I feel your pain, Sensen. I was GMing a few games here too a while ago and over time had to give up all of them. I still miss a couple of them. You do need to take care of yourself too though.
I like this game a lot. So much so that when I had to drop all my other games I held on to this one. I'll gladly take whatever you have the bandwidth for. If that means slowing the pace, so be it. And, I agree with Thesius on that offer- if there are ways we can help make running the game easier, please let us know!
I'm honestly not sure where I'll end up. I don't think this game would be the first I'd drop, because, combat notwithstanding, it's not the hardest one to find motivation for.
Beyond that, I'm going to think on it some more, and see if I come up with anything. Though I do, of course, appreciate suggestions.
The biggest concern I have with going slower is that the passion for the game might die - specifically my passion for it. I'll try to see if I can get a post up today or tomorrow, but if not, I'll return on Monday.
It's a difficult thing to struggle with and i hear you, gm. We all pay for participating in PBP's with our limited time and running them takes a lot more of it than being a player. I'll echo the others though in that i feel this group of writers is easily one of the best I have seen in the seven years I've done thi and I would be sad to see it end.
For concrete advice, do you enjoy these extended RP/planning sessions with the crusader command? They can probably be shortened quite a bit. For combats, not every fight *has* to be challenging to mythic pc's so maybe merging a few and otherwise sticking to some templates? It might also save time to call a fight when the enemy is near-defeated. DBH, another great gm on the forums of whom i've been a player in some of his campaigns is very good at maintaining tempo and he might be willing to give you some advice - i can ask him if you wish.
One other time saver i can think of is moving the campaign from the paizo forums to discord. Discord has a much quicker and more user friendly way of making posts and rolling dice as well as being doable with a phone by anyone from wherever they are in spare moments, rather than having to sit down at a PC to do them all at once with a lot of macro's involved.
I.e. To roll a d20, the discord command is ".r 1d20+x" without the parenthesis and #(something) following that immediately says what that roll is for. Tou can also switch between dialogue and non dialogue by putting dialogue between ** and ** instead of having to paste ['b] and [/b'] everywhere.
What do you like doing in this campaign the most, GM? What kinds of scenes interest you and are easy to write for?
As far as suggestions, I think fewer, but much tougher enemies in fights would really decrease the burden of running combat. Like, the big pillared room battle had seventeen different enemies to keep track of, and then we went straight into one with seven.
What functions are you proposing using Discord for exactly, Elliot? I used Discord for voice/video during sessions, scheduling, and some record-keeping during my recently completed Strength of Thousands campaign. But we were also using Foundry for our actual virtual tabletop as well as all dice-rolling and character sheets, and I don't think Discord could have replaced any of those functions easily. (Are you in a server that uses a dice-rolling bot? The d20 rolling you've described isn't native to Discord as far as I can tell.) And the 2000-character limit on posts in Discord was grating even when I was only using its text chat for longer descriptions and images, so that the players could have them on hand to refer to if needed later.
It's also just not clear to me that it would be a good forum for RP. You have to pay for Discord Nitro in order to make per-server profiles that would be able to have the right name and avatar. (I think you can change server-specific nicknames for free, but I wouldn't want to change my normal display avatar to Verene.) And I don't know where there would be space for all the information needed for a character sheet so that it could be checked within Discord when writing a post. The formatting markup to get bold, italic, etc. is marginally easier to do from a phone, it's true.
On the other hand, one really nice thing about Discord is the ability to get notifications. Unlike with the Paizo site, you can set it to give your phone a notification any time someone posts in a specific channel. That would make it really easy to keep up with others' posts and know when it was your turn.
Indeed, I think lowering the number of combatants would also be helpful. This could be done in a couple of ways.
- Reduce the number of enemies and strengthen those left over.
- Remove NPCs from the fight unless it's perhaps important they take part. Such as Nurah may not even really be involved, but maybe she just provides a buff by being their with her bardic performance. Maybe Nurah or Joran pops in with a quick spell at an opportune time. Otherwise, they are just in the background.
We might also skip over smaller fights. You could maybe simple detail out to us what we encountered and tell us to mark off some resources you think would be used during them. For example, Thesius will likely always use at least one use of his Archaeologist's Luck at this time. We could also make minor adjustments to our resources based on the encounter as well if you prefer so you have time to focus on other things.
One thing to be aware of in Discord is that if you ever want to reference an earlier post, good luck. Hope you have an hour or two handy for scrolling. Forums are nice in that respect because you can just pick a page number that looks like it might be close, skim the first post, and go from there. “Oh, the bridge thing, I went back too far. Forward a couple pages… a couple more… there it is!” And yes, the character limit is super annoying.
