I think it's Nym.
Okay, since Nym has the best stealth, maybe we wait one more day. Due to Ivris-mu’s dex, it gets a +2 to Stealth. So, it will lead.
Nym's player has been posting in their other games recently, so maybe a direct message is in order?
Yeah, I'll direct message him.
I don't know.
Is Nym still with us?
It's been over a month since he's posted here and three weeks since he posted in any of his games. I think he's ghosted, hopefully he's ok.
I believe we’re waiting on Ivris-mu. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
Thanks for selecting me.
Please feel free to inspect Duncan's profile for information on the character. I've written a short background story, which includes why he is on the planet. I expect the GM may want to approve that or suggest a different explanation.
Otherwise, I think the character is ready to run.
Oops, wrong thread earlier, but here I am now.
Hello, everyone.
I'll update the profile later today, but Enslig is a mystic with a creature companion.
Anyone else does melee? The pet could use some flanking bonuses...
Duncan is certainly not a front-line fighter, but he can engage either in melee or at range. As an operative, he has the trick shot bonus when he can manage it. Like most low levels, he does mostly 1d4 or 1d6 but with the option to add 1d4 from the trick attack.
@Eltonj/GM: Duncan's trick attack mode based on his specialty of Gadgeteer is an engineering roll that is supposed to be based on having a useful gadget that can create a distraction to give him the benefit of causing the target to be flat-footed against his attack and extra damage if the attack hits. I've proposed that he does this with some gadgets affixed to various places on his body that flash lights, create little holograms, and/or startling sounds. My plan is to describe the effects as part of the dialogue that goes with the attack. Let me know if you have any suggestions or wish to change that in any way. These provide no other game play advantages, FWIW.
I like to try to take full advantage of tactics like flanking, cover, etc. It seems like we are a little weak in the melee area, but with good teamwork and attention to tactics, we can make it work, I'm sure.
FYI: Enslig's player (The Ragi) and I (Clebsch73) have characters in a Dead Suns AP. That game is on hold for now, so I'm looking forward to some more Starfinder adventure.
Alrighty. A gadget that distracts is a good game feature. Hopefully this team will overcome the challenges ahead.
I’m still here. I got sucked into playing Terreria recently and have been neglecting my pbp games. I’m sorry. I will manage my time better and remind myself that pbp games are more satisfying long-term. Also welcome to the new players.
Nuri is a flexible light melee or ranged combatant. But due to limited resources at character creation, she’s only got knives right now for melee.
Nuri is a flexible light melee or ranged combatant. But due to limited resources at character creation, she’s only got knives right now for melee.
Don't forget to loot those dead azlanti - hopefully they got better melee weaponry!
I'm in the wings, waiting for my cue (plus the backstory that connects Duncan to the story).
Pretty soon, the adventuring party will make it to Maedelon's Landing, and that's where you'll join up with them.
Wrap up the business in the woods and come meet us!
Pretty soon, the adventuring party will make it to Maedelon's Landing, and that's where you'll join up with them.Wrap up the business in the woods and come meet us!
Enslig is right. After you make it to Maedelon's Landing, you will advance in level and meet the new P.C.s.
I just realized I forgot to do Jahn's level up. *facepalm*
GM, would it be alright if I tacked on the Divine Champion archetype to emphasize some of the more spiritual stuff Jahn's been talking about? Sort of to better reflect his Haruspex inspiration, while not stepping on Enslig's toes.
We can experiment with you doing that, sure. What book is the Divine Champion archetype in?
Okay, sounds nice for your biohacker.
Again sorry for the lack of posting. As for reaching level 2, Ivris-mu will take the Get 'Em improvisation. I realized that I haven't been using Clever Feint enough, nor using Skill Expertise (Bluff) to get a slight bonus when using that improvisation. I think if I play Ivris-mu as the PC should be played, helping other PCs hit, combat should be better. I still need to arrange skill points, but I wanted you to know some of my thoughts behind the PC's build.
Here are the skills Ivris-mu put a skill rank into this level (envoy 2): Bluff, Computers,Diplomacy, Intimidate, Perception, Piloting, Sense Motive, and Stealth. BAB, Ref and Will saves increased by 1. The improvisation it acquired is Get 'Em. 6 points added to stamina and hit points.
Nice!
I present you the Tier 2 Golden Breeze starship!
Not bad.
I've added some spoilers to Duncan's profile that contain the text entries for various dice-bot rolls: saves, combat attack/damage/trick attack, and skills. I use them to save time when posting, but they are also for the GM if needed to make rolls for the PC. Just copy and paste to a post.
Ah, thank you.
I won't be posting much for a few days while on a short vacation. I'll have an iPad and hotel WiFi so I can post if needed.
Okay, enjoy your vacation.
@Jahn, answering your ooc from the gameplay thread:
Ivris is fine. Mu is fine. Give it a nickname. I don't think I ever came up with an in-setting reason for its name. I try to keep its dialogue fairly formal and without contractions (failed last post). Wait, I do think the "mu" was analogous to a number like Trent531...but without being a specific number. Maybe it was part of the "mu" generation? Whatever that's supposed to mean :-)
While we're on the topic, is it pronounced Moo or Mew?
