Use this thread for out of character discussion.

Thank you to everyone who has applied so far! I wish I could take everyone. =) I’m working through PMs right now. Let me know if you would prefer a group thread or a solo adventure.

Welcome, Fa'adiqq!

In discussions with Fa'adiqq's player, I'm revising the magic rules.

For GURPS players, spell colleges will no longer be paths that default from Thaumatology. Rather, they will be Very Hard skills that are prerequisites for spells within that college.

For non-GURPS players, you'll choose what college(s) you want to specialize in and pick spells from the college(s).

Characters with the Atronach birthsign do not recover points for spells in the same way as other characters. They need to absorb Magicka from spells cast at them or use other means to recover magic.

I'm still hammering out the details, but I'll update the in-game information about magic in the appropriate thread.

There are so many good avatars to choose from, this one is is uncertain which one to pick!  This conundrum has never befallen Fa'adiqq here before.

Fa'adiqq has chosen!  It is not perfect, but this one never allows perfect to be the enemy of good.

Greetings fellow Outlanders!

Hey, all. My son has a swim meet this weekend. We swim parents have to officiate some sessions, and I'm doing three finals sessions. I hoped to get more work done while waiting in the bleachers in between events, but they needed more timers yesterday, and the volunteer coordinator pulled me from the stands to work Thursday morning.

Today, I watched my son's 100 m freestyle (he looked pretty tired and added 3 seconds, when swimmers want to drop times). He wasn't due to swim again for 3 more hours, so I grabbed a table at the coffee shop at the sports arena. He called me about 5 minutes later and said he felt pretty bad. One of his swimming buddies tested positive for COVID after the Thursday session, and my son had been hanging around with the guy all day.

My wife and daughter had COVID back before the last swim meet, but my son and I avoided getting sick somehow. He tested negative this morning before he went to the pool, so I'm hoping he doesn't have COVID. Still, he's feeling pretty bad, so I suspect he does.

All of this is to say I had hoped to get a lot of work done on the rest of your sheets, but life has gotten in the way as it is fond of doing. =)

I had one request for a solo thread, and I'll probably put everyone else into one or two group threads.

More from me soon!

I hope everyone recovers quickly.

Hi! I am- I am... umm... hold on...

*Shuffling of cue cards*

I am Meranique Ariettes Vivienne de Beauchampierre! Wow, really? Cool! World's finest couturiotheurge! A very crowded field I am sure! I am sane! I am clearly, definitely, completely sane. It is insane how sane I am; you'll be very impressed by my sanity! I'm also a boy! Don't let the wig fool you, I am 100% boy parts, or at least I was last time I checked!

Hey! Kitty! Hi Fa'adiqq The Kitty! Hello! Want to be friends with- with whatever I said my name was? Yes you do~!
This message was last edited by the player at 20:06, Fri 29 July 2022.

(this portrait is better)

[A fashion mage!  Oh yes, friends this one shall certainly be!  This one desires a cute set of boots, chapeau and vest and is sure that coin for payment shall fall into Fa'adiqq's pack soon, yes, very soon!]


/ear flicks back, tail twitches spasmodically

[Ahem, sir.  This one is not "kitty", a kitty is a "pet".  Fa'adiqq is Alfiq, the most graceful, cleverest, and cunning of Khajiit.  We are the darkness' shadow and quieter than silence.  There is no secret we cannot... cannot...]

/a leaf flutters across the path

[You are mine!]


(I feel only the deepest sympathy for Balahal, being saddled with a very sane person and a cat as companions.)


And this brings up a question Mad Mick, as Alfiq communicate via Telesend without Broadcast, do you want me to put "talk" in open lines or Private Lines to whomever Fa'adiqq is speaking to?  Since it's literally one-to-one communication and not eavesdroppable (as far as I can tell).

Given that Meranique's mind is more splintered than the Manly Man-Emperor's, would she even be able to receive telepathy or would it comes out as white noise? I wonder...

Also, if I ever refer to him as a her, please disregard it as the deranged ramblings of a lunatic mind~! Seriously though, I normally play female characters so the feminine pronoun is practically muscle memory.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:24, Fri 29 July 2022.

I forgot that I needed to work a bingo yesterday for my son's swim club, and I didn't bring my laptop along. The good news is that he's feeling much better today, and he's back in the pool for the last day of the meet.

I have an hour or so between swims today, and I'm the rec centre's spotty wifi, so I'll get a bit of work in before lunch. Tonight I'm officiating again, and I don't know how long I'll have after the meet is over. It depends on whether they have relays this evening, but I think they won't.

To answer your question, Fa'adiqq, since your Alfiq has Telesend, please send a private line to whomever you're talking to.

If you're by yourself in a thread with only NPCs, there's no need for a private line. Just indicate that you're using Telesend. I like the use of brackets and grey text!

The arena has this nice air-conditioned area with plenty of tables and places to watch the swimmers, but the wifi is pretty slow in here.

It looks like Bretons, Khajiit, and Dunmer have been the most popular choices so far. A fair number of mages as well, which fits the relative abundance of magic in this setting, particularly in Morrowind.

We're currently at 6 PCs, which is 2 more than I wanted to start with, but Francois will start off in his own solo thread. I'm working on two PCs' character sheets, and I'm waiting on a couple of other character sheets.

I'm heading off to an evening of officiating now. Tomorrow's a public holiday here, so I'll have a few hours at least to finish off the two sheets I need to do. I'm aiming for a start time for the game for this coming Friday.

In the meantime, you can add a character portrait and description.

Hello Everyone!

I am taking on a roleplaying challenge by embracing the character of a male Breton Knight who is starting the adventure imprisoned and dead-broke.

I believe I'm starting out in a solo thread, but I do look forward to reading your various adventures!

Sara

Hi all,

You can call me Telchar for now (my rpol username and usual gamer handle).

What types of character builds and roles do we have currently for the party? I heard we have a nice bit of magic and martial but could use a stealth character. Part of the fun for me in group games is building to cover needed party roles, so feel free to suggest roles along with what your character can do!

Yesterday, I was having some connection issues when I was using the pool's wifi. A post I typed up for another game didn't get posted. I made a small change to the racial templates post, and now most of it is gone.

I'll see if it was backed up anywhere. If not, I'll rebuild it as best as I can, though some things will end up being different, I'm afraid.

This really sucks. =(

This is why I have gotten into the habit of saving all posts to a temporary .txt file before hitting Post Message. If that's too much work, even a quick CTRL+A CTRL+C to copy to the clipboard can save you a lot of pain.

Francois is a born war leader who is proficient in military stuff as well as combat. Typical Knightly type.

In reply to Meranique de Beauchampierre (msg # 19):

Yes, I do this for games I play in. I used to write up everything in Google documents for games I GM in and then post them to RPOL, but posting them directly to the site helps me keep focused on the game.

Balahal is a Dunmer Guar herder with some basic farming and rural living skills.

I would describe him as a "utility" character currently, a smattering of useful skills but not really a specialist at this point.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:09, Mon 01 Aug 2022.

Meranique doesn't look too out of the ordinary at first glance; she's a conjurer, enchanter, and mystic with a side order of being really good at tailoring. It's only when you see what she does with these innocent-sounding skills that you realize what a piece of work she is. Rampaging guar needs to be immobilized? Conjure Daedric Straitjacket! Actually that Meran's answer to most problems.

Also, skooma. It's the nectar of creativity, don't you know~! Kitties like it too. Don't you kitty? Kitty kitty kitty~!

Fa'adiqq is a Khajiit, so... stealth and cat burglary and spying.  This one is trying not to play into the stereotype but there is only so much Fa'adiqq can do when they have a Stealth of 15 and a Climbing of 18 for only 1 point each... and then a small smattering of purely utility magic, because, thumbs.

Fa'adiqq might also end up either with a few extra Languages or Language spells, because that is very useful acquiring all the secrets.

