Wilaml Fmelvam |
Lol Wil's going to bury you with your bow of course but the sword was merely Wil's way of saying your loss was avenged and it looks like the ones who killed you are pretty much dead.
Can't wait to see your next character Talon. :)
Chainmail |
It is probably time to slow things down for the holidays. Be safe and enjoy France.
The dwarves have been complaining about things, and they have suffered less adversity than the elves. So we will see who wants to continue when everyone comes back. Not everyone likes to play on the Hard difficulty setting.
Wilaml Fmelvam |
Happy holidays and I will say playing on a harder difficulty is always difficult to adjust to, especially when your not used to it. But i'm fine with it! I just need to adjust my attitude and appraoch to things personally so I don't drag the party down with petty or wasteful decisions.
The only frustration really comes from us players and mainly myself more then the difficulty setting. Some decisions I don't see coming or don't understand but thats just how it goes! :D
Suny |
Will be tryin' t'keep me end up! (^_^)
Though, truth be told, there's quite a few things I'd change now -Knowing the campaign better. Just running with the 'standard' Fighter/Bard does seem sub-optimal for the style the DM is portraying. Just a thought.
Seltyn Sevenleaf |
He'd also like to copy the Summon Monster II into his spellbook. That would get used every day. He'll need 21 gold out of the treasure to do it, though. He wants nothing else.
Elorin can take the other scroll, and if she doesn't use it by the time we can cast it, he'd like to try to copy that, too. Summon spells are great, and he's glad to finally have a chance at knowing one.
If no one has any use for the swords and armor, we can maybe sell it some time for some decent money. It's a lot to haul around, though. This, of course, is subject to all of your approval.
Wilaml Fmelvam |
One smoky black magic ring -- empower (metamagic) 3/day for evocation and
necromantic spells only - Seltyn
3 mwork bastard swords - Sell if not needed
3 mwork chain shirts - Same
112 gp and 34sp -21 gp = 91 gp and 34 sp
One scroll of Summon Monster IV - Seltyn
Summon Monster II = Seltyn/Elorin
Two potions labeled lesser restoration - Thalas?
I don't mind, just give me an even share of gold and I'm going to start saving up for more useful enchantments later. I'd be further but ,y rping required a strong display with my previous earnings lol!
Yeah unless we need the weapons or armor we can sell them off later or trade them for better gear too.
Elorin Silentall |
The dwarves have been complaining about things, and they have suffered less adversity than the elves. So we will see who wants to continue when everyone comes back. Not everyone likes to play on the Hard difficulty setting.
I like the game and I like the hard difficulty. If there was one thing I could say though is this.
I can maybe understand why the dwarves are complaining. I have felt a little like leaving this game, when we have one defeat after another. I love the story so much and I chose to stick with it and I am so glad i did. I like the game and I like that is isn't to easy. But defeat is disheartening and defeat after defeat is more so.
It is very hard to want to play a game if you feel like you can never win.
There has to be the hope that you get to win. Even if you lose a lot, you need to feel you can sometimes come out on top. If you lose hope you lose motivation.
For us we started doing better when we spoke IC about what to do, we need to plan better as a team of players so our characters can work well together. BUT IT IS IMPORTANT for the DM to make sure we are put into scenarios we have a chance of beating. and more than one chance.
I know I have written scenarios that where Many CR's above the party level and for one group it was easy enough, they beat it in a matter of rounds and with another group it was a TPK. Though for me the solution was obvious, either I had not given enough clues or information for the group to make a informed decision or they did not put 2 and 2 together to make 4. Sometimes you have to adjust as you go for different partys. We may all be level 4/5 characters but we are not all level 4/5 players.
I hope that it is ok for me to say that. I like you as a DM and I do like the game and would like to keep playing. But it is something I have thought about in the past with this game. I can also only judge situations based on my experience, I can not speak for anyone else and this is not a criticism at all. Only something I had noticed and thoughts I had gone through with this game.
