Here you can discuss your character choices and starting options. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.
This message was last updated by the GM at 04:12, Wed 31 May 2023.

S far I have nine players, with room for more - those of you are concerned that we would run as one big group have no worries. We'll split into smaller groups and run them separately.

 I was hoping to get  crack at sometime at thier worlds mythic egypt. Oh well.

I like that idea. Never say never....  :^)
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 12:23, Wed 31 May 2023.

Hello all, I shall be your very friendly neighbourhood Lyrist and worshipper at the feet of Aphrodite.

Also, where there are sphinxes there are going to be riddles so Egypt seems most likely indeed.

What are you all thinking of being?

Hello Hello. I'll be playing a young, adventure hungry barbarian. Raised on his father's stories on warrior-ing and adventuring, along with his mother's excellent bread, he can appreciate the important things in life. Like fighting. And proper dough preparation.

Awesome, especially the last bit. That is so cool!

I'm thinking of stealing a leaf from myth (Tiresias!) and playing a character turned from male to female by the gods. Maybe a thief a thief chosen as part of a divine bet between Athena and Hermes over whether women or men are the more cunning?

In reply to Player Eight (msg # 10):

So would the experiment be to see if he keeps his male cunning, or becomes more/less cunning as a woman?

Interesting concept. And definitely something I can see the Greek gods doing. They've done far worse for the lulz, after all.

In reply to Player Eight (msg # 10):

Welcome to the winning team!

I'll be playing a Nymph searching for a new home. Probably in disguise?

And hey, Kalikore, high five. Aphrodite fans have now fun.

In reply to Player Six (msg # 11):

So after the bet, will the loser blind the subject as he did Tiresias?

Hello everyone. I'm creating a Fire/Earth Elementalist. Still working out his ultimate goals; other than getting Haphaestus to stay out of his business.

Got a little bit of paperwork to sort out but I plan to bring a follower of Asclepius in the form of a Sacred Healer named Scarlet

Well why doesn't he spend some time with his wi-- oh.

Nevermind.

I've chosen the name Beorn for my character, so feel free to change that when you get to it, Maze master.

And for anyone interested, There is now a picture and some info on Beorn in the cast list.

I think Timon will be a noble.

*Curtseys*  Nobility must be recognised and rewarded, thus sayeth Aphrodite.

I also made a nymph, a nereid.

Probably becomes more/or less cunning. And yes they have!




Heh, thanks! :D

---

I have to admit while I like the general idea of the divinely mandated gender swap I'm less enthused about the Thief class after looking at it again since it looks a bit weak. Any suggestions for a more martial class (or magical I guess but we see pretty full of magicians at this point)?

The Hoplite/Spearman is interesting, for a down-to-earth normal guy with good fighting prowess.  Otherwise, the Nobles were always getting into trouble with the gods...

In reply to Player Eight (msg # 21):

Why not go full-on Amazon, now that you're a girl?

While it isn't in the core book the Assassin class in Issue 12 of the minotaur magazine is considerably more martial than the thief and retains some of their sneaky style the spearman doesn't.

Out of the eight of you who have finished their characters, we have two warriors, one specialist, and five magicians. This will be fun!

I know I said I'd split the group, but I was expecting at least a couple more players to join us - splitting into four and five doesn't seem worth it, given play-by-post's attrition rate. One or two dropouts and I'd be recombining you, anyway.

So we'll run as nine, and you'll see your game intro in a little while here.

I was very tempted but even though I like the Amazon and would happily play one the personality and background I went with screamed Thief! :-)



Interesting but I think I'll stick with the core rules for now. :-)

---

Say hello to Parthena your totally trustworthy, not at all greedy, anything but cowardly thief specialist!

Hi all! I'm playing Xanthos, a Spearman. I'll do my best to protect you all from the monsters!

So, are you gonna split the group in two now that we have 11 players, or do we go forward as a big group?

Our 11th player is going to join later, so ten will be fine. To be honest, I'd be hard-pressed to find time to write for another group right now. Besides, no matter how I split you, one group would be lacking in warriors.

Fair point.

My sheet is done, I believe. I'm assuming I'm good to post IC now.

While I have no doubt there will be extra complexities in combat from larger groups this game is fairly simple by default, so it shouldn't be to bad.  And the setting does lend itself to big epic group journeys.

