Call Forth Darkness! (Inactive)

Game Master Aku Warashi

The Imps attempt to steal the cleric's holy symbol, denying him the ability to cast spells

Some considerations about Mad Imps spells:

• The imps have no Improved Steal/Disarm feat, thus they cause an AoO when attempting to steal.
  
• The action occurs at the beginning of the round of the player/npc when he starts inside the swarm. (Bah, out of turn actions. :O)
  
• As other swarms, when entering someone’s spaces, it also causes AoO. (But not when summoned.)
  

Err no they dont,its pretty clear from the spell....

I only used the word Imps because that seems cooler than summoning monkeys...there is no mechanical change to the spell.

They don't what? :D

Don't cause AoOs?

Only because it's a free steal/disarm, it doesn't mean it does not follow the standard rule for maneuvers;
Disarm

And yep, I checked the original monster description as well:
Monkey Swarm

Feats: Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes

==//==

The spell description does not says if it causes AoO or not, which leads me to believe it follows the normal combat maneuver rules.
Of course that, if you explain to me why you think 'it's pretty clear' in the spell description, it may help me understand it.

Yeah GM is right here. Free attempt is just that. They get a free steal or disarm attempt. Without feats its an AoO. They will only take half damage though and the cleric needs a weapon in hand. Don't remember if he was holding a weapon or not. Either way it should keep him from channeling this round :)

/shrug I figured it was part of the spell effect not the statblock of the monkey swarm since the CMB uses my CL and Stat modifier and not the swarms.

Its fine either way, its not like I'm having any impact on this fight anyways.

Thanks for clarifying that VP bonus. I wasn't sure how to make the +8/+4 thing work on PbB. Making it a Luck bonus still gives Johan a +3 for that round.

and holy crap! That inquisitor is still standing?!?

4 acid dmg
8 from the fireball
1 from burning invective
19 from Eldred's arrow
channel healed for 12
65 from Johan
channel healed for 16
56 from johan
4 + 8 + 1 + 19 - 12 + 65 - 16 + 56 = 125

Oh well, I guess this will make another fight in which Johan will be sucking pavement. Would hate to break from tradition and actually be still standing at the end of a fight.

I am waiting to see if Eldred will change his action, because he my have gone into full defense, because he thought he was prone.

Can you confirm for me, Eldred?

Being blinded - failed my save- the best I can do is full defense

Hummm

Where's your fort test?

Did the Steal maneuver not work? It seems from your recap that the cleric began his turn in the swarm...

Also, because the Cleric failed his save he is also deafened

Harkon provokes a AoO from Johan when leaving yes? They were 15' apart, Johan's whip gives him a 15' reach, so he'd have to leave a threatened square.

Also, rules question:

In addition, you can move through a threatened square without provoking an attack of opportunity from an enemy by using Acrobatics. When moving in this way, you move at half speed. You can move at full speed by increasing the DC of the check by 10.

Does that mean Thomas has to make multiple (three I think) acro checks to move through all of Johan's threatened squares?

Obviously, I'll take the AoO on Harkon first if I'm able.

@Harkon

I got the wrong distance from the map, you are right, he should be at 15ft, but for some reason I saw him out of your range.

@Acrobatics

The rogue may need another acrobatics, but that’s due to his second movement.
I don’t think you need more than one save, during a single move.

Thanks I was unsure on the rules for that one

Thanks I was unsure on the rules for that one

I now where this doubt comes from.

The text On pfsrd refers to threatened squares in the first paragraph then threatened area in the next paragraph. It's kind of confusing.

Loot list updated.

I'd like to yoink that belt of physical might if there are no objections. That would put Johan's old belt of giant strength up for grabs.

take it

SCA weekend for me. Wife is running the event so we are leaving tomorrow morning. Won't be posting again until Sunday.

Just a heads up - from the 26th I am gooooooooooooooone until the 4th of Nov. Heading off on holiday

@All

Are you guys waiting something on my part?
I know that Eldred is away. Is everyone else okay?

I'm waiting on you, there isn't much impetus for us to move on right now.

Grumble took his snack to enjoy and waiting another day for Cedric. I thought everyone would go after the cleric now that we have the word they use.

The GM's description made it pretty clear we aren't going to catch the cleric.

I should rephrase. The group should probably investigate where the word takes them. Though given enough time passing they could head into a trap knowing the thief was captured.

Well, there are at least 4 things you need to decide before I can move:

• Investigate the fourth teleporter
  
• Investigate why the messager never arrived
  
• Decide what to do with the rogue
  
• Decide what to do with the Veteran Warrior
  

I did make two attempts to follow the cleric through the teleporter which I thought were logical and plausible. Kinda feeling like we got cheated out of several thousand gp of loot there. But c'est la vie, moving on...

* We need to make some decisions about how we are going to defend this place with our rapidly dwindling and increasingly ineffective pool of minions. Nothing we can hunt with minion actions will be worth the time at this point. Might be time to relocate to the third level and seal up everything below that.

