Posted April 11, 2009
Ulemoon – Aequus Nox: OoC Disscussion
This page has been last updated: 12th April 09
Briars wave in the night breeze. The warm spring night is laid before you, the rolling hills rise into distant peaks. The horizon is a jagged scar of black upon a satin-purple night’s sky. Fireflies dance like fire spit, the air heavy with the scent of Honeysuckle. This is the land of Ulemoon, a verdant, temperate world ripe for the harvest; where a man can wrought his power and wealth, yet also destroy it.
Welcome adventurer to the first GOG Roleplay Adventure Thread! This topic is for everything Out of Character, including discussion, questions and merriment which should not be placed within the actual Adventure Topic.
Links to all of the related topics
Ulemoon – Aequus Nox: RPG Thread
Ulemoon – Aequus Nox: Character Creation
Common Terms
OoC – Out of Character
PC – Player Character
NPC – Non Player Character
RP – Role Play
D&D – Dungeons and Dragons
DM – Dungeon Master (In charge of the game)
XP – Experience points (These are your reward for adventuring)
AP – Action Points
Game Outline
This adventure game is an attempt at a very approachable Role Play environment for everyone who wishes to join in. If you want to ask anything specific or talk to current PCs please do so here, we’ll do our best to fill you in. Remember, no prior experiences of traditional D&D is needed, just a simple understanding of collaborative narrative. That is to say, we’re building a story and anyone who thinks they can turn their hand to description and characterisation; then this is the game for you!
This adventure does use the character sheets from D&D 3.5, but there is a topic dedicated to creation which outlines how you go about it and what you need to do. Please don’t be put off with the method, as once you have completed the task you can join in after introduction.
The Role-play Thematic
Ulemoon is a mid-fantasy world, that is to say black powder weapons have found no applicable use and so the technology tree has not been advanced down as of yet. This gives you some idea as to the setting. All the usual trappings of fantasy (Lord of the Rings) are applicable, but will be flavoured accordingly with the environment and world I have created. I don’t want to digress too much at this point as not to spoil the fun, but the intricacies of the world will become apparent over time.
It would be useful to you if you wish to join in to read the Adventure topic from its start, so that you gain a better idea of how and what the world of Ulemoon is like. This will be your best method of getting the thematic of the game itself.
Rules
General
This adventure is using the D&D 3.5 edition for the rules of the game, but obviously things will come down to the DM’s discretion, ergo the DM always has the final say about matters as to make the adventure the most fun for everyone. I’m not a hard-arse on rules, in fact I encourage heroic actions and smart ideas; including teamwork most of all. The more effort and dedication injected will swell the story and make it leak with game play (that is a disgusting analogy, but you get the idea).
Combat
You will not require to make any dice rolls for combat, as this method of delivery via forum posts invites a more interesting method! I will describe the process in detail so you will understand how things work. Let’s say three characters each make a post describing their character’s combat. It can be as verbose or as simple as you wish, but the core mechanic is this:
Each combat, your character starts at 0 and you lose -1 for each positive/aggressive action you take, but you gain +1 for each negative action/passive action/damage you work into your description. It is down to you as the player to rate the actions and provide your score.
Action point allowance starts at 2 and then increases +1 with every other level. So with a level 1 character you have 2AP and a level 3 character would have 3AP etc.
Example of basic combat
Rak (Level 3 = 3AP), Grund (Level 2 = 2AP) and Illant(Level 1 = 2AP) all enter into combat with a Goblin. Descriptive material about the assailants will be provided to aid your writing:
PC: Rak draws his spear from his back, wielding the shafted weapon with difficulty as the close trees limit his movement (+1). He swings the spear about, stabbing at the Goblin (-1). The creature screams back at him, parrying a few blows. Rak vaults over a fallen branch, flanking the Goblin and lands a brutal blow under the vile creature’s rib cage(-1).
PC: Grund gets out his mace and swings it at the goblin, he hits it (-1) and kills the monster. (-1)
PC: Illant draws an arrow from her quiver and fires at the beast. The first shot misses (+1) but the second arrow lands true, piercing the Goblin in the side. (-1)
Total: Rak: -1 Grund: -2 Illant: 0
Now here is the risk and reward! Getting yourself into a plus score will damage you; where as getting you into a negative score will deal damage but will leave you vulnerable to attack. Getting your character to zero is safer, but you will be in a war of attrition or you might get whittled down by your enemy.
