I'm good with the block initiative. Rolling the crit's when the attack wasn't a critical hit, weird me out a little, but I sorted it out.
I am a little concerned about Børak getting hit by a dead man, who was in initiative after him.
I'm good with the block initiative. Rolling the crit's when the attack wasn't a critical hit, weird me out a little, but I sorted it out.
I am a little concerned about Børak getting hit by a dead man, who was in the initiative after him.
Each person in the group is acting at the same time. So he is not dead when he attacks...he is dead after both of you complete your movement. The intent behind it is to speed up combat so that multiple people can act instead of waiting on one or two people to move. In encounters with a large amount of NPC's this becomes very useful as we can move encounters along and keep the momentum.
Very interesting. yes, everyone is acting at the save time, combat is a dance. But because Borak is higher in initiative, he struck before the thief did. So the thief's blow should have never hit.
It's sort of like the duel in "the Seven Samurai" or if you prefer westerns "The Magnificent Seven." both contestants move at the same time, but our hero is faster so he would win. When the other contestant disagrees they actually duel, when they play it out for real, the losers blow never hits, because he's dead.
Allowing dead combatants to finish their round defeats part of the purpose of initiative. Initiative determines who goes first, and therefor who can kill the opponent faster. If the opponent can still strike after you've killed him, it negates part of the benefit of a high initiative.
I like the idea of blocks of initiative, but I don't see how letting a dead combatant finish the round speeds up the encounter
Ok went back and looked at combat. Thug one had a higher initiative than Borak. So I jumped the gun on Borak's attack. I wasn't paying attention and thought his conversation, whistling and perception roll had been his turn and thought he had gone for the fourth round, he hadn't. Sorry about the confusion.
All good so far
Helaman,
Where did you get the stats for the Jian Sword? I was looking at D20PFSRD in Eastern Weapons and I didn't see it there or anywhere else.
I also looked in 3rd Party as well. Just trying to find a source on it.
Thanks for the response on the poiso.
I'm not sure how were 'collecting' wealth those we defeat. Borak did frisk two bodies and has a 'if we kill them, we get to keep there stuff' mentality.
Do we need to list everyone we frisk? Did the guards leave the others alone? How do you want us to handle the process?
Didn't frisk anyone...
Hey speak for yourself :)
...Looking at the knives he had picked up from the decapitated man, Børak thrusts them in his belt, then rifles through the mans pockets. 'Why did they,,, it matters not, I killed him, I get to take what is his.'...
...He moves toward the first thief the killed, doing his best to not stumble. Squatting down he rifles through that corpses pockets as well, picking up the knives and anything else the finds...
Børak definitely has a 'keep what you kill' mentality
I will have posts up for us tonight.
Ok, so I don't quite know how to do this. Written communication is very easy to misinterpret without the verbal and physical cues of spoken communication. So let me preface it by saying that I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I do want to point a few of things out.
First of all, ALLENDM, your development of the game so far has been amazing. I've never actually played with a GM who created his own players manual. So the details you've given us are far above my expectations.
I've been especially impressed with the development of Dipur and it's denizens. The hand drawn map is great and it's locals are interesting. The details of the NPC's we've met has been well done and the development of the organizations are excellent. I really like the hooks you've given us. It feels like we could stay in Dipur and have plenty of adventure.
So this brings me to my observations. The characters were hired to travel to Arenjun and back to Dipur. So our adventure could get side tracked and we never see Dipur again, but if not, we come back here. It feels like we could adventure in Dipur, that's why Borak pointed out the two locations they walked past: the Ziggurat and the abandoned tower.
I don't know how far ALLENDM has this planned out, but if feels like we will have lots of options that the characters need to sort out. It's difficult to talk about things if no one answers. There have been times Borak speaks to folks and no one answers or acknowledges what he's said. Do we want to make plans as characters in game, or as players here in discussion, or do we want to let the GM dictate what we do with hints, clues and Railroad signs?
I'm not sure what else to do. He specifically asked for "players with high meaningful post rates." I got the feeling he wanted well developed characters who were involved with the plot, not just riding the rails.
Like I said, not trying to be a jerk. But I don't know what to do other than ask.
In my mind it's a difficult thing to creatively write together. I like my RPG's to be like a well written book, Details when the plot calls for it, but not meaningless filler. Do I have Borak talking too much? How do we want the characters to relate to each other? Do we even want the characters to relate to each other? How do we want to discuss things that will be directly relating to the plot/game?
I keep thinking of this as if it were a 'Conan-like story' would he join the black guard and become their captain? Would he take over the Brotherhood? Would he create his own gang to compete with both? Would he stay in the shadows and raid the rich locations ripe for picking? Would he ride off into the sunset for more profitable pastures?
