Out of Character

This thread is for general chit chat.

I believe I have joined correctly. I will start working on a character ASAP. Great premise by the way.

So i stole this from a guy in one of the first games i played in, it seems to be a general consensus across this web so far so here.

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In terms of updating your avatar, you can set an avatar per character. In this post, I've elected to post as my character for the game, so you can see my character's avatar with my player avatar smaller in the upper corner.

In terms of etiquette and things like that, there are a few things that I've found to be pretty common throughout play-by-post games:

Character actions are posted in unadorned plain text.

The towering man draws the massive sword from his back, setting his stance against the upcoming rush of kobolds.
Your speech is done in bold text.
Internal thoughts are handled through italics. I've seen some folks use colored and italics for this to help differentiate.

Dirty kobolds. Vile creatures. I would as soon bed a devil as I would to see a single of these vermin roam free. the sorcerer thinks to herself as she feels the wisps of poison start to coalesce in her hand.

I do information about the spell I am casting or the actual game mechanic I am using in red font. I also try to include a link to the spell in the post, just a quirk of mine so I can get to the spell details quicker.
Anything out of character is posted using the OOC tags.

OOC:In general, I have a block of information I put at the bottom of my character's posts in combat that I keep in a google doc for quick access:

Casting silence.
1st 4/4 | 2nd 3/3 | 3rd 2/2
39/39 HP | 13 AC | Inspiration 0 | Wild Shape 2/2
Currently Prepared ([*] indicates a ritual spell):
1 - [Heal in Wild Shape form - 1d8], Goodberry, Ice Knife, Create or Destroy Water
2 - [Heal in Wild Shape form - 2d8], Heat Metal, Moonbeam, Locate Animals or Plants [*], Barkskin
3 - [Heal in Wild Shape form - 3d8], Water Breathing [*]

This lets me capture the mechanics I'm using that round, my spell slots available, my HP, AC, special features, etc, as well as my current prepped spell list (for casters only, obviously :) )

Looks like this in text form (remove the '/' character in the first tag to make it work):

[co/lor="red"]Casting silence.[/color]
[co/lor="blue"]1st 4/4 | 2nd 3/3 | 3rd 2/2[/color]
[co/lor="teal"]39/39 HP | 13 AC | Inspiration 0 | Wild Shape 2/2[/color]
[co/lor="tomato"]Currently Prepared ([*] indicates a ritual spell):
1 - [Heal in Wild Shape form - 1d8], Goodberry, Ice Knife, Create or Destroy Water
2 - [Heal in Wild Shape form - 2d8], Heat Metal, Moonbeam, Locate Animals or Plants [*], Barkskin
3 - [Heal in Wild Shape form - 3d8], Water Breathing [*][/color]
In terms of things that make it go smoother, a lot of times in live games, people will wait to roll damage until after seeing if the hit lands. To speed up PBP games, it's common to include both the attack and damage in one set of rolls:

Rogue Rapier Stab with sneak attack: 1d20+5, 1d8+3, 1d6.

This will let the DM grab your damage right away if it hits, or they can ignore it if it's a miss.

Spoilers are very useful for things like speaking in other languages (so other players can read it if they have the language or can skip it if they don't have it). Also useful from a DM perspective for things like perception rolls:With regards to the GamersPlane dice roller, there are some things to be aware of (examples included as rolls on this post):

The system doesn't currently allow for adding dice rolls together (such as 1d10+1d4). If you type in a roll like that in the dice roller, you will end up with 1d10+1 and a second roll of 1d4.

You can put multiple rolls in a single line, very helpful for advantaged rolls:

Advantage Attack Roll: 1d20+5, 1d20+5, 1d8+3

Reroll Aces is from other game systems where you "explode" the die when it gets its maximum value. So if you were to roll a 1d6 with reroll aces, and you got a 6, it would reroll the 6 and add the new dice to the total in addition to the 6. Example below.
This is all just stuff that I've seen and used throughout my various times playing and running games.

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[quote=""] These were the rolls he made on the post as examples [/quote]
Rolls
Rogue Rapier Stab with sneak attack - (1d20+5, 1d8+3, 1d6)

1d20+5 - ( 15 ) + 5 = 20

1d8+3 - ( 4 ) + 3 = 7

1d6 - ( 5 ) = 5

Broken Adding Dice Together - (1d10+1, 1d4)

1d10+1 - ( 3 ) + 1 = 4

1d4 - ( 3 ) = 3

Advantage Attack Roll - (1d20+5, 1d20+5, 1d8+3)

1d20+5 - ( 7 ) + 5 = 12

1d20+5 - ( 2 ) + 5 = 7

1d8+3 - ( 3 ) + 3 = 6

Reroll Aces - (10d2, RA)

( [ 2, 1 ], 1, 1, 1, [ 2, 2, 1 ], 1, 1, [ 2, 2, 2, 2, 1 ], 1, [ 2, 1 ] ) = 26

Clearly the rolls arent done on this roller cause i copied it but you get the idea :D

That's awesome, thanks CaveJohnson!

Yea, when you See Dramasailor next thank him, i stoled it from him :D

I will post tonight after work.

While thinking about something for Altrix to do while listening to the tavern speech, a bolt of inspiration has hit me. I have decided to give him a smoking habit. I can see him lighting up during periods of concentration or high stress. I'm also a big fan of nicknames for characters so feel free to refer to him as Smokey or some such.

