LSO OOC Thread III

[Nuke]

I know about the Gonto game, but since you were running it I signed up, hopefully we'll be in it for the long haul.

[JadedDM]

Well, that's pretty flattering then.

We've heard from everyone but spyguy now, who I suspect will return soon now that the holiday season is wrapping up.

So for now, we should discuss the future of the game. First off, who is in favor of starting over at level 1 and who wants the new party to start at level 6-ish (basically, 40k XP). There are obvious pros and cons to either way.

The second thing to discuss is plot focus. I was thinking the PCs would be the crew of a ship. The captain will be an NPC, but the idea is eventually the PCs will get their own ship (even a fleet of ships at some point) and start deciding for themselves where to go and what to do.

The question is, though, what kind of ship? I have a few options to discuss:

Diplomatic - Much like Saren's ship, the Seleya, the primary objective is to help negotiate treaties, offer aid and succor to those suffering (refugees, survivors of disasters and attacks, etc.) and otherwise bring peace and stability to the islands. The ultimate goal would be bringing the islands together in harmony, as they are all very at odds with each other at the moment.

Pirates -Much like the Poison Curse crew, the party are pirates. They attack ships and settlements and steal anything of value. They may also smuggle or deal in slavery, as well. The ultimate goal is just to get rich through any means. As an alternative, they could also be privateers--'legal' pirates that are sanctioned by a government and sent to attack the ships of enemy nations. In which case, the ultimate goal would be to ruin the other nations and bolster your own.

Pirate Hunters - In this case, the party are basically pirates who hunt other pirates. They seek out pirate ships and dens and raid them for all they are worth. They probably attack other criminals and their ilk, like smugglers or slavers, as well. They may be independents who just really hate pirates or they might be working for a specific government to end piracy.

Explorers - The party attempts to seek out new life and civilization, to boldly go where no one has gone before. They are explorers, cartographers, and historians that search the open sea for undiscovered islands. However, in always facing the unknown, one never knows if the islands they find will be hostile or tropical paradises. And they are a long way from home, if things go wrong.

Merchants - Much like the crew of the Bullring, the party are merchants. Although they are trying to just make a living with little trouble, trouble often seeks out merchant vessels. Pirates are always on the prowl, not to mention sea monsters, bad weather and anything else that might threaten them. Will they try and play it safe or take big risks to get the best profit?

Keep in mind, these choices aren't zero sum. For instance, if you don't choose 'pirate hunters' that doesn't mean you'll never fight pirates. Pirates are a threat to anyone traveling the seas, you just won't be focused on seeking them out. Or you may be hired to guard a merchant ship or explore a new island even if you don't choose 'merchant' or 'explorer,' it just won't be the main focus of the game.

What are your thoughts?

[spyguy1503]

You are correct that I will return after the holidays. I loved the game, but Gallath feels like he has reached an end. However, I would love to run another with you guys. I, personally lean toward Pirate Hunters. I think it'd be neat to have the new campaign start about 5 years after the old one. I would like to run a first mate leader type, maybe as a brother/sister combo with another PC? I don't care which side I am.

[JadedDM]

Yeah, I feel like this party has run its course and mostly completed everything they set out to do.

I was considering a bit of a time skip, as well. I had been thinking three years instead of five, though. (Since we were going to do a three year time skip anyway).

I also want to implement the house rules and modifications I came up with for Gontoria to this game, as well.

Anyway, that's one vote for Pirate Hunters. What about everyone else?

[Nuke]

IMHO, I'd say merchant/pirate hunters works. I'd also say new toons as well, Val isn't really suited for that type on endeavor.

[Breila]

I'm a star trek fan, so of course diplomatic and exploration would be my first choices.
What I couldn't do is pirates. It's too much against my own nature to roleplay that convincingly.
But I'm good for a storm sorcerer on a merchant or pirate hunter ship.

Also, I'd prefer not to start on level 1.

[JadedDM]

I'm a big Star Trek fan, myself.

Okay. That's one vote to start at level 6.

We also have one vote for pirate hunters, one vote for pirate hunters or merchants, and one vote for anything but pirates.

Anyone else have anything to add?

[HorizonsDream]

I kind of like the idea of pirate hunters, but I would like to start out fresh.

[JadedDM]

Sounds like the pirate hunter focus is the most popular one. I can work with that. I have an idea already for a ship and captain. I'll need a plot and I want to make some updates to the setting and the house rules. I'll start work on it soon. I'm taking a couple of weeks off of work next month, and I'll probably be able to get a lot of work done during that time. I can't say for sure when I'll be ready. I don't need to make a whole campaign, just the first chapter, at least. I'll round up everyone who's still willing when it's ready.

I'll leave the forum open for awhile longer, in case there are any questions or anything.

[Nuke]

Cool. There is no rush, we've all been at this for a while, but how about laying out chargen rules and us poor players can roll and discuss?

[JadedDM]

Honestly, I haven't put much thought into it yet. I suppose for character generation, I'll probably just use the new rules for Gontoria. So 4d6 drop the lowest instead of 3d6, all races have the same lifespans as humans, and standard ability adjustments are replaced with everyone getting a +1/-1 to whichever ability scores they want.

Other rule changes:
*Initiative is only rolled once, at the first round, instead of every round.
*Critical hits do x2 damage, instead of rolling twice (e.g., a short sword critical will be 1d6x2 instead of 2d6).
*Increased crossbow damage (1d10 for light, 1d12 for heavy).
*Armorer and Weaponsmithing proficiencies are reliant on STR now, not INT.
*There is no longer an attack penalty when trying to knock out an opponent with non-lethal fighting.

But rolling? That one's tricky. Even I have given up on Invisible Castle ever returning. And I'd hate to make the rolls for you all. Maybe it would be easier to just move the game over to my site, since it has its own dice roller built into it. Nuke and Horizon are already set up there as it is. I could set up a sub-forum there easily enough.

[Breila]

I would be ready to move to another site, no problem.
But I honestly do not want to start as a level 1 storm sorcerer. Even if I don not play him/her as pacifist as Ouragana was, a level one mage is so vulnerable they're not fun to play for me.
One way out for me is to have him/her as part of a "muscle and brain" PC or NPC team. What do you think?

[JadedDM]

Okay, I set up a new sub-forum at my site. I also set up a recruitment thread. Once you have made an account (if you don't already have one), post here first and I'll add you to the group.

As for starting level, nobody else seems to have an opinion either way on that, so I suppose you win the vote by default, Breila. We'll start at 40,000 XP in the new game.

One way out for me is to have him/her as part of a "muscle and brain" PC or NPC team. What do you think?

Sort of like Caramon and Raistlin in Dragonlance?

[Breila]

Since we start at 40 000 XP, the question is obsolete. But yes, Caramon and Raistlin was what I had in mind.

I tried to register for your site, Jaded, but I didn't get a verification e-mail, so I don't know if it worked.

[JadedDM]

It appears to have gone through now, Breila. Maybe it just needed a bit of time.

Also, come to think of it, I'm not sure it's set up to send a confirmation email. I think anyone who registers gets in right away. It's been a long time since I've messed with registration settings, though, so I can't remember.