If Cal could double-move to reach her, doesn't that mean he could charge as well, since he has a swim speed? At this point I think he and the dolphin are the only hope we have of stopping her. Gideon certainly couldn't do anything; I guess Weyve might could, since he's a Gillman, too, but shooting through that much water would be a nigh-impossible shoot for me and for Tobar.
She's no longer in the water. She left the tank and went through a door and around a corner, so he can't charge, and the dolphin can't leave the water.
I will upload the map of the lower level later to show exactly where everybody is. Away from my computer at the moment though.
Well...that being the case, what do you guys think? Should Cal and Weyve give chase, even though it would separate them from the me and Tobar, or let her get away to harry us again later?
I am willing to keep going after her, but I really don't have a lot of juice left. I have one spell and one healer's way.
Just because you can't swim doesn't mean you can't get down there. If you fail your swim check, you sink... which is exactly the direction you want to go. Just hold your breath.
Yeah, but since I don't have a swim speed, I can't move at more than half my base speed; neither can Tobar. That's gonna put the two of you at least thirty feet in front of us, unless there's some swimming equivalent of a full-round run.
Yeah, trying to pursue her is gonna be a trick. Already behind.
Also, should we try sending Calvin a message? He said he was gonna be gone a few days, but tomorrow marks ten days since his last post.
I'll send him a message.
So the decision is not to pursue? There's still the water elemental to contend with, though it will not chase Calvin out of the tank.
If I can get shadow trap to stick, we have a chance. Gideon and Tobar are both good at ranged combat, and if they can get off some shots we might be able to pull it off.
Edit: Actually, I can't possibly get in range with shadow trap. If she has moved 60 feet, I only move 40 with a double move, and she is far enough ahead of me that she will still be out of range (I can throw a shadow trap a maximum of 30 feet). So only Calvin can potentially catch up to her.
Calvin could make a charge with his sword and see if that sticks while the dolphin tries to hold off the elemental. If she keeps withdrawing he can just charge again. Meanwhile the rest of us can try to get within line of sight and take potshots.
Calvin can't charge this turn, but if he keeps double moving, eventually he might be able to keep her in a straight line.
Finally got the updated map posted. Sorry for the delay.
Well, I'm willing to keep giving chase if that's what y'all think is best, but I worry for the survival of our fighter if he has to take any more of those mind blasts.
Well, for the rest of us, we can either try to fight the elemental off and leave Cal to Eliza or we can ignore it and chase after Cal, hoping we can soak any more d8+7 hits it deals. What do y'all think? My first instinct is the latter, but that may not be the best way to go.
I can really only soak up one hit from the elemental if we try to fight it.
Leave the elemental in the tank. If it follows us out then we have to think about it, but if it stays in there then we should be okay.
I still haven't heard anything back from Calvin. Hopefully he will return soon.
Hopefully so. We need our fighter!
Do we have any other way of healing in our group? We need to keep Eliza from bleeding out so we can question her later.
If I cast shadow trap on the elemental then I have no more healing left.
So I think I'll change that action...
I have no idea if unconsciousness is enough to give someone a new save against domination or not. We only have two bars of the soul soap left, too, so that's no more than two saving throws against it, if they're still under the effect. I guess we aren't gonna know until they regain consciousness.
Unfortunately, nobody in the colony can cast dispel magic yet. Both clerics are only level 3. Ramona is currently the highest-level character, and she's only a 5th-level bard.
So...are we at a kind of break in the story now? Seems like with that last big furball and the leveling up, we might be in a place to talk about Cal. I've just sent him a message myself, and I'm hoping he'll come back, but if he doesn't, a break in the game like this seems like it might be a good place to recruit someone else, if necessary.
Yes, this the end of the first book, so it's an ideal time to find a new player if needed. I'll still give Calvin another week or so, but if we still haven't heard from him, I'll look for somebody to replace him. :(
I hope that it doesn't come to that; we've got a good crew together, even if we have had more close brushes with a TPK than I'm comfortable with. Heck, this is just the first book and we've had two different combats that I was very uncertain we would win out on.
For HP we are doing average of HD rounded up, is that right?
At 4th level Weyve gets:
+1 Charisma
1d8 HD
+1 BAB
+1 Will Save
5 skill ranks
2 background skill ranks
2nd level spells:
* 4 2nd level spells per day
* 1 2nd level spell known
* 1 bonus 2nd level spell (cure moderate wounds)
* 1 2nd level spell known from Army of Darkness revelation
* 1 mystery spell known (invisibility)
1st level spells:
* +1 spell per day
* 1 spell known from favored class bonus (protection from evil).
Orisons:
* 1 orison known
Lay on hands goes to 2d6
Yes, average + 1 HP.
