OOC Thread

Use this thread for OOC discussion.

Any one up for a session 0?

I'd like to know what others are planning on playing. I was thinking of a very generic human fighter, or a cleric.

If anyone else isn't playing cleric, I think I might be more interested in that.

Yeah, a team-building session might be nice. Maybe establish starting relationships - unless we're supposed to start as strangers. ^_^

I'm playing a Half-Elf Hexblade with the Outlander background. He's more about utility and support than straight-up damage-dealing. Planning for him to take Pact of the Tome later.

I was quite attached to a character I built for a KoTB game run by Tani here on GP with the original dnd B/X rule set. He was an elf, which was kind of a fighter/wizard class (yep, races were classes back then). Liked the character concept and would like to port it into this fifth edition version. He would start as a wizard, with the sage or noble background and who would multiclass into fighter. Would that work? Also, are there any rules for attribute generation, or do we just pick and choose methods?

Sounds good I'm playing Uldrik Fanghammer a variant human Barbarian, Basically planning on making him a big ol meatshild with a greataxe.

According to the GM here, we can use either Point Buy or Standard Array (because this is just a predetermined point buy anyway).

The standard requirements for multiclassing from Wizard to Fighter are Intelligence 13, and Strength/Dexterity 13. Unless the GM has extra requirements, that's all you need to make the build work. ^_^

OK I'm making Brother Gregor, a Helm worshiping cleric (light domain) with acolyte background.

Sounds good I think we should have a pretty solid party all together.

DM, What Pantheons are we using? Just want to make sure I pick a god that exists in your campaign setting!

My Cleric is more the skill monkey than anything Cleric- Arcane Domain thinking of him as the Sherlock Holmes of the group Expertise in Investigation.

I will be playing a druid forest gnome and would be fine doing a session 0

I was going to go with human ranger, myself.

For this game, let's use the Greyhawk and Nonhuman pantheons, because why not? Might as well embrace the "old school" feel.

Garl Glittergold !

Boccob for me then.

Group so far:

Half-Elf Hexblade(Outlander) - utility/support; distant with eldritch blast; face of the group??
Elf Fighter/Wizard Bladesinger? - front line or bowman??
Human Barbarian - meatshield w/greataxe
unknown race Cleric(light) - healing combined with fireball nice
Human Cleric(Arcane) - skill monkey/ backup healer
gnome druid - another healer/spell atks?
Human ranger - archtype? could use one more frontline fighter plenty of healers to help out

Gnome Druid and more a dexterous close in fighter then spell attacks.

As the meatshield I do love having so much potential healing.

I was going to go Gloomstalker, actually. I plan to make more of a bruiser thief than a woodsman

We seem the hexmap explorer types ^_^

So flameblade and shield? Or two weapon fighting?? some type of punching daggers/claws weapons

Scimitar and shield or Shilleleigh and shield for now

Nice so another to join the front lines with all the clerics watching their backs.

Later things might change

Are using starting equipment or rolling for $?

My preference would be to just use starting EQ.

Brother Gregor will be a Human Variant (warcaster) priest of Pelor.

I assumed that most people used starting equipment, but if you want to roll, feel free to do so on the character thread.

I had an old book with a cool keep area map. Can't find it though to scan in, will try and google it.

He'll be dex focused, and will start off as an archer, rather than a front-liner. Definitely not a spokesperson for the party. At level 2, he'll take a level of fighter, which may allow him to wear some more armor and perhaps take a finesse melee weapon;, which would allow him to wade into melee. Not that he'd volunteer! :-P

I thought bladesingers were a FR/Volo's guide/SwordCoast thing so I presumed they'd not be available in the campaign. If I'm mistaken, that might be an interesting option. Otherwise he'll be a 'standard' wizard/fighter

Yep. It's in SCAG. ^_^

yep it is SCAG and a neat option if you go fIghter(arcane archer)/wizard(blade singer) as some seriously crazy options

@WhtKnt: A couple of story-related questions...

● How are the PCs related at the start of the game? Do we know each other? Or are we all strangers to each other who just happened to arrive at the same time?

● Why are we going to this Keep? Is there an in-game hook pulling us there (e.g. a job posting, a call for help, rumors of something), or should we develop our own reasons for being there?

I think a band of odd mercenaries may make for an easy start. We can form ourselves into a true Company after a few adventures together.

As far as Caelymbor the elven wizard/warrior is concerned, I have background reasons for having him reach the KotB on his own or, in any case, not as a member of a pre-established travelling group/company. He was a part of a larger band that was tragically scattered. He could have joined other travelers a day or so from the Keep, but that would be a mere coincidence.

As to his motives to go to the Keep and to seek adventure in the borderlands, its partly a question of chance (the keep was the closest establishment when tragedy struck his original group) and partly a desire to find something to do (he no longer has another mission/job).

