OoC Chat

This is a place to chat "out of character." Feel free to post questions and comments to the group or specific players (including me), game related or otherwise.

Okay, I've set up the initial game post! Take a look and see what you'd like to do. The starting setup is that you are on a wide stone road with a suspicious roadblock ahead. You could take any number of actions. Stride up to the roadblock and demand passage? Scout out the roadblock by sneaking around or climbing up a tree? Retreat and try to go through the bog? Alpha strike the roadblock with magic and see what happens? Pray to your gods insight and protection? Or something else entirely?

Welcome to D&D!

So we didn't live in and around the town but quite distant from it?

The thread for the game is locked so I guess we are to discuss what to do here?

Have we heard why it's called the Howling Wood? (apart from that it makes a howling noise! - do we know what causes the noise?)

Oops! I unlocked it, my mistake.

Yes I decided to make us new arrivals in the town so you don't have to expect to know all the NPCs and history before hand. This way you can discover it. Sorry if I didn't make that clear from before.

Also, how far would we have to go back to retreat out of sight of the road block?

You can confirm Howling Wood is home to a fair bit of howling noises, especially at dusk. But you haven't seen any wolves or other creatures that might be responsible for the noises yet. You might have heard rumours of Shanka on your journey here.

You're coming around a bend in the road, so it wouldn't take much distance to back up out of sight.

Hi Len. I'm unable to see other players' character sheets when I look up the game. You were saying we would be able to view those.

I guess people haven't clicked the 'add to library' (looks like a book) button yet, Astroloma!

I am also unable to see sheets from the game tab, but if i click at the avatar when posted in character it works.

Edit: on another note, what is the weather like and what season we start in?

Ah, that does it.

Good question Pitrio. It is the tail end of summer. Because we are fairly far north, it is starting to get cold at nights but warm and dry during most days. Today the sky is clear, the sun is hot, but the shade from the trees keeps it quite comfortable.

Hey everyone, here is a great YouTube channel with short videos about the basics of the game!

Ohh nice thanks!

Can i see the others of my party and can they see me? For example can i wave for them to come along?

Is Alfrey wearing heavy armor by default when on the road?

Len, you seem to be jumping ahead. I intended for my character and the party to follow fairly closely behind Kaa (at least if Alfrey agreed) but I was conscious that we couldn't all be posting at the same time or, necessarily, more than once a day and so I didn't want Callan to be left out of it. I don't want a few players to dominate the adventure because they are able to post more often and I want people to have their say before moving forward. (Note that I'm quite happy for Kaa to rush into action because that's what he is like - that's different from me assuming what other players will choose.) Once we decided what we were doing, let's say it's moving into the forest, then I would say, for example, that I would study it as we went to learn what I could about it. But if I say that before others have participated then they might feel that the decision has already been made and they had no say.

Or would this make the game too slow? Should we say what we would do if this or that happens?

I think Astrolama is right to take note of that. At least while i enjoy Len's post and the sneaky success, it's better if everyone can react and have similar input to the flow of events. It's also a note to myself, like maybe i shouldn't post again until the others players can read and and react. Although if everyone can have input before i do so i think it will work out fine for this situation. Also I'm okay with slower game and more questions if that makes the roleplaying better for everyone (i know i am leaning that way tho, when i roleplayed in the past my group was always slowpoke with plot progress).

I’m also curious what the pace and rhythm of playing by post will be like. I imagine it may be the sort of thing we just have to get a feel for as the game progresses. Ultimately, I think we have to be okay with Len sometimes taking charge and moving the action along.

I would assume I’m wearing my armor by default. I mean, I’m supposed to have it, and it wouldn’t make much sense to be carrying it around and not wearing it, right? :)

Another unrelated question: when we post as a character, should we be writing in first person or third when we narrate our actions? Or does it not matter?

The other thing is, different people will be more able to contribute at different times and maybe that's not a bad thing. I don't know.

These are all great questions. And I appreciate the communication - nothing is more important in a pbp game!

Pacing is probably one of the biggest challenges in PbP. I am wary of going too slow because that is often the death of pbp games. You might laugh, but imagine if it was now March and we were still trying to decide what to do about this fallen log. I'm in a game right now (as a player) where that kind of thing is happening!

In general, I will wait for an opportunity for group consensus when major decisions are at stake. Kaa's action moved the story forward and gave new information to help the group make a better plan, so I responded to it without waiting for others. But I am definitely waiting until everyone has had their say before we decide how to deal with the situation. Like if Kaa now said "Okay I charge at them with my greataxe" I would not resolve his action until I checked to see what other people were doing and give them a chance to talk him out of it, or join in.

Let's proceed with these things in mind. Don't worry, I won't let any one player overpost or rush headlong into action and dictate the flow of events. I think that as things move forward you will see this, and hopefully I will earn everyone's trust.

Callan, yes we will assume everyone is geared up and wearing armor. As a rule, I will consider your characters competent adventurers and assume they've made smart choices. There won't be a situation where I'm like "Ha! You forgot to say you put on your armour!" No 'gotcha' moments in general. There are some DMs in the world like that, I know, so it is probably good to ask about that. Sound good?

First person or third person is fine, whatever you are comfortable with. Third person is the most common.

Hey folks, I'd you'd like to see an example of what a pbp game looks like, this is a log I created of a chapter from a Gamers Plane game from a couple years ago. It might help you to know what to expect.

Good to know 😁

The bits about pacing seem fair and agreeable too.

Yes, seems good.

Woah, you guys are crushing it with some great inter-character roleplay! What a treat to wake up and read.

Looks like we have two ideas: ambush and capture the bandits, or circumvent them through the woods entirely. I'll stand by until you've made your call. You are also welcome to discuss the plan out of character - sometimes as a player your thoughts are different than your character's :)

Jusika - let's treat your roll of 2 for stealth as you being interrupted by the party to continue discussing the plan. I can just see headstrong Euphoria about to head into the brush when others are like "hey, hold one a second!" If we decide to do some stealthy moving you can roll again.

Keep up the good work everyone!

It seems to me 2 characters are for the fight and 2 others aren't.
When we see Mike's post, Hilmar would have the final decision. So I say we stick with what he decides to move the story forward, I don't care either way!
It's good fun so far, I like everyone's characters!
And I wanna thank Len especially for you being such a sweetheart! I'm glad my first D&D experience is so good!
Excited to see what's next!

Yes, we have a strong and diverse group of characters.

Given our characters' inclinations I'm pretty sure this dispute will come up again in other scenarios.

Aww, thanks! And hey, nice work on seeking out help on the discord channel for working on your character!

Hey folks, just so you know you can declare your attacks to be 'nonlethal' which means you're going for the knockout rather than the killing blow. Nothing changes, except if your blow lands and lowers them to 0hp, they go unconscious instead of dead.

Normally you can only do this on a melee attack, not a spell or ranged attack. We could house-rule it that any attack can be nonlethal to make it easier for characters with a more peaceful ethos. What do people think about that?

Some DM feedback: The sleep plan is a solid one. Good chance of taking out around 1-3 right at the start of the fight without harming a hair on their head. The spell has a range of 90 feet and Hilmar can choose the point behind the log without even seeing it.

Firing arrows and slinging spells through the brush is harder than if you have a clear shot. Engaging from the bushes will increase the target's AC by +2, and yours will be similarly increased as well, to account for cover.

As the lawful-good boy scout of the group, I would rather not alter the rules to make non-lethal damage easier. I like the idea that we would need to be more creative and use different strategies to capture rather than kill our enemies.

But if we do want to make the game less deadly for NPCs, another option would be to give them saving throws against death, like PCs have, so we'd have a chance to heal them after they're defeated. I prefer this option since it feels fair, and it's more dramatic -- they could still die on a bad roll. But then it would be more stuff for Len to keep track of if we did that every time.

I agree with that

Yep using sleep sounds like a nice plan, and Kaa's attitude towards the discussion doesn't mean mine also :)) and yes we have a quite nice group of characters.

I also agree with not making non-lethal damage easier. I think that would make the conviction of a pacifist less meaningful, while making everyone else seem worse for not prefering it.

Death saves for npc-s might make things more interesting, but indeed it is more to keep tally of for Len. Or instead of repetead rolls for them just a single one when they reach 0 for dead/K.O./crippled/dying/smt? Although this also depends if as a group we are looking for a grittier game or a more straightforward one (where its clear and simple when we want to spare someone and when we don't)?

