Trail of the Hunted

Game Master Two-Hands

Welcome all! Before we begin, I'd like to pick your brains to hopefully answer some questions I have regarding the running of the game;

1. How would you prefer we handle battle maps? Outside of theater of the mind or a shared google drive map, I really have no idea how else to approach this.

2. Any tips for information to keep in your character descriptions? I've trawled through some games and seen people that include current HP, initiative, AC, etc. I like the visibility it provides at a glance, so it would be cool if we could standardize that.

3. Is everyone happy for me to pre-roll initiative, perception, insight, saving throws when they apply? I feel like that might save some time when it comes to combat, thought I don't want to take agency away from you guys if you'd prefer to roll.

4. Any other tips or tricks you can offer would be swell.

Looking forward to jamming this out with you guys!

First, thanks for the chance to play.

As to your questions, others know better than I but

1) Most I know use Google Maps or Roll20. I've been good with both. Theatre of the Mind is fine sometimes but it can lead to confusion at times in PBP from what I've seen. Others probably have suggestions on what works best.
2) Sounds fair, easy enough to put up in the profile.. I use 'class level' to put in the short hand.
3) I think for initiative it's best you do roll for reasons you said; it speeds things up. I'm okay either way with perception/sense motive rolls; if one doesn't work out or slows things down you can always change policy later.
4) Some have already done this I'm sure, but you might ask us to leave some 'bot' instructions should RL hammer anyone and too much time pass between posts for individuals.

I have a question for you, I'm delighted to be recruited and dandy with either, but did you want Craig the Cleric, or Craig the Inquisitor? The former would be better for healing and buffs, the latter has more skills and isn't a bad archer.

EDIT: I'll be going with Cleric ;)

Hey everybody! Thanks for having me GM Two Hands!

1) Google maps or Roll20 is fine for me as well.
2" Yeah I tend to put the key information needed for combat/encounter stuff in the taglines of characters as well.
Usually something like this:
[Female Human Fighter 1| HP 15/15 | AC 16 T 11 FF 15 | Fort +5 Ref +1 Will +1 | Init +1 | Perception +1, Sense Motive +1| Unbreakable Survivor (Heal Con mod+Lvl HP) 1/1]
3) For something like this AP where at some point it'll be 7 of us and probably an equal or greater number of enemies, you rolling Init will save us from days of waiting for everyone to roll to get a combat started. In fact block init might help things along even more. Passive perception and stuff like that makes sense too, though I'd personally prefer to roll saves myself.

@Craig, bot instructions is a great idea. Would you usually put these on your individual sheet or post it somewhere like this thread?

@Valtyra, I feel you regarding the saving throws; happy to allow for players to take charage of their own saves. I agree with you on rolling initiative to speed things up, and I just looked up block initiative; I love that idea. I'm posting the rule here for my own reference, I'll likely calculate everybody's initiative by rolling them myself and divvy the team into groups for the first post of each combat.

Unless everyone else has vastly different preferences I'll probably organise a roll20 page and share the link. I'm much more familiar with it as a VTT compared to using a google drive link, so we can at least give it a try.

Checking in. Thanks for having me!

@Craig, bot instructions is a great idea. Would you usually put these on your individual sheet or post it somewhere like this thread?

I put them at the bottom of my character sheet as they might change as he levels and gets more options.

Woot! Happy to be on board. Thank you GM Two-Hands, and hi everyone.

1. Shared Google Drive works fine for me. Recently I have started using Owlbear Rodeo to keep the Map in, with fog of war, to move tokens around etc, for my own reference. Then I just take a screenshot and put it on the shared google drive when it is updated. Roll20 also works just fine for me.

2. I think putting the stuff up on the alias header is the best way. Quick and easy to reference, as long as people keep it updated. I also like the spoiler at the bottom of the page.

3. Perfectly fine with you rolling. In fact, I do not really feel the need to roll at all, unless we are in combat or a saving throw hehe. For those situations I like to do my rolling, but for all others I just prefer saying what I want to do and that's that. I might put up a pre-emptive roll if I think it helps things along, but if I do not, I am quite at ease with you to roll for me Two-Hands. My reasoning is threefold - on the one hand I feel there are definitely people who preview their dice rolls before posting, do filler posts etc (not saying it is so in this group), and this (GM rolling) avoids such shenanigans. Then if a player rolls a 20 and the DM says 'you find nothing' it feels too obvious nothing is probably there (of course maybe you just did not hit the DC, but you get what I mean), and the other way around with 1s. I think it also speeds up gameplay because there is less back and forth with player saying what he/she wants to do, DM posting what player should roll, player rolling, etc, etc, this can be days.

