I can go either way as far as adding a new player goes.
I like the current party.
That being said, without a tank or healer (or a healing tank) things will be difficult and (I suspect) more difficult moving forward.
FYI, here are the instructions I have for the Steadfast Grapple:
Steadfast Grapple: This iron grappling hook is attached to a 50-foot length of silk rope. When a steadfast grapple is thrown, it automatically hits and attaches to any targeted object or structure within range of its rope. Against creatures, the wielder must make attack rolls as normal. Once attached, a steadfast grapple can only be removed with a DC 30 Strength check, the command word, or magic such as dispel magic.
So, if Lark wanted to attach the grapple to kech #2, would that be a touch attack since they're adjacent?
If it were attached, what would happen if Lark jumped off the tree? Are the kech big and strong enough to easily take his weight? Or might it be pulled out of the tree and (hopefully) take a bad fall?
In my ideal scenario Lark would hit the end of the rope and transfer his momentum to the kech. If the kech is yanked from the tree it would fall the entire distance while Lark has a shorter/gentler fall.
You would have to make a normal melee attack with an improvised weapon adjacently, or a normal ranged attack with an improvised weapon from far away. (Grappling hooks, magical or otherwise, in general require a normal attack roll, not a touch attack, and in particular because you need to lodge the hook in the kech's flesh, not simply poke him, you definitely need a normal attack for this purpose.)
As for the effect--I am reading this as you are jumping straight down 50 feet. Unless you are protected by something I've forgotten about, you would take normal falling damage minus whatever is mitigated by any Acrobatics you succeed on.
When you landed, you could see if the force was sufficient to yank the kech off the tree. Note that the rope is exactly 50 feet long and you are 50 feet above ground, so you would fall the exact length of the rope, which has a chance of leaving the kech in place--though I guess technically he is 5 feet away from you so there's a little more yanking room there. So yeah, there's a chance that by the time you land you have tugged on him hard enough to try to pull him down.
I'd call this Bull Rush combat maneuver, with a bonus that accounts for the boost physics is giving you. Once landing on the ground, provided you're still conscious, you'd make a Combat Maneuver check to trip him, and I'd say add +5 to the roll (+1 for every foot fallen). If you succeed well enough (5 plus his CMD because you need him to move 10 feet to enter the air), you should yank him forward enough that he'd fall off the tree. You'd provoke no AOO because you are at a distance.
Come to think of it, you might also need to succeed on a Reflex save or have the kech land on you and take damage from that. I'm not noting that to be mean--just the way I'm picturing this, you're falling and pulling him forward, there's a good chance he'd fall straight on top of you.
Does that make sense?
If you wanted to travel across the trees horizontally, and then tug on the rope to pull him off the tree, that would also be a combat maneuver, but I'd say there'd be no bonus to the roll--your advantage would be that you could be performing a combat maneuver at range. The risk of this maneuver is he could well yank YOU to the ground. You'd need to make a Reflex save to yell the command word at just the right time: to release him after he fell but before you were pulled down too.
Thanks for helping me think this through. Jumping down this way doesn't sound great. The idea of a Combat Maneuver from distance is interesting. It's not Lark's forte, but something to keep in mind. Maybe I should hand off the grapple to Thren after all. They have a better feel for this whole swashbuckling thing ;)
Following up on the recruitment idea:
I asked one person who I know would be a good fit with a group, but they don't have time.
I will probably ask a gaming group I'm with IRL if anyone's interested, though I expect they are either not into or don't have time for PBP (or alternately, are not interested in Pathfinder or me as a GM).
If I find no one to play, I could open up a recruitment thread here at the boards. My thought is I'd select a few applicants who might suit (letting you know via PM or email) and you all could vote on them via PM or email).
I'll reiterate for this particular campaign I have some reservations about recruiting from the public in the boards. Had this been a game I had recruited from from the get-go in that way it'd be no issue, but I am very sensitive to the idea that we all know each other in person to some degree and recruiting a person from the Internet, especially if it's someone I/we have little familiarity with even from board interaction, is going to have simply a different sense of and relationship with this group, and that can change the group dynamic. (And I would say something to that effect if we did put up a recruitment thread.) The one person I did ask, I do only know from these boards but that was someone who I just thought would probably work well; I don't want to keep trying to recruit individually however, as that gets time consuming on my part.
