Café de Nuit

All right. Who's up for a little playtesting?

I have just completed writing an adventure (a short one) for the Lost Children of the Night series, and I'd like to try running it here. I am, therefore, taking volunteers, if any are to be had.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Create a 4th level character for a one-shot adventure in coastal Mordent. If more than five people apply, only the first five will be taken. This will be a relatively short-term commitment, by online standards; I don't anticipate the adventure going more than three months, and I'll endeavor to make sure it doesn't do so.

Anyone interested should PM me to express that interest and to give me their character concepts; once I have the character concepts we'll establish how (or if) the PCs know each other, their relationship to the NPCs (again, if any) and get started.

All right. We have, at present, the following players:

Seamus
Jasper
Rafael
Band2

and our highly useful alternate, Kel-nage.

For those who haven't yet chosen character concepts, we have a Borcan expatriate who is a cleric of Ezra (Seamus), a former Tepestani rogue or ranger (Rafael), a Mordentish ranger (Band2), and a Mordentish or Dementlieuse rogue/fighter (Kel-nage). That leaves you, Jasper, as well as any other latecomers.

Kel-nage's character will come on the scene later, if/when it becomes necessary. Once I have your character concept, Jasper (and anyone else who signs up in the next day or two), I'll figure out how you guys know each other, and who has what information; then we'll begin, probably Friday.

Questions? Comments? You know where to reach me...

Actually, I have some questions if you dont mind me asking as a spectator of this. I never really read or followed this type of thing with this board or the old kargatane one.

How does this work compared to the normal table top game? Does the DM roll everything or the PC's on a honor system? I imagine you set a day and time, and just play from there? Or is it constantly going, like whoever is on the board at the time (This would seem rather disjointed)? If there is a set time of when you do it, is combat rounds in something like a 10 minute interval and the PC's have that time to decide and post what to do? How do you prevent squabbles since not everyone can see a scenario of the combat map? I would also think the DM has to keep as neat a record of the PC's and the players do.

I just find that this could be a extremely slow process so I am just wondering how you do it. I think I glanced at one guys campaign and it said its been going on for 4 years. Yikes. It seems interesting and I will probably read the progress from time to time since its just starting. Plus I want to see other DM'ing styles.

Hey, nowonmai. I don't think there will be very much rolling; the adventure isn't designed to be combat intensive. I'll probably do all the rolling myself, unless it gets to be too time-consuming; then I'll farm it out to the players.

The game will be going constantly; sometimes this is disjointed, but that's only when several participants are acting at the same time, which isn't all that common. It is slow; I'm allowing about three months for an adventure with a 15 page write-up, including all NPC stats and background. This should be faster than most, because it's explicitly an adventure, not a campaign, and it's much less free-form than the average online game.

I hope it will also (crossed fingers) suffer less than most campaigns from the "X went away, and now nothing is happening" syndrome; long periods of inactivity (say, a week without notice) from any individual player will cause the character to revert to DM control.

*Arriving*

Hey, looks like I will adventure in good company!

Nathan, I'll send you the details on my character ASAP. For the others, to save you unnecessary typing work, I highly recommend the Ravenloft Character Generator over at www.pathguy.com!

Can't wait to see you in the game... Oh, this time I am the victim, and not the DM...

Hiya Nathan,

I just sent my character concept over to the email adress that is named in your signature.

Yours,

Rafael

All right. It's time to figure out how y'all know each other.

Kel-nage's character will enter later, and the rest of you will meet Band2's character at the very beginning of the adventure.

Here's my idea: Alessandro Luria (Seamus), an Ezran cleric, moved to Mordent from Borca about six months ago. He soon met Rebecca Foxgrove (Jasper), a native of Mordent herself, because his interests as an aventuring cleric and hers as an expert in the paranormal overlap quite a bit. On one of their first expeditions to a "haunted" site, they found that the abandoned building was haunted not by a ghost, but by a young Tepestani man named Gawaine Madram (Rafael) who had recently been deposited in Mordent by the Mists. The three have since investigated several hauntings together.

How does that work for you guys? I know you wanted to pop out of the Mists at the start of the adventure, Rafael, but that's not a real good idea in this particular case--it's important that the other PCs know you at the start. (Band2 gets to be an exception for reasons that will become apparent almost immediately after you meet him. )

If that sounds like a reasonable background, then Seamus, Jasper and Rafael can share whatever information from their backgrounds they deem appropriate among themselves. (You don't have to tell everything, and you don't have to tell the truth. )

As before, questions and comments welcome.

Okay, but why should we explore those haunted sites? - Just for looting them? - My character would probably despise grave-robbing. - Just to start a little bit of a discussion here.

I imagine our goal is putting the spirits to rest. Rebecca's interest may be more academic, but Alessandro at least wants the spirits to move on for the safety of others and for the spirits' own sakes.

Well, I'll let Jasper speak to Rebecca's motives, but I think it's safe to say that grave-robbing is not high on the list of priorities for any of you.

Rebecca has an obsession with discovering the past of Mordent and she feels the best way to learn that past is to hear it from the spirits mouth. If she has to put the spirit to rest to learn the true history of a place its just another nessary act in the name of science.

Well, then how did Rebecca lure poor Gawaine into this..? - Boy, Japsper, did you seduce me?!

Well she does have the old Godfrey charm.

It looks like we will have a good group here. Some interesting characters. I am sure it will be fun. See you when we get started.


Excellent, fresh victims for my ever growing army of the undead.
Oh, sir you are suppose to stop typing.
What, ah, son of a -

All right, let's get this started! First post of the adventure to come later today. This adventure will begin on 23 June 760 (Midsummer's Eve), just outside the Mordentish fishing village of Apton-en-Mer.

Seamus, Alessandro has been asked (by letter) by Bastion Otrava herself to go and meet the Warden of Apton-en-Mer, a young man named Calvin Jessop. For each of the last six years, at or near Midsummer's Day, a young woman from Apton-en-Mer or the surrounding countryside has disappeared, and Warden Jessop is desperate to prevent another disappearance this year. He has asked for assistance, and Bastion Otrava is sending you.

Jasper, Rebecca has recently discovered an account, now several decades old, describing famous hauntings in Mordentshire and then mentioning, in passing, that Apton-en-Mer has never produced a single haunting of any sort. Is this actually true? If so, what on earth could explain it?

The curtain goes up, and Act One commences...