Aubrey's Eberron campaign. (Inactive)

Game Master Aubrey the Malformed

Runzyl continues his assault on the Caretaker to keep its attention.

Free action: whirling frenzy 5 of 9 rounds.
Full round action: full attack on Caretaker with blessing of fervor’s extra attack.
Attack #1 (blessing of fervor): 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (7) + 16 = 23. Damage: 1d6 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13 plus 1d6 ⇒ 4 cold.
Attack #2: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (15) + 16 = 31. Damage: 1d6 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14 plus 1d6 ⇒ 3 cold.
Attack #3: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (9) + 16 = 25. Damage: 1d6 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9 plus 1d6 ⇒ 1 cold.
Attack #4: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (13) + 11 = 24. Damage: 1d6 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10 plus 1d6 ⇒ 1 cold.
Attack #5: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (12) + 16 = 28. Damage: 1d6 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10.
Attack #6: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (8) + 11 = 19. Damage: 1d6 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11.

Attack #2 (critical): 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (12) + 16 = 28. Damage: 1d6 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9.

Note: Any hit gives Runzyl a +1 bonus to attack (max. +4) and 1d8 temporary hit points (max. 20 hps) due to righteous vigor.

Caretaker

Runzly strikes repeatedly, but barely dents the creature's plating.

Map updated.

That should have been the creation forge rather than Caretaker unless something has changed in the init.

Ezreal's action came up just a few actions back. He rolled a 36 on Kn Arcana, but then decided to delay it to Gil's action in the next round so that he can move into the danger zone while invisible after her casting.

Oh, yes - post amended above. We got a bit out of order.

The forge crashes again against Ezreal's Wall of Force.

Janosz.

"This'll even the odds a little," Janosz mutters. He makes a mystical gesture over his bow, before turning back to the melee.

I'm casting Gravity bow on my bow. It was reasonably effective last time we faced the Caretaker; of course, I should have cast it ages ago in this fight...

Gil.

Gil casts Invisibility Sphere on the minotaur, Ezreal, and herself. She is the central focus of the spell so she will have invisibility even if Bor and Ez have to lose theirs through attacking or spellcasting.

She counsels the warrior, "Stay close and don't attack unless you must. The invisibility will only remain as long as you don't attack. I want you close in case we need a fighter, but I don't want you drawing attention to yourself or us unnecessarily. Keep quiet as possible, too."

She keeps a hand on the minotaur's arm and guides him toward the console, moving as quietly as she can.

Stealth for Gil 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (7) + 10 = 17

Stealth for Bor 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (7) + 0 = 7 Unsure of how Large and masterwork Half-Plate will modify the roll, but it probably won't help

Note: She did not have enough actions to pick up the wand and I didn't want to delay things for another round, so it is still laying in front of the other console where she stopped it with her foot.

I believe Ezreal intended to end his delay at this point.

"Gil- When we fought Karile in the factory she had the possessed secretary to back her up. I think this may be a second quori possessing the console." Once invisible he moves over the the far console and begins tinkering with the controls.

Ezreal in Q19
Kn Arcana 36 for the shutdown

Rod's next - should he try to exorcise the forge (as cool as this is, I'm not entirely certain of the mechanics of it) or should he keep healing the melee bruisers?

I can't figure out how exorcism works either. Eberron has special rules for possession, but I can't find details on casting spirits out.

Map updated.

Gil a bit unclear on position, but I improvised.

Ezreal scans the second console, and quickly gets his bearings. The sequence should be completed by activating the emergency cut-off. His hand reaches out for the control....

Initiative updated:
Janosz 20 longstrider
Ezreal 8 good devotion (5 rounds remaining), see invisible
Gil 16+ good devotion (5 rounds remaining), blessing of fervor (3 rounds remaining)
Rodergo 10 good devotion (5 rounds remaining), blessing of fervor (3 rounds remaining)
Rolund 9++ good devotion (5 rounds remaining), blessing of fervor (3 rounds remaining), bull’s strength
Bor 9 good devotion (5 rounds remaining), blessing of fervor (3 rounds remaining)
Janosz 9-
The Caretaker 9--
LB 3 good devotion (5 rounds remaining), blessing of fervor (3 rounds remaining), bull’s strength
Runzyl 3- good devotion (5 rounds remaining), blessing of fervor (3 rounds remaining), righteous vigor (7 rounds remaining), magic circle against evil
Creation forge 0

Rod.