* I have no interest in keeping the rogue alive but he seems the type that Eldred could make use of... Concerned about trusting him now that he knows the command words for all the teleporters

* The veteran warrior - feed him to the wraiths or boggards. Am I right in assuming that as long as Sidious keeps the "alpha wraith" dominated, all of its spawn fall in line?

* I know next to nothing about planar bindings and the like. Is there any way to resummon the nightmare or is he gone for good?

I did make two attempts to follow the cleric through the teleporter which I thought were logical and plausible. Kinda feeling like we got cheated out of several thousand gp of loot there. But c'est la vie, moving on...

Don't worry, they'll be back later.

@Nightmare
The nightmare can shift planes again later. After 24 hours has elapsed from his dismissal, he’ll be back.

* The veteran warrior - feed him to the wraiths or boggards. Am I right in assuming that as long as Sidious keeps the "alpha wraith" dominated, all of its spawn fall in line?

Yep, It seems that way.

If you ask Serious, I'm sure he probably would. It is 200gp a glyph. He is busy attending the wraiths, the ritual and his masters dark armor witch seems to be reforming Cedric.

Kind of sound as if the player is speaking instead of the character.

The player is speaking, no interaction has been made with Sidious. He is at the horn they are at the other throne.

Okay, lets take a stab at this...

Resources available:
2 deamons
3 hellhounds
4 mudmen
2 wraiths = potentially unlimited spawn
1 alchemical golem
bloody skeleton hound archon
fast zombie minotaur
a dozen or so pathetic boggards, and an unspecified number of mooks and lackeys
1 hydra corpse
2 moondog corpses
assorted low CR critters ( giant scorpion, chupacabra etc)

Liabilities...
-a 5 level tower to guard that has an entrance on each level and a sixth point of access through the forest temple.
- a twice daily ritual that cannot be interrupted
-2 prisoners that we must keep alive
-at least ten weeks to go

Johan's plan:
use masonry and stone shape to seal up the spiral staircase entrance in 3-12 and relocate to the third level. The first and second levels become dead zones. We can fill them with critters or mindless uncontrolled undead if we like, but they essentially become red herrings for any other visitors. We vigorously defend the lvl 3 teleporter at 3-19, the lvl 3 entrance at 3-1, the spiral stair to the sanctum at 3-13 and the new temple teleporter, and of course, the sanctum itself. If we are feeling really paranoid we could trap the sealed staircase as well as a nast surprise for anyone accessing it from lower down. I've got half a mind to slaughter all the boggards and turn them into uncontrolled zombies as well just out of spite :>

We will be able to enter/exit the Horn through the temple teleporter or by teleporting to level 1/2 or by flying out 3-1. We can access the sanctum through the spiral stair, or flying out 3-1.

Other options:
-leave the horn basically unchanged and redistribute minions to fill in the gaps
-move a teleporter to the sanctum?
- hunt for more minions (either through a hiring blitz via the baron or big game hunting in the Briar
- aggressively seek out and neutralize threats before they reach the Horn ( sack Farhold? switch places with the 7th knot?)
-Ask Thorn for help

Any other ideas guys?

Sorry don't have time to focus on this today. Leaving work at 11:30 for the weekend. I will get back with the group Sunday.

Selling the gear from the inquisitor and his goons nets each player 2,967 gp.

Cedric Johan's old belt of giants strength is still up for grabs for 2000gp if you want it.

Visit the "calculations" tab on the loot page for a worksheet for each character

Does Cedric need it?

right, cedric, or someone else. Sorry for assuming

I'm good either way Eldred. It won't help you with your bow. If that is your primary fighting option. I will leave it up to you.

Re Johan's latest post - sometimes we just need more eeeevil in this campaign...

Re preperations at the Horn: No one else wants to weigh in on our defences? At the very least, Cedric can you make some decisions for Sidious about the 30 HD of undead you want to raise and control?

AS you may notice, the troll is to replace the unfairly removed dire tiger. They have the same CR, so it should act as the same level of protection.

==//==

Also, the last few days have been hard on me, and I'm not sure if I'm pending some information for one or another.
Is anyone waiting for anything on me? :D

==//==

I need organization actions from the next two weeks.
Gathering information only confirms the rumors about the dragons.
And I assumed Agrippa was using his actions to spy for newcomers, which is kinda inserted in the gameplay description.

Once you guys fix the new defenses, tell me and I’ll move the game again.

Just back from holiday- will need a day or two

Here is what the author of the book has to say about the consistent notion to bunk up in the sanctum:

Bunkering In the Sanctum
The PCs may have the brilliant idea to seal the Sanctum with conjured stone walls or something similar and then never leave. This may seem like a good idea, but it isn’t. If the PCs abandon the lower levels, the various adventuring parties will eventually clear them. Given enough time they will find the Spiral and a stone wall or two will not stop them. They will crack any barrier the PCs throw at them. Feel free to explicitly tell this to high wisdom villians.

