Session Not Quite Zero

I'd definitely like to run a Session Zero mostly consisting of discussion about expectations, and perhaps including some light combats to test-run the flow of things. But before we get there, an interesting discussion was sparked in my recruitment thread (and also on some private messages to me) about questions of style. I'd be happy to continue the discussion here, as well as anything else related to game expecations.

Wow, it's cool that you linked to that thread on Session Zero. Full disclosure: I wrote it. Thanks! :)

Wow, I lucked out, eh? (In the American sense of the phrase, not the UK/Aussie sense of the phrase.)

That transcript was great fun to read, and I hope we can have half as productive a session. On the broader point of styles of play and worlds leveling up with the players, I should note that I'm young enough to not ever have personally experienced so-called "old school" play. I say so called because clearly people still play this way, and there doesn't really seem to be related to the system used, either. But I've always gravitated towards board games and video games that present static difficulties, and allow the players to decide how to approach it. In any case, the goals as presented in the campaign document aren't something I have experience in for tabletop, but they are something I want to try. Hopefully folks will bear that in mind in discussion and when play begins. I'm very open to suggestion on how to tackle things better.

Thanks for the kind words and I think you're on the right track with regard to how you're setting up the challenges in the setting. Just do it like those video games do it and telegraph the dangers sufficiently and you can't go half wrong. If it's something you're into, it'll come through in the game experience. I see you've read up on the West Marches. While that doesn't provide a ton of "crunch" for you to work with as far as managing the game, I think the basic concept there is a good one and it sounds like fun. The Alexandrian's crunch is a little questionable to me - a lot of process and paperwork for what appears to be little gain - but I'm willing to give anything a fair shot. As for everything else, my only hope is that we have players that create characters with a reason to work with one another and help each other pursue goals. I'm not interested in PVP, torture, rape, racism, sexism, or the like. I also would like to see everyone have good macros and be decisive when it comes to acting on their turn. Other than that, I'm probably going to backseat the Session Zero so that I don't overshadow anyone else's ideas. You can expect that I'll be okay with just about anything and will only add onto others' ideas rather than take away from them.

I pretty much 100% agree with everything Textual Healing has said so far. There's minutia here and there (I get the impression we have different definitions of "railroading"). Fortunately we maintain pretty much the same RPG values, which is really good. TH mentions being decisive on your turn. Have you ever heard of Popcorn Initiative? Because it's pretty much the best way ever to make combat speed and decisions seamless. I'd link you to an article explaining it, but the website that conceived it is currently down for repairs. Fortunately the name is pretty self-explanatory. If you're curious I can elaborate. I know that our characters are probably starting as slaves. I'm wondering the limits of that and how it meshes with backgrounds. One of the big draws of 5E for me is that a starting character is proven to already be somewhat above the average person as far as background, and shown to maybe even have some experience adventuring. Your Pantheon doesn't seem to expressly support the good/evil alignment either way. Do you have any comments on this? I was going for an Asmodeus-type feel but if I'm reading this correctly, the Lawful Evil alignment isn't represented at least on a theological level

Can we have access to Character Sheets so we can start building our characters and creating Macros?

