Use this section to discuss out-of-character stuff, such as character motivation, game suggestions, etc. Also, you can always send any questions or comments to me at mystara_dm@yahoo.com
The Members of Clan Sukiskyn
Pyotr – Brother of Stephan
Darya – Pyotr’s wife
Taras – Pyotr’s eldest son
Alfana – Taras wife
Irina – Pyotr’s daughter. Novice cleric
Matvey – Pyotr’s younger son (age 10)
Kuzma – Pyotr’s mother (age 66) A priest of Halav
Novannes – Deceased. Blacksmith that lived at the homestead.
Hakos – Deceased. Son of Novannes
Masha – Hakos’ widow
Garina – Masha’s baby daughter
Stellios – Old, one-armed servant of Novannes
Glossary:
Black Opal Eye – An artifact of the Sons of Night. Enhances magical power. Corrupts those who use it. Believed to be buried beneath the Temple on Gray Mountain
Darker – A leader of one of the sects of the Sons of Night.
Dread Night – The end of the world.
Dread Prophecy – The Breach of the Lost Temple. The Awakening of the Grand Darker. The Ascension of the Shadow Lord. The Disappearance of the Elvenstar. The Return of the Blackstick. The Dread Night Attained. from the Book of Night
Elrond – Clanleader of the Elyan. Father of Rahasia.
Elyas – Founder of the clan of Elyan. Killed when his tower collapsed after his final confrontation with the Sisters Three.
Elyan – The name of the clan of Elyas.
The Elvenstar – A powerful artifact created by the Elves of Wendar. According to legend, it was created to defeat the forces of darkness in a great war of long ago. It now safeguards the peace between the humans and elves that live in its borders, and protects the land from invaders.
Landryn Teriak - A Son of Night and one of the original Darkers. An enemy of the Elves and original occupant of the Elyas’ Tower. Defeated centuries ago by the Elyan who cleansed the tower and occupied the surrounding forest it to guard against evil’s return.
Quiet Way – A pacifistic philosophy that seeks only to live quietly with nature, and reject the pursuit power or wealth. Was adopted by the Siswa in the aftermath of Elyas’ death.
Rahasia - Daughter of Elrond. Betrothed of Hasan.
Sisters Three – Three elven sisters who were apprentices of Elyas. Corrupted by the Black Opal Eye. Buried beneath the ruins of Elyas’ tower.
Siswa – All Elyan males become Siswa on reaching adulthood. The Siswa are followers of the Quiet Way.
Sons of Night – A cult of Necromancers. Believed to be disbanded. They seek to bring about the Dread Night through the attainment of power and ancient powerful artifacts.
Temple on Gray Mountain – Sacred temple of the Siswa, built over the ruins of Elyas’ tower.
Thaddigren Dentiata – A necromancer who sought to bring about the return of the Sons of Night.
Wendar – An isolated land beyond the mountain ranges of the far north inhabited by elves and humans.
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234 Comments
December 2, 2006 at 5:57 am
Thoughts on experience point awards
There is an inbalence is the amount of xp required for each class to attain its next level – but this is the nature of D&D i.e. Saeth will still be 1st level when Nicolai gets to 3rd, assuming equal contribution levels.
That said the only real advantage in going up a level is a few extra hp and possibly a 5% greater chance to hit for most. But it effects the spell casting classes alot at low level.
As I have mentioned before D&D only really starts to balence out at 3rd level. At current xp progression – and I appreciate the slow nature of the pbem style of gaming – it will take :
Seath – 1 year 2 months to attain 3rd level
Maruc – 6 months to attain 3rd level
Feldard – 11 months to attain 3rd level
Nicolai – 6 months to attain 3rd level
Miklos – 11 months to attain 3rd level
I’d like to accelerate this a little – I don’t think it will ruin the game – it fact I think some of these suggestions will improve the game for everyone.
Posting Lottery
The current system encourages posting – ie the first person to post gets 20xp second get 15xp and the rest get 10xp – also we have a floating 10xp award.
The floating award is for ‘moving the plot forward’.
You can argue that if you are quick to post you could double your level progression whether or not your posts are detailed, incisive, full of characterisation, comment, conversation or thoughts. But this misses the spirit of the game.
Now I’ve mentioned to slow pace of pbem games I’d like to say that this method of encouraging fast posting does work, because this game is running on at speed! So much so that sometime less than 24 hrs passes before an update - well done DM!
However, I have come in from work to notice the game has run on without me! (only occasionally) This means that I have missed out on a possible 30xp – do this 5 times in a month and thats a cool 150xp I have potentially missed out on – 10 months of this and thats a level for Maruc…
I’m not suggesting we abandon the concept of xp rewards for swift posting – but to take the ‘I hit the return button first’ out of it I’d suggest a time slot system.
i.e. you post within 4 hours of the update you get a 10 xp bonus and 8 hours you get 5xp or something.
– be flexible if someone posts 10 mins passed a deadline they should get the full reward for that timeslot.
Characterisation et al
We do not have any reward system that reflects this. Not that we need encouraging to do this but it would be nice to be recognised in some way. Right at the start of the game it was suggested that we looked at a player voted xp method. This in my opinion would mean judging each post on its merits and awarding the most interesting one your vote. As I said at the time I think all rewards should be handed out by the DM.
But the thinking behind it was well concidered, basically players should be encouraged to write interesting posts. These may not necesarily progress the game but add colour to it. I know that the floating 10xp covers this to a certain extent but you seem to limit yourself to only one bonus for one person an update (unless its combat).
December 2, 2006 at 6:37 am
Spell Casting
D&D relies on clairvoyant players.
Basically its; ‘take the weakest characters in the game and hamstring them by making them second-guess what the day will hold.’
First level characters only get 1 spell per day unless you are a cleric in which case you don’t even get that.
On Demand Spell Casting
Could I suggest an ‘on demand’ magic system which I have trailed in my games? Namely the spell casters do not have to specify what spells they ‘memorise’. If fact I removed the term ‘memorise’ and replaced it with ‘prepare’.
There are still limiting factors on spells – amount per level/per day, casting time, range, saving throws, immunities, magic resistance, verbal and somantic components, and most important of all; access to material components.
So why does the game system insist on placing yet more caviats on spellcasters such as insiting they predict what spells they will need during the next 24 hrs?
This is even more important in pbem. It took us the best part of a month to play one day out imagine how ineffective Miklos is after he casts his spell?
…and next month my spell will need to be……
So can we trail an ‘on demand’ spell system?
4 Hour Rule
Another consideration to make spell casters more effective would be to allow the ‘4 hour rule’. This is a rule based on the magic-user rulings in the AD&D DMG. Basically it enables one spell level to be regained after 3 hours of meditation plus 1 hour per spell level.
This is the standard amount of time required to regain spells but the important factor is its doesn’t mean the next day.
As DM I also apply this rule to clerics if they are under alot of healing pressure. Sometimes if a character has been particularly devout and closely adheres to the tenants of his religion I have allowed maximum heals without rolling and even in some cases additional spells per day (these I’d normally dictate rather than using the flexible spell casting rule).
December 2, 2006 at 8:03 am
I know in our table top games we allowed our MU’s to memorize their alloted spells but also gave them the options to be allowed to cast from their book as needed. Reading a spell to cast it would take 1 rd per level of the spell. So a 3rd level spell would take 3 rds of reading before then the casting time. And the DM limited how many spell levels could be cast before the MU was physically drained. I believe it was twice the level of the caster.
Just a thought.
December 2, 2006 at 10:35 am
I’m not suggesting we abandon the concept of xp rewards for swift posting – but to take the ‘I hit the return button first’ out of it I’d suggest a time slot system.
i.e. you post within 4 hours of the update you get a 10 xp bonus and 8 hours you get 5xp or something.
