Thread for discussing stuff out of character.

Stuff about the game, or out of the game is fine too if you want to be social.

Groovy news Cassandra, i've just been notified that a former player of mine is interested in joining up, so that will help us have a pace when someone else joins.

I think... for now at least, one more teacher, would be nice, and then a few students are what i will be looking for.


Let me know if either of you have an interest in playing a student, that would be fine also, since experience from the student side would feel more 'harry potter' ish, while the teachers are the mature driving force that will actually shape their lives.


For those that are curious, the eight starting students, are the first eight characters that started my Twilight Campaign from ages ago.  I had so many people come and go in that one, that i plan on drawing many of the student history/personalities from that campaign.

Even though this campaign 'officially' has a dozen or so post in it, I'm drawing on history from a campaign that ran into the tens of thousands to fill out the details.

Still officially waiting on Sionell's final decision on a character concept, and how she wants to proceed this time around.

Teacher's will be around seventh level, though at least five of those levels should be invested in a single class.  I'm actually hoping to keep bookkeeping LIGHT.

No... really this time i want to keep it super light, and avoid serious combat like the plague is the theory this time around.  I'm sure... somewhere along the way we'll get into combat, but for the most part i'm trying to focus on roleplaying... really..
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:51, Mon 16 Sept 2019.

Sounds great! As of now I am going to stick with just the teacher side of the house, but I will let you know if I get a itch to try things from the student perspective.

That's fine ...

I believe... 'tentatively', Sionell is going somewhere along the lines of a noble martial combat side of things.

So it feels like there might be a little overlap.

However, this will reflect a 'gap' in the teaching faculty, and the characters may be forced into teaching things 'out of their comfort zone'

There will be three NPC teachers, one for divine, one for arcane, one for martial.  Each broad subject was planned to have one player and one NPC teacher conduct the lessons together.  Its fine if we dont have perfect distribution in skills among the characters, like real life nothing is perfect, and i'm sure it'll resolve in roleplaying.

No worries. I figured teachers might have to substitute at a minimum, so that's why I used the favored class ones to spread out a bit.

Not too shabby.  We have our third teacher now, and again it's an old returning player.

With that i'm pretty pleased with where we are as far as player population.  I might allow a fourth, but they're going to have to really work convincing me to let them in at this point.

Also willing at this point to start entertaining students more seriously, so that'll be a slight gear shift in player recruiting.

Regardless, please welcome Ethan.

Just a notation on where everyone currently stands.  So that you can all at least get a clue on where the other players are and stands.


Cassandra, Birth and Adventure Traits resolved, i think i still need to look at Veteran Trait.  Character sheet submited, and Draft is on the table and mostly approved.  I need to give it a good looking over to get the last of the bugs out, but she's definitely close to done.


Ethan, Birth and Adventure Traits resolved.  I need to look at the history and mull over the Veteran trait more, but otherwise the character looks pretty good as is.  I'm looking forward to his character submission.  Obviously he is probably going to be a Rogue and Bard come to mind, though other things arent impossible given his background, a class to learn spells here and there might have been useful in his history.


Sionell, I have stated interest, and a general character on the table from her.  We are currently deliberating over how to treat her traits in the campaign.

---

My current activities...

I will probably generate a suggested magic item list for Ethan to look at.  Both Ethan and Sionell are returning players, so i wont have to go into how magic items work, you both should be pretty familiar at this point.


Question to players

None of the Characters know each other, though i'd like to think that were all grown up enough to roleplay that status without forcing that situation.  So, are we all okay to share personal character information to one another, or would you prefer to keep your character secret?

Ah... well, "Hello!"

Nice to meet everyone.  Or... rather, I look forward to doing so in a more structured way.


I'd be happy to discuss ways we may have heard of each other prior to actual gameplay if such an option is available.  Even if its only rumors we may have heard about each other's recent past.


My character is likely to be 'tuned in' to whatever gossip exists, be it from an academic way or an entirely ludicrous townie way. And while I don't mean to step on the toes of my GM, I don't think that making up some perfectly good lies (or exaggerations) about yourself is an unreasonable way to 'fall' into character.  It would certainly give us all something to talk about ...etc.

Just a thought.

For seasoned players I have no issues knowing stuff OOC. I do like the rumor idea for IC knowledge. I'd be happy to do the 2 Half-truths & 1 Truth game for rumors if the GM approves.

I'm good with what ever you guys decide among yourselves.

You're all high level characters, so in your own special fields, you're all well known, though outside those circles you might look deceptively mundane.

At the very least, at the player level (if not the character level) you should coordinate on character classes, and what subject you'd like to teach.  If possible i'd like to have the player characters stay out of each others way regarding their lessons.

While there might be some activity overlap, a broad sharing of a class seems excessive given the small body of students, you'd rarely need more than one or two teachers to teach something.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:32, Thu 19 Sept 2019.

Just so I understand a few things. 

The students who are likely to show up for classes as such are at what sort of level of ability?  From what I remember from the Potterverse, classes were basically Item Crafting classes.  Maybe a few Advanced Knowledge classes.  And, nearly all after-curricular studies where like lessons on how to use magic items.

Without trying to replicate the wheel. Are we going to be teaching classes on the value of certain skills and feats? Or is this a finishing school where we try to instill in these students the applied uses of various skills?   Like teaching other people how to solve problems by continuously forcing them to apply themselves.

Or, are these classes generally taught lectures and required reading?
Or, will all that depend on the classes taught and the professors who teach them?
--

I don't necessarily want to clutter up an OOC thread with player based world-building. Can I ask for a thread designed for the players to introduce each other via an OOC method by outside of the standard IC thread?  Someplace we can share gossip, half-truths, real tales, and even a general description of each other?  I mean I know I can write something up ... but I didn't want it to get lost here.

Actually...

You'll recall at the start of the Harry Potter movie, Harry was just a normal kid and told to go to the academy to learn.

As noted in the RTJ, they're level zero with no character class yet.  They're actually at the academy to learn that stuff.

---

Stuff they would learn...

Physical Education - Would cover stuff you would expect in 'gym' but be more extensive, and be a milder (kid version) of 'boot camp'.  You would have to determine which have the talent and will to be whipped into shape and move on to things like 'Fighter', 'Ranger' and other martial oriented classes.  Those who dont have the natural talent and will, they still need to be physically competent.  Even a Magic User will have to exert themselves in adventures, else they'll be a drag on the party.  If they can't pass this minimal levels of this class, they're not fit to be adventuring.

Arcane Magic / Mental Education - Would covers stuff from Arcane magics, such as Magic users, Sorcerers, and so forth.  These magical talents would have to be determined early on, and cultivated.  In some cases, it's a long process that requires much book learning, in other cases natural talent and will will carry them along.  For those not magically inclined, basics like, Reading, Writing, and Math, are things that all adventures need.  Again, if they can't pass the minimal levels of this class, they're not fit to be adventuring.

Divine Magic / Spritual Education - Would cover Divine Magics, stuff like Clerics and Oracles would fall into these adventuring classes.  A devout and dedicated personality, about 'something' would lead into these classes.  For those that arent so inclined, minimal effort needs to be established to teach them a decent morale compass.  Ethics, and a bonding to a noble cause are needed to be adventures.  If they fail this class they're inclined to become bandits, and outlaws that are a menace to society.  For this reason, students need to at least pass this class to be acknowledged with a positive adventuring reputation.

I'm sure there are other things that will come up, and classes that dont fall neatly into these catagories, but that's my general view on the teaching that will go on in the academy

From what i see, there is no shortage of characters to teach weapon training.  Arcane and Divine... is another matter.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:43, Thu 19 Sept 2019.

My desires and expectations for the campaign aside, I'd like to hear what the players are interested in doing.

I'm not egotistical enough to just ignore what the players want.  The first step to meeting you half way to reaching your expectations, is to hear what your side.

Cassandra can definitely cover the martial side of the house, but I could see her filling the divine role as well if there is a void for it, without compromising my vision of her.

Just added two more players, which puts us one over on what i was hoping for, but i can live with that since they're focused on arcane and divine, which we sorta need at the moment.

I have general concepts, but please keep in mind the RTJ, that i'm requesting information regarding three stages of their life, Birth/Adventure/Veteran.

