Out-of-Character (OOC) Discussion

I noticed there wasn't an OOC thread yet, so I made one. :-)

So I was looking at that liquor cabinet. :-D

Haha, nice selection there, Jabes! Feel free to avail yourself of any of those beverages. The adventure does not take place in FR but that doesn't mean those beverages can't exist here too :)

Also, a reminder: the post frequency for this game is 2 per day. If you can't post you should let us know ahead of time. I've pmed snowy and Cosmic about stepping up their pace since they both went 24 hours without making a single post. For everyone's enjoyment I am going to be strictly enforcing this post frequency. Multiple people have asked to join this game and if you can't keep up then I'll give your seat to someone who can. Not trying to be a jerk or power tripping here, but I feel like if you sign up for a game with a posy frequency then you should make sure you can meet that frequency. Many games die on this site because they slow down, I don't want that to happen here

I'm OK to post twice or even more but don't want to hog the thread and would be funny if Torden was talking to himself. :-D

I understand. If you post once and nobody responds I know why you didn't post more.

Hey everybody, yesterday was great for posting and the game moved forward at a good pace. Adding the Watchers into the scene helped people to contribute to the scene without waiting for others to respond, and everyone made sure to post at least twice. Perfect!

Ooh I forgot that I have Thderwave! More like: forgot to put it on my spell list. :-P Could've pushed them together with Thunderwave and then Shatter!

Sorry, am not well-versed in spellcasting mechanics. Edited my post. Casting Thunderwave instead. Thanks!

Hey everyone! It has been a week since the game has started and I wanted to check in with people to see how things are going so far. Personally, I'm having a blast.

If there are things you'd like to bring up or suggestions you'd like to make, it would be great to do so now. I know some of you are more experienced DMs than myself especially in this medium, so I'm down for any construtive criticism you can send my way.

Thanks for your time you're spending on making this game fun.

I think it's been great so far! Just wishing the posting was more frequent but I guess that can't be helped.

Hey no worries Jabes. I hope you are enjoying getting to use this part of the 5e rules!

Enjoying it, yes! I hope you'll forgive the mistakes I will surely continue to make. I don't usually play casters, and this is my very first cleric. Admittedly, I'm taking baby steps here as Torden is more of a battle cleric than a full-on support guy.

That is something I am struggling with too. I have sent PMs to a couple of players who were struggling and we have seen some improvements. At the moment we're waiting on Snowy again. I'll continue to work on keeping the pace up.

As per the game rules, if a player doesn't respond in a timely manner during combat, I will just have their character do a logical, safe action and pass the turn. In the current initiative order, our players could for the most part post their actions out of order since you guys are all bunched up together.

Any other tips for keeping the pace of the game up?

I love clerics in 5e. The fact that the same character class can be used to make a dedicated support character, the party tank, a skill monkey, or a high DPS character just shows the depth of the system's design.

Mistakes are the best way to learn, keep 'em coming!

I have a question. I understand that Torden can't cast another spell (unless it's a cantrip) in the same round he cast a bonus action spell (such as Spiritual Weapon). Now let's pretend Spiritual Weapon has already been cast. The spell description says Torden can now use a bonus action to attack with it. Does using his bonus action in this way still prevent him from casting another spell?

Thanks!

Nope, because while you are using a bonus action, it's not for casting the spell, so you don't have to follow that rule in this case.

So he could cast Guiding Bolt and thus give himself advantage on the Spiritual Weapon attack in the same turn? Whoa!

Cosmic, you are right. The rule on casting a spell as a bonus action applies only on the turn you cast the spell.

Guiding bolt is great!

Would it be possible to cast Shatter now without harming Prust or Dale? What about the winch? Can I also avoid the winch? Would it be harmed by the spell if I can't avoid it?

Or are my questions too meta?

Shatter does in fact damage objects, pretty badly at that, so casting it near the winch would probably be a bad idea.

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! :-)

Naw, it's cool. Dramatic irony takes a back seat to a fun game!

I had telegraphed there was danger awhile ago, with the town being on "high alert" and Brunwin talking about the Hundred Swords searching for a party of 6 from Kaled Del in the chapter 3 thread, so I hope this turn of events doesn't feel like it's coming out of left field.

No, no, there's been plenty of buildup, which has beenbreally effective at building the urgency. Very well done IMO! :-)

Thatguy2, I'm still offering.

