MadCast: Munsa

My fellow Tabletopping MadCasters, Front end, worst end: I cannot keep up my current pace with LD&D. I am becoming increasingly more irritable during sessions, it is becoming harder and harder to create content, and the daunting task of rewarding two dozen people's efforts and creativity is running me mentally ragged. I had hoped that we would run LD&D through this year, but I am not in a position where I can see that end out. On a personal level, my work schedule has become increasingly erratic and stressful due to the situation we all have to live with now regarding COVID and the professional and social consequences of such. My wife and I also work opposite schedules, and the only times I have to run LD&D are increasingly butting into the time I have to spend with her. On a community level, what began as a simple little experiment that I thought would struggle to reach double digit or so folks evolved quickly into a massive undertaking that I was not prepared for. I want to take this opportunity to thank Jiggles, Kal, Prince, Khaos, Voshay, and Starlight for stepping up to contribute to this undertaking, and I am confident we would not have had the months of entertainment we did without their efforts. They came into a situation that was not designed from the outset for a team to handle, and tolerated my combination of apathetic manager and frenzied artist long enough to deliver some tremendous sessions, and they have my heartfelt gratitude and thanks. To all the players of LD&D, you have my most sincere apologies for such an abrupt cancellation. For the participation, the effort, and the tolerance at moments that did not bring fun, you all have my appreciation. I am sorry that LD&D fell short of many of the wonderful long term ideas that all of you had for your characters and the story. I am heartened to see so many people forming groups of their own. It was my hope from the outset that LD&D would serve more as a catalyst than a long-lasting fixture of MadCast (thought not ending this early or in this manner). I have enjoyed being able to help those of you who have asked questions about your own games you are or would like to run, and would make myself available as a resource for anyone else who wants to go down that path. That leads me to the question of "What's next?" For LD&D: Some stories do well with no ending or resolution. I do not think tabletop ventures are members of that club. I would like to run a final session/guildhall where those who are interested can attend and we can discuss everything in my notes that has been hinted at but not revealed, discuss resolution to various characters and the story thus far, and act as rules referee if any individual characters or groups need to take it to The Anvil or Colosseum to hash out who is the biggest and baddest. This is something I would like to do for any who wish to attend. For my contribution to MadCast Tabletop: Once I've had a break from creating tabletop content for a couple weeks, what I do have the itch to do is assemble one group of 5-6 MadCasters at a time, run a short story of 4-6 sessions on a 1/week basis, then take a couple weeks off to create and do it again. One of the things absent from LD&D was a "Session Zero", where players and DM sit down and create characters together, going beyond the PCs and designing the vague outlines of the setting and plot. I would like to have that experience with many of you whom I've played with over the last half-year. For Tabletop @ MadCast: I don't know what it will look like, but I know it will be here. I look forward to sitting at a table with the community again. I look forward to new systems being brought to the community. I look forward to new players coming to the community. I look forward to, in the fullness of time, working with the team for the next large scale tabletop project that comes to MadCast, taking what we have learned through this experiment and trying it again-but-better. For any of you who are disappointed or angry at this announcement, I understand you and hear you. For people who are newer and have not had the chance to play much, I especially feel for you. For those of you who have put in the time to play or run LD&D, I thank you.

I believe I have compiled Tuesday's signups correctly, considering those who stated they were signing up as alternates.

Make sure to note how much divine providence you accrue, and your acts of charity have also improved morale. Love the new reports, and that's a big ol' morale boost. Get with me and we will assess the costs and determine how much time you have left to spend.

Designated Correspondents, Use this thread to record your party's sessions and progress. Keep in mind that this needs to be a factual representation of events, but can be delivered in whatever style the Correspondent finds appropriate. Current Morale: 55/100 Current Glory: 4/50

Please use this thread for recording downtime. If your activity is already describe in various rulebooks in terms of costs and effects, simply record the results here. If your activity is not covered by any extant rules, message me and I will resolve your downtime so you can post the results.

