# [D20 CoC] Beyond the Mountains of Madness Campaign - Recruiting Alternate Players



## jdeleski

[D20 CoC] Beyond the Mountains of Madness

HEADLINES: The Arkham Advertiser - May 26, 1933: “Antarctica or Bust!” Renowned Adventurer Sets
His sights on the Bottom of the World

New York (AP)—World famous explorer James Starkweather announced today that he would lead a
party of scientists and explorers into uncharted parts of the Antarctic continent this fall.

Starkweather, accompanied by geologist William Moore of MiskatonicUniversity in Arkham,
Massachusetts, intends to continue along the trail first blazed by the ill-fated Miskatonic University
Expedition of 1930-31.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am recruiting one player for the Beyond the Mountains of Madness campaign using the D20 Call of
Cthulhu rules set in the date and time mentioned above. For those Cthulhu-philes who are familiar with
this campaign, I intend to make minor changes that add spice and uniqueness while speeding up play 
and, hopefully, adhering to the mood and intent of the overall original work. 

One (of six) positions remain unfilled aboard the expedition. All interested applicants should read the
information attached herein and submit a brief letter of application (introducing yourself and explaining
what benefits you can bring to the team) to James Starkweather at THISADDRESS at the Amherst Hotel in
New York City. Mr. Starkweather will thereafter personally respond to your application. 

We will be roleplaying the application process using the IC thread. Once Mr. Starkweather accepts your
character’s application, please post your character sheet to a Rogue’s Gallery thread HERE.

BtMoM Prologue thread = Here 
BtMoM Chapter 1 thread = Here 

A history of our events and evidence can be foundHERE.

*NOTE:* This is an admittedly-lengthy expedition and James Starkweather is seeking dedicated explorers
only! Please do not apply for the expedition if you believe that you will need to disembark at one of the
first ports of call. Additionally, the expedition needs explorers who are able to report for duty at least
once every other day, if not more often. If you cannot commit to this level of dedication, please do not
apply.

*2ND NOTE:* Playing in this campaign does not require in-depth knowledge of D20 CoC rules (we'll help you
through the pain ..  ), but any prospective player should have a basic familiarity of the Call of Cthulhu 
style of RPG and also some familiarity with H.P. Lovecraft's short stories.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


*Character generation information*

This is a very deadly campaign, therefore your character’s ability scores will be set using a generous 40
point buy system. That is, each ability score starts at 8 and the players spread 40 points out among all
abilities to arrive at their final scores. For ability scores of 14 or lower, you buy additional points on a
1-for-1 basis. For ability scores higher than 14, it costs a little more (i.e. spend 5 points of your 40 for a
score of 13, 6 points for a score of 14, 8 points of your 40 for a score of 15; 10 points for a score of 16, 13 
points for a score of 17; and 16 points for a score of 18).

Characters begin this campaign at the 4th level.

Choose your skills and develop your background and occupation with the needs of this expedition in
mind. I will allow some fame or notoriety for your character based on your occupation, and this may help
in the application process, but we’ll need to discuss any unique characteristics.

Below are listed some skills/occupations that James Starkweather might find useful for his expedition.
He will consider other occupations, but your application letter will need to be convincing. 

- Cartographer/Surveyor]
- Dog Handler/Sled Driver *- This role is currently being played by Drowned Hero (Øyvind Raknes)*
- Electrician/Electrical Engineer
- Guide/polar Survival Expert
- Journalist *- this role is currently being played by Morpheus (Martin Leblanc)*
- Mechanic/Mechanical Engineer
- Mining Engineer
- Outfitter (expert in cold climates)
- Photographer* - this role is currently being played by Morpheus (Martin Leblanc)*
- Pilot - *this role is currently being played by Taokan (Camille Bardier)*
- Physician
- Radioman/Radio Engineer
- Scientist/Researchers, expecially experts (maxed knowledge skills in his/her specialty, or 
someone who is well known as an authority in a field such as Archeaeology, Biology, 
Chemistry, Geology, Glaciology, Meterology, Mineralogy, or Paleontology. - *This role is currently being played by Drowned Hero (Dr. George Barrow)* 

Hit points are max at first level (i.e. 6HP + Con), plus 4HP + Con each level thereafter.

Starting location can be anywhere in the world, but all characters must meet in New York City (traveling
at your own expense) in 5 game months. If someone wants their character to originate in Arkham, or
actually work at the MiskatonicUniversity, they may. Feel free to make up or research places for you to
work or play that are appropriate to the time and region.

Psychic feats are allowed, but I would rather that everyone not have them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*BtMoM Keeper: jdeleski - US Eastern timezone*

Our Intrepid Investigators
Martin LeBlanc - Photojournalist, played by Morpheus - US Eastern timezone
Camille Bardier - Pilot, played by Taokan - US Eastern timezone
Øyvind Raknes - Dog Handler/Sled Driver, played by Drowned Hero
George Barrow - Scientist (Biology/Chemistry), played by Drowned Hero
Father J.P. Rucker - Priest, played by Strahd_Von_Zarovich


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## Gomez

Sir, you are are very good man! Good Luck!


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## jdeleski

Thanks Gomez! Given the scarcity of CoC players in my RL neighborhood, this is probably the only chance that I'll have at running this monstrously delicious campaign, so I decided to give it a shot. I've been watching your Masks and Delta Green campaigns with interest (along with Isida's) and if this expedition does launch, i.e. if I find enough interested players, I'd like to exchange DM notes if you'd be OK with that. I'm very interested in making this campaign exciting, memorable, and one that players are motivated to complete.

Job (the tortured one).


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## Gomez

Have you ever ran a PBP game before. I can give you a few pointers. With such a big game and the slowness of PBP, don't be afraid to cut stuff out and modify the game. Try and always keep the game moving. A adventure like BTMOM can take along time to finish.


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## The Shaman

I posted my 'letter of introduction' in the game-thread. I hope this is what you were looking for.


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## jdeleski

Oooh! First blood! Looks like exactly what I was looking for.  James Starkweather will be in touch.

When James has responded, please post your character sheet to the Rogue's Gallery thread HERE.


Thanks!
Job (the tortured one).


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## Morpheus

Ping-You have mail (in the other thread)...


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## jdeleski

Duly Noted! Mr. Starkweather will be in touch.

When James has responded, please post your character sheet to the Rogue's Gallery thread HERE.

By the way, I have been creating .jpg files of James Starkweather's invitation letters, approximately 225Kb in size, emblazoned with the Starkweather-Moore Expedition (SME) logo, suitable for framing.  Let me know if you'd like me to email it to you for posterity!

Job (the tortured one).


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## The Shaman

jdeleski said:
			
		

> When James has responded, please post your character sheet to the Rogue's Gallery thread HERE.



Wilco.

I'm very impressed that you caught the Reichert and De Agostini references!


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## Morpheus

jdeleski said:
			
		

> When James has responded, please post your character sheet to the Rogue's Gallery thread HERE.
> 
> 
> Thanks!
> Job (the tortured one).




I will post it soon. One question-Are we using the Defense Variant on pg. 15?


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## jdeleski

Shaman, 

Google is a wonderful thing! I had a hunch that those names were more than mere candy; the difficult thing was finding an article that was in English!  I loved the hunt! 

I'm encouraged with our early responses. Once we get 4 players and all character sheets approved, I'll kick off the first chapter.

Thanks!
Job (the tortured one).


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## jdeleski

> Originally posted by *Morpheus*
> I will post it soon. One question-Are we using the Defense Variant on pg. 15?




Good question.  Yes, we will play with both the offense and defense variant options on page 15.

Job (the tortured one).


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## Bobitron

I am interested, I'll get out a letter to Mr. Starkweather ASAP. I hope to have a little spare time Sunday.


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## The Shaman

My first draft of Paco's character sheet is up in the Rogues Gallery - I haven't purchased equipment yet, and I'm still thinking about his personality traits a bit, so I may do a little tweaking before it's complete.

I've only played d20 _CoC_ a couple of times, so please bear with me as I make mistakes - I'm more familiar with d20 _Modern_, so I tend to lapse into that system.


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## jdeleski

*Review of Martin LeBlanc Character Sheet*

Martin's sheet looks very good! I found that 2 minor changes might be needed and one question, but I've reviewed it after a long day and could be mistaken. Let me know if I've misinterpreted something.


QUESTION: There are 15 skills listed, but only 12 can be core skills (i.e. spending one skill point increases that skill's rank by 1 point). You've only listed 59 ranks of a total possible 70 in all 15 skills, so I assume that 3 are non-core (i.e. spending one skill point increases that skill's rank by 1/2 a point). Please identify on your sheet which skills are non-core.
CHANGE: You've listed 4 languages for your character, but your +2 Int bonus only allows you to have 3 (i.e. 1 base language, +2 languages for your Int bonus).
CHANGE: Your AC should be = 15 (i.e. 10 base, +3 Dex, +2 Defense variant bonus).
THANKS!
Job (the tortured one).


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## jdeleski

*Review of Fráncisco “Paco” Andreás Guerini Character Sheet*

Shaman,

Fráncisco's character sheet is a great start! I found 3 areas that might need tweaking, but (as I mentioned to Morpheus) I've reviewed it after a long day and could be mistaken. Let me know if I've misinterpreted something.

I calculated a total of 42 ability points (i.e. Str, Con, Wis = 10 each; Dex = 6; Cha = 4, and Int = 2) rather than the expected 41 points (40 at level 1 using the point-buy system +1 point at level 4). If this is correct, please subtract one point from one of your abilities and don't forget to adjust any relevant skills and attack stats.
Because I've agreed to use the Variant: Defense/Offense Bonus on pg 15 of the D20 CoC manual, your character recieves one extra weapon proficiency feat at level 1.
Your skill point ranks = a total of 58 points instead of the 56 that your character is entitled to. I think that the error lies in the fact that your "operate heavy machinery" skill should be a core skill for Fráncisco rather than non-core. You have 2 ranks currently listed for "operate heavy machinery" and this would require 4 skill points to attain a rank of 2 if we apply 1/2 rank per point as a non-core skill. You have no ranks applied to the "ride" skill even though it's highlighted as a core skill, so maybe this should be a non-core skill?
Also, I like the extra details that you've added to your character sheet in the areas of weapon attack and damage and also the full skill listing. These extra details will help me judge the game so I'm planning to update my sample sheet.

Thanks!
Job (the tortured one).


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## Morpheus

jdeleski said:
			
		

> Martin's sheet looks very good! I found that 2 minor changes might be needed and one question, but I've reviewed it after a long day and could be mistaken. Let me know if I've misinterpreted something.





> QUESTION: There are 15 skills listed, but only 12 can be core skills (i.e. spending one skill point increases that skill's rank by 1 point). You've only listed 59 ranks of a total possible 70 in all 15 skills, so I assume that 3 are non-core (i.e. spending one skill point increases that skill's rank by 1/2 a point). Please identify on your sheet which skills are non-core.





Done


> 2. CHANGE: You've listed 4 languages for your character, but your +2 Int bonus only allows you to have 3 (i.e. 1 base language, +2 languages for your Int bonus).



Fixed


> 3. CHANGE: Your AC should be = 15 (i.e. 10 base, +3 Dex, +2 Defense variant bonus).






> THANKS!
> Job (the tortured one).



Fixed...I put the PC up before you answered the Defense Bonus question.


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## Bobitron

Letter is up! I will work on my character tonight or on Wednesday if accepted.


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## jdeleski

Morpheus, your character is ready!  Once we get a couple more characters moving along, I'll give you the signal to begin.  Since one of the complaints about this epic campaign is its slow start, I'll probably allow you to begin before all characters are fully approved.  That'll help us to pick up momentum early, get past a few initial investigations, and maybe generate some additional interest.

Bobitron, Mr. Starkweather will be in touch later today, once his mousemaster finishes a few RL chores.

--------------------------------------------------
Job (the tortured one).


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## Morpheus

jdeleski said:
			
		

> I'll give you the signal to begin...
> 
> --------------------------------------------------
> Job (the tortured one).




I assume that this is the...Bat Signal!


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## jdeleski

Morpheus said:
			
		

> I assume that this is the...Bat Signal!




*laughs* It might be something in the sky, and it might have wings, but...  

Hey, I have 2 questions for you and Shaman (and anyone who plays this campaign, actually). 


Have you read the campaign book from Chaosium, "Beyond the Mountains of Madness"?
Have you read H.P. Lovecraft's story, "At the Mountains of Madness"?
I'm just wondering, and I may tweak the campaign a bit dependind on responses.

-----------------------------------------------
Thanks!
Job (the tortured one).


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## Morpheus

jdeleski said:
			
		

> *laughs* It might be something in the sky, and it might have wings, but...
> 
> Hey, I have 2 questions for you and Shaman (and anyone who plays this campaign, actually).
> 
> 
> Have you read the campaign book from Chaosium, "Beyond the Mountains of Madness"?
> Have you read H.P. Lovecraft's story, "At the Mountains of Madness"?
> I'm just wondering, and I may tweak the campaign a bit dependind on responses.
> 
> -----------------------------------------------
> Thanks!
> Job (the tortured one).




1) Yes, I have read BtMoM. As a matter of fact, I ran a PBEM with the author playing in it (this was in 2000 mind you and I haven't looked at it since).

2) Yes-along with _every_ other story he wrote.


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## jdeleski

Morpheus said:
			
		

> 1) Yes, I have read BtMoM. As a matter of fact, I ran a PBEM with the author playing in it (this was in 2000 mind you and I haven't looked at it since).
> 
> 2) Yes-along with _every_ other story he wrote.




PHEW!!! You PBEM'd the Author? I am truly stunned...and a little nervous now! How can I measure up against that?!?

I actually think that this is great news for a couple of reasons! First, it means that our campaign will be on solid ground throughout. By that I mean that we'll have competent, serious gamers who are interested in playing through a difficult challenge. Second, someone who is very familiar with H.P.'s work, and is an avid fan, is interested in maintaining the integrity of the story. From reading your notes, and Shaman's, I can already see that we're in for a whale of a good time! 

I'll do my best to measure up to the challenge, and your expectations.

----------------------------------------------
Job (the tortured one).


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## Morpheus

jdeleski said:
			
		

> PHEW!!! You PBEM'd the Author? I am truly stunned...and a little nervous now! How can I measure up against that?!?
> 
> I actually think that this is great news for a couple of reasons! First, it means that our campaign will be on solid ground throughout. By that I mean that we'll have competent, serious gamers who are interested in playing through a difficult challenge. Second, someone who is very familiar with H.P.'s work, and is an avid fan, is interested in maintaining the integrity of the story. From reading your notes, and Shaman's, I can already see that we're in for a whale of a good time!
> 
> I'll do my best to measure up to the challenge, and your expectations.
> 
> ----------------------------------------------
> Job (the tortured one).




You're too kind!  The PBEM was fun, but it kind of petered out towards the end. Chaz (the author) was great and he took the role of Moore and other NPCs. I'm sure you will do a great job...I'm looking forward to having a good time. Plus, it's d20 , so the system alone will provide some differences.


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## Bobitron

jdeleski said:
			
		

> Have you read the campaign book from Chaosium, "Beyond the Mountains of Madness"?
> Have you read H.P. Lovecraft's story, "At the Mountains of Madness"?
> -----------------------------------------------
> Thanks!
> Job (the tortured one).




1) Nope.

2) Nope!

I am new to the genre, and I'm looking forward to being shocked by many a thing. I stopped in on Shaman's recommendation to check it out, looks like you are running a tight ship 'round here.


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## The Shaman

jdeleski said:
			
		

> Shaman,
> 
> Fráncisco's character sheet is a great start! I found 3 areas that might need tweaking, but (as I mentioned to Morpheus) I've reviewed it after a long day and could be mistaken. Let me know if I've misinterpreted something.



No worries - lessee...







			
				jdeleski said:
			
		

> I calculated a total of 42 ability points (i.e. Str, Con, Wis = 10 each; Dex = 6; Cha = 4, and Int = 2) rather than the expected 41 points (40 at level 1 using the point-buy system +1 point at level 4). If this is correct, please subtract one point from one of your abilities and don't forget to adjust any relevant skills and attack stats.



The point breakdown was Str 10 pts, Dex 6 pts, Con 8 pts, Int 2 pts, Wis 10 pts, and Cha 4 pts. for a total of 40 pts.

The additional +1 to Con was from the 4th level attribute bump, raising the 15 to 16. Is that correct?







			
				jdeleski said:
			
		

> Because I've agreed to use the Variant: Defense/Offense Bonus on pg 15 of the D20 CoC manual, your character recieves one extra weapon proficiency feat at level 1.



Thanks - I forgot about that! I'll use that slot for his Weapon Proficiency (melee weapons) and add a different feat instead - maybe Athletic for an extra bump to Climb and Swim.







			
				jdeleski said:
			
		

> Your skill point ranks = a total of 58 points instead of the 56 that your character is entitled to. I think that the error lies in the fact that your "operate heavy machinery" skill should be a core skill for Fráncisco rather than non-core. You have 2 ranks currently listed for "operate heavy machinery" and this would require 4 skill points to attain a rank of 2 if we apply 1/2 rank per point as a non-core skill. You have no ranks applied to the "ride" skill even though it's highlighted as a core skill, so maybe this should be a non-core skill?



I'm still coming up with 56 -
 7 Balance
 7 Climb
 4 Handle Animal
 2 Heal
 5 Knowledge (geography)
 4 Knowledge (local)
 2 Operate Heavy Machinery
 5 Speak Other Language
 4 Spot
 2 Swim
 7 Use Rope
 7 Wilderness Lore
I calculate that as (4*7) + (2*5) + (3*4) + (3*2) = 28 + 10 + 12 + 6 = 56.

For my "Mountain Guide" template, I chose the following core skills: Balance, Climb, Handle Animal, Heal, Knowledge (geography), Ride, Swim, Use Rope, Wilderness Lore. For the three at-large core skills I chose Knowledge (local), Speak Other Language, and Spot. I deliberately left Operate Heavy Machinery as a non-core skill - it's just a couple of ranks invested for background reasons (Paco's time at the cannery).

I chose not to put any ranks in Ride - he can operate a dog sled or lead a string of llamas, but he doesn't have a lot of time on horseback, so he relies on his natural ability (Dex +2) to get by.

Does this clear things up a bit?







			
				jdeleski said:
			
		

> Also, I like the extra details that you've added to your character sheet in the areas of weapon attack and damage and also the full skill listing. These extra details will help me judge the game so I'm planning to update my sample sheet.



Thanks - I include those on my character sheets, and I was hoping you wouldn't mind if I added them here, too. I find it's a helpful time-saver.







			
				jdeleski said:
			
		

> Hey, I have 2 questions for you and Shaman (and anyone who plays this campaign, actually).
> Have you read the campaign book from Chaosium, "Beyond the Mountains of Madness"?
> Have you read H.P. Lovecraft's story, "At the Mountains of Madness"?



No and no - the only Lovecraft story I've read is "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" (I know, I'm pretty pathetic...  ), and I've never read the campaign-book. I ran a short d20 _CoC_ adventure a couple of years ago that involved mi-go in a Utah uranium mine - that's the only time I've played the game.

I should have no trouble at all roleplaying Paco's complete lack of Mythos knowledge!  

I'm really looking forward to getting started! 

I should have Paco's starting equipment done sometime today - I'll give you a heads up when it's posted. I'm assuming we'll have time to buy additional equipment when we get to New York...?


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## Morpheus

We're still waiting for one more, right?


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## jdeleski

The Shaman said:
			
		

> No worries - lessee...The point breakdown was Str 10 pts, Dex 6 pts, Con 8 pts, Int 2 pts, Wis 10 pts, and Cha 4 pts. for a total of 40 pts. The additional +1 to Con was from the 4th level attribute bump, raising the 15 to 16. Is that correct?




AH! You're quite correct! I had forgotten to think through the extra ability point at 4th level being worth more than simply a 1-for-1 addition. Sorry for my mental block on that one.



			
				The Shaman said:
			
		

> I'm still coming up with 56 -
> 
> 7 Balance
> 7 Climb
> 4 Handle Animal
> 2 Heal
> 5 Knowledge (geography)
> 4 Knowledge (local)
> 2 Operate Heavy Machinery
> 5 Speak Other Language
> 4 Spot
> 2 Swim
> 7 Use Rope
> 7 Wilderness Lore
> I calculate that as (4*7) + (2*5) + (3*4) + (3*2) = 28 + 10 + 12 + 6 = 56.




Yes, the listing above is correct if those are your core skills. Please unbold your "ride" skill in your character sheet (which makes me think that it's one of your core skills) and instead highlight the "operate heavy machinery" skill in bold typeface. That would clear up my confusion.



			
				The Shaman said:
			
		

> For my "Mountain Guide" template, I chose the following core skills: Balance, Climb, Handle Animal, Heal, Knowledge (geography), Ride, Swim, Use Rope, Wilderness Lore. For the three at-large core skills I chose Knowledge (local), Speak Other Language, and Spot. I deliberately left Operate Heavy Machinery as a non-core skill - it's just a couple of ranks invested for background reasons (Paco's time at the cannery).




Here's where the error creeps in, I think. If "Operate Heavy Machinery" is not a core skill, it requires 4 skill points to raise it 2 ranks. Non-core skills are raised at 1/2 a rank per invested skill point as per the D20 CoC manual, pg 18, "Acquiring Skills at 1st Level". 



			
				The Shaman said:
			
		

> No and no - the only Lovecraft story I've read is "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" (I know, I'm pretty pathetic...  ), and I've never read the campaign-book. I ran a short d20 _CoC_ adventure a couple of years ago that involved mi-go in a Utah uranium mine - that's the only time I've played the game.).




Excellent! I was hoping that we'd attract a few individuals who haven't read the stories. It'll be all the more, er, fun!  

----------------------------------------------
Thanks!
Job (the tortured one).


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## The Shaman

jdeleski said:
			
		

> If "Operate Heavy Machinery" is not a core skill, it requires 4 skill points to raise it 2 ranks. Non-core skills are raised at 1/2 a rank per invested skill point as per the D20 CoC manual, pg 18, "Acquiring Skills at 1st Level".



I see the confusion now - I put down two ranks but assigned a +1 bonus, refelcting the 2:1 nature of skill points for non-core skills - it should be one rank that cost two skill points, with the same +1 bonus.

I fix it when I update my sheet.  

Ride is bold and Operate... is not so that I can tell my core skills from my non-core skills, even though Ride doesn't have any ranks and Operate... does - do you still want me to change it?


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## Bobitron

Thanks for the invitation! I think I am finished with Vittorio, he is in the Gallery. This is my first CoC character, so please go over it with a fine-toothed comb.

Happy to be joining such splendid company!

Edit: A couple quick notes on character building. First, I'm still considering dropping a Skill focus to take a weapon prof so I can get rid of that pesky -4 to hit. Man, I really take that for granted in d20 Modern.

Second, I'm not sure how languages work. Do I need to spend a couple skill points to get English, or is it a bonus system like in normal d20?


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## The Shaman

Updated character sheet posted!

We need a physician for this expedition.


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## Prof Yeti

Anyone know where I could get some info on d20 CoC? We were going to start a game with my RL group but then the GM moved. We kinda fell apart from there.


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## Bobitron

Prof Yeti said:
			
		

> Anyone know where I could get some info on d20 CoC? We were going to start a game with my RL group but then the GM moved. We kinda fell apart from there.




Wizards was the best source, but they no longer have the CoC titles and do not support it with a forum or any information on the WOTC site. I think picking up a book is your best bet.


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## Morpheus

Prof Yeti said:
			
		

> Anyone know where I could get some info on d20 CoC? We were going to start a game with my RL group but then the GM moved. We kinda fell apart from there.




Here is the place to go for all things Cthulhu.


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## Prof Yeti

Groovy (Just got off the phone and the old GM is sending his book from NYC) - Whew just out postage.  

Thanks for the website Morpheus!


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## jdeleski

*Status & Communications*

I'm back to work this morning (ugh!) after a week's vacation, so I won't have an opportunity to review character sheets until late today, but I do plan to catch up and keep things moving when I finish work this evening. 

Until then, I'd like to organize our communications. I am very conscious of the need for privacy and security with our posts and our personal addresses, but would like to take a few steps to open up our lines of communications so that our game is able to maintain a brisk pace and so that we have a few alternate methods of communication for roleplaying certain aspects of the game. If you plan to play this campaign, I ask that you please take the below steps.

1) TIME ZONE: Please let me know your time zone and I'll post these in the OOC thread. I don't think that this information needs to be protected, but let me know if you think otherwise. This will help us know when might be the best RL time to contact someone in the campaign.

2) EMAIL ADDRESSES: Send me an email through the EnWorld system by clicking on my name and selecting the appropriate option. When you send me an email, please include your own email address and any instant messaging addresses that would be OK for me use for contacting you if you are online. If you would prefer not to exchange email or IM addresses, or at least wait until we're further into the campaign, I am fine with that. We'll figure out some other way to accomplish the info transfer. If you do send me your addresses, I'll thereafter test the email addresses by sending you a response. I will not publish your email addresses and instant messaging addresses. Nor will I send them to other players, not even to those individuals playing in this campaign. Please respect the privacy of my own addresses in the same way. It will be up to you to forward your addresses to any other players in this campaign whom you may wish to contact. 

Why do I need your email or IM addresses? Using email, we'll be able to contact each other for any actions and information that only your character would know about. For example, I plan to privately work with each player as to how insanity in the game would would affect your player and how it would be acted out in-game. I do not intend to post exactly how many sanity points each player loses (where other players would be able to see this information), but instead will privately inform each player how many they lost and then work with you to determine the effects. For example, let's say that a player loses 25 Sanity points when viewing Nyarlathotep in all its hideous glory; all that the other players would read is: "Player X sees this obscene monstrosity, his jaw drops, he loses control of his bladder, he remains fixed in his position, not moving, and he begins talking to himself." It would be up you, the player, to decide if you'd like to tell other players your sanity status.

Exchanging email and IM addresses will also allow you to contact me if you have questions that you don't want other players knowing the answer to, or if you would like to privately investigate some aspect of the campaign. I expect that this will significantly strengthen the roleplaying aspects of the game.

3) INSTANT MESSAGING: I will respond via email to each of you with my own email address and Instant Messaging addresses. The IM addresses that I provide to you will be ones that I use outside of my work and you can occasionally find me online at these IM addresses in the evenings and on weekends. Using IM, I expect that we'll be able to more quickly and more efficiently work out difficult events and information transfers. 

4) HOME ADDRESSES: If you are willing, I'd also like to exchange home addresses so that I can ship you any handouts and documents that might be unwieldy to post online (FYI, there are a few handouts in this campaign that might fall into this category!). I will send you my own home address in return. As with email or IM addresses, I will not post or distribute your home addresses. If you would prefer not to exchange home addresses, or at least wait until we're further into the campaign, I am fine with that. 

------------------------------------------------
Thanks!
Job (the tortured one).


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## Bobitron

I could seriously care less who has this info. Please cc any emails to both accounts.

*edited out!*

I changed my mind. Too much spam!


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## jdeleski

*laughs*  Bobitron, you are too much!

I've sent email responses, and IM addresses, to Shaman and yourself.

-----------------------------------------------
Thanks!
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## jdeleski

*Approval of Guerini's character sheet*

Shaman,

Fráncisco “Paco” Andreás Guerini's character sheet is approved.  Thanks for your patience and welcome to the club!

--------------------
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## The Shaman

Kewel.  

More players, please!


----------



## jdeleski

*Review of Vittorio Liuzzi Character sheet*

Bobitron,

I enjoyed reading through your character sheet and have a few areas that need tweaking.

- HP = 30 (9 at first level and 7 for each level thereafter)

- Flat footed AC = 10 (dex bonus and defensive bonus are negated at the start of a battle)

- Sanity = 70 (Wisdom X 5); thus 20% Sanity = 14

- This may not require a change unless you decide to adjust things. Your skillset did not include a few skills from the full list, including Open Lock, Pilot, and Repair. I only mention these 3 skills in particular because they are ones that somewhat fit Vittorio's profile, but there are others that are also not on your list. For the full list, compare against the sample character sheet for Dayton Williams.

- As a general note (but not anything you need to change), in the sample sheet for Dayton Williams I've only added "trained" or "untrained" next to certain skills where a character cannot use it unless they have trained in it (that is, where they've allocated skill point to add ranks in that skill). A character is able to use all of the other skills in that list (i.e. those that are not tagged as either "trained" or "untrained") without any training at all.

- Your character may add 3 more languages thanks to his +4 intelligence bonus (i.e. native language +4 others = 5 known).

- I did not see any stats for your starting savings and income (D20 CoC manual pg 15). Your highly educated character would gain +2 for his profession modifier as a technician, therefore his starting money = (1d6+2) X $2,000. His average starting salary would therefore be about $11,000 (i.e. (3.5 + 2) X $2K). His average starting income would be (1d6+2) X $1,000 = $5,500. If you'd like to use these numbers, I'm OK with that. If you believe that your character would have a higher savings or income based on his background, then let the negotiations begin! *laughs* 

If you accept these numbers, you probably should adjust your savings left.

- And lastly...



			
				Bobitron said:
			
		

> ...and his most recent {job}, engineer on an expedition with E. H. Harriman, Jr., son of the famous railroad baron who led an expedition to Alaska in the late 1800’s, in a visit to Alaska alongside Dr. Merriam, who was with Mr. Harriman Sr. on his trip in 1899.




Ooops!!! Go figure that there were *TWO* E.H. Harriman's who *BOTH* explored Alaska! James Starkweather would've known this, so I'll fix your invitation letter.  

----------------------------------------------
Thanks!
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Bobitron

jdeleski said:
			
		

> Ooops!!! Go figure that there were *TWO* E.H. Harriman's who *BOTH* explored Alaska! James Starkweather would've known this, so I'll fix your invitation letter.
> 
> ----------------------------------------------
> Thanks!
> Job (the tortured one).




That was extrapolation on my part. Harriman wasn't noted as having a son, but I made him up so that I could tie into something well known. The original expedition took place in 1899 or so, long before our campaign. Although, to be honest, I would like to make an older character if you will allow it. I could add 30 years onto his age and make him a veteran of the first expedition if you say it's OK. Would there be adjustment for age like in d20?

The other stuff I will attend to as soon as I get the time.


----------



## jdeleski

OMG!  You had me fooled!   

Aging characters are perfectly fine in this campaign, especially those who are Intelligence-oriented as opposed to Dex and Str. Before you choose the exact age, be sure that you make note of the Aging Effects in the D20 CoC ruleset, pg 13. 

Having someone roleplay an elder stateman would be VERY fun!

--------------------------------------------
Thanks!
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Bobitron

jdeleski said:
			
		

> Aging characters are perfectly fine in this campaign, especially those who are Intelligence-Having someone roleplay an elder stateman would be VERY fun!




Cool! I'll look into aging him a bit and making him a member of the first expedition.


----------



## Gomez

Too bad that I know the campaign inside and out!  :\ 
Would have loved to play in it.


----------



## jdeleski

*laughs*  Gomez, you are welcome to play Starkweather or Moore!  Or even Charlene Whitson, if you want a different type of challenge...  I'll even send you your cue calls!


----------



## eabha

Say, are you really still looking for more players? I've been watching this thread with great interest for a few days. I've not played CoC before, though I am familiar with it. I could pick up any necessary books tonight (means another fun-filled trip to _The Hairy Tarantula_) and put up a character tomorrow. 

I was thinking anthropologist/archeologist or a doctor. What, if anything, do you guys need?


----------



## jdeleski

Eabha,

The Starkweather-Moore Expedition still has 2 positions left open!  Either of your suggested professions would be good, but a physician is likely to be more actively needed within the storyline due to the demands of the campaign.

The ruleset that we're using is D20 Call of Cthulhu.  The manual is out of print, but there are usually a number of copies up for sale on eBay at any one time.  I picked mine up a couple of weeks ago on eBay for $15.  By the way, that D20 CoC ruleset is one of my favorite books and I'll be using some of it's content in my PnP D&D campaign in the near future, so you're likely to find other good uses for it besides in this game.

Welcome aboard!

--------------------------------------------
Thanks,
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## eabha

Well, I _really_ want to play, but I'm not sure I can pull off character creation without some sort of guidebook here in front of me. Even if I ordered it now, it would not reach me for days (I found a used copy available to order). Is there some sort of character creation guide out there on the web? Or is it possible to kind of _fake_ it, with your help? Is it much like creating characters for D20 Modern?

Sorry for all the questions, but I am quite interested in your game. Sounds exciting!


----------



## Bobitron

eabha said:
			
		

> Sorry for all the questions, but I am quite interested in your game. Sounds exciting!



A Celt from T-dot?!? Happy to have you!


----------



## eabha

Bobitron said:
			
		

> A Celt from T-dot?!? Happy to have you!



Well, thank you, but...er..._T-dot? Huh??_


----------



## taitzu52

Are you still looking for 2 more players?  I'd be downer than down.  I've been treatening to play Wilfred Brimley in every Antarctic game that's come along and have YET to.....  ok really, I'd still like to play!  

TZ


----------



## Gomez

jdeleski said:
			
		

> *laughs*  Gomez, you are welcome to play Starkweather or Moore!  Or even Charlene Whitson, if you want a different type of challenge...  I'll even send you your cue calls!




 Humm me play Starkweather. Well that would be a full time job!   I will let you have the fun of bringing him to life! I will just sit back and watch the fun!


----------



## taitzu52

This all being said, I have NOT read the adventure nor the source material of MoM.

I am playing a physician in another horror game, and would rather avoid it for the sake of redundancy, but will accept the mantle for....well....I was last in line (ye olde Cleric syndrome).

I was leaning more towards a dog handler, or one of the mining/engineer/science types.  Just give me the go ahead and I'll drop my calling card at the stately manor.

Gomez-All you have to be is rich, baby!  That's not work.


----------



## jdeleski

TZ, 

You would complete our roster!  Put together a character concept in your mind, submit a letter of application to James Starkweather, and you'll be all set.

Hmm.  Didn't Wilfred Brimley attempt to kill off Kurt Russell and crew in John Carpenter's "The Thing" (one of my favorite movies)?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eabhu, I'll help you through the character sheet creation until your D20 manual arrives.  Tonight, I'll edit the sample character sheet to include a more detailed instructions.

--------------------------------------------------

Oh, and I ask that each of you please send me your email address, IM addresses, and home address (if you're OK to do so) via email using the EnWorld personal messaging functions;  simply click on my name and select the appropriate menu item.  We will need these alternate methods of communicating during the game (see my earlier post RE: communications).

Thanks!
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## jdeleski

TZ said:
			
		

> I was leaning more towards a dog handler, or one of the mining/engineer/science types. Just give me the go ahead and I'll drop my calling card at the stately manor.




Either of those concepts would work just fine! If neither you nor Eabhu decides to play a physician, I will add one as an NPC.

------------------------------------------------
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## taitzu52

jdeleski said:
			
		

> Hmm.  Didn't Wilfred Brimley attempt to kill off Kurt Russell and crew in John Carpenter's "The Thing" (one of my favorite movies)?



Why no!!  I was thinking more of....oatmeal.  Yeah, oatmeal!  ("Guys?  It's cold and I'd like to come in now. I'm feeling a lot better.")

OK, I'll get cracking on that letter. I'm going with an overeducated but tough Coloradan.  The possibilities are endless.

Edit:  I think I'm going to go Cartogtapher/Geologist.  This should also give me some small radio skills due to the equipment, and give me an excuse to be a good climber.


----------



## eabha

taitzu52 said:
			
		

> I think I'm going to go Cartogtapher/Geologist.



Then I'm going with the physician. I'll get a letter up soon and get to work outlining my character.


----------



## jdeleski

OK, we are now far enough along in the character creation process that I'm going to write and post the prologue starting text (i.e. the bat signal) by no later than tomorrow sometime. 

We now have 2 character sheets completed, 1 near complete, 2 more characters coming soon, and 1 additional slot that might be filled within the next week or two by an RL buddy of mine. We don't need all character sheets completed and approved to begin the campaign since much of the prologue will only involve initial inquiries and investigations. Those of you who won't yet have an approved character sheet should wait until it's approved before starting your investigations within the IC thread, but that should only take a couple of days and it doesn't stop you from using this OOC thread to pass along some ideas to the other players.

I think that we're OK in starting the campaign without everyone settled because the prologue does not involve any encounters, nor does it involve any travel (unless your character takes it upon himself to independently do so). This also gets us moving through the initial phase which can sometimes start off slowly.

So, wait for the bat-signal, and let's see how much dust we can kick up!

-------------------------------------------
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Bobitron

Seriously, I left home and was in my car, and thought to myself, 'Well, if I get to work and another player hasn't posted, I'll PM taitzu and see if he's up for another CoC game.'

I'm so glad to see you noticed the thread, TZ. Welcome.   

T-dot is slang for Toronto. Are you sure you are from there, eabha?


----------



## taitzu52

jdeleski said:
			
		

> I've been watching your Masks and Delta Green campaigns with interest.



Seems that you're not the only one who knows my credentials, Bob.  Hey, thanks.  I've been wanting to play in BMoM for a long time.  It looks like this'll be a blast!


----------



## eabha

Bobitron said:
			
		

> T-dot is slang for Toronto. Are you sure you are from there, eabha?



I've spent much of my life here (and all of the last seven years) and _never_ heard that. What is the world coming to?


----------



## taitzu52

Presumptuous as ever, I went ahead and posted my character on the RG thread.  Seeing the previous post here, I'm sure ALL of my mistakes will soon come to light.  Still working on equipment.

TZ


----------



## eabha

Okay! I've posted my letter. Will get down to the nitty gritty of really creating her tonight.


----------



## Morpheus

I've already got a nickname for taitzu25's character...'Pops'.   Nice pic!


----------



## taitzu52

Thanks!  I encourage any and all to jump on the bandwagon and find a goofy pic.  Google images is good, but silent movie portrait databases are even better.

http://silentgents.com/Gents.html


----------



## jdeleski

That IS a really nice pic, TZ! And thanks for that weblink; it'll help me with the NPC's.  



			
				taitzu52 said:
			
		

> Seeing the previous post here, I'm sure ALL of my mistakes will soon come to light. Still working on equipment.
> TZ




Oh, hey, am I that bad?


----------



## Gomez

taitzu52 said:
			
		

> Thanks!  I encourage any and all to jump on the bandwagon and find a goofy pic.  Google images is good, but silent movie portrait databases are even better.
> 
> http://silentgents.com/Gents.html




Of coarse, he got that link from me!!!


----------



## Morpheus

Posted a pic of Martin. Rather distinguished-looking gent...


----------



## Morpheus

Gotta love Starkweather the misogynist...


----------



## The Shaman

Morpheus said:
			
		

> Gotta love Starkweather the misogynist...



Maybe if she sweet-talks the crusty old boy a bit? :\


----------



## jdeleski

Starkweather's response to your application, Eabhu, is an exception where you are free to roleplay further even though you do not yet have a character sheet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As an aside, let me take a moment to mention that I am liberally plagiarizing from a variety of sources to make this campaign the best possible, and to do so in my limited amount of time.  I am hardly a creative genious, but I am someone who can weave threads together fairly well.  Where appropriate, I will mention in this OOC thread some of my sources (but won't provide too much information...).

The letters from Starkweather are derived from the work of a Keeper name Smithy who ran a BMoM campaign some time ago.  Fortunately for me, he archived his writings.   

----------------------------------------------------
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## eabha

Annie should have gone with her original instincts and not identified her gender in her letter. Just Dr. A. K. Mahoney.

Well... we'll just see about this cantankerous old bastard.

Now, I just heard late last night that my grandmother passed away and I will be attending her funeral (out of province...actually, out of _country_) on Friday or Saturday. I should be away from the computer for just one of those days, though. I'll let you know which one as soon as arrangements are made.

As for the character sheet...well, I have studied the others up in the Rogues Gallery and I have an idea what I'm doing. There will be more questions later this morning. I can create the actual sheet after 4pm today once the work day is over.

Here's hoping ol' Starkweather listens to reason.


----------



## eabha

The Shaman said:
			
		

> Maybe if she sweet-talks the crusty old boy a bit? :\



Annie is actually torn between sweet-talking and just barging into his office (or wherever) and letting him have it.


----------



## Bobitron

jdeleski said:
			
		

> Bobitron,
> 
> I enjoyed reading through your character sheet and have a few areas that need tweaking.
> 
> - HP = 30 (9 at first level and 7 for each level thereafter)
> 
> - Flat footed AC = 10 (dex bonus and defensive bonus are negated at the start of a battle)
> 
> - Sanity = 70 (Wisdom X 5); thus 20% Sanity = 14




All fixed. I did decide to age Vittorio up to 55, but left his stats as is by shuffling some points around.



			
				jdeleski said:
			
		

> - This may not require a change unless you decide to adjust things. Your skillset did not include a few skills from the full list, including Open Lock, Pilot, and Repair. I only mention these 3 skills in particular because they are ones that somewhat fit Vittorio's profile, but there are others that are also not on your list. For the full list, compare against the sample character sheet for Dayton Williams.
> 
> - As a general note (but not anything you need to change), in the sample sheet for Dayton Williams I've only added "trained" or "untrained" next to certain skills where a character cannot use it unless they have trained in it (that is, where they've allocated skill point to add ranks in that skill). A character is able to use all of the other skills in that list (i.e. those that are not tagged as either "trained" or "untrained") without any training at all.
> 
> - Your character may add 3 more languages thanks to his +4 intelligence bonus (i.e. native language +4 others = 5 known).




Hmm. That's what I get for using a template without the same skills. I grabbed the Shaman's skill list and missed those ones. I switched two skills; dropping Spot and Search to take Repair and Open Lock. I hope that doesn't bite me in the butt later...

I dropped all my 'untrained' tags, I understand what you mean now.

Added French, Spanish, and Latin.



			
				jdeleski said:
			
		

> - I did not see any stats for your starting savings and income (D20 CoC manual pg 15). Your highly educated character would gain +2 for his profession modifier as a technician, therefore his starting money = (1d6+2) X $2,000. His average starting salary would therefore be about $11,000 (i.e. (3.5 + 2) X $2K). His average starting income would be (1d6+2) X $1,000 = $5,500. If you'd like to use these numbers, I'm OK with that. If you believe that your character would have a higher savings or income based on his background, then let the negotiations begin! *laughs*
> 
> If you accept these numbers, you probably should adjust your savings left.




Adjusted down to $5500. I'll be honest, it is FAR more money than I know what to do with. If I was in 1933, I would obviously buy an Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS Touring Spyder, but no need for that on the plains of ice, is there?  



			
				jdeleski said:
			
		

> Having someone roleplay an elder stateman would be VERY fun!




I will go in and adjust the letter to reflect Vittorio partaking in Harriman's Expedition in 1899. Shouldn't take me too long, so if you can go back in and edit yours to reflect my changes in a bit I appreciate it. Sorry for the extra work.


----------



## Bobitron

eabha said:
			
		

> Annie is actually torn between sweet-talking and just barging into his office (or wherever) and letting him have it.




