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Added to profile, now in its own spoiler:
Holy Symbol: silver brooch in the shape of a folding fan. On the ‘fan’ is imagery of a black cloud and white cloud joined by a rainbow.
Inspiration behind their Physical Forms: FAN is an acronym for Fairy, Amazon and Nymph, which are the goddess’ forms. In the case of Aella and Nephele, they are actually a fallen amazon and a cloud nymph in the Greek myths. Iris is the goddess of rainbows, so I based Her form on the Lyrakien Azata: “This tiny woman has a lithe form with delicate butterfly wings. She is surrounded by sparkling lights and gentle rainbow arcs.” There is also some art depicting Aella as a harpy, or taloned Valkyrie, and she is a man-hating corrupted amazon in Wonder Woman. Nephele is the mother of a centaur, though I chose to keep any lovers or children as vague as the religion itself is, canonically speaking.
(Oh! And the brooch is silver because every cloud has a silver lining.)
Some “Facts” Pocky might mention are Greek Myths retold through a biased game of telephone. Anything that contradicts her understanding of the Cloud Sisters is blasphemy. Pocky won’t be mad, just disappointed.
Iris (LG) is the watchful eye of the hurricane, and the heavenly messenger who sheds light on the Mothers Superior. The most blessed nuns can sense the warmth of this daintiest of deities seated in their open palms.
Aella (LN) is the raging storm best known for the “lightning kick” of her electrically-charged talons. She does not trust the world of man; thus it is by her decree, only women are to be trained in the secret fighting style of The Sisterhood.
Nephele (NG) is the beauty who bears the thunder. It is known that lightning comes before thunder, and there is calm before the storm. Thus, the Order of the Cloud Sisters does not waste the air of their lungs on boasts and threats; only Truth and communication to one’s sisters-in-arms need be bellowed. Else, silence and soft-spoken words suffice. Goodness begins with etiquette.
…
It’s a lot. No offense taken if everyone TL;DRs this stuff. Just my way of showing, yes, when I appear to be making up my character’s religion as I go along, it’s true (to an extent) about the I-made-it-up part. But with forethought and researching mythology and artwork.
I could heal myself at the cost of 2 Ki Points (of 9), if you’d rather not eat wand charges even more than you’re about to, I assume.
From the little I read, entering a room wounded proved fatal, and I can see why.
Both Mara and Theo having Healing Hex, which is once per day per target.
We also have wands and spell slots.
Theo has some summons that might be competitive with his actual cure spells for spell economy, though that is not a tactic we've used.
Well, I’ll do what makes sense to the party. Mara healed half that damage. I can heal the other half or close (d8+10).
Ci Ci might be able to mage hand the items from the room, if Mara points them out to her.
Unfortunately Mage Hand can't move magic items.
Target one nonmagical, unattended object weighing up to 5 lbs.
However, Theo's should be able to (assuming he has the spell memorized).
Dervak will walk in and get the items if Mara casts Calm Emotions in the area, but he doesn't have the Int to come up with that idea.
Wouldn't we have got a saving throw if it had been a fear effect?
Not necessarily.
Haunts have all kinds of effects and mechanics, but what they have in common is that their direct effects are fear effects.
So being immune to fear makes you immune.
Now, if a haunt made an ally Confused and that ally attacked you, that would be an indirect effect that you would not be immune to.
I would send the unseen servant before sending a real person. We don’t know if they’re going to do the same thing again immediately… but 35 damage to all, and not even the satisfaction of hitting them back! I’m thinking, let the expendable summon take the hit.
It sounds like Theo didn't memorize Unseen Servant.
Hmm... all direct effects of a haunt are fear effects.
Mara's Calm Emotions spell suppresses any fear effects.
Is it that easy? Cast Calm Emotions and walk in?
I don't know of anything Theophilus could summon that would be both immune to fear and able to converse (so not a mindless vermin).
I didn't know that about haunts.
Yeah, if I ever run this AP, I will probably specify "No PCs immune to fear."
I love paladins but they would make many parts of this too easy. Like the Tatterman fight, and all the haunts.
@Pocky - Soulblade is the feat that lets you hit back at haunts. Dervak has Barroom Brawler just to pick up situational feats like that, or Rat Catcher (swarms), or Blind-Fight (invisible/fog/darkness), or Ghostslayer (incorporeal).
@Delmoth, I hope having all my damage types in my byline (“”) is helpful. I’d rather not type out that many damage types next to every attack roll.
—especially given the insane number of attacks I get next level.
I take it we’re waiting for Ci-Ci’s SR check before the enemy pounds us all…?
And revised actions from both Mara and Cerise due to visibility.
@Ci-Ci, I still hear the Flash Gordon theme even when you don’t type the “AAH-AHH!” like before.
