Okay, so I wasn't expecting you guys to be four people and I also wasn't expecting you to play up and then do silly things. However, I am really enjoying this game and I don't want anyone to die just yet.
So, I'm going to give you guys 2 hero points each. They work exactly as they are described except that you can spend them on other people also.
In order to not die, Grommuk just spent two of his hero points. So he doesn't get any, and is stable at -12.
Yes, you can use hero points to recast expended spells.
Also, do you guys want me to try to recruit a 5th player? I could ask some of the other board peoples I like to game with if they'd want to join.
Cladissa, if you want to escape, you could climb over the water, then dive down and swim under the doors, and them climb back up the outside.
At this point, I'm at a loss as to what we should do with this fight. My summons won't be able to stand up to these guys long enough for us to whittle them down without Grommuk. If we flee, Grommuk is as good as dead. If we don't win fast, I'm sure we will be arrested.
In regards to our future, though, we NEED another front liner. If we don't recruit a fifth for that role, I am willing to reroll, despite my immense enjoyment of Argor. I'd rather see this awesome game and campaign concept stay kicking. Heck, I even have a concept in mind.
I'm going to wait to post in the gameplay thread, as I'm trying to scheme up something world shattering to help here, but my Int in real life is not equivalent to a 22, so it may take a few minutes. Lol
I'm not entirely sure that we would have been able to take on four raging barbarians with greataxes plus a spellcaster even with better tactics. I thought we had a pretty good setup with Grommuk at the choke point and me debuffing and healing. But then the darn fear spell messed that up. As we've seen, second-level characters can't take a second hit. So even another front-line fighter wouldn't have made much of a difference. This tier was too high for us.
I think this scenario is a bust. I'll try to escape (not a sure thing), Argor and Hrimnagel can escape, then since Grommuk is still alive, we can bail him out from jail or come and retrieve him once the Ulfen have fled.
Thanks for the hero points and preventing death.
I thought we only needed the lantern. I thought the lantern was left upstairs when the big guy fled from Grommuk. Snag the lattern, leave, set the warehouse on fire to let them save their longship.
Hrimnagel can be in melee with a good AC but only as a hit point battery, because he takes 20% miss chance on everything. Hrim is also low on the power curve until he gets Precise Shot and Bane, especially playing up. I too can change my PC but sadly don't have a concept in mind.
There are many other little tactics that could have been changed to significantly change this combat.
Argor doesn't have the privilege of trying to escape. He is cursed just as Skelg is. We back out on this, he dies too. That's why I am having Argor press the attack at the moment instead of fleeing, because aside from that, Argor could care less about Skelg's situation. But, Argor IS all about self preservation, so he HAS to see this through now.
Though, if that's the route you guys decide on, that would just provide an in-game reason why I'd need to reroll, ha. However, it would still leave Grommuk in a similarly, most likely deceased, situation. Neither of you can carry his big butt out of there.
Okay, there's like three minutes left until the guards arrive. The Ulfen already mentioned trying to escape on their ship.
I did say that Bengeirr set the lantern down, and forgot to say he picked it back up. So it's up in the loft. I'll add it to the map, but it's near Cladissa.
All you really need out of this encounter is the lantern. That's why you came here, and that's what's going to allow you to break the curse on Skelg and Argor.
I will go ahead an reach out to a 5th player either way, see if I can get anyone interested.
Haha, I'm still not entirely sure what in the world we were going for when we kicked this one off. Attempting subtlety in plain sight of the guard tasked with watching the warehouse (as well as other civilians) seemed strange enough.
Playing up a Tier is going to require way smarter tactical play on our part. We have the assets to make it work. My suggestion would be more "table talk" gaming—using the discussion thread to coordinate things a bit more. Grommuk can solo on the frontline if he has enough support, but that's not happened in either of the scaled-up encounters so far. In our present situation:
Our sneak sounded the alarm.
Our wizard effectively charged the front line.
The Hulk "sneaked" (while being plainly observed, haha) over the wall.
We effectively divided and conquered ourselves. I'll be more vocal in the Discussion going forward (assuming we survive this), so we at least have more to go on than Grommuk scratching his butt when people start using big words like "the" or "door".
I hate to point this out, but you did say he grabbed the lantern. I was keeping an eye on it in the hopes of grabbing it and going.
If you want to retcon it, great, but that would have changed my actions considerably.
Tactics wise, having everyone come in through a single entrance, or waiting until dark would have been much better avenues. In the dark there would have been more chance for everyone to sneak up on the roof without being seen.
You could also have potentially bluffed your way in or something.
As I see it, the main error here was Argor's in not waiting until there was a distraction inside from Cladissa and Grummuk before going in the front. That and Cladissa coming back down off the roof in the first place after I kindly allowed her to get up there undetected in the beginning.
I'm not trying to punish you though, or anything like that (as I said, been pulling some punches). It's just that tactics have to be perfect when playing up, especially at a 4 man table. If we make it through this encounter, I will give you the option to return to tier 1-2 for the end of the adventure.
