AVB - He of the Long Wait

[planswalker]

Things continue quietly for another half-hour before a mass of (d6+1)[2] beavers appear.

[Thundercracker]

"There they are, just two of them," Katoerian called out to the others as he took to the air.

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move: fly up 20'
attack the nearest beaver (ranged touch): (1d20+6)[21]
dmg: (3d6)[12]

[planswalker]

"Yep. We saw them 5 minutes ago." One of the guardsmen says as the boat approaches. You fly up and fire at the beaver, sizzling it. It falls in the water unconscious and the other one flees upriver.

"Thanks for scaring it off, flyboy. So glad you can't wait for the rest of us to get in range so we can kill more than one." the guard says. "Why don't you just go flying off on your own ahead of the boats and scare all the beavers upriver? Save us all the trouble."

[Thundercracker]

"Very well, I'll try to send them your way," Katoerian replied before heading upriver and looking for a large group of beavers from the air.

"Keep your anger in check, don't do anything stupid," Katoerian thought, "... prick. Hope he gets eaten."

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Edit: Katoerian will keep the boats within line of sight.

[planswalker]

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spot checks, please. Four or so

[Thundercracker]

Spot: (1d20-1)[17]
Spot: (1d20-1)[15]
Spot: (1d20-1)[5]
Spot: (1d20-1)[11]

[planswalker]

You catch up with and spot the beaver you chased off earlier. It has grouped up with (d3)[3] others.

[Thundercracker]

Katoerian flew to the far side of the beavers and sent a few blasts of eldritch fire raining down, attacking the beaver farthest from the boats in an attempt to drive them back towards the guards.

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attack: (1d20+6)[12]
dmg: (3d6)[16]
attack: (1d20+6)[19]
dmg: (3d6)[6]

No sign of any horrid beasties so far, right?

[planswalker]

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nope. Not even dire beavers so far.

Your first shot is dodged by the beaver you target and they scatter, two towards the boat and two away from it. Your second shot downs one of the fleeing beavers.

[Thundercracker]

Katoerian left the two heading towards the boats for the guards to deal with, and followed the straggler upriver.

[planswalker]

Your speed overtakes the beaver.

[Thundercracker]

Katoerian observed the surrounding area for a little while, until the boats almost caught up, then if nothing else happens, continues up river in search of more targets.

[planswalker]

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... you're letting that beaver get away?

[Thundercracker]

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I'm going to watch it for a while and see if it meets up with any friends. Oh wait, is it still fleeing, or did it stop? If it stopped, Katoerian will wait for the boats to catch up. If it's still fleeing, k will tail it from above

[planswalker]

The beaver dives underwater after just a short swim more.

[Thundercracker]

Katoerian looked around for an animal dam on the river. If he doesn't see anything, he will wait a minute or so for the beaver to resurface, and if it doesn't, he returns to the boats.

"There was one more beaver; it dove under the water and didn't come back up, just up ahead," Katoerian said, returning to his spot on the third boat, "I don't know if that means there's a nest somewhere or if it crawled into the sewers or something. Should I stay here or keep scouting up ahead?"

[planswalker]

When you return to the boats, they have (d8)[7] dire beaver corpses on the boats, along with a dozen regular beavers.

"Flyboy, you wasted your time and ours today." Sgt Smithers said. "Please tell me the part where flying off on your own when this is a group effort seemed like a good idea. Don't bother to show up tomorrow and pretend to be a part of this task force. If you want to stay with the boats and actually contribute to the group effort, we're going to be going upstream a little farther. But honestly..." He drops a sack of coins on the prow of his boat. "Take your pay and leave. If you insist on taking some meat, go ahead, but get off my boats if you plan on flying off and doing your own stunt. Feel free to fly up another three miles upriver and play with the dam there if that's what you want, but I'm done coddling your flyboy antics."

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you didn't think the other spot rolls were for show, did you?

you really should have stuck with the boats.

[Thundercracker]

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#1 I was following guard orders to fly up ahead, orders which Smithers did not contradict.
#2 I stayed in line of sight of the boats specifically so I would know if they were attacked so I could immediately get back and help out.

So this comes as a bit of a surprise to me.

Edit: What was the result of Katoerian's listen check to hear the sound of combat?

Edit2: I'm actually of the feeling I shouldn't have to make a spot check at all to see something in direct line of sight and not attempting hide, that my character is specifically watching out for.

