Fall of the Empire - OOC

[CGCL_Andy]

Here is the OOC thread. Please put the finishing touches on your characters, decide if and how you know each other and chose your speech color and things of that sort. I will open the IC thread and make the first post tomorrow night.

Let me say again that I really like all the characters and think they can form a good group together. I certainly look forward to playing with you all and witnessing the adventures of you party.

One more request for everyone: can I get everyone with public character sheets to link to it in their first post.


Transferring the variant rules from recruitment thread, so they not lost:

Spoiler

Show

1. Magic is non-existent or invisible. To achieve this effect, I am adding Impede Magic trait to the material plane and restricting magic to the realm of healing/mind control/protection magic. This means only spells of the subschools Conjuration(Healing), Enchantment, Divination, Illusion(Phantasm) and Abjurations (and within these schools only spells without noticeable effects, e.g. explosive runes are definitely out!) have any effect in the material plane.

2. For the same reason as above, magic items are very rare and almost any that exists is considered an artifact. You can't buy/sell or create magic items. You may find them and you may certainly use them.

edit: your character starts play with one magic item. It should be a non-detectable item. something like a magic weapon, or a magic armor, shield, and ability enhancing item, a ring of protection or a cloak of resistance. If there is another item that fits the "magic is invisible" bill and your character wants it suggest it and I'll have look.

Pay for this item out of your starting gold. But it's preferable if you tie it in with your back story without buying it. Something like it's the lucky sword my mentor gave me, or the armor I got from the first serious enemy I defeated in combat, the ring my parents made me swear I will always wear while fighting... Alternatively you can have it without mentioning it. If your character is unable to cast detect magic, she may not even be aware that the item is magical just that it's a good luck charm for her, makes her better at what she does.

3. Not to get into the good/evil discussion on a sensitive subject, the followers of any religion can be of any alignment and all detect (protection from /magic circle against) good/evil are modified as follows:

Detect Evil becomes Detect Non-Believer and detects people not following the same religion as caster.
Detect Good becomes Detect Believer and detects the followers of the same religion as caster.
Same for protection from and magic circle against spells. In general you can replace Evil with non-believer and Good with believer in any spell that has those descriptors.

4. I will use modified Diplomacy rules check them out here: http://www.giantitp.com/articles/jFp...kegKhONNF.html

[Bandededed]

Okay, glad I made it!

Here's Matias Arsalam - Wilderness guy

I call "DarkGreen"

[Unholier_Than_Thou]

Welcome, everyone! This will be my first game at the OOTS forums, so please bear with me if I'm not completely up to speed on the local etiquette. ^__^

I'm playing Pedram Tiradates, your friendly neighbourhood meat shield, back-up healer and infidel-smiting enthusiast. I would have gone for navy as a speech colour, but it practically shows up as black. I think I'll go with a lighter blue colour instead, unless anyone else is attached to it.

I'm absolutely up for some/all of our characters knowing each other before the game starts. I always find it awkward when a bunch of strangers are thrown together, so if anyone wants to establish some preexisting bonds, let me know! People are most likely to know Pedram through the military. Ideas?

Anyway, looking forward to playing with you all!

~Unholier

[IAmNotJeff]

I'm also new to play-by-post, so you'll have to excuse me if I break etiquette.

I'm playing Ista. I've not yet got a publicly available character sheet, but I'm working on it. I'll post something when it's ready. In the mean time, feel free to ask.

Ista is a cloistered cleric 5/ fighter 1. He spent many years studying military tactics, but it was not until the battle of Al-Qadisiyyah that he acted as an advisor on the battlefield. At that time, he advised the leader of his unit to withdraw, since the Persian forces were clearly out matched. In the following year, he has taken a level of fighter, so that he can be more useful in combat, and has advised the Persian general he was traveling with to keep his forces in strategic and heavily defended positions to control supply lines without engaging in combat.