In reply to Smitty (msg # 17):

Everyone else should have some of the racial stuff written down as well, if only for their characters to help with this. I had some of their info written down on paper.

Breton 41 points total
IQ 11 [20], Magery 0 [5], Damage Resistance: Magic (Destruction and Mind Control) 2 [6], Talent: Breton Magic (Alchemy, Herb Lore, Enchantment, Thaumatology, ?) [5]

Bosmer 77 points total
IQ 11 [20], DX 11 [20], Lifespan 1 [2], Resistance to Disease +8 [5], Speak to Animals [25], Talent: Woodborn (Stealth, Archery, ?, ?, ?) [5]

Argonian 82 points (97-15)
IQ 11 [20], DX 11 [20], some sort of cold weakness, don't remember Talent

Khajiit 66 points total (91-25)
DX 12 [40]

Dunmer 78 points total (88-10)
Magery 1, bonuses to destruction magic and sword, resistance to fire, I think their 10 point disadvantage was something like arrogance

For character builds, anyone have a support/buffing/healing type mage then?

Rayna is also a Breton, and a Mage. Though I'm planning to dip around in several schools, she will have an investment in Restoration, as well as Alchemy. So support-ish healer is a good role for her. :)

In reply to Smitty (msg # 25):

This is super helpful for me, Smitty! Thank you!

Sure thing!
I'm assuming that the players with Khajiit and Dunmer can help with those more.

Dunmer

IQ 11 [20]
DX 11 [20]

Damage Resistance 3 (Fire) [9]
Extended Lifespan 1 [2]
Magery 1 [15]
Talent - +2 (Bow) [4]
Talent - +2 (Broadsword) [4]
Talent - +2 (Destruction School) [4]

No Sense of Humor [-10]

I've adjusted some traits. I removed Speak With Animals from the Bosmer and replaced it with a Command Creature spell.

For characters with the Atronach birthsign, they can only recharge the magicka they use for spellcasting by absorbing it. Say a wizard with Atronach casts a spell and uses 3 ER and 1 FP. The ER will not recharge without absorbing it. The FP will recharge, but it may not be used for spellcasting until the wizard absorbs FP equal to what has been used before. I'll keep track of this on the character sheet.

I just finished with the Bosmer template. I still have four to go, and then I'll turn my attention to the character sheets that are still in progress. Thanks for your patience, everyone!

I was thinking that a list of spells by college would be helpful, so starting to make one here.

https://docs.google.com/spread...nBw/edit?usp=sharing

Nice! Thanks, Smitty. I might convert everything to a wiki at some point.

I'm used to using templates so it's taking a bit of work to figure out how to spend points lol.

Btw, any reason you choose smitty as my name? Was that an existing account or something?

This one understands that pain.  Fa'adiqq is currently paring down Skills, deciding what is important enough for 1 point and what can be defaulted, and what must have more than 1 point.  It is a daunting task, Fa'adiqq may end up unsatisfied...

Ok, I'm not sure how to figure out required levels of magery or whatever for spells with the modifications for this game. Let's take Sandstorm, which I don't know what college it would be in either--it's Druidic PI4, or wizard magery 0 plus some spell prereqs. What level of magery or college skill do you have to have to take it?
This message was last edited by the player at 08:21, Wed 03 Aug 2022.

Sandstorm might be either Destruction (it's an "elemental air/earth" damaging attack spell) or Conjuration (arguments could be made that it's "summoning in a sandstorm from somewhere").  The only requirement to cast it is that you take the required Path (and maybe Magery 1, Create Earth has Magery 1 as a prereq - Magery 0 is not required to cast spells in this game, it's High Mana).

So let's say bossman rules it's a Destruction Spell (that's where my money would go FWIW), it has 8 Spell prerequisites so unless you take it as a Technique and raise it, it will be -8 to your Destruction Path Skill to cast it (if it's Destruction).

Because we're usign the Ritual Magic system, you don;t have to learn individual spells, just the 'core' Path Skill, then all the Path Spells are defaults from it.

Now I don't know if Mad Mick is using the Simple or Complicated "Other Prerequisites" form, so you'll have to wait for him to answer that part.  Simple form says if you don't have a non-Spell prerequisite (in the case of Sandstorm that's Magery 1) you cannot cast the spell.  Complicated says for every full 10 points of missing non-Spell prerequisites, it's an additional -1 to cast (in this case not having Magery would add a further -1 to cast Sandstorm).

There are reasons for both forms, Simple is simpler, Complicated means anyone can try to cast any spell.  Complicated fits Elder Scrolls better than Simple... though... it will mean some spells get complicated (but this is PbP, so we've got time for figuring out the complex).


There is no Power Investiture available to PCs at this time as I understand it.

I thought he said that the only prereq to spells is having the college skill the spell is under, like Destruction 1 to be able to have anything that is Magery/PI/CI 1. I don't understand all that stuff about negatives to casting. Druid and cleric spells don't even have prereqs outside of investiture so that's not even balanced.

Illusion is the other school I'm thinking, since it seems to be the debuff/control group. Unless Alteration can include offensive spells.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:56, Wed 03 Aug 2022.

All spells (that are allowed) are defaults from a Path.  You don't learn a spell separately, unless you want to as a Technique.


There are no "Druid/Cleric" spells in this game, just like in Basic Magic, it's all just magic, and since it's High Mana, everyone can learn Paths and cast spells.

And I just double checked the Char Gen thread adn Mad Mick has already answered teh Magery question:
"Nirn is a High Mana world. Anyone can learn any spell, provided that they have a suitable teacher. Normal prerequisites apply, including Magery for more difficult spells."

So you'll need Magery 1 to cast Sandstorm, unless Mad Mick changes this.  (And I might need a few extra languages for Comprehend Languages.)


"Debuff/control" has a lot of meanings.  It's probably simpler to list the spells you want in and ask the GM what Path's they're in.  I've done that for a a few already (like Mind Reading).

Why are you "unsatisfied" Fa'adiqq?

In reply to Fa'adiqq The Unsatisfied (msg # 39):


Ok, so spells that are listed as druidic or clerical can still be used, but what requirements to they have instead of investiture? They don't have paths of prereqs like wizard spells. Just the negatives from the investiture level applied to casting I guess, is that balanced vs wizard spells?

I think seeing a built character with magic in it would help to see how points are used.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:44, Wed 03 Aug 2022.

A lot to answer here! I love it!

Smitty, I like to preserve anonymity in my games. I chose "Smitty" for you since Telchar is a famous Noldor smith who forged Narsil, Elendil's sword that eventually got passed down to Aragorn.

For spells, let me know what you want to take.

Fa'adiqq has the right of it.

We're using a modified form of Ritual Magic. Each magic school is a Very Hard skill. Spells default to their college as Hard techniques minus their prerequisite counts. In the back of GURPS Magic, there's a list of spells with a number for their prerequisties. Fireball, for instance, has 3 prerequisites, so it defaults to the Destruction school -3.

Also, to cast a spell, a wizard has to know it. Spending 1 pt buys that spell at the default level. The highest a spell can be is the School level + Magery level.

We're using the simple form of the prerequisites Fa'adiqq is referring to. Any character can learn any spell, but to cast it, they'll need the appropriate Magery required. For Fireball, that's Magery 1.

Fa'adiqq is correct. There's no Power Investiture. Priests would have Clerical Rank, but they have no Power Investiture, and they would cast spells as any other mage would.

For druidic and clerical spells, are you going off spell lists from Dungeon Fantasy, perhaps? I'm mainly using GURPS Magic. I'd be open to using other magic systems, much as a mod might introduce a new way of casting.

Here's a sample Healer. (Please let me know if I'm getting the math wrong here. Also, I'd appreciate feedback on whether this is broken compared to default GURPS Magic.)

