Defense of Brookside

Game Master caster4life

Oh, you're right. At worst it's waiting down in the sewer.

Mel put your body in the bedroom while you were away so it wouldn't get stepped on during the fight. She hasn't had an opportunity to communicate that to Hal, though, so he may not know where it is.

Draconic Ally may be present. The door certainly has a lock. It locks from the inside by hand. From the outside, you'd need a key.

Psst ... Hal? We're just waiting on Hal's action.

Would it have been possible for Hal to have locked the door as part of the round where he slipped through and shut it?

Sure.

That fight went way better than we had any right to expect.

The possession was a clutch move. It may have caused Hal problems during the actual fight, but it let us isolate the Duke from his guards. This would have been a very different fight with them involved.

Kazador is a beast, and apparently Lady Luck likes him too. So many nat 20s this fight! Including that massive crit that put an end to it. Nothing says "you're annoying" quite like 83 damage in one hit.

And I gotta say, Túrion is really good at battlefield control. I know I was botting him during this encounter rather than the original player, but that's one solid build. The Duke hardly got a chance to do anything, and a big part of that was Túrion messing with his action economy.

Let us not speak of Mel's dice luck. -_-

Yes indeed. The party has done well here. And I agree that the most critical part was setting up the battle with silence dust and an isolated Duke. If not for the silence dusting make this quieter, the guards 100% would have arrived before the fight was over.

That was quite the wild ride! A very unique boss fight, where it could have gone *very* bad. Yes, my dice were on fire…but that was balanced out by the party (and Mel especially) being cursed. I’m glad it worked out!

Will get a post up soon-ish. :)

Now, we just need to get out of here. Let's see.

I think we've got to take the Duke with us. It would be folly to leave him.

We've gotta tie up and gag the butler, so Hal can return to his regularly scheduled body.

And then we skedaddle. Down the escape hatch, into the sewers, and the instant everyone is out of the Teleport Trap zone we zap straight back to a secure place. Probably the townhome. We'll need a gag and some good manacles (both wrists and ankles) for the Duke. And maybe some rope to tie him up as well considering how good he appears to be at Escape Artist. Oh, and of course take away all of his gear.

Mel is deeply interested in the contents of those messages between Amrynn Faedi and Duke Beaumont, and would like to make copies.

Then we turn him over to Viscount Turick along with the evidence and see what develops.

I expect Hal prefers his regularly scheduled body but probably has a weaker preference on that score than most folks; he's had some poor times in his regularly scheduled body.

I'm on board for the plan.

Hal is mostly a bunch of weird tricks that can be really useful, and combat is where is weakest anyway. This sort of thing is exactly what I wanted him to be doing - just hope you three don't mind me being pretty useless during the actual fighting.

Before we go Hal will take a hair clipping from Rogers, and try to make sure they have not left behind any evidence. I'll try to get a post in to that effect once he's back in his body, but don't wait.

Ok sounds good.

I'm so excited to level up! It's been -- checks notes -- three years, five months and about half of the Bannerhold arc since we last leveled up.

I will post a level up report later.

Also, on that note, everyone may level up to 11 for the final level-up of this campaign.

Alright! Yes this is exciting. And the final level too! Likewise will get something up soon.

Level up report for Mel!

Took a level Unchained Rogue.

BAB went from 7.5 to 8.25, effectively 8. That's a breakpoint for Deadly Aim, meaning the attack penalty when deadly aiming is now -3, but Mel gets +6 to damage.

Reflex save went from +12.5 to +13 even. Other saves unchanged.

Gained 8 hp (5 + 3 CON).

Gained 11 regular skill points (8 base + 2 INT + 1 favored class). Spent thusly:

• +1 Acrobatics
  
• +3 Disguise, because Mel's been doing tons of that.
  
• +1 Heal
  
• +1 Knowledge (local)
  
• +1 Knowledge (planes)
  
• +1 Perception
  
• +2 Sense Motive
  
• +1 Stealth
  

And 2 background skill points, spent as +1 each on Craft (bows) and Profession (teacher). The latter is to reflect Mel's time as Eugenia Crixton, an episode over which she will feel guilt till her dying day.