If you want to beef up one big enemy instead of lots of little ones, why not just give it double or triple the HP? Looks to me like the attack and AC are fine compared to ours, we just do stupid amounts of damage once we get through the AC. Stack more HP on and they’ll last longer.
Yeah, I've also experienced that issue, Merixia. Unfortunately, if you can't remember a good search keyword for a past post from a year or more ago you want to find in Discord, it may as well be gone forever.
I will try to respond to these very helpful posts on my next visit here, but I just want to give a bit of insight into my current thought processes: I'm currently trying to get into doing productive and meaningful things for the first time in a while. This means that I'm pushing myself a bit since I've gotten into a variety of bad habits when it comes to mental exertion.
These games I run via PbP are enjoyable - sometimes exhausting, but enjoyable overall. However, it does take a lot out of me, drawing from the same sort of focus/emotional wherewithal that the aforementioned efforts do. This means that when I attempt to pursue those things, I'm left with the distinct sense that I don't really want to post, as it's too exhausting to contemplate. In other words, it's not something I can do to relax, per se. It requires effort to post (obviously), and that effort is rewarded, but I just don't have the effort to give so regularly.
This has been going on for a bit - a few weeks or so - but I'm beginning to fear that it's untenable to keep going on with one post every weekday, which leads to my next concern. Specifically, that if I lose the habit of posting daily, I'm going to lose that habit and become disengaged from the plot - it's hard enough to remember who the NPCs are, what their quirks are, etc. after a single weekend of not posting, which can only get worse if I take longer breaks between posts.
I do enjoy these games, I think, but I'm not sure how easy it'll be to balance them with my increasingly involved schedule.
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I'll be honest, it sounds as if you're going through some greatly positive change in your life and that you feel as if the time you spend on the forums is detracting from that and/or is not productive or meaningful enough compared to the effort it takes to run the games. I can understand such sentiments; while writing PBP is fun, it ultimately doesn't really get you much else for your time; you (unfortunately) very rarely get to know new/other people on more than a surface level and whether you become a better writer depends on if the other writers are good enough to teach you new things.
In your position, if I felt running PBP games was disproportionally draining to the enjoyment I got from them, especially with my life heading into a more positive direction, I would cut back on my time spent on PBP and embrace this change instead. If you can do that and continue to juggle real life and running these games, that is great for us as players. If not though, I would understand since real life should always take priority. I would, however, still greatly miss this group of writers if that was the end of the campaign.
One final thing or alternative you could perhaps do, if you do want to step away from it, is find a replacement GM to take over the game. But that could be done by us/the players as a group as well.
So instead of posting in every game every day, why not try posting in one game per day? That way you still maintain the habit, but you spend less of your daily supply of energy.
When it comes to remembering details, I find that taking notes with pen and paper is far more effective than typing. Something about the physical act of writing makes the information stick better. That one probably depends on how fast you are, though. I spent enough years in college that I can still write at high speed. If writing the old fashioned way is a slog for you, don’t bother.
I feel that. Got to manage those spoons. I'd be fine with the rate of posting going down, but that's me personally. If you find that does not work, I'll respect your decision however you decide to go with it. Overall, I would prefer you happy and healthy then this game continuing.
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Thanks for the advice, folks. I really appreciate it. I'll definitely be taking a bit of a step back from the PbP realm, and I think I might try Merixia's suggestion for a week or two, feel out how it ends up going.
Sounds like a plan. I hope all is going well.
Ah, great. Thanks GM. I'll add the greatswords and full plate to the loot then, as we would take their weapons and armor for sure. You didn't mention what's up with the enchantment auras - are they now gone as well?
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Oh, whoops. I forgot. They're still there - the dominate person spells.
Verene, with regard to the auras that isn't... quite correct, now that I look at it. I'm not sure whether a succubus' profane gift (and/or any other Supernatural abilities) actually leaves magical auras. Does anyone know if there's an FAQ about this, because it's not clear from the PRD?
Hm, good question. I don't see any FAQ or unofficial Pathfinder dev answer on this at all.
That being said, though, the text of detect magic makes it clear that "nonspell effects" can be detected - not just spells, spell-like abilities that act as spells, and magic items. Also, the 3.5 supernatural abilities text is almost identical to the Pathfinder one, and this official 3.5 FAQ says the following:
Can you use detect magic to detect supernatural effects?
For example, can it detect a wildshaped druid?Supernatural abilities are magical, and thus their effects
would produce magical auras. Although the detect magic spell
doesn’t have a line entry for supernatural effect, you can use
the same line as “Magic item (caster level)”—a supernatural
effect’s caster level is equal to the creature’s Hit Dice unless
noted otherwise (Monster Manual, page 315).
