The Shackled City - Golarion Interest/Recruitment (CLOSED)

[ahayford]

Doh! I just checked the post date of the intro post, and it looks like its only been 2 weeks!

 

[Dragonwriter]

Interesting little questionnaire. I like it. I haven't seen feedback requests like this in quite some time.

1) How do you feel about the frequency of my updates?

Just fine.

2) Am I giving you enough time to RP amongst yourselves and with NPCs?

Yes, so far.

3) Do you feel like your character has had an oppotunity to shine?

A little... but hauling a lot of stuff is hardly glorious.

4) Do you feel like your characters actions are making meeningful impacts on the world?

Again, a little. But we're only level 1, so I'm surprised to see much of a chance to have effects on the larger picture. Usually, major influence happens later in a campaign.

5) Am I giving you enough time to react to situations in the game world? Should I allow you a chance to react at every "time slice" rather then extrapolating to save back and forth time?

I'm fine with the setup so far. Sometimes, the DM just has to speed through stuff. Fast-forwarding is one of the handy tools available to do just that. I think going through each of the five rounds as "carry more stuff/help the porters/reinforce the gates" would have just been tedious.

6) Do you feel like I'm taking too many liberties with what your character does in my updates?

So far, no.

7) Would you prefer less "narrative" style updates and more "just the facts"?

I like the narrative style so far. You've got a fairly engaging writing style, for my taste.

8) Am I giving you enough opportunities to roll dice?

I suppose. But it's been only two weeks and one encounter. I don't expect a lot to happen, especially when we're still in the Prelude.

9) Are you disappointed by the lack of combat (thus far)?

Again, two weeks. And combat in PbP generally takes forever... so not really.

10) How do you like to run combat? My current plan was to have everyone post a prioritized things they'd like to do in priority order...and then resolve the round in initiative order. Using your prioritized list and my judgement to determine what happens to avoid having to wait for everyone to post in initiative order. OR would you rather I wait for each person to post in initiative order, resolve it and move to the next pc.

That plan could work. You could also roll a grouped monster Init and just have the PCs act themselves, fairly independently, either before or after the monsters, based on their own Init roll.

11) In general 1-10 with 1 being the lowest, how engaged are you in the story?

About a 7. Decent so far, but nothing making me go "Wow!" But then again, it's been all of 2 weeks.

12) 1-10 How do you feel I'm doing as a DM?

I'd say an 8 -- pretty well. The writing style for the updates carries a touch of life with it, rather than the dry and boring posts I've seen from other PbP DMs, which is very helpful for keeping the game interesting.

13) Any other suggestions for changes in game flow you'd like to see or ways I could make the game better?

Nothing that comes to mind just now... Maybe in a few more weeks I'll have something.

 

[jkason]

Rather than give a bunch of 'works for me's,' just assume I'm fine with any number that I'm not listing below.

3) Do you feel like your character has had an oppotunity to shine?

Not a lot, but I don't attribute that to you, really. I've been running a bit behind updating, and haven't been doing the greatest job at coming up with much in the way of strategy.

I think swarms are especially problematic at very early levels, when area effects aren't as common for casters to have prepared, and economics mean you're not likely to have invested in splash weapons yet, but that seems like a fault of the system, really: CR is troublesome with a creature that's really easy to kill if you happen to have the right spell / bit of gear and nearly impossible to kill if you don't.

7) Would you prefer less "narrative" style updates and more "just the facts"?

I'm a fan of narrative. I enjoy PbP games because of that, actually, as it emphasizes the 'shared story-telling' aspect of RPGs.

8) Am I giving you enough opportunities to roll dice?

I haven't felt like I've been shoehorned out of using my stats, if that's what you mean. It seems like mechanics are coming in where mechanics can.

10) How do you like to run combat? My current plan was to have everyone post a prioritized things they'd like to do in priority order...and then resolve the round in initiative order. Using your prioritized list and my judgement to determine what happens to avoid having to wait for everyone to post in initiative order. OR would you rather I wait for each person to post in initiative order, resolve it and move to the next pc.

I've actually found group initiative / first-post speeds things up, but it looks like several PC's took initiative-boosting traits, so that's probably not fair to them. Given that, having folks post what they expect to do, then resolving in initiative order (possibly pausing for retcons if the situation changes before you get to someone) seems the best option.