Part of my concern stems from the fact that I have indeed played in PBPs where it is a mixed group of people the GM knows personally and those he doesn't; in some of these cases it appeared the GM tended to play favorites with his personal friends and/or one could still sense a different dynamic between known players and Internet-anonymous players. I don't want to create that same tension, even if unwittingly. Obviously I don't want to play favorites and do want to play fair, but I am sensitive to appearances as well as unconscious biases. Heck, even with Wahhe's player, I felt like though I know him, he only knew I think KeefX a little whereas you all have played together and with me longer, and that affected perspectives and influences upon the game.
I don't want you guys feeling like you're high and dry without a fourth (or fifth) party member, but these are my concerns. I do think you can do fine without an extra party member but it does make balancing combats challenging (for you and me both).
There are other alternatives as well. If of course you're aware of someone who you think might do well in this group by all means let me know.
There's also an option of, if you wanted, having one or even all of you play two characters. I feel like that might get confusing, and might be unlikely since I know you all are rather busy. But it is another solution.
ON ANOTHER MORE GENERAL NOTE... you are in section 3/3 of chapter 2 (of 3) of book 2 (of 5? 6? I don't remember). At the end of this section there will be a very very good place for someone to join the crew.
Once chapter 3 of book 2 begins, it would be harder to bring someone in, although there might be a spot here or there I could shoehorn them in. But the next good spot to recruit someone would be at the end of this book.
And of course at the end of this book (which I reckon will take a few months to get through at our pace), we will review even if we want to continue going into book 3 or just ending the campaign there (or if some want to stay and some find it an opportune time to bow out--though of course if you have to, you can leave at any time [not that I want you to!]). I'm still game for running this as long as people want to keep going but it's good to know where we're at.
Hmm.
I hadn't thought about the possibilities of having second characters. That depends on us, of course. If that's the easiest route, it might be worth it. Given our busy schedules IRL, that might or might not work as you've said.
As an alternate suggestion (but related to the two character idea), we've already discussed me taking Leadership down the road. If we go the two-character route, it might work out if each of us instead of building whole-new characters takes an NPC as the second character. For example, maybe Lark would run Rosie and Lee would run Cog. Just spitballing here.
As for wanting to continue: yes. I'm having the most fun when I get to (try) to buckle swashes, which to me is a good way to make this campaign work for good-aligned characters.
Hey, sorry I've been AFK these past couple of weekends. The move is still eating up a lot of that time. I expect I'll be slow next weekend as well, but after that I hope it will get better.
Running a second character could be tricky, but also an interesting experiment. I wouldn't be adverse to taking Leadership along with Lathiira. Followers for everyone!
Does Lee still have a round 3 action or did I miscount? 1. Web, 2. Magic Missile, 3. ?
Ah, you are correct. He posted so I counted that as taking his turn, but he actually didn't do anything but talk. Lee are you doing anything or was bantering with Thren your turn?
I hope Lee doesn't feel like he has to pick up all of Lark's slack in both damage dealing and banter. Lark hasn't been great in either for this fight. I hope I can make some progress in at least one of those areas ;)
Actually, he's picking up my slack for damage and yours for banter ;)
Regarding the "carved scepter of bone which works as a wand of cure light wounds" we've just received - I was going to mark it as going to Lee on the loot sheet. Does that make sense to y'all?
It should go to Thren as she is the only one who can use it.
I'll put it on my sheet then. Full charges (50)?
Yep. (Full disclosure: that was not the default reward for the quest, but since you're not going to have a healer for a little bit, I figured that would be helpful to keep y'all going.)
Griping about module writing time: one section of this part of the adventure says, the lizardfolk don't go to the temple because it is taboo. On the next page, it says the lizardfolk maintain the path to the temple so that they can visit it. I did my best to make up something that made sense so that both are in effect true.
Do you ever get the impression that no one wants to pay editors anymore? Even the biggest publishers seem to put out way too much sloppy work.
Great job doing Paizo's work for them. I really like Krentak's story.
Well, fortunately they hire much better editors these days. ;)
(Psst, check out my profile. :) )
This module just weirdly seems to have some detail issues.
I can't seem to post in the gameplay thread.
Even after posting here (and now editing) successfully, the post in gameplay doesn't seem to take. I'll try again later.
Test posting as Lark.
Yep. Still works over here and not in the Gameplay thread. I just tried from my phone as well - same result.
My post finally worked, apparently.
They've been updating the board, which appears to involve breaking a lot of code and then fixing it. :) I figured we would all be a bit delayed because of the updates.
I had trouble logging on today.
