Shanosuke's The Sorcerers Bravo Team Edition (Inactive)

Game Master Shanosuke

Ah--I was using straight to mean "no archetypes," not "only rogue." I see the confusion.

Reginald will go monk, Sacred Mountain archetype if I can find it, or fighter if I can't find a monk trainer. Any melee will do, really, though monk works best for his personality, as he aspires to be monk-like in nature.

You guys are a fun bunch, I just want to say. I'm leaving major daily gaps to allow people to post before I move things along usually. I hope that is okay with everyone. I've been a bit busy lately so I've slowed just a bit on the posting.

You are all doing great. I will try and keep up with the RP but I prefer everyone to post once before I do so I usually wait until I get the majority of you to post.

One more thing, I had copied the same scene from Alpha's campaign and pulled it over to save some typing time. I had adapted it to your version but it missed a few lines that didn't belong. Does everybody need me to repost it or can you continue and ignore the statements to Jen?

Again I am sorry for this mistake.

Don't worry about it, I think we can figure it out. Like you said, people make mistakes, no need to fret.

Im kinda hesitant on gear I know teenagers would probably carry a few things but I dont want to get carried away with it

Since Terry's a lockpicking hobbyist (among other things; incidental non-theft B&E takes more than just opening locks :-)), I just figured he'd be carrying around a few things to make that easier. If he happened upon an interesting lock while he was out walking around, I mean.

Lol come guys we need to post more im trying to curb my enthusiasm and not post more haha kinda renigs my character to have the shy guy all talkative and such obviously he will talk more later but at this stage dont want to spoil it lol.

Sorry been a bust weekend, will post later today or tonight

Sorry bout not posting in rp :(

Okay Ashley made an interesting case regarding the book of necromancy and her character build. Originally finding the book would be the player who made the highest perception check out of the bunch when searching the town, which Reggy did.

Now Ash did make a good case. I can see her character personality and build would fit a necromancer quite well. The problem is that Reggy made the roll and Ash didn't

So, I have understood what Ashley is saying but I want to know if it would make sense for Reginald to have this power.

Reggy I leave the choice in your hands. Do you want to be the one to read the book of necromancy or will you give it to Ashley?

Ash if Reggy decides to give the book to you, you forfeit the sword to him.

Technically Ash is not proficient with the rapier and neither is Reggy. I am prepared to turn it into a Scimitar. If Reggy chooses to give up the book he gets the fancy +1 Scimitar and Ash gets the book.

This will work out like this. Reggy finds he doesn't have the gift to read the book and Ash finds she can't use the sword. Reggy finds Ash has a nice weapon he can use and she can actually read the book. Walla, they trade.

Now please come to a friendly decision. Also, Reggy, if you decide to keep the book, could give me a bit of a synopsis as to how the book would effect your character's personality that would be great. Oh and maybe some mechanics too please.

Hey shano while we taking out mechanics how do you want me to handle the magus class? and the replaced expert class?

What I mean is with the expert class I had several skills that I trained that now I dont have also I don;t have as many skills as I did like I think only 4 where I had 9 I believe

Then how do you want me to do the spells from magus since it needs spellbooks and not the innate magic of sorcs? is it separate or are you going to combine it all and say its from same source. Which kinda applies to the mechanics of the spell combat.

Thanks really enjoying the game sorry bout the difficulties.

Very good point Trent.

When you replace your Expert level, I will allow you to keep all the class skills it provided. So you will have class skills for Expert,Sorcerer, and Magus.

Also, another important note. When your acquired or will acquire your second class, you will not get any skill points. You simply keep all the points you had for your level of Expert. That is all.

Oh ok I didnt add any skill points I just (on hero lab) made two characters same everything only one as sorc one as magus and put the skills i had from expert on them (which was like 4 over) so I didnt add any more but just now gave the skills as class skills so now all done on bonuses and will adjust accordingly

anyways thanks for the speedy answer and I assume the spellbook will just come later or from diff source now I just have to content myself to wait for others RP feel like im reading a good bok and can't wait to turn the page!

lol its funny you mention that I have a gm thats been laughably following a game with two of the characters constantly having sex during fight scenes completely unnecessary! lol don't worry Mature is kinda what I run and play just so were clear im fine with it fade to black perfectly fine and i applaud the truthfulness of your statement thank you.

