OOC Discussion

Here's the thread for Out of Character discussion of the game.

Hey! Thanks for having me!

Been playing for a few years, relatively new to 5E, primarily a 3.5/pathfinder background but I think I'll hang in there just fine.

I'll give the history thread a good read over after I get off work today before I'm ready to discuss any character ideas.

Of course!

I played tons of 3.5 before moving to anything else. 5e is much simpler, but isn't quite so far apart from it as 4e was.

Is anyone else here new to 5e? Does anyone need an explanation for how to build a character?

Also, just in case it wasn't considered, as you'll be explorers, 1 or 2 people having skill with Cartographer's Tools would be handy.

Glad to be part of a new group. I am an AD&D vet who has been playing 5e now for a bit. Never tried any in between. I have a warlock with dex so can do all the non combat thief duties. Also have a clerics on hand if the party needs that more.

Thanks for all of the details in the other threads.

I started on AD&D, too, but that was so long ago and I was pretty young.

Not a problem, though! World building is tons of fun, but all of you are welcome to add your own details, locations, myths, lore, etc. Feel free to have your character be familiar with some of the important figures, if it's applicable. Also, let me know if there are any questions about what I wrote.

Thanks for letting me on! I'm a regular GM with a weekly game for some newbies running Phandelver. I've done play-by-post in middle school, but nothing since, so I might be rusty.

I'm hoping to do a Dwarf Bard to buff rather than fight as much. If we're wanting to be more optimized, I can switch up my character more towards that end. And I'll take the rest of my character ideas to the thread for that.

Yeah, of course! Glad you're here. I haven't done play by post in a while either, at least not on a forum (I run something chat based though, which is pretty similar), so I wouldn't be worried about being rusty. We'll all figure it out :)

As far as my thoughts on optimization, I'll curve the encounters to the capability of the characters. If the group is extremely powerful, then I'll make the fights harder, and if they're not, then I'll be more standard in how I build them. In short, play the character that you want to play. If you have more fun being optimized then do that, and I'll adjust accordingly. If you're looking for something more roleplay focused, then there's plenty of that here, as it is my preferred style, and you'll be just fine.

Thanks for having me here! :-)

By way of introduction, I'm Jabes. I'm from Manila, Philippines (GMT+8). Besides the time zone difference I also keep odd work hours as I am a chef running my own cake business. We like making geeky cakes. Here's one, and here's another. :-)

I was introduced to D&D almost 30 years ago (AD&D back then) and to this day I still play with the same group of guys, my best friends. We played 3.5E when that came out and spent 10 years on a campaign, skipped 4E, and recently started a 5E campaign. I'm fairly new to PbP, having only discovered GP earlier this year. It's been fun trying out new game systems and character concepts I would never have gotten off the ground in my IRL games.

Whenever I play I try to do something new. Sometimes that means something a little unconventional, but other times that just means something I myself have never tried before. For this game I think it might be the latter.

I'm thinking of playing a ranger with the acolyte background. I'd like to give the Revised Ranger a spin, and take the Deep Stalker archetype at 3rd Level. :-)

I'm also considering taking the Crossbow Expert feat as that's something I've never tried before. There seems to be a lot of debate about this feat's usage so I'm trying to read up on it.

---

Some questions for our DM (yes, I have read through your post on house/variant rules):

1. For this game will we be using grid maps, or theater of the mind?

2. Which (if any) of the optional Combat Options from the DMG are you implementing?
*Climb onto a bigger creature – DMG 271
*Mark – DMG 271
*Disarm – DMG 271
*Overrun – DMG 272
*Shove aside – DMG 272
*Tumble – DMG 272
*Cleaving through creatures – DMG 272
*Hitting Cover, Lingering Injuries, Massive Damage, Morale – DMG 272

I am equally ok with all, some or none of the above being in play. I just want to know how you intend to run things. In the past I made the mistake of creating a character based on a certain concept and it got approved but in the end the character felt blah because of having been limited by the rules (which I hadn't thought to ask about in the beginning) he couldn't do many of the things I had envisioned him doing. Thanks!

Looking forward to this adventure with you guys! Cheers!

Of course! Glad to have you. Happy to see that the time zone difference didn't keep you from joining in time.
Introductions are a good idea. Those cakes look amazing! That beholder is spot on. As far as introducing myself, I'm Matt. Feel free to use Matt or Momo, Mo, GM, whatever you like. Since getting out of the Army, I've been going back and finishing school. I first played a tabletop RPG 20 years ago, got really into it 12 years ago, and even more so in the past 6 years as a GM. I worked at a Dermatology private practice for a good while, but now I'm trying to get into a grad program with the end goal of being a Biology teacher. Here's a picture of my old army job, though not as awesome as beholder cake: I'm on the right.
I'm pretty open with the sort of concepts I allow, so feel free to try anything and I'll do my best to work with you on it.
I think I might've told you this already, but I'm a big fan of their changes to the Ranger. I'm also a big fan of Deep Stalker, not to mention how appropriate it is for this game! Sounds like a great idea.
The feat is very, very good. Here's my understanding: When you make the Attack Action with a one-handed weapon, you can use a Bonus action to make an additional attack. This is not an additional Attack Action, only an attack, and thus it is only one strike. So if you have a level 5 Deep Stalker Ranger, you can make two attacks with a one-handed weapon (which could even be the same hand crossbow, since you ignore the Loading property) by using your Attack Action (with the Extra Attack class feature) and then use your Bonus Action to make a third attack with the same or different hand crossbow.

That's how I'll run it, anyhow.
These are questions that I wish I'd thought to answer, so I'm glad you're bringing them up! :)
I was pondering that myself. Theater of mind is easier, and I don't mind running it that way, but I know that some people prefer grid maps. I've got a subscription to Roll20 with plenty of tile sets that I can use to build good cavernous maps, but it might mean slower posting when maps are required. What would everyone prefer?
So, Shadow of the Colossus is probably my favorite video game of all time, so of course I'm allowing climbing onto bigger creatures! From this list, though, I will accept all of them except for Massive Damage and Morale. I feel like Massive Damage is a death sentence for level 1 characters. I've added these to the list of variants with their book explanations for anyone that doesn't have the DMG to look them up. Check on it so that you know your options! As far as Lingering Injuries go, I'm going to be pretty conservative in my use of them. I won't be throwing them on people with every critical hit or upon failing a Death Saving Throw. I'll probably use them if you drop to 0 HP, or if you suffer significant environmental damage (such as breaking your leg from a fall).
Of course! Looking forward to it, too!

I personally love theatre of the mind and use it most often in my games. My only PbP games have used that as well, though were much less structured with their rules. My vote is for theatre of the mind.

Would work for me if that's what the preference is :)

When you really really want us to see something special, it would be nice to give us a map or image, but we don't need grids IMHO.
If we have the urge to do a real time Roll20 session some day, it would be great to talk to everyone too, perhaps as a one off or special event.

Jabes, the crossbow expert feat sounds like great fun. And those cakes are awesome. Too bad they wouldn't make the trip to the US.

This sounds like a solid compromise for me. I do plan on using a good bit of images, even if they're just pictures of dark and creepy hallways, or images of beasts once you get a good look at them. Mostly I'll be relying on description though. For the big, important fights, or if a fight's positioning is especially complicated, then I'll make a map for it to just show off for the initial start of the fight. If I feel it's necessary, anywho.
I wouldn't be opposed, if people wanted to, and if we could schedule it.

I uploaded a new version of the map with a couple more mountains, rivers, a few more towns, and I used some colored pencil to denote territories, buuuut that just made it look messy. Still, it's probably more informative that the last one, even if it looks worse.

