NOVA
NOPE. Never mind. Welcome to Vol. II!!! Dark Accession, if I remember correctly…
Updates pending.
GM:
n_aNOTAPPLICABLE
Stream
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Starbuck commented on the adventure log post V3 Chapter 1 -
Vairis commented on the adventure log post V3 Chapter 1 -
Starbuck updated the adventure log post V3 Chapter 1
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Starbuck created the adventure log post V3 Chapter 3
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Starbuck created the adventure log post V3 Chapter 2
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Starbuck created the adventure log post V3 Chapter 1
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Vairis updated the character Oris of Wethrinshael
NOVA Comments
There will be a session of D&D tonight starting at 5 and lasting to 11. It will most likely be Chains of Fate Vol. III.
Wait, Dr. Blargs isn’t going to be there this time. Given that he’s not going to be there and the short notice for everyone, maybe we should forget about a session this week and try to schedule something instead for next week?
Where, when, and what campaign? :panic:
It will be tonight!
Which would work better for D&D, tonight or tomorrow?
Just so everyone is aware, some things were left here last time, including a Player’s Handbook.
D&D tonight at 6. We may be playing Jockabee’s campaign so come prepared.
Dödric pulled out the flower when we were at the gates of Letherna, which was after the bogs, the village, AND the mountain pass.
Was it right after the bogs that we had to call upon the gods to get the rose in order to enter the city?
We went through the Oblivion Bogs directly after we left Gloomwrought. I don’t recall the name of the villages we stayed at, however.
don’t know, don’t know, don’t know and don’t know.
Did we go through the swamp after we left Gloomwrought? Also, what was the name of the city that we stayed in where we met those two guys that came in the middle of the night? I’ve gotten all the city names jumbled up.
I think Dante is being ridiculous, but I only just met him. . .
And I am that age because I am an eladrin who live over 200 years or so
I. Hate. Dante. at the moment
Prometheus is HOW old???? o.o
And no, Laudre, it was just Jockabee, SS, Vairis, Blargs, and I in a group, then Valk joined, then you and Seen, then our little vampire friend (sort of…)
Valk wasn’t always in the group?
@Starbuck: Agreed.
@N/A: Glad you like the pic. :)
There have been concerns regarding the following:
Frankly, I have never been fond of “re-flavoring” myself. I have disliked the notion since it was first introduced, as it cheapens the realism of the game world in favor of keeping the mechanics untouched.
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I am tired of this.
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I, as DM, do hereby ban and outlaw all “re-flavoring”.
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What that means is that from now on, if your character’s class is only trained in the use of leather armor, but you want your character to be wearing heavy steel armor for “role-playing” purposes. You have a choice to make. You want to wear some heavy steel armor? You better damn well put on some heavy steel armor. If you want to wear it so you can look cool you’re going to have to accept the fact that it will slow you down in battle. That’s called reality or fact. You can’t have both, the laws of “reality”, by which the game world is governed, will not allow for it.
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Dr. Blargs and I will have to discuss his character more in depth to see if the world will allow for it. I have my doubts.
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From this point forward, any and all characters who attempt to “re-flavor” will be seen as insane or delusional by everyone and everything in the game world.
With this in mind, allow me to clarify.
When I say I am banning all re-flavoring, I mean that we will be returning the game to the way it was (I apologize, this is rather blunt) the way it was before Valkyrion. Valkyrion, do not take this in the wrong way, you are free to play with our group. However, from this point forward you will no longer be the “go to guy” for rules or character building. If there is a detail regarding the rules that I need help with, I will consult you and then proceed as I see fit. As for character building, construct your own as you wish, and stay far away from everyone else’s. They will make their own characters without any of your input. If they have questions or concerns they can come to me. If I determine that these concerns are of a certain mechanical nature that I do not feel properly equipped to deal with then, and only then, I will consult you in conjunction with the player in question.
All of my rulings are final.
If you wish to dissent you may do so elsewhere.
Valrec Reborn’s picture…. not what I expected….
oh sweet baby jesus…….. it is really epic…..
http://games.yahoo.com/blogs/plugged-in/dungeons-dragons-plans-comeback-200249601.html
In other news:
This page will become Vol. II for the time being (or possibly forever and ever and ever… as long as unicorns shall live!!!), and the original Vol.II will become Vol.III (for the time being, again, or, twice again, possibly forever and ever and ever…. as long as unicorns shall live).
Okey-dokey? :D
lol;jk
tl;dr
Okay, here we go…
First, regarding why we redid what we redid:
For one thing (and this is not entirely the reason) the game world is not nearly as malleable as Valkyrion claims it to be. Or at least, it is not malleable in the same way he claims it to be. The fact of the matter is, and I’ve tried explaining this before, the game world is, and you are in it. Your perception of what occurs in the game world is not the basis for the game (ie shit doesn’t occur just for you to see it occur so we can progress the story line) The game world itself is the basis for the game (ie shit happens because of a complex series of causes and effects based not only on your actions, but on the actions of everyone throughout Akaron and the various planes of existence). This is not a story about you or your party. This is a world in which you and your party exist and are free to do as you will.
