OOC I

[frobozz]

Huge shout-out to frobozz for all the treasure organizing!

And my thanks to you and Bouv for doing the maps. That part is beyond me.

And the biggest shout out goes to thirdkingdom for running an 'effin AWESOME game!!!

[thirdkingdom]

Thanks. RE: the small grove of trees near the caves. It could be used to conceal two or three horses and the cart and mules. Just barely. Given the hilly and rugged terrain, however, there are plenty of spots along the trail that could be used as a potential ambush/concealment spot.

Are we all ready to move on to Zoltar's? Are you guys taking the cart?

[zebediah]

I believe we better take the cart as it saves us the trouble of having to keep going back and forth in case we retrieve large volumes of treasure (which I hope we do).

Is there any other place close to the caves where we could hide the horses and Drudsa's pony if the grove doesn't provide sufficient cover?

Perhaps we should move on to the hermit and if anyone still wants to buy /arrange things in town they can take that OOC with you.

[frobozz]

I agree with taking the cart/mules for future treasure, and it sounds like our current animal load (but no more) can be brought along and safely concealed. We can use the horses for patrolling perimeters and the ponies for added encumbrance if needed. We can also load our camping gear on the cart.

Ready to hit the road!

[thirdkingdom]

I'm sure if you guys look you would be able to fund a suitable place to hide the horses.

[riftstone]

Ready to go, here!

[Finglas]

Bregalad the elf

Ready here, too. Onward to Zoltar's!

[Bouv]

Onward!

[sulldawga]

Go, go, go!

[thirdkingdom]

Still no power. I'll update when I can.

[zebediah]

Gents, given the timing we can eat something quickly with the hermit (thus not spending our rations) and then we move to the caves. I think we can reach the caves within a couple of hours so we can either explore straight away or camp upon arrival.

I would check on the trogs & pond after we have dealt with the caves.

[frobozz]

I agree - the mission at the caves is the party's top priority, and the dealings with the trogs may prove to be more complex than anticipated. If all else fails, and we can't do anything to help the fae, we can return to Zoltar with 1000gp (hopefully found within the caves).

[thirdkingdom]

Just to clarify a couple of things. At this point there is probably another three hours of daylight. Overland movement rate, according to the Table 12-1 on page 147, for a character with a Move of 20' (the slowest movement rate given on the character sheets) through forested terrain is 8 miles per day. There are also no trails, or none that you are aware of, from Zoltar's to the caves (although it looks as though at least one PC has the Navigating skill), so there also exists a small chance of getting lost. You guys can eat a quick meal then set out, though that will involve camping for the night (and an additional random encounter roll).

Behind the curtains spoiler (mechanics discussed):

I also don't want you to feel as if you are under time pressure to get back to the caves. Be aware that there is no set time for Elwyn's dudes to arrive, other than a specific sense that if you guys dick around doing other stuff for too long you will miss them. Essentially, once you guys arrive back at the caves, assuming it is before, say, the 8th or 9th, I'm just going to start rolling twice a day for random encounters. The first encounter that pops up is going to be the dudes. I don't want you guys to press to get their ASAP and then get pissed at me when I roll a bunch of random encounters and it turns out they don't arrive for five or six days.

[frobozz]

Just to clarify a couple of things. At this point there is probably another three hours of daylight. Overland movement rate, according to the Table 12-1 on page 147, for a character with a Move of 20' (the slowest movement rate given on the character sheets) through forested terrain is 8 miles per day. There are also no trails, or none that you are aware of, from Zoltar's to the caves (although it looks as though at least one PC has the Navigating skill), so there also exists a small chance of getting lost. You guys can eat a quick meal then set out, though that will involve camping for the night (and an additional random encounter roll).

Behind the curtains spoiler (mechanics discussed):

I also don't want you to feel as if you are under time pressure to get back to the caves. Be aware that there is no set time for Elwyn's dudes to arrive, other than a specific sense that if you guys dick around doing other stuff for too long you will miss them. Essentially, once you guys arrive back at the caves, assuming it is before, say, the 8th or 9th, I'm just going to start rolling twice a day for random encounters. The first encounter that pops up is going to be the dudes. I don't want you guys to press to get their ASAP and then get pissed at me when I roll a bunch of random encounters and it turns out they don't arrive for five or six days.

More mechanics discussed:

Fair enough. Lanny was just operating on the somewhat fuzzy clue that Elwyn's emissaries would arrive "within the fortnight" of Bargle's last visit to the caves (meaning that Lanny expected them to arrive sometime on or before Thaumont 8). His thought was to try to clear the caves first and then devote full attention to awaiting the baddies (which is what he still prefers to do), but he is willing to at least check out the pond and assess the urgency of the fairy's plight and the danger posed by the troglodyte tribe, and then decide how to proceed from there. He is also ok with having supper with Zoltar and camping out there in his clearing, getting an early start in the morning.

