Admin, OOC, and Launch Discussion

Haha! I loved that scene!!!

Soundtrack to the mayhem, if you like this sort of stuff... also, note the band name. :)

Dark Thrones and Black Flags

I keep watching that gif. He breaks that ... flag pole? in the middle but it snaps in two spots. Lol.

Haha. True. You think maybe he wrote it out like this in mechanics blue?

Action: Attack to break flagpole
Interact With Environment: Detach flagpole at 2nd point break point
Bonus Action: Stab redneck

That scene was a complete blast but also so very contrived. It was ok that he killed all of those people because 1) he was under neural inhibitor control and 2) they deserved it anyway because they were all redneck religious bigots.
Sorry suckers, we had to stage you up to be the morally acceptable kill meat for the most memorable scene of the movie. haha.

You know I take that back, this is the most memorable scene of the movie: Princess Rescue

Bros, wondering if you guys had read the Unearthed Arcana article on a Revised Initiative System (calling it "Greyhawk" Initiative).

Up Front: NO WAY this could translate well in PBP. No intentions whatsoever of changing the Initiative program here. We know our system's shortcomings but also know it's strengths of why we have it as the best option in this format, and I'm happy with that BUT...

In live games, I think the Greyhawk Initiative system is SUCH a great idea. Learning D7D on 1e AD&D and then spending the bulk of my youth gaming time in 2e, I have a lot of nostalgia for older parts of the game. 5e is superior in so many ways, but I remember now that when I bounced back in after a 12+ year absence I thought one of the weirdest things out was the current system of Initiative. Initiative is a DEX ABILITY CHECK? High rolls WIN Initiative? No weapon Speed Factor? You DON'T roll it every round? People DON'T have to announce Action ahead of time and run the risk of having plans foiled by LOSING Initiative?

Initiative in the past was a free-standing system of its own and a crucial part of combat every round. It made every new rotation nerve-wracking and also sent out more surprises and twists in the story of the fight. I remember it made all of my players strive to find ways to get Initiative modifiers in any way they could (RAW or House Rules) because it was such a fun payoff all of the time.

As a stubborn loyalty to "Old Initiative," I have run every game I have ever managed in 3.5 or 5e as a 1d10 roll -EXCEPT our Dark Thrones game starting in the normal system. I was quick to change it to d10 when Ox said something about how he was hoping for more payoff for Bryn's investment in Initiative Modifier Abilities and Feats - I really agreed with that.

Now I'm having a blast discovering this new Initiative system this week and thinking it over. To me, the older game, in all its shortcomings, got it RIGHT on that idea of a more complex and more important system of determining how a fight unfolds start to finish. Where speed really matters, there is no certainty and comfort in recurring turn order, weapon choice is a real factor, and sometimes your best plans get frustrated because someone is quicker on the draw than you are for the round. This new alternate system takes even that to a new and improved place, introducing the idea of different die for different actions -- great concept update to a solid foundation.

Here's an extended video of the designer who wrote the article talking about the system. I was nerding out listening to this on commute from work this week.

The old system did make a lot more sense. Speed factor of weapons was one of my favorite aspects to initiative.

Haha. "I knew we shouldn't have let J have some time off to catch up!!! And plus he was reading old 2e rules. Save vs. Death Magic?! WTF?!?!"

Nah, bro. No death rays vs. PCs or anything like that. I had some time this weekend, so tried to get ahead on some NPC(s?) inputs that I know will be coming up this week that will drive scenario possibilities - letting the chaos of dice have the appropriate sway over what unfolds in these next moments in the Throne Room.


Hey, Players. Tomorrow is 12 Sept 2017.

Is everyone still online? Are we still good tomorrow for The Return?

All good here. See how this throne room deal goes down.

I will be posting my R3 action today and ready to go for our reunion tomorrow.

And yes I love the gray hawk initiative, the only complaint is it is not newbie friendly. 5e motto has been keep it quick, keep it easy, which is why I feel 5e has had so much success and is going strong, but gray hawk initiative can be a lot for a new player.

If I had group of vets like yourselves in a home game 150% I would use this.

Right on, fellas. Really looking forward to getting back together.

Copying battle grid again here (nothing new, this is just carried from last posting view)...

I first heard about that version of initiative from Matt Coleville. I would love to play that system. I mean, I'm really good at rolling low, so that sounds perfect.

Seriously tho, if you guys wanted to play that version of initiative, I'd think it worth the effort.

Round X4 Grid, Beginning of Round



Alright. There it is. This is a serious Round.

Rolling Update Round X4

Posting this with updates after Actions posted. Depending on how Action posts come in, will try to update this as it goes to give clearest picture possible. Notes at top will clarify what Actions are incorporated and what is not yet updated.



Review on colors and features:

Top left line is the closed side of the double door of the south entrance
Top right side line is the open side of the double door
Shading at bottom line is area within the outermost runic circle on the floor

Red is enemy
Blue is PCs
Green is NPC allies
Purple is people down (good or bad)
U is Ulathi, or Deep One
G is Glaakieou, leather masked raving lunatics with spikes in back

UPDATE: Added new color to the rainbow grid
Yellow (yellow) is injured to any degree (bad guys only). Also using Yellow for G7 Prone Condition.

P.S. Welcome back, all. Glad to be back on the boards.

Aye. Let's hope we don't die too quick!

Yo, fellas. We are here at the end of the week, and I think that we have to face it that The Return has been at least a 50% FLOP, so far at least.

What are everyone's thoughts?

Are there things that I can do to improve the game or the comms parameters to find a way forward?

I hope that we can recapture the normal flow, work it out and finish the Episode. But also want to face it if we are fatally stalled out, or if some people have just lost interest or had a permanent change in availability.

Feel free to PM me if you would prefer talking offline.


Thanks, y'all. Let me know.

J

I'm still in for sure. I've just been waiting for the next PC turn.

Still in, and hoping to keep playing!

Still in! Sorry to be the weak link. I need to know what is going to happen, so please be sure that I still want to play.

Work is still not allowing me to post as much as I want, but next week should be much better.

Sorry guys. Blame it all on me, J. I'm trying to turn around this endless demand at work. Hopefully I do that soon so that family and friends aren't let down.