Anyone else confused about what's going on with initiative?
Yes.
Uh, here’s what I’m doing, for this fight specifically: there were too many people for me to care to calculate their average init. score, so I just rolled flat checks for the two sides of the conflict. And then I had the friendly NPCs act on the same initiative as the party, to expedite things. So the initiative is Party/Friendlies, and then enemies. Right now the party is acting.
You know wing attacks are silly. I mean how does that even work? Can I replace them with 1 gore?
Have you ever seen geese go at it? Wing attacks work by hitting them with your wing, same as slam attacks work by hitting them with your arms.
I wasn’t able to find the Lung trait either, but I think it’s meant for Asian-style dragons, who don’t have wings. Thumbing through the bestiary, it looks like all of the metallic, chromatic, and elemental dragons have wing attacks, where the imperial dragons have gores. That said, I think that the wing attacks average out to more damage on account of draconic weaponry etc. being multiplied, so if you’d rather have a gore I’m fine with that, balance wise. I’ll admit that it bugs me for some not entirely rational reason but I’m fine with it.
Well...if golden dragons have wing attacks then Iorskan will get in touch with his inner goose. Problem solved.
So, let me get this straight:
Round surprise!:
Guthruc squishes a person
Awn changes aura
Iorskan makes a few people medium-rare
Ozzy and Blinky maul some blokes
Abaos cuts someone up
Jen readies caltrops
Allies flank with kobolds
More allies attack stag lord lieutenants
Round 1:
Ozzy & blinky move to stag lord
Iorskan flies to stag lord
Guthruc moves to stag lord
Abaos moves to stag lord
Stag lord breaks tatzy's neck
Jen moves to stag lord, releasing caltrops
Awn -
NPCs -
Round two:
Iorskan attacks stag lord
Guthruc gets high (twice)
Ozzy helps guthruc & blinky attack
Jen -
Awn -
Abaos -
Stag lord -
NPCs -
That sound about right?
Well...if golden dragons have wing attacks then Iorskan will get in touch with his inner goose. Problem solved.
Btw, you now qualify for the Multiattack feat, which would reduce the penalty on those secondary attacks from -5 to -2.
Ok, couple of questions for the GM about rules interpretations regarding how the Summon Eidolon spell interacts with the Broodmaster archetype:
1: Is the Summon Eidolon spell capable of summoning all of a broodmaster's eidolons, or just one?
2: If only one of my eidolons has been returned to its home plane due to damage, can the broodmaster use the spell to summon that one without first dismissing the other(s)?
3: IF the spell is able to summon all of the broodmaster's eidolons (with one casting) but one is not on its home plane to be summoned, does that one get summoned from its location on the material plane to somewhere in the range of the spell, or does the spell ignore that eidolon and leave it where it is, or what?
Edit: Oh, and a bonus generic question about interpretation of the spell. Does the Summon Eidolon spell summon the eidolon in its normal (undamaged) condition for the duration of the spell, or does one that has been returned to its home plane due to damage get summoned with only half its hitpoints. I had assumed the former, but looking at the spell description again, it's not clear.
Alright, after perusing the internet at length for clear answers, here's what I'm going with:
1: Couldn't find a proper answer, so I'll go ahead and say both.
2: Again, couldn't find a solid answer, so I'll default to, "sure, why not?".
3: I'd think the spell leaves it where it is.
Edit question: The internet has an answer to this one, most everyone I found rules it as coming back with half health.
Time for the party to freak out over Guthruc's way of honoring fallen allies.
Why? It’s dead. It’s not using it’s leg anymore. And the orc is hungry. Seems perfectly rational to Iorskan.
Magic Items and Bookkeeping!
The wounded are healed and the dead are lain out to be buried when there's sunlight. Akiros surrenders his weapons, and Falgrim Sneeg is looted. I imagine someone detects magic on the Stag Lord as well, so here's what the party finds, magic/valuable item wise:
Falgrim Sneeg:
Masterwork Quarterstaff
Spellguard's Bracers
Kressel Rutan:
Masterwork Handaxes (2)
Throwing Axes (6)
Stag Lord:
The Stag Lord has a longbow as thick around as Abaos's wrist, strung with a length of chain. However, the moment someone touches it to move it, it thins out and shrinks to a more reasonable size.