Might redo it sometime.

So, the work that has been keeping me busy lately is going really well. That in mind, I should probably be able to start the game sooner than previously expected. Likely by the time you guys are done with characters, I'll be ready.

Please let me know if there's any other way that I can help, such as world information that you'd like more detail on, rules clarifications, and the like. Thanks, guys! Very excited to see this group play out.

I'm glad you like the cakes, XOSkel10 and MoMo! Thank you for the kind words. :-)

MoMo, from the Army to Dermatology, to grad student and Biology teacher, that's some real breadth of experience!

Glad to "meet" you both! And you too, Tarrasque and IndustrialQueue! I hope we won't find Tarrasque's namesake down in those dungeons! :-D

Only done half of that so far, but yeah, I'm working on it!
Nice to meet you too. A Tarrasque in the Underworld is a pretty terrifying thought. How'd it get down there? Maybe it'd be better if it was confined to a small space, though.

The first post is up. Let me know if you guys need any more information; I'm not always the clearest.

HOW DOES ONE PUT PICTURE ON THIS?!?! IT REFUSES ME!

Haha, it is kind of difficult. There's a guide for it in the Guides section of the forum. I upload to dropbox, but you have to change the img url a little for it to work.

I'll try it. If I can figure it out, I'll put up the picture on the cast page... thanks...

No problem. I was able to just open the link you posted to see the picture anyway, so it isn't absolutely necessary!

Finally did it. Dear god. Never again. Dropbox worked though, after fighting with it. Thanks

Haha, no problem. It took me a bit too, when I first tried uploading that silly map.

So I was running my D&D 5e game over Discord tonight, hence the late reply. Even though it's 4:46 am right now, I had to get a post in! You guys are great, by the way; loving the conversations and the personalities so far.

Also, Auroran_Sky, I still couldn't see Pyrrah's picture in The Cast. Might've just been an issue on my end. Apparently it lets me edit other people's posts, as GM, though, so I went ahead and found the pic and linked it through my drop box. I hope you don't mind.

I should also point out the QCCs thread, if you guys haven't taken a look by now. You're welcome to use PMs instead, but letting me know the things you like and don't like is the best way for me to know how to make the game more fun for you guys. There's no requirement to using it, but I wanted it to be available.

Thanks! It would only work on my computer, I found. Anything mobile was out.

No problem!

It worked for me! :)

How are things going, guys?

From my point of view, things are going well!

I'm really enjoying the pacing we're moving at. Quick, yet still allotting ample time for interactions between PCs and your posts are well detailed and immersive. I'm doing my best to keep up with posting, you all post quite often which is something I appreciate!

As for my fellow players, I'm growing very fond of your guys' characters. They all have really fun personalities, which is enhanced by the great RP and dialogue I've seen so far from you all! Definitely a mental exercise trying to match myself to the bar being set, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Overall, I'm having fun, and I'm looking forward to continuing the story. (:

Fun for me, the pace is quicker than I expected which I also like. BUT the last game I was in burned out quickly and the GM stopped posting. I dont see that happening here, but let us know if we all need to help you somehow.

I also notice that we have differing posting styles. whereas I try to do, say and show what I feel the group would experience around a table, other are posting inner thoughts giving a much more literary experience. I really like the group storytelling feel so I will adjust a little towards that. I also like that you are giving private notes, so not all inner thoughts and experiences must be shared right away.

Hmm..! Yeah, I can't guarantee that I'll always be able to post the same quality/quantity as it is now, but I doubt it'll shift due to lack of interest. But if something comes up and I'm feeling uninspired, then we'll work something out. :) So far it has not been as time consuming as I expected.

As far as the pace, I've played in PbPs, but the chat-based thing that I run is mostly solo-games, where there's just a single player. Never ran a PbP, so pacing is something that I'm just winging. I'm probably pushing it forward faster than it'll be once the characters go underground because I don't want people to get bored of exposition and doing things like signing ledgers. If you log on and we've migrated past something you wanted to act out, feel free to still include it in your post, and then react to what's currently going on. I don't want anyone to feel like they missed out on a good opportunity. Anyway, do let me know if I'm ever going too fast or going too slow. I've just been going to "the next thing" every 24 hours or so, until we're done with this little intro part with Bracklebase (My term, not Callie's). When it gets underground it'll be at your pace, though, however fast or slow you choose to be.

I think everyone's RP has been fantastic! I'm seriously impressed. It's way above the mental standard that I had set for the game. I don't want anyone to think that they have to post exceptional paragraphs of material, though. If you don't have the time to author up something great, then I think posting something small is better than nothing at all.

My groups tend to play in the same style that you do, XOSkel10, where we only show what the other players would see/hear. I don't necessarily have a preference, so I'm all for people just playing the way they're comfortable playing. As far as the secret notes, I like for players to be able to have their secrets and then share them or withhold them as they please. Feel free to hide your rolls, or send me notes when your character whispers, etc.

I have a tendency to do this a lot with the PbP medium, not sure why, I just do. But if it's messing with the game flow for anyone, or becoming too trivial, I can always change to posting more on the tangible side to try and help give a more tabletop-like experience. Just let me know, either on this thread or by PM.

I like the pacing and everybody's RP so far. My being in a different time zone will always be a setback but after playing so many games on this site (games have come and gone but I'm currently involved in over 2 dozen) I've gotten used to playing catch-up! :-D

Yeah, one of the things I love about PbP is that it allows for a more literary playstyle. I realize not everyone might be into that but I'm sure we can find a good middle ground. :-)

Wait what? ;)

Shouldn't you use the Baker's Dozen metric? :)

That is a lot of games, sir.

Haha! Well I'm not quite at two baker's dozens!

Some are more active than others. ;-) Some will see me posting several times in the day, while others will go a whole month without activity. I only GM one game here. I admit it: I'm an addict! :-D

I know how you feel. I run a weekly game over Roll20, I run this game here, and I play a game here. Then this chat-based thing I've mentioned is like running eight different solo-games in one big world. I play in two chat-based ones like it, too.

And I want to do more! I'm being very careful though, because I don't want to abandon any games. But I got the Adventures in Middle Earth book and I'm dying to give that a try sometime, too.

I'm enjoying the game quite a bit. I'm getting to exercise some writing muscles I haven't used in years. I'm currently dealing with a much more busy schedule than I'm used to so can't keep the posting pace as it is, but haven't found the need to narrate too much of my characters actions with much of the exposition being group at the moment, so that's working out at the moment. Writing is faster for me when I have a clearer image of what I want to do. And I just want to watch for the moment and that's not interesting to write, so I'll sit back and enjoy what you guys are cooking up. That may come out muddled so I'll be clear, I'm definitely enjoying myself! Thanks for running this!

As for writing style, I'm trying to adjust to a more expositional style, but feel that my characters thoughts are something that help another poster understand more of the intention behind the actions, letting you as players and GM in on what is going on while your characters and NPCs are able to react to what's physically happening. If that's tripping anybody up or becomes a problem, let me know and I'll work harder to be strictly expositional to keep it clear and fun for all of us!

Its a lot of fun playing!

Thanks for the heads up. I suppose the most important part is just being able to keep up with the game and post something when you've got it. Honestly, even if it isn't profound and game-changing writing, feel free to put something simple or "boring" just so we know you're there and that there's no protest to moving forward. :) That is, of course, assuming you've got the time. Sometimes we're just too busy.

Make sure to let me know if you get too busy, though.

I will be extremely busy the next three days. I may be able to make short posts now and then, but can't promise anything. Go ahead and move my characters along and roll for me if necessary. Thanks!

Thanks for the heads up!

