Regarding the current situation, I might recommend rushing through and past the WOWs. They will not be able to AOO everyone and then you'll have more options. I expect Dom will do that when his turn comes around again.
Take your time--I understand burnout and exhaustion.
Take care you yourself! That is most important.
Yep, do what you need to do.
Absolutely get the rest you need, take whatever time you need.
In the meanwhile, If we're backing up so Rurik can cast Protection from Electricity, each person is stuck until the person behind them moves so Rurik would be up next to fall back to the other room.
If we're going to push through then we're waiting on Dom to clear the block at the door. We can keep things moving for a bit with our actions.
I will definitely move forward next, didn’t know I could readily move through the Will-o-wisp before.
We can move through each others squares as long as we are not squeezed. So as long as you do not need Wapiti to move you can get out.
Please take all the time you need.
I have moved Hadda back to her original position behind Rurik. I'd still like to keep the demoralize check I made.
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Dom can't move readily through the Will-o'-Wisps, but there are options:
That's probably about it. You could also Bull Rush one to open up a movement avenue.
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2e doesn't really clarify much regarding touch spells with multiple targets. The relevant rules are here. But it generally seems to assume that the delivery of the spell it not, in itself, an action, but rather than spell delivery is done as part of the casting. Resist Energy in 2E scales targets with heightening but does not give a specific proviso about how to affect multiple targets. At my tables it has been assumed that if all targets are adjacent to the caster at the time of casting that all can be affected as part of the casting, or that the caster can use their third action to stride and deliver the spell to all eligible targets within reach of the stride action.
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Why are we talking about PF2e rules?
GM asked in the main game.
If anyone is familiar with the 2nd edition, please let me know if the new rules addressed this.
A-HA!
Even if Dom cannot avoid an AOO, he can move past them and hope he doesn't take much damage. They still have to make an attack roll to hit him.
Demoralize generally requires the target can see the PC attempting to demoralize him. So I don't think the WOWs can be affected until Hadda can move into view, unless the special ability allows it based just on being able to hear the words.
The PF2 was hoping for clarity about the delivery of a touch spell to multiple targets.
I think I'll assume Rurik delivers the spell to everyone. This assumes Rurik delayed until Seke could cast her flight hex and that she flew above him when he cast the spell, so he could reach her. She'd be above Crasius in the hall.
If anyone has anything else they can do from where they stand that they haven't already posted, do so soon. I'll post the actions of the enemy NPCs next chance I get and then Dom can do his thing.
Even if Dom cannot avoid an AOO, he can move past them and hope he doesn't take much damage. They still have to make an attack roll to hit him.
Is that a house rule? The Core Rulebook (p. 193) says:
You can move through an unoccupied square without difficulty in most circumstances. Difficult terrain and a number of spell effects might hamper your movement through open spaces.
Opponent: You can’t move through a square occupied by an opponent unless the opponent is helpless. You can move through a square occupied by a helpless opponent without penalty. Some creatures, particularly very large ones, may present an obstacle even when helpless. In such cases, each square you move through counts as 2 squares.
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To Demoralize, I'm using the Disconcerting Knowledge feat, which reads:
You unsettle your enemies by demonstrating that you how to defeat them.
Prerequisites: Bardic knowledge class ability or Knowledge domain, Knowledge (any two) 3 ranks each.
Benefit: You can use your knowledge to demoralize an enemy. When you use a standard action to Intimidate a creature with a base CR of 2 or greater, you can use a Knowledge skill that could be used to identify the creature’s type in place of Intimidate when attempting to demoralize that creature. The target creature must be intelligent and understand the language that you are using when conveying the disconcerting knowledge.
Of course, you're right that Demoralize typically requires both hearing and vision, per CRB p. 99:
You can only threaten an opponent in this way if they are within 30 feet and can clearly see and hear you.
I was trying to convey that it was being done purely linguistically:
"They're not particularly hearty, just hard to hit. We already killed one outside because they were too foolish to negotiate. Hold your resistance."
Disconcerting Knowledge doesn't say anything about needing to see, nor does it say anything about not needing to see.
I only really see one feat that makes demoralize an or thing: shocking bellow.
