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We have 3/5 players (before we start, 7 players is the max I'll take); those of you who are added go ahead and roll up your characters (4d6 drop lowest, assign as you want). I can adjust names as needed. Please include your AC / HP in one of your bio lines, starting money is standard (you'll be spending a lot of time in the town so wilderness adventuring gear and rations aren't necessary as you'll be eating in town / rest in town).

I'll be writing up a little bit about Saltmarsh and the important buildings / people of the town.

Character sheets are unlocked.

In reply to Dungeon Master (msg # 3):

Working on a thief, here, in case anyone wondered...

Working on a cleric.

Well that's good to hear, since I wanted to play a fighter, ranger, or magic-user. :)

Just FYI, I'm in the Central European Timezone, so it's early morning here now. I'll start rolling dice when I get home from work.

Hey DM, two questions:

1) Do you have a preferred character sheet, or should we improvise?
2) Do you know far the adventure will go? I'm wondering whether you use demihuman level limits, or if the adventure lasts long enough for them to even be a factor.

In reply to Tolantra (msg # 7):

I don't have a specific sheet I'll require, but this one has worked for me in other AD&D games I'm playing in:



You can get rid of elements that aren't relevant to your character.

The adventure itself will take you to at least 3rd level, if everyone is still around by the end of it I'll consider expanding into a full fledged campaign.

Hello everyone,

Quick question are we playing with racial level and class limitation as per the original PHB?

Well with very poor rolls, I think I'll go Mage
This message was last edited by the player at 09:33, Wed 04 Oct 2017.

Yes, I suppose a House Rules thread would be good to have for noting any variation from the PHB.

- Racial level limits
- Weapon Armor Class adjustment
- Weapon Speed Factor
- Material components
- Character death at zero, negative Constitution, other
- Overnight healing rate
- One minute melee round

Any others to add to the list of common changes or questions?

I think those are the main house rules we need rulings on. More may come up as we keep building characters.

I don't think my scores are good enough to be a ranger, and with someone else picking mage, I'll go pure fighter. With a 15 I think I'll be a dwarf, so that I can bump it up to a 16 and get the most HP to keep you all alive. :)

DM, are you going to be integrating the adventure into a particular game world? Or does Saltmarsh mostly exist in a vacuum? (ie: Do I need to figure out where my dwarf is from and why they're in the town?)

I take it back, there is one more house rule: are we rolling for HP at first level?

Also, I don't think I've ever heard "My rolls are awful, so I'm going to be a wizard" before. But looking at the various stats, it kind of makes sense.

<--- Fighter

am I the only Warrior type?
This message was last edited by the player at 17:21, Wed 04 Oct 2017.

No, I'm also a fighter.

cool, would the DM and everyone be ok with us discussing what we are likely to wield? one of the big problems I remember form my ad&d days was everyone looking to get the magic Long Sword when it shows up

I also like there to be variety, if that makes sense.

I always suspected the RPol dice roller hated me but with these rolls there is no questions about it :)

5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14

I dunno if anyone has a better idea I'm all ears.

EDIT: I guess I could be an assassin but that is a problematic class and being evil was never my thing.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:51, Wed 04 Oct 2017.

Bren, just pick something you think you could have fun with.

We have fighters and a cleric.  In terms of AD&D, we've already achieved a balanced party.  Though I will say now that Kelra's purpose is not to dedicate all of her spells to healing.  It's up to the fighters to conserve their own hit points.

I suppose with a few private messages, you could be labeled as a fighter or thief and really be an assassin pretending to be a goody goody.  Which would probably be an easier task if you didn't put that 5 in Charisma.

I think a Wizard is a better fit, an Assassin with those stats would be crippled in some way

The 5 is the real pickle, see only wizards can have Strength 5 and only assassins can have Charisma of 5. So if I want to be an assassin I have to have low Charisma.

So I think I'll either go full Wizard or a Multi class Cleric/Magic user

As requested I've posted a house rules thread answering some questions.

Once everyone finishes their character (and chooses a portrait) I'll post the starter  thread.

You should also note somewhere your reasons for coming to Saltmarsh and establish connections to each other. You do not need to be travelling together but you should be able to recognize each other somehow.