Of course! There is also an Absences thread for this sort of thing. Being in so many games I usually post notice there instead of in every single game's OOC thread.

I doubt I'll want notifications for that thread, but if ever someone isn't posting, I'll make sure to check there before I get worried.

Seems like it was a relatively slow day for us anyway. Everyone still doing good? Please be sure to let me know if things are not 100%. I wondered if my attempt at song scared people off. :)

All good. My schedule is just getting quite busy. I probably won't be able to post as frequently as I have been...

I desperately want to add something to the story this evening, but am so close to falling over from exhaustion. I'll be able to add something tomorrow evening. Apologies for the delay and the lack of notice, Today mostly sucked.

No worries! We've been going at a pretty quick pace. Slowing down here and there is toootally fine.

I've had a crazy and immensely busy past couple days, so I'm sorry if the post quality hasn't been up to the typical standard. I'm running on one hour of sleep taken within the past 50 hours, so I'm going to head to bed now!

You guys are a blast to run a game for, by the way, so thanks for playing!

Sleep! And then sleep some more. Life seems to be happening for all of us.

I've been busy too, so that's why my posts slowed. I'm content not doing much else for the time being. I'll just chill until the next big thing.

If your characters are wanting to do the expedition on the next day, just have them go to sleep whenever and we'll pick up with them all packed to leave!

So I'm going to do the EXP calculations. When I award EXP, it's for social encounters, fun RP, evading/disarming traps, etc. It's not just combat, so typically I'll just calculate it all up when the PCs go to sleep.

Additionally, in my other games I usually just keep everyone at the same level and people all level up in unison. Do people like this, or would you prefer that I calc. exp separately and PM people, since you've been having separate encounters and discoveries? I'm okay either way, so I'm just checking to see if anyone has a preference.

Generally, I prefer party leveling. It keeps things pretty fair and in general is just less hassle

With this format, party leveling sounds more fair and useful to all players. A whole day is so far 8 pages here. Having a single party member who is a lower level for even 5 pages because he or she didn't do enough encounters doesn't sound as enjoyable for that player and may make things a tiny more difficult for you when stat-blocking.

Party leveling it is! And it is easier, so I'm grateful. Thanks guys. :)

agreed!

OMG! I love how Tarrasque is actually asking and I'm totally just jacking the book. That's perfect.

I was hoping to have the time to post this evening, but had a deadline with work that stretched lo anger than I wanted it to. I will be posting morning/early afternoon tomorrow.

Haha, I'm loving the differences between the characters.

And no problem. Thanks for the notice!

Right? Haha. Different types of personalities in a party makes for a better time in my opinion. Erran may be a merc, but he's a good guy greg deep down. Haha.

Oof, sorry for my absence yesterday. Had a busy day.

So what kind of themes do you guys like in games? Political intrigue, drama, action, horror, romance, etc.?

Generally? I enjoy really fleshed out, complex characters and plot lines. I'm always a sucker for a good mystery and occasional betrayal.

Dramaction with intrigue, but not melodrama. I like characters with depth, and plots that no one was seeing coming.

Exploration, and to echo Auroran... plot, characters, mystery. There seems to be enough creativity going on to have character interaction/development amongst the group keep going.
I am interested to see if combat will fall flat for me in pbp. Maybe those that have done this before can say what works best to keep the combat from being tedious.

I imagine good descriptions on my end and role playing during the fights help a lot.

Do you have a preferred formula your like us to use in combat? (E.g. Roll d20 plus bonuses for attack and roll damage at the same time) Or just dice as normal? (Roll attack. Confirm. Another post for damage factoring in all circumstances?)

My biggest concern is speed, so go ahead and roll everything at once. If you Ready and action to "Attack the next person that comes up to me," go ahead and roll the attack there, too, just so if it happens, I already know if it hits or misses.

Also, as a side note, I'm going to go ahead and roll Initiative for everyone instead of sending out a notice and waiting for 5 responses before jumping into it. I think the only special thing people are adding to their Initiative is that Devanis has advantage on it.

Sounds good, we will get the right rhythm down. On initiative, just remember the DEX bonuses ;) To keep it simple I will not attack with the familiar unless it is part of a party plan, I will have it take the help action to give someone advantage on attacks, and maybe give Flare a sneak attack.

Of course :)

We'll begin the Descent in a few hours when I have a chance to write it up!

What are your thoughts on perception checks? At the table we would all see our rolls and hear what you would say, unless it was maybe special enough to pass a note. Here there is opportunity for "realism" where everything is in private until we express it to the others somehow. As much as I would like to play the selfish young criminal who doesn't share information with strangers, I think that is unfair and also adds a lot of overhead. It would be ok with me if "you see a cave with a pool of water" were said "aloud" because we would tell each other anyway.

From a streamlining perspective, you could even give us a indicator that your description is complete and it counts as a group perception check, so there is no need to roll or maybe rely heavily on passive perception numbers.

I don't know, I'm a just rambling as this is new to me and I am thinking about running one too.

Oh, and I will throw a wrench into it soon with a familiar that can scout ahead with Devils sight and invisibility

So my typical gaming takes place with a group of friends playing over Roll20 and Discord voice chat. I've been playing that way for a while, and I'm a pretty fast typist, so I can whisper messages to people depending on their roll results quickly. We even go one step further and set all of the rolls to whisper only. The goal with that is so players can't ignore someone that says, "Eh, there's nothing here," just because he rolled a nat 1, and people can't calculate what HP some familiar enemies might be at, and it's up to them to do what their characters would do in any given scenario. I think my group is a bunch of pretty great roleplayers, so it's not that I'm questioning their ability to resist the metagame temptation, but it's more to further uphold their suspension of disbelief, I suppose? Additionally, the nice thing with Discord is that if there's something long that I need to tell someone, I can quickly drag them to another Side Chat and tell them in a matter of seconds before bringing them back to the main group chat. Obviously that isn't something I can do here. There are some players that like to keep their secrets, and some that don't, so whispering things lets people do what they would like, and I like to offer that opportunity.

Aaalllso, I find it much more interesting to give characters more opportunity for dialogue, in explaining what they see, in the way that their character perceives it. And getting a description of a monster that someone else sees around a corner may be somewhat less intense than getting a description of the character's look of horror and how they whisper, "Run. We need to run," without knowing what it is they've seen.

But a lot of that is Roll20 and Discord and PbP is a different beast entirely, with a big concern about pacing of the game. I certainly don't want the game to feel sluggish or bogged down by unnecessary rules. My desire to run games isn't dependent upon whispering roll results, so if you guys find it to be more trouble than it's worth (or don't see the value in it in the first place), then I'm more than happy to keep results public. I can't stress enough that in no way am I doing it because I think you "wouldn't RP it right," or something. I think you guys are fantastic, and I'm feeling very lucky to have such an awesome group for my first game.

But, that said, it is my first time DMing a PbP game, and I know not all of my DMing habits will translate perfectly into play by post, so just let me know if you want it another way :)

I like the idea of thinking "outside of the table" and using the medium to drive a different sort of game. The appeal of PbP, to me, is the collaborative writing experience, and I would be happy with no rolls at all (especially since the roller really seems to hate us ). I am good with RPing what the character sees and almost never talking OOC.

The way you run your Roll20 game also has a great appeal, and I am cool with trying something like that too, we can do hidden rolls but I think that would be too much bookkeeping for me when I run a game here.

With my table group, I have floated the idea of doing all of party's perception and insight rolls for them behind the screen so that they can't metagame at all, but I think everyone likes the feel of the dice too much. I completely understand that....

I understand, and I certainly don't think that "one is better than the other," or anything like that. It's just how I'm used to running games. But again, if it's something that the group prefers, I'll switch to posting things public.

