Have a midterm tonight and another case study due this weekend. Then it slows a bit for a couple weeks as far as due dates but after that in a span of about a week and a half I have a case study, a paper and a project due and then 3 final exams. Luckily though after all that I'll be done for good (at least for several years when I may consider going back for my Ph.D.) and I am definitely looking forward to being done with school for a bit!
Thanks Valeria. I echo your sentiments. I feel your pain Dak. It will be all worth it even if the rewards are not strictly financial in nature.
@GM Dak: can you make another Discord channel for this campaign, when we begin again? I like what you've done with the Shattered Star campaign! it really helps visualize the maps and get people to post faster!
Cool with me, I might need some remediation, and I can't have discord at work.
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Dropping a note in all my games. Finished up with school yesterday, just waiting on the audit for me to officially be done and graduate even though there are no commencements with the whole virus thing. Wife is doing better after brief stint in the hospital. Looking at starting to get back into my games and get posting again sometime this week. My work is really crazy as first kids were coming back on the 17th but now everything is going to be virtual for an indeterminate amount of time, but teachers are coming back still and there is a lot of questions floating out there so bare with me as I ease into catching up on things and getting back into a regular posting routine again over the next week or so.
Again, shame on you. But congrats on the other stuff.
A note to all of my games: My availability will be sporadic from now until the end of next week. Please DMPC me as needed.
Just a heads up: for the next two weeks I'll have a spotty connection and won't be able to do lengthy posts or any amount of map handling. After that things will go back to normal.
Thank you for your understanding!
I touched base with Dak earlier today and he's tested positive for COVID and has been sick and out of commission for awhile and he still remains sick. He said to let everyone know he'll be back when he recovers.
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Miss ya'll. Just saying... I hope everyone is doing well and I hope Dak is recovering well and quickly with no lasting effects.
Same here. Get well soon Dak!
Hey, I wanted to drop in and give all my games an update. I'm still alive, obviously, and I've managed to stay out of the hospital and off a ventilator. However, I'm still not fully recovered. Even though I'm outside my two week symptomatic/infectious period by over a week there are some lingering issues that are still weighing on me (continued shortness of breath, getting light headed, overall fatigue). I doing my best to push through it but it is barely just enough to get me through work everyday and doesn't leave a lot of time for anything else. I would like to give a hard and fast "I'll be back and up to playing again by this time", but sadly at this point I can't. It could be a couple weeks or it could be a couple months for me to get used to this new (hopefully temporary) norm on top of a few other things going on.
All this to say, I'm ok, I'm trying my best to manage, but I can't give you a hard "this is when I will be back". I understand it has been awhile as it is, between this most recent struggle with COVID and my past slowness with finishing up my graduate stuff so if you need to move on without me I completely understand and I'm just sorry that right as I was getting back into things again this whole virus thing came along and knocked me back down again. I'll check in again once I feel I'm up to playing with everything else I am balancing.
I'm good, and just sorry to hear you are still suffering. I know how busy you were before the virus started taking all your strength and stamina, I can only imagine how you are getting everything done now. You take care of yourself and we will be here when you are ready.
That sounds really rough GM. It sounds like you caught a really bad viral load, hope you make a full recovery.
Highly appreciate you updating us. I cannot speak for the others, but personally I am content to wait until you are feeling better, and don't feel rushed because your health should take priority.
Wishing you and your family the best.
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Hi guys,
I've been evaluating all my games and need to shrink down the list in preparation for GMing a very large game in the near future. I know we haven't been actively playing so this game doesn't take any time now anyway, but it is an easy one to gracefully leave because even when we come back I won't be able to do it justice. I enjoyed my time here short as it was and especially getting to do that crit with the lance at the tournament. If you are able to continue and get the game healthy again, feel free to use Sir Toby as a npc guard.
There's no shortage of people wanting to join a War for the Crown game (the greatest AP ever made IMO) which is why I don't mind being patient with GM Dak and giving him the time to recover from COVID.
With that said, I'll be sad to see you go Toby... the game just transitions from Social Roleplay to COMBAT, COMBAT and more COMBAT right around the point we are at (I GM this campaign for another table and we're end of Book 3; let me just say that we'll need a replacement as STRONG if not STRONGER than Toby! ;) )
Sorry also to see him go. I agree with the replacement, if we are about to start combat. If Dak is reading this maybe he could have you and Sveng help him vet any new recruits? I would certainly like to have the advantage of your collective experience.
We are very sorry to see you go Toby.
I agree that this campaign puts frontliners into an awkward position: there is clearly enough combat that their presence is needed, but with so much focus on roleplay that they can feel like they're twiddling their thumbs a lot of the time. Perhaps a paladin would feel at home? Or a swashbuckler.
I share that pain. During college I had so many games active that my campaigns tab was in 3 rows. It was a full time job to keep up with them. Go and eat lunch, come back, 8 different campaigns have new posts. I've gotten far pickier with the games I join these days. Although with GM Dak controlling nearly half my games and taking a break, I've started to peruse the recruitment threads again...I'm actually considering submitting an application for another War for the Crown game, but I would rather not if this game started moving again soon.
Sometimes I also get the feeling to quit my game tables after they've been inactive for a while. I recognize this as an old feeling or temptation of being 'pushy' or 'trying to finish off the scenario as quickly as possible.'
Having played the game for decades, I've gone through many gaming 'seasons'... some of these seasons were mad scrambles, churning 2-3 AP book per month on average and barely carrying forward the memory of what happened in these scenarios...
