DM oKOyA's Mummy's Mask: The Half-Dead City

Game Master Lord oKOyA

Mus'ad viciously kicks the prone fallen companions. "How about now? Are they dead yet?" :)

Bump?

I was working on it when you bumped! :)

Mus'ad has the highest CMB. If he delays, we should have a good chance to pile on some Aid Anothers for a grapple attempt, and then Pherenike can pummel it flat.

I am going to rule that you carry out the action immediately. Otherwise the spell is somewhat nerfed IMHO.

I don't think the spell/SLA should be able to mess with action economy like that, essentially handing out extra standard actions as long as they're detrimental to the party. Beguiling gift spells out that the PC can't take any actions to harm itself until its next turn in initiative, as does command.

If it had told Myron to drop the item, it's one thing, as dropping an item is a free action (albeit one usually taken on one's own turn, although beguiling gift allows it as a consequence of the spell on the caster's turn, so there's precedent).

But if Myron gets a free standard action to pour out the vial now, does his init move to immediately after the div's and give us a round to try to stop him from destroying all his potions? Or does he have to destroy another potion on his ordinary initiative, getting two actions this round?

I mean, if Mark or I wanted to try to stop Myron from pouring the potion out, we'd still have to make a Disarm check vs. his CMD, which isn't an auto-success, as I would presume the magic would force him to try to resist us. And we'd be spending our standard action on that rather than on beating on the monster. For Pherenike, she decided trying to kill the thing was higher priority than saving Myron's coin (i.e., I had her post written up before you responded to Jacob, and she wasn't going to try to stop him).

With both hands engaged - one with a shield and the other with a hammer, Mus'ad is rightfully nonplussed at Pherenike's suggestion.

Ha! Sorry; forgot he uses a shield. :)

Heh - well with a 2 on the roll it doesn't really matter what he did anyhow.

Just as a side note - suggestion would not compel Myron to pour out his alchemist's fire.

As per PRD: Asking the creature to do some obviously harmful act automatically negates the effect of the spell.

I think pouring liquid fire on the ground is obvious nei?

Yeah, I am good with however we want to play it. (I was working when I posted that ruling from my phone earlier and honestly didn't give it much thought .)

Given that interpretation, the Div would just have readied an action to make the suggestion to whoever attempted to apply the oil of bless, thereby maintaining action economy and bonus, no chance for other heroes to interfere! :)

And things just get weird/complex when characters attempt to pass each other items using strict action economy.* :P

And lastly, it goes without saying that characters should not be able to act upon the (player) information that Myron had failed his saving throw prior to his actions revealing whether he had fallen victim to the compulsion magic. I mean if he had made his save, no one would have been attempting to knock the vial from his hand in all likelihood. ;)

Just as a side note - suggestion would not compel Myron to pour out his alchemist's fire.

As per PRD: Asking the creature to do some obviously harmful act automatically negates the effect of the spell.

I think pouring liquid fire on the ground is obvious nei?

Rather than just have Myron go for the harmless vials, I purposely included the dangerous ones for a chance to trigger that clause and end the suggestion early. :)

If you wish I can remove them from the randomizer next round and/or sub in some of his other mundane vials (ink?). :)

In other news, there is a very good chance that this is the last monster in the house. :P

And lastly, it goes without saying that characters should not be able to act upon the (player) information that Myron had failed his saving throw prior to his actions revealing whether he had fallen victim to the compulsion magic. I mean if he had made his save, no one would have been attempting to knock the vial from his hand in all likelihood. ;)

Then how did the Professor know Pherenike failed her saving throw? :P

The professor finally snaps to, Oh? These? They are Vargouilles. Hideous monsters from the fiendish outer planes, where they flop and flap through strange and haunted skies in constant search of fresh souls to torment. The screeching renders some paralyzed. They should recover momentarily. However, I'm afraid the "kiss" suffered by Pherenike is the vile thing's way of reproducing. We must act quickly as she has already begun the process of transforming into one herself!

Seriously, though, you ought to ask for saving throws not to be rolled until the PC's next initiative. If Myron knows he failed and can (free-action-speech) shout, "No!" in horror, it's reasonable for the rest of us to react to his response.

Touche, although I did include a bit about some of Pherenike's hair falling out as a result of the failed save, which is an observable symptom of her contracting the disease. ;)

[And another reason why I shouldn't DMNPC players. Lol]

I am happy to keep saves to ones own turn if that makes things easier. I am loathe to make rolls on behalf of players anyways, unless it directly impacts the remainder of my own post. I know it is the nature of the pbp that people sometimes have to post out of order, but it isn't usually an issue as everyone is pretty good at separating meta knowledge. I have no complaints. Given the number of mistakes I have made in this fight alone, it would be pretty irresponsible of me to start chucking stones. :)

FWIW I see no reason not to use Saving Finale to give Myron another saving throw.

