And Then TWO Skeletons Popped Out! (Inactive)

Game Master Storm Dragon

Sledge is a beefy man, since he succeeded the grapple if you or Zone force feed the potion I'll call this combat over.

Leaving that task to Osric. I believe he has yet to act and Zone already left the potion with him.

Think Jones is up before the vampire spawn. Osric is holding the vial out and open.

Zone is not going to do anything this round other than watch.

Jones quickly grabs the vial out of Osric's hand, and forces the liquid down the spawn's throat.

The spawn fights back, even nicking Jones with his fangs as he tries to avoid swallowing the elixir, but is eventually made to swallow it. He struggles for a few moments more, but eventually calms and slumps to the ground, dropping his weapons.

"W-what? What did you do? I feel like my head is clear again, for the first time in a while."

"Your mortal shell has been turned to darkness, paladin. The Inheritor has not forgotten you, and she has sent me that I might speak with you. I will not lie; you know how this must end, once we have gleaned the knowledge that we seek. But when Iomedae grants me the power - I believe it shall be soon - you will again walk the mortal realm in the light, if you wish. I swear by the Inheritor that, as soon as She grants me the power, I will bring you back. I am Osric, last of the Shining Crusade, and I too have known loss. I was a priest of Aroden, you see.
Can you tell us what vampire turned you and made you their slave? Was it Ravdir? Is he near?"

The man gives Osric a pained expression.

"Then you understand at least some of what I feel. But I am not worthy of redemption. I have shamefully indulged in the new appetites of this impure form. I am not sure there is a return to the light for me, save in the most literal sense."

He stands up straight, face now stoic, and salutes with a fist to his chest.

"I am Sir Halloran Idriss, devoted of the Inheritor, though she has rightfully forsaken me. I swear on what is left of my honor to render whatever aid I am able in your quest."

When you ask who turned him, he confirms your guess.

"Yes. Radvir Giovanni was his name, and he is deeper within these catacombs, along with the sisters. I warn you, they have worked some kind of horrid magic on the elder twin, Aisa. She is a vampire, but no mere spawn of Radvir. Fully fledged in that power and her witchcraft, she may be a more formidable foe than you expected. By the time you arrive, they may have worked the same ritual on Hetna as well. I know not if they are mere vampires, or something fouler with the same form. Be on your guard."

"Atonement may yet be possible, Sir Halloran. Even restoration to life. But for now, revenge.
Come with us and we will destroy Radvir and the witches.
Yes, I may need to use Iomedae's gifts of holy sunlight. I will not hold back to spare you, nor do I think you would wish it. If this is to be your end, it will be in the cause of righteousness, and that will be counted in Pharasma's judgement."
Anyone else have questions for him?

"Isn't there literally a bit o' magic to fix stuff ifn you fall out with your god?"

"My very form is anathema to the concept of goodness, this unnatural life fueled by harming others. No amount of Atonement could or should be accepted, as I cannot swear I will not commit the same sin again. Even now the blood in your veins tempts me with its pulsing. It is better that I expire than harm another innocent."

"Did you have a chance to see how the ritual affected Aisa in terms of combat capabilities? Did she seem stronger? Faster? More adept at spellcasting?"

Idriss shakes his head.

"She is very newly transformed, a few hours at most. I only know from my connection with Radvir that she has changed."

Zone edges closer.

"Are there any more obstacles and creatures we need to face? We don't wanna waste time kicking their asses."

When asked about his absence...

Zone chuckles.

"I am with these guys. Still here. Just hiding from a certain someone further down the combs."

He then fills his empty fly bottle from the cauldron until it is full.

"There are only two other defenses that I know of, a quartet of wooden golems in the exsanguination chamber, and....Konas. Konas is a blood knight, and skilled with paired blades. Be wary of him."

"Radvir has also made mention of several threats he brought from his shop, but they are not anywhere in the catacombs. I assume that means they're in the inner sanctum with him and Aisa."

"That doesn't sound too bad."