I’ve thought about suggesting something like this several times (though I usually thought “6″ and “12″ hours)–it seems fairer, and still gives a similar incentive to keep the game moving.
At current xp progression – and I appreciate the slow nature of the pbem style of gaming…
I’d like to accelerate this a little
I’d assumed that there would be some sort of bonus at break-points in the story, like at the end of face-to-face adventures. I could be entirely wrong, but that’d also speed advancement somewhat.
No big concerns on the other topics–do you feel that has characterization been bad or needs improvement from anyone (feel free to name my name at least)?
December 2, 2006 at 3:42 pm
Thanks for your suggestions guys. I appreciate that you guys are enjoying the game and working on ways to improve it.
XP Awards – Obviously, there haven’t been many combat awards thus far, this will change as we go on. Also, there will be rewards for completing tasks, which we’ll have more of as well. In addition, I have been planning on doing a 50-100 xp player award every once in a while that you guys will vote on amongst yourselves to give to one character.
1st/2nd Post Awards – I agree that basing it on time is a better move. Let’s make it 6 and 12 hours.
The 4-hour rule – I was already considering a variation of this. It needs to be adjusted though for higher levels when you are memorizing multiple spells or varying levels. In my opinion, it should never take more than 8 hours for a mage to regain all their spells. For now, let’s say at 1st level it takes 4 hours per spell, and 2nd level it takes 2 hours, 3rd it takes 1 hr. for 1st level spells/2 hrs. for 2nd level spells.
Casting from a spellbook – I like this rule. Consider it done.
December 2, 2006 at 7:18 pm
Just updated the rules section, take a look. Also added rules on character death.
December 2, 2006 at 7:49 pm
Cool. I agree with a lot of what has been said above. I’ve not played a pbem before, it’s always truck me as being too slow, but this way seems to be better, almost too fast (I just took 24 hours out for an exam and I’ve missed an entire thread!)
DM is, I feel handling this very well, especially as it is a new form of gaming. And I think it can only improve as time goes on.
December 2, 2006 at 8:10 pm
I’ll second Nicholai’s opinions on how things are going–excellent job on the DM’s part.
I’m going to ask for clarification on the spellbook rule, however. It’s listed as being usable for spellcasting “out of combat”. This would include anything where you’re not actually in the midst of things, right? i.e. Miklos could stand behind the front line, chanting out of his book, as long as Feldard manages to keep the goblins from attacking him?
If it only works out of any combat at all, the “3 rounds” or whatever time to cast ceases to matter much. (I must admit, picturing him with his book seems like a neat image, too.)
Not that there’s a right answer, just making sure things are clearish.
December 2, 2006 at 9:00 pm
Death rule suggestion
I have seen a quiet good method of handling KO and death.
Basically it works in a similar way but the negative hit points but to calculate death level you use your Constitution Ability score.
ie: Con 12 allows minus 12hp until death
This has the advantage of giving more flexiblitiy to low level characters but is not such a huge advantage later on – what do you guys think?
December 2, 2006 at 9:11 pm
Thanks for the compliments guys! I agree this is going very well. In fact, it’s going as well as I possibly could have hoped it could.
When it comes to the spellcasting rule, I can’t see a mage able to concentrate on reading a book in the midst of combat, even if he wasn’t being attacked directly. You could still use the rule to your advantage though if you were sneaking up on an enemy, or casting bonus-type spells before a combat.
On death, I’ll go with the constitution score if it’s higher than the total hit points.
December 2, 2006 at 9:14 pm
Also, this probably goes without saying, but if you are going to be unavailable to play for a few days, please let us know a little ahead of time if possible.
What are your thoughts on how to handle that? If one person is gone, shall we continue to play, or hold the game? Or we could handle it on a case-by-case basis. I guarantee it will never happen that you go on vacation for a week and return to find your character dead!
December 2, 2006 at 9:29 pm
I’m okay with letting others post for Feldard if I’m away for anything more than a two days. You guys did a well enough job of him before I showed up on the scene : )
December 3, 2006 at 11:14 pm
Given that we’ve been talking here about post timing, I think it might be an idea to give some allowance for time-zones. I’m based in GMT +0 (EST +5), and this will probably affect when people are able to post. Any comments on this?
December 4, 2006 at 12:42 am
My blog updates are pretty random as far as timing, so I don’t think time zones would be too much of a factor, no?
December 4, 2006 at 3:34 pm
I will be away on Friday and Saturday depending on what wireless networks are availible in Wales will dictate if I can post. I will do my best.
December 4, 2006 at 3:41 pm
Ok, no worries. Thanks for letting us know.
December 10, 2006 at 10:03 am
I’ll be travelling and away from the computer from about 2200 GMT +0 tonight, through Tuesday 0100 GPT +8, so there’s about a day or so that I don’t expect to be able to post.
December 17, 2006 at 6:45 pm
No Problem DM:
We’ll all be on and off over the next few weeks so I’d imagine they we’ll get back up to speed in the new year.
I will post were I can as well.
December 17, 2006 at 11:19 pm
Ditto to Miklos. I’m around most of the time over the next couple of weeks, so posting for new things shouldn’t be a problem.
December 17, 2006 at 11:44 pm
I’ll be off visiting over the holidays from Wednesday 22nd until the Jan 2. Not sure what my internet access will be like. So my posts will be sporatic.
December 20, 2006 at 6:13 am
I love the character and scene imagery on each post, great stuff!
January 8, 2007 at 4:59 pm
Just found out I’ll be without computer access for the next couple days. I should be back online Thursday night. Be nice with Feldard : )
January 9, 2007 at 4:56 pm
DM: Are we using Weapon Mastery rules. I know it doesn’t make a lot of difference at these level, but may do at higher ones.
January 9, 2007 at 5:41 pm
In the interest of keeping things simple, I was thinking no. They do open some cool options for combat though. Sometimes, I’ll do a custom rule if you guys describe something interesting in your post. For example, when Feldard posted he was going to roll into Zweis, if he would have hit, I would have lowered Zweis’s AC for the round, and gave Zweis a penalty for his next attack roll.
So feel free to get creative when it comes to combat.
January 11, 2007 at 6:59 pm
May I be the first on completion of this initial adventure to compliment our superub DM! Thank you for the work, interest pace and colour. The game has been engaging and intriging and you havn’t once complained about our typo’s or grammar. You’ve even managed to correct most of mine
You have taken on board our comments and dealy with them fairly without unbalencing the game. I know how leathal 1st lvl D&D is so I guess some DM intervention went into some of the combat (Thanks again!) but I love my character and I’m looking forward to developing him further in this campaign.
Thanks again and keep up the good work!
- Matt
January 21, 2007 at 2:26 pm
Techincal note: I’m not sure who OD&D handles shield use but I am guessing that Marucs medium round shield offers him protection against 2 attacks from the front and flanks only – yeilding an AC3 and AC4 against attacks from the rear that he is aware of. (It would be an effective AC8 if we was surprised by a rear attack due to the +4 rear attack to hit bonus).
Armour purchasing rules – what are your thought on buying off-the-shelf armour? For example if we aquire a suit of platemail of Feldard is this something we can do without getting it especially made?
January 21, 2007 at 5:11 pm
You are correct, you should be at AC3. I had understoond scale mail to be equivalent to splint mail (base AC 5), but in actuality it has a base AC of 4. I’ve updated the character sheet.
Plate mail for Feldard would be available for purchase in Specularum & Highforge, a community of gnome and dwarven craftsmen and miners not far from where you are now. Otherwise, you’d have to get it custom made, which I would say would add about 20% to the regular cost.
January 21, 2007 at 8:02 pm
Would it be possible when posting the map of this to write in room names? As we go on,and the map gets larger, this might help remove any confusion.
February 7, 2007 at 11:51 pm
Sadly, I will likely not be online at all tomorrow.
