Corsairs of Varisia

Game Master dain120475

I need to get my shoulder blade popped back in this morning, so once I'm back from the chiropractor, I shall respond to any new postings (after a little lie down). Tomorrow I won't be able to post until later in my evening, as my mum has come out of surgery and is home from hospital and I'm going back home to check on her.

Ouch Taissa... Hope you recover promptly from the re-popping ;)

Take care of yourself and your mom - I wish her a fast track recovery.

I'm eager for the re-popping as I barely slept or sat with the pain yesterday and last night. So intense pain during adjustment for some relief sounds fine.

And thank you for the well wishes, Polux. :)

Indeed...get well, Tai, and fast recovery for you and your mom!

All the very best Taissa! Hope things go well for you.

Um...don't do what ever it as that you did again? (>_>)

Also, sorry for misunderstanding yourself Master DM. I thought you indicated that Korvosan's would understand Infernal. That 'Varisian' is normal is okay edited character accordingly.

Much cheers to all.

I gotta admit I got lost somewhere amidst the languages discussion while perusing it on my phone - I actually did add Goblin and Infernal to Polux's languages, but I am reviewing it at the moment.

Thanks, Hack and Suny. Am back now and about to lie down and rest. And Melthune: yep, shouldn't lift things that are too heavy for me and then put up with pain and not get it seen to. Live and learn. ;)

*Gentle hugs*

Thanks, Mel. *hugs returned*

Polux - Unless DM Dain decides to make a house rule on languages, you should have 4. Common+Varisian (you are varisian, right?)+2 for intelligence bonus.

Recover well. :)

I'm purposefully concealing the fact that I can do magic. I assume that's not the kind of thing one walks around announcing in this world.

A wise decision, Zayna. Especially in a land where magic users are at a premium.

I hope you feel better soon, Taissa.

Meanwhile as for the languages, I thought it over.

While I’ve never been in a game that does it this way before (which surprises me as it’s a formal rule, but I guess I had never read it) the point is, I’m going to keep things simple – everyone just keep the “regional” languages of whatever nation they hail from, no matter what your Intelligence Modifier is. If you want a language outside of your starting nation (such as a person from Andoran wanting to learn Skald) that will cost you the usual skill in linguistics to buy it.

Okay, guys. Please bear with me. With current dialogue and retconned stuff, I'm busily working away and will address each thing accordingly.

Funny story.

Many, many years. *cough* decades *cough* ago I were a wee apprentice window fixer.

M'self an' me trade's-man were doing work for some quite big toff's mansion, renovating bathrooms, fixing windows and 'awnings and such.

It's a Friday afternoon and we've finished installing mirrors in one of the upstairs bathrooms of the mansion. Beginning the walk down the grand staircase to the great ballroom below. Everything down there is covered in drop sheets to protect the fine furniture from the dust etc. Windows and blinds closed and drawn. it's descending from bright, second story rooms down into gloom.

I'm half way down, my Trade's-man is nattering away to another fellow behind me up above, when I note four, red points of light down there in the gloom at the bottom of the stairs,

*That's..odd...* Is the thought that crosses my young, inquiring mind as I take a few more paces down the steps....When two of the lights (Or 'pair) 'stand up'...and my hind-brain locks my feet to the floor as my mid-brain identifies "Guard dogs".

Still unawares, my trade's-man comes sauntering blissfully unawares down the stair case. He's moving now and I am not....

"Come on! Time to head home, grab a case..." Etc, the blue collar worker's thoughts of a typical Friday afternoon, even as the two, very large, coal-black Rottweilers come surging up out of the darkness at the both of us.

Their actions? Attack the moving object. His reaction? Hind-brain takes over everything and he RUNS, taking the grand staircase two steps at a time.

Myself? My fore-brain has taken back control from the mid and hind-brain and I stand, rooted to the spot, as first my trade's-man -very quickly approached by the pair of still accelerating up-hill Rottweilers gaining.

Fortunately the person in charge of controlling said guard beasts came out of a side room and stopped the animals in their tracks with 'judicious' use of a collapsible baton to their shoulders and flanks. Just light taps, but still an audible sound.

I very much learned my lesson from that day and treat all dogs with respect and dominance.

my mid-brain identifies "Guard dogs".

