Heya Player 4, how would you like a squire? As a chaotic good ranger, I think of him being the other side of your character's coin, yours being the "heads", mine being the "tails". Sometimes a Pally needs to just 'get things done'... I'm your man.

;-)

Two orders of business.

First, I'd like to ask that, if at all possible, you have your party's class composition nailed down no later than Saturday the 4th.  For the record, here's how we stand now:

Player 1: Fighter/Thief or Fighter/Magic User
Player 2: Cleric(?)
Player 3: Cleric
Player 4: Fighter or Paladin
Player 5: Cleric or Thief
Player 6: Ranger

Second, sometime soon (probably tonight), I'll be sending each of you PMs containing some information about Arden Vul.  Specifically, you'll have information about some iconic location within the dungeon, plus four rumors you've heard about it.  Not all of what you get will necessarily be true, but it should provide a springboard for why you're going there and give you something to look out for.

Hey, player 2, just the lurker piping up. One of the major design decisions of later editions of D&D was to address the durability of first level characters, especially magic users, hence the addition of surges. It was great for quite a while but then I started to feel 4.0 was just too chewy. Everything took too long. And that's when I started to hanker for, as it is now put, the old-school essentials.

Happy adventuring, all.

Not in AD&D or OSRIC. You generally need a 15 in a stat to get a bonus (sometimes 14, sometimes 16). For every point higher you will usually get something better.


Cleric is a pretty solid class as is. Same armour as a fighter-types, second best attack matrix, melee weapon selection, and hit dice, fairly quick level progression and spell casting! And bonus spells with a 13+ WIS!

As the DM noted, I planned on playing a elven F/MU or F/T. Then I clicked on the dice roller and ended up with a fairly mediocre set of numbers -  really the 6 is the killer.

So, I played around with it, and decided that I would the 6 in STR and I would be a bow fighter! Then I saw that Fighters must have a minimum STR of 9! Which led me to look at the minimum stat requirements for fighters, MUs, and thieves. And I discovered that I will have to put the 6 in CHA! So, here I was trying to not use CHA as a dump stat but it is the only stat that can be a 6 for all of these classes.

And that was important, because, pending the DM's approval, I am going to play not a F/MU or a F/T but a F/MU/T. :-)

This means I will level VERY slowly, but given the lack of high stats, I think it will allow me to be of the most use to the party. He won't be a primary version of any of the classes, but he should be an adequate back-up.

I plan on playing the character as a thief first and foremost - but with the ability to contribute as an archer, and as a one-shot MU.

And I've got an idea for that 6 CHA score too!

Time to scurry off and start on the character sheet.

Is your character sheet open?  Lucky.  Glad you didn't fight the CHA dump stat, this is starting to feel more like early edition role play now.

In reply to Player 1 (msg # 32):

Okay, that is good to know. Thanks.
I think I will go with...

Human Cleric
STR 12
DEX 12
CON 13
INT 10
WIS 15
CHA 10

I like that the Human can gain any number of levels, so I will go for that. Pure Cleric so the level up can be faster. Hence the 15 in there as well.

To confirm, the classes have no starting gear, just starting money? And that money has to be rolled for? So the equipment will have to be chosen by me, too. Though I'm considering going light for the surprise bonus.

No character sheets are open yet.  They'll unlock once everyone's settled on what they're playing.

Player 1: Fighter/Magic User/Thief
Player 2: Cleric
Player 3: Cleric
Player 4: Fighter or Paladin
Player 5: Cleric or Thief
Player 6: Ranger

Once players 4 and 5 are settled on their characters I'll give you guys sheets to fill out.

Looks like my message yesterday didn't post.  In it, I said I could play a cleric as no one seemed terribly interested in doing that.  Things have changed :)

So I think I'll be a thief, still most likely a gnome.  halflings are better at it (dex bonus and chance to surprise people), but I just like gnomes.

Gnomes are cool and I approve.

Player 1: Fighter/Magic User/Thief
Player 2: Cleric
Player 3: Cleric
Player 4: Fighter or Paladin
Player 5: Thief
Player 6: Ranger

Once P4 is settled we'll be good to go.

Looks something like this

Zurulabeichee, or Zuru

Str 8
Dex 15
Con 11
Int 10
Wis 7
Cha 12

Little, nimble, not prone to thinking things through, but still fairly likable

Wow! We went from possibly three multi-class MUs to one!

But, two front-line fighter-types; two clerics; and two thieves! This party should be fine with no arcane magic!


Nope. But I usually jot things down on paper and then put my character sheet into TextEdit since the RPOL editor insists on using a non-monotype font. Then it's just copy and paste into the editor.

Now role-playing is teaching me how to use my computer better.  Awesome!!

Eh, you guys are basically decided.  I've unlocked sheets for the five of you who are ready; I'll add P4 once he settles on his class.  I'd like to ask that you plase use the sheet I've provided, as it will let me find any information I need quickly if I need to look something up.

Send me a PM when your sheet is filled out.  If everything is good, I'll change your name to that of your character.



You can't hear me but I've gotten a good laugh from this line.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:59, Thu 02 Apr 2020.

Yeah... we'd better buy some pouches of sleeping powder or hire some magelings to cast it for us.

Hearing no (major) objections, then I will definitely choose Paladin. ;)

I think this is a brilliant idea, and it will be a lot of fun! Thanks for that.

Malaketh, what is the plan for if (and when) a character dies? It is AD&D after all. :) Will we be able to create a new character and be quickly inserted into the story? Will we have to wait weeks, or potentially months, of real time until the party goes back to town? Or is the player just out of luck and out of the game?

Also, what is your expected posting rate?

I was laughing when I typed it! It will prove interesting to say the least.


I hear Hugh Laurie's voice as Prince George from Blackadder the Third!

Sound good to me.  Sheet is unlocked.



Barring getting the character returned to life,?  Well, I'm not booting you just because things didn't go your way.  I'm not that mean.  You can either build a new character, or, if you have any, turn one of your character's followers into a full PC.  In the former case, I'm not sure what I'll do for your level.  I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.



At least once every couple of days would be ideal.  If we're in combat or some other situation where the party is waiting on you, I may post for you after three or four days, just to keep things moving (and I will always be up-front about it when I do).  If you don't post in over a week, I'll send you a PM, and if you don't respond within two more days I will boot you and seek a replacement.

All of this is barring an announced absence, of course.  In those cases you can either designate another player to post for you or leave it to me.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:33, Fri 03 Apr 2020.

Rolled for my two random spells: Magic Aura and Push.

I told you we won't need any other MUs!

Lol, we'd better save any scrolls we come across then huh? ;-)

I'll lay claim to DarkGreen, it's just the most... Ranger-ish.

Ah, dibs on Aqua!

Dark Blue would also be good, but it might blend with the black text.

Blue is my favorite color in real life, and it goes well with the idea of a Cleric, too.

Gnomes are cool and I approve.

Player 1: Fighter/Magic User/Thief
Player 2: Cleric
Player 3: Cleric. Druid Magic-User
Player 4: Paladin
Player 5: Thief
Player 6: Ranger

Once P4 is settled we'll be good to go.


Wow I was going to change from cleric to druid, but either didn't see or hadn't noticed the other character changes.  We seriously can't go on only with a triple multi classed mage, I'm back in as a mage.  It's my preferred class to play anyway.