IQ 12 [40]
Magery 3 [35]


Skill name         Type  Level  Points

Restoration school (VH)  IQ     [8] - 16*

*(Includes +3 from Magery 3)


Spells             Type  Pts. Level   Prerequites (Count)

Minor Healing      (H)    1    14      (2)
Major Healing      (H)    1    13      Magery 1 (3)
Great Healing      (H)    1    12      Magery 3 (4)


Minor Healing defaults to Restoration-2. A mage can spend 1 point to buy Minor Healing at default or find a teacher in play to learn the spell.

For extra points, rename the spell to an Elder Scrolls counterpart.

Minor Healing = Balyna's Soothing Balm
Major Healing = Balyna's Efficacious Balm
Great Healing = Balyna's Perfect Balm
(Though yes, those spells are to heal self.

In my experience, roleplaying games are at their most fun when they're at least a little bit broken. So don't sweat it!
This message was last edited by the player at 17:55, Wed 03 Aug 2022.

Too true! A GM called WraithChild ran a GURPS arena game once where one of the goals was to see how much the players could break the system. I think there was one hobgoblin beast of a fighter who managed to do four attacks in one turn by the end.\

I had a question about languages. Yes, there are other languages available, but most won't come up unless the PCs leave Morrowind for another province. I'll list the other monster languages that are available, but most of those monsters will be present in other provinces. I'll note where each monster can be found in the languages section.

I'll make a few more notes about languages in that post as well.

Like Mad Mick said, we're using GURPS Basic or GURPS Magic (which has a Spell List with prereq counts).  GURPS Thaumatology also has a spell listing with a prereq count.

And then Nathan's Page (https://sites.google.com/site/...shomepage/Home/gurps) has a google doc (https://docs.google.com/viewer...MzMjc2MzQ2YmI5MWJhYw) with the spells sorted by prereq count, and lastly Rev. PKitty (Jason Levine) made the age old posts of prereq counts ripped from GCA in the GURPS forums (http://forums.sjgames.com/show...=1064297#post1064297).




No more broken than GURPS Magic (aka "vanilla" magic or as I call it "Spells as Skills").

Because the doors are always shut.

So is it 1 point to learn at default, OR buy it as a hard technique (usually 2pt to buy or the first -1, a 1pt each for the rest)?

Or is 1 pt to learn AND then you buy the hard technique?

If its the latter I need to do some more math... Or pare a few spells down to defaults.

Actually for 2 points you get the it at +1 to default.  There is no "1 point in a Hard Technique".


I have a felling Mick is momentarily forgetting how Techniques work, or he's altering deal.  Pray he does not alter it further.

Though, 1 point for the "spell at default" kinda works, but completely messes up the "anyone who has learned the Path Skill can cast any spell" aspect of Ritual Magic.




I have no idea what this means?  Do we spend extra points to rename a spell, or do we get "free points" for renaming a spell?  If the later okay... but those of us going far afield from standard Elder Scrolls spells get a wee little bit shafted.

In reply to Rayna Stroud (msg # 47):

Thanks for the question, Rayna. It's 1 point to learn the spell at default.

A character needs to learn the spell to cast it. This is different from how Ritual Magic normally works. Also, Hard techniques are usually free at default level. The only difference here is that Default costs 1 point.

Spell level   Cost

Default       1 point
Default + 1   2 points
Default + 2   3 points
+1            +1 point

So to buy a spell at Default +3, you'd need to spend 4 points. (That sounds pretty cheap to me. Hm. I suppose it works out in the end. I rarely put more than a point or two into a spell, but others probably do things differently.)

Maximum spell level is School level + Magery level.

By "extra points," I mean extra GM brownie points, not extra CPs. =)

And correct, having to buy each spell does change how Ritual Magic works. Elder Scrolls magic-users typically have shorter spell lists than the standard GURPS mage.

In reply to Mad Mick (msg # 42):

Not sure how using a fictional character name as a gamer handle breaks anonymity. Not my actual name.

Yeah, I've only played dungeon fantasy, so I've been using the DF Spells book I don't think I own GURPS Magic yet.

/nods  I'll find someway to spend them, mark my ears!


Yeah, okay, that works.  True as well, I know I tend to only use maybe 4-6 spells if I'm playing a Mage in ES*, unless I'm doing a lot of enchanting (depending on game).



* Of course that has a lot more to do with how useful the spells are... if we could use the full gamut of GURPS spells in an ES game, I'd find a lot more spells to be useful rather than "useful once and never again".  I mean the shenanigans you could get up to with unfettered Create and Shape Earth spells alone!  And the many uses for Air spells, illusions, etc.

As far as I'm concerned, if it's a GURPS spell, you can use it, so don't feel constrained by any Elder Scrolls spell lists that might be out there.

In reply to Mad Mick (msg # 42):


Thanks! I bought GURPS magic so I'll see if I have time to check it over tonight.

IQ 12 [40]
Magery 3 [35]


Skill name         Type  Level  Points

Restoration school (VH)  IQ     [8] - 16*

*(Includes +3 from Magery 3)


Spells             Type  Pts. Level   Prerequites (Count)

Minor Healing      (H)    1    14      (2)
Major Healing      (H)    1    13      Magery 1 (3)
Great Healing      (H)    1    12      Magery 3 (4)


Ok, so if you are spending 8 points to get 4 levels of a very hard skill to make it at IQ level, then magery, why is it skill 16 and not 12+3 magery=15?
Is that also including the one point spent on getting the spell, so it's always going to be at least school level+magery+1, unless you spend more on a specific spell outside of getting access to it?

Btw, I'm wanting to know what spells are in which college so I know which colleges to take give what combos, it's not like I know what all spells I want to have already.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:43, Thu 04 Aug 2022.

Oops! That should be skill-15 for Restoration. I initially gave our hypothetical Healer IQ 13 and changed it to IQ 12.



Minor Healing is IQ-2 (defaults to Restoration-2). Using the rules I've laid out, the maximum Minor Healing could be is 15 (Restoration) + 3 (Magery 3), or Skill-18.

Use the guide in the Magic section for which spells belong to which schools.

Illusion - spells that alter perception
Conjuration - summoning and creating spells
Alteration - spells that change the laws of nature
Destruction - spells that cause physical harm
Mysticism - spells that affect ethereal forces
Restoration - spells that heal

Additional magic skills:
Enchantment - the ability to add enchantments to armor, weapons, and clothing
Alchemy - the ability to create potions and identify magical effects

I posted some general words and phrases for different languages. Feel free to sprinkle those in or use your own!

Appreciate that.

It seems like we might be starting soon?

Here's the current status of everyone:

Ready to go:
Francois (solo)
Fa'adiqq (group)
Balahal (group)

Fine-tuning sheet:
Rayna (group)
Fa'adiqq (group)

Meranique - waiting on a character sheet from me
Telchar - waiting on a character sheet from him

I have a few more interested players, and I'll reserve spots for them in the main group. Alternately, I can spin them out into a separate group adventure.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:13, Thu 04 Aug 2022.

I'm still working on Skills/Spells, then I have to do equipment. :(

That said, I know you said we can use our full starting funds for gear, but do we have a home? Can we be settled if we want to?

Players can be settled, yes, Rayna. For settled adventurers, though, 80% of starting gear will be tied up in their homes.

If you're planning on being settled, choose a settlement, and describe what kind of home your character has (preferably on Vvardenfell).

Just a small place. Haven't thought about it too much, but she'll want to have a place for her alchemy anyway. A lot of the gear is too heavy to adventure with, and it would be a good to have a small garden, etc.

Meranique probably has a live-in workshop somewhere. Whether he remembers where it is... that's a whole other matter. It is almost certainly not in Morrowind however, and resources I cannot access are not resources at all.

Oh, I thought we were coming over fresh faced arrivals on a boat... I hadn't even started giving thought to gear.

What does a housecat need?

Yes, the plan was to come over as fresh immigrants. However, I’m okay with players being settled if they wish.

