OOC Chat Thread

This thread is for chatting, out-of-character (ooc).

Could be about meta/irl topics, could be about in game stuff.

But if it's OOC, do it here.

Hey everyone, so I'm about ready to post the story thread, but I wanted to address just a couple things first.

If you're familiar with Tolkien's work, then you probably know that Tolkien presents a very black and white world. Both metaphorically and visually.

Light and white is Good. Dark and black is Evil.

And furthermore, Tolkien's world is one that can very frequently be characterized by intense Nationalism, and even racially-motivated conflict and discrimination. Often lending very little nuance nor room for different characterizations of diverse nations or cultures or people.

While I do not intend to fully subvert many of these hallmarks and tropes of Tolkien's fiction (they do make for very easy storytelling and characterize much of standard "romantic" fantasy drama, and just provide the structure for which the admirable traits of Tolkien's works at times rest upon), I do want to leave room for nuance, I do want to portray a world of diverse people, and most importantly perhaps I want to acknowledge these tropes, and call them out and recognize them for the ugliness that they can represent in humanity and bring out in humanity. My goal in using them in this story is not to honor those flaws and ugliness, but to acknowledge and expose them, so that they do not hide.

And I encourage you to give whatever aid to me that you feel is appropriate towards those goals, via your rp.

For all his flaws, I believe Tolkien did at least depict chattle-slavery as universally evil, and that will be no different here, but I do want to provide notice that enslaved peoples may come up as a story element.

If at any time you feel uncomfortable with the narrative content that is coming up in the story, in these or in any other regards, please send me a Private Message, and I will develop a corrected course.

That said, also as is the way of Tolkien's written works, you can expect very low to nil levels of sexual content or gratuitous/modern profanity, nor even really much in the way of graphic depictions of violence or torture from me. And I ask a similar standard of you all.

Thanks for being here!

Hey gang, just wanted to give you all a heads up.

After hearing the Session Zero elements, above, regarding inclusivity and boundaries, therecusant has withdrawn themself from the game.

Again, I have no intentions to subvert the general themes of Tolkien, but do want to leave space in the narrative for more diverse characterizations of Nations and peoples.

If you have similar discomfort with these intentions, I would encourage you to also withdraw now.

I have reached out to another forum member who expressed interest in the Tavern thread, to see if they're still interested.

Is so we should have a new member in short order.

Or if not, I will re-open the Recruitment thread.

Knifesedgegsmes had just started DMing a new game and declined an invite, however GreyWord who has also expressed interest in the recruitment thread was still interested.

I've sent them an invite.

I have something in mind to bring them in to the story down the road and it doesn't look like anyone else has immediately dropped out (I apologize, I really didn't see the session zero disclaimer blurb being divisive/deal-breaking), so I think I will go ahead and put up the story thread to get things moving.

I like oysters. On the shell, raw. Grilled. Oyster soup.

But oyster pie???

Sounds 🤮🤮🤮

😆

Gondorian delicacies... 😬

I had a lot bigger post in my head, but it would take me too long to finish it, and I didn't want to hold up the game.

Post to your hearts content. I am sure none of us will think you are holding anything up

Hey! Don't knock the Whistler's famed oyster pie. Much better than the eel pie down the road in the Warbling Breeze!

Mmmmm ... pie.
Being able to blend in with the locals can definitely come in handy. @emsquared, do you have any customs/mannerisms/sayings in mind? Can we brainstorm a few ideas here?

I think that'd be awesome! You'd be welcome to just make something up off the cuff as well in a moment of rp that feels right, but the very effort of the world building is very Tolkienian.

The people of Umbar are a sea-fairing folk - much of their livelihoods revolve around the sea, and/but they are also from a desert climate. So those would be the first things I think about...

@Dr_B: impressive leaving scene! Very cinematic and Tolkien.

@Drakis2 Thanks! Was fun to write it.

@emsquared the tools to create that letter look are all here in GPlane, if you select some text in the post editor and press the 'F' icon next to the color eyedropper icon, this menu appears where you can format text in many advanced ways:
It's handy for handouts etc. , but I use it sparingly to keep the posts readable via the agreed formatting conventions!

Woah. I had no idea. Thanks for the info

Just thinking, and @Dr_B , give Cirion Inspiration for that letter please.

I had kind of forgotten about Inspiration until now, and as DM I often am not thinking of everything all the time, and so I want to leave the door open for you guys as Players to "nominate" others for Inspiration too.

Because they made you laugh, because they made you think, because they were in the right place at the right time, or had the right thing to do a thing. Whatever.

Actually, at this point let's everyone have Inspiration.

I was and am really impressed, and grateful, for how much each of you built characters more around the world than mechanics. I don't know that I have ever in my years of playing this game seen a group of characters that have such moderate, "real person"-looking ability score distributions.

Anyway, you all seem to have really embraced the setting and spirit of the game, and so I just want to say thanks.

Thank you, I am invested in the setting and intrigued by the storyline!

I am enjoying the chance to game in Tolkien’s world, so it lends itself well to character building. Looking forward to exploring the Southron lands

Every dm has different ways, how do you use inspiration?

Well, AIME has some special uses for Inspiration I think.

You can use it to trigger some abilities and maybe even some magic item powers (I forget exactly), but also if you have Inspiration you're not as effected by being Miserable (when you have more Shadow than your ... Wisdom(?) score), I believe.

It's been awhile since I've looked at Inspiration in AIME...

At in person games, I always aspire to award Inspiration like candy. Certainly in the "vanilla" ways (playing to your Background or Bonds or Flaws), but also basically just anytime someone's like, "That was awesome." about someone else. i.e. as a reward for making the game an experience that we all want more of.

And I've tried allowing Inspiration to be spent to attempt "rule of cool" type of stuff that might fall on the fringes of RAW. And I wouldn't be opposed to doing that here.

But I always forget to award it, and ppl always forget to use it.

Seònaid is likely best placed for Hunter, and the Guide. But not enough skill to match Lookout or Scout

She is a Warden, so this type of traveling is easier for here, as is understanding other cultures. So, those are her strengths.

Ragnarr doesn’t have any special traits to help.
As far as skills he has +4 in stealth and survival, +2 in wisdom and perception, and only +1 in investigation. So idk where everyone else’s skills are best out, but he can fill in where someone else isn’t better fitted

for Cirion:
-Investigation only +1
-Wisdom +2
-Survival, Perception at +4
-Stealth should be at +6 for the double Proficiency [+6=(+2Dex bonus) + (+2 Proficiency x2)]

so maybe a Scout, if paired with someone with high Investigation bonus?

For Éothain
Guide +2 Wisdom, +4 Survival
Hunter +4 Survival
Lookout +2 Perception
Scout +4 Investigation, +2 Stealth

Guide or Hunter would probably be best. Scout would work if paired with Cirion, but Éothain can't be that stealthy since he wears a corslet of mail..