Oh yeah, my sheets done too. think I forgot to mention that before posting IC. So it's been ready for a while :P

Personally I think such a big group is very unwieldy and I'd be surprised if it works. But I like this kind of surprises.

Over the years here I've learned that people drop out regardless of the size of the group. I've run quartets that imploded and nines and tens that stayed stable - I know for a fact that I won't ghost this game, so stick with me and I think we'll have a good time.

Assuming we are paid in advance we should probably just make a list of all the items we need to be functional, and how much that costs, then divide any remaining money later.

Name         items      net Silver cost
Scarlet       none        -100
This message was last edited by the player at 15:27, Tue 06 June 2023.

Beorn'll take:

- Two waterskins (4 sp)
- Flint and steel (5 sp)
- backpack (25sp)
This message was last edited by the player at 13:06, Tue 06 June 2023.

Call a backpack 25 sp.

Alright, if we're paid enough for it up front, I'll get these things. if we're getting supplies from our own pocket, I'll skip the backpack but buy the rest.

During character creation I already equipped Dardanos with:

Sling w/ 20 stones
Flint and tinder
2 days rations
Waterskin

He also has a dagger and staff as his starting equipment and 25 sp left over after purchases.

I did not get a sense that we were being paid up front, but I wouldn't be opposed to pooling funds for purchasing more equipment. Torches, oil, and rope for instance.

It doesn’t look like we are being paid up front.

Kalikore will take a backpack (25sp) and two waterskins (4sp) and her other 16sp can go into the kitty.

I bought the following for Parthena during character creation:

Sling
Slingshot (x10)
Flask of Oil
Rope
Bedroll
Rations
Waterskin

As a thief she also comes with a dagger.

Oh my Aphrodite! I need to have a further think.

Alrighty, then. 100 silver + my starting 12 silver.

I'll get
2 water skins (4 s)
1 flint and tinder (5 s)
1 backpack (25 s)
1 helmet. (75 s)

leaving 3 silver to give to poseidon. Perfect, and I start the adventure with zero coin, adding further motivation to do well :)

I picked up:

Backpack
Rope (30')
Bedroll
Waterskin (2)

Since I rolled fairly well for starting coin, I've got plenty of silver left over if anyone still needs some. I'll happily lend some out.

100sp plus my starting 45sp

Goods                Cost
Staff             -   5sp
3*waterskin       -   6sp
Bedroll           -  25sp
7* day's rations  -  14sp
60' rope          -  30sp
subtotal          -  80sp

Offerings etc.       Amount
to Aphrodite         30sp
to Apollo            15sp
to group for kitty   15sp
remaining             5sp
subtotal             65sp

GRAND TOTAL      =  145sp


The last five is because one should always have money left in case beggars should need it.

Dardanos has:

Dagger
Sling
Slingshot (30)
Staff
Waterskin
Backpack
Bedroll
Flint and tinder
Torches - 4
Flask of oil
Rations (2 days)

With 55 silver left over.

Offerings to the gods? Hrumph.

Had a late night at work tonight - I'll resolve the round tomorrow.

Do we have enough space to retreat a little and keep shooting arrows, or are we irredeemably in melee?

Melee now. These things are quick.

Can Dart of Fire be used in melee, or is it considered a missile attack?

You could try it, however, if one of these things hits you before the round ends, your spell will be spoiled.

What spell?

Dardanos's Dart of Fire, Daphne.

Oh oh oh, my bad, I thought that was a reply to me xD Sorry, I'm too self-absorved ;P

Alright, I changed my IC post sligthly, to reflect what the maze master said about me killing the stirge last round.

Sorry everyone for the unannounced absence, life is happening. I'm going to be very busy for a while, apologies.

No worries - the game will still be here.

Thanks for the understanding. Consider she's melding with nature or abducted by some local god.

Apologies for my own absence. I've been on a family holiday and while I do have internet access I've been much busier than expected. I'll be properly back in a couple of days!

 Do the birds seem low enough for a spear thrust?

Nowhere near low enough. Just to clear the mast they will be way over your heads.

This message was deleted by the player at 01:32, Fri 07 July 2023.