: (
February 8, 2007 at 6:10 am
Hmm, I’m a bit behind catching-up here..
Congratulations players, on clearing Castle Caldwell.
And DM, this is running great. Thanks.
G’luck (**)s on your next endeavor..
February 8, 2007 at 6:13 am
** — by the way, as cliche`d as it is, I was wondering if there was any thought to a ‘collective’ name of the
group?
—V—
February 11, 2007 at 12:01 am
Colour test
Colour test
Colour test
February 11, 2007 at 12:50 am
(hmm a party name?.. gonna have to think on that one a bit.. the first idea that pops to mind kinda sucks – The Fearsome Five.. We’ll come up with better no doubt)
February 11, 2007 at 12:20 pm
The Auditors…
February 11, 2007 at 2:59 pm
Sorry, I’m not too keen on a “collective name” for the group. If there is one, I feel it should evolve organically from the game, from their evolved reputation, rather than from they say they want tehir reputation to be.
Having said that, I quite like “The Auditors”.
February 15, 2007 at 7:46 pm
Just so everyone knows, I’ll be out of country until Monday, and internet access is unlikely.
February 15, 2007 at 10:13 pm
I’ll also be out from Saturday through Monday.
February 15, 2007 at 11:04 pm
I’ll be out Friday to Sunday eve
February 16, 2007 at 2:50 am
(wonders what holiday is happening this weekend.. I want to have reason celebrate too!)
February 16, 2007 at 10:14 am
Having router problems at home, so may not be about anyway.
February 18, 2007 at 12:34 pm
DM: Not just router problems, had to rebuild the enitre thing. As a result, I’ve lost all contact details etc.
March 22, 2007 at 1:51 pm
Esoteric point:
As elves are 90% resistant to sleep & charm spell effects, Saeth – you are one unlucky elf!
March 22, 2007 at 2:49 pm
I thought there might have been a rule like that for elves, but I checked the rules cyclopedia and it doesn’t mention that. Oh well, in any case, things turned out ok I guess. haha
April 5, 2007 at 11:14 am
DM encouragement
Again I’d like to thank our DM for great pace and interesting plotlines. I know how hard it can be DMing pbem games – it can take up alot of time if done well.
I’m not particularly religious but I enjoy the break from work so have a great Easter holiday everyone
May 17, 2007 at 3:59 pm
All
I’m going to be dipping in and out a bit less frequently over the next month or so, work and family commitments are a bit heavy at the moment. So I might only be about once or twice a week.
If you feel Nicolai should be doing something in a particular situation, please feel free to suggest it. Just try not to get him killed.
May 17, 2007 at 4:15 pm
- aww you take all the fun out of it…..
May 17, 2007 at 4:38 pm
Thanks for the heads up!
May 19, 2007 at 7:59 am
Just so people know, I’ll be out of town from tonight to Wednesday. So don’t expect many posts from me in that time.
May 21, 2007 at 2:25 pm
Thanks for all your hard effort Jack, it’s been a great ride and long may it continue!
May 21, 2007 at 4:51 pm
A note on crossbows:
I’ve always flet that crossbows are unfairly treated in D&D. Considering they where designed to punch through platemail Gygax only gave them 1d4 damage for Lt crossbows and 1d4+1 for Heavy.
As they are slow firing (once every 2 rds) and to give them parity with longbows I gave them 2d4+1 damage for light and 2d6+1 for heavy in my games. This still doesn’t make them better than longbows as you can fire 4 arrows in the space of just 1 bolt and you get 4 chances to hit with a potential 4d6 damage. But I felt that it was a good compromise.
May 25, 2007 at 8:23 am
Finally back!
Sorry to everyone to have disappeared so completely. It’s good to be back.
And Jack, thanks from myself as well, for running this!
And, from when I was gone:
“Not really,” replied the elf lazily. She didn’t let on that when she wasn’t with Miklos filling her spellbook, she spent virtually the entire time in Specularum drinking and writing poetry. Going around Specularum asking strangers about some obscure elven village was definitely not her idea of fun. They’d find out about the elven village when they arrived there, she supposed.
This is SO, SO, Saeth.
May 25, 2007 at 3:23 pm
Welcome back!
June 5, 2007 at 7:51 pm
Just be fair to Nicolai’s player and given the importance of Nicolai at the moment, I believe we should give him a full 24 hrs from when the DM writes up a new part to submit his own post . I hope that’s reasonable to all. Thoughts?
June 21, 2007 at 5:00 pm
DM:
I’ll be away from the old keyboard from now until Monday – please feel free to fill in for me.
June 21, 2007 at 6:19 pm
I won’t be around too much this weekend either.
June 30, 2007 at 7:40 pm
Just to let people know, I’m out of town July 1-9, so don’t expect frequent posts.
And please don’t kill Saeth while I’m gone! (~_^)
July 3, 2007 at 8:40 am
My turn to be out of town for a couple days.. I hope to be back Thursday July 5.
July 3, 2007 at 2:29 pm
I’ll be out from July 5-9. Gotta enjoy the summertime!
July 11, 2007 at 9:54 am
Thanks DM for being so generous, I’m glad I’m not DMing….!
We’d have been toast, or frozen, or boiled alive etc. if it was down to me. Or it would be that ‘divine intervention’ moment.
And don’t get me wrong, Feldard did exactly what was in his nature, boring old cleric just stands there blathering away…..need to kill the baddy!
July 11, 2007 at 10:04 am
Ammendment:
Miklos stated that he had magic missile memorized when it should read charm person.
July 12, 2007 at 10:39 am
DM:
Is it possible to assign our character pictures to the portrait space in the thread?
– like your D&D logo?
July 12, 2007 at 2:42 pm
Good idea! I just added them to the OOC post. Let me know if it’s confusing to figure out how to add them to your posts.
July 24, 2007 at 1:23 pm
Guys, I’ll be out-of-town from July 26-Aug 2.
August 3, 2007 at 5:56 pm
I’m back – Thanks for waiting!
August 17, 2007 at 4:25 am
two OOC comments – I’m headed off camping this weekend so I won’t have any further posts until Sunday. But basically his actions will be to fight off the cats, dodge the statue if it comes to life and get the others to follow after Saeth – believing the group needs to stick together
my second comment is how do I make use of the avatar pic of Feldard? I have no idea how to add it. Do I need to be registeredat wordpress.com or something?
August 18, 2007 at 12:05 pm
Away for the weekend as well, back Monday night.
August 22, 2007 at 2:34 pm
We’ve got a new player in the mix. Everybody welcome Dirk, who will be playing the role of Hasan. Welcome to the game Dirk!
August 22, 2007 at 3:57 pm
Welcome to the game Dirk!
Hope you enjoy it
I have!
August 22, 2007 at 5:47 pm
WELCOME Dirk! I think your gonna enjoy we’ve got a great group here. : )
August 22, 2007 at 5:58 pm
Thanks gang. Excited to hop on the train (in typically better-late-than-never fashion).
You all have obviously had a lot of fun w/ this, and I’m glad I could join.
August 22, 2007 at 11:37 pm
Welcome Dirk
August 23, 2007 at 8:07 am
Welcome!
August 23, 2007 at 11:13 am
Let me also add Maruc’s voice in welcoming you Dirk
I shall be on holiday as from tonight through to the 2nd Sept so please feel free to take control of the spellcasters in my absence.
Matt
August 29, 2007 at 9:28 pm
Re the pause in the temple, as the newbie, i’m not really comfortable picking up the thread for the others, so taking a few days off is fine w/ me.
also wanted to let people know that i’m going to be out of town all of next week, and will have really sporadic access. would appreciate it if folks could pick up for me. main character motivations at this time are to: 1) figure out what the heck is going on, w/ strange elves and humans dressed as Siswa; 2) find and free the Siswa, especially Elrond, the village leader. Presumably, desire to accomplish goal #2 will lead to formation of partnership w/ strange elf and humans.
