Interest check: Old-school fantasy

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Which adventure campaigns interest you (select as many as you like)?

  • Stonehell

    Votes: 7 46.7%
  • Anomalous Subsurface Environment

    Votes: 5 33.3%
  • Maze of the Blue Medusa

    Votes: 3 20.0%
  • Hot Springs Island

    Votes: 5 33.3%
  • The Old Ways (my own incomplete creation)

    Votes: 8 53.3%
  • Something else (describe below)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    15
Hey guys I have a pretty heavy workload today so my introductory post may have to wait until later in the day. We should come up with a name for our party, it's a tradition I've always favored. It doesn't have to be super cool and hip. I'm thinking prosaic but cheeky.

Stonehell Salvage Company
Society of Torch, Pole and Rope (a tip of the hat to the creator of Stonehell)
 
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I'm still catching up from being away this weekend but I was thinking I'd have a sponsor who's unhappy with the current thieves guild leadership and hoping to groom a new leader with a personality more amenable to his/her goals. As such Egare represents a bet he's making on the future with Stonehell being the best chance at seeing Egare advance.
 
Hey guys I have a pretty heavy workload today so my introductory may have towait until later in the day.
That's fine by me. I was thinking that my ability to respond may be curtailed during working hours (9:30AM to 6:30PM EST), especially where die-rolling and rule-consulting are concerned. Tomorrow in particular, I'll be in and out of meetings, so I may be quiet until evening.
 
I'm still catching up from being away this weekend but I was thinking I'd have a sponsor who's unhappy with the current thieves guild leadership and hoping to groom a new leader with a personality more amenable to his/her goals. As such Egare represents a bet he's making on the future with Stonehell being the best chance at seeing Egare advance.
If you want to have your own sponsor, that's fine, or you could be sponsored by one of the parties backing Hildegard or Bron. Either way, it is still good if you can come up with a simple explanation of how you know one or more other members of the party. It doesn't have to be complicated.
 
If you want to have your own sponsor, that's fine, or you could be sponsored by one of the parties backing Hildegard or Bron. Either way, it is still good if you can come up with a simple explanation of how you know one or more other members of the party. It doesn't have to be complicated.
When I get a chance to I'll see which sponsor might make the best match with what I suggested. Whichever it is I could be an occasional employee of and have been introduced to the other party member in the course of doing various duties.
 
I'm going to suggest my patron Lord Lorfyrhold has contacts with the already mentioned coven. When he heard they were arranging a party of delvers he asks to include his man Egare. He presents Egare as a competent but expendable adventurer. His stated goal is to gather information for Lorfyrhold.
 
I've edited Orym's write-up to include language known. I've given him all the starting languages listed for an Elf plus one additional (Kobold) for his 14 INT.
 
Inspired by a similar post on Séadna Séadna's PbP Mothership game, I figured it would be a good time to stop and take stock of our particular game. To this end, I want to reach out to all participants in the ongoing thread - Brock Savage Brock Savage, Bunch Bunch, Séadna Séadna, Simon Hogwood Simon Hogwood and Tulpa Girl Tulpa Girl - and see if there is any changes you'd like to see in the game or how I run it.

My main concern is pacing. A traditional dungeon crawl like this one involves a lot of small decisions for logistics, investigation, planning, etc. Also, there are a fair number of rooms with little going on. I worry that this doesn't translate as well to the PbP format, since there's more overhead to every exchange. Similarly, I worry about losing people from inevitable "analysis paralysis" that is amplified by the nature of the communication. Also, I hope I haven't dropped by the ball by responding too slowly to updates on the thread. It's tricky to build momentum with an adventure like this via forum play, and lapses on my part might make that worse.

So what do you guys think? Are you happy with the pace? Does the nature of the format and adventure make it harder to engage? Is my approach working for you? What about Stonehell itself? Is it feeling a little sparse or dull?

(For the record, once you leave this quadrant of the first level, it gets a bit more intense.)

Most importantly, is there anything you'd like me to do differently to make the game more enjoyable? I'm open to all suggestions.

For the record, I'm having a lot of fun running this and seeing how you guys react to things. That's always my favorite part of game mastering.
 
