The People's Campaign - Team 1 (Inactive)

Game Master Jacob DeCourcey

Welcome Team 1 of the people's campaign!

Dot

We are number one!

Team One of the People's Campaign ... must. design. commie. style. artwork.

Da comrade. (and with that I've exhausted my knowledge of Russian)

Da comrade. (and with that I've exhausted my knowledge of Russian)

I was going to write up a very pro Team One statement via Google Translate but the translation was coming up in Cyrillic. And I'm too many Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA's in tonight to navigate the process of screencap / crop / upload / etc.

Garreck's player here ...

This is kind of funny, besides Pool of Radiance and some of the old D&D video games, I'm not sure if I've ever played a human character before in a tabletop RPG. And yes, I'm that old that I played Pool of Radiance when it first came out on a Commodore 64.

dot dot goose

I've played almost nothing but humans. I've played a halfling and an air genasi at various points, but neither stood out to me because of their race. Humans are fun. You don't feel pigeonholed into playing a particular personality just because of your species. Two human fighters with the same stats could act drastically different depending on where they're from. Two players playing halflings tend to play them very similarly, no matter their background, stats, class...

Well, I posted a few of my thoughts on how Tiberius fits in already. Perhaps he could have started tracking the slavers before they made it to town, and he stopped in town to find some like-minded people before following them south of town to put an end to them. Going into a fray alone is dangerous, after all.

We could run into the bard after we leave town, shortly before finding the slavers.

Where would it make sense to run into your characters?

Well, I posted a few of my thoughts on how Tiberius fits in already. Perhaps he could have started tracking the slavers before they made it to town, and he stopped in town to find some like-minded people before following them south of town to put an end to them. Going into a fray alone is dangerous, after all.

We could run into the bard after we leave town, shortly before finding the slavers.

Where would it make sense to run into your characters?

I wasn't exactly sure how the campaign was going to start out but I had envisioned Garreck to be at work at the smith's shop when something started. He's strong and knows how to handle himself but otherwise he's keeping his head down (initially) unless he needs to step in and get involved.

OK, here are a few points of standard procedure:
Posting Etiquette
1. Please try to post at least 5-10 times per week. Ideally this would include one post per day, but I understand if you can’t.
2. If you are going to be absent for more than a few days, please tell us in the OoC thread.
3. If you miss 2 consecutive days, we will go on without you. Depending on the circumstances, I will either skip whatever you were doing or take whatever action seems appropriate for you.
4. Please use proper English spelling and grammar. I could be the difference between life and death.
Combat
1. Combat will be carried out on a battlemat that I will post a link to. I will keep the mat updated as often as I post, but don’t wait for me if you can just figure out your move. The rows and columns are numbered and lettered, respectively. Please format you movement/targeting like this:
Roscoe moves from R5 to Q9 and fires on Orc #1 standing on M14.
2. I will roll initiative for everyone at the beginning of combat just so that we don’t waste time waiting on everyone’s initiative rolls.
3. Please include all relevant rolls in your turn post. Do not wait to see if you hit before you roll damage, for example.
Roscoe hits the Kobold with his big ol’ axe. (1d20+3 = 15, 1d8+3 = 6)
Game Mechanics
1. Max HP at level 1, ½ HP+1 on all others
2. Fast experience progression
Miscellaneous
1. Feel free to take liberties and make assumptions. If you want a prop to be available, assume that it is.
2. Magic Items are not available for purchase. They may be found, crafted, or commissioned.
3. Experience will be dished out to the whole party at once, and will be dished out often.
4. Err on the side of awesome. Go for the big one, make that risky bet, swing for the fences. It’s more fun that way.

If you don’t mind, I’d like to also ask a few questions about you, the players.
1. Please take a quick look at this article, and tell me what kind of player you see yourself as. That will greatly help me give you what you want in terms of fun.
http://www.darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/theory/models/robinslaws.html
2. How long have you been playing RPGs? Pathfinder? Play by post?

I will follow up with anything else I need to add or to answer questions about rules, policy, or whatever.

Again, thanks for playing. I’m psyched.

Dannic is always around town doing odd jobs. He can be very flexible in where and how he could meet any of you. He doesn't do much physical labor, but between prestidigitation and his natural charisma he can usually get enough work to scrape by. He doesn't tell people about the magic yet because he's afraid of being run out of town. He knows the distrust most people have of wizards and that they would see him in much the same way.

Garreck's typist here ...

1) A few friends and I have taken a look at this list of player types recently. I'm definitely a Storyteller in both my role as a player and a GM actually.

2) I started playing D&D as a kid back in the good old days ... Original basic rules ... but didn't play much passed the Black Box and Spelljammer. (Always with a mix of AD&D thrown in.) I never played any of the 3e or 4e rules. Just started playing Pathfinder tabletop within the last year and only getting involved with PbP this week!