I agree that we should start off knowing each other. Since the battle of Al-Qadisiyyah was over a year ago, I'm assuming that all our characters have spent the last year engaged in combat (or diplomatic work?) in the Persian army. We must also be reasonably prominent to have come to the attention of the king, so we probably know each other. If we want to know each other better, we could already have fought together.

My colour is red. (Although, I can switch if someone else is keen on it.)

[Bandededed]

I agree that we should have at least a passing knowledge of each other, so we should probably peruse the character background of the other players.

I think we could assume first-name basis, and I doubt if we want to work with unfriendly team-mates.

I think that Matias will be slight of speech, but well spoken and mannered. He has spent a lot of time scouting, away from people.

[Sxoa]

{table=head] PC |Max HP|AC| Initiative | Fortitude | Reflex | Will | Spot/Listen

Matias Arsalam |42|19|+3|+7|+8|+2|+9/+0

Pedram Tiradates |56|21|+1|+10|+6|+7|+1/+1

Jayanti, aka “Arashazar”|34|13|+0|+5|+6|+6|+0/+0

Seth|23|17|+3|+2|+8 |+2|+9/+11

Ista (no link yet) |?|?|? |?|?|?|?/? [/table]

I vote for (very) well acquainted with each other. The character's should have good reason to trust each other with their lives.

For my character, though she travels in disguise as a male (Arashazar), I'll presume you all actually know she is female. You can refer to her as either (though in public you should use Arashazar or whatever name she's going by).

[Jael_Darkwood]

Seth

I have to admit, I'm a bit stalled on background. like, I know the wide strokes, but I'm having trouble finding historical things... like naming for noble families, the political structure, that sort of essentia.

sorry for the lateness of my post :)

i think we should all be acquainted, but complete trust removes a very fun roleplaying tool...

since we are all being sent on a mission from the king, i would say we are all fairly trusted. so how about, at a bare minimum, we all know each other in passing... we have seen each other coming and going on missions for the king, etc.

some of us should be close, everyone should be trusted to work hard at the mission, but there should still be some elements of tension :)

as the poisoner and assassin, i choose olive

[CGCL_Andy]

IC thread is up.

Please make your first post there and describe what you do.

A couple of notes on posting:

1. Please color your speech but not your thoughts (put the thoughts in quotation, and/or italic if you wish but please don't color them.) this way I will know what's being said out loud and what's internal conversation.

2. Please put a spoiler at the end of your post with all the non-IC things you want to say about what you do. Most notable:

2-a All dice rolls.

2-b If you want to post a conditional action "If X happens I'll do Y, otherwise I'll do Z" make a judgment at what's the likely outcome and post that in your post but put the conditional in your spoiler.

[IAmNotJeff]

Here's a link to my character sheet. I sent CGCL_Andy a list of gear. I'll try to add it to the character sheet. I've got solid armour, and a mercenary on a horse to carry spare gear.

http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheets/view.php?id=44308

[Unholier_Than_Thou]

Hey gang,

Sorry for the sparse posting so far - I've been having a hell of a time connecting to OOTS over the last several days. I got in today, though, so hopefully it was just a phase.

~Unholier

[CGCL_Andy]

I'm assuming then that everyone is accepting the proposal to pack up and leave as fast as you can, I think everyone except matias has already voiced the opinion. The remaining question is whether you will be in disguise while doing so.


In any case I will assume the following unless someone objects:

1. You go about preparing for your travels this evening: packing your stuff buying supplies (these should already be on your character sheets, you can make a short shopping if you need, we'll handle it OOC). [everyone seems to agree on this one]

2. You will leave the next day sometimes in the morning [fastest you can leave, the warriors are all ready and packed. Seth and Jayanti need to get ready.]

3. Your first destination will Ctesiphon. [Ista's proposal]

You still need to let me know:

1. Whether you will try to meet the spy-master before you go. (on the up side he may be able to help with somethings, on the down side, going to the palace while Anushiravan is on your case might not be the best idea.)

