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

I'd like to watch as well. I checked on the Obsidian page but I didn't see any info or calendar entries. I'm probably missing something obvious, but how do we go about joining in with the session tonight?

Since the game is at 7 ET and my young-kids-enabled schedule generally doesn't permit free time until 9 or 10 ET, I'll need to pass on observing tonight, but I'm looking forward to the postgame report!

TheHarpoMarxist wrote:
Hypatian wrote:

I added a wiki page about geography and just copy-pasted your description from the IC thread for now. I figure it will get distilled and expanded as people add more detail, and can be used as a reference to avoid conflicts.

THANK YOU! I think this will help a lot.

Eventually, as soon as a few more GMs show up and start to fill out the blanks, someone artistically inclined might even be able to produce a map :).

Once we have things a bit better planed out after a few games I could put together a rough map. But it won't be pretty, so if anyone else wants to volunteer for map duty feel free.

Hey WarriorPoet, pass me you e-mail and I'll add you to the Roll20 to observe. It isn't on any calendar because we've been organizing on these threads, so I hadn't thought to put it there (or known that OP even had a calendar!)

I've got a couple ideas rolling around in my head for a small little adventure. I just haven't had time to sit down with the DMG and plan it out.

I haven't played 5e yet, so I don't have a good sense for how much content 2-3 hours is. It also probably depends heavily on the group. 3 determined players could push through a lot more than 3 chatty, explore the world types. There's nothing right or wrong about either approach, but the amount of content necessary is going to change dramatically.

Anyone with 5e DM experience want to chat and bounce some ideas around?

kaostheory wrote:

I've got a couple ideas rolling around in my head for a small little adventure. I just haven't had time to sit down with the DMG and plan it out.

I haven't played 5e yet, so I don't have a good sense for how much content 2-3 hours is. It also probably depends heavily on the group. 3 determined players could push through a lot more than 3 chatty, explore the world types. There's nothing right or wrong about either approach, but the amount of content necessary is going to change dramatically.

Anyone with 5e DM experience want to chat and bounce some ideas around?

I'm kinda in the same boat right now. I've got a rough plan for an adventure but I have no idea if it's going to be too long/short/hard/easy.
Also I've never DMed anything before, so it's probably gonna be a train wreck regardless. If anyone has any advice I'm all ears.

I'd be happy to be a sounding board, if anyone has any ideas.

In general though I'd like to advise people to err on the side of shorter, at least for your initial outing. My mission tonight is super basic, but it can lead to other, future missions, which is the key here. If you aim short, you'll see how different the reality is from your aim and be able to adjust. I'd say schedule three hours but aim for 2 on your first go.

Speed depends largely on the group, as stated before. That said, 5e moves a heck of lot faster than 4th edition does. Combat can FLY. You don't even have to utilize the grid - you can totally narrate the entire battle and estimate positioning, which I find really useful for some fights.

If you've never done it before, 5e is a great system to learn on. The advantage/disadvantage rule is a great shortcut, and the system has built in flexibility as a result. All you really need is an adventure hook, and the system gives you great tools with which to improvise from there.

Quick artwork from tonight's session - major kudos to HarpoMarxist for getting this beast in motion, and to Wembley and b12n11w00t for tolerating my mic issues!
IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/ZgIUywJl.jpg?1)

A fearsome Frown Golem approaches!

TheHarpoMarxist wrote:

I'd be happy to be a sounding board, if anyone has any ideas.

In general though I'd like to advise people to err on the side of shorter, at least for your initial outing. My mission tonight is super basic, but it can lead to other, future missions, which is the key here. If you aim short, you'll see how different the reality is from your aim and be able to adjust. I'd say schedule three hours but aim for 2 on your first go.

Speed depends largely on the group, as stated before. That said, 5e moves a heck of lot faster than 4th edition does. Combat can FLY. You don't even have to utilize the grid - you can totally narrate the entire battle and estimate positioning, which I find really useful for some fights.

If you've never done it before, 5e is a great system to learn on. The advantage/disadvantage rule is a great shortcut, and the system has built in flexibility as a result. All you really need is an adventure hook, and the system gives you great tools with which to improvise from there.

Once nice thing I noticed looking at the rules is nobody has a billion hit points to whittle through. That alone should make a difference. My dog is having some hardcore dreaming action right now. Completely unrelated, but man is she dreaming big time. Whining, twitching, the whole nine yards.

Thanks for the good session Tanglebones, TheHarpoMarxist and b12n11w00t! Definitely a lot of fun.

I am curious how that went compared to Harpo's plans.

Yep that was very fun. So is each person supposed to do a journal in the Hall room or just the person that was doing the scribe stuff?

b12n11w00t wrote:

Yep that was very fun. So is each person supposed to do a journal in the Hall room or just the person that was doing the scribe stuff?

I think the scribe is on the hook for the "official" journal entry, but I don't think there's anything stopping others from adding their own stuff as well. I had planned to toss in a letter home to the parents, but it's not really an official record because there's no way Amnon would tell the details of that adventure to his parents.

Oh, and Tieflings have darkvision up to 60 feet, so we know for the future.

Might as well use this double post for good and not evil.

How do we handle actions in between missions? For example, I know Amnon is going to want to do research on various kinds of magic to try to learn more about what we face on that mission and who could be responsible as well as possible countermeasures.

