For all the prayers to the gods...

Hello Amelia!.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:37, Mon 21 Nov 2022.

Now going with level 6 and 14000 gp to start. If you guys want to begin once we get a third player, that would be swell.

So it's a total of 24000 gp to use for buying goods and magic items on top of 10000 gp to use for multiple magic items, assuming they are slotted. You can even make up your own, obviously no limitations on which ones come from where. Just let me know where the magic items come for in the in-game context (I purchased them at Zooflet's in Aryatown or MacMillan's in Baden's Bluff) or you can craft them yourself. The item's magic power is raw and doesn't drain the energy of the gods, only augments it. There will be power nexuses in the region in which you can dip the magic items into sacred pools to augment them with magical force. Don't be afraid to add in some Dionysus on the knee or Achilles in the pool for inspirational anecdotes about the magic items. Point buy is 80 points in total, 17 or 18 requiring an extra +4. For instance, all 12s would be 72 points, all 13s would be 75 points, negatives add 6 beyond the threshold of 10. Since this system is also confusing, you can do 5d6 minus the lowest 2 dice. Gear gets broken over time and must be repaired with experience, using a craft system that draws its power from the fragments of light sources, meaning certain races have the ability to see magic more strongly, hence why they're rarer than humans.

Scrolls are harvested from druids doing Speak to Plants in the environs of the city. The beginning of the campaign will feature the goings-on in the city of Baden's Bluff, and this is a human-dominated city since as I said there is a strong human leaning in the works. Rumors about half-men are part of the folklore that sits alongside this city's myths about windigos in the mountains situated just to the south. Trade barges often cross the Sea of Pelluria to find Whitehelm on the other side, and the trade is currently in a bit of a recession. The waters of the "lake" are some of the deepest known to man and it sits on the heels of some god or other's passage over Erethor. Despite the rumors there is some truth to the idea hat creatures blended with man, but this is a distant idea in the general milieu.

So scroll-wise the writing is in Abyssian in this region and can be used by immolating them or using somatic gestures with the other hand to allow the scroll to be tied to power nexuses. Scrolls can be swapped on a case-by-case basis with other items from your pouch as a free action.

Hey Nicodeamus. Glad to have you here

OK now there are two of us I'm going to have a play with the magic items



I don't know what this is about at all, although it sounds cool and interesting

So I have cash. I buy items. What do I do then. What is this 'Dionysus on the knee' and what is this 'point buy' for? What am I buying points for

Let's take the example of a +1 keen rapier as a starting item. What would I do with it?
This message was last edited by the player at 17:54, Thu 01 Dec 2022.

Thanks lots!

I've got some questions, too;

• If scrolls come from druids, what happens to wizards and scribe scroll?
• Are there any special rules for crafting?
• What rules are in effect for a wizard adding spells to their spellbook pre-adventure? Can we assume to have learned spells from friendly wizards or captured books, etc.?
• How to we calculate HP?
• Are there any other rules in play we should know about (i.e. Hero points, Feat Tax...)?

If I recall, Scribe Scroll can be used at level 5, so you guys are within the window of having that work. Wizards operate a competing guild within the city and there are quartiers similar to districting in France. At least in Baden's Bluff, where you are beginning, assuming the conditions of some of the previous material which Lady Maevre asked me to clean up. So, to me, the latest is the city is being besieged by a demon and the wizard's guild, with a magical orb kind of like the Palantir sits like Foucault's Pendulum outside the street front.

I'm going based on memory of the books so some of my calculations will be slightly off. Wizards need eight hours of rest and a focus to temporarily add spells to their spellbook. Functionally this means that a "photographic image" of the book means basically a wizard needs faculties of sight to connect the raw tissue of Erethor to the godly realm above. Learning spells is done with the Create Magic Item feat, so the idea is that there are several guilds of book binders in Baden's Bluff. You need to write down your experience of the spell, having seen its presence in nature, to actually learn it but just on paper. It always needs to be read, as is canon. Later on rarer spells would be less common in nature as a bizarre phenomenon. Pre-adventure you have already seen the spells (the locations in the world of Midnight [just the map though] become seeds for channeling, but from the gods, kind of like the Old Gods of Game of Thrones.

HP is set up like Savage worlds dice, with classes having 1d4 through 1d12 plus CON. So multiclassing permits wizards to have more HP. So six times 1d4 with the concomitant CON at each level.

I don't do bennies that much. Also, despite the spirit of Midnight, characters don't really die that much, 'cause I find character creation somewhat tedious. Seems to be in violation of the idea of levelling up. Mechanically I think the game works better that way.

Crafting is xp based, leaving power nexuses to reduce the cost at later levels.

Lady Maevre, the point buy system was just an off-the-cuff mathematical idea, no weight to it unless you think. You, until we start, have the magic item forge to represent downtime. the +2 keen rapier senses bodily regions in cover to slide through holes all the smaller. It is thinner and costs less strength to wield. Not sure how strength can cost, but I was leaning toward energy drain.

Dionysus on the knee is based on the Greek myth about Hera tatooing Dionysus with a fire nearby, welcoming him into the panthon. Chances are there's some wild family-tree type-stuff going on.

Does that clarify a bit?

Not really, so let me reword my question.

Can I start with more spells than the wizard class gets automatically?

Is the cost for extra spells free, calculated at the base cost of scribing spells into a spellbook, calculated at the price of scribing the spell plus borrowing a friend's spellbook, or some other specified cost?

In reply to Nikodemus of the Hillfolk (msg # 10):

Sorry, in that case. My post was a bit convoluted, but I hope I can adress your concerns more fruitfully.

Spellbooks are x number of pages; freely transferable as a carried item but with real-world physics of book-binding.

You may start with thus infinite spells potentially, as tailored to your character's background. The remaining spells, in narrative, cost as per the DMG. Cantrips are 0gp.

Hi Nikodemus. I'm guessing you are being some sort of spell caster then :) That will probably work out well: I'm basically a melee character.

Yes; Niko is an arcane priest (aka wizard) devoted to Zeus.  He's a bit of a 'to whom it may concern' caster, so best not stand on the same line as him and his target(s).

Ah it's easy to resolve: I don't do pvp. You fireball me deliberately and I'll be leaving the game. If it's an accident that's different of course. But blasting the target through me isn't an accident.

We can of course coordinate to try and make our attacks sensible, and I'm happy to do that.

I'm not talking PvP; Niko's main action in combat is a lightning bolt, and barring that Burning Shocking Hands, Burning Shocking Sphere, and similar.  I'd rather not do collateral damage (Zeus, and Niko, are Chaotic Good not Chaotic Evil) but I would also like to be effective in combat.

While my spells are not finalized yet, I will probably invest in some energy protection.  Temporary immunity to -insert energy type here- should change the dynamic.

It should be straight forwards to make this work. We are going to outnumbered in most fights I think. Plus if we coordinate.. For example I wait until you have acted that will help a lot. Perhaps we can get some element resistance and then it should be possible to do with abandon blasting...

Ask me about Zeus later. Just for chatting: IRL he is chaotic evil (we normally call serial rapists and paedophiles CE and Zeus liked his little boys) . In the game he's fluffy. If this was like IRL then I would be tempted to follow the only goodies in the Greek pantheon: hades and prometheus

I like the  change of fire to lighting. Very cool and thematic. Same spells different element.

I have some minor fire powers (I grew up in a place full of ice and darkness so fire was a major survival advantage). If I'd thought about it more I might have tried to tweak them like you have.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:17, Fri 02 Dec 2022.

Actually, no tweaking; Niko's got a healthy amount of metamagic to change his spell damage.  And he is religious with all the associated perks.  I will be tweaking his light spells, but that's about all the skinning I'm doing so far.

Well I have to admit I am looking forwards to posting. How are you doing Nikodemus?

Have not gotten to descriptions.  In terms of bare-bones sheet, I still need to figure out half my gold allocation and which spells I will be purchasing.

Bought a Blessed Book so cost is less of a factor.  I THINK I can thereby know all spells level 1-3 outside of barred schools, but both practically and thematically it would be a waste of pages.

