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Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 Play By Post Questions - Page 31

The Dice Master says...

Once here, and no one has Posted as Party Leader, you should just continue as you were, no need to contemplate it. Less delays makes for a better game by all.

Questions Post Play Dragons and Dungeons

This is sort of a strange question but I am wondering. How does everyone feel so far about the game? I know we are all enjoying it and having fun otherwise we would not likely be posting. I mean to ask is there some way you feel we can work together better?

I know I am a newer member but I wonder what is our main goal? Are we focusing on making money, starting our own town, being heroes, ect ...

For my character I feel his drive is to become a big shot hero. His low charisma has left a deep need to be accepted and he knows he has the skills. He realizes by gambling with his life he may be able to become a hero. He does care about the farmers and now that he has ties to them cannot abandon their cause or he will always carry their abandonment on his past.

I also have been thinking about the party fund. Is it possible we could use that fund to boost the military defense of the farmers or something like that. Or could we start another fund for a cause other than our equipment and such.

Just wondering so I will feel more on the same level as the rest of the party.

Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 Play By Post Questions Archive Pathfinder / D&D

My only complaint, if like any at all is just that the time it takes for the GM to know what we're like doing and him posting a reply lags a bit. It really doesn't bother me cause there are other RPs here that usually run faster.

Having like some play by post fun while building up our characters I guess.

Not sure about a party fund.

Page 31 Questions Post Play Dragons and Dungeons

Sorta new here myself, visit wise.

I think as long as we have a majority of people replying clearly with their Specific Actions (and rolls if needed) each day or two and I can get it all put together and posted in the PL thread, game order and system-wise, I think we've got that end covered.

Cooperation wise, I've seen some games specifically give bonuses for people helping each other and working as a team, but it is a little harder in forum posts as you don't have that immediate back-and-forth ability to come up with a quick "mutual action", which makes each person's turn feel sort of isolated to an extent, but I'm not sure if that is easily remediable.

One thing would be for everyone to agree it is understood that other players can *slightly* modify your character's actions (unless he's doing something specific that could have a real effect) to fit into a cooperative action with one or more other characters, so when the PL posts, it can look more like a party doing something together, rather than a bunch of people doing their own actions. But that in a way requires more thought and planning and trying to preplan things out to allow others the opportunity of being able to mod your character a little, which could interfere with someone carrying out an action they want to do, if they're feeling "nice".

I try to mesh everything together in my PL posts to where it looks as cooperative as possible, but sometimes it can only go so far. But like right now, everyone is working on the farmer, and my guy is sneaking around while the guy is hopefully distracted. I consider that cooperative, though I realize I didn't tell anybody I was going to do it - but I wasn't going to until it hit me while I was reading your posts. I apologize if that miffed anybody.

I agree a general party "identity" is important. The Lord of the Ring Fellowship was "get Frodo and the ring to Mount Doom and destroy the accursed thing" - but that is what I'd call an Epic Quest. Most RPG parties are, especially when starting out at level 1, hardly "epic", and tend to be more "I need 10 silver to buy a sword, mister, you got 10 silver? I'll chop yer firewood". If a party isn't saving the world or at least a nearby locale, it generally comes down to personal gain, with the hope (usually) of stumbling into a larger, more important plot.

In our current game, it started out for personal gain, but the way it looks now, a plot has appeared, which threatens to actually be significant and could make a much larger difference in the fight against the orcs, than collecting heads - first it was "there are orcs seen out in the woods and nearby town", then "the town is in danger", then "farms we know outside are being attacked and people killed, help them!" and now "there may be a traitor in the nobility or royalty that is helping the orcs". I'm actually impressed, as it seems like a fairly even and formulaic proper buildup, better than I can do out of my head usually, and I even wanted to be a writer once.

My character would like to eventually just retire somewhere nice and maybe help bridge gaps between cultures and nations and reform barbaric practices and attitudes, and improve life for those less fortunate, but for now, while wanting to do those things as he can on a brief basis, is content to wander where the wind takes him and doing what seems to be right, where the breath of fate and need sends him, alone or in the company of others - sort of like Kung Fu.

Re the party fund, which I generally think of as most of what I have left, which isn't much, here is where I'm a bit reluctant also - we tried a couple of times to approach the orc fights with thoughtfulness and preplanning, but they were mindless beasts, the idea to spend money to have the farmer's fence fixed was neither really acknowledged nor denied except in "the farmer is working on his place" or something, so I'm not sure if, game-wise, we're expected to spend money or time on "NPC stuff" or not, if it matters or is irrelevant to the adventure - basically, can we make a difference in the lives of the NPCs in the world, if we're not directly leaping in front of swords for them? If not then we shouldn't spend time on it, really.