Does Osric know anything about Blood Knights? Not that he has that many buff spells left to use, but I guess it is a good idea to know about what we will face.
Knowledge (Religion): 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (6) + 18 = 24

Blood knights are the undead remnants of warriors who have died in a particularly bloody fashion, doomed to walk the earth and fight forever until they meet their final end. Their bodies have dissolved, and only blood remains to fill their armor.

The blood has two main properties: It slicks the ground in an area around the Blood Knight as Grease, in a 10 ft. radius around the Knight and the blood can be sprayed as a fountain, spraying a 15 ft. cloud of poisonous, slippery blood.

Osric will make a point of flying as much as possible as we approach where this blood knight is, to avoid the blood slicks (he has the worst Reflex save by far). Fortunately, he's got some ranged attacks like Searing Light and Sunbeam.

"We don't need to waste time on these bozos if we can outfox em. They just stalling for them to finish their thing."

Do you have anything that could let the whole party move undetected?

Stealth checks and invisibility potions provided Jones still have slots to make some, maybe? Unless some of us have alternate means than those listed.

I have one more 2nd level slot. I could use that for a single Invisibility...although I was saving it for a Delay Poison so I don't die in twelve hours.

Happy to take input on spell selection in the future, but right now Osric is set up for taking them head-on.

Sledge only does head-on.

So let's do that then. Sorry Zone, we can't bypass the blood knight.
We'll just try to make it a speed run so our 12-minute buffs stay up.

There is little to no danger you won't make it there and out in 12 minutes. Since you're not keen on exploring any side passages, it takes you a whopping two rounds to walk to the room the Blood Knight inhabits.

Four braziers in each corner provide a dim, flickering light to this chamber, barely illuminating more than their immediate area. The desecrated statue of an eagle headed woman, holding aloft a sword, stands at the northern corner (recognized by Osric as the mostly-forgotten-by-others Saint Lymirin, saint of honor and valor). The center of the room is shrouded in darkness, with only Zone, Halloran, and Osric able to make out an armored figure dripping blood continuously beneath him. It looks up as you enter, and raises its sword.

Lighting in this room is a bit weird from what I can tell, since the chamber is so huge. I don't usually bother with lighting but this is an interesting enough case I'm going to make an exception. The four corners are brightly lit for 15 feet around the small braziers, then dimly lit for another 15. That leaves a small 10 ft. square in the center of this chamber completely unlit, which is where the Blood Knight stands. For the majority of this fight (unless you fight backs to the fire), conditions will be Dim Light (meaning anyone without Darkvision attacks as though the Blood Knight has 20% concealment).

Initiative: 5d20 ⇒ (9, 9, 14, 2, 3) = 37

1d20 ⇒ 7

Everybody is up before Konas, Sledge and Jones however cannot see him.

"The darkness cannot protect you, Konas."
Osric uses his Daylight SLA on his shield (1 use of 2/day). 60' radius of bright light, lasts for 2 hours.

Case in point for why I usually never bother to mention lighting. =)

You know darkness is irrelevant to Zone. He has darkvision (on his headline remember) and touchsight up which negates concealment and darkness.

Hence why I said "with only Zone, Halloran, and Osric able to make out an armored figure dripping blood continuously beneath him."

Oh I misread. My bad.

Sledge waits for Osric to shed some light on the situation, then flying punches the blood knight.

1d20 + 16 ⇒ (8) + 16 = 24
1d10 + 28 ⇒ (8) + 28 = 36

1d20 + 16 ⇒ (18) + 16 = 34
1d10 + 24 ⇒ (1) + 24 = 25

1d20 + 11 ⇒ (4) + 11 = 15
1d10 + 24 ⇒ (5) + 24 = 29

1d20 + 11 ⇒ (6) + 11 = 17
1d10 + 24 ⇒ (3) + 24 = 27

GOOD rolls

Not sure if Osric inform the party about bloodknight. Might as well ask IC.

"Dammit, I wished that I hadn't made that poor decision at drinking the potion that early. Gonna live without it. Anything to watch out for from this bloodied corpse? Until the cat's out of the bag, Imma give us some insurance and play safe."