Robert R. said: I pretty much 100% agree with everything Textual Healing has said so far. There's minutia here and there (I get the impression we have different definitions of "railroading"). Fortunately we maintain pretty much the same RPG values, which is really good. TH mentions being decisive on your turn. Have you ever heard of Popcorn Initiative? Because it's pretty much the best way ever to make combat speed and decisions seamless. I'd link you to an article explaining it, but the website that conceived it is currently down for repairs. Fortunately the name is pretty self-explanatory. If you're curious I can elaborate. I know that our characters are probably starting as slaves. I'm wondering the limits of that and how it meshes with backgrounds. One of the big draws of 5E for me is that a starting character is proven to already be somewhat above the average person as far as background, and shown to maybe even have some experience adventuring. Your Pantheon doesn't seem to expressly support the good/evil alignment either way. Do you have any comments on this? I was going for an Asmodeus-type feel but if I'm reading this correctly, the Lawful Evil alignment isn't represented at least on a theological level Speaking of which, I discussed railroading further in that thread not realizing you were already in this campaign forum. So feel free to disregard that post. Re: initiative, I'm less concerned about how initiative is handled and more concerned about players using their turn to act rather than think about what to do. They'll have plenty of time to think during other people's turns. I'd hate for the DM to call on someone for their turn and there's silence. In a text game, we're already losing time to typing. We can't afford to lose time to inattention or indecisiveness. It's also just plain rude to demonstrate such a lack of engagement with the game in my opinion. In the text game that I run, I encourage players who are sure of what they are going to do ahead of time to type up their action in Notepad or in the chat box and hold it there. When their turn comes up, they can just hit enter and we're off to the races.

In the spirit of friendly debate, I think players owe the game even more respect than that. Because what happens if the game has changed from the time you type out your action tip the time you hit enter? If you weren't paying attention, you'll be stumbling over yourself to fix it and re-plan, which takes as long if not longer than not being ready in the first place. Popcorn is one of many initiative mods that incentivizes attention such that you are always attentive, not just when you are typing out an action in advance. There are of course other options. ps. We are probably going to have to agree to disagree about our definitions of railroading. At this point the point may be moot anyway since we cleared it up with Drew.

In my experience, fixing and re-planning due to a change in circumstances isn't enough of a concern to warrant a wholesale change to the initiative rules. It simply doesn't come up enough to offset the gains of preparing one's text in advance. But I'll try popcorn initiative if everyone else is on board with it.

Alex K. said: Can we have access to Character Sheets so we can start building our characters and creating Macros? What do you have in mind to play? It'd be cool if we could discuss the party together and come up with characters that will work well together, both mechanically and in the fiction. I'm not married to anything in particular, but the character idea I submitted to Drew was a 1st-level variant human rogue (criminal) named Chuck Dagger, recently sold into slavery by his former partner-in-crime, Poncho Cloak, after the score of a lifetime. Together they were known as Poncho & Dagger. Good Dex, Int, Cha. Excellent at spotting trouble, pretty well-skilled in a variety of areas, and pretty good with a knife. Another concept I have is a 1st-level variant human ranger named Red Creek Rufus. I figure a ranger might be helpful if we're exploring in the wilds. He's the self-proclaimed world's greatest fisherman and fights with a trident and net. If and when he reaches 3rd level, he'll reunite with his old pal Belvedere, an ornery boar who got lost looking for truffles (beastmaster subclass).

I've got a tiefling business man. He is shady but he does what he does to provide for his family. He was between jobs when he got an offer. The meeting turned out to be an ambush and he ended up being kidnapped for the slave trade. His class is warlock and he excels in all things charisma and wisdom.

Robert R. said: I've got a tiefling business man. He is shady but he does what he does to provide for his family. He was between jobs when he got an offer. The meeting turned out to be an ambush and he ended up being kidnapped for the slave trade. His class is warlock and he excels in all things charisma and wisdom. Ah, a "legitimate" business man, eh? Chuck Dagger has worked with his share of those sorts of people. Perhaps we know each other from a deal that went wrong a few years back from which we both have scars. It wasn't either of our faults - so there's no beef between us - and maybe us being put into slavery together represents an opportunity to team up and get some payback while getting well in the meantime. I intend to call upon my criminal contact to get us out of this mess, but it's possible I already owe him some money... damn!

Marcellus Rarity deals in property. Did you buy a house? A wedding ring? Or maybe Marcellus was helping you sell something?

