The Crucible of Freya (Inactive)

Game Master Grimmy

OK it is settled. Everyone please welcome Edward Noble playing Janna, a sorceress in possession of a certain amulet.

Gameplay thread is open, let's keep it tidy and keep discussion in the discussion thread.

Is Janna a member of the party or an NPC?

Janna is a member of the party, replacing the NPC, Corian.

Hey Jerrid, just posted and realized I made a few assumptions about our coming to the party without running it by you. Sorry about that! Check my gameplay post and let me know what you think, we can run with that or just make it into something else. It wasn't very much, but I just wanted to give you a heads up.

Yeah, guys, similar apology/disclaimer from me. The way this adventure kicks off is mega railroady and makes assumptions about what PC's are thinking and doing. That would drive me crazy as a player, i would riot. I don't know why it's written that way because the rest of the stuff in the campaign is absolutely nothing like that.

Just think of it as a quick start to launch the campaign. It's the cliche meet in a tavern thing. All that it forces on you is this.. there was an ad in a tavern, you all responded to it, you are now on the road. All of your other reasons for wanting to adventure, your inter-connections with other PC's, that is all intact. Just pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, you will be off the rails very soon, ok?

End PSA.

I am really glad I'm not a druid that didn't want to leave the forest now.

Hey can you explain that reference to me? It sounds familiar. "George", is that supposed to be a type of player or something?

I prefer the first level start. I'll make the necessary changes to Jerrid today. Not a great deal to do in terms of crunch but Jerrid's background and gear will take time. Unfortunately my daughter is reacting a little to immunisation jabs she had yesterday so time maybe a luxury.

Kevezyat - you mentioned travelling to Bards Gate in the last two years to train under the halfling high priestess. Would you like to have met up with my mentor Olamin after he took me off the dwarves and brought me here? It would mean that at least one party member would be fully aware of Jerrid and his need for redemption or maybe just watching?

If you do then that gives Jerrid ties to Kevezyat and Astor.

Cheers

I could see Jerrid and Olamin paying a visit to the the Citadel in their travels.Perhaps when there Olamin pointed Kevezyat out to Jerrid as an example, but they probably wouldn't have met. Makes sense that Olamin may have had a chance to talk with Kevezyat about Jerrid; to keep an eye out for him.

The Citadel of Griffins is an outpost for the Lyreguard, elite knights of Bard's Gate with a cadre of griffon-riders. The purpose of the citadel is to monitor the activity of, and provide a first line of defense against gnolls, orcs and other threats that descend from the foothills of the Stoneheart Mountains. Gnolls are the primary worry in recent years.

The Citadel has small shrines to a few deities who are important to the knights stationed there, notably Freya.

George is referenced in the bolded best game ever link I posted earlier with the gygax comments.

Click on it, you should be amused.

Ok I think I clicked the link the other day at work on my ipad but it wouldn't load. I favorited the post anyway for the gygaxian.

I'll watch now.

Lol.

Jerrid gets +0 Bab, +1 Ref, 4 hit points, 4 skill points and trapfinding for being a half level rogue.

He gets +0 Bab, +1 Will, 3 hit points, 1 skill point and cantrips/scribe scroll from half wizard.

The rest comes at second level. I have started to change his gear including a selection of first level scrolls from his mage friend. Do the rest later.

Kevezyat - okay. I'll build it into the background.

Guys I have been saying this repeatedly but it still seems to be getting overlooked if I am reading your posts in gameplay correctly :)

The Inn where you all saw the ad and formed your fellowship is not in Bard's Gate, it is in Reme. You are heading toward's Bard's Gate, via the village of Fairhill.

Check out the map to get acclimated.

OK, I just re-read Kevezyat's post and I guess I did misread it. It looks like that was a bit of history about how she got to Reme in the first place, which is excellent.

Just so long as everyone is clear that Reme is now behind you and you are travelling east in the direction of Bard's Gate.

My apologies for misunderstanding :)

Alright, I'm back!
I think staying here was definitely the right decision the more I'd thought about it. Glad to see Vhillish agrees.
I'm just catching up on posts and then I'll join you fine people in the gameplay thread.

well hello all. Janna here have some back story clean up to do and will be posting today just want to get squared away with DMG as well so we are on the same page with everything.

DM... PM sent

All good! You have the info you need, share it with the group as you see fit! Together we'll tell this story.

finally got the first real post. out there.

OK, I just re-read Kevezyat's post and I guess I did misread it. It looks like that was a bit of history about how she got to Reme in the first place, which is excellent.

Just so long as everyone is clear that Reme is now behind you and you are travelling east in the direction of Bard's Gate.

