Destiny's Tears OOC Version 3.0

[FreeXenon]

Rystil: Quick question from left field: Will an increase in intelligence retroactively give you more skill points or will you stay with RAW (no retroactive increase)?

Working on Survey...

 

[Brother Shatterstone]

Rystil: Quick question from left field: Will an increase in intelligence retroactively give you more skill points or will you stay with RAW (no retroactive increase)?

I've yet to see him deviate from the RAW... Well with the exception of removing common.

Working on Survey...

Yeah, I'm an hour into it so far...

 

[Bront]

I just brough this up in the Nameless Legion thread (Well, ranted about it, I think on page 6).

I may play it is retroactive in my games, (it's the only thing that isn't retroactive), but that opens the door for what happens if your int takes a dive, do you loose skills? So I'm not sure.

 

[FreeXenon]

That's what I am expecting. Need more skill points. I would be giddy with an extra 3 sklll points per level. ned ranks in Climb, Balance, and Swim, as well as Spellcraft and Sense Motive, and a few other knowledges as well. Thanks..

Big survey with pointy teeth...

 

[Brother Shatterstone]

That's what I am expecting. Need more skill points. I would be giddy with an extra 3 sklll points per level. ned ranks in Climb, Balance, and Swim, as well as Spellcraft and Sense Motive, and a few other knowledges as well. Thanks..

Yeah I agree... Top be honest I changed Molpe's subtype of nymph to get more skills. (and I still need/want more skills)

Big survey with pointy teeth...

Yeah, call it an hour and a half now...

 

[Brother Shatterstone]

The Survey (answered)
[SBLOCK]
Overall Evaluation

On a scale of 1-10, 10 being best, rate last session.

A 9.

Can you think of what might have made the session a 10?

No SBlocks.

Which of the following statements is most applicable to the story so far:

The story is awesome, don't change a thing (With Moments of, “There's a story?” in regards to Molpe... but that’s her doing. )

For each of the following encounters that took place last session, rate them 1-10, 10 being best...

Alire (First Battle): 10 (It advanced plot, and it was rather interesting looking back at just how much plot it advanced.)
Homeless Mugger: 5 (I felt Molpe was very much forced into the action she took and that the game could have been fine without it.)
Vs. PC: 5 (Molpe was put in an very hopeless fight cause of the actions of a NPC and not her own.)
Alire (Group Fight): 10 (Molpe missed most of the talking so it could have only been a 9 if I hadn’t been reading the other thread. )

For each of the NPCs that appeared last session, rate them in terms of interest level or how entertaining you found them, from 1-10, 10 being the best...

Wei-Han: 9 (Very hard not to like him. A point subtracted for his insanity regarding his solo fight with the rest of the group without even waking Molpe and Glamour up.)

Esperanza: 7 (Would be higher but I have no idea what in the world I was suppose to do with her… and now I’m not sure how I will find the time IC to do so.)

Aldonza: 8 (I really liked her, more so than her daughter, even though her time was shorter. Again she suffers from not having the time to do more with her IC.)

Zarina: 10 (I can think of no other NPC I have asked more questions about and through the prologue I can think of no other character that showed Molpe that Eldiz wasn’t a truly bad place. I hope I can find away to keep her in the game.)

Celimene: 9 (Obviously a bit NPC but one that preformed remarkably and admirably…. Showing a true sense of character in the process that made her bigger than the part she played. I hope Molpe sees her at least in passing in chapter 1.)

Glamour: 10 (While she too could suffer a point for not being the smartest in regards to defending her house, basically the same thing that has effected Wei-Han’s score, she’s not a combatant so it doesn’t count. To be honest she is my favorite NPC so far, she has by far been the NPC that Makes Molpe “Molpe” and not some other character, she’s tragically focused on her work and will probably always need Molpe to remind her to enjoy the pleasures in life.)

Virina: 9 (A very bit part in the prologue, one probably not deserving of a 9 like Celimene, but she made such an impression on me I knew who she was the moment I started reading the posts in chapter 1.)

Alire: 10 (Are you suppose to like the villain? I hope she doesn’t become a wasted opportunity).

Erila: 9 (I don’t like her as much as I do Alire and that’s probably what hinders her score some. Plus her softness damages the though broad image of Alire. )

Belle: 8 (Another bit character done very well. Obviously just a bit part in Molpe’s side of the game.)