I'll leave that to you all to decide.

DM, 2 questions:

1) I don't have a 1e DMG. Can you please tell me what my saving throws are?
2) Are we using any particular campaign world? My dwarf probably isn't from Saltmarsh, but it's hard to create a reason for my being there without at least a small view of the wider world.

Party:

Once you have a basic character stub, please post it here so that we all have an idea of who we all are, and can work on figuring out how we know each other. I am:

Tolantra. Dwarf female. Fighter. From out of town. Plays up dwarven stereotype (long bear, large battle axe, and furs over her armor).

Kelra is traveling from her village to Saltmarsh and she is likely to tell anyone that will listen about her important trip to Saltmarsh in search of a plant tonic to save their village tree.  One of the old village elders thought there might have been an alchemist in Saltmarsh.  She is seeking him out so that she can ask about the blight in their tree.

Her character description in the Cast fills her out.

I'd be quite happy to have a backup cleric :P in the group

Hi so this is actually my first advanced dungeons and dragons game! I have been researching on it and I have watched a few videos. I will do my best though I do want to apologize now if I mess anything up. Now its time to roll.

So let's see. The character roster currently stands at:

Istvan: Human thief
Kelra: Human cleric (deity?)
Tolantra: Dwarf fighter
Bren: ?? Mage or Half-elf Mage/cleric
Raaga: ?? Fighter
Ardoon: (still choosing)

Shaping up to be pretty good so far.

And Ardoon, welcome to the game!

presently my plan is to be a half-orc but I was thinking about going with Elf

So currently I am working on a human illusionist

are you sure you want to play a specialist wizard your first time out? a general wizard is easier

not pressuring you or anything if the DM is ok with it I'm good I just offering advice

Is there any significant difference between these two? Is it significantly harder?
This message was last edited by the player at 22:18, Wed 04 Oct 2017.

well to be an Illusionist, or any specialist Wizard means you can cast more spells of the school you select BUT there is at least one other school (and sometimes two) that you no longer have access to

this is form memory so the DM can help more

In 1st Edition there aren't specialized magic-users, it's either Magic User or Illusionist. 2nd edition delves further into magic and specialization.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:13, Wed 04 Oct 2017.

there you see, that's why you don't always trust my memory

Next step is for folks to post in OOC their reason for heading to Saltmarsh.  It doesn't need to be the real reason you're telling the DM, just what you're going to tell folks you meet on the road.  Hopefully you'll come up with a reason to spot a young cleric of Atroa on an important quest to save her village.

Perhaps you once rode through this nameless forgotten village and bought an apple from her farm stand.  She remembers you because you were the girl dwarf with a beard.

Perhaps you just "happen" to look exactly like the wanted posters for Dirk Faloy, self proclaimed forest pirate, and you keep pointing out that the poster says he only has three fingers on his right hand!

Perhaps you forgot your waterskin (adding to character sheet now) and waited in the shade by the road begging for a drink from passersby.  Upon hearing that you're both going to Saltmarsh, you decide to walk together.

Perhaps you ignored that vagabond without a waterskin beside the road but he now seems to be following you with another.  Is that Dirk Faloy!

Perhaps you're a traveling illusionist on to another show.  You and your assistant, a bumbling mage friend from magic school, hope to drum up excitement for the upcoming show (another tavern show, really?  Can't we get in with a local lord or something?) with some local exploit.  Now all you need is a crew of rough necks to do the heavy lifting, you add some pyrotechnics, throw in a beautiful assistant (not the mage friend, make a note to find an actual girl and not that one with the beard!), and you're on your way to fame and fortune!  You just need to find the right angle.

Ardoon,

With rolls as you made, you could be a Paladin, Druid or Ranger without problem :) or of course a Magic user/Illusionist.

You could also be a Monk but they are very hard to play at low levels and are only rewarding at very high levels as far as I remember.

I kind of like the idea of being a travelling illusionist and I have an idea for it that I am sort of excited about. Though if you guys want me to be another class to better help the team or me then I am open to the possibility!

Also on a side note I feel like I got really lucky with the rolls. I was practicing the rolls earlier before I did it on Rpol and I got like two totals of 4 and my highest was a 10.

