In reply to Caduceus (msg # 26):

What?  Only the hill people can have clerics?

Seriously though, I haven't set in stone (time out for a giggle--time back in) if I wanted to play a Hill or a Mountain Dwarf.  If you want to have the connection I can change to Hill Dwarf.

In reply to Caduceus (msg # 26):

What?  Only the hill people can have clerics?

Seriously though, I haven't set in stone (time out for a giggle--time back in) if I wanted to play a Hill or a Mountain Dwarf.  If you want to have the connection I can change to Hill Dwarf.

Entirely your call :) I still haven't hammered down my class, so don't make changes on my account yet.

In reply to Caduceus (msg # 29):

Let me know when you figure it out.  I will work on Dalgura some this weekend but can easily do two versions....hill version, mountain version.

The Mountain version wants to say:  We are sturdy enough to have climbed the mountains out of your molehills.

The Hill version wants to say:  There are no moles in our hills.  You climbed for no reason.

I see I'd better hitch up my belt and look forward to a lot of dwarven puns ;)

In reply to Caduceus (msg # 31):

Dalgura:  Hitch up your belt so not everybody sees your hairy parts!  You'll scare away the other adventurers otherwise...or sit in a chair and drink them under the table so they a) can't remember what they saw or b) we can see how they handle their liquor.

@Shard: Did we discuss how attributes are determined? Are we using the standard array? Point buy? Rolling?

Meh, I might decide to go with a Human (or Human variant) instead of an Elf. Really haven't given it that much thought yet. :)

Either way, I'll be taller than you . . . :)

In reply to Tancred (msg # 34):

No doubt.  But that's ok.  Taller people make you a larger target.  I'll still like gaming with you AND I promise to still heal you.  :)

Caduceus - I'm going to be a hill dwarf (yeah, I didn't notice before the +1 to wisdom).

I need input from the group please.  I'm torn between domains to choose.

Most of them, if I am reading the info on domains and can't decide if I want to pick a God/Goddess whose domain is Life or War.  Those seem to be the two main ones from the Dwarf Patheon.

So under Life Domain, like the name suggests, focuses on positive energy and is the main healing one.  So much so that even at level one, my healing spells are more effective.  Instead of regular hit points that the spell says, it gets an additional hit points equal to 2 + the spell's level.  The domain spells are what you would think.  Bless, cure wounds (1); lesser restoration, spiritual weapon (3rd level) etc.

The other popular domain, not surprisingly, is War.

That would make my cleric better in combat.  It covers all the manifestations of War from desperate and horrific to excellence and courage.  At 1st level I when I use the attack action, you can make one weapon attack as a bonus action.  I can do this a number of times equal to my Wisdom modifier before needing a long rest.  The domain spells are:  Divine favor, shield of faith(1); magic weapon, spiritual weapon (3rd)

I am split equally between the two.  I would appreciate input from all of you.

That +1 to Wisdom for Hill Dwarves is awesome to help with the cleric class.  Also, and it's just my personal preference because I view the cleric as more of a healer, but I always take the Life path.  You can still have a decent fighting type of cleric going the Life path and there are times those extra hit points healed really come in handy.

In reply to Bonni (msg # 36):

Your call I think, Bonni, depending upon how you wish to play your character. Both of those domains are good ones (with different points of emphasis, obviously), and you can't be faulted for choosing either one.

Me, I'm kind of a knuckle-dragger even when playing a cleric -- I like to be able to wade in and bash things, so I usually go with the War domain. But that's just me. :)

Thanks for the replies.  I know that it is my choice but I really couldn't make up my mind so I thought I'd put it out there for you guys to chime in on.  Clerics are pretty good in fighting even if they don't take the war domain.  That I know.  It's one of the reasons I like to play clerics.  Still it would be nice to play in a different domain than what I usually play in.  See?  I'm still in the middle.  :)  I know me.  I'll make up my mind by Sunday.

Both are good options and truth be told a Life cleric can still be a solid bruiser, and a War cleric can still be a solider healer. Pick the option you find more fun. We'll get by without one particular expertise or another. The important thing is that you enjoy the character.

If it makes a difference, I've decided to start Hill Dwarf Druid. I'm uncertain as to whether I'll pick up a level of monk or not, but at least you know we've got a back-up divine caster/healer if needed. We can discuss a shared background over PMs.

In reply to Caduceus (msg # 40):

Dwarven Druid.  That will be nice.  Yep, we can chat in PM about how we might know each other.

You can pick up Monk later if you want but I think Druid is a good choice.