My wife's birthday is coming up and we're doing a party tomorrow, so I'll be gone for most of the day. Might find an opportunity to post, but if I don't, then do not fret; I'll be back on Sunday :)

NZ has the shire and this
Caves...

Great! That's pretty accurate. And yeah, it won't always be tight corridors and tunnels.

Sorry that posting has been patchy. I have a big Biochemistry exam coming up on Monday that has been occupying a lot of my energy.

On the plus side, on Thursday I found out that I was accepted into the Masters in Teaching program that I was trying to get into!

How's everyone else doing, both concerning the game and out?

That's awesome! Congrats!
Been incredibly busy at work but coming up for air now. Thanks for asking! :-)

Cool. Game is awesome so far. I understand about time constraints though. College can be crazy. And as a Biochemistry major, I wish you luck on that exam!

Auugghh, I don't know how you do it.
Got anymore cake pictures?

Congratulations!
The game has been going great.
As with everyone, work is crazy busy. two emergencies today alone that had me working when I should not.

Autumn is in full swing in the NE here, we just made several piles of leaves large enough to hide an otyugh, and the oak trees are not done yet!

Yeah! I can't stress enough how awesome you guys are. I talk to my typical D&D group (none of which are on GP cause they're not really into that much writing) about how lucky I got right off the bat with my first game. Especially because I've joined some games since and a lot of them have flopped, unfortunately :(
What is it that you do, if you don't mind me asking?

I look forward to everyone's posts each day, I am really enjoying it.

I am a Aerospace Engineer by degree, but an IT professional by choice(? It happened gradually...)

Great!

And wow. That's awesome. All of my friends in IT complain about similar emergency situations. It seems like a tough job.

I was debating whether to take the Help action (would've granted Ameera advantage on her Athletics roll, and both rolls would've had the Bardic Inspiration added on) rather than the Attack action, but if I hadn't blocked the door then Baric would've been cut off by the two wights from the side room!

Congratulations on getting in the program!

I know I'm kinda late to the party here, but I think the game's going great. Thank you for putting this all together, you're a great DM!

-

Also, this is kinda meta, but I honestly couldn't decide if it was a good idea to kick open the door once there was enough room to squeeze by. Figured there might be some advantages to having the door still somewhat closed once/if everyone gets through, hope nobody's upset. ♥

Thank you and thank you! It's always a pleasure to run for a great group.

And no, I don't mind at all :P I really like what Erran did this turn.

I don't think it's metagaming at all. I can totally imagine that being Erran's thought process. And I like it. :-)

As for Devanis, he's trying to fend off the wights until everyone else has has made it through the door. He called for a tactical retreat too. I do hope everyone's trying to go through this round or else Baric and Devanis are in big trouble.

Speaking of Baric, he gets an opportunity attack against the female wight that passed him, yes?

By my understanding, they changed the OA rules from 3.5/4e to 5e. Instead of saying that you get an Opportunity Attack when you leave a space that a creature threatens, it says you take an opportunity when you leave a creature's Range. As I understand it, the Wight entered Baric's range (5 ft), but then never left it, and instead "walked" to the position she's in while remaining inside it that range.

This is how I've always done it while running 5e, ever since noticing that change. Though, admittedly, I've never looked up any official ruling or suggestions from other GMs, because I was pretty confident in it. I can do that later, when I have a chance.

Even if the rules hadn't changed though, the only reason the wight moved to that location was because of what IndustrialQueue wrote in his post, and the way in which he attacked. I originally had her on the map at I16, one space below Baric, and moved her after Baric's turn. I wouldn't have given an OA for it anyway, because I only did it for the cool writing :P

You're absolutely correct. I simply misread the map and thought she HAD left his reach. Sorry about that! :-)

Oh! Haha, no problem :)

Also, no one feel obligated to wait for a response to Erran's bracing of the door. I'm not going to make the contest roll until whatever is on the other side attempts to break through again.

The baddies haven't gone since my last action so I was waiting our turn

Ah, right. Forgot there was only one more player left to go.

So, some thoughts on Inspiration:

Originally, I didn't want to include Inspiration in this game because I typically don't use it in my other games played over voice. I think I don't use it there much because it's a lot more fast-paced and because of that there's a mix of me not remembering to reward it for worthy RP, or players forgetting to use it when they need it most (until after their roll). I'm reconsidering this decision for a few reasons:

1) PbP is a lot slower, and there's a lot more room for really impressive narrative flair. There have already been numerous posts from each of you for which I would've happily awarded with Inspiration. Because it's slower, I pick up on these moments a lot easier than when playing over voice chat.

2) My compromise was that I'd give you advantage on checks associated with particularly well-written posts or RP as they come up. However, that's just one more step added in that can slow down PbP if I have to go back and offer to let you reroll instead of just giving you a result. Secondly, it doesn't let you choose which rolls to use it on, which is a benefit of the original Inspiration rules.

3) You guys are great RPers and I'd like to reward that as much as possible.

So I want to know your thoughts. Do you mind tracking Inspiration? I'd limit it at 1, like the original rules. I know some games here let you accumulate it, but I prefer the limit because it encourages players to use it and gain it back more frequently instead of stockpiling.

Let me know what you guys think, and I'll make the ruling as quick as possible.

Also, since it's my first time DMing combat in a PbP game, what are everyone's thoughts? Any ideas to make it smoother or quicker, if it needs it? Any ways that I can help you visualize or make it more interesting? Feedback is always helpful.

Indeed. I want to take the Disengage action, which if my understanding is correct, allows me to move without provoking AoO's from the wights and the spectre. Since that will take up my action, Pyrrah's Help will come in handy. But can I even get to the door with Ameera in the way? I know there are rules for moving through an ally's space but I'm not familiar.
I wouldn't mind tracking Inspiration, and the standard limit of 1 point is fine.
Although there isn't much to go on yet as we've only gone a few rounds. I think you're doing a fine job! It's been pretty damn exciting so far

Yep, the Disengage Action makes you immune to OA's for the turn. With the movement rules for diagonals, you'd spend 20 feet to get in front of the door, and then 10 more could get you through it. I suppose the map isn't super accurate because there isn't a 5 foot x 5 foot hallway where the door is, and it's a much narrower wall. I'll try to correct that for the next map. In short, yes, you can move through Pyrrah's or Ameera's space and get to the one beyond them. Even if you couldn't, since you all take turns simultaneously, Pyrrah could move out of the way or Ameera could move further into the room. Even if they couldn't, I wouldn't be a stickler for movement rules and slow things down with them during an exciting moment like this! If you're ever not sure, you're welcome to just say "moves as far as he can to get into the next room," and I can place you accordingly.

Nat 20 for the baddie, Nat 1 for the team. So it goes. Good flavor though!

Yeah, that sounds pretty familiar.

Thanks!

I. I. Have been Dming AoOs all wrong. I've been giving them to players who are engaged by another (e.g. player a attacks enemy b and enemy b gets an opportunity of attack. So I was doing the same there. Retcon that AoO if you applied it just because I insisted or pat yourself on the back if you didn't. I'm having trouble following as well as I'd like because my computer is in the shop at the moment. Now I know and will play accordingly.

Also, my computer is in the shop, and as capable as smartphones are, it's still not as easy to type on them for writing purposes, so I'm having trouble keeping up and responding as quickly as I'd like.

Oh, I remember seeing your Opportunity Attack (OA) roll and just thinking you were doing that just in case someone provoked one. Thought you were thinkin' ahead! I didn't include it though.

Normally, for OAs, I'll let you know if an enemy provokes one and have you roll your attack at that time.

