Out-of-character adventure discussion

[yukonhorror]

Sorry for being a bit behind. Father in-law was in town.

Zephyr has a strange quality about him. He appears to be very helpful and kind, but a bit aloof as if he has a lot on his mind.

let's see if I can't do this rolling nonsense

* Zephyr tries to brace himself as the boat rocks in a way that makes his lunch want to return to the river. (End check vs sea-sickness) *

* Zephyr realizes it is very hot outside, but is too lazy to carry around his armor (End check vs heat-exhaustion) *

hope that works
--- Merged from Double Post ---
test on quote button

Also, you'll notice Zephyr looks pretty rugged, dirty clothes/armor, etc... What really stands out is this very nice blue velvet sash around his waist. It is also a bit dirty, but it is still elegant.
--- Merged from Double Post ---
ok that kind of worked, it still rerolled, but the original post is a separate post. This is what I did.

There is the edit button, then the quote button

After that there is a ''+ button and a quill/paper button. push the ''+ button to make it a red ''- button and then hit the quill/paper button (the quick reply).
--- Merged from Double Post ---

Sorry for being a bit behind. Father in-law was in town.

Zephyr has a strange quality about him. He appears to be very helpful and kind, but a bit aloof as if he has a lot on his mind.

let's see if I can't do this rolling nonsense

* Zephyr tries to brace himself as the boat rocks in a way that makes his lunch want to return to the river. (End check vs sea-sickness) *

* Zephyr realizes it is very hot outside, but is too lazy to carry around his armor (End check vs heat-exhaustion) *

hope that works
--- Merged from Double Post ---
test on quote button

Also, you'll notice Zephyr looks pretty rugged, dirty clothes/armor, etc... What really stands out is this very nice blue velvet sash around his waist. It is also a bit dirty, but it is still elegant.
--- Merged from Double Post ---
ok that kind of worked, it still rerolled, but the original post is a separate post. This is what I did.

There is the edit button, then the quote button

After that there is a ''+ button and a quill/paper button. push the ''+ button to make it a red ''- button and then hit the quill/paper button (the quick reply).

nevermind thought it worked.

The reason it double posts, is so you can rack up P&PG xp by doing continuous posting.
--- Merged from Double Post ---
oh, and I am in the middle of the boat, trying to avoid being vomited on.

[Cocoa]

Now, here's what I would like from the rest of you

Do you want our narrative about our character's appearance and recent actions in this forum or in the Acqua Alta game forum?

----------------

Nevermind. I decided to post the narrative here. If it should be in the Acqua Alta forum, I can move it or copy it there.

----------------------

Ariellana leaned back against the edge of the barge, her face flushed and eyes half-closed. That meal she grabbed at the last minute before boarding wasn’t sitting well. The fast water and gusty winds were giving the barge a peculiar roll that did not combine well with her upset stomach. The heat added an extra touch of misery. She sincerely hoped that she wouldn’t be sick.

She half-heartedly watched the halfling crew that was in charge of the barge. They were clearly having fun, enjoying the challenge of piloting the clumsy barge in the storm-swollen waters. She hoped their skill matched their enthusiasm. So far, so good, not that she felt well enough to care much. If she had felt better, and if they weren’t so busy, she might have gone over to talk to them. She could catch up on some of the trading gossip. Perhaps they might be hiring, or know someone who was. For now, though, it was best to stay out of their way.

She adjusted the tie-string on her hat so that it wouldn’t be carried off by a gust of wind. The hat was of indeterminate color, shapeless and a bit battered around the edges. It had clearly seen better days. Heck, probably even better decades. But Ariellana was fond of it and didn’t want to have to replace it just yet. The brim provided some shade from the sun. She had stuffed a wet kerchief underneath for some extra cooling. The occasional water rivulets down the back of her neck felt itchy yet good as they evaporated.

If anyone had cared to look in her direction, they would have seen a hot and tired-looking Eladrin woman, tall and muscular and self-possessed. She looked as if she’d been on her own for quite a while. Her well-worn leather armor, though never anything special, was functional and well cared for. Ditto for the sword strapped at her waist. It wasn’t of best quality, but it looked like it had seen a lot of use, and its owner was obviously still alive to use it again. The rest of her clothes were nondescript, well suited for traveling but not particularly fashionable or costly or flamboyant. Under the aforementioned hat, her pale hair was cropped short in no particular style. Next to the woman sat a pack that matched the rest of her possessions in its ordinariness. She was using it as an elbow-rest at the moment.

