First, congratulations and welcome! I enjoyed reading all of your backgrounds and I think we're going to have a great campaign ahead of us. We have a mix of experienced Play-by-Posters and others who are new to the medium who still wrote some great material.
For those who are new to PbP, if you haven't already, please read DH's Guide to PbP Gaming. You don't have to follow it to the letter, but having shared expectations and common formatting conventions help with consistency.
Backgrounds
For everyone, I encourage you to read one another's backgrounds. Your characters may not know this information (and I expect all of you will be able to separate metagame knowledge from in-character knowledge), but you may see interesting hooks and ideas for you to play off of.
And, having read those backgrounds, if you mutually decide you'd like to adjust your backgrounds to have previously run into or known one another (maybe even been captured together), that's fine by me. What I was looking for in the submissions was quality and you've delivered that. Now, if you want to tweak some things to better fit with the final group, go right ahead.
Combat
I run combat by taking both sides' average initiative roll and then having everyone act in a block. So, if the average roll of the party is higher than the average roll of your foes, you get to go first. You are not restricted in the order in which you post. So, even if Bob the Bard has a +11 initiative, Willy the Wizard (with his +2 initiative) can still post his action before Bob. I find this keeps combat moving without a lot of delays and pauses.
Maps
I'm inclined to use Google Slides for our battle maps as well as handouts and images. You should see a link at the top of the thread. Please click on it and let me know if it works for you.
That's it for now. Let me know if you have any questions, and I'll probably have the gameplay thread up later today.
Hooray!
Thanks again for the select!
It's going to be great playing in this group. (Fun fact, it was actually reading through the Blood Red Roses campaign about a year ago that introduced me to and drew me into PBP.)
Timo checking in. Thank you for the invite. Google slides works great. I'll read everyone's entries tonight. I look forward to playing with everyone.
Salutations! ^^/
And with that, I wish you all farewell again, ha. I'm about to leave for a party, but I'll be sure to read up on everyone's background either later tonight or tomorrow. Looking forward to getting this one going :)
Thanks again, Snowheart!
And hello to all. I know JAF0 and I've seen Stormraven on these boards for many a years but never ran with him.
The rest of you I've never seen so it's a pleasure to meet you all for the first time. Should be fun. :)
And the link works just fine for me.
Hi ho! Thanks for the kind words and invite. I'm posting from my phone, I'll post more fully later.
Read Timo, Daedalus and Asturu's backgrounds... Javell, can you post with your character rather than your player persona so I can read yours as well? thanks.
I don't really see a lot of possible pre-game connection with the other characters here (so far) and Inelukii... but you never know how paths may cross... also perfectly happy with meeting here in prison.
Not sure how the prison can actually hold Inelukii, but I guess depression and overwhelming hopelessness can be pervading and at the very least, have him holding his trump card (shape change) til they are ready to take him to be executed, where he thinks he can use it to get away then, though in fact I'm sure, they'll find some way to blow him out of the sky if he tries it, lol...
anyway... glad to be here, and willing to tweak my background to share some connection with others - just let me know if you're interested.
Yup. Here he is: Morthos
Not sure how the prison can actually hold Inelukii,
Ha! Thanks for the heads-up. Just so everyone is starting on equal ground, I can "fix" that. Don't worry though...not going to handicap you long-term.
So, how does my Dimensional Slide work with it? It's a (su) ability, so it doesn't require components.
So, how does my Dimensional Slide work with it? It's a (su) ability, so it doesn't require components.
After reading this: ...to create a dimensional crack that she can step through to reach another location.
I'd have to say you'd need the ability to actually "move" or "step" in this case. If you can't move - seeing how you are chained and it is used as part of a move action - you probably can't use it.
But that's just how I read it. I could easily be misreading it though. I have a tendency to do that fairly often so just ignore me if that's the case. :P
Aside: Although, you could probably use it if you rip your arms off. Now that would be one heck of a way to escape. ;)
That's a new ability for me. But yeah, I'm thinking if you need to be able to take a step, that won't work while you're hanging from a wall. Probably a good rule of thumb is being able to move into an adjacent square, but I'm open to circumstances in which there is flexibility in that.
