Perdita - An Ongoing GWJ Community 5e Game - OOC Thread

Yeah, hybrid is interesting for sure. And having the inflection point where it transfers to XP be based on where the active members of the group are, as Freyja suggests, seems smart.

In response to the XP question - it isn't too standardized, especially if you create your own monsters and challenges. Every DM I've ever had has slightly different methods. The other advantage of using missions (or even "sessions" to tackle Arkon's concern) is that if someone does a story based session with little to no combat they get rewarded the same as someone who just does a hack and slash. DMs tend to vary on this score quite a bit, and a session/mission is a pretty clear indicator. The main thing I want to reward is that people help make the world bigger by playing when they can.

Modified hybrid proposal (to replace my above System B and merge it with Kazooka's suggestion): We could go one mission moves your character to second, another to third, and then it takes two to go level 3 to level 4 and level 4 to level 5, and then you hit XP land after that.

How do people feel about rewarding the DMs? I think that encourages more people to try their hand at DMing, and thus encourages more missions, which means more people get a chance to play.

Just for the sake of it I'm going to move everyone's sign ups for the first mission into the IC thread. I'm going to add a bit of flair, hope that's fine.

b12n11w00t wrote:

Just for the sake of it I'm going to move everyone's sign ups for the first mission into the IC thread. I'm going to add a bit of flair, hope that's fine.

I'm pro that - thank you!

Freyja wrote:
TheHarpoMarxist wrote:
Freyja wrote:

Hyp and I have been bouncing ideas off of each other. My book should be in today, hopefully I'll have a sheet up tonight!

Basic concept is:

Laurel 'Swift' Swiftriver, half-elf rogue from a remote coastal town who's coming off a few years spent at sea on a trading galley. Traveling around the known world has given her a larger-than-average knowledge of spices and how they pair with various cultural dishes.

OMG - I *love* that you used that character backstory generator and ran with the concept it gave you upthread!

Wait until you see Hyp's. :D

To remind everyone, my backstory was: "FLAMBOYANT HALF-ORC BARBARIAN FROM A FOGGY PENINSULA WHO IS SEARCHING FOR THE PERFECT CULINARY DISH". I went with barbarian as a background (outlander), rather than a class, because the mechanics of the barbarian class just didn't work with how I wanted to play the character.


IMAGE(https://db4sgowjqfwig.cloudfront.net/images/2487504/kasha-1.jpg)

Kasha is a half-orc monk from more remote reaches up-river from the coastal town. She grew up in a community of half-orcs doing their best to make lives for themselves pretty much as far from civilization as they can get. (Not so much "getting back to our orc roots" as "ffs, we are tired of getting punched down on, let's live on the land.") This being the ass-end of nowhere, the nearest other community was a monastery.

Kasha didn't really feel like she fit in with her home life, and spent a lot of time out in the wilds, where she ran into the monks also hunting and such to survive. They were her first doorway to the wider world, and she was excited. She ended up joining the monastery, against the wishes of her family. While training there, one of her duties was to take regular trips downriver to the town to trade furs for other supplies the monks needed. That introduced her to an even wider world, and is where she met Laurel.

Laurel and Kasha were kindred souls, from different lives. Where Laurel was from the town and felt a connection to the wild, Kasha had lived her entire life in the remote wilderness and felt drawn to the city. Kasha taught Laurel some things about how to survive in the wilderness, while Laurel taught Kasha about the city. They became very close.

Over time, Kasha was drawn more and more to the breadth of experiences that trade brought to the area. She was especially enamored with the wide range of exotic foods that were available, traveling through the port, and wanted to see the places they came from. From sailors, she learned that even more wondrous variety could be found in more hospitable climes. And she began to think of the time when she would leave the monastery.