Well youd have to find the spells first to inscribe. The book doesn't come with spells in it, it 'just' makes it free to copy it in.

It looks like a really good item. I'd not seen it before. I'll really think about getting one for any wizards I make in the future

See if the Gm is bothered about 'how many spells you start in your book'. Me I'm all for as many as you can get! That's your shtick for being a wizard type. And paying all that gold for the book should help

I'm familiar with the general rules with learning spells.  Per discussion above, starting with spells beyond base allocation is allowed, at the cost of transcription.

The book is great, but it does take 125 levels of spells to break even.  I expect to choose 20-30 at most, meaning it might be a few more (spell) levels before it pays for itself.  It's more of a long term investment, and coolness factor (this is a Greek mythos game, so I figure it's a filigreed scroll that opens to the right spot every time instead of a proper bound tome).

From https://www.d20srd.org/srd/mag...rcaneMagicalWritings

There are severals ways to get spells

Leveling up
Two per level if you are a wizard

From someone else's spell book


Independant Research
Lots of down time! And I've not really seen rules for this: we've always made our own. If you know where a good set is, I'd be very interested

GM Gift
The GM can obviously give you a NPCs spell book, or have a guild where membership includes access to spells, or all sorts of other things. This is the the bit I think you should explore. Especially the guild

---

With all of these you then have to make a copy (except leveling up). And that's the transcribing cost. Which for you is zero
This message was last edited by the player at 21:51, Sat 03 Dec 2022.

Yes, I know.  As I said, I'm quite familiar with wizards and spellbooks.

I would like to gently request that any core rules not be explained to me.  I have been playing 3.5 since it was released, 3e before that, and so on.  My concern with how spells be handled is something that stems from lots of possible interpretations on just how wizards gain extra spells, and the topic was clarified by the DM already.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:09, Sat 03 Dec 2022.

Ah I think I was just out of sync. So 'Way to go!'. From a 'balance' point of view, that book is more expensive I think that just the raw transcription of a LOT of spells, but it's a lot more portable.

As you said it might be a waste to copy them all, but I'd certainly copy all the ones you think you might even possibly/maybe need! And guard that spellbook! (I know you don't need this advice, I'm just chatting)

More just chatting

• I assume you have a bag of holding or equivalent? If not I do anyway
• The item I like the most as a mage is 'Pearls of Power'. I tend to make a lot of them. Actually I usually get Make Wonderous Item and put almost all the treasure I get for a few levels into them

If we do get into a fight do you have a way of avoiding people pounding on you? (Flight / invisibility / something). I can obviously stand in front of you and that should help.

Nikodemus,

Since Lady Maevre asked about bag of holding, the secret pouches you have (don't have the Magic Item Compendium) probably work in the same way, they exist on another plane, unless you'd prefer to have them work differently. I am probably not as experienced as you guys, but I'm trying to see eye-to-eye. So magic is Spellcraft, Create Wondrous Item and Concentration primarily, just saying so I can get my bearings. Scrolls, polythesistically, are like the first illuminated texts, rare, but sought after by almost every city. I should say there are rarer types of scrolls that aren't just parchment but use rarer plants harvested by druids and wizards outside this city anyway.

Lady Maevre asked me whether the demon who attacked the city occured after your presence in the city. I should say that there is smoke rising from the city even now, you are on your way in but recall from certain texts that the portcullis bars you from entrance unless you pay a version of tariffs. Obviously the wizard knows the most history, and this city is somewhat legendary even for the sake of magic items being done in secret in the past, kind of like Christian worship. But now magic items are surfeit. You will shortly be at the hinterland-type area where the scrolls are, and the city is your oyster once you walk in. Keep in mind a demon just attacked so you're potentially entering a riot, which obviously means the tariff is the last thing on people's minds. The green plants, also used for dyes, are known as Queensbane. The pavilion was a celebratory event that (kind of like Fahrenheit 451 with the drifting population eking out existence) and two elves stood out from the pack as you made eye contact.

If you want to start posting IC ideas or continue OOC discussions, please feel free. And I hope the game stays fun.

Bags of holding
Sound fine.

Magic
I think that will be you Nikodemus :) And I can't recommend Create Wonderous Item enough (but you probably know that)

Starting cash
Are you OK if we start with 100gp. I have quite a lot more than unspent (which I will be carrying in the form of gems) but it's good to have some ready cash

Lady Maevre had set up camp in a little bluff overlooking the city and was watching it carefully. The smoke rising from it was not a good sign: Great Fires were the enemies of cities everywhere. Well everywhere except her homeland of course

Turning to view her little camp: a small but comfortable and watertight tent, a place for her pony and saddlebags. The firepit dug down and lined with stones so it would hidden at almost any distance

"What do you think Nikodemus?" she asked her new traveling companion "I would fly over the walls. At night I wouldn't be noticed. I can carry a rope and lower it to you if that would help. Or do you have your own way of getting in?"

"Alternatively we can pay the tax. My worry is the 'attention' we might get not the money. I do have a disguise magic so..." she shrugged

"I'll leave it to you to decide. I'm happy both ways"
This message was last edited by the player at 19:58, Mon 05 Dec 2022.

I have about 3k of gold I should probably spend on something, and then descriptions and background before I'm ready to go.

I start a new job tomorrow, which meant thirty some-off pages of forms and affidavits.

As a suggestion, leave this as a dedicated OOC thread and start a dedicated IC thread, because otherwise every time some asks for clarification or announces they will be out of town it'll get confusing.

I accidentally posted in the wrong thread!!!

How is the new job Nicodemus?

It's going to be challenging but rewarding, if the schedule doesn't kill me.

Hi, new player checking in. Gregor is a giant of a man and melee tank beatstick with a VERY big stick who used to be one of Napoleon's soldiers and an insider for the coup that led to his death. Now looking for a new employer and/or new purpose in life.

Hey Gregor! Great to have you here.

Yea no worries or rushes about posting, I'm not super strict and I won't be banning you from the game for missing a few days, but I'll try to post every day to every three days.

Hope that D&D helps with the number crunching, and that you could sort of blend them into one.

Gregor, did you decide if you wanted to flesh out your character as Lady Maevre and Nikodemus have, or just roll with the historical and fun element?

We can slowly get the ball rolling on the IC stuff; much of what was posted before was under a different light. But basically my brief descriptions in this thread and the intro should give you a solid starting point. Demons have attacked the city and retreated after inflicting some damage, riotous conditions ensue. People are fleeing out of the four gates of the city and you're able to follow your alignment path to determine what the city scene means for now.

I can't recommned enough getting into IC. If the GM is happy with only a partial character sheet then we can start earlier.

My experiences are usually that the moment I start RPing I discover that the character I created isn't quite the character I want, and I personally perfer character creation to finish after I start IC. As an example almost every character the moment I roll initiative in the first encounter I spot something obvious that I would want to have different in my character.

I mean, I was probably going to flesh out a bit while building my character sheet, but then the dice roller decided "5d6? Nah fam, enjoy these screw you rolls." Ugh, like, yeah, rolled an 18, great, but a 10, 8, AND a 6?! This kills my entire character right off the bat, I can't make him mechanically function with that many bad stats. Ugh.

Edit: No choice but to go back to the drawing board and pick a character build that can work with that massive stat divide
This message was last edited by the player at 15:58, Fri 09 Dec 2022.

I won't even join a game that does random attributes. Ever again. It's a stupid idea...

Do what I did and use the points...

Oh, huh. That is a weird PB for DnD, never seen it like that before. That at least I could work with though. DM, are you okay with me using the point buy instead?

I've posted several systems at this point but most of it went over the side of the ship with the previous prose.

Whatever the standard point buy is, Gregor, please feel free to use it. My guess is you're referring to the one in the PHB or DMG?

Somehow Lady Maevre ended up with huge stats, not sure if that's just from magic items boosting them or not, but that would be my inclination.

Feel free to bump the stats a little bit past the standard, though, if you want.

