The Fracturing of an Empire (Inactive)

Game Master wanderer82

and so it begins.... all invited players please dot in, then we will discuss getting things underway! Congratulations to all selected!

Thanks! Looking forward to seeing who else is selected! There were some great applications.

Second Lieutenant Blake Hunter reporting for duty!

Thanks! I'm good to go.

Hi guys.

:)

Hi, thanks for the invite! Looking forward to playing.

Sir Davos of " *cough* *cough* "Sir Davos of Aquitaine." Think they believed that?

Just curious, what point buys did you guys end up with?

I also realized two things while changing the character a bit.

1)There is only one trait that gives disguise as a class skill and it doesn't fit the character. Keeper of the Veil, which is magic related.

2)Gallant Impostor is the perfect trait but doesn't provide it as a class skill.

Suggestions? Alterations? Can I drop the knowledge part of Gallant Impostor for "one of these a class skill"?

Also Also: Can you open gameplay so we can dot?

Though we are still waiting for our remaining members, I would like to officially say Welcome to all of you!

I want to thank you for your excellent proposals. Many things stood out to me, not the least of which was none of the builds felt like an attempt to "power game". Note that the none of the players selected had a 19 or 20 for a starting statistic (choosing to use ability score bonuses to boost secondary stats rather than to have 1 awesome primary stat). Additionally, with the exception of Lucatiel, you are all relatively close when calculating out the "point buy" value of your rolled stats. I will be doing a little balancing as well, which I will PM you each about, as well as several mechanical issues that I noticed.

Everyone, please refer to the Wealth, Technology, and Equipment Availability section, and update your equipment accordingly.

Also, the Kesadrian tongue is vastly different from the Common tongue of Neralus. If you want to speak Kesadrian, it will require the selection of the language as either a bonus language from intelligence of the expenditure of a skill point (I will allow a background skill point to be spent on this).

Lucatiel That is totally fine for Gallant Imposter.

Does Blake still have to pay extra for his metal weapons and armor, seeing as he is wearing them legitimately?

I will adjust my languages to be able to speak both Kesadrian and common.

Gavmania No, that is a perk of being a "bad guy".

Hey folks! Looking forwards to playing with all of you. I will have some character revisions and more comments ready by tonight.

It doesn't look like Morsun needs any updating based on the Wealth, Technology, and Equipment Availability section, but I've gone ahead and bought him a shortbow, if that's all right.

Made some changes. The increase in price meant I had to drop the lance and armor restrictions lowered AC. Down to a shortspear and a hidden longsword. Much better at hitting things though.

I updated/reviewed the following:

- Background skills: I forgot to add them. Added Linguistics (Kesadrian) and Knowledge (nobility).

- Reviewed my armor, weapons, and equipment. They appear to be consistent with the Wealth, Technology, and Equipment Availability section. Let me know if I missed anything.

I've made a couple of changes (campaign trait, swapped out another trait, added Kesadrian as one language. Are there any other languages that are particularly world appropriate?

I think all my equipment is OK but if any changes are needed let me know.

And character sheet is updated!

And to all of you, hi! I'm Dave aka SpiderBeard. I'm up in northern Canada and have been playing/running games on these forums for a few years now. I think I can now say a few. I'll most likely post early afternoon MST (GMT -7).

Also, I'm playing a character who may occasionally be confrontational or difficult. Please note it's never personal and that the fun of the group and facilitating the GM's plans are always my first priority.

Also, I'm playing a character who may occasionally be confrontational or difficult. Please note it's never personal and that the fun of the group and facilitating the GM's plans are always my first priority.

Thats refreshing and good to know. I prefer groups that actually play their characters based on the background and attitudes that they've written.

...and I play that way as well.

:)

That post should have been Tevan.

See messing up already. :)

So, we have:

Lirandra Half-Kesadrian Witch
Second Lieutenant Blake Hunter Kesadrian Magus sympathiser
Tevan abandoned Kesadrian Cleric
Mersun Mersun Dwarf Burglar
Lacatiel a.k.a. Sir Davios of Aquitaine Cavalier
Ashe Stormwarden Swashbuckler Rebel

Is that all of us?

