Allow me to welcome those of you who have been admitted. While it’s no secret that I think everyone posted brilliant characters, yours are among my favourites (with some others being admitted in Group 2).
I shall keep this short so that we can get underway. I am not looking to bombard you with rules about how to play your characters, how to post here, or so on. I expect that most of you will behave as adults. No team killing, no fighting between players. If characters are going to argue, awesome. But don’t make it personal.
Everyone should please try to post at least once a day. though there's definitely something to be said for quality over quantity. Also, if you will be away for more than a day, let me know so that I can make appropriate plans to control your character. If you go away without letting me know, I will DM you anyway, but I will not be happy about you slowing down the game. I do not want to leave anyone behind, but I have seen many games fall because of single players. I'm gonna try my best not to let that happen.
The most important thing is to communicate with me. I am pretty understanding and, let’s face it, I am here to put on a great game, not to berate you for not giving me all of your free time. I want to make adjustments based on what you guys are or are not enjoying and what your speed and styles are. Please feel free to contact me about absolutely anything.
Oh, and your characters will level up whenever I feel like it, because I hate keeping track of XP. I am going to try to make this a relatively cinematic experience rather than getting all caught up in the rules. I believe in the GM approach of saying “Yes, but” to players. If you have an awesome plan, I don’t care how much it bends the rules, I’m going to do what I can to make it happen.
Alright, now that we have that out of the way, let’s do a roll call and kill some b!!~!es.
Shishka
Rellen Mar
Sznek
Edgar Ripley
Kibrenest
Oh, and so that you don't have to jump all the way back to the Recruitment thread for it, here's all that information about the area of Elsir Vale, as well as the map.
During a large war close to 200 years ago, a savage horde of goblins out of the Wyrmsmoke Mountains burned the capital Tamran. Although the Rhestilor Army managed to kill many of the goblins, Tamram itself had to be abandoned. The city that had been built on piers and canals fell into disrepair and begun sinking into the marshes.
While Rhestilor won the battle against the goblins, the strain was too much on the kingdom and it broke apart. Since the divide, many of the local towns have taken to looking after themselves. They are generally on relatively friendly terms with each other and have established trade routes, but they are independent and very segregated.
Canorate: A trade city located on the shores of a river leading to Lake Encarthan, Canorate is the largest community in the region. It’s the first bit of civilization that one approaches when arriving from either the south or east. Canorate is ruled by a Temple Council, and rumours say that it even has a supremely powerful Arcane Spellcaster who is paid a fortune to safeguard the city from magical attacks. The city itself is built with a circular layout that combines architectural beauty with sensible defense. The very center of town features a “Sweet Orchard” section where only the wealthiest of citizens live. Commoners need work or travel permits to even gain access. Population: 11,600.
Skelt: The town of Skelt is famous for three things. There is a road to the west known as the Dwarfroad that was forged through the mountains, leading directly to the port town of Korsova. North of Skelt is the Elsir River. The river itself is at the bottom of a wide chasm that splits the region. The town of Skelt has an elevator that goes down to the river, where it uses a ferry system for transportation of people and supplies over to Vellumis. Slightly north of Skelt is Skull Gorge Bridge, which goes over the river, leading north to the town of Urgir. Population: 5,400.
Vellumis: A small town built on Lake Encarthan. It’s known for woodcutting the northen Fangwood, and also for papermarking. Vellumis is one of the oldest cities in the area, and while it was once a beautiful city of marble and domed buildings, it has recently come under rule by the Trask clan, who are generally seen as brigands by the other rulers. Population: 6,200.
Kraggodan: Not much is known about Kraggodan, the Dwarven city located near the southern end of the Mindspin Mountains. The Dwarves were twice hired by the Kingdom in the old days, both to build the bridge north of Skelt and to make the Dwarfroad passage through the mountains. While they now have a good trade relationship with Brindol, they generally keep to themselves.
