I want to repeat my thanks to all of you for bearing with us. I know my not being able to bot things is slowing things down, and that situation is likely to last until after Farmageddon at least.
Special thanks to those of you who are botting others for us.
Hmm, I'm not sure if Elisani has any ranged attacks, maybe put her on delay or ready (if trolls come near)?
Big downside of area control spells is that they hinder friendlies as well :/
Should we take our botting more seriously, or does GM enjoy the slower pace until Farmageddon?
Should we take our botting more seriously, or does GM enjoy the slower pace until Farmageddon?
Really either way. I do appreciate being thought of, so thank you for that.
Side note, I don't suppose any of you have played Expedition 33?
I don't recognize the game, sorry.
@Tarphrex: It's this one
I haven't played. Heard of lot of praise for it, but haven't picked it up. Heard it's a little bit JRPG style, so I'm not sure if I'd like it.
@GM: Bringing it up, I suppose you have played it?
I am currently playing, ableit slowly.
It is JRPG-ish. Turn based, party based combat, which I love.
Each party memeber feels distinct and story driven, but also customizable in combat.
But it is the rest of it that I find so impressive. The environments are super unique, the combat is a combination of turn based and reactive QTE's. I'm not usually a fan of quick time events, but these feel super satisfying. The music is cool.
A lot of the names are in French. Which may not be that interesting to our European players, but you don't hear a lot of French in the middle of the USA.
The story, though, is what really hooked me. They explain NOTHING from the get go, and it is a gut punch from the prologue. You really have to pay attention and progress to figure out just WTF is going on and why.
And they don't pull their punches in the story, either.
Overall, the best new game I've played in the last 10 years. No contest.
Ah, my gaming is limited to TTRPGs. I can’t keep up with them already.
Are these the current buffs?
-Haste
-Raging Song (DEX)
-Flagbearer
AC: So 2+1=+3 to AC if armor doesn't cap DEX bonus. Minimum +1 from haste in any case
Attack: 2+1+1=+4 if using DEX to in attack bonus. +2 if not?
Yes, I've played and beat Expedition 33! I'd had my eye on it for a while before it came out, I'm always eager to add a bit of parrying into my gameplay. (Sekiro is one of my all time favorite games). I had a lot of fun with it, though I will admit once I reached the end I didn't feel the energy to bother with the massive amount of extra Stuff that unlocks in the lategame. I told myself I'd come back for it... maybe I should.
As for the buffs, that sounds correct!
I finally found someone who has played it, and you don't like it nearly as much as I do. I started the side content and am still looking forward to a new game plus run through.
I intend to get the platinum trophy for this one.
Estella, are your wisps still active? Should they defend you and Sherman?
Sorry, I don't have the mental bandwidth to figure out Elisani's move right now. I think she would tumble into melee and apply a studied strike or something like that, but I have no idea what to roll.
I finally found someone who has played it, and you don't like it nearly as much as I do. I started the side content and am still looking forward to a new game plus run through.
I intend to get the platinum trophy for this one.
I'm jealous you can stick to game so well! I always get distracted by 5000 other things to play. The side content I did do was The Reacher which in my opinion was so good I'm shocked it wasn't part of the main game.
I'll try to be more alert both with regards to botting Elisani as well as keeping my statlines up-to-date. Apologies for that, I didn't mean for that to become a bit of a thing. We continue!
Estella, are your wisps still active? Should they defend you and Sherman?
They are, and they would, in fact! Somehow I'd failed to internalize the "non-adjacent melee attacks like reach" part of the rage ability. Thanks for the reminder. I'll keep an eye out for those circumstances when they apply again.
They are, and they would, in fact! Somehow I'd failed to internalize the "non-adjacent melee attacks like reach" part of the rage ability. Thanks for the reminder. I'll keep an eye out for those circumstances when they apply again.
I was only asking because you did not mention them and I don’t know the ability to know if it would apply.
I'd like to thank everyone for your patience. Farmageddon is over for this year. While I still have financial reports to do, I no longer have to field (as many) emails, schedules, and game prep. So I can get back to posting.
I hope you all enjoyed the respite, now we can return to my trolls getting their destroyed.
@GM: I hope Farmageddon was a success.
"Does Sherman want make floor snakes here, too? Or maybe Tarphrex make hole?"
