Eve of Mirkwood [Full]

[Fenris]

Yuurs, herbal tonics and potions will probably be in order, though I'm certainly not going to leave them lying around.

Fenris may reappear, otherwise Binder_Fred's character has some healing tendencies, though his are more traditional than magical.

If it's a concern (and personally, I think you're right to meep) it may be a good idea to make sourcing some NPC help a priority before embarking on adventure. I'm posting something to that effect in the OOC thread.

Right... onto Ulfang!

Sorry for the abscence folks. Life has been overly busy. And while I am still interested in the game, I do not want to slow it down, especially as it starts, I have been checking in on the thread and the subsequent discussions (ENWorld has been slow of late for me), even though I have not posted.

So Dlsharrock, shall I get rolling with my character, or step aside to let the game proceed, or perhaps jump back in later as the game gets going, you call it. I am well behind the curve here since while I have my basic concept, lack a good motivation for yet another elf to journey with humans.

 

[Dlsharrock]

Fenris, welcome back ...

So Dlsharrock, shall I get rolling with my character, or step aside to let the game proceed, or perhaps jump back in later as the game gets going, you call it. I am well behind the curve here since while I have my basic concept, lack a good motivation for yet another elf to journey with humans.

I'm very happy to include you on the provision that you can post approximately once every two days, or at the very minimum once every three days. I have known marginal/fringe PCs whose players have posted once every 4 to 7 days in the past, but invariably the game turns its fiery eye upon them and then everything turns into snailsville.

On the subject of posting consistency, I might as well address it here since Fenris brought it up. One post every three days is my preference for an abolute minimum, by which you should get the impression that it would be better to post more regularly. I won't leap on anyones' backs if they can't post for a few days for some isolated reason, life is made of little set backs. On a regular basis, though, it causes PCs to dwindle into background scenery at best, slows down the entire game at worst. It also gives me extra NPCing work when it comes to things like combat etc. and I'm essentially a very lazy person If you intend to go on holiday for a while or won't have internet access for two weeks or something, please let me know in advance and I'll allocate your PC to a volunteer player for the duration. Players who persistently vanish for more than 3 days at a time without giving me prior warning will likely be bumped from the game. I'm fairly unceremonious about it as it's one of my pet peeves. After all, even if you're mega busy it only takes five seconds to let us know. OK, stern DM bit over. You can all come out from behind the couch now

As I understand it, the class defenses are mostly to make up for low magic games not possessing the magical AC boosts available to mid and high level characters. They're intended, in short, to replace the natural, deflection, and enhancement bonuses that most characters, in normal D&D, start accruing around level 6 or so, and continue to accrue throughout their lives.

Powerful characters in Middle-Earth tend to retain some kind of inexplicable 'magical' aura and ability for, if not magic casting, then inherent magical defence. I had planned on including something to represent this around 6th level, giving increasing increments of enhancement to AC per level against physical and magical attacks (with alignment based defences for good PCs against evil and vice versa). Would this be an acceptable and slightly simpler alternative?

I've also written up a wordy piece on magic in Middle-Earth, identifying the main factors in order to alter magical aspects of the game as we go, rather than try to pre-empt them all before we play. I may post it later today if I get five minutes.

On the healing front, I'm tight on reading time so count me in as an "Abstains" on that score. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the Feng Shui way of doing things though (Feng Shui is a RPG with a very cinematic/Action movie emulating combat system) : simply heal all heroes back to full between scenes. Exactly what constitutes a scene is up to the DM, and might consist of a single battle or a series of linked battles if the PCs have - for example - no time to rest in between or if it makes more dramatic sense. In our case we could transfer all (half of all?) damage to subdual and treat previous wounds as purely cosmetic/roleplay concerns. Depends on the feel you want for the game.

I quite like the Vitality/Wounds system to be honest. Try to give it a read at some point Fred and give us your decision. Actually, if you give me until this evening I'll try to compose the variant rule in short, save you some reading time.

 

[Shayuri]

I think that'd be fine...it sounds a lot like the defense bonuses anyway, really...except it kicks in later, which isn't much of an issue since ordinary armor suffices until then.

 

[Fenris]

Dlsharrock,
Sounds good. I should not usually have a problem with that rate of posting. As a caveat I do teach from 8 am until 10 pm (and don't get home until 11 pm) Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so they are tricky for me to post. I can squeeze in posts especially Tuesday afternoons, but I am often dead tired at night. But I'll make every effort to at least check in those evenings to make sure I don't hold things back.