I did not tailor the encounter with the Tanarruk outside of Gloomwrought just so I could name drop Orthax. You heard about Orthax as a result of the Tanarruk incident. Things occur whether you are there to see them or not. They do not occur solely for your benefit, as Valkyrion would like to believe. (ie I don’t place encounters or such with the intention of furthering the story. Things happen, at times they happen to you, the story line progresses based on the outcome of this things, which would happen regardless of whether or not you were there to perceive them. If there hadn’t been tanarruk outside of Gloomwrought then you would have been on your own on learning about Orthax. Bottom line: things don’t happen just so the story works and you guys know what is going on.)
But that’s a bad example, because the encounter with the tanarruk did have a slightly meta-game purpose. That purpose was to introduce Valkyrion’s and Dr. Blarg’s characters.
Which brings me to the real reason for redoing that entire bit:
Valrec’s introduction.
I heard some complaints about this (I will not name any names), and claims that Valkyrion performed the impossible by flying several miles and obliterating a massive force of enemies.
Valkyrion explained that that was not exactly the case. He in fact didn’t come from all that far away (which could be understandable based on the distortion of spacial perception inherent in the Shadowfell) and he explained which powers he used, and how he used them, to achieve his desired effects. He also explained that he did not wipe out the entire enemy force singlehandedly, he in fact killed only a few and scared the rest away.
The thing is, that last bit is especially unrealistic. It had already been established that the party was battling tanarruk. The thing about tanarruk is that they aren’t usually found in such large a number as it seems the host that Valkyrion presented was. And secondly, they will not run in fear. Ever. Under any circumstances. It is very difficult to frighten an enemy that is literally fearless.
Yes, there were some complaints about poor roleplaying, but the main reason for going back was simply because the events that transpired in my absence made little sense in the context of the game world.
Now to the second order of business (this is the big one):
Through some thought and observation, I have come to a rather significant conclusion regarding our game.
There has long been a heated debate over the implementation of “Zack-Edition” DnD, as opposed to the standard 4th Edition. I have announced, and attempted, in the past to bring those two together and please all players.
However.
I have recently come to a revelation of sorts. We have been looking at this issue improperly. It is not a matter of “Zack-Edition” versus “4th Edition”.
There is the standard 4th Edition of DnD. Which is found in the books and only what is present in the books is taken into account (ie if it’s not in the books, tough luck). Then there is “Starbuck’s Interpretation”, which allows for significant additions and amendments to the rules and mechanics presented in the rule books.
For example, with Starbuck’s Interpretation, if you want a katana instead of a longsword, you present your idea to the DM. The DM judges the validity and “coolness” of your idea. The DM then uses logic and reason to create statistics for a katana in the game (there is an actual process through which this is done, it is not arbitrary.) The end result is a katana that is distinctly different, and performs differently, than the standard longsword in the game.
Then there is Valkyrion’s Interpretation, which allows for “re-flavoring” of certain “aesthetic” or “superficial” details, while adhering strictly to the official rules or mechanics.
For example, in Valkyrion’s Interpretation, if you want a katana instead of a longsword, you simply keep the statistics for a longsword (or any other weapon) and you pretend, or “flavor”, that the weapon you are wielding is in fact a katana, or your bare fists, or a bouquet of flowers, or whatever else you want it to be.
Essentially the difference between Starbuck’s Interpretation and Valkyrion’s Interpretation is that Starbuck’s adheres strictly to a sense of logic and reason based on the events happening in the game world, while amending and adding to the core mechanics. While Valkyrion’s adheres strictly to the core mechanics while amending the logic and reason of what is occurring in the game world.
We have been trying to bring these two interpretations together.
It has not been working well.
Frankly, I have never been fond of “re-flavoring” myself. I have disliked the notion since it was first introduced, as it cheapens the realism of the game world in favor of keeping the mechanics untouched.
I am tired of this.
I, as DM, do hereby ban and outlaw all “re-flavoring”.
What that means is that from now on, if your character’s class is only trained in the use of leather armor, but you want your character to be wearing heavy steel armor for “role-playing” purposes. You have a choice to make. You want to wear some heavy steel armor? You better damn well put on some heavy steel armor. If you want to wear it so you can look cool you’re going to have to accept the fact that it will slow you down in battle. That’s called reality or fact. You can’t have both, the laws of “reality”, by which the game world is governed, will not allow for it.
Dr. Blargs and I will have to discuss his character more in depth to see if the world will allow for it. I have my doubts.
From this point forward, any and all characters who attempt to “re-flavor” will be seen as insane or delusional by everyone and everything in the game world.
If you don’t like that, I’m sorry. But you know where to find the door.
Well, there certainly has been quite a lot going on here…I will clarify all issues, explain why we redid what we redid, and lay down some ground rules as soon as I can. At the moment I’m not even near a computer, so everybody just chill out until I get on here and sort things out, thank you.
Maybe the fight had to happen before we met Dodric because maybe he would have recognized them as members of a certain faction that we weren’t supposed to identify as an enemy yet.