Hey, lady - you call me White Fang, not "Guard dog"!

You call her Daya - not chicken.

You call her Alpha - not "Greetings."

And you call him Doctor Jones, doll!

*Laughs* :)

I replied both to Zayna and Melthune.

Zayna, I hope you can spot the posting made to you among all the others.

Apologies to both on the wait.

I'm going to head to dinner soon, so I may not be able to reply again until much later tonight (my time).

I have friend arriving to game and other evening things. So I'll only really be looking in.

Again, get well soon Taissa. :)

Thank you to Dain GM for the well wishes.

Have a good/fun night Melthune. And, thanks again. :)

@Dain GM: Apart from our group and Kat, who else is part of the "crew" on The Scorpion? I asked a few days ago if there were any npc crewmen but you may have missed the posting/question, so I'm asking here instead. Thanks.

And then I can answer Zayna's recent questions (after I finish with dinner). ;)

Crew includes -

Captain: Polux
First Mate: Taissa
Pilot: Kristin Frisk
Ambassador: Stefan
Enforcer: Hack
Medic: Vacant
Engineer/Carpenter/Repairman: Vacant
Priest: Vacant
Gunner: Vacant
Cook: Vacant
Loremaster: Vacant

Currently in consideration -

Melthune and Zayna, possibly Snaga the goblin (skills and stats not clarified, however).

Okay, got to crash - I'll see you all soon.

Still waiting on some more feedback from Stefan regarding his search so I know what to give him, and Polux the goblin has posted a response.

Thank you for the information.

Good night, Dain GM.

I hope you feel better soon, Taissa.

Meanwhile as for the languages, I thought it over.

While I’ve never been in a game that does it this way before (which surprises me as it’s a formal rule, but I guess I had never read it) the point is, I’m going to keep things simple – everyone just keep the “regional” languages of whatever nation they hail from, no matter what your Intelligence Modifier is. If you want a language outside of your starting nation (such as a person from Andoran wanting to learn Skald) that will cost you the usual skill in linguistics to buy it.

In that case I think Polux is cool since the added languages come from Linguistics skill.

Today I am 're-crunching' my kid's bedroom, so will probably only be able to post later on regarding the dialogue with the goblin, but Polux likes to take chances (trying to build upon his low Wisdom) - he has taken one in accepting the Captain spot, and is definitely considering taking another with the goblin. Though the critter is coming across a little too smart ass and sharp tongued for Polux's taste, and also the crew has a word in it. We'll see.

Post up as soon as I can spare the time.

Though the critter is coming across a little too smart ass and sharp tongued for Polux's taste, and also the crew has a word in it. We'll see.

Sheesh - tough crowd here... :)

Hehe - Well Dain, you know Polux is (or tries to be) a tough cookie.

Hey guys -

I can't move the game forward at this point via what happens next until I get a Perception Check from both Hack and Melthune, unless I roll for them myself. I need their rolls as it's an opposed roll and it will effect how things go regarding what happens next.

We can wait a tad further? I think Hack usually posts around this time, but Melthune has informed that won't be able to post for some time?

Sorry. Can't make long/big posts. Can only look in ooccasionally.

Dain, I believe we said before that we are OK with you rolling initiative and perception checks so the flow continues.

Also, do you want me to wait for the combat to finish before posting more about the old man and my return?

Dain, I believe we said before that we are OK with you rolling initiative and perception checks so the flow continues.

Also, do you want me to wait for the combat to finish before posting more about the old man and my return?

Thanks, Stefan :)

For now, please toss up the response to the old man but if you could put it on the "Social Thread" for now, that would help out the flow for the combat.

You can find a link to it Here.

By the way - Zayna - if you could include your Saves, AC, HP, Perception and Initiative under your character's name, it would help me out a lot, too.

I'm eager to see what happens next!

For those of you are unable to post in the combat tonight, please at least toss up a post here to let me know.

If you can't post, perhaps you'd allow either Polux or Stefan to RP you out?

Meanwhile we still need actions from Melthune, Zayna, Taissa and Daya; I'll check again later tonight.

Good luck!

Actually I think I'd rather play one of those NPCs - 1d6+10 damage is REALLY nothing to snuff at.