Also in addition to finding a Copper benefactor to serve, I could see him getting a long-term goal of establishing a high-quality tobacco farm and distribution network. Something for him to do with all the treasure he gets that he doesn't turn over to his benefactor. All of this depenent on you being cool with it Qralloq? If you are how much would you like me to pay for a really worn out pipe and a pouch of low-grade tobacco? I was thinking he might be able to find better stuff in a treasure hoard or shop. The only rules I could find was in 3.5e which said a pound of tobacco was 5sp and nothing on a pipe's cost.

EDIT: Oooh okay this keep evolving in addition to the tobacco, the farm could have high-quality livestock that he butches and sells on and an awesome brewery and/or vineyard. Basically, he could build a business around high-grade meats, cheeses, tobacco and drink. Sorry if I am getting ahead of myself I just always like a long-term goal that gives my character to actually funnel their wealth into. Gives a purpose to the adventuring. At this stage, though he is solidly focused on survival and finding a benefactor since that is an extension of his survival. As we move up the hierarchy of needs that's when he'll consciously realise this deep-seated desire.

I can also see downtime activities around this too. Finding a good few acres, finding an overseer to look after it while he is away, attending tastings to find good products, arranging to have livestock sent back etc. I can also see little eccentricities, like cutting up dead monsters to see if they taste any good and keeping a journal to record his impressions. If you are good with the idea Qralloq I will drop kleptomania from the character and replace it with this. The only exception would be the lust for gemstones since that would form his Guilty Pleasure and tie him back to his Copper ancestry.

That definitely sounds like a good plan. I would think a good carved bone pipe might be a 1gp. This town has Adriaan carvers, so you should be able to commission one for a few gold that is stylized as a copper dragon.

Hey Qralloq. In terms of character backstory/development so far I am thinking that Iathos got apprenticed to the local alchemist by his long-suffering parents (Tiefling artisans, let's say boring but stable carpenters) but he had more enthusiasm than real skill. He's been really struggling to get his potions/math/alchemical theory straight. But he loves the broad stroke ideas of being mystical/mysterious/having awesome powers. So when he stumbled on a funky tome in the master's library detailing something called a "hexblade" he just couldn't help himself. It contained vague tales of an eldritch power that granted strange gifts to mortals - and an incantation to the being! Iathos fervently recited the incantation over and over again over the ensuing weeks and eventually attracted notice [of a patron who we need to figure out] and swore a pact.

Having said that, I'm not really familiar with hexblades as entities / their goals so I have no idea what it would want of Iathos in the short or long term. Really happy for you to suggest things as you see fit. After some quick googling I see that Hexblade patrons can be sentient weapons or powerful entities from the Feywild. Maybe building on Iathos' Levistian heritage, it might make sense if he had attracted the notice of some sort of Winter Court Fey? Maybe the Queen of Air and Darkness or something? Or could go in totally the opposite direction. Happy to hash this out over the course of the story.

For the moment Iathos is utterly entranced by his new-found powers (and the escape from dusty books and math lessons). But he's also not really understood the gravity of being pact-sworn, or how it could get him into trouble. I see him as a bit of an excitable and not too carefully thoughtful type who hares off after things that seem fun.

Yeah, the Hexblade is a weird patron. If you're okay leaving it in my sadistic, er, trusting hands, we can build the relationship as we go.

Totes!

We are all outdoors, my friend. Your group left the tavern, and went to the mayor's house. Upon arriving there, you found Valinar out front chopping firewood. So you are being rude to Valinar outdoors. There is no door to walk out of. ;-)

Also:

If Valinar had been in the tavern, now would be when he pokes fun at someone who claims to "Need no assitance from you people." but also says things like "Who is with me my fellow adventures?"

But Valinar was not at the tavern, and player knowledge shouldn't inform character knowledge.

I assumed we went indoors to speak lol

Also don’t take offense to him. By you people he meant paladins there is backstory to explain why he doesn’t like palidins. Once we get together ask him about it

Valinar may or may not take offense. But not me, the player. I know it's just roleplay. :-)

Okay I misunderstood the setup. I thought the mayor walked with group to his house (even though he let Hasan lead). That's why Valinar addresses Aberwell:
But I realize now that Aberwell went ahead home, then the party followed, led by Hasan. So now it doesn't make sense for Valinar to be outside, chopping firewood, if the mayor was already inside LOL!

What I had intended is that Valinar was there alone when Hasan et al arrived. The Mayor would arrive later.

you cray cray camp...
i assumed that the mayor dude was there waitin for us. :Shrug: idc either way

Hey whistler don’t forget you can post as your charecter

GM can I roll an imtomadate check or something like that to try and get us to be hostile not freindly to this dragon

You can roll to intimidate NPCs but we can't force PCs to react in such ways. Still, if you roll well, they might choose to role play a reaction.

Edit: If you edit your last post, you can add a roll to it.

Ok awesome.... Yea I didn’t mean to like force them I meant to have a more forceful impact on them

You can also say in ooc if you have specific intentions. Stuff like that can be lost over the pbp format.

True...

