Thirst - A Ravenloft PbP

Game Master Celestial Healer

I will be driving most of the day on Sunday/early Monday morning so I probably won't be able to post. (Assuming I get through the next big storm heading through the upper plains.) So go ahead and play Res if you need to keep things moving along.

Tif's background has been updated for those that wish to get to know her. Mentioned her and 'Kani's past. Also is 20 bolts too many CH? I figured when you said they had a good supply.

She's great. I can see exactly why you wanted to play her.

She's great. I can see exactly why you wanted to play her.

Thank you Rev. I try to make my PCs as much to be around as they are to play. :)

EDIT: BTW did you consider having Angalia grab one of the crossbows the guards dropped?

She's kind of focused on being invisible right now, but it's a good plan. If she survives to pick one up, she will.

Tif's background has been updated for those that wish to get to know her. Mentioned her and 'Kani's past. Also is 20 bolts too many CH? I figured when you said they had a good supply.

20 sounds fine.

Hey all. I’m really enjoying the game so far. Straight into the action with a tense opening sequence, what looks to be an enduring mystery (what happened to Gilbraith and Lenna), and then the posted watchman vanishing on first watch at night. All great. I am also enjoying everyone’s characterisation.

One thing that concerns me a little is the pace of combats. Now, I have enough experience with pbps (including a few I run) to know that pbp combat is slow. Particularly so when, as in our case, we have players in wildly different time zones. This game does seem particularly slow in the combats though, considering it is a new game where (presumably) everyone is eager, and we are at first level where things are usually pretty simple and straightforward and we haven’t gotten into any really complex combats as yet.

It may just be me; I’m excited about this game, so I’m kind of hanging on the next posts. And I may be unfairly interpolating past experiences onto this game (my experience in the past has been that the games that have a slow post rate at the start, whether in combat or not, tend to be the ones that people lose interest in and the game dies a slow death).

If anyone else has any of the same concerns, I have some suggestions that might help speed things up (without requiring an increase in people’s posting rates or time online), with Celestial Healer’s approval. If everyone’s comfortable with how things are, it’s cool, I can be patient.

I'm happy to hear suggestions on expediting combats. One I'm considering is allowing people to post out of initiative, as long as they are all set to go before the next monster's initiative. Still mulling that. Post any ideas or feedback here. Thanks!

I'm not bothered by the current speed, but I'm okay with changes as well in the interest of speeding things up and keeping people's interest. I don't mind NPCing of characters when things move slow, default actions, etc.

What I have done in the past is simply post my character's intentions, her general plan, and what circumstance changes might make her change her current course, and let the DM run with it if they want to.

Yeah, the way I do it in my games is as CH suggests; anyone who’s turn is before the next bad guy can post in any order (sometimes with an If/Then option if required) and the GM adjudicates any issues. This usually speeds things up a little or a lot (depending on the number of enemies and how spread out they are in initiative order), and usually requires only a little extra effort (if any) from the GM and players.

Another way that its run in a couple of pbps I’m in is that everyone posts in any order each round, and the GM summarises everyone’s actions, along with bad guys / NPCs actions at the end of each round, adjudicating any clashes, or giving people an opportunity to re-think their action if something else in the round changes things dramatically. As Jess suggests, it often works best this way if people post a general intention and a few If/Then choices. This usually speeds things up quite a bit, but requires quite a bit of extra effort on behalf of the GM, and often leads to less than optimal actions as people aren’t necessarily aware of what the exact situation will be when they act at the time they post.

A few of the games I’m in do stick strictly to initiative order as we’ve tend to have done in this game, but there is often a hard or soft time limit (12 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours whatever) that if someone hasn’t posted their action in that time, another player or the GM dictates their action, or they are presumed to be delaying. And / or, the next person in line might take their action ahead of the late poster.

Something else to think about, possibly used in combination with one of the above ideas or the way we are doing it now, is that the party and the bad guys both run off a group initiative roll, modified by individual initiative modifiers. This can cut down on the time delay waiting for everyone to post initiatives, and if used in conjunction with my first suggestion can tend to speed that along a little further. The downside is that it reduces everyone’s personal freedom a little bit (I’m usually a big believer in letting people make their own dice rolls).

