5E Adventure's in Midgard – North (Reaver's Spring)

Game Master Tareth

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving! Well those who are in the USA... Those who are not I hope you had a nice day!

Happy Turkey Day to all us USAmericans. It's a great holiday to force us to reflect on what we have in our lives for which to be grateful.

As an American living in the great white north, I had to work and could only partake in the tradition of football.

cheers

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone. I'm taking a break today to be with immediate family, but will be back online tomorrow.

Merry Christmas!!

And same.

Happy holidays!

Happy Holidays!

God Bless us, everyone!

To move the heavy stones, Vrindel could wild shape into something strong. However, I’m not fluent on options yes, so suggestions are welcome.

Cheers

I just got logged back in. If anyone is still having trouble, try clearing the cookies in your browser. That seems to fix things.

I will pick things up again tomorrow afternoon to give Methada a chance to act.

FINALLY!!!

I cannot express how annoying that was, though I'm sure you all know.

ditto unto all of that

Whew. That sucked. I'm finally back

Back! Had to clear them twice for some reason...

All, the XP for completing the temple restoration and defeating the grimm should be a total of 3000XP each. I don't think that quite puts you at 6th level, but you're only 1,250 away.

Okay all, so where to next? You've restored a temple of good and possibly added a saint back into the pantheon. At the very least initiated steps to make that a possibility. You've also acquired an evil weapon of evil evilness.

Some reminders: The ghouls seemed very interested in this temple and tried at least once to find their way in. You still have followers/companions back at the old ruined inn. The Old Witch of the Wood is still out there...somewhere. You also had some small evidence that a Shadow Fae (perhaps with some level of rank/nobility) was poking around and possibly dealing with the ghouls.

My preference is to pursue the ghoul side of things and figure out the deal with the fae.

Yes, I think we need to backtrack and explore the other tunnels on our way back to the old ruined inn.

cheers

Hey all, it seems like we are a little thin player wise as we move ahead. I'm thinking of doing a bit of recruiting and just wanted to make sure there aren't any objections.

Also, if anyone has ideas for someone who might be a great addition, please feel free to reach out to them.

I can ask if any of my friends wish to join. I am not sure which ones have played this game before but I will ask.

No objections.

I'm good with another player.

@Methada

All our characters had the same dream. Your character has no reaction to it? Not even to say 'hey wow that's weird, I had the same dream.'

cheers

I'm unsure she's processed that yet. She was a normal soldier till you all dragged her into all this! XD

It seems like Wraith is not working out so I'm switching back to Aterro.

Okay, so we've got Aterro switching back in for Allison.

Methada, let me know if you get any interest. If not, then I'll send a couple PM's out.

In the meantime, we can go ahead and RP the Allison/Aterro switch and then bump things ahead while we wait on any other recruiting.

Man. I left because I hated Wraith so much...

I could throw together an arcane caster if you want...

What did you not like about her that you couldn't handle through conversation? I honestly had no idea.

What about the situation made you not want to play with me?

Sadly my friends have either reached their game cap or don't really care for the system...

What did you not like about her that you couldn't handle through conversation? I honestly had no idea.

What about the situation made you not want to play with me?

I can't speak for Scranford, but the way you transitioned Allison led me to strongly consider leaving the game. In the end, it's the amazing quality of Tareth's work that has led me to stay. Now you do it again, flipping characters, to hell with the story, to hell with any sense of verisimilitude, and I find myself once more reconsidering my involvement in the game. I'll think on it before I make a decision. In the meantime, I won't post just yet IC.

Trevor nods back to Vrindel, now suspicious of his surroundings and saying too much. He gathers his kit and prays, thanking Khors for this incredible blessing, this amazing sense of purpose that now fills him.

Then, he gets up, ready to follow the Trollkin.

So you completely ignored Allie, even when she gave you good insight into the Evil Sword of Evilness...because you didn't like how she was intro'd?

I admit I do not follow this.

