Pregame Q&A

[Rex]

Casiphia's father is an ostler. Breeds and trains horses for the local lord. Could be the same village as Robert. That would make knowing each other easy enough.

[SterlingBlake]

Theodlac comes from a military background; trained for heavy cavalry. From the countryside.

[Rex]

With Casiphia's ostler background she could easily know anyone who spent time with horses.

[archolewa]

Marsha is a young woman, tall and athletic. Her height, smooth, fair skin, and well-made doublet suggest a wealthy upbringing. She wears fine banded mail, and carries a well-made longsword and shield. Her shield is emblazoned with a pair of blue lilacs, the family sign of a wealthy merchant family.

She also has 10 GP she can contribute to any additional supplies/pack animals/guides.

As for how she met the others, not quite sure how active her family is in the area. I'd be down with her either being widely known as the "awkward" youngest child of the merchant family who dominates the local area politics, whose been pushed into adventuring because her father could find neither a noble husband nor a knight to take her as a squire, and so adventuring's her only way to get into the nobility, or she just showed up randomly in the area one day looking for adventure, and folks don't know anything about her beyond her physical description above.

[SterlingBlake]

With Casiphia's ostler background she could easily know anyone who spent time with horses.

Even if they haven't known each other long, their common respect and appreciation for the animals would serve to hasten Casiphia and Theodlac becoming friends.

Marsha is a young woman, tall and athletic. Her height, smooth, fair skin, and well-made doublet suggest a wealthy upbringing. She wears fine banded mail, and carries a well-made longsword and shield. Her shield is emblazoned with a pair of blue lilacs, the family sign of a wealthy merchant family.

Theodlac also wears banded armor and favors the longsword, though his is not so fine-looking as Marsha's and displays no family crest. Nevertheless, he knows his manners and is unintimidated by her apparent wealth.

[Leitz]

I could see Robert's grandfather as a source of superior military grade weapons at an honest price. Probably not in the same class as Marsha's, but something you can trust your life on, day in and day out.

Robert's mental and social capabilities are in the "no plusses, no minuses" category. However, he is strong, healthy, and not really clumsy. He's also a nice guy; relaxed and easy to get along with. Reliable without being a stick in the mud. Happy to show people the local fishing holes, loan them a rod, and then point out some of the better cooks in the village.

[Leitz]

As for how she met the others, not quite sure how active her family is in the area. I'd be down with her either being widely known as the "awkward" youngest child of the merchant family who dominates the local area politics, whose been pushed into adventuring because her father could find neither a noble husband nor a knight to take her as a squire, and so adventuring's her only way to get into the nobility, or she just showed up randomly in the area one day looking for adventure, and folks don't know anything about her beyond her physical description above.

Just some ideas, use them if you like.
- Many men are uncomfortable around taller women, and she may be seen as an unspoken threat to the local lordling.
- Robert's village is a common route for adventurers, and Marsha may have chosen to visit here several times over the past few years, planning her "coming of age adventuring".
- Her father is a successful merchant, and thus she probably knows the value of loyal allies and strong friends. That may be what drew her to the group.
- The males in the group seem intent on proving themselves to themselves, not to bully women and soothe our theri egos. Thus Marsha and Casiphia would be treated as working equals, not lessers.

[archolewa]

Just some ideas, use them if you like.
- Many men are uncomfortable around taller women, and she may be seen as an unspoken threat to the local lordling.

Definitely think the "a little too tall" thing is a bit part of why she didn't have the same luck as it were as her sister.

- Robert's village is a common route for adventurers, and Marsha may have chosen to visit here several times over the past few years, planning her "coming of age adventuring".

Yeah, I think this makes sense. It's a common village on her family's trade routes, so folks might recognize the sigil, but it's far enough from her family's "seat of power" that she isn't a source of local gossip.

- Her father is a successful merchant, and thus she probably knows the value of loyal allies and strong friends. That may be what drew her to the group.
- The males in the group seem intent on proving themselves to themselves, not to bully women and soothe our theri egos. Thus Marsha and Casiphia would be treated as working equals, not lessers.