Of course this all depends on whether the DM accepts Caelymbor's background and initial circumstances.

I’m fine with Brother Gregor traveling with others in the party. Since the Keep is on the Borderlands , Gregor has been called there to "bring the light of civilization to the darkness of the wilderness."

Priests of Pelor often spend their youth on ministry spreading the good word of Pelor. If he fell in with a group of adventurers for mutual protection on his way to the Borderlands, that makes sense to me!

It's a nice place to build a druid circle being at civilizations edge.

I specifically built in a backstory reason for my character to be traveling so realistically He could have either come there alone or met the group along the way or whatever you guys prefer.

I'm fine if the PCs want to be an established company or if they are each there for their own reasons. As to why you might have come; the area is a wilderness and untamed, which offers opportunity for adventure. It is also possible that you are merely traveling through and the Keep is but a civilized stopover. You may have come with a caravan, or you might have simply banded together for mutual protection on the road. Ultimately, the reasoning is up to you.

I would like my character to be there for his own reasons. Laying low after a stint of highway robbery.

I kept Brother Gregor as a Cleric of Pelor but switched to Life Domain.

I’m fine with him starting with anyone who wants to have been journeying with him.

Wouldn’t it be a lot easier start for everyone to have been in same caravan or something? I don’t want to have to spend 3 weeks IRL going around and gathering all the edgelord loner types. I mean either you’re in or not! Can I get an amen?

If nothing else, we can say that you met on the road and have become at least acquainted with one another, but if you want to come with a caravan, that's fine as well.

I'm okay with a caravan approach. My Stefan is proficient with the flute, and might have entertained folks around campfires. I have no intention of playing him as an edgelord. ^_^

Caravan works for me as well.

So we need a roll call then to see who all might know whom from some early campfire talk.

Amen. Never a fan of the loner/edgelord sort. So many buckles.

Caelymbor could have joined a caravan one day away from the keep, but his background requires that he not be travelling with a larger company prior to that. Beyond that point, he is no edgelord/loner... just a guy to whom grave infortune happened.

Hey, is it alright to trade out starting equipment for items of similar value? Like instead of a longbow and a quiver of 20 arrows, could I get a crossbow and some bolts?

Uldrik probably would have been with the caravan for a while as well. He's not a great talker but is friendly enough, probably scares off most people accidently just due to his size and lack manners.

Brother Gregor would have also been with the caravan from the beginning of the journey. He has been sent by his temple to spread the good word of Pelor the Lifegiver and help the brave settlers on the Borderlands.

That's fine.

Oh, in case anyone is confused, Liam is human, not elf ornhalf-elf. He's just . . . very pretty, I guess. I wasn't sure but I thought I saw someone respond to Liam, referring to him narratively as an elf and wanted to make sure

That was me, sry to many of us to keep track for me it seems.

Ikr? We almost need a cast list.

You need a cast list? Step behind the screen and let me show you my notes that name every major inhabitant of the Keep. :)

Ha Ha I feel you WhtKnt - I ran Temple of Elemental Evil for my home group last year and the NPC notebook was packed.

lol, I meant more for just the PCs. Just so I can keep straight who has pointy ears.

Hey guys gotta drop out sorry. I just had a last minute move sprung up on me on top of changing jobs and I just don't really have a lot of free time right now. Sorry about that. Hope you guys have fun.

Understood. Be well and I hope you can find time to join us again later.

I'm asking all my folks to forgive me for a few days. I had a friend commit suicide this morning and I need some time to process this. I will be back in a day or three. In the meantime, if you or someone you know needs to talk, PLEASE call someone! Send me a private message if nothing else. I am always willing to listen and I promise that it will remain confidential!!

I’m so sorry for your loss. Take as much time as you need.

I'm very sorry for your loss. Take care of yourself, WhtKnt. The game will be around when you've had the time to recover from such a difficult incident.

Yes WhtKnt, definitely take whatever time you need.

I'm so sorry, that's awful! Yeah, no worries, just focus on hanging in there.

I'm so sorry, everyone. I must resign from the game due to new circumstances at home & work. T__T

I live at my company's accommodations (next to our office), and to save some cash, I'm using the work network which I'm able to catch from my room (and the IT Team says that it's okay). But a few days ago, the company has enforced restrictions on the office network so sites categorized as "Games" (like GP) are now blocked.

Now, I can't reliably get into my GP games - I have to bow out so I don't bog anything down. So sorry again for the hassle. Happy Gaming to all of you.

Sorry to hear that, Peachyo. Hope you can rejoin us at a further point in time.

Yes hope everything turns out ok.

I do hope that you are able to come back at some point.

Sorry to hear this, Peachyco. If you ever get the chance to come back, you will be welcomed with open arms.

