Wicked? Really? (Inactive)

Game Master Aku Warashi

Looking at the map I see three ways for the guards on the bottom level of the keep to get out. First the main doors to Aldencross(8a). Not really a concern for us. Second the bridge to the gatehouse, then up to gatehouse level two, then all the way back along that mini bridge to and along the castle wall -very long and slow. Third, the tower we are currently in. If we block that one door we force the guards inside to take a very long rout to get to us.

I agree that we should hold off on using the skeletons as long as we can. The second the alarm is raised, Mr Lord commander paladin starts armoring up - not good for us. What about leaving them in the tower while we infiltrate the keep ( guards our escape route), then picking them up as we move against the gatehouse through the mini-bridge(24. They've got crossbows, so if we come across a good hard cover point they might make a pretty effective sniper group guarding our backs.

I thought about flying from the tower top to the top of the keep too but I didn't think we had the resources. If we can do that its definitely our best option!

If we can't, then can we rush the two guards at the keep doors at a time when the other guards are not watching? Would give us a couple of minutes at least.

Ooh, how about this: Use two of the skeletons as replacements for the guards at the front. Its dark, and there's like 80-9ft from the doors to the walls, so they might get away with it for awhile, especially if we dress them in the uniforms of the two guards we just killed. All the have to do is stand there.

Agreed on that Johan - we DONT want the Pally armoured and ready. We need him asslep and vulnerable. Let's use the portable window to get in and make a bee line for the pally quarters. We kill him and either a) go on hunter killer missions b) aim for the static defences (gate, catapults etc) or c) hole up in the treasury until the fighting is finished.

We will need to have the imp let off the firework after we kill the pally - we also do need to kill that Mage.

Portable hole time.

Johan, both my computers have died, leaving me with just an iPhone - your voice is as mine for your plan as you get we need to be like assassin/spies

The problem with the with window is that we still have to cross open ground and up to three patrol routes to even get to the keep's wall - not easy...

Its dark... Stealth. How many silence spells can we rip out? If we can get 2? We use one to stealth to the wall - our mage is still invisible and I think the cleric has access to an invis spell - maybe cast that on you and I and the cleric can try to stealth it? With or without the silence... relative distance also plays a roll with perception penalties too

Sidious has 1 silence spell and 2 incivility spells (the most he could have as they are domain spells.)

One other trick he can pull is his Imp could use Suggestion to have a guard open a door, or leave a post or head to town, or whatever. Its a Will save DC 15 and usable once a day.

Use that suggestion idea at need... for the moment we just need to cross this damn courtyard to employ the portable window. Cast one of your invis spells on yourself and the other on Johan. Save the silence - if you guys move at half speed you should be ok. I can try to stealth it across - I got +13. In the dark it should be workable.

I don't want alarms. That portable window is our friend and way to bypass certain failure or having to fight every last remaining soldier. Even if discovered in the keep, we'll have less to fight.

Agrippa has one more invis spell available for the day.

Then we have enough for everyone to go invis again. Lets do that and then use the portable window and stick to the plan.

Only one thing to consider then, and two sides to that: Where to put the window. Where do we want to enter? Near the way up to the next level if possible I'd say. And that window is permanent after placed. So where can we put a window that might not be noticed til morning? And can we hide it in any way?

Yeah, unless they've got shrubs or something growing around the walls, they are going to see the window within minutes of us placing it. Finding a window where its not supposed to be is so odd that they might stare at it in confusion for a minute or two before raising an alarm. So, I say we place it closest to the stairs up that we can ( I marked it with a red box) then just sprint right up to the Commander's chamber, trusting the invisibility to get us past any guards we find on the way.

Getting back out might be a problem though. Remember we still need to open the drawbridge and gate before we can set of the signal flare.

Well, if there's no other plans on the table, lets do it

Okay, let's roll.

Agrippa is a go

still mainly iphone restricted... as well as dealing with personal issues. Will post in a day or two.

Even if we get in on the ground floor, getting through all those guarded doors and up stairs is going to alert guards and we will have a battle on our hands. I am not is sure if we will be noticed first or our window will be. Are we really prepared to take on the entire castle, paladin and wizard included, in one big fight?

The bottom floor is one big room. How many men will be there? They will likely notice the appearance of a window at once. We may be fighting before all of us get inside. If we do take that room, we should be able to bar the only doors into the keep.

Would't some form of disguise and bluff have a better chance to get us in? If not, lets discuss accessing the roof again.

A dire bat is strength 17. How much weight can it carry flying? I am pretty sure it can get Agrippa over, and the imp can go too. No one else has a way to fly? Can Agrippa summon one too?

I'd rather not spend 5 days discussing the most optimal plan.

A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week...

In some points, I do agree with Agrippa.

You don't have the luxury of planning time in game-time at this moment.

You can't really plan any complex strategy.

It may be suicide to do a frontal assault but Sidious is built for combat... Lets roll.

Points in the direction of the gameplay thread Post! he commands imperiously

A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week...

I love that! That is going on Johan's tomb stone <ominous forshadowing>

I'd love to take credit for that but it was a quote from General George S. Patton.

I use it often though to illustrate the value of just getting things done as opposed to talking about getting it done endlessly.