Seltyn Sevenleaf |
I'm OK with the difficulty. We do tend to shoot ourselves in the foot, though, sometimes. The entangle could have worked in our favor, but it didn't.
The encounter with the deep one could have worked if more of us had stayed out of the water and made it have to approach us. We'd either have killed it, or made it go away. Fighting in water is hard, even with a swim speed.
But, hey, we're 4th level. We can't expect to power through everything. LOL!
Azlain |
Honestly, the only issue I've had with this game so far is that our movement is always hindered by something. Makes me want to turn Azlain into an archer.
As for our tactics, yeah, they could be better. I have some ideas about that. After Azlain's brush with death I plan on having him mellow out a bit, so suggestions on how to help keep us alive will actually be in character for him. He's still probably not going to be very charming about it though, so feel free to tell him to piss off. :)
Wilaml Fmelvam |
This greater goal thing makes no sense.
The cultists said they would kill the dryad if we attacked them. So they are the End goal and don't matter atm. Besides once we gained the ships we were to...
Second, the pursuit of ships to gain mobility or dealings with any potential allies would be wise. Reports of the desert people with ties to djinni and other servants of air intrigue me. The nearby jungle people are mostly following the Rovagug cult. An active diplomatic effort to the jungle people would be needed to sway them from going to the Rovagug side.
So I see us going to these other nations/tribes and attempting several diplomatic missions for our end game. We have a side quest with our dealings with the Wood Elves and trying to gain their strength in the coming conflicts ahead. I also see a future time of diplomacy with the Sea Elves as well. But the Cultists are a far off ordeal altogether. Couple that with the shrine/propaganda game we may be trying at the depot and we have weeks of diplomacy/fighting ahead of us far from the cultist's. At least that's the way I'm interpreting it.
Seltyn Sevenleaf |
Wil makes a good point. The witches of the Citadel are weakened, right now, and we could go for the throat. We can come back stronger later, but so would they.
With their people towing a ship, they'd have poor maneuverability, and we could attack them while they're trying to take it home. That could work.
We leave for home in the morning, and appear to be ignoring them. We could double back and catch up to them once they think we're gone.
The tow lines should be kept in place. Neither ship could move much. We attack the new ship, then cut the lines, and tow it ourselves. That would make us slow, though, and we don't have a bunch of sailors to run them separately. None of us have ranks in Sailor, and I doubt the wood elves do, either. Getting 2 ships back to Elfhome is problematic.
We could also attack the Citadel ship, and liberate the rowers. If enough of them have ranks in Sailor, and can be trusted to follow us to Elfhome, we could go back with 2 good, intact ships for our use, and simply free the rowers we don't want to come with us. The others can row the other ship to the nearest shore, and leave it there. It's a better deal than what they've got now. Leave them with some food and weapons, and wish them luck in going home.
Just thinking about options. We could maybe mess them up and free some slaves, but we're not able to do that until tomorrow. Still, the thought of killing some witches and taking their stuff sounds mighty fine to me.
Of course, it's never that easy, is it?
Wilaml Fmelvam |
With Seltyn's boosted magic he can strike down some casters and quickly, we just need to make sure they don't focus on him.
But In essence if we go for the main ship we can keep the rowers to help us tow the second ship back to Elfhome and work to find them homes in the human kingdom we are allied with. :)
It's just an idea and Seltyn's turning Azlain invisible idea had me thinking we could definitely fight them again lol.
Wilaml Fmelvam |
I agree with Seltyn's Idea.
Move like we are leaving for home and come around and catch them out at sea. Hit their main ship and try and take them down and capture two vessels at once.
If we can focus our fire on their casters we may be able to end the worst of the threat early. The Ballista was useful in our last fight when I downed that witch in one (lucky) shot.
We could plan it like this:
If we can get the Wood Elves to back us up we could move in with Azlain, Wil, Suny and the Wood Elf War Leader as a four man hit squad with some magical ability. Stick back to back and avoid flanking while we take the enemy deck by storm.
Seltyn, Thalas, Elorin and our new druid friend hold the deck of our vessel. Allowing them to sling long range spells, ranged attacks and have the ability to heal and whether the worst of the witches storm of spells.
