The Strangler of the Shadow Moor (Inactive)

Game Master Terquem

Ribat follows Sasithorn and Xor.

Marvin attempts to hold on to the partial message, overclocking their nanites to filter and ignore junk data. Circuitry tattoos all over the android's body begins to glow as excess heat is vented through them, blue light illuminating the room for a few seconds.

Using Nanite Surge to take gain a +4 bonus on any d20 roll.

Intelligence: 1d20 + 1 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 1 + 4 = 10

The unit's database proves to be too corrupted for even advanced search protocols but the android takes it one step further and disables safety restrictions, disabling several important processes for only a few moments to allow more clock cycles for the logic units.

Frig, okay, using the Tireless Logic trait to be able to roll twice and use the better result for the check. If that's alright.

Intelligence: 1d20 + 1 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 1 + 4 = 19

Day 1, Friday, turn 102

As a few of the heroes cautiously approach the low opening and second flight of stairs at the end of the room, Marvin begins to show signs of distress. Their skin begins to glow, and the coppery hair on their head begins to lift noticeably.

Meanwhile as Sasithorn, Xor and Ribat begin going down the second flight of stairs, Tessrimea follows.

Suddenly a voice is heard from down below in the darkness ahead of Xor. It sounds like a young girl

Please, if you can hear me, don’t come down here. There is a machine waiting her that will kill you!

Glancing at his companions to make sure he alone was not hearing the voice below, Diarmal urged his friends onward.

"Quickly, then! A youth is in danger!"

Sasithorn blinks, then calls out:

"Um...might we inquire as to who you are, and why said machine hasn't killed you?"

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15

Wot in moradins stony acres is a ma..cheen Xor will draw a rock and move forward

The blue light from Marvin's circuitry tattoos die out, the android's systems returning to standard operation.

They turn to face Paulina. "Agent Southmiller, the following message has been recovered: Emergency Portable Power Unit , Serial Number AZTR-30014-HJK001 –assigned to starboard maintenance access corridor, level G, Hospital Ship Contagion – due for annual routine maintenance on 2608.144."

Ribat walks forward with his kukri in one hand and his net in the other.

Sasithorn turns briefly to Xor. "You know, something like a siege engine, or a millstone, or even an axe, or" He turns and looks at M.A.R.V.I.N.'s musket. "That, no doubt - and perhaps," His gaze takes in this room, with its enigmatic boxes and lights, "such things all turn out to be mere fundamentals of the tinker's art...."

Pausing only slightly to give yet another perplexed glance at Marvin, Diarmal presses his hands to both Sasithorn's and Xor's backs.

"Friends, the means or purposes of the device can wait. A young lady has called for help, though she - Aisling bless her courage - wishes us to come to no harm for her plight. Let us tarry no longer!"

Sasithorn turns briefly to Xor. "You know, something like a siege engine, or a millstone, or even an axe, or" He turns and looks at M.A.R.V.I.N.'s musket. "That, no doubt - and perhaps," His gaze takes in this room, with its enigmatic boxes and lights, "such things all turn out to be mere fundamentals of the tinker's art...."

Bah...If that's an Axe then I'm a duergar Xor says clearly still befuddled by these strange new sights.

Laht's get movin down this way Xor says indicating the stairs heading downward

Hospital Ship Contagion!Paulina’s eyes go wide, and she moves closer to the box on the floor

Marvin, are you sure your data isn’t corrupted? She checks the markings on the box, and then holds the handle of her flail up to the strange symbols. Then she speaks into the handle, [b]Diana, run a history of this serial number.[/d]

While the other’s have already headed down the next flight of stairs, Marvin lingers behind and overhears a voice from Paulina’s weapon saying quietly,

Serial number – source, Tri-Power Industries, retired, product no longer available for new allocations through procurement channels of the IRS. Searching data base for last known disposition, searching, searching, file restricted

Meanwhile…

When Sasithorn calls out to the voice below there is an immediate response

Another voce begins chanting strange messages. It is a mechanical sounding voice, that cracks, and breaks up at the ends of some of the wordsIntruders detected. Initiate offensive protocol. This terminal access will go off line in five seconds. Self destruction will commence three minutes after verification of no measurable organic life signals. Charging thermal units. Commencing target acquisition in five, four, three…

Xor, Sasithorn, Ribat, and Diarmal charge down the stairs and find themselves in another long chamber similar to the one above. There are more red lamps attached to the ceiling here, and the area is bathed in the same warm red glow. The west wall of this chamber has three curtains hanging over what appear to be cells, but you cannot see what is within them.

