Darkest Corners volume 2

Game Master Harakani

I don't know how to copy the image but I moved it, hope thats good enough.

Also to be clear, SEFU has no idea what happens in a spooky squad, myself I have no problem reading the previous posts, which SEFU would do if he wasnt so busy invading a people eating home.

I am putting this in as a response to ophelia that giving me an explanation OOC isn't what I am asking for. Dunno if that will clear things up but its a just incase.

Sefu, I think she understands, I certainly do. She might have thought you could take offense at what Castor said. I hope you would not. It is just that at that particular moment Castor would not want to explain anything much to a "newbie" (though he is certainly way less experience in the Guard than Sefu, but with supernatural occurences he might be ahead). On one hand just "bad timing" for the question in-game, on the other perfectly understandable for someone reassigned to our squad. Hope I am not rambling too much :-)

GM: I encountered the same problem as Sefu, I have no idea how to copy the image :-( So I just moved it... Sorry

Edit: there seems to be no difference in posting the rolls with or without ooc tags, it only changes the color of plain text

Huh, good point. I will upload copies later I guess.
Sorry guys, thought this would be easy.

Laurestine, you okay to pick a spot on the map?
If Ophelia isn't back by then I'll bot her.

H5 is cool.

I just finished re-reading Hawk & Fisher 1. It has always been my favorite of the 6 novels. Weird thing is, it is one of only three I even vaguely remember... The other one being Winner Take All and The God Killer. I just cannot remember anything from those other three...

Hello again!

I'm back now, couldn't access the site all day yesterday. Currently, I'm simultaneously attempting to catch up on my pbps and packing my stuff to move back home - so IC post might be delayed until tonight. And I can't copy the image of Ophelia either :P

Dice rolls:

Int: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20

Perception: 1d20 + 10 + 1d6 ⇒ (5) + 10 + (2) = 17 +1 vs traps

@Sefu - I meant an IC explanation : )

Hawk and Fisher is one of my favourite series; expect a lot of homages :)

Laurestine; can you roll init and perception please?

@Sefu; you didn't roll knowledge local?

Ophelia: That was hilarious, and perfect!

DM: I would like to know where in the building Castor saw those auras. I am sure he could recognize floors if not rooms. And he would remember.

You were scanning only parts of the building remember.

The auras kept moving around.

Now you've seen the layout you think one of them was in this first room.

Understood, thank you for clarification.

Sefu, if you can take your actions I will then do the NPCs.

@Castor:

If successful, such effects are suppressed for the duration of this spell. The effects resume when the duration of this spell expires.

Like I said "for the time being" ;-)

Post will be made in the morning. Tired and my brain power is gone.

Ophelia, is your lack of informing us, that the girl is a vampire, intentional? Or an oversight? Because until you do so and tell us it's weaknesses, we might not fight it effectively.

Hrm, yeah sorry ^^ Thought I did. Sorry!

No problem, just do so now. Regulations were more important ;-)

They were!

Had the girl followed them - she would have had proper ID. And then you would all know that she was a vampire and we wouldn't have to go trough all this clobbering :P

You are entirely correct, of course. But for future reference, not having ID does not mean the subject is a vampire ;-)

Also, you could recite all the known weaknesses in that monotonous voice of yours. Some of us do not have to know all that much about vampires ;-)
Just please state that you are doing so, we will look it up.

Heh, but if she HAD produced a valid ID, her being a vampire would not be a problem : )

I'll get to it!

Edit: The more I think about it, the more likely it seems that this is merely a spawn - and an involuntarily one at that.

@GM - is it okay if I switch Ophelia's action to a grapple attempt instead?

Ophelia provokes an AoO, but her current AC is 22. Should the attack connect, the damage will improve the Vampires CMD by the inflicted amount.

That is only partly true. Even citizens with valid IDs may commit crimes and if they do, it might be good to know what we are up against ;-)
I still do agree that the regulations were important ;-) At least from a certain point of view...
Edit: And from RP perspective I like Ophelia quoting them! :-)

@Ophelia: Sure

Yeah. It is not illegal to be a vampire.
It is pretty damn illegal to use mind control spells, especially on a guard.
It is not illegal for a guard to use lethal force to defend themselves when in mortal danger regardless of mind control, though it can be unpopular.

Sefu: you're up.

Ophelia's plan: A stake in the heart incapacitates a vampire without destroying it utterly. This would let us restrain the girl while still making sure she causes no more trouble or damage. There should be plenty of splinters and wood lying around for this.

When it is her/our turn to act again, she will first try the diplomatic approach. If that fails we can have Sefu pin her and someone else stake her, with or without her will.

