(CLOSED) OOC

[Antman9]

I will make the Summary post in The Haunting of Griffon Manor after everyone adds their WIS-DC to thier current post.


i.e.

[Giant Humanoid 3] (HD: 24/24) (AC: 14) (Size: 8' tall)
Action: Communicates!


The Giant Humanoid walks to within 20' of the party, points his shield and spear at Gorthak, opens his mouth, and lets out a piercing deep cry, "Uuuuuentis!"

Everyone please roll a WIS-DC (3d6 ± WIS modified) and add it to your existing post for this round.

Thanks

[Antman9]

I'm just waiting for Caiden's post in The Haunting of Griffon Manner and then I will make the summary post...This is gonna get interesting

[GreyWolfVT]

I'd give you a direction for Gorthak but i cannot locate a map of the dragon's belch area in the maps section. Best I can say is that last map a page or two back in the manor IC posting is west of the manor.

[Sol]

Hello team,

Just a quick mention - I have today begun my new podcast called The Iron Realm. I am excited at the prospect of sharing it with you, fellow gamers:

viewtopic.php?f=40&t=4834

Definitely, let me know what you think. And enjoy!

---Sol

[Antman9]

Thanks for the info Sol. I'll check it out later tonight.


I'll be making a summary post later tonight. for both parties. My first week of school this week and I'm still getting used to the new schedule. I reopened the LFP post to see if we can get another player or two to supplement the parties. A few people have disappeared or no longer have time for the US.

Thanks
Antman9

[Sol]

Cool, Antman. It might interest you to know that a future podcast features a Lizard Man fight. Had Lizard Men on my mind, of course, following all our adventures. ; )

[Antman9]

Awesome. I'm digging how you play the Lizardman here. I look forward to listening to one in your podcast.

[Antman9]

A quick question for you players: (my version thereof anyway)

I have been giving the campaign a bit of thought lately, as I am often inclined to do, and am wondering how folks are liking the flow so far. I kind of get the feeling that some folks would like things to focus more on the action, and that others really enjoy/like the role-playing aspect. I strive to find a happy medium for everyone, and have tried to pick up the action a bit.

What does everyone think about this subject/my DM-ing/campaign style? Am I meeting everyone's needs/expectations? (I know I've had a few slow periods of late and I'm making a concerted effort to eliminate that from happening in the future.)

Things I'm currently working on:
- Timeline of events (major events that impact present or future activity)
- Campaign story threads actively in play
- Incorporating more exciting action events into the story/campaign
- Weaving the multiple plot threads together so they make more sense to everyone, including myself
- incorporating a wider range of creatures, NPC's, and event types to provide a variety of experiences and increase XP for the players.

Questions I ask myself:
- More or less of the role-playing aspect of PBP? (lots of dialog as apposed to action)
- More or less appearances and interactions from the NPC's?
- More or less Acton events?
- degree of mixture in regards to a Dungeon Crawl oriented campaign or Role-playing (dialog) campaign?
- Is the sandbox campaign I'm trying to create working for everyone (am I meeting everyone's needs)?


p.s. As some of you may or may not know, player thesniperknight1 has decided to take a break from the US. He wishes everyone well and was pleased with how this campaign was going when he left. I believe his character, as well as his personality, was a valuable asset to this campaign. I really enjoyed his style of game play and miss seeing his posts. I hope he is able to come back to us at some point in the near future. Until then I will be keeping him as an NPC, barring any objections from the peanut gallery.

[Sol]

Hello Antman! Here are my thoughts.

* First off, to me, this is a fantastic game. You are very attentive to providing character-specific opportunities. I've seen you insert NPCs specifically for me to interact with. I've also seen you find ways to help Seeker shine a light on the mysterious aspects of his character - and have created another such opportunity for Gorthak with his new weapon. The NPCs are rich and real. The descriptions are always very good. The images and sometimes maps that are inserted into play also use the forum medium very well. I am such a big fan.

* The Ghost Hunter Plotline is interesting. I am sensing that it is set up as a mystery. I think the reason for this was to contrast with what has been done before. To solve this, the players will likely have to pull together and share information and theories a little more. I think this is possible. What makes it a challenge could be character personalities. We have several "hammers" in the group. Of those hammers, I perceive two of them to be very smart, but getting a group effort to solve the problem could take some finesse. Telling the story in such a manner to draw on these strengths (by us, the players) will be the challenge and the attraction of this particular storyline, I think.

* For my part, I am not sure if I have been interacting as wholeheartedly with the story as might otherwise be possible. I have noticed that the posts are rich with information and clues, yet I am not sure I have played off of more than a fraction of it. So I have to claim some responsibility for that.