4. Hmmmmm, tips and tricks... This one might seem cold, but I think you should do your best to always keep the game moving. In a group with seven people there is a BIG risk of having to wait several days for someone to post, and that absolutely kills games. I have seen many, many PbP dwindle away into nothingness because the posting rate is completely different between players, and the pace is usually dictated by the slower posting ones. So my suggestion would be set a posting rate, and simply move along in case someone does not post in that timeframe, instead of waiting.

1. I have no issue with theatre of the mind when it is doable, but some encounters really benefit from maps. I initially used incarnate to make maps when I felt them necessary, but have also found that it's very easy to scroll through maps others have made to find something useable. If you ever want me to pull something for you to throw up on google just let me know.

2. I've never been one to keep that stuff in my bio at a glance, but after DM'ing on here for a while it definately helps so I will update my sheet before we hit any bumps.

3. I don't mind it as it does save time and it makes sense for the DM to handle it. I would add the caveat that some perception/sense motive should be declared and rolled by the player. "I check for traps before opening the door. I try to guess what his motivation is for doing this." No reason to hand us all the information if we're not actively looking out.

4. Always be clear with your intentions on where you're at and what you're looking for from the other participants. This goes for players as well. "The enemy has now acted, please post your actions or inaction and I will continue. There is nothing I wish to do, so here is RP of my character doing stuff in the background." I have found that without that you can end up with people sitting around waiting on posts from each other.

To follow up what others have said I also use block initiative, though sometimes I use a few different blocks if there is variety among the enemies.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, GM Two-Hands.

1 I prefer using maps (theatre of the mind can get a little confusing, especially with eight different people posting). Either Google Slides or Roll20 work (I have a Roll20 Pro account I can let you use as GM and I can put the maps up, at least for the first chapter).

2 I usually put all the pertinent information under a spoiler tab in my bio (see above).

3 I don't mind the GM rolling for Initiative and passive Perception checks. I would prefer to roll for my own saves (it gives me the feeling of putting my fate in my own hands) and any other active checks. I use a variation on block initiative where I roll separately for each individual group (say, we face a group of goblins and orcs (a distinct possibility) I would roll initiative for the goblins and orcs and then sprinkle the party in-between).

4 Many GM's expect a post a day rate, but in real life that can prove difficult. I, as a GM, hope for once a day but once every two to three days is about average. If the party is stuck waiting for someone to post I usually PM the player to let them know they are up and if they don't respond within 24 hours, 'bot them and move on.

Just an FYI, my daughter and I are going on spring break next week so my posting might be erratic. Fortunately, since I'm closing on a house within the next two weeks, I'll have my laptop with me to keep track of things.

Enjoy Spring Break! Cannot say I am not envious :P

So, for questions...

1. Google Drive is fine for maps.

2. I've been displaying my stats as such in my bio for a long time now; it's really convenient for use in general play.

3. Pre-rolling Initiative and Perception is fine. I'd like to make my own Sense Motive and Saving Throws.

4. Can't really add anything that hasn't already been said.

Anyone else's character a Phaendar local?

Macharius would be. His family's been around Phaendar for at least ten years, if that counts.

Should. Just seeing who Craig would know and vice versa ;)

Valtyra is. She wasn't born there but moved there about 4 or 5 years ago, and works as an apprentice blacksmith in town.

I can figure how Tern might know, or more likely BE known from a few of the party.

Tern usually takes game by trapping, and some people frown on that kind of thing. Undo suffering and all. I imagine Craig might have noticed that on the few trips the sorcerer makes into town. On the upside Tern is also more likely to convince an animal to walk into a unseen trap than have it wander into one and suffer for a long time. Not saying it's any better, but one does what they can.

I doubt Moragul would approve either for that matter. :D

Valtyra makes things of iron and steel that he can't get in the woods, and might know him from attempts to haggle or barter. He doesn't tend to earn more money than he absolutely needs, and will then turn around and plead poverty when a deal is more than he can afford. In fact, his current trip into town he couldn't afford some tools he had his eye on.

