GM Chesca's Jade Regent (Inactive)

Game Master Chesca Wyndamere

Welcome successful adventurers! :)

The discussion thread is where I hope most of the OOC chatter will happen. Let's keep the main gameplay thread just for in-game conversations, narratives and combat.

Please take this time to finalise/tidy up your character sheets and set up game aliases (for those who haven’t done so already). For those of you who haven't distinguished/labelled your skills between adventuring and background skills, can you please do so now. If you don't want to split them up on your character sheet, then simply add an asterisks to the background skills and make a note.

Since everyone is starting off in Sandpoint, you may have formed connections to one another, depending on how long you've been living/staying in town. The connections can be strong/close or as little as simple acquaintances. This is only to set up a certain rapport in the party. In other games I've seen people set up character connections and then only rp with those characters. I hope this doesn’t happen in this game as it isn't nice when people are excluded or sidelined in rp. It's good when the dialogue flows as best as possible between the party members. :)

While I'm finalising a few things for the game and before I open up the campaign thread, can you take a moment to put together a small list of weaknesses/flaws for your character. Do they have certain fears? Have they made mistakes in the past they now regret and/or learned from? Have they some personality or moral limitation? etc. Please post these under a spoiler on your profile page/character sheet.

Also, can you let me know what time zone you're in. This is just to help me out with posting expectations.

Thanks so much,
Chesca.

Flori & Dargu: You have both taken the Foster Child: Koya campaign trait. I suppose that makes you foster siblings (if you decide to go down that path). I'll leave it to you to work out the dynamic and then let me know. Thanks! :)

I have posted some things on the Campaign Info Tab. I'll continue to add relevant information there as a point of reference place.

Thank you, GM!

I am incredibly excited about playing with everyone in Jade Regent. I don't know the details of the story, just the general themes and so many recommendations so this should be a fun ride!

I'm from the UK (GMT) so aim to post before/after work (so between 6-7am and after 4:30pm) unless its the school holidays in which I am around a lot more (like I am at the moment!). I also post a fair amount on Sundays, and can usually post at least once on Saturdays.

Dargu - "Hello brother!" We should definitely flesh out how we get along and work together.
How long ago was Dargu adopted by Koya? I envision that Flori was adopted around 20 years ago when her mother died (2 y/o). I'm thinking knowing this is a good place to start.
As Dargu is a frontline fighter, and Flori can be effective frontline as well, I'm sure we can fight side by side! (Thanks GM Chesca ;) )

I'm also willing to make connections with anyone/everyone and if anyone has suggestions on how their characters know Flori, please let me know! I'll have a look at all your characters and think of ideas too.

I'll get to changing her tagline too.

Dargu is around 24, and has been with Koya, Sandra, and Flori since he was around 5-6. He is a very physical and impetuous young man, although not deliberately violent.

He does love to talk about, examine, and opine on weapons, armor, and various other tools of his trade, and seems to want whichever latest and greatest gear he comes across.

Personality wise, he is fairly quite but likes telling stupid "dad jokes" and puns to elicit groans from his audience. He is fiercely loyal to his family and friends, and will not hesitate to step into harms way for any of them. He doesn't start fights, but he will certainly end them.

On his caravan trips, he loves to bring back little trinkets for his "little sister", especially models of soldiers or toy swords, shields, or the like.

I am in eastern US timezone (GMT -5)

Hi! Thank you for selecting my character! It’s a pleasure to play with you all ^^

I'll work on the weaknesses/flaws list today, and let you know when it's on my character sheet! As for time zones, I'm from France (GMT +1), so typically I'm either very late or very early to the party :) I’m a university student, and I don’t know at what hours I’ll post once classes will begin. Probably in the evening, but really, I’ll post whenever I catch an hour or so of freetime :)

Flori and Dargu : Radjiik spent at least one night at Koya’s, and unless Dargu was on one of his caravan trips, you probably were there to catch a glimpse of him. What you heard exactly from the conversation between Sandru and Koya is up to you :P
I imagine that Koya would have given him one of Dargu’s old long-sleeve shirt, which manages to be both too tight and too loose on the slimmer, but taller adolescent. Radjiik was very quiet and unobtrusive for the whole duration of his stay, only opening his mouth to briefly answer questions, or to offer Koya some help around the house if needed. Any questions from you both about where he comes from, why he’s here, or what the tattoo on his arm is would have caused him extreme discomfort, and his answers would have remained evasive.