As the barge neared the dock, the woman stood, picked up the pack, glanced at her traveling companions, and prepared to disembark.

[Myn]

Myn felt out of place on the barge, it moved far too much for his comfort, and was a far cry from the cool, green, and, most importantly, unmoving forests of his home. He had never been on any watercraft larger than a canoe, and most certainly not hurtling down the middle of a turbulent river in the hours before a storm.

He had been entertaining the idea of removing his leathers for a swim in the river–anything to avoid this stifling heat–but the barge's travel never steadied enough for him to feel safe doing so. Like riding a Manticore, he thought to himself, you dare not let go for fear of being eaten.

For the majority of the trip he sat in amiable silence with Morgran, enduring the rough waters and stifling heat with careful stoicism. When the waters calmed enough that walking was permissible he would rise to his full height–just short of the human-height staff he carried with him–and run through a series of stretches that would make any dancing instructor wince in sympathetic pain... before approaching him to ask if he would join their troupe. Myn is built as if he were the patron deity of dance; tall and willowy thin, with an athletic musculature but lacking any bulk.

As the barge neared the shore he turned his head–topped with willowy brown-blonde hair that fell to his neck–and regarded the trade officer and her escort with luminous, emerald eyes. When she turned away he sat there watching her for a moment, then turned and collected his gear. He made sure all of his accoutrements of travel, flint, rope, sunrods and other small items, were fastened in their respective pockets on his leathers, and donned his quiver, unstrung bow, and his pack containing his rations and ritual book. Picking up his staff, which was leaning against a convenient crate, he made his way to the dock.

[Umiushi]

Do you want our narrative about our character's appearance and recent actions in this forum or in the Acqua Alta game forum?

Let's put narrative and other in-world postings in the Acqua Alta thread. I unlocked it yesterday, so no need to treat it as "DM-only." I'll go ahead and copy the relevant parts of the recent posts here into that thread, and reserve the Out-of-character adventure discussion for game talk and rules. I'm going to edit the copied posts, by the way.

[Umiushi]

Players' posts in either thread are due by 11pm, Sunday, April 12th. Note that this is a 24 hour extension from the normal due date.

Clearly, it's time to roll initiative. In the Acqua Alta thread, describe or narrate your character's actions and/or reactions. In the OOC thread, break it into Actions using the format based on the following example (from an unrelated combat):

Minor Action: lay a Warlock's Curse on the nearest ogre
Standard Action: cast Dire Radiance at it
Move Action: shift one square to the northeast

Don't forget to describe No Action or Free Actions as you feel they are necessary, as well as Readying an Action or Delaying, if you feel the situation warrants it. Feel free to include other details as you see fit.

Note: While we are shifting into "combat" mode, by no means does that mean anyone is compelled to fight. It's just a handy way of breaking events down. You can use your time to continue to perform non-combat-like actions. However, if you choose to take no action at all, please still post to that effect.

As a reminder, different players will be posting at different times with different initiative rolls, so it is likely you will have some inkling of the future while being at a loss for certain events in your immediate past. If at all possible, try to keep things from getting too chaotic by refraining from, say, stepping into the same square as another character when they posted their move before you did, but with a lower initiative roll.

Since you can post multiple times, you may roll your initiative and then post after you see the results. Also, don't forget the bonus to your initiative for being near Ariellana.

Map Key
Directions: North is towards the top.
Scale: The large squares are 10' x 10'. The smaller (and unfortunately hard-to-see) squares within them are 5' x 5'.

A - Ariellana
G - Galin Goldgut
M - Morgran
T - Tanglar
Y - Myn
Z - Zephyr Fireblood

B - Bodyguard
O - Official

D - Temple Acolyte

Green squares - dock workers

Yellow squares - large crates, baggage, boxes, etc.
Blue squares - jetty
Brown squares - boat surface
Black squares - water (sorry)

Solution for Image Distribution
My space allowance for attachments is already halfway full, here at Pen and Paper. Obviously, I'm not going to be able to keep posting an updated combat map. Therefore, I'd like to open discussions for other means of image distribution.

