Character Concepts & Campaign Info

Please post your character ideas here!

The campaign setting is going to be the land of Bload, a large (think a bit bigger than Madagascar), geographically varied, and somewhat isolated island. To the east are the orc tribes and dwarven kingdoms of Jerma, to the southeast is the ascendant human empire of Mez and the elves of the vast Suprora forest, but Bload has a reputation as a savage and dangerous realm among the mainland nations and only the bravest traders and explorers venture there.

There are thirteen major city-states in Bload, and rare is the time when at least two of them aren't warring with each other.

The tone of this campaign is going to be sword-and-sorcery (think Conan, not high fantasy). Magic is real and known, but still regarded as wild and dangerous; powerful magic-users are rare and feared, and many of them use their power to conquer. Religion is highly varied and local, each city-state having its own patron gods (many of whom are lesser planar powers who are perfectly happy to be mistaken for, and worshipped as gods), with animistic faiths being common in rural areas.

Elves, orcs, dwarves, and other non-human races are known to Bload, but not native to it. Those who are found there tend to be outcasts and iconoclastic adventurers, and the humans who have inhabited Bload since time out of mind often harbor prejudices and suspicion against them. Tieflings, ironically enough, tend to attract less negative attention than these other non-human races, as they are slightly more commonly found and are better referenced in the history and legends of Bload.

More to come...

I'm thinking of playing a Sorcerer. Based on the information you've written above either a half-elf (who can pass for human) or human.


EDIT:

Am I reading the PHB correctly in that humans get to add +1 to each of their abilities? Anyway, I've decided I'm going with a human sorcerer of wild magic with an entertainment background. I figure he can use the entertainment background to perform magic tricks as a way to kind of hide his sorcery from others.

Huh, missed that this thread was here already, but just finished creating my guy. He's a village medicine-man who lives in a cold, mountainous region, and worships a nature/mountain god. He's been given an important task to carry out by his deity, but he's not sure what that task actually is. He spends a lot of time in the wilderness so has an affinity for nature and a somewhat hermit-esque lifestyle.
(In D&D speak: he's a Neutral Good Cleric of the Nature Domain, so has some Druid-y abilities along with the usual Cleric stuff).
I'm probably going to focus on melee combat + healing spells to start with, since that makes thematic sense for his background (i.e. not much call for holy lightning bolts when you're looking for rare herbs or healing a local villager's broken arm).

(Edit: made slight change to equipment - changed mace to light hammer. Less damage but a hammer seemed more in keeping with the Nordic theme)

Given this is my first ever proper tabletop RPG game, I'm no doubt gonna have questions cropping up fairly often about D&D mechanics - what's the best place to ask them? This thread? PM to the DM?

That appears to be an optional racial benefit for humans and sure, you can take it if you like.
This is my first time DMing 5th edition, so hey, we're all learning together here. I think short questions in OOC brakcets are fine inside the gameplay posts; maybe I'll make an open thread for longer rules questions and discussion.

So I am building a human female Warlock with a pact with a great old one.

I don't think it's an optional thing as it looks like most of the other races get ability bonuses as well (looks like most get +3 over two abilities as opposed to +1 to each). Just wanted to make sure I was reading it correctly as it seemed out of whack with the other races. This edition of D&D is the first I've looked at since AD&D back in the early 80s, so I'll probably have quite a few questions.

Either way since I just happened to roll all 18s for my abilities the +1 to each will just be gravy. :-)

There are two different choices you can make building a human. +1 to all stats, OR +1 to two different stats, an extra skill and an extra feat.

Ok, that's what I'm gathering as well from looking at the PHB here in front of me. Seeing that feats are optional I'll take the first option for this character.

oh your face gets obscured

Huh, I see what you mean. It looked OK on the iPad.

It seems to fluctuate depending on device.

I'm cooking up a female human barbarian. I'm taking the +1 to all attributes to get that nice +4 modifier to strength. I'd appreciate a map/list of places so I could get her back story more nailed down. Her Ideal (I think...) ties into where she's from.

The map is being worked on as we speak. Would your character be a native of Bload or an outlander?

I was thinking a native. I can send you her backstory/personality thing.

Sure, go ahead and PM it to me? I have the general locations/characteristics of the city-states and regions, but they aren't all named yet.

Whoa! I found the game thread!
Sorry for figuring this out so late; I'm pretty new to this site as well as DnD overall, so this will be an interesting experience.

I made my character already, but I can tweak him around if need be. I was going for human outlander ranger. Hunter/gatherer from a very small, almost self-sufficient village (mostly family) in some Very Distant Woodlands. Frequents the closest town/city to sell pelts/meat/etc. Kind of a tough exterior loner by necessity, but deep down he has a love for nature and the unbridled wilderness. Being the liaison for his village is really just an excuse to travel outside of his native woodlands.
If any part of that doesn't line up with the world, let me know.

I also realize after reading this thread that I did his stats wrong, I gave him the plus 1 to all stats AND took the +1 to two stats and the feat. Didn't realize it was either/or. I'll go fix that now.

Useful cheat-sheet I found for various stuff (actions, conditions, etc):
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7n5bpadgZz4WmRIdE1HeVBaeFk/edit

Also, it took me a while to get my head round how Clerics prepare/cast spells but I think it boils down to:
- Clerics "know" all their spells (unlike Wizards who only "know" the ones they have in their spellbooks).
- They prepare WIS modifier + character level spells.
- They cast spells by using up a spell slot of that level or greater.
- So as a lvl1 Cleric with a WIS mod of +2, I can prepare 3 1st level spells.
- When casting I can cast a max of 2 different spells (because I have 2 1st level spell slots) before I run out of slots to cast with.
- Changing prepared spells is done after a long rest.

Cantrips are slightly different - I have a permanent set list of cantrips I know (which increases at later levels) but they can be cast whenever without using spells slots.

With that in mind, I guess it makes more sense for the spell list on my character sheet to be my list of cantrips plus currently prepared spells?

Yeah, that sounds right to me. The way I always played 1st/2nd ed, clerics didn't need to memorize particular spells ahead of time (they could just cast whatever until they used up their slots) but I do recall memorization being explicitly required in 5th.

I think technically it's "prepare" rather than "memorise", but yeah.

Carillon Tintinnabulum is a nearly middle aged Dwarven wizard just leaving his prime of life from the far off land of Jerma. When he was a child his people, prone to mining, and greedy for the earths treasures as they are, dug too deep and let loose upon themselves demonic and devilish forces that sought only tyranny and chaos. What few magic users the clan had managed to seal off wherever the infernal creatures came from, but the experience changed Carillon, instilling him a curiosity into what these creatures could do, where they came from, and most importantly how they could be stopped. Having learned all he can in his own lands, he has chosen to travel abroad and learn even more.

He carries with him a journal containing every fact, rumor and legend about demons and Devils that it's been within his power to obtain, and he guards this tome fiercely, lest it fall into the wrong hands.

Rather than a spell book, he carries a variety of bells that he braids into his beard in different configurations, depending on what spells he's prepared for that day.
Rather than the traditional wizards staff, he carries a warhammer with the head being a massive bronze bell

He wears a purple beret tall on his head, and wooden sanders, both of which give him the illusion at least three inches of extra height to compliment his stocky 4' 3"

(I exchanged one of the inkwells and some of the gold that his background provides in order to get the warhammer, if that's not kosher he can just carry a staff until he can come across a more dwarven weapon.)

Looks like everybody's got their character ready, so we're on track to start adventuring this coming week.