As for the computer problem, sorry to hear. Don't feel like you're required to write a large post. You're free to just say "Baric disengages and runs for the door," or something, and we'll understand. Don't make it a chore for yourself. :) Alternatively, if you ever need me to take over for your PC in the meantime, just let me know.

My wife's favorite 3.5 feat is combat reflexes and I've had a comedy of errors in figuring out how that works as she originally thought it gave her 1+Dex mod hits against any incoming attack. We reeled that back after understanding more, and now again after more understanding. She's not my biggest fan after these changes. But it makes the game work better.

No such thing! (As long as fun is had)
My son DMs the Saturday game I am in and he has AoO provoked on a crit fumble attack. Simple to remember and makes narrative sense. The normal leaving range without disengagement also provokes AoO.

Which reminds me, inspiration.... ya we never remember around the table too, but I can see how it would easily work well in this format. We can be narratively creative on how the inspiration roll feels/changes our actions. The character sheet has an inspiration field. It is just a number. Were you thinking of giving 1dx to use or giving advantage on a roll?

Giving an advantage. But I'd be open to giving a bonus to a roll of that'd be preferable.

And Combat Reflexes is still an amazing feat. :)

I'm all right with either one. I think inspiration would work well, and I'm never one to turn down incentives for being creative. If I had to state a preference, I'd say advantage. I'm biased since I have a tendency to roll 2's any time I have a bonus on a roll. Lol.

-

Also,
If this is all right with you, I would like to change this contingency to, "if any creature makes a successful attack on Erran," as part of my turn, but I feel as though it'd be a little more appropriate narratively for me to post Erran's actions after Devanis and/or Baric act.

Sounds good to me!

Everyone alright? :P I think Ameera's waiting on a description of the adjoining room, and Pyrrah's waiting to help people through, but others should be good to go.

I'm not dead! ....I'm getting better....I don't want to go on the cart.

Haha, I'm just checking. It was awfully quiet yesterday.

Crickets.....

Sorry, just super busy. Will post tonight...

It's alright! Seems like a lot of us have been really busy.

About to post, didn't connect the dots that CLEARLY spelled out that it was player turns again.

Haha, it's okay! Is your laptop fixed yet?

Nope. Well, it might be, but it's near work thats an hour drive away and I only go to that job a few times a week.

Player turn!

Also, hopefully you can get it soon! I'd be lost without my laptop. I hate typing anything lengthy on my phone.

We need a druid...click here

Ughhh, apologies.

I just started a new job that's been keeping me well occupied, that combined with everyone I know being more excited about celebrating my recent birthday than I was, I haven't had much time to post.

No more holding back posting for narrative purposes for this guy. Wherever we're at, I'll make it work. Haha.

Hope I didn't cause too much trouble.
Also, this made my night. Lol. Sorry to laugh at your misfortune!

No worries! No trouble at all. Congrats on the new job!
Yeah, I'll second this. I laughed preeetty hard! And not in the maniacal way that GMs sometimes laugh!

Then I hope you'll take my consideration into account! I've met some pretty evil and vindictive GMs! Lol.

I guess Devanis isn't very acrobatic anymore at his age. LOL!

Ok, with Baric finally through, that leaves just Devanis, who is about to get mobbed.

Is Baric through though? Did I get advantage on that roll from anything? And I thought I was right behind Devanis? I apologize for not getting all of this straight. I don't know why its harder to make sense of on my phone, but I want my computer back, then I'll at least not have it as an excuse.

MoMo said the DC is 16 (see here). I thought you had beat that but I just checked and saw that you rolled 15. So I guess it's you and me that're stuck! :-D

He will get through, because Pyrrah did the Help action and gave you advantage.

I'll take some creative license to get Baric through before Devanis.

In that post, Jabes, I didn't mean to imply the DC was 16, I was talking about the total result of the roll being 16, so that was good enough to pass. :)

Ah. My bad. :-)
Yeah no worries! Makes narrative sense. :-)

Did my last attack get lost or miss? I was going for the spectre so Baric could get past without an AoE. Since his got by, a hit now is fine...:)

So is the door not shut yet? The wight's arm is still in the way?

Ack! Let me edit! I knew I was missing something!

Why is it I always seem to forget yours? :( I promise it isn't intentional!

I'll edit it as soon as I get home, but effectively the wisp is killed (so it isn't coming through the wall), and the door is being kept open by the wights squished arm.

Edited! Sorry about that guys.

Could Devanis have ended up next to Pyrrah instead of next to Ameera? I ask because I want to try and chop the wight's arm off. If this is not possible then it's ok, I'll think of something else. :-)

You can move over there on your turn anywho :) I'll adjust the map.

I'm having exceptional rolls, if my experience has taught me anything, you all can expect 1's and 2's from me for the rest of the game. Be prepared.

I usually DM. I just assume bad rolls as standard.

Speaking of bad rolls, they ordered the wrong part for my computer. I'll be on my phone for at least two more days...

That tends to be how it goes. :(

And sorry, IndustrialQueue. That really sucks.

This party is severely lacking in brawn. To overcome physical challenges like these we'll always need to work together: the Help action goes a long way. I suggest weakest PC's use the Help action to grant advantage to the strongest.

What's everyone's modifier for Athletics rolls? Devanis is at +0.

-1, but I already rolled ahead for moving it (not too badly too)

+0

(+4), and if Erran wasn't holding the door shut he would have helped this round.

I needed to take the time to fix my bow. I think that took my entire turn, but I'm not sure

Erran is at +4! Then I take back my statement that this group is lacking in brawn! I should have remembered you held back Skeletor for several rounds! But yeah you've got your hands full at the moment. Will remember to Help you in future situations.

Baric is +3 So I'll lift the beam and help with strength checks in the future.

Can you tell I'm used to playing the dwarf? Ameera jumps in too quickly on the strength checks. ;) She is the independent type so its to character.

I typically play a bard, Dwarf or not, and forget about stregth. A Skald-esque character is new to me.

Rogues are pretty familiar. Rogues and druids are the only classes I've ever played before...

It did. I thought it was better than accidentally shooting Devanis, though. :)

So, I am firmly of the belief that a roll should only be required when failure is interesting. For instance, when looking for something that is in the room and isn't hard to find, having someone not see it due to a bad roll (that someone else could just successfully do right after) seems uninteresting to me. I'd prefer to keep things moving, or come up with a more interesting way to fail it (making the search take longer, even if it's successful, when time is of the essence, for example). I still want you guys to roll whenever you think a roll might be required, but just because the roll is low doesn't mean you are unsuccessful. You just might not succeed as well as you'd hoped!

I realize this isn't how some people DM, and if you get lower than the DC then you're screwed and that's too bad, buuuut... my goal is always in telling an interesting story. I'm not saying that I'm ignoring the dice rolls if they go poorly for you, but I'll favor a more interesting result over a "Failure, and your turn is wasted," result. Assuming that I can think of one.

When I first started playing D&D, I was always a rogue. Rogue, rogue, rogue.

Now, when I get the opportunity to play, I'll play anything. I'd say I've probably played Sorcerer and Warlock the least, but not for lack of wanting to.

That is fantastic. I might have to steal that mindset in my DMing. I've recently tried rolling a looting initiative with maybe one item up near the top with a roll threshold and everything else is either what's listed or what's on the enemies (weapons, etc.) and players pick which enemy they want based on that roll.

Awesome! I usually just improvise whatever people have on them. Sometimes that works, and then sometimes when I want a magic item I curse myself for preparing so poorly as I try to think something up.

And as far as the "failing upwards" mindset goes, sometimes it works out and sometimes I forget to do it. But for the most part I like it!