I based that purely on Trev's personality and obvious affinity to the outdoors. I didn't check your stats (and of course Valinar wouldn't even know what stats are). If you're happier / more suited to covering the rear it would be good to have some muscle back there. I assume our Atrix or Hasan is our best scout anyway.

Sorry for the delay. My girlfriend and I are looking to buy a home and I have been getting my head around the finances of a loan, ahead of meeting with a broker.

sounds stressful, hope you get the one you like.

Yea i thought the same thing PIous, once i fount they changed it i wasn't a happy camper that much longer. but their still a fun race to do unique things with.

Remember that Valinar is half-elven, with darkvision out to 60ft. That is why he said that hobgoblins "can see in the dark as well as Atrix and I." IIRC the rest of you are dragonborn, tiefling, hafling, and human (all races w/o darkvision).

Well I can see things have kicked off nicely here in my absence, back just in time though for some quality rouge like activities.

I keep misspelling Altrix as Atrix. Sorry about that!

It was actually a typo on my end! Its been a long day.

The dice roller may cause the plot to evolve unexpectedly. That's why we roll, haha.

I confess to being terrified of level one combat.

Haha, yeah. I was tempted to hide the rolls in case I needed to 'adjust' the results, but decided to go for it. I prefer to play in the open, so the players always see the rolls.

bwhahahaha

This is a good thing :)

I think the dice roller legit hates me lol

This is a tough first combat, but looks like you've turned the corner.

I have made a critical error: even though my weapon is two-handed, I have kept my shield, thinking that on my turn I can use my free object interaction to drop the shield just before I attack. But I just learned that doffing a shield is an action! :-(

Hopefully, my shot just connected to help out a little more :)

I’ve made a critical error of angering the dice roller apparently lol

hahah it looks like the RNG deity didnt like my singing XD

Haha, maybe Hasan is on the bubble!

Nat 20, followed by a 1 for the damage roll, so you aren't the only one mate.

I hate to be that guy, but my understanding of Critical Hits in 5th Edition is that you get to roll extra damage dice but you only add your ability modifier once.

BUT as a rogue, Atrix gets to deal sneak attack damage, and that also gets doubled on a crit! I'm confident that still downs the hob knight.

You're absolutely right about the critical hits. The sneak attack wouldn't apply as the knight wasnt engaged with a conscious ally. I'm still okay with the knight going down; I had assigned him PLOT hit points, heh.

HMMMMMM....I do wonder about this knight now...

;-)

To help speed the game along I have been rolling sneak damage figuring Qralloq could take or leave it as appropriate. Once I have that ability that lets me hide, I'll do the same with my stealth rolls.

That is the most fun I have had in PbP in ages. Thanks everyone :)

There is still one last hobgoblin fighting to the death.

P.S. And yes, it's been fun so far. In my case, fun roleplay. So far have been pretty ineffective in combat.

You and me both! Iathos' sole contribution to combat was to sponge the first round of attacks from two hobs. Hopefully he's more helpful as time goes on.

i got some dmg in before i went down :D i was happy for a bit :D

I would take the curved sword and a shield if you don’t want the sword Camp

Take it. I'm sticking to my double-scimitar.

Ok. Depending on its stats I like my two handed axe but sword and board is good too

After we learn the result of the search for clues (I imagine some of you guys are better than me at Investigation), Valinar will interrogate the prisoner. I imagine he has the highest Persuasion and Intimidation (+5) of the group, but a Help action to grant Advantage would be useful. Mechanically, that can come from anyone, but narratively it makes the best sense for Trev (for Intimidation) &/or Iathos (for Persuasion) to assist in that task.

I'm not sure how persuasive my best up tiefling will be, but happy to help when I wake up!

Hey Dm what are the stats for that sword

Right now, it's just a long sword. Might be more of you Attune to it and meet any prerequisites.

Does everyone else agree that Trev should wield the probably magic sword?

Sure, I'd say we should try to identify it first, just in case.

Ok... how do we do that

With identification magic none of us possess. The quickest & cheapest way to identify it is to attune to it. I suggest Trev go ahead and attune to it during this short rest. In the event we learn it's better suited to someone else you can always pass the item on and the next owner can attune at the first opportunity.

Oh I thought you could use an arcana check this whole time. Whoops.

Arcana checks don't work, I think they're a holdover from Pathfinder. Identifying magic items in 5e are: Identify spell, familiarisation with a Short Rest, experimentation, or it's obvious.

Well it seems I have been handling some aspects incorrectly in my games. I'm sure my players didn't mind.

Arcana checks as a house rule seem okay; it's not like they make it hard otherwise.

Fine by me.

im ranged im ok with the sword If he uses it well

Monk armor/weapon proficiency are rather limited, so I won't need it.

As understand it, this was already seen to before the interrogation, and here is the result.

GM drops a plot twist, watches players panic. Love it when that happens, makes a GMs day, so thanks!

*shakes fist*

:-D

Who would've guessed the mooks had useful knowledge?

It was a nice solution to the prisoner dilemma, very elegant :D

What time of evening is it? We doing a forced march through terrain possibly crawling with darvisioned hobs?

It's about 1 am, with a half moon providing low light.

You also got downed almost immediately in combat because of Valinar's boldness, it's a fair stance.

Also halflings tragically do not get dark-vision, but lucky makes up for it imo.

sadly. most of us went down farily quickly in that fight.