Any particular reason for choosing the pronoun it in self-referential statements, rather than selecting either he, she, or (as the Starfinder writers do) they?
I have run a few androids and I chose to have them think of themselves as female for the purposes of pronouns, mostly to avoid using the plural pronouns. I dislike they and the other plural pronouns just because it has the potential to create confusion. For example, if a non-cisgender person is interacting with a group, one might find a sentence like "The shirren considered the criticism of the group and decided they were being overly cautious." Is this saying the shirren thinks the Shirren-self is being overly cautious or the group is?
Personally, I think in a universe full of a variety of non-cisgender aliens, a distinct set of pronouns would evolve rather than trying to make a plural pronoun do double duty. But I can understand the editorial decision to go the way many in our society are going.
Anyway, some might think it demeaning, denoting something less than a sentient entity, more like a robot. Just curious how character's background entered into this decision. If Ivris-Mu were asked, "Why do you refer to yourself as it?", how would it respond?
Just so everyone is prepared, if the elemental attacks Duncan as he tries to draw water from the collector, he's going to fight back. If everyone urges him to retreat, he will do so, with some rancor.
Unless we can convince the elemental to turn on the azlantis, we'll have to destroy it - before the colonist start suffering from thirst.
I pronounce mu as "mew."
As far as using "it," I thought that word has a more futuristic connotation than "they." It does sound like talking about a robot or a device, but it's also the word we use for an animal of unknown sex. In addition, Ivris-mu doesn't have genitals. So "it" seemed to be the best English word that fit a non-sexual android, in a science-fantasy game setting. There might be languages without "he" or "she" pronouns.
As an aside, last year (or maybe late 2019 )I was working on a maraquoi for a game (never submitted for various reasons). That race has seven sexes. I wondered if anyone had come up with seven pronouns for them. At the time, I looked and didn't find anything.
As stated in the previous post, I try to have Ivris-mu talk rather formal, and maybe that comes across as robotic. It does have emotions. Maybe I haven't done a good job of indicating its emotions.
Oh combat, I didn't even think that was a possibility...or I guess I was thinking like Ivris-mu and not seeing a reason to attack the water elemental.
I'm not sure where we are in the melee. Most PBP melees people post when it is their turn in the initiative order (usually as a group without concern with how posts first). Then the GM describes what the results of those actions were (did the attack hit or not, how much damage did it do, is the enemy still alive, etc.) and then describes the actions of the enemy, including their rolls and what the effects of attacks were. Then the GM announces who is able to act next.
Here, we don't have a map, so it's hard to know whether movement is warranted, whether to attack with melee or ranged weapons, etc. It's not clear where we are in the round, who has acted, who has yet to post.
I hate to complain, but I'm used to a more orderly approach.
In particular, has everyone who was up in initiative acted for Round 1? Did attacks hit? How far away are the Azlanti? And is Duncan's turn in the next round of play arrived yet?
Thank you for speaking your mind and asking for clarification. I think such things are important in life, but especially in a forum-based game where nonverbal, in-person cues are lacking.
The previous combats were done without maps and initiative order. Basically, as I understood it, if you can post two turns before another play posts, feel free. Here's a link gameplay post from February of the ooc comments in the gameplay thread asking about initiative.
A lot of the fun of the combat aspect of the game, for me, is the tactical decisions made about movement, melee or ranged attacks, risk of AOO, flanking, and so on. Without a map most of that is impossible. I don't want everyone else to change to please me, but imagine playing around a table without a map and figures and waiting for your turn to come in the round. Imagine combat where no one knows who is able to act.
In the normal table-top game during combat, I'm always thinking about what my options will be when my turn comes around, observing how the actions of the enemies and allies change the complexion of the tactical situation, and then making a decision when it is my turn.
Without that structure, I'm kind of at a loss. How do I know if I get a flanking bonus, or if I have to worry about attacks of opportunity when I move or knowing if my ranged attack has a range penalty? How do I know if the situation calls for defensive focus or if my character can be more aggressive? How to decide which enemy to attack to make sure no ally is overwhelmed? Those are fun things for me, but so far in this game, I'm waiting for information like this that generally has not been provided.
I also enjoy having the GM describe what the actions of the NPCs are, attacks that hit or miss, damage done, movement. This goes for players describing their character actions. It helps if we get more than dialogue. What is the character's body language indicating about their mood?
Play by post is more like writing/reading a book than a game around a table, where most of the interchange is dialogue and actions and outcomes. Without some structure and descriptions of the environment, the actors, etc., it feels flat to me, like reading the dialogue of a comic book without seeing the pictures or just reading the dialogue lines of a novel.
I've created a map with markers for all the PCs and NPCs. Can we try to position ourselves and keep it accurate, so we have information about where PCs and NPCs are? The link to the map is in Duncan't header. Take a look at it and see if it doesn't add a dimension to the play.