If you act in the surprise round of a combat, as a free action you can attempt a single Intimidate check to demoralize a creature within 30 feet that can clearly see or hear you.
Either way, if you rule that I can't keep that action, I'll deal. Otherwise, I would hold and then demoralize once I could see them.
I'm fine with delaying so that I can be in the right position to hit everyone with the communal resist spell.
I'm traveling to Asia for the next couple of weeks, so my posts might be delayed.
Dom is 100% moving out of the way next turn. Seems like Clebsch can post the enemy actions, and you should then assume Dom moves.
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My response about moving through enemy spaces was based on memory, not a close reading of the rules. Acrobatics allows it at a +5 penalty to the target CMD number, but, as Hadda mentioned before, this cannot be attempted if wearing medium or heavy armor. Since Dom has Agile Plate, which is medium armor, he cannot use acrobatics. So I stand corrected.
That leaves Bull Rush, Overrun, or Reposition as combat maneuvers. All will trigger an automatic AOO, which will likely hit and do 2d8 damage. The CMD of the WOW is high but Dom has about around a 50% chance of success.
Alternatively, he can do a lot of damage with a full attack, so he could kill one (or both) and step past the opening, giving others a chance to move through or the remaining WOW. He did enough damage with his first attack that he could kill the wounded one with a single hit, so that might be his best option.
I'm going to make the enemy attacks, which will include an unpleasant surprise, unfortunately. This will be a tough fight, I'm afraid. Then I'm off to the beach for a couple days RnR. Hopefully it will help my burnout. I will have my iPad and assuming a wifi connection I can do short updates.
Have fun in Asia. I'm jealous. A number of FB friends have been posting pictures from Japan and New Zealand lately. My parents were missionaries in China during the late 1940s but I've never been west of LA or east of England.
Regarding Demoralize and Verbal Demoralizing, I assume the special ability is limited in the same way as described in the intimidation skill with the added requirement that the target is intelligent and knows the language being used. So I interpret that as still needing to be in sight of the target. WOW speak common and Aklo. You can use your roll when circumstances allow.
It's mostly a family visit so that my son can meet his great-grandfather. Japan and China have both relaxed Covid restrictions. Things in Japan felt surprisingly affordable, so I think the dollar must be comparatively strong? Shanghai is a mix of old and very modern, the subway system is fantastic.
Have a great time at the beach!
The weather did not cooperate and other factors made it not as relaxing as I had hoped, but I'm sleeping better this week and things seem to be improving, mood-wise.
My parents were in Shanghai just after WWII ended. I've read letters they wrote to family during that time. Very different from today. China has a great philosophic and religious history. I hope they can sort out their government system to achieve the commendable goals of communism without all the repression and lack of democratic participation by people in determining their government leaders and policies.
** spoiler omitted **
Silyzil was not covered in the glitterdust, since she has no body that the dust can cling to, but the sudden light does appear to have blinded her for this round.
Sorry, I'm not trying to be difficult, but his longbow is magical. Per his profile, it's a +1 Adaptive Composite Longbow. And Crasius does call out in his attack sequence that he ignores cover, pretty consistently whenever it applies:
I ignore any cover generated by allies affected by IC.
I ignore cover from allies with effected by my song.
I do ignore cover from allies who are affected by the IC.
Ignore cover provided by allies effected by IC.
Ignore any cover from Dom.
Ignore cover from allies with my ranged attack.
Just to confirm. I did not miss due to cover from Hadda correct? I ignore any cover caused by Hadda or my other allies effected by my bard song.
It's listed in his gear, but where his ranged attacks are listed, which is where I look to see if the weapon is listed as having any magical pluses listed, it just says composite longbow. The standard Pathfinder listing will say +1 composite Longbow, and it should say that with the dice roll as well, as in [dice=+1 Composite Longbow, etc.]1d20 + ...
I can't be relied on to remember the things posted in the past. I'm not trying to be difficult but I'm GM for several games and a player in several more. When I post, I often don't have time to review past attacks or search through a players profile looking for things that might affect the results. So if you don't want to have to have these kinds of back-and-forth posts delaying the game and retcons as well, please give me what I need to know in the post. Thanks.