I can't figure out how exorcism works either. Eberron has special rules for possession, but I can't find details on casting spirits out.

It's under the Exorcism domain description in the ECS book. However, that doesn't work with the new version of turning under PF. I rejigged it as a domain power for PF in the notes for this avatar, but I append them here for clarity. It doesn't say explictly that it affects spirits in objects, but it does.

Turn Possessing Spirit (Su): At 1st level, you may expel a possessing fiend from the creature it controls. This works like the Turn Undead feat from the PFRPG book, except is affects a spirit or other entity possessing a subject. The spirit is forced out of the subject and becomes ethereal if it fails a Will save DC of 10 +1/2 cleric level + CHA bonus. If the possession is the result of a Magic Jar spell, the spirit is instead forced back into the receptacle. The spirit may not possess the same subject for 24 hours. Using this power uses up a Channel Energy attempt.

Rod. Remember, Heathy's on holiday so someone can take his turn.

Map updated.

Gil a bit unclear on position, but I improvised.

Sorry for the oversight. The positioning is perfect.

Ezreal calls out, "Xativa! I think we are dealing with another quori here!"

"By the power of the Flame!!!" Rodergo invokes his god to cast out the whatever is possessing the forge.

Will DC 18.
This assumes he had a channel attempt left.

Get some!!!

Will save: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19

Rodergo can feel whatever is hiding within the machinery bend, but not break.

Rolund and Bor.

Can Rolund use aid another to assist Runzyl?

Bor follows the arcanists to watch over them.

Standard action: ready to defend against any attacks.

For his AC or whatever? Sure.

Janosz.

Rolund interposes his shield to protect the Valenar.

Standard action: aid another (AC) Runzyl.
Aid another: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (2) + 10 = 12.
Move action: nil.

Bombs away! I'm using Rapid Shot, Manyshot and Point Blank Shot. All attacks go against the Caretaker.
Attack 1: 13+17+1(PBS)=AC 31, damage 4d6+6+2(PBS)=26
Attack 2: 9+17+1=AC 27, damage 2d6+3+1=13
Attack 3: 11+12+1=AC 24, damage 2d6+3+1=11

Gil.

Caretaker, then LB.

Thunk! Thunk! Two arrow bite deep into the Caretaker chest but the others deflect away.

Gil.

I'm pretty sure it's the Caretaker's turn followed by LB. Inicidentally, you have Janosz listed twice in the initiative order list. The first one should be deleted since he delayed last round.

Initiative updated:
Ezreal 8 good devotion (5 rounds remaining), see invisible
Gil 16+ good devotion (5 rounds remaining), blessing of fervor (3 rounds remaining)
Rodergo 10 good devotion (5 rounds remaining), blessing of fervor (3 rounds remaining)
Rolund 9++ good devotion (5 rounds remaining), blessing of fervor (3 rounds remaining), bull’s strength
Bor 9 good devotion (5 rounds remaining), blessing of fervor (3 rounds remaining)
Janosz 9-
The Caretaker 9--
LB 3 good devotion (5 rounds remaining), blessing of fervor (3 rounds remaining), bull’s strength
Runzyl 3- good devotion (5 rounds remaining), blessing of fervor (3 rounds remaining), righteous vigor (7 rounds remaining), magic circle against evil
Creation forge 0

Yep, last time I believe Vatters for the initiative.

The Caretaker continues to hammer away at Runzyl's defences.

Attack 1: 1d20 + 23 ⇒ (7) + 23 = 30 to hit, damage 2d8 + 20 ⇒ (8, 8) + 20 = 36
Attack 2: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (3) + 18 = 21 to hit, damage 2d8 + 20 ⇒ (5, 8) + 20 = 33
Attack 3: 1d20 + 23 ⇒ (13) + 23 = 36 to hit, damage 2d8 + 20 ⇒ (8, 6) + 20 = 34
Slam: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (4) + 15 = 19 to hit, damage 1d8 + 15 ⇒ (7) + 15 = 22

He'll continue attacking Runzyl, then swap to Rolund if Runzyl goes down.

Map updated.

LB, then Runzyl.

Well, Runzyl had 52 hps left. Coupled with Rolund’s aid to AC, he gets hit twice for 70 points of damage (Attack #1 and #3). This places him at -18 hit points which kills him. The last attack goes to Rolund which misses.

However, Runzyl had attacked the Caretaker in the last round and the way Aubrey phrased it, I’m not sure whether he struck the construct and was unable to overcome whatever hardness or DR it had or whether he missed. The reason why it’s important is the temporary hit points Runzyl gains from striking his opponent. This may reduce or completely negate (I doubt) his negative hit points and keep him alive but dying.

