Chapter 8: Q&A / Discussions

[Jeff]

I need to allay some concerns, should there be any. Chapter 7 was mostly about dropping some plot hooks and seeing if they were wanted. I am fully aware of that—since, being DM, I actually instigated these things. I haven't forgotten. Moreover, there's reason behind it all.

Regarding Z's trap, it was planned out on his part, and it's to soon to say how without spoiling things. Within limits, he knew what to expect from the PCs and about their general capabilities. And the PCs absolutely did not have to meet with him at all. I was prepared for that, fully. Varna advised against it, Matheu stated he would not be there. I'll tell you now, the last big paragraph in Z's letter was absolute truth, though in-game you don't have to believe it. If you opted not to go, I was ready for that, too.

Yes, Chapter 8 is a sudden gear shift. But let's look at where things are at:

Adamant generally is concerned with his countrymen and the people of High Walls. No specific goal, but if a lawful good paladin can do something for them...

Belarin's quest is bigger than just one city, even though he also was trying to get in touch with his inner rogue. Has that pursuit been cut short? You tell me. A relationship has already been established with Sharn's most powerful crime organization. That's still true, even if you leave the city for a time.

Condign's quest has gone silent but is still important to him. Learning about the presence of other tieflings in Sharn is a good step in that goal. And he might have been able to learn more soon. He even had a date with a hot changeling. Now he's standing her up.

Kal has something he's itching to return to (but can't go it alone) beneath Sharn, that relates to his general, campaign-spanning goal of figuring out what, if anything, the Draconic Prophecy has to do with him. And House Deneith itself? They've got representation all over the place. Even across the sea...

Streko's goals seem to center more around the welfare of his friends and family. Notably, Varna. But guess who's not on the boat? Before Streko arrived in Sharn, Varna already ensured the protection of the family, though her choice and means have been called into question by the PCs.

Syrdan, while generally anti-undead, was only recently given a mission to find and save the elf Lerrhana (a member of his order), if it's not too late. Whether it is too late or not, I'm not going to say. But what was learned about the guy likely responsible for her disappearance? That he was on the docks, ready to board a ship and leave Sharn. Guess where you are.

I wish I didn't have to point all this out. I wish I'd earned some general trust. I still hope that I have.

What I've done is take charge again, and give some focus to the game. Some of these plots threads have been suddenly made difficult, or have some new hurdles in the way, but none have been forgotten. Quests aren't supposed to be cakewalks in D&D. If they were, you'd never earn any XP from them.

Now...should your characters be pissed about what's going on? Absolutely. It's being counted on.

I know what I'm doing. And to be very frank, since Chapter 6 I've been working on the things discussed and agreed upon in this thread. I.E. what you guys said you wanted in this game.

Player participation in play-by-post, and especially in this game, is what determines the speed of things. It's what can make the PCs splitting up on city errands take a month or more of real life time, and it's what can make getting gassed into unconsciousness take a week.

What I need from you all is communication. If you're in the game and want to be and intend to remain for months to come, great. If not, I need to know. It's only what's fair to me and fair to everyone else. This is a group telling a story, not just me. But I've said it before, and I'll say it again now: the game will only move at the speed of all its parts. With some exceptions, I'm going to wait for everyone to participant before moving on in a scenario or scene. That's just how I run things.

[Brian]

Here are my two cents: my only regret is that I didn't have Condign take a few minutes to find out more about the tieflings in Sharn. It is central to his main quest. However, that was my decision, and I'll live with it. Everything will happen in time, and I'm patient.

I have no issues with this new direction. And about the trap laid by Z. Well, we walked into it, so that's that. Our bad. Did it have to take a whole week to play out? Probably not, but it's now in the past. Time to move on.

Do I plan on keeping with the game in the months to come? Heck, yes. I'm enjoying myself immensely. Where else can I get someone to name his car after my character.

Jeff, do I trust you? Heck, yes. Without reservation. Period.

Here's to seasickness and future battles!

[Joe]

Did I miss something? Is there even a reason Jeff should be posting this? I don't get it, but then, I'm not really a big picture kinda guy. Love the forest, but the trees are much more interesting. It never occurred to me to NOT trust in what Jeff is doing and that somehow, all these threads are woven together. Jeff is a novelist...so of course he has a bigger world view of events than we, as players (readers) do.

