Erich nods his head in acquiescence and get ready to be deployed.

"Hello, hello." Lazlo addresses the ragged figures, open hands held high in a placating gesture.  "I'm not very bright but I can tell you're having some difficulty opening that door. It is clear you found this place first and I am familiar with the whole 'finders keepers' maxim...  But we need something we think is in there. We certainly don't need everything in there though. What if I were to propose a sort of compromise? We have a healer- we can help your injured... and many hands makes light work as they say... " The satyr pauses, allowing the motley band a chance to think this through. He was pretty confidnt they could wipe the forest floor with them should it come to a fight- but that seemed tiresome. 

Persuasion 9

Aelar does his best to keep a straight face but he's pretty sure they were supposed to secure the outpost for the city, not bargain away its goodies.  On the other hand,  they were kids so what could anyone say?

((Hey Firecat, Bacon, you two doing okay? It's been a while.))

((I'm here. Many big tests coming, and I'm finding it hard to steal time to post. I read when others post though, and will definitely find time to post myself if I feel there's something important to say. Until mid-April (or maybe mid-May, I don't know for sure), though, don't expect to see many posts from me, and definitely not ones that are mere status reports that simply state that Hyre does nothing, as I would now. Since Lazlo took the initiative, Hyre would watch the people's responses first before adding anything.))

((Okay, I'm just making sure I haven't lost any more folks. I totally understand.))

The scavengers look more than a little haggard and wary, and maintain their defensive positions. While even in number, the scavengers themselves don't seem to favor their odds, eyes wild with desperation and the nervous energy that comes when you're preparing to fight for your life.
"The hells they on about, there's a tiefling in their number!" one of them barks out.
"Shut UP." the apparent leader responds, his grip on his spear tightening.
"We have this handled, you kids should just take your business ELSEWHERE. This salvage is OURS."
The most severely injured scavenger is less inclined to turn down the offer, however. His spear head lowers slightly.
"Which one's the healer?" (Barna stayed behind at Hyre's request, though Kallista and Kina are both proficient in medicine, and Kina is a Way of Mercy monk.)
"Stow it, we're not interested."

Aelar hears in a whisper among the men:

The captain, sheriff, Erich, Berker, and four other mercenaries all break camp and hurry towards the caves.

The group could make much better time if they manage to find the tracks left by the creatures when they flee in the morning. If Erich and Berker can both pass a perception/investigation (your choice) check of 18, they'll make it to the caves by late afternoon rather than the evening. If just one passes, it'll be early evening, and if both fail, just before sundown.

Aelar smiles at the scavengers, his best, most winning smile.  He lowers his arms and weapons.  "Easy friends.  Yes, one of us is a tiefling, Kallista by name, and almost single-handedly responsible for saving the city from the Skell attack, so let's not be judging a book by the what we think the cover says, OK?  I'm Aelar.  We were sent by the city to secure this outpost but I'm sure there's plenty of stuff inside.  It's dangerous out here, as I'm sure you already know."  He glances significantly at the injured scavengers.  "A fight'll help nobody and just bring down some of the big nasties on us all.  What do you say?"

Persuasion 12

Perception: 17

One of the scavengers looks ready to fight once Aelar reveals that they're on city business, but is cut off by the leader.
"Alright, Aelar, let's say I believe you for a moment. If you were sent by the city to secure this outpost, I'm sure that DOESN'T involve taking anything of value out of it." he says, suspiciously.
"Our specific orders are to evaluate the condition of the outpost and tell the city whether it's worth refitting and upgrading in the wake of the attack by the Skell." Kina elaborates. "Doesn't say anything about whatever supplies are still inside. They're expendable."
The scavengers mull it over a bit amongst themselves and their posture relaxes.
"Fine then. If you're willing to turn a blind eye, we'll wait till you give us the all clear to take whatever we can."

