He doesn't believe in 'game balance'. Gandalf always lets him pass. As a feat, he has Exotic Weapon Proficiency (beard). The city guard often question him, just because they find him so interesting. His dice bag is woven from tarrasque leather. His TPKs end game lines. His blood cures moderate wounds. He once punched a flumph. Yes, you heard me. He belongs to a prestige class whose sole requirement for entry is just being him. ♬ He is indeed, the most interesting GM in the world. ♬
If he or anyone else ever checks, the backpack contains a number of other magical items that do not register as magical until the bag is opened and examined. It also contains some more mundane treasures. I'm posting this here so as not to interfere with the overall flow of the game. Go ahead and make any checks here and then post any PC reactions in the gameplay thread.
Fungus-encrusted backpack - detect magic and spellcraft DC 24:
He doesn't believe in 'game balance'. Gandalf always lets him pass. As a feat, he has Exotic Weapon Proficiency (beard). The city guard often question him, just because they find him so interesting. His dice bag is woven from tarrasque leather. His TPKs end game lines. His blood cures moderate wounds. He once punched a flumph. Yes, you heard me. He belongs to a prestige class whose sole requirement for entry is just being him. ♬ He is indeed, the most interesting GM in the world. ♬
Note to everyone, I am away from my normal computational devices today. I should have an update or two inside of 10 hours (quicker if I cam manage it).
Male Half-orc Brb3/Rng1 HP51/51 AC18(16) TC12(10) FF16(14) CMD18(16) F+8(10) R+5 W+5(7) Init +2 Perc +7 Spd 40 Rage 10/11 Chronicles.
I think Banon works pretty well for a core character. Monterey should turn out even better with the dragon disciple levels. I ran for my brothers -1 as a gnome barbarian/bard/dragon disciple up through Seeker levels and it was pretty vicious.
Male Half-orc Brb3/Rng1 HP51/51 AC18(16) TC12(10) FF16(14) CMD18(16) F+8(10) R+5 W+5(7) Init +2 Perc +7 Spd 40 Rage 10/11 Chronicles.
Sorcerer is probably a better fit. He had to refigure his levels to get the move action bardic performance, letting him get into the fight quicker. And the spell list is better for defenses, not that he needed that as much with his AC getting up there.
Dragon disciple seems popular in Core. I'll be honest, i was tempted to make my main Core character in to one but i went for this guy and his ape friend instead. I'm looking forward to wild shape and Smiler becoming large size :)
He doesn't believe in 'game balance'. Gandalf always lets him pass. As a feat, he has Exotic Weapon Proficiency (beard). The city guard often question him, just because they find him so interesting. His dice bag is woven from tarrasque leather. His TPKs end game lines. His blood cures moderate wounds. He once punched a flumph. Yes, you heard me. He belongs to a prestige class whose sole requirement for entry is just being him. ♬ He is indeed, the most interesting GM in the world. ♬
Gnome Barbarian 2/Sorcerer 2 (CORE) | HP 31/37& | AC 18*^° | T 10° (18 incorporeal)*^ | FF 17*^° (Uncanny Dodge) | CMD 16 | F +8°& | R +2 | W +7° | +2 vs. Illusion | Init +1 | Perc +7 (Low-Light) | Sense Motive -2 | Claws 0/4 | Rage 1/9 | Spells Level 1: 2/5 | Reroll 1/1 | Active Conditions: Mage Armor(*), Rage(°), Shield(^)- Con Damage: 2(&)
Going on a business trip, leaving today and won't be back til Friday evening (USA Eastern Time). Will still be able to post but want people to be aware about possible slowness, and leave tactics just in case.
Tactics: Just hit it! Probably won't rage if I'm being botted. Look under the Current Attacks spoiler in his profile for details! (He's out of Claws but can still use his weapons)
I was unfortunately left without internet for a couple of days due to a technical fault in my local area. This was extra bad timing as i'd took a couple of days off work so couldn't even post there. I also wanted to spend some time prepping for a home game i was running yesterday... I clearly take the internet for granted when i prep as i did't realize how much i rely on it until it was unavailable to me!