For Streko, it's about the moment. And if you haven't noticed, many times Streko does bring up those moments that have happened before. As a player, I miss Paul Crilley and Marcy Rockwell adding thier own contributions...and Streko misses those characters as well (and still thinks about Goran and Grafth ad Pel and even Ed and Paul's chracters, whose names I have somehow managed to forget already...though it's been about four years) . We've had at least five other players on board who have had to bow out for their own reasons (both good and horrific) and even one player who bowed out and returned with a vengeance in a new guise. The point being, there are lots of twists and turns that a DM has to be ready for and Jeff has proven time and again to be up to that challenge. So what's not to trust? Streko has, by now, learned to go with the flow. Heh.

[Jeff]

Thanks, Brian and Joe. I'm voicing this because I'm sensing uncertainty. We can leave it at that.

But let me home in on this:

Jeff is a novelist...so of course he has a bigger world view of events than we, as players (readers) do.

While I do like the big picture of being a DM, I can't emphasize this enough, and I've said it before, and I'll probably keep saying it until everyone's ears (eyes?) bleed: I don't view this as my game, with a big epic storyline, and everyone else is just along for the ride. No way. The PCs would not currently be on a boat headed for some momentous destination if that's not what we as a group talked about. If you guys wanted pure urban investigation stuff (like Josh used to want), we'd be in Sharn for a few more chapters. If you wanted political stuff, you'd be dealing with the Aundairian court much more.

If you the group decided, as a unified force, that they wanted a whole new direction, do you really think I'll force you down a different one? Nope. The only railroading I'll do is to speed up a sluggish game and move things in the direction we all talked about.

[Dave W.]

I'm still in! I have been having a blast with this. And really, it's gone better than I could have expected because of all of you, players and GM.

I'm new here so maybe I don't have the history. But I have seen GM's direct the group like this before; I've even done it myself a couple of times. IMHO, it's a tool that should be used sparingly. But sometimes, for story reasons or just because the NPC has planned well (but never because we mess up ), that happens, right?

If it becomes a common occurance then I think we'd have to talk.

Anyway I'd like to see where we go from here. I do have a concern because I don't see the group being well-disposed towards Prof Z now. I don't see how the group works for Z and I don't see how we'd ever turn the relic over to him. Z was very heavy handed. He should pay a price for that. He's lost our trust. If we play that out that's fine.

I'm also a little annoyed with Z becuase like Adamant said, I think if we had been given a day (or even an hour) to discuss we'd end up going on the expedition by choice. I think it was pretty clear that Addy was coming to that side. I'm not sure I understand what caused Z to decide it was time to pull out the poison contingency. I'm willing to accept that there was a trigger that only Z will ever know, but it seemed to come on without warning. Maybe Z's just like that; maybe he paniced.

Most of you don't know me well, but part of Adamant really is me. I can been annoyingly helpful (ask my wife), wanting everything to work out and people to get along. In short, I tend to try to go with it and make it work.

Looking for the upside in the situation was easy, it was perfect for setting up Adamant's Last "Stand" and Jeff, you caught the imagery brilliantly... the warforged standing, waiting for days? weeks? From a purely selfish point of view, that made the whole thing worthwhile.

[Jeff]

Without metagaming and spoiling things, all I can say is...wait and see. Yeah, I know the PCs are severely soured to Z. He knows it, too. I can't promise you'll get full explanations from him soon, but reasons exist.

And I'll come out, once again strictly out-of-game, and say that he was inspired by Benjamin Linus from the start. Some of you will understand the complexity of that, as far as good and evil are concerned. Is he a bastard? Yeah. Is he the worst enemy you'll face? Not a chance. Do you want him on your side? Maybe sometimes?

This alignment blurring is a trademark of Eberron, and one I like dabble with. And it's also the way I like to game, the sort of roleplaying I like to challenge you with.

If you're a lawful good knight who has vowed never to lie or stab an enemy in the back, you can bet someday you'll have to face a sticky situation which calls this into question. If you play a cleric of the god of unbuttered biscuits, you can be you'll face butter-wielding enemies in a game I DM for. Just how I roll.

That said, I'm always asking for feedback and preference. If you want a more straightforward game, or one that's strictly kill-a-monster-and-take-its-treasure, this may not be the one for you. But even then, sometimes there are parts of the game that'll include that stuff.

