LSO OOC Thread II

[JadedDM]

Thanks, Breila. I will continue to try and make this the best game I can. (Although how will I possibly surpass the arc 1 finale? It's pretty hard to top fighting dragons on a ship... I admit, I'm still not sure yet.)

[BishGada]

Nuke, you have a merchant heart don't ya

[JadedDM]

I sure didn't see that coming.

[Breila]

Is Ouragana within earshot of Val?

[JadedDM]

Unclear. Areilon, Andar and Ouragana went upstairs to get their stuff and Baeros and Jocelyn went to the docks. Is Val just standing there, alone, speaking aloud? Did she go with one group or the other? Otherwise, I'm not sure.

[Breila]

What about assuming she talks when Areilon, Andar and Ouragana get back downstairs? Unless Nuke tells us where she is?

[JadedDM]

That works for me.

[Nuke]

I thought she had returned to the inn and chased down the girls

[JadedDM]

XP and such up later. New chapter should be up by tomorrow.

[BishGada]

Expecting to see what is coming.

Some small details.
First I'd like to correct something about the equipment. I see I have a second backpack. Is it for the cooking tools? If not, then I shouldn't have it. I bought a backpack, because I remember that when Baeros was given money back near the temple of Jocelyn we said he had nowhere to put it and had to put it in the saddlebags. About the second blanket, the first is the bedroll? Otherwise I don't recall having a blanket. I had Blanket for the horse, as required to put under the saddle, but I used them to cover his body. And I think I got rid of the shield long ago in the jungle. (Not that those changes will help with the encumbrance)
Second, I'd expect Jocelyn would heal us in the week we spent in town and on the ship. It's only logical. Wouldn't you agree?

[JadedDM]

Oof, okay, I got delayed. After spending most of the day at the fair, I was too tired when I got home. Then I was up all night sick, because of my acid reflux. So I didn't even wake up today until quite late. Ugh, I still feel kind of lousy, but I'll try and get everything up and running today.

First I'd like to correct something about the equipment. I see I have a second backpack. Is it for the cooking tools? If not, then I shouldn't have it. I bought a backpack, because I remember that when Baeros was given money back near the temple of Jocelyn we said he had nowhere to put it and had to put it in the saddlebags.

You bought a backpack shortly after meeting the party, before they left Condletun. You then purchased a second backpack in Tu'Valie. That's why he has two.

About the second blanket, the first is the bedroll? Otherwise I don't recall having a blanket. I had Blanket for the horse, as required to put under the saddle, but I used them to cover his body. And I think I got rid of the shield long ago in the jungle.

No, he left the saddle blanket with the horse. But you asked to buy two blankets for your dogs in Tu'Valie, so that's where the they came from.

Second, I'd expect Jocelyn would heal us in the week we spent in town and on the ship. It's only logical. Wouldn't you agree?

Well, she had plenty of opportunity to heal you in Tu'Valie and never did. So I'm not so sure.

In any case, if she wants to, that's up to Horizon. I'm not going to force her character to do anything.

[HorizonsDream]

Yeah, Jocelyn would heal them up the rest of the way.

[JadedDM]

Okay, if Jocelyn used healing on herself and Baeros during the sea voyage, that'll grant them another 2 HP. Assuming Baeros spends the second day on the boat in bed while she watches over him, that'll give him another 3 HP, too.

Anyway, here are my notes for the chapter.

The title of this chapter comes from the inn the party stayed at. It didn't have any significant meaning, it just sort of popped into my head.

This entire chapter was just a cool-down after the whole trek through the jungle. This was partly to give the party a chance to interact and roleplay and partly so I could deduce where we were going next. I hope you guys enjoyed it, because it'll probably be awhile before you get another one. Things are going to get more hectic as we get closer to the end of the arc.

Ophira and Omari were just characters I came up with on the spot to give Jocelyn and Baeros some company. Had the party decided to buy their own ship, they were among the potential crewmen that could have been hired. (Remember, at that point, I still didn't know what the party was going to do yet.)

Saren was created as a way to help offer Jocelyn some character development. Whether that actually happens, though, remains to be seen.

The little sidequest to return the elf woman's money was not intially meant to be a quest at all. The money was rolled up randomly as part of the stirges' treasure. I figured it wouldn't make sense for a bunch of stirges to just drop platinum pieces, so I put them in a lockbox in a dead woman's inventory. Her journal was just to add some flavor to the setting and to hint at just how dangerous the jungle was.

So when the party decided they were going to try and return the money, I knew from the start that there would be nobody to return it to. So I came up with the dwarf merchant and when that didn't work, the old herbalist. It's funny how a bit of background flavor to explain random treasure turned into a little sidequest in itself.

The dinner scene with Saren and his crew was actually for a very specific purpose--to determine where the party was going next. When it seemed clear they were going to pursue the Bullring, it then became a question of where to go in order to catch her. I could have sat down and charted the Bullring's course, adjusting it for wind speeds and random encounters, and pinpoint exactly where it would be right now. But even if I did, the party would have no way of knowing that.

So I dropped several potential plot hooks and waited to see how the party reacted. I decided that whichever plot hook garnered the most interest, then coincidentally, that's where they would find the Bullring.

The plot hooks were 1.) League attacks on Mond 2.) Ships full of undead attacking near Vaneil 3.) Soulbiter clan on the move near Octhanus Island. The fourth one wasn't mentioned at dinner, but rather was Azerath's suggestion that Ouragana explore her heritage by seeking an audience with the headmaster of her school on Ketos.

So we had four possibilities: Mond, Vaneil, Octhanus and Ketos. Each one would have its own quests the party could engage in while they waited for the Bullring to arrive. However, nobody batted an eye at the undead plot hook or the Soulbiter one, to my surprise. Baeros, alone, showed great interest in what was going on in Mond. And Ouragana evidently was insulted by Azerath's quest and walked out on him, upset. So, with a vote of one, I decided that our destination would be Mond.

I was a little disappointed in the theological discussion I had Saren try and start, but I suppose it was more than I normally get when I have an NPC bring up religion in any of my games. Every time I create or reboot one of my settings, I alter the religions drastically, but I can never seem to make any that are of interest to my players. In my games, almost everyone is...not atheistic, exactly...more like just apathetic to all faiths.

Well, at least we learned Baeros' religion. So that's something.

Anyway, Horizon was annoyed that Jocelyn had to spend so much time in prayer the next day. She kept asking, "Is she done praying yet?" every day. It was a harsh lesson to learn, but an important one I think. As casters grow in strength, it takes longer and longer to refill all of their spell slots. Eventually you get to the point where it isn't practical to refill all of them every day in one go. Sometimes it is better to just leave them blank until you have the free time to fill them (unless you're somewhere dangerous, like in a dungeon or the wilderness where you'll really need them; but just staying at an inn in the city? Not really worth it.)

I was surprised by Val's sudden entrepreneurship. It'll be interesting to see if she starts slipping down the path to the dark side or not.

I'll get the next chapter up tomorrow.

[BishGada]

Well, regarding Baeros equipment. Sorry about my forgetfulness. Baeros will keep the blankets for the dogs but doesn't need two backpacks.

It was a refreshing change with the relaxed mood along the chapter. I'm used to anxious role playing where monster are jumping on you behind every corner
So it is nice to have some real life. To breath, before entering the flaming city...

[BishGada]

BTW, took me a while but could you explain the system of the character status?

Baeros - Food 2/2, Drink 12/12, Sleep 3/6, Bath 2

What does the X/Y means?

Probably should have asked that long ago...
And probably the answer is very easy. That's why Baeros asks that and not Tulbas.