Speaking of music from bands older than I am, @Theo, when you posted “is there anybody out there?” I heard THAT as the track before Comfortably Numb on Pink Floyd’s The Wall, which I haven’t listened to in ages. Meant to ask if that was intended.
Is the ooze in the hallway now (overlapping with Pocky's square) and therefore adjacent to Dervak?
If it is still 10' away then I will probably use Barroom Brawler for Blind-Fight and Pugnacious to attack at range. If adjacent then probably full attack.
That’s right… only Break (which I don’t have) let’s me escape grapple and flurry. I rolled first, then checked for escape arts to see if I took the skill.
@Dervak/Mara,
Will Leap move me at least 5ft away so you can step in to Full Atk?
Removed Escape Attempt.
I had a post offering some suggestions but deleted it.
It can be a bad habit of mine.
I know we don't want our new allies squished but we all know what our characters can do.
@Pocky: Heaven's Leap moves the target like Jester's Jaunt.
Heaven's Leap (Su): The shaman is adept at creating tiny tears in the fabric of space, and temporarily stitching them together to reach other locations through a limited, one-way wormhole. As a standard action, the shaman can designate herself or a single ally that she can see who is within 30 feet of her. She can move that creature as if it were subject to jester’s jaunt. Once targeted by this hex, the ally cannot be the target of this hex again for 24 hours.
Well, that is a pretty awesome move, Mara. Thanks for that!
Now I’m glad I kept the attack rolls instead of escaping. I spent a couple of ki points that round, and maybe it’s a waste due to that random miss chance.
_____
@Dervak, no problem on the suggestions. I’ve yet to play a high-level AP, so I’m not used to the bigger numbers or life-saving magic.
_____
@GM, I went through the trouble to display alternate damage since I get +2d6 for my second hit vs. same enemy, and from the 3rd hit on, +4d6.
I will consistently have the 2d6 or 4d6 at the end of my roll so you know what damage to deduct once you get used to damage.
Question for you, is that the easiest way? To just add 2d6/4d6 as the last part of my roll, leaving it to you to figure out which d6s don’t count due to misses?
~OR~
An alternative would be to roll all of the d6s at the end. So after you’ve done all the work figuring out DR and all that, then you can add the jab damage based on how many attacks I landed.
…like this:
…or this:
And yes, 6 hits will be possible next level vs a tripped opponent. 7 hits if I leg sweep and ki strike. Or zero if I don’t survive level 10.
In case the newcomers didn't catch the description, this level appears to be warded with Guards and Wards.
Fog: Fog fills all corridors, obscuring all sight, including darkvision, beyond 5 feet. A creature within 5 feet has concealment (attacks have a 20% miss chance). Creatures farther away have total concealment (50% miss chance, and the attacker cannot use sight to locate the target). Saving Throw: none. Spell Resistance: no.
Confusion: Where there are choices in direction—such as a corridor intersection or side passage—a minor confusion-type effect functions so as to make it 50% probable that intruders believe they are going in the opposite direction from the one they actually chose. This is a mind-affecting effect. Saving Throw: none. Spell Resistance: yes.
So I guess we don't actually know where the angel statues are.
@Allegra, high numbers favor the player. (I know because I missed once the first round.)
@Allegra, high numbers favor the player. (I know because I missed once the first round.)
Doesn't really matter when the attack roll was a 1 :]
@Allegra, what kind of action is it for you to use that Godclaw major blessing?
@Dervak just a bit of flavor for slam attack plus grab no real movement.
@Pocky the way you're writing damage up now is great.
Working on resolution now.
@Dervak, it's a standard to use Blessings unless otherwise stated, which limits its usefulness. It'd be a great candidate for Quicken Blessing though.
Damn... with Theo moved, I can flying kick. (30ft move through air + full attack.) But so far, the attacks are inflicting way more damage than 28, which is my health at the moment.
Do keep in mind that Mara will not be able to use Heaven's Leap on you again today if you should get grappled. It is once per day per target.
Oh, darn... I posted too slow. I was actually going to use that space where Theo was. My thought was to send Pocky in with a flying kick (part of flurry), then sidestep (5ft step) so I don’t remain in reach of whatever attack will inflict insta-kill damage.
I’ll see if Allegra moves to center position, but will probably attack either way.
I don't believe you can 5' step in a round in which you move, even with Flying Kick. It is like how you cannot Charge and then 5' step - it is "moving," not "taking a move action to move," that inhibits 5' steps. There are a few feats that get around this limitation however. It does not look like Jabbing Dancer is quite the answer in this case.
My intent in moving aside was to let Allegra attack without cover - she has a nice high-damage hit for foes with DR, but her attack bonus isn't particularly high. She also has a much higher AC than you do (and is at full HP - or at least I thought she was) so it makes more sense to let her rotate into the central spot.