Why are the adventurers so persistent? The good guys know something evil is happening in the Horn. The inquisitor, the next unspoiled good doer, the the other unspoiled good doer and the yet another unspoiled good doer (just to name a few) will not rest till they find it. Given enough time they will ally into one unstoppable good-guy strike force. Bunkering is folly.

But more importantly, it’s boring. Counting the days is far from villainous fun. It’s best to have many relatively balanced small fights rather than one over-long apocalyptic onslaught. So, force the PCs to scatter their forces.

Bottled up servitors squabble. Minor tremors knock down stone walls. The sacrifices sicken and almost die before their appointed time from the lingering pestilent aura of the Sanctum. In short, find ways to make the PCs more active.

I've not ever wanted to bunker in the Sanctum.

OOC because it seems metagamey and boring, IC because Agrippa doesn't like you all well enough to live in that close proximity for that long of a time period.

15 Burning skeletons. At least the fire damage will have some effect unless it's another tiefling or something. They will also come back unless another good cleric channels over them. How many wards did we get funds for. The are 200gp each. Cedric will go with him and put the blindness spell in them DC 19

Week 10:
Criminal Enterprise 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23 Success
Criminal Enterprise 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24 Success +1 Ruthless
Criminal Enterprise 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7 Failure -1 Secrecy

Week 11:
Lay Low: +1 Secrecy
Criminal Enterprise 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12 Success
Criminal Enterprise 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17 Success

Gold Made: 4d6 ⇒ (4, 5, 2, 2) = 13 x8x10= 1040gp

@Cedric

You gold rolling is way off the mark.

I had notice that before but I hadn't checked:

Legitimate Enterprise (skilled action):
Success: Levelx(1d4-1)x10 gp is acquired.

Criminal Enterprise (violent action):
Success: Levelx1d6x10 gp is acquired.

Which means:

1d6 ⇒ 4 x 8 x 10 = 320g

Yeah I know, whats off the mark. 4 criminal enterprise rolls.

320+400+160+160=1040

I have 3 actions a week.

Oh,

Derp me.

Sorry. >.<

No worries.

Burning skeletons don't come back. Once they blow up they are dead. They only inflict fire dmg to adjacent foes, and said foes only need to pass a DC11 save for half of 1d6 dmg - likely wont net much for the 750 gp investment. One cleric or paladin of level similar to ours could likely kill the whole lot with a single channel., also, you'd have to release the wraiths to get 15 of them.

I bought enough for two more wards in addition to the two we already have in place on the cell doors of our VIP prisoners.

Since the boggards have been abysmal failures in the last couple of encounters ( both alive and as zombies), Johan takes them off guard duty and sends them out to abduct some peasants to keep the Hangman tree fed instead.

Week 11: Ruthless Check: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19 Don't remember if I'm supposed to be using the organization's ruthless score or half Johan's str or what here. Please adjust as needed
If successful: 2d6 ⇒ (4, 2) = 6 peasants abducted and now stored in the lvl 3 cells.

I also never advocated hunkering down in the sanctum, but relocating to lvl three and dramatically narrowing the avenues of approach through the other levels. We want to funnel attackers to where we are strongest, not chase them all over four or five levels again. This is our dungeon! We should be dictating where we fight, not leaving it to the unspoiled good doers

@all

I’ve updated the weekly log up to week thirteen. I may have made some small modification to better outline the timeline, nothing grand or life-changing.

• Week 9 : Zumoko-Hears-The-Father approaches the villains complaining something is eating the boggards. He asked the mighty envoys of Dagon to look into this issue.
  
• Week 10: An inquisitor knows as Father Matthias Harkon Attacks the horn using the teleport system. Cedric is kidnapped and burned.
  
• Week 11: Found the missing messenger, recruited the daemon tree as guardian
  
• Week 12: Confronted Elise, Found out about the dragon.
  
• Week 13: Zikomo Hears-the-Father brings the two headed troll as guardian.
  

With that, we need some more actions and rolls:

Agrippa:

• Don’t need to roll a skilled action from weeks(11~13), since there’s nothing ‘new’ to discover.
  
• Determine what will be your week 14 action and post the appropriate check. As I told before, I’ll wait for the rolls to describe what, if something is happening in farhold.
  

Johan

• yep, you use the same stats as the organization, but boggards can only perform ruthless actions.
  
• Post your actions for week 12, 13 and 14.
  

Cedric

• Post your actions for week 12, 13 and 14.
  
• You guys may want to wait until Agrippa’s actions if finished tho. Since he is the one responsible for gathering information, waiting on him may be a good idea. Because if you decide your action, and later learn there’s something happening in Farhold, you’ll have no more action to respond for that.
  

Lastly, check the link and keep it updated as you guys have been doing until now.

Also,

I know almost no one uses it but, I've updated the Dramatis Personae file.

oh yeah the wraiths. Sidious will just keep as many of those as he can in check. If we don't have as many as he can control now I suggest killing off the boggards. We don't need there silly god messing things up here.

I will wait to post actions.