Initiative order among party members can grind everything to a halt quickly if followed strictly. I find it not to be worth it. In my Pathfinder games, I've grouped players in blocks with enemies separating them. Within each block, I've resolved in posting order, though resolving in initiative order wouldn't be too rough. In either case, the GM needs to fix player actions that don't make sense now and then.
24 hours is pretty reasonable for time to take your turn in combat. I'm personally comfortable with being run by the GM in case of a missed post. I know some people aren't though. IMO the best option is to buddy system with another player, but few seem to agree with me on that.
I'm also in favour of block initiative for players. One player can suddenly disappear for a few days and grind a fast combat to a halt.
24 hours is a reasonable wait time. Less if the player has openly stated that they will be away.
I'm in favour of botting after 24 hours, though I don't object to a buddy system.
I would strongly advise against having a PC do nothing. OOC it would mean that the encounter becomes unfairly harder with no notice. IC it may mean that the "active" PCs have IC reason to not trust the PC who "froze" or "stepped back".
To be clear, I give the GM permission to bot Talther after 24 hours or if I've already said that I'll be away. If a buddy system is in place, I'm happy to work that out too.
Block Initiative with Gm rolling. That way it doesn’t take 3 days to roll Initiative. PbP dies when momentum goes away.
24 hours then GM bots you.
Seems fair to me.
I agree, Block initiative moves things along nicely.
24 hours, then bot is what I use
Looks like that round went well! Waiting a bit to make sure the round is fully resolved.
That crit was *very* fortunate. Too bad trolls won’t take bleed damage.
Hopefully my hit will put it closer to staying down for good. But we need some fire to finish this job.
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Trolls can kiss my axe. ^^
Your descriptions really add to the fight, GM! Thanks for that! I don't think I will be ever so lucky again… But that's Warhammer, that's expected!
As far as I am concerned, if you think I am too slow for posting (I'm French, so maybe not in the same time zone) roll for me GM!
On characters death: what will happen when (it's Warhammer) one of the character dies? Should we roll a new one? Could we have a "spare" character already rolled to speed up things (just a suggestion!)?
Trolls can kiss my axe. ^^
Your descriptions really add to the fight, GM! Thanks for that! I don't think I will be ever so lucky again… But that's Warhammer, that's expected!
As far as I am concerned, if you think I am too slow for posting (I'm French, so maybe not in the same time zone) roll for me GM!
On characters death: what will happen when (it's Warhammer) one of the character dies? Should we roll a new one? Could we have a "spare" character already rolled to speed up things (just a suggestion!)?
:) I like that, trolls can kiss your axe!
I hope you are feeling better, I assume so since you are okay to make jokes.
I'm afraid that you're going to be proven correct and characters will die. It would speed things up to have a spare on hand.
Well done , guys....that was really quite exciting, even if I was a little late to contribute much !
Troll-Slayers, indeed! :)
That was fantastic!
Some great descriptions and fortune shone on us!
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Rewards time
All fortune points are restored
All characters gain 1 Fate point
All characters gain 50 XP for destroying the Teufel Terror
All characters gain 10 XP for acquiring evidence (a troll skull as well as many eye-witnesses to prove you were right about the troll)
All characters gain 10 XP for excellent role-playing during the Teufel Terror incident
All characters gain +10 for positive Fellowship interactions with the inhabitants of Ubersreik as they are now known as Troll Slayers
All characters gain 1 Silver Shilling voted as thanks by the town fathers of Ubersreik
I always make jokes.
Some are very bad.
You've been warned.
Rewards time
All fortune points are restored
All characters gain 1 Fate point
All characters gain 50 XP for destroying the Teufel Terror
All characters gain 10 XP for acquiring evidence (a troll skull as well as many eye-witnesses to prove you were right about the troll)
All characters gain 10 XP for excellent role-playing during the Teufel Terror incident
All characters gain +10 for positive Fellowship interactions with the inhabitants of Ubersreik as they are now known as Troll Slayers
All characters gain 1 Silver Shilling voted as thanks by the town fathers of Ubersreik
Super!