Robert R. said: Marcellus Rarity deals in property. Did you buy a house? A wedding ring? Or maybe Marcellus was helping you sell something? Yes, I was trying to sell a house that I had gained through the use of forged documents. The house belonged to a rival of mine who I was trying to frame. Unfortunately it didn't work out and an innocent person (innocent of the crime, but not innocent in general) is doing time for it. I'm okay with that. (Flaw)

If we're doing characters, I have an idea for a Halfling Ranger, who worked as a hired hand on trading ships, serving as a sailor when the seas were empty and an archer when pirates attacked. He was working on a trading ship from a rival city state when they were hit by pirates. The ship was sunk and the survivors sold into slavery. He's honest as they come, friendly, and always tries to look on the bright side. High DEX STR and WIS. He's more of an archery-ranger than melee-ranger, but will work for both.

Did Marcellus assist you in both the acquisition and sale of the house? It's up his alley. Edit: Also, I looked over your sheet, and maybe I'm missing, something, but how the heck does a character get a +8 to a skill at level 1? Judging by the Ranger's line of work, he's probably never even come near Marcellus. Marcellus is a sucker for particularly honest people, and while most people are exploitable, he'll probably have a soft spot for the ranger.

Here's mine: A young cleric that hasn't accomplished anything important in her life. Raised on the outskirts of civilization and struck with a burning sense of adventure. She’s uncomfortable with social situations but willing to do anything to get out of town. Basically, my character's Charisma is so low that she talks herself into bad situations. On her way to a nearby civilization, she came to a bridge with a security guard, and due to her social awkwardness, accidentally led him to believe that she was a bandit. And then thrown into jail! Due to overcrowding, some of the worst criminals get sent to the slave trade. Due to her complete lack of negotiating skills, she is not able to explain that she has committed no crime and is sent to the slave trade as well. Also, I'm a fan of popcorn initiative.

Ha, I like yours Alex! Sounds like fun. And that sounds about right Robert. Sailors tend to be rougher people, and Poe probably wouldn't have ran in with many business people like Marcellus I'll post his character sheet once i finish it up.

Erk, lots of response to work back on. "Your Pantheon doesn't seem to expressly support the good/evil alignment either way. Do you have any comments on this? I was going for an Asmodeus-type feel but if I'm reading this correctly, the Lawful Evil alignment isn't represented at least on a theological level" That's just the local pantheon. It's adapted from 0e type material, hence the lack of 9-alignment system. But adapt as make sense, yeah? Also, feel free to pick any Earth deity if you want to be from "off". The Egyptian deities would have been worshipped in nearby fallen Nabu and the Greek/Romans aren't too far away. "slaves, etc." I'm not sold on this start by any means, it was just what popped into my head first, and it made sense. But I think it's likely few of you have been longtime slaves. If yall would prefer to run with some other kind of group that's entered the city for some reason, I'm happy to run with that. "character sheets, etc." Yeah I can enable some. Is it easy enough to simply create a bunch that are editable by anyone, and let folks grab and rename what they want, then lock things down to a single character later? That said, collective discussion party building is great. "popcorn initative" Is that the concept of taking a turn, then passing the initiative to whoever you will? How does that work with respect to monsters? Or does it end up mirroring the design of older systems where each groups rolls a single initiative roll?

2 clerics... nice... here is a link to Garlel, my cleric. But I'm happy to create another character if need be. <a href="http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=70384" rel="nofollow">http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=70384</a> I like popcorn too, I think, we call it something else down here... it's the one where when you call it happens right then and there in the order people call it? However I also liked that first calls are popcorn until the gym calls for initiative, then initiative rolls happens after those quick enough to call an action has their turn then combat ensues. As for player concentration I totally agree... I also understand people have kids, partners, annoying parents, doorbells, barking dogs, poor Internet/server connections. And I myself have been suddenly caught out with planning quite a few actions and suddenly the of my team members are grappled and any action I take will either hurt them or get me grappled to, it took me a minute to go over my character sheet again just to figure out something... though I kinda was doing an inner monologue of panic out aloud for my character to stall. I also don't mind just a roll of a macro to take a quick turn instead of explaining how he was swinging his sword differently each time. Or even "I fire another arrow"[[1d20+3]] to hit for a damage of [[1d6*2]]