No problem with any of that. I much prefer realism in my games but as I'm playing a female character especially, there's only so far I'm really prepared and comfortable to carry and sexual scenes. So the way you laid it out is perfect for me.

And as for the Necro thing, Reg, if you haven't already, please read that spoiler I left for Shano in the IC. Wasn't trying to take the book or anything away from you whatsoever. Was just explaining how I thought the idea fit into Ash's concept.

That being said, now that Shano has indicated the possibility of a switch, it does make sense to me. Ash will probably have the 'Hauntings' curse, she could have even got it from reading the book! And she really has little to no need or desire for a magic sword...If the sword doesn't work for you either, maybe our good DM would be willing to change it into a different magic item?

EDIT: Hey, just had a thought! If Aristil knows so much about spirits, perhaps She could also help Ashley learn about the Oracle? Or at least point her in the right direction?

haha ashley exactly what i was thinking

haha ashley exactly what i was thinking

Great minds...and all that ; )

Yeah, I think it's a good idea for us to switch. I was going to have Reggy get the book now, but decide necromancy is a bit too creepy for him after reading it (though I guess reading it confers the powers, but I didn't know that). He was going to keep it, though, because Leorn's talked about an undead army and a vampire, so he wanted to do some research on that stuff.

In short, I would be happy switching with you.

As far as the maturity thing goes, I'm perfectly okay with that too. I do pretty much the same thing when playing tabletop, though it can sometimes get pretty awkward doing romantic stuff in character with your friends. XD

Ya my real life group I can't :( they way too immature to handle anything besides me saying wel..actually I can't say anything lol we pretty much lost all rp cause the girl is a b#+*! hahaha so now wwe just....kill things but can't quit cause its only rl game I got so yeah glad I found online lets me get my daily dose of rp lol

I'm good with that level of maturity, too.

Know exactly how ya feel Trent. Needs ma daily does of PbP I does.. > )

Time to put up the next Segment. Hope y'all is ready for it.

Lol shano ive been obsessivly refreshing this page for the last well DAY haha course im ready doesnt help that the gm for 1 of my games and a player in 2 others is missing and other games on pause so with this game heating up * no pun or inuendo intended* ive been trying to not shake this laptop hoping a response will fall out lol

Lol I prbably could come up with a few questions trent could ask but on account that there needs to be some interum time till others have talked among themselves will probably let it lie Hahaha I make funny yes? haha I kid i kid

Wait how tall is this woman has trent been looking up this whole time? Haha unsure of physical traits besides the skin and hair color lol

hmmm now I wonder how Arastil and the lizard folk will get along lol

So I was bored and thought id offer a pic for Erastil cause I saw it and bam she will kick your ass haha mostly just bored :)

Tada! Arastil

(I had a bad bad joke in my head but I refuse to say it)

Arastil stands five foot ten. Her hair is waist length, her eyes are grey. In your special time when you get a "better" look at her, you notice a large scare running from her left hip down her left thigh. She doesn't complain about it though. Feel free to ask about it if you'd like. Other than the six inch long ears (Leorn's are 3 inches by the way) she has no other notable physical features.

(I had a bad bad joke in my head and I refuse to say it)

Arastil stands five foot ten. Her hair is waist length, her eyes are grey. In your special time when you get a "better" look at her, you notice a large scare running from her left hip down her left thigh. She doesn't complain about it though. Feel free to ask about it if you'd like. Other than the six inch long ears (Leorn's are 3 inches by the way) she has no other notable physical features.

Aww but I want to hear it lol

Crap ! I have been looking up whole time lol 3 inchs shorter!

The pics about how I imagined to. Only with white silk sashes instead of armor but that'll change.

Awww no one cares where trent is lol makes me cry

Still trying to find everyone lol

Terry Ashley? almost been 24 hours. you guys ok?

Late night out last night, followed by a kind of frenetic day at work; I hope to have the time to deal with the long post tonight, though.

Sense motive 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26

"He pauses for a couple of seconds before asking, deadpan, "So, what was her name?""

hahahaha

I think my wife would have something to say about that :D.

