The All Guardsmen Party

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Originally Posted by Shoggy

This post has all the other image links: http://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments...ardsman_party/

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No, I was looking for the DnD/Fantasy stories that you'd posted on the last page, but then the mods took down. I'm not seeing those on reddit, but maybe I'm just blind.

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Anyway yea, these were never intended to grow so big. The tone/perspective/whatever were aimed at something around 10-20 posts long and more in the vein of a player story than anything. Since then it's gotten a tad out of hand size wise, while not really changing much in the writing department.

I've just edged out the third bloody Harry Potter book (107,253 words) and I'm heading for the fourth...

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Okay, that's around what I was guessing. To me that seems like you could fluff up them into 100-200 page novels for each one, or maybe need to combine some. How much of a lag is there between you guys playing and you writing?

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Really it's been a weird experience, this is more or less my first foray into writing anything, I've never had any real education on the subject. Someday it might be nice to try for the real thing, but copyright shenanigans mean I'd have to chuck all this stuff out and start fresh. So it's an odd sort of place to be to say the least, too involved to stop, to esoteric to get published (or even properly edited), it's pretty much destined to stay a web series.

Anyhow, glad you like it and thanks for the input.

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Seriously man, you've got some real natural talent. With some refinement I think you could be a reasonable published author, at least to the "good Black Library" level. Maybe way more, who knows. I'd definitely say take some classes if you've got time/money/interest.

I still say it's worth keeping poking BL, and even if you can't I feel like you could make it generic easily enough. Pyskers aren't huge parts of most of your plots, and neither are tech priests. Past that you're a generic spec ops force handling weird missions for a generic and weird spy agency basically. Like obviously talk to some lawyers if you really think about going that route, but I think you could keep the core ideas and stories and characters, and just change some details.

It's great getting a chance to chat and give some input. I'd kill to get to play with a group like yours.

HTML version has been working fine for me, and I appreciate the effort you took in setting it up. It works quite well as a web series in my opinion.

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Originally Posted by Demon 997

No, I was looking for the DnD/Fantasy stories that you'd posted on the last page, but then the mods took down. I'm not seeing those on reddit, but maybe I'm just blind.

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Ah my mistake, didn't know those were scrubbed, here's a roundabout link to them via reddit.
http://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/2dn8mc/

I make no promises of quality...

The stories used to lag 2 weeks behind the sessions, now I'm at about 2 months. We play every other weekend and it's been taking three weeks or so to write each chapter.


Thanks for your words of encouragement, it means a lot. Next time I have a gap in my schedule again I'll probably take a crack at talking to some literary folks and doing an edit pass on the archived chapters.

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HTML version has been working fine for me, and I appreciate the effort you took in setting it up.

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Ah that's good to hear. I wanted a place to save everything with the images and such intact, but it turns out that a google document gets unstable when it gets that long and PDF editors bite.

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Originally Posted by Shoggy

Ah my mistake, didn't know those were scrubbed, here's a roundabout link to them via reddit.
http://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/2dn8mc/

I make no promises of quality...

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Thanks man. I'm going to be skimming the reading for tomorrow so hard... (I'll be fine)

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Thanks for your words of encouragement, it means a lot. Next time I have a gap in my schedule again I'll probably take a crack at talking to some literary folks and doing an edit pass on the archived chapters.

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I really mean it too. I think I at least somewhat know what I'm talking about, having some fairly high grade college writing stuff under my belt, and a parent whose a professional editor. And just reading a ton, both good stuff, and warhammer stuff. You're easily more fun to read than Ciaphais Cain, and I like Cain.

Just shotgunned the whole log (HTML version, which is working quite well), including the new material, and I have to say that it was pretty good.

In regards to your writing, which you said you were worried about:
The storytelling was done quite well. You managed to sell the ensemble cast, capture the tone and feel of the setting without devolving into too many details, and despite most of the combat being abstracted away, you've done a very good job keeping up the tension and action in your story. And while there were a few typos or sentences gone awry, on the whole it was very good.

That said, while the writing style did fit a campaign log well, I'm not quite sure how well it would translate into literary works, where the convention goes for much more detail, a slower pace, and a more in-universe perspective; balancing that probably the trickiest part of writing, and what sells.

On the whole, though? Good job, and keep doing what you're doing. I look forward to seeing more.

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Originally Posted by DMofDarkness

Just shotgunned the whole log (HTML version, which is working quite well), including the new material, and I have to say that it was pretty good.

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Wow. How long did that take you?

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Originally Posted by Demon 997

Wow. How long did that take you?

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Took me two days I had on break, but that's because stuff kept interrupting me. It was worth the time, though.

You know, you might want to post a synopsis over on the Campaign Logs Archive thread, I think this is the only 40k Journal I've ever stumbled across.