The Stag Lord is also carrying marked vials that say: Cure Moderate Wounds (x3) (brewed at CL 5), Haste, Fly, Invisibility
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So, guys, what do we want to do with Akiros et al? Now, Abaoas will advocate mercy- he was here for the Tag Lord, Sheet, and Nugraj (though his opinion of Nugraj did change, and he did promise him freedom if he helped). He's not going to fault the other bandits for following the Stag Lord- as long as they aren't willing to attack anymore, they can go. For those who wish to join us, awesome. If not, that's fine too. He'll definetly want to spend some time interviewing Akiros and trying to persuade him to the cause.
Anyways, before I proceed in that manner, I wanted to get everyone's thoughts in on the matter.
Also, my laptop lost its hard drive and I'm phone-only until Friday, so I might hold of till Friday to post any more. Dont like using my phone to do this, though I will in a pickle
Abaos, sounds good to me.
DM, were the gloves what was allowing sneeg to see through the walls so that he could teleport between rooms? I've used that trick before, but if that's what you were doing, I think you were using them wrong. They are only usable once per day, and require holding both hands against what you're trying to look though (which means both that you have to be adjacent to it and that those hands probably have to be empty). Also, while they work for up to a minute, I'm not sure that is meant to mean that once they are activated, you can see through any suitable surface at any time in the next minute...
As for where the goves go, I think they're probably most useful on our scout (Mr. Winky, who Jen will meet shortly...)
Cant reach the DC anyways
Guthruc identifies the hide armor and takes it if there's not a problem
He got trained in spellcraft because his current build plan makes him very anti-mage. He needs to know what effects to target with some of his later abilities (like spell sunder). Would rather disable their fly spell when they're 50ft in the air than their protection from evil
Also, my laptop lost its hard drive and I'm phone-only until Friday, so I might hold of till Friday to post any more. Dont like using my phone to do this, though I will in a pickle
It's all good! Typing up lengthy posts on a touchscreen is hecka annoying, we'll wait on your laptop's triumphant return.
DM, were the gloves what was allowing sneeg to see through the walls so that he could teleport between rooms? I've used that trick before, but if that's what you were doing, I think you were using them wrong. They are only usable once per day, and require holding both hands against what you're trying to look though (which means both that you have to be adjacent to it and that those hands probably have to be empty). Also, while they work for up to a minute, I'm not sure that is meant to mean that once they are activated, you can see through any suitable surface at any time in the next minute...
Hmmm . . . I can see where you're coming from as far as the duration goes, on second reading - it's doesn't strike me as a natural reading of the text, but it makes sense from a game balance perspective. The way I was using the gloves, I assumed that it took a move equivalent action (that didn't provoke, on account of being invisible) to place both hands on an adjacent wall. I also assumed that it was easy enough to hold a staff in the crook of one's arm.
Why is guthruc trained in spellcraft? Is it even possible to identify magic items without being able to see the magic aura?
He's been taking night classes. :)
Guthruc, I'm afraid that you have to be able to see magic auras to identify an item with Spellcraft; perhaps Guthruc would like to invest in a Lantern of Auras?
Oh! And people, I forgot to say that the Stag Lord's helmet is too enchanted. (Had it on a different page of my commonplace book than the rest of his stats, so I missed it.)
Stag's Helm
Slot head; CL 9; Weight 6 lbs; Aura moderate divination, enchantment
This striking helmet was crafted from the skulls of myriad creatures from the Material Plane and First World. It allows it's wearer to use the following spells:
1/day: Charm Person (DC 12), Hypnosis (DC 12)
1/week: Commune (with a specific entity, 9 questions)
The Stag's Helm also functions as a Masterwork Tool for intimidation checks to demoralize.
Does the intimidate bonus appeal to anyone? Anyone interested in Commune? Is the entity for commune already determined?
Jen examines the array of items.
Can these apply in any order? If they do she would know what everything was, otherwise she doesn't know what's up with the hat. In any case, she points out what the things are in a tone of vague authority, then, gesturing at the leather bracers, asks if she can have them. Jen has some things to sort out here, so I'll go over to Gameplay now.
I would suggest whoever has the lowest HP take the belt of constitution to shore up their survivability, unless we give it to Guthruc for extra rage rounds?
Mr. Blinky is going into melee with only 18 hitpoints of his own, though Ozzy can sacrifice her own to keep him up if it comes to it. The belt would actually work better for keeping Mr. Blinky up in a fight if Ozzy wore it than if Mr. Blinky did, because she has more hit dice.
Is the entity for commune already determined?
Yup!
If they do she would know what everything was, otherwise she doesn't know what's up with the hat.
Everything's identified but the hat!
