Here's where everyone can chat

Hello to our first two players. I've added a quick hex map to the Game Map.

Map looks great. An army lives and dies on its stomachs maps.

A 1st level magic user has joined the party.

We now have three players in the group.

From reviewing the RtJ everyone has many years of D&D experience, most of you having more than me from the reading of things. I started when my dad bought home the Frank Mentzer's Basic set, so must have been 1983 or perhaps a year later my memory is fuzzy.

I haven't set down any date for starting or rates for posting as I believe both of those things are a group decision. We should find something which suits us all. To give some indication of my availability I would reckon 3 updates a week is fast and 2 a month is slow. I can manage either. For a start time I'm ready when you are.

Teodore the fighter here. Been playing B/X since it came out, pretty much, off and on over the years. I can post three times a week if needed. To be honest, two a month is way too slow even for me. That's just my two coppers.

Greetings, all. Glad to meet my fellow adventurers! I’m hoping to portray a thief or cleric, depending on what the dice allow. :)

I tend to strive for posting two to three times a week in the games that I run. Naturally, that fluctuates based on how real life is treating everyone, but that’s generally a manageable pace for me.

So we have a fighter and magic-user. A question was asked about retainers, my answer is yes you can hire retainers. If you start with a small group I would recommend it. For a larger group you may find it easier to limit how many you bring. I'm not sure how much experience or knowledge people have of Stonehell. I know Ben has previously joined another game on Rpol but they didn't reach the dungeon. Everyone should when they have completed their character roll a d20 for a rumour they have heard about Stonehell whilst on their travels. I will give one hint here for free, Stonehell has a reputation for being thin on treasure even for an experienced group of dungeon explorers, so this needs to be considered when hiring retainers too.

Does anyone else have any prior knowledge of Stonehell or other megadungeons?

I'd never heard of it before, and I haven't read any of the other published mega-dungeons.

I'm in The Halls of Arden Vul link to another game and owned a copy of Tegel Manor as a kid.

I'm also in one of Loughcrew's games.

3+ a week is fine for me--although occasionally a few days pass by before I sit down and post.

Ben will carry a lantern.

How would like for us to generate retainers? Ben plans to retain one of suspect loyalty.

The party will be able to attempt to recruit hirelings/henchmen once per day, by buying drinks at the The Moorland Magpie Inn. This costs a base of 5gp.

For an additional 5gp they can pay for a notice to be posted at Millie's Inventory General Store.

They may also enlist the services of a town crier, increasing the total cost to 25gp.

The more they pay the better odds they will get of attracting hirelings. They may also choose to advertise for particular types of hirelings, i.e. non-combatant, men-at-arms, classed adventurers.

Shall we do this once the game starts?

What's the difference between a man-at-arms and a 1st level fighter?

A non-combatant is a torch bearer, baggage carrier, door opener etc they're 0 level and won't fight. Men-at-arms are 0 level and will fight. Classed adventurers will fight and will take a share of XP.

Yes we'll do hiring in the game.

As some characters are ready I have posted an introduction to Fourtower Bridge, the last mark of civilisation before Stonehell Dungeon. You can arrange to arrive together or singly, I will leave that to yourselves. Feel free to post IC whenever you are ready. I won't be monitoring time strictly at this stage, however when you leave Fourtower Bridge time will be measured more carefully.

Looks like we'll have a bit more magic at our disposal.

The dice steered me in the direction of a cleric, so I’ll be portraying an acolyte of St. Ras. Of course, he won’t be of much help in the healing department until he reaches second level. Provided he lives that long, of course. :)

Def in a Jack Vance kind of mood.

For ease of reference I have posted a notice on the recruitment of henchmen and retainers.

Oh, I think you did explain the hiring costs clearly. I just missed a phrase when I was reading over them.

Your image didn't post in the game thread.

oh I was experimenting, can you see the image now?

I have reposted the Fourtower bridge hiring rules as a notice so players can refer to it with having to search for it. Other hiring methods or hiring locations may also be available.

Fixed, yes.

I just need to get my equipment together and I should be ready to go.

Awesome. It's up to you as players when want to do things. Post your actions and I will respond.

With play by post format I'm willing to run with more than one party or even singly if you dare.

An enticing offer to be sure...

Fiene, is that your go-to name? I played with a Fiene in an ill-fated HellKeep game back in the spring.

I have heard good things of this Hellkeep game. Hopefully we'll be able to aim for that level of enjoyment.

Yeah, it was humming along smoothly and then the DM vanished. He was probably in too many games and was updating too frequently, but who knows?

Not a go to name, but yes, the same Fiene from Hellsgate.   I was sad to see it stop so abruptly.

Rolls took my character in another direction.  I am a Soot Dwarf or Ash Dwarf. The magic forges of the Uzkov (Dwarf) billow a dark miasma that taints the skin and bleeds the hair of color.
He is a devote of the forge gods if Uzkov, though not overly pious.
This ooc meta is to help not shackle.

So a sort of Duregar , and though he is Chaotic this does not represent Uskovs in general who tend toward Nuetrality.

Oh and hello.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:32, Tue 17 Nov 2020.

Nice to a demi-human.

It looks like we have a good starting party. I can bump the advert tomorrow in case we need any more. Otherwise the game is in your hands now, have fun.

For those who hadn't done it yet, don't forget to roll d20 for their starting rumour.

Do players want me to set up the game wiki? I can give all players access so you can create your own notes, maps, records, shared treasure etc to share and refer to.

Have never tried it.

Oops. Thanks for the reminder.

I have created a wiki and given everyone editing permission. I've created some additional pages, see links at bottom. Let me know if there's anything you'll like to see added.

Me either. :)

Wiki is in the top right next to game info or here http://wiki.rpol.net/75834

It's basically a large shared scratch pad.

Bear with me my posts are via a crappy 10 year old phone.

Well the wiki is up, mainly just a scrapbook at the minute, I've posted all the game images and character pics up. I'll leave the rest up to you.

Good see all five characters in the inn. Really from here in I'm just your guide, so let me know when you're ready to move on to the next day and let me know what you are doing. I don't mind if you post your plans IC or give me some table talk OOC but the more I know of your plans the easier running the game will be for me.

From my observation the plan at the moment is at first light to take the road to Stonehell. A simple plan, if anyone wants to make it more complicated let me know, otherwise I will prepare for that.

Changed my equipment to afford a mule and saddlebags.

I like the idea that his only friend was an ass.

As for the d20, can I create my own rumor that fits his decision to enter the dungeon.

If so, he believes that an old artifact of the Soot was lost to the dungeon, a generation ago.  One, if returned, could bring much needed prosperity to his home. It is related to the forges, or even the forge gods themselves.

If so, I would work with you on what it could be.

If not I will roll.

Yes, you can forego the rumour. I will offer a snippet in exchange.

'A dwarven mine is located inside Stonehell Dungeon. Contact with this reclusive enclave known at the Hermitage ceased long ago'.

If our intention is clear, as it is in this case, you can just move things along. That's how I feel. We can always append another town post, if we were so inclined, to next our post should you have already advanced the game before we had the opportunity. Yay for all of those English verb tenses.

May as well list our rumors in the wiki.

Yes sharing and recording your rumours would be a good use of the wiki and a good practise for the party.

I have created a rumour page and you should all have access to edit it.

Which hex are we in on the main game map?

You are now entering the hex surrounded by three mountains marked with the big gate on it.

I suggest

Teodore
Urkov
Siward
Hopkins
Fiene/Ermangard
Ben/Nerida

Seconded.

My sense is that those side routes are ways to bypass the dungeon and continue on through the mountains. Given that, we would ignore them for now.

Urkov is most likely in the rear pulling Vitchna along.

Moreover we are in a 20ft wide area no need for single file.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:29, Tue 24 Nov 2020.

We have another player ready to join. As we've only just starting I have said he can starting posting in the game thread, please imagine he was always there. It'll be a lot easier that way and as much hasn't happened yet it shouldn't spoil it for anyone.

Or he could have overslept and just caught up with the others :).

Or, he was being pursued by bandits and just prior to reaching the bridge, he quaffed an invisibility potion to help his escape. Only, the effects lasted a lot longer than he expected. Suddenly, the magic finally wears off and...*poof*, he’s suddenly standing in the middle of the party.

Or he courted the wrong daughter, and was polymorphed into an ass until he suddenly finds himself on all fours wearing Vitchna's pack saddle.

Oooh, I like that. But what of the original Vitchna? And just how many Vitchnas have there been?

To prevent delays I will proceed onwards with the general consensus that you are taking the middle route through the gatehouse.

Please continue to create a marching order. As Urkov has stated you can travel two abreast or even a wider formation if necessary.

At the moment it is clear that Teodore and Siward have taken their positions at the front and Urkov at the rear. So it's just the six in the middle that need to assign themselves positions.

Formation

Teodore - Siward

Ben - Nerida

(Hopkins - Fiene - Ermangard - Valerian)

Urkov - Vitchna
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:34, Thu 26 Nov 2020.