At the far end of this chamber stands a monster unlike any creature any of you have ever seen. The body of the creature rests just over five feet above the floor on five, possibly six, legs (it is difficult to tell). The legs extend from the body which is shaped like two huge, shiny, silver colored blows, or wash tubs placed one overturned on the top of another, with a gap between them. Something internal acting as support for the upper bowl can be vaguely seen through the gap between the upper and lower body halves. The bowl shapes are no more than two feet in diameter, and the gap between them is only a few inches wide, but it is from this gap that the mechanical legs of the object extend. The legs look as if they are made from a combination of wood and metal, and are mostly just a series of rods and cylinders. Each leg protrudes from the body with short, slender rod that ends in an articulated knuckle, which then is connected to a piston that rises above the body nearly three feet high making the monster nearly eight feet high over all. After rising above the body each leg then extends to the ground in a series of connected rods and joints. The legs have a decidedly insect like look, almost spider like, but the strange way they are connected to the body is remarkable. It is as if the body can rotate in place while the legs remain where they are. The rods, embedded in the cylinders, are constantly moving, adjusting up and down, the articulated nature of the legs is alive with constant motion, but the bowl shaped body, floats almost undisturbed by the activity. The legs end in three pointed affairs that look like the feet of a giant bird.
The bowl shaped body is not entirely smooth. It is lined with raised ridges and has dark pockets of shadowy recesses. Loose and waving tubes come out of the recesses, travel a few inches across the body, and then disappear again into a different recess. Some of these tubes are made from a material that resembles cloth, and is translucent. Dark green and brown fluids flow through the tubes broken now and then by what look like bubbles of air.

Initiative: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21

When the machine voice goes quiet, the female sounding voice shouts, and it is coming from behind the center curtain.
Run, it knows you’re here. There is some kind of magical, invisible wall that keeps me prisoner here, one that it cannot penetrate. You’ve got to save yourselves, don’t come down here. Don’t look at me, I am hideous.

Round one begins now! I will try to get a map up tonight

Diarmal hefts his bow high, in proud Drasbian fashion. Whatever this creature was, it held an innocent captive in its alien prison. Whatever Marvin and Paulina were speaking of meant little to Diarmal, but he understood the plight of a fellow as any Drasbian should. "I will be doing nothing of the sort so long as this metal beast holds you prisoner."

Ini: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6 QQ

When Diarmal's turn finally rolls around...

With whispers of a prayer to Lady Aisling on his lips, Diarmal empowers himself and his allies with her guiding light.

Casting bless.

To clarify, do I know of the battle and roll initiative as well? Though perhaps a bit late to the party as I'm still behind.

Yes you will hear everything going on down the stairs, the area channels sound in that way. However, if you decide to get involved in the action, you can Roll Initiative, but I must ask you to skip round 1, only so that you don't show up with a good roll and react before those who are on the scene can react

Init: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 1 = 10

Initiative: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

Initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21

I cast Steel Shadows on my turn. It will last 10 minutes thereafter.

That's fair, but I think I'll sit this one out unless Paulina is coming with me. Buddy system! You guys can probably handle it though I'll miss out on XP.

"Data corruption is a possibility," Marvin admits. "However, the robustness of the recovered string is an estimated probability of 98.732 percent."

"Additionally, Agent Southmiller, the rest of the group has engaged an unknown assailant, likely a defense construct. Do you wish to move to aid them? This unit will accompany you whatever your decision, to prevent any single individual from moving alone in an unknown and hazardous environment, as per protocol."

Completely caught up in the mystery of the strange devices, Paulina had not heard the commotion taking place down the second stair.

When Marvin raises the alarm, she snaps out of her thoughts, turns and reaches out for Marvin’s arm, taking him gently, she says

Great Googly Moogly, who knows what they have activated! Come on, there’s not a moment to waste.

And she heads toward the stair
Paulina Initiative: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (15) - 1 = 14

Intiative: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18

Marvin moves down as well, taking out their musket.

Day 1, Friday, turn 103

Round 1…

Sasithorn pauses on the last step, seeing the strange thing in front oif the group, he takes a moment to summon up a protective barrier.
The strange creature/machine, moves forward a few steps. Each leg lifts and falls in a rhythmic pattern, and all the while the body rotates in place until suddenly a side is brought to the front where a channel cann be seen in the upper body. A thin tube like device rises from the channel and begins to glow red. A beam of searing hot energy shoots from the tube toward Ribat
Ranged Touch Attack, -1 increment: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 13

The beam of red hot light narrowly passes over Ribat’s head

The party is up now, except Sasithorn, who will not go again until after the creature goes at the top of Round 2, and Diarmal will have cast Bless this round, which is his round one action.

