Dark Storms Gather OOC (D&D, e3.5)

Comrade Tortoise · Post by **Comrade Tortoise** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 7:19 pm

So your defense is to say that CT's judgment is equally bad?

And a poor defense, considering the information I received from a rather hefty knowledge check result indicating that they were highly-amenable to negotiation in good faith over price, and honored such agreements.

My judgement was indeed poor when I elected to use a proxy who presumably had a better chance of getting on the Steward's good side rather than my more Ferengi-like, charisma-free approach.

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 7:22 pm

What do you think this is, as western fucking democracy? He's a fucking king. A shitty one, but still one with the power of life and death over you. Why don't you fucking role play and act like you could fucking die if you say the wrong thing? Admittedly, rhoenix played him too much as a comic figure and further compromised the setting by not having you knouted to an inch of your life, but the fact that you insist on playing lawful stupid isn't helping either.

Comrade Tortoise · Post by **Comrade Tortoise** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 7:46 pm

I love party strife in the afternoon....

(Just trying to inject humor)

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 7:46 pm

I am roleplaying. He's a dwarf; he's not even the same species. You expect similar cultural values?

I certainly wouldn't do that to a monarch. I wouldn't want to take his orders either, but I'd head for the border at the earliest opportunity rather than tell him or his proxies so. But I'm not a dwarf who's lived in a completely separate culture for most of his life, and I know pretty much what to expect out of a dumb human with lots of power. On the other hand, back where Gror's from, a thane who acted like that wouldn't be thane at all, because he'd not have been allowed to grow up fat and lazy; seeing the ruler of a people in that state is nearly giving him an aneurysm. In short, he's suffering from an outside context problem, and I'm playing it out. Judging from the steward's apparently better sense, he'll get over it shortly.

Comrade Tortoise · Post by **Comrade Tortoise** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 7:55 pm

Out of character observation:

Given that the kingdom has not indeed run itself into the ground or open rebellion, there are a few possibilities.

A) The king has little real power, or just doesn't do much. Either way the kingdom is effectively ruled by the Steward, and other more competent folks, therefore paying lip service to the king, and showing legitimate respect for his surrogates is the most prudent course of action

B) The king is putting on an act for whatever reason and while he holds and uses actual power is not actually as nutty as he lets on.

rhoenix · Post by **rhoenix** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 8:09 pm

Some small points even travelers would know about Impetrus:

1. It was once a kingdom run by wise rulers, centuries ago.

2. The Impetrus Long Patrols, once a semi-rare but usually welcome sight across this continent, have become all but unknown within the last century.

3. 2-3 centuries ago, the castle and surrounding township was moved from near the ocean to be more centrally-located within the continent, for reasons unknown.

And, since I suppose it couldn't hurt, some in-general stuff.

1. Elves and Dwarves don't hate each other; rather, they usually have somewhat distant and formal communications with each other. A major war between certain Dwarven powers and certain Elven powers is purported to have happened many centuries ago. Supposedly because of this, Elves are more a bit more direct and realistic than you might expect, and dwarves take absolutely nothing at face value.

2. Halflings are rarely seen outside their territories, being much more homebodies in nature. They typically have communities hiding within the natural landscape, and nearby to other powers if hiding in plain sight doesn't work. However, as a general rule, only the Halflings with some severe family problems would ever leave their home, and that's because they can never go back.

Additional info upon request, but be warned I'll likely make you roll for it if it's too precise.

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 11:00 pm

Rogue 9 wrote:I am roleplaying. He's a dwarf; he's not even the same species. You expect similar cultural values?

No. Only a moron wouldn't recognize this guy as a dangerous, capricious tyrant and act accordingly. Given that you were informed of a wide number of offenses that would result in being beaten to death, you played lawful stupid.

Comrade Tortoise · Post by **Comrade Tortoise** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 12:21 am

Cynical Cat wrote:
Rogue 9 wrote:I am roleplaying. He's a dwarf; he's not even the same species. You expect similar cultural values?
No. Only a moron wouldn't recognize this guy as a dangerous, capricious tyrant and act accordingly. Given that you were informed of a wide number of offenses that would result in being beaten to death, you played lawful stupid.

In fairness, he has learned post-hoc that the king was play-acting with the executions. The DM forgot to inform him that sphere he carries detects evil-intent (which an unjust execution certainly counts for)

So... he 'ought' have known that the king was in fact non that capricious. Still... didnt know that in actuality at the time.

(Now where is Zap Branigen when you need him?)

rhoenix · Post by **rhoenix** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 5:10 am

Comrade Tortoise wrote:In fairness, he has learned post-hoc that the king was play-acting with the executions.

The king wasn't play-acting. He's just not necessarily evil.

However, the point was that despite this, those purported executions have not been carried out, evidently, as those three people were innocent, and Rogue9's character's sphere never uttered a single solitary peep.

