clark

Totem

Also, Fairess and I have agreed to collaborate a little bit to establish what happened during the conversation between Adele and Rook before we write our respective daytime posts.

@Hank

Whew, good, I really want to see how that turns out.

Totem

Is the marketplace still relatively close to where the caravan is? And if I have Marcel talk to someone do you want to handle dialogue or should I?

@OneEyedChurro

Yes, it's close, within a block. As far talking with NPCs, so far everyone has used NPCs perfectly. I don't mind when players create NPCs to develop their character through dialogue and relationships, and so far everyone's use of the named NPCs has been tasteful. So feel free. If it ever gets out of hand I'll pull the reins. I've never done RP in the IRC, I'd be willino to try it. Scheduling might be a nightmare.

Totem

Djonn - (within earshot of Silhainlé) "I haven't visited them myself," Thorpe admits, offering you the map. "But here's what I know: each house oversees the surrounding farmland and townships for the magistrate, around five-thousand acres each; each employs a staff of more than twenty; each is run by a family who has lived there for at least three generations; and despite the entitlement that I would have expected, as it turns out they are capable of gratitude for the Guard's protection during the greyskin invasion." He nods, contemplative. "Whether that gratitude is due to the preservation of their people or their position, I cannot say." He smooths his gold-gray locks, pushing them back to reveal his receding hairline, pale, wrinkled forehead. "I know little else. Only that they're expecting you." "Is everything alright Thorpe?" He regards you, taken aback. "Of course," he says, in a halting voice. "Quite alright. Frankly, just ready to be done with this job." He smiles, tightly. "Now, is there anything else you need of me?"

Totem

Feel free to finish your conversations outside the bar. I just wanted to provide you with a little material. Edit: Looking back over my last post, I'm concerned that I didn't give most of you something to play with. If you feel that way, PM me and I will be sure to add in more ASAP.

Totem

Chapter 1 - Part I

The crisp, morning air slips through the cracks in the windows as the sun melts the night sky in the dark blue horizon. In the shadows of the barracks, the snores of sleeping soldiers begin to give way to the sounds of rustling blankets, cinching belt buckles and tired groans. You recognize some of the other White Guards from last night rolling off their hay-stuffed mattresses, noting the effort it requires for them simply to stare ahead with their pink, puffy eyes.

After gathering your things, you begin to make your way towards the western city gate, passing through the awakening street market. Farmers and merchants move about, methodically carrying out their morning routines, laying out wares for the day. As you pass, some take notice and nod briefly before returning to their tasks. The market square is full of kiosks and wooden stands wrapped in fabrics of colors bright and vibrant even in the low morning light. You could find just about anything here. Jewelry, silks, ironworks, fruits, vegetables, teas, coffee, meats, tools, oils, perfumes... The scent of spices and baked bread is everywhere.

When you finally arrive at Westgate clearing, golden light from the morning sun has just begun to peek from behind the horizon. The caravan lies before you in the midst of a flurry of activity. You notice a few dozen men and women, presumably of Hemming's employ, bustling about with last minute preparations, loading ten covered wagons of various sizes. The smallest wagons are hitched to horses of several breeds; bound to the largest wagon is a great white obi, shaggy haired beasts the size of four oxen. From behind the obi you then catch a glimpse of an unhitched, ornate carriage - out of place amongst the other, more utilitarian vehicles with its ornate, gilded accents, rich fabric linings and polished wood trimmings.

At the center of all this activity, you notice a small congregation. Even from behind, you quickly recognize the gray-blonde hair of Lieutenant Thorpe standing among them, speaking to a man who - much like the carriage - seems quite out of place surrounded by the dozens of working class scurrying about him. He wears a red hunting jacket and gold vest over a too-white shirt; a man in his late forties with salt and pepper hair, lightly browned skin with a thin, neatly trimmed moustache. He takes notice of you and turns to Thorpe, muttering a few words before returning to the others in the circle. Thorpe turns around, calling out in your direction.

"Djonn, come here."

"Djonn, this is Gaivus Hemming. Gaivus, this is Djonn Kolthus. He will be acting commanding officer for this company. Questions and concerns should be addressed to Djonn." Hemming gives Djonn a slight nod, and returns to the preparations.

Thorpe watches him for a moment before letting out a long sigh: "Come, Djonn. Let's look over the route to Paolou."

Djonn - (within earshot of Silhainlé)

Thorpe takes you a short distance away from the rest of the guard, gesturing to you to follow as he removes a roll of parchment from his coat pocket.

"We nearly lost this job to Macavel's outfit," he admits, his voice swollen with exhaustion and perhaps even regret. "Hemming knows they aren't worth nearly what we are, but when we went over incidental expenses he started to second guess going with us. Securing this contract required some compromise." His face seems drawn and pale. "I need you to follow this route instead," he says, dragging the tip of his finger along a thin line running just beneath the Western Road. "You'll follow the main road most of the way, but here," he indicates, tapping a small dot at the northernmost tip of Lake Eulemir. "Right here, your first stop is the Cossler estate."

"As part of negotiating this contract, we've agreed to use some of our local favors to avoid putting all of you up in taverns," he says, rolling up the map before handing it to you. "This means you won't have to sleep out in the cold every night. I've sent letters to the Cossler, Reminar, and Baelin estates. You may have met them before? They've each agreed to let the caravan stay for a night; they're willing to provide rooms for Hemming, his ranking attendants, and you; the rest of the guard and Hemming's men will sleep in the stables and barns. Hemming saves coin by not having to pay for rooms for forty people as well as avoiding the tolls at both Velwood and Gauston." With that, Thorpe rolls up the map, tying it with a thin, brown thread. "Any questions?"

Totem

Hey clark, I just noticed- clicking on the "Party" links in the first post don't seem to take me to the sheet, but back to the first post. Is that just me, or is anyone else getting that?

@OneEyedChurro

It redirects to the first page for me too. I think something about the site may have changed because they used to work. I'll fix them The urls have changed: the params now include the thread title. I've fixed the links. I am very happy with all of you so far. This is already a good game!

Totem

Please feel free to post as much as you want during these "playground" moments. There aren't strict turns. Only during combat will it be best to just post once and give me a chance to respond to everyone's movements at the same time. Unless your characters decide to get in trouble, my next post will be after you've all gone to bed. And I laughed out loud at that diagram. Well done!

Totem

Announcement: We have a new character in the party, Rook, played by Hank. Yay!

Listing subscribers

... once I crunch through some more generic forum features (like being able to archive/delete PMs), I do want to ponder more roleplay-specific features like first-class support for Roleplays and their participants.

Mahz

It would be neat if there was a boolean field for a Roleplay that signified whether or not sign ups were open or closed, which could be displayed as an icon so players looking for a new game could quickly see games that were looking for new members.

Totem

Your intro was great. Yeah, I considered starting off with more players, but this is my first game to run on these forums. I'm not too familiar with anyone, much less their play-styles, so I wanted to start slow. But I'm pretty sure I'll be bringing in some new people relatively soon.