And the OOC Thread to this quest is now open! ^_^

I guess now is a good time to mention how I intend for Sylvan Oath to work.

Preface: I don't assume for this to have any mechanical benefits or penalties, but I'm not opposed to it, either. Frankly, it's a very straightforward effect [I call it an effect, because it's not just a way for me to shoehorn in extra abilities for my character, if anything, it could be harmful to his decision-making], so there may be no need to include any mechanics to it. Though, since it's supposed to be rather powerful, it may.

Basically, Tidelan will be unable to willingly break the oath. His oath being to defend Galenna, means that he would have to give anything away to do so. Likely, this won't matter overmuch, but I mostly included it for flavor, since I'm sort of taking Tidelan away from being so elementally-inclined, and more fey-inclined. That's why he's been using the term 'sylvan' in so many contexts.

Also, my original inspiration for Sylvan Oath came from the irish idea of Geas, which I believe was something attributed with the fair folk [or maybe it was the Tuatha de Danan?].

I think this makes sense for a druid who basically worships Gaea, since the original concept of the Feywild was that of the welsh Otherworld, aka Annwn. And, in those times [or maybe even earlier] the idea of beings who lived there were of nature spirits, kind of.

So, it makes sense for a druid to have connections to the fey.

Of course, a lot of these things are not really from any specific DND setting, but since the GMs were allowing us to help develop this setting as we go, I didn't think it was a stretch to also let us develop parts of the outer planes.

Especially the Feywild and Shadowfel, since they overlay this prime material anyway.

TL;DR - Sylvan Oath was an idea I thought of that relates to my concept of the Feywild, and I decided it was okay for me to include it in this game, and that Tidelan had a decent reason to introduce it.

I did this because I liked the idea, and wanted to roleplay it.

No problems here about the Sylvan oath. And sorry guys it seems we've hit a last minute delay as I try and sort something out, but hopefully we can square it out soon.

Why do we all need to post in Hexia's Shop? Do we really need to post there just to say we walk through the portal? I thought we already started the quest?

Also, I thought Brohm decided not to join this quest? If he's just tailing us around, that may lead to some major issues...

Oh, I forgot to respond earlier, but yeah, I don't mind the delay. Stuff comes up in real life all the time.

Edit: It's actually possible you meant something else than requiring us all to post in Hexia's Shop thread, since it's not 100% clear what you meant by "We will continue once you've all officially left Hexia's Shop"

Why... why does that matter? Are we backtracking right now?

Actually, I'm confused about this portal? Where is it, and where does it lead to? We left from Smith's Gambit, and Galenna wants us to head into unexplored lands, so is this portal to Fierce Heart's Tribe for our convenience?

I thought we already took the portal since the quest thread something about "You've all gathered through the portal"

I'm not trying to be stubborn, but what is with this frivolous roadblock so early?

Once things are clarified, I might want to make a post with some decisions. Otherwise, I'll still give generic travel log lip service if you insist such.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:47, Thu 04 Mar 2021.

You only need to post in Hexia's shop while we are still at Hexia's Shop (or if you want to interact with Brohm at all). Reason why is because I messed up and opened this thread too early. All that really needs to be made clear is that all of you and Brohm went thru the portal. No he is not apart of the expedition, he is going off on his own. If none of you want to interact with him then we'll just say that you continued on your own way.

Ah, gotcha. I suppose to avoid backtracking (since Tidelan swore his vow after going through the portal), Tidelan will confront Brohm once everyone has crossed through.

I would never engage in PvP without prior consent, but I figure in-game, there will be some serious questioning from Tidelan, and maybe harsh words on his behalf.

Sounds like a plan.

The word Portal keeps getting used.

Is it a magical teleportation portal?

In reply to Lukas Verbannt (msg # 8):

To get to Hexia's from Smith's Gambit, yes. It is a magical portal open for exactly one minute each morning.

Fancy.

I think we're good?

Yeah.

