OOC/ Vacation Thread

[Rukellian]

Right, it's a powerful thingy and the group doesn't know what it does. Brother Bolden has some ideas but his knowledge of it is not that extensive. This is intentional. Parceling out the information like this is a DMing tool I am trying to use to help build the foundations for a quest, the quest. Receiving bits and pieces of the whole picture is a way to entice players to want to learn more about the situation they are delving into and feel that they are playing a major role in shaping how things turn out. Using these bits and pieces of information, they can act on them and determine what sort of route they want to take.

What I can also do at this stage of the game is just condense all the information gathering into one NPC encounter and then set you all off on a clear-cut, two, or even just one-part mission that will bring you to the end of the current campaign. Admittedly, this is not how I planned the campaign out in the first place, but I can adapt and help bring this game to an end quickly if this is what the group as a whole prefers.

It feels like no one is in the mood for a long, drawn-out game right now. You want results, you want immediate answers, and you want things to progress more quickly than the way things are going right now. This is the impression I'm getting, is there any truth to this?

Edit:
I'd be fine with just ending the game at the end of chapter 1. I've been feeling very stressed out over this game, and I can't seem to shake the feeling off. I think that the sooner we finish the current event and get to a safe stopping point, the better off for everyone. I don't want whatever it is I'm going through right now to negatively affect the rest of the game for you guys.

[Rukellian]

Perhaps the game has already come to a finish and I just haven't realized it yet? Is this one of those moments where the majority of the group has lost interest in the game? If so, I can do us all a favor now and just request to have this archived, until we are all ready to finish this, and or pick it back up.

[Zhym]

Honestly, I've been really busy lately and haven't had much time for checking in on the boards. It's a lot easier for me to keep up with games when I'm not the one driving the action forward.

I'm not quite sure what the next step in the game is supposed to be. The reason I have Elethil asking so much about the piece of the Obsidian Eye is that he needs to know more about the thing before he decides what he thinks should happen to it. So far, we know that the piece probably has limited wish capabilities on its own and that the Obsidian Eye, if assembled, can "perform miracles, shape entire kingdoms, [and] change the fates of men." We can also surmise it doesn't seem to have a healthy effect on people. Knowing that, Elethil would not want to drag the McGuffin back to town to see what happens; he'd either want to destroy it or stash it somewhere safe while he researches the hell out of it.

Build-the-Thing and Destroy-the-Thing are both classic, time-tested AD&D quests. Usually it's clear early on which one a module is supposed to be. That's not always true, of course; I was in a great online game many years ago in which some PCs were tasked by their gods with creating the McGuffin, others with stealing it, and still others with destroying it. But even in that game, each PC knew at the outset what their goal was.

Also, it's strange that none of our PCs had ever heard an object of such power. I'd think there would be stories, legends, or myths surrounding such a thing, about who made it, when and how, why, and what happened to it. Maybe not everyone knows the whole story. But an artifact with the power to shape entire kingdoms, and all that remains in the common consciousness is a name? It's possible, but there should be a compelling story about why something like that would have fallen into obscurity.

Maybe I am wrong. After all, Bilbo thought he just had a nifty ring that made him invisible until Gandalf clued him in. And who knows what, say, Denethor and Théoden knew of the ring? But the Shire was fairly isolated from current events and the kings (and stewards) of men were focused on their own problems. Some in Middle Earth, such as Gandalf and Elrond, were certainly aware of the rings even 5,000 years after they had been forged.

I wouldn't say that I want a short game, or that I need all the answers right now. But so far, all I have are questions and no clear path to answering them. It's hard to post actions when you haven't a clue what's going on. I readily acknowledge that one reason I don't know what's going on is that I usually only have time to check in, read the post, and get back to work.

Edit: added quotation marks, because unclosed quotes drive me bonkers.