I'm at work, so I will post tonight my time. I do not ask either Polux or Stefan to npc me.

Thanks.

Just woke up. Will be getting ready for Night shift soon.

Will be able to keep looking in and adding small, simple line posts.

Just a question, but why weren't we asked for a rough 'Order of march'?

Much cheers to all.

'Thoughts' on combat.

I think Melthune's AC should be on par with the melee guy. So she should be able to 'pin' him in the combat.

I thought 'Bolas' did blunt damage, hence the pup might just be K.O'd? Sadly, he's behind Melthune so unless her perception check next round is up to snuff, she's probably not noticed the plight of the little guy.

Much applause to Hack for getting in the face of the ranged guys.

Zayna? With your effective 'Move out of reach' of sabre guy by your five foot step, do you think getting to the corner at P:14 is an option? The ranged guys should have to take a round to at least change or pull new weapons. Hack should give you 'soft' cover simply by being a body in the way. The corner should give you 'partial' cover.

Much cheers top all.

If P14 puts me out of his reach and Hack in between us, then that's fine DM. Hack might be deaf after the encounter though. Repeated musket fire point blank right next to his ear :P

Thoughts on Combat So Far

1. Regarding Marching Order: well, the thing is – I kind of did my best based on what I knew of the company.

I had Taissa in front because she’s kind of the leader of this group when Polux is not around, and as a scout/tracker/hunter-type I figured she’d be on point (though naturally White Fang would have moved just in front of her to lead everyone into adventures). I also figured that both Daya and White Fang would be adjacent to her, so I put Daya on Daya’s left arm and White Fang just in front of her.

Then I put Melthune just behind Taissa’s shoulder to her right, so she could give directions to the bazaar to Taissa, as that’s where you were going to buy stuff. I put Hack just behind Taissa’s left shoulder so he guard her better and also be close to her.

As the streets are fairly wide and there was no specific need to move in a straight line – and in any case, by spreading you out over a wide “horizontal” line you could all move to aid Taissa if she was attacked first, or aid Zayna if she was attacked first by moving to either girl’s flank – I assumed that would be wise.

Finally I put Zayna last because I assumed that the priestess may be hanging back a few feet from the more martial characters – especially one with a talking young Roc and a Warg pup; and tactically having the caster/healer of the party at the back of the party (especially if the caster is a range fighter who can shoot past their allies if they see an enemy) would be helpful.

However, for the future I’ll happily take a “Marching Order” from the company – I just didn’t want to wait another 24 hours just to figure out where people were standing. I thought my hunch on where you all were seemed reasonable, though.

2. Combat and Tactics -

So clearly the enemy went against the girl with the spell-tattoos on her face. She’s a caster, and everyone knows that you kill the casters first before they can heal the party or summon some dark demon to slay everyone. But now that the warrior who did not draw his Great Sword or put on his shield is adjacent to him, he may simply attack Melthune instead…

3. Melthune – regarding a “Pin” maneuver? I believe what you may may be suggesting is a Grapple as there is no “Pin” maneuver. However, if you do this you could not have attempted to hit him with your cestus (it’s kind of one or the other). Also, if you had tried to do that, it would mean you would have opened yourself to an Attack of Opportunity; which he would have taken, because he has a very good Dexterity and Combat Reflexes (at the least). Also, to do that type of maneuver you’d need to roll a Combat Maneuver Bonus – or CMB, and that’s a different modifier for you than using your weapons to attack him.

Meanwhile, I’m not sure if you knew this – but if you had drawn your Great Sword as part of your Move Action and attacked the guy, the minimum damage your Great Sword would have done is 8 points of damage and the average is 13.

Finally, you are partially correct regarding the bolas. It is indeed a Blunt weapon – but blunt weapons (such as a hammer or mace or bullet) still do lethal damage.

However, what you may have meant is that unlike most blunt weapons a Bola does not do lethal damage, unless the attacker accepts a penalty to their attack modifier. If a target is dropped to less than 0 HP with non-lethal damage they do not start to “bleed out”. Instead, they simply fall unconscious… A small-sized animal that was unconscious would likely to make them very easy to pick up and capture, though.