This also made me think of giving Kaa some randomness of lethality, maybe unless he is specificely looking out to capture someone. Something simple, like if his attack roll is even then it's lethal, and when the roll is odd it's non-lethal? I am really not sure yet tho...

I see Naeris and Hilmar both rolled 8 for the stealth roll, however, I think we had to get above 7 so should be OK.

Also working on a late shift tomorrow so may be delayed with my next post - sorry - I can see we're reaching a really exciting part quickly.

I hear you all loud and clear with regards to sticking to the standard lethality rules. Done! If you want to alter your character to make sure you have a melee weapon for bonking NPCs unconscious, feel free to adjust. Or you can just buy one when we get to Hope.

I generally give death saving throws to important NPCs but I don't mind giving it to all NPCs that are morally questionable to kill outright (like humans). I won't bother for creatures that you are clearly trying to destroy like zombies.

Pitrio, I'll leave it to you to decide if you want to create a unique mechanic for deciding the lethality of your character's strikes. Some older RPG systems used this kind of mechanic to simulate the chaos of combat, you might find inspiration from them.

Sounds good, Len :)

Hey Pitrio, I'm loving the new character art, by the way! Is that the one you drew? I'd sure like to see the full-res version.

Hey thank you! :)

Yep, that is the one I drew. I put a link to the full one at the bottom of his sheet.

That's awesome Pitrio!!!

Sorry I didn't get a chance to post everyone. Will post first thing tomorrow morning! Need to get a couple of things ready for our first fight!

Okay folks, our first battle is upon us! Here is a great video to explain the basics! Let me know if you have questions :)

callan, you did great with your guidance and disadvantage to do it in 3 lines of rolls. If you want to do it all on one line, you can separate dice rolls with commas like this:

1d20-1, 1d20-1, 1d4

Also, no worries about failing the roll. Failure makes the game more interesting! Maybe your God wanted it this way for mysterious reason :)

About the battle map, it doesn't quite match the description from the story, but it is pretty! It was the best I could find, so please forgive the slight discrepancies (like that tree should be way thicker than 5 feet, but oh well).

Like the map and I note the point about the tree etc. I found the video helpful, but will need to watch this again.

Should I roll initiative first, and then think about what I want to do? I mean, my actions would probably depend on what happens.

UPD: I did just that.

Either way is fine :)

Question. Did I or did I not succeed in climbing up the rock?
Does it require both acrobatics and athletics check, or just any one of the two?

You succeeded at climbing the rock. I just used your d20 original roll of 15 and added your athletics skill instead of acrobatics, which is more than enough to climb the rock :) the second roll wasn't necessary.

But can she attack, move and climb in the same round?

Yes she can! Mechanically climbing is part of the movement aspect of the turn and part of the 6 squares she can move. In this case there was a skill roll required because of the challenge of moving through that terrain. It also cost 2 squares of movement rather than 1.

Okay, next up is Naeris! Go for it Astroloma!

Wait but they did? Naeris already attacked, she was the first one in fact!

A couple of notes on first round of combat:

Jusika, I forgot that because you're attacking from a hidden spot, you get to add your sneak attack die to your damage roll. I rolled 1d6 for you and got a 3, to give you first attack a total damage of 6! Nice move!

Callan, let's assume your shield was already on. We can describe what Alfrey did as taking the Dodge Action, which means all attacks against him this round are at disadvantage (you roll two d20s and take the lower result). Good idea!

Pitrio, good tactics but there is no more delaying your turn in 5e. The only way to postpone your action is to ready an action and wait for the specified trigger. Using this action burns your reaction, but does not change initiative as in previous editions. There is actually no way to jump around the initiative order (temporarily or permanently) at all at this time in 5e. Here is a description of the ready action.

We can basically simulate what you're trying to do with "readying" a javelin throw, and like you say we will trigger it after Halimar's spell goes off. Sound good?

Thanks for the reminder, Jusika!

Ah, I was thinking that Alfrey had just cast a spell which would have required a free hand and therefore no shield. But I guess we could say that he got out the shield between then and the moment he was seen.

Callan, what do you think about this: we can say Alfrey's holy symbol is emblazoned on his shield so you can use it as your holy symbol, if you don't mind that aesthetic. You will still need a free hand to cast spells with Somatic components (hand gestures) but it is much easier to use your weapon hand for this than your shield hand. Weapons can be drawn with a free action where as shields take an action, like you pointed out.

Okay, the bandits went down without much of a fight! Good use of spells and tactics everyone! Even if the rolls didn't go your way this time, you all finished a battle with no injuries and only one spell slot used up - that's fantastic!

There's a dying bandit though. Do you want to save him?

I think I’d prefer to keep the holy symbol as an amulet. I’d rather not be tied to a shield, in case I want to change up my armaments at some point. Plus, I already drew it that way — haha

But using the weapon hand for spellcasting is a good tip — thank you!

So we're saying that the bandits are tied up now? (Edit - this question was answered)

Yes, I'd be keen for someone with the appropriate spell to save the bandit.

I don't know much about Elves in D&D. I got the player's handbook recently, so I should probably have a look at that.

I'm not only talking DnD elves. Blood elves in WoW are my favorites. My god, those eyebrows!

UPD: Also, since you're a ranger. You can pick half of your ammunition up after the fight. Works for every ranged weapon. Since your arrow missed you probably could try and find it.

Amulet is great, and I respect your commitment to your character's style! by the way, you can switch between the amulet and mace (or another weapon) once in turn.

I picked a homebrew setting so people didn't feel like they have to learn a lot of history or lore before they start playing. But if you want to bring in interesting parts of the lore you read, that's great! Your woodsy wood elf portrayal is awesome so far and I'm sure the dice gods will forgive you for whatever sin you committed in a past life eventually 😂

Question - did I get it right that I can get some information on bandits by using perception? I'm still oblivious to some of the rules to be honest. The handbook is massive. x)

Aaa okay! My bad then, but sure using ready action works to the same effect here as what i described, so perfect!

It depends on how the DM wants to run it, but in my experience, the way it works is that you tell the DM where you’re looking and he’ll tell you what you see. If some of the relevant information is hidden or otherwise hard to notice, he may ask you to roll perception. But sometimes there just aren't any secrets to uncover, so a roll isn't needed.

What should we do with the loot? Is any of it useful?

We should probably question our captives first but, if the gear isn't useful to us, someone defending the town will want it.

If anyone wants the items you're welcome to them. Probably of most unique are the black cloaks. They appear to be a kind of uniform for this bandit outfit. And as Astroloma says, you are sure to find people who will appreciate them.

We should probably gather some more information and get going. I'd like to ask them about who they really are with those uniforms, but I think I made enough posts for now and I wanna watch your characters do stuff :>

Yeah that is a tricky part of play by post! Sometimes you post too much and others feel drowned out. But sometimes people are silent because they're ready to move on and are wondering why you aren't asking your questions faster 😂. As long as everyone has patience with each other and communicates openly, we'll figure out a way! And people have been doing exactly that.

If it still seems like there is more to say by Monday, I will start up a new game thread for our arrival in Hope that we run in parallel to the end of the current game thread. That way we can move the game forward and without steamrolling over some players' interest in the current scene. It requires players to be comfortable with a little wobbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff in the narrative, but makes things smoother.

You can have advantage on that intimidation roll btw Jusika. Go ahead and roll another d20 and take the higher result. After all, he just got his ass handed to him in a blink of an eye!

I say go for it! This seems like the kind of situation where one character can more-or-less speak for the group, since we're likely to all have the same questions. I can have Alfrey butt in if it seems like another voice is needed — although he is a low-charisma character, so it might make sense to role-play him as slightly standoffish.

You guys (including Len) should tell me if I post too much, I try to moderate it a bit, but it's just that I have a buttload of time and I'm still very excited and enthusiastic. I'm even considering trying DnD in live format over discord some time, maybe, probably. If I manage to find a party I'd fit in. x)
Is that how rolling with advantage works? I didn't really explore it myself yet.

UPD:
I did add the 1d20+3 roll. But for the record I don't mind my character failing at things she attempts, I'm looking forward to being punished by bad roll curse in fact!

