So....what were some reactions to E bathing in blood? It was evident that some PC's immediately left the scene, so it would be interesting to post what was going on in people's minds!! This would obviously be player knowledge unless you specify that you would tell the group.

In reply to DMJW (msg # 1):

Mokellos is overjoyed at the fact that his apprentice is blessed and beloved by Lelothot, although he is secretly torn, as the rules stated that she was to do that in private. However, if Lelothot asked for it, it supercedes everything. He'll never question Lelothot's requests.

In reply to DMJW (msg # 1):

Theodoric is disgusted by it for multiple reasons. He only shares his opinions with Loranys and Remos.
1. E's public bloodbath along with Daveak's using charm powers to kill a combatant after the danger had passed signal the end of the rules that the group had adopted. Not only did the group reject the rules, they seem to be rejecting decency and honor altogether. Both actions were blatantly disrespectful.
2. E not only carried out her blood bath in front of the group, but she called on them to watch rather than avert their eyes. She craves power more than she loves her friends. Ravenloft is corrupting her.

In reply to DMJW (msg # 1):

What Ephaula did is disturbing and frightening because Theodoric fears that she will become evil just as Hawk did. BUT what Daveak did was far worse. He essentially murdered an unarmed prisoner who no longer posed a threat. Theodoric has LONG begged the group to not do this. He saw Daveak do this and he watched the group and saw no one react at all. Theodoric is frankly scared of his own group, of what they are capable of doing, and of how they are able to justify unjust actions.
He says nothing to anyone by Loranys and Remos about this.
He talks very little to anyone else at all.

In reply to DMJW (msg # 1):

Loranys maintains her neutrality.  She is less judgmental about M and E than T, and than she used to be, because she thinks M means well.  She thinks E is high right now on the power she is earning through Lelothot, but she trusts that the Nymeria she used to know is in there somewhere and that E will come around.  As far as Theo, L would follow him anywhere, so if he leaves the group she goes too.  But, she would beg him to stay and work to accomplish what we set out to do so we can get home.

In reply to Loranys (msg # 5):

Theodoric tells Loranys that he doesn't want to leave the group. But he is aware that he now lives on the fringe of the group and that the others are not interested in his Devotion to goodness and justice. Theodoric would rather die than commit an evil act. He would rather die than have a friend commit an act of evil to save him. He is frustrated that any time he expresses his views or calls someone out, he is called "Tyrant."
He does not plan to leave the group, but he must focus now on his own spiritual growth and he cannot continue to spin his tires trying to guide those who have refused to accept his guidance.
He must retreat to the fringe where he can focus on studying to take the Oath of Devotion and learn more about becoming a Paladin. Each individual in the group must deal with Ravenloft in their own way. He confides in Loranys that he is not sure that everyone in the group will succeed in keeping the evil corrupting powers of Ravenloft at bay. But there is nothing he and she can do about it but stay the course and stay true to the goodness in their own hearts and hope to be the light that others might follow if they find themselves lost in the encroaching darkness.

In reply to Theodoric (msg # 4):



Mokellos would have reacted negatively to this had he seen it. When did D murder a person?

Hallid is appalled by Daveak's use of the charm spell...especially after he has shared his story with the group as to how he was enslaved by charm and forced to kill his own mother. If not for Krysnys Hallid would leave the group. As it is he is hoping when the baby is born Krysnys will go back to Vallaki or they will somehow find a way back to farmhouse.

In reply to Mokellos (msg # 7):

It was the man that he had charmed and sent to protect Charani and to carry the weapons back to our group. He was unarmed and charmed at the end of battle. The fighting was over and we were all out of danger. He compelled the man to through himself into he pit to be torn apart by the dogs. He did this and no one said a thing about it.

If anyone from the group were to ask Theodoric about it, he would recount what he saw and say "I cannot make any sense of it and I cannot abide it. But I don't know what to do. I stand against all injustices even those committed by this group and I do not know how to stand by men and women who will senselessly throw an unarmed prisoner into a pit to be ripped apart by war dogs without pausing to consider whether the act is justified but then spend an hour agonizing over the fact that they would have to kill the war dogs. And I am repeatedly told by these same people that it is MY world view that is skewed."

Since Charani left before the bloodbath happened, just imagine Thomas the Dank Engine softly in the background.

This message was deleted by the player at 00:57, Mon 04 Apr 2016.

In reply to Theodoric (msg # 9):

I'm not sure how I missed it, maybe when I was searching the back rooms. Mokellos would also be upset  about the senseless killing of the man in the pit when it was unnecessary (and Mokellos would tell Theodoric this), although not as much as he fumes about the woman being killed, but wouldn't let Theodoric know that When he reflects upon the entire event, he feels a sense of justice for the woman by the man being thrown into the pit, rather throwing himself in. A Hammurabi Code way to die for a villanous murderer, slaver and who knows what else. The  entire establishment of people/dog killers enrages Mokellos.

In reply to Mokellos (msg # 12):

It seems that Theodoric and Mokellos are discussing the matter. Theodoric does not say this to the group, but he would say it to Mokellos in private if Mokellos approaches and asks about it.

Theodoric is starting to feel that he's fighting for a lost cause within the group. He has been railing against killing prisoners for years. He is guilt ridden over the incident. This incident (not Ephaula's bloodbath) is the reason he was despondent after the fight and left to search for Charani without alerting anyone. (There was a moment after he left that Krysnys contacted him to ask his opinion about the dogs and he replied "Don't even tell me what's going on there." This is why he was curt with her.)

