Sherwoodshire roleplaying (companion thread)

[glee]

You make good points - and I have therefore changed the game thread to read that Marron strikes the killing blow.
(In particular, I should not have made such a decision on Walker's behalf - sorry.)

Marron simply had a rush of blood to the head - although the Empire Soldiers were hard to hit, he should have consulted the party.

(N.B. Empire soldiers are trained in a 'cult-like' fashion to fight to the death against inferior non-Empire opponents...)

Please feel free to change your game thread posts to react to Marron's action (i.e. NOT Walker's.)

P.S. Once you've had a chance to do that, I'll post Marron's considered thoughts on that final slaying and what he suggests next...

[choie]

Thank you very much for your understanding, glee. I've swapped Walker's action to belong to Marron, from Aislinn's perspective, in both her posts. Also have given her the impetus to pick check the solders' pockets. She may be a bit squeamish but once someone's no longer in need of possessions she'll do what comes naturally to her.

[ping]

Retconning it, would there be any possibility, DM, for that final blow to be non-lethal, and they realise as they load him onto the cart that he is unconscious and not dead? It's what Walker honestly would have been aiming for; knocking him out, not a killing blow.

If allowed, he would use some rope to tie up the unconscious guy. If not ok, I assume he's just another body on the cart.

OK if not, just wondered if you might give the possibility of going back a bit so it wasn't a killing blow.

[glee]

Let me think about that helpful suggestion ... I'm just going to watch a European Rugby final, but will post tonight.

[ping]

Possible options would be that we continue as-is, where we killed all of them and feel bad about it, or possibly Walker held off on his last blow and as Aislinn is checking the bodies would notice that the last guy is actually alive but unconscious (ie it was a non-lethal blow)?

[glee]

Thanks for your patience! (It's been hectic here...)

Let me introduce 'subduing' an opponent. Any blow described as a 'subdual' only does 1/4 actual damage. If the total damage takes opponent down to 0hp or less, they are forced to surrender (basically dazed.)
However a strong blow may still slay!

So assume a goblin has 2hp and takes a 'subdual' blow of 8hp. The goblin is forced to submit at '-6hp', but only 8/4 = 2hp are actually done and the goblin lives (knocked unconscious at 0hp.)
However if the goblin takes several 'subdual' blows in one round totalling 36hp, then the actual damage of 36/4 = 9hp takes the goblin to -7hp and it dies.

Hope that makes sense (you can probably see why I didn't want to introduce the complicated concept too early...)

Sadly in trying to 'subdue', Marron does too much damage and kills the last soldier.

Please feel free to amend your posts after Marron's strike.

[ping]

I had forgotten how much I hated some of these 1e rules!

In later editions a character can choose to make their attack non-lethal (melee and ranged only, not for spells) if they announce it before the attack, regardless of the amount of "damage" done. It is known by the DM that even if they rolled max damage, they were aiming to knock them out so might eg. turn their sword around last second and hit them with the pommel or the flat of the blade, or get their arrow in the chest but not the heart, or whatever.

Is there any possibility of anything like this for future combats? As in, if the players agree that they want to take someone alive?

[glee]

ping, I'm sorry there is stuff you detest in 1st Edition!

Unfortunately I've been playing this way literally for decades, so I'm afraid you're stuck with it...

Next I should explain why 'looting' is the normal practice in Sherwoodshire.
Although Count Percival owns the land, he only has one fortified building (his Keep) and can support just enough soldiers to patrol around the Keep itself. He can send men out in emergency, but not on a regular basis all over the County. Even trade caravans are not guarded.
So bringing him 'monster bits' (e.g. dragon hide) and 'loot' (e.g. valuable Empire equipment) means he can trade with the makers of magic items and thus reward the party with top-quality equipment (which they will need to face various future dangers!)

I realise the characters do a lot of roleplaying (and are jolly good at it!), but my campaigns also feature regular combats and a reward system based on searching for treasure (i.e. 'loot'.)
Ireally hope this is acceptable to the players, as I am enjoying this campaign a lot. (yay)

[choie]

that's a good idea if feasible. --sorry this was responding to ping's proposal; I'm just seeing glee's response now.

Of course the rules are the rules. I think maybe some of what we're bumping up against is this: we're in a strange position as such a tiny group with technically only two PCs. Marron was such an important role in the group--as healer and cleric--that we can get away with having one non-magical character (Walker) and an idiot ignorant (relatively speaking) scout/illusionist.

But there's a conflict: as an NPC, Marron is 'gifted' with meta knowledge, and has the advantage of knowing what the DM wants/needs the group to do. Here, glee's plot and the game's worldview seems to need that soldier dead, by hook or by crook, and so glee-as-Marron, well, deaded him.

