Not to double post, or anything...
but session 16 was magnificent last night.

The game has continued on the path towards a school socio-drama, mystery and spookiness.  I've posted Session 15 and Session 16 on the GS site.  

 some fun parts..
AS the PCs finally have their spellbooks given back and now actually have a few spells in there.  A big event...
(To Les'z): your spellbooks just got given back, you have perfect note and Laugh in yours
Vee: "Hmm? Oh, I got Lodestone and Zipper."
(To Vee): you can hear, however, almost in the back of your head, an occasional waft of music again
LordVreeg (GM): Jessie.." ReallY? I Got Find Water and...Pisswater."
Pholian Mar: "Pisswater?"
LordVreeg (GM): this breaks up everyone...
lots of laughing
she laughs as well. "I'm trying to read it..."
"I guess it makes water pretty undrinkable"
Bosh.." I would say...I will watch my drinking round you....."
Pholian Mar: "That's an odd spell."
LordVreeg (GM): Jessie gives a lopsided smile, " well, these are supposed to be the basics, built to practise one"
Les'z: I got Perfect Note and Laugh
LordVreeg (GM): Grfank, " perfect for you"
Gregoir, " no way, Les'z doesn't even need a spell for Laughing..."
Christo..."well I am not tempted in the least. I can already see 2 spirits wandering around the GQ, I AM NOT BRINGING THEM OVER FOR A CHAT"
Pholian Mar: I chuckle at Gregoir's words "True, true that."

when the organ music starts to drive Vee a bit crazy...
Vee: "Anyone else hear any music?
Pholian Mar: "No, and I sure hope I won't."
LordVreeg (GM): Jessie, "and tomorrow is Fastak, we'll be over that way anyways"
Pholian Mar: "Last thing I need is more crazy."
LordVreeg (GM): Bosh, " Nope. got a tune in your head?"
Vee: "
"Organ music.
Pholian Mar: "By Llum, I have no intention of ending up in a big house listening to the animated armours" he continues to rant on
Les'z: "whose organ?"
LordVreeg (GM): Christo..."no, I see a few spirits outside, but nothing close enough to hear"
Pholian Mar: "Oh by Pablar's mercy, not organ music. Organ music is never good."
"It's all ominous."
Les'z: "only if it is in a minor key"
LordVreeg (GM): Grfank.." More Moog's mercy, but still I hear nothing. How loud to you is it, Vee?"
(From Les'z): nobody liked my organ comment
(To Les'z): hahahah
Vee: "Loud enough to be clear."
Pholian Mar: "So...is it low or high key?"
(To Vee): comes and goes, but the organ is playing some very old song....
Les'z: it must be an Artificer Organ
(To Vee): http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_GDFV-eqGY
Vee: "It's organ music. Sounds really old."
LordVreeg (GM): christo..." is it strange that it cheers me up someone else other than Pholain and I is havng this experience?"
Pholian Mar: I chuckle nervously, blushing a little, then nod to Les'z.


then the group decides on a late night foray...
LordVreeg (GM): Bosh..."To Christo's point....if the white mist starts coming up, I am so running my ass back here and playing Bael"
Vee: "Sword Arcanas, I think."
Pholian Mar: I pale a little as Bosh mentions that "Yeah...we all do that if the mist rises."
LordVreeg (GM): Grfank...." I am not familair with any of this"
Pholian Mar: "Especially if that horned odd guy comes around, then just run. Seriously, the rest is just creepy but he's....something else."
LordVreeg (GM): Gregoir..."Long story. "
Les'z: He wasn't visible to me
Pholian Mar: "Trust me Les'z, I'd much more have your talent than mine."
(From Pholian Mar): I was so tempted to say "yours doesn't rip off people's hands" but too early to say that IC
Les'z: I am not sure what my talent is good for yet (sigh)
LordVreeg (GM): Bosh.."Grfank, we had a run in with some gnomic Swords Arcanic,,,and they've tracked us ever since
Pholian Mar: "Well, at least it doesn't...but yeah, those jerks."
I pick up some energy after coming back to the familiar topic
"I have some scores to settle with one of them, so I'm all for going out."
(To Pholian Mar): bottom of here....for the image http://celtricia.pbworks.com/w/page/67725545/Collegium%20Arcana%20Play%20Notes
(From Les'z): what is it going to take to learn these spells
(From Pholian Mar): I remember him - I also remember he was a leader of some banned fraternity that dealt in blood, just can;'t remember it's name.
(To Les'z): well, you have 2
(From Les'z): well, i am thinking there is more to it than just memorizing them?
Pholian Mar: "So...Vee?"
(From Les'z): i can cast out of the book?
(From Les'z): or do we study them
(To Les'z): once it is in your book, and your book is close by, you can cast it
LordVreeg (GM): Bosh..."I'm....taking my book with me"
Christo..." yeah...not me. If I need to find a spirit, something is VERY wrong"
Vee: "I'm still not sure why you want to go out."
LordVreeg (GM): Bosh stops dead
Pholian Mar: "Why, you don't?"
LordVreeg (GM): Gregoir..." we were going out to find the music"
Gregoir..."if it is going to make it hard to sleep"
(From Pholian Mar): I look at Gregoir veeeery closely when he's not looking
LordVreeg (GM): Bosh.." But if you don't need to, all good"
Vee: "I guess I'll go. Since only I can hear it..."
(From Pholian Mar): Doesn't he act a little -too- keen?
(To Pholian Mar): he seems eager to do things, yes
Pholian Mar: "Well, I'm up for anything that won't be my fault for a change."
LordVreeg (GM): Gregoir..." Ok. Me, Bosh, Pholian, Vee...Anyone else"
Bosh..." I like how you just assume I'm going..." in a joking tone

