@Talib: That's an interesting perspective. I agree with a big part of your assessment at the same time I arrive at the opposite conclusion: I found the modular design more flavourful and less gamey precisely because what makes a bard a bard or an elf an elf is not completely set in stone. Different strokes and all that =)
Fair enough. I personally think archetypes and alternate racial traits in 1E offer a much more flavourful way of customising base classes and races, without stripping away anything essential—rarely do I feel the need to pick and choose beyond that.
@robo/@Rissi: I actually far prefer plot-less games, or at least games where whatever plot exists arises from the PCs actions instead of being dictated by the GM, but last time I tried it with PbP it didn't go so well (admittedly, it was my first attempt at GMing PbP and we had pretty much every possible issue, from OOC conflict to illness to defections). My approach now is to have some sort of guiding framework (such as a module or a scenario) and experiment within that, so if I feel the energy is becoming a bit dispersed and unfocussed I only need to pop back into the railroad tracks, if that makes sense. Of course, once (if?) you're out of the courthouse, I'm not going to put invisible walls to prevent anyone from doing anything.
I prefer closed narratives with satisfying endings, especially in play-by-post. As fun as sandboxes can be, I'd rather play with a definite end-point in mind, to avoid the fizzling-out that is the fate of so many games here on the forums. Paizo's adventure modules are just about the right length, in my experience (I've actually managed to finish two of them!), while still offering the GM enough leeway to modify things as they see fit. As you say, it's good to know the rails are there, should you need them.
With that said, I'm open to setting a narrative goal and work towards it without a predetermined solution in mind, but we'd have to establish some clear parameters for completion (i.e. when are done, exactly?). Still, it's more work for the GM to come up with stuff on the fly. I'd suggest that you come up with a list of adventures you'd like to run (both premade and self-generated, whatever you're enthusiastic about) and present us with a few options. Maybe include some eligible suggestions from us players, and then we can narrow it down to something everyone is motivated to see to completion.
And regarding FATE, I might open an interest check thread again, eventually. I have never played it, but loved the extremely narrative-driven rules. I have heard similar things about powered by the apocalypse system too, but never got around getting one of the books.
PbtA is pretty dope. I've only ever gotten to play The Sprawl, but I've read through several others (the original Apocalypse World, Dungeon World, Monsterhearts, etc.). Blades in the Dark is really cool too, and further builds on the principles of PbtA in a big way—maybe my favourite game ever. Check it out if you have the chance!
Quick heads up: my post will come in later than usual today due to the aforementioned soul-crushing job.
Are we still in initiative order?
Apologies, I should have been clearer: you can post freely, though depending on how you handle the situation we might snap back to initiative. It's sort of a schrödinger's initiative order.
I can respect that :p alright, thanks for the clarification!
So…where is everyone?
I'm here. Just been busy the past few days turning thirty and all. :)
Ayyy grats! I'll get there someday, hopefully.
Thanks. Now if only I could pause time. :P
Welcome to your thirties, everything hurts and you're always tired =D
In all seriousness, though, congratulations and hope you're having a nice day!
Happy (implied) ((probably belated)) birthday!
Thanks all. I've been having a great extended weekend. :)
As far as stuff hurting, well bad knees made for a couple of unpleasant winter days well before now.
As I don't want to put the others at risk, I'm delaying my next post until tomorrow morning (CET) in hopes the missing PCs will post their own actions.
I have messaged Rissi and Skurly, but how would you like me to approach this in case they don't get back to me? I'm afraid continuing with only three PCs might be too dangerous.
Well, hopefully they'll get back to you, but if they don't, I suppose we'd have to recruit new players...? That, or NPC back-up. I don't know how that'd play out, though. There aren't many ways to introduce new characters in the current scenario—at least none that don't put strain on verisimilitude.
Gotta second Talib here, introducing new characters wouldn't feel great about now. If they don't show back up maybe we could just have them botted for a while? It would suck, admittedly, but that would help with combat. NPC back-up also feels like a decent solution, though I know they all kind of have their own stories and such and therefore may not be very appropriate companions.
Indeed, that's the complex bit: setting aside whether or not someone can freely enter the courthouse at the moment, there's a very specific reason why your PCs are the ones inside the house (aka your relatives).
NPCs are not much of a solution, unfortunately, as most of the remaining ones are either commoners or unreliable due to the narrative.
For now, though: I'll bot them, but you're more than welcome to take the reigns if you want them to do something specific, commanding them to do stuff you want (for instance, if someone wants Rissi to start her bardic performance or casting detect magic).
I will give them a couple of weeks to come back, which should be enough for me to come up with something.
*squelk*
That was the sound of me falling on my sword.
A bazillion apologies for my unannounced absence here. There's never any good excuse for this sort of thing- the most I can say for myself is that life has been quite extra extra lately, and on the occasions I've managed to sit down to get to the things that really matter in life, like helping my fellow wayfarers out of a jam, my laptop has exploded or the cat's on fire or some other nonsense has come up. It wouldn't have stopped me from checking in though, so really it comes down to a lack of character on my part.
This should be the last time y'all have to wonder where I'm at. Back to work!