Okay, with the loss of Peachy and ARPG, do we want to take on a replacement, or are you guys comfortable with having a party of four? I have a player that wants in, but I'm holding off for opinions.

Personally, I like smaller parties.

I’m fine either way. My basic d&d instinct would be to say 4 pcs is too few, but this is 5ed, so you know best, DM...

I have invited two more players to join and may invite a third to replace Cep100 (as he has not been active for two weeks). One of them has responded and is building a character (he has been told what the party has and is building to suit). I'm still waiting on a response from the other and will move to the next if I don't hear something within a few days.

Hi everyone

Cormac mac Kentigern will be added to the character list later this evening - I'll await instructions as to how he joins the party..

Have people worked out starting gold according to background or rolled on the class based list of starting gold amounts?

I have not dropped or died. I just have a convention to help run this weekend, so my time will be very limited until Tuesday. I will try to log in and make updates, but I just can't be certain from day to day that I will be able to do so. So please stick around and we'll be back in action as soon as possible.

No worries. I've had to slow down due to some family illness as well, so post when you have the time. Take care!

Dankel, it's your choice, but take one or the other, not both. Also, you are being introduced in-game.

I will stick with this one

FYI guys, I made Brother Gregor a public character so the party can see what he has. I understand not everyone likes to do this but I my opinion, it helps when the whole party knows what each character is capable of, especially in a PBP format.

Greetings yall. Ill be jumping in at some point. Wanted to introduce myself. Real name is Garett. I am a former US Army Iraq and Kosovo veteran. I live in Colorado and have a wife and 5yo son. I work as the Director of Veterans For Peace. If you want to laugh at bad jokes follow me on twitter @Paladin_dad Excited to play some games through this 'physical distancing'. Hope you all are safe and loved ones are well. See you in the dungeon.

Hi everyone! I'm also going to be jumping in to the adventure. My wife & I are originally east coasters who now call Washington state home. I grew up playing AD&D but hadn't played for years until 5e. With all our lives being turned upside down, it seemed like a good time to give PbP a try.

So party-wise, we have a gnome druid, high elf wizard, human cleric, and human (martial type), is that correct? Thinking we need something ranger-y or roguish. I'm open to different character builds; whatever rounds out the party best. Thoughts?

Welcome to the new players! Cormac is a barbarian - I have made his character sheet public - I think, let me know if it is not accessible.

Welcome to the two of you. Caelymbor is a D&D elf, meaning I’m going to multi class him to fighter as soon as possible...

As to me, I’m a Brazilian-Belgian lawyer living in Brussels with wife and young daughter. Haven’t played IRL for a long while, though I began back in 1982 with an expedition to this very same keep...

I might do a remake on my character. I made a highelf fighter planning to go wizard multi and eldritch knight. I think yall have that covered. Seems like basically Matmaison's character and I want to let that be.

Welcome!

Hey DM, any chance of a map or rough drawing of the layout so far?

Yes, give me a little bit and I'll put something up.

The map can be found here. The red pluses indicate where the corridor continues but was outside your range of vision.

I hope I haven't killed the game with Caelymbor's threats...

I am sure you have not - just waiting to see what the Dwarf and the Drow have to say!

not at all! i'm waiting to give metagate a chance to post. didn't wanna hog the intro spotlight!

I haven't been turned off at all. I think it is interesting. I would like to see how these relationships develop while still progressing the plot of the game and advancing through the adventure.

Hari is a revolutionary and activist in underdark. He feel into a group organizing male drow equality and freedom for slaves in the drow city. He was chased out and lived a life of a hermit until awakening to the idea to come to the surface world and seek power and allies to help him.

Hari hates Loth and drow society. He actually thinks Caelymbor is very wise, Hari certainly would not have trusted his own kind so quickly and thinks it is sensible to be cautious and suspecting. But, the kindess of the group is touching to him and he will forgive foolishness if it is replaced by good will.

Hari is not the type to assume trust and will not press Caelymbor to try to gain his favor. Only actions and time can build trust. He also is knowledgeable about religions and arcana. He knows elvish history and it is hard to change how we were culturally brought up. He also can assume Caelymbor and his loved ones might have been harmed by Drow. That is trauma that will not be repaired by a first impressions.

So Hari will follow the groups lead and try to be helpful

Interesting character concept, MetaGamegate. And welcome!

Could you describe your character IC when you next post? Caelymbor would be measuring up your character, to try to assess what it is he does/is good at. Your friend is a dwarf with an oversized bow, his speciality kind of self-evident. But what of your drow?

Will do

Sorry guys,

This campaign is moving a little too slow for me. I'll be leaving the campaign.

Have fun!

Sorry to see you go, but I understand. Enjoy!

I am rolling to Tulsa tomorrow and will be 'involved' for the rest of the weekend. I will catch back up on Monday.

