GM Sphen Rise of the Runelords: (Clever Subtitle)

Game Master Sphen86

In preparation for my own turn: who all have taken damage?

And there was a pit outside the door, right?

Sorry for going silent for an extra day. Computer issues. Nah, I'll be fair. Me issues. I forgot my laptop charger and the computer didn't have enough battery for me to post.
So, my bad.

___________________

So, to make sure that everything is stated and answered officially.

Yes, diagnol still counts as adjacent. (Also, adjacent is one of my favorite words.)

Yes, the Black Arrows (Kaven and Vale) do count as your allies. For now.

I'm glad that Estella gets to live and only takes a big ole' hit on the second swing.

@Sherman: Yes, there is a bit outside the door. Marked with the green box. Reminder, you are adjacent to the ogre and it has an attack of opportunity again.

@Sherman (RE: Damage): Shalelu was hit by an AoO. Ceven and Tarphrex were hit by a lightning bolt. And, of course, Estella has hit by the swing.

GM Sphen: Shaken for two rounds - Tarphrex had a round to vanish and move, another to cast haste - the (mechanical) shaken condition should be gone now, correct?

Since it was done on the ogre's turn, the shaken condition will expire on the ogre's turn. Probably won't matter as Tarphrex is invisible, but Tarphrex is still shaken.

Very good, thank you.

@Ceven: Still there. I'll bot tomorrow if you don't post by that time.

@Ceven: Still there. I'll bot tomorrow if you don't post by that time.

My bad, give me just a bit.

TBH, once this ogre is down, this is going to be a great spot: we can line the wall and just kill everything that arrives at the door.

Just an FYI, no post from me tomorrow. I'll be out with the kids most of the day, trick or treating. Hope you all enjoy your Halloween / weekends.

Have fun!

Happy Halloween, and may you get the good candy!

(Loving the role-playing. I'm going to let it continue for a bit unobstructed.)

I'm Swamped at work at the moment :( Might not be able to post anything sensible this week

Sorry for the delay on my part. My mobile browser still showed the site down, so I didn't think to check the desktop verison.

I don't think it's been up for more than a day so it wasn't even that huge of a delay :)

Eager to get back into it! Did anyone else feel like they were missing out on the campaign progressing even though, logically, no-one at all had access to the site?

I don't think it's been up for more than a day so it wasn't even that huge of a delay :)

Eager to get back into it! Did anyone else feel like they were missing out on the campaign progressing even though, logically, no-one at all had access to the site?

Yessss!

I don't think it's been up for more than a day so it wasn't even that huge of a delay :)

Eager to get back into it! Did anyone else feel like they were missing out on the campaign progressing even though, logically, no-one at all had access to the site?

Def missed this campaign ... so I let Ceven go off a little

Estella wasn't going to have an outburst like that, so for me as a reader it was VERY cathartic to read ahaha

Estella wasn't going to have an outburst like that, so for me as a reader it was VERY cathartic to read ahaha

I'll be honest, it had the same effect researching and writing it. Like all 3 of those people were about one long rest away from being a spider's lunch, so it's a little odd to me that they're so attitudinal. I'm more concerned that Shalelu feels she belongs on that side of the room ...

Estella Vale wrote:

Estella wasn't going to have an outburst like that, so for me as a reader it was VERY cathartic to read ahaha

I'll be honest, it had the same effect researching and writing it. Like all 3 of those people were about one long rest away from being a spider's lunch, so it's a little odd to me that they're so attitudinal. I'm more concerned that Shalelu feels she belongs on that side of the room ...

To be fair, your side started with, and is continuing, false accusations. Some true ones as well. But you really don't seem to understand who the Black Arrows are as people.

I think there's a lot going on here: we may have pressed a bit too hard without concrete evidence and we've failed to get our facts straight. At the same time, it was Shalelu who shared Jakardros's worries that Kaven or Vale might be a traitor, causing us to be vigilant for it in the first place, so our concerns getting seemingly dismissed so easily came across as somewhat unexpected to me as well.

Somewhere down the discussion things must've gotten muddled and mixed-up which created the idea that Kaven was cutting off the tattoo mid-fight. I don't think anyone from our group was actively trying to lie about it... but at the same time, I kinda like that it happened? It feels very human that a misunderstanding like that would happen during this sort of heated argument.

I think we've bungled this, which is a shame, but I've been loving the roleplay that came out of it. Maybe we've burned this bridge. Maybe we can fix it later. Heck, who knows if we'll even meet Kaven again or really figure out what his deal is.

When writing my last post, specifically the part about how Kaven wouldn't actually have really achieved anything by hiding the tattoo from us, it made me think that it really is possible he was just being a douche, a red herring. Of course, by that time, we'd already been hammering on the guy!

All this yapping to say that while I of course wish things had gone better for us, the entire Kaven thing has been incredibly engaging and I've been having a lot of fun.

I'm glad you are enjoying it, because I feel tense about it. These interactions are always tough, especially over text based mediums, to make sure that the arguement is in character, not between us as people.

Hopefully everyone else is enjoying the interaction.

You guys don't know this obviously, and you wouldn't because they don't talk about their pasts as a rule, but Jakardros was falsly accused.

Regarding our mystery spellcaster, I figured it might be a good idea to bring up a clue we pulled up over a year ago:

On the naga's lamia's body we found a letter, written by a "Lucrecia", gloating to her sister about how much more efficient the casino boat was and how Turtleback Ferry was a prime harvesting spot.

The fleeing ogres mentioned a Lucrecia, and the spellcaster's voice also spent her one line gloating and insulting her sister. With the silhedron involved, there's a lot of signs pointing to the spellcaster being the same Lucrecia from the letter. So even if we don't catch her now, we do have a lead to follow up on.

