Main / PC-2011

Player Communication Archive of 2011

There is a new update for the DSWorld Google Earth plug-in that is available on the Campaign World page. It includes updates on the tribal areas of Everreach as well as complete adventure markers for adventures updated through the end of Witch Hunters.

The local Roads & Paths are updated on the map as well to include appropriate links.

BOB

I think the Regatta di Peipus went well, it was a nice race and a good change of pace for everyone.

The Party Pack is updated as of the end of the night with the expenses taken out for repairs and trips and guides. I think everyone should double check the In Character and Out of Character pages on Flower Power and add any notes there.

I think you should decide what out of that you will be taking with you on this next journey. Coins will not be worth much on this trip. You can exchange them for beads, shells, trinkets if you wish or Gems or other items. You will need coins for the mules, the guides will take payment in kind on the way back (30 more GP) or you can pay them when you get back with coins.

We pick up with final prep to start the next session, then head out Crossing the Bridge and up the cliff face.

Remember you are stepping off the edge of the world. This is an area that the players have never adventured in and the culture is very different than what you are used to. It should be fun and interesting.

When the group returns to Rivers Bend I might run that party story on the way back to the Jistille Estates.

BOB

So Lisa, Guy and Marco at a minimum for Friday after Thanksgiving. I will run the Regatta first as soon as we get three or four people in.

Then a quick party story to wrap up the night.

BOB

I will be off on friday so i will be able to play again

Guy

So updating things from earlier notes: Nov 18 11

Dec 02 11?? 7-3-340 SKR Koorin finshes training, everyone leaves for Flower Power

Hey folks! So it's been a while since I've been around but I thought I'd at least say hello, see who all is around that might remember me.

Jess

The auditions are continuing, we will have new and old players returning over the next couple of story arcs.

We just completed the Pirate Queens story arc and will be doing some roleplaying and training for the next two sessions. Then we start on Witch Hunters before more training and then off to Flower Power. The two adventures and training will take us to the next year both in game time and real time.

So that we have a time line to click through things faster:

Oct 21 11 - 4-9-339 SKR

Oct 28 11

Nov 04 11 through Nov 18 11??

Nov 18 11

Dec 02 11?? 7-3-340 SKR Koorin finshes training, everyone leaves for Flower Power

Of course we can add in additional trainings in the second half after Witch Hunters if needed.

It will be a fun few weeks.

BOB

We should have two new players this Friday.

There is a list of things to talk about also with where the story lines go next.

The key dates everyone should know:

Is is currently : 1-9-339 SKR {Calendars will explain the date system} you need to be in Outreach to go out onto the Great Plains to get the blooms you need for Flower Power. Flower Power - Out of Character Discussions lists the months you need to be there on. It is 137 miles up the cliff face and across the upper plateau which will take you six days to reach Outreach. Some of that travel is by mule/donkey some by horses that you will have to arrange at some point.

We should have a lot of fun with the next couple of small story arcs. Finishing Pirate Queens with adventuring in Rivers Bend and starting Flower Power; plus potential story arcs of Witch Hunting near Budgeford on the Water? (which can help pay for Koorins training) and once you get back to Drillian there will be a short Burst of Building to finish off the existing favors. We should be busy for a while I would say.

BOB

so do we get a bonus for actually winning the race? as well as a bonus for getting the bowl of air AND capturing one of the pirate queens? and im talking lots of platinum and lots of magic items of course lol

I think this year's BOB's Birthday Game went very well. Everyone was engaged and added to the festivities. It was good to see old faces and new faces mix and to see people like Dee, Guy and Marco start the day and come back to finish the day.

The race went exceedingly well for your team and overall I was happily surprised at the capture of one of the Pirate Queens.

It looks like we will try an experiment with two players trying out Kobold characters starting next session. It will be interesting.

We will be keeping to the Pirate Queens story arc for now until training issues and organzational things for the group are all cleared away. Then off to search the Great Plains of Everreach for Flower Power.

BOB

thanks and i got a bit of awesome news i will actually be able to play on the 2nd after all, ill just be in after 7 but i will be playing.

Happy Birthday Guy!

BOB

Birthday season is upon us!

Happy Birthday to Kaz!

BOB

Happy Birthday to Lisa.

We do need to find a way to celebrate these for everyone.

BOB

6/14

Good to see you, John! I do always feel that you are out there but it is good to know.

Lisa

6/11

I feel for Kaz, it took me a long time to read, even longer to post when I stated my break. (Does that imply I'm comming back?) When the latest discusion started I wanted to comment but felt it should be handled with the current group, I still feel I have nothing to add.

But I hsd to smile at Lisa's comment of me and let her know I'm stll here.

John

9 June

I was done with what I had to say, but for one thing, Bob. I'm seriously annoyed about your comment about bringing up Witch Kulgarth and rehashing it after all this time. FFS, I was answering a question you asked me.

And now I'm really done. Seriously. I'm not even looking at this page again until I'm ready to come back.

Kaz

June 8th -- Lisa

Wow! There is a lot here. My turn to add to the pile.

First off, I am sorry for my disruption last week. I did not expect it to go that way. I personally was upset about five different things at the same time and I was feeling rushed about making the decision about what to do with Branwyn. 1. I did and do not believe Guy should have had to roll for Foriso’s life after not having been in for the past 3-4 sessions. If he was behind after that long he should have had the choice of being on our boat and rolling for plague or being behind and either still in Loosend or on another boat. With our delays, it would not be hard for him to catch up to us. Instead he got a welcome back, now roll the dice and see if you die. Tis not a fun or welcoming prospect. 2. I will give Bob that Foriso was not immune, but it WAS confusing after so much time had gone by and Guy and I spent a good portion of the night looking back at old chat logs trying to figure it out instead of focusing on what we were doing right then. 3. When Kristelle rolled for her life she had a 65 to beat and rolled a 64 to survive. Therefore, I thought plague survival rolls were low. So when I rolled my miserable little number I thought I was fine and then was told wrong, you’re dead. But what about what happened when Kaz rolled? That was low. And I was told, didn’t I see the chat above before Guy rolled? Well no, Bob, I was desperately reading old chat logs for information from the last time around. 4. The clue from Ancien did not make sense to me and so instead of helping, it was confusing an already difficult decision for me – see Marco’s comments on that and 5. Then there was the favor thing. Mike, I’m sorry. I really have to learn how to deal with those comments cuz they are just killing me. Perhaps a bottle of Jack Daniels next to the computer. Every time someone says something like this:

mikE] yeah. we're still crappy mercenaries
[mikE] any way you slice it
[Master] well you have this favor for the Temple and the Flower Power story arc for the favor for Ancien
[Master] then there is nothing that anyone owes anyone
[mikE] that's for the ranger training or the swordsmaship? \\ [Master] saving Foriso's life
[Master] during the plague
[mikE] man! what a gyp!
[Master] he had the wasting sickness was going to die before the paladins could get there
[mikE] so?
[Master] so the group got Ancien to give him a potion to stave that off
[mikE] i'd have let him die

Then I will do a shot. We’ll see if that helps. And if I say something anyway, please just tell me to be quiet and move forward. Problem solved. I really don’t want to talk about it anymore. I just put that up there so you can see what kinds of things were running through my head that night and why I did not want to deal with it.

