Gryphon Gold's Falcon's Hollow OOC thread

[dathom]

Hi there Darkmoon valer

I would be interested in joining your campaign and here is my concept:

Bron Levn, Half-elven fighter who use to work for the Lumber Consortium in Falcon's Hollow until he found out that Kreed had raped his sister. Furious at what the evil Consortium Gavel had done, Bron attacked Kreed, leaving the evil man with bruised ribs before being tossed out of the man's office. Leaving his job as a lumberer, Bron joined up with Deldrin Baleson as a town guard in Falcon's Hallow so he could help in taking down the malevolent Lumber Consortium Gavel.

[Willard Barnable]

I have Willy from another Darkmoon Vale game that died. I could adjust his stats to fit in this game. Human lumberjack barbarian.

[Allan_Treebeard]

I'm in if theres still space

[Gamender]

A fey sorcerer for me then. I'll roll up a character in a bit.

[Darkmoon Valer]

Everyone, if you haven't already, decide on a concept (race/class and a short background) by this time tomorrow. I'll let you know if you're accepted.

For the new PCs, this will be your story so far:

An affliction known as blackscour taint has afflicted at least a couple dozen townsfolk in Falcon's Hollow. You immediately came together and formed a group, then sought the aid of the local herbalist, Laurel, who informed you of a possible cure from her grandmother's tome of knowledge. Laurel told you she needs elderwood moss from the oldest tree in the forest, a pickled root known as "rat's tail" from the witch Ulizmila in her cottage in the woods, and seven ironbloom mushrooms from an old dwarven ruins. She then told you find the most experienced woodsman she knows, Milon Rhoddam, to tell you exactly where to find these locations, and you set off on your adventure that morning.

At the lumber camp, you find Milon. He draws a map for you and start into Darkmoon Woods.

On the second day of your adventure, you find the eldest tree, a tree with a 30-foot wide trunk, in a clearing. In the clearing, an ant-infested corpse of a wingless wyrm lies on the ground, but no immediate danger to you is found. On the tree's trunk you find the moss which you seek.

It's now the beginning of the third day, and your headed to the witch's cottage...

[Thorin "Thumpy" Ironhands]

I'd like to play my dwarf-fighter character Thumpy. He's a travelling pots and pans merchant who arrived in Falcon's Hollow during the outbreak. He's a sensitve, kind-hearted dwarf who wants nothing more than to cure the town of blackscour taint.

I played Thumpy in Lazaro's 4E adaptation of this game. We tackled the dwarven monastery first, then got to the witch's cabin. The game ended there. I really got into the game and would love to continue this adventure.

[Iflen Wolfheart]

Iflen Wolfheart is ready for action, eager to catch up to the other PC's and combat the plague.

[Sniggevert]

Thanks for the possibility here, but my wants were bigger than my time will allow. I am going to bow out of this one. Good hunting all.

[Senmont]

Haünrar's background:

Haünrar the half-orc bard. An outcast from his tribe, he was a victim of his own ambitions to guide the his tribe along a new path from constant banditry and war, towards a more pedestrian life involving farming, woodcutting, and hunting actual game instead of just eating what fell dead next to you. Before his dismissal, he was the tribes battle crier. He chanted inspiring chants, conducted ritual dances, and blasted on his war horn. When he broached the topic of setting down, his chief beat him with his horn and tossed him off a cliff.

Lucky for Haünrar, there was a deep, fast moving river which carried his unconscious self out of the tribes domain and washed him ashore near a dryads grove; a grove near Falcon's Hollow. The dryad wanted to drown him for his orcishness, but the river had washed most of the stench off of Haünrar and they could smell the human in him. So the dryad took him in, enthralled him and taught him to play nice. He learned compassion and respect for nature. She taught him to use magic, and showed some of her own. But the dryad soon grew board of Haünrar, so when some woodsmen from Falcon's Hollow came by, she charmed them as well.

Being under the dryads spell, the woodsmen were not able to undergo the usual reaction to a half-orc, so they all became friends. Eventually the dryad tired of being awake, so she entered her tree for a nap. The men and Haünrar came out of the enchantment, but remained friends. they took him back to Falcon's Hollow, where he received a warm welcome alongside the missing men.

Now Haünrar tries to entertain the locals in the local tavern. He plays his horn and dances his dances. He would like to learn to sing, because no one understands what the heck he chants about, but it makes them somewhat uncomfortable. When the taint came to Falcon's Hollow, a half-orc with battle experience was a natural for the case, and he was drafted into the group that investigated problem. He accepted with glee, since playing a horn in a tavern was growing old to this adventuresome half-orc.

