Bill Lumberg's page

I have been to Miami once and elsewhere in Florida several times. Never have I had an unpleasant experience there. However, in the last few decades I have read many things about events down there that make me want to ask something with all seriousness.

What the $%^&%^* is wrong with people down there?

Nice work!

That was part of an advertisement in an old issue of Dungeon. Bubba was speaking to a haughty elven "29th-level ranger/archmage/assassin" who was at the bottom of a pit with a purple worm. Bubba gruffly emplored the elf not to miss the rope that he was throwing down to rescue him.

The elf, (Gephreakian hence "Geek") missed it.

Here comes the rope, Geek. Don't miss it.

I have never seen a crit deck so I offer this comments with some hesitation. Critical hits should be significant if not decisive. If the crit deck produces something minor like the example that an opponent is slowed for one round that sees to be a poor trade-off for extra damage. But I do like the idea of adding flavor to the combats.

If the crit deck is used then I think it is only fair that a fumble deck be used as well. Again, I say this with no experience of either in play.

P.S.

Yes, we do roll pitifully so far.

Dear Mr. Zombie:

Is there an undead equivalent to food poisoning? If you eat the brain of a horrible monster far removed from humanity, an Eagles fan for example, would you suffer ill-effects like decreased intelligence and increased tenedencies toward senseless violence?

Bill Lumberg wrote:

khazan wrote:

In 1949, an Erector Set was used to build the precursor to the modern artificial heart by Drs. William Sewell and William Glenn of the Yale School of Medicine. The external pump successfully bypassed the heart of a dog for more than an hour.

I fondly remember Erector Sets, except for the time that my brother jabbed me in the head with a piece of one. Yes, youngsters, once upon a time sharp strips of metal were sold as toys.

Reminds me of the old SNL sketch where Dan Aykroyd is marketing a bag of broken glass as a toy...

"Bag o Glass"

I want to make a PC based on that character, Irwin Mainway.

Also, a certain hobby uses chemicals that can be repackaged as explosives. Years ago it was shipped by mail to anyone who ordered it.

In 1949, an Erector Set was used to build the precursor to the modern artificial heart by Drs. William Sewell and William Glenn of the Yale School of Medicine. The external pump successfully bypassed the heart of a dog for more than an hour.

I fondly remember Erector Sets, except for the time that my brother jabbed me in the head with a piece of one. Yes, youngsters, once upon a time sharp strips of metal were sold as toys.

It is nothing to worry about. In the games that I have played it has always been held that people fighting do not move from their locations. Instead, they seems to stick to their squares and swing away until one falls. My comment was just to the effect that I can't see a way to make things any more realistic. Perhaps someone has a mechanism for keeping track of where combat brings people to but it certainly is not me.

On an unrelated note, I am having fun so far and am very grateful to have been picked.

Aardvark,

When we get into combat do you treat it as if the opponents remain in their respective squares throughout? I know that it would require a lot of book-keeping to keep track of combatants as they move around so it is probably not worth it to do so.

I was accepted into another S&S game so I will withdraw from this one. Good luck and good gaming to everyone here.

Is it Temple of Elemental Evil, by any chance?

This sounds interesting. I have a ranger (Skirmisher) that submitted for another S&S recruitment. But, depending on my rolls, I might put up something different for this.

1d100 ⇒ 28

1d100 ⇒ 54

1d100 ⇒ 17

17-You possess claws that are treated as natural weapons and deal 1d4 points of damage.

28-Any evil creature you call via summon monster remains for 3 rounds longer than usual.

54-You gain DR 2/piercing.

Would you allow a Wayang from Races of the Dragon? Information for them is on D20pfsrd.com

He's gotten rolls at some good times. He stepped passably into the front line the one time Muchorak got hurt. I'm glad you guys are tolerant of his out of combat shananigans.

I love the way you play Romon. I think of this whenever I see a thread that damns rogues for being under-powered. It seems that the people who feel this way are missing out on half of the fun of this game.

Dotting for interest

@Bill Lumberg: I actually do say "Sweet, merciful Cthulhu!" quite often when I swear. That's in real life, too, mind you.

I have only used mine here. Do you wind up having to explain or do you just let people wallow in confusion?

I wish I could make it to Gettysburg but until the money goes in the bank in 3 years its just a wish..would have loved to have made the 150th Anniversary next year though.

Gettysburg and Antietam are the only major Army of Northern Virgina battlefields I have not walked

I will make it to Gettysburg this Spring. We are also considering visiting some battlefields in Virginia in the summer. I never imagined that my wife would have any interest in this. It is nice to be surprised sometimes.

I have a friend who lived in Virginia as a pre-teen. His take on the entire war is a bit interesting at times.

I saw it a few weeks ago and enjoyed it. The characters were more developed than I had expected for this type of film. But for what Sasha Cohen does when Hugo is on the tracks there were not many predicable moments.

