Lightning in a Bottle (OOC)

Out of character chatter about Lightning in a Bottle can go here to avoid cluttering up the Roleplay thread.This is for longer questions and answers related to that Roleplay, general rules questions not answered in the Help! thread can go in General.

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Can we leave Daryl with Humphrey for a while to keep an eye on him? We can also leave the packages there then

Sure. Was it hard to persuade him to stay behind?

I think Daryl would have preferred to come with, but understands the assignment. And it would only be for a few hours. (If we don't get side-tracked. But that never happens to us. Oooh, look, a squirrel!)

Given how much money it is worth (in his terms), he understands the need. Hopefully he does not get distra...

@GameMaster: I'm confused? [ref] Are you not at the inn as we thought?
If you are out in the field, in your tent, how will the others ever find you?
Maybe you are also returning to restock and can run into them on their way to, or at, the inn? Or does someone know where you are so they others can be sent out to find you?

Oh, I thought you were saying I was supposed to be away. I will edit the post to put myself at the inn, that should be easy to do. My bad.

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That should fix it- let me know if I need to change anything else. Hopefully that was fast enough that no one else noticed!

No worries. That works.

@GameMaster, given that there are no visible or physical wounds [ref], we can assume you got [ref] a tiny, superficial skin-scrapping? Or did you draw blood and get a more substantial sample?

I think I just wanted a skin scraping since drawing blood would be much more invasive and skin should be enough to study the mist beasts. Maybe it contains a trace of their saliva, or their mouth bacteria?

Probably nothing physical, since that was last night and it is now mid-morning or later, and possibly Roald washed his face since then?

When you get round to showing us what you do with the sample we can work out the details of what your character would have thought was appropriate to take while being quick and not drawing blood (as we saw). Maybe another sample from a un-scratched area to compare to, or something.

Where are these 'books' from? Technically you only have the gear listed on your sheet, but we can work something out if needed. Maybe they are on loan? With some favour owed as payment? Borrowed books makes some sense, especially since you probably are not taking such valuable items with you adventuring (not on your sheet) (or, if you do, the owner may be upset and take action:).

Or are they books (notes) you wrote yourself? Then it would fall under Tools for Pen and Ink, and Adventuring Gear for Parchment. Can you pay for those? Else we can arrange another loan.
If these are not book that you wrote on the topic, then that tells use that this mist phenomenon is well-known enough for people to have written about it. That says something significant about the world, and may change how we deal with it.

OK. Let's try skip forward to meeting tonight and going out there, that way we can get Ezmaray into play as well.

Sounds great. Do you handle cuts like that? Or do I need to do something?

Presumably Gronk sleeps. But you can tell us about any preparations you did when we meet up with the others.

Does that answer your question?

I'm okay just sleeping.

Gronk sounds kinda bossy, is that intentional?
I mean, after the 'no warning skin scrape ' and the ' come back in 5 hours' Roald will not keep letting it slide 😉

It could be a bad start to the relationship, but we, the players, know it will improve as the characters get to know each other.

GameMaster: If it was your intention for Gronk to come across a bit rude at the start then Roald can react in character and get angry. If it was not your intention and you did not perceive Gronk's action as being rude or overly bossy, then we can adjust reactions to how it was meant to come across.

Gronk has fairly good charisma, but that does not necessarily mean he is actually good with people one on one. Maybe he is mainly a stage performer and only interacts with 'fans' or underlings who he can bully? We can teach him some respect if we need to. :)

You guys are welcome to drive this meeting [ref]. You can hear each other if you want, or you can sign for a bit, or you can find the path to get together (Ezmaray know how to get up and down to the river, though maybe not to the bridge if you don't want that), or whatever ...

... or you can misunderstand each other and I can throw a threat at you that makes you need get and work together.

If we want me to drive things, just say and I will do so.

To be honest, I completely forgot that this woman would be karabooo's character. I feel a bit stupid now :/
Yet I do think Albert's actions make the most sense from his point of view.

@karabooo, what would you like to happen? I can adjust to your idea :)

Doh! I should have mentioned that.

You are welcome to go back and change how you responded, but it does still make sense as your first reaction to seeing someone you don't know is another PC. Maybe just see how she responds or what happens to get her involved in the action?

Oops! I obviously need to subscribe to this thread as well!

It's cool. I agree that Albert's action toward Ezmaray sounds realistic. I just responded as she would in that scenario. I guess we'll see where things go from here, but it does appear we might be leaning toward a possible misunderstanding. haha!

You can also subscribe to the whole forum, which will keep you in the loop when this thread fills up and we move to another on. There is a 'Subscribe to Forum' link on the lower left of the forum page.

If you have subscribed to a forum, you will not see the option to subscribe/unsubscribe to threads within that forum. You can't selectively unsubscribe from individual threads, so it is good manners for GMs to keep things a bit organised so players can be assured that there will be little-to-no unnecessary notifications.

Subscribing only applies to that forum, not its children. You will need to subscribe to each sub-forum you care about individually.

To get to the bottom... Nice one!

I love Roald's confusion. haha!

The thought was that Gronk is so preoccupied with his studies that he is not even thinking about the other people. He took a sample because he needed it, and he took rest because he needed it, and it did not even occur to him that other people might not like his actions. I think the high charisma is for when he is actively trying to perform for an audience, not necessarily when he is focused on something else.

Does anyone have any idea what this ritual should look like? I got the table set for a generic ritual, but I am not sure what all should be involved.

Ok, good to know!

That was the impression I got. That makes Roald's reaction to it about what we would expect, and Gronk will need to learn —though it might be a hard lesson :)— that he can not treat his travelling companions as though they are his roadies. We can tackle that when things are less (or differently) tense.

We can help, but rituals are your baby. They are mostly up to you, within (or even stretching) the bounds of what is described in the rules on magic. You seem to be off to a good start, and it involves other players, which is great.

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What it 'looks like' is also, very much, up to you, and can vary based on the situation. For instance, if you sneak off in the middle of the night it will be different and more Stealthy than when you are doing it 'on stage' before an audience.

In this case you are doing it in the open. It does still look a bit like a show, but you are also publicly declaring that you are doing 'magic that will do observable things in the world'. In PbtA parlance that is definitely what we call 'Handing the GM a Golden Opportunity' for someone to see you doing magic and for that to come back to bite you in the proverbials (maybe giving you the reason to leave town with those who understand better that you did it for good?). I don't know if I will make that GM Move, we will see what happens next.

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We had discussed that your HP starts low because you have already performed a ritual before we get here. We can make that the start of this one, in which case you only need a minute of so to finish. But, given that you probably have a little time —as the mist is not fully formed yet— we can take the time to finish this one and have the other already done and standing by. That way you can issue two commands, which it sounds like is what you are doing.

Maybe you previously enchanted a bottle (possibly with the help of the sample you got from Roald?) to capture the mist, and the current ritual is to disperse the mist, allowing the others to act with more safety?