[Ken]

Thanks very much for the clarifications, Jeff. Yep, I'm in all the way!

[Jeff]

This may go without saying, but I'll reiterate: the drow of Eberron are not like the drow of the Forgotten Realms or even the core D&D setting. They're not Lolth-worshipping, spider-loving chaotic evil fiends.

That said, to the civilized world, they're still wary of them. They're said to be savage and violent...good and evil don't factor into it as much. Or, I should say, they can be as good or evil as any human. They don't share an inherent enmity with regular elves, but there's absolutely no kinship there. If anything, the attitude between elves and drow is, "So...your ancestors were slaves, too. Yup, rough times, those. We've chosen to leave that all behind us. Why haven't you?"

[Brian]

Jeff:

They're not Lolth-worshipping, spider-loving chaotic evil fiends.

Oh, damn. And just when I was getting excited.

[Darren]

If this guy doesn't have two scimitars, I'm out.

Although, having a panther wandering around to compete with Tangat would be something of a problem.....

[Jeff]

No scimitars. You're safe, Darren.

[Jeff]

For roleplaying purposes, here's how I'd like to handle sea sickness: I'm simply going to rule that PCs with low Constitution will suffer from it the most, but just how much is up to you, the player.

Sea sickness is caused by the visual confusion of a fixed point (such as the horizon) and people and objects around you not conforming to that stillness. Anyone with a Constitution of 14 or higher will get over this after a day or two. Belarin, Kal, and especially Streko are going to suffer the most, but after a few days they'll get past it. This doesn't mean they have to be vomiting constantly; but hey, whatever you want.

I'd say elves and drow would be less afflicted, given their fey/nature origin, so Syrdan would get over it fairly quickly, too.

For Adamant, this is a non-issue, regardless; he has no stomach, and his center of balance is inherently stronger than the rest. Not to mention he's as much an object himself as a person.

Also, the more mentally active your character is, the more purposeful his thoughts or doings, the less likely sea sickness will affect him. When a person has a task to work on, they tend not to suffer too much. When they're idle...it gets to them.

[Dave W.]

Nice summary Jeff. I was kind of assuming Adamant wouldn't be affected...

[Joe]

And I was kinda assuming Streko would be MOST affected. BRILLIANT!!

[Dave W.]

Feb 1, 2011 21:57:11 GMT -4 Joe said:

And I was kinda assuming Streko would be MOST affected. BRILLIANT!!

Love it when a plan comes together...

[Darren]

"Yep," he says softly to Condign and Adamant, "he's leaving me with the necromancer lady. Bad choice on his part, though."

Love it, Ken.

[Jeff]

he's leaving me with the necromancer lady

I'm not actually sure what he means by this. How is he being "left with" her?

[Darren]

Oh, young, naive Jeff......

[Ken]

What he means is that the options for, uh, female interaction are limited on this ship.

[Brian]

Hehehe.

[Darren]

"I do propose, though, that we decide the proper tact for speaking with the captain again, should we be granted an audience with her. Often, when we speak to someone, when there's many voices they work at cross-purposes to each other." The elf glances wryly upwards. "As evidenced upon the decks."

Thank you for saying, in game, what I've been thinking out of game.

How do we more easily address this kind of thing? I know everyone is just trying to play in character, but it makes these sorts of situations difficult.

[Mike]

No different than how we'd discuss it at a gaming table.

Rather than just posting what your character would say - which is what we often do, myself included! - I think we need to discuss these situations more thoroughly in this particular board first (Q&A / Discussion) , rather than jumping into a conversation in character.

There's times I'd like to formulate a plan of action before jumping into a situation, but by the time I get to read new posts, three people have posted their "in-character" reactions - and often, they're conflicting reactions.

Hey, we want to be your friend!

No we don't! KILL THEM!!!



PbP means we can't do this everytime ... but I'd propose that if we find a situation like the one we were just in - something we could consider a big, important scene - people either post what they'd like their characters to do here, or what they think is best for the group out-of-character.

Kal would like to make nice with the captain, here's why. Any objections?

That way, we're all on the same page, and can help each other out, rather than inadvertently be at odds with one another.

Discussion here out-of-character will slow the game a little ... but I think it's worth it, and will ultimately make the game better.

