Esgalwen is quiet as she ponders the jewelry - which was given by someone after goblins' had possessed it and clipped at the gold/silver. It either came from a dark master, or was taken from the barrows of men by some Sunstead thegn we know, after the goblins had robbed the tombs prior?

Either way, it does not reveal a path for her - except to add to her feeling that Ceawin needs to be spoken to. Otherwise, the rust should be pursued, but that was not being discussed with her, so I was waiting on Tom of Matt to chime in.

I'll try to work up a post.

Hey, guys.  I know that we're all a bit fatigued and that the course of this scenario has been... bumpy.  I have thoughts about the way it's developed which I'm happy to share, once we're done.  Without wishing to pull back the curtain too far for now, though, I can reveal that we're about nine tenths through it and that you have all the information you need to move towards the finale (though not, perhaps, to come through it with an optimal result). 

As they said to our forefathers a century and a bit ago: "one more big push, boys, and that'll be the end of it!" 

So what you're really saying is do t mail home our winter trench coats.

AND burn the ships! 

Gaah another post is coming but today didn't let me have enough time to finish it. 

Just an FYI - I am leaving for North Carolina on Thursday and will not be back until the 1st, so I might not be posting any replies this weekend. Feel free to play Esgalwen at need.

Noted.  Thanks, Doug. 
And enjoy your trip!

Sorry guys, technical difficulties ... new computer *sigh*

Mate!  Welcome back!  I hope the new computer provided a handy excuse for an upgrade.

LOL not really... don't game anymore on PC, just need something a little more capable than a tablet.

Hi all.  Just as a heads-up, I'm heading off on a week-long camping holiday on Monday (so, sometime on Sunday afternoon your time).  I'll maintain intermittent contact when I can.  Now, clearly it'd be better for everyone if we can have the current scene wrapped up by then, 'cause the loss of momentum right at the end can be a bitch.  By the same token, though, I don't want to ruin anyone's enjoyment by just yanking the reins out of your hands. 

If we hit Sunday-ish my time and things are still on foot, I can make some rolls and write some narrative to get us over the line into the significantly less-intense Fellowship Phase.  I won't do that, though, without your explicit approval. 

okay, I'll be on holiday from next Tues - following Tues myself.

Alpha rules for 2ed are out!

Alright - GM talk here.  I found that last adventure pretty difficult going (which I'm guessing you noticed from my regular week-long delays between updates) - a B- at best.  I can put some of the blame for that on the rules set, since I was taking a system built for high fantasy and epic journeys and forcing it to support a story about conspiracy and betrayal in a confined setting.  We also lost Aly as a player, which never helps a GM's self-esteem. 

But I think I also made two major mistakes.  The first was pretty dumb - I built a story largely about social interaction when many of the characters weren't hugely invested in social skills.  Arbogast is, but relying on that would've led to every player's favourite thing: watching the GM argue with himself. 

I also hadn't signalled well enough what the scenario was going to be about.  As a result, I kept dropping hooks that you guys just weren't going for.  I had a whole scene in mind about following the distinctive Cardolan-minted coins through the market pool to find who was spending them, for example, and a subplot with Mogdred trying to get the Council's imprimatur to take over the Road came to nothing (because see above).  Largely, I've just gotten used to my in-person group, who play investigative games all the time, whereas I suspect that you guys don't all that often?

That left me frantically trying to improvise as we went and put clues in that would make sense.  A thing that I've read in some GM advice piece somewhere is that clues never seem as obvious from the player's side as they do to the GM, and boy was that on full display. 

The one part I was actually quite happy about was the climax at the end.  I felt like feeding enemies in in waves kept the fight tense, and having environmental conditions to deal with meant that enemies that were objectively pushovers could still be dangerous.  The lake-beast turned out to be a bit of a dud, but that's only because Esgalwen, as Matt has pointed out had a real spotlight moment. 

I'm interested in your feedback.  Did this work as a change of pace from our usual fare?  Was the bait-and-switch with the fight turning into a race against time more than just an annoyance? 

Oh, and the shoot-tea-out-of-nose award for the best one-liner definitely goes to Tom.