((If I had anything to say I would. But I don't.))
((Last time you said nothing, you left Karl to go check out the dragon himself. Before that? A werewolf ripped apart a guy in front of your face. I'm fairly certain there's going to come a point in time where I'm going to say "ok, they aren't doing anything, here's the wake up call" and have everyone who says "go to the next room" and leave the others behind and then stuff happens for both groups. Beleive me, I was tempted to say "Ok, Karl, Alexander, Nadarr, Cromwell and Thoradin go towards the cave while Weston and Isbat sit there twiddling their thumbs". The thing is I know Isbat in real life and though he doesn't say much on here since he's busy with a lot of RL things, he tries to keep in contact with me through other methods of contact (PMs, etc.) saying "if this happens, do this" and so on and so on. USEC was actually busy though, which is why he went on auto-pilot, but he tried to be active in the party. If this game goes on with my assumptions on what the party does, then it isn't a D&D game anymore; its pretty much me telling you what happens to characters random people came up with. And in that case, the party would probably have died at the first shadow creature encounter, probably got more then half of the party wiped by Archuther (despite being a stereotypical space marine, he metagamed slightly so he didn't kill everyone. If a real space marine came into D&D, there would be a slaughter akin to hitler killing the jews, but in this case, its Archuther killing EVERYTHING NON-HUMAN OR RESEMBLE A HUMAN WITH NO FLAWS. Meaning 99% of the races in D&D die. Dwarves, tall halflings and SOME half-elves would live, but the rest probably die. Also, the party would never have made it out of the mountains, as well as probably fighting and losing a party member or two from the rival party in a fight where no one really wins.
The more you guys interact with things, even doing simple idle things while you wait for the others to do things, like sharpen your dagger, read a book or practice a spell, I commend you for going out of your way doing that. Take Symon for example who, when the party had down time, he went to his temple. Now that he's unfortunatley dead, a quest hook involving his devotion is down the drain. But its things like this I commend and welcome. It IS a Role Playing game, and what would it be without the role playing? It would be an idiot sitting at his laptop rolling a die for something that is almost impossible to be immersed in. Some battles are fun to watch, like the last one, but some of them, like the vryloka fight with bouchart, tend to be like Hydlide where you bash each other until someone falls over and those fights aren't interesting or fun. Its also why I make so many custom monsters because, in the RL D&D game, its tense, epic and fast paced. This one is slow, and most standard enemies have nothing special about them to grasp the attention of you as players. The Burrower, for example, since it died REALLY early, no one got to notice that its fortitude and reflex defences changed as its reach increased or decreased by coming out or going back into the ground. So as you would find it harder to hit with your spells, Cromwell (I think?) would find it easier as some of his attacks target fortitude, and Nadarr wouldn't change at all since will and AC remains the same. I'm always trying to come up with stuff to grasp your interest, and though I do admit, the Wurm was a little rushed due to Hanzoku's thinking, it was probably a huge surprise for the party and made half of you go "oh sh**...". Yes, it was fairly weak, but I had to make it possible to win but still require you all to think outside of "I roll a d20, I smack it, I win" and still having a challenge (with Hanzoku's thinking yet again, after being devoured, he pulls the one thing I didn't expect him to do: push the insides of the wurm out 7 squares in all directions, making it explode). I'm still working on encounters that you haven't even come close to reaching, because its supposed to be some of the more engaging fights. I actually suspect that after some of these encounters, the party will either form a closer bond or have a deep hatred for one another, or even mildly force the characters, and indirectly you as players, into doubting your actions, questioning everything you do from that point on. I'm fairly certain by the end of this fortress, the party will either be close enough to be, instead be a group of blackmailed people and mercenaries from a shady guy in a black cloak, an actual adventuring group.
(And here comes a rant, putting it in a spoiler for you guys since this is already dragging on and I had one of those moments where I just let everything flow without stop)
On that note, take a look at the party as a whole. Does anyone trust one another? Do you really know enough about those you're working with? Ignoring the fact they are player characters, does your character actually trust and have a bond with the others? Though its difficult with some of you (apiks, sirus, death9980, mastahcheese) with your characters since you weren't part of the original group, the party is actually held together by a single contract. And once the party is done said contract, what then? Is the party close enough to continue doing more adventures in far off lands (aka planes/worlds I have yet to make), to help each other out in situations where if you doubt even a single percent of your ally, you're both dead, and to stand as one against whatever comes their way? And, despite clashing ideals and morals, can the party look past the flaws of their fellows and stand together against a common foe, whoever it may be? And if the party faltered, and all began to fall apart, would you, as a character (not as a player), help your fellow party members or would you abandon them and save yourself?
In this fortress, I came in with a simple idea of a dwarf fortress with a D&D party going through it. Though the travels have been long and harsh, losing many men (and one woman (technically speaking)) in the process, and though they dragged on, the party got to understand one another, bit by bit. Nadarr, who is a werewolf and monster in the eyes of many, was spared by the party when they knew it was him. As Aurel's dark secret of vampirism and working with Nadarr beforehand came to light, the party didn't cast out the dragonborn and vryloka, despite being against most people, if not especially Karl's, ideals and morals. When in Amn, the party didn't leave Aurel behind due to the fact he was hunted by his own kin. And when Archuther brought to light that Aurel wasn't a human, the party maintained turning a blind eye against his deeds and acts, knowing that some evils are necessary.
This fortress was simple at first. Now? Now its become something so complicated, my final project for Computer Science looked easy to understand (and even the teacher had problems helping me troubleshoot the entire thing it was so complicated). This fortress is no longer a simple dungeon delve, but now a trial brought before the party.
You will be tested on how well the solidity of the party is. You will be tested on which holds higher on you: duty or morals. You will be tested on looking past the metagame and viewing it as you are as a character. You will be tested, not by rolls, but with your thoughts, actions and words. And you will be tested when the stakes couldn't be higher.
I welcome you to the Uristash; you are my honored guests
[/rant]))
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Topic: Lets Play Dungeons and Dragons (4th Edition): 86 Days Remain... (Read 346685 times)