Ah, apparently I forgot that I didn't forget to say he picked up the lantern. No retcon, I intended him to take the lantern.
As a character, if Argor sees the lantern recovered, he is A-Okay with getting the hell out of here.
As a player, if we do that we leave Grommuk behind, and most likely to die.
Tactics wise, having everyone come in through a single entrance, or waiting until dark would have been much better avenues. In the dark there would have been more chance for everyone to sneak up on the roof without being seen.
You could also have potentially bluffed your way in or something.
As I see it, the main error here was Argor's in not waiting until there was a distraction inside from Cladissa and Grummuk before going in the front. That and Cladissa coming back down off the roof in the first place after I kindly allowed her to get up there undetected in the beginning.
I'm not trying to punish you though, or anything like that (as I said, been pulling some punches). It's just that tactics have to be perfect when playing up, especially at a 4 man table. If we make it through this encounter, I will give you the option to return to tier 1-2 for the end of the adventure.
Both plans suggested by Argor...*cough*Wizard hate*cough* lol
Main reason I did my initial action was to try and save Hrim. I needed line of effect to the squares I was targetting. I saw that Grommuk wasn't in position yet, and that the doors had just flew open. I didn't realize, however, that the Ulfen would be able to get up as easily as they did and smash my face.
I think if we had just smashed our way in through the front, things would have went far better, haha. Maybe we should just let Grommuk's impatience win next time.
Call me cynical, but I'm pretty sure even spot-on tactics would have succeeded. Again, the raging barbarians needed two hits each from Grommuk to bring down. They get multiple attacks, and even if we bottlenecked them, the cause fear could have ended it right quick. Maybe if Hrimnagel had snuck in, grabbed the lantern and left, that would have worked. But we had no way of knowing that they wouldn't leave in their ship.
Yeah, the dice could have gone differently in a lot of places during this fight.
Grommuk most likely won't die, as the ulfen know the guards are coming too, know they have a bunch of stolen property in their warehouse (not to mention murdering all of Skelg's guards a day or two ago) and will be trying to escape as soon as possible. They will leave Grommuk where he is and GTFO of there on their ship if they have time. He's already dead as far as they know, nothing could survive that ;)
If we had went the direct route, Grommuk would have at least been able to be Enlarged, had Fast Healing rolling from the wand, and provided some cover for me to get some summons out to help distract some axes.
Call me cynical, but I'm pretty sure even spot-on tactics would have succeeded. Again, the raging barbarians needed two hits each from Grommuk to bring down. They get multiple attacks, and even if we bottlenecked them, the cause fear could have ended it right quick. Maybe if Hrimnagel had snuck in, grabbed the lantern and left, that would have worked. But we had no way of knowing that they wouldn't leave in their ship.
There's no way to know what would have happened, there is too much random chance involved. I'm not trying to start the blame game here. I'm just saying you could have stacked the odds more in your favor.
And we are still left with actually RECOVERING the lantern.
For the record, going forward, I am going to put some points in Bluff/Diplomacy, seeing as we have not got a "face man." Despite his poor Charisma, I'm going to try to play it up that Argor will talk circles around people and confuse/convince them to do things they don't really understand.
Heck, if Cladissa's sleep spell would have worked from the get-go, that also would have changed the fight. Hindsight 20/20 and all that. But there is no denying that we collectively went about this whole encounter somewhere on a level equivalent to the neurological functioning of anaerobic bacteria.
You can use the retraining rules to get bruising intellect or sutdent of philosophy.
More than likely will, actually, for Student of Philosophy. Just gotta pick a good trait to replace.
Edit: Would ditch Reactionary for that.
I'll go ahead and tell you that Bengeirr has 11 HP left after that magic missile. If that helps you guys plan any.
I would suggest Cladissa retreat as I said. Argor and Hrimnagel kill Bengeirr as quickly as possible. Then Argor runs like hell, drawing off the ulfen temporarily while Hrimnagel grabs the lantern.
Not guaranteed to work by any means, but it might...?
Oh my next action involves slinging Acid Darts like an old west gunfighter, and hope for good rolls to drop him. And yes, then run like a mad man if the big scary axe men come back at me.
Absolutely. I'm not either. We can do a lot of "Monday morning quarterbacking" about this fight if we survive. But unless Bengeirr is dropped soon and that causes the others to flee, I don't see any way of doing so short of retreat.
Edit: posting on the phone delays. Questions already answered.
We need more "table talk," because the role-playing of our characters inhibits coordination due to personalities that we've developed.
cheers
That'll be nice: drowning as I try to escape.
Edite:Heh, it'd only take like two swim checks and you could fortune yourself first.
Well at least sinking was the first part of the plan anyway.
Table talk away as far as I'm concerned. That's what the discussion thread is for, and I have no problem with it.
Well, lets see how bad we get ravaged this round...haha.
Gyrfalcon (who some of you have played with before) will most likell be joining us as our fifth player relatively soon.
Depending on how far south this encounter goes I might have to deus ex machina it a bit to save you guys. If that happens, his character will be part of that.
