Went with Parry 1. Do we remove Strain?

Not yet. You still must maintain constant vigilance against hook hawk attacks while in the vicinity of the forest.

The only heat I've detected in this thread is coming from awayputurwpn, who seems to be rather upset I derailed his game. But I've taken that up with him via private messaging.

I will respond later, but wanted to let you know that we are working to resolve the situation. No heat was intended from my end, but I did make a poor wording choice.

Ironically, speaking of heat, my daughter is burning up with a fever and she needs to go to the doctor right now, so I will pick this up later...

Back, and looks like it's probably a viral infection, so those are fun in a 20-month-old.

To the issue at hand: I was not upset at the way things were going; I was actually rather enjoying the RP. My mistake for not voicing as much (I do like it when you guys have the conversations, and I do try and let you know), but the current scene has been very character-driven and I appreciated the time and thought you all put into it, especially Korro Zal and kaosoe.

My ruling on the conflict is a response to Xan's hardline treatment of Maya, and nothing more. It has nothing to do with any "derailing" (I'm making most of this up as I go along—no rails here, despite the rather clear singular goal that you started with ). I don't view Conflict as handcuffs, but rather as a price exacted. I was trying to let you all know of the cost that a lack of compassion toward your companions can incur. And I hope I have made it abundantly clear that this is your game, not mine. I am simply the arbitrator.

I'll copy a bit of what I sent Korro Zal for the benefit of all: I did not mean the "more Conflict may be awarded without prior warning" to be a threat, but rather due to the PbP format, I didn't want to have to keep giving warning after warning. Since per RAW the GM is supposed to warn the player what course of action will generate conflict before the PC takes the action, I was trying to let you know the terms ahead of time. Xan could have easily let the line of conversation take him to a dark place. That is what I was trying to emulate.

My ruling on conflict was only meant to extend to this scene, and was not a hard and fast "*** for tat" rule, but I was rather seeking to be appropriate towards the RP conversation. Korro Zal felt that it was a threat, and for that I apologize. I did not mean to come across as threatening, and I am sorry that I have done so.

Since we are at a bit of a lull right now in the action, this is probably a good time to ask.

How are things going so far in this game for you? Looking back at the previous several scenes and encounters, is there anything I could have done better? Or going forward, is there something you're hoping to see more or less of?

My aim is to assist in creating a mutually enjoyable experience, so any input to that end would be very helpful.

Well I'm certainly enjoying it. I'm not sure what could be done to improve it, and I'm happy with the interactions we've been having. I'm impressed by the way your moderating conflict between players, especially in comparison to some other GMs I've seen. I think that some inter-character conflict is reasonable given the odd circumstances of the backstories. And I think that the giving of the Conflict was reasonable.

No problems perceived on my end. If I think of something, I'll let you know.

Fair enough. Your skills at diplomacy are impressive indeed, awayputurwpn--if only you were the party's Consular in lieu of Xan...

lol

I don't think I'd make a good Consular...I equivocate way too much, would never get anything done.

I'm sorry about my inactivity, I'vee been pretty busy at work. I will be more involved here again. Anyone need me to make some medicine checks?

Kovin's on seven wounds; some Medicine would go down a treat.

Hmm. I had forgot Maya had been wounded. She's at 5/11. But she does have a few stimpacks in her survival pack that could suffice for now.

I take it you are using the nighttime to recuperate and rest before moving on. This is probably wise

You each have enough time to benefit from natural rest, if you allow it now and take no further actions tonight. This will heal all strain.

Seifer has enough time to make one Medicine check per PC, and you can treat their wounds whether or not they are resting.

You'll also need someone to go foraging (so they won't benefit from natural rest) or else your survival checks tomorrow will be much more difficult.

Taking actions during this downtime, however, means that it ceases to be downtime for you, and any strain must be healed instead by Advantages instead of narrative rest.

Can I go foraging and have a medicine check made on me?

Can I go foraging and have a medicine check made on me?

Yes!

Will be away for the rest of the weekend, til late Monday evening. Feel free to continue the RP and let me know if/when you're ready to progress! It'll be another Survival check...your last one for a while, fingers crossed

Okay, if there's nothing else IC, I'll screen wipe this evening.

Okay, this is gonna require some roleplaying.

What has happened is that you've found a circle of stones, just like in Maya's vision. This is where the signal was originating from.

But getting here has taken its toll, between heatstroke and mild dehydration—everyone's strain threshold is reduced by 2 until you're able to get some proper rest and rehydration.

It took longer than you anticipated, and you've been traveling for nigh on 12 hours, so you're through the hottest part of the day.

You can RP the journey together, and also please decide what you'd like to do with the Triumph.

Okay, this is gonna require some roleplaying.

What has happened is that you've found a circle of stones, just like in Maya's vision. This is where the signal was originating from.

But getting here has taken its toll, between heatstroke and mild dehydration—everyone's strain threshold is reduced by 2 until you're able to get some proper rest and rehydration.

It took longer than you anticipated, and you've been traveling for nigh on 12 hours, so you're through the hottest part of the day.

You can RP the journey together, and also please decide what you'd like to do with the Triumph.

Could we use it to locate an oasis near the stones - a sort of lesser Force nexus (kind of like if the Force reached the stones, and then had a sudden outburst that blasted nearby, creating an oasis). That could give us the rest and respite needed before we deal with the stones properly.

When we do decide to tackle it. Maya will want to investigate it. Perhaps utilize her lore knowledge.

Are we able to make a resiliance check to lessen the toll of the journey?

Could we use it to locate an oasis near the stones - a sort of lesser Force nexus (kind of like if the Force reached the stones, and then had a sudden outburst that blasted nearby, creating an oasis). That could give us the rest and respite needed before we deal with the stones properly.

You may not negate the effects of Failure with a Triumph, but that is good thinking. Perhaps a nearby spring of water could give you a more momentary boon? Upgrading a skill check, maybe?

Are we able to make a resiliance check to lessen the toll of the journey?

Resilience checks can be made against the same difficulty as the Survival check, so Formidable. I'll also spend a Destiny point to upgrade them because the pool is looking pretty dark....

Success will lessen or negate the impact on the journey on your PC.

Remind me how many Difficulty dice Formidable is?