Sheik Voodoo's Katapesh Nights (Inactive)

Game Master voodoo chili

perhaps in this dimension Dog is worshiped. might work out in his favor...

hopefully, I'm keeping you on your toes and yes, I have a bit of a plan as always.

Come on guys, quit hounding Voodoo.

I figure he is just winging it and making it up as he goes.

um should I use the base stats of a jackal and add class bonuses for BAB? How am I handling this?

yeah,

I think I got the basics in there. Apply any feat and class skill stuff, etc.

I figure he is just winging it and making it up as he goes.

oh, there's a fair bit of that.

btw- we've begun book 4 if anyone is counting :)

VooDoo- I marked 4 levels of spells that I wanted to cast into Tempest.
As I was marking them down I noticed that the spoiler with the spells Tempest casts has disappeared...lame. I'll redo it.

What was the call on Amir's affliction? Treat it as a curse and we can use Remove curse with a Caster Check. If it's Baleful Polymorph, then I guess a Dispel Magic can get rid of it since BP doesn't say anything to the contrary, it would again take a successful Caster Check. In which case I will memorize Dispel Magic as well to give us two chances to dispel it.

Restoration takes 100gp of diamond dust (which we don't have), so I don't know what we can do for Varkata.

Varkata can heal up naturally, esp with doubled up healing at the way point.

I guess Remove Curse works, but I don't think dispel magic will because it has a permanent duration and the spell says that dm ends the spell as if the duration has ended which a permanent duration doesn't. Plus I just think that it ought not to be too easy to undo.

heck there was a whole Sinbad movie about restoring a prince who had been turned into a baboon, no?

After reading up on Baleful Polymorph, there seems to be two ways to break it.

1) Break Enchantment (or a more powerful spell - Wish, Limited Wish, Miracle, etc)

2) Cast a different polymorph spell on Amir. Baleful Polymorph specifically says "Any polymorph effects on the target are automatically dispelled when a target fails to resist the effects of baleful polymorph, and as long as baleful polymorph remains in effect, the target cannot use other polymorph spells or effects to assume a new form."

This bolded wording is interesting. I would read it as Amir cannot use a spell/potion on himself. But there is nothing that says someone else could not cast a polymorph spell on Amir, which, since only one polymorph can be in effect at a time per the core rules, would result in the Baleful Polymorph being dispelled.

Yes, I could be completely wrong, but that seems to be the result of the wording. If they wanted nobody to be able to use polymorph spells on a balefully polymorphed character/creature, then I would think that it would have said "as long as the baleful polymorph remains in effect, no other polymorph spells or effects can be used for the target to assume a new form" or something of that sort.

Also, I do not think that it is a curse. Apparently it was referenced as such in early editions of the Core rules, but did not receive the "curse" attribute when spells were given more descriptors with the release of UM. Thus, it does not seem to be a curse.

Just my 2 cents.

Lol - so, Karethas knows no polymorph spells, that I see. And, the only polymorph spell that I think Varkata can cast is:

Monstrous Extremities

However, this spell seems like the perfect one. Varkata could partially revert Amir, but leave him with Jackal legs - for as long as Voodoo wants to force him to keep them by lengthening the spells' duration.

Then we could call him half-dog.

Varkata can heal up naturally, esp with doubled up healing at the way point.

Oh, I thought it was Ability Drain, not Ability Damage. Great!

I guess Remove Curse works, but I don't think dispel magic will because it has a permanent duration and the spell says that dm ends the spell as if the duration has ended which a permanent duration doesn't. Plus I just think that it ought not to be too easy to undo.

I'm not trying to talk you into anything! If you want to make it not a curse because it is a weird thing that it is in the Curse section of the core rules, then I'm good with that. I just am trying to figure out if we have any chance to break it ourselves, or if Amir is going to be barking for a while longer :-).

heck there was a whole Sinbad movie about restoring a prince who had been turned into a baboon, no?

Yes, but they didn't have a master wizard with them! :-)

I'd probably rule that any other polymorph requires beating a level check (like trying to raise someone under a rest eternal.. but since the baleful is permanent, you go back to that shape when new polymorph expires.

But that's me.

And none of us can polymorph anyhow, so it is a moot point (doubt that the Drunken Hero wants his clerics asking the Mother of Monsters for spells...)

Heh, I had not looked at the spell to see that it is a religion specific spell. Was just looking to see if there were any polymorph spells available to clerics.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, using the Monstrous Extremities in a modified version could be fun. It could sort of be like a partially successful Dispel Magic, but only getting the top half.

All I know is I don't want to be a dog forever. This sort of things is a hassle if its a session or two, altogether different if its a month or three. ;)

All I need is 4..