I would like to leave him as is for now.

In attempts to use my Sprite to his full potential. I want him to use his attack however I was under the impression from reading the PHB that it requires to give up my action instead give the familiar a reaction. At least according to Pact of chain on 107 PHB.
Is this correct or does this allow me to attack as well as giving the Familiar a reaction to attack

You are correct that you have to spend an action to make it attack, and it does so at the cost of its reaction. You can do exactly what you did with readying an action, but it costs your reaction too. Still a solid idea though.

However, you can have your sprite take other actions as normal. You already had it do a "Use an Object" action when you had Drake activate the controls on the winching platform. It can also use the "Help" action to give you or an ally advantage on an attack. It can carry a bag of ball bearings and drop them by a doorway. It could fly around snuffing out torches until the room was pitch black and you would be fine because you have darkvision. It could trigger advantage for rogues just by being within 5 feet of the rogue's target. You can deliver touch-range spells through it.

Lots of potential for fun with Drake :) I like the way you think.

One of my favorite familiar tricks is having them take the Help action, free advantage!

Only delta and foxtrot are engaged in melee. Papa is firing with his crossbow a handful of feet down the hall.

^see the above post. I made it, but somehow it morphed into your post?

You are free to move to Dwalia's door but that will trigger their readied attacks, just so you know. Yes, this is a dire situation. Some creativity will be needed to get out!

FYI, if you had to choose surrender is preferable to having Dwalia die, at least in the sense of the mission's overall success or failure, although there would be consequences. If Dwalia dies, it's done. If you get captured, you might be able to escape in the future. But maybe you can still pull this off without surrendering? It's a gamble and it will be fun either way :) Good luck!

There is a temple in town, they may be able to resurrect Dwalia. But with the Hundred Swords all stirred up, it could be a bad scene.

I did consider surrendering, but decided to gamble that Prust &/or the others can take Delta out at the very least. Unfortunately I didn't account for the readied actions. Might have been a bad decision, but there it is.

In my experience in D&D, bad decisions are usually more fun than good decisions :) If two people charge in, as long as they don't crit she'll have 1 death save left. A third person could do a medicine check or give a health potion to stabilize, and then you're golden. Cutting it close, but it'll be fun.

Also, the decisions that lead to this situation are much longer than whether or not you chose to surrender. Posting no watch, leaving the watchers unprotected, rousing Prust and not Dwalia first, telling the halflings all about themselves, not taking precautions to be more secretive, and so on.

What is Finn's familiar?

Sprite

Sprites have invisibility, don't they? We could use that to maybe take out the hostage-takers.

I was attempting to do that to save my own skin ;)

Wait, does Torden have Healing Word?

Torden's all out of spell slots. And he used up his level 2 slots against the ogres.

Wait, Torden already charged in (and dragged Prust with him if that's possible). Being unengaged and therefore able to move in (with Prust having an action available) was the whole point of casting Thunderwave.

Oh okay, I will amend the post. Not sure how I got that confused, sorry!

Okay, Prust's turn has been retconned.

No worries! Thanks for adjusting :-)

So Prust & Torden are in Dwalia's room, attacking the 2-man Delta ram crew who have just stabbed Dwalia, who is 1 death save away from death. Delta & Foxtrot crossbowmen are prone just outside but are probably coming in to finish off both clerics, and Prust too.

It's been nice knowing you folks! :-D

So I just realized while updating my character sheet I accidentally put 13 instead of 16 for my charisma Stat which would have given me a +5 not +3 to hit o.0. I don't know how i didn't notice sooner

That's funny. On your PDF character sheet it is listed as 16, and the first time you used eldritch blast you used a +5 modifier (when fighting the ogres) so I assumed you were using the PDF numbers instead of the GP character sheet numbers. But yeah, you used a +3 modifier the second and last time you used eldritch blast, and perhaps that influenced your decision making to use that cold cantrip instead of eldritch blast.

Yea ohh well let's see what happens now

How does resurrection work in this setting?

Thought the same things CosmicKeyring

Or perhaps she could be undead? :)

Works like RAW, as per the spell.

I would think making her into an intelligent undead would be even costlier than just getting her rezzed.

Hey everyone. I'm going to sit back and let you four discuss what your next move is going to be. Feel free to ask questions to me, either through this channel or in-character to the various NPCs at your disposal.

