[OOC Thread] [Acrotomo]

[HoratioAtTheBridge]

I still get the impression that was a mistake on his part. **shrugs**

 

[cyl]

Nah, that's different, it was self defense...


Blasting our caravans while he wasn't in combat situation, was our prisoner (we could have killed him but we didn't), had nothing to gain from it strategically, and while the only logical consequence of this action would most likely be his death was clearly... kinda like the last mistake he would ever make.

 

[Aurethius]

Upon consideration, it would probably be best to roll the thread back and undo Nkemdilim sending Jubal after the city. It's interesting and in character, but it's prolonging the end of the act too much. It's probably best to say "Nkemdilim and Sapphire load up the caravan and leave while Alaura, Lost Mountain, and Broken Heron hold off the Wyld Hunt long enough for them to make good the escape" and then just move on.

This can easily be done. I am in no particular rush to end the Act, but I want to give out some Essence and Experience that you guys can spend.


Remember that logic is easily overruled, even in the worst of situations. Logic dictates that the Solars have a divine right to rule creation, but decades of propaganda and fear-preaching has obscured that fact. Logic dictates Dexten should have kept his mouth shut and stayed as a hostage to ensure the safety of his men, but the Immaculate Philosophy and the Wyld Hunt demands that he fight to the death. When Nkemdilim sent a vicious blood ape to attack the infrastructure and livelihood of Jacob's Peak, perhaps Dexten saw that as a violation of the terms of his agreement, and was the last straw in holding back his hand against a circle of Anathema. Suicidal, absolutely, but in his mind, it was the right thing to do.


We can remove Nkemdilim’s sending of Jubal without a problem, and it will not change the current situation much. As long as I get a majority of players that supports the idea, we can delete the Jubal Mission and the Dexten Sabotage with no real issue.


Remember Xarvh, he broke it accidentally. You still have one remaining tiger claw.


And I think Alaura also knows the violent reputation of Blood Apes, and would come to the same conclusion as Dexten. Would a blood ape REALLY stand aside if a farmer with a pitchfork tried to stop him from killing his horses?


Keep in mind that the livestock of a small town, especially one that is isolated from other towns, are absolutely VITAL to that town’s survival. Without horses or oxen, the people can’t travel to other towns to get special equipment and items, like medical supplies. They can’t take their own items to trade, like the Shere drug that Jacob’s Peak harvests and is their primary export. Livestock is Life for some of these towns, and Jacob’s Peak is a prime example.


Now yes, Nkemdilim did consider this, and is correct in that the Wyld Hunt would help the town. Maybe. Someday. But that wasn't really important to Dexten. What WAS important was that the solasr sent a Demon after Jacob's Peak, and that was the final straw. Passion overruled logic. IF he dies, he will die with honor, knowing that he fought back against the Solars at the perfect moment, striking THEIR infrastructure just as they struck his. He's given himself over to the Immaculate Philosophy now, your threats be damned.


Unless we roll back the thread.

 

[xarvh]

Nah, that's different, it was self defense...
Blasting our caravans while he wasn't in combat situation, was our prisoner (we could have killed him but we didn't), had nothing to gain from it strategically, and while the only logical consequence of this action would most likely be his death was clearly... kinda like the last mistake he would ever make.

He was in the very same situation when BH -handed- him the weapon...


Defending yourself from someone usually does not entail breaking the only weapon you have in your hands...


(BTW, if you're manipulating me to make me reconsider that "don't kill Dexten"-thingy, you're doing a superb job)

 

[Myllinnia]

OMG What did I miss? O.o I curse my stupid house making me miss what two days? xD


Anyway I'll read IC thread... I'll attempt to react where it makes sense xD

 

[Aurethius]

OMG What did I miss? O.o I curse my stupid house making me miss what two days? xD
Anyway I'll read IC thread... I'll attempt to react where it makes sense xD

Hold off on reacting just yet Sapph, we're havin an IN-TEE-LECK-CHOOL discussion!

 

[Myllinnia]

I notice that. I should have paid more attention to OOC Post time rather than IC's xD I though we had gone past xD (Speed read and understand no I do not xD )

 

[HoratioAtTheBridge]

The town would only suffer from the loss of its livestock if the Realm is unwilling to devote a teeny, tiny fraction of the stupendous resources they just sent to Jacob's Peak to undoing the damage that was done. It would be obscenely trivial for the Wyld Hunt to send someone over to White Wall to procure a few replacement animals and rebuild the stables. And if they didn't, Nkemdilim intended to capitalize on that mistake by riding into town when they're at the bottom of their fortunes and setting everything right, then pointing out how the Realm failed them in their time of need. So, the attack is more of a delaying and resource diverting maneuver aimed at the Hunt more than an attempt to harm the villagers. Just to let you in on Nkemdilim's reasoning. Obviously, Dexten doesn't have the benefit of that perspective, and is right to be completely outraged. I'm not quite sure what he's thinking he'll accomplish by throwing his life away, though...fanatics, eh? Crazy people. **shrugs**


Still, the party has a plan to deal with the Hunt with delaying traps and ambushes, so there's really no need for Nkemdilim to engage in anything so convoluted. Even if it would be wicked awesome.