So Shano, after looking over the domains a second time I'd like to know if I can switch to the normal Earth domain instead of the Mountain domain. The reason is that the Mountain domain gets quite a few spells that aren't based on earth element, as well as the 8-th level power Thin Air. The Earth domain's spells, on the other hand, are all Earth-based. It's domain powers are acid, which I'd rather not have, as I've never seen the correlation between earth element and acid, but whatever. The point stands that Earth domain gets more Earth-type spells.

Okay after near six months of doing PBPs on Paizo there are several things I have come to realize. I need to adapt a special set of rules and requirements to allow my campaigns to proceed at a good and progressive rate.

Also it has been brought to my attention that my GMing style is a bit unorthodox. Especially in regards to the D20 system, which I must point out is not a favorite of mine. I have only been using the D20 for about a year even though I have been running games for more than 12. I will be putting forth a formal explanation of my GM style here as well.

First I want to start with new rules I have for game procedures.
Checks and Saves
From this point on I will be rolling the following myself for your characters based off of your given modifiers. I will be rolling your:
-Saving Throws
-Initiatives
-Other skill checks when applicable.
This will allow me to put more down in single posts rather than having to constantly wait on players to make checks. When a check is require, I will post your result so you can see what I rolled. I prefer my at home dice as opposed to Paizo’s oddly unbalanced dice roller. My dice tend to be friendlier at times. This should speed up progress a great deal.

If you feel a skill check is necessary for something, you must make it on your own as I will not prompt certain skill checks, this is most applicable to knowledge checks. I will no longer ask for knowledge checks, it is up to you to do so and I will keep an eye out for them and give you as much knowledge as your results merit.

Now for combat. One thing I have noticed as an issue with PBP is initiative order makes things a pain. From now on I am grouping badguys and you all on the same initiative. Here’s how it works:

I will roll all your initiatives using the modifiers you provide in your profiles. You will act together at the highest results
Example.
Joe rolls 6 total
Kim rolls 15 total
Bob rolls 9 total
Craig rolls 13 total
Badguys roll 14 total.

Initiative order:
Players at 15
Badguys at 14

Holding action will not permanently change your place in the order. I will allow held actions though.

Now the order of your actions depends on posting order.
Example:
Round 1
Joe posts his action first so he goes first in the lineup
Bob Posts second so he goes second and can act according to what Joe has already done
Kim posts next and acts according to what the two prior have done
Lastly Craig finally posts and he acts according to the other threes actions
Then I do the badguys and give you the results of your actions for the round.

Round 2
This time Kim posts first so she goes first.
Bob posts second and gets to act according to what Kim has done
Then Craig posts his action
This time Joe posts last and has to act as though everyone went before him
Then Badguys go.

This will minimize action confusion as you will have a better idea on whose doing what and how you can help the encounter. This will also save me a good deal of time as I wont have to keep shuffling your actions all over the place to fit each order of initiatives.

Basically, you either go before or after the baddies.

My GM Style Rules
A bit about my style as it obviously differs from traditional DMs. I have never liked the D20 system. I use it because I don’t have to explain it to anybody and I will modify the rules a nice amount to fit my style of gameplay.

Roleplay
I am a big fan of PC and NPC interactions. All my characters have a life story. I do not put forth random NPCs with no name or history. Even if they aren’t in my written campaign. Talking to a random NPC adds them to it, especially if you choose to pursue them with questions. I will also take roll play over dice rolls if the argument or action makes sense for the situation. Especially when it comes to diplomacy. Even if you fail a diplomacy check, a good IC argument or offer will work in place of the failed roll and still yield positive results.

Encoutners
People who know me know I love no holds barred encounters. I do not believe that people will always be able to fight everything they encounter. This is because I focus on a reality view. In my campaigns there may be encounters that are too hard for you to fight. I DO NOT EXPECT YOU TO FIGHT THEM. Most of the players I have had over the years learn to gauge a foe before engaging it. I ALWAYS leave a way out of any high power encounter. I will not throw you into a battle that is too hard for you without giving you a way out. Also, not every foe need be beat with dice rolls. Think, find tactical advantages. The rulebook leaves a lot of those concepts out and hope that my players can get creative in dealing with foes. Not every foe is meant to be put down at first encounter. I like the dramatic meet the badguy when you are too weak to take him on, or the encounter that you would be in more of a survival run as opposed to fight or die. This is why I write most of my own campaigns.

