Thread for OOC commentary, notices of absence, and other arbitrariness.

Do not discuss religion or politics on this board.  I reserve the right to delete any posts related to those subjects.

And act nice.  Thanks.
This message was last updated by the GM at 22:56, Fri 23 Oct 2020.

Hello XYZ.

I am still plowing through books at the moment.  So we won't be starting yet.  But I hope to do so by the end of next week.

As for your PC:

For stats, use the Option 2/550 pts.  You may not buy any stat over 100 at this point.

We will be going with the Flat DP option.  So 100 DP to start off with.  You may buy a stat over 100 with DP as detailed in the book.

I would prefer you not go with Cleric at this point.  The other professions are wide open.

Questions thus far?

Oh and you can give me the PC name you want to go by at anytime.

Thanks and welcome to it.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:50, Sat 24 Oct 2020.

Also, please let me know if you want a talent before you purchase it.  Thanks.

Consider this moved to the OOC thread.

Ok. Sounds good.

Things have been stupid busy at the office lately, and all my games and threads have been taking a hit.

I am thinking either a ranger/archer of some sort, or a mage of some sort.

Not sure which yet.

His name will be... Varen.

That's as far as I am getting right now. =)

In reply to XYZ (msg # 5):

That works and no hurry.  I'm still plowing through books.

I will update your handle.  Thanks.

Any restrictions on the races? Straight by the book? I am thinking elven for the moment.

One more note: I am using the latest HARP book: GCP-HARP-1000, with a total of 203 pages.

Are we using the same book?

Would you please open the character sheet?

I will add the WIP I have for Varen so far.

I would like Varen to have the Instinctual Defense talent. He's sharp and quick in reflexes. Let me know if that is ok.

In reply to Varen (msg # 10):

Hello.

I think it's the same book.  Page count is the same and I picked it up off Drive Thru RPG a week and a half ago.  So it should be the most current.

I am not using AutoHarp.  Would like to, but can't get it to load.

Races from the Core book are all good.  I notice Varen is an Elf from your description.  Good for me.

You are OK on the Instinctive Defense.  Character sheet should be open now.

Couple of things:

Don't try to optimize too much for combat.  I do recommend taking at least one 'social' or 'hobby' skill.  I'm the kind of GM who will throw challenges from that direction.

Since you are my guinea pig, you will keep all XP you earn at the end of the intro game.  You can then rework Varen as you like, or apply the XP to a new character.  Your call.

I am working on my world building for the game.  Hope to have some background up later this week.

Questions?

Sounds good. In that case, I will not take Instinctual Defense and use the points for other things that are more "soft skills".

Good to know.

Can't get AutoHARP to load? What are you using: A PC or a Mac? AutoHARP uses Java, which needs to be installed before it can work. The default installation path on a PC will force security on it, so you want to pick another path outside of Program Files. Finally, if all else fails, just have it run as Administrator (on a PC) and it ought to work.

I had several issues with it, and I found several solutions on the IronCrown website talking about it.

I now need to find a printing template that will allow me to copy the text so I can put it on the character sheet.

I have typed up a HARP Character sheet for this game and for my character. I plan on submitting it as a sheet to the admins, since it doesn't look like there is one available right now.

I have added some basic details to the sheet already (stats, talents) so you can check it out.

I haven't gone overboard with the stats. I realize that skills are where the progress is done fastest (+5 bonus per 1 development point).

I'll be working on entering the skill over time.

Sheet looks good.  Thanks for doing that.

Stats look okay on first blush.  I'll look at the PC later in more detail.

So you know, I am usually offline Wednesdays and Saturdays.  But will check all my game boards once a day during the rest of the week unless I've posted otherwise.

I hope to have some world building stuff up starting Thursday.  Will see how much I can get done tomorrow.

Thanks.

No worries on the timing. I myself am moving slowly these few days. Work and life (and that election craze) is just slowly eroding everyone's peace. Sheesh.