Hey what was the verdict on flying? If we can pull it off, we don't have to fight our way back down - just keep going up to the keeps roof then hop over to the tower or battlements for our run at the gate house. Heck we could use their own defenses against them, sealing the keep with that big stone so the entire keep is unusable during the bugbear assault. Maybe even turn that catapult on the roof against the gate house!

I'd love to take credit for that but it was a quote from General George S. Patton.

I use it often though to illustrate the value of just getting things done as opposed to talking about getting it done endlessly.

The quote assumes we have a good plan though. I am not at all sure. Time will tell.

I wanted to give a heads up that I'll be traveling from Wednesday through Sunday (going to Gen Con) and my posting will be limited. I'll still try to check this game at least once a day, but will likely be posting from a phone when I do post.

ah, I miss going to gen con. Went 4 years in a row then...kids.

Have a grand time!

Thanks. I have never been despite winning a ticket one year. I go to dragon con every year though, and bring the kids. :)

I wonder if the jail cells contain anyone that might be of help to us? Is it worth our time to take a look?

I had imagined that both skeletons would have moved in and readies such that if either wet approached both would get an AOO. This might have blocked Johan though. Maybe they lacked the move to get there? But should they still be in the hal?

When planning heavy movement dependent action, please consider your position and your ally’s position at the map.

Father Sidious wrote:

I had imagined that both skeletons would have moved in and readies such that if either wet approached both would get an AOO. This might have blocked Johan though. Maybe they lacked the move to get there? But should they still be in the hal?

When planning heavy movement dependent action, please consider your position and your ally’s position at the map.

Your skeletons were made from dwarfs, so they move less than normal skeletons.
You used your entire move to position (without showing in the map where you wanted to position them), and then readied an action. Since you already moved, you can’t take a 5 ft step. Thus, only one of the skeletons were able to attack.

I did not know I was able to move them myself and will move them in the future to avoid confusion. My goal was to block the hall. Sorry that I was not clear.

Okay boys! I’ve asked this once, a very long time ago, but let’s do it again!

Please, all your question, comment, remarks and anything that is not a gameplay post into discussion thread, please!

Why? Because It makes it harder to understand what’s going on in gameplay. I mean it, please!

==//==

Combat in play by post is complex thing, since most of the times some retcons is due because of many factors.

Let’s try something from now on:

Once in combat, except when the situation calls for, you get only one posting per round!
Therefore, whatever you need to say and do, you do only in one post! Okay?

will do... Of course that means I can rant about my lousy rolls here in Discussion until I'm blue in the face. Man! another 1! I think I've scored 1 critical hit in five levels, but I roll at least 2 1s every encounter.

Man, I feel ya.

will do... Of course that means I can rant about my lousy rolls here in Discussion until I'm blue in the face. Man! another 1! I think I've scored 1 critical hit in five levels, but I roll at least 2 1s every encounter.

Not really Johan, what I meant was thay you should avoid creating a completely new post only for a question or a remark.

Inside your own post, you can comment, and ask. I'll answer it on discussion.

My marriage/divorce has gotten even more messed up in the last 12 hrs. Just a heads up if I disappear for a day or three.

sorry to hear that man, sending good thoughts your way.

Same!

Was there some way to close off the tower?

Take a look at this post.

Could Sidious and both skeletons do this?

Sure.
Describe it in gameplay :)

Sorry for not posting today.
I'm without sleep for almost three day. I'm not thinking right at the moment.
I promise to update tomorrow.

Assuming that Agrippa saw no magical auras anywhere in 60'

Sorry, forgot about the detect magic.

A faint abjuration and a moderate evocation on the chest.

Did Agrippa cast his invisibility spell as well as his invisibility sphere spell?

Yes!

Back after the firs battle. Sidious used invisibility for himself and Johan, you casted invisibility for Eldred, while still invisible for the circle.

Ok, I couldn't remember what spells I had cast. Thanks

Did Sidious have a round to buff before the door was opened?

Yes.

You may assume 2 rounds of buffing before the fight.

@Johan: Does this count as a separate combat? Is Johan's judgement still running, or do I need to reactivate?

It's a separated combat.

Okay 2 rounds to buff, Johan casts Divine Favour and Shield of Faith, then activates judgement and spiritual weapon on round 1.

Er, so Eldred is at 1 hit point?

Two hit points!

Hurrah for good hp rolls!

Father Sidious' 2 rounds of self-buffing are Bulls Strength and Shield of faith.

The enemy both need to save or be sickened. If the archer is sickened he misses. Also, Eldred, since Sidious is now the smite target, you are not. He would have to use another use of smite to change targets again.

I was wondering about that smite too. If you have multiple uses of smite, can you activate them one after another to have multiple simultaneous targets?

At any rate, we got him to come out of the room where we can flank him, he didn't get a full attack out of it, and he's -2 AC for next round due to the lunge. A painful trade for 70+ pts of damage, but...< rubs hands together maniacally>now we've got him right where we want him, mwahahah!

DM AKU, what were the results of Johan's attacks?

You don't need to wait one smite ends to use other. Of course now Eldred is unsmited, he used one more of his daily usages.

Also, from the distance, I think the channel and the prayer did not affected the soldier. I'll check later and confirm for you.

-Posted with Wayfinder

@Johan, both atk and Spiritual weapon hit.
Also, spiritual weapon is considered a spell, so it's not influenced by prayer.

Sorry for the lack of description.

I'll update gameplay in a couple of hours.