So I am definitely for letting the story take us in the right direction; we will have skill points to build towards our designated roles. I will say that Mateo is CN and I plan on playing that up; the man is not nice...he is just nice to his friends. He is a professional killer through and through, just a charming one. Not sure if folks will want that as a captain. I also am fine just being a mate; I tend to be a leader in my IRL games so it has been a nice change of pace not being a leader type in the games I've been in so far.
Mateo works best as a marine and the member of the boarding party; Intimidate will be his best skill to take advantage of intimidating swordplay at 3rd level. He'll also be good at press-ganging but I am not sure that is the kind of pirate crew we want to be. If Fern is okay with it, I may take Leadership to boost up one of our crew into my cohort and assemble a group of fools marines who will join me in dangerous boarding attacks!
EDIT: For faith, Mateo is the son of priests of Calistria. He'll likely adopt worship of Besmara, Gozreh, Calistria, and Cayden Cailen. He will also freely adopt and drop others as needed. A fairweather believer.
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One thing that I am noticing is that the idea of a 'captain' doesn't necessarily mesh well with what we are used to as players in an RPG. There is going to be some conflict if we have one of the players put in a position where they are allowed more authority over the other players.
It may be better to keep the more normal equal, democratic non-leadership style we are used to for RPGs for the most part. And instead of having a 'captain', we have a 'battle commander' that fills the role of captain as far as the ship combat goes, but it doesn't come with authority over the other players during the rest of the campaign.
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I haven't brought it up yet but actually, normal pirates who aren't dicks -coughs- Harrigan -coughs- are pretty democratic. Things are decided upon equally as a crew unless there is a conflict, then the captain has sole control. Usually the quarter master plans their trips and all since they have supplies.
I will find them and link them later for you all to look at if you want. They fit really well in Skull and Shackles.
Yeah, I had thought of that from previous conversations about this. I think as long as that's the extent of the power, it doesn't necessarily matter who has the captain role.
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Yep. Real pirates tended to be democratic (with all the underhanded politics that can involve), but they were far more interested in Continuous performance! The fastest way for a captain to lose control was to not bring in enough booty!
I have found it! Here is the (alleged) code of conduct that Bartholomew “Black Bart” Roberts had on his crew. Some of this we can (and should) change, of course, but it is an excellent place to start.
Yeah, there's no 'authority' that the Captain has over everyone else. Mateo said it best. It's more democratic.
Basically, everyone's going to have their job to do. The captain is not going to tell everyone what to do. Heck, that's too much work for the player in my opinion! I sure as heck wouldn't want to go around telling everyone what to do. It's enough work trying to figure out what the heck I'M doing. :P
According to the handout, a lot of stuff is simply going to be based on the stats of the pc and the role they are in. That's ultimately what the roles are for it seems. I could be wrong though. Wouldn't be the first time. ;P
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Whatever happens, Joran and Atia should get their own cabin.
Never, crunched the numbers,
but I was saying that only if others were not up for it I would reluctantly take the role.
I know a dwarf isn't exactly the best for Cha roles, but I could have made do.
As for which role I end up in, I am flexible.
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*Writes up guide*
*Has busy day*
*Comes back to like two dozen new discussion posts*
*panics slightly*
=D
I can see some good discussion was had. I don't have much to add except that there will still be a decent chunk of time before it matters. I won't spoil why. I wanted to give you all time to digest the info, and also think about possible things you might want to do / take as you level -- you guys will be level 4 by the time it all comes into play, fwiw.
So there is still ample time to plan, RP, and settle into roles. I had a four-day weekend before kids return and school REALLY starts up, and I wanted to make the guide while I had the time.
Also I am 100% RP >>> mechanics at heart, and I can't wait to see the IC version of this conversation once you're all aboard YOUR ship. <3
Although, discussing the roles now, means that we can plan our next level, and where we might have to put a skill point or two.
I have found it! Here is the (alleged) code of conduct that Bartholomew “Black Bart” Roberts had on his crew. Some of this we can (and should) change, of course, but it is an excellent place to start.
Oooh, this is a good basis. Obviously the rule about women on the ship probably needs to go... lol
Different Timeframe, different thoughts.
But it does work as a guideline.
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Whatever happens, Joran and Atia should get their own cabin.
Joran stands there in silence, hands clasped in front of him. Slowly moving his eyes left and then right, he coughs and raises his hand. "I second that. Just showing support for the crew. That's what I do. Just being a team guy." He calmly returns his hands to the clasped position.
Oooh, this is a good basis. Obviously the rule about women on the ship probably needs to go... lol
Joran stands there in silence, hands clasped in front of him. Slowly moving his eyes left and then right, he coughs and raises his hand once again. "I second that also. Just showing support for the crew. That's what I do. Just being a team guy... again."