Mercy: 7 (She doesn’t seem to be tough enough to play city guard, aka it affects her believability some and makes me wonder if her softness wasn’t devised to make Molpe more willing to accept being arrested without issue)

Zaryl Barryn: 9 (Molpe only got a hug from the guy and a few words… Not really enough to truly judge him OOC but he seems like a snake. My score is probably too high.)

Homeless Mugger: 1 (He didn’t come across as believable at all.)

Let me know if I missed someone from the prologue.

Your GM is prompt

True (but it is 11 AM on the East Coast and he’s still asleep…

Your GM is organized

False. (sorry, you get nothing from this if I lie to you. Information is tossed here, and there, alot of common information is hidden in sblocks and has probably been asked 2 or three times by different players.)

You are enjoying the campaign a lot

True!

You are enjoying playing your character a lot

Also very true! But this is one of the few games I like the campaign more than my character…)

You enjoy providing your GM with chocolate bars

I would if he would take them… *pout*

On a scale of 1-10, 10 being best, rate your GM on rules knowledge.

9 (loses half a point for Wei-Han’s failure to cash in when the wolf was being summoned in Wei-Han vs. most of the players and also another half a point in regards to the amount of time summoning spells take.)

If you gave your GM a low score on rules knowledge, do you feel this lack of knowledge impedes the game?

I don’t feel like I gave him a low score, and I doubt I would have remembered to even lower it to an 9 if it hadn’t been a key moment in the game, but to answer this question:

No I don’t think his ability to GM was impeding by his lack of rules.

Please list what rules you'd like your GM to master, and from that list, rate the top three areas you'd like him to master first.

I believe the lessons have been learned.

Does your GM make fair and consistent decisions? Please provide one or more examples of an unfair or inconsistent ruling so your GM can learn by example.

I think he does, but I also think that Wei-Han didn’t wake up Molpe so they couldn’t destroy the others together.

Do you feel the GM abuses meta-game knowledge about PC plans and actions to provide unfair advantages to NPCs and foes? If so, please provide an example so your GM knows what to avoid next time.

N/A I don’t think the GM really GMs with a “Me verses the PCs” mentality.

Did I make a rules mistake you didn't mention? What?

Not that I remember…

Do you feel your GM favors any particular player over the others?

No

Do you feel your GM favors any particular character over the others?

Yes, Zykovian rolls to many critical.

True or False:

Your GM is good at dealing with troublesome players.

True.

your GM is fair.

True

Your GM is consistent with applying the rules Preparation and Organization.

True. Preparation always seems amazing and the Organization always seems to be amazingly bad.

From 1-10, 10 being best, rate the current game room environment.

8 Maps, maps, maps.

Of the different venues we play at, which one is your favorite and why?

N/A

On a scale of 1-10, 10 being best, rate how prepared your GM is.

9 (its hard to tell on a PbP game what is planed and what is spur of the moment.)

True or False:

Your GM wastes little time looking up rules

True

Your GM seems to find things, such as dice, books, and minis, quickly.

True. Which I don’t know how based upon his organization skills.

Your GM spends a lot of time reading through notes.

Not sure…

A lot of game time seems to be spent on mapping.

Do you think the game would benefit from a weekly "newsletter" style sheet that kept track of NPCs, story- arcs, important facts, party goals, etc., in-between gaming sessions?

Insanely so… I spent at least 40 minutes looking around for the names of some characters. (and this is pretty common)

Would you like to see to-scale maps and miniatures used more often, particularly in combat situations?

Yes.

Pacing

List the periods in the last session where the game seemed to drag on, you were bored, or the energy at the table seemed the lowest.

When I couldn’t post for 14 days… (only to find out it was because an NPC didn’t wake up my character. )

In recent sessions, have there been times where you didn't know what to do next? Were any of those times frustrating for you? If so, please make a list of those times and reasons why you were frustrated, such as from a lack of options, party dissension, and so on.

Yes, sometimes but not really…

Diplomacy while not in combat… It doesn’t work.

Does your GM seek ways to expedite menial tasks?

Expect for diplomacy…. Yes.

Gameplay

On a scale of 1-10, how lethal do combat encounters seem to you? What rating would you prefer them to be?

10… (around an 8)

On a scale of 1-10, how lethal do traps seem to you? What rating would you prefer them to be?

N/A (around a 1)

On a scale of 1-10, how fun and interesting do roleplay encounters seem to you? What could be done to improve this rating?

With a few exceptions, see above, a 10…

On a scale of 1-10, how interesting have trap and puzzle encounters been for you? What could be done to improve this rating?

N/A

On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the best, rate how much you enjoyed the mix of combat, puzzle/trap, and roleplay encounters was last session.

