# Malvoisin's War of the Burning Sky - OOC Thread



## Malvoisin (Jan 31, 2007)

It is New Year’s Eve, and near midnight on this frigid evening the 
heroes gather in a small condemned tavern in the Free Citystate of Gate Pass. 
Located in the mountain pass which separates two hostile nations – 
Ragesia and Shahalesti – Gate Pass has been neutral since the end of their last 
war, but now from Ragesia a scourge comes for the city.

By now, every magic-user in Gate Pass knows of the Scourge. The Emperor 
of Ragesia died barely a month ago, and in a move to cement herself as the 
next emperor of Ragesia, Leska, leader of the Ragesian inquisitors, has 
decreed that all disloyal magic-users are to be tracked down and killed, to 
prevent future threats to the empire. The inquisitors, clerics specialized in 
countermagic, travel with military escorts to the borders of Ragesia. 
Their first target is Gate Pass, its neutrality long viewed as an insult to 
the nation’s honor. Those who resist them will have to face the searing 
power of the Ragesian Empire.

An entire army marches for Gate Pass, and the people of the city fear 
that they will not be able to resist the might of the Ragesian military. The 
city leaders are bowing under pressure, and have barred the exit from the 
city, intending to welcome the inquisitors that come with the army, for they 
foolishly hope that the Ragesians will reward their cooperation with 
mercy.

A local resistance movement, devoted to keeping both the Ragesians and 
the Shahalesti out of the city, has gathered vital military intelligence, 
and they need messengers to deliver the information to allies at a distant 
wizard’s school. With all their strongest warriors preparing to hold 
back the Ragesian assault, this vital mission falls to a party of 
inexperienced heroes – the player characters.

The Ragesian army is nearly at Gate Pass’s doorstep, so time is short. 
The war is about to begin!

[sblock=The Protagonists]
Phaedra Nossos, Female Human Beguiler1, by Rystil Arden
Markus Half-Hand, Male Half-Orc Cleric1, by Verbatim
Coldan Ciandra, Male Human Knight1, by stonegod
Aridha, Female Human Scout1, by Shayuri
Taren Darkfyre, Male Human Shadowcaster1, by Erekose13
Xander Marsh, Male Human Psychic Warrior1, by Rhun
[/sblock]
[sblock=Dramatis Personae]
Coming Soon...
[/sblock]
[sblock=Graphics, Maps, Handouts]








[/sblock]


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## stonegod (Feb 1, 2007)

First Second Post! 

BTW Mal: Make sure you keep on checking out the WotBS Forums. They seem to posting a bunch of DM resources there.


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## Malvoisin (Feb 2, 2007)

stonegod said:
			
		

> First Second Post!
> 
> BTW Mal: Make sure you keep on checking out the WotBS Forums. They seem to posting a bunch of DM resources there.



Thanks for the tip, I will do so!


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## Erekose13 (Feb 2, 2007)

I'm here too. I was waiting till you posted something formally before moving over. But heck with it  I'm heere!


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## Rhun (Feb 2, 2007)

I'm here!


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## Shayuri (Feb 2, 2007)

*'V' sign with fingers*

Peace.


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## Verbatim (Feb 2, 2007)

*waves half-hand*

I am here as well.


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## Rystil Arden (Feb 2, 2007)

I'm here--Fae is ready for her secret smuggling mission Cassandra Priades, resistance sympathiser, is proud to lend her blade in service of the proud ciy of Gate Pass and against the foul Inquisition!  Vive la Resistance!


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## Malvoisin (Feb 2, 2007)

Glad everybody's here!   

Now you just have to wait for your DM to get his act together....hopefully real soon!


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## Malvoisin (Feb 4, 2007)

Rhun,

Finally had a chance to go over Xander's character sheet. It looks to me like you assigned only 10 of a possible 12 skill points for him.

Other than that, he looks fine.

Everyone: We are close to beginning, might even get the first turn out tonight. 

But, there is a little something called the Super Bowl which might make that impossible...we shall see


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## Malvoisin (Feb 4, 2007)

The time has come!

Let's Roll!


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## stonegod (Feb 4, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> But, there is a little something called the Super Bowl which might make that impossible...we shall see



What is it with this mutant bowl? Is it of enormous size? Does it have hypnotic powers to cloud the mind? Inquiring minds want to know!


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## Rhun (Feb 5, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> Rhun,
> 
> Finally had a chance to go over Xander's character sheet. It looks to me like you assigned only 10 of a possible 12 skill points for him.[/SIZE]




I will fix that! Thanks.


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## Verbatim (Feb 6, 2007)

Sorry for being tardy..post will be up right after Heroes.

Damn Super Bowl...


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## Malvoisin (Feb 6, 2007)

New post from me coming up in a little bit, all. I was stalling a bit for Verbatim, but Markus'll just have to catch up.

Not to mention, I had to review character sheets for players in a _certain other game_ who just leveled up.


