Main / PC-2015

Player Communication archive of 2015

The end of KLooge as we know it:

If you want to see the original posts. http://www.kloogeinc.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4933&p=17719#p17719

Here are the entries so far.

In All Things, An End Must Come Kurris » Fri Dec 18, 2015 4:40 pm

After almost fifteen years, the time have finally come to close the door on the kLoOge chapter of my life.

One could argue that the door actually closed a couple of years ago and I have been in denial about it since then, but I vehemently deny being in denial. I'm not, I tell you!

The reality, though, is that I haven't been actively working on kLoOge.Werks in more than two years, we haven't had any real license sales in over a year and the cost of maintaining even this minimal website has become too much of a burden.

I've moved the site over to a new, very inexpensive, host, which I will be able to directly maintain over the course of the next year. After that, even the site will probably go away. But I haven't decided that yet.

The other thing I haven't decided is just what to do about the software. I know people are still using it (I still get the debugging emails, though that might stop working with the site relocation -- I still have to look into it), but I have neither the financial incentive, nor the time to maintain it the way I once did.

My current thought is to release a minor update (3.4.6) that removes all licensing restrictions and would allow anyone to use the program for free. I am also considering one or two more minor releases after that to address any glaring bugs. I know that 3.4.6 has some that I could never track down, which is why I never released it. If I can get debug logging working, or if people see this and post their debug log info to the forum, then I might be able to track these issues down.

But any actual programming work that I do will, by necessity, have to be small and quickly turned around. If a can of worms is exposed, then all bets are off. Also, you can correctly deduce that a definition for 5th Edition, for example, will not be in the offing.

Let me know your thoughts on these subjects. I know this board is not a real destination for anyone other than SPAMBOTs (for which I am completely to blame), but in case anyone, out of morbid curiosity, does happen to stop by...

Let me conclude by thanking all of our loyal users who have stood by us all these years. I wish things had turned out differently, but I never for a moment regretted writing kLoOge.Werks or releasing it to the world.

Take care, happy holidays (it being that time of year), and I wish you all continued happy gaming!

and my response

Kurris,

Happy Holidays, good to know that things are still alive in your world.

I fully understood a while ago that KloOge was on its last legs. I have been looking for alternatives and never found anything better. Even in its current state it exceeds what other programs offer.

I have been around every week and I am certain that it is my players sending you those de-bugging reports. :)

I would offer up that If you feel so inclined on hosting costs to make the software free for all to use. Put in the proviso that there will be zero future updates from you. Make it a fully open source program. If the cost of hosting a server to do that is too much please email me and I could take over some of that hosting.

The only update our group really wanted was for Chat to be resized while docked.

Klooge has served me well for over a decade. I do appreciate how much you did in the old days as a single man shop to do the customer service and updates that you did.

We will stay in touch as you wish.

I look forward to continuing to use this excellent program until I can convince someone to create something better.

BOB

Lisa, Thank you for finding that. It turns out there is a LOT of things to tweak about how Spell Duels work. Type S is supposed to be there because there is a whole list of "read this to decide" how the spell will work in a duel based on when/how it is cast.

BOB

Bob - just a reminder to check your version of the spell table for duel type = S. I can't figure out what that was supposed to mean. Thanks! Lisa

11-17-15

Hey guys. It's been problem after problem. I'm still not ditching the spell project I just haven't had time for anything right now. Also my internet is still on the fritz but I think it will work out for this Friday. I'm so looking forward to tomorrow. Thanks guys.

Michael

Yes we are continuing the Spell Database Project because we will need this data eventually.

I downloaded and deleted all the files uploaded to the Dropbox up to this point.

I will work on merging everything into one database and reuploading that for the weekend. However keep on doing your spells and uploading what you have and I will get these all organized.

Also as I noted elsewhere I have updated MY version of the Google Earth plug in to show where every country in Terraguard is. At the appropriate point I will upload that to the site for others to have it at their fingertips also.

BOB

In the Dropbox folder there is now a video of me talking about the Access file and what the various fields are.

Please post questions and requests for clarifications.

BOB

I downloaded some new software and set up a Twitch account to be able to record and share the database details.

Also there is an update for Tabletop. On Monday evening they will release the details about the switch over for backers. I do not know any details yet obviously and once I do it will take a bit to consider them I am certain.

We will have a nice long stretch of games with only Christmas day interrupting us for for as far as I can tell until March sometime on spring break.

BOB

11/5

I think doing a Google Hangout would work for us on this. Or I could just record a video and post it for everyone to see. I just need to find time to do that.

We are not playing this Friday so I will see if I can do that tonight or in the morning.

Thank you everyone for helping with this, it is a huge project and we will get through it with everyone pitching in.

BOB

11/4/15

Bob - Do you have access to WebEx or something like that so we can have an Access training session? It would take an hour tops to go through the form with a couple of spell examples, answer questions and so forth. It is much easier to show than to try to explain in posts. Worst case - make some screen shots into Klooge maps and we can have a klooge session :)

Lisa

11/4/15 - Spring

I've fooled with Access before but honestly, it's been more than a decade, so I'm feeling rather lost myself. Maybe I can grab some screenshots. I'm mostly limited by not knowing what all the fields are.

Michael Nov 4

Hey Guys. I'm just now starting to input my letter into outlook and I'm afraid of screwing anything up. I would like to ask a step by step guide to what to do. I understand the fields kind of and the references given but I have no exp. with outlook whatsoever and it seriously looks like gibberish to me. I'm somewhat tech savvy when it comes to this crap. I need simple steps like Open Outlook. Go to Blank. Input Data from spell books. Save. Repeat. Those kind of steps. I want to make sure i'm not doing this completely wrong and then Bob looking at my work with his hands to his eyes and forhead going this is horrible work. I would really appreciate any step by step guide for Outlook. I know this request is frustrating but if you want me to help it kind of is required because I took one look and said f*** this. Pardon my potty mouth. So. step by step with tabs, new file, all that jazz. Thanks guys. Once I get it going and have done it a few times I will be good to go.

11/4/15 - Spring

Thanks! I get it now. May I suggest that when we encounter a spell reversal, just to make sure the name of the reversal is in the title of its normal version. For instance, if I have Destroy Water, I should look up Create Water and make sure it's called "Create/Destroy Water" and that Reversible Y is selected. And otherwise not write any entry for Destroy Water. Sound good?

Spring thank you for asking these questions so we can sort things out early on in the process.

Yes Pages is the number of pages the spell would take up in a spell book. Yes the dice notation is there (Level of spell plus a die roll) so that when we export this file it will be able to auto generate the number for us.

Yes Ref number is W1 for Wizard Book One, etc.

For Reversible spells it is a Y/N field. So far we have not put in the reversed spell as a separate one because the spell description lists the reversed effects.

For everyone thank you for doing these, feel free to do one or three spells and upload them for me to check and verify. As Lisa has said once you do a few they get much easier and go faster.

BOB

11/2/15 - Spring

Plainly it's obvious to others, but I'm not getting it. What's the "Pages" field? http://www.dragonslayers-society.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?n=Main.SpellDatabaseProject Looking inside the database, it looks like dice notation. I was able to guess that "W1" probably means "Wizard's Spell Compendium, Volume One" but "Pages" is a little less obvious. It's how to roll to cast? How much damage is inflicted?

If a spell is reversible, are we listing the reverse as a separate spell? Adding the reverse into the title?

10/28/15 - Spring

Did not realize when I volunteered that things would kasplode at work. But they did. I usually have a lot of idle time on my hands.

In other news, I cannot make it tomorrow night. A miracle occurred and my handsome groom not only wants to go to a party but actually put together a costume. This may not ever happen again so I must take advantage! I hope you understand.

Spring

Lisa has some great tips.

I added a couple of notes on the Spell Database Project after looking through some of the entries.

BOB

10/26/15 - Lisa

Thoughts on spell data entry. The first 5 were horrible and time consuming. The next 30 are much easier. I can't in good conscience charge 100 XP per spell or I will be 11th level in no time. Once you get what you need to enter and the concepts in your head, it really is pretty easy and fast.

Tips and Notes

I have the Spell Database Project page open when I work so I can look back if I forget if casting time of 4 is fast or average, etc. Almost everything we need for data entry is on that page.

Spell Database Project

I created a special Query and Form for my data entry. My query (Lisa) pulls all the "S" spells and excludes the priest spells. Then I made a new form (also Lisa) where all the fields are on the same page and I don't have to tab through the different areas. My version of the database is up on DropBox if anyone wants to take a look. When I start a new letter, all I will have to do is go into the query and change the parameters and the form will update. If anyone sees this and likes the format, just let Bob or myself know and I can help with that if you are not Access savvy. I have the form set for data entry from my laptop, but the size might need to be changed for a large monitor.