Also, I’ll add here that I am really liking the spreadsheet maps that you are posting CH, I think they are a great tool and do tend to clarify the action and speed things up.

Let me add a +1 to the positive comments about this game. I am really enjoying it.

As far as combat goes, I like Jess's idea of posting our intention in whatever order we can between bad guys and the GM adjudicating the results in initiative order.

I am somewhat restricted in my post times since I can't post at work. Therefore, it could be 8 - 10 hours between when someone before me posts and when I have my first chance.

Aside from this, I like the pace.

How about this: For initiatives, I will continue to let people roll their own, but with a 24 hour timeframe, after which point I will roll for anyone else. That doesn't seem like it would be too much of a delay, and I don't think anyone would be too bothered if I wound up rolling their initiative now and again if they were away from the internet for a day or something.

For actions, I will try to keep updating the next few people "on deck", so to speak. If you are not up yet, but are one or two spots down the initiative, feel free to post in advance, applying conditional statements as needed. That may speed things up. Be sure to roll any attack rolls / damage rolls as necessary when you post, even if they turn out to be unnecessary.

Thank you also for the feedback and the kind words about my first time GMing a PbP.

As is often the case in PbPs, these introductory encounters can be a bit railroady, as starting "in media res" gives the game a bit more energy initially. Once the party gets its bearings in the new lands (and gets out of those mists, or course), I plan on opening things up quite a bit more. I will be aiming for something akin to a Paizo adventure in terms of the amount of guidance: not really an open sandbox, but with plenty of options in terms of how to approach objectives and enough flexibility to explore the things you want to.

Yeah, it's been great so far. I can't wait to get a couple levels under our belts so that we can mix up our routines a bit. Erfan seems to be doing quite well with that spear, though!

I'm enjoying the game very much, although I'm still floundering a bit with the system. Apologies for that to one and all for mistaken moves, misplaced rolls and inability to remember what Angalia can do.

I'm enjoying the game very much, although I'm still floundering a bit with the system. Apologies for that to one and all for mistaken moves, misplaced rolls and inability to remember what Angalia can do.

You seem to be doing just fine so far! It's one of the advantages of starting at 1st level - there's a lot less to keep track of, and it's therefore more accessible. More important, though, is participating in the story, which Angalia is doing wonderfully.

I think what you have settled on re posts in combats is a good choice CH.

Tordek, I’m fortunate enough to be able to post from work during the day and home during the evenings ... on most days. I’m sure there will be times that it doesn’t work out though, and I’m just as likely to hold things up as anyone else, depending on who I’m after in initiative count and how their time zone and availability compares to mine. I’m definitely not suggesting that anyone needs to be posting more frequently, or checking the thread compulsively for updates at all hours!

Rev Rosey wrote:

I'm enjoying the game very much, although I'm still floundering a bit with the system. Apologies for that to one and all for mistaken moves, misplaced rolls and inability to remember what Angalia can do.

You seem to be doing just fine so far! It's one of the advantages of starting at 1st level - there's a lot less to keep track of, and it's therefore more accessible. More important, though, is participating in the story, which Angalia is doing wonderfully.

I'll second the sentiment Rev Rosey.

The only real thing I have noticed where you perhaps make a few mistakes is the number of actions you can undertake in a round. I don't want to insult your intelligence if you're already getting a good handle on this, but if you'd like any advice in this regard I'm happy to help lay it out for you and see if I can find any resources to make things more clear.

Yeah, it's been great so far. I can't wait to get a couple levels under our belts so that we can mix up our routines a bit. Erfan seems to be doing quite well with that spear, though!

Yeah, even with the additional abilities and options that PF provides over 3.5, first level characters do tend to be one or two trick ponies. And a low level sorcerer that focuses on enchantments is always going to struggle to find useful things to do against things like vermin and undead. But as you say, you are doing damn well with that spear - I think the gnome sorcerer was the most effective melee combatant in that fight!

...The only real thing I have noticed where you perhaps make a few mistakes is the number of actions you can undertake in a round. I don't want to insult your intelligence if you're already getting a good handle on this, but if you'd like any advice in this regard I'm happy to help lay it out for you and see if I can find any resources to make things more clear.