Macharius might have bumped into him at some point on the border of the Fangwood. Crossing the Nesme plains even.

Aelethea and Reknar I'm not seeing their backstories so either they posted on their mains or I'm missing it.

I'm seeing a lot of reason for those present to think of Tern as capable but less than upstanding in their direct dealings with him. At the same time he is known for helping others when encountered without asking for anything, and being generous in his dealings when he isn't short on coin or supplies. Hopefully that means most just have a neutral opinion of him.

One of the reasons I ask is, assuming Craig is 20 years old (I might change it later but i think I'll go with that), from ages 12 to 14 he fell in with a bad crowd and was a punk. Hassled others, minor theft and vandalism and some scams.

However, after getting busted and treated firmly but fairly right before age 15, he had a turn around, discovered the teachings of Erastil and straightened out. He made amends where he could and since then has been a model citizen looking out for the community and recently became a true cleric.

Most of his former fellow hoodlums also straightened out. And I have conjectured at least one person may have, rightly, given him a punch in the nose when he played the bully at 13 or so.

So Valtyra probably knows Craig as a responsible, straight laced young man who tries to help folks but if she asked she'd learn of Craig's past poor behavior and the shame he felt.

Macharius might remember when Craig and his 'friends' were busting up fences in the middle of the night and running etc but at least saw the turn around where Craig grew the heck up

What Craig knows about them in turn is up to you two.

EDIT: Crossposted with Tern

As long as Tern is responsible with his traps, I'm not sure a cleric of the god of Hunting would have anything against him there.

Now goofing OFF when there's work to be done? (Insert Lawful Good tut tutting here) :)

=)

At work. Will make a better post later.

Aelethea lives outside town in a cabin she and her deceased lover built. She only comes into town about once or twice a month to buy trade for or buy supplies she can't make.

Anyone else's character a Phaendar local?

Thinking a local Ironfang Survivor half-orc.

Perhaps ex (or still) army, back to Phaendar to visit his adoptive parents and enjoy the Market festival. Maybe his military days are over (or so he thinks), or maybe he is just on leave (I also like that idea).

I imagine him as perhaps gruff but charismatic and liked by the locals (strong lad, good with words but not shying away from hard labor whether at the farm unloading hay, plowing the fields, or giving a hand a the Taproot Inn taking out rowdy patrons or serving at tables. Always greets townsfolks - Alda and Elmer brought him up proper. Got some tusks on him though - if he flashes them... Things get serious. Weird tattoos, but then the child already came with them when they took him in), ever since he was adopted by a Phaendar family. Maybe a band of roving orcs was taken down and he survived?

Reknar is a local ;)

Well, Tern might have used a spell for Reknar's benefit at some point doing mundane work, assuming he wasn't staying well clear of anyone having anything to do with the military. Spells like mend and expeditious excavation are very handy.

Tern's... shack? Half ruined cabin his parents maintained... might find Aelethea's cabin between it and town. Especially if she's a fair sight. If you're not taking in the scenery once every few months you're not really living. I'm not talking about peeping. His AC and Dex are waaaaay too low to consider that.

I'll go into possible connection details tomorrow.

Sounds good Mac. Once Moragul checks in with his answers I'll post a final outline of all of the data from your answers and a rough guideline of how things will play out. From there, it'll be on to the first gameplay post! I'm going to kick it off in media res with everybody having just arrived at the tavern. I've taken some liberties adjusting the introductory section of the module for what I think will be a lot more streamlined for PbP format. So, if you're familiar with the module, you're in for a surprise!

While we wait for that, feel free to jump into the gameplay thread and post a little intro, maybe outline what your character did on during the busy day at the market festival. I'd appreciate it if you do take the opportunity to post something, that you just close it off with your character heading to the Taproot Inn for some R&R.

For suggestions on what you might get up to, the module suggests the following;

a scholarly party might be conducting research or brewing potions at Oreld’s Fine Shop (owned by a middle aged human male, Vane Oreld).

A military or mercantile party could be at the Phaendar Trading Company (a trading post with a wide assortment of good, currently owned by a cantakerous female dwarven blacksmith named Kining Blondebeard).