Although my PC does not take part in this journey - out of curiosity I wonder will you respect this sentence in players guide
In a party with 4 PCs and 4 tasks that will be quite a math problem :). On the other had - if you ignore that
the young man Cirion assigned to all tasks with only exception of Éothain seldom stepping in for investigation would be mathematically good, but ... weird story wise. Wouldn't it?

Actually I think story wise that would make perfect sense. Put all the work on the new young recruit. I’m just kidding 😂

Here is the horse prices for anyone who does not want to search.


@Drakis2 Idk if you literally meant a pony, but if you did, ponies are medium size creates. I could not find it for AiME, but in base 5e rules you can only mount a creature one size or more larger than you. So only hobbits would be able to ride a pony.

Maybe we should see how much renting or buying a cart would be?

Yes, that rule will be observed. I don't see a problem for us - we have 5 PCs, and I'm pretty sure there are rules for if you're not able to fill a task, so I don't think there is any problem at all.

We're not putting one character on multiple tasks, we're putting multiple characters on one task.

Thanks for putting those up, Mnrtoler.

Broadly, we will observe that rule, as it is in the SRD which is the basis for the rules of AIME via the OSR.

Though I'd probably allow it to happen with the mount moving at half speed, which kind of defeats the purpose of a mount, but could be handy if you had to, say, transport someone who was otherwise immobile.

Just checking. Looks like Affer or Sumpter is probably all any of us could afford.

May I use my PC distinctive quality "Forthright" already in OOC Chat? Huh...

Teammates - may I beg you to concentrate on getting story forward? I'm sitting here blocked until you arrive at Umbar.
I'm afraid I don't understand the motivation of delay game to discuss feasibility of purchasing "A horse fit to pull carts". As I see it - Andireg in his position must be expert in logistics and he didn't sound like a man who can't afford a "A horse fit for a journey" for three of you. And yet he hired you to do that by foot, so why don't you depart already?

Apologies Greyword. I agree we should move the story in such a way to allow our compatriot to join sooner than later.

Side Quest unlocked: let's go get Greyword!

haha

Sorry for posting a bit late. I was at a conference yesterday.

Scout would be the natural choice for Duinhir having +2 and proficiency in the skills. Followed by guide, lockout and hunter in that order. Duinhir is probably not the best dnd character ever built and I'm happy with getting any role.

Regarding the horse business, maybe we can afford some coconuts instead...

Based on the information about roles and players' posts about their characters (compiled below), I propose the following assignments:

Cirion - Scout
Duinhir - Scout
Éothain - Lookout
Ragnarr - Guide
Seònaid - Hunter

This gives the party high values in investigation and stealth for Scout. It seems like the other characters would fit the other roles in any combination.

* * * * * * *

Roles (Abilities/Skills)
Guide – Wisdom & Survival
Hunter – Survival
Lookout – Perception
Scout – Investigation & Stealth

* * * * * * *

Seònaid is likely best placed for Hunter, and the Guide. But not enough skill to match Lookout or Scout

She is a Warden, so this type of traveling is easier for here, as is understanding other cultures. So, those are her strengths.

* * * * * * *

Ragnarr doesn’t have any special traits to help.
As far as skills he has +4 in stealth and survival, +2 in wisdom and perception, and only +1 in investigation. So idk where everyone else’s skills are best out, but he can fill in where someone else isn’t better fitted

* * * * * * *

for Cirion:
-Investigation only +1
-Wisdom +2
-Survival, Perception at +4
-Stealth should be at +6 for the double Proficiency [+6=(+2Dex bonus) + (+2 Proficiency x2)]

* * * * * * *

For Éothain
Guide +2 Wisdom, +4 Survival
Hunter +4 Survival
Lookout +2 Perception
Scout +4 Investigation, +2 Stealth

Guide or Hunter would probably be best. Scout would work if paired with Cirion, but Éothain can't be that stealthy since he wears a corslet of mail..

* * * * * * *

Scout would be the natural choice for Duinhir having +2 and proficiency in the skills. Followed by guide, lockout and hunter in that order. Duinhir is probably not the best dnd character ever built and I'm happy with getting any role.

* * * * * * *

@rpgventurer way to go thanks. Looks like a good divide!

Happy with that role distribution, makes a lot of sense - thank you

Good job. Thanks

Glad to do it. Thanks for the kind words.

Now if we could only find some giant eagles to take us to Umbar.

I second that haha

@GreyWord I don't know how you feel about this so please feel free to say no. And I mean that.

But, just as Onar received the silver at the beginning of the adventure, and will receive a part of all rewards at the end, including "XP" (granted we'll be doing Milestone leveling -which I'm realizing this is probably the first time I'm mentioning that to ANYONE so I hope you're all ok with Milestone?), etc, despite not being there for the journey in character, and these are permanent benefits that he will continue to benefit from, I would see it as only fair that Onar be a part of the "permanent", negative parts of the gameplay as well.

Specifically I feel that he should also have the same opportunity(s) to gain Shadow, despite not being there for the Journey.

You could reconcile it however you want narratively. Omar made a great journey at some point, so perhaps it was travel through Blighted areas then? Perhaps it is his distant separation from his kin? Or it could even be a Misdeed in his past if you see that being most appropriate for his story?

But again, I see the Shadow as an important part of the long term gameplay of AIME, and truly a fun one if you embrace it as a part of the character's story, and can trust in me that I'm not using it to try to take away your character (although that can be an ultimate result of it) but rather to add real effects and consequences to the dark forces that struggle for control of Middle Earth.

And so that's why I wanted to bring this up.

I however ultimately leave the choice to you.

If you see it as appropriate, please bake the Wisdom check, and if failed the Wisdom save.

And if you don't feel that's appropriate, again that's 100% fine.

Fair enough, since other party members gained their penalties purely based on dice roll - regardless of actions they announced (or did not announce) theirs PCs to perform.

Also, since Ónar is not yet in the story let's leave the narrative out as well

Just a heads up gang, I am going to be on vacation for the next week, and so you will notice a marked decrease in my activity/responsiveness.

But I anticipate being able to keep up with this game at a reduced post rate in the evenings.

Ok, and hope you have a good time.

Hey gang, just wanted to apologize for over-promising on my activity level this week.

We've been out of our hotel room for about 14 hours a day, or more on one or two, every day (much more than I anticipated). So just haven't had time to get a post in at night.

No problem. It’s just a game. Focus on life

Likewise, no problem. Have fun and enjoy the holiday

I'm at a wedding this weekend, so won't be able to post either.
Enjoy your holiday, emsquared

@Stefron Ragnarr paid for everyone so no need to subtract them from your coins

How very nice of him. Didn't catch that, thanks.

