[Hourglass of Zihaja D&D 4e] Heroes on a Sea of Swords OOC

[Grey_Wolf_c]

I think option B is a little too straight-jacketed, with up to five of us just twiddling our thumbs at any one given point in a fight - thus my vote, given current options, goes for A.

That said, since I don't quite 'get' A, the usual approach I have seen is normal initiative, and people on the same side in contiguous initiative can post in whatever order they desire. It makes for the start of battles to be a little more chaotic, but as enemies die, the PC group grows into a single turn, similar to method A.

Anyway, that's just me rambling. I don't care that much about initiative, more about fights being as agile as PbP allows, so A should do nicely. About the only thing we need to remember is effects that last "until start/end of your next turn" that affect others. While the rules are very detailed when it comes to them, and when they end if you wait, and things like that, in my experience the best way to handle them in PbP is as follows: if the effect can affect anyone else, then everyone gets 1 and only 1 use of it, regardless of posting order.

Example: Amirah uses swarming locus at-will attack, and creates an area where enemies grant combat advantage. Everyone else in the team can use that effect in their next turn. If I posted first of the group, and then go AWOL for days, coming back to post last of the next turn, everyone else will have had two turns in between, but can only use the effect in the first one. Conversely, if I post last, enemies move, and then post again, the effect will still be valid for everyone else's turn, even though the area is technically gone.

Grey Wolf

[ninja_penguin]

I'm up for A as well.

Also, because I forgot that rolls don't survive a preview:

theivery - (1d20+13)[23]

And yeah, I guess Rahman will pick up thievery next level, so in the event that the door can't be kicked down/blown up, he can handle it. Kind of amusing for a defender to be doing that, but I don't have any problems with that.

[Shadow_Elf]

Alright then, Option A it is! I am formulating my IC post now - Rahman's attempts at disabling the trap were... amusing.

[Shadow_Elf]

Alright, IC post is up. I won't be posting any more until morning. Also, if you guys have pictures you would prefer for your character's token, feel free to send me a link. I realize now that maybe I should have gone to peoples' char sheets for the images initially, but if you would like me to do that now, its a pretty simple change to make.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Shadow Elf, how tall are those crates? Delver's light has a radius of 20 squares, and so it should handily illuminate all the way to the back of the hold, unless the crates are stacked all the way to the ceiling. Yes, there will be plenty of shadow places where anything could hide, but we should be able to at least see the position of all the boxes. If, on the other hand, they are piled all the way up, then I know I cannot fly above them, which is currently my best option.

Thanks,

Grey Wolf

[Shadow_Elf]

They are stacked all the way up.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Originally Posted by Shadow_Elf

They are stacked all the way up.

Fun. Time to pull out torches, people. Amirah has difficulty holding torches in animal form, though, so best I can do is drop an ever-burning one on the floor, but anyone with a free hand should carry one if we want to be able to see something.

A second option is to get the hell out of this floating trap, and then hit the side of it with a catapult until it goes boom. Might not kill whatever is here, but at least there won't be this feeling of being one small sneeze from all of us flying.

Grey Wolf

[ninja_penguin]

Oh dear. You all should be happy you don't play with my RL group.

Combat, in a room full of things that can explode? "You guys have resist [damage type], right?" is one of his most common questions before he engages in minor friendly fire incidents.

[Shadow_Elf]

Enemies win first phase, but Teshiq, Medinah and Kihtsah outsped all the enemies, so they get the bonus round. So:

Bonus Round
Enemy Phase
Player Phase
Enemy Phase
Player Phase
etc. etc. etc.

A'den, Scylfing and Reverent-One, please take yer turns.

[Scylfing]

Oh goody, a back attack, and in tight, explosive-stacked quarters no less.

I say we go topside as quickly as we can. Anyone packing teleports?

@^: Well, that's something at least.

[Belthasar]

Originally Posted by Scylfing

I say we go topside as quickly as we can. Anyone packing teleports?

I do, but only under certain specific circumstances.

Hmmm... I think I should retrain one of my utility powers when I level-up.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Originally Posted by Scylfing

Oh goody, a back attack, and in tight, explosive-stacked quarters no less.

I say we go topside as quickly as we can. Anyone packing teleports?

We could open the other door - it's only a minor for anyone next to it, unless it is locked. But Medinah cannot do it in the surprise round (you only get one standard action, IIRC)

Rolling here:
Nature - (1d20+18)[24]

Grey Wolf

[Scylfing]

Oh, does the "Early Actor" round in Shadow_Elf's initiative system count as a surprise round?