Given the current makeup of the group, there's no way around needing Marron as an NPC--okay there is though I'm not sure it'd be allowed, but I'll get to that in a second--but if he's an NPC I wonder if it's possible to ensure that he knows his place, so to speak, as a non-protagonist who doesn't drive plot or make ultimate decisions unless the two hapless PCs end up running in circles or have made a choice that could/will get us all killed, or are in a deadlock during some decision-making situation.

The other option that'll likely be nixed (or just not workable) is having one of the players create another PC, i.e., playing two. And by "one of the players" I mean ping, because I'm barely sentient enough to handle one character in this format. Ping, you got "stuck" playing an NPC-turned-PC whom you didn't invent, exactly--although you have significantly fleshed him out with a unique personality and abilities. Would it be too difficult/confusing to add another new person? Of course there's the possibility of taking over Marron, if you didn't mind being yet again stuck with someone else's OC. We haven't learned that much about Marron, though, so maybe there's scope to expand him a bit. OTOH there's the minuscule possibility that Mal returns, but if that extremely unlikely situation develops... well, tough on him. He can roll up someone new

Anyway... is that too much work for you? Glee would that be allowed? Presumably the new character would need to be a healer or whatever else would balance out the party as needed, but the concept would be ping's own. We could meet up with them at the Keep and have Marron duck out. (Or maybe Walker and Aislinn kick him out for killing a guy we specifically wanted kept alive, lol!!)

One reason I bring this idea up is that I play two characters in this forum's Star Trek RPG, for similar reasons: we'd lost a couple of players and needed to beef up the crew; but in that game, as I've mentioned, we're pretty much entirely storytelling, w/o the usual RPG-based game mechanics other than general having strengths in certain areas and of course a GM who runs the missions. As a writer I'm more than capable enough of writing two PCs there as I don't have to keep different stats in my head, just different personalities / dialogue / histories / capabilities. (Whereas in this game, I'd never survive trying to figure out all the mechanics, and glee would eventually kill me for being such a pain. I'm probably working his last nerve already, or at least I would if he weren't so supernaturally patient!)

The advantage of ping adding an additional PC (either an OC or taking Marron on) is that it gives you (ping) a chance to play both a regular guy like Walker and a magic-capable character who has an entirely different personality from Walker, if you wanted to expand things a little and feel locked in by Walker's original status as an NPC.

(That's another benefit of my playing 2 characters in the ST game. My OC is a royal brat who's quite the sheltered, inexperienced damsel in distress. The 2nd character allows me to play a down-to-earth pilot/engineer with a raunchy sense of humor and much more experience... of all kinds. It's a lot of fun swapping between the two. Especially when they don't get along, which is often!)

Anyway, just rambling now. The long and short of it is, I think it must be hard to separate Marron-the-PC from Marron-the-NPC-who-knows-everything-the-GM-does. Our party has too much knowledge of how the game/plot is supposed to go, and that leaves the two clueless PCs in a much weaker position. At least I think so.

[choie]

Oh and as an addendum, in the game thread:

He realises his companions are not keen on 'looting' the patrol, but gives a sigh and states "I think we must consider taking their equipment (weapons and armour) and compensating any families of slain shepherds. It's all top-quality. In fact, there might be something magical - Aislinn, can you check for that?

I don't think Aislinn has shown herself not very willing to 'loot' the patrol--she's the first who volunteered to look through the pockets for some coins, her instinct as a thief having survived her amnesia. Although she's justifying it as offering it to Maggot and the dead shepherd's family. If Maggot subsequently gives them the armor/magic goodies/etc that's up to him solves the question about the reward system. It might be something Walker is squeamish at, but I think that seems like a good conflict to play with.

(In short--which I know seems impossible for me--if I gave the impression Aislinn isn't willing to take the good stuff off the dead soldiers, I didn't mean to. She might not be thrilled because ew, corpses, but she's doing it anyway because that's how she rolls, materialistically speaking.)

[ping]

I do agree that a 3rd real person in place of Marron-NPC would be good, and would avoid situations like we just had, where all actual-people players had decided one route, but DM-player and DM had a different plan.

I would happily take on another character, preferably one of my choosing if we happen to drop Marron off at some point xD I would most definitely be some sort of chaotic cleric. But aside from that I have been asking other people I play with if they would like to submit an application to GLee to join. I agree, again, that it's always going to be a bit difficult with just the two of us characters and the GM with all the knowledge playing another character while also running the baddies.

[glee]

Thanks for your input!

I agree that having the DM play a character is not working as I hoped it would (I do regret attacking the injured soldier without letting the players act first.)

So here are some options for your consideration (with comments):

a) Aislinn and Walker carry on by themselves (Marron steps out to do worthy stuff elsewhere.)

I can balance the encounters easily enough, but there would be a distinct lack of healing. The party already have a deal with Druid Kitty at the Keep to replace Potions, so both characters could stock up on Healing Potions.

b) ping takes over Marron

N.B. I'm sending a copy of Marron to each player (via e-mail.) Even if this option isn't chosen, I'm sure the sheet will be of interest to you...