Comrade Tortoise wrote:The DM forgot to inform him that sphere he carries detects evil-intent (which an unjust execution certainly counts for)

He knew about the ability ahead of time. However, I did point out to him that it never went off, even during those three times in the king's presence.

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 9:24 am

I knew it detected evil; what was unclear was how it did so. I thought it worked like the spell, while you later described it as detecting evil actions, rather than evil creatures, meaning it would go off if a neutral being committed an evil act.

That said, if the king fully intended for them to die, that his orders weren't carried out doesn't reflect any better on him.

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 10:40 am

I want to know how issuing orders you believe will be obeyed to have people executed in an excruciating manner for trivial infractions isn't evil.

Haizu · Post by **Haizu** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 12:08 pm

Why are you two having such a heated argument about this? It's just a freakin RP! Get over yourselves! Holy crap!

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 12:18 pm

So the way I see it:

We don't like the king.

We don't respect the king.

We don't fear having his minions coming after us after we get clear of the palace.

We aren't impressed with his offer.

rhoenix better have a B plot.

Comrade Tortoise · Post by **Comrade Tortoise** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 12:19 pm

Haizu wrote:Why are you two having such a heated argument about this? It's just a freakin RP! Get over yourselves! Holy crap!

It's because we're nerds. You have not SEEN the arguments that take place....

Haizu · Post by **Haizu** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 12:29 pm

Wow.....*shakes head*

Comrade Tortoise · Post by **Comrade Tortoise** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 1:48 pm

Cynical Cat wrote:So the way I see it:

We don't like the king.

We don't respect the king.

We don't fear having his minions coming after us after we get clear of the palace.

We aren't impressed with his offer.

rhoenix better have a B plot.

He has mentioned that he does have contingency plans...

Though out of character, and this is a suggestion I will make in character

We are only being paid for the dishes. While the Steward has stated that there is something else they might want in those ruins.

As a result of this, if we could obtain it and put it some place safe, it would be a rather large bargaining chip that may allow us to negotiate an additional sale without being executed. We kill two birds with one stone.

rhoenix · Post by **rhoenix** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 1:58 pm

Okay.

Cynical Cat wrote:I want to know how issuing orders you believe will be obeyed to have people executed in an excruciating manner for trivial infractions isn't evil.

The short answer is that he's mentally ill.

The better answer is: why aren't you trying to find all this out in character?

Cynical Cat wrote:So the way I see it:

We don't like the king.

We don't respect the king.

We don't fear having his minions coming after us after we get clear of the palace.

We aren't impressed with his offer.

rhoenix better have a B plot.

Ah - so upon first glance at this very first situation you're in, without looking more closely, you want to move on. Okay, so move on. If you don't want to find out what's going on in this kingdom, decide amongst yourselves, and move on. I'm not keeping you here.

I have a holy fuckload of sidequests and fun shit all written up. However, though they outweigh the total plot in terms of storyline and development and PC loot, you don't have to go for them.

Quite honestly, I only expected you guys to find or look for half of them over the course of this game. But, none of you are having your arms twisted to solve a mystery, meet a key NPC at the right time, or discover something cool.

Haizu · Post by **Haizu** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 2:13 pm

Yay for Rhoenix, a voice of reason at last!

Comrade Tortoise · Post by **Comrade Tortoise** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 3:36 pm

Once he is out of earshot of the Steward, the lizard noticed something that might interest the party...

Comrade Tortoise · Post by **Comrade Tortoise** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 5:04 pm

Knowledge history for info on the history of stewards

Spellcraft

Comrade Tortoise · Post by **Comrade Tortoise** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 5:16 pm

Wisom check (in the correct thread this time... thank Azathoth for my super-modness)

Haizu · Post by **Haizu** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 6:29 pm

Spot Check Road/General Area:

Comrade Tortoise · Post by **Comrade Tortoise** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 6:29 pm

fixed you tags

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 7:18 pm

If you wanted us to work for this guy, you have given us a good reason to work for this guy, shouldn't you? My character doesn't give a flying fuck if he's mentally ill or evil. He's a lousy employer offering lousy terms.

rhoenix · Post by **rhoenix** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 7:32 pm

Cynical Cat wrote:If you wanted us to work for this guy, you have given us a good reason to work for this guy, shouldn't you? My character doesn't give a flying fuck if he's mentally ill or evil. He's a lousy employer offering lousy terms.

I want all of you to test this adventure, to look for things, to enjoy the game. Nothing more, and nothing less.

As I said before, I don't expect all of you to activate more than half of all the sidequests I have plotted out, for various reasons - but they're there regardless, just in case all of you prove me wrong.

This quest string was the first and most obvious in the game, designed to not only to get all of you to ease into the game, develop a group dynamic, and get to know the world a little bit, but also to be on the lookout for subtleties, and to grant you many other benefits going into the rest of the overall adventure if completed.

However, if you don't want to earn 2k+ gold and potentially a shitload more for busting heads for a while, fine. Go buy a boat.

LibriumArcana.Games

Dark Storms Gather OOC (D&D, e3.5)

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