[OOC] The Trading Post

[EngrInAZ]

Alric would mount his horse and ride towards the sounds of battle.

[OllieNorth]

I posted actions in my private thread. Do you need anything else from me right now?

[mad_gondsman]

No. Just dealing with a little bit of burnout and trying to figure out what to do about it. I still want to finish this one, though.

[EngrInAZ]

I will be away from July 11th through July 14th. Probably won’t be able to post during that time.

[mad_gondsman]

I've been struggling with this one. I don't know. Combat fatigue? Dropped players? General malaise? Either way, the dice have stopped rattling in my head, so I feel like I can dial in a few posts to get you guys back to greener pastures where you can rest up, recuperate, and plan your next move.

If you want to role play a bit and give me a break from rolling dice, I'll be happy.

[mad_gondsman]

Okay! As mentioned in the game thread, you begin your escape already at a forced march for having ridden all day in pursuit of the horseman. Since you didn't ride very hard through the day, I'll give you 12 hours before you have to start making checks for exhaustion... and I'll allow you to make Fortitude checks instead of Con checks since I dislike ability checks in general.

If you choose to continue through the night, the 13th hour will be a DC 10 Fort check. The DC increases by +2 every hour, so the 14th will be a DC 12 Fort check. The 15th, DC 14, and the 16th, DC 16. Each failure results in 1d6 Con damage. A light horse only has 12 HP and a +6 Fort bonus, but you can look up the stats for your mount and adjust that if needed.

Of course, you don't have to force march. If you have another plan, I'm all ears! It's hard for you to tell if they are pursuing through the dark, so... you have to make a decision.

As of the beginning of the escape, you have eight hours of darkness (dim lighting) before sunrise and nine hours to Oleg's.

DISCUSS!

Add: I updated your exploration map. It takes 3 hours to cross one hex (if you stick to the plains) and there are 3 hexes (plains) between you and Oleg's.

[mad_gondsman]

Since we don’t start rolling for exhaustion for 12 hours and it will take only 9 hours to get to Olegs, I say we push for the trading post and take our chances there.

Haha, no... you've already been riding for over 12 hours. I just threw 12 out there as a nice, even number. You've got exhaustion and 9 more hours to contend with.

Wouldn't be that much of a "challenge" otherwise!

[EngrInAZ]

Originally Posted by mad_gondsman

Haha, no... you've already been riding for over 12 hours. I just threw 12 out there as a nice, even number. You've got exhaustion and 9 more hours to contend with.

Wouldn't be that much of a "challenge" otherwise!

Well that changes my vote. Alric would choose to stand and fight rather than riding to exhaustion. I will change his post later to reflect that.

[OllieNorth]

What's up guys, we still going or what?

[mad_gondsman]

The game started off as one of my absolute favorites with some of the best action and player concepts, but it's kind of... on life support of late. If you guys are seriously, honest-to-Helm dedicated to seeing it through, I'll rededicate myself and update this and see where it goes, but I want to know that I'm not spending time writing up the posts if no one is really interested. I actually spend quite a bit of time on them.

In all honesty, I took the short, somewhat late responses as flagging interest. I sincerely mean no insult, but it seems as if a few responses have been dialed in. I've tried to pound out some exciting posts that I was actually proud of to rekindle a little enthusiasm, but I don't feel that it has worked.

If I'm wrong... I apologize and will continue. If it's beyond repair and you hate my stinking guts, you aren't going to hurt my feelings if you bow out. I'm the guy running the game, so I'm taking responsibility for it.

On the other hand... I'm honestly here to make a fun game for you all, but I want to enjoy it, too. Give me more than two or three sentences or I'm going to think I'm just boring the **** out of you all.

[OllieNorth]

That's fair. I can understand your frustration. It's been tough for me since I think I came in at a point where a bunch of people petered out. I haven't really had a chance to establish the character since posts got scarce. I love the concept of this setting and I think Lister could be fun, but I feel the same. There hasn't been much for me to play off of. I mainly put the last one out there just to get things moving. There's been a bit of hand-waving to get us to this point, so I was hoping a couple skill checks could reset us. I'm down to continue, but if we're pretty much checked out, let's call it and move on. I hate seeing games slowly die.

[Embrodak]

Mad,

I like the game, I came in as a replacement (Taking the role of an original PC) and I think the only person from the Original Party is EngrInAz.

Two/Three line posts. I looked over my last two posts. My immediate last one was a two liner, and the one before that was a couple paragraphs. Please do not interpret that as boredom. I am personally not capable of writing more than two or three lines some times. This is the 4th game we've been together. You know I am probably your most endurant player in those games. I looked at my post count for the main game thread and I have the second most posts. Second only to you, and again I was a replacement player. I trust even though I have 2/3 liners, I make it up in frequency.

You touch upon a sore spot with me. A subject where I face constant insecurities on this site. I am not a really good writer. I love role playing games, but I am not a good writer. I game in games where DM's and other players write amazing posts and I look at my crappy posts and sit in wonder and amazement and feel bad for wasting everyone's time. I do get a gem in now and then, and I hope I make up for this, with being consistent.

Again.. Please do not take my short posts as boredom. I hope you have gathered from the games we play in, that I am worth it. Especially when I do come up with a gem of a post.

With that said. Despite my short posts, I have a tendency to dominate games and move them in a direction making me the lead. I am a bit of a Type A personality. This game I took a bit of a back seat and waited for some one else to blaze the trail. If you look at the posts there are spots where that came in, but I have been purposely sitting back and waiting for someone else.

There are only two other people left? Ollie and EngrInAz. Ollie's been passive. I think as he is the new guy he is hanging back a bit. I can't speak for Engr.

I am all for blazing ahead.

[EngrInAZ]

Mad,

Dude, I’m sorry if I’ve given the impression that I’m bored or uninterested. I am enjoying the game and I would like to continue. I like my character and want to see where this game goes.

I have tried to do better than just one or two line posts, though I am probably as guilty as anyone in doing it. I understand your frustration and will try to give you, and the other players, more worthwhile contributions. As Embrodak indicated, I’m the only original player left and I should be doing more to keep it at the quality it was earlier.

I would like to see this go forward!

[Cedric]

I am still here, but much like Embrodak my posts are usually short and to the point, that's just the way I play it, doesn't mean I've lost interest.

I would like to continue this game as I've stated before, I think maybe moving it to a safe spot and regroup (Gather more players perhaps?) would do the trick?

[mad_gondsman]

I appreciate the feedback! Thanks, Ollie. And you're crazy, Em. I know you're capable of some great posts and I wouldn't keep inviting you to my games if I didn't enjoy them. Your writing is just fine. Sometimes a one or two-liner is entirely appropriate, but I guess I was looking for a little more in this situation. I don't want anyone reading too much into that, though.

We did lose a lot of players, though. I let two go and we lost at least four more after one post. I know people typically have good reasons for leaving the site, but I guess that's one of my own sore spots.

Cedric came in during the very first encounter, too! He crawled beneath the gates of the Trading Post just when you guys ambushed Happs and his men.

Ollie's the only new kid that's stuck around.