Thread of OOC conversations.

In reply to Game Master (msg # 1):

Meowdy, purrdners, Nanes-Il, here.  I'm your group's magic-user!
If anyone's more interested in being a Magic-User themselves, I could happily take Illusionist or Necromancer instead, so as to make the group a little more diverse in terms of talents.  This Gamesmaster's being pretty cool with all of the options available to us.  I am very much looking forward to this adventure we have before us!

Hello all, Uzedi is the pary's resident Necromancer. Looking to manupulate life force, and make use of whatever is left lying around ;)

Hey, guys -- Gilly Buck here, a light-fingered halfling who likes to play tricks on big folk.

Welcome everyone!

Took a while for various reasons, but things are starting up. One player (who will be a cleric) has no character yet and another one hasn't gotten back to me yet.


But already, something isn't quite clear, so I have to make a notice about the spells of Magic-Users:
Magic-Users (including subclasses) get a free spell when leveling up. Also, they know additional spells depending on their intelligence bonus.

Some of the rules about magic spells (including the "Bonus Spells" one) can be confusing, because it's not entirely obvious whether they refer to "spell slots", that a caster expends to cast their spells, or the spells they know (have written in their spell books). The bonus "Bonus Spells" rule in the supplement is actually referring to the first, so it allows a M-U to cast more spells but doesn't make them know any additional spells.

However, in my game, I go with both. Magic-Users with high Intelligence have more "spells slots", as per the "Bonus Spells" table but also know additional spells (that is, have them inscribed in their spell book).

Aradock here, dwarven fighter; ready to hold the front line.  If you're familiar with the reference from Order of the Stick, I've taken the required class in "standing in front of others."

Hey DM, do we start with a rolled 10x 3d6gp?

In reply to Uzedi (msg # 7):

Yes, 10 x 3d6gp that you use for your starting equipment. Remember, though, that Magic-Users (and with that Necromancers) get their spellbook for free.

Uzedi is finished and ready to adventure!

Aradock's complete as well.  Looking forward to the game.

Tar-Orag is eager to set foot upon the path of Tarantuhr once more... his records have been updated...
This message was last edited by the player at 16:40, Sun 08 Jan 2023.

Having introduced Aradock, I thought I'd say something about Aradock's player, if only to admit limitations.  I've been roleplaying since the 70's and 80's but am new to the Basic Fantasy rules.  The GM already caught me on one assumption about weapon proficiencies and had to point out that this isn't Basic D&D or 1st edition AD&D.

I'm also new to RPOL.  I've been playing by post on other sites since the early oughts but haven't spent time on RPOL.  I apologize up front if my newbie status causes problems.

One of my first games I DM'd here was a BFRPG game that I inherited after the previous DM bailed at character creation. I like this system and am really excited to have some of the most popular supplements implemented in this game!

I also think this is the best PbP site by far. Welcome Aradock! My first BF character was a dwarf fighter! I dusted him off for my RTJ but went with Orag instead.

Second that. I'm genuinely surprised that no one else seems to do anything even close to what this site does.

Looking forward to gaming with you all.

Hey DM, I noticed you posted today, but couldn't see where. Is there a thread we are supposed to be viewing? Or was it a secret DM post? :)

In reply to Uzedi (msg # 15):

I got a PM from the DM early this morning about my character sheet.  Does that affect the latest post timing in the list?

No it shouldn't show up as a post on the cast list. I just thought DM may have a thread here that we haven't been given access to.

Or he bumped it to draw our attention... ;-)

I guess private messages do count. I haven't made a post, but sent two PMs, one of which right at the time that's listed (or was listed, before I made this post).

Speaking of which, I'm waiting for one player to full finish their character and then we should be good to go.

We're pretty much good to go now. I'll start up the first IC thread up today or tomorrow.

EDIT: And it's up.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:28, Sat 14 Jan 2023.

Welcome!  This is a great place to play games on.  I can guarantee you, you're going to have an absolute ball here.  And, Basic Fantasy rules are great stuff, never a bore.

Thank you for the holy symbol, the cloak, and the disgusting mace!


ADDENDUM: Uzedi, you reminded me... there are font faces!  I'm gonna use Monotype!


ADDENDUM II - The Quickening: So that there's some transparency or... whatever you wanna say... I'm going to communicate my memorized spells to the party at the onset of each expedition.

I've also got a ten-foot pole in my inventory, as well as rope, a set of spikes, chalk, and a mirror if anyone should need those things...
This message was last edited by the player at 02:58, Sat 14 Jan 2023.

In reply to Nanes-Il (msg # 21):

This is a very good point!

Nanes-Il has a Charisma of 13, and so could probably net us some decent leads... She could hit the stables or the tavern.

What say ye?

This message was deleted by the player at 13:43, Tue 17 Jan 2023.

@Nanes-Il - How do you phonetically pronounce your character's name? I need to know how my character will butcher it! :-P

WEIRD, I thought I'd replied to this!

"NAN" as in "nanny", such as Nanny Fran
"es" as in the third-person singular personal pronoun in the Spanish language.
"ill" as in what you feel when you realize that maybe you shouldn't have eaten that peanut you found in your Aunt Ruth's couch.