Blackfens: Lake Encarthan's southwestern shore gives way to vast wetlands known as the Blackfens. It’s more of a marsh than a swamp, which has been growing wild since Tamran was abandoned. The population of monstrous denizens in the area has been on the rise, but their growth has been somewhat slowed by a small and secretive group of Tengu known as the Tiri Kitor.
Korsova is a huge port city, governed by a charter that divides responsibility between several magistrates, arbiters, and a monarchy of kings and queens.
The Tornwastes is the name given to the desert west of the Mindspin Mountains. It’s largely seen as uninhabitable with little reason to ever go there. There are some ancient ruins that attract explorers and archaeologists, but it’s seen as one of the more dangerous places to lead expeditions.
Kaer Maga is the only city in the Thornwastes and is perched on the southern edge of the desert, on a high rise that overlooks the lands to the south. The city itself is built on the ruins of an immense and mysterious fortress. It’s an incredibly cutthroat and dangerous city, with no established government whatsoever. Residents often murder travelers or even raid the city of Jangerhoff.
Fangwood: The Fangwoods are sprawling forests that separate Skelt and the ruins of Tamran. Given their massive size, not much is known of what goes on in them. There are rumours of strange beasts, and even thriving tribes. It is said that the Tiri Kitor reside in a part of the woods.
Nimon Gap / Terrelton / Talar: These are all very small villages that are built along the rivers between Skelt and Brindol. Many of them are so tiny that they don’t even have established governments or things as simple as Inns. Individuals will sometimes let travelers stay with them for a small fee, and most of the residents make their livings by farming, raising livestock, or hunting in the Fangwood.
hello check in just need to update the profile.
Yes, absolutely. Include everything in it. Use Spoiler Tags to separate things into blocks so that it's readable.
Was planning to start tonight, but since you guys have a bit more to do on your profiles and the others haven't checked in yet, I'll shoot for starting in the morning.
Sniiff... sniff
I ssmell a gnome...
Oh... oh my. Thiss will be interessting. And... dear Ssara.. That's a goblin over there. My, we shall have an interessting time, shan't we my good folkss? Sso, have you heard of Kibrenest the fine delicacy dealer? Perhapss you would like a ssmall taste of what I can do? Have a great elixser right here, makes you feel right nice.
Checking in, delighted to have got in and really looking forward to the game. Posting once a day will be no problem, though the when tends to vary greatly as I work shifts - tend to work late on Saturdays so just got back.
We seem a pretty disparate group, and I understand we are starting off already together do we have an idea of why we are a group? I figure Rellen could easily have ended up as part of an oddball group because of Arrow - his hippogriff - and his poor social skills.
Perhaps something as simple as we'd been hired together previously and finding we made a good team decided to continue on looking for further work, etc., together?
Sniiff... sniff
I ssmell a gnome...
Oh... oh my. Thiss will be interessting. And... dear Ssara.. That's a goblin over there. My, we shall have an interessting time, shan't we my good folkss? Sso, have you heard of Kibrenest the fine delicacy dealer? Perhapss you would like a ssmall taste of what I can do? Have a great elixser right here, makes you feel right nice.
Elixier? what does it do? does it taste like cherry she grabs it and drinks it before he even answers
That one iss meant to clear one's ssinussess. And you there, does the beaked.... thing... eat koboldss? I would mosst scertainly hope not. I don't plan on being anyoness ssupper.
Rellen glances at Arrow and the great black hippogriff emits a curiously avian snort,
"Nnn n, probably nn won't. I buy g go g g, animals and we h huh, we hunt. Arrow will not b b bother a comrade," Rellen manages, clearly uncomfortable as eyes turn to him, his fingers drumming upon his bow, while his left hand is buried in the thick midnight feathers around the hippogriff's neck.
Workss for me. You look familiar... are you from Korvossa? Ssomething lookss familiar about you.
Oh goodness I'm excited! :D
Just so you guys know, I'm on the east coast of the US, and my hours of operation tend to be about 4am - 9pm EST. Weekends are more like 6am - 11pm.
