Hey, so we'll use this thread for general discussion about game; whether it is about the rules, house rules, the world or whatever.  Questions specific to the action at hand should still go in the appropriate chapter OOC thread.  This one is for more general stuff.

Since we're finally getting into some combat after years in RL, I think it best to go over some of the house rules we're using for combat:

Power Level - still affects your regular maximums (attack, defensive, toughness, damage, etc.).  Situational modifiers WILL allow you to exceed this though, up to a maximum of +2 over the power level limit).

Attack Rolls - still done in the normal fashion, but your margin of success will translate into a damage bonus; +1 for every 2 you exceed the target's defenses.  Critical hit no longer exist though; if you roll a 20 it just gives you a greater chance at a higher damage bonus.  Weapons with increased crit range will retain the +5dmg for every point spent ONLY when a natural 20 is rolled.

Damage saves - With the much greater damage potential due to Attack Roll Margin of Success the base DC's to save for damage will be reduced as follows:
Toughness Save = 10 base DC + Dmg Modifier
Powers Save = 5 base DC + Dmg Modifier
Basically each base DC was reduced by 5.  Impervious Toughness is applied before the damage modifier due to attack roll is added. This makes Impervious Toughness a bit more intense, since it can cancel attacks that are not of sufficient strength irregardless of how well they hit. Example; you can go up and critically punch a tank, but it will not make any difference as the tank will have a greater Impervious Toughness than your regular human fist can deliver.  Hellfire missiles on the other hand just need to hit, as they do much more damage than most tank's Impervious Toughness rating.

That's all I have for now, but will keep adding stuff as I think of it.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:46, Wed 13 Nov 2013.

And if you have larger critical ranges than just 20, those natural rolls also give the bonus that a natural 20 gives, correct?

Thanks, yeah, it's been a long time since I read the rule books, and my brain is having some leagake, so it's good to have the basics explained here again, well, and the modifications.

I've revised the margin of success factor for damage; after checking some math given the PL we are at a simple lucky roll could take any of you out for good due to the massive possible damage bonuses version your Toughness.  So it will be a +1 dmg for every 2 points over the DC.

Increased crit range will allow for that old +5 dmg when a natural 20 is rolled; basically it is like adding a feat that gives you the chance to still crit with that weapon/attack.

Isn't +1 damage per 2 you exceed it by the same as what you said above?

I think the book that introduced the concept had +1 per 5 you exceed by?
This message was last edited by the player at 16:28, Wed 13 Nov 2013.

Nope; Masterminds Manual page 106 under Margin of Success states to add the difference between the attack roll and the defense DC and add it to the dmg DC.  Again this would not be such a big issue at PL 10 since you would expect peoples' Attack/Defense/Toughness ratings to be around 10, so you would not have such a massive luck factor.  When you are looking at people with average scores around 5/6 then a roll of 15 instead of 5 is a big deal.

I think another rule we will put in is that Margin of Success can no more than double the damage bonus of the attack, including situational modifiers.  So if your attack has +6dmg, even if you rolled 14 over the defense DC with your attack you would only be doing +12dmg. The constrains things to the power level a bit more.

Without some limits we could have some runaway damage levels, which affect you as PCs more than NPCs, since more no-name NPCs are either up or down.

If we need to make further adjustments we can, but this is potentially the first real combat we've had so we'll see how it goes.

For example, Vanyra's attack in this case had a total damage bonus of +20, so the target DC to save vs. Toughness would have been 30 at +1/1 rate! Whereas it was brought down to 23 at the 1/2rate (+6 base and +7mos).  So it would have taken a fantastic toughness save to avoid getting pummelled. Even with the cap at 12 Lasrane would have been knocked unconscious with his roll.

Heh, sounds good.

How would the cap affect criticals then?  I remember that they received a pretty good damage bonus right?  (Especially important since Vanyra's weapon has an 18-20 critical, which she would have gotten if she had been going to really hurt the guy)

Remember that there are NO CRITS anymore, per se. Having thought about the impact of the MoS damage system I think the best route to take is that the increased crit range on weapons will give you a higher damage cap instead of giving you a damage bonus.