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## Rystil Arden (Feb 6, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> New post from me coming up in a little bit, all. I was stalling a bit for Verbatim, but Markus'll just have to catch up.
> 
> Not to mention, I had to review character sheets for players in a _certain other game_ who just leveled up.



 Oh dear--up the creek and without a cleric?


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## stonegod (Feb 6, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> Not to mention, I had to review character sheets for players in a _certain other game_ who just leveled up.



Hey, if it makes you're life easier, I'll just level up Coldan now....


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## Rystil Arden (Feb 6, 2007)

stonegod said:
			
		

> Hey, if it makes you're life easier, I'll just level up Coldan now....



 Good idea--maybe you secretly got 1000 XP for good roleplaying


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## Shayuri (Feb 7, 2007)

Oh nuts. Er, Mal? I forgot to give Ari the Open Lock skill. I intended to do it, I just forgot.

Permission to tweak skills a bit, please?

Pretty please?


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## Rhun (Feb 7, 2007)

Yeah, I looked through our PCs and thought...looks like we are going to have to use brute force on every lock we find.


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## Rystil Arden (Feb 7, 2007)

Rhun said:
			
		

> Yeah, I looked through our PCs and thought...looks like we are going to have to use brute force on every lock we find.



 If this is anything like Shackled City's first adventure Life's Bazaar, there will be a gazillion DC 30 locks that can't be opened at level 1, even with maxed out ranks in Open Lock, without MW Thieve's Tools


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## Rhun (Feb 7, 2007)

Well, you could conceivably have a + 13  (4 ranks, +4 dex, +3 skill focus, +2 masterwork tools) at 1st level, and have a small shot at DC30 locks!


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## Rystil Arden (Feb 7, 2007)

Rhun said:
			
		

> Well, you could conceivably have a + 13  (4 ranks, +4 dex, +3 skill focus, +2 masterwork tools) at 1st level, and have a small shot at DC30 locks!



 Technically, you could have 20 Dex--our lockpick was a halfling, and he had +9, but that didn't cut it, even on taking 20, until we took Keegan Ghelve's MW locksmith tools.


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## Shayuri (Feb 7, 2007)

You guys are forgetting Aid Another bonuses and Taking 20. 

Ari would have +9 base bonus, with MW tools. Add a mere +2 Aid bonus, and Take 20...and DC 30 locks open.


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## Rystil Arden (Feb 7, 2007)

Shayuri said:
			
		

> You guys are forgetting Aid Another bonuses and Taking 20.



 I'm not forgetting--Open Lock is not usable untrained


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## Shayuri (Feb 7, 2007)

Oh! Nuts!


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## Rystil Arden (Feb 7, 2007)

Shayuri said:
			
		

> Oh! Nuts!



 At least Fae has 1 rank in Disable Device, so if you ever need to disarm something, if she rolls a 6 or higher, you get +3


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## Shayuri (Feb 7, 2007)

Yay!

That could be handy. You usually don't want to just bash your way through traps.


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## Rystil Arden (Feb 7, 2007)

Shayuri said:
			
		

> Yay!
> 
> That could be handy. You usually don't want to just bash your way through traps.



 Actually, the original KoD FtF group had a "Dwarven Rogue" (read: Barbarian) who did just that   It was amusing to watch him nearly die setting off all the traps.  Eventually, the Azer Cleric got a Pixie Arcane Trickster cohort who could actually Disable Device, but that was much later.


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## Rhun (Feb 7, 2007)

Well, Xander has a greatsword, so he can help with locks. It isn't very stealthy, though.


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## stonegod (Feb 7, 2007)

Rhun said:
			
		

> Well, Xander has a greatsword, so he can help with locks. It isn't very stealthy, though.



Yeah, and wait until he gets Focused Sunder...


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## Malvoisin (Feb 7, 2007)

Shayuri said:
			
		

> Oh nuts. Er, Mal? I forgot to give Ari the Open Lock skill. I intended to do it, I just forgot.
> 
> Permission to tweak skills a bit, please?
> 
> Pretty please?



Okay, just this once.


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## Shayuri (Feb 7, 2007)

Thank you, sir. *bows head*


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## Verbatim (Feb 7, 2007)

All: Sorry for not being more active thus far, but this trip to Texas has been more work than I had thought it would be. The training reports eat up huge chunks of my evening and then I am just brain fried.

Mal: Could you ghost me until Sat when I get back to DC and return to a normal schedule? Thanks and I do apologize for the last minute grenade.


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## Malvoisin (Feb 7, 2007)

Verbatim said:
			
		

> All: Sorry for not being more active thus far, but this trip to Texas has been more work than I had thought it would be. The training reports eat up huge chunks of my evening and then I am just brain fried.
> 
> Mal: Could you ghost me until Sat when I get back to DC and return to a normal schedule? Thanks and I do apologize for the last minute grenade.



Sure, we'll just intro Markus as a late arrival once you get caught up.