That’s because we angered the dice roller somehow lol.

So RAW. an accronym that stands for Rules As Written (via the PHB, DMG, or other published official content).
To regain health you can either use a class feat (i.e: Second Wind, celestial healing, etc..) ,
during a short rest by expending Hit Dice (the dice you "use" when you level up. (we should all have 1 cause were level 1),
via divine spell such as cure wounds or the likes.
Or through a Long rest.

A long rest constutes an 8 hour period where you do no major physical activities (i.e: combat/crafting). for 99% of the races its an 8 hour rest. if your en elf its a 4 hour rest. (per their race feats)
During this long rest you can regain up to 1/2 (half) of the Hit Die you used (during a short rest). (minimum 1).

Now all that said anything is subject to change via the DM. EVERYTHING in the books are mear guidelines that we use to play the game some stick to and adhear to them strictly other play fast and loose with the rules.

I'll post what it actually says in the book when i get a bit more work done.

A helpful primer on resting rules.

well there ya go, :D now i can continue to be laze and such XD

OH crap really wanna mess with your players

Haha, let's go extra epic. Long rest is one month, short rest a week.

I'm really just kidding. The PHB rules are entirely appropriate for my style.

Ok I think I got it. So as a barbarian I get 1d12 back so I’ll be full health

you would get your Hit die of the d12 but if we do the LR, your health will be back to full


so you'll be 15/15 (or whatever your max is) and HD: 1

You got it

Thank you

My plan after that crit failure is to basically run Looney Tunes style back towards the group honking like Daffy Duck. The hope is Ruby stays hodden and I draw some of the hobs away.

I look forward to the ensuing hijinks. And stand ready to blast/stab things.

Hey guys heads up, I wont be posting next week Tue-Thurs. 2/12-14

Ah ah ah ah staying alive staying alive etc etc :P

Just as an aside, there was some treasure from the hobs. Including a magic quarterstaff.

Pious said Trev would take the Potion of Frost Giant Strength. Valinar will take the Potion of Heroism. I assume Ruby is taking the quarterstaff?

I...assumed it was a wizard-focus kinda staff. I may have made a mistake and probably want that, being the stick-wielder. Too late to retcon attunement? If so I'll just wait until later.

I'm fine with the retcon.

Nice, +1 to boot. Thanks for the reminder.

Hey guys just a heads up that I might be a bit spotty for the next little while. My girlfriend gets back after three weeks away and we'll want to spend some time together to catch up. We will then be going away from Thursday until Sunday for my birthday as well. Basically, we are heading into a cabin in the middle of nowhere that is self-sustaining and completely off the grid. So with no internet and no phone reception, I won't be able to post. I am sorry that it means delays in my games but I am sure you can all appreciate why. I will post when I can before Thursday though.

Thanks for the heads up, Have a great time and a happy birthday!

You rasqually wabbit, have fun

Oh, it isn't? Hmmm. (Reviews notes. Scratches out 43 instances of the word 'underboob'.)

:DDDD

Looks like Pious_Knight dropped out of the game without warning or notification.

As Pious_Knight hasn't responded to my inquiries, I've given his spot to optimumsquare. Welcome!

I'll work with him to slot him into the mix in a reasonable way.

Welcome! please don't come during watch i may shoot you, Im in a kos mode :D

Hello! I just got back from two days of flying and I am digging into your game threads right now (all of of them). As I start to build my character, is there anything I should keep in mind?

Character is mostly finished. I'm working my way through an impressive volume of posts given that you guys are level 2. Can someone give me the cliff notes version?

A dragon is missing. Friend of the town, it seems. You've found the dragon's baby, and signs of a hobgoblin invasion. Onward the search!

thats the down and dirty yup
:D Welcome hope you enjoy

Whistler had been gone longer than I expected. It's a good spot to drop Atrix, as well as Pious_Knights character. I'll leave him in the have, and if he comes back then I'll work him back in.

What's the in-story explanation for Atrix and Trev's disappearance?

I've got that handled. Well play it or on-camera, so to speak.

One head's up I want to give before you bring me in is that I will be slow to post between the 26th and tenth. Going on vacation with my girlfriend.

I can NPC you during that time.

Great

Where is the baby dragon during all this?

Probably interfering with Iathos managing his backpack.

yea i thought they tried to stuff it in a back pack like in dragon prince.

Love that show

Hey Hey WB!

My vacation starts today. When I get back I would like to RP a session with the baby dragon, but that is for the future! Happy gaming!

Hey guys, I have some heavy work to do from Thursday to Sunday that i will either not be able to get on or get on for a quick post. I just wanted to give yall a heads up! Mothers Day happiness to you mothers types :D

Arrrgh. The damage was so good!!!!

man that was pretty nice dmg,

So I just wanted to provide a quick update to everyone as to why I departed so suddenly and with no warning. Long story short real life has not been kind recently. I have had a number of incidents within my family, I won’t go into exact details there though. On top of that, I have also recently been made redundant. While I do expect to return at some stage, I doubt it will be before I find a new job and get settled in. Sorry for any inconvenience, hurt feelings etc.

Thanks for the update Whistler, hope things get better for you.

Good luck

No worries my man, we'll be here for you. Let us know if we can help you!

Can I use my breath weapon without hitting my party members? It's a line template.