Character Creativity
I am a HUGE fan of open ended games where the trail isn’t always so obvious. I love exploring and trying to find the try on my own rather than have some compass guide pointing me at it. Every time I find a unique way to continue forward I feel a strong sense of accomplishment. That said, I run my games that way. I feed my players in game info for them to record and process. This information is there to give the players an idea as to what to do and where to go. Often times, I prefer not to completely railroad my players. No fun in it for me and as a player I enjoy options. Thus I help set a goal and leave a hundred paths to get there. It is up to the players to find the one that best suits them.

Game Progression
I hate pushing my players around. I leave them and their characters where they are until they choose to move unless being led by an NPC. It is your responsibility as a player to move the story along by telling me where you are going and what you are doing. I will give you your visible options and ask you, “Which way are you going to go?” “Where are you going to go?” “Are you heading out?” “Have you decided what to do?” I love player discussion when they all sit around and discuss what to do and think about their options. I do expect that when an option is selected, the players will take the initiative and head out. Preferably the apparent leader of the party would do this.

Alignments
I’ll be blunt. I don’t like alignments. I don’t like the fact that having an alignment has such an effect on the game especially when it is nothing more than a point of view. From this point on I am throwing alignments out the window. I do not want players to be motivated by this thing called an alignment, rather on their own personal beliefs and perceptions. I am altering alignment based rules like detect evil. It will now detect potentially dangerous or hostile individuals to you or someone else. This can have the result of making a good person look evil should they attack someone else first. Regardless, I just don’t like it motivating your characters. Good people aren’t expected to fight every evil person they find. Especially when that person does not mold to the description of good and evil. I also hate how it affects class choice. So it does not. Alignment is purely philosophical. Good and evil deities are now identified as angelic or demonic and they will still preach and behave according to their descriptions. They just wont be categorized as good or evil. That is how I want to run this.

This is the most prevalent and untraditional methods of my GM style. . This is the surviving traits of how I’ve run games for the past 12 years and may not easily change, though I may adjust them a bit to fit PBP.

Now I would like an evaluation.

First – How do you feel about my GMing style?

Second – How do you feel about the campaign you are in?

Third – How is my ability to communicate details?

Fourth – Is there any advice you can offer in regards to running online games?

Fifth - Is there any other comments or concerns, or advice?

I want to think about this for a while before I respond in more detail. Some of what you're saying I agree with (esp. regarding alignment, which I've argued around a time or two before). I think the Sorcerers campaign is something of a special case wrt player initiative, because strictly speaking we're all strangers in a strange land (to coin a phrase)--right now, our best way forward is what the NPC says we should do, and that makes a lot of sense in-game. Anyway, more later, as I have time to think more about it--I just didn't want you thinking no one was going to answer.

Yeah sorry, I slapped that big post onto every discussion thread for each Campaign I am running.

You guys will be following NPCs for a bit. Though the rate we are moving at is great considering PBP. You guys are almost to your first combat Experience. Sorry for not posting anything. Left a lot of my notes regarding this scenario and it is too important for me to simply wing it. I will post the Shaman encounter tonight when I get home from school. When you guys finally start level at a normal rate, you will have more say in where you go and what you do. For now, just follow the leader and keep posting your thoughts. They are a ton of fun to read.

Bravo brother! One of the best DM Manifesto's I've ever encountered.

And I agree with almost everything here 100%. In fact a while ago a prepared a similar document in preparation for the day when I finally take a go at DMing here on Paizo.

I've Always thought that it makes much more sense for the DM to make most of the rolls concerning environment and information. Basically anything that the PC is not making any conscious effort about. If I want my character to try to do something, then I should roll it. But for a DM to tell a player to roll perception or a skill check gives it up right there that something is up. An idea I just had recently that might speed things up even more is to periodically get each player to submit say 20 unmodified rolls. The DM can then keep them on hand and use them in order, as necessary. Might need some fine tuning that idea but I think it could work.

One of the issues I have with group init is for those characters who invest in a high initiative and have skills that depend on it, like rogues for example. We had worked out a way around this in a previous game I was in a few years ago but the method is escaping me at the moment. When it comes back I'll let you know.

