I enjoyed the fight, and definitely didn't find it tedious. I think the biggest learning curve for me was when Jenna switched from melee combat to spell combat. I also think that the pacing worked well for this particular type of combat. I realise we're probably unlikely to be able to achieve that level of pacing often but to me it did convey the tempo of the fight, i.e. fast and furious.

With regards not discussing it much OOC, for me I think that was perhaps a reflection of the fact that we don't know each other IC yet, so we had no IC coordination  and were simply acting as five separate individuals fighting a common foe (and just to be clear I think that was absolutely fine). As we get to know each other as an IC group the level of coordination will likely increase accordingly.


+1 to that


Jenna will also give the slaves her own food / water. If there's any loot to be shared out she'll also give them some gold from her share. The rest of any share that she gets will be donated to Arma (or other good causes if that's not possible) at the earliest possible opportunity (this do gooder malarkey isn't overly profitable!!!).

Cymru am byth... :-)

I didn't feel like the fight was dragging.  Narration was good and everyone was on with their actions.  As a non-spellcasting PC, my options may be slightly more limited, but I think the non-combat capabilities will make up for it and some more options will come online as I level up.  So no worries there.

On coordination - yeah, we're lacking a leader.  I threw in a tiny bit of guidance in the first round for the ranged fire but I'm not looking to establish Nic as "in charge" in any meaningful sense.  I'm in that role in my current LARP and sort of falling into it in another Roll20 real-tine game, so that's enough work for me.  :)  Also, Nic's history is mostly one of working solo and getting in stand-up fights only when all other options fail.

With Jenna's station and (presumable) training as a priestess of a war goddess, I'd suggest that in future fights, she take the tactical lead.  Though I'm not sure how Dave feels about being stuck in that position both here and in Grey Cell.  :)  For non-combat decisions, I expect we're all solid enough players - and trust each other enough out of character - that we can pass the leadership role around based on whose experience is the best match for the current situation.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:02, Sun 18 Oct 2015.

I think the coordination will come along as we get more familiar in our roles as well as the "new" system in general.  Playing a new PC type is a big enough challenge without having to figure out what everyone else can do as well.  Party leadership could be an interesting challenge since we're all involved in either leading, running, or leading and running in other games.  We'll figure it out!

The fight was fun, the posting was fast quick.  It's kind of a nice change of pace actually.  The other games we have going are awesome in the depth of their narration, but just banging out a quick, if not witty, description of some sort of combat action was pretty cool. I'm looking forward to where this game goes!


For OCC planning,
Corros is happy to share some of his food with the slaves. Hell, they can have the boat.  The loot however...maybe...a little.  He also doesn't necessarily need a healing spell, just someone to yank the bolt out of his arm.

The only problem with that is in terms of Jenna's backstory. The bullet point summary is that she was raised within the Temple of Arma where she has been schooled extensively in the ways of her Goddess and in the art of smiting evil, however up until recently this has largely been theoretical rather than practical. That changed when she was selected to accompany one of the High Priests on a pilgrimage, which was her first time outside the Temple. They were ambushed by evil doers and the High Priest was killed, leaving Jenna on her own.

So she could do it, but in contemporary terms she's effectively the equivalent of a brand new 2nd Lieutenant straight out of West Point...


Might be an idea to see if any of the slaves knows anything about seamanship...
This message was last edited by the player at 17:50, Sun 18 Oct 2015.

Ok, maybe it's because I watched Master and Commander Thursday night while the wife was at Wine Club.. erhm.. Book Club... but I think we should pull the old Lucky Jack and have the galley pull the cog into the fog bank port.  Ulfgar has a handaxe for this kind of situation (cutting away grappling lines).  We just need to rig a tow line between the aft of the Galley and the fore of the Cog.

Golden opportunity for someone with better Charisma to deliver something along the lines of "Congratulations slaves, you a free.  Now row for your lives or we all die as equals!"