Hey, what happened to my post about the delights of Gettysburg? Most of the Union side battlefield is walkable, if you like to hoof it. The new visitor center is very nice. If you walk from the northern end of the Union lines down into town, there's a restaurant that serves period food. It's pretty good, but pricey if you're bringing the family.

I was there 30+ years ago and am really looking forward to going back. Naturally, the forecast for Saturday is for rain.

What is the period food like? I am interested in trying it but there are many things that my wife can't eat.

"Merciful Cthuhlu!"

We intended to go to Gettysburg but my 9:00 dental appointment ran until almost 11:30. If we had left right afterward we would have gotten there at 3:30. So it looks like that will be pushed off until next weekend.

Wellard:

I will be out Saturday visiting a Civil War battlefield. Please DMPC Inikai as needed.

BUMP.

I decided not to pursue another game at this time.

Good gaming to everyone.

Inikai's binding check:
1d20 + 11 ⇒ (15) + 11 = 26

Enworld.org has converted the bhut and the nagpa.

"My favorite class is bard."

Dark Sun! The first box-set was the best version. TSR made a big mistake in having the setting follow the events of the novels. The great appeal for me was the overwhelming sense of oppression and brutality as everyday facts of life. Killing off the sorcerer-kings undermined the setting.

Slow down, woman. Don't you think we should get to know eachother first?

Dotting for interest.

Nice work on Leraje, Master Arminas. I too hate the feat Ricochet shot. Your version of Leraje makes it worth taking, especially at low levels.

I can't wait to see what you do with Ronove.

Edit:

I forgot to add this.

Primus: Scale the bonus for Lawful order to +1 per five binder levels or every four levels after 5th. As it is, the +1 bonus is too low to matter beyond very low level play.

The damage bonus from Lawful Attacks should be increased to 2d6 at some higher level.

Primus still seems weak for a third level vestige. Perhaps a fourth power should be added, something like a defense bonus against chaotic attacks.

Amon is also a weak vestige due to his granting only three abilities and two of them very limited in nature. The Fire Breath makes him useful as a secondary vestige at higher levels. Still, a fourth granted power seems warranted but I have no idea what would be a good candidate.

Your proposed changes to the vestiges are very good and I would incorporate them if I were a DM. I would suggest some changes as well.

Aym: Scale the fire resistance to 15 at 15th level and 20 at 20th level.

Naberious: Change Disguise Self to Alter Self at 10th level.

Leraje: Scale the bonuses to hide checks and attacks with a bow. Like, Ronove, this vestige is a poor one.

Ronove: Give the binder flurry of blows as a monk. There is not much to recommend this vestige.

Haagenti: Give the binder scaling increases to attacks and damage with axes. At X level (i have no idea what) the binder should be able to reflect polymorph/petrification style spells back on a caster if he makes a save. This is another poor vestige.

Andromalius: Give increasing bonuses to Sense Trickery.

Focalor: You are right about how Focalor falls behind in power at mid-levels, especially with the Lightning Strike.

For his Wind Breath I suggest a variable duration of 1-4 rounds instead of 1 round per four levels. Blindness for even one round after the attack is very effective, especially if the binder has a rogue comapion nearby.

Karsus: Incease the bonus to Heavy Magic by one per four levels after 7th.

Andras: As written the elemental stays with the binder until it is slain and then the binder can summon another one after one hour. The potentially long duration of this power would be formidable if not for the fact that the elemental is small until the binder hits 11th level. I though of having it mirror the spellscar oracle's ability to summon elementals. The elemental summoned would be more powerful at earlier levels but would not last very long and the binder would only be able to call it a limited number of times per day.

Kas: The binder gains Favored Enemy bonuses against undead as if he were a ranger. I thought of this because, with the changes to smite attacks, a binder might have better success against undead by taking Andras instead of Kas.

Balam: Apply the gaze damage to all foes who can see the binder, just as it is for Geryon's gaze attack. I think that is implied in the TOM but was never made explicit.

Geryon: Change the duration of flight to 1 round per five levels.

Chupoclops: The TOM states that the binder's bite attack is poisonous but does not list the poison damage. I would use something like black widow poison from d20pfsrd.com:

Bite—injury; save Fort DC 17; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d3 Con and staggered; cure 2 saves. Save DC is Con-based with a +2 racial bonus.

Shax: Give the binder the ability to breathe water. This was suggested in a thread on the WoTC boards and I agree that it makes sense, especially considering the level at wich a binder can call on Shax.

Desharis (from the WoTC website): The binder should be able to teleport using Infinite Doors more than once per day. Once per five levels seems appropriate.

I would love to see what ideas others have on this.

I meant to elaborate on why I voted for this submittal. It stood out because it is the only one in which the antagonists' (initial) actions were not motivated toward a malevolent end. They were conducting an experiment in pursuit of knowledge which is something that spellcasters are often seen doing in literature. But the experiment went awry and now the PCs are left to deal with the consequences.