A 9.

A perfect 10 would need:

I cannot believe I’m saying this but maybe a few more changes for combat… It seems to be the only way to get XP.

Does your GM need to increase, decrease, or keep to the same length flavor text used in game?

Don’t change it, but if you do get more flavor text.

Do you feel railroaded? [/quote

Once or twice. Yes.

Do you feel lost and without direction in the game?

Only once or twice but it was handled well enough.

What specific scenes have you enjoyed the most in my games? Why? (Victory in great battle, great jokes, solutions to diplomatic mysteries, etc.)

The Bathhouse, Glamour’s bedroom, just lots of character development their.

Do you think I have fudged rolls? Does such knowledge decrease your enjoyment of game?

No, and yes.

Were any of tonight's settings/villains/battles/NPCs especially memorable/fun/exciting? Which?

I think this has been covered before… Glamour, Wei-Han, Zarina all where rememberable as was Alire.

Name one thing the next session should have more of.

More posts for Molpe so I can hit up all the small wonderful details that I missed cause of lack of time.

Name one thing the next session should have less of.

Sblocks

Based on last session, would you like to see less, more, or about the same of the following:

Weaker NPCs: Less Same More

More?

Comparable NPCs: Less Same More

Ah, same?

Powerful NPCs: Less Same More

More?

Overall # of NPCs: Less Same More

Less… Or give us a list of people.

Political Intrigue: Less Same More

More!

Magical Items: Less Same More

More!

Combat: Less Same More

More! (I want levels!)

Skill Use: Less Same More

Same

Focus on Character-Specific Plots: Less Same More

Same… Maybe I can get everything done.

Dungeon-Crawling Adventures: Less Same More

In a dress? Are you insane? Less!

City Adventures: Less Same More

More!

Wilderness Adventures: Less Same More

More!

World Travel: Less Same More

More!

Puzzles/Riddles: Less Same More

Less

Random Encounters: Less Same More

More

General GMing

Name one thing you appreciate about me as a GM.

The amount of time you’ve taken to make this game as great as possible…

Give one suggestion for something I could improve as a GM.

Let me into your other games so I don’t just wait around for “Molpe posts.”

In all seriousness, which ever NPCs is not talking has the habit of disappears from the post.

Is there anything else you think I should know?

This survey was very long.

Questions/Comments/Constructive Criticism?

I think your survey covered it all well enough. I hope you realize that the above is only meant to helpful and if you ask an honest question(s) you’ll get an honest reply.

[/SBLOCK]

 

[FreeXenon]

Think we should post the survey here or email it to him?

 

[Brother Shatterstone]

Think we should post the survey here or email it to him?

I posted it. (He made no mention of emailing them to him)

 

[FreeXenon]

Survey

My eyes are swirling... so this is done..
[SBLOCK][h1]The Survey[/h1][h2]Overall Evaluation[/h2]
On a scale of 1-10, 10 being best, rate last session. 10

Can you think of what might have made the session a 10?

Which of the following statements is most applicable to the story so far:
The story is awesome, don't change a thing (Except maybe let the Mojiin rule the worlds)

For each of the following encounters that took place last session, rate them 1-10, 10 being best...
First Rose Thorn Combat: 7
I was just introduced and did not know any of the PC's only one person spoke an laguage that I understood, but I eventually figured it out. Things took off once Abdiel became conscious. My character was in a whole lot of confusion in that encounter: Abdiel is with a group that is hunting the children of Arris, and they are being attacked by an Ecomancer. oi!! Language barriers and not knowing the PC's - comes with the start - Normal. Combat for me did not go so well. Hesitation was annoying - not knowing if I should kill her or subdue her or... what? Cool! Makes me think.
Sacra Church: 9
Everything went to hell there. It was cool. Poor Thanee. I hope that I did not derail the progress you were hoping to make too much. =)
Glamour's Estate: 9
The first encounter with the Crazan was interesting and that Abdiel and I both told Zykovian the same thing was cool! Getting skooled by Han-Wei was a cool fight!

For each of the NPCs that appeared last session, rate them in terms of interest level or how entertaining you found them, from 1-10, 10 being the best...
Sacra Acolyte: 7 Consistent and naive, as well as giving perspective to differences
Alire: 9 Holy crap!!
Copper-haired Girl 9 Cool!