As Kasha and Laurel grew closer, she delighted in seeing her companion growing more and more into herself. But, Kasha also sensed a growing sadness in her. When Laurel announced that she was leaving to find help with her malaise, Kasha wasn't surprised, but she was upset. She didn't see why Laurel couldn't wait another couple of years until Kasha's monk training was more complete. She wanted to rage, and tear apart the room they shared--but she was too civilized for that now, and instead she simply stood still amidst the whirlwind inside and said "Go... Go. Find what you need."

She missed Laurel desperately and threw herself into her studies with greater fervor. And every night, she read by candle-light from the book of love poems that Laurel had left her as a parting gift. A book signed, for the first time, with the name "Laurel".

Now, her training is finally complete enough for her to leave the monastery and go out into the world. The monks are a little dismayed at Kasha's joy in the material things of life—but it's an order that focuses on harmony with the energies of nature more than isolated introspection so they give her their blessing. She leaves to see the wider world and experience all the different flavors she can.

And now, she's ended up here, in Perdita.


Kasha, Neutral Good Half-Orc Monk (Way of the Four Elements) Outlander. Str 10, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 12. Proficient with cooking tools, and can play the bagpipes. Skills: Athletics, Acrobatics, Insight, Survival, Intimidation.

Ideal: Experience--we grow more and more by experiencing new things, new places, new cultures, new people.
Bond: Kasha was left behind by someone deeply cared for. Kasha can't blame her, but she also can't entirely forgive her yet.
Flaw: Kasha has perhaps more of a taste for the finer things in life than she should. She's a bit of a dandy.

Edited: Added details of Kasha and Laurel's parting.

Okay, I think Kasha's pretty much done, initial-character-creation-wise: Kasha's character sheet.

Are we doing anything specific for lifestyle upkeep and downtime when characters aren't adventuring? Just in stasis? Can they make use of skills to make a bit of money? Do they need to spend money to live in the style they're accustomed to?

I ask because Kasha would *absolutely* be about spending her time chefing it up in whatever way she can. Practice practice practice.

Another question: How are darts handled? They're heavy as all get out, and aren't explicitly described as ammunition. I start with ten. Presumably they're not expended on use, but keeping track of which I was able to recover after battles would be really annoying. Could I maybe get a lifetime membership in the darts-for-monks club?

Hypatian wrote:

Okay, I think Kasha's pretty much done, initial-character-creation-wise: Kasha's character sheet.

Are we doing anything specific for lifestyle upkeep and downtime when characters aren't adventuring? Just in stasis? Can they make use of skills to make a bit of money? Do they need to spend money to live in the style they're accustomed to?

I ask because Kasha would *absolutely* be about spending her time chefing it up in whatever way she can. Practice practice practice.

Another question: How are darts handled? They're heavy as all get out, and aren't explicitly described as ammunition. I start with ten. Presumably they're not expended on use, but keeping track of which I was able to recover after battles would be really annoying. Could I maybe get a lifetime membership in the darts-for-monks club? :D

Yeah could we all just get a thing of infinite ammo for joining the guild or something? Ammo management is s boring chore.

I still need to actually make the character, but I am going with a tiefling warlock named Amnon. Can you update the post in the in character thread for that first mission with my character name, Harpo? Thanks.

I need to work more on my backstory but Amnon was raised in a small human farm village by his adoptive parents. It gives him an unusual perspective on life for a tiefling. His adoptive father was a warlock who retired to a quiet farm and taught Amnon everything he knows. Amnon moved to the big city to earn money to help pay off the debts his parents owe because the debt collectors are threatening to take their farm away.

I have this idea that any adventurer logs I do will be in the form of letters from Amnon to his parents.

Wembley wrote:

I have this idea that any adventurer logs I do will be in the form of letters from Amnon to his parents.

I vote for names like 'Nana' and 'Peepo'

b12n11w00t wrote:
Wembley wrote:

I have this idea that any adventurer logs I do will be in the form of letters from Amnon to his parents.

I vote for names like 'Nana' and 'Peepo' ;)

Dear Nana. I lost my binky in the fires of Hellforge Abyss. Please send another.
Hugs & kisses,
Amnon

I haven't put my character up on the Obsidian Portal yet, but could you please put Drauga down for the mission? Thank you!