And no worries about world building. There's no hurry at all. I know world building takes an extra 8th day of a week to accomplish. Take your time.

In reply to Varen (msg # 15):

Getting close.  Put up a little bit of world background.

Varen will start in Oln's central plains, which is perhaps where he grew up.  Your call.  But he is currently in a city called Golwith.  For whatever reason you decide, he needs to get out of town.

There is a merchant who will be heading upriver to the town of Green Bluff.  He's hiring on guards and porters.  When we start, Varen will be reporting for duty with the merchant's caravan to head north.

Questions/comments?

No questions. Looks straightforward to me. Politics, borders, nobles and their turf fights.

A caravan guard assignment is a good one to get from town to town and get paid at the same time. He would gladly seek those out for short or long range travel between larger destinations. Safety in numbers and all that.

His motivations are very light: do the right thing, and go see the world. He's got no backstory trauma, so he can engage in anything he wants freely and enjoy himself in the process.

I'll re-read again over the weekend and work on internalizing some of the names and locations. I'll also keep working on the character.

Just adding in some house rule stuff and background for when the game goes live.

Will be adding more as we go.

You think you might be comfortable with starting the first storyline Thursdayish?

Yeah, I think I can. I haven't paid attention to the character for a bit, but what I really need is a way to account for the culture, adolescence, and level 1 ranks on the sheet.

After that, I think I need to manage the money and equipment, and get to learn the armor penalties a bit.

Nothing too hairy. =)

In reply to Varen (msg # 19):

Yeah. I remembered how crunchy Rolemaster was when I saw your ad.  But it turns out I forgot how crunchy Rolemaster is.  Ha.

I'm just glad we're not doing this table top.  I remember the first time I did a Rolemaster table top.  We spent more time flipping through pages looking for the right table than actually playing.  Good times.  Good times.

One more thing worth mentioning.  Since we are PbP, I will be handling initiative differently.  Basically, players will always win it.  You'll roll once at the start of each combat and I'll have resolve in that order.  If someone hasn't posted an action by the next time I check the boards, I don't wait on them.  I assume they are defending and push on for those that have.  Otherwise we get stuck waiting on slow posters.

If you are thinking of taking any talents, etc. involving initiative, keep that in mind.

Thanks.

I'm still plowing through Martial Law.  But experience is the best teacher.

I will post the first story thread tomorrow.  You can finish Varen as we go if need be.  The first story line is just getting you to the Blue Duke's Lands anyway.  It's all about a test run.

Thanks.

No problem.

I've contained myself to just the core rulebook, so you don't really need to plow through Martial Law, unless, of course, you really want to. I am certainly not going to stop you. =)

I should have my character finished by the end of this coming weekend.

We can do a lot of basic roleplay without dice until then. =)

In reply to Varen (msg # 22):

Hello.  I posted a lead in thread to the first story.  You still there?

Yes, here. Sorry, I have been out of communication. It's been quite busy at home and work. I was planning on posting today, but I am still in a remote meeting here at work as I type this.

Let me make that a reality this evening and get the story kicked into gear.

In reply to Varen (msg # 24):

No worries.  Just wanted to make sure.  Take your time.

Thanks.

To All My Games:

We are entering holiday season.

This year, I will be taking time off in November.  From this coming Friday Nov 20 until the following Friday Nov 27 I will be offline.  It's my Five Oh birthday and I have been told we are doing something big for it.

I plan on being online all through December.

This time of year is always catch-as-catch-can on RPoL.  Once I return from vacay, I will try to check the boards at my usual rate and keep games moving along.  However I will be understanding about lags in posting times.  Everything usually returns to normal come January 2nd.

Please let me know if there are any questions or concerns.  If I don't say it before the end of the year:  thanks for gaming with me in 2020.  Hope we get to continue in 2021.

Hey hey,

Sounds great. Knock yourself out in your big party. I will be 50 coming March, but I am not planning anything big.

I don't have as many social obligations as others often have, so November and December do not actually slow me down.