Oh, and more stuff; when Auchs ran away, he left his club behind him, as per the panicked condition (dropped all held items). The club is a masterwork greatclub that's ~10 feet long, fashioned out of an uprooted tree. The bark of the tree has been stripped off and the wood polished, chiseled into the staff are what appears, on third glance, to be ogreish poetry, poorly spelled and poorly composed. The roots of the tree are wrapped around a small reddish-brown boulder on the thwacking end of the club, the head of the weapon is marred by what appears to be half of Auchs's face, chiseled into the rock. (He wasn't finished with it.)
Something that the characters have no way of knowing but I'm saying anyway: Auchs is wearing a belt of Mighty Constitution +4. This is a little bit outside you lot's wealth by level, but I decided to include it anyway because of the two characters who decided to mix it up in melee with negative constitution scores. (And Abaos doesn't even have a 3.5 campaign trait of questionable rules legality from Legacy of Fire to shore up his defenses!) Right now this belt is running about through the charred wasteland, instead of wrapped about the waste of one of our fashionable frontliners, because the best laid plans of mice and men aft gang agley. It seems possible to me that once said belt is located (which strikes me as likely, since Auchs will probably wander back this way sooner or later) it'd change what all everyone wants, and start the loot distribution conversation over again, taking up time. So figured I'd let y'all know now!
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Technically, Mr. Blinky has the lowest HP, but both Ozzy and Jen are right behind with 19 Hp apiece. That being said, by my count:
Guthruc- takes the Hide Armor.
Jen- takes the Spellguard Bracers
Ozzy- Gloves of Reconnaissance+Belt of Mighty Constitution
Anyways, that leaves the +1 Adaptive Longbow, the funky deer hat, and the Cloak of Resistance between Abaos+Bright Awn+NPC's; (since if I remember correctly, Iorksan has the whole no magic items stipulation). I include the NPC's because Happs will probably enjoy the Longbow more than any of us will. Awn, would you rather the hat or the cloak? Personally, I think the hat could be really cool for Abaos, but I'll leave it up to you.
There's also the manner of the potions. 6 potions altogether. One for each?
Does that sound fair to everyone?
Iorskan thinks that Guthruc will make a great daddy
funnily enough,me and DM have actually talked about Guthruc later having an orc child with the half-ogre template; just for the absurd str mod.
Guthruc, I'm afraid that you have to be able to see magic auras to identify an item with Spellcraft; perhaps Guthruc would like to invest in a Lantern of Auras? Actually, they're pretty cheap/not useful in combat, and I find the mental image of the orc with the magic lantern hillarious. Shall we just say that Sneeg had just such a lantern with his belongings downstairs?
what exactly is required to be able to see magic auras? A level in a spellcasting class? Capability of casting spells or SLAs?
There's also the manner of the potions. 6 potions altogether. One for each?
Guthruc wants the haste potion like last time, but he cant read the labels.
Guthruc, I'm afraid that you have to be able to see magic auras to identify an item with Spellcraft; perhaps Guthruc would like to invest in a Lantern of Auras? Actually, they're pretty cheap/not useful in combat, and I find the mental image of the orc with the magic lantern hillarious. Shall we just say that Sneeg had just such a lantern with his belongings downstairs?what exactly is required to be able to see magic auras? A level in a spellcasting class? Capability of casting spells or SLAs?
Detect magic.
Detect Magic allows you to see them. Identify does the same (though for a shorter time), and also gives you a +10 to identify magic items. There are higher level spells like Arcane Sight that will work too, but Detect Magic (or a magic item based on it) is the easiest to get access to.
If you're thinking of dipping a level in a spellcasting class to get access to the spell, there are a couple of druid/hunter archetypes that might fit thematically (Feral Hunter, Feral Shifter, Goliath Druid), and you could probably make Skald or Shaman work as well. You have negative ability modifiers in the casting stats for those, which would keep you from casting first-level spells, but I don't think that rule applies to cantrips/orisons. If the GM rules that it does, you would have to go with an INT-based caster to get access to cantrips. The Witch would probably be the most fitting, and the Scarred Witch Doctor archetype would even allow you to use your first level spells without an INT increase.
Abaos, you take hat. Awn will take cloak. He should really get a better missile weapon than a javelin, but his weapon proficiencies don't stretch to longbows. Interestingly, Seers as a class come from a campaign setting with guns, and are proficient with them, but a) wild botano-man with a gun is pretty funny and b) I've used guns in PF like once or twice and don't really grok 'em.
Enlightened Bloodrager dip.