For each level it will increase your base damage cap by 2 (before MoS), so your ultimate damage cap for that weapon would be increased by 4 for each level after MoS.  This has the effect of giving low damage weapons the chance to do wicked damage in the right hands; much like a rapier or Vanyra's weapon.

So Vanyra has a base of +3dmg with her Culay, which would normally limit her to a +6 damage cap.  But since it has 2 levels of increased crit range it would act as a +7 dmg weapon for purposes of determining damage cap, so a max bonus of +14.

Special attacks/feat bonuses count towards the base attack damage as usual, and the crit range bonus would be applied on top of them to the max damage bonus allowed by PL.

The crit range bonus is a unique item-only type feat so it takes some special consideration.

The Power Extra Autofire is another case that needs to be addressed.  Since it also relies on MoS of the attack roll we will count the Autofire bonus damage on TOP of the regular MoS damage.  Therefore, the extra will still work as it normally does, and since Autofire damage does not count against PL limit it would still prove to be useful.

If you have a power with an advantageous feat, can you choose not to use that feat in specific circumstances?

Like if you had subtle, but wanted your usage to be noticed.

Well, for that example, you sure can act it out to make it obvious, other feats may be harder to act out, but in general I'd say the answer should be yes, it's like an  extra ability that you can decide not to use.

I was thinking in regards to mental powers actually, so there's no way to be overt if you can't purposely turn the subtle off.  The analogy might still work though, I just wasn't sure.

I would say that you can turn off an advantageous feet voluntarily, unless you put a disadvantage on it saying you cannot turn it off, or that the power must operate at full strength.

For mental powers, without the subtle feat, people will automatically know you are using a mental power on them.  It is not like a beam of light or anything shoots out, rather it is noticeable only to those being affected by the power.  So if you were to turn off subtle, if you use your mental powers on someone they would know immediately that you are doing so.

That would be exactly the point. :)

Ring ring, Vanyra's mind calling.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:27, Tue 07 Jan 2014.

A decent TV equivalent would be the Highlander tv series when another Immortal is near by and they get the funky mental tingle and then are able to locate the source (if visible).  I imagine a non-subtle mental power effect would produce a similar result.

So I just bought a suite of really nice RPG mapping software so I can map out the world, cities, etc.  I've started with the Kahluyn world map; has climates, elevations and everything, and then I'll move onto a map of Ossylia.

Apparently you can crosslink maps you make of overland areas, cities, dungeons and the like into the world maps... effectively making an interactive atlas of sorts. Have to see what is possible.

If nothing else I will be able to post up the relevant maps for where the PCs are and what is happening, so that we're all on the same page moving forward.

Nice!  Yeah, would help in a lot of situations where we're not 100% sure where everything is.  Can it be altered in real time, by the players themselves, for example?

No it cannot.  This forum only allows you to upload maps that you can view in the Game Map tab; they are not at all editable.  May have to find something else for that, like virtual table top system.

If I can find a VTT system that allows you to run a server I could just keep it running on my little media PC at all times.  The mapping system I got should be able to output maps to whatever format the VTT will use, so should be good there.

By the way, the map of the entire planet of Kahluyn is up; click the game map tab and select the Main Game Map.  There are a bunch of other slots I can load maps into, so I will keep adding as we go.

Neat, but it should have a red dot blinking with "You are here".

You know Brett, I'm not sure I want you editing on our digital game maps in real time.  Or should I call you Mr. green crotch dot?

Map looks good :)

That's a lot of strung out land with large isolated lakes and seas.  I can see how land travel could take a long time (well for other people's characters).
This message was last edited by the player at 06:28, Wed 23 Apr 2014.

The software only plots major rivers based on topography and estimated yearly rainfall; so there is likely a number of smaller rivers, creeks, lakes, etc. The map scale is pretty massive (planetary circumference is about 40,000km).

Having said that the vast majority of people likely live near the coast as there is a lot of temperate and tropical coastline to go around.

I was going to try to make one big ass map for the city of Ossylia, but that was proving to be way to cumbersome.  So instead I'll be making detailed maps for the major areas we deal with, and then maybe just a large general map for the city and surrounding area.

I will also mark where Ossylia is on the main map.

SO I've uploaded a map that outlines the general area of the Kingdom of Ossylia and then has a star denoting where the capital is located.