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Originally Posted by Kid Jake

You know, you might want to post a synopsis over on the Campaign Logs Archive thread, I think this is the only 40k Journal I've ever stumbled across.

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Done, thanks for the pointer.

Yar, glad to help.

So I am caught up now. Very fun although I do feel kind of sad for Interogator Bane.

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Originally Posted by Grytorm

So I am caught up now. Very fun although I do feel kind of sad for Interogator Bane.

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You might say you . . .:cool:
. . . Bonded with the character.
I thought he was a neat

Spoiler: Spoiler of Sorts of Latest Episode

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deconstruction of the Mary Sue, though, given the setting, how damn safe of a psyker he was made him something of a Mary Sue out of universe as well. I still enjoyed it though, as he got his comeuppance in the end.

haven't caught up yet, but this is really a wonderful read.

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Originally Posted by Grytorm

So I am caught up now. Very fun although I do feel kind of sad for Interogator Bane.

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I'm fairly sure we'll see him again someday, our GM had far too much fun with him.

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Originally Posted by Ravens_cry

Spoiler: Spoiler of Sorts of Latest Episode

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deconstruction of the Mary Sue, though, given the setting, how damn safe of a psyker he was made him something of a Mary Sue out of universe as well. I still enjoyed it though, as he got his comeuppance in the end.

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The mechanics that made him work were absolutely terrifying for us, every time he rolled anything less than perfectly our GM would steal from whatever we were rolling. None of us could see when he rolled a phenomena or perils, but after we figured out the basics of how he worked it was obvious. We'd be doing fine, then suddenly lose about 20 points off all of our rolls.

That's the reason we tread so carefully at the end and tried to social our way out of the final battle. We were terrified of him, especially since we'd used all of Fate.

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Originally Posted by Mabn

haven't caught up yet, but this is really a wonderful read.

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Thanks!

I can't say the ending from the last one surprised me overly much, I figured that was coming, but I just LOOOVE the way each of them ends such that they hint at the next one in some way.... That last line had me laughing my behind off. :smallbiggrin: Am soooooo looking forward to the next one, the new Inquisitor certainly seems like he might be one of the more competent ones.

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Originally Posted by Shoggy

I'm fairly sure we'll see him again someday, our GM had far too much fun with him.



The mechanics that made him work were absolutely terrifying for us, every time he rolled anything less than perfectly our GM would steal from whatever we were rolling. None of us could see when he rolled a phenomena or perils, but after we figured out the basics of how he worked it was obvious. We'd be doing fine, then suddenly lose about 20 points off all of our rolls.

That's the reason we tread so carefully at the end and tried to social our way out of the final battle. We were terrified of him, especially since we'd used all of Fate.



Thanks!

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Weirdly enough, I actually thought it was something like this!

My first thought was that the DM had given the guy wicked fate points, but then with the "luck drain" thing going on, I realized it had to be stat driven somehow. My assumption was something like "Everybody in 30m is considered -5 points lower in every stat, while Bane gets +5 in every stat for every person within 30m of him."

On another note, you implied somewhere that you ran into Ivana Crushyu sometime in the future? Has that happened yet or has it just been hinted AT you by the DM?

She's been added to the NPC pool, but didn't join the trip to Tau space, pretty much everyone else did though.

it reads really well but i am wondering if it was fun ti actually play?

All the investigation stuff and Inquisitor bs that was happening that the guards really didn't get much involved in, how did the GM handle that?

Was it a quick synopsis about what happened and then straight into the next encounter where you actually had something to do or what?

Oh it's quite fun for us at least, though your mileage may vary.

While the NPCs are doing the leg-work we're getting a fair bit of RP time in and doing a little planning and skill work, our DM's pretty good about making sure the stuff we do has an affect on the story, even if it's something as minor as pissing off one of the NPCs or snagging a few thrones.

When we finish with whatever we were doing the GM usually gives us a brief rundown of what the NPCs did, then asks how much attention we paid and perhaps for a roll. After that we might get some more details or just told what our next orders were. I think it occasionally frustrates him that we'll randomly decide to be interested in things, it means he has to do a lot of planning or be ready to improv.

Anyway, yes there are sections where we're not really necessary to the advancement of the plot, but we like to spend that time acting like a combination of hyperactive children and sarcastic critics. It entertains us.

I have a small question that occurred to me just now.

From "The All Guardsman Party and the Discount Spaceship" story, how much of the 2 funniest twists did you guys know about ahead of time or ended up actually being surprising/having to role-play your characters reactions?

The 2 funniest twists I'm referring to are "WHAT DO YOU MEAN 6 RE-FURBISHED GELLAR FIELDS!?" and when Old Bill said "Psyker Holding Cells" and everybody realized this ship was one of the blackmarket psyker smuggling ships. Basically, both times where it was revealed that Nubby was an stupid a$$hat. (Though an entertaining one :smallbiggrin:)

Nice to see a new tale uploaded, they are always a fun read. Kind of funny that you now seem to be having a bit more good luck with psykers (only a bit). I'm looking forward to the next installment as it seems to foucs on oone of the factions I like.