No problem,

Play whatever you feel would be the most fun for you :)

In reply to Ardoon (msg # 37):

yah the group is pretty well balanced honestly

At the moment, I'm going to be a devout half orc archer..
This message was last edited by the player at 15:12, Thu 05 Oct 2017.

Could I please request that you not be a half-orc? Dwarves have a long history of animosity toward orc-kind of all sorts, and I would really prefer not to be at bared teeth with a fellow party member.

Have a DMG in front of me for saves

Cleric
PPD 10
PP 13
RSW 14
BW 16
Sp 15

Fighter
PPD 14
PP 15
RSW 16
BW 17
Sp 17

Magic User
PPD 14
PP 13
RSW 11
BW 15
Sp 12

Thief
PPD 13
PP 12
RSW 14
BW 16
Sp 15

In reply to Kelra (msg # 42):

Thanks that's darn handy

Agreed. Thanks; I can now update my character sheet.

I find it funny that the PHB says something along the lines of "fighters don't get spells, but their weapons and armor make up for it, and they generally have good saving throws." And then their saving throws are the worst of the four classes. :)

Speaking of the DMG, DM, in the Attributes section it says, "the player character is above average -at least in some respects - and has superior potential. Furthermore, it is usually essential to the character's survival to be exceptional (with a rating of 15 or above) in no fewer than two ability characteristics." So, does that mean that those of us without two 15's or better can reroll our stats? :)

In reply to Tolantra (msg # 44):




This probably just means that at one point someone thought it should be the first way, then later they, or someone else, decided it shouldn't be that way, and they forgot to change the first part




In practical terms, it feels more like a warning that you shouldn't expect characters with less than two 15s surviving for long...

I think fighters start the worse with Saving throws but improve them the fastest (every other level) and thus get the best ST at the end. At least this is how it is in 2nd edition which I am more versed at. Magic User get a better starting save but improve it once every 5th level so their improvement is rather slow.

The whole spread of abilities in AD&D is ridiculous, you start to get bonuses only from around 15 (or penalties from around 7).

The game is suppose to be for exceptional characters but no rolling method support it, make me wonder why they didn't follow BRB example and just rolled 2d6+6 or even 3d6 (take the highest 2) +6.

The whole level restriction for non human is also totally bogus and make one wonder why bother playing a non human. I mean if you didn't want them in the game fine don't include them but if you do don't make them such a lose cause.

In reply to Bren (msg # 46):



Ah ha!



I guess either it was supposed to be hard with a hard curve, or else they expected you to roll up characters until you got "a good one" and kept that?

"The whole level restriction for non human is also totally bogus and make one wonder why bother playing a non human. I mean if you didn't want them in the game fine don't include them but if you do don't make them such a lose cause."

They seemed to think nonhumans were really overpowered, I guess, and were trying to balance it...

Anyway, I am agreeing with you...

Typically I let the dice fall where they may, with mulligans happening only if the average of your stats is less than 10.



Play a non-human character for the demi-human benefits, infared vision, special little quirks, etc. It's also there to give incentive to play humans, without the level caps everyone would be demi-humans because the benefits are greater than no benefits for being a human. Besides, multi-classing is kind of encouraged for demi-humans, especially if they hit the level cap for the class. That said, you'll only hit a max of level 3-4 in TSSoSM; if we continue into a full campaign after the module then I'll consider raising level limitations.

That's okay; I was mostly being facetious. :)

I think I'm mostly done with the character, mechanics-wise. I need some help on languages, though. As a dwarf, I speak, Common, Dwarven, and Lawful Good by default. My Int is 10. Does that mean I get to pick 2 additional languages of my choice? And do you have any advice on picking languages?

Speaking of rerolling, what level will replacement characters start out at?

It's always nice to have some incentive to keep your current character alive when you know you're restarting at first level.

Also an advantage to die early if you want to reroll your stats and hope for something better without too much experience loss.

That just means that's the max number of languages you can learn in addition to your starting languages, but yes. Also dwarves speak: Dwarven, gnome, goblin, kobold, and orcish (and alignment languages + common). Quite a few languages.