Little late at the moment, so i will give them a better look over tomorrow and work out details on traits that i do have.

Been a little time crushed recently (Husband is serving jury duty, and around the house to distract me with stuff at the moment, but i forecast some free time in the next fee days to catch up and hopefully get us all settled to actually start)

The Misty Valley is listed as a Homebrew campaign, but it's one that is user friendly to new players.

I have it listed as 'Neo Europa' in my notes, but most of the adventuring takes place in a small area called the Misty Valley.  (You'd be surprised how much adventuring can be done in a 'small' valley)

Much of the infrastucture of the campaign is recognizable in the real world.  Rather than reinvent the wheel, I use real world languages and cultures.  That makes things instantly recognizable to the players.

Human (Euro) is essentially 'English', which i presume were all familiar with.

When a character is speaking with something else, say Franco (French), you can hear the 'french' accent, and you're welcome to mix in a few french phrases here and there for flavor text.

General stuff like 'Celestial', doesnt sound as cool as 'Latin'.

etc...

Humans actually get the basis of much of their language from demi-humans.  ie.  The dwarves, sound a lot like 'German', so Human (German) will converse better with Dwarves than say Human (Euro)

---

I don't like broken economies.  Coin has value and worth.  Which is why i reworked the magic system, cause the cost for most of the stuff was just astronomical.  You had a choice to either be stingy as hell, which felt mean, or break the economy, which i already said i didnt like doing.

Most transactions with common folk will be in silver and copper.  Transactions with the rich and famous will normally be in gold, but other precious metals and gems might show up there too.  Regardless, characters in general are poor.

That said, i use the concept of the lifestyle tax.  Which presumes that you make money from a profession of some sort, and this covers your normal day to day expenses.  This eliminates the need to penny pinch and cover things like meals... rent... and mundane purchases that i consider falling under 'incidental'.

---

Religion, not a big deal for most of you, rather important to others (like if you're a cleric or something...)

There are eight divine entities that are recognized by those willing to worship them.  They all have masculine and feminine aspects which are slightly different viewpoints.  They are broken up into the 'Elder' and the 'New' divinities.

The four old ones are ...

Nyx / Nyte - Noted as the 'first'.  Deals in chaos, entropy, and most things dark.  Nyx is the more readily accepted aspect.  In the beginning when there was nothing all was Chaos, and Nyx was alone, and as far as he was concerned, this was good.  While not a 'popular' divinity, he is necessary, since he will balance the creation that the other divine bring forth devouring it with Enthropy to make way for the next new thing.  Nyte has a slightly softer image, in that she is regarded as a keeper of secrets, and keeping things in the dark, that should be in the dark.  Everyone has secrets, and when you want yours kept, she's the one you're usually whispering a prayer to.

Fate / Destiny - From the start, beside Nyx, without his notice Fate was always near at hand.  Luck, Chance, Random occurance.  Wait around long enough and almost anything can happen.  A slippery concept, some associate trickery to her, while those who are constantly travelling on the road, often whisper a prayer to her quiet indulgence for safe travels.  From Fate's influence even something like Law might emerge from Chaos.

Creed / Justice - Not just rolling chaos, but Law and Order.  A thing unknown to chaos.  A quick and eternal opposition to one another and a direct opposition to Nyx.

Sol / Solaria - Equal opposition to one another, but not quite equal influence.  Long standing and all consuming and encompassing Nyx is more than a fair handful for Creed, so it was destined that there would be Light, and Nyx was force to recoil back to this warm foreign thing in his dominion.  So began the long balanced struggle between day and night, summer and winter, when one held a slight dominion over the other, but never quite banishing one another.

These are the four old divinities...

The four new ones, took on the elements as their spheres of influence and are known patrons for the various races.

Gaea / Geb was the first, bringing forth form and stone.  The first and most hardy earth elementals lived deep in the earth and drew strength from her element.  She is regarded as the Patron divinity of Dwarves.

Aericel / Tempest, bought forth life giving air, and granting thought and magic into the world.  She is patron to one of the longest living races talented in magic, the elves.

Luna / Triton, with the coming of water, all things needed for life to thrive was present and plentiful.  Like ever changing water, patron to the ever adapting and evolving humans.

Pyro / Pyra, with the coming of the new divinities Nyx was unsatisfied, and aggrieved that it was not fair that nothing but opposition came from these chance things that Fate had put into motion.  So came forth Pyro.  Sol's gentle warmth incited to chaotic violence and inclined to destruction.  Here was a new divinity that Nyx could understand.  This new divinity was the Patron of the Blackbloods, inhuman races, that were incline to violence and destruction.

whew... these are the really brief summary of the divine in the campaign.  I obviously have rules for them too but this should be fine for now.

Okay, that took longer than i thought, so i'm going to bed.

Too much world building >.<

So i'm going back to bed now, will make effort to get a start up post for Ethan tomorrow, continue with Cassandra, and give a look at traits for Ornn and Creedrow tomorrow.

Just dropping in to say hello. I will be working on my pc over the weekend.

Right updated thread for Cassandra, and introduced Ethan and Creedrow.

If you feel a little out of sorts cause you dont have a character sheet, dont feel bad, no one has a full and 'complete' character sheet.

I just ... rather play than fixate on dotting the i's and dashing the t's on the character sheet.  As long as the character is solid the rest will come along.  A bit of play can actually help you get a feel for your character and inspire bits of design here and there, as inspiration for the skills that should be taken.

I've assigned characters avatars, and i've started using them to identify them in the post, if you dont like yours, best to change it to one soon so i can approve it?

They'll mostly be used to identify who is 'in' the post so at a glance you can know if the post is for you (picture in upper right corner), who's talking to you (upper left corner), and other people present (throughout the post as they appear).

I've also been known to use a dialogue table when banter passes back and forth between several characters, to make it easier to identify who said what.

Also dialogue is color coded.  I try and match colors to personalities.  You should pick a color for your 'voice'.  Also, i use Italics, to represent unspoken thoughts.

I think that about covers it for posting etiquette?  Comments and questions are welcome, but i think this is pretty cut and dry?

Agreed, oh mighty GM.

Question - should italics (thoughts) remain in the same color of the person who is thinking them?

In reply to Ethan Summerswift (msg # 21):

They should be the 'general' same color.

ie.

Bel uses Green, though if she's using thoughts it would be lighter green.

That's just me, if you're not inclined to fancy, simple Italics in the same color works for me too.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:34, Sun 22 Sept 2019.

Hello all!

I've worked out the character details, just wondering how this all works. (I've been playing Pathfinder/Dnd for years but I'm new to Pbp so bear with me &#128567;) I'm assuming send the character details to the gm? Also, I'm not sure whether I'm a teacher or a student at this point... How do I know?

Hey Ornn and welcome!


I've also a Knight of the Dinner Table but have only recently cut my teeth as a virtual player.  Though truth is I've played online when we called these MUSHs [Multi-User Shared Hallucination] and the players out-numbered the GM by the hundreds.

This experience is a bit more intimate... and the story is better developed for that distinction.


As to your questions... I can't actually say if you'd be a student or a teacher [not having more authority than any other player, here.]. Though I'd expect that fact should have been central to know for the concept you pitched at our GM in your RTJ.

Last i check he wanted to be a teacher, definitely students dont show up with spectral horses.

Hahaha, I made an assumption based off my RTJ, I hope it wasn't in error ^.^

Yeah... I mean, Phantom Steed is a 3rd level spell, but it is kinda... Odd... Compared to the other entrances, now that I think about it. Yeah.

Sorry about that whole mess, I turned it into a private mwaage for the GM so we don't have to worry about that any more. *bows* apologies everyone, I'm a little excited >.<
This message was last edited by the player at 00:20, Mon 23 Sept 2019.

Yes, when i have a fair handle on the character, i'll introduce them.  That doent mean i need a full character sheet, but i should understand them enough to have traits assigned.

We have a full house at this point as far as teachers go.  I only wanted 3 or 4, and have five now.  You were third to respond, but you did in rmail, and i admits i was tempted to decline it since i was full but decided for various reasons to add you as the last.  This early in the campaign, attrition is something i'm use to, so it'll get down to the numbers i want sooner or later, and if you're all splendid players, theres no regrets to let you all in to play with so... yeah.  That's my logic on this one.

