The Pact Stone Pyramid
Game Master Pact Stone GM

OK - this is completely unrelated to all discussion but it just caught my eye and I wanted to clean it up.

The reason I ask, is because, I noticed he was fighting with this:

Damage for Breach with Large-sized masterwork dagger*: 2d6 + 8 ⇒ (4, 2) + 8 = 14 (I'm actually curious as to what this is equivalent to. That's like a greatsword. That's one massive dagger. BOOM!) Found this in the thread and was curious. It's easier to get to from you Breach alias, Pact, if you don't remember it.

At one point Breach, and several members of the party, were gifted with an enlarge effect courtesy of the special size-changing ability of a janni named Faren. It increased the size of the dagger he was carrying. He has since though returned to normal size.

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The reason Breach was doing 2d6 + 8 was in that particular encounter he was flanking his opponent and was doing an extra 1d6 from sneak attack.

There, I feel better now.

Now that the Beetle's big secret is all in the open, we can rest better.

Good job, Jace. I was quite fond of the renegade familiar.

Which begs the question: Why in the heck did you cats split off from all the fun?! We're stuck in the sand and these guys get to face off with Super-Awesome-Killer Monk dude! That's just not fair! Who WOULDN'T want to get their face kicked in by this guy! HE'S TOTALLY AWESOME! :)

Thanks Javell,

I'll lift the veil a little bit to better explain what's going on mechanically. The "Distraction Team" as we call the Kurgentate (Karek, Hurgah and Moonpate the Potentate) are attempting to monopolize the attention of the camp's security to let the Infiltration team slip in.

The DC on the Stealth check necessary for the three of you on the infiltration Team to get inside is going to be dependent on the number of rounds the Distraction Team can keep this up. Every round improves the Infiltration Teams' odds, but eventually the opposition will be sufficient to crush and kill the Kurgentate (I expect - but I can never be too sure, maybe they'll wipe out the camp.). So part of the drama for them is to figure out the exact round they need to cut-out and flee - assuming they still can. I will give them 'bonus rounds' if they manage to do something particularly attention getting. Currently they have made it to 13 rounds, which sounds like an awful lot until you consider it's only 78 seconds.

I'd like to advance the Infiltration Team in the meantime, but as soon as I do, the Distraction Team will know they can leave, so I think we need to do it this way. All I can suggest is once the Distraction Team is done, make sure you guys are ready to go and your planning between the three of you is worked out - so we don't have to spend a couple additional weeks deciding what you guys actually intend to do.

Hopefully we'll all learn from this and we won't split the party ever again, but how many times have you heard that before? Players just can't wait to leave one another, and then as soon as they do they spend the rest of their time trying to get back to one another. Dividing the Fellowship was a core theme of the Lord of The Rings, it might just be ingrained in us gamers.

Hopefully we'll all learn from this and we won't split the party ever again, but how many times have you heard that before? Players just can't wait to leave one another, and then as soon as they do they spend the rest of their time trying to get back to one another. Dividing the Fellowship was a core theme of the Lord of The Rings, it might just be ingrained in us gamers.

Lol! A lot! That's for sure.

It's all good, really. But thanks for the breakdown. That's a pretty clever idea really. Now, are you sure Karek came up with that? That seems a bit much for him. ;)

OK, a Large-sized dagger is only 1d6 points of damage, not 2d6. I.e. It grows to the quivalent of a short sword, not a great sword.

The reason Breach was doing 2d6 + 8 was in that particular encounter he was flanking his opponent and was doing an extra 1d6 from sneak attack.

There, I feel better now.

I'm SO the same way. It bugs me if there is something I noticed that doesn't seem quite right, you go back and look at it and realize, "Oh, I knew there was something off."

Then you just have to go and clear it up. There's really no other option. Trust me, I know. :)

For what it's worth, I still wondered about it but figured Pact had it all figured out and so I didn't even bother to take a look at it any closer.

@Karek: There is something strange I noticed during combat that you do, and so I'm curious.

I noticed when you roll a critical and confirm it, it appears that you ignore the intial damage roll.

You rolled the crit threat and you have the damage next to it. (2d6)

Then you roll the crit confirm and roll the entire damage of the crit next to it. (6d6)

So, are you just ignoring the intial damage?

Again, I'm just curious because most just take the intial damage rolled, and then would roll an additional 4d6 instead of re-rolling the whole thing.

It's all good, really. But thanks for the breakdown. That's a pretty clever idea really. Now, are you sure Karek came up with that? That seems a bit much for him. ;)

Karek will have you know he has an INT of 12, more than enough for clever/stupid plans. And a really big hammer. Speaking of which.