The advantage of this (I know ping is not keen on it!) is that Marron has been in the adventure from the start and neatly combines healing, turning and Stealth.

c) ping gets a Cleric to replace Marron

The main difficulty I foresee is that this character will not have any Stealth, which is a jolly useful attribute for everyone to have in a small party.
(I am also nervous about chaotic Clerics, even when played by ping!)

[choie]

Thanks glee! I'm sorry to make trouble by being such a pedantic roleplayer! I really appreciate your being so flexible and patient.

Is it possible for there to have been another Scout training, er, house/college/club where a hypothetical 2nd cleric could've learned his Scouting? Or maybe he started with the rest of us, but didn't quite pass w/flying colors due to his chaoticism (I know, not a word!) and his roguishness put him (or her, just realized doesn't need to be a male cleric) at somewhat odds with the trainers or whatnot? But this cleric's still got mad skillz so Percival might be happy for them to join up w/the grad Scouts. Heck the new person could be someone from Percival's court, maybe a Merlinesque tutor (or an apprentice to one--a friend of Kitty?) who might have a slightly higher level than the rest of us.

Or is there another route by which one can learn Stealth? If New Cleric/Healer person has come by Stealth from some other purpose... maybe if he were a spy for Percival or some other bigwig, I dunno. Or... hang on, I just remembered the name of the game. How much of "Sherwoodshire" involves "Sherwood Forest"? While we've seen Arthur--who AFAIK isn't involved in any of the Robin Hood myths--could Cleric/Healer be whatever the equivalent of Friar Tuck would be? Not actually Friar Tuck if there's no literal Robin Hood in the universe, but someone who played a similar role in some noble gang of well-intentioned thieves? There is a Thieves Guild, after all, and as I recall we'll be meeting them eventually.

My point being, surely that sort of person would certainly have to be good at Stealth if s/he's secretly helping steal from the rich to give to the poor. (Or if actual thievery is too sinful for a Cleric--even a chaotic one--s/he might have cast a blind eye to such goings on, and offered shelter/sanctuary to those who needed it.)

Anyhoo just throwing out some stuff to get you guys brainstorming. It should be up to ping and you to decide what'd work best.

[ping]

I'm not sure I'm up to taking on Marron, to be honest. Walker is at the very edge of the range of my usual RP anyway! (I've never played a lawful good character... at least Walker can edge towards neutral good a bit) Marron's strict morals might be actually better played by you, Glee, as I don't think I'd be able to stick to that, but I also agree that it's a bit jarring to have the DM also having effectively a 1/3 role in the party!

@GLee, I understand how you feel about chaotic characters, my personal brand of chaos isn't bad, but I know how it might not work in this setting.

How would you feel about a druid? Neutral Good.

[glee]

I feel very fortunate to have such thoughtful players.

I think I have the solution, based on ping's helpful offer - a Scout / Druid.

I'll send ping a sample of that character and if it works for ping, then ping can generate one to their specification. (I already have rules about such a character... )

The Scout / Druid would be Neutral and worship Nimue, so I think it would fit very well with Walker and Aislinn.

Watch this space...

[ping]

Thank you, if you will allow some mild adjustments I think this will work

Meanwhile I assume that the party is continuing on - taking the sheep back to the farm, burying the soldiers with Marron saying some fitting words, then figuring out what to do from there I guess?

Eye would fly back to the Keep to check in on any news from Saradoc, and that might be a good point for her to maybe meet a new person...?

[glee]

I'm pleased you like the look of the character.

You are very welcome to make adjustments - think of it as a template.
Also I'm going to make three changes myself - two large, one small (but all jolly useful.)

I'll soon email you the revised character with notes and look forward to your changes.

[glee]

Many thanks to ping for being helpful...

So when the current party return to Percival's Keep, Eluned a Scout / Druid will join the party and Marron will depart (but be available if needed.)

Also ping has found a possible third player and the new party line-up therefore will probably consist of:

- Aislinn
- Eluned or Walker(ping's choice)
- Eluned, Walker or a new character (third player's choice)

I'll move the adventure along.

Now once we've sorted out the new party line-up, would you like me to start a new game thread?

[glee]

I should state that my style is for the party to gather treasure after a successful combat. Think of it as 'recycling' rather than 'looting'!
Sometimes the valuable stuff is on the bodies - sometimes in a nearby lair or hiding place...

I don't want to offend anyone - but I hope this adds something to the game.

Monsters (like the Dragon) can supply 'bits' for potion ingredients (e.g. a Giant's hair would make a Potionof Strength or a Manticore tail would make a Potionof Fly.
Humanoid armour and weapons is worth something (though the party may have to consider a weight limit!)

[choie]

Oh another player would be wonderful, I hope that works out, ping!