Bob, I understand that you were not happy that I did not want to bring Branwyn back. But it is not Guy and Mike’s job to convince me to bring her back. If you wanted me to reconsider, you should have said that. Besides, everyone was dealing with their own issues at the time. I was just being more verbal in the chat room. I do think you are being out of line about Guy and Mike not saying anything and not showing some understanding that there was confusion and unhappiness about the situation in the first place. They were upset, I was upset, and they did not deal with me. It’s okay! I really think you need to back off the no comment issue and maybe even apologize…

No matter what the justifications were story-wise, I think we were all blind-sided to come in to this last week. So when Scarlet did not make her roll to come back, I was floored and by then Marco had calmed me down (thank you, btw) and I was feeling at a loss as to what to do with Indigo if I made another character, I rolled at Marco’s hypothetical suggestion to do so and brought Branwyn back in the end. I hope we can just move on from there.

Regarding Bob’s latest post, I think we are digging in and slowly getting ourselves into something that will be hard to dig out of unless we all bend a little. I am ready to start drinking and am asking for people to tell me to shut up. Who’s next?

Bob, you really do put incredible amounts of time, thought and effort into this game and I am so appreciative of all that you do to try to make Friday nights fun for us. From the amazing maps, the variety of characters and personalities in your NPCs to the complicated story lines. Running a Holmes-style mystery and making it work is impressive to say the least. You do not run a simple game where we just go around killing things. It takes serious roleplay and finesse to deal with what is put in front of us. Unfortunately, we are also being asked to have good memories. Not all of us can come in after work on Fridays completely up to speed and thinking about all the backstory, etc. Marco was not here for the early adventures with this group; Mike came back after a time away, etc. It is hard for us to know and/or remember and keep track of everything and then be responsible for them. I’m not asking for a ton of slack here, just maybe a little more understanding and a little less blame. For instance,

Please be fair on the timing issue. When Foriso’s mentor mentioned when the Vanity was arriving, only Guy and I were in game and it wasn’t a date in the immediate future, at least as far as I could tell. This was the first time Branwyn had seen Foriso’s mentor and she was angry that he had sent his protégé on a near suicide mission with a bunch of double-dealing evil snake men. High level? Yes, she realized that. Trustworthy? She wouldn’t trust him as far as she could throw him. Please don’t post that Foriso’s mentor is highly trustworthy and everyone should know that. Now, out of character. Bob, you had told me that you had a pirate adventure planned out for Kristelle’s favor a long time ago. I imagined that when the time was right and we had finished other things we were doing, that adventure would simply fall into place. Right after we got the favor, Kaz and I started asking people about the Vanity. No one had any info so we just stopped asking and got caught up in all our other adventures. Is that really so wrong? Technically speaking, all we learned from Foriso’s mentor was when the Vanity would be docking. He never mentioned how long they would be staying. Rivers Bend is a big city with trade, and I am assuming our pirate wenches might have some loot they may wish to unload, supplies to gather for the next trip, etc. Would it be that much of a stretch that the ship might still be docked when we arrived?

I think we all could do a bit more thinking during the game. Indigo failed his knowledge roll and so did not pick up on the plague. But even though I said it was a trap along with Mike right when we heard about the ship, did either of us make an observation roll while we were helping unload the ship and were watching bodies tumble off into the river? No we didn’t; and yes we should have. If John is reading this from somewhere out there, you have permission to laugh at me, but yes I think we might need to be a bit more careful. Yes, I am willing to try to add caution to the mix. If I can remember before I do something stupid. And when roleplay gets one of us into trouble, we need to suck it up and fix it one way or another. Not necessarily playing nice with everyone, but fix it nonetheless.

It would be really nice to see everybody on Friday night. We can’t do anything about what has already happened, but it is possible to get back on a boat and head down the river and see what happens. Besides after Koorin, how can anyone not want to see what Marco has up his sleeve for his new character?

June 8

Taking time to think though my response.

To Marco's comment on the types of plague/disaster there are already those out there. I hesitate to give more details than to say that the group already knows about them. This falls more into the problem of getting the hints from Ancien about the Grey Death. The players do not figure it out, I try not to bring them up constantly, and when people get frustrated at the outcome I get told you did not have any hints.

To Kaz's comment on Lisa's choice. Yes she is the only one who can make that choice. When she stated what it was and why she made that choice (because of feeling picked on about the favors) I asked directly for comments. Marco responded, Mike and Guy chose not to. Saying "I have no comment" is not a valid response. If anyone thinks that is then you should be in politics. The quote from Guy listed below from Kaz is relevant and would have been responded to if he had stayed. Lisa responded after he left in fact.

Bringing up the Witch Kulgarth debate again does not help. If someone really has a problem with how something was handled in July of 2010 and want to rehash it again in June of 2011 I do not think there is any way of changing your mind. How many tens of thousands of words have been written in the meantime.

The Foriso being immune comment. One line only says he was immune and that was right after he had been healed from a different disease. Every word from that point on for over 6 months talking about the Grey Death has been consistent. At any point over that time Guy or anyone could have brought up the idea that wait Foriso is immune based on this one line you said before.

The idea of being flexible and the hammer hanging over people's heads is totally separate from these issues.

I am flexible and do change things. You were given this quest/favor on 16-6-338 SKR and it is now 17-8-339 SKR, more than a year later. Should this story arc be kept the exact same as it was for characters of the level you were back then? Or should it be relevant to the character level you are when you actually get around to fulfilling your word? Do not try to say "we were busy with other favors", this one came before those, you made a conscious choice to ignore/put off this one over those others.

Should I be flexible on specific dates? You have a high level extremely trustworthy NPC who has knowledge that helps you and you know is right. He tells you that such and such will happen and it does. Every time he has told you something. So I should change the date the ship will be in port because the group can not get there in time. When they had half a year to make the 14 day trip. What part of suspending belief is better? That you can instantly travel anywhere you want to go when you want to go there when it suits you? Or that a NPC you trust can be depended on for all information and is never wrong, except when it helps the group out so they can have an easier time with the adventure?