I've been told that everything should now be working fine now (crosses fingers for luck) so i'll get myself caught up and post in gameplay very soon.
He doesn't believe in 'game balance'. Gandalf always lets him pass. As a feat, he has Exotic Weapon Proficiency (beard). The city guard often question him, just because they find him so interesting. His dice bag is woven from tarrasque leather. His TPKs end game lines. His blood cures moderate wounds. He once punched a flumph. Yes, you heard me. He belongs to a prestige class whose sole requirement for entry is just being him. ♬ He is indeed, the most interesting GM in the world. ♬
I know the feeling, I was without power for the first half of the week.
He doesn't believe in 'game balance'. Gandalf always lets him pass. As a feat, he has Exotic Weapon Proficiency (beard). The city guard often question him, just because they find him so interesting. His dice bag is woven from tarrasque leather. His TPKs end game lines. His blood cures moderate wounds. He once punched a flumph. Yes, you heard me. He belongs to a prestige class whose sole requirement for entry is just being him. ♬ He is indeed, the most interesting GM in the world. ♬
He doesn't believe in 'game balance'. Gandalf always lets him pass. As a feat, he has Exotic Weapon Proficiency (beard). The city guard often question him, just because they find him so interesting. His dice bag is woven from tarrasque leather. His TPKs end game lines. His blood cures moderate wounds. He once punched a flumph. Yes, you heard me. He belongs to a prestige class whose sole requirement for entry is just being him. ♬ He is indeed, the most interesting GM in the world. ♬
As noted I am the GM and act as narrator, guide, and judge in the games I run. Everyone else here is a player and is in charge of their character alone. I describe the scene (in this case in text and images) and everyone else gets to respond as they think their character might. I try not to interfere with character's actions any more than I have to. They are your characters. I figure I have to be responsible for the rest of the game world and everyone else has single character and maybe a cohort and maybe a mount to deal with theoretically allowing them much more time/energy/thought to develop that single character and possible cohort than I do developing any one single NPC or room or scene.
I figure this particular discussion goes back to Theodic leaping through the aura of cold surrounding the brown mold a room ago. If not let me know.
When I am GMing for a real-life in-person table it is my goal to every once in a while to sit down and shut up and allow the players time to talk/argue/converse/politic/role-play amongst themselves.
In most Play-by-Post I don't feel much different about that. And if necessary I'll wait, or ask for clarity and then wait. This however is a timed event.
Soat one point everyone in the group allowed Durvak (the cleric!) to wander around a moldy minefield room mostly by himself (poor lamb). Now minefield rooms (those thick with hidden hazards and secret spaces) are naturally difficult to adjudicate in a PbP. People have to actually move their own tokens and possibly draw a path using the tools. This is the reason why I am always asking if people have the appropriate app on their computer or phone (Google Slides). Now when every moves up to the edge of the molds aura of coldness and then hears sees their buddy fall down into a pit whose depth they cannot fathom from their position there is a decision to make: they can rush back and retrace his path through the minefield or say "screw it" and "I'm jumping through". As no one said in their description of their action, nor drew a Family Circus-like path indicating their preferred walkway, I was left with a few possibilities. Ignore the threat, hand wave it and say the party did something to deal with it, or leave it there (because it was still there) and let the dice decide (as they do in these sorts of games). I went with a Wisdom check (DC 8). In every case beside Durvak's no one had experienced the biting cold of the brown mold and so what's a quick jump of 5 feet going to do, right? I figured this method explains real life things like base jumping and the Polar Bear Club.
Now there is an argument to be made that when people said (paraphrased): "I rush to the pit to see to Durvak," that I could have said: "How?" but that seemed a bit anti-climactic as well as leading. And given the session's time limit I did not want waste it on discussing what should be a split-second decision.
That's my side of it. That on particular it anyway.
I'd like to add that i am personally fine with how the game has been going. I've asked questions about Smiler and left some things up to GM discretion a couple of times and i think you (GM) have been fair and i'm happy with what happened.