Gained a feat: Flickering Step. This lets Mel Dimension Door up to sixty feet as a spell-like ability to a spot she can see, 3/day at this level. Interestingly, it's not limited to Mel; she can bring friends. Handy! It's hard to resist these conduit feats when she's already heavily invested in Knowledge (planes). I haven't decided how to flavor this. I'll work it out if the ability ever comes up.

And lastly, Mel gets a Rogue Talent this level. Thanks to the Phantom Thief archetype, she can pick up Skill Focus as a rogue talent, so that's what I did. I picked Disguise for that, and she now has 10 ranks in it. All in all her Disguise skill went up +9 this level, for a total of +20. Which is mildly ridiculous considering her -1 Charisma modifier, but also appropriate considering she's invented and acted in something like four or five different personas in Bannerhold.

Let's see. Thanks to Phantom Thief, she's just unlocked the 15th level skill unlock for Stealth, Perception, Heal and Craft (bows). She has Diplomacy also but not enough ranks to get the newest unlock, alas.

The main one of mechanical interest here is Heal. It gets stupidly complicated, but the gist is that at this level Mel can heal anywhere from 77-89 HP damage, plus six ability score damage and one ability score drain. Per use. Eleven times a day and potentially twice a round thanks to those very fancy gloves the GM gave me.

Oh, and I think the latest Craft (bows) unlock doesn't actually do anything because house rules superseded the usual benefit.

Err ... should I level Túrion up?

Having reviewed the scenario, we've got an escape shaft that's fourteen feet deep, and probably another six feet for the cellar below. So it's 20 feet down from the study to the cellar floor. Or maybe the Duke has vaulted eleven foot cellar ceilings (extravagant!) which would make it 25 feet. I'm assuming the shaft is essentially 5x5x14 feet, i.e. a single square. So one creature at a time, though a PC could be holding an unconscious person.

We need to get the following characters down the shaft:

• The Duke (unconscious)
  
• Hal (unconscious)
  
• Mr. Geoffrey Rogers (possessed)
  
• Kazador
  
• Mel
  
• Túrion
  

The shaft itself was a DC 10 Climb check to get up, and now we have a rope going down. If we were all conscious this would be dead simple. But with the unconscious Duke plus the unconscious Hal, that's going to be harder.

We could just dump them down the shaft, which has the advantage of being fast and simple, but the disadvantage of 2d6 falling damage.

Feather Fall could fix that, and quickly. Since we could only get at most two people into the shaft at one time, that would take three castings: one for Kazador + the Duke, one for Mel + Hal, and then Túrion + Mr. Rogers, who I'm assuming could jump in together.

Túrion has Feather Fall prepped today, but only one first level spell left. Since he's an arcanist he could burn higher level spell slots if necessary.

Does Hal have Feather Fall today? It's Verbal only, so he wouldn't need his spell components for that.

In theory we could work something out with rope and such. But I want to move fast. We got what we came for, and every moment we stay is another chance to get into a much bigger fight. It's time to get gone.

Could we tie a rope to them and lower them down that way?

Final Level

Sentinel 5
* HP: +6 (class) + 3 (con)
* Saves: None (I think with fractional? Still find those confusing)
* BaB: +1 (extra iterative)
* Skills: +2 Perception
* Feat: Steel Soul (+2 saves vs spells and SLAs)
* Aligned Strike: At 5th level, the sentinel gains the ability to bypass a specific type of damage reduction when wielding his deity’s favored weapon. Holy.
* Stalwart (Su) At 5th level, the sentinel gains mental fortitude through his constant meditation and adherence to religious tenets. He gains a +2 sacred or profane bonus on saving throws to resist divine spells.

So fractional saves.

You have levels of Fighter, Brawler, and Sentinel. Fortitude is a good save for all three of these; Reflex is a good save for Brawler. Will is not a good save for any of them.

So your "good" saves are: Fortitude and Reflex. Those start at +2 because you have at least one class that treats them as a good save. Will starts at +0, because it's a weak save for all your classes.

Your fortitude save is easy, because it's good for all of your classes. You get 0.5 * 11 = +5.5 from your levels. Your total is 2 + 5.5 = 7.5, rounded down. So your base fortitude save is +7, then you add whatever you get from constitution, magic items, and whatever else normally. It didn't change at level 11 -- you went from 7 to 7.5 and rounded down.