[Gamender]

Althesia's background:

They found her as a child, walking the dangerous paths of the Woods with nothing but a dreamy smile on her face. And she was an elf. The weathered lumberjack who took her in against all advice always had a smile on his face whenever he recounted that story. It seemed so long ago, and yet the elven child he had found decades ago had only just come of age.

But even with her aging guardian, it was a hard life. The longstanding prejudice of elves in Darkmoon Vale had forced her to take the most unwanted jobs in Falcon's Hollow, but she persevered, if only to make ends meet. And when her guardian had to retire, well thievery did pay out more.

But now the taint had come to Falcon's Hollow. A few dozen were afflicted with it, as the rumors say, but one thing she did know was that her guardian was one of them. Leaving her guardian in more capable hands then hers, she joined a group that went to search for a cure before it's too late.

PS. she's a rogue. Hehe.

[Darkmoon Valer]

Willard, Althesia, and Haunrar: you're in. I'll need character sheets done by this time and day, next week.

To everyone else: Thanks for your interest. I'll keep you on my reserve list and should I need replacements, I'll post in this thread.

Character creation: level 1, 20-point buy, 2 traits, max gold for your class.

[Darkmoon Valer]

Traits available are those from the standard list, and the custom traits on the 2nd post of this thread.

[Willard Barnable]

Cool, I will convert him back to 1st level. Can we use the traits from the Wayfinder 2?

Thanks for having me.

[Althesia]

If I may say, thanks for having me. A rough Althesia in the making, I present. Will switch around a lot of things before we start.

[Haünrar]

Thanks for letting me join. I will have the stats and a more fleshed out background, probably by Monday.

Also, my character has a battered horn that he has kept since his time in the tribe. I know that normal items cannot be made masterwork, but if I paid full price, would I be able to "upgrade" his horn to masterwork anyway when he can afford it? For his concept, I would like him to keep his battered horn throughout his career. Maybe the type of horn it is gets better with each dent?

[Darkmoon Valer]

Willard Barnable wrote:

Can we use the traits from the Wayfinder 2?

I read these and I'll allow all of them.

Haünrar wrote:

Also, my character has a battered horn that he has kept since his time in the tribe. I know that normal items cannot be made masterwork, but if I paid full price, would I be able to "upgrade" his horn to masterwork anyway when he can afford it? For his concept, I would like him to keep his battered horn throughout his career. Maybe the type of horn it is gets better with each dent?

Yes, I'll allow you to buy a masterwork version for full price when you can afford it.

[Darkmoon Valer]

I've introduced you guys, so you can start posting in the adventure thread, now.

[Celestial Half-Porc]

Sorry everyone, I have been out of town and starting a new job. I am going to try and get back on regular posting now. Again, sorry for the silence.

[Gryphon Gold]

Darkmoon Valer wrote:

To everyone else: Thanks for your interest. I'll keep you on my reserve list and should I need replacements, I'll post in this thread.

If you're reading this thread and still interested, let me know.

[Thorin "Thumpy" Ironhands]

Thumpy, dwarf stove-pot merchant, at your service!

[Gryphon Gold]

You're in if you alter your character according to the following:

Quote:

Character creation: level 1, 20-point buy, 2 traits, max gold for your class.

Available traits are those listed on:

1) paizo.com/traits
2) Falcon's Hollow campaign traits on page 54 of Wayfinder #2
3) the list of home-rule traits at the beginning of this thread.

[Thorin "Thumpy" Ironhands]

I'll get right to it.

[Bacchreus]

Cool, I like thumpy.

JZ, I was following the falcons hollow pbp thumpy was in (shame it ended) and he was my favorite character. so look forward to having you aboard this one.

[Thorin "Thumpy" Ironhands]

Thank you!

Sorries to DM Gryphon for not finishing up Thumpy yet.

[Darkmoon Valer]

From April 1st to April 10th I'll be away from home and may not have 'net access.

[Thorin "Thumpy" Ironhands]

Hi, if it's not too late, here's my character sheet, now PFRPG-ized.

[Darkmoon Valer]

Alright, I'll introduce you soon.

[Thorin "Thumpy" Ironhands]

Thanks, I look forward to it!

[Deelin]

I'm going to be away camping without net access over easter (1st to approx the 7th). DV please feel free to DMPC Deelin if you have net access yourself.

[Althesia]

Rushed but:

I'll be out of the country from April 1st to 7th, and I highly doubt I'll get internet access in that duration. Feel free to dmpc if needed.