Something to meditate on for the IC post, on the way to the city you have a momentary memory-flash of blink dogs and astiraxes bumbling about, munching on the grass, which is uncommon for monsters in this area. Basically you succeeded on Knowledge (arcana) checks which will be super common and thus INT-based characters will be able to guide the story, maybe even give some magic weapons to the melee characters. Fishing for loot won't be easy yet, given the heightened fear level of the milieu.

On the way to the city you come across some shattered flasks, which smell like cure light wounds, invisibility, and haste. They don't seem to be draining, making them kind of like messages in bottles. To that point, there are the monsters who could lap them up and turn into god knows what, something that would feel like demonic possession to get attacked by. Seems like the path to the city comes along just fine aside from your chem levels which beat steadily a throb unto carriage wrecks spelling unexpected outcomes for travelers.

It's because originaly we had a LA of up to LA + 5, which I cut back to a LA +2, and I did put a lot of my magic item money into stats
This message was last edited by the player at 09:15, Sat 10 Dec 2022.

So it seems like Gregor is truly going to become Gregor Samsa. ;)

The scene is set for you guys to post, but we lost Nikodemus on account of me being too much of a noob. Again I'd like to emphasize it'll be a text-oriented game without a ton of rules-related GM prep up front, so if that's not your style, feel free to follow in his footsteps and bow out.

But anyway, maybe I can use Nikodemus as the main NPC you're looking to dethrone as the mastermind of the demonic invasion, most of the city not knowing about that but solidly the reason that your group of travelling companions chose to approach the city, aside from economic or political imperatives.

The idea is that OOC can be a sense of an ironical place to place whatever, forming the backbone of the story by being like a stage with a backdrop, ideas blending between what is sensed and what is depicted. So the ensuing dawn levels the playing field by bringing up skeletons at night, but you're not fully swathed in darkness at least as of yet. The skellies can't eat the contents of the potion, kinda the opposite of Pirates of the Caribbean, so without the water draining from the absent body. The legend is that the wizards control the valuable aspects of the city top-down, making for a sluicing magical field that you will eventually perceive as blue and watery rays, like a pool of light.

We are all noobs some of the time! I am sorry we lost Nikodemus though.

Is anyone going to join me IC?

Sorry, I have been slammed this weekend. Multiple house viewings yesterday and today, end up stuck all day at an emergency vet with a dog suffering explosive bloody diarrhea. -_-

Since this is more or less turning into a rules-light game, I'll just wade into the IC and worry about sheet-building later. And I certainly hope Gregor doesn't end up like Samsa did. Getting polymorphed into a giant cockroach would suck.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:36, Mon 12 Dec 2022.

Come post IC Gregor :) The GM is posting multiple times: keen for us to join. I can't really post until you do (and I am asking the GM a couple of questions). I've updated my last post to ask you a question

Hi everybody.

I will try to read though the posts and get myself up to speed on creating my character and house rules.
Work before Christmas is a little mad but I do have 5 days off over Christmas.

No rush, whenever you're ready.

For now the elementals are approaching you, it is day and you clank along in your armor or putter about with the ultimate aim of seeing the city's magic. Gregor and Pinehdale, you know Lady Maevre from being a group of scholars (of variable intellect) who are coming to the city to learn but you had no idea that chaos was reigning, so those of good alignment are irked at the presence of demonspawn within the city and potentially seek to eradicate the demonic stain that leaves the city mottled. The lake supposedly has a loch ness type deal called a Elivaiathan and you might prepare to drain the waters to see if it can lend its aid to you as it has been known to do in rough times to willing adventurers.

Hi Pinehdale

The challenge ratings for the monsters, being based on parties with four characters, take place without the grid factoring in. Descriptions will take the place of in-game elements every time, so most of the crunch pertains to gold pieces and fleshing out the characters. The classic "what is 3.5 without miniatures" will get blown over here, seeing as I think minis severely restrict the game.

So if you're looking for a bit more crunch, the power nexuses can drain mana without transferring an alert to other power nexuses in the area. As it were, magic fields detectable by premonition will almost always result in an encounter with the dark god Izrador. But his magicks have seeped into the cloth of the subconscious, making for a difficult path without the use of a ton of magicks. Polymorph is often performed to slot one into an astriax's form, making way for dogs' innate capabilities in situations where non magic-users can sniff out needed plants or  track potions or select targets sometimes miles away. The classic dog smelling the trail, but in Baden's Bluff's environs, there is mostly flat plain with waves crashing on the shore, ladders pitched precariously throughout the city and swords of acid marking the force of the Eren and Yellow rivers that sway back and forth as giant arteries do.

The main export is timber, kind of like a Germany or Russia and there is a force of manor homes that populate the farther reaches of the plains, upon which sit the Blood Mother Tribe and the Feral Mother tribe. Orcs are generally viewed with derision in these parts of town, but seeing as they offer the best tithes and settle into the most sundry economic posts, there is an economic surplus complemented by orcs using acid swords as a transition into potential future dominance. "Boy do those babies scald" is a common phrase in orcish, translated from "Bok hoy goto hava nigen." Most of the orcs in this region are walking around with richer humans, who are carrying around fifty gold pieces apiece, seeing as the pyramidal economic structures pair human masters with orc serfs. But the economics of the city are undermining the traditional hierarchies, making for trips out of town being very common, something you might consider doing being taking magic items to other cities and convincing orcs not to serve the dark god, either with weapons or with words. The range of wealth is such that the closer you go to the center of the city, the mean rent of the three tiers is respectively 5,000, 20,000, and 400,000 gold pieces per month. You know to ask for Maavu once the demon invasion thing cools off, 'cause he's supposedly really hardy. Fire and water make for the elemental vulnerabilities of most of the humans populating the city, while the aberrants common in the catacombs are vulnerable to acid.

How is character creation going. It would be great if someone could respond IC so we can get a little energy in the game...

One more potential player. I added some to the intro which supercedes the chaos preceding getting enough players (not that we even have yet) but I wanted to tie the loose ends of the prompt together. The smoke rises from Lady Maevre's fire and it quickly seems like you've attracted some fire elementals.

Hi people. Sorry i am slow: just came down with the second cold/flu/covid of the winter :(. I should be fine by the weekend I hope

Well I no better.  But I finally have week off next week so I hope to get thing up and running.

Still in the percolating period or perhaps the eclipse phase to be more exact.

People responding means we're hovering around 4 players and the map of Baden's Bluff is uploaded, but surprise, surprise, is the map of the city of Cauldron.

The foothills around the mountain aren't so very steep but reveal a breathtaking view of the river cutting through the city (which isn't on the map) but called the Menes.

There's a rumor that a mad wizard is behind the madness and the black-haired-and-bearded fellow is a wizard of some talent.

In reply to wlake.gmtn (msg # 53):

That last description sounds a little like me! Greetings fellow gamers! Birahu the wizard here. I'll be starting on him in the next hour or so! I can post everyday, so if you need me, I'm here to sound off to.

Just be aware that we start at level 6 and can have a small LA if you ask the GM nicely.

FYI I am a melee character. Based on what I've seen a wizard will work extremely well
This message was last edited by the player at 13:02, Thu 12 Jan 2023.

I'm planning a support character who has an apothecary role but has learned to survive on their own.

Sounds like a great mix!

Should be finished today, but it could be tomorrow, basics are done now.

In reply to Birahu the Black (msg # 58):

Just have spells to do, and update money. Then I'll be done. My sheet is under description if anyone wants to see it, My sheet hasn't been opened yet.

With all those item making feats you are my new best friend :)

In reply to Lady Maevre (msg # 60):

You a beautiful Fey, 15 on a 10 scale, you bet! ;-)

Ha. Thanks :)

The description 'there are no known accounts of her resorting to violence' has probably just been negated. This is quite a violent world! I need a new description I think.

In reply to Lady Maevre (msg # 62):

Ready to inspect DM. Done.

Maybe she has other people do her violence for her and thus has kept her hands relatively clean...?

Well of course I do! That's you lot!

Looking at my weapons I have a couple of belt knives that look like the 'eek it's a werewolf get the silver dagger' rather than 'loved and cared for'. I don't have other weapons or spell component pouches or anything. I am wearing mithril chain armour under my clothes (because I read the hobbit!)