Sorry for taking so long with getting a character, but I just couldn't make my mind up.

Hypatian wrote:

Okay, I think Kasha's pretty much done, initial-character-creation-wise: Kasha's character sheet.

Are we doing anything specific for lifestyle upkeep and downtime when characters aren't adventuring? Just in stasis? Can they make use of skills to make a bit of money? Do they need to spend money to live in the style they're accustomed to?

I ask because Kasha would *absolutely* be about spending her time chefing it up in whatever way she can. Practice practice practice.

Another question: How are darts handled? They're heavy as all get out, and aren't explicitly described as ammunition. I start with ten. Presumably they're not expended on use, but keeping track of which I was able to recover after battles would be really annoying. Could I maybe get a lifetime membership in the darts-for-monks club? :D

Personally, I'm all for one of the guild benefits being "unlimited ammo." I don't care to track that stuff, typically (exceptions being if it is magical or if the story is centered around a loss of supplies.) I think an individual DM has the power to implement an ammo track for their module out of preference, but the default will be "don't worry about it."

As far as lifestyle / upkeep, my inclination is that we should let our imaginations run wild. Perhaps Kasha actually is the cook at The Hall, and when she's not on a mission she's running the kitchen for the inn. In this campaign we're all players and we're all DMs. I'd say if a lot of time passes between runs for a particular character, then they can get a bump due to income / skills.

I'm going to act as a Moderator, so if you are unsure about something, shoot me a PM and we can hash it out. I'm not opposed to some sort of modest lifestyle income that ebbs and flows for each character. If someone comes in and says "My character mines for gold and collects 10,000 gold coins! I use it to buy all of the magic items" I'll intercede (I might ask the person to describe how their character loses that sum to build off of the impulse rather than a flat "that doesn't happen", but I'll try and keep things level.)

Otherwise I think you should feel free to post in The Hall thread about things your character might be doing during down time.

Boog - What class is Drauga?

Barbarian Half-Orc, sir!

Thanks for the XP / Advancement feedback everyone! So, here's where I've landed on that front:

Level 1-2 - Play one session.
Level 2-3 - Play another session. (Two total)
Level 3-4 - Play two more sessions. (Four total)
Level 4-5 - Play another two sessions. (Six total)

-After a character has played 6 sessions and achieved level 5, they begin collecting XP.
-A DM gets awarded one session for running a mission to conclusion.
-A DM who has a Level 5 character and who continues to DM will get some sort of reward every three missions they run. This could come in the form of an XP bump, a level appropriate magic item, a "banked" session for a second character, etc. I'll talk to the DM in question to work out a suitable reward when the time comes. As I'll be working with any DM who hits this number, I'll waive this aspect of DM rewards for my own characters for now.

Sounds like a very good system, THM! Nice.

Template for DMs to pitch adventure's:

Start your post with an all caps ADVENTURE HOOK. I'll then tag it in the main post as an open mission.

Then, write out a few sentences, either as a basic information or in prose form.

So it would look like this...

ADVENTURE HOOK
(Title of adventure here)

(Basic Description here, such as "Numerous local cats have vanished, and the citizens are destraught.")

NEEDED: (Insert range of players you are looking for, minimum to play and max you want.)
TIME: (insert date / time you are free to run your adventure here)

Using a prose hook, you might end up with a post that looks like this:

************

ADVENTURE HOOK
Cats On A Mysterious Place That Isn't a Roof

The past few weeks have seen a boom in the rat population. One day, Laverna, the town baker, comes into the Adventurer's Hall. She said her cat had gone missing a few weeks back, and yesterday she heard some of her patrons sharing a similar story. In fact, nobody seems to have seen a cat in ages! She urges the guild to send some adventurer's to investigate!

