It’s possible my record keeping has not been up to par. I don’t think I had accounted for healing in between fights. Mea culpa.
I should have moved Pemta closer to the white or gold dragonkin. Apologies for that.
Feel free to review past healings cast and double check Thorizmond's status.
Waiting to see if Thorizmond will finish off the very wounded enemy.
Feel free to review past healings cast and double check Thorizmond's status.
Appreciated. It does seem that Pyrrhus's math is correct and I wasn't accounting for healing in between battles. I'll try to be more careful in the future.
Just as a head's up. I will be taking a trip from Friday through Monday. I am not sure how my posting will be in that time so feel free to bot me as needed.
I'm recovering from a cold, so I'm not posting much until I feel better. I'll try to post something this weekend for sure.
I hope you feel better!
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Mostly better. Still some lingering congestion, but otherwise, recovered. Thanks.
This last battle, if accepted will end this section. Having fought valiantly, the commander won't insist on his plan to kill the enemy leader and the PCs have done enough to earn the promised gift of the double-headed eagle, if you wish to skip the combat.
If any one wishes to bond with a dragonkin, there are some lone members of the fortress who could be persuaded. See this link for details. We should role play the interaction and maybe make a diplomacy roll. This would primarily be only for medium size humanoids, since traditionally, the human partner rides the dragonkin and they fight together.
After that, the book has two more sections to work through. I'd be willing to abridge the 3rd section to speed things up and this would get you to 12th level before the final set of challenges to get the other Dancing Hut key. Let me know your thoughts on how much of the 3rd section you want to do.
I'm all for accepting the last battle. Abridging the 3rd section, especially if it is mostly filler combat makes sense, though I agree that anything involving social/exploration activity should stay if it's integral to the plot.
Anyone want to bond with a dragonkin? (seems right up Crasius' alley, flavorwise)
Although Pemta would like to bond with one I doubt she’s the right size for one.
After double checking, I don't think there is anything in the rules to prevent a small PC (like a gnome) from riding on a large mount (such as a horse or a dragonkin. It would likely need a specially sized saddle, so I'd consider doubling the cost of any saddle you like. You could, of course, ride bareback, but there are some penalties to ride checks.
In case you are still interested, here are the NPC dragonkin's mentioned in the book as lacking a bonded rider and available for a PC. I could come up with others if none of these are appealing, since the battle probably led to the deaths of some riders.
Nevra, Shatha, or Talsune
Nevra (NG female blue dragonkin): Armed with a masterwork glaive, Nevra is a beautiful dragonkin with a slim neck and sleek body. One of only a few dragonkin in Spurhorn without a bonded partner, Nevra serves as the aerie’s seneschal, though she would love to find the right person to bond with and give up her mundane responsibilities inside Spurhorn’s walls for the thrill of battle and adventure in the open air. Nevra is open and curious about the PCs, and responds favorably toward them.
Talsune (N male copper dragonkin): Talsune has large horns and thickly ridged shoulders, and wields a masterwork greatsword in combat. He is intent and determined, and listens carefully to the PCs before he makes up his mind about them. Talsune is currently without a bonded rider; his last partner, Grithis, died in battle a few months ago, and Talsune feels at least partially responsible for her death. Although he has not yet chosen a new rider to bond with, Talsune is slowly coming to grips with the loss of Grithis and may soon start looking for a new partner.
Shatha (NG male silver dragonkin): This one was almost killed in the last encounter, so presumably, a PC who helped him recover after the battle, perhaps providing a healing spell or potion, would be the impetus for the bond. No personality is given by the book, so one would be free to flesh out the persona.
Adding a CR 9 NPC or two to the party would force me to beef up enemies even more, since it would be effectively a party of 8.
If it unbalances the encounters too much, I might have to rule that when the PCs move on to follow the trail of Baba Yaga, the dragonkins would feel duty bound to remain behind to continue the fight with the others of their kind.
Let me know how much a specialized saddle would cost, because if I can, Pemta would like to bond with Nevra
It's an exotic saddle. A riding saddle costs 30 gp and weighs 30 lb. A military saddle (This saddle braces the rider, providing a +2 circumstance bonus on Ride checks related to staying in the saddle. If the rider is knocked unconscious while in a military saddle, he has a 75% chance to stay in the saddle.) costs 60 gp and weighs 40 lb.
She'll probably want to invest in the Ride skill next level up.
Both types are available in the fortress. See the gameplay thread for more.
Apologies for not posting today. Been hanging out with my brother since this morning. Will post tomorrow.
Crasius would be interested in bonding with a Dragonkin. That sounds pretty awesome.
So out of curiosity, how does the bonding work? Is this just an RP thing where they travel with us or would they be a cohort type character?
I'll look into options. At first, I'll run the dragonkin as NPCs.
I'll be away from home the next two nights, so I'll resume posting after that.
Pemta, I'm not sure this will actually work with a dragonkin, but if it does y'all should definitely pick up Pack Flanking.
I’d have to use a slayer talent/rouge talent to get the Combat Expertise through bonus feats, but if the DM allows it, absolutely!