Simple styled clothes without even hidden armor here. An assortment of blades and tools for surgery, gathering herbs, and cooking... There is a lot of mundane gear planned. Reinforced leather gauntlets and a necklace that is adorned with horn bits and fangs from a variety of predators are the stand outs. Practically a peasant.

Seems like we're leaning hard on the magic and mundane items, I always said it's my favorite aspect of RPGs. Maybe a little climbing in your future. So far we have about 7 players, not all have characters mapped. This is 'cause I figured we can start top-heavy especially with the theme of Deus Ex Machina (essentially) and the more meaningful events will occur later, obviously as everyone levels up. 7 looks extreme but everyone's been leaving so I haven't turned anyone down.

Just a question: would you guys prefer to have a high-risk chance for player death or fudge it up to the max? This is the dilemma of high fantasy and Midnight. I say this because character creation can't always be fun if done at level 1. So I guess we would start back at level 6, maybe with the LA shrinking a bit.

Well if my character dies I say goodbye to the game: I only have one character in a game. I don't want fudging, but I certainly don't want danger to the max or it will be a very short game :)

At level 6 we are very capable. It's the place where the rules work the best I think.

In reply to Lady Maevre (msg # 68):

Morning all, sadly you are all in bed now! ;-) Not that I want to die, but drama is good!

Why would we be in bed? CR and ECL are meant to balance well. I don't mind high intensity... At to items... Well, you gave us funds and I want to be honest to the character while still being competitive while not exactly certain on how active threat is in game

In reply to Aranea (msg # 70):

Oh, you posted last night. I just noticed Maeve and DM posted about 2:30 - 3:00 this morning. How you doing today Aranea? You a Werespider? ;-)

In reply to Birahu the Black (msg # 71):

I'd like to welcome the new guys! I'm new too. Thank you for letting me play DM! I love D&D!

I post most days, sometimes multiple times in the beginning, I slow down if I'm too quick, just be patient or tell me about it in PM.

I'm in Europe so my time zone is quite different to yours :)

How do we meet? I am in a scene (not posting because waiting to know what was happening with you). If you want you could come and help me there....

In reply to Lady Maevre (msg # 73):

That would be up to the DM, I'm willing though. ;-)

I'm an apothecary. Though to say I am a magical beast would be correct, if racist.

I have certain feat and spell concerns in my private threads. They spells I want are clerical which aren't traditional for my race but arguably not impossible to have. I also want different feats if we start smaller, because some I want and qualify for are... A tad OP so I feel the character should grow into them.

Hello all. Glad to be aboard.


First and foremost, I would suggest a few house cleaning and upkeep issues.

1. There seems to be multiple stat creation rules, found both in the OOC and the character creation thread. For example there is the 4d6 rules, then in the OOC it says in a post 5d6 drop the lowest two, then a buy point.

2. Since there are many new players, I would suggest a hard restart. Perhaps the thread where we can all meet for the first time IC. That would be a lot of fun.

3. Thirdly, I would suggest that all players who have checked out of the game, and not been in for over 30 days be removed from the game. For example looking at the cast, there has been one player who hasn't checked in since December 1st.

4. Lastly, if it would please the DM, I'll be more than willing to offer my services as in office manager for the game. I'm not going to do any story stuff, of course, as I do not want to be a DM. However, if the DM wanted to give me some the authorization, I'd be willing to do all the little upkeep things mentioned.


Again, these are just my two coppers. Take it with a grain of salt if you will. I am first and foremost happy to be here with you all. I would just like the game to be as successful as possible, for all of our mutual benefit. :)

I would prefer a hard restart. I would like very much to RP through meeting the rest of you.

In reply to Lady Maevre (msg # 77):

Indeed! I would like to play out how the son of Zeus, the fey princess and the rest of our extraordinary companions originate and come together. ;)

I just hope you don't take after your Daddy. 'The Rape of Ganymede' is not one of his finest points. Along with a few other shining examples of why the Greek Gods were almost all utter bastards. (Except for Hades. On the whole he was a goodie)

In reply to Lady Maevre (msg # 79):

He's not too fond of his father Zeus. So, no worries.

My description is done if anyone wants to take a look. :)

Aranea is a wanderer and one who tries to be helpful in small ways. Not so much a religious devotee. Other than not wanting to spend much time in any particular place (side effect of only being able to hold human shape for 3 hours a day). In wild places the massive spider's natural form is happy to plod along through the trees collecting herbs and tying them to the pack to dry.

The hybrid form is default when people are about. The extra arms can be kept close to look like a person at a distance but the robe has to be opened to use full fighting power. Meeting Fey shouldn't be too hard and hybrid form wouldn't need to be hidden.

People who are arguably normal get suspicious treatment.

In reply to Lady Maevre (msg # 79):

Except that he kidnapped his wife and tricked her into staying.

In reply to Aranea (msg # 82):

Your character Aranea, as in the woman who was cursed by Athena and transformed into a spider?

Also, how much gold did we start off with? :)

In reply to Garaxus (msg # 85):

You have 3000 gold to spend on items and 10,000gp of magic items

My great grandmother perhaps. Maybe as close as mom. Not so thick on details

I have 38000 gold spent.

In reply to Lady Maevre (msg # 88):

I spent 12,000 or so. I hate counting.

DM, I have prayed and made the proper sacrifices to gods, burnt incense and consulted the entrails of the sacrifice ram. So if I may request, may my character sheet be opened and available to be edited by me. :)
This message was last edited by the player at 17:08, Fri 13 Jan 2023.

In reply to Lady Maevre (msg # 88):

Did you say 38,000 gp? ;)
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 17:09, Fri 13 Jan 2023.

12900 or so... I'll round it up and assume sparse pocket change that the character has more for show than wealth.

Exactness would leave me with close to 50gp for wealth I'll drop it to 20 because the character really shouldn't have much money, but should be capable. Travel loom, bolt of exotic silk, rough silk bandages, bits to make tinctures and salves with.

In reply to Garaxus (msg # 91):

She's a carryover from the original game, and transplanted the PC in here. I have no problem with it.

Aranea, are you some kind of were-spider or something? ;-)

In reply to Birahu the Black (msg # 93):

Oh that's cool, no worries. I was just confused. :)

I certainly did

It arrived slowly. I started with 'starting cash ' then the Gm gave us a magic weapon and cash for items.

Let's remember the Gm is new to rpol and a lot of the things we take for granted (like a character creation thread with attribute rules, and starting cash) are new to him because he mostly tabletops. And he probably doesn't take careful notes over this stuff be azur in tabletop it is all over in one session

It won't take long for us all to get harmonised. And anyway I think there will be more loot than we know what to do with!

I would also say the gms style is new to me. And exciting in a number of ways. If you get lost... Remember
Just to ask questions.

For example the gods actions appear in posts. That's partly scene setting and partly like watching a movie where you can see the gods watching the players. When that first happened I was going 'huh!' but now I think it adds to the game

In reply to Lady Maevre (msg # 95):

I took Chronos, he was one of the Titans, god of Time! ;-)

I think either 'Mummy-dearest' (for horrible but terrifying reasons) or Hades or Prometheus  as they are the only Good Gods amongst them (that I am aware of)

Chronos was especially iky and horrible and evil. saying that... they were all iky horrible except Hades and Prometheus (the creator of mankind, the giver of fire, Zeus got pissed, stole the fire back, so Promethus re-stole it and paid for it by being tortured to death every day for an eternity). Apollo the God of Disease is often thought of as chaotic good (but he flays people to death that he gets upset with, and fires his disease arrows randomly at cities 'just because')... the list goes on.

Maybe Persephone was OK too... not sure. She's the 'big bad' in a Greek God game I play in, so my view is biased.

Let's go with 'Mummy Dearest' or 'Hades the god of justice' whichever the GM likes the most.

In reply to Lady Maevre (msg # 97):

I always hated Greek and Roman Mythology, even back in school when I learned it in the 60's and 70's. Yes, I'm old. Almost 62.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:50, Fri 13 Jan 2023.