"NAN" can be pronounced "non" as in "non-OSHA Compliant", but she'll just write you off as pretentious if you do that...

Thanks, I must have missed it!

In reply to Tar-Orag (msg # 26):

No, I think I know what happened... I went to reply, and then I closed the tab when I went to reset my computer, or whatever!  Well, good thing I got it cleared up so you have some more role-playing opportunities!

My Soundest of Plans involves knocking the bandits out with a sleep spell and asking the best-dressed or smartest-looking of them what in Sam Hill they're doing.

As I mentioned in my last post in the IC thread, Amalia wears blue clothes, since that's part of the uniform for members of the watch, of which she's the captain. So why did I describe her as having red clothes before? Simple:

I made a mistake.

For some reason, when I made the earlier post, I was of the impression that she's the captain of the guard. I don't even know why, because I always intended her to be the captain of the watch. But I didn't even notice my mistake until I looked into my notes when making the current post. I even briefly considered just leaving that mistake in and have her switch position with the actual captain of the guard, but decided against it. So, I just bit the bullet and retconned the color of her outfit.

Not sure if a mistake like that is forgivable... you are hereby sentenced to three minutes of hard labor editing Harry Potter fan fiction! *Slams Gavel*

Assume that Tar-Orag will join up with the others after his devotional... just to not hold things up.

In reply to Tar-Orag (msg # 30):

Add Harry Potter cross-overs, and I'll sign off on the sentencing.  Like, I'm talking Harry Potter and Renegade, here.  Heheh, man, that'd be cool as hell, Stephen J. Cannell playing some kind of bad guy wizard dude.

In reply to Nanes-Il (msg # 31):

The error wasn't all that serious.  Can he plea for mitigating circumstances and make it three minutes of editing Silmarillion fan fic?

Hmmm... Doesn't appear to have any prior record... Maybe we can let this one slide. Silmarillion it is! *Slam!*

You two are Bobby Sixkiller and Cheyenne Phillips, and I'm Donald "Dutch" Dixon.

...alright, maybe Renegade is a touch too harsh.  Umm... Eight is Enough?

Does it show how much I apparently live under a rock that I had to Google those names to have even the vaguest idea of what you meant?

In reply to Aradock (msg # 35):

Hahah!  No, it just means that you have standards when it comes to what you might watch.  Renegade... was not the best show.  I'd just watch it when it was on Hulu and I got off work a few years ago.  Now I do variety shows.

I'll say some of this IC as well but I wanted to explain what I was thinking about the map comment just made in the tavern.  I understand that, without non-weapon proficiencies or explicitly stated class skills, none of us are going to be good at creating or reading maps.  I was just thinking we could get a hand-sketch map the equivalent of a modern-day sketch on the back of a napkin and use it to roughly guide us.  If we can get one better than the equivalent of what's drawn after a few hours at the bar, all the better.  Either way, we'd just need to remember that we can't afford to wander too far away from the road per trip because we don't have someone with great wilderness skills. (Sounds to me like, "Don't leave the forest path, Bilbo")

Cool idea to crowd source the tavern napkin map!

I've got -24 deg problems to deal with today. Will catch up tonight hopefully.

We do already have a map of the region and one of the keep in the Game Map(s) at the RPOL site, and while I agree that non of our character are likely to have map reading skills, the map is just a tool for the players to help us make sense of what the characters are actually seeing in the situation. We walked down the road to the keep so we know about the little side road that hooks up to it and the sweep of trees on the crest of the long hill above it. We've seen the wide, probably shallow river that runs alongside the road -- likely even collected water from it. If we came south along the road, we don't know about the swamp ahead or the place where the woods press in alongside the trees -- but I think someone mentioned the caves and that was more than likely accompanied by a sweeping gesture: "Down the road a mile or two. on the left. There's an old trail through the woods. "

Even if that didn't get said then, it will be before we set out. So -- the map helps the players visualize where things are, but the characters have a much more visceral grasp of the lay of the land.

Just my $.02

In reply to Gilly Buck (msg # 39):

Now we may be suffering from my long time playing off RPOL.  I didn't see any specific reference to the characters having a map of the region so I blindly assumed that the characters don't yet know what's shown in the general game map.  I got in the habit of being very careful about what the character knows vs. what the player knows during those PBEM games.

I'll leave it with the DM to decide how much we know about the area but I'd still forward the suggestion of seeking comments about the area to fill in the map instead of trying to get the bailiff to order an unwilling guide to accompany us.

I've got some ink and can buy some paper for mapping, at any rate!

The map here is in itself purely OOC, although, as Gilly says, your characters can see most of the area easily. Except inside the forest but a map wouldn't do you much good there. The caves are easy to find too (and well-known), so nearly everyone can tell you where they are, even if they haven't been there themselves (as the curate as done). So, strictly speaking, you don't need a map.

Of course, there's no real reason to not get a map either. Someone with some knowledge about the area could tell you a bit more about it too.

