Mended Wall's PBP for beginners (Inactive)

Game Master Hoary and Wizened

Season's greetings all! :)

Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays! Have a great time!

Happy Christmahannukwaanzakuh Yuledaymas, folks!

And on a serious (game-related) note:

Ummmmmmm . . . . If "we" are gonna off Merlokrep, are we planning to install Gurtlekrep as the new leader? We've gone through all this to get Hollin back, but I think it only makes sense for us to try to foster a smooth transition of power. Am I right?

I mean -- Kairon is well and truly conflicted, here. Ending Merlokrep and Vreggma does make sense, and he has reason to believe that's exactly what Sarenrae wants, but he's kinda talked himself into a corner . . . . Karma tripping over his dogma, as it were . . . .

Karma tripping over his dogma, as it were . . . .

That sounds like a serious problem... Whatever will Kairon do when thrust into a moral dilemma where his faith and instinct seem to be at odds? I'm really interested to see what you decide for him.

Install Gurlekrep as a puppet ruler.

These can work out well as is evidenced here .

Certainly the current regime has a human rights record comparable to Hitlers.

I have no issues with this plan. Engage puppet kobold ruler exe.

Syrus, not sure if you realize, but we're waiting on you posting Kairon's thoughts on the current situation before progressing. At least I think that's what we're waiting on?

Yup. I'm on it. Been pretty covered up last few days. My apologies. Was gonna have it posted this evening, but we had to quit work early, and I'll probably be free till after the new year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!! May it be a peaceful, positive & productive year for all of us! :D

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!! May it be a peaceful, positive & productive year for all of us! :D

Yes! God bless you all this year. Even though this game will come to an end, and that probably soon, I hope to continue friendships with you all throughout the year. :)

It feels anticlimatic to just take Hollin and leave, doesn't it? Like that's not how things should end? You have to ask yourself though, is that how my character would want things to happen at this point, after all that's happened? Would my character want to leave expediently with all the Hollow's children alive and well? To get them home at the earliest opportunity to their families and friends? Or would my character be okay with allowing a bit more danger, a bit more uncertainty, for the ultimate purpose of never having to deal with the Truescale tribe in the future?

I wonder if they still have the ability to cast bull's strength (or whatever spell they were using to allow them to move the boulder over the entrance). We could always make a show of leaving peacefully, then place the boulder back there, presumably leaving nobody below capable of moving it. Turn the whole underground area (back) into one big tomb. That would probably be more cruel than just slaughtering everyone outright, though...

Merlokrep is clearly capable of casting spells, his Grease spell makes that obvious... O.o

<.<

>.>

But we don't know if it was him or the other guy casting it, and didn't you say that it took multiple castings to give them enough combined strength to move the boulder? They might not have enough people to cast it on anymore.

That's OOC knowledge, though...

I see you plot, O mighty DM, but nay. Goruck shan't engage in wanton genocide. He would be willing to help seal the boulder, perhaps using geokinesis to meld the boulder with the entrance.

Even sealing them in, at the very worst, forces them to chip away at the stone from the inside until they create a breach. Remember Kerrdremak said there is a section of the tunnels where they're mining... :)

I'm good with taking the kid and rolling out. Sure, I'd like to score some loot, too, but if Kairon has to choose which to prioritize, the kid is all that matters -- corral the whole group and go!

Or should we go all "Lord Marshal and the Necromongers" about it? Keep what we kill?

Illiam isn't the murdering type, but he does want loot. He'd at least try to swipe some stuff on the way out.

Once they are rotten to the core like this king is, they don't change. He will cause problems again in the future in my opinion. BURN THEM ALL!!!

But without burning up any of the loot! RANSACK THEM ALL!!!

It feels anticlimatic to just take Hollin and leave, doesn't it? Like that's not how things should end? You have to ask yourself though, is that how my character would want things to happen at this point, after all that's happened? Would my character want to leave expediently with all the Hollow's children alive and well? To get them home at the earliest opportunity to their families and friends? Or would my character be okay with allowing a bit more danger, a bit more uncertainty, for the ultimate purpose of never having to deal with the Truescale tribe in the future?