I can hear and agree with the comment that the players are here to play heroes/protagonists without needless reality. But this has never been a 'supers' game where the main characters never die and when they do suffer defeats they always mange to survive though some deus ex machina. There are consequences to your actions. The group makes choices and then moves forward in the world formed by those actions.

This also falls under the idea of "BOB's Plans". I have only semi-forced one adventure on the group and that was the Elementary story arc so that the group could A - do a favor to earn free training and B - learn more about a strange new city you were visiting for the first time. Other than that everything is just reacting to the choices the group makes.

I am not looking backwards to find things that have consequences. Each of these is in the last two months of game play, the previous two story arcs.

I beleive the quality of the Adventures is getting better still. The danger level is appropriate for the character's level and the stories all are relevant to the histories of the characters. I like to think that I can also create interesting NPCs and complex story lines that are more than just "he did X so he is evil and must die".

There has been exactly 1 NPC (the Prince) who was not immediately pleasant to the group in the past five story arcs and prior to that only the Evil Priest in the Skull Church catacombs that tried to actively harm you. That is a stretch a year and goes all the way back to the Witch Kulgarth from July of 2010. When we had a disagreement about that encounter all agreed it was the first problem with an NPC since the restart of the campaign at the beginning of 2010.

I can say that I like the current group of players with Lisa, Kaz, Guy, Mike and Marco. I think that when you are all in and all committed to playing together and helping each other things go very well. When people get distracted by other website or do not pay attention to the chat room and what is happening there are problems. When people are interested in the characters and what is happening to them things are great. Marco's fun post to help introduce Koorin, Lisa's posts with Indigo & Sandeford were both excellent roleplay that helped round out what happens on Friday nights.

Yes there are still quests/favors/adventures "hanging over the player's heads" at this point. You have to finish the Pirate Queens adventure to complete the favor for Kristelle, you have to finish the Flower Power adventure to complete the favor for Foriso (from Ancien), you have to do the adventure for the Kayugan Church to complete the favor for Branwyn, you have several more favors for Foriso for previous training from his mentor, you have favors for Imari for his previous training.

Then you will incur more favors for future trainings for both of them. There will be a favor needed for Indigo to get his Weapon Mastery training eventually, and I am confident that you will end up accruing more favors in the future.

These talks I hope help everyone clarify what is happening.

BOB

6 June

The question is NOT taken out of context. The context was exactly as shown. We asked if he was now immune and you said YES. That you later changed your answer is one of the things that sometimes bugs the heck out of me.

Marco has stated one of the things I have not been able to put in words, one of the things that has made me dread playing. Yes, a modicum of realism does make for a rich game world. But... well, just read everything he says about it and know that I agree.

As far as Lisa's decision about whether or not to bring Branwyn back, it is and should only have been just that: LISA's decision. Why would (or should) Marco or Mike or Guy have ANY input into that? It falls into forcing a person to play or not play a character the way they want to. Only Lisa could make that decision.

With regard to your statement - "Guy may or may not have complained directly about doing favors..." I take umbrage. Guy NEVER complains/complained about doing favours. Your comment about having to make a choice and say something or sit silent and allow belief is a bullshit statement. GUY DID SAY SOMETHING. ([Foriso Fairhand (Guy)] the only complaining ive done has been about my characters cicumstance. i havent complained about anybody else nor about favors.) YOU IGNORED HIM. So he left.

I'm assuming missing the date to Rivers Bend happened when I wasn't there. I'm not sure where the party is right now and what their purpose for being there is. But, to be completely and utterly honest, I really don't care. I don't think anyone really wants to stay safe at Orchard House. But I think there are so many things to remember - what date we need to do this by and what date we need to be there... I get enough of that crap in real life. I don't need rigid timelines when I'm trying to enjoy myself. I shouldn't need a date book to play a game. You're the freaking GM. We missed a date? CHANGE IT. You have the discretion to do so. But I know you won't, Bob. That requires a certain degree of flexibility that I haven't been seeing lately.

Now to answer what you asked of me on the other site.

When Mike was upset, it was because of the fact that he roleplayed his ass off with the witch (and seriously, how often had he been roleplaying THAT hard during that time?) and it was never acknowledged. I think he felt like there was no dealing with that NPC at all unless we buckled under, acted like something we're not, and did what you wanted with regards to the witch. It was NOT because of any other player. It was because of you.

Guy was upset for exactly the reasons I stated in my post. It was NOT because of any other player. Bob, it was because of you.

I've been feeling lately like you make plans about how you want something to happen, and then if we don't play that way you try to do the worst thing you can think of to hurt us for it. I refuse to play with a sledgehammer hanging over me. It's gotten to the point where this doesn't even feel like a game any more. It's not fun for me. Roleplaying and figuring things out with Lisa and the rest of the group has been one of the high points for me. I wish things were different, but I doubt they will change at this juncture.

Kaz

6-6

The quotes there were taken a little out of context. Lisa was afraid of bringing back Branwyn for fear of hearing the group complain about favors owed. At least in the time I have been playing, I havent seen too much complaining about favors from anyone myself, though I am sure it has happened in the past. It is kind of the point of players to complain about each new way the DM screws them over. It just so happens that in BOB's world, people use favors instead of money as their main form of commerce. It's always been like that. Hell, I remember the party once being in service to a king for a year to pay of some favor. We counted down those days like days until release from jail. We bitch, but move on. Favors really aren't that big a deal.

Now that said, there is a complaint about the game in general that I feel isn't being voiced but is in the back of everyone's head. BOB prides himself with realism in his world and while sometimes it helps create a rich and believable world, it can equally sap the fun out of a game which is by definition fantasy. The plague we dealt with last week (and have been dealing with for a long time) is an example. While it is true that half of Europe died of the black death, it does not make for terribly entertaining gameplay. When it was first introduced, I assumed it was supposed to be something that was unleashed by some dark menace that we would have to deal with, but after last week it seems that it isnt anything nearly that interesting. Its just the plague. You catch it, you die. While death at the hands of disease is realistic, I feel it is best left to history books and kept out of fantasy gaming. Our characters are heroes (or at the very least protagonists anyway) in a story and should be confronted with villians.