Well it's just I love to observe your characters, besides I feel like my phrase is finished and it would feel awkward to continue asking questions. Also I have no ideas besides asking who they are and why the uniforms. Someone could inquire about the town, the vendors there, major forces, stuff like that. Maybe it fits other characters better, some who are more tactical and thoughtful. There's Hilmar who could ask about, say, whatever information bookworms are typically interested in.

Yep that's how advantage works. Disadvantage is similar but you take the lower result. I think you're fine for now 😃

Also, feel free to correct me when my grammar's off, and the phrasing in general. English is my second language (should be obvious at this point), and it would really help me a great deal. I do feel rather nervous when I don't notice my mistakes because I know for a fact they are there.

Yep, those are basically the questions :) Once they answer that, other things might occur to us, or we might just move on.
I honestly haven't noticed any mistakes — and I do usually notice stuff like that. I definitely wouldn't have guessed you're not a native speaker.

Yep, I would never have guessed you weren't a native English speaker

Me neither - I wouldn't have guessed that English is not your first language.

We don't know where the adventure is going to take us, but you never know - four Night Blades' 'uniforms' might come in useful later ;) .

Good point.

Thank you for your kind words, I guess I passed some sort of a Turing test! ^v^
Now I get to feel nervous because now you know and will be paying attention! Yaay! God I hate my brain sometimes xD

Haha, anxiety sucks. But rest easy knowing I make tons of mistakes too. As a DM you don't see my edit count but I've editted some posts like 10 times haha. Nobody expects perfection or even wants it. We love you for your great RP ideas and deadly sneak attacks!

Hey folks! I've started a thread for chapter 2 as we bring in the bandits to town. Chapter 1 is still open - I wasn't sure if people were quite done asking questions, but some people are trailing off waiting for the story to move forward. Feel free to keep posting in Chapter 1 if you weren't quite finished with the scene! And if you were, feel free to post in Chapter 2. Or post in both!

It might feel a bit strange to start writing chapter 2 before we've finished chapter 1 but I think this will help keep everyone engaged without closing the door on anyone's actions. We'll have to deal with a little bit of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff as we write the past and the future at the same time, but it shouldn't be much of a problem.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Quick question: What are these spoiler things? Whenever I press them nothing happens. Am I doing something wrong?

Weird! When you click on them they should expand. What browser are you using? I can unspoiled them, it's just a nice way to hide images away from making the post super tall.

I use chrome. Weirdly enough chrome on Android works just fine and I can see those pictures. ._.

Does anyone else use Chrome on PC? Maybe one of my extensions is breaking the spoiler feature...

Also, what's our plan in Hope? Any ideas? What should we say about ourselves?

I am using Chrome also but I have no problem neither on pc nor on mobile.

Uhh sorry I just posted before reading this one, but I will edit it if we decide on something else meanwhile.

Also the pictures are nice! I like that there's a hotspring too.

One's brain can often overthink things, don't worry indeed ^^ I can be rather unattentive so I am sure I will lead the board for typos and grammar mistakes.

Edit: and funnily enough it seems Mike was also writing while I was. I guess it makes more sense if Kaa says what he does after Hilmar speaks, just without naming himself again?

No worries - I have just incorporated comments Kaa made into Hilmar's response. Hope it makes sense :)

Haha, the joys of asynchronous posting! Yeah, we all just have to be a little flexible as we dance blindfolded and step on each others' posts sometimes.

>The young woman looks like she's never done a day of hard labour in her life.

We probably should've asked who the woman is, is she a bandit too?
I mean pretty hands don't mean she is not, it's just I feel there might be more to it.

She fired a crossbow bolt at you and wore the bandit uniform, so presumably she is every bit a bandit as the others. But she might have a different story.

Yeah, I got the feeling that something might be up with her as well. I'll talk to her.

I know, right? I've gotten into the habit of, right before hitting "post", copying what I've written and refreshing the page to check for last-minute updates and only then pasting it back in and posting. It seems to work alright XD

I've amended my post in chapter 2 with information the party learned from the prisoners on the way into town, which I've added to Hilmar's now rather lengthy answer to the sheriff.

I do the same.

Thanks for making that work. Part 1 is pretty much resolved to my satisfaction now.

Question - are we free to explore the town solo, or you want us to stay together?

Sorry I missed posting yesterday everyone! Getting things back on track now :)

Jusika, you are welcome to explore the town separately. Might have to get people to wrap things up so that we don't spiral out of control with some people posting a lot and others waiting for the scene to move on. But we'll chart that corse together!

When one explores solo, should they post the usual way or use the "sent note" feature? I mean, If I wander away, the party wouldn't know what I'm doing, would they? But mostly my concern is it would probably be a mess to read if we all were exploring separately.

Yeah, don't worry about notes, and feel free to read about other player's separate explorations. Just have to keep your player knowledge separate from your character's knowledge.

It's about lunch time. I'd like to see if we can sell the crossbows (and any ammunition), scimitars and leather armour that we took from the prisoners. (But keep the masks and cloaks - we might be able to make use of them later.) We could then split the proceeds between us. That will enable us to pay for food and drink and possibly any further equipment we might want. We could explore the town/village once we've sold the gear.

Greyhorn Outfitters will pay 50% for used gear:

4x scimitar @ 12.5 = 50gp
4x leather armor @ 5gp = 20gp
4x light crossbow @ 12.5gp = 50gp
20x crossbow bolts & cases = 6gp
Total: 126gp or 21gp per character

So essentially we got more money out of robbing the bandits than the reward xD

Loot is like tipping for adventurers. You get paid a bad wage but the extra perks allow you to make ends meet :D

The local government is pretty cash-strapped. But Greyhorn Outfitters not so much it seems!

Of course, the farmhouse value might go substantially above 60gp if the town's fortunes turn around.

We could all take a rest, get magic items, and go sell/buy stuff together in one or two posts If we all agree on the course of action. Would save a lot of time. Or we could trade first and go take a rest all in one post and then roleplay taking a rest, that's even better.
Stonks! You guys wanna buy the farmhouse and rest there?

The house is the better option objectively. My character doesn't see that but at the same time, she'll go along with either option because the decision isn't very relevant to her.

The farmhouse is definitely an intriguing option. I like the idea of having a sort of "home base" for the party.

Same, Kaa would not see the long term advantage of having a house, either as base or investment or both, but would go along if the rest thinks its the better idea. On the other hand he would insist that he rests in the inn with the hot spring, he has an obsession with that. Plus there he can make use of his background feature.

Len - I was planning for my character to wander the fields during the night to be alone and in nature while the others slept or had a night out. I don't see that as dangerous or leading to adventure but maybe I'm wrong. Also, how does the trance work? Does she still walk around or lie down - not that it matters.

In case anyone hasn't found it yet, there's a red toolbar at the bottom of the screen with a link to character sheets.

So the way that works is Elves need to spend 4 hours in a trance, which typically is portrayed as a zen-style meditation. You can define how that looks for Naeris though. And then a long rest requires 8 hours for all characters including elves, but elves can spend the difference doing light activity. I think prowling about in nature is a great way to portray that. It probably won't lead to unique scenes because that would complicate the pacing of the adventure but you never know, it might dig up a plot hook or two!

Sounds marvellous.

The farmhouse sounds a good idea. It isn't anything Hilmar would have thought of doing but balanced against the alternative of just 60gp split between us amounting to just 12gp each it seems a 'no brainer'. It would save on money we would have to pay out for staying in an inn all the time - although Hilmar likes the idea of staying in the inn for one night and making use of the hot spring. However, he would like to look at the place first and check that it is habitable. He would also like to know if there are any liabilities, such as having to pay taxes etc - which might make the option less viable.

He would like to sell the gear, have lunch and then see about looking over the farmhouse. Then they could see the sheriff afterwards, with a view to confirming if they want the farmhouse or the 60gp and about helping deal with the bandit problem.

You will find the hot spring is open to the public without needing to be renting a room

Great - I've just amended Hilmar's last post in chapter 2 accordingly.

Thanks for waiting for me to move forward. Feel free to hang out and interact more at Greyhorn's or the Summerspring Inn. You don't necessarily have to roleplay out simple shopping, but feel free to do so if you like.