We will make a roll (what that is will depend on exactly what is being done at the time) to see how effective the dispersal is, but the mist is not the problem, the mist is a tool used by the problem, so dispersing it will allow you all to get directly to the source of the problem.

OK. That one is done, you have your sample. [ref]

• Did you wait for there to be significant mist before doing the capture or is it still wispy and forming?

The next ritual, the one to try dispel the mist will involve some risk. The longer you leave for the mist to build the more effective it will be, but you will be in the mist for a while. The sooner you get it done the less risk, but also the

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less mist to affect.

It sounds like you want the others to be involved in the ritual? (Is passing around the sample part of that?)

We can let them react to your bottle, then you can take us through the start of the next one.

Not that this wasn't fun before, but it's quite nice to have new players in the game! 😁 It's a good way to blow some new life into the story.
Hope you 2 will enjoy it.

• Do we have any NPCs with us? Anyone should answer.

I doubt Humphrey would have bothered to come out, but Theo would want to help, and Daryl wants to show he is not afraid of the mist after last night.

It might be a bad idea to bring Daryl, but it is up to you.

I have no preference.

I was under the impression they both came with us.

We can make that be true.

We just need to know now so we can have them join in on the introductions.

Albert has heard of Ezme's dad, huh? Hmmmm. I wonder what Daddy-o has been up to behind Ezme's back? Interesting possibilities there.... There may be large swaths of Brahm's life that Ezmaray doesn't know about, from when he was supposedly "out in the wilderness."

Feel free to make up whatever you like about him. The only things that are canon is that he is from Dalhurst -- which has some very clearly outlined gender roles -- has a family, and is a skilled trapper. Oh, and he's still alive - as of a few weeks ago, anyway.

And apparently Dalhurst is close enough that we, over here, could have heard of individual people from there.

That, or the old man really made a name for himself somehow!

Hey! I didn't say how close that 'close enough' was. Could also be that only Albert has heard of him. Albert met a lot of strange people during his tenure as a bartender just outside the city, he may have met travellers who told stories.

It is completely up to you guys how much he knows, how much of that is true, and how much of that involves Ezme herself.

The more you risk the greater your potential reward... (though not always).

Time spent in the mist is risky, though there is something more going on with the timing, there was mist most of yesterday and that did not affect the party.
Sounds like 'a plan'. A factor in the roll may be how well you time that finishing. Let's see the ritual and decide on the needed roll(s) and then see how it goes.

Cool, I'm drafting up the ritual right now, and I'll have it stop at the end so we can wait for the right time to set it off.

Cool.

It seems like you used Quicksilver rather than taking time to do the ritual [ref]. You only need one of the components from the list. So either strike out the Quicksilver (Occult Items) from your character sheet (it is 10s each, so you may have more?); or we can treat that use as more symbolic, not using a full does and keep what you have for later. If you don't use up the Quicksilver then we can say you spent the whole time, till the mist is ready, performing (though that is not exactly what you described). The blood-letting was also symbolic since losing any HP will kill you (or the equivalent:).

We could also say that you can spend more than one requirement from the list to improve your odds or gain some benefit. We will have to deal with that sort of thing on a case-by-case basis.

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This seemed performative and based on your 'force of personality', so give us a roll +CHA `2d6+2` to determine the outcome (unless you think you should roll something else, of course).

On a 6- it goes bad, you can say how, but maybe the spirit turns on you, or the ritual turns inward and corrupts you somehow (we will find out later how), or it does not work as you intended or not at all and the situation gets more complicated, we can chat about details if needed.

On a hit the mist clears.
On a 7-9 choose 1, on a 10+ choose 2, on a 12+ all three:
· the effect lasts for a while, else the mist will be back before you can complete your task.
· the effect is far-reaching, else it is local to the party.
· it does not attract unwanted attention, else it does.

Yes, it either takes time, which you don't have full control over, or you use one of the other mechanisms that cost you something material, and have it happen 'exactly' when you want. If you choose to spend the Quicksilver you can have it happen at the right moment, removing some risk of the mist overwhelming you and increasing the potency of the effect, at the cost of 10 silver.
Absolutely. We can all work out the details together and play it by ear. :)
We did not see what you did over that time. But if you rested and ate, then do ahead and re-roll you HP.
If you want to. Being at 1 HP is very risky, though. I would not advise that as a common course of action. Maybe save sacrificing your HP for when you are desperate or are confident you will have time to recover afterwards?
You rolled an 8, so make your pick from the list above.

That is an important consideration. :)
You start with 60 silver. You can calculate how much you have (I assumed you spent it all since you say on your sheet that you are broke, but I did not check your homework, I tend to just trust my players. :)

All the items you have have a cost in the Equipment list.

Occult Items are 10 silver each, though you can make your own 'ritual blood' it seems.

• Occult Items (10s each): quicksilver (per dose), pouch of bone dust, vial of holy water (one use), vial of blood, ritual incense and oils.
:)

Really, though, since the HP re-roll already happened while you rested, this ritual did not cost you HP, just a little blood. But we don't need to fret the details if they detract from the story.

Rolling another 1 just means that you did not recover anything, maybe you did not get enough rest (5 hours is not a lot when you are already exhausted as you described), or did not take the time to eat/drink (we did not see it, so we can pretend the requirements were, in fact, not met even though you were allowed to roll).

I remember the money now- I definitely spent it all. I assume I only have one dose of quicksilver then, and I just used it until I get some more?

I thought occult items was like a pack of occult stuff, so I just wrote "occult items" on my character sheet. I'll change it to quicksilver then.

... It appears Ezme will likely be the one in need of rescuing. :-P

Who shall rescue the rescuer? :)

To be clear: The tracks Ezme is following lead forward, but the scream comes from off to the side. [ref]

Should I be making my posts only visible to the GM, since I've stupidly parted ways with the others?

@vagueGM, when the top of your post says - Ezme - , is that your way of indicating that your post is for my eyes only?

No. We can trust the other players to read along and respond only where appropriate and only with what their characters would know. This way they can also insert their characters into the story when time allows.
This is not DnD, splitting the party is not taboo because the system is robust enough to cope. :)
No, not 'for your eyes only', but it is addressed to you, or to your character —as per the Principles.

Addressing the character and not the player also allows for easier writing with 'Then you hear a scream from off to the left ...' instead of 'Then Ezme hears a scream from off to her left ...' and such. Though the changes to second person can be jarring for some players, I view it the same as when you are addressing a group and need to directly call out individual people by name, but then you turn away from the group and talk, one-on-one, to someone and would then say 'can you please go and ...'.

Good questions, though. Every GM has their own ways of doing things.

Regarding ezme's dad and Albert, Albert probably heard stories from people visiting his bar. I don't think he'd know the man directly.
Thanks for giving me the option of making up stories there, Karabooo. I like that way of PC interaction 😁
But whatever Albert heard are stories and rumours. They might be true or completely fake. So feel free to correct or acknowledge them as you please. 🙂

Thank you for the clarification, @vagueGM!

