
GM Mikkel |

Well done Henri - rain at night is one of my least favorite driving conditions (probably second only to black ice).
Best of luck! Here's hoping my good jobs week passes on to you; I was promoted this week, effective mid-March. (Although in an academic collaboration that means more responsibility and more work, but not actually getting paid more. I'm still excited about it, but hopefully you'll have an even better jobs week.)
And hey there Dulae! That was a nice post to find this morning. Hope your lab stuff is going better. If it cheers you up at all, I am currently packing a sizable bottle of Talisker whiskey with your name on it to help with thesis writing. (And probably more importantly, a few giant bars of proper British chocolate.)

Dulae Toema |

Yeah, lab work... I'll see the sun again some day.
Mmmmm.... whiskey...

GM Mikkel |

Morning! Anecdote from Paris day 1 for humor:
Waiter: Bonjour
Me: Bonjour
Waiter (in English): You'll be needing the English menu, then?
Me (in English): ...Yes, thank you.
I am trying, and that seems to be enough. A baker even understood me when I said 'croissant'. (Proud day.)
Today I go where pretty much every tourist has gone before. Here's hoping I manage to not get pickpocketed by an 11 year old kid.

Xizoh Shadelock |

You have a strange definition of morning my friend. Happy Labor day weekend everyone!

Cel Runil |

PAX was exhausting, but great, naturally! Chris Perkins pain on tips for being a Dungeon Master was a fantastic panel, and of course, so was the Acquisitions Incorporated event. Working the show and going to the show feels like two jobs though. I'm still having a hard time keeping my eyes open...

Henrietta Coy |

PAX was fun and I got to do a bunch of VR stuff which I had never really tried before. It seemed really cool, if not a bit impractical at times. I didn't go to many panels (I wanted to go to Acquisitions Inc but went to an after-hours bethesda/dishonored 2 event which was pretty fun), but I did go and chat up Paizo developers and am sending them samples and stuff so THAT SHOULD WORK OUT WELL.

GM Mikkel |

I can't quite tell if that capitalization is sarcasm or enthusiasm (or maybe a bit of both?) but it sounds like you also had a good time.
Glad to hear it was fun, I've been thinking about putting PAX on my west coast bucket list for next year. (Comic-Con is definitely on the list, if I can manage to get tickets and don't have to travel in late July.)

GM Mikkel |

From our discussion in July (the last time posts slowed down to the point where the autobot was triggering every day) I'm assuming that everyone is still interested, just busy.
If for whatever reason that's not still the case, particularly if it's something I can help with, I'd be keen to hear about it.

Cel Runil |

I know my posts have been relatively low content, but I am indeed one of those busy people. Just wanted to make sure I got something in to keep things moving!

GM Mikkel |

Thanks Cel, much appreciated.
My read is the party tends to stall a bit when there's a decision to be made, not having a clear leader figure. But I'm optimistic posts will be flowing again soon.
In the meantime I'm amusing myself by writing up another PbP game set in a different part of this world for a party of level 4 or 5 smugglers. It'd be more of a romp, less of a mystery, with more NPC interaction and some ship combat.
It likely won't be ready for another couple months at least, but I'm sure I'll ping you all with ideas and maps as they mature.

GM Mikkel |

Since it seems the party is probably gearing up to travel, I'll note that if you go back the way you came, the path is clear for you to fast travel (I'll assume PCs take care to step around the marked traps).
If/when I have five indications you're ready to fast travel I'll port you down the mountain to the first point of interest.
EDIT: That reminds me, I'll need to know what order you're walking down the trail in, if you still use your light sources outside the cave (assuming it's bright afternoon daylight), and if you intend to pick anything up along the way (i.e. a body).
Also, I think Alaina still has the map. From #585 I think Dulae is carrying Laverty's journal. If that doesn't jive with others' memories, let me know.

Cel Runil |

I'm ready to travel, and I'll only use my Wayfinder if it's not light enough to be considered "normal light." I intend on carrying up the rear of the group.

Henrietta Coy |

I am ready to travel as well. Henri would very much like to go pick up the body, but if she encounters much resistance from the party she's happy with just the notebook.

GM Mikkel |

Roger that both.
Henri, I assume you mean the first body you found (Todd Laverty).
With a strength 14 I'd reckon it's pretty safe to assume Henri would be carrying a heavy load with a ~150 pound body plus her gear. If so, she'd able to move 20 feet instead of her usual 30, and only run for 3x her movement instead of 4x. (She wouldn't be slowing the party down: Dulae also has a movement of 20 with armor. Also, another party member might volunteer.)
Dulae is most likely to offer some argument against; unfortunately Dulae's player is probably indisposed until Wednesday (Terrible Tuesdays are terrible). If we get 4/5 consenting, Laverty's body will be the first point of interest and I'll bot Dulae's RP.

Xizoh Shadelock |

Ready for travel, and I can carry the body if need be.

GM Mikkel |

Noted, thanks both.
Xizoh, that makes sense to me; that'd be a medium load for you, which means your speed would go from 40 ft to the party median (30 ft), and you'd still be able to run as you usually would. (Plus some other penalties if you're still carrying it for dex-related checks.)
And I'm totally good with taking small liberties with Dulae without permission, particularly on Tuesdays. (Shhhh, nobody tell Dulae.)
Therefore, prepare for fast travel.

GM Mikkel |

Engaging LUDICROUS SPEED
(This GM is not responsible for the side-effects of ludicrous speed. Copyright. All rights reserved.)

Henrietta Coy |

Even though it has been a little slow, I'd like to say I'm very excited that we've reached 1000 posts and NO ONE HAS LEFT! In my experience with pbp roleplay that had only happened 1 other time in the last 8/9 years for me. Which is crazy.