I think we might find some cool stuff that's not on the map by talking to locals. "Hey, you got anything to add to our map, it's worth a beer!"

I'm stealing that idea btw. Strikes me as a great seed for a hex crawl!

In reply to Tar-Orag (msg # 43):

Ooh, yeah!

Sights
Where to find herbs and flowers, for medicinologists and floral arrangers
Where critters live
Hazards

In reply to Nanes-Il (msg # 44):

To supplement Tar-Orag's idea... I could use the transfigure cantrip, perhaps to change the texture of the rocks so that it sounds less like rocks, clack-clacking together, and more like gold coins or buillion clink-clinking together.

Nice Nanes-Il!

My idea was that we'd let ourselves be overheard about having a treasure map. Once word starts to get around a little, I'm guessing the bandits will have someone inside the Keep, we'll gather up some shovels and old bags and head off someplace and pretend to locate a buried treasure under some tree or some such. Then we'll pretend to have found it, and begin making our way back to the Keep, where along the way we might be held up!

What could go wrong?

Their bowstrings.

I like the idea of luring the bandits out but, once we get some place we can talk without being overheard, I'd like to plan how we keep ourselves alive during the ambush that we're trying to get the bandits to spring on us.  I could joke and add that while fantasy movies make it clear that arrows are a fashion accessory, they seem to add more sitting in a quiver rather than stuck point in.

I'm glad someone finally pointed out the glaring hole in our cunning plan!

We have no idea how many bandits there are and we do not have a secret weapon to spring on them when they start shooting volleys of arrows at us. These guys have taken out whole caravans, no doubt with guards and on the lookout for trouble.

Let's go look at the caves first.

Sounds good to me.

I was thinking of their bowstrings rotting being the problem, but... yes!  I've got sleep.  Darkness, that's always a good one... While I don't have oil, I've got some rope we could coat in it and burn so as to corral them?  Even if it's not a ring of fire, a line could keep them from retreating in too many directions... and it'd necessitate them moving around it anyways!

I admit that I was counting on the idea that we've got some magic on our side to help even things up if we get in a fight with bandits but I was thinking of how we keep alive and kicking through the initial volley of arrows as the bandits ambush us.  If I was a bandit chief, I'd tell all my archers to first shoot everyone in any party that's walking around with no visible armor.  While the bandits here may not be that smart, I'm not sure Nanes would like being the guinea pig in that test.

I'm also not saying that we should give up on the plan of luring the bandits out; jsut that we need an IC discussion about how were going stay alive through the ambush if the plan works.

I'm ready to head out if everyone else is.

Sorry, I've been under the weather, assume Tar-Orag will go along with whatever.

In reply to Tar-Orag (msg # 54):

I had an Early Monday at work, and a What the Hell Tuesday... now, though, I'm having a But Hey, It's Wednesday Wednesday!

And, point taken Aradock!  Point taken.

GM: just checking, are you waiting on us for decisions?  Seems like we're waiting to see if anyone can point Gilly towards the Caves, then finish dinner and settle for the night.

Sorry, but I've been pretty busy lately. I'll try to get something out later.

I've left out the inn for now, since that's something that happens later and others might go with Aradock.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:33, Tue 14 Feb 2023.

No problem.  It might not be the One Ring, but real life rules us all.

Can you tell my wife reads a lot of Silmarillion fan fic?

Ping!

In reply to Gilly Buck (msg # 59):

Pong!

Well, it's been a week since someone posted anything. So, I'd like to ask Aradock, Tar-Orag and Uzedi, if they still want to make a post or if I should go ahead and make one (which will mostly be just a reply to Gilly).

In general, should I just make a post if there has been silence for some days? I'm a bit worried to leave someone behind, if things move too fast.

I can see from the Cast tool that folks are logging into the game, just not posting. Maybe we just get through the night and head out to the caves in the morning with the regular patrol -- if they'll let us tag along, and get to some actual action.

I don't mind that it's a slow moving game. But recently it's stopped altogether. Even a reply toi Gilly's question would keep the action alive.

In reply to Game Master (msg # 61):

I'd refrained from posting because I thought in your post, you'd said that Aradock did move over to the inn to set up for the night and I didn't want to confuse things.  From my read, though, Gilly's question must have been asked while Aradock was still eating dinner so he'd still be around to join in.  I'll pick up assuming that's correct.

I figured that we had made a definite decision to head to the caves and see what happens along the way, so I basically butted out. I've just been waiting this time for the expedition out of the keep to begin.

 Nanes-Il's just kind of nodding and smiling and reinforcing what is chosen, for now.

I'm here, been swamped, will try to catch up by tomorrow night

Ready to move along whenever anyone else is...

Oh, cool!  This Bailiff sure seems like a neat guy.  Hey, do you think we can get him to talk to our parents about letting us play Nintendo a little later?  That'd be real neat...

I'll post something actually constructive in a few.

Since everything seems to be settled (unless Tar-Orag has objections) and there are no more complications (and also to move forward, of course), I consider skipping to the next day. Is that alright with everyone? The assumption would be that everyone stays the night in the common room of the in, which is one sp (a private room costs one gp), unless stated otherwise.