Did we not have a +10 to fellowship already? If, so do the stack?If we roll a substitute, not saying I'd need it, Ruprecht is going to live forever!! do so here in Discussion or in Recruitment to keep Discussion a bit cleaner?
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Rewards time
All fortune points are restored
All characters gain 1 Fate point
All characters gain 50 XP for destroying the Teufel Terror
All characters gain 10 XP for acquiring evidence (a troll skull as well as many eye-witnesses to prove you were right about the troll)
All characters gain 10 XP for excellent role-playing during the Teufel Terror incident
All characters gain +10 for positive Fellowship interactions with the inhabitants of Ubersreik as they are now known as Troll Slayers
All characters gain 1 Silver Shilling voted as thanks by the town fathers of Ubersreik
Super!
Did we not have a +10 to fellowship already? If, so do the stack?If we roll a substitute, not saying I'd need it, Ruprecht is going to live forever!! do so here in Discussion or in Recruitment to keep Discussion a bit cleaner?
The fellowship does stack so you are +20 for the poor people of the docks and +10 for everyone else in the city.
It probably does make sense to post back-up characters in the recruitment thread.
I think I've never rolled for my starting money
XP 5+70=75
+2 Weapon Skill (50 xp)
+1 Willpower (25xp)
Great!
Talather's Fate and Fortune rise to 3.
5+70xp = 75xp
Spending for +3 to Wp, as I still need 5 advances in each of my starting attributes to finish off level 1 of my career.
75xp S +3
100xp T +4
75xp Wp +3
250xp total spent
0xp left
Woo! We lived!
70xp, with 10 saved. +3 T, for total of 49 (so close! 20xp off)
Makes +4 Str and +4 T.
Wow. A Fate point is big.
I'm a bit scared to roll an alternate character: I might like them more than Landolf....
As you all close in on probably changing careers, it might be useful to remind everyone what you need to do.
Changing Career
When you have taken all the Advances you want in your current Career, it’s time to change Career. Changing Career means one of two things:
1) Moving to a different level within your current Career (from Apothecary to Master Apothecary ); or
2) Moving to an entirely new Career (from Apothecary to Scholar ).
In each case, you will have to first determine if you have completed your current Career level. If you have, changing Career costs 100 XP. If you have not, it costs 200 XP.
Completing a Career
Completing a Career represents mastering your current vocation and being ready to move on to something new. To complete a 1st level Career, you must have 5 Advances in the three Career level 1 Characteristics and 5 advances in the eight Career level 1 Skills. You must also have at least 1 Talent from your current Career level. Skills and Talents you have gained from advancement prior to entering your current Career count towards this. You need 1 talent from Level 1 career but since you were able to pick a talent when you started that career, you do not need to purchase another one.
Note: Just because you have completed a Career level does not mean you have to move to a new one. Moving Career is always entirely up to you. If you wish to stay in the first level of Pauper forever, that’s completely fine. You may want to stay at Level 1 of a career to purchase the Talents available at that Level. You can't buy a Level 1 Talent if you have moved to Level 2
Changing to a New Level
If you have completed your current Career level, you can enter the next Career level, or any lower Career level, for 100 XP. So, if you completed Hunter (Hunter level 2), you could exit to Tracker(Hunter level 3) or Trapper (Hunter level 1) for 100 XP, but not Huntsmaster (Hunter level 4).
Changing to a New Career
If you have completed your current Career level, you can enter the first level of any Career from your Class for 100 XP, or for 200 XP if you have not completed your current Career level So you do NOT have to complete a current Career to change to a new Career, it just costs 100 XP extra. If you want to enter the first level of a Career from a different Class, this cost an extra 100 XP So you do not have to stay in the same Class as you are in currently, you can change classes
Are we planning to use the Endeavor system for Downtime when we get to an appropriate place in the story?
Edit: it helps to know whether normal cost training for some things will be available through Endeavors.
Are we planning to use the Endeavor system for Downtime when we get to an appropriate place in the story?
Edit: it helps to know whether normal cost training for some things will be available through Endeavors.
I don’t think there’s going to be any down time soon that allow for Endeavors.