That is not to say that we should be immune to sickness, but rather than flee from every corpse we encounter for fear of quick and permanent death, I think it would have been more interesting if we had to rush to find someone who could cure the disease. It is expensive and sufficiently high level that we really can't do it ourselves but still is a goal we can go for. Most common folk would not be able to do it either, so its still deadly as an epidemic as only the rich and powerful could afford the cure. Besides, if cure disease cant fix it, what is the point of having cure disease when the one and only time we get a disease, it doesn't work?

But even with cure disease not being an option, another take would be that it was a magical curse created by some necromancer. We have to go find and kill the necromancer before we die of the plague to save everyone, all the while getting weaker as the disease progresses. Either of these examples gives us a goal with an urgent deadline as opposed to an unavoidable death at the hands of the coming disease.

Now I know BOB says that we could have avoided the boat, but no we really couldn't. We mentioned leave the boat alone, but the captain said lets go get it. I was under the impression that if we didnt send anyone, he would send 3 of his own men anyway. Then they get there and everyone is stabbed, suggesting mutiny or madness, certainly not the plague, but even if we knew it was the plague, by the time we find out its too late. We have it. So then we are told that we are ignoring clues about a cure for this plague. I don't think we were ignoring them so much as not really accepting "burn yourself alive" as a reasonable cure. Then we are told that no one has suggested heading back to the priests as though it seems like the obvious solution, when at that point in my mind we were already heading down the river and wouldnt really turn back as we have a deadline to make. Of course now we cant make the deadline because we did as we were told and we have more favors and "consequences". Because dying isn't enough of one.

In the end, it was basically an entire night devoted to something we couldn't control which could automatically kill us no matter what we did based on a couple dice rolls. I am all for killing PCs when they do stupid things, but generally I feel that when a PC dies, it should be due to poor decision making (which never seems to kill my characters for some reason) or simply being out-planned in battle. Something that if they had the chance to do it again with the knowledge of what was to happen, they could do something different and survive. Diseases, traps, and various other obstacles should hinder and weaken the PCs, but should rarely be fatal. Otherwise death feels too pointless and random. Again, this is realistic, but it doesn't make for a fun game.

Anyways, my next character is more or less created, just need to input it to klooge and type up the back story. It won't be human as I don't want to be the only person in the group to be capable of randomly dying by disease. I will take Koorin as his hench as I feel they will make a good pair.

-BiBo

6-5

I am sorry Kaz.

Everyone keeps seeing that one line and neglecting to read the whole thing.

Everyone agrees that it has been consistent catch the plague and survive it you are immune. Do not catch it and you can get it again. Coming in contact with it is not enough to be immune. The one line you quote there is the only time any hint of anything else was mentioned. Later that evening and several more times in talking about the Grey Death that being successful at the first roll does not make you immune.

It is right there in the log, Foriso made his check and did not catch the plague.

Foriso DID have the wasting disease and survived that.

It is very simple. Foriso was still vulnerable to the plague, he later caught it and survived it and now he is immune. Everyone in the party is immune except the new character that Marco is creating.

As to the question I asked I stand by it.

Lisa made a statement about letting Branwyn stay dead so she would not have to listen to the rest of the group bitch and complain about owing another favor. Marco spoke up right away. Mike and Guy stayed silent like they had almost all night.

I asked a very direct and clear question.

Mike and Guy said that they did not have anything to say. That was not an acceptable answer as I made very clear to them immediately afterward. They are adults, they need to speak up. With four players two of them cannot be quiet and silent. If you have nothing to contribute when you are told directly by one of the other two players that you are complaining and ruining the game for them you either speak up or you admit you are part of the problem by being silent.

Guy may not have complained directly about doing favors, Lisa does not think he did. Mike most certainly does. Guy has to make a choice and say "I don't complain about doing favors" or sit silent and allow that belief.

I do not think that Guy or Mike is a bad person but I do think that they need to step up and contribute. Offer up ideas and suggestions. No one is telling anyone how to run their character, but simply sitting there watching others solve all the problems cannot continue. I am tired of hearing people complain that you do not do anything - when half the players actually are not doing anything.

That is the core problem right now. It was Kaz and Lisa that were being in front and leading things. When one of them was not here the other could pick up the slack for a week or two. Now with Kaz out for a while Lisa tries to push things forward. If she does not have an idea to move the story forward then everything seems to stop.

Marco has taken a more active role recently. He did a very good job with the Elementary story line and brought in Koorin when the group needed some sort of healer. Guy normally does a good job of keeping the conversation going roleplaying wise. Mike can be an excellent roleplayer and solve problems but he has to be involved. And as I said Lisa and Kaz have been the leaders of the group for the last 8 months at least. When all five people are clicking the game sings. When only one or two people are really trying it fizzles.

Story wise the group knows exactly what will be happening. You had a date to be in Rivers Bend and you disregarded that to do what you wanted to. You have a date to be on the Great Plains. I do not know what you plan to do for that. Ignoring these quests/appointments/adventures/favors has consequences. Just like everything else. It does not matter if Kaz is playing - the group still owes the favor for Kristelle. If you do not get the flowers for Ancien his patient will die.

I have not and will not tell you what to do. Branwyn has a new favor for being raised from the dead, if she or the group chooses to ignore that there will be consequences.

Marco said it well last session. It is easy to play it safe, stay at the orchard house and be farmers. A very boring game to play but you could do that.

I continue to plan and work on new stories and additions to the campaign world. I know there is a lot more fun to be had on Friday nights.

BOB

4-Jun

Just a couple of things I'd like to comment on, Bob.

From November 5, 2010:

[BOB] and just so that everyone knows how the mechanics of the Grey Death works [BOB] if you have caught it and survive you never have to worry again [BOB] if you are infected but do not catch it you do not have to worry again [Kristelle (Kaz)] ((so, Foriso will always be immune now?)) [BOB] correct with Foriso

When Guy brought this to your attention, Bob, you didn't answer him. Okay, yay, he made his saving roll this time, too - but the point is he shouldn't have had to roll! Perhaps you considered his raising the issue a complaint. If so, it is a legitimate one, as well as one he made to you privately, out of game. Honestly, were I him, I would have logged out then and there.

Just so all of you know, whomever has been in contact with the plague, infected but did not catch it (the way Foriso was at Jistille Keep), you are now immune - as per Bob's original statement.

