At the very least, the past few turns, you would have had the opportunity to hear the two men speaking at the bottom.  Over to your judgement as to how well you would be able to process what they are doing, or if you are so engrossed in the fight that you don't recognize them being behind you at all.

And Gustav, you are correct, the rope is coiled up at the top.  Just dropping Rolf would be your fastest way to the top, and the 2 yard drop wouldn't be an issue to conduct safely where you are.

Wow that was super-exciting!

Two clarifications please:
   a) Is Lisa's suckler effectively done for?
   b) Would Minor Healing significantly help Sajaa?

Yes.  He is unconscious and not in a position to bother you in the near future.


This one is much harder to tell and has some more specifics to deal with.  There's a distinct possibility that a maxed out minor healing will bring her to or above 1/3 HP, allowing her a full move/dodge.  However, if you are hoping to heal the arm, it likely won't be enough there.  There are also a few additional steps required per the rules, like a HT roll to see how long the injury lasts, so even if you healed her to full, it might not make a difference there.

In reply to Raddek (msg # 549):

Oops, I meant buckler (shield). Is that destroyed?

Oh, no.  The HP left is noted on your character sheet.  It’s mostly still in tact.

If she chose too, would Sajaa be able to help move Terri?
Or maybe using rope around Terri and we both pull on it?

Sajaa can definitely help, and you could also use rope.  However, I think your biggest problem is time, so scrounging around in a backpack for rope might not make sense.

I see..
quick query - I know one of our casters 9Gustav from memory) is really tired and would walk very slowly but under the effect of a magical Fly would he not fly at a faster rate?
Also, if the two flyers picked up Terri, would they have a decent (Flying) movement rate?

Raddek,

How much time does my fly have left?

Also, as Lisa mentioned if I'm flying at 6 does that override the defense penalty one gets due to exhaustion?  Maybe it might as it's the magic that's moving me and not my tired legs.  :)

In any event Rolf is going to use using retreating parry once his sword is drawn, but he could have to try make more dodges as things go.

I'll break this down to try and answer everything completely (I feel like yes or no answers may cloud the issue a little).



Absolutely yes.  The spell flight is giving a lot of benefits to both Gustav and Rolf right now.  Despite the fact that Rolf is 1/2 move and dodge, he still flies at 6 yards per second (and I see no reason that he can't fly backwards at the same rate).  Gustav flies at 8 yards per second with no changes to his normal move or dodge (differences in speed due to encumbrance level, not fatigue).


Probably.  I would have to do the math involved, but I would suspect that is the case.

There are lots of factors to consider though -

First and foremost of which is that Rolf is exhausted due to fatigue, and his ST is halved.  While I'm ruling that it doesn't change his encumbrance level for things that he is already carrying, it definitely will affect his ability to try and pick up and hold a person.  Again, more math for basic lift, etc. that I just don't plan on going through unless someone says they are doing it.

Second of which is time.  Both of the men could fly backwards out of the cave without too much trouble, but in order to pick up Terri, they would need to 1. turn around and 2. Grapple Terri before flying back down.  Running away is always dicey in hand to hand combat and the extra 1 second and -2/-4 to defense may be more than enough to dissuade either or both of them.

Not to say that I think this is a bad idea - I just want to convey that you have run out of easy choices.  There is risk/reward everywhere and it is up to you guys as players to determine if it's worth it...

... unless you fail a sense of duty roll (if you have it).  Then you have to help Terri.

This message was deleted by the player at 19:30, Mon 05 Dec 2022.

Gustav asked IC how much longer on the flight spell.  While I doubt the character would have much of an idea, I despise the thought of having admin cause life or death issues.

Therefore, I'll let you know that you have probably around 30seconds left (I haven't done the math yet, and I'm hoping I won't have to).

Well, Sajaa really did it THIS time!

Sorry for dragging the party into this potential TPK and then running away like a wimp.

I will hold off posting while I watch the battle unfold and while Sajaa flees behind the scenes.

Good luck! And sorry! :(

It happens in real life too. Kudos for playing your character well.

Concur.  I think you've done a great job of role play, this fight was not a foregone conclusion by any stretch, and my bad-guy skewed dice rolling has not helped you guys by any stretch.  Kudos to everybody, and we'll see how things turn?  :/

Those of you that have played with me for a while now know that I enjoy noir themes where the good guys are flawed, the bad guys seem unbeatable, and accurately role playing “good” qualities can lead to disastrously bad outcomes.

There have been several times in the past where I’ve either tricked or coaxed the good guys into morally dubious actions or else put them into squeamish spots (for example tricking Rondald into shooting Munt who was technically a good guy despite his deformity, and introducing the blacksword, although admittedly that last one fell flat), but I feel like the last round of threads stepped things up to another level.