I mean, if (like many wall restraints) the chains are tying to keep me from moving away from the wall, what would happen if I opened the crack on the wall?
Your hands/arms are still anchored. You can move your feet into the crack, but you're not stepping into it. I think in this context, to take a step means your whole body.
Fair enough.
I read through the backgrounds, as well. I can't see any obvious connections, but it's possible we know people in common.
Morthos/Javell - we were arrested for the same crime... it's possible we were part of the same plot - YOUR plot... though I'd have to tweak my bkgrd a little to not say all the others in the plot were arrested too and already executed, of course... but we could work something out... still, Ineluki could know each other at least a little. let's talk...
You know, I was kinda thinking that too. That would be pretty cool.
Maybe you just thought you were the last one left to be executed? It could be one of those IC things like: "You're still alive? I thought the rest of you had already been executed?" type thing.
Or something to that nature. That way you don't have to go in and tweak anything. Just throwing something out there in an attempt to help keep you from having to do more background "paperwork". :)
Or maybe you were brought on by someone who was brought on by Morthos? You know, this type thing: Morthos knows Guy #1 who knows this other guy(which is you) and so you've only dealt with Guy #1 and you've only heard of Morthos but maybe never really met him so you just assume he's dead. Which leads back to you figuring everyone has already been executed.
Just spitballing here but I'm not the best when it comes to background stuff. It's not a real strength of mine. If you've got something you wanna roll with, heck, throw it out there. I'm all ears.
Personally I think it'd be cool if we actually did know each other because I find it pretty amazing how our backgrounds are so similar. Man that is just wild.
OK, I'm finally on a computer. Hello again! The map link works for me and I'm good with googling it. I haven't read through the backgrounds yet but Price may have met any other Asmodeus worshippers. That would be the most likely connection. If that doesn't fit the bill with anyone - no worries. We can all become fast (and evil) friends in prison.
Now, I'll read through the gameplay posts and drop an intro. Again, looking forward to playing with all y'all.
@Asturu: You don't have any skill points put in any of your skills. Just a heads up.
Price- we might know each other, or even just know people in common. Daidalos was briefly associated with the Asmodean church (they taught him wizardry) but didn't really get too deep or stick around very long.
GM- how exactly do you see my Dimensional Slide working? because if I can open a small crack, would I be able to, say, sever a chain or two with it? From an in-world perspective, I create the crack and am unable to step through it. However, it would still exist if I could, for instance, maneuver a link of a chain through the hole as it closed....
It would makes sense they might have met in passing. As you said, Icarum was briefly involved with the Church. One of Price's jobs would be sniffing around newcomers to make sure they weren't Mitran spies... so they definitely could have met in what Icarum thought was a 'social' context but it was actually 'business' for Price.
Feel free to say hello in the gameplay thread if a good opportunity presents itself. :) Oh, and you would have been introduced to her as Miss Price or Ms. Price. If she has a first name, you and your wizard mentor never heard it.
Busy reading through character backgrounds now. Affyria may be familiar with Price, as she is being sentenced for a botched murder attempt on the Mitran high priest.
Thanks Javel, I'll update the skill bonusses later today.
@Affyria Since we're both in the church hierarchy, that would seem quite likely. Let's go with that idea. :)
I'm enjoying reading the RP! Boy, you're a treasonous lot of buggers.
Campaign Info page is updated. Once Timo has a chance to check in on the gameplay, we'll get things started.
Wha?! I'm not treasonous, sir. I'm an ardent patriot to my own interests. ;)
Hey! I'm no traitor either! I just think that Mitra is not a good divine influence for Talingarde!
I guess I'm traitorous... I want the king dead and the monarchy replaced with someone or something better.