I vote to fast forward, but not skip the hilarious montage of the characters trying on, then discarding, a variety of disguises. :-)

rpgventurer: LOL! Definitely!

@Drakis2 Ok, so, a couple things:

1. This sounds like two different narratives to me, that Seonaid wants to pursue to try to locate the ship.

For Skill Challenges we only address 1 narrative per character at a time. This gives everyone a chance to participate, and story-tell. So you need to choose which narrative she wants to pursue first: paying street kids for help, or talking with locals, or something else.

Once you've chosen a narrative, pick a Proficiency that fits that narrative, and roll. I'm not sure that Investigation fits the narrative of talking to locals, but Investigation could certainly be used to help locate the ship, and talking up locals could certainly help too. So divorce your thought process here from special class/culture abilities/features, and focus on the narrative you want to pursue, and the Skill Proficiency that fits that.

And the cost/how much you have to drop on the street urchins/other consequences will be determined by how well the Challenge goes.

2. If you haven't, please read my rules for Skill Challenges, in the OOC Resource Thread. And it's probably helpful to watch the MCDM video linked in that post as well.

This is a capital-S capital-C Skill Challenge and has different goals, a different flow, and different rules from "normal" narrative, scene-to-scene play. It's essentially a homebrew mini-game, narrative, and mechanical tool that I like to use in D&D to cut back on the need to slog through scene-by-scene gameplay the details of which take a long time to play through but that don't tend to really effect the outcome that much, and so distill that process down to something faster, but that still has mechanical and narrative importance.

And a primary rule for Skill Challenges is that you use "naked" Proficiencies only. No factoring in specific, limited special abilities. i.e. you can't use "Ever Watchful" to gain Advantage on a Skill Challenge check. This represents the more general, "montage" nature of the narrative were constructing in this moment, it represents the longer timespan the Skill Challenge covers in the narrative, and it gives naked Skills more importance in the system.

@Dr_B and pre-emptively @Mnrtoler,@Stefron,@rpgventurer,@GreyWord , item number 2 applies to you as well.

No special class or culture abilities/features can be applied to the check.

Naked Skills only. Ability bonus+Proficiency bonus (assuming you have Proficiency in the Skill you've chosen to use).

OK, no worries : Cirion fails then (keeps the lower d20)

Sorry for silence. I’m at a work conference and haven’t had much time. I will definitely get something in later tonight.

Not a problem, appreciate the heads up.

Hey gang, I wanted to provide a real life example to help convey what Skill Challenges can feel like, and how they're perhaps best used by you as a player.

I feel like i neglected in my rules description to mention exactly how much SCs are really an opportunity for you guys to take a lot of control as Players (something D&D doesn't necessarily do too often outside of combat), of the narrative and the mechanics.

It's supposed to be an opportunity for you guys to create a narrative, and create realities in the game world, that weave an exciting and interesting scene of your choosing, while using the Skills that your characters are best at, all to shine as a player and character.

Summary of actual gameplay:

Situation was, the party has just fought their way through a town suffering from a zombie apocalypse-style invasion of undead. And defended the townhall from a prolonged zombie siege.

We played through that all in "normal" scene to scene, round to round, gameplay. Lot of combat. By the end they were beat up and depleted.

Well, then I used a Skill Challenge to play out an escape from the town, because zombies were just continuing to appear and swarm.

There was a big horse drawn cart, they had a couple dozen townsfolk they loaded into it, and the Challenge was to escape with as few townsfolk dying as possible.

Success meant no one died, the sooner the failure meant the more townsfolk died.

We kick it off and the Druid is like, "I use Animal Handling to keep the horse calm and drive the wagon."

Fighter is like, "I use Athletics to boot zombies off the wagon as they try to crawl up it's side as we ride by!"

Sorcerer is like, "I use Deception to keep the townsfolk calm - everything is fine here folks nothing to worry about! :D"

Rogue is like, "I use Stealth to throw a blanket over everyone and try to keep us low profile as can be... in a wildly racing wagon..."

DM: "Heh, well, the less flesh that is showing, the less excited a zombie might be about your cart. I think that helps!"

Ranger is like, "I use Survival to shout directions to Druid for the fastest way out of town!"

Warlock be like, "I use Eldritch Blast???"

Me, a DM: "Noooo! No attacks remember? I know this is hard for you."

Warlock: "Ok, well... I think the townsfolk are starting to lose it, despite Sorcerer's cajoling, so I'm using Intimidation to shut them up - CAN IT peasants or I will send you to my Infernal Lord for sup!"

DM: "Ok, that's on-brand, yea."

And so on...

They gave more narrative than that with each scene ofc, and there was more interaction between us all, being like, "Oh that's good!", and laughing and wincing at failures, and cheering success, but for the sake of not typing out an entire book, I paraphrased.

But, so, point is: I didn't ever tell them the horse was skittish, or that their were zombies trying to clamber onto the wagon, nor that the townsfolk were scared, or that they needed directions, or needed to hide, or that the townsfolk were getting scared again.

They made up all of those realities themselves, based on the narrative situation and the things that they reasonably saw happening in such a situation that their particular Skills could really help them with in overcoming it.

That's what Skill Challenges are for, for you all to flex your creativity as a storyteller and to use your best ranked Skills to show how you overcome a broad challenge.

Skill Challenges are there for you to create exciting stories and to shine.

You have A LOT of agency in Skill Challenges and it really shines as a mechanic when you use that to the fullest. Use your best Skills. Tell the version of the story your character shines in. Make the whole thing what you want it to be.

Does that make sense and/or help you guys picture the ways in which you could be using this opportunity?

Just a heads up that I am incredibly busy at work as we head into the Labour Day weekend, and for a couple of weeks after. So I will be slow to reply, but will try to post when I can. Where you need to keep the game rolling maybe just skip me and assume I am just tagging along.

Appreciate the heads up, Drakis.

I think maybe we'll use your two ideas as guidance for the narrative, and can have either @Mnrtoler,@Stefron roll for you, since the Tavern Challenge has ended on a skid of bad dice?

Mnrtoler or Stefron, would you want to choose a Skill for Seonaid and roll it up, based on her initial idea of roping street kids in to help?

Persuasion seems the obvious choice, but I could also see Traditions or even other Skills potentially fitting, depending on the specific approach...

May I do a little bit arguing here?
I read guide:
A decent meal and a mug of ale can be had for a few coppers.
Exchange
1 silver penny = 12 copper coins


And I read we spent 5 silver each, meaning 60 cooper coins.

Did we get robbed!?

"A Feast" for 1 person is described as 10s, you guys got half that cost, spanning untold hours and activities.

With a Skill Challenge when you fail the Challenge you lose control of the narrative to a level of abstraction based on what you said your general approach was, but the narrative still goes on.