[thirdkingdom]

Okay, I'm going to wait a bit before moving on. I'd still like to hear from Dogma, Luis and Makofan to make sure they're still around. Others, feel free to engage in IC chatter or ask questions.

I believe I have mentioned this before, but might as well again. I believe in almost total transparency when it comes to running games. I also like to rely as much as possible on randomness, working results into the plot when needed. I have had some players become angry with me for "revealing too much", so, while I have not stopped how I run things I have started to indicate spoilers that pull the curtain back a bit, as opposed to just showing rolls. My thinking is that we are adults here (or close enough, anyway) and I have always been fascinated to learn how other DMs run things, and have been able to keep that knowledge separate. So, if you don't want your verisimilitude spoiled, don't click on spoilers that I warn are mechanical.

[Finglas]

.....I believe in almost total transparency when it comes to running games. I also like to rely as much as possible on randomness, working results into the plot when needed. I have had some players become angry with me for "revealing too much", so, while I have not stopped how I run things I have started to indicate spoilers that pull the curtain back a bit, as opposed to just showing rolls. My thinking is that we are adults here (or close enough, anyway) and I have always been fascinated to learn how other DMs run things, and have been able to keep that knowledge separate. So, if you don't want your verisimilitude spoiled, don't click on spoilers that I warn are mechanical.

Bregalad the elf

I've learned quite a bit from seeing how you run things. It looks like (for you as a DM) the dice rolls tell you a story, that you then relay to us. It's reminiscent of a seer that throws runes into the air, and learns the fate of each man by how the runes land. It's impressive how you flesh out so much detail from them, too. Even "bad" dice rolls don't feel bad because of the way the battle is described. I think in one of the first fights Thordin rolled a low to-hit number, which you described as his sword missing wide of its mark and sparking against the stone wall. That was awesome! You've actually changed my opinion on how rolls and battles should be handled. The randomness represents the things which are outside of our control.

[Makofan]

Grey Jake would like to keep the focus on the caves. This side mission can wait a day or two

[thirdkingdom]

Very well. It seems the majority opinion is to at least check out the trog threat on the way to the caves. I will update accordingly.

[Finglas]

Bouv and Frobozz,

How would you feel about treating elven magic differently than that of humans? My thinking behind this is that elven magic is more akin to that of faeries -- something innate, and something each elf naturally has inside him. Whereas the magic of human magic-users is one derived from study, experimentation, research, and the master-apprentice relationship. Humans could be viewed as a powerful conduit for magic, whereas elves are magic. Each race would have parallels in how they acquired, memorized, and casted spells. And their spells would have the same effect, but the means by which each spell was gained and performed would be very different.

For instance, a Light spell would be just that, a light spell; but as a human mage may trace arcane symbols with his hands and state powerful words in a mystic language to create a ball of light, the elf may open his hand, coaxing the energy in his palm to awaken, and then, with intense focus and perhaps a whispered word, the ball of light grows in his hand.

To create a parallel for storing spells, an elf could make use of objects (possibly stones, crystals, or gems) instead of keeping a spell book. Objects would contain the seed energy for each spell; and instead of memorizing the spell from a book, the elf would each day meditate and focus on the energy of a chosen talisman until his own internal magical energy resonated with it. The actual rules would be the same (same encumbrance, same time and money needed to acquire, memorize, and cast, etc.) so that neither race was disadvantaged.

In order to gain new spells, an elf may require solitude in nature, finding or fashioning the right container for his spell, and then drawing and binding the seed energy into it by placing runes upon it.

Also, magic-users and elves would understand enough of each others magic, so that they could still share with each other, using Read Magic.

Thirdkingdom is up for trying this out. However, it would likely need a consensus from the three of us. But, maybe if one of us did not care for doing things differently, then they could choose the "modern" methods of the human magic-users, instead of the ancient path of the fae spirits.

What do you think?

[frobozz]

Thirdkingdom is up for trying this out. However, it would likely need a consensus from the three of us. But, maybe if one of us did not care for doing things differently, then they could choose the "modern" methods of the human magic-users, instead of the ancient path of the fae spirits.

What do you think?

Some nice thoughts, Finglas. I do like the basic idea that elven magic is innate, and tied to the person/personality of the elf, whereas magic-user magic is more of an academic pursuit. I intended to reflect this in my character by choosing/learning only those spells that were appropriate for Lanny's ranger lifestyle (for example, Magic Missile is an innate, magical expression of Lanny's bowmanship). I even considered asking the DM about the possibilty of elves using nature-based druid spells instead of standard magic-user spells (although clearly that would be outside of the Dark Dungeons basic rules). At the same time, I also like the idea that the academic study of magic is a perfectly viable option for particularly intelligent/inquisitive elves, with a spell book being a suitable means to store the vast amounts of knowledge they accumulate through study.