I always thought that was more of a *sploortch* sound. :P
Glad to see ya back and hope life's not gettin' ya too down. I'm happy to have Skurly back in the fray and can't wait to see how things go between him and Talienda. :)
So happy you are both back =)
And no apologies needed: I want the game to be a nice/interesting thing, not a source of stress and/or guilt. Real life happens and of course it takes precedence over whatever is happening here.
Only thing I'd like to ask is: whenever things get a bit crazy, just drop me a quick line (like "super busy can't post come back soon") so I know everything's fine and can make sure the game does not stall and is still alive and well when you come back.
Only thing I'd like to ask is: whenever things get a bit crazy, just drop me a quick line (like "super busy can't post come back soon") so I know everything's fine and can make sure the game does not stall and is still alive and well when you come back.
This. Nothing is quite as demoralising as having a player disappear entirely. Aside from the usual stress of losing a player, you get the anxiety of thinking they're dead or whatever else.
With that said, it's indeed good to still have the two of you around!
Same on all accounts. If I know I'm not coming back or it I'm going to be gone a while, I try to let the GM know.
Also looking forward to seeing how Rissi develops. Something about her gives me the impression her tongue is as sharp as a blade when she wants it to be.
Who is holding the magic incense? We'll probably need that right about now.
Who is holding the magic incense? We'll probably need that right about now.
Or failing that, a gang of plucky teenagers and a cowardly dog who are willing to pull the ghost's mask off and reveal that it was Old Man Witherspoon all along?
Nah, we just need to leave and nuke the courthouse from orbit, it's the only way to be sure.
Not to be a Debbie downer, but I don't know that anyone formally picked up the incense, looking back. That could be problematic, to say the least...
Well, I'm fine with assuming you picked it up, even if it was not explicitly stated. Things would be different if you had completely ignored it, but as it stands you cast detect magic and identified it as something potentially useful.
I mean, Rissi knows it was magical, so it seems reasonable to think she did not just leave it lying around. Even if she had done so, Talib was also very much aware of the object and would be even less likely to have left it behind.
As to who has it, it's up to you to decide.
Also, my recommendation is that one of you takes loot tracking duties until Mylok comes back.
I can go through the logs once I have a moment, but for now, let's assume Sinésiel has the incense. A shadow can really mess up a first level party, and we don't really have anything else to deal with incorporeal opponents.
@Sinésiel: sorry, but Sinésiel is dazed for 1 round due to the vision she just experienced, so she can only act on the next round. =(
After that, retrieving the incense from her backpack should take a move action, followed by a standard action to ignite it.
Well, I suppose I'll just wait a round to miss that attack. :P
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Okay, I think I've got the loot list up to date. Let me know if I missed something! As my reward, I rudely appropriated the potion of bear's endurance and the potion of cure moderate wounds for my tank-ly duties. I made sure everyone else has some potions of cure light wounds, as well.
We found some Varisian scarves. Are those worth something?
@Talib: I'm fine with you rolling again, if you want to. The way I see it, you readied an action but the trigger never fired, so you would be able to ready another one on round #2
Regarding the scarves, I updated their value on the spreadsheet (10GP each). Also, thanks for taking care of that. Hopefully Mylok will be back soon to relieve you from that.
Thank you kindly, messire.
Talienda has them. They look nice and she likes the way they feel.
Still alive and kicking here- very much under the gun right now, although gratefully due to some very positive (but demanding) changes in life circumstances.
I'm going to have diminished internet access for the next few weeks- I'll still be doing my best to post as often as I can, and give a quick shout when proper IC posting isn't feasible. Thanks all for bearing up with me. The hardest part is, I think, over soon. Godspeed!
That's good to here. Happy to hear about the good fortune being the cause. :)
Brilliant news, @robo, really happy to hear that!
And thanks for letting us know =)
"Could the toes have been cursed?"
I think you might be the first person in human history to write out those words, in that order, ever. :D
Hmm.... But I'm not human! :)
Shh! You weren't supposed to tell anyone that. :P
"Cursed toes" evokes…very unpleasant mental imagery. Gods.
Hey guys. The current internet situation is a bit more dire than I thought- long story short I thought I'd be able to post from work, which turned out to not be so. Borrowing a phone to check in now. Hopefully this will be sorted out in the 4th permanently. Appreciate your patience with me! Till then bot freely
Oh yeah, this should include the +4 bonus from being larger than the target. That might actually make an impression. :P
Just as a heads up I'll be at PAX Unplugged this weekend so I won't be able to post from Friday 12/6 to Sunday 12/8.
Thanks for the heads up, Sinésiel =)
And hang on tight, robo. Keep us updated when you can, but take your time. We'll be here a while (and will take good care of Skurly when you can't).
Will give Talib till tomorrow morning (CET) before I move things forward.
Very sorry for my overlong absence, everyone! After getting home from PAX I ended up getting the stomach flu and then infecting everyone else I live with :( Should be back in full force though, now!
Ah, damn, that's terrible. Happy to hear you're feeling better, though, stomach flus are so draining.
Bummer. I know that's no fun. Glad to hear you're on the mend, though.
Speaking of PAX, did you go to the panel done by Puffin Forest, JoCat, and Dingo Doodles?
No, unfortunately. I ended up GMing every block of the weekend so I'm not sure that I left the organized play room for any more than to sleep and eat. Had a great time, though!