The Dying City: DM Norv's "Curse of the Crimson Throne"

Game Master The Norv

While I find it abhorrent, Teodor could probably deal with it.

Matoska (and I) have a very, very low tolerance for it. Whatever it is, he wouldn't participate without an extremely compelling reason, though he probably wouldn't attack the perpetrator with sentient lives hang in the balance.

I find it rather disturbing IRL, but this isn't IRL where it happens so if it is for a story purpose I can understand it. I mean let's face it, many would find training animals to fight for you and sending them to take on monsters that will rip them to shreds to be animal cruelty but druids and rangers do it all the time (just, you know, without the getting ripped and shredded part hopefully).

Lantressa likely would find it disturbing but her darker side would find it fun and amusing. She wouldn't participate unless she had to and would feel terrible about it later. It really is going to depend on the situation.

I'd rather it be reasonably nongraphic as possible. If it provides an ingame purpose, fine. If it's weirdly gratuitous, I'd rather skip it.

I don't like it when animals are treated in a cruel manner. If it can be changed, then I'd be okay with that. However, like Callie, if it's necessary to the plot, then I'd prefer it not to be graphic. Now that I think about it, Korriban probably wouldn't go for it. However, he think he has killed animals before in combat since the campaign started. It'd have to depend on the situation.

Thanks for the input, all. The EVENT certainly serves a purpose in-game, but I'm not sure the NATURE of it does. I'm leaning toward eliding it (and certainly anything like this I would never present graphically).

Sorry for the delay as well--my younger brother's college graduation was this weekend, and the travel/events ate up more time than I expected them to!

P.S. Still here, just for once Callie's being quiet. (I'm also in judging mode for the DesignFinder contest this week, so more preoccupied than usual.)

Well done, Norv! Didn’t expect that appearance at all!

Why thank you! I've been sitting on that one for a bit. :D

THE RULES OF BLOOD PIG BALL

Basics are as the Emperor said; first to 5 points wins. You are trying to deposit the "pig" in C4b on the map; they're trying to put it in C4f.

On your turn, there are a variety of actions you can take. You can, of course, also do things like try to trip/attack your foes (but remember, no weapons!).

Picking up a "pig:" Picking a "pig" up from its starting cage is a standard action that provokes attacks of opportunity. Picking up the ball while it's rolling (one might say "live") on the field works the same way but also requires you to make an unarmed attack against AC 15 to grab it.

Carrying a "pig:" The ball weighs about 15 lbs., and is covered in grease and pointy bits. Each round that you carry it, we roll 1d6 to see what happens to keep things interesting. :)

Dropping a "pig:" Any character that takes damage while carrying a live pig must succeed at a combat maneuver check (DC=10+damage taken) or drop the ball. If you do drop the ball, because Jabbyr has built some truly obnoxious springs and stuff into it, it will bounce away from the nearest person in a straight line at a speed of 30' at initiative count 0 each round.

Passing a "pig:" A character can pass the ball to a teammate as a standard action if they are within reach. House rule: to keep things moving, I'm going to say you can also take the ball from another character as a standard action.

Throwing a "pig:" The ball is crude enough to be an improvised ranged weapon, thus giving you the normal -4 penalty to attack rolls for that. It has a range increment of 10'. Catching a thrown pig requires a DC 12 combat maneuver check.

Throwing a "pig" into a pit: In order to throw a ball into a pit, you have to make a ranged attack roll against AC 6. Dropping the ball into an adjacent pit is a free action and automatically succeeds.

Intercepting a "pig:" A character can attempt to intercept a thrown ball if it passes through a square they threaten. To intercept, they must succeed at a DC 18 combat maneuver check. This is an immediate action.

Stealing a "pig:" A person can attempt to steal the ball from another person with a successful disarm combat maneuver check. When you do so, however, the rough handling requires us to immediately roll 1d6 on the "see what happens" table. :)

That's pretty much it for mechanics! Any questions?

Strong opening! Meant to say earlier that Matoska is gonna shine in this game. :P

I just noticed that I’m currently carrying a medium load. Would I have enough time before the start of the game to lighten my load by putting some things in my bag of holding?

Sure. You could also leave bags etc. by the side of the field.

Well I don't regularly hit mid-to-upper 30s for my Diplomacy and Bluff checks, so I figure it's my turn :p

Nice work, Matoska!

As for my bags, how much is in the bag of holding already? I assmue that it doesn't have 250 lbs already.

So, how much weight is the bag of holding carrying?