Good to go

Ready to go

Sorry for the delay guys. Had some rl stuff come up but I have posted now and we are good to go. Thank you for your patience. ^_^

Did stuff come up again?

No I was waiting to see if anyone else was gonna finish off the conversation, but since no one did I was gonna continue. I just waited too long I think. I'll post soon when I get home tonight. Sorry for the delays.

No need to apologize :)

Leave that to me, the resident Canadian, lol. It's one of our favorite words, ha ha.

In reply to Tidelan Wavyrus (msg # 18):

:)

What's everyone's marching order please?

If it's okay, I'd like Tidelan to be in the front row with Galenna.

I assumed she might have her map out and would want to be in front, since she is the employer and needs to be able to see things clearly for her work.

Tidelan would be next to her since he has fully devoted himself to protecting her life.

I don't know where everyone else wants to be, though.

I'm sorely temped to take a level of Ranger just so that I can scout from stealth undisturbed.

But I'm already a multiclass Rogue/Druid, and I'm going to be taking at least 3 levels of rogue. That is a lot of multiclassing.

I would assume Galenna didn't draw her maps as she walked, but rather took frequent stops to do so. That's why Spark suggested she might be more in the middle of the group in case of further ambush.

Spark can bring up the rear, he's har to hit should something come from behind

Sounds good and yes to get an accurate map she does stop every once in a while.

@Santio

You get 1 Free Action, 1 Movement, 1 Action, 1 Bonus Action, and 1 Reaction each turn. Obviously, you will rarely have a turn where you get to use all of them, but in theory you have each one once every round.

1. Yes, you can move diagonally.
2. Yes, said  Action can be a Dash Action, which means a second Movement.
3. Readying a weapon is a Free Action

Thank you.

And I realise now that I should have posted my initial question here.  Sorry.

Sorry Tidelan for stealing the double damage with that crappy roll, but I spent a good 15 minutes trying to justify Spark doing anything else, but he isn't really built as a spellcaster but more of a tank.

Ah, it's fine :)

The double damage on Tidelan's claws was likely going to be major overkill any way, lol.

I don't think so, now that we know what might happen we can play it out (as opposed to metagaming it) and Boneclaw could choose to hold an action to use that ability before Tidelan's attack next time.

I'm gonna advocate for a short rest as well, but the last post is already pretty big and has a lot for the GM to adjudicate, so I will hold off for now.

Also, told ya it would go down :)

So who all is taking a watch?
So far we have:
Lukas & Spark

Lukas, Boneclaw, Spark I believe

Yea boneclaw takes second guard round.

Oops my bad.
So we've got:
Lukas - First Watch
Boneclaw - Second Watch
Spark which watch would you wanna be on?

Anybody else?
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:35, Fri 09 Apr 2021.

I can take third watch, but Spark will be fully conscious throughout the rest. It's just that for 6 hours he can't move his head

Santio will take whatever watch is needed of him.
Though, I guess, he'd choose to watch the predawn and sunrise.

Tidelan will only be taking a watch if these two conditions are cleared:

1. His watch will be no longer than two hours (his shapes only last one hour, and he only has two of them per short rest)

2. His watch will occur no more than an hour before they must reawaken (since he wants to start the day with all his shapes, rather than just one or neither. an hour as part of a long rest should be enough to recharge them, since it could be seen as equivalent to a short rest, I believe?)

If those conditions are not met, he will still take a watch if it is necessary for complete coverage throughout the group's long rest. In that case, he will not be using any wild shapes to improve his sensory perception, but he will use the cantrip guidance instead.

Yea, just to be clear Boneclaw is most useful if he gets 8 hours of sleep to renew his spellcasting so I'll happily switch with someone if that is a problem with a second watch.

that said ... I am happy for Santio to take a middle-of-the-night watch, if it allows spell casters to get the continuous sleep they need.

So unless your race/class says differently, it's not 8 hours sleep, but 8 hours rest that is required, and you can even fight for over 500 rounds during it and not lose benefits. (Although the rest would have to be extended to complete the total 8-hour requirement)

So it's no different for spell casters than others. Sleep isn't tied to regaining spells, but rather to actually benefit from a long rest, and no long rest equals no spells.