Wow, that was close. Not sure this is good idea, but I don't really have a lot of options...

Ribat charges the creature, lashing out with his net at the end of the charge.

melee touch attack (net): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22

I hope entangling this thing actually matters :)

Day 1, Friday, turn 103

Round 1…

After the machine fires a beam of searing energy over Ribat’s head, the small fellow rushes headlong into certain danger and throws a net into the air.

The net falls onto the machine, and it begins to have difficulty moving its legs in the full range of motion it needs. The body of the machine spins in place, back and forth, almost as if the machine is confused
Xor looks left and right, but quickly determines this room is going to be a difficult place to avoid that monster’s rays. There is no furniture, no cover of any kind. Perhaps one could hide behind one of the curtains. It wouldn’t stop a serious attack, but if the creature relies on sight to find a target, it might be confused.

As Diarmal begins casting a spell of blessing upon his friends, the sound of footsteps rushing down the stairs behind him can be heard.

Round 2 starts now. The machine will go first, then everyone can act (except Sasithorn, I am posting the results of his action in this post). I'll update the map tonight, if i can

The machine tries to stride forward, attempting to snap the net as it moves

Strength Chek: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8 the machine only has a +2 strength modifier, I am applying a +4 bonus to the attempt because the machine is, well, a Machine, and does not feel pain so will push against the ropes with mechanical force and strong parts

The machine struggles awkwardly against the net but cannot break free, and it continues to try and attack the party

As it moves it swivels around until the tube like object is pointing at Ribat again

Ranged Touch Attack: 1d20 ⇒ 16

The burning hot beam of red light scorches Ribat's arm

Fire Damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Unable to determine what the thing could possibly be, and seeing the injury to Ribat, Sasithorn now takes the only course of action that seems reasonable and launches a bolt of dark shadowy substance from the palm of his hand. The arrow strikes the machine but appears to have no effect

Move to B-4.

Marvin arrives down the stairs after Paulina and moves through the group remaining near the doorway. They take up position and raise their weapon, firing a single shot at the machine.

Musket (Ranged Touch): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23
Damage (B&P): 1d12 ⇒ 12

Diarmal draws an arrow from his quiver and takes a quick step to the side, allowing the allies that have joined them to pass. He closes his eyes and lets the light of Lady Aisling fill his being, then opens his eyes and allows her grace to guide his aim.

Lifting his bow, Diarmal fires.

Moving 1 square down to get out of the line of fire!

Atk: 1d20 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 2 + 1 = 20 -4 if anyone enters melee before I get to shoot.
Dmg: 1d6 - 1 ⇒ (5) - 1 = 4

Ribat steps towards the side of the creature, attempting to find a weak point. He stabs with his kukri and hopes for the best.

kukri attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17 damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Xor will move to within 20' of the creature and attacks witha MWK rock

Chuckin: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4 Ouch: 2d4 + 7 ⇒ (3, 3) + 7 = 13

Day 1, Friday, turn 103

Round 2, wrap up

As Marvin nearly reaches the bottom of the stair, he is already raising the long weapon into a ready position. He strides confidently into the chamber and the weapon is fired

Everyone, please make a Fortitude save, DC 10, or be deafened for 3d4 turns

Ribat sees an eruption of metal and wood, as the bullet of Marvin’s weapon tears through the body. Taking advantage of the disruption the damage must have done to the machine, he stabs at the thing, but his weapon only bounces off the hard metal shell of the lower body.

Diarmal’s arrow strikes a wooden piece of the creature’s leg, with no apparent effect, and Xor’s rock sails through the net missing everything.

Round 3,

The machine struggles to move, and lurches to the left, then the top of its body spins bringing the tube to bear on the new threat
Ranged Touch Attack versus marvin: 1d20 ⇒ 6

The beam of hot red energy passes near Marvin, but misses as the machine continues to struggle with the net around it

Fort save: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24

"Uh, guys, I don't think I can hurt this thing. I just hit it as hard as I can, it doesn't even seem to notice."

Fort: 1d20 ⇒ 6...Oh Oh 3d4 ⇒ (1, 4, 1) = 6

Fort: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10 Phew.