Well, Chillel has made her position on the matter rather clear in game.

I think that's the way it's going to have to go, but it's not going to happen if we try to get the characters to agree to do it. I think one of you is going to have to force the issue by attacking without the other characters agreeing to it. This might even provide a plausible reason for the group to break up after this, thus ending the adventure.

The only question is, which shall it be, fire or ice?

You want to co-ordinate an attack on Merlo-creep Dolok.?

Sure! Any ideas?

See in game.

We go to where we can see the shi... monarch. I slumber hex him, you hit him with your best remaining spell.

Oh- Illiam- I think ur right.

And it looks like Ozzy, who is a very cool character may show up in another campaign.

Hey Mended Wall- Dolok and i can act after the Bombardier? Just when some characters are feeling good about resolving matters without further violence, we can start the further violence.

The one on the left is the king correct?

And the wall of Force thing is still up for quite a while correct?

I'd say at least Kairon is on the correct side to help block the bombardier and the female from getting to us.

The sphere is blocking the bombardier and queen from getting to you. It has a 10 minute duration, so 9 minutes and change left. Assuming you don't manage to silence the king before he can react, I expect the bombardier and possibly the queen to come try to kill the boy. I'll have to take care of them on my own, but I'm ready for them. If something is going to happen, it would be nice if it happened before my invisibility runs out...

At this point both Merlokrep and his bombardier are holding their actions, so you can essentially start the violence whenever you choose. Realizing that, of course, once you do, then the initiative continues as normal from there.

Dolok's ready whenever you are Chillel! :D

Ha, normally it's the big dumb fighter starting things, but for once he is the one for peace.

Welp, this is gonna be a mess . . . . lol

I'm all for closing out with a bang, but daggum!! You three on the other side of the sphere are on your own for a while. How many potions you got??!

S&~&f@&@damn.

To be clear: Kairon's priority right now is Hollin Jabbs. Or whatever his name is.

[Redacted], [redacted], and [redacted].

Well, it has been a honor. At least Goruck will die in battle, for a worthy cause. Par radinieku un klanu!

Goruck, your tagline says that your AC is 26 with the shield... are you talking about the makeshift tower shield you made out the old door in the monastery? If so, that's only a +4 which would put you at a 25, not 26. Also, if that bonus is coming from a tower shield you take a -2 penalty to attacks when wielding it in combat.

Yes, that is. I am not wielding it at the moment, it was for when I did.

Should I, or should I not, wait to see the result of the aether elemental's attack? 'Cause it seems relevant . . . . May just make my attack and move and be done with it, let Mended sort it out.

If the attack hits, Kairon will know that there is something in that square. You can 5-foot step back and attack into it with a 50% miss chance.

Too bad you don't have a Burning Hands left today. That would be really useful about now...

Remember -- half of three is only one. I'm telling ya: I feel it coming.

Since Kairon can see Vreggma, but not Tikan, he'd take a shot at her first.

And then I remind myself that Kairon doesn't *want* to fight -- this time . . . .

Argh.

Couldn't we have at least waited for the backstabbitiness after we'd nabbed the kid??

:D

According to the initiative it should be the bombardier acting. Or is he doing something out of Chillel's sight?

And I think Dolok may have missed an action, but I am not sure.

So should I post an action or wait?

Is there anything movable in area 33? There's an altar, so you would think there might be other ceremonial whatnots lying around. Ideally, jars containing some kind of powder, but a liquid should work. too. Clay pots? Tapestries on the walls? Loose chains/shackes that were previously used to restrain Tyran?

The elemental can tell what square the bombardier is in, but I'm thinking that rather than attacking him with a 50% miss chance (especially if you're going to ALSO give him a reflex save in addition to requiring an attack roll against him), the most useful thing it could do is try to reveal his location. Even throwing something to the ground in his square would give Illiam and Kairon an area to target. Unfortunately, I although the entry describes an aether elemental as being made of "unusual multicolored material," I don't think it actually has the ability to become visible...

We previously established that Illiam has his blanket strapped to his backpack. Does Kairon have anything loose like that that the elemental could grab with his telekinesis and try to throw over Tikan as if it were a net?

