DM themed play-by-post D&D game : OOC thread

[ian_scho]

Passin is for murdering Haynuus by the sound of it. But I wouldn't want to let the lad run around the dungeon with his arms tied behind his back

I think the half orc will be fine either way, so count his as a void vote! I think we should ask him what he wants to do though!

The only other thing to add is that we have the time for Helm to have many attempts at that difficult door - the healers are going to be mighty busy over an extended period of time.

[beowuuf]

Westian can throw around 10d6 healing every 15 minutes, and aurek can back him up. you guys are officially over worrying about healing...

providing a kind dm gives you half an hour to relax :p

[ian_scho]

Ahhh! That's plenty. Well, we can kick about for another update then - before moving on. That RA lock must surely be a beast to pick.

[beowuuf]

Especially if people accuse the poor nervous thief of stuff instead of helping

And 10d6 is on average 30hp. So yeah, one fighter at death's door...for now...would be back up and running each 15 mins

[Ameena]

Either that or Helm's getting crap rolls . I suppose no-one will necessarily think to ask Ameena about having a go. Hmm...mechanically, in DnD, you can just pick a lock whenever you like (as far as I know, anyway), and having a set of thieving tools on you just gives +2 to the roll (should you choose to use them - I think they get used up after one go but I'm not too sure) when picking a lock or disarming a trap. But RP-wise, that would be a bit weird, I mean, to magically pick a lock with nothing but your hands. A number of small bits of lock-pick-shaped stuff would probably have been among the trinkets Ameena might normally have carried around with her, should she happen to see reason to need to pick a lock. Of course, all she has now is her cloak (well, that's still on the floor from when Helm was sitting on it) and the stuff she picked up back in the equipment room near the start. I suppose she could just borrow Helm's gear for now, though, if she does end up having a go (and she's probably unlikely to think of offering to try, given her current train of thought), since I don't think even little murafu fingers are probably built to fiddle with the innards of a lock .

[beowuuf]

As I said in the post, he's taking 20. If this were a combat situation, he would be rolling each attempt but out of battle he'll keep trying until it's done or he gives up. And yeah, tools give you a +2, but they don't get 'used up'. And if you don't have tools, you can imagine you'd use anything to hand - a poor die roll could indicate you found nothing useful just as much as not actually succeeding. Daggers would be good at this point It's up to the DM to say if you could attempt a pick lock - if you wake up with no equipment in a barren cell, there might be an argument needed to prove you could pick the lock...

And if Ameena is going to wait to be asked to do stuff, she may as well be NPC'd now! And I imagine tiny fingers are exactly what would be needed for locks!

Anyway, Helm will either succeed or not, if not it sounds like the RA key will be offered. For now, waiting to see if Haynuus and Aurek will be adding anything, then will have Helm's reaction.

[beowuuf]

Ok, Westian/Aurek, seems to me that healing would manage to get most people well in the first round (or fully healed), with a second round letting everyone be at full health. You'd have one Westian LO VI flask (2d6 hp healing) and one Aurek LO Vi flask (1d6 hp healing) left over if you wanted it.

More importantly, everyone who wanted healing is at full health! All characters can get their full hit points again! And Helm will be looking significantly improved physically, even as he's being stressed emtoionally.

Westian and Aurek, feel free to roll me a perception or healing check if you suspect anyone would be holding out on healing.

[Lord_BoNes]

I'm up for having one 1st level healing flask. But I'd like to suggest that we wait until Westian can cast both his 2nd level healing flasks, and then we wait a little more until he can cast them again.

It'll be an advantage down the track... should we get jumped by Beo's death-squad

EDIT: By the way Beo, glass shatters when it changes temperatures suddenly. So the whole "I'm gonna super-heat and then super-cool this flask"... would have a "smash!!!" on the end

[beowuuf]

Never said the flask, said the air inside - or else his hand would be just as damaged And technically it would need to be heated air then cold glass. But yeah, it's not real world physics, of course, I guess I should have just said energised or something. I just like the idea of giving some pseudo-physical descriptions to get a sense of the mechanics of the world. I think of the magical energy more like electricity in a way (glass insulates, metal conducts) but it doens't have the DM feel saying it that way. Heat and cold still give the same idea, and in the case of what will happen the same feel of results, without it straying from acceptable fantasy terminology.