Can I cast Blazing Sphere above the ship? The starting point of the sphere is unclear from the spell description, but I can move it 34'/round (2x Mystic Strength). Can I make it appear in the air above the ship and in the path of the birds? I just want to avoid setting fire to the ship.

My book says 10' per elemental mastery (assuming you are using elemental magic), you might be thinking 2 squares on a 5' square map?  And keep in mind elemental Mastery is significantly lower than Mystic Strength.

As for flying this game is really quite vague on a lot of things, elevation among the worst of them, so it probably works?

Mine says:

The sphere has a movement equal to twice the Elementalist’s Mystic Strength in feet per round and
causes 2D6 Hits of damage to any being within 5 feet of it as it moves about.

Interesting, mine is the 2012 printing, is there a more recent one somewhere?

Hmmmm...mine is 2008. I guess you have the more recent one. I'll have to look into that.

Not the best format for a modern website but I am fairly sure http://mazesandminotaurs.free.fr/revised.html is still a legally free source for everything on it.

Magnitude 2: Blazing Sphere
This power allows the Elementalist to conjure a man-sized ball of fiery flame that he can move by mental command. The sphere has a movement equal to Mastery x 10 in feet per round and causes 2D6 damage to any being within 5 feet of it as it moves about. The sphere may thus be used against several targets, provided they are standing close enough to each other. Each single target can only be damaged by the  sphere once per round and may avoid all damage with a successful Danger Evasion roll. The sphere will also ignite any flammable materials it comes into contact with. Moving the sphere requires the Elementalist’s full concentration, up to a number of rounds equal to the Elementalist’s Mastery bonus. Elementalists with Fire as their primary element double the maximum duration of this power.

Unless otherwise specified, powers which operate at a distance usually have a range equal to 10 times the magician’s magical talent, in feet.

So 50 feet range in Dardalos's case. I'm going to rule that aboard ship you have too great a chance to burn the top of the ship somewhere - on land, the airborne sphere would work just fine.


There's a 2011 update which codifies the semi-jumbled  pre-2012 magic rules.

You could probably climb up into the rigging and then cast it, not sure that is anything like a good idea though.

Yeah, I decided not to do that. Dardanos is not really a climbing the rigging kind of person.

I have the newer version of the players manual now. Thanks for the heads up. I haven't noticed too many many changes.

 GM, Does any of the crew have shields and or missile weapons?

had a change of post.ALWAYS protect your medics. Sorry Timon.

The sailors all carry daggers, and you might have a few that can at least work a sling, but most of them are going to take cover after they saw what these huge birds can do.

In theory there are 4 crew members that now have access to shield/breastplate/sword from the goat men, assuming they want them.  Not sure there was time to put them on before the bird attack though.

Sorry, folks. Small family issues have arisen. Back in a few days.

It happens. Take your time.

Updating tomorrow.

Apologies, all - we went to the parents' house for a few days and I forgot to let you know I'd be gone. Mea Culpa.

Going on a little getaway with Mrs. JSC before her school year starts. Back in a few days. After that the game should roll along a bit more smoothly.

Thank you all for your patience - we have returned. I'll be resolving the round later tonight.

Sorry, gang - a personal crisis means all will be pushed back to Wednesday.

Take your time, and I hope it works out for you.

No hurry boss. Be cool.

We're all still alive here, so that's good. Gonna post tomorrow if all goes well, but I make no promises. Sorry I missed Wednesday, and that it's been so long since you had an update.

ZZZZZZZZZZZ

Sorry, Cleonus, but I have been waiting for the rest of the party to post while I help my wife recover from her recent surgery. Only six of you have posted for the round.

This pause is entirely my fault, as RL has thrown a curve my way for the week and weekend. Monday we will resume.

Anyone who might worry that I'll ghost the game, don't - I've written too much for you to do to quit the game now! My Star Frontiers game is currently at 5 1/2 years and running, and the AD&D game I run is approaching the 16-year mark.

As my senior-aged parents need us kids's help more and more I may have these pauses, but know that the game will go on - right now we're trying to empty a house and ready it for sale. After decades of being lived in, there's a lot to do.

On Monday your stalwart landing party will meet the locals.  :^)

No worries. I know that’s a heavy lift. Be well, the game can wait.

It's no problem, take the time you need.

Thank you for your patience this week - next week my schedule will allow me to post more often again. The house is almost done now.