This seems the most 'humane' solution, since it seems fairly likely she got turned against her will - and thus might be able to get proper credentials and some semblance of normal life back.

Interesting idea a la Presidential Vampire. The first part should work, the second - it is really up to the GM. Castor will not like it but he will go along... probably. Especially if ordered by the sergeant.
Just a reminder - we do not have a cell, that will hold a vampire against its will.

That is why we stake it. It is 'dead' until the stake is removed : )

Then dump her in a closet or something. But I think we might find more unwilling pawns if we venture in further ...

@Ophelia; indeed. This is a ransacked woodcarving shop. Anyone can pick up an improvised stake, and with some time could easily have a proper one.

I think we have all acted - does the spawn want to try anything on her initiative before we go into the second round ?

I think I am starting to get how this role playing works and adding backstory is fun to do.
But I want to know if I can stuff like I have in my latest post, where I put in a flashback (In spoiler) to help explain why sefu might fight the team or see what he is seeing while this is going on.
Also I know Dominate doesn't normally do stuff like that but just going Welp I failed the roll, take over GM, seems a little boring.

I think you may give it any flavor you want and this certainly fits. Good thinking :-)

Next time, just write "flashback" (or anything describing the text) instead of "spoiler".

Edit: Also, as the creature is probably evil, you should have added +2 resistance bonus to your will save from the protection from evil spell

All: Updated durations of remaining PfE effect after 2nd round
Castor 3 rounds
Sergeant 4 rounds
Laurestine 5 rounds
Ophelia 6 rounds
Sefu 7 rounds

In case you wonder how to follow Castors excellent advice, here is how the spoiler syntax works with ( instead of [

(spoiler) Super secret! (/spoiler)

Pretty standard and what you used I assumed : )

(spoiler=For GM eyes only!) I am going to steal some gold (/spoiler)

The = sign allows you to name the spoiler. The same works for dice, but you already figured that one out : )

Nested spoilers work for one extra layer, but only if the inner layer is unnamed for some reason :P Like this:

(spoiler=Layered) This is

(spoiler)
The cake is a lie!
(/spoiler)
super secret!
(/spoiler)

Boing! I got the ACG pdf, if anyone has any inquiries about it - feel free to ask!

Ophelia might pick up the Empiricist archetype - it is one that replaces various poison related perks with greater powers of observation. Among other things, it keys perception off Int instead of Wis : )

Ophelia: Wow, I did not even know you can do layered spoilers. Good guide.
I am very much looking forward to peruse the ACG.

Sefu: You have really bad luck with the will save, I guess it was just not ment for you to make it - the backstory explains that quite well :-)
Regarding your posting - you do not have to make a new post immediatelly after you roll, just preview the original post before submiting to see the result or edit the post after you submit.

@Sefu: I liked the flashback, and it was a good use of a spoiler.
Sorry about the dominate; it is a terrible attack - arguably the spawn's most powerful.
If you look up dominate person you'll see you get another save at a bonus if compelled to do acts against your nature. This means it's dangerous for her to order you to kill other guardsmen. On the other hand the "help me" order seems to me to fit right in, especially given the flashback.

@Ophelia: I also have the ACG if you want to update.

@rules people: check out mythic dominate person. This suggests to me that new orders cannot be given while protectioned up. Would appreciate thoughts on this.

Update is complete now I think : )

@Protection from Evil/Dominate

Second: the subject immediately receives another saving throw (if one was allowed to begin with) against any spells or effects that possess or exercise mental control over the creature (including enchantment [charm] effects and enchantment [compulsion] effects, such as charm person, command, and dominate person). This saving throw is made with a +2 morale bonus, using the same DC as the original effect. If successful, such effects are suppressed for the duration of this spell.

The second effect of Protection from Evil. Note the last sentence, which actually suppresses the Dominate Person spell if the save was successful. I think it is this that the Mythic Dominate Person can pierce.

Example: X is hit by Dominate Person cast by Y and fails his save. Z casts Protection from Evil on X and X makes his save with a bonus. Thus is Y's Dominate Person suppressed for the duration of Protection from Evil.

Had X failed his second save, Dominate Person would still be up and running.

Had Y cast Mythic Dominate Person, the non-mythic Protection from Evil would not have suppressed it.

Had Z also cast Mythic Protection from Evil, Y could have tried a caster level check against him to prevent Mythic Dominate Person from being suppressed.

TL:DR I think what they simply mean is, you can't issue commands to your mind-slave is the mindslave is Protected from Evil AND made his save to suppress the Dominate effect, since the Dominate effect is suppressed.