I didn't think so we would get Downtime soon. I guess the question was more whether it would be part of the campaign at some point.
I'm still liking the Seaman career, but it NEVER gets normal price access to Strength, Toughness or Willpower. It's hard to imagine going all the way to gold tier and still having 11 Wounds.
I guess you could pay double price for some upgrades in those stats, but that's a high price tag.
* Landolf spent 30 of the new XP to get his 6th & 7th advances in Melee (Brawling), bringing his total Brawling skill to 40. Too dangerous to wait until his next career level to start getting more melee skill.
Got to say that was intense, and *very* lucky. That troll really could have cost us some fate points.
Got to say that was intense, and *very* lucky. That troll really could have cost us some fate points.
Misfortune happens to trolls as well!
Agreed though.
I didn't think so we would get Downtime soon. I guess the question was more whether it would be part of the campaign at some point.
I'm still liking the Seaman career, but it NEVER gets normal price access to Strength, Toughness or Willpower. It's hard to imagine going all the way to gold tier and still having 11 Wounds.
I guess you could pay double price for some upgrades in those stats, but that's a high price tag.
* Landolf spent 30 of the new XP to get his 6th & 7th advances in Melee (Brawling), bringing his total Brawling skill to 40. Too dangerous to wait until his next career level to start getting more melee skill.
In my head no. If it goes how I’ve been expecting it’s more of 1 thing immediately leading to another and then another and so on
Did we achieve our party short-term goal of "Gain the trust of the Watch" yet? Did we ever formalize that as our party goal?
Good catch! If so that’ll be enough to get into TB5 territory. :)
@GM: I think you missed Talther's charm assist.
****************
Correcting my spend into a non-spend, as I realised that I had allocated my 5 advance points in character creation into Wp. Saving all 75xp that I have for now.
75xp S +3
100xp T +4
0xp Wp +0 (5 advances from character creation)
175xp total spent
75xp left
Human
Knight
Fate: 3
Resilience: 3
Artistic
Pure Soul
Animal Affinity
I’ll make a profile later, and will try to keep it updated on xp. So if Valghaz does die, the switch will be easy.
Highlights of the Merchant Quarter
The Merchant Quarter extends eastwards from Marktplatz to the base of the Hill. It contains the Merchants’ Guild, as well as a number of traders, retailers, and offices, as well as some smaller warehouses. Most of the buildings here are part stone, part timber, and even in these difficult times, several are being extended and redeveloped as trade in Ubersreik swells. By day, the quarter it is usually busy, filled with burghers of all classes, but at night it grows quieter the further you stray from the Market Square, though it is well-patrolled by the Watch.
The Dog Pens
The Dog Pens, a wide square near the centre of the Merchant Quarter, used to house kennels for dog fighting. The kennels have long since moved beyond the walls, but the name persists, kept alive by the sizeable statue of a Saint Saal, a local dog breed, in the centre of the square. The Pens now hosts a number of middleclass eateries and taverns, including Frau Dehne’s Tearoom and Sauer’s Slophouse.
The Exploding Pig
Just off Abrechnungsplatz lies the Exploding Pig, a large tavern frequented by merchants, traders, and, on Marktags, visiting farmers. Its two floors are a hive of gossip, especially among local burghers with an interest in trade and local politics. Since the arrival of the State Soldiers from Altdorf, the Pig is much busier than usual as Ubersreik’s chattering middle classes gather to discuss the latest developments concerning the Town Council and then jockey for influence.
Furlisdottir’s Corn Exchange
A large, two-storey, stone building, the Corn Exchange used to be the primary market for all grain trading in Ubersreik. As Ubersreik and its population steadily grew, the trade it generated outgrew the space and moved to a larger site near the Teubrücke. Since then, the building has been reconfigured as an indoor market, with numerous small retail stalls present on most days. The ground floor is a maze of stalls selling clothes, food, homewares, and knick-knacks of all kinds. A mezzanine gallery circles the building. More expensive items may be purchased there, and guards circulate to ensure customers don’t give in to the temptations of Ranald, the God of Thieves and Trickery, and try to lift stack without paying.