Am I prohibited from doing so? Don't have time this morning to fully digest everything i'm reading.

Of course not. We can recon it. Cast away!

Edit: I see you have already. Will post up later when I have some real time.

Boosting to hit, one would assume?

Yes.

Elrisiel will have to move (probably to K13); you have to be in a position to make a melee attack on the enemy to make an Aid Another check.

Right, forgot that the head moved since she flailed at it last time. Move too, then.

Myron wastes no time in dashing after Pherenike and coating her weapon in the blessed oil quickly followed by Kheled offering divine help to guide her hand.

Elrisiel does her best to divide the Div's attention, hoping to give Pherenike the opening she needs to strike a telling blow.

All these resources being expended on Pherenike's next attack roll are just crying out for a natural 1. :P

That is likely at this point...either that or the creature crits you and drops you...lol

Here's my actual prediction what happens:

Here's my actual prediction what happens:

** spoiler omitted **

Indeed. ;)

Sorry for the radio silence over the weekend - had a Monday public holiday in KL, inclusive of a Friday poker night, and Sunday dinner party that stretched into the wee hours of Monday... so haven't been able to catch up.

Should have posts up in da morning my time.

Here is the full description.

Inner Courtyard (Ground floor)

A tiled walkway surrounds a square patch of earth and sand in this high atrium. A balcony on the second floor overlooks the courtyard, and a square hole in the ceiling opens to the sky. Four columns in the corners of the atrium support the roof above, and the walls are decorated with symbols and hieroglyphs depicting animals, celestial creatures, and the sun and moon.

Second Floor Balcony

This balcony wraps around a twenty-foot-square opening in the floor, overlooking the inner courtyard below and connecting the rooms of the second floor. Above, a square skylight in the ceiling provides natural light to the ground floor and ventilation for the entire building.

The vargouille did indeed fly out of the skylight. The Div however retreated over the balcony rail, to the second floor.

Yeah, so, ready escape route that none of us can block and no reason not to take it other than being contractually obligated as the BBEG of the level to fight to the death. Pherenike's not privy to the meta. ;)

Mus'ad's only 55-60% chasing it because he's down 4 wisdom at present (so back to 'normal average') and it bit him. Natural response to seek a bit of percussive revenge... even if like 99% of the inhabitants of the AP he can't hurt them due to some sort of hardness / DR :P

I'm not trying to steer things in any particular direction. Doesn't matter to me if you go upstairs or not. Now, or later.*

I answered your question about the layout of the building, verified the directions in which the two opponents went, and expanded upon a statement made by the Professor in the heat of battle.

The Div is not "obligated" to fight to the death, and neither are you, so no meta worries there. And I believe that Myron suggested a perfectly sound tactic for dealing with the Div's flying, but was ignored. ;)

*Of course, not fully exploring the site, and returning with an incomplete report, may have repercussions. :P

I'm not trying to steer things in any particular direction.

Never said you were, but Myron is. I was just verifying that the conditions under which Pherenike made her decision that pursuit was futile were correct and I hadn't misread the descriptions.

DM oKOyA wrote:

I'm not trying to steer things in any particular direction.

Never said you were, but Myron is.

That's an interesting view, considering that Myron specifically suggested two options, pursuit or retreat. It was Mus'ad who chose pursuit, and since a big part of Myron's motivation is to be helpful and a team player, he's going along without question, even though he knows he can't really hurt the Div. Neither can Mus'ad, for that matter.

So when the ONLY person in the group with the capacity to effectively fight the enemy chooses to abandon her comrades because she is worried about her own safety, after Myron spent valuable ressources to enhance her weapon, you'd better believe she'll get called on it. A real soldier behaving that way would be courtmartialed.

We know the Div is intelligent. It has proven that it can react to our tactics, and it likely understands that the oil on the flail will only last a short while. It is perfectly reasonable to assume that it has only retreated temporarily, and will return to resume the fight after the oil has worn off. So much more the reason to press on and try to finish it while we hold the advantage. Sure, following it might be pointless, but so would retreating empty handed after we manage to fight off all the monsters.

Myron isn't trying to steer anything! He's a follower and a helper, not a leader. And the primary reason he is that, is because it was a problem that my last character was assertive. But our group HAS no active leader, and we are woefully incapable of acting like a coherent unit. That's poison to any game, especially a PbP. It is dragging the story along at a snails pace and I find it utterly frustrating.