September 18, 2007 at 2:30 pm
I’m in the process of moving house, so the next couple days, my internet access may be sporadic. I’ll be on if I can. Apologies!
September 18, 2007 at 6:38 pm
A bit of forewarning.. between Sept 27 and Oct 19th I expect to be away from internet access with only the occasional sneak online to clear out email on weekends. I think by now most know the temperment of Feldard so please do continue to play him. I’ll enjoy reading of his adventures when I get back.
September 19, 2007 at 6:58 pm
Well this game is almost a year old and its been pacy and engaging. I’d like to thank Jack for all his hard effort, colour and imagination. Not to mention the patience and plot writing.
Not only that but I’d also like to thank my fellow players; Sinthija, Mark, Richard & Dirk without which this game would not be so engaging. Doubtless you might have guessed that I have been greedy and taken on the roles of both Miklos and my own charater Maruc – both of which I enjoy emensely. Which makes it quie difficult for me to vote for myself in the character assessment awards (both my votes went to other players!).
Still, may the action continue!
September 19, 2007 at 7:04 pm
A year, time does fly. May there be many more.
September 19, 2007 at 7:59 pm
Cheers to all of you. Thanks again for letting in a latecomer. Thanks and congrats to Jack on authoring the concept and the story.
September 20, 2007 at 7:52 pm
not sure why i’m raising this right now, maybe because Feldard has 1 hp and Maruc is out of CLW for the next few hours, but I wanted to chime in on the death rule. I know that you all discussed many months ago, but I thought the Miklos suggestion of negative constitution vs negative original HPs was very sound. Maybe the decision was made in favor of original HPs because constitution often exceeds original HPs, but that will change rapidly as the characters advance. I would suggest a slight amendment, that the negative HPs would be capped at constitution. IE, even a 7th level Feldard with 42 HPs would be dead if something – probably this same bone golem! – takes him down to -17.
September 21, 2007 at 3:47 pm
To be honest, given the DM’s post on Dec 2 at 9:11 I thought it was capped at his constitution. I hadn’t read the Rules in a LONG LONG time. They may need to be updated.
September 24, 2007 at 6:54 pm
I’m going to miss Feldard’s presence in the game. If you want to have any sort of side/solo thing going on while the others are below the temple, feel free to post or email me. Otherwise, we’ll just pick him up after the hiatus.
It’s actually pretty risky for him to be wandering around with only 1 hp by himself. The Siswa, as you now see, are still under the influence of some dark magicks.
September 25, 2007 at 5:39 am
side/solo isn’t necessary – at only 1 hp.. he can barely stand much less fight. He’ll be fine waiting where we’d stashed the Siswa and if some Siswa come along well.. we’ll deal with that when I get back or you can assume he drops and is captured. : )
October 3, 2007 at 10:10 pm
Just wanted to mention that I’ll be off the network for the next few days. Back Monday. In the meantime, have fun and feel free to move the action forward w/o me. Hasan is up for anything that involves looking deeper into the dungeons.
October 31, 2007 at 1:16 pm
Please don’t stop!
I’m really enjoying the game, I too have been checking daily for updates and would like the pace of the game to go back up a gear, but as Sinthija says RL may well have delayed play. I’m assuming that you have atempted to get hold of them privately? Either way I think you initial concept – to allow anyone to progress the story is still valid and would certainly be appropriate if and un-announced period of ‘non progression’ occurs.
I’m really enjoying my character and style of play – the campaign is intelligent and pacey with an excellent mix of politics, combat and story. It has an superb gothic feel and the simplicity of OD&D doesn’t get in the way of the gameplay. I don’t see my character as a bunch of numbers as I normally would playing D&D. He’s very much a part of me and I’d be sorry to see the game fold.
As DM I can imagine that losing long term players who have a deep understanding of the back story can be difficult to replace – but lets face it, its all here in black and white and its makes an entertaining read. (At least for me!)
My preference would naturally be that the others would surface soon because they are excellent players but failing that the show must go on!
October 31, 2007 at 6:51 pm
strongly agree w/ matt re giving old-timers a chance to stick w/ it, but allow the group as a whole to push the action forward. also agree with the broader comments re quality of the game.
October 31, 2007 at 8:41 pm
It’s been that old thing called real life I’m afraid, and that I’m no longer able to access this site from work (during the latest IT refresh they crippled just about everything).
Hopefully I can still continue, now that things have calmed down a bit.
October 31, 2007 at 9:06 pm
Ok, cool!
November 1, 2007 at 3:18 pm
I’m very happy to hear that everybody is still on board with the game. I was worried we were starting to lose momentum and people were losing interest. That is not the case! Very cool.
So, how about if a character hasn’t posted in about 36 hours or something like that since the blog update, then another player should go ahead and make a post for that character (if necessary, sometimes characters can be in the background and not need a post). Sound good?
November 1, 2007 at 3:35 pm
sounds good
November 1, 2007 at 3:41 pm
sounds good. : )
November 1, 2007 at 6:23 pm
Good idea.
November 5, 2007 at 9:39 pm
DM: This is no a criticism but, any chance of an xp update?
Cheers mate
November 7, 2007 at 5:02 am
Guys – just want to give you a heads up that my access will be sporadic over the next couple of weeks … have a major professional conference (at an extremely inopportune time in Mystara, I might add). Anyway, I’ll try to follow along, but it’ll be a struggle to stay current with posting. Pls feel free to push the action ahead w/o me. Seeing the clanhead dead will surely inspire Hasan to delve deeper into the Forbidden to unlock the secrets of the Sister Three.
Thanks!
November 8, 2007 at 2:08 am
Thanks Dirk.
I will try to get to an xp update one of these days. I don’t think anyone will be gaining a level for a while yet, so I’ve been slacking on that.
November 8, 2007 at 5:47 pm
Actually, looks like I’ll be ok re access to computer for the next few days. End of next week will be basically zero, though.
November 8, 2007 at 11:09 pm
Just added a glossary to this page of various people, places and events. Let me know if there’s anything I should add or if you have any questions.
Next, I’ll be writing up a summary of the story so far.
November 15, 2007 at 1:01 pm
I shall be away this weekend from friday evening (I might be able to post sunday night
December 5, 2007 at 4:28 pm
I really like that new HP/Spells chart in the right column! It’s quite handy, and a great idea.
December 5, 2007 at 8:35 pm
(I am away this weekend hope to be online checking on Sunday night)
December 12, 2007 at 6:36 pm
okay so how do you add the avatar pic.. I can’t figure it out.
December 12, 2007 at 7:03 pm
I’ve added some instructions. Your profile page should be somewhere under your account settings I think. It’s different for me I think because it appears on the blog dashboard.
Haven’t been able to find a good pic for Hasan yet. Any suggestions?
December 12, 2007 at 7:41 pm
DM – i’ll email a suggestion. Although it’s kind of a cliche image, i’m ok w/ it, so if it works for you, go ahead.
December 12, 2007 at 10:33 pm
(testing testing)
December 12, 2007 at 10:37 pm
(trying again)
December 12, 2007 at 10:55 pm
*grumbles* the avatar works on the forums .. why not here?
December 13, 2007 at 5:06 am
Looks like you got it working because I see dear old Feldard just fine.
December 14, 2007 at 3:25 pm
This is a post to do two things.
1) Test the icon upload.
2)Let everyone know that I’ll be flying on Sunday and part of Monday, but I should be more consistently online thereafter.
December 14, 2007 at 3:29 pm
I’m going to be taking my Christmas holiday beginning this weekend and thru next week, so I’ll be very sporadic about things. Pls push on as you can w/o me.