Someone's going to have to teach this displaced noblewoman how to be a cutthroat pirate.
Atia is a little bit Alexis sometimes. If you don't know the show from the gif, she's a spoiled rich girl lol.
Didn't know about that for pirates. That's interesting. Whatever happens, Des is fine with taking care of the nitty gritty of things. Wouldn't be the first time she had to run an operation.
We can take care of role according to those who can handle them the most and see where it goes from here. Des can't communicate in combat, but it will get better as she levels up. She can handle the diplomatic stuff while others can take command when the fighting happens.
Actually... this would be the perfect reason to democratize the whole thing. No one here's really a perfect match for captain, so why not share that duty for those who can do them?
Someone is also going to have to teach a merchanter to be a pirate.
My characters background had him running from pirates, not becoming one. :)
Agreed on the choosing according to role, I just figure we can hash out the bare bones prior to arguing about it in character. :)
Actually... this would be the perfect reason to democratize the whole thing. No one here's really a perfect match for captain, so why not share that duty for those who can do them?
I tend to agree with this. Some are going to be better at diplomacy or intimidation, depending on the situation...some will be better with writing good speeches...that kind of thing.
Same with all of the other roles, honestly. Atia and Dreamer could easily work together to do well with navigator.
Of course we'll update it so it is fair. As officers, we get paid a bit more than sailors would. Then again, there isn't really an option for "plunder" in the rules of Fire As She Bears.
We'd definitely want someone to "officially" be the captain, just because that is how the Shackles and the Free Captains work. That and I feel it makes sense to have someone who calls the shots in combat or devises the strategy. Whether we listen is, of course, up to debate. :P
It is a fun bit of knowledge; pirates were much more democratic than any navy ship. We can pull off being "good" pirates; offering parley to enemy ships, refusing to engage in slavery and hunting slavers, not oress-ganging, all that. It is certainly more Chaotic than Lawful (arguably) but it is still "Good" if we try to be.
Aye, we can still use the S&S rules for plunder, it primarily focuses on ship vs. ship fighting. =)
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Of course we'll update it so it is fair. As officers, we get paid a bit more than sailors would. Then again, there isn't really an option for "plunder" in the rules of Fire As She Bears.
We'd definitely want someone to "officially" be the captain, just because that is how the Shackles and the Free Captains work. That and I feel it makes sense to have someone who calls the shots in combat or devises the strategy. Whether we listen is, of course, up to debate. :P
It is a fun bit of knowledge; pirates were much more democratic than any navy ship. We can pull off being "good" pirates; offering parley to enemy ships, refusing to engage in slavery and hunting slavers, not oress-ganging, all that. It is certainly more Chaotic than Lawful (arguably) but it is still "Good" if we try to be.
There is also something to be said about having a permanent captain.
Other things that we can do along with that list, is offer quarter when it is requested.
Doing those, will make enemies, and merchants more likely to surrender to us. Plus, a bonus is that we may be able to loot the ship a few times if we set it free.
Hah, that's not actually Cass.
Nothing gets by you, lol. =D
Cass is welcome back when she has time, for now she is a doppelganger. If Cass does not return to us eventually, she will become a background npc and part of the crew. I've head nothing in over a week, and she's a week past when she said, so we shall see.
I need to see the list of those funny characters again. I think I missed it.
Also, if someone could teach a technical luddite how to do those symbols, it would be appreciated.
Edit, I am talking the symbols like the one Lanni just used in game.
Meaning the unicode characters?
You can just copy/paste them like any other letter character. There are ways of typing them directly, but it is different for different operating systems. And is generally fairly complex. And involves memorizing or looking up the hexadecimal code for each character. Much easier to just keep a text file with the characters you want to use and copy/paste.
OK, yes. The :⁂: symbols that I use to represent my facial expression of listening to 'something'.
The EASY way is to keep a document with the characters in it (like Lanni's Char sheet), and cut'n'paste the one you want when you want it.
Otherwise, they are from the extended ASCII char set, and you can "type" them in with the alt key and the ASCII number, IIRC. Been a looooong time since I did that, though. Memory's absolutely fuzzy on the how of it at this point, and I would absolutely have to look up an extended ASCI chart to get the character set.
EDIT: Unicode and not extended ASCII. Okay. Same general concept, of course.
Also, I have already tried and found out that these forums block all of the emoji style unicode characters.
So we are still relegated to using text only smileys. :(
Absolutely Seadreamer. It makes it more likely that a ship will just go "You know what, it is those pirates. They just take our goods and they let us live. Just fly the white flag."
If anyone else watches Our Flag Means Death, I'm envisioning our crew like Stede's. :P Kind of chaotic, but eventually, becoming like family.