Religious PCs might be drawn to the Riverwood Shrine (The shrine is intended for any worshipers to use, but most people in town venerate Erastil or Desna, and so statues and symbols of these two faiths decorate the walls in the form of homemade amulets, artwork, and offerings. The current caretaker of the shrine is a humble old man named Noelan).

Of course, if you're a party animal feel free to have spent the day at the Taproot Inn, listening to local hero Aubrin the Green (a Chernasardo Ranger-turned-Caydenite cleric) regale the crowds with tales from her glory days.

Reknar P, I think you used the wrong alias for your post

EDIT: NVM, you already got it :O

Yeah, I did :P
You were fast!

I was cross posting at the time, saw it had come up so incorporated seeing Reknar in my wall of text :)

GM Twohands- Ignore the bit about the horse if his fiction bit in his profile doesn't fit or work the story line.

I think I'll modify my existing post and put it up.

@Craig, I liked the horse, it was a nice touch. I'll try to remember to include it if a visit to the shrine pops up.

@Aelethea, thanks for letting us know. Have fun, get some quality time in with your daughter :)

Still waiting out for Moragul, I'll give him another day or so (it's the weekend for you guys in the U.S. still huh?). If we don't hear then I'll just crack on.

So far the basic guidelines I'm going to follow are:

1. Use Roll20 for maps.

2. Block initiative rules,which I will roll for PCs and enemies at the beginning of combat. From there, I'll allocate Group 1, who can post in whatever order they please, Enemies, then Group 2. If there are distinct groups of enemies, they will be rolled for separately as per Aelethea and Tern's suggestions.

3. Any passive rolls (mainly Perception) will have a spoilered DC listed in the appropriate post. Players can roll against it before writing up their reactions. Saving throws will also be rolled by players in the same manner.

4. Posting rate. I'm going to aim for daily posts during the week, stretching out to likely 1 post over the weekends. I'd love for you guys to maintain something similar.

5. Pacing. Tying in to the above, if folks have something going on IRL I totally get it. I have 4 kids and 2 jobs, I know life can be hectic for some. All I ask is that we communicate with each other. If someone is AWOL for longer than 48hrs, we will continue to progress the game and their character will be botted as best I can. The goal here is to have fun and tell a good story, I promise I'll do my best to take care of your toons.

I've probably missed something, but I feel like this is a pretty good starting point for us.

Sounds good to me! :)

Works for me!

Ditto that!

Still waiting out for Moragul, I'll give him another day or so (it's the weekend for you guys in the U.S. still huh?). If we don't hear then I'll just crack on.

Looks like Fallstar as well as Moragul aren't in the gameplay thread yet.

Welcome all!

=}

1. How would you prefer we handle battle maps? Outside of theater of the mind or a shared google drive map, I really have no idea how else to approach this.

Anything the players can edit like roll20 or google drive is fine. Theater if the mind might not work with seven players.

2. Any tips for information to keep in your character descriptions? I've trawled through some games and seen people that include current HP, initiative, AC, etc. I like the visibility it provides at a glance, so it would be cool if we could standardize that.

You can see Moragul's header is quite comprehensive. It could also help in combat if you were to keep a spoiler of each PCs current HP for easy reference for the entire party instead of eight people trying to decipher seven headlines between every single post to see if someone is in critical need of healing.

3. Is everyone happy for me to pre-roll initiative, perception, insight, saving throws when they apply?

Sure. And with seven players, it would probably be best to do two intiative blocks. Initiative determines which party acts first, and anyone can act in any order within their initiative block.

Seven players. Seven skellingtons. The players roll a higher average initiative than the skeletons - even though some individual players rolled lower init than some individual skallingtons - so all the players go first, and they can act in any order. Then the skeletons go and can also act in any order. Then the players go and can act in any order, they don't have to maintain the order they went in last round. This lets players post when they can without having to wait for others players or individual skeletons further up in initiative.

Standard block intiative, with a group going before and a group going after enemies, can work, but can still fall prey to a single missing person grinding the entire thing to a halt when everyone else is ready to move on, and with seven players there are a lot of indiviual gears that can break.

Sorry for falling behind folks!

For Connections:

--Craig Lawrence could very well have targeted Macharius' sister Artemis for harassment during his punk days, and Mac could very well have been the one to smack him for it. Artemis would have forgiven him for it by now, but Mac would be leery of him in that 'my-sister-is-off-limits' kind of way.