Maybe you did get pickpocketed - that could certainly happen in this part of town? Maybe the barmaid/keep saw what you were all about - sitting around but not really eating or drinking, and so she took advantage of you all, clearing your stuff and then coming back to demand you purchase more lest you get kicked out? Maybe you did actually eat and drink and buy food and drinks for others trying to ply their tongues? Maybe a little bit of all of those, and/or something different that I'm not thinking of off the top of my head? (EDIT: maybe you engaged in some gambling to try to get in good with pirates, maybe you made a bribe or two?)

We don't exactly know. It doesn't really matter. You can even choose in retrospect, but the end result is you spent 5s.

Had you succeeded in the Challenge it still would have cost you a couple silver. "A meal and a few drinks." So isn't it reasonable that failure costs more?

It takes resources to get things done. That's the game of D&D. Whether those resources are hitpoints or coin or other things (like Conditions that take time to heal).

When you get unlucky and roll poorly it takes more resources to get the thing done. That's how the game works whether it's hit points or whatever.

And this is true whether it's in a Skill Challenge or not.

That's why we can say for Skill Challenges that the details don't necessarily matter.

What matters is that we play the game - use your characters Skills and roll the dice (we did that), what matters is that we weave a narrative - you all choose your narrative (so we did that), and what matters is that your game resources were impacted as that impacts future play - less wealth means maybe you're more likely to give in to the Shadow (steal or loot) at some point, that's a HUGE part of the game here (we did that).

All of that is important and what we would have done had we played this all out through "normal" moment to moment play, except we did it in 1/10th the time.

Yes, at the cost of abstracting some details, that's the price of Skill Challenges, but again we got to play through this in 4 posts instead of 40, when it's not even the main adventure. It's just legwork.

Please have some trust in me as a DM, and as a storyteller, that I'm not here trying to bankrupt you because that way I win.

Please trust that I am here taxing your resources in this moment because that pressure is what creates challenging and interesting and dramatic situations and gameplay in this moment.

And please trust that you will be rewarded adequately in the future for your adventures, such that you will net a material progression for your character, because I understand that material progression is part of what makes the game fun.

Sorry if that's all very meta and "behind the curtain", but I don't want you to be upset. I want you to have trust in me, now and moving forward, that I understand what makes this a game and what makes it fun, and that I'm not just doing things without thought or reason or understanding, and that I'm trying to craft dramatic and interesting gameplay and situations, because presumably those are what we're all here for.

Does that make sense and sounds reasonable, if not fair?

Both fair and reasonable. Just wanted to double check if it is not a typo.
Got it, I will ignore the fact of loosing the money in my role-play.

Hello all due to irl commitments and a recent miscarriage by my wife I need to step away for GP. Thank you all so much for the wonderful games and best luck adventuring.

So sorry to hear about your situation Mnrtoler. I hope everything gets easier, and I wish you all the best.

Best of luck Mnrtoler

Thanks for joining us while you could Mnrtoler, sending you and yours my best wishes.

@Mnrtoler, best wishes to you and your wife.

Could you elaborate on this? Can we fairly easily help each other during skill challenges gaining advantage on the rolls?

The Help Action does not apply to rolls made during Skill Challenges. The narrative and actions that make up Skill Challenges take place at a scale beyond rounds.

Skill Challenges are mini-games with special rules.

But we won't hande most of the game with Skill Challenges.

Honestly not sure what is the goal/aim of watching. Do we try to gather info to make a better plan of getting onboard the ship later/during the night?

Just brainstorming
- are we trying to discover some routine (i.e. workers loading boxes into the ship) we could feign to get onboard?
- do we want to just analyze best option for night swimming and climbing the other side - just as in movies?
- count number of guards/watched and interact with them to gain info on weather it would be possible to distract, bribe or finally knock them out
...

-mainly we don't want to lose sight of the ship: the kidnapped kids could be taken somewhere else by boat (and we'd lose them completely)
-we could see them being transported off the ship to somewhere in town (we could follow)
-we need to find out if they are still hidden aboard or if they've been moved

-we need to find out who Ibn-ahten is, and how he is connected to the kidnapped kids.

@GreyWord: if you have a better idea then suggest it, so we can explore it as another option?

As @Dr_B says it is about keeping an eye on our target. But if you have a better way of finding out where the children are being held, by who, and why, then let's try it out? I am open to alternative approaches to finding the children

@Stefron,@rpgventurer could/should weigh in here as well. If the majority of the group can agree on a thing, than that's what we'll do

I think at least one person should watch the ship until we confirm whether the children are on the it. We should probably rotate people to avoid suspicion. I like the idea of swimming to and skulking around the ship to find out, but I prefer to try less risky methods first, such as targeting one of the ship's sailors/workers and deceive him/her for into giving information.

One way to discover who is Ibn-Ahten is to inquire about booking passage on the ship, while saying something like, "We heard this is the best ship in town. Someone told me to talk to Ibn-Ahten. Is he the captain?"

In a less direct approach, if there is a records office, we can look up information there. Maybe there's a library to look up family history and we'll find his name. I am not above bribing an official if we have to.

I had an impression we are over thinking this as players and all we need to do is to search the ship and rescue children

Now, reading both threads again I'm not that certain any more. Perhaps gathering info on Ibn-Ahten is more important that saving children, because if he did that once he could soon try another sabotage.

Bottom line: abstain. My exhausted and depressed PC don't do anything but would try to help anyone who ask him to help.

Okay, so sounds like some sort of watch has the "votes".

And we already have two volunteers to do that while others rest, so let's proceed forward with forming a narrative around that, and see what happens.

@Drakis2,@Dr_B I know sitting out in a boat was mentioned as a preferred method, and doing a conversion from the PHB it looks like a rowboat is ~40 sp to buy... I'm not sure that "renting" one would be a thing (though perhaps a "guided" fishing trip would be?). Or you could conceivably try to pay some "private citizen" to use theirs for the day as well? Or ofc you could just "borrow" one that's sitting there...

Or if that all sounds to messy, you can come up with something else.

I'd like to avoid some heist-like, "discuss and plan for every contingency"-session here. There's no "wrong answer", different options will just potentially present different challenges.

So plz just be mindful of that, all, while we hold this discussion.

A row boat might be a little low on the sea surface, to see what's going on at pier level. Maybe sitting on the docks pretending to fish could be easier to stage? A weighed string or two is all that we'd need. What do you think, @Drakis2

OK thanks, @emsquared we will try an inconspicuous spot on the docks first please

If there is a place where Éothain can research the group that controls Easterly Rock, he will do so. He has proficiency in Investigation. Anyone who wants to join is welcome.

Before that, may he use Second Wind to get back some HP?

Hey gang, had a busy afternoon yesterday and morning today, still working on story post/thread.

@rpgventurer Yes, go ahead and use Second Wind.