(It would be a shame to lose Walker; I've grown fond of him, short though his tenure has been. But playing someone wholly your own might be more appealing to be sure, and the druid sounds intriguing. Edited to add: Honestly I think it'd be great to have four PCs, if you're still willing to double up and if it's allowed by Sir GM--new person could be whatever else we're missing, balance-wise. Whatever Saradoc offered, maybe.)

Thanks for the explanations, glee. I don't think Aislinn would have a problem with looting or, uh, recycling. Walker's being more conscientious seems very in character.

I don't think we need a new game thread, btw. The current one isn't very long--well, not to me anyway, but I'm used to very long mission threads, so I don't have problems keeping track. If it's easier to handle for you, though, that'll be fine too.

[ping]

To be honest, when my friend gets back from his jaunt in London and has time to read all the stuff I've sent him (and email GLee) I might actually chat with him so that Eluned (for info: Welsh name, pronounced El-in-ed, shortened to Lynn) and his character can join together, knowing each other. I'm happy to run 2 characters if GLee is fine with that - though he did say that he'd like to limit it to 3 I think. But *technically* it would only be 3 of us, right?

I think GLee's plan is Fighter, Magic-user, Healer.

At the moment we've got you firmly as the magic person, Walker as the fighter and if I took Eluned, she would be healer in place of Marron... I need to get Jareen back from holidaying and talking to see what he would prefer.

[glee]

I appreciate the thoughts - roleplaying should be enjoyable for all!

I'm jolly grateful to ping for finding a possible third player.
I much prefer a maximum of three players, because experience shows that the more players there are, the longer the wait before they all react.

Since both of you are happy with ping playing two characters, then let's try that. (I know ping can cope from our time together!)
So how about this:

- choie plays Aislinn
- ping plays Walker and Eluned
- new player can either roll up a new character* or play Marron (whichever they prefer)

That gives us four characters in a well-balanced party.

*the new character would need Stealth (as even four characters is less than the normal party size, so they need the benefits of sneaking + ambushing; plus it fits in with my storyline.)

So I'm happy to offer as the fourth character:

- Scout / Cleric (i.e. Marron)
- Scout / Archer
- Scout / Barbarian
- Scout / Ranger

[glee]

In real life, I completely agree with your recent game posts about not killing and showing respect for the dead.

However my campaign is inspired by the Lord of the Rings (and the early Middle Ages), when there was constant struggle between good and evil.

So I warn you that there is pure hatred and evil in the land.
The worst examples are Mordred Clerics, evil Dragons and the Empire.
These opponents will slaughter without remorse, never surrender and show no mercy. For example, if you inform the Empire that a Patrol was killed, they will either enslave or execute the messenger.

I do hope you can accept this grim outlook, as my storylines rely on it...

[ping]

Oh, IRL and IC are completely separate! IRL I'd probably be a bit more morally vague than Walker is !

I'll keep you updated with Jareen, and it would be nice for his character and Eluned to join the group together I think.

[glee]

I hope nobody minds that Marron is going to be my 'mouthpiece' for my style of play regarding:

- 'recycling' from defeated opponents
- acknowledging that pure evil exists in the campaign

(As you both know, I've spent decades building and writing Sherwoodshire, so it is jolly important to me to use the two features mentioned.)

[choie]

I hope nobody minds that Marron is going to be my 'mouthpiece' for my style of play regarding:

- 'recycling' from defeated opponents
- acknowledging that pure evil exists in the campaign

(As you both know, I've spent decades building and writing Sherwoodshire, so it is jolly important to me to use the two features mentioned.)

Certainly! Entirely understandable. I think there's some conflicting styles going on here--this and the "Aislinn remembers Druid Kitty saying 'Percy's awesome I promise you'" thing make it clear.

I (as player) buy that people (or whatever) are evil, 100% no backsies; I can also buy that Druid Kitty's words are true and Percival's trustworthy. I like intrigue and mixed motives, but if these are the rules of how the game world works, that's how it works.

But Aislinn doesn't know meta stuff. So for her, she won't believe someone just saying "oh everyone knows these guys are pure evil" or "Count Percival is completely trustworthy."

What I think would ease her concerns is the well-known, cliched standard advice I give to authors (as a fiction editor): "Show, don't tell."

IOW, if the evildoers are depicted doing evil, or if Aislinn sees Percival protecting or defending someone from the Empire's wrath, or doing something against the Empire's interest... that's showing more proof Aislinn can hopefully rely on. She doesn't trust what she doesn't see, nor for that matter everything she does see. (As an illusionist and mostly as a former trickster/con artist, she understandably knows images can be deceiving.)

So while Aislinn did indeed already remember what Druid Kitty told her--she told Walker she knows about Percy's alleged reasons for having the Empire crest up on the wall--she won't be convinced until she sees proof.

It might be frustrating to have goodies not automatically believed, but--at least for me, I can't speak for ping--I'd love to see how you'll show Percival as a guy doing good things, or the baddies doing evil. Maybe it'll take a little extra work and I understand if that's not something that's always possible. But if it is, I think the gameplay will be even more compelling and visceral, and the world will truly come alive. Most of all, the stakes get higher and that's almost always the point of adventuring.