Maybe you could stow away on the ship, popping out when we arrive? That'll show the old bastard.


----------



## Bobitron

OK, done adjusting the letter. I still need to re-arrange the background on the character sheet.


----------



## jdeleski

eabha said:
			
		

> Annie is actually torn between sweet-talking and just barging into his office (or wherever) and letting him have it.




I can certainly sympathize with your character's desires, and would love to provide you with some fun ideas, but cannot comment.    Whenever Annie is ready (and whenever you manage to work around your real life issues), be sure to post her official thoughts and actions in the IC thread.  

---------------------------------------------
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## taitzu52

Gomez said:
			
		

> Of coarse, he got that link from me!!!



Gomez....my personal Mythos enabler.


----------



## The Shaman

eabha said:
			
		

> Annie is actually torn between sweet-talking and just barging into his office (or wherever) and letting him have it.



Can you give Paco a chance to catch a boat to New York first? I'd like to see that!  

Speaking of...I can't find information on the cost of catching a tramp steamer or similar accommodations for the trip to New York from Chile - little help?


----------



## Bobitron

The Shaman said:
			
		

> Can you give Paco a chance to catch a boat to New York first? I'd like to see that!
> 
> Speaking of...I can't find information on the cost of catching a tramp steamer or similar accommodations for the trip to New York from Chile - little help?




Good luck. My Google-fu has turned up nothing. I'm not very good, though.


----------



## Morpheus

Bobitron said:
			
		

> Good luck. My Google-fu has turned up nothing. I'm not very good, though.




Did you go the messageboards here? The truth is out there...


----------



## The Shaman

Morpheus said:
			
		

> Did you go the messageboards here? The truth is out there...



I tried several searches: sea travel, ship travel, steamer, travel cost. No luck.

 :\


----------



## Morpheus

The Shaman said:
			
		

> I tried several searches: sea travel, ship travel, steamer, travel cost. No luck.
> 
> :\




If you post your question in the Classic Game forum, you should have an answer within an hour.


----------



## jdeleski

*Die Rolls*

I have a general question for everyone RE: die rolls. To keep the game moving along as quickly as possible, my plan for this campaign is that I will perform all non-critical die rolls for both the players and their antagonists using a randomized, computer program. However, whenever we arrive at a critical die roll such as when a character is placing deadly explosives, or attempting to rescue another character, or attempting a death saving throw, I will offer the option for players to use an online dicebox such as Nakada's and I would check for results. 

Any thoughts about this?

Keep in mind that if the result of the die roll would provide too much information to the players that they should not be aware of, then I would make that roll myself.  But I'm sure that there will be occasions when you, as players, might find it interesting/exciting to make your own death-defying roll.

----------------------------------------------------
Thanks!
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## taitzu52

I say this in all of my games:  not only do I not trust myself, but I am lazy too.   Not only that, I am a true believer in the GM "fudge" factor.  It's YOUR game, so please...roll away!


----------



## Bobitron

I would happily let you make all the rolls.


----------



## Gomez

The Shaman said:
			
		

> Can you give Paco a chance to catch a boat to New York first? I'd like to see that!
> 
> Speaking of...I can't find information on the cost of catching a tramp steamer or similar accommodations for the trip to New York from Chile - little help?




A tramp steamer from Chili to New York City in the 1920's? 

Ok, a tramp steamer captain might ask for around $50 to $80 for a paying passenger. Though it might take several weeks to reach your destination because of detours and the captains whim. Some tramp steamer captains might even be willing to take on a extra hand who is willing to work hard in exchange for passage. 

You might want to buy a one-way steerage ticket on a passenger liner. The trip from Chili to New York City would take about 8 or 9 days and cost you about $72. 

I hope that helps


----------



## eabha

Bobitron said:
			
		

> I would happily let you make all the rolls.



Ditto. Too much responsibility for the likes of me!

EDIT: Just put up Annie's response to the rejection letter. I got a little carried away...it's pretty long. But it was kinda fun.


----------



## The Shaman

Gomez said:
			
		

> I hope that helps



Gomez is now my official travel agent.

Thanks very much - that was very helpful indeed! 


			
				jdeleski said:
			
		

> I have a general question for everyone RE: die rolls. To keep the game moving along as quickly as possible, my plan for this campaign is that I will perform all non-critical die rolls for both the players and their antagonists using a randomized, computer program. However, whenever we arrive at a critical die roll such as when a character is placing deadly explosives, or attempting to rescue another character, or attempting a death saving throw, I will offer the option for players to use an online dicebox such as Nakada's and I would check for results.



Fine by me.


----------



## Morpheus

Roll away!


----------



## jdeleski

*Initiation*

The bat-signal has been sent and this one was not plagiarized!

Sorry for the color, but I wanted it to stand out in many ways.

----------------------------------------------
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## jdeleski

*Eabha's Response*

Eabha,

THAT was a fun read!

-----------------------------------------------
Thanks!
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## jdeleski

At this, the game's start and Prologue section, anyone (who has an approved character sheet) has an opportunity to do a little investigating before everyone gathers in New York City for the September 1st meeting at the Amherst Hotel. You may make inquiries within your starting town, or travel anywhere that you are able to reach while reserving enough time to get to NYC on Sept 1.

If you plan to contact old allies and sources, I ask that you first provide me with a brief outline of the person(s) here in the OOC thread, their background and area of expertise, and where they are located, so that I can judge if this is reasonable (most times, I expect that it will be).

Tonight I plan to review and comment on Bobitron's character sheet updates and TZ's new sheet.

----------------------------------------------
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## eabha

Okay, well obviously Annie is on her way to New York to see if she can find and convince Starkweather to include her in the expedition. I hope this is appropriate.

My character sheet is nearly done. I have just a couple of questions. First, feat choice. Are they pretty much the same as in D&D or D20 Modern? I notice there is a Skill Emphasis...is this the same as Skill Focus? +3 to a certain skill?

Also, how does one calculate income? Savings?

Finally, about equipment. I have no equipment list/price list to work from. Would you be able to help me out? I can list wardrobe I'd like Annie to have, and basic equipment, stealing prices from the lists of others. But can you suggest some specific equipment that a physician might want to take along? 

Everything else was really easy to figure out...thanks for adding in all the details!


----------



## jdeleski

*Questions from Eabha*



			
				Eabha said:
			
		

> Okay, well obviously Annie is on her way to New York to see if she can find and convince Starkweather to include her in the expedition. I hope this is appropriate.



It appears appropriate for your character.  We'll see how it plays out.



			
				Eabha said:
			
		

> My character sheet is nearly done. I have just a couple of questions. First, feat choice. Are they pretty much the same as in D&D or D20 Modern? I notice there is a Skill Emphasis...is this the same as Skill Focus? +3 to a certain skill?
> 
> Also, how does one calculate income? Savings?



In my opinion, There are a number of CoC-specific feats that your character would want to make use of; too many to list. If you won't have a D20 CoC manual for a bit of time, I recommend that we use a voice-over-IP session to work through these two questions (Skype, a free download, works great for this! You'll need a microphone for your PC). I won't have any time to do this tonight, but if you are available, we could talk through these tomorrow night, say at about 7:30 or 8pm US Eastern time? As a last resort, say if your computer cannot handle voice-over-IP, I have unlimited long distance on my home telephone and could call you to discuss these things.



			
				Eabha said:
			
		

> Finally, about equipment. I have no equipment list/price list to work from. Would you be able to help me out? I can list wardrobe I'd like Annie to have, and basic equipment, stealing prices from the lists of others. But can you suggest some specific equipment that a physician might want to take along?



Sure. But we can make it even easier. Make up what you think that you'd need, including what you think a doctor might have in her kit (stethoscope, morphine, etc.). Assume $50 to purchase a full-outfitted kit. Later, if you find that you needed a unique medical item, we'll roll an Int roll to see if you brought one along.



			
				Eabha said:
			
		

> Everything else was really easy to figure out...thanks for adding in all the details!



No problem! My RL friend needed that extra detail anyway.

-----------------------------------------------
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## eabha

jdeleski said:
			
		

> In my opinion, There are a number of CoC-specific feats that your character would want to make use of; too many to list. If you won't have a D20 CoC manual for a bit of time, I recommend that we use a voice-over-IP session to work through these two questions (Skype, a free download, works great for this! You'll need a microphone for your PC). I won't have any time to do this tonight, but if you are available, we could talk through these tomorrow night, say at about 7:30 or 8pm US Eastern time? As a last resort, say if your computer cannot handle voice-over-IP, I have unlimited long distance on my home telephone and could call you to discuss these things.




Well, as I will be away tomorrow night until Saturday evening, this will have to wait. If on Sunday I have not been able to page through a copy of the text, I will contact you again and set something up. I, too, have a great long distance plan. My work computer can handle the microphone thing, but not the ancient (circa 1995) laptop I use at home. Everything but the feats and income will be settled before I leave work today at 4pm and I'll go ahead and post what I've got.


----------



## eabha

I just posted Annie's character sheet in the Rogues Gallery. It's not quite finished but it's a start. There are a few things I'll likely tweak in the next day or so.

EDIT: Did I mention that your prologue rocks?


----------



## jdeleski

*Approval of Vittorio Liuzzi's Character Sheet*

Bobitron,

Vittorio Liuzzi's Character Sheet is approved for play. 

Please correct one mistake on my own part when I typed my first review, which is that:

His starting *savings* = $11,000. (my original erroneous response stated "salary" for this)
His starting *income* (i.e. salary) = $5,500.
And you're in!

----------------------------------------------
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## jdeleski

*Review of James R. Poole Character Sheet*

TZ,

You've developed a very interesting character with a strong background.  I have just a few minor requests for changes:

HP = 30  (9 at first level and 7 for each level thereafter)
Sanity = 70  (= 5 X Wisdom score)
You may add 3 languages as a result of your +3 intelligence bonus.
And, of course, you need his starting savings, staring income, and equipment.

----------------------------------------------
Thanks!
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## jdeleski

*Review of Annie Kathleen Mahoney Character Sheet*

Eabha,

Very good!  Annie is obviously a good antagonist for Mr. Starkweather.  

I have one minor change.  Your character, at 37 years of age, will have no aging effects.  Aging effects only come into play when your character reaches 50 years old.  If you choose to adjust your ability scores, don't forget to adjust all dependent stats (i.e. HP, AC, Init bonus, Saves, attack bonuses, skills, and # of languages). 

An average starting savings and income for Annie, as a doctor, would be the same as for Vittorio Liuizzi, our well educated engineer and demolitions expert.  That is, Annie would gain +2 for her profession modifier as a doctor, therefore her starting savings = (1d6+2) X $2,000 or on average would therefore be about $11,000 (i.e. (3.5 + 2) X $2K). Her average starting income would be (1d6+2) X $1,000 = $5,500. If you'd like to use these numbers, I'm OK with that. If you believe that your character would have a higher savings or income based on her background or personality, then let the negotiations begin! *laughs* 

We can try to link up to discuss feats and costs of clothing (ladies love to shop...) whenever you return from your RL activities.

--------------------------------------------
Thanks!
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## eabha

Okay, I just made some minor changes to my stats.

When would you like to do this feat thing? I'm a busy person so it's probably going to have to be the phone option. I don't get home until late on Mondays (tutoring), Tuesdays (gaming) and Wednesdays (more tutoring). If you are not a very early riser, we could have a conversation at about 10:15/10:30pm-ish on Monday (today!) or Wednesday. Gaming goes to all hours. Can't say when I'll get home.

Let me know what you think. I am _very_ eager to get this character sheet done and get Annie into New York to do some investigating. And to stir up trouble!


----------



## jdeleski

*Eabha Character Refinements*



			
				eabha said:
			
		

> Okay, I just made some minor changes to my stats.
> 
> When would you like to do this feat thing? I'm a busy person so it's probably going to have to be the phone option. I don't get home until late on Mondays (tutoring), Tuesdays (gaming) and Wednesdays (more tutoring). If you are not a very early riser, we could have a conversation at about 10:15/10:30pm-ish on Monday (today!) or Wednesday. Gaming goes to all hours. Can't say when I'll get home.
> 
> Let me know what you think. I am _very_ eager to get this character sheet done and get Annie into New York to do some investigating. And to stir up trouble!




I normally leave my home at about 6:30am US Eastern time to drive to my office, so any time before that would be fine, depending on how awake you are at that time of day.     I might also be take 20 minutes this Wednesday, 20-Jul, at about 10 or 10:30ish US Eastern for a phone call, if that works for you.  Late evenings is tough for me since I leave for the office as early as I do.  
--------------------------------------------
Thanks!
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## eabha

Well at least we're in the same time zone!

Yeah, mornings are okay. I get up around 6:00am, leave for work at 7:00am. So between 6 and 6:30 is perfect. But so is Wednesday night. I'll email you my phone number right now.


----------



## The Shaman

Hey, we're rock stars!  

Nice clipping - gotta love Starkweather's manic enthusiasm.


----------



## taitzu52

OK, I'm almost set with my equipment (couldn't have done it without you, Shaman).  I do need to know how much my surveying equipment will cost.  I'm assuming that I'll have at least 2 cases worth that I need to haul around.  Knowing how to carry large bulky stuff to inhospitable places is pretty much the explanaition for a lot of Jim's skills.

In thanks for horking your equipment list, I found a nice pic for you, Shaman:

_*Insert Chilean here*_


----------



## Bobitron

Nice pic, taitzu.

Hey jdeleski, should I post a 'getting ready for the journey' post in the in-game thread?

Edit: And yes, that clipping is very well done.


----------



## jdeleski

Once your character sheets are approved (so far, Morpheus', Shaman's, and Bobitron's sheets are approved, although Eabha's character is a notable exception for now), I encourage you to begin your IC preparations and inquiries. 

And I feel that it's important to emphasize that, aside from the main storyline from Lovecraft and the adventure direction and tone, there are a number of changes that I've made within the module as published. I am doing this so that anyone who's read the module or Lovecraft's story will find this campaign challenging (i.e. deadly?) and fresh. Most of the key events and personalities from the module will be present, but you should take nothing for granted. It is the same story, but it's not the same story.  I suspect that anyone who's read or played BMoM will have very few advantages over players who have not.

And thank you for your kind words about my article! You'll be seeing a fair number of newspaper articles that follow your exploits, especially considering that you have a photojournalist along for the ride.  

----------------------------------------------
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## The Shaman

Bobitron said:
			
		

> Nice pic, taitzu.



I agree, and thank you for posting it, *taitzu52*, but it's not quite how I picture Paco. I'm still hunting around for just the right shot...  

*jdeleski*, I'm still doing some background research for my character, and then I'll be able to post about his prep. I have a busy day tomorrow, but I should have some time on Wednesday.


----------



## Bobitron

Not directly related to our story, but check this out!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4693409.stm


----------



## The Shaman

Check this out - directly related to our story!

Eliason Motor Toboggan

Any chance _Señor_ Starkweather would throw down for a couple of these bad boys?


----------



## Bobitron

The Shaman said:
			
		

> Check this out - directly related to our story!
> 
> Eliason Motor Toboggan
> 
> Any chance _Señor_ Starkweather would throw down for a couple of these bad boys?




Cool.  

Yeah, Starkweather, don't go all cheap on us now!


----------



## jdeleski

That is a VERY cool link! To get Starkweather's official response on those motorized toboggans, you'll need to write him a letter in the IC thread, enclosing the brochure (providing the link is OK), proposing the nature of your research. 

As the GM, and provided that Starkweather approves it, I'd use some die rolls to run those contraptions, including the potential for the new technology to break down or for your character to crash (if you didn't have a decent "Drive" skill). 

As for the latest and greatest living quarters, that sure would've made things easier in the 1930's (as your team will find out once you get there)!   
----------------------------------------------
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Bobitron

I volunteer to fix, but not drive.


----------



## Morpheus

However, steering ability was very limited.

No thanks, I'll walk (or ride a dogsled)...


----------



## The Shaman

jdeleski said:
			
		

> That is a VERY cool link! To get Starkweather's official response on those motorized toboggans, you'll need to write him a letter in the IC thread, enclosing the brochure (providing the link is OK), proposing the nature of your research.



Honestly, for a Chilean mountaineer, it would be pretty unlikely that Paco is either familiar with the technology or the utility of such a device.

However, an enterprising geologist with experience all over North America would undoubtedly be familiar with the Eliason and might make such a recommendation to our esteemed expedition leader...*_WINK-WINK-NUDGE-NUDGE!_*


----------



## Bobitron

Vittorio, as an expert mechanical engineer, may have had experience with them in Alaska. I'll be happy to write up something.


----------



## The Shaman

Bobitron said:
			
		

> Vittorio, as an expert mechanical engineer, may have had experience with them in Alaska. I'll be happy to write up something.


----------



## taitzu52

I think Jim's still a little old fashioned.  He'd prefer dogs.


----------



## The Shaman

taitzu52 said:
			
		

> I think Jim's still a little old fashioned.  He'd prefer dogs.



Then we'll leave it to our esteemed engineer.


----------



## eabha

Okay, two things.

First, I finally got the Call of Cthulhu d20 rule book. Yay! Now I have to decide what to read first, CoC or Harry Potter...

Second, my character sheet is done. Let me tell you, the equipment list just about undid me. Now, am I supposed to assume this is all I own? Or is this what I am taking with me to New York? I'm so confused! But anyhow, it's done for now. She can shop for more stuff later. I mean, look at all that money!

Now I've gotta go home. I'm exhausted.


----------



## jdeleski

*Next Steps*

Phew! Everyone has been quite active recently! 

I only have a short amount of time to work on the campaign tonight, so I'll review character sheets to try to get everyone in play. Tomorrow or Saturday, I'll focus on responding to everyone's recent posts. 

And my RL friend is almost ready to post our 6th, and final, player-member of the expedition! Stay tuned.

I also may have one alternate player lined up. 
--------------------------------------------
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## jdeleski

*Approval of James R. Poole Character Sheet*

TZ, 

Your character sheet is approved for play.  That's an incredible equipment list!  And I enjoyed reading through your enhancements to his background;  hopefully, with a little luck and skill, he'll make it back safely to his wife and his retirement.  

Here are two minor money/equipment-related edits:


As a highly skilled and educated cartographer/surveyor, I'd give him a profession modifier of +2 as a technician, with average starting savings of $11,000 and an average income of $5,500.
For his hunting rifle, I'd suggest a Winchester M1895 sporting rifle, the same one used by Teddy Roosevelt, 0.405 caliber with the nondetachable box magazine (suitable for harsh conditions).  It's statistics are not specifically outlined in the CoC manual, but are probably similar to those of the M1894 caliber;  2d12 damage, X3 critical, 8 bullet capacity, range 200.  Let me know if this is suitable, but the Teddy Roosevelt connection is interesting.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks!
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## jdeleski

*Approval of Annie Kathleen Mahoney's Character Sheet*

Eabha,

Annie's character sheet is approved for play.

One question: Will Annie will bring her evening dress, high heels, silk stockings, and corsets for Antarctica?  

The current date is June 21st based on some of the letters recently mailed, so there's plenty of time for Annie to go on a shopping spree in New York City!  

(As a side-note, if possible, players should avoid advancing the time in the game by adding days/weeks to their letter dates and such.  It worked out without any difficulties here, but might become important later.  If something like that occurs and causes trouble with the timeline, we can always go back and edit a posted date or two, so it's not a big deal but, as you'll see, the passage of time will become more and more crucial to the campaign.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks!
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## The Shaman

I can back up the date if you like - I misread the press clipping and had it in my head that it was dated 23 June, not 3 June.

I just chose 21 June because it is the winter solstice in the southern hemisphere, the darkest day of the year for Paco - I thought that seemed like the perfect time to find out he was going on the expedition...


----------



## jdeleski

Oooh!  Yeah, the Winter Solstice sounds like a WONDERFUL point to begin our expedition!   

Nah, don't change it.  Let's run with it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## eabha

jdeleski said:
			
		

> Will Annie will bring her evening dress, high heels, silk stockings, and corsets for Antarctica?



Ha!

I want to say that those are for New York City. But I think it's just that I personally don't own any designer evening dresses and couldn't resist. As for the corsets, well...they come in handy anywhere.


----------



## taitzu52

jdeleski said:
			
		

> That's an incredible equipment list!



Well thanks!  Considering that I horked it all from Bob and Shaman, it shouldn't be a surprise.  Like I said, Jim's speciality is hauling large objects to extremely rugged places.  So I guess a couple more cases are in order.  Prices?

Speaking of prices, what sort of technical equipment would I want to be bringing? Or should I leave all that to Starkweather?


----------



## Taokan

Hello, everyone! I posted my character sheet and will most likely have my letter of introduction up sometime this weekend. I'm looking forward to an interesting game! (I'm also reading some H.P. Lovecraft tonight to "get me in the mood".


----------



## Bobitron

Welcome!


----------



## Bobitron

jdeleski said:
			
		

> Your planning and extra attention to detail has ably met the gauntlet that has been thrown down before you sir! I see that I’ve gained the services of not only a crack engineer and explorer, but also a leader of men! Your own actions as part of this expedition have now put us at the forefront of the application of engineering sciences, perhaps some day rivaling those of the great Henry Ford! Well done!


----------



## The Shaman

Found a snapshot of Paco from a 1927 expedition to the Northern Patagonia Ice Cap and posted it in the Rogues Gallery.


----------



## Taokan

I found a picture of Camille that I posted in the Rogue's Gallary; I assume it was directly before or after a flight as she's wearing her uniform. It even has her wearing her little wings badge. However, I don't think that it captures her personality very well...


----------



## jdeleski

*Questions from TZ*



			
				taitzu52 said:
			
		

> Well thanks! Considering that I horked it all from Bob and Shaman, it shouldn't be a surprise. Like I said, Jim's speciality is hauling large objects to extremely rugged places. So I guess a couple more cases are in order. Prices?
> 
> Speaking of prices, what sort of technical equipment would I want to be bringing? Or should I leave all that to Starkweather?




TZ,

I examined the prices on your character sheet and they appear fine.  Money does not seem to be much of a problem for most of you, unless of course you spend too much on the expedition and thus won't have much of a retirement to look forward to--there was no such thing as Social Security in those days.  But, then again, there was a high percentage that an explorer traveling to Antarctica in the 1930's would not be around to spend their nestegg in retirement.   

As for technical gear, you are free to purchase and bring any piece of gear that you see a use for, but I believe that Starkweather's expedition team will bring along most of the necessary technical equipment.  If, during the campaign, you identify an item that you feel you should have brought, we'll make a Knowledge or Intelligence check to see if your character would've thought of it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## jdeleski

*Welcome!*



			
				Taokan said:
			
		

> Hello, everyone! I posted my character sheet and will most likely have my letter of introduction up sometime this weekend. I'm looking forward to an interesting game! (I'm also reading some H.P. Lovecraft tonight to "get me in the mood".




Welcome to our illustrious band of explorers, Taokan!  I plan to review your character sheet this evening.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## jdeleski

*Snapshot of Paco*



			
				The Shaman said:
			
		

> Found a snapshot of Paco from a 1927 expedition to the Northern Patagonia Ice Cap and posted it in the Rogues Gallery.




Shaman, 

That a VERY nice photo of Paco!  And also a great introductory writing that describes Paco's preparations to travel to NYC.  I have a 1930's map of Antarctica to deliver to you and all of the expedition team.  If you'd like, I can write a return letter from your climbing team and attach it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Taokan

Well, I'm impressed. In my rejection letter Starkweather simultaneously managed to insult Camille's gender, race, AND flying skills. I'm planning the devastating comeback as we speak- however, I'll probably need to confer with eabha/Annie so we don't do more or less the same thing. 

I wouldn't worry about it too much though -Camille's planning on delivering her letter in response to Starkweather in person- and with sufficient sarcasm to set herself apart.


----------



## Morpheus

Taokan said:
			
		

> Well, I'm impressed. In my rejection letter Starkweather simultaneously managed to insult Camille's gender, race, AND flying skills.




It could have been worse...he could have asked for your phone number afterwards...


----------



## The Shaman

jdeleski said:
			
		

> If you'd like, I can write a return letter from your climbing team and attach it.



Sounds good.


----------



## jdeleski

Taokan said:
			
		

> Well, I'm impressed. In my rejection letter Starkweather simultaneously managed to insult Camille's gender, race, AND flying skills. I'm planning the devastating comeback as we speak- however, I'll probably need to confer with eabha/Annie so we don't do more or less the same thing.
> 
> I wouldn't worry about it too much though -Camille's planning on delivering her letter in response to Starkweather in person- and with sufficient sarcasm to set herself apart.




Be careful and crafty in your official responses to Starkweather. It's become obvious in his letters that the man has a superiority complex and is prejudiced with regards to the female gender, however it's also been made clear that he is personally financing this expedition and has the power to personally veto, or approve, any applicants. As in almost every aspect of this campaign and Call of Cthulhu campaigns in general, much of the truth is hidden (similar to an iceberg), and the rewards usually go to the clever investigators.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Taokan

That's true- Starkweather asking for Camille's number *would* be a lot worse than a flat-out rejection. 

On another note, I have posted my clever counter-attack. If it's not subtle enough I could always edit it later, of course. I particuarly like the opening line.


----------



## eabha

Taokan said:
			
		

> I'll probably need to confer with eabha/Annie so we don't do more or less the same thing.




Welcome to the game! 

By the way, Annie's planning to travel to New York City, seduce then drug Starkweather, rifle through his belongings and find something with which to blackmail him... 

EDIT: Say, would one of you nice gentlemen explain to me how you placed those swell images in your character sheets? This particular skill continues to elude me.


----------



## taitzu52

Paco rocks!!!

Use the tag:  [ img ] htm.blah.blah  [ / img ]  No spaces in the tags.

Show me a pretty face.


----------



## Morpheus

eabha said:
			
		

> Welcome to the game!
> 
> By the way, Annie's planning to travel to New York City, seduce then drug Starkweather, rifle through his belongings and find something with which to blackmail him...




Why I am I getting the impression that we are not even going to make it out of NYC...


----------



## The Shaman

taitzu52 said:
			
		

> Paco rocks!!!



He's a mountaineer - of course he rocks!  

That picture definitely shows him in his element. 


			
				Morpheus said:
			
		

> It could have been worse...he could have asked for your phone number afterwards...



Worse would've been telling her to fix his dinner and get him a beer... 

As a heads-up, I'll be out of town Thursday through Saturday this week.


----------



## jdeleski

*Question for Camille*

Taokan,

I could not tell directly from your response in the In Character thread, but did you mail that letter (you know, the one in the flaming envelope) to Starkweather or are you going to hand him that letter in person?   

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Taokan

I am indeed planning on giving him the letter in person - what happens when she does so is still up in the air, however... Of course, prior to doing so, Camille's acceptance will be sent to the nearest available newspaper as well, just to create some trouble for the chauvinistic ankle-biter.


----------



## jdeleski

*Getting Better Organized*

OK, now that our character creation effort is just about complete and our InGame thread is starting to heat up, I’d like to present an idea or two as to how I expect this game to flow. It’s a large campaign with a lot going on, and it could get confusing, so I’m going to take special steps to organize our information so that we all can easily keep track of where we are in the game.

This BMoM compaign is a little different from some games in that there is a strong storyline that we’ll weave our activities through, but if your characters choose to deviate from the storyline, I’ll certainly allow you to do so and will modify the storyline as appropriate. So, you might ask, what does this mean? Here’s the details:

1. EVENTS
Each week or two, I expect that we’ll work through a key game or storyline event. Occasionally there will be more than one key event in a week, or perhaps less than one every week if we’re working through a detailed encounter, but I’ll try to present at least one every week or two so that we develop a rhythm to our game. I’ll keep a running list of these events as described below. If you expect to be busy for an extended period of time in real life (i.e. RL), and you know that you won’t be able to respond during that period, let me know so that I can roleplay your character, if needed.

2. CAMPAIGN INFORMATION
I have begun thread entitled “EVIDENCE & EVENTS – Mountains of Madness” that I’ll use to to 1) collect/display all key evidence that your team uncovers and also 2) to list a timeline of important dates so that you can see, at a glance, what happened recently and what is expected to happen soon. For the most part, this will be a thread that only I add to; if you feel that an event or certain evidence should be added to this thread, just post something here in the OOC thread to let me know and I’ll add it. This thread will be a “One stop shopping” area for our campaign information. I’ll post both the Gametime and expected Realtime dates for these events so that you can try to plan your character’s actions and also your RL writing time. In this OOC thread, we may decide to adjust the dates (Realtime and/or Gametime) for these events depending on everyone’s schedules and planned in-game activities.

Take a look at my "EVENTS & EVIDENCE" post to get an idea what I mean. Let me know your thoughts.

3. OUR NEXT KEY EVENT - The Fundraiser
Our first deadline is the meeting in New York City at the Amherst Hotel on August 14, 1933 for the SE-M Expedition Fundraiser. I’d like to post a description of the start of this event by no later than next weekend, August 5th, in Realtime. That means that within the next week-and-a-half in realtime, you should try to post whatever actions your character would take prior to this event in NYC.

4. EXPERIENCE AND LEVELING UP
I expect to follow the general guidelines as written in the D20 CoC rulebook regarding awarding experience. That is, your characters in the story will reach a new level after completing approximately 13 (a wonderful number!) objectives. An objective is a little different than an event in the game;  not every event will equate to completing an objective and some VERY difficult objectives might be worth up to twice the normal award. Our “EVIDENCE & EVENTS” thread also provides a list of “COMPLETED OBJECTIVES” so that you are fully aware of your character’s experience status in the game. As you can see from the "EVENTS & EVIDENCE" thread, you will have completed 3 objectives once we complete the Expedition Kickoff Meeting on Sept 1, 1933.

--------------------------------------
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## jdeleski

*Other Thoughts*

Here's a few other important notes:

Currently, Annie and Camille have no idea that the fundraiser has been scheduled. If either of you plan to attend this fundraiser, you will need to post a few sentences in the IC thread as to how your characters discovered this information and what your thoughts might be.
In the "EVENTS" thread, I've proposed starting the fundraiser event next Friday or Saturday, realtime. If most of you are content with your current character status by this weekend, realtime, and if I hear from 4 of the 6 characters by this Friday that we should get going (and assuming that no serious side investigations start that we should wait for), then I'll initiate the fundraiser kickoff this weekend. If your character would like to take some action, our gametime is currently June 23rd based on my recent IC postings.
In a similar fashion, I've scheduled the Sept 1, 1933 Expedition Kickoff Meeting to begin 2 weeks in realtime after our fundraiser. If we complete the fundraiser event activities within one week realtime, I'll move up the start of the Sept 1 meeting.
Once I approve your character sheet, I print off a copy and enter the information in a DM program on my computer. At that point, your character information is fixed (with the exception of a few minor tweaks that I might ask for). If you find that you need to change something that I should take note of, for example purchasing extra supplies or that shiny new pistol, please post a sentence or two in this thread to alert me to any changes. That way I can update my information before you meet that deadly mythos creature in your closet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## taitzu52

Awesome.  I'm psyched..I'm jazzed...I'm moving .

This is just a heads up that I may not be able to post quite as much leading up to and following Aug. 1st. So this weekend will not be good for me to do any intensive roleplaying.  Weekends are a bit slower for me anyways, but this one is particularly bad.  As well as early next week.  I  will be here, but may be a bit tied up to make long posts.

Thanks in advance.
TZ


----------



## jdeleski

TZ,

Don't worry about having limited time.  I only mentioned the possibility of moving things a little quicker as an option if everyone had a bit of extra time.  The realtime dates that I proposed in my EVENTS & EVIDENCE thread should support a more leisurely pace for the campaign and will avoid stalling things, but will give everyone a bit more time to take care of personal matters.  

I'm not in any hurry.  It gives me more time to research and plan the intricate details of your upcoming insanity.   

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## taitzu52

jdeleski said:
			
		

> It gives me more time to research and plan the intricate details of your upcoming insanity.



_I know you gentlemen have been through a lot, but when you find the time, I'd rather not spend the rest of this winter TIED TO THIS *CED*ING COUCH!_
-John Carpenter's "The Thing"

*-Colorful Expletive Deleted


----------



## The Shaman

As I will be out of town beginning tomorrow through Saturday (which effectively means no posting again until Sunday evening), I would say no rush - while I am eager to explore Paco's inner psychopath (  ), I would like to spend a little more time on background, and there is some equipment I want to add to his sheet and some other contacts he needs to make before he sails for America.

Plus, I want to study the map before the party! Paco's got a long sea voyage with very little else to do...


----------



## jdeleski

*UPDATE:  28-Jul-05*

I plan to review Camille's character sheet late tonight and will try to get a map posted either tonight or tomorrow night.  I'll also post a storyline entry this weekend to prepare for our fundraiser which kicks off next weekend, realtime.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## jdeleski

*Review of Camille Claud Bardier Character Sheet*

Taokan,

I reviewed your character sheet and have a few changes to request:

1. Camille's Dex bonus is +4 based on her ability score, not +2 as shown. Most of your Dex-based saves and skills values are OK; see my notes below for any that need changing.

2. Your AC total = 14 is correct but the calculation is: (base 10 plus Dex +4)

3. You've only identified 10 core skills; please identify 2 more core skills that will increase one rank for every skill point added.

4. You've only allocated 56 skills points out of 70; did you allocate the remaining 14 skill points to the 2 skills that you've forgotten to list? 

5. Please correct the following skills as follows:
- Craft Gunsmith +9 (7 ranks + 2 Int bonus)
- Drive +11 (7 ranks + 4 Dex bonus)
- Forgery +4 (2 ranks +2 Int)
- Listen +4 (2 ranks +2 Wis)
- Repair +11 (7 ranks +4 Dex)

6. You are allowed one more feat (start with 2 feats at first level + 1 feat at third level + 1 weapon proficiency feat for the offensive option).

Thank you for joining our expedition and for the highly interesting background! I'm sure that our female team of Camille and Annie will prove VERY entertaining.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Bobitron

I have, like, a serious amount of in-game time to kill between leaving Chicago and the dinner. I posted a quick telegram (thanks for the idea, taitzu  ) showing that Vittorio is headed to meet with the snowmobile guy to prepare them before coming back to NYC. I'll post a dinner response once everyone is in NYC.


----------



## jdeleski

*Note to Bobitron*

Bobitron,

I reviewed the Eliason webpage and arrived at the following conclusions regarding your motorized toboggan purchase:

WHICH MACHINES ARE ON ORDER?

In 1933, Eliason's operation is still very much in early Phase 1; Phase 2 was not started until approximately 1939 or 1941 or so.
The bottom picture on the Phase 1 webpage is actually a near-Phase 2 machine, therefore that's not one that's being built for you. If you look at the patent diagram on the Phase 2 webpage dated 1941 and 1943 (or view the 1939 video clip), you'll see that those items nearly match the bottom picture on the Phase 1 webpage.
I've therefore attached a picture below of the machine that I believe is being built in for you in 1933.
ELIASON PRODUCTION CAPACITY

The Phase 1 webpage states "Continuing development and refinement during the 15 years of production at Sayner lead to generally larger models of Motor Toboggans. As many as 40 Sayner snowmobiles were built and sold with no three being exactly alike." 40 machines over 15 years at the Saynor site translates into approximately 3 machines per year. 
The Phase 1 webpage also states "With Sayner production limited to eight or nine units per year, anticipated World War II production orders could not be met." Therefore, even at approximately 1939 or 1941, they were limited to producing 8 or 9 units per year.
Based on the above statements, I believe that they will be unable to meet your order of 4 machines between June 1933 and September 1933. 
My initial thinking is that Eliason could rush 2 units for you by mid/end of August and put 2 on backorder for delivery in November. I'm open to discussions on this, and depending on how you roleplay your meeting with Eliason, might adjust things.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Bobitron

jdeleski said:
			
		

> My initial thinking is that Eliason could rush 2 units for you by mid/end of August and put 2 on backorder for delivery in November. I'm open to discussions on this, and depending on how you roleplay your meeting with Eliason, might adjust things.




Honestly, I was hoping that we could just get some from the used market to meet the need. I'm sure two additional owners could be found who are willing to part with thier machines for the right amount of cash. I'll post in-character, and let you decide how we should handle it at that point. I could pre-pay for the new units that will be ready in November and compensate the current owners for the wait.

If it works out that we take two, I think that would be fine. I really want them for flavor, not out of a need. They could serve as emergency back-up vehicles or something of the sort. Perhaps we could airdrop them to a supply cache or something? I dunno, just thinking aloud. If anyone has ideas, make them known.


----------



## jdeleski

*Map Update*

I edited the Jose's response to Paco to provide a much more detailed map, circa 1930, of Antarctica that shows the paths of both Byrd's expedition as well as Shackleton's. The white areas of the map showing no detail are those areas that were not yet explored at that time.

The details and text are readable when zooming in to approximately an 8 inch high X 16 inch wide blowup.  It's actually good enough that it may prove useful!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job, (the tortured one).


----------



## The Shaman

Excellent! I'll have another background post ready for you this week so that Paco can make his appearance in good order.


----------



## Taokan

Well, Camille has made her appearance, so be assured that she'll come to the gala. I also fixed my character sheet, but I don't have the rule book with me so I cvan't pick another feat. (I'll probably go with the equivalent of duel wielding since she has two pistols)


----------



## jdeleski

*The Amherst*

Those of you who are familiar with the official BMoM campaign may notice that the Amherst Hotel that I've outlined is different, intentionally, in a number of respects. This is one area--there will be a number of others--where I've taken a few liberties. I'm hoping that any BMoM fans in our audience will find these changes not only acceptable, but worth coming along for the ride. 

As a sidenote, I'll be travelling this weekend for a family gathering in RL and will not be posting the start of the Fundraiser until Sunday night or early next week. 

I will assume that all characters will have made their way to the Amherst in time for the Fundraiser. Camille and Annie will need to somehow find their way into that event (i.e. this will take some actions and roleplaying posts).

I also plan to make a post about the motorized toboggans, that there will be two new ones coming and (perhaps) two used ones. Bobitron, I believe that there is a chance that you'll find 2 used ones for the expedition. Please roll a d3 using Nakada's Dicebox (http://www.nadaka.us/DiceBoxDB.asp?Page=Add): 0 = no used toboggans found; 1 = one used toboggan found; etc.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## jdeleski

*Taokan's Arrival*

Taokan,

Your character's notice of the Fundraiser was nicely done!    It fits with the story and prepares Camille for the actions needed to crash that event.

Meeting with Starkweather will not be easy.  None of the hotel staff will tell you which room he resides in and you will not easily be able to make your way there.  It can be done, and it will be impressive if you pull this off.  Tell me your actions and I will tell you how the Hotel staff reacts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Bobitron

jdeleski said:
			
		

> I also plan to make a post about the motorized toboggans, that there will be two new ones coming and (perhaps) two used ones. Bobitron, I believe that there is a chance that you'll find 2 used ones for the expedition. Please roll a d3 using Nakada's Dicebox (http://www.nadaka.us/DiceBoxDB.asp?Page=Add): 0 = no used toboggans found; 1 = one used toboggan found; etc.




Cool! I've been to busy to write up a post regarding the toboggans. I'll get one up over the weekend and see you all in NYC.


----------



## Taokan

Well, how could I resist using Starkweather's obvious attempts to gain publicity against him?  I will put some thought into this, but I have three ideas for now, that I will consider and/or reject as time goes on. 

1) Attempt to get a housekeeper's position specifically so she can get to Starkweather's room 2) Simply lay in wait out the lobby for Starkweather as he comes and goes - when not sleeping in her room <I prefer this one> 
3) Pull a few strings to get hired as a maid/pose as a university student to sneak into the gala

(I suspect Camille half wants to go to this just to see Starkweather's expression when she hands him her letter)


----------



## Morpheus

Looking forward to the start of the fundraiser on Sunday/Monday. Martin has many stories to tell from his recent trip to Cuba...


----------



## The Shaman

Me too!

I'll have a final prep post for Paco tonight.


----------



## taitzu52

I should be ready to boogie by then.  Sorry, I've been super busy.  I still have to catch up on all the reading  on these FOUR threads!

TZ


----------



## The Shaman

Just for the record, *jdeleski*, Franz Weissner didn't pioneer climbing in the 'gunks until '34 or '35 - I took a little creative license there.  

I still need to update Paco's character sheet to include his ski bindings and reduce his cash on-hand to cover the cost of his trips - he's also carrying a note drawn on the _Banco de Santiago_ to cash for when he gets the chance, once his small stash of American dollars runs out. He'll be sleeping rough in the 'gunks, so he can get by 'til he gets back to the City.


----------



## eabha

Sorry! I found myself without a reliable Internet connection for nearly a week! I've never felt so out of touch. I just posted for Annie, anyhow.


----------



## jdeleski

*Getting Your Rooms*

Those are wonderful kickoff writings! Paco's first experiences travelling to New York City, Camille's comical scene with the housekeeper, Vitorrio's stay in Sayner to learn about the motorized toboggans (you've effectively eliminated any penalties with repairs, Bobitron), and Annie's going away party. We'll eventually get to some shorter, action writings of a few sentences, but these things really set a great opening tone. 

Here are a couple of things to consider:

Shaman, in Paco's opening paragraph, please edit out the "cool morning air" sentence. At this time, the entire Eastern U.S. is experiencing an unusual weather phenomenon, with daily lows above 80 degrees Fahrenheit and 80 percent humidity. Even in the evenings and early morning, there's no escape from the heat and the constant sweating and stickiness.
Taokan, I am alerting you a bit early that your student pose will not work because the fundraiser is by invitation only. I'm giving you advance warning so that you can think about how Camille will alter her plans once she's turned away. You can edit your post if you'd like, but there may be no need to do so unless you have trouble figuring out how to proceed from here (or if you have a blinding flash of brilliance that you absolutely must perform immediately!). It's up to you. Normally, we would play out this event as you wrote it, but I'm offering you the option of changing your post since I believe that Camille would've likely discovered her error prior to the start of the fundraiser. You don't need to change your post, but you have the option if you'd like to take it.
I've assigned rooms, but there's always the option of changing your room (within limits) by checking with the desk manager.
The two 6th floor double-occupancy rooms are adjacent to each other, but there is no adjoining door between them.
If you'd like to take any actions prior to the fundraiser, let me know. My next post will actually describe your entrance at the start of the affair. I plan to add my next post Wednesday night, but I can adjust the timing of this depending on what your character does (or if you tell me that you need more time).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Job (the tortured one).


----------



## jdeleski

*Die Roll for Toboggans*

Bobbitron,

Nice roll!!!  I'm OK with 3 used machines in addition to the 2 new ones.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## jdeleski

*Ready...  Set...*

OK, my IC posts now take the action right up until everyone enters the ballroom. I'll wait a few RL days to let everyone catch up, then will add a post describing the ballroom environment, the people, and the opening speech by the mayor.  