When you click the Game Map tab, scroll down and select the Group 0 map; it will be there.  If you cannot see it let me know, as I may have to add everyone to group zero.

I can see it when I click on Map, but when I try to select a map I can only see the main map, which doesn't have the star, kinda strange, but at least I can see it.

Anyone else having issues; you are all part of Group 0, so you should be able to see it.

nice, I can switch between the two views now. Somehow the Map0 is much larger on my screen.

I is supposed to be; I think I made it twice as large so that you could see more of the features of the area you are in.

The actual full size map is massive, so will the city maps be.  Quite impressive software suite for mapping; you can make some really killer stuff once you learn all the little tricks... and have a lot of time to put into it.

I will likely just evolve the maps over time as you guys go places and such.  Once I get a few maps of Ossylia done up I'll make another world map that shows where all the nations are.

Sounds cool.

I've found a fairly decent looking virtual tabletop system that we may be able to use, if we ever wanted to try a session like that.  No install or anything as such, rather it is run through your browser so that is pretty slick. Plus it is free from what I can see, though there may be a subscription of sorts for more premium features.

Worth a look at any rate.

Meanwhile hopefully I will find some more time to get back to creating those bloody city maps of Ossylia.

Meanwhile in unrelated news I found this to be rather surprising:

http://www.superherohype.com/n...emale-god-of-thunder

Especially given the movie series; guess it is time to do things fresh.

Well, technically the comics related to Thor are way farther along in storyline than the movie Thor, so they can still really do whatever they want in the comics.  I mean, for awhile Loki was female having taken over Sif's body.  And now the original Loki died and was reborn anew and is a child (with lots of whose soul in control complications) so... :)

Yeah, just an odd move in general as I'm not sure why it is being done other than just to put a new perspective on a classic character.  No reason why the God of Thunder can't be female.  I wonder if the current Thor will die and this will be a new Thor, or how they will handle the transition. One thing's for sure that will likely be one of the physically strongest female characters in the Marvel Universe I reckon.

And Sam Wilson will be the new Captain America, but that transition seems to make sense and consistent with the the story lines from what I've read.  More of a progress of the Captain America story than a re-imagining of the character.

I'm wondering if they aren't pushing in this direction to breath more freshness into the comics now that all the classic comics are being put on the big screen?

I think this stems more from the direction Marvel has been going in the comics for a little while now.  Ever since Brian Michael Bendis started really mixing things up by finally putting Spiderman and Wolverine in the Avengers, Marvel has seemed to be far more willing to challenge age old stereotypes you know?  I mean, child Loki, Peter Parker/Spider Man getting replaced by Otto Octavius, killing Captain America (for awhile), etc., they have really been trying to put fresh characters in old shoes.  They have also been reaping the benefits of the fresh (and often very good) storylines.

Personally, I bet its just another death/reincarnation storyline for Thor which have been one of the standards for doing new things with old gods.  It is interesting though, people have played with the idea for a long time out of canon.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:30, Fri 18 July 2014.

Here's another off topic question: have you guys seen the new Weird Al videos?  If you haven't, go see them!

He's releasing 8 in 8 days to promote his new album and so far they've been hilarious.

Word Crimes, Foil, Tacky, Handy, Sports Song, are the 5 out so far.  Word Crimes and Tacky are particularly hilarious (Handy is my least favorite so far, but is still funny).
This message was last edited by the player at 18:37, Fri 18 July 2014.

Yeah, I was watching them last week.  Really good.  Apparently this is his last typical Weird Al album.

Sorry for the really long lag. I had our biggest annual meeting, a grant deadline and 2 papers to tend to. The mind-questioning has resumed though. Some day you will hear what comes off if.

Those Weird Al videos have been awesome!  Great knock out return.

I read an interview where he was talking about it being his last album.  Apparently he needed to do it to finish his record contract, and then he's free to do what he wants... which is to release regular singles, rather than full length albums.  Similar to our philosophy.  Just keeps things relevant and active in the public's eye.  So at least he's not retiring, cause that would suck!

Cool, game on then.

Having said that I'm off camping this weekend and then next Thursday I'm on a sailing trip up the West Coast until the following Wednesday.  So my responses will be limited.

