Brother Phineas |
Alomar - I didn't take your reminder to include the Bless as cranky at all, but a good way to help it stick...Airports make me grumbly too!
Having a PFS bard, I am always chasing my teammates to remember the bardic performance bonus, so I know the feeling. Perhaps, Phineas should also cast that spell, and we could be doubly blessed!
Terquem |
First, thank each and every one of you for being patient with me
Second
This is a bit of a complaint and I want to be clear that it isn’t pointed at any of you in particular.
I hate perception checks, intuition checks and knowledge checks.
My experience with these games goes back a long time and I miss, more than anything, the interactions I once had with players. I miss the questions and the discussions that we had as players asked questions and I told them things that made them think of more questions and this was how the players learned about the world around them and this was what I enjoyed more than anything, the interaction.
But now that is gone. Players want to post a roll and be told everything they need to know. It seems that no one wants to try and think about what they could ask to get the information they need by dialoging with the DM, they just expect it to be told to them because they rolled well. I hate it.
But I understand why it has become part of the game. No one likes to feel as if they were beat up upon by an encounter because the DM played a trick on them and didn’t give them at least a few clues that might have helped, I get that. But I was never that kind of DM. If you ask enough questions, a s a player, I will tell you everything your character could possible know, and hopefully with that information you can figure out the way to success without feeling like you were blindsided.
I prefer questions like, “Do these plants look familiar to me?”
“Has anyone ever told me about this kind of building? Have I seen this kind of Door before? Are the hinges made of metal?”
If you ask a question like this, you are going to get an answer that I think you will think is fair.
I prefer direct stated actions such as, “I listen at the door,” or “I approach the wall carefully keeping an eye on the floor, but looking to the sides when I can.”
I realize this is a long grumpfest on my part, but I had to get it off my chest.
Brother Phineas |
As a GM, I agree. If a player rolls a "perception" check and and says exactly what they are trying to perceive, I will usually grant them the clue, regardless of the roll amount.
Perception is the probably the most over-used skill in PF.
As a player, I will usually say, I am looking for at the dead Saughain and then roll, expecting the roll is my ability to percieve not the ability just to look. (if that makes sense). By saying I'm looking doesn't mean I look closely (or well) enough to see the clue.
But, yes, I feel you.
Dieredon D'atarisian |
Point well taken. I fall into that Perception trap sometimes, but as you say, I am much more comfortable with the old-style approach. I have been at this for so long that I can agree it has indeed gone the way of the do-do bird.
As an aside, I have just finished reading the Core Rulebook for Numenera, and my table-top group is going to give it a go. Monty Cook has done a fabulous job with a variable game system that allows for more player interaction, originality and storytelling than mechanical dice rolling. You would like it, Terquem.
Alomar |
In my opinion this is an issue with play by forum, in tabletop RPF I usually wait until the GM says to roll a check. That is also something I tell my players when I GM. With PBF I want to keep things moving, so roll the checks when I think a roll could be in order.
That said, I am perfectly fine with just describing my actions and letting the GM roll any applicable dice.
Poseus Murandae |
Ok Poseus is updated now, Ranger (Skirmisher Archetype) 1 added. How proud would Dieredon be on him now lol
Just a question Terquem and the others, I have to choose my favored enemy now, basically Poseus is a hunter and fisher and choosing animals as first favored type would suit him. Though with recent events I might switch to Humanoids (Snakefolk?) because they are his mortal enemies.
Which should I choose?
Alomar |
Animals would follow your post experience, Sashi-Anhain would be a bit of foreshadowing I guess.
I think that Poseus' feelings towards Sashi-Anhain are a lot stronger than towards animal. With the latter it is much more based on intellect, with the former it is about feelings. Up to you decide, I can see the reasoning behind either one.
Dieredon D'atarisian |
So proud, indeed! Atta-boy, Poseus. There is no harm in a little foreshadowing. I suggest the Monstrous Humanoids.
Dieredon D'atarisian |
Poseus - check my aliases for Conner Hawthorne - he is an advanced Skirmisher build that may interest you for what to look forward to. I am currently playing him in another PbP game.
Terquem |
Where were we?
Marcus needs to find Cicily and Rosilindea
Poseus, Phineas and Alomar are wondering what to do next (I'll check for outstanding questions I haven't answered yet)
Dieredon and Calex are addressing the man attacking Lord Anticus (this will be my first priority)
Dealing with a head cold, just about over it now, and I am working on updates
Poseus Murandae |
Guess it would be best to take that extra hp now, else I'd be wasting perfectly good cures from my allies.
Won't slow down my roleplaying his wounds and scars though.