Sorry, I've been offline since my last post (about 48 hrs I think). Just catching up with the story now.

Oh Dwalia! :-(

Thanks! :-) I actually forgot I had it. Should've used it in the battle.

Too late now, but would I have been allowed to give Dwalia advantage on her death save? I know you can grant it to a fellow player. But an NPC?

I mean, it could be done by DM fiat. I think if you roleplayed an awesome enough scene, I wouldn't be able to say no :-)

Isn't Raise Dead a lower level than Resurrection?

Oh yeah :P Good call. Raise Dead would be the way to go here. I'll retcon the game thread when I get home.

1. How faar is it to the temple?

2. I have Torden at 7/35hp. Can you confirm?

Thanks!

The most direct route by foot is only 5 minute brisk stroll away. By boat, it would take 10, and has the advantage of hiding away passengers and cargo from plain sight. However, the direct route is along well-lit transportation arteries that are likely patrolled even at night. A more roundabout route that bypasses most of these arteries would take you 1/2 hour by foot, or an hour by boat.

Your HP for Torden is correct, mine was off.

Now might be a good time to reach out to my two local contacts. Ben, the boatman would know the waterways well and might be able to provide a place to hide out. Tanlius, the sellsword, might be able to shake the Hundred Swords off our tail. The innkeep is loyal to Kaled Del, right?

What are we doing with the captive mercs? Maybe they can be bought, turning a liability into an asset. We could put them with Tanlius and bam we'd have our own mercs. Barring that, we could use their uniforms as disguises.

Would have posted this all in-character but wanted to give the others a chance to respond to what I posted first.

My plan was to interrogate them and use Detect Thoughts to get as much information before we leave to a safer location. I'm sure me busting down some walls was bound to waken a few people up at the very lest I'm positive someone should be mad at me.

It's a good plan, Snowy. Torden will just want to get other things done while Finn conducts his interrogation. Just not sure ee want to split the party again, but under the circumstances it sure makes sense.

Well I couldn't help it, posted anyway. :-P

I still can't figure out what Aldrik's accent is supposed to be.

Does anyone wish to take the magical dagger?

Also I would like to have taken the ropes 2 crossbows with the 30 bolts 2 short swords and an manacles that weren't in use if any.

Aldrik took the dagger. Anybody interested in the Invisibility Potion?

Good call! I support this. :-)

To Torden, we're avoiding the entrance because it may attract unwanted attention. But we don't want to piss off any of the temple staff so he'll vote against the windows. That leaves the servants' entrance or the drainage gate. I vote drainage gate.

I'm really sad to see this game end. I found your storytelling really well-paced, descriptive, and engaging. I particularly liked how you ran the fight at the inn, with the merc tactics and some really tense moments requiring some tough decisions. The level of agency and narrative control given to players hit the sweet spot for me. Right now I can't think of anything to nit-pick. Thanks for running this. I hope to see more vignettes! Cheers!

I as well am sad to see if end. I like and disliked the multiple posts. I liked it because it broke up the action into bite sized chunks that were easy to understand. Downside is that it was a bit off putting being as there is so much to read on mobile which is were I do most of my posting through the day. I did like the pace of the game which kept things moving. The color coding did help which did allow me to find just what affected me which made it easier to post from my phone . Most of this is probably personal preference on my part. Other than that perhaps bumping it down to once a day may get you a better result for consistent posts. I sometimes don't have time to post both in the morning and at night which is when I would make sure I posted everywhere. Other than that I did enjoy it. Better luck in the next ones.

Thanks Jabes. We chatted about this a bit over PM so I won't go over it again too much, but thanks for your great participation and I will be sure to contact you when I run future games in this Vignettes series :)

Thanks, that is good feedback. I haven't put much thought into formatting for mobile devices. I post from my phone from time to time, but much less often than computer.
Thanks. Here's some feedback from my perspective: I assumed that if people were signing up for a 2 posts / day game that they understood that was the pace of the game. In the future, consider not signing up for 2 posts / day games in the future if you know that you won't always have time to post twice a day.
Thanks Snowy. I appreciated you trying to do some outside-the-box stuff with your character. Good luck with your future games.

Oh one more quick thing I did like you had the page number for reference if there was a question

Noted, thanks.