Out-of-Character (OOC) Discussion

Thanks, Cosmic. Wondering now if there's enough space to avoid it and our allies (if such info is readily apparent).

Actually, Shatter might still work, the area of effect isn't as big as I thought.

10ft radius sphere.

Yeah, without a grid this becomes hard to communicate.

Some guidelines for this combat: if you can knock back the Ogres and keep them there, then you'll be able to hit all three with a single shatter. As it is right now, you knocked them back but nobody got up in their face to hold them there by the time your 2nd turn has started. As it is you can either Shatter the two Ogres on the front lines or the one attacking the winch.

Don't worry about hitting your allies, let's assume they are attacking from the same side so you can just center the spell behind the Ogres to avoid hitting your allies. If somebody climbs an Ogre that will be a different situation.

I actually prefer to use the DMG simplified rules for AoE in Theatre of the Mind for future combats. Maybe we should switch to that for future combats to keep everything simple. There is a table which I will reference or link to later that just tells you how many targets you hit based on the size of the AoE.

Does "take" mean Dwalia drank the potion? I'm trying to decide which 6 people Torden will heal with his Prayer of Healing.

No, not drank. Just grabbed it from him. Dwalia has cure wounds as well.

Prayer of Healing will include all PC's, Dwalia, and one of the still unconscious winch crew.

This fight is over, and thanks Jabes for getting things rolling again after combat. Well done everyone.

I decided to stay silent this morning and give you guys some space to see if any inter-character stuff would happen. At the moment, almost all of the player interaction in this game has been player to DM. This is partly due to my NPCs being verbose, determined to drive the story forward. But, i want to make sure we have a chance to do more player-to-player stuff because that can add so much to the game.

When you play an RPG around a table, the reaction of your fellow players adds so much. When Aldrik double crit in one round or Torden killed 3 monsters in a single turn, I can just imagine the bowl of doritos spilling over as the table erupts in shouts of amazement like hockey fans watching the game winning goal in overtime. Those shouts make your achievement tangible, make it mean something.

In a play by post game, I feel like we can, and must, include that in our game. You can do this in character or out of character. For example, you can make posts that describe how our characters think and feel about what's going on around them, about what the other characters are doing. This is especially good in combat because you can make these posts even when it's not your turn. They don't have to be long either. A simple "Damn, the great hero Aldrik lives up to his reputation!" or "How did Finn even get up here? Ah, clever lad." or "I sure am glad Torden is on our side." or "I can't believe Thorin took that hit and is still standing!"

After all, what makes our characters heroes? Is it because they kill the bad guys? Partially, but it's also how the world reacts to them killing the bad guys. If the world throws a parade in your honour, carves statues in your likeness, and mothers are naming their children after you, then you tangibly feel like you've made an impact in the world. Those things are the DM's job, but in some ways, the acknowledgement from your fellow players is even more important.

Jabes, you've been doing this with the NPCs which is great. I even cut you off by accident from having an interesting RP moment with Dwalia when you went to cast Guidance on her, which I regret.

For others, is this something you want to do more of and just haven't seen an opportunity for yet? Or is this just part of the game you're not into? I know some players might be here mostly for the fights, or for testing their character build, or a hundred other reasons. Also, let me know if there's something I can do to better encourage interplayer communication, or something I can stop doing to interrupt it.

Hi, all! I've fallen ill and my 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). Len, please feel free to move Torden forward in the meantime. Thanks!

I have lengthy responses to Len's questions above but will have to wait til I get back. Short version: Yes, more interaction please! :-)

Thanks for the notice Jabes. I hope you feel better soon. Post a picture of your cakes if you get a chance, I'd love to see them!

I will have your character return to Kaled Del to warn the city of the danger to the barge line. He's a logical choice because he is great at navigating, probably has been in and out of the city many times and many ways, and knows Issica well enough to get around by himself.

Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts on interaction when you get better :)

Also, thanks Cosmic and Snowy for putting some feelers out there for interaction.

Another news item: I've invited a 5th player to join our game. Nabbicus is an enthusiastic player who is really interested in our dwarven game and I think he'll bring some great RP material we can all build on. He'll be joining us on Sunday or Monday. If this slows down the game at all, we'll make changes.

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.

Welcome, Nabbicus!

So where do you want Torden? In Kaled Del, Arriving at the Barge Wright Inn, or somewhere in between?

Welcome back Jabes. As you can see we haven't gotten very far. Doing a branch-off story back in Kaled Del would be interesting but think it's best to keep it simple and have you return with the party at the Barge Wright.

Also, when you have time I'd love to hear more of your response to the interaction question we were talking about.

Thanks Jabes! Also, Torden has been to Issica many times. If you want to, feel free to develop an NPC or two that he knows. It may or may not become relevant, but I think it would be cool if Torden could say "I know a guy who could help." No pressure though.

Also if anyone else wants to chime in about interaction please feel free.

Hey thatguy2, I noticed Thorin using a crossbow throughout last battle. Did you want to alter your character to be an archer? As it is right now, many of your abilities are not contributing to ranged combat.

I noticed you posted about running a RP-heavy, low combat 5e game recently so I'm guessing combat isn't your thing. But, I could work with you to make a character that would be more fun for you in combat, or give you some ideas on how to get more fun out of the character that you did build.

Fair enough. I'll give the others some time to RP before I have Torden show up. I figure it should take him at least a couple of days to catch up.
Well I only wanted to add that even though I also do quite a bit of build-testing or whatnot, RP is the most fun aspect of the game for me personally. That's just me - I see nothing wrong with playing the game a hundred different ways. As for comments about how you've been running the game so far, I'm happy that you've been giving us plenty of opportunity for both interaction and combat, as well as skill challenges. It might be too early to give a more detailed assessment but I've just been having a great time with it so far!
Oooh I love this kind of thing! I'll have to give it some thought and maybe PM you about it. If you want to nudge me in any particular direction I'm all ears!

In that case, let's go ahead and RP your time in Kaled Del. It might be interesting to give everyone a window into what is happening back home, as well as provide both of us with some RP opportunities. I'll start a new chapter thread if that's cool with you.
Awesome, I'll keep that in mind as we move forward.
Good times. Part of why I am running vignette-style games is to gather lots of feedback from lots of people. I'm glad to hear good feedback, and I look forward to future constructive criticism that will make me a better PBP DM and DM in general.
It's hard to say where the party will end up in the next 24 hours of game time but I trust your instincts. An honest member of the Hundred Swords mercenary company that owes you a debt? An old friend from Kaled Del who has chosen a life of exile, but manipulates things from behind the scenes? Feel free to let your imagination go wild and we can work the idea back and forth.

Sure! :-)