December 19, 2007 at 6:27 pm
*applauds the DM for putting Feldard in his place* that’ll teach the dwarf to get too cocky and full of himself. A dragon. OMG! *LMAO still*
December 24, 2007 at 9:08 am
(gonna be out of town from the 24th until the 26th.. not sure if I’ll have any computer access .. if not Happy Holidays everyone)
December 28, 2007 at 5:52 am
Gosh! Red Dragons and Beholders! For a minute there I thought we’d lept into the wrong part of the adventure. Tomorrows monsters….today!
Given time to think Miklos would probably assume that all the elves were charmed by the Beholder rather than the Sisters, but this doesn’t really sit with the narrative. That and I don’t want to colour the game with ‘old player knowledge’ but it would make for a very short ending to the party as we failed at least some of the dozen or so saving throws each round we engaged it.
In fact I’d hazard a guess that the Beholder would beat the Dragon, unless the Dragon could get some spells off first, something with no save like insect plague….
December 31, 2007 at 8:23 pm
By my estimate Feldard might be 4th level now. Any chance of confirming this BEFORE he gets eaten by a dragon that he isn’t able to “disbelieve”. : ) He might need the extra hp.
: P
January 1, 2008 at 12:29 am
Happy New Year 2008 everyone!
Thanks Jack for the adventure so far! Long may it continue!
January 1, 2008 at 3:08 am
Happy New Years
January 2, 2008 at 2:18 am
Happy New Years to you guys too – thanks for playing!
January 12, 2008 at 11:07 pm
Hasan looked at Saeth and said wryly, “Never mind the shirt. You’ll be lucky to have enough fabric to make an eye patch once the dwarf’s work is done.”
This made me laugh so hard! (^_^)
January 23, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Another AFK message: Thursday noon through Sunday (GMT), I won’t have computer access. Feel free to move Saeth to move the story!
February 11, 2008 at 9:50 pm
Sorry should have kept the OOC stuff here lol!
DM: considering your clarification on premeditated spell use can I assume the following:
Detects/Divining/Communes/Analysis and other ‘passive or non-combat’ type spells are the only spells that can be used using the ‘read-from-book’ rule. eg wizard eye, analize, magic jar teleport etc.
Any ‘combat effecting’ type spells like; sleep, magic missile (including passive combat like an ‘illusion of a pit’ for example) etc. can only be cast from memory.
Some spells may require adjudication –
Seath, Feldard and Maruc are struggling to pull up a ships anchor together so Miklos comes over a reads three strength spells to improve their chances (under the understanding that it is a non-combat situation). With a great heave their boosted strength free’s the chain but they soon realise that they have pulled up an angry sea monster which engages the party.
Three of the party are benefitting from ‘free’ strength spells. I would deem this as unbalencing myself, but how would you ‘not give the game away’ by suggesting that the spell would need to be a memorised one? Or do you just say that strength is a combat spell, despite its deliberately non combat use (in this case)?
There are others that could be used for both instances like teleport which would need to be viewed on a case by case basis.
What do you think?
February 11, 2008 at 9:59 pm
Personally, I think the rule of thumb – combat or non-combat situation – is clear enough on its own and that breaking it down by spell type loses sight of the broader point that the spellcaster simply doesn’t have time to shuffle a large spellbook out of his backpack and read through the increasingly complex spells our characters are attaining.
So in the anchor example, at the time of spellcasting, Miklos would have ample opportunity to focus and cast from book, and the ancillary combat benefits are just lucky.
In fact, I wonder if – as the spells get more and more powerful – if the non-memorized spells should get more costly to cast. EG, casting a first or second level spell from a book takes only a turn, but casting a 3 or 4th, 2 turns, 5th or 6th, 3, etc.
February 12, 2008 at 2:34 am
Looks like we opened a can of worms here. haha
For me, it’s not about what type of spell, it’s about the environment. In order to be able to concentrate fully on reading the spells from the book. However, the point about stacking protection spells is a good one—we can just agree not to do that.
Your point about going up against the Radu conspirators is right on the money—I’m much more likely to let those things slide when the situation is pretty desperate.
In this case, it’s a little tricky because the magic missile spell does say that after casting the arrow hovers next to the spellcaster until he’s ready to shoot it, so I can see that it does make sense that Miklos would have time to read the spell during Feldard’s absence.
At the end of the day, if things are unbalanced, it’s easy enough for me to rebalance them by adding hit points or more attackers, etc.
No worries. Like I said, I don’t want to make this too rules heavy, so let’s just proceed as usual. New post coming soon…
February 12, 2008 at 3:06 am
As you can see, I allowed the spell. Not a big deal as the gargoyle would be dead either way. I rolled pretty bad for the evil guardian in this encounter actually, so if it seemed a bit easy, that’s why. I was actually thinking Hasan was going to get pretty torn up getting to that pendant, but he got lucky! Poor gargoyle, he manages to isolate 2 of the non-magical weapons characters for a couple rounds, but then he missed nearly all his attack rolls. Poor beastie.
Well, this thing ain’t over yet…haha
February 14, 2008 at 8:16 pm
The DM’s webmaster will be able to attest that I have hit the website today more than a lab rat on speed pushes the water button.
Of course, I’m anxious to see if Hasan turns into a rabbit or a puff of smoke, but also had extra urgency b/c I’m headed out of town tonight for a long weekend. Back in town Tuesday. Will have some access, but probably won’t pay close attention.
Please don’t hold things up for me.
February 14, 2008 at 8:47 pm
We’ll take good care of the rabbit while you’re gone.
Unless Feldard gets hungry or something.
February 15, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Yum.. rabbit.
February 20, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Sorry I haven’t posted in a bit. Got some RL stuff going on right now (nothing bad), so posting will be a bit sporadic for the next month. Hang in there!
March 3, 2008 at 10:47 pm
Won’t be able to post for the next few days.
P.S. Would love to see more posts from Nicolai if time permits. Thanks!
March 6, 2008 at 5:42 pm
Sad news
D&D creator Gary Gygax died on the 4th March.
I would like to mention that his contribution to roleplaying and roleplayers will echo through the history of this great hobby. Long live his legacy.
Matt
March 6, 2008 at 6:58 pm
hear hear!
March 8, 2008 at 10:58 pm
Is it me or have we forgotten that we actually rescued Rahasia??
Therefore it would be completely logical that only 2 of the cells were occupied!
April 25, 2008 at 4:23 pm
No word from Richard (Saeth). Hopefully we’ll see some more posts from him soon…
April 29, 2008 at 3:46 am
All right, one brief word from me here… and you will see more posts from me from here out. Apologies to everyone for my sudden and unscheduled absence!
April 29, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Welcome back Rich!
April 29, 2008 at 2:47 pm
no worries, glad you’re back
May 10, 2008 at 9:48 pm
Anyone know what happened to our pics? The square design is okay.. but I’d rather see Feldards proud look.
May 12, 2008 at 9:39 am
WordPress redesigned some stuff. maybe that messed with our avatars
May 29, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Sorry for the delay. Been really busy lately!
June 3, 2008 at 7:46 pm
We are waiting patiently. Hope things settle down for you soon.
June 7, 2008 at 9:23 am
Going to be out of town until wednesday. Guess you’ll all have to be in suspense for a few days haha
June 17, 2008 at 4:53 am
Sinthija -loving the surly dwarf thing!
June 17, 2008 at 9:43 pm
Thanks Matt! I’m loving him as well. I’m so glad that I’ve been given the opportunity to express my inner dwarf in such an awesome game as this. *big hugs to the DM and other players*
June 26, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Any chance of some xp Jack? You never know the hps could be useful!….