2. Whether you will go about doing all of this in disguise. (Pedram seems to be uneasy about the disguise idea)


As a side note: in case that wasn't clear from my last IC post, the officer totally bought the story. There is no doubt there and Jayanti knows very well that the guards believed her. What she is unsure about, is whether Anushiravan will believe the story or not.

[Sxoa]

I vote we meet the spy master. I think travelling in disguise is a good idea because our story does not say we're leaving town to go to the Ctesiphon, but with big strong soldiers like you guys I'm fine if we don't.


I think we should head Ctesiphon.

[Unholier_Than_Thou]

We don't need to go everywhere together - even the Scooby gang split up at least once an episode (thought admittedly for dramatic effect). Point is, maybe it would be better to send Seth and Jayanti to go see the spymaster; the rest of us can lie low a little. Pedram is damn uncomfortable with all the sneaking, and more importantly, he can't (and won't) lie worth a damn if he gets caught mid-sneak.

As for disguises, Pedram is pushing his moral code enough as it is. (If Jayanti is creative enough, she might be able to convince him that it isn't a disguise, ha ha. "Aww, c'mon, Pedram.. All the really cool cataphracts wear fake beards and whigs these days, and blondes have more fun anyway.")

He is indeed ready to travel, however.

~Unholier

[IAmNotJeff]

I think it was good that Seth and Jiyanti went to the spymaster's alone.

I think splitting the party when we go to Ctesiphon would be a bad idea.

My hireling's name will be Remo.

I'd like a clarification on the low-magic rules: if someone uses scrying or clairvoyance/audience, under the new rules, is there still a sensor, and can the target and those around see it? What if the target, or one of those around, was aware of the existence of this spell or could cast the spell? In particular, if someone was using clairaudience on us or the king while we were meeting, would we have had a chance to notice this?

(I'm back and should be able to post frequently again. I also had trouble connecting to GiantITP for awhile before I left. I think the servers were overloaded after Gygax died.)

[CGCL_Andy]

Sorry I missed the questions IamNotJeff:

You still get an intelligence check to notice scrying sensors. I'll make that check though. And none of you have noticed anything so far. The target and those around only know what it is if they are familiar with the scrying magic, otherwise they think there is something there but can't see it.

edit: I'm not posting IC today, it's just not the time for the team to sit around wait for the time to pass by. As I'd said at the beginning of the recruitment thread if you don't post during a day, I assume your character does nothing for that day in game. But inaction at this point will get the team annihilated so I'll wait before posting.

[IAmNotJeff]

I've got the last player post on both boards, but I'll still post again since CGCl_Andy is threatening us with annihilation.

I'll assume that Jiyanti and Seth return. We all chat a bit. We decide that the spy master is too naive. (Sorry, but if no one else posts, I can make up crazy things!)

We decide to leave in the middle of the night. We buy a carriage and two light warhorses (total 400gp, everyone should pitch in 80gp). We send a messenger to the guy we're meant to meet saying the missing girl has run away to <name of nearest city to the south>, but we intend to return for our meeting. We leave by the south gate, cut west at the soonest opportunity, and make sure to cover our tracks. We then disguise ourselves as merchants with mercenary guards. From there, we continue heading west to Ctesiphon.

These are Ista's suggestions, but he's perfectly willing to change his mind if other's suggest something.

[Bandededed]

I was actually waiting for the other's to return, sorry.

If all of us are going by horse, then Matias is perfectly up for buying his own horse. He has some cash to spare.

[CGCL_Andy]

I have certainly not threatened anyone with total annihilation! just stated a fact that it is not a good time for the party to wait for the time to pass by. The party is in a delicate situation and the members (at least some of them) being seasoned politicians know it.

In any case, I suspect you are leaving over night after all, so no harm done.

@IamNotJeff: I don't think you have time for shopping after the Jayanti and Seth return. You should leave getting the extra horses to Kavuus, he can arrange for it, and you can pay the messenger who'll bring them. (he will get horses, but no carriage though) Likewise, you have no way of sending a message to Anushiravan (the guy you are to meet) unless you decide to go meet him personally (which is not a very wise plan)

[Bandededed]

Quick question, what do you think of me taking penalties to help those of us who are less sneakily inclined? I remember reading something like it somewhere, but not where I read it.