I feel like Carillon and Felor, both outlanders from Jerma, might know each other already. Vad and Tzipporah seem like they might have a pre-existing relationship, too. Frekki, we determined, is probably from the mountain city in north Bload, and Leth could be from the woodlands near there.

Check out the new thread ("About Bload") and let me know if you have any additions to your backgrounds based on the info there.

Felor grew up learning the ways of healing as an apprentice to the local medicine man in a remote mountain village in Northern Jerma. When his mentor died, he took over the role of healer for the surrounding villages, and became known as a gruff and taciturn character, but a dependable person to turn to in times of crisis. Living on his own, a short hike from the nearest settlement, he came to value the peace and tranquillity of the wilderness and the closeness to nature.
In time, the locals forgot his origins and even his full name, and he became known simply as Felor, or Felor-of-the-mountain.
One night, while camping in a mountain pass, he was visited in his dreams by Fjorgyn, goddess of mountains and the wilderness.
She blessed him for his services to the villagers and local tribes, and commended his devotion to nature. Finally she gave him a task... But when Felor awoke he could not recall what the task was. It continues to trouble him that was was given an important mission but cannot remember it.

Felor has crossed paths with Carillon before leaving Jerma, and is wary of anyone who would dabble in demonology, whatever their motives.



Felor carries with him a spear and light hammer, both traditional weapons of his people, and a large circular shield adorned with the holy symbol of Fjorgyn - a mountain on a blue background.

Frekki Mornraven was raised in the mountain city of Dule, and while growing up was constantly surrounded by guards, soldiers, and explorers. As she grew up she was constantly training and preparing herself (You can read?!) to make something of herself in Dule's small army. When she was old enough she joined immediately, and progressed quickly for awhile. Eventually, when a war came, she thought she'd had her ticket to find some fame and glory for herself. Much to her surprise, when she received her orders it wasn't a call to battle, but it was for her stay home and defend her city. Her frustration grew and grew as those around her cycled back and forth from combat to Dule but she stayed. She had joined the military to make something of herself, not sit on her arse and wait for a fight.

As soon as the war ended, she retired from Dule's army. She'd had a reputation for being hot-headed and being rash, but she'd taken the slight as a personal grievance. If she would not be allowed to win a name for herself and for Dule, she'd have to win it on her own.

She knows Leth from a few run-ins, but mostly because she'd sometimes be on patrols from Dule to his village.

Her preferred weapon is a two-handed greatsword, because it's almost as tall as she is. She also carries hand-axes and javelins, because sometimes things are sadly too far away to hit with her sword.

She's very superstitious, particularly about outlanders (Do you really eat babies?), and isn't trusting of them until she's been in a fight with them. At which point, it's like she's known them since birth. She is devout to her animistic religion when it suits her.

Are any of the city states particularly prone to slavery? I'm thinking Tzipporah is an escaped slave who now lives on the lam using her charisma and wiles to get by. Maybe even perhaps a slave to a witch living in or near the swamp city of Fenboc? I'm thinking she contacted her Patron through secrets gleamed from her former master.

Carillon would be used to suspicious treatment by others, knowing full well the risks associated with the knowledge he holds. He'd also have his own reservations about a religious type, finding deities no less dangerous than hell-spawn. He's be far from unfriendly though, and glad to see another from his homelands, regardless of how standoffish he may appear.

Some of the cities do allow slavery; Felboc would definitely be one of them.

I'm working on getting the first in-game adventure post up today. Just to let you know how things are coming along as far as working all your backstories into the initial setup, you're all probably going to cross paths somewhere up in the Sthombo region. Carillon and Felor, both from Jerma, probably would have landed around there when they came over; Frekki and Leth are both from Dule and would pass near there on their way south to bigger and better things; Tzipporah could have head up there to put some distance between herself and Felboc, and I think she and Vad would probably have bonded over the fact of having magical powers in common, and might have worked together in a few small-time schemes (in this world, there's not always a lot of professional distinction between entertainers and charlatans) on their way up there.

It's the end of summer, it's been raining hard for the past week, and there are rumors of giants in the foothills around Sthombo -- Dule's raids on their strongholds have a tendency to displace them, and they become Sthombo's problem for a while.

There's a new ruler in Hazard, which puts an end to a year of plotting and scheming among the factions there. Gurmar and Gaad have declared war on each other over some petty territorial dispute. Koalinth pirates are more active than usual on the Channel Sea and Orsen has comissioned new, fast warships from Utwar to deal with them. A band of diplomats from the Mezian Republic is roaming the southlands, stirring up curiosity and suspicion.

To be continued in a new thread soon...

Seems reasonable to me. Can't wait to get started.

Ditto

I'm going to wait on a Vad's story a bit. I kind of like developing the character as the story moves along. I like the idea of Tzipporah and him having worked together her and there, could provide for some interesting stories later on.

This may be due to my relative new-ness to all this, but I'm a little confused here, hence my questions about territory. If Leth lives in a village in the woodlands south of Sthombo, would that really bring him into contact with Frekki or the city of Dule much? I'd think he'd be more likely to know people from Sthombo or Hazard, as those seem the most likely places he would frequent for business.

...or am I just thinking about this too hard hahaha

I was just going off of what Bull said, if it doesn't work for you we can just forget about that.

I was thinking Leth is from somewhere kind of between Dule and Sthombo. There would certainly be woodlands along the region between the mountains and the coast; the map only shows general concentrations of geographical features.

Gotcha gotcha gotcha. That makes sense.

Vad has a bad habit of performing cantrips from time to time as a way of 'releasing energy' without taking considerations of his surroundings. This has obviously gotten him into some trouble in the past. The power and energy behind his sorcery is not under his control and if he goes a prolonged amount of time without using it he starts to get edgy and uncomfortable.

EDIT: BullOctorok, check out the Wild Magic Surge (PHB: 103) for the fun you can have as a GM with a Wild Magic Sorcerer.

Oh, I like that looks of that table...

*Looks up table*
Holy. Shit.

This is bonkers. You could literally become so young you cease to exist. I think the feather beard is my favourite.

It is pretty awesome.

wild magic table is the best.

Just in case it wasn't contextually obvious,

Green text is a prompt for the players to do something

Blue text is an out-of-story aside

Red text...I'm sure we'll find a use for it sooner or later

Does it matter what players use for OOC text?

No, as long as its clear. Brackets or "OOC:" are fine, blue would be nice for consistency, but whatever works for you

Just a small mechanical query - what gives Cockroach/Tzipporah advantage on the Performance roll they just made?

I have the Actor feat. Which says "You gain advantage on deception and performance checks to impersonate someone else, you can imitate the sounds or speech of another creature, and you gain +1 Cha"
if I am misunderstanding that just use the first roll.

Ah cool. I think I (D&D novice) would read it as the advantage is on impersonating a human, not on imitating an animal (imitating an animal is just something you can also do), BUT you are technically impersonating a human imitating an animal so a charitable DM could give you advantage anyway *cough* ;)

It could be ruled/argued either way lol. But it's easier in this format just to roll it and the DM can decide how he wants to use it. Either way, I'm cool with it. :) But after all those pitiful rolls gonna use every advantage I got lol

As far as OOC stuff I think I will be using brackets from here on out. I post mostly from my phone and it doesn't always like the color changing pull down menu.

Guys I am so sorry I forgot to post this week. School's getting busy for the end of the semester next month. I'm gonna jump in at the next good point for it, so I'll be keeping an eye out for one.

I feel like I'm posting too much? Taking the story into my own hands too often? I'm really sorry if I'm not playing this out right. Remember, I'm still new to this :/ Should I be doing this differently?