The xeph flies out from behind the party (30 ft apart), lobs a dagger at it with glowing energy (swift action windstrike) in turn breaking invisibility and flies back to his original spot (Shot on the run; can be used with fury of a single blade)

1d20 + 31 ⇒ (15) + 31 = 46 (Should be 48; forgot about +2 from invisible)
1d20 + 31 ⇒ (1) + 31 = 32 (Should be 34; forgot about +2 from invisible)
1d20 + 26 ⇒ (5) + 26 = 31 (Should be 33; forgot about +2 from invisible)
1d20 + 21 ⇒ (6) + 21 = 27 (Should be 29; forgot about +2 from invisible)

1d6 + 18 ⇒ (3) + 18 = 21

extra damage via movement: 5d6 ⇒ (3, 4, 5, 5, 4) = 21

It will need Ref DC 17 or be dazed. And if two attacks hit, 2x damage and if three, 5x damage.

crit confirm: 1d20 + 31 ⇒ (12) + 31 = 43

extra damage: 1d6 + 18 ⇒ (5) + 18 = 23

Osric will use Divine Interference if Konas gets a 17 or better one one of his primary attacks. He'll sacrifice Hold Person to make Konas reroll at a -2.

Jones wonders if he knows any additional facts about blood knights, particularly their defenses.

Kn. Religion: 1d20 + 23 + 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 23 + (2) + 3 = 36

If not, he'll give Konas a good stabbing.

Attack+insp and Sickening Offensive: 1d20 + 16 + 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 16 + (2) + 3 = 40
Damage+insp: 3d6 + 16 + 10 ⇒ (6, 5, 1) + 16 + 10 = 38

Osric will share the basics of what he knows (recalling that he only has a few seconds to speak).
"Slippery blood on the ground and a sickening aura!"
Also: crit threat, Jones! And I believe Bless Weapon is in effect so it auto-confirms!

Jones additionally recalls that Blood Knights are resistant to non-Bludgeoning weapons and can rapidly heal from any wound.

And yes, that is a crit Jones. Please roll your crit damage;
A lot of that is not multiplied on a crit (your Inspiration, Undead Bane 2d6, and Studied Combat damage at least) but I'm not sure how much else.

Also, yes, the ground is slippery. Jones and Sledge need to make a DC 20 Reflex save or fall, and the area is considered difficult terrain. You both DO still have just enough movement to get there though, and thankfully for Sledge he is able to charge through the difficult terrain.

"And blunt weapons are most effective!" Jones adds.

Before attacking, Jones changes his stance to strike with the pommel of his rapier.

Weapon Versatility switch to bludgeoning damage.

Reflex: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (5) + 20 = 25

Crit damage: 1d6 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11

Sledge is flying rn.

Konas falls under the onslaught of blows.

Zone, in the future remember to roll your d6s as far as the extra attack damage. It wouldn't have made a difference here, but it can be a difference of up to 30 damage. Just roll another 4d6 at the end of your posts.

Not sure by what you meant by that. Did I miss another 4d6 from something?

What I mean is instead of rolling 1d6+18 and then saying "That x5", roll the other variable damage boosters (the 1d6) 4 more times, similar to how you would with a theoretical x5 critical hit.

I think his ability literally does 3x or 5x damage.

So does a critical hit, but nobody runs it that way, and I see no reason this should be different.

I had a feeling that you might be referring to his main ability. Alright then. Let's move on.

"Let's take what we can find and pick up the pace. Don't want to risk our guest vamping out soon and dealing with hags with disgustingly long teeth."

Zone flies to the downed Konas, searching him for loot with caution before he resumes shadowing the party from 30 ft behind.

Stealth (Take 10) - 41

"He'll stay dead?"

"The witches may have some way of reviving him, but I think he is defeated for now. When we have finished our task here I will take measures to lay all of the remains to permanent rest."

Konas does have a bit of magical gear on him, though nothing of immediate use.

Gear:

-+2 Bastard Sword
-+1 Bastard Sword (sheathed, you're not sure if it was a backup weapon or he intended to wield both)
-+1 Full Plate (caked with blood to the point of unusability without a thorough washing; The blood remains poisonous)
-+2 Cloak of Resistance
-+1 Ring of Protection
-Brooch of Shielding

Konas left behind no body as such, Blood Knights are composed entirely of blood inside a suit of armor.