 

[ahayford]

I think swarms are especially problematic at very early levels, when area effects aren't as common for casters to have prepared, and economics mean you're not likely to have invested in splash weapons yet, but that seems like a fault of the system, really: CR is troublesome with a creature that's really easy to kill if you happen to have the right spell / bit of gear and nearly impossible to kill if you don't.

Hehe....I think you guys are metagaming the swarm a bit But it has also led this encounter in a direction I didn't quite expect at first, which is really cool. I'm all for alternative solutions to encounters that don't involve direct combat. Particularly in pbp where combat can take a long time.

Also, I try to be a fairly adaptive DM, so if there is something off the wall you want to try...I'd go for it. I liked that Svexyn, Nia, and Valinnan came up with 3 seperate strategies....and I feel like they have all contributed to you guys surviving (thus far).

 

[Shayuri]

In this case the swarm is clearly not a "monster" in game rules. It's a force of nature...more like an environmental hazard, like a lava flow. It can be avoided or perhaps even diverted, but not "killed."

Even the flaming meat was more of an idea to distract and dissuade the swarm coming at the gate, not to 'kill' them, really.

Though killing some is definitely a bonus.

 

[Walking Dad]

...

1) How do you feel about the frequency of my updates?

Fine.

2) Am I giving you enough time to RP amongst yourselves and with NPCs?

Yes, you do.

3) Do you feel like your character has had an opportunity to shine?

Not yet (unless you count weirding some others out)

4) Do you feel like your characters actions are making meaningful impacts on the world?

Not yet. Fighting swarms is not the thing he is doing well.

5) Am I giving you enough time to react to situations in the game world? Should I allow you a chance to react at every "time slice" rather then extrapolating to save back and forth time?

Everything works fine. And thanks for the retcon.

6) Do you feel like I'm taking too many liberties with what your character does in my updates?

No. I think we will both have to get to know Wilbur

7) Would you prefer less "narrative" style updates and more "just the facts"?

I prefer narrative, as long as the facts are also clear. You did this.

8) Am I giving you enough opportunities to roll dice?

???

9) Are you disappointed by the lack of combat (thus far)?

Not at all.

10) How do you like to run combat? My current plan was to have everyone post a prioritized things they'd like to do in priority order...and then resolve the round in initiative order. Using your prioritized list and my judgement to determine what happens to avoid having to wait for everyone to post in initiative order. OR would you rather I wait for each person to post in initiative order, resolve it and move to the next pc.

I personnel like the DM to decide on the order of things the PCs act, trying to make it most beneficial and to make sense. If we would be all in the same room, we could delay our actions for maximum benefit, too.

11) In general 1-10 with 1 being the lowest, how engaged are you in the story?

7+

12) 1-10 How do you feel I'm doing as a DM?

You do fine, maybe great

13) Any other suggestions for changes in game flow you'd like to see or ways I could make the game better?

Nothing yet.

 

[Maidhc O Casain]

1) How do you feel about the frequency of my updates?

We're rolling along at a good clip! (Experience tells me that the current pace will slow as the game matures, but that's fine . . . I'm all for taking the time to enjoy the journey rather than rushing to get through.)

2) Am I giving you enough time to RP amongst yourselves and with NPCs?

Yep.

3) Do you feel like your character has had an oppotunity to shine?

As much as has been possible given the short time we've been 'in country.'

4) Do you feel like your characters actions are making meaningful impacts on the world?

Early days, yet. We're heroes, but still fledglings . . . we'll get there.

5) Am I giving you enough time to react to situations in the game world? Should I allow you a chance to react at every "time slice" rather then extrapolating to save back and forth time?

I think you're pacing the game well so far.

6) Do you feel like I'm taking too many liberties with what your character does in my updates?

Not at all.

7) Would you prefer less "narrative" style updates and more "just the facts"?

I like the story telling, and a narrative style should help me keep details better in mind.

8) Am I giving you enough opportunities to roll dice?

Yep.

9) Are you disappointed by the lack of combat (thus far)?

Not at all.

10) How do you like to run combat? My current plan was to have everyone post a prioritized things they'd like to do in priority order...and then resolve the round in initiative order. Using your prioritized list and my judgement to determine what happens to avoid having to wait for everyone to post in initiative order. OR would you rather I wait for each person to post in initiative order, resolve it and move to the next pc.