It's great for me. Regarding if it is sparse/dull I was actually expecting this, i.e. that the dungeon would be slower to start with before we start dropping like flies from the true monsters. Gives us time to get used to things. Responses have been fine for frequency I think.

I know what you mean about how the planning might make things go much slower, but I think we're getting a good handle on proceeding when somebody has a decent plan. The slower pace often means two or three come in with sensible plans that we just select from as opposed to the more half-formed plans you'd get at the table.

All fine with me. :thumbsup:
 
I'm having a good time and the pace is fine with me
 
A bit late to respond, but I'm also fine with how things have been progressing.

My main regret is that I haven't been mapping out the dungeon. It would kinda seem like cheating to do it retroactively, especially since I don't think we made any IC provisions to do so.

Maybe if we survive and actually get enough treasure, we can hire a M-U to join us, as they would have their hands free most of the time to handle mapping duties.
 
Oh I don't map. I figure Egare doesn't have qquill, paper and time to map so I won't.
 
To clarify, my mapping has been all OOC so far. I was planning to have Copperhand draw it from memory back in town, and maybe take it up on subsequent trips.
 
I feel like you guys could have used a little magical firepower, especially in that last encounter. A sleep or charm person could have made the difference.
 
Hekima Becker

STR: 6 (-1 to open doors, hit and damage in melee)
INT: 9 (literate... barely)
WIS: 13 (+1 to magical saves, +5% to earned XP)
DEX: 12
CON: 14 (+1 HP per HD)
CHR: 11 (max 4 retainers, loyalty 7)

(reduced INT from 11 to 9 so I could bump WIS up from 12 to 13)

Class: Cleric (Avatar of the Divine Riot)
Level: 1st
XP: 0
HP: 3
AC: 6
THACO: 19
Alignment: Lawful
Secondary Skill: Baker

Saving Throws
Death Ray/Poison 11
Magic Wands 12
Paralysis/Turn To Stone 14
Dragon Breath 16
Rods/Staves/Spells 15

Special Abilities
Turn Undead

Languages
Common
Angelic

Equipment
Backpack
Holy Symbol
Mirror
Rations, standard, one week
Small sack
Waterskin
Mace
Sling
20 sling stones
Leather armor
Shield
12 torches (hopefully carried by someone else)
6 gp
9 sp

Notes
Hekima's mother was one of many refugees from a far-off land fleeing the destruction of their homeland, arriving at the shores of Blackrock by boat. The woman would come to marry a local baker, eventually giving birth to Hekima.

Hekima felt the calling of the divine at a young age, and was raised as much at the local temple as she was at her father's shop. She has recently reached an age where it was decreed she must prove herself against the forces of Chaos. She secretly has her doubts as to her ability to do so - she is all too aware that she is not a particularly formidable combatant - but as always has placed her faith in the hands of the gods.

14265023_1446998621993914_5476813849478619504_n.jpg
 
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So the current group is Hildegard, Bellitus, Bron, Ruul, Ingri and Hearthglow?
 
I could put out a call for fresh blood with a new thread like this, if you guys like. I'm fine with the current group but I could handle more.

I hope you guys have been enjoying this. I realize it got pretty grim and the pickings were slim. I figured you're the type of guys who would rather I play that straight than soften it up or improvise a lot of stuff. Well, there was improvisation, but I was working directly off the adventure's dungeon dressing and wandering monster tables, and existing map features.

Anyway, I've been having a lot of fun, and I'm really rooting for you guys to crack this nut. I think that was a pretty good first delve, and you probably pulled out at the right point. It sounds like people are interested in continuing, but reach out if you want out. Or if you want a break. Like I said earlier, I can always open this up, and I have nothing against drop-in/drop-out. If we run things like a true megadungeon and this becomes a campaign, that's probably the only way to go. I can put out a new call between each delve if it makes sense.

So let me know how you'd like to take it from here, and off we'll go!
 
I could put out a call for fresh blood with a new thread like this, if you guys like. I'm fine with the current group but I could handle more.

I hope you guys have been enjoying this. I realize it got pretty grim and the pickings were slim. I figured you're the type of guys who would rather I play that straight than soften it up or improvise a lot of stuff. Well, there was improvisation, but I was working directly off the adventure's dungeon dressing and wandering monster tables, and existing map features.