But if you think you can finish this thing off, have at it...
Yes, I believe you are correct: no 5ft step.
I would rather take the corner position and let Allegra have the center.
I think our chances of succeeding here went up dramatically when it failed its save vs Misfortune. We shall see.
Do keep in mind that Mara will not be able to use Heaven's Leap on you again today if you should get grappled. It is once per day per target.
If it grabs me, I think the damage will kill me.
I’m not sure what the DR is, but if a 32 hits, my attack is 130 damage before DR, assuming lightning-immunity. (144 with the lightning.) Here’s hoping that does the trick if Allegra and Ci-Ci don’t finish it first!
EDIT - Really hoping to kill it without using the Ki Strike, but if it dies only because I did use the Ki Strike, that will be a ki point well spent.
I think it is immune to crits, resistant to electricity, and seems to have DR 5. Even so that's a lot of damage you just did.
Ah... so that’s 126 without the crit. 106 with DR5 x4, and 14 of that is lightning (1, 2, 5 & 6), so if it’s resist 5, that’s 93 damage. (92 if lightning-immune, or resist > 5.)
Again, that’s assuming a 32 hits.
Yeah, the jabbing master racks up a lot of damage if you can keep hitting one target.
The Necklace of Adaption largely overlaps with Mara's Void Adaption Greater Spirit Ability:
Void Adaptation (Su): The shaman gains darkvision 60 feet. If she already possesses darkvision, the range instead increases by 30 feet. In addition, the shaman can see in supernatural darkness, is constantly under the effects of endure elements, and doesn’t need to breathe.
She already has a Ring of Feather Falling.
The competence bonus from the rod of escape won't stack with Liberating Command, which Mara generally has memorized once.
The necklace of adaptation would be Ci Ci's first choice, but I will be happy to discuss and consider if anyone else wants it.
Would love a feather fall ring, which was something I considered for a starting item. I do have jumping and flying abilities, so it’s not so much about needing the ring to save myself from an Acro fail. More about if I need to fly up to get something, I can make the return trip without spending more ki.
Pocky can become insubstantial and fly for 1 minute at the cost of 3 ki.
Dervak currently has a Swarmbane Clasp in his neck slot and I dread that as soon as a I swap it out I will regret it... but we do now have a blaster in Cerise that we didn't have really ever before.
And Theophilus can now summon things that can do some blasting, I think.
So maybe swarms are not as big a problem, and a Necklace of Adaptation should be in Dervak's future at some point. The Ring of Feather Falling is good, but Dervak could also look to get a Page of Spell Knowledge with that spell. Would actually be even better for Cerise to get that spell known since she has so many more 1st-level slots than Dervak does (and you can cast it on allies who are falling).
The Rod of Escape seems quite pricey for the limited amount that it does compared to a Ring of Freedom of Movement. Holding it to get the "never pinned" bonus would prevent use of a two-handed weapon, and being just regular-grappled seriously hinders spellcasting. So only Pocky would seem to have any use for it. May be best to sell it if we are given the Elder's things as a reward.
Mara certainly isn't interested in the Ring of Blood Calling. It seems like something that Allegra or Theo would consider.
Mara would take the potion of Gaseous Form if no-one else wanted it, but she has other options to escape: using Time Flicker to activate Blink.
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Given the gear, it seems like this guy was well-prepared against a number of eventualities and hazards. Except, I suppose, raw damage.
Has Dervak's Swarmbane Clasp ever been useful? I don't think so... but I am definitely not going to complain about a PF AP having too few swarms... I hate swarms and am happy to have the Clasp as insurance.
The Rod of Escape seems quite pricey for the limited amount that it does compared to a Ring of Freedom of Movement. Holding it to get the "never pinned" bonus would prevent use of a two-handed weapon, and being just regular-grappled seriously hinders spellcasting. So only Pocky would seem to have any use for it.
I’d be happy to keep the rod. It doesn’t hurt Pocky’s fighting style at all.
I still have the talisman of beneficial winds and a potion of vanish from earlier in the game.
I'm more than willing to put them in the pot in exchange for the necklace of adaptation, if that helps!
Allegra will take the ring of Blood Calling for now, it could be useful in a pinch but I'm up for selling it when we have a chance.
@Theo, I meant to make a new post, but must have been editing a typo when I saw yours, then I just added the roll. Well... it’s posted now, so I’ll leave it, unconcerned that the dice are all over the place. But should I be? Is it bad luck to have aces and eights in your healing rolls?
Violent “Aces and Eights” scene from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Wand of cure moderate wounds 34/28
I'm surprised make whole isn't on anyone's spell list.
I think it's on Allegra's spell list. It's too situational for Mara to take with her Favored Class Bonus.