Although witches don't have Magic Missile, Osric will still take the Brooch of Shielding.
"Sir Halloran, do we need to pass through the exsanguination room to get to Radvir and the witches?"
@Sledge, did you ever level up to 12?

Anybody who wants to be eaten by undead say yea. All opposed, say nay.

Abstaining counts as a yea.

TWO skeletons?! *faints*

Please delete your post in Gameplay. It'll keep the dot but remove the clutter.

And the plot thickens....

Checking in!

When did you guys level last, do you recall? Due to the hiatus/move and the weird way you guys went through this part of the AP (you sequence broke a bit, and some things played out different due to other choices) I'm not sure when you last leveled and when you should next.

Never fear, someone with access to the original thread is here!

We leveled up in June, right before we came to Caliphas.

Cool. Go ahead and level before we do the Abbey then. Good time for it.

Are we level 12?

I leveled Osric to 12. Are there any specific spells anybody would like him to prep?

Are we level 12?

Yes.

If we are facing a vampire, protection from evil, communal or death ward would be great.

Is there an undead version of Hold Monster? Something to keep Radvir immobile while we put the chains on him? I'm sure Sledge can out-grapple him, but a little insurance wouldn't hurt.

Also, next time we go shopping, I think I should buy something for using Detect Magic at will. A Divination Cloak of the Hedge Wizard seems cool.

Aside a mesmerist, undead bloodline sorcerer or a dirge bard who can affect undead with their hold monster spell, there is the halt undead spell.

Okay. Osric has two Death Wards, although there's a lot of competition for 4th level slots. He has Magic Circle Against Evil. And spells to handle a few other tricks that Radvir might try. He doesn't get Halt Undead, but his Sunbeam SLA can blind undead.

I can give out two more Death Wards, so that'll cover everyone. I can also use Echolocation to get 40-ft blindsight.

Sunbeam sounds perfect.

We may need to tweak Wind Strike. I'll let it stand for this combat (I don't like changing things mid-combat) but having a no-save multi-target stun that only like 3 creatures in the game are immune to, for barely any cost, as a Swift action, that ALSO gives you a hefty bonus to-hit is...a bit much. It should have a save AT LEAST, I'm not precisely sure why they decided not to give it one.

The Marksman has a bunch of weird, wonky s%!+ that's not apparent in any of the other Psionic classes I've used and it bothers me.

I did not expect wind strike to be multi-target until you point it out and upon re-reading the entry. I thought that the power affect only single target. Guess I was wrong. If multi-target stun is a problem, wouldn't restricting it to only one target stun make it less OP? With that change, you will have to use the power sparingly as you will run out of PP very fast. Multiple mobs in an encounter as outlined in the Zone's first battle back at giantitp or constant assaults on the party are other glaring weaknesses; the former making you choose between targets and the latter draining your PP fast.

No save stun is still pretty nuts, even if single target, particularly for a 2nd level spell. I don't buy you running out of PP any time soon. You have a max PP of 54 and 15 uses of Wind Reader. You could use up all 15 uses and STILL have 9 PP left with a fairly limited range of versatility anyway. I'll offer you two options:

1.) It becomes a Standard action Fort save power that grants a free melee attack with a ranged weapon when cast (for what it's worth, we can say it's an Attack Action specifically so it'd be compatible with Vital Strike and similar, though still incompatible with Fury). This puts it in line with other Psionic save or suck powers of the same level, like Brain Lock. In compensation, it can be Augmented to grant an extra 1d6 damage per PP spent. Every 2 PP spent in that manner also raises the save DC by 1. It no longer costs a use of Wind Reader.

2.) It stays a Swift, gives a Fort save, but only affects the first attack made (whether it hits or not).

Argue others if you want, but those are the main ones I can think of that seem fair.

If you give it a Fort save, would it affect undead?