Role Playing games are by nature designed to have a party with various strengths and weaknesses working together towards a common goal... well most of the time anyway. Wraith seemed to need nobody else. She had the most hit points, healed them automatically, most ranged damage, most hand to hand damage, highest AC, Damage reduction, sneakiest... etc. etc. etc. And to top it off she made everybody else's skill checks better. Basically she reduced the need for anyone else's character to take perform their designated role. And it wasn't the character, it was all an item she designed. We don't even know Wraith except as a spoiled, self righteous petulant teenage girl with a cool car.

Not to mention her introduction into the game seemed forced upon us. We'd all been through hardships together and grew as a group, and it seemed this character entered the game as though we were supposed to accept her as a tried member of the party. She came across as very arrogant and pushy.

Not to mention the dice rolls were unbelievably good... suspiciously good... as were Aterro's. However Arterro was a member of the group, and his self righteous boisterous ways served as a strong counterpoint to Vrindel's caution and wisdom, Ibrox's strange view of life and Trevor's innocent wonder. His selfishness and caring only about himself became a if not loved, embraced part of his personality. When Wraith came into the game it was like Arterro turned up to 11. Sorry if you disagree, but she just wasn't fun to play with. It seemed she wanted us to be a part of "The Allison Show".

Role Playing games are by nature designed to have a party with various strengths and weaknesses working together towards a common goal... well most of the time anyway. Wraith seemed to need nobody else. She had the most hit points, healed them automatically, most ranged damage, most hand to hand damage, highest AC, Damage reduction, sneakiest... etc. etc. etc. And to top it off she made everybody else's skill checks better. Basically she reduced the need for anyone else's character to take perform their designated role. And it wasn't the character, it was all an item she designed. We don't even know Wraith except as a spoiled, self righteous petulant teenage girl with a cool car.

Not to mention her introduction into the game seemed forced upon us. We'd all been through hardships together and grew as a group, and it seemed this character entered the game as though we were supposed to accept her as a tried member of the party. She came across as very arrogant and pushy.

Not to mention the dice rolls were unbelievably good... suspiciously good... as were Aterro's. However Arterro was a member of the group, and his self righteous boisterous ways served as a strong counterpoint to Vrindel's caution and wisdom, Ibrox's strange view of life and Trevor's innocent wonder. His selfishness and caring only about himself became a if not loved, embraced part of his personality. When Wraith came into the game it was like Arterro turned up to 11. Sorry if you disagree, but she just wasn't fun to play with. It seemed she wanted us to be a part of "The Allison Show".

That mostly sums up my thoughts as well.

I actually learned this lesson the hard way. Since then when I come into a game as a new character to a already made group I play a much more go with the flow character till she gets use to being with the group.

Is this why your posts are so pinpoint? Yes, yes it is! XD

We don't even know Wraith except as a spoiled, self righteous petulant teenage girl with a cool car.

This is...a completely accurate portrayal of what I was going for. We seem to be seeing the same thing, just from different points of view.

You have put together a thourough, lucid, and comprehensive list of your very valid complaints. Thank you and well done. I'll try to address them as I am able. I'll try to be fair, and respectful.

Now, you're going to have to help me out here, but it seems like there are two distinct areas of concern that you have:

I) The "Mechanical" aspects of the class. I'm sure we can all agree that I don't have much control over that, but it is still an area of concern so we should address it, and,

II) The "Role Play" aspects of the character, which are completely my fault. =)

For this Imma have to use italics for the quotes simply because if I have to type out 'quote' every time I do it I'm going to lose my mind. =p

1) " Wraith seemed to need nobody else. She had the most hit points"

You took the time to list the obstacles, as you see it, so I'm going to give them all the weight they deserve. This is the first issue, so let's examine the facts.

As the first statement, would you say that this is fair?

To me, looking at it, it doesn't seem like a fair assessment. Indeed, she has the fewest hit points. Wraith has 38, Trevor has 41, Vrindel 43, and Methada 44.