We seem a pretty disparate group, and I understand we are starting off already together do we have an idea of why we are a group? I figure Rellen could easily have ended up as part of an oddball group because of Arrow - his hippogriff - and his poor social skills.
While RHOD is certainly written that the players already know each other, I'm not doing that. You all kind of have different backstories that put you in different places, so I'm going to start it just before you meet each other, so that we can get some solid character introductions happening and I can laugh my head off when half of you have prejudices against the other half.
As I'll explain in the first gameplay post that I'm making momentary, there's a possibility that Shishka and Kibrenest know each other, and it's also possible that Rellen has heard of Sznek, since the little goblin has reached a degree of fame.
Ripper here. He's at least playable now, if you want me to flesh out specific characters in his backstory (i.e. other clerics from the temple or where specifically he's residing) I can work on that too, but I wanted to leave it a little flexible to make things easier on you and to give you more room to introduce stuff.
You can certainly add some in through posts if you want to. Flexible is definitely good, but always remember that I'm not the only one here telling a story. You should put in what you want to about your character, including relationships, and I'll work with it.
(Also, is it too late to make a shift to Ripper? I'm thinking of giving him Improved UNarmed Strike as a feat instead of "Warrior Priest." Being able to fight without a weapon seems important for someone who grew up scrapping tooth and nail.)
Uhh, no that should be fine, though I would think that Warrior Priest is more beneficial.
Sznek report for duty. Longshank busy smoking stinky green so he not let Sznek on the internet... silly Longshank!
Now Yorrick look at Sznek profile and say if Sznek change his crunch so he like Sznek!
Sznek report for duty. Longshank busy smoking stinky green so he not let Sznek on the internet... silly Longshank!
Now Yorrick look at Sznek profile and say if Sznek change his crunch so he like Sznek!
Just drop that +2 Dex belt like we had talked about. Only Rellen has an attribute above a 16 and his is only an 18. If I'm concerned that it weakens you too badly, I'll just have it drop for you in an early encounter. I'm just wary of you starting too powerful because it creates a bucket of work for me to adjust every single encounter.
Ah, yes, good question. Drop a spoiler tag into the first post of the day to take care of it. Just retcon it in with your next post on this occasion.
Trying to figure out how to show Kibrenest's accent is harder than I thought it would be, here are my thoughts so far, and anyone can chime in about it:
I'm figuring any "soft s-sound" letters with a C will be shown with a Z, while most "S" containing words will have an extra s as he holds the sound longer. He's not a native speaker of common, so he still reverts to some draconic when he needs to. Also, to avoid the word "as" to refer to a type of mule/donkey, I will be using "az" instead.
Did Sznek's equipment. Why are you killing poor hapless goblins?
Hobgoblins invaded the veil previously and now an armed - I assume - group of them is moving towards Skelt. I think it's pretty reasonable to treat them as hostiles.
Hobgoblins... dispicable maggots!
I am so looking forward to having everyone grouped together. Managing three separate distances/positions sucks.
Nearly 50 posts and I still don't have everyone together. This is going a little differently than I had planned.
I'm a little confused by how you've outlined the surprise round. You seem to be saying that the hidden people will get two surprise rounds? That's actually bad for them as they would basically loose an action. Or am I just getting confused - as I suspect.
Can I assume the hobgoblins are wearing heavy armor or carrying shields if a 15 misses their flatfooted AC? Can we see what kind of armor they wear? I'll do things differently from now on if they are all wearing fullplate or some such.
I'm a little confused by how you've outlined the surprise round. You seem to be saying that the hidden people will get two surprise rounds? That's actually bad for them as they would basically loose an action. Or am I just getting confused - as I suspect.
Yeah, I suspected even as I was writing it that it wasn't going to be clear enough.
For the surprise round: You, Kibrenest, and Shishka get to take actions. You shot at the hobgoblins. Which means that if they choose to use them, Kibrenest and Shishka both still have actions in the surprise round.
Then everyone has an action for what actually comprises Round 1.