I would have been fine with your nerfs and inclined to #2 if wind strike affect undead (undeads are immune to fort saves unless that is your intent to make this power an exception) & have a moderate chance of affecting them (DC is too low due to his crap score; needs a boost). As it is now, it is too weak; having 0% chance to make our enemies fail their saves since most of them can get past DC 14 with ease at this level. The hard nerf is too unfair and the power will be unsatisfying to use for me.

DC 14 is quite low, yes, but that is because this is a low level power and you have invested zero into boosting your save DCs. That is not a problem with the power/spell, but a result of your character build. The same problem would be present if you were a Bloodrager with 14 Cha casting Hold Person, and that's not the fault of the spell.

However, that is also why I added on the Augmentation to one of them, to mitigate this problem by basically allowing the power to be Heightened.

As for it affecting undead, it might be better to just make it a Reflex save instead of Fort in either case to sidestep the issue of adding another clause that makes it capable of doing that.

Finally, if you decide this still makes it unsatisfying to use (which I get) you can swap it out for free to another power you currently qualify for (as if you Retrained the power).

I'll be on vacation until Thursday. Won't be able to post as often. Feel free to bot Jones if things are going too slowly.

I think I will not swap the power and keep it for a long time. There is a reason why I am selective with my powers. I thought the goal is to tweak the power to make it balanced and fair for game purposes. Not to nerf it to the point where it is negligible or want it gone because it is disrupting the game which I have been getting the impression of/implied from your previous posts.

I would be happy to compromise if the power has 50%-60% chance of working instead of making it obsolete. But if the problems with the power was as you outlined is a) abuseable due to low PP cost and availability of the class feature b) daze is too reliable c) multi-target then a cost adjustment has to me made.

Here are my suggestions; 1) make the power single target, have the save you proposed and augmentable (1 PP per DC) 2) power has no save but only single target, costs 3 wind reader per use. For both options, if the damage component is bothering you, make the power standard action, delivering the effect upon hit success, activating wind reader's bonus but dealing no damage.

Both options will be pricey on activation, heavily restricted by their respective sources. If it requires two sources, as long as one of the sources is depleted and unavailable, the power cannot be used, no? And my character will now have to choose between dealing damage without the effect and dealing the effect without damage. Sounds fairer?

The problem isn't the damage at all. No save daze is a ridiculous ability in and of itself. The only vague equivalent I can think of is Power Word: Stun...an 8th level spell that is WEAKER than Wind Strike as written. Having no save for an effect like that is too good at any cost at the level of Power it's set at. Perhaps if it WAS an 8th level power (and took a Standard).

As for it having a 50-60% chance of success...I see no reason a 2nd level spell should have that level of success as the assumption at this level without heavy investment, is the thing. Even so, currently the DC is 14 (if it were a Reflex save that would a be a 50% chance of success against this specific enemy, because unsurprisingly big creatures have poor Ref saves). If you pumped your Wis a bit higher that chance would increase by 5% per 2 Wis. If you Augmented it to the max, that would be +8d6 damage and a boost to a DC 18, meaning this creature needs a 14 to save. This math holds roughly true for every creature size Huge and above (and isn't much different for Large), meaning it works reliably against large targets.

It works less reliably on people with class levels in a class with a good Reflex save or monster types that are similar (like Undead and Magical Beasts)...but that's because it's a 2nd level power used by a character with zero investment in save DC.

Nerfing it to be fair means nerfing it to the point that it fits in with the expected power of other, similar options in the same range unless all the other options are UNDERpowered. Which the general Psionics balance makes untrue.

I understand that I am taking this from a dominant option for the slot to one that is underwhelming at this level, but it would still remain a good option un-Augmented for a 7th level Marksman, which is kinda the point. Psionics scales by increased cost, primarily. You can choose to eat the extra cost to make your power more competitive at later levels (equivalent in save DC to a 6th level spell), or not.

Third option after sussing all that out:

3.) Remains Swift action, grants Reflex save, increase save DC by +1 per 2 PP spent, single target only. Considering another scaling cost of a separate 2 PP per additional target.