I have no students at this point, though one player had already noted they wouldnt mind looking at the campaign from that end too.  So if you're inclined to MPD, let me know and we'll discuss setting up a student for you too, or if you prefer that over a teacher, best let me know earlier than later.

Yes... 3rd level spells are a big thing in the campaign actually.

No one, outside of exceptional circumstances can cast anything beyond 3rd level (never happened in the game), and i can count the number of times 3rd level spells were cast by players on one hand, so yeah, that entrance was going to need some research at the character by me before sliding in as official.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:01, Mon 23 Sept 2019.

In reply to Fate (msg # 27):

Gotcha, take your time, you've got a lot on your plate! I appreciate the consideration, and I await your approval and perusal ^.^

Is there a place I can get a better idea of this world? I'm starting to realize my thoughts may be more akin to the thoughts of a poor wayward Archmage in a low magic Isekai manga....
This message was last edited by the player at 04:59, Mon 23 Sept 2019.

I suggest ...

That characters share character generation information with one another here.

Questions you have and what not, should be asked here, because if you have the question, someone else might too.  Asking it here, and answering it here will answer the question and inform the other players too.

Unless it's something 'personal' to the character we can only benefit from sharing information.

ie.  the information about the divinities, while useful for cleric players for character design, is useful for everyone in general for roleplaying setting.

Only one player has a (mostly) complete character sheet, everyone else is actually still sifting through character classes, traits, and what not.  So, dont feel you're behind.  Some character are put into the campaign, which happens after i worked and looked at them enough to get a 'feel' for them.  That will usually happen well before character stats happen.

Many generations of the Misty Valley have come and gone before this one, some of them really shorter lived than they deserved, but i've learned and refined the way i do things from each of them.  Truth be told, i still am so while i'm willing to entertain about anything as a possibility, when i make a ruling, i make a ruling and they're usually pretty set in stone after that.

Mmmm... regarding magics... (see next note)

Trying out a new 'magic item' system this time around.

Cassandra asked about items, and i told her i was giving out about (7) points worth of 'magic' equipment.


First, there is MASTERWORK Equipment

To be noted, I count master work items in there because in my campaigns, master work equipment is the first stepping stone to magic items.

Most notably from core rules are masterwork weapons (+1 hit) and armor (reduce armor check penalty by one).  Armor has some extra rules though, in that the 'bonus' doesnt need to be armor check, and reducing arcane failure, and encumbrance are also options.  Armor also has an extra level of quality noted as 'Custom' Masterwork Armor, which allows you two benefits instead of one, aside from the increased cost, they are tailor made for one character and no one else benefits from them.

Most Masterwork weapon and armor will be 'one point', plus or minus a 1/2 ~ 1 point (ie.  A Masterwork Dagger, isnt as expensive or valued as a MW Longsword, nor is MW leather as valued or expensive as MW Chain shirts.

Other stuff might be masterwork, but i wont count them against the character (this is stuff like boots, and gloves, and so forth).  Such masterwork things might just be nice items that are comfortable and look good (around 20 gold value, not worth an item point), but others might provide a skill bonus of some sort, like boots that might provide a bonus to stealth skill checks, or gloves that might be helpful for disabling skill checks, and so forth.  It's important to note that these fall under circumstantial equipment bonus and DO NOT STACK with each other, so if you have gloves that give you a +1 bonus, and thief picks that give you a +1 bonus, together, they give you a +1, not ... +2

---

Next there is 'Imbued' Equipment.

Imbued Magical Equipment is sort of limited use magic item, that i've developed for the campaign, and that has been popular with just about everyone that plays in them.  The foundations of the rules are actually rooted in the core rules, i just took them to heart and built around it extensively.

The basic function of an Imbued Magical item, is to etch, sew, dye (whatever) magical script of some sort onto masterwork equipment.  This magical script trigger a predetermined magical effect, drawing magical energy from 'mana stones/gems'.  Over the span of day (more or less) these mana stones will draw ambient mana back into the stones and be ready for use again the next day.  (In theory it should be ready 24 hours later, but for practical simple bookkeeping, you get them back after the party rests to refresh spells)

The most basic Imbued Equipment will trigger a first level spell of some sort, once a day.

This is the most basic understanding of how imbued items work, the more advance bit, involves knowing what spells are used in what items.

ie.  Masterwork Boots, are usually imbued for movement and travel, normally with Expeditious Retreat, or Longstrider.

A first level spell, once a day is worth about (1) item point

---

Minor versions of Magic Equipment

These are scaled down 'lesser' versions of establish magical items.  The pouches of holding fall into this category.  They're scaled down bags of holding with a belt loop to hang off your hip.  Very useful.  You cant fit the entire general store into it, but you can carry a good bit in it and stay unencumbered.  Not for this campaign, but it's an important point in past campaigns, which were more tactical specific, and encumbrance was watched very carefully to decide how far and fast you can move.  Moving slow... was bad.  You can expect to be 'kited' and pin cushioned in short order if you were, and i was unrepentant about it, because players would do it too.

I came out with inexpensive staves, wands, and rods following this rule.

---

Temporary magic equipment.

Mostly some things were changed for bookkeeping.  ie.  Instead of scribing scrolls, i let players scribe them into spell books, to be 'neat'.  Open the book cast the spell out of the book, get a new blank page to scribe again.  (crafting was fairly 'big' in some of these campaigns)

'Expendable' wands came in smaller sizes, so they no longer had '100' charges at full.  A pretty obnoxious number.

A notable difference, is the 'Mana' Potion.  Inspired by video games, drinking one would revive the character to the point of restoring an ability to cast a spell that had been able to cast earlier in the day but expended.  The typical mana potion will allow you to recast a first level spell.


Ponders  Geez... scratching the surface here, but its getting late and i think its time to log off.  I will make an effort to answer roleplaying before logging off.

I still need to look at Ornn.  Apologies, but Ornn is my 'bridge too far'.  I've only planned for 3 to 4, so fitting a fifth is making me feel time 'tight' which i can only solve by pushing the work off till i feel properly prepared to look at it

sorry, i really do try and love all my players, and treat them right.  It's just... you know, i like to sleep too.

>.<

Okay...

If you're not using core rules, you need to provide me with a link to whatever non-core rules you want me to look at.

my go to website for online referencing is d20.

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/

They have notes on all the stuff i have, and then some, so you should be able to find it there.

if you cant it's so obscure that odds of me letting it through are going to be much reduced if if i cant find a reference for what you're talking about.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:21, Tue 24 Sept 2019.

Just a footnote:  Much as i would love to keep up with the roleplaying, i'm distracted with the matters of character generation, and map generation at the moment, so... if i lag behind in responses be aware, they're for a good cause.

Oh wise and mighty GM,

While I know that it is your preference (inside of YOUR game) which is paramount, I thought I would mention that  (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/) is quite popular but is not actually the 'website of choice' for Piazo Publishing (the publisher and designer of Pathfinder) when they stopped supported their OWN website.  The Archives of Nethys is the Official Licensed Partner for all setting-specific pathfinder rules content (along with any Open Game Content).

D20pfsrd is many things but they utilize the materially free nature of the System Reference Document to sell their own 3rd party supplements via Patreon.  Now I don't mind this, I buy lots of stuff through them. But the stuff they present as RAW isn't always limited by the core publisher.

If that's important to you, mostly to control scope creep, I would suggest that you check out - (https://aonprd.com/)- it is for me an invaluable tool for indexing the pathfinder books.  But if you own the 3rd party stuff and already have that incorporated into your game then the other should be your "go-to".
This message was last edited by the player at 14:48, Tue 24 Sept 2019.

Paizo use to have an offical weblink, inside their website, but they 'moved it'.  Evidently to this new one.

I dont own the 3rd party stuff, but they're also clearly marked with their own link, so i'm okay with using them as a reference.

That other link works too, if you you want to be more official that is.

Though to be fair, with the mutation of home grown rules i use, i shouldnt be calling the kettle black about wanting 'official' core rules too closely.

it's just with the volume of player friendly stuff that is in the campaign, between the new traits i'm experimenting with, the Imbued magics that have been around forever, and the higher (by my standards) level, i dont see the need to drift too far from 'core' rules to stay 'balanced' and 'interesting'.  Particularly since we have several new players that have never dealt with the Misty Valley setting.

