Hope it gets better Adran.
On a different note...
If someone gives you a dozen roses, in a bouqet, what do you normally do to them when you get them home? Do you lay them on the floor and forget about them, or do you....something something something...
I'm getting a feeling here that I worked in a reverse direction. As in, make the woman-with-flowers first, then make a vase and put the flowers in it in the single-painting room.
Maybe that will unlock rooms leading to the shield and scales?
All right! We are finally on our way to the cells leading to #238 with the mysterious, if not godlike, entity inside. Who apparently can grant wishes, but be careful what you wish for.
If we had an elevator to the doorway above, or even a clock that would tell us how much time we have left to sunrise, I'd risk any kind of wish for ourselves. As it is, I wonder if our wish shouldn't be to have a teleport out of this place back to the desert.
Thoughts about wishes:
- that Grimjowl suffer cumulative bad luck every time he fires a weapon at us, or orders someone else to fire a weapon at us, or tries to harm us directly, or orders someone else to harm us directly (in game terms, a cumulative -1 to all skills, saves, actions, attacks, and damage).
- immorality for each of us? (in game terms, regeneration 10? Stop aging?)
- to have a pot of gold in the hold of the Elephant that fills itself once a day if empty?
- more Intelligence? More Dexterity? A free feat for everybody? Wishes can typically raise an attributes score by 1 to a max of +5 for each attribute.
Things to remember here:
1.) we've already been told that the entity likes to twist wishes, so the simpler the better
2.) being from an anti-magical society, being handed a magical wish is like being handed a box of TNT. Sure you can do a lot with it, but your livability goes down the more you use it. We've also been "scanned" several times in this game and lots of people see right past our lies and rationalizations of just being good 'ol G.I.Joes or an A-Team of mercenaries. So I'd rather not put a permanent magical glow around Connor.
3.) The Regent in Masiaarin is expecting us to make a selfish wish for ourselves. That could come back to harm us in the future.
Not to mention that this broken down, untended prison is an apocalypse waiting to happen...
- Wish for biographical dossiers in common and cell door codes for every other prisoner in this prison.
It's specific, simple, and akin to a wish for more wishes. There was already one being capable of teleporting out of the prison from outside their cell.
Plus, lobster dog.
From what we've seen, the gods are aware of this place, and don't allow things they don't like to happen, as in when Connor tried to repair that statue on the 1st level.
You've got a great idea with the dossiers, Flann, and if we had more time I'd agree.
That 'lobster dog' looked like a world-killer to me.
That was not the gods, that was just the built in security systems. Tenfa said as much earlier.
Oh.
I figure there have already been at least two prisoners who could teleport us out of the prison from outside their cell. It would take us maybe 48 hours to find someone decent who could help. In the meantime, we release all the drunk and disorderly leprechauns and send all the Galactuseses to a dumpster dimension.
Of course, I've been ignoring the possibility that when the front doors lock, the interior "purges".
Maybe, "Safely teleport us and an abandoned treasure to the deck of the Elephant".
Is it wrong of me, as the GM, to love this particular setup (I've run similar ones for 2 games now), and to get all warm and fuzzy as players try to figure out how to (A) get out in time (B) figure out who to let out and who not to and (C) get the most out of their wishes without getting screwed over by them?
I had one set of players who got so paranoid over the wish that they wished for '100 gold coins that are made from thin air, not wished from anyone's hoard or pocket and have no curses on them'. The creature they wished from blinked, and pulled a purse out of their pocket and tossed it to them. It had 105 GP, 47 SP, 84 CP, and 12 PP.
They tossed all the sp, cp, and PP's away, along with 5 gp before leaving the prison.
:)
I'd say it's a popular conundrum. If you didn't have 40+ old players who have gotten screwed by "evil GMs" in the past, with plots written by Gary Gynax et al just to do that.
Here I sit as a 45 (soon to be 46) year old player who has heard it all - from players wishing for "a mountain of gold" and getting squashed to Full Frontal Nerdity's "a million experience points!" with their character being aged 80 years in .8 seconds flat, with The Simpson's "monkey's paw" (and reading the original story), and "Brian's 6-page legalese wish" from Knights of the Dinner Table as examples, I've hopefully gotten wiser as a result. Plus reading the SRD about wishes and their typical "limits" compared to the novels.
I try to convey that wisdom to my player characters. I can understand the paranoia, as I've read about GMs who for some strange reason made it their mission in life not to "run a good story" with their players, but actually try to send at least one to the funny farm in their career. I've never understood why. I can understand "power players" and those who try to run ramshod over their GMs (see Knights of the Dinner Table as well as the Black Hands), but that puzzles me too. It's a game, folks, and if you're not having (good) fun, then why are you playing?
As for our current situation, I don't mind Connor's wild ideas getting shot down, it's part of his character building, but don't be a Nervous Nellie or a damp blanket.
Not to be outdone, I carry a small personal printout of three altruistic wishes in my wallet, just in case I come across a magic lamp. They're not Monkey's Paw proof, but they are written in such a way as to not hurt anyone.