If you'd like take any actions prior to the start of the Fundraiser, now is the time. If you need extra RL time before we start this event, or if someone posts an action that requires quite a bit of roleplaying, I will delay the start for a bit.  Be sure to add a post here if you'd like me to wait.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## The Shaman

*jdeleski*, please let me know if I mucked up by having Paco introduce himself to Starkweather - I'll change that if you like.

*Bobitron*, I tried to set things up such that Vittorio and Paco did not have a chance to meet before the event - Paco was out getting a haircut and shoe-shine while Vittorio was getting dressed.


----------



## jdeleski

Shaman,

That's an absolutely splendid post!  And you left me some room to "maneuver" at the end, so there's no need to change anything.  I will not post any responses until we get a few more writings from other team members, but I will thoroughly enjoy following up on Paco's entrance.   

You should make one minor change in your sentence where you reference Paco getting a glass of champagne.  Since prohibition didn't end until December 1933, and since the Mayor will be in attendance at the event (and would like to avoid a scandal), the hotel will not be serving alcohol.  A small change.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks!
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## The Shaman

jdeleski said:
			
		

> Since prohibition didn't end until December 1933, and since the Mayor will be in attendance at the event (and would like to avoid a scandal), the hotel will not be serving alcohol.  A small change.



Whoops...  

I also fixed the weather report in my earlier post, and made a slight correction: Paco departed from Valparaiso, not Valdivia.


----------



## jdeleski

*Keeper Update*

I'll add another post or two tonight and/or tomorrow.  I've been diverted with work (both business and home) for the past few days, but hope to shake free tonight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## jdeleski

TZ,

I'll provide a response to your post tomorrow.  Yours will be a little different than that for Shaman and Morpheus.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job.


----------



## Dallas4lr

Greetings,


I just posted an acceptance letter, hopefully there is room for a scientist/priest.  I will post my character as soon as I am approved.

Thanks
Dallas


----------



## jdeleski

*New Player?*

WILL ADDITIONAL PLAYERS OVERTAX MY RESOURCES AND ABILITIES?
As an RL gamesmaster, I am comfortable with moderating a group of up to 8 people, given the limits of any particular scenario or campaign. Considering the leisurely pace of a PbP campaign, I think that we'd be fine; occasionally I might find it difficult to respond to 8 different sets of actions if all were posted at once, but I'd methodically work through them and I think that we'd be OK from that perspective. I therefore assume that I would be within my limits to accept up to 8 people in a play-by-post campaign, provided that the campaign world and scenario can accommodate that number of players. 

WILL ADDITIONAL PLAYERS OVERTAX THE SETTING?
In my opinion, the "Beyond the Mountains of Madness" campaign is able to accommodate 8 players, so long as I adapt an NPC or two, or a sidestory or two. There are many opportunities for a number of characters to experience different aspects of this environment. Within the main flow of the storyline, I believe that there are also numerous possible sidequests that can be explored. Were we to reach a bottleneck, I would feel comfortable in modifying the situation to accommodate the group. My only area of concern would be where a new player might overlap the skills and background of an exiting player. I would not add new players if that addition set limits on the options of our existing players.

WILL ADDITIONAL PLAYERS LIMIT THE FUN OF OUR EXISTING PLAYERS?
All other considerations aside, this element is really the key for our game. To motivate me to extend our team beyond 6 players, I would need to see no overlap in character skills, personality, etc., I would need to see a possible "synergy" effect that your new character might have with the existing set, and I would need to gain the concurrence of our existing players. 

1) Overlap? I could not see much overlap in character roles or skills. Your character is quite unique. Of course, your character would need to run the gauntlet with James Starkweather...
2) Character "Synergy"? The priest/scientist might present a lot of interesting inter-character exchanges.  
3) Since your character is interesting, Dallas, and appears that he might even broaden our roleplaying options, I'll consent to allow you in the game if a few of our players agree that it would be OK for them (or if noone objects). Please allow us a few days to discuss this.

Even should the players have concerns about a larger team, Dallas, you'd be first on the alternate list. Since this is expected to be a lengthy campaign, and since I've noticed a fair amount of turnover in other PbP games, you'd probably find an opening within a reasonable amount of time.

Players are welcome to send me emails with their thoughts.

What does everyone say?

Dallas, to satisfy my own curiosity (it won't impact whether you are allowed in the game), are you familiar with this campaign?  Have you read the material or any bulletin board descriptions?  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Bobitron

No problem with another player here. Welcome, Dallas!

My issue so far has been the lack of time to sit down and make reasonably well written posts. Most of my pbp stuff can be done at work without sacrificing quality, but the quality of my writing suffers compared to sitting down at home and doing it. The pace is actually a nice rate for me. I can commit to one good sized post a week with this quality, which seems to be about what everyone is putting up, and more posts once we get into situations where single sentance replies make sense.


----------



## The Shaman

The more the crazier.


----------



## Dallas4lr

Greetings,

I have had a brief experience with this scenerio, about 2 years ago someone started this campaign on this message board.  Unfortunately, the game fell apart soon after we disembarked from port.  

I am very interested in seeing how this character fairs in this adventure.  Basically, Dr. Rucker is a scientist who gained some knowledge of the mythos via scientific inquiry.   After being called in to identify what he thought  were some ancient fossils, the Dr. soon realized that these artifacts were not of terresterial origin.  His exposure to these artifacts eventually lead to a fanatic interest in the Mythos, he believed that by studying the mythos he could ascertain the exact origin of the artifacts.  Unfortunately his dedication to this endeavor went too far, and the good Dr. opened some mythical doors which should have remained shut.  In an attempt to maintain a grasp on reality and his sanity Dr. Rucker turned to religion, to escape the dread, fear, and nighmares.  The last 18 months in the ministry has set his mind and spirit at ease, but he also feels that there are still questions that he must answer, and he believes that the answers can be found in the fossil remains of antartica.



Dallas


----------



## Taokan

*dupe post*


----------



## jdeleski

*Approval of Dallas' Entry into BMoM*

Dallas,

I really like Dr. Rucker's character background and motivation! Based on quick responses from Bobitron and The Shaman, and a verbal discussion that I had with Taokan, you are approved for entry. I'll work up a Starkweather reply this week. Meanwhile, you are clear to work on your character sheet.

Sorry for my long response RE: additional players, but I had to work through in my mind what might be the top limit for active players in this campaign, and to also see how the other players felt about it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one)


----------



## taitzu52

The Shaman said:
			
		

> The more the crazier.



Yes, tie him to the sofa......I mean, welcome Dallas!!

I like the concept, almost has an Excorsist flavor to it.  I would double check with the GM before you write a lot of Mythos knowledge into your background.  I have found very few cases where previous knowledge of it adds to the game.  In fact, it's ruining another PBP I'm in.  Justifiying PK is something you may want to keep in check.  Thanks for listning!!

TZ


----------



## The Shaman

taitzu52 said:
			
		

> I would double check with the GM before you write a lot of Mythos knowledge into your background.  I have found very few cases where previous knowledge of it adds to the game.



I agree.


----------



## jdeleski

*Mythos Knowledge?  Tied to the sofa?*

TZ and Shaman are right, extensive mythos knowledge would not benefit you very much, Dallas.  Hints of mythos knowledge would be fine and would help your character to be alert to certain events or possibilities, but beyond that, I think that it would be a waste.

And, in reference to the sofa, I just thought that I'd let you know, TZ, that I've picked up a copy of the book "The Thing from Another World" by John W. Campbell, Jr., formerly published as "Who Goes There?" under the pseudonym Don Stuart.  I'm just doing my appointed GM research...

*an evil laugh echoes through the chamber*  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Bobitron

The Shaman said:
			
		

> I agree.




And I'll... ummm... third it.


----------



## taitzu52

jdeleski said:
			
		

> And, in reference to the sofa, I just thought that I'd let you know, TZ, that I've picked up a copy of the book "The Thing from Another World" by John W. Campbell, Jr., formerly published as "Who Goes There?" under the pseudonym Don Stuart.  I'm just doing my appointed GM research...



I picked up some crazy stuff myself @ Horrorfind this weekend.  More like Edward Lee, and Brian Keene.  
And like everyone else, the unedited version of _The Audition_.  OK, so I'm a splatter geek.


----------



## Taokan

Well, I _finally_ got in the fundraiser_._ All I have to do now is actually get to Starkweather. Hopefully, no one who knows her will attempt to talk to "Mrs. Lockhart".

What I'm wondering is what will go wrong/happen at the fundraiser.


----------



## Dallas4lr

Greetings,

I do thank everyone for allowing me to come aboard, and I have posted the bulk of my character in the Rogue Gallery.  I still have to add the equipment and a detailed background.


As for father Rucker, his use and knowledge of Mythos is very limited.  He had a very minor encounter which only cost him 2 sanity points.  Still, this minor encounter was frigtening enough that he sought religion for peace and solitude.  The mythos aspect of his character is moreso an explanation of who and why he is what he is, rather than a core aspect of his personality.  I think it helps to explain why a well known scientist would leave his passion and studies for the peace and tranquility of the church.   He is by no means an expert in the mythos, though he believes  the mythos can explain the origin of some of the weird artifacts he has encountered.  He is by all means a priest and will conduct himself as one.

Dallas


----------



## Dallas4lr

Jdlelski,


In your game introduction you spoke of allowing psychic feats, but you wanted to keep that aspect of the game to a minimum.  I was wondering if spellcasting would also be allowed with the same constraints.

If so I am submitting the following spells for your approval to be contained in Father Rucker's grimoire:  Cast Out Devil, Control Weather, Create Gate, Dominate Animal, and Mind Blast.

My perspective of this character is that Father Rucker considers himself a Priest first, who has a considerable understanding of science.  He is very secretive about his spellcasting ability and will make every attempt to keep these abilities hidden from the other members of the expedition.  In fact, Father Rucker is extremely afraid of using his spellcasting abilities, thus he would only openly use these abilities in the most dire circumstances.

Dallas


----------



## The Shaman

Dallas4lr said:
			
		

> I was wondering if spellcasting would also be allowed with the same constraints.



*Dallas4lr*, I'm sorry, but I'm starting to get a little leery of your character concept.

Too much Mythos knowledge among the investigators takes away from the sense of discovery and associated horror that comes from encountering Mythos creatures and effects for the first time. It seems to me that the whole adventure, at least from where I sit, is about discovery, both geographical and metaphysical (or mythophysical, if you prefer).

Also, it's starting to seem a little forced - he was a scientist who became a priest, but now he wants to go on an expedition to the antarctic? Why? Because of his prior experience with the Mythos. It begins with the assumption that the expedition will encounter Mythos creatures, which strikes me as a bit metagamey.

You've created an interesting character, but it seems to me that his experiences and ability put him in a different league than everyone else, which makes him hard to mesh with the rest of the investigators.

Please explain to me why my concerns are unfounded.


----------



## Bobitron

I'll agree with Shaman here. The rest of the characters are all ordinary (well, heroic, but ordinary) folks. I think a priest/scientist is a great concept, but adding in spellcasting and knowldege of the things that go bump in the night takes him into a very different place than the rest of us.


----------



## taitzu52

And if I'm reading the character right, it looks like his back up plan would be to shoot it.


----------



## Dallas4lr

Greetings,


Let me state first of all, that I have no problems running the character without the spellcasting skill since it appears that it is causing some concern.

In defense of the character I will make the following statements.

1) I may be mistaken, but a -2 sanity loss just doesn't equate to a significant knowledge of the mythos.  As I began developing this character I attributed the -2 sanity loss to Dr. Rucker screwing around with the some spells he stumbled upon prior to his conversion to the Priesthood.

2) Are pyshic feats that much different than spellcasting?

3) And believe me I state this respectfully, just because no other characters choose pyshic feats does that neccessarily imply that I am doing something improper if I choose to develope a character with the psychic feat or spellcasting.

4) I am no expert, but I think there maybe an underlying assumption that a character that has the spellcasting ability has to have some what of a background in Cthulhu mythos.  I dont think this is the case.  Page 125 of the D20 handbook states " A spell is a one time magical  effect.  Spellcasting characters learn to cast spells by reading special books."  What are these special books, do they have to be books detailing the Mythos, is it possible that a special book could just be a spell book with no or very little background on the mythos.

I do agree there are spells that one could not cast without an overt knowledge of the mythos, but I do not believe that I have selected any of those.

5)  Stated by Shaman:

"Also, it's starting to seem a little forced - he was a scientist who became a priest, but now he wants to go on an expedition to the antarctic? Why? Because of his prior experience with the Mythos. It begins with the assumption that the expedition will encounter Mythos creatures, which strikes me as a bit metagamey."

Actually I could rephrase that question to fit more then just my character, but I will attempt to answer the questions as it pertains to my character.

From my perspective its not forced, I thought it would be interesting to play the part of a trouble character.  My total concept of Dr. Rucker is as follows Dr Rucker recieved a BS in chemistry, followed by a Master of Divinity - He then becam a Roman Catholic priest that was accepted into the Jesuit Order.  While pursuing his jesuit training he developed a number of interests which were not well accepted by the church.  One of them being spellcasting and  the use of spells not inherently being bad, and another being the belief in Darwins theory of evolution.  These ideaologies created a rift between him and the church, so he left and pursued a PHD in Chemistry and Paleobiology.  As a professor at Miskotonic University he was later asked to examine some relics and fossils which he found to be quite interesting.  And he developed an extreme interest in the origins of these items, which lead to cursory exposure to the mythos and the uncovering of some additional spells while conducting this research.  He had an unfortunate experience while performing one of these spells, which caused psychosis, fear, nightmares, and alcoholism among other things.  In an attempt to regain control of himself he petitioned for re-entry into the church, this has helped him alot but Father Rucker is still a closet alcoholic.  Even though Mr. Rucker has had a bad experience in spellcasting and left science for the ministry, does that mean that he cannot have a renewed interest in ascertaining the origin and history of artifacts that he has been exposed to???  Just because this character and I feel that he may gain some understanding of these artifacts in the fossil remains of antartica, doesnt mean that he will, I am just assuming that he might- that doesn't come off as being metagamey or whatever that means, lol, to me.  It would just be an erroneous assumption.  How many times in real life do we do things based on an erroneous assumption????  There may be no exposure to the mythos in this adventure, and if there is not, does that still make this character unbalanced or unplayable in that circumstance????

I don't see this character background being any less elabororate than the backgrounds of the other characters that are present in the Rogu Gallery, and certainly not forced,  just different!!!!  This is a troubled man, who is willing to set aside his fears in a attempt to get some answers.  Now the questions he may be seeking answers to may be a little different than the others explorers, but they are all seeking answers!!!!

"Too much Mythos knowledge among the investigators takes away from the sense of discovery and associated horror that comes from encountering Mythos creatures and effects for the first time. It seems to me that the whole adventure, at least from where I sit, is about discovery, both geographical and metaphysical (or mythophysical, if you prefer)."

I understand your concern, but Father Rucker does not fit either of the descriptions above. He has not had very much exposure to the mythos just spells, he does understand that their is something else strange going on, but he has no idea of the magnitude nor has he been exposed to Cults, Mythos Creatures or the Old Ones or any of that stuff, just bad spellcasting!


6) I by no means expected that all 5 spells that I presented would be granted to Father Rucker, I only presented spells for the GM to review - that would fit with the character (I didnt choose any summonings nor did I choose spells like animate dead).  I think if you look at the few spells I did choose they are very much in line with spells that a priest and or cleric might have and fit with this character.  

7) As stated I'm happy to be a part of this adventure, I've never read the books nor have I read the module.  From my brief exposure and what I've heard of the module its very long, and none of our characters will most likely survive.  But if the GM or other players feel that this character is over the top, or that there is no room for psychic feats or spellcasting in this adventure I will gladly make the necessary modifications.

8) I do admit that this character is a little different then others, but my characters generally are.  I don't feel like he is forced or over the top.

9) LOL, oh taitzu, and for the record - if things get weird enough to force Father Rucker to take a nip, he certaining will have no problems shooting.



I Do Thank You all for allowing me the chance to present my perspective.
Respectfully
Dallas


----------



## taitzu52

I will respectfully disagree with The Shaman and say that I DO like the concept of a scientist-priest.  The Catholic church has been throwing money at overeducating their best since the Renaissance.  Like the rest of our characters, that part seems like a working professional to me.

But the real reason, Dallas, that I think you have hit a wall, is that the combination of supernatural abilities, and ranged weapon skills says something about your position as a player.  What it says is that your character is a little to aware of some unspoken dangers that await him.  This is moving away from one of the most important rules of a successful horror game.  The character seems too much of an RPG character, as opposed to an unsuspecting schmuck, like the rest of us.

Take a step back and flesh out a highly educated and indoctrinated guy who just.....don't mind the cold so much.  I think you'll be more on target.


----------



## The Shaman

taitzu52 said:
			
		

> I will respectfully disagree with The Shaman and say that I DO like the concept of a scientist-priest.



That's not my concern, actually - my character worked for Padre Agostini, an Italian missionary and explorer in South America, so the concept of a scientist-priest isn't an issue for me. In fact, it would be quite familar to Paco.

My concern is about the emphasis on Mythos knowledge and magic use - *Dallas4lr* downplays it in his response, but this is what we were given initially on the character:







			
				Dallas4lr said:
			
		

> Basically, Dr. Rucker is a scientist who gained some knowledge of the mythos via scientific inquiry. After being called in to identify what he thought were some ancient fossils, the Dr. soon realized that these artifacts were not of terresterial origin. His exposure to these artifacts eventually lead to a fanatic interest in the Mythos, he believed that by studying the mythos he could ascertain the exact origin of the artifacts. Unfortunately his dedication to this endeavor went too far, and the good Dr. opened some mythical doors which should have remained shut.



His stated motivation for going on the expedition is to further explore the Mythos. It just seems a lot further out there than everyone else's concept, and in my opinion it's not a good fit as presented.

*Dallas4lr*, semantics aside, your character isn't just 'different' - he has knowledge and abilities that exceed those of the others. To be brutally honest, it seems rather munchkinny to me - Mythos knowledge AND magic AND firearms.

Ultimately it's up to *jdeleski*, and since he's approved the character, it's a moot point. Let's play.


----------



## Dallas4lr

Taitzu

I agree and disagree, I agree that this character conceptually isnt an ordinary schmuck as you put it,   .   But I disagree that the combination of ranged weapons and spell make it so.  Also I thought Call of Cthulhu was a RPG - just in the horror genre.  Lets examin the other characters and there ability to protect themselves in a scuff.

1)Martin Louis LeBlanc
Male Photojournalist

Run (1st Level)
Weapon Proficiency (Pistols)(3rd Level)

So he will either shoot or Run very fast!!!!  


2)Fráncisco “Paco” Andreás Guerini
Mountain Guide

Weapon Proficiency (melee weapons) (Offense option bonus)
Str: 16 (+3)
Endurance (1st level)

He can fight very good, and will also get a +4 bonus on any activity that
requires endurance like running or swimming.  Endurance is probably a better 
feat than run!!!

3)Vittorio Liuzzi

Demolitions* +16

Can throw sticks of dynamite, but thats about it.
Definitely an ordinary character

4)James R. Poole
Cartographer/Surveyor and climbing expert

Weapon Proficiency- Rifle (starting)
Endurance (1st level)
Also Can shot, and Can run for a long time at a +4 bonus


5)Annie Kathleen Mahoney
Female Physician (Surgeon)

Skill Emphasis - Heal (1st level)
Iron Will (1st level)
Endurance (3rd level)

She heals, has increased will saving throws,
And can run a a +4 bonus

6)Camille Claud Bardier

Dex: 18 (+4) (includes +1 ability score increase at 4th level)
Weapon Profficiency (Pistol)

She wont miss a whole lot with her bonuses, and probably won't need to run.

7) Father Rucker

Spellcasting ( spells I get may not help with combat at all !!!!)

Weapons Proficency pistol
Ponit Blank Feat

This character has only one means of protecting himself - thats shooting.
The only spell that I have chosen that could possible change that is mind blast.

But even with mindblast I have no more of an advantage than

James R. Poole
Annie Kathleen Mahoney
Fráncisco “Paco” Andreás Guerini
Martin Louis LeBlanc

And I will always be at a disadvantage when in comes to running, because all of these characters can either run faster or longer than I can.  So my only backup to shotting  might be spellcasting, and thats only if I had mind blast.

Other spells like create gate or control weather clearly could benefit the party.


Dallas


----------



## taitzu52

Dallas4lr said:
			
		

> Other spells like create gate or control weather clearly could benifit the party.



Dallas my boy, really I think that you misunderstand our intentions here.  I'll let JD weigh in since I know he's looking soooo forward to it.


----------



## Dallas4lr

Shaman,


I don't see myself downplaying this character, I have no reason to downplay my character.  This is a horror RPG called COC, probably the most deadly RPG ever made,  .   No I truly do respect everyones views, and realize that we all can have different perspectives of the same game.  You have your perspective of the character, and I was just explaining how I developed this character.

Shaman would you please answer these two questions if its not too much trouble:

1)Would you consider a 4th lvl character that has experienced -2 sanity loss, and has no knowledge of cults, Old ones, or mythos creatures to be Mythos Heavy?

2) If this same character had psychic feats (which are allowed) instead of spellcasting and no mythos inquiry, would he be any less Muncheny???? - 

To me that term is kind of a degrading and a disrespectful comment.   Remember I did preface the whole thing with a question.  If psychic feats are allowed, what about spellcasting?  So I was concerned about the balance of the game, and very respectful to the GM and the other players with my presentation of my character.  So please, if its not to difficult, do you think you could offer me that same level of respect that I extend.   Remember, when I developed this character I was not told that these were suppose to be ordinary people.  Furthermore, I think that the additional 40 pts alloted to our attributes, bringing all the characters in at lvl 4, and allowing psychic feats is more than enough of an indication that this isnt going to be a walk in the park!!!!  So please for give me for strapping my self up in response to this.


To alleviate any further issues, I will attempt to modify the character with no spellcasting or mythos experience at all!!!!  He will just be a Priest/Scientist with weapons proficency and pyshic feats since they are allowed.

Dallas


----------



## Dallas4lr

Taitzu,


I don't think their is a misunderstanding, and if there was it was probably on my part.  I just didnt understand that our characters were suppose to be everyday people - with some extra stuff allowed, but other stuff that isn't.

I'm sorry that I didnt make my character like everybody else.

Its certainly not a big issue.

My only reason for defending my point, was because I truly did not set out to design a character that would have some inherent advantage, edge or survivability above the others.  I was thinking from a party perspective, what could potentially help us all.  Besides just liking to be different.  I have played in games were one or two characters were over the top, and it made the game far less enjoyable.

In conclusion, maybe the character as I presented it, was not right for this particular game.  I just wanted every one to understand, that because I didnt develope him with the perspective of having an edge, and just being different, that maybe thats whats preventing me from seeing his overall catastrophic effect on gameplay.

And I do see how create gate, or control weather could be out of place here, if the GM did not want the characters to be able to alter or escape particular situations.  In my game if I thought that the spells would cause a problem they would not be allowed.

Dallas


----------



## The Shaman

Dallas4lr said:
			
		

> *snip*



You've misuderstood my point, but I'm not going to revisit it - I'm done with this. Let's play.


----------



## Bobitron

Hahaha, you guys are all munchkins compared to me.


----------



## Dallas4lr

Shaman,


I am not disturbed by this, and I dont think I misunerstand you.  I think you summed it up with the following statement.


"Dallas4lr, semantics aside, your character isn't just 'different' - he has knowledge and abilities that exceed those of the others. To be brutally honest, it seems rather munchkinny to me - Mythos knowledge AND magic AND firearms."


As I see it every character in this game has knowledge in two or three areas that I do not.  But because you assume that my character has this great breadth of Mythos knowledge, in addition to weapons proficency, and spellcasting you automatically presume that this could be a problem.

I would also be concerned if a starting character had intimate encounters with mythos creatures, Old Ones, and cults; with the added ability to summon Cthuga.   Fortunately this is not the case.

I truly believe that Father Ruckers abilities and impact on the game maybe, and I repeat maybe, are being over stated.

Dallas


----------



## Dallas4lr

Greetings,


I am currently revising my character, mythos and spellcasting will be removed in favor of physic feats.  Once I have done this the new character will be posted.



On with the adventure!!!!
and hopefully no hard feelings

Dallas


----------



## Dallas4lr

Greetings,


Father Rucker has been modified.  I decided not to add psychic feats only because the changes in attributes would really make him a different charcter.

Basically I just removed spellcasting, and cthulhu mythos from my skills, and added the extra points to Hide.

I hope this is satisfactory.


On with the show, this is it (Buggs Bunny)

Dallas


----------



## Taokan

Sorry, another dupe.


----------



## jdeleski

This evening, I'll take some time study the new sheet and everyone's comments. Dallas, I do scrutinize the character sheets pretty carefully, so don't worry if I come back with a few requested changes; everyone else has already experienced my brand of anal retentiveness . I haven't had enough time to give the sheet a good, thorough look yet, so I won't comment further until tonight.

And Dallas, thanks for listening to the concerns of our other players. That's a good sign, in my opinion, and certainly bodes well for our campaign in that if everyone adapts a little during our game, and if everyone respectfully listens to the needs of our other players, we're most likely to avoid problems that have plagued other games. Occasionally I've seen roleplaying and stubbornness taken to the extreme. I'll allow roleplaying conflicts to be played out, in game, for a bit of time if they advance the story, but I trust that each of you will accept my decision if I call a halt to an occasional disagreement.

Anyway, I'll get out my red pencil tonight and take a look at Dr. Rucker's stats.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## jdeleski

*Initial Feedback on Father Rucker*

Dallas,

I have read through your character sheet and also have read through all of the many postings and responses in this IC thread. I'm going to spend a few paragraphs tackling the question of your character's background, along with the mythos knowledge aspect of the game and this campaign. I may later (perhaps this weekend and after I hear back from you) dig into more detail about your actual character stats.

CHARACTER CONCEPT AND BACKGROUND
I actually like the idea of a scientist/priest character who has had some experiences with mythos-related items and events and is searching to find explanations through both his faith or through an expedition. I believe that this offers a LOT of roleplaying opportunities for our campaign! I would rather see this sort of a character included in our campaign as opposed to a straight priest/scientist who is proficient with a pistol. 

Assuming that you're willing to continue to explore this sort of character (I really hope that you are, because I think that it would be VERY interesting), I would like to develop his background further and put some reasonable boundaries around his mythos abilities and knowledge. 

Due to the nature of this sort of character, I would like to suggest that only you and the GM (me) would know a lot of this background at the start of this campaign. I am not suggesting that we hide your background so that our other players cannot comment, but rather because, as I see it, your character is unsure/fearful of what he has discovered and is reluctant to expose other individuals to this knowledge; this would add to the roleplaying aspect of the game. Over the past couple of months of developing our campaign, I think that my players have now developed some trust in my thoroughness and adherence to a strong logical game/storyline that they'd be willing to suspend their skepicism and allow me a little leeway in this regard.  

As you've already mentioned in one of your responses, your character would share his knowledge with other team members as he became comfortable with them and/or if he was confronted with a dire situation and had to act. 

NEXT STEPS
So here's what I propose (provided that you would be OK with adding mythos aspects to your character):
1) In private (emails or IM's), you and I will need to come to an agreement as to exactly what your player has experienced in the past, identifying what items, what book(s), and what events he encountered. How did your character react to each event and item, what studies did he engage in, and how did that effect your sanity and personality and subsequent pursuits in life? This will set the stage for what feats or spells your character might have or not have. 
2) From this, you finish your character sheet in all respects with the exception of any feats/spells so that the other players can get a more detailed picture of Father Rucker. At this early point in the campaign, you shouldn't need these feats and spells, so we have a bit of time to do step number 3, but step 3 may only take me a week or so, realtime.
3) I consider mythos artifacts and books and feats and spells in the game to be very rare, but nevertheless present. After we settle on an outline of your character's experiences and status, I would spend a some time studying the BMoM storyline and weaving your background and mythos information through this campaign, ensuring that it fits and is connected. At this point, we might find a need to change a few things that we agreed on in step 1. And finally, I would either approve your requested feats/spells or recommend ones that are more appropriate, and we'd discuss and agree on the final composition.
4) We're done. We each keep a copy of your character's full history and abilities and occasionally talk, in private, about how your character perceives the world and uses his special knowledge/abilities.

Are you Ok with this?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Dallas4lr

Jdelski,


I am definitely willing to pursue the mythos/spellcasting aspect of this character - this was how he was designed.  This will definitely be intriguing rarely do I get to be a player, I'm generally stuck GM'ing sso this should be fun.


Contac info:

610-375-8811 - phone
TrilogysoundPA - AOL messenger
TrilogysoundPA@aol.com - email
Dallas4lr - IM

Dallas


----------



## jdeleski

*Comment RE: Starkweather*

Oh now, Morpheus, based on your recent comment in the IC thread, you surely misjudge James Starkweather!  He does not treat everyone poorly.  Look at how warmly he welcomed Paco, James Poole, Martin and Vittorio!    

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Morpheus

jdeleski said:
			
		

> Oh now, Morpheus, based on your recent comment in the IC thread, you surely misjudge James Starkweather!  He does not treat everyone poorly.  Look at how warmly he welcomed Paco, James Poole, Martin and Vittorio!
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Job (the tortured one).




I didn't misjudge him, I knew he was a male chauvinist. It just became more apparent with the rejection of the priest...


----------



## Taokan

Umm.


----------



## jdeleski

*Request of Dallas*

Hello Dallas,

I enjoyed reading through your opening post. It's well written and provided me with vivid images of how your character came to where he is in life, which is exactly what I was hoping for. You and I haven't yet had a chance to discuss your character's history and personality and abilities yet, so Im going to make a couple of comments and ask that you make 2 changes for me. When you and I talk this week about your character, we'll get a chance to iron out all of this so I won't expect a lot of requests for edits afterwards.

First, I thought a bit about exorcism, and references to it, in my game and decided that it would be OK. Individuals in my game could easily be seen as being taken over by demons, or evil sorcerers, or even mind-bending mythos creatures, and in such cases they might commonly turn to their church or a priest for assistance, perhaps requiring an exorcism (or something like it).

But there is an aspect of this that I must ask you to edit out of your post, specifically your reference to Christ. I am a Christian, and a Catholic, and although I am not personally offended at your post and might find it an interesting exercise to maintain a logical, religiously-correct and spritually-correct campaign, I believe that it would be too taxing on our story and is likely to offend some readers. The question then becomes, how does one roleplay a priest in the 1920's without such references? I believe that as long as you are generic in your descriptions, for example using the term "God" rather than "Christ", I'd be more comfortable. And you'll need to be careful in your other references to the church or to aspects of the church so that noone takes it literally as a reference to their specific real life faith. If you'd like to play a priest, that's really the only way that I can accept it in-game. Otherwise, we'd end up with a campaign that might become a negative lightning-rod for some gamers who might seek to end our game very quickly. I'm sorry to ask this of you, but I can't risk that kind of negativity.

Your references to exorcism and to Satan are OK since they do not lead a reader to think towards any particular religion.

The other aspect that you'll need to be watchful of is your reference to "the air seems to crackle when ever he prays in Latin". The use of spells in CoC is very costly in terms of Sanity, HP, Con, and/or other character abilities and stats. Literally, every time your character wishes to use a spell, he will irretrievably give up a piece of himself, therefore he is unlikely to use a spell except in the most dire of circumstances. I'm not sure what spell, if any, he was casting, but I inferred from your writing that he was casting something. Additionally, in a CoC game, at least in how I would view it, he would be unlikely to want to draw attention to his abilities since they would be outside of the norm for a priest or human beings in general. If these uses of his abilities drew the attention of his superiors in the church, he might be reprimanded or even kicked out. If these uses of his abilities drew the attention of the public at large, he might be shunned, incarcerated, or even killed.  Initially, when Father Rucker casts a spell in the company of our team members, I'm expecting that they'll roleplay some surprise and shock at his abilities.

Those are just my own thoughts about this campaign and the world around it. You and I will get a better chance to discuss these things this week once I review your email in detail and we link up either via phone or IM. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks!
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## jdeleski

*Taokan's Dupe Posts*

No doubt some of you have noticed that Taokan seems to lately be posting a number of duplicate or nonsense posts.  There is a very logical reason as to why this is happening:  Taokan is my RL daughter and she neglects to sign out of her account when I jump in and post a GM response.  When I notice that my GM response is listed under Taokan's account, I'm forced to delete it to avoid confusion.  Taokan and I were hoping to keep this a secret between the two of us, but I've goofed up too many times.   :\ 

For those of you who might be concerned that I might go a little easy on my daughter, I welcome you to review her current situation with Camille (it's not all that good and not all that easy...) and my responses to her posts.  She actually thinks that I'm being a little HARD on her!  Who me?    

Anyway, the cat's out of the bag.  Please ignore any future goofs on my part or Taokan's.


----------



## Bobitron

I don't see any issue with a couple RL relatives playing. Thanks for clearing that up, though. It was a bit confusing.

I have to confess, I was pretty disappointed when I read Dallas' well written post. I mean, a couple mentions of the supernatural already? The post is at least of the same level of quality as the others playing, and, I think, better than my own, but I fear for how player knowledge might be worked into the story as time goes on.

Just my two cents. I'm sure the game will go well; there is far too much talent here to be derailed by my personal preference of a complete lack of knowledge regarding the supernatural. You are doing a bang-up job, jdeleski, and I applaud the efforts of _all_ the players so far. The writing so far has been _very_ good, the best of any game I am involved in.


----------



## Dallas4lr

Greetings,


I thank everyone for the constructive criticism and postive comments concerning my first post.  I will take these comments to heart and attempt to get the character more in line with the pulse of the game.

It will probably take a couple of post and a few more comments from everyone before I have a character that everyone simply feels okay about.  Wack me when I get out of line   .

1) Jdeleski, the comments concerning Christ will be changed to God.

2) After rereading the post, I am in agreement with everyone.  That the use or implication of use of magic was over the top and that has been edited.  And you are quite right magic in Cthulhu is quite costly so Father Rucker would refrain from its use for more reasons then one.

3)Bobitron, I thank you for your comments and I will attempt to make some changes so that you or other members are not put off by references to the supernatural.  

I would point out that anyone who follows the genre would understand that during the timeframe there are a lot of weird goings on in the outlying regions surrounding Miskatonic University.  So from my perspective if you play a priest in this region you have one of 3 choices:  you either play a priest who is a coward who doesn't attempt to assist the people of this region; or you play a priest who totally dismisses all of the strangeness and brands anyone that repeats such things as weird; or you play a priest thats concerned, visits these afflicted folks, sees some weirdness firsthand and attributes it to Satan/demons, and attempts to assist them from a spiritual perspective and give sound advice like - 'I think you better move from this area".  I have chosen the latter, which in most cases could be quite deadly.   

I really don't find references to Satan, Demons or casting out devils so very supernatural, maybe its because I have attended a number of charismatic churches in my past and they use these terms more loosely then other churches.  And in real life there is an African Cardinal who now works from the vatican that has drawn quite a bit of acclaim due to his exorcisms.  Actually this may be the last time you see a post of this nature; because Father Rucker will refrain discussssing his background with the player characters.  Either way I will be more careful in the future. 

4) It will probably take me a couple of post to fit in comfortably, but I'm trying.


Thanks
Dallas


----------



## jdeleski

*Follow-up to Dallas*

Hey Dallas, you're fitting in just fine.  Roleplaying a priest on a public bulletin board with demanding audience (and a ruthless DM   ) is a tall order!  

From all of your descriptions and writings so far, here's a twist on your third priest alternative, and it's actually where I thought you were headed with Father Rucker:  a priest who has been disturbed by his experiences and has had his faith shaken after finding actual evidence of the mythos.  Your character's faith might still be strong, as is your resolve to do something about it such as persuing additional knowledge, but as you discover more evidence, your character will be confronted with additional uncertainties.  Not only will your character be finding that the worldview of the cosmos is terribly wrong, but you'll be struggling to maintain your faith in your God.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Dallas4lr

Jdelski,


That is very much were Father Rucker is, and that is his approach.  He just chooses to use the terms Satan and demons cause these r terms that everyone understands.  And it sort of conceals some of his true motives.

What you've stated pretty much sums Father Rucker up, I'm just afraid to state or make any direct references to the mythos OOC, at the risk of alienating other players.

Father Rucker is certainly aware that the popular concept of God and the spirit world, is probably a fable.  In light of that, he wants to believe in God, but it is becoming more and more difficult in light of the things he has seen.


Dallas


----------



## taitzu52

I'm still having a hard time making a connection between ALL of this....and an Antartic expedition.  The predisposition for facing the supernatural is still quite evident IMHO, and I still disagree with it highly.  As in any game, jdeleski's layout for the game trumps whatever canon may be presented for use in rulebooks.  Sorry, that's kind of how I feel.


----------



## jdeleski

TZ,

That's VERY close to James Starkweather's reasoning for rejecting a priest on the trip!  It's now up to Dallas to somehow convince our fearless leader to accept him on the expedition.

But in terms of Dallas' character, there will be a line of logic that weaves its way through our storyline.  It will not be fully apparent, perhaps even to Dallas, until some time after everyone reaches the end of the earth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Gomez

jdeleski,

I have been reading over your game posts and I must say that you and your players are doing a WONDERFUL job! Very enjoyable! It makes me want to redouble my meager efforts in my own PBP games! 

Well to the point. 

Would you consider me as a possible player?

I believe that I can role-play well enough to keep my outside knowledge from effecting the game. And I have a nice idea for a character that could be introduce quickly (at the reception).


----------



## Morpheus

Gomez said:
			
		

> jdeleski,
> 
> I have been reading over your game posts and I must say that you and your players are doing a WONDERFUL job! Very enjoyable! It makes me want to redouble my meager efforts in my own PBP games!
> 
> Well to the point.
> 
> Would you consider me as a possible player?
> 
> I believe that I can role-play well enough to keep my outside knowledge from effecting the game. And I have a nice idea for a character that could be introduce quickly (at the reception).




The more, the merrier I always say...wait, that's for sex!   I'm sure you would be a welcome addition to the game...


----------



## Dallas4lr

Taitzu,

I am really trying to understand you, and the problem you have with this supposed predisposition thing.  You stated the following:

"The predisposition for facing the supernatural is still quite evident IMHO, and I still disagree with it highly. As in any game, jdeleski's layout for the game trumps whatever canon may be presented for use in rulebooks."

 I'm really trying to figure out do you just have a problem with the assumption of facing the supernatural in COC or is it just this adventure.  I am sorry, but to me COC has always been about the mythos, cults, and dying!!!!!    So I'm really trying to figure your logic, I've never played a game of COC where the mythos did not play some part because its so integral to the genre.  And what canons in what rulebooks are you speaking of!!!!!!  I have the D20 rulebook which if I'm not mistaken we are using, and I have not found any such canons which state that characters can't do magic or psychic abilities until the eighth or whatever level!!!!!!!  Nor should they be apart of new adventures.   Taitzu where are these so called canons at, maybe I missed them .

In fact I think its just the opposite anyone who has played this game can attest to how difficult it is to keep a character alive so they can reach the fifth or sixth level.  So my natural assumption would be, that the game system was designed so that even starting characters could have some knowledge of the mythos and some initial powers .....ahhhhh thats why the PC's are called INVESTIGATORS!!!!!!!!!!  You can't be an investigator unless you have an awareness that certain things need to be looked into.

I say this respectfully, it appears as if you have decided unilaterally that this was going to be a game where none of the PC's had any mythos knowledge, but fortunately the sun doesnt revolve around anyone of us.  Because to me, your inferance goes against the entire spirit of COC, which is about invetigating the supernatural.  The Introduction of the COC D20 manual states the following on page 5 the 3rd paragraph:

"If a roleplaying game is like a film, then the players are the stars.  the characters  they portray are all HEROS INVESTIGATING THE SUPERNATURAL-WE CALL THEM INVESTIGATORS."

Actually this is in direct contrast to your own statements, we must not be playing the same game or using the same manual.

The game is not about ordinary people, nor weaklings, BUT ALL ABOUT HEROS!!!!!! Not investigating everyday life, not watching each other write verbous meaningless dialogue, but about investigating the SUPERNATURAL.

This isnt about Jdeleski trumping you and your house rules, this is about the GM adhereing to the rules and spirit of Call Of Cthulhu - which you have somehow misplaced.

As I see it I'm playing according to the rules!!!!!!!

Now to be honest maybe the module for the Mountains of Madness states that none of the investigators should have mythos knowledge, magic, or psychic abilities.  And if it does it will be a first for this game.

You dont understand us because we choose to play by the rules, and I don't understand you because what you are asking us to do has no basis in the rules!!!!!


Dallas


----------



## Bobitron

I think taitzu's concern is more about how your character is really very different than the others. Every one else in the group is completely unaware of the supernatural, whether in the form of devils and demons or the Mythos. Your character, to put it simply, seems so far distanced from the rest of the party that it's hard to see him being allowed into the group. I think everybody else stuck very close to the spirit of the game being an Artic Expedition, rather than an Cthulu adventure. Father Rucker, on the other hand, is leaving his home to investigate the supernatural.


----------



## Dallas4lr

Bobitron,

Thanks, I am in agreement with some of what you've stated, and now I finally understand.  It has nothing to do with the rules at all then.  I can except that.  For a minute I thought I was doing something wrong.  In other words some you don't want to play by the official rulebook, but according to your own house rules.

As I stated in a earlier post, no one informed me that all of the characters were supposed to be ordinary people, or alike.  Please forgive me for breaking the unspoken house rule .


Dallas


----------



## The Shaman

jdeleski said:
			
		

> No doubt some of you have noticed that Taokan seems to lately be posting a number of duplicate or nonsense posts.  There is a very logical reason as to why this is happening:  Taokan is my RL daughter....



Awesome!  

I look forward to introducing my little girl to gaming - that's still a few years away, however. First comes potty training... :\


----------



## The Shaman

Dallas4lr said:
			
		

> In other words some you don't want to play by the official rulebook, but according to your own house rules....As I stated in a earlier post, no one informed me that all of the characters were supposed to be ordinary people, or alike.



Here is the list of roles that *jdeleski* asked us to fill at the start of the game:







			
				jdeleski said:
			
		

> - Cartographer/Surveyor *- this role is currently being played by Taitzu52 (James Poole)*
> - Dog Handler/Sled Driver
> - Electrician/Electrical Engineer
> - Guide/polar Survival Expert *- this role is currently being played by The Shaman (Francisco Guerini)*
> - Journalist *- this role is currently being played by Morpheus (Martin Leblanc)*
> - Mechanic/Mechanical Engineer *- this role is currently being played by Bobitron (Vittorio Liuzzi)*
> - Mining Engineer
> - Outfitter (expert in cold climates)
> - Photographer* - this role is currently being played by Morpheus (Martin Leblanc)*
> - Pilot - *this role is currently being played by Taokan (Camille Bardier)*
> - Physician* - this role is currently being played by Eabha (Annie Mahoney)*
> - Radioman/Radio Engineer
> - Scientist/Researchers, expecially experts (maxed knowledge skills in his/her specialty, or
> someone who is well known as an authority in a field) in Archeaeology, biology, Chemistry, Geology, Glaciology, Meterology, Mineralogy, or Paleontology.


