Descent: 2nd Edition - Play By Forum

Pages

IMAGE(https://dl.dropbox.com/s/n8cdfoi7ph9xtu2/Descent-Journeys-in-the-Dark-Box.jpg)

Hello and welcome to Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition! This is my first Play-By-Forum thread but here's hoping it's a fun one! The initial goal is to run through the initial base campaign. I'm not planning on doing anything with the Conversion Kit but if everybody else wants to give that a whirl, who am I to say no?

I'm not planning to give anything away from the Quest Guide as Fantasy Flight Games has made it really clear that they want to keep that hidden as they have given everything else up practically. Because of this, I ask that any players already have a copy of the game or the Quest Guide to avoid having me to post details about all the quests and such.

Don't worry though viewers! We'll still have enough to keep the context clear as to what is going on.

[size=26]Players[/size]

Overlord: Datyedyeguy (Me)
Laurel of Bloodwood: Gravey
Avric Albright: thejustinbot
Syndrael: Monocheli
Leoric of the Book: Boudreaux

[size=26]Rules[/size]

Bold your orders! Non-bolded orders will be treated as commentary and I won't take them as your final answer! I welcome and encourage discussion/tactical planning but it just makes things easier to have the decided moves in bold without confusion.

If someone makes an illegal/invalid action (i.e. against the rules of the game), all later order, rolls, etc. become invalid and the game rewinds to that point.

Maximum turn delay is 48 hours. Timer is off on weekends and holidays. This is flexible and not a hard line to follow. It's mostly here to keep things moving along. If you know you can't make/IRL problem/etc, PM me. If you decide to bow out or for some other reason you can't continue playing, let me know and I will attempt to find a replacement. If I can't continue running this myself, I will find a replacement for myself and provide them with all the materials that I'm using to run the game.

Only actions taken within the last 24 hours can be rewound/interrupted. Exceptions only if you PM me beforehand. This is avoid unneccessary slowdown.

Feats used "at the start of the Overlord's turn" must be declared before the Overlord starts their turn. This is to avoid unneccessary slowdown. Overlord interrupts will usually be 'obvious'. If not considered obvious by the heroes, the Overlord will explain why and if the heroes can show why the play is not reasonable the OL will withdraw it. Self moderation.

'Obvious' includes such things as pits and blocks played to kill a hero, or to waste a hero attack, or prevent a hero from reaching an important location. The player can describe their whole turn and the Overlord has 24 hours to announce an interruption. In that point, gameplay rolls back to the point of interruption. To keep things simple, I'll announce "Slo-Mo" time to let the players know that I might be planning an interruption during a turn.

[size=26]Dice rolling[/size]

Because this forum doesn't have a built in dice roller and I couldn't find a nice utility online, I'm thinking that I'll take charge in doing all rolls to try and keep things fair. I will be using the VASSAL module located here to run the campaign and will use/post the dice rolls made there. If people want, I can post images of the dice that are rolled along with the text description.

This is up for debate if somebody knows of a better resource to handle the dice rolling or has any ideas to avoid any possible slowdowns caused by the waiting of dice rolls. I would rather have the players be in charge of their own rolls, but I haven't found a nice and clean way to implement it here. Suggestions are welcome and encouraged!

[size=26]Descriptions[/size]

I am a fluss/flavor description. Italiized text will tell you about your surroundings and give you hints on what dangers and rewards await you in the immediate area.

Bolded text means in-game mechanics. For example: Overlord rolls 6 damage, 1 surge. Player rolls 2 defense. Player takes 4 damage.

Normal text is commentary.

The maps will be posted every turn and upon request if somebody wants clarification. I will also provide snapshots of each character and their loadout when necessary.

[color=red]Note: This post, including the rules, can and will probably change during the game. It is in your interest to check this post once in a while.[/color]

Everything looks good to me so far. I'm away from home where my copy is until tomorrow night, so I'll figure out my character then if that is all right. Really though I'm up for any of the roles so if anyone else has preferences for their character, go for it.

thejustinbot wrote:

Everything looks good to me so far. I'm away from home where my copy is until tomorrow night, so I'll figure out my character then if that is all right. Really though I'm up for any of the roles so if anyone else has preferences for their character, go for it.

