WotL OOC Thread

[djhyland]

That's a very nice summary, and it's fun to get a look behind the scenes.

I don't think that Darga would consider himself an "upright citizen" either, although he'd probably quibble more with the "citizen" part than the "upright" part.

[JadedDM]

I know Tulbas gives you some hard time and insists on some details. Especially with Daxia and Kynaston.

Ah, that's okay. It keeps me on my toes.

But I think it's interesting how very different this game would be had Tulbas never joined. He's had a huge impact on the way events have played out and that's something to be proud of, I think.

Tulbas doesn't like the Seekers either, he just don't want to see the cult riots brings down the people of the city, killing, raping, burning and robbing the miserable people of the city.

What's funny is that when I first created this game, I assumed the party would actually ally themselves with the Seekers--especially since Kendra was a Holy Guard and Khush was a Seeker cleric. I had expected them to get most of their work from Orin or even Elistan (the Highseeker of Haven). I actually introduced the Cult of the Master under the assumption that the party would want to team with the Seekers to stop them before they got too powerful.

Obviously it didn't work out that way. Khush died in the first chapter so never met the party. Kendra is one of the more vocal opponents of the Seekers, despite accepting a paycheck from them each month. :p And the party has allied with the cultists, helping them swell in power and influence (while at the same time, causing the Seeker movement to weaken as a result).

I don't think that Darga would consider himself an "upright citizen" either, although he'd probably quibble more with the "citizen" part than the "upright" part.

Ah, I just meant that the woman assumed Darga had acquired that money through illegal means. Therefore he wouldn't want to get the guards involved.

As it turned out, the money was legally acquired but Darga didn't want to get the guards involved for an entirely different reason. But naturally, she didn't know that.

[Haahque]

In terms of seekers vs cultists, Haahqae has found the cultists have assets that he wants, while he's not wise enough to see through all the half-truths and lies that are spewed by the cult on a regular basis. These are essentially the reasons he's fine with working with the cult. On the other hand the Seekers seem to have a fairly bad reputation amongst the townsfolk, have actively denied him entry into the library and haven't really made a compelling reason for Haahqae to work with them.

Haahqae also isn't so bright about long term consequences. He figures if things go badly in one place, he can just up and leave and try again in another town/city.

I also feel like starting us in the mageware shop's a good idea, if we started separately I could only see us spend a few days of posts accomplishing... well... us getting in the same spot and little else.

[JadedDM]

Yeah, it can be fun now and again to start everyone separate and just see what they do, but not every time.

It reminds me of when I used to play real-time games in chat. I'd start the session with the party waking up at camp. They would slowly wake up. Stretch. Yawn and scratch a bit. Stand up. Roll up their sleeping bag. Put their bag away. Check their gear. Start a fire. Cook breakfast. Eat breakfast. Talk a bit. Put the fire out. Break down camp. Stow their gear on their mounts. Then set off.

In a four hour session, we would literally spend the first hour with this routine. Every. Single. Time.

Eventually I would begin each session with, "After breaking camp, the party moves on and..."

[mgbevan]

Really nice account of what's been going on and the behind the scenes was a fun read too
I am very curious to see how the battle for Haven plays out now

[BishGada]

She shrugs. "I can do either, really. I'm pretty handy with my axes, and I have a pretty speed good advantage against big things, like ogres."

With the mentioning of Ogres Baeros grumbles in his sleep in his parallel world.

"Wouldn't you need another magic user of some kind to prove that he is false?" Kendra asks curiously. If that was the case, then she would have to talk to Tulbas.

God! Thanks for thinking of me!
I hoped Tulbas to witness Darewind performances for long time. He just kept missing those chances.

[Haahque]

Gosh, not sure why I never thought of this before. Perfectly reasonable explanation for Darewind's only healing himself -> he uses Necromantic magic. Necro magic in 2E, like in many games I've played, is quite good at healing one's self, but incapable of healing others, and is magic, not divine. (D&D 2E, 3rd level wizard/Necromancy spell "Vamperic Touch" deals 1d6 damage per 2 caster levels, damage done is converted to healing.)

That being said, I don't think Haahqae would even know about this, Necromancy is a banned school of magic for him and it's quite a bit higher level then he is.