I'm coming off a 4e mindset where you have a move, a standard action and a minor action of some kind (always excepting the exceptions).

It looks as though the same principle underlines PF, with the difference that you don't have a minor action, but you might have a free action. Could you clarify that for me?

Tordek, I’m fortunate enough to be able to post from work during the day and home during the evenings ... on most days. I’m sure there will be times that it doesn’t work out though, and I’m just as likely to hold things up as anyone else, depending on who I’m after in initiative count and how their time zone and availability compares to mine. I’m definitely not suggesting that anyone needs to be posting more frequently, or checking the thread compulsively for updates at all hours!

Emphasis mine above - I didn't take it this way at all. I was just pointing out that with Res, there may be times during the day that I can't post, so I like the idea of posting my intentions early so that things can move along during the time when I can't post.

Rev - I think you are doing great. I've been only playing RPGs for a little over a year now so I will definitely make my share of mistakes too. For example, I totally missed that I was only entangled until CH gave me a slight nudge.

Off topic - I am currently prepping for a new SCAP game and I came across document suggesting a better way of linking

and it mentions your contribution Mothman. What a small world we live in.

Ha! Yeah, I think I jammed with delvesdeep on some of that stuff a few years back. Can’t quite remember what my contribution was, I think the bulk of the ideas were other peoples’ …

Funnily enough I am still running Shackled City (for the same group I was running it for, oh, six years ago). Yes, we play slowly …

I'm coming off a 4e mindset where you have a move, a standard action and a minor action of some kind (always excepting the exceptions).

It looks as though the same principle underlines PF, with the difference that you don't have a minor action, but you might have a free action. Could you clarify that for me?

Sure. You’re essentially correct on the basic principle. Every round you may take a move (or move equivalent) action and a standard action or two move (or move equivalent) actions or one full round action.

In addition, you may take free actions on your turn. There is no hard limit to how many free actions you can take, but the GM (or common sense) can set a limit.

There are also swift actions (which are very much like free actions – you may take one on your turn in addition to your move and standard action, but you may only take one of them a round) and immediate actions (which is a swift action that you can take at any time in the round, even when it is not your turn, but it counts as your swift action for that round).

Just to complicate things further, there are also ‘non-actions’, the main example being a five-foot step – a special movement that you can make if you didn’t make any movement in your turn (although you may have taken a move equivalent action that wasn’t movement) and if you are not somehow restricted in your movement (like in difficult terrain).

It’s all pretty much the same as 3.5; I’m not sure how it compares to 4e, but it sounds like you're right, the principles are somewhat similar (I’m guessing that a minor action is somewhat comparable to a free action or swift action).

There’s a very handy table; Table 8.2: Actions in Combat in the Combat chapter of the core rule book and system reference document (page 183 in my copy of the Core book) that summarises all the major types of actions and what constitutes what sort of action.

The Actions in Combat table is also in the SRD. Link. I'll be honest, I use the SRD for most everything, because a lot of time I'm posting from work, on my smartphone, or what have you, and don't have the books handy.

And yes, the action types are very similar to 4e, especially regarding standard actions and move equivalent actions. Double moves work the same way, etc. The 5 foot step is weird, because you can still use a different move equivalent action in the same round, and there's all those free actions out there. But swift actions in PF really do equate to Minor actions in 4e - except that in PF an immediate action counts as your swift action for the round, whereas immediate actions in 4e do not take away your minor action.

The other tough difference is counting diagonal movement - in 3.5/PF, when you move every other move on a diagonal counts as two. So moving in a straight line diagonally counts as: 5 ft, 15 ft, 20 ft, 30 ft, 35 ft, 45 ft, etc. When taking a more meandering path, you kind of have to remember how many diagonals you have taken, so you know whether each one is a single or a double. That makes more sense geometrically, although the 4e method (always counts as 1 square) is certainly easier.

I actually think that stuff is the toughest to get the hang of as a difference between the two systems (at least, it's where I'm most likely to get hung up when switching back and forth).