Nubby knew everything ahead of time, since it was part of the re-introduction, everyone else was blindsided by both events.

Usually the way the story is set up gives everyone a general idea about what the opposition will be, that time everyone was very confused up until Sarge talked to the tech-priest. The bets were split between a hijacking / piracy attempt, something really sinister about the notes and tech-priests, genestealers, and finding a space-hulk. It was quite the surprise for everyone when the name of the game turned out to be Gellar Field Funtimes. Nubby's player got an unfair amount of flak for not telling anyone.

The reveal of the psyker cells was interesting to everyone, but not as scary or surprising. At that point the **** had already hit the fan and it was just filling in a nice piece of backstory. There was a sort of "oh THAT'S what the underlying plot is" moment and a bit of laughing and facepalming, but no one threw anything at Nubby's player.

All-in-all that chapter had the most successful twists in the story, generally we're a very genre-savvy party.

As a side note the next chapter is being aimed for next weekened.

Spoiler

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Originally Posted by Shoggy

Nubby's player got an unfair amount of flak for not telling anyone.

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Sorry I just just had to laugh since I read where you said who you played as.

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Originally Posted by Shoggy

Nubby knew everything ahead of time, since it was part of the re-introduction, everyone else was blindsided by both events.

Usually the way the story is set up gives everyone a general idea about what the opposition will be, that time everyone was very confused up until Sarge talked to the tech-priest. The bets were split between a hijacking / piracy attempt, something really sinister about the notes and tech-priests, genestealers, and finding a space-hulk. It was quite the surprise for everyone when the name of the game turned out to be Gellar Field Funtimes. Nubby's player got an unfair amount of flak for not telling anyone.

The reveal of the psyker cells was interesting to everyone, but not as scary or surprising. At that point the **** had already hit the fan and it was just filling in a nice piece of backstory. There was a sort of "oh THAT'S what the underlying plot is" moment and a bit of laughing and facepalming, but no one threw anything at Nubby's player.

All-in-all that chapter had the most successful twists in the story, generally we're a very genre-savvy party.

As a side note the next chapter is being aimed for next weekened.

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WOO-HOO! Perfect way to end the first week of a new semester! *does the happy dance*

I just finished reading through this; it was great.

Spoiler: Semi-spoiler

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One question I did have, though, is how exactly Bane worked mechanically. I'm going to be running a character in a DH game soon, and the character concept is a complete nervous wreck of a guy who always narrowly avoids dying by manifesting his powers just in time. Were Bane's abilities houseruled, or are they something I can find in a rulebook somewhere?

Bane was a fricken monster and completely houseruled.

The gist of it was that whenever he failed a roll (or even when he didn't crit) he would make it up by stealing from everyone else's rolls. So everyone would roll, DM would calculate his stuff, then we'd find out a hit that should have done 5 did 2 or an easy skill check failed. Also for every theft he did there was a chance for perils/phenoma, but that just meant he had to steal more to make up for it or dump it on Fumbles. Finally who he stole from was range based and determined by roll, sometimes he'd shave 1 off 10 people others he'd shave 10 off of one poor sucker.

Of course there were limits to how much he could take and the DM had all these mechanics set up for him getting warpier and warpier as he strained, but never got to use them because we chickened out on the final fight.


Also for those curious why a new chapter isn't up, I got yelled at for trying to post during our weekend session. Will hopefully post this weekend.

Loving the stories of your group, and can't wait to read the latest adventure!

Also, if you'd like a copy editor to give your stuff a once-over I am volunteering my services. :3

New chapter is up

Here's the HTML, archive, and imgur links to The All Guardsmen Party and the Greater Good:
https://googledrive.com/host/0B3Z9sX...dFWXM/agp.html
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/38181397/
http://imgur.com/gallery/5uUpI

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Originally Posted by PrincessCupcake

Loving the stories of your group, and can't wait to read the latest adventure!

Also, if you'd like a copy editor to give your stuff a once-over I am volunteering my services. :3

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That'd be great, drop me an email, my address is in the html

Question, so. How many characters has your team lost? It sounds like the skeletons in the poker game on the ship might be your dead teamates. I would need to review the old stories. But I think you lost the sword nut since then, right?

The occupants of the Spooky Poker Room are:

PCs:

• Heavy
• Crisp
• Cutter

NPCs:

• An asortment of guardsmen
• 1 adept
• 1 psyker
• 2 cogboys
• 4 assassins
• 1 arbite
• 1 scum
• 1 khornate
• 1 cleric (being repeatedly beaten up up the knornate)
• About two dozen Inquisitorial recruits
• 2 adepts
• 2 arbites
• 1 infiltrator

The goings on in that room are a matter of much speculation.