Our OOC chat continues here.

It's just you. I've got a 4e game that I've been running for 8 years now. That's long :-)

Is 4e hard to run on RPOL? How do you handle the grid?

I always do maps using Google Draw. Works pretty well overall if you have a map from a source that you can copy-paste in.

How many more coffins are left?

There are two coffins left.

If I'm not mistaken, Branch 'A' is the entrance to the tombs. There was a door^* at 'J' which Vsaati disarmed, but was unable to pick. Maybe enough time has passed for another attempt. We checked for secret doors, but found none. I'm unaware that we've found a key in any other part of the tombs, correct me if I'm wrong.

^* link to a message in this game

Though Hamburg wasn't there, Albricht suggested asking the three orders in the city if perhaps any of them had a key...

Maybe if we open the sealed doors we can find a key. Also, there was some weird cold in the main chamber we never figured out.



This message was last edited by the player at 08:24, Mon 29 Mar 2021.

Yeah, branch "A" is the entrance to the crypt complex.

It sounds like we should take E for now then. Anybody disagree?

Kinda, yes :-) What was at the end of corridor B, again?

The locked door.

I will be offline Friday and possibly Saturday. Next substantial update from me may be as late as Sunday.

Waiting to see if Hamburg's idea plays out.

Did Hamburg get anything out of the inscriptions?

Nope.  His comprehend languages spell was done quite a while ago.

FYI, this week might be kinda intense in RL, so I may only be able to update once or twice this week.

I'm imagining the other vaults will be the same, and it might be very bad to break all the seals only to find out we still need a crowbar. Narratively, I think we'd best find a sword or something to pry with. My character doesn't know this, but there are lots of dead bodies with weapons on upper levels...

FYI: Another brutal week, maybe two brutal weeks, for me. This particular certification exam has a lot more material to prepare than I expected. I may only be checking in once or twice this week; we'll have to see.

FYI, I'm spending a net of 26 hours on the road Monday night through Wednesday night, so if I'm not able to contribute on Monday, I won't until Thursday.

I'd propose camping to recover languages spell before we give up on this tomb, but won't have time to IC until tomorrow night... worth it?

I'm happy to rest up if people need it.

I'll be out camping this coming Friday, the 14th, through Monday, the 17th.  I might be able to update Friday morning.

Agreed, let's rest. Suggestions on where we hole up?

Any problem with our current room?

Creepy undead curses?

Could I ask for a refresh on the map?

Crazy week altogether. Nearing the end of the gauntlet. Contributions from me on Monday at earliest.

Busy day today--contribution from me tomorrow.

I believe there is still more dungeon to explore, or have we grown tired of the crawl? I'm happy to continue delving deeper, but I'm also open to whatever. A Cynidecian in the outside world might be a lot of fun!

There can definitely be more dungeon to explore, but we're kind of hamstringing ourselves if we don't pop back up to the surface and find a real city.  There aren't the resources here to do much with the loot.

We never entirely decided where to go from here, but I thought that the majority of the group preferred the idea of me continuing from this point with more material.  I had planned to have us go to the surface fairly shortly here and move on to another leg in the party's adventures, but if you all want to stay down here, I have material for that as well.

I'd prefer to move on to adventure somewhere else in the world. It seems that there's nothing more here except a few rooms we've missed along the way.

Seconding Elboc's idea. We have soooo much money and nowhere to spend it. We need some kind of deus ex machina to get us out of the desert.

I know an AD&D module that I'd run if I were you, but I'm good with whatever you're willing to run :-)

It seems to me that there's at least one, maybe two levels unexplored... one where you all were coming up the stairs from to meet Hamburg, and that level he was on before we all left back up to 5th? level?  Anyway, it's been years of real time underground, I'm happy to try a trek across the desert or something else...

Albricht always had dreams of somehow pumping the water from the lake up to the surface and selling it... money begets money...

*sniffle*

Did we tally anywhere how many undead we actually destroyed?

I'm going to take from the silence that we don't know. I will do a tally myself in the next day or so and then post something IC.

More like "and so." End of the week got busy. More from me tomorrow.

Graduation party! Oldest son's party, prep today and party tomorrow. Contribution from me on Sunday.

Checking my Basic edition weights: 100 coins = 1 lb, correct?

Unfortunately I think you're off by a digit ol'boy...



By my calculations, we've got 49,417 coins. That's not counting jewelry and gems.

One note is that the Usamigarans only owed 17,500gp, Albricht had his share converted into his Bolt of Returning +3... but since the priest was on shrooms when he paid the party, it's quite possible he overpaid. ;-)

I can see the next segment of the campaign being about extracting and trying to keep all this loot! We're filthy rich... if we can ever get it somewhere to spend it!

We got here by way of a lost caravan... now we need a caravan to get it all out!

Too bad Albricht isn't around to manage it all! I suppose we could go in search of him... who knows, he may not be dead, and if he is, perhaps we could find a way to resurrect him!

@DM - Are we up-to-date on our XP?
This message was last edited by the player at 05:18, Mon 28 June 2021.

Please see "Rules and Rulings", post #5 (actual coins are 1/50th of a pound):

link to a message in this game

------

All XP has been distributed.