Myself included.

Some real life distractions (hubbie sick and tending to him and stuff), also got a new player, who will be playing a student.  Waiting on name/history from them, though they should be about in the near future.  (the next morning game time).

Right, Roleplaying thread updated.

Havent forgotten about Ornn, he'll arrive in the morning with 3 npc teachers, and a bunch of students.

Getting late though so i'm off to bed ttfn.

That tears it!   I might have known... ok who is it... which one of you is the time traveler.  I swear you just cant' enjoy a post-modern medieval fantasy anymore.



Sorry.  It's late. Or .... maybe it's early.


Depending on how you measure these things.

>.<

Bad Ethan... bad bad ethan... *mummbles*

Since we have a rumor and gossip thread, i suppose i should make use of it.

Player may make one roll, with a knowledge skill of their choice to discern rumors or general knowledge of things at the academy.

Given his specialty, i will allow Ethan to select two skills, and make a separate roll for each for information.


Appropriate skills might be...


ks:  Local  Information regarding the Misty Valley populated areas.  Which includes the Academy, Northshire, and various homestead in the area.

ks:  History  Information regarding notable historical events that occured in the Misty Valley


ks:  Nobility  Information on the Royal family, the dean, and possible events regarding the background of the academy.

ks:  Nature  Information regarding the local non inhabited areas, including 'monsters', herbs, medicinal plants, and the like.

etc... etc... etc...

Most ks Rolls will yield some sort of information, Profession rolls might also.  When in doubt you can ask me if a skill is appropriate.


Consider this motivation to get character sheets together, if you dont have a sheet, you dont have skills, if you dont have skills, you cant make a roll?
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:01, Wed 02 Oct 2019.

Ethan wonders at 'Agatha's' statistics. His brow raising at the conclusions drawn. And still wonders at the resources being expended here.

Do you recall the old old old way old Dungeons and Dragons 'Basic' boxed set, that came with the first module, Keep on the Boarderland?

If you play it... 'as is', and roll 3d6 for stats, you had a total hodge podge of stats.

Characters were... terrible.

Then you look at the intro dungeon module... Absolutely... LETHAL.  Traps... Ambushes... Cunning Monsters... matched against characters with feeble, or at best, average stats.

Agatha's stats i believe are right on if you consider that.  I recall how often the parties would wipe, or near wipe on the intro module.

If characters went to the 'academy' at least the ones that would 'suck' (bad ability rolls) would be weeded out, and dungeon experience on the things to do in a 'dungeon' are at least passed on somewhat.

If you're familiar with anime/manga called 'Goblin Slayer', you sort of understand the environment rookie adventures start in... yeah... i'm a level one magic user i shoot off one spell and then i'm useless... with a staff... or dagger... .and no armor... and... d4 hit points... yeah... i'm not a walking statistic...

Older players know that i'm not quite the slave to linear time lines, and i've been known to run things slightly out of sequence.

To this end i've started the 'private' threads for Cass and Creedrow.  These threads are meant to be private and away from other teaching activity and as such, not a slave to the timelines of others.

Should there be events with more than one teacher doing 'stuff' the use of the'general' thead will be used, or a new one formed up to accomidate the activity.


Cass and Creedrow both have pretty complete characters at this point for me to give the final look over and hopefully finalize soon.

At that point I'll give Ethan's character a harder look, and give real attention to Orrn and Sionell.  Though to be fair, Sionell has gotten sorta quiet so she may have lost interest or gotten busy in the flesh and blood world.

Also, the expect student seems to be vapor at the moment, and has dropped off silent, which i really dont mind.  Better now while no work is done.  I'd be a lot more miffed if it happened after going through the motions of making a character.

Anyways, that's where i am at the moment.

I may... or may not get to answer the general thread tonight.  I have some stuff distracting me, and if i have time and energy will get to it.  If not, well... tomorrow is another day.

Seems to be some desire to interact with Adhafera and Alea so I will extend their moment for another day or two before moving on to the next two students.

Roll Call of present 10 students in Cafeteria...

Adhafera Arcwright
Alea

Coleson
Jason

Judith
Makoa

Milo
Rothor Palon

Tabitha
Wyrmwood

So there are four more pairs to orient after these two, and I'm presuming private threads are pending introductions her.  Easier to do with all the teachers present than individually in private threads.  While it wont matter to you, it would mean i have to replay the same scene several times, so better a general introduction and then you can fine tune your interest on the students you want to interact with.

I have a set number of NPC's that i'm bringing forward into the campaign.  Since this is a prelude timeline, i'm bringing actually characters from the campaign to be students.  If you have a suggested archetype you'd like to see as a student please make it known and they may show up the next day when the balance of students appear.

Even without a full character sheet will discuss with Ornn and Sionell if they want to join the roleplaying at this point to get them introduced to the students as well.

mmm...

I suppose no matter how good things looks, statistics catches up to you.

I presumed attrition would cost me players and i suppose Sionell wont be joining us in the campaign.

Creative character block on a concept to play seems to be the cause, so that actually brings the player population down to where i wanted it, presuming i didnt lose Cassandra, who's been sorta quiet.

Though.. considering i had a black out of several days, i wouldnt feel right calling the kettle black, so i'll wait to hear from Cass if they're still about.

Ornn is reworking their character at the moment, so, till they have enough of a concept together to add, things are what they are, which isnt terrible from my point of view at the moment at least.

Just keeping peeps informed.

On a different note, are players okay with the current direction and pace of the campaign?

ttfn.

Still here! Sorry for not being around recently. Work hit hard followed by tonsil removal that had complications. Finally feeling good enough to sit up and type on the phone. I'll post as soon as I am caught up.

ah~

Okay, no worries, i know i got distracted with personal stuff and was offline for a few days (a week plus?) so i'm certainly giving leeway on attention.  If you still need some time, that's fine, i just noticed there was no activity on your personal thread so i was wondering if something wasn't working out for you with the campaign.

Sorry to hear you're feeling under the weather, but pleased that you're still interested in playing.

ttfn.

No, it's healing. Just had an abscess after the removal that required some extra attention (needles, not fun).

Still interested, I'll post in the main thread in a bit and the personal thread either tonight or tomorrow :)

Also, I think I still owe you stats for the pet. I'll get that soon as well.

Thanks for the understanding.

Answered public post this morning, mostly cause they were easier to do.

Private messages later today, cause i imagine they'll be more challenging to sift through.

Okay ... so...

without giving away too many spoilers, and to at least get the players on the same page, i want to work out some stuff out of character


Teacher general function.


Cassandra - Martial Arms education and outdoors survival education.  Roomed in the Watch Tower.

Creedrow - Divine education and general academics education.  Roomed in the Academy Temple, along with Sister Rebecca.

Ornn - Arcane and magical equipment education and safety.  Roomed in the Alchemy lab with Professor Bel.

Ethan - Social skills and pragmatic survival and education.  Currently unassigned, still figuring this out.


Teaching 'slots'

Cassandra - Undecided

Creedrow - Early mornings, after breakfast.  1 hour every day.  If someone else wants the morning slots, they will 'alternate' days and have 2 hour sessions to make up for it.

Ornn - Undecided

Ethan - Undecided

---

There are NPC teachers also, mentors that cover your subjects to have redundant mentors in case someone gets sick or has to be away for personal reasons.  These are 'peers', your equal, and not your assistant.

For Creedrow, it would be Sister Rebecca

For Ornn, it would be Professor Bel.

I'm still working out Cass and Ethan.  Originally Sionell was going to be martial also, so i didnt need an npc for that.  I'm debating if Cass and Ethan should be martial teachers together since they have overlap or not.  Fuzzy here mostly cause Ethan wont commit to what he's doing :P  *hint hint* *nudge nudge*

Anyway, this is stuff we should work out here, and presume was done in character somewhere, but this is not super great rp stuff that would take forever to roleplay through, so i'm just as good with saying we discuss it here out of play and saying it was roleplayed properly over dinner or some such.

I think after dinner will be the time for Cassandra's class period. "Anyone can fight in the bright daylight, but the students will not always be that lucky."