Your will save is also easy, because it's bad for all your classes. You get +1/3rd per level. One third winds up with a repeating 0.333333333 etc per level. But basically at level 11 your base Will save is 3.66. It didn't change this level either. You went from +3.33 to +3.66, which is not enough to increase it because we round down.

Your reflex save is slightly more complicated. It's a bad save for Fighter and Sentinel, but a good save for Brawler. You have 4 levels of fighter, 2 levels of brawler, and 5 levels of sentinel. We can combine the fighter and sentinel levels: 0.33 * 9 = 3. Then we add two levels of Brawler: 0.5 * 2 = 1. So your Will save is 3 + 1 + 2 = +6. Your Will save went up this level, increasing from 5.66 to 6.

Basically, taking a level in a class that has this as a "good" save gets you +0.5 per level. Taking a level in a class for which it's a "bad" save gets you +0.33. If at least one of your classes has the save as a "good" save you get +2.

Does that help?

Nods in a wise and understanding way

All joking aside it does. Thank you :)

Hal does not have feather fall but does have a beneficial winds lesser charm, though I would prefer not to use it.
Potentially Geoff could carry himself if Hal stops possessing, but then we are very much trusting he does not have a change of heart.
Otherwise lowering via rope seems the way to go.

"The latter is to reflect Mel's time as Eugenia Crixton, an episode over which she will feel guilt till her dying day."

Ah yes. Just what we need for Mel. More trauma and guilt... My goodness playing an adventurer with a real conscience has been rough for Tinalles.

Alright, this was a level I had a plan for but wasn't sure we'd make!

I'm considering as few things with spells, so putting those first. Would love any comments or suggestions

Very keen on True Seeing - the idea of a character who can see through all magic and illusions marries interestingly with a character who suffers from hallucinations. Not sure as to the utility - True seeing is one of those spells that is either game-breaking or useless depending on circumstance. he can also do Spell Study for it if needed, and has a 1 off potion that has the minor side effect of potential permanent blindness.

Unconcious Agenda I was avoiding enchantment so as not to clash with Turion, but if he has stopped posting then some mind control might be good. Mass Suggestion is awesome, but Unconscious Agenda is terrifying and is not something Turion has done.

Treacherous Teleport fits the fact Hal has been hacking teleport wards, and is a ruse spell. Not much more useful than a normal teleport - though the ability to teleport a mixed group to two different places is potentially useful in the right circumstance.

Shadow Walk I've never actually used shadow walk. I think it is useful as a non-teleport escape (in dim areas) and I think you can hang out there if you want a place to sleep - I won't say a safe space though! Can you use it from inside a building? I think you can, but am not sure. Ideally I'd like version of this that used the First World, but Shadow works - as long as it is not mirror!

Antimagic Field Way out of left field. Arguably Hal's best move in a fight with another caster is stopping that caster from zapping his friends. Antimagic Field is like persistent Dispel... at the cost of Hal losing pretty much all of his abilities.

I've been trying to give Hal a hang up about killing people, so if he should take a spell to fight with it should probably be more debuff than burn.

---

Wizard (Spell Sage) 11
HP +4
Saves: None
BAB: None
Skills + 10 skills (2 from class, 6 from int, 2 from headband which must go to perception and linguistics) - still thinking about exactly which skills, tempted to patch some of his holes (like climbing!). Definitely Perception, Linguistics, Bluff, Spellcraft, Disable Device though.
Feat: Arcane Discovery (True Name) - need to talk to Brookside GM about this one - I will PM.
+1 language known
+1/day spell study (to 3/day)
+2 6th level spells/day
+2 6th level spells known
+1 favoured class bonus

Haha! We finally know his class!

I was betting on another arcanist. Also, I don't think I've seen that archetype before. Spontaneous access to the entire spell lists of bards, clerics and druids? I mean yeah, it's super slow and costs double spell slots, but the out-of-combat utility is amazing. And explains how this arcane caster was able to use Goodberry and Create Water to stay alive trapped in that mirror all those years.

As for spell selection, if True Seeing appeals to you, then go for it. It's of variable utility, as you point out, but the flavor is very much on point for your character.