M Init +3; Senses Perception +7 Defense AC 12, touch 11, flat-footed 10 (+1 Dex) hp 36 (3d6+8) Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +4 Ini +3
So in a timed event you find it acceptable to screw over your players that way. I see and then deny them the ability to make a save when before you had allowed it. Okay.
He doesn't believe in 'game balance'. Gandalf always lets him pass. As a feat, he has Exotic Weapon Proficiency (beard). The city guard often question him, just because they find him so interesting. His dice bag is woven from tarrasque leather. His TPKs end game lines. His blood cures moderate wounds. He once punched a flumph. Yes, you heard me. He belongs to a prestige class whose sole requirement for entry is just being him. ♬ He is indeed, the most interesting GM in the world. ♬
Theodic wrote:
....then deny them the ability to make a save when before you had allowed it.
???? I think I'm missing something here. Where exactly was this?
M Init +3; Senses Perception +7 Defense AC 12, touch 11, flat-footed 10 (+1 Dex) hp 36 (3d6+8) Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +4 Ini +3
He got hit by the swarm twice. The first he got the opportunity to make the save, the second time you made the save for him. If that was what had happened in the past I would have been okay with it but all of a sudden there was a change of who was making saves.
He doesn't believe in 'game balance'. Gandalf always lets him pass. As a feat, he has Exotic Weapon Proficiency (beard). The city guard often question him, just because they find him so interesting. His dice bag is woven from tarrasque leather. His TPKs end game lines. His blood cures moderate wounds. He once punched a flumph. Yes, you heard me. He belongs to a prestige class whose sole requirement for entry is just being him. ♬ He is indeed, the most interesting GM in the world. ♬
Theodic wrote:
He got hit by the swarm twice. The first he got the opportunity to make the save, the second time you made the save for him. If that was what had happened in the past I would have been okay with it but all of a sudden there was a change of who was making saves.
Alright so the party got swarmed here (Tuesday at 2pm)--where I forgot to mention the "distraction" as a save and only mentioned the save vs Str-sapping poison. When Banon (who was probably expressing what my friends call his "Awful Neutral" tendencies--it's a GM/rules lawyer thing) mentioned distraction in his post I amended myself and added distraction here (Tuesday at 6 pm).
Distraction basically gives a victim the nauseated condition for one round, which goes like this wrote:
Creatures with the nauseated condition experience stomach distress. Nauseated creatures are unable to attack, cast spells, concentrate on spells, or do anything else requiring attention. The only action such a character can take is a single move action per turn.
By the time I checked back everyone had in text and by moving their own token indicated their actions--my guy (makes or doesn't make their saves--plural now) and moves away, except Theodic. Theodic makes one save--which to my way of thinking was understandable given the initial post and I took it for his poison save. Since he wasn't taking an action (there's nothing, but a save in the post and no indication of anything else, and he was still in the same spot in the swarm on the map--I reloaded the page just to make sure I was seeing things right) I proceeded with the next round, thinking: "Joy. That doesn't tell me much of anything. Does he want to stand there? I mean it's clever, he's basically anchored the swarm to one spot, rather than risking the chance it catches up to Monterey the guy with burning hands. What idiot swarm runs away from free food?
I'll admit that time was a consideration too.
Later, after Theodic posted he had made the save (something I had already given him credit for) and moved I checked the map again and he had moved by that point, but remained close enough that he would have been one of the three most obvious swarm targets in the room, and so I stuck with my original interpretation of things and that swarm (which likes electricity anyway) would come after him.
He doesn't believe in 'game balance'. Gandalf always lets him pass. As a feat, he has Exotic Weapon Proficiency (beard). The city guard often question him, just because they find him so interesting. His dice bag is woven from tarrasque leather. His TPKs end game lines. His blood cures moderate wounds. He once punched a flumph. Yes, you heard me. He belongs to a prestige class whose sole requirement for entry is just being him. ♬ He is indeed, the most interesting GM in the world. ♬
He doesn't believe in 'game balance'. Gandalf always lets him pass. As a feat, he has Exotic Weapon Proficiency (beard). The city guard often question him, just because they find him so interesting. His dice bag is woven from tarrasque leather. His TPKs end game lines. His blood cures moderate wounds. He once punched a flumph. Yes, you heard me. He belongs to a prestige class whose sole requirement for entry is just being him. ♬ He is indeed, the most interesting GM in the world. ♬
Here comes the BOON!