* Regarding the pace, a play-by-post is a challenge since it can take a couple of weeks or more to play through a scene that might be able to happen in an evening if everyone was sitting around a table. So when updates only happen once every few days, that is a challenge to the momentum. That said, I think that I am here because I do not have time for a realtime game. And so, while I acknowledge the challenge of the slower pace, I must also admit that this pace is exactly what I need in a game right now. I usually log in once a day and will try to continue doing this. I really enjoy this game!

* Action versus Roleplay: I'd say for me that the mix is about right.

* Multiple Plot Threads - I think these are okay in theory. Admittedly, it *is* more of a challenge for the GM to run more than one (it is, essentially like running multiple games). If the GM is cool with it, that's probably all to the good. But if the game runs slower as a result, maybe just as well to run one story and then "railroad" players into not splitting up. ; )

* Re: Player Turnover: I think this is unavoidable and perfectly natural. It is okay to have a small group of players, but the amount of interaction is important. Three players are enough if they are all involved. If they are not, it is nice to have a couple of other faces to keep the story moving. Players who are not too responsive probably will be down the road, so it is all to the good. I like the idea of keeping Caiden. Antman, you are doing a good job running him. Another alternative would be to bring in another player to run him until (if) his player returns.

* What I like about this game: Rich description, Occasional Visuals, chances for Roleplay, anything-can-happen style, forgiving posting schedule.
* What I would change: Not much. Pretty happy with this game.

[badams30]

This has been a cool campaign, it's amazing the amount of detail, thought and work you've put into this. Nice job!

The multiple threads, different directions and whatnot are difficult for me to follow, but not because of the way you do it, it's just that it's difficult for me to follow (I'm awfully scatterbrained)

I've got three children, plus work, plus life, plus lots of travel, so the slower pace works just fine for me. I'd love to be able to post more, but it's a bit tough.

I wouldn't change anything, the only possible thing I might suggest is what Sol mentioned about the "railroad" aspect. I do that the campaigns I run when needed. With the slower pace of PbP and when real-life slows things, sometimes people lose track of what's going on, what's happened, and their posts reflecct it with less meat and action. Sometimes a push is what the group needs.

I'm glad to be here and trying to pick up the quality and qty of my posts soon. I like Gort, I like the other players on here, and the campaign is money. I like it.

Brandon

[Antman9]

Thanks for the reply badams30. I don;t have the kids but I work half a day and then go to school for the other half all week long and then spend the weekend studying. So I feel your pain. Sometimes my brain feels like mush. The slower pace works for several of us I think. I just get worried folks gets anxious.

I'd mention how old I feel, and actually am, but then everyone would ask me why I'm in school, yadda yadda, and then I'd have to explain it all, so we'll just pretend I'm young

I'm pleased with everyone in the campaign so far and how they run their characters. Even though they are all from widely different backgrounds they seem to do just fine together. Even the player personalities don't seem to clash too much (for the most part). I'm just glad everyone is enjoying the game so far.

Marc

[MonkeyWrench]

I'm in agreement with most of what everyone has said, and anything else that I've told you to your old face.

I'm honestly surprised at the level of cohesion with the group, especially considering Seeker. I'm surprised it took Gorthak so long to get fed up with him and that everyone else is still cool with him. His personality is abrasive, for reasons that may or may not be explained, and because of that I had foreseen a much greater amount of turmoil.

Either way the game here and the players I have the fortune of gaming with are all top notch, 10/10 would play with again.

[GreyWolfVT]

I pretty much have nothing to add to what has been said.

[Nuke66]

I too found it interesting to play an unconventional character, with a flighty personality to boot. Since he hasn't been turned upon by the party is a good sign.

[Dram]

I agree with all that has been said. It has been a very fun game to play. Playing a characters that we would not normally get to play.

[Sol]

[quote="MonkeyWrench"]I'm honestly surprised at the level of cohesion with the group, especially considering Seeker. I'm surprised it took Gorthak so long to get fed up with him and that everyone else is still cool with him. His personality is abrasive, for reasons that may or may not be explained, and because of that I had foreseen a much greater amount of turmoil.[quote]

Haha, definitely thought about how Zirus would react to Seeker, but ultimately decided that Zirus has begun to regard Seeker as the group leader. In large part because Zirus himself is not likely to claim leadership of the group at this time and also because Seeker, for all his bravado and confrontationalism, does indeed seem to make good calls re: the direction to take. Zirus figures that actions speak louder than words and must admit - the hammer that gets the job done is the hammer to use!

[Sol]

Hey guyz,

If it interests you, the Lizard Man character appears during this week's episode (5) of Iron Realm. Find out what happens in the faceoff against The Hunter. See my sig for the download and enjoy.

[GreyWolfVT]

What happened to the game Antman and MW vanish?

[Dram]

Yeah, I hope everything is alright. Not like MW to disappear.

[stephberg]

Antman is buried with school work, I'm not sure about MW, but I'll find out.