Chapter 17: Q&A / Discussion

[Jeff]

Use this place to argue, object to, or praise your fellow players and DM.

Incidentally...I came across this glossary entry in a book at work, part of the Irish Country Doctor series about a quaint little village in Northern Ireland and is chock-full of real-world colloquialisms.

To Elvis's credit. Does it have Canadian roots as well?

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[Elvis]

I got it from Dan Abnett and his Gaunt's Ghost series, which makes sense as he and the series are British in origin.

I have never heard it by a Canadian tho, even with our loyalist leanings.

[Brian]

I still think the variation is a great monster name.

[Dave B.]

"The Giant Feck from the Outer Planes!" I might have to create such a beast for one of my campaigns.

[Jeff]

Aug 25, 2019 12:17:18 GMT -4 Darren said:

Kal watches his friends negotiate with the xorn. It is ideal for any commander when he has a good team who can take care of things without needing to be told what to do. We simply nods in satisfaction.

You guys really don't need to make real-life conflicts alter character decisions and events. In fact, it kinda breaks me out of the story a bit when you do. But maybe that's just me.

This approach is perfectly fine for Kal, maybe even appropriate, but I know you were traveling and such, Darren—as you told us—and that's totally fine. You gave us a heads-up. No need to make that aspect work in the story. If you understand. Like there have been times when someone had to disappear for a few days (again, fine if you informed us) and then in-character that person mentioned "spacing out" for a while or whatever. 

Put another way, no need to justify in-game real-life absences. It just reads funny to me.

[Darren]

Yeah, understood. It was more that all the leadership type decisions were getting made without Kal's input and I just wanted to justify that in-game, as well. Normally Kal would stick his nose into everything.

[Dave W.]

I want to quickly point out that asking "What could go wrong?" is different that saying to the DM "I dare you to make something go wrong..."

[Jeff]

But both of those play second fiddle to the more legendary, "What's the worst that can happen"?

[Jeff]

Aug 29, 2019 13:01:41 GMT -4 Elvis said:

Thul starts his circuit around the chamber. He follows the wall around from the north to the south, walking behind the dais.

Is this independent movement? Just seeing if the party is okay with moving out of formation.

[Brian]

Melethos, being a military, chain-of-command kind of tiefling, prefers people stay in formation. Thul has shown no inclination or desire to work as a team, so Mel isn't surprised, nor will he take issue with the good captain's wandering. As Mel's mentor, Lorjad, would put it: dude's gonna do what the dude's gonna do.

[Elvis]

How long would you suggest we stand in formation waiting for something to happen?

[Brian]

Aug 29, 2019 13:55:27 GMT -4 Elvis said:

How long would you suggest we stand in formation waiting for something to happen?

Sadly, play-by-post is inherently slower than regular tabletop gaming. If we were all gathered around a gaming table (and man would that be fun!), this whole formation/break ranks question would've been answered in a few minutes. This is my view on DE: everyone deserves a right to some input before we do something that could get us into a confrontation or effect the party as a whole. If I have a sense we're at some critical point, I prefer to wait for more input from the other PCs. But that's me. I assumed, Elvis, that you'd have Thul go off on his own, and I'm fine with it. That's Thul's personality. It's cool. I wasn't complaining, just giving Melethos's POV and hopefully answering Jeff's question.

[Darren]

Aug 29, 2019 14:04:40 GMT -4 Brian said:

Aug 29, 2019 13:55:27 GMT -4 Elvis said:

How long would you suggest we stand in formation waiting for something to happen?

Sadly, play-by-post is inherently slower than regular tabletop gaming. If we were all gathered around a gaming table (and man would that be fun!), this whole formation/break ranks question would've been answered in a few minutes. This is my view on DE: everyone deserves a right to some input before we do something that could get us into a confrontation or effect the party as a whole. If I have a sense we're at some critical point, I prefer to wait for more input from the other PCs. But that's me. I assumed, Elvis, that you'd have Thul go off on his own, and I'm fine with it. That's Thul's personality. It's cool. I wasn't complaining, just giving Melethos's POV and hopefully answering Jeff's question.

I have nothing to add to this, because Brian said it perfectly.