Submitted a Human Sorcerer/Detective character.

Forgive me everyone, it's been a Day and I'm swamped. Please be patient and I will update when possible.

I am on vacation for two weeks from Sunday morning and will not be able to post (staying in a farmhouse cottage in rural Wales) - I'll be back on the 30th and will posting again soon after. WhtKnt - feel free to npc Cormac whilst I am away rather than hold up the game.

Playing Dodge'em with hurricanes again. If I'm out for a while, please bot me or wait for me (if you're in my game). This one looks to be a direct hit. See you on the other side.

Hope you are Ok

Okay, I have recruited a few new faces and they should be getting characters in over the next few days. You guys can level up! They are coming in at level 1, but as a reward for being loyal players, you two can advance to level 2!

Thanks for taking me, I'm looking forward to playing. I'm going to be going with a half-elf bard named Valthurin, who is trying to make a name for himself gain some experiences.

Hi! Glad to be here... any request suggestions for class or rp?

You all are mercs mostly?

Hi Coachthor and AvDc, welcome to the game.

We currently only have a human barbarian and an elf wizard (who'll multi-class into fighter at a later stage) as active players.

The party as it currently stands also has a druid, a ranger and a sorceror, though all three have gone AWOL some time back.

So you could basically play anything you like, really.

Since the Keep on the Borderlands / Caves of Chaos is roughly 25% wilderness exploration and 75% dungeon crawl, you might consider building characters that shine in those kinds of scenarios; there will be relatively limited urban/social interactions most of the time.

I'm keen on playing a rogue if no one else is dead set on one.

Also, I see that the PHB and Xanathar's Guide are allowed. Are we allowed to use the Sword Coast Adventure Guide as well? I didn't know if Into the Borderlands was set in Faerun or not.

Hi Ninja_Dano, the Keep could be in any world. Not sure which one WhtKnt is using for this game. Don't know if he allows other materials for character creation. A rogue would be great!

what are the other classes? I'm leaning between Archer or Greatweapon fighters

Are you speaking of this?

Among new recruits, we're speaking of a half-elf bard, a rogue and you as an archer or great weapon master fighter...

Working on rogue too.

Technically, the Keep is set in Mystara, but being as I don't have data on the clerics of such for 5E, we'll go with the Realms. Let's say that the Keep lies in the Stonelands north of Cormyr. The nearest town is Tilverton and the nearest sizeable city is Arabel. I'll permit the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide.

Hi everyone, big fan of the borderlands module, happy to be on board. Seems like I'll make a melee fighter since we seem to have an abundance of ranged fighters. I'm dancing between a war cleric, and a fighter, though Gloom Stalker ranger is also on my mind.

Hi dominion451, we currently have no cleric, so the war-priest might be a good idea: a decent melee combatant, and also useful after combat. But a melee fighter or sneaky ranger could be great too...

Velrik Greenblade submitted for approval. He's a half-elf melee-focused rogue. My plans are to go down the Thief archetype at level three.

Velrik on D&D Beyond

He gets his surname from his ability to manifest green flames on weapons he holds in his hand. This is a genetic trait passed down from the High-Elf blood in his veins. Though he's good at what he does (mostly thievery and spying), if pressed into combat, his calling card becomes apparent to all around him as green flames dance across his blades.

He currently finds himself in the Borderlands after having to flee for crimes he may or may not have committed back in civilized lands...

I was going with a bard, but I can throw together a cleric if we need that instead.

Ok I submitted my war cleric Reinhardt. If possible I would like him to be a resident of the keep, it fits into the shell shocked Hospitaller backstory I wrote for him and makes use of his background feature in a way that will be beneficial to the party.

I used the custom background option from th PHB though it is mostly just the Acolyte background with the skills changed to reflect his growing up in a harsh environment where everyone is expected to fight should the need arises.

If not it's no problem, I could have been orphaned somewhere else and came to the keep looking to escape the memory of my past or some such.

Whichever you prefer. If you wish to a native, I will send you some notes on the Keep.

That would be great!

Hi Everyone, ready to roll!

I just created and submitted a character, named Azyrus "Blooskyn", who is an albino blue dragonborn sorcerer (shadow magic sorcerous origin).

He is yellow-skinned, with bloodshot white eyes (except when he is in darkness, then his eyes turn completely black, absorbing any light that gets sent through the darkness).

He is known by his farmer community for being a hero of some children, when marauders assaulted some of the neighbors.

I am excited for this game!

So then I'll wait to post IC until the new people are inside the keep, maybe I could check the newcomers for signs of disease just to get the introductions over with asap? Just a thought.