You're doing fine. In the other games I'm involved in on here it seems everyone gets their chance somewhere along the line. Just don't get us killed and everything will be all right. :-)

I'm in the same boat - completely new to this. I got the impression that if the DM wanted to wait for input from others, he would indicate that somehow.

Yeah, you're all fine. I generally try to allow time for everybody who wants to weigh in before moving the story forward, and it's inevitable that the more active players are going to drive things.

Quick gameplay question:
The spell Guidance says
What does it mean by "ability check"? Is an "ability check" a persuasion, nature, religion, etc skill check?

Yeah, that.

Quick gameplay question, re: skill checks.
I'm trying to figure out when it's worth adding my Guidance bonus to a skill check. Am I right in thinking that a skill check is generally passed with a result of 10? So e.g. there's no appreciable difference between a skill check result of, say, 7 and 8?
(I think I understand that skill checks can have harder or easier targets to beat, e.g. 5/10/15, however, but 10 is the normal target?)

10 is the base target for not-exceptionally-difficult skill checks, yes.

We might have one or two new players joining us soon...

Excellent!

Whoop!

Hi. Hello. I guess Octorok is working on getting my character submitted, but yes, it seems at some point in the near future you will be joined by a mysterious stranger...

Tell me a little more about Mordred so I can figure out a good way to introduce him?

Yes, of course! Here is his character sheet. His name is Mordred Kaliban, and he is a tiefling who was orphaned at a young age and forced to take care of himself on the mean streets of Sthombo. One night, after a particularly rough "questioning" from the Constabulary, he was picked out of the gutter and taken in by Edvers and Zora Kells. They nursed him back to health, and over the years have helped him try and make something of his life - an introduction to the Smiths' Guild here, a few classes at the University of Sthombo there - but nothing came as easily as thievery to Mordred. Now a fairly well-respected member of the Sthombo Thieves' Guild Local 815, Mordred was eager to begin to repay Edvers for all his kindness. The accusation and execution shocked Mordred to his core. He knows Edvers would never do anything like that, and now Mordred is sworn to clear Edvers's name and avenge his loss.

I'm happy to make any changes to his story or stats if you think they will fit better into the game. Thanks again!

Sounds good. I'm thinking, let's take out the connection to Ed and just make you a friend of Zora's. Harboring a tiefling would have brought tremendous scrutiny down on the village, but Zora definitely could have made some friends in the Sthombo demimonde.

Does Mordred know much about his parentage? Presumably one of his parents isn't dead, but rather back in the lower planes...

Perfect. He does not know who (or what) his father was. Maybe (for now) he is more interested in finding Zora and making sure she is safe than worrying about this Iron Whatever. Could create some interesting tension in the group, depending on whether or not the party finds her soon.

Welcome, rocksteady! (I'm EndsOfInvention from MeFi).

Regarding the shared/party inventory, are you (DM) keeping track of that or should one of us note the stuff we collect in our inventory?

You should note any items you pick up. Should be easy to add them to the character sheet.

OK. I didn't note down what we collected from the dead guy at the longhouse but I'll go back and add it to my inventory.

Just a heads-up that I'm going on holiday tomorrow for a week - we should have wifi where we're staying so will try and check in regularly.

Hey there, thanks for taking me in! Looking forward to joining the party, perhaps when you're all done running from the law.

Welcome! Just enacting my Brilliant Escape Plan(TM). Maybe this time it'll work.

Wait there's snacks?

Would Vad have time to take an action to cast a spell or are the guys right on us?

With the canine delay, you'd have time to get a spell off.

Man, this chase is exciting!

Watches chase on Green Room TV

It's exciting but with the delay between posts I imagine it happening in super-super-slow-motion, heh.

It's my first ever P&P RPG and I'm finding the difference between a computer RPG where there are set paths to follow, and this, where it's completely a freeform/"sandbox" thing, fascinating. Get completely stuck not knowing what to do sometimes.

I've been imagining it like a serial. "Tomorrow on Bload... will our heroes escape the justiciar and his dogs?"

You mean "Will the heroes escape the Justicar? Will the Justicar escape the dogs?" ;)

"Will Justicars and/or dogs and/or our heroes escape from one another?" Covers all bases.

You missed out the sparrow & eagle but I think that was already resolved.

#TeamSparrow

Waits for someone to say, "I've got a bad feeling about this."

I'm on holiday until Sunday night so may not be able to post until then.

So I just saw the spell-less ranger modified class in that Unearthed Arcana article... And that's kind of what I was picturing for Leth when I was rolling him up, (and probably fits this world a bit better with magic being scarce and all) but I wasn't aware that was an option (ish) so I just made him a normal ranger when I was creating him. If I'm reading this article correctly, and if I wanted Leth to use this version of Ranger, it wouldn't require any changes to Leth as he is now - he would just level a little differently starting at level 2. Would this be permitted? Or should I just stick with the class as it is in the PHB?

(Also, as a side note, I noticed we haven't really gained any XP since the run in with the first ambushers at the start of the chapter.... not whining, just wondering if that was intentional or not.)

I know I'm not the DM, but I'm good with the modified Ranger, sounds like a cool idea.

We're going to close up chapter one and award XP soon. You can definitely go with that modified ranger class.

Sounds good!

I was wondering that level-advancement from Chapter One includes those of us waiting on deck?

Are our other two players still here and ready to join in soon? If so, I'll be working them into chapter two ASAP. If anybody has any more questions for Mordred or anything else they'd like to discuss before we open the chapter two thread, please post here.

Yes, to keep up with the rest of the party, you should level up too.

Awesome, thanks! And yeah, I'm ready whenever you are.

Yep, still here. I'll level up Shamush. Excited to join in!

Well now, let's see how much HP Leth gets out of his new level up...

ah. hmm. Well, I just noticed that I goofed a bit when creating him. When I was figuring out his starting HP, I did the typical hit die max + con modifier... except I added his TOTAL constitution stat, instead of the modifier. So, his starting HP should have been 11, not 23 hahahaha

EDIT: MAX HP ROLL!!!! *fist pump*

Edit #2: Alright, done leveling up Leth, and ready for the next chapter! :D
New stuff includes: +2 chance to hit on ranged attacks, and two battle maneuvers.

Mordred gets Cunning Action (lets him take a bonus Dash, Disengage or Hide action per turn) and a few more HP. Looking forward to Chapter 2!

Will have Vad ready to go later this evening!

I leveled up Shamush. Just took the 7 standard HP for Barbarians.

Oh shit, level up time!
I assume we're just moving forward to level 2 rather than receiving a specific amount of XP?

Yup, that's right.

HP increase roll for Felor

Felor gains:
Channel Divinity (Turn Undead or Charm Animals & Plants*)
Guiding Bolt (ranged zapping)

*(If you listen to The Adventure Zone, rest assured I will not try to use it like that)

Bring on chapter 2 and the new PCs!

*shudder*

FYI, the chapter 2 post will be up on Monday.

Awesome!

Are we to assume any type of rest between the two chapters or is it a straight continuation?

Sorry, as per the introductory post, it's nightfall, you've been walking south/southwest from Sthombo all day.

Zangua and Shamush, stand by for imminent introductions...