B & N will take the 3rd position.

Here we see the three magic users vying for positions of safety in the middle. One thing to consider also is the range of spells.

Precise marching order not yet decided but my best guess.

Gatehouse
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:31, Thu 03 Dec 2020.

Who is the orb of chaos?

The images are labelled. The orb is Urkov the dwarf. I've used everyone's character image and that's his.

So it is. So it is. We have much to learn about that "dwarf" -- if dwarf he truly be.

I spoke with the DM so this meta is allowed and encouraged for our survival.

That's a wolf in sheep's clothing monster from Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, the giveaway was motionless.

If btb that's a truly deadly foe for us.

Draw your own conclusion but in Stonehell not everything will look like what it seems...

Maybe a little too rapid in execution for PBP. But it wouldn't do to pause the game for a day while waiting for B. to respond to U.

Stonehell by way of EttBP by way of Monty Python?

I think without the OOC posts B. might have ignored U's warning as U has been showing his eccentric side thus far.

Onward!

Yes pacing of games on Rpol is a mystery, its a difficult balance to manage. I tend to go with my availability as the most important factor. Whenever I'm available I will try to post something, then the gaps when I'm not available won't drag too much.

Welcome another character Anfinn, your thief.

Wiki updated with latest maps and new characters.

http://wiki.rpol.net/?id=75834
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:05, Sun 29 Nov 2020.

Welcome Anfinn

Hello Fiene glad to be here.

Note for players. When a character posts an action I will try to respond as quickly as possible, this does no mean the other characters are being ignored please post to let me know what they are doing. If other characters want to explore something different then post and I will update them.

Anyone gonna roll that d6 to check surprise?

Okay. Looks like you're surprised. I'll try to update later.

In preparation for any combats or dungeon movement I have checked the movement rate for the characters. The dungeons maps will usually be 5' squares so currently movement in the dungeon will be as follows:

Barnabus, Fiene, Valerian, Hopkins and Ermengard = 40' or 8 squares

Anfinn, Siward and Nerida = 30' or 6 squares

Teodore and Urkov = 20' or 4 squares

---

Also whilst checking character sheets I spotted that Barnabas had not yet picked his additional language. Also on character sheets if I saw any error or blank spot I corrected/filled it.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:50, Wed 02 Dec 2020.

There is no way Hopkins is speeding along at 40".

So with outdoor movement rules in effect, Barnabas can move 24 instead of 8 squares? Does this adjustment also apply to range so that a dagger at close range would be 6 rather than 2 squares?

Do we move like rooks?

Yes this means movement for the fast characters will be 24 squares, agreed not sure whether Hopkins really is capable of this it.

This also includes missile weapon ranges.

I'm happy for diagonal movement as don't feel it will make much difference and it's  a bit more fluid and will advantage all creatures in combat equally. The current combat will feel a bit wild with the wilderness encounter rules in effect, usually with dungeons there will be a lot less movement and smaller maps.

Not sure which version introduced adjustments for arthritis and rheumatism. 3.5?

Hey, Mr. Anfinn, do you want to establish some kind of door checking protocol for the sake of expediency? After you've done that, Teodore can open it.

Hey all,
Game is about a month old now. Might be early for feedback but let me know how things are going and any suggestions to improve things or things you want more of.

Dear Santa DM,

For Christmas I want a Bag of Holding filled with gems and jewelry, I want a longsword +5 and a shield +4 and a suit of magical plate mail and I want an official Red Ryder, carbine action, two-hundred shot range model air rifle!

;^D

Seriously, it's all good.

Good to hear.

I'm sure all the other stuff is only just around the corner.

A question was asked of me so I thought I'd share some of my ideas about D&D and how to play.

---

You will die.

Describe not roll.

Outwit or avoid not fight.

Goals are character led.

Gold is XP.

Not every encounter is achievable.

Combat is deadly.

The answer is not on your character sheet.

Things are swingy.

Interact with the world as if it were a place.

Killing thing is not a good way.

There is nothing that is supposed to happen.

Unknowability and consequence make everything interesting.

Play as your character not as a screenwriter.

It’s your job to make your character interesting and the game interesting for you.

If you find yourself in a fair fight your tactics suck.

---

More specifically to the question I was asked everyone can describe what their character is doing and I will provide a response. If you choose to roll, for example to check for secret doors, then a turn will pass and I will roll a dice with the probability that nothing will be found. By describing your character's actions you get a quicker resolution and if your actions are the correct ones you get guaranteed success.

Haha, that's quite a manifesto. I like it.

For me this flavor of D&D recalls my youth and eschews the tactical fantasy combat simulator exhaustion of current versions.

I like it as well. It verbalizes a lot of unspoken ideas in here that in “old school” games. Stacking the odds in your favor as much as possible is very much a necessity. As is having a few blank character sheets handy for when it all goes south.

“Things are swingy.” :)

I will continue to provide updates for any exploration conducted. If any character declares an intention to attack the fire beetle I will begin combat from that point onwards.

Just how far is Teodore from the beetle right now? (And are those 5' squares?)

Yes 5' squares this is a very small chamber and corridors. So anyone in the doorway is only 5' away from the beetle.

Rolled init.

Please do roll on The Effect of Partially Digested Mountain Goat on the Fighting Aptitude of Fire Beetles table before making your roll.

Doh. Thanks Ben. That's what happens when I try posting before I wake up and put my contact lenses in..

As this is relevant to current combat and I failed to previously mention it I had added the below rule to the House Rules. For Ben this will not effect his current rolls as he will have a positive modifier of +1 for close range and -1 Teodore is blocking his attack so no modifier, which is what he has been rolling.

---

For the purposes of ranged combat any creature in between the attacker and the target offer a soft cover modifier of -1 to attack. This modifier can be applied multiple times if more than one creature is blocking the target.

Folks, I think we're using group init.

Hail and well met, Beryl the Acolyte here. I will be joining you, if I may.

I don't think we're too hard to find, Mr. Plotz.

Greetings to all.  For better or worse, I'm here.  Spent more time reading the Fighter section of the rulebook.  It made me feel like I had more hitpoints than I have.  Today hasn't been my day with the dice.

Anywho.  It reminds me of the good old days and I'm thankful you all allowed me to join.

Welcome. I do allow players to roll for hit points three times and pick the best roll at level 1. So you may more hit points.

The party have travelled from the nearest village Fourtower Bridge to explore the dungeon of Stonehell. The village is only a few hours walk through forest to the foothills which lead to Stonehell dungeon.

So far all the party have done is walk through the gatehouse and enter a small cave in the northern canyon wall. The party are in the first chamber so they will be heard and seen from the canyon so feel free to introduce yourself to them in any way you choose.

Also roll a d20 for your starting rumour... there is a game wiki where some players have started recording their rumours as a list for easy reference.

http://wiki.rpol.net/?id=75834

You won't believe this.   My other two rolls for HPs were  1   and a 2.

Rumors roll was a 6
This message was last edited by the player at 21:43, Mon 28 Dec 2020.

Yeah, but there is that funky hd reroll rule if you hit 2nd level. If. If.

Yes you do get the choice to reroll all your hit dice when you go up a level.

I'm trying to picture this scene...How I can see them from the canyon.

I do believe I am still standing just outside the cave entrance. You should see me.

Am I counting right??  TWELVE people in a group not counting me??  That is one big group.

There's 9 PCS, 3 retainers and a mule. Total 13 when including Vitchna the mule. I've played around tables of 10 players okay, I will encourage groups that size to leave the retainers at home. For now all seems okay. I don't like the idea of character survival relying on a dice roll but dungeon delving is dangerous. When we start losing characters we can explore the idea of multiple parties, whether they then merge, mix up or become competitive is your decision.

Sounds good, just not used to the size.  My usual is are 6 or 7.  No major issue though and I'm liking the group.

The only issue I find with a party this big on RPOL is it can slow things down. In my games, if a person doesn't post within four days, we move things along without, and that helps to some degree. We shall just have to wait and see if that becomes an issue here.

I agree games on Rpol can slow down then become unmanageable. There's a balance of moving the game along and not sidelining any of the characters. In a nutshell it's the responsibility of everyone involved in the game that this doesn't happen.

Mr. DM   Connor will be checking every wall that isn't connected to the direction he entered in.  He figures he has already seen what was on the other side of that wall.  So, lets start as you enter the room turn left and check the wall in front then work your ways clockwise.

I know it is going to take time, but heck with the number of people present there is certain to be a trailing party a person can track down if needed.  So, take his time really searching.

Does anyone have a torch out? Maybe we can burn it.  Conner is going to attempt to bash it with his shield.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:21, Wed 30 Dec 2020.

No torches. There's two lit lanterns. Ben who is near to the door has one. The other Fiene has, he's in the west chamber.

In reply to Connor McGray (msg # 103):

There will be blood.

Nice to see everyone preparing to run. The fear of the green slime...

Is the map correct? Beryl is at the entrance?  I'm expecting Fiene to be oblivious to the danger at the moment.   He tends to be oblivious a lot.