As the Goblin in this example is an exceptionally weak enemy and only has one attack, it will be directed at Grund. Conversely, Grund is likely to be the one who lands the killing blow and gains the most XP. Combat in this adventure is more complicated and interesting than the example provided, but with an understanding of the mechanics you can enter into the Role Play with confidence and with no worry of fiddling with dice rolls, as the DM I will sort out the damage rolls and update all players accordingly.
Spell Casting
There is a hell of a lot of spells within D&D and each one does something active. Ergo within a combat situation, all spells, even something like Create Water would be rated at -1. Just like physical combat, if you wish to work into your description a spell failing/missing/fizzing this is passive and would be rated at +1.
Casting onto others will not affect their AP rating, so if you were to heal another in combat then they would gain the extra hit points, and you would receive a -1.
Skill Checks
This works in a similar way to combat, as when are asked to provide a skill check for something you can add a bonus to your 'roll' by not leaving things down to luck.
Example of a skill check
First and foremost you must describe what you wish to do:
PC: Rak breaks open the lock on the chest.
This is simply a roll for 'Open Lock', but you can give yourself a bonus on top of your skill level by being more descriptive:
PC: Rak draws his dagger and jams it into the seal between the lock and the chest, slowly applying force and prying the device free from the wood.
There is no particular numbers as a player you need to know, as challenge ratings are kept secret from the player. Sufficed to say, being more descriptive and clever about how you go about doing things will aid your PC. Then again, don't forget that something might simply be too hard for your PC to do until they have levelled up and placed more ranks into a particular skill.
Experience Points
These will be rewarding in a rolling fashion and it is your responsibility to keep track and level up your character. Please see the Character Creation Thread for more details on this.
Time
We all have other things to do in our lives, and sometimes life does get in the way. This adventure will only go as fast as the slowest person, and I would like to stress that this is not something you should worry about. The initial burst of speed at first will die out and the rate of the adventure will plateau. Please don’t feel frustrated; things will proceed as fast as they can.
Sense of Adventure and Heroics
Everyone playing this is a Hero, and should feel encouraged to do so. Working together to solve puzzles and strategise is actively encouraged. If you want deeply research your character’s equipment or develop your background, please do so. If you want to just breeze through and get stuck in, feel free! Let’s all be like minded in creating an exciting narrative which we can all be proud of!
Now all the boring stuff is out of the way, go forth adventuring souls and explore the world of Ulemoon!
(This post will be edited and expanded, so check back regularly)
This page has been last updated: 12th April 09
Briars wave in the night breeze. The warm spring night is laid before you, the rolling hills rise into distant peaks. The horizon is a jagged scar of black upon a satin-purple night’s sky. Fireflies dance like fire spit, the air heavy with the scent of Honeysuckle. This is the land of Ulemoon, a verdant, temperate world ripe for the harvest; where a man can wrought his power and wealth, yet also destroy it.
Welcome adventurer to the first GOG Roleplay Adventure Thread! This topic is for everything Out of Character, including discussion, questions and merriment which should not be placed within the actual Adventure Topic.
Links to all of the related topics
Ulemoon – Aequus Nox: RPG Thread
Ulemoon – Aequus Nox: Character Creation
Common Terms
OoC – Out of Character
PC – Player Character
NPC – Non Player Character
RP – Role Play
D&D – Dungeons and Dragons
DM – Dungeon Master (In charge of the game)
XP – Experience points (These are your reward for adventuring)
AP – Action Points
Game Outline
This adventure game is an attempt at a very approachable Role Play environment for everyone who wishes to join in. If you want to ask anything specific or talk to current PCs please do so here, we’ll do our best to fill you in. Remember, no prior experiences of traditional D&D is needed, just a simple understanding of collaborative narrative. That is to say, we’re building a story and anyone who thinks they can turn their hand to description and characterisation; then this is the game for you!
This adventure does use the character sheets from D&D 3.5, but there is a topic dedicated to creation which outlines how you go about it and what you need to do. Please don’t be put off with the method, as once you have completed the task you can join in after introduction.
The Role-play Thematic
Ulemoon is a mid-fantasy world, that is to say black powder weapons have found no applicable use and so the technology tree has not been advanced down as of yet. This gives you some idea as to the setting. All the usual trappings of fantasy (Lord of the Rings) are applicable, but will be flavoured accordingly with the environment and world I have created. I don’t want to digress too much at this point as not to spoil the fun, but the intricacies of the world will become apparent over time.
It would be useful to you if you wish to join in to read the Adventure topic from its start, so that you gain a better idea of how and what the world of Ulemoon is like. This will be your best method of getting the thematic of the game itself.