I don't need to be settled; it's not that important right now, but later Rayna will want to buy a small place of her own to make her own apothecary.

I uploaded my semi-finished sheet. I'm still 8 points overspent, so a few skill/spells might get trimmed. Also need to finish equipment. I'm at $340 now, so I'm overspent for settled anyway; might not be able to afford my crossbow and bolts in the end.

We could always simplify and just agree to all arrive Elder Scrolls style.

Dead Broke!

I mean... It would simplify a few things I guess. I'm not going to take Dead Broke for points though, I don't want to have to buy it off later. :P

Just saying, I'm game if you guys are.

Maybe GM would make it a one time bonus, without the buy off to fit the theme of the series?

Reverse engineering and jiggery-poking from "Points For Cash" to create "Cash For Points" means that starting with no money, but not being Dead Broke is worth 2 points.  Possibly as Quirks Cash For Points is 1 point for every $500 less you start with.

Huh, I did not know that.

Interesting.

Either way is fine. Renting may be more feasible in the beginning, but I really like the idea of her setting up an apothecary as a goal.



This is what Francois has chosen to do, but he's starting as a prisoner. I leave the choice up to you, but it will be easier if you begin the game already equipped.

What college would Haste and Great Haste be in? Restoration?

Necromantic draining spells, would those be Destruction?
This message was last edited by the player at 01:42, Sat 06 Aug 2022.

Couple of interesting spells from Fantastic Dungeon Grappling, not sure what college they would be in though.


Chains of Light (Light & Darkness)
Regular; R-ST
Duration: The spell lasts as long as the caster’s
concentration is uninterrupted.
Cost: 6.
Prerequisites: Clerical: PI 1.
This spell conjures chains of coalesced light to bind
the subject to the ground. If the subject fails to resist,
the chains materialize; the caster rolls CP damage as
if their skill with the spell were ST, with a bonus equal
to their Holiness or Power Investiture. For example,
a cleric with Chains of Light-21 and PI 6 would roll
2d+6 CP, while an IQ 12, Holiness 6 holy warrior using
Contingency Casting would roll 1d+2 for skill level, +6
for PI for 1d+8 CP! This grapple targets all of a target’s
limbs (if it has limbs) and its torso simultaneously.
On subsequent turns the caster can use a Concentrate
maneuver to either attack to improve the grapple
(using spell skill as the attack skill) or attempt to bear
the target to the ground; treat this as a Takedown,
changing the foe’s posture first to kneeling and then (if
repeated) to face-down. The chains cannot be damaged
by attacks; the only escape is for the subject to break
free or for the caster’s concentration to be broken,
immediately ending the spell.

Grasping Hand (Earth)
Regular
Duration: 1 minute.
Cost: 3; half that to maintain.
Prerequisites: Wizardly: Create Earth.
When this spell is cast, a massive hand of stone
appears and attempts to grab one target within one
yard. The hand must be anchored on a floor, wall, or
ceiling of earth or stone. The target can defend against
the attack as they would against any other grapple.
If the grappling attack is successful, calculate Control
Points as if the caster’s skill in this spell was their ST,
with no bonus for skill: a caster with Grasping Hand-19
inflicts 2d–1 CP. On subsequent turns the caster may
use a Concentrate maneuver to attack to improve the
grapple or to Strangle the foe, using spell skill in
place of ST for the Quick Contest.
If the initial grappling attack fails or if the target
escapes, the hand remains in place. It can be attacked,
and the caster can use a Concentrate maneuver to
grapple a target within one yard of it. The hand is
SM +1 and Homogeneous; it has HP equal to the caster’s
skill, DR equal to 1/3 of its Hit Points (round down),
and can only defend against counter-grapples, which
use a “parry” equal to (half the caster’s skill)+3. An
attack against it that critically fails hits the grappled
target instead!

Haste and Great Haste would fall under Alteration (most movement spells do).

Interesting spells! Fantastic Dungeon Grappling looks cool, but I don't have that book. I'm a fan of Douglas Cole's work in general, but I'm not using his grappling rules.

I'd probably put Chains of Light in Conjuration.

Is Grasping Hand shaping the hand out of the earth or summoning it from another plane? If the former, I'd say Alteration. If the latter, Conjuration (or maybe Mysticism).

An update:


Ready to go:
Francois (solo)
Balahal (group)

Fine-tuning sheet:
Rayna (group)
Fa'adiqq (group)
Meranique (group)

Telchar - waiting on a character sheet from him

I still have a few folks interested, so they may be joining the group or starting another group.

In reply to Mad Mick (msg # 75):

Well, it says it appears, which sounds like Conjuration, but it also says that it has to be anchored to something made of earth or stone, so it sounds more like Alteration I'm thinking.

My sheet should be finished. I'm not settled, but kept my starting money for gear. Sadly I'm at medium load with my pack on. It would be light, but my full waterskin weighs 8 lbs. :P

Another look at my character sheet would help, to make sure I'm doing the spells correctly, right now it really feels like magic is nerfed compared to normal/dungeon fantasy casting. Essentially, if you have points in a spell college, getting spells in that college are like College/Average skills, correct?
This message was last edited by the player at 06:58, Tue 09 Aug 2022.

I'm working on setting up Francois's first adventure. I'll take a look at your sheet, Telchar.

Yes, since Dungeon Fantasy starts at 250 points, your character here will feel weaker.

Spells in that college are Hard Techniques. Start with your School skill level. Subtract the number of prerequisites that spell has. Spend 1 point to buy the spell at default. Improve the spell by 1 for each additional CP you put into the spell.

I'll take a look at your sheet, Rayna. Encumbrance is such a bear. =(

In reply to Mad Mick (msg # 80):

I meant compared to my 125 point delvers to grow wizard, actually.

Yeah, Ritual Magic is usually more flexibility for slightly less power, however, having to 'learn the spell' by putting a point into it makes the system even less powerful and less flexible than normal Ritual Magic (it's still more flexible than vanilla Magic).

For instance you can get Destruction and Explosive Fireball and just roll with that, no need to buy Ignite/Seek Fire, Create Fire, Shape Fire, or Fireball.

And it really depends on your build and what you consider "powerful".  For a specialist mage that doesn't need Magery, Ritual Magic can be more potent, as you're freed of the prereq of Magery, and it's cheaper to buy up 2 Paths than Magery (it's even a bit better for a specialist combat mage).  For a generalist mage... Ritual Magic and having to buy the spells individually is a bit less, to a lot less potent, depending on how broad you're going.  Once you're looking at more than 3 Paths, you're getting into "Vanilla DF Mages of the same character points are way better".

But so what?  You won't be facing DF Wizzies.  Just mooks with swords and cliffracers.  Okay, pray you're not facing cliffracers.

Cliff racers aren't so bad in a text medium because they don't make that GODDAMN NOISE

Obligatory Welcome to Morrowind: https://www.i.imgur.com/0MPYoFK.gif

Okay, we're off to the races with Francois! Here's where we are with everyone else:

Balahal - ready
Rayna - ready
Meranique - just needs character description
Telchar - still working on sheet
Fa'adiqq - still working on sheet

We'll begin once Telchar and Fa'adiqq are ready.

I have not heard from our other potential players, so I'll toggle the Requesting New Players just in case.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:55, Wed 10 Aug 2022.

That gif is giving me flashbacks.

One of the Morrowind mods I installed a while back had an undocumented feature: it gave cliff racers the ability to shoot fireballs with a 20-foot explosive radius.

In reply to Fa'adiqq The Unsatisfied (msg # 82):


I don't think the math holds up for even one college, with points per effectiveness.
Part of the problem is that casters are dependent on two skills for being able to cause damage, IQ for getting the spell to work then DX to hit.

How many different combat spells types do you have?  Innate Attack is cheaper to buy up than DX. as long as you're not a DEX skill heavy character (or just are pumping DEX to the skies).