I wanted to ask what's in stock in the shop, but I take it you can buy any item listed in the handbook? And the price is the one listed in the handbook too?

Yep, Greyhorn's carries the phb equipment list at the listed prices, which are consider fair prices.

Feel free to deduct the prices for rope and other gear you wish to purchase and add those items to your character sheet! I'm mostly hands-off on character sheets and just trust players to update them regularly. Please let me know if you have questions about it though.

I have updated Hilmar's character sheet. I like the idea of having a scabbard for his wand suspended from his belt, as with his dagger. I improvised (not in Player's Handbook) and put this at 1gp.
I take it that pencils don't exist so thought charcoal would be OK. It is not in the Player's Handbook but I note that chalk costs 1cp so thought this similar.
Hope this is OK.

Sounds great Mike. I too like a wand "holster" on my magic characters, and those prices seem fine.

I was wondering about the provisions we presumably ate on our journey of several weeks to Hope.

Indeed, everyone seemed to get by without needing to use their rations. Likely Naeris had some excellent hunting along the way, maybe aided by othera and with Bahamut's favor shining on them!

Lots of great posts today folks! I missed a couple of things but I've backtracked and got most of it now 😁

Let me know if I missed any questions, in character or out of character.

I got a question. Do I understand it correctly - I get +2 to my damage rolls on all finesse-based weapons (rapier, whip, daggers), but I don't get a bonus on shortbow because it isn't finesse-based? I ask this because updating my character sheet I found that my shortbow damage roll had +2 in it for some reason and I did use this modifier when I shot the bandit in the previous chapter.

Also it seems I forgot to add starting wealth of my class ._. The 4d4 x 10 gp for rogues? I only had 15gp in a pouch for starting as a charlatan. So this probably means if my rolls are decent (assuming I got it right and I actually should get those coins in the first place) I should be able to afford a horse! :>

Rogues are proficient with all "simple weapons" in addition to hand crossbows, longswords, rapiers, shortswords. Simple weapons include shortbows, so you get the +2 damage when using them.

There are two ways to determine equipment - either roll for gold or taking the listed starting equipment for the class. You don't get both. I chose to do starting equipment to keep things simple.

Buying a horse is definitely a great goal, and you aren't far from it! Butterscotch is a friendly boi.

Oh, so that's how it works! Thank you!

I also have another problem. My items weigh about 140 pounds, while my maximum is 120 (8x15). A weight of 80 lb should make me over-encumbered, and a weight of over 40 should make me encumbered. So to have no debuffs I need to carry less than 40 lb. Right?
Also, what should one do, if they can't fit all the stuff they have into their backpack, that has a volume of only 30lb? Aside from strapping things like a rope to it.

There's no way an arrow weighs 1 pound - that's half a kilogram. Also, seems odd that clothing you are wearing would count towards that total.

Maybe leave the bottles of coloured liquid at your lodgings?

I'm not sure those bottles weigh 1lb each too, it's just a guess.

Oh, way back at the beginning of the game I said not to worry about encumbrance. If your load seems reasonable, then I'd rather not worry new players about this. Many DMs don't worry about it even with veteran players too, because they find it tedious. They want to get into the story and not be interrupted with accounting.

If you like the idea of it mattering, then if end up taking the house you can stash some things in your room and just take the loadout that matters for the current job. Some people like the realism of it, other people feel it makes the strength attribute's relative importance line up better with the other attributes.

The Simulation vs. Story debate is definitely common in TTRPGs!

Is anyone else at the inn that we can see?

Nope, it is empty. 100% vacancies.

Hey everyone, happy Monday! I'm looking forward to a great week of gaming with you!

To recap what's happened lately:

* Sheriff Ruth Willowmane offered the group a house in exchange for bringing the bandits / wayward citizens back alive! Waiting for inspection, but there's no hurry.
* Naeris discovered a mysterious tunnel beneath the drained hot spring! This is one of many possible adventure locations that are buried throughout the adventure. You can take it or leave it, possibly come back later for it, your call!
* Various interesting facts about the town have been discovered by chatting with the locals.
* The hot springs are magical and have healing properties! They restore 1d6 hp and have mental health benefits (bathers have advantage on saving throws against charm effects, also possibly useful for clearing minds!).

I hope everyone is enjoying the roleplaying and exploration of the town. We've been at this for just under a month now. What do you think so far? Is there anything we or I can do to better improve your experience?

I've been looking forward to the opportunity to say how much I like your guys' characters and enjoy this game! A methodical mage, a quiet, self-reliant and introverted ranger, a compassionate dragon-god cleric and a very bright and cheering barbarian. What's not to love here? :>
Also Len, I feel you're doing a very good job as a DM and you're being very helpful and patient with us.
As to improving the experience. I, being a huge fan of Dark Souls, love challenging encounters. So I would love to see some hardcore combat where we'd need to get creative rather than counting on brute force and days of healing afterward.
Of course, I presume the fight with the bandits was basically a tutorial, and I don't know what you have planned but I would enjoy my character being punched in her annoying smiling tiefling face and maybe even dying somewhere closer to the end of the campaign.
Or dying like an idiot trying to seduce a dragon or something. That's how people play DnD right? ;D

So basically I'm happy with the campaign, I enjoy the roleplay and am looking forward to seeing and experiencing more of it! Continue being awesome everyone!Also this spoiler doesn't work for some reason.

Haha, yes I agree, everyone's characters are magnificent!

Challenging combats are definitely a possibility in this game, if you choose that approach. You're right, that first one was a little too easy, haha, but it fit the story. The real Night Blades will certainly be a bit tougher, not to mention whatever else you find. Just like in Dark Souls, this game will reward creative thinking and planning, which is hopefully what people got out of the first encounter. Had the party just walked up to the big log, you guys might have been the ones surprised and it would have gone a lot worse.

Thanks for comment!

also - BUNNY! :D

I'm enjoying the roleplay side of it also, with the quest/mystery and adventures to feed it. For that reason I'm happy with the pacing though, inevitably, some people will have more time for posting than others and will feel a little frustrated that the story has stalled at some point. It is important that we all have some kind of input in a scene because what we do is influenced by what everyone else does so we can't rush ahead too much but we can pre-empt a bit - that seems to work okay, if not perfectly.

Our DM is being super friendly to our characters and I would be quite happy for things to go wrong more often but I guess there's plenty of time for that.

Jusika - add to your list a playful and charismatic tiefling rogue!

And thanks Len for all the work you've put into this and for taking on board a bunch of new players. We've been loading you up with questions both in and out of character so thanks for following up on those.

Jusika - Is that the same rabbit as the profile image? It looks a different colour.

Like the picture of the cute bunny :)

This campaign has been excellent so far - I've enjoyed it immensely. This has been a good adventure and Len is doing a great job as DM - helpful and patient with a group of newcomers to the rules. The action has not stagnated from our lack of experience with AD&D5e or PbP. The role playing has been very good with personality characteristics developing. I enjoy the posts.

I am sure there will be challenging times ahead. The fight with the bandits went well, but as Len says had we just strode up to the huge log things would have gone a lot worse.

In role playing games I enjoy 'being in a book'. I like there to be a plot where the adventure and the actions of the party are part of a story (or stories) which lead on to developments in the narrative. I also like the idea of some of the party's actions having an effect on the world and being a part of the development in the story/stories. This campaign ticks that box for me.

I look forward to continuing the campaign with you all.

Awww!~
Nope, I don't have any pets, these are just random photos I found. :>
Can't resist a cute bunny pic :3
Oh so it is AD&D? I've seen the term but I don't know what it means. Just how advanced it is and how do you distinguish them?

Yeah, I have to echo everyone else’s thoughts. When I read your posts, I can feel the enthusiasm for the game and the creative energy you guys are putting in. That has really been the magic that is making the experience work for me.

I’m also looking forward to more interesting challenges — be they combat encounters or mysteries to solve or any other weird problem that might come our way. Creative problem-solving was always what I found most fun about RPGs.

And I really appreciate Len’s positivity and the work that must be going on behind the scenes. Probably the perfect person to run a beginner’s game :)

I believe the terminology comes from way back in the day when D&D had two versions running simultaneously — Advanced D&D and Basic D&D. If I recall correctly, one of the reasons for the split was the original two co-creators of the game — Gygax and Arneson — had a falling out, and Gygax wanted to sell a game that Arneson wouldn’t be able to claim royalties from, so AD&D was created. The two games were different, but not that different. I think there was a whole legal battle and everything. Anyway, after the original publisher was bought out and a new company started developing the game, they dropped the concept of the basic/advanced split.