Edited: JPatt on 15th Feb, 2010 - 4:20am

Questions Post Play Dragons and Dungeons

I understand we are going to continue North to look for the orcs. The reason I keep asking about the orcs and their direction is because it seems like we may have lost their trail. Some were around the rich farmers house it seems we may have followed the wrong tracks. I am under the impression that the GM is saying there are no orc tracks were we are, unless I made that up in my head. That was my only concern as to our location and how sure we are that the orcs are still around. Also if they are even further North from here or possibly behind or west of us.

All this is probably no matter because I am pretty sure the Duke situation will clear up one way or the other. Either we have been following Guards footprints, and all the orcs went west back at the farmers. Or at some point they left the trail we are going North, and we didn't notice their footprints leading off of it. Or the footprints were guard footprints the hole time, and we are way off course. Chasing down the Duke's men for the family they killed back at the farm.

Did I miss anything?

Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 Play By Post Questions

Why are we so obsessed with Orcs? I mean, it seems like they were simply a means of leading us to the Duke, and most of us dropped the ball and followed the bait past the treasure.

Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 Play Post Questions - Page 31

Rentok I am not sure what you mean by dropping the ball and following the bait past the treasure. I think you are saying that most of the party has forgotten about the orcs (the ball) and is following the bait (the duke) past the treasure (the orcs).

Oliron is obsessed with the orcs because of many reasons. The main one being his family was killed by orcs. Secondly their heads are worth big money. For a group of level one players killing orcs is a pretty good gig. Third they killed a family not to long ago and Oliron wants to prevent any more farmers from being killed this way.

I just get confused because our posts are stretched out for so long sometimes I forget if we know were the orcs are, if we are heading that way, what time of day it is, and so on, and am trying to get it clarified in my head before I post something way off. Like the time I posted Oliron in town at the bar sobbing in the street. I thought it was late at night, then somehow it was day and everyone was outside in the street talking.

Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 Play Post Questions D&D / Pathfinder Archive - Page 31

I believe Rentok's point was that the group followed the bait (kill orcs, return their heads for gold), past the treasure (Duke subplot and possible deeper aspect to overall orc "invasion").


As I posted elsewhere, from *tabletop* experience (since I don't know about Medieval and stuff here), when you're on an apparently straight-forward, linear "retrieve the X/kill the Y" adventure, and suddenly there's some maybe not immediately relevant "hook" that pops up directly in your path, like a mysterious button that just says "Push Me", assuming you can trust your GM not to total party kill you without fair warning, it is generally the meta-game responsibility of the PLAYERS (not the characters as the primary director) to respond to the GM's overture, fulfilling their social contract with him; the one that says:


GM: I will run this game for you, provide both reward and obstacles and challenges and puzzles, and mediate, narrate and clarify when needed and asked, in order to provide entertainment and enjoyment both for the players and for myself as well, and make every attempt to keep it interesting and provide the greatest number of choices, as frequently as I can, that I feel I am comfortable with offering, so I don't extend myself beyond my own abilities, either intellectually or time-commitment/real-life wise.

Furthermore, I will also keep an eye on the progress of the adventure, both completion-wise and the party and individual players' own developing behavior, and try to tailor the game as much as I can to a direction which seems most suitable or attractive, to most of the players.

I as the GM accept the responsibility, authority and trust placed in me by the players to be fair and make necessary adjustments to their characters' and stats, as I feel is required for certain vital criteria to be fulfilled for continuance of the game. If any differences are not able to be worked out, I may inform the players and conclude the session.



Players: We will participate with genuine interest, in this game, within the bounds of the standard rules and/or your own personal framework, doing as much as we can of our part, learning the basics of how it all works, keeping track of our characters and stats and location and situation in the adventure, and portray our characters as differentiated individuals on their own merit.

Whatever method we use to make decisions, it will not intentionally be to take actions which result in "breaking" or circumventing any part of the game, trying to make the GM look bad or prove him wrong, or any other disruptive action, and furthermore, to endeavor to recognize and consider "obvious" plot elements introduced by the GM, which could present a new or important direction.

We trust the GM to be fair and give him authority to make necessary adjustments to our characters' and stats, as he feels required for certain vital criteria to be fulfilled for continuance of the game. If any differences are not able to be worked out, we may inform the GM and conclude the session.