Tidelan, similarily, regains his wild shape uses at the end of a long rest, even if he used it during the rest

Spark is correct.
And with that it looks like our watch is:
Boneclaw & Lukas - First Watch
Santio - Second Watch
Spark & Tidelan - Third Watch

This sound right to everyone?

Sure.

Works for me.

Yup

Sounds good!

Give us a perception roll Santio!

Ooh, how exciting.

- rolled 8 using 1d20+2.  Wisdom/Perception.

Did I miss the XP for the two fights, or was the 40XP for that?

*facepalm* >.< I knew I was forgetting something one second.

@Santio

Sorry to complicate your post, but if I knock the cat prone you'll have advantage on your attacks.

Lmao I just realized you were next to E2, Lukas... Somehow my brain read 'LV' as 'T' or maybe you were just in my blindspot while I skim read the center of the map before bed ha ha

Anyway, it won't really change Tidelan's choice of enemy even if you're there, since the other one is fleeing and on fire, but honestly I wouldn't have raged had I realized your turn was coming up immediately after his.

Oh well, you live and you learn ;)

Oooh nice, can't wait to find out if that works out for us.

My apologies for taking a vacation in the middle of the mission. Hopefully, it won't affect the group negatively.

In case of emergency, Spark can cast 3 L1 cure wounds and 3 L2 cure wounds and would stick close to Galenna and keep her safe.

In reply to Spark (msg # 53):

No problem and thank you for listing out the actions you would take. It does help. Enjoy your vacation and be safe!

Have a good one, Spark

have fun!

Sorry for the double post; but i just realized we've all posted our perception checks, so I think we are waiting on narrator :)

Oh my god Santio's interpretation of Tidelan's actions has me in tears HAHAHAH

"Irrational hatred of deer" IM WEAK
This message was last edited by the player at 23:35, Wed 05 May 2021.

       ;-P


Nothing better than a little inter-party conflict due to misinterpretation.

Santio you should probably take the part about attacking Tidelan out of your earlier post, since he never charged the elks, anymore.

done

THEY ARE HERE FOR THEIR REVENGE ! ! !

w a t c h   o u t !

Lol you might never know >:D

This place is heaven for a hunter, it seems

Oh deer*, Lukas is striking out with doe’s tonight.  Not quite the stag he thought he was, eh!

            * pun intended, obviously

Sorry for my absence.

Graduated from my Master's Program this week!  I'll have a big post tomorrow as an apology.

Congratzzz! Hope you didn't work too hard, ha ha :)

What is your degree in? Actually, IIRC in uni courses it means you get a major and a minor, right?

I bet it must have been weird for everyone when an 8 foot tall bugbear accepted his degree!



Don't worry about the absence! You didn't really miss much (besides a lot of my OOC shitposting) anyway, since both GMs have been fairly occupied as well :)

If you were taking your exams that seriously it's probably a good thing, though I'm sure it was a pain in the neck, eh?



Again not a problem, though I must confess excite :)

[hmm using excite as a noun; it really is time to sleep... just two more seasons of anime before bed fufufu]

Not a problem and congrats! Awesome job for making it through all that hard work!



lol yep been there, done that, still there. What anime?

It's a Masters in Social Work.

Next two years are working on the 3000 odd hours I need to get licensed. Then I can be a private therapist, or run a nonprofit program, or write grants, or really do whatever I want.

Not such a big post, but I will be much more present in the days to come.

Yikes, reminds me of my mum when she was getting a teaching degree. Frankly, I think the absurd hours to get a license is just an excuse for the government and big corporations to get free (or discounted) labor out of you. even if they pay you, they're still benefitting by ensuring a fairly-constant stream of fresh workers.

Since you have a lot of options; I'll risk being rude and give some (probably unhelpful advice). I'm a few years younger than you, but I I've definitely interacted with a lot of social workers my whole life, and actually gotten to know a little about how they live.

