Sorry about that. Foe of the Strange hasn't really come up yet which surprises me.
Just the fact that there's a campaign trait that explicitly helps against confusion is a big hint about what to expect, IMHO!
I did something, not sure how much yet.
If the Stunning Fist succeeds, that's a big shift in the odds, since it will drop the falchion.
Grappling could also be a good choice.
Rowan, have you applied all the modifiers for level 7, including the Automatic Bonus Progression?
I have to think that the situation is not quite as dire as it seems, given that Mara's Divination was fairly encouraging. Unless the spirits were controlled/corrupted/misled in some way.
Our weekly PFS group debates Confusion effects a lot. I am of the opinion that attack--regardless of target--should be whatever form of attack that character would normally make. Doubtful Theo would punch anything, but I thought it was funny...lol.
Post after work...
If the Stunning Fist succeeds, that's a big shift in the odds, since it will drop the falchion.
Grappling could also be a good choice.
Not only will it drop it falchion it would also make it vulnerable to sneak attack. Also if someone could grease the floor that could be helpful as well.
Rowan has 6 more stunning fists, 6 more ki points, and a CMB of +12 for grapples. He also has a Kama and improved trip.
Lots of people have lots of opinions on how confusion attacks should work and not a lot of actual rules to back them up. I feel like a caster wouldn't be able to concentrate unless they roll act normally, so no spells. They might draw a weapon that they frequently use but Theo has no weapons so therefore punch. I do find the confusion table rather bland so I'm thinking about making my own with more things that could happen. Might be a little later for post. We're going to an open house today.
Suddenly had a mental image of Theo attacking something with the White Rabbit.
Ellery, aren't you at least +11 to hit? +5 BAB, +5 Dex, +1 MW or enhancement.
Every +1 can matter.
heartseeking on rapier not enhancing it. Wasn't sure if it was going to be concealed or not.
The weapon's MW bonus should still apply in that case.
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Suddenly had a mental image of Theo attacking something with the White Rabbit.
Obligatory Killer Rabbit link. :)
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The White Rabbit says that is a second cousin of his: Larry the Terrible.
He also cheats at cards during family reunions.
Back to work...
The weapon's MW bonus should still apply in that case.
Dervak is correct. Your attack was one more.
Go Rowan! Take down Evil Dervak! You can do it!
If it has Improved Uncanny Dodge, you can't flank it, but those were some solid hits anyway.
The weapon's MW bonus should still apply in that case.
Thanks for the heads up!
Go Rowan! Take down Evil Dervak! You can do it!
If it has Improved Uncanny Dodge, you can't flank it, but those were some solid hits anyway.
He also has no one to flank with. All of his potential flank partners are confused and not acting normally so they all treat all creatures as enemies, including Rowan. I'll resolve next round in a little bit.
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Wishful thinking... but that was why I called it out. If I get another round, I may be able to drop him, or stun him again.
Dervak is certainly in Rowan's debt now.
I feel absolutely terrible that the NPC who came along to help us got killed.
Mara could Reincarnate Meg, but Raise Dead is 4 levels away. Or does the effect that killed her prevent all of those?
I feel terrible about Meg, too. Especially as there was no reason for it to attack her. But had it used that first attack on Rowan, he would be dead.
This was certainly far more dangerous than I expected. In keeping with the Mythos for sure. The auto-confused aura would be deadly no matter the PCs' level. And the fact that the Dark Whisper was based on Dervak's stats meant it would grow in power too. There would never have been a good time to do this.
Rowan got some very lucky rolls, but boar style is a new favorite. I also intend to get pummeling style to deal with damage reduction.
There was always going to be a cost to doing the ritual or not doing it for that matter. If you had done it earlier you could have missed the DCs and bonded the Dark Whisper to Dervak permanently, like The Tatterman was to Zandalus. If you waited longer the Whisper would have been stonger. Its level was based on how many times Dervak used used rage and cast bloodrager spells from spell slots. This also determined the ability drain and level drain he took. If you waited much longer the drain would kill Dervak.