"We could have turned the man over to the authorities. Or if we were justified in killing him, it should have been quick and merciful. Forcing a man to feed himself to dogs is a repugnant act. Perhaps that man committed (or at least took pleasure in watching) repugnant acts of evil, but WE are supposed to be better than that."

Theodoric shakes his head and looks away.

In reply to Theodoric (msg # 13):

You all see Mokellos and Theodoric engaged in a conversation, privately, away from others. [Private Message to Theo and DMJW]

In reply to Mokellos (msg # 14):

Mokellos and Theodoric converse for a few moments. Anyone paying attention notices the typical gesturing and nodding of a conversation taking place out of earshot. Soon Mokellos returns to the others while Theodoric steps further away, at least for the moment.


Mokellos says in a calm, even tone to the others, away from Daveak (as he is somewhere else): "Ravenloft is truly a horrible place, and while I may not be as concerned about what constitutes Evil or Good as our comrade there, I do fear this place and the probable corrupting influence it poses. Daveak may be losing sight of what we should be doing as a group, and while his deity is not my Great Old One, and I do not pretend to know much about its ways, I would imagine Obai Hai would not agree with ordering a charmed prisoner into a pit of ravenous beings."

Mokellos pauses, and clears his throat.

"I live my life by rules, namely the rules of Lelothot. Whatever she tells me is what I must obey. I was told to guide Ephaula into her embrace and I did so. Ephaula honors Lelothot through her dedication. And thus far the rules created by us mortals have not angered The Lady of Sight Without Eyes, so far as she has told me, and therefore I will continue to honor the rules we have created to the best of my ability. And I seek to loyally fight alongside you and solve the mystery of this plane of existence to the best of my ability as well. May the blessings of Lelothot be upon us all."

In reply to Theodoric (msg # 9):

Loranys to group: (I believe she overheard Theo saying "no one said anything about it"--correct me if I'm wrong and that was private to Mokellos)  Did anyone see what Theo is talking about? I was too caught up in exploring and then overwhelmed by what was happening with Ephaula to notice if he pushed him in or not.

Theo, I'm sorry you feel no one stepped in if they should have, in fact, done so.  I believe we were not fully aware that it was happening.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:31, Thu 07 Apr 2016.

In reply to Loranys (msg # 16):

Maybe we need to stick to following non-combat initiative so that we don't miss stuff like this.  I'm pretty sure all PCS were in the room (except Charani) when it happened so your characters should have seen it and hopefully they would have reacted.  I guess that we (players) should just move on from it since Dave isn't on here to play and we didn't deal with it at the table. :-/ Theodoric is still sore about it though.

In reply to Theodoric (msg # 17):

I have to do a better job of the non-combat initiate order because I really like it! I think that it is so important to have people say what they are doing and one of the issues for me at the table was the fact that once the combat was over everyone started saying all these things that they were doing. Honestly...I know it slows the game down some, but I think we should use that initiative in all situations non-combat. What do you guys think? That way there is not something going on that any of us "miss"!

In reply to DMJW (msg # 18):

I agree. It is too hard to follow... Slower, probably, but more thorough and we won't miss things in the chaos!

In reply to Theodoric (msg # 17):

In all honesty, KB registered it and K was thoroughly appalled but majorly sidetracked by the bloodbath and her brain is still reeling.

In reply to DMJW (msg # 1):

K is thoroughly upset by it. She has tried and even tried again AFTER the bloodbath to be understanding of both M and E. She mentioned taking body parts from those ravens, for example, not that she wants to see it, but thinking more like if she knows what is happening, she can brace herself and/or remove herself from seeing it. She loves Ephaula, even though she sees that she is less and less Nymeria than she claims to still be, but this definitely crossed a line for her when she was talking to E about the blood and E straight up called her attention to the act.

In reply to Theodoric (msg # 17):

Erin refused to address it so poorly roleplayed that. Sorry. It wasn't a question of initiative. But if that makes it easier, sounds good to me!

In reply to Loranys (msg # 22):

I do think using non-combat initiative will improve all of our role-playing.
I don't think we want to address another players role-playing head on, but we do it within the game. We players all occasionally  make mistakes in how we play our characters... which is really interesting because it results in our characters making mistakes, sometimes big ones. And those mistakes give rise to really great opportunities for role-playing if we are willing to take them.
I should have had Theodoric object immediately rather then have him run out on the group. You guys know I'm usually willing to have theo call anyone out on anything he disagrees with. I went with something different  (theo leaving the group) but it didn't really help because the other PCS didn't know why he left and why he didn't want to talk to anyone.
I think non-combat initiative would have helped with that. I don't mind that it will slow down game play if it gives us all an opportunity for better role playing.

In reply to Theodoric (msg # 23):

Agreed, if it slows it down that's OK. Especially if it leads to deeper role playing.

Furthermore, this forum can be used for deeper introspective into why characters felt/acted/did what they did, and can be used to deeper understand motives and reactions. That's one of the advantages of our group. As a DM myself, having this kind of dedication to interpersonal development and role-playing is amazing. I have 12 players, but only about half would do something like this well. To have all of us but one of us be willing to do this, it is really fun and helpful, and develops our characters deeper. We should embrace it and continue to let it grow and develop, it is truly a unique experience.

Unfortunately, both Chris (recently) and I (When I was Panian), learned firsthand that D will not react well to in game confrontation. It simply won't happen. We are such good role-players that we can kind of skirt that, actually. But it would be nice if he were to respond is a Druid and play up these instances.

It is interesting to study the dynamic of this group, and we really do so in this kind of setting.

I admittedly check this forum 3 or 4 times a day. haha! Thanks DMJW!