But, it is the time to "eat and be sleepy" so good cheers to all!  =)

Hello Folks.   Hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving/week.

I am working on playing catch up.  All games should be updated no later than tomorrow.

Thanks.

Ok, my skills are up.

If you take a look at the Ranks column, you will see up to three numbers there.

The first one is Cultural points, the second is Apprenticeship points, and the third one is actual Level 1 development points. I have included a [Total] by each skill category so you can double check my math for level 1. It is supposed to be 100 total points spent.

I have also included my preliminary equipment. I will probably also include a change of clothes or two there, but I haven't written that down yet. So far the cost is correct.

I have taken the liberty of obtaining two extra bow strings at 2cp each, weighing 0.25 lbs each. I also have added belt pouches, at 1cp each. It wasn't on the core books equipment list, but I can't imagine it not actually being available. I'll see what I can find in the other books.

I'll be checking and marking any armor penalties as soon as I fully read through that section.

Oops: I didn't finish the last two categories. I'll finish them tomorrow in the afternoon.

In reply to Varen (msg # 30):

You can assume incidentals like a couple of extra shirts and underwear are yours.  I'm not going to sweat you the coin to buy sundries.

If it has the potential to be gear you will use during roleplay (an instrument if you are a bard, an expensive set of marked playing cards, a silver chalice), you will have to pay for it.

If it's just window dressing and it's reasonable to assume you own it (a couple of changes of clothes, some cheap gaming dice, a tin cup, etc.), I'm fine with handwaving that in.

Sounds perfectly good to me. Casual non-significant incidentals will be there then. =)

I have finished the character sheet writeup. It now has all his skills, his talent bonuses, racial bonuses, spells, equipment, and combat definitions all set. Varen is now a complete level 1 ranger.

Let the goblin parade commence. =)

The percentage roll system seems to result in fewer rolls than I thought they would.  Interesting.

I think that depends on luck and skill. It sure is quite possible to roll an open-ended 100 and finish the task in a single roll, just as it is possible to fumble a roll on the first try and mess everything up royally.

And if you add strong penalties, things will be harder.

I think that five rolls for success was very generous, just because there were so many chances for success there. Adding the results up to 100% is easy with so many rolls.

I can't think of a different, or more complex, or more challenging, way to do a multiple-roll challenge yet. But I'll be thinking about it.

So in most games, I will make perception tests for the players at times.  Usually when there is a chance for them to notice something they weren't actively looking for.

I do this because if I suddenly announce a perception check out of thin air, it tends to alert the players that there is something worth seeing.

Do you have an issue with me making blind perception tests on your behalf?  Or would you rather handle all your tests yourself?

Thanks.

I don't mind. I see this as the equivalent of a GM rolling dice behind his screen.

Let me know if Varen sees something... or not. =)

And my apologies, I haven't gotten a chance to respond to the large post yet. It is quite busy at work, and it is taking a lot of my energy. The next several days will see me supporting a rather large event online, and things will be a bit tiring.

I'll get a chance to respond as soon as I can.

In reply to Varen (msg # 38):

Thanks.  I know some players are touchy about this issue, so I wanted to ask since you are serving as my guinea pig.

No worries on the response.  My post was so open ended, I was just worried you might not know if you were supposed to respond.

Take your time.  I completely get the whole work backlog thing.  I'm plowing through one myself.

Have a good one.

So, got that post out of the way. Finally. =)

Varen is good at herbcraft and healing himself, but perhaps not as good as Moontoad. But that remains to be seen.

Do you require skill rolls for spell casting when in non-stressful, non-risk conditions?

In reply to Varen (msg # 40):

Good question.

For now, yes.  Please always roll when casting.

I will waive fumbles in non-stress situations for now.  But I would like to see the system at work before I decide on the house rule for that.

Thanks.

Sounds great. =)

I was planning on responding to Moontoad's question, but I realize I don't know where Varen is from. I can make stuff up if you want me to, but I don't know if you already have the maps, locations and histories for elves all drawn up.

Let me know what direction I should follow on this.

