The high, hot part of summer is here for us in the North. Middle of winter for those below the equator, of course. But that isn't dampening our gaming spirits. Come on, and show us the best posts by your gamers and peers, and nominate them for POTM.
Anyone can win (except those who have already won this year), and you are a winner just by nominating and being nominated.
Do your part, and nominate an excellent August post!
Game: Outplay 2019 System: D&D 5e GM: Wynamoinen Link:Link to post
Context: Things are happening desperately fast in a race against time, in game and out, and against various groups of competitors. After escaping an acid filled hallway, racing down a series of tunnels and then finding a mysterious altar that demanded an important sacrifice Berthe stepped up to the task admirably.
FYI: There was in fact magical healing after the "Failing forward" section.
Note: oztk is currently nominated for a July PotM as well and may be ineligible by the time voting comes around. Reason for nomination:"The dramatic monologue."◄=All the feels right there.
One of my favorite characters in this game, always over the top drama and one of my favorite posts from that character without the flights of fancy. Quality post that I felt led to the overall improvement of all the subsequent posts in the thread.
Player Nominated: Karhald Game: Hoard of the Dragon Queen, 5E (Hoard G) GM: Chocoladevla
Link: Link to post Note: thread is private, so presumably only the admins can see it, others can used copy posted below under the spoiler.
Reason for nomination: Last month, Greta Silverdeep, Dwarf Cleric and beloved hero of a small town called Greenest, selflessly volunteered to put her own life on the line to save others. While ultimately successful in freeing the innocent hostages, she paid the ultimate price and her death post was one of the most impactful pieces of writhing that I’ve had the privilege to read on this site. This month, Karhald outdoes himself with this post: Greta’s resurrection. I can’t begin to do justice to describe the emotionally packed story, but I consider it worthy to nominate for Post of the Month.
Player Nominated: Simandl Game: Adventurer's League - Season 5: Storm Kings Thunder GM: Retry Link: Link to the post
Reason for nomination: Simandl joined the game when they were fresh to the site and have been steadily growing in their post quality as the game has been chugging along. Their party was given the task of 'handling' two ogres after having just finished a battle that had most of them spent. While the group was preparing to fight; Simandl's character, Darab'at, took the risk of approaching them and trying to convert them into allies instead. Through a well worded speech (and a good persuasion roll to boot) the Bard saved the team from what would've been a deadly encounter proving that violence isn't always the only route, even when dealing with monsters
Player Nominated: Olympia Game: The All Realm: Flames of Heliandria System: D&D 5e GM: Olympia Link:Link to post
Context: Heliandria is an island that is set to suffer the same fate as other cities built around an active volcano... even set in the same time period as Pompeii. The players are all members of a council that advises a human prince, Matthaios, who is set to become the first Human monarch in a world dominated by Elven kingdoms and the odd one off Dwarven kingdom. As players we must influence the Prince to get him to make decisions on scenarios set before us by the DM Olympia while competing with each other for his favor.
Our current debate centers on an evacuation of the island. There is only one problem, there is not enough space on the ships to take everyone. The council has been asked to give their opinion on the matters of how much to overload the boats and who to prioritize space to. We are halfway through providing our points when Olympia throws a monkey wrench into the situation by adding in Prince Matthiaos power hungry stepmother, the current Queen of Heliandria.
Reason for nomination: This was just a "flavor" post by Olympia meant to stir up and dilute the debate. But her ability to weave in different NPCs, respond to what was already posted by the players previously while so elegantly adding in another NPC to shake things up is truly commendable. It was so effective that her arrival and presence "sobered up" my own character, who at the time was advocating for a path based on emotional reasons instead of factual ones. It was her snide comments and hauty presence as described by Olympia that turned Luvon around and had him flip the Prince's decision from an emotional one for a more logical, sane path. If it wasn't for the timely and natural introduction of the Queen I'm sure things would have started going off the rails for us sooner rather than later.
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"There's a slope down toward evil, a gentle gradient that can be ignored at each step, unfelt. It's not until you look back, see the distant heights where you once lived, that you understand your journey." - Prince of Thorns
Player Nominated: Zinrokh Game: Outplay 2019 System: D&D 5e GM: Wynamoinen Link:Link to post
Reason for nomination:There have been a lot of great posts in the Outplay Competition so picking one is difficult. If I had the time to re-read every thread I might chose differently however I really liked this post so, maybe I wouldn’t
I feel that Zinrokh did a great job presenting his character in his post. He had interactions with the other players and told a story of his personal past that felt very true to Ikol’s personality. All-in-all one of my favorites from Rounds 3 and 4.
*Please forgive the lack of formatting on the copy, the quote button is disabled on the Outplay thread.
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Posting when I can around life. Thanks for understanding.
Player Nominated: Qiksilv Game: Outplay 2019 System: Pathfinder 1e GM: Wynamoinen Link: post is here.
