Forum: Public Forum

I do have your home number and we have since spoken. However you did not vote Bruce. If you are away next week then perhaps it is best for the wee ones, as Sylvie is easier for me to play than the complex Ratsel.

As it stands it's 2-0 in favour of the Wee 'uns.

Hmm.... I would have quite liked to play Lupa this week, but if the vote is turning against me, I don't mind.

Bruce, are you aware that you can re-charge the batteries in mobile phones? (It is also possible to get some that will take AAA batteries, so you can replace them, but they tend to be fairly crap at doing anything but work as a phone.)

Or is it just that technology hates you? or are you one of those folks that is always dropping yours down the toilet?

Len

no he fireballs them...

I'm happy to play Jean-Luc.

I hope good holidays were had all round.

Richard

"My friends, once again we've run into the arms of the law, and blown them off. There is a problem here. Some fought, others sought to desist. Barry's use of gasesous form was excellent. The evidence dissipated into the air. In this light perhaps we had no need to fight, and should have done as Tyler suggested."

"I can understand why some fought. In Brolin surrender placed some of our number in a most terrrible position. I think it is for those who are wiser than I to decide what to do when the situation arises again. But, we need to formulate a plan now and stick to it."

"I have one suggestion to offer. Perhaps others have alternatives. This is what I propose. The thirteen Animals (including Thelonius), for now, are on board the Red Charlotte. We remain on ship seeking one key at a time. However, when we land a group go ashore to further our cause. The rest remain on board and their role is to rescue the adventurers should they become trapped in some way. In that way those who are are directly furthering our cause can reasonably expect rescue should they become ensnared by the law. Familiars, magic, or gasesous form could be used to communicate should the lead group get into trouble. I also think the second group needs to be strong. We need balance in both groups."

"Has anyone else any ideas?"

Ratsel

Excellent, newbies it is. I'll get my b*tch-head on.

Bruce

Having a rescue or "get out" plan in place seems like an excellent idea. And I wholeheartedly agree that balance is key. We need an even mix of talk and fight in both parties. However an overall plan for "in case this happens again" is unlikely to work I fear. Every situation and enemy is different. However a couple of overall plans like "quietly" "visible" "aggressive" with knowledge that anyone can call a change of plan at any time, but everyone knows the aim of each mission.

Tyler

I'm fine with that Ratsel and will go in which ever party needs me at the time. Lets not group one as the "keys" party and the other as the "rescue" party for all missions, as I can imagine (with the greatest of respect to everyone on board) that someone will get board and mess with the plan! Maybe we swap the parties about depending on location, enemy and type of mission. I for instance am no good in an out and out fight but can get us to places very quietly if needed, or indeed convince someone we did nothing wrong!

L

Hi Ash,

Agreed - mix-and-match. I'm not always going to play Ratsel (despite the fact he is very, very cool). Indeed, it may well be better to have an evoker in reserve (prison escape: "you're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off" ). I also think it would be fine for players to take more than one of their characters ashore in some circumstances (if you know what I mean), retaining a reserve of 4-5 PCs.

All that accepted, I do feel our characters need to stop killing the Law. Putting my meta-gaming hat on I think the Tea-Maker takes a dim view of it. Tyler was right.

I do like the fact that all our higher-level characters are ship-based now, meaning we can all individually choose who we want to play each Thursday.

Back to work.

Bruce

So it would seem that the majority vote goes with the lower level characters (sorry Leah!)

I will put the plans in motion.

Btw, the TM does take a dim view of the slaying of the law, no matter how corrupt they may be. I have taken steps to ensure that it will not be as easy next time.

I think I tried to imitate Bruce today.

No, I have not planned Pandora's character to 20th level. I left my damned phone at home.

Len

May Kord watch over the the little one and give them str which they most likely need for thursday

Good session last night. Do you think we're still on the Island?

Bruce

No Sylvie, I think we were moved to somewhere in Palanthia. Instinct tells me Bandaluthia, but that was just the nature of the questioning. I was asked how I came here in a manner that made me think "here" was Bandaluthia. However I do not think I was in this same complex when I was interrogated. I think this complex is specifically for testing our loyalty and ability.