For the outdoor side of things, I am thinking that will adjust as needed, probably varying times through the week not to interfere with the other classes. Might end up utilizing a weekend day once a month for this purpose as survival classes are not short. Cassandra would be willing to co-teach with Ethan if he is up for that :)

umm... 'before' dinner might be better?

you dont want them getting sick over a full stomach, and it would build their appetite to eat proper after classes?

I suppose that depends on when dinner is. I am used to it being at 5-6pm, so still time in the evening for a class. I am fine with late afternoon if dinner is later as well. Basically looking for waning or lack of sun, lol.

Breakfast is served half a hour past dawn, and will vary by season.

Lunch is served around 'high noon'.

Dinner is served a hour before sunset, which will also vary by season.

During warm weather, when the days are longer and the time between lunch and dinner might feel a little long there is also afternoon 'tea' or 'coffee' time, or where the students are concerned, 'snack' time.  Where a brief light snack/meal is served to help tide one over till a proper dinner is served.

It's turning Autumn, the start of the school year, so the days are getting shorter.  (no tea time)

On deeper reflection, i suppose we can arrange it like a college schedule, where you have them for five~six hours a week, and you can expect to assign them homework and studies equal to about the same as the rule of the thumb?  (we've all had nice teachers we liked that gave less, and those that made us groan and gave more though?)

I am fine with either schedule :)

hint, hint nudge nu--- um, what?
Oh!  ok.

Ethan would be more than happy... to back up Cassandra in the teaching of all necessary fieldcraft. (especially at this introductory level of knowledge) If this means I'm acting as the 'rabbit' to her 'hound' imitation ... then I'm certain her students might like to know what a live application for the skills they are learning in her class might look like.

And, while I doubt my survival skills surpasses hers. If I ran a Stealth-based class it would aid BOTH her and my efforts ... especially if they could spar off against the other. I was planning on spearheading some dex based skills classes (as those are useful for both front line and second string combatants).

---

I expected that my own classes would touch on social skills.  Effective Communication. Critical and Flexible thinking.  Teamwork and Command (at least minimally).  Skills that would be paramount in Urban Operations.  BUT, as these are introductory classes - I doubt I'd be more than skimming the longer-term skills.  Although I'd expect such exposure might inspire those people who think that non-magical classes are all about sword-swinging.  And if they happened after... or even during the meal hour that would be fine too.

My classes would likely START in a classroom but likely end up 'in the field'. Tests and quizzes would be requiring students to end up acting like true investigators or explorers. Where they'd learn, by doing, how to 'get along' for the sake of their mutual grades, having to combine and appreciate each other's natural talents.

If any of that sort of doing and planning sounds like fun to Cassandra I would more than welcome her as a co-conspirator  --um, I mean a joint term professor --... on the classes I plan on teaching.   I'd think she and I would be quite the pair.

  Given that the majority of my classwork will be on honing physical ability and teaching combat tactics.  A professorship might not be the best title for that role.  "Sergeant" is fine - though you might object and suggest this isn't a military command. In that case, Drillmaster or Training Instructor are reasonable substitutes. ['Tee Eye' Summerswift?']

That works perfectly for me. Cassandra's skills are on the finding side of the house so splitting the class and having them track/search for each other is perfect. When teaching solo Cassandra will focus on the martial side of things and when teaming up we can go through the basics and work on tracking, hiding, seeking, ect.

Yay complimentary skills!

As for titles, I didn't want to assume anything so the generic 'teacher' and 'instructor' are both neutral and applicable. Cassandra would be more worried about offending someone by using the wrong title than using a generic, but applicable one. I was intending on having them use 'Instructor' or 'Instructor Stonebrooke' but I am not married to anything specific.

Okay, i believe everyone has had enough time to orient Adhafera and Alea, and are satisfied with where things stand with these two, so I'm going to move on to the next two.

Oh, mighty DM?

Can you set up a thread to plan for future classes? I'd like a thread to work with Cassandra regarding how we can support each other in the future for classes. I would prefer this meeting to be held in a semipermanent camp house closer to the natural parts of campus. Someplace that would seem like 'roughing' it... even if THAT was far from the truth.

It might be a half-built but still defendable campsite. A shared 4 season pavilion with a canvas roof and earth walls. Something Yurt-like? If Agatha has any pull with this nation's army... this might even be a recent addition, earthworks built by actual soldiers.

I'd love to use technology that still exists to explain things like ancient ruins. Also, and Cassandra may have already gone over this, are there any natural assets to the terrain around the school we can use to train?

Large camp worthy caves, large sources of fresh-water,  groves of heavy canopy trees, things of that nature?

Thank you .

Cant believe holiday prep is killing me already.

I wisely POSTED before noting here that i'm posting.

So what's this that you two want a shared thread?

I'm not against it, but will point out that your post rates will HAVE to overlap for these things.  Are you both okay with that?  If so then i suppose I can give Ethan Access to Cassandra's private thread, and we can use that as your 'joint' class, since they're both in the same location anyway?

mm... though there are some 'private' things i suppose that should stay private so perhaps i'll set up a separate one.

What is this thread for?  Classes or something else?

ie.  What should i call it?
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:06, Sun 10 Nov 2019.

Classes ... mostly?   Maybe sharing something of ourselves and how we see the world (you know ... roleplay)

I'm basically just looking for somewhere to share ideas for planning future classwork. And maybe talk about prospective students. Including the possibility of grading on a curve, or setting up allowances for extra credit. Setting up a penalty box for wayward students. Setting up tests that teach real skills with REAL threats. Ain't nothing like a sharp sword, and spilling a little blood... to teach you how to be careful.

Setting up one class to act as 'threats' for other classes... who need to learn how to defend themselves, etc.  Organizing Team sports.  Inspiring squad tactics. Establish confidence-building exercises. Define resource management games. And, determining HOW to reward nonconventional thinking ... that sort of thing.

I've got LOTS of ideas for daily subjects but I'd like to introduce at least a couple of them in character. Like how I want to have a "Rope 101" course with the use of a block and tackle as an exploration tool...  along with the standard knot tieing class. Eventually, I'd even want to build an obstacle course for the more physical of the bunch.
And,  if YOU want us to teach these classes I think some conversation about how that should happen between like-minded professors NEEDS to exist.

Presumedly, ALSO in character.
Besides, I'm enough of an experienced player to not to read threads I'm not supposed to read. Effing Hell.  I WANT to be surprised.  If you want to give me a thread on a Group of threads typically reserved for Cassandra ... that's fine for me.

As for names.  Um... how about 'Chasing Shadows.'
or
  'How to play hide and seek for fun and profit.' ?

I'll make a joint thread since you have related classes then, and allow for private ones too.

You're both going to room at the tower, though on the night after orientation, you'll both end up going there at different times.

Necessary, because i've already started Cassandra's thread and she's alone with the dean.

Added a language group for Judith, and those that might understand her.

I think... for a schedule, that I will have the students have alternate days of 'general' activity.

So on one day they will do 8 hours of physical activities, and for the next it'll be 8 hours of class work (their bodies will rest and bruises, if any, will heal).

During the day, they will be expected to do 2~4 hours or so of 'prep' work for the class of the day, or 'homework' study from the previous day.  So teachers can give assignments though, they shouldn't go overboard.

So you can assign them things like morning physical routines to do, or books to read, or assignments to complete.  You all remember what school was like and how much kids LOVE homework?

---

Following this line of thought, we will presume that you have two or three days of 'orientation', and then a 'weekend'.

btw, Except for Nyx, each day of the 'week' is dedicated to a divinity making for a seven day week.  Every two weeks (a fort night) there is an 'off' day to observe Nyx which is a sort of holiday and no one really does serious work.  Two cycles of this makes for a thirty day 'month'.   Three months make a season.  Four seasons make a year.

Really school scheduling can be whatever you guys want need it to be, ie.  If Cass wants to take them out for an overnight camping trip over a few days she can, but those kids will have extra classes to make up, when they get back and she should go 'light' on them as they try to catch up, etc...
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:57, Mon 11 Nov 2019.

After we get up and 'running', i will allow players to designate a teacher's pet.  Really dont need to describe what this is.  It's pretty much a student that the teacher takes a liking to.