This is the first item you stated, so it must really weigh on you a lot. At the same time, it's simply not true.

I'd really like to come to common ground with you on this, however, can we agree that we both may need some leeway in our analysis? And, to come to that, we need to deal with things that are, at least, true?

I can understand that you might have got the "impression" that she was a better fighter (perhaps, indeed, better than she actually is, but then isn't it all of our duties and joy to make our characters seem awesome? =) but, from an objective point of view, she was actually the most frail of the whole party. (I don't say this to insult or belittle. I'm just looking at the numbers.)

2) "healed them automatically"

Okay, here you're referring to Force Field from the Guardian configuration. Yep, this is a feature of the class. Basically it turns you into a Fighter, and, yes, there is an action-economy aspect to use a Bonus Action to get a small number of hit points.

I say small because it's equal to your level. While 5 hit points might seem like a lot, it's not uncommon for our characters to take even 20 points of damage, so it's not really all-powerful.

So too, it's not automatic. I realize that might not be a huge distinction, but let us keep in mind that one can also use a Bonus Action to attack again (the two-weapon fighting rule). And the fighter uses a Bonus action to do 2nd Wind, or a Cleric needs their Bonus Action to attack again with Spiritual Weapon...so 5E puts a premium on the bonus action, and many classes have features that reward it's use.

Also, I lose this when I use the Stealthy Infiltrator configuration, so it's not even a permanent class feature. There are trade offs.

Hence, this is a feature of the class, and you can hardly fault me for just using the things of the class.

3) "most ranged damage"

This one confuses me, because Wraith didn't even use the Infiltrator until after you left, so, are you able to give me a specific instance?

So too, Methada's Longbow gives her d8+3. Wraith gets d6+4...When she's in that armor (so she loses the features of the Guardian, including the hit point gain mentioned above). These numbers look equal to me.

There is a bonus d6 to add, but compared to, say, a 5th level Warlock that can do d10+4 twice (with the Agonizing Bolt class feature) it's not really the most available.

4), most hand to hand damage,

Again, is this fair?

She can do d8+4 twice a round. Respectable, but we are 5th level characters.

I'm going to pick the most recent time that Trevor attacked with his great axe:

"Magic axe, radiant bonus damage, Divine Smite added: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 282d8 + 5 + 2d4 + 4d8 ⇒ (6, 1) + 5 + (3, 4) + (6, 1, 8, 4) = 38

Second attack: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 282d8 + 5 + 2d4 ⇒ (1, 4) + 5 + (1, 4) = 15"

53 damage. In one round. Also looks like some awesome dice rolls there!

Trevor gets d12+4, PLUS Divine Smite. A class feature. He is a Paladin, and he is very good in melee.

But he's better than Wraith ever was and ever will be.

I ask you again: Are your assessment's of Wraith fair?

If they're not fair, there's nothing I can do. Really. I can't fix something that is only perceived to be broken. I'd help if I can, but, in your estimation, how could I address this when, objectively, the issue being sighted doesn't actually exist?

5) highest AC

This is accurate. I knew that I had the least hit points, and that I'd need something to boost survivability. Wraith has a 20 AC.

When using a shield, Trevor has a 19.

Is this distinction a reason to hate the character? (This isn't a rhetorical question. If it really is a reason to despise a character for 1 point of AC, this needs to be addressed.)

6) 'Damage reduction'

Is this one fair?

Wraith doesn't have any damage reduction.

7) 'sneakiest

I was waiting for this because this one realllllly affected me. I've mentioned this before but I feel that this one needs special attention.

When I said that she didn't get Disadvantage in heavy armor you called it "OverPowered" (Or OP, I don't remember.)

Please understand that you are calling Boots of Elvenkind OP.

I don't think I'm being facetious when I say that might be the first time someone has said that.

This is a 5th level character. I asked the DM for a magic item, and he agreed. I picked something low power. Something most people probably wouldn't use.

And in the fiction, I said it was something she had made. Because it seemed like a cool thing to do.

