Call Forth Darkness (Inactive)

Game Master Aku Warashi

Hey there! There’s a big system delivery planned for next week for our company branch in India, a Project I’ve been struggling with for a couple of months now.

Alongside with that, we are moving an entire project from testing to Live servers, and I’m the one responsible to help with this transition and solve any issue that may (and believe me, will) appear with it.

I still have some things to finish before we are ready to do this, and I’m sure I don’t want to be the one blamed for any delays, and thus because of that, things may get a bit tricky for the next weeks, coupled with university terms starting as well next week.

Anyway (I’m really envying Rose now, even tho I’ll never tell her that, and you please keep it a secret!), I’ll try to keep posting to at least 1/day. However, if you don’t hear from me for a day or two, I blame the events that I described above.

@All

Okay, I think we stayed long enough without moving things around.

Wrap it up, buy your things, remember that if the item you are looking for is not in the Pathfinder Core Rule Book, there's a chance you'll not find it, so be careful with those niff things from countless source books.

Thank you, Nahia! Your ritual descriptions are fantastic.

The exact nature of your reward is up to you, but I think the insinuation is obvious.

@Rose,
You’re welcome! And very nice response. I especially liked quoting the scripture and bringing Asmodean dogma into it. : )

Also, thank you! I’m glad you like the rituals. They're a lot of fun to write, but it's always better when you know that someone else enjoys them.

And, of course, feel free to use the outcome of the ritual however you want. In my head I was picturing Richard's new black ghost form appearing to deflect the critical into a less vital area, kind of like having a ghostly guardian. But it’s your helmet, have fun with it!

And I’m good with the insinuation, I mean, Nahia has always wanted a pajama party! Joking aside, Nahia would be up for that. She’s interested in seeing other sides of you, especially since the whole thing with the helmet let her see you outside of the bossy, strong-willed, I’m-sorry-Ma’am-I-couldn’t-hear-you-over-the-sound-of-me-s@#&ing-myself woman that she normally is. This provides an interesting learning experience for her.

Though, just to comment, we seem to be having an awful lot of sapphic moments with this party. Not that I’m against it, I just find it funny how things keep working out. : )

Keeps Hound amused at least. *munch popcorn*

No problems, onward.

So here's an interesting rules combination I wanted to run by the group to make sure I have it right.

The Intimidate skill can be used on pretty much everything but mindless things, including Animals.

What the Intimidate skill does is make an NPC Friendly for a while.

Lets assume we run into a Large or bigger animal of pretty much any kind, and Rose successfully Intimidates it-

While it is friendly it is an eligible target for the Wartrain Mount spell.

So, if I have this right, if we run into a suitable critter, Rose could scare it into obeying her, and then use a little Asmodean magic to turn it into her mount.

She would just have to "refresh" the intimidate every few minutes.

Anyone spot any flaws in that?

Theoretically that seems like it may work. Though note this line in intimidate:

If successful, the target gives you the information you desire, takes actions that do not endanger it, or otherwise offers limited assistance.

And this one:

Try Again: You can attempt to Intimidate an opponent again, but each additional check increases the DC by +5. This increase resets after 1 hour has passed.

So it could still flee from combat or refuse to go into it. Also, in character you have no idea how long it would last, so it may turn on you suddenly (which might suck in the middle of a battle).

And that check gets harder and harder each time you have to make it within an hour. So unless you can consistently make the check at DC +10, you're going to fail more often than not.

In addition, we'd have to kill it before going to camp, unless we had someone watch it all night.

So it's a neat idea, but it doesn't really seem feasible except for very short emergency stints. To the point that it would seem like a waste to prepare the spell. At least to me.

Good catches. Thank you.

Guess we'll have to rely on Seren's method of "kill 'em and ride their bones around" for cool mounts.

It is a pretty great method. So long as you don't make Seren mad...or she gets bored.

Ok, I'm going to subtract from the part funds enough for a full wand of Infernal Healing and a full wand of Cure Light Wounds.

puppy swallowed a rib bone yesterday, so much drama has ensued. Post is mostly done, just finding the time to finish up some of the descriptions. Should have it posted this afternoon sometime hopefully. Sorry about the lack of posting on my part recently, life has taken over me recently, and still trying to find the balance.

Rose's shield already has her own heraldry, and matches her armor. It is explicitly asmodean.