And Create Fire and Glue require no to hit my man, this one is just saying.  Fa'adiqq has done far, far, far more damage with "non-combat" spells than with combat spells in his time.

But yes, if you're taking Innate Attack (Beam), Innate Attack (Projectile), Innate Attack (Breath), and Innate Attack (Gaze), yeah, DEX becomes a go to (actually if you plan to stand within swording distance of enemies, it's pretty go to, but that's a choice Fa'adiqq wouldn't make with a 125 point mage).


Hey Mad Mick, that reminds, this one meant to mention this before:  Since Elder Scrolls really doesn't do "stats" and all skills are just skills, it's a bit of an extra hidden cost on combat mages to need DEX for Innate Attack, any chance we can get that setting switched to IQ as per the Psychic Guidance Perk?  Or just allow the Psychic Guidance Perk in this game and make sure Telchar knows it exists (since he's only got familiarity with DFRPG which doesn't have it)?


Fa'adiqq's problem is this one chose an expensive race package which heavily favors a DEX build and then said "Hey, why not be a mage/scholar?"  Oy vay.

[Editted for Khajiit speach.]
This message was last edited by the player at 14:21, Wed 10 Aug 2022.

I don't know what all these other fancy-pants GURPS words mean, but I just paused my Daggerfall Unity playthrough to scream the word attributes at you.

ATTRIBUTES!!!

That is all. Carry on.

Telchar also wants to invest in Heroic Spellcaster and Weapon Master (Missile Spells). Those require a ton of CPs. This is actually the first time I've come across those two advantages, but they appear to be based on Heroic Archer and the standard Weapon Master.

I don't have Thaumatology: Magical Styles. What's the description of the Psychic Guidance perk?

Edit: And indeed, Attributes! One criticism of the Elder Scrolls is the removal of the attribute system between Oblivion and Skyrim. They cut spears, too, weirdly, along with things like levitation (because of the interior-loading cities). However, quite a bit was cut between Daggerfall and Morrowind as well, including the Climbing skill and the various monster languages.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:04, Wed 10 Aug 2022.

Sorry, Fa'adiqq was thinking about modern Elder Scrolls because it is after all [CURRENT YEAR]... (let's all ignore the fact that this one also has more time under his belt playing pre-Oblivion ES games, especially Arena)

But sure, let us field this too:  In older ES games Agility (Dexterity in GURPS) doesn't affect your to hit with magic spell attacks.  So in ES vidya games, unless you want some thief or warrior in your magicka build, you can safely* "dump" Agility.

* For various definitions of safe.  What Telchar and Fa'adiqq are kinda discussing is that Innate Attack, the skill† used to hit with "ranged missile" attack spells is DX based so it's more expensive to buy up if Telchar doesn't first buy up DX, Fa'adiqq's counter-argument is:  Telchar, mate, it's probably one skill you need to buy, just leave DX lower and pump your Innate Attack (Projectile).  Unless you're taking Breathe Fire, Sunbolt, and ummmm, Lightning Stare?  (are there other Gaze spells?)

Of course if you're also aiming to be a Fighter-Mage or Thief-Mage... well, okay, welcome to the "OMG this one doesn't have enough points to do this" party.  Alfiq knows is that pain.


† But not melee attack spells or not-targeted attack spells such as 'pure' AoE or Resisted spells.  There are a few minor 'hidden' costs once you dive into magic users in GURPS, even after you get into the Ritual Magic system which is adding it's own entry fee.



[EDIT]  ADDED:

/Fa'adiqq edges slowly away before any of that expensive pain is spilled in his direction.



It's in a handful of places, in a nut shell: [EDIT] went ahead and copied the verbiage straight from Thaum Mag Style.[/EDIT]

Psychic Guidance†
You’re capable of controlling a Missile spell with your mind instead of hurling it like a bolt or a grenade. Use your effective skill with the spell instead of the Innate Attack skill to attack as well as to cast. Ranged combat modifiers apply as usual. You must specialize by Missile spell.

(So as a 'setting switch' it's free, but as a character option it's +1 point/per spell to the cost of being a non-DX based caster-'warrior'.)


Fa'adiqq misses the languages.  That was always the most frustrating but a fun part of playing low-combat characters.
[/EDIT]
This message was last edited by the player at 14:26, Wed 10 Aug 2022.

I've only touched Oblivion, mostly played Skyrim so I'm not familiar with attributes, or cliffracers. LOL.

Since I have to have DX 11 with Dunmer, gonna have to put Weapon Master (missile spells) on hold. So far I only have missile, no beam/gaze/breathe spells.

Char sheet:
https://docs.google.com/docume...45AanzTBOWn4VQ/edit#

Telchar has decided to put his character build on hold and may join us down the road. We’ll be testing these  magic rules in-game, and they remain a work in progress.

Fa’adiqq has been pretty busy at work. If the rest of you are okay with it, I’d like to give him some more time to finish his character.

I also don’t want to lose the rest of you, though. For Rayna, Balahal, and Meranique, would you like to begin now and have Fa’adiqq join us when he’s ready? Or would you like to aim to start maybe this Friday, and if Fa’adiqq isn’t ready by then, we can work him into the game when he is?

In the meantime, I’ve been going through this juicy Reddit thread with resources about GMing: https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/c...plements_that_could/. Almost all of you have extensive experience GMing, but I’ve been enjoying all the reading I’ve found.

One area where I struggle is in map-making. I’ve been collecting some maps for us to use in-game, but making them myself always takes me so long. I’m aiming to do a mix of battle maps and theater of the mind when it comes to combat.

There are some amazing resources out there for making maps. The maps people make with resources like Inkarnate and Dungeondraft are amazing!

I typically use MapTools or Roll20 to make maps. I’d love to hear your experiences with these kinds of tools, especially for ones that are easy to use and that can make great-looking maps fairly quickly.

Edit: fixed the Dungeondraft link!
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:20, Mon 22 Aug 2022.

Starting with a smaller group sounds fine to me.

Have you tried owlbear rodeo for maps? My other GURPS games and some of my DnD ones use it. This video goes over some stuff about it, and vs other options.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE_o8bpWQA0

Excellent idea, Telchar! Please accept 1 CP if we ever finish your character. =)

I just loaded up Owlbear Rodeo, and it'll be a snap to create battlemaps for the game. I still need the terrain maps themselves, but I can wing it, and there are tons of maps available online.

Thank you!

You're welcome! I'm going to keep working on my character, I've been reading more of the GURPS magic book, and made another character (using a template I found in the Northport game) as practice.

I am busy with a lot of other things; I've barely noticed the slow start. I have s slight preference for a Friday start as I have a few big projects that are nearing completion and I'll be able to focus fire more heavily on being a PC by then. I am theoretically down to start whenever, though.



I'm a student of The Angry GM. His articles are mostly focused on D&D, but even so he's posted some amazing system-agnostic tips for everything from social combat to crafting. Even his D&D articles delve deep into his thought process behind why he thinks what he does, and his ideas are often radical and fly in the face of conventional GMing advice. Plus he is a snarky bastard.



I would like to reference a particular Angry Article called Break Your Mapaholism. The TL;DR version though? Maps aren't as important as everyone thinks they are. https://theangrygm.com/appendix-break-your-mapaholism/



That said, when I've run games on RPoL where exact positioning matters I've often used Roll20 to allow players to place and move things precisely. I've run many games and have only felt the need to resort to this twice; one was a basebuilding and fortification game akin to Evil Genius meets RimWorld, so chaining traps to create ridiculous death contraptions was the entire point. The other time was a mistake.

I repeat: Maps aren't as important as everyone thinks they are.

Say it with me, now! Maps aren't as important as everyone thinks they are!

Scream it to the sky, and set yourself free~!
This message was last edited by the player at 06:26, Tue 16 Aug 2022.