Runzyl collapses from the Caretaker’s blows.

The warforged Purified steps forward to attack and distract the Caretaker from Runzyl.

Swift action: smite evil vs. Caretaker.
Move action: 5’ step to N6.
Full-round action: full attack against Caretaker with blessing of fervor’s extra attack.
Attack #1 (blessing of fervor, Power Attack -3, smite evil +4): 1d20 + 17 - 3 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 17 - 3 + 4 = 27. Damage: 2d6 + 8 + 9 + 10 ⇒ (4, 3) + 8 + 9 + 10 = 34.
Attack #2 (Power Attack -3, smite evil +4): 1d20 + 17 - 3 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 17 - 3 + 4 = 27. Damage: 2d6 + 8 + 9 + 10 ⇒ (1, 5) + 8 + 9 + 10 = 33.
Attack #3 (Power Attack -3, smite evil +4): 1d20 + 12 - 3 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 12 - 3 + 4 = 25. Damage: 2d6 + 8 + 9 + 10 ⇒ (3, 2) + 8 + 9 + 10 = 32.
Note: LB at 93 hps. AC 29 vs Caretaker.

Assuming he’s not dead, Runzyl’s stabilization check. 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6.

Creation forge

Edit: Actually, Runzyl uses his remaining action points to stabilize at -9 hps.

Runzyl hit the Caretaker once in his last attack, doing minimal damage due to DR, if that makes a difference, but the outcome is fine anyway if he stabilises at -9. Lucky he had the AP.

Lightbringer swings brutally at the Caretaker, but the creature's plating deflects the blows.

The creation forge swipes at Lightbringer and Janosz.

LB: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20 v touch AC, damage 2d8 + 15 ⇒ (6, 4) + 15 = 25 and on a hit is knocked prone on a failed 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (13) + 15 = 28 CMD check
Janosz: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22 v touch AC, damage 2d8 + 15 ⇒ (8, 1) + 15 = 24 and on a hit is knocked prone on a failed 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (11) + 15 = 26 CMD check

Heh - going a bit differently than the dragon fight in the RotRL game.

Map updated.

Ez and Gil.

Lightbringer is smashed to the ground by the creation forge's strike.

LB at 70 hps and prone.

Heh - going a bit differently than the dragon fight in the RotRL game.

They prepped; we just blundered in like always.

I'll wait a bit for Ez to post.

"Come on out Quori." Ezreal growls while working frantically to reconnect the burned out cables running from the crystal to the console interface. "You are finished here and you know it."

Kn Arcana 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (16) + 19 = 35

We do a lot of blundering in over in RotRL as well. This time we were just lucky enough to know where we were going and what we were fighting and have the resources to go full nova.

Ezreal finally finds the particular node responsible for shutting down the whole creation forge. But it's nested deep in in a collection of frazzled connectors and diodes that hiss with spurts of overflow arcane energy. It'll need a delicate touch...

Or a Disable Device check.

Whispering, "Let me take a look."

Disable Device 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (20) + 18 = 38 +3 if it counts as a trap

I'll move to T7 and channel to heal Runzyl, Lightbringer, and Janosz.

4d6 ⇒ (2, 3, 3, 4) = 12

LB's at 76 and prone; Runzyl's at 3, Janosz is available to do his own math. ;)

Gill coolly reaches in with her tweezers and grips the crystal node. Then, in a single smooth action, she pulls it from the socket and out.

The effect is intantaneous. Lights wink out across the consoles and they all go dead. Safety valves open on the creation forge and it vents steam harmlessly upwards, filling the chamber with a warm, damp fog. It stops writhing, and its free arms flop to the floor with a series of loud thuds. The Caretaker freezes in mid-action, and then keels over with a clang to lie motionless.

End of combat. 6,400xp each.

As the mist clears, a semi-translucent human figure can be seen standing by the forge, arms folded. He is wearing a white laboratory coat over a Cannith uniform. On the breast pocket is a name tag - Karse. He frowns, arms folded, and then says in a commanding voice, "Very well, you finally completed the emergency shut-down. Report."

Rolund ignores the command for the moment as he helps the Valenar to his feet and uses the last of his healing to remove some of his bruises.

Lay on hands (Runzyl): 2d6 ⇒ (5, 3) = 8.

Runzyl at 11 hps and no Action Points.