@Karek: There is something strange I noticed during combat that you do, and so I'm curious.

I noticed when you roll a critical and confirm it, it appears that you ignore the intial damage roll.

You rolled the crit threat and you have the damage next to it. (2d6)

Then you roll the crit confirm and roll the entire damage of the crit next to it. (6d6)

So, are you just ignoring the intial damage?

Again, I'm just curious because most just take the intial damage rolled, and then would roll an additional 4d6 instead of re-rolling the whole thing.

True enough. I suppose I do that to see the massive amount of damage I can do in one go. Breach would be well advised.

No, seriously, what you say makes sense. :) I'll probably try to do it that way if I get more crits. And think of it.

Lol! Duly noted, my destructive dwarven companion. Duly noted. ;)

I think the Infiltration Team should be heading to Area C to try to find our contact and also to find disguises that will allow us to re-enter the camp well disguised (a long shot I know but worth a try).

If we find our contact then we will try to make contact.

If not depending on how dark it is I think we should try to at least check out the dig site to get a sense of how many guards there are, patrols etc. This may take time digging in and watching what goes on. I would like to be able to see the entrance and at least have an idea of what we are facing as we have to go back there probably the next day once we are rested and loaded up on spells.

Once that is accomplished we can move back to Area G and check that out like Breach suggested. Then we scoot out and rendevous with everyone else and formulate a new plan to enter the Pyramid. Soroon of course will have a Sending so if we can't find the contact then he can reach her with that spell and see if she has any insight to add to the plan we come up with. (Unless of course comething happens to Soroon which is unlikely...) :-)

Thanks for that Denis!

I fully support Hal's plan.

Sounds good to me.

I fully support Hal's plan.

Sounds good to me.

We're doomed :-)

Almost as doomed as my players will be tonight, I mean who expects to get ambushed in a library? My players should but they won't. I hope!

Poor Donkor. Man, dude, you are in a world of hurt. I'm sweatin' bullets over here for you.

That natural 20, though, was pretty freaking amazing. What a time to bust that out. :)

Here's hoping Calm emotions works like... oh, I don't know... forever? ;)

Poor Donkor. Man, dude, you are in a world of hurt. I'm sweatin' bullets over here for you.

Heh - I've put Mr. Monotony (Donkor's player) through worse. . .

FYI - strange stuff going down at the Beetle hive. (All good - just potentially away)

I'm forecasting I'll be here for a few 2-3 more days maybe then disappear for around a week, can't say when. Pardon the uncertainty.

Please post lotsa cool &#(## for my return. Your awesome fellow players deserve it.

Karek doesn't know what it is, but he's pretty sure it's magical. So, you know, probably bad. Also, floating eyeball? Ew.

Attack roll: d20+13 for 2d6+7 damage. +1 if it's like crystal or something.

Critical confirmation roll: d20+13, ADDING, Javell, 4d6+14 damage. Hey, I remembered! Though I doubt the total will have a huge impact.

LOL! That's just greatness! :D

FYI - strange stuff going down at the Beetle hive. (All good - just potentially away)

I'm forecasting I'll be here for a few 2-3 more days maybe then disappear for around a week, can't say when. Pardon the uncertainty.

Please post lotsa cool &#(## for my return. Your awesome fellow players deserve it.

Just an update - Gonna be out of it for a number of days. Mrs. Beetle and I added a newborn to our hive.

Congrats!!!

That is FAN-TASTIC! Congratulations, bro! Hope all are doing well. :)

Just an update - Gonna be out of it for a number of days. Mrs. Beetle and I added a newborn to our hive.

Woohoo!

Single birth, eh? I thought you beetles usually had hundreds of children.

In the personal update realm, I'm moving! So I'll likely only have internet access during work hours for the next few days.

Very happy news, Beetle. Expanding the brood is always a joyous occation. Take care, and give my regards to Mrs. Beetle and the little one.

Congrats Beetle! (and Mrs. Beetle!)

Single birth, eh? I thought you beetles usually had hundreds of children.

We did! And they're all nocturnal. . .

Sorry for the slow response time guys. Things here are chaotic.

Sorry for the slow response time guys. Things here are chaotic.

Don't sweat it, Beetle. New critters in the house have a tendency to take up unbelievable amounts of time.

Sorry for the slow response time guys. Things here are chaotic.

Totally understandable. Wee beetlings take lots o' care.

Here is what it takes to drink a potion.

Drinking a potion

It's considered a standard action for the drinker.