Jack has given us an amazing opportunity, It would be a shame if we don't take full advantage of it.
I prefer Jack... AllenDM is only my user id :)
I agree. I want the three of you really to create this story with me... The reason I choose Dipur was off our initial discussions. There is a lot of great information on it and it in many ways is the Waterdeep or the Greyhawk of Xoth... I would love for the three of you to take this where you want to go...I have planned out a few concepts that kind of point you to a few. Robert has also brought up a few as well to poke about interest. You are not bound by me...so don't feel railroaded. If you decided to take a turn well we will adapt...
I always flesh out NPC's that you will have direct dealings with and then I put a few additional NPC's to paper (concepts) based on what direction you guys go... Once you make a few turns I can flesh those npc's out as well.
In the end I want us to create a cool and fun story Conan style :)
Jack
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I do agree with everything Robert has said, and I know that I have been lax in the posting...mostly due to real-life creeping in.
Jack you are amazing in your DMing, both here and in Saltmarsh!! I will try to up my posting and make sure to answer when people post questions, statements etc. This game is one of the ones I enjoy the most (along with Saltmarsh), so I do want to keep it going!
Ditto above. For me it was 4 weeks in remote Australia, then sick - bad. Then back to shift work... and now sick again, not bad this time.
Love just about EVERYTHING about this game.
I'd be up for bearding the red brotherhood in their den, or some exploring but narratively I think we need some time out of town. That said? Let's come back here!
Something to be mindful of. Use your skills.., I am really big into skill/knowledge use. I few examples you check for people following/tailing you and you want to be subtle. Perception and Bluff. You are negotiating with someone and trying to determine if they re lying while the same time you are. Sense Motive/Bluff/Diplomacy.
A great description of what you are doing gets you a bonus. +1 to +2. We are taking 10 and taking 20.
Use your skills and your imagination:)
yikes, I'm more used to rolls being for very specific purposes, that's why I waited on the guards to see if I needed to intimidate or not.
A little confused: So on the "You are negotiating with someone and trying to determine if they re lying while the same time you are. Sense Motive/Bluff/Diplomacy." I see the sense motive and the bluff but why diplomacy? I could see the diplomacy first if your trying to influence an attitude or make a request but that sword swings both ways, if you fail the diplomacy roll you've just hamstrung yourself.
If we don't specify Is it possible to take '10' automatically?
Let's use Borak's last post as the discussion: I posted "As they turn south onto the Street of Conquerors, he moves to the eastern side of the road, watching the gate of 'The Conqueror's Kasbah,' warily; not wanting to draw attention or get caught unawares by other guards." I rolled for perception but also could have rolled "stealth" for not wanting to draw attention? Of course his stealth is a -1 so at no time will he ever be truly stealthy.
Edit: Was the 10 (untrained knowledge) high enough to know whether the black guards work in all the kasbah's?
yikes, I'm more used to rolls being for very specific purposes, that's why I waited on the guards to see if I needed to intimidate or not.
A little confused: So on the "You are negotiating with someone and trying to determine if they re lying while the same time you are. Sense Motive/Bluff/Diplomacy." I see the sense motive and the bluff but why diplomacy? I could see the diplomacy first if your trying to influence an attitude or make a request but that sword swings both ways, if you fail the diplomacy roll you've just hamstrung yourself.
If we don't specify Is it possible to take '10' automatically?
Let's use Borak's last post as the discussion: I posted "As they turn south onto the Street of Conquerors, he moves to the eastern side of the road, watching the gate of 'The Conqueror's Kasbah,' warily; not wanting to draw attention or get caught unawares by other guards." I rolled for perception but also could have rolled "stealth" for not wanting to draw attention? Of course his stealth is a -1 so at no time will he ever be truly stealthy.
Edit: Was the 10 (untrained knowledge) high enough to know whether the black guards work in all the kasbah's?
Perception/Stealth would be perfect in Borak's case. Also, just because you have a -1 doesn't mean I would not apply additional bonuses from cover/concealment and such.
The example I was giving was just to site that you can go ahead and make those rolls. In the case I gave was as an example of two persons negotiating (diplomacy) (influence as you stated), sense motive to see if you can detect a lie or intent and bluff to cover your intent.
But let me explain...lets say you suspect you are being followed...you use your perception to detect the trailing/watching party. But you decided to make several stops and turns to help counter their surveillance (Bluff) and help you determine if they are in fact following you (Sense Motive).
So Perception to detect see/hear something. Bluff /Sense Motive to counter and confirm. That was all I was saying :)
Knowledge is trained only so it would not help you in this case with the Black Guard.