I never said there was anything wrong with Myron trying to steer things in his chosen direction, either. He's a PC, and it's his job to influence the group. But Pherenike is also a PC and gets to put her words in edgewise, too.

Yes, Myron offered two choices. It sounded like everyone in the group was going to be allowed to chime in on it. Mus'ad voted for pursuit; Pherenike voted for retreat. Suddenly, without anyone else getting any input, it becomes a given that the whole party is in favor of pursuit and anyone who dared vote otherwise is a cowardly traitor. I wasn't insisting on my way and leaving without anyone else getting to have any input, and yet I'm the one getting yelled at for not being party-friendly.

Jacob, when you intruded into an invite-only game, I asked an acquaintance on the boards who had been in a game with you what you were like. He said you got your way by bullying the rest of the party into doing what you wanted and he would never be in a game with you again. I agree with his assessment and will, in the future, abide by his remedy.

Speaking of intelligence, insulting the national heritage of the party bard and the only PC with a real ability to damage the enemy doesn't demonstrate much on Myron's part.

Sincere apologies for my lack of communication or leadership. RL has unfortunately swallowed me near-whole.

I've moved out of my flat but the house i'm buying is taking forever to have its local searches done. I'm essentially between houses and with work how it is as well as my over-zealous, unbearably over-bearing stepmother living at home I get approximately 30 minutes of free time a day at the moment.

I've frankly been uncomfortable discussing it on such a public forum.

Once again, sincerest apologies.

You bring up some valid points, Joana. We could go back and forth over the fairness of Pherenike being singled out, but I honestly don't see the point. I'm too weary, and I doubt any good will come of it. I'll just address this part, which I think is the core of the issue.

Jacob, when you intruded into an invite-only game, I asked an acquaintance on the boards who had been in a game with you what you were like. He said you got your way by bullying the rest of the party into doing what you wanted and he would never be in a game with you again. I agree with his assessment and will, in the future, abide by his remedy.

You're right. I did intrude on an already full, invite-only game. In hindsight, I should never have done so, and when the problems with Tariq began, I should have just bowed out instead of making a new PC. That is painfully clear to me now, and I am sincerely sorry for not doing so.

I figured I could pull it off because I knew the GM and half the group from a previous, long-running campaign, and I really wanted to play in this AP with Chad as the GM. I let that cloud my judgment, and for that I apologize.

I know my play-style does not mix well with everyone. I've got a good idea which campaign you're referring to (also one, where I joined the game late). It's not fun to be told that multiple people consider me a bully, and I'll certainly do what I can to modify that in the future.

That said, I stand by most of what I have said and done during this game and in the discussion. Not much point in going into detail, suffice to say that I accept some of the responsibility for the failure of this game, not all of it.

At this point, it should be obvious to everyone that I can't remain a part of this game. Despite everything, I've enjoyed much of it, and I thank you all for it. I hope to game with those of you who wish to do so in the future.

Sincere apologies for my lack of communication or leadership. RL has unfortunately swallowed me near-whole.

I've moved out of my flat but the house i'm buying is taking forever to have its local searches done. I'm essentially between houses and with work how it is as well as my over-zealous, unbearably over-bearing stepmother living at home I get approximately 30 minutes of free time a day at the moment.

I've frankly been uncomfortable discussing it on such a public forum.

Once again, sincerest apologies.

Alex, I know RL has you swamped, and you shouldn't have to apologize for that, regardless of how it affects the game. If anything, we should all have made an effort to work with each other to take some of the pressure off of you and your char.

Best wishes that everything sorts itself out soon.

Wow... seems things have gone wildly off the rails. :(

I'm not even sure what all to say... other than I am sad that it has come to this.

I think (hope?) that some of the conflict is the result of the medium we are using, differing play styles, mixed with some preconceived notions about players.

I saw the debate as to whether to pursue the Div as "in character" until it boiled over into the OOC.

FWIW I did not view Jacob's joining the game as intruding. Truth be told, I gave Alex final say on player roster, as this game was meant as a thank you to Alex for allowing me into so many of his games. (And no worries Alex, or apologies needed, life takes precedence.)

Nor do I feel that Jacob is a bully. That has not been my experience in the games I have played with him. (And I think it was slightly uncalled for to slander him in an open forum using hearsay from an anonymous source.)

But enough about that. I am not looking to take sides here. I would rather we could all get along and get back to the business of having fun. That really is the point of this distraction no?

I would hope that you two might reconsider but barring any miraculous burying of the hatchets, it would seem that we have lost two players, with two others quite busy atm. I will look to you all for how you wish to proceed from here. If the consensus is to call the game, I will do so. If we wish to carry on, we can discuss options.