Unless you're a major altruist (totally possible), and maybe a bit of a masochist (less likely but hey i dont judge), I don't recommend supplying most social services, especially ones that don't pay well.

I don't know where you live (you might've said, but I've definitely forgotten ha ha), but I know for sure that in the US and Canada, like teachers (a major controversy right now), all sorts of social service providers (from most types of counsellors to educational assistants and so on) don't only get paid less than many think they should, they also have terrible benefits, job security and often have to pay out of pocket for a lot of stupid things.

It's totally possible to make do like that, but I've heard those fields are in a rough state right now for the workers as a whole. You probably know this though, and maybe are even involved in it.

Being a private therapist sounds awesome to me, and I don't know much about the other ones so I won't say anything potentially ignorant. A great bonus to a therapist is the salary, but it's also worth considering if you think the work is fulfilling.

Technically speaking, you don't have to be sympathetic to be a therapist (in fact, I've heard that a lot of them aren't), but you do need empathy (the ability to understand emotions, and relate to them, I suppose).

Anyway sorry for the wall of text ha ha, just putting it out there in case (by some chance) you haven't heard any of it before. Again, none of this is absolute, just my (fairly uneducated TBH) take on social workers (whom I definitely appreciate, but wouldn't want to be one).



I ended up crashing instead, but I was planning on watching season 2 and 3 of SAO, which I've heard was really really bad but I wanted to give the benefit of the doubt anyway. I actually quite liked the first part of the first season, but the second half was kind of a let down IMO... we'll see where it goes from here, long-running anime/manga often tend to falter in writing quality, though. I definitely didn't get most of the complaints about it, since I've seen those bad qualities displayed way worse in a lot of other shows. Probably has to do with the overall popularity though, which makes sense.

Actually, I'm pretty new to anime in general... I've watched a few before, but always thought it was one of those 'cringe cultures' (though, as I get older I think that's just an excuse for teenagers or immature adults to crap on each other) so I avoided it. Even though I'm a total weeb now, I gotta admit most those stigmas were spot on yikes.

Only started watching the medium in earnest 2-3 months ago. I've definitely binged way too much, as I have a really addictive personality that's kind of expected at this point! I estimate that I've watched 360 hours (or 15 days) of it in this timespan. That's way too much, especially since it only accounts for like 70% of the time I spend on the screen.

Funnily enough, I'm a real-life NEET right now, so if it weren't coronavirus, it would probably be worth going out to get milk so that I can keep an eye out for kids in need of rescue truck-kun

I actually have an ongoing document with all the anime I've watched, ranked by order of personal enjoyment. I'm happy I decided to do it on a whim, 'cause I'm sure it's the only thing stopping me from mindlessly consuming everything I can find, which would be a huge waste of potential enjoyment.

Even ended up reading some light novels (when available) for some of my favorites.

Obligatory halfhearted apology for two walls of text in one post, I swear I'm not trying to show off or waste people's time, I just have a lot to say and I like to write.

It's fine. I'm happy to see so much thought put into the responses (not that short post can't or aren't thoughtful). I used to love writing to, but now most days I find it hard to do except for when it comes to writing for you guys on here. Unfortunately I find it hard even on here sometimes. Writer's block sucks big time and I've got it pretty bad. I know one of my biggest problems for my books is that I've found too many holes in my stories that I can't seem to figure out how to fill. As far as on here I wish I could be more descriptive for you guys and really fill out the posts I make so you guys have more than just the bare bones of what's happening. I'll continue working to get better and hopefully I'll get back to where I was someday, but for now bare with me. I'm happy to see such passion put into writing that came so easily, I'm sure. It's good and I hope that it continues to flourish and get only better for you. ^_^

I've been there! I know it's not really applicable to DND campaigns (since there is a pressure to keep them going whenever you can), but I try never to force myself through Writer's Block. I find that only ends up with me making content I'm dissatisfied with.