The other thing is that if you are going to roll individual scores for players then it seems only fair to do the same for the baddies. For if you just roll once for the baddies the goodies obviously have a much higher chance of getting a good roll. The problem with That though is that when you have lots of baddies, say 30 low level orcs against your party of 5, the advantage switches the other way. Plus a pain in the ass to roll that many times. One way around this is to group the baddies according to the init's and then break them down into groups the same size as the party if necessary.

While I love combat, I much prefer Roll play over Role play and general I think it makes for an overall better game when the rules are looked at more as guides. I also love open ended games and exploration, both of the character internally and of their environment. I don't have as big an issue with alignment as you do, but pretty much everything you've said makes sense to me and I have no problem with any of it.

All in all I very much like this game and your style in general Shano. You have a vivid imagination and excellent attention to detail. Sometimes the grouped segment posts can feel a little...'railroaded', but I understand their purpose in speeding the story through parts that don't really require much interaction. And besides you always give us oppourtunity to respond how we like to them. So keep it up as far as I'm concerned.

And that's that I think. I'm really digging this game and how you run it and am happy to continue!

Lol you are making my brother jealous shano haha you remind me of a rl gm we gamed under for a while. Was best storyteller ever, sadly the group we were with well couldnt rp at all so now I get to game under what i would say is an even better gm and I even get to rp lol

All I got to say shano is that if you open up another game is let me and my brother join in the application process :)

Again making brother very very jealous :)

To answer your queries:

1- I am very comfortable with your GM'ing style so far. I am glad you put the time and effort to craft such a fantastic adventure, and to seriously think about how to improve the PbP mechanics. Forums are kinda clunky, especially where combat is concerned, but I find it's a worthy sacrifice in order to be able to play more than once every two weeks. :)

2- So far, I'm digging the campaign. It's got enough twists onto the regular races to make experienced players look twice, and basically breaks the mold of a standard game and allows the players to roleplay instead of worrying so much about number crunching. I like this a lot.

3- You're doing a splendid job of detailing little things, like Ashley's silks for example. The descriptions are good for getting a visual in my head of what's going on, and how the NPC's look, etc.

4- The only advice I can offer here is that patience is a virtue. Online games will always lag behind your RL games, simply because of the medium. The vast majority of roleplay is interaction, and for that you need to wait for the other people to post, and small conversations which would take only a few minutes IRL take a week or more on a forum. It's simply part of PbP's, and the only thing we can really do (as far as I can see) is just exercise patience.

5- Perhaps the only suggestion I have for you is that I'd like to see a bit more interaction between the NPC's. Our crew is rather motley, and I'd like to see what they all think of each others' strange customs, beliefs, and habits.

You're doing a great job as DM, so keep up the good work!

Ah yes! Thanks for the reminder Reg.

I too would very much like to see more NPC interaction, at least with the leaders. You've assembled an amazingly diverse bunch of guardians, each with their own strong and unique personalities, so I see much potential for great RPing amongst them.

Just in case everyone didnt know best way to break a fever is to sweat it out :)

Just in case everyone didnt know best way to break a fever is to sweat it out :)

That is a common understanding and is true in most cases my friend, if someone is just sick. For a normal fever the aim is to lower it but not eliminate it, for the fever is a natural part of the bodies process of healing. But when someone has a fever that high, it can deadly very quickly (Brain damage begins to occur at 107.6 degrees Fahrenheit, and Leorn's at 106) That's why you've perhaps seen movies of people putting someone with a very high fever in a bath full of ice cubes and water. With a fever that high, it's critical to lower it immediately, no matter what.

But hey, you don't need to believe me, look it up! : ) It is good to know this kind of information in general.

Still here, just socked in by work and busy evenings. Trouble is, I can usually catch up with a campaign and knock off a post in a minute or two...this campaign takes more than a bit more attention. Keep it up!

Shano, et al,

I'm going to be at an SF con this weekend, and I don't feel like paying the hotel $10/day for internet access. So I'll only be able to read posts and make simple ones through my phone. I'll be back Sunday night, though.

Shano, et al,

I'm going to be at an SF con this weekend, and I don't feel like paying the hotel $10/day for internet access. So I'll only be able to read posts and make simple ones through my phone. I'll be back Sunday night, though.

I like smartphones. 50% of my posts are made from my smartphone. I'm posting from my phone right now. Is funny. Anyways, have fun on yer trip.