"I'm not interested in PVP, torture, rape, racism, sexism, or the like." Just wanted to be sure to chime in on this point. Those who've read through some of the handouts know we'll start in a slave city, but I anticipate that this will be more like the slavery known in antiquity than a slavery built on notions of race as was practiced in the United States. I realize no one has particularly lept back at this point, but it's important to clarify. I'm actually feeling the lack of sufficient expectation-setting in a real life game on this point, as one player takes joy in decreeing various tortures or planned tortures of captive enemies. Oh, and I also created a bunch of blank character sheets that *should* be editable by all, so go crazy with that if you want to get working on crunch.

Robert R. said: Did Marcellus assist you in both the acquisition and sale of the house? It's up his alley. Edit: Also, I looked over your sheet, and maybe I'm missing, something, but how the heck does a character get a +8 to a skill at level 1? Judging by the Ranger's line of work, he's probably never even come near Marcellus. Marcellus is a sucker for particularly honest people, and while most people are exploitable, he'll probably have a soft spot for the ranger. A typo. Thanks for catching it! It's actually +7 for Stealth. Yeah, you brokered the deal on both ends - double the profit, if it hadn't have gone south.

Heres Poe's Character sheet , One thing, the map you posted in the journal section is very small. like 500x300, you can't really read it. Unless I'm missing something. I'm new to roll20 so thats totally possible.

As for no pVp I totally agree.. but say a thief was to pocket gems from a chest before anyone else got inside the trapped lair, I would call that fair play. but stealing the gems from another player, shouldn't be on. As for rape, torture, sexism I totally agree. As for racism do you mean in modern human terms?? or the differences between dwarfs and elves. Or gnomes and Orcs? And their very unfriendly and uncouth banter?

I'll look at a few Earth pantheons and see if I can find a good alignment. Popcorn initiative is pretty much as follows: Roll initiative Highest initiative goes first, nominates the next player That player acts, then nominates the next player The last player of the round to act nominates the first player for the next round. This can be themselves. The idea is that beyond who goes first, Initiative doesn't have a terribly huge bearing on combat, especially in the later rounds. What with holding actions and the fact that most enemies take multiple hits anyway, it just lets you hand wave a stringent order in favor of teamwork. If everyone is attentive (which is encouraged) rounds can be almost twice as fast as normal. If everyone is ready for the chance that they may be nominated, they will be ready and will pass things right along. Monster groups normally act as clumps. On a strategic level, players are actually encouraged to pass their turn to monsters occasionally for 3 reasons: It prevents the players getting overwhelmed by clumps of monsters on the other side If the players get the last turn, they can nominate the first players next round A gm will usually pass back to the players at the end of his turn for the sake of good overall pacing @Textual Healing: Sorry, but still, how? If I'm understanding everything correctly you can't exceed a +5 at level 1. My highest skill has a +3 attribute and proficiency for a total of +5. I feel like we're doing the exact same thing but getting different results. One of us is doing something wrong. (I suppose we could solve this by having the character sheet do auto-math for us. But if I'm doing something wrong, please explain) Also, if we like things being connected, maybe that deal-gone-south is the reason that Marcellus is between jobs. If we're really unlucky, the unsatisfied patron could be the one who set up the ambush.

Just finished reading about Monks. I want the same backstory but with a monk, so John, you can keep cleric.

"Sorry, but still, how? If I'm understanding everything correctly you can't exceed a +5 at level 1. My highest skill has a +3 attribute and proficiency for a total of +5." Rogue Expertise - double your proficiency bonus to two chosen skills. Interesting on the Popcorn, I can see how that would work (and might steal it for use in a local game--there's one or two players that have attention issues). The only real thought I have on the issue is it could be cool to combine that concept with the idea of rerolling initiative each round, but that may not be worth the slow down. I'll try to get a bigger map posted, although you can see the full sized one by launching the campaign--it should be the default screen. I simply uploaded the same file, so I may need to provide a link to the larger file in the journal. I'm struggling a bit on player apps since a good number more have poured in as a second wave of sorts, and I hate this part of online gaming, having to "choose" who gets to play. It may be that the format could support more players, but I'm hesistant to go beyond 6 in any given session for now. Slight over-recruiting seems generally safe though, schedules being what they are. Perhaps as high as 8? I'm open to opinions here. I like the idea that no one needs to come to any given session but I realize the expectation is that if you've joined the campaign, you get to play.