Additionally, the Pathfinder FAQ does state that a wizard's Arcane Bond bonded object would radiate magic to detect magic, even though it is not technically a "magic item." The Arcane Bond class feature is a supernatural ability when an item is chosen, and an extraordinary ability when a familiar is chosen.
I would lean toward the interpretation that even though supernatural abilities are not spells, and can't be dispelled with dispel magic or counterspelled, they are still definitely magical effects and so can be detected with detect magic, as "nonspell effects."
However, this answer would tend to make things harder on GMs if paranoid players start scrutinizing every creature they meet with detect magic to make sure it isn't a shapechanged doppelganger or succubus or etc. In the end, of course, it is up to you how you want to rule on this question as the GM, and it's fair if you don't want to deal with the hassle. Just let us know what the rule going forward will be.
Sorry for the delay, haven't been feeling well. Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow.
Has anyone heard from Elliot lately? I'm kind of worried.
Feel better soon, Merixia! I'm a bit worried about Elliot and Azira too.
Sorry, I'm here. Just had a lot to deal with mostly with work-related matters but also that my brother's health took a hit and I needed to be there for him. He's fine now though (I hope). Also, I may have missed something to respond to and If I had, sorry. I tried parsing through everything but the meticulous level of detail and planning is a bit hard to keep up with for me OOC.
That aside, thanks for your concern @Merixia :) My wrist is fully healed now though and I've started trying to get back in shape from my break from fitness. It seems to function better than before surgery so overall the procedure was a succes :) The hard part is trying not to overdo it...
Welcome back, Elliot. Good to hear from you. I'm glad your brother's health has recovered and that your wrist surgery was a success.
I hear you about the detail in planning. I would certainly be happy to summarize/get summaries for the rest of the day's actions and skip to the next one, if everyone else is.
Just popping in to say I'm still around. Looks like we're waiting on Azira.
Glad to hear things are turning back around Elliot.
Glad to hear Merixa is feeling better, and that you're still around, Elliot. It's also on me, since I've not pushed very hard on any of my games recently. Hopefully, Azira will post soonish. If not, I'm willing to try to move us onwards to the next day.
Do we want to have another IC conversation with Counselor Irahai and the Queen, or can we summarize what we report to them and have the response summarized, and move on to the next action segment? I feel like long conversation-only sections tend to lose half the group.
Also, looking at what needs to happen, we may want to spend a whole in-game day (also summarized) on resting & restoring the Keystones. The easiest way to break them out of dominate person is for Verene to cast dispel magic since she gets to roll twice with Eldritch Breach, and can also apply Prescience for a better chance. But then, at least the two we've successfully dispelled already need restoration from Merixia to be able to talk. (Verene will front the 100 gp/cast cost if the army won't cover it.) Combined with the communication spells, this would be a pretty heavy burden on our spells for the day.
I'm with Verene, I think a summary is the way to go here. If we spend a full in-game day helping the Keystones, Merixia can prepare multiple restorations along with sending. Restoring all of the Keystones and talking with Irahai will take all of my 4th level slots plus some of my MP. I definitely don't want to take on the keep without any of my best spells available.
Azira, Azira, where art thou Azira? We miss you. :(
Ahhh, thanks Meri!
I'm really sorry for vanishing (again). My SO has been having some health issues. Between doctor's appointments and the impact on my mental health I haven't gotten a post up in any game in a few weeks. Things have improved though and (as long as you'll have me) I should be able to read what I've missed and post something tonight or tomorrow.
Summary it is, it seems.
I hope everything improves for you, Azira.
Some weird forum issues happened with this post. Sorry about that. I guess I have to recreate it from scratch.
First, welcome back Azira, and good to hear from you. I hope your SO continues to improve. Wishing both of you the very best.
Some questions for you, GM:
1. Aravashnial said he would be scavenging magical supplies while we were in the citadel yesterday. What resulted from that?
2. Does Verene learn anything about the corruption forge, Arueshalae, or Joran/Nurah's motivations by talking with them on the 17th?
3. Do the freed Keystones have any specific insights about a) the succubus (her capabilities/defenses/unique characteristics); b) any unusual events that happened during their captivity; or c) the other traps, defenses, treasures, or inhabitants of the fortress?
4. Can we assume the 200 gp worth of diamond dust for the restoration spells on the two Keystones who took Charisma drain is covered by the army's existing supplies, or should I subtract it from the loot sheet?