Yep, that's fine. If I get the chance, I'll post some hero/class information later as well to help out.

I'll be over here in the corner, watching and munching on popcorn.

So players, go ahead and pick your heroes/class combinations so we can get started on our first quest, First Blood!

Also please bring up any questions/concerns that you have about the setup.

Here's the info for the heroes/classes. Basic rules for choosing heroes/classes apply.

Heroes

Classes
Berserker
Knight

Disciple
Spiritspeaker

Necromancer
Runemaster

Thief
Wildlander

Also, here's the snapshot of the map in the initial state. Let me know what coordinates you would like for your heroes.
IMAGE(https://dl.dropbox.com/s/ym82jm7lshluphb/Initial.jpg)

I'd like to play as Laurel of Bloodwood, with the Wildlander class. Not quite as OP as she was D1E, but I still like her, and as the resident owner of all the Descent stuff it's not often I get to play a hero!

Oh yeah, and I can start on K9 if that works for everyone.

If anyone wants some ideas, from the last campaign I overlorded over, Grisban the Thirsty (Berserker) came out as a pint-sized apocalypse. If you want to deal damage—a lot of damage—and soak up a lot yourself, he seems like a good pick.

Also, Jain Fairwood's hero ability was really annoying, from the OL's perspective—trying to kill her was usually more trouble than it was worth, as the player rested often meaning I could barely wound her and many attacks against her were wasted.

Gravey wrote:

I'd like to play as Laurel of Bloodwood, with the Wildlander class.

Sounds good to me. Welcome to the playing field Laurel of Bloodwood, the Wildlander!

IMAGE(https://dl.dropbox.com/s/uhj5bi9feqb7mn2/Laurel.jpg)

Awesome. I'll break out my 2e game when I get home tomorrow and get a character selected too (I'm also out of town for the holiday.)

Datyedyeguy wrote:
Gravey wrote:

I'd like to play as Laurel of Bloodwood, with the Wildlander class.

Sounds good to me. Welcome to the playing field Laurel of Bloodwood, the Wildlander!

D'oh, was that an order? Am I breaking the rules already?

Gravey wrote:
Datyedyeguy wrote:
Gravey wrote:

I'd like to play as Laurel of Bloodwood, with the Wildlander class.

Sounds good to me. Welcome to the playing field Laurel of Bloodwood, the Wildlander!

D'oh, was that an order? Am I breaking the rules already? :P

Haha, I'm just making it easy to see for everybody. No worries.

You know, I'd love to get in on this, but I wasn't aware when you initially asked for players that I would need a copy of the quest guide to play. I don't own the game and can't afford to buy it right now, and it seems you can't get the quest guide online, so I'll have to back out unless there's a way I can get the guide.

Sorry!

Dysplastic wrote:

You know, I'd love to get in on this, but I wasn't aware when you initially asked for players that I would need a copy of the quest guide to play. I don't own the game and can't afford to buy it right now, and it seems you can't get the quest guide online, so I'll have to back out unless there's a way I can get the guide.

Sorry!

Yeah, I'm not going to scan that and post it as its against Fantasy Flight Games' policy, however you can buy it for cheap and the rules are available for free online.

Here's a link that seems reasonable to purchase it alone.

http://auggiesgamesonline.3dcartstores.com/Quest-Guide-Book-from-Descent-2nd-Edition_p_6862.html

If you still want to step out though, I understand. Sorry I didn't explain that better earlier. Just let me know!

The price is cheap, but they'd have to ship it to Canada which will likely cost substantially more (they don't actually say how much it will be, which always makes me wary), and I'd have to wait for it to get here, possibly up to several weeks.
I can't find a Canadian store that sells it stand-alone, either.
At this point I think it will be easier to replace me.

Dysplastic wrote:

The price is cheap, but they'd have to ship it to Canada which will likely cost substantially more (they don't actually say how much it will be, which always makes me wary), and I'd have to wait for it to get here, possibly up to several weeks.
I can't find a Canadian store that sells it stand-alone, either.
At this point I think it will be easier to replace me.