Question - Do you have a preference for information you'd like to see along with our name in our posts? I've seen a bunch of PbP threads that have HP, AC, Saves, Init and Perception worked in.

I'm a blend between the tactician and storyteller. In PbP I tend to go more to the storyteller side because it's such a good format for that.

Is this how rolls are done?

Initiative 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Attack, damage (light hammer) 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 91d4 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

Is this how rolls are done?

Initiative 1d20 +1

Attack, damage (light hammer) 1d20 +5; 1d4 +4

HAHA! I storked my very first PbP initiative roll with a 1.

...

4. Please use proper English spelling and grammar. I could be the difference between life and death.

I see what you did there.

1. I'm primarily a tactician type. I enjoy figuring out what the best way to approach a situation is, and I try to keep character personality as one of my parameters (so my solutions aren't always optimal, because I try to optimize for what the character would do). I also enjoy messing around with the system and trying things that I'm not really sure will work or not (hence my feat choices, for instance). Although I know how to optimize a PC, I usually don't for the characters I play.

2. I started D&D with 3.5E back in 2007, and I picked up 4E when it came out. I switched to Pathfinder when it was in beta, and have been playing it ever since. I tend to DM more than I'm a player. I got into the whole PFS thing a couple months ago. This is my second attempt at a PbP. My first one (a couple years ago) ended after a couple weeks (In a very unlikely coincidence, it was the same one as TheChozyn. It fell apart once the DM split the party into two smaller groups and the more active people were split up).

For ease of reading, I'm just going to be posting as Tiberius, even for OOC posts like this one. That way you don't all have to remember what alias goes with what.

Jacob wrote:

...

4. Please use proper English spelling and grammar. I could be the difference between life and death.

I see what you did there.

I was hoping someone would notice that. I was trying to think of a really clever example to put there, but I couldn't so I gave up. Then, when I went back to proofread, I noticed that little gem.

Tiberius wrote:

Jacob wrote:

...

4. Please use proper English spelling and grammar. I could be the difference between life and death.

I see what you did there.

I was hoping someone would notice that. I was trying to think of a really clever example to put there, but I couldn't so I gave up. Then, when I went back to proofread, I noticed that little gem.

I noticed it but didn't want to go all "reddit grammar police" about it. Plus I supervise an English as a Second Language / adult education program so I naturally rewrite things in my head.

Tiberius ... Sorry for the split personalities on my part. I'll stick with Garreck when I post in discussion as well.

Wouldn't you know it, the game hasn't started and I'm already retconning =) Earlier I said the parties would be starting on Arodus 7 and 14, but I'm changing it to Arodus 8 and 15 so that the days of the week line up with the 2012 real life calendar. Also, the in-game year is 4712. The reason I'm doing this is because I'm setting up a google calendar for the campaign, and I don't feel like having to convert every date. Apologies to all.

No problem Jacob. That's just bookkeeping. One day difference in starting time isn't going to make a difference in the direction of the game.

Jacob - Do want us to set up our stats in the character name line? (I've seen this on a bunch of other PbP threads.)

HP 17/17; AC 15/T11/FF14; Fort +5, Ref +1, Will +1; Init +1; Percep +1

@Garreck - I don't have a preference as to what goes in the name line. I'm using Kyle Olson's Combat Manager for combat stats and the like, so I don't need it. Although, I could see it being quite handy for you to have a quick reference to the relevant stats, so feel free to use it for whatever you like.

That's fine with me. I see that you kept the campaign starting on an Oathday, though.

I had an idea. The day before this happens, Tiberius comes across some discarded manacles to the side of the road a bit north of town, with indications that the slavers had gone through merely hours ago, probably skirting around town to avoid detection from Andoran troops.

Thinking that the manacles, although broken, could be worth some money, Tiberius would take them in his bag to the town's smith, who could use them for scrap metal if nothing else. Garreck would naturally be there, and Dannic could be around in the area, either at the smith's or maybe is a friend of Garreck.

After using his new coin for a decent meal and a night's rest... or maybe they could decide to go after the slavers immediately and track them through the night... they would all go after the slavers.

Then there's the bard. He could come in at any point, from days before Tiberius arrives in town up until right before they find the slavers.

If you like the initial premise, I'd like to RP it out a bit to see how they actually end up doing things. I'm still trying to get into Tiberius's head.

Edit: I'm trying to avoid assuming things about your characters, just going on the assumption that our characters will have to run into each other and have a reason to go after some slavers. And I like planning things.

@Jacob - 1. I tend to be more of a Storyteller type of player. I won't lie and say that I don't enjoy working with the mechanics to get some pretty good capabilities though. But for me, it's not about winning and getting loot, I just like to try new combinations. No need to worry about power stomping from my end.
2. I've been playing RPGs for over ten years now. My first foray was in a Rifts game. Been playing Pathfinder for about a year now, and I gotta say, I like the game quite a bit. This will not only be my first PBP game, but my first game in Golarion. So I'm pretty stoked.

