Adventurers of Gladden Vale (Inactive)

Game Master Syrus Terrigan

Nothing more than the next leg of the sequence of wooden shavings.

Did Fitz find anything when he crossed to where the fey was telling him to before we left?

Just to make sure you caught it --

I dunno how, but our post order got flipped. My reply to your question is above your post, Edelsmirge.

@rorek --

Did you ever determine where your characters were from within the Vale? I've been going back over some of the details since I'm getting ready to bring out more plot threads, and I don't see any of your characters' points of origin specified.

At this point, I would like every active character to choose a course of action and make any desired skill/ability checks for the 3-4 hours before the feast begins. I have a handful of things already planned to be woven into the goings-on, but this is the best time for each of you to lay out any threads for the story to follow through on as we go.

I hope to get the next piece of narrative posted no later than Wednesday this week, but if we get some quick responses I will break it up over multiple posts beginning tomorrow.

As you can tell, I've completely disengaged my three characters from an active role. I'll probably only make rolls to see if any of them survive the Trial.

Because once we leave Last Rest, it's going to get intense in very short order!

Ugh. Why am I so tired all the time?

Postspostsposts tomorrow, folks.

Welcome to my world… 23 days straight at work.

UmhuhWUT??!! Where do you work??!!

I’m a security officer at a local hospital. Extremely short staffed right now so we’ve switched to 12 hour shifts.

Doesn't federal law mandate that you have to be offered at least one day off every 14 worked? Or are you "across the pond"?

I don’t think so… that would limit people like truckers who work for months at a time without a day off.

Maybe it's just a union thing. My father isn't a union member, but his workplace has been union-dominated for decades -- I know *he* has to get one day off every two weeks, minimum. I guess I projected that over onto everything else, too.

Still, it does seem a good idea to me . . . . Can't enjoy your pay if you work *that* much, I think.

Also: will be posting in a few hours!!

Finally!! I got the next things typed up!!

Let's hit the ground running, now, folks! Time for this story to really get rolling!

Did we hit a snag somewhere?

Sorry, I had a busy weekend and a busy morning so far. I'm working on getting up my next bits.

I am a bit stuck with where to go with things really

Yes, we are in a bit of a lull. My apologies for not getting Caraya's next bit of story posted yesterday -- got busy doing other things and couldn't get back to it in time.

Things are about to get *much* clearer, though!!

Well Fitz shared with a superior at the wagon site about seeing a fey and had no response so he figures he will get seen as nuts if he says anything

And despite the liberties I have taken with some of the characters in order to advance some things: I'm not Blizzard.

And blizzard is an alcoholic... And the guy who runs him misses stuff.

Apologies on my part.

I may have to bow out guys, I’m sorry. With the way work is going right now, running 4 characters in one game is proving difficult. I’m working 60+ hours a week, 12 hour shifts. My one day off I had last week was spent sleeping dang near the entire day.

I'm trying to make the push to get us to the morgue quickest, searles. Hang in just a few days more, if you can.

Wow. I crashed.

I may be posting this as a 2-parter, but I'm going to try to get it finished today.

Well . . . . I posted a thing. Let's make something happen!!

Just remember: the devil is in the details, folks.

A third-day, finely-crafted excerpt paired with a terrible roll or rolls is perfectly fine, and even desirable.

Posting tomorrow

I waited a little bit longer than I originally intended, just to see if anyone else posted. I'll have the next post up sometime over the next 12 hours.

I'm going to be posting soon.

I've almost got the next Gameplay post up, gang! Lots of family goings-on keeping me from finishing.

So How much does the party know about the boreholes etc...

Not sure how much Albion gleaned. The winter blanket hints it may be cold out there...

I'm going to need one more day before I can get Fitz's and Blizzard's segments posted. Work was a meatgrinder last night -- I had to work much harder than usual.

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RE: Player/Character Knowledge --

I have made an effort to keep the release of information tied directly to the narrative and mechanical choices made by characters and their respective players. Most of the exposition has been made in very broad strokes, generic terms, light on details, etc. to help keep from grinding the game's gears any more. There is also the consideration, from my perspective, of an aim for some element of suspense and the unknown in our proceedings.

I have long operated on these forums with this bit of accepted wisdom: if it's written, everyone reads it. That goes for everything -- no matter for which character or player a given thing is intended. I believe in the players' responsibility and desire to limit the impact of metagaming; I strive to be as "hands-off" on that aspect of things as possible.

