JBRam2002

Tales of Maoria: A 5E D&D Adventure

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Ada Mavros

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Mention: @Cardamonelaw | @rush99999 | @The Grey Dust | @The Mighty Hero

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Ada released a sigh of relief when the swordsman returned to their side. This infiltration had already been botched twelve ways to Summer's Eve, and they certainly did not need a potential liability waiting in town when they made it out alive. If might be a better choice of words by the way the goliath charged around.

"A valiant offer," Ada replied to the half elf's suggestion, "but bravado means little if you fall in chains. The rest of us would be hard-pressed to lend you aid if you entered with this barrier in place. And I am loathe to waste more time on the front steps of this manor after our friend has knocked so loudly. We have another entrance provided to us. I suggest we investigate lest we find our quest cut short."

Ada turned to the large man, her hand to her forehead. "My dear Thunderbrain, have you heard of the term subtlety? It refers to the idea that we may not wish to be the center of attention. When entering the lair of an unknown enemy, you do not announce your presence so boldly lest you find yourself a dragon's snack. The strongest among us is not a match for all the cruelty of this world by themselves. I would hate for your canine compatriots to need to find a new master."

Finally, she faced the older man that accompanied them. "My skill with a lockpick is barely passable," she confessed, perhaps with some modesty. "I have not faced a barrier such as this in recent memory, but if you believe it is in our best interest, I am willing to make the attempt. The thief may be a better choice, wherever he now is." A thought crossed her mind, and Ada showed a slight smile. "Perhaps if the two of you mages combine your efforts, I can get us inside with greater ease. Alas, but what little arcane magic I know feeds my bowstring."

Tales of Maoria: A 5E D&D Adventure

Are my posts too long?

Or do we enjoy them?

@The Grey Dust

I certainly won't complain about long and well-written posts.

D&D 5e - High Seas and Tall Tales

"Jill Orion, at your service," the aasimar captain replied as the two newcomers boarded. She in turn introduced the others on deck, being careful to not divulge more than she knew they would say themselves. With introductions over, she turned her attention back to the Theullai. "I apologize for my allies' attention spans. I assure you they are quite focused when the need arises. In the meantime, we shall find your Marid."

With time wasting away, I called Eliza back to the deck to cast her water-breathing spell on us all before we headed into the deeps. It would only last a few hours, but I had faith that the aforementioned town would supply us with whatever else was required. If not, we could return to the ship in failure. Come to think of it, I doubt the theullai would have appreciated such a failure, and neither would I. The marid was as good as dead with us on his trail!

For those who are unaware, the Elemental Plane of Water in which we currently resided is an infinite expanse of water in all directions. There are intermittent pockets of air and land or debris that exist for people to live on or in, such as the massive bubble of air our ship now drifted in. Our journey into the deeps, without a guide, would be sure to result in our becoming lost without some sort of landmark along the journey. Thankfully, the theullai had offered one of his scouts.

As we waited for the wizard's ritual, the terms were set. We were entitled to whatever we found, either in the marid's lair or in the road along the way. We would then return with some proof of the marid's demise. As proof of our deputization, the theullai handed me a crystal of ice in the shape of a wolf's head which I then hung around my neck. At that, we bid farewell to the Gatekeeper and dove into the water, following one of the drakes deeper and deeper, hoping we were being led in the correct direction. After an hour of swimming, we approached a city carved into what appeared to be a large formation of coral. As we approached, the drake we followed turned around and darted away as several of the merfolk guards approached bearing tridents.

"State your purpose!" called one of the guards, brandishing his trident towards the group. The guards behind him stood at the ready as if they expected the group to turn on them at any second. "Be quick about it, or feel the wrath of Poseidon!"

Tales of Maoria: A 5E D&D Adventure

@The Mighty HeroRoll20 is what I use for my maps. It's free to use, but paying also gives additional features (most of which are more useful in live games). I also have a few dungeon modules that I could zip up and send to you, if that would be helpful. They are sized to Roll20's grid sizes.

I hope this isn't taken poorly. I see where Dust is coming from with the railroad comments. I was hoping we would have a chance to talk (both among ourselves and to our NPC ally) before arriving at the mansion. I think in most live games, the conversation would have normally been easier to achieve, bit a lot of us are waiting for responses (either from other PCs or the DM), and things can get overlooked. I certainly do not envy your personal situation, and my heart goes out to you. I hope once things settle back into a rhythm, you will have the time and energy to give us a bit more info in the posts.

One typical suggestion I would give: unless something is directly stated to us, we don't know it exists. The DM posts are typically used in PbP to set the scene. I suggest writing said post without considering any DMPC's perspective, and then tack on his reactions and actions on top of the DM post. It's certainly difficult to describe every aspect of what the PCs see, but on the other hand, we do have Perception rolls we could make and questions we could ask. I think most of us would request that we would not need to ask for important setting information that everyone would automatically see, such as what Dust mentioned about how tall the building is, how many obvious entrances, what info is on the map of the manor, etc.

On the other hand, asides from a goliath and his basketball team of pooches (Air Bud: D&D edition?), no one has even really stepped foot passed the gate (at least until Crow Eater's rolls). So we would have limited knowledge from this distance anyways... but I'm not really sure what the distance from the gate to the door is, or even if it's bright enough outside to see clearly.