Mersun Mersun Dwarf Burglar

Morsun Morsun Dwarf Trapsmith

The burgling was a very short period in his life.

When can we start? I assume you didn't pick more than 6.

Gavmania wrote:

Mersun Mersun Dwarf Burglar

Morsun Morsun Dwarf Trapsmith

The burgling was a very short period in his life.

Fair enough, though I was going more for a precis of your background than a factual statement of your class.

Morsun Morsun wrote:

Gavmania wrote:

Mersun Mersun Dwarf Burglar

Morsun Morsun Dwarf Trapsmith

The burgling was a very short period in his life.

Fair enough, though I was going more for a precis of your background than a factual statement of your class.

Ah, okay. No worries.

Almost ready to start. Need to send Tevan her balancing updates, and we actually do have a 7th joining us. Given the general rate of attrition on PbP, and the drive for a rebellion needing lots of members, I upped it.

After that, we have a few game play items to address, which I will get to later tonight.

Quick question - how do Neralians and Kesadrians physically differ? Is it immediately obvious who is who?

I'm looking at swapping out the Fortune Hex for Slumber so that Lirandra can actually do something in combat. Would this be OK?

I'm good to go.

The wait is killing me.

So... how about that local sports team?

So I know there is probably a lot to do before starting but can we get some daily updates or something? Did the 7th respond? If not, are you looking for another? Is everyone's character balanced out now? Are you working on campaign info? Just want to know what's going on.

This is what I have for the party.

This helps me visualize everyone.
ooc]My OCD shining through[/ooc]

Anyone want to add anything to their description?

Ashe Stormwarden - Female Human (Neralian) Swashbuckler 1
TBD

Blake Hunter – Male Human Magus (Bladebound) 1
TBD

Lirandra – Female Human (Neralan) Witch 1
Lirandra bears the red hair and pale skin of a native of Neralus. At sixteen, he is 5ft., 4in. tall and wears a brown cloth skirt and a linen white shirt, subtly decorated with grey traceries of thread, both are simple but well made.

Lucatiel – Female Human Cavalier 1
Sir Davos. Knight of Aquitaine, TBD

Morsun Morsun – Dwarf Rogue 1
Morsun has dark brown hair that he doesn't let grow very long. He keeps his beard braided, to more easily tuck it into his shirt when he's working.

Tevan - Female Human (Kesadrian) Cleric of Mya 1
[i]Tevan is a 5'4", 140-pound human Kesadrian Citizen. She has a shaved head, pale skin, with light blue eyes that can be disconcerting. She wears cleric robes (over Leather Lamellar armor) and a well-cared for wooden symbol of Mya. [/b]

Image I'll be going for.

What she looks like without the helmet.

Thanks for that Reg, it helps me heaps if i have a visual of characters! Would it be possible for the GM to add the descriptions to the Campaign Info tab for quick reference?

obviously you copied/pasted from my sheet... I accidentally wrote 'he' rather than 'she', so it should be

Lirandra bears the red hair and pale skin of a native of Neralus. At sixteen, she is 5ft., 4in. tall and wears a brown cloth skirt and a linen white shirt, subtly decorated with grey traceries of thread, both are simple but well made.

Looking forward to getting started, although I understand that stuff can take a while to plan out - especially for home-brew adventures.

Sorry, had a LARGE post on background info get eaten last night, very frustrating. Sometimes I really hate this site. Grrr... Wrapping up at work now, will have some content up later on.

The 7th will likely join as we get rolling.

Zayne That's what she will look like.... once she gets the appropriate armor. ;)

EDIT the group description has been added to the Campaign Notes

I've found that, for long posts, its often a good idea to compose in word and then copy/paste...

EDIT: And thanks for adding the descriptions!

Yeah, I am generally good about using word, or more often lately, google docs (or gmail), but for some reason started it in the text box, and forgot to 'select all' and 'copy' before submitting the post....

Thanks for that Reg, it helps me heaps if i have a visual of characters! Would it be possible for the GM to add the descriptions to the Campaign Info tab for quick reference?

obviously you copied/pasted from my sheet... I accidentally wrote 'he' rather than 'she', so it should be

Lirandra bears the red hair and pale skin of a native of Neralus. At sixteen, she is 5ft., 4in. tall and wears a brown cloth skirt and a linen white shirt, subtly decorated with grey traceries of thread, both are simple but well made.

