Aubrey's Other Eberron Campaign - The Unbinding (Inactive)

Game Master Aubrey the Malformed

"I did not realize we had sieage engineer at our disposal. To hit her with anything we could make would need her to be inmobile essentially, and get her in one spesific location. Not to mention those would be very difficult to hide. Sure if we had days maybe we could make something and test it out until we understand timing and line of fire. A simple deadweight or pittrap might be doable with the time we have but that is about the extent of it. "

"A catapult isn't that difficult with manpower. I'm no siege engineer, but I know enough to draw up plans and see them assembled and lead a crew in their fire. 4-6 lizardfolk could cut several trees of appropriate size within minutes, drag them in place within an hour, adjust lengths and assemble within two more. Speaking of which, how many laborers do we have?"

"Perhaps several catapults was an order too tall."

"An accurate catapult is. If we had blue prints where someone already did the calculations and tests where it hits at which angle I would be all for it. I am just very concerned about friendly fire, that being said with reload times being what they are I don't think it will get off more than one shot, possibly 2. Still I have no idea how you spent the war, you think you can manage it I have no objections."

Cole nods, "If Nalverren's time and losing 5 of the lizard folk means we can bring a siege engine to bear on Kalaktua, I say we do it.

"And maybe digging into the mud isn't the most efficient what to fight it, but baiting it into the middle of a trap is. Chief Pooma or Bokehn, do either of you have lantern oil? Or something else highly flammable? Turning Kalaktua into a burning pitch-ball as we hit her with siege weaponry seems like a good start to putting her down."

"Well, admittedly i didnt spend it on a targeting platform, but i'll run some calculations and see what I can magic up. I know catapult crews are small, especially since i'm not planning on a massive one. Just something that can pack more of a punch than a guy with a mallet."

Challenge accepted.

"Kalaktua will return. We must either flee, or fight. So we will fight," says Pooma resolutely, before adding in typically pragmatic lizardfolk fashion, "If the fight goes badly, we can always flee then."

A catapult... It's so crazy, it might just work! You will need to try some sort of skill checks to get one designed, and then built. However, the lizardfolk work in wood as they have a palisade, canoes and huts, so you can leverage some of their expertise. And you are, of course, mythic now - and Nalverren is a mythic genius to boot. So if he can't pull it off, no one can.

Plus, if people have similar building projects in mind, they would follow a similar path - describe want you want, and together we can propose some suitable skill checks.

Bokehn has some alchemist's fire - about five flasks, which isn't all that much, but would be able to ignite something. If someone wants to try a Knowledge (Nature) check (to find it yourselves) or a Diplomacy (Gather Information) check (to find out from the lizardfolk) it might point you in the direction of a tar pit or something similar where you can possibly gather pitch.

know nature: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23

I assume that will pass. If not, ignore the following.

"I smelled something like tar about a mile inland. We could drag a dugout in and fill it up."

Pooma begins allocating lizardfolk villagers to the adventurers so they can assist.

Assume that each of you gets five helpers. They are primarily to make (DC 10) Aid Another checks. If you want, you can reallocate some of your workers to other players to give more Aid Another checks. They will have standard skills for a lizardman per the Bestiary.

OK, in terms of gathering pitch, you can probably pick up more than enough. However, someone needs to make a Craft (Alchemy) check to convert it to something usefully flammable. The higher the check, the more bang for your buck.

For the catapult, first you need to make a Profession (Siege Engineer) check, DC 10, to get the basic principles. Then building one is a Craft (Wood) check - to build a functioning catapult from scratch is demanding and will require lots of help. I'll set the DC at 35. However, that'll be a pretty jury-rigged sort of affair with a chance to fall apart with each use. So higher checks will make it more robust.

Ashshar, having only understood a fraction of the words used, did get that his new friends were going to help them.

With a smile, the Lizardfolk gets to work chopping woods, as he doesn't know much about tar or advanced siege engineering.

So... umm, any other work a hunter lizard can help you with?

