hmmm,seeming lonely in the tavern tonight.
Self am wondering where are erstwhile companions...

Quote from: Pseudoephedrine;400846Cool, you're a bird master, eh?

Yes, that's the idea.  

I'll post a brief bio later this week or this weekend.

Quote from: skofflox;400988hmmm,seeming lonely in the tavern tonight.
Self am wondering where are erstwhile companions...

Since I'm in the midst of one of my seasonal moves, I will not be able to participate properly for a few days (most likely this weekend).

Norel has been wandering for a while and wound up here.  Unfortunately, since things are slow he has been a fixture in the common room, and has been drinking more than he thinks he should.  It has kind of put him in a sour-mashed mood most of the time, but when he gets really drinking he becomes a happy drunk.

Quote from: Aos;400920As a matter of fact, go a head without me. School starts tomorrow and I don't have the time today, nor will I later in the week to give this the attention it deserves. Thanks.

I'm sorry to see you go. If anything changes, lemme know and you're always welcome back.

Sighard would probably be in the town as he was passing through after finishing a bounty and stayed the winter. He would have done only minor jobs around to support himself until he can travel on.

Quote from: Akrasia;401036Since I'm in the midst of one of my seasonal moves, I will not be able to participate properly for a few days (most likely this weekend).

No worries mate, I just started a new job, so things are hectic on my end too.

I have a couple of questions about the village of Breakwood:

-- What's the name of the inn that we're staying at in the village of Breakwood?  
-- Is there only one inn in Breakwood?
-- Are we all staying at the same inn currently?

Quote from: Drohem;401399I have a couple of questions about the village of Breakwood:

-- What's the name of the inn that we're staying at in the village of Breakwood?  
-- Is there only one inn in Breakwood?
-- Are we all staying at the same inn currently?

The inn is the Crowned Lumberjack, the Lumberjack for short. It's the only inn in Breakwood, and also the only stone building in the village. It's really more of a small compound, with a low wooden fence surrounding the privy, stables, storehouse, and the central one-story stone building that serves as the drinking hall and where patrons stay. You would all be staying there because it's the only place in the village that provides food and board for travelers.

Etiquette, Style, Formatting and Posting

I know we have a few PCs who are new to PbP, so I'm going to cover some details of PbP now so that we can set expectations. Most of these aren't rules, but they're guidelines I've come up with from years of playing in play-by-post games that I find help things to run smoothly. I'm passing them on as "best practices" for PbP games. Those of you who have played PbP before should find most of them familiar.

Posting

The ideal is at least one post every day from every player, including me. I emphasise "ideal", because I know we all have busy schedules and unexpected absences from the internet and occasionally someone can't get online for a few days.

Even if you're not directly involved with the action for some reason, please feel free to simply drop an aside, or a post on your character's musings, or even some OOC encouragement to the other players. While around a table this can be distracting, in PbP it's much easier to manage, and it conserves the inertia of the game.

If you are going to be absent for an extended period of time, please let us know. I can "puppet" your character in your absence, or another PC can take over if you work it out with them, or we can simply move the spotlight away from your character for a bit. Similarly, if you do need to drop out, for any reason, please let us know. I'm not going to be angry or take it personally, but it allows us to avoid wasting our time waiting for a post that will never come.

Formatting

I'm going to run this game entirely from one thread to which both in-character and out-of-character comments can be posted. This makes it easier to keep on top of what's happening in the game.

To make this work well, it helps to have a clear distinction between posts that are IC and OOC. This prevents confusion as to whether you're "speaking" or your character is.

The default in our game for PCs will be in-character speech or description. If there is no indication otherwise, I will assume that you are speaking in-character, or describing your character's actions, not your own. For my part, if there is no marking, you may assume I am describing things that your character can perceive.

Please distinguish your character's speech from their actions by putting speech in quotation marks, e.g. "How are you? ". I know most people will anyhow,

In posts that are solely OOC, I encourage you to use bold text. The ideal is to be able to tell at a glance whether someone is speaking IC or OOC.

In posts that are mixed IC and OOC, please write the IC text out fully first, and the OOC text afterwards. This helps keep things visually uncluttered.