Regardless. It truly has been a pleasure running this game and I look forward to gaming with all of you in some capacity in the future, whether in this game, the others we already play together in, or another game.

Thank you for your time and efforts everyone.

Chad

To be brutally honest I think that it's likely the best option to call the game... it's either that or almost take stock and soft reset with potentially different characters entirely. FWIW I'd likely back out at this point primarily from the AP perspective as I haven't found it anywhere near as engaging as I'd hoped it would be.

I know opinions have differed on the setup and what not - but I've yet to get any tangible IC or OOC 'traction' with the goals of the AP. Maybe this is a slow-burner where it comes in strong later, but it's not worked for me.

FWIW - as laid out previously, I did find Jacob's initial entry with Tariq intruding... and I'd have to be honest to say that the brouhaha from that has colored my opinion and enjoyment moving forwards. That said I think this is important to keep in mind:

I know my play-style does not mix well with everyone.

: and equally applies to me as it would anyone else.

I tend to agree with Mus'ad that this AP hasn't really felt terribly engaging for me either. I'm fine with calling it.

Thank you for your candor Mark and Ansha.

I have talked to Joana and Jacob outside of this thread and Joana is definitely out but is encouraging me to carry on. Jacob would still play if the situation was resolved. Alex as we know is busy, but presumably still interested in playing if and when time permits. Stephen has informed me over IM that his work has started blocking the Paizo site and as such he will likely be forced to call his Serpent's Skull game, but would like to continue this game if possible.

What does this all mean? Well, I am inclined to carry on with those that wish to continue and add players (likely any of those in SS that wish to join here [markofbane and Balani]) as needed.

Mark and Ansha, you are obviously welcome to continue if you wish as well.

Character changes would also be easy to handle at this point, if anyone wishes to drop their current PC for a new one. The in game explanation is easy as it could be worked as the amalgamation of two decimated teams (this one and one of the others). You would of course have total freedom in designing your new character. (You wouldn't have to pick one from the existing described teams/NPCs or anything)

As far as the lack of engagement with the AP, I would only point out that most APs take a little time to set up the main arc. The first module is usually meant to set the background and for some team building and what not. This one is no different. We are literally on the precipice of the main story beginning... and the team building has been... well we all know how that has gone so far. :P

So, that is all the pitch I will make. I will not hold it against anyone who wishes to bow out. I would just ask that you let me know if you wish to quit or carry on. Once everyone has indicated, we will move forward from there.

Cheers!

After due consideration... I will confirm that I'll back out of the PbP.

Kheled is in to continue.

I'm fine with continuing as well.

Myron is ready for more adventure, provided everyone are cool with me staying on.

I'm actually enjoying this adventure. But I want to be sure everyone would enjoy the game because I am in it, not despite it.

I'm fine with that, Myron.

Sorry to see you go Mark.

That leaves us with 4 including Alex, down 2. We have lost most of the melee strength in the party and it will likely need to be replaced. I am still thinking we could add from Terok's SS game if that is acceptable to everyone. Does anyone wish to change out their character's at this point?

I have an idea on how to continue once we decide how we wish to address the above.

Let me know your thoughts everyone.

I could replace El with an elven fighter--might be interesting to take the Sensate archetype from Occult Adventures. But I think I'm also the only full-arcane caster, and I'm okay with staying with El too.

I would give current players the option to change characters if they wish before we might add any others. After that is determined, the new players could fill any roles not currently covered.

I would like to keep Myron as is. With his two fighter levels and path into knifemaster rogue, he is going to both deal decent damage, support others in combat and cover the skill role.

I agree that we need a melee fighter.

Bringing in the SS guys sounds like a good move.

Here and confirming i'm as happy to play on as I am to try another AP. I think Okoya has been running a fantastic game despite dealing with many strong player personalities and my notable absence.

I'm en route to Germany. Will try and post IC on the train.

I am going to take the lack of posts indicating otherwise that no one wishes to change out their characters.

With that settled, I would ask for confirmation from Stephen that it is alright for me to recruit players from his SS campaign. Once they are contacted, and assuming that markofbane and Balani are interested, I will ask them to join the OOC thread to discuss their character options/interests. They would then likely need a few days to get their characters together and then we could resume the combat.

Sound good?

Sounds good!

Okay with me. Let me post in my PBP tonight letting people know it is officially done, I owe the people in there at least that.

Okay with me. Let me post in my PBP tonight letting people know it is officially done, I owe the people in there at least that.

Bump?

Our 2 new players have been invited and should being posting here fairly soon to begin discussing their characters.

As soon as they get that taken care of I'll fill them in a bit and we can resume the combat. :)