[sblock=Long Answer]I've never been a fan of group initiative, regardless of the time it takes for a combat. PbP is slow, regardless, and I like the intricacy of running an encounter in initiative order. I also typically play lightly armored, fast characters and take initiative boosting traits and feats, and group initiative sucks almost all of the usefulness from this type of player. Once Val takes a level of Rogue I'll be very interested in him acting first to catch someone flat-footed so he can take advantage of his sneak attack.

That said, I also understand others' readiness to move it along - combat is fast as it actually happens, and slowing it down takes some of the urgency out of it.

Probably the best solution to this problem I've seen is the system Perrin Miller uses:

Roll initiative for each character, and take the average. (If I were using this system I'd make the rolls and post them so as not to use two or three days just to determine initiative order). If the heroes win, they act first and you're done. If the baddies win, any heroes who's individual rolls beat the bad guys initiative get to act first, then all the bad guys, then all the good guys (even the ones who acted previously). It's basically like adding a round in which only the really fast characters act.

If there is a surprise round, use individual initiative results combined with perception results to determine who acts and in what order, then go to right into group initiative as described above (but without that "extra round" - it got used for surprise).

This system makes it so that those characters who take initiative boosting traits and play high-dex characters 1) help the group initiative and 2) get to take advantage of those feats, traits and ability points.[/sblock]

11) In general 1-10 with 1 being the lowest, how engaged are you in the story?

9+. At this stage, we don't know a lot about the story so engagement for me comes from good narrative description (so far that's been excellent) and good, three dimensional characters (and we've got some excellent character writers in this one). I'm loving it!

12) 1-10 How do you feel I'm doing as a DM?

9+. Good narrative, and your writing style suits me well. Good pacing. Good effort to emphasize each characters abilities and actions. Good effort to incorporate each character and their backstory into the world.

13) Any other suggestions for changes in game flow you'd like to see or ways I could make the game better?

Not so far, but I'll let you know if I come up with any!

 

[Maidhc O Casain]

A good fight; nice narrative style that seems well suited to PbP play. Your use of maps was good - it's tough to map such a large area in PbP, and you did well with splitting it into multiple maps.

I don't share Dragonwriter's concerns about getting bogged down in initiative order - it's play-by-post, and speeding it up so that combats take a day or two less isn't going to make that much difference in the time scale we're looking at for an entire AP. Val isn't the initiative monster I typically play, but I've felt the sting of group initiatives used when I've played characters who rely on striking first (rogues being the primary example, but not by any means the only one).

I do share his sentiments about swarms - great, challenging foe to use as a GM, pain in the arse when you're the characters running up against them. Especially when they're of the diminutive type and are completely immune to normal weapon damage.

Overall, we're off to a great start, IMHO, and I'm looking forward to seeing how we continue to develop!

 

[Dragonwriter]

I don't share Dragonwriter's concerns about getting bogged down in initiative order - it's play-by-post, and speeding it up so that combats take a day or two less isn't going to make that much difference in the time scale we're looking at for an entire AP. Val isn't the initiative monster I typically play, but I've felt the sting of group initiatives used when I've played characters who rely on striking first (rogues being the primary example, but not by any means the only one).

I actually talked about grouping NPCs (whether friend or foe) with similar or identical stats together. It's a lot easier to handle, in my experience. Like rather than having every single adult beetle and swarm get a separate roll, a few swarms get grouped into one Init roll, the others into a different one, etc, so you've got fewer differing turns to manage.

And I felt there was confusion about post order. Were we supposed to post in Init order or just as we happened to post? I don't remember any discussion about it before, but to be fair, my brain is pretty fried at the moment.

 

[ahayford]

I just wanted people to post their general orders (non-initiative order) and I'd make them happen in initiative order. I fudged it a few times for npcs just to keep things moving. I think I may simplify the initiative next time if I do that many npcs again. I may try and keep it down to just the 6 PCs. I did find it a bit daunting to resolving combat for that many characters....but I wanted to preserve the fact that you all managed to enlist the guards help and add to the "zombie movie" atmosphere of humans vs horde. Anyway I'm glad you guys liked it I'll see if I can speed up combat a bit. I hope no one minds the fast forward at the end there.