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## stonegod (Feb 9, 2007)

Verbatim: I think I've already got silver covered. 

How about a cold blue color, assuming they haven't been gobbled?


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## Verbatim (Feb 9, 2007)

stonegod said:
			
		

> Verbatim: I think I've already got silver covered.
> 
> How about a cold blue color, assuming they haven't been gobbled?




Noticed that right after I posted..I went to the standard Verb wheat. But if the ice blue isn't being used, then I will hop onto the Ice train with it.


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## Rystil Arden (Feb 9, 2007)

I have cyan, which is similar but not too similar, probably.  I'll be switching colours for different covers.


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## Verbatim (Feb 9, 2007)

It is okay..I don't mind sticking to the tried and true..


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## Rhun (Feb 9, 2007)

I think i will switch too, since teal is pretty similar.


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## Malvoisin (Feb 15, 2007)

Just a quick request, now that we are in combat...

If you could, please include all relevant attack and damage info when stating combat actions (as Erekose13 has done, thank you very much!) AC would be helpful too.

This reduces the amount of time I have to spend referring back to character sheets. Much appreciated!


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## Erekose13 (Feb 15, 2007)

Just added AC and Hp to my sblock


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## Malvoisin (Feb 15, 2007)

Erekose13 said:
			
		

> Just added AC and Hp to my sblock



Thanks, you're a model citizen!


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## Rystil Arden (Feb 15, 2007)

Will do--I'm going to wait for you to post the thugs, though, since they go before us.  Also, what kind of armour are they wearing?


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## stonegod (Feb 15, 2007)

Another question---they seem to bounty hunters or members of the militia/Ragasian army? Coldan should recognize insignia of both (Kn: Nobility)


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## Rystil Arden (Feb 15, 2007)

stonegod said:
			
		

> Another question---they seem to bounty hunters or members of the militia/Ragasian army? Coldan should recognize insignia of both (Kn: Nobility)



 Aye, and so would Fae.  Plus if they are thugs connected to a local organisation, she'd have it with Kn: Local.  Both at +7.


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## Malvoisin (Feb 16, 2007)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> Will do--I'm going to wait for you to post the thugs, though, since they go before us.  Also, what kind of armour are they wearing?



The thugs are wearing scale mail, and carry light wooden shields.


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## Malvoisin (Feb 16, 2007)

These thugs don't look like any soldiers or militia that Coldan has seen before. They each wear a red armband with a black horse head upon it. Under the horse head is some lettering, but you can't make out what it says in the midst of the fight.

Cassandra recognizes the armband insignia as that of the Black Horse Bounty Hunters, a disreputable gang known for capturing users of the magical arts and turning them over to the Ragesian Inquisitors for profit.


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## Malvoisin (Feb 18, 2007)

Erekose13, do you still want Taren to load his crossbow for round 2? You're welcome to change that if you want to. Just let me know one way or the other, okay?


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## Malvoisin (Feb 20, 2007)

Hey everyone,

This is turning out to be a really busy week...stuff with work, stuff with school, stuff with family, etc.

I just wanted to let you all know that my posting rate will be slower than my preference for a little stretch here (actually, already has been for a little while). No worries, all is well. Bear with me please.

Thanks!


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## Rhun (Feb 20, 2007)

No problem, Mal. We all know how real life can interfere.


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## Verbatim (Feb 20, 2007)

I second that...I am happy with anything you can give us.


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## Erekose13 (Feb 20, 2007)

Been an interesting week for me too, definitely understood


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## Malvoisin (Feb 21, 2007)

Rhun, you can change Xander's action for round 2, since the target of his attack has fallen now.

Shayuri, same goes for Ari.


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## Shayuri (Feb 21, 2007)

Thankee, sir. Have done so.

Coup de gracing is a full round action, I believe, so I can't do it and move, yes?


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## Rystil Arden (Feb 21, 2007)

You can 5-foot step.


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## Verbatim (Feb 21, 2007)

*Cassandra watches carefully, taking note particularly if any among them quibbles about using a death blow against an opponent who had been careful to attack with nonlethal weapons. Not that she quibbles, of course.*

Markus won't..he is too busy looking at the rogues to notice what is happening at the door, or will be up until the moment Xander whizzes past him and blocks his readied attack..


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## Shayuri (Feb 21, 2007)

Hee. What can I say? Ari's not civilized.


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## Verbatim (Feb 21, 2007)

Shayuri said:
			
		

> Hee. What can I say? Ari's not civilized.




Markus was a slave and then became a nomadic tundra worshipping guy, so you aren't alone in the barely civil catagory..


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## Erekose13 (Feb 21, 2007)

Taren's a magic user who's seen a city's mages fall to the inquisition. No qualms from him.


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## stonegod (Feb 21, 2007)

Looking right in the direction... check

Knight with a code of honor... check

LG... check

Someone's got some 'splaining to do!