In short (too late): Aislinn doesn't really need reminding that Druid Kitty said the Count's a good guy and won't deal with the Empire, or that Empire soldiers and dragons are always evil. She knows what she's been told. This is a girl who was 'arrested' for a pretty petty crime (bit of a spoiler there, sorry ping), so her beliefs about others' judgments have been warped. Words aren't enough. She needs evidence.

Does that make sense? Your players understand the world's fixed rules. The PCs may not, and that allows for more nuance and suspense in many situations. It's also kind of a challenge for you too! Aislinn needs your characters to show us just how evil they are, and for your unquestioned heroic cast to do some unequivocal good!

Or, as Lerner & Lowe put it so beautifully:

[glee]

Thanks for being so clear!

I fully accept that Aislinn would want to see proof rather than just rely on words (especially with her background.)
I hope that the players will get such evidence as the storyline unfolds.
(N.B. So far an Empire Patrol have killed a shepherd and were ready to murder a drunk hobbit on sight.
Also Count Percival has accepted an Ogre into his service, showing trust in the party.)

As for the overall campaign, I did like the idea of a clash of cultures having a diplomatic area to avoid wars. I trust players will find it interesting as they learn more about the various Powers in the region.

P.S. I did enjoy the video, so enclose one of my own - in which there is clear audio evidence of a minor offence...

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/a2mYjjxab_A

[choie]

Hmm, I don't recognize that tune. it's not Lerner & Lowe, and it's definitely not Cole Porter. Noel Coward, during a rare scatological moment?

[ping]

Hi, sorry for late reply, I've been away over the weekend without a laptop visiting husband's family up in Whitby. Lovely weather for it

I totally agree with choie's comments, and was about to comment effectively the same myself to be honest. I don't fault you at all, GLee, for building your world and running it as you see fit, but as they say, the best laid DM plans will eventually encounter the players! I think both Aislinn and Walker are building up to be well-rounded (if a little wonky) characters and it would be unrealistic for either of them to be totally blinkered to "these guys bad!" "these guys good!", without questioning. It makes perfect sense in Aislinn's case particularly (obviously I don't know the whole back-story) that she wouldn't take someone's word that someone is "good" without seeing evidence of that. Walker would definitely trend between lawful good and possibly straying towards lawful neutral, just because he's seen a lot of the bad and good on his travels and would be wanting to judge people based on - as choie says - what they show, not what they just tell.

Also just in terms of roleplaying, I just wanted to clarify to both of you (I think choie understands where I'm coming from): what happens in the game thread stays in the game thread, and vice-versa. No meta-knowledge I have from this companion thread or any other knowledge of D&D etc. will be used in the game thread, unless it is explicitly said (either via email or here) that my *character* would know that. Similarly, Aislinn and Walker feeling a bit icky about killing people isn't an out-of-character reaction to your world-building decisions; that was two characters reacting to what had just happened... though I do agree that as players we would have liked to have the choice of the final blow there Any update on whether we can choose to say that we want to land a non-lethal blow, by the way?

In other news, I've sent your contact details to Jareen, GLee, and he landed back in Netherlands yesterday evening so hopefully will contact you soon. I think he was leaning towards barbarian, in which case I'd be happy to run Walker and Eluned.

[glee]

I'm not sure of the tune, but it's definitely a Wind instrument. (heh)

I do appreciate that Walker and Aislinn are roleplaying with sympathy towards all life and a perfectly reasonable judgement based on deeds not words.
(I have spent a lot of time with players who had a very black /white view of the world, so this makes for a pleasant change!)

I'm going to stick with my rule that you can certainly try to land a non-lethal blow, but will nevertheless do 25% real damage.

I fully agree that the characters only know what they know, not what the players know!

Also I'm moving the party back to the Keep (Walker is welcome to post something he wants to do before that, in which case I'll adjust.)

[glee]

I've now heard from Jareen2 about joining the game (he's recommended by ping ) and have sent him where to find the game + companion threads, plus many character choices.

So there will naturally be a short delay as we sort out the new party line-up - but it's well worth doing (and my thanks to ping.)

[ping]

Jareen said he's still deciding but I think we will bring both of our characters (Eluned + whatever he decides) in together and we'll plan out how we are wherever we are together. So it's up to you whether we advance or wait, but for now I'm happy to pootle around the Keep and it might be a good chance for some RP and learning some stuff in-character as well.

Will we learn here or in-character what the possible magic items are available?

[glee]

I'm happy for Jareen2 to take his time deciding.

So we will definitely have Aislinn, Walker and Eluned, with (hopefully) one extra character. (I can make it work either way.)

I'll have a think about suitable magic items for you all (and you will be welcome to roleplay within the Keep then too!)
One thing that occurs to me is that Potions don't seem to get used much - would you prefer if I changed them to items that give you one Potion effect daily?
(That would be somewhat easier for me to keep track of....)