Players can either make up a student type they would like to have for a pet, that will show up later, or pick one from the established NPC students.  A pet students doesnt have to be someone that teacher likes, just one the teacher pays special attention too.  A harsh stern teacher might not shower any students with affection, but they may pay extra attention to a 'slacker' they don't like.


ie.  Creedrow might take an interest in making Adhafera a pet cause of his perceived potential, or he might just as easily take an interest in Alea cause her attitude gets under his skin and bothers him.

A designated 'pet' is your way of telling me you have an interest in an NPC and want to roleplay with them more.

It's okay for more than one teacher to have the same pet.  We all know at least one student that every teacher in a grade seemed to take a liking to during our time in school?  No rush on the designation, spend some time with the students, and if none of them perk your interest submit a suggestion to me.

Being this is your world view of generic Europa. And, as I've never played in your game for more than a handful of months.  I wanted to get some basic understanding of the 'lay of the land'.

There's a good probability that Creedow and I are going to butt heads ... like two rams on the side of a mountain.  Each one of us with our own precarious opinion. And the students caught in the middle.
I'm looking forward to it.

Are there any laws which expressly didn't exist in your version of European history of a specific century.
[ie. Does slavery exist? Do serfs exist?]

If the answer is "no" to both questions.  Unless you say differently, I will I presume that the social caste ...has Royalty at the very top followed by the Aristocracy (including, children which were born noble), the Gentry (including Men who were MADE noble), and the common man  (with no further distinction)

Slavery sort of exist.

In the form of bondsman, prisoner of war, and criminal punishment.

Sometimes it's a temporary status, like a jail term or till a depth is paid off.  Other times its permanent, like a life sentence for a crime or crushing debt that can't be paid off.

The sort where you raid a place to harvest people as a crop to be sold, is looked upon in a dim light, at least officially.

Like these days the use of chemical weapons are suppose to be illegal, but you can still see it happen here and there.

I can't cover everything, but creedrow is right, a lot of it has to do with religious tenat and the balance would be the kings law.  That said culture will have an influence as will race.

 The euro, asians, nords, and Germans have different views, as will elves, dwarves and what not.  I know how it works in my head so you can ask, but I can't type everything

As long as you don't mind a player who is likely to be filled with questions.

I generally don't play with any expectation of needing anyone to present any OBJECTIVE truths.  My opinion remains my own.  And, what I say won't land me in hot water... until it does.  So...  until such time as some Paladin or Cavalier comes looking for me, "...in the name of the Law!"

And even THEN, I'll just have to prove it's possible to be both criminal and hero.

For the 'MOST PART', i use modern common sense regarding the 'law'.

A lot of it might have to do with the prevailing religion in the area.

ie.  Most of the divine are pretty 'normal' with where common sense law is concerned.

A place where Pyro has a strong influence might accept more chaotic and lawless behavior as normal, being more forgiving regarding destruction and violence.  Favoring individual freedoms over most everything else.

on the other side of this, is a place where Creed might have a strong influence.  Where mindless violence and destruction is criminal and eradicated.  Where community well being comes first, and every individual has a respected place in the community no matter how big or small.


'Good' and 'Evil' might be found in both places, since Pathfinder considers this alignment as the general 'value' of life.

So you might find an arson with an inclination to watch things burn, but he might be adverse to actually hurting people.  Such a person might be a loner that finds a place as a Combat Engineer, and be valued for their talent in blowing things up, which he won't mind as long as lives aren't being blown up in the process.

or...

You might find a Creed Zealot, who is out to eradicate Pyro's influence with extreme prejudice and sees things in black and white, and if you're not white you're dead.  This would be sort of 'Evil'.  If you're not part of his community, you're a vile disease that he's the cure for.

---

This is more my view on alignment, but this plays out into how i interpret law.

ie.  Black Bloods are in general, evil.  They have a low regard for life and really kill if it suits thier purpose (chaotic) or accomplishes their goals (lawful).  They may not all be evil, there will be exceptions, but as a general rule most races look at them as evil for good reason.  It doesnt help that most of them worship Pyro, so their 'laws' and sense of justice is going to be pretty removed from the norm.

on the otherside of that.

ie.  Elves are in general, good.  Having long lives, they take a long view on this, and one of them dying is centuries of contribution lost from a careless moment.  For this reason they tend to value lives (at least elven ones), and are isolationist, unless their hand is forced.  For this reason, as a general view, they're reputed as 'good'.


Anyway, that's how alignments and law, and what not works in the campaign.


For those of you familiar with her, I think Caroline, will expand her financial ventures beyond her Cafe, and open a Boutique.


I've been contemplating 'clothes' for divine and arcane casters.

Really, why do they where robes, and funny hats?  Is there a reason why many seem to wear glasses?  Could it be that these clothes provide a bonus of some sort for spell casting?

Martial combat sorts have armor, which is an obvious boon for their focus, but spell casters dont have such options...

So i was contemplating, experimenting with such clothings and having Caroline peddle them in Northshire.  This isnt a great campaign to focus on this stuff, but it still counts as a campaign for me to work out the bugs on such experimental concepts and you work as a base for testing.

Unrelated, but Cassandra has been offline since November 11, longer if you discount her quick stop in saying she was busy~ish.  Not ready to write her off, but in a small campaign like, this, especially with a player trying to tie story lines together, that's a long time to be missing.


PLEASE NOTE:

If you find the campaign is not what you're looking for, and not to your liking, please tell me.  I wont be offended, different strokes for different folks.  If it's time for you to cut loose and move on, because you're just not feeling it, let me know.  I would prefer a clean parting of ways, over a lingering wait only to hear, you're not interested at the end.  You're not doing either of us favors by lingering if you're not feeling it.

I've dealt with player attrition before, I'll deal with it again.


At the moment, Ethan and Creedrow feel invested in the campaign, and i don't expect to see them moving off anytime soon (i think?)

Ornn i think, is feeling out his place in the campaign.  I'm still waiting to see how he works out.

Cass, was my first player, and seemed enthusiastic, but it's possible the novelty has worn off, or maybe they just got busy with the holidays.  I'm not sure.

This is where we are currently, I'm still shaking somethings out, so if i need to go looking for another teacher, i'm good.  I'll give Cass at least till thanksgiving to check in, but i suspect she might be a no show and I'll be looking for a new mentor in the near future.  Though i want to get the Ethan and Creedrow firmly completed and a good handle on Ornn before doing so.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:26, Wed 20 Nov 2019.

@Religion & Alignment

Most societies (civilized or otherwise) are spectacularly varied and are not easily defined under a 9 slot alignment system. There are far more types of illegality not specially covered by the status regarding any 'loss of life'.

 I can understand how YOU, the GM, might automatically attach what is or is not against 'the law' as being a direct correlation to alignment. And you aren't wrong. You are, after all, God. The breaking of any law may seem like a violation of 'Lawful or Good behavior' to you.

But YOU are a being OUTSIDE of the created system. You can make value judgments based on the largest scope of reality. We, players, who must act INSIDE of the created system cannot make objective value statements. We can ONLY make subjective decisions depending on our immediate circumstances.

Which is where religion comes into play, I suppose.  And all of those persons who actively proselytize for the common man to follow those dogmatic examples ...when making any decision to act (or not). And if the Gods are present enough in our society's daily existence to have laid down Dogma.  And we, their congregation, are not just relying on priests (who may or may not have their own agenda - because, y'know, alignments apply to them too) to interpret that dogma.  Then ok, sure. We all have a road map to good and lawful behavior.

And any act of free will against that road map is, by definition, a chaotic act.

The problem is ... ALL of my decisions operate on an ongoing timeline.  I may THINK I know what is a Just and Good decision today is but will that same decision be as RIGHTEOUS tomorrow, after I have NO ability to change what I did then?

 Many common activities of any society are consistently inexplicable as being Moral or Ethical when reviewed on a long enough timeline. To any creature INSIDE of closed system, the 'alignment' system is a highly subjective descriptor for any activity.

Consider the following all-too-common story.