Well, then, by golly, let's buy a flock of goats!

DM, that's a great question--should we make something up, or can you give us more details about where we were going?

Also, what world are we going to use here? Mystara?

World?  Frankly, I hadn't considered doing much more than sketching some intervening locations on your way to the next module.  I'm honestly not deeply familiar with the official B/X and BECMI campaign settings, and have typically just made it up as I went along.

West sounds like a great direction.  Your caravan was traveling to the west when you were separated from it.

Awesome!

Holiday here--will update tonight if my family gives me time, otherwise tomorrow.

Unexpected stuff going down in RL combined with an expected Saturday all day-Sunday event--won't be able to contribute until Sunday or Monday.

Firstly, I didn't realize that Sherborne was still here. I would love it if you would stick around, Sherborne. Having two clerics is way better than one. What could we do to make this more fun?

I thought about this a bit and really it's not anything anyone has done or play style.  The game has been very well run and played.  It's just such a slow pace it's hard for me to have a sense of immersion.  I do appreciate your asking though. :^)

FYI, will be offline Sunday and Monday. Back into the fray Tuesday.

Anyone want to do the quick math on how many mules and such we'll need? If not, I'll be able to do the math probably Friday.

Sorry to see you go Sherborne, it was good gaming with you.

I'm really sorry for having been awol, I don't usually ghost like I have been. I've been very ill and dealing with difficult issues with work and with my mother undergoing cancer treatment. I'm hoping to get back to the game soon. Sorry for contributing to the slow pace due to my lack of posting.

Personal health and family are important, as it turns out.  It's a great point of perspective for those of us who have exited our teen years.  Thanks for letting us know, and take the time that you need, Hamburg.

Take care of yourself.  A point of clarification, I don't blame anyone for the slow pace, that's the nature of forum games.  This game has actually moved along relatively fast compared to a lot of forum games.  It's just me.  I have been playing in discord more and some on roll20.

Sorry to lose you, Sherborne. It's been great.

And Hamburg, I'm sorry for the things you're going through. Don't worry about not posting frequently; take all the time you need.

Wow, really sorry to hear about your challenges, Hamburg. Hang in there--thoughts & prayers!

I'm leaning toward buying eight camels with a full kit for each, depending on how much they can carry.

DM, can you please add to your rulings how much weight camels and mules carry respectively?
This message was last edited by the player at 13:47, Fri 13 Aug 2021.

OOC:
They should be able to carry 300 to 400 pounds in cargo each without slowing them.  Please remember that water is roughly eight pounds per gallon, when accounting for any that you might carry with you.

Are we going to seek out a bag of holding? That's got to be easier than buying up half the livestock in town.

This town of of middling town size, but nowhere near the size of a city you would need to find magical items of any significance for sale.

How much wait do we need to carry in terms of treasure?

I'm also thinking that hiring some drovers to help with looking after the camels might be useful.

At 50 coins per pound, 400 pounds of gold is 20k GP.  I don't have the exact total on your take right here, but it shouldn't take many pack animals to carry all of your treasure.

How much weight were the goats able to carry again?

I'd say that the average goat can carry about 50 pounds, with pack varieties (which you don't have) able to push up to about 100 pounds.

So, we'll buy six camels, leaving some room for food & water.

Anyone disagree?

That sounds fine. How about drovers or guards too?

DM, what do we have to do to hire some guards?

The going rate for guards (leather, bow, sword) is 5gp per month, and several are available for hire here.  Drovers are 2gp per month, and also available.  Both expect to be mounted, and will charge 2gp each per month extra if forced to walk.

It sounds like we should get everyone available and buy them horses. Do you agree?

Works for me!

Do you want horses, donkeys, or camels?  Give me a count for the PCs, a count for the baggage, and a count for the drovers and guards.  I'll also need to know how many drovers and how many guards you intend to bring with you.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:59, Tue 24 Aug 2021.

A count of what for the PCs? What do you want us to count for the baggage--the number of bags?

And I don't understand the difference between "a count for the drovers and guards" and the number we mean to bring with us. Why would we not bring all of the drovers and guards that we're hiring with us?

Cool.  I didn't catch how many drovers and guards are you bringing with you.  All I have on that front, loosely, is what you said a bit back, Roak:



Also, I have an emergency trip to take my wife to the airport tomorrow, disgustingly early.  There likely won't be an update for a couple of days.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:31, Wed 25 Aug 2021.

Yikes! Hope everything goes okay.

So, what you're asking is for a tally of what we're actually buying, I think. I'll see if I can get an actual list together, unless Elboc beats me to it :-)

I think we are going for 6 camels and all of the guards and drovers we can, along with mounts for the humans.

You probably only need five mounts for the party directly.  Vsaati is leaving the group as well.  I've been running the character as an NPC for months now.  The player left quite a while back.

You can pick up six guards and four drovers here in town.  That will bring the number of mounts to fifteen.

Does that sound right to you?

That's fine by me.