The Hit squad can focus on mopping up opponents on the enemy ship while Seltyn and them take down the witches, if we can deal enough damage we can overcome them quickly. Grease will be an excellent spell to keep our opponents from mustering in large groups. If we can greases several areas and make it where they have to come at us in groups of two we can make a major foothold on their deck.
I will do my best to stick to whatever strategy we come up with but the best one I can think of is close in fast, board them and let our ship pull back so our spell slingers remain out of harms way and let the melee take the enemy deck. How we are going to get the rowers to rebel will be another matter entirely but it's worth a shot while they are weakened.
Let us pray the dice gods are with us!
Seltyn Sevenleaf |
Good thoughts. The problem with Seltyn's blasts is that they are close range (35'), with the exception of magic missile.
He'll burn most of his slots on buffs; Invisibility and Protection from Evil, for the most part. His evocations will be Gust of Wind to push our boat faster, and a Magic Missile or 2. He'll cast Prot. from Evil and Invisibility on Windfavor, since he's our sailor, and without him, we're screwed. That's all Seltyn can do for him, but it's pretty good.
Let's not forget Suny has a level of bard, and can inspire courage even while she's fighting. Who cares if they hear her? There's still a 50% miss chance if they attack her, until she attacks. Our cleric and druid can also summon creatures and stay invisible, too. Take a few rounds to get in place before you attack, cast a spell or 2, and it looks good for us.
Our best bet is for our fighters to get on their boat, and position themselves right next to their casters, then attack. Find the bosses, and don't let them cast. Hurt them, bad. Don't let up.
Seltyn can make 3 people invisible, and Elorin can cast it on 2 more. That makes for 4 invisible boarders. The rest of us who are still visible will have to seek cover as we approach, and try not to die in a hail of arrows. We pull right up to them and parallel park.
I say Wil, Azlain, Suny and Thalas should be our boarders. The wood elves can fire arrows at their archers and catapult crew and eventually board, too, once it's clear. Elorin can inspire courage and still cast or shoot One Shot, too.
Why Thalas? He's got channeling and can summon some monsters, too. He can do that and stay invisible as long as he doesn't attack directly. He'll keep our boarders going if they take any damage. We have to kill them all, and they're not wimps, and they won't surrender.
We have to win this, or else we all die and give them our ship, too.
I still like it. What do the other elves have to say?
Wilaml Fmelvam |
True Seltyn, That would be better, Invis may not last long but if we hit fast enough it won't have to.
Your right though, its all or nothing and hopefully the dice rolls go with us. Grease can definitely help us with battlefield control when we make our push at their casters. Especially around walk ways and such. It'll be a helluva fight thats for sure.
If Windfavor thinks we have a chanceand we can get the Wood Elves to throw in, then I'm definitely in it to win it.
Seltyn Sevenleaf |
Let's check our inventory, down to the last arrow.
I have: 1 scroll of Grease (30', 10 rounds), 1 Enlarge person ( 10 rounds), and a Haste, good for 5 people for 5 rounds. I also have a potion of Lesser Restoration. I think Elorin has the other one.
A hasted, invisible, enlarged Suny with a swim speed of 60'... If she can get on their ship, she can break their catapult and stay invisible, then use her reach to attack the crew.
The towed ship might have a ballista or something, too, so she might want to swim over to it and mess that one up. There'll probably be a witch or 2 on board, so she'll have to play it by ear.
On second thought, let's just kill everybody on the first ship, then worry about the other one. Stay together.
Windfavor mentioned that a stern chase would suck. We can take a day to get ahead of them and attack from their front. That makes whoever's on the towed ship a little less relevant.
Wil and Eirel can cast Prot. Evil on themselves. Thalas can cast 3 or 4, and I can cast 2 for Windfavor and myself.
Our divine casters can soak the sails and the deck with Create Water before we close. That might help a little. The bannermaiden should be ready with water buckets, just in case. If we have a fire, we have to act quickly to contain it.