Oh, and a fifth question: What result, if any, did Verene get from using locate object while walking around the perimeter of the fortress?
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Uh, I'll try to get back to you on this, because I don't have the answers at the moment, but let me know to do so if I forget.
1) Aravashnial finds one scroll - of Baphomet's blessing. He also finds four potions: diminished detection, protection from arrows, false life, and bestow weapon proficiency (glaive).
2) There's some things that Verene leans about the corruption forge, but it's mostly abstract - how to use it and such - and not terribly relevant. It does give her some ideas on how to invert the process, but it's nothing immediately relevant. He does, however, give her a sense of the dungeon below. Uh, I'd actually like to do that IC, so ask me in spoilers over there, please.
3) The Keystones don't really know much - if anything - other than that Janeamine likes roleplaying as a goddess and has powers greater than the average succubus. They were more or less kept isolated in their chapel.
4) I'd say subtract it from your gold reserves - representing some sort of barter or the like?
5) Uh... Let me check... There's something towards the southeastern edge of the Citadel, assuming you're far enough away from the wardstone fragments and Radiance... and whatever other artifacts you have? I think you've got a few more. Oh, the scales.
Great, will do GM! I've added those items to the treasure sheet and made a note of subtracting 200 gp. Diminished detection and false life are personal-range spells, which usually can't be made into potions, so should I swap those into scrolls of the same?
Verene did put Radiance, Righteous Eclipse, all the scales and all the Wardstone fragments into extradimensional storage before casting locate object, to avoid picking them up as results. I've put a red X on the geographic map in the southeastern corner to indicate the X-Y location of the artifact Verene senses. If I've placed it wrong, can you please adjust it? Thanks!
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That's about right, but it's also... down, not only in. That is, it's below the ground, too.
Good, so what she feels with the spell backs up what we've been told. That's all I was looking for. Thanks GM!
Also, I support Merixia's idea of going first to the false Sword of Valor room / clearing the aboveground sections of Drezen, and then seeing how we feel, before venturing Below.
If I'm honest, I still don't really see why we're pushing so hard to clear the mimics out of the trap/fake Sword of Valor room, even going into the fort again with many of our spells expended with that as our main goal? I think we've had this discussion before though so if the group is still set on doing it, Elliot will withdraw his objections and do his best to support the others.
Because armor. There’s full plate to be had!
Yeah, it's literally because OOC I think we left a bunch of loot on the table yesterday by not going in there. I just hope it's still there. Presumably mimics don't care about the loyalties of tasty treats that might come inside, so altering the trap room is not zero-risk for the current inhabitants of the fortress.
IC, thanks to Joran's information, we now know we cannot teleport out of the dungeon if things go very wrong down there. It makes good tactical sense to be cautious about not leaving a bunch of enemies up top that could come down and flank us. We should clear the ground floor of known threats before going into the dungeon.
Well okay then :) With many of our spells down, do we follow Meri's suggestion of kicking down the front down and clearing out the main entrance before heading to the fake Sword? It is probably convenient to have a normal entrance and exit. Logically, the main entrance would be the most defended but at least it is easy to retreat if things go wrong.
Uh, I didn’t suggest that. I suggested teleporting into the chapel, hitting the loot room, and then attacking the door guards from the inside. That way we don’t get arrows or boiling oil or whatever rained on our heads.
Oh, I see. Apologies, i must have remembered incorrectly. Does Verene have a MP point left to teleport in everyone at once? Otherwise we might have to use the dimension door wand and ferry it back and forth to those who are still waiting.
Yes, loot room first! :) We can teleport in if we have to, but I would like to first try to just physically walk/climb through the broken wall near the chapel, since we do now have the key to the interior doors, and we're not trying to get the drop on any particular villain today.
Yes, loot room first! :) We can teleport in if we have to, but I would like to first try to just physically walk/climb through the broken wall near the chapel, since we do now have the key to the interior doors, and we're not trying to get the drop on any particular villain today.
Sure, that works.
Anyone heard from Thesius lately?
I have not, unfortunately. But he could just be waiting on the story to progress to the next day post-funeral, when we're entering the fortress again. It doesn't look like he really has any threads open awaiting a response or anything.
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Yeah, we should probably get back to the dungeon to get some tempo back. It feels like we're meandering a bit. Maybe that will help in keeping everyone engaged.
Blah, sorry for the delay. Lots of weirdness in my life nowadays.
No worries, GM. Great to hear from you, and I hope your productive pursuits are remaining interesting and fun!
Verene's spell list for today in her profile is up to date with spells prepared and cast. Anyone else want to declare buffs before we head in?