Rules
General
This adventure is using the D&D 3.5 edition for the rules of the game, but obviously things will come down to the DM’s discretion, ergo the DM always has the final say about matters as to make the adventure the most fun for everyone. I’m not a hard-arse on rules, in fact I encourage heroic actions and smart ideas; including teamwork most of all. The more effort and dedication injected will swell the story and make it leak with game play (that is a disgusting analogy, but you get the idea).
Combat
You will not require to make any dice rolls for combat, as this method of delivery via forum posts invites a more interesting method! I will describe the process in detail so you will understand how things work. Let’s say three characters each make a post describing their character’s combat. It can be as verbose or as simple as you wish, but the core mechanic is this:
Each combat, your character starts at 0 and you lose -1 for each positive/aggressive action you take, but you gain +1 for each negative action/passive action/damage you work into your description. It is down to you as the player to rate the actions and provide your score.
Action point allowance starts at 2 and then increases +1 with every other level. So with a level 1 character you have 2AP and a level 3 character would have 3AP etc.
Example of basic combat
Rak (Level 3 = 3AP), Grund (Level 2 = 2AP) and Illant(Level 1 = 2AP) all enter into combat with a Goblin. Descriptive material about the assailants will be provided to aid your writing:
PC: Rak draws his spear from his back, wielding the shafted weapon with difficulty as the close trees limit his movement (+1). He swings the spear about, stabbing at the Goblin (-1). The creature screams back at him, parrying a few blows. Rak vaults over a fallen branch, flanking the Goblin and lands a brutal blow under the vile creature’s rib cage(-1).
PC: Grund gets out his mace and swings it at the goblin, he hits it (-1) and kills the monster. (-1)
PC: Illant draws an arrow from her quiver and fires at the beast. The first shot misses (+1) but the second arrow lands true, piercing the Goblin in the side. (-1)
Total: Rak: -1 Grund: -2 Illant: 0
Now here is the risk and reward! Getting yourself into a plus score will damage you; where as getting you into a negative score will deal damage but will leave you vulnerable to attack. Getting your character to zero is safer, but you will be in a war of attrition or you might get whittled down by your enemy.
As the Goblin in this example is an exceptionally weak enemy and only has one attack, it will be directed at Grund. Conversely, Grund is likely to be the one who lands the killing blow and gains the most XP. Combat in this adventure is more complicated and interesting than the example provided, but with an understanding of the mechanics you can enter into the Role Play with confidence and with no worry of fiddling with dice rolls, as the DM I will sort out the damage rolls and update all players accordingly.
Spell Casting
There is a hell of a lot of spells within D&D and each one does something active. Ergo within a combat situation, all spells, even something like Create Water would be rated at -1. Just like physical combat, if you wish to work into your description a spell failing/missing/fizzing this is passive and would be rated at +1.
Casting onto others will not affect their AP rating, so if you were to heal another in combat then they would gain the extra hit points, and you would receive a -1.
Skill Checks
This works in a similar way to combat, as when are asked to provide a skill check for something you can add a bonus to your 'roll' by not leaving things down to luck.
Example of a skill check
First and foremost you must describe what you wish to do:
PC: Rak breaks open the lock on the chest.
This is simply a roll for 'Open Lock', but you can give yourself a bonus on top of your skill level by being more descriptive:
PC: Rak draws his dagger and jams it into the seal between the lock and the chest, slowly applying force and prying the device free from the wood.
There is no particular numbers as a player you need to know, as challenge ratings are kept secret from the player. Sufficed to say, being more descriptive and clever about how you go about doing things will aid your PC. Then again, don't forget that something might simply be too hard for your PC to do until they have levelled up and placed more ranks into a particular skill.
Experience Points
These will be rewarding in a rolling fashion and it is your responsibility to keep track and level up your character. Please see the Character Creation Thread for more details on this.
Time
We all have other things to do in our lives, and sometimes life does get in the way. This adventure will only go as fast as the slowest person, and I would like to stress that this is not something you should worry about. The initial burst of speed at first will die out and the rate of the adventure will plateau. Please don’t feel frustrated; things will proceed as fast as they can.
Sense of Adventure and Heroics
Everyone playing this is a Hero, and should feel encouraged to do so. Working together to solve puzzles and strategise is actively encouraged. If you want deeply research your character’s equipment or develop your background, please do so. If you want to just breeze through and get stuck in, feel free! Let’s all be like minded in creating an exciting narrative which we can all be proud of!
Now all the boring stuff is out of the way, go forth adventuring souls and explore the world of Ulemoon!
(This post will be edited and expanded, so check back regularly)
Post edited April 17, 2009 by Romulus