To me, it kinda runs into the whole Great Cleave feat of 3.5. Where if there were 50 orcs in a row, you could just keep hitting because you could take a 5' step between each swing, as long as you keep on hitting.

Just my 2 cents, though.

My posting is gonna be scarce from this coming Saturday to Monday. It's possible I might be able to post something, but if not, you know why. Should be good to go back on Tuesday.

Here is what it takes to drink a potion.

Drinking a potion

It's considered a standard action for the drinker.

To me, it kinda runs into the whole Great Cleave feat of 3.5. Where if there were 50 orcs in a row, you could just keep hitting because you could take a 5' step between each swing, as long as you keep on hitting.

Just my 2 cents, though.

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I think what you are saying is I am being overly generous. I can't disagree. I'm a terrible softy.

In any event it sounds like Karek is saving his potion after all, so it will be moot for now.

I let my players drink up to two potions in a round one as a move action and one as a standard action.

I think what you are saying is I am being overly generous. I can't disagree. I'm a terrible softy.

lol! Whatever keeps him alive. It's all good to me. :)

(I'm not really a rules lawyer. I actually got to thinking about it and had to look it up. That's the only reason I posted it. Wasn't even sure it wasn't possible.)

I think what you are saying is I am being overly generous. I can't disagree. I'm a terrible softy.

"Softy". Don't you believe it! The Beetle is nothing but biting jaws, sharp claws, and a hard carapace. He expertly toys with his prey (foolish adventurers), keeping them alive on the edge of ruin, defeat a cruel dice roll away. Tidbits of hope waft our way on winds of chance, but they are mere crumbs meant to keep us barely alive for further opportunities to break us. All done, of course, in a most awesome manner that has created the best game I have ever been involved with to date. Nothing has gone to plan, not one encounter has been assured or predictable, and the outcomes of such encounters have spawned spectacularly described mini-adventures of pure awesomeness. I'm sure the Potentate and his companions will all go down in a blaze of glory...or just maybe we won't; and it is that uncertainty coupled with the truly evocative story telling that has made each post a greatly anticipated pleasure to read. Brilliant!

Pact Stone GM wrote:

I think what you are saying is I am being overly generous. I can't disagree. I'm a terrible softy.

lol! Whatever keeps him alive. It's all good to me. :)

(I'm not really a rules lawyer. I actually got to thinking about it and had to look it up. That's the only reason I posted it. Wasn't even sure it wasn't possible.)

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It is all good to me too. I’ve found that since a PBP moves at a slow crawl anyways, ruling questions don’t cause many problems. If anything they just wind up as teaching points for me and they are pretty welcome. In a live game, I really like to keep things moving and excessive rules discussions bog the action down so I try to push them for after a session. Here, I don’t need to do that. Generally, I can afford to take the time to get it right.

When I set up the game, I specifically encouraged it. I added the one caveat that if I made a "final" ruling people would respect it and move on. We’re (almost?) a year out and it’s never had to come to that. I’ve been wrong many times, some errors I’ve reversed, and some I’ve moved on with just being wrong, usually because too much time had transpired, but everybody has rolled with it.

So yeah, it’s all good to me to. This is great forum for raising points with the rules as we go.

I like that. That's sounds like a pretty good way to roll with it.

And yeah, I totally agree with this being a good forum for raising questions. Like I told another pbp group I'm in, I won't go to the actual forums for questions. Those jerks just get all snarky. It never failed, the few questions I posted in forums, every freaking one had some chump who responded in "jerk" language.

So I don't go on those threads. Ever. I'd rather bring it to the game thread. I've never had a cross response yet. Those I'm in games with, they're all pretty cool. And from what I gather from this thread, you guys are REALLY laid back. I freaking love that! That's greatness.

So, thanks for heads up on that. It just goes to show, I still have a lot to learn on how this pbp rolls. I'll try not to bug you too much, then, in the future.(Well, except for those pesky questions that may arise) :)

Where are the rest of the monks? And where is the super-monk leader guy? Have they gone yeller?

I got a good chuckle out of this. 'yeller' That's some good ol' country talk. That's pretty good. :)

We beetles are simple country folk. That or:

The Beetle is nothing but biting jaws, sharp claws, and a hard carapace. He expertly toys with his prey (foolish adventurers), keeping them alive on the edge of ruin, defeat a cruel dice roll away. Tidbits of hope waft our way on winds of chance, but they are mere crumbs meant to keep us barely alive for further opportunities to break us.

It all kinda depends.

