Looks like we have a party leader nominated. 

Okay, folks - I'm going to go ahead and make my next post.  Oz, you can jump in whenever.

I know that more than half of you are new to the Inn, and (obviously), new to me as a DM.

If you would be so kind, try to add a little flavor to your posts.  Share with us what your character is thinking, feeling, etc.  Ideally, posts should be a minimum of two to three short paragraphs, butif you go longer, that's awesome.  Read the posts by Eeol Fefalas, Bromern Sal, PrincessAli.  Note how much fun they are to read, how they really bring those characters to life. 

In a play by post game, you're comitting to months of reading a collaborative story.  It can take some getting used to, but I think a little more effort makes the game so much more fun for everybody.

Thanks!

I had intended to cap this game at six players.

When we were at five and needed a player, I had reached an understanidng with a guy that was going to join the Inn to make a mage.  A new member joined (GrinNoCat) and sent me the concept for Midge, and I approved it.

Turns out, this was NOT the new player I had expected.  Oz_magiccity joined the next day and sent me his mage.  Which also happened to be a Secret Storm Evoker.

I hate to tell him "no" to playing altogether.  So I am going to bump the party to seven, and just add bad guys/hit dice/terrible things to make the game still fun (read: deadly).

So, meet Atharis the Meek.  Youngest of four boys, alway a target of bullying as a child.  Atharis seeks magic - and the power it brings - so that he may be known as Atharis the Great.

I have suggested Transmuter to Oz; this gives him plenty of access to blaster magic, yet allows him to have enough of a different approach - and variety of spells - to add variety to the game. 

So, here is what I'm looking at, in terms of marching order

Aranwen
Gib
Kith
Cedric
Midge
Ch'dau

If I'm wrong (flip flop the second cleric and the mage?), say so. 

Sheets are done for Ch'dau and Aranwen, save a couple of minor items here and there. 

Kepe in mind that as a cleric of Therassor, Gib is a competant warrior, too.  He's not going to match the brute strength of Ch'dau or the skill and finese of Aranwen, but he will hold his own in any battle; his base THAC0 is only one point lower that you guys.  Of course, Ch'dau gets bonuses to hit for specialization and strength, and Aranwen gets them due to racial bonus, specialization, and silly skill level... but Gib is no pushover.

You don't say?

I will roll for you and provide this in your character sheet.  I don't hand out max HP, but I do tend to reroll generously... as you need the HP in my games. 

Reminder: you have all been together at least two or three months.  You may not know one another's deepest, darkest secrets, but you are familiar with basic personalities and such.  You've completed one adventure together, ridding a village of a reasonably organized band of bandits. 

I have gone ahead and tossed out two intro posts to the game; you may all jump in and post now. 

Please note that you should always post your character's thoughts and intentions, but never the results of actions unless I have already provided them to you via PM.

We should probably figure out party leadrship before this goes very far.  You can handle that however you want, but experience tells me that you need somebody in charge - even if everyone votes on actions - as disorganization kills parties.

One final admonition - this is a horror flavored game and I am an evil DM.  I will be very surprised if every character survives this adventure.  That is no fault of anyone here, it's just reality.

And speaking of death - we have three players who have never adventured in Audalis.  Please note that death is pretty final in this world.  This is not Greyhawk, where death is a worse than normal boo-boo, but you can always drag your friend to the corner healer for a resurrection before rigor sets in.  Resurrection is draining to the gods, and is reserved typically for true heroes.  Most who die, die.

Divine casting is funneling the miracles of your deity.  The typical person will view a divine healing as a legit miracle; raising from the deal is the stuff of legend.

11th Sempore (Thirkday), 453 E.R.
Woods near the village of Crandel (southwest of Daviena Castle, near the Sendrian border)

Summer was in full swing, with the countryside a recent recipient of a major heat wave that had held strong now for two full weeks. This afternoon had finally seen the accumulation of clouds, and while the farmers blessed them, the group of travelers trudging down the dirt road did not necessarily share that viewpoint. As evening fell, it had begun to drizzle. Rather than alleviate the heat, the precipitation had simply driven the humidity through the roof, causing clothing to become damp, sticky, and altogether uncomfortable. Slowly, a mist rose in response to the drizzle, which further choked away the visibility offered by the dying light of the day.

The companions expected to make Crandel by nightfall, and most - if not all - of them were looking forward to the chance to get in out of the weather for a bit. Indeed, the prospect of a dry bed and a hot meal was enough to quicken their pace.

As they walked along, the mist seemed to grow almost oppressively thick. Aranwen Galandel, sylvari bladesinger, began to feel uneasy. She had spent years out of doors, had experienced many types of weather, had witnessed the fury of nature firsthand... but this, this simply felt unnatural. Wrong.

Soon, every member of the party could feel the same things - the stifling atmosphere seemed to carry strange sounds, as well as cast strange shadows. More than once, one or more of the travelers were certain that they saw something in the mists, but the shapes always faded away, and never quite seemed to become fully visible.

The road (if one cared to use such a generous term for a dirt track in the middle of nowhere) took a sharp bend, and once the group reached the other side, they lay eyes on another group of travelers ahead. This new group - comprised of eight or ten individuals on foot - was headed in the opposite direction, and though they were surely close enough to see the companions, they made no sign of recognizing this fact. Instead, they slowly shuffled along, heads down, seemingly oblivious to their surroundings, and continued to head directly for the party. If one had to wager a guess, one might speculate that these pilgrims were quite old, wounded, or ill - they were quite slow, indeed.

Okay, folks - I have made a very brief "silver screen" intrr post for the game - the title of our game will be "The Corruption Hidden Beneath the Surface", and will show as "Hidden Corruption" in thelatest updated topics at the top of the site. 