Tulbas might be able to figure this out if he digs into the books deep enough.

[JadedDM]

Very good point. Then again, actual healing magic like Cure Light Wounds, for instance, is also considered Necromancy in 2E.

[JadedDM]

I'm having fun creating all of these colorful characters for this company the party is putting together. But I can't help but wonder if they aren't putting themselves out of the job. A 3rd level fighter, a 6th level fighter, another 3rd level fighter, a 5th level ranger, a 5th level illusionist and a 7th level mage--this party is better than the PC party considerably. Like, you could probably just send them to do the job themselves. At this point, the PC party would more likely just get in the way.

[Haahque]

Indeed they are. Haahqae's doesn't require that we take them all. At this point the only one he really cares about is bringing along the 5th level illusionist.

Ironically, this is probably the worst one to bring along if he wants to keep his illusion magic secret safe. While she may not notice him cast any illusion spells, or presume that everyone knows already so she doesn't point it out, or she finds out he's hiding it and decides not to reveal his secret, it's still playing with fire for someone who wants a secret kept secret.

[mgbevan]

I too like all the flavour that's behind these new npcs. Even if our player characters are comparatively ineffective against a giant, there is still a lot of role playing opportunity.
There may also be advantages with associating with higher level npcs if we decide to overthrow darewind at some point, or have some experience with his potential retinue perhaps...

[JadedDM]

Ironically, this is probably the worst one to bring along if he wants to keep his illusion magic secret safe.

Yeah, I thought she would provide an interesting contrast to Haahqae, as she's completely open about her sorcery, having even studied with the mages at Wayreth and taken her Test.

I too like all the flavour that's behind these new npcs.

Raena, Miriam and Burzan were rolled up randomly. I usually do their personalities first, then try and build from there. Ismene was different, in that I immediately knew how I wanted to play her and so built her personality myself. Personality-wise, she's largely based off Dagna from Dragon Age Origins, a very enthusiastic dwarf who wants to study magic.

Video

Ivor of Langtree (AKA the Mad Baron) is a canon character from the books, but he only appeared in one book and was never mentioned again. His fate during and after the war is unknown. And while it's never stated he has a daughter, it's never stated otherwise. So Miriam's like...half-canon, I guess.

[JadedDM]

I've been working on a little project here, in regards to the true gods of Krynn. I knew that at some point, some of the party will want to convert over once they become public knowledge. But which ones? Some of you aren't all that knowledgeable about the setting, and so don't even know who the old gods are. And I would like, at some point, to introduce a true cleric NPC to the party, so they can have magical healing again (since some of you are still nursing wounds from the mines).

So what I've done is, I took all 21 gods and boiled them down to three aspects or traits that most appeal to them. Then I went through the first three chapters of the game, and wrote down each time a PC did something that would please a god, based on their traits. So a character who spent some time in self-reflection might get a +1 from Zivilyn, or someone who showed compassion to another might get a +1 from Mishakal, and so on. Also, more overt deeds are worth more points. Giving a homeless man a few coins might be worth +1 point from Mishakal, whereas building a soup kitchen to help feed many homeless could be worth considerably more.

Then I add up the points. So far, there is no clear pattern. Most of you have 1-2 points in multiple deities. I figure once you acquire enough points in a certain deity's favor, that deity will make some attempt to reach out to you. I was thinking maybe 5 points for a Good or Evil god, or 10 points for a Neutral one. (This is because the Neutral gods are much more passive when it comes to seeking out worshipers.)

Of course, a PC can always reject any deity that contacts them. However, if the PC continues to rack up points of favor for that deity, they might try again later.

Interestingly enough, if I total everyone's scores so far together, collectively, it's currently a tie between long time rivals Shinare (LN goddess of commerce, wealth and industry) and Hiddukel (CE god of deception, greed and secrets). Take from that what you will.

[BishGada]

I think those two gods you described can work together pretty well.

[JadedDM]

Oh, they're actually mortal (immortal?) enemies in the setting. This is because Shinare is very big on making contracts and following them to the letter, whereas Hiddukel is dedicated to breaking contracts and tricking people into signing things without their knowing what it is they are signing.