Merchants’ Guild
The Merchants’ Guild has become the political powerhouse of Ubersreik overnight. Following the Jungfreuds’ removal, it is now the most influential force in local politics. Guildmaster Marta Müller is keen to exploit this influential force for the benefit of the guild and the town’s merchants. She has undertaken a series of renovations, to ensure the guildhouse’s facade reflects both civic pride and opulent wealth; but, for now, it is a mass of wooden scaffolding, swarming with surly tradesmen. There’s a private club for local merchants, or visitors who are signed in by a member in the ground floor. Upstairs there is a suite of more formal meeting rooms.
The Old Granary
Dominating the skyline in the south of Ubersreik, the Old Granary is one of the fortress-town’s tallest buildings. The conical construction is entirely built from stone, and has many doors up its north-facing side. It is wrapped with an external staircase that has seen better decades. Despite the name, it is currently the only granary within the town’s walls. Outside Ubersreik, several smaller granaries can be found in nearby villages, but they are too far away for general use by local bakers. Over the years, a number of ‘New Granaries’ have been constructed in many sites across the town, but all have burned down after unfortunate accidents. Indeed, as flour is extremely flammable and prone to exploding, fire is a constant risk, and many precautions are taken to ensure there is never a problem. Because of this, the Old Granary is heavily guarded, and no naked flames, engineers, or wizards are permitted within ten feet by law.
Saint Bastian’s Hospital
Ubersreik’s Merchants’ Guild maintain this orphanage and school as a philanthropic gesture. Initially a smaller endeavour, supporting only eight children, under Guildmaster Müller’s influence it has grown in size. The Hospital moved from the docks to a tall, narrow building in the Merchant Quarter (the better to demonstrate their generosity for all to see). The ground floor contains a reception area, office space, a refectory and kitchens. The first floor contains classrooms and bathrooms, and the top floor contains the children’s dormitory. Staff quarters are in the basement. Frederich Gewinnguter runs the Hospital. A charming middle-aged man, he lives on site, with his wife Hilde,who assists him in his duties.
Sisters’ Bakery
A modest, stone built building, Sister’s Bakery is tucked in between a leather shop and a milliner. It’s a single storey, noticeably shorter than the other buildings on its street, a fact in which the Halfling owners take great pride. Inside, there is a small area for serving customers, lined with shelves laden with bread and pies, with more delicate confections kept behind the counter. Most of the building’s deep footprint is taken up with the bakery itself, comprising a flour store, a preparation area, and two large ovens.
Spirren-Hirsch and Gärtner
Spirren-Hirsch and Gärtner are the foremost practitioners of law in Ubersreik. The timber and lathe office is is currently being extended to allow for their growing number of clerks. The building is notable for its multiple entrances and exits, to allow discretion on the part of their clientele, particularly useful given the firm’s propensity for representing both parties in civil cases. Wilhelm Gärtner and Melina Spirren-Hirsch are the firm’s chief partners. Spirren-Hirsch is an intelligent, sophisticated woman in her 60s. Gärtner is only 30, with a brash, arrogant streak. Many student lawyers and clerks assist the partners.
Unterdaumen Warehouses
Seven small warehouses are ringfenced to the north of the Merchant’s District and well-patrolled by private guards. They are owned by the Unterdaumen Merchant House, an Ubersreik merchant family who trade in whatever is cheap that season, in order to sell it at a profit elsewhere. Each warehouse has large double-doors, is around ten-yards long, and has no windows.
Von Holzenauer’s Potion Shop
A spacious three-storey building, the Potion Shop has large arched windows illuminating the ground floor, where potions are made and sold. The first floor holds the spacious and well-lit private quarters of the owner, Siegfried von Holzenauer. The staff quarters lie above this, in the cramped attic rooms.