Ooo nice, a recap, how thoughtful :o
I really thought the bunny is yours haha, it is cute nevertheless! :)

I can echo everyone else's thought as well, I am happy and satisfied with you as GM, the game, and my co-players and the characters :)) I am curious how future events and interactions will go, and what challanges will make is stumble.

Thanks for all the nice words, I'm glad everyone is enjoying the game!

I'm fighting for enough consecutive minutes to update the game but it might not be until tomorrow morning. Thanks for your patience :)

Don’t stress, Len. Actually a post like that really helps. I’m quite happy to wait several days if someone’s unable to post for a bit but knowing what to expect makes all the difference.

Yeah, PbP is all about communication! I'm REALLY happy with how naturally everyone has excelled at this, and pretty much every other aspect of PbP thus far!

I've opened up a new thread - Chapter 3 - for starting on the next day! Feel free to wrap up your current roleplaying in town in Chapter 2 at the same time as discussing your plans in Chapter 3. I still have a couple things to respond to in Chapter 2 (like Astroloma asked a question about waterways around town and and such).

Someone should probably make a very short post stating that you guys (Hilmar and Kaa) have told everyone all you have found out about the hand and everything. Because you probably would not want to repeat all of it again xD

Haha, yes, that is a good call Jusika :)

Wow, there has been this really lovely shift in the game where people are starting to roleplay with each other more and more! This is a testament to your skill as players and storytellers, and friendliness as humans.

Good point - I have adjusted Hilmar's post accordingly.

Wow - pleased we can level up already :) - see my questions in the Character Creation thread.

If sentient people are animals too in this sense, what would non-animal urine be? 🤔

That was fast indeed, but i think reaching level 2-3 is supposed to be fast as by then the basic character concepts flesh out (like our wizard gets to choose school), and it gets slower afterwards.

I am working another late shift tonight, followed by an earlier one the next day so my posts might be a bit erratic over the next two days.

Touche! 🤣
Yes, this is the norm. Every table is different though, so for future games it might be one of those things you ask your DM at the beginning so you know what to expect.

Looks like the action is pointed at the Lonely Tower so I've updated "Working Title" to be Lonely Tower. Sounds like the plan is to hike out there and then, once you're in sight, send some stealthy scouts to reconnoiter the location, then reassess. Great plan!

I think we're almost good to go. If anyone wants to write the post that pushes us out the door, feel free! We can always retcon questions or in-town actions if we rushed anyone.

Hey, one more thing - there is a mechanic in D&D called "Inpsiration." You gain Inspiration when you roleplay your character true to the personality that you described on your character sheet. In PbP I let players cash in their inspiration as a reroll on any d20 roll - a skill check, an attack, a saving throw, even when you roll initiative!

You have all done a tremendous job of roleplaying, so you've all earned "inspiration!" Remember that I can't give it to you again until you use it up, so don't hang on to it for too long 🤣

Aaa god to know! Push done also.

I always forget about mechanics like inspiration! Thank you, and for remembering it! 😅

I'm pretty terrible at remembering too :D Feel free to remind me by giving fellow players shoutouts for great posts in this channel!

Sometimes i feel my posts are lazy too - or just uninspired. And sometimes I feel like it's just me talking and posing as my character. Sometimes it's easier to roll play than other times.

True. It's just I typically try to include some descriptions, character actions for flavor. Also, makes me learn a lot of new stuff. I have read quite a lot of archery articles for my other game. And now I kind of want to get into it IRL lol, maybe someday I will. I'm not much of a sportsperson, but it seems fun and a good reason to be outside more.
I also am working on a list of descriptions for roleplay. It's basically the same thing I tend to use here. I think of it as "idle animations" in video games - things your character does while you aren't doing anything. So I want to compile a list of filler things to use for each character archetype. i.e. someone who is very dexterous might enjoy fiddling with a coin in their hands, someone with a bow could be described doing some weapon maintenance stuff. Sometimes I just describe their boot stepping in the mud if I run out of ways to avoid repeating their name/race/class as in "this character said". xD I think that would help me roleplay in voice chat someday. I'm really anxious about not performing well enough in my roleplay in a live format, I'm also really shy, and I often feel lost in big groups of people, so I really need to be thoroughly prepared to have the courage to join such a party. :>


Oh the irony of it, I was feeling lazy to make a quality post, and yet here I am a couple of hours later writing all of this xD

Also, I never have thought of your posts as lazy, but rather fitting for an introverted elven archer!

It's okay if you don't have something particularly exciting to say or anything unique to roleplay. You are welcome to just summarize your actions as you have from time to time. This isn't lazy, this just moves the story past the slow bits and gets us to the action! As Jusika says, I never find your posts lazy :)

Okay folks, I sensed we were ready to move on to the Lonely Tower! If you had any last questions don't hesitate to post them.

It's easy to play an introverted character because that's me. My character is strongly autobiographical. I'm kind of embracing that this first time but hopefully then I can leave that idea behind and try something different. The character isn't entirely autobiographical, though, and, when I'm tired, I have to remind myself of the fact.

I am working late shifts, so my posts might be a bit erratic over the next four days.

Autobiographical characters can be a blast to play! And sometimes really cathartic.

I remember a story about a veteran who had lost his legs to an IED in Afghanistan and learned to play D&D as part of his rehab. Every character he played was just himself, but teleported to a D&D fantasy world where he got his legs magically regrown and continued fight against evil in that place. So cool!

When I joined GP one of my first characters was a barbarian with anger management issues. It was really cathartic for myself to roleplay overcoming these issues and mastering the emotions rather than being a slave to them.

Regardless of your reasons, Naeris is awesome and we love her. Introverts unite!

I've had similar thoughts, actually. I've discovered during this game that I can more easily get into the swing of speaking as my character in a PbP game than I was ever able to in a live setting. That said, Alfrey's voice isn't too terribly far from mine. I think in the next game I play I'd like to push myself a bit and make a character with a more "out-there" voice and demeanor.

Whoops - you're right. My mistake - I must have been thinking of it being a trip hazard I guess :) - I have amended Hilmar's posts.

Hello guys!
I haven't really been active for the last couple of days. Sorry!
I kind of wanted to leave the strategy to you and you've done an awesome job, especially Mike with Hilmar's posts I unironically yawned while reading them probably I'm just tired ha-ha

The reason I was so slow with my posts is.. I learned morse code recently and I just can't stop talking to people on virtual web radio. It has one button and the only way to communicate is to rhythmically click your mouse on it to send the code. I am addicted to it O-O I took a break because my finger hurts I did it this much.

.... . .-.. .--. / -- . -.-.--

Now when you use the whistle you can send a coded message :)

It does help if you say something, Jusika, because I was waiting for some kind of indication that you were on board with my character's plan (though I eventually assumed you were so that it didn't hold up the others too much). It's awkward not knowing if someone is just not wanting to say something or if they've gotten caught up in some emergency. Waiting is no problem, it's just that I want to be inclusive and let everyone post so it helps to be clear about what's going on.

Haha yes sorry!

If anything i am trying to play a character far from my usual self, so sometimes it feels hard to get into the attitude. But i think its quite common to put a huge chunk of yourself into your characters 🤔

As for the gate, i think Kaa (or someone else quick and sneaky) could distract the green monster while our two casters (and the rest) move there.

I was intending a discussion when we got back.

Should I check for traps or something?

It's been a rough day. It might be a day before I post (no need to wait or anything).

Hope things smooth out for you soon!

Hey folks, as Hilmar casts a spell, we will go into initiative order. Given the situation we will assume everyone has surprise, which means you get 1 free round to act before the enemy can take their actions. Depending on your initiative roll, you might get 1 or two actions before they get to go. Hilmar's spell will only take out one of the bandits, so this will be necessary.

Some tactical considerations: the water on the map is a waist-deep mud pit, and requires 10 feet of movement per square. You are also in single-file order in the drainpipe. Let's assume you are lined up in the order you take your turns. That means the first character who takes their turn (Hilmar) needs no movement to get to the opening, the next character needs to spend 5 feet, the next character needs to spend 10 feet and so on.