• The ruling noble of my nation declares 'WAR' upon a neighboring nation. (Good? Evil?)
• I get a draft notice and I wilfully report to a duty station to become a soldier. (Lawful.)
• I am deployed, along with my unit, on the 'front line' where I proceed to kill as ordered.(Lawful. Evil?)
• After many battles, the neighboring nation avoids decimation by surrendering. (?)
• My nation moves to occupy that 'new' land displacing any who might have survived. (?)
• Those survivors are either absorbed into their 'new nation', without the wealth as the newest and likely lowest rung of the social ladder.  Those persons who had wealth now do not... because such a resource was confiscated, redistributed, or destroyed. So now, they must work (likely at a social disadvantage) and reclaim a position in the new social order. OR, move on to a different place.
• Later, it is revealed that the ruling noble of MY nation usurped the throne.. and has been deposed by the rightful heir.
• The new King/Queen, in the name of righteousness and goodwill, attempts to put the old nations back to a state of peace. (?) Or, if she is wise, she may instead suggest THAT they old ways cannot be returned to but she'll attempt to eradicate the social disadvantage that exists in regular business practices in the Kingdom.

[Does that make my time as a soldier, killing and pillaging for my nation ...a good or evil endeavor?
If it IS considered evil and I attempt to defend my actions as being righteous and lawful ... is it JUST for me to be treated as a social pariah, by those who disagree?
What if I was critically wounded while I expended effort and I was rewarded with wealth taken while at war. Is it a good or evil act to strip me of that reward? ]

Generally speaking, this is probably why Hogwarts didn't have history classes on Global Events.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:05, Wed 20 Nov 2019.

Started typing this for Creedrow, and concluded Ornn would need this info, and maybe future players too, so i'm putting it here.

Disclaimer, this is a lot of 'talk' and it still not all the rules, since there are limitations that i'm not going to go into, but they exist so you can't just take these rules and min/max power game with them.  They're a guideline, not the absolute rule on how things work... VERY IMPORTANT for players to acknowledge that take crafting feats for magic items.

There are house rules on what can go in what, and as a general only one spell per item.

ie.

Boots are used for movement based spells, like expeditious retreat.

Gloves are used for spells that require the use of hands or touch, like shocking grasp or lay hands.

Rings and Necklaces are general spells and are a sort of wild card in that they can take any spell.  (It helps to justify the feat specific to forge rings, since they're limited to two body slots).

You can only 'attune' to 'one' item per slot too, so you can't have a bag of rings, to use... put away, and put on a new one.

This concept has been throughly thought through for abuse.




The other way type is i scale down magic items, i scale down the effects and the cost for something.  ie.  The pouch of holding is based on the bag of Holding.


25% of the stuff that shows up will use the scaled down method


This is used for wands too, so some 'fully charged' 'expendable' wands in the campaign will have less than 100 charges.  Really a 100 charages is over kill.


The scaled down method has also been applied to staves.

The normal cost for a staff is pretty obnoxious to the point that you never see them, and in the scale of my campaign impossible to consider.

The core rule cost of a staff are...
1st slot - 400 gp x caster level x level of spell
2nd slot - 300 gp x caster level x level of spell
after 2nd- 200 gp x caster level x level of spell

Caster level was 'no less than 8th', so the cost of that first slot was going to be at least 3200gp x the level of the spell (more if it was a spell that an eight level can't cast)

You EASILY break into the five or six digit cost for staves under these rules.

So how do we make the cost more in scale with this campaign...

First, acknowledge that the highest level spell a character will normally have access to is 3rd level.  I can count the number of third level spells that were actually cast in my twilight campaign on one hand.  (One fireball and a few haste)

The campaign limted class levels to 7th at the time, but they've now been increased to ninth (with the caveat that spell levels are limited to third)

You could learn craft staff with a 6th level caster class.  Minimal Caster level is reduced to 5th level.  These are reasonable scale downs, when you consider that the highest class level is 7th, and the highest level spell you have access to is 3rd.

With these tweaks, the cost of the first slot is reduced to 2000gp x the level of the spell.  A nice price break, but still beyond the scale of the campaign economy.

Then we tweak the forumula.  The Core rules, presume that the max charge of the staff is '10', but what if the max charge of the staff was fewer.  What if we tweak the cost based o n the charges the staff has?  This will put the cost in line with the campaign...


So... this is the forumla used from the above logic.

1st slot - 40 gp x caster level x level of spell x max charge of spell
2nd slot - 30 gp x caster level x level of spell x max charge of spell
after 2nd- 20 gp x caster level x level of spell x max charge of spell


So... running the numbers.  Lets say we want a cleric staff.  We want it to have Bull Strength, Bless, and Cure Light Wounds.  We're willing to accept that Bull Strength will take two charges to use.

Using the Core rules, the cost will be.
Bull Strength 400 x 8 x 2 = 3200gp / 2 (for 2 charge to cast) = 1600gp
Bless         300 x 8 x 1 = 2400gp
CLW           200 x 8 x 1 = 1600gp

Total cost = 1600 + 2400 + 1600 = 5600gp  not a terrible cost for the typical campaign, but... still steep in the scale of my campaign.

Using my campaign rules the cost for the staff, if it has two charges would be...
Bull Strength 40 x 8 x 2 x 2 = 640gp / 2 (for 2 charge to cast) = 320gp
Bless         30 x 8 x 1 x 2 = 480gp
CLW           20 x 8 x 1 x 2 = 320gp

Total cost would be 320 + 480 +320 = 1120gp, this is affordable in my campaign scale, with abilities that are in line with the campaign items.  It should be noted that Spell cast from this staff will be at fifth level , or the casters level, which ever is LOWER.


It should also be noted that house rules have tweaked staves a little.  Staves usually allow the casting of 'touch attacks' with a successful melee attack by the stave.

This has been tweaked by the inclusion of staff like wands.  They allow 'touch attacks' to be made with a successful 'short' ranged touch attack by the wand (25' + 5'/2 levels, max +10').  They are also easier to carry and conceal, but it should be noted that they are more FRAGILE, and likely to break or snap.

---

Rods exist, as a means of providing meta magic feat support.


I've already mentioned the inclusion of Mana Potions, which are the spell casters version of Healing Potions allowing the recovery of a first level spell that has been expended from a standard potion.

Scrolls are replaced by 'Tomes' which are books used to scribe scrolls into, who's pages blank allowing the scribing of new spells into it.

Other magic items are in existence, and experimented with, like items that grant some access to feats (like shadow step?), Keystones (intelligent items), and I-Books (like a magical I Pad).  'Stuff'  I tweak the rules, play with them, but i  make an effort not to break them.

Any ways ... Most of these rules have been tested and ruggedly played with through the twilight campaign, so i'm pretty confident in their game balance (min/max power gamers should be aware there are limitations in place but i'm not going to go into them since this is alot of typing already.)

I think i've been pretty patience with Cass, so i'm putting the character on Hiatus for now.  Don't look for meaningful interaction with them, till the player shows more signs of life.  They've actually haven't checked RPOL since November 11th, so I suspect something serious must have happened to them in the flesh and blood world.

It happens, somewhere along the way if she doesnt return i'll put a new notice up.  Not in a rush, originally i was only looking for three players or so for the campaign which i currently have.  Enough players for back and forth unexpected banter, and a small enough number to be cozy, so i'm not unhappy with the current arrangement.

I find the diametric approach between Creedrow and Ethan interesting btw.  Still waiting to see what Ornn brings along, i suspect eccentric might be the path they're leaning towards, but waiting to see more.

We're almost... out of student orientation, which means I'll focus on private threads more after that.

Will probably compress a 'day or two' of teaching over the span of the rest of the year is my requested time table.

That'll let me figure out if Cassandra is in or out, if Ornn works out, and if i need to recruit a new teacher or two to recover attrition between now and xmas.

Anyways, that's the metagame status of the campaign.  If you have concerns or things you want to talk about out of character here, feel free and I'll try to address them.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:38, Mon 25 Nov 2019.

While Cass is NOT apparently with us ... I hope we can still refer to lessons "performed in her class" while we are in our own?   I mean it might ease her transfer back in/ make it easier for someone to take on her role in-game.  And some of my classwork is going to depend on my peer's own lessons. Or at least the appearance of the children learning something in classes other than my own.   Such are the ways that such lessons are supposed to be interrelated.

FYI.   I may ask my students what they have learned in school or are learning in other classes. And I WILL want to know what they think they know about the world... so I know either what to correct, what to expand, and what to rely upon.

Modern world kids would have been being taught for 5-6 years already, with formalized classwork.  And as a teacher, I would KNOW what they've learned up to this point. What I can depend on them already knowing.  All I know about THESE children is they are all 'apprentice' aged.  And some of them have a plan and some do not.