As for the research, he doesn't know Umbar, he doesn't know the language.

I think there is more here than a simple Skill check.

How exactly does he intend to discover this information? Where does he think he can go, or who can he talk to?

a clarification about languages in Umbar, please @emsquared

The pub crawling group were able to overhear conversations and talk to people, presumably in Westron (common language). Do people speak Westron here?
In that case, would Cirion and Seònaid be able to understand what is said around them at the Easterly Rock docks?

Also, Ónar spent time in Umbar: what languages does he know? Presumably he is more well versed in local vernacular than the rest of us?

As mentioned early on, about 30% of the ppl in Umbar (primarily laborers, sailors, and fisherman) are "Coastal Folk"/technically Gondorian/"Northerners" and would know/speak Westron (and Southron).

Taverns near the docks would be a mixing place for several classes and cultures so Westron would be more common there for the Skill Challenge and so allowed the plausibility of simply listening in to learn something.
Most of the talking there is being done by the clerks, and they are not speaking Westron.

Onar does know some Southron from a Scholar class ability.

I am on the road traveling today so posts will not be able to post much

@emsquared Are translators available? How much per day would one cost?

Yea, that's probably a thing, why not?

However there is a refugee crisis right now, so such services would be in very high demand. i.e. harder to find and cost more.

Looks like normal cost for a Skilled hireling would be 2 sp.

If you spend the rest of the current day looking, for 3 sp you can have one the following day.

I took the liberty of naming the translator.

Apologies, I got ill while travelling so have been laid low the last few days.

No problem at all Drakis, I knew you were traveling and so wasn't worried about it.

Sorry to hear you fell ill tho!

Take the time you need, and hope you feel better soon.

Get well soon, @Drakis2.

FYI, Éothain invites Onar to join him as he travels through the city.

Anyone correct me if I've misunderstand what's been written for the last 2 weeks, but I believe

1. Party agree to take turns resting and watching
2. Cirion and Seònaid volunteer first watching (details on watch length and switching are emitted though)
3. Cirion and Seònaid get to the Easterly Rock and find ship no problem, but
4. It does not take long before they are forced to leave the watch
5. We are waiting for Cirion and Seònaid to decide weather to return to party with the update or do some extra investigation leaving party assuming they are still watching the ship

Also I would like to double check my other assumtions
- we can't take "Long Rest" even if we spend next 8 hours sleeping. It will only be possible to do long rest during next night (or probably not if we want to sneak on the ship during the night).


@rpgventurer I would rather see my PC going to a library or something to get details about the ship's hull structure to guess where would children be kept and how to secretly get aboard the ship. I believe your PC could take care of himself.

Nevertheless I've been patiently waiting for narrative to approach moment when Cirion and Seònaid share their finding with the rest of the party - that's when my PC could make an informed decision of the actions he would do before he is mechanically allowed to get the deserved sleep.

The restriction on the Long Rest was only for the night of the Tavern/Dock crews Skill Challenge.

After that was completed (you got back to your place a bit after sunrise), your time is/was yours/the groups to do what they want with. So Onar can be/is in the middle of a Long Rest right now.

Cirion and Seonaid went to watch. Presumably that was gonna be for 8 hrs, but things may have changed that.

Eothain did the legwork to drum up an interpreter for the following day, preventing him from Long Resting while the others watched.

And Onar and Duinhir are resting, presumably with the goal of a Long Rest.

However, it sounds like Cirion and Seonaid are returning/returned with what they saw.

Whether or not that changes Resting plans has yet to be determined I think. But I believe your all can discuss that without disturbing the period of a Long Rest.

First of all sorry for the radio silence, I have also been traveling to a country where I only had limited internet access.

Duinhir is going for a long rest, he is rather useless in his current state.

Yes, all good.

Onar and Duinhir's Long Rest takes us to the afternoon.

Cirion and Seonaid taking a Long Rest would take us to midnight, of the day after the Docks and Tavern search.

Is that (still) the plan? If not, or if so, then what?

Acting this afternoon, following Onar and Duinhir's rest?

Acting that night, following Cirionn and Seonaid's?

Waiting to the following day (Eothain could even get a full rest then, and you'd have the interpreter)?

The question over all this is: what is going on with the children in the meantime?

And I apologize if I'm being a little pushy/leading with my questions, but I don't have a good sense of what you all want to do moving forward, or what you all think is happening, or what you think you need to do, or would like to see happen.

And I'm afraid if I don't ask direct questions, that these choices would take longer than they need to.

@emsquared For me railroading is expected in the scenario where quest/goal is as abstract as "prevent war", because players will naturally have different visions of the story they want/expect to be told.

Now answering "what would I like to see happen": I would like to see party spending a day to do some basic preparation/planning and use cover of the night (and while most people sleep) to get into the ship and rescue children.

Mechanically I may advocate story turning into a detective since Scholar is actually less about covert ops and more about intelligence gathering, but I just did not expect that from a "Tolkienian" tale.

Because a small team going behind enemy lines, into the heart of the enemy's homeland, to destroy the enemy's greatest weapon isn't a covert ops story? 😂😉

No, I get your meaning. But, yet again, I will point out that I did say - this is still D&D.

As for "the rails", again, I will point out that I did say up front that this would be a linear campaign. And that player agency would be found in how you all choose to address any given situation, not so much in what the situation would be.

Sounds like we have 2 for continued investigation, and I think Eothain was clearly of that mind as well, securing the interpreter for the following day, so that's more than half right there so let's do that, yes?

Everyone is rested up and we're at the morning of the second full day in Umbar?

Sound agreeable?

Sorry for ambiguity. What I mean to say is
Despite my PC would probably be able to shine at investigation, I am as a player surprised we even consider doing that in "Tolkienian" tale.
I vote for action. The obvious action of getting onboard the ship and rescue children.


P.S. There are game systems much better suited for investigation ( Vampire: The Masquerade; Call of Cthulhu, just to name few). For me 5e investigation is as simple as a single skill check.

Just a heads-up that I was ill all last week and have returned to work, which is our busy period. So might be a bit slow responding as I try to catch-up in RL

No problem Drakis, thanks for the heads up.

So I know the initial plan was for others to watch while others rested.

Is that going to continue to be the plan while Seonaid and Cirion rest? So, Onar and Duinhir watch?

And same for when Eothain rests?

Or is the watching done?

Once rested and rid of his exhaustion, Duinhir can go watch the ship.
There is also the interpreter, who had that contact?

I am on a family vacation and am offline a lot more than I thought I’d be. I’ll go with whatever the party decides. @emsquared can run my character for the next few days so I don’t hold up the game.

By the way, can I double check my logic. Based on my calculations and what I remember as a player the ship shoukd have been here in the city almost a week already. Is that right?