If you are posting your character's thoughts, memories or private activities that other characters (NPCs or PCs) wouldn't be aware of, please use italics. This lets us keep track of who knows what and avoids confusion about whether you're saying something or merely thinking it.

Style

Please feel free to post short posts as well as long. Short posts can be just as valuable and interesting to the flow of the game. Long posts are welcome when appropriate of course. If you can't think of anything to do that directly bears on the moment, please feel free to post reactions, even if it's just "I watch stoically while they converse."

On a related note, please give the other players space to respond to what your character is doing. If it is a long and complex activity involving several steps, it might be best to write the first part of the activity IC, and post a brief overview of what your plans are. This lets the other players react or "pass" as they feel appropriate.

However, don't feel compelled to wait in the background while another player does something. At a table it helps to have good "traffic management" and do one thing at a time, but in PbP, it's easier to manage several PCs doing different things at once, especially if you're following the above suggestion and leaving space for other PCs to react.

Please don't feel the need for each post to be perfect in terms of spelling, grammar, etc. Not everyone is a native speaker of the language, and even if one is there's dyslexia, etc. I am very accepting of these things, and I'd rather have good players than excellent stylists.

However, I would ask you to make some effort to make sure your posts are clear and intelligible to others. The posting software we use has spell-check built in, and I encourage you to pay attention to those little red lines. If you right-click on a word, a list of possible corrections will appear that may assist you if you do have some difficulty.

For my part, I do occasionally use obscure or idiosyncratic expressions (especially abbreviations in OOC speech), or use peculiar phrasing in order to convey mood. If what I said is incomprehensible for some reason, please let me know and I'll do my best to restate it more clearly and simply.

Finally, I would encourage everyone to write their IC posts from the first-person. If you're not comfortable with that, it's not a crime or anything, but I do find it helps people get into the spirit of their characters.

Etiquette

We'll be using Invisible Castle for dice rolling. You can find the link here: http://invisiblecastle.com/ When you roll dice, please post a link to the roll on Invisible Castle. You can simply copy and paste the URL, I don't need anything fancy.

When you are attempting something that seems like you would probably need to roll for, please proactively roll the dice and post the result along with the description of the action. Please let me know what skill you're using along with the result.

If you're not sure, feel free to ask if you should roll, and what skill is relevant. You may also ask for modifiers to be applied to the roll (or what modifiers apply), but this should be done prior to rolling. I may occasionally apply modifiers after the roll has been posted, but I'm going to reserve the right to do this to my discretion. It is perfectly fine to first describe an action IC, and sort out the details OOC afterwards.

When posting actions, please respect your fellow characters and me by not dictating the in-character reactions or actions of other PCs or NPCs. I may occasionally say something like "You feel a sense of dread" or "The room feels grim and eerie", but I will never take control of your character away without invoking some relevant rule like a mind control spell or the like (and sparingly even then). You are free to react to dread however you please, whether by drawing your sword or fleeing - that's your choice.

To that, I would also say that I do occasionally depart from the rules, but in general I do strive to apply them fairly and reasonably, and my departures are in that vein. I try to explain why I am departing from them if I am. I am also human and occasionally make mistakes, of course. If I do seem to be doing something other than the rules would indicate and I haven't explained why, please let me know and I can at least give you an OOC explanation (which may occasionally be "Because I had forgotten to."

I would recommend that when an action is contested or requires a roll, you phrase your actions in a tentative way, rather than assuming their successful completion. "I swing my sword at his face," or "I'm going to climb the wall" are better than "I slash his eyes out," or "I clamber up the wall and stand at the top while the other PCs follow". This avoids the need to retroactively change things if the dice don't bear out on the description you've posted.

Of course, once your sword swing is successful, you are totally free to describe the slashing or climbing as you please.

I also encourage you to interact with other PCs as well as NPCs, and to offer one another advice, and to discuss options both IC and OOC. Try to aim for posts that allow other PCs to react to what you do, and in turn, react to the actions of other PCs.

Finally, I encourage you ask questions, to be proactive, and to ask me for information or options if it's not clear from a post what's going on. I will strive to avoid confusing you of course, but my descriptive style tends to focus on immediate relevancy and attention to the PCs, rather than completeness. If you want more information than I've posted, just ask.

Any concerns or questions from anyone?