He arrived in town recently, so I don't know if he'd know any other character really well. I'm open to all suggestions though! :)

I'm currently in the Central time zone in the United States, which is GMT -6 or -5 depending on whether Daylight Saving is in effect. Planning on moving to the Mountain time zone later this year (probably November), so that will be -7 or -6, depending.

Zyren already has several flaws written in to her backstory, but have listed them in a separate spoiler as well.

For the other players' general knowledge though, she is impulsive, impatient, and tends towards selfishness. She is trying to work on all of her flaws (actually one of the reasons that she is currently traveling with Koya), and when things are calm, she'll probably be more ideal, but when things are stressful or she isn't well-centered, she can be much more chaotic/unpredictable.

(Also, because she has been traveling with Koya she has to know Flori and Dargu on some level.)

Hey guys!

Thanks GM! Very happy to be here. I really liked creating Akatsu and I truly look forward to his growth and where things will take him.

I'm in the East US timezone. With that said, I post in different times, so it's hard to pinpoint exactly when - just weekends are always much slower. I am a seasoned player and GM (in real life and in the forums), and a low 40s middle class dad of an amazing little girl. :)

Akatsu is the younger sibling of Ameiko. Separated when he was a little more than a toddler, they had very different lives. His was that of toil and hardiness. He eventually joined a monastery and found some discipline and peace, but that also was disturbed.

He eventually traveled across Varisia seeking Ameiko and found her, and had been in Sandpoint for the past year or so. He's reclusive, but not enough that residents of Sandpoint wouldn't be aware of him and his relationship with his older sister: so I believe most of the people here probably already know him and has some shallow relationship.

Despite his hard life, Akatsu is not a depressed or emotive person. He is actually an optimistic: that type of person happy to be alive. He has a good relationship with Ameiko, albeit not as close as siblings would be - seeming that they're strangers in many aspects.

He worships Pharasma and works at nights as a gravedigger and "crude mason" for mausoleums and tombstones. That, together with his past and some scars he carries from being burnt, makes him slightly unsettling.

Overall, he is a sinner, with a tough past, and struggles to stick to a rudimentary discipline code crafted in his soul as a way to keep his monastic path. Only the future may tell if he will be able to keep his lawful ways or completely give in to his sinful nature.

Mechanically speaking, he's a melee damage dealer. Depending of our needs here in the party I can pull him to help with ranged damage dealing (to help our archer? Probably the ranger can also help there if needed, despite being written as melee as well) or other functions. Almost like "I live to serve" ;) His build is around improvised weapons and the Shikigami style. Maybe we're only missing a full arcane caster, but I think we will be fine.

Anyway - again, thanks GM for the pick, I am absolutely ecstatic to be here with you guys. I'm dying to see where this game will lead us, as I never really had the opportunity of playing Jade Regent.

Cheers!

Hello, everyone. :)

Unfortunately, I just received news that the player I initially selected for the cleric position is unable to play. I have reached out to another player (who’s equally great) from recruitment and am waiting to hear from him. I’ll keep you informed.

Apologies for this.

- Chesca.

All good. Looking forward to our 6th member.