Nalverren, Wultram, can either of you handle the alchemy check? If not then maybe we should scrap the tar plan and you can put Rehil to work elsewhere.

i have alchemy +8 and will assist if it won't take me too much time. I could probably supervise or advise/give direction

"Is kalaktua a creature of true evil, or simply a powerful predator?" Nalverren asks of Pooma and any of the others of a divine bent that were present in a previous battle.

"She is a force of nature. But that is little comfort for those who feed her hunger."

"Nothing that I have seen suggest she is anything other than just a dragon turtle. Granted I am hardly an expert on the matter and she is the first one I have ever seen." Wultram notes.

"I think I will go with simple pits with sharpened poles in them, just something large enough for her to step on and hurt feet possibly slowing down advance, don't have time to make a large enough pit to actually trap the beast. Oh and we definitely should have some lookouts to give us a warning of her approach."

So essentially what I am thinking is make as many pits as time allows. Have them be deep enough that feet/leg would fall in if stepped on, inside the pit have about arm thick wooden spear/pike/pole. Have said holes room between them so our medium sized guys can move freely. And top them off with branches mud and such to hide them. I have hard time figuring out how many could be done. From my time in the military I know it would take 3-4 hours(in the forests we have here not sure how it would work in a jungle by a river) for a single person to dig about equivalent sized hole with the entrenching tool, so likely less than that assuming we have access to proper shovels. Naturally the poles and hiding the holes will take time too. But from my rough guess it would be something around 1/person(assuming we have the 5h), assuming you want people in fighting condition and not exhausted. Granted this is quite a lot of speculation on my part since situation is quite different.

Anyways what kind of skill checks if any that would need? I can't imagine just digging taking some but maybe hiding them?

prof siege engineer DC 10: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19

craft wood with surge, 2 infusions: 1d20 + 8 + 4 + 5 + 1d6 ⇒ (19) + 8 + 4 + 5 + (2) = 38

are the Aid rolls assumed to all succeed, or should i roll them? If they should be rolled, what is their bonus for craft-wood? The above is without the +0-10 aid. I barely made it so i hope those rolls are assumed to succeed, and did we do away with Action Points?

Nalverren, are you able to create an illusory double of yourself that'll be compelling enough or last long enough to act as bait when we see Kalaktua coming? An illusory double we can put up in the middle of all these pits Wultram is suggesting we build?

I just want to know if that's a useful angle for us to be pursuing, or if we need to focus our time in other areas.

Otherwise, I can't think of specific other uses of Cole's time. One idea, given his experience in armorsmithing, he could possibly help rebuild some retaining walls (and reinforce them to try to withstand Kalaktua's strength) in order to try to keep her where we want to fight her.

my only illusion accesses would not be sufficient given that i'll be 100+ ft away when combat starts.

[Dice=prof siege engineer DC 10]1d20+4

[Dice=craft wood with surge, 2 infusions]1d20+8+4+5+1d6

are the Aid rolls assumed to all succeed, or should i roll them? If they should be rolled, what is their bonus for craft-wood? The above is without the +0-10 aid. I barely made it so i hope those rolls are assumed to succeed, and did we do away with Action Points?

Let's assume those Aid Anothers work. Based on your post above, the DC 20 probably assumes you aren't trying to throw up a catapult from scratch with a bunch of people who have never seen a catapult before, are using stone-age tools, and within 5 hours. But on the other hand, those are good rolls and maybe DC 35 is a bit unkind. So...

Nalverren sketches out the principle in the dirt to a group of lizardfolk. His clear explanations fire them up for the challenge, and they begin dismantling huts and cutting trees for materials. Even to Nalverren's surprise, they manage to knock up two catapults, ready to hurl.

The spell suggested wouldn't work in this context. I'm not talking about the Broken condition, I'm talking about them falling apart, although a Repair spell may be useful in this context.

Anything else anyone wants to do?

anyone looking to be useful could help make catapult ammunition, stone would be nice but if there isnt enough of that we could use logs as well, chopped into rough spherical shapes.

Returning to see two catapults in place, Nalverren is rightly surprised. He then sets out to accomplish further things on his expansive list.