So, Zangua and Shamush, some backstory: you two met up near Gurmar and did some sword-for-hire work together, until you started stealing business from a local mercenary company and had to leave town. In the hills north of Gurmar you found a small group of dog-headed people, five females and a dozen pups, under attack by their own kind. You fought off the attackers, and when the males of the group returned, they explained that they were outcasts from a larger pack and were trying to make their way northward to unclaimed territory. Charmed by the pups and moved by their tale of being driven out of their pack by the treacherous brother of Great Fang, you accompanied them northward and made a good profit ambushing highwaymen and robbers together. However, it has been a constant struggle dissuading them from preying upon farms, villages, and travelers, and they have grown more and more insistent upon pressing northward towards the more prosperous settlements around Sthombo. You've been trying to steer them westward, to settle among the foothills of the Lesser Knife Mountains, where they'd be less likely to hunt or be hunted by humans, but the males have developed a taste for plunder and seem disinclined to take your counsel. After a long day ranging far to the north and finding little of value to take, you find shelter in an abandoned barn where tensions come to a head...

Which one of us is the human facing the doorway, clad in leathers?

That would be you, Zangua.

Should I come in soon too, Bull? Whatever you need me to do, I'll do that!

CouchLord, you around?

Any in-between chapter questions or discussions should go here. We'll start chapter three when all your character sheets are updated.

Zangua is ready to go.

Whoop! Level 3! Roast goat! Good times.
I will update the map soon (prob make a zoomed in version).

Vad has taught himself a few new tricks and is ready to give them a go.

OK, ready to go.

Mordred awakens from a deep and dream-filled sleep with new arcane abilities...

Just took the average 7 for my HP increase this level.

So the handbook says at every level I take "1d10 + your constitution modifier per ranger level after 1st"... and I'm not really sure what that means? :S Can someone explain?

Means you gain 1d10+1 hit points innit?

Edit: or 6 HP, if you take the average plus modifier like Shamush did?

Okay that's what I thought, but the wording was a little odd, and I half wondered if it meant that I was supposed to add my con modifier twice (since we're now two levels above first) - but that seemed like a bit much. Will do!

Other class features this level: Hunter archetype (taking the Colossus Slayer feature), and the ability to make Poultices.

ETA: No biscuits today, it seems... ah well, I rolled max HP last time.

Sounds like everybody's p much ready to roll? I'll have the first chapter 3 post up later this afternoon.

Added 2 more HP to my character sheet, as I forgot to add the Con bonus.

A question about dice and trust. While I really appreciate the auto-roller built in to the forum software, I find myself missing the feel and excitement of using actual dice. I was wondering if anyone would object to me rolling physical dice and then reporting the result in my posts? I would probably still use the auto-roller a fair amount, for times when I am posting from a location that is not conducive to rolling dice (waiting in line, sitting on the loo, driving my car, etc). This would also necessitate me finding a place to purchase a set of polyhedral dice, as the last set I had disappeared long ago, so wouldn't begin right away.

Yes, we're all honest dealers here, any of you are free to use dice that exist in the prime material plane for your rolls.

Cool thanks! I'll save my Ethereal Dice for another game, I guess.

Man, I wish I could do that, but my physical dice treat me about as well as the GP dice roller. Though I'm thankful I'm not afflicted with the Wheaton.

Just FYI, I'm using this site to generate goblinspeak. I haven't gone full Tolkien with the made-up languages or anything.

What's your stance on material spell components, Octo? Mordred just got his spellcasting abilities at level 3, and he hasn't had a chance to go shopping for tarts and colored sand and whatnot.

What spell and which components do you need?

I'm partial to this tart component. Sounds tasty.

Yeah Mordred did you bring enough tarts for everybody?

I don't really understand the whole "material component" part of magic so have been quietly ignoring it. Hope that helps.

Tasha's Hideous Laughter requires "tiny tarts and a feather that is waved in the air," Color Spray requires "a pinch of powder or sand that is colored red, yellow, and blue" and Minor Illusion requires "a bit of fleece". I don't mind having to spend some GP every once in a while to re-stock, but I haven't realistically had a chance to do so during the course of this adventure. I guess we could say that he already had a few tarts in his rations, picked up some feathers and fleece in the woods, and... had some colored powder in his thieves' tools?

I am certainly not opposed to the "benign neglect" method of dealing with it, however.

My policy for spell components is going to be, if you can make up a reasonable justification for having a plausible facsimile of the components, you're good to go.

A wild blackberry smushed on a cracker? Sounds like a tart to me.

Sounds legit!

Alternatively, if you get the chance to buy a spellcasting focus or components pouch, those take the place of spell components. (with the exception of components that have a written GP cost in the spell description)

Yeah, that's what I would have done if I was starting out as a magic-user or he had leveled up in town. I probably should have thought ahead about his Archetype and just given him a components pouch from the beginning, but I'm just an unfrozen caveman D&D player, and your fifth edition ways are strange and frightening to me.

I'm pretty surprised they still bother with material components. I figured they'd be phased out by now.

I'm beginning the mourning process for all the interesting side-quests in the Badgerways I won't get to develop now...

I knew that faucet was suspicious!

none of you heard me screaming AWWW COME ON when you decided not to investigate Wormfellow

I was actually going to ask Everil about wormfellow hahaha

I feel so tugged by the need to find Zora, first because she was so far ahead of us, and now because she is so close. Just between us, is finding Zora going to "wait" if we do go off on a sidequest or two, or is there a timer on what happens to her? In any case, if I'm playing in character, it's going to be hard to convince Mordred to do anything other than chase after Zora headlong.

And I really wanted to get a neurotic kobold NPC in the party, so I was bummed Ghaman didn't come along with us.

I would say, with events in motion the way they are now, there would be consequences if you just sort of put looking for Zora on the backburner. Everil obviously has some weird designs on her and is hellbent on stopping her from getting to Hazard.

As a player, I was definitely intrigued by a bunch of the stuff we found in the badgerways... but as a character, there's no way I'd want to stop looking for Zora to check them out.

Octorok, having seen behind your DM veil previously, I am fully aware that every single unexplored clue leads to a something cool, and every NPC has an elaborate backstory, and if we weren't hot on the trail of a woman pursued by IG-88, I would totally stop and investigate them all! :)

Chapter 3 is finished & locked. Any questions or metadiscussion about what just happened can go here for now. Chapter 4 will start with time having advanced a bit, assume you can rest up and fully heal and shop for basic supplies if you need to.

What kind of weapon does the catchpole count as? I'm thinking of taking the Polearm Master feat with the new level, but it only counts if I'm using a glaive, halberd, or quarterstaff. If the catchpole counts as none of them, I likely won't take the feat.

The catchpole would be considered a glaive.

Thanks! I've noted it on my character sheet. So the blade will inflict a poison on a successful attack, but not the blunt end, right? Also, is the special grapple attack a single Attack action? I wasn't clear on what you meant by disadvantage if I just wanted to grab someone with it.

So at a regular level of proficiency, you can attack with either the blade (poison) or blunt (not poison) end once per turn, or make the special grappling attack by rolling at a disadvantage.

With the Polearm Master feat you can wield the catchpole as the Implacable did: one blade and one blunt attack per turn, or one grappling attack with no disadvantage.

I'd like to pick up a component pouch if I can find a seller of magical trinkets. The PHB cost is 25gp, and I figure no one will mind if I take one of the gems from the goblin treasure that I think is worth about 25gp and try to buy one with that?

Thanks for the explanation!

Everybody: let me know when you've leveled up and updated your character sheets.

I'm all set.

Nearly ready, still deciding on one last spell to prep but everything else is done I think so feel free to start.

Mordred is back and smarter than ever.

What videogame sound do you all associate with leveling up? For me it is the Zelda "found a new sword" sound, but a strong argument could be made for the Mario "mushroom" sound.

Final Fantasy IV battle victory music, maybe?