Can I assume the hobgoblins are wearing heavy armor or carrying shields if a 15 misses their flatfooted AC? Can we see what kind of armor they wear? I'll do things differently from now on if they are all wearing fullplate or some such.
Christ, I am so out of it today. Those that are carrying swords also have heavy shields. They are wearing medium armour (Chainmail, to be precise.)
Ah, hmm, think I'll keep deadly aiming then and just aim at those who go for their bows. Of course my main plan is to roll higher than a 4!
Nearly 50 posts and I still don't have everyone together. This is going a little differently than I had planned.
but many of those posts were enjoyable inter-character interactions and as long as we are having fun that is all that matters.
I for one like Shishka (she may not be the most powerful out there but she is fun to be around) I just need to work on how to post her perform comedy along with her mockery ability.
Hmmm, yes I've kinda just been making assumptions about distances because I'm excited to kick off, but we could use some rough distances.
I'm good with how the pacing is working. We seem to be getting together quite well. Although Edgar could use a profile (please?). Other than that I think we're very good going forward.
Let's see how deadly this combat ends up... this is a lot of hobgoblins... and I really want to know what that DC 25 perception check says :(
Not sure whether Sznek would actually want to get involved on the PC side of thing here normally. I mean I kind of have to for this to come together just can't really come up with a good IC reason why he should...
Ah, hmm, think I'll keep deadly aiming then and just aim at those who go for their bows. Of course my main plan is to roll higher than a 4!
Yeah, they aren't really all that powerful, provided you don't botch the attack rolls. :P
but many of those posts were enjoyable inter-character interactions and as long as we are having fun that is all that matters.
That's true, as long as you guys are enjoying it, I'm definitely not complaining.
I still don't know if Edgar is coming in from a flanking position or not. I am kind of envisioning him coming up on the rear of the marching army.
Yup, that's exactly where he's coming from.
Not sure whether Sznek would actually want to get involved on the PC side of thing here normally. I mean I kind of have to for this to come together just can't really come up with a good IC reason why he should...
I had thought that his strong dislike for the Hobgoblins might be part of it. There's also the whole thing where, you know, if they sack Skelt, that's a few hundred people who might have answers about your tribe that are now, you know, dead. He probably doesn't have any desire to help the PCs, but they have potential use for him.
Not sure whether Sznek would actually want to get involved on the PC side of thing here normally. I mean I kind of have to for this to come together just can't really come up with a good IC reason why he should...
and besides Sznek is sooo cute and cuddly wuddly. and i can love him, and hug him and squeeze him...
Hmmm, yes I've kinda just been making assumptions about distances because I'm excited to kick off, but we could use some rough distances.
Here's what I'm imagining now:
- The Mountains are to the west and Skelt is to the east. Edgar is coming up from the South.- Shishka and Kibrenest are hidden in some bushes, a good 900 yards (1/2 mile) from the city.
- They are both maybe 20 feet from the front line of Hobgoblins.
- The second group of Hobgoblins are maybe 50 yards back.
Shishka: Putting the hobgoblins into a drowsy state is solid for the Surprise Round action, but I need a Round 1 action from you as well.
and besides Sznek is sooo cute and cuddly wuddly. and i can love him, and hug him and squeeze him...
Romancing the gnome?
Romancing the gnome?
I lol'd way harder at that than I should have. Great reference.
First encounter and I nearly one-shot one of the players.
YEAH THIS IS GOING REALLY WELL.
Lol, I always think the best scenario is to nearly die but emerge triumphant. So you've provided some near death we just need to provide the triumph. Now if I could only roll a double digit attack roll!
Did someone request an AOE? I'll get right on that once I get the distance covered. It's not much, but it's what I've got.
Sznek should be mowing through them pretty handily now that I remembered Piranha Strike... anyways I prefer a challenge way more than a 3 round slaughter of any encounter.
Agreed Sznek's a deadly little bugger.
Agreed Sznek's a deadly little bugger.
Good thing, since it's round 4 and you're just now rolling a double digit attack. :P