Diarmal frowns. "My arrow appears to have had little effect as well... perhaps our best course of action is to distract it while we extricate its prisoner?"

Fortitude: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16

Marvin steps closer to the wall for a direct shot at the construct, moving swiftly as they insert a prepared alchemical cartridge before firing.

5-foot step to C-5. This puts me at 30 feet away, in range for Point-Blank Shot. Move action to reload then standard action to fire.

Musket (Ranged Touch): 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 5 + 1 = 22
Damage (B&P): 1d12 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Fortitude save: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18

Momentarily perturbed by the thing's apparent indifference to his magic, but making a mildly ambitious mental leap from there, Sasithorn reaches out to one of the arrows in Diarmal's quiver, which begins to emit an ultraviolet lambency.

"Quick! Give that one a shot!"

I cast Black Candle (light) on one of Diarmal's arrows. It will last 1 round.

Without a better idea of his own, Diarmal follows Sasithorn's advice. Quickly setting the glowing arrow to his bow, Diarmal lets it fly.

Atk: 1d20 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 2 + 1 = 12
Dmg: 1d6 - 1 ⇒ (5) - 1 = 4

Day 1, Friday, turn 103

Round 3, continued…

The ringing of the explosive attack from Marvin’s “gun” assaults the ears of all those in the chamber, leaving some shaking their heads trying to drive out the muffled ringing that continues to drown out all other sounds

Sasithorn tries a desperate approach, illuminating an arrow in Diarmal’s quiver, but the glamour infused missile misses the target.

Marvin fires again, and again the room reverberates with the thunderous retort of the weapon

No saves required, either you are deaf from the first save, or you recognize what is coming and turn your head, cover an ear with one hand while tipping your head, or otherwise are not affected

Paulina charges the machine, and swings her weapon at the body hoping to damage it

Paulina’s Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5
Damage if >13: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

But she swings wide and misses

Ribat and Xor have round 3 actions pending

I am a Chuckin: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12

Bonk: 2d4 + 7 ⇒ (3, 4) + 7 = 14

As Marvin's bullet strikes, and ricochets harmlessly off the metal body of the machine, Xor throws a rock which miraculously flies right between the two halves of the body.

For a moment it appears as if the rock does no damage but then the machine freezes in place. It then begins to shudder and shake as bright silver sparks begin to erupt from the gap between the body halves. The machine topples to the side and explodes in a fiery display

Combat is over. Them rocks is dangerous!

And people laughed as I was skipping stones as a child, HA! Who's laughing now

Xor will gather up his rocks

One rock is lodged within the machine, taking it appart to get at the rock gives you a troubling feeling

Hello, are you still alive? Is anyone out there? If you are *sob* please leave now, don’t move the curtain, don’t look at me, I’m, I’m a monster *sob*

Remind me not to upset Xor.

Diarmal does not hesitate in promptly ignoring the girl's pleas, heading to the curtain and pulling it aside. "And leave you imprisoned? Absolutely not!"

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22 Checking out the force field thing that is presumably behind the curtain, as well as any other important details.

Day 1, Friday, turn 103

When Diarmal draws back the heavy cloth he first sees shimmering gossamer like disturbance in the air in front of him. Thinking out side the box, he looks up and down trying to discern the nature of the image distortion and he notices a slim black object, approximately eight feet long on the floor and another one like it just below the rod supporting the curtain. The black objects are flat on one side and elliptically shaped after that. The gossamer disturbance seems almost like a kind of window made of thin glass (and Diarmal has only ever seen glass two times before in his life).

On the other side of the window, sitting on a stool next to a bed is a strange creature. It appears to be a small woman, and she has a look about her that suggest she may be a fey creature. Her skin is entirely green, luminescent, and smooth. She wears a white dress, with only straps on her shoulders. It is a loose garment that does not reach the floor while she is sitting and you can see her delicate feet. Her feet a long, slender, and her toes are webbed. Her face is angelic, exotic, perfect, and alien at the same time. She has short dark green hair that is thick and wavy, combed back away from her face. Her ears are large, pointed and slim. She has a small nose and a small mouth, but her lips are thick and full. Her eyes are like emeralds, glistening and reflecting sparkles of the limited amount of light in the room.

There is a table next to her, and Diarmal only notices it after he can take his eyes away from the green skinned girl. The table has a small oil lamp, and a large ceramic bowl filled with what appears to be water.
When the girl notices that Diarmal has revealed himself, she buries her face in her hands, and cries uncontrollably.

