Acolyte
- SHELTER OF THE FAITHFUL
- First paragraph is fine as written. Second paragraph no longer applies (at least until your previous identity is uncovered). Instead you can attempt to call upon priests at ANY temple of your faith for assistance.

Charlatan
- FALSE IDENTITY
- Revised as follows: "You are adept at creating false identities that include documentation, established acquaintances, and disguises that allow you to assume that persona." Remainder unchanged.
- Mechanical addendum: Creating a false identity takes one month and you can only convincingly maintain one at a time. If at some future date you uncover your previous identity you may also regain a well established false identity from your previous career that does not require any additional work to maintain.

Criminal
- CRIMINAL CONTACT
- Completely revised: "You have a sixth sense when it comes to finding the criminal element within a city, and a knack for ingratiating yourself without arousing suspicion."

Entertainer
- BY POPULAR DEMAND
- Fine as written.

Folk Hero
- RUSTIC HOSPITALITY
- Revised as follows: "You have a face reminiscent of a hero of legend and common folk treat you preferentially whether they consciously realize it or not. You can find a place to hide, rest, or recuperate among other commoners... (remainder unchanged)"

Guild Artisan
- GUILD MEMBERSHIP
- Revised as follows: "The skill you display in your craftsmanship is unmistakable and any guild would far prefer to have you counted amongst their ranks rather than competing against them. As a gesture of good faith you can expect the normal journeyman-ship period to be waived, and begin to enjoy the benefits of an established and respected guild member immediately. Your fellow guild members... (remainder unchanged)."

Hermit
- DISCOVERY
- Suggestion: "You prefer to be alone, and have a sense of wonder about the great world about you."
- Caduceus's critique: The above is certainly a valid description of the hermit background but does not really provide a roleplaying mechanic in the way that Features are seemingly intended. I don't have a good suggestion at this time, and indeed this may be the single most difficult one to replace and still keep the same feel as it is basically intended as a peek behind the DM's screen, only in this instance we're all DMs :)

Noble
- POSITION OF PRIVILEGE
- Revised as follows: "You have an air of nobility about you and people are inclined to believe you were born of higher stock without even asking. You are welcome in high society ... (remainder unchanged)."
- Variant Feature:RETAINERS
- Restricted. This is not an option at the commencement of play, but at whatever such time you uncover your past identity you may discover that you have retainers at your disposal.

Outlander
- WANDERER
- Fine as written (although oddly you have no memory of the geography pertinent to your individual past)

Sage
- RESEARCHER
- Fine as written.

Sailor
- SHIP'S PASSAGE
- Revised as follows: "You speak the universal language of seafarers the world over and can secure free passage on a sailing ship for yourself and your adventuring companions on the strength of good will and camaraderie alone. Because you're asking for a favor, you can't be certain... (remainder unchanged)."
- Variant Feature: BAD REPUTATION
- Revised as follows: "You're the spitting image of a dread pirate or ruthless cutthroat and the manner in which you carry yourself does nothing to dispel people from this notion. No matter where you go, people are afraid of you. When you are in a civilized settlement... (remainder unchanged)."

Soldier
- MILITARY RANK
- Revised as follows: "You have the bearing of a professional soldier and a voice that speaks to the very soul of other men of similar mettle. Soldiers who are not actively hostile to you and speak your language defer to you almost instinctively. You can requisition simple equipment or horses for temporary use. You can also usually gain access to friendly military encampments and fortresses by sheer force of personality."

Urchin
- CITY SECRETS
- Fine as written.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:52, Thu 05 Mar 2015.

DWARF
All Dwarves:
Tool proficiency - This is now a subrace ability applying to both mountain and hill dwarves.

SEEKER DWARF  - New Dwarf Subrace

The Seeker Dwarf is rarely found even amongst the dwarven cities. Unlike most dwarves who are strongly bound to their hearths, the Seekers are nomadic by nature. Displaced from an ancestral home so many generations ago it has faded into the very fabric of myth and legend, they are driven by an intense compulsion to wander the face of Eris until their ancient home is once again restored. Other dwarves respect their loyalty and veneration of dwarven history, but regard their unmoored brethren as somehow broken inside.