Much appreciated! Too be honest, this is the first strength based character I've played in a long time. Usually play something Dex based, or a full/partial spellcaster. It's nice being, "the strong one," for once, and as an elf no less! Lol.

There were some bad rolls in that last fight, but people seemed to have good rolls when it counted most, namely Erran holding back the door, and dodging two attacks with advantage while he did it, too.

In the history of thread, you state "The Pantheon" is the name given to the collective eight (sometimes nine) deities...
I don't find mention of number nine. Is that intentional?

Also, damn son. I loved the total conflict of character personalities back there. I mean, I know I'm trying to pull off the stealthy, prickly type, but I've never had this kind of RP where it came out this openly and so clearly. Much respect. To all, I tip my hat to thee.

Yup! Isn't it mysterious? :o

And agreed :) well done by all.

I wouldn't dream of it! I apologize if I was coming across that way. :-)

nah . I'm just intentionally messing with you!

I have my computer back!

I am certainly enjoying this mix of RP and intrigue. I'm very thankful I found this group!

Also, I don't know that I'll be able to post tomorrow as I start work at 7am my time and don't stop moving until late at night with two thanksgiving dinners, 5 hours of food retail, and some driving to and from families.

No worries :) I'll be pretty busy tomorrow, too. Glad that you've got your computer back! And I'll second the thankfulness for this group.

This group has me so pumped for D&D, I painted a mini today (Dwarf with hammer) and ordered myself black metal dice in a "Warlock" box.

Posting from my phone, buuuut Happy Thanksgiving, to those celebrating!

Also, you'll have to send pictures of the dice!

Thanks! Same to you! Everyone be safe!

Am ok either way. :-)

I just suggested it in case Erran or Baric needed it. They took the hits.

I'm actually down 4hp too even after casting Cure Wounds. Not too bad but yeah I'd welcome a rest too.

And remember, warlocks get their spell slots back on a short rest so Ameera will never turn down a chance to chill out after a battle ;)

And, we have to Expend a healing kit usage to heal by hit dice, correct?

Correct! Though, obviously, you don't need one to get your spells back. Only if you're spending hit die.

I've been busy the last couple days with work. I was about to post last night, but didn't see much progression and couldn't think of much to further anything either then or this evening after the firework. I am still watching and ready to post when I feel like I have something to add!

No worries, as per usual. Thanks for checking in. And don't feel like you have to post something profound :)

I'm unfortunately going to be busy until Thursday off next week, so posting may be normal or may be slow. It all depends.

Just a heads up.Im currently drowning in papers and exams, so my posts will be far less frequent for the next two weeks. I'll still check when I can, and may be able to fire off the occasional post, but nothing at all like I have been doing.

So, hopefully we avoid combat, or I may accidentally really slow things down...

No problem! End of the year is always like that for my voice-chat group, so I figured it'd be the same for PbP. Good luck on your work!

Good luck on your exams!

Anybody hear from Tarrasque lately? Been a bit since he posted.

Nope, not sure how we would outside of the game. I don't know anyones handle on any other platform.

I was just looking at a list of the the publicly viewable games and we have a more than respectable 721 posts already, and we haven't even had a long rest yet!. There is one active game with 3710 posts, but they have been at it since March 2015.

Does anyone mind if I share the public URL so people can see how good PBP can be?

Didn't know if anyone was in other games on GP with him. And no, I don't mind! I'm really impressed by all the effort you guys have put in!

I am ok with waiting for Tarrasque before we push through.
I was thinking the following order.

1. The imp
2. Ameera
3. Erran's sword
4. Erran
5. Pyrrah
6. All Backpacks
7. Optional Imp can go back if we want to have its support for the lone person.
8. Baric (or Devanis)
9. Devanis

I'd rather not hold up the game, since we don't know when Tarrasque will be available again. I'd say push onward, and I'll account for you being a player down until he gets back.

Hey, everyone! Sorry for disappearing there for a while, but I'm back!

And that sounds like a good order, probably a good idea to have the Imp go back as support just in case something crazy happens.

Just wondering, is anyone wanting to attempt to make the hole bigger?

I think Ameera did try to make the hole bigger, with ominous results.

Welcome back, Tarrasque! Glad the PbP attrition monster didn't grab you :P

So once again, this week is going to be hectic for me. If I miss a day, don't be alarmed. This month in general is going to be busy (I'm moving from Georgia to Washington State at the end of the month), but for the most part this week will be the most likely one in which I'll miss a post. Thanks in advance for your patience!

I don't suppose these catacombs are considered part of "the natural world"?

Well, within the Crypt is not. When you're back in the tunnels it will be. And if you happen to find yourself in a room that is more cave than Crypt, that'll count too. This particular room doesn't. :)

I don't mind a public post! I've been missing this style of play and you guys are helping to bring me back to middle school just with more structure, better writing, and a more focused story!

Well, I'm glad it seems focused! :)

Ohh, yes. I've been in games like that. I would definitely say it's more focused than those, even if the freeform 'do what you want' is a lot of fun in its own way. I just tend to improvise everything, so when people say something that implies I've got a plan, it gives me a chuckle. I've probably planned more for this than a lot of my games though, but even still, most of the rooms/tunnels are generated as someone opens the door.

How is everyone doing? Finals, packing to move, work, holiday ramp up?

I've been well. Finals are done. Waiting to get my grades back. I'll be moving later this month, so yeah, doing the packing too. I imagine everyone else has just been busy, so I've been patient. It's easier to move on with the game if it's just one person being quiet, but I don't exactly know who or how many are busy at the moment, so I figured it best to just wait. :P

Things are going well, thanks! Settling into my new job, and been working on getting back into school. How about yourself?
I'm still here, I honestly just have no idea what my character would do or say right at this moment. Haha. Kinda waiting on seeing what's behind that door Pyrrah's at.

Sorry guys. I'm smack in the middle of exams and don't really have time to maintain my character this week. If you end up waiting on me, can our lovely DM make the call? There honestly isn't much you could do to mess up my character over a few days! I'll be back as usual next week!

As you can imagine, the holidays are an insane time for a pastry chef. But the boss has time to play while the elves work hehe! Devanis is going last, and I already rolled Acrobatics. :-)

No worries! Thanks for the update. I hope your tests go well. We'll continue on until you get back!

Haha, glad that you're getting good business. Got any new pictures for us?

Lol. Ignore my many notes. I'm just making this sword realize what a mistake it was being handed to me!

We're cranking the cakes out so fast the "photos for upload" pile is growing haha!

I already crossed over to Ameera (unless that Acrobatics roll wasn't good enough)

Got it! I'll update the map tomorrow morning. Sorry for the confusion on my part. Just been preoccupied. I'm moving next Monday though! So not much longer.

Stressful time to move, with all the holiday activities. You can put us on hold whenever you need to.

I agree. Take all the time you need.

Yeah, it's pretty hectic. Today and tomorrow are going to be the biggest days, since that's when we have access to our shipping container. During the move I'll still have my laptop, so I imagine I can at least make a post from the hotel each night. Might be able to do small posts from my phone, too. If I need to take time, I'll let you guys know, but it shouldn't be a problem to keep it running while I'm moving.

And, of course, thank you for the understanding. You guys are great.

Hey guys, I'll have a post up later today. It's our last day with access to the shipping container so we need to make sure that everything is loaded up. Thanks for the patience!

Merry Christmas Eve, you guys!

Happy Holidays!
May you make all of your saving throws this season.

Holy crap! For a moment there I thought I was in the game thread and we actually had a Beholder encounter!