June 27, 2008 at 9:59 am
I will try to get to it soon. I wouldn’t worry about it too much though, because if you gain many more levels, I’ll just have to make the monsters tougher! haha
July 9, 2008 at 3:35 pm
I’ll be away from computers until Tuesday. Sorry I’ve been slow to post lately – it’s been a busy summer!
July 9, 2008 at 8:02 pm
From July 14 til about July 22.. My access is uncertain as I’m out of town. Will try to find access as I travel but we’ll see.
July 14, 2008 at 9:19 am
I’m toying around with the idea of running a pbc Sci Fi campaign. Would anyone be interested? A 3 player game seems to be ideal, what do you think?
If you guys have ever played a Sci Fi game what systems are you aware of?
I have several, Space Master (ICE), Traveller (original version), even my own version of Warhammer 40k RPG. I also have Morrow Project, cyberpunk and I’m sure somewhere an old copy of Laserburn…
July 14, 2008 at 9:20 am
Idealy this would run alongside this game!
July 15, 2008 at 6:15 pm
Matt, I’m game, though I have never really done a scifi thing, it’s always been hard enough to keep a campaign going in D&D genre, which provides an appropriate time in which to say say – again – thanks to Mystara DM and all the other players who have kept the current campaign entertaining and fun. Although, and this is half Dirk, half Hasan, I yearn to see the sun again.
July 18, 2008 at 5:49 am
As far as the idea of a second game goes, I could be convinced to give it a shot, though I don’t feel like I’m keeping up with just the one as well as I’d like. But if you’re keen to try it…
Just musing, but particularly with the reduced speed of PbPs, I wonder if three players will be enough to keep the game moving.
In other news, I’m moving (intercontinentally), so I won’t have internet access for a little while. At least a couple days for the move, and then however long it takes to get the internet set up again. So… now you know!
July 18, 2008 at 2:37 pm
I am planning on adding a couple players for the next adventure, which I’m really excited about. We’re getting there…
September 30, 2008 at 5:20 pm
Happy Birthday to our beloved PBC it’s now 2 years old!
() ()
| |
======
|*******|
======
Its supposed to be a cake OK…..
Matt
September 30, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Woot! Two years!! Happy Birthday!! Loving this, though I am missing Richard. Need him back.
October 1, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Wow – time flies! Thanks for making this such great fun
October 20, 2008 at 6:44 pm
DM: Sorry a bit confused??
Seath was lying down unconscious. Woke up surrounded by people who have determined that she may be a threat has managed to stand up, back away and run to an alocve before any of us (who have previously stated that they would stop her at least casting spells and/or restraining her) have had a chance to react?
At no point had Maruc or Miklos actually stopped Feldard (Maruc certainly asked him the stop though) or restrained him from restraining Saeth. I rather assumed that Seath wasn’t in a position to get up let alone be allowed to get enough space to run as this would entail her moving out of our ability to stop her casting spells.
I can only assume this is a ‘DM intervention’ moment to remove her form play whilst Richard isn’t availble to play her.
In which case I’ll shut up!
October 21, 2008 at 5:24 am
Thanks Jack for clarifing that. There is a school of thought that we should allow her to lead us to the other witches – assuming that all our guesswork is actually correct! And that she is one of the witches.
November 4, 2008 at 5:08 am
woo hoo.. I don’t know what happened but I have Feldards pic again.. Yes!
November 17, 2008 at 6:26 pm
Looking forward to the climax and figuring out how to rescue these poor young elf waifs (and Saeth). Hope there are no ill effects from being magic jar’d or whatever for a few hours or days.
Bummer about Nicolai, although that lightens the load a bit for Matt – at least, I think it was Matt who was running 3 guys at once. In that regard, if you guys need me to pick up one of those characters, I’d be happy to do so, although they have been played terrifically well so far (and I really like the direction you may be headed with Miklos now).
Basically, just wanted to say thanks for the game DM.
November 17, 2008 at 9:11 pm
I also want to thank you all for a very enjoyable game. It’s become a highlight of my day to check the site to see what progress has happened.
Though I’m a bit saddened at our loss of players. I don’t know their situations at all but I often hope that things are well with them and their families.
November 21, 2008 at 8:53 pm
Yeah, thanks for playing. It’s been an absolute pleasure! And if you guys know anyone that would like to join up, have them send me an email at mystara_dm@yahoo.com — now is a good jumping on point.
November 23, 2008 at 11:37 pm
Hi guys
Sorry I’ve been suffering a series of irritating stuff that got in the way of play – i’ll be posting soon!
Matt
December 23, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Happy Holidays Everyone!
December 23, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Happy Chrimbo & New Year and stuff
)
December 24, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Yes Yes. Happy Holidays everybody!
January 21, 2009 at 12:57 pm
DM:
Could you confirm how many vials of Holy Water Maruc has left?
I’m not sure he has any.
Would it be possible that in Specularum that he managed to restock his supply (idealy he would have 3 vials)?
Also he would have liked to depart with at least 3 vials of oil for his lantern.
It’s not clear by his equipment list – but he has a plain travellers over-cloak. His cermonial tabbard would only be worn during clerical rites and so forth.
January 21, 2009 at 1:19 pm
Mercenary thoughts….
As the party removed no treasure from the vaults of the Elyan (and made a point of not doing so) Maruc has effectively run out of money to tithe and has no money left to live off. Can I assume that the villagers – in deliverance of their maidens, removal of the Sisters and in respect of the fact that we risked our lives to help them – have rewarded us in some small way financially? At least as far as travelling expenses as so forth?
I’ll leave it up to you to decide how much we have left after staying in Specularum for the best part of a month. Living expenses etc etc.
Noting that Maruc probably wouldn’t have been charged for staying at the Halavist Church he would have certainly tithed the majority of his money leaving enough for travelling expences suitable to a cleric of his station.
As for Miklos I’d imagine he would personally be in debt to the tune of many 100’s of gold pieces after the purchase of a travelling spell book so I guess in surity he would have used his original spellbook to secure the loan and would have to return to Specularum to pay the balence within a reasonble time frame.
Could you please confirm the figures involved and the time for the loan. Also the remaining travelling money availble to both characters? (if any) and update the character sheets?
Thanks M
January 21, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Let’s just assume that the Elyan gifted you all enough money to get you to Threshold and take care of any purchases made in Specularum. Once in Threshold, you can seek further opportunities. Who knows, maybe an opportunity will present itself along the journey…
I’ll update the equipment lists.
January 21, 2009 at 3:01 pm
Spells updated in sidebar. Also updated the Feldard’s Missing Bride post with the following:
The feast began with a thanksgiving ceremony performed by Siswa survivors. At the end of the ceremony, the group was rewarded with gold and gemstones. It was not an overly extravagant gift—the Elyan would need there treasures for their recovery from the recent tragedy and for their ongoing sustenance. It would provide the companions with enough wealth to re-equip and travel to Threshold. After the presentation of the gifts, the village maidens brought out a great assortment of food and drink.
January 22, 2009 at 3:38 pm
Oh dear…
I just realised thatMiklos dosn’t know Magic Missile. I think he’s cast it as well hmmmm….
Thats magic!
January 22, 2009 at 5:26 pm
LOL. Nice trick. : P
January 22, 2009 at 7:19 pm
Really, I thought he had it. Well, he does now. Figure it was in one of the spellbooks he’s picked up.
January 23, 2009 at 3:17 am
Thanks for welcoming me to the game. I gotta get into the swing of Stephan and the game overall….I’ll grow into it. I’m very glad to join you.
I’m not sure if I’m getting the tense right yet. I mixed it up a bit with present and past. I’ll try to match the tenor of the posts. Are there any rules/guidelines for how we’re to write the posts?
January 23, 2009 at 7:45 am
um.. nope.. not that I’m aware of… not that anyone told me when I first came aboard. I believe in the beginning.. the concept was that anyone could have any character do things.. but we’ve sort of shied away from that over time and have developed ‘attachments’ to certain characters.. but for my own perspective if you have a notion that Feldard would do a certain thing.. by all means add that into your post as something that Stephen sees Feldard doing.