"Whoa." Janosz climbs to his feet, wiping blood from his nose. "Now, is this a shade of the dead forgeworkers, or is it just a fancy magical trick?"

That last blow is the only hit I took, so I'm at 72 of 87 hit points. I can heal people with my CLW wand - who needs it?

Do wands of healing work in the Mournlands? I don't remember if that was the case.

No, they don't.

"whew....."

"wanna set up the tent for the wand?..."

"BY THE HOST, I DON'T HAVE ALL DAY! REPORT!" roars the apparition.

Life tends not to pause while you set up tents, heal and so on.

Sorry, barely had time to log in yesterday and then couldn't reach the server when I did.

Gil lets the others worry about the aftermath of the battle. Still carrying the crystal that was the final piece of the puzzle, she walks around the console, becoming visible as her spell wears off. I don't think she recognizes that name, but it seems familiar from my player knowledge - is it and do any of the other characters recognize it?

Diplomacy 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (5) + 15 = 20

"My apologies, Master Karse, but you appear to have us at a disadvantage. You seem to be expecting us, but we didn't know we were coming here until just before we left. Much has happened - what is it you wish for us to report to you about?"

For what good it may do, she is still wearing the human soldier guise and the UMD'd magic identification badge.

Karse peers at Gil from under beetling eyebrows, then sighs. "How I love it when Metrol sends me raw recruits and doesn't bother to properly brief them on the situation. I assume you've come for an update on Project Prosper?

"Alright," he continues, as if talking to someone mentally-deficient, "As you are hopefully aware, we found some problems with the 'forged we were turning out as part of Project Prosper. Deformities, mental instability, imbecility.

"Then Doctor Ranticar went missing. We subsequently discovered from his notes that he had, without authorisation or anyone else's knowledge, inserted three Khyber shards into the logic-distillation matrix of the creation forge. Each of which was apprently obtained from the Church of the Keeper, and each held some sort of bound outsider. What he thought he was doing I can only guess, though his notes betray their own hint of madness and dallyings with the Dragon Below. Notwithstanding, the overflow from these powerful personalities disrupted the mental development of the 'forged as they were being created, and has caused wider-scale damage in the forge itself. We were having trouble even shutting it down, but at least that's been achieved now.

"By the time we discovered what was going on, the first batch of Prosper warforged were already in the field on the southern border with my assistant, Norn. We've issued an urgent recall notice but since they are in a warzone, that might take some time to get through - I just hope they don't do too much damage before we get them back and can study them more closely.

"As for Ranticar, we've put an inquisitive on the trail, Falen Grannt - one of the best outside House Medani, he's worked closely with House Kundarak in the past as well as with us, and he's very discreet. From the details he can pick up, Ranticar's smuggled himself into Breland using House immunity and has gone to ground in Sharn, taking his Khyber shards with him. Grannt's gone after him.

"Any questions?"

"What does this Ranticar look like?" Rolund asks. "And how many Prosper warforged are in the field?"

"Indeed, you are correct. We were sent here with very little information at all. In fact, they did not even provide us with Doctor Ranticar's name. Any you can provide to help us identify the good doctor would be helpful. Your assistant Norn - do you trust him? Will he be able to handle the defective warforged?"

"Oh, if we should find ourselves able to locate your inquisitive, how can we let him know that we work on your behalf? Do you have a means of contacting him or a code word or something like that?"

Not sure if this is more diplomacy or bluff. Here's the bare roll and the applicable bonuses:

Diplomacy +15, Bluff +18 1d20 ⇒ 8

"I'm sorry for the confusion, Sir; but......there is a war going on.
That and, well,.....the higher ups;......they're so prone to always....keeping us in the dark, like good little mushrooms....for our own good I'm sure;.....
Kyber Shards; My Sweet Aunt Petunia! We,.....we have to shut these forged down!"

1d20 + 15 ⇒ (9) + 15 = 24 diplo aid another.

A tip for excel rollers:

put the die size in cell A1 (4,6,8,10,12,20,100)

then use "=RandBetween(1,A1)"

If you add the "Calculate Now" button to a toolbar, all you need to do is click once for a new roll, or change A1 for a new die size.

Thanks, a good tip.