On an unrelated note... I hope none of you were arachnaphobic. (Ok, that's a lie. *cackles*)

Nah, spiders are awesome ... although that was certainly a horrifically cool (and nasty) trick to play. I am so going to have to remember some of this stuff if/when I run Carrion Crown.

Apart from the spider swarm, the ol’ dead PC switcheroo is also a good trick. Good way to really put the whole ‘this is a dangerous place’ thing in our faces. I do recall upthread niel offering to have his character die horrifically in the opening scene ...

You got it exactly right, Mothman. Niel has helped me a little with the startup of the campaign, and offered to make a character to die horrifically. Then, when CrimJ backed out, I noticed the party was suddenly without a "tank" PC, so I knew I wanted to recruit a replacement. I offered to Niel first because he had been so helpful.

I'm glad you're finding it fun!

If anyone wants to retool anything about their characters while levelling, feel free. I know it's sometimes helpful after you've had a few combats to look at your choices.

Hit points for level 2! 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Fatespinner once again first in for the level up!

Hit points: 1d10 ⇒ 6

Do we have to roll? Can we take the average rounded up? Or are there any house rules involved?

Nathaniel is levelled, unless you have a particular rule for hit point as Jess has asked CH.

I hope it is ok, I have chosen the weapon and shield combat style from the APG for Nathaniel, and thus my bonus feat is Shield Slam.

Fatespinner once again first in for the level up!

Hit points: 1d10

What can I say? I like levels!

I'll tell you what. Take your pick - either roll for HP or take half rounded up, whichever you prefer.

And I like levels too! I put you on the fast XP track because: 1. Advancement in PbPs can be slow otherwise, and 2. I wanted to start at level 1, but I want you to face some vampires and werewolves sometime, so I've got to get you there eventually.

Res likes to live dangerously.

HP roll: 1d8 ⇒ 3

Edit: Res is done moving up to level 2.

Hellaciously busy today (starting new temp job, running one rehearsal and attending another - excuses, excuses). I'll turn my mind to the mysteries of leveling this evening if that's OK?

Hellaciously busy today (starting new temp job, running one rehearsal and attending another - excuses, excuses). I'll turn my mind to the mysteries of leveling this evening if that's OK?

No problem. There isn't a particular rush right at this moment.

(Although you never know in those mists... *ominous chords*)

Leveled!

Hellaciously busy today (starting new temp job, running one rehearsal and attending another - excuses, excuses). I'll turn my mind to the mysteries of leveling this evening if that's OK?

For a quick overview of level 2:

ROGUE INFO

You will roll your hit points (1d8+ your constitution modifier (zero)) or choose the average value of an 8 sided die, rounded up (5).

You will have skill points to assign. As a human rogue you have 8 skill points + 1 human bonus skill point + 2 skill points for intelligence = 11 skill points to assign.

Your reflex saves goes up by +1.

Your BaB (Base Attack Bonus) goes up to +1. This is a bonus to all your attacks.

You gain two rogue abilities. One is Evasion. Evasion means every time you need to roll a reflex save to take half damage (for example, Tiff's burning hands or a fireball), if you suceed on the reflex save, you're so slippery that you take zero damage!

The other rogue ability is a rogue talent. There's a whole list to choose from. They're kinda like feats, but only rogues can take them.

One of them, Finesse Rogue, lets you use your dexterity for melee attacks - you're precise instead of strong. This only works with light weapons, rapiers and spiked chains - but your daggers are light weapons. This would make your melee attacks much more likely to hit - you might like that one.

There are many talents, there, though, so feel free to look around and see what fits your character. :)

Last but not least, you may choose your favored class bonus. This can be an extra hit point, or an extra skill point. You chose to take an extra skill point last level, but you can switch bonuses from level to level if you wish.

Thank you Jess! That's incredibly helpful.

Think I'm done but would be grateful for an experienced eye being run over her. Tried to up her init (with the trait I failed to take earlier) and followed Jess's suggestion for improving attack rolls. I'll figure out how to do some actual damage once I can get the girl to hit something. Str 10 might have been a bad choice there.

The Str isn't that much of a problem, I don't think. Weapon finesse is a must, I agree, so that will make a difference. Your damage will get a boost from getting some sneak attacks (hopefully you will be able to set up some flanks and such), and sooner or later you'll pick up a magic weapon of some kind that will also help.

