Once everyone has asked their boon, I shall continue in the Great Hall.  We are nearly done there otherwise, just one more proclamation from the King.  Don't forget poor Thrir outside waiting patiently to talk with everyone.

Btw, just to make certain everyone is aware, my NPCs do make mistakes.  Yes I play them according to their alignment, but also by their race and by a simple set of statistics that I give them all.  I categorize their personalities based on the following questions:

What are their likes/loves
what are their dislikes/hates
what are their fears/flaws
what are their goals/secrets
who are their allies/enemies

While the NPCs may know things the players do not, they also may be ignorant of information the players have.  So if an NPC says or does something, they may or may not be right.  They aren't perfect, any more than the player characters are.  NPCs can and will make false assumptions, bad guesses, and be just plain wrong on occasion.  Consider that when gathering information from interaction with NPCS, the source is an important clue as to whether or not they are likely to be correct.

I played for years with a DM who had NPCs that NEVER MADE MISTAKES.  Not only were they essentially perfect, but they would mock or admonish player characters whenever they made a false assumption or error.  I promised myself I would NEVER do that so just be assured...

The NPCs will often prove helpful, but they're not infallible :)
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:26, Wed 18 Oct 2017.

Thanks for throwing that out there.

I have played under a similar DM, and yes, I found it very, very frustrating as well.

I have found that the play by post medium goes a long way towards combating that particular phenomenon. I would guess it has something to do with the DM not being as attached to NPCs as they do not have to physically play them out.

Just a heads up, I will be away on an overnight in the mountains most of today and tomorrow, and will probably be unable to post.

Thank you for letting us know, Kronin.  Enjoy the mountains my friend. :-)

Thanks, I had a great time. Kind of a nice last hoorah before winter sets in.

Looking forward to seeing how this all shakes out, and to the next chapter.

It's been really great stuff so far.

Welcome back Kronin, glad you had a good time.  I know I find the mountains very peaceful.

Everyone I will update tomorrow; we should be done this chapter by the weekend's end and I'll send out XP then :-)
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:30, Sat 21 Oct 2017.

Okay, that's a very good place to pause and hand out some experience, then we'll continue on with our adventure.  I will send each of you your XP in your private message thread.

For those going straight to the rendez-vous point in Dale a new thread will be created.  Once I have done so those of you who are leaving the same night, its about one in the morning at least by the time you gather your essential belongings and head out quietly as you can.

Dale is approximately four and a half miles from Erebor, so its at least two hours on foot by day.  At night, being careful to watch for danger and to not be seen, it will be more like three hours at least.  Bringing carts and pack animals who must be watered and rested I'd say the crew will make the outskirts of Dale in the predawn, around five in the morning :)

For those remaining behind, we can continue your posting in the Great Hall for now, as I am using that thread as a default for the whole of the main kingdom under the mountain.

Sounds great.

Would you just like us to post waking up with the new date?

Or would you prefer to make an introductory post in the Great Hall thread?

I will make a short introductory post in the Great Hall Thread so there is a clear delineation between the events of the previous evening and the current ones.  Working on XP for everyone now :D
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:14, Mon 23 Oct 2017.

Just checking in guys.

Had not seen any posts for a few days.

I know, sorry for that.  These twelve hour days are wearing me out.  I'm going to try and get posts up tonight if I can focus my thoughts.  I apologize.  It's that time of year at the bank. Thank you everyone for your patience.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:20, Thu 26 Oct 2017.

In reply to Eru Illuvatar (msg # 130):

No problem RL comes first.

No worries!

You just never know on RPoL...these things happen.

Very true.  I've been in a lot of games on RPOL that ended very suddenly or where people simply disappeared without the slightest warning or explanation.  It really is awful when someone does this and leaves good players/GMs at a loss.  So, I can promise you all one thing:

I do solemnly swear that my heart is in this game and in making this the very best game I possibly can for all of you.  I am committed to this game and to you my players, and I will never abandon you or leave without warning; so long as it is in my power, I will let you know if I need to be absent for any period of time longer than a few days.

All I will ever ask, is that you do the same in turn.  If you find real life is getting in the way and you need to step away for awhile, or if you need to quit altogether for whatever reason.  I promise I will understand and not take offense; real life happens to us all.  Just let me know.

I'm in this for the long haul, I intend to run this campaign to its logical conclusion, whenever that will be.  I give you my word of honour on that.

It is okay if we go slower, make sure you don't risk RL :)

It seems I may have failed to correctly portray Kronins verse, heh.

I was hoping to invoke more of a momentous feeling, in the spirit of the Icelandic sagas that Tolkien took inspiration from for some of his works. Joy was not so much the goal.

The first, second, sixth and seventh stanzas all lay out why he is there and what he wants from him, while the middle three pay homage not just to their host but to his Clan.

By putting his words in verse, invoking the boon and promising to bring glory to Sidri's name through the use of what he creates, Kronin is hoping to inspire him to create something beyond the rank and file garments he might craft for the Iron Guard for example.

It's also  (or so I had hoped) sort of a covert way of saying, hey...I'm going to be wearing this stuff into battle and soon, so please do your very best so that I don't die.

Not to worry Kronin. I loved it :-). And Noin may also have appreciated it too, but his character is in a kind of gloomy mood, and understandably so, but that doesn't mean Kronin is.  I loved both reactions, it's good role playing and that's exactly what I hoped for in this game.  However, you should consider this as well:  Kronin can't WAIT as long as it would take a master smith to hand make him a chain hauberk which could take him a month or more!  That is, not unless he intends to break his oath to Dwain...  :-)

Or unless he bargains to pick it up at a later time I suppose  :-)
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:51, Fri 27 Oct 2017.

I did consider that...

Still wondering how he might make that work. My thoughts were straying towards the alternation of an existing piece out of the Royal Armory...but I guess we will have to see.

Edit: And that's a great point, it's certainly understandable to not be in the mood for singing, whatever the lyrics, given recent events.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:56, Fri 27 Oct 2017.

Quite right, I liked it greatly and Noin would have had he been in a better place :), but the murder of a prince by agents of the enemy who should not be about and the murder of one of their part and his brother by another in their party sits badly with him even though he understands the reason.

Kronin is still ignorant of the second tragedy (not so much Vifur's death, but his true intentions and subsequent death at Thrir's hand)

So it would stand to reason that Noin would have even more reason to be in a somber mood.

Looks like Thrir is going to be able to bankroll his own expedition by the time we actually get to Moria, heh.

Hmm I'm not sure about that I don't have Gaming proficiency.

Thrir, while it would be useful, you won't need gaming NWP to play.  A lot of evens/odds is pure luck.  Or you could try to cheat using pick pockets as a sleight of hand with the dice :-). Of course you definitely don't want to get caught doing that  ;-P

I'm really enjoying everyone's posts.  Update tomorrow I promise.  Thanks again for your patience; it's been a long week.

No worries Eru, we have all had weeks like that I'm sure.

Looking forward to seeing how this all moves forward. I don't think I've had this sort of luck with the dice in any game I've ever played.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 16:35, Fri 03 Nov 2017.

Update tonight after work everyone, sorry for the delay.  Hope you are all having a good week.  Peace on Remembrance Day/Veterans Day and goodwill towards all Humankind.