 

[cyl]

I'm no fan of rewinds, but this is one of the time where I think it's needed.

 

[Aurethius]

Aaand here's a map!

And yes, its upside down. I don't have the time to fix it right now. Shouldn't be a problem. Up is South, down is North. MM is actually WW (Whitewall) which is to the southeast of Jacob's Peak, and East of Jacob's Peak is Gethamane.


To the North, through the little passages, are many of the things that Miss Fang still needs to investigate.


See the little 'boob' in the very center of the map? That's the 'Hilltop', with the darkness growing on it. On its right is a tiny little dot, which is the camp, and above it is a slightly larger circle, which is the hill that blocks the view of the camp. The lump in the absolute center of the map, with the little black dot on the top, is Jorune's Mountain. The black dot is the main entrance to the mountain. All circles are hills or mountains. The circle with little lines going toward its center is a natural depression, sort of a miniature valley.


To the left of Jorune's mountain is the town of Jacob's Peak. The lines are roads or trails. The squiggly lines are forests. Pretty much everywhere is forest anyway, but it was fun to scribble. I can reupload this picture later with a legend and such, if this description doesn't help.

 

[HoratioAtTheBridge]

Well, I'm going to go ahead and delete my posts back to when I ordered Jubal away. I'm going to change it so that I just dismiss him to Malfeas to look for a necromancer demon, then give a brief description of how I pack up the camp.

 

[Aurethius]

I will fix everything else accordingly. Waiting now for a 'Final Post' from Mylinnia.


Nice post Licurgo. I do need to ask what kinds of traps you laid out. You can generalize their location, you don't have to be specific. The map I dictated is not absolutely set in stone. Other than the hills that are there, feel free to 'manipulate the landscape' as you see fit. A frozen pond here, a massive pine there, whatever fits your traps and plans. I will take into account your skill and experience with setting these traps, and the Wyld Hunt WILL have a difficult time.


Expect to be making some Stealth Rolls, Survival Rolls, Awareness Rolls and Resistance rolls. The Survival and Resistance will be especially important as a blizzard will soon be rolling in.


This is going to be fun, and almost every skill and specialty you all have is going to come into play.

 

[Aurethius]

I will be rewarding experience for the entirety of Act II, so expect some serious upgrades to your characters. I will also be providing additional experience for your work in your respective backgrounds. Do not feel penalized if you did not have the time in your personal lives to work on the backgrounds, I understand completely. It is not a knock against you. The bonus for the background is minimal in comparison to the experience and effort of the main story, and I know you enjoyment and depth of character is far more important that the material rewards of XP.


I'm stickying the Experience Thread so that it remains at the top of the page. I want to make sure that you all have spent the XP you want to spend before we begin Act 3.


I am still registering some unspent Experience for many of you. If you have already spent this xp, but forgot to tell me, please do so in a pm as soon as possible. If you have kept this experience for some reason, I urge you to use it.


For this special situation, I am most definitely revoking many of the rules that demand a 'training time' for certain skills. If you want to advance a skill that requires training time, just let me know and we can work out the training time later.


If you intend to learn a certain kind of Sorcery (and it is NOT in your wishlist, which is SHOULD be), then let me know. I am sorry, but it is impossible to learn Sorcery instantly, unless you would like to explain it as something that is slowly coming back to you from your past life. This can be done. Carefully.


Remember, just talk it over with me, keep me involved in the development of your character, (both present and future), and everything will work out beautifully. Lets get to it!

 

[cyl]

Well never made a technical wish list, but I'm definitely going after Thaumaturgy which is a huuuuuge gap in my character. The problem is going to be the training times... but fortunately, we're travelling a lot, I has books and money, and I can summon elementals for some of the lessons...

 

[cyl]

Please note: Miss Fang will take care of Sapphire as soon as the situation cools down.


She's wounded -> infection !

 

[Aurethius]

Remember, Miss Fang and Lost Mountain got a face-full of evil black smoke when the gravedirt monsters were killed. Whatever that was may be taking effect sometime in the beginning of Act 3, pending the appropriate rolls.