I was actually running a game some time ago (coronavirus ruined my sense of time, but I think it was before that, when I was in grade 10 or 11, maybe?) and had an incredible cast of devoted players... I tried really hard, but always felt like I fell short. They seemed fairly satisfied though. While the game wasn't DND, I think it showcases a big part about most forms of roleplay as a whole is that it's a group effort. Meaning, even if one player or even a GM needs to be cut a bit of slack and put in what isn't their best work, that's okay, because a good story can still be constructed because of everyone else.

For example, looking back, I really hate the juxtaposition with how Tidelan spoke before I realized he should have a foreign accent and a lowered vocabulary (TBH a big reason for this decision was that I realized I had him knowing more languages than he should be allowed, even though it was a necessity for the backstory to work. I compromised internally and decided to make him nigh illiterate for common, and also struggle to speak in that language) because it's frankly a bit of a plot hole.

I've considered going back and editing every post I made before this change, but not only would that kill my motivation with the amount of effort and time it would take, it would also be unfair to the players if I couldn't come up with a perfect translation that made their responses clunky or even nonsensical.

So, I just take it for what it is and look back at it with pride as one of the best developments I've ever made to a character's personality. Frankly, i've not done a lot of roleplay in the grand scheme of things, even though I don't consider myself as a 'newbie'... so having this breakthrough and getting a sense for such a well-developed character is really exciting for me. that's probably the reason I sometimes end up putting a little too much flare onto even simple posts.



I'm not exactly sure, but I might have ahd that problem before. If by 'holes' you mean huge empty space in the world or characters or story that leave an impression that isn't immersive, there's two things I do to deal with that (neither are perfect, even when I use them):

 - the simpler and more reliable idea is to just close that distance. Have a huge timeline for an ancient world, but nothing to fill it? Make the world younger. Have a major character with a lot of screen time but a barebones backstory and/or weak personality? Reduce his role in the story or just his screentime. Is the story dragging on with no events happening? Reduce the amount of downtime.

 - this solution can actually go wrong on you (you'll see why), but if it goes right it solves the underlying problem of lack of immersion in a way the option above cannot: Fill the spaces in with stuff. This sounds a lot like 'You're homeless? Just buy a house' so let me explain what I mean. If you have holes that you don't know how to appropriately fill (happens to me often when I run out of themed content for a location that I thought I would have more inspiration for when I designed it), you can add unrelated things instead of racking your mind on this topic forever. This is unclear still, so examples are in order: Have a huge timeline for an ancient world, but nothing to fill it? Use inspiration from elsewhere to add some events that don't have anything to do with your world in the first place. Then, try to meld the seams together. Have a major character with a lot of screen time but a barebones backstory and/or weak personality? Give them a major secret, or a bunch of small ones. This is even harder to do than above, since if what you come up with collides with your story, you will have a harder time justifying their role. For example, a supporting grandfather character that is secretly an evil wizard. Why is he doing all this nice stuff? You can't just think of something that would read as 'conflated' to the viewer, so you gotta be careful with your twists here. Is the story dragging on with no events happening? Add a beach episode. I'm just kidding, lol. Though, if you need to add filler because you're on a time crunch, know that literally every mangaka has probably done the same thing before, so you have thousands of kindred spirits LMAO.



I've definitely noticed this, but I can't say it bothers me too much, especially since I recognize that you and Conspirator have a huge cast of characters to adjudicate for.

I think, when and where it matters, you both write very good prompts (with these many talented players carrying their own weight, that's more than enough for a good story).  Even besides that, there's nothing wrong with keeping things simple, especially during long travel scenes or random encounters ha ha.



That's very kind, thank you! And yes, that's an accurate assumption :P

Oooh, this might end up being the first time our party has ended up being split over a course of action :)

Interesting!

Truth.

I gotta say, I don't know what alignment Tidelan is, but I am guessing from what I've seen so far: Lawful Neutral.
He seems (certainly not evil) but less interested in 'doing good for the sake of good' (Neutral) ... but also very focused on keeping his word and promises when he makes them (Lawful).