[planswalker]

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#1: No, you weren't. That guard was being sarcastic. He also was not the one in charge of the expedition. If you really thought you were ordered to fly off and do your own thing after they had teased you yesterday for doing exactly that, you probably should have confirmed it with me. I'd have explained very clearly that he wasn't `giving an order but teasing you just like they did yesterday.

#2: No, you said you flew forward chasing the beaver. You were not looking at them when doing that and were well too far away to hear the battle that did happen.

I do get that you the player misunderstood and you're probably next gonna try to demand that we retcon because clearly your character should have understood, but that's not going to happen. Thundercracker is the one playing this game; Katoerien isn't some AI acting independently of you. I'm not going to play your character for you.

Besides, you're still getting your beaver meat, you've made your connection with Captain Hermann, and I find it very plausible that the nobleman's son misunderstood a guard's sarcasm and ran off when he should have stayed. Feel free to make an argument IC, but don't try to wheedle for a retcon OOC.

[Thundercracker]

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I'm not sure what kind of players you're used to dealing with, but I'm okay with my character misunderstanding (hell, I misunderstood, so why not him?). That's the only part of this I can agree with.

I'm not okay with this feeling of unfairness I have right now, because I specifically wanted to stay in line of sight to get back for any fight if it happened, and that choice I made was overridden. I went through a lot of effort to try and win Smithers over to my side and get into a daily routine of killing beavers for gold. I don't know if this was a setup, but it feels like one. As a consequence, the relationship with Smithers and the daily routine of beaver hunting is (most likely) forfeit. If this was an honest misunderstanding, I'm okay (but we really should work on our communication). If this was a setup, please warn me next time you're thinking of springing something like that on me. It might be great fun for GMs to have a 'gotcha' moment when they set a player up to lose something, but it's not fun for the player.

I appreciate the quick turnaround you've had so far since you took over, and I was really starting to have fun with this game. Also, I was really looking forward to killing some beavers, and I'm miffed that now I will (most likely) not get the chance to do so. :(

Let's move forward from this. Would it have helped if I wrote that I periodically looked back to make sure the boats weren't in trouble?

[Thundercracker]

Katoerian's face showed genuine surprise.

"It was a member of the city watch," Katoerian said, pointing to the guard who had instructed him to fly ahead, "who told me to fly up ahead and scare beavers back to you, and I see it was a successful tactic."

Katoerian gestured to the corpses.

"But Sergeant, if you wanted me to stay, all you would have had to do was say so. After our talk yesterday, you know I'm trying to get magical items to your men to kill more beavers and save lives, I wouldn't intentionally do anything to jeopardize that."

"I want to help, Sergeant, I really do, and if you tell me to take this gold and go, I will. Or you could keep this gold, I'll heal three of your injured, finish up with you today, you let me return tomorrow, and I promise to stay near the boats unless you personally tell me to fly ahead or anything else," Katoerian said.

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diplomacy 36: get the men on Katoerian's side at the prospect of free healing and receiving magical items in the future, making it more difficult for Smithers to send Katoerian off.
diplomacy 36: convince Smithers to let Katoerian continue hunting beavers tomorrow and thereafter.

Edit: Well, after that fancy tongue wagging, hopefully the relationship with Smithers isn't destroyed after all. Gold is forfeit but small price to pay imo.

[planswalker]

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I apologize for the rant. It was 6am and I hadn't slept since the am previously and I really jumped down your throat. I apologize for my uncivil tone and uncompromising attitude. Mea Culpa on that. It was completely uncalled for.

As to communication errors between us, communication is always a 2-way thing. I had not read anywhere in the posts until it was too late that you had meant to be looking back to make sure you hadn't missed anything. Those multiple spot checks were me trying to hint that you had a very real chance of missing out on something. I tend to assume that a player's character isn't doing anything unless explicitly told they do. If you'd wanted your character looking over his shoulder, be sure to make it explicitly clear in your posts or else I'm likely to assume he isn't if you're not saying he is. I err on the side of not reading actions into a post that aren't explicitly clear to me.

In the future, if you try to make sure you're more explicitly clear in what you're trying to do and I'll try to be more clear in describing how things are going? Believe it or not, but I wasn't really trying for a "gotcha" moment so much as trying my best to follow a literal course of action. I apologize for sucking your fun out of it last night in such a hostile manner. But yeah, I've had some really whiny players in the past who would try to demand a retcon for not understanding the situation. I should keep in mind that they are not you.

anyways, nice save there. Your silver tongue continues to get you far.