I see the post! I've got mine mostly done but the grammar isn't great and I need to reshuffle it a bit, but I need to sleep before that. It is very quirky. You'll love it.

Fa'adiqq just lost an entire week to insomnia induced mindlessness... this one apologizes.  The character sheet shall receive work this evening.


Yes, yes, please move along.  Fa'adiqq is more than capable of catching up at some point.  Very small Afliq can easily go unnoticed until they act.


This one knows that pain.  Fa'adiqq uses a combination of MSPaint, GIMP, and Hex/Dungeonographer for map-making when this one feels a map would be useful.  (And pretty much those tools in that order, as Fa'adiqq only reaches for Hex/Dungeonographer when grid co-ordinates are necessary for the map.)

Unfortunately sometimes "theatre of the mind" is simply not enough, and a picture (or map) can cover a thousand words.  (And sometimes even a map is not enough, especially when one's Players are particularly ... mmmm ... particularly special.)


The Dungeondraft link is missing a "t" at the end.  In case others have the same issues as this one.

This one has a soft spot for a few new online tools:

https://watabou.github.io/city-generator - Good for random towns and cities when one wants a quick top down map, but can't be arsed to make it oneself.

https://probabletrain.itch.io/dungeon-scrawl - Really haven't used this too much, it seems to just be a clunkier, harder to use MSPaint.  Though it does have a maze/donjon generator which Fa'adiqq has played around with, but in the end, this one prefers to hand build mazes anyway.


Roll20?  Hiss!

Fa'adiqq hates Roll20, clunky, unintuitive, not even as usable as MSPaint, which is saying a lot.

Post has been posted. I put ALL my kook energy into my post. I hope it kooks your socks off~!


Yes, but with MSPaint (or ANY image editor) you need to save and reupload the entire map every time someone moves. Roll20 makes moving tokens around easy.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:43, Sun 21 Aug 2022.

True, it is just terrible for making maps (the free version anyway, Fa'adiqq has no experience with any of the pay-to-play tools).

Thank you, Meranique, for bringing this up! In using GURPS for our Morrowind game, I've tried to blend the two systems. I'm also using an unofficial GURPS Elder Scrolls conversion.

In Morrowind, the player can pay for spells and training in skills. In GURPS, players generally use CPs to buy new spells and train skills.

My idea here is that merchants like Arrille who can sell the players spells can still do so, and spells learned this way would not require CPs to buy them. I'm stuck on the pricing, however.

The conversing I'm using handles learning spells like this. Take the number of prerequisites and add 1. Frostbite (Icy Touch) has 3 prerequisites. 1+3=4. This is the number of hours it takes to learn the spell. (Magery gives a time discount. I'm not going to require a roll to see if the spell is learned.)

The spell costs 100 gold * the pth triangular number. For Frostbite, this would be 100 * T_p = 100 * 6 = 600 gold. That's more than half the starting money for a character and seems like a lot.

I'm more inclined to price the spell as 100 * (1 + # of prerequisites).

Being a member of a guild would give a discount on spells.

I'm inclined to waive costs altogether when spells are bought with CPs as most games normally run things.

Thoughts on this?
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:34, Thu 25 Aug 2022.

An update from me: We're in the process of moving, but I'll still check in every day. My semester starts up again next month, so I'll be busier with classes. Also, I had an interview this week for a job. If I'm invited to take on this new position, I'll be fairly busy from the end of September through the middle of October as I settle into the role. It's not done and dusted by any means, but just a head's up that time may be tighter for me in about a month.

Fa'adiqq, hopefully things are well with you. The group could use a sneaky Alfiq!

I'm pleased with the pace of the game so far. I aim for 2-3 posts per week, so it feels like we're developing a good rhythm.

Honestly I was expecting Arrille to give Merry a price and then having him oh "oh right, money...," open up his cute little wallet (designer, very tasteful) and a tiny little moth flies out. I was rather relying on this happening because if Merry actually buys the spell you just know the first thing he is going to do with it is cast it on himself, then we have to deal with the consequences of that. ^_^;

Ha! Indeed. =)

You can check Meranique’s current gold at the bottom of his sheet.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:18, Thu 25 Aug 2022.

Taking this in two chunks:
That's....mmmm.

So only spells?  What about skill training?  Skills are purchased this way as well in ES MOrrowind.


Wait, what?  What (non-video) games do this?  GURPS DF has both Pay CPs and Pay Money for training, to emulate ye olde school "fleece the PCs for all their casg" feels.  In fact, almost every GURPS game I've played where Skill Training was required you pay in money to get trained and you pay in CPs to learn.

I could see it if it was "pay gold to get the spell", pay CPs to buy it up from default...  which would also allow for starting with spells at default at chargen.

Thanks for the ideas, Fa'adiqq!

Learning new skills varies from game to game for me. I generally don't charge players a training fee, but I do ask that they find a suitable trainer if it's a new skill. Here on Vvardenfell, that probably means joining a guild or another faction.

For NPCs who aren't in a guild, PCs might need to establish a relationship with them. Alternately, they might offer payment for training. A random Imperial trooper probably isn't willing to teach someone a skill, for instance. A character a PC meets in a corner club might for a price.

I think I'll just go with (1 + # of prerequisites) * 100 if learning the spell from a merchant who can teach spells as well.

We’re almost done with moving boxes to our new place. Thanks for your patience, everyone.

I just quit out of a game because it was getting fifty posts a day and I couldn't keep up. Please, take your time. The relaxed pace is completely fine by me.

Fifty posts a day? Whoa! I can handle at most 3-4 posts per day as a player.

To be fair a lot of it was in the OOC, only like... a third of that was IC.

Yeah, some do be like that.  I was in an Amber game a few years back that was hitting several hundred posts a day... even though I was WFH I was barely able to keep up... and they were also hitting Discord for live play, which I had to skip.  It was insane.

My semester started last week, and I'm trying to find my groove again as far as my schedule goes. I'll have another disruption at the end of the month when I have a three-day training program for my second part-time position at my organization. Changes in schedules usually throw my posting off for a bit, but I'm aiming to establish a new rhythm now that the fall is upon us.

It looks like we've lost Rayna and Meranique. Balahal and Francois, I know you two are in different threads, but let me know if you want to continue or you'd rather just pack it in. Sometimes games work out, and sometimes they don't. I won't be offended if you two would like to call it quits, too.

No, I'm still here, I've just been in a bit of a mental slump lately and also I'm genuinely not sure how to re-integrate with the other PCs. I promise I will never ghost on you unless I have literally died.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:28, Fri 23 Sept 2022.

We can continue solo for awhile if you would like. Hopefully Rayna will either come back or we can fill the ranks down the road.

Rayna messaged me that she won’t be continuing. I’ve had the pleasure of playing with her in several different games, and she’ll be missed.

I’ll bump the recruiting thread in the Players Wanted forum.

We have company in town this weekend, and I have training starting Tuesday. I’ll try to get new posts up either Monday evening or Tuesday afternoon.

Sorry, folks. Today was busy, and tomorrow will be more of the same. I'll do my best to get something up on Thursday.

I'll try my best to pick things up by this weekend.

I've updated the house rules on Magery and Magic. Magery adds to Magic College level. Spells bought from trainers using gold can be learned at default if no CPs are invested in the spell.

la la la

Hey, sorry! This weekend was fairly busy. I worked on Saturday, then had to go back in because I neglected to write down some scores for one person. Not good, and it's a mystery to me why my company keeps giving me hours, but it seems difficult for them to recruit people to do what I do. Today was Thanksgiving here. We had a lot of solid family time today, and we went over to some of our friends' house yesterday as well. (The leaves have been beautiful this year!)

I'll have a little time tomorrow morning after I drop my son off for practice at 5:15 am, so I'll do my best to put out updates then.

Happy (Canadian) thanksgiving!