We know we were duped into destroying those monuments by someone who did not have the interests of our patrons at heart, but who appeared to represent one of our patrons. I believe we did a fairly good job, despite it being against out patrons wishes, and though they are angry with us for destroying them, they are not unaware that we achieved much. We are being tested. Perhaps to discover how good we are. These tests challenge us, and could prove fatal if we were weaklings.

Which reminds me. I was paralysed, not unconscious. I saw you throwing other people's daggers around. You should learn to do it properly once we are through this. I shall help you if you wish, but I prefer not to throw mine away. If you ever steal mine, you damned well better kill something with it.

The group that stopped us, the group my brother is leader of, could probably have destroyed us. Why would they send my brother and so leave us alive if they are just going to kill us all now? Yet he was not mentioned in my interrogation, he would surely have known the answers to the questions asked of me. I was asked if I was sent from Asmodeus. Unless they already knew my family history, that is indeed a strange question.

Pandora.

No.

Len

Pandora,

I thought we did well. But, the people who we have crossed are not interested in our effort, but results. I think we're on the edge of a precipice.

Converning the knife I'm just better throwing a knife than getting up-close-and personal with our enemies. I feel I can pick a target better when they're not in my face. Any suggestions you have will be gratefully received. In particular I want to know how to pick a weak spot on an unaware target.

I thought your brother was awesome and I think he's the most powerful wizard in the World. I really love him, as everyone does.

I know nothing of the Lords of Hell, Pandora. What is Tiefling anyway? You mentioned the curse and I can see the horns and tail, but we don't get many of them in the forest I was brought up in.

Sylvie

My brother must have good friends looking after him. I know he could never keep his belongings safe when we were in Hartoria. I was forever taking them to keep them safe for him. I suppose he has someone else do that now. The only things he cared for were his red baubles and learning more magic. He had me on an errand to get more rubies for him when the Paladins of St Cuthberts struck. Did you not see the gem he had stuck to his forehead? He is so vain, I wonder no one has taken his head in order to steal the gem from him. He surely must have efficient guards.

Horns and a tail might make me look part fey in your eyes Sylvie, but you would be quite wrong. We are not usually found prancing around in a forest glade on a summer night. A Tiefling is part devil. Do you not smell brimstone?

Many generations ago, if the stories my family tell are true, my distant ancestor sired a child with the daughter of Asmodeus. I never used to believe those stories. My brother was always proud of his relationship to the Lords of Hell. I am not sure I am. It leads to the curse.

I used to think those stories were told to boost the reputation of our line. The stories of Tieflings rising from the dead were also another aspect. Called the curse in our family, it was told that some in our line had that power. We could not be killed by mere mortal harm. This too was frequently told, I always believed it was to frighten our enemies and small children. A lie used to bolster our reputation.

However, what happened on the island has convinced me I really have the curse. When the monument blew up and we all dropped a great distance down, only Kharkin and I awoke. I believe he knows that simply being lain on solid rock cured his wounds. I saw the terrible damage done to my leathers. My leg must have been almost severed by such damage. You saw what my leathers looked like, do you think I had any right to be alive after such damage? No. You simply accepted that I was alive and must be lucky.

All my life I have been a fast healer. Cuts heal quickly. I have always been lucky in that respect. I have the curse. I suffer the pain of wounds that should kill me, yet I live to suffer again. According to the legends, my heart should remain in my body, and my head should remain attached to my neck, and provided these things are true, I will recover in time. I will be dead, yet I will rise again. Do you not think this a terrible curse?

If I am killed, do not leave my body. Do not bury me. Or burn me. Do not let anyone remove my heart or head. If there is danger or harm to be faced, it should be I who face it, for the wounds heal. But make no mistake, the wounds still hurt.

Pandora.