I am not using periods in the top fields (saves a bit of time) and I am fixing some incorrect abbreviations when I edit past entries. For example, 10 sq ft/lvl or 30 yds = yes. 10 squ. ft./lvl or 30 yrds. = no. Not sure where all those yrds. were coming from, but they must go :)

When the pdf text copies over text to the .rtf file or if you are copying text straight from the pdf (only if you have a full version of Adobe), I noticed a couple of things. 1. Hyphens paste strangely and need to be fixed. 2. Fractions, e.g. 1/8, sometimes don't translate and need fixing 3. 1dx pastes over as Idx and so I have been changing all those I's to 1's. and 4. If you want to create a line break in an Access memo field, hit CTRL-Enter. This will create the line breaks between paragraphs in the spell description and keep it from becoming just a massive chunk of text that no one want to read because it just looks unwieldy.

That's all from the field for now. Lisa

I finished the Proficiency table today.

Still several other sets of data to work on while we are doing the huge Spell database.

BOB

Hey Michael,

That was very nice of you. I was only asking who had Access because I have several options for people to use for data input.

I will make sure that for Friday everyone has a set of spells to work on. There are 7 books total to work through.

Also over on the Spell data base project page you can see there is XP to be had for all of this :) Typically it is 100 XP per spell after they are entered and verified.

Everyone has access to Dropbox so that will be easy to share the PDFs and or txt files with.

10/13 Michael H.

Okay just bought access

10-13 Michael H.

I don't currently have access, but I'll buy it to help you out. Don't want you to be doing that by yourself. Although I may have questions. My mother hates access for some reason. At least I think she said it was access. Anyhoo, Lisa if your interested, we can do an IC brief session where Bran destroys my logic for the cool patches with the dragon slayer logo since no one is coming up with any designs. Personally I like the Skyrim Dragon, but this one works just fine. It's all imaginary so I don't think anyone really cares. But, it would simplify actual game time if we hash out the argument with our characters online rather then on Friday. Oh that's right. Okay the next Friday.

Also, I believe since we kind of have a free reign this Friday since Lisa is busy, if no one objects, I would like to do some research into this demon curse, because it's just cool. If Bran will write a brief recommendation that says that I am researching something for her, then I'm pretty sure just about anyone will let it slide. She seems pretty darn popular with everyone. If not, I can do some serious felony acts and act as an official royal courier with my courier parchment and courier dagger that nice royal courier gave to me. Although she could just make my life easier and write a recommendation.

I don't plan on dying in the mages library so no exploring there unless Bran has some more cannon fodder who want to open the books for me. That's fine too I guess. But I am sure there are other libraries in a city this large. The celestry probably could have answers. They are religious and would likely have texts on demons and curses. If not, then I could search elsewhere. Either for a demonologist or some other expert who could identify such a curse.

So sorry for this long essay but I figured since it's player communication... Yeah. Also Bob, if we have to take the time to literally copy over two thousand spells into access...maybe some XP coming our way? I can dream right.

10-13

Working on the Spell Database Project and almost ready to farm out the work.

Does everyone have access to Access? Much easier to use the forms in Access to do the data entry than any other way.

BOB

10/6

Plans for next two sessions?

Dinner with Ambassador Lorilop (Greek and female btw) who might know about Priestess Joliene of Gort and other things about the whole Greek/Kayugan crusade thing. We need to start taking action on the tasks we have and start getting information. That means leaving the house and talking to people. I'm not going to be in on the 16th so guys gets some plans together. Maybe the Ronwith task, murder investigation issues, make some headway with the thieves' guild, Celestry things, lots of stuff.

I just don't have time to fill in bios on all the NPCs right now, but will get to it when I can. Penelope is Indigo's lady friend and she has not been paid. They are thieves and party crashers, yes, but not prostitutes. Just fun at parties.

Lisa

10/6

Alright I made some updates for the people of Dryands Lair. Lisa, you might read the entry on the greek guy and the entry for Dame Coloto or whatever her name is. Also anyone ever find out about those two weird call girls that randomly appeared at the party? It was before my time. They make me uneasy. I need to still go over the most recent party to update the list but I am really really tired today so that's all for now. See you guys Friday. Oh and Before I forget all of this is under Dryads Lair- Political and Society.

-Michael (Hugh D'Ambray)

I put the space for Michael's work on the Dryads Lair City page.

Michael, also you have a page for your self, when you list you as the author it will take you there.

And you can create Hugh's page as well, the link is there on your page. I would copy one of TMO's characters or Imari's page formatting.

BOB

Michael (Oct 1) 2015 Hey guys I've put together a list of people that are relevant in this current era.? Also I've been researching tasks we need to do (per Lisa and Bob's instructions) I'll upload tomorrow since we have no game. Also, I'm hoping Bob can create a seperate "Immediate People" page that are relevant or might become relevant to all recent or upcoming events. It can be changed by anyone who chooses to share what they know about particular characters and their goals/motivations. Please let's try to keep it clean though. Example (I cant seem to get the formatting right, but if you go to edit it shows how it should be.

Name and Title: Occupation: Brief Bio: Disposition to Particular Party members: Disposition to Other NPC Characters: Notes and Notable Inventory:

In that format so we can quickly do a search and find what we need quickly so we aren't scrambling to find info during the middle of an actual game and wasting time. I know I see the irony in my words. Do as I say and not as I do or something like that.

In case you wont see this message in Bookmarked OOC I am also copying it to player communication.

Bob for the overreaching story arcs that are occurring either now or very close to now, I have compiled a list of people and information about them. Can you please create a NPC page for the immediate? These are people who can be quickly referenced for all sorts of parties and can be quickly seen as what they do and their thoughts and feelings. Also for everyone who wanted to know I found the greek guy if you don't know who that is. So thank god that's done with.

There was news this morning about Tabletop Connect. They have been bought out by SmiteWorks. That is the company that puts out Fantasy Grounds. I program I previously rejected as an option for us.

I do not know what will happen, it will likely take weeks now to see how things develop.

First thread

Second Thread

BOB

I updated the Dragonslayer Training Plans page to note that those are the characters that will be exported over to Tabletop Connect.

I am not sure yet what we can do about the old KloOge characters from older than our current characters in play.

Testing out my RSS feed. -Mike

I'm out for 2 weeks, returning home on Sep 27. I'll have my laptop with me, but the odds of having time to log in to play are slim. We're driving cross-country from Texas to Yellowstone, over to Rushmore, and back down. - TMO

We did learn some things about Tabletop during out testing. Thank you very much to Gherrion who brought up his own game for us to test in as players.

The failed to create room error was reproducible and can be fixed. The things we experienced with movement and such are new bugs.

The suggestions about not needing turn order (guessing that was Lisa) was noted and several others agreed.

I am glad we did this. It shows how different this will be for everyone and how far we have to go on our learning curve.

BOB

A - our testing ended up with me getting a 'failed to create room' error so we did learn some things.

B - TMO you will be in on the 19th I do hope?

BOB

I will get online tonight asap. Hopefully soon. I will be out of town the next two weekends though, so I'll miss the Saturday bonus game. - TMO

For tonight (9/5) we will likely be starting later than 7.

Please download the latest version of Tabletop (link on that page) and play around with it.

I will text people when I am up and running here, closer to 8 I am going to guess.

BOB

To clarify my planning for the next few weeks.

For all of these times I plan on starting the night with Klooge. We will have Tabletop up also as the backup. On Sep 05 we will talk about what our plans are for moving into Tabletop full time. What data sets we need to have done/converted. We will test out the features of the program so far and make sure we have a good handle on our feature requests for changes. We will figure out what different people can contribute to the process.

Some of it will be adding things to the site here, some of it will be converting old data file to new formats. Some of it might be helping with the javascripting.

Everyone's opinions matter.

Moving to Tabletop will be a learning curve for everyone and just like Klooge was a decade ago for us we will all be adjusting to things that are not quite finished yet.

I am also still attempting to keep Klooge up and running for as long as possible as we develop over on Tabletop.

BOB

So I messed up the dates for this Destination Friday event.

We ARE playing on the 4th, with a testing session for Tabletop Connect on the 5th

Then we are NOT playing on the 11th, with a Bonus Session for our normal campaign on the 12th.

Then we are playing on the 18th like normal.

Then we have the Birthday Game on the 19th.

Sorry for the silly confusion.

BOB

We are playing tonight 8-28

I plan on using Klooge and have Tabletop as our backup.

You will need to download the new version of Tabletop.

In case you need the link:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/her0ptdjr0e2vrp/AAA6vdBacm4pRoq_f3sTFq3da?dl=0

Also in email for everyone.

BOB

I am back home safe and sound.

This week I will be working on getting things back to normal and catching up on everything that I can.

We are playing this Friday (Aug 28) and then missing the next Friday Sep 4 but playing on Saturday Sep 5.

I do not know yet which platform we are using, Tabletop or Klooge.

