It's all good. I'm having a lot of fun with this so far. This is my first experience with this type of role playing (pbp), so please bear with me.

We're glad to have you!  It can take some getting used to, and like all things, PBP takes pratice. 

When you're sitting around a tabletop, a lot of it is "I draw my sword and attack the troll."  Whereas for a play by post game to be fun to read, you have to put more effort into descriptive writing. 

Why is your character attacking the troll?  What is he thinking?  What is he feeling?  What does he look like as he does so?  Etc.

I invite all of you to really pay attention to how Eol Fefalas, Bromern Sal, and PrincessAli post.  You don't have to write novellas like they do, but the detail they put in, the way they get into their characters' heads, really makes it so much more fun to read what they write. 

We're super happy to have new blood hereabouts and it's always fun to play with folks you've never gamed with before! As to bearing with you, dude, we've got that in spades!!! When I first came here I was more a writer than a gamer so, like you, Blackthorn, I had a bit of a learning curve, myself (only reversed from yours) once I was coaxed out of the freeform and personal creations arena. You'll get the hang of it, I gave no doubt... And, hey, if you need a hand or something, don't hesitate to drop me a line! I'm more than happy to help you get settled in or give you some writing tips, etc!

Hear, hear! 

FYI - Olan, here's Gib's battle plan (and most likely, the plan won't go as "planned").

First, I need to lay out the spells Gib has prepared... seeing how the 3.5 doesn't directly translate to the 2 as I have it on the sheet I sent you.

1st level (Gib can have 5): Bless | Cure Light Wounds x 3 | Protection From Evil

2nd level (Gib can have 5): Chant | Hold Person x 3 | Spiritual Hammer

3rd level (Gib can have 2): Create Food & Water | Prayer

• Offense:
  • Gib will start off with an attempt to Turn Undead. The holy symbol in the crossbar of his sword should suffice, right? If he has to sheathe his weapon to perform the attempt, then scrap this idea.
  • It is too late to use Bless due to the fighters rushing off willy-nilly, so it looks like the best next move is Prayer.
  • Next, Gib will attempt to get into a position where he can support the manuevers of Aranwen. Gib figures that Ch'dau fights in an not-so-customary way and even though the Sylvari is a bladesinger, Gib can potentially use his formation fighting experience to flank or drive enemies into disadvantages. In this case, he's using his sword and shield.
• Defense: Should a retreat become necessary, or should there be a situation where Gib can provide protection for a fallen foe, he'll focus primarily on his shield to gain the defensive bonus. 
  
  • If there are wounded in such a situation, Gib will put himself between the wounded and the enemy, using his shield like as much of a wall as possible and striking out with his sword should the opportunity arise without losing the defensive bonus.
  • Gib will not attempt a prayer for healing until the battle is over... Therassor deserves revered prayer to deliver a miracle healing.

Also, Gib isn't forgetting Kith, he just isn't keen on her method of attacking and is unfamiliar with it, so he wouldn't feel it right to offer her suggestions.

If Gib is keeping tabs on Kith, she's going to try and attack with him (since I assume he is also the closest). She'll want to stay in close reach but try and time her attacks.

Offensively speaking:

-Tandem. She's going to try and strike along with another. AKA, if Gib strikes, she is going to try and strike

-Flank or rear attack. Kithran does best ducking and stabbing/slashing to try and get under blades or reaching arms.

Defensive:

-If Kithran gets grabbed, all holds are off. Both daggers aimed at throats or the soft of bellies, anything to shock or get herself dropped. She'll bite, she'll claw at available eyes or mouths, she'll scream. She's not going to go quietley.

Note: While Ch'dau did do the kazari bloodlust scream and leap thing to begin with, please, don't take it to mean that he won't follow orders and/or adjust his tactics based on things called out from his compatriots... He's a beast but not quite a berserker.  For example, Kith calling out about not being ready to get snatched may just make him think twice about going all "I'm gonna eat these things" and cause him to fall back to ensure that, no, nobody is grabbing my friend! By the blood, I'll not have that!

Also, if Aranwen or Gib were to shout orders following the kazari's boredom fueled charge, he'd most certainly comply as quickly as kazri-possible. He's a soldier/mercenary at heart, after all, and a well structured battle is a joy to him. Point and grunt, o' my leaders, and I'll kill or defend whatever you say!

Finally, welcome to the fray, Oz! Mind where you lob that fireball. If you singe my fur, I may eat your lunch (assuming it's not all vegetables).

Somehow, when I first opened this forum I didn't notice that there were already pages of posts!  Catching up on them now and will address items as I come across them.

Midge is 3'3" tall.  He wears fur-trimmed robes that he uses magic on daily to clean, repair and even change the color of to suit his whims.  As far as the easily noticeable equipment he has a custom backpack with a built-in quiver that has numerous strips of leather at the rim. The ornately carved rods [3] in the quiver are all secured with at least one leather thong.  He has a dagger tucked in behind his back and walks with a 4' sling staff in hand.