Level 1

In reply to Tolantra (msg # 49):

Oh, hey, yeah, I forgot-- my character speaks Neutral Good as well as Common. Awesome. When I was a kid I liked the idea of alignment languages. To hell with you, logic! Alignment languages are awesome!

Here's an interesting link I found about this... be sure to read the comments (if you care about the concept of alignment languages at all, which you might not).

https://rpg.stackexchange.com/...-alignment-languages
This message was last edited by the player at 20:11, Thu 05 Oct 2017.

DM: Wow. That's a lot of languages. I'm honestly not really sure what else I would want to pick with my two additional ones.

Istvan: That's an interesting link. Thanks for sharing. I've always thought alignment languages were incredibly stupid, but hearing that they were meant to be more along the lines of religious languages like Latin or Hebrew makes a lot of sense. It reminds me of Shogun, where the westerner and the Japanese Christian have to speak in Latin, because the enemy officer escorting them speaks the "common" European language they were using (it's been so long since I read that book that I can't remember if that was Portugese, English, or some other language).

In reply to Tolantra (msg # 53):

I think you and I should be friends, Tolantra. Good insights.

So my understanding is that we'll start as soon as we figure out how we might recognize one another from somewhere.  Whether alone or in pairs, we're all headed for Saltmarsh.

Kelra is headed to Saltmarsh on behalf of her village to ask a friendly alchemist if he might have a plant tonic to cure their blighted village tree.

Unless folks want to come up with their own proposals, we could just adopt and expand my earlier examples from msg#35.

So pick your portrait, fill in your character Description, and just put out a proposal of how we might know one another.  Was it the most recent Springfest where we happened to all compete in the same pie eating contest?

Bram Bramble is a poor beggar and a hermit that limp his way to the Saltmarsh, he would love company as his body is frail and sickly.

In reply to Kelra (msg # 55):



Holy cow I forgot about that.

Istvan Vanoson is the (third) bastard son of a pirate captain, who taught him the basics of fighting and gave him a bag of gold coins when he turned 18, most of which he's spent by now. He's come to the area seeking his fortune...

When he met a cleric on the road, he stuck near the cleric... he's always interested in clerics... he has a recurring nightmare about the undead, so clerics are always good people to know, in Istvan's opinion...

Casual acquaintances are fine, you don't have to be on a first name basis with each other; if that proves too difficult we'll just start and perhaps you meet each other on the road to Saltmarsh.

Actually that's not the worst idea. 7 connections are rather difficult to establish, so if you want a backstory tie to each other feel free but I'm going to post the starter. We're missing one character sheet but we have enough to start and if they don't finish up today they can just already be in the town.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:32, Thu 05 Oct 2017.

Let's get this out of the way:

Default positions in a march?

xxxxxxx Single File

xxxx Side by Side
xxx

In reply to Dungeon Master (msg # 59):


If side by side, Istvan will be near the back.

If single file, same-- but probably not at the VERY back, in case we get attacked from the back.

BUT if we're going down a hallway searching for traps, I guess as thief, I'll be in front...

Cut and paste with your letter for your location.


xxxKxxx Single File

xKxx Side by Side
xxx

Sorry if this is a bit late but I am not 100% sure since I don't see these in the dice roller but...

Do we roll for money and health then choose our equipment?

Also which spells and how many do I get to choose in the beginning? Which ones are memorized and which ones are single use?

Lastly do I get to choose 6 additional languages!?

Sorry for all of the questions and I am almost done my backstory.
The greedy travelling entertainer, the Great Ardoon, will join the group soon!

Mueller is an archer, but since we're a little light on fighters he'll go up front.

Let me pull out the book and see what you have. Here's a link if he doesn't have a copy.

https://idiscepolidellamantico...players-handbook.pdf

You get a maximum hit die roll at first level on a d4, which gives you 4hp + any Constitution bonus.

Magic Users and Illusionists roll 2d4 * 10 gold to start (20 - 80gp).

Spend it as you wish from the equipment list.  Please buy clothes.  You may only use a dagger, dart, and staff for your class and claim proficiency with only one of them and -5 to use the other two.

At 1st level, you may cast one (1) spell/day.  Good luck with that.  Magic Users and Illusionists don't get any bonus spells for being smart.  You pick one spell from your spell book to memorize in the morning and hope that it comes in handy.