The infiltration team advances northwest, following the well tread path. On the right-hand side of the road is a pair of stone statues. As the trio approaches the statues come into better focus, but they wonder if perhaps their eyes are paying tricks on them in the night. The statues appear oddly familiar:

The first is of a tall but rather portly merchantman dressed in baggy pants. He has a bald head with distinctive lamb chop side burns. He carries a mug in one hand. His mouth is open as though his image was captured in the act of speech.

The second statue is an even larger hulk-like figure. He is clad in an armoured kilt, his naked upper torso covered in strange tribal tattoos, clearly not of Osiriani origin. Scars cover this man’s body and you suspect the artist meant to portray that he is of orcish or perhaps some other foul blood-line. His arms are outstretched as though he were seeking to tear at something with his unnatural claw-like hands.

The likeness is uncanny, though the statues have no color, only a pale natural hue of light grey stone.

Okay. You can color me stupid. Am I missing something? A part of me wants to say it's Moonpate and Hurgah. But I have no idea if Moonpate has lambchop sideburns and I have no idea if Hurgah is running around half-naked. So I'm thinking that's a pretty far-fetched assumption.

So I must ask: Who are these familiar people?

Okay. You can color me stupid. Am I missing something? A part of me wants to say it's Moonpate and Hurgah. But I have no idea if Moonpate has lambchop sideburns and I have no idea if Hurgah is running around half-naked. So I'm thinking that's a pretty far-fetched assumption.

So I must ask: Who are these familiar people?

Oh, it's the Potentate and Reaver for sure. The only thing that would make it even more obvious is if they had Moonpate holding a sandwich in his other hand, just about to insert it into his open pie hole. We are apparently now famous enough to warrant statues. Next up will be a magic mouth tour guide detailing our exploits: 1gp admission price please.

Indeed. They are absolutely spot-on images of the 'pate and the Reaver.

Cool. I must admit, that is a pretty freaking cool visual.

Disclaimer - I'm at a local con all Easter organizing Pathfinder Society. I have web access and sufficient free time to keep up, but it may affect posting. (On the other hand, Hurgah IS the big, silent type - I doubt anyone would actually notice the difference).

Hey Pact, check this out!

I saw this in a mom and pop type shop the other day and thought of you.

Edit: Even better, I found it here at Amazon

Hey Pact, check this out!

I saw this in a mom and pop type shop the other day and thought of you.

Edit: Even better, I found it here at Amazon

Very cool!

Hey Pact, check this out!

I saw this in a mom and pop type shop the other day and thought of you.

Edit: Even better, I found it here at Amazon

Thanks Javell - that looks just like the spitting image of my cousin Ted.

Wait a second. . .

Disclaimer - I'm at a local con all Easter organizing Pathfinder Society. I have web access and sufficient free time to keep up, but it may affect posting. (On the other hand, Hurgah IS the big, silent type - I doubt anyone would actually notice the difference).

Happy Easter man - hope it's a great Con and you have fun!

JaceDK wrote:

Disclaimer - I'm at a local con all Easter organizing Pathfinder Society. I have web access and sufficient free time to keep up, but it may affect posting. (On the other hand, Hurgah IS the big, silent type - I doubt anyone would actually notice the difference).

Happy Easter man - hope it's a great Con and you have fun!

Thanks - we're just about done. Lots and lots of fun. I sent the wife and kid south to her family for the entire holiday, so for the first time in years I've been to an entire con, doing nothin' but gaming for four days straight.

We've registered 15 sessions of PFS, recruited a bunch of new players and had a great time. My freshly-made Ulfen cleric of Erastil, Captain Gerwulf, managed to save the entire party from certain death during a disastrous final encounter of The Cyphermage Dilemma, fighting off the pirate boss and her henchmen with his longspear while the rest of the group lay unconscious. I GM'ed two sessions myself and played in a handful besides,and met fellow Pathfinders from all over the country.

Gonna be unexpectedly detained until Saturday. Pardon the delays. Very keen to see what will happen to the Infiltration team this close to the pyramid. (I already know everyone else is screwed. . .)

No worries, we are looking forward to our beating...

Gonna be unexpectedly detained until Saturday. Pardon the delays. Very keen to see what will happen to the Infiltration team this close to the pyramid. (I already know everyone else is screwed. . .)

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Oh my! Just died on this one!

And then comes Halstadt with not a care in the world. "Tra-la-la, tra-la-la. We're fixing to get the crap beat out of us. Oh well." He shrugs and smiles as he stops and smells the roses. "Tra-la-la, tra-la-la."

Man you people crack me up! :)

. . . hoping most strongly that these are simple remembrances of the times that were. . .

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See now that is a way better idea that a cheesy dream sequence. Flashback scene as a thinly veiled method for communicating plotpoints coming up!