OOC Chat

Here is where we can talk about anything unrelated to the game, or have discussions about the game that would break the flow of the in-character thread(s).

Thank you for the invite DragonDweller, really chaffed to have a go at CoS :)

Thanks for the invite. Looking forward to play this game with you all!

Agreed, this will be fun! Thanks for letting me in on it!

Greetings! Pleased to be part of the game and look forward to playing with you all!

Welcome! Looking forward to our adventures!

Thank you for the invite and excited to check out this famous adventure with everyone!

Just checking in to see if there is something more I could do to help facilitate the game

Sorry, had a busy weekend. I will get back to reviewing your character and starting the game.

All good RL will do that.

I don't think Shorty has been on the site the past few weeks. Hopefully, she is living her best life and will return but I don't think we should pause the game waiting.

Yeah, she seems MIA. I certainly hope all is well, but I wouldn't pump the brakes on the game.

It does appear so, hopefully all is well and a return imminent.

Definitely not stopping the game. I haven't seen anything from her in the Absences thread, so I hope she's well and just got too busy for gaming. In any case we will continue.

Sounds good, hopefully Shorty is doing OK.

Let’s hope so.

@CherokeeWind Thanks for saving Amalthea from that particular instadeath. Sorry you had to use a turn on that. Need to be more thoughtful about how easy it is to kill off level one characters. (' O ' ;;)

You're welcome! Best use of my turn as I see it! We're here to help each other and I think it bonds the group.

No kidding on how squishy we are! At this level a hardened stair stare could take us out! But I'm kicking myself about the light situation. Used to being a mage and being to cast it at will.

Light will get better once we hit 2nd level.

As my IRL group says. "When you're first level, everything you run into is your level or higher."

I like the selfless play CherokeeWind, Taniwha has a lantern but he is a little selfish currently to think of it and young to think of others lol

It has been a while since I played a 1st character and totally forgot how mushy they are. Too much Baldurs Gate lately.

No joke about how squishy these characters are! I haven't run anything for low level PCs in a while so I completely forgot. On top of that, a lot (but not all) of the combats in Curse of Strahd are supposed to feel more "survival horror" than "heroic fantasy." This is a campaign where you're supposed to feel tense and out of your depth, for better or worse in a combat-forward system like D&D 5th. I'd really like to hear your opinions on this after the battle.

All that said, the lack of light isn't helping anyone's case (except the armor's). I want to be really strict here because the dark should be especially scary in a horror game, but that's sadly only making the PCs squishier.

I appreciate the character dynamics already coming out here (Drina's selflessness vs. Taniwha's selfishness), which is really important for the kind of game I want. Interested to see how this stuff develops.

Do I smell a TPK brewing? 🤣

Maybe, but it's still a non-zero chance for Taniwha to resist a dirty 20 attack roll. If he can do that, all he has to do is land one or two more hits. Then it's just a matter of stabilizing the dying party members. That's the real test, lol.

On the matter of stabilizing dying PCs, I want to use the popular house rule that they wake up with 1 hp instead of staying unconscious for 1d4 hours. Gets the PC into the action faster and they still have to be careful until they can heal somehow.

How crazy lucky about Taniwha's nat 20!

Ikr! Hopefully that was a statement made by the dice gods that this game should stick around longer!

Oh my! I can't take the waiting! Is it going to be enough?

Holding of breath

The idea that someone would struggle to run up some stairs because someone else tried to punch them a few seconds prior feels rather extreme and not particularly realistic, IMO, but I'll make a mental note.

That's a good point, it probably wouldn't make sense in every context. Perhaps I should take difficult terrain on a case-by-case basis before making a generalization about all stairs. The stair issue didn't really come up in this fight, so the idea will need more workshopping. Thanks for the feedback.

I'm sorry but just confirming you want us to stay in initiative?

Yes, just until Abraham is conscious. Then the party can explore like normal.

Or I die. That'd work too.

Do you want to die? Are you not enjoying playing with us?

I know sarcasm doesn't translate the best when written down, but c'mon now. 😂

Whether I stabilize or die, one way or another the rest of you will be able to explore.

Your comment took me aback but it could be possible that the subject, the pace or interactions has made the experience less than optimal for you. Granted most when asked would politely decree their contentment so I don't know what I expected to accomplish except I don't know how to correct possible problems online without directly asking. If I can make adjustments to make the game more pleasurable then I will. So stop fooling around and save already so we can ALL get back to exploring.

Well, if MaJunior succeeds his save, Amalthea can heal him once her turn rolls around so he can wake up and we can go exploring. Just gonna put out there we probably need a short rest at least and to be extra careful if two more of those armors are on the second floor.