Right now, I'm thinking that I might just post on ImageShack and share the urls. In any case, the solution has to be something that doesn't require anyone to sign up for anything, or to download anything.

[JohnChrist]

I have a couple questions.

1. I know several of us have rope. Would it be possible for someone to get a rope to the Dragonborn? Mostly, does the current take him past our barge or does it flow down in your diagram?
2. Can we make an Insight check or something to gather what exactly just happened? Or rather why it happened since we know what happened.
3. Do these dock workers seem to be hostile to us currently or are they currently going after the other crew?

And then I'll toss out my

* initiative *

[yukonhorror]

what I do for my chat game is use google docs. If you give me your email, I can add you as a collaborator to see how it works. If you want to meet in the chat room at a specified time, I can "explain" how I make it work.

Basically, I have a grid, and in power point, I add icons to the grid (walls, fire pits, trees, etc...) and then I link it to google docs. Players have their own icons (lightning bolt, smiley face, star, moon, etc...) and they move them on the board to indicate where they want their character to go. A smaller icon of the same shape indicates where the character started its movement to assess opportunity atks. We also have special icons for hunter's quarry, marking, area burst origin, etc...

It's a little clunky, but better than nothing.

I am assuming the current is from north to south?

I tried to color code my post so it is easier to decipher. I put actions in orange, rolls in green, OOC in red, spoken text in blue.

[yukonhorror]

OOC: don't know what rolls I'll need but will guess

* init: with warlord bonus *

Check equipment (minor)
Run and jump (move)
Swim full speed (move)

* Dive safely into water as far as I can towards acolyte (Athletics check) *

* Swim as fast as I can (spd:6) towards acolyte (athletics check) *

[Myn]

I actually have the same questions as John.

* And I will also roll initiative. *

And an additional question: Is the stone dock we are on solid or supported on columns?

[Cocoa]

I too am interested in the answers to the questions. No doubt I'll have more questions later.


Since Zephyr has jumped (or will jump) into the water to save the dragonborn, Ariellana will help her comrade. How best to do it?

I'm thinking she'd head to the side of the barge next to the water and toss a rope over for Zephyr and the dragonborn acolyte to grab. She'd brace herself and/or tie off the rope so that she wouldn't get pulled into the water. This assumes that the current is flowing towards our barge instead of away from it.

Does the barge have any safety gear such as flotation devices attached to long ropes, clearly labeled and accessible and possibly already attached to the side of the barge? That would be easy to grab and use.

Does our charming paladin with the high diplomacy and sweet smile wish to get some likely story ready so that the Trade Ministry person and her guards won't decide that we need a good dunking, too? Perhaps something about how we didn't see the altercation, but just saw someone in the water in distress?

Do we have any idea why the Trade Ministry person might be upset with the second barge and its captain, cargo, and/or passengers?


If the river current is flowing away from our barge, we probably need to quickly get off the barge with all of our gear (all hopefully easy to grab, including Zephyr's) and head downstream to find where Zephyr and the rescued dragonborn have landed. Can we provide any other assistance?


Here's my initiative roll, though if it's high I'll probably delay my turn so I can better support the actions of others.

* initiative roll *

Here are a few other rolls, just in case they help us figure out what's going on. Anyone is free to use my rolls as an "aid another" +2 bonus, and I'll be happy to accept any aid that might help my character.

* history roll, if there's some history that would explain what might be going on *

* religion roll, if there's some religious stuff we could stand to know *

* perception roll with the elf's +1 bonus, though my perception is horrible (and thus this can be used to aid another if I roll high enough) *

* streetwise roll, again probably best used to aid another *

* insight roll, another one my character does not do well *

* And, in case we need some good fast-talking diplomacy, a diplomacy roll to help our high-charisma companions, with a +1 bonus from the half-elves *

Anything else? I'm on a roll. Athletics or acrobatics might be of some use to help Zephyr. But I think I've done enough dice rolls for the moment. I can always do more later if it should be necessary.