Actually, both of those who were in melee are down and it is size large. You can hit it with your breath weapon without moving right up to it, without hitting them.

Jovian83 has begun inactive for 14 days. I sent them a PM on Friday, but no response.

Well shoot, I wouldn't be too surprised if they're gone, but you never know.

I've kicked Jovian83 and Whistler. Both inactive for a month.

but their on a secret mission :(

Haha, that's true.

Forgive me, but due to limited time for gaming owing to real-life responsibilities I will have to bow out of this game. I apologize for any inconvenience thus may cause. Thank you very much for having me! I wish all of you a good game!

Thanks for the heads up campeador.

I would like to think that Valinar will eventually find genuine faith and stop pretending to be someone he is not. Farewell, friends!

Adios

So we're down to three, which isn't optimum for D&D, but entirely manageable from my part. A new GPer has applied to the game. Thoughts? Feelings? Concerns?

Another member or two would be good, although I am slightly wary of newer members. Still, if you think it's a good idea I support you.

i'm either way. If we wish to continue with the 3 we could things just might get real difficult real fast but i'm still game for it

if theyve applied sure. like you said, were short

Okay. Ill give them a shot. Nothing ventured nothing gained, but let's keep the story going.

How is everyone? Doing well I hope?

G'morning. Just so you know, for reasons that aren't clear, Gamers Plane can be slower on the weekends. Hopefully we can get into the next bit today.

Wait now I'm confused, y'all can see our posts right? Also qralloq is right weekends can get pretty dead.

No worries!

And I think so? The last post I saw in the story thread was on the 10th by optimum.

Feel free to respond

Will do if that's alright! I was just waiting for a go ahead or for it to look like a full round of posts had gone first, sorry for any hold up.

When we're out of combat there isn't really an expectation that everyone will post in any order.

I think the reason why its slower on the weekend is most of us are on here while at work and/or not doing anything during the week?

Ahhh good to know about no real orders out of combat.

oh yea, it sucks sometimes cause im on all the time at work and i feel like i hog the RP at times. So i've been trying to slow down on some of my postings :D

Hah! Worrying about that is why I try to make sure everyone has gone before I go again, or someone tells me to go ahead and go. But if we play it fast and loose here then that's no problem.

It's a tricky balance. I have the same dilema between trying to post as much as I want and not wanting to take away others opportunity to rp. Generally, I think this thread does a good job.

Speaking of rp, let me tell you my personel thoughts on my character development. Hehsh is an orphan raised by non dragon druids. He never knew another dragonborn or dragon, which is why he peppered Zoboanth when they first met. I put draconic on my character sheet because the PHB said dragonborn speak draconic. But canonically, no one taught Hehsh how to speak or read draconic. Not sure how that works in game. Potential plot hook for the GM to use I guess.

Ooo, I posted before I read this. I think we're on the same page.

Oh nice, that's a pretty interesting take on how naturally knowing draconic works.

As a hard case in my IRL game, I would have given them the option to know a different language than Draconic but that would be less interesting.

It's been a couple weeks since you've posted, RisqueBoots. Have I failed to engage you as a GM? Apparently so. Let me know if you're still interested and if there is something I can do to get you more involved.

Thats right!! I forgot we had another person on the banks with me! I too have failed you :(

Technically, there aren't any rules in 5e for special lightning effects in water. However, I think the Rule of Cool definitely applied. Well done.

I have failed to maintain RisqueBoots interest, so I'm bending it/kicking her like Beckham.

Welp, is it time to go player hunting again?

We have such luck with new players!

Just bring in Machability I know you want to.

Thus it was spake and thus it did happen.

Welcome! The fun is just about to start for our intrepid band of dragon minions companions.

FYI, I'll be going into the field this week and will be unable to post unless there is a wildfire, which might happen.

Machiabelli has made a character, so we're back up to four. However, with his town being on a power blackout from Hurricane Dorian, and with optimumsquare also AFK, we'll pick this up in a few days when they tell me they're back.

And then, Let's Go Crazy

ok, Stay safe

Can I make an animal handling check to stay on my hippogriff, because if Hehsh can fight this battle from hippogriff-back, then he would be an idiot to dismount.

I will hold off acting this turn until optimum and Mach's questions are resolved actually, would change quite a bit for me.

Sure, you can stay on the hippogriff. Every time it takes damage or has to dodge anything, you'll need to make a check with disadvantage to stay seated, or plummet. Your call.

FYI I'm going to be out of town between the 1st and the third/ tuesday through thursday. Sorry to keep traveling. I think things will slow down as fall/winter keep up.

I Invited a new player, Adam, to join us.

The more the merrier

WooWhooo!!!

Nice, welcome aboard.

Thank you everyone.
I look forward to reading 60 pages of posts to catch up with the story.

Yeah, I remember that. Howdy

I've finished reading "The Dragon Who Took Too Little".
It feels pretty epic. I'm looking forward to this.

(checks notes, sees that the next part was entirely going to be haggling over the prices of uninteresting menu items in low end taverns; rips up notes)

Epic it is!

that could be interesting XDD

Ack. Rocks fall, Mavis dies of embarrassment.
Please don’t let Mavis’s die enforced faux pas become a thing.
I’m not terribly comfortable RP’ing a lecherous dwarf.
I’d suggest rolling insight, but I fear the die.