----------



## Dallas4lr

Agreed,

And as a Research Scientist my character covers 4 of the listed skills, *Biology*, *Chemistry*, *Paleontology*, and *Archeaology*.

*Knowledge (Paleobiology)** +11 (7 ranks, +4 Int)
*Knowledge (Chemistry)* * +10 (6 ranks, +4 Int)
*Knowledge (Religion)** +7 (3 ranks, +4 Int)
Knowledge (Archeaology) +6 (2 ranks, +4 Int)
Knowledge (Hieroglyphics) +7 (3 ranks, +4 Int)
Knowledge (History) +6 (2 ranks, +4 Int)


Dallas


----------



## Dallas4lr

Gomez,

I can't speak for the rest of the group, but I would enjoy playing with you. 




Dallas


----------



## Bobitron

Oops! Sorry, Gomez. I'd love to have you along as well.


----------



## jdeleski

*Father Rucker's Admittance*

I fully understand everyone's reluctance to allow an investigator into this campaign who is more focused on investigating the supernatural as opposed to science, and I recognize that the questions that are being posed are really aimed at me, the GM.  Why am I allowing this unique character into the game?  Expecially when

Q1. I have specifically asked for characters whose roles focus on science and exploration;
Q2. Allowing Father Rucker to join us would seem to violate the nature of the campaign (i.e. the roleplaying of the discovery of, and reaction to, the mythos by these characters who are men of science and exploration);
Q3. Allowing a character who is a combination scientist/priest with possible spellcasting is a stretch.  Why am I allowing this in a campaign that is otherwise one which I've set it up as in item 1. above.  
Q4. As is already obvious, everyone is putting a lot of effort into their characters and their writings, and everyone knows that this module is a classic that presents tremendous opportunity for unique adventure.  Why am I risking everyone's collective efforts, possibly altering the nature the campaign in a dramatic way, in a game as outlined in item 2. above?

These are tough questions and I'll do my best with them.

A1. I have been open to characters possessing some mythos knowledge or abilities, and have requested that it be kept to a minimum as per my original statement in this OOC thread as follows: "Psychic feats are allowed, but I would rather that everyone not have them."  My statement is a little ambiguous, since using a feat is not the same as having mythos knowledge or using a spell, and I should have been more specific about what would be allowed, but that statement (in my mind) opened to door for players to submit a character outline that could include some mythos knowledge and experiences.

A2. Yes, Father Rucker is not truly a man of science;  he once was, but is no longer.  How, then, can I reconcile his traveling on this mission?  Father Rucker will have a logical roleplaying reason for coming along and, as you've seen, Father Rucker has much more work to do before Starkweather will consider allowing him on the expedition.  I have no intentions of violating the roleplaying aspects of this campaign.  Additionally, the Father Rucker character must be played very carefully;  any use of mythos abilities by Father Rucker, or any release of mythos knowledge by Father Rucker to the general crew (i.e. NPC's), will subject him to responses that we might expect from an unknowing population (i.e. shunning, incarceration, immobilization, and outright killing are all possible responses).  I expect nothing different from his interactions with the PC's.  Father Rucker will be walking a deadly tightrope, and it's one that he will need to carefully roleplay through to cross that tightrope without falling.

A3. I will be careful to ensure that the Effective Level of Father Rucker will be similar to the other PC's (i.e. a 4th level CoC character) and will demand of Dallas that his character be logically drawn up, just as all of you have done.  In my view, a man of intellect, and particularly a man of God, is not likely to be also strong in his abilities to melee or use ranged weapons.  There may be some minor abilities that seem out of character, if say the priest had a unique hobby or sport, but Dallas and I are now working on this.  I am putting Dallas' character through a careful review of his background, personality, and abilities to ensure that it all fits together.

A4. I believe that the character of Father Rucker presents some absolutely stellar roleplaying opportunities, both for Dallas and for you, our other players, and I've already seen that Dallas' writing is very good.  I expect that we'll have some in-game conflict to work out, and that we may need to occasionally request that he alter a post (and vice versa) since our PC's and NPC's are likely to react strongly to his character's behavior.  But, folks, this entire campaign is a risk.  It is long.  It is deadly.  It is demanding on the players and on the GM.  Adding Father Rucker to the mix is really not as much a risk as it might seem;  being able to cast a spell, or fire a rifle, or set a dynamite charge, or run the fastest will, in the end, not alter the campaign dramatically.  In the end, our game will be the story of how all of you interact with each other, and how you respond and work together, in confronting the environment and the challenges set before you;  Incorporating Father Rucker may prove tricky, but it may prove also to be of great benefit.

I hope that this helps.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks!
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## jdeleski

*Response to Gomez*

Gomez!

Of course you can join us!  But now we are absolutely FULL!  I can allow no more players.  If all of you post at the same time, I'd be buried for a day or two (or three or four)...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## taitzu52

Yay Gomez!!  (Who is this guy again?)


----------



## Gomez

jdeleski,

Do I roll for starting wealth or do you roll?


----------



## taitzu52

Dallas4lr said:
			
		

> Please forgive me for breaking the unspoken house rule



Um....we kind of said something right after you pitched your character.  

As far as your scientific stats and skills, I see nothing wrong with your character since your last edit.  I think that stawise, he looks good to go, and has for a while.  My issue was taken up again after your intro post.  

After reading your quotes from the CoC book concerning investigators, I will repeat myself in saying that jdeleski's vision trumps that of anything presented in the core book.  We are not armchair dilettantes languishing about Rhode Island pondering our questionable breeding and sexuality in the face of unspeakable horrors that linger in our ancient town.  And then there's the opiates......  Indeed, those autobiographical Lovecraftian characters wouldn't even last the flight down to Chile.

Since the GM has spoken, I will simply say that the use of _player knowledge_ is something that needs to be considered during CharGen, as well as during play.  I simply ask that you take jdeleski's intro as all you need to know about the world we are entering.  Passing interests in stranger things is fine, but world class exorcism is.....well I could go on.  Please...take care, PK is something that no one like to see, ESPECIALLY in CoC.  It diminishes our ability to really freak out.


----------



## Gomez

*Raises hand in the back of the class room*

I was looking over your fine guide on character building in the Rogue's Gallery thread. It mentions that everyone starts with a number of languages equal to your Int bonus. Is this a house rule? Because normally the only way to get additional languages is to have ranks in the _Speak Other Language_ skill. I know it does say that in the first part of the CoC d20 book under Intelligence but that was a typo and has been changed in the offical errata.


----------



## jdeleski

Gomez said:
			
		

> *Raises hand in the back of the class room*
> 
> I was looking over your fine guide on character building in the Rogue's Gallery thread. It mentions that everyone starts with a number of languages equal to your Int bonus. Is this a house rule? Because normally the only way to get additional languages is to have ranks in the _Speak Other Language_ skill. I know it does say that in the first part of the CoC d20 book under Intelligence but that was a typo and has been changed in the offical errata.




Ack!  I failed my Spot Hidden skill check!  Thank you for the correction, Gomez.  I'll need to examine how that affects all players, then will come forward with a decision.

And, for your wealth, I am OK with you rolling your own numbers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## The Shaman

*jdeleski*, thank you for taking the time to outline your position on the Father Rucker character. While you have addressed a couple of my concerns (such as ECL), I admit that I still have a number of reservations.

The idea of a priest-scientist joining the expedition offers no particular conceptual problems for me – however, all of the characters presented so far have offered impeccable credentials as potential explorers. I believe that Father Rucker should be similarly qualified before being included, which involves more than taking ranks in science skills – it’s developing a _curriculum vitae_ consistent with the other characters that makes his participation plausible. In my opinion, such a character should be a Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Georges Lemaitre, or (nearest and dearest to my heart) Alberto María de Agostini – as it stands right now, we have Gabriel Van Helsing.

In the same vein, I believe a character’s Mythos knowledge should be similarly integrated into his _raison d'être_ as a credentialed explorer. The news clippings our characters received hinted at a previous expedition that met a mysterious fate – mention of a “different taxonomy” in the extant records of the Miskatonic U. party seems like a good pathway for a Mythos-minded character to use as a nexus with the Starkweather-Moore expedition, for example. In this way it’s possible for a character with limited Mythos knowledge to make a plausible companion to the company of adventurers that Starkweather has assembled, _if_ the character’s other credentials make the grade. So far there hasn’t been a connection between the character’s Mythos knowledge and the expedition offered to explain Father Rucker’s participation. So far everyone else has presented a character who is an explorer first – *Dallas4lr* has presented a character that is a Mythos investigator first.

I also have reservations about the player group dynamic. It is easy for me to see how the Father Rucker character could come to dominate the limelight through in-game and out-of-game knowledge if he’s not played with respect for the roles of the rest of the characters. In this I’m particularly concerned by *Dallas4lr*’s responses to the issues raised. So far *Dallas4lr* has demonstrated a “tin ear,” taking entirely the wrong message from the concerns me and others shared in the OoC thread. Challenged on the concept of a gun-totin’ spell-castin’ priest-scientist, *Dallas4lr*’s response was to attempt to pick apart the other characters’ mechanics – the fact that his character was not just “different” from the rest, but radically so, and that pieces of Father Rucker’s stats and abilities were not just inconsistent with the others characters, but with the character himself, didn’t seem to come through. For example, Poole’s experience with rifles is 100% consistent with his background of growing up in the West, while Paco’s skill with melee weapons reflects a life spent working with axes and hammers and knives – a scholar-turned-ecclesiastic with firearms skills is an anomaly at best, one not explained adequately by his background (and perhaps owing its origins to player knowledge and metagaming).

Repeated explanations by different players about their concerns with respect to the character elicited an exclamation-point laden response citing “the rules” as sufficient justification for playing the character the way that *Dallas4lr* feels is appropriate – the post even went so far as to suggest that the rest of us don’t know enough about _CoC_ to play the game ‘correctly’. (Just to clear up that point, our characters will encounter the unknown, go crazy, and die on the ice – not necessarily in that order. Does that sum up _CoC_ pretty well?) What I think *Dallas4lr* is missing was summed up very neatly by *taitzu52* – this adventure is not about chasing an Arkham escapee through a fog-shrouded Massachusetts cemetery or encountering an Old One in the natural history museum at Miskatonic U. I believe this point should be emphasized.

I’m very concerned that this misapprehension of where the other players’ reservations lie will carry over into the game and result in intra-character conflict that isn’t an artifact of roleplaying, but rather a very different set of starting assumptions on the part of the players. I hope that you will consider this in the spirit in which it’s intended, as input to make what has already started off as a very good game that much better.


----------



## taitzu52

Sorry, I don't want this to be a 10 car pile up.  I just want to say that unlike The Shaman, I don't fear that folks will hold grudges in game form OOC discussions.  

I DO agree that one of the main points of this long, long discourse is that Fra. Rucker was designed for a specific encounter, the supernatural, and to immediately take the spotlight upon that time.

The point of this is not to discourage Dallas from play, nor even to play Fra. Rucker.  But we want to let you know that there are certain levels of player knowledge that are transparent even during CharGen.  We took a position to disagree with it from the outset. 

The Father is great as he stands, if it only weren't for his intro.  The Catholic church using it's vast resources to produce a scientific expert, who is still firmly grounded in his beliefs is a wonderful concept.  A world class exorcist.....I don't fell like I should be explaining myself any more on the point.


----------



## jdeleski

*Continued Discussion RE: Father Rucker*

At this time, I ask that everyone (including Dallas) please be patient, and hold off on further postings on this topic, while we work through the creation of Dallas' character, Father Rucker.  Any comments (and actually, even Dallas' opening posts) are pure speculation on the final composition of the character until we have finished this piece of work.  

I will reiterate a few important comments for emphasis.  



			
				jdeleski said:
			
		

> I will be careful to ensure that the Effective Level of Father Rucker will be similar to the other PC's (i.e. a 4th level CoC character) and I will demand of Dallas that his character be logically drawn up, just as all of you have done.





			
				jdeleski said:
			
		

> I am putting Dallas' character through a careful review of his background, personality, and abilities to ensure that it all fits together.





			
				jdeleski said:
			
		

> Father Rucker will have a logical roleplaying reason for coming along and, as you've seen, Father Rucker has much more work to do before Starkweather will consider allowing him on the expedition. I have no intentions of violating the roleplaying aspects of this campaign. Additionally, the Father Rucker character must be played very carefully...




It is fair game for everyone to question how a game is structured so that they can feel that their investment in time will not be wasted, but I need to ask that everyone please suspend their disbelief until we're done (or at least nearly done!).  Because Father Rucker's character is so different from all others, and has the potential to throw the game off balance, both Dallas and I are taking great pains to dig into his character at a VERY detailed level.  As just one example, we are outlining every exorcism that his character has performed, and accordingly looking at how that impacted his sanity.  We will similarly examine all aspects of his character and abilities.

What more can I say?  I am asking that everyone allow me a bit of poetic license to allow this character into play and to accept that I will be careful to limit any destabilizing influence on our campaign.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## The Shaman

jdeleski said:
			
		

> What more can I say?  I am asking that everyone allow me a bit of poetic license to allow this character into play and to accept that I will be careful to limit any destabilizing influence on our campaign.



Game on.


----------



## taitzu52

Understood.  I'll concentrate my efforts on beating up on Gomez.

(He can always SMITE my chatacter in _his_ game.)


----------



## Gomez

taitzu52 said:
			
		

> Understood.  I'll concentrate my efforts on beating up on Gomez.
> 
> (He can always SMITE my chatacter in _his_ game.)




Hey wait until you see my character! Talk about a destablizing influence!


----------



## jdeleski

The Shaman said:
			
		

> (Just to clear up that point, our characters will encounter the unknown, go crazy, and die on the ice – not necessarily in that order. Does that sum up _CoC_ pretty well?)




Shaman, that's an EXCELLENT summary!   

Thanks everyone, for your passion and interest in making this a great campaign!  Now, I guess, I have a few in-character posts to respond to...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Morpheus

jdeleski said:
			
		

> Ack!  I failed my Spot Hidden skill check!  Thank you for the correction, Gomez.  I'll need to examine how that affects all players, then will come forward with a decision.
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Job (the tortured one).




Martin is, actually, good to go as I _do_ have ranks in Speak Other Language. Martin, Martin, he's the man-if he can't do it, no one can!


----------



## Dallas4lr

Greetings,


Can someone take out 5 minutes to explain what metagaming means, I am totally unware of its meaning or definition.


Dallas


----------



## The Shaman

Dallas4lr said:
			
		

> Can someone take out 5 minutes to explain what metagaming means, I am totally unware of its meaning or definition.



The following is quoted from a thread on metagaming in _CoC_ at Yog-sothoth.com.







> Metagaming is when a player acts on information the character does not have. This could take the form of knowing there's a trap at the end of the hallway when your character doesn't, or creating a character with skills adjusted to fighting the Mythos.
> 
> I find the former to be more offensive, because it's basically noncharacter information, but the latter can be quite annoying, because Lovecraft wrote about people who were by and large normal, and not necessarily well-equipped to handle what happens to them. The fact is that the character does not know what they're going to be thrown into. They have no idea that soon they will be shooting at Byakhee or whatever.
> 
> And thus, a stockbroker will not have percentiles in Occult unless there's a damn good reason. And even if there is a good reason, there's a difference between making a character's skills in such a way as to make them most effective, and then coming up with a story, and coming up with a story and then adjusting the skills to that story.


----------



## Dallas4lr

Greetings (Sorry Jdeleski, I just wanted to do this now - there will be no further post till my character is complete)

I do believe some apologies are in order, on my part - So I would like to apologize to all the members of this game and anyone reading these post!!!!!!!  

Shaman

Thanks, I truly did not understand what metagaming was and my ignorant infringement on gameplay - your last post helps me to understand the position of some of the participating players.

It appears as though my first presentation of this character would certainly infringe on the second aspect of metagaming - and I did this unkowingly.  So I am very sorry!!!!!

If I have offended anyone in my attempts to protect my character and my reasoning for creating him in the manner I did; PLEASE FORGIVE ME!!!!   My purpose was not to belittle nor denegrate anyones elses gameplay or perspective of COC, or destroy your gaming experience.

THank You Very Much
There are no hard feelings on my end
And I now have a better understanding at this point of were everyone was coming from.


Respectfully
Dallas


----------



## Bobitron

Don't worry about it, Dallas. Thanks for taking the time to listen to a bunch of cranky gamers.


----------



## jdeleski

*Frank Pabodie's Image*

In preparing my response today for Frank Pabodie to talk with Vittorio Liuzzi, I discovered that I made a mistake in my original post by attaching an old picture of Frank, one from approximately 1929, 4 years prior to our fundraising event.  I am updating Frank's picture in my new response, but will leave the old picture in place (with a minor comment that describes it's inaccuracy).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## jdeleski

*Fundraiser Schedule*

To move our story forward, I will be making 3 key posts over the next few days, one for each of the speakers at the fundraising event.  I will then allow a few days for partygoers to tie up any loose ends before officially closing the fundraiser.  

Because I'm going to force the action a bit, I will allow posts during this period to be out of sequence in terms of time.  For example, if a player wanted to finish up a conversation with an NPC but I interrupted by starting a speech or having the main NPC's say their goodbyes at the end, you can simply add a post that describes how you asked your questions before the speech started or before the fundraiser ended.  If this occurs, we'll just need to add an explanatory sentence here or there to ensure continuity and avoid confusion for a reader.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## jdeleski

*Where is Eabha?*

Eabha?

We miss you and love you!  Please come home.

Signed,
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## taitzu52

Any of you history buffs know what the current status was concerning radioactivity and physical health?  I.e. were scientists at the time of this game, still playing around with uranium unshielded, wondering why they were dropping dead at 50?


----------



## jdeleski

*Character Language Corrections*



			
				Gomez said:
			
		

> I was looking over your fine guide on character building in the Rogue's Gallery thread. It mentions that everyone starts with a number of languages equal to your Int bonus. Is this a house rule? Because normally the only way to get additional languages is to have ranks in the _Speak Other Language_ skill. I know it does say that in the first part of the CoC d20 book under Intelligence but that was a typo and has been changed in the offical errata.



As pointed out by Gomez, and as listed on Monte Cook's website here, I went back and examined all of your character language sets to see if any changes were required.  If I read the errata correctly, each character will need a separate _Speak Other Languages_ skill entry for every language that they would like to speak.  For example, if Martin would like to speak French, Spanish, and German, he will need 3 separate _Speak Other Language _ skills.

Here are my findings.

Martin LeBlanc  - Must delete French and Spanish from your *"Languages"* category or shift skill points to add the appropriate _Speak Other Languages_ skill(s).  Also, you have a _Speak Other Languages _ skill in German, but it's not mentioned in your *"Languages"* category.
Fráncisco “Paco” Andreás Guerini  - OK as is.
Vittorio Liuzzi - Must delete English, Spanish, French and Latin from your *"Languages"* category or shift skill points to add the appropriate _Speak Other Languages_ skill(s).  
James Poole  - Must delete Spanish, French and German from your *"Languages"* category or shift skill points to add the appropriate _Speak Other Languages_ skill(s).  
Annie Mahoney  - Must delete Latin, Greek, and French from your *"Languages"* category or shift skill points to add the appropriate _Speak Other Languages_ skill(s).  
Camille Bardier - Must delete English and Russian from your *"Languages"* category or shift skill points to add the appropriate _Speak Other Languages_ skill(s).  
Father Rucker  - OK as is.

I apologize for this oversight, and especially if I've now made you change your language skills twice    , but I was unaware of the errata.  Please make the appropriate changes as mentioned and leave me an OOC post in this thread when you're done (to ease my GM burden, it would be very nice if you'd also let me know which skills you shifted points from   ).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you,
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Gomez

jdeleski,

Sorry but I am going to have to bow out of this game. Luckly I don't have a character that you have to explain away.    I just don't have the time at the moment to do your game justice. 

Good luck and have a great game.


----------



## jdeleski

No problem, Gomez!  Thanks for your interest and I trust that you'll poke your head in occasionally to add to the insanity.    

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Morpheus

jdeleski said:
			
		

> ...if Martin would like to speak French, Spanish, and German, he will need 3 separate _Speak Other Language _ skills.
> 
> Here are my findings.
> 
> Martin LeBlanc  - Must delete French and Spanish from your *"Languages"* category or shift skill points to add the appropriate _Speak Other Languages_ skill(s).  Also, you have a _Speak Other Languages _ skill in German, but it's not mentioned in your *"Languages"* category.




No problem. I have 4 ranks in Speak Other Language...2 ranks for English, 1 rank for Spanish and 1 rank for German. French is my native language.


----------



## jdeleski

Morpheus said:
			
		

> No problem. I have 4 ranks in Speak Other Language...2 ranks for English, 1 rank for Spanish and 1 rank for German. French is my native language.



Morpheus,

That sounds just fine.  Be sure to adjust the skill points based on whether it's a core skill vs. non-core skill

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks!
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## jdeleski

*Adding Intelligence/Wisdom Feats to our Campaign*

I have become disenchanted with the feats that are included in the D20 CoC ruleset because, with few exceptions, these feats are mainly combat and athletic-based enhancements as opposed to intelligence or wisdom-based. Certainly some of the best feats to select are, in fact, combat-oriented.  Below is a list of feats from the D20 Modern SRD set that reward intelligence/wisdom-based characters and an investigation style of game.  I believe that these additions will allow our non-combat oriented characters a wider range of enhancements, and won't force them down the path of improving only their athletic or combat characteristics as they rise in levels, thus providing them with much more realistic options for advancement.  

Here is a link to the proposed feats that I've posted in our Rogue's Gallery thread --> Int/Wis Feat Additions 

Here is a link to the D20 Modern SRD site --> D20 Modern SRD 

By adhering to the published D20 SRD, I believe that these feats are playbalanced and will not destabilize our game.  Let me know your thoughts.  If anyone has strong reservations against adding these feats, please let me know and I'll either strike certain feats or adjust them, as needed.  

Also, if we agree to these feats and you decide that you would like to adjust those feats (or related skills) that you selected to initially develop your character, I'd be open to making such changes provided that it fits with your character's profile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks!
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## The Shaman

Modern roxxorz my boxxorz!!11!!1!1tehwoot!!!!!11!!!1!

 

The additions are fine with me - I don't plan on making any changes to my character for now, but it's nice to have options.

I agree that too many of the feats in 2d0 _CoC_ are combat-oriented. As a whole I think d20 games generally could use more non-combat, non-magic feats - then again, I like playing skillful characters for the most part, so combat builds don't excite me.


----------



## Bobitron

I'm a big fan of d20 Modern as well, but there is one obvious issue with the skill-boosting feats you posted. A feat should give a +2 bonus in two skills or a +3 bonus in one skill. By making the modifications you noted, some feats give only a +2 in a single skill.


----------



## Dallas4lr

Jdeleski,

Did you forget to add diligence to the new set off feats, or have you decided not to include it.



Thanks
Dallas


----------



## jdeleski

Dallas4lr said:
			
		

> Jdeleski,
> 
> Did you forget to add diligence to the new set off feats, or have you decided not to include it.



I added the _Diligent_ feat into the mix.  This feat is actually taken from the D&D 3.5 SRD, but still seems like a feat that is reasonable to add.

There is a twist to this:  To make this feat worthwhile, I must add the _Decipher Script_ skill (it's included in both the D20 Modern and D&D 3.5 SRD's, but not D20 CoC skillset).  This seems reasonable to me to add, and the D20 Modern SRD as well as the D20 D&D 3.5 SRD skillsets include both the _Decipher Script_ skill along with the _Speak Languages _ skill, and therefore I find a precedent for having both skills in our D20 CoC and I'll allow it. 



			
				Bobitron said:
			
		

> I'm a big fan of d20 Modern as well, but there is one obvious issue with the skill-boosting feats you posted. A feat should give a +2 bonus in two skills or a +3 bonus in one skill. By making the modifications you noted, some feats give only a +2 in a single skill.



I agree with your comment, Bobitron, and adjusted the _Attentive_ and _Confident_ feats.  By making this same change for the _Confident_ feat, it might make it slightly imbalanced--since this feat not only boosts your own intimidate skill, but also makes you somewhat more immune to being intimidated--but not terribly so.  It's worth adding for the fun factor.    

OK, so now I think that we're ready for deeper character options in our game.  Now you just need to level up!    

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## The Shaman

jdeleski said:
			
		

> Eabha?



No word on our missing doctor?

(The first casualty of the game?!?)


----------



## jdeleski

The Shaman said:
			
		

> No word on our missing doctor?
> 
> (The first casualty of the game?!?)



Actually, Dallas and I have been hard at work on his character.  What drew my attention to the utter lack of Int/Wis feats in the game was our attempt to line up feats that made sense with respect to his background.  I think that we've now fixed that aspect of our campaign and we should be hearing from him soon.

I had to chuckle at Paco's response to Dr. Moore's speech, Shaman.  Thanks.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Dallas4lr

Jdeleski,


I think shaman may have been referring to Eabha (Annie Mahoney).  Hmmmm we may have to make this trek without a physician.


Dallas


----------



## The Shaman

Dallas4lr said:
			
		

> I think shaman may have been referring to Eabha (Annie Mahoney).



Correct.







			
				Dallas4lr said:
			
		

> Hmmmm we may have to make this trek without a physician.



That would be bad. Very very bad.


----------



## jdeleski

The Shaman said:
			
		

> Correct.That would be bad. Very very bad.



Ah, I see that I was mistaken, yes.

But have no fear, the expedition will have an NPC doctor in any case.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## jdeleski

*Back from Too Much Work!*

After days of intense RL work renovating my kitchen, and days of demanding work and travel for my job, I actually think that I'll have a bit of time tonight to continue our fundraiser.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## The Shaman

jdeleski said:
			
		

> After days of intense RL work renovating my kitchen, and days of demanding work and travel for my job, I actually think that I'll have a bit of time tonight to continue our fundraiser.



No worries - always worth the wait!


----------



## Dallas4lr

Greetings,

I'm still here, I'm just kind of waiting until the Jman has time to finish up my character before I make any further post.

Dallas


----------



## jdeleski

Sorry Dallas, I lost track.  I'll review your character sheet tonight;  I didn't see any problems with it after your last edits, but I'll take one more look.  

You and I were about 80% done agreeing on your main character points, and that's probably good enough for you to keep Father Rucker moving within the storyline (i.e. you're approved to write posts within the framework that we've agreed, simply avoid touching on areas of your background that you think we need to confirm).  If I see anything in a post of yours that seems a little out of whack, I'll simply ask for a minor change, or ask a question of you, and it can be easily edited.

I should be available this Friday night or Saturday night to spend some time on the phone to finish up those last few bits.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## The Shaman

Morpheus said:
			
		

> OOC: Could we be any further back from the stage?



 

We're just the volunteer help.


----------



## Bobitron

I'll get a post up tomorrow, promise!


----------



## jdeleski

I was stunned by Gomez's closing of his games.  I loved reading them and enjoyed seeing what some of you, those of you who were characters in his games, were doing in them.  I truly hope that he comes back soon since he was a great booster for CoC on this website, and a wonderful PbP Keeper to read.

For those of you who play in my BtMoM game, I'd like to reassure you that have taken steps to avoid burnout.  you may have already noticed by clicking on my "My PbP Games" signature that this is the one game that I run.  I purposefully decided to run only one game so that I can focus on it and devote my energies to it whenever I find time.  I also DM a face-to-face D&D game in my neighborhood for a bunch of friends, but that actually takes less time to run than this one (mainly because I spend a lot of time researching, and developing and editing my writings, for BtMoM so that I do it proper justice).  I do have a busy RL life with 4 kids, and kitchen renovations underway, and a demanding job with occasional travels, but running BMoM is a nice diversion when I find quiet time.

I may eventually play a character in a PbP game (which would take significantly less time than GM'ing it), but my main love is classic CoC and I haven't seen any that have tugged at my motivations.

Eventually, I also plan to start a "Horror on the Orient Express" campaign, but not until BMoM is well into its storyline, probably a year RL from now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## The Shaman

Paco is going to back whatever play Martin makes, so I'll hold off posting until that unfolds.

Also wanted to say that I'm enjoying this very much!


----------



## jdeleski

The events at the fundraiser have raised a question in my mind.  Would you, as players, prefer that I keep the game-related information hidden, not even described in a spoiler block?  In this case, I would judge the events behind the scenes and it would allow all of you to focus on the story, events, and investigations unhindered by our ruleset.  

Or would you rather that I continue to post the rules information in a spoiler block so that you are able to understand how the actions relate to the mechanics, and perhaps to occasionally specify your actions based on our ruleset?

I suppose that I could review a few other PbP games to decide which method works best.  Can anyone suggest a PbP game where this has been done particularly well?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## The Shaman

jdeleski said:
			
		

> Or would you rather that I continue to post the rules information in a spoiler block so that you are able to understand how the actions relate to the mechanics, and perhaps to occasionally specify your actions based on our ruleset?



Yes, please.


----------



## taitzu52

jdeleski:

drop me an email, if you could.

spamisspacealienmeat .at. hotmail .dot. com

I'll delete this post after I hear from you.  No nudie pics of Miss Piggy now, Bob. 

edit:edit


----------



## Gomez

jdeleski said:
			
		

> I was stunned by Gomez's closing of his games.  I loved reading them and enjoyed seeing what some of you, those of you who were characters in his games, were doing in them.  I truly hope that he comes back soon since he was a great booster for CoC on this website, and a wonderful PbP Keeper to read.
> 
> For those of you who play in my BtMoM game, I'd like to reassure you that have taken steps to avoid burnout.  you may have already noticed by clicking on my "My PbP Games" signature that this is the one game that I run.  I purposefully decided to run only one game so that I can focus on it and devote my energies to it whenever I find time.  I also DM a face-to-face D&D game in my neighborhood for a bunch of friends, but that actually takes less time to run than this one (mainly because I spend a lot of time researching, and developing and editing my writings, for BtMoM so that I do it proper justice).  I do have a busy RL life with 4 kids, and kitchen renovations underway, and a demanding job with occasional travels, but running BMoM is a nice diversion when I find quiet time.
> 
> I may eventually play a character in a PbP game (which would take significantly less time than GM'ing it), but my main love is classic CoC and I haven't seen any that have tugged at my motivations.
> 
> Eventually, I also plan to start a "Horror on the Orient Express" campaign, but not until BMoM is well into its storyline, probably a year RL from now.
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Job (the tortured one).




Thanks jdeleski for the kind words! I will still hang around and look in on your game which is really shaping up to be a nice one!   Just as a word of explaination, I was getting to streached out thin with too many games and I was not giving them the effort that the games and the players deserved. Seeing your game has really driven me to bump my game up a notch quality wise. I have not completely stopped doing PBP (I have two games at another site). But I have really cut back. So don't worry I am still around.


----------



## Bobitron

taitzu52 said:
			
		

> jdeleski:
> 
> drop me an email, if you could.
> 
> *email address*
> 
> I'll delete this post after I hear from you.  No nudie pics of Miss Piggy now, Bob.




Ham... errr... Spam sent.  

I'd like it to be kept out of the IC thread. It would be interesting to see an interactive story, with you handling the mechanics behind the scenes. I could just post what Vittorio would do, and you would post the results based on whatever skill or ability applies best.


----------



## jdeleski

TZ, email sent.

REGARDING WHETHER TO POST D20 GAME INFO IN IC THREAD:
OK.  Based on your responses, I'll post all gaming info (die rolls, distances, game options, etc.) in the OOC thread where we'll debate the actions in detail, then after we're done, we'll post descriptions of the results in the IC thread.  In some cases, where we all agree, I'll just write and post a single description of what occurred.  In other cases, it might be more fun for each of us to write and post our own descriptions, so we'll discuss what we'd like to do on a case-by-case basis.  

This might even speed up our combat resolution.  Er, maybe.  Um, hopefully.  Not that I'm worried about the pacing of our game (I'm currently happy with it), but I'd hate to see a month-long series of posts in RL to resolve a 10-round combat that represents 60 seconds of in-game activity.  

Suggestions are welcomed.


----------



## Morpheus

jdeleski said:
			
		

> The events at the fundraiser have raised a question in my mind.  Would you, as players, prefer that I keep the game-related information hidden, not even described in a spoiler block?  In this case, I would judge the events behind the scenes and it would allow all of you to focus on the story, events, and investigations unhindered by our ruleset.
> 
> Or would you rather that I continue to post the rules information in a spoiler block so that you are able to understand how the actions relate to the mechanics, and perhaps to occasionally specify your actions based on our ruleset?
> 
> I suppose that I could review a few other PbP games to decide which method works best.  Can anyone suggest a PbP game where this has been done particularly well?
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Job (the tortured one).




Whatever is easiest for you works for me...I'm really enjoying the game!


----------



## jdeleski

*Fundraiser Action Resolution 1*

ENCOUNTER RESOLUTION
NOTE 1:  We should post here in the OOC thread until we've sorted through the next round or two.  Don't feel that you have to wait for someone to post who is earlier in the initiative.  If you have time to write something and state your next actions, please do so.  I'll sort through the posts to describe the results and we can modify actions that would be different based on initiative order and someone's prior action.
NOTE 2:   Similar to Note 1, you may post in the IC thread in any order.  I will sort out who has taken what action at any time when I describe the eventual outcome.  Use the information below to help you decide on your actions, but if you have time to write something, do so  and don't worry about the order.  We can always edit a post if your action would be different based on initiative order and someone's prior action.
NOTE 3:   Just to repeat, don't get overly concerned about waiting for someone else to post before you do.  If you have the time, post away!  It'll help speed things up and will also get everyone's creative juices flowing to hear everyone's ideas.
NOTE 4:   I recognize that I occasionally make mistakes.    If you disagree with one of my rulings, and think that it will make a difference in the outcome, be sure to post your opinion and rationale. 
NOTE 5:   You are free to use Nakada's dicebox to roll your own dice.  Let me know if you would like to do this, and please try to let me know BEFORE I make a roll for you (i.e. if you see that your action is coming up, don't wait for me to post the outcome).  

Below is the known initiative order, and my interpretation of everyone's moves, based on my review of the IC postings.  We are now in round 2.  It is Vittorio's turn (highlighted by three asterisks), followed by Paco, both of whom have delayed until Martin acted.

Pre-Combat Action
Lawrence moved and is seen by Starkweather, who stops and asks him if he's OK
Martin uses "Spot" on Lawrence
James Poole uses "Spot" on Lawrence
Taokan uses "Spot" on Lawrence

Round 1
1st) Vittorio - Focuses on Starkweather
2nd) Paco - Focuses on Starkweather
3rd) Martin - Yelled (*KICKING OFF ACTION * & eliminating surprise) & moved
4th) Taokan - Grabs knife and defends her table;  eating/sublime coolness
5th) Unknown Guest - Readies a flying tackle
6th) Starkweather - Yells over microphone and leaps from stage; swallowed by crowd
7th) Lawrence - Turned to look at Martin (in response to Martin's yell);  did not fire weapon
8th) Jim Poole - Tells nearby guests to take cover; ducks behind chair with drink

Round 2
3rd)  Martin - Charging Lawrence to grapple (+2 to hit, -2 AC).  Martin successfully grabbed Lawrence, and successfully initiated the grapple, his momentum taking the two to the floor and dealing 3pts of subdual damage.   
***1st)  Vittorio - Delaying in place 
2nd)  Paco - Delayed until Martin declared his action;  can attempt to move and join the grapple
4th)  Taokan - 
5th)  Guest - Spots a charging, raging photojournalist and decides to not leap in front of that train.
6th)  Starkweather - Will not break free of the crowd this round.
7th)  Lawrence - Can attempt to break the grapple; made an incredible roll and managed to hold on to his pistol.
8th) Jim Poole -

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## jdeleski

*Round 2 Update*

Based on Vittorio's IC post, it's now Paco's turn with Taokan second in line.  Everyone else is free to post their actions as well; you need not wait for Paco and Taokan to post.  If you specify your action ahead of time, whether in this round or even a round or 2 in advance (if you know that you'll be staying out of the melee, for example), you always have the option of modifying your actions based on what happens between now and the start of your character's initiative turn.  

UPDATE:  Round 2
3rd)  Martin - Charging Lawrence to grapple (+2 to hit, -2 AC).  Martin successfully grabbed Lawrence, and successfully initiated the grapple, his momentum taking the two to the floor and dealing 3pts of subdual damage.   
1st)  Vittorio - Delaying in place
***2nd)  Paco - Delayed until Martin declared his action;  can attempt to move and join the grapple
4th)  Taokan - 
5th)  Guest - Spots a charging, raging photojournalist and decides to not leap in front of that train.
6th)  Starkweather - Will not break free of the crowd this round.
7th)  Lawrence - Can attempt to break the grapple; made an incredible roll and managed to hold on to his pistol.
8th) Jim Poole -

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## taitzu52

Jim will continue to do little but try to keep folks from trampling each other.


----------



## Taokan

Camille will pretty much continue to be useless to any group effort at solving the situation, while eating more of her dinner on the table. Why not finish an expensive meal if it's right in front of you?


----------



## taitzu52

Taokan said:
			
		

> Why not finish an expensive meal if it's right in front of you?



Wow, that's like no girl _I've_ ever dated!!  Hehe.


----------



## Taokan

Hey, I do that in RL, too. I just hate wasting food. My mother's lectures about the subject are so deeply inplanted into my brain that every time I even WRITE about wasting food, I cringe. So why not just have Camille eat it and save the effort?


----------



## Bobitron

Vittorio won't stick his head out for others if someone else is willing to do it. He sees that as smart, not cowardly. If something comes up where he is the best one to act, he will do so.


----------



## jdeleski

*Observations*

1)  James & Vittorio - with age comes wisdom

2)  Is Martin out to save the party, or to impress his "lady in red"?

3)  Camille is a certainly a plucky, unusual woman.  She might be hellfire when she finally gets to the Antarctic, but of course, when one courts death, she also mght meet him a bit early in her adventuring career...  

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## jdeleski

I've edited the combat post, describing Martin's clash with the gunman.


----------



## The Shaman

Paco will assist Martin's grapple and attempt to wrest the gun out of the man's hand.


----------



## jdeleski

*Round 2 Completed*
3rd)  Martin - Charging Lawrence to grapple (+2 to hit, -2 AC).  Martin successfully grabbed Lawrence, and successfully initiated the grapple, his momentum taking the two to the floor and dealing 3pts of subdual damage.
1st)  Vittorio - Delaying in place
2nd)  Paco - Attempted to move and join the grapple.  Automatically was able to grab Lawrence (since Lawrence was already involved in a grapple), and Paco successfully rolled an opposed grapple check to join the grappling group and dealt 6 points (counting your strength bonus) in subdual damage.  To take the gun away from Lawrence, one of the two team members, either Martin or Paco, must first pin him;  they may attempt this during the next round.
4th)  Taokan - Continues to eat her meal and watch the struggle from her front row seat.
5th)  Guest - Spots a charging, raging photojournalist and decides to not leap in front of that train.  Moves closer and readies a punch if Lawrence breaks free from the grapple.
6th)  Starkweather - Will not break free of the crowd this round.
7th)  Lawrence - Attempted to break the grapple, and would have succeeded in breaking free from Martin, but Paco's superior strength overcame Lawrence's attempt;  all 3 men remain in a grapple.
8th) Jim Poole - Continues to direct guests away from danger while sipping his drink; Jim's actions are surprisingly effective at keeping the crowd from causing trouble.


*Round 3 Underway*
CURRENT PLAYER'S TURN:  *Martin's*
NOTE:  Initiative has been renumbered based on delays during prior round.

--->>> 1st)  Martin - Must pin Lawrence to attempt to take the gun
2nd)  Vittorio - Delaying in place
3rd)  Paco - Must pin Lawrence to attempt to take the gun
4th)  Taokan - 
5th)  Guest - Readying a punch if Lawrence breaks free from the grapple.
6th)  Starkweather - 
7th)  Lawrence - 
8th) Jim Poole - 


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Morpheus

"Gimme the gun before you hurt yourself."

OOC: Martin tries to pin the, obviously, crazed individual.


----------



## taitzu52

Um, I know I started posting here simply to explain my inaction, but don't you think you aughta' post actions on the IC thread?

Sorry, I feel like I started a bad trend.


----------



## jdeleski

If I had my preferences, I'd suggest that you always make an IC post of the actions that your character is taking based on what you see happening here in the OOC thread.  You don't NEED to make an OOC post, I can later copy that information over into my round-by-round listing (as I did with Bobitron's round 2 action).  This OOC round-by-round listing is helpful for sharing and discussing and coordinating the information that we'll describe in our IC thread, and you're free to join in this conversation as you please.

I will occasionally produce a summary IC posting of results (as I did with Martin's action) and will weave the wording of that post around what each of you provide in the IC thread.

The net outcome of this is that, Morpheus, you should copy Martin's last action into the IC thread.  

Sorry for the confusion, I'm just starting to get the hang of this.


----------



## jdeleski

*Round 3 Underway*
CURRENT PLAYER'S TURN:  Either *Vittorio (who's been delaying) or Paco*

1st)  Martin - Failed to pin Lawrence
--->>> 2nd)  Vittorio - Delaying in place
--->>> 3rd)  Paco - Must pin Lawrence to attempt to take the gun
4th)  Taokan - 
5th)  Guest - Readying a punch if Lawrence breaks free from the grapple.
6th)  Starkweather - 
7th)  Lawrence - 
8th) Jim Poole - 


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## jdeleski

Further thoughts about this topic:


			
				jdeleski said:
			
		

> If I had my preferences, I'd suggest that you always make an IC post of the actions that your character is taking based on what you see happening here in the OOC thread.  You don't NEED to make an OOC post, I can later copy that information over into my round-by-round listing (as I did with Bobitron's round 2 action).  This OOC round-by-round listing is helpful for sharing and discussing and coordinating the information that we'll describe in our IC thread, and you're free to join in this conversation as you please.
> 
> I will occasionally produce a summary IC posting of results (as I did with Martin's action) and will weave the wording of that post around what each of you provide in the IC thread.
> 
> The net outcome of this is that, Morpheus, you should copy Martin's last action into the IC thread.



I'd be perfectly happy if this OOC thread managed to get 2 combat rounds, or even 5 rounds, ahead of the IC thread.  So I'd rather see everyone keep the combat moving forward by posting your character's actions whenever you get a few minutes to spare instead of waiting for the IC thread to catch up.  When time becomes available, I'll add a post in the the IC thread that summarizes the action from the OOC thread, but if we always wait for the IC thread to keep up, then we'll delay our game by quite a bit. 

I know that these two statements conflict.
1)  We need to post in the IC thread, and don't necessarily need to put anything in the OOC thread.
2)  I'd like to keep combat moving, even if temporarily everyone posts in OOC, then updates the IC thread later.

