One of the things I most like about pbp as a medium is that it allows characters to evolve in a very organic way. By all means build as much or as little backstory as any of you want, but don't feel compelled to sort out every detail right now. Sometimes stuff just comes up during in-game conversation :)
The flavour on this one is coming through in the game thread already, for example - and that makes me happy. Hopefully, you too.
I just don't want a repeat of last game. we had some very interesting characters, but no connection, besides kel, kelgan, and I (from the previous game). I am willing to let some things develop over the course of the story, but I want a backstory that pulls the party together. It is one thing to say everyone is friends, but unless you know how or why, it is meaningless. When the stuff hits the fan, who are you going to trust?
Rev
Gah. Blocks of text... Will... fading...
Okay, really, I see Zareth as a charming man. (Link mostly unrelated) If he likes you, he's as sophisticated a gentleman you can ask for. If he doesn't, then he still acts as charming as ever, but with a distinct sense that he could make you think someone just put an ice pick in your head. Sure, he's vindictive, but at least he's polite about it. Now that I think about it, he is turning into a bit of a Byronic hero.
As for the connection with Andrus, that's fine by me. Sure, Zareth acts like a bit of a hellion at times, but it's good to have a friend to get drunk and discuss man's place in the cosmos with. As for the first adventure, I was actually thinking that you/rest of the party got into the adventure then basically forced him to come along for arcane support. After that, one thing lead to another, a stage got burnt down and he's stuck with the group.
Works for me. So I'll be the spokesperson, then? Zareth sounds a little too self-absorbed to care what others think of him. Or what they think of the group. That way, you can play him as you like and not have to worry about group dynamics. Fair enough?
Kel's parents were adventurers, his father a cleric of Avandra and his mother a rouge. Their adventuring group had passed through Winterhaven many times so when his mother became pregnant with Kel they decided to settle there, Kel's uncle also happened to be the scout/gamekeeper for the Padraig family. For the next 13 years Kel and his family lived as typical townsfolk and mostly stayed out of trouble.
Kel was too hyper-active for his mother to teach him the more subtle arts of a rouge and he never developed his father’s devotion to the gods so he was apprenticed to his uncle to be trained as a ranger. Soon after his parents resumed the adventuring lifestyle and left Winterhaven.
After Kel's training was complete the lure of adventuring called to him and he joined a passing group of adventurers and has been a hero for hire ever since.
Works for me. So I'll be the spokesperson, then? Zareth sounds a little too self-absorbed to care what others think of him. Or what they think of the group. That way, you can play him as you like and not have to worry about group dynamics. Fair enough?
Yeah, that's about right for now. As far as I can tell, his current opinion of the party is:
-My buddy Andrus
-My acquaintance(maybe) Urlag
-The dwarf with a beard
-The dwarf without a beard
-That elf.
Cale, you've got a fairly good grasp of Urlag, though I'd like to leave the details of background a bit looser.
Urlag was a street tough in Fallcrest, yes, and gang member rising in the ranks. However, he always had an awareness of the people getting caught underfoot -- whether the foot of the gangs fighting for territory or the "legitimate authorities" (which he considers somewhat oxymoronic).
He turned quasi-legitimate after getting a bit too prominent in the eyes of both rivals and the watch. That, I suppose is when we became an adventurer, to use the term. Too bad you can't be Chaotic Good anymore . . .
As far as connections to the other Fallcrest folks, rescuing a naive and tipsy Andrus from a bad situation works, and things went from there. I don't see Urlag and Zareth rubbing shoulders much in the ol' hometown, but Davi has taken care of that.
As far as 'party leader,' I've seldom felt a need for one, though sometimes it develops organically. 'Face man,' to some extent, yes, but that's more an issue of character skills.
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Some of the problems with the previous game stemmed from my not reading the backstory well. Hobbes was such a strong personality that he was bound to conflict with my bringing in another strong one with no particular reason to work together.
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And note, Davi, that the "dwarf without a beard" is forgeborn, so has no hair at all . . .
I like Kel's new backstory, Xabulba.
Just a couple more questions to answer-
Why does he hang out with us?
Did he know Tenja growing up?
Are you cool with being considered Tenja's "little brother"? Or do you want a different relationship?
Do like to take point in party order? Or rear-guard? I can see you doing both.
Yes, Kitherra is bald, and the beetle I have as an avatar for her is tattooed along her head, but she doesn't say what it represents. Also, notice, her skin is a very light gray. She'd likely offer to help in local blacksmith shops when we have extended downtime.