At least we knew before we started, so its no difference for us as a group really. :)

I've added a small section on Flori's fears/regrets under her background. They were pretty much written into it before, but I have a summary section now.
Dargu - you also now have a couple of honorary mentions on her alias page now :)

Radjiik: A suggestion - you and Flori only know each other in passing during a quiet breakfast together when you stayed over. Flori would have attempted to have a long conversation and ask questions, but I'm presuming she would have got quite awkward/uncomfortable replies?

Zyren/Dargu: I'm sure that we will all have spent time travelling together, you probably know Dargu much better than Flori as she doesn't often get time to go with them. Flori is very chatty, so if you ever sat with her during your travels, she wouldn't have given you a choice but to get to know her!

Akatsu: Flori is often working part time at The Rusty Dragon (Ameiko is the owner), so would know him through Ameiko from there I presume. It would depend how much he would come down to the bar itself? Flori is very personable, so would make an attempt to chat with you and make you smile if you had.

Rather than me re-writing my background/personality/role in town here, do have a read of my background and personality on my alias page if your character knows Flori so that you get a feel for her as your character would do. :)

I still haven't heard from the other player I invited. I'll let you know as soon as I do. :)

I have opened the game play thread, and for now can you simply dot and delete so the game shows as active on your campaign listings (and easier to find). There's no need to start any rp at this stage since we're not at full party as yet.

Thanks, all!
Chesca.

My list of weaknesses is ready! I've added it in the crunch.

Flori: She probably didn't get a lot of answers, but given that Flori is of the friendly and smiling type, I guess he would have relaxed a little, maybe even answered with slight smiles of his own :) But yeah, in spite of this small victory, he hasn't opened up much that day.

However, re-reading the Caravan Guard trait (and also reading the GM's post in the game play thread), I guess it actually means that Radjiik's been around for a while, doesn't it? If he has just returned from a caravan trip with Sandru, maybe he got to know Dargu and Flori a little more.

Greetings all, Thanks for having me :D

I think Dominic is going to fit in well with the group, he's got the Best Friend trait for Sandru, so perhaps he's met Radjiik a few times? Dominic's backstory is that he is a wandering priest, but has come to Sandpoint regularly to visit Koya "Auntie", and his "cousins" Sandru, Flori, and Dargu. So it would make sense to have some links between those characters.

Mechanically, Dominic is a wandering Varisian priest of Desna, and a carpenter. He is often in and out of town working for his parent's caravan company, and for those who know him, performing harrow readings to determine their future. What started as a small fun thing with the harrow cards, seems to have more impact on others, as Dominic occasionally gets really valuable insight from the cards, and uses a very old family deck for fortellings.

Mechanically in combat, Dominic hangs back, he has a crossbow and will use it. But doesn't seem himself as a violent person, so will use the blessings of Desna to aid others as needed.

Welcome Dominic! :)

Radjiik and others:

Sandru's caravan would have returned to Sandpoint a month ago and that's when your character (and any other travelling with Sandru) may have decided to stay in town as Sandru and Koya generally stay in town for a few days out of every month then return to the road. Ameiko has informed you that she expects Sandru and Koya back in Sandpoint very soon. Shalaleu doesn't live in town, however she sometimes spends a night or two at The Rusty Dragon. She's currently away visiting friends in other parts of Varisia and you're not exactly sure when she'll be back in Sandpoint, but you know she will return. The only key NPC in town at the moment is Ameiko.

:)

Hey Dominic, welcome to the party. :)

Please tell us what time zone you're in, and add a list of weaknesses/flaws to your profile (see the first post from the GM above for more information).

Copy that, I'm in EST (GMT -5). I'll update flaws and stuff between zoom meetings today.

The Rusty Dragon features a dozen rooms, of which five are “luxury” rooms with their own commodes. All of the rooms have dragon-themed names, and the keys to each bear a small carving of the associated dragon. The seven smaller one-bedroom rooms are the Black, Blue, Green, Red, White, Drake, and Wyvern rooms. These single rooms cost 5 sp per night (or 3 sp/night to a storyteller adventurer).