What I've got (correct me if I'm wrong, assuming a two week journey):

5 camels for PCs plus saddles and tack (6 x (100gp + 25gp) = 625gp)
6 guards (6 x 5gp per month = 30gp)
4 drovers (4 x 2gp per month = 8gp)
6 horses and tack for guards (6 x (75gp + 25gp) = 600gp)
4 horses and tack for drovers (4 x (75gp + 25gp) = 400gp)

Total 1663gp, without food, fodder, or water.

The drovers know where to find oases, here and there, so you'll only need an extra 16 waterskins per horse (2 gallons per day for two days, quantity pulled out of my ass) for those days when you can't reach one.  The camels will be fine on these days.  All 15 humans will need two waterskins per day, and it can be up to two days between oases (60 waterskins).

220 waterskins (55 gallons) will run you and additional 220gp.

Four 15 gallon barrels will cost a total of 8gp, and are a much better deal.

2 weeks of iron rations at 30gp per person per week will cost 450gp.

Four large tents will cost 30gp each, totaling 120gp.

Grand total (1663 + 8 + 450 + 120) = 2131gp

The area is arid, but not without grazing, which the drovers know how to get to, so you won't need to deal with feed.

DM, thank you so much for managing all the math there. At the rate my week and weekend are going, it would have taken me a while to sit down and figure that out.

That sounds perfect--we'll buy that exactly as described. Elboc, agree?

Yes, that sounds fine. Are we down to just two players now?

Both Hamburg (last posted 10 August) and Lanliss (last posted 14 July) are still actively part of the group.  They both logged in yesterday, but that might be for RPOL generally, and I don't have any information regarding whether or not they read any of the messages here.

Yes I'm reading. I just haven't had much to say. Though perhaps it is time I moved on.

I'd prefer if you didn't, Lanliss, because that would functionally nerf the party. We'd have to start recruiting new players at that point.

I'm here, read, acknowledged, agreed.

I'll be back after the 8th. Taking my family to visit my mom before she starts chemo therapy. Sorry to be absent lately. I'm still around for the long haul, just getting a few things RL in order.

Be safe on your trip, and enjoy your family while you've got them, Hamburg.

Also, I can NPC Vsaati, so that the group still has a thief, if you guys would like.  We've had a strange history with the character.  I believe that there have been not less than three different people playing her, and there might have been a fourth.  I haven't kept track.

Got home, will post tonight.

We are ready to move long, DM!

Does the glinting seem to be coming from the hills or from the path itself?

It looks to be coming from the hills.

Turned out I was under the weather this weekend; will be able to contribute more tomorrow.

Will post late tonight, travelling.

Hamburg, I just have to say, that was a brilliant post.

Seconded.  That's probably the best use of that spell I've ever seen.

/me bows humbly...

I aim to please. ;-)

RL will be busy for me today; will contribute tomorrow instead of today.

General goal would be to convert our entire remaining fortune into 100 gp gems, I would think. What would that reduce the weight of our hoard to?

I can figure out the math on Wednesday if nobody can do bit before then.

That's still around 500 gems... 'sides a dude's gotta have a little "walkin' around money"... Also Hamburg's basically broke.

500 gems priced at around 100gp would weigh less than ten pounds.

Bear in mind that merchants might not be able to make change for such large denominations, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to keep some gold, copper, and silver for day-to-day transactions.

Makes sense. So maybe we split up and carry 200 gp each in coins and the rest in gems. What do you guys think?

Sounds like a good plan to me.

Gotta have a little jinglin' in a dude's pocket...

When you guys have totals, let me know.  If you have any purchases you'd like to make, aside from what you've already told me about, let me know about them as well.

When we're ready, we can move on to the next bit of action.

Does anyone know if halflings can wear platemail armor?

If so, can we find a suit of such in this city?

Yes, halflings can wear plate mail armor.  Yes, appropriately sized armor can be found in the city.

Roak would like to buy plate-mail, then, and sell his chain-mail!! :-)

FYI, this week might be rough in terms of posting. If I don't post or check in for a day, don't panic; my presence will likely be uneven.

Is anyone else interested in buying or selling?  If not, once I get totals of what you're converting, we can start in on the next leg of the adventure.

No, I'm happy with just converting our coins to gems.

Any useful, fun, interesting items in town? Magical or otherwise? Some horses or suchlike might be useful...

Horses are readily available, along with tack.  The land around here is somewhat arid still, but farming is happening near bodies of water, and horses and other ruminants can be grazed (with lots of rotation from place to place) on the tough local scrub.

Several local vendors sell talismans of various sorts, some for protection, some for fertility (pro or con), some for love, some for luck, and so on.  Prices tend to run the range, from a handful of coppers, to several pieces of gold.

The locals armorers favor layered styles, and weapon smiths put graceful curves in many blades.  Local bowyers have a short, laminated style which they seem to prefer, but longer straight bowstaves can easily be found as well.

Cool :-)

Week was worse than expected--busy at work and sick with a cold. I should be contributing over the weekend.

Should I just mark off the money for the platemail, then? And can we sell the chainmail--if so, for how much?
This message was last edited by the player at 18:29, Fri 05 Nov 2021.

Hamburg could certainly use a talisman of the protective sort!

Yes, just mark off the cost of the platemail armor, and you can sell your chainmail for half cost.

