OOC IV

[Alethan]

You aren't including Rhys in that distribution, are you? He doesn't deserve any of that and, tbhwy, would be extremely hard pressed to take even a copper until he's done something productive as a member of the troop...

[sulldawga]

Not to muck up all the good work that Frobozz just did but Marodin has a pet peeve about paying moneychangers and would prefer to receive a portion of his treasure share in the form of one of the gold rings. He's willing to "pay" the full 3,000 gp price for it, which can only benefit the rest of the party since it increases everyone else's share.

I'm willing to take the risk that I can find another way to turn the ring into 3,000 gp without having to pay the 15% fee to the moneychanger. At the very least, I can always donate it to the church and get "credit" for the full value of the ring.

I forget how big the gems are in that set of four worth 4600 gp but I'm willing to take one of those as well, and pass the 10% savings on to the rest of the party. I assume at least one of them is worth around 1000-1200 gp.

Marodin would be fine with Rhys getting a full share of the treasure, as long as he donated a bit of it to the local church.

[Alethan]

Marodin would be fine with Rhys getting a full share of the treasure, as long as he donated a bit of it to the local church.

I doubt Rhys is willing to accept the share, regardless of what is done with it...

[Luis]

Saul will object but Luís will persuade him to see the advantages of his new party member having some spending money.

[Finglas]

Bregalad the elf

Bregalad is more than willing to share treasure with Rhys, especially since we are in Threshold, a city that seems to have what everyone needs. This opportunity may not come again for awhile.

[frobozz]

About the treasure division:

Alethan - I do see where you are coming from. I wonder if you would consider this option: OOC we maintain the 9-PC division, but IC we act as if it is divided amongst the original 8 PCs. When the Threshold mission is complete (if we choose to accept it), the party, valuing the services of Rhys and wanting him to become a full-fledged party member, decides to pool their resources to award him a share of their previous treasure for his efforts during the mission. In that way, he can feel as if he has earned his keep and still be able to use these funds while we are in Threshold to make useful purchases for the next month. We will leave that up to you though, and will respect your wishes either way.

Sulldawga - I understand the concept of what you are suggesting, but I have difficulty wrapping my head around it mathematically. I spent about an hour working on that list last night and would rather not have to re-calculate everything. If you can figure out a way to make it work and then explain it to everyone, I'll have no problem with it. Lanny is personally ok with the gem/jewelry conversion fees, because he knows that these fees go towards building public roads, public buildings, and, in general, spreading civilization throughout the country.

[sulldawga]

I can't do it for the gems without knowing how much they're worth individually but I can do it for the ring.

If you make the ring's value 3,000 gp instead of 2,550, then the total becomes 44340 instead of 43890. Every PC gets 4793.51 gp, and Semele gets 1198.38 gp.

As part of my treasure distribution, I agree to take 3000 gp of Marodin's total of 4793.51 gp in the form of the ring.

[sulldawga]

Lanny is personally ok with the gem/jewelry conversion fees, because he knows that these fees go towards building public roads, public buildings, and, in general, spreading civilization throughout the country.

That's an interesting theory. You're ascribing 21st century democratic values to a private guild within a pseudo-14th century feudal duchy.

Much more likely that we're contributing to the profit margin of the guildmasters but that's just, like, my opinion, man.

[Alethan]

About the treasure division:

Alethan - I do see where you are coming from. I wonder if you would consider this option: OOC we maintain the 9-PC division, but IC we act as if it is divided amongst the original 8 PCs. When the Threshold mission is complete (if we choose to accept it), the party, valuing the services of Rhys and wanting him to become a full-fledged party member, decides to pool their resources to award him a share of their previous treasure for his efforts during the mission. In that way, he can feel as if he has earned his keep and still be able to use these funds while we are in Threshold to make useful purchases for the next month. We will leave that up to you though, and will respect your wishes either way.

Honestly, it really isn't even necessary. Rhys has very little by way of needs. He has just a few weapons. He has no armour and cannot buy or wear armour, in any case. He leads a simple life and, what's more, cannot have any wealth other than what he can carry on him at any given time. So it isn't necessary.

That said, I won't argue it anymore. If you guys want to work out something, then I'll make sure he graciously accepts it... and then most of it would probably be donated towards an orphanage (or towards the building of one) or given to sages for item identification or some such thing.

[Alethan]

... what's more, cannot have any wealth other than what he can carry on him at any given time.

Speaking of... when it does come to proper splitting of party treasure, after he is a productive member of the group, because of the above, Rhys will be happy to take his shares in gemstones and small jewelry and the like.

I never said Rhys wants to be poor! He wouldn't mind having some small amount of fortune available for whatever reason; but he doesn't really need anything now and, when he does feel he's earned it, it will have to be highly portable.