Room allocations at The Rusty Dragon are as follows (the keys are for story flavour sake and are different so you can remember which room is yours):

• Black Dragon one-bedroom room : Akatsu (your brass key bears a small, painted carving of a black dragon)
• Blue Dragon one-bedroom room: Dominic (your brass key bears a small, painted carving of a blue dragon)
• Green Dragon one-bedroom room: Flori (your brass key bears a small, painted carving of a green dragon)
• Red Dragon one-bedroom room: Dargu (your brass key bears a small, painted carving of a red dragon)
• Star Drake one-bedroom room : Zyren (your brass key bears a small, painted carving of gold and silver star drake)
• Wyvern one-bedroom room: Radjiik (your brass key bears a small, painted carving of a dark blue wyvern)

- It's almost 1 am here so I'm headed to bed. I'll be back on the boards in my morning. Night! :)

Great news, welcome Dominic!

GM, just let us know when you're ready for us to start posting - I'm looking forward to getting stuck in!

@Flori: Let's give it until end of today for the northern hemisphere folk, so Dominic and any other can finalise what they need to and then we can get started! (I say that as it's night here and I'm headed to bed. LOL I'll check in with everyone in my morning and if people are ready, then we can officially start.) :)

Awesome.

Fighter, ranger, monk, cleric, bard, rogue.

I think we'll have a blast with this group.

As for story links, Dargu is in town for the time being because he is looking to get his own place built. He's got some coin saved up and has a good gear set so he's looking to invest in real estate, as it is.

Obviously, he's been hanging out with Flori and Radijik, shooting the breeze and helping with the horses and such. He's also been doing some odd jobs around the Inn, carrying kegs, helping to break up barfights, and the like.

Welcome, Dominic! :)

Due to incredible bad timing, I'll be away tomorrow D:

If I can't get a post in, I'll catch up on my Wednesday!

I'm good to start whenever - I'm fine to give people more time to fine tune.

I think we have a good group here! We're probably missing a good full arcane caster, but we can probably try to work around it and play to our strengths.

Maybe we should start a spreadsheet for our skills to see how covered we are? With a bard and a rogue, I'd think we're likely doing good, but it never hurts to check.

This is what I'm focusing right now:

Acrobatics +6
Knowledge (History) +5
Knowledge (Religion) +5
Perception +6
Profession (Gravedigger) +6
Stealth +6

I can shift it around to better fit the party if needed. I'm also getting full ranks on UMD, but that's just because I need it for the Shikigami feats.

I'm terrible at skills, I've only got Knowledge (religion) at +5, Sense Motive at +7, Bluff at +8, and Heal at +7. My background skills are: Profession (Driver) +7, and craft (Carpentry) at +5.

As I level up, I'll likely invest in Diplomacy and Knowledge (Arcana), as well.

My build is planned to go Cleric up, although possibly into Spherewalker if I can hit the requirements :D

Akatsu, I think we will figure out any glaring skills gaps we have when we start playing. Skills coverage is not such an issue as there are always multiple ways to solve a problem!

I'm presuming most of us have picked skills based on backstories anyway rather than changing them before we start?

Between 6 characters I'm sure we will do well and enjoy the story!

Arrowsong Minstrel takes away Bardic Knowledge, so it is going to take a while for my skills to build up. This is what I have right now:

I think I pulled out the ones with no bonus at all, but the full list is on my profile.

In my opening game play post, I placed all the PCs at The Rusty Dragon, renting the smaller guest rooms. This was only for the sake of ease to have you situated in the same place at the start of the AP.

