Out-of-character posts can be made here: Questions, chit chat, and other such back-channel discussion.

(Let's aim to make our characters by the end of the weekend, to start the game first thing next week!)

Hi everybody!

Usually this waits until later in the campaign, but...



This Dice Roller can pound all the sand.

Hi everyone. Pleasure to be rolling with the lot of you.

1) What books/material are we allowed to use?
2) Will most of this campaign focus on the inside of the tower in a classic dungeon crawl sort of way, or is the tower the main component to a wider world?
3) SO everyone knows, I'll be going with a TWF-style Ranger, but I haven't delved into multiclass possibilities.

4) @Rogue Well them's the absolute breaks, bud.

Well, at least the die roller wasn't just after me.

Are we making a 3rd level or a 4th level?

And what are the rules for selling back gear? Right now I'm trying to decide between a chest I don't want to lug around, and a disguise kit I can't use.

I should be done now. Just waiting on DM approval of the sheet.

Glad to see the forces mustering!

Rogue
Per the Character Creation thread -- link to a message in this game -- for first level, you can take max points on your hit die. For subsequent levels, you can choose to either roll or take the average value as indicated for your class. So the sand pounding doesn't really have to happen.

Ranger
(1) Oh, you know. The usual. If you want to draw on something outre, let me know, and I can consider.
(2) Player knowledge only: This is a standalone adventure. Depending on how the game goes, it could certainly go somewhere next or fit into something larger. But at the outset, it's self-contained.

Bard
That's a good question. You can choose yourselves: third or fourth.

Fighter
I'll check out the sheet!
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 22:33, Wed 11 Nov 2020.

Well, I would prefer 4th, :)

As far as selling back gear goes, per the Player's Handbook, "As a general rule, undamaged weapons, armor, and other equipment fetch half their cost when sold in a market." We will follow that general rule to sell back just-purchased gear.

Hello all,

I will be here to help in dealing with most Arcane matters and if the evil necromancer has traps well I will only be able to tell if they have a magical nature.

Well the Dice Roller is in a bad mood .

Welcome everyone. Consider me your one man shield wall.

DM,

Are we allowed to use a different Character Sheet?

The one posted don't have a lot of things added like Background, Racial and Class section.

Feel free to modify as needed.

Hello friends, I’ll be playing Argent, a retired soldier turned Cleric of Azuth who grew up nearby but has returned recently from the big city to look after his aging parents. Happy to be here!

Sheet ready for a look-see, DM.

Guess it didn't turn out so bad, what with it being much much easier to Str-dump in 5e than in previous editions.

A fellow dwarf! I just hope you know how to deal with locks.

In reply to Gorrim Thrund (msg # 17):

OF COURSE I DO! And always in the most dwarfish way: with a big enough hammer.

Do we know each other or did Sir Jeffers just throw us together as a party?

Sheet is done!

And that's a good question. I feel as though for my own character's sake, he is less likely to have known anyone.

I'll review sheets and let y'all know if I have any questions or concerns.

My goal is to kick off Monday, though that might occur over the weekend.

Your coming together as a party will occur as the game begins, though I will set up a thread for some character establishment and roleplayed detail of your activities so far in the city of Caeritso, where the adventure occurs.

Personally I prefer a cold open, especially in a new setting if only because Character ignorance covers up Player ignorance a fair bit, and I never know what I should to start. <blush>

You can totally pass on the warmup activities, if you so choose, for sure. Feel no pressure.

I'll still open a thread so folks have an outlet for enthusiasm and interest in addition to this topic. Gives you something to do in the meantime, if you want such something to do.

Argent would you be interested in some joined background?

I see you are a follower of Azuth, I have two Goddesses in my life.  Both being of Magic in their Portfolio.

I'm no Wizard but I do cast some powerful Arcane Spells

Yes, I will PM you.

Hey Gorrim, want to dwarf up? I’m in town looking for that scoundrel Zhuang Yi what made off with my boat, the Century Eagle, fastest smuggling ship this side of the Inner Rim. Heard he might have made anchor here.

In reply to Hiram Glasgie (msg # 26):

Sure! I was a soldier in my background too. Perhaps we knew each other a long time ago? I went with you to track down the thief as a favor to an old friend?
This message was last edited by the player at 18:41, Thu 12 Nov 2020.