Morthos a traitor?! C'mon now, he... no wait, yeah, yeah that's actually right. Total traitor. No shame in his game. Hey, it's for the good of the people. :)
HA! Without thieves tools the DC for lockpicking is increased by 10. Man that's crazy. Makes sense though.
If I roll a 18 to 20 and then a 4 to 6 with my inspiration die I can make the DC30 check. What are the odds of that happening tho :'D
All, just FYI, I'm posting a lot these first few days to get the scene set and get everyone oriented. Once we get settled in, I'll slow down a bit. Which is to say, don't fret right now if you generally are only expected to post once or twice a day. I do try to pace things to give you all opportunities to act/react to situations around you.
If I roll a 18 to 20 and then a 4 to 6 with my inspiration die I can make the DC30 check. What are the odds of that happening tho :'D
Mostly on a whim, I once gave a 3.5 group an arrow of dragon-slaying. As it happened, against the dragon they were fighting the archer needed a natural 20 to hit... He got it. Then the dragon's save was such that I would need to roll a natural 1 to fail. I did.
It was epic. I kind of wanted to cry but I was happy for them!
Man THAT is crazy. I mean, those are 1 in a million odds for everyone to hit on those rolls exactly. To have it all hit like that is most definitely epic.
I can see how as a DM that would really take the air out of you. You know, as a player and a GM, typically you look for that back and forth, slug it out type battle because it's just entertaining.
The players are sweating it out. The DM is laughing at the players who are sweating it out because they don't know that a 2nd dragon is on its way. ;)
Typically, my history over the years on these boards on rolling dice has been nothing short of horrific. But in one fell swoop I reached the pinnacle of my dice rolling career and it just hit me with a left hook when I wasn't looking.
Check this out: Best hit ever by me. :)
To this day I still can't believe it. I never rolled anything like that in all my days of when I played in RL(around 20/25 years worth).
Just crazy. It can happen, man. You just never know what the dice are gonna do.
Of the four critical hits I've made, two of them were confirmed by a second Nat 20. It was pretty amazing.
That is pretty cool I'll agree.
Fortunately, on your maps there's a magnifying glass in the top left corner which is super handy. So no worries on the better version.
Is it possible for Morthos to reach Price? He has zero ability to Disable Device and fortunately she does. So that's why I ask.
Nope. You all have a minimum of 5' between you. Probably closer to 7'.
But I've already identified one way the group can move the veil. I'm sure y'all can think of other ways, too.
@Price: I plan to tweak my background slightly to link our stories together. My first thought was that we were both part of the plan to summon a devil, but that after being apprehended in the crypts, I escaped, only to be captured later when I went back to try and kill the high priest. Any thoughts?
In my backstory, we did kill one Mitran Priest, it was a requirement for the ceremony... possibly the HP wasn't there and we killed a lesser priest? Then, after our cell was betrayed and you managed to escape the net, you decided to hunt down the HP yourself for vengeance's sake? Does that work for you?
Sounds great. I'll come up with something, probably won't be able to pen it down before the weekend though, got a busy week coming up.
I feel like diet coke compared to you lot. Scientific evil clearly doesn't quite have the panache that rampant murder and bloodthirsty madness has.
What did you do?
Plotted to kill the king. You?
Murdered a priest. You?
Summoned a devil to kill the archbishop. You?
I, uh, wrote a book.
...
It was a very provocative book!
<crickets>
LOL. He forgot to mention he beat a wagon-load of nuns to death with that book!
Check my figures! *WHACK*
It was Peer-Reviewed and well received in Cheliax! *CRACK*
Nice... Also you are in the good company of Galileo.
Hey, I stole a stick!
Granted, it was a very magical stick, but it was still a stick.
@Stormraven: Not sure if you're gonna catch this or not but in Price's last post you put: Reiko. (Stab in the dark says another pc in another game) :)
Thank you, sir... and you are correct! And I managed to stop myself just a few minutes ago from writing Price in my Reiko campaign.
Lol!