Hey DM, don’t we have some hobgoblins to fight? Like, right away? Without time for chit-chat?

Hah, comedy gold. The dice don't define your personality. Also, the dragon included Mavis in the gifts, as payment in advance "for deeds about to be done".

Sure, but it went like this.
1. It’s 6:30am. I haven’t had coffee. I type my post
2. Ooo, I missed the apostrophe in "she’s" edit post, and re-read
3. Errr.... that last bit reads like a cheesy chat up line. Hit edit again
4. Yeah but IRL we sometimes say things that, on reflection, aren’t quite right. I leave the post but add an OOC
5. Before hitting send, I think, naaah- let’s let the dice decide whether my comment came across as intended. Mavis has +1 cha, how bad could it be?
6. It’s a 3. Seriously?!
7. Fair nuff. I best narrate her social awkwardness.

And that, m’lud, is how what was intended as a polite exchange came to be a #MeToo moment.

I’d ask for a +1 dagger, but I’d only stab myself.

Edit: and if it’s not clear, the last bit was social awkwardness, not flirting. Mavis was looking at the stitching, not Ruby’s chest.

Oh boy. Moving on. Yes, a +1 dagger would be lovely!

LOL.
That's all I got. LOL

So, how does this work in PbP? IRL it seems easier to gauge when people are ready to move on. I guess we comment here.

FWIW, I’ve nothing else to do here. I don’t feel the need to add anything until we land in Blackwater, unless anybody else does, or something happens en route. Mavis hates flying, but I think I’ve made that clear without feeling the need to indulge in a panic attack montage.

We have to sell stuff at the first landing spot. Other than that I am good.

Sorry, yes, I meant Mourning Town - not Blackwater.

...or before Mourning Town if the DM ambushes us, whatever. I’m just saying that I’m ready to move on when everybody else is.

Yeah.... reading it again, I'm not sure I set a challenge for Garth, but it's kinda an RP challenge for the player, no?
Apologies if I've completely misunderstood the brief.

Right, it's an obstacle that Garth will overcome, but he gets to say how, without conditions.

I have something but I might not be able to post until Sunday

Sure. Real life is still a thing, right?

what is life?
What is sleep?

Work! sure :D

See: Philosophy
See: Biology
See: Economics (redirected from: Wage slavery)

I'm just killing time. Y'all not waiting for me, are you? I thought we were waiting for the harpies to be dealt with.

Dunno about the hippogriff flight, but the adventure seems to have stalled.

...or perhaps I'm impatient - if so, sorry, I've not quite tuned into how slow PbP is played.

The trick is to join 20 games. Lol

*Genuine chuckle.*

Mach jokes but is true, i'm coming along with my harpie story

work seems to get in the way of playing my games...

**No Garths were harmed in the making of my story.

~fin... optimumsquare's turn but he may not get the chance to so quickly :(

It was worth waiting for.

Yeah, spinning birds, a dust devil, and a caravan. Give me a minute.

I’m still new to PbP, but I find there’s something wonderfully self-indulgent about being able to spend so much time narrating inconsequential actions.

If I’d spent as much time IRL narrating a bath as I did in my last post then I think the other players would start bouncing dice off my head.

bwhahaahh yea probably

Throwing dice at your head

You may be new to it Adam, but you are doing very well. Glad to have you in the community.

Aye your posts are just swell, no issue here.

Aww shucks - you’ll all make me blush. Well, all except optimumsquare and their dice - they’ll make me duck.

Is anyone else excited? Mourning town? Dead children[1]? I smell a spooky setup.

What do you reckon? Zombies or ghosts? I hope they're not zombies. Helping dead children pass over is much more rewarding than bashing in their skulls with 3d6 sneak attack.

[1] Obviously I'm not excited by dead children. I just mean that they add pathos, and I'm pretty sure they're Chekhov's dead children.

ShrodingersChildren :D

I'm thinking mass suggestion but from what it sounds like theres been nothing like that since then and /or no additional disappearances. However, i bet that the dried creek may have stemmed from some tainting of that.

Ah, but you’re forgetting the prophesy (that I’ve just made up):
These children sleep, their dreaming done
‘til wingless dragon flies to mournington


Now Hehsh has arrived it’ll all kick off.
Either that or we’ll wake up and have breakfast.

smooth, I approve :D

We best get Ruby a snack.


If they are zombie children then our Ȇͧ͂̏̓ͬat͐́̌̀̊̈ͦ͞ë̷́̑r̊̆̇̾ͤ̚̚ ͨͨͧͯ͗̃͐O͊́ͪ̔f͊ ̴ͭ̊̾̏Š͟o͊ͧͤu͑͗͗̅͂ͥļ̓͑͂͛s̒̏̌͊ will go hungry.

Nonsense, Ruby has a strong sense of respect for food and drink, that would be unethical.

I’m not entirely sure how the science of souls and life force works in d&d, but consuming someone’s very life force seems a tad unethical all by itself. Dunno. Do the eaten souls still pass over to their afterlife? Is it subsumed into you? Is life force different to soul, to spirit? A moment on the lips, an eternity in the screaming void of oblivion?

This raises too many questions, not least - do they taste like chicken? Perhaps you could update us with tasting notes.
Hobgoblin: leathery notes with hints of cedar and citrus, pairs well with Shiraz.