Might be a day or two still before I can sit down and think about my next post. Looks like I need to be making some diplomacy rolls so I want to carefully consider my words. My kooky girlyboy words.

I'm just not feeling this game in its current state. I felt like I was always a step behind the other players up until they went and poofed on me, and now I find myself facing the consequences of trying to help a PC who isn't actually here anymore over a conflict I don't really care about. I've also been on a game-culling rampage as I reallocate my mental energy to starting a new major project; I feel like this might be another one to add to the list.

The posts I did write were fun, though! I might be on board for a reboot of Chapter Two with a fresh start, if you're up for it.

Thanks, Meranique. I love your creativity, but it seems like your group's adventure just didn't get off the ground.

The biggest issue here, and the one I continue to work on, is me posting more as a GM. I'm open to spinning Merry out into a solo thread if that's something you're interested in.

Throw Merry in Jail and let Francois break her out! lol

I'm one of those weird players who doesn't tend to enjoy solo stuff very much. What motivates me more than anything to post in a timely manner is the fear of holding up a game that other, less ADHD players are enjoying. I don't really get that when I'm on my own. Plus, Merry is nuts and wouldn't survive on his own; he'd try to kiss a betty netch and get eviscerated.

lol !  :)

Understood, Meranique.

Hm. It strikes me that your character would benefit from an advantage like Serendipity or Ridiculous Luck. No matter how over the top things get, he'd get out of it somehow.

It does look like your adventure has stalled, Meranique. That seems to be the way of it sometimes. The group doesn't gel, or the GM disappears, or everyone comes down with swine flu.

I conceived of your adventure as a central starting village (Seyda Neen) with a number of adventures seeded nearby (one of which was this shady Bosmer, Fargoth). Perhaps in RPOL, a more straight-forward dungeon crawl like Francois's adventure is more suitable. I'll continue to work on posting as regularly as I can.

I actually had been trying to figure out a way to raise his Luck for a little while, but from what I could decipher of the system I couldn't find a way to swing it without sacrificing magic. He's got the blessing of Uncle Sheo, chaos loves him.

I thought we were waiting on Meranique to post. I'm still here and watching.

Ah, good to hear, Angharad! Let me think about how I want to deal with this.

I'm very excited about this upcoming scene. Please bear with me. I will post tonight and then will be going on vacation so unable to post until I get back from Disney (thank you Lisa). If you need to NPC Sajaa after today, feel free, but I will post my actions for tonight.

Wrong game, Francois! =)

Oops! Then, ditto, here, as I am equally excited to see what's behind Privacy Screen #1.  I'll update any updates of yours on my return.

:)

I've just joined the game, looking forward to meeting some new players and your characters.

Welcome!!!

Awesome. Glad to have you on board.

I had hoped to get a new thread started for Angharad and Mokir'ra and update Francois's thread, but I'm not going to be able to get to it tonight. I'll aim for Thursday for the new thread and the update.

Awesome. Thanks for letting us know

Mokir’ra, good point on Khajiit and footwear. Khajiit and Argonians couldn’t wear footgear in Morrowind due to their different skeleton, I believe. Mokir’ra is certainly welcome to wear boots, but they won’t fit elves and humans, and if you find magical items that are footwear, they’re likely not going to fit Khajiit and Argonians.

I do apologize for basically just ghosting since the middle of October (granted I was still in chargen), work shifted, priorities shifted, and with the insomnia increasing (from work stress increasing) I've just not had the mental badwidth to even "do the online" at all since roughly October 15th.  I do not expect a change any time soon (basically the Medicare insurance season is "on" from October 15th till March 31st) and I'm not doing the work from home anymore (haven't since June, so I know some of you have noticed a marked decrease in my presence since then).

I'm hoping (fingers crossed) that come the end of December work priorities will shift for me, and free up some time/mental energy and I can make a return... but no promises.  No promises for March either, depending on how work pivots, well, the insurance biz is taking a turn for the worse again, so I might not even be doing it anymore by then, and who knows what will be going on.

Fa'adiqq, it sounds like you've been having a rough time of it lately with the stress from work. Thanks for checking in, and we'll save a seat at the table for you!

Everyone, I had hoped to get some posts in this week, but the time got away from me. Part of this is due to my working from home more and being in front of my computer more to do work. I'll endeavor to get posts up this weekend.

Mr. Mick, I found that the version of "The Warrior" in the Elder Scrolls GURPS site is different than yours.

I'm going to fix my version for the Character Assistant, but I'd like to know what skills to include in "Skilled Combatant"

I ask because there's certain melee weapons like the Sabre that are TL4+, so they wouldn't be in TL3.

I think I can save the point difference by also removing the extra level of "Catburglary" that I thought was required from outside documentation.

Edit:
I just added every weapon I thought was TL3, since the talents at that level have no upper limit.

I can still redo the trait with a list you give, if you wish.
It'll be the same price.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:05, Thu 01 Dec 2022.

In reply to Mokir'ra (msg # 147):

Yes, that's right. I used that conversion as a base and tweaked it for my own use.

Skilled Combatant includes all melee and ranged weapons. Although the world is mostly TL 3, it does bleed into TL 4. Sabers, cutlasses, and scimitars do exist, so you can include Saber. Three-masted sailing ships are common throughout Tamriel. In addition, the Dwemer were probably late TL 4/early TL 5, and remnants of their civilization can be found as well.

You're free to modify those racial lenses as you see fit, including dropping advantages and disadvantages.

Hi, all. Excited to be here. Hopefully you'll all look favorably on a healer. :)

Heh. In GURPS healers are always looked favorably upon. I've played games where all healing was natural. It really slowed things down

I'm sorry that I've been so quiet! It's crunch time here at the end of the semester. I have a lot due this Friday, but I'll try to get some posts in this weekend.

No worries.  Its worth the wait.

How are things going?

Friends, I'm sorry for my prolonged absence. It's the same old, same old for me - the more time that I take between updates, the more difficult it seems to check back in. I'm sorry for leaving all of you high and dry like this.

Edit: What do you guys think? Should we close the game down? Feel free to let me know here in the OOC or via PM.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:11, Mon 16 Jan 2023.

In reply to Mad Mick (msg # 154):

If you're feeling burned out, take care of yourself.

Of course, since I only just started, I'd like to keep going, but I also know what it's like to need a break as a Host.

I think we signed up to play and would be interested in continuing. So that question is really up to the GM. If you're not interested in continuing, it's not really up to us.

Okay, if you two are still up for it, we can continue. I'll try to have a post up tomorrow.

In reply to Angharad (msg # 156):



I almost missed that, myself.

I totally dig the effort to get three actions out quickly. I tried something similar with D&D in a PbP setting. From my perspective, it put a lot of onus on the GM to smooth things out.

Should we post our first action IC, then declare our next two OoC or post all of them at once?

Angharad, feel free to describe your initial action IC and then the next two seconds in an OOC line or in a Private Line.

Sorry for the lack of updates last week, everyone! It was a busy week for me with a speech, a research project, a test yesterday, my kids' big band cabaret at their school, and my son's swim meet. This week's a bit of a respite, but I have a paper due next Monday and a set of poems due the following week. I'm nearing the end of this semester, though, and all I have planned so far for this summer is work, so I'll be able to post more.

I just ordered components for a new PC, and once they're all in, I'm going to get to work on new modded builds of Morrowind and Skyrim. It's pretty nuts that I'm buying a new computer just to play games that came out 10 or 20 years ago, but I'm sure I'll do more with it than just mod Elder Scroll games.

If you're into 20 year old games, you should do some dorf fortin'.

Nah, that game’s a classic. I’ve certaining gotten a lot of use out of Skyrim mods.

Guys, I'm so sorry. This has been a pattern with me for a long time. On the one hand, I've been busy with work, school, and family, but everyone's busy, I know. I'll have more time after this semester's over. If I can establish a rhythm of regular posting again, things will be smoother. In the meantime, if you want off at any time, feel free to let me know. No hard feelings - this is something I continue to work on, and I hope to one day have a good habit of posting again.