The Str isn't that much of a problem, I don't think. Weapon finesse is a must, I agree, so that will make a difference. Your damage will get a boost from getting some sneak attacks (hopefully you will be able to set up some flanks and such), and sooner or later you'll pick up a magic weapon of some kind that will also help.

A mysterious disappearing post...

Oh man, I can't wait for the first time Erfan has to go to a court ball or something.

Oh man, I can't wait for the first time Erfan has to go to a court ball or something.

He's not incapable of wearing clothing, especially if doing so will make his interactions with others easier and less hostile. As it stands, though, he currently sees no need.

Celestial Healer wrote:

Oh man, I can't wait for the first time Erfan has to go to a court ball or something.

He's not incapable of wearing clothing, especially if doing so will make his interactions with others easier and less hostile. As it stands, though, he currently sees no need.

In that case, it could be fun enough just to see how he "cleans up". I'd like to see the party's reaction the first time he puts on fine clothing...

Fatespinner wrote:

Celestial Healer wrote:

Oh man, I can't wait for the first time Erfan has to go to a court ball or something.

He's not incapable of wearing clothing, especially if doing so will make his interactions with others easier and less hostile. As it stands, though, he currently sees no need.

In that case, it could be fun enough just to see how he "cleans up". I'd like to see the party's reaction the first time he puts on fine clothing...

I might just take disguise self and simply PRETEND to wear clothing. :P

Think I'm done but would be grateful for an experienced eye being run over her. Tried to up her init (with the trait I failed to take earlier) and followed Jess's suggestion for improving attack rolls. I'll figure out how to do some actual damage once I can get the girl to hit something. Str 10 might have been a bad choice there.

Looks good to me. Only thing I didn't go over in detail was the skill points.

With regard to strength 10...you will get lots of extra damage from sneak attack. This means you can get away with less strength. I think you'll be fine.

Some easy ways to get sneak attack damage:

• Attack before the other guy goes in initiative. This only works the first round of battle, generally.
  
• Flank the guy with an ally. This works all day long, for every attack, as long as you and your buddy threaten the guy. Flanking requires that a line drawn between you and your buddy goes through opposite sides of your enemy's square.
  
• Feint in order to fake your opponent out. Feinting requires a Bluff skill check in battle versus the enemy's sense motive. Feinting requires a standard action, so you feint one round, and then next round you stab them in the kidneys! You can take the feat Improved Feint (it has prerequisites) to make a feint more quickly, allowing you to feint and attack in the same round.
  
• Some other reasons you can get sneak attack is: You are invisible. The enemy is blind. You are well hidden and the enemy doesn't see you until you jump out and get him.

Most of these are easier to do in melee combat. You only get sneak attack with ranged if you are within 30 feet (6 squares) of your target.

Celestial Healer wrote:

Fatespinner wrote:

Celestial Healer wrote:

Oh man, I can't wait for the first time Erfan has to go to a court ball or something.

He's not incapable of wearing clothing, especially if doing so will make his interactions with others easier and less hostile. As it stands, though, he currently sees no need.

In that case, it could be fun enough just to see how he "cleans up". I'd like to see the party's reaction the first time he puts on fine clothing...

I might just take disguise self and simply PRETEND to wear clothing. :P

@ Fatespinner - I just had a vision of Erfan in lederhosen and nearly choked.

@ Jess - I guessed the flanking thing (it's the same in 4e) and the init stuff is why I took the trait I did. Feint is extremely useful to know about as her Bluff is decent and I'll look into the whole concealment deal.

@ Everyone - Many thanks for all your help. It is much appreciated.

hit die for second level 1d10 ⇒ 10

edit: Woo-Hoo!

Those ghouls were too easy. I'm still feeling out what this party can do. I think I did fail to take into account the fact that you levelled and you have an extra fighter.

Those ghouls were too easy. I'm still feeling out what this party can do. I think I did fail to take into account the fact that you levelled and you have an extra fighter.

Yes, but being undead, you gained a fighter and lost a sorcerer. Currently, there's nothing Erfan can do to undead aside from poking them with a stick and using his laughing touch ability... which would require getting into melee.