Next group session in a week.  No intermezzo, due to the group being 'In Medias'.  About to explore the source of the organ music out in the Golden Quad in the dark night.....

And the Dexdemits are on for tonight, trying to find the source of the strange organ music...

Roger that.

http://celtricia.pbworks.com/w/page/67725545/Collegium%20Arcana%20Play%20Notes

Updated play page and added session 17 to the linked pages. As we said, we will be playing weekly until this 'adventure' period ends, since we cannot do intermezzo sessions whist the group is investigating Gronth Hall.

For any who are interested in this game, we probably will have room in a month to add in.

On tonight, as the late-night exploration of Gronth hall commences

Session 18 in the books.
Spooky exploration in the bricked passages under Gronth Hall.
moving through an arched library, and the group of students dealt with their first Combat, when a pair of 2' wide spiders jumped at them...

and they found a white cat.
http://celtricia.pbworks.com/w/page/67725545/Collegium%20Arcana%20Play%20Notes

Session 19 next week.

Some high points...

with the PCs who are necro sensitive creeping out the others...
(To Les'z): you hear, way and far back, so slight you doubt, a babble of voices in the back of your head
LordVreeg (GM): Christo...."Pholian, any of your around? Mine have all taken off"
Bosh...."Orcus' Anus, my spooky friends...."
Les'z: "good news -- you all aren't insane, i am hearing voices in my head"
Pholian Mar: I glance at Christo "Well, I think they are, but they come and go so to speak. I can't really see them."
(To Pholian Mar): the sophisticate...sniffs...."voices, they say...."
LordVreeg (GM): A kinder voice..."the dead are indeed restles"
Pholian Mar: ..."Okay that's not one of mine."
"Oh yeah they warned there were some of the ghosts ahead. And the Klaxik with the axe from the last time."
LordVreeg (GM): Bosh..."ummm does that always happen?"
Les'z: "who said that"
Pholian Mar: "The nice guy I think."
(To Vee): Pholian's backpack is flashing silver and green, btw
Les'z: "i never heard him before"
Vee: "Pholian, something's going on with your backpack."
"The statues, I think."
LordVreeg (GM): Christo, agitated..."Bael's sweatiness, I never thought I'd feel so lonely without them"
Pholian Mar: I look into my backpack
Les'z: By Oroskin's foreskin, there is a lot of god cursing going on

Les'z: a two foot spider is a good bit bigger than a cat
LordVreeg (GM): wider
Pholian Mar: ooc: Ah, phew. In that case all good if we die.
ooc I was afraid we'd be literally wizards killed by cats.
LordVreeg (GM): ooc hahahahah
Pholian Mar: "Which one of you did that?!" I shout as I try to manoeuvre to the next spider.
LordVreeg (GM): ooc you note christo holding her candle in both hands, over her head, chanting
Les'z: "dont assume it is dead just because it hit a wall"
(To Vee): doing what now
(To Les'z): you can swing...
(From Les'z): the only spell christo got was corpse candle... is she summoning something?

Most certainly on for tomorrow night...when, despite preparing a 64 salespersons for a huge Memorial day event and getting the marketing ready for it, I will continue with the first year student's exploration of the strange tunnels under Gronth Hall.  I'm enjoying the strange, old stuff the group keeps finding...