Edit: Come think of it, Protection from Evil might block mental commands even if the subject fails his save. But a verbal order should be no problem!

Ophelia: your last point (about a failed save) is what I'm wondering. I think Castor has unexpectedly walked into this with the best wand in the world because even if you are dominated the ability to control you is limited.
And my understanding is that staking a vampire kills it, which means she can't issue new commands, see through eyes, etc... on the other hand a spell can outlive the caster, so I think it is still present.

Starting to regret using vampires now... hadn't realised what a quagmire dominate person was.

I agree with Ophelia (more or less) - the PfE CAN suppress the effect but only if the save is successful. Also I see no reason she could not give him mental commands as he failed all saves. Unfortunately he will be trying to carry out her last command even if we kill her, which means we have to destroy her utterly or he will try to take out the stake. Also, his only chance of breaking free (before durations expires)/getting new save is if she gives him a command that goes against his nature or once every 24 hours as she will not be able to spend 1 round concetrating.
The same goes for ALL other victims. This IS gonna be fun :-)

We will have to lock every last one of them. And we should destroy the vampire utterly, just to be safe. Imagine this will happen again every time we try to "teach her to behave".

GM: I do not regret your decision, it is a great game so far!

Edit: Interesting point is - what happens if Sefu attacks fellow guardsman while trying to protect her - does he receive a new save or not? It is probably something against his nature but she did not exactly ordered him to do that. It is definitely GM's call... (but I think Sefu should not attack leathaly fellow guardsman in the first place unless explicitly told to / but that is Sefu's call... :-))

Yeah Sefu has more abilities than just shooting people, but his rolls are as it turns out not so good.

Unfortunately this is the last time I can post in a week, I have a Fiji trip to go diving. Hopefully the gm can bot me or something.

Also this might be late but castor in your earlier post you said I didn't add the +2 vs evil, but I had.
It was just not made apparent, next time I will work on that.

Hope y'all have fun without me.

Have fun Sefu, it sounds really wondrous!

@Sefu's condition - The command was really open ended - 'help me'. All we then need to do is convince Sefu that staking the spawn is indeed best for her, as the alternative would be utter destruction : )

Indeed, it is in the spawns best interest to get staked as she has a very slim chance of otherwise seeing another day!

Sefu: I might have overlooked it but seeing the roll "Will: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8" I really do not know how you added that bonus when you have +2 Will. It does not matter anyway as it would not help any. You had a really bad string of rolls, fingers crossed your luck changes when you are really in mortal danger ;-)
As Sefu is the new guy on the team, his conduct during the first mission might be a source of future jokes - but stuff like that keeps the game entertaining ;-)
Have fun during the weekend!

Ophelia: Something similar has crossed my mind, we just need to be really persuasive :-)

Castor: "Sefu gets another lease on his will, will he make it? Bad pun.
Will save: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11" That was the second roll your spell gave me.

All: I have to wake at 3 in the morning tomorrow for the trip so I will miss the rest of the action tonight. Hope you have a fun time murderizing the vampire(s). Night....ZzzzzzzzZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzz

Have a good trip Sefu. Sleep well and have fun!

Sorry guys, I've been laid up with a fever for the last couple of days. I know the post wasn't great, but I didn't want to hold you up.

I'll stay in combat rounds (next one has started now) for the protection durations.

I'm back and surprisingly, not much has happened.

Trivia time: The one "cure" for vampireism that Ophelia is thinking of is slaying the vampire then employing (True) Resurrection (Material component: Diamond worth 10000 or 25000gp).

I figured that out, just Castor would not concider that to be a cure for vampirism ;-)
And frankly, it is a bit unreal for a comoner to be resurected. It would cost more than she could earn during her lifetime.

I have one small problem here, I don't know how Sefu would act here. As he is still dominated, how do I know what he should do?
He was told to help her, so does he keep trying after he has done it? How does the mind control work once you have fulfilled your order?

Dammit dominate!

I seen two ways of running dominate:

A) - Like a golem. All the victims wishes and wills are subjugated by the magic. The victim carries out all the masters order as swiftly (and probably literally) as possible. Without an order, the poor victim basically does nothing but stand around and drool.

B) - Like a better charm. The victim still thinks for himself and can act - he/she just does so with the masters wishes at heart. When given an order, he/she thinks about the best way to make it happen. Without an order, the victim acts as normal and can still be spoken and reasoned with.

Most interpretations seem to land somewhere in between - and given that we did speak and reason with Sefu, close to B seems more likely.

Just my two coppers :)