Just had some not good things go down, so although I am still here I might be too distracted/busy to post regularly for the next week to 10 days.
I'll try to keep on top of it, just wanted to let you know in case I don't reply to something quickly.
Not a problem. Take care, stay safe, get things solved. Rule #0 of all my games: Real Life Comes First.
Take care, Lilli, hope things will get better for you.
Got a post in the works. Sorry for being absent lately, these last few weeks have been very taxing.
It happens to the worst of us, like me. ;) Just thought I'd give you a bump, let you know I'm thinking of you, as it were. :)
Should we think of a system to notify when we make a post? I know I forget to check so perhaps others have the same problem, maybe we can ping each other on Discord?
*facepalm* I oughta smack myself more often. Sorry, Jerome -- for some reason I consistently overlooked you.
Sorry for absence, am back and have posted once again.
Things settling down. Just enough time to copy/paste in all my games that I should be back to posting tomorrow. See you tomorrow!
OK I was wrong about timing. I'm finally back now but dead tired. Might not get a post in until tomorrow morning.
Blach. Been putting together posts, keep tripping over RL and crap. Multiple posts tomorrow night. Sorry for the delays, hope everyone is doing well and still with us.
Stupid RL.
RL happens to the best of us, sadly.
Still here.
Still here, RL is also kicking my butt. Hopefully in the next few months we'll hire someone to take over one of the three jobs I am currently doing. *grins*
No worries, definitely still here. RL has been a lot for me lately too.
Yep. Still getting control of my situation, was feeling quite bad I still haven't posted but you all have made me feel a bit better about it.
I'm not going anywhere, take your time TWO
No-one expected this to be a quick game! :)
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Well, that was meant more as a 'people who are waiting on posts', but hey. Checking if you're paying attention: Priceless.
For combat, as an experiment, I'm going to put up your opponent's AC, HP, saves, stuff like that. A few ground rules for posting, however:
If you reduce a target to negative HP greater than their Con (so -11 if they have a 10 CON), they die; feel free to describe how it happens, but it can't take more than one minute (if their death would end combat), and no information can be gained.
If you reduce them to negative numbers, unless they have that 'orc toughness' thing where they can really act while at negative HP, you can decide what happens next: describe their death-throes, falling off the edge behind them, collapsing to the ground, whatever. If them dropping ends combat, you may state what you start to do -- stabilizing people, running off, whatever. Stabilizing people can lead to interrogations, note. ;)
If you do not reduce them to negative numbers, you can post an approximation of the hit -- a 2 on 1dx+1 means a barely-hit, while a max roll means a good solid strike -- but not their reaction or anything of that sort.
If you have a 'save or die' effect (death attack, petrification, coup de grace, etc.), you can roll their save (because at least for now, I'll include their bonuses). If they fail the roll, you can describe the effect taking place (XYZ turns to stone, shudders as their heart stops, etc.); if they succeed, let me post the result.
Note that while I do favor the 'over 4 HP, HP are an approximation of will-to-fight, luck, etc. and not significant damage' version, I understand that it's just easier to acknowledge that real wounds-close healing takes place instead of a potion of cure critical wounds 'merely' revitalizing your spirit. ;)
That works for me - it accelerates the game somewhat, and it allows us to do a bit more heroifying of our characters by describing their actions in more detail.
For anyone reading along with Eponine’s story, the next GM post will include some rather nasty stuff involving a child. This has been cleared with the player, but I figured a warning here would not go amiss.
I'm late, but let me be another voice reassuring you that I have no problems with waiting. I'm in for the long haul, hiccups are to be expected.
Also very late to saying anything on that front--I've had some hectic weeks lately and haven't checked here as frequently as I should have. That's my bad, and hopefully won't happen again. That said, I'm also fine with this being a slower, more detailed game; it's what I expected.
Thank you all for the reassurances. (And back at ya with posts.) I had an OOC post last time, and thought I'd posted it, but apparently not. And my stupid network is being stupid bloody nasty nonsense.
Okay, so a few things that came to mind ...
Attuned Weapons/Armor/Shields
In regards to the items you attune (meaning those to which you apply your Automatic Bonus Progression benefits), they must be items of quality, i.e. masterwork. I know some of you have done this to both items, some to one, some to none; no judgement right now, but if you haven't, and you have GP remaining, please add on the masterwork cost to whatever item(s) are not yet masterwork. If you don't have GP, I'll account for that in what monies you manage to acquire in the near future. ;) These are, after all, meant to be favored / exceptional items.
Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na, Vigilante!!
So running around on rooftops and in sewers is par for the course for vigilantes; it occurs to me that vigilantes should, of necessity, be better at it than the ordinary decent guardsman, and that because of more than just having a better rating at Acrobatics and Climb. Both of these skills are really important for running around on rooftops in the city. If you don't have ranks in them, I will permit you to peel off at least a couple points from other skills to put a minimum of a point into each. If your vigilante determinedly keeps away from the rooftop thing, in your posts as a vigilante, please do me the favor of reminding me that you keep to ground level in some manner -- posting about slipping behind booths, ducking under awnings, pausing in the mouth of an alleyway, feeling cobblestones beneath your boots, whatever.