Im getting a sneaking suspicion the Warlock aint coming back.

It's only been 2 days, and those a Friday and Saturday.

In reply to Gorrim Thrund (msg # 28):

I'd agree, but Dominic ain't wrong. And "We'll start on Monday" gives a guy plenty of slack.

So where physically are all of your characters?

I'd like to have Noon interact e/a future companion.

Noon is outside the Keep Out

Charinida is knocking on a door looking for Argent

Argent is putting up a door (somewhere else?)

Dominic is making rounds somewhere?

And Dwarves are meeting I believe.

Sound about right everyone?

Ack, sorry Charinida, I will edit my post.

Ok, good to go!

I think maybe the dwarves have met at a nice Italian Halfling restaurant and are sipping quaffing wine ale at a patio table.

Sound good to you, Gorrim?

Aye, that'll do.

In reply to Argent Balgaire (msg # 33):

Will post shortly.

Before the one-upsmanship gets out of hand, I recommend a dose of metagaming to help our characters become a team, and not a pack of rivals waiting to get back at that guy over there.

At the very least, let's not decide that a PC's grip is too weak without a die roll.

In reply to Dominic (msg # 38):

At the least we can try to get along. Goes for everyone.

Noon, I get the roleplaying and you're getting into character. I dig it. But the sack-grabbing, the Dominic-teasing, and the interior monologue suggests your character is accustomed to being a lone wolf; Ranger is a good fit. It makes sense. But more often in games on RPoL I've seen that character trope lead to bad places instead of good. YMMV.

@Hiram thank you for your advice. I can assure after over a decade of successful roleplaying (never been kicked out of a game, never rampaged) and writing, and the assumption being that not a single one of the PCs can read another's mind, I can assure you I know what I'm doing when I made my character. If you've actually been reading my posts, you will note that Noon is not at all used to working alone. He is not only part of an organization, but he just recently lost contact with a partner and family member. So lone ranger is not what I'm aiming for. Perhaps a wolf that is now alone? But obviously not for long. Hopefully.

@Dominic, you're assuming that my PC would allow anyone to get close enough (without noticing them in a room with all of a few people) then reach down and grab at something that he is in the middle of the process of laying directly across his crotch without reacting ("he made to..."). For the spirit of the game, I allowed that to happen, even though it didn't make sense...and made sure to react accordingly, without any threat of harm or disruption.

Then it is assumed that a simple sack "would be safer" with anyone else (without any In-Character motivations) considering there is already a dwarf in the room talking subtly about having robbed houses before.

There is a lot of assumption going on, and I know it's easy to take things personally. It is just a game, and there is no way that my Dominic-teasing(?) was made to be personal.

So can we all take a deep breath, and carry on? I'd love to.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:31, Thu 19 Nov 2020.

In reply to Noon Teyeeti (msg # 40):

And you assumed we would et you pocket the bag without intervening. At least you first post didnt' allow for it.

Then you assumed I would let it go or you could take it from me without resistance.

Yes, quite a bit of assuming going on. But it seems to mostly be on your part. You can hardly object when someone follows your example...

So...No more godmodding, ok?

Noon Teyeeti is a Drow?

Seems not! Not sure why I had that in my head... I will correct.

While you're there, Dominic isn't a minstrel, either.

I'm only a little mad now that I didn't even think to make him one XP

Would've been great story material!

Dominic has a lute, a flute, and a lyre. It might be a common misconception that he's a musician. ^_^

In reply to h3athrow (msg # 46):

No, he has the skill to use them. He doesn't actually own an instrument at all.

Gotcha. No chess set either, then? I misread the tools listed as equipment. Thanks for the clarification.

No worries. No, he plays chess, but he doesn't have much gear at all. Broke and under geared seemed like a nice incentive for him.

oh my it seems that I forgot to even place in my Equipment.  I even poorer than you.  LOL

If it helps anybody to know, I was waiting for others to get caught up before I posted again.

Is the Warlock still in play? (Seems like a silly question but what dreams may come?)
This message was last edited by the player at 00:18, Mon 23 Nov 2020.

Busy weekend. Will be back tomorrow.