This is a good time to remind everyone that if any of you does have a genuine complaint about pace, difficulty, atmosphere, or anything else, feel free to bring it to our attention (or mine privately). I also didn't pick up on the sarcasm, but that might just be me lol.

On a similar topic, I just got a PM from a fan of the game who noticed the vacancy left by Shorty and wants to join. I'll also have to consider the waitlist, but what do we think about adding a new player at this point?

I always think a full party is best.

Agreed, especially after what just happened. Thank you for the short time you played with us Shorty!

Also, maybe agreed sarcasm face? :P

Works for me. It's completely original :P .

Let's get back to a full party....tell them to bring a light! ;)

lol

I see no reason not to.

I am so amused that the heat from the blood red glare can't hold a candle to the frost generated from those emerald green crystals. Really enjoying the back and forth!

Poor sulking Taniwha he is terrified of Drina lol

Checking in because the content of the game is kind of edging into our line against child abuse. Since a line is something never to be crossed, even by implication, should I keep this part as vague as possible? Or rewrite it entirely? What do we think?

It is hard to make a decision as I am not familiar at the extent the story goes but I think you have been sensitive and I trust your judgment.

I have like your story telling and will trust you as well.

Yes, the way you have written it so far fits in the line we had listed I think.

Not to ruffle any feathers too badly, but if you have an issue with child abuse but choose to play a module with child abuse... I kinda feel like whatever happens, happens.

That's a good point and I somewhat agree, but I feel it's always good to check—especially online where there are fewer social cues and you can't always tell how people are feeling.

As I agree with what MaJunior says and I have agreed to playing a game in which I knew fully well contains it, I did bring this veil up so will clarify.

The presence of child abuse, the use of it to create atmosphere and description of it are fine with me, I just would appreciate not going too in-depth with the description of the abuse.

A couple of questions
1) I am use to having house rules with shorter rest times. Do we need to wait an hour for our party to recover?

2) Is our new party member going to be introduced before we go to the basement?

1. Short rests will be an hour and long rests will be eight (and you can only long rest once at the end of the adventuring day).

2. Ideally yes. I invited Arrcher101 from the recruitment thread but I haven't gotten a response yet. I will PM her since not everyone checks GP over the weekend, but if I don't get a response soon then I'll move on to the next person. We can begin the basement with four PCs if we have to, but the party should be at its full strength for what's down there.

Cool

Sorry I just saw the invite @DragonDweller62 is my tiefling sorcerers sounding good?

We currently have;

- Dwarf Paladin
- Human Ranger
- Human Cleric
- Tiefling Monk/Thief

So a magic flinger would be grand as we lost our Wizard.

Technically just a fighter right now. Once we get second level I'll be a cleric.

Cool, I'm gonna go ahead and do the sheet for the tiefling sorceress, hopefully I'll get it submitted by tomorrow

Hi, Arrcher, glad you could join us! I see you've submitted your character already, so I'll get to reviewing it today. After that we can talk about how to introduce your sorceress into the story.

Sounds great!

Hey, Archer! Welcome! Thanks for bringing the magic!

Thanks, Cherokee I'm excited to be here!

Call me CW

I did not even welcome you Arrcher101 here, very rude of me.

Welcome aboard, nice to have you along for this ride.

@Mathfuric Thanks!

Hi everyone, sorry for the slow posting lately. I've been monitoring the boards but a lot of my time has gone into school finals and extracurricular projects. I should be getting back to regular posting soon, and I hope you're all well and ready to keep playing. Thanks for your patience.

Happy to wait :)

No problem! Hopefully finals are going/went well for you!

Thank you for the well wishes, I feel much better having taken a break to focus on school. The next gameplay post is now up!

I hope you get the results you wish for :)

It sounds like taking the time to focus worked well! Definitely life first, best of luck!

Things are going well, thank you! I definitely needed a break, most importantly because I might be going to my first literary conference soon! I'm getting the next gameplay post up now.

literary conference? Never been to one, will this consist of writing workshops and lectures? Or is it more meeting other writers and companies in the industry?

This one is a science fiction conference in Orlando where they have everything from lectures and presentations to panels with notable SF authors who discuss the merits of SF in literature. Presenting an academic paper is usually something only graduate students do, but my SF professor encouraged me to apply as an undergraduate. With any luck I'll get to present my paper and get my foot in the door since I do want a career in writing and publishing SFF/genre fiction.

I appreciate your interest; I've never been to one either but I hear they're quite the experience!

That’s awesome if your Professor encouraged you to step forward, that is a nice show of faith. I wish you all the best, and by the sounds of it you will have a ball.

That sounds really awesome and it also sounds like you have a great professor encouraging you. Hope you have a lot of fun!

That's awesome!! I hope you 1) Have a blast, and 2) Have a successfully fruitful outing. It'll be awesome to be able to say we knew you before you hit the NY Times Best Seller list!