As for trying to explain her runepriests abilities, she wouldn't. She'd say something like 'To speak the words of the ancient times, you have to know the forge's heart' or something cryptic like that :). Things that make people say 'What did that mean?'
Oh, for tactics Kith has resist 5 to cold, acid, fire, and electric attacks, and this will scale by tier. Don't be afraid to catch her in bursts with those types of attacks :)
And note, Davi, that the "dwarf without a beard" is forgeborn, so has no hair at all . . .
Kitherra has NO HAIR? Like that dwarf monk from Neverwinter Nights? WOW! That's a different image than what I was thinking (mostly 4E dwarven women pictures).
Amy, I want to get to know Kitherra's personality and how she sees herself as a female in a group of guys. Obviously, you don't want us hitting on you. ;) Does she poo-poo Andrus's chivalrous behavior or does she like it, because she is not used to getting that kind of treatment? Is she proudly bald or does she cover her head (with a helmet, a hat or a head scarf)?
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And Pat, cool with me. Loose, it is. It was you and me, then, and you mostly know Zareth through me. (maybe you drank with us once) When I got to Winterhaven, I met up with you and the two of us decided to go adventuring together. We then met Kel and Tenja, who maybe introduced us to Kitherra and then I dragged Zareth in at the last minute. We've done a few things and become pretty good friends.
All of this works just fine as far as I can see. It makes good sense to have a feel for who you are so you can present a united front in a situation (like the present one) where your talents are viewed with some suspicion.
Yes, it's part of Forgeborn Heritage. No hair at all. She wouldn't cover her tattoo, no. I don't think she cares if she gets hit on, but I'm still defining her personality. I don't see her as gruff, but with no cha skills and 8 cha, she's not the belle of the party, either. As for chivalry, she'd likely see it as pretty useless, but not complain about it.
Just a couple more questions to answer-
Why does he hang out with us?
For adventure of course and the fact the group tolerates his slightly larcenous and flighty nature.
Did he know Tenja growing up?
Tenja was one of his early teachers, taught Kel everything Kel knows about history, diplomacy and civil law. Kel was not a very attentive student.
Are you cool with being considered Tenja's "little brother"? Or do you want a different relationship?
I think Tenja would consider Kel more as a problem child that he needs to keep from straying too far out of bounds.
Do like to take point in party order? Or rear-guard? I can see you doing both.
Kel always wants to be out front just to see what’s new. With his perception there is very little he doesn’t notice, he might not know what it is or does or if it's dangerous but he will notice it.
The best description for Kel's personality would be a mixture of Daniel Boone and Theodore Logan.
I agree Kel is more of a beloved problem child, and just makes the dwarf smile to see him get into little trouble.
He is gruff, but it is only to hide how much he really cares about his companions. He is fiercely loyal and would put himself in front of a stampeding minotaur for a kitten.
Thanks everyone for your input. I think it will help. As we continue the adventure, try to find ways to connect with the other characters. I think it builds a better game and makes it more enjoyable for everyone. 'Nuff said.
Zareth and Kel, when you have a moment, can you rustle me up wishlists please. Up to level 9. Put them somewhere in your profiles.
Done. Has a few items from the Resplendent Finery item set, just in case you have anything against them.
Wish list added to profile.
Cheers. Always useful to know what the punters are hunting for in their secret hearts.
Thank you! You're most welcome to join the alternates list.
I have a question, Rosey. Say if Kel escapes the cube next round (standard) and tries to climb the wall and fails (no stairway on this end). Can I use my turn to drop the rope to him (minor) and pull him up(str check?)? Or how can I help him up? Could I drop the rope to him and then fall off the other end, pulling him up and taking falling damage?
I just don't want him in the squares behind the cube where the cube can engulf him again. If he escapes, can he determine which square he is in or is it just the closest one? I kind of figured he would escape to nearest free sq or I6. But if he could escape to any sq, he could escape out and move away.
If Kel escapes, he can emerge in the square of his choice adjacent to the cube.
In the case of the Kenku Wing Mage (rescued by the Inciter), the matter is slightly different as that wasn't technically an escape, but a free move granted by a power, so I reckoned the Mage had to end up in one of the only two squares available to it with a slide of one square. Not optimal, but better than engulfed from his point of view.
To answer your question, you can drop Kel a rope as a minor action and try to help him up with a strength check as a standard. I don't think you can drop him a rope while he's engulfed, but I'll look into it.