Sure.

I have added a third signup slot for the session a week out. Star and Icarus have first dibs, as do any who are not currently signed up for the 10th or 12th.

Normally, the onset of full autumn means the surge of the harvest coming into Mado Curas. Laden with all the possibility, prosperity, and revelry that mark the winding down of the growing season, Mado Curas in normal times makes New Orleans look like a welsh village on a Sunday. Now, carts laden with produce and herds of livestock have been replaced with mobs of fleeing refugees and carts laden with the elderly and children. Along with Interlopers Incorporated's Notice of Conscription comes a dire report. Legions numbering in the tens of thousands are storming down the mountains marking the border between Imperial Lands and the Goblinoids to the north. The greatest mass of these forces is marching on a direct route to the capital, pillaging autumn harvests and taking entire villages captive. On either flank, smaller armies are moving swiftly to capture both territory and people. In the Curas region, two armies are advancing. A force of 15,000 heavy infantry is marching slowly south, holding the main road and fortifying captured villages. Further east, a smaller army of irregulars is moving swiftly through the woods, capturing isolated hamlets and raiding from the forests. With full reinforcement delayed by the threat to the capital, and the bulk of the Imperial Army bogged in a war of expansion far to the south, the Governor has been ordered to conscript all able bodied men and women and defend the region. Veteran Campaigner Erasmus Nox has been designated as the Regional Commander, and has designated Interlopers Inc. as a semi-autonomous regiment. With reinforcements a month or more away, the situation is dire. For my next few months of sessions, we will be playing out an overarching war scenario. Unlike my previous sessions, where each bundle of content was run several times, each session will build upon the other as each group ventures out. This will be represented by several new mechanics. Time and Continuity Many of you have come up with a variety of creative ideas for downtime, and have sat on them for quite some time. In recognition of that, Each player may "spend" a month of accrued downtime. Those of you who have not thought of what to do for your downtime, please get with me or Jiggles to explore your options. Beginning Sunday the 10th, we will begin tracking time in two week chunks. Each two week period IRL will translate to two weeks in game. During that time, each player will be able to attend TWO sessions and spend ONE WEEK of downtime. Should such an circumstance occur where a player has the opportunity to play a third or fourth session, they may spend 3 days and then the final four days of their downtime to do so. Those who are unable to make two sessions in a two week period will be given XP/Loot rewards commensurate with the overall progress the entire group has achieved. As each session takes place, subsequent groups will be able to see on a hexed rendition of the regional map the progress of previous groups. We will begin with a small amount of intelligence on the immediate area, with only vague ideas of enemy positions and forces further from the city/HQ. As each group explores and acts, the situation will shift. As time passes, enemies may move, reinforce, fortify, offer terms, surrender, or take other appropriate actions. Beyond the vague breakup of time into these two week chunks, we will still treat time as our servant and not our master. Tracking this passage of time is not meant to hamstring anyone's creativity or limit play in any way. It is meant to give us some additional markers to enable a fair adjudication of downtime for all players, and to provide bounds for some of the new mechanics that this chapter will bring. The War Journal Each session there will be an opportunity for a significant XP reward for a volunteer to document the session and post it to a War Journal thread. This should be a factual representation of the session's activities, but beyond that can be tailored to the player's own style and character. If no player in a session wishes to take this role, I will do so. Morale To represent the impact of Interlopers Inc on the war effort, I will be maintaining a morale meter. This meter will begin at 50, and will rise and fall as the story and play unfold. The meter will cap at 100 and floor at 1. Morale can be positively impacted by: retaking territory, eliminated key personnel, providing entertainment or aid to the rank and file, or other, similar methods. Morale will be negatively impacted by PC death OR incapacitation, various enemy actions, players or NPC forces being forced to retreat, or similar circumstances. A morale check will be performed once every two weeks for the overall war effort, and as the situation demands within each session depending on what individual parties get up to. A morale check will be performed by rolling a d100, with any result lower or equal to the current Morale rating counting as a success. In game, this will translate into a positive outcome for whatever daring plan a given party comes up with (or a negative one if it fails). For the campaign as a whole, read on. Enemy Moves and Bi-Weekly Effects Every other Sunday beginning with the 10th I will move forces on the map and introduce new circumstances that will affect the next two week's sessions. The initial circumstance we will begin with is "Blitzkrieg". Representing the practiced efficiency and odious amount of planning that went into this invasion, this will practically translate into the DM having a number of "disadvantages" equal to the number of players that can be handed out before a player makes any D20 roll. For all subsequent weeks, the nature of the event will be determined by a Morale check. On a failure, I will design a "debuff" similar to the above that will be themed appropriate with the results of the past two weeks' sessions. On a success, a "buff" will be put in place for the next two week cycle. These effects will always have a narrative framing and a practical, mechanics based impact on the following sessions. Difficulty and What to Expect Fickle dice aside, most of our sessions have not carried with them lethal consequence. Let me say it right now, Retreat is an option. Success in these sessions is not going to come easy, and it might require multiple sessions/groups to accomplish major objectives. To illustrate, let's take a straightforward situation like an enemy fort or camp. If a previous party, through whatever means, gains knowledge of the layout, the foes within, friendlies within, or what have you, that information will be available to all subsequent groups. As I said above, I will resolve enemy reinforcements and movements every two weeks IRL, meaning that the population of a given target will not significantly change until the next two week cycle begins. In that timeframe, other groups could attempt the same obstacle with the progress of the previous group virtually unchanged. As we progress through this chapter, please do not view failure or setback as a negative. Difficulty, sacrifice, and failure are important foils to victory and growth, and the stories we are participating in together deserve to be interesting. Dark moments give way to heroics and truly awesome memories. It has been an abject pleasure to expand LD&D out from a simple conceit for a group of us to run dungeon crawls with a rotating cast into a full blown narrative being contributed to by over two dozen people. If I or We need to change any of the above as we proceed forward, we will do so. As we discussed at our Guildhall, we are here to be entertained and create as a community, not be slavish to rules. My first session of Chapter 2 will begin on Sunday the 10th at 10PM. All of these sessions are open to any who wish to attend. See you then!