Sorry to hear it, but I understand.

So everybody else, that means there's a spot open! First come, first serve! Let me know if you have any questions!

I'm in!

MonoCheli wrote:

I'm in!

Sounds good! Everybody pick your heroes and your starting locations.

I'll take Avric Albright, with the Disciple class and start in J10.

thejustinbot wrote:

I'll take Avric Albright, with the Disciple class and start in J10.

Everybody welcome Avric Albright to the party!

IMAGE(https://dl.dropbox.com/s/zl66gff9u1d5w8m/Avric.jpg)

I'm here to help!

I'm in to watch the spectacle (and put me on the list for the sequel!)

I just got back from vacation last night. I'll do some rules study today and get things picked out by tonight. I have not actually played my set yet so forgive the learning.

MonoCheli wrote:

I just got back from vacation last night. I'll do some rules study today and get things picked out by tonight. I have not actually played my set yet so forgive the learning.

No worries. Don't be afraid to ask questions! I'm just looking to have some fun and to possibly show off this great game to the community.

Sorry it took me an extra day but I am set.

I'll take Syndrael with the Knight class.

As far as starting spaces do we want to start as a group or is there a better strategy?

You guys are such nerds.

Also, cool idea. I bet you guys have a blast.

Datyedyeguy wrote:

I'm thinking that I'll take charge in doing all rolls to try and keep things fair. I will be using the VASSAL module located here to run the campaign and will use/post the dice rolls made there. If people want, I can post images of the dice that are rolled along with the text description.

This gave me an idea for a little web project. Imagine a site where you would get a unique URL that takes you to a die roll history. When you do a die roll, it gets recorded, numbered (eg. Roll 16), and timestamped, so it's guaranteed to be a fair roll, no cheater re-rolls. It could even have a basic user system so players could go to the URL and perform their own rolls. Everything is timestamped, user stamped (maybe with avatars to make the roll log look nicer), guaranteeing no funny business.

Does that sort of tool not yet exist?

*Legion* wrote:

This gave me an idea for a little web project. Imagine a site where you would get a unique URL that takes you to a die roll history. When you do a die roll, it gets recorded, numbered (eg. Roll 16), and timestamped, so it's guaranteed to be a fair roll, no cheater re-rolls. It could even have a basic user system so players could go to the URL and perform their own rolls. Everything is timestamped, user stamped (maybe with avatars to make the roll log look nicer), guaranteeing no funny business.

Does that sort of tool not yet exist?

We're of similar minds it seems. Nothing exists currently for the dice that this game uses. They're 6-sided but have special sides. I was thinking of doing something similar, but if you're looking for a project we could definitely come up with something useful.

MonoCheli wrote:

Sorry it took me an extra day but I am set.

I'll take Syndrael with the Knight class.

As far as starting spaces do we want to start as a group or is there a better strategy?

A new hero approaches! Welcome Syndrael!

IMAGE(https://dl.dropbox.com/s/k0gcdu8iwhzflzo/Syndrael.jpg)

As far as starting positions go, you have to start in the J9-K10 square. I do welcome discussion as to who starts where and what you are planning to do on your first turn as the heroes go before the Overlord does.

Just as a refresher, here's the starting positions so far.

IMAGE(https://dl.dropbox.com/s/pohzpocc6b00c3g/Initial_01.jpg)

I'll start on J9 then. Seeing as I am the meat shield right?

MonoCheli wrote:

I'll start on J9 then. Seeing as I am the meat shield right?

That's why I'm in the back!

Glad people are posting here again.

Just waiting on Boudreaux to pick their character & starting position and then we can officially kick off this campaign!

MonoCheli wrote:

I'll start on J9 then. Seeing as I am the meat shield right?

And I'm there to keep you alive longer.

I will take Leoric of the Book with the Necromancer class.

We need some mystic know-how in the middle of all this brawn.

And apparently I'll be starting on K10?

Pages