Initiative won't matter during the surprise round but if the night blades survive the survive round it might. So, include an initiative roll in your post to see when you will go in round 2.

Mike, you might want to have Hilmar move out of the way of the entrance to avoid blocking other characters from acting in the surprise round.

Let me know if there are any questions.

PS: we will say the character's turns start at L10 and Nb2 is the one that fell asleep from Hilmar's sleep spell.

I rolled Initiative, then had a thought: I do not mind if you roll initiative for everyone when an encounter begins, I think that makes things smoother as we do not have to wait for a round of everyone posting, and it does not take away from the roleplaying.

Although some people prefer to roll their own dices, so to say, so I am definitely not speaking for everyone :)) but if everyone is okay with it, its an option.

This is an option I have used before, but for people learning the game I like having people rolling their own initiative so they understand what is happening.

In this instance, rolling initiative is tied up in your action for the surprise round so it shouldn't slow things down.

Pitrio, please review this post for instructions on how to take your action during this surprise round. Rolling initiative is a good start, but you can take your full surprise round turn right now.

Ahh okay okay, I edited my post to include actions then. I do not think it will be needed, but a question: does surprising a target also gives advantage to attack rolls, or would that require something more/else?

Surprise itself does not grant advantage, no. Attacking from a hidden location could do this where the attacker cannot see the attack coming at them would grant advantage. In terms of the situation, the coming out of the drain pipe is surprising and catching them off guard, but they can see the attacks coming at them plain as day in the well-lit chamber.

You're right that won't be necessary. You've one-shot the remaining guard.

I am working another late shift tonight, followed by an earlier one the next day so my posts might be a bit erratic over the next two days.

Hey folks, I kicked a rock and fractured a toe today! I will be back posting ASAP, probably tomorrow. Looks like I didn't miss anything today. Everybody doing okay?

Thanks for the heads up as always Mike!

Ouch! Nasty. I hope it is not too serious and that the recovery process is not too protracted and awkward.

Ouch!

Sorry if I'm taking too long with my posts, gonna make some today, been very busy!

Oof! Hitting that toe is unfortunate, I hope you are gonna be alright, Len!


Comrades, I wanna share something.
So you remember I learned Morse code, right? Wanted to for a long time, but just wouldn't start for some reason.
There's this place online, it is a virtual radio, where people communicate in Morse. Only one button to press and make different rhythmic signs.
And I met someone there. Someone who has changed my life. I actually feel happy. Imagine that, me - happy! Enjoying every moment! That character I made for DnD was ironic and nothing like me, as I was just spiraling down the depression swamp. That person taught me how to meditate, got me into spiritual stuff. Me, a rationalize-everything type of person. So now I just enjoy weird non-scientific stuff I forbade myself from enjoying. I go outside more, I enjoy every mundane thing, I dropped procrastination and some other bad habits I had. I even started to write poetry which I didn't do for 5 years. Never felt so good!

And now to why I wanna tell this. Besides that I just wanna share it with someone.
Everyone has this thing they always wanted to do, but never started.
Do it.
Just do it!
Do it, and get something great out of it!



Sending love and hugs

Thanks! As long as I'm off my feet I'm not in any pain. As a positive side-effect that has gotten me out of doing a few chores around the house! X-ray results will be in on Monday.

Great advice Jessica! I agree wholeheartedly. So happy to hear about your happiness!

That's wonderful Jusika. So good!

Ouch indeed Len, I hope the recovery time will pass fast and smoothly!

That is very wholesome Jusika, I am glad for your epiphany, it is so nice to see/read! That seems like a very healthy viewpoint, and you struck a nice balance :))

I very seldom also dip into poetry, and beginning of this week the starts aligned and I had time, energy, mood and inspiration for one.

Would you like to share what you wrote? I at the least would be curious and appreciative. Also, today is world poetry day, so perfect timing!

Thank you for your kind words, everyone!
World poetry day? Wow, cool! Yes, why not! I'm gonna trade it for one of yours xD

Ooo I like it! Thank you! ... and fine, you hard-bargainer.

Oh, oooh! So you have actually put a name in the spoiler. Damn, I was like "here", as in here you are, but yeah I guess that makes a pretty fitting name, haha. Gonna keep it.

Also, I have read it twice. I like it, I'm big on descriptive stuff! And I'm probably gonna have to read that a couple of times more to interpret all the metaphors, but it does sound pretty peaceful and optimistic to me. Happy world poetry day!

Wow, it's nice to be in a game with so many creative people :)

I hope your foot gets better soon, Len.

Thanks Jusika and Pitrio. I enjoyed them both.

Wonderful poems! And thanks for the well-wishes. Walking about pretty well now and dodging a few chores in the bargain ;)

I am not nearly so gifted, but there is a poem that has stuck with me for many years, regarding teaching:

No written word nor spoken plea
Can teach the kids what they should be.
Nor all the books on all the shelves
It's what the teachers are themselves.

So true!

Impressive creativity.

Unfortunately no poetry in this post! Only to say that my posting may get a bit erratic over the next three days, due to late shifts.

There once was a man from London
Who's night shift work was mundane
We're waiting to see
What his next post will be
It's been so long it's driving us insane.

(honestly, I've rarely noticed the erraticness of your posts, Mike)

Haha, nice improvisation, Astroloma!

Yeah, me neither. Besides, Mike's posts tend to be so big, so for that size you'd expect them to be rare xD

Now I got several questions!
Are those cloaks hooded, is it possible to put the hood on and not show the face at all?
Also, I take it false identity feat wouldn't work here, would it? As I understand it, charlatans can use makeup and stuff to look like anyone, but then maybe it would not apply to hiding their race, would it? Besides that's probably just the flavor, it's more about forging papers, right? It's just a theoretical question because I think I get only one false identity and it's gotta be premade anyway. And then, as a premade thing I probably could create a clever disguise that would hide the horns and stuff, to appear human, but it would not fit this situation for sure.

Yeah, I'm also wondering how this will work. Twenty people isn't that many, so wouldn't they all sort of know who one another are? It seems like we'd have to pretty much fully cover our faces for even the human-sized party members to have a shot at pulling this off. Unless the turnover rate for Night Blades is high enough that we could pass ourselves off as new recruits? Might be worth asking Ralavaz how believable that would be.

Yeah, I don't think the False Identity fits here.

But, you do have a disguise kit. You could use that to disguise your Tiefling features (medium difficulty, roll 10+) or even turn yourself (or somebody else) into one of the Night Blades you've captured (15+). It would require a roll based off of intelligence and your proficiency (so, +2 for Euphoria). If successful this would give you advantage (or whoever) on deception checks for interacting with other Night Blades! But it will take 10 minutes to do

Yes, Euphoria's disguise kit making this more plausible. Just the uniforms will buy you time to get into the room, and maybe get the Night Blades to ask questions before they shoot. Still, you could use that short time to get into a better position than just storming in, which would lead straight to combat.

YESS!! That's it, the disguise kit! Cool! So what's the plan, folks, any volunteers? Should we give some makeup to our bugbear just for lulz? xD

O haha that is so nice.

As for the bugbear makeup, while I think it would be a lot of fun, it would also quickly devolve into a bloodbath 😅 Considering at least some of them are charmed and are here against their will, that would be somewhat morally questionable, even if the action would be cool :)))

Buuut, if instead of turning it into a fight he intentionally gets captured and distracts the majority of the group, the rest could do something with the leader, maybe if we take him out or do something with the mask the charming dispells? Is rolling arcana for guessing if that is probably or not possible? (for whom it makes sense to know such of course) He might not be good at blending in among them, but he should be good at keeping their attention on himself.

I mean if I got a nat 20 making a disguise for Kaa... Everything is possible xD

On what Hilmar knows so far on the charm powers of the man in the golden mask (whether these are properties of the mask or not is another question) see Len's post from the end of chapter 1 below.If so then we have the masks as well, but Kaa is 7ft tall and Euphoria 4ft 9. We could try out the disguise and see if Kaa can stoop. If Kaa and Euphoria were in the middle of the group so they do not come in for close inspection it might be enough to get past guards to get close to Gardren. An alternative might be Pitrio's earlier idea for the rest of us to pretend to be Night Blades with Kaa as a prisoner, or even Kaa and Euphoria as prisoners.