I think the only thing we frown on is unnecessarily killing off other characters. That shortens the game way too much. : )
January 23, 2009 at 2:09 pm
I think you have the hang of it Doug. I tend to swap between past & present tense – just for a laugh or more likely incompetance….
I have never guaranteed my spelling.
I can guaratee my poor quality jokes!
I think the idea is that it reads like a book – so if anyone comes along they can get a good feel for the adventure. I like this style because you can put the thinking in behind your actions so every can see why your character takes the actions that they do.
It also neatly covers the simplistic nature of OD&D which is ideal for this type of gaming. Provided one thinks logically about the action.
eg. Maruc is currently crouching completely behind a shield, not in any position to attack. According to game mechanics he has an AC of 9 but the way our DM (I suspect) will play this is that one is unlikey to shoot someone completely concealed by a sheet of wood. Therefore in the story a view will be taken with that in mind, that and the fact that I doubt he will kill us off just as you start buy slavishly sticking to the letter of the rules….
January 23, 2009 at 2:14 pm
It seemed like most people wrote in past tense, so that’s what I go with to make it consistent.
What Sinthija said is right – you can add in stuff with other characters here and there, or read what they posted and put your characters reaction to it is. Or have a conversation.
You can leave a blank in your post like, Stephan does this, and then if this happens does that, or put DM insert information here if its something about Mystara that the character would know but you don’t.
The main thing is to keep it fun and interesting.
Short entries/long entries – whatever you have time for.
I can tell already that you will fit right in here.
January 23, 2009 at 2:21 pm
… but as Milkos is casting spells around it well ahhhh….
can you say pincushion?
January 23, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Hey, I was thinking, next time somebody has to leave the game for vacation or something like that, one of the other players can volunteer to run the character until the date that the person leaving specifies that they will be able to resume. Or, if it’s not for a long time, we’ll just wait. Like now, I think Dirk is due back soon, so I’ll just wait for him to post for Hasan before doing the next move.
January 23, 2009 at 5:04 pm
Fine by me :0)
January 24, 2009 at 5:08 am
Sounds good to me too.
January 28, 2009 at 12:52 pm
On the character page, my name is not associated with Stephan. Looks like Dirk and Doug got switched.
January 28, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Hey – just noticed the concern about my absence. sorry about that.
Anyway, I would never have a problem with people posting for Hasan on my behalf. Anytime after 48 hrs have passed from DM’s post, if you want to post for me, no problem.
January 28, 2009 at 5:51 pm
No worries Dirk – that wasn’t directed at you. Just making the informal rule about posting a bit more formal. I think it will work better if we assign a specific player to substitute in for a specific period of time.
The player name is at the end of the character write up, which I realize now looks a bit confusing. I will fix that up.
Hopefully, I’ll have time to post a new move today, but I’ve got a lot going on this week, unfortunately.
January 30, 2009 at 8:45 pm
Oops…..my last comment was supposed to be on the OOC page….
Moved:
Actually, Stephan was trying to shout an old curse “Beloc”. I think Gandalf used it once. But “Below” works fine.
And in his character description, when Stephan looks down from the mountain top, I had meant to type “saga of stream and wood” but accidentally typed “steam”. “Steam and wood” sounds pretty cool anyway.
Beloc! This game is moving right along! I’ll get a post out soon….
January 30, 2009 at 9:42 pm
I updated the post – Sorry I misunderstood. I added that it was a Traladaran curse word—I like the idea of Stephan throwing a curse in the old language of his people every once in a while!
February 5, 2009 at 2:34 pm
I just found this really good link with info about the various religions at work in Karameikos. Read it if you are interested in more background:
http://www.pandius.com/ci2_chp4.html
February 9, 2009 at 7:50 pm
Just for what’s it’s worth, my post on Time for a Decision is how I think Hasan would think about this choice. However, personally, I’d prefer to go after the Iron Ring and stay rooted in Karameikos and in the human and political side of things there, as opposed to starting to chasing leads about the Sons of Night across the continent, which I think would be our next move, if we stay on that course. Not sure, really up to the DM and other people running characters, and I certainly don’t feel to strongly, as I’m having fun with things right now. But wanted to talk this through out-of-character as well as in character.
February 20, 2009 at 1:53 am
How do I add a picture of Stephan to my profile? I don’t see how to go to my profile page to change it.
Why do Maruc and Miklos have the same avatar?
Thanks
February 20, 2009 at 9:14 am
Testing avatar
February 20, 2009 at 9:17 am
another test to separate name
February 20, 2009 at 2:00 pm
I’ve added Stephan’s pic to the avatars on this page. To add, right click the pic and save to your desktop. Then go to your profile page and under my picture, upload the avatar file you’ve downloaded. At least, that’s how I think it works
February 21, 2009 at 3:54 pm
I don’t see a profile page for me. Do I need to get an account on WordPress, maybe?
BTW, I’m really liking the game and trying to get used to my character posts moving the story along. I’m used to playing in a more reactionary mode where the DM tells you what happens and you react.
Sorry if I can’t keep up the pace sometimes.
February 21, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Yeah, I think you need an account in order to have an avatar.
Actually, this game does function pretty much in the traditional way you describe, in that you guys are posting in reactionary mode, and as DM I am telling what happens. I apologize that my writeup in the Rules section is confusing—I’ll see about editing that. I hope that doesn’t dampen your enthusiasm!
February 21, 2009 at 8:50 pm
No not at all does it dampen my enthusiasm. I just noticed some other players having things happen in their posts that I thought would normally be the prerogative of the DM. None of it has been too invasive on the DM’s turf.
My last post had Stephan suggest there was an escape tunnel and that may be a bit too pushy but you can always say the tunnel collapsed or is not finished or something. I was trying to “move the story along” or just give you alternatives.
February 21, 2009 at 11:20 pm
That’s cool. No worries. I don’t mind players adding things in there, like for example, with the combat. I’ll go along with whatever is posted, unless it contradicts what my dice rolls are. I want to completely encourage you guys to be creative. I am truly amazed at some of the stuff you guys come up with.
I have been using published stuff for all these adventures (really old out-of-print published stuff), so there is a gameplan. In many cases I will change things from the source material though—especially when you players notice a plothole or I think there is a fun opportunity to do something differently.
February 22, 2009 at 7:28 am
If something we post doesn’t go with what the fates decide.. the DM has, on occasion, ignored our posts and gently guided us to our new path. *nod nod* Our DM is a very wise and caring master..
: P
February 23, 2009 at 9:57 pm
DM: I m right in assuming that Denetiatas wand has no more charges in it? Also, would it be possible to recharge it?
What would be required to do so?
March 2, 2009 at 10:13 pm
DM:
Could you confirm if any, some or none of the tactical suggestions have been used by the party?
As both Maruc & Miklos were not available to do anything in preparation and I didn’t want to force actions onto the other players but perhaps the NPC’s might have actioned some of the ideas?
March 6, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Sorry Sinthija! – I hope you don’t mind me ‘manipulating’ Feldard there – I rather needed some support in the yard there so I was quiet brazen in my post
. Please feel free to do something else if it doesn’t fit with your ideas!
It won’t happen again (honest!)
M
March 6, 2009 at 5:46 pm
(I don’t mind at all – you kept him in character.. it’s all good! That’s the whole spirit of how this pbcomment began. *two thumbs up*)
March 12, 2009 at 2:10 pm
Is that pronounced “Jerk ass”? They’ve attacked the Jerk asses? And taken one of the yellow-dressed Jerk asses?
March 12, 2009 at 2:59 pm
haha!