Sounds like a plan :)

Works for me as well.

Yep!

Let's do that!

Good to go

Can we handwave the Tavern Breakfast Simulator and FFwd to the smashing? :-P

Unless someone wants to talk with the two guards or the DM wants them to talk with us, we can skip all the way to meeting the patrol at the gate as far as I'm concerned.  If anyone wants to stock up on provisions for the trip, they'd need to deal with that but, maybe, it could be handled with a quick statement to that effect in a post.?

I have no problem skipping to the gate and the start of the patrol, if everyone's in favor of it.

Let's get to gettin'!

Works for me.

Uzedi is happy to head out immediately :)

"Car-Portal"!

Sorry, been ill. Tar-Orag is just providing support for Gilly Buck for when the inevitable black tentacle shoots forth and sucks him into a cave!

 Nanes-Il will find a hollow in the base of said tentacle, so that it at least looks cool -- like a grippy blacklight!

We've never talked marching order.  I'm assuming Gilly scouts ahead as needed; especially as that's basically what was just posted.  Aradock's at the front and Tar-Orag can either follow him or take up the rear, depending on whether we want a strong frontline or protection for someone sneaking up behind us.  Does that work?  Where should Nanes and Uzedi be?

I concur.

How's this:

Single File
-----------
Aradock
Tar-Orag
Gilly
Uzedi
Nanes



Two Abreast
-----------
Aradock   Tar-Orag
Gilly     Uzedi
     Nanes

Question about healing spells and Tar-Orag's place in the two abreast line-up: If this was AD&D 1st or 2nd ed, which I know very well, I'd think suggesting switching Tar-Orag and Gilly.  Even though Gilly's not well armored and doesn't fight well, that'd give our cleric the ability to disengage and cast healing.  I don't know if that's as important in Basic Fantasy, though.  Can Tar-Orag cast enough healing spells that it's worth switching them?

I guess this could be either an IC or OOC question as we've theoretically traveled together enough to get to 3rd level so we know something of each others' capabilities by now.

That's just a marching order, in a fight you wouldn't be seeing Gilly tanking it in the front row with just leather armour. At least, not for long. Your entire healing pool would be taken up just with keeping him on his feet, he'd get hit way more often than a cleric with unrestricted armour and a shield.

Like you I'm using 1e as a reference. I sympathise with being a cleric and being possibly partially restricted with your spellcasting on occasion because you're in the front line with Aradock, but you kind of have to be.....when two in the front is necessary. With only 5 PC's these things happen.

On the upside, the front row isn't the only row, them useless casters up the back should earn their keep :). And when they're all flailing away on Aradock alone you can be whereever you like. Just my 2c :)

Orag only has chainmail and a shield at the moment, but has lots of HP. Will just take a while to heal him back up in between adventures.

I've got a proposal for a house rule... Allow casters to cast any spells they know or have access to instead of preparing them in advance. They would still have the same number of spell slots per day obviously, but could cast their spells as the situation demands. I've always preferred this approach, and it really doesn't imbalance the game too much because casters can only cast so many spells anyway before they run out of Umph! There's still just as much strategy involved because firing off two magic missiles means less opportunity to use other needful spells when the time comes.

Basic Fantasy is pretty forgiving already compared to other versions of the game and in my view this would make casters more interesting in the story rather than repetitive one trick ponies.

Just a quick note to let you know that I will be travelling for several days. I should be back online early next week. Thanks.

The caves, as you can see from the entrances, should be wide enough that two characters can walk side-by-side, so a "Two Abreast" order would work.

I'm apprehensive about Tar-Orag's suggestion, though (which is why I've been quiet about it for a while). I certainly sympathize with the restrictive magic system of D&D, which I've never quite liked myself. I'm more used to MP systems (not just from video games but also because my first P&P RPG was The Dark Eye, which uses such a system) and it wasn't not until 5e that I really considered playing a "preparation" caster. But there's a reason why the old system is the way it is and why the power fantasy-heavy 5e does things differently. And unlocking spell selection entirely would go even further.

My suggestion would to use a 5e-like system, in which you choose a selection of spells and cast them freely without them getting "disabled" (but of course, you still have to expend spell slots). The question would be how many spells a character should be able to prepare. Too few and it's still too restrictive, too many and we could just use free casting entirely. The "Magic User Options" supplement actually has that rule as "Liberal Casting" and uses the number of spells that can be cast per day as the base for the number of spells that can be prepared (or "memorized"). But that would currently be merely two for Clerics of 3rd level and Magic-Users of 2nd level, unless we also add the bonus spells to the equation.

Which would be another option, simply go with Tar-Orag's suggestion and allow casters to use all their spells at any time, as much as their slots allow it.

Or we stick with the current system, where prepared spells have to be assigned to specific slots.

So, what to you all think? What system should we use?

In reply to Game Master (msg # 91):

I've been in a few long-standing 1st/2nd ED games where the DM ruled that clerics didn't have to select spells.  We had fewer opportunities to learn new spells, all the more so in the latest game where written communication and scrolls are essentially non-existent, but much more free use of the spells we did have.