Yes, she's stealthy. I pumped Dex, used a skill proficiency, and with this one magic item, she can roll a respectable die.

It seems like I'm making fair use of a class feature.

I do not understand the issue here.

Also, the party -needed- a stealth/skill character. I really really, really, honestly thought, that the party would be happy that a hole in the party build would be filled by my intelligent and thoughtful play.

8) 'And to top it off she made everybody else's skill checks better.

Yes, I used a feat so I could be more HELPFUL TO OTHER PEOPLE.

This gets me. I've got two people giving me business about how fragging "Arrogant and pushy" this chick is, and, here, one of your issue is that she's too HELPFUL when SOMEONE ELSE is trying to do something!

9) [i]'Basically she reduced the need for anyone else's character to take perform their designated role.'

This seems like a good time to address the main shortcomings of the class.

Vrindel, at 5th level, can cast 3rd level spells. I hear those are kinda powerful.

Aterro, also, can cast 3rd level spells.

Wraith can't.

The Artificer is a half-spell casting class.

With judicious use of Druid 3rd level spells, you can Call Lightning and do up to 4d10, a round, without an attack roll, in an Area effect.

Add to that the potential to Summon Fey, have an Aura of Vitality, or give yourself an Elemental Weapon, and that class feature seems pretty good. (I daresay that a Druid using an Aura of Vitality on himself with an Elemental Weapon has more healing and more melee potential than any Arcanist.)

When we look at the strengths of the class, we also need to see the weaknesses. Am I really to be blamed because I used what powers the class does have to good effect?

10) ' And it wasn't the character, it was all an item she designed.

I actually thought this was a neat piece of fiction. One could, like IronMan, pretend that all these wonderful improvements came from the fruit of their own labor. As the levels progressed, one could imagine the character constantly tinkering and fiddling with the items of their own creation, trying to make it work way whole bunch more betterer. =)

11) " Not to mention her introduction into the game seemed forced upon us. We'd all been through hardships together and grew as a group, and it seemed this character entered the game as though we were supposed to accept her as a tried member of the party.'

Sometimes that game has to bow to RL things. We lose people, we get new people, we try to welcome them in and make them part of the family.

I had played Aterro and I thought I had had some good times with him, but I thought it was time to try something different. I had just read in on the Arcanist class and I really really wanted to give it a spin. I wanted it real bad.

I asked the DM for the change, he agreed, I tried to do it as slowly as I could, but also with a little spark of surprise. I thought you guys would get a kick out of it.

Yes, it's hard being new. Yes, I did think the character would be welcomed back, knowing it was the same player.

I don't know how it could have been done any better, tho.

Mind you, Methada hasn't had a better experience. She hasn't really had any of the other party members sit down and open up to her and have a really good role-play experience.

Wraith tried that with Vrindel. I thought I had a lovely post talking about the character's background, how she grew up, how it affected her now, and I thought that that would help to start the bond.

He ignored her.

Same thing with Trevor. I thought the post about the Detect Magic on the sword would be helpful.

Completely ignored.

How can any character feel like a part of the party, when the party doesn't even try?

I do want to be disrespectful. At the same time, trust is a two-way street.

12) " She came across as very arrogant and pushy. "

Can you please give me some specific examples of this?

Let's look at her first post:

A pretty and jump-suited girl escapes the clutches of the cocoon of armor and favors the gathered group with a contagious smile.

"Hoi chummers. I'm Wraith."

I laugh again. Some more. A high-pitched girlish laugh some like and some don't. But I like it and that's all that matters.

"Golem? Sheyeah. I wish. But that -would- be interesting! Could I build one? I've been drawing up some plans. Perhaps, like, a Homunculus? Perhaps?

But stop distracting me. I've an introduction to do.

*ahem*

Greetings unto you, from the land of Courlandia!

Her great Majesty, the large and distended Zennalastra, hath contracted with my knitting and book club, the Order of the White Angel, to investigate, infiltrate, and exterminate the undead scourge that has ravened this fair land.