- can we assume the wood they used was cut in a line away from the expected location of the action, so that we will have line of sight? If not i can deal with the -6 initially, as the lack of line of sight also means Kalaktua doesnt have line of sight to us.
- ammunition, and a sled or wagon to pull it on so that it can keep up with the catapults if they move. 50 pieces of ammunition should be sufficient maximum, if the combat lasts longer than 25 rounds we are in trouble.
- clear a path for the catapults to move along should kalaktua pursue (either away from the combat stage of there is line of sight, or a rough circle around the stage at a distance of 100ft if there is no LoS).
- Nalverren can make a trap up to CR 5 in 5 minutes with an infusion. I'll let the others choose where to put it. I was thinking concealed pit trap. To make it concealed enough and tough enough to resist, it won't be very harmful (20ft deep, 20x20 top, 2d6 dmg, 30+ perception DC, Disable Device DC 15, Ref save DC 29, craft traps DC20: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21) but it'll help keep Kalaktua in place (i don't imagine it climbs well, and a turn spent climbing is a turn not attacking).

Nalverren also approaches the other party members. "So, the good lizardfolk here have been zealous in their labors, and have seen fit to use the instructions I gave them for a catapult to make two catapults. As such, I could use five or more additional sets of hands to operate the additional one. Though, they are still ramshackle affairs, so if I can't get five more people I will just keep the second one in reserve. Firing both at once is better."
"Also, in return for these extra troops I can place a pit trap in the arena to hopefully help contain Kalaktua. You should also know that until Kalaktua is contained, the catapults may pose a danger to any within fifteen feet of kalaktua. I would advise caution in that regard until the crew or crews have found their mark."

Consider separating the catapults .

i did, but then i'd need another person with high INT/BAB to be the crew lead for the second one, as it is i have to use inspiration to give myself proficiency to negate the -4 for siege weapons.

Ahhh. Now I understand.

OK, I'm assuming you are done with your preparations unless I hear otherwise.

once the scout's call goes up, Nalverren will do a few infusions. Bane on the ammo, bestow weapon proficiency on himself, magic siege weapon +1 on the catapults. With preps in place he will have a decent chance of hitting (between 45% and 75% depending on which way the path for the catapult movement is oriented in relation to the prepared arena)

[ooc]Cole's team will help with whatever, honestly. I don't have a solid plan to be of use.[/oo]

As the plans ar coming together, Cole looks out at what he hopes will be a Kalaktua killing field. "Where should the close-quarters units set up? I'm assuming we want to be held back in reserve initially, then be ready to move in to engage when it's useful."

Yeah other than casting false life once the call comes out, that is all.

"Spread out enough that breath weapon can't catch lot of you."

also might wanna see if you can manage longspears since kalaktua will hopefully fall in a 20ft deep hole.

Has anyone dug any holes? We had a lot of ideas, but only the catapults idea has been realized so far. Rehil got some tar, but no one has done anything with it. No one has rolled to dig holes and so on. At the moment you are a bit uncoordinated, with everyone running their own game, so to speak. Since you've got five hours plus of game time, assume you have time to put your heads together to form a plan.

i will use Unseen Engineers to make a concealed pit trap as described above. i will let the others choose where in the area the trap will be placed. ideally (in my mind anyway) we get kalaktua to fall in it, catapults find their mark, then melee folks spread out around the edge and skewer any exposed flesh with longspears, archers shoot if they think it'll help. With any luck, a giant turtle will have a hard time getting out of the pit.

from above, i already succeeded on the DC 20 check: (20ft deep, 20x20 top, 2d6 dmg, 30+ perception DC, Disable Device DC 15, Ref save DC 29. This is CR5 under the rules and is the most powerful Nalverren can make with the infusion.

I did ask what the rolls were, for the holes. Since you did not say anything on it I assumed none were required. Regarding tar I assumed Rehil had some plan for it. That being said yes this whole planning phase has been pretty much a clusterf&&*, no surprise given pbp wich sucks at that. Will see if we can come up with something usable.