In the more traditional setting game, wizards and their like had to memorize spells but had a good number of opportunities to learn new spells.  In the latest game, the low-literacy game, they're being treated under the same rule as clerics.  In both cases, giving free-er use of spells within a day but less frequent opportunities to learn new spells did lead to reasonable game balance.

The other point worth making is that I remember playing in this module when it came out in the D&D red box.  The fights were very tough and could easily be made tougher by a DM that had time to have the monster react intelligently (search "Tucker's Kobolds" and you'll find an example - difficult to do with table-top gaming but much easier with play by post where the pace can be slower).  Giving us free-er use of spells isn't going to tip the balance for the foreseeable future to the point where the game isn't fun.  Maybe it goes from where the module writers left it as you could do everything right and still have the party decimated to where wise moves throughout the game would allow the party to survive but might not achieve all of the objectives or get all of the treasure.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:57, Sun 07 May 2023.

I think maybe I didn't explain quite what I had in mind. I'll try again. Before that though, I've been playing with various versions of D&D, clones and OSR for a long time, and I know the rules as written are both fun and work well. I'm not trying to break anything, which hopefully you'll see as I lay it out. The real imbalance comes at high levels during short adventuring days. If a high level caster is not expecting to need access to any utility spells during a particular day, he can dump all his spell-slots into combat spells. But then again, high-level casters are pretty amazing anyway, so...


So what I'm proposing is that a caster (mage or cleric for ease of explanation) would not longer need to prepare a spell or pray for a spell specifically. Flavor-wise, both would need to go through their daily rituals of prayer and preparation, but it would not be for specific spells. I'll use Cleric first as that's my character at the moment.

Tar-Orag has 2 first-level spell slots available. He knows the following spells: Cure Light Wounds, Detect Evil, Detect Magic, Light, Protect from Evil, Purify Food/Drink, Remove Fear, and Resist Cold. Under rules as written he must pray for the use of which spells he wants for the day. So it might be one use of two different spells, or two uses of one spell. Under my proposal we throw that out. He can cast any of those spells he wishes as the need arises, but can only do so two times in any combination before he must rest as his spell slots would be exhausted after the second casting. So he must carefully consider which spell to use in a situation, because doing so will limit his ability to Cure Wounds if he uses up slots for things like Light or Detect Evil.

Let's look at a Mage character at third level. Has 2 first level slots and 1 second level slot (with the bonus spells rule in place, he could have more). His spell book might have Read Magic, Magic Missile, Shield, and Ventriloquism at first level and Knock at second level. So he could prepare two uses of one 1st level spell or one and one, and one use of his second level spell. Under my proposal, he would be able to cast any of his first level spells up to two times and only his second level spell once before his spell slots were exhausted.

This is essentially the Free-form option from the supplement.



With the Spell Demotion rule in place, it's possible that a third level Mage could cast three Magic Missiles in a row in a single battle... but that would be it for the day. No other utility magic or anything. Glass Canon.

So the argument is that it makes for very powerful mages and clerics, but usually under the conditions of a short adventuring day or at high levels.

The real reason this makes sense to me is that we otherwise see every cleric praying for two uses of Cure Light Wounds and every Mage preparing one or more Sleep or Magic Missiles and the other spells in the game rarely get used. Especially if the party has to camp and rest before any changes can be made. I think Free-Casting promotes wiser uses of magic and more creative uses and a variety of uses of spells.

(Also, this is along the lines of why I petitioned for Orisons/Cantrips... to get more "Magic" into the game.)

I'm okay with whatever the DM opts for, but personally I'm good with leaving things as they are. With only 2 spells, ditching memorisation isn't really going to help you, and having to memorise spells is a reasonable seat belt to stop casters riding roughshod over monsters later on.

1e is just tough on casters early on that's all. Down the track it's fine. Makes going up a level all the sweeter :)

To expand my earlier comment a bit: I've played in long-standing games where free casting, to some extent, was permitted and never felt that we players ever managed to run roughshod over the monsters.  Maybe it was because, as we got to level 8+, we encountered more spell-casting monsters who also had free-casting.  Maybe it was as I first suggested, less opportunity to learn new spells.  Either way, the party in each game got their asses kicked on occasion and had to judiciously run for it some times, so the free casting wasn't a ticket to success.

If I remember correctly, in 1st ed there was a developing rule that likely made it into the Planescape setting about low-level cleric spells being grantable by the Power's minions but higher level spells had to be granted directly by the Power.  Maybe there's a compromise that first through something level cleric spells could be free cast but higher level spells had to be memorized and granted by the Power.

I'm cool with the current system; however, "Free-Form" has its appeal... now that - and you can ask Tar-Orag - I finally understand it!



I'd like to travel two-abreast next to Uzedi.

I'm thinking the point of keeping the sneaky guy around is to have him out front in unknown places so he can look for traps and such like. With maybe a heavy guys just behind him to step up if bad guys come sprinting forward. So as we approach the cave it would be

     Gilly           -- out front
   Aradock           -- just behind, slightly to one side


Nanes-II & Uzedi     -- our arcane artillery -- farther back but still in range


   Tar-Orag         -- another tough guy to guard the rear

Looks good to me.