Thanks for playing everyone - I had a blast and it was awesome getting this thing kicked off!

So, in terms of how I prep and how different the game went vs my plan.... I tend to just create a bunch of things that are in motion and the PCs stumble into them and change things. This mission took place over a set of days, and there were a number of things going on simultaneously.

Based on the decisions the players make, they might run into one of those things, or completely miss something - in fact, I had encounters that were mutually exclusive. This isn't a classic D&D method of DMing, but it is something I picked up from the Song of Ice & Fire RPG and I think it helps with player agency a ton, and translates to D&D well.

Don't get me wrong, sometimes it is really good to have a well planned encounter that you tunnel your players towards - One of my favorite adventures ever was when my high school DM just had a peasant run up to the party, point his finger and say "Ogres!" and then run away... But sometimes it far better to just to let the PCs go their own road and stumble into things. If the point of your module is to have the PCs break it, then they can't really derail you. There was a lot of unexpected stuff, including an awesome exploding pitch barrel that I never even considered in my planning.

For between mission stuff, post something about your character doing research in the hall, and I'll get back to you there with some interesting narrative / flavor and you might even unearth something :).

TheHarpoMarxist wrote:

Hey WarriorPoet, pass me you e-mail and I'll add you to the Roll20 to observe. It isn't on any calendar because we've been organizing on these threads, so I hadn't thought to put it there (or known that OP even had a calendar!)

PMed it to you.

TheHarpoMarxist wrote:

For between mission stuff, post something about your character doing research in the hall, and I'll get back to you there with some interesting narrative / flavor and you might even unearth something :).

Were I DMing something and you've been doing research into a related task, I would certainly give you Advantage. I will also probably read the backstory of my players and find ways to incorporate it.

For example, Laurel is big into food and cooking and exotic spices (iirc). I would put some sort of food item that could give the party a clue or advantage is solving the problem, should the party find the food item and Laurel taste/inspect it and succeed (with Advantage) on identifying it.

IMO, those kinds of personal touches are the difference between an on rails, read from the adventure text experience and an immersive, only we could have solved this experience.

kaostheory wrote:
TheHarpoMarxist wrote:

For between mission stuff, post something about your character doing research in the hall, and I'll get back to you there with some interesting narrative / flavor and you might even unearth something :).

Were I DMing something and you've been doing research into a related task, I would certainly give you Advantage.

I think you mean Inspiration? But yeah.

(And Laurel knows spices—and I think spice trading, specifically? Kasha is the chef. ;>)

I'll have the summary up before the weekend is over, I've got to re-write it to match Gariel's voice, my notes are just a straight summary.

Can't wait to read it!

Hi everyone,

I've been eyeing this thread for a while now and just read through it over the last couple of days. I'm living in a small town in Japan so it's pretty hard for me to do any role-playing. I'd love to join this guild and, schedules permitting, play in the odd session here and there. The character backgrounds and stories I've seen here have been wonderful. The story of Kasha and Laurel stood out as one of the most moving and powerful D&D related stories I've ever read. I was reading it at work and, damn it, I teared up pretty bad. Well, drama or comedy, destruction or death, adventure or companionship, I'm up for whatever is in store.

TheHarpoMarxist, I've sent you a PM with what I hope is necessary to get me set up in the group. And to the rest of you, I look forward to adventuring together.

I'm so happy you've found us! This is a community game, so getting yourself set up is as easy as making a character and then signing up for a mission (more of which should be posted soon!) In the meantime I will add you to the roster. Welcome aboard!

Raiding in Destiny may've taken 5 hours yesterday and I was brain dead afterward. Maybe I'll get that summary up before other GMs can post their things.

b12n11w00t wrote:

Raiding in Destiny may've taken 5 hours yesterday and I was brain dead afterward. Maybe I'll get that summary up before other GMs can post their things. ;)

Haha, no worries. I'm eagerly looking forward to it! Don't hesitate to put it up in a rough form, as you can edit and tweak later.

Straight summary is here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hu59Nz_r4bUft87c8YR52LlK_2c5c3Pg13RfQXesPYo/edit if you want to take a peek. I finished up a proposal today so I have some time to start working on changing this over to Gariel's voice but it might be better for some to see a by the books summary. Also feel free to correct me on anything Harpo like misspellings or misinformation.

Awesome! Looking forward to seeing it Gariel's hand in the IC thread!

Please count me in! I love this concept and it is exactly what I'm looking for. I cut my teeth on the original D&D Basic set, played and DM'd through 2e, and dabbled in a few other tabletop RPGs. However, it's been 20 years or so since I played anything with any regularity. The spark has been rekindled recently and I am ready to jump into 5e! I'm probably a bit rusty, but I'm hoping it's like riding a bike - albeit with a revised rule system. I have read through the free 5e player's manual, but will wait to create my character until my PHB arrives (should be here tomorrow).

TheHarpoMarxist: I have sent you a PM with my Obsidian Portal (newly created) info and email. Just let me know if there is any other info you need.

You are in!

I'm hoping to have another bunch of missions ready soon. How are other perspective DMs coming?

I've got a small adventure mostly figured out, I'll post something about it soon.

TheHarpoMarxist wrote:

You are in!

I'm hoping to have another bunch of missions ready soon. How are other perspective DMs coming?

...poorly. Life has been busy, and I haven't had much time to read the DMG and think out my adventure.