If you are carrying the bag of holding, you should be the one who knows what's in it.

One of the reasons I like to play poor characters is they don't have enough stuff to worry about encumbrance ha.

Okay. I’ll put up a post later. I’ll also look at the things in the bag of holding and try to figure out the total weight of the contents.

Sorry for the delayed response, Korriban--but to be blunt, Callie's right. The book doesn't give a total of the weight, and I don't have time to go through and add it all up right now. (I'm at a professional conference.)

You can proceed with posting under the assumption that you're not encumbered.

BTW I forgot to post the range of dirge of doom--any foe within 30 feet of Callie is shaken as long as she maintains her performance.

BTW if anyone's interested in applying, I am looking for a new player for my ongoing Skull and Shackles campaign.

I saw that and thought about it but decided I didn't care for the restricted material. Now that I know who runs it I'll take a second look at it and maybe apply. It may take me a few days though.

Appreciate the offer but I'm the GM for a Skull & Shackles live game already.

I should have something done tonight for that submission. Had to leave work early to go to the clinic and already got a good start this morning.

I dm-ed that AP until the last book, so I probably shouldn't.

I am letting another former S&S GM apply, and I've played and run S&S before, so it's okay unless you don't trust yourself. :)

Glad folks are interested. If you decide to apply, great, if not I understand--there's a lot going on and many PBPs out there. :)

I'm torn because A) I GM'd that AP to completion IRL, B) I would love to play with you as a GM, I think I'd enjoy it. :) and C) I feel like I don't really have the bandwidth for much more in terms of PBP. :(

Also: if no one objects, I'm probably going to shorten this game slightly. I think it's fun, but playing (multiple! in the original) games to 5 points will take us months in this format.

Well crap, had a great concept, for Skulls and Shackles, got it nearly done, and then re-read something and realized it doesn't fit the feel of what you're running. Guess it's back to the drawing board now and yet another character gathering dust I won't likely play. I might send you the fluff just to see what you think before I completely scrap the idea though.

I appreciate the offer, Callie, but I’m already a player in a S&S campaign.

So in addition to my dumb mistake re: actually reading my dice results...I then had four separate NPCs try to grab up the ball, and not a one roll higher than I think a six?! Crazy dice!

Luckily they have an excuse: they already told us about their shingles!

That is insane how the dice turned out for them.

Hey all! I’m about to head out on a belated honeymoon, and will be traveling until august 4th with limited internet. I’ll check in whenever I can, and as I GM this game it’ll be a priority for posting if I’m pressed for time. (Sorry I don’t have time to post right now—literally writing this from the plane, packing was crazy!)

Enjoy, boss!

Have a good time, Norv!

I will be out of town at Gencon this Wednesday through Sunday so my posting will be very sparse/non-existent until possibly next Monday. Please bot me as needed.

Have fun! Sorry for the delay, all. My honeymoon was busier than anticipated, but I've had a great time soooo...I have to admit, not too sorry. ;)

Will try to get a post up now--I'll be back at home on Sunday.

FYI I am about to go on the road for a few days. I expect to be able to check in on my phone, but may not be able to move my token. If I disappear, please bot me.

Am back. This is a fun, unusual challenge! Thanks for changing the pig to a ball, it would be just disturbing otherwise.

Yeeeeeaaaaah that was my feeling. The only thing is that last post would make a little more sense because the "stuff happens" roll is supposed to be the pig wiggling, etc. and a 6 is meant to be a little frenzy that combines the effects of several lower rolls.

Also, I'm 100% back from my honeymoon now (sadly)! But that means posting should pick up again.

Ugh. Sorry for going AWOL there guys. Life knocked me for a loop this past week and sucked up a lot of my free time...what’s most frustrating is that the games I WANT to update most are the ones I GM, but those also take the most time (especially in combat).

Regardless, wanted to give you a heads-up that since you’re wiping the floor with them, I’m inclined to call it if you win the next round.

The Special Guest Star round. ;)

Again, my most sincere apologies. I want to get this story moving again!

Do you recall wich ones I have affected with Beguiling voice? It only can actually work once per day on each target and I don't want to double it up on accident.

No worries, boss. It happens. I was pretty nuts there for a bit, too, but it coincided with your busy time so no one knew haha!

Lantressa, it was blue, purple, and (I believe) red.

Welcome back, Norv! Who's the Guest Star?

Jabbyr. ;)

*cautiously pokes head back into the forum*

I think that they're back up for good now...? Can we get a sound off of everyone still here?

still here!

Alive and kicking!