I agree with you--just making sure I advocate for my fellow players. Ensuring that all necessary modifiers are explicitly called out in our turn sequences is best practice to avoid this.
I definitely don't say it enough, but I appreciate the hard work that you put into making this an engaging campaign. I know it's not easy.
I am sorry about any confusion over my attacks. I will work to make them more explicit in the future.
The less time we spend posting clarifications, the more time we have to enjoy the good stuff going on in the campaign. Thanks.
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Pinging Rurik & Crasius.
Also, Dom delayed pending feedback from Seke, so also pinging Seke.
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I'm going to send a PM to Seke's player and check to see if they are posting in other games at present. If someone wants to take 'botting responsibility for Seke until the player returns, feel free. I know too much and Seke has too many spell options for me to want to do the 'botting in this situation.
Seke's last post here was last Monday, June 5. Their most recent post as another character in another game was just a few hours ago and they have been active in the PBP Outpost game they're GMing along with many other games. They might not know we were waiting for them.
I'm fairly familiar with the witch chassis and spell list, so I can take botting duties. In what circumstances do you want me to step up to bot?
Seke: I believe invisibility purge would be better, since the GM declared that as an incorporeal creature the glitter has nothing to stick to. If you have any ability to grab metamagic on demand, ectoplasmic spell would be clutch here.
After our earlier questioning of what day it was, it's conceivable that Rurik could have prepared Invisibility Purge. Hadda would have told everyone about the witchfire's ability to become invisible at will.
But glitterdust could also affect an incorporeal creature with a 50% probability.
The GM should roll.
The spell requires the dust to stick to the form.
The wording of the spell is "A cloud of golden particles covers everyone and everything in the area." Particles are corporeal. Corporeal things don't affect incorporeal creatures and vice versa.
Also, as I mentioned in the post I just made, the position of the witchflame means that the spell will affect at least Seke or Wapiti as well. It is a 10-foot radius burst, and the quarters are too cramped to allow the center of the spell to just reach Silyzil but not one of the other two PCs.
I will have a post up Saturday. I've had a few work and health issues lately, but I have the next week off, so should be able to post every day there is posts to reply to.
Sorry to hear about the challenges, especially with health. Hope you're able to use the break to recover.
We have an issue with resolving the actions just posted over the weekend. (Sorry by the way it has taken me until Sunday to post when I said I would post on Saturday.)
While Seke was blinded she could not see the witchflame even though she has the see invisibility spell active.
Seke rolled a will save to end the blinded effect and succeeded. However, the glitterdust spell states, "Each round at the end of their turn blinded creatures may attempt new saving throws to end the blindness effect." The action she posted came after making the will save and so is illegal. She can take any action she wants, but must put up with the blinded effect until her turn ends, when she then can roll the save and get back her sight.
The second issue is even after Seke regains her sight, she cannot see the witchflame. A reasonable assumption is that the witchflame moved into a solid object, like one of the walls of the room. That would give her total cover, which means, "You can’t make an attack against a target that has total cover." I'm assuming without line of sight, the see invisibility spell won't help locate the witchflame. She would not know which part of the walls the witchflame is in and even if she knew the location, she couldn't target it.
Since Seke is last in initiative, I would be inclined to assume everyone delayed until her turn to see if she can work something out and identify where the witchflame is. If Seke can make a retcon and come up with an action she can perform before regaining her sight that might help locate the witchflame, everyone can wait to post to see what she can come up with.
But keep in mind that the will save goes off at the end of the turn, which means Seke cannot even speak about what she may know or suspect until the start of her next turn, since speaking is a free action which technically means it can only be performed during a PC's turn, although I sometimes overlook that when it avoids unnecessary delay. In this case, however, I'll enforce the rule to keep things interesting.
So everyone gets a retcon given this information, if you want. Rurik's prayer spell can go off early in the turn if PCs want to delay until after he casts. Dom must retcon unless Seke figures out another way to identify its location. Even if he knew to witchflame's location, he couldn't attack it because it has full cover. You might want to consider a ready action (see the entry in the Universal Monster Rules on incorporeal creatures hiding in objects).
Ingrit won't know the things she assumed she knew, but she did not take an action other than moving.