Edited Joran's post. He's eating a biscuit now thanks to Terry. :)
Shopping currently. Play this afternoon.
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Hey Fern, how are you doing? What did I do to hurt you for you to roll a 1 for me twice and in a row. I swear I won't have Nuruk insta-smite one the first critical he gets. I can make no promise about Dario.
Just checking in, seeing why you're so mad. Love you. /s
LOL
Hey, Mateo, at least that gets them out of the way.
Nah. It makes me flat-footed and unable to use opportune parry and riposte. Swashbucklers going slow is super bad. I'm fortunate to not have a bunch on me.
I hollered to everyone.
From where I am, and likely the direction I was looking, I only see the one critter.
But I am assuming that there is more, and thus trying to warn everyone.
So yes, if you before I yelled, you can think little late. :)
Otherwise, for people up in the rigging, I don't know if they could see what is going on, therefore the yell.
Plus, it gives the NPC crew a heads up as well.
Hey y'all, sorry my life kinda blew up in my face at the start of the school year! I'm gonna try to catch back up, may be slow going for a bit but I hope to be back by midweek if you'll still have me!
Of course we will =) Welcome back!
I hollered to everyone.
From where I am, and likely the direction I was looking, I only see the one critter.But I am assuming that there is more, and thus trying to warn everyone.
So yes, if you before I yelled, you can think little late. :)Otherwise, for people up in the rigging, I don't know if they could see what is going on, therefore the yell.
Plus, it gives the NPC crew a heads up as well.
If we what before you yelled? I think you're missing a word or two in that sentence and I'm not sure what you're trying to say there.
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I'm actually a bit curious - has anyone in this group played a Medium before? Or even been in a reasonably long running game with one?
It looks like a class that is a bit on the weaker side, so I don't imagine that it is very popular.
I have but it was in a very strange campaign where most magic wasn't available including most medium magic so not really but I did a ton of theorycrafting with it!
in character, I called to everyone in the group.
Some people acted before me in the initiative order, but my action was to yell as I moved to attack.
I wasn't sure if anyone in the rigging could see what was going on, so the yell was for them as well.
Hopefully it was a help.
and yes, I did forget a word. :)
it was acted.
brain working faster than fingers. :)
Thanks - just needed the missing word clarified more than anything, lol. I get you on brain working faster than fingers. It's why I use Grammarly and stuff :)
Question. Do we have our armor back? Because if so, my AC is now 17 (13 while prone) and one of the moves should miss. Does nothing for my piss poor CMD though :(. Sorry, I didn't update the stats to include all our equipment.
We've had all of our equipment back since before we boarded the Man's Promise - you should have had it for the boarding fight, too.
Hey y'all, sorry my life kinda blew up in my face at the start of the school year! I'm gonna try to catch back up, may be slow going for a bit but I hope to be back by midweek if you'll still have me!
Don't be surprised if you see a doppelganger. ;)
Quick, how do we fight a doppleganger at our level. . . . other than difficulty. . . is it a shotgun with rocksalt, or silver ???
I never get it straight. :)
Lol! Just throw gold at it. Gold coins I hear do the trick. ;)
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Yay, Cass is actually back.
I'm actually a bit curious - has anyone in this group played a Medium before? Or even been in a reasonably long running game with one?
It looks like a class that is a bit on the weaker side, so I don't imagine that it is very popular.
I have but it was in a very strange campaign where most magic wasn't available including most medium magic so not really but I did a ton of theorycrafting with it!
Chronomancy is great. Makes PBP go a lot smoother IMO.
Is there anything I can do to help you out with juggling both schoolwork and playing here? I'm thinking maybe a summary PM once a day with anything relevant to your character. Then you won't necessarily have to parse through 38 gameplay posts trying to find out what you actually need to respond to.
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Reminding myself that I need to do the concentration check eventually too. I'm at my mom's house and will deal with it later :P
Yay, Cass is actually back.
I'm actually a bit curious - has anyone in this group played a Medium before? Or even been in a reasonably long running game with one?
It looks like a class that is a bit on the weaker side, so I don't imagine that it is very popular.
I have but it was in a very strange campaign where most magic wasn't available including most medium magic so not really but I did a ton of theorycrafting with it!
Chronomancy is great. Makes PBP go a lot smoother IMO.
Is there anything I can do to help you out with juggling both schoolwork and playing here? I'm thinking maybe a summary PM once a day with anything relevant to your character. Then you won't necessarily have to parse through 38 gameplay posts trying to find out what you actually need to respond to.
I certainly won't turn that offer down! yeah, this is my big semester at school so for the next month or two I'll be at the university from 9:00 Am till 10:00 Pm which is a bit gross