Marching order works for me as well.

Aradock will be deploying his shield emblazoned with the heraldry of his position in the line-up: A series of concentric circles with the resulting rings filled in with black, blue, red and yellow, one color per ring.

First, does anyone behind Aradock have a free hand to carry the lantern?  Aradock's got sword and shield so he can't.  Second, assuming someone does, would Gilly prefer to have someone carry the light for him?  He'd be able see and, if needed, hide in shadows.  It'd mean that Gilly couldn't see as well as if he'd carried the lantern, though.

Gilly will carry the lantern. It helps him see more clearly and he'd rather the others had their weapons in their hands. If he needs it, he'll pass it back -- if he has to pick a lock or something.

Yes it does feel good to be actually creeping about in the dark fiunally.

I don't anticipate any reason why I would be completely out of touch but I'll be traveling from May 20th to 27th and might be slow in responding.

Sorry for the late response (especially considering how short it is), but I was busy with things. Including preparation for a RL session of BF (my first time being a GM outside of this site) that ended up going pretty well.

Also, I decided to go with Tar-Orag's suggestion: Preparation for spells is not necessary now, you're only limited by your spell slots.

If Gilly is in the lead, I propose not really waiting around for everyone to comment on each step, let him lead and then we'll all join in when he gets us into trouble!

Just a thought to keep things moving. ;-)

In reply to Tar-Orag (msg # 104):

Could I suggest a compromise?  Get back to a required post rate; maybe react to GM posts within a week?  If you've not responded to the GM's post within a week, the GM can assume that your character isn't going to and can move on.  That gives time for everyone to work around problems in real life but not feel that their character got railroaded.

Just to clarify, I'm as guilty or more so than anyone else. Just that we've got a good group and level up to 17 is right around the corner ;-) Forward!

In reply to Tar-Orag (msg # 106):

Gilliam Tea, here.  Or, Gil T..  I agree with Aradock, though, a posting rate would be nice.

I remember "several" years ago the RPoL app worked really well for lighting fires under me to post... don't know if it's still around!

Sadly it doesn't work anymore. I really liked it though. I set a swords clashing sound effect for the notifications and it was always fun to hear that go off in my pocket.

In reply to Tar-Orag (msg # 108):

Aww, damn... I remember that, too.

 <small>_{how come it doesn't update I don't wanna be reswponsible and have to check things for myself}<small>

In reply to Aradock (msg # 105):

I think this is a good idea and would go along with that. One week time limit from my last post to give everyone enough time to reply, then I move forward, if not everyone has posted yet.

Woohoo! 17th Level here we come!

In reply to Tar-Orag (msg # 111):

In addition, we could provide "auto-pilot" "scripts" at your option.  I joked about that in a game my sister ran, because one of our players had to do performances fairly often that precluded him being in games.  Everyone actually liked it.

Thank the Being of your choice that Gygax and Arneson settled on 10 ft squares instead of something bigger.  Can you see lugging around 20 ft poles and having pole vaulting as the NWP of choice for dungeon delvers?

In reply to Aradock (msg # 113):

Oh, boy!  Yeah!  You'd want to bring pikes into dungeons!  And gnomes and halflings would get the short end of the... UGH!

To allay potential confusion (and make up for my trouble to describe the location of passageways accurately), I replaced the map in the first post of the "Caves of Chaos" thread with one that shows the areas if the caves you've been to, which I would naturally update as you explore. The other one, that shows the entire ravine, should still be visible in the game maps.

Six against five... I'm going to do an IF/THEN.

IF they don't understand Nanes-Il or cop an attitude, THEN she will cast sleep.
Her endgame, here, is seeing if she can't talk them into guiding the group around anything they've put up, such as the traps they're definitely not trying to get us to trigger.

All I see on the post is a broken image icon. Sorry.

I'm guessing from the description that the side passage we started down is just the entrance to this room.

Should work now. I actually used the game map feature now (I put the map on Imgur before), to easier update it, but I still had to update your groups for it.

Are we all in the summertime slump? Busy and RL and so forth? I'm certainly not pointing any fingers, so nobody get offended, just hoping we don't lose momentum completely. Perhaps we could just handwave to the next location of interest?

In reply to Tar-Orag (msg # 119):

My job's got pockets of downtime, and I just took two days off, so I ain't hurtin' for postin' times!  I just like to make sure everyone else's gotten a chance to post.

In reply to Nanes-Il (msg # 120):

Sorry, I've got time to post but I got stuck thinking about what to say and never got back to it.

I don't quite understand where you want to go now. From your current position, you can only go forward and left. Do you mean that you take the left passage and, at its end, go right?

We'll stay to the right and keep going straight ahead, not taking the left-hand passage is what I meant.

Looks like it's lullaby time again...!

In reply to Nanes-Il (msg # 124):

Outside of Nane's sleep spell, the other idea I can think of would be to pull all but one or two planks off the trap, then have one of us lure the nasties to it and use missile fire to pick them off while we stand on the opposite side.  My impression, though, is that we're weak on missile attack and they seem to have spears.  Am I misreading what everyone's written about their characters and we're actually stronger on missile attacks than what I thought?