Otherwise, the skill that makes the difference between a fellow who is an acrobat and a rooftop-running vigilante is actually not an 'adventuring' skill, but instead a background Knowledge skill: Engineering. KS: Engineering involves more than just siege machinery amd fortifications, it also involves architecture, from bridges to buildings. With Catacombs navigation involving Engineering as well, that makes that knowledge skill pretty useful in this game. ;)
What I'm going to do is to permit as a move action (not the standard free/no action that a knowledge skill normally uses) the quick examination of a building's facade, with a DC equal to that of the Climb DC (for typical buildings, 25 for brick and stone first/second stories, 21 for wood/plaster higher stories) to identify gaps, grips, and a route. Success will result in a +2 circumstance bonus to your Climb roll; this bonus increases by +2 for every 5 you make the Engineering roll by, to a maximum of +10.
This use of a Knowledge skill will apply to other Climb rolls in appropriate circumstances -- Dungeoneering should you ever go underground outside the (mostly deliberately carved) Catacombs, Nature (or maybe Geography) for mountains and the like. Going off something Jerome has, however, (meaning Terrain Mastery) navigation on the rooftops and in the city in general (not the Catacombs) is going to be a KS: Geography check if/when it becomes necessary. Most often that will be a matter of you running for your life, or desperately trying to catch someone / cut them off before they can get somewhere; otherwise it won't really matter.
Also, remember the ancient adage of 'Always be yourself -- unless you can be Batman; then be Batman.'
There are even magic items that can help. The ring of climbing and its improved version are obvious ones; cat burglar's boots, slippers of scampering, slippers of spider climbing, and gloves of swimming and climbing are other obvious ones. Some interesting odds and ends are the caver's bolt and the less-expensive ranged piton, along with the rope of climbing and its enhanced version, the rope of knots. And though the aforementioned caver's bolt counts as a magic weapon, the cornerstone crossbow is another that is designed for getting around vertical areas.
All in all, while there's some expense there, there's also a good amount of useful items available.
Crossing the Road
The map of Isarn has plenty of roads on it, but those are the main thoroughfares, the biggest plazas; there are plenty of lesser streets and alleyways and courtyards within each block (and in some blocks, fields and orchards!) that you have to cross or go around. Particularly inside Le Carrousel, you can usually get around using only the rooftops in any particular 'block' area -- but you still have to cross those tetchy gaps.
In general, gaps are going to be between 8' and 15' across; 1d8+7 is a fair randomization, and of course the number of feet is the DC of the Acrobatics check to clear it with a running start. (And who wouldn't be running across a rooftop??) I believe almost everyone here can make that jump with a Take 10, though I'll point out that that is only going to apply to 'ordinary' traversing, not chase-scene stuff. ;) One rolls for chase scenes, and see above for navigation in the urban and above-urban terrain. ;)
Default Disguise / Gather Information
Unless specified, if you simply say 'a disguise' without any specifics, I will assume that your character is disguised as an individual of your gender, race (with human, if you are or can pass as human, being preferential), and targeted class. Jerome would be 'a human gentleman of some means', meaning upper class, while Manush would be a moderately prosperous gnome (middle/shopkeeper class), and Lily would be a working-class woman of some type.
Likewise, if you simply tell me you're 'gathering information', I'll presume you're doing so a) in your area of influence (if you have one) or your home district (if you don't -- granted, the two are typically the same), and b) in locales appropriate to your targeted class. Jerome might stop in at higher-end restaurants, semi-private clubs, and taverns catering to barristers and the Isarn City Guard, all within Vieille Ville; Manush would be going about the Industrial District into taverns and restaurants that cater to shop-owners and Master-level craftsmen. Lily, in turn, would be moving through the Theater District, stopping at food carts and taverns that cater to the working man (and the criminal).
If you want otherwise, just specify; these are only defaults. ;)
"What Was That??"
If I give you a cue of some sort, and you need to identify where it came from, by all means do not wait for me to ask you for a Perception check to figure out where that came from, or a KS: Geography check to determine the best/safest/fastest/whatever way there; just go ahead and roll. If you're on a rooftop, add in an Acrobatics roll, because 90% of the time you're going to have to drop down. In fact, if you're a vigilante, just add in an acrobatics roll anyhow, on the general philosophy that while swinging from chandeliers is for swashbucklers, you as a vigilante do plenty of it anyhow. ;)
Seperation of Powers Skills
While I understand wanting to keep your skills in fully alphabetic order, I would feel considerably better if everyone seperated their adventuring and background skills from each other -- and tracked their point expenditures seperately. If you borrow from your adventuring skills to add points to background, please track that lending in one place or the other (or both).
This has the added benefit of helping you instinctively know which skills are background skills. ;)
Thanks for the above. Eponine was originally built to apply for the role of the Influential Merchant, and now that she is more 'action-girl' Vigilante I obviously need to do some re-assigning of her skill points.