P.S. I am really surprised the chests are carried away at this time not loaded back to the ship. Feel like I am missing something important

Both of those things seem like reasonable conclusions that a reasonable person could come to, yes.

Sorry gang it's been a busy start to the week. Well get the new in character post up when I can.

Just wanted to let you all know I'm still here.

I had a couple of all day trainings last week that kept me from posting, and now I'm having to catch up on work that I also couldn't get done because of the trainings.

Bear with me please, thank you.

Sure. No worries.

this is very convenient my PC is out of game right now as I will have little to no time to participate the game next week. Good luck with your encounter.
P.S. An I have a reason my PC survived till "dwarf's old age" :)... danger sense.

Hey team, wanted to give you a heads up, GreyWord has decided to leave the game.

They apologized for having Onar abandon the group before the fight, but ultimately felt like they didn't want to go on playing him after that.

With 2 players down, I think I will try to bring someone new in now.

Maybe one of the corsairs will change sides and join us! LOL!

😅

Controversial opinion: maybe the game would run smoother with less players?
I find large groups in pbp problematic. Downtime, lengthy discussions, fragmented action... My 2 cents.

That's certainly a fair opinion Dr_B

Higher player counts just help ensure the game stays active and moving forward. And also serves as a buffer for what I have found to be the inevitability of someone leaving the game, it ensures we're not suddenly left in an untenable, low activity status.

You guys seem to be a really solid core tho, so if you all would like to see how it goes with 4, we can certainly do that!

I am happy to continue with the group as it is for the time being

I am fine with the party of four.

Another question: May we consider Onar as an NPC ally? It occurs to me we’ll need a place to hide out if we get the children out of the warehouse.

Yes, absolutely.

We didn't discuss where Éothain's horse was stabled, but I don't think he would leave his horse behind. Can he retrieve it as they try to leave the city?

Yea, that's fine.

Hey gang, apologies, I've been wrapped up in Yuletide activities recently and will be until mid to late next week.

Cheers, and happy holidays!

Happy holidays, all!

Happy Holidays!

Happy holidays

Wishing everyone the happiest of holidays! (There goes my 9th level spell.)

Hey gang, I'm going to have to be playing a bunch of catch up at work for the next few days.

Probably won't be able to post much until next week?

Take all the time you need. Meanwhile, it would do me good to better familiarize myself with Middle Earth history and geography.

Oof, it's quite the rabbit hole.

I'm a bit of a Tolkien fetishist, and so I really enjoy delving into these kind of background niches of the lore, and finding blanks and filling them in with head canon and roleplay... And frankly I don't mind at all if you guys read all you want about this lore and stuff as I think it will make your experience of the story richer. And because we are acting in a, pretty much, total blank spot of his writing, there's nothing you're going to learn that is going to spoil anything.

Honestly, when I have more time, I'd be happy to give you guys some more OOC context if you would like, if wonking out on Tolkien is something you personally enjoy or would benefit from.

I will appreciate every bit of lore context to this adventure. I too enjoy "studying" Middle Earth.

@Drakis2,@Stefron,@Dr_B,@rpgventurer

Alright, well, I think all the Fellowship Phase stuff has been resolved and everyone's leveled, and not sure about gear purchases (?) but folks can go ahead and retroactively do any of that for awhile still yet.

And so unless there's any other rp you guys want to do (I don't know that the question of going into Osgiliath to search for the account of the powers of Morgoth was answered)? I'll start putting together the opening thread for "Session 2"/the next stage of the adventure.

Anthony else for any of you before moving on?

I've finished updating my character to Level 2, and all I really bought was a horse as I am unsure where we are going next so not sure what Seònaid will need

I've also levelled up. I haven't purchased anything yet (though paper and ink us a must have to copy that map) as I'm unsure what happens next. If we are going traveling, Duinhir will stock up on traveling gear and a horse if everyone else is getting one and it makes sense for our journey.
I can't find a price for a horse in the players guide.

There is a price list available here;
https://gamersplane.com/forums/thread/29869/

Cirion has levelled up and went shopping. If a mount is needed for their next enterprise, he will try procure one too.

Leveled up. Shopped a little; waiting for return of Lady Blackridge's agents to determine what might be needed.

Well, I see your feelings and instincts as a good thing :P

And if you think Seonaid would have reasons to have doubts, I don't ask that you keep your feelings as a player and you're character's separate in this way.

Your characters are allowed to have doubts if they see things that give them doubts. The question is what do they do about it?

Tolkien's world is black and white, and even many of his characters are. But there are also devastatingly deep betrayals in his stories too. Saruman. Boromir. Both had good intentions at the start but took them too far yea? And we are after all in part trying to pay some sort of homage to Tolkien's works here.

As DM I hadn't really thought about the legality or morality of what she had asked you all to do here. So Seonaid's question brought up a very real and emergent bit of story there.

Perhaps the Lady is deluding herself?

Perhaps her implication is, if you all can deliver him to her, your business in it can be done and whatever happens afterwards you don't have to know about and is on her?

You can choose to make non-lethal attacks, so long as you're not using a missile weapon, so capture should totally be possible if that is what the moral compass of your character requires.

You and Seonaid can and should make of the situation what you will.

@emsquared: Thank you for that. I think some of the impact of "Shadow" on Seònaid during the Umbar encounter also made me reconsider how I usually character play in a fantasy rpg. It reminded me of the consequence of character's actions and especially in a Tolkien world where, as you say, it was very black & white. It is all good fun, and helps me play the character with more depth. Seònaid will be determined to face down, and destroy, evil. She will just be more reluctant to do so if the person can be saved, like Gollum nearly was. So she wants Lady Blackridge to be aware that violence and death may be the result of her request, but Seònaid is ready to deal that out if the opponent is a servant of evil. Like I say, I am enjoying it and it is good fun.

Found this evening:
If Frodo & Sam Had Google Maps Of Middle Earth

@emsquared, for my character’s race, the guide says what languages he can speak. Am I correct in assuming he cannot read those languages?

An interesting question. At first I didn't see the distinction you were making, but now that I do, in a society in which literacy is probably not as common, it's a fair question.

What do you think, given what you know about Eothain?

At 14 Intelligence he's well above average, so there's that to consider certainly.

There's also proficiencies that I think could/should factor into it (i.e. basically any "knowledge" proficiency would arguably indicate the ability to read).

Ultimately, I'm not too interested in depriving you guys, as players, of information that adds to the narrative and setting. So I'm pretty willing to say, "Yes, you can read (and write) anything that you can speak."

But if you guys are interested in something more nuanced and possibly more realistic, I'm fine with that too.

I don't think the Rohan culture has much need for literacy and see my character as being able to recognize the Westron alphabet and read simple words in Westron, but not much more than that.