Alex K. said: Just finished reading about Monks. I want the same backstory but with a monk, so John, you can keep cleric. Monks are pretty great in 5E along with Bards; the unloved of 3.X have risen again!

Oh, good. I thought I was being cheated with my measly +5 Persuasion. I can say that I have tried the rerolling between rounds and it was kind of a disaster. If you want to "reset" between rounds, you could always just go back to the highest roller and start over. If I were in your shoes I would gauge this sample size of 6 for interest between now and session zero, and if anyone decides not to be a regular, you can invite some others. Even on rotation, a hard cap of 6 is good because you don't want everybody to pour in on the same day.

Nawww... 2 clerics would of been fun...

JohnTheAussie said: As for no pVp I totally agree.. but say a thief was to pocket gems from a chest before anyone else got inside the trapped lair, I would call that fair play. but stealing the gems from another player, shouldn't be on. As for rape, torture, sexism I totally agree. As for racism do you mean in modern human terms?? or the differences between dwarfs and elves. Or gnomes and Orcs? And their very unfriendly and uncouth banter? Re: Pocketing gems - I don't think that's fair play. And I'm the rogue. I won't be doing it and would prefer other players not engage in that sort of behavior. Some resources of where my head is at when playing RPGs: 11 Ways to Be a Better Roleplayer Players 101 You Are Not Your Character Re: Racism - yes, "in modern human terms" or in reference to the real world racism. Robert R. said: @Textual Healing: Sorry, but still, how? If I'm understanding everything correctly you can't exceed a +5 at level 1. My highest skill has a +3 attribute and proficiency for a total of +5. I feel like we're doing the exact same thing but getting different results. One of us is doing something wrong. (I suppose we could solve this by having the character sheet do auto-math for us. But if I'm doing something wrong, please explain) Also, if we like things being connected, maybe that deal-gone-south is the reason that Marcellus is between jobs. If we're really unlucky, the unsatisfied patron could be the one who set up the ambush. Chuck has Expertise in Perception and Stealth, doubling his proficiency bonus.. Re: Marcellus: Yes, sounds good. As established, Chuck Dagger was sold into slavery by his own partner Poncho Cloak after a major score. We can also leave a lot of this vague and flesh it out during play.I prefer to add to background as we play and are inspired by the events of the game. Drew K said: I'm struggling a bit on player apps since a good number more have poured in as a second wave of sorts, and I hate this part of online gaming, having to "choose" who gets to play. It may be that the format could support more players, but I'm hesistant to go beyond 6 in any given session for now. Slight over-recruiting seems generally safe though, schedules being what they are. Perhaps as high as 8? I'm open to opinions here. I like the idea that no one needs to come to any given session but I realize the expectation is that if you've joined the campaign, you get to play. When I run D&D 5e, voice or text, I have six players: four regulars and two alternates. If a regular can't make it, an alternate steps in (first come, first served). I don't recommend more than four players in a given session. The more you add, the slower it gets.

As folks are working on characters, it'd be great if you could add a temporary parenthetical with your player name, so that I can see who is who and assign permissions appropriately.

Drew K said: As folks are working on characters, it'd be great if you could add a temporary parenthetical with your player name, so that I can see who is who and assign permissions appropriately. Done (I'm Ryan). I set my macros up as token actions, so need a token for them to work. Here's one you can drag and drop: Please assign as Default Token on my character sheet and set all permissions on the token. I know we're not doing grid-based play, but a token is still very helpful.