My apologies for misunderstanding :)

LOL, you did mis-read it :)

So I re-wrote it as coming from Bard's Gate; badly obviously ;D

LOL.

Sorry for being snippy, I am a bit sleep deprived.

Well, at least it looks like everything in gameplay makes sense now if you read it the right way.

Here's a map from the 3.5 days, it isn't quite canon anymore but it's good for getting oriented at a glance:

Old Map

finally got the first real post. out there.

Off to a great start.

So, I just read all this and never realized we were leaving from Reme. I guess it doesn't really matter now, but my whole back ground was built around Bards Gate, and not that it's written in stone but the connection that I made with Jarrid is also a part of that. Either way, I guess we're trudging on regardless. Happy to be back in a game!

you could do what I did I just swapped Bard's Gate for Reme and was done with it. but of course Janna's story works for almost any city.

That sounds good, mine is pretty much the same. Astor could have ended up anywhere.

Also @Samduc I just watched that video you posted. Freaking hilarious!

I am at work cannot watch right now, will watch later tonight. (taking the wife out to dinner tonight (date night)

There's no need to change your backstory Astor. Why do you have to have your backstory set in Reme, I don't get it? I mean you can if you want but weren.t you going for that whole thing where you met Jerrid at the Freya Temlple in Bard's Gate?

That's what I said. I have my backstory set in Bards Gate currently. I didn't know if I needed to change anything since we are coming from Reme and traveling towards Bards Gate. I'll just leave it alone fore now. I know it's a petty detail anyways, don't want to get hung up on the minuscule bits.

I don't see why you need to change it. You met Jerrid in Bard's Gate, went to Reme for some reason, now heading back towards home.

:)

Sorry I seem a little short today guys. I didn't sleep well and feel a little under the weather.

I'll be back to myself in no time.

Also, I'm a little bummed because Logan1138 withdrew from the game, citing the inclusion of what he perceived to be overpowered race options.

I'm sad to see him go, he came over with me from a previous game and has been a great help checking characters for mistakes and making me feel I'm not alone in wanting an old-school nostalgic feel.

Ah well, c'est la vie, he's gone.

-----------------------

Ok, my little nephew turns 2 today, I have some last minute cooking to finish before his party. Stuffed Shells and Baked Ziti :)

But I will keep an eye on the thread. Great posts so far guys I'm thrilled with the way the group shaped up!

** spoiler omitted **

Cool Edward, keep up the writing! I'll be sure to read your story sometime, I have enjoyed your backstories so far.

That's really unfortunate, I'll grant you that pathfinder Svirfneblin certainly outpace most other races but I'm hardly put out enough to quit such a promising campaign. Especially with you two having a history.

On the other hand you're right, there's not much point in worrying about it. Though a cleric would have been a big help to our group...

Anyway, enjoy your nephew's birthday! I agree we seem to have a great group otherwise!

That's what I said. I have my backstory set in Bards Gate currently. I didn't know if I needed to change anything since we are coming from Reme and traveling towards Bards Gate. I'll just leave it alone fore now. I know it's a petty detail anyways, don't want to get hung up on the minuscule bits.

I hope I didn't mess up all your work on backstory by failing to say that the party was going to form their fellowship in Reme rather then Bard's Gate, but all I can tell you is, they are only about a 12 day march apart, even quicker if you ride. Fairly safe road if you travel with a merchant caravan or such, so it is easy to imagine that you were visiting Reme when you read Janna's ad in the starving stirge.

Hope this helps, really sorry for the confusion.

I'll grant you that pathfinder Svirfneblin certainly outpace most other races but I'm hardly put out enough to quit such a promising campaign.

Yeah but the guy is playing a rogue/wizard who wears heavy armor, not exactly a munchkin.

Anyway I shouldn't air out stuff from a PM like that, just wanted to explain why I seem short or snippy today. Thanks for the well-wishes, I'll feel better in a couple hours when I see that little guy eating my pasta :)

Oh, it's no big deal on the back story, I'm not too worried. Like I said, petty detail. If it comes to a point where we need to come up with something, guess what, this is a game about making stuff up. So we'll make it up!

Also true! Like I said, an eyeborw was raised but then I moved on in short order. I can hardly complain that we're going to have a potential scout with 120ft darkvision now can I? :P

Oh my lord, Vhillish is priceless.

Heh - am trying to make him very different... Zulu, Higgins, Sharpe and all things quintessentially British are my inspirations to make him a insufferable yet indispensable piece of our groups jigsaw :)

Just what I needed to cheer me up. My brother keeps asking me what I'm laughing at :)

Evening Chaps,

If Jerrid gets silly, which I doubt, then I suggest he starts to tone down some of his more extreme abilities such as SR and spell-like abilities. Same as Drizzt.