So if that is adequate, I'll craft up my druid. (Now where did I put my Tolkien dictionary....)

 

[Dlsharrock]

I would try to post Tuesday afternoons and reserve the rest of your game for the rest of the week. I understand sometimes there's not much time to play, then again if you don't have spare time for an RPG, you really shouldn't be putting yourself forward to play. Anyway, if you think you'll have the free time to join in at the previously mentioned rates, which it looks like you do, then please go ahead with your character.

 

[Dlsharrock]

Awfully sorry folks, have had a rather busy day and haven't had a chance to do anything game related other than post the Magic In Middle-Earth text I wrote at the beginning of the week. You can find it in the OOC thread.

Binder_Fred, I got your emails, thanks! I'll try to get back to you this weekend. I'll also try to read that tunnel combat item you sent.

 

[Shayuri]

Hee...it's all black text though!

Still, interesting stuff. I do think the use of magic in Middle Earth "diminishes" the user, at least when it's a Maiar. I could swear I remember that being one reason the Rings of Power are so important. They stop that from happening...they allow unfettered use of their powers...

 

[Dlsharrock]

Not black text now. I used spoiler tags instead of sblock, sorry

 

[Dlsharrock]

The game has started!
Thread link at the bottom of this post. Please read the waffle first.

I have everyone's character sheets (with a few queries/possible problems I'll address as they arise to be honest rather than nitpick through them all in this thread. Nothing major I should add). I have some things to discuss with Binder_Fred re. tunnel combat feat and his weapons choices. And we're waiting for Fenris to present his healer character. I think Fenris that you should join in where you can once your character is approved. I think it's better if the PC is encountered or comes to the logging camp as a visitor, rather than his being an integral part of the camp. I previously mentioned the possibility of hiring an NPC healer, perhaps your PC can fulfill this role?? Of course if the game is relatively sedentary at the beginning you may be able to slip your PC into proceedings as camp healer or something.

Some loose ends to tie up - I'm beginning the game as a linear introduction, with Baran and Ulfang together in Baran's hut, chatting and, I daresay, drinking. They disturb the burglars and give chase. I'm not going to roleplay the whole of this as it means some players are forced to sit and watch. Rather, the intro is an intro and the game begins once the intro is over. Other players should bring their characters in at appropriate points. Please all players bear in mind that this introduction has a twofold purpose: one is to start the game off with a bit of excitement and some possible plot hooks, the other is to bring the group together. The secondary purpose is more important than the first. Once the group are established, we can move on and roleplay in a less self-conscious way.

Some notes on the game in general (in no particular order):

- Rulesplay and Rules Lawyers Rn't Us. As you all know, we're playing D&D 3.5ed rules. Where rules are appropriate I'll use them. If rules get in the way of our enjoyment of the game, I'll omit them. If rules seem inappropriate to the setting I may alter them accordingly (and hopefully intelligently). My games usually emphasise roleplay over rulesplay, and I've had no complaints in more than 10 years of running such games. Rules lawyers are welcome to play in my games, though as a caveat, I don't usually listen to them and have, in the past, asked over-active pedants to either tone it down or find a different game more suited to their... er... preferences. The rules, IMO, are background foundations, not foreground scenery.

- Lookout for Number One and Each Other. If a situation calls for rules specific to your character, or another PC, and I overlook such a rule, feel free to shout about it. Sometimes it's late, I'm tired or my mind isn't entirely enshrined within the pages of the Core books due to a head cold or my GF nattering at me or something. In such situations please don't be afraid to let me know.

- First person, third person once removed etc. Whether you refer to your PC by name 'ie, Fubar opens the door', or use the first person 'I open the door' doesn't matter to me. I'd prefer present tense 'Fubar opens the door' or future tense 'Fubar will open the door' to past tense 'Fubar opened the door' but it's no biggie.

- Map making. I recommend one player volunteers themselves as group map-keeper.

- Sticking Together. Sometimes splitting up will be necessary, but this is officially a group game and I only really have time to moderate one IC thread, so I'd appreciate if players could do their best, using a mix of logic and common sense, to keep the group together. Where this really makes no sense whatsoever, use your best judgement.

!!The game thread is here!!
http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=224827

See you in the game!

 

[Fenris]

I should have him finished up tonight and I'll post him. I may send you an email reagrding the why he is there. But filling the healer role is fine by me, that's been the goal all along is to be the party healer.