And excellent. I'm excited to see what you come with, @TheGenerator. ;)

... assuming my character survives this first encounter.

(Shortest cameo ever! lol.)

@vagueGM, is Esmaray of the impression that she'd been following this creature all along, and that it was never actually Shireen?

Hmm... I assumed it was her tracks you were following, but your question gives me an idea and now I am not so sure. Especially with how unlikely you seemed to think it was that she could be here [ref].

If Ezme is thinking the same thing, then take a moment to check her suspicions. That sounds like a +WIS roll, unless you think something else is at more suitable.

On a miss you will lose some of your edge for surprising the creature. But with a success you will be able to adjust your actions to improve your odds, the better the success the more advantage you will gain (or the more advantage you will sap from the enemy, but you can't know that distinction yet:).

Something like that, yeah. But going in the right direction is not your biggest problem right now.

You would first need to get away, the creature is about to pounce on you [ref], you only had time to react because of your Scout ability, it still knows you are there and set up its trap right behind the reeds to get you close.

If you want to get away you could make a roll for it, this might be +DEX if you are trying to be quiet enough that it did not even notice you parting the reeds, but you can suggest other stats (INT or WIS make sense too, or anything you can justify).

But that would require a 12+ to get away clean. It knows you are there, after all, it lured you into its trap. Being a Scout is what justifies you even trying this, it does not guarantee you don't get spotted when the fiction has you walking into an ambush. On a 10+ you can get away, but it is right on your heels, on a 7-9 it might get a swipe at you before you can run, and it will be right behind you.

Even on a 6- you will be able to get away if you are willing to take a few hits. Having a Skill means you treat a miss as 'a bad success at a cost'... if you are willing to pay the cost.

You could take more actions to try lose it after we have resolved this.
You always roll `2d6` and add WIS (or whatever stat is appropriate). Skills don't give you extra dice, they affect the fiction.

Okay, thanks for the clarifications! I subtly edited my post at 6:20 to correct my false assumption about the actions she would take.

Cool. I am not going to go back and search for subtle changes. If anything important was changed call it out explicitly.

I forget that this game has damage rolls, I play too many PbtAs, and most of them don't roll for damage.

In this case I don't think such a roll is completely relevant, this is more metaphysical than physical. But, since your metal[ref] (iron or steel? You tell us.) was effective, go ahead and make the roll, it might help us work out details later when this concludes.

Since you rolled a 10 you are not distracted by your wounds [ref].

Have you even looked at them? Maybe you know that some wounds can be ignored till they are looked at, but once you see how bad they are they can become serious?

Oh, she has not looked. She is not taking her eyes off this creature.

If you want.

Sure, sure. Though you can look with you hands and not your eyes... though that might lead to scratching.

Should I roll too? Or maybe not long enough in the mist yet?

Guess so. Just read the RP thread 😉

I didn't directly call or a roll since I don't know what the others are doing. If Gronk is with you you will not be 'in the mist' anymore, so you could forego making more rolls in that case. That is assuming they can find you.

Oh I didn't think the circle would follow Gronk.
Cool feature.

Wanklespangler is its name now, huh? lol!! I was imagining that Wanklespangler was a derogatory term for a guy who is overcompensating for his small genitalia.

Apparently.
Yes, but apparently your local derogation does not translate, and it thinks it is a term of endearment. :)

Sounds like an attempt at subterfuge as a distraction. Maybe add a 'Stealth' roll using CHA?

I added it as an edit. Got a ... five ... :: cough, cough ::

Don't do that, you need to learn to roll better. :)

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It was a 'Stealth' type roll so the Stealth Skill applies, you can not fail outright, but you are also trying to set a largish metal trap with only one hand, and right in front of the thing, so...

Succeeding will cost you something. There are two sacrifices that come to my mind right away:

• Either you lose the knife, maybe toss it away and hope the mistling follows its arc to give you the distraction. (This leave you without the protection of that iron. Unless you can find it again.)

• Or (and it may not be thing your character thinks of or does deliberately as she does not have all the details) you indulge its desire for blood and give it a little.
  · Maybe you get a minor cut from the trap (`1d3-2`);
  · or you allow yourself to 'Scratch', possibly drawing blood and ticking your 'Scratched' Clock, but also possibly —on a good roll— not having any cost and maybe learning something.

What do you think?

Scratching enough to draw blood would be difficult with both hands full. I think it would be most realistic for Ezmaray to cut herself on the trap in her hurry.

Might be tricky, but you could sheath the knife long enough to scratch, that way you don't lose it and can easily draw it again. Options abound. :)

Did I .. uh... do that right with the finger damage? -2 or +2?

... or even use the hand setting the trap to scratch, holing it with just your foot.

Yep, only 1 point, could even have been 0 (though not less than that, of course, it can not heal you:).

There is more at play here than HP loss.

Ope. You totes wanted me to scratch, didn't you. lol. Sorry!

Not at all, they both about the same in terms of 'consequences'. I can work with either. No worries. :)

For the record, 330 conibear traps don't have teeth. They operate more like a mouse trap, capturing/killing prey with their strong snap. The creature must pass through the rectangular wire-framed opening of the trap to trigger the trap and be captured within it (though, conveniently, a clever trapper can trigger the trap and make it close without getting themselves caught). If a trapper does get a limb caught, this can lead to a broken digit if very unlucky. Usually it's not so bad.

::Taps fingers together:: ... It appears I'll have to work on that one....

It bit you, it must have teeth! :)

But, Ha. There is irony in my misunderstanding exactly what they are, but I can't talk about it till we resolve the Shireen situation. :)

5 ... is not better than 5. Do better, I said! :)
I am not convinced that this is 'Survival'. Just because it involves a trap and something to put in the trap does really count when you are using it in a nonstandard way.
That part could be Survival related, we can say that you succeed at not killing it. Fair?

Fair, enough!

Who, indeed? "ROALD!!"

Yeah. Not sure you want to put all your eggs in that basket. :)

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Airshark, this mist seems to be messing with people's ability to roll. I didn't know it could have such meta effects. :)

A common image is of one scratching their head when they pause to think, so scratching is an obvious consequence for that miss, but that can get boring.

Maybe we get Albert back today, I say we wait and see what they are doing, then work this out.
Seems like you are shouting this out very loud? Is that true? If so, Ezme may hear you (though so will anything else).

Let's still wait and see about Albert before we resolve this, it might link into the 6-.

Oh, no. I was joking about us having to rescue Roald now!

That seems more likely. :)

I'm gonna post in a few hours. I have more catching up to do than I had hoped for 😅.

No worries.

Yes, Roald keeps shouting every x time.

Gronk and Albert to the rescue. Let's wait for them 😉

Sorry about that! Ezmaray managed to engage the mistling in some dialogue....

It should be a quick enough read, and did not take much time in-fiction.

That's unfortunate... The sun coming up would be a great help 😁

The moon came up just before it started. Does that help?

Well... we seem to be rolling well, huh, team? :/ Yikes.

But at least you rolled poorly with style! LOL. Love the poetry!