Vad is ready to go!

Pac-Man intro music.

You tube video

I usually hear the Fire Emblem level up sound (I can't find the specific sound from the gameboy game I played in high school, so this is close enough). Or the Skyrim level up music. Though the final fantasy victory music is also up there.

lemme do my HP roll real quick...

Okay. Leth is now level 4. Took a point in Con and Wisdom, increasing the modifier for both. Which means more HP!

Question, though: One of his class features he gets by being a spell-less ranger is the ability to make some healing poultices. To do so, I have to spend an hour gathering herbs and actually creating the poultices. Could I assume he has done so at the start of the next chapter? (Technically he actually had access to this ability at 3rd level, but I forgot)

There is a lot of fungus and mold and stuff in the City of the Symbiont Queen so sure, those count as herbs, get your poultice on

I'm going to assume I can find a Component Pouch? What gem am I able to trade for it? I'd also be interested in finding something we could use to hinder anyone trying to follow us through the tunnels. Maybe smoke bombs or some kind of highly flammable substance we could drop behind us and light on fire?

Components, sure. You could convert the gems to cash here, but I don't have my gem value notes handy atm so I'll get back to you on the total there. Smoke bombs aren't really a thing down here, but you could get some quick-burning oil.

OK, I'll take a flask or two of oil. I'd also like to use my roguish instincts to see if I can find someone who can ID and possibly fence the goblin treasure. I'm particularly interested in the magicalish copper rings.

ETA: Or we can roleplay that out as part of starting the next chapter, whatever you'd prefer.

You can fence the gems for 380 GP. Nobody is sure what the rings do, just that they possess some sort of low-intensity enchantment; if you want to dig deeper on that we'll have to RP it in the chapter.

(I think we're just waiting on Spruce, who mentioned being semi-MIA for a little while, so we'll just go ahead and get things rolling this week.)

Sweet! I would like to dig deeper into the rings and other trinkets, if an opportunity arises. I'll pay for my component pouch out of that 380.

ETA: Mordred is still wearing one of the rings, FWIW.

Hey all, sorry about the absence. I've returned from my trip. I'll catch up and be back to regular posting.

Hi Spruce!

Chapter 4 is unlocked and updated with its first post.

Were we allowed to bring all of our equipment to this audience? Or were we forced to leave our weapons behind?

No weapons, but any non-weapon gear is fine. If anyone wants to try to sneak a (small) weapon in, that'll require a Sleight of Hand roll.

Damn Spruce, I know I personally wouldn't need a Persuasion roll from that one.

This is Shamush's oddly specific wheelhouse: offputting, psychedelic, religious weirdos!

Great speech Spruce! I love your characterisation.

Thanks!

Did we have enough time to rest and recover spent Hit Dice and abilities?

Yes, everybody's all healed up and full of spells.

Just so you guys know, I'm heading out of town for a week. Not sure how often I'll be able to hop online.

Ah shit, so I had a baby (well, my wife did), and henceforth things like "remember to play online D&D" were pushed out of my brain for a month. Sorry! Will catch up with what's what very soon.

Congratulations!

Congrats again! And, understandable!

We're going to have another player joining us soon -- some of you might know nubs from MetaFilter and/or the 1st ed. Twitter campaign. He'll be joining the party once you make up to Hazard proper. Welcome aboard, nubs!

Huzzah! I'll be trying to get up to speed on what's going on quick like. Not sure what I'll be playing yet, and this is my first run at D&D 5e. I always tend to lean towards rogues, but maybe I'll surprise myself.

Welcome!

I dunno how thoroughly you've read the boards so far, but in a nutshell: the party was friends of this guy Edvers Kells, this sort of larger-than-life adventurer/homesteader guy, who got accused of stealing a prized artifact called the Iron Sphere of Sthombo and was executed for it. While they were attending his burial the party got ambushed by this cult called the Six-Pronged Crown and started investigating what happened. They fled Sthombo looking for Edvers' daughter Zora, had some wacky misadventures, and found her in this massive subterranean complex known as the Badgerways which she was trying to use as a way to sneak into the city of Hazard undetected. She informs the party that Edvers really did steal the Sphere, but that the Six-Pronged Crown forced him to somehow, and before he was captured and executed he gave Zora a coded message and told her to take it to her mother in Hazard. Right now the party is in a crypt under the city, trying to find a way up and out.

I've read through a bit of the first chapter, so I have a sense of what got the ball rolling. Still mulling over character ideas; it's looking like a pretty diverse skill set in place already which is awesome as it leaves me free to do just about anything. Anybody up for a halfling bard?

I was going to suggest something along the magical continuum, and bard sounds about right. Being a non-human is a little tricksy - most people have been fairly suspicious of my tiefling, but I'm sure a halfling could "pass" a bit easier than a red-skinned demon man.

Looking forward to having you join in. There is a pretty good "What We Know So Far" post in the About Bload thread, though it needs updating, and you can also read the puppet show I put on to teach a scared young child that it was OK to go with strangers.

This sounds like my kind of group.

I am going to go with a bard, likely human - I was initially thinking halfling, but I think the character concept as it has evolved might be better as a human. Not sure, I may change that, but that's where I am at. I'll hopefully create him tonight and then pbo can tell me what I've gotten wrong and I'll be ready to go when the group is in the right position.

Welcome, fellow Mefite!

Fine tuning my character. A couple of questions:

-I'm trying to grasp if a spell that has a range of "touch" excludes the caster? Some spells are "self", which is clear; but if a spell is "touch" does that mean it has to be cast on someone other than the caster or could the caster choose to make it "self"?

-I'm really not sure I grok "ritual" spells...does that mean, if you have the spell written down in a book, you can cast from the book and not use a spell slot? Is that the important thing about a ritual spell?

"Touch" spells just mean that you must physically contact the recipient of the spell, and yes it does include yourself.

Rituals do not use up a spell slot, but they do take 10 minutes longer to cast and still require the components. Your character must also have the ability to cast ritual spells, either through a class feature or a feat (as an example, Paladins do not have the ritual caster feature so they cannot cast a spell as a ritual, even if it's marked as one). Depending on what class you are, you may still need to know or prepare the spell before you can cast it as a ritual (wizards are the exception).

OK, I think I'm ready to go! Looking forward to joining the group.

Belated welcome, nubs!

I'm just happy to be here.

Welcome to the story, nubs. Very interesting intro. I just wanted to mention that when I click on Domarc's avatar, I get a "No Character Found" page instead of his character sheet, which I get with the others. Maybe that's intentional as you aren't officially in the party yet? Just thought I'd mention in case it was a technical issue.

Huh. That's weird; it works for me but that might be because it is mine?

That usually happens when the character isn't added to the public library.

I've clicked the "add to library" button; I hope that resolves it. This is my first 5e character, so doubtless I've missed something; plus I'm sure you guys are curious.

Whoah, check out Mr Skill Proficiencies!

Yeah, the Bard looks to be pretty squishy in combat (plus I rolled for shit on HP) but they get a boatload of skill proficiences; in addition to the proficiencies, the Bard also has a class feature known as Jack of All Trades which allows for the addition of half the proficiency bonus to any skill the character isn't already proficient in. So, yeah, Domarc is broad and a little deep in a couple of places.

The bard is just a ton of fun. I'm playing one in another campaign and he's a blast; so much versatility.