It is a kite shield in the shape of an inverted pentagram with an extra long bottom point (essentially the standard kite shape with two protrusions on the lower sides). The spikes are set along the pentagram, shaped like five thorns that curve out from the face. Because they are cold iron they are black with streaks of bloody red rust.

The whole thing is black and polished to a mirror sheen, save for the heraldry on the face which is a red pentagram flanked with burning wings.

Seren's description of the shield is totally being stolen for when Rose is using the circlet to disguise herself though. That's good stuff. Eventually I would love to have her armor and shield Glamored so that they have more than one appearance. Until then, Disguise Self does the trick.

When she lets her disguise drop and goes into a Black Knight mode, there's really no mistaking what her allegiances are.

@Nahia

I did not forget about you.

After this tree thing, I'll answer your post about Elise.

I'm not opposed to killing the trees, but I think it could be kind of fun to do a little asmodean contract-negotiating. If we can figure out their exact duties we might be able to work around them.

Corrupting some treants could be cool.

@DM Aku,
I'm not worried! If it became an issue I'd complain. : )

@Rose,
I'm all for that. Before I was just trying to get us to leave so we could make a plan and come back (clearly). Nahia knows there is little she can do to something like that.

Also, it's a large and unusual tree, in it's own protected forest, that has been given a sacred mission. To a normal person (i.e., not insane villains like us) that kind of screams 'we're boned'.

But having a corrupted Not-Quite-A-Tree-Ent companion would be kind of cool. And like DM Aku said, I do like collecting NPCs.

- - - - -

Speaking of which, I love that Grumblejack just showed up out of nowhere saying 'Hey everybody, what's going on?', while we argue with a tree-guardian. That made me laugh so hard.

are there any rules against casting Animate Dead on a plant? Was looking through the rules, and couldn't find anything that says a dead treant doesn't leave behind a treant corpse... I mean it's still a living thing.

Good question!

The spell targets a 'corpse'. I guess you could argue a dead Treant has a 'corpse'.

By raw you definitely could not make a skeleton (because it must have 'bones').

But it looks like a zombie might be possible, since it only needs a 'corpse with physical anatomy'.

So, I'd say it's up to DM interpretation, but theoretically possible.

Plant creatures can totally be undead.

If this thing is some sort of Treant, it will leave an animate-able corpse. If it is just a tree animated by some kind of spell or something, then it won't. We probably won't find out until we kill it. :)

But does it leave a corpse or a copse? XD

The Horror Tree, here is one of the coolest things to put the players against!

Yep, treants would make a fine corpse indeed.

Speaking of which, I love that Grumblejack just showed up out of nowhere saying 'Hey everybody, what's going on?', while we argue with a tree-guardian. That made me laugh so hard.

My fault, sorry.

Had forgotten about him, so why not just have in making a flashy entrance? :)

The Horror Tree, here is one of the coolest things to put the players against!

Yep, treants would make a fine corpse indeed.

That fungus ability description sounds all sorts of awesome for this kind of game. I might have to use some of those spores as part of a ritual at some point.

Nahia wrote:

Speaking of which, I love that Grumblejack just showed up out of nowhere saying 'Hey everybody, what's going on?', while we argue with a tree-guardian. That made me laugh so hard.

My fault, sorry.

Had forgotten about him, so why not just have in making a flashy entrance? :)

No need to apologize. I liked it. : )

Just to make it clear, the tree you are facing is not the horror tree.

It's a custom made treant.

I figured you were just trying to get our goat. : )

Which reminds me, I need to look into getting Nahia a large goat mount at some point. It just seems thematically appropriate. Maybe it'll be a good stopgap before I craft the flying clawfoot tub.

looks like the map is still Ballentyne.

Just updated.

:)

5' adjust towards talky tree. Move action- retrieve tanglefoot bag. Standard action, throw at talky tree

Rose,

Check the item description, and then check the tree description in gameplay and the tree icon in the map.

:)

Ok, I looked over the description, the thread and the map. I don't see anything that would prevent the tree from being elected by a tanglefoot bag. What am I missing?

Edit: Oh, I see. It's Huge. I thought it was only Large. Yeah, my mistake.

How about changing it to an Alchemist Fire instead?

Mysty attempts a rapid dismount

[dice=ride] 1d20 + 5

ok, move action to dismount

And then pulls out her wand and fries the treant

[dice=fireball] 6d6 DC 13 ref for half

Mysty:

Move to dismount.
Move to get the wand.
Standard to use the wand.

So...
Let's just ignore the first move, saying for this case, it's a free action to dismount.