From last week:

[Master] Guy? Mike? any thoughts or contributions
[mikE] not really

[Master] Guy? Mike? comments?
[Foriso Fairhand (Guy)] ((nope not right now anyways))

[Master] Guy and Mike are goign to bitch and complain and force you to not play a character you like because you do not want to have to deal with them complaining all the time
[Foriso Fairhand (Guy)] excuse me?
[Foriso Fairhand (Guy)] the only complaining ive done has been about my characters cicumstance. i havent complained about anybody else nor about favors.
[Master] Guy not saying much either then leaving
[Master] I asked both Mike and Guy to contribute or make a comment and they both kept on being quiet, and then when Lisa was very clear about her problem about the favors I asked both fo them again and they were both quiet

So, to your comment about how you asked Mike and Guy to contribute and they both kept on being quiet. Mike responded that he had nothing to contribute - which is an answer. Then you again, a bit later, ask Guy and Mike for comments, and Guy said he had nothing at that time - which is, again, an answer. Perhaps those are not the answers you wanted, but those were the ones they had at the moment.

And then there was the comment about Guy and Mike are going to bitch and complain and force you to not play a character etc... Where did this come from? Guy has NEVER complained about doing favours. He has NEVER tried to force someone to play a character contrary to the way that person wished to be. I can't even imagine what you were thinking, Bob.

Stuff like this is why I have not been finding the game fun, lately. When I stopped looking forward to signing in... and things like this really don't make me want to return. The only reason I've really looked at the log is because Guy was furious when he logged out, mainly due to the "bitch and complain" comment.

I'll be back when the thought of playing fills me with enjoyment, not dread. Honestly? I don't see that being soon.

Kaz

On today's Planet Money: The economics of the Middle Ages.

Knights are extortionists. Guilds knock down your house if you don't play by their rules. And you have to wait until the black death kills a third of Europe before anything changes.

It is a fun podcast but this week I thought I should share.

BOB

3-17

Klooge update - just a minor one and seems to work fine for us

I now know why we no longer roll dice. At my kids school they use what would be called dice but because of the negative connotation they are called "Number Generators".

How PC?

John

Mar 7

Just to make sure everyone understands what plans need to happen. The group is still with Ancien and getting ready to leave to the Orchard House. You have many scrolls and potions to appraise and explore what they are. You have several characters in need of training and how you want to divide up the group to cover as much as you want.

I personally think you should be looking at:

  1. appraise
  2. check magic items
  3. set group to travel to Loosend for training for Miranda
  4. set up who else needs training with who where, some travel with Miranda?
  5. visit with Mosskins
  6. decide if visiting Skull Church on the way to Loosend
  7. leave for training

Of course this is just a quick sketch of what could happen. Some of this can be done in the Out of Character page or here so that on Friday the choices can be made faster.

BOB

Feb 7

I emailed everyone the current version of the Google Earth overlay to have along with the World Maps I emailed earlier.

BOB

Feb 6

I have the "completed" Google Earth overlay for our campaign world now. I can email the file to anyone who wants it.

There will be many additions to this still as I add in more labels and details. I am trying to figure out how to add additions easily and in an organized fashion.

I hope that everyone enjoys these maps as much as I do.

BOB

4 February

Happy Birthday, John!! I hope it was a really special day for you. :)

Kaz

Feb 4

My mapping project is almost finished with the first two waves. There are new maps for the areas of the Small Kingdoms and the world globe is almost complete and ready to have small level details added. It works with Google Earth so if you have not installed that you might want to just to see this. I will post a file over on the Campaign World page when I have the final copy.

Now that we have clearer maps I will be tweaking some of the area descriptions to make them match up better.

Also Happy Birthday to John. I know we have missed several birthdays this past year, if anyone has suggestions on fixing that please let me know.

BOB

28 January

Lisa and I have gone through the Party Pack and the Home Base, and we think we've got it sorted. Mostly sorted, anyway.

One of the things I've done is to remove seventy gold and seventy silver from our Home Base stash. This money is to be evenly distributed amongst the active characters. This was based on a suggestion from Bob, that we each have spending money to pay for things like the Inn and whatnot. We haven't really kept up on that stuff since we rode on the airship. On Friday, unless Bob has a chance to open Klooge for me before then, I want to go through and make sure everyone has belt pouches (we all should, but to be sure) and that we all list the coin we'll be carrying.

Kaz

I have an update I would like people to run on their machines to help Klooge run better.

In your Klooge.werks folder (the main folder you installed Klooge in) there is a file called

kLoOge.Werks.l4j

Open/edit that file with wordpad and change the two lines of -xmx and -xms

I recommend putting in -Xmx1024m and -Xms512m

Then just hit save (no need to change the file name)

When you open Klooge it will use these new values and we should have fewer drops.

BOB

BiBo here,

I was having a bit of trouble figuring out where I was at the time at various times last game, though perhaps it was partially me being spacy, I dunno (my brain doesnt focus so much in the mornings). I thought I was talking with the pilgrims then I am told we are at the smithy. Then suddenly we werent at the smithy anymore. Probably I just missed a line of something in my morning scatterbrainedness. Or maybe I just assume we are all in the same room unless we have some particular reason to split up (which we didnt really at the time). I also dont look at the map much since klooge makes it an extreme pain to chat and see the map at the same time since they changed the way dock chat works (which pisses me off constantly) and focus easily switches between the map and chat (which leads me to leave it minimized whenever we arent in combat). Still, the going to the cellar had nothing to do with your conversations and everything to do with finding maple syrup (and vague suspicions on the part of Scarlet that something is weird about this place which should be investigated). Scarlet is somewhat rogue-like in her spell selection (invisibility and knock are two of her main spells) as she gets really curious about things and when she gets something in her head she is pretty single minded about it.

That said, I as a player do tend to wander off and examine things that I probably shouldn't when the fancy strikes me. Always leads to an interesting story. Lets see... I got replaced by a doppleganger, hung out with a group of inch-high, stoned gnolls, and freed (and subsequently killed... sort of) a demon. Each time the group has stared at me with their mouth open going, "Is he really doing that?" and each time there has been a fair amount of trouble as a result, but the solving afterwards has always been fun and amusing, leaving us with good stories to tell after. Hell, I remember those stories a lot better than most of the actual main quests we were doing at the time. Basically what I am saying is, don't worry, it will work out somehow. Enjoy the ride :)

Thanks for the Donnie Darko reference. Now I have this giant rabbit running around in my head.

Lisa

Mike here,

Since I logged early I have no idea about any private conversations or cellar doors. All I know is that according to Donnie Darko "cellar door" is the most beautiful phrase in the english language. Now discuss.

As far as where Imari is, I don't particularly care. For the most part, ever, she'll probably stick around where Indigo is. She really has no interest in being a leader of the group. She's just along for the journey.

