There were definitely some pretty cool moments in this game. Very impressed that you went back to read those old threads. I try to set up my games so there is no homework required to jump into games, but it's cool that you went back on your own.

We all created this game together. I certainly did not create it on my own. I just facilitated and tried to keep it moving. :)

I think the Gm is overly modest, great games ONLY exist within great frameworks, great adventure designing, along with all the skills an online GM must have, map making, policy setting, etc.  In my 15 plus years online playing, first on pbem and later on rpol, this game ranked easily within the very top five.  I don't rank among those five, it is impossible.  They come rare and far between.  That said, great GM's with great skills at storytelling can be enhanced by great players and this one had it all.  Not only good, reliable posting and long committed players, but ones that brought their own skills, added to the storyline, and kept a home life alive.  So many players focus only on the adventure and lose focus on their homes, family, friends, previous battle scars, amazing to keep those things fresh after so long a run.

In my young days of face to face playing, it was regularly done within our core group that different people would GM the same game if long running.  The GM getting  a break and taking over one of the players characters, while that player took on the GM'ing.  I would love to offer that now, and have debated it but I lack the skill of current GM and couldn't do it justice, better than ends fast than fades away.

Sorry to see it end.  Thanks to all.

I've been wanting to run an RPOL game for years, but I know I don't have time. I am pretty excited to be starting a D&D 5e game tomorrow for my wife and kid and a friend and her son. It's been 10 years since I had a group at the table. Wish me luck!

In reply to Galadel (msg # 985):

Thanks for the nod.

Having played with all of you for some time now, I think all of you have the ability and talent to run a great game, should you chose to do so. It's really not that difficult, as long as you recognize PbP is not the same as running a game around the table and need to be treated as their own medium. For example, adventures need to be condensed down to their salient points, all filler encounters eliminated, etc. For this reason, I do not recommend running published adventures.

Very cool! Please let us know how it goes.

D&D 5e seems like a really good game. I have only played it once, but enjoyed it quite a bit. I have been wanting to play it more consistently, but haven't devoted the time to make it happen.

Not sure why, but the game now shows up on a different part of my list. Very strange.

Anyway, reading a book with an interesting concept, soldiers have captured a bunch of mages with these magical hair-nets that are ancient and supposed to stop them from being able to use magic, but they are suddenly only able to use first level magic. It's more subtle than first level spells in D&D, but still, clever idea requiring them to really think about what they can and cannot do...

Just finished reading The Lies of Locke Lamora tonight. Excellent book. It had been on my to-read list for a long time and was definitely worth the wait!

For those who not familiar with it, it is a fantasy book about a group of schemers. Highly recommended.

I'll check for it at the library... whose the author? I haven't had a lot good to read lately, so I'm on the lookout for good stuff...

Scott Lynch. I picked it up at the library myself.

Excellent debut novel by a very talented writer. It sort of reminds of Thieves World in tone, but with some black humor thrown in for good measure.

My library has it, from the on-line catalogue, and two more books by him that might be sequels, Red Sea Under Red Sky, and The Republic of Thieves.

The original is checked out, but due 5/9/16. I just put it on hold.

Same here. Puzzling.

I have played some 5e and I agree it seems a fun game.

I'll try and have some sort of epilogue for Saliq up later, though open ended enough I can play him again if I get the chance. :)

I removed the system tags, i.e. (ADnD 1e) from this game, which likely caused it to move positions within your lists. It probably was one of the first games listed before, but not it will sort based on the S, rather than the parenthesis.

Would definitely be interested to see that epilogue. I kept my mini-epilogue kind of vague, but even the information I included could be false. History is only as accurate as its teller :)

Lucky! My local library only has the first book, not the sequels. The good news is the first book is pretty well self-contained. It does not end in a major cliff hanger and ties up most of the loose ends, while still leaving a few what next type questions.

Most of my favorite series have books like that, though I must admit I loved the Trilogy of the Rings, and that kept me hanging. Luckily they were all written before I started reading them, unlike a few series I have read over the years...

I don't mind series, but do tend to favor self-contained books. I don't want to have to slog through multiple books just to get to a satisfying conclusion. From my standpoint, a good book should stand on its own merit, without needing to read other books just to make sense of the story.

I do remember enjoying the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but in hindsight I actually don't think it was that great a read. From a world-building standpoint it is outstanding though.

I re-read some of it not so long ago, and it still drew me in.

Sadly self-contained books are not the norm so much any more. I go to the library and it seems every book is book three of seven, or book seven of twelve! very frustrating, especially as my library seems to have gotten rid of much of the older sci fi that I used to love.

I might need to re-read LotR again.

Another book for you to check out, self-contained, but there are others in the series, is The Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner. It is book 1 of a series, but I can't comment on the rest of the books in the series because none are available at my local library. The first book was very good though and also comes with my highest recommendations. Fantasy, but very much low fantasy.

:)

A few books you might like...

A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic #1) by V.E. Schwab

I've only read this one, but it was a self contained story that left me wondering what else would happen to the characters.

Also  Mistborn: a trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. The three are complete, but the magic is fascinating ( I would love a game based on it) and the world compelling.

I am furiously writing down all of these suggestions but have none I am brave enough to offer.  I guess that makes me a thief.

Just pass the suggestions on if you like the books, I'll consider that fair dinkum.

So, the game has ended, and yet, still has more posts per day than any of the other games I'm in at the moment!

In reply to Galadel (msg # 1004):

That's one of the problems of PbP: so hard to find a game with active posters, both in-character and out-of-character.

Speaking of games...

Rath: How did your 5e D&D session go? Very curious to hear the details :)

Me too.

And if we're going to keep this up, we will need a new OOC thread.  :)

Our first session went pretty well. Everyone wants to play again, which is a good sign. I had a blast.

We scheduled only a 2-hour session because, well, adult responsibilities and our 11-year-old friend with limited attention. Players arrived with half-made characters, so we spent some time firming up some details, leaving others for later, and dived right in without a big rules tutorial.

The characters are not highly optimized. My wife created a charismatic human barbarian with the intention to multi-class eventually as bard. My son is playing a low strength wood elf cleric of the Gods of Light. Our adult friend is a hill dwarf sorcerer, focused on fire-related spells, and our child friend is a forest gnome rogue. They survived the first encounter and learned some strategy at the same time.

We're playing the adventure included in the starter set, which is ideal for me -- enough solid framework to let me run the game easily, with plenty of room for fun improvisation and putting personal touches on the details. Gods help me, though, I have found myself running a game set in the Forgotten Realms. What have I done?!!
(At least my boy changed his mind about naming his character Drizz't. I really have no idea how he even knows about Drizz't.)

I'm pleased with the new rule set. It offers more flexibility than the old 1e system for the characters to be more active in many different ways, regardless of class, and (at least at this level) the bonuses are much easier to keep track of. Even in our group's first encounter, combat moved smoothly and briskly, even with readied actions, reactions, and opportunity attacks.

Overall a success!

In reply to Aldo Rathmus (msg # 1007):

Awesome! Glad to hear everyone enjoyed the game.

I've heard really good things about the starter adventure, Lost Mines of Phandelver.

I have always liked Forgotten Realms myself. I know some people take exception to its perceived level of high magic and the super-powerful NPCs everywhere (I don't care for either of these myself), but it can be tailored to any power level you want. I always ran it a bit toned down with regards to the amount of magic, etc. Another issue is if you have players who *know* everything about the setting and expect it to be a faithful representation of what they read in books, etc.

Still, excellent generic vanilla fantasy campaign setting!