NEEDED: 1 to 3 adventurers.
TIME: Friday, January 16th from 7-10:30ish PM EST

*************

And, voila! People sign up If the minimum threshhold is met, one player is designated as the scribe and the game goes. Sign up is first come, first served. If it hits max, I'll take it off the main page and move info over to the Obisidian Portal page that will include the hook and the signed up characters. The scribe will add the write-up and change the lore to reflect the new information, such as "There is an evil rat worshipping Druid whose diabolical plan was thwarted by [insert adventurers] but who is still at large."

EDIT - This post will be used as a depository of Protocols and Rules, based on suggestions and discussion from later in the thread.

-One of the PCs acts as a scribe for the adventure, recording what happened in their character's voice after the session. In this way DMs can build off of each other's plots and expand the world as it goes. This is a vital job, and the write-up should come within 72 hours of the session so other players/DMs know what's been introduced to this world.

-All DMs should aim for stories / adventures that can wrap up in 3-5 hours. In the event something goes long or doesn't finish, make sure you can schedule the completion ASAP. Nothing is official lore until the mission has concluded.

-No limit or minimum for the amount of players. If only two people are available, a solo session can happen. If ten people are available and someone is comfortable juggling that many players, have at it. Personally, I encourage 3 or 4 players as the sweet spot. More than that tends to get slower, with each player getting less focus.

-We'll use the rules for 5th edition D&D, but not any of the settings. The setting will be created over time by the community. Once a detail is introduced (say, the existence of a criminal organization known as the Black Star, or the fact that the town is run by a council of elders, or that there is an inn called Pikeman's Drop located right on the edge of a cliff, etc.) then DMs are encouraged to use the details in future sessions. We can set up a lore page on Obsidian Portal so everyone has reference material with which to work with.

-PCs will use a standard point-buy as described in the Player's Handbook. Register your character by posting them in this thread and on Obisidian Portal. I'll link the character to your name in this header. PM me with your Obsidian Portal ID, or your e-mail for an invite.

-DMs are encouraged to make bold choices. Just remember the rule of "Yes, and..." Try to make your choices compliment and build upon the lore that already exists.

-If there is a need for a "head DM" to arbitrate lore disputes, I'll step in as "DM+" (Dungeon Moderator)

-If people want to create their own backgrounds, I'm comfortable with that too. Just include the features in your character sheet.

Template for DMs to pitch adventure's:

Start your post with an all caps ADVENTURE HOOK. I'll then tag it in the main post as an open mission.

Then, write out a few sentences, either as a basic information or in prose form.

So it would look like this...

ADVENTURE HOOK
(Title of adventure here)

(Basic Description here, such as "Numerous local cats have vanished, and the citizens are destraught.")

NEEDED: (Insert range of players you are looking for, minimum to play and max you want. Include Level range.)
TIME: (insert date / time / timezone you are free to run your adventure here)

Using a prose hook, you might end up with a post that looks like this:

************

ADVENTURE HOOK
Cats On A Mysterious Place That Isn't a Roof

The past few weeks have seen a boom in the rat population. One day, Laverna, the town baker, comes into the Adventurer's Hall. She said her cat had gone missing a few weeks back, and yesterday she heard some of her patrons sharing a similar story. In fact, nobody seems to have seen a cat in ages! She urges the guild to send some adventurer's to investigate!

NEEDED: 1 to 3 adventurers. 1-2nd level
TIME: Friday, January 16th from 7-10:30ish PM EST

*************

And, voila! People sign up If the minimum threshhold is met, one player is designated as the scribe and the game goes. Sign up is first come, first served. If it hits max, I'll take it off the main page and move info over to the Obisidian Portal page that will include the hook and the signed up characters. The scribe will add the write-up and change the lore to reflect the new information, such as "There is an evil rat worshipping Druid whose diabolical plan was thwarted by [insert adventurers] but who is still at large."

Default will be first come, first served for every slot - save the last. The last slot is reserved for, in order of priority:

1. The person who has been wait-listed the most.
2. The person on the waitlist who has been a player the least amount of times.
3. Someone from at least two time zones away who happens to be able to make it (more time zones away = higher priority)
4. The first person on the waitlist.