[Myn]

I think I'll toss my rolls in there as well.

And tentatively, Cocoa, I plan to run down the dock (I can get 16 squares with two move actions, maybe more if I run [unsure the exact mechanics to that]) and toss the rope I'm carrying towards the dragonborn and, presumably, Zephyr as well. Depends a little on whether the dock workers are hostile to us or not, as well as the direction of current and whether the dock is solid or on columns.

* History Check (likely for aid-another) *

* Religion Check (aid-another applicable as well) *

* Perception Check (likely the main roll) *

* Streetwise Check (aid-another) *

* Insight Check (applicable to whatever) *

* Diplomacy Check (with half-elf bonus, I'm thinking I'll RP this as "Thinking of excuses," intended for aid-another) *

[JohnChrist]

The dragonborn should flow toward us, kinda towards the top right of the image or not really flow much of anywhere if there is weak current in that area. If you'll notice, the pier goes to the bottom of the image which means that is where the land is. So water would flow up and left around the pier of up and right away from it.

Now I do think we should get a rope out there. If the water was bad enough to make several of us sick it would be pretty difficult to swim in and a rope would help to get them back in.

That being said I'm still gonna hold off on my actions until Umi answers the hostile question.

[Umiushi]

I have a couple questions.

1. I know several of us have rope. Would it be possible for someone to get a rope to the Dragonborn? Mostly, does the current take him past our barge or does it flow down in your diagram?
2. Can we make an Insight check or something to gather what exactly just happened? Or rather why it happened since we know what happened.
3. Do these dock workers seem to be hostile to us currently or are they currently going after the other crew?

1. Throwing a rope to the acolyte is a Standard Action. The range must be 10 or less. Make a Dexterity Check against DC 17, or DC 15 if the range is 5 or less. Optionally, spend a Move Action immediately before throwing the rope to make an Athletics Check at DC 10. If you succeed, add +2 to your subsequent Dexterity Check. The acolyte still needs to grab the robe, and be careful your character isn't pulled into the river.

2. I will pm you, and others who expressed curiosity, an answer to your question based on your Passive Insight score. You may go further and spend a minor action to make an Insight check trying to answer a question concerning a specific NPC (crew, passenger, pilot, quay worker, bodyguard, acolyte, or official). I will roll all Insight checks myself. The DC will be adjusted based on your interaction, or lack of it, with the NPC.

3. The dock workers are completely involved with the other barge. There are no dock workers near your barge or interacting with it or its crew or passengers in any way, at the moment. By the same token, no one from your barge has approached or confronted anyone from or near the second barge.

I am assuming the current is from north to south?

The current is from west to east. The wind is from east to west. An important aspect of the jetty's purpose is to provide shelter from the current, but at the moment the nearby waters are filled with chaotic eddies.

And an additional question: Is the stone dock we are on solid or supported on columns?

It is solid. If there are supports, they are far enough under the turbulent water that you can't make them out. The flow of the current suggests that the jetty is solid stone all the way down to the river bed.

Does the barge have any safety gear such as flotation devices attached to long ropes, clearly labeled and accessible and possibly already attached to the side of the barge? That would be easy to grab and use.

...

Do we have any idea why the Trade Ministry person might be upset with the second barge and its captain, cargo, and/or passengers?

Safety equipment: Unfortunately, there is nothing like that on the barge. Safety involves an admonition from the pilot not to fall over the side, which he may or may not give, depending on his mood.

Altercation on the second barge: I will make a public post shortly concerning possible character-based interpretations of the witnessed event, based on the lowest Passive Insight score in the party.
--- Merged from Double Post ---
Reply to Yukonhorror

what I do for my chat game is use google docs. If you give me your email, I can add you as a collaborator to see how it works. If you want to meet in the chat room at a specified time, I can "explain" how I make it work.

Basically, I have a grid, and in power point, I add icons to the grid (walls, fire pits, trees, etc...) and then I link it to google docs. Players have their own icons (lightning bolt, smiley face, star, moon, etc...) and they move them on the board to indicate where they want their character to go. A smaller icon of the same shape indicates where the character started its movement to assess opportunity atks. We also have special icons for hunter's quarry, marking, area burst origin, etc...