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## Rhun (Feb 21, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> Rhun, you can change Xander's action for round 2, since the target of his attack has fallen now.





Done.


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## Rhun (Feb 21, 2007)

Verbatim said:
			
		

> Markus won't..he is too busy looking at the rogues to notice what is happening at the door, or will be up until the moment Xander whizzes past him and blocks his readied attack..





Sorry, but I figured it would be easier to block them coming down the stairs.


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## Rhun (Feb 21, 2007)

Xander cares not about the slaying of any foe...better to slay them than take the chance they will catch up with you at a future date.


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## Rystil Arden (Feb 21, 2007)

Bah, and Cassandra was hoping they would move so she could Colour Spray, but now more people are in the way


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## CanadienneBacon (Feb 22, 2007)

Hey, All.  I've been following along here and in you guys' IC here and there.  I'm going to go ahead and state the obvious that Malvoisin is a good DM.  That said, how are you guys all liking this series thus far?  Are things working to your liking?  Mal, how are you liking DMing this puppy?  Pros/cons?  I'm asking because my tabletop group resumes play in July or August when our fourth returns from duty in Iraq and I'm considering subscribing to this campaign series so I can DM it for them.  Specifically, how do you all like it when compared to Savage Tide, Shackled City, or Age of Worms?

I have PM access here, or e-mail also works (the address should be in my EN World profile).  I don't want to rock the boat in your OOC or anything, I just want to hear how the path has been thus far.  Thanks for any insight any of you are willing to shed.


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## Rystil Arden (Feb 22, 2007)

CanadienneBacon said:
			
		

> Hey, All.  I've been following along here and in you guys' IC here and there.  I'm going to go ahead and state the obvious that Malvoisin is a good DM.  That said, how are you guys all liking this series thus far?  Are things working to your liking?  Mal, how are you liking DMing this puppy?  Pros/cons?  I'm asking because my tabletop group resumes play in July or August when our fourth returns from duty in Iraq and I'm considering subscribing to this campaign series so I can DM it for them.  Specifically, how do you all like it when compared to Savage Tide, Shackled City, or Age of Worms?
> 
> I have PM access here, or e-mail also works (the address should be in my EN World profile).  I don't want to rock the boat in your OOC or anything, I just want to hear how the path has been thus far.  Thanks for any insight any of you are willing to shed.



 So far we haven't had nearly enough exposure to really know yet, I think.  I'm giving Shackled City the nod for the moment, but that may just be an artifact of playing SCAP Face-to-Face and having tons of fun with my crazy Archivist.


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## stonegod (Feb 22, 2007)

Savage Tide > Age of Worms >> Shackled City in my mind. I run AoW at home, and its got some great horror bits which I really like (its my thing). But Savage Tide has pirates and *my* crazed archivist, so that's why.

Shackled City is good, but I think Paizo honed things with AoW and onward.

I agree w/ RA that we haven't gotten very much in WotBS to really judge it yet. I like it.


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## Erekose13 (Feb 22, 2007)

I'll echo stonegod in order. I'm running Savage Tide now and think its great. Age of Worms looked really good too, but I haven't had a chance to read it all. I read the first one from Shackled City and it was really cool, but I hear the plot doesnt stick together as well as the future APs.  WotBS definitely show potential and this first encounter has some pretty interesting twists to it already which is great. That said its still just the first encounter.  One thing that looks really positive about this AP is that the final ending is different depending on what side the PCs end up on from what I hear. I've stopped reading about it though once I got in on Mal's game.


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## Rystil Arden (Feb 22, 2007)

stonegod said:
			
		

> Savage Tide > Age of Worms >> Shackled City in my mind. I run AoW at home, and its got some great horror bits which I really like (its my thing). But Savage Tide has pirates and *my* crazed archivist, so that's why.
> 
> Shackled City is good, but I think Paizo honed things with AoW and onward.
> 
> I agree w/ RA that we haven't gotten very much in WotBS to really judge it yet. I like it.



 Hmm...I haven't played AoW, but I've shyed away from it because I _despise_ the Greyhawk pantheon (the only pantheon real-life or fantasy that I dislike, as an amateur mythologiy buff) and I'm generally negative towards Greyhawk in general, and I've heard it has a lot of ties to Greyhawk.  SCAP and STAP seem much more flexible.


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## stonegod (Feb 22, 2007)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> Hmm...I haven't played AoW, but I've shyed away from it because I _despise_ the Greyhawk pantheon (the only pantheon real-life or fantasy that I dislike, as an amateur mythologiy buff) and I'm generally negative towards Greyhawk in general, and I've heard it has a lot of ties to Greyhawk.  SCAP and STAP seem much more flexible.



Like everything I run, my AoW is in Eberron. It does have a lot of "old skool" references, but I fixed modified those easily enough. "No, its not the _rod of seven parts_, its the _dragonshard of seven parts_, duh!