Given their nomadic inclinations the Seekers have been forced to become slightly more adaptable than their more sedentary cousins. An important link between the many far flung dwarven clans they have in many ways become the keepers of dwarven oral traditions, but their frequently itinerant lifestyles do not permit them to learn the closely guarded secrets of dwarven craftsmanship.

Ability Score Increase.  Two ability scores of your choice increase by 1.
World's Lore. You gain proficiency in the History proficiency.
Skill Versatility. You gain proficiency in one skill of your choice.

---

TIEFLINGG
FEEL FREE TO START EDITING HERE
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:54, Sun 02 Dec 2018.

ooc: is in orange
"Talking out loud like this" > Talking: Each PC should chose a color and use  " "
I am thinking to myself > Thinking should use the same color and italic
"I am communicating telepathically " Telepathy with others must have the " "  and italic
"Whispering should use small letters"
"SHOUTING SHOULD USE CAPITAL LETTERS"
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:15, Fri 27 Mar 2015.

It is my intention to use the following optional rules from the DMG for the next arc. Let me know if people have disagreements:

Cleaving Through (DMG 272, slightly modified)

When a single melee attack exceeds a creature's maximum hitpoints, any excess damage from that attack may be carried over to another creature in range if the original attack roll is sufficient to hit its AC. If the damage remaining exceeds the the second creature's maximum hitpoints, this process may continue until there are no more valid targets.

Shooting Through (variation of above, applies to ranged)

When a single ranged attack exceeds a creature's maximum hitpoints, any excess damage from that attack may be carried over to another creature in a direct line behind the initial target if the original attack roll is sufficient to hit its AC. If the damage remaining exceeds the the second creature's maximum hitpoints, this process may continue until there are no more valid targets.

Success at a Cost (DMG 242, slightly modified)

When a character fails a roll by a margin of 1, I will permit the character the option to succeed at the cost of a complication or minor hindrance. I will tell you what the cost will be prospectively, and you may chose to take the penalty or accept the miss. Additionally, in such instances where the DC is rolled exactly, there may be additional minor narrative improvisations.

Hey all, (specially Caduceus who is running DM now)

For some time now, I had been playing using different inititative/turn order system in another Play by Forum game. And it is working so fine, that I wanted to discuss with you guys.

It kind of breaks the bridge between fantasy and reality, but it has so improved the playability in that game.that I think it is worth it.

The basic idea is that you always have the players and NPCs in two blocks. And inside the PC's block the order is based in real world post order. Inside the NPC block, DM roll initiative normally. And in order to decide which block goes first, it is a group contest between players and NPCs: Everyone rolls initiative, group with higher average wins.

Benefits:
- No waiting for your turn: Instead of waiting until someone posts, anytime you go online you can post your action.
- Chronological order of posts: Posts are in order of actions happening, so one is never confused if a certain action was before or after what he is going to do. Also avoids retcon: "I was gonna attack #1 but since I know the other PC, who is ahead of me in inititative will hit #1 (because he has already rolled) then I will hit #2"
- Speed up game.

Drawbacks:
- IC Inititative stats loose much of their game power
- You lose 'reality' as combat is always bad guys in one turn, then good guys in their turn.

What do you think?
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:35, Wed 08 Mar 2017.

I'm basically running a slightly modified version of that already. Posting order is irrelevant to me in the current block, anyone in block 1 may post and their actions are resolved in that order. Then the NPCs go. Then all the PCs are lumped together in a common block and their actions are resolved in that order.

The only difference applies to round 1, where PCs who roll higher than the NPCs still get a chance to go first. After that every round is composed of only 2 blocks, the NPC block and the PC block.

I prefer the way Caduceus is running combat, it's very similar to what I run in RL. I think that on the first round, initiative should matter. Posts in the same block are considered in their original posting order (regardless of initiative count), that makes things easier to everyone.

Having a PC vs NPC roll isn't that good, specially for the DM, because for example, losing initiative on the first round and having all players act before may sometimes ruin the encounter.