Building on this a bit, I'm thinking maybe her father worked some connections to help her find a group with good vibes in the area. Maybe she first arrived with one of his trusted employees who knew the locals, and pointed out folks, pointing out Robert and basically telling her almost word-for-word what you wrote about him, and that Theodlac's military background meant he knew his way around the sword, and his family was trustworthy, that sort of thing.

Girl's gotta build on the family name and all, but that doesn't mean her family's gonna throw her to the wolves.

[SterlingBlake]

Rules questions regarding weapons:

1. OSRIC doesn't list weapon lengths, so I've used the 1e PH for those, OK?
2. OSRIC only lists "lance" and provides the same stats as the PH "heavy lance," along with a note about reducing damage (by an unspecified amount) if not using from a heavy warhorse. How would you feel about simply using the light, medium, and heavy lances from the PH to resolve that ambiguity?

[Leitz]

Building on this a bit, I'm thinking maybe her father worked some connections to help her find a group with good vibes in the area. Maybe she first arrived with one of his trusted employees who knew the locals, and pointed out folks, pointing out Robert and basically telling her almost word-for-word what you wrote about him, and that Theodlac's military background meant he knew his way around the sword, and his family was trustworthy, that sort of thing.

Girl's gotta build on the family name and all, but that doesn't mean her family's gonna throw her to the wolves.

We can build on this a little more, if you like. Robert got a good amount of starting gold, so his grandfather's business and his step-dad's financials are solid. Marsha's family may have an established business connection with Robert's family; especially since adventurers offload treasure and stuff they don't want to carry all the way back. Maybe Robert's family picked up things for a bit less, and your family's trusted buyers knew who to talk to when they were in town.

OOC, Robert doesn't have any food bought yet, but he does have 30-40 g.p. if there are things the group needs. If I can get the +50 g.p. from the DM, that'll be put in as well. So, if your character really needs something, speak up.

[archolewa]

Building on this a bit, I'm thinking maybe her father worked some connections to help her find a group with good vibes in the area. Maybe she first arrived with one of his trusted employees who knew the locals, and pointed out folks, pointing out Robert and basically telling her almost word-for-word what you wrote about him, and that Theodlac's military background meant he knew his way around the sword, and his family was trustworthy, that sort of thing.

Girl's gotta build on the family name and all, but that doesn't mean her family's gonna throw her to the wolves.

We can build on this a little more, if you like. Robert got a good amount of starting gold, so his grandfather's business and his step-dad's financials are solid. Marsha's family may have an established business connection with Robert's family; especially since adventurers offload treasure and stuff they don't want to carry all the way back. Maybe Robert's family picked up things for a bit less, and your family's trusted buyers knew who to talk to when they were in town.

I like that! Marsha's old man reaches out to Robert's old man, whose like "How convenient! Let me introduce you to my son Robert."

[dmw71]

If I can get the +50 g.p. from the DM, that'll be put in as well.

Yes, I think all but two characters will get this +50gp bonus.

[Edeldhur]

Hey gang, I feel like this one may not be the game for me.

I was really looking forward to the idea (or at least what I thought was the idea hehe) - a game with no (or minimal) prep, create characters, '1-2-3 go!' kind of thing. Something more along the lines of an 'emergent through play' adventure and backgrounds and relations, with straight up OSRIC rules (because I am wanting to delve into AD&D1e).
But the sad truth is I am already feeling a bit 'restless' (for the lack of a better term) with the amount of prep in the zero prep game before it even has started, so I think I should make way for someone perhaps more in sync with the 'project'

Hope there is no bad blood. I wish you a great game of course, and will hopefully see you around the boards for other endeavors!

Edeldhur

[Leitz]

Hey gang, I feel like this one may not be the game for me.

I was really looking forward to the idea (or at least what I thought was the idea hehe) - a game with no (or minimal) prep, create characters, '1-2-3 go!' kind of thing. Something more along the lines of an 'emergent through play' adventure and backgrounds and relations, with straight up OSRIC rules (because I am wanting to delve into AD&D1e).
But the sad truth is I am already feeling a bit 'restless' (for the lack of a better term) with the amount of prep in the zero prep game before it even has started, so I think I should make way for someone perhaps more in sync with the 'project'

Hope there is no bad blood. I wish you a great game of course, and will hopefully see you around the boards for other endeavors!