PS:


Or this...
This message was last edited by the player at 18:02, Sun 18 Oct 2015.

Nicolai has no issue with sharing food.  The slaves need it and we'll all get a better meal once we're in port.

As far as loot... as an ex-spy, Nicolai is (among other things) a device for converting money into information.  He's not personally avaricious but that's partially a consequence of having spent a lot of his formative years as an all-expenses-paid ward, and then agent, of the crown.  But he does like to be comfortable, if for no other reason than it allows him to focus on more significant problems.

Added: I would like to see if we can parley the capture of the galley into some sort of political reward from the Balefyre authorities.  To Nic's thinking, that sort of thing tends to be more useful than a pure "salvage" fee.  To my thinking as a player, that's more plot Rae can abuse us with.  :)



As y'all say.  Perhaps some of them are interested in filling the recently-opened crew positions aboard Seahorse.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:22, Sun 18 Oct 2015.

I'll have Corros make a rousing speech next post.  Give the slaves the chance to save their own lives, display some seamanship,  etc...

Hopefully the space master has the key or my lock pick roll is going to be difficult...

In reply to Corros Graelor (msg # 44):

Gimme 15 mins and I'll have Jenna pull the bolt out of your arm if you like.

Unsurprisingly, Nic also has proficiency with thieves' tools.

Space master... Hehehe. I love auto correct

I'll just beat Spartan to the punch and leave this here...

Oh.
Oh.
That's just terrible.

Yikes.

Well, I'm glad that you enjoyed your first battle. I enjoyed running it, but I was worried that my descriptions were getting a little bit repetitive.

@All: What about the tactical rules-speak? Should I post it in the OOC instead, or keep inserting into the combat narrative turns? Or, do you need/want to see it at all (it's already on the dice roller, although it might not always be very clear in that form)?

re. XP, that 1000 was just for dispatching all of the bad guys. I'll have to look at the DMG about awarding other kinds of XP. There's definitely more in it for you if you can get both vessels into port. I think you've already got a way to do that figured out.

re. a leader... I don't think you need one, per se. Y'all have different skills and specialties so, if I do this well, you'll all have a chance to shine. I just encourage you guys to coordinate actions during combat. For example, Nic's always going to be able to roll an extra d6 damage if he's in melee within 5' of an ally. Certain cleric and druid spells can be used to buff the good guys before going into battle. I was happy to have Gronk just attack whoever but I don't mind any of y'all telling him who to smash.

@Spartan: I thought you handled Ulfgar really well. In my FtF, we have a druid. Her player doesn't wildshape unless it's for recon purposes (something to file away). I was a little doubtful when your dward transformed but it worked out really well. Ulfgar-Bear single paw-edly took down an opponent with 65 HP, dual attacks, and two +1 weapons so I wouldn't sniff at animal-style melee.

re. the loot, (once you find and gather it), Gronk would like some decent armor. His gladiator get-up is decorative only and although he can take a beating, he doesn't necessarily want to. I will eventually post IC to that effect.

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This message was last edited by the GM at 20:32, Sun 18 Oct 2015.

I am a horrible person, but Duffelblog is to thank/blame for originating that one.

Tactical crunch - I say keep it in the IC posts in the format you've been using.  It's easier for me to find it there than to try to sync up the IC and OOC threads.

Tactics - Gronk and Nic are the dedicated melee characters, so I'm fine with setting a tactical default of skirmishing around Gronk to maximize my damage output.  With Cunning Action, I get a free Disengage every round, so I can just keep moving to orbit the big guy.

@Rae - am I correct that the pirate captain was running a +1 scimitar and a +1 dagger?

Also, what is the current status and whereabouts of the mustachioed fighter?

ETA: Also also, is the 1,000 XP per PC, or split five ways?  If it's for each of us and I'm correctly parsing the XP chart on page 15, that will take us straight to 3rd level.