In reply to Lady Maevre (msg # 97):

Yeah, I would agree that most of the Greek gods are supremely evil. However, considering that kidnapping one's wife was almost a trope theme in many myths and mindless violence could be held as a virtue, ancient Greece not less mythical Greece is a very different place than the one we find ourselves in real life.

In reply to Lady Maevre (msg # 97):

Prometheus is an architype for Satan. Fire here represents knowledge, which the Serpent (Satan) seduced Eve with. Seduced I mean that in every sense as there is a sexual connotation in the original Hebrew poetry. If fire is knowledge as is almost universally the case then Prometheus bringing knowledge to human kind is an obscure but understandable reference. His subsequent torture is also indicative of Satan being cursed by God to "crawl on his belly and eat the dust of the earth."

Josephus said that the Greek gods and in particular Titans were a reference to the Watcher Angels from 1st Enoch. If you've never read it, I encourage you to do so. A whole copy was found among the dead sea scrolls, which dates it @ 200 years before Christ. There are some very interesting things that the Angel shows Enoch in his journey through the heavens.

In reply to Alester Romtree (msg # 100):

Amelia Dax quit 6 weeks ago? What a shame. We ready to start? I am.

In reply to Birahu the Black (msg # 101):

What is up, two cities? Baden's Bluff and Cauldron? Are they close to each other?

Line 1 of IC



Conclusion we start at Baden's Bluff and get a boat (by whatever means) to the isle of Cauldron

In reply to Lady Maevre (msg # 103):

okay, cool, I like Baden;s Bluff, nice map!

If GM wants us to be combat heavy then I need very different feats than if we start quietly... So I'm still a little ways off I think.

I can RP in and sort out later if GM clears it though. Meeting in a wild place with no legates about would likely help build trust.

So far my experience is 'take the most combat heavy game you have ever been in and add a little'. I suspect combat will be a big focus of the game. I keep scouting and bad guys teleport in and fireball me. Or I find a quiet space and get teleported into a crowd of lunatics...

I could be wrong of course! Normally that would be a problem (combat kills games on RPOL), but I'm keen to see if the GMs changes/improvements will make it so that the combat works on RPOL.

In reply to Lady Maevre (msg # 106):

I was always a combat oriented wizard, if I could blow it up, I did, if I ran out of spells, I charged in with my staff! I rarely died in those times though! ;-) Got to know when to hold up, and when to fold up as the late Kenny Rogers used to say.

Well let's see how it works out :)

I do think the idea of the GM is that we gain power by conquest and discovery. And hey...wands exist. It depends how much money is limited as to whether that is sensible

Me: I mostly hit things. I have a few 'spell like' things (I don't mean SLAs) that are cool (see latest post) but I should be able to just keep on hitting.

Garaxus is a very combat heavy kind of character. If it's one big bad creature, his first instinct would be to try to grapple it. He's going to be big on grappling and wrestling some foes. However when the need arises, he can always bust out his greatclub smashing skulls like melons.

I've always liked a good 50/50 mix between combat roleplaying.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:39, Fri 13 Jan 2023.

Also with 10,000 gold pieces, he possesses three magical items, given to him by the old woman that raised him (Gaia in disguise).

The first are his gauntlets (gauntlets of ogre power), made of bronze with a depiction of Atlas on the forearms. Raising his Strength to 21 total


Secondly, he has his cloak made out of a minotaur, the jaw has been removed and the head of the Minotaur sits on top of his head. This is his cloak of charisma +2. This raises his charisma to 18.

Thirdly, he has an amulet of natural armor +1. This beautiful amulet has a silver coin in the middle bearing Gaia's face with animal teeth adorning it, each one containing a magical writing on it. The coin marks him as a child of Gaia. Garaxus is only aware of the amulet making his skin tougher and more resilient in combat. He is unaware of the significance of the amulet itself, or what it means. He has zero knowledge religion.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:55, Fri 13 Jan 2023.

My strength might be all the way up to six :) I'm not the strongest character you'll ever meet. But hey we spoiled nobles have other people to do our fighting for us right? And I do hit quite hard.

Out of curiosity do we have a rogue type? I have a few rogue skills (I'm a dilettant not a specialist), but not great. And the thing about being a trap finder is you don't want to be 'the average trap finder'! If we get a level I'll probably get a level of rogue to improve them...

I do have 'social skills' mostly covered. Not great at bluff (probably I should be: but you can't be good at everything)  But if you want the icy Noble glare to make them quake in their boots, or the smooth talking to calm those ruffled feathers, I'm your girl.

My character isn't even "fully" trained in their racial features at ECL6. Though that assumes no LA. Which COULD mean I have more levels I should field to the character. Which I think would net me a level of rogue.

I have the character marginally completed, if in disjointed private messages. I'm not sure if it is up to code but it is meeting the lowest of rules I read.

Do we have a 'specific goal'?

I'm asking because Aranea is sensibly saying 'let's get the hell out of here'. But has made some suggestions about where to go.

She emphasized HER goal but gave another option that she thinks she can redirect, now isn't the time for long explanations but others are welcome to suggest directions of they have other hopes.

The main character start off post is great and well detailed, but I feel it leaves a lot of questions.

For one and as already mentioned, what is our specific goal?

Two, how long have we known each other?

I really feel like the group almost needs, a post where we all meet each other for the first time, instead of just jumping us into what feels like two chapters into a fantasy novel.

I have too many questions and thoughts to properly write a in character post. Would it be possible to start off with a thread called The gathering?

Also, my character sheet has yet to be opened. I've rolled my stats, secretly and they were beautiful as the DM can see. And I mostly have everything done on paper, but I need a character sheet.

I 100% agree Garaxus

OK I propose we ignore the main IC thread until we have the basics out of the way. Like

• Why are we together
• Why are we there
• What are we wanting to accomplish

We can do that in the new IC thread.

In reply to Lady Maevre (msg # 118):

Agreed. :)

Almighty DM. Would you be so kind as to please open up my character sheet?

In reply to Garaxus (msg # 120):

I just added my sheet to the description tab.

Actually I prefer not knowing what other people are playing and have it come out in play. For instance I have no idea what Aranea is playing, and it's so cool having 'just the fluff without the crunch'. I can make guesses about Garaxus, but they are just guesses, and again that's cool! Once we have the character sheet that sense of 'who are they' gets dominated (for me, in my head) by the numbers on the sheet.

It's only a mild preference by the way. Text is weak at emotions!

And... i just reread the Game Info. It had changed a lot! I like it now. It does cover some of this. You're travelling to the city to fulfill objectives of travel, having met your companions on the road or in the last town

So we have some hints from the GM:

•   let's assume the rituals are all part of a book
•   Amidst scrolls and rolls in the library of the city to the south of the Sea of Pelluria (Caranhal) you were able to make a link between the demonic raid and the book where you convened
• So you're in the library fawning over the book together

I'm not quite sure what the rituals are in line 1 (any help appreciated). But it reads very much as though we are in Caranhal. Each of us looking for a very special book for some reason.

In reply to Lady Maevre (msg # 122):

Spells, spells, and more spells! History, knowledge! When the sheets are open, I'll move mine there and no one will ever see it again except DM and me.

Hello everyone!

Glad to be joining you guys. I see we seem to be doing the character introductions in character, which is great :)

Do we want to discuss general party roles or anything like that? Not necessarily classes and such but simply 'Tank', 'Healer', 'Damage Dealer', 'Debuffer', 'Specialist', 'Caster', ect?
Just a thought to help us coordinate a bit and smooth over any introduction confusion from the text only media.

I think I'd ask that IC. But yes.

Sun tzu says "know yourself and your enemy and though you fight a thousand battles you cannot loose, know neither and though you fight a thousand battles you cannot win". At the moment we know neither. Good idea to start getting to know one of them!

IC works for me :)

In reply to Eleni (msg # 124):

Welcome Eleni. A full-plate warrior, I'm picturing a bronze armor on a woman built like a demigoddess Amazon? A beautiful hoplite shield with a goddess or gorgon on it. Spear and sword? Corinthian style helmet with magnificent and intimidating red horse hair cresting the top of the helm (that match your hair and cloak)? :)

Almost exact :) Shield has a river motif on it. Spear, sword, and morningstar for weaponry, with a bow hiding in a holster on the back.

