The Large Dumbo

D&D 5e Rime of the Frostmaiden.

To be fair, I think activity's naturally going to slow down quite a lot during the holidays, and - while this is at least the case for me - I think people might be having a hard time getting back into the motion of things after a period of inactivity. There's not a whole lot that can be done about it, aside from try to keep a steady balance of keeping player activity in check while also not coming off as demanding or pushy. It can really suck when there's a lull in a campaign, since that usually foreshadows it going ghost pretty soon, but sometimes this sort of thing can just happen.

@Lurking Krog It will keep rolling my good man, maybe when January rolls around enforce a weekly post?

@Dark Cloud

I feel like people don't really like being told what to do, even though I agree that one post a week is a pretty decent pace. Usually, I start to get concerned after about three days myself, but I'll admit that's a bit of an extreme and definitely not a good pace for a campaign advertised as casual

In this sort of scenario like the one we're in right now, I'd probably silently keep an eye out on activity, and if somebody's inactive for a certain period of time, give them a little mention and just check up on how they're doing. If this becomes repeated, though, or if it becomes a thing where they wait until the last minute to get something in before the "deadline", I think it might be a good idea to either discuss this with them or start looking for other people. Sometimes, like @Birdboy mentioned, life can get in the way and things happen. Even though a week's plenty of time, sometimes it can blow right by you without you even realizing just because you've been so busy. Sometimes you just need to take a break from some of the stresses of life, and sometimes this means stepping away from a hobby you really enjoy for a bit.

It's always a shame when something loses enough momentum just as you start to get invested into it, even moreso if you're the one running the show - hope this sort of thing doesn't happen here.

Anyways, I figured I'd just drop my two cents here since I saw we had a little discussion building. I'll have a post up tomorrow evening!

D&D 5e Rime of the Frostmaiden.

Kythor

The trip back to Easthaven was quiet, just the way that Kythor liked it. Not that he didn't want to get to know more about his group - he was certainly still interested in finding out what brought them to these lands. In spite of that, however, silence was essential in ensuring that they traveled in safety. The roads and wilderness were both very dangerous places to be unprepared, for there they were the most susceptible to being ambushed or attacked by the wild creatures that wandered these lands. He kept a close, scruntinous eye on their surroundings as they walked. Even though it was ultimately an unneeded gesture due to their uneventful trip, it was still necessary. To Kythor, complacency was a luxury, and one that he could not afford.

When they finally arrived in Easthaven and he saw the remnants of the pyre from their last visit, he figured that it might be worthwhile to pitch the idea of investigating what had happened here. Their last visit saw them uncover a blood-stained book with some illusory magic cast on it. Perhaps they could look into that some more, after they had dealt with the missing fishermen. Before Kythor could explain what the pyre was all about, the villagers beat him to the punch. When the captain - one Captain Imdra Arlaggath - arrived, he gave her a wry smirk. "Greetings, Captain," Kythor says, nodding his head. "Name's Kythor. My other companions have found more work, but just as quickly as they left I've managed t'find a new set 'a hands who may be able to help you find the missin' fishermen, assuming there's not been much luck in finding 'em while we dealt with our chwinga issue. Perhaps you could give us the run-down on the situation, again? I'll admit the details ain't too fresh in my mind, plus I figure you're probably better at explaining it to 'em as you're a resident of Easthaven while I'm just passin' by."

D&D 5e Rime of the Frostmaiden.

Apologies for not posting, I'll have something up for sure tomorrow! I'll admit I'm having a bit of trouble getting back into the tempo of things after our brief pause, especially with it being the holidays and all, but I'll try to be more consistent about getting in posts on a more regular basis!

D&D 5e Rime of the Frostmaiden.

Shame to see we've lost someone, but oh well - sometimes life gets in the way of things and you've gotta do what you've gotta do.

On that note, welcome to the group, @Dark Cloud! Can't wait to see your barbarian in action!

D&D 5e Rime of the Frostmaiden.