Just to provide a little bigger picture context for the state of the campaign right now: Martjan is, by design, dropping hell of leads you could investigate. Some of them are completely new and some of them may tie back to people and places you've already encountered! She knows a lot about Hazard and I would encourage you all to pick her brain for as long as you like, but eventually the party will have to reach some decision together about what direction they want to proceed in -- you are not on rails at this point. Rest assured that all roads lead to adventure, if not necessarily a speedy resolution of the main plot.

So, who's still around? We've had a few people MIA over the last couple pages of posts.

Yeah, I'm still here...

I'm here

I'm eager to wipe smiling man's face off his lips.

*raises hand* present!

yo

Sorry guys, I'm still around. Just had a busy spate and computer issues.

Hey all. Sorry once again I've been a no-show. I'm going to have to go on hiatus, probably until the new year. I'm a self-employed artist and it's a super busy time. Didn't want to do the typical thing and fade into the ether without saying anything. I've enjoyed the game a lot, especially Octorock's writing. Hopefully I'll have time to rejoin in the future.

Hope to see you back in the new year, Spruce. Have a great Christmas and assorted seasonal holiday events!

Hope to see you again soon Spruce. Best of luck!

No problem Spruce, we'll say you're staying with Zora for protection for now.

So, who's around? Do we need a little unofficial holiday hiatus?

I'm back!

Sorry for my absence; office move has been ongoing since Thursday and I barely have time to handle life. But I'm around!

I think my unofficial holiday hiatus has just ended lol

no telling what my December schedule will be though :/

Since GP doesn't have a thread-exporting feature yet, I've been copying and pasting plot-relevant postings from the chapter threads into emails to myself to have for reference and posterity. I'm up to about halfway through chapter 4 so far. If any of you would like the completed chapters emailed to you (it's nice to be able to Ctrl+F "Ilhaz" or whatever and see where it's come up before!) just let me know and provide me with an email address I can send it to, either here or via private message on GP.

Could you post them in a new thread in the forum, or as a final "summary" post at the end of each chapter thread? If no, please email them to me at dave@fourponds.net. Thanks, Octo!

I second a new thread. We could use it as a discussion/theorizing space, too?

A new thread isn't a bad idea; but I will also gladly take a copy at prbartel@gmail.com

The notes are kind of messy, I don't mind sharing them with you guys but I'd rather clean them up nice before turning them into permanent posts here. I'll send out chs 2 and 3 now; ch 1 needs a redo and ch 4 is still in progress.

And you can always use this thread or the 'About Bload' thread for discussion/theorizing!

Yes please! team . awesome at the gmails.

just realized I didn't include my email in my post, orangeninjadaniel@gmail

Something I just noticed...at 3,700 posts, it looks like we have the most active game on the GP forums by a pretty good margin.

So, just consolidating some information here:

Prophecy about the Sphere:
"See what lies on Culsu's door:
Sleeping sea-horse, curled in a ball.
Tickle him awake, and your city will fall!
Ice and flood through the broken gate
An early death is the last Child's fate
Set a crown of frost on the tomb of the Old
And never again will men dwell upon Bload."


Prophecy about Hazard's daughter:
""Hazard's daughter
Stops the water
And the cold.
She who makes heads bare
And feeds the sea-horse its own tail.
But oh, the price she pays.
But oh, the price Bload pays."


Information about Ilhaz:

Ilhaz was the legendary titan who, as the stories go, reclaimed Bload from the Lord of Beasts and made it safe for mortals to inhabit. He was said to have died in battle with the Great Green Serpent of the Ophid River, and where he fell became the Isle of Ilhaz, and the Mastaba was erected by the founders of Hazard to honor him.

Isle of Vorch - last known location of Pafthinel

a small, untamed island somewhere off the south tip of Bload, named for the King of Malch who was exiled there some five hundred years ago. It was said that his descendants returned twenty years after his exile to bring him back, but that he fled from them, and hid in the wilderness, and had lost his ability to speak.

Map of Hazard:

Something I just noticed...at 3,700 posts, it looks like we have the most active game on the GP forums by a pretty good margin.

Wow, that's awesome. I've really enjoyed this, and I am hoping if we run into a little holiday doldrums we can power through and keep going into 2017. My life is such that the idea of arranging/scheduling/attending a weekly session IRL or online is a bit daunting, but this asynchronous format is ideal. Thanks to everyone, and especially PBO.

Theorizing:

Is the sea-horse of the prophecies the Great Green Serpent? Is the 6PC attempting to awaken/resurrect it?

Theorizing:

I was running on a belief that the 6PC was attempting to resurrect/reawaken Ilhaz, but after pulling the bits of prophecy and information together I was (a) reminded that Ilhaz is the one who made Bload safe/reclaimed it from the Lord of Beasts and (b) there's a lot of beast imagery going on here: sea-horses, serpents, and Vorch being a place that is wild & untamed - which is where Pafthinel went after learning the nature of the Sphere, and I am now curious as to why... It makes me wonder if 6PC trying to return things to before the time of Ilhaz; but as with all doomsday cults, I'm kinda wondering why you would want to fulfill a prophecy that ends with "never again will men dwell on Bload".

OK, I just removed a long rambling brain dump, so...Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up:

-to my eyes there are two parts to the first prophecy. The first 5 lines deal with Hazard and the Sphere; specifically the Sphere being used to wake/free the Serpent (which I think is both a metaphor for the river in flood and a literal magical beast of some kind). This will destroy Hazard (and I'm taking the "Child" to be the Innocent of Hazard).
-the last two lines, however, refer to something happening to all of Bload and involve a "crown of frost" and the "tomb of the Old". Now, I think the group saw the tomb back in Chapter One when a couple of you ventured under the church. The "crown of frost" is likely the source of the 6PC symbol, but I suspect that whatever it is actually rests with the Serpent; hence the "Ice and flood" that comes from activating the Sphere.
-So, for the 6PC, this plan around the Sphere and Hazard are only stage one on the way to a larger goal, of gaining the "crown of frost" and taking it to the tomb of the Old.

To see such speculation warms my dark little DM heart and almost makes up for all the lovingly-imagined side quests you've passed up. I hope you'll all stay with this campaign for the long haul, there is much, much more yet to discover.

The glyph of the 6PC does remind me of spreading ice crystals.

So, at this point, I'm assuming Vad and Shamush have left the game for good. Ruling on the field is that they're staying at Chorcarz's place to keep an eye on Zora. I certainly understand if anyone else is sorta MIA over the holiday season, but I do want to try and keep chapter 4 rolling to an eventual conclusion with whoever is available to play. Not to give anything away, but I'm hoping that once this chapter is done you'll all have a little more clarity of purpose (hard to say, you guys love going off the rails and that's great!) and the interim between chs. 4 and 5 might be a good time to try and recruit another player or two. I might try drumming up some interest on Twitter or the D&D Facebook groups I'm in, but any of you know anyone who might be interested in joining in, tell them to create a GamersPlane account!

Thanks pbo! I've been wondering what the holidays might look like; I will be away from my usual haunts between Christmas & New Year's, but I should still be able to check in once or twice a day to try to move this along.

Basically, I think we just need to decide what our next step is, and then we can get moving.

Nice!

Sorry for lack of contribution over the past week, I've been ill and hurt my neck so computer use is uncomfortable at the moment.

Theory: The sphere is a Pokeball containing a giant Gyrados.
edit: maybe Lapras (water/ice type)

I think the prophesies imply the whole of Bload is in danger. Maybe Bload itself is a gargantuan sleeping sea monster?
Agree that the 6PC/ice-crown crew want to wake the monster using some sort of ice magic. Zora is prophesied to stop them (destroy a/the crown? "makes heads bare").
Chapter 1, page 26 is where we check out the crypt under Nethuns' (god of oceans, fittingly) temple. Not much there though other than a door with the 6PC glyph on. We failed a perception check which might have given more clues! Amongst the offerings to Nethuns there's an "embryonic horse" which might be connected to the seahorse somehow? Maybe that's what people offer if they can't get hold of a seahorse.
Agree this seems relevant.