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## CanadienneBacon (Feb 22, 2007)

Thanks for saying (and sorry again for sidetracking this thread).  If it's okay, maybe I can pop in again in a month or two to ask again how opinions are forming up?  And I'll continue to read now and then, of course.  

Side note...I'm running (or, rather, was running 'til our fourth left on deployment) Shackled City.  We've since converted what was a tabletop campaign to a short-term PbP fix here on EN World.  The group's on the third module in the series, and I definitely agree that the module has its flaws.  Still, even so, two of the original five players have been saying all along that their PCs are their all-time favorites.  Go figure.     If the group doesn't want to continue with the path, I might run WotBS for them.  Savage Tide had my attention 'til I heard there were dinosaurs.  I guess everyone's got their D&D breaking point, and mixing dinos in with my D&D was mine.  Couldn't do it.  The pirates part was appealing, though.  I was interested in AoW but the kill ratio has seemed daunting.  I'd rather the players have the opportunity to get invested in their characters than have to re-roll or raise new ones.  I'll be particularly interested in watching how you guys' WotBS shapes up in terms of how often characters croak.

Anyway, thanks again.


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## Malvoisin (Feb 22, 2007)

CanadienneBacon said:
			
		

> Thanks for saying (and sorry again for sidetracking this thread).  If it's okay, maybe I can pop in again in a month or two to ask again how opinions are forming up?  And I'll continue to read now and then, of course.
> 
> Side note...I'm running (or, rather, was running 'til our fourth left on deployment) Shackled City.  We've since converted what was a tabletop campaign to a short-term PbP fix here on EN World.  The group's on the third module in the series, and I definitely agree that the module has its flaws.  Still, even so, two of the original five players have been saying all along that their PCs are their all-time favorites.  Go figure.     If the group doesn't want to continue with the path, I might run WotBS for them.  Savage Tide had my attention 'til I heard there were dinosaurs.  I guess everyone's got their D&D breaking point, and mixing dinos in with my D&D was mine.  Couldn't do it.  The pirates part was appealing, though.  I was interested in AoW but the kill ratio has seemed daunting.  I'd rather the players have the opportunity to get invested in their characters than have to re-roll or raise new ones.  I'll be particularly interested in watching how you guys' WotBS shapes up in terms of how often characters croak.
> 
> Anyway, thanks again.



Hi, CB! 

There's no need to apologize for your questions here, I'm happy to have the discussion. Obviously, I know the first installment of War of the Burning Sky better than the players, since I've read the whole thing, and they haven't (hopefully). Overall, I am happy with the product, and think it is well worth the purchase price. It's a nice adventure, though maybe a little linear in its plot development (although, one could argue that any Adventure Path/Campaign Saga is going to be so, by its very nature...that's another discussion). The linearity doesn't bother me, because as a very busy DM, I like to have a solid structure in place that requires minimal preparatory fuss on my part. You and your players may have different views, however. There are some very interesting encounters, as well as some that I would consider more 'stock' encounters. The adventure does a nice job, in my opinion, of capturing the mood of wartime, and of establishing the different political forces in play. Hopefully, I will be able to do justice to the treatment in this game. ENP has added some thoughtful inclusions to the package, such as unkeyed maps, a B&W version of the adventure for less costly printing, stat blocks collected in a separate document, etc. I appreciate these touches which make it easier to DM.

As for comparisons to Paizo's Adventure Paths, I would say that the first difference that springs to mind is production values. The maps and artwork suffer a bit by comparison to Paizo's products. I don't mean that as a slam, I know there are different budgets at work...but it is a noticeable difference. Beyond that, the jury's still out. As a subscriber to Dungeon magazine, I have become familiar with most of the autrhors working on the Savage Tide, and I know that I can expect great things from them...evocative settings, varied and interesting encounters, memorable NPCs. I like Shackled City and Age of Worms. I LOVE Savage Tide...the folks at Paizo have really found their stride with this AP. It's too bad that the Isle of Dread/dinos aren't your thing, CB, because I really think this a terrific campaign. My only regret is that I can't accelerate the darn thing in PbP, because I know there is so much awesome stuff awaiting the PCs. All of Paizo's APs are challenging, btw, not just AoW. In our Savage Tide, we've had numerous near-deaths...a combination of smart play and luck has helped avoid any casualties so far, but I don't see how that streak can hold up forever. 

I have high hopes for WotBS, but it's just too early to say whether it will be able to live up to Paizo's high standard. I'm not familiar with the writing of the majority of the contributors, but I will say that Ryan Nock has started the ball rolling with a really solid outing. Once another couple or so adventures are released, I'll be able to offer more thoughts on the campaign as a whole. I'd be happy to discuss it further down the road.

There you go, I hope that helps you!   
-Mal


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## Rhun (Feb 22, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> In our Savage Tide, we've had numerous near-deaths...a combination of smart play and luck has helped avoid any casualties so far, but I don't see how that streak can hold up forever.





Mal speaks the truth...my character has been reduced to negative hit points at least three times since the adventure started. 

