but instead of npc'ing for a missing player I'd just play two of my own cahracters.

I wor wednesday -sunday nights, 11pm-7am I'm free to play ANy night of the week, I just get less sleep that day because I usually only get to sleep from about 9 or 10 am to 2pm when we game, then I work that night too lol.

But I can work around whenever is a good night for those who are gonna remain dedicated players, we can't keep swappin the date because one person can't make it this night and another can't that night y'know?

Anywho, I'd like some in game references to ideas on what to do, but that falls souley upon DM and Brianna who never seem to post in this thread... soo uh... yeah.

I wasn't saying change the date, I'd LOVE to continue to play faithfully, but I work midnights on thursday, and friday I have off, but i work saturday...so fridays are going to be hard for me to make...but I'll try to pop in to cast a few spells....lol...

Are Fridays still the best time for everyone, or might some of you be able to make it more often if we were to move to a different night? Cdn, are you saying that Fridays work best for you, but that you might not always be able to make it anyway?

I’m not sure that I’d be entirely comfortable with allowing full secondary characters. While that might be one way to compensate for our reduced player party, I get the feeling that it might cause more problems than it would resolve. I’ve also had a few bad experiences with that sort of thing in the past… :-/

EDIT: Also, while everyone's online... what are you doing with the treasure from your last few adventures? If you want to try to identify any of it then you've got at least two characters who can.

the character's memorie identify spells? I was unde the impression they hadn't.

I'd love to identify everything read magic the tablets and do whatever we can to know as much as we can on the stuff we have.

(Spend all of Arys' money in a last generous donation before she drops )

I'll identify it...see what can be seen...especially that big thing I found...

As for fridays, they seem to be my only day off. If it is possible to be earlier with the game, then I can play for a little while, but as it stands, the boyfriend usually picks me up on fridays.

I was assuming that you’d have the time to memorise and cast identifications once you got back to Caer Hwarnsvalon. If you want to stay in the caves then, no, you won’t unless you’re resting overnight.

I’ve just dug out the spell description, and here’s how it will work…

• Each casting of Identify will cost 100 gold pieces in spell components.
• As a 5th level mage, you’ll have a 50% chance to identify up to five magical properties of the items.
• So… whoever’s casting it will need to let me know which five items they’re trying to identify.
• If an item has more than one magical ability then only one will be identified for each question assigned to them.
• For each question, you’ll have a 50% chance of getting a correct reading, a 46% chance of no reading at all and a 4% chance of a false reading.

If you're all free, then I'd certainly be able to start a bit earlier on Fridays... shall we say an hour earlier? If this works then I'll send out another round of PMs to ask how well this works for everyone.

but that really cuts be down to only 3 hours of sleep in friday, we'll see, if we play an hour earlier and endan hou earlier, I can nap from 8-10 perhaps.

Let the casters choose what to identify, Emmerus is just concerned with Thalgrim and his seige.

sounds good to me...I'll see about making it then, because the earlier we start the longer I can play.

We're now starting at 9. I'll send out a round of messages to remind everyone nearer the time.

Oh, and because I couldn't sleep, here's a prologue of sorts. Obviously, it's just flavour text and nothing that your characters will know IC.

Prologue: Touched With Fire
In the boundless, lightless tunnels far beneath the Trollspine Mountains a solitary figure sat, crouched in the darkness. A plump, many-hued spider was busy spinning its web across the rocks of the tunnel passage, entangling a beetle many times its size in the sticky, impenetrable silk and the figure, an adolescent kobold female some dozen years of age, was fully engrossed in the labours of this industrious insect. Many of her peers, it was true, would have seen nothing more than a juicy snack ripe for the plucking, for the winter had been a hard one and their kind ate worse things by far than insects, but there was something- a spark of intelligence, of brilliant fire- which set her apart from the others of her kind. There was a lesson to be learnt here. Watching the struggles of the busy spider, entrapping another great horror of the insect kingdom- a beast with jaws and spikes and armour plates to rival the arms of the greatest adventurer- by natural cunning and wit, a small flash of insight struck the kobold cub, for she fancied that in its labours she saw the toils of her own people writ in miniature.