Yeah that would work, Euphoria could disguise herself as some fancy noble if needed, IDK if that noble is a tiefling or a human but that false identity was intended from the very beginning.

Don't forget to roleplay forming a plan.

Good point :)

Hey folks, got caught up with stuff today! Will help you formulate that plan soon :) feel free to list any more questions or concerns you have for me in the meantime.

I thought of another question about disguising ourselves: would we be limited to carrying items that we could reasonably conceal? I assume that all of our adventuring gear is more than what a Night Blade would typically be expected to have on his person.

The Night Blade uniforms consist of cloak and hood, and a lot could be concealed underneath.

While it makes sense to divvy up the gear into a feasible loadout that could hide under the cloak, we can forego that for the sake of efficiency. If you'd like to say "I leave my pack behind" we will assume important items have been brought along without having to list them exhaustively.

Okay — I'm happy to not worry about it, if you don't think we need to.

Sounds like the plan is fully formed so I pulled the trigger on moving forward. If you have an unanswered question because I jumped the gun, feel free to ask here.

Hilmar and Alfrey will be the ones doing the interacting, but the "prisoners" are welcome to help sell the story to grant them advantage to their deception skill checks coming up! Prisoners are welcome to give a performance or deception check to sell their prisoner status.

Astroloma, feel free to post as well! If you want, Naeris can be active from the shadows as well.

Quick question - what are those wooden things on the map? Benches, tables? Random rubble? Anything notable about the room?

Whoops I forgot to paste in the room description! Thanks!

Updated the post with more details. The wooden things are sections of support beams that have collapsed and are being used as benches. You might be able to use them as cover if a fight breaks out.

Maybe Hilmar or Alfrey could interrupt Euphoria's speech and threaten her or something?

That's an option!

So yeah, please tell me if that was too much so I could avoid such things in the future! You can do that here or in private messages if you wish :^

I myself think it is fine, do not worry! 😁

You're good. All it does is add flavor, and I'm all in favor of that.

Your post was great :)

Me too - I thought it was good. Long posts are not a problem for me :)

Happy Easter weekend everyone!

I understand if your post frequency is a bit slow this weekend. Holidays are often a busy time for folks and interrupt regular schedules and downtime patterns.

To keep everyone up-to-date, the story is currently waiting on an action to get Naeris through that door. It doesn't have to be Astroloma who makes that post - could be somebody makes a distraction or something else. But it will likely require some kind of skill check. Could be a spell too, or the use of some item I haven't thought of.

Let me know if you need some help with this or have questions!

Alternatively, they could put the night blades with them to sleep and tie them up and use the conveniently supplied gags. Then, maybe, return to the bunk room.

Holy smokes, that is the biggest sleep roll I've ever seen! I think the plan Mike posted will be sufficient to get Naeris and Ralavaz in the door. Nice work!

I'll try to post in-game soon, but you are welcome to post in the meantime with the assumption this plan has worked.

Happy easter indeed! ... and yep the holidays are usually quite busy and with less time spent in front of a screen.

I did not think we would get out of that complication so easily, but good thinking there!

Happy Easter. That was a lucky roll. Let's hope our luck holds out.

Working a series of late shifts again over the next couple of days so may have trouble posting.

Thanks Mike.

Haha, I didn't do the night blades actions last night because I was super tired and decided to hit the hay. Now I'm looking at Gardren's dialogue - "I guess you'll drink" - and I'm wondering wtf? Was that autocorrect? Haha it's so random. I think I'll keep it. Maybe he means he's gonna try to throw you in the well!

Anyway folks, looking forward to this action scene! Thanks for being a great bunch of players.

Yeah, that's what I thought it meant :)

That's how I took it - that they'd try and throw us in the well :)

Alfrey dropping his cloak be like:

Hahaha, kind of, but then might not even end up using them.

I also realize moving might cause attack of opportunities, but i guess it is worth it. Although I am not sure if only from the demony thing for leaving its reach, or from nb2 too for moving within his reach?

Yep, Heartseeker (a Stirge) will get an op attack on you. It's only when you leave a creature's reach in 5e. Risky, but big reward!

You got 'em! 😉

next up is Euphoria, and Naeris you can take your round 2 action any time.

Astroloma, because there are monsters beside Naeris, your ranged attacks will be rolled at disadvantage. You can switch to melee attacks if you'd rather, or use your action to take the disengage action and move freely out of the scrum.

I would wait for Jusika too before acting more, and since the leader is out of the picture maybe we could presuade or threaten them to stand down? Although if the fight goes on i think the most convenient action for Kaa would be to yank NG2 into the pit too.

Sorry for such a delay! Finally made my post, been busy!

On a late shift tonight, followed by an earlier one so my next post may be delayed.

Mike, based on your last post I want to clarify that you can cast cantrip spells like fire bolt an unlimited number of times.

My understanding is that I have three cantrips that I know. I think I have three slots for these cantrips. I used one for the rats, the second on Gardren and the third (and last) I have just fired at the demon. (I was going to use Firebolt on the Heartseeker, but you told me that the roll would be at a disadvantage so I did not cast the Firebolt cantrip then.) His only other cantrips are Mending and Mage Hand. Please let me know if I have misunderstood anything.

I have used my three spell slots, which I understand are separate from the cantrips. I used Sleep on the Night Blades in the pit, then Mage Armour, which I cast when having the fight with the rats and the last Sleep spell when I put the two Night Blades to sleep on the stairs before getting the other Night Blades to go up to the tower.

Good news Mike, there are no slots for cantrips. From the rules:

"Any character can cast any cantrips they know at will and an unlimited number of times, unless the feature that lets them cast it specifically says otherwise."

As for the unconscious Night Blade it was my understanding that Jusika's knockdown was meant to knock him out and therefore out of the fight rather than just trip them up. But I screwed that up once already, so let me know if that wasn't the case 🤣

Gottcha. I was just thinking that if we find ourselves having to run away from a crazy out-of-control demon, we wouldn't want to leave an unconscious man behind. But we'll see how it plays out.

Oof, that might be a hard choice for sure. But very dramatic!

As for the weapon hand-off, let's count that a free action to toss Kaa his axe. I think that's within the rules and fits the flstoey of you all being a team of competent adventurers. Tossing an axe in the heat of battle is something an action hero can do, as is catching it and swinging it all in one go!

Knocking the bandit out is fine! He probably hit his head too hard haha

Wow! That's great, I didn't realise. I've also just seen the section on page 201 of the Player's Guide :)

Hilmar will get ready to fire another one at the demon then!

I missread what callan meant to do with the healing earlier, so will edit the maths to be correct with that.

Right, 7 to Kaa and 3 to the Night Blade is what I had calculated as well. But I wanted to state my overall intention instead of the exact numbers in case I'd made a mistake.

Ah, thanks, that Night Blade will be back in the rotation! We'll say he's just getting back up for the last round, and take a dodge action.

On late shifts tonight and tomorrow, followed by an earlier one so my posts may be delayed.

Sorry folks, getting squished from a bunch of different directions, will update as soon as I can :)

Thanks for your patience everyone! Looks like we're back in it for Round 4! With all the Night Blades out of the fight, all players can take their turns simultaneously now.

>Euphoria misses her mark with the whip.
That's it? :{
I understand you not wanting to use that seemingly controversial mechanic of critical failures though, but I'd be amused if she at least fell on her butt or something xD

Also it says Euphoria's prone, but she did get up in my last post!
But eh maybe she did fall on her butt after all? Haha

Sorry Jusika. Please understand I didn't mean disregard your fun request. I'm just struggling a bit lately with some personal stuff and I missed it. You could say I rolled an IRL critical failure in updating the post. It's true that the rules don't support anything but a miss on the roll of a 1, but you specifically said you were expecting a fun result and I intended to write something. In my hurry to get the next post out I forgot to put it in. If my mistake made you feel ignored or you just felt my response was lame, that is valid and I apologize.

Would you be okay if I retcon the post? So many 1's is a cause for celebration!