Alomar |
Poseus moves around the hillside to look for any clues about the Lyphs as well as keeping vigilance for any signs of more Sashi-Anhain.
Survival tracking: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12
And we are so trying to describe our actions and implying the dice rolls. Did you really have to mess that up? ;-)
Poseus Murandae |
Yes that's mostly what I am probably doing haha.
And then I'll say I found tracks leading the way I was going.
Sorry Alomar ;) it's hard for an old fox to lose it's tricks
Terquem |
The very first post of this thread is a brief description of the Maetaur people, and this one passage,
The history of the local populations contains stories of a time before the Great Kings when Human and Maetaur tribes fought but it was through the unification of many indigenous peoples under King Adennore of the human people, called the Banyan DePoir (People of the Valley of Ban) and the Chief of the Maetaur people (in the human legends he is called, Wiliman Cloudrunner, whereas in the Maetaur versions of the same story it is a female chief and High Druid called Wilmorra Greyskies) in a war against a race known as the Tafganor (Orcs) which, according to legend, drove the Tafganor out of the land, that the Human and Maetaur peoples came to be one population
Is the first, and I believe only, reference to the Tafganor.
I had imagined them to be Orcs, and that they would play a significant role as Monsters encountered later in the adventure (being driven to live underground, they have not been seen for generations).
The nature, culture, and other details can be expanded upon by any player, and we can discuss it here.
What Alomar would know - The Maetaur of wood bridge will probably not have any "real" information about these monsters. Parents will tell stories about them in the sense that they are a sort of "bogey man" and use the threat of them coming back to remind children to stay diligent and true to their beliefs. It is probable that everything Alomar knows about them is purely speculative. There are no written records, among the Maetaur of Woodbridge, that would be helpful to a young Maetaur curious about these creatures, but it is known that some Maetaur tribes are in possession of ancient books and scrolls, very carefully protected, that do have details about these creatures. Alomar would know of these texts (he can create names for these texts such as “The Song Of *blank*” or “*Blank’s* Wanderings” or other names, take a look at old records such as the Poetic or Prose Eddas of Scandinavia, The Song of Rowland, and other ancient European texts.)
Terquem |
I'd like to point out, in contrast to the Maetaur People, that I have imagined that the Gymnaga people have a much stronger Oral Tradition, and do not have any knowledge of ancient books, or scrolls, that are reveared or held somewhere. The Gymnaga are private about the history of their people. Prior to their current state, as a kind of free/nomadic people (Gymnaga have no "Lands" that they know of that are known to be "homeland" in their oral traditions)there is only the knowledge that they were slaves to the Sashi-Anhain, and nothing about their past prior to this is known. It is not understood how long this period of slavery actually lasted (it is believed that there must have been a time in the very distant, dark, past when the Gymnaga where not slaves, but no Gymnaga knows anything about this period).
Terquem |
I am staying up late tonight to update this game and give some players more information about what is going on around them
Dieredon and Calex, thanks for letting me try to slow you guys down a bit, I appreciate it.
Poseus, Phineas, and Alomar, I am so impressed by the effort you guys are putting into a setting up camp scene, thanks. Phineas, there will be some response to your Detect Magic Spell, sorry for the delay
Marcus – I’m not sure what we should do next. It’s kind of your call here. Do you want to follow up on the injured Maetaur, or head home and work on the armor?
Marcus Dale |
Terq, just don't burn yourself out is all, and thank you for the detail and immersion you give to both the games I am in :) Keep up the good work.
As far as which direction Marcus would take, he is torn. I view him as a compassionate guy, who would want to continue on to make sure the Maetuar boy is okay, but focused on getting the armors finished as well..............
I think Marcus would finish with the Maetuar first, then try his best to finish the armors, hoping his new friends would understand the chaos that slowed him down upon their return.
Maetuar first :)
Calex |
Dieredon and Calex, thanks for letting me try to slow you guys down a bit, I appreciate it.
Wait...we were slowing down? o.O I was so involved in the game I didn't notice!
So...umm...you're welcome? ;3Terquem |
Okay, here's the situation.
Was trying to bring in a player to play a Lyph character, who was very excited to join, and then suddenly stoped responding to my messages, and so i will move forward with an encounter for Alomar, Poseus and Phineas (but I don't expect the actual combat rounds to launch until Saturday).
I am going to build a few posts to deal with Dieredon and Calex at Court, those should be interesting, and they will take half of Day 7, the rest of Day 7 for these two should be spent getting the rmedy for the man in Woodbridge.
Marcus - I will be dealing with a twon meeting for you to attend