Ok, Petry is getting poked by the GM stick on assigning duties. Replies and opinions welcome! Don't leave the young (24) Chelaxian out to dry here!
Sorry, had a bunch of people show up to visit as I was reading the posts on Monday, was gone all day yesterday, and had a combination of very little free time at work today and a three-hour music practice tonight. I'll get back RSN from whatever fishing/hunting/food preparation I was obviously doing when all the drama came down.
No worries. Glad you're back.
Also a reminder for those that haven't said anything yet:
There's still some loot to distribute. So far noone said anything against Allia taking the masterwork armor. (Dragolan and Jasper can wear it I think - not sure they want it, but they're probably more in melee than I am.)
There's also still the masterwork shortsword, I guess Jasper would be the prime candidate for that. Maybe Dragolan but not sure Oracles are proficient with it.
I'm not too concerned about the sword and armor, but I would like one of the potions of CLW. And since Kalis IS a big strong Barbarian, I will also carry one of the shovels and the manacles just in case we need them.
Kalis, I was going to roleplay Petry "playing" with the keys and the manacles to up his Disable Device skill point every level.
No problem, I'll switch to Petry studying the lock on the footlocker that had Jask's stuff in it. Just make sure you notate "with key" on the manacles.
So what's the over/under on Allia and Petry hooking up?
No problem Petry. You take them. I was just taking stuff that I thought might be useful and should be piled on someone with higher Str.
So what's the over/under on Allia and Petry hooking up?
Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! (wipes tear from face)
No, seriously, GM Todd, whatever gave you that idea? I think Petry's smitten with a certain redhead right now, and he's a one-track-mind kind of guy. Allia brings up the "bossy older sister" at best and the "insistent type" at worst. Petry almost needs a Diplomacy check with Allia, her questions of "when do we start? why are you waiting" are getting to him.
Right now as a player I've got one eye on that Attitudes and Morale sheet. Getting everyone to Helpful is probably the 2nd most important goal, with Keeping Everybody Alive as the 1st. Petry and Sasha is 3rd, with Leveling as 4th. If someone wants to help like Meraxes did with his fantastic Diplomacy roll with Aerys, all the better.
DM Todd, I'm keeping track of the food on my profile page under "From the Jenivere", under "Larder". Rather than post separately each time, I'm just linking it to the original 48 rations found.
Hehe, yes I was wondering the same thing as you there Petry :)
I'm aware that Allia right now is sort of a pain in the butt, that will change again eventually. Right now she's just still completely freaked out and tries to hide it as best as she can.
She's never been in the wilderness like that before, or on her own for that matter.
Getting people to friendly is more of a metagaming goal though, but yes, IC it does make some sense to get along with them, if only so we can trust them with more things, without fear of it getting stolen ;)
Right now I'd say Allia's priorities are: 1) don't die, 2a) get off the damn island and back to civilization and 2b) find the captain.
Those last two are sort of a tie right now, before finding the captain was almost priority 1, but since she read his journal it slipped a bit lower on the list.
Hey! Don't forget that Kalis got Ichiro to indifferent. He is so optimized for face duties.
Alright. I think your plan to explore is a good one. I'm not sure about your time estimate - what time are you planning on leaving? Because best case I could create was an 9- or 10-hour trek to the tip of the island. And that's with no stops along the way.
When exploring, tell me the squares you are moving through for the expedition. So, for example, say A8, 7, 6, 5, B4, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 for your trip tomorrow. Obviously, you can change it as you see fit.
Make sense?
Hurmph. I was hoping 0500 to 0900 out one-way, and 0900-1200 back. That'd give us 7 hours a day traveling. Obviously incidents would cut down the distance, and given "Brin's" lack of progress in the deep jungle, I'd rather travel along the beach first. But that map shows some ridge-lines, even at the northern tip. Remind me to take some rope and the grappling hook.
Start at B8 (the camp), and go A8-A5, B4/B3, then B5-B7, and cut across to the camp at the end.
It's starting to look like just doing the northern tip will take two days, if we run into beasties to kill. That's before we start heading down the outer eastern edge of the Shiv, and moving the camp every other sunset. Allia will think the Captain and Ilena have left the island by then. ;)
If it is going to take us that long to get to the northern tip, then I suggest that we move the camp every few days to be able to sleep there at night. I guess when we start exploring south an example would be exploring B9, C9, and maybe B10 and C10 if there is time. Find a good camp spot in like C10 during that exploration. Return to camp that night. Next day, everyone helps break camp and move to C10 in the morning, rest in the heat of the day, set up camp in the afternoon. After that it is just rinse and repeat. That's my suggestion, at least if we want to explore the whole island.
If we wanted to move more directly to the southern area where there seem to be actual trails and such, then we would explore C9, D10, and maybe E10 if there is time. Spend a day setting up a camp in E10 and then rinse and repeat.
Petry, just curious, why do you seem to assume everyone, or even just a single one of us, knows that you're not just a sorcerer?
Uh, the grilling Ishirou and the rest just put Petry through?