That night, dreams come. You don't remember them, only that you awake, freezing. Your rooms are ice cold, despite the coals glowing in the fireplaces. Your breath fogs and you feel it, a dark presence, there behind you! No. Outside? You look, your eyes drawn to the east.

Somewhere a woman screams, heartbreaking sorrow. And the echo of laughter in the night sky. A flicker of light on some hillside. Impossibly far away, it is just a tiny blur, but you know. How could you not? Albionii, the unicorn. It beckons.


Ideas?

Light to the east = morning.
Heartbreaking sorrow = mourning.

Albionii is giving me problems. I can’t see an anagram.
Albion is the old name for Britain, the suffix looks Latin.
Fortunately I went to the sort of school that taught Latin! Unfortunately I was rubbish at it. I’ve forgotten so much that even the Internet doesn’t help. The best I’ve got is "I was Britain (or possibly white)" - but I’m probably very wrong about that. Anyway - I suspect I’m overthinking that clue. Perhaps the DM just liked the name.

Laughter and dark presence? Generic evil?

Dunno.

I know our characters might not pick up on the clues (hence ooc), but if the DM is going to write clues then it’s kinda polite to try and use them.

Albionii is the name of a unicorn from the prior adventure. An old guru type role.

As some of you may know, I have been in a wheelchair for 3 years (well, you know, not 24/7, I get in bed as well)
Anyway, my wife is my caregiver and is going on a well deserved vacation and I am going in to respite care. The facility is awesome but the wifi is not. From the 11th to the 28th of this month my posting may be down. I will do my best to get at least one post a day in.

Best wishes

Hey man, you take care of yourself.
Take your dice, you never know, maybe you’ll find an IRL game at the facility.

Thanks for the 7 headses ups!

Okay. I’m really glad that I didn’t spend an hour looking for anagrams of "albionii the unicorn", it was probably closer to forty minutes.

hahaha i was just assuming he made it up. I dont recall seein any unicorn so far

but i could always be mistaken

As I posted in Absences, I'll move us along on Sunday.

I look forward to it. I hope you enjoy your convention.

Potions of healing are on page 150 of the players handbook. 50 gp

They heal for 2d4+2 hit points, one action to use

K. I'll update my sheet. I'm ready to continue the story

I shall buy one potion as backup.

I’m ready too.

This story is pretty dark. If it's too much for anyone, PM me and I'll tone it back, no questions asked. But I promise there is light at the other end of the tunnel.

...and that light is the lost souls of the children now twisted by hate into an army of will-o-wisps?

Funk busting. I'm digging that.

Happy thanksgiving Americans. (Dunno if that’s what you say at thanksgiving, but I hope it’s happy anyway).

Same, happy second Thanksgiving! If you're all doped up on triptofan and insulin tomorrow, we'll understand if posting takes a back seat to family crises, er, gatherings.

Drove over a mountain through a snow storm today. Happy Turkey day.

Gobble freaking gobble!! merry turkygivings :D

Happy Turkey Day

I'm just playing up my flaw at this point. If we want to move on I'm not going to force this. I will however say that Qralloq wrote a fucking badass poem for us and we should probably honor it. By murdering some dust devils. That's like honor right

I also agree Qralloq that was a fantastic display of lyricism.

Agreed.

Thanks!

You know that bit in video games where it says, "you're not high enough level to enter this zone", well, I feel I've done my part, haha.

Yeah. I meant no disrespect to the lyrics, they were great...but it's not our fight, yet.

Well done. The song of your praise will be sung through out the land :D

Sorry I haven't been posting here. I've had a busy time at work. Hehsh has had his character moment. Feel free to move on. I'll go with the group. Also thank you for indulging me this long.

So a liche, a vampire, and a dragon walk into a bar...

ikr D:

I've been in the same boat Optimum , silly work getting in the way.

sorry i've been awol lately, I haven't forgotten you guys

I deliberately set out to give Mavis a ridiculous outfit. But on reflection, it’s probably no more ridiculous than many depictions of female armour in fantasy.
I’m looking forward to reading Hehsh’s interpretation of clothing as a dragon’s hoard.

I made a mistake! I thought we had those items from looting the wight. I can edit my post or roll the deception.

Your call. Probably work better if you edit

Wilco: correction made

Bad edits are bad but 15 minutes of slapping that together seemd a bit to long :DD

NAILED IT!

I’m interested to see where "give up who you are" is going.
Change of alignment? Race? Change our last level up to a different class?
Mavis the chaotic evil hobgoblin gunslinger?
Or perhaps Mavis will have to speak common like a normal character.

Recall How To Train Your Dragon:
"We need to change this." (Gestures)
"You just pointed at all of me!"
"Yes, that."

Ha! That’s cool. I’m interested to see what that means mechanically.

I really want to post the following and then lock the thread:
"FOREVER!"

But I won't.

and so the world ended, because 5 schmucks didn't want the big ears

Later today I'll move you into danger the Vermilion Reaver territory. Let me know if there anything specific you'd like for me to include in the next section. Character development goals, etc.

I am ready to face the army head on.

I quite like rolling dice. I like the chaos of bad rolls. Maybe a few more skill checks?