A fire burned in the eyes of this emaciated, half-starved kobold cub there, in the dust and rubble of the abandoned tunnel, and it was the light of a thousand burning cities. Of a debt of blood and pain and sorrow to be repaid in full against those who had hounded her kind to the dark, forgotten places, to the ends of the earth, for the theft of near-forgotten ancestral hunting grounds to make way for places of crafted stone and raked mud, for the warriors who followed with bright steel, and armour like a lobster’s carapace wherever the tribes gathered, wherever they might find some tangled, overgrown forest or scrap of barren land to call home. Come summer many of her peers would be dead, claimed by starvation, or disease or predators, but the kobold pup was not amongst them. Something had claimed her, though she could not know it yet, some cruel twist of fate perhaps for the gods of the kobolds are cruel, petty creatures, not easily bestirred by the prayers and laments of those who give them worship, and who else would exert themselves upon the behalf of this dying race. Soon, the snows would be melting in the mountains above and with their passage they would usher in the dawn of a new season. For now, the cub could see little further than the gnawing, constant pain in her belly, and the spider and beetle both- their lesson imparted- were ensnared with needle-sharp claws and ushered into her waiting maw. A brighter future was dawning, however, and others too- the shamans and elders of her tribe- would see the touch of fire burning brightly at this kobold pup’s heart. She would learn to hate those who would bring her tribe destruction, to guide and shepherd the oblivious, animal herd of her fellows, would find the strength to call upon the strange gifts of the gods who had abandoned her people. And perhaps some day, if the fates smiled upon her, the destiny of kings and tyrants might hinge on this fire-touched cub’s words, men and giants alike might fall- or be felled- at her command. Perhaps she might even baulk the fates themselves, slowing the inexorable march of the sands of time to create a true homeland, a place of shelter and security, for her people deep at the heart of the world.

All this is yet to come, however, and for now the cub is content to lick the messy remnants of the spider from her hands, her hunger (as ever) unsatisfied, and wander on, in the hope of further prey, into the caverns below.

EDIT: Most of the things prophecied above have already happened in play, in one fashion or another.

Jagna's one of my favourite NPCs from this campaign, but I won't be cutting her any special breaks. She's still there as part of team monster and will be treated accordingly.

I'm exhausted right now, didn't get to sleep, and have to go to work tonight as well. Which leaves me only 6 hours between getting home, and when game is supossed to start.

So I'm letting y'all know right now I'm NOT setting an alarm in the morning. When I wake up I'll check the game, and Vorrioch, please feel free to NPC Emmerus, all threats and dangers that go with are acceptable, (If I havn't given you ample hints at Emmerus' roleplayed style by now then I'm not doing something right) but I just NEED to get some decent sleep in the morning. So when I wake up I'll be there, just don't count on me being there for the hour earlier start.

Maybe we'll get lucky and I'll get some decent power napping, but here's the heads-up in advance.

I finally dug out my old AD&D books and was going over how to do characters for second ed. I read that if you use proficiencies then there is a bonus number of proficiences granted equal to the number of bonus languages you have. If that is true Valendara has some extra proficiencies coming to her.

I just worked a midnight shift last night, didn't get to sleep until like 7:30 or 8, and was up by 11 cause of phone calls. I'm working 3 - 8 on saturday, and sunday I'm working, then monday a midnight shift, then wednesday working, and then thursday another midnight shift...so I'm hoping to be able to lay myself down for a nap or go to sleep early tonight...Then again I think I have to go visit my boyfriend's best friend.

Would it be better to just cancel tonight’s game now? I’ve been getting quite run down over the last couple of days as well (between a fever and an essay deadline, not all that good a combination) and could really use the rest as well. That said, sounds like some of you have crazy sleep patterns!

We can pick up next Friday, for everyone who’s still interested, and keep going from there. The next adventure will be the beginnings of the siege of Caer Hwarnsvalon and it would be great to see as many of you along as possible.

Brianna, I think we’ve allocated your bonus NWPs already. As things stand, you’ve got four languages and seven other proficiencies, for a total of eleven (Herbalism costs two). If I’ve missed anything or you’d like to swap any around then that’s fine, just let me know.

I think it will work better for me to wait until next friday. Because as it stands, I have some running around to do right after I take a shower. Then going to where I normally babysit cause it is the middle child's birthday today. So I was invited to dinner. I also have to go buy her something cause she's always so helpful, but have to get something small for the other two, so they don't get in a bad mood that they didn't get anything.

Then after I have that, I'm going with my boyfriend to his best friend's place. Dinner isn't until 7, so I won't be over at my boyfriend's best friends until about 8:30 or so...Then working saturday 3 - 8, sunday 12 - 5, monday 10:30pm - 7am wednesday 4 - 8 and thursday 10:30 - 7 again...but the only thing different is that I won't be working saturday as far as I can tell. Saturday after work my boyfriend's best friend is having a bbq. *shrugs* as you can tell I'm a busy bee. I've only had uhh 2 or 3 hours of sleep so far...and prolly won't have time for a nap and know I won't be going to bed early tonight.

That is okay with both us. We made the time for the game but we have a hundred things to get done before Sunday Horse show so this actually will work fine with us. It is better when more are playing. It really gets hard when there is only a few and it must be hard for Kaelyn NPCing 3characters plus his own. SO take your break it is fine NExt week same time same station.

By the way in game play we should rest and recover spells before we make the final push I am down to like 3 spells ot maybe even two