Hmm, I can only find one spell close to this level that has a daze in 3.5 but with saves. I will go along with the change provided you allow me to the option to retrain (feats, powers, attributes redistribution and item reselection).

Sure. I'm pretty lenient on retraining already, particularly so soon after a new character is introduced. There's always kinks to work out.

How would you like to adjudicate Divine Interference?
My inclination would be to use it when an enemy with a x3 or x4 weapon threatens a crit. I think I need to tell you after the attack roll and before the confirmation roll, unless I have specified the conditions already.

Since I roll attacks and confirmations in the same post, and results likewise, for ease of use I'll adjudicate it like other reroll abilities and say you can just force a reroll for whatever, even after the results are revealed.

We can also assume you force a re-roll on any x3 or x4 weapon automatically, sidestepping the issue there just like I do with Sledge's Snake Style and his prestated inclination to do that with attacks that have nasty riders (like Vampire slams).

I had a feeling that you might be referring to his main ability. Alright then. Let's move on.

I'm confused at your surprise, given this is what you used to do and was even how I was asking you to roll the damage over on GiTP, and was how all the examples I used of how I was trying to suss out why the ability works the way it does were worded. I even doublechecked that thread to make sure I wasn't wrong.

My bad for letting it ride on a couple of uses, but sometimes I forget things.

It's not like it's a nerf, in any case. It just averages the damage for each use of the ability. In some cases you will have lower (instead of getting a flat +24 damage whenever you roll a 6) and sometimes higher (rather than a flat +4 damage whenever you roll a 1).

I didn't even notice. Yeah, you should had notify me at that forum back then. I do admit that it was rather convenient never needing to crowd the post with a flurry of rolls not to mention faster posting.

The main reason I didn't tell you to do it on GiTP was that you were already doing it that way; The first few times you used Fury you rolled all the dice separately instead of a single d6+mods. Sometime between the first time you used it and us moving over here, you changed it, and I either didn't notice or forgot to mention anything. We haven't had very many combats in this thread yet, overall.

It's also not really that much more space, I just need you to roll 4d6 at the bottom and I'll put it together with the modifiers and such-like.

Has Paizo been automatically singing y'all out? Is there a way to prevent that? Every time I check my campaigns page it doesn't tell me if there are new posts because I've been signed out.

Yep. Now I just assume I'm signed out by default.

I think they fixed it, it hasn't happened since about this time yesterday for me.

ugh still happening

Quick question: Are you guys actually planning to uphold your end of the bargain and let Radvir go free, or are you just going to screw him over?

If the latter, I need Bluff checks from Jones and anyone else who intends to betray AND ALSO is speaking to Radvir. If you're keeping your silence and intend to broach the subject after he's given you the information or something, no need.

Sledge probably neither knows nor cares. He's just gonna follow the leads of the people who know what's going on.

Jones is planning to keep his word.

Zone is bad at bluffing. He'll leave that decision to Jones. Anyways, is Hetna in the process of becoming a vampire?

With no head? No. Might want to consecrate her body just to be sure (she might arise as some spirit after being betrayed by her sister and prevented from rising as a corporeal undead) but that's not an urgent matter.

Osric isn't saying anything, but a fairly easy Sense Motive would confirm he is very uneasy with this conversation.

No response from Osric for the dead body?

So. I think it's about time to call it. I've been unmotivated to post for a while now, and that's on me. Every time I've had people dropped and replaced with new players my motivation has taken a bit of a hit, and I think this last time was the breaking point. I used to post once a day, sometimes multiple times a day, but at this point I find myself posting once every week at most, and that's not fair to anyone. It sucks to cut a game short so close to the end, and I thank you all for playing, but I'm going to end the game here.

I wish you luck in your future games, and you've all been great. I'll leave this thread up for a few more days before hiding it so it doesn't just disappear on y'all.

I'm sorry to hear that, but I understand. Everyone has to be having fun for the game to work, including the GM. Thanks for the opportunity.

Well, thanks for sticking with it for so long. It's been fun.

Likewise. It is sad to hear that this has to end this way and you are unable to continue. But it has been a great ride. Thank you for the game.