With a 17 Intelligence, you have a minimum of 8 and max of 14 1st level spells in your spell book.  There are only 12 1st level Illusionist spells and you have a 75% chance of understanding each of them and having them in your spell book.  Roll 75 or below on d100 for each spell.  If you are successful with 8 of them, stop.  If not, continue through the spells you failed until you reach 8 spells minimum.  You can try to add the rest again once you level up if you have a source to learn them from.

Yes, pick 6 languages in addition to Common and your alignment language.  I found a list in the Dungeon Master's Guide (pg 102) that I'll type below.  Maybe want to stuff this into an info thread.

*All info stated above is liable to DM clarifications.


Brownie
Bugbear
Centaur
Dragon (each color has it's own language, 10)
Dryad
Swarvish
Elvish
Ettin
Gargoyle
Giant (each type has it's own language, 6)
Goblin
Gnoll
Gnome
Halfling
Hobgoblin
Kobold
Lammasu
Lizard Man
Manticore
Medusian
Minitaur
Naga (3 different types)
Nixie
Nymph
Ogrish
Ogre, Magician
Orcish
Pixie
Salamander
Satyr
Shedu
Sprite
Sylph
Titan
Troll
Xorn

Kelra has it right

In reply to Kelra (msg # 64):

You are my idol

Does this mean you start with the minimum number of spells set by your intelligence?

In reply to Bram Bramble (msg # 67):

correct, I rolled your spells but your int. determines the minimum. If I messed up let me know.

Do we roll the spell or the DM?

In reply to Ardoon (msg # 69):

I roll for convenience but you can roll if you desire.

For non humans you start with a a lot of languages. However you do not gain the listed number of languages but only get extra if your Intelligence is over 15.

DM are we playing with age modification and age in general?

If I understand it correctly Bram should be 56???

In reply to Mueller (msg # 63):

Thank you for the opportunity.  I wish you all well with the game.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:41, Fri 06 Oct 2017.

Mueller, your leaving?

I may have unintentionally scared him off (though I have a PM to him to reconsider). I was trying to avoid a problem that I've seen in other games: the antipathy of dwarves and/or elves to half-orcs. I explained my reasoning, and he decided to leave. I hope he stays with a character concept he likes.

It's one reason I'm glad 2e removed the half-orc race (and am annoying that 5e put it back): having a PC race that is automatically hated by two other PC races can way too easily lead to conflict.

I picture that Kelra and Istvan have already passed the signpost and Bram.  So he's probably petitioning those that haven't posted in character yet.

That is up to you of course but I intended it for you guys

In reply to Bram Bramble (msg # 77):

...I'll leave it up to Kelra. If she decides we weren't far enough away that we heard you, I'll back her play

EDIT: okay, that's taken care of, good job Tolantra
This message was last edited by the player at 19:07, Fri 06 Oct 2017.

Okay so I am ALMOST DONE WOOOO!! I just need to figure out my equipment. I basically have what I think I need but any tips? Also where do I find the items I need to use spells at the start? Do I get to some in the beginning or are those just things I get later? For the marching placement, where is the front and the back? I'll post on the IC sometime today. Probably soon though. Thank you for all the help!
This message was last edited by the player at 20:50, Fri 06 Oct 2017.

Ah, marching placement. I forgot about that. As the most heavily armored, I'll take the front in all the lines. Unless we're exploring a dungeon, in which case Istvan should take the front, so he can check for traps. :)

Cut and paste with your letter for your location.

<-----Direction of travel

TRKABIx Single File

RKAx Side by Side
TBI

Added Tolantra, Ardoon, and Raaga.  Removed Mueller for now.

I wonder if we could have tried to spell something with the single file...

Sorry for being a bit coy about my background; I'm still waiting to hear back from the DM on whether it's approved.

Ardoon, House Rule is that we're not using spell components.

I expect that if some component had a gold value, that would still be required.

Otherwise, if you wanted to pull out a grasshopper leg or pinch of dust when you describe your spell casting, you're free to do so without having specifically written it into your inventory.

Remember that we're trying to get our group on a first name basis before entering town.