That said, I am truly enjoing playing Savage Tide. I would definitely recommend it.


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## CanadienneBacon (Feb 22, 2007)

Thanks for saying.  Malvoisin, your comments are very helpful to me.  In almost eight character levels, we've only had one death in Shackled City.  The first session, the wizard did something stupid in that he tried to jump an open pit and fell to his death.  I don't lay his death at the feet of the module; the player elected to have his character do something unintelligent.  We have, however, had numerous instances of negative HP.  Going into negative HP makes for a fun game, IMO.  I love it as both DM and player.  

I let my subscription to Dungeon lapse right before the first issue of Savage Tide came out because I suspected the new AP probably wouldn't be my thing.  I'm on hiatus from Dungeon for a few more months and then I'll resubscribe.  I probably missed a few other good adventures in the interim, but since I already have a veritable mountain of back issues to thumb through as fodder, I haven't been concerned.  Maybe I'll take that 40 or 45 bucks that I saved by not subscribing to Dungeon this past year and roll it over to WotBS.  

Thanks again for being open to letting an outsider pop in to query you all regarding this game.  I appreciate the welcome.


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## Malvoisin (Feb 22, 2007)

Hi All,

I just wanted to drop a quick line to let you all know that I will be on a brief hiatus, as I travel to interview for admission into a professional doctorate program...Pharmacy school at Purdue University, to be specific. I've been preparing for this for the last couple of weeks, and this has accounted in part for the dip in my posting rate. I'll be back this weekend, so I hope to be able to get something posted on Saturday or Sunday. The following couple of weeks will also be pretty busy as I head towards midterms, but I'll do my best to find some study breaks to post. I miss the gaming when I can't find the time. Anyway, wish me luck, and I'll be back in a couple of days.

Thanks,
Mal


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## Erekose13 (Feb 22, 2007)

Good luck Mal!


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## Rhun (Feb 22, 2007)

Qapla' Mal!


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## stonegod (Feb 22, 2007)

Lots a luck and see you in a few!


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## Rystil Arden (Feb 22, 2007)

Good luck with the doctoral program!  I just got into mine a little while back.


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## Verbatim (Feb 22, 2007)

Mal: Good luck and we will await to hear the news when you return.

E13: We get dinos in the STAP?!?! Why didn't I make a druid!!!


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## Erekose13 (Feb 23, 2007)

myself said:
			
		

> Campaign
> 
> Welcome to a world of pirates, dinosaurs, and demons. I'd like to invite you to join me on this ambitious quest through Dungeon Magazine's latest Adventure Path ~ the Savage Tide.




It was in my opening post when recruiting...


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## Verbatim (Feb 23, 2007)

Erekose13 said:
			
		

> It was in my opening post when recruiting...




 

Uhm...yeah...I remember that now...*whistles innocently and steps back into the short bus line.


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## Rystil Arden (Feb 23, 2007)

Alix may eventually get Call of the Beast, which lets him talk to dinosaurs and Wild Empathy them like a Druid


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## Verbatim (Feb 23, 2007)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> Alix may eventually get Call of the Beast, which lets him talk to dinosaurs and Wild Empathy them like a Druid




*Alix with best Obi-Wan voice*

"We are not the meals you seek..."


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## Malvoisin (Feb 25, 2007)

Hi everybody, I'm home and I'm tired. The interview went really well, thanks for the well wishing. I'll find out in the end of March if I got in.

In gaming news, I'll be catching up on things tomorrow, and get some posts out that will let things get rolling again as we head into the new week.

Thanks!
-Mal


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## Rhun (Feb 25, 2007)

Good to hear things went well, Mal! Woot!!!


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## Verbatim (Feb 25, 2007)

I am sure you knocked it out of the box..


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## stonegod (Feb 27, 2007)

Hopefully we'll find out soon how much Coldan will have to scold Aridha...


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## Malvoisin (Mar 26, 2007)

Hello All!

First off, let me apologize for the lack of updates over here. It's been a truly wild month! I had midterms to deal with, first of all. Also, I interviewed for a position in a Doctorate program, as you all know. Most importantly, however, we welcomed the birth of my first child! Last Sunday, my son Owen was born! 

As we settle into the new routine of having a baby in the house, I have decided that I just can't go without staking out a bit of time for myself. It's not that hard, as my wife and son spend a lot of time sleeping, and feeding...neither of which I can get too directly involved with. 

Long story short, it's time to get the games rolling again, and I hope you're all still on board. I've posted the remainder of the second round (with the exception of a possible delayed action from Cassandra/Fae) over on the IC thread. I can't swear as to how regularly I'll be able to post, we're still adjusting, after all. But, the game is not dead. It's only just begun.   

On a related note, I notice that Verbatim hasn't been seen in a couple of weeks. Anyone heard anything about him?

Have fun!
-Mal


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## RangerWickett (Mar 26, 2007)

Let me pop in and say I've been waiting for you guys to get back into the swing. I'm dang anxious to see how this game goes.