In reply to Varen (msg # 43):

You are from the central plains of Oln (which is where the city you're departing from is located).  You've never been north or been upriver on the Azwhen.

Feel free to make the rest up.

Central plains of Oln. Ok.

I know we are working off Tolkienesque fantasy, as most of it does. Can I assume elves are civilized, spiritually and philosophically advanced, with experienced technologies for their times, with homes in the forests and mountain sides, as well as masters of magic and esoteric knowledge?

How large are the plains of Oln in terms of miles across?

In reply to Varen (msg # 45):

About the size of the American midwest

Sorry did not get to you today.  Technical issues.

I will respond tomorrow.  We will set sail at last.

Thanks

In reply to The Barkeep (msg # 47):

For some reason, the lamp on this game doesn't light up when you post a response.  Does it light up on your end when I post a response?

Sorry for the delay.  I will check this board more closely.  Thanks.

The "lamp"? Are you referring to the small diagonal yellow icon that looks like an incoming fireball?

I believe that if you posted the new post yourself, it will not light up for you. But for anyone else loading the page, they will see the "new post notification".

No worries about posting delays. It's the holidays, and this game wasn't meant to be ultra fast anyway. Just take it at a relaxing pace, unless you want to go faster.

Either way is good for me.

Hey All.

Injured my eye.  Taking a couple days off of staring at screens.  Will respond to posts starting Friday or Saturday.  Sorry about that.  Thanks.

In reply to The Barkeep (msg # 50):

I'm back. Thanks.

Roger that. Looking to resume as well.

In reply to Varen (msg # 52):

Hello.  Sorry for the delay.  I wanted to read up on a couple of things.

The first couple of combats are going to be very easy and straightforward.  This is intentional so I can reacquaint myself with RM/HARP's crunchiness.  And also see how I want to handle the PbP factor.

I would like to try the following going forward:

1)       Roll init once at the start of each combat.

         The fewer rolls we have to wait for, the less chance the game bogs
         down while we wait for players to post (not that it's an issue
         now since it is just you and I.  But at some point, there will
         hopefully be others.)

2)       For 'grunts' like this guy, I will post DBs upfront.  So
         You can adjucate your attack rolls without waiting on me.

         For special combats (boss combats, fighting on an unstable surface, etc)
         I will adjucate the results of your OB rolls like on this round.

Let's use this starting the next round.  Roll your init and that will be the roll used for the rest of the combat.  I'll post his DB (26) and you can resolve your next attack using the appropriate tables.

You are using your long sword, correct?  It's listed on your character sheet as a medium puncture but it should be a medium slash I believe.  I resolved the action using the slash table.  Let me know if you think I am incorrect please.  Don't be afraid to double check me.

Thanks.

Sure. Sounds good.

I can re-roll initiative. No issues.

I figured you'd have his DB in place, and that you would apply it and then describe to me how well things went. In the end, it is you who is keeping hits for the NPCs and me who keeps hits for my character. Are you wanting me to keep hits for both?

I don't know how much 'public knowledge' you like to give, but I see how making the NPCs/Opponent's DB 'public' will make things faster.

And yes, that sword is supposed to be 'slash' weapon. I bet I made a copy/paste mistake with the bow. I'll fix that right away.

Keep me posted.

In reply to Varen (msg # 54):

I would keep track of the hits.  But you make some good points.  I was thinking of just asking you to post results of the crit table.  But that probably is something I should do.

Let's finish this one up as I had previously described and I'll reevaluate.

I appreciate you letting me use you as a test subject for this.  Trying to PbP crunchy systems can be tricky.  Dress rehearsals help.

Thanks again.

In reply to The Barkeep (msg # 55):

Hey.  Didn't know if you were still buried under work wise or not.

Things just got much easier this last Friday.

Sorry, been absent for a while, in all my games.

Let me work something tomorrow.

It just occurred to me that I have been using only the parry bonus to Varen's defensive bonus. I have completely forgotten his armor! His regular armor DB is 28 right now, since he has not slung his shield to his arm. His full DB should therefore be 68, not just 40.