In case you guys go on a marathon posting spree while I'm asleep today, I wanted to note that should the watch get too close in pursuit of us I'll use my scroll of obscuring mist at an intersection. So now Aubrey knows if it comes to that. I generally sleep exactly during normal 9-5 hours in the us, so I was surprised to see something like 20 posts yesterday when I woke up. A happy surprise compared to the rate of most pbp, but it made me a bit jealous of office jobs for the first time ever. :)

On the one hand, this does seem to be tripping along at a good pace - nothing like a good bit of carnage to get the players interested, I find. The timing is slightly odd for me. In the UK timezone, most of you don't come online until the relatively later afternoon, so I get a bit of a posting desert while I'm at work (maybe for the best, but a little dull). So I find I'm posting a lot at home on this - not a problem, it's probably more fun than WoW. But I can set the scene nicely in the morning and see how things have gone in the afternoon/evening.

Just a heads-up guys. My computer is crapping out, and won't connect to the internet currently. (I'm posting this from the public library.)
I'm scrambling to get back online, but I may be MIA for a few days.
Please feel free to NPC me as necessary until I get this problem figured out.

I noticed your absence. Thanks for letting us know.

Actually, just to give you warning, I am getting married and going on honeymoon (in New England) from the 20th of this month for just under 2 weeks. There will therefore be a bit of a hiatus in my posting (I will try to sneak into internet cafes as much a I can, but probaly won't manage it very often) during this period. I'll be back at the beginning of June.

I noticed your absence. Thanks for letting us know.

Actually, just to give you warning, I am getting married and going on honeymoon (in New England) from the 20th of this month for just under 2 weeks. There will therefore be a bit of a hiatus in my posting (I will try to sneak into internet cafes as much a I can, but probaly won't manage it very often) during this period. I'll be back at the beginning of June.

Hey man, congratulations, all the best with the wedding and such. Man, everyone on these boards be gettin' hitched...

Hey man, congratulations, all the best with the wedding and such. Man, everyone on these boards be gettin' hitched...

Ditto on the congratulations, Aubrey. As for everyone getting hitched, I took care of that before I really became a regular poster here. :)

Hmmm, House intrigue and subtrefuge ... not to try to act the stick in the arse paladin, and certainly not wanting to buy out of this caper ... but Im not sure it sounds like the moral highground a paladin is used to keeping.

What's your take Aubrey? Can a paladin justify taking on a job perhaps a little below level if it seems to oppose the ambitions of an obviously evil lot (ie, Daask?). Would a warforged perhaps feel some sort of lingering debt to House Cannith which may justify a slightly less than virtous deal to take place?

Another question, on alignment in Eberron. My understanding has always been that the alignment rules can be played a little fast and loose in Eberron - it's more a tendency than an absolute. IS this your take? And how does that mesh with paladins, LG, code of conduct all that?

Personally, my take on paladins has always been small "l" lawful Good as opposed to Lawful Stupid...

One last question, a paladin's Detect Good ability - assuming I have the required time, is it obvious that it's being used?

I love playing paladins, and have never had to courage to play one in Ebberon. The setting seems too morally ambiguous.
Still, to help with the justification, I think we can look at this as at least partly a rescue mission. Bad guys are obviously involved, and she hasn't asked us to do anything illegal or immoral.
Could we use illegal and immoral tactics to get this job done? yep.
Do we have to? nope.
You get to be the moral compass of the group. Better you than me. lol
Just my take, and it's really up to you how you play and to Aubrey how he DMs paladins.

Thanks for the insight Trose.

I haven't actually played a v3.* paladin before ... let alone one in Eberron ... let alone a warforged paladin in Eberron...

Well I'm not going to do myself the disservice of missing out on the rest of the game by taking the hardnosed moral highground. Just want some advice in finding a way to justify / roleplay things so that everyone else can beleive it in context of the world and situation.

I think what Trose says applies here. You haven't actually been asked to break the law (yet) but you are being asked to fight Daask (an evil organisation) and find someone (which could be construed as a rescue). Also, to some extent, you would be the law - the Watch are notoriously corrupt, and very few are genuine defenders of the people, so you could act against the wishes of authority and still technically be acting lawfully, and certainly in a good fashion.

In terms of alignment, the fast and lose stuff applies mainly to clerics. I think paladins still need to be effectively LG. However, I interpret the Code as being concerned with the greater good, and laws are valid where they are fair and applied fairly, but it is justifiable to open up a can of whup-ass where they are not.

Detect Evil is a spell-like ability and as such simply requires concentration. You can Detect away surreptitiously, at least sitting in room and following the conversation.

Thanks Aubrey, pretty much along the lines I was thinking.

I'll make my in character post shortly...