Smithers looks at you for a moment, mutters something under his breath and says, "Guardsman Jochran was being sarcastic, and I was focused on manning the first boat and keeping an eye out for beavers while working on some preparations in case another horrid one appears. I didn't have time to play nursemaid to a silly adventurer who flew off on his own. That, being said, I'll be sure to remind the guardsmen in your boat that you're a naive fop who takes things literally and to not confuse you." He picks the sack back up. "Like I just said, however, if you want to keep going, keep going with the boats. Do your share of the poling and stay with the boats. This is a one-way river that's not so wide but what our sharper-eyed men will spot them coming. Stay with the boats and wait for the fighting to start before flying up and doing your magic. I will never tell you to not stay with the boats so stay with the boats. If someone who looks like me tells you to leave the boats behind, ignore them; it's not me but a doppleganger. If Tyr himself comes down and tells you to leave the boats, ignore the god and don't leave the boats. You clear on what I need from you if you're going to stick around?"

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sense motive results: he's still irritated at you but you've convinced him you're a well-intentioned fool who deserves a second chance.

[Thundercracker]

"Yes sir, got it, stay with the boats," Katoerian replied with a salute as he resumed his spot by the vacant pole. He pointedly ignored guardsman Jochran.

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...if you're ever having a choice between updating me or getting much needed sleep (like you've been up for 18+ hours), go for the sleep please.

Partially this is my fault, I update from my phone a lot and my posts tend to be brief, which precludes typing out specific actions. I will try to include exactly what my intentions are and what I'm specifically trying to avoid, that should help.

I have been doing this for a long time. My first instinct is to try to resolve things IC with some kind of justification IC for why things worked out the way they did. In a situation like this where it's one player and a GM, retcons are eaiser, but it breaks up the flow and wipes out efforts. I have seen all kinds of players, from cheaters to those who assume if a GM doesn't know something or misses something it's okay to exploit it, to those who can't handle taking a loss of any kind, even on a saving throw. I have seen people literally storm out in tears after a pkill. I'm okay with losing things if its my choices which reasonably led to the loss, or if there's some way to advance from the loss afterwards.

That being said, on the whole the reason for playing is the satisfaction of seeing my character advance, achieve at least some of his goals, and see and his plans (and mine) come to fruition. Tell a good story, have an effect on the setting, etc.

[planswalker]

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well, believe it or not, I've been with Aldhaven off and on for 5 years to tell fun stories, not trying to make players rage out.

oh, btw, updates over the next 5 days will be spotty. I'm going to be a sponsor at a youth camp.

You overhear Jochran sniggering to himself over this exchange as you get back to your boat. Your boat resumes forward motion as you pole out.

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another spot check please

[Thundercracker]

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what's a sponsor do?
Spot:
(1d20-1)[14]

[planswalker]

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I'm part of the Adult Supervision at the camp

You notice (2d6)[4] beavers flanked by (d4)[3] dire beavers approaching the boat.

[Thundercracker]

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That's awesome. Is it a sleep away camp? I was a counsellor back in the day at a sleep-away camp, one of the best/most memorable experiences of my life.

Katoerian nudged the guard next to him and pointed towards the mass of beavers headed their way.

[planswalker]

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five days of sleeping in a cabin and teaching youth about the love of Jesus in the great outdoors

anyways, enjoy the cliffhanger for a week if I don't get cell reception out there!

"I see it" he says and motions to the others in your boat. The beavers approach the boats quietly as the three come to a stop. When they are about 20' out, the guard who didn't sass you earlier points at one of the beavers and says, "Now's the time, flyboy."

[Thundercracker]

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awesome, now I am jealous. have fun.

Katoerian nodded and drifted up and over to the far side of the beavers, about 20' in the air. He wanted his attacks to drive the beavers towards the boats, not away from them. He extended his arm and sent a bolt of bluish flame down at the nearest beaver.

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the goal of this first attack is to get the beavers moving towards the boat, so Katoerian is targeting the beaver farthest from the boats, whether it's a dire beaver or a regular one, attacking from an angle so that if it flees, it will flee towards the boats.
atK: (1d20+6)[15]
dmg: (3d6)[10]

[planswalker]

You land a scorching blow on the farthest dire beaver, and the varmints continue to advance. The men on the boats load their crossbows and fire the first volley. Two of the regular beavers are downed.