Sasithorn's training as a diplomat clashes a bit with his expansive mage's mind as he tries to ascertain what this being is and why she should be behaving this way.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 1 = 10

"...If I am not mistaken, the Basconde word 'monster' comes from the archaic-tongued word monere - 'to warn.' You did just that for us, and I daresay we are all quite thankful that you should be a 'monster' for us. As for why you fear being looked upon, I haven't the foggiest. I have been many places...I'm fairly certain...and met all manner of beings, but none quite like yourself, and allow me to say, having looked at you, that I would readily place you amongst those whom I would describe as 'works of art'."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

Ribat looks into the room and sees what he thinks is the most beautiful creature he's ever seen. He stares at her for a long moment, then looks away when he thinks she is about to notice him staring. "Yeah, what he said," Ribat adds lamely, unable to make coherent speech come together in his head. Then he slowly tries to tap on the "window."

Diarmal nods, joining the others in attempts at parley. "Indeed, fair lady, do not shy away from our company. We mean you no offense, nor does your fair visage do any upon us. Please - how did you come to this place?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

Bah...Come on out lassie, ya can't be any worse than this thing here Xor indicates the creature our group just dispatched Aid Another: 1d20 ⇒ 17

Day 1, Friday, turn 103

Sasithorn tries, awkwardly to explain to the girl that she has no reason to be concerned, while Ribat and Xor move closer to Diarmal, and the three heroes do their best to convince the girl that she is safe, but the clumsy efforts only cause the girl to cry more loudly and when Diarmal asks how she came to be in this place, her balling reaches new levels of despair.

Finally she wipes her eyes and tells you her story

Aw come on guys, don't leave me hanging like this. I set up a description, there was great role play and exchange between the characters, but now what are you going to do?

I think we might be waiting to see what IT does. It looks like a tough cookie, and unlikely one whose first instinct is to socialize over dinner.

Maybe if you allowed us a Knowledge roll to potentially know what it is?

Only Gwernach has seen the "creature" and he does not know what it is. If he were forced to make a decision on what he thinks it is, he would probably say it is a Gargoyle

When he tried (hilariously) to inform the others about what he saw, he failed, and went instead with a simple "shhhsh" gesture

The other two characters who responded to his attempt made similar hilarious misconstructions about what he was trying to say.

There is no possibility that a Knowledge roll will inform any of you as to what the creature is, even if you did look to see what Gwernach is trying to tell you about.

How long would you like to "wait" to see what IT does?

A couple minutes at most (the use of a notoriously vague term being deliberate) sounds reasonable. Either it will finish its meal and move on, or it will engage us - and if it chooses to do so violently, that will be on it.

Will the whole party follow Yildiri into the darkness at the opposite end of the tee intersection?

I will!

Alright, I think we have a consensus - things are about to get weird...

You might notice the map is not linked at the top of the page

At this point (and I know players are never happy with this sort of thing, but...) you have no idea where you are, or how to keep track of where you are going.

I'm sorry, when did these "mystery robed blokes" show up?

My mistake, thought they were robed but actually just grey (Does this mean the grey lizard like thing was naked?!) Point is I'm pretty sure there is more than just the gargoyle thing lurking about and Gwernach would rather trudge after the more peaceful of the two - based on what he's seen the ugly one do.

This is the ugly one - sorry I wasn't better at making that clear

down with bronchitis, but I hope to be back up and posting in a couple of days

sorry for the delay

Get well soon!

Once again, all I can do is encourage the players of this game to try to talk to one another, ask each other questions, make statements about decisive actions, and engage the DM – it is stalled, and I know no one seems to like a dungeon that isn’t just kicking open doors and killing monsters and taking their loot.

It’s your game

It's not that; it's just that the dungeon's more than a bit spartan. No hints on where to go or stuff to do.

Hints? On where to go, what to do?

You are lost, you have no idea where you are, or how to get back to where you were.

At this point just surviving should be a motivation. And yet, talking to each other about the situation is not an option?

You continue to make this point. I'm sorry this isn't a Pathfinder Adventure Path with signs on the dungeon wall telling your characters what to do, where to go.

The "Spartan" situation should have absolutely no impact on the characters interest in talking to each other about what they each think they should do, where they should go, how they are going to help each other survive. Crap., even an "in my own head" post about what your character is thinking is going on, or how you are going to get out of this mess" might give me something to respond to.

I've been thinking about this a lot, and it bothers me. I do not fault any player in this game, not at all. You have all been patient and kind, generous even in putting up with me.