Hamburg has several options for protective talismans:
4cp - "It's real good, Mister! It will keep you safe from everything!" (try and see!)
8sp - "This will protect you against the bites and stings of insects, spiders, and other small creatures, possibly even small snakes, but I wouldn't push it past that." (mostly flavor, but might come in handy)
1gp, 4sp - "This will keep rot and decay from your food as you travel." (flavor)
3gp - "This will keep your blades from being nicked or damaged under normal usage, butt don't try smashing them on rocks." (flavor)
9gp - "This can protect you from getting punched or kicked, but will crumble away the first time it is used." (negates up to 10 HP of damage from a non-weapon attack, once, then crumbles away)
27gp - "This can help protect you against the spells of evils wizards, a couple of times, somewhat." (+1 on saving throws versus spells, three times, then crumbles away)

Are we allowed to share spell books in this game? The Basic player's book says:

That's for NPCs, as far as I'm concerned.  PCs can do what they want with their spellbooks.

How are we going to handle Albricht's share of the treasure? Are we going to give Hamburg a share or is his ignorance of money and how it works my burden to bear? ;-) He's currently down to 8gp.

I vote for giving Hamburg Albricht's share.

Yes, let Hamburg have Albricht's share.

Graci!

*sniffle*

Elboc, you good with moving on to the next town?

Yes, I think we're done here. Though what is our plan now? We seem to have our treasure in a portable form, so what next? Set ourselves up as kings?

Find a bigger city, I say. :-)

I'll be away visiting friends, starting Thursday, in the morning, and I won't be back until fairly late on Monday.  Other than some posting tomorrow, don't expect anything more from me until Tuesday next week.

Have fun! Will respond IC and stimulate some conversation or a decision by the time you get back.

Life is uncooperative today; more contributions from me tomorrow or Friday at worst.

I like the map.

Thanks.  Dungeon Painter Studio helps a lot with this, and the downloadable packs of free artwork are awesome.

My father-in-law died this morning.  My posts may be sporadic to non-existent for a few days.

Very sorry for your loss, man. Take your time.

Sorry to hear that DM. Take care of things, we're good here.

Mondays have been star-crossed lately. Unlikely that I'll be able to contribute today, look for more from me Tuesday.

I'm posting on a Monday! Woohoo!

My posting will be spotty this week, though--not online tomorrow, probably online Wednesday, probably not online Thursday, iffy for Friday.

It looks like we've lost Lanliss.  No posts from the player since the 5th of October.  Would one of you like to take the character over, or should I put out an advertisement for another player?

I can’t take him over.

Things got busier than expected going into Christmas for me, so next posts from me on Christmas Day proper, most likely. Happy Holidays to you all, and for those who do Christmas, Merry Christmas!

I'm spread pretty thinly right now, I'd better not either.

I'd rather stick to one character.

Old Lanliss has returned!

And when I mean old, I mean old...I'm the original Lanliss, from when the game started! Applied for the game and found a lot looked familiar, the cast, the character description...and then it hit me - I played this game, this was my character! Forgotten all about it over the years but I've never gone anywhere, still playing away on RPol.

Here's to getting back into it.

Welcome back! Glad to have you!

btw, I was Albricht's second player...
This message was last edited by the player at 18:28, Wed 12 Jan 2022.

Yes, welcome back!

Welcome back old Lanliss. I was one of the original players, with the now-dead Silverglade.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:24, Wed 12 Jan 2022.

I also changed shape--I picked up Roak after Plathstream died, who died after Greyband. :-)

So...everybody is still here, but wearing a different guise? Welcome to D&D! :)

Indeed :-)

DM, we're basically around M5 on the map, right, currently? link to a message in this game

Yes.  That's it exactly.

Busy weekend; I'll be able to contribute more tomorrow.

Busy couple of days; I'll be able to contribute more Wednesday.

Sorry for my lack of response for the last several days, guys.  I'm on day 5 of a bout with COVID.

Hope you feel better soon!

Work is going to be nuts the next two days; I will likely not update again 'til Wednesday.

Folks, it's going to be one of "those weeks." Weekend trip coming up Thursday-Sunday which compresses my work week Monday-Wednesday.

I will be able to check in only every few days but will post when able; I just won't be able to post a lot.

I will be offline Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; my substantial posts will be Thursday and Sunday-Monday.

My posting will be spotty this week due to a business trip and a subsequent busy weekend.

This will be another busy week. I will be in my office at work most of the week, which will mean a lot fewer opportunities to post. Expect one more contribution from me before the weekend, not sure which day.

Sorry, guys.  I had a busy week and weekend.  I hope to update the map later today or sometime tomorrow.

No worries. I know how being busy is!

Not a problem. I've been pretty slow posting lately. I always have high hopes, but somehow... uh... life finds a way... (to hinder me)

Contributions from me tomorrow!

Hey guys, my wife was in a bad rollover, is in ICU. She's stable. My posting will be chaotic for next few weeks. Sorry, please bear with me. I hate posting from the sturdip smatrphon

Take the time you need.  Family is more important than games.

Yikes! Very sorry to hear about it--thoughts & prayers as she recovers.

Sorry to hear that Hamburg. I hope she gets better quickly. Don't worry about this game - we'll be here when you come back.