Similarly, the idea of the FUL spell will be invoking 'heat' into every mote of air around the caster, and it shining bright then slowly fading as it 'cools' down. Except in reality if you did that you'd get alot of ozone and be scalded by surrounded by hot air. Oh, and it would only be bright for a fraction of a moment. But I think it's an interesting way or presenting the mechanism, what the difference is between FUL and OH IR RA, and so forth. Plus introducing these hooks means you players can start intelligently trying to use a limited amount of powers and conditions

Hopefully everyone can get the shorthand to get a feel for the physics without it seeming odd and without it being confusing.

Obviously, if it doens't feel DM, then we can just handwave it, but I like the idea of the RPG also being a chance to try and sneak in some deeper descriptions of the workings of the world

[Lord_BoNes]

Hehehe... I was just having fun, poking holes in your story

As for the difference between FUL and OH IR RA... In DM the difference is obvious, OH IR RA only lights where you are, FUL lights the party itself... the definitions of the runes actually explains it:
FUL (fire) merely summons fire itself, DM portrayed this as "light". You could say the caster themselves are emitting light.
OH IR RA (air + motion + light) the air is pushed outwards from the caster's CURRENT location, and energised until bright.

Now here are my D&D definitions...
My D&D equivilent of FUL: a miniture fireball that hovers above the caster's head, on the end of a staff, etc. that slowly shrinks.
Spell radius: 5ft per spell level
Duration: 5 minutes per spell level

My D&D equivilent of OH IR RA: a burst of energised air (very bright, but only WARM to touch) that shockwaves outwards in EVERY direction, covering where it can go... up (decreases strength) and down (increases strength), snaking through corridors (flats walls or T-junctions halving the power but splitting it in 2 directions, corners simply changing its direction, and dead-ends bouncing it back)... increasing the strength means increased "push", not heat, with level 1 being a breeze and level 6 feeling like a fairly powerful gust... probably enough to will save or knock down small characters.
Spell radius: 10ft per spell level, decreasing its "effective" spell level by 1 every 10ft.
Duration: 5 rounds per "effective" spell level (a square hit with a level 1 spell lasts for 5 rounds, or 30 seconds... and a square hit with a level 2, would last 10 rounds, or a minute)

These are just my opinions, based on what I've read about the D&D mechanics (the air rushing through corridors is my addition, but I think that it honestly fits ) I also think that the idea of FUL being an actual "object" that floats around is a good idea... it might lead to some more interesting convos between Falkor and Ameena (Falkor having a mini-fireball floating around him would definately make her nervous)

[Ameena]

I think the constant "wind" from a Light spell would bug the hell out of her too, after a while of her whiskers being blown about and stuff - it'd be difficult to detect air currents and stuff in order to get direction of monster scents or whatever .

[beowuuf]

Lol, the trouble with making a physical object for FUL is then it can be used an abused. I don't mind leaving sneaky hooks incase healing suddenly gets yanked by a lack of items, but giving more offensive objects... not so much! Funny visual though, be interesting to have in a story.

Also, given the way DM worked, I think the OH version has to be the longer lasting, better version. To not complicate matters, I had FUL as the standard light spell centred on caster (imgining summoning 'fire' was heating, in a magical way, the air around the caster to glow) and OH as the longer lasting 'cast on anything and it follows that thing' spell.

Interesting ideas for the spells, but for now I think they'll be insubstancial and static affairs.

[Lord_BoNes]

It's all good. The wind wasn't meant as a constant thing. What I was meaning was "WOOSH!" followed by glow, with no more "WOOSHING" after that. And the mini-fireball wasn't meant as an item, I meant a static fireball that floats above the caster's head, and doesn't do anything else (except get dimmer).
They were just ideas... yes... ideas... that's it... I'd NEVER use those same ideas in my own little projects... hehehe

[beowuuf]

Then I have no respect for you as a player! If the fireball isn't hovering at chest height blocking an enemy, and you aren't arguing that if a 0 level spell can do damage, and this is a levelled spell, and since the IR part obviously just lets the fireball fly, so obviously walking into a fireball should still do 1d6 damage per spelllevel... you aren't trying hard enough!