I'd quite like Mavis to be able to use stealth and assassination at some point. I think Mavis has had two battles - the spectre and the dust devil - and they were both quite "head on". Maybe a little more fighting too (and I suspect we'll have no problems finding them).

But in general, I enjoy seeing those bits of the adventure where a single character can shine for a scene. Not necessarily Mavis - I like being in the audience those solo performances. Like when a monk downs a potion of haste, then starts bouncing around the battlefield felling all the minions in a single turn. Or if Garth used a forge to repair an ancient artefact, or when he used his wisdom to make that speech renaming the village from "Port Mourning" to "Port Dawn". Y'know - those sharply defined moments when only these heroes could have saved the world. Obviously not all the time though.

Mavis is a mountain dwarf and didn't get out much. It'd be interesting for her to meet Hill Dwarves - Dwarves who've managed to adjust to living near the ground and integrating with non-dwarven communities. Like if an immigrant in your country got a visitor from their ancestral homeland - I think that's an interesting social situation.

soooooo..... I haven't gotten any of these updates. As in, i've been checking routinely, and wondering why this game has stalled. Sooooo.... sorry? i owe you guys some posts. I'm not sure what happened.

No problem. Roll initiative and attack a hill giant

I don't think hehsh would know about the chromatic/metallic divide amongst dragons based on his backstory. Does he get an instinctive reaction to seeing the metallic dragon? Just wondering. It's not going to affect what I do (throw death causing magic at the thing), but it may influence how I narrate it.

Wait, what? I thought it was black and funny looking.

I don't think so. There is an AD&D game called Council of Wyrms where you play a dragon. In it, you are sung to as a dragon in the egg, which is where you learn a bunch of things. You didn't have that (few Dragonborn would), so the inherited knowledge just isn't there.

gotcha

Hey fam. I'm slowly returning, I don't know what has happened or if you need me still.

but i'm slowly coming back to work which means more GP! Let me know if you would still want me .

For my part, Jump in! Let's say you lagged behind the others seeing to things back in the friendly lands, and only now have arrived to join the quest.

Works for me. The more the merrier. I am jot sure what your character is.

Hasan is the fighter. He was a town guard in the first town and had been with you for most of your adventures.

Oh yeah. Sorry...brain dead moment

My favorite hydrophobe! Welcome back cj. Weve all turned into monsters since you left.

Hey Hasan, good to see you again.

OH noes monsters :,(

Anyone wanna give me quick tldr?

Met dragon. Nice guy.
We're going to save a different dragon. Got turned into monsters to infiltrate the citadel for rescue mission.
We have an orc entourage. Hehsh wants moar hoard.

oh noes, if i'm catchign up to you am i monster too? :D or still lame human?

We just look like monsters. We keep our stats.

Your choice. They saw a wizard who did magic to polymorph their body shapes.

So awesome greater illusion. Check!

how much trouble would i be in if i didn't, it would make sense that Hasan would have done that in order to catch up with whatevers going on

That's fine, too. There are human mercenaries in the hobgoblin army, you could be one.

Fyi, I'll be slow to post for a week. Irl I'm getting married and then going on my honeymoon.

Congratulations!

Congrats my dood! Have the good times

So if we got just inside the gate, how close would we be to the dragon. Close enough to talk to it?

hass message? Sending?
or do dragon posess a keen sense of hearing?

Dragons do have keen senses.

Isn't Garth a forge cleric? Does he not have any insight into how to break metal? Perhaps Heat Metal - then cool it - heat - cool - until it becomes brittle?

Magic metal. I have no clue how it would work. Plus, that is a lot of heat. Easier just to unhook the chains I think.

Mavis has proficiency in thieves’ tools - not expertise. She can try, but four successes seems unlikely.
Maybe steal the keys?

iirc we just went over beat up the doods and just unhooked the net?

You can see why it took me two days to draw a map. Quality, excellence, marvelous attention to detail. Nope, ain't got none of those, heh.

Love it, Work of (he)art!

Still a better battlemap than Roll20.

oof idk, r20 has some ok things.

we're doing great here guys. A 3, a 4, an 8, and a 9. These baddies aren't going to know what hit them. Initiative is like golf right? Come on Somebox! keep up the streak!

Great news, kind of

I have to assume all attacks on Mavis will be at advantage. She's already under a net.

WHAT! MY 6 dmg dropped her, #sadcrossboltnoises

Honestly I was expecting a much harder encounter too. I'm glad that battles over but bittersweet to see Hasan go back to being the town guard.

I had been worried that she was too tough, and thought about scaling her back a bit. Nothing to worry about, apparently, haha.

Thank you for such a heroic fantasy epic adventure. I’m sorry-not-sorry that I accidentally sneaked in Mavis’s personal epilogue before you closed the thread.

And thank you for taking a chance on a first time PbP player by inviting me to your game.

You were wonderful Adam, even with the brain crunching dwarven accent, haha.

Thanks Qralloq. That was a lot of fun. I would happily adventure with any of you again.
Adam...first time PBP or not...you did an awesome job.

Qralloq you were great. I really appreciate this game, and I'm sad to see it end.

Whhhhhhaaaat, its over?! Well I had lots of fun, I wish I leaned more towards the death gimmick more, but next time. Thank you Qralloq for the fun game, and too everyone for bringing such enjoyable characters.