Anfinn has 2 HP, so he is the cowardly thief... until you turn your back.

Conner is the 2 HP Farmer turned Fighter. I guess my place is in the front.

No the map is not currently correct.

Fiene and Ermangard are in the west chamber with their lantern. They will be oblivious to the current situation.

Closer to the action will be: Anfinn, who opened the door. Beryl, who poked the room with a stick. Ben, who is talking to Beryl and providing lantern light. Nerida, who is keeping close to Ben. Connor, who is examining the walls.

Valerian, Siward, Hopkins, Urkov and Vitchna the mule will all be outside or near to the doorway to allow the others space to complete their current actions.

As all the characters close to the action have declared their actions it is now time to roll for Initiative! Green slime rolled a 5 so best of luck with your roll...

I hope high is good.

02:09, Today: Beryl Plotz rolled 6 using 1d6.  Initiative.

Yes! You win Initiative. Actions proceed in this order Movement, Missile, Magic, Melee.

So everyone should declare their movement and subsequent actions.

I thought we did that before we rolled initiative already? I am still dropping my staff and jumping away. Unless that already happened.

No movement comes after Initiative, so yes this time Beryl was quick enough to drop the staff and run before the green slime gets to move.

Just so I understand then, what did you mean by



Not sure what the difference is between declaration and actions?

By the book the sequence goes:

1. Declare your intention for spells and movement in melee.
2. Initiative: Each side rolls 1d6.
3. Winning side acts:
a. Movement
b. Missile
c. Spells
d. Melee
4. Losing side acts as per point 3.

---

Using the current situation as an example.

Combat was initiated when the green smile was poked by Beryl.

1. Beryl declared an intent to move.

2. Initiative rolled won by Beryl.

3. a. Beryl moves, rest of the party act too through sequence a-d.

4. a. Green slime moves and any other action as per sequence a-d.

Now if Beryl had been unlucky and lost Initiative the green slime would have got to move and attack before he did.

---

Any questions let me know.

I think Connor acted before he was supposed to.  It seemed quiet and so I made a move.  I missed so forfeit my action this round.

Yes you jumped the gun. However I'm happy to accept his stated action as happening now.

Theodore will run too. Still afk. We've had a death in the family and I don't know how long we'll be gone I'll stick with the group. I hope your new year starts better than ours.

You have my condolences, Teodore.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:16, Thu 31 Dec 2020.

My thoughts to you and your family.

I'm with Ben and DM.  Our prayers go out for you and your family.

I was out all day yesterday, it took three months but I am a person again.  I got my military ID card replaced and a state ID.  (Once again, thanks to the Navy hospital for losing my retiree card in the first place).  Because it took so long, I have to wait until tomorrow for their pharmacy to gather all of the meds I couldn't get without my pictured IDs. So, Saturday HOOOOOO..I'll be gone a while for that one too.

In reply to Connor McGray (msg # 129):

Then is it Commodore McGray?

Shall we post another round of declarations?

If everyone has declared then we need Initiative.

Alas, the Navy didn't even provide me with one of those 18th century officers hats to take my photo with. Just the same old Army crew cut with a unibrow scowl.

Was it a career of service for you, Submariner Connor?

Gonna need a couple days, we had a death in the family.

Condolences. We'll be here.

Prayers to your family.

Sad to hear your loss. My thoughts with you and your family.

Truly sorry for your loss.

I think despite the outcome looking inevitable that events in the game should be led by the characters and not me. So we may have reached an impasse for a short while. Does anyone else have any opinions or ideas about moving things forward?

---

To give us all something else to talk about too I thought I'd share some of my life with D&D. Chatting in the RtJ most players have mentioned their life with D&D and I have shared privately with them too but thought it might be interesting to chat here too. To recap for me the first time I encountered D&D was one Saturday morning my dad bringing home the red box (BECMI Frank Mentzer one) we read it together but he didn't get it. This was in the eighties and my dad worked with computers, so was quite a nerdy work place, a couple of years later I went to a bus trip with some of guys he worked with and then next day my dad brought home a tin of hand me down dice that one of them didn't use anymore from when they had stopped playing D&D. Despite having those old school memories I never really played much of the old D&D, the first game I managed to get in on was MERP and later I managed to get my older brother's friends let me join their AD&D game. Played many games inbetween but I didn't look back and get back into old D&D and B/X until about 3 years ago, this time with my two sons who took me to the local game shop. My sons are now 16 and 17, Ashley the eldest is a die hard old school D&D player, whilst Jacob the younger also plays in D&D 5e games. We do play games together with the family but tend toward very rules light games and focus wholly on role play and story. As a family we also regularly LARP, but this last year there's been no opportunity to play but we have been busy with our free time making costume. Our lockdown LARP alternative has been playing Empty Epsilon, a starship bridge simulator, where we turn the living room into a bridge of starship and spend a day flying around the galaxy because we can't go anywhere outside. Anyone else got any stories or want to ask questions about the game? I don't know what anyone else is using as rules reference but I find Old School Essentials (OSE) very useful, I do have OSE advanced books and the OSE fanzine Carcass Crawler so have access to more races/classes, is this something people would like to see more or less of?

Well, we have a conflict of "dramatic scene" vs "expediency." Since we have the former, it would be nice to play it out with the principles. Since this is an "easy come, easy go" B/X game, we ought to mosey along after the immolation of Connor. When he's ready, he can return and roll up another host character.

Oh, I got my first taste of D&D in 1981 or so when I joined my sister and one of her friends for a game. My character acquired a talking dagger. That night I called the DM to converse with the taciturn blade. For the life of me, I can't remember anything it had to say.

I would welcome more advanced books.

Me, I started around 1977. We had a board game club at my high school that I co-founded, and we had some old fun board games, when one day a female student came in and taught us how to play D&D using the old Blue Box set, and it was an instant fascination for me.

I got the blue box set myself soon after, and dove in to the art of being a DM.

I got the AD&D Players handbook as soon as I could, and actually picked up the DMG the very day it became available.

Played too much in Junior College, then took the game in to the Army, which is great as you have a rather locked in crowd of comrades. Good times.

I've played a lot of RPG's, in dribs and drabs, Traveler, Gamma World, Role Master, War Hammer, Paranoia, The Late, Late, Late, Late Show, Macho Chicks With Guns, Vampire: The Masquerade, Call of Cthulhu, and more, but I always fall back on D&D in the end. I can play 5E, but it isn't my favorite, and I would be hard pressed to say what is.

Sadly don't know anyone right now, but RPoL is a great place to game.

Anyone else for or against this idea?

I do agree that Connor's demise is all but a forgone conclusion, BTB.   So I am ok with moving on, or waiting for the player.  At this point it is more a player issue than character.

Onward works for me, even if my path forward is back to town.

That sounds exhausting :). I haven't had an imagination like that since I was 12.

Sorry about that.  We went through 60 years of records to find 35 insurance policies to find out what policies were active.  My aunt was just three days from getting her vaccine when she passed away.


Anyway, I agree Connor is a goner, he wouldn't have been an effective fighter to begin with and all of his rolls were bad luck rolls. *When you roll HPs three times and get a 2, 1, and 2  it tells you something."

Anyway, I wasn't really introduced to D&D until 1990.  My family was very deep religious and that stuff was banned at the house.  I was in the Army and to pass the time the squad played D&D in the tent.  We had to use a stop watch for dice, but once we got back that bug really hit.  My first character I really remember was an UA Cavalier.

Thank you for the condolences.

My wife's father passed suddenly while we were visiting him for the holidays. Since her mother and brother have already passed, my wife is now the executrix of her father's will. We had to break the news to everyone, take care of the service, see the lawyer, etc. It's been a busy time. We are finally back at home for a couple of days, so I am finally able to update you all on a computer with a keyboard. I'd like to be able to give you a firm date for my return, but I'm headed back to his house in a couple of days to take care of things there (no computer - just a phone), and I have no clue how soon I'll be back at home again. If that's too long an absence, I'll understand, but I really want to rejoin the game as soon as things settle down. On the plus side, everyone here's doing okay.

It not wholly imaginative we have the TV set up as viewport and the boys and my partner's laptops as controllers. My PC runs them all as a network, it makes it a fun game but is a challenge to fly the ship.



Good to have you back, you can roll up a new character whenever you are ready.

---

Good to have you back Teodore too, you're welcome to return at any time.

Why goes Beryl think he's no use without a stick? Really if you're planning or relying on fighting you're doing something wrong. Beryl has plenty to offer as an adventurer and a cleric, for better or worse it was him that discovered the slime next time he might find something more useful.

I have no spells. I can help in no fashion that I can imagine.

This is game of exploration and adventure. There's not a lot on any character sheet that's makes much difference. However I would say that Beryl can still Turn Undead or even someone may have a staff he can borrow if he asks them.

But I don't really want to influence anyone's decision, it's your game and your characters if Beryl wants to walk back to Fourtower Bridge then he is welcome to.