Hey, if he can keep bluffing as a "different" sorcerer, I'm fine with that. It's not like psionics is a known factor on Golarion. So it's not a big deal. I just got the spell component pouch to bluff people with.
Right now Petry's "10" Strength is more of a factor - he was trying to lighten his load enough to put the grappling hook on his backpack.
Well I can only speak for Allia, but right now she assumes he's just a sorcerer or maybe a runaway wizard apprentice, or like her just someone with some magical talent.
I don't think she heard of psionics before, and to be honest from the outside they look pretty similar to sorcerers.
(I don't really know that much about psionics though)
My detect magic on you when you summoned the ram was because she was curious how you do it, not because she was looking for proof that you're some weird freak. (There's the Summon Instrument bard cantrip, so i figured it would be a good way to explain why she learns that one eventually.)
No problem, Allia. :) Trying not to dominate the conversation.
Kalis, I like that plan, I was thinking explore-move, explore-move. The island gets thicker from side to side as we go south, so staying in the middle between the beaches won't work in a few miles south.
It's not even day 02 yet - I want to see if there are any more "soap opera moments" from the NPCs....or PCs.
Kalis plan sounds good, but yes, as you said further south the island becomes larger. We might use the same basecamp for a few days and explore the different directions.
Kalis plan sounds good, but yes, as you said further south the island becomes larger. We might use the same basecamp for a few days and explore the different directions.
That was my thought, too.
Sorry for the lack of posts, everyone. It's been a crazy day. I'll get things updated and moving tomorrow. Sorry!
No problem!
It seems the game slows down significantly over the weekends and then it kicks back into high gear during the weekday.
I'd like for the others to post first. I can sit here at my computer all day long and post myself talking to thin air, but it's not going to be very supportive of the other players. :)
Alrighty, I've updated the game. I hope I didn't push things too far forward.
I think we were all ready to get moving, so it wasn't too far at all.
Dragolan, sorry to be doing so much without you - are you back in the action now?
Yep, I'm back. Long weekend, much travel, and my son was monopolizing the computer playing Minecraft so I couldn't get on very often.
That's why there's a strict "no minecraft" policy on my computer. Even though I have no kids, it's still a good one ;)
Welcome back though Dragolan, we missed you
Really disappointed the first shipwreck we came across (Tattooed Lady) was a bust. (Sorry, couldn't resist.) Hopefully there's more wrecks to plunder.
I wouldn't say the dimorphodons are fluff pieces, Allia. 7 points and 9 points damage? I'm a one-hit-wonder at those levels. I can't wait for Level 2 - I need some psionic armor (think Mage Armor), and fast.
Well no, they're not fluff pieces. But "OH MY GOD WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE" is not exactly courage inspiring, is it? :)
And that one died in one swift stroke, so she wasn't exactly lying either.
Allia manages to hit the flying creature with her whip, causing it to screech angrily.
It takes 2 damage (1 Natural Armor).
Ok not wanting to complain too much... but natural armor is just like normal armor. Makes it harder to hit, but doesn't actually reduce any damage.
Unless the thing actually has DR 2 as well.
Oh, my fault. I misread the ruling for whip damage. I thought it was just armor period. I'll do better in the future.
Oh, my fault. I misread the ruling for whip damage. I thought it was just armor period. I'll do better in the future.
No problem, its a pretty weird rule and no other weapon seems to have it. Hope to upgrade the thing to a scorpion whip eventually then that is a thing of the past :)
+1 armor (so basicly any manufactured armor) or +3 natural armor completely stops all damage.
Below that it does its normal damage.
Not that it matters, the thing is dead anyway.
At the risk of giving GM Todd ideas, here's a "Petry" story that just popped up on the newswire:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/07/12/soldier-who-lost-right-hand-in-a fghanistan-receives-medal-honor/
"Army Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry becomes only the second living veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to receive the military's highest honor."
I have "coincidences" like this all the time. It's really bizarre. I pick the name, and a few week later, here's a story.
Hehe.
For a moment here I thought it was you climbing the tree and was "Hey if that bird had rolled a 20 who knows what had happened to your hand".
Then I remembered it was Jasper up there ;)
Well, it's already been established that I love Arrested Development...let me just recommend that you stay away from all loose seals over the course of the adventure, Petry.
Sorry, Meraxes, you're in that marching order somewhere!
You couldn't see him, because he was in Dragolan's shadow.
Haha no worries buddy! I second GMTs notes about the hand. Let it be known, furthermore, that this band of surviving members of the Jenivere be called "Hero Squad!"
Also: Shameless plug to my custom Rise of the Runelords/Kingmaker game thats recruiting
I already applied with Benedict Darcy.
As everyone settles down for the night, I'd like to ask for your feedback about the game so far. Particularly:
1. Are you having fun?
2. What would make this more fun?
3. Is there anything you'd like to see more of? Less of?
4. Are we moving too quickly/too slowly/just right?
5. Anything you'd like to add?
Thanks everyone.
For the record:
1. I'm having a blast.
2. If I could figure out how to juggle all of the different components easily and effectively and stop forgetting things.
