
GM Xavier Kahlvet |

Also, point of order (in case I was being too subtle):
The purpose of this post is to say "hey, this is how you go about disabling the hazard labeled as "Devil's Bells" in the initiative tracker."

GM Xavier Kahlvet |

OH WOW I DID SOMETHING VERY WRONG!
Uh...Yeah...I used Assault the Soul three times...Uh...Yeah, I'm only able to use that once every 24 hours. WHOOPS!!!
So I don't have to go ALL the way back and really retcon this past turn, I'm going to say, as a consolation, that Jisara increases her degree of success on that Assault the Soul by one step (effectively healing 33 HP) and Vitalis gets a Hero Point back to make up for the one he already used. I WOULD just straight-up retcon that, but that crit on the Retributive Strike was significant, and the other two Assault the Souls did literally nothing.
Jeez, mea culpa.

Vitalis Tanessen |

Vitalis, if you're so inclined, you can cast lay on hands on me at a distance, and I can spend my reaction to use Familiar Conduit, letting you use Thatch as the origin point. Since he's in my square, I'd then be in range.
Okay. Will do. Hang onto your next reaction then.

GM Xavier Kahlvet |

I have a local convention that I’ll be attending from 2/27 through to 3/2, so my schedule this weekend will be…pretty booked.

GM Xavier Kahlvet |

I WAS going to bot Chance today, but then the exhaustion from the 4-day convention hit me all at once today, so I'm going to hold off on it until tomorrow, when I'll hopefully have a better grasp on things.

Vitalis Tanessen |

Y’know, that was the bell I had difficulty coming up with a good flavor for Edrakk specifically, so I’m gonna say that you creating something genuinely really compelling out of my half-assing is enough to earn a +3 circumstance bonus to your check, which makes it a success.
I agree. Ya'll have impressed me with the bell interactions.

“Chance” Ravennablitz |

Does a spell effect with the Void trait that doesn’t cause HP or ability damage affect undead differently from the living, when the spell description refers to “enemy creatures” as the targets?
In particular, Tempest of Shades seems fun and flavorful and has the advantage of long range, but it’s tagged with the “Negative” trait.
Related question, if the spell would work at all: are undead generally immune to the Drained condition? I haven’t seen anything specific saying they are, but it seems weird that they wouldn’t be.

GM Xavier Kahlvet |
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It’s a weird interaction for sure. The void trait says “Effects with this trait heal undead creatures with void energy, deal void damage to living creatures, or manipulate void energy.” This would obviously apply the “manipulate void energy” thing. It’s a weird flavoring, but it technically still functions against undead. Sorta like absorbing their void energy, which fuels their unlife, to add into the tempest.
It’s a very WEIRD situation, but I’d give it to you.

“Chance” Ravennablitz |

It’s a weird interaction for sure. The void trait says “Effects with this trait heal undead creatures with void energy, deal void damage to living creatures, or manipulate void energy.” This would obviously apply the “manipulate void energy” thing. It’s a weird flavoring, but it technically still functions against undead. Sorta like absorbing their void energy, which fuels their unlife, to add into the tempest.
It’s a very WEIRD situation, but I’d give it to you.
Thanks!

GM Xavier Kahlvet |

Bad day. Low spoons. Not sure when or if I’ll post tonight.

GM Xavier Kahlvet |

Okay, I just spent most of the day running the Beginner Box for some new players, and now I am pooped. I'll get to posting tomorrow. Sorry about the delay.

GM Xavier Kahlvet |

Okay, I need to express something that’s been rattling around in my head for a while. Maybe this is just an irrational rambling and I’m making a mountain out of a molehill.
I’m…kinda afraid that the current state of this game is approaching unsustainability. Like, for the past year-ish, it feels like I’ve had to take up the mantle of being people’s “alarm clock” to remind them to post. And while I definitely understand the need—I’m ADHD as well, I get it—having to do so has slowly made me feel like an annoyance to each of you, which has made it progressively harder to do so.
I’ve honestly considered offering the option to the party to conclude the campaign at Book 4’s conclusion, since that’s is a thematically appropriate time. But that would also mean that a lot of narrative loose ends wouldn’t be resolved, and the story that is wanting to be told would feel unfinished.
I dunno what I’m going to do, but I just wanted to put this out there. I love this campaign, and I always look forward to it during my day, but each time I have to pester someone to post, or bot someone because they’re caught up with something offline despite my pestering, it drains me of energy. And I get it, life happens; we’re all adults, we all have lives, and sometimes those lives SUCK and won’t give us a break! I GET IT! But even so, I’m concerned that there’s a tendency to just…not communicate when there’s gonna be a rough week or whatever until after the fact.
Just…I wanted to put this out there because I didn’t want to burn myself out, and I’m asking for the assistance to do so. I just wanted to bring this up as a discussion of boundaries and expectations moving forward.

Jisara |

I appreciate everything you're doing, and I am genuinely enjoying playing with y'all. I feel like most of the posting issues are mine, directly and indirectly, and I'm working on it. Part of it is I just have a hard time asking for help before it becomes a problem. So I understand if folks are running out of patience on that, so while I will be bummed out, I won't be upset with anyone if y'all decide it's just too much. But I'd like to continue if it's possible!

Vitalis Tanessen |

You're not wrong, Xavier. I too am a little discouraged by the current speed of the game. I would definitely prefer it to be more consistent.
That said, you are doing a great job and I would like to keep the game going if we can push through it. But if we need to end it, I will understand. <3

“Chance” Ravennablitz |

I know that I have been a big part of the problem for the past 6-12 months (at least?), and I apologize. Work has been unusually draining - I just left the office and realized that before I started to pack up, I hadn’t gotten up from my desk at all in 5-6 hours. But I think I’m getting closer to finding a better balance.
Xavier, I would like to keep going, but I’d also understand if you make another decision.

Edrakk Chrysanthemum |

I know I've definitely been part of this too, and while I've had periods of getting better I've also had periods of going back to being more quiet. I do definitely want to keep going with this campaign, though. I'm genuinely really enjoying it, and I hope we can keep going, but I'm not going to blame you if you decide against it. I'll definitely make an effort to at least get better at letting you know when there's going to be a delay--often it comes suddenly from unexpected work (although usually it's more "work that could have been entirely anticipated if I looked more than two days ahead" lol) but I will definitely say when things are getting rough more clearly in addition to getting my posting schedule more regular.

GM Xavier Kahlvet |

I’m kinda willing to view this as a “particularly bad rough patch” more than anything. And trust me when I say I REALLY wanna keep going as well! I just don’t think I can just let this go unsaid.
The biggest thing at the moment is that, looking in my future, the next year or two is gonna be very eventful for me, because there’s a…good possibility that I’ll be getting married within that timeframe. And honestly, I don’t want to feel like this game is too much of a burden when I have all that stuff going on.

Edrakk Chrysanthemum |

Was going to post tonight, but my computer has decided to just Stop for the time being. I'll post tomorrow when I wake up, whether or not I figure out how to fix it.

GM Xavier Kahlvet |

Another really rough day :(
I'll try to get a post in later if I can, but I make no promises.

Edrakk Chrysanthemum |

I was swamped with work this weekend, I’ll post something tomorrow.

Vitalis Tanessen |

From the loot: Vitalis would be interested in the +2 greater resilient runes for his armor and the greater symbol of conflict could be useful too.