I have been running and or playing Eberron since a few days after the book came out, so I hope I can offer some incite.

The Alignment Ambiguity people often talk about isn't that a good person can be evil some times, it is that you are just as likely to meet a LG Red Dragon as a CE one. The traditional, all <blank> are <blank><blank> stuff is gone.

All priests of the silver flame are not LG
All goblins are not evil
All kings are not lawful
etc etc etc

There are some specific cases, like a Mind-Flayer Mayor of a town (in Droam), philosopher beholders, evil priests of good gods, good priests of evil gods.

And be careful, granted powers are based on the God's alignment, not the Priest's... Just becuase they can spontaneously heal does not make them good.

---

In regards to paladins being lawful good, remember alignments are cosmic philosophies.

It is not, I am lawful so I support the laws of this nation.

It is, I am lawful, and support the creation of an ordered lifestyle. Laws are an important part of this, however those laws must be equitably applied. Also, my actions as an individual will reflect my natural tendency towards patterned thinking.

So lawful personalities tend to plan, chaotic personalties fly by the seat of their pants.

Same can be said of good vs evil. It isn't just good guys do good deeds, and evil guys do bad ones. Nor is it a blind obedience/disobedience of local laws. On a cosmic level good is self sacrifice, altruism, compassion, etc etc etc.

SIDENOTE: The religion of the silver flame is firmly entrenched in the battle against evil in the world. For normal followers this means to live a good life, and to lead by example. For the paladins and other templars this means go out their and poke evil with a sword, and oh yeah, live a good life and lead by example.

So for this particualr scenario, and this is my opinion not any stone carving, there is nothing for you to fret over. As follows:

You were approached by the representative of a extra-national organization, and offered a job

That job is not inherently evil, and in the form of a rescue could be considered good

The job presents the opportunity to fight evil

As a job, you will get paid

It is distasteful that the subject of the job involves subterfuge; however, subterfuge itself is neither evil nor chaotic.

---

Just my 2 coppers, hope no one minds the input

Very clear and nicely put.

It helps that one of the PCs in my Eberron campaign was a warforged paladin of the silver flame.

In my real life campaign I have also have a paladin of the Silver Flame (no one ever seems to want to be a paladin of Dol Arrah, for some reason - or even heard of her, actually) though he is a changeling.

Funny how that works out.

Nice one Dragonmann, thanks! Sound reasoning.

In my real life campaign I have also have a paladin of the Silver Flame (no one ever seems to want to be a paladin of Dol Arrah, for some reason - or even heard of her, actually) though he is a changeling.

Well, the Silver Flame has that whole Inquisition / Crusade type feel going for it, the young girl high priest, high ranking priests of evil alignment in a LG religion, henious acts in the name of good, etc.

Dol Arrah seems a little more vanilla...

Absolutely - the Silver Flame has much more fluff associated. As you say, Dol Arrah is sort of..... Dull Arrah. She's LG and that's about all we really know.

Dol Arrah is sort of..... Dull Arrah. She's LG and that's about all we really know.

Well, there was this one paladin of Dol Arrah, who helped a Coatl, and killed a demon, and ... oh, wait.... ;-)

Hmmm ... I havent noticed Fatespinner around the boards since Monday. He's normally much more prolific than that during the week.

No, he has been quiet. Maybe he's on holiday.

Funnily enough, reading Bound by Iron by Edward Bolme, and one of the main protagonists is a paladin of..... Dol Dorn.

I didn't know the guy who use to play Worf was popular enough to have paladins.

Ouch, that was bad even by my low standards...

You know how those trekkies can get - it's a religion to them.

How are people finding the campaign so far? This is my first PBM, so I would welcome any comments. Personally, I am enjoying this quite a lot: while the pace can be a little slow at times, we seem to be making good progress given the time differences, and I am having lots of fun spinning out the tale and providing descriptions. While there have been a few continuity errors and mild departures from canon (Rattlebones actually = Rattlestone and is really in Middle Dura, but hey, who cares?) and some people got a little excitable in the combat (you know who you are) I've read through the posts to date and most people seem fairly engaged and enjoying playing their characters.

Anyway, those are my views - how about you guys?

No, he has been quiet. Maybe he's on holiday.

Actually, I've been sick the last couple of days and haven't been at work. I'm back now, so you can expect more from me. :)

How are people finding the campaign so far? This is my first PBM, so I would welcome any comments.