It's a balance we'll have to strike.  If we move quickly through the combat, and don't update the IC thread, then either we'll slow down when we get to our writings, or we may find that the OOC and IC threads are so out of synch that it's difficult to eventually write our IC descriptions.  I'll let you know if my head explodes if you do likewise.     Otherwise I assume that we're doing OK.

Morpheus, if you were posting your IC actions here to give me a "heads up" on your character's plans, and planned to copy them over to the IC thread after I added my IC writings for Paco's joining your grapple, then that's a great way to keep things moving.

Thanks!
Job.


----------



## Bobitron

Vittorio ain't goin' no where unless he is threatened himself or it looks like things are going south to the point where our leader might get shot.


----------



## jdeleski

I know that you'll all get a kick out of this, but it's a little off topic.  

In RL, I'm a project manager for a top 500 company.  I've been invited to a Project Management Leadership workshop in Orlando Florida during the week of October 24th and I've just submitted a proposal for a Poster session (I prepare a presentation) as follows:

TITLE:   Project Management Challenges for Admiral Byrd's 1929 Antarctic Expedition
ABSTRACT:   Based on studies of Admiral Byrd's 1929 Antarctic Expedition, I will present an outline of the project management challenges for Admiral Byrd and how he overcame them.  Included will be an outline of Finances, Communications, Critical Path, Issues, Risks, and Project Planning and Management.

 

I actually submitted a much more boring presentation too, but I'm willing to bet that they accept my Antarctic Expedition presentation!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Morpheus

jdeleski said:
			
		

> Further thoughts about this topic:
> 
> I'd be perfectly happy if this OOC thread managed to get 2 combat rounds, or even 5 rounds, ahead of the IC thread.  So I'd rather see everyone keep the combat moving forward by posting your character's actions whenever you get a few minutes to spare instead of waiting for the IC thread to catch up.  When time becomes available, I'll add a post in the the IC thread that summarizes the action from the OOC thread, but if we always wait for the IC thread to keep up, then we'll delay our game by quite a bit.
> 
> I know that these two statements conflict.
> 1)  We need to post in the IC thread, and don't necessarily need to put anything in the OOC thread.
> 2)  I'd like to keep combat moving, even if temporarily everyone posts in OOC, then updates the IC thread later.
> 
> It's a balance we'll have to strike.  If we move quickly through the combat, and don't update the IC thread, then either we'll slow down when we get to our writings, or we may find that the OOC and IC threads are so out of synch that it's difficult to eventually write our IC descriptions.  I'll let you know if my head explodes if you do likewise.     Otherwise I assume that we're doing OK.
> 
> Morpheus, if you were posting your IC actions here to give me a "heads up" on your character's plans, and planned to copy them over to the IC thread after I added my IC writings for Paco's joining your grapple, then that's a great way to keep things moving.
> 
> Thanks!
> Job.




Um...yes...that's exactly what I had planned...


----------



## Bobitron

That's awesome, jdeleski!


----------



## jdeleski

*Round 3 Continued*

*Round 3 Underway*
CURRENT PLAYER'S TURN:  *Taokan and Jim Poole remaining*

1st)  Martin - Failed to pin Lawrence
2nd)  Vittorio - Delaying in place
3rd)  Paco - Failed to pin Lawrence
--->>> 4th)  Taokan - 
5th)  Guest - Readying a punch if Lawrence breaks free from the grapple.
6th)  Starkweather - Breaks free from the crowd, seeing Lawrence underneath Martin and Paco
7th)  Lawrence - Breaks the grapple, gaining control of his arms and gun
--->>> 8th) Jim Poole - 


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## jdeleski

*laughs*  These stories do take interesting twists.

I just thought that I'd mention that I intentionally left Lawrence's action in the "Lawrence Loses It" post open to interpretation, and we now have an interesting interpretation to work with!     In actuality, I was leaving an opening for Paco or Martin to make one last attempt to stop Lawrence from pulling the trigger (I didn't actually describe the gun going off...), but surely it would've been difficult to stop him at that point.  

Let's keep the cameras rolling!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Taokan

Ah come on, Shaman, you killed Lawrence! Now I feel bad for the poor guy... Hehe


----------



## The Shaman

Taokan said:
			
		

> Ah come on, Shaman, you killed Lawrence! Now I feel bad for the poor guy... Hehe



Oopsie.  

I don't think I'll be putting "professional wrestler" on Paco's resume any time soon. :\


----------



## Job

*New Account for Jdeleski*

I've created a new account to use the name "Job".  It's the name that I preferred, but EnWorld wouldn't let me edit my old account, so I had to create a new one.

While I was at it, I cleaned up my avatar just a bit too.    

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Dallas4lr

Greetings,

I will be submitting my next post either tonight or Sunday at the latest.


Dallas


----------



## Morpheus

Alright, how many sanity did I lose?


----------



## Job

*Sanity?  What Sanity?*

*laughs*

I was waiting to see if anyone would notice that this might be a hit to their sanity...

Since all of your characters are seasoned travelers to far-away places, and have certainly come upon a few horrible accidents, here's the tally:

Paco = minus 1 Sanity due to a memorable, close-up image and haunted by failure to prevent;
Martin = minus 1 Sanity due to a memorable, close-up image and haunted by failure to prevent;
Camille = minus 1 Sanity and loss of that dinner that she cared so much about   for observing from the front row;
Vittorio = no loss
Jim Poole = no loss

Not so bad.  You'll need your sanity, for Lawrence's sake.

Please edit your character sheets, including a little sidenote as to the event that lost you sanity.  You'll get it back when you level up.


----------



## Job

I thought that you might like to see this.  My presentation at the Proj Mgmt Leadership Conference has been accepted.

"It's our pleasure to invite you to lead a Poster Program Session at the 2005 Project Management Leadership Exchange (PMLE) Conference on the following topic: Project Management Challenges for Admiral Byrd's 1929 Antarctic Expedition.  

The Poster Program will take place on Sunday, October 23 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm in the . Please plan on reporting to the Poster Program desk at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort, Room: Coronado D between 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm on Sunday to build your poster. 

Your topic provoked a great deal of interest from the people who reviewed the poster proposals, and we know it will delight the attendees at the PMLE. Furthermore, your participation underscores the philosophy of this important event, "that you should be able to contribute as much as you take away" from the exchange."

*laughs*  What a crazy world!  And what better way to have fun at work!    

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Morpheus

I've been to the Coronado...it's very nice. You'll love it there...


----------



## The Shaman

Morpheus said:
			
		

> I've been to the Coronado...it's very nice. You'll love it there...



If that's the one with the Aztec swimming pool, me too - it is very nice.


----------



## Job

In drafting my next couple of posts, I realized that I needed to do a bit of research.  For example, a few of my questions are as follows:

- 1930's NYC Police force composition?  
- Distance of police station/headquarters to the Amherst?
- 1930's NYC police emergency response methods?
- 1930's NYC police transportation?
- 1930's Medical emergency response methods?
- 1930's Medical transportation?
- 1930's What sort of stretchers did the medical people use?
- 1930's did they use body bags?

I've made a few things up, but you know me.  I just couldn't post them without making sure that they're somewhat accurate.  And of course, I then need to give the writing a "Cthulhu edge".    

You should see the story move forward either tomorrow, after I arrive home from a week of travels, or Saturday sometime.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Job

Dallas4lr said:
			
		

> Greetings,
> 
> I will be submitting my next post either tonight or Sunday at the latest.
> 
> Dallas



That's great news, Dallas!  It'll be good to have Father Rucker arrive in NYC.  

Shaman and Dallas, if you would each do me a favor, please send each other a few PM's to discuss how each of your characters might react to each other.  Since both Paco and Father Rucker are deeply faithful, I'd like the two of you to make sure that you each know what to expect.  

You don't need to know the intimate details of each other's background, but if you discuss how your characters would interact when first meeting, and maybe also how they'd react when under stress from a sanity-blasting event, it might help to make sure that we don't stumble in our storytelling.

Thanks!
Job.


----------



## Job

*Lighting Effects?*

*laughs*  Tonight when I posted the arrival of the police car at the Amherst, the photo of the car during the daytime seemed a bit jarring to me (since it was supposed to be nighttime in NYC).  So I darkened the picture and added some cheesy lights.     

I hope that you'll forgive me for such terrible special effects.    

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Dallas4lr

Greetings,

I started a new job 2 weeks so I've been trying to adjust to this new schedule, I will endeavor to get my next post up today.

As far as PMing Paco, I dont believe I can via this site it appears that this function is blocked for me.

Dallas


----------



## The Shaman

Dallas4lr said:
			
		

> As far as PMing Paco, I dont believe I can via this site it appears that this function is blocked for me.



I think private messaging on ENWorld requires a community supporter account.

We can talk via spoilers here in the metagame thread...[sblock]Paco is likely to look upon Father Rucker with respect due to his station, and may turn to him for spiritual advice from time to time.

While Paco believes in God and the Holy Church, he grew up among the working class of Chile, so he is not terribly educated about religion - he is a common man, with the usual vices and prejudices. He respects scholarly knowledge, though he has no desire to emulate it.

He loves the mountains and testing his strength against the wilderness.

In the event of encountering weirdness, Paco is likely to seek comfort from his faith, but he tends to rely on his own strength in dealing with adversity - he would likely see rites of exorcism and such as foreign to his own simpler, more homespun beliefs.[/sblock]


----------



## Morpheus

Martin cooperates fully with the police and answers all of their questions to the best of his ability.


----------



## Job

I've been touched by the flu.  Probably some mythos-related bug.  I'll be back online when I'm feeling better.


----------



## The Shaman

Job said:
			
		

> I've been touched by the flu.  Probably some mythos-related bug.  I'll be back online when I'm feeling better.



Or your head will explode and release a mi-go from your twitching corpse.


I'm just sayin'...


----------



## Job

The Shaman said:
			
		

> Or your head will explode and release a mi-go from your twitching corpse.
> 
> 
> I'm just sayin'...



Phew!  It's nice to back amongst the living.  In one crazy period, I actually did feel like my skull was going to explode (Shaman was right?  And the mi-go let me live because he has further uses for me?).  And later I wondered if I was infected by some virus that was causing me to look and feel like a zombie.

But all is well now and it's time to get this story moving...


----------



## The Shaman

Glad you're feeling better.







			
				Job said:
			
		

> (Shaman was right?  And the mi-go let me live because he has further uses for me?).



Don't worry - it was all just a dream.


Or was it?!?


----------



## Dallas4lr

Greetings,

I got one post in, I will do another post tomorrow which should put me in NYC.


Dallas


----------



## Job

This week I am buried in RL work during the days and, during the evenings, am preparing my presentation on Admiral Byrd's Antarctic Expedition for next week's Leadership Conference.  The good news is that all of my studying and preparing for my presentation on Admiral Byrd's Expedition will help me to be very well prepared to run our game in Antarctica.  The bad news is that I'll have very little time to write many posts during the next week.

Nevertheless, I'll do my best to write a post or two to keep things moving.  I apologize for the snail's pace of the game.  Hopefully I'll be able to make up for it once I return from my conference in Florida.

Job.


----------



## Morpheus

No problem-keep up the good work.


----------



## Job

I came across this topic of interest about halfway through Commander Byrd's "Little America":

"The performance of the snowmobile is gratifying.  Arnold Clark is doing a good job with it.  It is nothing more than a ford chassis, fitted with skis in front and double caterpillar treads behind.  It has attained a speed as high as 25 miles per hour on the smooth Barrier surface, and, in hauling loads from the barrier cache to the base, has equalled the work of five or six dog teams.  I wish we had another."

Apparently, our engineer (and sharp-eyed researcher who dug up the web reference) on the Starkweather-Moore Expedition may have worked a miracle in locating 5 of these units for our trip.     

Of course, I haven't mentioned the troubles that the Byrd Expedition later had with the snowmobiles...    

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Bobitron

I won't look into the later troubles, just hope for the best.


----------



## Job

Leave it to my company to fly me into a hurricane...

I finished preparing my presentation on Commander Byrd's Expedition of 1928-1930, and today I fly to Orlando to hopefully deliver it tonight.  The powers that be have not cancelled my conference due to the hurricane, so I'll be driving to the airport in a half hour and I expect to have a few interesting stories about the storm.

Wish me luck!


----------



## The Shaman

Job said:
			
		

> Wish me luck!



Good luck and safe trip!


----------



## Bobitron

Best wishes, Job. I hope you have a safe trip.


----------



## Job

I have returned!  The hurricane turned out to be nothing more than a torrential rainstorm with high winds (for that Orlando area, that is) and my conference was very interesting.

Many attendees were interested in my presentation on Byrd's trip to Antarctica and asked a lot of questions;  some were scratching their heads wondering what a 1929 expedition had to do with their work, and I did my best to explain how the follow-up Miskatonic Expedition in 1930, and the Starkweather-Moore Expedition in 1933, would add to the world's knowledge of that hidden continent and the foreshadowed cosmological events.

Uh, not really.  But that would've been fun, eh?  

So I've posted the first of a few missives that I'll be working on this weekend.  Thanks for your patience.


----------



## Job

*Poll-time!*

I'm taking a poll.  Which do you think will occur first?
We'll finish this BtMoM campaign?
Bethesda will distribute it's Xbox version of CoC Beyond the Mountains of Madness (recently announced as a follow-up to it's brand new CoC Dark Corners Xbox game)?
All players who are currently playing in this campaign will have gone utterly insane trying to complete it in a play-by-post format and will be replaced by a completely new set of utterly insane players?
The DM will have gone utterly insane in attempting to complete such a huge campaign in a highly-detailed play-by-post format and will be replaced by a new, also utterly insane, DM?
The Stars will be Right and the Great Old Ones return?
All of the above will occur simultaneously, thus calling forth Azathoth itself to re-establish chaos?  YIKES!
BTW, this poll is also open to any lurkers who've been strangely compelled to watch over this vast undertaking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one


----------



## Bobitron

I would say choice two, closely followed by four.  

This game is a huge investment in your time, there's no way I'm leaving. 

In other news, taitzu had expressed to me he is having internet connection issues. I'm not sure when he'll be back.


----------



## Job

The good news for TZ is that he's OK to rejoin us whenever he solves his connection troubles.  I'm not especially demanding about forcing players to drop if they don't post within a certain period of time, and so far all of you, my players, have been pretty lenient with me regarding my occasional detours for travel and work.  We fortunately have enough players that we'll be fine if one or two of them are AWOL for a period of time.

If an occasional lurker requests to join us, I'll post a notice and send a PM to our inactive players (i.e. those players who haven't posted in 2 to 3 weeks) that we're considering replacing their character.  If we don't hear back from them within a reasonable period of time, we'll make their character an official NPC crew member and allow the lurker to join us.  

If we find that we cannot move the story along without a certain character taking an action, but the player hasn't responded in a long while, I'll roleplay that character as an NPC.

Our only point of no return will be the departure of the team from our last port-of-call to Antarctica.  After that time, it will logically be a problem for introducing new characters, so from then on, any new players and all replacements for babbling, incoherent, incontinent characters must come from the NPC crew of the S-ME (from which there is a fair assortment of roles/skills to choose from).

BTW, for all of you who have a character in this campaign and would like to create a replacement character (acknowledging the inevitable   ) who will serve as an NPC crew member until needed, I'm willing to grant you that option.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Taokan

Option 6, personally. (All of the above will occur simultaneously, thus calling forth Azathoth itself to re-establish chaos? YIKES!) And mutated giant badgers will rain from the sky, thus inspiring Job for yet another campaign.


----------



## Job

*In another dimension...*



			
				Bobitron said:
			
		

> Vittorio listens to the radio for an hour or so and heads to bed after a short bath.



While reclining and relaxing with his eyes closed in the warm, soapy water, Vittorio hears a small gurgle from the drain.  Suddenly, a writhing tentacular mass clutches his ankle, sending shards of pain through his neurosystem and it drags the Italian towards the small, 2.5 inch diameter drainhole and what could only be imagined as a gruesome, violent death.  Vittorio loses his grip on his rubber ducky during the surprise attack.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Job

Taokan said:
			
		

> Option 6, personally. (All of the above will occur simultaneously, thus calling forth Azathoth itself to re-establish chaos? YIKES!) And mutated giant badgers will rain from the sky, thus inspiring Job for yet another campaign.




Badgers?  *scratches head*

Your badgers have inspired me to start the BtMoM "Lite" campaign in the above post that begins with Vittorio getting sucked down the drain of his bathtub in the Amherst Hotel!


----------



## Morpheus

Job said:
			
		

> I'm taking a poll.  Which do you think will occur first?
> The DM will have gone utterly insane in attempting to complete such a huge campaign in a highly-detailed play-by-post format and will be replaced by a new, also utterly insane, DM?
> BTW, this poll is also open to any lurkers who've been strangely compelled to watch over this vast undertaking.
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Job (the tortured one




Who says the DM was sane to begin with?


----------



## Bobitron

Job said:
			
		

> While reclining and relaxing with his eyes closed in the warm, soapy water, Vittorio hears a small gurgle from the drain.  Suddenly, a writhing tentacular mass clutches his ankle, sending shards of pain through his neurosystem and it drags the Italian towards the small, 2.5 inch diameter drainhole and what could only be imagined as a gruesome, violent death.  Vittorio loses his grip on his rubber ducky during the surprise attack.
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Job (the tortured one).




Hehehe, could've been worse, I suppose. No insanity involved.


----------



## The Shaman

Morpheus said:
			
		

> Who says the DM was sane to begin with?



And we have a winner!  

Sorry for my delay in responding to the interrogation - very busy few days. I'll try to post again tonight.


----------



## Morpheus

The Shaman said:
			
		

> And we have a winner!




Thank you, thank you. I'd like to thank all of the little people (especially the halflings of Hin) for making this possible. I'd also like to thank my Mom and Dad, for, well, for having me-without them, none of this would have been possible. Lastly, I'd like to thank Job...for being insane enough to run BtMoM for us and doing a damn fine, ahem, job. Checks can be made out to...


----------



## Job

*The First Milestone*

Whoo Hoo!  We're officially into Chapter 1!  

Hmm.  Let me do a little math...  Let's see.  4 months for the prologue.

*scribble, scribble*

And how many chapters?  Well, we have to count chapter 1 since we haven't done that one yet...

*Flips open the huge paperback tome*

10 chapters?  Hmm, no...  15 chapters?  Uh, no, more than that...  17 chapters?!?  Yep.  17.  

*scribble, scribble*  

4 months X 17 chapters = 68 months.

*jaw drops*


----------



## The Shaman

Job said:
			
		

> 4 months X 17 chapters = 68 months.



I hope you took the Gamemaster Endurance feat. 


			
				Job said:
			
		

> Characters are free to take any actions during this week that seem reasonable, and we'll play those closing actions out here in this thread.



Paco definitely has things to do - I'm going to think about it tomorrow and post on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Thanks for being patient with my slow productivity the last week.