One of you geniuses wanted to try to burn the turtle. Fetching pitch with which to burn it seemed as good a use of Rehil's time as any. He's not well suited to this sort of planning and building. Do the alchemy to make it useable or not at your option.

alchemy: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23

Apologies if I failed to notice your previous comment. Nalverren's managed to dig a big hole using magic, so do you want to dig any more or leave it as it is? I guess it would be a STR roll, the success of which would determine how big the hole will get. Note that, since this is a very wet place, a deep hole will probably fill up with water - not a problem if you are using magic but maybe a hindrance if you are digging by hand.

Concerning the tar, as Rehil points out, we either need a Craft (Alchemy) check or we don't bother. Nalverren's been pretty busy so I think it's a stretch for him to do all this and distil petrol from the tar. So I recommend that someone else do it. If necessary, Pooma's a healer and he's got some skill at it, though not to a mythic extent.

[Dice=alchemy]1d20+8

Eh, we can call that Pooma's skill check, since +8 wouldn't be beyond his capabilities. Let's call that three doses of Alchemist's Fire Lite - it'll work like it for this fight but won't work afterwards.

EDIT: Lets assume he's got some helpers, so let's make that five doses of AF Lite (same flavour, no calories).

I will do the STR stuff. No biggie losing comments throigh this sea of posts, I did ask what should I do to cut trees and build some walls or pallisades. Anyway, Ashshar is a hunter not a soldier... so he's at a bit of a loss.

Strength Check to Dig With Mythic Surge: 1d20 + 4 + 1d6 ⇒ (19) + 4 + (3) = 26

Cole and his allotment of lizard villagers will help with the pit-digging, also. If Ashshar has that covered, Cole is just as happy to chop down any trees that help with Nalverren's plan.

Well to explain the idea, I am gonna use human scale. Dig holes that are 2-3ft deep, and put a spear head at the bottom. The idea being when you step into the hole it will hurt your foot and slow down any advance. So I suppose primitive alternative to anti personel mines. Witch scaling this up, it would be sharpened wooden poles and idk 5x5x5 holes? Also what would be he roll to hide them, just putting some branches over them and then cover them with mud, might be issue with human sized targets but should be no chance of them supporting the dragon turtles weight.

It might be helpful to look on the map and say where those pits - including Nalverren's - are going to go. Assume you can hand-dig another pit the size of Nalverren's.

i was imagining a little further south, but can we lure kalaktua that far?

Unless there are objections. Put Nalverren pits corners on Q23-Q26-T23-T26, hand dug pit V23-V26-Y23-Y26. The idea is due to the size of dragon turtle IF it comes through middle island towards south it can't without triggering one or the other. And even if they are noticed they will waste decent amount of movement by forcing to go around. This also allows medium sized creatures that know where the pits are move fairly freely.
Catapults, leave that to Nalverren, though because of the palisade, probably have to be in the village due to LOS since in this situation blind fire is pretty bad.

Will the catapults deliver direct or arcing fire and could you put a spotter up a tree? Can we range the catapults before combat? What about creating holes in the palisade to fire through?

Or you could pull the palisade down at the back. The catapults will provide arcing fire but also bear in mind that you have a jungle starting not all that far away from the village, so line of sight might be very restricted if you put them too far away. I'm going to add some rows to the spreadsheet to provide more scope for placing - let me know if you want to tear down part of the palisade.

Updated map.

catapults must be a minimum of 100ft away per the rules (unless part of their hastily-constructed nature is a lower minimum distance, but changing increments is just as damaging). Line of sight would be nice, and in one of my earlier posts i asked that the wood we cut down be done in a 100ft line from the arena so that we would have line of sight. If kalaktua sees the line in the trees and figures out it is being pelted from that way, it may charge right into one of the pits.

Aubrey, can you give Tenro and BC permission to draw right on the map?

50-51 R/S & U/V should be good for the catapults, and cut down just enough trees to get LoS to the pits while leaving them high enough stumps to hinder kalaktua's advance should she try anything. sharpen the tops even.

Yeah, don't get carried away, you've got five hours and stone age tools, you ain't going to be doing lots of tree-felling and stump-sharpening any time soon. You can get line of sight, that's about it.

OK, someone (other than Wultram and Nalverren) make a Perception check. Place yourselves in your starting positions on the map, and roll initiative.

I can do perception!: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (14) + 11 = 25

where do you want the melee types to hide.