I'm good either way regarding maps. I know setting them up can be a pain for the GM, but some players don't like the non-specificity of descriptions. I think it depends on how well the GM describes the environment in combination with how lenient they are on the players when misunderstanding happen.
I'm on board with the GM rolling PC's initiative and Perception checks (or any passive skill checks, such as Knowledge, Appraise, and certain uses of Spellcraft and Survival). The GM rolling saves can save time in certain situations, but most situations can be handled with statements such as "Fort save vs. ## for half damage" and moving on. A save can have a serious impact on a PC, so I say leave it in the players' hands.
I don't have a lot of experience with ABP, so I'm going to abstain.
Map vs Theatre: I prefer theatre of the mind for face-to-face/tabletop gaming. For PBP, it would probably be more effective to use maps.
Group Rolls: I'm with Ashe on this one. enthusiastically in favour
Automatic Bonus Progression: I agree with you on this one.
Can we start the game while we sort this out in discussion.
*enthusiastic bouncing in seat*
I know invites were sent Saturday but I check the forums so often it feels like a week.
Map vs Theatre: Not used theatre of the mind, but I've found maps to be effective enough. I vote maps.
Group Rolls: I'm with you on this one. It's nice to roll once in a while, but not if it slows things down for everyone else. We still get to roll attack rolls and damage, so I don't see a problem with it.
Automatic Bonus Progression: I've not used it, but it looks good (except for certain circumstances). Perhaps use an adapted version for those that want to go for 2wf or have an AC/Eidolon. Also, I would need to know how it affects black blade and Magus enhancements; do they stack?
**Edit** Also, you would need to be careful with encounters with DR/Magic until we are level 4, even if they are CR appropriate, unless you allow the Magic Weapon series of spells. There appears to be no way to get a magic bonus with weapons until then. I often pick up a potion of Magic Weapon at level 2, and use that instead of a +1 weapon for several levels, but if that option is off the table it makes things harder.
Map vs Theater: I think maps work better for complex encounters but that TOTM works fine when for simple ones (e.g., one-on-one combat)
Group Rolls: Definitely. Speeds things up a whole lot. Especially initiative. Perception sometimes works as spoilers (e.g.,
The shady looking urchin is hiding a small dagger in his sleeve.
Automatic Bonus Progression: I really like ABP (hate the x-mas tree effect). I think that proplems with it (like 2 weapons etc.) can all be overcome, and i'm sure there will be various suggestions in the house rule thread on the boards. No problem if we go with ABP RAW though, or with Core rules.
... +1 for a opening the gameplay thread just to dot in if the game's not quite ready to start. It helps to be able to find the thread nice and quick.
I'm happy with the way Blake looks. His appearance fits the description of a Kesadrian
Nevertheless, a verbal description would be useful for everyone,... more than just a head-shot?
... +1 for a opening the gameplay thread just to dot in if the game's not quite ready to start. It helps to be able to find the thread nice and quick.
It's already open. You can dot the thread, and then delete the post like I did, and it still shows up on your campaigns page.
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Ashe Stormwarden - Female Human (Neralan) Swashbuckler 1
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.
Blake Hunter – Male Human (Kesadrian) Magus (Bladebound) 1
No description available.
Lirandra – Female Human (Neralan) Witch 1
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.
Lucatiel a.k.a. Sir Davios of Aquitaine – Female Human (Neralan) Cavalier 1
No description available
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
Tevan is a 5'7", 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.
Something weird is happening when i try to post in gameplay but i'll give it a while and see if it starts working OK...
:/
I had the same problem.
It finally went through though.
done
Storms have taken down internet in my area, posting a hi from my cell phone now that 4g is up. Hopefully will have stable internet back soon.
Okay, so it sounds like everyone's on board with regards to maps and group saves. I will likely set up a couple Google Docs and share them with everyone if you could all PM me a Gmail account that be greatly appreciated. I will also start off a spreadsheet for group blue tracking just keep everything on the same page.
With regards to automatic bonus progression, we had 3 people affirmative, one negative, and 2 abstaining.
Okay, so it sounds like everyone's on board with regards to maps and group saves, so those are both a go. I will set up a couple Google Docs and share them with everyone, if you could all PM me a Gmail account that be greatly appreciated. I will also start off a spreadsheet for group loot tracking, to just keep everything on the same page.
With regards to automatic bonus progression, we had 3 people affirmative, 1 negative, and 2 abstaining. While that is only 1 negative, neither is it a resounding affirmative, so I would like to discuss it a bit further. I definitely agree that it is far from a perfect system, itself being built around a single or two weapon dependent character (as opposed to a multi weapon or no weapon- character), and assumes you will wear armor. That said, if we were to use the standard WBL system, then a multi-weapon character or one dividing their loot with a companion or eidolon would lag behind, just as in the ABP system. This has always been a frustration for me as well Zayne. Gavmania, to your concern, using standard WBL, you should acquire your first +1 weapon sometime across 3rd and 4th level, so DR/magic is actually specifically intended to be challenging to low-level characters (and yes, I would definitely still allow the magic weapon spells)...