More postings later.

It was great trip.

BOB

The trip is wonderful so far.

Corvus you should continue along with Lisa posting there for the ship's trip back. I primed her with info for you before I left.

Tabletop has some fun things happening, cannot wait till I am back.

Well maybe I can wait a couple more weeks ;P

BOB

I put this list together:

https://plus.google.com/+RobertAnstett/posts/dZNYqmdLBKx

If there are other things you want to see in Chat, anything you ever dreamed of please let me know or add it to the list your self.

And then he put out another update just afterwards.

More updates for us:

Fixes and additions - FIX: Chat window now receives focus priority over camera. - FIX: Copy/paste is working in chat input. - FIX: Chat input is properly accepting input. - FIX: Chat log die rolls are recording die results. - FIX: Updated documentation. - NEW: Chat log options moved to start-up options. - NEW: Added optional timestamp for chat log entries. - NEW: Added optional prefix/suffix for chat log entries. - NEW: Added auto-save chat log directory.

The majority of the fixes and additions in the build are for the chat log. The options for the chat log have been moved to the Player Options window. Added are the use timestamp, log entry prefix and suffix, and a output folder that may differ from the default data directory.

The prefix and suffix are most useful for formatting if you are inserting the chat log into and HTML document.

The file name for auto-saved chat logs has been changed to a more readable format. An example file name would be, “Chat log for Sunday, 7-26-2015″ Since auto-save chat logs are appended to an existing file name, all of the chat logs for that day will be appended together. This is useful if you have to start and stop a session for any reason during the day. You may still manually save the current chat log using the save button in the chat input window.

BOB

Things that Carl fixed based on input from us on Friday night.

Fixes and additions - FIX: Fixed new, load, and handout tabs. - FIX: Player icons are removed from players on disconnect. - FIX: Saving chat log saves local and remote chat entries.

He really does want to make this the best he can before releasing a "full version" currently (as of last night at least) up to version .480

We need to find any and all quirks we can and stress what we want to see so he can add it in at this point of development.

Thanks,

BOB

Thank you everyone for last night. I know being rushed into Tabletop was not the ideal situation.

We have a few weeks now to let that develop while we are not playing. Please continue to use the link below to download the latest versions (TMO or someone can post here when Carl posts a new update but they come almost every other day) and test out. Anyone can run both the GM and Player version with these downloads because I paid for unlimited access for us.

Our session could have been smoother, it could have been much worse. The biggest problem is we might have lost half the chat. I need to investigate some things, auto save might have done some things for us that did not appear in the manual save.

It looks like when I get back we will work on a hybrid of Klooge and Tabletop until Klooge finally dies on us or Tabletop can handle all that we need.

Please chime in and help each other out with the roleplays and Tabletop testing.

Do your in character role play in the city, you have all you need in the way of NPC's that you already ran for City Council Meetings to knowing what various NPCs act like to roleplay scenes with them to continue story lines along if you like.

Lisa and TMO in particular can help create some fun scenes for everyone.

BOB

Well, I'm doing me best. Both programs are crashy for me, but I've been trying to run last week's version of Tabletop, so I'm removing it entirely and starting fresh.

Spring

7-24 6:40

Both Klooge and Tabletop are up and running for chat at least

We will all be patient and work the best we can doing LOTS of roleplaying

BOB

7-24 6:10

Klooge is in meltdown mode again sort of.

I have the program running.... sort of

I believe all the data is there... I think

If you attempt to log in and get error messages, try again in a bit

If you want to text me feel free

I have Tabletop Connect up and running also as our backup

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/her0ptdjr0e2vrp/AAA6vdBacm4pRoq_f3sTFq3da?dl=0

Will take you to the most recent version that I am running.

3 hours in so far....

I might have this solved by 7

BOB

I would like to do that, but I cannot see that far in advance for my own work. Let me check in with you closer but otherwise I hope you have a blast on your trip. I'll keep online for other stuff as long as others are still active on the website.

-Michael.

New thought. On Saturday Sept 5th would anyone want to have a game session that night? Not a full day bonus game but a normal session that night.

Labor Day weekend not sure if people are going out or not.

BOB

I am sorry for the chaos of what happened last session.

From what I can tell a Windows update or a Virus protection program update prevented the old installation of KloOge from working. I was able to get everything back up by installing a new download. Which for some reason insisted on being 2 earlier versions and wanting to keep on updating KloOge.

In the end as you saw I was able to do a fresh install and get things running.

Then our memory issues popped up. Because I was running under a full gig last week and this week under the new install was only 256K.

When I am home on Sunday I will work on that, getting the chat log updated here, etc.

For future weeks.....

We will play next week. I have that day off and I will have the game up early. I intend on playing as long as we have the energy.

That will be the last session until August 28th missing four weeks in a row.

I do hope that everyone will continue to explore and roleplay on the site while I am gone. There are lots of NPCs that people are creating, you can advance the time line if you like by having another city council meeting for example. Have your own encounters with people in the city to expand your circle of people you know. Or just relax and take a vacation from the game.

On the week of the 28th I have a light schedule and I am off that day so it should be a good game of catching everything up.

I have an event on September 4th that I have to be at. So there is no game the next week.

Then we will play on the 11th, the 18th and the BOB's Birthday Game on the 19th.

I had originally thought that Tabletop might be used that day but now I doubt that.

My goals for the adventures and story arc is.....

Get the people on the Bag of Clouds story arc home during the session on July 24th. There is the Isla conversation to finish (I hope to here online tonight and Sunday) then the ship can leave and make it back down south.

The Dinner with Sam perhaps online or in person that night as well.

Then the first meeting in September handle the Elven Ambassador encounter(s).

After that is over we are close to everyone being in the same house again for once.

My work situation is going to change soon. I will have a staff and I will not be working quite so many hours and I will also have more creative energy to spend on Tabletop and other projects. I am very much looking forward to September.

I thought Marisu was thinking REALLY hard.The prospect of imminent Tabletop is nice, even if just as backup.

Spring

And Klooge died again. Sorry for the abrupt ending.

I will parse out some of the issues, it all has to do with memory I am convinced.

I will do what I can to have Tabletop up and running next week for our backup.

BOB

Our long nightmare is over. Klooge is working and back to normal.

BOB

Hey Bob. I cannot connect and I do see the updates. I tried just for shiz and giggles and you sporadically pop up under the Klooge connections. Then when I click, It say Error: Connection Timed Out. So I'll keep trying but I need to catch up on some paperwork while I'm doing it. I hope you don't mind. I'll keep an eye out. Thanks Bob. Looks like we may need to step up the Tabletop Connect Timeline :)

Michael.

Update #5 7:48 EDT Bob is having trouble getting the latest version of klooge to install, ver. 3.4.5, which is why we are having issues logging in to his latest install. He is working on getting 3.4.5 working on his machine. We will let you know. Lisa

Update #4: 7:41 EDT Bob is up and running but Lisa cannot log in. The normally green bar for Bob's game is now red and I click on it and it does nothing.

Update #3: Back up and running with our existing campaign data restored

Update #2: 7:32 EDT Bob reinstalled Klooge and was able to open the game. He is in process of transferring our data to the new install. Lisa

Update #1: 7:12 EDT Bob cannot get Klooge to open on his machine and is currently working on it. I can open Klooge but cannot get to Bob's game because Bob can't. He or I will post another update as soon as we know more about status for tonight. Lisa

We are playing tonight. Klooge is having issues for some reason. I guess it does not really need a reason.

I am testing updates, etc.

I will repost here if there are additional updates.

BOB

Murder investigation progresses. I updated the OOC summary page. Please add if you see anything I missed.

Next steps:

  • Marisu, Jennevive & Kenna search for priest who did divination autopsy.
  • Branwyn, Ilero & Shur go dagger shopping with Atribella.
  • Imari puts the rest of the staff in a Zone of Truth for group questioning.
  • Next séance scheduled for the 14th.

Lisa 7-11-15

Guys. I am unfortunately stuck working tonight. I apologize for the inconvenience. I am typing this from my work phone. Sorry I dropped the ball tonight.

Michael 10, July 2015

Posted the new geography notes that Captain Nolin would tell you as you approach Deksport so everyone has a basis to decide what you are going to do about entering or avoiding the town. Please discuss over on Bag of Clouds.

Also the Google Earth plug-in is updated with this information for the towns and woods, rivers, etc. for Bag of Clouds and all places mentioned in this Era up to the upcoming end of the current story arcs.

There will be quite a bit of juggling stories and participating both here and on Friday's for everyone.

I am hopeful that we will have the night of the Mourning of Megrim party as the farthest time out that everyone has all their characters in the city.

BOB

All caught up now on postings.

We will be playing all 5 Fridays in July. Then we will take the next few weeks off as I am out of the Country.

