Chiming in here, but i can understand SF's desire to double check they're not misinterpreting something as i have that tendency myself as well. Of course, as a PC it's easier since you can simply 'canonize' your mistakes (especially playing a relative outsider like Adrika is), but GMs need to dance to a different tune ;)

That said, your posts are fine. Your posts would also have been fine if they'd be nothing but two-liners as long as it's clear you're having fun in the game, since that last part is the whole point of an RP, to have a group of people have fun together as they overcome problems together.

So rest assured, you're not holding us back, you're not dragging the quality level and pace of the RP down, and you're CERTAINLY not being a bother when i say i need to wait for your interaction to finish in this one specific instance. No rush. The game's still here next week, and it will be here next month. And if it takes you a little more time to reply, then i'm sure SF will find something for me to do by having one of Von Kraig's kids come over with a mug of tea or something, don't worry.

You just be you (or as close to a purple-skinned Tiefling as you can be, anyway), that's all that's asked of you. :)

I guess--one more thing.

Real life is more important than a game, and everyone understands if illness/stress/events prevent anyone from posting. We aren't mad, or annoyed, or whatever; we just look forward to when the person can post more freely.

And short posts are fine! If you have nothing to say thats ok, but if you wanna do something and just dont have a good post in you, just do the shoddy but workable version. Trust me, no one will gripe about it! Sometimes when writing you just need to get the stupid short version on paper to advance the plot, and just work from there.

Also Nothing, not to play your character, but could you not just slip away and wander around town? Or heck just stay in the inn next day and Carmen will make excuses, so you can explore?

I dunno. I think we also need to remember our rings can do any illusion--who says we have to ALWAYS been in our main disguse?

If anything it would be easier for me to do the "slipping away and exploring" during the night, when there are far more shadows >:).

A list of all the NPCs of any significance the group has either met or heard of in the town of Balentyne so far has been added to the Common Knowledge Thread; feel free to check it out and, above all, use it as a reference to keep track of what's going on and who all the NPCs you learned about are.

More information (either about the characters already on the list or about characters not yet there) will be added as the group finds out more. And if you think I've forgotten something, let me know and I'll make sure to add it in.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:01, Wed 20 Oct 2021.

While we're waiting for the main thread to continue, I wanted to ask if everybody found the new addition to the Common Knowledge Thread useful, and if anybody has comments to make about it. Through the last few months, several people remarked that keeping all the town's NPC in mind was a trouble to your planning, so I wanted to make sure you had a better idea of the options available to you, and I'd like to know if this approach works or if you would prefer me to do something different.

Hmm... Yes and no.

It's great to have that information all in one place, makes it easy to know who we're dealing with, though on the other hand it does need some occasional context. Information requiring a DC 25 roll is currently listed next to common knowledge with no way to distinguish one from the other, so adding the DCs as markers would be helpful in letting us know why the NPC in question is acting so guarded when we just casually brought up their darkest secret in casual conversation.

That's a fair point, but almost all of this information you got out of rumors and gossip; it's not like any of it is a secret you coaxed from somebody with deep investigation (in fact, you haven't really investigated anybody in any serious depth). When actual secrets pop up, I'll make it clear which information is not something you could overhear in the street. Do you think that will help?

Oh, definitely.

And yeah, i wanted to bring that up early for that reason. There's the occasional roll of "This requires this specific Knowledge at that DC to know about" that might still cause some scrutiny even brought up as rumors, but by and large it should prevent most problems :P
This message was last edited by the player at 13:48, Mon 25 Oct 2021.

Well, it's not like the NPCs can check your character sheet, is it? So long as you don't try to show off in a field where you lack the skill to back it up, I don't think it's something worth worrying about.

In any case, does having all the information in one place helps any in coming up with a strategy? Remember, your ultimate goal is to open the fortress northern door and keep them open for the few hours that will be required for the horde to reach them and get inside, so while accessing the Tower is obviously a necessary step, it's not, by far, your winning condition. I just thought you might want to keep that in mind.

For reference, while Carmen went to sleep, the timing of the shift is such that Adrika's visit to the wizard would take place before it, so that it would be possible for the rest of the team to "listen in" and maybe help to the interview. And I imagine that, whatever Ashaia decides to do next, at least the beginning of that would take place with the "telepathic group chat" still active.

Just trying to keep things easier on your all. Also, as I said, I'm currently (as of today) out of a job and will likely remain so until February, so I'll have more time for the game if any of you needs something from me that requires more dedicated attention. Just let me know if any of you needs help! ^_^

Oh no--SF, Im so sorry to hear that! I hope you will be alright in the intermediate. And I hope you find another job soon!