----------



## Taokan

~~~


----------



## Job

The Shaman said:
			
		

> "Characters are free to take any actions during this week that seem reasonable" - Paco definitely has things to do.  I'm going to think about it tomorrow and post on Tuesday or Wednesday.



Please note that the week that I was referring to is a week in game time.  You are free to play out that full gameweek over the course of a number of weeks in realtime, if it takes that.



			
				The Shaman said:
			
		

> Thanks for being patient with my slow productivity the last week.



No problem whatsoever!  I'm very pleased that you folks are sticking with the game.

In thinking about the length of this campaign, however, I'm sure that all you of would agree with me that 68 months is too long.  I'll now be examining each chapter and event with an eye towards trimming the length of time, but I'm going to try to be careful not to exclude any events that a) are critical to the storyline, b) are important for character or NPC development, and c) add fun.  If ever any of you players feel that we're bogged down in details that don't matter and aren't very much fun, don't be afraid to post your thoughts.  Or send me a PM.  

For example, I have a tendency to spend a lot of time adding setting details and photos and maps that, I think, add to the immersion.  If you think that I'm spending too much time on this, just let me know.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Morpheus

Job said:
			
		

> Please note that the week that I was referring to is a week in game time.  You are free to play out that full gameweek over the course of a number of weeks in realtime, if it takes that.
> 
> No problem whatsoever!  I'm very pleased that you folks are sticking with the game.
> 
> In thinking about the length of this campaign, however, I'm sure that all you of would agree with me that 68 months is too long.  I'll now be examining each chapter and event with an eye towards trimming the length of time, but I'm going to try to be careful not to exclude any events that a) are critical to the storyline, b) are important for character or NPC development, and c) add fun.  If ever any of you players feel that we're bogged down in details that don't matter and aren't very much fun, don't be afraid to post your thoughts.  Or send me a PM.
> 
> For example, I have a tendency to spend a lot of time adding setting details and photos and maps that, I think, add to the immersion.  If you think that I'm spending too much time on this, just let me know.
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Job (the tortured one).




You're doing a great...ahem...job!


----------



## Job

Morpheus said:
			
		

> You're doing a great...ahem...job!



Thanks!      I wonder if the EnWorld site will be here in 68 months...


----------



## Job

*Next Steps*

Current Campaign Status

Prologue - All characters have one week of game time, if you care to use it, to take actions before the start of Chapter 1.  If you don't care to take any action before the start of Chapter 1, then...

The Chapter 1 thread is ready to go -->  Chapter 1 Awaits!


----------



## Job

*Communications*

To try to keep things moving, I PM'd Eahba and Dallas, asking if they're planning to continue with BtMoM.  So far, I've heard from Eabha, and she said that she is still very interested but ran into some RL issues (including internet connectivity) that limited her availability.  

If we haven't seen much activity after a reasonable period of time (maybe after the Christmas holidays), I may shift their characters to NPC's and open a slot for a new player.  I'll allow players to reclaim their NPC's and rejoin the game if their situations change and they declare an interest.

This leaves everyone's options open, yet helps us maintain our momentum.

I know that TZ is also having connectivity issues and remains in touch, so this won't affect him unless he doesn't feel that he'll be returning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Morpheus

Like two trains speeding towards one another on the same track, let's keep this sense of dread moving...


----------



## Job

I was buried in RL work this past weekend and yesterday, and therefore didn't get much accomplished with this expedition, but I plan to do a bit of scheming tonight.    

Job.


----------



## Job

Shaman,

If you don't believe that Paco would respond to the newspaperman by sighing and rolling his eyes, let me know what other act of exasperation he would exhibit and I'll make a slight modification to the post.  I didn't really envision Paco rolling his eyes, but you know your character better than I.    

Job.


----------



## Job

And it's a good thing that those reporters are accurate!  I'd hate to see what would appear in the newspapers if they weren't so exacting in their profession!

 

Job.


----------



## The Shaman

Job said:
			
		

> And it's a good thing that those reporters are accurate!  I'd hate to see what would appear in the newspapers if they weren't so exacting in their profession!



Noticed that...

Paco's more surprised by the reporters than exasperated, if that's what the sigh and eyeroll are meant to express.


----------



## Job

Fixed.  Much better.


----------



## Bobitron

I'm having some computer issues. Until I get things resolved, I will have limited abilty to post from home. I'll do my best to stay caught up at work, but it can be tough at times, particularly in a game like this one.


----------



## Job

Bobitron said:
			
		

> I'm having some computer issues. Until I get things resolved, I will have limited abilty to post from home. I'll do my best to stay caught up at work, but it can be tough at times, particularly in a game like this one.



No worries, Bobitron!  Thanks for the "heads up".  

I'm just happy that our Chapter 1 thread now appears to perhaps be gaining traction!


----------



## Drowned Hero

Im a little confused one where i should post interest in the game.
You sure tell me in time.

I trie to get up the basics today. I was thinking of play Dog Handler/Sled Driver -scout -pistol expert -dog trainer .... let's see how far i cant stretch those skills.

I did play CoC in 1997. face to face in a bunker in santiago of Chile. i had a hell of a time.
I havent meet anyone that has played CoC since then. Untill..... now. 

Cool!   

Im off to make character.

***---***---***​


 





		Code:
	

[B]Name:[/B] Øyvind Raknes	
[B]Type:[/B] Offence
[B]Gender:[/B] Male
[B]Age:[/B] 35
[B]Height:[/B] 1,85 mt
[B]Weight:[/B] 95 kg
[B]Eyes:[/B] blue
[B]Hair:[/B] blonde
[B]Skin:[/B] pale


[B]Str:[/B] 17 +3 (10p.)     [B]Level:[/B] 4        [B]XP:[/B] 6000
[B]Dex:[/B] 14 +2 ( 6p.)     [B]BAB:[/B] +3         [B]HP:[/B] 30
[B]Con:[/B] 16 +3 (10p.)     [B]AC:[/B] 10+2+X      [B]HIt dice:[/B] 4d6+12
[B]Int:[/B] 10 +0 ( 2p.)     [B]Speed:[/B] 30'      [B]Current sanity:[/B] 50
[B]Wis:[/B] 10 +0 ( 2p.)     [B]Init:[/B] +        [B]20% sanity:[/B] 10 
[B]Cha:[/B] 16 +3 (10p.)               



                         [B]Base   Mod  Misc  Total[/B]
[B]Fort:[/B] bad                 +1    +3          +4
[B]Ref:[/B]  bad                 +1    +2          +3
[B]Will:[/B] Good                +4    +0          +4

[B]Weapon                  Attack   Damage     Critical[/B]
Melee Machete                +6     XdXX+X     XX-XXxX
Range Revolver               +5     XdXX+X     XX-XXxX
Melee Whip                   +6     XdXX+X     XX-XXxX


[B]Languages:[/B] Norwegian (native)
		  English
			
[B]Abilities:[/B] XXXX

[B]Feats:[/B] 

Weapon Proficiency: Pistol  
Weapon Proficiency: Machete 
Point Blank Shot
Dodge
      
[B]Skills[/B]

[B]Skill Points:[/B] 56       
[B]Skill Points per Level: [/B] 8 (8 base, +0 Int)
[B]Skills                     Ranks  Mod  Misc  Total[/B]
*Animal Empathy (cha)           5    +3          +8
Appraise (int)                  X    +0          +0
*Balance (dex)                  4    +2          +6
Bluff (cha)                     0    +3          +3
climb (str)                     3    +3          +6
Concentration (wis)             X    +0          +0
Craft  (int)                    X    +0          +0
Cthulhu Mythos (none)           X    +0          +0
Demolitions  (int)              X    +0          +0
Diplomacy (Cha)                 X    +3          +3
Disable Device  (int)           X    +0          +0
Disguise (Cha)                  X    +3          +3
*Drive [Slede] (dex)            4    +2          +6
*Escape Artist (Dex)            4    +2          +6
Forgery (Int)                   X    +0          +0
Gather Information (Cha)        X    +3          +3
*Handle Animal  (Cha)           5    +3          +8
Heal (wis)                      X    +0          +0
*Hide (dex)                     4    +2          +6
Innuendo (Wis)                  X    +0          +0
*Intimidate (Cha)               4    +3          +7
Jump (str)                      X    +3          +3
Knowledge  (Int)                X    +0          +0
Listen (Wis)                    X    +0          +0
*Move Silently (Dex)            4    +2          +6
Open Lock  (Dex)                X    +2          +2
Operate Heavy Machinery (Dex)   X    +2          +2
Performance (Cha)               X    +3          +3
Pilot (Dex)                     X    +2          +2
Psychic Focus (Wis)             X    +0          +0
Psychoanalysis (Wis)            X    +0          +0
Read Lips (Int)                 X    +0          +0
Repair  (Int)                   X    +0          +0
Research (Int)                  X    +0          +0
Ride (Dex)                      X    +2          +2
Search (Int)                    X    +0          +0
Sense Motive (Wis)              X    +0          +0
Sleight of Hand (Dex)           X    +2          +2
Speak Other Language (Int)      1    +0          +1
Spellcraft (Int)                X    +0          +0
*Spot (Wis)                     6    +0          +6
Swim (Str)                      X    +3          +3
*Tumble (Dex)                   4    +2          +6
*Use Rope (Dex)                 4    +2          +6
*Wilderness Lore (Wis)          4    +0          +4
 


[B]Equipment:                                                                     Cost  [/B]
Wardrobe
4 worn collared shirts, various colors, clean and neat                          – $6.00
3 worn trousers, grey, black, and dark blue, clean, pressed with a crisp pleat  - $6.00
1 pair of new work boots                                                        - $4.00
7 pairs of tighty whiteys                                                       - $1.00
7 pairs of black socks                                                          - $1.00
1 worn grey parka – $20.00
1 leather bomber jacket, lightly worn                                           -$20.00
2 mechanics uniforms                                                            - $3.00
1 pair of worn, tan wool gloves                                                 – $4.00
2 grey wool scarves                                                             – $3.00
2 woolen sweaters, on grey and one dark blue                                    - $8.00

.38 Revolver (purchased as a safeguard against asylum inmates)                  -$25.00
(100) .38 rounds x2                                                             -$12.00
Leather Holster fitted for hiding the gun in the small of his back              - $5.00
Flashlight                                                                      - $3.00

Average set of carpentry tools                                                  -$10.00

sunglasses (3)
whip (2)
dogs (9)
slede (1)
blankets (9)
mask (2)
ski (2)
ropes (4)
Akkevit (5 liters) (simmilar to wiskey)


[B]Money:[/B] Original savings - $2,000. Yearly income - $2,000.




*Appearance:* Øyvind is a tall and massive Scandinavian. He is quite reserved one because he does not speak English very well, and second because he is sober.
When drunk, Øyvind tells you all, even the most embarrassing things, the only good thing that it takes a lot of effort to get him drunk.
He gives the impression of being a good person and he is fairly good looking.

*Background:* It is not that much to say about him.
He drooped school at age 15 and went to work with the Lapp people north of his town. 
5 years ago it came a adventurer/explorer to the Lapp lands searching greater knowledge of the aurora Borealis and the people and myths in northern Norway. 

He was an Canadian that had a mountain gear store and a book store in New York. Øyvind had been fascinated with the stories John told him in his almost a year long expedition. He had taken with him many books about myths, archaeology, tarot, and such many more books. Øyvind read them all, slowly but he read them all.

Øyvind was now in New York on visit to his friend John, selling him huge stack of reindeer skins. He had seen an ad in the newspaper searching for explorers. 

He had been in NY 2 months, and it was time to leave back home or sign up for the adventure of his life.

He send a letter with the Hotel piccolo.


----------



## Job

*Welcome!*

Hello Drowned Hero,

Thanks for joining our team!  Later today, I'll take a thorough look at your character sheet and letter to James Starkweather, but it appears that you've covered most of the required details for inclusion in the game.  We'll work out any needed changes in this thread.

Once I've approved your character sheet, you'll be ready to begin posting actions in the game.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Drowned Hero

Job said:
			
		

> I'm taking a poll.  Which do you think will occur first?
> We'll finish this BtMoM campaign?
> Bethesda will distribute it's Xbox version of CoC Beyond the Mountains of Madness (recently announced as a follow-up to it's brand new CoC Dark Corners Xbox game)?
> All players who are currently playing in this campaign will have gone utterly insane trying to complete it in a play-by-post format and will be replaced by a completely new set of utterly insane players?
> The DM will have gone utterly insane in attempting to complete such a huge campaign in a highly-detailed play-by-post format and will be replaced by a new, also utterly insane, DM?
> The Stars will be Right and the Great Old Ones return?
> All of the above will occur simultaneously, thus calling forth Azathoth itself to re-establish chaos?  YIKES!
> BTW, this poll is also open to any lurkers who've been strangely compelled to watch over this vast undertaking.
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Job (the tortured one






well... i kinda hope for number 5. *goes and find his incomplete tome of the Necronomicon*


----------



## The Shaman

Job said:
			
		

> I'm just happy that our Chapter 1 thread now appears to perhaps be gaining traction!



After Paco's trip to the museum is complete, I should be ready to dive into Chapter 1.


----------



## Job

Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> well... i kinda hope for number 5. *goes and find his incomplete tome of the Necronomicon*



If you find that Necronomicon, don't bring it to Antarctica!  You're in for enough trouble already!


----------



## Job

The Shaman said:
			
		

> After Paco's trip to the museum is complete, I should be ready to dive into Chapter 1.



Alright!  Hopefully I can shake free tonight to look over Drowned Hero's character sheet and post a few more responses.


----------



## Job

*Øyvind Raknes' Character Sheet*

Drowned Hero,

I like your character concept and starting information.  Below are a few comments regarding his statistics.

Please post/copy your character information here --> Link to BtMoM Character Thread

ABILITY SCORES:  OK
BAB, Lvl, AC, Saves, Sanity: OK
CORRECTION: HP = 30 (see example in the above link)
CORRECTION: Initiative = Dex check = +2
Weapon attacks: OK
Feats:  OK
Gear and Money:  OK

SKILLS:  All OK, except Cthulhu Mythos.  Unless there is a very good roleplaying reason for your character to have gained ranks in Cthulhu Mythos, I'd prefer that he start with zero experience with the mythos.  Reading books about archeology and tarot, and hearing tales from other adventurers would not improve this skill;  you'd need direct study of a mythos tome or contact with a creature, and ranks in this skill would directly lower your sanity score.  Since Øyvind has a low starting sanity of only 50, I'd recommend that he not have any Mythos skill, but if you strongly feel that your character concept definitely needs some Mythos skill, I'm open to further discussions about it.

And how exactly do you pronounce Øyvind?

I'll try to work up a response from Starkweather to your letter in the next couple of evenings, and then you'll be ready to go!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THANKS!
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Drowned Hero

character is fixed

Øyvind... hmmm not being english my first languge, i think you can come pretty close by saying Oeywind.

I guess it's easier if the character get a nickname... Wind perhaps? or anything else. we can take it IC, if you like


----------



## Job

*Øyvind Raknes Character Sheet Approved*

Drowned Hero,

You character sheet is approved.  I'll need to work up Starkweather's response to your letter, so please wait for that before posting any actions.  I'll be out of town for the next couple of days, so I might not get to it until Friday/Saturday, but it'll be coming!    

And it would be very interesting to develop nicknames in the IC thread.  We're getting to the point in the game where the team members will start interacting much more, so that'll be fun.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job.


----------



## Tor L'Tha

XXX


----------



## Drowned Hero

Job said:
			
		

> Drowned Hero,
> 
> You character sheet is approved.  I'll need to work up Starkweather's response to your letter, so please wait for that before posting any actions.  I'll be out of town for the next couple of days, so I might not get to it until Friday/Saturday, but it'll be coming!
> 
> And it would be very interesting to develop nicknames in the IC thread.  We're getting to the point in the game where the team members will start interacting much more, so that'll be fun.
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Job.





Hey don't worry about the time. 

I like your style to GM this game. Well thought posts, whit accurate information, incredible use of language, etc. My own English is far from being good. I'm bilingual in Norwegian and Spanish (Chile). 

I enjoyed the reading of the prologue. Specially the Chilean mountaineer   and the references to Amundsen, actually the foto im using his Fridtjof Nansen. One of the biggest explorers from this norther country, ofcurse sitting closely to Amundsen.


----------



## Job

Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> My own English is far from being good. I'm bilingual in Norwegian and Spanish (Chile).



Actually, your use of English is just fine and, as far as I can tell, you're communicating your ideas very well.  And an occasional grammar error is perfectly fine--and also somewhat in character--since Øyvind doesn't naturally speak English.



			
				Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> I enjoyed the reading of the prologue. Specially the Chilean mountaineer   and the references to Amundsen, actually the foto im using his Fridtjof Nansen. One of the biggest explorers from this norther country, ofcurse sitting closely to Amundsen.



We do have an excellent group here.  Now I'm interested in googling Fridtjog Nansen to read about his exploits!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Drowned Hero

*Fridtjof Nansen
*

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fridtjof_Nansen

http://www.mnc.net/norway/Nansen.htm

http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0834811.html​


----------



## Watus

The thread title indicates you're recruiting.  Is that the case?


----------



## Job

Yes, we're seeking one additional player to replace an individual who's become inactive.  If you are interested, take a peek at the first post in this thread to identify a role that is not yet filled, then let us know a little about your character concept.

Drowned Hero just joined the expedition as a dog handler and has started posting in Chapter 1.  Once we OK your character concept, you'd need to post a letter to James Starkweather (as Drowned Hero did) and we'd then start work on your character sheet. 

It'd be great to have you aboard, Watus!  If you're not aware of this particular Cthulhu adventure, be aware that this is an epic campaign (it may take over 2 years to play out via PbP!  Yikes!), and a very deadly one.      But as you can tell from this re-recruiting effort, as players come and players go, I'm going to try to maintain a full cast of characters and keep the story moving.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job.


----------



## Watus

I've actually read through the threads already, I just wasn't sure if Drowned Hero had filled the last spot.  This looks like a great game, and I'm available for the long haul.

If Eahba is MIA, then perhaps Starkweather would be intrested in Dr. Vitus X. Lambert, Swiss Physician, Mountaineer and Champion Skiier.

If you're holding that spot, perhaps a field anthropologist of some sort.


----------



## Job

Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> *Fridtjof Nansen
> *
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fridtjof_Nansen
> 
> http://www.mnc.net/norway/Nansen.htm
> 
> http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0834811.html​



Thanks for the links, Drowned Hero.  Nansen was certainly an incredible explorer and leader!  From his sports accomplishments in his teens, and his explorations and scientific work during midcareer, to his political work in his latter years, the man was truly inspiring.  I'm surprised that Øyvind isn't a scientist.     

Job.


----------



## Job

Watus said:
			
		

> If Eahba is MIA, then perhaps Starkweather would be intrested in Dr. Vitus X. Lambert, Swiss Physician, Mountaineer and Champion Skiier.
> 
> If you're holding that spot, perhaps a field anthropologist of some sort.



Watus,

After I emailed Eabha a number of weeks ago, she responded to me that she's still interested in the game, but that was three weeks ago.  If you're willing to wait another week (I'd like to give her a total of 4 weeks to rejoin us, which is the same that I'd offer any player), and if she doesn't post, then your physician character would make a fine addition to the team.  And actually, it would be better for us to have a player in the physician role so that I don't need to fill that role with an NPC, but I'd like to give Eabha that one additional week. 

If you're anxious to get going, your anthropologist idea is also a good choice.

I'll immediately retitle this thread to close our recruitment.  Welcome!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Watus

Excellent, thank you.

I think I'll wait a week and see if Eabha doesn't come back.  I figure the physician will get a fair amount of work on this trip.


----------



## Drowned Hero

Job said:
			
		

> I'm surprised that Øyvind isn't a scientist.
> 
> Job.





Yeah I know. I thought that first when i saw the recruiting thread, all the possibilities when it comes to role play encounters    anyway it demands some language skills, i still don't posses. 

Talking about skills. I was thinking on having 3 favourite dogs, being each of them a leader dog, working with other two dogs each. A 3 dog sled can pull about 100 kg + the driver (i consulted with a friend that have done it). 
If he links the leader sled with a rope to the next leader dog, a skilled driver can drag them after him. 
Of curse to make top speed (here i got no clue of what is top speed of a sled is...) the terrain has to be quite plain, having to drive one and one sled at the time over cracks in the ice and such.

Øyvind was a kind of fur carrier for the Lapps taking fur into the town of Tromsø. 
This dogs are very loyal since Øyvind has trained them well. [*Animal Empathy +8 and *Handle Animal +8]. 

Any way you see i can use this dogs like the 'animal company' feat from D&D, lets say like the Dog http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/dog.htm ?

I got this link from antoher game. http://archives.obs-us.com/obs/adventur/schooner/design/schooner.htm 
Im not very familiar with nautical words, on english that is 
You guys got any similar?


----------



## Watus

Job said:
			
		

> And how exactly do you pronounce Øyvind?




Coincidentally, my sister is semi-fluent in Norwegian (and _is_ a native speaker of English).  I asked her how to pronounce this, and here's what she said:



> Take the "oy" from "oy vey" or however you spell it (it's ever so slightly different than that - "Ø" is pronounced like someone punched you in the stomach - "uh" - but close enough) - and then "vind" like "wind" only with a "v" - oy-vind.  Emphasis is on the first syllable.


----------



## Job

Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> Talking about skills. I was thinking on having 3 favourite dogs, being each of them a leader dog, working with other two dogs each. A 3 dog sled can pull about 100 kg + the driver (i consulted with a friend that have done it).
> If he links the leader sled with a rope to the next leader dog, a skilled driver can drag them after him.
> Of curse to make top speed (here i got no clue of what is top speed of a sled is...) the terrain has to be quite plain, having to drive one and one sled at the time over cracks in the ice and such.



Based on writings from Commander Byrd on his 1929/1930 expedition to the South Pole, and also on the expert advice of the other dog handlers who will join you on the expedition, Dr. Moore has purchased 3 dog sleds, each outfitted for 9 pulling dogs.  There are, of course, extra dogs along to replace any who might get injured or die.  As a rule, a dog can pull approximately 150 lbs on a sled, therefore a fully-loaded 9-dog sled will weigh 1350 lbs., including the driver.  These are estimates;  Antarctic conditions may force different arrangements.

Top speed for a 9-dog, fully-loaded sled will vary based on conditions.  With a slight downhill and perfect field conditions, a loaded sled may approach--or even exceed--20 miles per hour.



			
				Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> Øyvind was a kind of fur carrier for the Lapps taking fur into the town of Tromsø.
> This dogs are very loyal since Øyvind has trained them well. [*Animal Empathy +8 and *Handle Animal +8].
> 
> Any way you see i can use this dogs like the 'animal company' feat from D&D, lets say like the Dog http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/dog.htm ?



I can't seem to find the "animal company" feat in my books, neither in the D&D V3.5 PHB nor in the d20 CoC manuals.  I only can find "animal affinity".

Because you're new on the expedition, and all dogs have already been purchased and delivered to NYC, you'll need to work with the dogs to gain their trust and to train them according to the "Handle Animal" skill in the D20 CoC manual.  If you wanted to personally purchase and ship dogs from Norway to NYC, then I'd need to make a special ruling.  



			
				Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> I got this link from antoher game. http://archives.obs-us.com/obs/adventur/schooner/design/schooner.htm
> Im not very familiar with nautical words, on english that is
> You guys got any similar?



That's actually a very good link!  Here's a few more terms that I didn't see on that page:

Aft - Rearward; towards the rear of the ship
Amidships - In the center of the ship;  midway between the bow and the stern
Bo'sun - Boatswain;  a minor official of the crew
Fo'c'sle - Forecastle;  the cabin areas in the bow of the ship
Fore - Foreward; towards the bow of the ship
Lee, Alee - The side of a ship which is away from the wind
Line - rope
Port - To the ship's left, when facing in the direction of motion
Starboard - To the ship's right, when facing in the direction of motion
Tiller - The steering mechanism.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Bobitron

I'm going to have to cut out a few games from my list (my veeeerry long list). It has been getting really busy at work and I'm afraid I have much less time to post than normal. I hope you all can survive the Antarctic without an Italian engineer. Maybe someone could take over the spot or even the character? I have no reservations letting another player use Vittorio as a character.

Sorry to bail on you, Job. No hard feelings, eh? I'll see you elsewhere. 

This game has been amazing to be a part of, even if I only played in the intro. Awesome stuff. The from all players has been astonishingly good. Very pleased to have been a part of things so far. I can honestly say the writing and level of prep work of our illustrious GM is second to none, and that's coming from a guy who plays in The Shaman's incredible game.

I really hope all goes well with things for everybody. Good luck! Godspeed!


----------



## Job

Bobitron said:
			
		

> I'm going to have to cut out a few games from my list (my veeeerry long list). It has been getting really busy at work and I'm afraid I have much less time to post than normal. I hope you all can survive the Antarctic without an Italian engineer. Maybe someone could take over the spot or even the character? I have no reservations letting another player use Vittorio as a character.
> 
> Sorry to bail on you, Job. No hard feelings, eh? I'll see you elsewhere.
> 
> This game has been amazing to be a part of, even if I only played in the intro. Awesome stuff. The from all players has been astonishingly good. Very pleased to have been a part of things so far. I can honestly say the writing and level of prep work of our illustrious GM is second to none, and that's coming from a guy who plays in The Shaman's incredible game.
> 
> I really hope all goes well with things for everybody. Good luck! Godspeed!



Aww,  Bobitron, I'm very sorry to see you go.  Vittorio will live on as an NPC should you at some point decide that you'd like to rejoin our expedition.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job.


----------



## Bobitron

Job said:
			
		

> Aww,  Bobitron, I'm very sorry to see you go.  Vittorio will live on as an NPC should you at some point decide that you'd like to rejoin our expedition.
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Job.




Thanks, Job. I'll check in from time to time. Maybe I can play again in the spring. Feel free to PM me over at GG if you want to talk about anything.


----------



## Job

Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> On his way up he sees the volume of gear being moved from the dock over at the ship. For the moment is seems that It was the food that is being placed in the cargo room. He sees a man that must be the cook, indicating where he wanted placed, some of the crates. "yes! The carrots under the onions! and the meat barrels under! the chicken cages! Can’t you see that if you place the barrels over he cages they will smash the chicken cages?! and we will end up without any eggs!" "you tell me how I am supposed to make omelette if I don’t have chickens to XXX eggs?!"
> The short man was furious... he suddenly looks up at Øyvind that had stopped to contemplate he scene "what are you looking at?!" "Can’t you see I'm are busy?!" the cook then hears the noise of a barrel that falls and cracks open "damn you!" "be careful with the barrels of rise!" the voice faints as the little man disappear between a huge box with a sign saying 'blankets' and a series of piled rise barrels.



Drowned Hero, this is a very colorful writing and fun to read!  Unfortunately for Øyvind and the crew, the chickens and vegetables and meat will only last through the first few weeks of the trip.  :\  Your diet after that will be somewhat more bland, but you'll learn more about that during your orientation meetings with Dr. Moore.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job.


----------



## Job

Watus,

It's now been 28 days since I last heard from Eabha.  You are cleared to submit a letter from your physician to James Starkweather in the Chapter 1 thread and also to post your proposed character stats.

Job.


----------



## Watus

Thanks.  I'll post the letter Monday morning and the character shortly afterwards.


----------



## Job

Bobitron said:
			
		

> Thanks, Job. I'll check in from time to time. Maybe I can play again in the spring. Feel free to PM me over at GG if you want to talk about anything.



With Bobitron's departure, we have another opening for the expedition, and I'm re-opening my re-recruiting for this game.      I'd like to keep a full set of players moving through the storyline since the player interactions are often half the fun.  

Job.


----------



## Watus

Vitus Lambert is loosely based on Xavier Mertz, whose picture I've also stolen.  Dr. Mertz was actually a doctor of law, but he did go mad and die on the ice, so they'll have that in common.  True, Dr. Mertz was suffering from Vitamin A poisoning after eating the livers of the remaining sled dogs, rather than the madness brought on by catching a glimpse through a momentary rent in the veil of reality, but still...

I've pieced him together to my satisfaction, but I haven't actually obtained the book yet (it's being shipped), so you might want to check it over extra carefully.  Also, I'm not sure how to determine wealth, so I haven't even attempted to make an equipment list.


----------



## Job

*Job Away*

I am travelling on business this week and won't be able to post until this weekend.  I'll do my best to wreak havoc when I return.    

Job.


----------



## Anatomist

If theres still a open spot, I would like to play a Scientist/Researcher in Biology & chemistry. 

With a Hobby on the occult.

I will wait to confirm if yo are searching for more players, to start character creation. Im 

been lurking around the thread and this is a game i must be a par of, this is an Epic journey.  

 

I see yo are using some nice formats one the charactersm from the character thread 

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?p=2393970#post2393970. could anyone link a 

blueprint? then i save myself coding all from scratch 
-*- Done it myself 
*Photo*







-*-

Background:

George Barrow was born in Mexico City 1895. Hes father a English teacher that fall in love with 

Asunción Barros one of his students. At age 5 they went to live Deep into the jungle living 

there  to age 15, it was here he discovered his love to the living things, from the insects to 

the big cats of the Mexican jungle.
He was send to a boarding school in Boston when he turned 16 living in this city the rest of his 

life, dedicating himself to numerous studies in biology and biochemistry at the University. 

The last five years of his life he had being studying the effects freezing on many kinds of 

bacteria, how low could the metabolism of a cell go without being destroyed?. In what rate would 

a biological entity decompose under certain environmental conditions? Was low temperatures a 

beneficial factor for some specific kind of bacteria and fungus? He had many projects going on 

and sample picking was one of the thing he used his free time at. He did a lot of travel to 

Canada and Alaska searching for new and undiscovered microorganisms, chemical substances, 

plants, animals, etc.

He had made it his mission to discover more antibiotics as the  penicillin discovered by his 

colleague Alexander Fleming in 1928. He had tried uncountable combinations of natural and 

synthetic chemical mixtures on all kind of pathological bacteria he had in his hands. Making 

this one of his main obsessions for the implications it could have for humanity.

In Boston he was part of a group of bachelors that enjoyed cigars and cognac in a gentlemen club 

called 'questio physiologus et prodigium ' a.k.a. 'The searchers for the natural and unnatural'. 

Not being rare, tales from the most doubtful sources, about Yetis, lake monsters, supernatural 

beings and such things...
The old Bartholome, one of his clubb friends. Had a more excentric hobby. He studied the occult 

and had a private library, with manuscripts of dead languages, pictures and photography of 

ancient symbols, books of demonology. 
Bartholome was a decendent of a Gypsy family that settled down hundreds of years ago and no 

longer counted as a true Gypsy, he was obbsesdt with a family legend obsessed about ancient 

rituals and guarding demons. 
George always heard the stories out, but never believed them.

George had been contacted by a friend now living in New York. John Clinter told him about this 

expedition being formed by Dr.moore and an other gentleman. 
Dr. Moore was a colleague in science and very well known person for both John Clinter and George 

B.

George thought of this new opportunity to study samples almost non man had seen before, a few 

days. Contacting his lawyer and employer at the sixth day to announce that he probably would be 

traveling for an undetermined time, just like Darwin in his time, to maybe come back with a 

great discovery.

He sat down to write.



		Code:
	

Dr.George Barrow
Male Scientist Biology/chemistry

Defense: AC and saving throw (4)

Height: 5’ 7"
Weight: 154 lbs
Hair: Dark Brown
Eyes: Brown
Age: 35

Str: 10 (+0)
Dex: 10 (+0)
Con: 14 (+2)
Int: 19 (+4)
Wis: 15 (+2)
Cha: 14 (+2)

Hit Dice: = 21 [http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=314704
Hit Points = (6+2) + (4+2) + (4+2) + (4+2) = 26
AC = 10 + 0 (dex bonus) + 2 (defense bonus) = 12

Init: +4 (+0 Dex) = +4
Speed: 30 ft 
Current Sanity: 75
Max Sanity: 99 
20% sanity: 15

Fortitude Save = +4 base + 2 (Con bonus)
Reflex Save = +1base + 0 (Dex bonus)
Will Save = +4 base + 2 (Will bonus)

BAB: +2

Language: 	English (native)
		spanish (1 skill point)
		some dead language (1 skill point)

Meele Attack: +2 
Range Attack: +2 

Skill Points: 4*(12 per lvl)= 48
7*12= 84 *GM rule
left = 5
Skills:

Animal Empathy 		(untrained) (Cha +2) = 2
Appraise: 		(untrained) (Int +4) = 4
Balance: 		(untrained) 2+(dex +0) = 2
Bluff: 			(untrained) (Cha +2) = 2
Climb: 			(untrained) (str +0) = 0
*Concentration: 	(trained)   3+(Wis +3) = 6
Craft:			(untrained) (Int +4) = 4
Cthulhu Mythos 		(untrained) (no ability modifier) = 
Demolitions: 		(untrained) (int +4) = 4
*Diplomacy: 		(trained)   5+(Cha +2) = 7
Disable Device: 	(untrained) (int +4) = 4
Disguise: 		(untrained) (Cha +2) = 2
Drive: 			(untrained) 2+(dex +0) = 2
Escape Artist: 		(untrained) 2+(Dex +0) = 2
Forgery: 		(untrained) (Int +4) = 4
*Gather Information: 	(trained)   7+(Cha +2) = 9
Handle Animal: 		(untrained) (Cha +2) = 2
*Heal: 			(trained)   2+(wis +2) = 4
*Hide: 			(trained)   4+(dex +0) = 4
Innuendo: 		(untrained) (Wis +2) = 2
Intimidate: 		(untrained) (Cha +2) = 2
Jump: 			(untrained) (str +0) = 0
*Knowledge [biology] 	(untrained) 7+(Int +4) = 11
*Knowledge [chemistry] 	(untrained) 7+(Int +4) = 11
*Knowledge [occult] 	(untrained) 7+(Int +4) = 11
Listen: 		(untrained) (Wis +2) = 2
Move Silently: 		(untrained) (Dex +2) = 2
Open Lock: 		(untrained) (Dex +2) = 2
Operate Heavy Machinery:(untrained) (Dex +2) = 2
Performance: 		(untrained) (Cha +2) = 2
Pilot: 			(untrained) (Dex +2) = 2
Psychic Focus: 		(untrained) (Wis +2) = 2
Psychoanalysis: 	(untrained) (Wis +2) = 2
Read Lips: 		(untrained) (Int +4) = 4
Repair: 		(untrained) (int +4) = 4
*Research: 		(trained)   7+(Int +4) = 11
Ride: 			(untrained) (Dex +2) = 2
*Search: 		(trained)   7+(Int +4) = 11
*Sense Motive: 		(untrained) 3+(Wis +2) = 5
Sleight of Hand: 	(untrained) (Dex +0) = 0
Speak Other Language: 	(trained)   2+(Int +4) = 6
Spellcraft: 		(untrained) (Int +4) = 4
*Spot: 			(trained)   5+(Wis +2) = 7
Swim: 			(untrained) (str +0) = 0
Tumble: 		(untrained) (dex +0) = 0
Use Rope: 		(untrained) (dex +0) = 0
Wilderness Lore: 	(untrained) (Wis +2) = 2



Feats: 

Meticulous: +2 bonus on all Forgery checks and Search checks.
Decipher Script:  (Int +4). Trained Only. 
Studious: +2 bonus on all Decipher Script checks and Research checks.


----------



## Job

Anatomist,

Your character will fit in perfectly!  Welcome to the expedition!  I'll edit the opening thread to close the recruitment, but I haven't yet had a chance to perform a thorough review of his stats and background, and I'll take the time to do that tomorrow night.

I apologize to everyone for the delay in my responses. After returning from my business trip during the week, my wife dragged me through the horrors of the malls to perform my Christmas shopping duties Friday night, all of Saturday, and most of today. Fortunately we're about done, so I should be able to pick up the pace this week. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Tor L'Tha

XXX


----------



## Tor L'Tha

XXX

sorry


----------



## Anatomist

Good!. This is gonna be funn 

Does it exists a SRD web site for CoC rules and equipment?


----------



## Job

Watus said:
			
		

> I've pieced Dr. Vitus X. Lambert together to my satisfaction, but I haven't actually obtained the book yet (it's being shipped), so you might want to check it over extra carefully.  Also, I'm not sure how to determine wealth, so I haven't even attempted to make an equipment list.



Watus, 

I've completed my review of Dr. Lambert's character sheet.  I could find no errors in any of your statistics, but I do have a general comment about his skills.  You've chosen to split Dr. Lambert's abilities between that of a physician and an explorer/hunter, and this maps well to your character's background, but in doing so you are of course moderating his overall abilities.  It is also unusual for a physician to be an offensive in nature since they have generally dedicated their lives to healing, but this does fit within your background writeup. 

This is workable, and I see no reason to change it if you're happy with this balancing of abilities, but it does leave some gaps, particularly in the areas of his physician skills.  As an example, if he is called upon to research a unique specimen, or to tap into his limited biological knowledge (compared to his medicine skill and athletic abilities), he would be at a disadvantage.  He also is not very diplomatic or charismatic, thus his bedside manner leaves something to be desired.      It suggests that he's a gruff doctor, very blunt in telling patients of their problems, leaving research to others more suited to indoor studies.

As to his wealth, if I accept the average scores on die rolls, he would have $12,000 in savings and $6,000 in yearly income (when he's practicing, that is).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Job

Anatomist said:
			
		

> Does it exists a SRD web site for CoC rules and equipment?



Anatomist,

No, unfortunately, there is no SRD for CoC.  However, that being said, I will guide all players through the campaign, outlining your options, therefore if you're familiar with d20 combat mechanics, you should be fine.  I would recommend getting the d20 CoC book via ebay (it's actually one of my favorite d20 manuals), but it's not an absolute necessity for playing in this game.

Job.


----------



## Job

*Review of George Barrow Character Sheet*

Anatomist, I've reviewed George Barrow's character sheet and have the following updates and suggestions:  

Ability Point assignments:  OK
Hit Points = (6+2) + (4+2) + (4+2) + (4+2) = 26
AC = 10 + 0 (dex bonus) + 2 (defense bonus) = 12

Assuming that your character accepts his best saving throws as Fortitude and Will:
Fortitude Save = +4 base + 2 (Con bonus)
Reflex Save = +4 base + 0 (Dex bonus)
Will Save = +4 base + 2 (Will bonus)

BAB totals:  OK

SKILLS:  84 skill points not yet assigned

FEATS:  Feats that you might want to consider from d20 Modern Feats Allowed :
- Educated
- Studious
- also look at the Decipher Script skill from this same link.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Tor L'Tha

XXX


----------



## Anatomist

Job said:
			
		

> Anatomist,
> 
> No, unfortunately, there is no SRD for CoC.  However, that being said, I will guide all players through the campaign, outlining your options, therefore if you're familiar with d20 combat mechanics, you should be fine.  I would recommend getting the d20 CoC book via ebay (it's actually one of my favorite d20 manuals), but it's not an absolute necessity for playing in this game.
> 
> Job.




I got the book. im just to lazy i love ctrl+C - ctrl+V


----------



## Anatomist

Job said:
			
		

> Anatomist, I've reviewed George Barrow's character sheet and have the following updates and suggestions:
> 
> Ability Point assignments:  OK
> Hit Points = (6+2) + (4+2) + (4+2) + (4+2) = 26
> AC = 10 + 0 (dex bonus) + 2 (defense bonus) = 12
> 
> Assuming that your character accepts his best saving throws as Fortitude and Will:
> Fortitude Save = +4 base + 2 (Con bonus)
> Reflex Save = +4 base + 0 (Dex bonus)
> Will Save = +4 base + 2 (Will bonus)
> 
> BAB totals:  OK
> 
> SKILLS:  84 skill points not yet assigned
> 
> FEATS:  Feats that you might want to consider from d20 Modern Feats Allowed :
> - Educated
> - Studious
> - also look at the Decipher Script skill from this same link.
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Job (the tortured one).





fixed minus skill point and feats.

i have read that you wont we assign any point to the cuthulhu mythos. does that apply to my character as well?
i need to ponder the feats after im done with the skill assignment.

any combination you would suggest?


----------



## Anatomist

Tor L'Tha said:
			
		

> XXX





Im sorry about tor wrinting in the thread. 
that would be my little brother, using my computer *without MY permision* and not logging himself out. making me post with his account.


----------



## Watus

Job said:
			
		

> It is also unusual for a physician to be offensive in nature




Hah.  So many jokes, so little time.

In any case, I think you've hit Vitus right on the head, as it were.  He is not an academic.  He is not a researcher.  He is an athelete, an adventurer, and a self-styled man of action.  I asked myself when I sat down to draw him up, what kind of physician would think a trip to the Antarctic sounded like a good idea?  What kind of doctor would leave behind a cushy, lucrative practice to freeze his buns on the ice?  Any hypothetical research value of such an expedition - say, on the effects of cold or privation - could surely be conducted a bit closer to home.  It seems the only reasonable answer to that question is someone with an overactive sense of adventure.  So then why the Antarctic?   Why not Borneo or the Gobi or the Amazon?  So, he's an alpinist.  A cold-weather athelete.  He's young and enthusiastic, and not too concerned with the possible consequences of biting off more than he can chew.

In game mechanics, it's true, this does mean spreading his skill points a bit thinner than might be ideal, but I've tried to do so in a way that stays true to the character I laid out.  It's true, his bedside manner is likely to leave something be desired, but a) it's the 30's and medicine at the time took a very patrician attitude when dealing with patients, b) he's young, and c) he's a surgeon.  Not, in my experience, a very cuddly bunch.

His knowledge skills are also a bit thin, but then again, he isn't a biologist.  I know a good number of doctors, and none of them would be competent to analyze anything non-human.  They might be able to make a half-a**ed guess from some half-remembered undergraduate textbook, but that's about it.  He does, however, have some ranks in Search, Spot, and Sense Motive, to reflect his diagnostic training.  His Heal is impressive, and his Knowledge [medicine] is also maxed.  Finally, I chose the offensive option to reflect his "go get 'em" attitude, as well as his compulsory military service with the Swiss Army.

Hopefully, if the expedition needs a biologist, they will hire one.  Vitus, I imagine, will mostly be useful for setting broken bones and amputating frozen toes.


----------



## Job

Anatomist said:
			
		

> fixed minus skill point and feats.
> 
> i have read that you wont we assign any point to the cuthulhu mythos. does that apply to my character as well?
> i need to ponder the feats after im done with the skill assignment.
> 
> any combination you would suggest?



Anatomist,

I made an error here:  Reflex Save = +4 base + 0 (Dex bonus).  
Your Reflex Save is actually = +1base + 0 (Dex bonus) = +1

Without giving anything away, I can tell you that adding points to Cthulhu Mythos generally won't help your character in this campaign and, in fact, will hurt them because each point in Mythos reduces your sanity by a similar amount.  It would also, IMO, be much more fun to roleplay the reactions of your character who is totally unaware of Mythos influences as he/she encounters strange phenomena and evidence.  If you feel strongly that your character should have some exposure to the Mythos (and thus have some skill points in CM) because of their background, then we'd need to figure out each instance and what the impact would be.

As far as feats are concerned, the two that I pointed out in my note (i.e. Educated, and Studious) would seem to be good fits for your scientist.  But rather than recommending specific feats or skills, I'd recommend that you instead focus on aligning all of your character statistics to best fit with your character's background so that you feel comfortable with your character concept.  Maximizing your abilities, feats, and skills is not nearly as important as fine-tuning your character's background and personality.  This adventure will be much more fun in a roleplaying sense (scientists and explorers who are struggling against the environment and the strange horrors) than in a pulp fiction combat-oriented sense.

Job.


----------



## Job

Watus said:
			
		

> Hah.  So many jokes, so little time.
> 
> In any case, I think you've hit Vitus right on the head, as it were.  He is not an academic.  He is not a researcher.  He is an athelete, an adventurer, and a self-styled man of action.  I asked myself when I sat down to draw him up, what kind of physician would think a trip to the Antarctic sounded like a good idea?  What kind of doctor would leave behind a cushy, lucrative practice to freeze his buns on the ice?  Any hypothetical research value of such an expedition - say, on the effects of cold or privation - could surely be conducted a bit closer to home.  It seems the only reasonable answer to that question is someone with an overactive sense of adventure.  So then why the Antarctic?   Why not Borneo or the Gobi or the Amazon?  So, he's an alpinist.  A cold-weather athelete.  He's young and enthusiastic, and not too concerned with the possible consequences of biting off more than he can chew.
> 
> In game mechanics, it's true, this does mean spreading his skill points a bit thinner than might be ideal, but I've tried to do so in a way that stays true to the character I laid out.  It's true, his bedside manner is likely to leave something be desired, but a) it's the 30's and medicine at the time took a very patrician attitude when dealing with patients, b) he's young, and c) he's a surgeon.  Not, in my experience, a very cuddly bunch.
> 
> His knowledge skills are also a bit thin, but then again, he isn't a biologist.  I know a good number of doctors, and none of them would be competent to analyze anything non-human.  They might be able to make a half-a**ed guess from some half-remembered undergraduate textbook, but that's about it.  He does, however, have some ranks in Search, Spot, and Sense Motive, to reflect his diagnostic training.  His Heal is impressive, and his Knowledge [medicine] is also maxed.  Finally, I chose the offensive option to reflect his "go get 'em" attitude, as well as his compulsory military service with the Swiss Army.
> 
> Hopefully, if the expedition needs a biologist, they will hire one.  Vitus, I imagine, will mostly be useful for setting broken bones and amputating frozen toes.



Watus, this is an excellent, well thought out, character concept and I now can see that you've thought through the roleplaying aspects.  Your character sheet is approved and you'll soon (hopefully within a few days if I can push off a few Christmas prep activities) be hearing from James Starkweather.

Job.


----------



## Anatomist

Job said:
			
		

> Anatomist,
> 
> I made an error here:  Reflex Save = +4 base + 0 (Dex bonus).
> Your Reflex Save is actually = +1base + 0 (Dex bonus) = +1
> 
> Without giving anything away, I can tell you that adding points to Cthulhu Mythos generally won't help your character in this campaign and, in fact, will hurt them because each point in Mythos reduces your sanity by a similar amount.  It would also, IMO, be much more fun to roleplay the reactions of your character who is totally unaware of Mythos influences as he/she encounters strange phenomena and evidence.  If you feel strongly that your character should have some exposure to the Mythos (and thus have some skill points in CM) because of their background, then we'd need to figure out each instance and what the impact would be.
> 
> As far as feats are concerned, the two that I pointed out in my note (i.e. Educated, and Studious) would seem to be good fits for your scientist.  But rather than recommending specific feats or skills, I'd recommend that you instead focus on aligning all of your character statistics to best fit with your character's background so that you feel comfortable with your character concept.  Maximizing your abilities, feats, and skills is not nearly as important as fine-tuning your character's background and personality.  This adventure will be much more fun in a roleplaying sense (scientists and explorers who are struggling against the environment and the strange horrors) than in a pulp fiction combat-oriented sense.
> 
> Job.




ok.

skill point assigned, none in myhtos.
feats choosen.

im posting my character in the RG.


----------



## Job

*Have a Merry!*

To all of our intrepid expeditioneers, whether past or present or wanna be's, I wish all of you a wonderful holiday period!  I've had great fun *evil laugh* this past year and hope that we have even more in 2006!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the joyous one!).


----------



## Job

I am sadly disappointed by the disappearance of over 4 months of our writing efforts.

Having said that, I'm considering how to proceed from here.  I do not intend to re-write all of those scenes, and may provide a summary, but this really destroys the story (sad, sad).  I also have concerns that we might spend a year investing in our game only to see this happen again.

Let me know if any of you would be willing to continue.

Thanks,
Job.


----------



## Watus

One can only hope that after this experience the database might get backed up more than once every five months.

That said, I'm willing to continue.


----------



## Morpheus

Hopefully, they will be able to use the May 8th database backup-but I'm still in either way.


----------



## Watus

Nope.  There is no May 8 backup, after all.


----------



## Job

I've gotten over my terrible disappointment over losing months of effort and, after thinking about the situation, here's what I'm considering.  

1)  My biggest disappointment is that someone reading our game will now have a large gap in the story, so I feel that I absolutely need to post a summary of the missing events  that have happened since this past December.  I'll start on it tomorrow, but I expect it to take a little time.  I may post a quick draft that'll get us back up and running within a week (not up to my usual standards of writing, but enough so that everyone can see where I'm going) and I'll revise it over time as I re-read it and have other ideas.

2)  My second biggest disappointment is that I (we) spent a lot of time working on the scenes for verifying the ship manifests, and all of you were patiently going along with me.  Those scenes were not very exciting, but I felt that they were very important for introducing our main "NPC", the USS Gabrielle ship, and also to introduce a number of other NPC's (Pierce, Nils, Gunnar, etc.).  I felt that it was going well, but now it's lost and it would be too tedious to rewrite all of that.  Hopefully the summary will help, but I just loathe the thought of re-starting in the middle of that tedious sequence.  SO, I've decided to move our story forward in time and restart our game at a point in the story AFTER we've finished checking the manifests.  This will not only position us at a point when the action picks up a little, but it'll give me more motivation to start writing again -- it'll feel more like a "fresh start".

So be sure to read the summary when it's posted -- it'll explain the end result of the manifest activities.  

3)  I now will be diligent about creating backups and also plan to start a hardcopy binder and print out our story as we go along.  Years from now, it'll be fun to re-read our exploits.

Stay tuned.  And thanks for staying with me.
Job.


----------



## Drowned Hero

just want to say the we are here, my brother former Anatomist and myself.


----------



## Job

*chuckles softly*

I just love this.  Sometimes the god of chaos can be blamed for rather mundane failings.  



			
				Job said:
			
		

> Time rippled. Omnicient eyes winked. A gaping hole opened and consumed the thoughts and work of mere mortals who are chained to the continuum of reality.
> 
> OOC - Dread Azathoth, Primal Chaos and Daemon Sultan, mindlessly writhing, breathed across the EnWorld library and obliterated months of writing. Herein is a summary of our intrepid team's activities from December 31, 2005 to May 14, 2006, just as they begin their pre-expedition meeting and preparations.




Job.


----------



## Job

To my players:

Hooray!  I'm almost done getting our campaign back up and running.  I loathe rewriting something that I've already written, especially when I worked so hard to get it right the first time.  Thanks for being patient.

Job.


----------



## Job

I have now finished writing summaries for Chapter 1 to a point beyond where we left off.  I apologize for the length of time that this has taken, but it took quite a bit of cross-referencing of my memory with sections of the book and with stored maps, pictures, and manifests.  

Even though I have not yet writen sections that describe the final outcome of everyone's checking of manifests, you are free to jump back in and write actions for your characters from now on.

I have not yet written a summary to describe the lost writings in the Prologue, but plan to take some time next weekend to start that work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Job

For anyone reading this thread and interested in playing in a modern horror adventure, my game entitled "Angst" has just finished the prologue and is just kicking into gear in chapter one.  This would be an excellent time to join that game as I am recruiting 2 to 3 new players and the characters (pre-generated with amnesia) are now being assigned.  I invite you to take a look and ask any questions that you may have.

As with this "Beyond the Mountains of Madness" game, my "Angst" game is played at a leisurely pace of about 3 to 5 posts a week.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION:  A modern campaign wherein our heroes and heroines struggle to piece together their past before a twisted reality and the worst of humankind destroy their lives. Exploration, Mystery, Danger, and Revelations await.

Here is a link to the game --> Angst Modern Horror Game 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Drowned Hero

There we go!   We are posting hopefully tomorrow.


----------



## Drowned Hero

Just want to state the we, my brother and myself are impressed about the amount of work you put into this campain. you sure are dedicated 
Keep it up! we are looking forward to many years of good gaming.

-DH- Brothers


----------



## Job

Thanks for the vote of confidence!  As long as you are willing to keep playing, I'm willing to devote the time make it interesting (with an occasional re-recruitment drive).  This will be a long game (measured in years, not months), and recently it's been a bit tedious with the lectures and with meeting some of the crew members and with checking of manifests, but soon that part will be over and things will get much more interesting.  

Job.


----------



## Morpheus

Go Job!!!


----------



## Job

Sorry for the lack of posting this past week, but I was traveling on business during the week and on Friday my daughter graduated from high school, followed by a swarm of celebrations and graduation parties over the weekend.  