Other seasons were slow crawls, or series of campaigns falling apart.
I no longer try to 'push for completeness' and instead try to advocate for group fun. Many GMs have heard me repeat this like a broken record, but I don't mind saying it again: if the book lies heavy on your shelf, throw the book away. Come to the game fresh with YOUR ideas instead, and 'wing it' any way you want. I won't hold you hostage to the adventure script! nay! I instead welcome your dereliction of duty in favor for chaos and utter acts of imagination! Skip entire bloody dungeons if you want to! announce that a peasant has saved the Princess! I do not care! :)
Come to us with a light heart, Game Masters, and PLAY!
.Everyone have a great week!
Yes! thank you! you as well! :)
Hopefully things are getting better Dak. Drop us an update once in a while (good or bad).
Also, if these games are weighing on your shoulders (I know some of the games I'm running are) then it's fine stepping back and giving the reins to another GM too. Sometimes, even when games are on pause, they exercise some pressure as you have a feeling of unresolved business lingering. I've had to leave some face to face AP games this summer because of that, and I am now focusing on my PbP obligations, trying to fast forward through them. One thing I have to tell myself is that there's no such thing as perfection: it's better to screw a few things up and finishing a project than wait for eventual (and impossible) perfection.
So there. I wanted to put it out there: if you want to liberate yourself from a few game obligations we'll also understand! ;)
Take care!
Honestly I'd be cool with just a "Things are still messed up right now". Just once every couple of months, to make sure Dak is still alive.
The problem is that I tried to contact him via Discord and I haven't seen a response, so I'm worried about his health. He may have bigger fish to fry at this time, and may want to offload some of these games.
Sorry for the long silence a lot been going on and after getting pinged on Discord I wanted to drop a note in all my games. I'm actually doing a lot better now, pretty much fully recovered. However, my wife has been really sick, last month she was in the hospital for a week and I'm sitting in the surgery center now waiting to see how things turn out on a few hour procedure she is currently in. Depending on how invasive the surgery is I may be dealing with a lot for at least a month or so taking care of her and the kids and working. On top of that with the holidays coming and the normal delays that revolve around that I am going to say that it's going to be at least January before I look at picking things up again. Maybe if things get better sooner I will try jumping back in before that but I feel like early January is going to be more realistic.
If you need to move on without me I understand feel free to find a replacement if needed and when I check back we can go from there. Sorry for all the absent time, these last few months have just really kicked my butt first physically, then mentally and emotionally. Hope you all are keeping safe and have a good Thanksgiving and Christmas for those who celebrate.
That sounds really hard to bear all of that Dak. I wish you and your family the best and hope your wife makes a full recovery.
We highly appreciate the update. Don't feel obligated or rushed, you and your family's well being absolutely takes priority. I'll be here when you decide to come back.
Good luck with everything GM Dak. Barring any health problem of my own or in my family (knock on wood) I will be here when you decide to come back. Thanks for running this game so far!
Awesome! Early to mid January sounds great to me. County on me. PS. I don't even know what 2E is, ha. J/K I played it once and I'm with you, I didn't care for it. I prefer 1E.
PS: GM Dak, you may want to log the PFS reporting for book 1 and 2 before January 31st, 2021 though, if you care at all for the Online Support Program (OSP) GM Boon. The OSP terminates at the end of 2020. If that's not a concern for you forget I said anything and we'll see you when you're ready! ;)
For any that celebrate Thanksgiving...Happy Thanksgiving. I hope it is safe and happy for you.
Same to you Piri!
Hey everyone. It's January and I'm looking at starting to get back into my games. Things have finally settled a bit in my life so I'm going to slowly start picking things back up over the coming weeks until I am back at full speed.
Want to check in here and see who is still around and if we want to continue on.
I am still around.
Am here, glad to hear you're starting to do better, and happy to get back to it whenever you are!
Welcome back, Dak! :)
Valeria is still very much into this, and really looking forward to it. Since we have enough active players (3) to keep logging this for PFS credit, I volunteer to bot Toby until we find another melee character.
I will be Toby... but without the roleplay. Vow of Silence perhaps? LOL!
Edit: since I have an avatar ready to go for Major Hazel, I could bring her back instead, perhaps with regular 'Valeros' fighter stats to make things more simple on the botting side. What say you?
It's honestly hard to make a melee character that thrives in this kind of politic heavy game. Even the high charisma types like swashbucklers and paladins have terrible amounts of skill points to distribute.
Vigilantes and Slayers get a decent amount of skills for it - it's what I'm going for, after all.
True, those are the two exceptions for d10 or higher classes that can actually be good in skill heavy games.
It's honestly hard to make a melee character that thrives in this kind of politic heavy game. Even the high charisma types like swashbucklers and paladins have terrible amounts of skill points to distribute.
Which is why I propose to make a rather quiet 'Major Hazel' which we would bot in melee. What do you all think about that?
No issues here.
Glad to hear most are still interested. I'm ok if Val wants to bot either Toby or Hazel in the short term. To note though I'm catching up on several games so it may be a little bit on this one before we official start back up. Hopefully within the next week or two.
GM Dak: to simplify things and to 'reset' gently in a manner of speaking, could we skip to the last part of Book 2? the county repairs and weeks of afternoon tea with Merratt's nobles could be narrated by you as a way of providing a recap and to ease your GM load at this time.