*Shakes head*

I meant 'pin' as in sword swinger has an armored woman taking punches at his head. Nothing fancier than that. He has to bopefully deal with Melthuje hence giving Musket lady a chance/break.

As for not taking out sword and shield? Two things. I don't think Melthune 'goes out on the town' as if she's getting up for a battle at the 'Hot gates'. As in she's not wearing her helmet, giant battle sword or hugemongous sheild of war deflection :P.

Second, swinging her fists shile wearing the cestus is quicker in action considdring the main bad guy got to waltz into ccombat/down the street obviously intent on mayhem.

*Shakes head*

I meant 'pin' as in sword swinger has an armored woman taking punches at his head. Nothing fancier than that. He has to bopefully deal with Melthuje hence giving Musket lady a chance/break.

As for not taking out sword and shield? Two things. I don't think Melthune 'goes out on the town' as if she's getting up for a battle at the 'Hot gates'. As in she's not wearing her helmet, giant battle sword or hugemongous sheild of war deflection :P.

Second, swinging her fists shile wearing the cestus is quicker in action considdring the main bad guy got to waltz into ccombat/down the street obviously intent on mayhem.

Ah! I just assumed that a knight would always carry their sword on them and wear their shield on their back (possibly). If you don't have your full armor on, there are rules for Partial Armor, though.

Meanwhile, as you don't have your armor or sword on you - do you have a place in town to store it? I'm assuming you do have a room at The Golden Mermaid or perhaps back at your barracks.

Also, regarding "quicker"? For flavor/realism I agree with you. But regarding "tactics" - no; drawing and swinging your sword is (according to the rules) just as easy as swinging your fist.

It's one of the rules that is completely stupid via "real life" - but like many of the rules and "real life", it doesn't always work (again, think of using a musket in the rain - wouldn't it have at least a 50% chance of having the powder turn to gum? Or wouldn't a 6 foot tall person take up more than a 5x5x5 foot cube when they swim? And why does everyone move exactly 5 feet increments?). However, it's just how the rules work for the game.

If you prefer not to carry your Great Sword, though, that's totally cool with me. I was just a bit surprised that a knight would not be carrying his sword as generally swords are kind of an "honor thing". But it's cool - you don't have to have it on you at this time.

I just put up Daya's fort save and am wondering if that's enough for her to make her next actions, please?

I just put up Daya's fort save and am wondering if that's enough for her to make her next actions, please?

Indeed yes!

Fortunately whatever was on the arrows didn't seem to effect either Daya or Zayna at this time...

Melthune is NOT a knight. She is armored/heavy fighter. Yes, there is hack ground for 'Nobility' nothing more. Even 'Knights' would get days off to go shopping. :P

I posted Daya's attack, so you have it before bed.

The rest I will post later tonight -- after dinner and stuff.

Good night to you, Dain GM.

Sorry, got AC wrong by two. DM is right. AC for Melthune is 22.

Notes on Firearms –

For the most part you’re correct on their potential potency. However, there are a few things you guys didn’t take into account via the response against firearms:

1. Weather conditions can certainly cause issues with range attacks. That will be something to consider later in the game. Right now, it hasn't been an issue, but it could be later.

2. As gunslingers advance, their damager potential does go up per shot. But they normally don’t get more than one shot a round, even when their BAB goes up. This means that they may be able to drop about one enemy a round (potentially) but someone who is good at melee could be in the thick of combat and cut down multiple targets that surround them.

The point is – be it gunslinger or barbarian or duelist or beastmaster or diplomat or whatever – you guys will all have your moment to kick ass; count on it :)

3. As technology advanced the use of heavier armor became less important and replaced by dueling blades and other such things. This generally made Dexterity more and more important as time goes on and technology advances. This is why the boss enemy you fought had a Touch AC of 17 and yet he only had a Dexterity of 18 and was only level 4 (he had some very nice Feats to augment his Touch AC). That’s just something to consider for later, though.

Finally –

Great job you guys! That was some good work, indeed. I’m very pleased to see you come together and deal with it.

You may have noticed that the guys still ran for it as fast they could; remember that for the future on both sides of the equation: you don’t always have to kill them all to win, and sometimes retreat can be the best strategy for survival.