Looking forward to getting started, although I understand that stuff can take a while to plan out - especially for home-brew adventures.

Nice!

...EDIT the group description has been added to the Campaign Notes

I can maintain a list ( I will for myself anyway).

That way, if the group descriptions need to be updated, you can just copy and paste.

just a thought. :)

Zayne That's what she will look like.... once she gets the appropriate armor. ;)

That reminds me, I think I am going to have to alter the story a bit. I can't afford a lance at the moment and no first level character can afford Tatami-do or O-Yoroi. (Since we can get eastern armor and plate isn't available, I assume this is the high end stuff and what would be available to a knight-level warrior. Still not sure if that means we are pre-Chinese or pre-European.) I guess I can say her stint as Sir Davos is over or that the gear she wore to protect her home is currently unavailable because she is at Whispering Falls.

Eastern armors are NOT available in this setting; I am permitting lamellar armor as a option for 2 reasons: 1st, it was present in eastern europe, and 2nd, to allow another option for leather based armor. a

Neralus is roughly 9th century Europe (not in landmass or political structure, but rather in culture and technology - at least before the invasion).

Zayne I would think, if anything, it would make more sense to drop the barding (to start). Remember, I knight does not necessarily mean plate armor, it is more a way of thought. It would perhaps even play better into your story that you were only wearing studded leather with a faded, threadbare tabard. Remember, at 1st level you would be a neophyte playing at being a knight more than anything.

I asked this question above, but you may have missed it:

I'm looking at swapping out the Fortune Hex for Slumber so that Lirandra can actually do something in combat. Would this be OK?

Also, Any more information on The Way and the town would be helpful in fleshing out Lirandra a bit more.

Damn. I always liked Japanese samurai armor.

I forgot barding cost a pretty penny. That is a much better idea. So her uncle is like everyone else in that his old suit of metal armor and the barding for his horse have been confiscated. Lucatiel is making due with what is still available and mostly legal. Most days she wears the livery of a commoner but when necessary, she dons armor, a tabard (faded and worn at the ends) and a helmet to hide her face.

So keep the lance or leave it. Maybe she has to make due with a spear until worthy of the lance. I kind of want to keep it cause its the mainstay of the class but it would have been very hard to keep hidden for so long or conceal now. A longsword is much easier.

Sadly, your responses were included in the mega post that got eaten last night...

Lirandra Slumber hex is a go, just don't become a one-trick pony...

Zayne go for both the sword and the lance. They could be stashed in the rafters of the family's barn. And combat lances looked a lot like longspears historically, especially at this equivalent time period.

Kesadrians vs Neralans
Neralans are a wide and varied people. Adult males range from 5'6" to 6' tall, though it is not unknown to see men as tall 6'6". In general they weigh between 160 and 220 pounds. Females average between 5'2" and 5'8", and weigh between 110 to 160 pounds. Skin tone ranges from light tan to dusty olive, with hair predominantly brown, with pockets of red or blonde in select regions. Eyes are most commonly brown or hazel, and rarely blue or green. Neralans exhibit a friendly, interdependent culture that was built around clans and small, tight-knit communities.

Kesadrians are quite striking, even by comparison. Males average between 5'9" and 6'6", yet generally weigh between 160 and 210 pounds. Females are likewise taller than their New Orleans counterparts ranging from 5 5 to 6 feet tall. Their skin is pale white to ash gray, and their features are strangely angular. Hair color is uniformly jet black, with white streaking as age progresses. Eye color ranges from ice blue two purple and red. They are fiercely loyal to their own culture, and approach the world with a strong sense of superiority.

Whispering Falls
Whispering Falls was founded over three centuries ago by explorers seeking to profit in an inudstry supporting the growing town only recently been named Durmstadt. The Lush forests and bountiful Lake provided ample resources for food and lumber, allowing a stable level of trade with the larger City. Presided over by several families across the ages, the town group to have a stable reputation. At the beginning of the invasion, the Holstafs, the ruling family at the time, dispatched their militia as well as the head of the household and it's first born son to join the forces that Durmstadt prepared to face the approaching Kesadrian army. These forces were wiped out to a man at the Battle for Durmstadt, so when the Kesadrians reached Whispering Falls there was almost no resistance. As such Whispering Falls was spared much of the suffering experienced during the battles at larger settlements.