I was also playing with the idea that the Whisper of having an ego score like and intelligent magic item. Never fully developed the idea though.
Those negative levels are rough. I like that the impact was tied into how much Dervak used rage but I didn't expect that his spellcasting would also have a similar effect. Makes sense, though.
We have 2 scrolls of Restoration. Presumably they can dispel negative levels?
Then we'll need 2,200 worth of diamond dust (1,000 for each negative level purged, and 100 for each ability score restored). We have 400 in diamond dust right now.
And since he can't remove more than 1 negative level per week, it will be quite some time until Dervak is back to full strength. Which is fitting story-wise.
Oh, and we have to figure out what sort of mental affliction the other PCs suffered from the Maddening Aura and how that might be fixed.
Edit: Moved 1,500 from Dervak's sheet to Mara's (half the cost of the Rod) - will need to scrounge up some more for diamond dust over the next few weeks of game time.
Does anyone have any ideas for countering Confusion? Calm Emotions removes Confusion, but it's not a harmless spell, so I don't think people can voluntarily fail their save against it. Given Mara's high will save, it has little chance to work against her.
There are some higher level spells, like Heal, that do have the harmless descriptor, but as the last battle showed, once you attack or are attacked by another confused PC, you have no chance to get an action.
Unbreakable Heart is a low level spell that would work, but I think it may be restricted to Shelyn worshipers.
Unbreakable Heart looks good. I think its Shelyn designation was removed in Inner Sea World Guide.
Generally my strategy will be trying to have good enough saves to not get Confused in the first place. But as you say this will also make it hard to affect him with Calm Emotions.
Azata's Whimsy is expensive but provides some benefits.
The spell Confusion you can defeat with Spell Immunity, but non-spell effects such as (Su) auras are harder to defeat.
I have no problem with unbreakable heart working for non-Shelyn worshippers.
I also chuckled at the attack nearest creature entry, RAW that magic item would always provide a +1 to hit since confused creatures treat all creatures as enemies. Probably would house rule the item with better wording or to do something different.
Also those restoration scrolls will fix negative levels if you want.
Did we have the opportunity to rest overnight yet?
Time can move as fast as you want, you have 5 days before the expected arrival of the ship.
Removed one Restoration scroll from the treasure sheet for use on Dervak
I had a burning question when I rolled on the table sadly it appears female Golarion dwarves are beardless.
Go with the beard!
She could have a hormone imbalance; it happens.
On Dervak's page on the treasure sheet I deleted a formula in the treasures column that was totaling Dervak's money. It was causing his coin to be counted twice for the total value of what he was carrying. That total does exist at the bottom of the sheet labeled spendable.
Would it be easier to have the money total collect in the treasure column rather than at the bottom of the page? I'd want to change everone's sheet because it would bug me if it wasn't consistent.
No problem, keep it as you had it.
It would be easier to see. Anyway don't want to mess with it at work since I'd have to do it on my phone.
No one but Rowan has enough coin to buy 2.3k of dust. You could do a 4 way split of 575, Theo has very little money currently. After Dervak is restored you'd have 500 dust for future restorations.
We had 400 in diamond dust already.
Need a net of 1800 additional for the Restorations.
Dervak will put 900 towards it, then pay 900 later to whoever can help him out here (say Mara, Ellery, and Rowan each chip in 300).
Mara might want an additional 500 for future Restorations, I think that was the concept.
I didn't realize that we already had some diamond dust. I also forgot that you don't need to roll for ability points restored, so one per ability score is all you need.
Mara is also interested in an Aegis of Recovery (particularly good for Dreamlands expeditions, but a potential lifesaver in any case), but I don't know that there's enough money for that.
Theo will make lots of hats during the trip to sell in C.
We could sell Cyclops if we don't need the bonus anymore?
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Oh, I think we may need Cyclops again.
I have a feeling Knowledge (Planes) will continue to be important.