[ping]

I think we haven't really used the potions just because we've not been seriously injured yet, and Marron was doing a fine job of keeping us upright when needed, but truthfully we have made it through each battle fairly unscathed. I'm happy with keeping them just in case, or if it's easier for you to swap them for something else that's fine as well.

[choie]

This is all exciting news--so grateful to you, ping, for finding us a barbarian to trot around with! I know not of such things from this gameworld or even from an RPG at all but it'll be interesting to see what they do and how Jareen depicts this specific one. Glee, if you could let me know when Jareen registers, or wants to register, and what screenname he'll use, that would be great so I can get him set up smoothly.

Also ping, thanks for adding your POV about our characters being uncertain, guarded and perhaps downright ignorant at times, even in a system of fixed roles, not to mention long-established and important elements to the gameworld. Sounds good.

I fully agree that the characters only know what they know, not what the players know!

Yay that's wonderful! Can you maybe remind the NPCs of that too? Just seems like there've been several times (including in the most recent GM post) where the NPCs know just what our PCs are thinking, worried about, or need!

I mean, dang, what are the odds that there's been this wall decoration with the four different realms for however long Percival's had it up, but literally as soon as Aislinn privately acknowledges that she's not happy about the Empire's crest being up there, the very next time she's at the Keep... voila! it's being covered up, with Kitty making a point to address/explain things in a way that's meant to reassure Aislinn's qualms about the crest that Kitty shouldn't even know about. Quite the convenient coincidence, that!

Now really, good sir glee! I humbly entreat thee not to be so nice to the characters by whisking away obstacles either mental or physical as soon as we discover them. (Especially when it defies previously stated continuity--in this case, our having learned earlier that Percy expressly had the crests installed to show unity--well, not unity, but at least lack of open emnity.)

I think you're such a goodhearted and generous person that you hate to see even fictional characters not being perfectly at ease and confident. Your sympathy is so great that you want to fix things and make the PCs' doubts, conflicts and emotional wounds vanish ASAP. 'Tis a noble instinct indeed.

...Except we (and by now I'm feeling comfortable in presuming that "we," ping!) love that stuff! I hope there'll be a titch more restraint against such generosity! We're out here creating character quirks, minor intra-party conflicts and mild (or serious) emotional angst, all of which are quite fun to build on and play out throughout the stories. They allow for character growth in a natural, organic way -- character arcs that grow and change throughout the length of the game.

It's a bit of a letdown when the instant a PC reveals or displays these beliefs or traits--sometimes not even aloud, just in private thoughts!--some NPC pops up with the solution to allay those doubts, solve the conflicts, and salve our emotional wounds as easily as Marron with a potion.* And thus the opportunity for the intended character journey slams shut. We've crossed the moat and reached the city goat gate only to get a portcullis dropped in front of us before we've had a chance to explore.

(I'm editing now to say yes, I just noticed I'd originally written "goat" and decided it was too amusing to completely erase.)

Of course it's very possible that some things are completely incompatible and would never, ever, ever happen in this gameworld, and (worse) could actively create huge problems for planned plot elements. When that's the case, maybe a compromise solution could be that if some quirk that you see being problematic needs to be 'adjusted' so something else works as it should, you could PM us and see how we can resolve it in a "realistic" or at least character-appropriate way?

(Just as you did with Aislinn's spellcasting memories when you gave me the heads up! We haven't reached that trigger point yet exactly, the ideas we hashed out seem to satisfy both our needs.)

Sorry, I hate to seem as if I'm trying to teach you your job. First, I really don't mean to. And second, I can't, because I absolutely don't know your job. Third, even if I did know your job I don't have decades of experience. And fourth, even if I had decades of experience, it's still not my dang job because you're the GM in charge here!

I guess all this stuff falls into the sort of thing a TTRPG would discuss in a Session 0 (if I'm getting the RL RPG lingo correct). Trying to hammer out the sort of playing style or general likes/dislikes of the players/GM. The rules of the game are already fixed, but nuances that will make the game rewarding to these specific players as well as the GM are, hopefully, kosher to discuss like this. So far, your kindness and generosity in these areas have been extremely welcome and I only hope I'm not wearing those out!

TBH I'm not sure how exactly to play Aislinn's reaction to this latest display of uncanny events that seem specifically designed to address something she only just thought about/said. (Is it any wonder why Aislinn feels paranoid when things she thinks or hides are suddenly intuited by everyone around her? It's beginning to feel like she's on the new season of The Truman Show. Which, if you haven't seen it, see it! Wonderful movie.) Is there anything we can do to maybe "retcon" that crest-hiding stuff? If not and it harms continuity, I'll deal with it, of course. But if it's not integral and you don't mind, it'd be hugely helpful!

Thank you for reading, as always.