My bad. =)

I will take that into account on all subsequent rounds.

In reply to Varen (msg # 58):

I missed that too.  Will keep that in mind going forward as well.

Thanks.

I will post tomorrow.  Need to double check myself about the disarm but don't have access to my book tonight.  Thanks.

In reply to The Barkeep (msg # 60):

So I forgot they had both a Combat Style called 'Disarm' but then, for reasons I will never understand, allow a combat maneuver called 'Disarm' which does the same thing.  Yeah, I know they say the maneuver has less chance of being pulled off.  But it is still kind of nonsensical to me.  Especially as I spent ten minutes reading up on the skill because I forgot about the move.

I agree with your calcs.  The sad part is he got an awesome roll.  But that stun penalty screwed him over.

Oh well.  That is life.

This poor kid.

I didn't know there was a 'disarm' combat style. Now I have to go look for it.

Is this in the regular rules or Martial Law?

And it was precisely because of the stun that I had Varen attempt this maneuver. Otherwise I may have just started blade slapping him to take some hits down and keep him on the defensive without serious injuries. If I can keep the pressure on and keep him stunned, this fight will over very quickly.

Of course, this could have gone the other way around just as easily if he had won initiative. But he does need the skills to back up it.

Varen has no intentions of killing him, but he does want to get some information out of him. Let's see what happens.

In reply to Varen (msg # 62):

Yeah, it's under Combat Styles in the Skills section.

Oh! That is interesting. I will read it shortly.

Knock outs are tough, even in the real world.  Since the kid is stunned, I think your best bets might be:

>Attempt a knock down roll.  Then just tie him up.

>Using the butt of your sword hilt, try for a subdual blunt instrument attack.  I would rule that in this situation-because you have sword ranks and the opponent is stunned-you could give this a shot.  If you were trying it on someone who was at full capacity, it would be another story.

>Grapple him.

>You could try a social skill to convince him to just come along.  Charm or duping.  I don't think diplomacy or leadership will get you anywhere here.

In reply to The Barkeep (msg # 65):

Let me know if you want to try any of those or we can move on as is.

Thanks.

Ugh. Sorry, been very distracted lately. I need to read up on how to do the maneuvers you mention as options, where they are available to be done safely with this elf. I think I might settle into 'blade slapping' him once or twice to get another round or two of stun, and THEN try to take him down while can't put up much of a fight.

I'll get to work on that this afternoon. I am presently at work and don't have the book with me.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:49, Sun 24 Jan 2021.

Sorry Folks.  Having a work emergency.  Will post tomorrow.  Thanks.

In reply to The Barkeep (msg # 68):

Your question about how to tell if he's duping you is a good one.  HARP doesn't really have a 'Sense Motive' type of skill.

By the way, he'd be Acting now, not Duping.

The social skills in this game, like most, have a lot of overlap and ambiguity.  I would say they fall out like this:

Acting         Used to 'continue' a performance.

               If you have Duped someone, and want to continue the
               the charade (see below), you can keep acting the part.

Charm          Used to make people like you.

               Seduction mostly.  Or trying to set up a good relationship
               with NPCs.

               I think successfully charming someone should give
               you a bonus on other Influence skills.

Diplomacy      Attempts to influence over long term.  Negotiating
               a peace accord between the winter goblins and the Duke
               for example.

               While it takes longer, I would think it would have the
               greatest success.  Like a ritual spell vs one you just cast off hand.

Duping         Short term con job.

               Talking your way out of the city guard's traffic stop for example.

Leadership     This is all about dominating NPCs who are already friendly.

               I could see it being used to rally the troops/provide a morale
               bonus.

The 'defense' skills would run something like

Interrogation          Diplomacy's opposite

                       It takes longer, but would yield better results.

Perception             I am reading this description to mostly
                       be about physical signs.