Come on snake-eyes (1s) or Natches (20s)!
Alright, on your next post here in discussion roll a digital d20 (dd20?) and hope for a 1 or 20. To be clear if you don't, I'm rolling for you, and I suck at this particular portion of the convention games (EDIT: as demonstrated below). If you hit the jackpot roll a d4 to determine which possible boon you got.
He doesn't believe in 'game balance'. Gandalf always lets him pass. As a feat, he has Exotic Weapon Proficiency (beard). The city guard often question him, just because they find him so interesting. His dice bag is woven from tarrasque leather. His TPKs end game lines. His blood cures moderate wounds. He once punched a flumph. Yes, you heard me. He belongs to a prestige class whose sole requirement for entry is just being him. ♬ He is indeed, the most interesting GM in the world. ♬
I'll give Durvak a couple more hours to check in on the gameplay thread and then I'll move us along.
He doesn't believe in 'game balance'. Gandalf always lets him pass. As a feat, he has Exotic Weapon Proficiency (beard). The city guard often question him, just because they find him so interesting. His dice bag is woven from tarrasque leather. His TPKs end game lines. His blood cures moderate wounds. He once punched a flumph. Yes, you heard me. He belongs to a prestige class whose sole requirement for entry is just being him. ♬ He is indeed, the most interesting GM in the world. ♬
Banon wrote:
[dice=BOON!] = 15 *high fives*
**Sympathy**
I wouldn't worry about it too much. I bet you one of the boons gives your character the ability to wear a very sad-looking duck-shaped hat that inflicts a -2 morale penalty on carousing checks. There's probably one that gives you an obnoxious mother-in-law follower that you can't trade away, and another that gives you scurvy.
He doesn't believe in 'game balance'. Gandalf always lets him pass. As a feat, he has Exotic Weapon Proficiency (beard). The city guard often question him, just because they find him so interesting. His dice bag is woven from tarrasque leather. His TPKs end game lines. His blood cures moderate wounds. He once punched a flumph. Yes, you heard me. He belongs to a prestige class whose sole requirement for entry is just being him. ♬ He is indeed, the most interesting GM in the world. ♬
That explains the little granny babushka. Though I will say this: it is no sad duck hat. Nor is it the luxurious clam-strewn beard.
I'd like to thanks Smiler for all his support over the last few missions. I wouldn't have won this boon without my primate pal's help. I'll remember all my fellow adventurers when i'm a higher level and turn into a tiger. Thank you all!
He doesn't believe in 'game balance'. Gandalf always lets him pass. As a feat, he has Exotic Weapon Proficiency (beard). The city guard often question him, just because they find him so interesting. His dice bag is woven from tarrasque leather. His TPKs end game lines. His blood cures moderate wounds. He once punched a flumph. Yes, you heard me. He belongs to a prestige class whose sole requirement for entry is just being him. ♬ He is indeed, the most interesting GM in the world. ♬
Volar Loken wrote:
BOOM CONFIRMED!
I'd like to thanks Smiler for all his support over the last few missions. I wouldn't have won this boon without my primate pal's help. I'll remember all my fellow adventurers when i'm a higher level and turn into a tiger. Thank you all!
Volar, PM me with your email so I can make sure you get your boon.
He doesn't believe in 'game balance'. Gandalf always lets him pass. As a feat, he has Exotic Weapon Proficiency (beard). The city guard often question him, just because they find him so interesting. His dice bag is woven from tarrasque leather. His TPKs end game lines. His blood cures moderate wounds. He once punched a flumph. Yes, you heard me. He belongs to a prestige class whose sole requirement for entry is just being him. ♬ He is indeed, the most interesting GM in the world. ♬
That's a wrap!
I should have Chronicles together in the next day or two.
