Saltmarsh OOC Chat

[Breila]

Realising there were two weeks of game time with nothing really to do (set by the module makers as possibility to empty the party's coffers a bit before stowing in the new treasure from the next part) I looked around for a small module to play "in-between" and I think I have found something suitable. But I wanted to make sure it was OK with you before spending the money to buy it.

[The_Muffin_Man]

There is a good chance that Searos will be driven out of town if he has nothing to do for 2 weeks.

[Jenara]

Let me know what module it is, i might have it. And brax will go with the others.

[The_Muffin_Man]

Hey guys, quick note. If I seem a little more loopy or unresponsive than usual, its because I've got finals for the next 6-ish days.

[Breila]

No problem, we will miss you, but can go on slowly "carrying Searos along".

I wish you all the luck you need, and great results!

[JadedDM]

Does Saltmarsh have a tailor or clothing shop? Then Brax and Vee could just buy some dresses, if they have the coin. (Although I'm not sure they'd have anything in Brax's size, unless she had it custom made.)

[Breila]

There is Brian's General Store, which offers several kinds of fabric. Some townswomen of make clothes for their neighbours who aren't skilled enough or don't have the time. They might even have ready-made or used dresses available. A nice way for the two girls to spend the afternoon...

[JadedDM]

I don't know if you guys are familiar with the video game, Icewind Dale. But I recently acquired it and started a party based on the group here. Of course, it's set in Forgotten Realms, not Greyhawk. And I can only have six people in the party at one time, so I didn't bother with Vee or Martin as I don't have access to their character sheets.

For Amon, Kim, Echo, Brax, Searos and Gunter, though, I got them exactly right. Well, except Brax. Her ability scores are so high, that there was no way I could replicate them. I rolled again and again with the 4d6 method and still couldn't get anywhere near high enough. So I had to drop her INT down to 9 and her CHA down to 11 to compensate.

We're all level 1 and have no magical items, although I did find a fine dagger that I gave to Kim and a Protection from Petrification scroll I gave to Amon.

Amon is pretty much useless at this point. For some reason in the game, you can only cast Armor on yourself (in real AD&D, you can cast it on anyone). And he can't get a wardog. So really, the only thing he's good for is talking to people as he has the highest CHA score.

Brax can't seem to ever hit anything. I don't think she's made a single kill yet. (And she's not a half-elf drow, but rather a full elf with black skin and white hair; I wanted some variety as we have too many half-elves in the party).

Echo is pretty useful between her Sleep spell and her darts, but...the darts run out quickly. And the local shop ran out of them. So once they run out, she is going to become a lot less useful.

Gunter is my primarily front-liner, he and Brax both. I came across a cave full of orcs, and he proved invaluable there thanks to his ranger's bonus against them.

Kim saves her one Magic Missile spell for when she really needs it. Otherwise, she tends to stay out of combat unless it's safe enough for her to sneak up and flank opponents already distracted by Brax or Gunter.

Searos is the first to reach level 2 so far. I primarily use him as an archer (and he seems to get an unusual amount of critical hits), but when push comes to shove, I'll have him melee, too. His stealth sucks, though...probably due to his studded leather armor. So he doesn't make much of a scout, at least not yet. (I also gave him the most flippant and snarky of voices, so his dialogue is pretty amusing to listen to.)

So far we've done a few quests and killed some lesser enemies. But that orc cave I told you about? The last chamber has me stymied. It has about half a dozen orcs (two with bows, the rest with axes) and an ogre. Every single time, that ogre slays the whole party.

The best strategy so far is to use Echo's Sleep. But, unlike in real AD&D, there are no instant-kills in this game. If you put an enemy to sleep, then hit him (and you still have to roll a normal attack for that), he just wakes back up. So even when I Sleep the ogre, and try to hit him with everything I have, he still wakes up, downs a healing potion, then pulverizes the group, one by one.

(The only time I actually won, Echo and Searos were the only ones left alive. And I don't have the money to raise four out of six of the party, so I had to reload.)