Kythor

The tiefling turned to face the newcomer. Seeing his sheer size alone, Kythor presumed that he might make a valuable asset on the team. The more heavy, hard hitters they had on their team, the better. "Search and rescue," Kythor says, joining the conversation. "Or, well, more like search 'n recover," he chuckles. He takes a second to size up the dragonborn, propping his head up with an elbow on the bar. "Lotta dangers in these parts," Kythor says. "Bet a big strong guy like yourself could come back home with a real nice trophy or two from around these parts... Who knows? Maybe you might be able to claim the skull of a verbeeg as one of your trophies if you tag along with us?" Kythor suggests. "We're in no state to hunt it now, but we're planning on it, so until then we're doing a few odds and ends to get ourselves more familiar with both the land and workin' with each other." Of course, as a native to these parts, Kythor was already pretty familiar with the land. Not omniscient, not by a long shot, but he knew a couple of things that were lost on the common folk.

D&D 5e Rime of the Frostmaiden.

Hey all, sorry for not hopping online sooner! Things got a bit busy in life for me, but don't worry, even though I haven't logged on in a while I've checked up on the thread every now and again when I've had the chance. I'd definitely love to pick this back up again at some point @Lurking Krog. That being said, I think @Lucius Cypher said it best - once we've all finished up getting to know each other, I think we've got a good course of action to go off of. I'd definitely love for us to take more time to get to know each other some while things are in a lull in-character, but I'm also okay with us taking a more diegetic(?) approach and having our characters open up more naturally as we adventure.

D&D 5e Rime of the Frostmaiden.

Things have been pretty hectic on my end over the past week, but I wanted to make sure to try to get a post in tonight. Sorry if it seemed kind of like a backstory dump, by the way! I figured my initial post was a little on the short side so I decided to try to have Kythor go ahead and get the ball rolling on having everybody get to know each other if we wanted to do that.

D&D 5e Rime of the Frostmaiden.

Kythor

"Not much in the way of supplies around here," Kythor remarked with a wry smile. "Gotta make do with what we got. Might have better luck searchin' around some of the other towns for stores and the like that'll have what we're lookin' for, but Good Mead?" He shook his head. This was a small inconvenience for him, but he imagined it was a much larger one for not only the group as a whole, but for any other people who were in their positions. Might not be a bad idea for them to open up a general store or some such around here...

"As for gettin' to know each other, I figure that might not be a bad idea. Give us all a chance to get ready for the trek up ahead and to get t'know each other some. Get any little troubles or important things outta the way 'fore it's too late, yeah?" Noting that the gnome had ordered himself some breakfast, Kythor decided to follow suit. He wasn't sure when he'd be getting a warm meal again if they were planning to tackle the task of tracking down the missing fishermen, so he might as well make the most of it while he still could. Besides, if the group was going to introduce and familiarize themselves with one another, they might be here for quite a bit.

Plucking three silver coins from his coinpurse and dropping them onto the table, Kythor raised his hand to get the attention of the barkeep. "I'll have some of the seared knucklehead trout and a mug of mead," he said. His order placed, he turned back to face the group. "Guess I'll get us started," he said. "Most of you might 'a heard me say this earlier, but in case you didn't, the name's Kythor. I'm a local of sorts to the area, been livin' here for as long as I can remember. I know the lands like the back of my hand. Can't say the same for the cities, but for the places where it matters, I've got a good head for that kind 'a thing. Used to be a hunter for my tribe, using our knowledge of the land to thrive off of it, but, well..." Kythor paused for a moment, breaking his gaze from the others to the bar. A concentrated frown crossed his face as he studied the bar, as if looking for the answer to some unseen question, before he finally spoke again. "Let's just say that I'm all that remains of my tribe." An awkward silence took over for a brief moment until he cleared his throat. "Now I'm here in the city, offering my services as a hunter and a guide to those who need it. People like the fine folk 'a Easthaven, who need their fishermen to be found." Kythor turned his head back around to look to the party once more. "Once I've got enough gold to buy back everything I've had taken from me, I figure I'll probably go back to livin' how it used to be. But who knows?" Kythor shrugged.

"Anyways, that's my story. What about the rest of ya?"

D&D 5e Rime of the Frostmaiden.