I suppose I could get the superior implement feat. i always do for my wizards and sorcerers. that +2 to certain energy types stacks with other bonuses like the one from arcane reserves. i have a wizard who can do 12 hp of force autodamage with his magic missile spell. 14, if he uses his encounters first. at level 5, no less. thanks to the energized [force] element of the pertified orb or the guardian staff. 2+4 for the spell, +2 for energized, +2 for implement enhancement, and +2 for bracers of perfect shot (since MM is a ranged basic attack). add to that wizard's fury (cast mm as a minor) and it is 24 or 28 autodamage every round for the entire encounter. having this gem of an at-will means I can focus on encounters and dailies that do more controlling (sleep, icy terrain, etc) and not worry about the damage. to be honest, i was kind of hoping Andrus wouldn't make it so I could pull him, my stone fist monk, or my "Stormchilde" sorcerer out and play one of them. But it wasn't meant to be. I also made a halfling swashbuckler rogue based off of Reepicheep from the Narina movies. (with a little Puss in Boots thrown in) I think he would be awesome to play. I even have his favorite catchphrases and attitude down. Someday. *sigh*
Took Phantom Echoes as my feat, so enemies grant me CA until EOMNT when I hit them with an illusion power. Took Disguise Self and Wizard's Escape as the two new utilities in my spellbook.
I have a soft spot for clerics on the general grounds that they are quite hard to play and our home group tends to avoid all leaders like a plague.
Andrus does a very good job and is a lot more flavourful than many clerics I've seen, so leaving aside it would put a large burden on Kith as the sole healer, I'm happy he survived :)
I have to admit, I take to the shepherd role very easily with Andrus. He leads, but mostly because the others don't care to. If someone suggests a better option, he will take it, but absent of that, he keeps moving forward.
Being the so-called "leader", Andrus allows me to be in on the decision-making and calling the shots, which I as a player enjoy. I can do other roles, but someone needs to be the one holding the group together.
Now that I have removed the range 5 problem and retrained my luck dailies (as they were not very useful so far and probably won't be later either), Andrus should be more fun to play. That is the problem with a theme, it can trap you into a bad power selection or two. the Divine Fortune with the feat boost should have been enough for my theme. I am going to look for a power that allows allies to gain saving throws since we obviously need it.
You're welcome to comment :) Agera is a monster I did a slight rebuild on and was fairly happy with the results.
Solos are always a pain because they're solo and no matter how awesome they are, will still only get one turn per round. A game needs good solos, but building them is a whole other story. As Davi pointed out in game, some of the earlier builds were defective because they mostly try to overcome the defect by making the pcs inactive. That's horrible for the players and not a whole bunch of fun for the DM either.
What I'm aiming for as the ultimate solo is a monster who has many reactive powers and ideally a few surprises up their sleeves for when they get bloodied, but it's a constant challenge to try and create such a thing. MM3 helped a lot in this respect and Monster Builder is now my very good friend. A lot doesn't work yet, but I'm getting better.
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I've never played a 4E game, but reading this one, and a few others, I've started to understand, at least, how the combat has changed so dramatically. People move and shift almost constantly, with CA and buffs constantly changing, very chaotic. I know PbP is generally pretty rough in general, but at least here, you can see those buffs and such.
Have you GMed 4E games at a tabletop? I was wondering how you'd keep track of such things in that setting? I was considering easily passed around tokens to each player, to represent their ever fluctuating bonuses.
I do GM live occasionally, but our home group is very GM heavy, which explains my fairly permanent online presence.
Keeping track is pretty simple. We use tokens and a whiteboard to mark ongoing conditions. 4e is very dynamic, but the condition tracking is not as difficult as it seems. There are only a small number of ways effects work:-
Save ends. Player mostly track this one.
Ends at start or beginning of X's turn. Either player or GM tracks this.
Mostly though, we all just keep an eye out and remind each other.
What is more difficult is keeping tabs on marks, hunters quarry and curses. In these cases, we have a set of different tokens for each pc and just put them on the relevant monster tokens. Some end up with mountainous piles of bling.
Zerombr, if you still looking in, the upcoming combat features terrainn to quite a large extent. This features a lot (or can do) in 4e combat and is capable of changing the dynamics of a battle quite drastically.
Yes, shoving my poor trogs into the stream all the time last night...
Karolina objected to their lack of personal hygiene. She was trying to help them.