I think you're doing a fine job, Aubrey. I don't even notice the deviations from canon because I don't know the setting well enough myself, so it's a non-issue for me. The slow pace is just part of being a PbP game, so that's not an issue either. I think we've got a good group here, though I find it amusing that we've gone this long without character introductions yet. Only a couple of the characters even know each other's names!

I'm just glad I finally found an Eberron campaign where I can play this concept that I've had for years. I'm digging everyone else's characters, especially Lightbringer and Ezreal. I like being able to see the thought processes that each character goes through (one of the advantages of PbP versus face-to-face tabletop gaming). Hopefully as time goes on, we'll get to see more of the character's personalities and attitudes come out. I hope I'm doing a decent job of showing that Chaotic Neutral does not have to mean 'Chaotic Stupid,' even if Runzyl is a bit on the slow side.

Oh, also, a question regarding money: These are PLATINUM coins you're giving us. Aren't platinum pieces worth 10gp each? Or is platinum the new standard for Eberron? I'm just curious because, if this d'Cannith chick just handed me 200gp, I'm gonna go get new armor...

Yes, platinum pieces = 10gp, I am aware of that. Giving out pp saves ruining the line of your trousers with too much change. :-P

Yes, platinum pieces = 10gp, I am aware of that. Giving out pp saves ruining the line of your trousers with too much change. :-P

I figured as much, I was just wondering whether you MEANT to give us the equivalent of 200gp or not. Yeah, definitely going to look into improving my AC a bit soon. :D

How are people finding the campaign so far? This is my first PBM, so I would welcome any comments. Personally, I am enjoying this quite a lot: while the pace can be a little slow at times, we seem to be making good progress given the time differences, and I am having lots of fun spinning out the tale and providing descriptions. While there have been a few continuity errors and mild departures from canon (Rattlebones actually = Rattlestone and is really in Middle Dura, but hey, who cares?) and some people got a little excitable in the combat (you know who you are) I've read through the posts to date and most people seem fairly engaged and enjoying playing their characters.

Anyway, those are my views - how about you guys?

Yes, I'm really enjoying it too, and I think Aubrey you're doing an excellent job of setting the scene and keeping the action moving about as fast as can be expected in a PbP (without it going to anarchy in the combats).

Yeah, Rattlebones was my fault (going from memory rather than books), but I think I corrected it in a subsequent post... and my initial intention had been to catch the lift down to Castellan (??) or somewhere in Lower Dura, ask around for a healer and then head back up to Rattlestone - I didnt know that a shrine of the Flame would actually be the best place to find an off the record healer... but as it was it was condensed, and probably worked out better.

Good to hear you're feeling better Fatespinner.

while the pace can be a little slow at times, we seem to be making good progress given the time differences,

I wonder if it should be assumed that Nox has agreed to the current proposal though....

Yes, I concur.

I figured as much, I was just wondering whether you MEANT to give us the equivalent of 200gp or not. Yeah, definitely going to look into improving my AC a bit soon. :D

It'll get a bit better too, when she gives you a signing-on sweetener. The reason for this apparent doling out of money is that, in an urban campaign, it is a lot trickier to get treasure through looting - you can't just kill bad guys and take their stuff, as it is stealing even if they are nasty. So most of the treasure, at least in this phase, will be reward money rather than random drops from monsters. Enjoy the cash - the other lot I play with in the flesh moan like crazy that they never get any treasure.

I'm not sure whether we'll have a chance to go shopping pre quest, but in a city the size of Sharn, would it be reasonable to assume that you could buy, for example, masterwork weapons or potions "off the shelf"?

Your characters are currently sitting in the biggest equipment emporium in the city, so I think you can probably have a quick shop before heading off. House d'Cannith is the place to go to get masterwork and low power magic items, like scrolls and potions.

Huh. Yeah, I should have known that actually! (Fails Intelligence check...)

Calling King of the Jakers, calling King of the Jakers.....

Jakers, how are you finding this campaign? The reason I ask is that you post far less frequently than the others, and also at far less length. I am aware that you are probably in a different time zone, and possibly you schedule doesn't allow you to post that often. However, you appear to have been around for the last few days, but have failed to post anything much even while being specifically asked, and you also don't seem to be reading the posts in much detail (you failed to respond to an explicit in-game "What is your response?" request from Karile, for example).