They are all at the cusp of becoming, either: 'regular' citizens, or entering an irregular 'trade' an outlier of the norm, or entering a 'trade' which is antithetical to the norm. Taking the 'temperature' of their thoughts is going to be a necessary measure.  And it might even allow them to bond more cohesively as a group if they know how to interact with each other ...OFF of the playground.

We'll see.

That's why i dont want more than a day or two of game time to pass for the next few weeks, to help determine if she's coming back or not.

I wont keep her on as an npc if i determine that it's a dead end because i dont want to limit the teaching options available to a new player.  I also had an martial npc mentor lying about that i wasnt going to use if there were two players, but will bring out for use if she's not coming back.  Cassandra's background makes it easier to justify her ducking out, and maybe returning at a later time, so...  (shrugs) nothing is in stone yet.  All a moot point if they show up in the next few days to reclaim their spot, but i've learned not to bet the farm on those things.

Posted a table with student notes.

Really... i sort of have my hands full with the current list of students, i'm unsure of my ability to do a 'full' class, so we might have 'small' classes for any number of reasons from the lack of an establish reputation, a new and unknown institutions, exclusive admittance to the academy, whatever.  I'm comfortable with the current number of students, more would be pushing my luck and putting the health of the campaign at risk as i think i might be over reaching.

When I said "full"  I meant with regard to matriculation. A student typically needs to carry a number of classes to be considered a matriculated student.  I don't know what that means for you... or your school.


As there are more than two professors, I would expect that the students would cycle through classes. And the professors would teach a different set of students in the same class over and over again.  Though I suppose you could go the OTHER way and have one teacher teach a set of students their whole set of subjects.  But that seems unreasonable given that Creedrow Ornn and I will likely teach an entirely different manner -- as well as different subjects.

It was presumed, that there would be more students than i can reasonably roleplay.

I'm pretty good, but i'm not about to attempt to roleplay dozens of students for the campaign, more than that, I'm going to presume you dont want to track dozens... maybe hundreds of students.

So i'm good with presuming that the students at orientation are the creme of the interesting ones, and the rest are shades of grey and mediocre.

When it's said and done, there should be four classes of '30' in the academy.  Figure '30' in each 'grade', with the earliest and youngest being between 12 and 13.  They'll be around 16 or so when they graduate is the presumption in three~four years.  (Three is the average, though a short 'trade' program might be two years, while a longer four for those with a scholarly interest.)

Taking my original example, the Harry Potter experience, there were dozens of teachers for hundreds, if not thousands of kids, divide by four grades and 'sortings'.  Yet, you really only focused on a handful of kids, a dozen or so by name?

There were other characters that i really liked in my twilight campaign, that i'll introduce as students just because i really liked them, but for now, the class of twelve is fine.  This is 'advance' academy, so i'm good with going with a college arrangement of classes, as opposed to short classes of a repetitive nature.  So presume you have the kids for ... six to eight hours a week seems reasonable.  You can break up the timing as you like.  Anywhere from 60 minutes to a 120 minutes seems reasonable for a session.  You can arrange for longer ones, if you have say a class trip into the field or some such to make an all day affair or some such.  A holiday break to the capital or Northshire could be several days to a week or two.

I'm really not thinking about it too hard or too far in advance, i have inklings of direction, but till i get to the crossroads i'm putting off actual decisions.

NPC teachers will pick up the slack on stuff you dont want to roleplay or do, and npc students that arent roleplayed will balance out their time so they stay 'busy' in a meta sense.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:43, Tue 26 Nov 2019.

okay holiday schedule over, so i'm hoping tomorrow to get a new post up for everyone.

Ornn, what's your status, are you still interested in the campaign, or have you lost interest.

I'm going to get ready to put up a want ad soon, and i would like to know if it's for one or two players.  An honest (and realistic) answer is prefered.  If you're not ready to play, or have lost interest, best to know up front than to linger and try and spare my feelings.

Right.  Ornn has fallen off into the 2 week no show with out notice catagory too.

So... I will operate on the presumption that i have two players at the moment, and shortly see about a third... and maybe a forth ?

(shrugs)

sorry guys.

got tied up with stuff during the day, and its too COLD to be typing into the night on the computer at the moment so i'm going to huddle under the comforter of Endure Cold and camp out till morning before posting.

a post here is at the top of my do list for RPOL tomorrow though.

Okay, Private threads updated for Creedrow and Ethan.
I'm presuming Cassandra, and Ornn are bygone conclusions at this point and i've gotton no nudgs on the ad, which i guess is okay too at this time.  Im good with what were doing for now, rather have 2 interested players than a party of less than optimal players mucking up the works.

Let me know if you have comments or thoughts on what's being done.

Private lessons have started, and as such i they will procede at whatever pace the players and myself decide to establish.

Joint threads will quietly move along at what ever pace and direction we decide 'outside' of the private threads.

Some projected 'expectations' are made on the state students will arrive in class based on what happened in other classes.

ie.  They show up to Creedrow's class with practice weapons that i will presume Ethan hands out earlier to get them use to carrying about... and swinging about to build arm strength, as befits their experience with weapons.

These sorts of things i will announce and discuss OOC, though if you have things that will affect students out of class that i dont anticipate please discuss it here.

ie.  Creedrow could assign them reading out of class, and they will arrive to Ethan's class possibly in a sleepy state to reflect that they've been trying to keep up with the reading homework... equally they might show up in Creedrow's class exhausted from doing laps beyond what they are capable of... possibly being absent altogether.

Creedrow, would you like to have me skip forward a day to when the kids have their assignments done?

That would be fine.

Havent forgotten about you guys, but i'm entering a holiday schedule at the moment, and a little distracted to post properly.

Will get stuff up when  i find the time and energy to do so.

sowwy.

Well, that was a busy holiday season for me, hope you all had a good one, going to look at starting things up again.  Hop back in when you can.

*ugh*

need to pick up pizza for the kids, will finish posting later today though is the plan.

Okay... i just posted for Creedrow, a seriously long overdue post i know.  Sorry.

I'm browsing Ethat's last response now, and... it's a lot to look at, too late for something like this particularly after posting for Creedrow, so i'm going to beg off posting for him till tomorrow.


sorry....


but... at least i'm making progress and got Creedrow done?

Ethan, the academy has weapons that you can issue to the kids that are enchanted to only do non-lethal damage, and light padded armor that has been enchanted with temp hit points.

Just so we understand, when you 'let the class talk among themselves', do not expect me to roleplay an entire class.

At most i might do a handful and give you a sampling of what's going on, but unless you're going to engage in conversation with specific students you're only going to get the most general response from the class room.  not cause theyre shy, but cause i'm not going to type a response for nearly a dozen students roleplaying among themselves...

Duly noted.

But in most of the classes, I've ever been a part of there were those students that seemed to have the most to say.  Whether they were speaking for the entire class or not.

And then there were those students that gravitated to the teacher and felt comfortable enough to speak to be judged by their teacher and allow that acceptance to over arch... whatever other judgment they'd get from the rest of their peers.

While MOST students will only answer those questions made DIRECTLY of them.

There were no times when the class would "discuss amongst themselves..."
... UNLESS two champions were selected to debate some singular points.
Just my experience.

All sorts of irritated at the moment.

The long ~> short story is my computer died.  Been in need of a new one since october of last year and was going to pick one up in november, but was told by my bff, that she was giving me a computer for xmas, dont buy one....


so i didnt, the catch was she was building it from scratch, has all the components bought, and ... like most xmas gifts for kids, some assembly required.

Current computer had a current fatal moment, and... i tell her i need SOMETHING to work on...

I'm told the end of this month... then... this corona thing... gets worse... now i'm told...  not sure when.

aside from cutting into my rpol time, this has murdered my professional functional ability.

Ive since reinstalled the o/s for an old, craptastic computer so i can at least get on to rpol, but... other aspects won't be solved with this, any who... i plan to read up and try and get back in the swing of things, if this lapse has had a fatal effect on your participation, i apologize.

Sadly, I'm on RPOL more often than most of my players. ... or perhaps not sadly as being participory on a roleplaying system allows me to manage my emotional  health (And the method/madness is effective.)

Anyway I am here and still interested.

I'm still here.