Ouch on the post being eaten. We've all been there!

And now that I know what Neralians look like:

Ashe is a woman of average height with a slender, almost too-thin build. Her face is striking with high cheek bones and a wide mouth, marred by a nasty scar crossing her temple to her chin. She has wide, rich brown eyes and mousy brown hair which has been roughly cut to hang about her ears.

Slight change to Lirandra's appearance based on the above....

Lirandra bears the red hair and hazel eyes of a Neralan, her mixed birth evidenced in her pale, almost pallid, skin. At sixteen, she is 5ft., 4in. tall and wears a brown cloth skirt and a linen white shirt, subtly decorated with grey traceries of thread, both are simple but well made.

I'm happy with the way Blake looks. His appearance fits the description of a Kesadrian

I forget that jousting lances are ren fests are not the lances of old actually used during war. Quick google search shows that they don't flare towards the grip as much as I usually see. But while they look like long spears, there are some differences that close inspection will reveal. Its very much a martial weapon.

Can you open gameplay so we can dot?

Can you open gameplay so we can dot?

Seconded. That way, I can see updates on any of these threads by going to my campaigns page instead of hunting for this thread. Thanks!

Okay, let's touch on some game mechanics options. First, do you want to do theater of the mind, or use maps? If Maps, I would likely use Google Docs, as it has the most flexibility people to access from various type of various workplaces behind firewalls. If not, I would try to be rather descriptive and laying out scenes and given distances and helping the people would be reasonable with how they're moving and acting. That said, I would then be the final Arbiter over any layout/range/encounter situations.

Next topic, group die rolls. After playing on these boards for a while, I've noticed that the time when games slow down the most are when simple processes, like rolling initiative or making perception checks, turn into a two-day process. As such, rather than asking each player to roll initiative or perception at the beginning of every scene, I would simply roll it en masse and then distribute the results. For initiative specifically, I would like to get to all the rules and then allow any players going before NPCs to go, have the NPCs go, then have the rest of the players finish their actions. For group perception checks, I would post the results in a spoiler and allow you to read accordingly. I feel these two changes especially would help speed up gameplay. I am open to either using the same system for saving throws, with me rolling on behalf of you, or allow each of you to roll for yourself. After all, some of the fun is seeing you seeing that number generated on the d20 you roll (even if it is digital).

Next topic, wealth by level and automatic bonus progression. I confess, I like magic items to have a lot more character than is typical of 3rd Edition and post 3rd Edition magic items. That said the mechanics of the D20 system generally require you to have the statistically increasing numbers. As such I think automatic bonus progression would be a good choice, allowing for both those two just to the bonuses and the inclusion of some really fun items.

I would love to get feedback from all on you on these topics. Greatly appreciated.

Because many abilities rely on specific distances or squares, its difficult to do theater of the mind so I'd prefer google docs. It works the best in my other games.

Perception and Init I fine with what you stated. They have the least situational bonuses. I would say just average init for good guys and bad guys and have everyone go together but that might make people with high init feel underutilized. Your call. For saves, I would just say who has to save and what happens on a fail.

And for magic items. I am not fan of automatic bonus progression because it reduces weapon versatility and really stunts two-weapon wielders. It focuses all your resources on one or two weapons. What if I want three? Armor and shields are the same way, have to split the bonus. Also you can only change the bonus once a day. There is an expansion on these rules but they are complicated. Automatic bonus progression doesn't address animal companions either. DO they get bonus's based on effective druid level, HD, or none at all. Do I split my bonus with them? Choose who it applies to?

Group rolls - enthusiastically in favour.

ABP - I don't have a strong opinion on this.

Maps vs Theatre - I vote maps. Although theatre of the mind is great, it suffers in PbP because it can take a full day to clarify a detail and thus slows the game a lot.

If you need the odd map whipped up I can volunteer my services as an amateur map maker.