That roll did not match the prayer. Nice one.

There is no mechanical reason for Gronk to be less useful, that is purely an in-fiction choice. Your HP is low but, so long as you stay away from things that might cause damage, that should not be an impediment to your acting. Possibly your character is accustomed to putting himself in a weakened condition and then pushing through?

I wasn't sure if the scratches were cumulative, so I picked the best option 😉

We can always adjust the dice rolls after we see them, modifiers are optional. :)

LOL. This is hilarious, but totally tracks. Ezme definitely strikes me as the type of listener who jams out to a tune without ever really listening to the lyrics. She probably has no clue what this song is even about. "Damsel in distress--!" LOL. She would be so embarrassed if she knew.

I already had something in mind for her next action. It might provide more clarity.... Probably not.... Not the end of the world if Roald makes his way to Ezme instead of to the bridge, though.

I completely misunderstood the part about the bridge.
I thought you were using bridge as a musical term. The part of a song that connects 2 other parts. And not as a building/construction

Now I see my mistake. 😂

But this works too.

So funny!

I was using it as the musical term. LOL. Ezmaray just didn't take into account that the bridges of these songs might have misleading lyrics.

Yes your last post made me realize that.
I was just too stupid to make the bridge - bridge connection.
Roald should have picked up on that though, having 'decipher' as a skill. 😉
This mist is doing strange things with his mental abilities.

I was wondering about forcing that realisation due to Roald's Decipher, but Ezme is not from around here and different cultures have different understandings of things, they might call parts of a song different things (though we seem to all speak the same language, which is interesting (you will even find the same language in Neculse, which is considered 'a very strange place':)).

Most likely reason I thought of is that many different cultures have slightly different words to famous tunes. So the song Ezme learned as a child might not mention a 'damsel in distress'... but most likely Ezme does not consider herself a damsel at all? She was raised as a mansel, right?

Yeah, I had the same thought about there possibly being different words to the tune in Ezme's part of the world.

"MANsel??" Uggghh... LOL.

But yeah.... Ezmaray may be a dame, but in her mind she's no "damsel in distress!"

Sorry? :)

Aargh 5.

Possible outcome: Roald ''deciphers'' he is being tricked and starts walking in the opposite direction than where Ezme is.

Hmmm.... Well, the test was to see if he realized the sound had moved. If he failed, does that mean he'd keep going in the direction he was originally headed?

5? Have you been taking dice rolling lessons from karabooo? :)

I am not seeing any particularly interesting outcomes here, I think you definitely know that something is messing with you, that part is easy to Decipher. However you wandered out into the mist alone and are now lost. You can choose what you want to try to do (keep seeking the damsel, maybe; try to find your way back to the bridge or road, maybe; sit and wait for the damsel to rescue you, maybe; something else, maybe?) but you probably do need rescuing. :)

I will bring the others together so Albert can get in on the action.

@GameMaster: We are going to move on, you can catch up when you are ready. For now your ritual has provided the others a safe place to retreat to.

That would be great :)
I'd love to jump in on what's going on, but high posting rate has me feeling hopelessly behind.

Would Albert have heard any of the whistles or shouts since they walked further into the river?

Sorry about that. Fortunately, aside from a flurry of one sentence posts during a conversation, they have been about one per day since then.

This is a benefit of splitting up the party, if one group is going slow they don't need to slow down all the others, just those with them.

With all the wondering around and whistling and shouting it has been, maybe, a quarter of an hour? Did Albert spend most of that time tending to Gronk? Or did he do something else that we can resolve as we reconvene?
Sure, you will have heard such noises from all around you in the mist, but they are confusing.

Did you venture out? If so we can either say you came back in short order (very wise) or we can change the 'two men' Ezme sees on the bridge.

Precisely my thoughts (as also noted in the previously 'private note' (testing the site feature:) here). :)

Can I have some new dice please?

LOL. I was gonna say.........

Let me know if I should have done a roll or something to find Roald's trail. It seemed as though she was able to pursue Shireen's trail easily enough earlier, so I concluded that maybe this skill was narratively something of a given for Ezme because of her background.

@karabooo, Albert is finding Ezme quite suspicious. If you want to resolve that in a specific way, we can talk about it OOC and work towards that goal together :)

Not a problem, this is probably the most efficient way to play play-by-post. Post what you want to happen and have the GM call for rolls as needed to get you there.

There are reasons that that previous trail was 'easy' to follow.

Your Survival Skill often means you don't need to roll for such things in situations where others might have to. If there are no interesting costs then the fact that you treat 6-s at 7-9s means you just can't fail, so why bother.

I laughed at you. I hope that is OK. :)

LOL. Forgiven.

Was that convincing enough, @TheGenerator ? Shall I do a roll?

It's convincing enough to get Albert to work with Ezme for now. But it will take more for him to trust her. Finding Roald should do the trick 🙂

I'm curious to hear these terrible jokes.

Haha! Sorry, Albert. I swear Ezme usually isn't so scary. She's just covering and countering her fear/anxiety with fury right now.

12! :: licks fingertip and puts it on arm, making a sizzling sound ::

Suspiciously too easy? :)

Go ahead and narrate finding Roald.

I knew it!!! 😁

Haha. Can't win!

Hey, how do you guys make emojis in here?? My hands feel so tied without them!

I don't? :)

My cellphone keyboard has them.
I'll give you some to copy.
🚲🦿🧟🦸🐯🍟⛽🛻🚁📸📠🪠🇪🇹
There, you're welcome!

😁

All my favorites! How thoughtful of you! <3

I use my phone or a Chrome plugin. Or you can copy paste them from any other website :)

The correct answer: "An escar-stay."

Hahaha 🤣

I only have 1 emoji for this:
🤦

Hehe :)

Sorry not sorry. hehe!

I don't know about the rest of you, but I like to make playlists for my characters. Think I found my theme song for Ezmaray today! - https://youtu.be/oFUiWciOwck?si=TpehXOjuZHONVa_q

karabooo, with your 12 I promised you 'something extra'. I figure the most useful thing right now is a direction to go in to find the source? But, if you prefer, it could instead be an insight into the nature of the source and then you would need to find it on your own, or something else completely.

If you want, go ahead and narrate (in character) how Ezme comes to this realisation/discovery, and tell us what you find that points you in the right direction, and what direction that is (probably using the river and towards or away from the ocean as landmarks?), or what you learn about the nature of the threat.

If you would rather get something else, we can talk about it.

If you would rather I do this narration, I am happy to do so.

GameMaster, I not sure how to respond to your taunting the mist. :)

Maybe explain what you are trying to acheive in the fiction, bearing the fiction in mind. In all probability 'it' knows where you are, so shouting won't bring it too you. Maybe you are trying to provoke it into coming out into the open, but that is a long-shot —given that it appears to be something 'alien' that 'hides' and 'manipulates' by its very nature— so that would require a lot more setup in the fiction and heroic rolling.