FullGroup Session 19 last night...
Spooky, crazy...fun.

" Gregoir..."something about the history of the Cairn Night...
Pholian Mar: I look at Les'z to confirm
Les'z: the scroll is in Makerspeak, I guess you know more about ti than i do
Greg
 Gregoir.."Cairn Night...undead hordes...yo. Tough scroll..
'Bosh..."I'd give my left tit to Inkmisa to take that back with us"
(To Vee): yes
Vee: "Let me give it a try."
Pholian Mar: "Why do you assume we can't?
Les'z: Are you talking about the scroll Bosh?
or the cat
(From Vee): Vee has 1 level in Magetongue (+8 bonus), and 2 levels in Basic Read/Write (+9 bonus).
 Bosh..." the scroll....so amazing..."
(To Vee): ok...come over and look, and roll
 the cat bounces over to Vee
 
Vee walks over and takes a look at the scroll.
Les'z: We have accumulated a number of things, why not a scroll too
Pholian Mar: I chuckle "I think the cat's already chosen the new owner"


A dynamic that has been huge is that some of the players are sensitive to certain types of magic, so they see and hear things the others don't...makes for a really, really weird and surreal experience.  2 of the students are Necromantic sensitives, so they carry on conversations with spirits...
" Bosh..."Redit is "ownership" in Anarch...and Venolvian comes from Anarch."
Les'z: "and for the record, that cat appears to be a cat"
 the white cat jumps on top of the old desk
Pholian Mar: "Well, Mentat sounds kind of obvious..."
"Given Les'z talents"
(To Pholian Mar): sly voice..."someone has a fingerbone you'd be far more useful with...maybe we could find a way to get it."
 Christo..." the idiot also thinks we should have brought Kaffee"
Les'z: "so Bosh you think Rekit in Venolvian is the same as Redit in Anarch?"
(From Pholian Mar): I whisper "A fingerbone? And tell the way."
 Bosh..." yep, based on some other derivations
Pholian Mar: "Why should we bring Kaffee? Since when do the spirits drink."
"Maybe it means - It's supposed to belong to the Mind Talented?"
(To Pholian Mar): well, the snotty one..the snotty omwo...really could use to join the spirit world....
(From Pholian Mar): I look between Vee and Les'z. Does Les'z have more snot than usual?
 Christo...."no, it's just the Idiot's way of saying we sit and ponder well...he's a jerk"
(To Pholian Mar): ok. funny. no,
(From Pholian Mar): I mumble "Did you just suggest I should kill my friend?"
(From Pholian Mar): "Or that there's another spirit trapped here?"
Pholian Mar: "At least he's one jerk, I have four."
(To Pholian Mar): the sly voice...."kill? so harsh...eliminate."
Pholian Mar: "How about you go eat a duck, you qack?"
"Uh, sorry."
Christo laughs....", well, I mean the mummy...I call him the idiot, as he is so simple minded"
Les'z: "you people need to quit hearing things"

http://celtricia.pbworks.com/w/page/67725545/Collegium%20Arcana%20Play%20Notes   the links to the play page and the sessions.

And we will be on tonight, as the exploration of the basement of Gronth Hall continues...roll20.net, celtricia, at 9pm eastern

Full Session 20, oh, with a really bad injury, the fun of the late night exploration is replaced by cold, hard reality, and the students needing to loudly enter and seek help from a dorm....the play centered around the (uber-lawful) players spilling the beans about their illicit exploration into the basement of Gronth hall, and the attack of the cloaked undead...
and then, getting Gregoir Healed, while the white mist comes up.....

Here is the page on how Damage is adjudicated in the Collegium Game.


Taking Damage in the Collegium Game.
 
In the Collegium Game, we are splitting traditional Hit Points in half. The lower half are considered physical HP, real wounds and actual bodily damage. The upper half is to be considered partially stamina, endurance and ability. These are called Physical HP and Endurance HP, respectively.  Hit Point in our game are low anyway, so this is designed to help the smart player manage them better.  It is also to better represent the physical condition better.  In most circumstances, characters are supposed to take Endurance damage until their Endurance HP are gone, before they start taking actual, Physical HP.