Pandora, Sylvie,

Perhaps if there is harm or danger we should try and find another way around. There are many tales the bards tell of adventurers who resort to battle as the first answer. Their tales are the ones where they end up dead! While I am a capable warrior, and hold the hammer of Moradin with a pride you cannot understand war is not the only answer, something I fear our cleric of Kord will not understand...

Bandaluthians,

it seems we have had a sticky time last night. 4 of the 6 characters died in a test which was not explained to you, because of the circumstances on how you came to be there.

I know you were all duped into the monuments being blown up. It is only because of this your lives were spared. So, you were put into the Guild test arena to prove your worthiness to the powers that be. Unfortunately your were not successful and all but died. Kharkin was spared because of his "divine" heritage.

Sylvie had opted out, (purely because Bruce was not there to play her last night) and Sylvie also had a get out clause to which the other players were not privvy too. I will point out here that there are other characters within this game who have struck deals, which may not be beneficial to the other characters, but is a secret between each individual character and the people they deal with.

Now had Kharkin been a regular dwarf, he'd have surely died too. Kharkin is not a regular dwarf. The other dwarves within the game view Stone dwarves as almost mythical beings, to which deserve respect. After all each has felt the hand of Moradin. So it was made apparent to him that Sylvie lived and had joined the more nefarious side of the Guild. It may appear that Sylvie saved herself to the detriment of the others. Had Bruce have played last night, then I am sure that Sylvie would have stayed with the group. This may not have affected the overall outcome at all.

I will also like to point out that there have been NO underhand deals made to wipe out other characters. Characters, and not just Sylvie, have taken steps to improve their standing, but not to kill the others.

As I DM, I do not like to kill off characters. I have always stated that stupidity kills characters and I point to the Shaniqua vs troll to iterate that. Now whilst I say this, the actual plan for Milo to run up the round pyramid was not exactly stupid (despite trying to ignore the hobgoblin obstacles and then blindly run the other 3 steps) doing it with 7 hit points was. As soon as Milo had been taken down, you were all doomed to fail.

I apologise for any emotional trauma for the loss of characters last night.

Having thought hard about why it made me feel so bad, after all I didn't lose a character I have come to the following conclusion:

It seems that last night was the first time in any game I have played where it was very much us VERSUS the DM and the DM won. This is because it feels as though the characters who died never stood a chance. They were a pawn to a story end which could have been served by an NPC. Being set up to blow up the monuments is one thing, but being killed because we blew them up feels very different. An NPC duped us into blowing them up, DM made it so we had blown two of them up before help arrived, then an NPC blew the third one up. We then get punished for doing this, which in itself is ok but to lose lives feels very wrong when the characters were doomed to that fate from the beginning. The "be thankful your lives were initially spared" feels like it adds insult to injury because the characters were set up! It wasn't stupidity or lack of teamwork that led to their demise, it was situations way out of their control. To compound the issue Bruces character gets a free pass because of a deal he made, which again in isolation is not a problem but meant another persons character dies while she wasn't there. It feels like Bruce and I were never really in any danger, while the others were never safe. After all it wasn't the bugbears which killed Milo it was a malicious Molotov cocktail thrown after we scrambled to stabilise him on -9. Last night we actually worked as a team, we discussed plans, stuck to them but we were always going to fail. I couldn't get involved being the character I was, and to be fair on an 8 AC had I have tried I would have been slaughtered in a couple of rounds anyway. It leaves a very bitter taste which I'm sorry to say leaves me wondering if it is a game I can continue to play. had that have been Tyler or Elle I would have been livid. And I'm sorry to everyone that Kharkin survived while beloved characters died.

Maybe a few days will see me feel less raw about it and then I imagine Kharkin to put a group together to chase down the elf who left them, and by all accounts was looked to stab everyone in the back anyway and put an end to a future murderers career. He will look to inform the two who he met on the island of their sisters demise and will play up the role of the elf in that to try and ensure they are on board with hunting the elf. And will then look to lend service to the Bandaluthian Guard in seeking out the assassins guild, and dispatching them providing the death of a certain elf comes at this hands. She survived the noose once, she will not survive the next.