The exploits of the Heroes of Nargenthal hath reached the ears of the High Court, and I, yours truly, has been sent to gather thy reports and act as thy reinforcement."

She bows deeply, but awkwardly, as if someone once described a bow and she's going on third hand information.

"I have been briefed on much of your activity to now, and the spoor of your conquests lies in on your trail--I saw a corpse of a fairly large hydra. May I presume that is your handiwork?"

So, a new character shows up...and says "Hi. How are things going?"

Essentially.

There's even a compliment thrown in. "The exploits of the Heroes of Nargenthal hath reached the ears of the High Court."

Yes, I do talk about myself, but it is an intro. I aught to give some background. But I specifically mention that I am to "act as thy reinforcement" indicating that I acknowledge that I'm just one part of the group.

Is this fair?

Not to mention the dice rolls were unbelievably good... suspiciously good...

Hrmmm. Interesting. Let's ask Wraith what she thinks. Wraith?

"Ow. Owowowowowowowowowowowowow," Allie chants in pain and surprise as the dark bolts are drawn to her in what can only be described as sexual attraction. "See? Was that so hard to spread the love arOw!" she wails, as the one bolt strikes home with enough force to kill a grown man.

I take it the storm just keeps on raging?

Eager to get out of the darkstorm, Allie jumps down the hole, hoping that nothing bad happens.

Acrobatics!: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3 ._.

Wraith took 10(!) points of damage from that fall (after taking 16 from the storm).

I don't know what dice rolls you are looking at, put, given a small enough sample, we all know that dice can get hot. And they can get cold. From the Law of Averages it all works out.

What about the situation made you not want to play with me?

I think I've done an honest job of answering your questions.

I'd still like mine answered.

For whatever you thought about Wraith, I don't see how that translated to me, personally.

Wraith is a flawed character. I admit that. But I like flawed characters with "range". Sometimes they don't work out.

But when you called me, personally, a "Deal Breaker" I take umbrage with that. I'd like this addressed.

@Players

In a purely selfish message: please do not blow up this game. Tareth is an awesome GM with a fantastic story. This is so extremely rare.

As a bystander, I don't think trading posts will get us closer to settling these emotional issues. Is there any way where you can speak or share private messages?

cheers

I agree this should move to the PM board if it is to continue.

Hi everyone,

I wrote to Tareth. I'm bowing out. Thank you for a wonderful game Tareth.

DM, when you get a chance, please remove me from the active player tab.

Hey all, thanks for moving things to PM. And thanks to Vrindel for suggesting it.

Moving things forward, we've got two new players ready to jump into the fray. Rigor has lots of PF experience but is looking to learn 5E and give it a try. Brother Guiness knows 5E but not Midgard.

I'll give things a day or two for them to get characters together and then we can start to delve into the next section. In the meantime, feel free to RP as you like and help our new arrivals get up to speed.

Hello everyone! I am dropping a post here in Discussion to introduce myself. It looks like there is some tension in the group, hopefully being resolved in PM’s. I have read through the Gameplay and it looks like an amazing story. I look forward to getting to know each of you soon.

Gunnar (alias of Brother_Guiness for this game)

All tension has been resolved.

Greetings unto you, Gunner!

Welcome!!

All tension has been resolved.

Greetings unto you, Gunner!

Yeah!

Welcome Gunner!

Hello everyone,

I'm a 5e newbie, but a long time gamer. I know none of the tricks or conventions specific to this rules etc, so I'd be glad to get pointers from anyone who has them. Going to take a look at what might fit in best with the present team, then I'll come back with a character.

Rigor!

Of note, we don't actually have a dedicated front line fighter.

If you wanted to take a look at doing a nice WeaponMASTER I think you would have big fun with that!

Greeting! I too am a newbie, so you are in welcoming company here!

scranford's submission "KoPish the dark". Still need history, and revise some equipment.