The Saucy Centaur (OOC)

[dok-el]

"Welcome to the Saucy Centaur! Any funny business and I'll have yer guts for garters and yer ballacks for beer cups! Now... what can I get yer?"

[dok-el]

Ooh look

It's a new OOC thread.

[dok-el]

Okay, so I am going to proceed under the assumption that so long as the current party leader is leading the party somewhere at least some of them want to go, they will follow.

[FlightlessScotsman]

I'm OK with that. What's the window of time for raising strenuous objections? (That Loman guy is an idiot!)

[dok-el]

I'm OK with that. What's the window of time for raising strenuous objections? (That Loman guy is an idiot!)

I would say 24 hours.

Also Zhym, yes you can use the scroll version of a spell you previously failed to learn.

FYI: Xp for recovered magic items will be divided equally amongst all surviving characters. Meaning all characters who make it back into town after any given excursion to the Castle.

[dok-el]

Listening at doors:

1 in 6 for human non-thief
2 in 6 for non-human non-thief (so elves basically in this game)
3 in 6 for 1st level thief of any race

So Marcus and Loman both potentially hear something on 1-3 on 1d6. I'll roll to keep us moving but in future players are welcome to make their own rolls

Marcus: [1d6] = 1
Loman: [1d6] = 5

Good job Marcus went along too! Okay, I'll update the IC soonish.

Edit: Referee adjudication - Herbert and Katarina get one vial of holy water each

[Zhym]

Hey, look, it's a new OOC thread.

The hazards of using "View your posts" to keep up with new posts in games you're in...

[dok-el]

Hey, look, it's a new OOC thread.

The hazards of using "View your posts" to keep up with new posts in games you're in...

Heh. Apologies. I wanted to change the name of the OOC thread and the only way I could see to do it was to trash the old one and start again

Welcome to the Saucy Centaur!

[triplehappiness]

Listening at doors:

1 in 6 for human non-thief
2 in 6 for non-human non-thief (so elves basically in this game)
3 in 6 for 1st level thief of any race

So Marcus and Loman both potentially hear something on 1-3 on 1d6. I'll roll to keep us moving but in future players are welcome to make their own rolls

Marcus: [1d6] = 1
Loman: [1d6] = 5

Good job Marcus went along too! Okay, I'll update the IC soonish.

Edit: Referee adjudication - Herbert and Katarina get one vial of holy water each

Quite unnecessary. Herbert is happy to share. Having a cleric at his back with no holy water is not a prospect he would relish.

[FlightlessScotsman]

Listening at doors:

1 in 6 for human non-thief
2 in 6 for non-human non-thief (so elves basically in this game)
3 in 6 for 1st level thief of any race

So Marcus and Loman both potentially hear something on 1-3 on 1d6. I'll roll to keep us moving but in future players are welcome to make their own rolls

Marcus: [1d6] = 1
Loman: [1d6] = 5

Good job Marcus went along too! Okay, I'll update the IC soonish.

Edit: Referee adjudication - Herbert and Katarina get one vial of holy water each

Ah. I didn't know how you wanted to handle thiefly checks. I guess I'm in the habit as a DM of always doing these kinds of rolls behind the screen, so players don't know if they failed to hear because the dice suck or because there's just nothing there. Anyhoo, I'll handle it from now on.

[dok-el]

Ah. I didn't know how you wanted to handle thiefly checks. I guess I'm in the habit as a DM of always doing these kinds of rolls behind the screen, so players don't know if they failed to hear because the dice suck or because there's just nothing there. Anyhoo, I'll handle it from now on.

Actually, you make a good point. I think in future I will continue to make the listen rolls in secret. Mwah ha ha ha

In fact a very helpful site admin just set up a hidden thread for me where I can do all my secret dm stuff. Just to confirm, none of you can see it right?

Anyway, I'll be moving the bookkeeping stuff into it... I will post occasional xp and loot updates to the OOC and obviously the total haul from each trip to the Castle will be posted for distribution purposes.

[dok-el]

OOC: Are there any windows to this building?

Where there are windows at ground level they are usually shown on the map. If you look you can see (you the player I mean) where there are arrow slits indicated on the outer walls.