@All - per the rules for selling treasure (p. 144), our cash-equivalent haul for coin and gemstone is 545 gp.  That's 114 gp each (including reimbursement for our passage fee), or 95 gp and change if we cut in the mustachioed fighter for a share.  Or we could just trade the peridot on a breastplate for Gronk and some change.  :)

There's no market value for the magic weapons we recovered from the pirate captain, so the easiest way to handle those is to keep them in the party for their utility.  Gronk handed them off them to Nic for the short term but I'm happy to pass them to others.  In particular, the scimitar is nice but does not fit my mental image of Nic's fighting style, and we do have a druid.  I would not turn down the dagger...

It appears there may be some additional monetary reward coming our way for Forkbeard, too.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:04, Sun 18 Oct 2015.

Yes sir.



Still on board the cog, but deboarding. I'll add something to that effect.



The XP is split five ways. You've earned another 1000 XP for how you handled the aftermath of the battle. I forgot to mention that in the turn post. That's +400 XP each, taking you all to just below the 3rd level threshold. Expect to level up soon. You spell casters should start picking your next batch of spells.



You can sell magic weapons- you just have to find a buyer. MW generally fetch a higher price than non-magical. It is good to have MW, though, since some monsters can't be hit with non-magical weaponry.



Correct.

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Ah, fuck it. Y'all ready to level up right now? I was just worried y'all would think that was too fast since we'd already started off at 2nd. Why wait, though? You earned it.

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This message was last edited by the GM at 22:44, Sun 18 Oct 2015.

That right there argues for keeping them in the party, and probably not both on the same character.



I'm good with it.  3rd level is where the 5e classes stop feeling like starting characters, IMO.

Aha, yes, there we go - DMG, not PHB.  It appears +1 weapons are classed as uncommon, which gives them a base price of 500gp each.  I'm not sure the loss of combat advantage is worth the coin it would bring in.

As far as leveling up - if everyone else is okay with this, I'd be fine with dropping XP tracking entirely in favor of leveling at story checkpoints.  Since we'll all be accruing the same XP anyway.

This +1.  One less thing to track and when Rae says "go," I say "cool."  I'm at work today and can't get my level up on until some time tomorrow, but that's not a deal breaker for posting.
I also really like the journal thing, it's a nice track sheet like I'd use in Dragon Age which I love.

Edit: I'm also in favor of saving the magic weapons for now and selling the gem to divvy up the loot.  No need to share with Mr Mustache if the captain is going to share the loot with him.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:25, Mon 19 Oct 2015.

Good enough for me.  Looks like 114 gp each for now, then (assuming we can fence the gem, which should not be a problem here).  I would like to keep the dagger if no one else is itching for it.  Anyone casting covetous eyes at the scimitar?

I'm going to pass on the Scimitar, but I think we should retain it for another level.  I'll pick up Shillelagh as my next cantrip, but I don't get that till 4th.  In the interim, it would be good to have a pair of +1 magical weapons in the group (preferably with non-casters) in case we run into something that can only be hit by magic.

Ulfgar will be taking a Belaying Pin from the Jet Spear as both a trophy and a backup weapon (Club) for his quarterstaff.

Some quick accounting:

-7 rations (given to Prisoners.. druids don't need many rations.. not with Goodberry and Survival)

I'll also pass on the scimitar but am happy enough for us to keep it. Jenna will give each freed slave 2 gp out of her share of the loot to help them put their lives back in order / cover any expenses for their journey back to their home etc.


I'm good with that.

Speaking of accounting...

I'm cool with milestone leveling, if y'all would prefer that.

We need to determine how money is going to be kept track of. Would you like pooled party money or individual shares? I'm good with either, but the way everything is being tracked now- both individual purses on each of your char-sheets and a community stores entry in the Adventurers' Journal- there's a good chance of inadvertent double-dipping. What's your preference?

Gronk's pretty strong and he doesn't have any armor as of yet, so if y'all need someone to carry the scimitar +1, he's your [half] man.

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