It was something like a -5 penalty for me, and a +2 bonus for the others. It was supposed to represent me using my skills to keep them ____ (quiet and hidden, in this case).

It iterated, too. So I could take a -10 penalty for them to get a +4 bonus and so on, though I think I could only really afford a -5 this time.

Anything we leave behind is brought to us, correct? Even with all of my gear, I'm at under a light load with 12 lbs to spare, so that's not a problem. Only a -2 penalty from my armor too, so I should be good. Orig mod +16, with armor +14, with aid othery thing, +9. Good enough?

[CGCL_Andy]

I think you can simply aid them (they get a +2 on their hide checks, but not on move silently checks. since hide is something you can help other with, move silently isn't.)

As for the modifiers, as long as you are only carrying a light load you are good. You hide/move silently seems to be high enough even with your armor check penalty.

[Sxoa]

He might be able to help us move silently. Where I would stumbles blithely along, he looks and tells me not to step on that floorboard because it's loose and would squeak or signals for me to step around the dry leaves.

just a thought...

[Bandededed]

Yeow! Those were some seriously good survival checks.

[IAmNotJeff]

I'd like to make an appeal against some of the low-magic rules.

In particular, under the restrictions you gave, we can't get Transmutation spells like magic weapon and magic vestments. These spells seem to pass the "no obvious effects" rule, and they seem to exist in the game, since we have magic arms and armour.

[CGCL_Andy]

@IamNotJeff(OOC thread post): I have a good reason why there are magic items associated with spells that are not allowed in this world, and you will at some point discover the reason behind it (it will be distant future, but it will happen.)

It will also explain why magic items are so rare, it however won't explain how each one of you has one because that was added during recruitment as a way to make the starting wealth useful for the players.

@IamNotJeff(OOC spoiler, IC thread): I am aware of the rule saying the first hour of hustling inflicts no non-lethal damage. However the party started to travel after a full day of activities (which included some traveling for the one arriving that day.) So everyone was already fairly tired when the trip started.

@everyone: Food? Fire overnight? (I will assume a small fire and a hot meal unless I hear otherwise. Remo can prepare the meal, start the fire and generally help whoever is setting up camp as this is his main duty on this trip.)

@Bandededed: Those are good rolls! I will take that into account when I write my post later this evening. (read as you will probably manage to make fairly comfortable makeshift beds for everyone.)

[IAmNotJeff]

CGCL_Andy, what you said about low magic makes sense.It also helps me understand the world a bit better. I guess our characters should consider themselves very lucky to have this gear.

[IAmNotJeff]

Sxoa's comment about foreign currency made me realise that it probably exists.

Ista only has Persian money. Should we treat this as the standard denominations, cp to pp? Do foreign states use different currencies? Do they use their own cp to pp or something totally different?

[CGCL_Andy]

Answered you question in the first spoiler tag IC.
For the sake of completeness:

coins are issued by many different sources. They come in Gold, Silver and Copper. More prosperous merchants exchange them one for one, but for everyday life you need the type common in the area you are in. Platinum Pieces do not exist, you can buy gems to have a more condensed but less liquid form of currency.

[CGCL_Andy]

I think you are right (it's using a skill as a full round action, not a full round casting time for a spell), he will be confused next round. (he failed to come within 10 points of your diplomacy check.)

[Jael_Darkwood]

so, i moved next to the wiz and halfheartedly made defensive motions last turn... can we get a placement map? i wanna figure out if a 5ft step is possible, and how badly i'm surrounded :)

[CGCL_Andy]

You are not surrounded at all. Positions at the beginning of Round 3 (Y is younger man, O is older man everyone else at their initial):


.0123456789
0..........
1..........
2..........
3.....S....
4...PY.....
5.....0....
6....M.I...
7.......J..
8..........
9..........