But as for the game--ya, just as a note, due to elastic timing right now, Carmen is going to bed whenever her shift ended and she walked back, which is probably late afternoon. Realistically, I only have 8 hours anyways--and I think she's near the end. So, if this takes place before end-of-workday-time, its still going on!

It's fine, seasonal work is like that; I knew when I took the job in May that it'd last only until November. It's not like I'm in love with being a dishwasher or anything; it's not too hard a job because the restaurant I work with is one of the good ones (I've also done it on bad ones, and there it's terrible, although still better than telemarketing), but I'd like to find something less mind-numbing to do. And if I don't, they'll take me back next year for the summer season again, anyway; honestly, having a small break is not that bad, I'll use it to go see my family in Italy.

But I thank you for the kind words, Carmen; the thought is very kind and appreciated. :)
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:19, Sun 31 Oct 2021.

Posting here because I don't have much to add to the main thread right now and don't want to make too many OOC posts where there should be IC postings.

I did want to mention that I think it's very interesting that Adrika would have such a spirited defense of greed to offer on that point, and that I'm now quite curious to see what Ashaia will make of that.

Also, as a general check to see if it's just me, did anybody else feel like Adrika was scolding Scaramian there? Or am I reading too much into it?
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:16, Sun 07 Nov 2021.

Adrika isn't scolding Scaramian, just stating her own opinion as a retort to him calling greed the worst sin.

He's preserving books, allowing everyone that wants to to read them and teaching people, so from her point of view what Scaramian is doing isn't that different from what her Elders are doing. So, she's trying to nudge him towards what she feels is the 'correct' mindset for her tribe.

I mean, he'd probably still die, but that is not the point.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:11, Sun 07 Nov 2021.

That makes sense from Adrika's point of view, but I'm pretty sure an old man who's confident he has more knowledge than nearly anybody else around him would have a different read of the situation. Especially since he doesn't know Adrika's background.

But then, as I said, that's just my opinion - I really am curious about the opinion of our other players.

By the way, I hope the fact that the rune was in Sylvan wasn't too annoying? I made you all work for the identification because that's a pretty big clue to something else that's going on in town (and in fact, a bit of thought should help you figure out what that is), so I didn't want to make it too easy to figure it out.

Oh no, of course not. The whole point of having different languages in the game is to actually make use of them. Sometimes the PCs understand what's being said, other times they do not. C'est la vie.

As for Adrika, she's planning to come over to the bookstore to do some reading every evening after her shift ends at Von Kraig, so she'd be giving him plenty of opportunity to talk to her rather than about her.

I personally love the rune thing (tho I cant take advantage of it, as Carmen is elsewhere, multiple languages or not XD)

Oh also to clarify myself, for some reason when I wrote the post, it was multiple posts higher than where it ended up being XD I think I hit submit without refreshing that day . . .

It's no problem; it was a perfectly legitimate question to ask, which is why I provided an answer. I agree that having it been asked earlier could have helped, but then again, even if Adrika was able to use group knowledge to fake knowing the word, she would have unavoidably failed the follow-up test anyway, so it's not too big a loss. As Adrika herself pointed out, she just wouldn't have been able to do the work Scaramian wants done in any case.

Also, now that you've taken the test once, I would suggest doing a round to ask other NPCs who took it what theirs was like; I think the findings from that would be instructive.

Just poking in for a moment, but i'm still heading to Von Kraig to finish my shift as per my last post, right?

Yes, that was the idea; I was under the impression that once you were done with that you would head to the Inn, hence I was waiting to conclude Ashaia's meeting with Carwen before updating, but if you'd rather do something else in the one-two hours Adrika has between finishing to work and having to go back to the shelter for dinner and sleep, say so and we can play that out separately, on your own thread if necessary.

Hmm... Yeah, i'd like to check out the graveyard, provided i can get to it without being spotted.

That very much depend on when you want to do it. Am I to understand you mean to do it after Adrika is done with work, but before going to dinner, which would mean before sunset? Or have I misunderstood you?

Ah, right. Misunderstood when night's setting in with it being (close to) winter and all.

I'll check it out after dinner then. In the two hours, i'd probably drop by the bookstore and take a look at what kind of books Scaramian's peddling :)

Feel free to drop me a perception roll, let's see what you find that interests you.

Also, for reference, in character it's the beginning of spring, hence why the attack is being launched at this particular time. Just thought that might be useful knowledge to keep in mind.

Done, only got a 15 but for the first day i suppose it'll do :)