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

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Originally Posted by Scylfing

Not interested in the mace or the wand, but Medinah would wear stiletto heels, that's in character for her, but if anyone else would like the enchantment they're free to claim it.

As I just edited in, Amirah will pass. I prefer the fencing boots she already is using. My AC and Reflex needs it, and with a free shift per turn, it is very easy for me to make use of the property.

Grey Wolf

[Reverent-One]

Well, I'm calling the amulet.

Don't have much other than freeing the rest of the crew before the briefing.

[Shadow_Elf]

The witch left that battle before you guys; to avoid giving the pirates a big head start, you pursued her and left Hakhpur and croc to deal with the sharks.

EDIT: Just reminding you of this because it has been a long time for you, the players, but a relatively short time for your characters, so they would know the details.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Originally Posted by Shadow_Elf

The witch left that battle before you guys; to avoid giving the pirates a big head start, you pursued her and left Hakhpur and croc to deal with the sharks.

EDIT: Just reminding you of this because it has been a long time for you, the players, but a relatively short time for your characters, so they would know the details.

Edited to make it more accurate.

New response will come this afternoon, when I have time to figure out where I rolled the ritual's check - although IIRC it was max length - and I get access to the books to check how long that was.

Grey Wolf

[Dekkah]

Shadow : I usually dont read what happened before I join a game (or what happens when my character should not see it) so I dont have too much information and mix what I know with what my character know.
So I have am not reading what is happening right now.
Is that ok or do you want me to check out what happened so far to have a general idea of the story?.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Originally Posted by Dekkah

Shadow : I usually dont read what happened before I join a game (or what happens when my character should not see it) so I dont have too much information and mix what I know with what my character know.
So I have am not reading what is happening right now.
Is that ok or do you want me to check out what happened so far to have a general idea of the story?.

(Fielding this one)

The Midnight Mirage, the ship you've been recruited for, is one of the most famous Pirate Hunter ships there are (if not the most). You should be familiar with who its captain is, but probably not the specific Hunters on board (those are the PCs), since there is a lot of churn of that team. You also know there is a naval war coming against a race of lizards (the she-da-zhong) living in the western continent, and that Pirate Hunters are involved. The ship is returning from its latest trip to hunt pirates, and your character will likely hear that they successfully captured a pirate captain in that trip, but probably wouldn't know the details (other than that two spots need to be filled).

Other than that, I'd say that if you want to keep IC and OOC knowledge separate, you don't need to read what's going on IC. We can let you know when we get to port and you can join us IC - we are almost on our way, shouldn't take more than a few more DM posts to get there.

That said, feel free to ask questions which you think you should know the answers for.

Grey Wolf

[Shadow_Elf]

Originally Posted by Dekkah

Shadow : I usually dont read what happened before I join a game (or what happens when my character should not see it) so I dont have too much information and mix what I know with what my character know.
So I have am not reading what is happening right now.
Is that ok or do you want me to check out what happened so far to have a general idea of the story?.

Given that Alvah has been one of Shaur's Hunters before, he knows the captain, Kaal One-Eye, her first mate, Duke, the cook, and Kalam Delat, the quartermaster. He may know some of the older crew members. In terms of the plot, the party will bring him up to date on most of what has transpired so far; you can feel free to read the IC thread, but it is not required.

On the subject of out-of-character knowledge, how does everyone feel about "cutscenes" where a bit of story the characters don't witness is posted in the IC thread?

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Originally Posted by Shadow_Elf

On the subject of out-of-character knowledge, how does everyone feel about "cutscenes" where a bit of story the characters don't witness is posted in the IC thread?

I like to get the full context of a story, so I don't mind them at all - in fact, I would love to know e.g. what's being planned for the allied fleet, without having to wait until we get a second-handed description from the Captain. Yes, strictly speaking Amirah would not know about it, but it is easier sometimes to describe what's happening, than to have someone describe what happened after the fact.

Grey Wolf

[Reverent-One]

Originally Posted by Shadow_Elf

On the subject of out-of-character knowledge, how does everyone feel about "cutscenes" where a bit of story the characters don't witness is posted in the IC thread?

It's fine with me.

[Chambers]

Sounds good to me.

[Shadow_Elf]

Does anyone have any input for the current scene, in the Map Room, or shall I do a similar scene in Luardo once Vertasi's offloaded and the new members added?

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Originally Posted by Shadow_Elf

Does anyone have any input for the current scene, in the Map Room, or shall I do a similar scene in Luardo once Vertasi's offloaded and the new members added?

Amirah has said all she needs to, although she'll happily answer further questions, she won't add anything.

GW

[Scylfing]

The only thing I'd like to do between the map room scene (sorry, I really can't think of anything for Medinah to offer for that at the moment) and arriving in Luardo is a brief interlude for Medinah to inquire of Vertasi how she manages her illusion trick--considering her nature it's something she'd have an interest in.

Oh and I'm perfectly fine with the cutscene idea.

[Shadow_Elf]

Alright. I am going to wrap up the map room cutscene; until Sunday Night, you are all free to have "scenes" with any other characters on the boat. It doesn't have to be chronological; just a chance for you to speak with Vertasi, Kalam, Shaur, each other, etc. You can also claim loot, disenchant loot and transfer loot enchantments.