True of False:

Your GM is prompt True

Your GM is organized True

You are enjoying the campaign a lot True

You are enjoying playing your character a lot: True (I am lacking in consistency, but will try to fix that). Most of the games that I play are Roll-Playing which I am OK with. Some have been a little more plot intensive which is cool. But Actually heavy role-playing is not something I have done before so this has been quite and experience.

You enjoy providing your GM with chocolate bars: False (Do you like chocolate? Dark or Milk? I'm a milk chocolate, especially with peanut butter? Mmmmmm!!! )

[h2]Refereeing[/h2]

Rate your GM on rules knowledge. 10

Please list what rules you'd like your GM to master, and from that list, rate the top three areas you'd like him to master first.

Does your GM make fair and consistent decisions? Yes

Do you feel the GM abuses meta-game knowledge about PC plans and actions to provide unfair advantages to NPCs and foes? No

Did I make a rules mistake you didn't mention? What? Any rules issues you seem to resolve. I have not paid really close attention to rules questions posted by others. I have read them and not seen any problems.

Do you feel your GM favours any particular player over the others? NO

Do you feel your GM favours any particular character over the others? NO
There was a little dispute over Glamour's skooling of Alire. That might have taken some of the thunder from the PC's who werer really looking to defeat her. However, that was a really challenging encounter. Half the party was unconscious and/or on the verge of death, so that might have been the only way to save us from a TPK. Not a big deal, things have turned out well and quite interesting.

Your GM is good at dealing with troublesome players: Yes (ME)

Your GM is fair: Yes

Your GM is consistent with applying the rules: Yes

[h2]Preparation and Organization[/h2]

Of the different venues we play at, which one is your favourite and why?
The begining and the Church of the (Sacra) Zealots. For me, that is where I really defined a lot of how my character was and there was a lot of player interaction. Those moments were quite tense: hammering Abdiel about not being dedicated and worrying about offending Eonthar; I also worried about offending Thanee and the rest of the PC's. I do not want to play a character that is going to spoil the fun of the other PC's due to creating interparty conflict.
It also helped to show me how different the 'religions' were.

Rate how prepared your GM is: a More codified game workd would rock - races, planets, and cultures - more flavor set into stone.

Your GM wastes little time looking up rules False: Hmmmm..

Your GM seems to find things, such as dice, books, and minis, quickly? (My Webcam says yes?)

Your GM spends a lot of time reading through notes? Hmmm...

A lot of game time seems to be spent on mapping: (Maps? What Maps? )

Do you think the game would benefit from a weekly "newsletter" style sheet that kept track of NPCs, story- arcs, important facts, party goals, etc., in-between gaming sessions?
That would be cool! There are a lot of posts and threads to wade through to find stuff.

Would you like to see to-scale maps and miniatures used more often, particularly in combat situations?
(For combat encounters, yes. For social situations I do not think it is really necessary. A good description with some distances thrown in for a little perspective would be cool!)

[h2]Pacing[/h2]

List the periods in the last session where the game seemed to drag on, you were bored, or the energy at the table seemed the lowest.
Just the begining as I was not involved till a little bit later. Not much that can have been done, especially with our character histories being so diverse. I think it worked out really well and has created interesting party dynamics. Other than that things have been moving along. And, of course, when I am unconscious. Not much can be done with that though. Need to be more aggressive in combat.

In recent sessions, have there been times where you didn't know what to do next? Were any of those times frustrating for you? If so, please make a list of those times and reasons why you were frustrated, such as from a lack of options, party dissension, and so on.
There are plenty of options to play with and someone in the party [Zykovian] defintely takes grabs to group by the reigns and keeps her going.
If I have tactical questions you are good about clarifying them and giving other alternate methods of accompishing the same thing as well as accompanying ramifications. We are given plenty of clues hints and leads to follow.

Does your GM seek ways to expedite menial tasks? Yes

[h2]Gameplay[/h2]
On a scale of 1-10, how lethal do combat encounters seem to you? What rating would you prefer them to be? 8-9 Which is, as a Dm, where I prefer them to be. If the Pc's have not feared for their character's well being I have not done my job.

On a scale of 1-10, how lethal do traps seem to you? What rating would you prefer them to be? NA
We really have not had any traps per se. Entering into Galmour's Estate?

On a scale of 1-10, how fun and interesting do roleplay encounters seem to you? What could be done to improve this rating? 9
Roleplaying encounters are very interesting because the personalities and motivations are so varied.

On a scale of 1-10, how interesting have trap and puzzle encounters been for you? What could be done to improve this rating? 7
If we count Glamour's Estate and the Mojiin Riddle - we will see. As the Mojiin riddle has not been fully solved. Who? What? When? Where? How Why? The bang has not hit us yet from the Riddle.