My main point is don't hesitate to add dice rolls and take 10/take 20 if appropriate to posts you make. Including well thought out detailed descriptions help with bonuses to those rolls :)
Jack
Knowledge is trained only so it would not help you in this case with the Black Guard.I thought knowledge checks were available untrained but maxed at ten. I'm basing that on the quote under Modifiers on the PFSRD Knowledge page:
Training: You cannot make an untrained Knowledge check with a DC higher than 10.
Usually this is interpreted that an untrained knowledge check can be made up to a DC of '10 (real easy questions) If we weren't allowed to make untrained knowledge checks at all, why would the Drawback unlearned exist? All knowledge checks would be "unlearned"
Now if the knowledge about who guards the other Kasbah's is more than a real easy question, ie: higher than 10, he wouldn't have known even if he had rolled a 20.
I will try and remember to use more skill rolls, or say if I'm taking 10 or 20. I tend to use the narrative to point the direction and then if I'm looking to apply specific skill, I list the defined task for the skills. For instance I would only use diplomacy if I'm trying to gather information, influence an attitude or make request, which are it's listed functions. Then I would specify which.
Knowledge is trained only so it would not help you in this case with the Black Guard.I thought knowledge checks were available untrained but maxed at ten. I'm basing that on the quote under Modifiers on the PFSRD Knowledge page:Training: You cannot make an untrained Knowledge check with a DC higher than 10.Usually this is interpreted that an untrained knowledge check can be made up to a DC of '10 (real easy questions) If we weren't allowed to make untrained knowledge checks at all, why would the Drawback unlearned exist? All knowledge checks would be "unlearned"
Now if the knowledge about who guards the other Kasbah's is more than a real easy question, ie: higher than 10, he wouldn't have known even if he had rolled a 20.
I will try and remember to use more skill rolls, or say if I'm taking 10 or 20. I tend to use the narrative to point the direction and then if I'm looking to apply specific skill, I list the defined task for the skills. For instance I would only use diplomacy if I'm trying to gather information, influence an attitude or make request, which are it's listed functions. Then I would specify which.
You are correct in regards to the untrained knowledge... I was typing as I was watching my son play baseball and didn't form my thoughts fully...sorry for that.
My main point was don't be afraid to use your skills, even in imaginative ways and combine them. I give synergy bonuses for skills that assist...+1 to +2 (DM's descreation) as I want you to get the most out of your skills. Especially knowledge, craft, profession skills. Also Aid Another...
I am just pointing this out for everyone.
Jack
Guys, I am just beat to hell... not sure if it's a relapse of my earlier flu which wiped me out then or a new strain of crap.
I just need a few more days is all I ask for now.
Guys, I am just beat to hell... not sure if it's a relapse of my earlier flu which wiped me out then or a new strain of crap.
I just need a few more days is all I ask for now.
No problem at all. Just focus on getting better!
Thanks for letting us know what's going on, like Jack said get better.
Helaman,
I can bot Shang for a bit. Let me know when you are ready to go.
Jack
So one of the things that has confused me and I wanted to ask about; In recruitment You said.
I am opting to use milestones but one thing I do with my current campaigns is provide a +1 to +2 story bonus to rolls if the description in the post is creative and detailed and not just one or two sentences and dice rolls. So for example:
"Jenna skirts up to the doorway and stoops down and slowly scans the stones near the doorway and the door frame looking for anything unusual or dangerous. She then looks to the stone door frame and then to the ceiling above the door. I have no desire having another sharpened rod falling from the ceiling as I open this damn door! Once she is done doing that she moves her eyes to the door and the latch inspecting both carefully looking for any signs that it is trapped. Once she feels comfortable that it is not she moves up to the door and listens for a moment before putting her ear to the wood of the door right by the key hole. Again listening for anything that might clue her into any surprises lurking behind it."
I would give that description a +2 to the perception check :)
I understand you want descriptive posts, and the above paragraph does a nice job describing the process and concerns and describes the door some.
My question comes in the description of the location itself. Did the player know it was a stone doorway or is that information you gave them? Or did they just work a stone doorway into the narrative? I guess I want to know how much liberty you want us to take on the environ itself. In this situation I would assume the player knew the building/walls were stone and so the doorframe was as well.
Let me give you an example with the caravan. I knew it was a small caravan and I knew the tents were in the middle of the wagons and I knew Our employer had his own body guards. So I worked these ideas into his thought process. But color of the tents, the number of the wagons the armor of the guards are all unknown to me.
How much of that sort of thing do you want me to make up in Boraks narrative, and how much of that type of information do you want to give us?
