So he was more of a mentor. I'll update it to indicate a stonemason apprenticeship.
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My first pick is Sturm. For the final slot, I'm intrigued by the Ghost Ranger concept as well. The lore warden (Dex build, lightly armored) also looks promising but not likely to soak much more damage than the rest of us. Between a DEX based fighter and a Ranger, I'd rather have the ranger for his likely ability to help the rest of the party survive the hostile climate/environment.
Well, we seem to be caster heavy, so some tanking is definitely in order. My first inclination is to pick players based on their ability to follow your initial character restrictions, as this is demonstrative of their ability to read/comprehend and follow directions.
Were I unsure if I had the time or desire to participate, at this point in time, I would bow out now. I'm NOT saying you should bow out. Based on side conversations we have had, I think Aard wishes to recruit players who want to progress through an AP, at a reasonably consistent pace. Each of us have demands placed on our time that will inevitably result in our absence. In an ideal situation, that would never happen, but reality has a way of rearing its ugly head. I don't think anyone I have gamed with to date, would be seriously put out by another player's absence, provided prior notice was given and the absentee player did not make a habit out of it. If you feel you are incapable of managing your enthusiasm for the campaign as time goes on, then I would rather you didn't play. Having a player the group grows to rely on early in the campaign, due to heightened levels of participation, drop down to sporadic bare minimum posting levels, is in some ways worse than having a bare-minimum player from the get go. Ultimately, I would prefer that you decide to commit to the game, because I think you provide insightful rp when you do post. I completely understand if your real-life demands are such that you cannot commit. I'm not sure I could were I in your shoes.
Here's my take on the number of players question.
On one hand, it is my belief that having more players will generally help to maintain game-play inertia. On the other hand, it could dramatically slow things up. Aard, IF you as the DM, are willing to rule that while in combat, players who do not respond within 24 hrs (or whatever time period you feel acceptable) of the start of their turn, default to having their characters delay/pass/dither, then having more players will only help advance the story. You have already done this a number of times, so I don't think this will be an issue. If you are opposed to that, then I can see a single combat taking a month or more to resolve, and would prefer to have a smaller group. IMHO, slow progress isn't always better than no progress. As for the expectation to post. There is a balance to be had, though I'm not sure what that is. I see two separate expectations wrt posting. 1. Checking Posts, 2. Posting. Your expectation for 1 can't exceed (time-wise) your expectation 2.
I think a reasonable rate would be checking once/48hrs and posting within 12hrs of the start of your turn. Noting that your character will delay/dither/pass on their turn if you bust the timeline. I also think that expectations are just that. They are not hard and fast and should always give way to common sense and pre coordinated extenuating circumstances.
Really? 1. Council of Thieves
I'm for Council of Thieves for reasons stated before. Next would be Jade Regent just for a change of flavor. After that I don't have a preference. so...
I don't know which AP Carlito was running, but seeing as how I have a ready made character, that would be my preference. (Assuming it is not one of the AP's you are currently running.)
Looking around his feet, Frytz mulls the possibility of a warm meal. If nothing eltse, ve shoult be able to scrounge some corn from dis fielt, ya.
Still feeling guilt for the sinking of the Vivian's Lust, Frytz avoids making direct eye contact for more than a second. I vashed ashore sometime in da middle of da night, ya... und took shelter at an abandoned village. Vhen I avoke da next day, I saw these fine men comink ashore. I've been vith dem ever since.
clik'By'k'tk'Gozreh's'charip'beardt! k'ch.....Frtyz clears his throat.
brrrip,tchik!
5ft step to H6.
Move - 5ft step J5
clikk'ch'ch'zzip
Charge to K6
Frytz charges the giant mantis thing-a-ma-bob, furiously clicking away in Aquan.
Frytz warily looks at Kelly, nods his head, and proceeds to enter the corn, in the direction of the sound.
Do we need initiative checks at this point? Aard, you mentioned a movement rate of 5'/round which would lead me to believe that time is ticking and we need to track our positions.
To the guys who just washed ashore, I believe Aard is bringing you in as Frytz's mates from the Vivian's Lust. For what it's worth, the VL was an entertainment vessel, at least that was its public face, providing high-end escorts to high-rollers and heads of state. It's prime mission was smuggling and intelligence brokering.
Was that a prediction or a decree? ;)
So, are we past the holidays and ready to get back to it, or are we waiting for MLK Day to come and go?