BOB

Yes there will be a game on the 26th. I might be just a tad late. But we will be playing.

BOB

Alas, cannot come to game the "maybe" game on June 26. I had thought my religious conference would be over for the day by game time, but it turned out not to be the case. :-(

Spring

I too would be interested in playing someone who would normally be an NPC, preferably someone who doesn't like Kenna or has no reason to be anywhere Kenna is.

I would also be interested in doing something like for the council meeting, only I hope not so politically nuanced. I really didn't understand what I was supposed to do or how to do it. Not Machiavellian, me.

Spring

Mike no need to limit your self to third level.

If you want a character to run during this Era we have lots of possibilities. Similar to Jondar being one of the people that is in the circle of people around Branwyn you could run someone that wants to be near Imari or the rest of the group. Someone from the city various levels of society or from the nearby towns in the Principality.

There are going to be stories that take place only inside the city, there will be stories that take place out in the Principality, and Lisa is looking for the right adventure type of thing to do for a summer vacation when most of the nobles leave the city for the country side.

I also have some other things like what we did with the city council meeting where everyone will be playing a different character for one reason or another for a session.

However if you want to make someone who wants to be a henchman that you create from scratch at 3rd level that is up to you.

BOB

6/18 So I guess I need another henchman if I want to get in on some of the play time, so what class does everyone think the party could use? I'm pretty open to all options except mage, never been a fan of mages. Keep in mind they'll be low level (3rd) as a henchman.

Mike

11, June 2015 Hey all! I am now in California staying at a Hilton. I managed to get an internet connection but am worried that my Klooge connection might have trouble using the internet here. Have any of you used Klooge without a VPN connection through a hotel before? I will be on tomorrow perhaps a little late depending on how business goes but I fully plan on participating if I can connect. See you all hopefully tomorrow!

Michael (Hugh)

I have played from hotel rooms many times and so has Eric without difficulties. If you have Internet you should be fine. Lisa

Fair Enough Lisa. Thank you for giving me some background. It is nice that it blocks some magic such as scrying. I never thought of that. Hopefully it wont come back to bite us, but it does seem to have some positive aspects that I didn't realize were there until you told me. Thanks!

Michael (Hugh)

Hey guys. Posted elsewhere but when reading, one thing led to another and I was randomly looking up "the mist." This stuff is freaking scary and seems to be sinister. Why aren't you all interested in removing it. I mean maybe there are some back story alliances or simply to busy but it seems quite wrong and frightening. Can we go stop the Mist? It dampens healing and blocks out the sun for crying out loud. It cant be a happy go lucky force in the world.

Michael (Hugh)

6-7 - Lisa

You will get different answers from different characters about the Mist. The epicenter of the Mist is in the Great Swamps and no one has been there and made it out alive in our lifetimes (that we know of anyway). What is there is the stuff of legends, but the consensus is generally that there is some sort of vampire enclave protected by the Mist and various undead. The deal is that we leave them alone and they leave us alone. It does serve as a protection from attack from other kingdoms of a sort and the current Queen has worked to try to forge an alliance with the vampires by having Branwyn create one magically.

As far as Branwyn is concerned, the Mist is our business and no one else’s. It is not the Kingdom of Terraguard or the Grand Celestry’s place to tell us who we must eradicate on our own lands. Would she prefer sunlight? Of course. Does she want to go into the swamps and try to kill an unknown number of vampires who can hypnotize you and suck you dry just because it would be fun? She thinks not. Besides, she is finding the privacy that the Mist provides somewhat comforting compared to Dryads Lair where priests and mages are constantly doing divination to play psychic games on you whenever they feel like it. Other characters and players will probably give you different answers. For me, out of character, I like the legend and the mystery. Why remove what makes our little piece of the world different?

There is a set of very nice images for the latest update from Tabletop

https://plus.google.com/+CarlPinder/posts/dhtM7XJXcqk

Also Spring will not be in on Friday. Minor accident, she is ok.

We will start with the away team first and see where we are when we get to Mike and TMO having things that they want to do in the City.

BOB

31, May 2015

Michael (Hugh D'Ambray)

Thanks Bob. Also I know it's not too bad, just in today's workplace if anyone saw that I didn't want to get anyone in trouble.:) In the past one boss I had Jeesh. God forbid anything barely suggestive came into view video wise. Just better to be safe then sorry if anyone read this at work and decided to follow through on a work computer network. For those who I probably scared into not watching it is the ball room scene in Van Helsing. Nothing too bad. Just a really creepy vampire dancing with a girl. It was edited for the sake of brevity.

Also I know I'm not there so this is kinda OOC, but I need to know my budget, roughly how many people are attending, will this be hosted in the mansion or outside in the pavilion. I don't have the map in front of me, but if we are doing this outdoors I need to prepare means of keeping warm. I'm pretty sure this is Winter.

Bob, I'm not familiar enough with the city,but I do have information gathering. Once more I'm not there, but perhaps you can say I helped plan before we left or give me a NPC to control briefly?

Also, unless anyone has objections, three quotes will be made for the purchase of paper mâché masks. They were common at low prices during the renessiance or depending on what traditions are available some of the higher class social group might have their own I have no idea.

Food and beverage depends on who will be attending. We need to walk a fine line between a good time and not breaking our coffers for a single party. Since we got nothing out of our recent adventure I'm surprised we have money. Perhaps a raffle and sponsors could be procured. We could definitely raffle off something I am sure.

Remember folks, if this party is memorable and higher social groups are impressed, the ambassador will hopefully become a more well known and likable person. It could open doors and opportunities.

We also need to keep a respectful and somber tone for the party out of respect but we need to make sure the guests enjoy themselves. I would also like to find a mid size orchestra/ performers for the dancing and a final respectful remembrance piece at the conclusion of the party for the culminating event. The "poisoned" drink is served and a priest says a benediction or something. We wish everyone a good night and then we all sigh and privately say to ourselves don't let the door hit you on your butt on the way out.

Anyone please contribute. I am busy this week but I have set aside a couple hours just to plan the party. What can I say. This is fun for me. Please give me any thoughts or concerns. Thanks.

Excellent imagery Michael, that is what I want to know. How the group wants the ambiance to be, who is attending as invited and perhaps why, details about food, drink and entertainment are always good.

And I do not think that is NSFW at all unless you are not allowed to watch video at all.

BOB

30, May 2015

So, I am going to get input from all of you, but I have been unofficially designated as "Party planner" for the Mourning of Melgin. I will take all suggestions and input that comes my way because it is fun if we all chip in. I will plan and then Branwyn will finalize as it is really her party.

A little background of the party for those who don't want to search :)

"This feast in the night is to mourn the loss of love in the dead of winter. Celebrations are traditionally held in dining halls where all the participants were black. Single women end the feast by drinking a glass of wine that is "poisoned" at midnight. This is to honor the passing of Megrim."

I picture this scene. In doing some research, this is definitely a halloween party, but it is meant to be somber and serious. Seconds 29-43 The opera singer is what I think the woman of the party will be wearing. The men can be varied but I was thinking more of a gray black. Black masks for the woman, and white masks for the men or if that is not appropriate, then gray/black masks for the men.

This scene is a little NSFW. Not bad, just a little promiscuous. Just better not to risk it you know. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmIYIqT-aVY

5-29

We are a go for tonight, tested the connection works as expected.

Messaged Corvus and he is aware of the plan for tonight.

Michael and Lisa should look at the party pack and decide what you are bringing, what is going away on the airship and what is happening with the scroll of shelter. It will be a rare thing for you to find a wall to use it on during the trek home however if you want to carry a bunch of stuff.....

BOB

5-25

So it is decided. For the group that is stuck in Domvile they will head back home.

Indigo, Hugh and Isla will head out and when Eric is in Tristan will be there one round behind.

Because Lisa and Michael and Corvus are often in right away we will start with them. Then we will switch over to city encounters when appropriate. It will take a few sessions for them to make it all the way back home.

There are many things to also do in the city including:

And of course I am sure you will find more things to get into between now and the time of the feasts

5-24

Hey John, sorry for the frustration. I'm new so my opinion probably doesn't mean much, but we'd love to have you back. I've pretty much just established that there should be either one or two leaders to actually get things done haha. That's why unless I really really feel strongly about something, my character will just follow Lisa, Mike, or whomever is senior or has "the meaningful vote" at the time. Less work and frustration on my part anyway haha. So actually for everyone if I say I'm doing whatever Indigo is doing :) it's not a cop out vote, it's a "I don't care what we do but I'm bored and want to do something" vote. Whenever you're ready I'm ready to kick butt at your side. :)

-Michael Harmon (Hugh)

5-24

John, Sorry you got frustrated/tired. I really thought I was simplifying the matter by asking the simple stay or go question, since it seemed to me we all kept getting caught up and tangled in how should we fight the gnomes, how should we handle the Duke, how should we get home, etc. All kinds of details, when we didn't even know what we were going to do in general. My thought was to just settle the large question first, not to stifle anyone off.