Ooookay. Here's Beruucus... made a melee fighter

Hey. I posted my clerics backstory in the character thread. I need to roll for gold, and I’ll have his sheet submitted today. Am just at work right now

@DM, if you can accept our characters on the "Game Details" page, that will allow us to post as our characters, instead of as ourselves.

You know, I'll just say Reinhardt is from elsewhere and came to the fort with everyone else to keep things simple.

Hey guys, seems like too many mouths to feed so I'm gonna bow out. Thanks very, very much for the add and good luck in your questing!

Sorry to see you and your cleric go, Domminion451. Sure you don't want to stick around?

There will be a brief delay while we get one more person into the keep and the party. R.J.Crowe, I'll give you a few days to get your character created. Everyone else just hang tight or role-play until he is ready.

Hey all, I'm in the middle of (several) big house moves and a work transition. I'm going to bow out for now as I don't know when I'll have consistent time to post or participate. My apologies.

S'okay. Thanks for letting us know!

I am going to be out-of-contact from Thursday, Apr 1 to Monday, April 11. I'm taking my niece and nephew to Disneyworld for their first visit! Please be patient and I will update after my return.

HeroAmongMen, I didn't realize that you were still level 1. Go ahead and level up to 2, please.

Hello good people.

I don't know Greyhawk at all, but I do know 5e. I would like to bring along a cleric to your merry band.

Anything I need to know about the borderlands as I create this character? It seems fairly rough and tumble at a glance. I am thinking a War Cleric might be appropriate? Or a Forge Cleric? I will gladly take suggestions.

Also... Is the pantheon fairly similar in Greyhawk?

Several deities of Greyhawk appear in the Player's Handbook (2014): Beory, Boccob, Celestian, Elhonna, Erythnul, Fharlanghn, Heironeous, Hextor, Kord, Incabulos, Istus, Iuz, Nerull, Obad-Hai, Olidammara, Pelor, Pholtus, Ralishaz, Rao, S. Cuthbert, Tharizdun, Trithereon, Ulaa, Vecna and Wee Jas; likewise the non-human deities including Corellon Larethian, Garl Glittergold, Moradin, Sehanine Moonbow, and Yondalla. They can be found in Appendix B.

Beory, goddess of nature
Boccob, god of magi.
Celestian, god of stars and wanderers
Ehlonna, goddess of the woodlands
Erythnul, god of envy and slaughter
Fharlanghn, god of horizons and travel
Heironeous, god of chivalry and valor
Hextor, god of war and discord
Kord, god of athletics and sport
Incabulos, god of plague and famine
Istus, goddess of fate and destiny
Iuz, god of pain and oppression
Nerull, god of death
Obad-hai, god of nature
Pelor, god of the sun and healing
Pholtus, god of light and law
Ralishaz, god of ill luck and insanity
Rao, god of peace and reason
St. Cuthbert, god of common sense and zeal
Tharizdun, god of eternal darkness
Trithereon, god of liberty and retribution
Ulaa, goddess of hills and mountains
Vecna, god of evil secrets
Wee Jas, goddess of magic and death

Corellon Larethian, elf deity of art and magic
Deep Sashelas, elf god of the sea
Garl Glittergold, gnome god of trickery and wiles
Moradin, dwarf god of creation
Rillifane Rallathil, wood elf god of nature
Sehanine Moonbow, elf goddess of the moon
Yondalla, halfling goddess of fertility and protection

Leveling up, thanks!

Welcome GeneCortess and Dirteshot!

Alrighty...

Here is what I am thinking:
Cleric of Life to the god Tritheroen - a wood elf (or hill dwarf) who was once a slave and has been rescued and now serves Trithereon. His favorite phrase is that life is to be lived and that everyone should live life to the fullest.

Hey everyone! Thanks WhtKnt for the invitation. I've been looking for a more old-school style of games for a while. I'm a big fan of that style and know something of the challenges of running and playing it in PbP.

Looking forward to playing in another game with Gene, Matmaisan, and HeroAmongMen! And glad to get a chance to play alongside Dankel and Dirteshot for the first time.

I was thinking to play a dwarven rogue, eventually a thief. I think I'll stick with rogue but look into some other possibilities, maybe go very traditional with Halfling. I'll decide soon!

Great to have you here Lenpelletier! A rogue would be definitely welcome, seeing as we’re exploring a mage’s demented labyrinth... a cleric too!

Just wondering, @WhtKnt, how you plan on having the new players join. I for one would have little objection to just assuming they've been with us all along (i.e., since we last left the keep).

In case you all want to catch up a bit, here's a summary of our earlier explorations with a map. Since then,
- we've explored around an abandoned throne room, finding a ceremonial room as well as a staircase to a lower level, which we decided not to explore immediately;
- decided to head NW trying to find some small reptilian humanoids we assume are Kobolds;
- found identical teleporting rooms;
- got trapped by a portcullis;

Storywise, here is when our party (in its latest line-up) got together at the keep, and we explained what we had done (tried to dispel the curse on an elf that Zelligar had transformed into a cat), and discussed some possible quests to undertake. We chose to continue exploring Zelligar's lair, where we're currently at.