If you don't mind me saying, think of it this way Bonnie. Would you rather your cleric be reactive, or proactive?

Reactive - Your life healer will be good at cleaning us up after a mess. Like a caring mother.

Proactive - You War Domain Cleric will be able to heal us when we're hurt, but will probably prioritize preventing more damage being dealt first.

Anyways, so we're not starting for a long while right? Just because it looks like everyone is way further with their concepts with mine and I want to make sure I don't *need* to kick it into overdrive lol.

I hope we've got a few days :) I'm visiting friends out of town all weekend, so I'll phone posting until Monday. Hard to work on a character sheet with just my thumbs :)

Well the DM mentioned weeks, month+. Starting after the holidays?

In reply to Athan (msg # 44):

That makes sense.  I like your take on which Domain to take Athan.  Thanks.  That sort of cinches it for me then.  :)

No problem Bonni, you're welcome.

Hello Everyone!

This thread has been super active today.  I checked before leaving for work and there were only 2 posts total.  I didn't have time then to make my introduction post, so I shall do so now.  Better late than never, eh?  :)

I'm Rob.  Been gaming with Tancred / Bill for about 15 years (wow!) in online formats and with DM Shard / Shane for close to 10 (again, wow!).  I'm 46 years old, retired army officer, husband and father of three boys (7, 5, and 3 years old).  I still work for the army, just as a civilian these days, and as Bill already stated, I'm a numbers guy.  But...I love creative writing and role playing games.

My DnD pedigree will now be complete since I started out with the Basic DnD Red Box set in the mid-80s and have owned and played 1st through 4th editions.  I even ran my own 2nd / 3rd edition DnD campaign on RPOL for a number of years.  I also like sci-fi RPGs like RIFTS, Robotech, and Savage Worlds.

Since I am absolutely new to 5th edition and will be using the downloaded basic rules set, I'm going to play a human fighter.  I usually play dwarves with the occasional halfling thrown in for fun, usually clerics or rogues, but this time around I think I'll tank up and be the mainline melee combatant for our group.  Someone else can do the healin' and the sneakin'.

Nice to meet you all and I look forward to our adventures :)

~Rob

Nice to meet you Argent.  Fighters are great in any game and I love being a cleric so I'll take the main healer spot without reservations.  I will be taking the Life Domain so my healing will have a little more umph!.

It's great that you have been gaming with the players for so long.  I have been gaming with my face to face group for around 25 years.  It used to be every week but a couple of years ago we changed it to every other weekend.  I meet with them tomorrow so that means I will be away from the computer after 2 p.m. Central time.  I'll catch up on anything on Sunday.

My ex husband pulled me into gaming but I didn't like how he didn't help me understand characters so it took awhile to get back into it.  I like how RPoL lets us game when there isn't much locally.

In reply to Bonni (msg # 48):

Bonni -- wow, the same face-to-face gaming group for 25 years? I think that you win the prize!

I had to give up face-to-face gaming some five or six years ago, and it's cool that your old group is still getting together after all these years! :)

In reply to Bonni (msg # 48):

Very impressive being able to have a face to face gaming group last 25 years.  It's been 25 years since my last face to face group(s) in college.  That's why once I found online role playing venues, I dove into them.

Well the gaming group and morphed and changed over the years.  I live in a College town and work at the University.  That means that the group has changed with people graduating and such.  I lucked out.  My Ex passed their audition and I would go with him to listen and then when I took up gaming, I was "grandfathered" in.  Yes, the 4 founding members made any new possible pass a "test".  Sort of a mini scenario to see if they could work all together and mesh well.

There is only one of the founding members is still there. That's the house that we game at.  He finished his basement so we can game there.  I've seen his oldest (daughter)graduate from college with an MBA and still see her when she comes home.  I was gaming when his youngest (son)was born.  We used to go to a local pizza place once a week and just chat.  His wife is NOT a gamer but she would watch Babylon5 with us at the pizza place.  It was a small place and they only had one tiny tv that could pick up B5.  We would eat pizza and watch it.  His son is now testing out his GM chops.  It's only those 2 and myself right now.  I feel lucky.  They pick me up and drop me off (I live across town from them) every other Saturday.  Then on the way home the son talks about what we "didn't do" or what he thought we "would have" done.  I told him welcome to being a GM.  LOL.

I always make sure to spend the 1st 15 minutes I get to their house chatting with the wife so she doesn't feel I am ignoring her.  It's been fun and now we do it more for letting the next generation take over with GMing and us old folks for the socialization.  :)