I have crowbar that might make a suitable club... or a 10' pole that could become 8' and 2' if we found the means.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:36, Thu 14 Jan 2021.

Or you could be a linkboy.

You nasty! hehehe...

In reply to Beryl Plotz (msg # 154):

But, really, treat this game a bit more like Colossal Cave Adventure and you won't sweat the stats so much.

I've met some other military folks who also became RPG fanatics at their bases and in the field. Seems a world better than the epidemic of substance use that characterized the Viet Nam War.

The rules as written for Turn Undead are open to many interpretations. I'll lay a few ground rules for us to go by. Firstly when can a Cleric Turn Undead? The rule don't specifically state whether it happens before the encounter or during the encounter. For the purposes of a game on Rpol I think it will be difficult to slot it in before the encounter, as demonstrated in our last encounter as Initiative had even been rolled before everyone had declared. So easier if we treat Turn Undead as a combat action. As a combat action which category should it be considered, Missile, Magic or Melee? Gut feeling is Magic as it an invoked power. If its treated as Magic it must be declare at the beginning of the round and it will take place after Missile so can be interrupted. How long does it last? There's three choices really permanent, whilst the Cleric concentrates or for the rest of the encounter (assuming an encounter is 1 turn long) then I would pick 1 turn but willing to accept concentration if players prefer. Can Turn Undead be attempted multiple times? Our interpretation to the first question influences this, if it was a power to use at the start of an encounter it would be once per encounter, if we are considering it a combat action could the Cleric do this every round? I'm not sure about this one. I have stated previously that the game does not need to be fair so nothing can break the game. What is people's preference I say as many times they want but not on the same undead group but happy to edit this if people prefer a different interpretation. What happens if someone later attacks or chases a turned undead? The undead fight back, nothing should be defenseless that just doesn't make sense.

TLDR Cleric's Turn Undead as their action in combat as if casting a spell so must declare at the beginning of the round and can be interrupted. The Cleric can do this as many times as they want but not to the same group of undead. The undead will be turned for 1 turn but if attacked the undead will defend itself.

Let me know if people have any other ideas...

I did notice the rules were rather scant, I am glad you are addressing this.

For the moment the real issue to me is for turning undead to not be worthless.

As such, as as these are mindless undead, I was wondering what would happen if we attacked one skeleton? Would the others remain turned? Also, would the turned undead fight at any disadvantage while under the impact of the turning?

The fact that they have no place to flee too makes this instance a bit unique, so some of these questions would be pointless much of the time.

As to how often I can try to turn, once per encounter is not my first choice. As the impact lasts one turn, I would suggest the option to try and turn the same undead again would be a turn away. Any undead over above the number I turn would get that same one-turn window of opportunity, however any new undead who arrived would have their own clock, and I could try and turn them right away.

Does that sound reasonable?

Thanks for the feedback.

Turn Undead is a very worthwhile power and also in my opinion Cleric is the most powerful class. They advance the quickest at higher levels, have access to higher level spells the quickest after having to wait for their first spell at 2nd level, the power to turn undead, can wear any armour and really the only things will stops them being equal to a fighter in combat is d6 damage and d6 hit points compared to d8.

Back to Turn Undead. Yes I agree, if we set that when successful undead are turned for 1 turn then they may be turned again after this time and also if unsuccessful another attempt may be made after 1 turn too.

Also agree that each group of undead should be treated separately, so a new group of undead will allow a new Turn Undead action.

Your question, what happens when turned undead are attacked? I would choose that only those attacked would be able to defend themselves, I would that is advantage enough or so they would suffer no further penalty. As a slightly unrelated note, turned undead will for XP purposes be treated as defeated, so whether attacking them is worthwhile will depend on the circumstances.

Just as an example of the strange comparisons of Clerics with other classes.

A Cleric requires 50,000 XP to cast 5th level spell a Magic-User needs 300,000 XP for a 5th level spell.

You don't have to sell me, clerics are my favorite class. That said, I will be happier once I get some coin, and can buy some decent gear.

Well the party have a few more hours of adventuring ahead, if they are lucky they will bring back some treasure, alas all they have so far is a dead companion and a few XP.

Well, it can all get a little fiddly, can't it? And if we posit that a turned skeleton will defend itself once attacked, it will get even fiddlier as we focus our fire on one at a time.

One turn attempt per group per cleric: OK.

Executed during the Magic phase: OK.

Duration: 1 turn. How about d6 turns?

For the sake of expediency: Turned undead will do nothing but attempt to flee from the cleric. They have lost their compulsion to hate and destroy the living.

I looked over the DMG which seemed to want to run a little necromancy mini-game with turning.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:05, Sun 17 Jan 2021.

In reply to Ben (msg # 162):

Oh I don't like that at all. What if there is more than one cleric per group? Only one gets to try and turn? I rather like the version we have already discussed, seems fair without being overly powerful.

Added "per cleric" for clarity.

Happy to set duration of Turn Undead to d6, a bit of randomness makes it feel a bit more natural and less of a clock watching strategy. This rule will also apply to how soon the Cleric may attempt to retry a Turn Undead on the same group of undead.

In answer to the other points regarding attacking turned undead. Your points are valid in the current situation but situations vary. In the current scenario to pick off the trapped undead off one at a time with ranged weapons is a solid strategy. Faster undead, those with special powers or those turned in a place where they can not be so easily trapped and shot would probably need a different strategy to overcome them.

Additional note is amongst the party you only actually have 2 slings. So picking off the skeletons with ranged weapons will perhaps not be as easy or as quick as you have assumed. However make you plan and post it IC and I will adjudicate the outcome, how long it takes and if any rolls are required.

I didn't mean missile weapons, myself, is that how people too it? I was hoping people with melee weapons would separate one from the pack and bash it to death.

It was the statement above the words focus our fire which suggested to me using ranged weapons to finish them off.

If you wish to go in with weapons to hack and slash the skeletons to death I would reckon on only three characters being able to get close enough to attack and the undead would be able to defend themselves. Turn Undead only makes them flee, in effect holding them at bay, it does not make them defenceless.

I know, but if we do it right, we only have to face one at a time.

Yes you can definitely use that tactic.

How shall we adjudicate this, then? How many ranged attacks per skeleton? How many ranged attacks can we even muster? Ben has two extra daggers.

Let me know the details of your plan and I'll let you know what happens and how successful the plan is. As per earlier comments it probably not worth the bother of tracking it in combat rounds.

I don't know that we have any distance weapons available beyond thrown daggers.

So everybody who has one tosses it at S#1. If it survives, the two npcs and Teodore finish it off in melee.

Gather up the daggers and repeat until done.

Ermangard has a spear and both Siward and Teodore have slings.

How many can attack from range in one round?

If everyone wants a clear shot the room is 30' long so you can line up 6 attackers at a range of 20' from the skeletons. If you want to keep your distance and shoot from the adjoining room only 3 attackers will be able to get line of sight.

Let's go with six then:

1-Teodore: sling
2-Siward: sling
3-Ermengard: spear
4-Ben: dagger
5-Fienne: dagger
6-Anfinn: dagger

How is everyone getting and is everyone enjoying the game?

Those who haven't posted much feel free to explore the world and the canyon of Stonehell however you might like. The canyon goes deeper and the gatehouse you passed through is yet to be explored.

I'm still feeling a little disconnected from things, but we have just started. Not likely to do any exploring by myself, but I will go with others if they want.

I am watching some videos on YouTube from a British TV show called Time Team where they do archaeology, and they are currently finding graves on the Isle of Man. Rather echoes faintly of what we are doing here, which I find so very cool.

I've always enjoyed Time Team but haven't watched any episodes in years.

Lucky me, they are new to me. Such fun during the stuck-in-the-house times!

You'd probably dig The Halls of Arden Vul, an Egyptian-themed mega dungeon.

I've not heard of The Halls of Arden Vul. I have played a few sessions of The Lost City the adventure written by Tom Moldvay, a pyramid exploration game. For digging in holes I would recommend Barrowmaze, I've played a fair bit of it and really enjoying it as a player.

I'm back, and ready to resume playing!

Good to see you back.

Hi all. I've just joined the game, and the dice have dictated that I play a Magic-User (Bertilak).

The DM suggested I coordinate my starting spells with the other MUs in the group, so I'll do just that. Are there any gaps I could fill? With several in the group, it never hurts to cover a few bases besides Sleep!

My MU has Shield, we could use some offensive spells.

Fiene knows and prepared Charm Person.

<-Sleep*, Charm Person
This message was last edited by the player at 18:17, Thu 28 Jan 2021.

Thanks for letting me know. And just to help with variety (assuming we survive, which I know is not guaranteed), what 2nd level spells do we have? There are a lot of good ones, and I think it would make sense to take one that no one else has.

<-Mirror image

<- Web

<- bored.

Let's GOOOO!!!! hehehehhhh...

What do you think would be a good thing to happen? How can you help make it happen?

I guess I could go poke the bear.