In reply to Eleni (msg # 128):

Awesome we're going to be a great combat tag-team! Eleni pushing back the enemy and cutting them down to ribbons as blood flies everywhere, Spartacus/300 style.

Garaxus wrestling, lifting monsters up into the heavens above his head, letting the gods of Olympus themselves watch, because in the end they will not want to get involved, including that bastard Zeus, and then to be thrown to the ground broken. Prepared to have Minotaur scoop slammed and ogres vertically suplexed.

There will be many enemies smash crushed and destroyed in our wake. ;)

Sounds great. Eleni is pretty strong herself, probably not to Garaxus' level but nothing to ignore either lol. Our frontline will be fantastic :)

In reply to Eleni (msg # 130):

I will hide behind you both!

I'll let the baddies attack you lot... I'll be over there...

In reply to Lady Maevre (msg # 132):

Can I hide under your skirt or behind you? I'm squishy!

I think that under my skirts is a place reserved for very very special people. And probably not a safe discussion point at this maturity rating!

On the subject of keeping people safe.. do we have a priest or anything? It's nice to have some healing in the party. Aranea I know you said you were an apothecary, but I don't know if that translates into things like 'cure light wounds'

I'll have limited healing ability, and wand/scroll use is available to me as well.

Aranea carries healing potions and has enhanced movement speed. Hiding is a means to someone else's ends. Hunting and the occasional legate removal. Aranea doesn't stay much in towns, though she might just be lured in if resistance is struggling and she sees opening to make a difference.

If they are on the edge of Burning Baden's bluff and can see an enemy caster she is going to get up there to try to spiderhandle the caster.

It sounds like they are in the middle of it though. Are we seeing one priest or multiple?

One or many priests
I didn't understand the last combat post I'm afraid. I can't help with that question.

Healing
Well that's a good start :)

Does this mean we each need to roll flat d20 or that we need to nominate someone to roll the die for the turn?

Also, with Hide being generally part of another move action... Aranea should be able to go up a building and make a clean shot at the priest... But if there is a potential to aerosol her chemicals it should be noted she hasn't yet told the party about several vials of poison on her person one of which is attached to her crossbow. I'm not sure how comfortable any of us are with the multiple exposure rules for poison causing a cloud of DC 26 strength damage.

Don't roll a 1.

Please don't poison us. I take that the same as I would someone fireballing us...

We are supposed to be on the same side.

I'm just saying Aranea being slain by fireball is also bad in addition to fireball.

That goes for any of us :) (yes it would be bad if you were slain by a fireball)

Wouldn't it be nice if it was (say) World of Warcraft and every attack had 'friend foe recognition' built into it... Makes it a lot easier to just hammer out the damage.

We do TRY to be tactical... Does anyone feel like they have a natural 20 coming up?

Sorry, I thought access to the character sheets was automatic. I clicked on the All On button to ensure that. Presumably it will work. Garaxus asked me about being a co GM, but I'd prefer to hammer it out on my own, but since you guys are obviously more experienced, it will be heavy on the roleplaying as opposed to rollplaying. The crunch will come in time as my memories of what I've read unfold. I basically do stream-of-consciousness so something like a "d20 situation" seems out of left field, but last time the call for initiative rolls and such that I sent to Lady Maevre didn't seem to fit, so I tried something else, basically inventing riot rolls on the spot, 'cause I had forgotten the primary source of what I was thinking, 01-25, 26-50, 51-75, 76-100 but adapted to d20. So I rolled one d20 twice for the group, and criticals lengthened the penumbra of the effects, the rolls were 11 and 3. But we can just assume that the riot moves five feet a round and it's already in 11 spots in one place and 3 in another. So it's blocking the way of one major thoroughfare.

I'm not using grid but assume that the fire elementals become one with the fire. It's not too long before it moves toward the roof with a four part percentile dictating the total spread.

Character sheets
It's surprisingly hard to set 'true' as the default. I've never managed to do it. Nowadays I have resorted to manually adding the sheet after people have been added. And I often forget and have to be reminded.

IC Combat
OK so there is a priest and now a single fire elemental. Is the priest a good guy or a bad guy?

Natural 20s
Of course! Somewhere around every 10 rounds (one d20 for initiative, one for doing something). On average anyway.

Did we dimension door somewhere else or are we still in the library? The last post was a little hard for me to follow?

Also, I apologize for bringing it up again, but I still have no character sheet. I'm afraid you will have to open them manually for each player.

We were dimension doored

We could easily now say that we have nearly done what we came to do

• Why are we together -- DONE
• Why are we there -- DONE (we were teleported by the book)
• What are we wanting to accomplish -- No idea

Perhaps we should 'freeform' something. I am quite fond of 'Under the template of Artemis there is a plague arrow of Apollo don't let the bad guys get it' sort of scenarios. (We all know that Apollo is the plague god right?)

In reply to Lady Maevre (msg # 146):

That works, but can we make it a temple of Zeus? That way there is no guilt in looting it. To Garaxus, it's just early inheritance (Or overdue back child support, take your pick). ;)

Let, go find an arrow? Also should we go back to posting in the other thread then, IC 3?

The only god there is 'guilt' looting is Hades I think. Decent chap!

Artemis was a bitch... Killed people horribly or cursed them forever for looking at her. Not as bad as Athena at her worst of course (anyone read the myth of the Medusa?). All that said I have a soft spot for Athena. Most of the time she's OK.

But sure if we agree that goal (under the altar of the temple of Zeus) , and the GM is good, then we have a goal! Three things accomplished we can return to the 'IC Thread 3' and start bashing.

In reply to Lady Maevre (msg # 148):

I love it when a plan comes together.

Tell me the plan for dealing with the fire elementals again...

In reply to Lady Maevre (msg # 150):

Garaxus wants to avoid them. I don't really think we have any magic to deal with them, or very little. Garaxus himself can't grapple them and fighting them with a masterwork club seems subpar.

He's moving towards wherever he thinks the Temple of Zeus is, and I'm going to assume we learned about the Temple of Zeus from the library.

In my mind not every encounter or monster you run across is meant to be fought.

Maybe I'm paranoid because I got ambushed by teleporting fire elementals...

I'm with you totally. A monster avoided is pain avoided.

Hi all.  I am always up for getting the monster to help you and not kill it if you can.

So I manually set up that you guys can edit your sheets now. Must be the interface is so complex that it barely runs up against a streamlined ideal.

Your accomplishments from a previous meeting point mean that your goal is to harvest the magic of some of the power nexuses that seem especially strong in the region. These are tied in with the prophecies. You also hear that tithing is especially strong here, given that the Baden's Bluff region is full of monetary enrichment. There are three power nexuses all pumping telluric current from within the earth, and the prophecy coincides with your travels to the city, making disruption of alignments a distinct possibility. If you make it to the center of the city, you can see the magic lake at its finest, even waylaying the mage who is responsible for the riots. This is what the prophecy stated, that a mage is slated to die for his sins. Thus it is interesting that you stumble upon a priest, who shouts something like "Omnus magus curia diocles," meaning before the fire elementals overwhelm him, his desperate glances at you further the poise regarding your mission.

So the two rolls on the riot table were 11 and 3. These become the DC for hearing a plaintive cry from the priest, for if you hear his voice, rolling against DC 11, you are able to sidestep some of a shocking grasp. It hits either way but flat-footed and touch AC imply that you can halve the damage from the electricity. I rolled for all the players within the range of 3 and 11 as per personal riot rules and within that range means the lightning won't jump, as a glance from the priest is bound to channel some of Zeus' energy.

It is a shame that this bit of the interface is awkward. No idea why... Probably because enough people don't tell the creator of the software. I haven't for example.

A few questions

• Shocking grasp is usually a touch single target spell. Is this your own version?
• Is the rest of the crowd now all dead from the evil priests actions?
• So how do we 'harvest the magic of some of the power nexuses'. Do we have the skills, knowledge and/or equipment to do so?