Among the others, "terrifying" is the right word for Unconscious Agenda. And at the same time, you could use it for some interesting non-evil things. Like, you could set a trigger of "When you see an injustice being done" and "Intervene to help the person suffering an injustice." Then cast it on an evil but redeemable person. Or maybe you know of a guy who desperately wants to ask someone out but is too shy to ever actually do it, so you set up an Unconscious Agenda with the trigger "The next time you see so and so" and "Ask them out" as the action.

Also, what if you cast it on yourself? You could use it to deal with your own hangups. Like maybe you're procrastinating on an unpleasant task, so you set up an Unconscious Agenda with "the next time you would leave the bathroom" and "Clean the bathroom".

Or maybe you're a wizard with a fractured mind who knows on some level that you're not well, so you set Unconscious Agenda on yourself to force yourself to deal with your trauma. The fact that you would forget about casting the spell as part of casting the spell is an interesting twist.

Also, what if you cast it on yourself? You could use it to deal with your own hangups. Like maybe you're procrastinating on an unpleasant task, so you set up an Unconscious Agenda with "the next time you would leave the bathroom" and "Clean the bathroom".

Or maybe you're a wizard with a fractured mind who knows on some level that you're not well, so you set Unconscious Agenda on yourself to force yourself to deal with your trauma. The fact that you would forget about casting the spell as part of casting the spell is an interesting twist.

Oh wow! That is so... I don't even know. It's like... hacking trauma therapy?

Sure. The Enchantment school is full of things that could be beneficial to people if they're used responsibly -- meaning with the consent of the enchanted, and for their betterment.

Sow Thought could help an addict kick their habit. Every time they reach for the next hit, they'd think "I don't need it - I'm strong enough without it."

Calm Emotions could help people caught up in wild, overpowered emotions, soothe the distraught and so on.

Suggestion could be used for all kinds of things. "I suggest you spend a couple hours on a long walk, just looking for beautiful things" might be helpful to someone fretting over something they have no control over.

Of course all these spells can be horribly abused as well. That kind of use comes up all the time. I just think sometimes people don't think enough about how enchantment could be used to effect good: to help people conquer their fears, and make better choices in life.

I love the thought experiment of how enchantment could be used for good irl. I also think if we were voting on whether enchantment magic were real, I would still vote "no". I would probably vote that way on most magic...

Oh yeah. People love having power over other people, and when they get it things tend to get bad fast. I know the Milgram experiments had some serious methodological flaws, but they're still pretty deeply disturbing. And it's not like there's no corollary evidence. Remember Baghram? Those soldiers went real dark, real fast. And prisons the world over tend to be bad places. Running a prison in a humane manner is an exercise in constant, ongoing training and self-correction, and it's really easy to go wrong. Giving some people the ability to directly alter other people's minds? No thanks! That would get downright dystopian in a hurry.

Returning to the topic: GM, are there any further rolls we need to make to escape with the unconscious Duke and the books? Or are we basically good to go here?

You guys are good to leave now. It's just a matter of whether you want to do anything else here.

Make it Unconcious Agenda and Shadow Walk. Use the human favoured class bonus to pick up a bonus spell; Glimpse of Truth.
climbing +3 stealth +1 sense motive +1 Perception +1 Linguistics +1 Bluff +1 Spellcraft +1 Disable Device +1

I was curious to see how sympathetic you guys were to Rogers wanting to take his cat into witness protection with him. Turns out, very sympathetic. Good on yinz.

Okay, people: straight to Turick or investigate the books privately first?

EDIT: Also, do we have a way to teleport to Turick's place privately? It would be awkward if we showed up on the street outside of his front gate in plain view of everyone hauling the unconscious body of the second most politically powerful person in the kingdom.

That's a good question. I'd say...straight to Turick. Yes, we may be royally screwed if it turns out that we did all of this to an innocent nobleman. But, we did go on his blessings. If anyone is able to hold him, then it would be Turick. And when it comes to investigating the book, if there is anything magical or super tricky about it, we can lean on his resources.

Yeah. With that superb escape artist I don't think we could plausibly hold him for long.

I did some digging through the archive. Our security arrangements with Turick are as follows:

Each of us knows two passwords. One of the passwords indicates "all is well", and another indicates that the person giving the password believes that at least one of the group members has been compromised -- magically or otherwise.

