Out Of Character

[mushgnome]

Imagine once he learns heat metal!

[rredmond]

Noh does have another flask of oil.

[kipper]

I'm going to be away from my computer for about a week and most likely unable to post during that time.

[rredmond]

Best of luck kipper.

[mushgnome]

Welcome back @kipper!

[mushgnome]

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: PROPOSED 2022 HOUSE RULES

A few tweaks to our house rules, in the spirit of making the game more FUN!

1. In the Seventh Adventure, we experimented with "D&D style" attack dice (instead of "Chainmail style") i.e. a 4th level fighter attacks as "1 hero" instead of "4 men." The experiment was a success in my opinion, so I would like to make this change permanent.
2. I will no longer allow burning oil as a grenade-like weapon. I grudgingly allowed it in the early days, to give the party a little better survival odds, but now that the party is experienced and successful, I don't think you need that crutch any more. Don't worry, burning oil still has lots of uses, for example deterring pursuit, or clearing an area of slime/mold/webs.
3. Spontaneous casting for druids! In my opinion/experience, play-by-post format is not a good fit for the Vancian system of memorized spells. It can be a frustrating exercise, trying to predict weeks (or even months) in advance, which spells your PC is going to need. Therefore I am now allowing Druids to spontaneously cast any spell on their list.
4. I am retconning all "Lovecraftian" elements of the game. No more Arkham, Cthulhu, Miskatonic River, or Mythos scores.
5. Perhaps the biggest change: The village of Hornpipe is no longer a "placeholder." The new & improved Hornpipe 2.0 is fully-fleshed with shops and NPCs for you to interact with! (@scottenkainen, this one's for you, buddy.)
6. I ask the players to kindly 'suspend disbelief' regarding any plotholes or narrative inconsistencies created by these changes.

Any thoughts, comments, questions, objections?

[mgtremaine]

3. Spontaneous casting for druids! In my opinion/experience, play-by-post format is not a good fit for the Vancian system of memorized spells. It can be a frustrating exercise, trying to predict weeks (or even months) in advance, which spells your PC is going to need. Therefore I am now allowing Druids to spontaneously cast any spell on their list.

Let's ask Highbough and Wen if it was a problem..... "Look deep into yourself and the answer will be ready..." says Wen. Highbough ignores my question and moves across the Mars like landscape seeking his prey.....

[mushgnome]

So, case in point: Highbough never got to cast any spells! He never had the right spell memorized for the situation at hand. Highbough could have been a Fighter, and for all intents and purposes, he would have been exactly the same character (with more hit points).

With spontaneous casting, Highbough at least would have been able to help the party by spending his spell slots on utility spells like Detect Magic.

[rredmond]

Reminds me of my OD&D 1HTK cleric, Holy Schmidt, a couple years back. Lasted with that 1hp with party members falling around me until finally, finally gaining 2nd level and getting that one spell. Then a wandering gnoll promptly killed him. Never cast that spell. Good game, two of us were left standing. We played well.

[rredmond]

Considering how well my spell went off, and how well the oil worked (it wasn’t grenade-like, right?) I’m cool with the DMs changes.