Sorry for the delay in posting. We had a storm on Thursday and it knocked out our power for about 30 hours and since then I've been busy with another project or two.
Everyone should post something on the Gameplay thread to respond to the plan of Commander Pharamol to take out the Drakeland's general. I think you can succeed without much chance of anyone dying, but it would be a similar fight to others already conducted.
You can agree and do the encounter, or agree but we can take it as read that you succeeded to keep things moving along, or you can decline and receive the double-headed eagle as a reward for help rendered, at which point we'll move on to the last part of the adventure, which is infiltrating a Drakeland fortress to locate the other Dancing Hut key.
These adventures can be a chance to test how the Dragonkin/rider partnerships work out.
I'll set up the attack on the dragonkin general soon.
Guys, I'm sorry to say this but I'm feeling anxious/depressed the past weeks/month. I have little energy for posting and more and more logging in seems like a chore instead of a hobby.
I've dealt with burnout from PBP before and because of this I decided to reduce the number of games I'm in, hopping to avoid this. Because of that, I'm withdrawing from this game.
I hope you understand and I wish you all a happy gaming.
I am sorry to hear you are not doing well Pyrrhus. I hope you start feeling better soon and that taking a step back helps you out.
I will be going on a vacation from Sunday, the 20th, through the following Saturday, the 27th. I should have some access to the internet, but I am not sure how much time I will have to post. So please feel free to bot me as needed.
I understand the feeling well. Thanks for playing and feel free to check back if you feel you can later.
Even without Pyrrhus, the group is unusually strong. The addition of the dragonkin still makes the team very strong.
It's summertime and hopefully the livin' is easy, so post when you can.
Sorry to hear of the mental strain Pyrrhus. Take it easy, hope things get better for you.
Another late afternoon thunderstorm; another night without power. Still waiting for power to be restored. I will post after that. Sorry for the delay.
I was reviewing the rules for mounted combat (see link in latest Gameplay post) and noticed something that we've not been observing.
"If your mount moves more than 5 feet, you can only make a single melee attack. Essentially, you have to wait until the mount gets to your enemy before attacking, so you can’t make a full attack."
Also this:
"If your mount charges, you also take the AC penalty associated with a charge. If you make an attack at the end of the charge, you receive the bonus gained from the charge." Assuming that attack is a melee attack, of course.
I triple checked those damage numbers because they still seem insane even to me.
Lance is normally 2d6+5(STR)+9(Power Attack x1.5)+1(Enhancement)+2(Competence from Bard)+15(Challenge), for a total of 2d6+32. Then all of that is tripled, because of the Spirited Charge feat. Then my armor, Mammoth Hide adds 4d6 on the first successful attack when charging. (I don't think that's multiplied by Spirited Charge, because SC is multiplying weapon damage, and the armor's bonus comes from the armor, not the weapon. But please do correct me if you read it differently.)
Likewise the Hoof is 2d6+2(STRx.5)+3(Power Attack x.5)+2(Competence)+15(Challenge), all multiplied by 2 from Spirited Charge.
Purely for balance, I might suggest the multiplier for charge be limited to x2 and not apply to the hoof. I think RAW the results are kosher. If we keep things as they are, it will mean I will have to modify most battles to blunt the possibility of such an attack one-shotting the boss. If both of these had gotten past the AC, the damage would have killed the general without any other damage from other PCs added in. The creature is CR 12, which is one level above current PC level. And this version of the dragonkin is already fortified above even adding the advanced template to the normal dragonkin, which is CR 9.
If you agree with this, it will start after this battle concludes.
I mean...that kind of defeats the whole purpose. Thorizomnd is a one-trick pony, but it's a good trick. Actually wasted in this battle, because I can't charge again without spending a turn backing off (thereby drawing an AoO, etc). He's built to charge. Nerfing charges makes the whole thing worthless; basically just a fighter with fewer feats and no weapon/armor training. It'd be akin to if someone built a caster that really concentrated on their save DCs saying "Sure, you can keep casting that save-or-die spell, but we have to lower your DC." Well...great, now everyone saves and the build doesn't work. If this were some weird build that experimented with 3PP stuff I'd understand, but...I mean, Spirited Charge is a feat from the Core Rulebook, (as is, I believe, every other feat I have) I have a hard time seeing it as unbalanced. It'd be better to just write this character off and build another one. Which might not be the worst idea, honestly; Thorizmond has some of the most complicated math I've ever used in terms of different situational bonuses to attack and damage. Every combat I find myself going "Wait. Is that right? Oh, I forgot to account for the other thing. But then that means..."
Purely for balance, I might suggest the multiplier for charge be limited to x2 and not apply to the hoof.
I thought I would toss in my two coppers. Cavalry charge based characters are not balanced when you look in a void at what they can do in a single action. Trying to tone it down based on what they could do is a problem considering they cannot always do that.
Characters that are based on a single all or nothing action in combat have to be spectacular when it goes off or it is not balanced to the many, many, times their trick just doesn't happen. If a medium sized creature stands next to Thorizmond, he cannot use his lance to attack it at all. That is a serious down side to the build when you cannot use your cool weapon in a huge portion of the fights.