This coming weekend I'll be travelling out of state for a wedding, but I hope to squeeze a few posts in during the week.

Job.


----------



## Drowned Hero

Im on vacations until the end of july month. Please feel free to autopilot my character.
Have fun!

-DH-


----------



## Job

Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> Im on vacations until the end of july month. Please feel free to autopilot my character.
> Have fun!
> 
> -DH-



I've also been on vacation (as you may have noticed with my lower rate of posting).  I'll do my best to occasionally push the story, but you may see a continued lower posting rate due to travels and socializing.  I have not lost interest; I'm merely taking advantage of the good weather while it's here.  

Job.


----------



## Morpheus

No problem...I'm right there with you...


----------



## Drowned Hero

Im back from my Spain vacation's


----------



## Job

We're about to see the re-appearance of a feisty character (and player) from the Prelude.  

Job.


----------



## Drowned Hero

Great news


----------



## Job

Morpheus,

I've sent you a private Enworld message with a bit of information that your character would know.

Job.


----------



## Drowned Hero

sorry the many typos in last post. i was kinda in a hurry today at work   
im gonna re write it when i get a chanse

-DH-


----------



## Job

Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> sorry the many typos in last post. i was kinda in a hurry today at work
> im gonna re write it when i get a chanse



Don't worry, Drowned Hero, I understood your meaning just fine and I'd rather that you post your responses when you get a chance instead of worrying about minor errors.  

Thanks for continuing on with our preparations!  We have a few more loose ends to tie up, and then we're off...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job.


----------



## Job

5 days, 5 days until departure...  

Can James really tolerate a woman on board?

And where did Professor Moore find those eyeglasses?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (just torturing for the fun of it).


----------



## Job

Just in case you're interested, here's a wikipedia entry that provides you with an outline of world events that occurred in 1933.  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1933#January

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job.


----------



## Job

Job said:
			
		

> Newspaper coverage of the Starkweather-Moore Expedition remains exhaustive...



Or is it "exhausting"?

Job.


----------



## Job

*Watched by the Gods!*

Over on the Yog-Sothoth.com website, a CoC Keeper explained that they were soon going to run BtMoM and asked if anyone had access to digital images of the handouts.  I provided links to our game and mentioned that if they scanned through our play-by-post, they'd find images of many of the handouts along with a lot of extra photographs and materials.

At that point in the thread, Charles Engan, one of the authors of BtMoM, gave us a great compliment!  Charles, or Chaz, has user name Chazathoth on the Yog Sothoth bulletin board.  


			
				Chazathoth said:
			
		

> "...by the way, Hurmferd, thank you; I have been reading along and am enjoying your adventure so far. --Chaz"



Here's a link to the thread -->  http://www.yog-sothoth.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=78071#78071

My own user name on the Yog BB is "Hurmferd" instead of Job, as on this website. I'm honored that he's reading our story since he already knows the tale and could quite easily get bored with our writing.  We must be doing something right!  Keep up the good work!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Job

Drowned Hero, that is an excellent summarization and collection of images in your post to Camille Bardier!  Thanks for your attention to detail.  



			
				Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> ...he takes out some papers from his pockets and hands to Camille a sheet describing the ship ' You see there on the deck? Far inn front of the ship inside the main structure there two hatches going town to the huge cargo room. First you must go to the tweedecks and then further down to the lower holds. Watch out for the rats, I've hear them all the time fooling around the boxes down there'



I also enjoyed the photos and detail that you provided for Oyvind's trip in NYC!  Even though you've already posted what Oyvind has gone for on his little sidetrip, if you allow Enke and Olav to join Oyvind, I'll add a post that provides a little after-the-fact banter and NPC interaction.  *smiles*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job.


----------



## Job

I've been traveling on business once again, so my postings have slowed.  I return from my trip this weekend, so I expect to get back in action at that time. 

Job.


----------



## Job

Job said:
			
		

> Both Enke and Olav stand and move closer to Øyvind to examine at his tin of snuff. Øyvind can then see that Enke is a burly bear of a man, standing at least a half foot taller and much broader in the chest than Øyvind himself, while Olav is significantly shorter. As they examine Øyvind's tin of snuff, they both smile and nod, saying "Takk, Øyvind!".  They each take a small pinch of snuff, placing it in the pouches of their cheeks. Enke's hands are so enormous that he finds it difficult to reach into the pouch and withdraw a small amount, but his movements seem very gentle for such a large individual and eventually manages to do so after saying, "Sorry Øyvind!" a few times.



Drowned Hero, I consulted an online English-Norwegian dictionary and found "Takk" = "Thank you".  I hope that's true...    

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job.


----------



## Drowned Hero

Job said:
			
		

> Drowned Hero, I consulted an online English-Norwegian dictionary and found "Takk" = "Thank you".  I hope that's true...
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Job.




It is.

i use http://www.tritrans.net/


----------



## Job

Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> i use http://www.tritrans.net/



That's a great link, DH, thank you!  It's much better than the online English-Norwegian dictionary that I was using.

Job.


----------



## Job

I'm considering recruiting another couple of players into our BtMoM game since I haven't seen any posts from Watus recently.  We're getting so close to departing NYC that I'd hate to do it without another player or two.

Drowned Hero, if your brother isn't sure whether he's coming back, I can recruit a new player so that you can drop back to roleplaying a single character (unless you really would like to continue playing both of those two characters).

Everyone, let me know your thoughts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job.


----------



## Drowned Hero

Job said:
			
		

> I'm considering recruiting another couple of players into our BtMoM game since I haven't seen any posts from Watus recently.  We're getting so close to departing NYC that I'd hate to do it without another player or two.
> 
> Drowned Hero, if your brother isn't sure whether he's coming back, I can recruit a new player so that you can drop back to roleplaying a single character (unless you really would like to continue playing both of those two characters).
> 
> Everyone, let me know your thoughts.
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Job.




Hes been back a while.


----------



## Job

Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> Hes been back a while.



*laughs*  He has?  Wasn't he posting under Anatomist?  Sorry, I must've gotten mixed up somewhere along the line (lately I find that this isn't hard to do).

Job.


----------



## Drowned Hero

Job said:
			
		

> *laughs*  He has?  Wasn't he posting under Anatomist?  Sorry, I must've gotten mixed up somewhere along the line (lately I find that this isn't hard to do).
> 
> Job.




We are all 3 (2 in this game) writing under -DH-


----------



## Job

Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> We are all 3 (2 in this game) writing under -DH-



Ah!  Now I understand.  Thanks for explaining that;  now I'm a little less confused (than normal).

Since we haven't heard from him in a while, I'll send a PM to Watus to ask if he is interested in continuing in our story.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (tortured and torturing).


----------



## Job

Well, I tried to send a personal message to Watus, but he has disabled his ability to receive them.

Watus, if you're out there, please respond to this post.

Our team is nearing the expedition's departure date and I was wondering if you're still interested in making the trip.  I haven't seen any posts from you in a while and just wanted to check in with you.

If you'd still like to join us, please let us know.  If not, we'll understand and I will try to recruit a replacement.  This is a long campaign, and sometimes a bit tedious.  Whatever your decision, thank you for spending some time with us.  I always find it to be fun when new players, and their wonderful characters, wander in and out of my games.

Job.


----------



## Drowned Hero

Hey Job. Are you thinking on re-recruit for our departure? I may have a good friend intrested in joining in you see.

I think we need it, since some of us are barely taking a look at this game.

Maybe make a present call will wake them up. And give a prudent reprieve time, maybe a week? two?. That way you could know how many are with you or not. And start recruiting a certain number of persons.

-DH- and former Anatomist.


----------



## Job

DH,

Yep, I'll put our game in recruiting status.  Before I do so, I'll need to figure out how many people to recruit.

1&2)  DH, I know that you're out there, and also your brother.
3)  Taokan (my RL daughter) is definitely playing.
4)  Morpheus, are you still planning on playing?  (I havn't seen a post lately, so just checking)
5)  Watus, if you're reading this and would like to continue to play, please respond.

This campaign can easily support 6 players, so we have at least one open spot, DH.  Ask your friend.  And if Watus doesn't respond soon, I'll open up recruitment for at least one other player.

Job.


----------



## Morpheus

I'm still here...things are just a little crazy...my post count will start picking up this week...


----------



## Job

Alright Morpheus! That's great news!    

So it sounds like I need one more player.  DH, before recruiting another player, I'll wait to hear whether your friend is interested.

Job.


----------



## Drowned Hero

My friend has backed out since he has some RL issues.

Are you opening for just one more player? maybe you should ask for 1-2 alts as well?
just an opinion.


----------



## Job

There is movement!    

I shall indeed recruit another player.  I am also agreeable to recruiting a couple of alts, DH, but I've often wondered whether setting up alts is worth the effort.  It may be months before an alt gets an opportunity to step in...  If you think that it's worth it, then I'll open it up.

Job.


----------



## Job

I just thought that I'd let everyone know that I've been struggling these past few weeks with the sudden, unexpected death of my stepdad.  I had traveled to be with my mom for two weeks, and am now back home.  Things are a little chaotic right now.

Job.


----------



## Morpheus

Sorrt to hear that, Job. I'll wait patiently-take as long as you need to make things right for yourself...


----------



## Drowned Hero

Morpheus said:
			
		

> Sorrt to hear that, Job. I'll wait patiently-take as long as you need to make things right for yourself...




/sign

I hope you and yours are doing fine. Give time to time. 
-DH-


----------



## Job

I apologize for my absence, folks.  What better way to return than with a gratuitous flashback scene?

If you'll allow me a bit of overly dramatic reverie, the flashback symbolizes my recent dark period, loss, and now I'm happy to be back with Øyvind, Olav, Enke, and George.  

[Edit] I looked again at the flashback post and have decided that I need to change it.  Drowned Hero, please ignore it for a couple of days.  I decided that giving Øyvind a flashback is probably not good because it will divert his attention from his preparations for departure.  So I'll revise that post. [End Edit]

Job.


----------



## Job

Morpheus,

If you decide that Martin would take actions different than I have described in my recent post, just let me know and I'll edit the post.  I am trying to kickstart the BtMoM campaign a little and am taking a few liberties to start things moving again.  I will have more postings in the near future.

Job.


----------



## Morpheus

Job said:
			
		

> Morpheus,
> 
> If you decide that Martin would take actions different than I have described in my recent post, just let me know and I'll edit the post.  I am trying to kickstart the BtMoM campaign a little and am taking a few liberties to start things moving again.  I will have more postings in the near future.
> 
> Job.




Looks good...


----------



## Job

Drowned Hero,

That songfile of Louis Armstrong is just ... too ... cool!  I was listening to it while writing my next post.  

Bravo!

Job.


----------



## Drowned Hero

Job said:
			
		

> This campaign can easily support 6 players, so we have at least one open spot, DH.  Ask your friend.  And if Watus doesn't respond soon, I'll open up recruitment for at least one other player.
> 
> Job.




What is the status?

I would hate to see this game go on with so few players. This campaign deserves so much better. 
Maybe you could also advertise at the www.yog-sothoth.com ive been reading the games there and it seems its a great site.

-DH-


----------



## Job

Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> What is the status?
> 
> I would hate to see this game go on with so few players. This campaign deserves so much better.
> Maybe you could also advertise at the www.yog-sothoth.com ive been reading the games there and it seems its a great site.
> 
> -DH-



Sorry for the long delay, Drowned Hero.  I had quite a few family members travel to my house for the holiday week in the U.S.  I'll first advertise on Enworld and if we don't get much of a response, I'll broaden our search for additional players to the Yoggies. 

Job.


----------



## Job

If any players are interested in joining this expedition, please provide a brief character outline and we'll get started on filling out your character sheet.  CoC and prior roleplaying experience are desireable, but it's not necessary that you have an intimate knowledge of the D20 CoC rules.  Anyone who's considering joining us should be prepared to commit to a  lengthy game, probably a two years in duration, but we play at a leisurely pace.  

Job.


----------



## Morpheus

Martin LeBlanc is still here...


----------



## Drowned Hero

Job said:
			
		

> Sorry for the long delay, Drowned Hero.  I had quite a few family members travel to my house for the holiday week in the U.S.  I'll first advertise on Enworld and if we don't get much of a response, I'll broaden our search for additional players to the Yoggies.
> 
> Job.




No worries about things taking time 

I would recommend you to edit the first post putting in re-recruitment. I have seen that that is a quiet common practice on enworld.

-DH-


----------



## jdeleski

Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> I would recommend you to edit the first post putting in re-recruitment. I have seen that that is a quiet common practice on enworld.
> 
> -DH-



Done.

I decided not to wait and also placed a recruitment notice on Play@Yog-Sothoth.com 

Job.


----------



## Job

I made a fateful error in posting my re-recruitment notice on the Play@Yog-Sothoth.com bulletin board and have withdrawn that notice.  I'll continue to seek a few players here on EnWorld.

Job.


----------



## Drowned Hero

*Drowned Hero 'There are three of us!'*

I might got a RL friend to play with us. This is another friend, not the one i was pimping the campaign for some months ago. 
I usually play with him in a D&D campaign over a real table every Monday for about now 2 years. He said he might be joining Enworld and the Campaign as he played it back in '99. He is an experienced player and will not mess up metagaming or something. Btw he like a grand grand fhater off me (not litt.) as he will have his 55'th birthday in january. Im bringing the beer   .
Anyways... I hope i can get him along as eventually a third character. 

I guess that he will not be able, nor do i to be much active before mid january when the holidays are over. He is going on a trip to USA to see his family and im probably going to be away on a cabin out at the shores of the north sea, fishing and celebrating Christmas and new year. 

I will be leaving about the 20th of this month.

-DH-


----------



## Job

Morpheus said:
			
		

> Martin LeBlanc is still here...



Martin, thanks for hanging in there!  I plan to push the story a bit further this weekend.



			
				Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> I might got a RL friend to play with us. This is another friend, not the one i was pimping the campaign for some months ago.
> I usually play with him in a D&D campaign over a real table every Monday for about now 2 years. He said he might be joining Enworld and the Campaign as he played it back in '99.



This is wonderful news, DH!  Fresh blood!  Meanwhile, I'm keeping my eyes out for anyone from EnWorld who volunteers to join us in dying on the ice...    

Job.


----------



## Drowned Hero

Bump.


----------



## Job

Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> Bump.



Sorry that I've been a little quiet.  The past two weekends, my wife has been dragging me out shopping (ugh!).  I've also been forced to pick up a Christmas tree, decorate our house, and have been attending numerous Christmas parties...  

My wife refused to listen to me when I explained that I had dozens of crew members waiting at the docks in NYC to depart for the ice wastes of Antarctica.

Job.


----------



## SolosAddie

hey there.  i'm not sure if you got space still.  but if you do here's my character pitch.

Druid, i'll be digging into frostburn to get some specific stuff, but essentially he's at home wandering the frozen north.


----------



## Drowned Hero

SolosAddie said:
			
		

> hey there.  i'm not sure if you got space still.  but if you do here's my character pitch.
> 
> Druid, i'll be digging into frostburn to get some specific stuff, but essentially he's at home wandering the frozen north.




I think you might have got things wrong.
This is a Call of Chutulhu Campaign. Even it will (eventually) include a lot of ice and cold.
You might rewiev this post for information on this game. http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=2392671&postcount=1


----------



## SolosAddie

Yah, got too excited over frostburn possibilites.

I was never here.  *flashing lights, sirens, scuttling figures*


----------



## Job

*laughs*  

That was a fun interlude!  Frostburn characters would certainly have useful skills...

By the way, I'm almost finished (I think) with my holiday preparations, so hopefully I'll be able to pick up the pace shortly.

Job.


----------



## Job

Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> I might got a RL friend to play with us. This is another friend, not the one i was pimping the campaign for some months ago.
> I usually play with him in a D&D campaign over a real table every Monday for about now 2 years. He said he might be joining Enworld and the Campaign as he played it back in '99. He is an experienced player and will not mess up metagaming or something.



Hey DH, does your friend have an idea of what type of character he might like to play?




			
				Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> Btw he like a grand grand fhater off me (not litt.) as he will have his 55'th birthday in january. Im bringing the beer   .
> Anyways... I hope i can get him along as eventually a third character.



Well, that places him very close in age to me, then!    I actually have 4 children in their late teens and early twenties, and one granddaughter.




			
				Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> I guess that he will not be able, nor do i to be much active before mid january when the holidays are over. He is going on a trip to USA to see his family and im probably going to be away on a cabin out at the shores of the north sea, fishing and celebrating Christmas and new year.
> 
> I will be leaving about the 20th of this month.



Enjoy your holidays!  I'll take the downtime to get organized for our departure and to post a few preparations that you and the team can respond to when you get back.

Job.


----------



## Job

For everyone who's participated in this campaign, I wish you and your families a warm, wonderful holidays!    Thanks for sticking with me through what's been a difficult year for me, with limited time due to family illnesses, hospital visits, and heavy job demands.  

I'm looking forward to a much better 2007!  And arriving at the polar wastes....    

Job.


----------



## Drowned Hero

I havent heard from my friend still, he is in north america with some frineds. I guess he will be back in midd january.

Bump..


----------



## Drowned Hero

Bump.


----------



## Drowned Hero

Weekly bump.


----------



## Drowned Hero

Weekly Bump.


----------



## Job

I apologize for the long pause in this campaign.  

I have been beset with an unusual amount of difficulties since the start of the new year (Cthulhuian influences, perhaps?) and am only now starting to get things back to normal.  Here's just a few of the highlights of the past weeks:

- My laptop suffered a severe crash and required 10 days for repair.  I received it back today.  During that period, I was able to access the internet for brief periods from other computers, but did not have much time for writing because...
- My furnace died, turning my home into an icebox for a week.  I live in the northeastern US and even with two space heaters, I was only able to raise the temperature inside the house to 56 degrees Fahrenheit on some days.  The furnace repairmen couldn't just replace my 40-year-old furnace.  They instead spent days analyzing the house, then moved a beam and post, cut a new doorway in my wall, and then finally installed the new unit while I shivered.
- My car's transmission died, requiring that I search for and purchase a new vehicle.  This took days of scanning advertisements, visiting car dealerships, test driving cars, then arranging financing.
- I had a violent flu for a couple of days.

Now that that's over, maybe I can back to normal?  Whatever that was...

Hurm.


----------



## Drowned Hero

Hard RL it seems. 
I dont mid this campaign going at the speed it goes. I keep bumping this thread now and then to see if we catch a new player. My brother still not doing other thing that studying and my friend has not yet returned from USA.


----------



## Committed Hero

What's up with this game - I take it you're still looking for a player?


----------



## Drowned Hero

Committed Hero said:
			
		

> What's up with this game - I take it you're still looking for a player?




You might rewiev this post for information on this game. http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=139160&page=1&pp=40


----------



## Job

Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> Hard RL it seems.
> I dont mid this campaign going at the speed it goes. I keep bumping this thread now and then to see if we catch a new player. My brother still not doing other thing that studying and my friend has not yet returned from USA.



Thanks for sticking with the game, DH (and Morpheus and Taokan)!  I have a few ideas for moving things forward, and now that I have my laptop back (and my hard drive with all of my jpeg files and imaging software), I'll see what I can do to get us moving again.

Job.


----------



## Job

Committed Hero said:
			
		

> What's up with this game - I take it you're still looking for a player?



Yes, we're still looking for 2 soon-to-be-insane players.  The game has been on pause since the start of 2007 due to a few RL difficulties, but we're about to get moving again.  This is a good time for new players to jump in.

Job.


----------



## Committed Hero

Would you want a new PC, or is there an old one I could use?


----------



## Job

Committed Hero said:
			
		

> Would you want a new PC, or is there an old one I could use?



There are some existing characters whose players have dropped out and you're free to choose one of those characters if you're interested in playing them.  Here's a link to the character sheets --> BtMoM Characters

You can select from Paco (mountain guide), Vittorio (Engineer/demolitionist), James Poole (Cartographer/climber), Annie (medical doctor), or Father Rucker (priest/scientist).

Or you can create a new character if you have a concept that you'd like to pursue, but that character will need to run the gauntlet (abbreviated somewhat ) with James Starkweather to be accepted into the expedition.  Here's a list of the most suitable character professions for this expedition, and notes as to which players are currently in-game:
- Cartographer/Surveyor]
- Dog Handler/Sled Driver - This role is currently being played by Drowned Hero (Øyvind Raknes)
- Electrician/Electrical Engineer
- Guide/polar Survival Expert
- Journalist - this role is currently being played by Morpheus (Martin Leblanc)
- Mechanic/Mechanical Engineer
- Mining Engineer
- Outfitter (expert in cold climates)
- Photographer - this role is currently being played by Morpheus (Martin Leblanc)
- Pilot - this role is currently being played by Taokan (Camille Bardier)
- Physician
- Radioman/Radio Engineer
- Scientist/Researchers, expecially experts (maxed knowledge skills in his/her specialty, or someone who is well known as an authority in a field such as Archeaeology, Biology, chemistry, Geology, Glaciology, Meterology, Mineralogy, or Paleontology. - This role is currently being played by Drowned Hero (Dr. George Barrow)  

Job.


----------



## Drowned Hero

Job said:
			
		

> - Guide/polar Survival Expert
> - Mechanic/Mechanical Engineer
> - Physician




I would have gone for one of these amazing possibilities, specially the physician.
I have some concepts tho those i want to run another character!


----------



## Morpheus

Job said:
			
		

> - Journalist - this role is currently being played by Morpheus (Martin Leblanc)
> - Photographer - this role is currently being played by Morpheus (Martin Leblanc)
> 
> Job.




  Who da man?


----------



## Drowned Hero

Morpheus said:
			
		

> Who da man?




hehehe


----------



## Drowned Hero

Morpheus said:
			
		

> Who da man?




We should have a priest Morpheus. We will go insane quick!


----------



## Job

Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> We should have a priest Morpheus. We will go insane quick!



We thought that we did have a priest...  Now where did that priest run off to?

Job.


----------



## Job

*New Thread*

We've now proceeded far enough along in Chapter 1 that I'm ready to start our next thread of activity in the game.  

Starkweather and Moore have finished assigning ship's cabins to each particular expedition member and I'll now start a new thread for Chapter four in the game which starts on September 6th, 1933.  This possibly raises two questions.

*QUESTION 1) *  We're not yet done with Chapter 1 which is still on September 5th!  Can we continue to work on that chapter while playing Chapter 4?
*ANSWER 1)  * Yes, you can continue to play through Chapter 1, getting in as much detail--and trouble--as you'd like.  Starting chapter 4 will allow us to keep the story flowing while separating the two sets of activities and times so as not to confuse any readers.  We've completed enough activity in Chapter 1 that it's essentially finished and I'd rather not wait until we've closed all of the storylines before starting the next, but this will also allow you to continue puttering around the ship in Chapter 1 on September 5th, making preparations, and meeting team members.  At some point, I'll actually declare Chapter 1 closed, but we'll leave it open for now until everyone is comfortable that they've done everything that they'd like.

*QUESTION 2) *  What happened to Chapters 2 and 3, you might ask?   
*ANSWER 2)*  The Beyond the Mountains of Madness Official Campaign includes chapters 2 and 3 that include certain activities that your expedition members may or may not pursue.  If some of you engage in activities (whether in finishing up Chapter 1 or in working through Chapter 4), then I'll begin a separate thread for those activities as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job.


----------



## Job

Morpheus said:
			
		

> Martin tiptoes over to the filing cabinet and takes a quick peek in the open drawer. Perhaps there is something in there that will help him complete his manifest quicker...or not...



Journalists are always poking their noses into places where they don't belong...    

Job.


----------



## Morpheus

Job said:
			
		

> Journalists are always poking their noses into places where they don't belong...
> 
> Job.




That's where all the interesting stuff is...


----------



## Job

I won't have much chance to make any in-game posts during this workweek.  I am traveling on business, working long hours, and return home this Friday.  

But Cthulhu is with me on my cab rides, lunchbreaks, and hotel room stays...  

Job.


----------



## Drowned Hero

So we can wait for a opening of another chapter at the weekend?


----------



## Job

Hmm.

Chapter 1:  Expedition Preparations
Chapter 4:  Departure
Next Chapter: Death on the Ice?

 

Job.


----------



## Gomez

Hey Everyone,

I just wanted to stick my nose in and see how the game was going.


----------



## Drowned Hero

Gomez said:
			
		

> Hey Everyone,
> 
> I just wanted to stick my nose in and see how the game was going.




Hello hello mister gomez. Are you a former player? And as far i can tell, this goes steady steady towards insanity.


----------



## Job

Gomez said:
			
		

> Hey Everyone,
> 
> I just wanted to stick my nose in and see how the game was going.



Hello Gomez!  Thanks for stopping by.  It's always nice to see old, insane friends leap from closets!  



			
				Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> Hello hello mister gomez. Are you a former player? And as far i can tell, this goes steady steady towards insanity.



At one time, Gomez was one of the premiere Call of Cthulhu Keepers who ran a PbP games on En World, but then RL caught up to him.   Darn that RL!  Gomez's games were the ones that actually motivated me to begin this BtMoM campaign.  

Job.


----------



## Bobitron

Heheh, I am checking in as well! I hope everything is going smashingly.


----------



## Gomez

Oh I ran a few CoC play by posts games that happened to work out thats all. Got lucky to have some really great players. 


Oh Job, 
I don't know if your interested but I am going to try and restart my Masks game. Care to be a alternate if I don't get enough of my old players?


Drowned Hero, 

I would have loved to be in this game but sadly I have already read and run this adventure before. So I know what Job has in store for you.  *insert evil laugh*

Poor Poor Characters.......


----------



## Job

Bobitron said:
			
		

> Heheh, I am checking in as well! I hope everything is going smashingly.



Hello Bobitron!  Thanks for stopping by!  This is almost a reunion of CoC PbP'ers!    

The expedition is just about ready to embark!  ...er, sort of.  Yeah, just about.

Job.


----------



## Job

Gomez said:
			
		

> Oh Job,
> I don't know if your interested but I am going to try and restart my Masks game. Care to be a alternate if I don't get enough of my old players?



Gomez,

I'll keep an eye on your Masks game--and I'd actually LOVE to play--but am not sure of my availability to serve as a player.  Since my time is limited due to a ton of RL commitments, I am only able to write and post a few times a week as it is, and I feel that I must devote that time to BtMoM.  

Some day, I'll become less busy and be able to play!  Right?    

Job.


----------



## Job

Morpheus, Drowned Hero, and Taokan,

I'm not sure if you saw this opening thread for Chapter 4, but here it is.

BtMoM Chapter 4 - Departure 

Job.


----------



## Job

Real adventurers enthusiastically court death, but avoid it's kiss.  They are experts at foreplay.

 

Job.


----------



## Drowned Hero

Well im back after some days of vacations. Ice fishing and skiing at the menu this time.   

I kick't off the Chap.4 Dont blame me if i make cheesy intro's


----------



## Taokanf

Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> Well im back after some days of vacations. Ice fishing and skiing at the menu this time.
> 
> I kick't off the Chap.4 Dont blame me if i make cheesy intro's



That's excellent news!  I hope that your winter vacation was fun!


----------



## Job

Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> Well im back after some days of vacations. Ice fishing and skiing at the menu this time.
> 
> I kick't off the Chap.4 Dont blame me if i make cheesy intro's



Welcome back, DH!  We all need vacations every now and then.  And I thought that I was the king of cheese...

Job.


----------



## Drowned Hero

What is good too is that my brother is returning in a week or so.


----------



## Drowned Hero

bump


----------



## Job

Where's the rest of our tourists?


----------



## Job

Sorry Morpheus, I hadn't noticed that you had edited your last post for me.  And you had done so long, long ago...  But now I've fixed my post as well.

Thanks!
Job.


----------



## Job

I will not be able to play Paco Guerini nearly as well as The Shaman, but I'll do my best.  I couldn't imagine going to the South Pole without Paco.  Wherever you are, Shaman, I hope that all is well.

Very soon, I will also be re-introducing a couple of other NPC's of former players.  James Poole and Vittorio Luizzi will live on!

...and I'll do my best not to have them die horribly.    

Job.


----------



## Morpheus

NPCs = Cannon Fodder...


----------



## Drowned Hero

Morph. let be nice and try to keep those poor souls alive. [sblock]we need canon fodder with good timing, not a killing spre [/sblock]


----------



## Morpheus

kill them all and let Cthulhu sort them out...


----------



## Job

Morpheus said:
			
		

> kill them all and let Cthulhu sort them out...



You don't have to run faster than the monster.  You just need to run faster than the NPC?

Job.


----------



## Job

I was away on business for 10 days, but am now returned.  I'll look to post a few things within the next couple of days.

Job.


----------



## Job

I've begun writing and posting a bit more now that my real-life travels have slowed a bit.  If any non-players are following along with our exploits and you're interested in joining this expedition, be sure to let me know.  We are in desperate need of some fresh blood...  

Job.


----------



## Rathan

I'd have to read over the ongoing antics of the adventure Job but I'll toss my hat into the ring... seeing as how they current memebers are past creation start... anything I should know or need for making a char for this mid adwenshire?!

- Rathan


----------



## Drowned Hero

Rathan said:
			
		

> I'd have to read over the ongoing antics of the adventure Job but I'll toss my hat into the ring... seeing as how they current memebers are past creation start... anything I should know or need for making a char for this mid adwenshire?!
> 
> - Rathan




Hey there. Welcome to CoC. Job sure gonna respond in time but i give you this two links to start with.



You can choose from these former Playing Charcaters http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=3298229&postcount=491

or take a look at the creation guide. http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=139160&page=1&pp=40


----------



## Job

Rathan said:
			
		

> I'd have to read over the ongoing antics of the adventure Job but I'll toss my hat into the ring... seeing as how they current memebers are past creation start... anything I should know or need for making a char for this mid adwenshire?!
> 
> - Rathan



Hello Rathan!

Drowned Hero has given you some good links to start.  Here's a bit more information that may help you.

USE PRE-MADE CHARACTERS?
There are some existing characters whose players have dropped out and you're free to choose one of those ready-made characters if you're interested in playing them. Here's a link to the character sheets --> BtMoM Characters

You can select from Paco (mountain guide), Vittorio (Engineer/demolitionist), James Poole (Cartographer/climber), Annie Mahoney (physician), or Father Rucker (priest/scientist).

CREATE A NEW CHARACTER?
Or you can create a new character if you have a concept that you'd like to pursue, but that character will need to run the gauntlet (abbreviated somewhat ) with James Starkweather to be accepted into the expedition. That will involve submitting a letter (take a peek at the Prologue to get an idea how this works).  Here's a list of the most suitable character professions for this expedition, and notes as to which players are currently in-game:
- Cartographer/Surveyor
- Dog Handler/Sled Driver - This role is currently being played by Drowned Hero (Øyvind Raknes)
- Electrician/Electrical Engineer
- Guide/polar Survival Expert
- Journalist - this role is currently being played by Morpheus (Martin Leblanc)
- Mechanic/Mechanical Engineer
- Mining Engineer
- Outfitter (expert in cold climates)
- Photographer - this role is currently being played by Morpheus (Martin Leblanc)
- Pilot - this role is currently being played by Taokan (Camille Bardier)
- Physician- 
- Radioman/Radio Engineer
- Scientist/Researchers, expecially experts (maxed knowledge skills in his/her specialty, or someone who is well known as an authority in a field such as Archeaeology, Biology, chemistry, Geology, Glaciology, Meterology, Mineralogy, or Paleontology. - This role is currently being played by Drowned Hero (Dr. George Barrow) 
- Priest - this role is currently being played by Strahd_Von_Zahrovich (Father J. P. Rucker)

Job.


----------



## Job

Oh, one other thing.  If you want to read previous threads of activity in this CoC game, simply click on the link on the bottom of my postings entitled "My PbP Games".  Not every post of mine has this link, but if you scan through this thread, you'll find at least one of my posts that carries it.

Therein you'll find links to the Prologue, Chapter 1, and Chapter 4, along with the Character sheets.

Job.


----------



## Rathan

heh...... I didn't notice before tossing my post in the ring that this was a CoC game..... a couple problems..... I have no sourse docs or books for the game... so char creation is iffy to say the least.... two... I've never been reallyt good at wrapping my head around a modern character.,... I dunno why really... I guess it's too much like my own life LOL.... I rp to escape you know..... let me read over the threads and see how things have progressed and I'll see if I want to change my mind about passing on this oppertunity at this point

Again... sorry for this...

-Rathan


----------



## Job

Rathan said:
			
		

> heh...... I didn't notice before tossing my post in the ring that this was a CoC game..... a couple problems..... I have no sourse docs or books for the game... so char creation is iffy to say the least.... two... I've never been reallyt good at wrapping my head around a modern character.,... I dunno why really... I guess it's too much like my own life LOL.... I rp to escape you know..... let me read over the threads and see how things have progressed and I'll see if I want to change my mind about passing on this oppertunity at this point
> 
> Again... sorry for this...
> 
> -Rathan



Ah!  No problem Rathan.  Thanks for stopping by.  If you're interested at all in trying out this horror game, we're using D20 rules, so the Call of Cthulhu aspect shouldn't scare you off.  If you think that you'll have difficulties with a modern character (this is 1930's, but still modern if compared to mideval fantasy), then I fully understand your decision.

Job.


----------



## Job

I've made another attempt to gain a couple of new players from the Yog-Sothoth site.  Hopefully, we'll see a bit of fresh blood!    

Link to the post 

Wish us luck!

Job.


----------



## Drowned Hero

bump.


----------



## Job

This post is to alert my players that I've been away on business once again.  I return home this Sunday and will pick up the action then (when I have access to my notes and books and time).

Job.


----------



## Drowned Hero

Bumping for re-recruitment (as all the other bumps  )


----------



## Job

Fortunately we also have a friend on Yog-Sothoth.com who is also bumping our re-recruitment thread on that site.  

That wouldn't happen to be an alter ego of yours, would it DH?  

For anyone who's lurking on this thread, our expedition could use your talents!  Sign up now!  it's the trip you've always had nightma--er, dreams--about.  

Job.


----------



## Drowned Hero

Job said:
			
		

> That wouldn't happen to be an alter ego of yours, would it DH?


----------



## Job

Due to lack of player responses in this game, and no interest from other EnWorlders or Yog-Sothothers to join us, I'm considering drawing the curtain on this campaign.  I would personally be very disappointed (since the expedition is about to depart for Antarctica), but realize that it's had a good run and interest is waning.  I'm open to suggestions as to how to revitalize the campaign.  I'm also open to suggestions or questions from any lurkers who might consider joining us, but who might be concerned about what this might require of them.

Anyone?  Is Cthulhu out there?    

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one)


----------



## Morpheus

Martin LeBlanc is still here and ready to take on the Cthulhu Mythos in whatever guise it may be in...


----------



## Job

Morpheus said:
			
		

> Martin LeBlanc is still here and ready to take on the Cthulhu Mythos in whatever guise it may be in...



Just you and me, eh Morpheus?  That's not good.  I'll again bump my call for recruits on Yog-Sothoth in the hope of getting a new responder.

Job.


----------



## Morpheus

I can play the entire ship's crew if necessary...Of course, it will look weird me having conversations with myself...


----------



## Drowned Hero

Job said:
			
		

> Due to lack of player responses in this game, and no interest from other EnWorlders or Yog-Sothothers to join us, I'm considering drawing the curtain on this campaign.  I would personally be very disappointed (since the expedition is about to depart for Antarctica), but realize that it's had a good run and interest is waning.  I'm open to suggestions as to how to revitalize the campaign.  I'm also open to suggestions or questions from any lurkers who might consider joining us, but who might be concerned about what this might require of them.
> 
> Anyone?  Is Cthulhu out there?
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Job (the tortured one)




Hey Job and morpheus.
Im still inn. I just dont want to push chapter 4 forward until the journalist get onboard... well that was my though anyways...

Maybe incentivating new player with "you dont need to read all the stuff before playing" will help? maybe thats what keepin people out?

-DH


----------



## lordof1

*new player?*

Hi Lordof1 here, hoping you'll have me in your game as you're looking for new players...

what do you think?


----------



## Drowned Hero

lordof1 said:
			
		

> Hi Lordof1 here, hoping you'll have me in your game as you're looking for new players...
> 
> what do you think?




Hi there lordfo1 take a look here, for some character creation and take a look at the very first post here. 

-DH


----------



## lordof1

*physician?*

Ok, I would be keen to play a physician, but I can't work out whether you have one on the expedition already...if you don't, I'll whittle off a letter to Mr. Starkweather


----------



## Job

lordof1 said:
			
		

> Ok, I would be keen to play a physician, but I can't work out whether you have one on the expedition already...if you don't, I'll whittle off a letter to Mr. Starkweather



Hello Lordof1.  

Long ago, over one year in real time, we had a physician named Annie Mahoney who was run by a player, but the player dropped out.  There is an NPC ship's physician, but he would normally be expected to remain onboard ship unless we had no physician run by a player and game events became dire.

You are free to create a physician in the game.  

Job.


----------



## Job

Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> Hey Job and morpheus.
> Im still inn. I just dont want to push chapter 4 forward until the journalist get onboard... well that was my though anyways...
> 
> -DH



Hello again DH!

It's good to know that you're still aboard.    



			
				Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> Maybe incentivating new player with "you dont need to read all the stuff before playing" will help? maybe thats what keepin people out?



Hmm.  You're correct that the game is already well-developed and contains a lot of information, so new players might be reluctant join us if they have to read it all beforehand.  I'll try to emphasize that point (i.e. they don't need to read everything) when we get responses.

Job.


----------



## Drowned Hero

You should probably put the announcement in the recruiting thread. Here 
I dont know why i havent suggested this before


----------



## Job

Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> You should probably put the announcement in the recruiting thread. Here
> I dont know why i havent suggested this before



Done!  

Job.


----------



## Drowned Hero

bump


----------



## Zinoviev Letter

I would be interested in joining this game, if you are still looking for players?

I don't have d20 CoC, but am familiar with the BRP version. Could someone please give me a quick rundown of which pcs are currently active? Also what stage is the adventure at? (I will read through the threads if I start playing, but don't want to do so before I'm definitely in!).


----------



## Drowned Hero

Zinoviev Letter said:
			
		

> I would be interested in joining this game, if you are still looking for players?
> 
> I don't have d20 CoC, but am familiar with the BRP version. Could someone please give me a quick rundown of which pcs are currently active? Also what stage is the adventure at? (I will read through the threads if I start playing, but don't want to do so before I'm definitely in!).




Hi. Take a look at this Post. http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=3575714&postcount=544


----------



## Zinoviev Letter

According to that the currently active party members are:

Martin Leblanc (photographer/journalist)
Oyvind Raknes (sled driver)
Camille Bardier (pilot)
Dr George Barrow (scientist)
A.N. Other (physician)

Is that correct?

If so, could someone fill me in, relatively briefly, on the story so far? I gather that the story has progressed quite far, so a short potted history would be useful. Then, assuming there's room, I'll put together a character. I'll need some assistance with that probably as I'm not familiar with the D20 Cthulhu ruleset. There are quite a few roles on the list open, both of a physical / technical type and of a more cerebral type. Which would be of most use to the expedition? Is there any particular job which most urgently needs to be filled?


----------



## Drowned Hero

Zinoviev Letter said:
			
		

> According to that the currently active party members are:
> 
> Martin Leblanc (photographer/journalist)
> Oyvind Raknes (sled driver)
> Camille Bardier (pilot)
> Dr George Barrow (scientist)
> A.N. Other (physician)
> 
> Is that correct?




Correct besides A.N, that has not been seen since his last post in this thread (as far i know, that is).



			
				Zinoviev Letter said:
			
		

> Is there any particular job which most urgently needs to be filled?




Cant remember Job setting any limitations on the choise of character, but im sure job is gonna fill you inn with the necesary info when he loggs on.



			
				Zinoviev Letter said:
			
		

> If so, could someone fill me in, relatively briefly, on the story so far? I gather that the story has progressed quite far, so a short potted history would be useful.




Im gonna try to make a resume to you. I know Taokan had one for chapter 1 that can be found in this thread General - JDeleski's EVENTS & EVIDENCE THREAD - Mountains of Madness Im gonna try to make a post for chapter 2, and 4.


----------



## Drowned Hero

Hey Zinoviev Letter.

Ive having some really busy days and havent been able to make that resume still. (I just moved into a new house and town).
And i guess job is on some vacation. Anyhow this a slow moving game (and i prefer it that way, by the way), just hang in there with us 

-DH


----------



## Bobitron

Just checking in with you, Job! I was reviewing some early posts and was reminder how awesome those newspaper articles you whip up are.

Glad to see the game continues despite the challenges.


----------



## Drowned Hero

Bobitron said:
			
		

> Just checking in with you, Job! I was reviewing some early posts and was reminder how awesome those newspaper articles you whip up are.
> 
> Glad to see the game continues despite the challenges.




We sure got a spot for old players


----------



## Job

Hey folks, I apologize for my recent quiet period, but will be back in action within the next couple days.  I was traveling on vacation for a couple of weeks (i.e. Fourth of July holiday for the U.S.) and have been ill with a bronchial infection for the past week.  I guess that my vacation was too much fun...

I am here, though, and I expect to be reviewing posts and back writing in the next day or two.

Job.


----------



## Morpheus

Let's get this party started...


----------



## Job

I am finally, finally starting to feel better.  Today, I had an appetite and ate more than a small helping of food.  A number of times I thought that I was starting to feel better only to relapse into flu-like symptoms for days at a stretch.  I've been ill for 3 weeks and have lost almost 15 pounds.

Finally, finally.  Hopefully, this isn't just another false recovery leading to another relapse.  I'll let everyone know how I feel tomorrow.

Job.


----------



## Job

Today is the first time in three weeks that I've had 2 fairly good days in a row.  It does appear that my health has turned a corner.  I'm not yet fully recovered, but this is a good sign.  I hope to resume my writings within the coming days.  I'll stay in touch.

Job.


----------



## Drowned Hero

Job said:
			
		

> Today is the first time in three weeks that I've had 2 fairly good days in a row.  It does appear that my health has turned a corner.  I'm not yet fully recovered, but this is a good sign.  I hope to resume my writings within the coming days.  I'll stay in touch.
> 
> Job.




Good to hear your better


----------



## Job

Zinoviev Letter said:
			
		

> I would be interested in joining this game, if you are still looking for players?
> 
> I don't have d20 CoC, but am familiar with the BRP version. Could someone please give me a quick rundown of which pcs are currently active? Also what stage is the adventure at? (I will read through the threads if I start playing, but don't want to do so before I'm definitely in!).



Hello Zinoviev Letter!

I apologize for the long delay in this response, but if you've read a few of my recent "Out of Character" posts, you'll notice that I've been terribly ill of late.  I'm now starting to feel somewhat normal and am beginning to get this adventure moving again.  

You are absolutely welcome to join us if you are still interested in participating.  Your familiarity with the CoC BRP will serve you well.  Here are answers to your other questions.



			
				Zinoviev Letter said:
			
		

> According to that the currently active party members are:
> 
> Martin Leblanc (photographer/journalist)
> Oyvind Raknes (sled driver)
> Camille Bardier (pilot)
> Dr George Barrow (scientist)
> A.N. Other (physician)
> 
> Is that correct?



All are correct except that the physician, Annie Mahoney, has dropped out.



			
				Zinoviev Letter said:
			
		

> If so, could someone fill me in, relatively briefly, on the story so far? I gather that the story has progressed quite far, so a short potted history would be useful. Then, assuming there's room, I'll put together a character. I'll need some assistance with that probably as I'm not familiar with the D20 Cthulhu ruleset. There are quite a few roles on the list open, both of a physical / technical type and of a more cerebral type. Which would be of most use to the expedition? Is there any particular job which most urgently needs to be filled?



Here is a post describing character creation 

And below is a brief Summary of our story to date:

Prologue:  Within this starting thread, our intrepid adventurers applied via letter to Commander Starkweather to join the expedition.  Some main NPC's were introduced.  Those player characters that were accepted on the expedition attended a fundraising banquet which was interrupted by a gunman.

Chapter 1:  Our player characters arrived in New York City, visited their ship, the _SS Gabrielle_, and began preparations for the journey.  They attended daily briefings from Commander Starkweather and Professor Moore, the expedition's main scientific leader.  Some players began nosing around the ship, looking for information about fellow shipmembers

Chapter 4:  Our story is currently underway here.  Most preparations are complete and the characters are beginning to board the SS Gabrielle to get their cabin assignments and meet their shipmates.  The expedition is scheduled to depart New York City for Antarctica within the next 2 days (gametime).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job.


----------



## Job

Bobitron said:
			
		

> Just checking in with you, Job! I was reviewing some early posts and was reminder how awesome those newspaper articles you whip up are.
> 
> Glad to see the game continues despite the challenges.



Hello again, Bobitron!

Thanks for stopping by.  It's always good to hear from past expedition players and I'm sure that you've noticed that your character has been assigned his cabin.    

I'm now hoping that we'll now have a nice run, without a lot of real-life challenges, and that our game will gather steam.  

Hey, I noticed that my "Angst" game on the Groovy Gamers site was lost due to a move of the bulletin board during a period when I was extremely busy and wasn't checking in.  I really loved that game and am very disappointed, as are my players, that it's gone.  Did anyone archive any old copies that might be stored on a hard drive somewhere?  Just hoping...

Job.


----------



## Job

Darn it!

We get a couple of new interested players just as I go on vacation and then become ill for 3 weeks.  Go figure. :\ 

Job.


----------



## Drowned Hero

Job said:
			
		

> Darn it!
> 
> We get a couple of new interested players just as I go on vacation and then become ill for 3 weeks.  Go figure. :\
> 
> Job.




Seems like the only one we potentially are missing is  Zinoviev Letter
I was trying to find a 'personal message' function  on Enworld. but i failed to find.


----------



## Drowned Hero

Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> Seems like the only one we potentially are missing is  Zinoviev Letter
> I was trying to find a 'personal message' function  on Enworld. but i failed to find.




I correct myself. I did found.

I did not work for me as i lack forum privileges. Maybe only you got it for this thread Job.

Left click on his name in yellow. In post #553


----------



## Job

I also tried to send a personal message to Zinoviev, but couldn't due to EnWorld limitations on my account.  That's strange since I paid as a Community Supporter, but I'll have to go confirm that they haven't overlooked giving me the proper functions.

There were also a couple of other players who were in contact with me, so I'll have to email them.  Keep your fingers crossed.

Job.


----------



## Job

I have sent a personal message to one potential player from Yog-Sothoth.  

I've also requested that the EnWorld administrator activate my ability to send personal messages via EnWorld (I paid as a Community Supporter in June, but they haven't activated my account yet).  Once they activate my account, I'll send PM's to our two EnWorlders who showed interest in playing BtMoM.

Job.


----------



## Morpheus

Job said:
			
		

> I have sent a personal message to one potential player from Yog-Sothoth.
> 
> I've also requested that the EnWorld administrator activate my ability to send personal messages via EnWorld (I paid as a Community Supporter in June, but they haven't activated my account yet).  Once they activate my account, I'll send PM's to our two EnWorlders who showed interest in playing BtMoM.
> 
> Job.




Onward to the South Pole, I say...


----------



## Job

Morpheus said:
			
		

> Onward to the South Pole, I say...



Agreed.  Onward it is.

Hey, Morpheus, do you have any follow-up to post #136 in chapter 1?  Here.   Your conversation with Professor Pabodie was left dangling.  Should I have Pabodie say "Good bye"?  Or does Martin have any other questions?

Job.


----------



## Morpheus

"Merci, Prof. Pabodie. Your information will be most helpful."


----------



## Job

To help us keep organized, I've started beefing up the Events and Evidence thread.

Link to Events and Evidence Thread 

You can always find a link to the Events & Evidence  thread by tracing the "My PBP Games" link in my signature.  The "My PBP Games" link usually appears in my signature in my first post at the top of a page of posts.

Job.


----------



## Job

I'm going to let the interaction between George Barrow and Starkweather/Moore move along a little before posting our next main event.  The upcoming event that I have in mind will draw attention away from George's discussion with Starkweather/Moore--and will strangely split the action--so I'll let George Barrow have a bit of fun for a bit.

Of course, Martin and Camille and Oyvind are free to get into trouble (or get some sleep) in the meantime.

Oh, and I've spent more time organizing the Chapter 1 links within the "Events and Evidence" thread, so that's coming along nicely.  Soon I'll be caught up to our current action with that effort, and it should help everyone when trying to remember and reference past events/evidence.

Job.


----------



## Drowned Hero

you ok with me rolling?


----------



## Job

Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> you ok with me rolling?



As long as you use one of the online dice rollers (as you did), then I have no problems at all.    

Job.


----------



## Job

I just finished up 10 days of vacation activities and expect to be back posting in the next day or so.

Job.


----------



## Job

To my Players:

Unfortunately, I continue to have a number of responsibilities in real life that pull me away from our game, hence I lost the past two weeks, and this happens much more often than I would like.  I have family members who are gravely ill and I was called away to help them.  In addition, my job occasionally forces me to travel, sometimes on short notice, and one of the past 2 weeks was spent out of town on business.  

I sincerely apologize for my absences;  you deserve to be able to play a game with a Keeper who is usually available.  

I assure you that I have not lost my enthusiasm for this game.  Far from it!  This game is one of my favorite pleasant distractions and creative outlets.  Whenever I am home and I have free time, I will work to move our storyline along.  I am committed to the Starkweather-Moore Expedition and will not give up.  As long as there is one player who is interested, I will continue the adventure.

Thank you for staying with me.

Job.


----------



## Drowned Hero

Im in no hurry as far this game goes. I kinda enjoy the very slow pace.   

-DH


----------



## Job

Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> Im in no hurry as far this game goes. I kinda enjoy the very slow pace.
> 
> -DH



Thanks, DH.  I'm glad to hear that.  