GM Mikkel |

For the record Henri, that gif made me spit out my coffee laughing.
I'd wager about half of us are inexperienced enough with PbP to not know any different (myself included) but I also appreciate everyone sticking around.
We'll certainly run a bit over the six months I advertised, but here's hoping we reach the end together.
(That's Mikkel for 'I like this party, you guys are great.' Although I would like you even better if you posted once a day on average. I will have to research effective forms of bribery.)

Henrietta Coy |

There was a bit of a lull there but i think im getting back into the groove that lets me post more'n once a day. You know, if I have enough to react to :P

Dulae Toema |

Fast Travel sounds good to me! I'm guessing we won't hit plaid though.
Sorry for my part of the low posting - reasonably busy, but mostly I had a trip out to California.
Also, my association with west coasters has had dire consequences... western Massachusetts where I live has entered a drought warning status!

GM Mikkel |

We probably won't get to plaid until Starfinder, no.
Glad to have you back with us, Dulae. As you probably learned in California, apparently droughts have no real consequences for those turning the tap on. (Probably not ideal; weather is sure to get even weirder in the near term.)
Question for all: I've been taking a very laissez-faire approach in terms of when the party is ready to move on. Is that your preference, or would it be helpful for me to make it clear what cues I'm waiting on?
Also, it's a little hard for me to get a read on what you've figured out so far, but I will say that there are only a few clues that all PCs have. Most are unevenly distributed - it's unlikely you'll be able to piece much together unless you talk to each other. (Perhaps over a stiff drink is a more appropriate venue in-game.)
You should absolutely tell me to piss off if you'd rather figure it out yourselves, but the part of me that's overeager for you to know all.the.things is dying to give you hints.

Cel Runil |

I like hints! I can be incredibly oblivious at times, but I feel like that plays well with Cel anyway. And keep up with the "move it along" bits. I find those are helpful for keeping us herded cats moving in a general direction of progress.

Dulae Toema |

That would be a... large... collection of batman images ;) And sweet illustrations of all of us, of course.

Henrietta Coy |

I just save a bunch of character art to a single board for inspiration xD
ALSO RULES QUESTION: This is a little vague, but RAI it doesn't seem like it should work - for the scatter shot, if I hit a large creature with multiple squares, do I do more damage to it? I doubt it but figured I'd ask :3

GM Mikkel |

Hmm, interesting question Henri.
If damage is proportional to the total number of pellets lodged in an enemy, then you're right that physics says for a given distance from the shooter damage should depend on the surface area the enemy presents (assuming a consistent number and dispersion of pellets between shots).
I'm inclined to let you have a +1 damage bonus to large creatures for scatter shot, because physics. But equivalent realism would also require me to keep track of the orientation of large creatures relative to the party (i.e. face on to the wolf probably wouldn't merit much of a surface area bonus, but catching it broadside would).
So, I think laziness will win out. We will approximate, as physicists are wont to do, that the large creature is a medium creature for scatter damage purposes. (Same for small creatures, which may work in your favor.)
I can keep thinking on it, if you like.

Henrietta Coy |

Nah, it's all right, it's likely a balance issue rather than a realism one, since scatter shots are already pretty solid since they use base damage (and are incredibly hard to misfire on if you use them on a group)

Dulae Toema |

Oooh, it ignores concealment/mirror image/invisibility etc. Thats handy! Makes sense too.
That reminds me... Anytime someone plays a barbarian...

Xizoh Shadelock |

As the barbarian representative I approve!

Alaina 'Iron Wolf' Steele |

Alright, Pinterest board is up. Just PM me your email so I can send an invite. Don't worry, I'll delete the PM once the invite is sent.

GM Mikkel |

My gods, it's like the internet 3.0. Thanks Alaina. Here's something that came pretty close to how I imagined it'd look on Mount Oranis on a November afternoon.
Also, hey wow, two full rounds of combat in one day! Nice way to end the week.
(My take away is: Mikkel whinges about posting -> people post more. If y'all would prefer I un-learn that association, say the word.)

Henrietta Coy |

xD well I SUPPOSE that had SOMETHING to do with it.
Also glad to be on the Pinterest. I like that thing a lot.
Also also this is gonna be a self promotion post, too, now.
So if you would like to read it I have a couple of sites on which it can be read.
Tapas (Better reading format IMO) &
Tumblr (Probably easier to follow if you wanted to see more!)

Henrietta Coy |

No pressure, but thank you! :3
And I like my name a lot, for sure.
That is definitely one of the first jokes I ever wrote for that character, and definitely one of my favorite lines. (There was originally supposed to be a callback to it where Riley could tell Brynn was smiling at the end but I removed the narration from the comic altogether. It may still come up though.)

GM Mikkel |

You know, in a way Murder Hobos kind of reminds me of a comic Kate Ashwin started drawing something like 15 years ago called Darken. Her art evolved a lot over the 8 years it took to finish the story. Now she does Widdershins. (I'm a fan.)

GM Mikkel |

Along the lines of the game Pinterest board Alaina made (not required reading btw), I've collected images for a bunch of places in the world, including most PC hometowns. I'm pretty happy with them, but I'd be interested to get other opinions/contributions.
I've been trying to find reasonably good representations of NPCs. Apparently there are not many depictions of middle-aged Latinx female paladins. This was the closest I could find to Captain Vazquez so far (wrong Universe and wrong skin/hair/eye color, but right vibe): Phasma.
If others have good leads on a suitable Jaya Vazquez, I'd be eager to see them. (Silo will probably be easier.)