As a bonus, it looks like two of our troupe are interested in asking about alchemists once they reach town.

We'll have 5 in your group to start with, with a 6th being introduced awhile later because of personal reasons.

The half-orc has dropped out of the game but I've kept his character around in "The Cast". I might bump my ad thread for one more player if you feel you need it, otherwise I am fine with 5 to start with a potential 6th.

Tomorrow I might try to move you all along just a touch, hopefully it will not disrupt your conversations / getting to know each other.

Not sure where you guys live but where I am it is Thanksgiving! I wish all of you a happy one and I'll make a post once I finish cooking.

Happy (belated) Canadian Thanksgiving! One of my coworkers is Canadian, but she totally forgot that yesterday was Thanksgiving. So of course she spent most of her Thanksgiving being teased by us for forgetting it. :) Hope you had a good time.

Quick 1e question: do dwarves and other "short races" have a slower movement speed? I know they do in 2e, but I haven't been able to find whether they do in 1e. Does everyone move at the same pace, or did I miss a reference in the PHB?

I see your lack of dwarven documentation and raise you encumbrance on page 101.

You're right, I was assuming that shorter races were slower but it doesn't seem so in this edition.

However, unarmored move at 12" and armored move at 9" so Kelra is faster than Tolantra and I think Bram only has one foot.

Fun fact: every 10 gold pieces weigh 1 pound!

Bram have a pair of each limb although they are less effective than most people half arm :)

Although technically he move 12', I doubt he can keep that speed for long, so I assume he walks between 6-9'

I believe smaller races have a smaller movement speed; I'll try to dig up a table. I know in OSRIC they list base elf movement speed at 120', Dwarves and Haflings at 90'.

This is of course adjusted by the amount of weight you're carrying on your body and packs.

I said,


Get inside already for heaven's sake, and let's get on with things!

It's not too nice a job to rush!

In reply to Istvan Vanoson (msg # 92):

I only have 17 gold... do we stay at this fleabag or go get ripped off?

It's assumed most of you are here only for a few days, the price is 15 for all of you together (IE 3 gp each).

So in game detail it is 15 gp not 105 right?

105 per week my pal

In reply to Dungeon Master (msg # 96):

I'm asking because I have zero idea how long we're going to be here...

Bram has nowhere near that amount of gold, he could stay for a couple of days tops before his funds runs out.

I'm sure you'll find work of some sort ;)

I'm getting the feeling we're likely to stay here.

How about we all agree to stay at the Fleabag Inn until we start earning treasure or something?

Any argument from anyone?

Not from me.

In reply to Tolantra (msg # 101):

Oops, i see kelra has one. If she goes, I'll go investigate the rip-off inn with her... since now that I think about it it does sort of seem like maybe the DM is trying to drive us to explore the other option...

I'm just giving you options :) I'm not going to push you towards anything.

Thank you DM for being mysterious and not telling us we're going the wrong way.

Oh, he's drunk. How would he know where we're going?

Isn't that the DM's job? ;p

Alright who's staying at this inn and who's going to try their luck at the other?

I am still waiting for the reply of the owner, about the prices and about just staying for the night.

And I believe the rest of us are all 4 going to check out the other... but yeah, Bram's waiting to hear what the Fleabag inkeeper says next...

Grandmother's birthday today, no posts but I'll get on it tomorrow.

Is this the kind of game where the GM wants everyone to post before he posts again?

I understand that the GM is waiting to give everyone a chance to post, but sometimes folks don't feel they have anything to post.  It's a balancing act to keep the game moving forward at a good pace and giving players a chance to chime in when they can.

I've also found that the longer between GM posts, the longer between players checking in and maybe posting.  Players tend to check in more frequently if they think the GM may have moved the game along since their lost login.

I think everyone is just waiting for the innkeeper to declare a room rate.

In reply to Kelra (msg # 110):

I just presumed the GM was sick until I saw that they signed in yesterday.

So... yes, GM, I agree with Kelra.

I am still waiting for reply to the posts I made a week ago.

I assumed you had spent the night at the other inn? Edit: Yes I was correct, you did not post anything that needed a response and you are sleeping at the inn.