In the event of a tie, just move down the list. If two people have been wait-listed a lot, it goes to the person who played the least, if they've played the same it goes to the person farthest away, if they are both within two time zones or the same amount of time zones away, it goes to whoever responded first.

I'm really interested in running games but feel very ill-equipped at the moment. I need to get some experience under my belt before considering taking on the mantle.

imbiginjapan wrote:

I'm really interested in running games but feel very ill-equipped at the moment. I need to get some experience under my belt before considering taking on the mantle.

That's totally understandable - and I'm excited people are interested in DMing! My hope is that this campaign will give people an opportunity to experiment with it, if they've never done it before.

I will say that the DMG actually has tons of helpful advice for running a game, and our particular format lends itself to an easy first dip - you don't have to create anything intricate. It can be as basic as "there are bandits in the woods" and consist of one or two combat encounters and that's it. I've been DMing for twenty years and I've got three sessions of 5e under my belt. It is one of the most user friendly systems to DM I've ever played, because it supports both looseness and structure. So whatever style you feel most comfortable in, it'll play to that. Also, I suspect GWJers make pretty patient / forgiving players :).

I'll definitely try to DM at some point as well. This configuration is great because it means people don't have to commit so much. Shared responsibilities are great!

I need to come up with a more detailed background story but Sporgan Ironwood of Clan Blackrock is finished and up on the site.

And no I will not be referring to my character in the third person and I will not make others refer to me other than "Ironwood"; but according to tribal customs that is my full name!

I may DM some at some point, but I'm already DMing two games now and I want to play a character for a while.

You saw me choose barbarian and you just had to do what the kewl kids were doing!

Glad I made my barbarian actually be a monk instead. (Although there *is* another half-orc monk on obsidian portal.)

We've definitely got the barbarian&half orc demographics pretty well represented.
Maybe we can pull that into to the lore.

Hypatian wrote:

Glad I made my barbarian actually be a monk instead. (Although there *is* another half-orc monk on obsidian portal.)

Heh, and I debated being a half-orc monk, before deciding on human instead.

Tanglebones wrote:
Hypatian wrote:

Glad I made my barbarian actually be a monk instead. (Although there *is* another half-orc monk on obsidian portal.)

Heh, and I debated being a half-orc monk, before deciding on human instead.

Yeah, I was going to play a monk until I saw all the monks already, hah.

imbiginjapan wrote:

We've definitely got the barbarian&half orc demographics pretty well represented.
Maybe we can pull that into to the lore.

That could be interesting. Good idea!

TheHarpoMarxist wrote:
imbiginjapan wrote:

I'm really interested in running games but feel very ill-equipped at the moment. I need to get some experience under my belt before considering taking on the mantle.

That's totally understandable - and I'm excited people are interested in DMing! My hope is that this campaign will give people an opportunity to experiment with it, if they've never done it before.

I've run games before, but more rules-light stuff like Call of Cthulhu where balance was not exactly of prime importance and that was years ago. Once I can sit down and really dig into the system I will feel a lot better.

I'm not worried about over-representation from any particular character class / fantasy race. Personality and backgrounds are all going to be different, and there's enough intraclass variety and variation on backgrounds and personality that I don't think that's an issue.

Also, the lore justification is always awesome and I've already accounted for it in the up and coming session I'm running next Thursday :). My guess is that this issue corrects itself as more people roll up characters. They'll see that we already have a handful of a few classes and start filling in with some of the underrepresented ones (like Sorcerer).

Kuthka the half orc monk probably won't be played. I was still trying to decide between him and Gregor when I put him up. If someone else wants to fill the half orc monk slot go right ahead. I'll delete him when I get a chance.

This video was fun, and it almost made me want to change Ghost from a spear wielder to an archer (I kept with my plan A because I've played tons of archers and no pole arm wielders.)

At any rate, enjoy!