Reason for nomination: I've found the last week of Outplay to have quite good posts. So much so that I was unable to come to a decision so I put it off before nominating a post. Since then two of the three players have received a POTM and I have decided to chose one of the posts for the third player as my POTM.
The post below is the one I found the most intriguing of Qiksilv's. While I liked the interaction between Tobias the Litch trapped within himself it was the way he answered the DM's question about the law that I liked best.
"Pfft, teacher's pet"
Tobias turned slowly and stared at the Goblin who promptly acted as if he hadn't been the one to mock him. Then Ikol then launched into his answer of Cuculainen's question which was surprisingly sensible. As the Nilbog returned to his place by him and Berthe Tobias met his eyes and nodded once.
"Please don't encourage him." Khelebn warned, "I've met the insane like him before and they'll keep going for near forever." They were getting close. The Lich was counting the number of heads that still had to ask questions at the table and after this there would be fewer than half remaining. "Don't keep them waiting," he hissed at his host, "if they get bored they won't be as taken by what you say."
After a quick glance at Berthe to make sure the Dwarf wasn't about to go Tobias stood once again to address the adjudicators of their fates. "Unless you are writing a tragedy it seems that a well-liked rule breaker and a just king make poor choices for just about any story. Once again the culprit, and theme, of the poor circumstances behind our world's problems are in fact unjust rules. However," Tobias gave a little bow to Cuculainen, "you seem to have specifically tried to steer away from the portion of this story that is ruled by law and delve into the more complicated idea;" Tobias sighed briefly as if he couldn't believe he was thinking along the same lines as the insane jester, "free will."
The possessed Elf thought for a moment before continuing, "It seems to me that it would be easy for the Nine to intercede in everything. You certainly have the power and the means to have direct influence in nearly everything. So why wouldn't you?
I know that there was a time when I would have wished with everything I had that you had stopped me from entering a certain tomb a decade ago. Just a flick of one of your fingers could have kept my brother and I from entering the dark tunnels that led to his death and my...problems." Khelben began to bristle but said nothing, yet. "Though meddling with my fate would have saved me lots of heartache there's no telling how different my life would be. I definitely would not be here. The events in that place made me the Elf I am today."
"Ill take that as a compliment, Tobias." Ishii remarked smugly. He often told Lancaster that the reason the young Elf had accomplished anything was by the Lich's experience and link to the arcane and it finally sounded like his host was getting the right idea. "You should have almost died ages ago." The undead mage smirked in Tobias' mind.
"Shut up, Khelben," Tobias said seemingly at random before smoothly transitioning back into his statements, "There were plenty of times I almost gave in to the presence inside of me. How many were likely to have died or been mutilated if that had happened? Of course the pertinent question is, could you have know all those years ago how I would have changed? I think the answer is, 'No'."
"So if we go back to your story, Master Bard," he addressed the old man, "You absolutely did right to let the situation play out. Killing the king before he killed the man might have brought about the same situation. Killing the Man before the incident would been impressive but it still could heave been the catalyst that sparked a rebellion to take away the kingship.
Perhaps the incident could have made the king realize his own shortcomings, de-crown himself and make the kingdom rulerless. Maybe the other kings see it working well and voluntarily abdicate their own thrones too." Tobias shrugged as if to say 'it could happen' before continuing on, "Of course that would be so unlikely that I think saying 'it would never happen' is justified."
"What I think is that rules are important to maintain a functional society but, as we have already pointed out, an overabundance of rules actually makes society less functional and inhibits the ability of a person to be themselves. You could have arbitrated and ruled that the fighting ought not to happen instead of allowing the people who live in your protection to choose their own path but then the Nine would be the rulers of everything thus have eliminated their ability to choose their own path.
It's sad when people beneath you make poor choices but as Ikol stated earlier, if they don't make their own mistakes they'll never learn. I might argue that one of the number one rules in your big old book is to not remove a person's ability to choose their own paths and that by controlling which side of the war won might have might begin to share ground with mass-murderers. What is murder but the ultimate act of free-will removal on a large scale?"
"I can't help but feel like that was partially directed at me, Tobias." Khelben said with mock aggrievement, "I've told you before that some people just don't deserve to live. Some people are a drain on society, some impose their will cruelly over others, and well; some are just really annoying." Khelben directed their eyes towards the Nilbog but Tobias quickly pushed back and the mage didn't fight it. "Remember that just because I want to kill some who deserve it doesn't automatically make me a terrible being."
Khelben's tone was just a little indignant but Tobias didn't have the energy to try and argue with his inner voice right now. The Elf had literally never spoken so much one sitting before in his life and was feeling very tired as a result of it; that and because he'd offered most of his life and energy to the control of the Nine. Tobias sank back into his stool and rubbed his head again while waiting for the Dwarf to give her response.
