Backstory just means that it's important somehow to your character. Trinkets have little function, and thus don't really weigh anything in my mind. They have no mechanical effect. They're just some interesting flavor. For example, Drajhan has a foot-long silver cord as his trinket. What I did: the cord is tied to the pommel of his blade and dangles off with nothing attached to it. It is a reminder of the everlasting ties he has with his patron, and how easily they could be severed.

For @Mistiel, @Oraculum, @Turbowraith, and @Asura, I have added your trinkets into the homebrewery page (check the OP). To the rest of you, your trinkets have not changed. I still need Q&As from two people. If I don't get them soon, I'm going to need to put a deadline on them. @ClocktowerEchos and Asura both need to get Q&As in (Echoes, you haven't been involved long, so I'm not so concerned about you yet).

To everyone, I would like to start this up very soon. We've kinda been sitting in dev for nearly a month. If we could start mid-early next week, that would be great. To do so, I need everyone's information completed, including the group questionnaire. I also need everyone's character sheet to be posted in the Chars tab.

Alright guys, we're going to start up soon. I typically like to have an idea of the world map I'm working with. For reference, Group 1 (Ermine's group) is not on this map. They are faaarrr to the east, across an ocean. We might run into them at some point, but probably not soon. (I mean, they're also technically to the west, also across an ocean. Might be faster to get to them that way.)

We will be starting on the western part of the continent near the city of Bourgund (still working out exactly which town we start in). The scale on this map is a bit small (basically the world on this map is about 3x the size it should be. Where the scale says 150 miles, replace that with 50. Each hex is about 15 miles.) Those of you who created town names, if you could let me know approximately where they would be on this map, that would help me out.

...this would put us on the Eastern continent, then, wouldn't it? If the other one is closer to the west? Which would mean...this group is stuck in a musical~ (or in a not-as-musical kingdom on the same continent). But it's a pretty important part of the culture...

@Ermine West and East on a globe are all relative. For example, America is East of China, but we are called the West and they are called the Far East. My assumption is that we are on what's designated as the Western continent, and group 1 is on the Eastern or Central contenent. Perhaps there is another continent in between? I said it was probably closer to sail west to get to group 1 because there's an amount of land mass not shown in this map (it continues to the east some distance).

Group 1 is on the central continent. But I guess. I was going by the fact that you said it was closer to the west, meaning it's either the eastern continent or the eastern continent is between the two.

As much as I think Ceria would hit it off with Harb's group 1 charrie, I actually don't think the two groups should run INTO each other. Perhaps they can pass through the same area at different times and be like, "Huh, another group passed by this way. Wonder who they could be?" but both groups are already so large that I'm afraid any resulting mish-mash meetup would just result in chaos and confusion. However, I'll go with the flow since what thou sayeth is law. #YouTheBoss

As much as I am interested in the two crossing paths, I would also rather they do so later on as heroes than earlier on. The sort of thing where we hear stories, rumors or tales of other groups, some of which are related to the ones we are playing, but the eventual encounter comes later and only just for some interaction, rather than major crossovers. This would, I believe, meet the objective but keep each distinct - nothing more than a chance crossing.

@Mistiel@The Harbinger of Ferocity

What Harb said is what I'm currently planning more or less. Since this is a beginner's game, if we toss everyone together early on, pretty sure it would turn out poorly. We might meet up once both groups are more established later on, and by later, I'm thinking somewhere in the neighborhood of lvl 10. Perhaps sooner if it makes sense. Even then, it would be more of a chance crossing than much else. We might meet up in a dungeon for a few fights, then go our separate ways. Towards late game, we might interact more frequently, however.

To help reach these goals fluidly, I intentionally started us on the other side of the world from Group 1. We will have plenty to do on our half of the globe to keep us busy for quite some time. There should be little reason for our group to meet with Group 1 in the short term, or even to hear about them. But the option remains open, should we gain the means and money to do so (and should we have a reason to do so).

Sorry all, was out all day today. I'll get something going tomorrow.

Sorry for not being online much. I have mono and have been bedridden with no bloody energy or appetite. ;-;

Sorry for not being online much. I have mono and have been bedridden with no bloody energy or appetite. ;-;

Well, I certainly don't envy you. Get better soon, and keep me updated if you can.

Do not feel rushed to post, @Mistiel. Fortunately we don't find ourselves in initiative order. I am sure this current discussion will go on for a time.

@Turbowraith@Mistiel@The Harbinger of Ferocity - Battles have started. Please roll initiative and let me know the result.

To everyone: Please keep in mind that during battles, everybody in the group is waiting for you to post. I understand that people get busy, but during battles, I am allowing a maximum of 48 hrs before I simply pick an action for your PC. I doubt any actions I choose will be optimal. I would much prefer not needing to use this method, and everybody else would prefer not to wait 48 hrs. If you have several consecutive offenses without providing a reason (traveling, vacations, etc count as reasons), I will simply assume or assign control of your PC, and then drop them off at the nearest tavern and / or active volcano.

@corneredbliss@Ms Ravenwinter@Ermine@Oraculum

@Turbowraith@Mistiel - I rolled Init for you. Lex got a 6 - 1 = 5. Ceria got a 15 + 3 = 18.