I felt comfortable making up a 'shop' with a canopy. I felt comfortable describing the one guard as 'young' and 'adartani' like the boy he killed (especially describing him in the 'black guard' uniform')
I'm used to only dealing with the characters appearance, thoughts, actions and reactions; and I try to keep that related to the development of the story. I don't want to step on the GM's toes, trying to reimagine his world. So I thought I would ask about how much 'description of the environment' you want. That way I would have a better understanding of the types of descriptions you are looking for.
So one of the things that has confused me and I wanted to ask about; In recruitment You said.
I am opting to use milestones but one thing I do with my current campaigns is provide a +1 to +2 story bonus to rolls if the description in the post is creative and detailed and not just one or two sentences and dice rolls. So for example:
"Jenna skirts up to the doorway and stoops down and slowly scans the stones near the doorway and the door frame looking for anything unusual or dangerous. She then looks to the stone door frame and then to the ceiling above the door. I have no desire having another sharpened rod falling from the ceiling as I open this damn door! Once she is done doing that she moves her eyes to the door and the latch inspecting both carefully looking for any signs that it is trapped. Once she feels comfortable that it is not she moves up to the door and listens for a moment before putting her ear to the wood of the door right by the key hole. Again listening for anything that might clue her into any surprises lurking behind it."
I would give that description a +2 to the perception check :)
I understand you want descriptive posts, and the above paragraph does a nice job describing the process and concerns and describes the door some.
My question comes in the description of the location itself. Did the player know it was a stone doorway or is that information you gave them? Or did they just work a stone doorway into the narrative? I guess I want to know how much liberty you want us to take on the environ itself. In this situation I would assume the player knew the building/walls were stone and so the doorframe was as well.
Let me give you an example with the caravan. I knew it was a small caravan and I knew the tents were in the middle of the wagons and I knew Our employer had his own body guards. So I worked these ideas into his thought process. But color of the tents, the number of the wagons the armor of the guards are all unknown to me.
How much of...
I will always try and give you a good area description and tone/setting post. But if I don't and you feel comfortable adding setting description and know the area (ancient setting) go for it. Like a few posts already I will work with it and add to it... Like working the Scarlet Brotherhood in as part of the story. I already have a few of the groups backstory involved in the current events...(oh wait did I just write that... :) )
As you get closer I will give more description. Bearing in mind it is night time and the only lighting you have is the torches, fire in the middle (lots of shadow and dark spots) and the distant moon light.
Jack
Cool, I just don't want to 'step on any toes' overelaborating. I will try and keep things minor. If I overstep please let me know.
Noooooo....I did not mean to write all those hanging plot threads!!!!
I will have a post up tomorrow for us. I was hoping to have a few up tonight but I got behind on my posts for the Saltmarsh campaign and things are getting busy over there. My focus will be on you guys tomorrow.
Is everybody ok?
Sorry about the lack of posting this week. I have been tied up with work calls most nights this week.
I will have posts up tonight and throughout the weekend to get caught up.
Been a crazy week. Our primary mainframe in the states had a major issue and my team has been involved with building out some AI and automation to help resolve this issue in the future... crazy week as it affected revenue globally so it was a hot issue.
If Shang has not posted I will BOT him so we can keep the story moving along.
Jack
it's cool Jack, you have to deal with the RL issues. I just thought I'd ask.
I am about to take 4-5 days off work. I'll get things back on track.
All,
I really need to see more posting from everyone. Borak is more of a front line/battlefield character but he has been carrying the bulk of the conversation. Isa and Shang are the real social PC's and I realize RL gets in the way but we need to get back to daily posting during the week and post when you can during the weekend.
Helaman, Daniel your characters should be driving the social interactions as they are really built for these encounters. I would like to see us get back on track and getting our posts back up as this is supposed to be a Role Play heavy game.
Thanks!
Jack
Will do... truth be told life has been dragging lately. It's affecting home, work and play. I have some time off atm to put my head together
Hey Jack, a question about your preference on pace and timing.
I was thinking about what Borak would do once he was settled in camp, clean the knives, ask Isa to look at his wound etc. I was thinking about tacking it on with my last post but wasn't sure if there was more conversation with the locals. So I just waited.
Would you rather I do a smaller post like the one I put up, or would you rather I move us into the camp and begin a conversation, and just retcon the other possible conversation?
Hey Jack, a question about your preference on pace and timing.
I was thinking about what Borak would do once he was settled in camp, clean the knives, ask Isa to look at his wound etc. I was thinking about tacking it on with my last post but wasn't sure if there was more conversation with the locals. So I just waited.