I have also set up a Q&A thread for the game, so any further questions about the game, your characters, etc should be posted there.  Please leave this thread for recruitment-based communication only.

This will be the Q&A thread for my D&D/Horror game, "The Corruption Hidden Beneath the Surface". 

If you have any questions of rules, if you need clarification on a game situation or NPC, if you need to know something about your character that isn't private enough to warrant a PM to me - post here.  Please limit your in-game posts to actual actions and thoughts for your character. 

Characters in this game:

Ch'dau - male kazari warrior.  Ch'dau is tall, muscular felanoid warrior.  Stands well over six feet tall, and is covered with shaggy, gray striped fur.  He carries two broad-bladed, curved swords.  He wears a breastplate, bracers, bandoliers. 

Aranwen - male sylvari bladesinger.  Has blong black hair, green eyes, rather tan for a syl.  He wears finely tooled learther armor and carries a fairly ornate longsword.

Gib - male human cleric of Therassor.  Shoulder length wavy black hair, beard and moustaches, green eyes, muscular physique. Broken nose, pointed chin, tan (rough) skin.  Wears chain mail, carries a longword and shield, also carries a mace. 

Midge - male cidal wizard (evoker).  Stands just over three feet tall, has dark hair.  Carries a staff sling and wears the navy blue robes of his order. 

Kithran - female half sylvari rogue.  Tall, slender, but still muscular.  Long, straight black hair, dark eyes. Wears leather armor and carries a pair of daggers, has a short bow slung over her shoulder.  Wears dark clothing and a cloak. 

Cedric - male human cleric of Solanis.  Short (5'6") and slender, has brown hair, hazel eyes, and a moustache.  Wears chain ail under his faded yellow robe and carries a staff. 

Atharis - male human wizard (transmutr).  Average looks (player needs to specify hair, eye color).  Wears the dark blue robes of his order (same as Midge), carries a staff. 

The Dark One shifted ever so slightly on his throne of skulls. Something unexpected had caught his gaze, causing him to stare deeply into the scrying mists.

His attention piqued, he considered this unexpected development. Slowly, his normally baleful expression morphed into a terrifying rictus of a smile.

This situation was promising. More then promising, in fact... it opened all sorts of delicious possibilities.

One of the Eyeless Ones gestured, wondering if it should inform Her of this new discovery. For the slightest of moments, the Dark One pondered, but shook his head, causing the Eyeless One to melt into the shadows.

No, there was no point in informing Her yet. Furthermore, if things worked out to their full potential... well, the possibilities were very interesting, indeed...

Presactly.

Shoot me the PM, let's make this happen.

I love it.  Very off the wall.  Halfling wizard, eh?  Why not?

Go to the Audalis section of the site and check out the Cidals.  These are the halflings of Audalis; you'll need to familiarize yourself with them, and pick a subrace.

I can help with your character sheet.  You don't need to know the rules, just have a good concept (you do) and work with me to flesh it out. 

Have you checked out the Circle of Arcane Enlightenment yet?  This is the mage guild of Antaron.  You don't have to be a member, but it can open some doors for you.

Are you thinking generalist mage or specialist?  Specialist mages pick a school of mgic (conjuration, evocation, transmutation, etc) and gain extra spells with it - at the cost of access to another school or two. 

Bunnies. Goblins.   Starving pirates wearing rags and carrying rusted weapons.    Same diff, oh hero daughter of mine.

So, as some thread necromancy, I wanted to record seeing six Innmates logged in.  Considering that two has been rare enough of late, I felt like this was notable!

Just be warned, you may not like me after we get deep into this game.  You may be glad to have not played, Silent! 

Yep.  One is a cleric of Therassor one is of Solanis.  So both are good gods; it shoulnd't be too bad, theology-wise.

There was some consideration for two clerics of Therassor, but I did point out that being shorter on spell access for two clerics might be rough.

I miss tha Roog.

You forgot to mention your biggest PC skill: bravely running away at the first hint of danger.

DM: "You come across a meadow.  Fuzzy bunnies frolic in the sunshine..."

Ali: "THEY'RE RABID, WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE, RUUUUUUUUUNNNNNN!"

Scream and leap... I love it. 

You can share if you want.  I'll be creating Q&A and actual game threads shortly.

As a big fan of the original movie, I was perplexed when I saw the ads for the reboot/reimagining.  Why?  The old movei was great!  Does Hollywood have no new ideas?

But I'll admit it... the Rock seldom makes a movie that I don't enjoy, even if it's on a completely stupid, lowest common denominator level. 

We got one of those Starz preview weekends where they show about one new movie and a bunch of old crap, and the new one happened to be Jumanji, so my wife DVRed it, and we watched it a week ago.

I have to say... I loved it.  Maybe more than the original.

It's not meant to replace that movie, it just fits into the weird pocket dimension that is Jumanji.  Apparently, whatever magic causes a board game to transport people to a fantasy world is able to adapt itself to a video game that does the same thing.  The idea is that a bunch of teenagers in detention find this old game system and play the game instead of doing the job they were supposed to do, and they get transported tot he game world.  The Rock and crew are all just avatars inside the game world, having been infused with the consciousness of the kids that chose them as characters. 

It has multiple fun "fish out of water" moments and clearly does not take itself too seriously.  However, it still keeps the adventure aspect and doesn't mock the original material. 

All in all, you could do worse for two hours of mindless entertainment.

A pet cat.  Just... wow.

Okay, folks.  Recrutiment is now full (already!).  Six players.  Two fighters, two clerics, a mage, a rogue.  This feels very solid.

Which is good because... well, you're gonna need it.