So, is anybody else seeing an interesting possible connection between this:
and

Good catch, nubs.

So sorry for my absence! December is a busy month in my line of work (Janitor here! You would not believe how many christmas parties people can throw in one building within the span of a week.) I had hoped to be a bit more active, but it's looking like that may not be the case, at least for the foreseeable holiday season. I will do my best to get on as often as I can, but Leth may be a little slow for the next few weeks. I have not abandoned the quest!

Edit: Okay, all caught up. Man, I *did* miss a lot... not sure how or if you'd want to throw me back in to this one at the moment, Octo :/ again, terribly sorry for being gone so long!

If you want to participate in this combat with Adan, we can retcon you in!

Works for me; however you want to do it!

It looks like Ezeriah will be joining us once chapter five starts. Welcome aboard!

Thanks for having me and hello all!

I've played a ton of RPG's & TT games over the years, but I started out with and grew up on D&D, with fond memories of games going until the sun peeked through the window in the morning. I'll be starting my first 5e game with you guys, have the PHB, and am exploring character options now.

I've followed some of your adventures, and I've gotta say, it's a great setting and just an enjoyable adventure to follow. It seems like good swords and sorcery as advertised, with a believable kind of feel to it as far as these settings go. As far as PbP, I feel lucky to have come across this game, as not only do I like the setting, but it seems like a very active game as some of you really seem to post frequently, which is exactly the kind of game I'm looking for: one with an involved core group and a story that moves forward, keeping everyone engaged.

Anyway, looking forward to adventuring with everyone. Good luck with Adan at the shrine!

Hi! Welcome! Save us!

Hi and welcome! Hopefully you have a group to join at the start of the next chapter!

Interesting... it seems like you guys might actually be worried about dying. That's good. I like a game with an edge. And yeah, that's a fight you've got on your hands, to be sure. Adan seems like one of those classic villains you really don't want to run into without a plan. Looks like he had one for you, as your arrival at the shrine was greeted most harshly.

D&D5e can be very squishy for low-level characters, and encounters further down the road still have a chance to kill. And when you go up against an intelligent opponent with allies, it's downright dangerous.

I lol'd.

Welcome aboard, Ezeriah! Hopefully we're all still alive to greet you at the start of the next chapter!

Trying to get familiar with the system... did Leth multiclass into fighter for the superiority dice? Or maybe I missed something under ranger. I'm on a crash course right now, just curious.

I'm using a the spell-less Ranger variant found here!

Fjorgyn welcomes you!

It's my first time with 5e too; it's actually pretty easy to jump into. Feel free to ask questions! They help me learn too!

What's our plan, here, guys? I'm really not super keen on surrendering, but it seems like that may be our only option if we want to maintain our innocence. (edit: and this time if we get arrested we'll probably be okay given the number of powerful people in hazard that are interested in us) Attacking the guards definitely seems like a bad idea, but Adan seems to be pushing us towards that eventuality...

I'm kinda thinking I should have just kept attacking Adan and tried to kill him; guards be damned... but I don't think that's what Leth would have done

Zangua's plan was to ask for forgiveness, but right now there's a guard in his way of taking Adan's head off.

Yeah... you guys are most definitely in a classic 'sticky situation.'

Just wanted to let everyone know I've read through the entire adventure up to now, and it's pretty awesome. Of course, my character isn't psychic so he'll still need to be filled in. I wish I'd been there from the start. A lot of great moments, all in a grand adventure.

In case you can't tell, really looking forward to being a part of it! Hopefully there's a lot more in store!

I need to try not to schedule big setpiece battles for holiday weeks...

Yeah, we're kind of hooped right now; I'm tacking the tack of not attacking directly and letting Darux hopefully get himself into trouble. But even then, this might be hard to talk our way out of.

I'm kinda hoping for a big enough distraction that we can all get away...

I need to try not to schedule big setpiece battles for holiday weeks...

It's kind of tough to be sitting and waiting to do something. But then again, I'm taking a pretty passive approach right now.

Normally I'd move things along and wait for players to drop back in when and if they're gonna, but Rock and Ends have been here long enough that I'm sure we'll see them again after the holiday madness subsides, and I wouldn't want to cheat them out of their chance to act at this critical juncture in the fight.

In the meantime, I have wrapped up my 1st Edition campaign on Twitter.

Hey, no worries - I'm well away from my usual location and routine and have been kinda delinquent about checking in; this is my first check in since the last time I posted. And I completely get waiting for everyone to take their turns; it is the nature of PbP.

Loving the game so far.

I saw your tweet about the end of the 1st Ed by Twitter campaign...I'm a little sad!

PbP is such a different beast from every other rpg play style. It just takes so much longer to get stuff done and requires a lot of patience, so it's not for everybody - which I think is why a lot of the campaigns here seem to die off after a while. I mean, we've been going for nearly two years now and are only on chapter four... but we're still going pretty strong (as you noted earlier, we seem to be the most active game on gamersplane). I've was part of another other PbP website a long time ago that would sometimes take years just to finish up one chapter; I actually still have a story going over there that picks up one or two replies a month, since most people abandoned it long ago. I'm glad you guys are all committed to this! We've got a great group here. And a big thanks to you, Octo, for putting all this together and being so patient with us! It's been a blast so far and I'm looking forward to where it goes next!

Read the final battle for your 1st ed campaign... always good for the party to be working for a demon cult without knowing it.

As far as wrapping up campaigns, I hope this one has a lot of steam left in it, as I really like the setting and the feel. After reading the first 4 chapters, I'd describe them as a cross between Tolkien's Hobbit and Howard's Conan: a great adventure in a grittier low fantasy setting. My favorite part was the Badgerways, and I hope we can further explore that at some point or find some other dungeons.

This chapter has been very urban/investigative, so I'm aiming for more of a dungeon crawl theme for chapter 5.

Vhezyen Khagbal is ready for action!

Sorry, been busy doing nothing over the holidays! Back at work (and therefore ready to play D&D) again now!

OK, sorry everyone! A combo of less time and Internet access than I expected over vacation. Back now!

So what's the deal with Vhezyen (VEZ-yen? VAY-zhen?). Interesting jack-of-all-trades situation.

Whoa, that's a lot of multi-classing going on there...Cool.

Whoah! Check out Mr Swiss-Army-Knife!

BTW, Vhezyen has a level up on you guys because he's going to be joining the action in chapter 5, when you'll all have leveled up as well. You might meet him as this chapter is wrapping up, though.

Oh, and also I had totally planned/expected Adan to survive that whole fight at the temple plaza...then in comes Leth with his perfectly cinematically timed Precision Strike killshot...

Shooting things is literally my only shtick. If I can't be good at that, what's the point? ;)

Edit: Not that it matters now, but I realize I should have added an extra d8 damage for colossus slayer to that shot, too. Ah well.

'VEZ-yen' is right. He's not so much a jack-of-all trades as he is someone who changed career paths a few times on the way to age 31.