We can't do much for the wood elves. They can target the catapult crew and any archers, maybe man the ballista. They might have some magic of their own.
The faster we get to them, the less time they have for ranged attacks. Not sure how much time that will take, but I'll be busy casting the buffs so they last awhile once we're there.
Message: 40 min., 4 people (boarders). Tell me where you are.
Prot. Ev.: 4 min. (boarders, Windfavor, Elorin, Eirel, me)
Invis: 4 min., 5 people
Haste: 5 rounds, 5 people. If I can't cast it on the first try, I'll stop trying, and cast spells that will work.
It's real risky, but look through your items and see what you've got. If we coordinate, it might work. A lot of our losses were due to factors we weren't prepared for.
I'm sure there's a "big gun" caster on there who can really hurt us. Gotta hit the witches first. They can screw with our visibility, cast Slow on us, or whatever. It could get ugly. Fun to think about, though. LOL
Eirel Tatenaias |
From Talon we can get:
Crowbar,
Potion of Cure Light Wounds,
Potion of enlarge person,
Potion of jump,
Potion of mage armor,
Sunrod
From Eirel we get:
Variable spells, although these are what I have prepared right this moment.
Druid Spells Prepared (CL 2):
1 (3/day) Detect Snares and Pits, Speak with Animals (x2)
0 (at will) Stabilize, Detect Magic, Light, Light
Masterwork Leather armor,
Masterwork Light wooden shield,
Rose Thorn, Blowgun,
Blowgun darts (40),
Backpack
Bedroll,
Blanket, winter,
Disguise kit (10 uses),
Everburning torch,
Fishing net,
Flint and steel,
Thieves' tools, masterwork,
Waterskin,
Whetstone,
6 GP,
3 SP,
8 CP
If someone can grab me some poison, then I would feel better also, although I think Wil might have something to say about me using the stuff.
Wilaml Fmelvam |
If no one tells the Paladin, then he can't get mad. Silly people, I can't use player knowledge to = Character Knowledge. :P
Now if he does find out.
>.>
<.<
It won't be a fun lecture, especially for a newer member, but its not like Wil has been that honorable either so yeah...
Seltyn Sevenleaf |
The trouble with poison is it's expensive, and the Fort DCs aren't that high. The wood elves might have some, maybe.
We can loan you Talon's bow. He won't mind. I don't know what kind of cover we can get or make on the new boat, but we can rig up something. We need to hit their weapon crew(s) and archers as much as we can before we close.
Wilaml Fmelvam |
We should see if we can get a partial wand or potions of gravity bow. That would really nice to have if we couple them with enlarge person. :)
Also I mispoke on the Ballista, I don't know if the slipstream has any on=board weapons. =/ I was thinking of our last sea battle~
Seltyn Sevenleaf |
Glad she's here. Elorin can try her hand with the SM IV scroll, or I can try it.
Thalas and Eirel can cast Virtue (Untyped +1 hit point, 1 min.), Guidance (+1 competence to any attack, save or skill check, 1 min.), and Resistance (+1 resistance bonus to all saves, 1 min., like the cloak) They're minor spells and don't last long, but we'll have time for little buffs. Spread over the party, it can only help. They'll definitely make us roll some saves.
Create Water in case of fires, and Eirel can prep 2 CLWs. We don't have a wand...
I'll prep: Dancing Lights, Daze, Message, Open/Close
1: Prot. Ev. x3 (Elorin, Windfavor, me. Sorry, Eirel. You climb up the mast or something), Shield, Magic Missile x2
2: Invis x3, Gust of Wind.
One hail Mary spell with my object, 8 force missiles, and I'm spent.
Thalas can P.E. himself and 2 boarders, and Wil can P.E. himself. Sorry if I seem to be overthinking it, but we gotta do this right!
Elorin casts 2 Invis, and that's it for her 2nds. Dig up your potions and scrolls, kids, if you have any. lol
Wilaml Fmelvam |
No need to apologize for overthinking! We need a solid strategy to win this fight and it will come down to dice rolls in the end as well or else we are done for and another ship falls to the enemy.