Well, I'll get lucky or figure something out eventually, I guess.

[Breila]

Glad you're having fun with the characters!

[JadedDM]

It's fun, but very challenging. We're not the most optimized party. I mean, three mages and no heavy warriors? Although I guess in higher levels we'll be pretty tough with all of that arcane firepower.

Anyway, I remembered Searos had a whole pouch of gems, so we sold them, bought Potions of Healing, and split them up between Brax and Gunter (three each). This allowed us to survive long enough to put the ogre down.

Played a bit further, got past the Prologue, and now am in Chapter One. Brax and Searos are level 3, everyone else is level 2. Amon's got a Ring of Protection, Gunter has a Small Shield +1, Searos has some +1 arrows, and Kim has two fine daggers. Not too bad, so far.

[Jenara]

Yeah brax's stats are rather high!

[Jenara]

Who says we don't intend to invite the constables? Perhaps we are planning to surprise them??

In my book Geraldine was already invited, she was there and obviously is part of the group now.

[JadedDM]

I think Martin is (deliberately) blowing things out of proportion, I just am not sure why.

Amon's suggestion was more of a small get-together with the party to celebrate not dying.

But now that you bring it up, it does make me kind of want to ask--what is Stik doing here?

I realize that introducing a new PC into an already established group is usually an awkward affair. But since Martin's introduction, it seems like he is hell-bent on getting on the party's bad side as much as possible. He is rude to them, he insults them, he is pushy and constantly barges in on what they are doing. Correct me if I'm wrong, but does anyone in-character actually like him?

And now he's attempting to turn the town against the party (a daring move, considering that two of the party live here and are the children of highly respected citizens). So...what exactly is his end-game here? I'm really curious about this.

[Stik]

And here I was, thinking that the "Private" thread was, well, private. I guess it's PMs from now on for anything not for general consumption.

Jen will tell you from seeing Martin in action in another game that he is a wild card. He is the guy who pulls levers, walks through trapped corridors, and pokes bears with sticks, just to see what will happen next. He's flighty, easily bored, and loves trouble, and at times he isn't a very nice person, but he is also capable of heroic deeds and is fiercely loyal to his friends.

With regard to the gnolls, he saw an opportunity to force people to reexamine their opinions/position/point of view, and did what he had to to force the issue. In character, I think his points were completely valid.
Out of character, as Jaded mentioned, the party is a bit light in terms of combat power. Having two gnolls on the team would be a big step towards remedying that situation.

As to Martin's end-game, well, it's an end-game. So you'll have to wait and see it play out. I do promise you it's nothing sinister, though. He's not trying to turn the town against the party - he's not thinking that big.

I am going to assume that Jaded meant to say "What is Martin doing here." Martin is doing just what everyone else is doing - trying to make his way in the world with the tools at his disposal. Martin is annoying (sometimes even on purpose) but he does play a useful role in a party. Amon doesn't have to like him, but I'll settle for a grudging mutual respect some day.

[JadedDM]

Sorry if it wasn't clear, but I was speaking more of your motivation than Martin's. I get Martin is a 'wild card' but it seemed to me that you, the player, were deliberately orchestrating things so that Martin would never be accepted into the party under any circumstances.

That is to say, that is what it appears like, from my perspective--I admit I'm not seeing the whole picture. That's why I was curious.

Amon generally likes everyone. He likes Searos. He likes Echo. Hell, he even likes the gnolls. But he does not like Martin at all.

I think it's really saying something when a person's behavior is so obnoxious and rude, that my character favors chaotic evil cannibals over him (cannibals as in, they eat sentient beings; not that they eat their own kind; although I'm pretty sure they sometimes do that, too).

At the rate things are going, I can't see Amon (or anyone else in the group) even having grudging mutual respect for Martin, much less anything greater.

In fact, unless Breila attempts to seriously railroad us into taking Martin with us, I don't see how he's going to accompany them on their 'little adventure' or the next part of the module.

It's all a little mystifying, is all.