Born in Hazard, in his late teens he did a stint for awhile as a burglar. Later, after barely escaping a failed midnight job on the temple of Thoth, he pocketed and kept a small pamphlet sized book he grabbed on the way out. Despite his miscreant criminal youth, Vhezyen was always an avid reader, curious and thirsty for knowledge, and the book somehow got his attention in the shadows of temple. He found himself fascinated by the teachings within the small book, and, eager to learn more about Thoth (Lord of Magic, Scribe of the Gods, Knower of All Secrets, Keeper of Knowledge, King of Knowledge), he returned the book to the temple of Thoth within the week. One of their priests, noticing the young man's unquenchable thirst for knowledge and repentant ways, offered him a recently vacated scribe position within the temple. Vhezyen was somehow pulled by the offer, and, despite his natural lust for riches and inclination toward thievery, couldn't say no.

Vhezyen quietly went about his work, diligent and fastidious. Years passed. He discovered faith in an appreciation for Thoth's domain, which led to sincere worship. Through this worship he discovered a power beyond the mundane, his faith fueling works of blessing and healing.In time he rose in rank, eventually performing the duties and rituals of a lowly disciple. From this moment forward he continued his studies, no longer a scribe, but a researcher, consumed by the need to know, always to be found in the libraries, burning the midnight oil. His was a desire to know everything.

As a result of his endless page turning, he discovered and began to study the arcane arts. The first magic he learned allowed him to comprehend any language written or spoken, and became his most powerful tool as he delved deeper and deeper into a world of spellcraft beyond the powers granted by faith alone. It was here, perhaps, that he had finally found himself. Given his penchant and natural aptitude for the arcane arts, the temple ordered him off to Banwod to hone his craft, guided by perhaps the finest arcane teachers of Bload. Years passed, sometimes in Banwod, sometimes in Hazard (or, as Vhezyen had learned, El-Haz-Ardu, which later became known simply as Hazard). During this time and in his travels, he learned of threats and life beyond the walls of civilization as well. No matter where he was, he was always studying, learning. whether by experience or the comfort of turning pages. It was during this time that he truly began to understand his direction in life. A fierce independent streak took hold. There was more to life than being shuttled between temple and academy, and he would have it.

Having recently returned home to Hazard once again, Vhezyen now seeks to strike out on his own. While he still has faith in Thoth, it has become one of a more casual nature. More and more, he appreciates the shackles of religious dogma less and less, as it only interferes with the quest for knowledge. As of late, his dreams place him in ancient sites, burial mounds in the darkest parts of the oldest forests, maze like caverns, ruins of bygone civilizations thought long lost, covered by the passage of time, deep underground, discovering great treasures and priceless artifacts from a time before recorded history. A spark is kindled. His waking moments are now spent dreaming, as a lust for riches, seeded long ago, once dormant and forgotten, wakes from its slumber. And Vhezyen is sure that the long lost artifacts of both gods and men could fetch a fine price somewhere...

And that was a helluva shot, especially last chance like it was. The way he fell out of the sky was just frosting.

Eh... I used to bullseye womp rats in my T-16 back home.

The multi-class thing wasn't planned so much as it happened.

Based on your adventures I've read about in SHoB, I wanted to make someone who could benefit the group. However, you guys pretty much had every class covered as far as my favorites go (I like the classics: Cleric, Rogue, Fighter, Ranger, and Wizard). Then, while I was reading, I found inspiration during the part where the group was having its 'Best Private Detective Agency in Bload' episode. So, I decided to make a character that could cover some of the more mindful things in the group. Someone with a lot of knowledge and the eye to put it to use.

Given my natural love for dungeoneering, from there, it kind of evolved into an archaeologist/treasure hunter type of character, and I just had to find a way to put it together. I knew I needed some high skills I could count on, and seeing as I like both clerics, rogues, and wizards, it came down to literally putting them all together (even though I struggled with Warlock/Wizard for awhile, but settled on Wizard for a 'learning the lost arts' feel).

Looking through the cleric domains, Knowledge stuck out immediately as it complimented Rogue expertise and what I wanted to do so well. With Wizard, given the state of Bload regarding its suspicious view of magic, I wanted to keep things subtle so Divination stuck right out, which really paired well with the archaeologist/treasure hunter type, as this guy is all about finding things.

I always enjoy it - both as player and DM - when the players do something unexpected and make some changes to the timing of the plot.

I also loved nubs pretending to be Zora and causing the angry mob to batter that guy to death.

Great backstory, Ezeriah. Welcome to the team.

Adan falling out of the sky was a Ned-Stark-gets-beheaded moment. I literally gasped out loud reading it.

That damn fake acolyte downlow healed him THREE TIMES and you people still managed to kill him off at the last possible moment

I was definitely having a "AIM FOR THE MEDIC! AIM FOR THE MEDIC!" moment there.

I was aiming for Adan. Wanted that catchpole back. Shucks.

Thanks. Looking forward to helping out and some awesome adventures.
That was a nice weapon indeed. I know it's not the same, but you could always pick up a glaive or halberd, to put your Polearm Master to work. That reach is nice to have, not to mention the opportunity attack whenever someone enters your reach.

Oh, most assuredly. Of course, now that we might be on the run and poking around dungeons, it may be difficult to replace. Looking forward to trying, though!

So, hopefully I'm not putting up too much text. Much like in real life, I'm not good at being succinct, and when I write within the context of PbP, I rather enjoy it. If it's too much, I can try to scale it back.

Why didn't we have Martjan tell us where to find the sphere while we still had the chance? D: I'm sure we all knew this would happen...

Yeah, I suspected it would happen for dramatic reasons. I should've just made her tell me, but then the DM gets to paint an even bigger target on the party.

I think the only problem with too much text is if there's a lot of speech. Too much speaking in one post (and I'm talking like multiple paragraphs) makes it harder to follow the flow of conversation, whereas shorter sections of speech allow more interaction/natural conversation to happen I think. That also allows an easier recap if I'm coming back to the game after a couple of days and want to remind myself what's going on (bolding the text as we've been doing also helps with this).
Longer sections of internal thoughts are OK as that can all be skipped over if I'm just scanning through to refresh my memory.
But anyway, yeah, so far so good! Look forward to adventuring you and rescuing any precious relics that belong in a museum!

@notinventedhere: As far as the text length, I get what you're saying. Make sense.

As far as rescuing precious relics, based on the direction the adventure is already headed, I'm guessing we won't have to go out of our way to do so. Looking back on the adventure, Vhezyen would have been most interested in that 'Goblin City' from the Badgerways, and getting an up close and personal look at their culture, even if it meant doing so in a 'merciless conquistador, kind of way (which, given that they're goblins, seems a guaranteed outcome).

There was soooo much content left behind in the Badgerways. I really wish you guys had gone looking for Wormfellow. And there's probably only like a 33% chance you're going to meet my new favorite minor character in chapter 5, and if you don't meet him then, you probably ever will. Oh well...

Watching players miss out on or rush past the things you love as the DM is always so tough...

Most definitely, but giving them the freedom to do so is wonderful.

Besides, maybe we'll get a chance to explore the Badgerways again. It would be nice to find some time to do so, although it would seem the plot itself is demanding attention elsewhere. Either way, I'm certain we have more to look forward to.

All the content that goes down the memory hole gets made up by the stuff I never thought I'd have to come up with (but do anyway) because of players acting in unexpected ways. Chapter 4 is like 25% longer than I intended it to be thanks to you guys...

Testing something.

That worked for me.

All I see is
"bulloctorok sent a note to nubs"
which is probably what it's supposed to do, so it works!

An excellent tool, one of my favorites. Used judiciously, it helps lend some mystery to the game. I got carried away with it when I first started using it, and the result was just an unnecessary exchange of posts as players repeated the contents of their personal 'notes' to share info with the group. The lesson was quickly learned.