The warlock was the seventh for a six-person party in case someone else went inactive. They seem not to be active, but that is OK. We've got six active.

I'll generally be less active weekends, so worry not about active weekdays and less active weekends. I'm on vacation this week but will be checking in several times daily.

I was hoping Argent would of posted by now, but if nothing by tomorrow I will add something.

Thanks for the update, DM.

And I'll follow up after you Charinida. I was hoping for Argent to come back too as I'm looking forward to your characters' roleplay between each other.

Is there a particular amount of time we were going to take before attempting the breach?

two weeks.. LOL

or same night. It kind of depends on what we find out.

In reply to Dominic (msg # 58):

See, that's what I was thinking. It really does depend on what we find out.

For all we know we could get stuck in there for days, and we don't know if the wizeard may come back early. Maybe they never left...

I personally was hoping to take no more than a week to do the deed. What do you folx think?

In reply to Noon Teyeeti (msg # 59):

That it kind of depends on what we find out. Seriously. While I doubt we need to wait 3 days for the right planetary conjunction to weaken his wards, or some such silliness, you never know...

Btw, for those of you that celebrate, I hope you all have a lovely holiday.

Happy Thanksgiving folks!

Enjoy the tryptophan! :-D

Thanks..


Hope everyone had a great Holiday, for those that celebrated it.

To present the options that have come up back to the party, for discussion, decision, and planning... I've heard folks say access from below, seeing if there are access points to the sewer from the river within the walls, or otherwise. I've also heard folks say you can climb, and gain access through the windows. There might be other options. What are you thinking?

I'm for sewers. The walls are too exposed.

I'm thinking the grates nearby would be best, if we can raise one unobserved. River access without a map gets up coming up who knows where?

Our paladin friend is a city official. Don’t suppose he could get us a map of the sewers? Grates nearby might be closer, but under greater scrutiny.

I'm really partial to that smokestick distraction. Are we willing to pool money together to get them?

Or should we plan a sub-heist to "repossess" what we'd need? ;)

If we're going up from below, a distraction shouldn't be needed. And whoever sets the smoke bombs has to get back to the party, which would cause a delay, and might risk getting caught or just press ganged into the bucket brigade that's collected to put out the "fire".

Those are valid points.

I see the smokestacks (or other distraction) as added insurance. Sounds travel much easier in small areas like tunnels, so any added pandemonium (especially since not everyone is the most well-equipped for stealth) will still turn eyes and ears away from wherever the party wants to be. And there are ways to delay something like smokesticks.

Hiram had mentioned also someone getting in to let a rope down from a window. I thought it was a good idea to once again help out some of the less lightfooted in the party. With the distraction combined with the timing of the guard rotation, we may be able to find a window of opportunity pun intended you're welcome.

I'd love to also hear about Goram's plan too. And maybe seeing what a militia contact brings to the table.

In reply to Noon Teyeeti (msg # 69):

It's the lack of stealth on folks that has me wanting to go underground and make stealth moot.

Crawling up the outside f the building under any circumstances is a risk, distraction or not. We may not be able to avoid it, but if we can, it's probably worth it.

Are we still waiting on Gorrim's alternatives? Anyone else contributing?

I would be happy to accept keeping it simple and moving through the sewers.

i know that the holiday season is also notorious for bringing posts to a crawl. So don't mind me if im being too presumptuous.

For the sake of avoiding decision paralysis I suggest an executive decision be made.

DM, I know you're not "in the party", but it looks like whole-party entrance through the sewers with the acquisition of smokesticks in case a distraction is needed, and rope just in case a window egress happens.

Sound good?

In reply to Hiram Glasgie (msg # 72):

Sounds like a great idea to me :)

Sounds good to me. I'll proceed based on that plan tomorrow, Monday.

Hey folks,

I'll be taking this off my list until things get moving again.

Please let me know if things resume.

See you around the boards :)

Apologies for the quiet week. Best intentions and all; last week -- the last before holiday time off -- just ran rampant. I should be more present over the next two weeks, but holiday time is notorious for game lag. I hope you and yours are able to take some time off of your labors for some rest and relaxation into the new year. We'll continue with whomever's still engaged!

In reply to h3athrow (msg # 76):

I'm here. I won't be much, if at all, the 24th and 25th, but I will be here before and after.