I am very happy to have you in the game, and I would like you to enjoy yourself. But your relative inattention possibly suggests that this may not be the case (you are posting much more enthusiastically on the Shattered Gates pbm, I have noticed). Ordinarily I wouldn't really be bothered - maybe you just don't want to post elaborate messages about how Nox is feeling. But I don't want to plough ahead if you are interested, as I may assume things about what Nox wants that are incorrect. On the other hand, if your interest is flagging, please let me know so we can either address the issue in game, or maybe you might want to concentrate on your other games and drop out of this one. For this to work effectively over the net, we need to post regularly. Nothing is more likely to kill off the campaign than if things slow down to a snail's pace, decisions don't get made and agreed, and so on.

On that basis, please let me know if there is a problem, so we can try and find a resolution.

Im definately enjoying the camp, and sry bout the not posting often, but its just that im usually not a cleric, so im still working on getting in the mind set other than that im just sort of sitting there nodding, which i should post,sry bout that, and with that noted i will try to put myself more into the camp. and agian sry bout this....

No probs, I just needed to know - it is impossible to know otherwise from a messageboard.

stamped with the chimera emblem of House Cannith

Uh oh... Cannith's emblem is the Gorgon's Head, Denneith is the manticore.

shame shame

A question regarding magical and masterwork items:

If I buy a masterwork item NOW, can I have it upgraded with enchantments at a later time or do I have to sell the current armor and buy all-new magical armor when I want a better enchantment on it?

My reason for asking is simple mathematics. A masterwork chain shirt costs 250gp. A +1 chain shirt costs 1250gp. It costs 1000gp to do the magical enhancement and the other 250gp for the masterwork item to begin with. Since I already HAVE the masterwork item, can I just pay 1000gp later to add '+1' to it? Or do I have to sell my current armor (and items never sell for full market price - in fact, I think 50% or 75% of market price is the guideline in the DMG) and then buy all-new '+1 armor' for 1250gp?

According to the DMG you can add magic later, and even enhance existing magic later still.

However, i think the cost to master work armor is 250gp + the cost of the armor. Either of us could be wrong, so double check.

However, i think the cost to master work armor is 250gp + the cost of the armor. Either of us could be wrong, so double check.

I remember armor being substantially cheaper than weapons for masterworking and weapons are either 300gp or 350gp. 250gp seems high to me. If that's the case, though, I'm screwed for now but I would still like to hear an official ruling from the DM so I can plan for later.

I'll be honest, I thought one of the interesting things about playing in this campaign was going to be seeing the differences between 'English-English' and 'American-English' but, besides the way Aubrey spells 'programme,' I haven't noticed any significant differences. I don't know if British English is really THAT similar to American English or if Aubrey is intentionally 'Americanizing' his posts to make it easier for us folks west of the Atlantic.

Oh well, it's still a great game! ;)

Something else of note, in the city of Sharn there are two adventuring guilds. Clifftop guild, located in clifftop, and Death's gate, located, oh come on, gues, that is right, death's gate.

Clifftop is generally the "good" adventurers amd death's gate is generally the "bad" adventurers. Not necessarily good vs evil, more altruism and explorers versus mercenaries and cutthroats.

Membership in either is listed as 5gp per year in the Sharn book, this is rediculously cheap. Aubrey I recommend changing it to at least 500 gp. There are some fringe benefits to each, mostly being able to be put in touch with known hirelings and buying more escoteric adventuring equipment.

Clifftop also rolls in a 5% deduction on wonderous items bought from the magic store also located in clifftop. not a big or wealthy store, fairly minor items only, but still a worth while discount.

There are also 2 magic guilds, the escoteric order of aureon, and... um... um... the other one. EOA is mostly for wizards and lawful casters, the other mostly for sorcerors and chaotic casters. Both have membership costs of 1000gp per year, but give access to spells and spell training as appropriate.

Dragonmann wrote:

However, i think the cost to master work armor is 250gp + the cost of the armor. Either of us could be wrong, so double check.

I remember armor being substantially cheaper than weapons for masterworking and weapons are either 300gp or 350gp. 250gp seems high to me. If that's the case, though, I'm screwed for now but I would still like to hear an official ruling from the DM so I can plan for later.

I know this is true for magic, where the formula for armor is bonus^2 x 1000, and for weapons it is (2 x bonus)^2 x 1000.

The Player's Handbook states that masterwork weapons are standard cost +300 gp, and masterwork armour is standard cost +150 gp.

Uh oh... Cannith's emblem is the Gorgon's Head, Denneith is the manticore.

shame shame

OK, you - you are now banned. :-)

I looked it up too, just must have had a mental aberration. But Deneith is definately a chimera.