So it is, bearing those things in mind, that I say the following:

1) The things in the "feast scene" can be regarded as general knowledge gained over the course of the night, so far as I'm concerned.

2) And this ties in with the second part of what you mentioned, Helaman -- I've dropped hints throughout Gameplay posts about multiple categories of relevant information. But to be specific: it's early spring, and the trip will take the characters into the mountains --> cooler temperatures are quite likely!

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I should have just started this whole campaign with everyone at the mouth of the canyon, gotten the die rolls started, and wished the characters "Good luck!". I can only say that I regret that error as fully as possible. I've tried to set too much of the stage for immersion, rather than action, and we've all paid the price for it. To be sure, I want both immersion and action, but I'm beginning to think you all feel that I baited you with the promise of action but haven't delivered. That was never my intention.

I have tried to sow the seeds of adventure, mystery, intrigue, interpersonal conflict, character arcs, and the must-have-driver of the accrual of power throughout the material I've posted in this campaign. But I am truly beginning to feel that a) the number of characters is holding you all back, and b) that my hooks are far too weak to actually draw you players in. And, frankly, if I'm failing any or all of you in terms of a satisfying game right now, then I need to know it.

So:

What do you want? Combat? Mystery? Dungeon crashing? None of the above?

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I will wrap up the feast scene as quickly as I can. That will be done by Thursday, at the latest. (Wednesdays are unusually trying days for me, typically.) After that, and as we hash through things here in Discussion about what I've posted above, we'll see what direction(s) we need to move, and get away from anything that is making this harder/more unpleasant than it needs to be.

And I assure you: once this passel of 0th-levelers takes its first steps into that canyon, we will likely learn that "Slaughter is the best medicine."

Finally I have a chance to type.

Firstly? Just about ALL DMs who write their own material have encountered this issue. The DM has a treasure trove of awesomeness they want to serve up and then something goes sideways. Maybe it's the players saying it's too much combat, maybe it's too much background, maybe it's too much investigation/RP etc.

Around a table it can be easier to work things out. Online it's much harder. I feel ya. I've been in your spot a few times.

I want to throw a bit of positivity your way. That charisma check/job check thing with an open ended 'tell me about your situation/who they helped' was a very good idea. Never seen it done before and while it puzzled me at first, it really helped me get the RP juices flowing and those sets of dice rolls have become characters. Imitation is the best form of flattery and I'll be stealing that to use later.

On a neutral bit of feedback, burying clues in lots of interaction and scattering it all over the place, particularly on an online post to play format generally is hard work - for DMs and players alike. Players miss things around a table, even more so when they log on to have a quick read and post their turn once a day. That clue fades into the background over days and weeks. Before you know it they forget, misremember it or get confused. It can happen that way with even a straight forward game. Some players MIGHT enjoy going back over old posts and putting the jigsaw together but in my experience they are rare - Even those players might also get bogged down in work/life issues and at that point? Well, stuff derails. The more elaborate the easier derailed.

Lastly, for my own part, I'd have spent the first week in some basic rp then had the EVENT. Either that or dropped the players right in the middle of the story (ie you find yourself at the caverns of nastiness due to revenge, unpaid taxes, to rescue young ones etc) or even in the middle of combat. That's typically how things work in these sort of meat grinder scenarios. You need to set the tone and the tone is this: The world is made up of bastard covered bastards with bastard filling, and shit samwiches... that's generally what you are aiming for if the game is to be tough and gritty.

We've 3-4 characters each. I am well aware they are mostly going to die and die soon. I like the RP aspect - again, like the mechanics used, but I'm not interested in investing a lot of effort and time in a throw away character.

In this format (meat grinder/multiple characters) simplicity is often the best bet, then as we are dying, unfold the details as you go. I think professor DM would agree :)

I have enjoyed the pace and the deep sense of mystery. I will need to get cold weather gear mostly because I do not read others info.

A quick word before my shift:

Thanks for the feedback! Keep it up!

Also: Fitz acquired some firewood, and there'll be opportunity for more gear-gathering as you go along. Cold weather gear isn't *necessarily* mission-critical, but could come in handy.

It would appear that my sleep schedule has flipped itself completely!

I'm going to try to get the last segment of the feast posting finished before supper, folks!