I am opening the IC threads right now, so we can get moving. I will be less involved to start so that you all can hash out your recent stories. The encounter with the slavers will still be Thursday night, so keep moving towards that. I don't know if any of you have the Inner Sea World Guide, so if you need a name for some city, let me know and I'll pick the most likely one.

I have been parsing all of your information and I'm loving some of the directions it's taking. I'm trying not to get ahead of myself :)

Also, can everyone please switch over to your alias full time and get your description fully up to date with story, friends, foes, goals, and full character sheet?

Thanks

And one more thing:

If it isn't too much trouble can everyone fill out this character sheet right quick and email it to me? It's a form-fillable pdf. Having everyone's sheet in the same format will help me keep tabs on everyone's progress.

@Tiberius - I wouldn't change your feats at all. I think it's a sweet combination, even if it isn't optimized.

I see you got my e-mail, in that case.

I posted Garreck's first bit in the Gameplay thread.

Since we hadn't exactly decided on a starting point I wanted to set something up that could go any direction - Tiberius initially bringing the manacles into the smith for scrap or swinging by to bring Garreck along to the tavern.

Going with the scrap metal idea, since it should spark up a conversation about slavers. If Garreck isn't the type to immediately assume things, we should end up not fighting each other. We'll see.

Jacob - I will have to fill the sheet out later and email it to you tonight if that's not a problem. Have to get to work pretty soon. But I will set up Fell in the wilderness outside of town working his way in, so if I get bumped into I can respond when I get home.

Hope everyone's having a great day. Let's have a good start tomorrow!

This question came up in the other thread, so I figured I'd answer it here, too. Have your characters ready to attack the slavers tomorrow night at start time. The slavers are several miles south of Piren's Bluff back on the road, despite skirting the edges of town. Surely one or two of the slavers would have come through town for supplies if that helps anyone's motivation. Your options for attacking the slavers are to approach on the road from the north, approach from the light forest to the east or west, or try to maneuver around and cut them off from the south.

@Fell - No worries, take your time.

Here is a link to a bundle of google reader feeds for all of the respective threads for both legs of this campaign.

Yay, triple post! Can I please have everyone's preferred color to use for your counter on the battlemaps? Don't pick any colors that are already taken.

Red - Enemies
Blue - Friendlies

I'll go with green.

Yellow? Orange?

Dannic, sorry for "missing" you when you came walking into the blacksmith. I forgot to refresh before posting to check if anyone else had updated.

I'd prefer grey, but brown would be good too.

Dannic, sorry for "missing" you when you came walking into the blacksmith. I forgot to refresh before posting to check if anyone else had updated.

No problem, I can promise I'll be guilty of that sometimes myself.

Garreck wrote:

Dannic, sorry for "missing" you when you came walking into the blacksmith. I forgot to refresh before posting to check if anyone else had updated.

No problem, I can promise I'll be guilty of that sometimes myself.

Oh, the joys of taking 45 minutes to type up a round of action while doing case management for 5 different students.

And one more thing:

If it isn't too much trouble can everyone fill out this character sheet right quick and email it to me? It's a form-fillable pdf. Having everyone's sheet in the same format will help me keep tabs on everyone's progress.

** spoiler omitted **

Sorry I've been slow on getting the PDF back to you. I'm going to finish it up during dinner break. You'll have it by 5 pm EST.

Jacob - just sent you my sheet and got my profile up to date. Everything should be good to go. Also, in combat just assume I'm using combat expertise unless I say otherwise. At least for now. Lastly, I will be slow starting this combat. I thought I was working a mid-shift today, but we'll be busy tonight so I've bee rescheduled. I will be working the night shift. I'll definitely get my turn finished after work when it's real late though.

Oh, and guys, don't worry about controlling my intro. I have to leave for work in a couple of hours, so if we're not set by 6EST, just pull me along. I'm gonna go post in game now.

It took me a bit to figure out that you're Fellorin. We'll work you in loosely.

Sorry about that, still getting used to having to choose my alias. There you go. Also, hope that my set up gives you guys a good way to drag me in.

Alright, I'm rounding everyone up and we're heading out.

Might I suggest that you - in character or out - select a "combat leader" to make large scale tactical decisions for the group so that we don't have to wait and discuss everything before every combat. Of course, if you want to discuss, go right ahead.

I apologize for cutting off your preparations. I wanted to get both campaigns off the ground at the same time. If you would like to finish your preparations, feel free.

To keep things going for the timeline, I took a few liberties with other characters. I'll try not to do that in the future, but it seemed like a good thing to do for now.

Yeah, I didn't want to just GM fiat everyone into place, so I'm glad you did, Tiberius.