AYYYYYYY Nice stain.

I don't join inquisitions, I raise them.

Also, if anyone is interested in dipping their toes into LD&D, I will stick around to explain the game and help people create characters, as I'm sure will several other participants.

Things are happening in the world of Interlopers Incorporated. Your former patron, one Johann Obed Trithemius, has been forcibly ripped from his imprisonment. Most of his powers were drained from him, and he retains little memory of his imprisonment or who took him. Accordingly, he has retreated from his position as leader of the Guild, and rejoined as an equal member. Some of you may have heard rumors of an "incident" that occurred during a City Watch pacification and peacekeeping operation. The exaggeration and spreading of rumors have done significant damage to the Guild's reputation, and a public declaration of values and mission is required to assuage both the public and the authorities of the land. Since II is now employee owned and operated, an organizational meeting of partners is required. On April 6th, to follow the 9PM MadCast Townhall with a short break inbetween, Interlopers Inc will gather as many members as possible to draft a statement of values, a series of governing rules, a... CODE OF CONDUCT, if you will. We will do as much of this in character as we can, but we will also allow time for the DM team to field questions, receive feedback and criticism, and outline goals for the coming summer. I, Munsa, know that some of you have hit some hurdles in your enjoyment of LD&D and tabletop in general. Those of you that have reached out to me, I hear you. Those of you that haven't, your perspective and opinion has value to me. In addition to having fun together, we will use this evening to make sure everyone who has said "I want to be a part of this" has their concerns heard and addressed. April 6th, to follow Townhall after a short break, Interlopers Inc. Guild Meeting. If you cannot attend, you are always free to approach any DM with feedback, criticism, and questions.