[Rex]

Excellent post Zhym. I would add from my characters standpoint, there is not much he can do. He knows nothing about the item, never heard of it. He is not a mage or a cleric. Gathering mundane information is something he understands but super powerful magic items no one knows anything about are way out of his comfort zone. He really has only 2 options in his view. Try to use it it or try to destroy it. The game doesn't need to be short, but I play PbP games because I have similar constraints as Zhym, maybe 5 or 10 minutes at a time at most.

[Zhym]

Oh, one other thing: as much as I like us having a pet cockatrice, allowing a charm to work on it isn't by the book. It's not a "person," so Charm Person wouldn't work. It's not a mammal, so Charm Person or Mammal is also out. It's not an animal, so Animal Friendship isn't an option.

As usual, it's your game and your rules (and hey, it worked out in our favor), but I just thought I'd mention that charming a cockatrice is a bit unorthodox. And because it's unorthodox, I'm not sure what we should expect to happen next. For example: how long do we think the cockatrice will remain our (Eric's) friend?

[Rukellian]

Thank you for getting back to me on this, and reminding me that you guys sometimes only have 5-10 minutes to read and respond to a post. My work constraints aren't as strict as yours right now, and because of that, I have a lot of time on my hands. I've been misinterpreting your lack of posts as a lack of interest in the game, and for that, I apologize. Hopefully, the next few posts will make things clear for everyone in the game, clear as to what the end goal is for this game.

When I have so much time on my hands to think about things and plan for my games, I quite frequently get ahead of myself. This results in a disconnect between my players and myself. What they know is going on, and what I know are two different things at times. I'm trying to work on this and slow down on my end so that you guys can be supplied with the info you need as opposed to the info I think you should need.

-----

I am aware of the cockatrice's classification, and that it doesn't fit nicely into the mold of Charm Person or Mammal. It was a situational allowance. Because of the unorthodox nature of the druidic spell's casting, the creature is going to resist the spell's effect more often (once a week). Normally once a week saving throw rolls are reserved for creatures of a higher intelligence, but I thought it would be a good substitute for gameplay purposes as opposed to using the once every 3 months system. Keeping the cockatrice, however, is left up to the druid, Eric. He knows for a fact that these things are dangerous to keep around, for a scratch upon bare skin is all that it takes to trigger a save against petrification.

[Zhym]

BTW, have we found out what made the entire town get up and walk away?

I am aware of the cockatrice's classification, and that it doesn't fit nicely into the mold of Charm Person or Mammal. It was a situational allowance. Because of the unorthodox nature of the druidic spell's casting, the creature is going to resist the spell's effect more often (once a week). Normally once a week saving throw rolls are reserved for creatures of a higher intelligence, but I thought it would be a good substitute for gameplay purposes as opposed to using the once every 3 months system. Keeping the cockatrice, however, is left up to the druid, Eric. He knows for a fact that these things are dangerous to keep around, for a scratch upon bare skin is all that it takes to trigger a save against petrification.

FWIW, it's helpful to have these sorts of house rules stated in advance. Otherwise, it can appear as if the DM is running the game by whim and fiat. It's important for a game to have an internal logic. The rules work the way players expect them to work, and the in-game world has rules that are followed. If gravity works backwards, it works backwards for everyone.

I appreciate your willingness to accommodate player requests, and have (ab)used your good nature more than once. Taken too far, it can lead to games like I played when I was in junior high school, where I played a 20-something level F/MU with multiple stats over 19 and a couple of artifacts in his possession. Some people are into that kind of game, but not everyone is.

[Rukellian]

BTW, have we found out what made the entire town get up and walk away?

Errm, no. This is also intentional. It hasn't been brought up in conversation in-game so an answer wasn't provided...

[Rukellian]

Eric pauses and attempts to detect balance.

Can you clarify what you are having Eric do?

Thank you.

[Rukellian]

I realize that some of you might be waiting for something to happen before you post. If this is the case, I can clear up the situation rather quickly and tell you exactly what is going on. It will help carry the game forward from this standstill but at the expense of making this encounter feel forced. Would that be alright?