[thirdkingdom]

Innana, I'm not looking to make a big deal over this, but I do feel like I owe you a more in-depth explanation. It might also be helpful for some of you to see where I am coming from.

In the first place, you should know that when I run a game I try and leave as much up to the roll of the dice as possible. I feel that a)this makes my life easier b)is fairer to the players because there is less of chance of DM "fiat" and c)takes the game in unexpected ways.

Now, that being said each one of you is controlling a PC*. I control the rest of the world; every other person, monster and animal in the world is an NPC under my control. When I describe the world to you guys I try really hard to do this in an impartial manner that allows you to have control over your character's reactions. For instance, if you guys encounter a horrid monster I might mention its fearsome visage, slobbering jaws and googly eyes, instead of telling you how frightened your characters are, or how repulsed they are, or whatever, because those reactions are up to you to convey. Does this make sense?

By the same token, the players should not be putting words or reactions onto others, whether PCs or NPCs. So, if you wanted Innana to try and impress the guards, or intimidate them, or flatter them or whatever you would describe your actions and I would make some kind of roll (this could be using a skill such as Intimidate or a straight 2d6 reaction roll modified by her Charisma modifier). The result of that roll would determine their reaction, and I would describe it as such. For instance, a Neutral reaction roll result might imply they get this all the time from feisty female fighters and aren't too impressed. A bad reaction might mean they are frightened or offended for some reason, while a good reaction means they are impressed, smitten or whatever.

Does the above make more sense? I know it is tempting, especially with the slower pace of pbp, to put words into other people's mouths, but think of it like acting. You only have control over what your character does. You can try and elicit reactions from others, but ultimately have no control over what they do or say.


*Note that in some instance you may have limited control over an NPC. For instance, Marodin has limited control over his henchgirl, Semele, although she is still subject to morale checks, reaction rolls etc. that I make.

[Luis]

For what it's worth I understand where you're coming from. I just happened to enjoy the content of her post, it was funny, even if not something expected of a PC.

[riftstone]

I might mention its fearsome visage, slobbering jaws and googly eyes

OMG! It's Thordin!

[thirdkingdom]

I might mention its fearsome visage, slobbering jaws and googly eyes

OMG! It's Thordin!

Uh, this is more what I was thinking of . . .

I'll update IC tomorrow morning.

[Innana]

Hrafn is also a female person in RL, as far as I know.

And one of the original US Forum players from when it first started was Teramis, who is Debrah Teramis Christian, a real life woman who has been writing in the RPG industry for many years. She helped write some of the Dragon Lance modules and also wrote a bit of the Oriental Adventures manual, among other things.

She is currently busy with the World Building Accademy, which is an on-line learning facility for fantasy writers and gaming campaign builders. If you are at all interested in either, you should definitely check her out.

I will. Thanks. I will google Dragon Lance Module, and Hrafn? Do you have a link?

[Innana]

Innana, I'm not looking to make a big deal over this, but I do feel like I owe you a more in-depth explanation. It might also be helpful for some of you to see where I am coming from.

In the first place, you should know that when I run a game I try and leave as much up to the roll of the dice as possible. I feel that a)this makes my life easier b)is fairer to the players because there is less of chance of DM "fiat" and c)takes the game in unexpected ways.

Now, that being said each one of you is controlling a PC*. I control the rest of the world; every other person, monster and animal in the world is an NPC under my control. When I describe the world to you guys I try really hard to do this in an impartial manner that allows you to have control over your character's reactions. For instance, if you guys encounter a horrid monster I might mention its fearsome visage, slobbering jaws and googly eyes, instead of telling you how frightened your characters are, or how repulsed they are, or whatever, because those reactions are up to you to convey. Does this make sense?

By the same token, the players should not be putting words or reactions onto others, whether PCs or NPCs. So, if you wanted Innana to try and impress the guards, or intimidate them, or flatter them or whatever you would describe your actions and I would make some kind of roll (this could be using a skill such as Intimidate or a straight 2d6 reaction roll modified by her Charisma modifier). The result of that roll would determine their reaction, and I would describe it as such. For instance, a Neutral reaction roll result might imply they get this all the time from feisty female fighters and aren't too impressed. A bad reaction might mean they are frightened or offended for some reason, while a good reaction means they are impressed, smitten or whatever.

Does the above make more sense? I know it is tempting, especially with the slower pace of pbp, to put words into other people's mouths, but think of it like acting. You only have control over what your character does. You can try and elicit reactions from others, but ultimately have no control over what they do or say.


*Note that in some instance you may have limited control over an NPC. For instance, Marodin has limited control over his henchgirl, Semele, although she is still subject to morale checks, reaction rolls etc. that I make.