As for the rest, I do tend to give a day for everyone to post should they want to before I move ahead, but as I stated before I don't usually post on weekends for my games. I do log on to post in a game I'm playing in and to check out how my games are doing or if I've missed OOC questions or comments like today.

Edit: tho I will post later today and try to move things a little quicker along.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:29, Sun 22 Oct 2017.

I do believe that in 1st edition 1 gp=20 sp and not 10 sp like in the following editions :)

Oh you're right. I misremembered that. I'll edit my post; that's something Tolantra would definitely know.

Presuming my room has a lock on it, you guys can keep your stuff in my room if you want... but if you don't trust a thief you just met, I wouldn't blame you in the least, either.

You can trust me, I'm a PC in your party... but your characters sure as heck wouldn't know that yet.

It would probably help your image if you weren't wearing that hat with the the "I'm a thief!" embroidered across the front.

I don't think anyone should presume someone's a thief until they steal your stuff.  But still, we did just meet you on the road so probably not a lot of mutual trust built up yet.

Looks like Ardoon was lost in the rain on the way to the nice inn.

I think we're ready to wake up in the morning unless someone has anything.

Presume that everyone takes precautions with their valuables during the night.

Looks possible. Then again, that usually happens when a new pbp game starts up.

I agree we're ready to start fresh in the morning.

Maybe Ardoon slipped in the mud, hit his head on something, and drowned in a puddle. Imagine finding his body tomorrow morning...

Might see about replacing Ardoon, not sure what happened to him but I'll message him. Sorry, I was busy yesterday and Today I'll also be a bit busy (Halloween parties woo hoo!). I'll post on monday and get the ball rolling.

Sorry about the delay, getting a player situated and I'm going to insert them as part of the plot.

Nice. Welcome new player!

Indeed, let's get together and get going.

Istvan will be front and center in the front of the inn when either or both of the ladies come out from the dorms area.

So the DM is just tied up at the moment in RL?

Looks that way.

Kelra, let's the two of us move out into the common room, so we can strike up a conversation with Istvan while we wait for the DM to get back.

I'm back, a lot of stuff happened but I'll begin posting again regularly.

In reply to Dungeon Master (msg # 127):

I hope the game scales to be played with just three PCs...

Kelra, you seem like an experienced and professional-minded RPol gamer... (Tolantra, too, but you, Kelra, checked in today...)

I'm just about to kick out a player in a game I GM. He ignores the divide between how dark I want the game to be (he wants to kill NPCs, I've repeatedly said no), he's got a bad attitude, he accuses me of favoritism (when actually it's his own side who's working against his character, and he just doesn't know it yet-- some of them are tired of his attitude too), and he accuses me and other people of cheating just because he doesn't know the mechanics of what other characters and players are secretly doing.

Is there an etiquette for kicking a player? If so, can you give me advice about how it's done?

I haven't had to kick anyone out of the game I run, but if I needed to, I would lay out the reasons clearly and concisely. Don't go into too much detail; something like what you posted here is fine, maybe with a concrete example or two. And then tell the player that as DM it's your responsibility to ensure that all players are enjoying the game, and that the player has not been a good fit for the game or the group. Therefore, you as DM are removing him from the game.

Whether you remove him immediately or give him a chance to respond is up to you.

Definitely don't go into too much detail of why you're letting them go.  Folks always want to debate your reasons from their point of view.  If it's gotten this far, no amount of discussion is going to improve the situation.  It just sounds like a bad fit.

I realize that you aren't enjoying this game as much as I'd hoped and feel that the group just isn't coming together well.  You and I have tried to improve things but it just doesn't seem to be working out.  Thanks for the time you've put into the game, but I think it's time for us to part ways.

Then delete him from your game and ignore all further correspondence.  Don't even read anything he sends.  Make a clean break.

In reply to Kelra (msg # 131):

I gave one last opportunity to not be kicked out, but said that if the player wished to stay, that I would want an effort to be made to meet the not-that-dark tone of the game, and also to cease accusing other players/me of cheating/favoritism.

The player chose to leave the game.

Your advice was helpful in me forming what I wanted to say and how I said it, so thank you.

You're welcome. It sounds like the player just wasn't a good fit for your game. I'm glad you were able to end it relatively peacefully.