[Darkmoon Valer]

My time away from home has been cut short, so I'm available now.

[Rimrock]

Welcome back, but I think 2 others are still on vacation until the 7th

[Darkmoon Valer]

Thorin, you've now been introduced into the adventure thread.

[Thorin "Thumpy" Ironhands]

Gotcha, thanks!

[Deelin]

DV I wasn't aware that I'd missed an action. However now I refer back upthread to 9 days previous I see you posted

Quote:

Haunrar, Willard, then round 2.

which I noted but I was still expecting an end of round summary as per normal proceedure then with the map mix up I hadn't realised we'd moved on.

regarding the initiative order. At the start of combat it is nice and clear what order we're going in but as you can see when it takes an average of 2 weeks and multiple thread pages to run a combat it becomes a little confusing whose go it is. I follow the game thread closely checking once or twice a day for postings and myself and others have been caught out not having an action when we clearly thought it wasn't our turn to post. For example without looking back to the start I know that I'm at the top of the initiative order but have no idea who follows me exactly and guess from a post upthread that Willard is last but without an adjudication of those characters actions I won't be able to make an informed decision as to what my next action should be.

What I'd like to see in combat encounters is an end of round summary post with fresh map and reminder of initiative order with current damage taken for all creatures. The current damage would be usefull so that we as a group can concentrate fire on a badly wounded target and also work to protect a fellow character that is running out of hp. I'd also like to see an action update from the monsters in their initiative order so that characters after the monsters can make informed decisions on their actions. It would also be easier to reference if we used some kind of grid on the maps, this could be virtual for example just say squares are numbered alphabetically accross the map while numerically down. With our current map (A11-3) Deelin would be in S9.

I realise these suggestions would require more work and understand if it is not possible to implement for whatever reason and fully appreciate that you are GM and will play under your guidelines. I am only offering these ideas as an attempt to prevent situations where I am waiting for you to post and you are waiting for me to post. Clearly this has happened on multiple occassions with various players and results in days of thread innactivity which none of us want.

I would also like to hear from the other players for opinions and ask am I completely alone in this assessment or is this an issue that you have also seen and needs addressing.

[Thorin "Thumpy" Ironhands]

I think we're lucky enough to have a DM who doesn't bail.

[Rimrock]

I agree, we are fortunate to have a GM (and players) who are committed to posting frequently and moving the game forward. With regard to initiative order, although it is ideal to have the players and the NPCs post in the initiative order, it is often faster to just post an action when you can. Obviously you have to make some assumptions about what happens prior to your action in the order, but usually the GM can resolve the actions of the round. Sometimes you can even post alternate actions based on different conditions. You can also post OOC to say that you are waiting for another action, so the GM and the other players know that you are following the game but just waiting for another player's or an NPC's action to post.

The most important thing is to keep the game moving. I think there have been several occasions in this game where a deadlock situation has occurred, and in those situations DV has done the right thing moved the game forward. An option instead of NPCing players actions at that point is for the GM to just give a reminder of who you are waiting on to act. If they don't respond in a day or so, then NPC the player.

The suggestion of an end of round summary is a good one, and even better is for the GM to post after every few combat actions and give a summary and a cue for who is next to act (though I think you have done that for the most part DV).

Keep the game going guys, its all good!

[Deelin]

Judging from the opinions given above it seems that I am off base with my perceptions and would like to re-state that I was only making suggestions for the betterment of the game. I don't think I've made clear enough that I too am appreciative of all the hard work you have put into the game DV and would hate to see it end due to lack of posts and people drifting away. As I have been involved since its inception and we have had a change of a large number of players it was my belief that the same thing could happen again and I was attempting to come up with a constructive solution. I in no way am denegrating any of your fine work and would hope that you don't perceive my commentary as such. Its always a good idea to be mindfull of the difference between the written word and the meaning behind such in a live conversation and hopefully not read too much into words on a page without the nonverbals. Since there appears to be a consensus I'll shut up and not broach the topic again.

[Haünrar]

Deelin, your not completely off base here.

I don't think we need to go so far as a complete grid system, but a round summary would be nice. Another thing that would help me would be to not complete the round on the creatures actions, but merely state the actions of the creature. Wait for the rest of us to post our actions. then summarize because I was thrown off waiting to see what the wolfs would do, then suddenly I am told my PC did a swing and a miss when that might not have been what I was gong to do.

[Darkmoon Valer]

Deelin, I'll consider what you said. Truthfully, everything you'd like to see isn't likely to happen on every post I make.

[Deelin]

Thanks DV, like I said, totally understand if its not possible