3. You guys have gotten pretty lucky on the random dice rolls. Just because I'm mean, I'd like to see some more challenges for you guys.
4. I think we're doing ok, but I know I've pushed things forward, perhaps too far.
1. I'm having lots of fun. I like my character, and the interaction with both the Pc's and NPC's. I also like all the posting during the week.
2. I have no specific suggestions
3. I want to see more Dragolan. I know and understand that he's been busy, but I just enjoy the character.
4. I was really ready to move the plot forward, so I felt a little the opposite of you GMT. I like to slow down when there is RPing to do, but to keep things moving otherwise.
5. Thanks GMT for running and everyone for keeping things fun..
TODAY IS OPPOSITE DAY!
1. No, I'm not having any fun. This campaign sucks and you're a terrible GM.
2. Everything could be better, the campaign has nowhere to go but up.
3. Me. You.
4. We are simultaneously moving too quick and too slow.
5. Yes.
Ok it's no longer opposite day.
1. I'm having a blast even though my character has seemed to have developed narcolepsy considering how often he is passed out lol.
2. Not really, I'm enjoying pretty much every aspect of the game except the die roller lol.
3. More high rolls for me, less high rolls for you lol
4. I think we are moving pretty well.
5. Not really, I am enjoying the game immensely.
1. Yes.
2. If I had more time to read & post. Of the five PbP/PbEM games I'm involved with, this one moves fastest. This is not a bad thing.
3. I like the balance between characters. Whether by chance or some deep planning, we've got a really good mix of characters--we're not narrowly optimized around jungle exploration, but it seems like everyone has something they can bring to the table. And everyone's RPing is great.
4. As noted above, I like the pace even if it gets kind of frantic at times. This is way better than hanging out for a day or more between posts. (OTOH, I'm going to be out of town again this weekend. At least I'll have internet access where I'll be.)
5. After how well this is going, I'm really looking forward to the meat of the AP.
Also, thanks for the props, Kalis. I'll try to keep up the good work!
1) aweseom game, having a blast
2) Puppies. Everything is better with puppies. Especially with sweet-sour sauce.
3) I think there's a smidgeon too many animals that poison us all all the time, but no otherwise fine
4) I think you're keeping a good pace. Not too fast so we don't get any chance to RP our characters between stuff, and not so slow that we all get bored because everything has been said and done.
5) Did I mention puppies? I think I did
1. Are you having fun?
YES. YES. YES. You're an excellent GM and this is an excellent game.
2. What would make this more fun?
I'm not sure considering we're stranded and this is the most unusual start to a game I've ever had.
3. Is there anything you'd like to see more of? Less of?
Less of me getting poisoned/hit by flying lizards.
4. Are we moving too quickly/too slowly/just right?
Pace is great. I post slower on the weekends but this game keeps me going during the slow times at the office.
5. Anything you'd like to add?
I can't wait to see how you fit our backstories into the game and character development stuff.
Great work GMT!
PS I'm stealing some of your games and competitions from your RotRL game.
1. Are you having fun? Yes, immensely. Just the right mix of characters, no conflicts so far. I count us especially lucky to have a female in the group, I've played in all-male groups too often.
2. What would make this more fun? Magical solutions to time-slowing problems. CAN THE SPELLCASTERS AMONG US TAKE ENDURE ELEMENTS NEXT LEVEL? I think the AP will make it valuable as a long-term spell, we're going to be in jungles all the time.
3. Is there anything you'd like to see more of? Less of? Sometimes questions get dropped by players answering only the latest questions, not going back several entries to a previously asked question.
4. Are we moving too quickly/too slowly/just right? Just right. Petry will complain loudly if we move too fast! :) Slow time is roleplaying time.
5. Anything you'd like to add? Don't make Petry do all the roleplaying with the NPCs, just because he's determined to keep everybody alive and getting off the island! Look at the Character Attitude and Morale Chart at least once a day if you post once a day.
It's still day 02 on the island, we've done a lot in the last 24 hours. Plenty of time to work things out, as long as we don't have a missing person problem or everybody comes down with disease.
I agree. The problem for me is that Meraxes lacks that motherly, caring instinct that Petry seems to have in spades. :) He'll put on one hell of a show if its to impress a woman though. That's probably his achilles heel.
I like to think Meraxes runs a homegrown flavor of consequentialism in his mind. He does what is expected of him when he thinks he needs to do it if it means a positive gain for himself or a chance for people to think he isn't too bad of a guy.
Endure Elements: Not a bard spell, sorry. Also just 1 person affected, so for our little group it would use up 6 level 1 spell slots... probably more than Meraxes and Dragolan even have together. Not sure that's really worth it.
Eventually getting a wand of it is probably the better idea.
Till then, I guess Jask could probably cast it once or twice too. Not sure what classes the other NPCs are, but think none of them can cast it.
NPCs: Allia is after the stress of the first day, slowly falling back in her usual pattern, which means she's a bit more passive and won't get involved when "normal" people talk or do anything unless she's told to. Don't worry, she'll eventually overcome that with time, when she realises she's no slave anymore, but that will take a bit more than 24h.