1, Wis +1, Cha -1
HP 16/39 | AC 15 | Init +2 | Passive Perc: 13
Usable:
Rage 2/3, Short Rest HD 3/3(1d12+2)

Patrik you rolled the following stats..

4d6 ⇒ (2, 1, 2, 5) = 10 = 9
4d6 ⇒ (5, 4, 5, 5) = 19 = 15
4d6 ⇒ (3, 6, 5, 4) = 18 = 15
4d6 ⇒ (6, 3, 6, 2) = 17 = 15
4d6 ⇒ (3, 2, 3, 3) = 11 = 9
4d6 ⇒ (5, 3, 5, 6) = 19 = 16

Humans gets a +1 to all stats, that would end up being:

10, 16, 16, 16, 10, 17..

Currently you have 15, 16, 10, 15, 8, 16

Just don't want you short yourself anything.. I would also advise you put a positive number in constitution.. Having a 10 is really gonna make it tough for a melee guy.. Also your to hit and damage goes off dex, so there's no need for the high str score really..

Maybe something like this instead?

Str 10
Dex 17
Con 16
Int 16
Wis 10
Cha 16

Again just a suggestion.. Personally I would put a 16 is wisdom as Con and Wisdom saves are the most important for the most part.


Kraz Thadoom wrote:

Patrik you rolled the following stats..

4d6 ⇒ (2, 1, 2, 5) = 10 = 9
4d6 ⇒ (5, 4, 5, 5) = 19 = 15
4d6 ⇒ (3, 6, 5, 4) = 18 = 15
4d6 ⇒ (6, 3, 6, 2) = 17 = 15
4d6 ⇒ (3, 2, 3, 3) = 11 = 9
4d6 ⇒ (5, 3, 5, 6) = 19 = 16

Humans gets a +1 to all stats, that would end up being:

10, 16, 16, 16, 10, 17..

Currently you have 15, 16, 10, 15, 8, 16

Just don't want you short yourself anything.. I would also advise you put a positive number in constitution.. Having a 10 is really gonna make it tough for a melee guy.. Also your to hit and damage goes off dex, so there's no need for the high str score really..

Maybe something like this instead?

Str 10
Dex 17
Con 16
Int 16
Wis 10
Cha 16

Again just a suggestion.. Personally I would put a 16 is wisdom as Con and Wisdom saves are the most important for the most part.

I used the variant rule of getting +1 to two stats (in this case one of the nines to bring it up to a 10 and one of the 15s to bring it to a 16). I do admit that the +1 to all stats was tempting but I eventually decided to go for a extra skill and a free feat.

Regarding laying a 8 (one of the nines that I changed to an eight) that is purely for character reasons. Silvio is not good at reading people or noticing details. I don't view him as weak willed but I'm guessing that I will just have to take that as a perk which comes with the low wisdom score.

Regarding the 15 strength, that did give me some doubt. I see Silvio as quite an athletic guy so that's why one of the 15 landed there. The "low" con is a problem which I have lost some sleep over, so to speak. And I'm still not fully convinced of my choice. Perhaps I should move the 15 off Strength and put it into Constitution and have his athletisim rely more on stamina than force. I might just do that. I don't want Silvio to die after all :)


It might be worth noting the party don't have a huge number of healing options at this stage. There are six of you, of course, which will help. Nonetheless, hit points might be that little bit more valuable than if the group had a dedicated healer.


Saves:
Strength +0, Dexterity: +6, Constitution+4, Intelligence +2, Wisdom +2, Charisma +7
HP 60/60 | AC 16 | Init +5 | Passive Perception: 18 darkvision | Inspiration: N

I think Pik is all set. I'm open to switching around spells and whatnot if people have any advice on usefulness in 5th edition. I don't think there are any particular choices (of spells) that are integral to the character concept.

From a quick review of sheets, it looks like the only major skill we're missing is Religion. While I think Arcana suits Pik somewhat more than Religion, I could *probably* make it work?


I am set to go with the game (thank you all for accepting the somewhat slower start than usual). I suspect the gameplay will begin close to midnight Monday 10th.

I just need to add Rath's details into my records and give French Wolf time to travel back and recover from his convention. (Hope it went well!)


Male Mountain Dwarf Ranger (Soldier)/5; HP: 61/61; AC: 19; Initiative: +3 (Adv); Passive Perception: 13; Inspiration: 1

Thanks, let's rock and roll!


Male Human; AC 19, HP 50/30 HD 6/6 (1d8); Init: +1; PER +4; Spell Slots 2/1 Shaman / 6; STR +4, DEX +1, CON +3, INT -1, WIS +6, CHA +0

Hopefully I'll have internet back by then. Running on cellular data now, so not the best connections, and limited amount of data will keep me from posting as frequently as wanted. At least the power came back on last night around 8:00 EST. Really looking forward to this game.

BTW... I'll be driving most of this evening, and probably won't get to detailing my profile until Friday (Business trip offshore Wednesday and Thursday... so I'll just copy paste my character info into my profile until I get an opportunity to reformat and do correctly. Storm couldn't have come at a more inopportune time to start this game... :-)


Thanks, rath. I'll give French wolf time to return and dot the gameplay thread. I'm afraid bedtime is going to mess with my timeline slightly - new plan will be Monday evening (Seattle time). Hopefully he'll have returned from the con.


The opening gameplay post is up.

A recap that I'd like to each aim for at least one post per weekday. Please feel free to comment in any way about the game (or me in particular!) but I'd appreciate it if we could keep such chatter (and rules queries, etcetera) to this thread rather than over-using the <ooc> tags in the gameplay thread.

I'm looking forward to running the game. Hope you enjoy it. :)

The Exchange

Yeah - it feels like jet lag coming back from the con. Shows it was my first in several years.

We had a player at the table for most games who had a habit of falling asleep for a nap every game. I almost joined him Sunday afternoon - horror!

Cheers


Male Mountain Dwarf Ranger (Soldier)/5; HP: 61/61; AC: 19; Initiative: +3 (Adv); Passive Perception: 13; Inspiration: 1

LOL...tough getting old, but I feel ya!

The Exchange

Yesterday I realised that the first part of this adventure is something I have read before. Only once but I'll do my best to avoid remembering any of it.

There may be times when Coronei doesn't offer advice - well until we get to fifth level.

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