Midge is fiercely proud of his magical ability and looks for opportunities to use his magic.  He doesn't have that conceited attitude you come across in other Circle mages.  In fact, he looks for ways to be of service and help.  He will often cast cantrips just to make life easier - and it won't take much to see him cast one to entertain children.

Midge will handle his "spell rods" daily quietly mumbling to himself, and will even occasionally add a small refinement to the carvings.  You will see that he has an interesting selection of knives, chisels and other custom bits of metal that he keeps in a leather case to do this carving with.  Somewhere in that tiny pack (or is it some magic ;-) ) he also has a small jar of beeswax that he will also rub into the rods to bring out the color and protect them from the elements.

Midge doesn't let anyone bully him, due to size or any other reason.  He will aggressively push back against any attempts of intimidation by anybody.  You will learn that this is part of why he is an adventurer - to prove that anybody can be more than what others tell them they are.

He's very friendly and generally trusting that things are as they appear to be.  He isn't nieve and knows something about nearly everything.  When asked he'll tell you that being raised in a tavern at the foot of bards is one way to hear a little about everything - and it doesn't hurt to read a few books now and then.  He doesn't like to talk about his family, though he will slip into telling tales about his village and the other people in it.

Midge doesn't appear to have any bias or bigotry typical for the halfling people and he doesn't react poorly when others push theirs at him - unless it starts to cross the line into intimidation, bullying or violence.  He also won't hesitate to add magic to his counter-intimidation.  But you will never see him using it as a strong-hand negotiation tactic with regulars who have not crossed one of his lines.  He is genuinely curious about nearly everything - and doesn't usually hold back his questions, even when that would be a better idea.  When in a town you may have to go through several shops to finally find him bugging some craftsman about their trade.

• I am fine being second to last in the marching order.
• In our travels, you will occasionally see Midge looking up at Ch'dau.  He doesn't say anything, he apparently needs visual reminders as part of his contemplation.  [I wonder what he would do if I do pull his tail?  Would he let me ride him into battle?  Would he make a good blanket at a cold campsite?  What did he do to clean himself before he started traveling with me? ...etc...]  Ch'dau apparently represents a number of pleasant mysteries that he would like to solve.

Current combat strategy since I just saw the supporting posts:  If the fast attacker can't be held back by our martial team Midge will add a Shark Bolt into that fray.  If it becomes crowd control then Midge will try Snilloc's Snowball Swarm as long as he can place it where there is minimal impact on refugees - even if it doesn't hurt them it may make terrain more interesting.  If a fire develops then he will consider using Fire Burst for crowd control too.  Otherwise, he will take targets of opportunity with his staff sling until it gets to one-on-one with him.  At that point, Midge will use his Gauntlet spell to make more of an impact on the enemy.

Ok, now I can join in on the other conversations!  It's been a very, very long time since I played by post - almost as long ago as when I played 2nd Ed.  I had to go to my storage facility and get a few real books to finish rolling my character! 

I am kind of surprised that I haven't stumbled across this site before now.  It's just my kind of silliness - and there are nearly 4K people here!

I'm glad for the notes, I was starting to wonder if I should start posting direct history responses like Bromen Sal and Eol Fefalas.  I think I'll do that only when I think more clarity is needed (share your feedback!) - otherwise, I will focus on telling Midges point of view and actions instead of reposting the whole scene.

I welcome whichever way you prefer. I recap everything so my character is engaging with everything. I also run a number of games here and as the GM, such posts help me know when the player sees their character's action taking place in the scheme of things. Mind you, I do so with the full knowledge that the GM has free reign to correct my timing, interrupt my telling, or even parts of my writing because it doesn't fit, actions of others make it unlikely that my posted actions would go down as they have, etc. It also allows my character to engage and respond to other characters in a not-so-free-flowing game environ.

So...are all undead immune to cold in this setting or is this an indicator of something else/special. Would my character even know?  At this point it isn’t going to change my action, just want to know if there is a ton more reading I would be doing to be indoctrinated properly. 

My post is due to T_catt11 answering a PM question about Gib's knowledge undead proficiency and what he would know of the attackers. T_catt11, fondly known as Olan so I don't need to keep referring to his username) told me that at 3rd level, Gib would know about zombies. So, I looked them up in the Monster Manual, checked on their immunities and made the assumption of what kind of spells he might have seen the wizards cast over their past while together so that he could offer an educated but of advice.

That's the long answer to: Naw. No additional reading needed.

Yep, this information is straigth out of the monstrous manual.

>Like most undead, zombies are immune to sleep, charm, hold, death magic, poisons, and cold-based spells.

Thanks. I wasn’t planning on looking monsters up. It just occurred to me that with the custom world that there may be lore we are supposed to know that is “basic” knowledge for everyone. There’s plenty to read on this site!

That's fair.  Never assume that your character knows something - Brom rolled for knowledge on the giggling thing and failed.  Eol has played this part of the adventure before, so *he* knows what it is, but his character does not.

I will always reveal information that yor characters should possess.  If you think something is off or you are missing, you can always ask for a knowledge check, widom check, etc.

Had some time this evening.