Hope to see you again soon, when you're ready.

TMO

5-24

John, you should take time off if you are not having fun.

The vote was a simple one, not in character, with two choices. Stay or go home.

There was not an option for "I will stay if we do this or.... " That is why I cut off everyone and made them choose A or B. Once you had that choice, which ended up going home, then the rest of the discussion is about how to best do that. The vote was not about should you split the party up, the vote was not about how to deal with the gnomes, it was a simple Home or Stay.

It is good to know you will not be in so that I can make plans.

BOB

I understand that the web site portion of the game is as optional as the Friday night portion, but here is my perspective if you want it.

Last week was clearly unresolved as who if anyone was gonna deal with the gnomes, so I posted to split the group so we knew who wanted what. the responses I had including Lisa/Indigo not caring about the gnomes and Eric/Tristian not being there made it clear to me we did not have the team to go after the gnomes. So I posted based on the fact we would work to get home together and got at least some positive response.

I thought it had been a great week.

Then in the space of and hour, Lisa/Indigo get the answer she as asked a week ago, does a 360 on going after the Gnomes to extort their ill gotten goods , the DM says I can not roleplay my character's option during an in character vote to see what the party is doing as a group, I "win" the vote and just as quickly the party get separated so whomever is left behind can do what they want. Do you notice this is where I was last Saturday.

Everything I did on line feels like a waste, the vote was a was waste. If we were going to split the party, why vote to see what we were going to do as a group?

I feel like I lost, I lost and I lost again, but I was right after all? The worst part is how much effect it has on my health and personal life. It should be a positive thing, but it's not. I thought you should know why you won't me seeing me for awhile.

John 5/24 3:10 AM

23, May: I was so sure you were going to axe it bob haha. Thanks for letting me keep that name of it the same. I really just had no idea what to name it so I looked at the first thing I saw and called it that. :) Kind of a cool name though. Hopefully no one asks me why it's called that.

5/23

Yes to Michael that is the correct place to post that sort of letter. Any correspondence going back and forth in the city and nearby should be put on that page.

I tweaked the letter just a bit for formatting. Spaces at the beginning of lines on the wiki mean something special for coding so to make paragraphs stand out better we need to insert an extra line between them rather than indenting.

For the content, I left it 99% alone, I changed from a cutter to a sloop because it is rivers and lakes rather than open ocean that Olana sails on.

BOB

So I typed an essay for Bran when she feels like reading it. It really needs to be looked over by Bob first though as it's his world and decisions. I just like to stir the soup and create mysteryies and open up opportunities that are perhaps a little closer to home. Feel free to axe it Bob! I just had no idea where to put it or how to have you look over it first! I did try to keep it vague soooo. yeah. http://www.dragonslayers-society.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?n=Main.CourierDispatches

Once again life gets in the way of fun... I won't be on Friday. Sorry everyone.

Eric

I fixed it for you Michael.

BOB

Michael (Hugh) 18, May 2015

Bob, hey my rss feed says I need to correct my formatting for my conversation to indigo and party. What did I mess up? I would like to fix it as soon as possible. Thx

Michael (Hugh) 18, May 2015

Thank you for saying it John. I have no problem with some planning, but really It seems planning only takes you so far in this world and when it gets to the point where the whole session is planning when you were looking forward to doing at least something is a little bit of a let down. Would it be alright if we did the planning during the week in the threads? That way when we get in game, we can quickly reiterate the plan and then go do something? I understand this is a slower game then most, but a whole session of planning makes me want to gauge out my eyes with a rusty fork. And then pour HCL in the sockets. I mean I still have fun, but still.

On the in game side, I have no problem going back to the city and giving a report. Or I can help go raid the gnome village. I am listening to Brans characters pretty exclusively now as she seems to be kind of a de facto leader and her opinion is probably what I will go do. This will simplify things and while I can give my opinion, it will quickly lead to results.

Also whomever posted the Darth comic, it was Hilarious.

If we don't do any planning on the website for the next session I am going to get a horse and start riding back. All 200 Miles. In the cold and dreary wasteland. Because I can.

John 5/17

I said it in character but to make it clear, I know a lot of players either do not want to or do not have time for planning. I felt the decision was made to handle the gnome situation. The next question is if we split up. I read enough to feel enough people wanted to leave that we would but I guess maybe that has not yet been answered. Once we know that answer we can work more on HOW to handle the Gnome situation. I felt for Michael and Corvus wanting to do something Friday, It felt like we did not even role-play much. I really hope next week will be more doing.

Somtimes it mirrors the game so well.

http://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/1196.html

5/15

I am up and running John did fix it for me.

Yes to TMO and Lisa about the ramifications of the Order, that is part of the twist on this.

Michael we will talk in game, out of character about what is happening.

BOB

15, May 2015 So I have been reading to play some catch up and now I am so confused. Can someone explain briefly or the TL;DR version? Or point me where I need to catch up at?

Michael (Hugh)

TMO comment: Racism: It's okay if it's Dragon on Dragon... :P

Can I beg that it would violate the Prime Directive that prohibits me from interfering with the internal development of dragon civilizations? Lisa

Actually, I had the same reaction when I read it. "Oh, that's okay then." Then I thought about it and was like, "... but, why is it okay now? How is it different just because its dragons instead of people?" 0:) - TMO

5/15

I am at Robert's house and set up. Except that the computer at home apparently is turned off. John or Nyrma will fix that for me before 7 I hope.

BOB

5/14

Michael,

That would be a no to clockwork stuff.

The reason being is that there are some specific areas and ways that you will encounter such things. Currently no one has yet. Once that time comes, similar to how the airships were "discovered" by the players everyone will understand the limitations, circumstances, etc.

Also as an aside we will try to get through the dragon wrap up tomorrow, figure out who leaves, who stays, etc. You definitely do not want to be staying in Domvile for an entire month dealing with dragon issues without someone contacting Branwyn and those back home.

We also have a city council meeting to explore.

BOB

14, May 2015 Michael (Hugh) Don't go down there alone Bran! It's a trap! Haha, Also thanks for the advice and wise words everyone. I appreciate it. Can't wait until tomorrow!

5-13-15

Michael - Very glad you are feeling better about things. I was waiting to see other posts before I tossed in my comments. I hope you keep posting IC with John. Things just come down to dice rolls. If Indigo would have failed both his saves he would be dead too. If Galdek would have made just 1 of his 2 saves, the healers could have revived him. And by the way, your character doesn’t have to die by violence. Branwyn died of the plague. A dice roll.

My characters will never play it safe and Mike’s are not really known for that either. We know what we’re doing, the risks we take, and we do it anyway. My characters are not cautious. Believe me; I have heard dozens of times that my decisions are reckless, foolhardy and just plain stupid on the risk scale. I'm okay with that.

Two things about the planning:

You guys all did a fantastic job on the plan. What went wrong was me. When I came back to the game and said what’s the plan – I didn’t push anyone to do that. I got bits and pieces and found my character sitting in a crowded enclosed place with a gas blowing dragon coming and no fighting to do. Again – I did not push anyone to tell me what the grand scheme of it all was (my fault), and so I took it upon myself to deviate from said plan because I wanted to fight. Mike’s character followed me (I was worried about that because I knew full well I was not following the plan) and I should have made Indigo tell Galdek to bugger off. But that really isn’t an Indigo IC thing to do and in his little head, the more warriors battling the better. I mean, seriously, who doesn’t want to whip out their sword and fight a dragon? It’s epic. Nothing that happened with the two of us had anything to do with the plan. The plan was great for the task at hand. There is nothing I can do about it now except say that I am sorry and have Branwyn rail on Indigo when he gets back. Any other player or character can join in for that matter.

As far as getting tricked by gnomes? That is Bob, and in my opinion, what makes his stories so much fun. You can go online and find dozens of games where you just walk around killing things. Bob’s adventures are always complicated and full of twists and turns. This is exactly why I do have an aversion to tight plans. You have to be ready to turn on a dime when the inevitable Bob twist comes. When Bob sets up a big encounter, Mike, John, Eric and TMO should all know that it will NEVER be that simple. But even knowing that (and I know they do), they still like to plan. So they should – it keeps Bob entertained anyway. :)

So please don’t not plan just because you or someone else might die. All men must die. Valar Morghulis! You have good ideas and it would be a shame to be silent when we need and love the creativity that comes from everyone.

Lisa

13, May 2015 Hugh (Michael) Also, Bob I had a quick question, I cannot do clockwork creations because I am not a clockwork mage specifically, but If I was to put a point or such into engineering, could I "Design" The clockwork creations? I cant just bring it to life. The reason I ask is because in every other D and D game i've played I am more of a scientist then fighter and I need to get back to my roots as such. Also, I just replayed Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends and I really really like the clockwork soldiers. Example: http://riseoflegends.wikia.com/wiki/Clockwork_man . I don't understand if we can take familiars or in this case a clockwork soldier, but I leave that to your discretion. Thoughts?