That is an absolute nightmare, best wishes Hamburg.

I hurt my back doing yard work, as seems to be usual for me.  I'll try to update when sitting down doesn't hurt so much.

Sorry, guys.

No worries. Going to be a busy week for me anyhow--will chime in when able!

Next contribution from me Sunday; I should have a pretty chill day, all things considered, for once. This week has been hectic!

Hey gang, my wife's almost done with some rehab work, should be home tomorrow night. Miraculous that she lived, and miraculous is her recovery. Power of prayer. Anyway, I hope to be more active here again by the weekend.

That's super good to hear!  Hope to see you back here soon, and I'm very thankful that, as bad as this sounded, she's doing as well as she is.

Great news Hamburg, here's to a speedy recovery.

Glad to hear that things are going well. I hope she makes a full and speedy recovery.

Great to hear! Thanks for the update!

Next contribution from me over the weekend--busy times.

How many of us are currently in the room, DM?

From the interactions I've seen, everyone but Roak would have to be in the room, from what has been posted.  Roak opened the door to the room, but it's not clear if he entered.  If he didn't, he's *just* outside of it, and can enter and act this round if you would like.

My previous post mentioned firing my wand at the lion-head, so I'm sticking with that.

I tried to describe him taking the hit from the wand and shaking it off (he made the saving throw), but it looks like I did a rather poor job of it.  Regardless, that was before I rolled for initiative.  You've still got an action to take.

Admittedly, if you wanted, you could hit him with the wand again.

@DM - is this dude a "living" entity, or just an animated suit of armor? Or can we tell?

I'll have time to IC tonight, Monday craziness.

He appears to be living, as far as you can tell, and both Elboc and Roak drew blood.

I will be largely unable to post Monday-Wednesday this week. Next contribution from me on Thursday!

Happy Friday the 13th, everyone!

Indeed. It was one of those days too. Everything that could go wrong... DID!

This message was deleted by the player at 16:26, Mon 30 May 2022.

This message was deleted by the player at 16:26, Mon 30 May 2022.

Another busy week--main posting days for me this week will be Thursday and Friday.

In an effort to break up Roak's AFK posts...

I'm heading off on my holidays during the night, so I'll be AFK for the next two weeks.

Thanks for the heads-up.  I hope you have a good time.

Roak is going to wait to see what happens with Voran's turn attempt before he does anything.

So, DM, what kind of roll is it to open the safe?

An open locks check from a thief.

I'm away from my book--is there a limit on the number of times a day a cleric can Turn Undead?

No.  You can do it once per round.

I'll be out camping until Thursday, nestled in the land between three volcanoes (Mt. Rainier, Mt. Baker, and Mt. Saint Helens).  I'm hoping I'll be able to see all three of them from the peak near the camp site.

Cool! Have fun!

That sounds absolutely awesome.

Hey gang,

I just stopped in after what's become my longest break from RPOL in all the years I've been here. My wife's been having some increasingly serious problems with her health, and I'm going to have to take an extended break from the game. I'm sorry for not saying something sooner, but I thought I could hang on. So if DM allows and you are all of agreement, I'd like to mothball Hamburg for a couple of months or so until I can get back here.

Best of luck to all...

Sorry to hear about your wife. I'm more than happy for Hamburg to be mothballed until you can return.

I hope things start going better for you soon.

Aye, very sorry to hear about your challenges. We'll be here when you get back!

Home and family are more important than games with strangers.  I'll be glad to put Hamburg on hold (or NPC him) until you get back.  Take the time you need.

Best wishes, Hamburg. I've heard of (and had) more challenges in the last couple of years than I care for.

Elboc and Roak/Elder Voran:

It looks like the action is up to you two at this point.  Lanliss last logged in on the 5th of this month, and has been fairly sporadic for a while, and Hamburg is out as well.

I've still got Sherborne and Vsaati's sheets, after their players departed, and could reintroduce them as NPCs, if you'd like to bulk up the group again.

I can even NPC Hamburg until his real-life difficulties resolve themselves.

What would you guys like to do from here?

NPCing Hamburg for now makes sense. Hopefully we won't get his character killed before the player returns.

I think our plan is to shoot arrows at the trees until they're dead. Roak, are you in agreement with that?

Yep, that's the plan. The party will lob missile fire at the trees until they stop being a threat or until we run out of ammo :-)

Sorry, really busy summer here, just back from a weekend in Prague!

I was at a work conference all week and the conference was as busy as advertised. I will be able to contribute over the weekend for Roak & Voran.

Roak posted in another game that he hopes to be able to send in an update either tonight or tomorrow.

Yep! Next contribution from me Friday, after today's posts.

Posting update: this week I will be able to contribute substantially on Wednesday, Friday and once over the weekend.

Sorry for the short post.  I'm out camping until Thursday.

Enjoy!

This week, looks like posting days are today, Wednesday, probably Friday and a bit over the weekend.

Folks, things are going to get busy/hard for posting for a bit. I hope to update here this weekend, though this weekend is coming out compressed for time. This coming week, I'm traveling for work Monday-Thursday, which may mean a chance to post once or twice in there but which also may mean no chances to post. Friday will be crazy due to getting back to the office for work, and then the weekend is always a crapshoot. Let's see how this goes.