As Thorizmond levels he is going to continue to learn new ways to spike damage. If it is a problem now, even trying to tone it down is just delaying the damage slightly. If he Crits, a Lance is x3 and that damage skyrockets even if you reduce the feat and almost anything pops real fast.
There are just some fights where mounted combat characters get everything to align and one shot the fight. Then there may be 5 fights in a row where they don't get to charge at all. This is especially true now that there are a couple more large mounts floating around the battle field that potentially block charge routes.
I like to see people play what they want, but the GM also has to have fun as well so they are willing to continue to run the game. It might be that this build is going to cause unhappy feelings regardless of what you agree to, and that is not a great thing. So changing it up might be worth while.
I'll think about these points. I'm also thinking about the other players who may not get to contribute at all if the Boss is killed in one attack at the start of combat. There are a lot of characters now who can do mega damage in one round between Thorizmond and Wapiti's charges and Ingrit and Crasius' getting 3 and 4 shots a round, it can make combat end quickly.
If that is still fun for all, then I'm okay with it, but I wonder if Pemta or Rurik will feel left out if the battles all end in one or two rounds with little chance for them to make a significant contribution.
On the other hand, if I power up opponents, it can create other problems of balance.
It must also be remembered that if we let the two PCs bond with Dragonkin, the party becomes even more powerful with two dragon breath attacks at the start of most combats and more as the weapon replenishes. .
As a cleric, I committed to playing a support character, and I enjoy it. :)
It must also be remembered that if we let the two PCs bond with Dragonkin, the party becomes even more powerful with two dragon breath attacks at the start of most combats and more as the weapon replenishes. .
For what it's worth. I think if we want to keep the Dragonkin around as combatants, we should need to take Leadership or some similar ability to gain an ally when we level. It is fun to use them in this fight, but they probably should just be "fighting off screen" unless or until we do that.
I would be happy to take the Leadership feat at 12th though, and will if that option works. I think its cool for character story purposes.
To be honest, I think the dragonkin bond with Pemta will be temporary. I thought it would give some advantages but it's giving more complications than I thought.
Thanks for weighing in everyone.
I know I owe the gameplay a post, but I am dealing with bad news about a cat we've had for 12 years now diagnosed with cancer. He'll be with us for a while, but it's a bit of a struggle to be creative while coming to terms with this. I'll post as soon as I can.
I'm so sorry to hear that. It's always hard dealing with something like that.
Oof. I just saw a cat hit by a car today. I have three cats of my own so it's nerve-wracking. I feel for ya.
I am sorry to hear about that. Take the time you need.
As someone who is comforting a friend who had to put her 15 year old cat down recently, I send all the hugs your way. Take all the time you need.
Losing a pet is the worst. My condolences.
I will be a bit quiet until this weekend; pet sitting my mom’s dogs. Will try to post every now and then when I can.
Thanks for your patience and well wishes. I've dealt with the death of many pets in my time, but it never gets easier. For now, Jupiter is not experiencing any problems, so we will enjoy his company while we can.
What happened to that sword the general was wielding? That thing was nasty, but I don't see it in the loot.
Since the dragonkin all use similar weapons, I figure that one was too valuable to include in swag for the PCs. It is worth about 17,000 gp if anyone wants to swap something of equal value for it.
Here is the description:
RIMEBLADE PRICE 16,955 GP
SLOT none CL 8th WEIGHT 4 lbs.
AURA moderate evocation [cold]
This +1 frost scimitar has been forged from a single piece of razor-sharp, superhardened ice. A rimeblade automatically resizes itself to match the size of its wielder, and if a rimeblade is damaged, the wielder can cause the blade to melt away and reform with full hit points as a full-round action. This ability cannot be used if the weapon is destroyed.
Once per day on command, the wielder can transform a rimeblade into a beam of ice-cold flame called rimefire. The weapon is still wielded as scimitar, and attacks with the bladelike beam are melee touch attacks that deal 1d8+3 points of cold damage (regardless of the wielder’s size). Because the beam is immaterial, the wielder’s Strength modifier doesn’t apply to damage. In addition, a creature that takes cold damage from the rimefire beam is covered in clinging frost and is entangled for 1 round. The rimefire beam lasts for 1 minute, after which the weapon returns to its normal form.
In addition, once per day as a swift action before an attack, a rimeblade’s wielder can cause the blade to glow with a pale blue radiance. On a successful attack, the rimeblade deals an additional 4d6 points of cold damage and causes the target to be staggered for 1 round. If the attack is a critical hit, the target is staggered for 1 minute instead. This effect ends after a single attack, regardless of whether the attack is successful or not.
The one recovered from the battle would be a large weapon, so only Thorizmond or one of the dragonkin could effectively wield it.
Any of the weapons listed as reward options could be medium or large depending on the size of the person claiming it.
Apologies for the silence, I think the dragonkin thing is going to be purely temporary for Pemta, but for now I'll try to play as the dragonkin.
It will be good to have the extra NPCs for taking on a dragon.
Crasius likes have Talsune. He will take her as a cohort if that works with the GM and group.