@The Harbinger of Ferocity - Arthera is up first!

@Mistiel - Ceria is up!

Arthera - @The Harbinger of Ferocity, Ceria - @Mistiel, Ulor - @Oraculum, Daisy - @Ermine, Ary - @corneredbliss, Yvah - @Ms Ravenwinter, Lex - @Turbowraith

Welcome to the end of your first combat! I wanted to follow up with a few notes. Please read carefully!

1) I mentioned this a few times, but I want to just make it perfectly clear. I messed up on this battle. It was significantly harder than I intended, and you have received bonus experience for my error. I think you all handled the combat itself tremendously well (no one is dead, and the combat was well beyond "Deadly" levels). Future combat will be adjusted to match your power level a little better. In terms of experience gains, D&D is balanced around the party fighting several battles before leveling up. Because slow progression is fun for no one, I will be bolstering combat experience with milestone experience as I see fit. Translation: you will also gain exp after completing certain missions.

A couple reasons why this combat was stronger than intended: A) In my previous game that I DM'd, everyone had magic items that were a bit too powerful, and my combat calcs were adjusted upwards for that. I should have noted this and fixed my calcs before this battle. B) I decided to test out a carry-over idea from Pathfinder where you attribute feats and abilities to enemies as fitting their level. While I don't think this is a bad idea, I think I will need to be careful which feats I choose. Great Weapon Master is one of the strongest feats in the game, and I gave it to the strongest enemy. While the feat did turn a couple of hits into misses, it also nearly oneshot the character who should be most tanky. I will adjust this in the future.

I will add that while this fight was certainly more dangerous than intended, it will not be more dangerous than potential encounters in the future (once you have some better gear and more experience). High level boss encounters -should- be nail-biting. A couple of ruffians in the street? Less so.

2) Combat in D&D is intended to be fast-paced and fairly brutal. In a large number of combat scenarios, there will be a potential for a peaceful outcome to combat, especially when the enemies are not obviously monstrous or evil. The likelihood of success, however, may not be very high, and it drops to zero if the enemies are harmed and they feel they have a chance for success. I do not require you to kill every enemy you encounter, and I provide full exp benefits no matter how an encounter is completed. However, killing or incapacitating an enemy generally allows you to pick their pockets, gather materials, take their weapons. Peaceful solutions may sometimes yield other rewards, sometimes better or sometimes worse. Depends on the situation!

3) I would like everyone to learn combat terms and limitations. I need you to be able to roll attacks and saves without asking what to add. Everyone should have their attack bonuses listed on their sheet. You do not add any other values unless a feature specifically tells you that you do. Terms like Attack of Opportunity, Advantage, etc need to be in your vernacular. I know this is a Beginner's Game, but I need you to read the combat rules as well. I understand some things are complicated or nuanced. Please take this chance outside of combat to ask questions. Spellcasters should thoroughly read your spells, as well as the spells you haven't prepared or learned to decide whether they will be useful. If you do not have a copy of the PHB, please let me know. Online information is not always trustworthy, but I can link you info that is.

On a similar note, I will tell you if something you do doesn't work or requires a roll. I also strongly suggest you do not offer to gimp yourself, especially mid-combat. I design these fights with idea that people will use their best options to the best of their ability. Deciding that you should have disadvantage after taking a single wound or saying that your weapon breaks with no triggering event will serve to make your allies very frustrated, and you probably won't have a good time either. There are enemies that can impose these effects on you. Don't gimp yourself unnecessarily.

4) Less pressing, but I have included the final map for the encounter in the 0th post, in case people are interested about placement, etc.

5) In regards to posting times: I would like people to maintain the pace that you saw in this combat. If you have nothing to add, let me know so I'm not waiting for you while everyone else has posted, but I expect contribution and reaction from everyone with some frequency. RPing is about talking about your character. It's about being descriptive. Being descriptive is not showing off. If you read a book and the author never explains the thoughts and motivations of the characters, they feel flat and boring. No one wants their characters to feel like that.

The aftermath of this combat is a good chance to practice. Your characters all have some opinion on what happened: thoughts about how the combat was handled, the actions of your new ally, speculation on who the enemy is. I would like to see a good solid post from everyone on this combat if possible, even if you do not say a single word out loud. Again, that is not showing off. That is good writing.

On the other hand, there is such a thing as purple prose when writing can be excessive. I don't believe I have ever stated a minimum post length for this RP. Don't pad on an entire paragraph that gives no insight into your character's thoughts and actions. Trimming purple prose while adding intriguing information is my goal for RPing. As a DM, I love to see how your character thinks. As I am not a player, it's my main source of enjoyment for an RP. Please don't deny me that :P

@JBRam2002

I wish that this combat round had had a bit of a slower pace. The main reason most of my posts were so dinky short was because I felt rushed to produce. Just responding to that last expectation at the end; don't mind me!

Sorry for no dialogue colors. On my phone at work. Will try to edit them in later. :)

@Turbowraith - Need an Init roll from you by tonight or I'll roll for ya. You can either mention me here, PM me, or mention me on Discord with the result.

Hey hey hey~ First post down~ Gotta celebrate~~~