It's a little clunky, but better than nothing.

I am assuming the current is from north to south?

I tried to color code my post so it is easier to decipher. I put actions in orange, rolls in green, OOC in red, spoken text in blue.

Thank you for the advice concerning Google Docs. Is a Google account required or not?

Feel free to continue color coding your actions. It looks like a good idea. I will not require anyone to follow suit just yet, but it does seem to help break the post up into easy-to-identify groups.

However, I will still request that you split your posts so that the narrative portion is in Acqua Alta and the OOC portion is in this thread.

Also, and this applies to everyone, while I won't stop you from placing all the action on this thread for now, don't feel as though you can't keep using the Q&A and General Discussion threads, or other relevant threads, either.
--- Merged from Double Post ---
A note on die rolls

In general, I will ask for the die rolls I want to see. I understand that you might want to smooth things along, say, by following up a stated attack with an attack roll and such. You may do so, but I have three warnings and a request:

1. I won't use them if I don't feel like it. Please consider how you will feel if you roll a 20 on a Perception check that I intend to make secretly before you bring out the ROLL tags.

2. While you may roll for as many different things as you feel like, the denser the cluster of rolls, the more likely I am to overlook one that I was willing to use. I'm not sure what I will do at that point, but I -may- just have you re-roll it.

3. Your rolls only apply to the round or phase you are in, subject to my discretion. If it turns out that a roll applies to a later event or action, in most cases you will simply have to re-roll.

My request is that if you do choose to make one or more unasked for rolls, place them at the end of your OOC post, and clearly separate them from the rolls that I do ask for.

I don't think there's anything in what I said that involves actually penalizing someone for making rolls. That is not my intent, but I do realize that some situations may lead to frustration, so I ask that you take that into consideration when you make die rolls on your own.
--- Merged from Double Post ---
Characters' Insight into the ongoing event

What you are seeing is most unusual, and there is no reason based in the surrounding culture, whether it is Imperial, sept, or local to this region, that something like this should happen.

The pilot, crew, and passengers of the barge are as surprised as you are, and are reacting accordingly. Among them, only the dragonborn has been directly attacked with significant force, though many have lost their belongings and are being generally shoved around when they get underfoot of the workers.

The bodyguard and workers are acting in unison, for the most part doing the same things. The official is not participating with the bodyguard and the workers, but is not reacting to them, either. Similarly, while the bodyguard and workers are roughly jostling the panicked crew and passengers out of their way as they toss various items overboard, none of them are getting in the way of the official.

[yukonhorror]

for google docs you need a google account, but not a google email. What I mean is you sign up for a google account with your current email (i.e. the email you use for P&PG). You can PM me your email, and I'll add you to the maps for my kobold cave.

So of my post, what should I have included on this board, and what should I have included on the aqua alta board?

[Cocoa]

In general, I will ask for the die rolls I want to see.

OK. I was mostly having fun with the die-roller. Also, I don't always know what skill checks or aid-another checks might be helpful.

I have no problem with you rolling or re-rolling any dice, or ignoring any dice rolls you don't feel a need to deal with.

My request is that if you do choose to make one or more unasked for rolls, place them at the end of your OOC post, and clearly separate them from the rolls that I do ask for.

We can do that, but the little die-roll box at the end of the message lists them one right after the other. The best we can do is to put them in the order you'd prefer to see.

---------------

The current is from west to east. The wind is from east to west. An important aspect of the jetty's purpose is to provide shelter from the current, but at the moment the nearby waters are filled with chaotic eddies.

Thanks!

According to the map you gave us, the dragonborn is south of both barges, near the shoreline, and in the area sheltered from the current by the pier.

This means that the acolyte will never go past the barge our characters are on. Zephyr can go grab him and drag him to the pier or to the shoreline next to the pier. The rest of us can help by getting off the barge (with Zephyr's stuff) and tossing him a rope or equivalent if he needs it. We may or may not need a story for the authorities about why we rescued anyone.

I don't know if we should ask someone in the crowd, such as the dock workers or other city folk, what's going on. I don't think we want to ask the Ministry of Trade person or her bodyguard!

Does anyone else have ideas about what our characters ought to do? Am I misunderstanding the situation?