I'm hoping that the next month or so will be free from emergency telephone calls, but I can't be sure.  I can only say that I'll do my best to post as often as I can, and to keep the quality of my posts as high as possible.

I've begun writing the next couple of key storyline sequences, so stay tuned.

Job.


----------



## Strahd_Von_Zarovich

Hi Job,

I'm a keen admirer of CoC, Are you still looking for a player … as mentioned in the above title.

Thanks, 

Strahd


----------



## Drowned Hero

Hey there! 

Im Job's little scared helper and will direct you to a post where the info is  may the old ones guide you trough it.

Look at this post http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=3667527&postcount=563


----------



## Job

Hello Strahd Von Zarovich,

Yes, we are continuing our re-recruitment of players and this would actually be an excellent time for new players to join.  The expedition is finishing up a few last activities just prior to departing for Antarctica.

DH's post includes a link that summarizes much of the story leading up to our current status and there's also a link in there that describes the options for character creation.  

You don't need to read all of the previous story posts to join us (there's quite a bit).  I would recommend reading the summaries that DH pointed you to, then perhaps some of the more recent story posts in Chapter 4: Departure.  Then let us know your thoughts regarding a character that you'd like to play.  And that's it.  We'll get you up and running as quickly as possible.

Thanks!
Job.


----------



## Strahd_Von_Zarovich

Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> Hey there!
> 
> Im Job's little scared helper and will direct you to a post where the info is  may the old ones guide you trough it.
> 
> Look at this post http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=3667527&postcount=563




Hi DH, I'll be most happy to join forces with you again vs. evil, I'll check out the link and flesh out something interesting and post in the days to come.

Thanks to you two,

Strahd


----------



## Strahd_Von_Zarovich

Hi Job,
I am going to take over Father P.J. Rucker, the Priest/Scientist.
Several Qs:

Do you have an updated sheet of him, or the one on the RG is the most updated one?
I noticed the former player didn't wrote the Max Sanity, I assume it is going to be 99 right?
Cthulhu Mythos for now is 0?
No saving left, yearly income and original savings record on the character's post.


----------



## Job

Strahd_Von_Zarovich said:
			
		

> Hi Job,
> I am going to take over Father P.J. Rucker, the Priest/Scientist.



Ooh!  This will make things interesting!  *the sound of evil snickering is heard*  Actually, that's a fine choice.




			
				Strahd_Von_Zarovich said:
			
		

> Several Qs:
> 
> Do you have an updated sheet of him, or the one on the RG is the most updated one?



The character sheet in the Rogues Gallery was the last update from Dallas, the creator.  
Link to Father Rucker's character sheet --> Sheet Location 




			
				Strahd_Von_Zarovich said:
			
		

> I noticed the former player didn't wrote the Max Sanity, I assume it is going to be 99 right?



Yes, the starting maximum sanity for all players is 99.  
Link to the character creation guidelines (first post in this thread)-->   Character Creation Rules 




			
				Strahd_Von_Zarovich said:
			
		

> Cthulhu Mythos for now is 0?



Dallas and I had worked through a few background details and gameplay issues prior to his strange disappearance from our game.  If you would be so kind as to provide me with your email address, I'll write up a summary that you and I can talk through.  Some of this information is only known by Father Rucker, so I should not post it in this thread.  You won't need to accept all of Father Rucker's existing stats and gear, but I'll need to approve any changes so that game balance is preserved. 




			
				Strahd_Von_Zarovich said:
			
		

> No saving left, yearly income and original savings record on the character's post.



Dallas had left this incomplete, but here's a suggested starting point:
- Yearly Income = $3,000 (from D20 CoC book, pg 15, using a Priest's profession modifier)
- Original Savings = $6,000
- Savings left after purchasing gear = approx. $5,000

As a sidenote, when Dallas first joined our game, there was quite a bit of interesting player interactions and comments related to Father Rucker's abilities.  You'd probably find those discussions interesting, to say the least.  To review our discussions, you should start at post #179 in the Out of Character thread.
Link to the correct page in the OOC Thread to find this discussion -->  OOC Page 5 


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job.


----------



## Strahd_Von_Zarovich

Job said:
			
		

> Ooh!  This will make things interesting!  *the sound of evil snickering is heard*  Actually, that's a fine choice.



indeed   



			
				Job said:
			
		

> Dallas had left this incomplete, but here's a suggested starting point:
> - Yearly Income = $3,000 (from D20 CoC book, pg 15, using a Priest's profession modifier)
> - Original Savings = $6,000
> - Savings left after purchasing gear = approx. $5,000



OK



			
				Job said:
			
		

> Dallas and I had worked through a few background details and gameplay issues prior to his strange disappearance from our game.  If you would be so kind as to provide me with your email address, I'll write up a summary that you and I can talk through.  Some of this information is only known by Father Rucker, so I should not post it in this thread.  You won't need to accept all of Father Rucker's existing stats and gear, but I'll need to approve any changes so that game balance is preserved.
> 
> As a sidenote, when Dallas first joined our game, there was quite a bit of interesting player interactions and comments related to Father Rucker's abilities.  You'd probably find those discussions interesting, to say the least.  To review our discussions, you should start at post #179 in the Out of Character thread.
> Link to the correct page in the OOC Thread to find this discussion -->  OOC Page 5




I'm not going to change anything, and I read the conversation you had in the OOC thread, I agree with the other players as for the spellcasting ability Dallas wanted the Priest to have, it's not right. 
I quite liked the father's encounter with the alien fossils … but this is where it ends, He goes to Antarctica because the Father wants divine or Scientifics answers.
EDIT: Considering his fossils encounter, does he have any Mythos skill points at all ???

My email is royshosh@walla.co.il
I'll post the character again in the RG.


----------



## Strahd_Von_Zarovich

Is Father P.J. Rucker supposed to board the ship?
If do, I'll post in the IC


----------



## Job

Strahd_Von_Zarovich said:
			
		

> Is Father P.J. Rucker supposed to board the ship?
> If do, I'll post in the IC



If you don't mind, please post a brief description of Father Rucker's arrival at the dock area in NYC, and I'll provide you with descriptions of what occurs.  Father Rucker has yet to meet James Starkweather.    

Here is a link where you'll find some correspondence between Father JP and Commander Starkweather -->  Link 

I'll take another peek at Father Rucker's character sheet, and also send you the email describing Father Rucker's mythos background, this weekend.  It's great to have you aboard, SVZ!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).


----------



## Drowned Hero

All this    concerns me   
Job? are our character gonna die?


----------



## Job

Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> All this    concerns me
> Job? are our character gonna die?



Never fear, DH.  If your character dies, his death will be the stuff of legend!  

In the memorable words of Eldon Tyrell, "The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long."  

Job.


----------



## Job

Strahd,

I've sent you an email describing Father Rucker's background.  Let me know your thoughts.

Joe.


----------



## Strahd_Von_Zarovich

Job said:
			
		

> Strahd,
> 
> I've sent you an email describing Father Rucker's background.  Let me know your thoughts.
> 
> Joe.




I got nothing, send it to this email instead
royyaniv2000@yahoo.com


----------



## Job

Strahd_Von_Zarovich said:
			
		

> I got nothing, send it to this email instead
> royyaniv2000@yahoo.com



Done.

Job.


----------



## Drowned Hero

I just noticed that my brother (former the anatomist) hasnt bought equipment for George Barrow, and I havent made the totals of what money Øyvind has left after his shoping.

Is it ok i buy some extra stuff to Øyvind and buy equipmwn from sratch for Mr.Barrow?


----------



## Job

Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> I just noticed that my brother (former the anatomist) hasnt bought equipment for George Barrow, and I havent made the totals of what money Øyvind has left after his shoping.
> 
> Is it ok i buy some extra stuff to Øyvind and buy equipmwn from sratch for Mr.Barrow?



Since everyone is still in New York City, your characters are free to go shopping.  They may need to put out a fire first...

Once the ship has left the dock, if your character has money left then there's a chance that your character would've purchased a needed item.  We'll make intelligence checks to see if he or she might've thought to have purchased an item before departing.

Job.


----------



## Strahd_Von_Zarovich

How much time before departure?
Father Rucker needs to convince the Captain to let him board the ship … Luckily, He know Prof. Moore.
If so, Items should be bought by Father Rucker to survive the Antarctic environment.


----------



## Drowned Hero

Øyvind Raknes

Add. to list.



		Code:
	

Bras knuckles 1d3 - bludgoning -
Thermal Blanket - 1.79
Kerosene lantern - 2.00 
Kerosene (1gallon) x4 - 1.60
Jeweled compass - 2.45
6x bonoculars - 28.00
Shovel - 1.00
Handaxw - 1.59 
Fragmentation grenade x4 - 32.00

Bolt-action military Rifle - 50.00
-amo: .22 LR hollow point (100) 0.96
Pump-action, military  - 60.00
-amo: gauge shells, slug (12)x3 - 2.70

Total = 184 Dolars


Old equipment



		Code:
	

Equipment: Cost  

- Wardrobe

4 worn collared shirts, various colors, clean and neat – $6.00
3 worn trousers, grey, black, and dark blue, clean, pressed with a crisp pleat  - $6.00
1 pair of new work boots - $4.00
7 pairs of tighty whiteys - $1.00
7 pairs of black socks - $1.00
1 worn grey parka – $20.00
1 leather bomber jacket, lightly worn -$20.00
2 mechanics uniforms - $3.00
1 pair of worn, tan wool gloves – $4.00
2 grey wool scarves – $3.00
2 woolen sweaters, on grey and one dark blue - $8.00
.38 Revolver (purchased as a safeguard against asylum inmates) -$25.00
(100) .38 rounds x2 -$12.00
Leather Holster - $5.00
Flashlight - $3.00
Average set of carpentry tools -$10.00


Total = 91 dolars

This is in a misc trunk

sunglasses (3)
whip (2)
dogs (9)
slede (1)
blankets (9)
mask (2)
ski (2)
ropes (4)
Akkevit (5 liters) (simmilar to wiskey)


Total spend: 275 Dolars 

George Barrow

Add to list



		Code:
	

[color=red]working...[/color]


- Wardrobe

4 worn collared shirts, various colors, clean and neat – $6.00
3 worn trousers, grey, black, and dark blue, clean, pressed with a crisp pleat  - $6.00
1 pair of new work boots - $4.00
7 pairs of tighty whiteys - $1.00
7 pairs of black socks - $1.00
1 worn grey parka – $20.00
1 leather bomber jacket, lightly worn -$20.00
2 mechanics uniforms - $3.00
1 pair of worn, tan wool gloves – $4.00
2 grey wool scarves – $3.00
2 woolen sweaters, on grey and one dark blue - $8.00
.38 Revolver (purchased as a safeguard against asylum inmates) -$25.00
(100) .38 rounds x2 -$12.00
Leather Holster - $5.00
Flashlight - $3.00


Total = 121


----------



## Job

Strahd_Von_Zarovich said:
			
		

> How much time before departure?
> Father Rucker needs to convince the Captain to let him board the ship … Luckily, He know Prof. Moore.
> If so, Items should be bought by Father Rucker to survive the Antarctic environment.



The team was expected to depart within 36 hours, but that was prior to the fire on the docks.  

Job.


----------



## Job

Since we haven't heard from Morpheus in a little while, I have sent a private message to him, asking if he's interested in continuing play. 

Job.


----------



## Job

Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> Øyvind Raknes
> 
> Add. to list.
> 
> 
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> Fragmentation grenade x4 - 32.00



Fragmentation grenades for Øyvind?!?   Yikes!  I'll need a little description as to why he would possess such things.  Everything else is OK.




			
				Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> George Barrow
> 
> Add to list
> 
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> [color=red]working...[/color]
> - Wardrobe...
> 
> ...Total = 121



Everything that you've listed for George Barrow is OK.

Job.


----------



## Job

Ah Morpheus, it is good to see that Martin is with us!  Starkweather needs you.  No, really...

Job.


----------



## Morpheus

Job said:
			
		

> Ah Morpheus, it is good to see that Martin is with us!  Starkweather needs you.  No, really...
> 
> Job.




Let's get to it...


----------



## Job

Morpheus said:
			
		

> Let's get to it...



Hey Morph, I slipped this post past ya.  

Link -->  Martin meets with Prof Moore 

Job.


----------



## Drowned Hero

Øyvind is s very sick guy that like to catch fish dropping some grenades into waters wait 5 secs and recollect   actually used in north Norway until not to long ago. Maybe im stretching my luck to much.... 

RL is being a biatchhh for me at the moment and im gonna be busy the next week or so. Please npc øyvind and george for this time. Øyvind will put some dogs in a cage and take with him two and help out as much he can to extinguish the fire help wounded. Georg will help as he can keeping a open eye to anything unusual thinking that this can be a sabotage.

-DH


----------



## Job

SVZ,

I'll annotate the map of the pier & ship tonight to show you the respective locations of Father Rucker and the fallen Starkweather.  

When Camille's player in RL learned of Starkweather getting slugged, she seemed almost gleeful!  

Job.


----------



## Job

[sblock=ooc] 
Operate heavy machinery can't be used untrained and Father Rucker don't have any ranks in this skill.[/sblock]Good god, this should be fun!  Let me think a little bit about what happens...   

Job.


----------



## Strahd_Von_Zarovich

Job said:
			
		

> [sblock=ooc]
> Operate heavy machinery can't be used untrained and Father Rucker don't have any ranks in this skill.[/sblock]Good god, this should be fun!  Let me think a little bit about what happens...
> 
> Job.




Oh ... boy


----------



## Drowned Hero

kinda back. i will post tomorrow sometime.


----------



## Job

Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> kinda back. i will post tomorrow sometime.



It's good to have you back, DH!

Now I just need to give Taokan (Camille) a push to get her posting again...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job.


----------



## Job

Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> Operate Heavy Machinery +2 (1d20+2=3) - Ouch





			
				Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> Operate Heavy Machinery +2 (1d20+2=8)



It's a Keeper's dream to see two bad skill rolls in a row.    

Job.


----------



## OnlytheStrong

Still looking for a recruit?


----------



## Drowned Hero

OnlytheStrong said:
			
		

> Still looking for a recruit?




Yes we are 
Job will sure sort you out.


----------



## Job

OnlytheStrong said:
			
		

> Still looking for a recruit?



Yes OnlytheStrong!  We can always use some fresh blood!     Please examine the below links for creating your character and let me know what you'd like to do.  

Here is a post describing character creation that tells you about the options for using pre-made characters or for rolling up a new character.  There is one notable change:  we now have Strahd_Von_Zahrovich playing Father JP Rucker, so that pre-made option is no longer available.

NOTE:  This game has been going on for a bit of time and there is a lot of background to the game, but to get started all that you really need to read is the Campaign Overview and familiarize yourself with the current actions in chapter 4.



Below is a summary of our story to date:

Prologue:  Within this starting thread, our intrepid adventurers applied via letter to Commander Starkweather to join the expedition.  Some main NPC's were introduced.  Those player characters that were accepted on the expedition attended a fundraising banquet which was interrupted by a gunman.

Chapter 1:  Our player characters arrived in New York City, visited their ship, the _SS Gabrielle_, and began preparations for the journey.  They attended daily briefings from Commander Starkweather and Professor Moore, the expedition's main scientific leader.  Some players began nosing around the ship, looking for information about fellow shipmembers

Chapter 2:   Following the unexpected death of the SS Gabrielle's Captain in NYC, members of the expedition investigate suspicious circumstances.

Chapter 3:  ***Our team will not likely experience chapter 3***

Chapter 4:  Our story is currently underway here.  Most preparations are complete and the characters are beginning to board the SS Gabrielle to get their cabin assignments and meet their shipmates.  The expedition is scheduled to depart New York City for Antarctica within the next 2 days (gametime).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job.


----------



## Job

Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> Øyvind is s very sick guy that like to catch fish dropping some grenades into waters wait 5 secs and recollect   actually used in north Norway until not to long ago. Maybe im stretching my luck to much....
> 
> -DH



Sorry that I didn't respond to this post earlier, DH.  I became lost in the thread...    

To rule on Øyvind's possession of grenades, please roll a d10 for the possibility of him bringing grenades along, as follows:

1 or 2:  1 grenade
3 or 4:  2 grenades
5 or 6:  3 grenades
7 or 8:  4 grenades
9 or 10:  0 grenades.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job.


----------



## OnlytheStrong

Could I play Dr. Vitus X. Lambert? Swiss physician, Alpinish and champion skier. (don't really care about the skiing part, just thought a doctor would help)


----------



## Drowned Hero

Boom! (1d10=7)

  4


----------



## OnlytheStrong

I would like to play a physician, but I would like to create my own. I'm thinking of the typical city doctor, except he has alittle bit of an adventuring side. He loves to big game hunt and climb. I can't really imagine he would be too adept at climbing, maybe he was when he was younger. Anyway, I'll start building him tonight and try to submit him. If you approve him, then I'm set. If not, then we will figure something out I'm sure 


I don't have any info on CoC besides what I can find online. So, please look over my character carefully. I may of totally boned him over. Sorry


----------



## Job

OnlytheStrong said:
			
		

> Could I play Dr. Vitus X. Lambert? Swiss physician, Alpinish and champion skier. (don't really care about the skiing part, just thought a doctor would help)



Ooh!  I had forgotten about Dr. Vitus Lambert!  Good choice, and player Watus has not been seen in EnWorld since July of this year (hasn't posted in over a year), so that works just fine.  Let me know if you want to change Vitus's personality or gear.

To get yourself immediately into the action, you may consider that Vitus was getting settled in the medical facility on the ship, and was alerted by the explosion on the pier.

Job.


----------



## Job

Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> Boom! (1d10=7)
> 
> 4



Wow!  Øyvind's dice rolling skills have improved dramatically!      OK.  He has 4 grenades, but you might want to have him talk to Vittorio (who is a demolitions expert) before getting serious about using them, especially considering his recent "Operate Heavy Machinery" results.    

Job.


----------



## Job

OnlytheStrong said:
			
		

> I would like to play a physician, but I would like to create my own. I'm thinking of the typical city doctor, except he has alittle bit of an adventuring side. He loves to big game hunt and climb. I can't really imagine he would be too adept at climbing, maybe he was when he was younger. Anyway, I'll start building him tonight and try to submit him. If you approve him, then I'm set. If not, then we will figure something out I'm sure
> 
> 
> I don't have any info on CoC besides what I can find online. So, please look over my character carefully. I may of totally boned him over. Sorry



*laughs* We posted at the same time.  You're free to create a new physician, or use Vitus with a few changes.  It's up to you.  My example character, Dayton Lomax Williams, the first post in the Character thread  here should provide you with enough instructions to generate a new physician without having access to the D20 CoC manual.  

Job.


----------



## OnlytheStrong

lol Sorry about posting 2x so fast. I get kinda impatient when I'm bored (which I am right now) I have everything but skills and feats for my doctor. I may use the same name, just change alittle bit of him.


----------



## OnlytheStrong

I am finished except for equipment. I kinda got stuck there. I'll wait alittle bit before I post the character sheet, if I don't get a response, I can always edit it later!


**edit**

My character is posted (except for equipment) on the same page as everyone else's.


----------



## Strahd_Von_Zarovich

OnlytheStrong - Welcome aboard


----------



## OnlytheStrong

Thanks! I read over the stuff that Job said to read, but wanted to know if there was anything else that was important to know? Like.......how did Chapter 2 turn out? What about the gunman in the Prologue? I am going to try to find a CoC book so that I can get equipment and stuff up soon. I'm sorry this is taking so long, but I want to be at least decently good


----------



## Drowned Hero

OnlytheStrong said:
			
		

> how did Chapter 2 turn out? What about the gunman in the Prologue?




The Chapter two is still been played... or more like just started being played. The gunman is still a mystery for myself as my two characters entered after the prologue chapter.


----------



## Job

OnlytheStrong said:
			
		

> how did Chapter 2 turn out? What about the gunman in the Prologue?





			
				Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> The Chapter two is still been played... or more like just started being played.



And actually, it would be perfectly fine for us to continue running chapter two in parallel with chapter 4, or even beyond;  I'll simply consider chapter 2 to all have happened before the U.S.S. Gabrielle leaves the docks in NYC.  This will force some time constraints on what an investigator might be able to accomplish (e.g. he or she might not have enough time to physically travel round trip to the Miskatonic University to perform research), and we'll have to be careful about how something discovered in one chapter might influence the other, but it'll work out just fine, I think.

We actually continued playing through the Prologue while Chapter 1 had started.

Job.


----------



## Job

OnlytheStrong said:
			
		

> What about the gunman in the Prologue?





			
				Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> The gunman is still a mystery for myself as my two characters entered after the prologue chapter.



No player has performed any investigation into the gunman.

Job.


----------



## jdeleski

OnlytheStrong said:
			
		

> I am finished except for equipment. I kinda got stuck there. I'll wait alittle bit before I post the character sheet, if I don't get a response, I can always edit it later!
> 
> 
> **edit**
> 
> My character is posted (except for equipment) on the same page as everyone else's.



OtS, I'll take a look at your character sheet today.

Job.


----------



## OnlytheStrong

I am having a helluva time finding the CoC book from anyone I know. I may have to break down and order it. I stole the salary and equipment from the other players.


----------



## Job

OnlytheStrong said:
			
		

> I am having a helluva time finding the CoC book from anyone I know. I may have to break down and order it. I stole the salary and equipment from the other players.



This game is actually the D20 version of Call of Cthulhu and you're right, that version is hard to find.  I see it on ebay quite a bit, normally selling for between $25 and $50 U.S., but if you're familiar with the D20 DnD combat rules, then you'll probably be just fine without it.  I'll run any complex combat encounters in the OOC thread, round-by-round, and will prompt you for your actions, so you really won't need to purchase the book unless it's a burning desire for you.    

If you want, I can email you an equipment list from the book.

Job.


----------



## OnlytheStrong

I'd appreciate it. I'm familiar with D&D, but not really with CoC. You can email me the equipment if you want or think I forgot something important. I'm actually pretty happy with what I have right now. I was just worried that I did something wrong with my equipment. Thanks for being understanding with me.


----------



## Job

OnlytheStrong,

Here are some minor questions/comments regarding Wade Watkins's character sheet.  I apologize for having so many comments, but I usually nitpick the character sheets at the start so that we don't have problems later.  Some of my nitpicks are in your favor, though.    

- I count only 36 points expended for your ability scores out of a possible 40, so you have an additional 4 ability points that you can add.  The extra ability point for 4th level doesn't count towards the total of 40;
- Max sanity = 99 (same for all characters except those who've already experienced some mythos event and thus have permanently lost sanity);
- Your total reflex save is correct, but incorrectly states +2 based on Con bonus instead of Dex bonus (this is not a big deal, but might confuse me when you level up   , so you should correct the text);
- Unarmed attack for Wade = 1d3 + 0 Str bonus (inflicting subdual damage).  My instruction sheet was not clear, but I checked the book and will improve the wording in the instructions.
- Knife attack = 1d4 +0 Str bonus;
- Your total skill points available = 7 X (8 + Int bonus) = 7 X 12 = 84;  You've only allocated 77 skill points so you have an additional 7 skill points that you can add;
- There is no Knowledge (surgery), but there is a new feat called "Surgery" that you've correctly added to your sheet based on this post of mine.  So you have 7 extra points to put somewhere else instead of in Knowledge (surgery);
- Your physician should have Knowledge (biology) so that might be a good place to put those 7 points;
- Wade would need the "Speak Other Language" skill to know any one extra language (your sheet lists 3 extra languages); 
- The equipment list looks fine.

Once you've made these changes, you should add brief descriptions of your character's appearance, personality, and background.  It's especially important for us (i.e. James Starkweather) to know a little bit about why Wade would be willing to risk his life to join this adventure in Antarctica.  Your descriptions need not be lengthy, and you can take some time to think it over.  

Since you've chosen to create a new physician instead of playing an existing one (i.e.  either Vitus Lambert or Annie Mahoney), Wade will need to send James Starkweather a letter of request to join the expedition.  Chapter 1 has some examples of what other players sent.  If you decide that you'd rather not run this gauntlet (It's a fun gauntlet, though!   ), you can adjust a few things on your character sheet to match Vitus Lambert's and just consider that you'll instead be taking over Vitus's character.

Job.


----------



## OnlytheStrong

I will change it later today. I'm alittle busy for some freaking reason. Thanks Job.


----------



## OnlytheStrong

Fixed the stuff with my character sheet (got a break as soon as I wrote the last post). I will send the letter in a bit too. Is it supposed to be on the IC thread? I don't really want to disrupt what is going on by sticking a letter in the middle of it.


----------



## Job

OnlytheStrong said:
			
		

> Fixed the stuff with my character sheet (got a break as soon as I wrote the last post). I will send the letter in a bit too. Is it supposed to be on the IC thread? I don't really want to disrupt what is going on by sticking a letter in the middle of it.



Post your letter at the end of chapter 1 (to avoid, as you say, disrupting chapter 4) and include a sentence or two that states a reason why your character might be submitting his request so late.  Maybe he just returned from a different expedition?  Or sabbatical?

Thanks!
Job.


----------



## OnlytheStrong

Okay, the letter is finished and posted in Chapter 1. I hope its good enough, wrote it in a hurry. lol


----------



## Drowned Hero

About Strahd_Von_Zarovich

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?p=3907954#post3907954


----------



## Job

OnlytheStrong said:
			
		

> Okay, the letter is finished and posted in Chapter 1. I hope its good enough, wrote it in a hurry. lol



OnlytheStrong, I'll work on Starkweather's response tonight.  I'll also add another post or two to feed our blazing story!

In the coming weeks, I'll be pulled aside for preparations for Christmas, but will do my best to keep things flowing during this time.

Job.


----------



## OnlytheStrong

Alright, thanks again for letting me into this game Job.


----------



## Job

OnlytheStrong said:
			
		

> Alright, thanks again for letting me into this game Job.



Absolutely spendid that you could join us, good man!  Care for a bit of wine before we depart?    

Job.


----------



## OnlytheStrong

*sips politely* Jolly good ol' chap. 


 I speak American, which would translate the above into "Well thank ya fer tha drink"


----------



## Job

OnlytheStrong said:
			
		

> *sips politely* Jolly good ol' chap.
> 
> 
> I speak American, which would translate the above into "Well thank ya fer tha drink"



You are most welcome!  I have a variety of full-bodied reds.  A Chilean vintage, a couple of Americans, a rare Norwegian...



Job.


----------



## Job

The Christmas rush and travels and social activies have all now subsided (with 4 older children, 2 grandchildren, and multiple relatives descending upon my house from across the U.S., it was a chaotic time).  I intend to stay home and relax for New Years, so I expect to have time for some creative writing.

Game on!

Job.


----------



## OnlytheStrong

Merry (late) Christmas to everyone! I hope the holidays went well and everyone got to see family. This was my first year without my grandma (died Jan 13th), so it was kind of hard for me. Especially when I looked around and saw an empty chair that she used to sit in. Either no one wanted to sit in it on purpose or accident, it was still hard. 

Anyway! I'm still glad to be a part of this game. Thank you all.


----------



## Job

OnlytheStrong said:
			
		

> Merry (late) Christmas to everyone! I hope the holidays went well and everyone got to see family. This was my first year without my grandma (died Jan 13th), so it was kind of hard for me. Especially when I looked around and saw an empty chair that she used to sit in. Either no one wanted to sit in it on purpose or accident, it was still hard.
> 
> Anyway! I'm still glad to be a part of this game. Thank you all.



We're happy to have you here with us, OtS!  

I'm sorry to hear about your grandma.  I had a grand-dad who was like a father to me, and he passed away about 5 years ago.  I still think about him, and the memories live on.  

I hope that we all have a wonderful 2008!

Job.


----------



## OnlytheStrong

Happy New Year to all!


----------



## Job

OnlytheStrong said:
			
		

> Happy New Year to all!



To all of my players, I wish you the best of all possibilities this year ... and also extreme horror.    

And I see that Martin LeBlanc has started the year in EXCELLENT form with his diving save of Camille!  Good show!

Job.


----------



## Morpheus

Let's have a Happy (and fun-fiilled) New year that sees us set foot on Ice.


----------



## Strahd_Von_Zarovich

Happy new year to you all


----------



## Job

I may need to take some drastic action as Keeper of this Cthulhu adventure...  It appears that your team of PC's is now turning the tide with the fire on the pier.  We can't have that!

 

After all, that means that the departure may be nearing...  Er, once the fire is put out and the damage is repaired, that is.

Job.


----------



## Drowned Hero

Thought i never would see the day that ship would acctually move from the pier


----------



## Job

OnlytheStrong,

If you're OK with it, I'll post an entry tonight where all of the injured from the fire are being brought into the _U.S.S. Gabrielle's _ sick bay, and where Dr. Watkins (already on-ship and helping) and Dr. Greene struggle with the influx of patients.  This will basically skip the scenes where Dr. Watkins brings his gear onboard, but he would've been settled in anyway by the time the fire started (i.e. our chapter 1 meeting with Starkweather and Watkins took place earlier that day).

Job.


----------



## Strahd_Von_Zarovich

Father Rucker need to settle his boarding pass... 
If not the fire, he was still in the entrance post


----------



## OnlytheStrong

Works for me


----------



## Job

Strahd_Von_Zarovich said:
			
		

> Father Rucker need to settle his boarding pass...
> If not the fire, he was still in the entrance post



Ah yes, Father Rucker's boarding pass...  

Since Father Rucker is on the ship (he made it through the gate during the excitement, but has not yet been interviewed), he's in a perfect position to work on that portion of the story.  There are two main options and and I'm OK with either one.

1.  Once the excitement settles down, you can have Father Rucker approach either Moore or Starkweather, or
2.  Once the excitement settles down, Moore would probably recognize Father Rucker (if he could find his glasses) or Starkweather would see Father Rucker and would confront him when he didn't recognize him.

Choose your poison.  

Job.


----------



## Strahd_Von_Zarovich

I'll roleplay 2


----------



## Gomez

So have you made it to the ice yet?


----------



## Job

Gomez said:
			
		

> So have you made it to the ice yet?



*laughs*  HEY!  Are you here just to start trouble?  

Actually, our expedition is VERY close to departing!  And then our intrepid investigators will have entered the twilight zone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job.


----------



## Gomez

Things should really start to go down hill from there once that happens. And I mean in a good way!


----------



## Drowned Hero

Gomez said:
			
		

> So have you made it to the ice yet?




LOL i think you droped by last year   and we still in NY. BUT sees the ship has it engines going now and leaving port


----------



## Job

I apologize for the past couple of weeks of absence, but I've been pulled aside for family issues.  Our mom is back in the hospital and it's not looking good.  I'm traveling 300 miles each way to assist the family (camping in relative's homes when I'm away), so it's been a tough struggle.  

Hopefully, one way or another, the stresses will ease soon.    

Job.


----------



## OnlytheStrong

Sorry to hear about that Job. I'll keep ya in my thoughts and prayers. Take every minute you need Job.............


----------



## Drowned Hero

Job said:
			
		

> I apologize for the past couple of weeks of absence, but I've been pulled aside for family issues.  Our mom is back in the hospital and it's not looking good.  I'm traveling 300 miles each way to assist the family (camping in relative's homes when I'm away), so it's been a tough struggle.
> 
> Hopefully, one way or another, the stresses will ease soon.
> 
> Job.




Np Job. Hope your family i doing well under the circumstances. All my best wishes. 

-DH


----------



## Strahd_Von_Zarovich

best wishes.


----------



## Job

Hello everyone,

Thank you for your understanding during these trying times.

Our crisis is over (for now) and our mom is now out of the hospital, although she's suffered a heart attack and is noticeably weaker and closer to her "end game".  I feel confident that I can take care of a few errands during the week, catch up on my work, and get back to running the game by this weekend.

I hate to even mention this, but bad news about my mom may come again soon and may force me back into crisis-mode with frequent trips out-of-state.  I'll try to do a better job to let you know ASAP if and when that occurs.

Job.


----------



## Dallas4lr

*Greetings All*

Wow,


Its been over two years since I last checked in and I'm quite happy to see that Jdeleski has kept the game moving.  So sorry that I had to drop out, but life got in the way, 3 jobs and relocation intervened.  I would have loved to see how my drunk scientist/priest Father JP Rucker would have faired.

Great effort guys, I will be following the post very closely.


Good Luck
Dallas


----------



## Job

Dallas4lr said:
			
		

> Wow,
> 
> 
> Its been over two years since I last checked in and I'm quite happy to see that Jdeleski has kept the game moving.  So sorry that I had to drop out, but life got in the way, 3 jobs and relocation intervened.  I would have loved to see how my drunk scientist/priest Father JP Rucker would have faired.
> 
> Great effort guys, I will be following the post very closely.
> 
> 
> Good Luck
> Dallas



Hello there, Dallas!  Thanks for stopping by and letting us know how you're doing.  Yep, this game continues on, a little slowly here and there, but drawn inexorably towards the ice.  I'm excited that we're nearing the end of the New York City events and soon will depart for greater glory.    

Job.


----------



## Job

OnlyTheStrong said:
			
		

> Wade hears the scream and rushes over to the man. Even for the experienced ER doctor, the sight was shocking. He hurrys and attends to the injured.
> 
> Heal check (1d20+13=33)



Wow!  Impressive roll!  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job.


----------



## OnlytheStrong

lol yeah, I was shocked. That means invisiblecastle is going to kick my butt for about a month.


----------



## Job

We are nearing departure from New York City for our campaign and this is a good time to level up everyone's characters.  I considered allowing our two long-time characters (i.e. Martin and Camille) to level up, then leveling up our three newer characters (George, Oyvind, and Father Rucker) once our team reaches Antarctica, but I think that it'd be less confusing to simply have everyone level up at the same time and always have the characters at the same level.

So, to advance from 4th level to 5th level in D20 Call of Cthulhu, here's the increases:

Defense Option Characters: 
- No change in saving throws or Base Attack Bonus
- No additional feats
- No increase in abilities (e.g. Strength, Dexterity, etc.)
- Add hit points = 1d6 plus Constitution bonus.  This game is expected to be challenging, so if you roll low with a 1, 2, or 3, instead add 4 HP to your character plus your constitution bonus.
- Add skill points = 8 plus your Intelligence bonus.  Remember that to increase a character's core skills requires 1 point to increase that skill, but increasing a non-core skill requires 2 points to increase it.

Offense Option Characters:
- No change in saving throws
- Add +1 to your Base Attack Bonus
- No additional feats
- No increase in abilities (e.g. Strength, Dexterity, etc.)
- Add hit points = 1d6 plus Constitution bonus.  This game is expected to be challenging, so if you roll low with a 1, 2, or 3, instead add 4 HP to your character plus your constitution bonus.
- Add skill points = 8 plus your Intelligence bonus.  Remember that to increase a character's core skills requires 1 point to increase that skill, but increasing a non-core skill requires 2 points to increase it.

When you edit your posted character sheets, please leave the original scores showing (i.e. don't delete them) and add a line showing the new scores and the date that you increased them.  

Have fun!

Job.


----------



## Strahd_Von_Zarovich

I updated Father Rucker's sheet, but when he came to visit the Captain he haven't imagined that he will be on the same day on his way to Antarctica, he brought several personal equipment in his case, but most of his stuff are still in the hotel.
HP level 5 (1d6+2=5)


----------



## Anatomist

Øyvind and George are updated.


----------



## Drowned Hero

Øyvind and George are updated.


----------



## Strahd_Von_Zarovich

I'll be away to celebrate Passover in Eilat and a trip to Petra from 18.4 – 22.4.
I wish you a good weekend.
Roy - Strahd.


----------



## Job

Hello players,

I was out of the country for a week, but now have returned home and will start cooking up a few posts today.

Job.


----------



## Job

We only have a few loose ends to wrap up, a few repairs to make to the ship, and a few supplies to restock, then we'll be bringing chapter 4 to a close.  While we're working through this, I'll simultaneously start the next chapter within the week (real time), wherein our expedition departs New York City.  

I'll keep chapter 4 open for a bit of time while we start the next chapter, so you'll be able conclude any open investigations or unfinished actions.  Your characters will only have a couple of days (game time) to complete any "final" preparations.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (anxiously awaiting our departure).


----------



## Job

I was hoping to make some progress yesterday, Sunday 11-May, with some campaign writings, but for some reason I couldn't get into EnWorld all day.  Sunday is one of my best days for creative writing projects.  I'll do my best to post a few entries during the evenings this week.

Job.


----------



## Job

Remember, while chapter 5 gets going, chapter 4 remains open so that players can perform any last-minute actions, investigations, supply-purchasing, or poignant conversing.    

Job.


----------



## Drowned Hero

is there a chapter 5 thread?


----------



## Job

Drowned Hero said:
			
		

> is there a chapter 5 thread?



Sorry DH, I missed seeing your question a few days ago.  

Here's a link to Chapter 5 - At Sea 

Job.


----------



## Drowned Hero

Im gonna post as soon i get a chanse. For now i present:

Well, the day is here and im happy to share with you all Linéa Ipi Born 21 of May

NUFF' SAID






Look at the arms position - RESPECT!


----------



## Job

Oh my gosh, DH!  She is gorgeous!  Congratulations on your new family member!  I love kids (and have 4 young gamers of my own).

Job.


----------



## Strahd_Von_Zarovich

Congratulations.
I have 1 sweet daughter - 6 month old


----------



## Job

I've been busily researching and creating maps, videos, and subplots, so this weekend I expect to have a few fun posts for you to keep things interesting.  

Job.


----------



## Morpheus

Gentlemen, start your engines...


----------



## Job

I thought for sure that someone would join the boxing session!  Chickens!

Afternoon:
E Fiskarson / Boxing Fundamentals (last one standing takes on James Starkweather) / Main Deck Fore

 

Job.


----------



## Drowned Hero

Job said:
			
		

> I thought for sure that someone would join the boxing session!  Chickens!
> 
> Afternoon:
> E Fiskarson / Boxing Fundamentals (last one standing takes on James Starkweather) / Main Deck Fore
> 
> 
> 
> Job.




As stated in chapter 5. Øyvind is taking the challenge. Øyvind is convinced that starkweather need a punch in the face for leaving the ship beeing sabotaged.

Bring it on mister GM!


----------



## Drowned Hero

Btw. Enworld been acting funny one me the last days. I recomnd you take a copy off all the threads. I dont know why but i feel a big database error/lose is comming this way.


----------



## Job

Now that EnWorld's "vacation" is over, and now that my own vacation is over, I'll be back posting this weekend.  Thank you for your patience.

Job.


----------



## Strahd_Von_Zarovich

welcome back


----------



## Morpheus

Welcome back...now let's get this party started...


----------



## Job

For my players, I'm checking in to let you folks know that I have not disappeared from the earth at the hands of cultists, but have had a few personal events that have forced me to reprioritize my life for a little while.

I've gotten a new job which requires that I perform a LOT of research to bring myself up to speed, and this has demanded a lot of my time.  I also have a pretty demanding boss...

My wife has been ill (again) and required many medical visits, two to the emergency room.  Needless to say, this also had pulled me away from my creative writing.

So, what does this mean for our BtMoM campaign?  I hope to successfully emerge from my trials sometime in the next month and begin writing again.  By then, I expect to have established myself at work and I also hope that the doctors will have eased my wife's medical problems.  I'll post every week or two to let you folks know how things are going.

I apologize for these delays, but sometimes life intrudes on our passions...
Job.


----------



## Morpheus

No worries...real life is more important than gaming-but only just barely!


----------



## Drowned Hero

Job said:


> For my players, I'm checking in to let you folks know that I have not disappeared from the earth at the hands of cultists, but have had a few personal events that have forced me to reprioritize my life for a little while.
> 
> I've gotten a new job which requires that I perform a LOT of research to bring myself up to speed, and this has demanded a lot of my time.  I also have a pretty demanding boss...
> 
> My wife has been ill (again) and required many medical visits, two to the emergency room.  Needless to say, this also had pulled me away from my creative writing.
> 
> So, what does this mean for our BtMoM campaign?  I hope to successfully emerge from my trials sometime in the next month and begin writing again.  By then, I expect to have established myself at work and I also hope that the doctors will have eased my wife's medical problems.  I'll post every week or two to let you folks know how things are going.
> 
> I apologize for these delays, but sometimes life intrudes on our passions...
> Job.




Hey Job. At this point i think you know me and needless to say taht RL is more important then a pbp game, even a CoC one.

Hope you get on top of your new job and your wife gets better.

Im gonna stay to a old one gets me.


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## Strahd_Von_Zarovich

We will wait.

Take care in your new job and I hope your wife will be with full HP


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## Job

Thanks everyone.  My wife is back home, although she's continuing to have troubles, but having her home eases that stress a little.  My new job continues at a demanding pace and I am hopeful that I'll work through most of the learning curve within the next two weeks.  

Part of my problem is a lack of time and part of my problem is that I'm pretty tired at that end of each day--stress is causing some of this, I believe.  During the past month I've made it a point to take better care of myself (i.e. eating healther, going for walks and exercising, taking time to visit with my kids and grandkids, and relaxing for 15 or 20 minutes with a book at the end of each day, just before going to sleep).  A couple of BtMoM reference books are sitting on my nightstand...

I'll be back soon.
Job.


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## Drowned Hero

OOC: [sblock]I will be on vacations the next 7 days. GM, Please use george and øyvind as best possible [/sblock]


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## Drowned Hero

Back!


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## Strahd_Von_Zarovich

Not sure people saw my absent note. I'll be away in Brazil from 1.10 to 16.10.
And I'm not sure about my internet availability.


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## Job

To all players of my paused BtMoM game (hopefully some of you are still around), I'd like to just let you know that after a very difficult few months, I am now nearly returned to the land of the living.

My family experienced a death, which is always hard, and which shook our everyday life into so much rubble. Things are starting to settle out and I've been working to restructure things for what seems aeons, so I'm starting to see a bit of stability now peeking through (unfortunately not as it was, but I've accepted how it must be). 

In the coming weeks, I expect and hope to return to our game in earnest. If any of you read this, let me know if you're still interested.

Thanks,
Job (the tortured one).


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## Drowned Hero

*The horror is back*



Job said:


> To all players of my paused BtMoM game (hopefully some of you are still around), I'd like to just let you know that after a very difficult few months, I am now nearly returned to the land of the living.
> 
> My family experienced a death, which is always hard, and which shook our everyday life into so much rubble. Things are starting to settle out and I've been working to restructure things for what seems aeons, so I'm starting to see a bit of stability now peeking through (unfortunately not as it was, but I've accepted how it must be).
> 
> In the coming weeks, I expect and hope to return to our game in earnest. If any of you read this, let me know if you're still interested.
> 
> Thanks,
> Job (the tortured one).




S.hit im scared now.  Job is back. He might find out he wants to kill the campaign with a horrific death to the players. 

Hey job. As you see im still around, and Von is too. The others i dont know. I guess you know more then us if Taokan is around. Morpheus posted yesterday, of what i can see on his info.

Sorry to hear your family had a bad time. Well i knew that you had a death in the family and that always is hard. Your wifes health better?

Happy you continuing this game. I want to see the mountains of madness 

-DH


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## Morpheus

Sorry for your loss, Job. I'm glad you are back and Martin is ready for whatever the uncaring universe has in store for him...


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## Strahd_Von_Zarovich

Hey Job, I'm sorry to hear it and wish you the best.

A good game is something that might take you out of the sadness and I hope you'll continue it. Games are helpful.

Now that you say it, I want to invite you to my CoC game. it is still in the recruiting phase. I'm playing with Chaosium rules. So if you want to check in you are more then welcome. DH is playing too.
Morpheus 
you are invited too

Waiting anxiously...


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## Job

Aww, thanks for your patience, everyone!  I'm very pleased that my real life difficulties (perhaps at the hand of the elder gods?) haven't destroyed the expedition.

I'll immerse myself in the game details this week to refresh my memory, hopefully posting a few things this coming weekend.

Strahd, thank you for mentioning your recruitment, and I'll take a look at your game post this week.  I can't promise that I'll be able to join you since the challenges of real life are truly a daily struggle for me, but if possible, I'll be there.

Job.


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## Drowned Hero

If you need any help dont be shy.

As far i can see we got 3 open threads for the IC part. 
The chapter 2 bit where George and Martin Le Blanc looks for information for the Captains death.

Øyvinds investigating the noise in the hall at night on board USS _Gabrielle_ 

And Chapter 5 of course.

Is the FACT thread updated? Its not intended to _make_  you do it if its not updated, i just want to know.

As i said. If you think i can help you, just tell me and i will see what i can do.

-DH


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## Job

DH,

Thanks for your links and reminders on the game's current status!  I took a brief look around and I remember now that we're just getting to the fun part!  All appears to be going well for the expedition...  

To answer an earlier question of yours, my wife continues to experience health problems, but while difficult and painful, those are not life threatening, so I'm optimistic that we'll work our way through them.

Oh, and Taokan is onboard with continuing our game.  She's been eagerly awaiting--and occasionally prompting and poking--the return of my enthusiasm.

Job.


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## Drowned Hero

Øyvind Raknes Sheet updated. 

Smith and Wesson M1917 Revolver .45ACP dmg:2d8 x3 capacity: 6 bullets


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## Yellow Sign

So is this game dead?


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## Drowned Hero

Yellow Sign said:


> So is this game dead?




shhhhh. this might stir Job out of his slumber.

and i hope the game is *not* dead...


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## Strahd_Von_Zarovich

Oh ... another CoC fan. I think that Job is retired from this game. but DH runs another CoC game over here that you might join.
Both of us decided that those boards are good for D&D gaming. If you want to try CoC try the Play@Yog Sothoth forums.

DH - waiting for you to post there BTW.


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## Drowned Hero

Von talk with Raiko and his BtMoM campaign over there.
The pm on the site didnt work for me today, thats why im here posting this.

And Job if you reading, luv ya!


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## Drowned Hero

Strange, but i keep opening this bookmarked URL one or twice every 6 months, read a chapter here, another over there, look at the characters, etc.

I miss this game, even its gone 4 years since last Job was around.

-DH


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## Strahd_Von_Zarovich

You can always open this game again, this time you'll DM it on Yog-Sothoth.com with the fantastic rules of *Chaosium* and not D20.
Playing a prepared campaign is good for DMs that do not have time - your Buenos Aires and my secrets of Middle East lacked that time. I play two scenarios on Yog boards as a character and I began DMing the mini-campaign _shadows of Yog Sothoth _table top back home with friends.


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## Drowned Hero

Strahd_Von_Zarovich said:


> You can always open this game again, this time you'll DM it on Yog-Sothoth.com with the fantastic rules of *Chaosium* and not D20.
> Playing a prepared campaign is good for DMs that do not have time - your Buenos Aires and my secrets of Middle East lacked that time. I play two scenarios on Yog boards as a character and I began DMing the mini-campaign _shadows of Yog Sothoth _table top back home with friends.




Hey Von  
You wrong though, this is Job's game


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## Job

"That is not dead which can eternal lie..."

It's good to see that you both are active, DH and Strahd!  

DH, I also occasionally return to this story, these threads, reading and smiling, which is how I've stumbled upon your somewhat-recent postings.  I loved what we created and still marvel at it.  I am VERY thankful that Morrus has left this tale here, letting me relive the beginning of the adventure again.

I'm pondering a future wherein this adventure is fully realized.

J.


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## Drowned Hero

Job said:


> "That is not dead which can eternal lie..."
> 
> It's good to see that you both are active, DH and Strahd!
> 
> DH, I also occasionally return to this story, these threads, reading and smiling, which is how I've stumbled upon your somewhat-recent postings.  I loved what we created and still marvel at it.  I am VERY thankful that Morrus has left this tale here, letting me relive the beginning of the adventure again.
> 
> I'm pondering a future wherein this adventure is fully realized.
> 
> J.




Holy shi.t! Nice to see you! 
Active and active. I drop by now and then looking for CoC games now and then  i know Von is somewhat back to his internet gaming as well.

Hope you vision of the future realizes, i would happily be part of it. You say GO and ill start reading up and poking Von hard in the ribs 

MADNESS awaits!


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## Job

DH,

I've decided that the best way for me to get things going again is to re-read all of the the threads and to organize and simplify the campaign's information into something like a table of contents. If you click on the "My PBP Games" link in my signature, you'll notice a few changes in how I've begun getting things organized. I also hope that this will help any prospective new players to more easily figure out what's going on, and who's involved. 

More to come, soon.

J.


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## Strahd_Von_Zarovich

Hi Job
Over the past 3 years I understood that the majority of the players in ENworld prefer to play Pathfinder, D&D 3.5 and 4 editions. Not much a community for Ars Magica and Call of Cthulhu – two types of systems that I play in addition to 3.5.

Play@YSDC can be a warm place for your BtMoM game. I doubt if you'll be successful with finding players over here for the game.

As for joining back in – sure, but If I were you I would consider changing the system to Chaosium. I find the D20 cumbersome and clumsy for the CoC world.


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## Drowned Hero

Strahd_Von_Zarovich said:


> Play@YSDC can be a warm place for your BtMoM game. I doubt if you'll be successful with finding players over here for the game.




As Von says. EnWorld is not the place for CoC and re-re-recruiting will be much easier @YSDC. For what Chaosium goes its a good system, but i would recommend you to use the system your most comfortable with.

It would take some work to move stuff over, but you got the game very well organized for what i can see in your signature.

Hi Von! nice to see you back from your slumber


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## Job

OK, based on input from the two of you, I'll take a look at Play@YSDC site and I'll also consider using the BRP ruleset as I'm reorganizing.  A number of years ago, Paul of Cthulhu allowed me to place a "call for players" on YSDC asking people on YSDC to consider playing in my EnWord BtMoM game, but I can understand why it'd be better to run a CoC game on a CoC site.  

You'll see my work as I get things structured and I'll post notes to the two of you as I move along.  I appreciate your suggestions!

Thanks!
J.


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## Job

As I am organizing the information for our re-start of the BtMoM campaign, I'm re-reading and creating an index for each chapter.  The explosion and everyone's reaction to the fire on the pier are priceless!  And wierdly funny in some instances...

Link to explosion thread

J.


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## Drowned Hero

Job said:


> As I am organizing the information for our re-start of the BtMoM campaign, I'm re-reading and creating an index for each chapter.  The explosion and everyone's reaction to the fire on the pier are priceless!  And wierdly funny in some instances...
> 
> Link to explosion thread
> 
> J.




If you have the time, please make a small summary for the last chapters played making the catch up a bit easier. (Im working lots at the moment) any help is appreciated


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## Job

Hello DH,

Here is a link to the campaign summary. If you'd like to see something more detailed, let me know. 

In addition, be sure check the posts that are linked in "My PbP Games" in my signature that contain a table of contents for each chapter. I've completed the listings for chapters 1 and 4, and will work on chapters 2 and 5 and 5a within the next couple of days.

With all of the indexes, cross-links, and tables of contents that I'm putting together, hopefully this will make it much easier for folks to follow the storyline and figure out what's going on. I have more work to do, but I'm nearing completion, I think.

Job.


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