Edit: Cool that makes sense, will post straight away.

[Shadow_Elf]

No, it is not a surprise round. That's different. This is a full set of actions.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Since Teshiq never had 10 minutes to perform the ritual, I'm going to go ahead and assume he didn't manage to perform it, and thus will not subtract the component cost from our reserves. That said, given we were given no input, not sure if A'den meant to pay it all from his own pocket.

Grey Wolf

[Shadow_Elf]

Originally Posted by Grey_Wolf_c

Since Teshiq never had 10 minutes to perform the ritual, I'm going to go ahead and assume he didn't manage to perform it, and thus will not subtract the component cost from our reserves. That said, given we were given no input, not sure if A'den meant to pay it all from his own pocket.

Grey Wolf

Yeah, he didn't really have time to start, so no components were expended. From now on, though, if someone decides to cast a ritual, I will make sure the casting's been discussed at least a little before I post its results.

[A'den]

Yup sorry about that was just trying to speed things along. I'm pretty much blocked from everything I dont remember if burst fill around corners or not so I'm just gonna give Turn Undead a shot and pick up the sailor's body to be rezzed later on.

[Shadow_Elf]

Reverent-One, the door is locked. It is a Standard Action to try and force it open. Do you want to make the attempt?

And A'den, A) Resurrection is a really huge expense for just a random stranger. Might not be feasible here and B) Since Medinah forced the ghost away from her (presumably to leave room for someone to melee attack it), Turn Undead won't reach her. What you can do, though, is just walk up to the ghost and stab her, if you just don't worry about the corpse. With still-living people above decks presumably under attack, the already dead person should probably not be a priority.

Once I know how you guys change your turns, I can begin the enemy phase.

[Scylfing]

Yep, I slid the ghost back 1 square so at least 1 other person could reach it this turn.

[Shadow_Elf]

This is the point where I like Option B - when the game is delayed by one or two players, it keeps moving under the B system. Of course, there are times when it freezes in the B system and stays moving in the A, so there's always a tradeoff. Because Reverent-One and A'den actually posted their turns but things interfered with what they wanted to do, I am extending this turn until tomorrow afternoon.

[Belthasar]

How about applying the delay option too?

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Originally Posted by Belthasar

How about applying the delay option too?

The whole point of the delay option is that when you finally post, that's your new initiative slot. Since option A doesn't have initiative slots, only "enemy phase" and "good guys phase", it cannot work as intended - a delay would mean loosing the turn entirely.

Edit: Example:

Players start off in alphabetical order. Player B, however, doesn't post in his allotted time, so DM tells player C to go ahead. Then D posts. Finally, B comes back, and from now on his turn is between D and E.

Grey Wolf

[Belthasar]

That's a good point, but anyways, it's the first battle we have, so after this one we could try Option B to see if it works better. What do you think?

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Originally Posted by Belthasar

That's a good point, but anyways, it's the first battle we have, so after this one we could try Option B to see if it works better. What do you think?

In my experience with PbP, option B would work worse, since it is far more strict on the need for whom must post. In my example above, player E has nothing to do but wait for the 4 other players to post before he can even consider what to do. Option A, on the other hand, means that in a normal turn, everyone can post when ready. More chaotic, but also far more flexible.

Grey Wolf

[A'den]

So the ghost disappeared or not? Not really sure... thought you needed a feat to pass through another player's square? Since I have a speed of 5.

[ninja_penguin]

I'm pretty sure that we can walk through each other's (the other allied party members) squares without any problem as long as we do not end a move action occupying it.

For ghosts, monsters, etc.? Well, they're all a bunch of cheating jerks.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Originally Posted by A'den

So the ghost disappeared or not? Not really sure... thought you needed a feat to pass through another player's square? Since I have a speed of 5.

The ghost has been pushed back one square. You are 5 squares away from it (diagonals count as 1), and you don't need any feats to go through ally-occupied squares (PHB 283).

As Dark Elf said, you can walk over to the square between Medinah and the banshee and attack it.

Grey Wolf

[Reverent-One]

Originally Posted by Shadow_Elf

Reverent-One, the door is locked. It is a Standard Action to try and force it open. Do you want to make the attempt?

Yes. Sorry about the wait for that.

[Shadow_Elf]

Monster turns imminent, with map update. I just have to write a short essay first .

[Shadow_Elf]

Sorry all, not going to be able to post the monster phase tonight. A'den, if you decide on a course of action before tomorrow night, feel free to take your turn, there's no point in skipping it if I can't post the next enemy phase yet anyway.