Possibly we can treat this as a 'learning experience' for Gronk? Maybe he sees how it responses, or something, and that could become valuable later, and may give him some needed edge.

May I ask what direction the ocean is? I imagined it was to the west and the crew was traveling north up the coast, but that may have been totally off....

That sounds about right, I believe, in a previous scene, the sun was setting over the ocean.

Unless we really need to define such things I tend to leave them vague. Players can decide when these details matter.

This sounded very familiar, I didn't know the artist, so I looked them up. Turns out I do know their one popular song.

Gotcha. I have an idea as to what Ezmaray could notice that will give us a sense of where to go next. I'll post it tomorrow.

Wow! It is hard to overstate just how wrong Ezme is on that point. :)
I am not inclined towards 'villain's monologues' where everything is explained. If you want to know answers to such questions your characters will need to put effort into finding out, and steer the story that way. Obviously of I misplace clues and players are desperate to know what was going on I can summarize some things, but often (mostly) I don't know what the 'real answer' is till the players manifest it in the story.

So far you have been very astute at picking up and running with what I have been putting down. It has been a pleasure.

lol. Well, I think we're all pretty aware the bad guys are doing their share of scheming!
I will usually try to dig deeper to the best of my ability while also staying in character. :-P Not sure how to go about doing so at this point in the story, but my eyes will be peeled for clues to unraveling such mysteries.
Been really enjoying the intriguing challenges and characters presented in this game. Thank you for running it!!

If Albert wasn't the nice guy he is, I would have made him say "Excelent suggestion, Gronk. Definitely nobody would ever say that out of their own free will!" :P

I knew a few First Aid Kit songs. They are nice :)
Emmylou is in my list of favorites.

I'm quite liking this mist story and intrigue too. Thanks, vague!

I'm not sure I've encountered this group before, but "Wolf" popped up on my Spotify playlist, and the lyrics were rather fitting. :)

Hope that works for you, @vagueGM!

I assume you are implying that you need to go inland or northeast? You can lead the way when the group is ready.

Yup yup. Will do. Feeling for the right moment. Looks like I accidentally jumped the gun a little bit.

Sometimes people have delays, we can't always wait for everyone to be finished before we move on. If need be people can continue to roleplay what their characters were doing before events that we have made happen, but in this case we could also keep talking while we move towards your suspected source.

Remember Fiction First, we can't do anything with a roll sans fiction. Show us what your character is doing and we can see if a roll is called for. If you want the GM to 'Make a Move' all you to do to trigger that is 'Give them a Golden Opportunity', you don't need to roll low (and trying for a random 6- would be highly frowned upon in the type of PbtA where you get XP on a miss:), all you need to do is do something risky.

So far it appears that the creatures can only be in the mist (and maybe affect the area just visible at the edge of the mist?) so if you stay in your safe bubble you are unlikely to meet them. Your bubble 'moves' slow, so you can easily walk out of it, you believe it will catch up. (Actually the mist is always thinning from your location, so if you left the others behind at a run, they would not see a circle moving after you, they would see the mist slowly reform around them; and, when you stopped, you would not see the circle move to you, you would see the mist dissipate away from you. Basic physics.)

So now that I'm running ahead in the mist hoping to find something scary, this is a risky move or a good opportunity? How do I make something happen?

Does this mean that if we don't follow Gronk, we'll be swallowed up by the mist?

You can't really make something happen. You can make your character do things. Then the world (AKA vagueGM) will react to it. if it's something risky enough, it will need a roll of sorts and depending on that roll something happens.

If you want the story to go somewhere specific, then you can explain your idea here in OOC and we can discuss it. Vague really likes it when players let them know which direction they want to go in, and takes that into account. We can work towards a common story idea. (And then have it all go horribly bad when the dice speak :P)

Uh, yeah. It is centered on Gronk, if you are not near him you are in the mist.

In the fiction. You drive the fiction through your character's actions and decisions, and but interacting with the world and the other characters.

What are you wanting to have happen? You can talk to us in OCC and we can try to steer the story to fit what you want, but try to shape that based on the current fiction and what is going on in the story. Use the facts that are established, establish your own facts based on them, and communicate clearly.

Based on my own assumptions —which could be wrong, so tell me— I have been trying to keep Gronk safe (in the gaps where you were not posting). He only has 1 HP, so any injury will kill him, so I figured he would be slightly cautious. HP damage is not generally the first option I reach for when consequences are needed, but sometimes they are the most appropriate response to what is happening (and there is potential for physical damage from the mist infection) and if you put yourself in a situation where that is the only outcome and roll less than a 10 you might have to take HP damage... which Gronk can't afford to do.

Let us know what you are trying to achieve —in- and out of character— and we will try to help you get there.

So I'm hoping to encounter the beast in the mist. I know we've met the mistlings, but I want to meet the big one. I was hoping that running towards it outside of the protective circle would at least let me encounter it.

You have done nothing in the fiction to lead up to that, nor to set up for that. In the mist it is in control, so 'encountering' it would probably spell your doom (weak as you are).

As much as possible we need to try treat the situation as 'real' and consider what our characters would do if they were real people in their real world. Would your character, after spending time to set up protections and containment, knowing they are on death's door, and that there are things out there that scare everyone else and have, apparently, killed people in gruesome ways... would they run out recklessly 'just hoping' that thing they meet is the boss and not another servant, and that the boss does not just squish them like a bug?

If you really think they would risk their life this way, then we can Roll the Die of Fate (a single 1d6 with low being bad and high not being that bad (considering the situation)). On a 6 you can run right into the big one and have a chance to do one thing before it turns its attention upon you.

The other players are doing a thing, though. You have been absent or slow posting for much of that. Do you think it is fair for you to suddenly 'jump to the end', wiping out their scene building? If you really want to continue, then they will all get to say if their characters are with Gronk or if he outran them and is alone in his fate. They might want to continue the scene we have constructed.

What say you?

Okay, so realistically my character would probably try to stop Gronk and I think she has the strength and stamina to do so, however, far be it from me to stand in @GameMaster's way if he wants his character to run ahead and potentially meet a quick and gruesome end. ...Unless some pvp action would amuse/interest you, @GameMaster? I usually try to avoid it, and I'm not sure what vagueGM's policy is on such matters.

Did we decide the mist-dispelling power was centered on Gronk or on something that he is carrying? If it's centered on an object, Ezme could try to wrestle it from Gronk (since he isn't really using it anyway!) and allow him to continue on his solo quest without it. That would be a realistic option, as she's starting to wonder if he might be working with the enemy to lure people into the woods and abandon them (so she would consequently worry less about his personal safety).

I think my preference would be, if Gronk continues on his own to meet the evil master, that I not be able to see what happens to him behind the scenes. This mysterious build up has been fun and I'd rather not ruin the surprise of what's at the end. But, you know, no big deal either way. I'm flexible. :)

No 'PvP' allowed, but CvC is allowed with the enthusiastic consent of all players involved.