While Kallista can fly up and see into the turret openings, the windows are too narrow for her to fit through, this time. Moreover, while the mill's doors were fairly robust, the outpost's doors are extremely solid. It IS a military structure, after all. The main doors are built to withstand a full frontal assault, which is why the scavengers were having so much trouble. With their combined efforts, they could eventually force the doors in, though there is a complicated looking locking mechanism that could be bypassed. The walls of the structure are stone at the bottom half, but transition to wood higher up to keep its weight down. The walls also look largely intact, save for a few old-looking claw marks where curious scavenging beasts attempted to force their way in.
The lock has an odd shape, too, more akin to say, a port to insert an object large enough to act as a handle, like a crankshaft, and roughly the circumference of a fist. The scavengers were trying to use their spears in a way to force it to turn.

Lazlo loses himself in thought. He wonders why the scavengers didn't respond to him? Instead waiting for Aelar to address them. Was it because he was a satyr? Or because he rolled a 17? It seemed a decent roll but they completely ignored him. He fantasizes about dropping his gear, disrobing and setting off into the wilds- naked except for what the gods equipped him with. The pull to set off seemed almost intoxicating. Shaking his head and snapping out of it, he snaps back to psuedo reality.  "Pfft-can any of you pick a lock?" he says, trying to pitch his voice in a way so that he is heard. 

ooc: I have been mulling it over and I think i will be departing from the storyline. I hate to just 'ghost' you guys (as the kids say) but- I think my character's part in the story has probably played itself out. Thanks for the time and all of your efforts- I appreciate you all. Vaya con dios!

((Aw no! But they did respond, asking which one of them was the healer. (He persuaded some of them, but not all of them) Argh, I really hate to see you go. In fact, with Kallista dealing with some heavy personal problems, Hyre being knee deep in tests, and you dropping out, we've lost half the group.

As for myself, I'm still recovering from my own medical procedure and the healing process took a lot out of me (as did the pain did before the procedure... hell, it feels like half the cure was almost as bad as the disease) so I'm sure you've all noticed I've slowed down too.

Maybe it just wasn't meant to be. We had some good times though, and this thread went on for over 100 pages. Maybe it's time to just pack it in. I also appreciate you all in indulging me in this highly experimental campaign format. I learned a lot. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to keep going, but this has really sucked the wind out of the ol' sails. Anyone else want to weigh in? I'm not above being critiqued, if it was something I did that reduced enthusiasm. Communication is half of DMing, after all.))

I will but after work. I will say I don’t think Lazlo or any character has run it’s course yet.

ooc: This is the first of 4 play by post games I've joined (and by far the best). I joined the other two on a site called 'Gamersplane' which is pretty active. My experience with the other 3 games? They just kind of fizzled out- either the DM or the Players just kind of drop interest.  I don't think it's anyones fault necessarily but- time management, life, work, etc.  As far as YOUR game- honestly it is by far the best of the 4 I started and the longest lasting by double digit months. 

Am I dead set on going? No- but it seems kind of like it was heading that way anyway. As far as wind, sails, and sucking I don't think you have anything to be unsailed? about. This is hard to do- and you did (and ARE doing) an exceptional job as DM. Would I DM this way? Hell no! LOL but I am a different person from you (and you'd probably hate the way I DM, lol).  

I'd love to keep going.  Not only do I think Aelar is on a grand journey, I think Lazlo, Hyre, and Kallista are too, and those journeys are not even close to being done.  Real life is just that, though, real, so when it comes calling other things take their proper places.

That said, I don't think you've done anything wrong, KJ, except maybe fail to read the tea-leave a little better and bring the two groups together more quickly.  Honestly, I was expecting this outpost to be the same outpost the other group is at.

Let's keep rolling.  Lazlo's got tons more songs to make!

((Another option is that we take a little break, at least with group A. I don't want to say what's going on with Kallista myself, but it's pretty heavy, and Hyre is going to be kept pretty busy for another month or so. The reason the two groups haven't linked together straight away is so the two groups have common ground by the time they find each other. I promise it'll make sense when it happens. What do you folks think? I wouldn't be opposed to focusing on Berker and Erich for a bit while Kallista and Hyre focus on RL.))

(I'm fine either way. I really hope we all can enjoy this together!)