If you guys are okay with bending suspension of disbelief, I am absolutely fine with them having been with you since you left.

Wow Matmaisan, that is a kingly gift! Thank you. I have joined several games in-progress and it is always a challenge to get up to speed.

My character concept is complete, just have to transfer it into a GP character sheet.

Looks like I need to do some reading. Thanks Matmaisan!

You’re welcome. I find these posts useful for myself as well: I often try to recall some detail from a scene that transpired six months ago IRL, and having a sort of index helps. Also, for dungeon crawling at least, a annotated map comes in handy.

As to the party’s course of action, I’m not sure we need to continue on our current path for long : if we don’t run into the kobolds or some other form of resistance soon, we could either head down to the second level (traditionally more dangerous in Old school design), or simply head out of the dungeon and start looking for some bandits that are marauding these borderlands.

I agree, let us just say the new players have been with us since we entered Zeligar's lair, and also, if we do not find anything of interest soon to look at alternatives, Cormac certainly would be thinking along those lines.

Greetings to all! I'm looking forward to playing although some names I recognize from pithy comments made on Discord.

Pending approval, I think I have my character with a direction for her to go...yes, she is the ultimate murdering hobo! But you can sleep even if you sleep light, as of yet she has not lost her humanity and kobolds seems perfect fodder to feed her beauty regiment. After all, someone has to be alive to admire all the work!

I have one more player joining us shortly and I will be bringing that character in shortly. I have an "in story" method of getting them in, so just carry on.

Cool. Sench takes a bite out of the new person to see if they are good enough. And Sench likes his meat fresh!

What!?! Is that a purple worm making a snack out of hanging Leothorn on a rope. It doesn't get any better than that thinks the purple worm.

I will be without a computer for the next few days while I wait for a new laptop to come. I will try to post from my phone in the meantime. Just FYI

I was devastated with the death of my younger brother and now I'm facing significant health challenges. I read some of your entries and they leave me smiling but I have not the energy to respond. I'm sorry for barely contributing and then basically ghosting. I don't know when my situation will improve. Best life has to offer to each of you!

I'm very sorry about your brother and that everything has come down on you at once. We'll leave the light on for you and if you find the desire to continue, then you'll be welcome.

I second what the DM said! You and your family be in my thoughts and prayers.

CherokeeWind, I am sorry to hear you are going through such tough times. My heart goes out to you! Hope to play with you again, you are a hell of a play by post gamer.

CherokeeWind, I am sorry for what you are going through. You have my condolences. Word aren't enough though...

Also...
Deepest apologies ... I have been very busy with buying and prepping a house to sell and now getting ready to move. This has made me forgetful about gamersplane and when I do think about getting on, I usually can't as I am in the middle of something. Unfortunately, it will probably be like this for the next 3-4 weeks. I do not want to hold you guys back from playing, so please play without me and you may also remove me from the game if you wish.

I'll NPC you for a bit and if your schedule clears up and if you wish to pick up from there, you will be welcome.

I am going on vacation tomorrow for a week - back next Saturday evening. We are staying in a farm cottage in a remote part of Wales so I won't be able to post until next Sunday.

If you don't mind, I'll NPC you in your absence for this one.

Hey folks, I'll be on a camping trip from Tuesday to Friday night. I should be able to post but if I am slow, feel free to handle my characters actions as you see fit!

Hurricane time. Please be patient and, gods willing, I'll see you on the other side.

best of luck WhtKnt!

Ditto! We’ll be here when you come back!

stay safe

Anyone heard from WhtKnt? or anyone else we are waiting for to roll initiative?

Sorry, I got sidetracked with some personal stuff. I'm back in the groove now.

Just glad all is well.

Ditto!

Welcome back, and no worries! And hey, there's nothing like attempting murdering your PCs with a gelatinous cube to help stay in that groove! :)

Just a heads-up to all of you; I have a busy couple of weeks at work here, so I probably won't be posting very much.

Thanks for understanding!

Just a note to say that you are not forgotten. I'm dealing with a family crisis for the next day or so.

Hey, just popped in to let you know I'm still around, but have had zero personal time over the last ten days or so. My family has moved to a new home, and I've been entirely focused on managing family life and, since Monday, work as well. I'll try to catch up in the next few days, as things settle into a more comfortable rhythm.

Hang in there everybody! :)

I will be on vacation from the 5th of November to the 17th of November, inclusive, and will have very limited access during this time (I'm going to Disneyworld). If I am in your game, please bot me. If you are in my game, please sit tight and we will resume on my return. I will try to get as much posting in as possible prior to this time, but we are still dealing with a death in the family.