Added 1800 diamond dust, didn't pull the trigger on the Aegis of Recovery because Mara doesn't have enough money for it yet.
Mara bought the following items:
Folding Chair 2
Cooking Kit 3
Mess kit 0.2
Mirror 10
Ink 8
Inkpen 0.1
Journal 10
Chalk 0.01
Charcoal 0.5
Total 33.81 GP
Deducted gold for the above.
After re-reading restoration I'm 90% sure that restoration cast to recover from negative levels will also cure ability drain for one ability score, so Mara would only need to cast restoration once today to get rid of Dervak's cha drain. Alternately he could wait until he gets another permanent level restored to get rid of the cha drain. In either case Mara could use threefold aspect to day if she wanted to.
OK, in that case Mara would memorize and cast Threefold Aspect. Will still cast one Restoration to get rid of the Cha drain.
[dice=Restoration sanity damage healed (Rowan)]2d4
[dice=Lesser Restoration sanity damage healed (Theo)]1d2
Note that they're not suffering from Sanity damage, I'm not a big fan of the sanity damage rules. But there are things that will still cause madnesses outright. Here's the relevant seciton:
Each madness has a DC representing its strength. Among other things, that DC specifies the saving throw the afflicted character must succeed at to recover from the madness.
Recovering from a madness without magical aid is a lengthy process requiring significant rest. After 7 consecutive days of uninterrupted rest, the afflicted character can attempt a Will save against the madness’s current DC. If she succeeds, the DC is reduced by a number of points equal to 1/2 the character’s Charisma modifier (minimum 1). Instead of relying on her own strength of personality to reduce the effects of madness, a character can also seek out a single confidante, priest, or other advisor. The recovering character must meet with that person regularly (at least 8 hours each day) and gain guidance during the 7 days of rest. At the end of the rest period, the ally can attempt a Wisdom or Intelligence check (whichever is higher) with a DC of 15 for a lesser madness or a DC of 20 for a greater madness. On a success, the recovering character can reduce the madness’s DC by 1/2 the ally’s Wisdom or Intelligence modifier (whichever is higher, minimum 1) in addition to the decrease for resting. The character suffers the madness’s effect until the DC is reduced to 0.
Certain spells can also aid in recovery from madnesses or cure them outright. Lesser restoration has no effect on greater madnesses, but reduces the current DC of one lesser madness afflicting the target by 2, up to once per day. Restoration and heal reduce the current DC of one lesser madness afflicting the target by 5 or of one greater madness afflicting the target by 2, up to once per day each. Greater restoration, limited wish, and psychic surgery all either cure the target of all lesser madnesses or reduce the DC of one greater madness by the spell’s caster level (caster’s choice), while miracle or wish immediately cure a target of all lesser and greater madnesses.
So lesser restoration and restoration are the correct response they just do something different than you thought they did.
A hollow glass ball or a dreamcatcher is standard issue in a spell component pouch since it doesn't have GP cost. Sometimes I wonder if all spell component pouches are bags of holding that only hold spell components....
The trip length is 2 to 3 months.
When I followed the link, the first part that I saw was the section on sanity damage, hence my misinterpretation.
I'm still confused by the rules in the section you highlighted. Does that mean that the Madness DC gets reduced like hit points until you "kill" it?
Also, are the "strength of personality" and "confidante, priest, or other advisor" options mutually exclusive, or can the patient benefit from both at the same time?
Does "uninterrupted rest" mean that Theo wouldn't be able to take part in research?
Sorry the confusion I should have quoted, but it was getting late for me last night.
You are correct the DC of the save for the madness will decrease with treatment. Which means after the spells Rowan's DC is at 9 and Theo's is at 14.
As far as natural recovery goes you can do both but both the mad character and the advisor would be unable to engage in research or learn rituals.
I think we have plenty of time on this trip to do the research and rituals - we can let our guys rest.
Not that Dervak would accept Mara's diagnosis of madness for Theophilus...