Can't remember if creatures in a pit spell can be attacked (by ranged attacks/spells). If they can, a pit in the other end of the room wouldn't be a bad idea.
It's just a temporary hole in the ground. If it can be attacked in a normal hole, it can be attacked when it's in the pit.
@SHerman: It was, thank you. I do not yet know how much of a success, but we'll be donating a couple thousand at least.
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RE: Pit. It should be noted that anyone standing on the edge of the pit has to make the save (with a +2 bonus) to not fall into the pit at the end of their turn.
Also true. That said, I believe a flaming sphere moving randomly around a pit full of trolls would be effective. There is a building we could stand on to fire down into a well-placed pit, also. We can make it work.
And you have made it work in the past.
The Seven Brothers Sawmill and the cultist fight used this exact strategy.
These trolls are not going to be as evasive as the cultist were, as well.
@SHerman: It was, thank you. I do not yet know how much of a success, but we'll be donating a couple thousand at least
That's an amazing outcome, congratulations!
Also, I'd like to let everyone know in advance that on the 29th, I'll be going on my Japan trip, so I'll likely be unable to post for a good 2 weeks.
@SHerman: It was, thank you. I do not yet know how much of a success, but we'll be donating a couple thousand at least.
Awesome! Sorry I wasn’t more help. I have a plan for next year!
Also, I'd like to let everyone know in advance that on the 29th, I'll be going on my Japan trip, so I'll likely be unable to post for a good 2 weeks.
Wow, that sounds exciting! We’re going to be bouncing all over the place for birthdays, anniversaries, and graduations, but my availability should be basically normal.
ALright, I think it is time we had a serious conversation about the state of this game.
I'd like to hear opinions on it.
Is there something I could be doing to keep people more involved? I know I've been not as present myself the past few weeks, but that was planned for.
Elisani and Ceven have gone AWOL.
Elisani's player has messaged me outside the game and I understand what is going on there. But having two players absent isn't much fun. We've reached the levels where effectively botting a character takes time of scrolling through abilities and feats and such.
Thank you to Tarprhex and Sherman for doing so the past few weeks, but I feel it isn't fair to continue to expect them to do so.
What do you guys want to do?
Recruit more players?
Pause for a bit?
Give it up? (I don't want to do this one. It's been 6.5 years of my life on this one game.)
I think both absent players are dealing with larger issues and hate to pull the rug (game) out from under them if there's a chance they can return. Can we put them on ice (a Sending from the detective agency makes it clear that Elisani must return to Magnimar with all haste and Ceven flies her there, for example) and recruit replacements, allowing for them to return to the story when their life allows?
I don't want to pause - game pauses have been too often permanent in my experience.
Yes, pauses have the danger of becoming permanent. Although in one campaign (which we actually eventually finished) we had pauses when the game lost momentum. But we always fixed the date when the game was to be resumed, and it worked.
Still, like Tarphrex, I would prefer continuing. We could leave Elisani and Ceven as vanguards, or send them back to the town to carry a message etc etc.
That would leave three characters, which might be a bit too few for some encounters (or then we just accept playing hard mode).
Recruiting one more would bring us to four. And should E&C rejoin us, we would would be six - which should still be manageable.
Recruiting to Rise of the Runelords shouldn't be a an impossible task. But should that be open recruitment or asking someone from existing games to join?
Glad to hear from you both. I'm going to give this at least another day to think about it.
Where I'm at as of typing this:
I know that things IRL have gotten busy/tough for a few of us. I'm including myself in that. I'm as much to blame as anyone. I don't want to see the game die. I am, however, getting tired of bringing in new players so often.
I think, again as of right now, that putting the game on pause just long enough to recruit some new players would be the best bet. You all have the troll fight well in hand, so I'm willing to keep that on going and then give the game a breather to find two new players.
Ideally, we can recruit from other games. Players that we have a history of knowing will post on a regular basis. However, I don't have any other games.
If that is not an option, let me know. If I don't hear from any of you by Monday, I'll post in the recruitment thread and go from there.
I like the idea presented on how to get Elisani and Ceven out of the story without it beign permanent, and will likely do so until one or both of them can return.
If any of you have any other thoughts, please feel free to post them.
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@Tarphrex: Been through that several times over the years. Hopefully they handle it better than the times I've been through it and actually have someone available to answer questions.