Next post from me over the weekend. Been crazy.

So Roak/Elder Voran's player is getting snowed with work, and Hamburg's player is on indefinite hiatus.

Elboc and Lanliss, how do you guys feel about continuing on?  I can NPC those three and give you the helm until they show back up.  I can put the game on hold until then.  I can advertise for more players.

Alternately, we could call it quits here.

I don't really want to stop the game, but posting has gotten really slow, and I want to make sure that you're still interested in the game, and at the rate it's being played.

What are your thoughts?

I've been following from time to time. I'm still probably not reliably back until at least November.

This scenario is just a bit too gonzo for my taste, which must sound weird coming from someone who has characters like Hamburg and Albricht! Obviously I have less skin in the game right now, but maybe a transition to a different adventure would help boost interest? Roak/Voran sounds like he's pretty swamped for the near future.

Anyway, take all that for what it's worth.

I'd rather not play with just 2 players, but on the other hand, I don't want a 7 year-old game to go out with a whimper. I think the slowness of posting might be due to us waiting for other players to agree/disagree with approaches.

Perhaps we'd be best off with a few more players, whether taking on the roles of Sherbourne and Vsaati (are they still alive?) or new characters. Presumably, some of those would drop out, so there should still be space for Hamburg and Roak to return.

As to the current adventure, I'd agree with Hamburg that it's not as enjoyable as the first. Perhaps it's the lack of mission, whereas in the pyramid we had patrons and an overall task to get back to civilisation.

On a separate note, I can't see the image in the last post in the play thread.

I'm perfectly willing to switch to something else, if part of the problem is that the material just isn't grabbing you.  I'll wait for Lanliss to chime in, and spend some time looking through my other pre-existing material.

Thanks for letting us know some of what's up with you, Hamburg!

Elboc:

I updated the URL.  Can you see it now?

Yes, I see it now.

I'm happy to carry on, I'm enjoying it though admittedly I need to up my posting rate. That way we can carry on until Hamburg (and whoever) else are ready to post on a regular basis. Maybe an extra player or two might help (easier said than done)?

I am still here, guys. Just have had a rough patch. Let's just continue as-is.

I've gotten a vote from Hamburg's player to transition this to a more traditional crawl, instead of this (admittedly) weird scenario.  I have several other options, and can run something off of the cuff as well.

How are the rest of you guys feeling about the current scenario?

I like it, a little weird never hurt anyone... *rubs old wounds*

I say play this one out to some kind of cool ending with treasure, then transition. I don't like leaving things dangling.

I agree with Roak on that.

I can't see the current map image.

Roak:

I've changed the URL.  Can you see the map now?  If this doesn't do it, I'll have to go back to the old way.

I can see it both ways.

I don't see the map.

Alright.  I went back to the old location.

Please let me know if you can't see the map now.

I see it now.

What AC did the troll hit? Just making sure it hit Roak. His AC is 1.

It hit AC -6.

Ow. Got it :-)

You certainly did! ;)

Hey, welcome back, Hamburg!!

Yes, welcome back. I hope all's going well.

All is going, I'll leave it at that and we'll see just how "well" over the next few months. My wife's nerve damage seems to have leveled off, though not much in the way of improvement. My work load has slowed down a little due to puckering cold weather, so that's nice. Good to be back, I've missed you guys!

Another test, trying to shift where images come from.  Please let me know whether or not you can see the image below:

Nope on the new responsive version of rpol...

Hamburg, can you tell if they're trying to (or if your web browser is trying to) add https instead of http to the start of the URL?  I'm just using http.

Also, if that doesn't work, does this one (below)?


This message was last edited by the GM at 00:49, Mon 12 Dec 2022.

The first one didn't even show a broken link for me, just a blank space below your text. The second shows a broken image link. When I opened it in a new tab, it did use https. Both are the same for me on the responsive site and the normal RPOL site. Hope that helps.

There's a time out error to load the image directly.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:10, Mon 12 Dec 2022.

I'm on the old version of RPol, and there's just two blank spaces for me.

I see the second image but not the first.

Here's a third attempt, on a completely different (and new to me) service:



And a fourth, on yet another new-to-me service:


This message was last edited by the GM at 15:21, Tue 13 Dec 2022.

Both appear to me.

Both appear for me, although interestingly, 3 is smaller than 4.

Same as Elboc. And, for the record...

I didn't ask how big the room was. I said, I CAST FIREBALL!!

OK guys, I know I've been slow to post here recently, and it's unlikely to change much until after the start of the new year.

I'll get back to this when I can, and thanks for bearing with me.

No worries; I'll be around!

Happy 9000 posts!

And yes, busy time of year, hang in there!

Merry Christmas! And Happy Holidays if Christmas isn't your thing.

Same to you, buddy!

:)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Sorry for the delay, got a little sidetracked with Santa/Fatherhood duties over the last week. Fun times!

Not a bad thing at all :-)

For our new year, our party bravely retreats!! And then regroups.

I've got an idea. If we can get salt, we can draw the monster out again and Hamburg will use his Phantasmal Force spell to make it believe the salt pile is the fountain! It'll sizzle there until it dies!