Tk, Your in-depth explanation was both needed and appreciated. Thank you. I really have no idea what I am doing. I am having fun, but need some direction. Do you have any suggestions for reading materials, or links I could read? Something that is simple to understand since I am just starting this game.

So, just to be clear. If I want to talk with the children and women of the village, I need to ask you to roll a die for the interaction? That seems like a lot of work for you to create every interaction for nine people.

[thirdkingdom]

No, most interactions do not require a die roll, but I will handle the NPC's end of the conversation. You're doing great, BTW.

[Alethan]

Hrafn is also a female person in RL, as far as I know.

And one of the original US Forum players from when it first started was Teramis, who is Debrah Teramis Christian, a real life woman who has been writing in the RPG industry for many years. She helped write some of the Dragon Lance modules and also wrote a bit of the Oriental Adventures manual, among other things.

She is currently busy with the World Building Accademy, which is an on-line learning facility for fantasy writers and gaming campaign builders. If you are at all interested in either, you should definitely check her out.

I will. Thanks. I will google Dragon Lance Module, and Hrafn? Do you have a link?

Er... Hrafn is a gamer on these forums. . memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=1657

[thirdkingdom]

I have posted my own style guidelines here: viewtopic.php?f=70&t=1153

Mine are influenced by the guidelines of one of the DMs I play with on another forum. He is one of the two best DMs I have ever played with (he is also more of a hard-ass than I am). I find his style guidelines to be concise, direct and to the point.

1.) Please take the time to use proper English grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

2.) Please preface all posts with bolded text announcing your character's name and class (or, alternatively, name and a description of no more than several words). Example Post:

Ejemplo, Fighter

Ejemplo shines his lantern into the darkness and attempts to discern what form of creature has been making the wailing noises.

3.) Lengthy OOC comments belong in the OOC thread. Brief OOC comments may be included in IC posts provided that they are placed at the bottom of the posts and hidden in an sblock. Please see example post. To figure out how to use the tags, quote my entire post, scroll down to 3.), and observe the tagging.

*snip*

4.) Do not puppet anyone else's character. Do not puppet NPCs. If you are unsure what I mean by "puppet", I mean that no player should make posts detailing what another character is doing or thinking(those posts should be made by that character's player) or posts detailing what an NPC is doing or thinking(those posts should be made by the DM.)

Please note that the DM can and will puppet the characters of players who are absent in order to prevent game stagnation. This will be done sparingly.

5.) Expected posting frequency is a minimum of once per weekday and preferably more often during combat. If you are going to be absent, please make an effort to notify the group in the OOC thread. In general, I will usually wait until the preponderant majority of the group has posted and then update things. Sometimes this will result in players with a slower posting frequency getting left behind from time to time. While this is unfortunate, in my experience slowing a game down to accomodate the slowest player(s) in the group kills campaigns since the more active posters get bored and lose interest.

6.) All in-character posts should be written in present tense and in the third person.

7.) If your character is speaking in a language other than Common, please indicate that this is the case by using italics.

8.) The DM handles all dice rolls.

9.) During combat, I ask for intentions. Players may describe their intentions and basic actions IC. I then post an IC post describing the results after rolling the dice OOC. Players may then make another IC post elaborating on their characters' actions if they wish to, but certainly don't have to do so. Bear in mind that puppeting is forbidden, so no posts like "All of the group are impressed by Brax the Fighter's awesome moves." If the other characters are impressed by Brax's awesome moves, their players will indicate that that is the case.

Do not post something like "Brax the Fighter fires his bow and slays the enemy." Nobody knows if Brax the Fighter did indeed slay the enemy until the DM has done the dice-rolling.

10.) As a continuation of some of the guidelines posted above, please do not litter IC posts with lengthy conditionals, maybes, and hypothetical actions. All of these things are fine in the OOC thread or, if relatively brief, in an IC post but within an sblock.

11.) If you feel that I have made a ruling in error, please bring it up in the OOC thread. I cannot promise you that I will agree with your objection, but I will certainly take it into consideration. No DM is perfect. From time to time I make mistakes and I very much appreciate having these pointed out so that I can correct them. Please bear in mind that the DM is the final authority on the rules.

[Innana]

Al,I checked out Debrah Teramis Christian's facebook. She is an interesting person, and is in interested in everything from spontaneous combustible babies to historic gems and jewels.

I guess what I was trying to say, but was not very clear, is that I was the only female playing a role in "Search of Adventure", I did not want to put a sour taste in anyone's mouth (TK's) about having girls in the group. I really feel lost a lot of the time, because I am starting out. If another female wanted to play with no past experience, I did not want him to think it would be a bad thing.

I also checked out the profile link. I think I was looking for some example postings of how a female character might post. I was unsure how much I was doing right, and how much I was doing wrong, but TK just let me know I was doing alright in one of his last posts.