Quote from: The_Shadow;521790It's understandable if you want to run your guy in combat. But I think all players need to take the same approach - either we go on autopilot when combat starts (perhaps with standing orders governing what to do if your HP get to a certain threshold etc) or we all take turns rolling and posting.

As Technomancer isn't keen on the former, what say you Sigmund and Tzunder?

With regards to the spell book, feel free to include it in your gear. It contains your initial spells, plus 1d3 other ones which you can learn one at a time when you level. Beyond that you'll have to find new spells in the course of play. The spellbook counts as an item of encumbrance.

I agree that one post per person per round would really slow things to a crawl.  Like I said, I don't mind if The_Shadow runs several rounds of combat at once.  I do the same in my pbp games, asking players for general tactics at the start and stopping for input only when conditions on the battlefield warrant it (such as when a PCs HP gets below 1/2, when the enemy a PC is fighting is killed, when reinforcements arrive, etc).  And seeing Tzunder's list of standing orders, it doesn't look that bad, kind of reminds me of the Dragon Age tactics menu.  I think I can live with something like that, I just don't want to be locked into a course of action if a sudden change of tactics is called for, especially since my character isn't the most combat-oriented.

Cool deal on the spell book.

As far as dice rolling, how do you want to handle that?  Do you want to make all rolls, or do you want us to roll for ourselves?  If the latter, do you need us to use any online roller where we can link to the roll, or just the honor system.

I'm going to type up my character and post him here in a few.

Fellows:

Check the bundle that I posted the link to, it has a nice spreadsheet character sheet I just knocked up.

I am all for the GM rolling for me, and when we need to roll, using the honour system, but I'm like that, YMMV..

Javid Olseth
ST 8
IQ 16
DX 10
EN 8

Move 5
HP 8
Level 1
XP 0

Coin
Start 4d6=2,2,4,1=8x10=80
End 15

Skills
Naturalist +1
Physicker +1

Spells
Light
Pain Channeling

Gear
Dagger (10)
Sling (2)
20 Sling Bullets (1)
Belt Pouch for money (2)
Belt Pouch for bullets (2)
Water Skin (5)
Peasant Clothes (2)
Marching Sandals (10)
Bedroll (5)
Canvas Backpack (5)
-Master Sergi's spellbook (0, special)
-Travel Rations 1 week (5)
-Hemp Rope (5)
-Mess Kit (5)
-Needle and Thread (1)
-Wolfsbane (5)

Tactics
-Normal: Stay out of melee range and attack with sling
-Enemy in melee range: try to escape without leaving himself open to attack; if unable to escape attack with dagger
-Attacked by ranged weapon or magic: Get out of attacker's line of sight, counterattack with sling from behind cover if possible
-Ally injured: Approach and render aid if he can do so without exposing himself to unreasonable danger

Story
Javid hails from the small backwoods village Haran, apprenticed to Sergi, the healer.  He did chores and tended his master's small herd of goats in exchange for training in the healing arts.  In addition to being a healer, Sergi had some knowledge of the ways of magic, but after the Witch Wars, the locals were extremely suspicious of magic, and so he kept this knowledge hidden.

Javid discovered one of Sergi's hidden spell books and began practicing in secret, learning how to make glowing lights appear from nowhere.  He showed this trick to a friend, who told the village leaders, causing them to become suspicious of Javid.  He was discovered while trying to heal one of Sergi's injured goats with a more powerful spell.  Worse, it was a spell that transferred the injury from one creature to another, and when the elders saw him return the goat to health by killing a rabbit, they suspected magic of the worst kind.

Javid fled to Sergi for protection, but angered by his apprentice stealing his book, the old healer threw him out.  Fearful of what the villagers would do to him, Javid fled with Sergi's book and became a homeless wanderer.  He has been able to earn a few coins here and there by practicing what he knows of healing, but he fears staying in one place too long for fear that word of what happened in Haran will catch up with him.  

However Javid ends up meeting the others is fine with me, perhaps healing a minor injury one of them sustained.

Name Bedlam Iceseraph
Class   Adventurer
Race   Human
   
ST   13
IQ   8
DX   13
EN   8
   
MV   7
HP   13
   
Level   1
XP   0
   
Coins   0

Armour   Cloth   Protection   1   DX penalty   -1
Shield   Buckler   Protection   1   DX penalty   0
Weapon   Broadsword   DMG   2d6+1      

Skill/Spell Name      Modifier
Tactics         1
Swords         2
Bows         1

Stuff
Cloth
Buckler
Broadsword
Backpack

Standing Orders            
Exploration: Bedlam is keen to gain loot and treasure to build a nest egg and attract a wife. He explores vigorously and will go the extra step to find and get stuff.         
         
Combat            
Against Ranged:   Find cover, try and steal initiative with Tactics, return missile fire. Shorthand: Defensive.         
            
Against Melee: Draw weapons and shield, try and steal initiative with Tactics, concentrate attacks on most deadly opponent, then leader. Shorthand: Aggressive.         

Against Combined: Follow ranged orders until possible to enter melee. Fight from cover. Shorthand: Defensive.         

Notes
Bedlam is tall, angular build with long red hair and green eyes. A third son of a Northern family that worships the cruel sun god Ileforid, an unjust sun god that takes the form of a teenage boy with the traits of a snow fox surrounded by an aura of light. The North is cold and icy and a third son will never inherit and must make his own fortune. A dour man in the day, Bedlam is a raucous party animal when drinking or smoking the wide range of herbs prevalent in the decadent Southern lands. He seeks his wealth so as to marry his childhood sweetheart Ingrid Snowblender, a noted and haughty witch.


Picture by John Ossoway

Also no problem meeting the others, happy to assume we are adventurers thrown together by fate.

Tzunder, great spreadsheet and nice character. Thanks! We can use dropbox, and I might post some background or setting info at my website (see sig). There's not much there right now, but there is a broad-scale map of the setting.

Techno, your character is cool with me.

Let's get started. Hopefully others will join in along the way.

I've started the play thread here. Have at it!

Please PM me your email address so I can invite you to the shared Dropbox folder. Also if you don't have a dropbox.com account then sign up below:

http://db.tt/78RodM1

PM sent.

I can't use Dropbox at work (where I am now) as it seems it requires downloading and installing something, at least for Linux anyway.

Yup, dropbox requires a client for all OS.
But you can also access it thru the web interface at dropbox.com, so if you PM me your email I'll invite you to the shared folder and you can use the web interface at work, and maybe the client at home.

It's safe and reliable, I've used it for years now.

http://db.tt/78RodM1

PS: I use a Mac at work and Linux at home.