I think if I ever got access to wishes, I'd only need one: I wish that anything that granted a wish never existed.
Ouch.
-----------------------
On to ideas that can drill us a navigable tunnel in less than two hours. Without two levels to get fold space, I'm at a loss here. Connor can make about 9 astral construct workers to move the rubble in a bucket-line formation, but that won't get us anywhere with infinite earth above each passageway for 20 years or more.
I still think sending Telv through the rubble to find the other end is the best course of action. mdt let Tenfa tell Connor that she can "see" things around her diamond that Connor has a tassel-gem on his backpack. But she says it is too "valuable". Worst-case scenario, I say send Hero and the diamond with Telv and deal with it.
Since we're apparently being led to letting the creepy girl out of her cell, what's the benefit here? She can see past the rubble, but we have no idea who she is. It's not like the girl is another player character coming into the game. This could be a world-shattering abomination here. We are on the last level, after all.
I get the feeling that the Plane of Water trap above us won't reset for several minutes, if not hours or days. So we can't go back up. The only item not on our equipment lists is the ectoplasmic bucket with the golden water in it that Flann brought. Unless that stuff turns into super-acid or reduces matter for several dozen cubic feet, I'm not sure what we have on us is going to help.
The bucket came through the portal, but the water didn't. Sorry, forgot to post that.
I think if I ever got access to wishes, I'd only need one: I wish that anything that granted a wish never existed.
The genie reaches back through time, to before the sperm met the egg that made you, and squishes both. For you, wish granting things never existed, since you never existed.
But I made the wish that allowed him to murder me in the womb, so now he's causes a paradox?
Man, time travel and wishes are dangerous.
Genies eat paradox, it tastes spicy, and a bit tangy and a little acrid on the tongue. Kind of like feasting on nettles.
Is it wrong of me, as the GM, to love this particular setup (I've run similar ones for 2 games now), and to get all warm and fuzzy as players try to figure out how to (A) get out in time (B) figure out who to let out and who not to and (C) get the most out of their wishes without getting screwed over by them?
It really depends if the question has an answer or not. Most players can answer riddles, as long as they do actually have an answer to them.
The catch here is, we're stuck between an infinite number of rocks and a ticking clock. We seemingly can't go back the way we came in, we can't go forward thanks to prior sabotage, we don't have the magic or psionics to make this easy, and Connor has reasons to not trust one avenue of approach, the girl in the prison cell. Can she 1.) teleport us to the location, or 2.) get rid of the rocks, or 3.) do what it takes to get us to #238 with enough room to breathe and talk, and 4.) get us out of here?
Given a prisoner teleported Volita-Kalvara out, and that was at "Level 3", we can assume that a person at "Level 4" has similar capabilities.
Connor's done what he can think of. I know Tenfa didn't want him using her diamond like an overly large psicrystal, but she did say that her diamond could be used to see the cell door. So "Plan A" is Telv-Tenfa-Hero together. (Give Telv/Vrog Skyreaver a chance to lead the game!)
I'll let the others lead with "Plan B". Just in case "Plan A" doesn't work, and "Plan B" takes a bullet and goes down, "Plan C" involves 25 years of digging and a wish that includes time travel and de-aging. If Adran and Telv can survive that long.
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I'm all for freeing "bad" guys and following them out. Free them all :)
All three interesting things Flann can do if we take a long rest:
Sense Link: You sense what the subject senses (single sense).
Suppress Compulsion: You attempt to free a target temporarily from another’s control using conflicting signals.
Animal Affinity: Gain +4 enhancement to one ability.
If Flann were level 7, he could manifest...
Psychic Reformation: Subject can choose skills, feats, and powers anew for previous levels.
I sure hope Connor isn't scarred for life.
Telv/Vrog Skyreaver, I'm sorry I froze your character. It was not my intention.
I've got to go to Richmond, VA for a conference tomorrow. Since I live in Graham, NC, that means it's an all-day trip. Internet access is not likely. So I won't be posting at all on Saturday.
If anybody's traveling this summer, the conference is about Surge365, a travel membership club. Here's a link to save on travel, hotel rooms, etc: http://vortex365.jeremyhpace.com/. And to really save on travel, join Surge365 at http://surge365.jeremyhpace.com/.
I'm visiting my brother this coming week. Not sure yet what my availability will be during travel, but I should be able to keep up with updates.
No worries. I'll live. Oozes are basically immortal, after all.
I think we're at a conundrum. We now need to wait for Telv to "unfreeze", and see if Flann and the girl in the cell can come to an agreement.
Connor can wake up and shake off what has happened to him, but he's played his "Plan A" for getting past the rockslides. I think Telv was going to check cell #238 anyway, and he can continue that as a player. But for the rest of us, unless we start digging, we're pretty much stuck.
I hate to lean on Tenfa as a deus ex machina, but I, er, "got burned" trying Plan A. It would have been nice to keep Volita as a willing player to this point, and give us some godling-level hints. But it's down to us four now.