13, May 2015 Hugh( Michael)

I understand. I'm starting to come to terms that we can die and that's part of the game. I just don't want to be the one whose plan ends up with a friend dead. Although I was reviewing my saved chat logs and I gotta admit, looking back he took it with a lot of grace and began making jokes. Too soon came to mind several times but I liked that he thought he could now go with both groups. I'll definetely try to lighten up. I also truly do like that Bob wont pull punches, it's just hard to deal with in the heat of the moment. That's true D and D. I really do understand, but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy it :). On the other hand holy crap someone needs to invest a point or two into ballistics. That thing was way powerful!

Michael - Our characters can all die in this, although it is rare. I *think* Galdek is the first one to actually die since I started playing, although Ilero has come close a couple of times (mostly through doing risky actions without thinking through the consequences). But I've heard a few death stories from before I joined. I even have a general idea of what will happen if Ilero does bite it.

I understand your stance though. Most RPG campaigns work pretty hard to keep PCs alive. Most of the D&D I've played was the same, but I've played enough other games where PC death was expected that it doesn't bother me too much. Besides, as Bob can tell you, I enjoy making new characters. ;) The fact that Ilero is still alive after 2-3 years has stifled my creativity a bit, as my old D&D group started a new campaign every 6 months or so. I think we did more character creation than actual playing. :D

I wouldn't advise you to completely withdraw from helping plan, although Hugh's skittishness about it is a perfectly understandable aftereffect from this encounter. Our plans were all pretty good and effective, only being derailed by something we didn't know or guess. Nothing much we could have done about that.

And besides, anybody who deliberately charges a dragon has to accept that death is a likely result. ;)

- TMO

05/11/2015

Michael (Hugh)

Hey guys, I just wanted to apologize for my overreaction to the game two days ago. I am just now fully calming down and all that jazz. Well, not really calming down, just had it hanging over my head the last couple of days. God forbid if my character dies. It will take a full week to calm down LOL. I have fun with you guys, I really mean that, but I am no longer going to plan anything anymore. I am not a dragon slayer. I am not suicidal and it seems apparently clear that we can die in like two seconds. That isn't for me. I won't be doing any other dragon fighting until I have a solid chance of survival. All of you have been playing for year and have obtained god like powers in this game. I am not, and will not act like I am one of you. My character is based on a fighting style, but truly that isn't where my talents lie, I want my character to be educated and scientific. My strengths aren't in taking down "dragons" that happen to be illusions or god forbid a real dragon. I leave that to people who can do that. I just wont. I'm not trying to imply my character is a coward, I am just a realist. The first chance I get I'm leaving to go back to the city where I can be of some use.

See ya next game.

I am doing this from my phone so non-normal words are not in my spell check :)

We will go back and edit to have the same name each occurance when I have the chance.

BOB

5-5-15 Tabletop Link below looks nice. Can you tell me the final spelling of my future husband's name? I am going with the spelling of his first introduction in the 2-27-15 chat log but if that is wrong I can fix.

[Phillipe Gaston Enquire (Master)] Here is an invitation to dinner

[Branwyn (Lisa)] From?

[Phillipe Gaston Enquire (Master)] Lord Branadarus

I will say that I have a whole problem with the name and why he would not be Branwyn's husband - Branwyn Branadarus? or Bran Bran for short? Lisa

Here is an example of how Tabletop will exceed what Klooge can do.

http://www.tabletopconnect.com/progress-on-3d-pathfinding/

When you chose your fig you will be able to see just how far you can move, and what it will cost you to move to that spot. The map will know you cannot walk up a wall and have to take the stairs, etc.

I am looking at changing the numbers to Green for all attacks, Yellow for half attacks, Red for zero attacks or something along those lines.

BOB

You can always check the History link on any page to see each and every change as well as tag lines used for each change.

BOB

For those times I do not want to post because I want others to see the summary line, I will let Lisa's follow up to Bob's on bag od cloud quote stay for at least a day.

John

I moved Spring's comment up to the top.

Also no worries on being in all day long on the bonus game.

We play for 12 hours, it is a long time. Marco used to log in play for a bit, go to sleep and when he woke up would play again. When you can be in it will be great.

There are plans for several things to happen that day. Last time Lisa and TMO got their two characters three quarters of the way through an entire story arc in one day!

This time I would like to wrap up the end of the month in the City as well as the dragon encounter. The survivors of that encounter getting back to the City would be a nice bonus touch as well.

I am beginning to suspect that we will be using Tabletop for our BOB's Birthday Game in September.

BOB

2015-04-25

Almost dragon time!

Thanks BOB for remembering that Kanna was not fleshed out. She's got wp and nwp now (though I remembered too late that she may need Western Common as a prof due to not being human - if so, I withdraw Venom Handling). I hope I can get equipment and possible armor handled offline before the big day.

Heads up - about 5:15 or 5:30 Eastern I have to go do an obligatory Navigator Scout thing for about 2 hours. Unless I can ditch it. Pray for foul weather.

- Spring

Tabletop is really getting the mapping where we want it.

Latest update has torches on timers.... where the light radius goes down as the torch starts to burn out.

This will be a lot of fun for us.

I am holding off on testing it on a full session because there are currently daily builds for updates. I am guessing that people do not want to worry about downloading a new version every Friday just to play so we are holding off till things are closer to being a full release.

BOB

4/15

A post to see Tabletop in action from the map side of things. Done from a user rather than the programer.

Each picture has the DM side and the Player side next to each other.

https://plus.google.com/108564628129700416790/posts/Q4zVbuEAf5D?gpinv=AGXbFGwvt8pFphOT5pmwM_B23B6APpPTe4DIxQgeWBLC6IGrw6afRnhRBUJNf0Jun0uzDaQsVAWhfSIxK2OU-rQOTGiMhaDW28qUpq9CVoLpxlGfH5b6FfM&hl=en_US

BOB

4/6

I changed the header of the new section in the House Affairs IC page. I forgot there was a City Excursions page and so I will go fill that up instead. Sorry. Lisa

4/5

I am happy Lisa and Indigo will be involved in the dragon fight. I hope Mike does not feel forced into anything because he was not there Friday. I had not been as involved and had not fully thought things thru. I hope Mike brings which ever characters her wants to to the fight/adventure. I was a little concerned when I heard about the possibility of retiring Imari, though i fully support any decision he makes. You may have heard my comments about not particularly enjoying the current Arc and not having a main character prepared for this type of adventure. Whenever we are anticipating a confrontation such as the upcoming dragon, I always think what my next character might be. This time I am considering how what ever happens may effect how my characters change. But I will still have an idea for the next character, just in case. John

3-29 Thanks for the response, John. I was okay with Indigo sitting out for two reasons. 1) We only have 4 slots. We have two new people (Spring – not entirely new, but has not been in for longer than I have been playing, so re-new? :) ). That’s half the slots. IMO, I do think the new people need to get in there – makes for IC bonding and OOC experience with the big combat scenarios. Mike would have no character there, so he gets one slot and then there is just one left. 2) You said you would have Hoffman hang onto the side of the airship to go, and he is bow proficient and fully man sized – Indigo is neither of those things. It seemed a perfect fit and logical to send Hoffman. We haven’t seen you in a while and you wanted your fighter to be there! How can I not want you to do that? That would make me happy.

It wasn’t that I don’t want Indigo there for any particular reason, it just seemed like everything was falling into place nicely. I would never not send him to keep the character safe. When have I ever held the Indigo character back?

I’m not worried about the other characters. I am worried that the players may be, and don’t want them to worry. I want them to have fun with it. Michael’s character is crossbow proficient so he should do just fine – or as fine as anyone else with a weapon out there. I was going to have Branwyn toss Marisu’s crossbow into the room scroll so she didn’t feel so weaponless, as well as Tristan’s armor and morning star he uses, if he didn’t take it already. Everyone should be geared up and good to go. I haven’t forgotten the characters that went with just daggers thinking they were going to a simple parley. Branwyn will take care of them by sending them their stuff.