Wahlund’s Rat Catchers
Until recently, the rat catchers of Ubersreik barely had a guild. They met once a month in the Red Moon Inn to discuss rodent nests, but otherwise kept to themselves. The duke of Ubersreik funded a rat-tail bounty, which was just generous enough for them to make a living. But then the Jungfreuds were removed from power, and the rat catchers, bountiless, seemed doomed. However, just a week later, Wahlund, a foreign rat catcher, arrived in Ubersreik with his ‘Exterminators’. Wahlund bought an old inn, which he offered the guild if it let him lead them. Somewhat stunned, the rat catchers warily agreed, and Wahlund became Guildmaster Wahlund. His first act was to approach the Town Council to demand a new rat-tail bounty. The burgomeister was reluctant, but wanted to appear as capable as the Jungfreuds before him, so agreed. Wahlund then printed pamphlets advertising new, higher rates, each containing numerous testimonials from satisfied customers. He then hired a small army of street urchins to hand them out. And then the money rolled in.
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Just a side note, re reading the rules: don't forget to update your Wounds total, folks, especially if your Toughness, Strenght or Willpower level up
Wounds: STR+2*TOUGH+WILL (so 3+(2*4)+3=14 for me instead of 12)
Aubster, your recent mention of books has me interested again. If I was going to choose just one book to get, probably with some emphasis on Ubersreik and/or the setting area of the campaign, which would you recommend?
Aubster, your recent mention of books has me interested again. If I was going to choose just one book to get, probably with some emphasis on Ubersreik and/or the setting area of the campaign, which would you recommend?
I’ve never seen Ubersreik mentioned before the starter set came out.
Don’t get any book set in the Age of Sigmar (yuck) as it’s a completely different world. I don’t read the End Times books because I refuse to recognize it as legitimate:)
Brunner the Bounty Hunter has a major part of its setting in the Grey Mountains between The Empire and Bretonnia so it’s the right general area.
Gotrek and Felix Omnibus 1 contains a couple of really good books, Trollslayer and Skaveslayer. Those are probably my favorite WHF books in general and since they are constantly moving you get to see a lot of the Empire and there are LOTS of books in the series...maybe 20...but they do go downhill when the writer changed.
There’s Drachenfels which is a location near Ubersreik but it’s very non-canon as Vampires are free to roam around and no one tries to kill them. As in ”oh, look sonny there’s that nice vampire that runs the tavern...be a good boy and let her suck your blood out.
Anyone else have suggested books?
I loved the Felix and Gotrek stuff but I mostly read them way back in the day.
My take on Age of Sigmar is this: it's not WHFRP but a new setting with a little overlap in elements. It is it's own thing. Note that new PC games are being done in WHF world, not so much Age of Sigmar.
WF is a setting that feels relatable. A small German-ish village under the shadows of a monster filled Drakwald forest? Yeah. I can picture that. I can picture the people. The rat catcher, the woodsman, the squire to the local elderly, retired, crippled knight...the hedgewizard doing her best to figure out how her powers work...all have human feelings, emotions and motivations.
A massive fortress city in the realm of fire that is build over a portal connecting it to the realm of beasts, which in turn has its own massive city on the other side. Both of which are defended by super-soldiers who deploy via literal lightning? No, I can’t picture life there.
It’s no wonder why it is the better setting for video games.
Still trying to figure out what I'm doing with Landolf's career change coming up. Is anyone else considering changing career rather than just advancing in their current career?
I don't think we have Heal access coming anytime soon.
Talther is going up to governor. ;)
Question: Do you get a Level 2 talent for free when you advance your career to level 2?
When you first start your character you get 40 points to put into the eight starting skills and one talent of your choice from the talent list for Level 1 career. When you advance to Level 2 you get six additional skills that you can advance (so 14 total) and access to four new talents. You don't get any points to put into those new skills though so you have to pay for them as you go. I assume that you also don't get a free pick of a talent and you have to pay for it to acquire it. Does that make sense? Or would everyone prefer that whenever you move to a new career you get 1 talent from that career immediately without paying additional XP?
Note: I did read something that explained a bit about skill needs for advancement. Even though you have 14 skills available at Level 2 you still only need to advance eight of them to move up. Likewise at Level 3 you have 18 skills that you can advance but only need to do 8 to move up.
I always understood that talents didn't come for free after character creation.
Everything else I understood the same as you explained it.
Still trying to figure out what I'm doing with Landolf's career change coming up. Is anyone else considering changing career rather than just advancing in their current career?
