Looking for Trouble [Orsal Judging][Concluded]

Lazlow said:

Well, I've had about enough of all this. I think I'll bow out gracefully now before our characters kill each other.

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(OOC: Awww---stick around Lazlow! We're going to get back to action very quickly, I think)

Manz said:

I’m sorry, RA, if the penis jokes annoyed you.

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(OOC: Thanks for the apology--My response is relatively short, but I'll SBLOCK it also anyway to keep the page cleaner [SBLOCK]Actually they didn't annoy me out of character--out of character, I think that Rowan is an awesome, well-realised, and well-roleplayed character. I am impressed by your characterisation, as I was able to discover it at first subtly without actually having read it directly--you explored Rowan by showing and not telling. Bravo!

But those things he said were absolutely the worst possible thing to say to Lasair in character (she's okay if you just ignore her vhal and zij stuff, which everyone else usually does, but using it in insults like that makes her quite upset). Lasair doesn't mind if the group splits up like Rowan wanted if they chose that, but please could Rowan apologise in character for those insults (no need to apologise for being stubborn--that's certainly his right)?

I won't give one-for-one responses to most of the rest to save space--I'll just say that I agree with you nearly completely--just one thing:

quick to belittle other PCs opinions, often in their thoughts instead of their words...make an effort to play your characters with the diplomacy ranks most of them seem to possess

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Belittling in the thoughts rather than the words and then trying to talk it out nicely and courteously is the way I usually play up the diplomacy. Zaeryl, for instance, will just say what he thinks of people regardless of the consequences. However--

can I just ask you to be sensitive to this

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Absolutely. I apologise for that. The good news is that some of my characters, particularly Lasair, are fiercely loyal to her friends once she gets to know them--a trait she shares in common with Rowan from your description. This means that once an adventure gets into the swing of things, it all gets better from there--frankly, what Rowan said is strong enough that one of Lasair's people should be trying to kill him right now--I figure if he just apologises and means it, that next time he kills some sort of monster, she can call the zij cancelled out and grow to respect the barbarian, or something like that--tell me what you think: I want to hear your input on this too.
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OOC: Thanks, Rystil. Here goes...

As the group discusses its plans, and talks with the keep guards, Rowan steps back next to Lasair and says quietly, "Hey - it got pretty tense back there, eh? Sorry if I lost my temper. I know you're a smart girl and you do mean to help. I didn't mean to insult your vhal, or zij, or whatever. I'm glad you're on board."

*Lasair listens to what Rowan says and thinks about it for several seconds. Then finally, she nods and smiles.*

"You still have zij...but if you admit it, that relieves me greatly. I am sure you will repay it in time. I do not know how it is here, but in my home, when the zij is repaid, it is then as if what caused the zij had never happened at all. I would offer to help you do so now, but we have a knight to catch...and a maker of the undead. They have much to answer for!"

*She turns to thinking about the task at hand.*

"This Lord...I consider it likely that it was hunting for this bulette, but it seems we are agreed that the undead are a bigger problem. I am not an expert in tracking, so I will defer to Rowan and Rinya as to whether we chase the ogres or hope to find the knight's trail on the other cobblestones."

Manzanita said:

"What sort of dangerous creatures was he hunting?" Rowan asks the castle guards. "And what's at the other end of this road?"

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"The reports weren't very clear in that regard, m'lord. It was large and attacked from hiding, and the survivors ran even before getting a good look at it."

"The road varies greatly in quality along its length. To the southwest, it leads towards the Vastermarch Cities. If you follow it far to the east, you'll get to Jarfa."

ooc: OK, at this point I'm assuming that we've got everything patched up and are going to try and finish off this adventure. Lazlow, are you sure Dagobert won't stay? We got a little off the rails there for a while, which is at least as much my fault as anybodys... my schedule's been wacky and I haven't been able to push events along and keep the pace moving the way I would prefer.

I certainly understand the desire to have people put aside there differences for the good of the game. One of the DMs for my face to face group has a house rule to the effect of "Your PC WILL get along with the other PCs and act to advance the plot, no matter what." This lead to the rather strange (to say the least!) incident of my Cleric of Pelor adventuring alongside a Lich PC, but in spite of that we all had fun. In a shared world, however, I don't feel I can put that sort of demand on my players. I'm glad Lasair and Rowan were able to work out their differences, and I thank Rystil and Manzanita for allowing that to happen.

"I'm not afraid of those zombie ogres. I'm sure we could take them. But they're days away by now. We might even lose track of them. Revenir and the necromancer seem lost for the moment, so I'm with Rinya. Let's see if we can find this lord and help him out. If nothing else, it will be good to have a friend in this part of the world, since I suspect the necromancer is not far away."

Rowan will enquire of the guards their best guess as to which direction their lord went and how long he's been gone. He'll also ask the lord's name, and the number he had in his party with him.

Lord Westmoreland and a party of 12 retainers were hunting to the Northwest of the castle when last seen.

The group finishes their discussions to find Richard has readied the tethered mounts and struck camp.
"We're ready, where to?" Richard states simply, any gear readied for travel.