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## stonegod (Mar 26, 2007)

RangerWicket: Just consider us a very slow playtest. 

Mal: Verbatim was in the process of moving IIRC, but no news anywhere about him. Folks in his game are wondering the same thing.


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## Malvoisin (Mar 26, 2007)

stonegod said:
			
		

> RangerWicket: Just consider us a very slow playtest.



Indeed! Veeeerrrrryyyy Slllooooowwwww...........   



			
				stonegod said:
			
		

> Mal: Verbatim was in the process of moving IIRC, but no news anywhere about him. Folks in his game are wondering the same thing.



Okay. Anybody want to volunteer to NPC Markus' combat actions while we wait to see what's up with Verbatim? I did send him an e-mail, so maybe I'll find something out that way.


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## Erekose13 (Mar 26, 2007)

Welcome back Mal and congrats on the little one. My kid is 2 so I know how it goes. Let us know when you start getting a full nights sleep in (shouldn't take more than a few months) and we'll stop going easy on you!


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## stonegod (Apr 5, 2007)

Shauryi's been around, but we don't share a game to ping. I did send a reminding email, but no response.


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## Malvoisin (Apr 15, 2007)

Hey guys,

I wanted to respond to the recent IC posting, but this forum seemed the better place for it.

First, this game is not dead, I promise! Life is just a little nutty right now, due to the fact that there is a new baby here (almost one month old already, holy cow!) and he hasn't been sleeping well. My wife and I are taking shifts to stay up with him, so sleep is coming at a premium. It's been hard to focus on work and school, and usually free time is spent sleeping or catching up on some laundry, etc.

But, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, my son has started to sleep for a bit longer at a stretch...hopefully that means the ever-present exhaustion we've been dealing with is soon to go by the wayside.

Meanwhile, I appreciate the efforts of the players and Ryan to keep things focused and clarified. I'll try not to let you all down, just bear with me a while longer if things are a little hit-and-miss. Thanks!


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## Rhun (Apr 15, 2007)

No problem, Mal! We'll be here.  Sounds like you've got your hands full right now.


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## Malvoisin (Apr 15, 2007)

Rhun said:
			
		

> No problem, Mal! We'll be here.  Sounds like you've got your hands full right now.



Thanks, I appreciate your understanding!


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## Shayuri (Apr 15, 2007)

stonegod said:
			
		

> Shauryi's been around, but we don't share a game to ping. I did send a reminding email, but no response.




Meep. Just a slow response, ya galoot.


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## Malvoisin (Apr 17, 2007)

*Experience!*

For victory in the Poison Apple ambush encounter, each party member (plus Torrent) gets 200 xp! Check out the first post in the Rogue's Gallery thread for more details.

Also, an announcement. I am very close to opening the game to a replacement player for Verbatim, as he has been absent since March 11th. Does anyone object to this?


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## Rhun (Apr 17, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> Also, an announcement. I am very close to opening the game to a replacement player for Verbatim, as he has been absent since March 11th. Does anyone object to this?





Not at all. Recruit, recruit, recruit!


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## Erekose13 (Apr 17, 2007)

I'm thinking of the same with regards to my game he is in. I'll keep the spot for him. You recruit.


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## Malvoisin (Apr 18, 2007)

Okay, I went ahead and bumped up the ORG thread for this game, with a call out for interested persons to apply. If any of you want to post over there to offer feedback for potential applicants, or just to give a plug for the game, feel free! This game belongs to all of us, and I'd like all of you to provide input as we replace Verbatim/Markus.

If you have any issues to discuss privately, please feel free to e-mail me at malvoisin2752 (at) yahoo (dot) com. Thanks!


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## stonegod (Apr 18, 2007)

Mal: You have mail from me on an unrelated issue, FYI.


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## DEFCON 1 (Apr 23, 2007)

Anyone know off-hand what a cleric's starting gold is please?  Thanx!


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## Rhun (Apr 23, 2007)

Sorry...no clue. I'm useless without my books!


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## DEFCON 1 (Apr 23, 2007)

Portnoy has been posted... everything is close to being in order methinks, except that I need to buy a bit more equipment.  However, as I do not know a cleric's starting gold, I can't finish it until I do.

But if you want to check all the other numbers, he should be all set.


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## Malvoisin (Apr 24, 2007)

DEFCON 1 said:
			
		

> Anyone know off-hand what a cleric's starting gold is please?  Thanx!



DEFCON,

Max starting gold for a cleric is 200 gp. Remember, Portnoy can't start with more than 20 gp in cash, so spend it or lose it.

Thanks for getting his sheet posted quickly...I'll let you know if I have any questions or concerns with it.


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## DEFCON 1 (Apr 24, 2007)

All equipment has been bought... Portnoy is ready to go!


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## Malvoisin (Apr 24, 2007)

DEFCON 1 said:
			
		

> All equipment has been bought... Portnoy is ready to go!