Hopefully by that point we'll get this conversation/interrogation to a point where it is more of a conversation amongst the PC's about what to do next.

Renting the boat, or is it a friend's?

Renting two boats, each about 30' long.  My friend is a hobby sailor and has hisopen sea Captain's license, and we're getting another Captain from the school he went to.  About 12 of us across the two boats.  Hoping to raid about 2~4 villages for plunder over the 5 days... but if that doesn't work we're just going to pack a lot of rum and such and drink the pillaging away.

Sounds like a good go!

wow, next time let me know, i think I have a ... somewhat open sea license. Well, from Germany. Not sure if they would accept that here.
Enjoy, sounds awesome!

Leaving shortly, so I will not be checking this forum for the next 5 days or so.

So I'm looking at an online live rpg client called Roll20 at the moment.  It is browser based and free; so no special programs or anything.  It has voice and video/audio chat features, mapping and a pretty cool dice roller.  That's essentially all we would need.

Erik's heading out to Ontario shortly for a week and a half, so I'm not sure what kind of computer access he will have.

But just let me know when everyone thinks they'll be ready and I'll try to get something ready.

Depending on how this pans out we may be able to plan short, irregular sessions to move the story along through more action intensive parts. Then do more of the RP'ing and planning stuff on the forum here.

Sorry for the silence, went to Okinawa for a job interview. Not sure how that works out but anyways, after that I had to catch up with some deadlines, (still 2 to go), but a bit more breathing space now.
So times for me that work are maybe some time late evening, so 11 pm EST would be good.

Okinawa for a job interview?  Now that's different.

Yeah, Erik's headed off on Thursday and I still have to check out the Roll20 system.  So we'll see how things shape up in the next week or so.

Yep, OIST, check it out, not too bad. But not sure yet, depends on many things, such as if they even offer me the job and how much people here want to keep me ;)
Anyways, just let me know, actually April works better for me (several grants due by 4/1 and 4/3 ...then again 5/25)

I'm heading to California on Saturday and won't be back until the 14th of April, so we should probably plan for then.

In the meantime we can keep moving in the IC channel I think.

You heading to Cali for work, or play?

EDIT: Just editing out a bunch of confused, slept deprived comments.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:46, Sun 05 Apr 2015.

Sounds good. I'll be in Spain 4/22-5/2. But I should be able to find time then, too.

Job interviews in Okinawa.... travel in Spain... grant submissions.... you're a busy man!

Did you guys ever hear of live action Rurouni Kenshin?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc_JmcRxdx8

Apparently the 3rd and final in the trilogy about to be released.

Well, went to Montreal in between, after is San Diego, then Anaheim etc. and a few more grant submissions etc. So yes, I don't get bored much.
And that looks like a movie I would want to watch ... if my kids would let me go to the cinema. Maybe when it's available online somewhere.

Take them! =D

Also saw this earlier today... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfm0ky3aFzg
Can't go wrong with more alien safaris!

Yes, that'd be a great children movie, I can just see the coming weeks without being able to close an eye because my kids take turns having nightmares.
Try this one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYlxH7otysc

Removed by user =(

The live-action Rurouni Kenshin movies are amazingly well done; they really nailed.  I've only seen the first one, but Steve Choy saw the 3rd one when he was in Japan last year.  The characterizations and the action is damn near perfect.  They also melded the manga/anime stories into cohesive 2hr movie plots.

I do recommend downloading or watching a copy if you get a chance.

On another note I'm back from Coachella, and am starting to get back into the regular groove.

Welcome back.
And don't worry, the link was more a joke, I forgot what it was though.

I'll be in Barcelona starting Tuesday, but should have internet at least until 4/28. So live chat/Skype/hangout may be OK then, just remember my different time zone and that part of being at a conference means I have to 'mingle', i.e. after a certain hour I am not sure how well I can still play.

I'm back after a computer break down.

I watched a bunch of clips on youtube from the Kenshin films, freakin looks awesome. I'll have to hunt down a full version. Even got me back into watching the series again. Some good memories being dusted off...