Merry Christmas, everybody! :-)

I would be up for such an encounter if the beholder was made of cookie dough.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

We'll be switching off driving, and I won't be posting when it's my turn :P

And merry Christmas to you too, Tarrasque, and happy holidays everyone! Expect an EXP bonus the next time you rest.

I have not been good at keeping up with this. I'm driving and hanging with friends and family that I see very little throughout the year. I will be back regularly right after the new year hits and hopefully will have something while on the road tomorrow.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all of you!

And also safe travels and move to you, momo. Thanks for running this for us!

It's my pleasure! Thanks for the update.

Ha! In building a new similar, character I just realized I never added my racial bonuses to my stats!

How did I miss that?!

Also, apologies for no post today. Next post will come out tomorrow night-ish, likely. My phone borked, so I had to reset it, and the mobile data hasn't been working since. On top of that, I've had a pretty awful head cold since starting my move, so I haven't been able to sleep the past few days. We'll be arriving in Washington tomorrow evening, though, and I'll be able to post and get some much needed rest.

hope everyone is doing well!

Happy new year, may we survive another night in the dark.

If someone wants that damn sword, take it. It refuses to fight, and IRL me kinda hope it breaks and he dies, screw the consequences. Otherwise, I'm leaving it behind.

Screw you Seraph!!! Traitor Scum!!!

Wait, what? It won't fight? Maybe it has protection spells or something? I was wondering what Pyrrah meant about "betrayal". Even if it's utterly useless I suppose it's still worth taking back to the Guild.

It gives disadvantage and is saying I just want to use it because I told it that it needs to earn my trust. it took it as a slight and refuses to fight, so Im blaming it on my near-death, possibly still potential death. It has the temperament of a three year old child...

I didn't adjust my stats (should I now or on a rest) if it helps the last roll, I would add +1 to attack and damage

maybe our bard can sweet talk it into doing some good.

So posting has slowed down somewhat. I always expect that during the holidays, but those are basically over now, so I'm hoping that we can return to a regular schedule! I was available to post yesterday, but was was waiting the customary 24 hours since we were in combat rounds, and we only got 3/5 people posting during this time. Since I want to keep this moving, especially during combat, I'm going to be a little more firm about the "1 post per day" thing. This non-posting sickness is contagious, so before it spreads to the active players, I'll have to seek replacements if it seems like we'll need them.

In short, post something, or give advanced warning. Your post doesn't have to be a short novel, as much as those can be appreciated, if free time is short. I really like this group, but if the game and active players need it, I'll do a typical three-strikes-you're-out system for seeking replacements.

That said, my move is complete, my cold is mostly gone, and though I'll have to unpack and such, I'll have time to at least post something every day, barring massive power outages.

Also, XOSkel10, I just reread that you had +1 attack and damage, which actually does make the difference between unlife and death for this ghost. I'll edit the post. The ghost is dead. :P

Also, if people think we should reduce the post frequency, I'm all ears. Whatever is most comfortable for the majority. I just don't want to slow it down for those wanting and expecting a daily post game. :)

I am good with 1/day. I hope that everyone gets back in the groove, we were doing well.
I fixed my character sheet, bumping up Dex and Cha and included the improved attack/damage in my last rolls. It upped my AC to 14 too.

I'm all for daily posting.

Ameera & Flare rolled some good hits so I'm waiting to see how those turn out before I make my move. Devanis may choose to heal Flare for instance, or just drop down the hole ahead of everyone.

I check and post from my phone a lot, hense some of the typos frequently, so I post generally when the story calls for it: I don't ever want to feel like I'm dominating the entire forum convo so... I can post daily though, it might just be ooc to explain that I'm waiting for a certain thing to happen though.

Also, very strongly considering kicking Seraph off the edge and whispering that some things are better left undiscovered. I never thought that in D&D I would associate a sword with being my arch nemesis...

That sword (so MoMo actually) really got to you!

I think the 1post/day is reasonable, but I'm open to slowing down if that's what everyone feels we should do.

I like the three strikes rule, I know I'm guilty of missing a couple days at a time, so I think that would be a fair remedy. With the holidays done and gone, I'll be getting back into the routine of checking back in a few times per day, this is a great game, and it deserves to be played.

-
Lololololol.

This whole Seraph bit is just TOO good. I've always thought a sentient item would be a cool thing to have in the party, and boy, I was not disappointed. :P

I'm finally back from a long trip and am mostly recovered from a very bad chest and head cold. I haven't had more than a few minutes to myself in all that time. I'll be back to the one post a day tomorrow after I catch up to where we are. I apologize for the long absence and am glad to be back!

Maybe Seraph isn't horribly bad, but let's just suffice to say that Pyrrah and I have at least one thing in common: we both suck with children, and that sword is essentially a toddler...

I know the struggle. Haha.

If Seraph is left behind, Erran will probably try to take up Seraph as a companion, or atleast make sure he's returned to the guild.

If Erran doesn’t pick the sword up, then Devanis will. For this reason.

Glad to have gotten a response from everyone on the posting thing. I was afraid of sounding like a taskmaster, which is not what I want :P

Also it's a shame about Seraph. I don't want to spoil anything about him but he isn't meant to be hated. Bad first impressions, I think. :)

Weellllllll, probably mostly my fault. Pyrrah is a rather prickly lady. As long as it stays away from me, maybe all will be well. I feel like a more positive, more genuinely good and nice character would handle it better... Pyrrah tries to be good, but she's really only soft and squishy deep deep deep down. Underneathh all of the poisonous spines and possibly an exoskeleton.

Thank you for running my character in combat! Sad that my Vicious Mockery wasn't Vicious enough when I was out, I'll have to brush up on my insults against ghosts.
Definitely. I see him as someone who tries to be very helpful, but the thorns on this party won't be as receptive to such good hearted cheerfulness. Though I think that Clan-Escolant or Baric may have more of a cheerful interest in the blade. If anything I have plans to ...ehem... hammer... some stories out of it. That or make it sing? Hmm... I like these ideas.

Speaking of Seraph where is he on the map?

The map didn't update for me

Should be where I was standing on the old map before I moved. I just dropped him. I didn't throw him or anything.

I've put Seraph on the map now :)

I assumed you stopped there (O20) to shoot your Eldritch Blast, XOSkel10, but I may have been wrong. I think that was the only movement change last turn.

Edit: Oh, and I only just now removed the ghosts.

Some knitted rope will do nicely! :-D

Climbing is Athletics, I think. If we're worried about low-strength characters (like Devanis) doing the climbing how about we have Erran belay us? Someone could help to grant advantage. Devanis can go first and scout.

Once we're in the water its Athletics again to swim.

Wait, theres water?
I think we have three "low strength" characters..

Devanis' Primeval Awereness told him there are no Monstrosities within 1 mile in any direction. Of course, there could be other dangers.

I suggest having Zubie scout first.

This damn sword is going to be a problem for me, I think...

LOL.

On a side note, that roleplay between you and Seraph was superb, kudos.

I agree! :-)

So my thinking was if you rappel down then you're relying on your own strength (Athletics) or agility (Acrobatics) depending on how MoMo calls it. But if you wear a harness and someone strong lowers you while you just hold on then it's their check, not yours. That's just me. It's ultimately MoMo's call of course. In any case with Baric's 20 and Ameera's 17 I have no worries. Dunno how the rest of us will fare though! :-D

Still around, just still sulking until it's my turn to be lowered down. Probably be mute until then.

I could be wrong but my understanding is the hole we're at is in the middle of the ceiling of the cavern below. You can rappel (or you can fast-rope) it but there's no cliffside at all.

Jabes' assessment is correct!

Awwwww. Well, whatever than. As long as I go down, but preferably not at a high velocity.