Hadda can do her mage hand trick, but she doesn't have a clue as to where the creature is, plus Seke's attack didn't happen and hence neither did Dom's. Likewise, Crasius cannot target the witchflame.
I believe you have ways to proceed but you'll have to think of them yourselves. Good luck.
Hadda's kind of out of good tricks, so I can really only delay until more information presents itself. If the witchflame is running, we'll recoup our losses and recuperate, better prepared. If she's going to keep attacking, we'll deal once that occurs.
Still throwing the prayer, just in case it helps.
Crasius was going to ready until he could see something. I do not have a spell that will solve this one. He is almost out of rounds of Inspire Courage. We could also fall back and better prepare if necessary. At this point I do think the enemy has a good idea we are around, or will shortly.
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Post your choice of actions including any ret-cons if any. You have the witchflame in a difficult position. She has to expose herself to attacks to attack you, so ready attacks watching for any signs of her will allow an attack(s) while she is vulnerable (although she'll still have cover if she doesn't move all the way out of a wall). Any attack she makes will make her visible, so you won't need to rely on Seke's see invisibility to attack.
If this were a movie, everyone would be ready for something to break, looking at the walls while ominous music plays. Then there'll be a burst of activity.
Am without power since noon. Will post once power comes back.
I have to confess I think I'm starting to burn out on moderating this campaign. I don't want to end it, but I would like to suggest that if you know anyone interested in taking over the GM duties, I'd be happy pass the torch. I'm still a few years away from retirement and I have some writing projects I'm starting to work on, which will be easier to manage without having to prioritize GM posts.
When I do retire, I'd consider returning to the campaign as the GM (if needed) or perhaps as a PC. If you know anyone, please reach out and make inquiries. Thanks.
Heh, substitute GMs were hard to find even in the golden age of the Paizo forums.
Thanks for your many years of service!
I appreciate you running! But sometimes life gets to busy to keep up the work, even if you find GMing to be fun.
We could post to the boards and see if there are any takers. But I do not know anyone who is looking to pick up a campaign.
I'm sorry for any way that I have contributed to the burnout. I have an unusual build with a lot of moving parts, and I know I ask a lot of questions. I have thoroughly enjoyed the last year and a half, though!
I recently took over two campaigns as a GM in their third book and am in the process of starting up another (a module, so it'll be quick), bringing my current PbP GM stable to 5 games. Knowing myself, six would be pushing myself to the brink, otherwise I'd jump into the GM chair and let Hadda fade into the background.
I think it's probably best to post over on Recruitment to see if anyone would be willing to pick up the icy torch.
It's definitely a challenge to GM, and we've had a long ride. I appreciate all you've done for us!
Agree it makes sense to float a GM recruitment on the board.
You've done a great job and your time running this game is deeply appreciated. I agree with checking the boards to see if a substitute would like to take over.
Do one of the OGs (Dom and Ingrit, I believe) or long-timers (Rurik) want to make the seeking post?
To be clear, I'm willing to carry on for a while. I just don't feel I'm doing a very good job. I'll post something in the recruitment to see if there is anyone willing to step in.
And this has nothing to do with anyone's PC or style of play. Just my personal situation at the moment.
Yeah I guess I can. I've been out of town, and will be for another week but settled a bit more now.
To be clear, I'm willing to carry on for a while. I just don't feel I'm doing a very good job. I'll post something in the recruitment to see if there is anyone willing to step in.
And this has nothing to do with anyone's PC or style of play. Just my personal situation at the moment.
I personally think that you have done a great job! ;-)
I think we are very detailed and "correct" in this campaign ... to be honest it would never be like this in a face to face game because there just is no time to check everything and always have the right answer.
Maybe we just have to let things roll? ;-)
My two cents on the lighting stuff.
Fully 30% of magic weapons shed light equivalent to a light spell. These glowing weapons are quite obviously magical. Such a weapon can’t be concealed when drawn, nor can its light be shut off. Some of the specific weapons detailed below always or never glow, as defined in their descriptions.
With four casters with access to the light cantrip, I think it's very likely that we have cast a light spell on something that Dom is holding, like his sword. I don't have time to scroll back through to confirm this, but it would be tactically unsound for our frontliner to be anywhere without illumination.