If the players both agree, we can look to the mechanics to resolve conflicts between their characters, but if one player wants something another player can not use the game mechanics to stop them from make a choice or taking an action, that is an out-of-game discussion (just like we are naturally having already:).

That does mean that karabooo gets to decide what Ezme does, and whether that is to try to stop Gronk. But GameMaster gets to decide what Gronk does, and that could be to 'get away without needing to deal with Ezme' (think X-Card), maybe we just say that he was too far head and the mist swallowed him? If our actions make sense in the fiction it should not be too hard to explain how they came about. If an action does not make sense in the fiction you simply can't choose to do that, this is what 'Fiction First' means.
We did not decide. Ultimately that is up to Gronk, but it sounded like it was about him, not an item?
Viable, if all players are into that.
That does seem like a logical conclusion to his actions. But the PCs are not the bad guys in this game. If GameMaster wants to keep playing Gronk then he needs to not be trying to get the rest in trouble even if his foolhardy action might incidentally do so.
Agreed. We have all spent time crafting this situation and it would not be fair to have a 'bored' player wreck it for everyone. If Gronk chooses to continue on this course we have to have a conversation and work out what happens in private, this site can do that, but I seldom use the features since I am not a fan of such things.

---

If we don't hear from @GameMaster tomorrow I will PM them and decide how to move passed this blocker.
Actually I am worried enough that I am sending a well-being-check PM now, if I don't hear back I may see if anyone knows them and can check on them.

Excellent, that is the best response we could hear. Understanding each others' position is good.

Hopefully you will be happy with the speed things are going, the more you contribute to the story the more you can guide the pacing of how and when things happen.

This is largely why made the ritual effect move slowly enough that you could easily get out of it. (This and physics.:)

There has also been the question of whether it is centered on you or on something you have. That is up to you. If it is centered on an object then you can leave it somewhere strategic and move out of it, or give it someone else to control. The downside of it being an object is that you could lose it or lose control of it. There are always risks.

Ah that explains a lot, @GameMaster. No worries! We can get things back on track quite easily. :)

It mostly seemed like a strange course of action for Gronk (to me at least). With Gonk's sacrifice to clear the mist, I think it has set us up to deal with this on our terms instead of this 'boss'. (Or at least with some advantage)

We've never really worked with a plot timer based on real life time. It all depends on what's happening in the game. No need to rush to the end as far as I'm concerned.

I'm okay with the mist effect centered on a ritual object Gronk is carrying. I think that would have the most utility. Any ideas for what that object might be?

The vial of bottled mist?
Or the knife?
Can be anything really. It's your ritual :D you tell us.

Or even just a stone from the bridge? Solid stone seems antithesis to mist?

Something tells me that Ezme is going to one day regret giving Roald this advice....

How does the mist effect roald's speach and movement?
I suspect it depends on how long he is in it? Or is it cumulative?
I wanted to start speaking slurred in the previous scene, but didn't because of it being complex enough already 😉

Are you in the mist, Roald? I thought the spell was mostly protecting us again....

I thought we were running/walking in the mist, in front of the lagging circle of clear weather.
So of we stop, it will catch up with us.

I thought that too.

Up to you really.
I don't think a constant accumulation sounds fun. So maybe we say that you can recover if you are out of the mist and start a buildup again when you enter? Both take time so you can play with how affected you are by adjusting the dials of how long you spent out vs in last time, and how much you got to recover.

I would make the recovery fairly quick, so you can clear it if you need to. The onset can be paced as seems fun, based on the events that happen.


You will have to wait for it to trigger again before you know if the In the Mist Scratch-counter resets or continues.
Learning this at a bad time may be bad. :)
Hehe. That can complicate the scene, for sure. Bring it in when it seems fun.

Remember, you can always describe Roald as speaking slurred while not typing out hard to write, and even harder to read, slurred speech. Do what works for you.
You stopped long enough to get some breathing room, but it is up to you how fast you want to travel and if you want to leave the protection of the circle.

You tell me if you are ahead of the circle. I will respond once I know.

It sounds like Roald would like to play with some slurred speech, so I'm okay setting a fast pace. It might help me actually see/interact with Wankle, as well, should they choose to appear.

That's one heck of a drop of water, to put out a torch! But alright, I'll run with it.

Ezme is in the front, so clearly there's nothing between her and the critters that direction. She paused long enough for the others to group up behind her if they want, but that's up to them, obviously!

If the creatures don't attack immediately, she would like to make an "offering" to them before we continue moving forward. But right now I need to go to bed. :)

Indeed. There seemed to be misunderstanding about the 'fog light' effect happening, so I turned off the light so you could know for sure that the torch-light was blinding your all.

The torch was damp from passing through the mist, already burning low (they only last a short while, maybe 10-30 minutes)... and I said 'as if by coincidence' so there may have been some level of direction happening (though why the 'enemy' would aid you in such a way is anybodies guess:).

I'm going to wait another half day or so for @GameMaster to answer about where they are in the group [ref] and allow the rest to talk, then I will respond to the blood offering.

Gronk is in the middle of the group according to this post

REF: in RP
I was thinking maybe this blessing can slow down the effect of the mist on Ezme's scratch. Is that an option?

Sounds like an option. Cure says it can tackle 'curses' and 'poisons' as well as 'wounds', so one of them may apply.

Oh, I didn't even consider that it would fall under 'cure'. Even better :)

The dice will tell us. :)

So, I don't know a whole lot about the gods/goddesses and religions of this world. Are the gods very active in this world, and is Raynor worshipped globally or at least recognized as a trustworthy source? How likely is it that Ezme has encountered followers of Raynor and had positive interactions with them?

We don't know of any other instance of gods being actively involved in current events. Albert is special.

Raynor is the god of Fire and Conquest, so not likely to be the most friendly god around. You have probably encountered his temples and worshipers at some point. TheGenerator can tell use what the other ones are like, but there are good and bad among all groups, so you can also have whatever history you want.

Fire and conquest?? Oh. Oh dear..... 😆 <-- (Yata!)

Yeah, there may be a reason we all speak the same language. :)

So technically (as I have made this up :P ) Raynor is the god of conquest. Fire is more like a secondary thing associated with this conquest. Both in a literal 'burning' sense as an 'inner fire' metaphor. But I guess that still makes him god of both? Or at least that's how people see it.

There has been one other defined god:
That's the only thing we know about Larinia.

If you want to add more gods or details, please feel free :) I don't have a monopoly on the divine realm. If you know of 'the bad side of Raynor' and don't trust him, I'll work with that.

Albert used to be an initiate at the temple of Raynor, so he knows a little bit about the gods from books. But not more than some basic things.

The wolf!? That def sounds more Ezme's style...

Hehe, yes it sure does!

Nothing has been said about the gods being in competition or conflict with each other. Do you want that to be a thing?
Personally, I don't think Albert would be offended if he got blessed by another god. I like the idea that every god has their spot in the divine realm and some overlap.

What's your view on this?

Albert, the philosopher....