The larger outbuildings are two stories high (walls rise to 20ft high) and there are some narrow castle-style windows higher up (see attached image).

[triplehappiness]

Another narrative flexibility question.

Ok, so Herbert just looked down the well. The DM didn't react so I'm guessing there's nothing there. Would you have been ok with me adding some flavor at that point? For example, I might have said something innocuous like "Herbert's eyes adjust to the well and he sees little of interest. It seems a rat fell down the well and wasn't able to get out, it's bloated body floating on the surface. Herbert moves to join Crenshaw before he has to endure the smell that is almost sure to be rising from below."

Basically, I'm just looking to flesh out the mundane details in a way that doesn't really change anything but can add some flare to my posts. Making them more than (I prepare to attack, I search the pile of refuse, or I prepare a spell) Again, if this is not right for this game, feel free to say so. Not a huge deal. I'm enjoying things so far.

[dok-el]

A quick note on door etiquette.

The majority of closed doors will need to be forced open.

From the rulebook.

Opening Doors: Stuck doors (and many doors in an ancient
dungeon may be stuck closed) require a die roll on a d6 to
force open. The chance to succeed is based on a character’s
Strength (see the description of the Strength attribute).
Multiple characters – up to a maximum of three – can smash
through a door together, giving each one a separate, normal
chance of success all at once. However, they will spill into
the room and should automatically lose initiative if there are
monsters within. It is important to get the door open on the
first try, because a failed attempt will warn any monsters on
the other side of the door that there is trouble.

[dok-el]

Another narrative flexibility question.

I would prefer players to focus on their characters rather than adding narrative details that establish facts about the environment. Obviously minor assumptions about the environment are fine. If someone posts 'Igor picks up a loose stone and drops it down the well' I'm not going to be all 'hey, I never said there were any loose stones!' - that would be ridiculous. However, anything beyond this I feel should be avoided as it may result in people posting details about the environment that directly contradict the information that I have.

I still feel that you are trying to apply a 'new school' playstyle to an 'old school' game. I'm happy to hear that you are enjoying yourself and would encourage you to fully embrace the back-to-1974 vibe

[triplehappiness]

Another narrative flexibility question.

I would prefer players to focus on their characters rather than adding narrative details that establish facts about the environment. Obviously minor assumptions about the environment are fine. If someone posts 'Igor picks up a loose stone and drops it down the well' I'm not going to be all 'hey, I never said there were any loose stones!' - that would be ridiculous. However, anything beyond this I feel should be avoided as it may result in people posting details about the environment that directly contradict the information that I have.

I still feel that you are trying to apply a 'new school' playstyle to an 'old school' game. I'm happy to hear that you are enjoying yourself and would encourage you to fully embrace the back-to-1974 vibe

I certainly don't want to contradict real facts about the environment. Which is why I asked about the well. It was something I attempted to interact with that didn't appear to have established facts to contradict. My apologies if that was not the case.

I can't speak to 1974 as it is a bit before my time, but we certainly played this way in 1983 when I first started DM'ing. Perhaps that is a new school style of play for some true old schoolers. But everyone was encouraged to participate in the narrative. Otherwise, it quickly became a game of "how big is this brick?" "can I pick it up" "Are there any branches 3 inches around I could make into a club?". At least that's how it went for us. Without giving characters some narrative flexibility, the DM got bogged down with trivial questions or else players only ever "readied their swords". I was thinking this might quickly bog down a PBP game. But again, this is how we played and I'm trying to get a feel for what is and isn't allowed in this particular game.

All in good spirit of fun. So please don't mind me.

[dok-el]

So it looks like the party are going to try and get through the first door. From what people have posted so far it seems that Katarina has volunteered to go in first whilst everyone else has bravely announced that they will be right behind her

So is Katarina trying to force the door alone, or is anyone else going to help? I will assume the former if no one posts anything to the contrary before the next time I update.

[triplehappiness]

Herbert attempts to help and fails miserably.

[qazbnm]

Finally Katarinas low rolls pay off

[triplehappiness]

Question. These characters are all first level. How common are Harpies in this setting? Are we assuming they've never encountered a Harpy? That they have? That they have heard rumors? Roll for it? Just checking before I RP my characters responses. It will be based on their game/world knowledge, not mine.