Network |
I received a couple of good questions and think everyone might be interested in the answers, so I'm posting this in the discussion thread.
Q: When you say Pharasma is withdrawn... it would have to be "currently" (this time). She didn't disappear from "all time". So, if we needed her help could we travel back in time... beseech her?
A: Pharasma exists on a couple of levels, the god (sort of a discrete entity) and the manifestation of the god in the world (sort of the "being" of existence, more global concept). Offended by Hareton's experiments, Pharasma the god has withdrawn from the world back to the plane of Limbo, for all time (at least that is her intention, until you put a stop to him.) In the past, Pharasma had not yet withdrawn, so there is still the record of her presence in the world (temples, priests, the normal workings of fate, death, and prophecy, etc.) But if you went back in time to contact her, it would be like finding a house with her belongings and evidence that she had been living there, but no one home. (It's a good idea though.) (The past is left intact, it just lacks a certain vitality or intensity that it once had. This is vaguely confusing to people who actually lived in the past. But obvious to people from the future who travel back to the past. In other words, you'd both see the puppet, but only the latter group would know there was no hand in it.) In the present and going forward, Pharasma has withdrawn even that. She has taken all of her things and left the building.
Urgathoa was a dead mortal who ascended to godhood over the realm of undeath. In this campaign, when Pharasma withdrew, she saw all of Pharasma's "things" lying about abandoned...death, fate, prophecy...and in good godlike fashion thought to herself why not take these over and increase the domain of her own power? The problem is that realms that were neutral before will now be subject and exploited for Urgathoa's purposes, which are disease and undeath, and expressly evil. She sees an opportunity here, and Hareton is providing it.
As gods don't like to intervene too directly in the world, Pharasma is gone and Urgathoa exists in this story sort of like a faceless Sauron figure in LOTR. Her armies sweep over the earth, (the nurse's visitation to inform you of all this was to up the stakes) but instead of combating them, your party is taking the more precise, "surgical", small-picture route that will decide the ultimate big-picture conflict. You are unique because you're the few people in this tale that know Hareton Grey, start to finish, and you are dealing with the heart of the matter.
Q: Are gods ruled by time, or is time controlled by the gods?
A: I think even gods are ruled by time, though Pharasma might play the most loosely with that. But gods live and die and stay dead, which means time marches forward even for them. And it lends weight and importance to Pharasma's abilities if there's actually a linear sort of timestream and not just an everpresent. Though, this is all sort of meta and abstract. Just my take on it for this campaign.
Kwanjan Quinn |
Orange County, NY here. Expecting some strong winds in the next couple of hours. Power outage is expected here.
@Network - Warcraft? Played everquest 2 for 5 years. Not anymore though. Wasn't getting enough sleep when I was addicted to it.
Network |
Southern NJ.
Yeah, I've played Warcraft for several years now. I hear you about the playing too much thing. I have a level 85 in 6 classes, and now working on my undead monk. (And I'm considered just a 'casual player'). I said to myself originally, "It's a phenom. I have to be part of it! Mr. T is in the commercials!" None of it rational, ha ha.
Kwanjan Quinn |
I played EQ II since it came out. Started with a Ranger and worked my way up to level 86 before I quit. Loved going on the raid and obtaining fabled, mythical and set items. Use to play so much that I was sleeping in church when the wife made me go. lol
I'm glad I stopped because I went back to going to the gym and attained a 4th degree and Master in Taekwondo. A part of me misses the raiding thought. :-)
Gaston Blackacre |
That sounds like quite the operation. Here's hoping your offices, and the rest of your life, are still in more or less safe and working condition. Same goes for Quinn and Nework.
Kwanjan Quinn |
My bad. Figured that Quinn has durable arrows and blunt arrows, thought there was an arrow type that does slashing damage. There are loads of other types of arrows but slashing there is NOT.
Oh well. I guess I know the sales girl's answer.
Sandru |
Hmm... I don't think you can take 10, in a stressful situation. Contested roll (against Stealth) or where there could be a negative result on failure. Maybe I'm just tired.
To take 10, you have to take 10 times as long... and be able to keep trying.
DMs sometimes make passive checks, having the PCs Take 10. Just to make it easy.
Kwanjan Quinn |
I did say in a previous post that we could reduce our speed, slowly make our way through the mist. Stress is limited. In my opinion a listening perception check is doable, there may be some penalities but taking 10 is doable. Situations like the approaching of a walking enemy or the flapping of wings can be heard. All depends on the situation.
Kwanjan Quinn |
Correct. You can determine the general location of where the sound is coming from. Probably the best benefit of hearing a critter coming in your direction is that the group will not be taken off guard, hence no surprise attack. The mist is considered as concealment.
Gaston Blackacre |
Sandru can Air Walk at 20.
Sweet. I haven't had a pair of Air Walks since 7th grade.
Ianez Gastnicht |
Windycon. Steve Jackson is Gaming GoH, just in time for the new version of _Ogre_.
Network |
I'll say Sandru noticed both gargoyle 1 (20-L) (because within 5 ft) and gargoyle 2 (23-L) (because he walked past it). Ianez only noticed gargoyle 2.
Sandru is next to gargoyle 1 and can attack normally. He needs to move next to gargoyle 2 to attack it (Phoebe alley-oop!), otherwise it is obscured by the fog and a 20% miss chance applies.