Oh, sorry, just saw your last message, @The Generator. I don't require that the gods be duking it out, necessarily. Ezme, however, has some "meh" experience with people who think it's their duty to "conquest," and it seems quite likely that these folks from her past purported to be Raynor's chosen.

Hey guys, is there a good way for Gronk to gracefully exit the party in the next week? I'm not sure to do this.

How would you like to exit? I tried offering you another opportunity to get in the thick of things, but you elected to stay safe in the middle of the group, so nothing happened to Gronk.

We can go back and show how that was not the case and you got scratched, which could lead to a messy end, or you could go out into the mist with Ezme and somehow find an exit. I know this may sound blunt, but the concern I have with the second option involves whether you can keep up with the conversation she intends to have won't slow things down —especially since the others may be sorta waiting while that happens.

I also don't want to make promises about wrapping this scenario up in that timeframe, I don't want to rush the others. If you are set on exiting next week we may not have resolved the current mist story, so 'going home, satisfied' may (probably) not be an option.

It you want a 'heroic death that helps the others' then there might be need for a distraction while Ezme talks.

Thank you for your patience in a game that was not working for you. How do you want this to end?

Got it :)

I'm okay with not having a satisfied end, although I think I would prefer to have Gronk stay alive if possible. I like the idea of a distraction, and I could always release the mist I've trapped if that would confuse the mistlings. Then I could try to lead a few away from the group and split it up.

(I can hold my action until I have confirmation about whether or not anyone besides Albert wants to join Ezme...)

We will try get you there if we can without compromising the story.
OK, we will aim for that, same as we aim for most characters to stay alive. The dice may have other opinions, though.
Let's see what happens with Ezme's talk with Wankle, such a distraction may be more use against the source? It could also be a bargaining chip, or leverage to manipulate.

Let us know if you go with Ezme.

We can also move to that scene and let people who joined you place themselves into it when they are available.

Presumably you leave the solid-knife with Albert or someone who stays behind? Or are you hoping to get a conversation outside the mist?

She already handed the ritual knife to Roald. She is going into the mist to have the conversation.

Right, right. If Roald goes with you we can assume he leaves it with someone who stays behind.

Oops. I checked Gronk's character sheet and saw he had a dagger. That's why I wrote what I did in that last post.

Then I realized after posting that the dagger on his sheet may be the same dagger as the ritual dagger. Oh well. Hopefully everyone is okay with me assuming Ezme could get her hunting knife back.

Sounds good to me. I also assumed it was the same weapon, it is the only one on the sheet. If Gronk is staying then he has his dagger, if he is coming with then he can make a plan, including saying that he had an extra dagger/knife for ritual purposes (we would deal with the extra-gear-debt if the character was sticking around long enough to make that interesting, but can ignore it this time).

-3? UH OH.

.... Did I do that right??

Mechanically yes! :)
Optimally... no? Or yes, it could be have been worse and at last we get to see more of the Move. :)

At least Wankle's apparently real concern prevent most of the harm.

Wankle? (I tried to make it look misty, but I failed.)

Seems like all the spikes are gone too. Which one wants in a pet. :)

Maybe desaturating it will make it more misty?

Closer?

More like ...

... now.

LOL.

Wohw. Looks like I'm lagging behind. I'll catch up tomorrow (Thursday)

Whahahaahahahaahahaaaa

Still don't want that blessing? 😁

Hah. Something tells me Ezmaray could definitely use that blessing.... She'll probably be at death's door before she accepts it, though.

So my best thought for my exit is that I head off into the mist to distract the source so y'all can get away or do whatever you need to do. Hopefully, I catch a glimpse of the source (even if just in a private note so as to not spoil it for the party), and I pop the smoke from my first ritual. With the smoke screen, there's a chance I escape, and there's a chance I'm eaten on sight. If we never know how I end, I guess I exist superimposed in both states? This might be the best end possible.

Maybe if she sees it work on Roald (who has fewer HP) she will accept? But Ezme deliberately obfuscated what the nature of the danger is, so the others don't know that Roald's scratching is something they need to worry about.

We can move right to the source for our next scene, then you can try talk to it (Ezme and Wankle have established talk as a possible solution) and try to reach a resolution.

Your bottled-mist might be a bargaining chip (though there seems to be lots of mist, so what value does a small bottle have?) Or it could have other value for a friend that can't exist outside the mist?

Wauw, these last posts... It reads like a book.
Nice one karabooo!

@GameMaster, I don't know if you'd want to do this. But how about you do one last ritual to turn the bottle of mist into a weapon. Albert can assist Gronk with some divine power perhaps. It will likely make you pass out or go mad. (or turn into a wankle???)
Seems like a pretty heroic way to go. (if it works... :/ )

Okay, sounds like the bottled mist is a bargaining chip and a weapon as a fallback if that works for everyone.

Aww, thanks Airshark! <3

I'm good with whatever, though I confess I am a little fond of vagueGM's idea of offering the bottle to Wankle so they can exist outside the mists. (Rangers and their weird pets.... hehehe!)

That might not be exactly what it said, though it is a valid enough interpretation.

Ezme can not know this, but Roald is rather good at working out puzzles (Decipher) so he may be able to glean some extra meaning if Ezme relays the exact words... if she can (most people are terrible at remembering what was actually said):.

Just a thought, otherwise, carry on. :)

I did say earlier that the source would devour Roald from the inside out because he has been marked. Is that close enough for him to puzzle it out?

No, that bit in isolation would probably lead him the wrong way. :)

But you got [ref] the to point I was hinting at, it is 'capable of being reasoned with' ... maybe.

If you want to fight, we can do that too, and it may come to that. If you want to set an ambush or surprise attack (or whatever you can come up while being lead around by your noses (or ears)) that could force it to talk to you. Options abound, there is no 'one right way' to 'solve' this.

Hesitating to volunteer Ezmaray simply because I already had a solo moment recently with Wankle and want to give others a chance if they're interested. That said, I'm not sure she'd realistically let any one of you go alone. 😝

Albert surely doesn't want to go alone

Have you? Did you? Cool.
We can all go. Gronk has stepped up, Ezme would probably not let someone else go alone, and Albert would not go alone.

Safety in numbers (someone may have noticed that you have only encountered the scratching mistlings when there is no one else around).

If anyone wants to stay back with the safety-knife they can. Or you can leave it as something to dart back to if needed. Or you can take it with you... which might have interesting results. Whatever you choose can work.

Well, she did follow that statement with "I think." She's not entirely certain.

Hope you all are okay with Ezmaray taking initiative, there. Trying to help things continue to move forward.

Oh, oops. Albert's post showed up while I was typing my response. :-P

Sorry for the incongruence, there.

Should I delete my post?

First, don't delete posts, that can leave many people uncomfortable, swearing they read something that they can not find. If you want to completely erase it you can strike it out, so the record is still there and people know that it was removed from the fiction.

But cross-posting happens all the time in PbP, we have to learn to live with it. About the only problem is the 'two groups of two', if you just strike out the 'of two' and leave it as two groups then your question to Roald still makes sense.