I'd also like to keep continuing. Much like the GM, I've been here since the very start and have a lot of great memories in this campaign! I'm all-in to see it through to the very end.
A pause makes sense to me. I'm also thinking ahead to early June here, when I'll be abroad for two weeks so I'd have to be botted anyway. I can't speak for all of us, of course, but if we pause and plan a date to reconvene, I'll set it in my agenda and I'll be there, 100%.
I like Ceven and Elisani a lot, and would very much like to keep playing with them as long as possible, so I'm also in favor of seeing if they'll be able to properly come back. At the same time, I'm a bit afraid if we hire multiple replacements, and one or both of E&C come back, that might lead to an awkward situation where we're suddenly made to pick between them... At the very least I wouldn't want any potential new players to be blindsided by some old players' triumphant returns, if that makes sense. For that reason, I like Sherman's solution a lot. I think it strikes a good balance and leaves minimal room for awkward situations like that. I might be a bit overly worried, though.
As for recruiting... at this point this is the one game I'm still in, so I don't exactly have an avenue for recruiting right now, I'm afraid.
EDIT: wow, Tarphrex was the latest post when i started typing this out and then when I posted it, the GM had posted 22 minutes earlier. Maybe I was pondering this one too long lol
I have a couple of games where I could try to recruit. Ofc joining mid-AP always attracts less interest than starting a new one…
Where are we in term of books of the AP? Book 3, or 4 already?
@Sherman: Luckily we don't need much interest, just enough to garner one or two players.
We're mid book 3, almost exactly the middle of the book. Everything after you all left Magnimar was book 3.
Let me know what the other players say as soon as you can.
If I don't hear by Tuesday, I'll post in the recruitment thread.
I was contacted by a player from another game I am in. They asked me if we would consider them for one of our replacements, so I bring their name forward. I will be completely honest, I think Sphen and Aldizog need to have a frank conversation about what they expect from the game to make sure they are on the same page, but Aldizog is a very good player. I just think our table here is different from the table I share with Aldizog elsewhere and I don't want people to be unhappy with the game due to a misunderstanding at the outset.
I have one interested player, I’ll PM the details to GM Sphen
Update: I have three applicants now
I've gotten four total players interested. I obviously need to whiddle it down from there as adding four is unnessecary.
This will hopefully be quick, but we will see.
Good luck!
I've messaged the two players that I feel best about and they should be joining us soon to post about characters. Expectations have been set through private messages, but let us remember that people need to be excited about the character they're going to play.
Tha means no negging.
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Side note, I'll not be posting on 5/19 or 6/1, my daughters' birthdays.
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Other side note, have any of you played a game called Tunic before?
As I expected, sounds like you've done your homework. The class concept sounds solid and I'm not seeing any backgrounds that concern me.
I only ask that you remember the core mission is to protect the tiny dragon. ;-)
Hey there, welcome! Straight off the bat I have to say I'm really impressed. Like Tarphrex says, you've clearly done your homework. I'm seeing not just backgrounds tying into current player characters but also ones that have passed away already!
I'm of course very biased here but I would LOVE a frontliner in front of Estella. She was built for exactly that sort of thing but it hadn't really panned out the way I thought it would; no one to blame but myself for that lol.
I've got no annoyances when it comes to class or race choice. Personally, RotRL is a very Core-feeling adventure so I've opted to stay core-ish (Skald is a hybrid of two core classes, it counts) but I wouldn't ask a fellow player to stick to that themselves. All I would ask is that the character is cool and/or fun, and I'm very easily satisfied in that regard.
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Happy birthday, GM's daughters!
Tunic's on my list, and I really need to get to it. I'm a big fan of what I've seen of Tunic's puzzle design, I love games that get clever with that sort of thing. In the spirit of other creative games that play around with common game design, have you tried Inscryption?
Seeing what gaps look like they need to be filled, I was considering a high-AC skillmonkey who can handle traps and also be a solid frontliner in front of Estella with her longspear. I've never really done a character with Alchemy (alchemist or investigator), but it looks like a good fit for those needs. Leaning towards Alchemist with one of the trapfinding archetypes. Investigator has a better Will save, Alchemist has that nova potential for wiping out bosses. Tough call.