Was at 5 damage, but healed one overnight last night. (..and most dexterity was restored from the potion, with overnight last night doing the last bit..)

... So, with treatment and double healing, good to go.

yeah, I was assuming everyone would use up spells etc to get everyone healed.

btw I just remembered Karethas is yet suffering from a pernicious bout with cursed mild leprosy so the score is: Kzrira only just recovered from death, Karethas afflicted and Amir jackalfied. I'm feeling pretty satisfied for a GM ; )

Well . . . Varkata has not been with us long enough to earn a real affliction. Other than being a half-orc that is.

I've had the leprosy for so long that sometimes I forget it until I post my cut and paste status update.

I'm just thinking that my other campaign is about as bad- one character lost a hand, another nearly lost a leg and a third character has a tendency to murder people in his sleep : ) good times!

Is the leprosy a curse? We've had downtime, and I've been able to cast remove curse and remove disease since I joined the party.

It's ability drain, so it would take Restoration. The disease has been cured, the ability loss has not been cured.

Well, I can do that, too. Though only recently. Would have to give up Blessing of Fervor or Persistent Vigor for it, but not the end of the world.

Super snout over here.

Wow, sorry, it was a busy weekend and wasn't expecting Kzrira to handle the whole thing on her own. The gnolls, that I expected.

yeah, that's our OP archer. granted she did roll pretty well, but I'm thinking it is a problem when one L7 player can take out a CR 10 encounter by her lonesome- and in two rounds. Tirion isn't dong anything wrong, but I am concerned that it makes the other party members feel kinda superfluous.

And as I open that can of worms, I'm heading out to sea tomorrow and will be off-line all week : )

Yeh, it is strange at this level when you meet an enemy without DR. DR/5 or DR/10 that Kzrira could not get through would have made a huge difference.

One thing that I find most interesting is the general HP inflation versus AD&D. Back in the old days the most powerful monster in the game was Demogorgon or Orcus with like 199 or 200 hp. Bahamut, the platinum dragon, and Tiamat, the chromatic dragon, only had like 160hp. Now, most monsters of about CR8 or higher have over 100hp, many normal dragons are over 200, and the demi-god status demons, like Orcus, have 600+ hp.

On the other hand, even powerful monsters back then rarely did more than 20 or 30 hp damage in a round. Now a smiting paladin or, god forbid, a swashbuckler, can easily be doing 40-50 per strike while critting almost 30% of the time.

As I recall, even high level fighters in AD&D rarely had more than 90 or so hp. It was 1d10 through level 9, and then only +3 per level thereafter. Pretty sure you did not get Con bonuses after level 9 either. Of course, this was in the age of wizards having 1d4 hp and liking it.

On the other hand, if Kzrira had not taken if down fast, she would have been in trouble. Amir is a great puppy when not stoned, and Kzrethas and Varkata were doing all they could to buff under the circumstances, but if Kzrira had missed once or twice more, she would have been down with the 20-30 damage the ram was putting out each round. I suppose if Karethas and Varkata had been able to take flight, and the ram could not, then it would have simply taken a while to pick it off. But it would not surprise me to find that ram had some other ability - invisibility, flight, etc.

Really, with the damage that both sides can typically do in PF, few fights that are not mass melees take longer than a few rounds. It is really too bad because boss fights should be the most epic with the boss using all its abilities, and forcing the party to rely on their wile, not just a few good rolls.

Anyway, I am still having a great time with this and hope that fight does not put a damper on things. I don't want to take away from the rest of the party and hope that we get Amir back to his old surly self before too long.

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Have a great time where ever you are heading Voodoo.

I imagine it was balanced out by the DC20 save or suck...

... However V could use her locate creature to find the gnolls...

You don't want to do that. Forever after the spell will be tainted and will smell like dog.

Just to be clear, we do not have the material component for Varkata to cast Restoration on me, which would be 400gp of diamond dust. Unless Voodoo wants to hand wave that, which given that we had such trouble healing it earlier, I don't think he wants to do.

So, if she can not heal it, do we want to use one of the 2 remaining uses of the horn on me. OR we can save it because we cannot just hop down to the local temple for a quick heal now.

BTW, there are no spells on the fleece that I can copy into my spellbook. Some I already have, some are divine only, and two are WAY above the level I will be able to cast in this game.

just one use will totally cure your ills, Karethas. The periapt curse is all one effect.

huh, didn't realize freedom of movement was just cleric. Karethas could cast mindblank, protection from spells as a scroll maybe.

It does seem like the Golden Fleece needs more punch though. I think i'll make it a +3 cloak of resistance and the wearer can activate the inscribed spells one time only regardless of class.

how's that?

So can Varkata heal me or do we need to use the horn?