I am guessing that, to his credit, he will do as Galenna chooses here, because he is sworn to her duty?
And then, if Galenna says she wants to simply bypass the pack, Santio will work with that also ... so I don't actually think those two will 'split'.

Spark, Boneclaw and Verbannt, however ... it will be interesting to see.

Correct! Tidelan is indeed Lawful Neutral :)

He actually started the game as true neutral, but exactly as you've noticed, he puts heavy emphasis on his sylvan concept of 'Honor', which I believe is probably not the same as Verbannt's usage of the word.

I actually have a lot of information on the concept, and on this whole 'sylvan' thing I never shut up about in general, but I mostly withhold all that unless it comes up in game.



That's almost correct. Tidelan will definitely listen to what she says in this case, but IIRC correctly his exact oath was "to protect her" not "to obey her". That's a major difference, especially because he doesn't actually respect her opinion as a warrior, so if this were something more dangerous than a pack of wolves, he would not have made the same compromise to follow her lead.



I'm gonna take some shots in the dark to guess what their opinions on the matter could be:

Spark: We've already seen his stance, so I'm skipping this entry

Boneclaw: Of all the characters in our party, I actually think I understand Boneclaw the least. That's probably because he's a kenku with which communication is hard, but also because there are so so many ways to take the lore for a Grave cleric. I'm not familiar with (what i assume is) FR lore, so I dunno much of anything about Kelemvor as a deity, not even his alignment(s?) which means I dunno how his followers behave.

Verbannt: I predict that Lukas' response would be similar to Tidelan in this case... though I could also see him wanting to tame one or more of the wolves, which would most likely involve a combat encounter.

Boop?

Just waiting on to see what Spark does before I make my move to help Santio (and protect the closest danger to Galenna, for that matter).

Santio, what's your maximum HP? Were you at full when the fight started?

You took two instances of damage, 24 and then 11.

So unless you suffered instant death on that first attack (because your total hp was <12), you've only lost two death saves (from the second attack).

If your hp going in was >25, you would have lost no death saves at all.

Thanks.

I am not at my computer when I posted that.  Thus the 'dead(?)' ... but when I get home, I intend to read up on this situation.
I am still pretty new to DnD.

You are correct and Spark's Bless does effect death saves, however if you roll a nat 1 it still counts as failing 2 death saves.

Fortunately Spare the Dying stabilizes you on my turn, so no more death saves and Spark's healing gets you back on your feet.

Thank you, all.



Please:
- does this returned 9HP mark from 0HP, or the -3HP the attack took me down to?
- Santio was 'dragged down' by the Dire Wolf.  Does that mean he is still in its jaws?

Spare the dying as a range Cantrip Bonus Action is so good.

@Santio You stay at 0, so the 9 puts you to 9.

It means you're prone, and need to spend half your movement to stand up.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:44, Fri 09 July 2021.

Yeah, Grave clerics are my fav subclass for clerics!

Also, I think we've all moved and are waiting for you, Narrator.

:p Only one problem (and unfortunately I just caught it today, my bad) Spare the Dying is an action not a bonus action. Boneclaw needs to choose which he is doing this round. I can say that if he chooses to do Spare the Dying this round then I will allow him use Guiding Bolt (with the same roll results) the next round.

It's a bonus action for grave clerics though.

In addition, you learn the spare the dying cantrip,
which doesn't count against the number of cleric cantrips
you know. For you, it has a range of 30 feet, and
you can cast it as a bonus action.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:01, Mon 12 July 2021.

Oh I missed that. Sorry. All good then will get a post out today sometime.

Woo!  That puts me to level 5!

Nice! Congrats! ^_^

Wow, nice! Out of curiosity, that must be from the mission you took before the whole Redfoot Arc right? I did some camping and killed lots of rats back then, but nothing worth a significant amount of XP.