I'm trying to think of the best way to go and Heroism may be the spell we want to use on our boarders. Invis is nice but Enlarge Person + Heroism would give them extra strength and bonuses to their rolls to hit.
Heroism also lasts 10 mins per level so it should last the entire battle and can be casted before we reach them as well.
Silence to negate the enemy casters as well. :)
Silence however is 1/round per level. =/
Eirel Tatenaias |
What about that physical challenge? Have we done it or not? Am just thinking if there is something interesting at the end of it then I might be able to give it a go. I have a fairly decent acrobatics, although the combat possibilities are a tad scary, would most likely just run and keep on running.
Azlain |
Anyone have spider-climb and/or shrink object?
Suny or I (or both) could approach invisible (or be towed in below the surface by a summoned water creature), and take a hand-cranked drill or auger to their hull somewhere below the waterline. We'd need Spider Climb to stick to the ship while we work (pitons and ropes would work too, but not as easily)
The next part is a little weirder. We take two boat anchors that have been Shrunk, that are attached to both ends of a chain. One goes through the auger hole. The other is dropped.
The shrink is dismissed, one anchor is now in their bilge. The other is dragging the bottom.
Either they're immobile and slowly taking on water, or they try to charge us or something and rip a giant chunk out of the bottom of their ship.
Seltyn Sevenleaf |
Nobody has Spider climb or Shrink. We don't want to risk drowning the galley slaves, either.
@ Eirel: They waived the physical part. If you want to try it, I'm sure there's a pretty bauble, but it won't be easy.
Seltyn Sevenleaf |
Yeah we are a bit. Might have been better off as a blaster sorcerer lol
It's not that bad. Wait 'til Thalas kicks in his magic. He's got about as many spells as I do.
I peeked at his profile and he's got some stuff, too.
Shirley, we can use a few of those scrolls. 4th isn't the most glamorous level out there. LOL If we pull this off, we should get some well-deserved rewards. Just gotta read carefully and stack those bonuses. We could be rocking +3 or 4 to hit, if we time it right.
Wilaml Fmelvam |
Heroism is a bard lvl 2 spell which both Suny and Elorin can set up. Same with Silence its a bard 2 spell as well.
It was just a suggestion anyways ^^; Azlain with Invis, Heroism and Enlarge would make a mean attacker so long as we keep him up and fighting :)
With Inspire Courage + Heroism + Divine Favor some of us will be +4 to hit and +2-+3 damage as well. If you bring in Enlarge person our weapons will be stepped up to Large size damage and an additional +1 to hit/damage for melee types.
So IC + H + DF + EP = +4-5 To hit and +3-4 Damage and reach.
@CM Do we have any more room for players or are we maxed now? Just wondering as I have a friend who is chomping at the bit to get into the pbp scene. They're good at playing all manner of classes and were either thinking of going full rogue, 3 Sor/1 Rogue or full Sor. Just thought I'd ask. :)
Seltyn Sevenleaf |
Heroism is a bard lvl 2 spell which both Suny and Elorin can set up. Same with Silence its a bard 2 spell as well.
Ah, yes. Elorin could cast those, anyway, if she knew them or had an arcane scroll. That would still leave 2 people without invisibility.
Looks like Suny needs to update her character, as she's a brd 1/ftr 2, atm.
I was thinking we'd cast invis. to avoid attacks on our fighters until they could get on board and start swinging on the big bads. We don't have to do that, but Elorin's other spell known is Suggestion. That one's a little iffy for this job.
This isn't set in stone. Maybe we should just get back to business and let it go. We tend to die at a rather robust rate. Elorin and I are the only OGs, and that's due to divine intervention.
Dead or left: Marlamin, Kalthos, Telethal, Flambeaux I, Lienilda (lasted 1 fight), Talon.
@ Eirel: This is a very low-magic world. Just look at my spell book. If anybody had a wand of fireball, it would be the witches. LOL