Your call. If you are not being hindered by your ailments, then we might want to hold the 2 heal charges for now, since it seems we could hire someone if/when we get back to civilization, to heal you and instant heals like this are nice when something bad happens quickly. If it is effecting you in a major way, then definitely get it cured.

As far as the cloak goes. I think that Karethas should take it. He can give his Cloak +1 to Varkata since she does not seem to have one. I think that Karethas has the worst saves in general. Amir also does not have a cloak. Not sure whether Amir or Varkata could use the cloak +1 more, but Karethas seems to be the most in need of the +3 and also could cast the spells.

As a question, what happens regarding the 1000gp diamond focuses for the Protection from Spells? Is this waved because of the nature of the cloak/fleece?

Any item that has the spell inscribed on it was assumed to have consumed the components at time of casting into the object if I recall properly.

I also think (as long Karethas is okay with it) we should hold off on using the fleece unless we find ourselves desperate to do so.

Yeh, but DM Voodoo has indicated that it also works as a Cloak +3. So, there is no reason not to have him wear it. He does not need to ever cast the spells unless needed.

While the spell components are consumed, Protection from Spells also has a Focus component, which is a 1000gp diamond for each person to be affected. Thus, my question. Whether we need to buy 4 1000gp diamonds to be able to effectively use the spell/scroll.

It's only 100gp to restore abilities, one casting will fix everything.... Not that I have a 100 go diamond on me.

And generally whoever creates a scroll pays the material costs at that time, I would assume the fleece follows the same (pre-paid) rules.

I second that the cloak should at least be worth for its protective powers, though saving the spells is also wise.

For Protection from Spells, it is not a material cost, it is a focus item - like a holy symbol for a cleric or an expensive bowl for the Scrying spell. It is not consumed, but is necessary for the spell to work. We could easily buy 4 gems, and then just sell them back afterwards since gems can generally be bought/sold for 100%.

Anyway, lets figure what we are doing, and keep moving. There are a lot of gnolls out there just waiting to be shot.

I think we begin heading back toward where Gen thinks the exit from this plane is, and then use the horn. We might want to take a different route from that which the gnolls led us here on to throw off the one that left to get the rest of the tribe.

My understanding has always been that the item contained all necessary components, focus or otherwise. That in its construction that "item" is accounted for, as it were. But its up to Voodoo.

As for the 100gp diamond. Easy enough to come by when we leave...assuming we are taken back to a city that is not falling apart around us from genie siege, lol.

THAT said...are we in a rush to go? Is there more to this plane worth trying to investigate?

Hmmm - strange wording. Seems to be that the Scroll creation writer, and the Protection from Spells writer were not talking. Usually the focus is something possessed by the caster (silver bowl, small hammer, etc.), for this spell, it is multiple 1000gp diamonds, one possessed by each player to be protected, and which if dropped/lost causes the spell to cease with respect to that player.

Clearly, the drafters of the spell and the rule were not communicating. Although, I will take Amir's interpretation any day due to the ambiguity.

Well you know how it goes it the "magical animal as artifact" workshop...a missed meeting here, a missed form there, suddenly you are using last years specs from some outfit out in the Shackles and everything has to get rushed just to meet some unreasonable shareholder deadline. A few focus items are bound to be missed you know?

Yep - I don't think that six-sigma has made its way to Golarian Magic Items, Inc.

I look forward to the "Production and Systems Methodologies of Golarion" splat book any day now :p

We really need: "The Advanced Pathfinder Guide to Ambiguities and Conflicting Rules."

So can Varkata heal me or do we need to use the horn?

sure, if she has the components. Two restorations or one drink of the horn.

THAT said...are we in a rush to go? Is there more to this plane worth trying to investigate?

you were leaving? the horn merely calls your conveyance to the main island.

My understanding has always been that the item contained all necessary components, focus or otherwise. That in its construction that "item" is accounted for, as it were. But its up to Voodoo.

hmm, that's my understanding, but on second thought foci are usually integral to the way the spell works. I'm going to sidestep the issue and say that the spells on the fleece only affect the wearer. no diamonds needed.

Well, I don't know that we're leaving immediately... but, yeah, I think there's a small matter of an army of evil efreet taking out everyone we've ever known? (Sadly, we can't point them at our enemies...)

True. But, there are plenty of backstabbing gnolls right here to kill. Why search for bad guys elsewhere, when they abound right in front of us.

Yeah, you're not leaving any time soon.

Well, the gnolls here really can't hurt anyone.

Of course, Varkata hates them enough to hunt them down anyway....

The fact that you've released an army of efreet on Katapesh might be some incentive to focus on finding a way out rather than take a gnoll killing holiday.