Yes you can, or there's plenty going on in the gatehouse and there's plenty more to explore further into the canyon.

Had a pretty busy day today. I'll try to get my starting equipment purchased tomorrow, then I think I'll be ready to join the game at the DM's convenience.

Yes let's know when you're ready and we'll get you started. You can join up with the others or go it alone. I'm happy either way.

Ah, I've played this game long enough to immediately identify the them: pygmy flying anteaters.

Aye. Lots of classic monsters here.

Congratulations you found some treasure! Stonehell is notorious for hiding it's treasure and it's slim pickings. Maybe not worth heading back to town yet but at least now you won't be going back empty handed.

How's everyone enjoying the game? The reason I selected Stonehell was because it's very easy for me to provide updates and keep my part of the game going so I can do this quickly without too much time spent. What works well for you as players? Is the pace okay slow/fast? Is there enough information and description for you?

Seems pretty good so far. I'm a bit slow getting started, because some work stuff popped up this past week so I didn't have much time to read through the adventure so far. I'll try to be a bit more on the ball this week.

It's okay, there's no rush for anyone to post. I wanted to check that all the players were as engaged as they wanted to be. We've been playing now for 3 months and some players have dropped out. On Rpol that seems expected but I felt we should work to avoid it and keep the numbers up as much as we can.

Thumbs up.

I wouldn't give the departed a second thought. This dish just isn't for them.

It would probably be good to have 4 or 5 regular posters. We'll get there.

Why is Urkov still on the roster?

The only thing that I'd like is just a party issue, as we keep splitting up, and I'd prefer to stick together. But the adventure is going fine.

Why not designate one of us as a magnet character such that, unless otherwise noted, all active characters follow the magnet?

Or maybe the magnet character is whoever has opened the last door, turned down the next passageway, etc.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:53, Sat 06 Feb 2021.

Yes I do agree the party is acting disorganised. Some times that can be fun but I predict it will lead to disaster. Otherwise it's your game and you can do whatever you like.

If you want set up some sort of 'speaker/magnet' then let me know and we can implement it.

I remember a game I was playing when we had a good table full so decided to open 6 doors at the same time. It was mayhem and fun but not at all organised or sensible. We all agreed not to do it again but regularly still make the chant 'one more door' when we really should be planning our exit from the dungeon.

Urkov's player has been checking in so I sent them a PM, awaiting a reply.

Haha, and now I think it might be a good idea for Fiene to peer down from the second trapdoor.

I was planning to do just that...

Bravo. Let's leave those wasps for tomorrow when Barnabas can cast sleep again.

I'm confused.  The is another trap door in the floor of this room?  I thought I was opening the door that goes north?(into another room I suppose)

Never mind, we're not in the wasp room any more.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:56, Mon 08 Feb 2021.

Yes the party was becoming very fractured. With the helpful posts from Ben and Anfinn I took the decision to reunite everyone. So as it stands you're all avoided the wasps and are standing above a trapdoor which leads by a ladder back to the ground floor. It now up to you what happens next. I do believe the party does have another sleep up its sleeves if they choose to use it as Ben has suggested. You can head down the ladder or even take the long route all the way out the way you came and enter the northern portion of the gatehouse from the door on the ground level.

Bertilak, did you prepare sleep? Did you want to try it on the wasps?

I did, and I don't mind using it on the wasps. :)

I didn't draw this but a good indication of what the box canyon looks like.

Looks like a horseshoe cavern.

Well, we can't leave the goblins in the gatehouse to murder travelers.

Close the door, organize, and kill three goblin archers first?

Teodore will be up for anything that removes the goblin threat once and for all. Just an FYI to all, I will be AFK from Friday till Monday night. My family has a long weekend ahead, so we're headed to my late father-in-law's house to take care of some things while we have a few days. Do your best not to get Teodore killed, please. :)

Hope all goes well at the weekend.

Are we using a generic d6 for all weapon damage rolls?

No we can use the variable weapon damage.

Teodore's attack was close, but he missed.

Maybe for faster processing, we should automate this as in players declare two rounds worth of intentions and then the DM processes them. That way what might take 1-2 weeks will be covered in one DM post.

Teodore will be attacking with his sword unless he takes a major hit, then he would withdraw.

In case it wasn't clear in my post but Teodore cut down and killed the charmed goblin.

Right. The one with the nose ring.

Groan.

Good news is only one goblin left and you've only lost Arietta so far.

What's people's opinions on how we run combat in future? Shall we continue to skip the declaration phase to speed up the posting? Any other suggestions or good ideas? Ben has suggestioned a method where you tell me a tactic and I roll for everyone PCs and bad guys then summarise a few rounds at a time.

I'm all for skipping declarations. PbP games are slow enough already.

Playing a spellcaster, though, I think one round at a time is best. Got to be able to cast spells at the best times, and don't think posting a bunch of conditionals will be easy for the DM.

I concur.  Skipping the declaration and let the GM sort everything into the narrative.

The no declaration phase will make spellcasters more powerful. Without having to declare they will never have a spell interrupted by losing Initiative. As this will benefit PCs and monsters alike it should be ok but worth noting when you meet an enemy spellcaster.

I agree one round at a time is easier to manage.

What do people think about having time limit waiting for posts in combats? Do we wait as long as it takes or if someone has not posted in a few days we move it along? From my perspective combat is not the most interesting part of the game the exploration and role play is, so don't think running combat needs to be a major part of the game, what are peoples thoughts?

Have the gm roll initiative.  Players just post actions and the gm did it all tiger. Sure some rolls will be wasted but things will move faster

Yes that should work well.

So we re-instate the declaration phase but in it everything is declared including dice rolls. Then I will roll Initiative for both sides and post a summary of the action. So each round combat will require 1 post per player then a round up by me. There may be times when it is messier but it should cover most examples.

That sounds good.

Also, remember, if we lose initiative while casting, and the enemies hit us, we will lose our spells. So spell disruption still can happen.

Yes that will be advantage of that method as it will make it possible for the party to interrupt monster spell casters.

I lean heavily towards automation for B/X combat. If we were playing a more complicated system which afforded a wealth of options, I wouldn't.

As far as processing speed, we should all have default actions so the DM can move ahead without waiting. I think we have pretty much established those at this stage.

If things become more complicated down the line, we can always discuss this again.

Good we'll aim for simple from now on.

What's the plan for the party now?

A) sleep the three archers and head back to town.

B) head back to town.

Congratulations on the party's first successful expedition to Stonehell.

For ease of recording I will surmise the treasure here but its your choice how to divide it and to remember to record it on your character sheet.

Base XP award for the trip is 41, those with 5% or 10% bonuses receiving respectively 43 or 45 XP.

Here's the treasure haul in total

10gp
48ep
Gem
Copper nose ring
Umbrella
Stained cloak
Blue potion smells of almonds

Lodgings at the Moorland Magpie Inn are 1sp per day for the common room or 1gp per day for a private room, for those injured Hit Points are recovered at 1d3 hit points per day of full rest.

Anyone have a Detect Magic handy?

As this is the OOC chat I can let you know that none of the circle of wizards in the party have access to that spell. I'm using circle as my current collective noun for a group of wizards.

In relation to learning about magical effects experimentation is encouraged, elsewise there is a wizard in one of the four towers.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:54, Thu 04 Mar 2021.

How big is this nose ring? Teodore would slip it on a finger if he could.

Yes the ring is big enough to wear on a finger.

Yes, B/X is quite stingy on spells

Yes it is. I have included a house rule for knowing multiple starting spells and learning more spells to make it not as stingy. So with time and gold a magic-user can have access to lots of spells.

As you learn more of Stonehell and delve deeper into the canyon the treasure you return with should increase, which will also mean more XP too.

I was just coming back to edit my post, mentioning the GM house ruled more than a single spell in your spell book.

Assuming we can add to spell books, (exceeding the B/X #in spellbook = #able to cast) the only way to add such spells world be to find a scroll or other magicusers book, use read magic, and copy it to yours.  Or by researching, correct?  Can another MU teach a spell?
Does read magic function as "identify"?

Yes I allow magic users to exceed the limits on number of spells in their spellbooks. The rules for adding spells are the same as the spell research rules.

Spells learnt with use of a deciphered scroll or spellbook use the lost spellbook rules which reduces the time taken in comparison to spell research but has the same cost. This would be the same if one magic user teaches another, reduced time but the same costs to learn and write in spellbook.

Read magic is required to decipher or identify the spell in a spellbook or scroll.

works for me.

a further clarification.  Ben suggested "ordering the charmed goblin to kill his friends"

Please extrapolate on the uses/limits of charm.  My understanding is that it just makes us very dear friends, but not a puppet master.  Those other goblins could have been his friends, cousins or even brothers and my best friend telling me to kill my friends would be ignored.   Now with time, and a bit of coercing, Fiene could probably convince him that his friend were out to get him, and that they needed to be killed before they killed him...

I was hoping to use the charmed goblins as hirelings/boosted manpower, having them help us explore.  It would have been better to have taken goblin as my second language instead of orc.  Hopefully we'll run into a lone orc...