I'm willing to roll INT checks for mdt to reply to. Or banter with Flann and Adran some more. Maybe Telv can unfreeze, and the person in cell 238 can give us some hints?
Telv is going to need some time to 'unfreeze' unfortunately. Or he needs 10 HP healed to fix the issue, either way.
FLann can't open the cell without Connor coming out of his trance, because only Connor can see the codes on the cells.
And Adran can't really help at this point.
Just tell me if Connor had any HP damage, or if he needs to wait for his right arm to work again. I can roleplay Connor with a bum arm, at least until we get outside to a certain halfling temple, but I don't want to underplay what happened to Connor.
Connor's arm will be numb for several days. His hair and arm won't return to their normal color until he can get the diamond out of his body (at least until then, it could be permanent).
Adran has a sad :)
Here goes! Any last wishes, cigarettes, or regrets?
Ya, I wish I was 20th level.
GM is waiting for someone* to actually do something. Right now, everyone keeps posting that they're waiting on others. Times passing as you guys look at each other. :P
*Other than Telv, who I'm waiting on a int check from.
I can't open the cell or I would
But Connor was giving a last chance to stop him, so I think he was expecting posts. Which is causing him to wait. So a nice OOC post like that one lets him know Adran's not stopping him. :P
I mean my last 3 post were:
Breaking her out seems like a better and better option
Great Break her out, lets shake things up
Still waiting break her out already.
Not sure how to be more clear I was not stopping nothing :)
Ok, I can take a hint (only when it's applied with a sledgehammer).
Win, die, or get accursed for eternity!
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Not to mention that this broken down, untended prison is an apocalypse waiting to happen...
- Wish for biographical dossiers in common and cell door codes for every other prisoner in this prison.
It's specific, simple, and akin to a wish for more wishes. There was already one being capable of teleporting out of the prison from outside their cell.Plus, lobster dog.
Oh, I'm leaning towards this now. Cursing Grimjowl for a year is one thing. Cursing all dragonkind for a year that fly near Atalantia is another. But getting a tome that would auto-magically update itself with who and what in each cell, who put them there, when they get out, etc. would be a real bargain.
Especially when we sell it to the Regent for 100,000 gold pieces and all repairs for free plus a few cannon on the Elephant!
Or maybe we could sell it to Kalvant Malranva 'tel Mintakia and Mirandi Selstravi 'tel Mintakia, the people who got Connor and the originals in this story to switch to being secret agents instead of the careers they wanted. Because the Regent may already have such a book, how else to know about "cell 238"? But I'm willing to bet Kalvant and Mirandi don't know about the Prison of the Planes.
The burden of a personal wish is exponentially greater than a communal wish I could blame Connor for...
Seems the time limit has been extended to 'whenever a circling magical stone becomes inconvenient'...
Note that you'll have to use one of those to handle the Regent's wish...
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ON a different note, I hope everyone is enjoying the game. I do try to keep you on your toes, so that what you expect is not exactly what happens (in a good way I hope).
Note that you'll have to use one of those to handle the Regent's wish...
Uh? I thought we took care of the Regent's wish.
ON a different note, I hope everyone is enjoying the game. I do try to keep you on your toes, so that what you expect is not exactly what happens (in a good way I hope).
I was actually waiting for feedback from the others. So the "super-powerful ioun stones" are definitely a surprise.
Note that you'll have to use one of those to handle the Regent's wish...Uh? I thought we took care of the Regent's wish.
You spoke it aloud before she granted the wishes, so it doesn't count. Kind of put the kart before the horse.
Sort of like trying to take the car to grandmas before you pay for it.
or eating your cake before you have it.
I'm having fun. I enjoy the game. Thanks for running it :)
Congrats!
Everyone gains a level.
Max HP for this level.
Woot, I will be leveled up on Monday. I'm off tomorrow and will be busy for a 3 day weekend :) Have a good weekend all.
All levelled up!
Don't forget you now have a 3rd form Telv.
Oh, and also, please post what you gained/added with your level.
Congrats!
Everyone gains a level.
Max HP for this level.
Whoo-hoo! 7th Level! It feels like it's been two years since we last leveled. ;) Max hp really helps.
I'm going to need the weekend to level, I've got some Coast Guard Auxiliary duty on Saturday. Yep, an Army officer is going on the water. Last time, they only let me sit in at the radio station. Now I have to use knots I haven't seen since the 9th grade in church's Boy Scout-like Pathfinder class.
Short version: Psion 7 (Shaper5/Psicrystal Imprinter2) ML 6
spread the skill points out, pick up K:Religion and K:The Planes
Craft Psionic Tattoo or Leadership?
3rd-level powers: concussive onslaught (3d6 damage) and mental barrier (+4 to AC)
4th-level astral constructs with Menu B choices!
I can add another 1st-level power to Hero for storage
Next level, someone could take Leadership to get a crew...
Do we need this?