                       So I could see using Perception to spot
                       a behavior that might be a 'tell' that
                       something is going on.  Like someone not making
                       eye contact or sweating for no reason.

                       Not necessarily proof.  But something that should
                       raise a red flag.

Streetwise             Being able to tell if a situation sounds like
                       a con.

So in the situation with the Kid, I would say you

     - Would use Dupe to get him to believe he is outclassed
       (I mean, yeah.  He was.  But you understand)

     - Could use Charm now once he's calmed down/not trying
       to chop you.

     - Could use Diplomacy on him if you had him camp with you
       the caravan overnight/treated him nicely, etc. to bring
       him around completely to your side.

     - Could try to Act like someone you think he'd respect
       (assuming you don't think you already are like that)
       to try to get a bonus on Charm of Diplomacy efforts

He could resist by

     - Using Streetwise to notice the Dupe

That is pretty much it.  I don't think Interrogation or Leadership would apply here.

So using what happened, I treated your second attempt as a Charm.

I will need to consider how to handle the Influence skills, because they are frankly pretty ill-defined.

I will also be awarding bonuses to your roll based on any role play efforts.

So after your last post, I would say you could make an Diplomacy or Charm effort on him at +15.

Sorry to ramble.  The Influence skills have been bugging me.  So this is mostly me taking the opportunity to think out loud.  You don't have to give any feedback, but feel free to if you wish.

Thanks.

I follow you. Makes sense and is well-thought out. I am learning alongside you so this is all good.

Being more experimental, and willing to bend/break things, I would say if I was running a game, I would create an "Insight" skill, like in D20, to "evaluate a person's intentions". Something like "Perception" but for more subtle behavior/feelings/thoughts.

This would most likely be an "Insight/Insight" skill, with a standard skill progression (5/2/1). It would oppose Dupe and Charm directly, by rolling a Maneuver roll based on the Resistance Result of those skills, as usual.

I have to agree that when I read the Influence skills I didn't like them much either. They still feel a bit nebulous to me, some more than others.

I like the idea of using "Streetwise" to spot a con, and yet some cons can be quite sophisticated and perhaps Streetwise might not apply to them. This is completely debatable, of course.

I will post a bit later tonight after I've completed some household work.

I don't see a reason to mistreat the young elf. His position is not enviable. I can tell you right now that if there aren't too many of "them", Varen will propose a 'rescue attempt' to his crew, or an ambush, given the young elf's cooperation. Or both: if the ambush can dwindle their numbers, it will be easier to follow up with an assault to free the people Aldo talks about.

Sorry for the silence. Been a but taken up with some concerns here, and my time flittered away while doing those things. Yay.

I'll be posting today, at some point. =)

Hey All.

In Texas. Power is very come and go.  I will update games when I can.  Thanks.

Sorry Folks.  Having a RL issue.  Will respond Tuesday.  Thanks.

All good.

Sorry folks.  Things have gone a little south.  I will be out the rest of the week.  Do plan on being back.  Thanks.

Hey There Barkeep,

Undergoing a bit of medical recovery, and might have to deal with a few more medical issues. My posting will slow down significantly.

Just letting you know.

In reply to Varen (msg # 78):

Thanks for letting me know.  Take your time.  Wishing you the best in your recovery.

Things are still not resolved, but I think I can start posting again.

Give me a few moments to mentally re-engage and I should have a post for you soon.

In reply to Varen (msg # 80):

Take your time.  Get well.  I'll be here.  Thanks.

In reply to The Barkeep (msg # 81):

Hello.

Hope things are going well.  I will probably close this board by the end of the week.

Thanks.

Hey,

Wow, things have been super busy.

I think you may be right on the closing of the board.

Thank you for being so generous and running this particular system for me. I have learned a lot and it was very educational. Your story crafting is also pretty good, and I enjoyed the details you added to your game and posts.

I hope things find you well and you are having a blast with players who can actually put the time to post. =)


Best to you,
Mr. K.

In reply to Varen (msg # 83):

You as well.  Best of luck.  Thanks.