In order to authenticate the group, each member has to give the "all is well" password. We don't know one another's passwords, so that an enemy gaining access to a single password would not be enough.

Which is good security. But problematic in this instance, because Hal's body is currently unoccupied and incapable of giving his password.

Also, it occurs to me that on our previous meetings with Turick, Hal has been disguised as Don Haroldson, the aging academic. And I don't think that's the face he's currently wearing. Also, I went back an checked and Mel is still disguised as a maid in the Duke's livery, which is another unfamiliar face.

So maybe we should bamf back to the townhome and reset before we go to Turick. We can secure the Duke -- who is unconscious for a while anyway -- by relieving him of any and all magical items he might be wearing, and tying him up. If he wakes up, Kazador can bash him with some more nonlethal damage. Shouldn't take more than a single tap to put him out again. Meanwhile we can start going through those books. Maybe even send a message to Turick's place to expect us in a couple of hours in the garden.

Once Hal has returned from his errand dealing with Mr. Rogers we can go turn over Turick and the evidence.

Overall, sounds great! We could also get a few oils of taggit. Only costs 90 gold. Keeps him unconscious for hours at a time without having to beat him senseless. sweetdream is another option, but it's much more expensive. So if possible Id' rather dr the former.

Tell me when Hal should 'wake up' :)

Err ... I think that's up to you? Whenever you're done dealing with Mr. Rogers and his cat.

You can go ahead and wake up, Hal.

Fishing? Where on earth did you drop the poor butler, Hal?

Identify works to counter magic aura if you make the save, right? Hal can spell study to get that.
Have we levelled already? Trying to work out if he has sixth level slots.

Yes, Identify can overcome Magic Aura if you pass a Will save versus the Magic Aura DC. Though I don't think I knew that till I checked the description of Magic Aura just now. Greater Detect Magic also grants a Will save versus Magic Aura (but not against Greater Magic Aura).

Analyze Aura would work also, but it's an occult spell that none of us have access to.

Yes, I'm pretty sure we've leveled. At any rate I gave myself the benefits. Túrion has a couple open spell slots now but hasn't taken any time to prep new things in them.

Yes to both questions, Hal, corroborating what Mel said.

In which case I think if he burns both 6th level slots to cast Analyze Dweomer it should be the nuclear option, right?
Arcane Sight, greater arcane sight, and identify all talk about working as if they were detect magic. Magic Aura says "You alter an item's aura so that it registers to detect spells (and spells with similar capabilities..."
Analyze dweomer does not. Does that mean Analyze Dweomer has a better chance to see through?

Follow up, if I get him True Sight for a round he can see through illusions. Does that mean spells that are illusion that cover up magic auras would also be stopped?

If he can see through the magic does that mean he can use Disable Trap to overcome the trap on the book? Or will he need to potentially have remove curse as well?

It's expensive, but this is sort of important. He also gets to do 13 items, so he can scan every damn thing. Identify does 1 at a time.

Hal has a pretty decent Spellcraft and Knowledge Arcana if you want a skill roll, by the way.

Huh. It's not a spell interaction I've ever considered before, but True Seeing would probably let you see the auras normally. Magic Aura is an illusion spell after all, and True Seeing lets you see through illusions. Also it seems entirely fair to let a level 5+ spell trump a level 1 spell.

As for whether Analyze Dweomer would work, I think that one's down the GM call. That phrase "and spells with similar capabilities" in the Magic Aura description leaves a lot of room for interpretation. To my mind, Analyze Dweomer does exactly the same thing that Detect Magic does, only faster and more reliably.

Identify is the main spell I know of that explicitly gives a chance to beat magic aura.

Yeah. Also I doubt the Will save is that hard. Assuming it's regular Magic Aura -- not Greater Magic Aura -- it'd only be 11 + the caster's casting ability modifier. Should be doable for Hal even if the Duke's personal wizard has a ridiculous Intelligence score.

That's true, but Hal has the wisdom of someone with some serious mental issues. Also, Identify only does the book - though if we waited till tomorrow Hal could spam it pretty hard.

Just the book would be fine for now. That's the bit we need done to move forward.

Yes Hal. Please proceed with some decision on the book.