Would you rather I do a smaller post like the one I put up, or would you rather I move us into the camp and begin a conversation, and just retcon the other possible conversation?
Sorry for the late reply. I had a major issue pop up at the house. My outdoor CB panel and my Main CB panel had to be changed out on Monday due to some damage that happened at the pool panel on Saturday. Was a nightmare so I had to take time off work Monday as the house had to go on generator (has been since Saturday). I will have posts up tomorrow.
Let me get you settled into camp. I have a post I was working on to get that accomplished. :) I will try and get that posted tonight for us.
Jack
Cool, I figured something was up, I hope everything got taken care of.
I was just kind of looking for a general direction. Wait for conversation, or describe several minutes of mundane work and then retcon the talking.
Obviously, before they settle in for the night certain regular things need done, set up camp, unpack gear etc. But there are also specific things like clean off his two new knives and ask/let Isa work on the wound on his thigh.
Just sort of wanted to know how you would rather we proceed. Not a big deal either way, just don't want to post too much.
Coming back on line... a few life issues but at least I'm now able to cope.
All,
The last couple of weeks have been tough and it doesn't look like it is going to slack off. I have an elderly aunt that we take care of as she has no direct family left. She is 87 and she took a really bad turn in the last few days. I had a host of little RL issues pop up related to our house, the kids, and work but then this popped up as well. I think Murphy's Law is hard at work in our house right now.
I am going to do my best to keep this going but just be aware my posting is going to be sporadic for the time being.
I have two posts I wrote up but need to edit and check them for any rolls and such. Sorry for the slowness, I hate that this is happening.
Jack
Take your time Jack, were not going anywhere; no one else will let me play Børak the Hill Man of Natla :)
I totally understand, along with taking care of my mother with dementia, my mother-in-law had knee replacement surgery and is staying with us until she's in good enough shape to stay on her own.
All good, you gave me time... least I can do is give you time.
A few posts back, it sounded like our options would be to load the wagons or scout. So Borak joked about using the elephant to scout and Shangs said "We will tell this Hardramas we are cautious and need to scout instead" then was the big reveal that we're working for a slaver. Both Isa and Shang had 'thoughts' about working for a slaver but didn't say anything. So Borak responded with.. ""Scouting would be nice, I would like to hear both of your thoughts away from curious ears." and Shang has been working at getting us put on scouting duty.
So I would both like to scout (so Borak doesn't have to put his axe down and turn his back to the guards loading boxes) and 'hear' Shang and Isa's opinions. Those don't have to happen at the same time. We can scout with others and share our opinions later.
I would like to see Isa's reaction to some of this as well.
I've a mind to talk to Gunnar about the Tharagian girl in the slave wagon. There seems to be a sub-plot underway here that I find interesting, but not sure how to play it yet :)
I'm finding that I don't need to 'push' this game as much as regular games. Jack seems to be willing to let the story move the pace along and we don't have to push from one scene to the next. I find it very refreshing, but I still catch myself wanting to list two or three 'action' steps at a time, and it really isn't necessary.
I want this to be story driven and player drive. I am more then willing to take some nuggets that you place (background, comments) and run with them and weave them into the plot and subplots.
And yes you are right there is a subplot at work here. :)
Going to spin a tale so we can break off to speak privately, Shang explains to the trio in a low voice. Be off to one side a bit, looking to east but say nothing...
He goes to find this... Tizam?
Greeting Captain, he says giving the man a differential title despite the size of the band.
I am Shang, I just spoke to our Caravan master. There is concern of a possible threat to the East. He advised he was fine for us to scout it out as long as we reported to you first
[dice=Bluff]1d20 + 7 *note: 19(plus any bonuses you may or may not give]
Sorry I haven't posted but I'm just waiting to see where we are and what has or hasn't happened yet.
All,
Just a bit of pushing on my end. I decided on going with a smaller group (3) so that we could do a bit more role playing in the party.
With a small party it allows us to have a much more enriched interaction with each other. The ability to flesh out and build on NPC's that the party is interacting with. It gives me the ability to really tailor the story to each of you.
One of the things I like to do is give Easter eggs about sub plots, details that are hidden in commentary, and really flesh out NPC's the party is interacting with. It is hard to do this if only one PC is interacting with the story. At points it is just a one on one conversation between myself and Borak.
Over these next few weeks I would really like to see Shang and Isa pick up pace and get involved more with the story. Give me some quality posts...I am struggling a bit on my end and I know Robert is as well. Right now I pondering if it is worth the time to keep this going if we can't get our posting quality up.
If I can do something better please don't hesitate to say so. I don't have thin skin and I am more than willing to adapt to our needs.
Jack
Fair call... let me PM you later to discuss