Gettin' Ta Know Ya post: Where are you from and/or living now? What's your experience with RPGs and D&D 5e in particular? What kind of experience do you have with Roll20? How old are you (if you care to answer that one)? Any other background details to break the ice? I'm Ryan, 38. I'm from Florida but I live in Medellin, Colombia. I've been playing and running RPGs for 25 years and D&D 5e since the playtest. I've been using Roll20 since 2012 and have logged well over 2000 hours on it between this and my other account. I currently run a 10th-level campaign in D&D 5e on Thursday nights on Roll20.

I already kind of mentioned a lot of this in the interest thread, but... I'm Robert, 23. I'm from Indiana but I live in Maine for work. I played some D&D of various editions in college. I devote most of my free time to reading D&D articles and listening to D&D podcasts. I have been running a Pokémon Tabletop game for 2 years, and I've been running it on roll20 for almost a year and a half. I'm a pro with roll20's general use, macros, campaign design, and useful tricks, and I have access to some really helpful API. My campaign is a well-oiled machine that takes full advantage of all the features roll20 has to offer. I've logged over 7,000 hours in a little over a year between campaign design and running games.

On phone, will update sheet with token soon. But I am Garlel Re: fair play... I'd prefer team effort, but understand action done for selfish gain to play within character alignment. .. As long as it truly doesn't hinder the team. As for players.. 4-6 is a good number, especially with experienced players. about me and roll 20.... I'm a 31 year old miner turned Assessor and trainer (8 yrs of coal and hardrock), father of 3 living in QLD, Australia (so no daylight savings). I live a fair way out of town and away from friends which makes it hard to get into gaming for 8 years now. Honestly I am looking to get back into fantasy style gaming or apocalyptic gaming. I am a fast learner, and have a great collection of RPG's (and can order what I don't have). I am experienced(?) with Rifts - Palladium - D&D/AD&D (1e,2e,3.5 &5e) Serenity, M:TG, Rage, Heroes Quest, WaterWorld, Serenity, Savage Worlds, BFRPG, Labyrinth Lord, Pathfinder, Risk, Axis and Allies, FATE (though very rusty), RIsus and many lesser known RPG's. . I am with the following groups: Knights of the Written Word: text-based gamers alliance Numenera Guild Hall Australia and New Zealand Tavern Raiders Association The Ðragons Ðen Played/Playing Contributor/Creator at The Ðragons Ðen GM: Parasite Id Arjun Rumpf the Cleric (Gnome) Westhold Keep (Pat's game) (finished quest) Arjun Rumpf the Cleric (Gnome) Morgansfort (Imps game) Forgotten Rhunes[text chat][Basic Fantasy RPG] GM: Imp Unity & Pat S . Altomi the Ranger (Human variant) Hoard of the Dragon Queen (D&D 5E) GM: Deanosis Verba the Rogue-Wizard The Delvers; Fete and Fortune (D&D 3.5) GM: Matt H. Altomi The Bard (Human) DCC 24: Legend of the Ripper (1st Edition and 2E, Play by Post & live) GM: Ricky R . Skip (Aussie Miner) (Human) Silent Solstice (The End of the World - Zombie Apocalypse) GM:King . Enamoured Brute (Steampunk Human Bodyguard/Muscle) Fallen London PbP: In the Echo Bazaar (FATE Play by Post) GM: Blooble . Jarvis (Dwarf Cleric) Adventures on Golarion (Rise of the Runelords - Pathfinder) GM: Agnes O.