I’m fine with the interactions. Very sorry if I mistakenly triggered it.

Good callback, Estella. I think you’re on track.

Oh good, a lead to follow! Because I'm pretty sure we fireballed this particular bridge. OOC I'm fine with our characters fumbling the occasional social interaction. IC, Elisani is over here going O_O with no idea how to fix it. Her boss never sends her to interview potential witnesses and/or suspects without a coworker who knows their way around a Diplomacy check, and now she doesn't have that backup.

Regarding our mystery spellcaster, I figured it might be a good idea to bring up a clue we pulled up over a year ago:

On the naga's lamia's body we found a letter, written by a "Lucrecia", gloating to her sister about how much more efficient the casino boat was and how Turtleback Ferry was a prime harvesting spot.

The fleeing ogres mentioned a Lucrecia, and the spellcaster's voice also spent her one line gloating and insulting her sister. With the silhedron involved, there's a lot of signs pointing to the spellcaster being the same Lucrecia from the letter. So even if we don't catch her now, we do have a lead to follow up on.

As Badger would say, "Penny for the smart lady". I wouldn't say that this place is lost to you, but you should at least let things cool down. And maybe searching around a bit for additional clues might net you something.

Alright, that was some good RP. But let's get some detailed "I'm going to do this" statements.

We'll say all minute per level spells have expired.

Also, for those not in the US, it is Thanksgiving week here. So, IF I post on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, it'll be in the evening. Otherwise, I'll be hanging out with my family. I promised my kids I would show them what real ramen tastes like, not just the cheap stuff they get at day camps sometimes. (Don't let me fool you, I'm still using pre-packaged noodles.)

Hope you all had a good weekend. It's snowing here, like a lot.

We had good gatherings for both sides of the family and the weather held out until we got home. We got some snow, but not a lot.

I wish it was snowing. All we have is the darkness and rain - and the dark is really getting into me this year. (But I probably say that every year…)

No snow nor Thanksgiving here... though I did make a decent curry udon so there's that, at least!

I had curry for the first time this year. I'm interested in trying an authentic curry dish, but every time we try to go out to an Indian resturant, we either need to cancel our plans or the place has closed down.

Curry and authentic Indian restaurants are pretty rare where I'm from.

Curry and authentic Indian restaurants are pretty rare where I'm from.

You poor deprived soul! D: I have to have my Indian food fix every so often, it’s one of my favorite cuisines. If you’re ever in the Denver area hit me up and I’ll introduce you to the best Indian in the city.

Sadly I have yet to figure out how to cook Indian food myself without burning the spices.

Tarphrex the Magnificent wrote:

Curry and authentic Indian restaurants are pretty rare where I'm from.

You poor deprived soul! D: I have to have my Indian food fix every so often, it’s one of my favorite cuisines. If you’re ever in the Denver area hit me up and I’ll introduce you to the best Indian in the city.

Sadly I have yet to figure out how to cook Indian food myself without burning the spices.

I'm unlikely to have time, but I am literally going to be in Denver this weekend visiting a friend who's going through rehab at Craig in Englewood. I'm only saying this because the coincidence of you making that offer to a notorious non-traveler a few days before they go to the city named is shocking. Thank you for the offer, though!

We don't have a shortage of much here in Los Angeles, well, other than snow ;)

I'm unlikely to have time, but I am literally going to be in Denver this weekend visiting a friend who's going through rehab at Craig in Englewood. I'm only saying this because the coincidence of you making that offer to a notorious non-traveler a few days before they go to the city named is shocking. Thank you for the offer, though!

Wow, it's a small world sometimes! Best of wishes to your friend, and I hope you have safe travels.

Wow, it's a small world sometimes! Best of wishes to your friend, and I hope you have safe travels.

Isn't it? And thanks for the well wishes - if optimism powers healing, he's going to be back to his normal self in no time. Hope springs eternal.

@Tarphrex: I hope they get through what they're going through and stay healthy afterwards.

All prayers and well-wishes are gratefully accepted and relayed to him. Folks from work sent cards for me to hand-deliver. He has a long road ahead, but today he was crazy appreciative that he could be outside for the first time since he arrived. He just has the best possible attitude, celebrating every little victory. I can absolutely see him turning this into one of those careers as an inspirational speaker. I jest, but only a little.

Apologies for all the chatter about someone you don’t know. This part of how I work through these things, sharing them with friends and acquaintances. Talking helps me think them through. Interestingly, typing it in a forum like this has the same effect even when I end up deleting the post or most of it.

I’ll try to stop now.

No need to stop on my account, I enjoy learning more about my fellow players! I’m glad things are looking up for your friend.

It isn't like we live in a world full of positive news, I'll take it wherever it comes from. I'm glad to hear it!

Feel free to share anything, don't worry about it! I hope he'll have many more victories, small and big, to celebrate in the future :)

I love this group. Thanks, folks.

Yes, feel free to share anything. I hope your trip was good and your friend was well.

It’s been a great trip and we are on our way back. He has a long road ahead of him, but they actually accepted him earlier in his recovery than normal* because of his attitude and he is all in on regaining whatever he can and learning how to work around any disabilities that remain.

I can only pray his optimism carries him through. If I ever experience this, I hope I handle it with half as much grace.

* This is a rehab hospital. As he said, they don’t have “sick people” there. That they took him on while he was still healing from the accident and surgeries that followed is atypical.

Thank you for the well-wishes - I shared them with him and it just made him smile more.

I'm glad he's doing well. I sincerely hope that he can stay the course.