So, I've got the basic Roll20 campaign set up for this upcoming encounter. Try clicking on the link below; it should be an invite to the game. You'll be asked to set up a free account before joining though.

https://app.roll20.net/join/828407/uJwlqA
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:56, Tue 26 May 2015.

Neat! Not sure I understand all the navigation yet, and I thought we see more ships, but pretty cool, and a lot of stuff going on there already.

Well we're only doing the actual combat in the Roll20 system, so it only shows the immediate combat area. The dock area is kilometres long, so there are hundreds of vessels, but no reason to make the map that big.

We just need to decide on a convenient time to play the game session; I reckon it should take about 90mins or so.

And I've slightly modified the subtlety rules for Mind Powers under the House Rules tab. This new version offers a slightly better chance at being subtle, if you have the Bluff skill, but offers a distinct advantage if you are successful at a subtle mind intrusion against a target not trained in mental defence.

That sounds good to me. :)
And since it seems i can basically read what they are doing/thinking about, I just have to pick a target and try.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:26, Wed 27 May 2015.

You guys need to decide where you are at the moment. Your character tokens on the map I just put there arbitrarily for the time being. You are approaching from that direction but you don't have to be where those tokens are if you want.

That's a rather cool map app.

Yeah, there's quite a bit of cool shit in there... and its free, mostly. The dynamic lighting is pimp, but I don't think we'll get much mileage with that.

How does Sunday evening work for a Roll20 session to resolve the scene at the docks?

I should be free anytime after 6~7pm MST.

That'll be about 1am my time... but don't think the docks really pertains to me anyways.

Yeah, I was thinking more Jan and Erik.

We'll have to come up with earlier times (probably weekends) for when all of us are required.

Sorry, I'm going to be in California from tomorrow for an entire week.  A childhood friend of mine was killed last week and now that Sarah's back from Ontario, I need to go home for a while.

I have a friend over that is trying to help me fix my roof. It'll be another 2 weeks at least before he leaves, so preferable after that. Other than that, Sunday evening is good, but probably 10pm EST is better.

Wow, crazy weeks. Ok, we'll take a 2 week hiatus then.

Just message here when you guys are back to normal.

I'll be gone from around the 24th of June until around 6/7th July.

Very sorry to hear about your friend, Erik =(

Sorry about your friend Eric!

I'll be out for another while, fixing roofs takes a LONG time (if you don't hire a lot of people). I'll spend most of my free time up there, but that also means I'll be done by the time I get down. Best days for me are 7/9 or 7/10. Then I am on a conference, after that (7/17) I am free again.

Ok, back around more now.  Thanks guys.

Lets suggest a time and pick it now so we can try to plan for it.

In case you are curious, here are a couple stories about my friend.  I grew up with him and lived with his family off and on for over a year as a child when my mother was ill.

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/new...Diego-305681651.html

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news...ident-306735591.html

Honestly hoping for a quick conviction later this summer...

Wow... fucking bitch!!

That is seriously screwed up.

I'm pretty much gone until the 2nd weekend in July. I'll be in BC from Wednesday until Sunday, and then back a couple of days before heading down to Montana. So looks like we'll be just posting on the threads as usual until then.

Ok, I'm back for a while. So we can move forward with setting up a convenient time to play through the rest of the docks scenario on Roll20. When is a good time for people?

What is your time like Jan?

I am basically available from now till 8/28. Preferably evenings.

Is your best availability still Was after 10pm your time?

Actually I am relatively flexible, but best before 2am.

How is Thursday evening for everyone? That's probably the best day for me this week.

Works for me. What time?

How does 8:30 MST (10:30 EST) sound for everyone?

I figure it will take about 20~30mins for us to really get going with the system, but after that I think things will roll pretty quickly (about an hour or so).

Sounds good to me.

All good for me.

So today, in one hour? You can skype me (travianjan) or call me 617-955-4254, if we play.

Check out this watch!

https://www.facebook.com/Steam...eos/880952152019152/

Is anyone else having troubles with notifications of private messages? Jan doesn't seem be getting his.

Secondly, since you guys are finally moving away from the one city I'll hopefully be posting a world map with the rough geopolitical borders of each nation-state. That should provide you with a better idea of what's about and where things are.