You can also tie the rope to the dagger and pin it to a tree if you all want to go.

Fair enough. It could be 'true', though I don't recall where that happened.

She and Wankle were chatting (the 2nd time) when suddenly they felt a presence and Wankle looked scared to be seen holding her hand. Ezmaray called out "Hello...?" and then a voice called back: "Hello..." Wankle warned about it being a trick.

I guess I'll just leave the post as is. If someone likes those other perfectly reasonable ideas better, they can suggest them. :)

I figured that more like another mistling, doing their mistling imitation trick. It is too late now to ask Wankle why they were worried about that, so fair assumption for Ezme to make.

I don't think the source can move, else it would be hard for you to have worked out where it is like you did.

Er... Ezme has never revealed to the others that the creature scratched her....

Oh, maybe Roald wasn't implying that it had scratched her specifically. Never mind.

I'm sorry, you're right. Best to ignore that remark.

Almost AI,... Almost

Can everyone hear the voices or is each voice only heard by one person?

I'm confused about who is in the mist and who isn't at this point. I thought Albert was already holding the rope previously.

Maybe you are hear that what might be other voices out there, but it is muffled and you can not hear exactly what they are saying, and you don't recognise the voice (though you also probably don't know the others' speakers).

Only those in the mist hear anything.

Sorry, my mistake. I assumed from:
That Albert was going. If you are staying with Roald, then ignore the bit about Theo and apply what Roald experiences to Albert as well.

No worries. It's because of these 3 posts here that I'm confused.Albert agreed to everyone going together, but then ezme assigned 2 groups, though it was not specified who is in which group.

I'm fine with either idea, but we should establish who is where.
Since Gronk wanted to meet the source, I expect that he wants to be in the mist.

Ezme's suggestion was merely that, and we may be ignoring the '... of two' part of the 'two groups' [ref] and have Roald as one 'group' and the rest as the others.

You decide where you want Albert to be.

Yeah I also went with Roald as one group and the rest as the other group

Nice and spot-on work, karabooo —as usual. [ref]

I am going to give the others a chance to interact with the scene before responding, especially Gronk, so he can have some impact before leaving.

Yep yep. 👍

I'm really enjoying the vivid imagery, vagueGM. Thanks so much for the creative energy you pour into this. :)

Thank you, karabooo.

You guys deserve a lot of the credit too, I am really just reacting to what you give me. (None of this was planned before it happened.:)

FYI. I'm fine With Roald being idle for the moment. 😉

Thanks. I figured you were. I can't think of any way to get you involved that does not detract from the happenings. :(

If something goes wrong then we will need you... else: no glory for you! :)

Random thing: I don't know what you all have been imagining, but I envision Ezmaray's accent as sounding kind of Slavic... Probably closest to Serbian?

That's what I got from her speech pattern.

Rockin'!

I don't think Ezme knows any local lore, so I'll leave it to you guys to puzzle about that....

Yes, or discuss it with your companions and work it out in the fiction. A roll can shot-circuit the fiction if you are in a hurry to leave.

Fair. How long have you been in this area? Do you know the town of Olmsford at all?

It could remind you of lore that you do know. Doesn't have to be local to apply to the current situation :)

Very true. It is pretty universal.

I also want to make it clear the figure's 'frustration' is not mine, and I don't want it to become the players'. It is hints about where you are getting close to what it is trying to tell you but are not quite there.

Often a short-circuit 'knowledge roll' serves to skip ahead when player frustration kicks in.

lol. Give her sass all you like, vampire, but Ezme's puzzling this out!

None of us know much, you can make stuff up. Most of what happened here has been based on what they players brought into the story.

A 6- on your roll brings complications in addition to answers. This is kinda two soft moves (which is not fully au fait, but they are related and I don't want to take away your 'victory', just complicate it). You know what the problem is, but it is not an easy fix, and you also have an immediate threat to deal with.

No, on a 10+ you resist scratching. I see my wording made it sound otherwise, that was not my intent, whoops, sorry.
At least she is Hardy. :)

Take 3 Damage. Describe how you scratch hard enough to kill the average 'Level 1' character.

It's a good thing Ezme started out with so many HP. She can donate all the more blood to the cause. :P

Geesh! When you put it that way....

Yeah, now maybe you get an idea of where the rumours of people being 'ripped apart' come from. :=(

Maybe the others will risk taking the time to restrain you and save you some damage?

She's okay.... for now....

Ten points to the person who knows what show I borrowed the curse word "frack" (aka "frak") from!

It's Battlestar Galactica, isn't it?

👏

Veronica Mars? :)

But, seriously: What can one do these BSG points?

I am very tempted to run (or play in) a Last Fleet game.

The Generator can save those points for when you run that game. I bet that would be cool.


… And now we’re all playing tug-o-war with this rope. 😄

I misread the part about the rope not being tight anymore. But don't think it will be a problem.

It was conditional upon them coming towards you quicker than they could hand-over-hand the rope. But not a big deal, it works as written, we can assume some dropping and then picking up of the rope as they prepare to hasten back. Or we can just ignore it.
What are you trying to achieve?

Roald will follow the rope in their direction carrying the mist repellend dagger.
But if that woild be to much to do without rolling dice, I paused to give you a chance to react.

I am unsure about the part about 'cutting the knot'. If that is important, you can explain more.

The ritual protection moves slowly, but any distance you cover towards them will help your companions.

Or, are you braving the itch of the mist? You don't know yet about what it did to Ezme.

He is cutting the knot to save time. Not having to untangle it. That's all. And yes, Roald will venture into the mist once again as promised to his companions. Hoping that the protection will come soon after him.

It will follow along, at its own pace.

Well, that's the first good roll since Karabooo joined us, guess the curse is lifted :-)

Hehe. Maybe Roald should teach Ezme the 'keep your hands full' trick. :)

Next time I do an "In The Mist" roll for her, I'll be sure to hold a beer can in each hand and click the submit button with my nose.

(I'm waiting to post to see what Albert does, but if everyone starts moving toward Roald, Ezme will do her best to follow.)

If we haven't heard from Albert in a few hours I will bring us (closer) together.

:)

Sorry for the delay on my end. And thanks for going ahead without me :)
I didn't really have anything Albert wanted to do before that anyway.

How obvious are Ezme's wounds right now?
Health wise she's still going alright, I guess.

She refused Raynor's help before, so Albert is a bit reluctant to force it onto her.

That is up to karabooo.
She has 7 HP, so yeah, more than Roald.
Also: Now might not be the time...

You are in the middle of a [fight], having long conversations before dealing with the attackers will result in them attacking again. So far as you know there is only one, but that one is threatening Gonk, who you all know is weakened and vulnerable due to the ritual.

I recommend you do something about the mistling crouched in front of you, else it will take the initiative.

They seem to prefer to face single opponents, and the morale shifted to you from them, making it even more nervous, so intimidation is viable, as is an attack. Different approaches may yield different medium- or long-term consequences, of course.