I'm flying above the riot for obvious reasons
This message was last edited by the player at 11:34, Wed 18 Jan 2023.

Hmm... I'm not sure i want to save the priest. He just blasted us with lightning. And he's an evil priest. I certainly wouldn't waste a magic item on him

What do you say to just letting him keep the fire elementals occupied? We can loot the place while he is a convenient distraction
This message was last edited by the player at 13:01, Wed 18 Jan 2023.

I'm reading that the priest is likely the one who summoned all of the fire elementals. I'm not sure if that's actually the case. And I'm not sure about the people on the rooftops that seem to be channeling their shocking grasp spells into aqueducts?

There's a lot going on and every one of these posts. I'm not feeling clear about whether or not I'm supposed to be trying to defend the city from the fire elementals or if I'm supposed to be helping the fire elementals burn the place down.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:26, Wed 18 Jan 2023.

I think the Temple of Zeus has controlled water fountains that swoop down? The DM post seemed a bit abstract, and I couldn't entirely follow what was going on, but I will do the best I can. I can sometimes be a bit simple so, sometimes things need to be broken down for me.

In reply to Lady Maevre (msg # 157):

Yeah I think we should head directly for the Temple of Zeus, leave that priest to his fate. As a noble savage, Garaxus has a little use for cities in general. All he needs he can gather from nature as his survival ability is substantial.

He would of course help innocence and the helpless, if possible and the situation allows, but this priest is hardly innocent. At least if I'm reading the situation right.

There is a lot of collateral damage going on and I assume that at least some of the city folk are relatively innocent. I want to have Aranea work to help them but I am not clear how to do that... Would a climb speed be hindered by the rubble?

I was thinking about NOT having my character actively hating the Greek pantheon at large.

Aranea is going to try to get closer to the priest to discover what side they, or this city is on. Her speed is almost twice a normal folk's and her climb is still faster than most people's walk.

Your goal is to separate the fabric of Izrador and merge it with the creature who created the prophecies, although you're not sure if this being is going to 1. mathc the good blessings of the gods or 2. be able to match their power. Currently it's like the Odyssey, Poseidon vs. Athena, and Zeus sits it out, fearing the day he gets ousted from power. Hubris means that you can maintain your character's vivacity by re-rolling criticals to get an exploding roll, which means you will strike twice as many times (useful at high levels).

The library is a sacred location, and those who told you the prophecies are like the priest, humble and aimless. Without a certain handshake using shocking grasp, you're uncertain where the magical markings that you're looking for are located. So you'll need to solicit the aid of the town patrol. Their barracks is located in the southwest. The priest is one of Eleni's former partners in crime and she is able to garner support to assemble followers to snuff out the power nexuses, having abused their power. Evil quickly switches to good in Midnight, so the fire elementals will merge with the astirax when you attempt to siphon the liquid magic out of a what the humans call "lifestones," cementing your control over the primal forces. The spectacle in Baden's Bluff has slipped the dark god's notice, and you are able to serve either him or Poseidon in their masculine strife against the Athenian elemental presence. You suspect some of the elthedar, the elder elves, might be thieves who are able to assist you in vanquishing the presence of the polytheistic and imperial cult in the region.

I'm sorry TMI, totally unable to understand what is happening ATM.

I share this

I think we need to slow things down. And make it so that the players do things. At the moment the GM is doing things with our characters.

In reply to Lady Maevre (msg # 164):

Yeah, I agree with what was said by the other two players. This is way too much information, it is way too abstract and I have no way of knowing really what's going on.

I think the story would be okay if it was  linear and logical to the actions of the players. Right now, I feel like it's just a chaotic stream of consciousness that makes sense to the DM, but does not really have a connection to the story in the player's mind.

I don't really think slowing things down is going to help, In the story's current framework. Personally, I think we need another hard reset and figure out some very key things about this story and it's world in general. I think the main thing is that the DM has an idea of the story and we the players have a completely different idea of the story.

1. We need to come up with a simple premise, demon god invades the Greek pantheon and the mythical Greek world. No weird Nexus, no spell crafting things that are not in the book, no changing tons of standard rules. Think changing a few things is fine but when it becomes tons of changes, we're no longer playing the game as we know it. This leads to confusion.

2. We need to pick a Pantheon and stick with it. No multipathions going on. No Gray hawk or forgotten realms gods jumping into the mix.

3. The players control their characters. The DM controls everything else. Cooperative storytelling, and a fun easy to follow story is key.

4. Goals should be clear-cut and easy to understand. There needs to be better communication.

5. All old IC threads should be deleted. Character creation thread should be updated. The game intro should be the synopsis with goals laid out.

6. Since there are a lot of new players who have not really been able to jump in, I really feel we should start over sadly again. Think of it as a rehearsal we're trying to work out the bumps.

7. I feel the world as it has been, is WAY too magic heavy. Being forcibly teleported from place to place, is not fun. Part of the enjoyment of adventuring is traveling from place to place, is letting the players get to know each other, show off their skills, get to roleplay. It seems that enemies are disappearing and reappearing constantly, which leads to even more confusion. Temples have weird, aqueducts and pulley systems instead of having simple stairs. Nothing really makes sense.

8. I think all of us need to just hammer out what we want in a game, the DM and all those players. I want all of us to have fun and have a good time, and I don't think many of us are right now. Let's change that, communicate and cooperate.

I hope all of you will not see these eight problems as complaints, but the opening of a dialogue. That's said, I don't see this game going on much longer as is.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:54, Thu 19 Jan 2023.

I agree with 7 out of 8 points. And that point is a minor one. I'm OK with the teleporting. But I'm OK with not teleporting too. Kind of 'dealer's choice' and I would go with it

The most important two issues for me are 'what are our goals' and 'I control my character and do my character's actions'.

In reply to Lady Maevre (msg # 166):

I would be okay with being teleported too, if I felt the game made logical sense.

A player controlling their character and their character's actions, is absolutely critical for role-playing. At this point, I feel like we're just being thrown back and forth in a fantasy novel, that we are not writing or have any say in. To boot, I also don't know what's going on in this fantasy novel. I also have no firm foundation of this world or what it's about.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:02, Thu 19 Jan 2023.

Agreed, I've been considering that too, I have no idea what is happening, I guess I'm just a slow witted old man. ;-(

One thing that can help is a simple map, not a full on combat grid, but a map that updates with each new DM post.

I like the scene being portrayed, but it is very easy to get lost in the descriptions, especially if you are not immediately familiar with all of the Gods/Goddesses/People. I usually pull up a description of each and re-read them to get the whole picture.

In my experience, changing one or two major items each post is probably best. It helps with the sense of continuity. I can understand how we are having a hard time keeping up. If a lot of information needs to be put out, then breaking each major piece into it's own paragraph is a good method for this, or just separating the posts.

Rule of thumb - Slow and steady is better than quick and dirty.

I agree with the overall sentiments of the other PCs. Our DM has obviously put a lot of time and effort into this story, and the characters seem very interesting. I'm looking forward to exploring with all of you.

If we need a reset that is fine. I also think we could just reset the current scene now that we understand our goal to get to the temple and get the arrow.

I'd like to add to what Eleni said.

There is goodness in the story. As she says there is a lot of effort that has gone into this, and a deep rich and full world in the GMs mind. I'm looking forwards to getting over these teething troubles and appreciate it more.

I personally when GMing find maps too hard. I do sometimes ascii art them for starting position, but I rarely update them. I do like put in 'status blocks' which detail what NPCs can be seen and what is known about them. Nothing exotic just something like. I also sometimes put 'summaries' into them because I am prone to 'wall of text'

In reply to Lady Maevre (msg # 170):

That is very well said. I think that  the game has a lot of potential. The DM and US players all have the same goal in mind, and that is just to have a great time. If we get over these teething troubles and smooth the bumps in the road, I think we'll have a great game.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:29, Thu 19 Jan 2023.

I would also like to say that, I like the idea of getting away from maps, grids and tokens, relying more on the theater of imagination.