Great!    His entrance should come up shortly. Watch this space...


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## Malvoisin (Apr 24, 2007)

'kay, DEFCON...

I went over Portnoy's sheet, and I just see a couple of things....

1. He is entitled to know one more language.

2. Looks like you forgot his +1 attack bonus for being Small size.

Those are the only issues I can see. Good job! 

Thanks,
Mal


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## DEFCON 1 (Apr 24, 2007)

Corrections made.  Thanx!  Ready and waiting to jump in!


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## Malvoisin (Apr 25, 2007)

DEFCON,

A new post is up on the IC thread, and it hold your opening to introduce Portnoy to the game. See you over there!


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## Malvoisin (Apr 26, 2007)

DEFCON,

I enjoyed reading Portnoy's intro over in character, but unfortunately, you've made a rather erroneous assumption. I'll not spoil the surprise, but 'Kiki' is not a dog at all. Rather, something a touch more exotic. I'm afraid you'll need to revise that post...


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## Malvoisin (Apr 26, 2007)

Ehh, what the heck....this will be funnier anyway. DEFCON, Kiki is in fact a 

[sblock=Mystery Animal Revealed]
young Dire Weasel!!
[/sblock]

I think it would be interesting if Portnoy still comes across said animal, but it's likely to work out a bit differently than what you've got posted currently.


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## Rystil Arden (Apr 26, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> Ehh, what the heck....this will be funnier anyway. DEFCON, Kiki is in fact a
> 
> [sblock=Mystery Animal Revealed]
> Dire Weasel!!
> ...



 A tarrasque?  ::reads SBLOCK:: Aww, that's less exciting than a tarrasque.  Isn't she cute?  She wants to suck your block and drain Con


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## DEFCON 1 (Apr 30, 2007)

Just as an fyi... I already adjusted my previous post last Friday, so things should be okay to continue.


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## Malvoisin (May 1, 2007)

DEFCON 1 said:
			
		

> Just as an fyi... I already adjusted my previous post last Friday, so things should be okay to continue.



I'm sorry...I totally missed it.

It's been a busy little stretch for me here....

Everybody, go ahead and post as you like...I'll move things forward shortly. Should be tomorrow.

Thanks!


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## Malvoisin (May 2, 2007)

Hey all,

Sorry I've been so quiet, finals are just around the corner!

A new post IC will be up soon...


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## Rystil Arden (May 2, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> Hey all,
> 
> Sorry I've been so quiet, finals are just around the corner!
> 
> A new post IC will be up soon...



 No problem!  However, if we are approaching the rendezvous point (or even if we aren't and he keeps following for a suspicious amount of time), Cassandra is going to take the gnome out.  I think the problem is that all of us were restricted to make characters who were working for the Resistance and we forgot to tie in Portnoy well, so now we're on a secret mission and it would stretch believability to ridiculousness to just let him tag along at status quo--I suggest we retcon Portnoy into the resistance as well and have Torrent say he was late for the earlier meeting so she thought he was just asleep hung over somewhere


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## stonegod (May 2, 2007)

Torrent hasn't said anything yet, so "retcon" may not be needed.


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## Rystil Arden (May 2, 2007)

stonegod said:
			
		

> Torrent hasn't said anything yet, so "retcon" may not be needed.



 That's why it's such a good retcon--it doesn't actually change the game thread muchor at all--although Torrent may have reacted differently on meeting him, etc, but we can explain it away.  It's like the kinds of mostly-seamless retcons they use on TV shows when they want you to think its a twist they came up with but there's a retcon barely visible that they try to explain away


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## stonegod (May 2, 2007)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> It's like the kinds of mostly-seamless retcons they use on TV shows when they want you to think its a twist they came up with but there's a retcon barely visible that they try to explain away



That's not retcon---its "creativity."


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## Rystil Arden (May 2, 2007)

stonegod said:
			
		

> That's not retcon---its "creativity."



 Well let's be creative then--I don't want to have Cassandra take him out, but to a group that needs to operate in complete secrecy (i.e. us!) the way he just reacted is extremely sketchy


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## Malvoisin (May 9, 2007)

To all the players in my games...

My friends, I am sad to say that I need to take an indefinite break from DMing and playing on these boards. There are some situations in my life that are cropping up, and they need more of my attention than I am currently giving. I want to thank everyone for some great moments, I truly have enjoyed playing here. I won't rule out a return somewhere down the line, in fact I hope it will be possible. But for now, this is goodbye.

I wish everyone the very best of luck in the future! Thanks again for all your dedication and your understanding. 

Take care,
Malvoisin


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## CanadienneBacon (May 9, 2007)

GAH!  

Darn it.  I was hoping that one day I could play in this sucker as an alternate, if my schedule ever cleared up.  

Hope things settle in place for you, Malvoisin.  You've friends here that would be happy to see you return if'n you're willing and have time/energy.  Don't forget that!


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