Get full BaB, lvl0 spells and rage
Detect magic.Guthruc, I'm afraid that you have to be able to see magic auras to identify an item with Spellcraft; perhaps Guthruc would like to invest in a Lantern of Auras? Actually, they're pretty cheap/not useful in combat, and I find the mental image of the orc with the magic lantern hillarious. Shall we just say that Sneeg had just such a lantern with his belongings downstairs?what exactly is required to be able to see magic auras? A level in a spellcasting class? Capability of casting spells or SLAs?
That's weird... I did not recall ever posting that...
EDIT:
Well I guess I'll post my response anyways then.
insert quote here
*facepalm*
That makes sense... how much does it cost for a ring of a continuous cantrip?
I've used the magic item creation rules to create a pair of glasses that show you magic auras when you look through them before. Using the pricing guidelines, I think they came to the same price as the lantern, and unlike the lantern, they didn't also have the ability to be used as a light source.
Abaos, you take hat. Awn will take cloak. He should really get a better missile weapon than a javelin, but his weapon proficiencies don't stretch to longbows. Interestingly, Seers as a class come from a campaign setting with guns, and are proficient with them, but a) wild botano-man with a gun is pretty funny and b) I've used guns in PF like once or twice and don't really grok 'em.
Re: The Hat: It's not the world's most useful hat; I didn't include a price on the thing because, honestly, it's most useful as a lawn decoration. It's got some weak mind-whammying ability, but that's unlikely to be useful, and the once a week commune is always to the same entity - which limits the usefulness of the spell somewhat. And that's not mentioning that commune, when it's useful, is useful for everyone, not just whoever casts it.
That, and it's kind of fairly heavy. Not much fun toting on your head all day.
Re: Firearms: It's kinda funny that Awn was raised by elves but while he never devoted time to learning how to use a bow, he's well versed in the intricacies of Alkenstarian tech.
If you want to swap firearm proficiency for short and longbow proficiency, I'd let you - that way you have a more thematic ranged option. However, I'm warning you: if you decide to go that route I will introduce enchanted firearms to the setting. Not sure how I'll tie them in, but I'll do it, and won't no one be proficient with them. :P
That makes sense... how much does it cost for a ring of a continuous cantrip?
Shall we just say that there was a certain magic lantern with Falgrim's various wizardly things downstairs? It'd make sense for him to have one; divination was his banned school.
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And I warn you that Iorskan will use 4 of them while flying. With *all* of the penalties. He’ll be almost as dangerous to our enemies as he will be to himself.
Yes, swap bows for firearms makes more sense given the Elvish angle. In one of my first PMs to you I said Awn wouldn"t be using the Seer's gun proficiency...
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Re: The Hat: It's not the world's most useful hat; I didn't include a price on the thing because, honestly, it's most useful as a lawn decoration. It's got some weak mind-whammying ability, but that's unlikely to be useful, and the once a week commune is always to the same entity - which limits the usefulness of the spell somewhat. And that's not mentioning that commune, when it's useful, is useful for everyone, not just whoever casts it.
The point isn't that it's super useful; it's that it's super fun. Sure, the DC's are terrible, but what if I want to manipulate Townsend into becoming the perfect Bladebound Magus/cool bandit lord man with magic sword, or set one of the kobolds into spying for me, or asking a mite to build something he might not otherwise, or we go to Restov and I need information...... the possibilities are endless. Not 100% useful, but certainly fun.
Plus, I'm hoping some of this Commune stuff is going to trigger latent memories in Abaos. That would be fun, too.
Actually..... oh my lord. What do you think Auchs' Will Save modifier is? And how long can I keep charming him before he just accepts that he's our friend haha?
There's also the manner of the potions. 6 potions altogether. One for each?
Ok, so we've 6 potions, and only one person's asking for them. So, final tallies are....
Abaos: Funky Deer Hat, Invisibility Potion
Bright Awn: Cloak of Resistance +2
Guthruc: Hide Armor, Haste Potion
Iorksan: Automatic Bonus Progression!!!
Jen: Spellguard Bracer's, Fly Potion
Ozzy: Gloves of Reconnaissance, Belt of Might Constitution
Happs: +1 Adaptive Longbow
Party: 3x CL5 Cure Moderate Wounds Potions
Does that sound fair to everyone?
Also, Bright Awn, since you're now proficient in bows, would you like the Longbow instead of Happs? I assumed you would and hence didn't give you a cool consumable, but it's up to you.
Seems fair to me; although, I plan to have Jen learn fly at 6, so, if the potion isn't used before then (it's a while away, sure, but fly's kinda situational so...) d'you think she could swap it out for something from someone else?
If the fly potion hasn't been used by then, we should be able to work something out.