[Shadow_Elf]

Was going to wrap this up tonight, but I know that NP had some things he wanted to do on the trip and Amirah and Kihtsah appear to be having a fun conversation, so I will extend it to tomorrow evening.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Originally Posted by Shadow_Elf

Was going to wrap this up tonight, but I know that NP had some things he wanted to do on the trip and Amirah and Kihtsah appear to be having a fun conversation, so I will extend it to tomorrow evening.

It was on my list to try and get some interaction with non-Medinah PCs. I did not anticipate it to go down this alley, though. Playing a six year old girl with a restricted life experience is quite fun, I have to admit.

Grey Wolf

[ninja_penguin]

Yes, sorry. Aside from the usual weekend work shenanigans, I had my modem/router die today, and I've spent the better part of the day fixing it. Will be heading over to read up and get posting right now.

[Shadow_Elf]

Alright, Dekkah and Chambers, you can post your "interview" scenes in the IC thread. You're not there at the same time, but feel free to post at the same time. This is just a chance to roleplay your entry (or in Alvah's case, re-entry) into the crew, while the other Hunters have a chance to explore Luardo for the day. In a couple of days, I will have a meeting with all the Hunters and the new recruits that takes place on the evening of the 33rd, where the crew will decide their next move.

[Dekkah]

I'll post in tommorow, no time right now (Got to go get the kids).

[Chambers]

Ah, I was wondering what the word!word meant. Thanks, that makes sense. I think I'll play it as she thinks it's normal speech. That's how everyone else is responding to Amirah, right? So without thinking about it that'd be how Jalil responds as well, as she wouldn't expect otherwise.

Kinda the deal where you react to how it's presented, etc.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Originally Posted by Chambers

Ah, I was wondering what the word!word meant. Thanks, that makes sense. I think I'll play it as she thinks it's normal speech. That's how everyone else is responding to Amirah, right? So without thinking about it that'd be how Jalil responds as well, as she wouldn't expect otherwise.

Kinda the deal where you react to how it's presented, etc.

The people on board are aware she is telepathic - it's not really a secret, just something not publicized. It's actually important, because she can be used to pass along messages - you talk mentally to her, she talks mentally to the person you want to send the message to. Since she can "speak" to anyone she can see, that is useful when on ship-to-ship talks. It also cannot be overheard, which may be important at some point.

The only limitation is that she has to initiate the communication (she's not naturally telepathic, it's a magic item that gives her the ability), so the agreement is that you hold two fingers to your temple when she is looking at you, and she will call you - you can then respond telepathically. Again, everyone on board knows this, and you'll be filled in later once you are part of the crew.

Grey Wolf

[Chambers]

She wasn't being flippant about that, by the way. It's hard to read tone sometimes in PbP, but she wasn't intending to give the impression of treating it like an inn. Just trying to segue into the more business side of the conversation.

[Shadow_Elf]

It wasn't so much that Shaur interpreted it that way as that she was using the inn metaphor to explain her policy more clearly.

[Shadow_Elf]

Is it established in her backstory how long Shaur has "owned" Medinah? If it is ten years or more, Medinah will know Alvah. Pretty sure the rest of the Hunters have not be aboard that long, so she'd be the only one except the NPCs to potentially recognize him.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Originally Posted by Shadow_Elf

Pretty sure the rest of the Hunters have not be aboard that long

Amirah hasn't even existed that long.

GW

[Scylfing]

Originally Posted by Shadow_Elf

Is it established in her backstory how long Shaur has "owned" Medinah? If it is ten years or more, Medinah will know Alvah. Pretty sure the rest of the Hunters have not be aboard that long, so she'd be the only one except the NPCs to potentially recognize him.

That's a good question. In her backstory it says "for years" but the exact number is left unstated, so I guess the question is, how long ago would it make sense for Shaur to have been in Mushayar to find her and have her reanimated. Not knowing what elaborate backstory you've created for the Captain, I don't know if I can answer that, so I'm fine with whatever seems appropriate to you.

[Shadow_Elf]

Originally Posted by Scylfing

That's a good question. In her backstory it says "for years" but the exact number is left unstated, so I guess the question is, how long ago would it make sense for Shaur to have been in Mushayar to find her and have her reanimated. Not knowing what elaborate backstory you've created for the Captain, I don't know if I can answer that, so I'm fine with whatever seems appropriate to you.

I think I will say that Shaur has had Medinah for over a decade, and so Medinah would know Alvah reasonably well.

[Chambers]

I get the impression that Warforged aren't common in this world, and that they're left over artifacts from the Admajai. Would her training in Arcana help her recognize the odd voice as belonging to a warforged? It's not vital, I'm just curious as to how many people know about them.

[Shadow_Elf]

History would tell you about warforged, and with a sufficiently high check you'd recognize the voice as belonging to one. Insight would let you see through the illusion to reveal the real Medinah, while Arcana would tell you that she radiates magic, and a high enough check would tell you that she is powered by it, but Arcana won't tell you why her voice is like that unless the check is high enough to realize she is a magic-powered construct.

[Chambers]

Got it. No History or Insight to speak of, so Arcana away!

Arcana (1d20+15)[24]