Nice :-)

It's a fun idea. Let's continue onward and come back for the treasure. RP requires that Hamburg not wish to return to the kitchen area.

I've got -24 deg problems to deal with today. Will catch up tonight hopefully.

I've noticed that posts are getting much less frequent here.  I'm actively working on getting you guys out of here and on to the next adventure.  I can metagame and let you know what I have in mind, if you like, but you're fairly likely to find it on your own here shortly.

Which would you prefer?  I greatly prefer the idea that we get out of this scenario, which you don't seem to be enjoying, and on to something more dungeon-crawly.

It's currently been four days since Hamburg last checked in, twelve days for Lanliss, and nineteen days for Roak and Elder Voran.  Elboc hasn't been on since the 22nd of December.  Those are the only currently active characters.

I can just throw in the towel and bag the campaign, too, if there isn't enough interest.

Let me know.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:14, Sat 11 Mar 2023.

Here's my situation:

Since my promotion in September, I have had next to zero time to log in and check RPOL. I'm having to shut down most of my games and run the rest at a crawl.

I don't mind bopping along at a slow speed, but I'm also comfortable calling it a game, too. If Hamburg & Lanliss are good to continue, though, so am I, as slowly as I can.

I'm OK with slow, if that's what you guys want.  I'd like to hear from Hamburg and Lanliss on the subject, though, and if Elboc piped in, that would be excellent.

Letting you know what I'm up against... I'm working 12-16hr night shift calving cows. In years past, I've had time to do a little something while waiting for my next round of checks, but this year with the weather and being down a couple hands, It's all I can do to keep up with the cows. When I try to sleep, it's REM anxiety dreams from sleep deprivation and not very restful. Good news is that we're just past halfway, (600 to go!) so in about 3-4 weeks we should be done calving and I'll go back to daytime work... Meaning more sleep and evening freed up a little for RPOL.

I'm fine with slow. Maybe we could all recommit to a weekly post. I've been a little disengaged with this scenario and with Hamburg mushroom-free. But this has been a good longtime game and I hate to see those fade, but I also understand.

As long as you guys are good with slow for a bit, I'm OK with it too.  As I indicated, I'm working on getting you out of here and back to more traditional fare.

I've been really busy the last few weeks, should hopefully be past the worst of it now. Slow and steady is fine with me.

I guess we examine the loot from our dreamscape at the hext stop?

Sorry, guys. Things took a turn. I will try to catch up this weekend.

Back! Not sure how frequently I can post, but I'm giving it a whirl.
This message was last updated by the player at 20:40, Mon 29 May 2023.

Question--all the baths are in the same room?

Yes, they're all in the same room.

I'll be gone in the mountains with some of my boys on a pack trip until Friday. NPC as needed.

Ugh. Been under the weather a bit and my brain's just foggy. I'll catch up in the next day or two.

Hope you're well, DM!

Recovering from slaughtering and butchering chickens.  Some of my work surfaces need have height adjusted.  I'm leaning over too much, and it makes by back hurt.

On the plus side, though, the freezer is a bit more full now.

I've had back pain all my adult life, and only in the past few years did it become apparent that standing over surfaces of inappropriate height for 30+ years had caused my back to bend/arch somewhere it shouldn't. And then one day it popped and I was off work for nine months. No fun at all.

That really sucks. Nothing to do for it? I have some intermittent pain in my lower back at the top of my hip. It causes me to be real stiff. My flexibility has gotten worse, which has exacerbated the pain. I've lost a bunch of weight recently, and that's helped some. Maybe I'm just older than I think I am...?

I've been super busy, and I'll be away from the computer for much of the coming weekend. Sorry for the delayed posting.

Ugh. Sorry for the hold up on my part. Will try to catch up tomorrow or the next. Super busy.

Hey guys, sorry for the absence lately. Been really busy. Hoping for some more time to be freed up with colder weather beginning to roll in and autumn finally here. I love this time of year!

You need not apologize. We are posting at a pretty relaxed pace, altogether :-)

I'll catch up tonight. Early snow has me scrambling. I'm thinking that Hamburg would like to hire a retainer or two. Probably some oddball types like himself. ;-)

Yes, good DM: how do we go about hiring retainers?

One might conceivably hire a crier, post notices, or go where individuals with the particular skills you seek tend to congregate.  Merchants tend to hire guards near ports of entry and around warehouses and inns.  The rest might be more interesting to find.

What type of hirelings do you have in mind?

Dancing girls?

Dancing girls are available, but prices can be steep, and are based on skill, the number of "protectors" of theirs that you need to pay for (zero, in cases of low-skill, no-name dancers), and the level of intimacy (if any) you desire.  The price will go up if you expect them to follow you out of the city, as well, and even more so if you want to go somewhere dangerous with them.  There might be very few interested in a cave dive.

What'cha looking for?
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:27, Tue 31 Oct 2023.

What a week! Sorry for being so absent. I'll get my head in the game Monday. Or so...

Regarding retainers: maybe guards to watch our horses as we go into the ruins, something like that.

How many of which type of retainers do you want?  I know that this has gone on for a long time with little activity, but I'd like to at least get us moving on numbers so that we can continue with the narrative.