Have a great time at Disneyworld, I know it is a difficult time for you and your family but I hope you enjoy yourself. It is definitely on the list of places that I want to visit with my family (we've been to Disneyland Paris a number of times)

Awesome, you and your family deserve some happy together time. Enjoy! I'll be here when you return, and will post soon for the current situation.

Thank you. My wife's aunt (the dearly deceased) was an amazing woman; artist, musician, soldier. She was 90 years old and it was just her time, I guess. The stressor is not so much her passing, but that my wife was one of the few people that she trusted with her affairs. Thus, she is the executrix of the estate. And the family members are closing in for their share.

I have two new players incoming and will introduce them when the moment presents itself. Until then, carry on! Welcome to nuworld and carkl3000!

Thanks! Excited to join in! I've been starved for some RPGs lately :-)

Welcome nuworld and carkl3000!

You may be interested in a couple of summaries of what has transpired since the beginning of this game.

We are currently exploring Zelligar's maze. On a first delve, the party had been searching for ways to lift a curse that had been cast upon an elf, who had been polymorphed into a cat (summary of that first delve). (here you can find all the discussion with the original group leading to us following this cat to Zelligar's maze). I had summarized our accomplishments during that first delve some time past.

After that first delve, we returned to the Keep to regroup (recruit new members), and had a series of exchanges with the newcomers that start here. The new party was persuaded to head back to Zelligar's maze, where we continued explorations :
- we explored the throne room, turning up very little in the way of loot; we did find a staircase leading downwards (which we did not immediately use), and a sort of temple/place of offering;
- we failed to find a path to the SW of the maze where we expected to find what we thought might be some kobolds the hill people we had previously fought had encountered;
- we found twin teleporting rooms;
- we were caught in a trap that had Caelymbor and Azyrus blocked behind a portcullis;
- we found a room with a well leading to the second floor, lowered our rogue to have a look, but decided to entre the lower level through the aforementioned staircase ;
- going down the staircase we found a large, unfinished room with large mushrooms and a door. Turnre out said door was a mimic. Thanks to some fast thinking — and sweet talking — by Leothorn, we avoided a fight, by handing over a lot of rations.
- we continued exploring downstairs, fought a spider, found a troglodyte corpse in a cocoon.
- we continued exploring and found an unfinished underground amphitheater, empty of foes or loot;
- as we headed back from that chamber to a tunnel that was partially blocked by a mid-height wall, we ran into a Gelatinous cube, which we've just dispatched after taking some hits.

And that more or less summarizes where we're at. Caelymbor 'the Wise' and Cormac are the only two 'original' members of the adventuring party. Leo, Azyrus and Vita are three adventurers who joined for the second delve.

Wow, matmaisan that is a heroic post! Thanks buddy!

Yeah! Great summary matmaisan! Thank you!

Should I post my character in the Character thread? Or just wait until introductions?

I don't know what you arranged with @WhKnt. But in case you don't mind presentingyour character, the Character thread is the place where you can do that. As to introductions, I think that depends on how the DM wants to handle those: he might go for a discrete switcharoo (you've been always along, just very quiet), or try to introduce your two characters in game, as prisoners, adventurers we encounter, etc.

I think in the interest of getting them in quickly, we are going to suspend disbelief and say that they have always been with the party, just very, very quiet. As you guys get your characters done, just go ahead and introduce them.

Thank you for the summary! I'll try to get a character finalized over the weekend.

welcome carkl3000 and nuworld!

Picking some spells. Wondering what ritual spells the party has covered already, (detect magic?, comprehend languages? Speak with animals?)

Cool. Thanks!

Welcome to the new players! And fantastic update post matmaisan.

Hey everyone, I am having a tough time staying engaged in this game, so I am going to officially bow out.

Thank you for your kindness and friendship. You are all amazing players, and I count you as friends.

Sorry to see you go, Hero. I was enjoying Azyrus’ company, but I understand that sometimes pacing makes it difficult to remain invested. I for sure haven’t been consistent with Caelymbor…

Hope to see you around!

Sorry to see you go Hero

Going to need an extra few days, folks. I came home from vacation into a wasps nest of stuff to do. I will update as soon as possible.

No worries here! Take whatever time you need.

I know the feeling! good luck on tackling those wasps.

Is there anything else you need from me before I get into the game?

No, feel free to jump right in.

Ok. I wasn't sure because it didn't look like you had accepted my character yet.

Oops! You're right! Fixed!

Who in the party is bringing the most damage with weapon attacks right now? Leo with his sneak attack? I want to give out a bardic inspiration.

Cormac, I think

It looks like it's pretty close between Cormac and Leo. Since Cormac already hit this round without the extra die, I'll leave the inspiration on Leo.