Hey Len don't overthink it! It's all cool! I'm not upset or anything it's really a very small thing, I do not care much! :) Just felt chatty so made a post about that (:

You don't have to retcon anything, only if you wish x) But I'd prefer you prioritizing your life over that

I tried to mention it in the same post, but eh, didn't work for some reason so I'm writing another one. I'm sort of traveling rn, kind of, uh-huh, so my posts will probably get erratic for a couple days, internet is really.. unpredictable. Just so you guys know :>

Glad to hear you're not upset. My barometer for these things is clearly off these days. I'll retcon the post soon.

Retcon complete. Let me know what you think.

Loved it! Ha-ha!

Len, I'm so very confused. Do I add 1d4 to damage, and then 1d4+2d6 to attack roll? And then, how do I do make that new roll? 20d20+7+3, like this? Is that what I'm supposed to do?

Sorry to have confused you!
Put this in the dice roller: 1d4, 2d6

If the roll below was yours, you'd a 7 damage to your original damage roll for a total of 10

A simpler explanation is when you roll a 20 on an attack, you roll all your damage dice twice instead of once. Normally you'd have rolled 1d4 for the dagger and 1d6 for sneak attack (plus 2 for dex). Because you rolled a Crit, you get to roll 2d4 for dagger and 2d6 for sneak attack. The dex modifier is not doubled, just the amount of dice you roll.

Why do I roll sneak attack though? Because of nat 20?

You get to sneak attack any time you are attacking a creature with a finesse weapon (like a dagger) and the enemy is beside another one of your allies (presumably providing a distraction), or you attack with a ranged weapon. You can do this up to once per turn.

Mike — I believe Night Blade 4 is the one that my channel divinity healed. He's already skedaddled at this point. I'm not sure what happens to the throwing knife when the wound is healed, though. Maybe it just pops out?

That's right Callan. And yes, you can retrieve the knife from the floor.

Oh good - Hilmar has a clear conscience :)

I have adjusted Hilmar's post accordingly.

On late shift tonight, followed by an earlier one so my posts may be delayed.

Hey folks, dropping in to say I'll be catching up with the game tomorrow afternoon! Thanks for your patience, been a busy couple of weeks.

With the Night Blades mostly defeated we'll be heading back to Hope to collect your reward and wrap up this quest.

The shambling mound is a plant and so I guess it doesn't qualify as a 'beast' for the talking with animals spell.

I think that'll work just fine, Astroloma.

Ooo talking to the shambling mound is a nice idea, I am curious how is it going for it. For me I do not think there is anything to do before returning to town, although I might be absent minded. My head is a bit all over the place these days.

On late shifts followed by early so may not be able to post for a day or two.

In case it's not clear, Naeris doesn't have anything more to say to Strangleberries beyond the formalities so I'm ready for the party to head back to Hope. The translation I was leaving as implied.

I'm ready to head back to Hope as well.

On late shift tomorrow night, followed by succesively earlier ones, so possible my posts may be delayed.

Thanks for your patience lately, folks. Astroloma - thanks for popping up the chapter 4 thread. Sick title!

Glad I didn’t make too much of a mess.

Love the title as well! Very good!

On late shifts followed by an early one so may not be able to post for a day or two.

Is the feast at the 'Evershady Tavern' or the 'Summerspring Inn'? I ask this because I thought the Evershady Tavern is the one beneath the hand, whereas Amanda's inn with the hot spring beneath is the 'Summerspring Inn', but I might be mistaken :)

It's going to be outdoors on the lawn outside the inn. There is a nice communal lawn for staging events. Although it is a bit unkempt by old fashioned standards, it should do nicely.

Hi folks, I think I'll be wrapping things up for this game. I know it was a short one, but hopefully I delivered a good starter experience for those of you who are new to the site and/or new to the hobby or RPGs. If there are plot hooks hanging or things left unexplored about your characters, hopefully that translates into eagerness to join the next game.

I have been struggling to keep up with the game as of late. I was expecting this quarter to be much less busy but a bunch of unexpected changes in the way we're delivering education during covid have been sucking up all my time. I hope I am being clear that my slowing down has nothing to do with you or our game. I have greatly enjoyed playing with you all - this group is terrific! I hope to play again with you all someday.

For wrapping up the game, I'd like to finish with the feast and the awarding of magic items to the party. I'd like to let everyone finish with an epilogue where each player makes a post describing what you're doing 6 months after the adventure. Some possible things to think about for this epilogue:

- Are you still in Hope, or have you moved on?
- What have you been up to?
- How has Hope changed and how have you changed?
- What new dangers face Hope?

In addition, please think of some kind of legacy that you'd like to leave on the world that I'll include in the future when I run an adventure in this setting again. Is a drink named after you in the bar? Are you now a permanent character in the village running a shop or service? Are you the setting's new big bad taking over the night blades?

Hey Len, I think most of us has experienced a slow down these days and weeks, at least that is the feeling I got and my personal experience also.

I really enjoyed the care and attention you have put into this introductory game for us ... so thank you for it! :)
Same to all the other players, it would be nice to play together again, it was a joy.

I will think of Kaa's epilogue and my little mark in the world you are growing.

Me too, I have had real life making demands recently.

I have really enjoyed this introductory campaign. I would like to thank you for all the creative energy you devoted to it and for 'tutoring' us relative newbies to PbP and AD & D 5e. I've learned a lot.

I was impressed by the quality of the posts from all of the other players. It would be good to play together again. As Pitrio says it was a joy. I have told other people how good the campaign was.

I'll give some thought to the epilogue.

Thanks Len and to all of you. This has given me a very positive experience of the game and of PbP. The characters and NPCs have given me some great examples of roleplaying to learn from and confirmed that D&D can have a strong roleplay focus. Thanks Len also for helping us with the basics and for all the work you've put into building the campaign. Thanks for allowing us all to feel that our contribution was valuable and our characters relevant.

I was wondering whether we might be wrapping up soon. Although it was short by D&D campaign standards, we have been at it for three months on a daily-ish basis, and I feel like we've reached a satisfying place to end.

Overall, I'm really pleased with the play-by-post experience. I appreciate the effort that Len and everyone have put into making the game enjoyable. And, to echo what others have said, if there's ever another opportunity for this group to play together, I'd be totally up for that.

Hi guys. I'm getting a bit lazy with my posts but I'm gonna make some tomorrow.

As to the game, it was supposed to be a one-shot from the very beginning and it turned out to be a good one! Len did an awesome job, truly incredible, I'm so happy with this game and really looking forward to writing the epilogue!
And it was a pleasure to play with you all guys, really, I love the players and characters! ^v^

Would be up to playing another game with any of you!

Is technically possible and according to this website it would be a 1d8 damage dice :D

https://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Throw_Object_(5e_Feat)

I've been out all day so I'm too tired to post now. It might be 16 hours or so before I get to it.

Ooo that chair throw could be included in the festivity as well then! :D

My attention is also rather spent elsewhere, so I make no promises about posting quickly.

Copying and pasting the rules for improvised weapons here for interest's sake:

Improvised Weapons

Sometimes characters don’t have their Weapons and have to Attack with whatever is at hand. An Improvised Weapon includes any object you can wield in one or two hands, such as broken glass, a table leg, a frying pan, a wagon wheel, or a dead Goblin.

Often, an Improvised Weapon is similar to an actual weapon and can be treated as such. For example, a table leg is akin to a club. At the GM’s option, a character proficient with a weapon can use a similar object as if it were that weapon and use his or her Proficiency Bonus.

An object that bears no resemblance to a weapon deals 1d4 damage (the GM assigns a damage type appropriate to the object). If a character uses a ranged weapon to make a melee Attack, or throws a melee weapon that does not have the thrown property, it also deals 1d4 damage. An improvised thrown weapon has a normal range of 20 feet and a long range of 60 feet.

I did a lot of guessing. Unsure what the shanka are like exactly or how difficult they are to fight. I don't know if they're what gives the howling wood its name or if there was meant to be some other danger there. I don't know what shambling mounds do during the winter either.

Haha, now they hibernate! Makes sense. Truth be told, I don't know what a Shanka looks like either, although I suspect they are some nasty, violent, and brutish kind of subhuman. They were bred for war. The howling wood probably has an older origin for the name, but the Shanka definitely live there now. A growing problem to contend with for all isolated communities for sure.

Sounds like an awesome adventure to go shake down the Shanka in the Howling Wood! Great post, Astroloma!