My evening postings may be a little strange however. I plan on loading up on the holiday spirits. 80 proof.

I'm trained in History and Perception, folks,  and technically a Bard, so I ahve Jack of All Trades for anything no one has.

Only seems to be about 4 of us left, but the flag may bring folks back.

Perception is my highest one but I did a roll and it was HORRIBLE.

Well, I'll do the 2 I'm trained in and, if we need more later, I can use JoaT


21:06, Today: Dominic rolled 10 using 1d20+5.  Perception.
21:06, Today: Dominic rolled 18 using 1d20+3.  History.

My perception was disappointing, too.

This is going to be a rough time, isn't it? XD

I just rolled a fat, nasty 7 on my survival!

I have room to roll for perception too, also one of my highest available skills (+3) as my Athletics is a little behind that curve (+2)

So just for clarity, we're all able to roll these skills, and looking for three "successes" and three "Failures"? Since both Charinida and Dominic rolled Perception, I can still roll Perception since we're taking the best rolls? (Presuming we don't fail the third one of perception?)

And thanks GM! I'll definitely be enjoying time with my SO, as they get a break from law school!

EDIT: Rolled a 3 on my Athletics.

I think my work here is done.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:50, Sun 20 Dec 2020.

14:15, Today: Hiram Glasgie rolled 11 using 1d20+4.  Stealth.
14:15, Today: Hiram Glasgie rolled 21 using 1d20+4.  Perception.
14:15, Today: Hiram Glasgie rolled 9 using 1d20+6.  Sleight of Hand.

That's all I got.

OK. Based on the stated parameters, I went with the following rolls, in order, first per character, the abilities I listed, and not duplicating:

Clarinida -- Perception -- 8
Dominic -- History -- 18
Noon -- Survival -- 7
Hiram -- Stealth -- 11

I'll post what happens in the main thread.

What would you like for marching order? Let's determine a default single file and double file.

Also make sure your equipment is complete and up to date. We'll be keeping track of light sources and consumables. For example, Hiram and Noon have lanterns. Dominic has candles. Who's got what light source active once you're in the dark of the sewers?

Who is actually here? Just the 4 who's rolls you showed?


As for light, I also have Light.

If we're not getting anyone else to come back, I'll volunteer Noon as head meatshield (unfortunately).

He'll be willing to stay in the front in the double file. While happy to do the same for the single file, he wouldn't also be happy to defer to Hiram for their sneakspertise.

I was thinking Dominic and Hiram as front two, either before the other in single file, depending on Hiram's preferences. Dominic is DPS and has some tricks for defense, as well. Well, as long as his inspiration dice hold out, anyhow.

Fine by me!

Then Noon can protect the back of the double with Charinida as well as be the last one in the single file to cover the rear.

In reply to Noon Teyeeti (msg # 88):

No preference here for marching order. Next to Dom or front/behind if single file.

OK, let me know whether I captured it here: link to a message in this game

Looks good to me.

Concur.

nods her head.

Hey folks,

I'll be back on after Christmas, and more sporadically after the new year.

Otherwise, happy holidays to you and yours :)

Happy Holidays to you and your family

Happy Christmas Eve..

Hey folks,

Happy New Year :)

Happy holidays, everyone! May 2021 bring all the best and brightest.

Hiram, any response to my secret, hidden details for you in the Jan. 7 post, or should I just push things along? We are in that nascent limbo state between rounds or turns, it seems.

Something like that, yup. Cheers!

Sorry, hadn't realized I'd posted IC. I've been having a day.

Stay safe and stay strong, Hiram. I do not envy living there right now, and hope that things calm down in short order. Beams from here.

Hey folks, I'll be dropping tomorrow :)

And dropped a 17 on the initiative.

EDIT: Rolled 17. +5= a 22 initiative.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:36, Wed 20 Jan 2021.

I'm going to end the game. I'm sure I'll run future games here -- and have enjoyed this! Thank you very much for participating. I'd game with all of you again in a hot minute.

Understandable.

Thanks for the opportunity! GLHF!

Yes, the holidays did take their toll on us.

I'll be here when you start a new one, just let me know.

Stay awesome, H3athrow. I really enjoyed rping with you and crew :)