So after saying a bunch of things, it boils down to – I don’t know what to say. I want everyone who wants to be there, to be there. It is '''because’’’ I am in game so much and have been in so many of these big combats, that I am more than fine to sit out and give other characters the dragon kill and the XP. I don't have any real interest in playing an NPC. But if it will make people unhappy that I am leaving my character home with his hopefully new girlfriend, then that is bad too, and of course, I will bring Indigo to the party. Just don’t get upset if I go AFK for another planning session. Oh, and for what it's worth, I'm not a big fan of the airship for battle either. Airships don't turn quickly and again, it bunches everyone up and sets a situation for half the party to get gassed in one shot. That would be bad news. :) Lisa

3/29 I play also play a game called Oblivion. (A DND like video game, you may have heard of) The main goal is to save the would be emperor. There are always new quests and the important ones all need to be done as soon as possible but as there is no real time restraint built into the game, you can just wander around all over town and in all sorts of dungeons and abandoned keeps to fins adventure and treasure. It is a one person game but it is fun to be able to do do what ever you want to do, the quests will always be there when you get around to them. DND (Bob's game) is a social game. It is intended to be for everyone to play. Sure, as individuals we have own own goals and quests, but the primary goal should be the successful play of all involved. The current long term theme as well as short term challange seems to be how to best separate the party which in most DND games is the number one think not to do.

So for this to be a successful game as well as a successful adventure, I feel Lisa has to be involved. This is the important part.

As far as characters involved, I do not know enough about Hough to say if he is ready for this specific fight. The impression I got is he character is not designed to take on a dragon, though we never know what we might encounter. So the question becomes whomever does show up, who will they be able to play. I would hope anyone who shows up Friday can play an NPC from the ship or the "keep" as it is an important adventure. If Hoffman and Miranda (and I) are there, I have no issue letting someone play Hoffman. I just think it is more practical for Lisa to have first chance to play her character as she is in just about every week. If Bob and her are happy with her playing an NPC then we can let the characters be characters. If Michael is ready for himself and his character to go through his baptism of acid breath then I am ok with that too.

As far as planning until we have planed too much, as long as it stays on site, I am ok with that too a point. Best laid plans often go out the window after the first roll.I said it in character and I will say it here. I see no point to have the air ship anywhere around where we expect the the dragon. It is too much of a liability and too obvious that we intend to fight. If they can join in after the fight, maybe help if we need to pursue and finish off the dragon or as expected go get someone who has been carried off (is this why you do not want Indigo to go) then it is just a question of how far away and how to signal the ship. I do not think it will be able to keep up with the dragon, and we cannot use it to get everyone home so it may not even be needed.

Just my thought, just thought I would put that out there.

John

3-28 John –

You want Hoffman to go. You should send him! I don’t need to have a character everywhere all the time. I don’t want you not to send Hoffman just because you think it would be more fair or something. I am kind of glad I don’t have a character going. You know how much I hate planning. I just want Indigo to wave his swords over his head, yelling and running towards the battle. The planning stages are excruciating for me personally. So it is a relief to me not to have to share in all the worry and strategy that is likely to go into this one. I’m not saying creative planning is a bad thing – not at all! It’s just not my thing and so it is probably best that my character stays home.

I remembered we had the room scroll last night so we can dump a bunch of weapons and armor in it and take that on the airship. Joseph is making a lasso so if anyone gets stuck in a cloud of gas, someone who can hit accurately can try to grab them and pull them out. We can have him make a couple if that would be better. Take some potions from the lab. It’s a dragon – the number one rule for fighting dragons is spread out and don’t bunch up. One person might get gassed instead of the entire party at the same time. End of planning for me.

I have been sensing a little hesitation about this battle here and there. Everyone has different skills and abilities to bring to the table and many times characters have much more in their arsenals than they think they do at first glance. It's not always the biggest sword that wins the battle and with full attendance and a little creativity you will have a great team as is. So as I see it, you don’t need Indigo. But if anyone has second thoughts... If a player doesn’t want to put their character in danger, then they should most definitely say something before the airship ride next Friday and Indigo will go alongside Galdek and Hoffman (not instead of) and the fighters will go and help kick a little dragon ass. Just leave Indigo and Lisa out of the planning. Wake us up when it’s time to start fighting if that’s what it comes down to, but I don’t want John to sit Hoffman’s character out just for me. Tis not necessary and it makes me much happier to see players put characters who want to be out fighting and taking part in one of Bob's epic battles than to purposely have me put a character there just so we have equal participation. Again -- I think you all have a good team as is. :)

Lisa

Sorry Lisa, I was thinking too much as my character. you (Indigo) should go. You can put Hofmann in his place in the morning.

John

---

Because it gets lost in all the stuff

Event Planning for all your plotting needs.

BOB

Sorry about last week guys I send a message to Bob explaining. It's a long story. I wouldn't mind being waitstaff if you are hosting a masquerade ball. I think that would be amazing. Also OOC for the moment. I will tell you a real life experience. I attended a masquerade ball in Utah where everyone was seriously drinking. It was odd for me because I don't drink. I will however tell you that as everyone was pounding the liquor for the event, and everyone wearing insane masks, and the aura of mistique, the night was insane and one I will always remember even if I fall into dementia. So many people telling me things they wouldn't tell their own mothers because they were drunk and wearing a mask! I could not unhear some of the things the university students ended up telling me. I think you could easily pull this off. If the party in the game is a no drinking affair, then a masqerade ball is still fun and productive for eavesdropping and intel gathering. However, I will bow to the wishes of the group and fulfill any task needed of me.

Michael (Hugh D'Ambray)

3-26

That would be funny. But Ilero doesn't have to speak. He can lurk and eavesdrop, or better yet, he can go as a mime and entertain the guests as he gathers intel! Everyone loves mimes! :) Lisa

3-26

3-25-15

In response to party questions -

I see 2 religious feasts next month at our place. I vote for a non-church related function besides those. If the dragon is coming on the 1st and group has to get back home and then the religious things are on the 15th and 25th, maybe not have another one until the 11th month? I wouldn't want half the group missing any parties.

But I also don't really have strong feelings on details. I liked the idea of having a party with the NPCs we haven't met yet. I like maybe a masked ball. Let our spies and sneaky types roam freely in disguise. Mistaken identities, opportunities for hijinks and mayhem. :)

Just some thoughts to start it off. Lisa

Tested every character and Indigo was the only one with the XP problem.

Finally solved it by rebuilding him.

Everything works right now.

BOB

Thanks for fixing Indigo. Glad you had the technology and could rebuild him.

I started the new Dinner Conversations section so those things can start.

We will need to be discussing details about the parties the group will host. I will want some details from the group on what you are doing so that I can build my story arcs around them.

BOB

I added a new line on the News & Updates page to include a Anticipated Next Scene to help everyone understand what is coming up for the next session.

As always this is only a guess on my part for what the Players want to do.

For this next Anticipated Scene we can start it here on the Site or wait until Friday.

BOB

To give people an idea of how nice our maps can look. Here is an example another tester created. Note that curved walls are not available yet in the Terrain pack, nor are stairs. But he was able to create this wizard's tower entrance maze.

https://plus.google.com/117072728384928625826/posts/4LtsQczFRyo

We will really enjoy this once we get everything working.

BOB

There seems to be some issues with Java and Klooge tonight.

In case of being disconnected or the room seeming to be dead these are the options:

Grab BOB in some form of IM

Here is a link to the latest update for Tabletop Connect

https://www.dropbox.com/s/h48hgxir98g66pj/Tabletop%20%20Connect%20v0.202.zip?dl=0

If we do have to switch mid-stream tonight we will be ok and just do even more chat than maps, etc.

I will have both Klooge and Tabletop up and running just in case also. Of course I am using the East Coast server.

BOB

With some of the email back and forth that is going on some very good ideas for the Character Sheets has happened.

Here is something that those conversations generated when I brought up suggestions on the Tabletop Connect boards.

One of the plans is to have the miniatures in the game use something similar to this (http://www.aleatools.com/) to indicate status on the miniatures.

BOB

3-3-15

Michael no programing on the Players part is required at all. 90% of the current video is about setting up character sheets, etc. Then the mapping ones will come out.

My intention is to set up that programing so that you only need to go to your Abilities Page and click on Muscle to roll a check that will automatically take into account all the possible factors.

BOB

3-2-2015 I looked over the Table Top Connect and let me tell you it is quite the program. I have been watching the videos and it looks like some macro commands might need programming experience. If that is the case I may need help setting up the program. Is such things as Dice Rolls already built in? He was showing how the dice were calculated and it looked like he showed via Java how it was set up. Will we have to tamper with that? I'm pretty sure we wont but I wanted to check.

Michael (Hugh D' Ambray)

3-1-15

Tabletop Connect has another new update. Now character sheets are about 90% of what we need. Only things missing are automatic drop down lists of Spells and Proficiencies.

However the scripting is now far beyond what we use with Klooge currently. Virtually all table looks ups are now completely automated. You will be very happy with the results.

Watch this video please and let me know what you want to add.

https://vimeo.com/120871948

This will be great.

I also sent out an email with additional details and examples.

BOB

2-28-15

I took a peek at the end of chat and just wanted to toss my two cents in here. I do think that Hugh should go to the Feast if he wants to. That goes for everyone. It is a beer fest after all and one of the big celebrations. Branwyn, being the cheapskate that she is, only bought 3 seats at the front with the nobles behind the Prince. So two can go in with her and everyone else gets to go with a sort of general admission ticket and probably have more fun anyway.