The upside is that players regain the upper half, the Endurance HP after a good night's sleep. All of them. They can also regain 1 endurance HP after a half hour break after a combat, And players can also roll their HP regeneration skill once per injury with a gulp of wine after said injury.  The idea here is that these Endurance Hit Points represent loss of wind and adrenaline, knowing when to rest and how to take a shot (and knowing how to take a shot is a critical part of real combat).  So they come back pretty quickly, and all of the Endurance HitPoints come back after a night of rest, which means 6 hours of rest in an 8 hour period.

The downside is that physical HP heal more slowly from rest, unless one uses by magic.  A character must make a Fortitude CC to gain back one HP during the night, and only if they make that roll by 25 or make a critical success can they heal 2 points up that night.  A failure means no HP returned, and a critical fail means that the wound actually got worse.  Please note that healing skills can be used to improve these rolls.

So if Patricus the Warrior of Underearth  has 10 HP, he splits them into 2 tracks, Physical and Endurance. HP 1-5 are physical, hp 6-10 are Endurance HP. Patricus can take up to 5 HP a day and still recover and be in peak form the next day. It is only when he takes more damage that he starts dealing with sprains, cuts, strains, wounds, etc.
If Patricus gains a few levels and has 15 HP, he would have 7 Endurance Hit Point and 8 Physical Hit points.

Please note that a PC can never recover more endurance HP then they have physical HP. So if Patricus Takes 7 hits of damage one day, 5 Endurance related and 2 Physical, if he misses his Fortitude CC the next day and remains at 3 physical HP, he can only regenerate 3 Endurance HP the next day.  This has a long term affect, without the favor of the gods.
Also note that since a character cannot have more Endurance HP than Physical, in the case of an uneven number of Max HP, the extra one goes to Physical HP.
 
Please note that players and NPCs can decide if their shots avoid Physical HP. For most combat circumstances, the player takes Endurance HP until they are gone, then moves onto physical HP, though certain spells and critical hits go on both.
 
 
I like the way this separates what damage really relates to a player character, and has an in game effect of allowing the players to stay in a game longer.  Maybe I am crazy, but I find this makes more sense to me, as well.
Basically, during the game, the players keep track of two Hit Point sets instead of one, or two damage tracks, if you prefer.  The damage is always taken off the Endurance Hit Points first, and the Physical Hit Points are affected only after the Endurance Hit Points are gone.  Healing works the same way in most cases.

After that, the normal damage taking rules take place.

Hmm.
Just got back from Minnesota, should be able to be on tonight.

OK, updates after full session 21 ...

First of all, things are going great so far.  we will probably go back to to intermezzos again after next week, now that it looks that the 'adventure' phase is ending.  The core group of PC and NPCs is really gelling and creating a deeper feel.  Very pleased.  Still probably have room for one or two players, but the current three have a great dynamic.

Vee: "Les'z, you're such a child."
 Gregoir..."and then I wake up to the smoking hot omwo prefect..."
Les'z smiles, "indeed! Why thank you Vee"
Pholian Mar: I laugh "Don't ever change LEs'z."
Vee: "Please do. Quickly."
 Gregoir, shakes his head as you go up the stairs..."I really...hope you all fill me in"
Les'z: To Greg, "Dude, you will need to grow a few inches to impress Susanni"
Pholian Mar: "You were Pablar in the flesh, Greg, to put things bluntly."
Les'z: "What's the last thing you remember, (since we all know what the first thing you remember is)"
Gregoir,  he laughs..."indeed, for here I am again...les'z, Rolling over when I was trying to hold off that smelly robed thing"
 Bosh..."well, you weren't so successful..."
Pholian Mar: "Fortunately, we had little help from an unexpected Mummy."
Les'z: "yes it smelled like a combination of vomit and feces that had been sauteed in purest liver oil"
'then Christo's friends helped us out"
 Gregoir smiles..."sounds about right....and my back was tenderized?"
Pholian Mar: "That's a very poetic description, Les'z."
 Gregoir.." Christo's Friend?"
Christo..."The idiotic one."
Les'z: "we didn't think you were going to walking and talking with us so soon..."
 Gregoir, his face clouding as you go up the stairs to your area..."that bad huh?"
Les'z: "then we brought you to Kravent hall and tried to get help from a bunch of drugged out kids"
 Bosh..."we thought we'd be shriving you next"

very, very good interplay.

Also, as per the post above, we are going to a split hit point system, and make sure you update your characters.
http://celtricia.pbworks.com/w/page/81242390/Collegium%20System%20for%20Hit%20Points

we will be on next Thursday.

BTW Rincewind, did you change your HP yet?
And out of curiosity, how much skill levels have you gained?