Now that said, when your main vehicle is the theater of imagination, and you don't rely on maps, grids and tokens, things have to be very clear.

If people can't understand what a post is saying, then people are going to have a hard time imagining it and properly roleplaying. That's why people stick to maps, grids and tokens. Because it's easier to get across a clear message or show people what something actually looks like.

I agree completely. The map suggestion was just to help the more visually oriented with things or to help clear up confusion with a large post. It is not meant to be a hassle nor requirement. Sometimes a picture can explain things if the words are not being understood by everyone.

I also think it's going to be a fun time. I have a friend who does a lot of digital art and she is already drawing Eleni for me. I put the current concept art in my Character Description :)
This message was last edited by the player at 23:00, Thu 19 Jan 2023.

In reply to Eleni (msg # 173):

Maps don't matter to me too much on 97% of the time

I'm posting in a high romantic style, and leaning hard on the roleplay as opposed to rollplay, as I said earlier. I don't foresee the game changing that much, as there is the ideal and then the real. So Garaxus if you want to take over GMing duties that would be fine. Basically I started by saying that spells and magic items are the critical components, although it is simply a smattering. But I can't just magically change my style, so I am happy to be a player in a Garaxus-led game. It's hectic and there is definitely an experience chasm, obviously just a re-hash from earlier but there would have been things from Shackled City tossed in to the stream. But I can play Garaxus or even Nikodemus, seeing as there's a novelistic flair that people don't like.

In reply to wlake.gmtn (msg # 175):

I understand what your saying. However, I have no wish to take over another DM's game. I only wished to hammer out something we could all live with. Perhaps do some cleaning up on the game site.

So, I wish you and the other players the best of luck. No hard feeling, we just have different styles. Thank you for the opportunity to play in your game. Farewell.

The problem isn't the novellist flair. It's that we don't know what is going on, and that the GM is controlling our characters. The last is an absolute no-no for most of the players here. It certainly is for me

The basic premise in a roleplaying game is that the GM sets the scene, describes consequences of actions, fills the world with as many interesting NPCs as they want. BUT and it's a big BUT.... the players control the actions of their characters. Not the consequences of the actions.

It's this that is making it impossible to play in your world. The confusion is something you will have to improve on, and that's an important skill for a novelist. But if you insist on playing our characters as well, then they aren't our characters.

This does slow you down a little, but not as much as controlling them slows you down. RPOL is slower than you want, but by taking over control of the PCs you kill the game and we need to start again.

You can of course steer the PCs through information, through OOC etc. But not 'Move' us. By 'Move' I mean the Gm writes 'Lady Maevre pulled an item out of her pocket and cast a spell from it'. At that point I became an NPC. Especially because the action involved items that didn't exist on the character sheet.

I'm willing to stay if you are going to leave me a PC. That means I control my characters actions

Hmmmm, this looks bad. Are we ending, or resetting, or what? Garaxus has quit.

GM and players, if you want to come, feel free to drop a request. farewell. :)


link to another game

We can keep going, I'll try to take some suggestions and place them into effect. Despite what I said about my style being static, I'm willing to play without doing actions with the players. So it'll be slightly less novelistic. I can only focus on one game at a time, so maybe the Parthenon will be waiting in the wings. Garaxus, I would assume that's your game? It looks well-organized and interesting, I especially like how you classify the main gods as lawful evil.

So the assumption is that Jil calls out your name and she is only level 2. She wants to achieve the heroic path of assassin, which grants tons of hit dice in sneak attacks and BAB is shared on the level of fighter. Thus she appears as a cloud of darkness, who with Athena will be your guide around the underworld, sharing the duties of Hermes. You encounter certain flaming cattle whose HP sit around ten, and they have an AC of 10. Coups de grace on these steer will result in attracting Zeus' ire, but the fire elementals are now lighting up the temple as though enlarged fireball at 3d10 damage. If you step into the temple, you'll find that the pronaos collapses into a fiery chasm, this is what you sense without stepping into the hallway. As it is Greece, money doesn't change nature from one place to another until you change form or step out into a different broken kingdom.

The riot that is going on seems to be magically tied to the presence of fire, once the two die down together there is a certainty that will settle upon the group. You will develop a DR to fire equal to the number of fire elementals that you vanquish and bring to the temple. The priest and Jil seem to think this is very important religious acumen which is why they're following you around. You know somehow that you're supposed to meet the elves in the temple to enlist aid from the town watch in vanquishing the forces of Ares who are taking advantage of the riots by stealing from shop windows; shop windows are new to Baden's Bluff, having picked up a glass contract, and the church is supposedly willing to do a "glass tattoo," something of an arcane mark that has resonance with the location of the temple.

If you want to fight the elementals, their stats are as follows:

https://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/elemental.htm

It's the stats for the small elemental, the easiest one. But they work out to level five. There are four at each corner of the temple and you figure someone is doing a planar alignment with the black flames of Izrador, so if you bottle up the fire you're able to take it to the elves at the center of the temple. The glass shipment will generate money for you as you can own the church if you succeed in vanquishing the fire, combined with Aranea's herbalism skills this will win you some coin from the chancellery to control the church's supply of glass. Premonition-wise you figure that the black flame of Izrador, if pictured, will land you a title of iconoclast within the church. Upon the roof of the temple is bottled lightning, you can sense this from your patron gods.  The light bends in time with the lightning, and the thief upon the roof is now jumping towards the temple, having seen, you figure, something like what Constantine did. The marble of the temple was quarried from where the night strikes the stone, Eleni sensing from Hades that there is a magical ship that can contain infinite glass.

Are you guys still interested in playing? I tried to take your suggestions into effect, not sure what rules can be changed to suit the new style.

4000 gp, the Cuirass of Hope

Master smiths tried their hardest to, in their foundries, eke out a line or two for the curvature of the breastplate. The marks are those of Hades, and they speak of a library, a very specific situation, in which the weight of the user comes into play with the society that brought it into being, the Retribution of Scryah. This guild came into a large grant that stands in line with the Crown of Eurydice as far as the renown of the ancient artifacts goes.

+2 CON, +2 STR, DR 2/piercing, DR 1/bludgeoning DR1/slashing: the material is such that it almost floats off the chest, directing arrows this and that way in a gesture towards Deflect Arrows. If submerged under water, the ACP is able to bent arrows to the very core, offering chances to remain merely points upon a shaft, regenerating the armor with each hit. Thus you shorten the range increments of the enemy archers to the extent that you are able to climb uphill to fight them until you see the whites of their eyes.

Squeezing into a portal is the last thing on the minds of the users of the Cuirass of Hope, and they are unable to retreat into a solid mass of plate which will assault you from the plane of Ares, whose cult is busy cranking out materials from the source of all things, the mount Olympus, where the energies of mankind are channeled into the eldethar ideas. There exists a kinship between the forests of the eldethar and the smiths of mankind, for all of the ore is sourced from the forests where wildfires proliferate. The rogues are after this piece as it is looted from the graves of some of the most ancient of kings, and the term "hope" sits against the nature of the piece eons ago. It indicates that there is an elven presence in the city of Baden's Bluff where the major magic item shop drifts against the sky, Skie's Treasury. If you combine the plate with black fire, you can add to the item slots in such a manner as to augment your Search and Spot skills, seeing as the plate was crafted in the presence of pet owls whose flights reward the smiths with fresh ores even as they hammer away the hours.

The guilds are heavily recruiting in Baden's Bluff, offering extraordinary abilities to those willing to bring in any of the items of the set of Hope. The spider forest outside, made of shocked and withered grey trees, offers a glimpse at the element of fire which will let the molten iron form cities towering above those wooden ones of the elves, situations coursing at you from vantage points within human cities, drifters haunting your steps as scouts converge upon Baden's Bluff. CR 4 astirax are yours for the taking, d10 hit dice marking their descent from the mountains surrounding the town, for on top of the riots there is a small presence of Izrador, an underground force ready to be reckoned with.

I'm for taking out the enemy spies, and freeing fellow spiders from the Dark One. There are few powers I'm comfortable supporting... freedom is good.