* Speaking of potions: I've no opinion on whether potions should be exchanged for some other mechanism. If they're normally part of this world's toolset, I have no issue with using them if a PC has the ability to utilize them. As ping said, none of us have really been injured (possibly because the GM being so nice to us! though I imagine as we meet higher level foes that will likely change). So there's not been cause for healing or whatever other benefits our potions offer. If we're adding a druid I'd imagine potions would make sense for her to tote around. But I don't know that much about druids either so I could be wrong.

[ping]

^ Everything that choie said, haha!

Yes, I agree, and having playing in-person with GLee he is very nice and likes his worlds to be nice as well as his players (except when he killed my companion wolves, grrr, but anyway), so I think there is the leaning to making the world and encounters nice for us. Which is fine, it's just a different play-style to what I'm usually used to, but as choie says, sometimes it would be nice for our characters to have challenges, and I don't just mean fights, where we can explore a little more. I think I'd be right in saying that both choie and I (and I know I definitely speak for Jareen when he arrives!) enjoy delving a bit more into our characters and making a story out of this rather than just "I go in, hit stuff. It dies. Next quest."! So yes, it would be good to get some more points when the answers aren't just handed to us on a platter... especially if it's something that was said in a character's head!

[glee]

I appreciate that you are concerned about your private thoughts being read, but I think you are both missing the point!

The reason that Count Percival ordered the Empire symbol to be covered up was that an Empire Patrol had murdered a local shepherd (and were probably going to do the same at another farm...)

I will try to add as much roleplaying as possible (I point to the Aislinn / Woody sub-plot as an example.)
I have given each character several possible story-lines (and Aislinn has added a lot to hers. ) Please keep an eye on that material.
Nevertheless a lot of my plots are advanced by combat, so I hope you'll cope with that.

I would add that combats need to be carefully balanced. Nobody wants to see a beloved character slaughtered, nor does an 'easy stroll' interest me.
(I note that ping still remembers losing her wolves - which shows both how tricky the whole thing is and that I'm not necessarily a 'nice' DM. )

It's obvious that this Internet stuff is harder than face-to-face games. Although I've had the pleasure of playing with Tim for decades and ping for a few years, I've never met Malacandra nor Aislinn.
A face-to-face roleplaying game not only has loads of chat but also helps with the 'mood of the room' and detailed discussions afterwards.
The fact that I've been playing with the same group for over 40 years shows something.

I will happily let you know when Jareen2 gets back to me. I gave him a lot to think about and I'm sure he will be carefully considering it.
(He hasn't chosen anything yet, so there may not be a barbarian...)

[ping]

DM question:

I know it's probably explained here in this thread somewhere, but there are 388 posts and, no offence intended, the search function is rubbish! How do the familiars work? I recall you said to me that Eye was magical (ie. doesn't need food etc.), but also that she's a physical actual bird. I know while I have her, I gain HP, but that if she dies, I take twice as many HP *permanent* damage, is that correct? I was just looking up the 1E version of Find Familiar:

"A familiar arrives and serves the caster loyally. The familiar has 1d3+1 hit points, an AC of 7, is remarkably intelligent, and can speak with its master. The familiar only fights for the caster in a life-or-death situation (and imps and quasits are 90% unlikely to fight if there is any risk to their own lives).

While the familiar is within 12", the familiar's hit points are added to the caster's. If a familiar is slain, the caster loses double the familiar's hit points, permanently."

- are these the rules used here? So, when you drink the potion (equivalent, I assume, of casting the spell but without the need to sit around for a day with a brass brazier and whatnot, the familiar appears, it's not like Walker had to go out and find a physical hawk, no? It's not like an animal companion that you've bonded with? Sorry, as I said, the answer is probably in this (massive) thread somewhere....

[glee]

I have heard more from Jareen2 (and it looks like there will be some sort of Barbarian joining us )

However I'm rather pressed for time at present, so apologies for a delay.

Onwards and upwards!

[ping]

Oooh, fun!

(I'm pretty sure just Jareen is fine by the way, I think the 2 came in from a second account or something? Either way they'll just be whatever their character name is, once they arrive!)

[choie]

Sorry for my delay too... I've been mainlining the news yesterday and today. Bit of a stir going on here.

While bingeing on various news and social media feeds, I spent time with an online art editing thingy to create a sort of image of Aislinn (pre-tattoos & scars).



(I wish I could get rid of the makeup entirely, but alas, the program has its limitations.)

[ping]

Very pretty!

[choie]

Thank you! Went through many iterations. The program tends to use very glam, wide-eyed, heavily idealized prototypes for its AI models, which makes creating someone who's merely 'pretty' rather than 'goddess-like" a challenge.

I just whipped this one up as well. The Wolf here is, uh, rather small, but again, the program doesn't want to scale its size for some reason. Let's pretend this is Wolf as a pup.

[ping]

I can have a go with Photoshop if there are specific things you would like changing.

