Off the Beaten Track (OOC)

Because this is a cooperative game and all players are expected to make characters that are able to work in the group. I am sorry if that was not made clear enough and was just assumed, that is on me.
Probably a poor choice of words, and probably based on assumptions that things will end up there... assumptions based on past experience, I dare say. :(

I have tried to avoid using the term because it is pejorative, but may have caused more harm by avoiding it. This is a version of the 'lone wolf' style of character: one that does not fit with the party and has no reason to be adventuring with the party, or would not be tolerated by the party if the players were not forced to play together. Fortunately, with the internet opening up our options beyond the kids we can collect in our neighbourhood, we don't have to play with the group we have and can work to find a group that wants to play the sorts of games we each want to play. It is possible you can find a play-group that will want to have Cook along.
That phrase is not a free-ride, it needs to, at least, be feasible for a solution to be viable, and, as things stand, I don't see a way forward.
Does he? Nothing we have seen leads us (players or character) to think that, so far.
The question is why this party would be involved, not why they are involved in the current scene. If we had not forced the issue earlier, they would have left Cook at the camp and done this without him. Can you see that that is a problem?
All 'lone wolf' characters. Kept around because the story demands it. If a character is not fun to play with, or redeemable (as with Han... very soon after the start) they should not be in a game. Games are a much larger investment of time, and there is no promise that a lone wolf character will be worth the work it take to keep them in the story, in a book or movie the audience can assume the author will make it worth their while, and it is easy investment, or they can leave it (many did over Raistlin). We have no right to force that choice on other players in our game.
And does that result in his behaviour improving? His was the only 'bad behaviour' that we needed to change. It was for his redemption that any of this existed.
Given how this discussion appears to be going nowhere, if you don't see Cook changing to work as a more normal character, maybe we should 'vanish' him and you can try making a character that does fit? We don't have to do anything as final as killing him, we can simply have him not be in the temple when the rest enter, that way you can try to bring him back later (redeemed), or introduce him into another game where he does fit.

LOL, lone wolf. Cook literally wouldn't go anywhere by himself.

Don't know how I went from commendations to problem child, but here we are. This isn't much fun at this point, probably not for anyone else either, so I guess I bow out at this point. Good luck to all of you.

Sorry it did not work out. Hope you can find other groups that scratch the itch you are after.
No hard feelings.

I seem to be posting quite a bit more than Rezart is, is that okay with you Rezart? If you want me to wait for you, let me know I can slow down :)

I will let Rook add anything they know or can guess about the goat-horned-wolf symbol if they want. No pressure.

It's fine with me, post all you want. I don't have any issues weaving my actions into the existing narrative. I'm fine following along, as long as I don't get eaten by a grue or something in the in between sections.

Alright, good to know

If there was an upvote button on this forum, this post would get it from me :D

It strikes me that those recovered mugs might be just the thing. They are both 'a symbol of celebration after conquest', so close to Raynor's heart... and 'items claimed' (and, dare I say: sanctified) as 'spoils of war' (and 'acts of valour and bravery')... TWICE claimed, thus?

Let us know when Albert realises this (maybe only at the close?). Or not, your call.

Yeah they might just do the trick. I like the idea. But I think it's too early to know what to do yet. Are there more rooms to discover or is this where the temple adventure should end?

There might be something under the dome. But we don't have to explore it if we don't want to. It is up to the players how big a deal this temple quest is. You can choose to 'cleanse' it via the top room, and be done; or you can choose to find that you need to go deeper to actually get the job done.

We can also come back if we find that the evil below is too strong to be permanently 'cleansed' and your efforts are akin to what was done before: capping it off and blocking its influence.

There can also be multiple or just one large room up here, it does not make much difference... unless we make it be important.

I've been thinking more about this. I believe the cleansing ritual should involve Albert burning his mugs. It'll be both an offer of significance to Raynor and a goodbye to Albert's life as a bartender. Confirming his return and dedication to the faith.
I'm not 100% sure where I would want that to go either. Do you have plans for what's next in the adventure? Was this temple just a detour to the bigger story? If so, we can keep it quick and simple.

The temple should at least try to defend itself in some way, I think. Some kind of physical combat or mental challenges maybe?

Cool idea. Let's aim for that in the end. (Or end of this level.)
I have no idea what we would do next. :)
We can rejoin the caravan if we want, but will have to come up with whatever the next exiting thing is. So far the caravan, the bandits' ambush, and the temple have been based on things the players said --either in passing or outright choices.

I have not thought past the temple, so we are not 'wasting time' here. But I can easily come up with something once we are done, so don't feel like you guys have to spend more time here than you want.

There is probably a whole mega-dungeon down below, but that only matters (or gets created) if you want to explore it. No pressure.
It will. The extend of that defence depends on how much time we (the players) want to spend here.
Or both. :)

I'm fine with turning this into a proper dungeon. I'd like to find out what that wolf head is all about. "Mega" might be a bit much though ;)

Let's wait a bit and see what Rezart thinks.

Downgrading to "mini".

There will probably be more of a chance to collect more coins later, if you clear the bones out.

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TheGenerator: What is your intent with the coins Albert picked up? Is it more than just desire for silver?

If you are mostly after the reward we can work out the value and be done. If your plans are deeper then we can wait till later to determine the details.

If you are mainly taking 'old coins', then we can either do it now, or wait till you get to a big town or city before we value them, they will be worth more to a collector than they are out here. Probably by 10x, but you might never get to spend them.

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Rezart: Is Rook more interested in immediate value? We can estimate the value of jewels and maybe even gold (though there is little chance of people who carry gold coins ending up here) and you should be able to exchange them for reasonable value anywhere. Is Rook sharing what he finds or keeping the best stuff for himself?

Rook is gleefully looting all for himself, and fully expecting the others to do the same. He's focusing on high cash value items, as long as they are something that could be sold off easily. Coins are great as well if they're in pouches or stacks.

Noted. Let's wait and see if there is opportunity to go through the whole pile (maybe after a rest) and then roll to find out how much we each get.

Right now it's the monetary value for Albert combined with an interest in the history of the coins.

As a player I picked them up with the idea that they might be useful in the cleansing ritual in some way, but I'm not sure about it yet. It also wouldn't hurt to have some loot. Albert is running low on funds.

If you can just give me the number of coins that Albert found. The value of them is not important until we get back to a town.

I think it would be interesting/useful to find something that gives Rook a more personal reason to be here. Like a note from a relative, or an heirloom, or some kind of omen that appeals to him?
But I'd need Rezart's input on that.

If Rezart isn't interested in something like that, it could link to Asha or the captain instead. Or possibly Meht (he mentioned returning around the 21st in his post)

OK, we can worry about that once the job is done. There will be more where that came from if you finish cleansing the temple.
The captain seemed less-than-interested in the value of the single coin she picked up. Later there may be investigation into historical significance.
That was why I asked. We can bring that back when we get to it.

"Cup & Coin" seems like a thing?
Only a problem when you get back to town. But there will be better chances for riches if you choose to delve the depths.
I was going to be subtle, but there's always a risk --in RPGs in gerneral, but in PbP especially-- of it never seeing the light of day. So here is a spoiler:The captain will have thoughts about these things, and this can lead to follow-up (or just later) quests.
I, too, have been watching the calendar over the past few days, thinking about slowing things to wait for fated day.