[Ken]

I don't think it was necessarily a problem this time, in that our characters were confused, angry, and frustrated. It's understandable that some of us wanted to say to the captain, "Lady, don't you SEE? He's a bastard! You TRUST this guy?! Kill kill kill die die die!!!"

So now we have time in character to regroup and decide how to deal with her (and the rest of the crew) during the voyage.

In this situation, Belarin will volunteer to be the "public face" of our group with the crew, but he'll want Condign as equal partner in this. Belarin certainly has the verbal skills and he doesn't have the built-in chip on his shoulder that comes from being dragonmarked ( ), yet Condign has an innate nobility that will lend credence to anything Belarin might say. I'll post about this IC later today, if that sounds OK.

Beyond that, it might depend on the situation. Obviously, there are instances where any of your PCs would be the best spokesman. We should just decide on that here in the Q&A/discussion threads.

UPDATE: Mike and I simul-posted, but we seem to be on the same page.

[Brian]

I'm fully in agreement with Mike; in fact, I think that may have been a small part that I'd been missing in the PbP version vs the game board version: the fun part about plotting and planning our next move. ;D

Ken has a good point too. The recent confusion did play well with our own characters confusion at what had just happened.

Either way, I'm 100% for us planning this (and future) major encounters/battles out before we dive in.

Now, as to Ken's current proposal. I'm fine with Belarin being the "group face" or main contact person. This is not a slight to Kal, either. He just happened to get off on wrong foot with the captain.

Of course, Condign would be glad to accompany him.

[Mike]

Mind you, I don't think we have to stop and discuss everything out-of-character. There have been plenty of times we've discussed things in-character - like at Esthryn's Kitchen - that have gotten us to a general consensus. And there's times it's not needed. As Brian and Ken have said, I'm fine with how things have played out so far in this chapter.

I would just say that if it looks like something big is happening - meaning 1) it affects everyone in the group and 2) could have a significant impact on the game, this might be the place to discuss it. Particularly when there's NPCs around, and discussing in-character probably isn't the smartest idea. I think it's only fair to let people have a chance to say what they think the group as a whole should do.

[Darren]

I'm good with what you're saying. I'm just always leery of anything that slows the game down.

Also, if we make a plan, we should also agree to stick to it.

[Dave W.]

I think sometimes it might be helpful to set a plan but have two cautions as well:

Like a couple of you have already said let's not slow things down if we can help it.

Second, to paraphrase Von Moltke, no plan survives contact with the NPCs. A plan is fine but we also need to be flexible.

So do we want to do planning right here in the cabin or do we rp this scene?

Addy has several things to say, including asking if anyone can ward the group against prying ears...

Oh and I'm also fine with Belarin as spokes person.

[Darren]

Kal's got a ritual that can set up an alarm, but it's really on visual detection. Also, since all of our stuff is taken away, he's probably got no components....

[Jeff]

I'm obviously cool with all this. And in fact if you want to avoid doing the double the work, if you guys come to some consensus plan, you wouldn't always have to then act it out in the gameplay thread; we can summarize and move, and perhaps even link to a post here in this thread from there, for reference.

But...this sort of talking and agreeing out-of-character will only work if everyone does it. I'm not so sure that's going to be the case.

[Ken]

Regarding anti-surveillance techniques, yeah, as Darren pointed out, we're pretty much down to Perception checks vs. sensors right now. I don't think Larest will go that route right now, anyway. There are easier methods of keeping tabs on us. For instance, we've already heard that there are a total of 12 passengers that Z has paid for. Besides the six of us, there's Z, his necromancer wench, the minotaur, and possibly the gnome (although he seems more like part of the crew). That leaves two or three unaccounted for, possibly only one or two if Z paid upfront and expected to bag Varna as well. We know that Shorak isn't in the mix. So that leaves a couple of unknown elements.

My suggestion is that the group obeys the captain's orders about no violence, and even do a bit to prove ourselves useful during the voyage. (And since there's likely to be an encounter along the way, we should get that opportunity.) If we're to sway any of the crew to our side, we've got to wage and win a PR battle with Larest, who has a huge advantage in that a) he's rich, b) he's powerful, and c) he told his story to Morsha first.

...although based on Joe's last post, it doesn't seem that the PCs will get much aid in this from Streko d'Projectile.