Thanks! I'll make sure to out it to good use.

whoops, I editted my post to roll that saving throw. ignore the attack roll!

We have captives now, right? I'm a little lost as to what our objectives are currently. Would an interrogation be worthwhile?

Absolutely. Our interrogation of a hillman captive proved quite useful, last time around. As fars as objectives go, we are basically dungeon-delving in search of fabulous wealth, artifacts and glory! Our original reason to come here — removing the curse from an elf that had been permanently transformed into a cat — has no further hold on us. This is, however, the maze built by Zelligar, an infamous mage that disappeared. We — and the hillmen, and the gnomes, and I suppose the Trogs too — are all looking for the fabled treasure of Zelligar and his allied champion, Rogahr. We've had four violent encounters so far (the aforementioned hillmen, a giant spider, a gelatinous cube, and now these trogs), and a couple of 'social' encounters (a trio of gnome explorers, and the Mimic we bribed with a lot of food, at the entrance of this second level).

Back in the Keep, they were also asking adventurers to handle some bandits in the countryside, led by a fellow called Figs (and Caelymbor seems to have a particular hatred, and fear, of such highwaymen, having been fleeced and nearly killed by such a band) and also to investigate a mysterious supply burglar, that has been skimming incoming shipments of goods...

So what we are doing and why is an open question for the party to sort out. Caelymbor and Cormac were interested in these ruins. But they have offered relatively little loot, or answers. The other 'open quests' would involve some more exploration and investigation since we have no idea where to find the bandits or the burglar. We were also told of trouble brewing with the lizardfolk in the marshes to the south of the keep. There was also talk of the Caves of Chaos, but no one knew where those were... oh, and also the fabled eater of men, about which I recalled nothing.

Is there anything in particular we know about Zelligar and/or his treasure? I mean, delving into some ancient maze is probably enough motivation for Ovesk, but if there are any details, they might be nice to have.

WhtKnt, should this be an in-character history/religion/something check?

You can make a History check if you wish.

Ugh my virtual dice hate me. Gonna have to jail some physical dice as a proxy :-D

LOL!

Just how I felt when I rolled damage for the Trog shaman’s spell: I never roll more than a third of max damage when my character is attacking, but as soon as I roll saves for enemies, or damage against my character, it’s always up there in the 3/4 range…

There will be a delay of game. I apologize to everyone, but this is unavoidable. We are putting an expansion onto our house and when they opened the wall, they found extensive (very extensive) termite damage. So In addition to the uncontrolled chaos of having my home torn apart and remodeled, I am dealing with a rather expensive termite treatment bill (and they just keep finding more). Finally, I have a convention coming up that I serve on staff for (running the entire game room and taking care of the website). This has left me frazzled and has overcome my depression meds to the point that I am on the edge of a razor over the abyss.

I am not shutting the game down, just letting you know that my posts will be even more sporadic for the next several weeks until we get this resolved (hopefully by the end of the month). I will try to update as often as I can, but please be understanding if there is a long delay.

Hey WhtKnt, sorry to hear things are tough at the moment. As far as I’m concerned, no worries. Take the time you need for the next weeks and come back when things have settled down on your end.

No worries WhtKnt, hope you get the house issues resolved and your convention goes well

Sorry to hear that whtknt, that sounds like a nightmare. Best of luck resolving this issue!

All good! Good luck with the house! I know they can be a pain.

I'll be here when the game continues.

Just dropping by to let you know I've had one of the busiest two weeks in recent memory, and could barely connect to GP. Covid again, absurd workload, kid at home, etc. Things are smoothing out now so I'll try to catch up on my IC posts soon. My apologies for holding back the game.

Hi everyone, I am having trouble getting back into this game after the long break, and this is being compounded with a suddenly hectic schedule. So, I'm going to bow out. Thanks everyone for playing with me, and special thanks to you Whtknt for running this game. Hope to play with you all again in the future!

Sorry to see you go, Len, but I understand completely. My apologies for the inordinately long break. That's on me.

Not at all, buddy. It's me that owes you the apology. I really appreciate your understanding.

Hi all, sorry but I am just too busy now to post regularly and so I am dropping out of the game. Thanks for running the game WhtKnt I have really enjoyed it/

With both Len and dankel out, I think that we've lost any forward propulsion we had, so I'm going to kill this one. I have enjoyed having everyone play and I hope that you enjoyed it. Thank you to those of you who stuck it out to the bitter end. I'll leave this open for a day or three before closing it.

I fully understand, WhtKnt. Thank you for pushing this game forward despite all its ups and downs. It was a thrill to run through this adventure again. Last time I played in it was in 1982. I was but a kid, and it was my first contact with DnD.

Really liked Caelymbor, I'm going to probably try to use him in some other game. Thanks again, WhtKnt.