The designers have made some excellent critiques and suggestions, like changing the time that the PCs receive the warning. These and the other changes would make this a fantastic adventure for both players and the DM.

So here's a dumb question. Anyone know why I can't edit my original post now? lol

You can only edit a post within 60 minutes of posing it.

On the whole, I like what you have done here. I am currently playing a binder in a RotRL campaign. He is 7th level and, as some have noted in threads about binders, a bit behind the power curve. Once he hits 8th level that will change.

I am concerned that a binder with access to two vestiges at 6th level might be extremely powerful at that level. Imagine having bound Andras and Amon. The binder will be able to smite with a weapon and with horns in those three rounds when he is not belching a 6d6 line of flame or using Amdras's Murderous Command power. Against a bunch of low-level opponents he would be very formidable. Now imagine if his party has a wizard who casts Haste regularly and he will have an additional smite attack per melee round.

This looks like a lot of fun, got my vote.

Yes, 300 gp for a 7th level character is a low-ball offer.

Never mind that now. I wonder what we will encounter on this wilderness adventure? Romon is going to love this.

"To be perfectly honest and frank, I don't wish you all luck."

"I wish you dire misfortune."

"For every head that rolls my chances of to survive the culling increase. It's nothing personal, but I wish myself luck and hope many of you fall prematurely once the list begins to cull itself and strike us off into a void of non-existence."

"Being reincarnated for a fourth recruitment of this game would drive me quite mad."

Clap, clap, clap!

Congratulations to the lucky chosen. Good gaming!

I just noticed that Inikai never chipped in his share for the wand of levitation. How much was that?

It's a very interesting group dynamic we have. At this rate we may have to ask what might happen between Naria, Marak and Inikai...

Pass!

This sounds interesting. I am thinking of a gnome primalist wizard who would have run out to the lights in the sky as quickly as he could.

That would be either a use-activated item, by the sound of things (caster level x spell level x 2000gp) or a command word activated item (caster level x spell level x 1800gp). Three uses per day would be 3/5 of the price. It's a 2nd level spell, so it would normally be applied at 3rd level. I can see why you'd want 8th level which would make it almost permanent BUT if it's use-activated, the use can be continuous - and as it is a duration measured in hours, there is no additional expense for it being always on and it can be applied at 3rd level.

So we can do it two ways:
1) continuous use (the effect is always on):
That gives us: 3x2x2000x1 = 12,000gp cost.
You could have these as a protector/protected pair, or a pair that allow you to protect one another. As the item gives shield other it will give the other bonuses of shield other (+1 deflection bonus to AC, +1 resistance bonus on saves).

I would recommend going for this option, it's cheaper and I can see scope for one other feature: You could enhance the deflection bonus at a rate of (bonus squared x 2000)gp, and/or the resistance bonus to saves (bonus squared x 1000)gp. The cost of the less expensive feature of two would be reduced by 25%, and of the cheapest feature 50%. Hence if you wanted it to have a +2 deflection bonus and a +2 resistance bonus, the cost would be:

12,000gp (original cost)
+ {8,000gp (+2 deflection bonus) x 75%} = 6,000gp
+ {4,000gp (+2 resistance bonus) x 50%} = 2,000gp
= 20,000gp.

many thanks, Dabbler.

I went with the first option of three uses per day and a cost of 12,000 gp. There are no bonuses to AC or saves but cest la vie.

Did anyone claim Ironbriar's mithral shirt or did we sell it?

Inikai can supply his version of Shield Other for crafting an item. The difference is that it will make an involuntary connection to share HP damage and that there will be no deflection bonus.

All this time Mr. Pett has been watching us? That is disturbing.

Thank you for writing such a fantastic work. I will never look at a cornfield the same way again.

Will we be starting a new thread for the next chapter?

Muchas gracias, Dabbler.

I picked Shield Other because it is the closest spell to one power that a vestige grants Inikai. The power is an involuntary link to share HP damage but there is no deflection component. This should drop the cost to 12,000 gp. if bought on the market or 6000gp. if is crafted.

Set, Dabbler

How much would a wonderous item that can cast the equivalent of Shield Other several times per day at 8th level cost? I think it should be about 16,000 gp. but am not sure.

Did we get to keep Ironbriar's mithral shirt as well?

R.I.P.

Damn. She was another great one that I will never get to see perform. My wife walked out to "I Believe in You in Me" instead of "Here Comes the Bride" on our wedding day.

DM Wellard wrote:

Well I'll admit I didn't use Ms TPK in that encounter (I'm saving her for later on) and gave you lot a lot of advantages. That 2nd round by itself would have staggered the Lamia

And after all the hints you were dropping about TPK, I was worried we'd anti-climaxed you there.

Stop snickering, Set.

Giggle

Something tells me that Wellard is just waiting to spring something big and mean on us to knock us out a sense of complaisance.