Yea, in Adventures in Middle-earth, with the distinction in Cultures of the - I forget how it words it - but the economic or lifestyle of the Culture (Militaristic for Rohan, etc) that's a reasonable factor too. And I agree with your assessment and am happy to play it that way if you are.

Thanks for bringing it up.

Hey there! Thanks for the invite and I look forward to playing with you all. I’m combing through the resources - I know where to find a copy of the players guide, but happy to use the links you all have access to.

Also, happy to build any character the party might need or to create something that connects to other PC or NPC backgrounds.

… a few moments later:
reading through the resources - found the Google drive and I’ll move this conversation to the character creation thread. :)

Welcome onboard

Welcome @Thunder_Lungz

Thanks! As I continue to read through, it might be helpful to know what classes and cultures you all represent. I’ve read a bit about your choices in the threads, but to see them listed out would be greatly appreciated. Also, are you all in Minas Tirith right now?

Welcome @Thunder_Lungz I will break down "what" everyone else is tomorrow, give you a summary of the campaign so far, and PM you about how we can bring you in...

In the mean time, I would recommend you just start to familiarize yourself with AIME, it's new classes, it's new sub -systems, and etc.

hey @Thunder_Lungz !

Hey Dr B! :)
Sounds good. I’m working through it. I’ll get through the phases, shadow, audience, etc. sections today.

Everyone, I apologize for my silence. Family came to visit the last few days and I didn't have much time to myself. My household is back to its version of normal.

@Thunder_Lungz -- a hearty belated welcome!

Not a problem, thanks for letting us know.

Just a heads up, we've gotten hammered by snow here the past two nights and I have kids at home on snow day and having to work, so just not able to post rn

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy

Hope you'll have some spring soon

Yes, hopefully Saruman will quit with the snow storms.

Heads up, I am abroad until Tue, posting might be erratic!

Hey gang, I too am going on vacation beginning tomorrow, and will be mostly unavailable to post until around April 3rd or so.

Safe travels and good luck on your embarkation roll!

@emsquared: Heads up that I am traveling from today, so I will post when I can but it may be patchy

Hello gang, I kind of knew this would happen but I have an absolute TON of catch up to do with work after my holiday, and so probably won't be able to manage a post until early next week.

No worries, it is a busy post-holiday for me too, here

Alright. I'll be traveling from Saturday but I don't think it will impact my posting frequency.

Meanwhile, the rest of us should think of a way to get out of the party's predicament. The refugees want coin. As I see it, we can either give a little, give much or try to talk or fight our way out of it. Neither option seems ideal. What do you think?

It’s been fun reading back through the story so far and seeing how consistent you all have been despite the ups and downs of life. I feel like I’m about to join up with a bunch of celebrities :D

You’ve been going for almost a year I think, right?

Good luck with your current choices.

I've discovered I have as much enthusiasm for shopping in RPGs as I do in real life: none. :-) Éothain has a lot of unspent silver because I've been too lazy to go through the list. I've been thinking about having him give each refugee 1 SP when we drop them off at the nearest town. I'm guessing is about 25 SP? He may feel responsible for the fire in the warehouse and this act of kindness would help with his guilt.

@Stefron: I prefer option 1, give them a little coin. I would prefer to identify who their presumed leader is, so likely the most shouty, pushy person. Get them, along with someone who comes across as the more level-headed person that the villagers listen too, and give them the coin.

If Éothain is happy to part with a bunch of silver we can use that. Then those two village people get all the coin, and all the grief if the other villagers feel unfairly treated. We can just scarper out of there and get on with the more interesting thread in the journey.

Does everyone/anyone else think that is a good idea to try?

if we are escorting them to the nearest village, how about:

-we say that for now we will grant the refugees safe passage to the village, and more help will follow. This should count for something, as they are an easy target and should be reassured by us escorting them.

-once there, we pay the village head, not the refugees. We pay the 25SP to give the refugees what medical/logistic help those 25SP can buy

Alright, it sounds like giving some coin in general and up to 1 silver per refugee is generally acceptable to the group.

We can proceed with that assumption to keep things moving unless anyone objects.

It doesn't particularly matter where or when or how you give it to them for the purposes of the mechanics of the Event. Apologies. The "challenge" with this Event is just a "test" of how much aid you guys are willing to give them.

The more aid given, the less chance you have to get Shadow from the experience.

But so the detail of if or how much coin in particular (the main, mechanical consumable/resource for such a "challenge") is/was important.

If rpgventurer is willing to supply all the coin, that's fine with me, and won't negatively impact you all.

Let's proceed with this assumption, and let's call it 20 silver, if no objects?

Sounds good. Duinhir will pay his share

Hey, just reading along. I might have missed something. You all just left Gondor, but where are you? Where is Annulond?

There is a map in this post.

Thank you! I’m going to look up Andrast as it’s one of my known lands. I should also finish reading the previous adventure. I only got as far as the fight at the docks in Umbar where you found the kids.

There wasn’t much after that till we reached Gondor, and spoke with the children’s mother. So jump to that section, especially towards the end, where you’ll find the reason we are now where we are, and what the Lady is up too

Awesome, thanks! I found the part you’re talking about. That reunion scene between kids and parents was a real tear-jerker!

Thanks for the assist team!

On that map, if you hadn't spotted it (it's not the easiest map to read) Annulond is in the red circle.
Yea, that one got me too.

Thanks, very helpful! Known lands seems like a pretty awesome feature, though complex. Are we playing with it as written in the rules?

Yes, I believe so.

Hey there! @emsquared - Do we know why the land around Annúlond is all burnt? Maybe Túril knows since he’s been here for a couple days?

Yea, I think Turil has heard the gossip by now (and the Company could learn the same so I have no problems disclosing it here openly), to people's knowledge it was just a wild fire. Perhaps started by lightening, or perhaps someone's cooking fire. No one knows that for sure.

But it definitely began east of the river (Urqakar is west).

Thanks!

@Drakis2,@Stefron,@Dr_B,@rpgventurer,@Thunder_Lungz

Hey team, just wanted to check in.

It's been awhile since we've heard from some of you.

Are people just busy with IRL? Or is interest in the plot lagging? Is there any frustration, or a lack of clarity on options/next steps? How are you guys feeling?

To me... it seems like the investigation aspect of gameplay has really caused things to drag. So my instinct is to move things towards a more dungeon-crawly/combat oriented game after this arc.

Please let me know your thoughts.

For me, it's little things in real life getting in the way. I am not frustrated or unhappy at all with the adventure. In fact, I admire all the details and atmosphere you're providing. I need to kick it in gear.

I appreciate that. Because sometimes that aspect in particular feels very self-indulgent. And... I mean, it is, right? ... I'm a big Tolkien wonk. So I enjoy that stuff, but it's hard for me to know if anyone else does 😅

In my head, my hope is that those kind of mundane details/narrative nooks and crannies provide a "place to play" with character concepts and backgrounds and your personal fiction, like - "Oh, every culture or place has weird nuances that can be filled with personality.", but I can also see how it also might feel more... exclusionary?