That, right there, is awesome sauce.
To explain my last action there, as I told Jelani, Argor has basically accepted the fact that he is "all in" at this point. He had planned to take Bengeirr down with that attack, then either Hrimnagel or Arctyryx grab the lantern and run away while Argor dove into the water behind Cladissa.
But, thus far, that didn't work out. If I don't get dropped this round, we will see if I can do it next time around.
Does Cladissa have the lantern?
Nope, Bengeirr does.
Correct.
lovely
So does anyone have a plan? Argor appears to be committing suicide. Grommuk doesn't have a choice but stay unconscious. Hrimnagel is trying to occupy a guard or two, but I thought about exploring the fact that he doesn't hear Grommuk rampaging in the warehouse anymore. I can sneak in and heal Gromm, but it may take a couple of rounds to get there and a couple rounds to heal him if I don't get good rolls, like I did with Argor.
Cladissa, what are you planning as a player and a character? Are you just running away?
cheers
Hrim -- sorry; I didn't see your post until just now. I hate that I had to get out of that warehouse, but I didn't see a whole lot of choice open to me.
Jelani,
I'm a little unsure of what's happening now. Aren't I on the outside of the warehouse? Am I also being arrested?
Cladissa - Yes, you are (presumably) clinging to the outside of the warehouse, on the water side (otherwise you'd need to keep swimming). You would have heard the guards' ultimatum. If you don't want to try to escape, you can just climb over to the dock, step off the building and allow yourself to be arrested. Otherwise, you can attempt to escape the guard somehow and we'll play that out.
Hey Jelani and team, thanks for the invite to join the fun! This is gyrfalcon checking in with my new character.
Nyugusk is a half-orc Pathfinder who's been one of several alchemists involved with studying y'all as you've transmogrified. He took Cyrill's unfortunate demise as an opportunity for, er, in depth research. After autopsy and experimentation he's excitedly found out what it was that caused a fatal reaction with Cyrill's mutagen and gotten permission to use one of the precious few syringes left on himself.
Why, as someone who's already a Pathfinder, did he decide to do it? He was born and raised in Absolom, schooled by monks of Irori. While he had no talent for their ki cultivation, he came to the (very unorthodox) insight that his path to Irorian self-perfection is through self-transmogrification (using exercise, sacred tattoos, and his own alchemical creations). Heck, if Irori had had access to mutagens, who's to say he wouldn't have used them himself in his quest for enlightenment?
When he saw what the syringes did to y'all -- and then was able to crack the mystery of Cyrill's death -- he knew he had to persuade his superiors to let him do it.
You'll see completed crunch and 2/3 complete fluff in his profile. The 1/3 that's not complete is there in bullet form...possibly to be written out in his profile, or possibly just to flesh out in game.
In terms of party role...well, it looks like y'all could use another front-liner, eh? ;0) Nyugusk is built to dish out melee damage, especially when he's got a flanking buddy. (Argor, your eagles can flank, can't they? I've heard conflicting reports but my latest impression is that they *can*. Jelani, can you confirm?) He won't be able to take as many hits as Grommuk can (or do nearly as much on in a standard action, since he likes to use claw/claw/bite+sneak attack) but I think he'll be a useful mechanical addition to the mix...and hopefully a flavorful addition to the party as well.
Let me know if you have any questions/suggestions/comments/heckling, and I'll see you in gameplay soon!
Stay safe Cladissa. We may need you to post bail or rescue us. Lol. And also, I missed your updated post as well Hrim. I read it when it just said "lovely" and never saw an update for you editing it, so never read the updated version.
But where will Ms. Legrand sleep? I suppose I'll have to make room for her in my room...:-)
Glad to have you here, Zoli...I mean....gyrfalcon. Hehe
Presumably Nyugusk already has living arrangements elsewhere. He can come to 457 Jabberwocky Ln. during the day to hang out, or he could potentially take over part of the cellar and have it turned into a room for him.
Ms. LeGrand is a lady. It's going to take more than some cantrip to get in her pants.
Also, I'm planning on having Nyug bail you guys out as his character introduction, so don't worry too much about getting caught Cladissa. If you try to run they'll try to kill you.
OK, writing my intro post now. May not be quite as big as I'd hoped, it's been a long, crazy day. I'll have something up before too long though, and might even have time to reply if there's some interaction.
Did we get healed in our incarceration?
If not, the wand of inf healing needs to burn 2 charges to heal Hrimnagel
thanks
And another on me. I got chewed up a bit.
Meant to ask that earlier but forgot. Will definitely use charges to get everybody healed up unless the Paladins felt sorry for us upon our release. Though I doubt it. But I'll wait for Eugeni's call to mark off the charges.
Eugeni? Hells no they didn't heal you :P
What do you think this is, the European Union?
(joking, obviously I hope)
*brain asplodes from confusing game threads/names*
Figured. Going to ASSUME 2 charges on Grommuk, 2 on Hrim, one on Cladissa, one on myself. Will that get everyone to full HP?