The post was uneditable so I had to recreate it myself. Hopefully, I didn't get the coloring wrong anywhere.
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"There are many fates worse than a quick and foolish death."
Player: Yuul Game: Portage: Rising from Ashes GM: Kapera Link to Post
Reason for Nomination: This game has been full of interesting events, investigative actions and a lot of intrigue. But this post really drives home the subtle intrigue that some of the others find. Alec, having learned things out in the world, is back with his clan so he can search for some answers. And having learned a few extra things, here he confronts, in his words, "My presumably loyal neonate servant,"... The way he weaves the dialogue is excellent, smooth but also vaguely threatening. It's the kind of post that sticks in my memory.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yuul
Leah did not thank him, nor did he expect or even require her to, he honestly did not care much one way or the either. It was after all nothing more than a gesture to prolong her own existence should the worst come about against his fellow Tremere. Finding Neonate Higgs' office door was every bit as easy taking the stroll to get there to begin with. He did not bother with more than a single knock to announce his entry before opening the door at his leisure. His entrance was rather different from the previous night, startling so for one capable of reading the small things and piecing them together. While he certainly could not exude an aura like the man seated at the desk, nonetheless there was a definitive of dangerous, confidence, or perhaps rather a dangerous confidence that his gait, posture, and general body language all seemed to give off. In any case, to Higgs' eyes this would very clearly be apparent as not the same Alec that had spoken with the night prior. Then, they had largely played at a reversal of roles for their own amusement and to enjoy the growing abject horror of Alec's then tag-along accomplice.
Now, well now if the look in the younger warlock's eyes was any indication to someone skilled at reading people, it wasn't so much that Alec had deluded himself into believing their game to have become reality, although another less able in such a skill might certain see it as such. No, instead he simply did not care. He certainly did take note of the hint of hesitation in the elder's voice however, if only because it was in stark contrast to the Neonate's normal projection of unruffled confidence. Of course, that might have something to do with the additional kindred his heightened senses were telling him currently inhabited an area behind or under the desk. Just as Alec was about to reply, his phone buzzed with a text from one of his new associates. Specifically Rita, with some rather interesting information. Also of note was a similar but quieter buzz from somewhere around the desk. More questions in need of asking, and it was about time to get to that point.
"My presumably loyal neonate servant," The younger of the two began, with only the slightest flicker of a darting gaze down to the desk and back up to Higgs' eyes accompanied by the slightest upturning of his lips to let the elder know that Alec was very much aware that there was another present, and no, he most certainly was not going to hold back on their account, whoever that might be. "I have questions, and you are going to answer them." Stalking forward Alec places his hands on his side of the desk, and while not slamming them down, it is certainly a firm motion all the same. "To the absolute best of your ability and knowledge, as well as to my satisfaction. Then, and only then, after I have dealt with such answers, I am going to Harding and giving her the figurative kick in the butt she clearly needs." Such things are courting Final Death, but is readily apparent to all involved, save maybe the one in hiding, that for whatever reason the real neonate of the group does not care if that happens to be the cost.
"First and foremost, since the night of the Fire-" The capitalization is clearly audible. "-this chantry has been in a state of, well, less than solid figurative structure. Our Regent apparently became a shut-in, and yourself and that Fledgling Forswill caught up in some power struggle that the poor fool can't seem to tell is already lost, and that you, my dear Neonate Higgs, have been stringing him along presumably for your personal entertainment." There is the slightest sigh, which while not a physical necessity, clearly seems a mental one. "Not that I would normally blame you, he does seem rather delightfully easy to ruffle up. But given what it has led to, this lack of clear leaders in the chantry cannot go on. As I was saying, my first question, why has the Regent, even in whatever her current state may be, allowed this to go on? Secondly, how long as this figurative tussle with the fledgling gone on before then?" Alec's eyes stare into Higgs' own, a figurative gazelle getting into the face of a figurative lion.
"Furthermore, given newly received information, you and the fledgling were both at the Gala the night of the Fire. There were wards present keeping any of our kind from exiting. So for my third question, whom, or what clan, erected those barriers? Fourthly, what specific event or happening that occurred on that night caused Regent Harding's current state of behavior?" Taking a moment to break off the questioning, and to recompose his thoughts, the younger warlock begins pacing in front of the desk. "You know, I met the most fascinating individual tonight. I am sure you have at least heard of her. The Hydra can be oh so frightening however. Despite that, and despite whatever the hell son and daughter of stolen things is supposed to mean," Here Alec does closely observe Higgs for any telling reaction. "-she has at least admitted to being inclined to carry out the same seal she used to trap that recently freed entity. On conditions of course. So fifthly, what exactly did that comment of hers mean, hmm? As much as I dislike her, from my limited time spent near her she does not choose her words idly." He had more questions of course, but for now he would see just what the real elder in the room would give from that before pushing further.
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Life and hospitals suck at times. Starting to catch up now.