The feeling of railroading doesn't fully come from a lack of description. Our characters were discussing a plan in the tavern: to get more info on our journey to the manor and get to know each other ever so slightly more. In the next post, we were at the manor with the chosen plan not enacted upon. Again, I'm not trying to be rude or point fingers, just hoping to give constructive criticism. Perhaps one way in the future that this could be avoided would be to have the NPC monologue at us along the journey, explaining more info as seems fit, and then giving us a chance to respond one way or another before we are at our destination. The reason that conversation along the road is helpful is because while our group is in public and considering illegal action, they are less likely to talk about themselves; and while we are at the front door of the supposed enemy, everyone is more guarded or looking for danger. But as I don't generally believe in retcons unless necessary, I feel like we can all move forward and hopefully not have similar issues in the future.

Fabula Nova Crystallis: War of Transgression

Can I join?

@ChickenTeriyaki

Hey hey. We have room for more! Send me a pm after you read through the OP and I can answer any questions you may have. Then we can get you all set up.

Tales of Maoria: A 5E D&D Adventure

I agree; it's fairly railroady. But I'd personally rather get into the game and see what's in store. Hopefully future quests are less railroady. In the meantime, I've found a motivation for my PC. Sure, more information and planning would be nice, which is why my PC suggested it...

Tales of Maoria: A 5E D&D Adventure

<Snipped quote by The Grey Dust>

LOL, not going to make IC choices based on what will net my character the most Exp and Loot. :D

@Cardamonelaw

Actually, making in-character choices based on what experiences you gain and what equipment / money you would acquire is perfectly acceptable and normal. Heck, that's how we make nearly all of our choices in real life. In D&D, your character trades their safety for money and gear, as well as new experiences, translating to learning new ways or means to reach your goals.

I just know if I spent several hours as a DM creating a dungeon, and a single player decides to not even entertain the thought of entering it, I might entertain the thought of not having them participate in the future. It's frankly a tad rude to the DM and your fellow players. You're essentially saying, "Sorry, your hook wasn't good enough for me. I'd rather do nothing than participate." If the group said that, that's another matter entirely.

100 Days of Summer

@Prints Avoid | @Joshua Tamashii

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Ronnie was right, of course. They weren't here to throw pity parties. They were here to throw summer parties. He followed Ronnie inside without another word, silently checking his phone as the text arrived. "A pool party works, too," Brandon said quietly as he headed for the stairs, hoping that his room was somewhere at the top of them. Thankfully, Elizabeth was kind enough to label rooms, and he found his bag sitting neatly on his new bed.

Brandon looked around at the room with some awe. At home, he shared a room with his brother until he had headed off to college, but during the summers, he had to share again. This room was probably twice as large as their shared room. If nothing else, Brandon was happy for some privacy over the summer in this giant house before heading off to college to live in a dormitory. Brandon dug through his duffel bag, attempting to put away anything in his way as he searched for his swim trunks. The closet and dresser began to fill partway as he hurriedly shoved clothes where he hoped he would find them later. A second door in the room led into a bathroom which seemed to be shared by someone else, but the other person wasn't there yet. Brandon was sure he'd learn the occupant sooner or later.

A few minutes passed, and Brandon stepped out of his room wearing plain green swimming trunks and a simple green loose T-shirt. He had always loved the pool, but always felt uncomfortable not wearing a shirt, despite everyone else generally going without one. As he arrived, he noticed that Ronnie had already jumped into the pool and Amelia was dipping her hand in at the edge. "Not going swimming?" Brandon asked, surprised. "Well, I was gonna ask if you wanted to be my partner for Chicken, but if you're not swimming, I guess I could ask someone else."

Beginner's DnD 5e Game - Group 2

"You would use me for a pincushion?!" the drake screamed out angrily as it dive-bombed towards Yvah. Summoning all the fury its diminutive stature could hold, it unleashed a blast of fiery energy towards the entrance of the cathedral, setting the wooden doors on fire in the stone doorway. As the trio ducked out of the way to lessen the impact, the drake cackled. "Your demise is tonight!"

>Mechanics: Yvah, Daisy, and Ulor must make a DEX Save or take 22 fire damage, half on a passed save. Daisy must also make a Constitution Save to maintain concentration on Hex. Daisy fails her DEX Save but passes the CON Save. Ulor and Yvah fail their saves, and fall unconscious.

Ulor fails his first Death Save with a 3.

>Mentioned: @Ermine, @Ms Ravenwinter, @Oraculum

At the end of Ceria's turn, she may make another WIS save to end the paralysis effect, which she passes with a 19. Ceria is no longer paralyzed!

>Next: @Turbowraith

Current Battle Map!

Tales of Maoria: A 5E D&D Adventure

I'm not entirely sure why one would choose to do so. I have attempted to give your PC an alternate motivation for joining in. Staying out is likely not going to be enjoyable, and we may never return to join that PC's story. Plus, it's possibly thrown off the dungeon balance for the DM, depending how far ahead he plans.

I would like to see your character continue with ours if at all possible @Cardamonelaw