So, a thought. Some years ago I ran a low magic game where I created a series of bonuses that could be selected as characters level, with frequency restrictions. This allowed the martial characters to focus more on weapons and armor, the casters on spell enhancing features, and so on. In a sense, they are like a hodge-podge cross between the ABP system and the mythic rules. If I can recover these, would we want to give those a try?
We have a little time to decide on how we want to pursue things as pretty much the only magic items you will see for the first level or two will be potions and scrolls. Well, unless I get inspired by the story, that is....
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So, the current options for discussion is:
- standard WBL
- ABP system
- homebrew ABP/mythic system
I'm actually good with either of these. Each will have pros and cons depending on the character types.
Having said that, I suspect that the ABP system would be more appropriate for PBP for the same reason group initiative was a good choice.
just my 2 cp worth. :)
I am not a fan of ABP but I am not wholly opposed to it either. The problem is still that it does not account for Animal companions in any way. Do I split bonuses? Does it get its own based on effective druid level? Does it move slower? I had every intention of getting the mount magic armor and amulet of mighty fists but neither of those exist in ABP. If we do ABP, that needs to be fleshed out at some point.
But none of this will effect us until at least 3rd level. I just want to get the game rolling.
I'm fine with any of the systems... I can see that ABP does introduce some issues but i think these are outweighed by the benefits. - I think ABP is much better fluff-wise and, in a battle between fluff and crunch, I always go with fluff. If your system balances these out OK then I'm all good with that.
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I'm fine with any of the systems... I can see that ABP does introduce some issues but i think these are outweighed by the benefits. - I think ABP is much better fluff-wise and, in a battle between fluff and crunch, I always go with fluff. If your system balances these out OK then I'm all good with that.
Well said.
I agree.
Soooo...
Game launch coming tonight. In the meantime everyone please send me a PM so I can start sharing maps via gmail! Hazaaa!
Yay! - sent PM.
Just quickly,... Any more info on "The Way" to flesh things out for me?
Post will be later tonight, sorry for delay!
bump.
I've placed Tevan inside the town approaching the Inn. (at least I hope thats where I put her).
:)
Sure is unseasonably cold...
My apologies, things turned sideways at work on Thursday and has had me out straight the last several days. All the state inspections passed yesterday and I was able to receive in my bulk orders yesterday afternoon and more today, so things will balance back out by this evening. Will get things rolling tonight. Thank you for your patience.
Gavamania, can you PM me a Gmail address I can share maps with?
For maps, can you just post the link below the campaign description at the top of the thread?
I don't have a Gmail address, only an E-Mail address. Why not just post a link as Lucatiel suggests? That seems to work just fine.
I you are in the US hopefully they'll give you a break this weekend.
So is this a failure to launch or is RL getting on the way? Just looking for an update.
So,.... is this still on?
No telling.
The map has been linked. Might be waiting on us to place our icons on the map.
I've put mine outside the Inn.
Gang, I am so sorry for my double disappearance. As may have been inferred from some of my earlier posts, I am a restaurant manager. When I posted last Thursday morning about everything balancing out that day, things instead only got worse. Power surges on the electrical grid triggered out kitchen fire suppression system (some of you might have heard of an ansul system perhaps), dumping an ungodly amount of foam powder and chemical into our brand new facility, with no fire to even put out. This lead to a massive cleanup process and meetings with the city and county electrical departments, as well as the building owners, to resolve the system problems that caused it and prevent it from happening again. It has all 'been corrected' now (we shall see what the future holds).
While I am frustrated that these things have happened, I am especially frustrated with myself for not reaching out and updating you all sooner. You all submitted exceptional characters and I am truly looking forward to sharing a storytelling endeavor with you all. I once again want to apologize for having left you all hanging in the wind over the past two weeks without correspondence. I appreciate both the ongoing conversation on here and you all moving your avatar on the map, showing your continued interest. I promise a post continuing play within 24 hours.
Best Regards,
- The Chronicler
Dang, that sounds like a fun time. Thanks for reaching out to let us know the game is still on.
It's good to know your still there, but I'm sorry to hear about your problems. Real Life always trumps a game, and I'll happily wait until you feel your able to commit some time to it.
Looks like there is just 3 of us left.
I'm still here!
I'm still here too... Just waiting.
Well I am done. Almost a week yet again and two broken promises. I could really cut back on games anyway. Thinking about taking up my own soon since I had some friends bail.
Yep. I'm tapping out. Personal emergencies for the GM aside, a quick update on absences and a start date on a cell phone can take thirty seconds. I don't see much hope for a post a day rate. Take care everyone!
Me too,... Best of luck all.
I've already gone.