18 January

I'm sorry! Didn't mean to forget about Miranda. And please know, I meant scheming in the very best possible sense, Kaz! You both were being creative, had goals you wanted to accomplish, and were working on the NPC to get them. I like that word; it doesn't have to be evil or secret scheming, just planning. It does seem to me when characters leave the group to do something alone without a "let's go" or anything, it means that they want to do something on their own. Perception is everything, isn't it? I know I could interrupt if I really wanted to, but personally I like watching you two do your stuff when you get ideas. :-)

I did agree that we should have stopped the interaction right away, because you are right, opening the door didn't make much sense the way it happened. She hadn't moved her character into the building and so she had no knowledge or motivation to do so and should not have known what was happening. Even if we work with the notion that as soon as the character spoke to OMM that by default the character had now moved into the room, she still would not have been able to hear the other conversation outside the inn. I wasn't disputing any of that - I completely agree. Looking back at the chat log again, she did say that she was looking for syrup so technically her character was on her own distinct mission. Anyway, we ended up with an interesting cliffhanger to deal with.

Lisa

17 January

I both agree and disagree. There would have been nothing wrong with Scarlet coming across the door and suddenly deciding to open it, if that was what had happened (aside from being completely and utterly rude). But she wasn't even in the inn at the time, and the comment made just prior to unlocking the door was directly related to a conversation that was being held out of earshot. I'm in agreement to just let things develop as they are, though.

As far as Foriso's conversation with OMM, well, I'm guessing he went off while we were still in the smithy discussing things so that he could have a private word. Or maybe he just didn't feel like waiting. From a player perspective, there was nothing about his conversation that couldn't have been said in front of the rest of us. However, it is Foriso's style (and Guy's, for that matter) to just go off and follow his ideas.

As far as Kristelle leaving to speak with OMM, that was also nothing that couldn't have been said in front of the group. She didn't specifically set out to catch him privately; rather, we had reached an agreement regarding the pilgrims and so she felt her part in the conversation was done. At that point, she went to follow up on a thought she'd had (to try to make a comfortable place for Branwyn). The private conversation outside with OMM came about because he didn't want to speak of the cellar in front of the pilgrims.

My point is to clarify that there really wasn't any scheming, and certainly nothing the rest of the group couldn't be privy to as long as they had decided to come back to the inn. However, no one else stated that they were doing so. Which leaves them back at the smithy. Anyone feeling left out of the action would have been welcome to come waltzing back to the inn and walking into the middle of the conversation (as Kristelle did to Foriso and OMM). Or they could have stayed in the smithy and had a completely unrelated conversation, which is fine, too. In the past we've usually been pretty good about telling others OOC to stay back or out of the conversation/situation/whatever.

Oh, and don't forget that Miranda is still in the smithy, too. You're welcome to move her around like a pawn on a chess board, or to leave her there.

Kaz

Glad you posted about this. Last week I was a little confused too about how characters suddenly showed up knowing everything that was going on in other people's conversations, but Lisa did not say anything and probably should have. I didn't since they weren't my conversations and my characters were still at the smithy. Another one of those things that we should probably call out at the time so we can deal with it then and there. I am the poster child for what happens when you don't say anything and let things pile up.

I didn't move my characters because I could tell Guy and Kaz had plans and I didn't want to interrupt them. But that is me and it fits along with my characters. Since we had started the new campaign we have had the practice of different characters jumping out and taking the lead on things that they want to do. It made sense to me if Foriso wanted to cut some kind of deal with Miller that he would pull him aside instead of trying to negotiate with 6 people coming at him. But, there's no reason why other characters can't just go and interrupt. (They might not like the response they get, but they have the right to do so.) I do agree with Kaz though that it should be an interruption and not a continuing of a conversation.

I don't think we should cancel the opening of the cellar door. It happened and no big monster came out and swallowed anyone. At least not yet. If characters have the right to go and make their own deals and talk privately with NPCs, then other characters have the right to open the next door they see. The cellar door was on the map and could have been opened by anyone at any time.

It might help if someone has a plan to just say in chat that your characters are scheming and for us to hang on for a bit. That way we will wait for you. I think it was a situation of people maybe feeling left out of the action and trying to create some.

I am going to post in the IC section and get Branwyn, Indigo and Imari back in the tavern so all of us can start in the same location on Friday. (Mike - post if you have objections!) If we all decide we want to lock up the cellar again, that can be arranged with a flick of Branwyn's wrist. Or we can just take it as it comes and go find Scarlet her damn syrup!:-)

Lisa

15 January

I have something I'd like to say/clear up. Last night, we were all at the smithy. We'd gone to be able to have a private discussion. At one point, Guy stated that Foriso goes off to speak with OMM, and he moved his icon back to the inn's main room. (For mapping purposes, Bob used the kitchen as the smithy, and he stated this.) A short time later, I stated that Kristelle was going off to speak with OMM, and I moved her icon over there (and made it a point to show that she was walking into the middle of a conversation that she hadn't heard the beginning of). For all intents and purposes, everyone else was still back in the smithy. Not one other person said they were returning to the inn or going anywhere in particular.

And then Kristelle pulled OMM outside to speak privately with him. No one else was present. I know it's hard to remember that when you want to act on or respond to what you, as a player, are hearing. But please remember you're not there unless you have said or shown you are.

I don't think the cellar door should be unlocked, mainly because (a) Scarlett didn't actually hear the statement that caused her to blithely (and rudely) unlock someone else's cellar, and (b) everyone but Foriso and Kristelle are still actually in the smithy. Bob often prompts us to say where we are and what we're doing SPECIFICALLY, but he didn't do so this time and I wish he had. It's something we all seem to have been trying to be good about - saying where we are and/or what we're doing - but all of us have at some point forgotten to move and had to be prompted.

If it's too much trouble to move your icon, then don't move it. But for goodness sake, say what you're doing and where you're going. Not every person is part of every conversation and event.

Kaz

We had a very good session on Jan 14 11 and cleared the air on many issues.

Thank you to everyone for having a clear mature conversation about the game and how we want it to be.