In reply to Mad Mick (msg # 164):

All good, just play as you have time, and I will do the same.

Okay, I'm out of the woods, mostly. I have an exam in two weeks which will be hard, but otherwise all I have from here on out until September is my various part-time jobs. I'll do my best to get posts up by the end of the day today.

Bleh. Folks, I'm sorry that I haven't posted. It's part of ADHD, trying to find motivation to do things, even hobbies that I love. I want to still continue GMing, but if you want out, just let me know.

In reply to Mad Mick (msg # 167):

Ready when you are, but June- Aug inclusive I am likely to have very poor connectivity.

I've been lurking on and off. I saw this video today and thought of ya'll. https://youtu.be/1q_Iw82I9-o

You're right. I declared a Heroic Charge. I meant Mighty Blow.

I'm curious why I had to dodge, and could not parry. I had set myself up to parry, but once I understand why, I'll set it up differently.

Some attacks limit your defensive choices. With Heroic Charge, you're not allowed to parry with the attacking weapon (or retreat). I see that you specified +2 damage, which lines up with Heroic Charge.

The defensive roll unfortunately would have failed whether you had parried or dodged, unfortunately.

One thing you can consider adding is Retreating and/or Feverish Defense to improve defenses.

Char sheet is pretty much done (just got to buy  minor things like a shield and a bar of soap).
But happy to be introduced whenever it works for you..

Welcome, Ethal.

Awesome. Glad to have more players. Welcome.

Thanks, Mokir'ra, and to you also, Angharad.
What a nice welcome!

Edit: Shopping finished. Good to go!
This message was last edited by the player at 16:32, Tue 30 May 2023.

In reply to Angharad (msg # 174):

FYI: Our Host only asked for two turns. You went above and beyond.

In reply to Ethal Omoril (msg # 175):

Hey Ethal, also a newby ready to start...welcome!

Hello Pilos!

In reply to Mokir'ra (msg # 176):

I missed that. I think I'll still leave it so my intentions are plain. May not happen yet.

Hey, everyone, thanks for your patience. I'll do my best to get at least one post up this afternoon, if not two.

Welcome back!
looking forwards to joining in!
:)

In reply to Ethal Omoril (msg # 181):

yeah, good to see you are back!

Sorry for being so quiet lately. I'll do my best to get posts up later today.

In reply to Mad Mick (msg # 183):

All good here.

So the first failure counts as well?

I thought if I brought the damage above the threshold for " crippling " I would no longer be crippled.

Gah, sorry, guys! There are so many things that can make it difficult for me to post. Now that I'm working online more, I tend to focus more on work than RPOL.

And yes, Angharad, each roll for Minor Healing counts as a try, whether it's a success or a failure. It's covered under the GURPS FAQ for 4th edition: https://www.sjgames.com/gurps/faq/FAQ4-4.html/#SS4.4.1

The crippling rules are harsh, but once you're completely healed (at full health), the temporary crippling will be healed.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:51, Thu 06 July 2023.

Is all well? We've gone quiet.

Still here

In reply to Ethal Omoril (msg # 188):

Still here too...

*Randomly runs through the chat screaming, pursued by a confused guar*

I'm still here. However, it is summer, so there are a lot of trips happening for me, so I get somewhat distracted.

Yes, that would be my fault, Mokir'ra. I still can't seem to build a good habit of posting. I appreciate you all's patience as I keep working at this.

In reply to Mad Mick (msg # 192):

Can wait! Still spotty myself...

Anyone heard from the GM since 3 Aug (two posts above this one)?

In reply to Ethal Omoril (msg # 194):

Not I. Will happen when it happens!

I'm still here, just waiting and seeing if our Host shall return.

Sorry, everyone. I'm experiencing the same problems that I've had in the past. In previous games, I've been at least able to make it through one adventure. I've actually scheduled counseling for this specific issue of posting games, but in the two sessions I've been to, we've gone in other directions. I have some GM friends that I've talked to about this, including Francois's player. Running the game seems to become this huge task that I have trouble even starting.

You all have been very patient with me. I'm sorry that I'm like this, and I'm working on changing. Overcoming these ADHD and depressive symptoms is still a work in progress.

Rather than just dragging it out, shall we close the game? Or do you want to give it, say, two more weeks to see if I can establish a habit of logging in and posting?

Waited a while, happy ywait another couple of months.
Best wishes and prayers for you!

In reply to Ethal Omoril (msg # 198):

Likewise, happy to wait.

If the game is something you want to do, and it sounds like that is the case, I'd say your efforts are worth waiting for.

I commisserate on how it can be wanting to run a game… Until you're in the middle of it and you become overwhelmed. I hear you, there. Food luck with your councelling.

I'm in favor of closing the game. It doesn't seem to be recovering.

Thanks for your feedback, everyone. You all have been incredibly patient, and I am thankful for you all. (Also, happy belated Thanksgiving for anyone who might be Canadian.)

I want to run this game, but it's been hard to get moving with it again. Let's go ahead and pull the plug on this one, then.

Hey, GM, just to give perspective here: three votes to wait/continue and only one that didn't want to.
Well the one that didn't want to (Angharad) can be satisfied by simply withdrawing.
The three that were content to wait for you to be ready (Ethal, Pilos, Mokir'ra) then we can continue to wait and will be content with that. The game set up you have put together is very good indeed.

On the other hand, if you don't want to continue then that is the important thing and we will respect it. But please don't mistake the view of one player as the view of all your players.

Thanks, Ethal. The thing is, I'm absolutely starved for gaming right now. The main game I've been playing in has been on pause for months. Francois's player was kind enough to offer to run a game for me, but she's swamped at work.

Okay, let's give it a shot to continue, then. I still need to work out how to fit the game into my schedule. If anyone of you would like to bow out at any time, let me know.

I'm all set to see if Mokir'ra and Angharad will survive their child search.

In reply to Mokir'ra (msg # 205):

I will be away from regular internet until mid December, but look forward to getting going.

Good to dip in whenever you're ready to introduce me

Still here and interested
:)

Seconded, though Pilos' player will be away from internet for a while longer, probably. We've had no update from them.

In reply to Mokir'ra (msg # 209):

Back finally!

It's alive! :P

Ha!
But not as we know it.

Happy Crimbo.

Does Tamriel have a Winter Solstice Holiday?

Has this game expired?

In reply to Ethal Omoril (msg # 214):

Not sure...

I hope we're still breathing.

Hey, everyone. I think about this game every day, but I'm still not at a place where I have the energy to run this game. I mentioned counselling in a previous OOC post, and I'm still going through it. My primary reason for seeking therapy remains my GMing, but as counselling does, we usually end up exploring other issues that arise.

My problem comes down to not being able to establish a schedule for consistent posting. Before I moved to Canada, I worked as a university lecturer overseas, and I had much more time in my schedule to post. Now, I'm going to school full-time. I also have a few part-time jobs, and one involves marking scripts online.

I experimented with putting RPOL first. I was able to post that day, but I didn't have any time left for marking.

I'm time-poor right now, but I still have plenty of time for watching YouTube and browsing Reddit. The time is there, but I'm having difficulty posting on RPOL.

This game is important to me, and I get so much joy from translating the world of the Elder Scrolls into a play-by-post format. I love the creativity you all have in your characters and posting. I value the writing opportunity that running a game involves, the description, the narration, the dialogue.

Thanks for reading this, everyone. It's not fair to leave this game on life support while I try to get my head around running it. I want to one day be the kind of GM that I love playing with.

Thanks for playing, and I wish you all well. I'll leave the game up for another week and then delete it. Again, thank you.

TY for the update.
Best wishes for you!

In reply to Ethal Omoril (msg # 218):

Likewise,  best wishes

Good luck keeping yourself un-frazzled out there.