For info in the main thread: Walker's thought of "she's beautiful" wasn't a sexual or attracted thing, it was just an observation having not seen Aislinn as she should have been. I wrote that and then realised it might be misread as that he was attracted to her. No, but he can objectively assess whether someone is pretty or not, and it was the first reaction to the surprise reveal. Hope that explains what I was trying to get across.

[ping]

I removed some of the "make-up" effects and made Wolf look more like... well, Wolf

I'm not a brilliant photoshopper!

[choie]

WOW that's fantastic, ping! What a generous thing to do! By the time I was done fiddling with that app it was Crazy o'clock here and I still hadn't slept, so I couldn't even think of opening photoshop. You did a really wonderful job. Thank you so much!

And don't worry, I knew Walker was just expressing surprise at the appearance. Aislinn would've picked up on anything with some "undertones" but after his reaction to the prank earlier, she's already understanding that he's not inclined to that sort of thing. I think on an instinctive level that's part of why she trusts being alone with him.

[ping]

I've heard of these AI generator thingies but I'll admit I never have used one yet. Whenever I have a character that I think is going to be in a campaign that is going to last (!) I generally turn to Twitter and throw some money at artists for commissions. I love what they come up with and I love helping them out. I've got some gorgeous commission art for my characters, all of whom have sadly been in campaigns that have died. I think the moment I commission the art, it curses the campaign to fail (time commitments meaning too many players missing sessions, people being dicks and getting kicked out, DM losing interest, etc.).... but I guess there's nothing lost in the process. The artists get money, and I get cool character art to reuse in another campaign or one-shot. I think I prefer that to getting an AI to do it, though don't get me wrong, I am VERY pro-AI! Our entire sodding house is AI-enabled xD

Otherwise I tend to (try to) sketch my own, but I'm a terrible artist. At least when I do that though, the campaigns tend to last longer

Here is Eluned. I've not got/made a pic of Denzil (heehee spoilers) yet.

[glee]

Those are excellent pictures!
They also help me visualise the party even better. (cool)

Minor clarification:

Eye is indeed from the Magic User spell Find Familiar and ping's description in the thread (post 388) does apply.

Aislinn has been given a Druid Potion of Animal Friendship to use when she sees fit. (N.B. The Nimue Way is to get the animal's agreement first before drinking the potion. For example if Aislinn meets a pack of wolves, someone should cast Speak to Animals and ask if any wolf fancies a life of travelling with Aislinn*, acting as her bodyguard.)
*N.B. There will always be one animal that likes that idea!

Any 3rd level Druid (including Scout / Druid) gains an animal bodyguard through Animal Friendship.

[ping]

Aislinn has been given a Druid Potion of Animal Friendship to use when she sees fit. (N.B. The Nimue Way is to get the animal's agreement first before drinking the potion. For example if Aislinn meets a pack of wolves, someone should cast Speak to Animals and ask if any wolf fancies a life of travelling with Aislinn*, acting as her bodyguard.)
*N.B. There will always be one animal that likes that idea!

Any 3rd level Druid (including Scout / Druid) gains an animal bodyguard through Animal Friendship.

I think this might be something that Eluned might be able to help with clarifying for Aislinn, when they meet.

[choie]

Eluned looks great, ping. Has a sort of Renee O'Connor (Gabrielle from Xena) vibe! Although I might just be thinking of her since I used her image as a rough look at what my previous RP character looked like in the recent Middle-earth rpg we played here--a game that departed like the Elves. (Good grief, what was her name? I don't want to look, that would be cheating.)

Normally I do the photoshop stuff myself, as I too am a little leery of AI engines that use unknown sources. I came up with one of my Trek RPG characters, this gal using a combo of three different models (paid for royalty free stock photos), gave her scales, a somewhat playful expression and green eyes. Curiously I haven't done the same for my first character, whom I've played for much longer. Hmm.

I would love to be able to commission some art too. I'd probably do so for a particularly long-running game, if needed. The AI art engine I used was kind of fun--you come up with a basic face, then find other images uploaded or created by users to select as your character's "parents." (You can have any number of parents.) Aislinn has about five different images for "parents"--I needed to give her wavy hair, a young face, dark eyes, a fairly sober expression, etc., and then once I found the right combo I customized it via age, clothing, makeup (that's the one I had trouble with), etc. Like inventing a recipe without knowing exactly how your ingredients will work together. I could probably have found somene with a face tattoo, but didn't have enough patience for that. Anyway, I'll do that part myself if I have the time. Or maybe that would be a nice inexpensive job for some artist!

Thanks for the added info about the animals, glee. As I mentioned via PM, since Eluned likely has an animal buddy (I'm guessing that's "Denzil," oui?), I'll probably keep Aislinn solo for a while, as I think three in a group of four seems like a strolling zoo! Aislinn will make do with her imaginary wolf. Anyway, who knows if we'd even run into a pack until we head north, assuming she stubbornly wants a Winter Wolf.

Looking forward to both new party members!