Flori, Dargu, Dominic, Radjiik and Zyren all have close connections to Koya and/or Sandru (whether as foster children of Koya, rescued by Koya, caravan guard for Sandru or best friend of Sandru). It means you have spent some time with Koya's mother, Madame Mvashti (Niska) before her passing. Madame Mvashti's House (address 50 Festival Street, considered a large manor house) was supposed to revert to town's property when Nisha passed away. I have no issue with saying those PCs who have a have direct relationship with Koya and Sandru could make use of this property. It's currently an ancient and decrepit manor house with several rooms (its state of "neglect" could be associated with Nisha's very long life and Koya being away; only stopping in town during her travels along the Lost Coast with Sandru). Koya, with the help of the influential Ameiko, managed to save the old house from becoming town property and the PCS who have a relationship with Koya can make use of the house to live in or work from. Dargu mentioned he wanted to own his own parcel of land/property in Sandpoint, however please be aware that Sandpoint is only the starting point in this AP and the PCs are adventurers who won't be spending all their time in Sandpoint. I'm fine with saying Dargu has been overseeing the repairs to Nishka's house with the aid of his foster sister, Flori.

In the current absence of Sandru and Koya (as they're on another caravan run), the PCs are all staying with Ameiko in her tavern (occasionally spending time at the manor to make sure the repairs and renovations are going well).

-Ameiko is particularly fond of adventurers, and her tavern welcomes such with open arms. She occasionally employs locals to serve as additional help or as bouncers during the busy season. Dargu has made mention that his character helps out at The Rusty Dragon carrying kegs and breaking up bar fights. Flori is a part time barmaid at The Rusty Dragon (she also works as a barmaid at the White Deer at 150 Church Street). This may give a story tie in with why Dargu and Flori have room and board at The Rusty Dragon in the interim.

I'll be making one more post (today) with the description/layout of the common room of The Rusty Dragon and then the game play is formally open for social rp. Rajiik, catch up when you're able (a day later isn't a big deal - thanks for letting me know). :)

Under the Campaign Info tab, behind the Sandpoint info spoiler, I've added some more general info about Sandpoint for you. :)

Just realised I said "dora" in my last post - a different alias I had just been posting for - sorry. It should say Flori - too late to edit.

Yeah, I figure this is just a starting point for him.

That, plus it gives us a plot point to enjoin at least 4 of us in a shared activity.

And it's not like 70 some odd gp are gonna let him make a house liveable.

Since his player will be back on the boards on Wednesday, I'm going to give Radjiik a chance to make an opening post and interact with/reply to the party before making my own post/s.

If I don't make a post late tonight my time, I will certainly do so tomorrow morning (my time).

Thanks. :)

I'm good with waiting.

I'm back! Sorry to keep you waiting, guys, I'm almost done writing my post

No problem, Radjiik. Thank you for posting! :)

Just a FYI: None of you have visited Brinestump Marsh before. Perhaps getting some direction may aid you or asking around town may help with gaining a little info before you set out. I will give you some info through the sheriff to start with, but I'm hosting a Zoom work meeting in a few mins and I won't be able to post for another hour. Apologies.

~ Chesca.

xD Ninja'd by the GM - I'll edit my post :)

I just wanted to let you all know that I'm off to London all day today so wont get another chance to post after this one til either late tonight or tomorrow morning (am)

Haha. Sorry, Flori. I was rushing to type my post and there were so many typos - it took an age to correct and post. ;)

Thanks for letting me/us know re London. Have a safe trip!

@Flori: Father Zantus was healing/taking care of the rider who came into town last night after being set upon and injured by the goblins with the fireworks. The high priest himself was not attacked. Later in my morning, I can role play it as a misunderstanding and you can speak with the rider?

Fixed! :)

Thanks, Flori. :)

The weekend starts tomorrow for me; however I will try to get a post or two in during my morning before I stop for the weekend (you may remember me saying that I won't be posting on weekends and don't expect my players to be posting, either). :)

If you guys feel you're done with Marten, then you are free to move to the wharves/harbour and speak to the local fishermen regarding Brinestump Marsh etc.

Hey all

Enjoying the game so far, its great to see some really diverse characters!

Do we have a rule for making decisions as a party to help keep things pacey?