Sling +2 to hit, d3+1 damage... Not great.

Burn them out? Parley?

In deference to the declaration that we've adventured together long enough to get to level three, I'm going to ask this and assume we've talked through similar questions by the campfire on our adventures.  Does everyone feel like using oil on a bunch a kobolds is evil?  I was a little surprised by the decision to turn the last bunch over rather than kill them off but I've also been playing a really long time in darker games or at least a darker character in game so I'm likely tainted by that.  "Once you turn to the dark side..."
This message was last edited by the player at 12:35, Wed 26 July 2023.

Tar-Orag has oil.

Heeey, good point, Aradock!  I've been in mostly "neutral" adventures, myself... though, in the one outright evil game I was in, my Wight did some really neat, but really upsetting things to a cellar full of frightened villagers!


For Nanes-Il's part, I think I decided that, despite the lack of an alignment system, she was Neutral?, but I typically read that as "True Neutral, Neutral Good with True Neutral tendencies, Neutral Evil with True Neutral tendencies, Lawful Neutral with True Neutral tendencies, Chaotic Neutral with True Neutral tendencies".

She was being TN-NG when she opted to turn in rather than execute the kobolds, but that was a small group... and this is a whole cluster of 'em!  Her desire to live is going to override any qualms she might have about making marinara of them.

So, Let the Record Show: Everyone knows Nanes-Il to be "Neutral".  She'll do the thing, but if she can she'd just as well avoid it.


That said... Nanes-Il hasn't got oil on her, but here's how I rank each suggestion.
-Best: Oil flasks
-Moderate: Trap trick -- Nanes-Il's only got two daggers and a club on her.   :'(
-Worst: Sleep.  Normally, a nap and a throating is the ticket, here, but these guys might be too numerous to affect.  And, even if we do knock all of them out, they could wake up before we get to them all...
Next time, if you think it might do us better, I can memorize darkness.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:30, Wed 26 July 2023.

I've been dealing with too much fast paced work in real life so I definitely didn't write exactly what I meant in my post.  I'd forgotten that there's no alignment in this system, nor did I want to suggest that we'd pull out the marshmallows and roast smores over the oil-soaked kobolds.  I had just realized that I'd had a complete blind spot pointed out earlier.  I'd been doing the (see monster => kill monster) assumption so I'd not thought about trying to take the kobolds by the trap prisoner and wanted to make sure there wasn't a general feeling that we shouldn't kill unless forced to.

Aradock doesn't have any oil. Unless Tar-Orag's got a lot of oil or others have a few flasks, I'd say we go back IC and talk about picking a better place for this battle or avoiding it right now.

It's the whole 'murder hobos' conundrum of early FRP's right? Everyone suited up, grabbed instruments of destruction, and went out to kill and steal stuff. Are kobold's monsters? Not really, especially when you've just entered their home unasked for, planning to take their good gear.

Anyhow, Gilly has a short bow -- 1d6 damage, decent range. But a dozen little critters sounds like half a dozen too many.

Can we communicate or sweet talk one of those we caught to be our spokesgob? Does anyone speak Gobbo?

Yeah... I hear ya, there, Gilly.  Maybe, if your character's on that page, he can help to make Nanes-Il a little more morally palatable to be around for Paladins and Rangers that think they're in Advanced 1st Edition!

Yes!  Along with Common and Elven, Hoss!

You speak Hoss?! Wow, that'll be amazing when we find a unicorn!

If we can't draw them out, maybe we can intimidate them into not coming at us from the rear...?

Dunno. I get the feeling this part of the adventure, or maybe the entire adventure, is meant to be a little murder-hobo-esque. In that case let's consider ourselves doing a good deed! ;-)

The DM told us that we're running through one of the oldest adventures TSR put out. From back in the time that monsters existed, more or less, as set pieces in a dungeon; like homicidal Disney animatronics that come alive when an adventurer wanders past.

In reply to Aradock (msg # 136):

Pretty much. This one in particular is even infamous for having a monster composition that doesn't even make much internal sense and since those adventures didn't have much in the way of story or ready-made quests, there's not even an official explanation for it (but it's not hard to think of something). Although due to the deadliness of those old adventures (and systems), it's not always advisable to kill everything in your path and more to pick your battles. Nanes-Il's attempt to talk with the kobolds first, while it didn't work, wasn't bad at all.

Also, it seems there's a misunderstanding here. There's nothing indicating that someone's approaching your group (and Gilly in particular can tell that the voices are "stationary"). The voices only got clearer because you were approaching them.

Thanks for pointing that out. I have edited my reply in response.

It's been a while, but it's not clear what you're going to do now. Do you go the northern passage to the next fork?
This message was last updated by the GM at 17:34, Tue 08 Aug 2023.

This is what I had in mind:

In reply to Gilly Buck (msg # 140):

That's more or less what I assumed as well

That was my impression :)

I'll be gone in the mountains with some of my boys on a pack trip until Friday. NPC as needed.