Once Pyrrah is clear Devanis goes next. What sort of check to fast-rope it like a boss? Acrobatics? Survival?

Death saving throw

Ha! Awesome.

And, much to the dismay of our low-strength heroes, I'm keeping all climbing checks - and climbing-esque checks - as Athletics-based, if only for simplicity. That'll include fast-roping. But, be sure to know that your creativity has lowered the DC considerably, and there's always the Advantage from having the right gear for the job, and for working together.

Though, if you'd like to be particularly stylish, you're welcome to do an Acrobatics check on top of your Athletics check, which can raise/lower the DC of the Athletics check according to the result. I'm open to that as a compromise. :)

Good to hear the changes. I'm thankful that adding an acrobatics check to a roll set is the most complex that we can make 5e for climbing. 3.5e was rather interesting and I'm just constantly thinking of the brutal specificity of things like the handle rope and climb checks from that edition (I ignored 4e).

Also, checking in as I don't have anything much to do just yet.

Thanks for checking in. :) I've been happy with the pace lately. Hope you guys have been, too.

Damn these rolls! Maybe I WILL have to start making death saves soon! :-P

What is the spoiler link in the post menu for? ah

It was just recently added. But I can do fancy things like:By the way, I need to wait for Devanis for something, which is why we're waiting on posts today. :)

Err...what else besides the Acrobatics check?

Just the Acrobatics :) I was just letting them know, since I'd sent it to you in a Note.

Oh OK! Just making sure it wasn't something I missed!

Don't have much to post right now, considering I'm way out of reach to help our possibly drowning ranger, but I wanted to check in.

I'm holding my next turn until I know if Devanis is broken free of the tentacle: if he is or isn't my planned action will be different.

we really have 1112 posts in this Forum? (well now 1113)

Of the two dozen games I'm in this is one of the best-paced ones. Many of the other games are near-dead, or crawling along at a post or two a month, which is the reason I'm able to be in so many games despite running a business full-time (100-hour work-week). I'm really glad for this one, which is able to keep its momentum and some really great RP.

Kudos, everyone!

---

Speaking of RP, I have a comment/question about our use of secret notes on this game. I think it's awesome. In my opinion it's a great tool for keeping everyone in suspense, for example, while Devanis is underwater. But sometimes I have to wonder if I shouldn't be sharing that part of the story (and there are some really awesome moments - MoMo is a fantastic story-crafter!) with the other players? I'm positive all the players here will be able to separate player knowledge from PC knowledge. I'm torn. What do you all think?

I'm not 100% sure, but I think I get half of MoMo's at least. Maybe put it in the newfangled spoiler tags to let others know that, while they can choose to see it, they don't have to to maintain the surprise, but they can also view it with the understanding that it is still secret knowledge? I the spoiler tag just beginning with the character name and that even creates a fallback of player V. character knowledge when the spoiler tag either doesn't work correctly or isn't applied perfectly.

I like the idea of the spoilers instead of the private notes for hidden action. I would read the all, but AFTER the scene. Real private notes could still be for things that didn't happen in real time, like inner information/memories that the player may choose to hide too.

As I said before, the use of note was in no way suggesting that I didn't have full faith you guys could RP your own characters' perspectives appropriately. :) As I've said, you guys are great, and you RP fantastically. It's just that the unknown is spooky, and I'm all for spooky in this game. It's also what I do in my other game, buuut.. it just might not translate into PbP as well as it works there.

But, I'll defer to what you guys think would be more interesting, and I definitely would love to share all of the narrative to all of the players, so I will begin to do more spoilers than notes. I'll still use notes for some secretive things, but I'll use them for exceptional stuff.

I will go back and edit the posts of this underground lake scene to be spoilers instead of notes, so that everyone can see what's been going on.

Also, to this note, I'll second that kudos! Everyone's doing great. Glad to know you're enjoying the game. I can always tell my players are great, and though I should take your continued participation as good criticism enough, but I can never seem to tell if the game in general is good or not. Glad to hear that it is. :)

Speaking only for myself, even though I'm confident in my ability to separate my knowledge from Devanis' knowledge it really does heighten my experience when unknown stuff remains unknown.
I agree! I love spooky, and it's been great in part because of the secrecy.
IMO this is the best compromise. I would totally go back and see what was happening behind the scenes once the story has moved on.

See, discussions like this are another reason this group is so great! :-)

Agreed. I try to be approachable! I'm glad you guys let me know what you want.

Will post in a few hours. Super super busy!

Take your time!

Hi, all! I've fallen ill and myy doctor says I should take the weekend off from work but that sure as heck isn't happening as I have two wedding cakes to finish! So I can't guarantee any posts. If I survive the weekend I'll get back to posting Sunday evening (that's SUnday morning for most of you). Matt, please feel free to move Devanis forward in the meantime. He's still torn between fleeing and fighting. So far he's been fighting because he's angry at the manta's using that image of Father Morgan to trick him. Thanks!

Sadly, Jabes, I will not move Devanis. You need to hurry back and post before he drowns!

Kidding, of course. Feel better, man!

Survived the weekend, thanks! :-) All I really have is the flu but because a typical "busy weekend" for me means 72 hours without sleep, it was pretty rough. Thankfully I can take Monday easy and recover.

We're glad you lived. Now listen to you doctor!

How's Devanis' leg?

Forgot to mention. Leg is feeling better! For future reference, you feel that a short rest may not have been enough time to heal it.

Heads up! The next two days I've got a crazy schedule with my sorority recruitment stuff, so my posts may not be often, and they may get delayed. If they do, I'll try to time warp the post to catch it back up and retrace events.

Finally got around to the XP. I could've sworn that I did XP after you guys slept in Bracklewhyte. I must've had a computer crash or something and never finished it, cause I remember working on it before.

Oh well, it's all done now! And you're level 4 now! So level up and sound off when you're done leveling!

Ding!
I want to double check that you are allowing spells from SCAG and EE.

As far as I can think of, yes! Though I do think that 70% of the stuff in the SCAG is cheesy strong, but I don't ban it :P

Devanis is ready. :-)

Wow, when I created the character I failed to include the last bullet point for Close Quarters Shooter in my character sheet:

Jabes, it's always fun to discover something new about yourself.
I believe that Ameera is ready too.

Except I can't get it to save my new HP? Weird.

Same problem here with the HP. Reported it to this thread.

Leveled up besides the HP Issue.

Great!

Leveled up!

I'll level up tomorrow. I haven't had more than 5 hours of sleep the past two days, and I don't want to screw it up. I'll do it at some point in the next 24 hours, though.

Take your time. Thanks for checking in. :)

Sorry I haven't been on, guys! I've been only sleeping about 1.5 - 2 hours a night since Saturday, and I've been too beat and busy to post. My schedule should clear up by the weekend! Just assume for the time being that Pyrrah is actually behaving like a normal human for awhile.

Just got home from a 14 hour day where if something could go wrong it did. I'll be posting tomorrow evening after I work my other job in 8 hours. Having heard a couple of your life events recently. I know to be very thankful for that much time.

That said, Baric is good to follow the group until I post again!

Thanks for the updates, guys! I hope you get much deserved sleep soon.

We were following tracks, right? Do they go down, or straight?

I've edited the spoiler in my post with an answer to that!

Will be up to my neck in work for the next 48 hrs.

Up to your neck in cake doesn't sound so bad, really...

Thanks for the heads up!

So I know I've been mostly keeping up with the 1 post/day thing, but I might be a little iffy this week. Can't remember if I've said anything, but I started my master's program and the past few weeks have had me swamped in essays, readings and projects, and it gets even worse until about Thursday. Just wanted to give a heads up! Thanks for the patience!