I know that the "rule of two" is often used in pbp as a party of 4, are we planning on using something similar with our party of 6?

I've personally always liked it because it means not all 6 players have to post before the plot moves on slightly, just like in a live table top game.

I just wanted to give my own thoughts on the subject of Flori's discussion post. I hope that's okay. I'm still open to hearing all the players thoughts on this, as well.

We have a variety of time zones across players and GM in this game. For that reason, I find that if it is agreed that 2 people can make a decision every single time, that it may end up being the same two people who can post because of their particular time zones (there are a couple players that are on a similar if not same time zone in this game). I personally don't like that (it can set up some friction in game and the possibility of retcon) and I don't feel that waiting to hear from most of the party will effectively set back the pace of a game. (I'm also okay with saying "Hey, it's been over a day and no decision has been made. I need to know what you'd like to do now". I don't like rushing players, however I also don't enjoy a game dragging because decisions are waiting to be made.)

Having set marching orders that the party sticks to every time can help with pace, for eg. I'm a fan of group initiative which can also allow players to post when they're able to rather than waiting on each other to post (I can then summarise the actions via narrative when I'm posting the success or otherwise of actions in combat for eg).

If you'd like for me to make passive checks to keep the game moving, I'm happy to do that. I rather let people make then own FORT/REFLEX/WILL saves in game because there are personal consequences to the success or failure of those.

If players want to set up a botting buddy system for periods when they know they won't be around to post, that's fine and will again help with pace.

If people have other ideas on how to help keep the pace of the game healthy, I'm open to hearing them. I'm not aiming for this to be a fast paced game (I think I mentioned that during the recruitment period). I just don't have the spare time for that and with differing time zones, it's not always feasible. If we can maintain a steady movement/forward motion, then I'm happy with that.

Thanks! :)

PbP does tend to drag, so things that help keep it moving are a good idea. In terms of party decisions though, I think it might be better to just have a 24-hour limit for big decisions (not including weekends), so that everyone has a chance to post.

For smaller things and personal actions, I think it is fine to move forward without everyone's input. For instance, if someone says they are searching an area or a body, we could just move forward with those results before someone else sees it... as long as we are trusting each other not to steal from the party. :) Checks for knowledge or strength can just be done by the first person who succeeds, and the only reason we would have to wait on those things is if everyone is failing and we need some extra aid another rolls to see if we can still do it.

Anyway, totally understand (especially at the beginning of an adventure) wanting to move faster, but often someone who posts later will have a great idea or remember something that we didn't, and people who don't have a say or feel included are going to drop out, which is a bigger danger in PbP than the slower pace, at least in my opinion.

I'm good with gm rolling passive rolls like Perception and the like. Initiative as well, of course.

Absolutely happy with passive checks!

I definitely see what you're saying re-timezones too. Zyren's suggestion seems like a great idea. 24 hours time to post for big decisions on week days will keep it flowing well!

Zyren's idea works well. I'm also fine with passive rolls :)

I am absolutely onboard with the passive rolls idea, and going with a majority to keep the story moving. I was busy with work on the past couple days, for instance, barely coming here at the forums. Probably only combats will require us to be more careful with it, but other than that the average moving-the-story ahead works fine with this approach.

Okay, great! Thank you for your feedback/ideas! I shall endeavour to do what I can to keep the game moving forward and trying to ensure all players feel like they're having a say in important matters etc - I'm happy with the 24 hour limit for making big decisions. :)

Hope work becomes less hectic soon, Akatsu. I'm in the same boat.

Now, I'm trying to gauge the marching order based on the ooc chatter on gameplay.

Is this the marching order you wish to go with:

Flori, Dargu, Akatsu, Dominic, Zyren, Rajiik?

There's maintenance work being done on Paizo at the moment and the site is not playing nice with me. I'm not sure if this post will go through. I am going to post on the gameplay thread as soon as the site isn't so temperamental and slow.