Also, there are a ton of people at our house. From all of the guards, to the staff, and all of our characters. Just because Hugh comes to the house, it doesn't have to look like a meeting with the Ambassador. He can hang out with the guards or be coming to see any one of us. Lots of stuff we can do. I just don't want anyone to think that there are things that characters are going to be locked out of in order to do what they want to do. We can always think of something.

The only major restriction is we can't be in two places at once and so choices have to be made that way. And sadly enough, the character with the most restrictions at the moment is Branwyn. If she has her way, the DragonSlayers' summer home will be the most dangerous place she can find so she can get out and fight something. August in the Underdark anyone? :)

Lisa

That is very nice Spring.

There is also an RSS feed if you want for any particular feed you prefer.

There is a link for that on the News & Updates page. ---

Hey guys, I am going to be late tonight 2.27.2015 by about an hour and a half. I am actually in a seminar right now and am being watched. As I type this I feel like a kid that snuck into the bathroom to smoke a joint so I will be on as soon as I can. Thanks! Michael (Hugh D'Ambray)

I've been having some trouble in the site picking up where we've left off, so I've scripted part of my page to display a list of the 20 most recently changed pages. If it might be useful to you too, see it at Spring Dew.

Spring

John,

There would not be any benefit using a club over any other weapon during subduing because you are using the weapon in a way that is different than intended.

Non-Lethal Combat

If you notice there at the bottom of that page there is a link to subduing dragons that says you are going to complete that page. In 2007. grins you might want to get on that :)

BOB

I wanted to ask about using my club and what changes to the rules would be for subduing since it is a blunt instrument.

John

Sorry I've been MIA for awhile. Life has gotten in the way of fun. I'm hoping to be on tonight. I've been working ridiculous hours as of late. I got sent to fix another catastrophe. I should be free on Fridays a bit more now. I think the worst is behind me. Hope to see you all later...

Eric

The only dates I know of at this time that I won't be available is a week in April. - TMO

Thank you for the input Spring, Lisa, John. I will look at April or May dates when I know more from Eric, TMO and others.

Potentially May 9th for the date

In other news Tabletop has released several new videos that detail how the program works.

The chat functions have been updated to include everything we can do and more now. One thing that people will like is check boxes to control who sees what chat messages. You can whisper to 3 people at once for example.

Character Sheets are getting an upgrade in the next update and we will start seriously working towards the new platform then.

BOB

My March is total kaplooey. I have three major 12-step conferences next month. After which I'd like to cry and get drunk. Thank heavens I'm not an AA! I also have a service commitment to scouts twice a month. I am tentatively good for Apr 4/5, Apr 18/19, May 2/3, May 16/17, and May 30/31. The calendar doesn't show any commitments for those. Thank you!

Spring

I would most likely show up, but not sure if any weekend would be better than any other.

John

I'm up for a bonus game. I cannot do it the weekend of April 17-19. I'll let the guys chime in on preferred dates, but I was thinking maybe doing it on a Sat/Sun when we don't play on Friday so we can still have a little non-D&D weekend time :) Lisa

2-8-15

A quick summary and question.

The Bag of Clouds story arc is still available for roleplay and planning. There are a few days before you will hear any news from the rest of the group about additional resources for the visit by the dragon. The Duke will only talk with Marisu and Tristan for when you have questions, discussions, etc.

We are at Ilero and Shur visiting the animal trainer in Who What Were and then returning to hear what Hugh found out with his visit to the church.

Then continuing on with that and deciding what you will do to wrap up your visit there. It is the late afternoon on the 18th and you want to be back in Dryads Lair by the night of the 21st to be ready for the Feast of Broodhoy on the 22nd.

{Calendar of Events for tracking things}

So there are lots of things to do here in the roleplaying pages and beyond before Friday's session. Friday the 13th. What could go wrong?

Also there is the question I posted on the News & Updates page about missed sessions.

Between now and the end of May we will end up missing 4 more sessions, which is normally all we miss all year long.

I would like to have a Bonus Game to make up for missed time. For those who have not been in one, a Bonus Game is an all day game on a Saturday or a Sunday. We start playing at Noon (est) and continue until Midnight as normal. No one has to be in for the full game but it is fun to get everyone together for an extended session.

We will be doing that on September 19th for the BOB's Birthday Game later on in the summer but I thought we might want to do one earlier as well.

Does anyone have a weekend to propose for a Bonus Game in March, April or May?

Also new updates to Tabletop Connect for anyone who wants to play around with it. Still not ready for us to use on a regular basis yet but it is getting close.

Looking forward to a few weeks of good play.

BOB

Good work on both story arcs now. We can do the go back home portion of Bag of Clouds on the Story Arc page and move that to the next key point.

The Who What Were can move forward here also if people wish to. There are a few things to tidy up and to decide what you plan on telling who about what. Then heading on home from there as well.

No game on the 7th but we will play on the 13th. I hope we can have more things done by then so we can use that session to finish loose ends and do the stuff in the city.

And welcome Corvus and Michael, they are both doing nicely on their auditions. Check out the chat logs if you missed a session.

BOB

So the hope for this week (1/30) is that we move forward on the Who What Were story arc. We will have another new player auditioning this week. He has already logged in and synced with Klooge so should not be a problem there.

For the Bag of Clouds story arc 99% of that can be done in the In Character threads.

I will be in Tampa using remote access to run the game.

Remember no game on 2/6 then back to our regular schedule.

BOB

Thank you sir.

Sorry to hear about your dad, Bob and John. - TMO

I'm planning on being there tonight. I will lay off the scotch this week. Last week I got trashed on accident. HONESTLY on accident. It was one of those I'm fine...I'm fine... And then I woke up on the couch in my hotel room computer on the floor....

Also, I learned why people do not negotiate treaties when heavily intoxicated. Its just a dragon... how hard could it be??

Eric

The old characters are so far out of sync now that they might as well be in a different world.

We left off that Story Arc with the group sailing off into the ocean looking for the pirate. Lost at sea, only one person ever besides Blue Gill ever came back. Falling into the water does not work, teleport does not work, scrying does not work, etc. You have to complete the adventure and solve the puzzle to be able to return back to the land of the known.

That was why you, Mike and others were all for restarting with new characters. After all this time I have zero belief that you can solve those puzzles to complete the adventure. People would need to start from May 2008 until January of 2010 to go through and read and re-discover all the clues.

Those characters were not parked somewhere until you wanted to bring them out without any consequences. You have to solve those problems first to see if they even live through that. I never said that any of those characters are still alive for that reason.

Just because you hear of places and people that the Players have heard from before does not mean you understand what is happening.

If Lorie shows up that would be great, I can have a character for her to play easily. If Sean or Jeff were to show up, if Devin or Bill were to show up that would be wonderful.

The players are what is important, not the characters.

BOB

Unless Lori shows up, then you should be prepared for KylIa, Finglass and Paul to do some crazy stuff to catch up the timeline.

John

So for this upcoming session we will not have Lisa. Depending on who is in we will do the Bag of Clouds first is my intention. Then when Spring is in we can continue back with Who What Were.

BOB

Sorry about missing last week. I had a friend drop by unexpectedly. I'm all caught up and it appears once again that Bob is going to make screwing with me a fun adventure... I mean really you had to knock off a priestess?? I'll be there tonight so the mind games can continue. Thanks Lisa for compiling that summary. That helped a lot.

Eric

Aha gotcha. Thanks. Heh, I parsed the file and found all the data directory references, but no data directory itself, so it sounds like that's one of the things that will sync when I log in.

--Spring

Welcome back Spring. {I moved your comments here to the thread for this year}

All those XML files will auto sync for you when you log into Klooge the first time on Friday.

I will be home after 8:30 (est) on Wed and Thurs and most of the day on Friday if you want to log in early.

No worries to do so as it will just take you a few minutes when you log in on Friday.

It will be fun.

BOB

2015-01-06

Um, hi! So, I have Klooge installed and I made the recommended edits to the file mentioned on the main communication page. I see that there are custom XML files we can use for definition, description, data, and character sheets. What I don't see is what the file names should be for these XML files. I'm missing it somewhere. What I also haven't found is connection information, but I expect I'll get that live. Could someone please point me in the right direction?

Edit 9:30 PM MST.

What I did was dig around until I found XML files in lib > defs

I created a plain text file I called ADAmpD2.Mine.xml here and dumped the text of the definition file into it.

I haven't yet figured out anything about the data files. Next I'll try parsing the def file to see if it tells me.

So far I found this:

<desc-file>docs/desc2nd.xml</desc-file>

Thanks! --Spring

It was a great year and I look forward to another fun one with all of you. Happy New Year.

BOB

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