GM:
How do you feel about this custom orison I made up?
Mainly I wanted there to be a 0th level shadow spell and there aren't any.
That seems fine to me.
Yay for level-up!
Level-Up Summary
-------------------
Class Level: +1 Bard(Archaeologist)
Ability Point: +1 STR
HP: +5
Favored Class Bonus: +1 Skill Point
Bonus Rogue Talent: Trap Spotter
Spells: +2 Lv.2 spells (Glitterdust, Hold Person)
Skill Points: +10 (1 unspent currently)
+1 Acrobatics
+1 Diplomacy
+1 Disable Device
+1 Know(Arcana, Engineering, Nature)
+1 Perception
+1 Sense Motive
+1 Spellcraft
+1 Survival
+1 UMD
I don't suppose there's any possibility of a supply ship coming in on our off-time between now and the next book starting, is there? If there is and there's a possibility of getting some gemcutting stuff, I want to start putting some points into a Craft or Profession skill there. I'm gonna leave my last skill point unspent in case that can happen; otherwise I'll find somewhere to put it. Also, is retraining allowed? We're past the levels where the Sleep spell is of much use and I'd like to swap it out for something else, if you'll allow it; the retraining rules would require it be a level one Arcane spell known by another colonist, and I know those options would probably be limited, but anything is probably better than having a dead spell in my list. Thanks!
Gideon, you said you spent 10 points and have one unspent, but your list is 11 skills? Unless you are somehow treating Arcana, Engineering, and Nature as one bundled skill?
As for Tobar:
Gunslinger (bolt ace) 4
+1 BAB
+1 For & Ref
+¼ Grit
+1 Dex
+8 hit points
Bonus feat: Weapon focus (light crossbow)
Skills: +1 each of acrobatics, climb, disable device, perception, survival, swim; craft (weaponsmith), knowledge (engineering)
Yes, the supply ship will arrive soon, and then you'll have another six weeks of downtime before the next ship arrives and the second book begins.
@ Brainiac: Are you ok with their being the equivalent of a gemcutter's kit on the ship? I had a question about spell retraining also that I edited into my original post, in case your reply came after my edit.
@ Tobar: I didn't realize it until you asked, but upon checking again, I've noticed that Know(Engineering) is a background skill, so it should be included in my two background skills rather than in the list of adventuring skills. Thanks for catching that!
Gideon: I think you have cheated yourself out of a few hit points.
Not counting your CON bonus, you should have 23: 8 for first level, and then 5 per level after that.
Add your CON bonus of +1 per die and you get 27.
I've lost track... how are we doing for cash?
@Gideon: There can be a gemcutter's kit on the ship. That's no problem. You can also retrain if you'd like, learning from either Carver or Ramona. I'll list their spells known below. Or, if you want to wait until level 5, the bard class allows you to swap out one spell known then for free.
Carver's Spells: cure light wounds, disguise self, hideous laughter, memory lapse
Ramona's Spells: charm person, feather fall, grease, vanish
I also made a mistake earlier. Eliza was wearing another magical ring that you can try to identify.
Ack! You're right on that, Weyve. I've been putting 4 HP into HeroLab since level 1 instead of 5. I'll fix that when I get home from work tonight.
Charm Person was actually exactly the spell I was looking for, so I think that would be fine.
How much gear have we yet to identify from Rayland and Eliza? I'll roll to ID all of it in-game. I was wondering the same thing about our money situation, too. I haven't exactly been keeping a good record of what we've found I'm sorry to say.
You still need to identify Rayland's armor and Eliza's two rings. But you have plenty of chances to do so, so I'll give them to you: +1 breastplate, ring of protection +1, saltspray ring*.
I'll go through and consolidate all the loot you found into a single post later today.
*SALTSPRAY RING
PRICE 4,500 GP; SLOT ring; CL 5th; WEIGHT —
AURA faint conjuration and transmutation
This mithral ring is engraved with a pattern of rolling waves that encircles the entire band. The saltspray ring is immune to rust, both from natural oxidation and rust caused by magical effects.
Upon command, the ring causes a thick vapor to continuously surround its owner as per obscuring mist, except the mist has a 10-foot radius from the wearer and the area of effect moves with the wearer. This mist is exceedingly wet and extinguishes all nonmagical fires within its area. Magical fires and creatures with the fire subtype are not dispelled or adversely affected by the mist, though such creatures find being in the fog to be an uncomfortable experience. The mist does not permit aquatic creatures without the amphibious special quality to breathe out of water, but creatures that must remain wet or suffer a negative effect or condition have that requirement satisfied by the ring's effect. This effect can be dismissed as a standard action. The ring has no effect whatsoever underwater.
CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS
COST 2,250 GP; Forge Ring, obscuring mist, quench
Here's all the loot since the last split:
Small buckler x2
Small dagger x6
Small shortspear x2
silver mirror with rose motif worth 150 gp
defoliant x2
star candle firework x4
thunderstone
meridian belt
shield cloak
trident x3
+1 trident x2
potion of cure light wounds x4
ioun torch
potion of cure moderate wounds
+1 seaborne glaive
historical books worth 5,000 gp
historical recording gem worth 1,000 gp
spellbook (32 pages of spells)
wand of mage armor (15 charges)
alchemist's fire x4
longspear
cloak of resistance +1 x2
ring of protection +1
saltspray ring
elixir of swimming
silversheen
+1 breastplate
mwk longsword
Thanks very much for that breakdown, Brainiac. I didn't realize that we'd accumulated so much stuff!
After a cursory glance over it, the only gear I'd say that Gideon would be interested in would be one of the alchemist's fires, one of the CLWs, the ioun torch, and maybe the shield cloak. Or one of the cloaks of resistance.
One of the gillmen should definitely take the saltspray ring. I've already got a ring of swimming, so Tobar should probably take the elixir.
If we do end up having to recruit someone to replace Cal, it should probably be a fighter-type, and the breastplate would probably go to him. Maybe the glaive too, if he wanted it.
And one last question: Which skill would be most appropriate for the gemcutting thing? Craft (Gems) or Profession (Gemcutter)?
@Gideon: The rules list Craft (jewelry) as a skill, which is probably closest to what you want. Generally Craft produces something while Profession is a service.
I'll take the elixir and the four alchemist's fire (I have the best eye for ranged attacks).
I agree that the disposition of a few items will depend on whether we get a replacement for Calvin and whether that person needs 'em.
@Tobar: Sounds good to me! I'd much rather use Craft than Pro anyway, since it uses Int over Wis.
Loot:
The following assumes (for the moment) that Calvin is coming back.
The Seaborne Glaive would be great for Tobar if he didn't use a Buckler Shield, but seeing that he does, we probably want to sell it. Calvin can use it but as a Gillman he doesn't need the seaborne property. (unless we recruit a new frontliner who can use this!)
Tobar and Calvin Can both take a +1 Trident. For Calvin, the Trident works better underwater than his sword, and for Tobar, the Trident is a trade up from his masterwork machete.
We all probably want a cloak of resistance. But right now I have the muleback cords and they are fairly important to me. I would give those to the two with the worst Will Saves which are Tobar and Calvin I think. We can commission more I am sure.
I think Gideon has the worst AC so let's give the ring of protection to him.
I'm game for the +1 breastplate. Eventually though I want to get a mithral agile breastplate.
The saltspray ring would be awesome for someone who also had fog-cutting lenses or some kind of blindsight. As it is, it mainly gives someone the option of being concealed, at the expense of not being able to see anyone else beyond 5'. Does anyone want it?
We all wear armor so the wand of mage armor can be sold. Likewise I don't think the shield cloak really benefits anyone. The Meridian belt is interesting, but we don't have enough magic rings for it to matter, and I am guessing that eventually we will be getting belts that improve physical scores. So we can probably sell that.
Things I'd like to commission:
Darkwood buckler shield
Darkwood light underwater crossbow
GM: is it possible to have custom items made? In the CRB it mentions that you can combine properties of two items but this increases the price by 50% of the lesser item.
If that is allowed I'd like to incorporate a cloak of resistance +1 into my muleback cords.
Yes, you can combine custom enchantments.
Calvin's been AWOL for about three weeks now. I'll give him one more week, then I'll open up recruitment for a replacement.
Sounds good to me. Fingers crossed that he'll come back in that time.
If he doesn't, I think we should keep the glaive for now, at least until we get a new recruit. It won't hurt to keep it a bit longer and a new party member might appreciate having a weapon like that from the get-go.
Well dang! That was a very well-timed natural 20. I've gotten several of those at very opportune moments of diplomacy in this campaign.
Y'know, since you've already said this is the end of Book One, Brainiac, I just want to say that I'm glad we've made it all the way through the first part of the AP without anyone dying! Even if we do end up losing Cal right here at the end, we went through the entire first book of the AP in just over six months. I feel like that's an accomplishment worthy of acknowledgement; I've been in a number of campaigns since I started PBPing here six years ago and that is, by far, the fastest I've had a party go through an AP volume. Props to us!
I've been camping this weekend!
I just need cash to enchant my gear, really.
I've opened up recruitment to find a replacement for Calvin. :(
Yeah...it stinks when people just drop off the face of the Earth. It's one thing when real life pops up and you bow out with an apology or whatever, but when they just disappear...that's no fun.