Anyway, I've been having a lot of fun, and I'm really rooting for you guys to crack this nut. I think that was a pretty good first delve, and you probably pulled out at the right point. It sounds like people are interested in continuing, but reach out if you want out. Or if you want a break. Like I said earlier, I can always open this up, and I have nothing against drop-in/drop-out. If we run things like a true megadungeon and this becomes a campaign, that's probably the only way to go. I can put out a new call between each delve if it makes sense.

So let me know how you'd like to take it from here, and off we'll go!
I Iike this. I like is slow and brutal. The characters have time to develop. And die but that ups the stakes and makes the living part more valuable
 
I'm having fun, too. Am thinking of rolling up another character for the next delve, in case Brock Savage Brock Savage comes back, or a new player wants a pre-gen.
 
Ridgel Va
Egare's younger brother. Third of the fourteen Va children. Given to the mages school due to his scrawny nature and above average intellect. Recent graduate of apprenticeship. Looking for Egare to team up with his brother.

Magic-User
Male, Drab Clothing, Scrawny
STR: 8 (-1)INT: 13 (+1)WIS: 11
DEX: 12CON: 13 (+1)CHA: 12
Death Ray or Poison13HP: 5
Magical Wands14AC: 9
Paralysis or Turn to Stone13XP: 0
Dragon Breath16
Rods, Staves, or Spells15
AC9876543210
Roll11121314151617181920
Equipment
  • Dagger
  • 6 Torches
  • Backpack
  • Waterskin
  • 1 Week Iron Rations
  • 50' Rope
  • 2 Vials Holy Water
  • 24 gp
 
By the way, we're playing with this optional rule:
Old School Essentials Core Rules p. 13 said:
Re-Rolling 1s and 2s (Optional Rule)
If your roll for hit points comes up 1 or 2 (before applying any CON modifier), the referee may allow you to re-roll. This is in order to increase the survivability of 1st level PCs.
Since your PC has the +1 HP bonus from high Constitution, I assume you rolled a "2," so I don't know if you already availed yourself of this opportunity.
 
So the current group is Hildegard, Bellitus, Bron, Ruul, Ingri and Hearthglow?
That's correct, though it appears there will be some additions or substitutions. I'm guessing that Bunch Bunch is relegating Bellitus to NPC status and Simon Hogwood Simon Hogwood is considering releasing Bron perhaps to join Orym in a lifestyle of debauchery back in Ogdenburg.
 
By the way, we're playing with this optional rule:

Since your PC has the +1 HP bonus from high Constitution, I assume you rolled a "2," so I don't know if you already availed yourself of this opportunity.
I initially rolled a one. I then rerolled, and got a two. Because I misread the description of how it works in this thread (as opposed to the document, which makes it clearer), I rerolled AGAIN and got a two AGAIN.

So, yeah, Hekima's probably gonna die. I wonder if I can set a record on how many characters I can get killed?
 
That's correct, though it appears there will be some additions or substitutions. I'm guessing that Bunch Bunch is relegating Bellitus to NPC status and Simon Hogwood Simon Hogwood is considering releasing Bron perhaps to join Orym in a lifestyle of debauchery back in Ogdenburg.
I was thinking, since our new characters are both spellcasters, it might be good to have a thief along. At least, I did until I saw these stats. :hehe:
 
It's not quite as bad as it looks - if I knock INT down to 10 I can raise DEX to 6, which is still not great but workable. The XP hit is also bad, but I have a feeling that Thad the cooper-turned-thief isn't going to be around for many levels. With Edgewise Edgewise's permission, I have an idea to introduce him to the party that would start with him turning up at the inn the next morning looking for Bron.

EDIT: OK, I've been entering him into the party roster. Should we think about making a separate section for dead characters?

"A lanky, blond native of Brineville, Thad has been working for Pirate-Queen Morgulwen using his cooper business as a front for smuggling. Now he has come to Ogdenburg bearing a message for Bron."
 
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Should we think about making a separate section for dead characters?
That's a great idea!
With @Edgewise's permission, I have an idea to introduce him to the party that would start with him turning up at the inn the next morning looking for Bron.
I just got a look at your character. That's absolutely fine, or you can be present in the current tavern scene. However you prefer at this stage is fine by me.
 
So what are ideas for what we should buy etc before our next journey beneath?
 
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