Since we've been on mostly the same missions, and I'm still 1000 XP off, I'm assuming this is probably the case (unless ive forgotten any mini-arcs or even major ones, hell it could be this game is the longest ive partaken in so far)

I did a perimeter patrol, and several fights on my downtime (I'm so far behind on downtime, I have so, so many saved up). Killed a Hobgoblin solo, and then with the wolf pack two Dire Wolves and another time an Ogre.

Need to figure out what I'm doing with this guy.

Wait you can spend downtime to get into XP-rewarding fights?

Oh boy....



I don't know their stat block, but that sounds about on par for us OP druids (at least at early levels where HP Pool is the most vital resource)



You're a rogue druid atm, right? Never heard of that combo before, but I have seen someone play a Rogue Barbarian. It was pretty nuts, because you can reckless atk for automatic sneak attack which is crazy. Barbarian also pairs amazingly with druid (hence my build lol). The main issue with the rogue barbarian build is that the interaction between how they use STR and DEX weapons are a bit confusing. Though, it's still totally doable, you just have to read the features carefully. As a wild shaper, that would actually add a lot of versatility. Become a lithe beast for sneak attack, or a buff beast for rage damage

TBH, I don't know why you would mix rogue with druid. But since it's already done, it's probably ridiculously weak to pick up a third class, since that never works out for anyone.

Maybe just take more levels in the two classes you already have? depending on your level spread, you could go for an ASI instead. I know from our playstyle that sentinel would be pretty nuts on Lukas (and Tidelan for that matter).



Same! I've been thinking of saving for a magic item, but now I'm realizing that 95 DUs would probably be an unreal amount of XP, presuming Tidelan wins his fights (I have faith in him)

If it's not too much trouble @Narrator, how much XP do you reckon I could get with all that downtime? I am aware this would be a series of actual posts in threads, and not just a direct transaction with an absolute exchange rate, but it's still worth asking :)

I play a barbarian in a Waterdeep Dragon Heist game here. He's half-drow, mostly lives in the sewers, and has a poisonous toad named Lady Genevieve whose venom he gets high on in order to Rage. He's never seen a Bear or a Dire Wolf, but he's seen a lot of Giant Spiders down there. I love him.

Can't use Sneak Attack with natural weapons, sadly. They aren't Finesse.  The build I'm comfortable with. It needs one more level to truly come online, but I'll start doing some bullshit this level. Currently Rogue 1/Druid 4, and just picked up the Mobility Feat. That gives you some ideas of where I'm taking this build wise. Direwolf has a base move speed of 50ft.

I made a hardcore scout and skirmisher.

I'm talking more RP and backstory. This big of a game isn't centered around personal narratives outside of player to player interaction, and I'm struggling to think where I want to go personality wise with Verbannt. Tidelan has been a fun arc for him, but I'm not sure what's on the horizon.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:36, Tue 20 July 2021.

Okay that is unexpectedly awesome! The speed on some beasts at high levels is insane, too.



Ooh, perhaps we get some bugbear backstory soon? No rush/expectations, but I'm rootin' for it!



I agree, but also disagree. I think the GMs are being really good in implementing and supporting our backstories, which would be the main problem in a big game like this. The other factor would be a mix of player styles. A mechanic-focused player won't necessarily help to deepen the roleplay of others, and that's fine.

However, with our group of players, despite their size, they're all very articulate and all have characters with at least some personality. I doubt there would be any possible grouping of players that would be unable to have any roleplay moments.

Frankly, the worst part about roleplaying in this setting could be a genre disconnect. 'cause even though we're all in Smith's Gambit and surrounding area, there are A LOT of differently-themed characters.

For example, my alt Larwick is a mercenary trying to build a criminal syndicate. That is very different thematically from our main gang, who are kind of snow-trudging outlanders in the way that we all rough it out on long trips from home, and most of us have proficiency in perception for that matter.

But, the interconnectedness of all that is what I find makes it so much fun, you know?