Not that I'd argue such things as a player *shakes head*



Anyway, cool ideas, be very interested to see them implimented in a dungeon or game elsewhere. Plus there is always the rule of cool... see how things work out, maybe either / or would be fun when Falkor or someone else casts the spells.

[Lord_BoNes]

I can't help but think of Dragonball Z when I read my description of OH IR RA (the whole "ka.... WOOSH!!", then it knocks EVERYONE down... hehehe)

[beowuuf]

I will state catagorically right now, I am complete IN FAVOUR of the party stuffing Ameena into a small sphere and releasing her during combat with boss villains. "Mu-ra-fu! I choose YOU!"


As long as the sphere has air holes of course

[Lord_BoNes]

ROFL! I like that one! "Mura-mon... KILL THEM!"

[beowuuf]

Just a word to everyone, I'll let Helm's comments stand as the weekend update to see if money or Westian will molify the poor thief. Ameena's stepped in to defend her 'friend'. What Sir Farel's reactions are, what the soldier's comments on any final words are, and whether we'll ever get out of this tunnel shall be answered tomorrow evening, I hope

[beowuuf]

Depsite slipping in some NPC reactions either side, the Helm 'I can't get the door open' was the main update for tonight. Either time to go the other way, settle in while figuring out another plan, or of course heft up Ameena and try it. Or find that key?

Good luck!

[beowuuf]

Hmm, just waiting for LB to post (especially in reaction to letting Passin go, no other player seems to care about Westian's offer) and also I think Ameena can post again with an attempt to open the door if she wishes (remember most people - certainly Farel - will offer to help lift her). Please feel free to take as much narrative time as you want to do the attempt, instead of waiting for actually real time if so.

Anyway, update later tonight based on that. I might have to auto-pilot money tomorrow depending on what is going on.

[ian_scho]

Two things then!
1) I thought Haynuus had already picked up the strewn torches on the floor - check his backpack out!
2) Very happy to let Passin go. While I'd never have given him a sword... He's more than welcome to put the armour on!

[beowuuf]

Ooops, 1) rings a bell!
And 2) Interesting....remind him of his old life then give him the evil armour and let him go. I like it! Seriously, behind the scenes that a few interesting character beats for that NPC...

[Ameena]

Sooo, can you guess what Ameena's thinking?

[beowuuf]

It's still open if she wants to try and go that way, or at least jump through to talk to the bewildered soldier more. If Ameena jumps through, the group will probably need to be the ones to open the door again if she wants to go back because the keyholes are indeed on the opposite side and the switches this side. Everyone else has chosen their route, and Passin doens't seem inclined to talk to Ameena about any path though, then again that was to a brief question.

Oh, incase anyone cared, the DC on the RA keyhole was DC30. Not an easy task, as you might expect for the locks here. Ameena either needed a 20 / take 20 with a set of lock picks, or she needed one or more aid anothers. Helm's thievery was obviously lower, so even with lock picks he either needed help, or was never going to get it.

[ian_scho]

I'd keep publishing the maps in the story thread, tbh. I refer to them constantly when writing battle prose! Also it might be handy for the spectators who don't bother with this meta thread... It's your all good hard work man!

[beowuuf]

Oh, i'd still keep the changing battle maps in the IC thread, but the poverall maps get lost pretty easily in longer narrative. I'd probbaly put the other maps in the IC to start with, and 'archive' them in a map thread aswell so you can find them again fast.

[Ameena]

Yeah, a map thread would be good, I reckon .

[ian_scho]

Question: I may be imagining this, fantasising even, but can an exceptionally strong character wield a two handed weapon in one hand?... Just checked the d20 web site and it doesn't mention it!

[Ameena]

It might be a Feat or something - have you checked there?

[beowuuf]

Nah, not normally. Wielding a weapon two handed is as much about skill as it is about strength. A large creature can count a two handed weapon of a smaller size as a smaller size category

However.... in the d20 offshoot i played, one of the classes automatically got to wield a broadsword one handed, which makes me suspect that buried somewhere is a feat that lets you do this regardless of strength. So check out the feats for two handed weapon fighting, and I'll check out alternate sources of feat from other rulebooks, and if I find it I can make it available as a feat for you at if you want it

Edit: Double post