JohnTheAussie said: On phone, will update sheet with token soon. But I am Garlel Re: fair play... I'd prefer team effort, but understand action done for selfish gain to play within character alignment. .. As long as it truly doesn't hinder the team. I can understand why a fictional character would do a thing; however, I also think this should be passed through the lens of the goals of play (to have a good time and to create an exciting, memorable story as a result of play). So it's not enough to do "what my character would do" or "what my alignment says." It must also be fun for everyone at the table and lead to an exciting, memorable story or else we risk failing to achieve the goals of play which the Basic Rule say are the only way to "win" at D&D. If a given action isn't fun for everyone, then in my view another choice appropriate to the character and context should be made. Playing "Finder's Keepers" in a cooperative game is essentially the same as stealing (in many circles) and it forces the other players into an uncomfortable spot in my experience. If the guy or gal is caught, what do the other players do? My inclination would be to no longer adventure with that character... but of course I'm constrained by the meta concern that I'm obligated to play the game with the other players. So essentially, stealing it's an underhanded way of seizing control of the game from other players. That player has basically used the metagame to get away with theft. It's messy and not cool. As the party's rogue, I have established in my traits that my loyalty is to my friends (read: the party) and not any ideals. I won't be stealing from them or playing "finder's keepers." There is a whole world of monsters and villains to kill and steal from whose player (the DM) won't be bothered. What's say we take from them first, eh? :)

Textual Healing said: Lot's of inspiring stuff that has changed my view on thieves.... Seriously, rogues I suddenly like again... Token -

I guess since we're posing tokens... (sorry it probably shows up really big)

I'm a 18 year old dude in that lives on the west coast of Canada. I work a seasonal job as a caretaker at the local cemetery, but that hasn't started up yet, so no work till May. I've DM'd a bunch of short-lived games for my friends in town, mostly DW and a few homebrew systems I've made up. I have a little bit of experience with 4e as well. Unfortunately, theres not a lot of interest here, so I haven't really gotten anything off the ground. I'm completely new to roll20, I have no experience, other than playing around with making a campaign, but I never ran it. Never really played as a player, so I'm very excited. Heres Poe's token.

There is a whole world of monsters and villains to kill and steal from whose player (the DM) won't be bothered. What's say we take from them first, eh? :) Aww :( Heh. I'm in my early 30s, American, but currently living in Indonesia. There's not much of a roleplaying community here, but I managed to recruit a local group of players almost all of which are completely new to the hobby. We've had a fun past few months running some story-games and recently 5E's starter campaign LMoP. Apart from that I've played in a variety of systems over the years, although in the past 5 years I've been more involved in boardgaming or hex-and-chit wargaming than tabletop RPGs.

A couple of people had some errors on their sheets by virtue of filling in stuff on the front "Core Stats" page under the bonuses/penalties section. I've seen it a number of times and found it confusing myself, but you don't need to fill anything out in that section, all the appropriate calculations are done for you by the sheet elsewhere, and adding bonuses here will add whatever you put there as a flat bonus on top what it already calculated. Fixed where I found it, but wanted to point it out for people not familiar with the 5E sheet. I've been working on the hexcrawl key, expanding and tweaking on what's already written as necessary, and adding in some flairs of my own to fill out the map, so to speak. I'm not quite sure I'll match something for literally every hex, particularly in the sea regions, but each hex is smaller than The Alexandrian discusses, only about 6 miles across. For now I'm focusing on hooks, ecounters, dungeons, and the like, but will make another pass focusing on relatively mundane (or are they?) geographical features. That's where sea hexes are likely to lack--mostly the sea is just water after all, at least on the surface. I'm also working up some rumor tables as I go, as a way to feed potential hooks and to the players. Most of them relate to various locations scattered across the map, but there may be plenty relating to city goings-on, and others of events or vistas far away. Of course, rumors are often half-truths, and some might be simple fabrications.

Drew K said: A couple of people had some errors on their sheets by virtue of filling in stuff on the front "Core Stats" page under the bonuses/penalties section. Oops I was one of them. It seems we only have 4 players who've created a sheet in game ( TH, Rob, Rowan, Myself). Is there any other players who actually needs help putting information into the character sheet in game, or simply finishing off their character? Speak up or we can't help.