Also important to note that this isn't really a traditional fantasy world, nor is it a post-apocalyptic one. For example, the Kingdom of Ossylia has a population of over 200 million, and is thus quite civilized within its borders. Likewise other nation-states are just that, fully functional governments supporting millions of people. Some places are more stable than others though, and near or outside the borders things can get sketchy fast.

Just something to keep in mind while traversing through the country-side.

A map of the entire world with the general political boundaries of the major powers is available in Map #3; I'm limited to only 1mb size so the resolution isn't the best. The scale in the bottom left is 1000km from one side to the other... needless to say this is a big place.

If you want a higher resolution version of the map email me and I'll try emailing you one.

Yep, can't see PMs, what settings are you guys using?

So when you start rpol, after you log in you should see the main menu.  The main menu says "Games you Play In" and all the Rpol Forums.  If you don't go the main menu first, you can click on it in the upper right corner of this window.  The game menu is the submenu specific to the game (lists the topics for a specific game).

For both of these menus, new messages are color coded this way:
-If there is a new post, you should see a red color highlighting the number next to the game/forum.
-If there is a new private message for that game/forum you should see a blue color highlighting the number.
-And, if there is both a new post and a new private message, you should see a purple color highlighting the number (these are the default settings).

After you click on the post or message that is new, reloading the main menu or game menu will remove that highlighting color (though if you missed one, or a new one appeared, a color will still be there)

You can access private messages from anywhere except the main menu.  It should say "private messages" in the upper right corner of the screen next to the game menu and main menu options.

Click on "private messages", there should a list, do you see anything?  If you have a new private message, this will highlight red when the option is available.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:06, Thu 04 Feb 2016.

What Erik said. And remember if you enter a game and look at anything it'll remove the highlighting from the post number, as it assumes you went in and looked at all the appropriate posts and private messages.

Good rule of thumb is to check your PM's regularly. I won't wait long for you to respond, I'll just make something up and proceed to keep things moving.

yeah, i usually check, except for the PMs as they used to be highlighted when i got one. anyways, i'll just check them more.

Are you seeing the features I described Jan?  If so, what feature isn't showing up that prevents seeing or knowing about the PM'S?

Maybe we can troubleshoot this and see if there is a setting you can change.

can you post again? And also write a PM so I can see if I see the color change? Also, what is the "Notice"?
Anyways, I so far mostly just clicked on what was on the top when it said someone posted (other than me). Just gotta include the PMs in my check as well.

I've sent you a PM.

Every time you send me one the "Private Messages" link at the top highlights purple for me.

It's red for me, this time, and that's what I expect, so I didn't check without it being red. That was why I missed it, anyways, seems to work again now. Thanks.

I know that game speed is an issue, and will probably arise on the Rifts board as well. Just something I observed recently, when I started making dialogue with Vrryl, Robin thought we should cut short and move the game along. I know this is Freelancer, and I understand his point... but at the same time, I kind of suspect that the desire to speed the story along may at times cut out what may make story telling and rpg so much fun... interaction between these crazy characters. How they ground themselves and develop their relationships and motivations. It's the talk about family, death, a gem, a trip, a favour... it gives life to the world. I mean, why are Vanyra and Zelpuz still in Yuu's company? Yuu is very clear with his connection to Qwe, but how can we provide an equal bond with these other characters?

I suspect these games could slowly become IC stories written by gm interpretations of our OOC discussions. Where our characters aren't even interacting.

I know the forum format is the best we have, for all our divergent lives. I'm wondering if there is something we can do to maintain the point of roleplaying, while still keeping a story alive and mobile. And I'm not suggesting we have zero IC interaction, but there does seem a trend to that, and the Robin thing really had me wonder what other people were thinking. Or... maybe I'm just over thinking it.

Both is fine, as long as we keep the game going, at any speed, I am happy.
Somewhat related, I am currently way too busy though, I stupidly agreed to write a book and it's due this summer but I am very far behind, so I spend a lot more time trying to write something for the book rather than thinking of what to do next in the game. I'll try to figure out what to spend the extra points on some time, too.

Oh, and good question, I have been wondering myself why Zelpuz is still there. I think for now I'll just go with his curiosity of what happens in the city, him wanting to help Yuu, and him waiting for the meteor to hit the city. Can't see that every day. Also, he doesn't really have any place he needs to be, which helps. But I was considering to just go back to where he came from.