As an interesting aside the most popular spells amongst the circle of magic users in the party are equally Read Magic, Sleep and Charm. Probably most powerful and most useful of the 1st level spells.

Detect Magic is a useful spell to know too and does make identifying magic items a lot easier but is probably not a first choice spell.

In answer to your question about Charm. Indeed it makes the charmed person a friend and this can lead to a hireling like arrangement if they are treated well. It doesn't imbue the spellcaster with the power to command the target to do things against their will.

There was scope for the goblin to have become a good source of information and a possible guide to the canyon. Alas the goblins are slain.

Orcs are indeed fairly common and I expect Fiene may encounter some in the future.

It would have been difficult to communicate with our prospective goblin guides, no?

Anyhow, Ben's a lawful sort and wouldn't have aligned himself with highwaymengoblins.

Yes communication with the goblin was difficult and yes the goblins were set up to rob any adventurers passing through.

Fiene is a little more morally ambiguous.

But as Charm is his only "offensive" spell it will put a damper on his usefulness of Been isn't willing to take advantage of goblins.

A charmed goblin is another thing altogether.

If only Teodore hadn't murdered nose ring :).

I don't think killing his friends would have helped his cooperation either.

That is a very valid point.

Kicking around a few ideas...
1. Female Thief sultry klepto with a penchant for earning quick money
2. Male Halfling who believes luck guides all things and it's on his side
3. Male Dwarf who's neither strong nor smart, but has a heart of gold

thoughts?  I'm currently leaning towards #2 but would love input.

Welcome Pinebox. Those all sound like interesting concepts. Go with what you like.

Also, this made chuckle:


Pretty sure 4 of us are magic-users!

I've got a fever and the only prescription is more magic users!

Helpfully pointed out by Devin I'll updated the House Rules to include the few rulings we made in the last delve. Hopefully we won't need too many more additions and I'll do my best to remember to add any we do.

As another aside for players old and new remember we also have the game wiki which you all should have editing permission to record notes and log anything.

Thought the metadata seems to be inclined to let us edit the wiki, I don't think we can.

Maybe got muddled by the commas that should be semicolons for the new players at the end of the tag?

I have fixed the error on the wiki. You should now have permission to edit.

Hello everyone!

I was just admitted to the group and was hoping to join your party. I prefer to play magic-users (or elves), but it seems as if you already have one or two... or five or six already. Would you prefer another one to keep with that theme, or would you prefer a fighter to provide a bit of balance?

Warmly,
dee

In reply to DeeYin (msg # 264):

Heya!  I've just stepped in as a Halfling, so if the group was looking for a warrior, look no further, but do lower your gaze a little.  Brandli, however, will look up to any elves, mages, or other bright types in her company!

I'm going to roll with Lilith Hawke another Thief in the group can't be all that bad :D ... but don't mind her cough or pallor, and the cold sweats come and go so you can ignore those as well...she's fine really.

Since we're using hard core 3d6 as rolled, character class selection is often left up to the dice.  However, since the average rolls only produce a +1 or -1 impact on your character, you could easily ignore your rolls and choose what you like.

The real question is whether you can get the +5% or 10% experience bonus for having a good prime requisite score.  Though, again, this can be ignored as it has little impact at lower levels and you'll probably die randomly well before then.

So overall, pick the character and class you want to play.  As long as your character isn't a jerk, you'll be welcome in the party.

Welcome.  As long as you're willing to stand in front of me, play what you like.

I'd always rather have a player play a poor character well than the other way round.

Yes to echo the other comments the rolls don't influence the game too much just go with it.

Yup, welcome all. The chambers haven't been all that spacious. That's less work for Nerida, then.

Welcome to the new players. I think everyone has a character now. Creation is designed as a quick and straightforward process.

Let me know if anyone has any downtime plans? Then give me the plan for delve two and which if any retainers will be accompanying the party. Then I'll post a new thread.

With the new additions the magic users are still the most common class in the party but we do have more variety now.

What a puny bunch you are? Had a quick check over the party 5 out of 10 have a negative modifier in Constitution. More surprisingly 2 of those are the party's 2 Fighters. The party's average hit points are 3.7.

The magic user Fiene is equal second for highest hit points in the party.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:11, Sat 06 Mar 2021.

At first I was happy enough with my 7 constitution, because the penalty only came in below that. Then I realized that was in the Blue Holmes edition, not the red Moldvay edition, which is more like the Rules Cyclopedia I am familiar with, giving me the penalty. Oh well. We were all affected by a childhood plague, I suppose.

I think it would be nice if this earlier OOC post were added to the Posting Guideline thread:

• You will die.
• Describe not roll.
• Outwit or avoid not fight.
• Goals are character led.
• Gold is XP.
• Not every encounter is achievable.
• Combat is deadly.
• The answer is not on your character sheet.
• Things are swingy.
• Interact with the world as if it were a place.
• Killing things is not a good way.
• There is nothing that is supposed to happen.
• Unknowability and consequence make everything interesting.
• Play as your character not as a screenwriter.
• It’s your job to make your character interesting and the game interesting for you.
• If you find yourself in a fair fight your tactics suck.
• You will die.

---

More specifically to the question I was asked, everyone can describe what their character is doing and I will provide a response. If you choose to roll, for example to check for secret doors, then a turn will pass and I will roll a dice with the probability that nothing will be found. By describing your character's actions you get a quicker resolution and if your actions are the correct ones you get guaranteed success.

Love that .. thanks Devin

Welcome to all the new(er) folks.   :)    Your 6 hp fighter here, trying not to die in any way except hilariously.

In reply to Devin Harper (msg # 274):

Thanks again.

In reply to DM (msg # 271):

Beyond a trip to Ms. Rakel, Barnabas doesn't have any.

I have started a new thread for Devin's adventure.

Could we get a lifestyle cost breakdown added to the Fourtower Bridge thread?

Also, do we need to cross the bridge and pay the toll every time we return from Stonehell or is it in the other direction?

Moorland Magpie Inn

• private rooms on the upper floor for one gold piece/night
• sleep in the common room for one silver piece/night
• a hot meal for 5 silver pieces/plate

Cheapest cost/day with three hot meals at the Magpie is 16 silver pieces.

Yes. Quick run down of costs.

The bridge is 1sp per day. Travellers don't need to pay to cross back over in the evening if it's the same day.

1sp for lodgings in the Inn will include bread or other simple meal to break fast in the morning.

The evening meal price can vary depending on what Lorna is serving.

So minimum cost for a day adventuring would be 7sp if using the bridge and the inn.

It's a new day!

Everybody choose your own adventure or hang out at the Magpie card tables on this rainy day.

How long to rest to recover 1hp?

One day of bedrest recovers 1d3 hit points, so once Barnabas and Teodore have completed their visit with Dagunn Rakel we'll be able to skip to the next day and begin another delve on full health.

I can see that a couple of the new players have given their characters a comic turn!
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 21:49, Mon 08 Mar 2021.

In reply to Ben (msg # 285):

Poor Brandli is a fine physical specimen for a Halfling, but severely lacking upstairs... I blame concussions.  Any mages know how to give her more better smartitude?

Just pay attention to our advice! That's smart enough for you. :D

Haha, I wonder how Devin's day out would have gone had we not seen to the goblins :).

In reply to Ben (msg # 285):

Poor Leah is a terrible specimen of anything. Her best score is an 11, and four of her rolls are below average. Leaning into the absurdity seemed like the best course of action. *L*

But she gets a 17 for style.

That is acceptable. Leah does not want an 18- nothing in life has any business being perfect.

I know I did also ask this in the IC thread but who is Ben giving money to and how much?

I'm asking because of some confusion with numbers.

I divided XP for delve one by 6. That was shares for Anfinn, Ben, Bertilak, Fiene, Teodore, Valerian.

But characters have suggested a split between 4 or 5?

I made an honest mistake in omitting Bertilak - I looked at active Group 01 players and saw four of us left. But if Anfinn's still playing he should get his share, too. My mistake.

No problem you can share the gold anyway you like. I just want to be certain who is getting what.

Now that the selling of loot has been completed is everyone ready to fast forward to the next morning and delve number 2 (or is it 3 now with Devin's delve?).

In reply to DM (msg # 292):

I would divide the exp and loot by 5. Anfinn was too fleeting a presence. Monthly posting won't do, you know?

Yes, let's kick off Delve...2.5.

I have no requirement for minimum posting. How you divide the loot is entirely your choice however, nothing to do with me.

I will prepare a post for the next day. If people do still have any downtime activity such shopping let me know.

I wouldn't divide XP at all. But only because RPoL is such a slower method than FtF.

The game is almost 4 months out and we've earned 41xp... Extrapolating that out and Fiene will reach level 2 sometime in Sept 2041

I agree that treasure division in among characters.  But in practically terms though: it depends on if the Character Anfinn returned with us and thus should get a share even if the player vanished.  But the same could be said of Urkov, did he come back?