The closest item to hand that *could* serve that purpose is the rope we found on our first trip to the monastery -- clipped to the lower left side of his backpack.

Btw, containers of paint would be IDEAL. Maybe for making ceremonial markings?

We might need to have a discussion about in combat communication between an aether elemental and the creature who summoned it... I mean, the language of the spell says: "It appears where you designate and acts immediately, on your turn. It attacks your opponents to the best of its ability. If you can communicate with the creature, you can direct it not to attack, to attack particular enemies, or to perform other actions." Does Illiam speak Auran, Aquan, Ignan, or Terran?

You're taking a whole lot of liberty with the spell if you think that aether elemental is concerned with outlining invisible creatures for you. Attacking them is one thing. Illiam could have indicated upon summoning, through the magic of the spell, for the elemental to attack every kobold it sees. Since it sees the invisible kobold that would be okay. Trying to get it to do other things, without actually speaking one of its languages, goes beyond what I would be willing to allow the spell to do.

I wasn't thinking of communicating with it. Elementals aren't geniuses, but they're also not animals. I was thinking that it would be smart enough to figure out that its best chance of carrying out its imperative to damage the kobold was to reveal its location so that others can attack it. Especially given that it CAN'T actually see the kobold. Blindsense allows it to locate the kobold, but the kobold still has total concealment (50% miss chance) against it. By trying to make the kobold visible, it is also helping itself attack it. It has two turns left before it disappears. If each has a 50% miss chance, only one of them is likely to hit. If it instead uses one turn to outline the creature so that the next attack will hit (or at least not miss because of concealment), it's not doing any worse than attacking blindly, plus it allows its allies to attack. I think that logic is within its abilities.

Keep in mind that Illiam hasn't even been made aware that there is another invisible creature. The elemental doesn't necessarily have to outline it for him (though I still think that it is smart enough to understand that that would be ideal), but even making a sound would be more useful than the damage it can do.

I find your logic sound and convincing. :D Now the problem becomes one of tools at hand... There's not much within the elemental's direct "reach" that will make a good improvised dust of appearance. That I can think of anyway.

Edit: Clarification. By that I mean, that since neither Kairon or Illiam are aware of the other invisible creature, they can't really voluntarily give up an attended object for the purposes of making it appear. You know? Which means that the elemental would be attempting to take someone else's attended object, just to make another attempt to cover the invisible kobold with that object afterwards. Odds don't look great...

Apologies for the muddled comms last night:

Mid-crisis IRL. Cow on the farm lost a calf during birthing, and the cow couldn't get the little one fully delivered on her own. Spent 6 hrs working the farm after a full day of sub-freezing carpentry, and I've got to be ready for a job interview in 1.5 hrs -- after I check the cow.

Gameplay: message received, I guess, unless I need to SM that Bluff; Gloria's contribution will help if I need another Will save.

Gonna be a bit before I can post again, but it *is* coming today.

We lost the cow, too. . . . . Can't catch a good break for nothin'. Dangit.

Gameplay post incoming. It'll help make things clearer -- I've understood what was going on, as does Kairon. Life just was mucking with my communication skills. Apologies for any concern or confusion I fostered.

I find your logic sound and convincing. :D Now the problem becomes one of tools at hand... There's not much within the elemental's direct "reach" that will make a good improvised dust of appearance. That I can think of anyway.

Edit: Clarification. By that I mean, that since neither Kairon or Illiam are aware of the other invisible creature, they can't really voluntarily give up an attended object for the purposes of making it appear. You know? Which means that the elemental would be attempting to take someone else's attended object, just to make another attempt to cover the invisible kobold with that object afterwards. Odds don't look great...

Are there at least loose rocks on the ground? I figure it could pick one up telekinetically and try to hit the kobold with it, leaving the rock telekinetically floating in the air in that square...

I mean, if you want to be gross about it, there's a dead elf body that's darn near ripped in half sitting on the altar. The elemental could throw that and get viscera and blood all over the invisible kobold... :D Morbid... Macabre... Yet probably effective. If it overcomes the 50% miss chance. :)