Edeldhur

Hey pardner, I understand your concern. I'll support you either way, but I would ask if you give dmw71 another day or two to get things going. He's had some real life "fun" to deal with, and the "No Prep" thing is very new to him. As his friend, I'm enjoying the heck out of seeing his mental gears grind as he super-leaps out of his comfort zone.

[dmw71]

I was really looking forward to the idea (or at least what I thought was the idea hehe) - a game with no (or minimal) prep, create characters, '1-2-3 go!' kind of thing.

Fair enough. Definitely no hard feelings on my end.

More an... apology?


That was/is the plan. I originally wanted to try to rush the initial "action" post the very day I announced the game, but I had zero clue where the game was going (I'm still lacking a bit in this department; but, definitely getting closer). But there were also no characters ready to play.

My timing was poor, as I knew my wife and I were going to be hosting that graduation party... which took a LOT of work getting ready for.

What I couldn't forecast when I launched the game on Friday, was that I'd receive a job interview for Tuesday... and Wednesday... and I just learned I passed phase two (of three) moments ago, so my third and final interview will be tomorrow.

Downtown, as opposed to local, so I expect it to take up much of my day. Especially with me most likely driving instead of taking a train.

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For those that don't know, I have been without work since April of 2023 (yes, over a year).

Needless to say, this series of interviews has been incredibly stressful due to their importance, and, while I apologize for the delay, I don't apologize for the decision I've made to dedicate my team these last few days preparing for said interviews.

That I'm spending time right now trying to finalize a few key details (on the eve of my most meaningful interview in the past decade) is hopefully enough proof that I'm serious about this game.

But, priorities.

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The game is actually very close. Due to my interview tomorrow, it's unlikely I'll be able to officially kick things off then (Thursday), but maybe? Maybe even tonight?


Regardless.


I launched the game last Friday.

For those that remain, it should officially be underway by sometime this week Friday.

One week -- given the circumstances -- isn't too terrible.

[Edeldhur]

Just to make it clear, I am in no way criticizing anything about this game - it is not my place to do so, at all. I am sure it will shape up to be a great experience!

Real life should always take precedence and as a family man and pretty busy with family and work myself, I actually feel a bit ashamed to have made you feel I was criticizing you. Again, not at all.
So please no apologies - if anyone should apologize is me for dropping out.

It is simply a matter of 'state of mind' and what I am looking for currently in my RPG experiences - funnily enough I am very interested in being part of campaigns and evolving games at several levels of play, just nowadays I just prefer to be thrown into the deep end first, and then start with the considerations after. I love sandbox and miss very much being part of a campaign type of game (instead of loose adventures or modules), but I like starting hard and fast, and when I looked at the pregame Q&A and saw 70+ posts I got discouraged, and got the feeling we were already going into too many 'out of game' considerations, when I would rather have those considerations in game

Again sorry if my post came across as obnoxious. Not even sure if I am explaining myself correctly hahaha.
Please, don't let my observations disrupt your RL stuff. Just ignore me for now, and we can talk again on the weekend.
Good luck with the interview!

[Leitz]

One week -- given the circumstances -- isn't too terrible.

Once a player had his character commit suicide instead of just telling me the game was too slow for him. If you're trying to top my record, you have a ways to go...

And yeah, good luck in the interview! I'll keep you in my prayers!

[dmw71]

I have no idea how this is going to play out, but I officially decided the “what?” of the adventure.

Tomorrow will be a busy day for me, but that gives you some time to formulate your response as a group.

Let’s roll…

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Part 1: What Just Happened?

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[Edeldhur]

Ok, I slept on it, and decided I would like to stay around after all.
Apologies if my posts came out across as idiotic or blunt - I think I let work get the best of me this week, was feeling a bit... Pissed off and tired. So my words came out all wrong.
Hope I still have a spot.

[Edeldhur]

Ok, I slept on it, and decided I would like to stay around after all.
Apologies if my posts came out across as idiotic or blunt - I think I let work get the best of me this week, was feeling a bit... Pissed off and tired. So my words came out all wrong.
Hope I still have a spot. And if I do, I will just finish my character and get going.