I think taking a break would be ok- since we're down two people from our group anyway. Maybe we can set a date? September? We'd get summer off! This also might be a good time to get feedbck and talk about the gameplay in general. Housekeeping stuff.  I'm sure

We started the game with some house rules (Like 'pass', 'skip' etc.) and they quickly got tossed. That's not necessarily a bad thing but I do think that during an encounter (a fight, a tense moment, when theres momentum going in the story) there should maybe be a time limit to the length of time we wait before carrying on.  This may be difficult to swing because it seems like one or more of us has life stuff at any given time- but something to keep in mind.  

Also, how much do I have to pay Wizards to get the poll off the top of the screen? We may have to take up a collection. 

Dice etiquette: this is a rule at my table and I think it makes sense. No double rolling. In the last scene Lazlo rolled persuasion. Then immediately after Aelar rolled persuasion (higher, as only he can do). I would say that in that case Aelar could take the 'help' action but not make an individual roll. This stops a whole table from rolling persuasion and just picking the highest dice (they'd do it if you let them... they're like that).

Character inequity: We have characters with epic connections to godlike figures (I get it Warlock), we have a character who can fly turn into a completely op demon... Hyre has an egg. Lazlo had a (pretty cool) girlfriend. I don't remember the fighter/blacksmith's name- he had a rich girlfriend (money's not everything). I think we've set up a situation where you have a few characters who seem pretty pivotal to the story and the rest are just kind of side characters. Which leads me to another point (i'll talk about that later)- 'Why do we play this game?' Then later on new characters were introduced and one of them has a gun. A gun! I think I still have the stick my character carried around for eight months of gameplay written on my character sheet. 

Roleplay: Day 1 when I was looking for a game I saw Kina's description and it said "ROLEPLAY something something" and I was like YES. My expectations were high and admittedly I like nothing better than to babble on about stuff.  I think there are moments when we roleplay but as far as roleplay heavy I find it difficult to maintain dilogue. I'm not sure how to fix that- but I would love it if we had some MORE gripping dialogue between players and even NPC's. 

Last (I think) we might want to examine what reasons we play? Why do we play this game and what do we hope to get out of it? Or on an even more basic level if that is a complex question... what do you LIKE about the game? How do you LIKE to play? I have a player at my table who loves to roleplay but he's horrible at it. I still throw every RP opportunity at him. He rolls pretty well. I have another who just wants to fight on a board with minis all the freakin time. I'll throw in a map and some minis every once in a while.  Another guy is a loot horder- so he likes shiny things he can buy and sell.  Those are the things I try and include in each session to keep the players happy and the story moving forward. Some nights they are happier than others (you can't please everyone all the time- because sometimes the DM has to have fun too!). 

I'm not typing all this to make anyone feel badly- but if we want to keep this train moving (and I think we all do) then I think we should as a group think abou tthe dynamic we want to create within the game.  Apologies if I have pissed anyone off these are just one persons observations- my experience is subjective.  

Well, it's time for me to go to work. At leat it's Friday.

Hey, 

Things are getting a little bit better. Had one test the other day - went pretty good I believe, though results will take time - so that's behind me. The next two are both within two weeks, so I'll gradually have more time on my hand. By mid-April, I should be just as in the past. I might be busy again during May, but I don't know for sure. What I'm trying to say is that (other than a sudden strange void in my schedule that allows me to write this long post) as far as it concerns me, I don't think a long break is needed. Surely not until September, because I have no idea how life will be then. I know it's going to drastically change, I just don't know how, yet. That said, perhaps a shorter break to discuss some of the points that were raised would be a good idea.

First off, we can always just open a new, fresh thread. Doesn't mean it has to be a new game, but it will be easier to backtrack to recent events, plus it will no longer have those polls. I don't really mind them myself, but since SrDeebs mentioned them...

Second, regarding Dice Etiquette, I actually find this a good idea. If it's not something every member of the group has to do themselves (like trying to climb over a wall), one singular roll could be good. I personally think that rolling in some RP encounters is even somewhat redundant, but for the sake of those who don't have the time/skills/energy/creativity of making compelling arguments, perhaps it is okay to keep that. However, if we do, I think it should be a single roll at the end of a conversation (or at a point where the conversation can shift in at least two different directions, and thus the roll is important) rather than after every sentence. Be it the last person who spoke - or whoever really did most of the convincing/deceiving/whatever that rolls. That also negates the "whoever has the highest bonus rolls" approach. While it makes sense in some situations, in others it is no more than metagaming. 