But the game only moves forward when the characters act as agents of change. You each can chose to engage each other, drive the story forward by engaging in dialog with each other about what you are going to do to get out of this situation or getting your friends to follow you in a course of action

I have failed. I have let you all down by not providing the kind of game you want to be a player in.

I thank you all for your kindness and willingness to try this far, but it is best that the game end now instead of any of you having to listen to me beg you any more to try and learn about each other.

I think a number of things have contributed to this but a slow posting rate is chief and kills most on line forums. For my part, I've been caught up in RL and have not had the time I did this time last year so I feel partly to blame.
There was a driving motivation when we first entered the temple however now that we are lost and separated from Mr. Andersen, the guy who brought us here in the first place, *shrugs* it feels like we started on adventure and got side lined into another.

Thank you Gwernach, and again I fault no one else but myself for the way this game went downhill.

It wasn't clear what you wanted us to do. I'd rather it not end like this, I like my character, and I love playing in a world that ISN'T Golarion and ISN'T just Pathfinder Society with all its strictures.

It was very good for a while, I don't see why it can't continue. We came into this temple for a purpose, but we haven't been able to DO or FIND anything. You're right, it shouldn't just be hack-and-slash, I've had quite enough of that. Nobody's asking for that. I think we've been having a miscommunication problem.

I think that all of the characters in this game are excellent, and all of you should be proud of your characters. But, for me, I can't keep on expecting these characters to engage each other in a dialog of more than one or two posts - each of you knows practically nothing about each other, and it seems you are not interested in trying to find out what is going on in each other's head

Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that - I never made it a requirement of the game, but at the same time I am disappointed, with myself, in that I could not foster this desire in any of you.

I'll try to make a compromise if you are interested.

This game, a "we are lost in a maze of magical portals with no clue about what is going on" - IS NOT working out for any of you.

I would be willing to end this game, and through some handwavium, transfer the characters to a new adventure, something with more robust clues, setting hints, and more monsters to fight, if

and only IF

you, Sasithorn, and the other players agree to put more effort into talking to each other as part of that new game.

You all should know by now that I do not intend to quit these threads, unless some catastrophe befalls me, I'll be here. I am not the most active type poster, but I can make a promise to try better

I want players who want to role-play their characters, and that means talking to other characters more than what you all have done so far

If this is not something you are interested in, if you just want to demonstrate how your character build excels when dice are rolled and in-game challenges are overcome, then I might not be the GM you want to play with.

Think it over - no one here owes me anything, you have all done your best, with what I presented to you, it just hasn't gone the way I hoped it would, and that is on me, not you.

I don't have a problem with how things are but I think we're concentrating on the job in hand rather than getting to know one another at present...

I don't have a problem with how things are but I think we're concentrating on the job in hand rather than getting to know one another at present...

Very good point.

As for me, I'm in the habit of revealing my character via the process of adventuring, and as I've said, I've been suffering an exceptional case of mental decay for years now.

I used to be a FANTASTIC role-player. For one thing, I'm a natural actor (at least, I used to be - I worry I've lost that, too, and I fear for my future and everything I've ever wanted to be and do in life). Ironically, getting involved with actual people is what dragged me down, since for far too long I was stuck in supposed 'gaming' environments that turned out to be actively hostile to anything beyond bean-counting. MMOs were a terrible mistake - good for a couple years, but quickly turning to s+** circa 2007, and taking everything else with it. It dragged me down, and down, and down, and I've been fighting a losing battle as gaming in general has not only formed an organized culture (bad), but one that is actively tilted toward the new wave of LCD types (vastly worse).

I could say much, much more on the topic, but I HAVE been trying to say it for so long (you'll find plenty of it in my primary avatar's post history if you go back a few years), and with so little payoff and so much punishment for my efforts, that by this point I'm just about exhausted.

Yeah I agree with Yildiri, not many player characters sit down to have a heart to heart in the middle of a dungeon or where ever. Doesn't happen to much in real life either - or maybe I'm just weird. I like the idea of revealing tidbits about a character in play however this is largely through action and, as Terq expressed, thought bubbles. Then there are those characters that have not quite grown on me versus those which pop and are a lot of fun to play. Sorry to say, Gwernach is one of those former characters I have going and his posts may not be as interesting.

I certainly did not want to create a debate.

You have all given your time and effort to this game, but it is not going anywhere.

The game thread will be shut down permanently on Friday.

Thank you

I am sorry for not giving you a better experience.