If I was Logan I'd be annoyed because that race wasn't on the table for everyone. However I get the impression that Grimmy knows what he is doing and that he will compensate for the rest of you with treasure etc for instance.

However the issue for me (and one that almost caused me to drop out at lunchtime) was the way that we are getting bombarded by lots of posts, lots of apologies and the way this game has started is a little disorganised. Maybe we should slow down until things calm down. Take a few huddles instead of running a no huddle game.

I don't mind losing an aasimar cleric, we have a bard! I do mind getting a sorcerer after I spend my valuable spare time trying to re-balance things by using odd 3PP rules to remake my character so he can be part wizard.

Long term pbp is a marathon not a sprint. In a month's time all this will be forgotten and both of Grimmy's games will be going just fine.

DM Grimmy I thought about PMing this but felt this is a team, and being honest and upfront would suit us all better.

Cheers

No problem French Wolf. I had a weird day. First time PbP game, when some issues came up I freaked out and thought the sky was falling. I became over-apologettic and over-eager to get things off the ground.

Anyway it's just a game after all, but it's one I'm proud to play.

I run games for my teenage brother 18 years my junior and his group of friends. All of their parents thank me for involving these kids in something positive that uses their mind and imagination. What an enriching leisure activity. When we play our minds are engaged, we come out of our shell and tell stories together. We get to be actors, we get to rediscover our child like sense of wonder! And didn't einstein say something poignant about the value of that?

Everything is smooth now. Point taken about the marathon vs sprint. Stick around it's going to be a good game. Leave the worries about balance to me, it's my job. Let's focus on telling a fun story together instead. Look at the company we're keeping in this group. It's a good vibe. And yes, I have some tricks up my sleeve. I'm not going in blind, putting you on different playing fields because I don't know better. I've been fascinated by this game for a while, and I have a vision.

If the vision is too grandiose, guess what? The beauty of this game is that even in it's most basic beer and pretzels form if you are just doing a few funny voices and throwing some dice, it's still a great game. So let's go in with no expectations and see where this goes.

Hear, hear!

Evening Chaps,

<snipped>

I don't mind losing an aasimar cleric, we have a bard! I do mind getting a sorcerer after I spend my valuable spare time trying to re-balance things by using odd 3PP rules to remake my character so he can be part wizard.

<snipped>

DM Grimmy I thought about PMing this but felt this is a team, and being honest and upfront would suit us all better.

Cheers

OK as the Sorcerer I wanted to chime in here and say I have no intention of taking over any one else's role. there was going to be a sorcerer in the group regardless, I merely removed a required NPC. I really do hope we can work together. as I will be pretty specialized, so I do see you with much more versatility.

I really hope we can work together. and we will have a really fun experience. Janna is a character I have been looking for the right home for. and this game was a great fit. I worked with the DM to make sure I could fit without disrupting any party cohesiveness. and the idea of actually replacing an NPC role was the best course.

I don't want Janna to replace nor overtake any other arcane caster in the group. just fill different roles. Janna will be much more storm and wind and electricity oriented. Maybe some splattering of other things but most other arcane roles will probably fall to you.

I hope this helps ease your worries some. if you want to discuss more I'll listen.

BTW I will do my part to slow things down some...

Well said, all! :)

+1 Must admit I was getting daunted at the amount of posts I had to catch up on lol.

Agree we should be playing the long game - allows everyone to contribute at an even pace.

Nothing wrong with DMG prompting specific players (likely me) for input to forewarn the game is moving on (if you are waiting), but blizzards of posts means its very easy for us to lose the group dynamic early.

My 2 Kings shillings worth

Pip-pip!

Edward - Janna is fine and you are more than welcome. I like that you got in, your persistence paid off. My problem is one of time and how I spend it - rather than waste it.

Enough said .... as he sweeps it away.

Speaking of which, Jerrid's background will come together in a day or twos time now.

+1 Must admit I was getting daunted at the amount of posts I had to catch up on lol.

Agree we should be playing the long game - allows everyone to contribute at an even pace.

Nothing wrong with DMG prompting specific players (likely me) for input to forewarn the game is moving on (if you are waiting), but blizzards of posts means its very easy for us to lose the group dynamic early.

My 2 Kings shillings worth

Pip-pip!

I was checking back anxiously for a post from you, not to prompt you or prod you along, but because with one player withdrawn I wanted a new headcount.