Obviously I'm on now...
Whatever maintenance and whatnot they're doing keeps hitting in the morning when I tend to post, though it also hit a bit at night over the weekend.
Yeah. I'm trying to give some extra time since the board's been so wonky.
I'm finally back on...
Lucky for us none of us are birds. Or failed too horribly on Perception!
That is terrifying.
When the module gives you a creature who is supposed to provide exposition, but also only speaks Auran.
BTW realized I hadn't updated the campaign summary of events AT ALL for this whole module. The events are now up to date. Also added how much infamy you have.
I will be around for most of the holiday weekend save Thanksgiving day itself. I know your own updates may be slow, so I just moved us a little further forward. Have a great turkey day!
Thank you. Have some for me. I will be working my normal hours and thus have no holiday.
I'm around for most of the holidays as well.
I'll probably be out for most of Thanksgiving day is all.
Have a great Thanksgiving, all.
Happy holiday, y'all, and good luck to Lathiira!
:( Lathiira. You working Friday?
No. I'll get home Friday morning at 7 am, then off Friday and Saturday. Thursday night hopefully won't be too bad, going in at regular hour for a change.
Good, at least you're out on Black Friday.
Walmart is holding its 'Black Friday' sale at 6 pm on Thanksgiving. I'll be due at work at 10 pm to put the store back together.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
What is crazy about that is the bizarro people who will actually come into shop rather than stay at home on a holiday. I want to hate stores for doing that, but they wouldn't if the customers didn't come.
I love humanity, but god, I hate people.
Oh, I agree. The ones that are my 'favorites' (read: put on the top of the list to throw in the way of a hungry zombie horde first) are the ones wishing associates a Happy Thanksgiving...not realizing they're denying people that holiday by wandering around the store shopping.
Just so I'm clear - Lark's STR penalty does not change his carrying capacity and weight-based encumbrance? The rules discussions I found seemed to confirm this, but I want to be sure we're on the same page.
If Lark's STR was actually 6, then just wearing his armor and weapons would put him at a medium load. His movement would be reduced to 20' and he'd have a check penalty of -3.
Since this is just a STR penalty, he gets -3 on STR checks and STR-based attack rolls, but not on much else. Is that right?
FYI, the move and attack I'm planning for round 1 should be possible either way, so hopefully it's not an issue yet.
Also - we should probably do some of that planning stuff we so often forget about.
It's too late for round 1, but should Lark charge forward and try to hinder Mother Grund's spellcasting?
Can Muffin open the crate so Lee doesn't have to spend a move-action (or whatever it takes)?
Any other bright ideas?
You're right about the Strength penalty. No effect on encumbrance (I had to check that one out too).
Lathiira is correct.
Muffin lacks the opposable appendages and strength required to pull off the large lid.
It would be a move action to glance at the note and a move action to open the crate.
It would be a full-round action (six full seconds) to fully read the note, and a full-round action to take a full assessment of the crate's contents.
I'm sorry I forgot to show my math, but I think Lark still hit that fish. Normally Lark has +7 to hit (see his attack in round 2). Less 4 Dex from the grapple drops that +5 and then -2 to attack (also grapple) gives a final bonus of +3.
In cases of stat reduction (e.g. -4 dex from grapple) do you want that subtraction called out in the attack roll? In this case, do want the the roll to look like
1d20 + 7 - 2 - 2
or
1d20 + 5 - 2
It's just a quibble, but the dex penalty reduces Lark's attack bonus, where the attack penalty literally subtracts from the result of the roll.
My bad, Lark. I somehow confused your perception check for your attack roll. You are right, you did hit and the fish is down. I repeat, the fish is down. You did not lose 2 HP and you are now no longer grappled. I apologize.
Usually a breakdown of math helps me see what has and hasn't been added, e.g. either 7 -2 -2 .
So, Lee is grappled and just sucked up a Standard Action trying to Escape Artist his way free. So he's a little stuck.
Lee's current CMD (due to Grease) is 24. Even though Mother Gund only rolled a 16, that was enough to grapple his then-CMD of 14. If she has to re-check, she'll check against 24.
Have I interpreted that correctly? Lee doesn't just walk away from her based on his new CMD of 24, right?
Correct, at least as I see it. The grease is not retroactive--she already got her hands wrapped around you, her hands do not automatically unwrap. But it is now easier for you to slip out of her grasp and harder for her to maintain her hold (if she wants to keep grappling you, she will now have to beat a CMD of 24).