My goal is to put up the actual PbP thread Sunday night. If anyone has any other questions about the village, now is the time to ask them! You've all probably been here for about four months, through the thickest and least hospitable part of the winter, and you're all at least familiar with one another as drinking and eating companions, though whether you get along is your business.

Quote from: Pseudoephedrine;401552Etiquette, Style, Formatting and Posting

Etiquette
 When you roll dice, please post a link to the roll on Invisible Castle. You can simply copy and paste the URL, I don't need anything fancy.

Hmmm...could you show me an example of this. I am kinda computer challenged.  ;-).

I thought the rolls would be viewable by setting up a campaign link (?) at Invis. castle or by each characters name...

Everything else seems straight forward! Thanks for the detail on the Inn...
 
"Purse feels a bit light,must be more cautious of light fingered guest. New companion Norel drinks like a man about to marry...maybe I should not encourage the drinking games so much as I always lose to his vast experience.(am glad the snow is clearing)"...a few questions.

How much has my stay cost so far?
Have I been able to secure any income for the months I have been here?
Where is the town on the campaign map you linked to earlier?

Norel would have wintered in the Lumberjack, and so would have been polite and conversational with other patrons wintering there.  Depending on his mood and level of intoxication, he could be either real friendly or moody.

Yeah, I don't see Breakwood on your Axrew map either.  What hex number is it located in?

So, what other characters have been wintering in the cozy Lumberjack with Norel the itinerant Dwarf?

Quote from: skofflox;401588Hmmm...could you show me an example of this. I am kinda computer challenged.  ;-).

I thought the rolls would be viewable by setting up a campaign link (?) at Invis. castle or by each characters name...

E.g. http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2666532/ is all I need

Everything else seems straight forward! Thanks for the detail on the Inn...

QuoteHow much has my stay cost so far?

Between 60 and 120 silver pieces, depending upon how fancy you want your accommodations to be.

QuoteHave I been able to secure any income for the months I have been here?

Certainly. You've been here from the second week in December to the first week in March, essentially. Two festivals have gone by (the equivalent of Christmas and Lupercalia/Valentine's Day), and villagers would have bought some goods, especially foreign Dakon goods, to give to one another as gifts.

There's also some cleaning, woodchopping, and general labour, but not much.

The net result of all of this is just that you start with your starting cash, we'll say to keep it simple.

QuoteWhere is the town on the campaign map you linked to earlier?

If you follow the road from Harken (the near centre of the map) out to the east, and then pick the southern fork at the marked village, Breakwood is an unmarked village on the seventh hex you come to, right where the road cuts between a forested hex and a desert / badlands hex.

Quote from: Drohem;401661Norel would have wintered in the Lumberjack, and so would have been polite and conversational with other patrons wintering there.  Depending on his mood and level of intoxication, he could be either real friendly or moody.

Yeah, I don't see Breakwood on your Axrew map either.  What hex number is it located in?

So, what other characters have been wintering in the cozy Lumberjack with Norel the itinerant Dwarf?

The map only shows major settlements. Each hex is about 20km across from edge to edge, so there's a lot of space and a lot of things that aren't shown. Good for exploring.

There are two carters / traders (brothers named Orl and Jack) from the capital (Harken) with a group of guards, servants and apprentices (about six people all told). They're wintering here with carts full of fruit from last autumn, waiting to head out with the first thaw to sell them to winter-lightened pantries. The carters are standoffish, but the servants are good fellows always up for a drink.

There's a team of eight lumberjacks and sawyers who work for the baron. They're one of the few groups that does anything over the winter, knocking down dead trees for firewood in the village. They leave around midday and come back just before dark, and they are rowdy and fun fellows when they're drinking.

There's also a messenger of the king named Randall Keen-eye. He's the highest ranking man in the village short of the baron (he is a gentleman knight), and he's been hanging around waiting for the baron to respond to some message from the capital. He keeps to himself most of the time, but he loosened up during the two festivals (the only times he's been drunk) and put on a show of swordplay and singing that was really quite good.

The publican who runs the place is named Peter the Reeve, since he is the reeve of the village as well as its richest man. He has a wife and four children, with another one on the way.

Finally, various villagers come by and drink now and then.