Rowan N. said: If we're doing characters, I have an idea for a Halfling Ranger, who worked as a hired hand on trading ships, serving as a sailor when the seas were empty and an archer when pirates attacked. He was working on a trading ship from a rival city state when they were hit by pirates. The ship was sunk and the survivors sold into slavery. He's honest as they come, friendly, and always tries to look on the bright side. High DEX STR and WIS. He's more of an archery-ranger than melee-ranger, but will work for both. Chuck Dagger met Poe Redtree a couple years ago when he booked passage on a ship in order to get out of town after a decent score. Chuck played at dice with the sailors and was struck by how scrupulous Poe was even though most of the gamblers were cheating left and right. He had always understood halflings to be a shifty lot, but learned a valuable lesson that not all of a given race are the same. Chuck made friends with Poe and even learned how to speak Halfling from him during the voyage (though his accent could use some work). Now, years later, he's surprised to find himself in the same predicament as the halfling sailor.

Chuck Dagger has only recently met Garlel Mogal. They were both thrown into the same cage wagon along with a number of undesirables. Along the way to the slave pits, some of these slaves tried to assault Chuck, but Garlel wasn't having it and came to the rogue's protection more than once. Chuck's not sure what drives the dwarf to want to help a stranger. All he knows is that he owes the dwarf and intends to repay the kindness. Garlel's tales of the plague and the shambling dead sound like the ramblings of a madman to Chuck, however, having never set eyes upon the horrors that the dwarf has seen. Chuck's not sure if this is just crazy dwarf-talk or what.

I agree to the terms. :D

Textual Healing said: Chuck Dagger met Poe Redtree a couple years ago when he booked passage on a ship in order to get out of town after a decent score. Chuck played at dice with the sailors and was struck by how scrupulous Poe was even though most of the gamblers were cheating left and right. He had always understood halflings to be a shifty lot, but learned a valuable lesson that not all of a given race are the same. Chuck made friends with Poe and even learned how to speak Halfling from him during the voyage (though his accent could use some work). Now, years later, he's surprised to find himself in the same predicament as the halfling sailor. I love it, but I'm pretty sure halflings speak common, ie theres no specific language for them. Poe would've met the other PCs in prison. He would've been impressed with Garlels dedication to protecting people, and formed a friendship with him. He's heard Garlel talk of the rising dead, and is not sure what to make of it. Corpses don't just get up and start killing people. However, if his friend says its happened, then it must be true. Hes also been learning about (whatever god Garlel serves.) from the dwarf, and has taken quite an interest in it. Poe is not quite sure what to make of the somewhat shifty Tiefling hes seen around the prison. From his first impressions, the man seems friendly enough, but there is some sort of power about him. He's mentioned having a family, but quite frankly, Poe is a little scared by him. He wouldn't of met many magic users on ships, and probably even fewer Warlocks. He doesn't want to get on Marcellus' bad side.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Halfling. The Halfling language isn’t secret, but halflings are loath to share it with others. They write very little, so they don’t have a rich body of literature. Their oral tradition, however, is very strong. Almost all halflings speak Common to converse with the people in whose lands they dwell or through which theyare traveling.

It seems we're doing characters, I had made a Warlock as well but am willing to reroll to make a character which better compliments the group (written as if being read from a 'Goods for Sale' section of a newspaper) Hollis, the Half Elf Warlock was arrested during a grave robbing attempt just outside Ophir. The Half Elf was caught trying to recover an amulet of Y'chak from the grave of a dead Elf Warlock buried a few miles north of Ophir. This bright young Half Elf will be available for purchase at the slave auction this week.

Does anyone have any questions about the setting as established? I think Rowan mentioned at one point the idea that his character-sailor had traveled widely, I'll probably prefer to limit that somewhat if reasonable, if only for my own sanity of having to work out a bunch of details about far-flung places not yet relevant. It should be fine to have traveled throughout the Tepid Sea, a relatively calm and shallow sea roughly equivalent to Earth's Mediterranean. I imagine the kind of boats that do well there just don't cut it on the greater oceans. Perhaps one trip farther afield either by the character's self or a close friend or kin?