And obviously the campaign isn't particularly open ended, which I'm sensitive to the possibility that particularly after a time I fear that can feel demotivating.

Point is, if you guys are feeling anything like that or something different but still troubling to you, please bring it up, cuz 1. it won't hurt my feelings these are weaknesses I know I have, 2. if there are problems I want to try to fix them so you can enjoy the game more.

I like investigation in games also in this case. So I'm interested in what is on the ship, the building and the hide out. And thank you for cleaning up the misunderstanding. I thought the mooring point and the place he stays were right next to each other.

I aim at posting everyday usually in the evening (European time) but sometimes I postpones because I'm too tired to think of anything to write. That occurs mostly in situations where initiative is on the players' side and a plan needs to be formed.

Happy with the game and still committed.

Enjoying the game too, fun and detailed, and all players are posting great roleplaying.
So on those occasions where I post more slowly, it is not for lack of interest, just IRL stuff!

To take this theory-craft conversation to the ooc...

I guess top of my mind were two things:

1. the investigation of the building in Dol Amroth, where one or two of you stayed outside on watch, and were consequently just... out of the game. For like a couple weeks or something it took?

Which ofc, yes, that's a reasonable choice that your characters would make. But, was that fun? (a question I pose to myself)

And 2. the cobblestone building here, just now... It's there because... well, it's there in the world, and it potentially has narrative use for you guys, etc. So I call it out as being there. But there was nothing really there. And you guys were throwing out rolls, which is great, because if there was something there we wouldn't have to wait a day or two for me to ask for rolls and then get rolls.

BUT also then it felt empty when there's nothing there. Like, why did DM call this out as being there, and we roll for it, when there's nothing there?

And sure, I could have put something there, outside the building investigation in Dol Amroth or inside this one - a fight, or other encounter. But that just introduces more back and forths, more days to resolve the moment, and so if that's not the place where the story really is, then it becomes a time sink to what end?

In pbp it just takes sooo looong to get through everything.

Things like these I worry can negatively impact ppl's interest and level of involvement in a game. And so I just still wrestle with the question of, is it worth it to not be more heavy handed?

And maybe being heavy handed also negatively impacts ppl's interest, so... 🤷

I'm just trying different things.

Apologies, but plz bear with me.

Sounds good! I’m okay with you narrating things to move us forward faster. So far that has seemed to work. I think the traveling a lot might slow things down? But that’s just the setting, right?

My two cents: don't stress about involvement. As I see it this game is going fine with an active group. Though the pace is a bit slow now than before. That doesn't necessarily mean low engagement. It is sometimes just everyone waiting politely for others to take the initiative because no one wants to take action the rest of the party might not agree with.

In PBP everything just takes days. That's fine but I agree it is good to move things along to get to the interesting parts. There is no need to spend a lot of time digging the wrong hole.

yep. PBP is slow, but this game is going just fine! We are used to the pace, I guess

Agree with what Stefron, Dr_B and Thunder_Lungz have said.

Also, I had to switch my GP registered email, because GP was having problems with some mail servers. It is not one I look at that often, so I am not seeing all the posts immediately like I use to with my original email. So I am slower to reply to other's posts in GP

Ok, thank you all for the input.

I'll stop try to stop panicking any time the posting cadence dips 😂😅😭

As I did with the Warehouse/Kidnapping Rescue, I do intend to use gridded battle maps periodically.

But most encounters will probably not have grids.

Aside from that, folks haven't really been leveraging the game mechanics to their advantage much in combat, even just special class abilities, so my impression is that Flanking would add more for me than you guys.

Not knowing the nuances of the ruleset very well, I haven't probably used Cirion's abilities much.
The encounter on the boat felt quite clear in terms of relative positions of characters, I never felt I needed a map, if that helps.

Flanking rules: I suspect they would become more relevant as tactical choices against more corporeal opponents?

Hey all, there is a holiday in the US this week, and I have taken vacation for most of the week surrounding it and so probably will be mostly inactive this week.

Have a great vacation

Happy 4th of July! I’ve been busy-ish lately with family visiting and travel, etc. I’ll be more regular starting next week too.

I’ll be on a work trip Sunday-Friday next week, so, I’ll probably be slow to respond. Will do my best!

Hey friends, sorry for the radio silence! I’m back - Will ease my way back in ASAP. Got some reading to catch up on! :D

Hey gang, just wanted to give you all a heads up. I am pretty swamped at work at the moment, in part because I go on another vacation here at the first of August (and so am trying to get a bunch of stuff done in advance).

And/but I am still here, I just don't have much time or mental capacity at the moment to get pbp posts in. (I usually do most of my pbp during windows of downtime at work.)

No worries! I’ll also be on vacation in august (3-10). Hopefully I’ll be posting then, but not as often.

Hey all, and I'm back from 2nd vacation...

Give me a day or two to catch up at work and I'll get this rolling again.

I heard that LOTR 5e book is coming to DND Beyond

I bought a hard copy awhile ago, and have actually allowed my players to use it for character options, in addition to the base AIME stuff, for my irl game. We're only about to have our 4th session tho, so jury's still out on how it's gonna go.

Still not using any of the new DM (Journey, Shadow etc) rules tho, as in just so used to AIME.

Yeah, I’m inclined to follow what I know, and now that’s AIME. But I’m excited for future games to create characters for Middle Earth games in DND Beyond.

Hey friends, I’ll be slow for a few days - helping out with a family emergency. Nothing too bad, I’m just supporting.

Hey @Dr_B, @Stefron, @rpgventurer, @Thunder_Lungz, & @emsquared, I am going to retire from this game.

Happy for you to continue running Seònaid as a "zombie" character to play out the narrative nicely/neatly.

Good luck in the game, and possibly see you all somewhere else in Gamers Plane

See you in another game, @Drakis2

Hey gang, In pbp, continuing to run her as a character would mean months of IRL time of someone pulling double posting duty, until it was convenient with the plot to bow her out. I have no time for that, and wouldn't all any of you to do so, so I/we will just proceed as if she was never here.

I ask that you/ your PCs please act accordingly.

Thank you!

Sounds good!

See you later Drakis!

Just a heads up gang, I am going to be mostly unavailable/in active this week due to the American holiday (Thanksgiving).

Just a heads up. We're upon the holiday season here in the US, and I will be out for probably the most of next week, beginning pretty much tomorrow.

Will check in now and again as able, but ofc understand if others are going to be more absent as well. Just let us know if you can.

I'll be away until the 5th of Jan, but will have my laptop and should be able to post occasionally!

Same here. Holiday changes all routines but should be able to post most days.