On Death
I think everyone agrees, there is nothing more annoying than seeing people being cut down to pieces, be slain by the most horrendous magics around, or eaten and devoured by a Tarrasque, just for them to be resurrected and resume their activities as if nothing bad had happened. Death is a serious issue, and it usually takes a good cleric with lots of diamonds and good will to bring someone back from the dead. So, here is my stance on the matter:- In many occasions, I will notify the group that the downed character has not been killed, but merely knocked out/beaten to unconsciousness. It will then be up to the players to revive the character. Roleplay your healing skills (if any), roll some healing checks. For good roleplayed first aid, I will even hand out a bit more xps at the event's end.
- I could rule out that the character has been truly killed for good. Dead. Heart is not beating. In that case, DO NOT cast any resurrection/raise dead spells without FIRST notifying me of the procedure. When you DO cast a raise dead/resurrection, I expect you to pay the component cost, namely: diamonds. If you do not have diamonds, I will subtract gold from your inventory to represent the material component cost. And keep in mind, raise dead and resurrection spells take some time to be cast. I expect you to rp the procedure accordingly, giving of course extra points if you do. Scrolls and rods are exempt from the material component cost.
Avoid resting, unless I authorize you
Rpwise, resting takes time, instead of 5 seconds. I expect you to understand this simple fact. Do not rest unless I allow you to. During longer events, I may give an "in context rest rp out", specifying that you can take some time to lick your wounds/recover. "In context rest rp outs" include emotes like "You have enough time to rest before proceeding" or "it would be better to stop for a moment and rest".
Be inventive
The game engine is terribly limited. Your fantasy and ingenuity is not, and I am here to cover that. If you have to cross a deep stream, for example, you could chop a tree in order to make a temporary bridge instead of rolling tumble to try making a 20 feet long jump. Fantasy, initiative and creativity can, must and will be rewarded.Don't rely on your build's strength too much
In my events, rp skill comes way ahead of building skill. Act accordingly. Remember that not all fights can be won with a direct attack, that in the huge world of Faerun there is always a bigger fish, and apart from that, that even the most powerful and experienced adventurer is, at best, at the uncomfortable middle of the food chain.Roll roleplay skills
Diplomacy, Intimidate and Bluff WILL be taken into consideration when dealing with npcs. Remember, though, that the rolls are nothing if not backed by concrete, believable rp. A bluff roll of 20 followed by a convincing story will have far more weight than a bluff roll of 90 followed by utter nonsense.
If your character's argumentations are very logical and supported by the correct words and mannerisms, I could even decide to make them count even without a roll backing them.
Avoid running during my events
There is nothing more disheartening than seeing someone in a full plate weighing 50 lbs running around like an athlete without a good reason (I will, however, be a bit more lenient with those wearing lighter equipment). Act as you would act in a real life dangerous situation. This, of course, also means that if you have a good reason to leg it, run for it!
Be patient, humble, polite, and direct
Please, have some patience. Having patience means that there are tons of issues that could slow me down, main ones being: lag, getting flooded with tells or emotes, or having to take real life breaks for various issues.
Being humble and polite means: remembering that I am here to keep you entertained in the most unbiased and impartial way possible. It also means that if you "lose" during an event, it is because I have decreed that you have not done enough to successfully complete it. And keep in mind that there is no such thing as "losing" an event, either. Even if the event does not end with the victory of your character, he can still draw useful experiences from his failure.
Remember: the real courageous individual is not the one whom never falls, but the one having the strength to stand up again after having fallen.
Being direct means: if you don't like my events, by the love of God, say it!. As long as you keep it civil and polite, I do not mind criticism. Criticism helps me improving as a DM.
DO NOT, under ANY circumstance, attack non hostile npcs!
If you see them as hostile, go for it whenever you want, but if they are not, give me the time to set them hostile before attacking.Tell me if you are following someone in Stealth!
To a DM's eyes, everyone is perfectly visible. This does not apply to other players, though, which is why I need to be notified if you are following someone while stealthed.
Event Write-ups
They are not just allowed, but encouraged. I will see to it that the most well written ones will be awarded with XP bonuses.
Roleplay your character!
Just because you encounter one of my events, it does not mean that your character has any reason to participate to it. If he doesn't, and I notice, I may even give you rp XP, because coherency is to be premiated, at least in my book.Avoid godmodding and metagaming!
For there is nothing that I hate more. You all know what metagaming is, so I'll avoid explaining it. As for godmodding, I intend it as "a tendency of some players that drives them to win at all costs, therefore writing in their RP posts the reactions of a single or groups of NPCs". It is not to be confused with "godmoDing", wherein you attribute your character to be, well, a god (knows all languages, knows everything, is invulnerable, and so on).Anyway, the reactions of NPCs are BEST LEFT TO THE DM TEAM. Avoid writing them. If you write "Lots of people are bewildered at character's X display of hostility", that is borderline acceptable. Writing "The whole town of Hillibillyland has been in uproar because of Starscream sneezed at my character, who is now a martyr and local hero", well, that is CLEARLY godmodding. If your RP posts involve the reaction of a city/npc, then please, send me a draft of your post via pm so that I can decide whether it is appropriate or not.
As a final note, what I will write in my event write-ups will NOT BE COMMON KNOWLEDGE UNLESS EXPLICITLY STATED, OR DISCLOSED BY A POST IN THE ELFSONG TAVERN SUBFORUM!
Approximate hours in which I'll be available
Largely in the evening, GMT+1, from about 17:00 onwards. Saturday and Sunday: variable, but generally, I have much more time at my disposal.
Most importantly, do not rush to the area wherein I'm hosting an event, especially if your character is miles away!
The fact that your character can go from Nashkel (far South) to the High Moors (far North) in 5 real life minutes does not mean that he could possibly do it roleplay-wise (save for teleportation or other magical means). This also means that your character in Nashkel or at the FAI can not possibly know what is going on in Triel, NOR that your character in Triel can possibly hope to know what is going on in the South, in the matter of a few seconds. This also means that if your character bails out of one of my events through teleportation or similar methods (perhaps in order to escape or save his skin), he is not allowed to come back to the same area wherein my event is being held, unless teleported back there by another player.In all of my events, I will also write the region (ergo the area) involved, while also explicitly stating what other areas are close enough to allow your toons to discover what is going on.
Questing goes smoothly and marvelously if done with groups of 5-6 people at maximum. When 20 players flock at the same place, hoping to participate to an event, it gets messy, because I am but a normal human being with two eyes, two arms, and one brain. Less people = more focus. More people = far less focus. At that point, no one has fun anymore, and everything devolves into pure chaos. So please respect this rule. If you happen to coincidentally stumble upon one of my events, then I would kindly ask you to ask me, via tell, if you are allowed to join. If I refuse, do not take it as a personal attack. Most likely, it is because I am fairly aware of my limitations, and one extra player (or group of players) would seriously put them to the test.
This said, I hope you will enjoy my events.