So our options are: recruit from unknowns, recruit from associates, or disband altogether. I'd rather not disband. My preference would be to recruit people who will not slow down the pace of the game any further. I noticed that you did not list, as an alternative, running the game with fewer players. I assume doing so would require more prep than you are interested in committing. If not, is this an option? I thank Holgur for the giving notice. I did a little trolling, and while Holgur stated his reason for leaving, I can't help but wonder if the pace of this campaign wasn't a significant factor. It may be well and true that his RL situation has changed enough to limit his online play, but given that he hasn't bowed out of all of his games (just a few), I wonder if he might have chosen to stay with this game and drop another.
Aard are you waiting for input from one of us, or are we waiting on you? Seems like we have stalled a bit.
The group's indecision besting his god given patience, Frytz starts to head down to the edge of the field, making as little sound as possible.
Zhere are a number of thingks ve can do. Ve can vait until dark for better stealth. Ve can go aroundt da fieldt. Or, ve can set fire to da fieldt undt schpringk any ambush zhat may be avaiting us. Either vay, schtandingk aroundt here buys us nothingk, ya.
Perhaps, vone of us shouldt take da crows nest on da ridge vhile da rest of us check out da haus, ya. Vee couldt vork out a varningk system so zhat our lookout can varn us, should da needt arise.
Do you think it's vorth searchink da pile of clothes to see if perhaps zhere are items belongink to your friends?
Zhere! Gut as new, ya? In da future, I vould schtay avay from hags such as dem. Have a longer life, I should think.
...As I thought. Nothink but junk.
Please kneel down zo I can get a better look, yeah.
I just did a little forum stalking and Cieran has been active in other games at least as recently as this last Wednesday. So, it would appear that his absence is not schedule related, but rather due to a lack of interest. While that is not a fault in and of itself, I consider it rather rude that he did not inform the group of his departure or planned limited participation.
I know someone who may be interested. He would be new to PF, but he's played DnD and other off shoots for as long as I have. If Aardvark wants I can get in touch.
Frytz motions to Belor's wounds.
Frytz watches Kelly work with great interest.
I know that when moving, every other diagonal counts as 10 feet. So that moving three squares diagonally is 5,10,5 for a total of 20ft. Q: Does this rule carry over from round to round. E.g. If I 5ft step diagonally in round 1 and attack, by the end of the round, the monster retreats one step, can I then 5ft step diagonally again in round 2 or would that diagonal step count as 10?
move: draw morningstar
ch'tkk pa'k'k ee ee!
Thanks for the reminder re: curse. It completely slipped my mind.
Drop sling(free) 5'-step up to C1, total defense (standard) - effective ac = 23
Okay, so there are in fact two separate rolls by the DM for the same attack, one to hit vs ac and one to hit vs save. That makes sense.
Light bulb! So I just fully realized the affect that changing the saves has on the game. I don't like it. (I'm not saying you need to change it back. Just saying that I don't like it.) This mechanic is more akin to 4E, which isn't bad, but never sat well with me. E.g. An undead creature has attack that fort saves. That attack is a bite. You're telling me that my plate mail and shield makes no difference whatsoever against the bite? It makes more sense to me that the bite does physical damage by itself and any corruption would have to be settled via another roll. I can certainly see this as an advantage for a play-by-post game, as it lets the DM pre-roll without having to solicit save rolls from the players. And the light bulb flickers.
I'm thoroughly confused.
To clarify... were the results of Belor's last attack a one time thing, or is this a new house rule. A la, If a spell does half damage on a save, provided the damage type would ordinarily affect the creature, then damage is received by the creature. E.g. is the damage type was mind affecting, then it would not affect undead, constructs, etc...
Is Belor on vacation? Or is there some confusion as to whose turn it is?
I'm pretty well settled on a half-orc, spiked chain wielding urban ranger built around a repo specialist. I just need to assign skill points and I'm done.
Kelly makes a good point. Simply disallowing take 10/20 without replacing the rules with something else, will likely cause problems. It is my belief that the authors of the APs tried to write/design them with the rules in mind. Having to make 14 acrobatics checks to cross a land feature that absolutely must be traversed, seems excessive and little more than an exercise in dice rolling. Reducing the skill challenge to one or two rolls seems more reasonable to me. Personally, if there were a better than average chance that I would fall in and then get sucked down into the mire (leaving all creepy crawlies out of the picture) I would walk around, no matter how much longer it took me. The only possible factor that might change my view, is if I were being chased by something intent on doing me harm, that I thought might not follow me onto the pilings.
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