It's still not clear what you're doing now. Do you head to either of the passages or do something else?

Tar-Orag is still watching the party's six. I fear we may get ambushed from the rear for not incinerating the chamber full of... whatevers. But I understand the RP. Also, if we come up with a way to get them on our side, perhaps there are secrets to be learned. Who knows? But I think Aradock and Nanny have indicated they wish to follow their stomachs.

Does the food location end at that upper dark line, or is that as far as we can see?

The food storage is closed off on all sides except east. I didn't reveal anything more in the north because I thought the heightmap there could be confusing. But by that, I made things more confusing myself.

Not sure if I didn't make it clear enough, but there is no tunnel to the north. The room is basically a dead end.

He meant east. We're going east.

That's what I get for trusting a necromancer's sense of direction!

Gilly does indeed mean east -- go east young man!

In reply to Gilly Buck (msg # 150):

The OTHER West!

My schedule at work is returning to 2PM-1030PM this Monday (28th of August, 2023), so my posts will come at different times of the day, but they will still come.

Just so I understand the map, the north and west passages going off that black square are open, yes? As in, they're not dead ends? If they're open I'd be inclined to go one of those two ways and leave the mass of kobolds for the time being.

In reply to Uzedi (msg # 152):
If I remember correctly, the west passage was really smelly and we chose to not explore it.  I can’t remember why we didn’t check out that northern area by the pit trap.

In reply to Uzedi (msg # 152):
In reply to Aradock (msg # 153):
There is no north passage there. Only a small guard room that you already searched.

Initiative is 1d6, not 1d20. Gilly, Tar-Orag and Nanes-Il would have to roll again.
This message was last updated by the GM at 18:43, Fri 08 Sept 2023.

Oops, been too long. Fixed.

Nanes-Il and Uzedi still need to (re-)roll initiative. If that doesn't happen by tomorrow, they will have initiative 1 and be put at the end of the list.

Also, to speed up combat a bit, I'll enact a time limit. If the current character hasn't acted after three days since the last character's action have passed, they will be skipped.

15:27, Today: Nanes-Il rolled 4 using 1d6+1 ((3)).

That looks more better!

Dumb question.  I've been used to games where one declares an action and rolls for initiative at the same time.  Then, based on everyone's rolls, the DM marches through all of the predeclared actions in order of initiative.  It seems like you're expecting us to roll initiative independent of our action, then declare an action when our place in the line-up comes up.  Am I understanding that right?  I just want to make sure I know what your expectations are.

In reply to Aradock (msg # 159):

That is correct. I was never a fan of this odd procedure that D&D used to do (that seems to be one of those weird wargaming holdovers), not helped by no other (non-D&D-related) TTRPG doing combat procedure like that, including the ones I started with. It's also not how Basic Fantasy works (although it's not explicit about that). Admittedly, I'm not following BF entirely either, since according to its rules, initiative should be rolled every round but I think that just needlessly slows combat down.

Going on vacation for a couple of weeks. Traveling overseas, so unlikely to be posting. Hope you're still here when I get back in October.

Oh, Nanes-Il.  "Well, you guys are up to no good, and I KNOW we've been invading your home, and stuff trying to figure out out, but... Come on!  What's your DEAL?!".  Way to compensate for not knowing better spells, lady!  Deflect the blame!

In reply to Gilly Buck (msg # 161):

Have fun, you!

GM,
Just checking with you as it's been quite a while since you posted and nearly two weeks since you've logged in according to the cast listing.  Have we lost you?

Hey gang, so sorry. I hadn't seen any new posts here and thought I'd already posted. Hope the GM makes it back!

I'm going to assume the game's dead.  Thank you everyone, I enjoyed gaming with you and look forward to a chance to do so again in the future.

Cheers.

Nice role-playing with y'all. Many of these games simply wither away. It takes a fierce amount of concentration to keep one going, I know. See you in other settings, no doubt.

What a shame!   :<

If it's any consolation, Black Wyvern over on Myth-Weavers is starting an Dungeons & Dragons Original Edition game.  The Greyhawk supplemental rules will be in use.  I have played under that Game Master several times in the past, and enjoyed the experiences.  Play is usually very, very "by the book", but it's always fun.

Safe travels!

Apologies for my long absence, but I got pretty busy in RL and, as it happens often in such cases, eventually it got difficult to get back to it. And I had to really consider what I'm going to do with the game now.

Sadly, I'm not going to continue it. I just don't have the motivation, because I'm involved enough with a D&D game I'm running in RL (even though it's quite different, being 5E). I'm not sure whether I ever get back to it (it's not like I'm not interested in Keep on the Borderlands anymore), but I have no idea when/if I do or whether I reactivate this game or start a new one entirely.

Hey DM. That's entirely up to you. Good luck with your gaming. If we see you back here - either continuing this game or starting a new one - I'll be interested :). Just a point to consider if you do return, continuing current games is easier and generally more successful than starting afresh. There's a lot of DM admin in getting a game up and running :).

Cheers :)

Thanks and best to you. I'm always here and up for BFRPG.