Hey, I'm another player coming in. I haven't looked through all the PC backgrounds yet but looking at party needs I'm thinking heavy armor paladin to tank and smite and self-heal, basically be the party's frontline. There's an easy in there if your new PC used to train with an Iomedean warpriest- my PC could be their other apprentice/squire/ward or whatever.
Personally, I love Investigator- I tank in another game with a swashvestigator who uses Fight Defensively and high Acrobatics and she does great on the front line while also being a walking library and trap-springer.
I will look through the gameplay thread and PC profiles when I get time, today or tomorrow, it's just been a really busy week for me.
Welcome both!
You seem to have it correct, we’d need someone for the frontline, but we’re also lacking the brains skills and trap-dealer. Just a bunch of charisma-casters, us :)
So paladin and alchemist would fit those roles very well, if you choose to go those routes. And indeed, if karlprosek makes a paladin, Aldizog’s wouldn’t necessarily need to worry about staying front.
Part 2 (was posting while waiting for food in a restaurant, and food came mid-post :P)
I don’t think we have any unwanted classes or races.
Ofc, for paladin, maybe something else than the classical ”lawful stupid” attitude.
As for deities… as mentioned the now-deceased warpriest of Falayna. Sherman is mistakenly thinking his powers come from Desna. And I’m not sure if religion plays a big role in Tarphrex’s or Estella’s lives.
If you two can link your backstories somehow, it would surely be easier to introduce both of you to the game.
Side note: I’ve played a couple of alchemists over the years. Some things I’ve noticed: They run out of bombs surprisingly fast, especially if going nova. Damage might not even be the best thing about the bombs, but they can do some nice rider effects. If built for close combat, and have the time to buff themselves, they can be really tough.
(Still a bit random notes, written on a phone while enjoying the rare warm-enough-not-to-wear-jacket weather on a restaurant terrace)
If you two can link your backstories somehow, it would surely be easier to introduce both of you to the game.
For sure. I'm really leaning into the idea of being related to Zenaida's backstory in Magnimar.
Before I go too far, let's see if this works. Jane PC wasn't always an adventurer, just a human woman in a small town out in the country north of Magnimar. She was so normal that she was an NPC who actually died in an ogre raid Zenaida eventually put down. But what happened next wasn't normal- she came back, having encountered Falayna on her way to the River of Souls. The empyreal lord sent her back to Golarion in a new body, with new powers, and an oath to avenge her dead. Zenaida found the newborn aasimar and took her back to Magnimar to train to fulfill her oath.
I know this is all very isekai-y but this is just back of the napkin kind of stuff.
She meets up with Aldizog's PC in Magnimar and maybe they get sent out to see what's going on with Zenaida (if the church there doesn't know she died) or to follow up on her last mission (if they do).
She's an angel-blooded aasimar Sacred Servant Paladin with an Oath of Vengeance who hates ogres more than anything and hates giants of all types by extension.
It's not particularly optimized but I like the idea that she's slowly turning into a half-celestial and when she dies she'll go off into the heavens and fight in the eternal war against hell and the abyss, so she'll have the Angel Blood feat and take Angel Wings when she can at level 10.
(Still a bit random notes, written on a phone while enjoying the rare warm-enough-not-to-wear-jacket weather on a restaurant terrace)
That sounds really nice. I am in my basement office in between calls, would love to trade places with you.
GM, do you mind if I dot in the gameplay thread so I can get this campaign popping up on my Campaigns tab?
GM, do you mind if I dot in the gameplay thread so I can get this campaign popping up on my Campaigns tab?
That is fine and understandable.
Once the two new characters are completed (or close enough that the players are comfortable with it), I will story you into gameplay.
It will be suitably mcguffin-esque, but I want to take into account the backstories.
Minor nit for Jane PC - Zenaida's family and church are very aware of what happened to her. Tarphrex and Sherman leaned on their aid to get back on their feet after the Half-PK. But that need not stop the backstory - they might have simply recruited you to pick up where she left off in light of the creature that killed her and the belief that it had an ally in Turtleback Ferry.
But most importantly, welcome aboard, whatever you choose to do. Glad to have you!
Remember, protect the tiny dragon. That's my new theme. And my old unspoken theme.
Remember, protect the tiny dragon. That's my new theme. And my old unspoken theme.
A paladin of Apsu, to protect our resident dragon? :)