I don't think we have Heal access coming anytime soon.
Landolf's current class overall and career specifically is probably the least well suited going forward. I think it does make sense to let him leverage the fact that he's a noble to be able to take one of the careers in the courtier class without having to pay 200 XP for switching class and career at the same time. Instead just pay the normal 100 XP for a career change within a class.
I mentioned earlier that out of the courtier career, Noble and Duellist both interested me. Both present problems in differing ways:
Duellist - it isn't a critical problem, but Landolf has advances in none of the skills for this career so far. It would take him a little longer than normal to dig out of the baseline Fencer career stage. On the plus side, the career has some really cool talents and cheap access to the Heal skill (though without Intelligence advancement to make Heal be actually good).
Noble - Landolf's current skills are a better match for Noble, but he is way, WAY off on having the trappings for the class. I know that isn't required, but the magnitude of difference is such that it would be a long time before he'd be taken at all seriously as a member of his career. If I do go into Noble, I'm planning to purchase the Luck talent more than once and have a huge pile of Fortune to spend each day.
Having a Noble career in the party is probably something I'd want to give everyone a chance to object to as well. The amount of money and status that come with it could be overbearing.
--
I bumped into the Watchman career as I was meandering around in the book earlier today. Is that essentially what we've been for the last while? A Brass 3 income would normally be 6d10 pennies instead of three. I guess maybe Klumpenklug might have been skimming off our wages, though.
For duelist or noble, it really comes down to how you see Landolf and his goals. I think for the latter it is fine to be a destitute noble seeking his fortune. I’m sure that the Empire has more than it’s fair share of that. Plus, it would provide some clout to the party in social situations.
That said, if we all die because nobody has the heal skill, then social clout doesn’t help.
I mentioned earlier that out of the courtier career, Noble and Duellist both interested me. Both present problems in differing ways:
Duellist - it isn't a critical problem, but Landolf has advances in none of the skills for this career so far. It would take him a little longer than normal to dig out of the baseline Fencer career stage. On the plus side, the career has some really cool talents and cheap access to the Heal skill (though without Intelligence advancement to make Heal be actually good).
Noble - Landolf's current skills are a better match for Noble, but he is way, WAY off on having the trappings for the class. I know that isn't required, but the magnitude of difference is such that it would be a long time before he'd be taken at all seriously as a member of his career. If I do go into Noble, I'm planning to purchase the Luck talent more than once and have a huge pile of Fortune to spend each day.
Having a Noble career in the party is probably something I'd want to give everyone a chance to object to as well. The amount of money and status that come with it could be overbearing.
--
I bumped into the Watchman career as I was meandering around in the book earlier today. Is that essentially what we've been for the last while? A Brass 3 income would normally be 6d10 pennies instead of three. I guess maybe Klumpenklug might have been skimming off our wages, though.
Of course Rudi is skimming your wages, there's zero chance the GM made a mistake. (just in case it's not clear...that's sarcasm...I made a mistake but it'll be rectified if you guys don't die before you take care of Rudi)
For duelist or noble, it really comes down to how you see Landolf and his goals. I think for the latter it is fine to be a destitute noble seeking his fortune. I’m sure that the Empire has more than it’s fair share of that. Plus, it would provide some clout to the party in social situations.
That said, if we all die because nobody has the heal skill, then social clout doesn’t help.
Not as much as Noble obviously, but even Duellist is pretty decent on the status front. Silver 3 for starting is pretty crazy.
Maybe we could leverage the upcoming visit with the Karstadts as a story rationale for a change?
I have no OOC objection to Landolf becoming a noble. Having one about is handy.
IC, Talther is going places. He could definitely get behind having a friend who's a noble. Besides, he and Landolf tend to agree on a lot!
Trivia Aside: A noble in Dark Heresy 1e was near mandatory if the GM interpreted the rules as insisting that acolytes pay for their own ammunition and food.
Got to say, I did not expect Valghaz to be making many Charm tests when I made the character.
I wasn't expecting Talther to make an intimidate check!
I wasn't expecting Talther to make an intimidate check!
You did easily succeed on your infuriate roll though.
Huzzah!