That was what I loved about the Arena Tournament. It used 'A Tournament of Strength' to merge the realms of 'city dwellers' and 'waste explorers' almost perfectly, because they both share that commonality.

to be totally honest, Tidelan at this point would 100% go along with you if you wanted to do some backstory stuff and needed a partner to help out. I don't know the direction you're going, but you can count me in if you have something you want to do in that vein (as long as I'm not on another mission, which Tidelan hardly ever goes on without the other players around his level, which is most of us since we joined around the same time)

Long-term aspiration wise for Tidelan (at the current rate and pacing, legitimately could be a few years from now) I plan to have him return to Farrad and wreak havoc. Also really want to (eventually) visit the plane of water to find his father, and then kick his marid ass.

Those are all things that would be a way better story with more players involved, but I'll do them either way.

Hehe, I have the issue where I type something, and I edit it until it says what I really want. Terrible PbP behavior, I know. You're too fast for me.

I edited this to:



Which has been your focus, which you're quite good at.

No worries lol i do the same. I type almost as quickly as I think, which is too fast to hold a proper conversation 90% of the time.



Thank you! But yeah, that makes sense. Though, the GMs seem really generous in letting us go on solo missions so far (dunno what that would look like for an entire personal arc, though it probably would be a bit of a mess). You're still right about there being that barrier, though.

Drinks at the Dragon's Den, or the Frosthide Inn?

I skipped past the last night of the 'quest', since it didn't seem to be getting many pings.

Still, I don't mind rolling Tidelan's timeline back to 'the night before' since I'm always up for IC character interaction and general messing around! Also was kinda regretting the group didn't get to do a sort of 'sendoff', though I'm sure we'll be back together as soon as the next level 4/5 questline opens up ha ha

Actually, now that you mention it, I never specified where we were drinking while in Fierce Hearts. The GM sent me this private line, which I forgot to expand upon in a post:



So that's probably how that night went. If you are reluctant to rollback, we can call that an off-screen event, or I can just edit my most recent 'hungover and haggard' post and we can save the drinks for after smith's gambit.

It's all up to you, and the others too if they have any interest in acting out a tavern crawl. Personally, I'm still waiting for my Battle Arena Season 2 to pick up the steam it was showing OOC, so Tidelan is free to do some short scenes.

Even with the GMs giving us time every night during watch cycles while camping, sandbox PBP inherently suffers from a lack of social moments. I mean, it makes sense. In tabletop, most groups don't get bothered if people spend an hour talking to a random noble lord, a friendly merchant, or just recounting their adventures to one another.

over the internet, that stuff could take months, and so it's better used for XP-granting adventuring. That's why this time in-between quests is so valuable for roleplay opportunity as part of downtime.

Of course, everyone is free to decide how much they want to roleplay their character, so I'm not telling anyone they have to force their characters to have epiphanies between major quests, I'm just explaining to those who are interested that it's the ideal time to do it.

I can do the next morning somewhere.

I just had some time (already did my chores, worked out, and cooked dinner this evening, just relaxing on the couch with my SO watching some Twitch), and figured I'd spend it in a little free form RP.

Let's get breakfast at the Inn while we wait for our DMs to return?

Santio is not attending the 'night of debauchery', and staying with Galenna instead.

OOC I am just waiting for us to officially move back to Smith's Gambit to complete this job/adventure.

'adult characters drinking alcohol and hanging out' isn't 'debauchery' but it's been noted that Santio did not attend.

IIRC, we've already returned to smith's gambit and got paid. don't know what you are waiting for?

My term was used affectionately; I do regret if I offended.

And damn, I must have missed that.  Thanks, I need to go reread


Edit:   Ah, I see.  I was waiting to see the Narrator post something in Hexia’s Shop thread approving our move to Smith’s Gambit.
Thanks.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:54, Fri 13 Aug 2021.

No worries, no offense taken. It's hard to convey tone/attitude over text, and I was rushing out that post to make room for battle arena stuff so it wasn't very refined!

And yeah, we're free to move on now :) 'Twas fun as always!