As for the Cure Mod potions, obviously they will get used by whoever needs them (and we'll all try not to need them), but we'll need to decide who carries them. I think it would be useful for Mr. Winky to carry one, since he doesn't have the most offensive ability in combat, but has a lot of mobility. With the potion, he could fly over to someone and pour it in their mouth (if the GM allows that), making it possible for them to get healed by it without wasting a turn to draw and drink it (and provoking an AoO in the process).
Even if the GM won't allow the potion to be fed to someone, or requires an action economy that makes it not worth trying in combat, he could still deliver it to the person who needs it (even in situations where other characters may have trouble reaching them). For example, if someone falls down a cliff and is unconscious with negative hitpoints at the bottom, Mr. Winky could fly down and administer the potion before they die more easily than anyone else.
In the long run, we should probably acquire a wand for that purpose. Before the stag lord died, I was considering having Ozzy run into combat to start using the infernal healing wand (though faster-acting healing would have worked better).
It might also make sense for Ozzy to carry one that she can drink when she needs to sacrifice hitpoints to keep Mr. Blinky in the fight. This would allow him to tank longer, and unlike the people who are most likely to need one due to taking damage, she shouldn't be in somebody's threatened area (where drinking the potion will provoke an AoO) when the potion is needed.
That would mean that two of the three go to Ozzy, of course, but remember that one of those is intended entirely to be used for playing medic for other party members (and, of course, the other may end up being used that way as well).
I think it would make sense for either Awn or Jen to carry the last one, or for Ozzy or Mr. Winky to get two. Awn has a lot of free actions, which leaves him with actions to administer the potion and I don't think he got targeted very much. Jen isn't very useful if she doesn't have a relevant spell to be casting, or if she's trying to conserve her slots (although she'll obviously end up having a relevant spell more often as she increases in level to the point of being god in all but name *cough cough time stop*). But, at least for now, she can probably play medic on her round without the group losing much.
I think giving Awn the bow is a good idea to give him a meaningful ranged option. How does adaptive work? Does it apply up to +6 Str-mod to the damage roll? So Awn, having Str 14 would get +2?
Jen's point about spare actions/potions is a good one, but I'm easy either way. We could give the cloak of resistance to Abaos seeing as the hat isn't universally useful...
And so, we enter the silence after the storm. The time where nobody knows what to post and the threads go pretty much silent for a solid week before we stumble upon the next plot hook.
Yeah. I mean, I guess we could do some exploring, but other than that, we seem to have achieved all of the immediate goals we've been given...
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Not quite. Auchs is coming, and we need to deal with that. There's the matter of the her that keeps popping up- Abaos intends to ask Akiros about this. He also intends to try and recruit Akiros to our side, if possible- though I doubt it. He's going to try and use Akiros to calm Auchs, and I think Ozzy+Guthruc have a plan, as well. We've a giant army we need to do something with; the kobolds and the mites need to continue to grow, so as to keep them from fighting each other; and we need to know what Garess intends now that Sneeg is a confirmed kill. She's seen us recruit an army, and she was sent to pacify the region- do you think she's going to just sit by and let us take credit/continue to gain in strength? We need to watch her. Plenty of interesting hooks here.
I will say, I apologize if it seems like I didnt know what to post by waiting till today. I just passed out, is all, last night.
It could also be that my weekend felt abnormally long and posting is rare on weekends anyways. As for plot hooks, guthruc also has the hooktongue slough to beat up and recruit several boggards.
Does Ozzy have any comments on Guthrucs horribly evil plan of manipulating Auchs, using the lie that Dovan is still alive?
After how well the snake thing worked, guthruc might just keep a few animals on hand with him to use as shapeshifting fuel. Speaking of which... what am I going to do with 10 beehives and 9 snakes?...
Ozzy is willing to try the plan, though I'm having a little trouble picturing the exchange where Guthruc brings it up. We will have to figure out a solution for the problem that the spell doesn't alter her voice...
Yeah, it's kinda hard when you make great plans or scenarios ooc, but your character isn't the type of person, wether rp pr stat wise, to actually come up with them... I'll try and create a plausible start to that conversation in the gameplay thread when I get the chance
As for plot hooks, there's a handful of things that'll need to be resolved at some point tonight (in-world time); Bokken will want to talk with the party, Akiros is talking with the party, Garess will want to talk to the party, Auchs will come wandering back at some point, and PCs were talking to each other - I haven't had all the NPCs swarm around and talk over each other because that'd be annoying, but if anyone wants to get a word in edgewise while Abaos is talking to Akiros, or wants to strike up a conversation with someone else.