Regarding character inequity - I think the problem here is just how successful, powerful and wealthy we all are for level two characters. If I were the DM (and I admit, I am prone to a much harsher DMing style than you, though that does not mean I don't like the way it's been sometimes), the characters would be risking their lives - REALLY risking their lives - just to earn enough for a meal. It doesn't suit everyone, I know, but I believe (perhaps wrongly, who knows) that most people would enjoy more knowing it was their creativity/teamwork/sharp thinking that got them their rewards, rather than good rolling or sending 20th level characters to chase a cat. Not that we're doing that, but... certain encounters that sounded dangerous at first turned out a little too simple. This, again, brings me to my opening sentence in this paragraph. The characters saving all of Guiston is just a little too much for me. Had it been protecting the Horseshoe until someone more capable came, I'd personally feel more accomplished. It just seems more realistic. Not all acts of heroism must be saving the world from absolute evil by defeating it. Where can you climb from saving an entire city? Securing an abandoned outpost - which is more fitting for the characters' power level - is a huge and strange downfall.

Thus, to make some sense of the characters' accomplishments, everyone got certain buffs. Aelar has his abnormal connection with Raia and Kallista can turn into that form. Others can like that kind of stuff, but in my opinion, it feels like it was only bonuses given by the DM, rather than the players' and characters' abilities, that "saved the day". On the other hand, giving Hyre an egg with a hawk that he'll never allow to actually participate in combat due to being overprotective, or giving Lazlo a girlfriend that needs his financial support, can lead to interesting roleplay, which is good.

That leads me to SrDeebs' next point(s). I don't speak for the others, and I'm willing to cope with things if they interest others, but what do we play for? I joined this game because it offered a lot of RP. For a long time, we all delivered as promised. From my perspective, accidentally confessing to Barna and arguing with Aelar way back were among my most enjoyed moments in all of my already not too short time playing D&D. I do enjoy other aspects of D&D too, but that is not what I look for in playing this game. Fighting? It can be okay, but fighting a tree is a bit strange when your only reason is to sell its sap, and fighting Skell is nice until you realise it's not your ability to teamwork or clever/creative thinking that won the fight, just Grimbuld's bows. Others might like that, I do not. And when it comes to exploration, asking whether people want to turn left or right just to avoid railroading is just pointless - as I learned the hard way as a DM - because they don't know what's expecting them and thus have no reason to choose one option over the other. Lastly, since our last encounter was looting an old mill for some wood, I can say that I don't personally enjoy looting stuff and find it very pointless, and I believe I can count on a single hand the number of times I said: "I loot the body" or something similar to that. I don't feel excited about finding a chunk of gold as much as I do about many other things that happened at the beginning of the game. 

What I'm trying to say is that SrDeebs is right. We might want to see what each of us wants to play. If someone loves exploration, then sure, let's play a game that also involves exploration, but otherwise, I think we can minimalise this aspect, or combine it with something else to make it interesting. Moreover, if only one of us likes one aspect and we're playing a scene that involves that aspect,  I think they can take lead. You won't see Hyre taking the initiative in negotiations because I don't mind paying a few extra coins, even if I only have a handful, but if we're doing something I enjoy, Hyre will surely participate in it. And before anyone brings up the point of separating character from player - though it is important - I'll just say that I plan my characters to either like to do what I like to play, or be forced to do what I like to play. For example, I had a character I liked to play (sadly the game just died at some point) who only wanted to keep herself safe from the captain's wrath and swing on the ship's railing. It just so happened that the only way to make sure she can keep doing that was to assassinate one of the ship's officers (she didn't get to do that, but she would have).

TL;DR - because it truly did come out long. I think we should review what each of us likes to play and steer the game in that direction. If we find out it already is this way, good. But let's make sure so we can all enjoy it better... when life allows us to play.