On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the best, rate how much you enjoyed the mix of combat, puzzle/trap, and roleplay encounters was last session. Good Mix - half and half

A perfect 10 would need:

You have a good mix of Combat and Roleplaying. a light increase in Traps/Puzzles.

Does your GM need to increase, decrease, or keep to the same length flavour text used in-game? I think it is good. A little more could be better.

Do you feel railroaded? No

Do you feel lost and without direction in the game? No

What specific scenes have you enjoyed the most in my games? Why? (Victory in great battle, great jokes, solutions to diplomatic mysteries, etc.) Routing Alire, The coppered haired girl's conversations, and the Sacra acolyte talking about "redemption and my views"

Do you think I have fudged rolls? Does such knowledge decrease your enjoyment of game? I am not sure... sometimes it is necessary... I like to let the dice lay where they fall, but sometimes you just cannot do that... I would always prefer to think that you did not have do so. Knowing that you have fudged a roll can detract from the tension and excitement of an encounter. It can remove the "Oh my gods, I just might die here?" factor if we think the DM might bounce the die to save us.

Were any of tonight's settings/villains/battles/NPCs especially memorable/fun/exciting? Which? My first encounter with Alire was quite revealing as to how the campaign will go. I had to think and make a decision. There are no morale absolutes here.
My conflicts with Abdiel and Thanee were tense but fun.

Name one thing the next session should have more of. A common party language and

Name one thing the next session should have less of. Just glanced at BS's response - sblocks are annoying but serve a useful purpose. The game will defintely flow better without them, but they are necessary. Everyone will be happier with less!

[h2]Based on last session, would you like to see less, more, or about the same of the following:[/h2]
Weaker NPCs: More - PC's are exceptional - it is hard to feel excpetional when many of the people are as powerful or more powerful than you.

Comparable NPCs: Same - PC's need to be challenged

Powerful NPCs: Same

Overall # of NPCs: maybe a few more - I think that the other PC's have seen more so my view might not be entirely correct over the course of the campaign so far. Being antisocial and antogonistic doesn't help either!

Political Intrigue: same - I enjoy this sort of a thing even though I am politically challenged

Magical Items: More - I come from a groups that are traditionaly magic heavy. However I am quite a meiser when I DM

Combat: Same
Skill Use: Same

Focus on Character-Specific Plots: This is going OK. I Think that the plot involves everyone in one way or the other. Not an easy thing to do as a DM.

Dungeon-Crawling Adventures: More (I am curious to see a Rystil Dungeon. Actually I think I am more afraid than curious!

City Adventures: Same - Necessary and varied. Really needed to be exposed to the different cultures.

Wilderness Adventures: More (I am a ranger type so that would be good from a skill utilization standpoint. I think I am the most wilderess oriented PC. The rest are city based. I know we will get to the wilds where my 1337 5k1Lz will shine.

World Travel: More

Puzzles/Riddles: More - puzzles are good - but too many - one every few 'gaming sessions' to keep us on our toes

Random Encounters: Have we had any?

[h2]General GMing[/h2]

Name one thing you appreciate about me as a GM. Ridiculous amount of creativity and diversity. Class creation and Balance. Worlds, Languages, Societies, PC's. The whole world... I mean come on... we have a (Bi-polar) Schizophrenic Tree Hugger.

Give one suggestion for something I could improve as a GM. More indepth explanations for planets, races and cultures. How they view each other and so on.

Is there anything else you think I should know? I wear boxers and chocolate to bed. I know you were curious.

Questions/Comments/Constructive Criticism? [/SBLOCK]

 

[Brother Shatterstone]

My eyes are swirling... so this is done..

Yeah couldn't agree more.

I see where share alot of common beliefs... though I was probably too hard on RA.

As for the SBlocks... At times they are useful, and hopefully with everyone picking up a common language they fade from view, but they have no way to keep someone from reading a post only the player can do that.

My biggest complaint about the sblocks is just how frustrating it is to get a reply notice only to run off to the thread to find out you cannot read it cause its not for your character.

It was far easier to wait the second time (for round 4 of the Rosethorn combat at Glamour’s) than it was for the nothing but Sblocks I had to wait through… Its about seeing progress, its about having something to read.

Not every posts needs to be meant for my character, I was quite pleased to be able to read what you all where doing…

Doing away with SBlocks just implies trust in the players… I don't see anyone in this game using OOC knowledge anyhow.