I’m looking for feedback if this is about right or if I should step things back a little.  I’ll give a few examples so that everyone is clear what I’m talking about:

In Judocs thread, the intro essentially set him up to think the “bad guys” were pirates.  What followed was a whole thread where Judoc fought tooth and nail against against abolitionists because he thought he couldn’t progress the thread without getting back the slaves that were power to the boat.

My favorite though was Sajaa’s attempt to negotiate with Norla that was instantly doomed to failure, not because she was a good guy and Norla was bad, but because Sajaa was Wazifi and Norla was a huge racist.

Anyone have any issues with these topics or the game play on a personal level?  As things are going, both of these issues (slavery and racism) are on a collision course to be dominating themes, simply based on the NPCs that I have chosen to play a part.

I, for one wouldn't want you to change a thing in your approach to running the themes and NPC's. Its this very reason you discuss above that sets your game above all others.
Keep doing what you're doing!



I have zero issues with it. I like reality even in fantasy games. And issues like racism and misogny and stuff like that is just a slice of life. That said, if my awkward portrayal of Sajaa's continual references to Allah jar anyone, I can tone it down. She's certainly a heavily flawed Muslim who seems to pick and choose which of His Rules she want to follow on a given day, and then just deals with it through self-loathing. lol

No Raddek, this is an adult themed game, not for porno stuff, but for real life situations and I would much prefer you keep doing your thing.

I am on the same page.

As most of you know I have struggled with free time to game and I'm thrilled that I figured out how to have enough time to play Finn.  What I'm getting at is I'm blind when it comes to the other stories.  That said don't change a thing.   I'm not offended by anything I've seen or heard about.

What I love most about PBP gaming is the storytelling.  The non mundane, non boring parts of life.  That's not only good guys fighting an evil force, but also the problem solving they must do and the sometimes awkward and uncomfortable situations they get put it.  I concur with Sajaa, these themes are a part of life and its interesting to see how the characters navigate them.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:44, Thu 22 Dec 2022.

I love the morally grey aspects you've been exploring in this game, Judoc. Really, it goes back to the prologue, where the initial conflict is not over good vs. evil but over power and threats to that power. Another great example is the Templar students being used as executioners for political enemies and giving me as the player the choice to either do what I'm told or to consider my actions and their consequences. You're not giving us clearly good and evil choices. Instead, you're asking us to maybe engage in critical thinking and consider what our characters' ethics might be. As Finn and Sajaa have said, this rings true with what reality is, and I'm enjoying figuring out where Judoc stands in these situations.

Sajaa, you're a terrific roleplayer. Sajaa's navigation of her beliefs and ethics make her a three-dimensional character, not just a skilled swordswoman from a Muslim background.

I would change nothing. I am not the gifted player others are, Gustav tends to be simple and straight foreward. It gets him in spots, like now, where things look rather grim. That also can be real life.  Keep it up as life permits Raddek.

No issues at all, in fact I enjoy it quite a bit.

Magnus's concept inherently comes with this sort of challenge, as we discussed way back during his creation, and see see no reason to sugarcoat things now.:)

I think sensitive topics like slavery and racism are fine, but there is a limit in my opinion.  Such things as rape and torture are a hard line I think.  General abuse can be touchy too.

Along the lines of slavery I would suggest exploring the caste system.  Quite popular in some parts of the world, but a very bad way to run a society in my opinion.

I don’t have any plans to involve either of those at the moment.

Some of this is saved by the fact that I’m not running an adult game, so any sort of IC sex play at all is against the terms of use.  While I can gesture at things that happened in “the past” or “behind the curtain” roleplaying it just isn’t what this game is about.

Side note - Runt is off limits in this subject entirely simply due to TOU.

Torture I’ve found just doesn’t work that well in PbP.  It’s a much likelier possibility to have as part of the behind the scenes action, but it’s just not fun to role play.

In reply to Raddek (msg # 569):

100% agree. You've got it just right. The sense of menace, of clear and present dange, is something that I felt, really felt. Like an emotional impact. Only a handful of games have done that and none as forcefully as this. It was amazing and I so enjoyed it. Can't wait until you can do more. Thank you!!

Nod to Finn.  :)

Late to the game, here. But I actually think the best kind of character developments are the ones that aren't so clear cut with 'good' or 'bad' outcomes. I think dropping characters into a real world where bad things can and do happen - to whatever degree - generally makes for a more entertaining game.

Good things happen, but bad things also happen and when decisions can also have abhorrent consequences there's just an added investment in everything. I think it's fair to say that most characters/people in Yrth would make plenty of morally questionable decisions, and mostly be out for themselves, so having that become a reality for the players is really nice.


Loved the game. Very much enjoy moral grey areas - like dark themes with dark emotions especially when they play off the better parts of each character's personality