Or did they wander off on their own and not return with the party?

---

As a player (and this may be considered selfish by some) I have never felt that players that only post once or twice in an adventure should get anything

Ok, then, I propose the following distribution:

510 GP, 48 EP, a gem
-50 GP to ID Potion of Healing
460 GP, 48 EP/5
112 GP, 9 EP remainder 3 EP and one gem

I haven't heard anything back from Urkov so I assumed he never made it back to the Fourtower Bridge.

Anfinn's player checked in less than 2 weeks ago so I'm going with him still being active.

In answer to XP and levelling. Big XP awards come from careful exploration, preparation, planning and then going to get that big score. From my own experience a new dungeon usually has small returns combined with high risk at the beginning but after a few delves they balance out with better rewards for less risks. The party haven't even been far as the entrance of the dungeon yet, there are 10 levels once they get in so plenty of opportunities for XP.

Despite the low XP award I do think you deserve a well done for the amount you explored and plus the magic items you retrieved. I will state in case people were unsure no XP is awarded for magic items, the reward is the items themselves. Levelling up is very difficult, magic items offer a quick and easy benefit often better than levelling.

Clearly, I agree with Fienne's assessment. I don't think traditional rules for exp distribution translate well to PbP.

As the GM has said, Stonehell is stingy with treasure. Combat generates little exp and should probably be avoided. There should be alternatives. I think we should chew over this as a group.

I just don't equate looking in the general direction of the game as equivalent to being active. This might be the old teacher in me.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:43, Tue 09 Mar 2021.

To confirm a share to Ben, Bertilak, Fiene, Teodore and Valerian. Let me know if I'm wrong.

Also to correct the maths

92gp and 9ep per share.

Sigh, those cursed maths. Why do Europeans get to say maths but I always had to say mathematics?

Oh, I forgot to present that cloak to the sage. Can we retcon that in?

It's ten levels but ten gargantuan levels?
This message was last edited by the player at 16:54, Tue 09 Mar 2021.

Yes probably equivalent to 40 levels.

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The cloak yes Mistress Rakel will offer another 500gp for the cloak or agree to study it for a fee.

50 gp?

Yes, in any case. Looks like I'll have to redo the maths.

100gp to study the cloak, same as the umbrella.

2nd Edition Maths

510 GP, 48 EP, a gem
-150 GP to ID Potion of Healing
360 GP, 48 EP/5
72 GP, 9 EP, 3 SP

Leah is a human, not halfling.
Otherwise, she would be extolling the virtues of a 5' pole.

Before the adventurers left on their second delve Rakel was able to let them know the properties of the cloak.

Journey Cloak - The stained and road worn cloak possesses an enchantment that protects the wearer from two of the most prevalent discomforts of long travels: temperate and precipitation. The wearer of a journey cloak remains comfortable in weather extremes ranging from -20 to 120 Fahrenheit for as long as the garment is worn. The wearer is also protected from all forms of natural precipitation (rain, snow, sleet etc) and their possessions beneath the cloak remain dry, no matter how intense the storm. The cloak provides no protection against total immersion in water and falling in a river or pond will drench the wearer as normal.

In reply to Leah (msg # 308):

Fixed.

From a RP perspective, Fiene would like to keep the cloak.  That said, its hard to divide treasure evenly.  Its not like its a magic dagger, that would benefit someone in a mechanical way.

It's generally easier to sell everything that isn't party and let folks buy it back on their own.  Especially if Rakel isn't upcharging the buy back.  First level folks can do a lot with that cash.

It's a bit of a silly cloak which is all the more reason for someone to keep it, I guess. That same argument could be made for that very silly parasol thing.

That why I said for strictly RP reasons.  After his experience with the ghosts. And the "very comfortable" description when he first put it on he became attached to it, and would probably wear it all the time and been reluctant to even send it to be identified (or even cleaned)

As a player I could go either way.

Yes by its very nature the magic in the cloak makes the wearer feel very comfortable. It's use might not be as mechanical as a +1 but with imagination it can do many other things.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:53, Wed 10 Mar 2021.

I'm going to hold out for the Slippers of Extra Tenderness.

Hey, Bert, I thought we'd leave the nest for the way out if one of us still has sleep.

Sounds good!

Can we borrow a rule from Holmes Edition, where an MU can buy 1st level spell scroll for 100gp?

Har!  Orla Pont is the voice of reason in the entire group, I'd like to say... If Brandli's splitting shares fifty-fifty will get her to stay on, then so be it!  Brandli still wants some more smartitude.

As a rule that any spell can be bought at any time the answer is no. With the house rule already in place that allow magic users to fill their spellbooks I'm not sure about allowing that too.

I'm not against the opportunity of scrolls or other special items sometimes being available for sale. I will occasional have Millie sell different things. She currently has a scary demon mask for sale.

I'm pretty sure the Holmes rule is limited to making scrolls of spells already in the spellbook. It allows more spellcasting ability for a price (time and money).

Ah I wouldn't be against that per se. We can trial it and see how it goes.

100gp and 1 week to write a scroll already in spellbook.

What do people think about who can use the scrolls? Anyone or just the creator?

typically any magic user could use the scrolls.  they have to be special to let anyone not a magic user to be able to use them.

Using the rules as written a magic user needs to be 9th level to write a scroll, which then the scroll would be useable by any magic user who can read it (this usually requires the Read Magic spell too).

If we are allowing 1st magic users to write scrolls as well, should we treat them the same as above or impose a ruling that only the writer can use the scroll? What do people think? I'm imagining if any magic user of any level can write scrolls which any magic user can use then the value of found magical scroll will be lessened.

I would say a MU could write and read his own scrolls.  Scrolls written by a different MU would require Read Magic.

DM I see what you are saying ... now I'm not playing an MU ... but putting my DM hat on I would say if you are allowing an accommodation to change from 9th level MU to 1st level MU then I agree found scrolls would be lessened (except where they are of higher level than the party or spells not able to be purchased).  I'd say go with read magic to read any scroll made by someone less than 9th level even if it is your own scroll.  But that's just my $0.02

--The proposed rule change would directly benefit my PC (and the rest of you, but indirectly). Take this post with a grain of salt. I'm biased!

I'm actually using this rule in my home game, and it hasn't lessened the value of found scrolls. I also have some scrolls for sale in town from an NPC mage, which also hasn't lessened the value of found scrolls.

First off, if MUs can only make scrolls of spells they already have in their spellbook, found scrolls are a great way to pad out their repertoire of spells. Buying scrolls also helps with this, although often my players buy scrolls of spells they already know just to save the time of making them themselves (like sleep spells, very commonly purchased!).

Second, as mentioned, found scrolls sometimes contain higher level spells, or spells that are normally not wanted by the player in their spellbook, and this gives them the option to cast that spell anyway.

Third, not every scroll has magic-user spells on it. There are cleric scrolls, plus the protection scrolls, and treasure maps.

I agree that if MU players swapped scrolls, they'd still need a Read Magic spell to read what the other person wrote. I don't think it makes sense for use to use Read Magic on our own scroll that we wrote. If it was copied from our spellbook, we already know how to read it.

I'm always loathe to modify rules that are already written in the ruleset.  In this case the 9th level requirement to scribe scrolls.

Perhaps one of the tower occupant is capable or scribing scrolls on commission?

Hmmm. This is going to be a bit of an essay, if you do not mind.

I do think allowing 1st level characters to scribe scrolls does very much lower the value of found scrolls. It does not make them useless, since a found scroll still has their own value, but the availability certainly does lower their special nature. You can make the same argument for wands, or any magic items. If it goes to being available only by luck, adventuring, finding, theft or rewards to being available simply by time and money- it is less special.

It also very much changes the dynamic of the game. Let us say we major treasure cache and com home with 1000gp. Split up between us, that is a nice amount about 150gold or so? But suppose we decide instead to use the entire amount for the mages to scribe ten sleep scrolls on the assumption that will allow us to find even more. That is a tremendous amount of available magic for a 1st or second level group to have, and after buying the best armor and weapons, there is little reason not to start doing things such as that.

And not just us- why would not every NPC mage with some time and money not scribe several extra scrolls just for use in emergencies or when they have different spells memorized? (Which leads to more scrolls in the game, once they are defeated, or more deceased PCs, if they defeat us.)

This is also a basic D&D game- it is a challenge in every way. We even use the 3d6 straight down method for stats. This definitely removes a great deal of that challenge ad is a pretty major ru to change. Why this one and not others?

Plus, thematically, unlike later versions, magic is exceedingly rare. This does removes that rarity.

So, in many ways, not making the change seems like the best course of action for this particular type and style of game.

On the other paw, it is a game, if the change makes things more fun, then it is a rue best changed. Also it always made little sense to me that a mage could write a spell that she knows in her book, but not on a piece of paper to read later. So it would be logical to assume that they could write a scroll, and if they wrote it, I would assume that they would not need read magic to use it, but that other mages would need a read magic first.