BOB

Lisa I can say I understand how you feel completely and totally. I was going through a lot of what you are now at the end of the last campaign, between certain players attitude, the constant rules lawyering and just general stupidity of some people. Kaz and Bob are the main reasons why i didnt just leave and believe me Kaz had to listen to a lot of griping and complaining from me. I came into the old dragonslayers very late into the campaign so imagine being lvl7 or lower and trying to deal with players that have uber characters and tons of magic items and gold and here you are basically starting with nothing (my character started as a drow prisoner so i literally did have nothing lol) but even when i did have my stuff and managed to get some new and cool things i still had to deal with the people in the end, and while yes I could sit here and name names I wont mostly because its in the past and they dont play.Since restarting I have been enjoying having a low level character and knowing that everybody else has one too so we all have to struggle together just to get the gold we need for our things and training as well as scrambling to get magic items that can help us. Has everything been as smooth as I want no but then no game ever worth playing will be sometimes that is the fun and sometimes it can cause a lot of problems such as what you are going through now. What people need to realize is that DMs are only human they do make mistakes and usually if you take them aside and let them know "hey i think you messed up here" then guess what they can go back and take another look and most of the time they will acknowledge their mistake and try to fix it, but if you do it in the game and you get argumentative about then all you will do is get the DM upset and the other players upset and THAT takes the fun and enjoyment out of a game. Oh and yes I have talked to Bob about a couple of situations that i didnt think was done right or that i had a problem with but I did it in a tell so I didnt disrupt the rest of the game or the other players. Yeah i know i didnt adress your comments exactly but i wanted you to know that I was in your shoes and not all that long ago. As to how we can fix the situation now well by posting you made the right start, but i also know that if you need to take a break then take a break but dont forget about us I know Kaz and me will miss you and yes this is one of the few times that i feel comfortable enough talking for her. I do think the whole dragonslayers/hand is starting to get a little out of control, we will have to sit down and decide once and for all whether or not we will be dragonslayers or hand or go our seperate ways. Because if it keeps going like this then the gaming sessions will slowly evolve into nothing moire than fights and arguments.

Guy

Mike here,

Gonna weigh in since BOB asked me to. Though I'll say up front I feel way out of loop on the issues. Especially behavior in the past sessions since it's been months since I've played.

One thing I'll say first and foremost is I understand her feelings about the antagonistic characters/players. I'm having a rough time playing with one person in Marco's Shadow Run game. One person's bad attitude can really take the fun out of a game. My take on that is I ignore them/their character and just hope they get in a rough spot so I can specifically NOT help them survive. After all, we aren't supposed to hurt other characters directly...

Now as for rules lawyering and picking on BOB, those are a bad habit we picked up as long time players from our last campaign of Glorious Gloriousness. The old game WAS amazing for our characters. We were uber rich, basically kings of our own kingdoms. We had all kinds of resources available. So this whole favors and worrying about paying for crap is unfamiliar. You're bound to have people whining about it. Doesn't make it okay. Is still annoying. So I'd say tell whoever it is to shut it. If you don't like the campaign, don't play. The rules lawyering came about because we were invincible in battle. Dragon? No big. Demons? We got it liek whut. Going into hell to rescue an angel? Meh, no big. So the only way BOB could get is was through some sort of trickery of insta death doom. Half of the tricks were pretty well thought out. Some were cheap as all hell. That's where the nit picky-ness comes from. Again, it's probably more annoying than helpful, but there it is.

I can say that I, for one, was questioning BOB last week about the spider/hole size because I'm always thinking about the tactics of how I'm going to beat the shit out of what BOB throws at us. So here I'm seeing a spider hauling away a party member we're obviously going to have to go after, but he's doing it through an impractically sized hole. If we're going to have major issues going through the tunnel, that giant spider better damn well have them, too. I personally would have accepted BOB saying, "Oops. I guess the hole is bigger than the scale. Big enough for giant spiders." Then it'd be fair to both sides and I'd say let's go get it. That's me insisting on fairness and realistic situations I guess. That's because I've seen BOB make honest mistakes that end up screwing over a character. And if those mistakes were caught at the time he would have backpeddaled and made it fair/okay. But after the fact we kind of made the ruling that oh well. I made a mistake, you missed it, we're NOT going back two game sessions to redo the events. So I will always point out those things. Not out of spite or pettiness, but to be sure everyone gets their fair shake and no one feels cheated later on.

Now my end opinion is that we older players need to remember this is a new campaign. We can't approach this like our last one if that's what is happening. And personally, I hate character conflict in games. I have enough conflict in real life. I don't want to spend my Friday night in make believe conflict.

John,

Wow! Your response is exactly the reason why I am leaving. Your response was condescending, disingenuous, and self-serving. It would have been better if you had just said nothing if you were not going to address any issues that I brought up or say what you really feel. I think I was pretty honest and what I received in response was dishonest and not even close to being real.

I can tell the difference between character and player conflict. I thought I was pretty clear that the problem was both and separated the two. Your characters are antagonistic, argumentative and insulting - that is character conflict, by the way, in case you still think I just don't get it. Once in a while is fine but if almost half the characters are going to argue and put down my characters every week, I am not going to be here. That might be really great fun for you and Marco but for me, not so much. Out of character, I hear bitching and moaning about game issues that really don't matter and just serve to stop game play and cause tension (see below - I should not have to repeat.) Game play issues would fall under player conflict, John.

But even more than that separation, the players create the characters they want to spend four hours being every week. You are choosing, as a player, to create a character that does not play well with others and works to disrupt rather than work with certain people. Your biggest disruptions and insults are saved especially for my characters so I can only assume there is a fuzziness on your part on what your player feelings are and what your character feelings are. In any event, in response, as a player, I choose not to change the characters I have built and make them either a) your lapdogs or b) your worst nightmare. My choice is c) none of the above - game over.

You say, "It is how players handle it [i.e., conflict] that matters most." I would love to hear the "appropriate" response to the conflict you instigate. Roll over? Thank you sir, may I have another? Would that be the appropriate response? Or is the true goal to escalate as far it can go? It seems that this is where you and Marco get really get your enjoyment.

It is clear from your actions in play and out that you definitely do not consider this 'Kaz and my game' whatever that is supposed to mean. And I can't imagine what reason you have for even trying to pretend that it's true except that it looks good and noble when you see it in print. Kaz maybe, but me? That is laughable. But even to say you think it is Kaz's game is not true. If you thought it was Kaz's game then why hold out joining the Dragonslayers since that is Kaz's group? Why insult her group and not follow and cause conflict in "her" game if that's what you really believe it to be and your goal is simply to "tag along?" I can't believe that you wrote that and expected anyone to actually believe it. As for me, I always thought it was everybody's game. But maybe that was my biggest problem. If I would have owned it and forced control, maybe I wouldn't be feeling as bad as I do.

I am going to just have Bob zap my characters out of the story and back to Orchard House. I can't imagine showing up for even 15 minutes on Friday after reading your response.

Lisa

Jan 12 11

John there is no player conflict in the game except that which the players bring in. There is no player character conflict except that which the players bring in.

That sort of crap about it is common in BOB's game shows you have no concept of how we restarted the campaign.