March 30, 2009 at 10:24 pm
Just wanted to let you all know that I will be out of town for a week, so I probably won’t have a new post up until next Monday.
April 11, 2009 at 1:40 am
I’ve Come across this site twice now. The first time I did not realize that this was an active, player/commenter participation, campaign.
The first time I saw this site was just a few weeks ago and thought the post I saw was just Part of a story someone was putting up.
Now that I know the reality of it I guess I’m gonna have to start at the beginning and read the whole thing. Awesome idea and so far I think the writing is superb. Ok heading to the beginning to get me read on.
April 11, 2009 at 2:21 am
Enjoy the read… playing it is awesome.
April 11, 2009 at 2:44 am
I haven’t played in 13 years. (not counting 7 years of Everquest, a year of Vanguard Beta, final Fantasy 1-10, zelda,and fallout 1-2-3, and what ever we have on the Wii now.) But DnD was where it all started and I do have quite fond memories of it. In fact A few things have led up to this but later in the month I am flying from Oregon to Indiana to visit the Army Buddy I last played with over 13 years ago. He and his wife play twice a week usually so I’v dug out my dice and am anticipating the trip. To bide my time I have been searching all the new rules and such and that’s how I came across this site. I’ve read this current adventure up through Into the Dymrak and I am gonna go back and continue reading.
April 18, 2009 at 10:34 am
Finaly Finished…Caught up. Whatever. By the way I really dislike Saeth as it seems her rash decision of touching the statue is the cause of Nicolai’s death. And then her comment about how she never really got use to him anyways..The fact that no one really chastised her for it afterwards kinda makes me wonder WTF. I understand that people come and go here but thats just the way I feel about the Character. And I hope Feldard stops being so Stubborn. Stubborness is one thing but you think he would learn from his mistakes. (as long as no one pointed them out to him.)
Don’t get me wrong here. I’m referring to the characters, not the players or the way their played. Feldard is Stubborn. He’s a dwarf. He’s also the meat shield. But sometimes you guys rely on that a bit to much. Dwarvin sv vs magic shouldn’t get the group out of some of the rash decisions you guys make EVERY time.
Yes this is coming from someone who has read this over a matter of days rather than playing it over YEARS (you guys are crazy) and I understand sometimes you just want to get the current story arc over. I’m sure Mystara has had to re-roll damage or spell resistance a few times.
Be all that as it may I have had a blast reading this. Brings back a lot of good memories from my DnD days. I may, in the very near future want to tag along on an adventure or two but I need to let this all settle in a bit first to see if I can actually fit this in.
April 18, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Hey, thanks for reading! Glad you enjoyed it.
Yeah, Saeth was definitely an interesting, layered character. Definitely a narcissist, but very entertaining. I’ve missed her.
It’s definitely got to be a challenge to play a game over such a long period and keep all the details in mind. Plus, every post is like a reading comprehension exam. Miss one part of a sentence in there and it could completely throw a player off. These guys do a tremendous job.
Anyway, hope you keep following along. This current adventure is going to be the most epic yet.
April 18, 2009 at 10:39 pm
I think that some of the rash decisions are intentional. All things considered the group of adventurers aren’t profesionals steeped in the knowledge of each others skills and therefore will not always act as effectively as they could potentially. I myself have attempted deliberately not play to my knowledge of the game, although admittedly I am more versed in AD&D I could easily bring to mind the stats for pretty much all the denizens in the monster manual without reference to it. But I take pains to assume that Jack is playing with the numbers – to the point that I no longer see the creatures as a set of figures and weaknesses. Each one is a new experience to Maruc and he will spend most of his time shocked and apaulled and the rest of it healing and grinning. That and wading in inappropriately into combat.
April 21, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Totally agree with Matt above. These are young characters who are new to each other and their abilities. DM maybe has been accomodating to some extent to keep things going and the characters alive, but that allows more character play and development and is hardly unknown even in the “real” game playing world.
anyway, glad you enjoyed the product so far. it has been fun. i think we’ve all had good moments and some not so good with it, but right now is a good moment, and i’m excited with where we’re going.
April 27, 2009 at 2:59 am
Oops! Not only did I get the wrong name, I even spelled in incorrectly! Apologies!
May 14, 2009 at 12:49 am
Just friggin’ awesome. Love the post, Matt. Good stuff.
May 15, 2009 at 10:32 am
Thanks Doug!
Maruc is such a ‘jolly’ character its nice to be able to add an edge of solemnity to a post.
I’m just rather assuming that Miklos is still watching the captive…..
May 15, 2009 at 5:06 pm
Geez, in reading over my posts, I see many typos. Sorry mates! I wish I could edit them…
June 17, 2009 at 1:33 pm
lol – I bet this is Hasan’s ventriloquism spell. Still I guess as the party have never seen that spell cast before – and certainly not from Hasan, Miklos has reacted as someone on edge would have. We may well have put ourselves at a disadvantage – still it’ll probably shock the horse trader as well. So it may well turn out OK. Shame I’ve run out of heals…
June 17, 2009 at 6:08 pm
Yeah, I was wondering what Miklos was doing and decided Stephan would be a bit freaked both at Miklos’ reaction and the strange voice. None of us knew Hasan was going to ventriloquis, right? We still don’t know what that chap is up to!
June 18, 2009 at 1:27 pm
I’m going on vacation till July 6 starting today. I’ll have spotty access to the internet but will try to post game responses.
June 19, 2009 at 4:15 am
DM:
Any chance of the tactical map please?
July 2, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Anyone object to a revised marching order as we are outside alot?
Hasan (forward scout/tracker)
Feldard (melee)
Maruc (secondary melee/healing)
Miklos (magical support)
Stephan (reguard)
July 10, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Got a busy week going on, so might be a bit before the next post.
August 6, 2009 at 10:55 pm
Sinthija – I hope you are all safe and well over there.
M
August 18, 2009 at 12:09 am
Hey everybody, welcome Paul, our newest player.
August 18, 2009 at 5:53 am
Welcome to the group, Paul!
August 18, 2009 at 6:45 am
Welome on our five year mission to see if we can attain 6th level!
August 18, 2009 at 6:47 am
Hi Paul glad you could join us! I hope you enjoy it.
August 18, 2009 at 5:14 pm
Thanks everybody! I have been reading and enjoying your exploits and look forward adding my contrubution to the adventure.
August 23, 2009 at 6:36 pm
So is Stephan not privy to seeing the webbed bundles? Sorry if I didn’t get that correct.
August 27, 2009 at 2:31 pm
Could the map show where the different characters are?
August 27, 2009 at 5:42 pm
good call, I was looking for the same thing!
August 27, 2009 at 6:05 pm
haha, they are wherever you say they are.
I think Feldard, Maruc and Miklos are in the upper part of the cave on the northern half of the cave (on the other side of the stalactites) with the shrouded up dwarf/gnome/gob/orc, and Stephan and Hasan are on the southern half. If you want your character to be in different spot (i.e. all together in the same part of the cave), just make a post describing that and it shall be.
Next post, I’ll put dots on the map.
August 27, 2009 at 6:44 pm
Its just like Scobby Doo – never ever seperate otherwise the scary monster will have an easier time.
August 31, 2009 at 6:10 am
Thanks for being so game Sinthija!
…all we need now is a string and have ourselves a dwarf balloon…
September 4, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Does the DM know the name of the Gnome? Also what equipment does Hernane have (if any)?
September 7, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Added to the new post. Also stole a bit of your dialogue for him – hope ya don’t mind
October 8, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Heading out of town, probably won’t log in, so feel free to move the action forward without me. Hasan will probably want to get back to goblin hunting in the forest if they make to fresh air — not get caught up in either a trip to high forge or further exploration of the tunnels.
thanks everyone!
October 8, 2009 at 5:57 pm
Have a safe trip! Look forward to your return.