I have also upgraded one handwrap to Masterwork quality to benefit from the attunement; and invested in some climbing gear.
ADVENTURING SKILLS (12/level: 6 Vigilante, 1 Wizard, 4 Int, 1 Human)
Acrobatics 8 (3 points, 3 Class, 2 Dex)
Bluff 12 (5 points, 3 Class, 4 Int)
Climb 8 (3 points, 3 Class, 2 Str)
Diplomacy 18 (5 points, 3 Class, 4 Int, 2 Persuasive, 4 Social Grace)
Disguise 10 (5 points, 3 Class, 2 Cha)
Fly 6 (1 point, 3 Class, 2 Dex)
Intimidate 12 (5 points, 3 Class, 2 Cha, 2 Persuasive)
Knowledge (arcana) 16 (5 points, 3 Class, 4 Int, 4 Ancestral Enlightenment)
Knowledge (dungeoneering) 13 (2 points, 3 Class, 4 Int, 4 Ancestral Enlightenment)
Knowledge (local) 16 (5 points, 3 Class, 4 Int, 4 Ancestral Enlightenment)
Knowledge (planes) 12 (1 point, 3 Class, 4 Int, 4 Ancestral Enlightenment)
Perception 10 (5 points, 3 Class, 2 Alertness)
Sense Motive 14 (5 points, 3 Class, 2 Alertness, 4 Social Grace)
Stealth 15 (5 points, 3 Class, 2 Dex, 5 Elven Cloak)
Spellcraft 12 (5 points, 3 Class, 4 Int)
BACKGROUND SKILLS (5/level)
*Appraise 9 (2 points, 3 Class, 4 Int)
*Artistry (criticism) 8 (3 points, 3 Class, 2 Cha)
*Artistry (philosophy) 8 (3 points, 3 Class, 2 Cha)
*Craft (wine) 12 (5 points, 3 Class, 4 Int)
*Knowledge (engineering) 16 (5 points, 3 Class, 4 Int, 4 Ancestral Enlightenment)
*Knowledge (geography) 12 (1 point, 3 Class, 4 Int, 4 Ancestral Enlightenment)
*Knowledge (history) 12 (1 point, 3 Class, 4 Int, 4 Ancestral Enlightenment)
*Knowledge (nobility) 12 (1 point, 3 Class, 4 Int, 4 Ancestral Enlightenment)
*Linguistics 11 (4 points, 3 Class, 4 Int)
EDIT: on the topic of armour attunement, IIRC you can attune normal clothing, which is what Eponine will need to do (her being a full caster and everything). Presumably that is acceptable?
Reading Raj Whitehall 1 now. :)
My initial issues have now turned into two unplanned trips. I literally just got home from trip one and am about to sleep, then I'm out of pocket again from Thursday through Sunday this weekend.
After that, I should be back to normal with posting daily etc.
I apologize again, but life threw me a couple really rough curveballs this month.
Sorry for disappearing too, I'm going through a hiring process and my focus on games is at an all-time low. I'll think of a course of action soon.
Not a problem. My network's been a b&*!& the last couple, so post when you're ready. And take care of RL first, as always.
How we doing? Everyone still here?
I'm still here.
My home PC was dead for a week, but I just finished installing my new PC, so I'm here now.
Yeah, I apologize profusely -- events have not been kind to my ability to post. I am putting together things now, both for here and for the two games I'm in -- getting to y'all in order of 'waiting the longest'. :P :)
Jerome, Lily, Athanas, hope y'all are still about too.
Yeah I'm still here. I was gone for a while with bad RL issues but am finally actually back today. Not sure if the game is still going though, it wasn't in my active campaigns list.
You need to post to it!! :D It's been too long. It misses you. ;)
Oh, is that how it works...
I thought it had been made non-responsive. And therefore wasn't posting!
Well, since everyone has their own thread ... it becomes a little wacky. And of course, I haven't managed posts in a while. Because stupid network, and stupid RL, and stupid computer, and stupid stupidity.
But back into the swing, yay. And no major holiday mayhem for me, so yay twice.
Hey all! The last few weeks have been hard on my wife and I and the holidays are keeping us busy now too. I’m still here and still invested, just might be slow to post for the next few weeks.
I'm also here, though I'm currently working quite hard. Also, I don't know why, but I find it sort of hard to engage in action in this campaign, possibly a form of choice paralysis coming from its extreme sandbox nature.
Happy holidays everyone!
Indeed, enjoy the season. Again, sorry for crapping out these last months — computer and RL issues, and hitting a creative wall. I will be better in the new year.
Thank gods for the holidays!
Looking forward to the new year.
Looking forward to the new year celebrations, sure.
Going back to work in January, not so much :/
Hey Everyone.
I've been RP-ing here on the forums for a few years now and I've let myself pick up more and more games over time. Recently it's become unsustainable for me so I've decided to cut down quite seriously on the games I'm in.
I've had a great time role-playing with you all. I hope you all have just as much fun from here on out.
GM TWO if you could please remove me from the active players list I'd very much appreciate it.
Thanks again everyone.
Bad Ogon. Bad. >.<