--Aelethea Callandriil: Macharius would likely have noticed her from a distance and never really felt too comfortable introducing himself to her. He does, however, appreciate her pet lynx and would love to give the beast ear scritches if he wasn't so certain it'd cost him a hand.

--Tern Bismeth could very well have been a friend of Mac's father Connor. Given that they share similar views on nature (respect it, because if you don't it'll kill you without blinking an eye), it wouldn't be a stretch for Mac to regard him as 'that guy with the owl who hangs out with Dad sometimes'. He would also love to pet Pippin at some point, but he keeps that to himself.

--If Reknar's a regular performer in town, Mac would be familiar with him. A bit of a distant acquaintance, but Reknar's storytelling would always get at least a chuckle out of him.

--Moragul Bearskin is someone Mac could be familiar with through his mother Isidora. Given she's an ex-Warden herself, she would have heard of him fending off an owlbear from Aubrin the Green.

--Valtyra Slate is someone Mac would be familiar with, given how often he's had to have his woodcutting tools replaced or repaired. While he doesn't know her too well, he'd like to get to know her more.

--If Reknar's a regular performer in town, Mac would be familiar with him. A bit of a distant acquaintance, but Reknar's storytelling would always get at least a chuckle out of him.

Reknar is definitely not a performer ;)

Ah. In that case, I'm not sure how Mac would know him...

No worries - we can meet as the game progresses.

Sorry for falling behind folks!

For Connections:

--Craig Lawrence could very well have targeted Macharius' sister Artemis for harassment during his punk days, and Mac could very well have been the one to smack him for it. Artemis would have forgiven him for it by now, but Mac would be leery of him in that 'my-sister-is-off-limits' kind of way.

Nice idea but I'll pass on that one. Goes a bit too far in a direction I'm not comfortable with. Sorry about that.

Alrighty then. I'm open to whatever other ideas you can come up with.

Alrighty then. I'm open to whatever other ideas you can come up with.

Well, don't let my indecision hold you back from posting in the RP thread :)

@Moragul, I'm gonna assume you've made your way to the tavern by now :)

With that, the first gameplay post is up!

Roll20 link is here! Once everyone joins I assume I can give you individual token permissions? Also, I've never run a VTT offline before, does anyone know if there are certain permissions I have o give for you guys to access it when I'm not online?

If you can see the map, the colour code is;

Blue frame for PCs
Red frame for enemies
Brown frame w/yellow dot for unnamed NPCs (@Craig, the token behind yours represents your sister)
Brown frame w/green dot for named NPCs.

Sorry if this is messy guys, hopefully I can figure it out right quick and clean the whole process up a little.

Doesn't look messy at all to me - great map and setup! :)

That looks great to me.

Thanks gang, I appreciate the positive vibes :) I'm doing my best out here, I was pretty excited setting up the roll20. This PbP thing is awesome, I'm really enjoying the whole process.

Better than I can do!

Hey @Valtyra, do you mind if I ask why you rolled a Knowledge (Local) for the Hobgoblins on your last post?

I am just curious to understand why people love so much pre-emptive rolling of dice. And it looks awfully like a 'filler' roll. So I had to ask. Hope it is ok to talk openly.

Alrighty then. I'm open to whatever other ideas you can come up with.

How do you feel about the group of punks at the time, not just Craig, mocking Macharius'odd looks? Called him 'Blanche' (since he was made so pale) etc? Macharius might have taken it in stride (or might not) until thirteen year old Craig made a comment about 'Ain't you worried your sister is gonna go freak too?' and... well, Craig got his well deserved black eye?

Later Craig would apologize to Macharius for it, of course.

GM Two-Hands, if I might suggest, can you place a link to the Roll20 site either in the Campaign Info tab or as a link under your alias so it's easier to find.

Macharius Fallstar wrote:

Alrighty then. I'm open to whatever other ideas you can come up with.

How do you feel about the group of punks at the time, not just Craig, mocking Macharius'odd looks? Called him 'Blanche' (since he was made so pale) etc? Macharius might have taken it in stride (or might not) until thirteen year old Craig made a comment about 'Ain't you worried your sister is gonna go freak too?' and... well, Craig got his well deserved black eye?

Later Craig would apologize to Macharius for it, of course.

I like that idea.