A few guards for the horses makes sense, with enough promise of pay that they don't run off with our steeds at the first sign of danger. Other than that Lanliss hadn't really planned on any hires.

It's been long enough that I don't remember what I was thinking... Sorry for the brain farting. Not easy being in Hamburg's head... it's pretty crowded in there!

Sometime in a bit over a month, my wife is expected to go into labor.  Likely between the new year and mid-January I will become suddenly unavailable, likely without notice.  Babies are so unreliable like that.

Serious, what were we thinking, having a kid at our ages?  I've already got a son who is more than old enough to be fathering a kid (technically, if he had started out early, he could be a grandfather at this point, but we thankfully don't see much of that anymore in western culture).

It's probably just that babies are awesome, and she hadn't had one yet.

Or maybe I have a deep-seated internal hatred of sleep...

Wow! So happy for you! That's awesome! Of course coming from me you know that I'm extremely pro-baby. Seriously though, it's awesome. My youngest is now four, and I'm trying to savor every minute. After my wife's wreck almost two years ago, the doc said she was done. I think that was God's way of telling her, because she's pretty stubborn. Anyway hope things go well for your family.

I've been busy/distracted and feel badly I haven't helped push this game forward lately. I'm happy to wait a bit if you need time DM. This is a fun group that's been together for a long time, so I'm guessing we're all good with a pause. I'm always here, just busy sometimes. Holler when things get get back to normal (nyuk nyuk)

Congrats DM! I'm way too old to have more children, and am happy with the ones I already have, but then again I started late anyway.

A pause would be welcome at this time of year anyway - best wishes of the Festive Season to one and all!

Congratulations, DM! That's fantastic. No complaints from me--the oldest of my kids is getting married in February, so a glimmer of hope for grandchildren soon for me :-)

I am only intermittently on RPOL these days, but around whenever you can continue things.

In the end, I think, your efforts will turn up three guards (each of whom brings leather armor, a shield, a sword, a dagger, and a shortbow with arrows), two teamsters, a pair of hired wagons (each with a pair of mules), and a female quartermaster/cook who insists that she can dance, despite her somewhat matronly frame.  This should run 35 GP per month, or just over 1 GP per day, with trail-quality provisions for nine (since the halfling easily eats as much as the taller folk), plus four mules, running a mere 95 GP more (since the cook can watch for spoilage, and you don't need to have food pre-cooked).

This totals 130 GP per month, although costs will be higher if you want to hire the group for any lesser period of time.

Let me know what you think, when you check in again.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:53, Wed 03 Jan.

Sounds great to me. I'll be afk until Saturday. Going to hotsprings with wife and kids. It'll be hard to pry my old bones out and back into the cold!

That sounds fantastic. Roak approves!

Voran thinks that's pricey, but he defers to the people who actually count coins in the party.

Of course Hamburg's money savvy is beyond dismal, so this sounds like a wonderful idea and perfectly reasonable!

Contribution from me this weekend!

Baby!

Wow! Congratulations! Adorable little bug! Hope everyone is well!

Awww! Adorable!

Congrats! Do I miss those days? Absolutely not!

Did we determine if the retainers are coming in with us? Or are they staying outside to guard our stuff?

You hadn't specifically decided, but it's not unreasonable for one to come with, as a torchbearer.  It also wouldn't be unreasonable for that one to demand hazard pay or a share (full or half) of any treasure, if there was significant risk to life or limb.

What does everyone think? Do we just have the hirelings hang out outside, or have some come in?

Let's have them hang out for now and we'll poke around a bit. Once the body count gets high and we have wheelbarrow loads of loot to be removed, we can come back and get them. Or whatever.

Lanliss, you good with that?

I guess I was! :)

If we have enough time to get another round of missiles off, do we have time (and range) to get spells off?

Yes.  Absolutely.

Outstanding. I'd rather cast Sleep, see how many it affects then possibly go on the offensive - better than shooting one arrow!

Hey gang, I'm back now. Ready to resume destruction and chaos upon the known lands.

I'll wait to see the results of the Sleep spell before I make another attack or action.

I'm glad to have you back.  Let's get back to butt-kicking action.

Question: how long does it take to light a lantern?

I'll let you do it during the round, in addition to some other action.  I have some personal experience lighting a flame with tinder, flint, and steel, and it isn't fast.  Still, this is a fantasy game.

Just click the switch to 'on'? ;)

In reply to Dungeon Master (msg # 306):

Whose butt is going to get kicked exactly? A TPK isn't exactly the best welcome back you know... ;-)

Since I'm running the game, I get to watch both sides.  It's good either way, from where I sit...

It's kinda like owning stock in the NFL.  No matter who wins the Super Bowl, you're in a good place.

>;p

I'm off for a short vacation with the family; it's unlikely I'll be able to log back in before Monday.

LMAO! Sorry Roak, I'm so used to playing AD&D that I forget that hobbits aren't all thieves (just most of them)!
This message was last edited by the player at 13:44, Thu 25 Apr.

I've made the same mistake with Roak. Perhaps more than once! ;-)

Yeah, no worries. We're handling the trapfinding the D&D Basic way, too--poke, poke, poke... ;-)