[Elvis]

If there is something else you think we need to do before we walk behind the dais, Thul will stop and wait. He is not unreasonable. 

[Brian]

Nah, let's go with the flow. Thul started what would've been done anyway.

Also, I think some of this is new guy syndrome. We've all played together for years and have gotten to know how each other runs their characters. We're simply learning more about Thul and how you plan to play him. It'll all be fine. Like I said, it's cool.

[Elvis]

Without the benefit of magic, someone is going to need to give the all clear.

Finesse is not needed yet, so Shorak can sit back. Thul is well suited for blundering.

[Darren]

Agreed. You did exactly what everyone else was going to do...we were just all being polite and waiting for the next person to start it. It's all good, my friend.

[Dave W.]

Sorry, I'm confused...

Aug 29, 2019 16:14:49 GMT -4 Jeff said:

Thul, Melethos, Kal, and Belarin (all moving at the front half of the arrow formation) are the first to see ...

Adamant, Streko, and Shorak, at the same time, ... Motion of someone or something entering the area from behind the party,

The arrow "head" should be Melethos, Kal, Thul, and Adamant. The "shaft" is Streko, Shorak, and Belarin. Plus Adamant went up to shed light behind the dais so the humans can see back there. I think Adamant and Belarin should be swapped...

Or maybe I missed something?

[Jeff]

Sorry, right. Swap Belarin with Adamant in this case. I’ll update soon.

[Brian]

I'm waiting for Jeff to resolve Big Red's (presumably) failed Intelligence Check before I post next.

[Jeff]

I know Dave’s been out of town, but I’m waiting for him first. You guys asked Shorak to check the backpack first. He’s had no chance to report on checking for danger around it first (a very limited prospect when he can only look at the ground)—yet you’ve moved on with picking it up and now rifling through it?

So I want to give him a chance to weigh in before moving in (starting with Melethos)...

[Dave W.]

Sept 4, 2019 23:28:25 GMT -4 Joe said:

Now I know...after so many years doing this, you'd think I would have had to roll something with advantage on my own, but this was the very first time. I am no longer an advantage/disadvantage virgin. :-)

Welcome to the club!

What I do for advantage is:
Dice code for advantage: #2d20h1+4

And disadvantage:
Dice code for disadvantage: #2d20l1+4

The "h1" tells rolz to keep the highest die. The "l1" says keep the lowest one.

[Joe]

Thanks for the tip, Dave!

[Brian]

Yes, thanks, Dave. I never knew about that formula.

[Brian]

Sept 9, 2019 10:04:39 GMT -4 Darren said:

Kal watches Adamant disappear, his outstretched hands useless to stop it. He stands frozen for a minute. "Shit," he finally says. He turns to face his friends. "Now what? We can no longer search the pack. So...do we break the mirrors and risk trapping them in there forever, if that's how it works, or do we follow them in knowing that we all may be lost forever? Or do we just wait?"

Oh my, Kalarian has turned into such a potty mouth.

[Dave W.]

The stress of leadership is getting to him...

[Dave B.]

It feels weird reading the main thread. Almost like peeking in on a private thread.

[Dave W.]

I can't wait for the main thread to be empty... that will be really weird...

but this is fantastic. I'm enjoying the heck out of my personal thread.

[Brian]

I'm enjoying Mel's private thread stuff too. Great writing on Jeff's and my part, if I may be so bold. But I'd like to thank Jeff and the incredible amount of work he must have put into creating, what I'm assuming, are seven separate private encounters. My head hurts at the time he must have put into this.

[Jeff]

Sept 11, 2019 15:15:13 GMT -4 Darren said:

I feel an inexplicable pull from fate (the strong hand of the DM) pulling me in this direction, so I guess I can't fight it any longer....

Kal is compelled to look away, to study his friends' faces instead of his own. But he knows that in order to seek out his missing friends, he must continue down this path. He looks more closely at this false Kalarian, knowing that it is simply a vision and not reality....

No, no, no. This isn't (and rarely is there) a situation where you should do something just because you think I'm trying to get you do it. You can have Kal refrain from looking at all, or keep looking but keep making saving throws indefinitely, as you wish.