Plus, as a fighter with 3hp who intentionally did not take the best armor and who is using an unwieldy pole as a primary weapon, this change could certainly help keep Leah alive.

Overall my feelings are mixed.
As a cruel dungeon mistress, I would stick with the rules as written if that is what we are doing with the rest of the rules. But I am not such a DM. ^_^

And given each one takes a week, it is unlikely that the rest of the party would sit around and do nothing while the mage is scribbling away for two and a half months making scrolls- even if it would save lives. Devin, for instead, would not wait even a day before setting out on his own.

So I would offer a halfway point- allowing 1st level mages to do so, but there would be a very big cost involved to explain why they do not do so frequently and to keep the magic rare.

Perhaps it is only 100gp for 9th level mages, bit it is 100gp extra for every level you are below that. So 500 for a 5th level mage, and 900gp for a first level mage. The option is still yours, but it is no longer a casual decision. That 1000gp bounty will only create one sleep scroll instead of ten now- not enough to complete put an entire section of the dungeon to dreamland, but maybe that one will make the difference between party life or death.

Or perhaps instead of an extra gold cost, we take an idea from 3rd edition and assign an xp cost for someone who is below 9th level who makes scrolls. Again, it is possible, but definitely explains why few mages below 9th choose to make spells. It would not have to be a heavy amount of xp, since it tends to come less quickly in old school games, but even something like 10-25xp would give one pause.

Or perhaps there is additional time that it takes for a lower level mage to scribe scrolls. What if it was a fortnight or a month instead? That would dissuade casual scroll making, perhaps leaving it for winter times, but still leave it a possibility. I do not particularly care for this idea, since it takes the player out of play for an extended time- and we have already discussed that above.

Overall, this is my way to use 866 words to say- I don't know.
But my vote would be either no they cannot, or yes they can but with an additional cost of some sort.

Also, I just had a wonderful idea that the DM can change the xp award table to include 1xp for each word posted, IC and OC.

No reason! ^_^

Brandli's posts are gonna turn into those dealies with all kinds of thought and exposition, then!

Which thread are you in, Valerian?

I tend to favor expedience but not in this case. Scribing scrolls should remain a high-level ability.

I'm in return to Stonehell.

Where is Lilith checking and any particular actions or precautions she is taking?

Lilith will check the door being listened at for traps.  She will listen down each hallway briefly in case something can be overheard by trained ears.

I think the DM was fishing for an IC description of searching the door.


Posting Guidelines

Can't say I ever properly understood what that might entail :).

Any interest in designating a caller for these types of impasses?

A search for traps on the door will take ten minutes.

Any further actions such as listening down hallways will need to be done on subsequent turns or someone else does it whilst waiting for Bertilak and Lilith do their things at the door.

An example to check for a pit trap you might describe how you would pour water on the ground to see where it drained. This method get results quicker than having the thief spend 10 minutes with their tools tapping and prodding random parts of the dungeon. It also encourages players to interact with the environment as if it is real.



With the current high number of characters this might be useful to have a caller or leader to choose a direction when there's lots of choices.

The first person through the door should call opening the doors and it happens.  First person in line should lead the way and they go that way.

And if that person looks around to ensure everyone's ready and following, the dfault value will be "yes, everyone is ready and following".  If we have to wait for every character to check in and "nod" back that they're ready, this is going to take forever.

I think it doesn't have to be the first person in marching order, necessarily, but it could be.

Anyway, I'm fine with a caller moving us through the dungeon, and when we get to an encounter or interesting area, we can all post our actions individually.

I agree.  Happy to let someone else be caller as well.

It would certainly speed things up to have a caller, but it is not an idea that particularly enchants me. Giving that decision-making to one person seems like it would reduce the opportunity for environmental interaction and RP as we progress. It also makes one wonder what would happen if the caller proceeds in a manner most others do not wish to proceed. For instance, Leah firmly believes that before we start opening doors and disturbing things in rooms, we should get a basic idea of the area we are in first in case we must flee, find ourselves split up, or otherwise have issues. But it seems the majority of the group would prefer to check the doors and rooms out. Both are valid views, but I suspect it would not be appreciated if I took the role of caller and went the exploring route. Same with a caller moving us on when sm people are not ready to proceed yet, for whatever reason. So, even if it is slower, I prefer people have the opportunity to have their say.

But if we do have a caller, I agree with Devin- it should be whomever is in the front rank. To begin with, they bear the brunt of the most danger whenever we move, since most traps and encounters will come at us in a direction we are moving towards. So they should be the ones to choose when we put them in that danger or not. Further, assuming the group is not splitting up, we cannot move on until they choose to leave anyway, since they are the ones being followed. So they have to be the ones who decide to move first. And if we do split up, then there would be someone else in the front rank anyway, and they would be making their decision as the person in most danger.

I'm in agreement with the general sentiment that any caller must be willing to accept the consequences not expect other characters to take the fall. With that in mind all it really needs is someone to post an action, such as I open the door.

So on to another discussion. For when someone does decide its time to move on we should have a default marching order.

From what I've read I've assumed a marching order something like this. Let me know any changes.

FRONT
Teodore, Ermangard
Fiene (L), Bertilak
Brandli, Orla
Lilith
Ben (L), Valerian
Leah, Devin
BACK

I'm good with that marching order

Marching order is fine. Does that make Teodore our caller?

Yes pretty much it's down to Teodore to open a door or choose a corridor.

I thought Ben already choose a door. But it was just an ooc comment

Lilith and Bertilak are both investigating the same door but neither have commented on whether it is a good idea to open it or ignore it.

...which is why we need a caller, so we don't spend a week drafting resolutions for consideration by the Sub-committee on the Examination of Doors.

And I understand we live in mortal terror of trapped doors, but spending a turn scrutinizing them invites unwanted, and low-reward, wandering encounters.

I'm for a brisk pace.

Lead on, Teodore.

Totally fine with adopting a corridors-first approach on alternating levels of Stonehell, should we be so fortunate to reach them.

Next time I'll choose a corridor, but since they took the time to check I thought we could take the door this time. I agree that we don't need to risk too many turns waiting for random wandering monsters to show up.

I think people are running in different directions.  Make sure to be clear whether you're running further in with Fiene or out through the door we arrived through.

The potential for being split up, or running in different directions, or running blindly through unexplored areas of the dungeon is exactly why Leah wanted to explore some corridors first.

Team Bonkurāzu scores another victory! ^_^


That said, it does seem like everyone else was going north so far, and depending on where the slime is, Leah's first choice would be to join then as well, as long as she can avoid the slime!
This message was last edited by the player at 01:28, Fri 19 Mar 2021.

In reply to Leah (msg # 354):

Oh, I think this might be an instance of the causation/correlation fallacy. Just because we followed "A" (the adoption of a "doors first" policy") and then had "B" (our Keystone Cops imitation) does not mean that "A" caused "B."

But I'm not really debating this. The caller can follow as many corridors as he likes before choosing a door and he doesn't need my say-so to do so.

I like the tweaking of the standard haunted house fixture of icky pipes by literally adding green slime to the plumbing.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:47, Fri 19 Mar 2021.

In reply to Ben (msg # 355):

It is not really such a fallacy, since nobody is saying that one has caused the other. Leah's suggestion stemmed from a `better to be prepared' admonishment. It is closer to suggesting `bring torches, because it might be dark'. Not bringing torches would not make it dark, but if it is, it is better to have prepared for it.

Of course, Leah has no idea if any of the corridors connect up; she just assumes they would. So even exploring them might never make a spot of difference in anything but her own mind. But that is why she is on Team Bonkurāzu (Team Knucklehead in Azumanga Daioh). ^_^

But while even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then, I would be rather shocked if people started following Leah's advice in general. She is in the back of the group as much to guard the rear, as to keep her out of leadership.

Personally as a player, I would much rather be exploring rooms than corridor. The interesting things are usually in rooms! :)

I will admit to bring a little frustrated.  This group seems like it's fractured.

I see four options.

1) Teodore comes back to this side

2) We all go to that side

3) We leave Teodore to his own devices and the GM moves us to different threads so there is no metagaming

4) Some go there. Some stay here and We spilt the party and the GM moves us to different threads so there is no metagaming

And Fiene suggested "checking" not "opening"

My 2 pence...

The DM said that there were various protruding stone blocks on the sides that held the trap floor. My assumption is that if they held the floor sturdily enough for at least one person to cross safely, the problem was the floor itself, not the blocks, and that the blocks are sizeable enough to hold if we decide to cross to him (perhaps with a rope for balance), or if he wishes to return to us. So, it seems we still have all our options present.

But of those options, we put the direction control in Teodore's hands. There does not seem to be a reason to change that since he is still alive, unharmed, and of sound mind. And we are still all together in communication and visually. Teodore just has not weighed in yet on what he wants to do since the DM gave the last update. So, speaking as a player, there is no reason to change what we already decided on. Unless and until it does change, there is no reason to proceed in other directions, or open other doors.

So I vote for option 5. Theodore weighs in on our direction/action, and we all do that.

Agreed.