I'll be reposting that map in the proper orientation, and with some extra notes. Is there any other information that you all feel your characters would have? Any requests? Lost Mountain is the only character who would know more about the lands to the north and east of Jacob's Peak, and Nkemdilim knows the area around Whitewall very well. Miss Fang, in her research of the various Architect Interests, also has a general idea of the region. Naturally, she would've brought a map, I would think.


I will continue to post 'Meanwhiles', those behind the scenes events that tie in directly with the plot. These are for your enjoyment, and so that you, the player, are not left wondering "Who is this guy?". Your character will be, unless they have some kind of prior knowledge of the person in question.

 

[HoratioAtTheBridge]

I think we're all good enough role-players to handle a bit of OOC knowledge.


I mentioned Whitewall to Dexten with the intention of letting him escape later with the misinformation. We need a bit larger of a power base before we return to settle things with the Syndics, and we need some peace and quiet to bond as a group. A sojourn in the wild should provide some good bonding time.


Nkemdilim's wishlist for XP mostly lies within the Medicine tree for a while, then I'm going to work on resistance, athletics, and martial arts. With perhaps some Persuasion and Performance if we get back to doing cult-y things. Integrity is a tempting one too, especially with the Shaping defenses it offers...hmmm. Ok, I've got a lot I'd like to do. :-p That said, he might pick up a few of the more useful Terestrial circle spells from Alaura if the circle would benefit from having two people who can cast the spell.


Edit, RE, XP: Is the amount listed in the XP thread the total we have, or the amount that we have unspent?

 

[Aurethius]

It is the amount unspent. I update it every time you guys let me know that you have spent it.


We'll begin Act 3 as soon as I feel everyone is ready.


Remember to update the wishlist you have in your character sheet thread. Keep your notes up to date. Telling me here in OOC or in PM is great, I enjoy that kind of talk with you all, but your character sheets are where I will be looking in the future as I continue to map out the plot and events. Keeping that in shape will help you AND me.


Essence Regains:


Broken Heron: 24 (I think this is the number I already gave you. You also have all your spent willpower back for continually working toward your Motivation)


Nkemdilim: 20, 1 willpower returned


Lost Mountain: 16


Sapphire: 16, 1 willpower returned


Miss Fang: 20, 2 willpower returned


Remember to track your willpower and essence expenditures in an obvious place on your character sheet. I trust you all to be fair and honest when using your essence!

 

[Aurethius]

Alrighty, Act 3 is up. We are operating in Dramatic Time, and will continue to do so unless it becomes necessary to move to combat time. We are picking up where we left of. H@B and Sapphire still have approximately 3-4 minutes to pack up the caravan, giving enough dramatic scene time for BH, LM and Miss Fang to disrupt the Wyld Hunt. I will repost the Map at the next possible opportunity, but for now, do you guys have any idea where you want to start moving the Caravan? West, East, or North?

 

[HoratioAtTheBridge]

My vote is North. Our enemies are organized and powerful, but even organized and powerful people have a difficult time projecting that power into the North. Our power travels conveniently with us.

 

[Aurethius]

My vote is North. Our enemies are organized and powerful, but even organized and powerful people have a difficult time projecting that power into the North. Our power travels conveniently with us.

Indeed it does. Remember, you have several members of the circle who are knowledgeable of the northlands, and if you have any questions about the area, you can put them here, and I can relate what each character would logically know about the lands surrounding you.


Act 3 is open for play, like I've said. I'll return the Experience thread to its original position and sticky Act 3. I'm still waiting for new subforums to open so we can reorganize this game in a more ascetic fashion.

 

[HoratioAtTheBridge]

I'm not really sure what I can add to the scene in the camp that I didn't specify before. Nkemdilim's speedily but methodically packing up the camp essentials, tossing out anything that's not of immediate survival importance except the cube. I'll hold off on posting until something happens to change that situation. The delaying actions outside of camp are more important anyway.

 

[xarvh]

We should have attacked Miss Fang's crew, stolen the cube with the ants and run away, if they are our enemies the WH won't harm them.


But they were too connected with Miss Fang for the WH not to find out... =(


So we could have even gone south, it's so much warmer and comfy! =)

 

[Aurethius]

I'll make a post that will lay out the scene for what LM and Miss Fang can see. Xarvh, did you want Broken Heron to go on the mountaintop with the increasing darkness, or join Miss Fang and LM?

 

[xarvh]

No, BH is climbing to the mountaintop.


He needs to be visible, far, and in a good position to start the avalanche should it become necessary.


He'll also pick up a log on the way, probably not much wood on the mountain top.