Well one option to assist in maintaining the flow of the main IC channel is to create Private Message 'channels' for when two or more characters want to engage in a more thorough discussion. You can add any of the players and the GM to such PM channels.

For example, a situation arises when a discussion should be had amongst PCs in IC with some basic back-forth. Next the players decide a general plan or next step forward in OOC, and this is communicated in IC and the GM moves the story forward. Meanwhile in the PMs the players involved in the conversation can flesh out the entire dialogue without inundating the main IC channel with lines, or preventing people from adding to the situation due to the ongoing conversation.

In this way the PM channels can be thought of as 'blue books' or mini-threads that add detail. To this end there are likely many conversations your characters had while travelling from Ossylia to Hasheli, for example, that would be perfect for this type PM use. But as a GM I don't want the main IC channel to devolve into a 2 person conversation for 6 pages, or even a whole party conversation, as it makes it difficult to follow sometimes.

We can even denote such PM's after the particular place it started, like "Chapter 5, Page 3, Msg 69" so it'll be easy to trace back in the future.

As for character motivation I can't help you too much there. Up to this point the PCs have really been on a roller coaster of events and haven't had much time to strike out in their own direction. In reality that whole thing was just the intro adventure...

I see members of the Order of Ashes similar to Witchers in that book/game series or as Demon Hunters in so many comics/manga/books/game/etc. While they belong to an organization that trained them, they are really left to their own devices most of the time. For people like Myria and Zelpuz they are essentially wandering detectives and to a lesser extent bounty hunters, of a specific target type. The majority of the time they'll have to perform other services to make ends meet or to advance their own investigation. Thus the chapters are not too different than safe houses or monasteries for Order members; some have permanent duties there, others stay a while and still others are just passing through.

The odd thing about the Play-by-Post format is that you can actually split up for a while and it really doesn't impact the pace of the game much. The only thing it does is forces me to make up stuff for two groups, which has varying degrees of difficulty depending on what's being done. After a bit of time in IC there's certainly a chance for the PC's to go their own ways.

There is some more IC info I need to post. I would have done it this afternoon but I needed to get back to work.

So essentially several dialogues in different time frames, could be going on at a time, while the main story is still moving forward?

Yeah, in essence. I mean if there's a central, major dialogue happening in the main IC that determines the fate of the story then it'll stay there, but there's a lot of opportunity for more flavorful dialogue(s) to have happened in between major story events that we can use PMs for. These can also be used to flush out some character and story details, that may not change the over all events, but add some depth.

This would also save us from creating a bunch of sub-thread chapters of IC.

So Erik's down in California through next weekend with the family, and I'm assuming Jan's working on his book finally. So we're in a bit of a hiatus here.

With Jan needing to work in his book this may be a good juncture to have Zelpuz go off with Myria, and that would leave Yuu and Vanyra able to continue forward. I could use PMs with Jan to chronicle what Zelpuz and Myria are doing in the meantime; that way he can stay in touch with the game without diverting much time from the book.

Lastly, I'm off to Japan on the 7th of April through the 20th, so I won't be posting too regularly. We're getting a portable LTE wifi router, so I'll have internet access the whole time, but my posting will be dictated by our travel schedule on the given day.

OK, I should be able to check threads again now, I hope. And no, I haven't barely done enough on the book. But am in Australia on a conference, finally gave me time to catch up with tons of other work that piled up, hopefully will get to the book at least on the way back, that's a good 26 hours.
And sure, I am fine the way the game flows, if I feel like Zelpuz wants to do something different, I'll let you know.
PS: I have not yet caught up on things that happened, but I assume they are OK.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:55, Wed 23 Mar 2016.

Zelpuz got blinded by a fat lady with a broomstick, and had himself surgically turned into a turnip due to a clerical issue at the hospital =(
This message was last edited by the player at 13:11, Wed 23 Mar 2016.

Thanks for the recap, I missed that bit somewhere, OK, so he'll plant himself right next to the beach hoping that he can grow up to be a pumpkin.

I think Vanyra and I will move around the checkpoint. And Yuu I assume does the same?