As a shift worker I know how that can be

Gotta make do with 1/3 of what I wanted to finish. I'm starving, and the Fitz segment there really took it out of me. But I loved crafting it!!

Had some things come up at work and with the family. I'll try to get the post tomorrow, but it could be Saturday. My apologies for the inconvenience.

I guess it's just a Memorial Day weekend thing. Got to pause in the middle of the Blizzard/party resolution post. Will finish it by this time tomorrow.

Have a great weekend, gang!!

I have decided to try a thing, in light of Helaman's treatment of my voiced concerns. I don't want to put up flashing neon signs that say "THIS IS A PLOT POINT", but I *will* start putting an ooc-text asterisk next to phrases within the Gameplay posts that have the potential to point to New Things To Do. I'm not going to differentiate between 'main quest' and 'side quest' material as I have conceived it; the significance of any of these things will depend upon how the characters react to it. Hopefully this will make opportunities a bit clearer for all of you, and I won't feel like I'm spoon-feeding anything out.

And I have a request: at some point over the next week or two, go back and review one or two of the Gameplay posts I've put up, and see if you find some detail or hint that I worked into it that you missed. (Since Edelsmirge has avoided reading other characters' material, he might have the easiest time of it! And, by the way, since I didn't exactly say so before, Edelsmirge: I am quite surprised that you would practice that much discretion, and I am impressed. That shows a dedication to abstaining from metagaming that I find shockingly rare, and commendable. Good on ya!) And this should not be taken as a critique or judgment of players that have fewer or zero compunctions about tracking down every aspect of the game, regardless of the boundaries of player knowledge and character knowledge -- I appreciate the commitment required to "master" a game in that fashion, as well.

I make this request for another reason, as well -- I think we could all benefit from routinely reviewing previous posts, especially prior to making our own posts. I'm not trying to lay an onerous burden upon anyone, but a thorough review of what's been done before within our group will expose a handful of overt contradictions between the GM and the players (which is a thing I tried to avoid from before Gameplay started!). I believe that beginning to practice a pre-post review pattern may work to streamline our efforts and prevent too much need for retcon-style adjustments. Let's talk about this notion a little more!

Okay. Back to working on Blizzard and the party!

Just a moment of all our time: I wish now to salute in honor all military fallen in the line of duty who have purchased tomorrow's freedom and every day leading to and from this day. I raise my cup to the true heroes I served with who never held their parents, their spouses, or their children another day so that I might stand here now to salute them.

As soon as we hear from rorek, we'll get to the action!!

. . . aaaaand it's a Thursday morning.

Recommendations?

We'll be moving forward in Gameplay in a few hours!

What a week!! Glad for a couple days off!

1) I've seen no activity at all on rorek's account in recent days. We may be in the market for another player, potentially.

2) The post that was *supposed* to go up yesterday will be presented today.

3) For those who have chosen to either interfere with or aid the guardsmen: I'll just use the initiative rolls you've already made as opposed rolls for Brel and Whatshisname, unless you'd rather make more specific checks. But do note: I may beat you to the punch on that count, considering the syncopation of our typical posting times. If I don't see any feedback on this point before I make the next Gameplay post, I'll proceed with the existing rolls, and we'll move on.

Daniel's Escape Attempt

This first round was basically dedicated just to movement on the part of the guards and Daniel. Next round, though, we'll start to see how the three 'main players' try to use their wits and skills to achieve success.

And on that note: Throw out ideas for any or all of them here in Discussion!

Smacked by gracelessness lol. That's the best. I don't have many more ideas short of Daniel jumping out a window like the cowardly lion

It has become increasingly clear that my current manager is simply determined to work the $#!7 out of me before my promotion kicks in.

Will have the next bit o' shenanigans posted soon!

Oh, WOW.

Those rolls were made of fail!!! lol

Apologies, I'm back, and willing to give it another go, however I fear I may not have the time to properly dedicate towards this game. I'd like to try going forward. That said, I'm not particularly good at open-ended scenarios on the boards. Even in face to face games, I often bounce off others, so to speak. Thats largely due to my personality, where I tend to be more reserved, and don't want to, for lack of a better phrase, over step the bounds as it were and/or assume things. This type of in-depth game may not be for me in the end but I'd be willing to give it another try after a long week of work and a weekend +1 without access to the site.

If I've already been written out, so be it.