Kythor

Kythor turned around in his chair and sighed quietly, watching as another newcomer and the moon elf musician from earlier - Valna Moonsong, was it? - approached. Of course the talk of giants had piqued their interest, and of course they were ready to challenge it. He couldn't speak much for their readiness, but he didn't imagine that either Domic or the woman who'd just walked in were any more prepared than anybody else he'd come across. Speaking of Domic, he'd noticed that he had picked up on the fact that Kythor wasn't exactly a local to the town "Well met, Domic. Name's Kythor," Kythor nodded, "I'm a hunter. Used to hunt for my tribe, but, well... circumstances have changed. Long since changed." He paused for a moment, lost in thought, before continuing. "Anyways, even though there's a bounty out for that giant, it's a bounty I'm not in any sort 'a hurry to collect. Figure giants are probably above my head, heh." He shook his head and softly chuckled to himself.

"I dunno how much experience any of you have within fighting giants, but the way I see it, I figure it's not only over my head; it's probably above all 'a our heads" Kythor said, addressing all company present. "Maybe if we can outwit him, we'd have a chance, but raw strength alone's not gonna cut it... unless you'd rather have a dirge dedicated to ya instead of an epic tale. That bein' said though, there's certainly a few other odd jobs and tasks people need done. For instance, me and a group 'a travelers went to the town of Easthaven to run an errand for this half-elf researcher - she needed a chwinga, y'see - and it was there that we caught wind that Easthaven was in need of someone, or a group of someones, to help 'em track down some missing fishermen. Think you bunch'd be interested in teaming up with me and lending them a hand?" Kythor relaxed against the bar as he watched the group to gauge their interest.

D&D 5e Rime of the Frostmaiden.

Kythor

Once Kythor had awakened, he secured everything of value to his person and went for a quiet walk throughout the city. Although the relatively quiet and bitter chill was a harsh contrast to the loud yet warm mead hall, Kythor had found this small exercise to be somewhat refreshing to him. It was a reminder of what he was working towards, a brief glimpse of the world beyond civilization. Before, it had seemed much closer, but now that his traveling group had gone their separate ways, it felt as distant as ever. Eventually, he'd be back in the wilderness where he belonged, away from all of the noise and the hustle and bustle of the city. Of course, most of the people had fair reason to busy themselves this morning: the sacrifice of warmth to the Frostmaiden was coming. Even his own kin, the people of the tribe he was a part of, held such an event with great reverence and care. As a result, he didn't imagine now would be a good time to start knocking on doors and asking for jobs. He was still a stranger to this town, and he imagined most people wouldn't be willing to spare him the time to chat. Not this night, anyways.

Thus, once he returned from his morning walk, Kythor entered the mead hall once more. Rubbing his hands together, he approached the bar and procured two silver, dropping them on top of the bar. "Some knucklehead trout, if y'wouldn't mind," Kythor sighed, pushing the coins forward with his finger. As he waited for his breakfast, another figure entered the hall, their arrival announced quite bombastically. Glancing over his shoulder, he caught a glimpse of the new arrival: a gnome. The fact that he was still wearing his scarf and still had his hood up were all that hid the surprise on his face. For somebody of such short stature, his entrance had certainly magnified his presence by at least threefold. When the gnome approached, Kythor quickly wiped the surprise from his face and began to untie his scarf, removing it just as the gnome had asked why everyone was so dour.

"I take it you're new to these parts?" Kythor asked out of genuine curiosity. "There's a lot on the minds of the people of Good Mead. Tonight's the night 'a the full moon," he explained, leaning forward on the bar. "That means the Frostmaiden's coming to collect her dues - good for her, but not so good fer the rest of us, yeah?" he added with a chuckle. "Then there's also the fact that the Speaker of the town got killed by a verbeeg who'd come and helped himself to a cask of some of Good Mead's, well, mead, so that's also been keeping people's heads busy. Town's lookin' for someone to recover the mead, probably looking for someone to bring 'em the head of the giant too, I bet, but that sort of stuff's way above my head, so I'm trying to not give it a whole lot of thought. In any case, I guess it'd be pretty accurate to say that these people are in a bit've a bind, hence their gloominess."