Certain players no longer play with us because their attitudes were not welcome in the game.

More can be added to that list.

BOB

Lisa,

There is still a lot for you to experience in and out of game play when it comes to role-playing, especially in BOB's game, but taking a brake is normal if not expected. Most games do not meet as regularly and as long as this one. I hope you can tell the difference between character conflict and player conflict, because either can exist with or without the other. It is common, maybe more so in Bob's game, but it is how players deal with it that matter most. No matter the level of character or player, there will always some that are more adventurous and take more risks than others. I am sorry if my playing style or character interaction has taken away from your enjoyment. I considered this yours and Kaz's game and I have enjoyed tagging along. You will be missed.

John

From Lisa to all:

After last week, I am going to take Branwyn and Indigo back to Orchard House so I can heal by myself. When Bob tells me the game days for healing are done, I’ll check back in and see how the game atmosphere looks and whether I will play again or kill off my characters in some tragic apple orchard accident.

Basically, this game used to be fun for me, but now I feel more irritated than happy. I don’t see spending four hours every week being on defensive against whatever is going to happen as being a good use of my time. There are both IC and game play issues that are bothering me. I have no right to ask anyone to moderate their behavior and I am NOT doing so here. I am not looking for anything from anyone. The purpose of this is simply to serve as an explanation of my actions since I am removing both my characters from play.

In Character: The group dynamic with the non-Dragonslayer characters is antagonistic and tiresome to me. If our goal is to work together and share in both the trials and the rewards then we should simply work together.

For the last couple of months, Indigo has been consistently a target. I have had to modify his behavior not to simply hit one of you with his short sword for the comments since there is no reason why his character would just stand there and take repeated insults. I play Indigo with more heart than sense so having him engage in a battle of insults would also be completely out of character for him. I have modified Branwyn’s behavior as well since although she could dish it right back and then some, I have been TRYING to not escalate the aggression I see in the group. It has gotten to the point where I asked Bob if I cast and got Scarlet down to 1 HP if that would shut her up. Unfortunately, he said no that she could still talk and so I am left with killing the character just to get a little peace and quiet. Again, this is not how I want to spend Friday nights – constantly arguing with or killing off party members. I am not saying I expected a totally happy harmonious group all the time. For instance, Foriso and Branwyn have had their differences of opinion and Kristelle has had to pull Indigo aside a couple of times, but the characters still respect each other. That is what I see missing now – just basic respect.

I have had to repeatedly hear how past groups had so much more wealth. How they never had problems paying for training. How they didn’t have to owe favors for everything that they needed. That they do not see why they should have to do favors for people to make up for our sheer incompetence. And on and on it goes. I wasn’t here to see the magical splendor that was the past Dragonslayers. But I will give you the benefit of the doubt, and say everything you are saying is completely true and factual. Fine. But wouldn’t it be a better and God forbid nicer option to help us take care of those favors so they will be off the books, and then work with us to minimize those kinds of things? Share your infinite wisdom with us incompetents?

The only thing that has been said to me is that I need to stop being so inquisitive and start being more cautious. That I approach situations with reckless disregard. I have tried to explain that I have only been playing for a year now. I thought this was an adventuring game and to me, that means opening doors and chests, tasting unknown potions and generally getting into trouble. Isn’t that the point? Our characters triumph over adversity. If we see no adversity, then how can we possibly triumph? I have absolute faith in myself and in the characters I have built that we can handle anything that comes up. If I am wrong and one of my characters dies, then I will be bummed out for a bit, shake it off, and start over.

What really set me off and was the straw breaking the camel’s back about me leaving was the insistence that “someone” go into the pit in the caverns. And not the person that wanted to do it. At least if I want a door opened, I will walk up and open it myself. If there is a hit to be taken for my ideas, I am more than willing to take it. But how can you have it both ways? I get chastised for taking too many risks, but if another character wants a risk taken, I’m supposed to volunteer? And in response we get more IC insults, i.e. “…you are the most spineless bunch of adventurers I have ever encountered.” This coming from the one who consistently hangs in the background in any combat, would rather burn down an entire house than fight a couple of zombies, etc.

Game Play: The whole episode with the spider I thought was completely nonsensical, disruptive and ruined the mood of the evening. Okay – Bob forgot to let Miranda have her held action. He offered to go back and let her have it. As far as the issues of attack and move, I saw it as a different kind of thing than a straight up attack. A saving throw failed and the result was that Miranda got captured. It is a spider. It is not going to pick her up and stand around for a full round.

I also did not see it as a sign of her imminent death. If Foto had moved the torch closer on his turn the next round, Branwyn could have walked up and set fire to the web. Issue over. As it was, she could not move into the dark and had to wait. I know this is my problem, but I have felt so inadequate when I make strategic decisions and see the reaction that I almost don’t make any now. Another immediate thought was to send Indigo up there since he could see in the dark. But when I left Hoffman to handle an easy target at the birthday game to attack other creatures, I got yelled at in ALLCAPS. So, what I see as a simple situation and who cares if the spider moved a bit, turns into both a game rules argument and an issue where I do not feel free to make decisions without fear of ridicule and chastisement.

And as far as the tunnel width versus spider width issue, I think that was just silly and argument for the sake of argument. Bob makes the maps in advance of the battles. I am pretty sure when he created all those twists and paths he was not thinking, This is the one with the big spider so this path has to be this wide and that one with the goblins can be extra small, etc. Can’t we just play? Does it have to be a big deal?

Am I being defensive, a little too sensitive perhaps? I have been called both things here. But given the choice, I would much rather be that than to be offensive and insensitive. We are typing here and I do not know any of the players personally. So what you type at me is what I read. How you act is how I see you. Anyway, I will show up on Friday to make the arrangements for Branwyn and Indigo’s return to Orchard House.

Kaz & Guy – Bob says it will take too long to train Miranda before going to meet Ancien, so I might as well forget about a healing shortcut unless the Paladins suddenly arrived and took mercy on my poor disfigured soul. Thanks for trying though. But I will not incur another favor the group will have to repay and have to hear about it over and over. I will miss playing with you both. Those are the times when we can just run around and have fun. Tis a sad thing to lose that.

For the start of a new year and the first post here I wanted to remind everyone that we do have a page for Ongoing KloOge Projects where I am hoping we can come up with both what we want KloOge to do and how we want the rules to work for us.

Combat Changes are my biggest open ended question right now.

These are the sections from Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 that I think deal with these the most.

After giving them a quick once over, please post your thoughts about what you would like to see changed modified in Klooge or the rules.

BOB