@Rose

I don't mind, however, Nahia has some interesting information about this particular monster.

Ok, I hope that statement was a little clearer.

Mysty, my turn went before yours. Do you want to change your action?

@DM Aku - Why is my HP not at full? Did I get hit before the lightning strike?

Because im dumb. :@

Made a mess with yours and mysty. Total amount is wrong as well.

No one had any dmg.

-Posted with Wayfinder

@Nahia

That was a nice fluffy. :)

I'm glad you liked it!

I like the Bossy type that Rose write as well

, and the I don't care-kind-of-crazy of Seren

, and the Connan-style that Hound uses. Shames he almost never does

, and the cruel way that Mysty see things.

Mysty wrote:

Mysty attempts a rapid dismount

[dice=ride] 1d20 + 5

ok, move action to dismount

And then pulls out her wand and fries the treant

[dice=fireball] 6d6 DC 13 ref for half

Quote:

Mysty:

Move to dismount.
Move to get the wand.
Standard to use the wand.

So...
Let's just ignore the first move, saying for this case, it's a free action to dismount.

Well drawing a wand is like drawing a weapon, in that you can do it in the course of a move provided you have a +1 or better base attack.

But if you want I won't have fireballed the treant.

@Mysty - Technically, you can only draw as a free action during a regular move. A dismount is not a regular move.

Also, it's been stated that non-weapons do not count as weapons for drawing purposes. For example, Quick Draw does not work with wands.

Though I'm right there with you on the useless thing. He's immune to everything that I haven't already thrown at him.

Stuffs Alchemists some. Being able to quick draw alchemist fire would make excellent back-ups to bombs.

Actually... that doesn't work either.

Benefit: You can draw a weapon as a free action instead of as a move action. You can draw a hidden weapon (see the Sleight of Hand skill) as a move action.

A character who has selected this feat may throw weapons at his full normal rate of attacks (much like a character with a bow).

Alchemical items, potions, scrolls, and wands cannot be drawn quickly using this feat.

Basically the whole action economy in regards to drawing anything but weapons is awful, arbitrary, and needlessly complicated.

In my games I generally allow the wrist sheath mechanics for other kinds of pouches. That solves a lot of problems.

I really don't understand why it is more difficult to draw a wand than it is to draw a sword.

I do agree in some parts.

In the way I see it, it is difficult because there'll always be those that'll try to 'abuse' things like that in a way or another.

So they just slap an overly complicated and distressful system which minimizes that kind of thing.

I'm gonna call shenanigans on the sheild thing.

When you are in the saddle the sheild is worn on the arm with the outer edge resting against the thigh. See: every depiction of a knight ever. I'm sorry I did not explicitly describe that, but that was how I imagined Rose riding.

In the tanglefoot bag post I described Rose tucking her axe underneath her other arm. Her shield arm. I would not have described it that way if, in my head, Rose had a free hand.

@Rose

Okay, no worries. I edited the post.

---

On a side note, what does: I'm gonna call shenanigans on (...) means and from where this expression comes from?

I mean, I get the overall meaning and intention, but it always left me wondering why specifically that word.

Honestly, I don't know. Its an expression I picked up along the way somewhere, but I don't know where it came from.

To the internet!

shenanigans - definitions and thesaurus

Silly behaviour: antics, frivolity, crank, stunt, shenanigans, brainstorm, aberration, tomfoolery, buffoonery

Cheating, dishonest and insincere behaviour: dishonesty, deceit, corruption, deception, smoke and mirrors, foul play, misconduct, guile, duplicity, double-dealing

Ouch, not quite what you were trying to say, I guess. :D

Edit:

Or maybe, you were just calling me a insincere, dishonest, deceitful, buffoon, aberration kind of person...

Immago cry a bit... </3

Apparently the origin is unknown, and it used to have a much stronger negative connotation than it does today.

In modern lexicon, it is the verbal equivalent of shaking a finger at someone to tell them they've done something naughty.

Or maybe, you were just calling me a insincere, dishonest, deceitful, buffoon, aberration kind of person...

In my defense, your face is a giant fanged leech mouth gaping to a gateway beyond space and time.

Haha

I still like the older one better.
I think I'll keep alternating between both.

I don't think anyone but a disappointed Irish grandma, could say 'shenanigans' in a way that didn't sound playful and kinda silly. Its just one of those words that is hard to take seriously.

Like 'moist'

@Rose

Yep, AoO incomming...

... in the next few hours.