GMDQ's Skull and Shackles (Inactive)

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A small band of mariners find themselves press-ganged into service on the Wormwood, led by the fearsome Barnabas Harrigan. Will they turn their misfortune to glory on the high seas, or will folly lead them to an ignominious watery death?


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Male

Thermopyle--feel free! It's not really "mine," though. I've seen lots of people on these boards use italics for inner monologue/thoughts. Bold seems to be standard for dialogue, and blue for OOC. The most creative I've seen is bold italics for telepathy and/or sign language (I have a character in another game who signs).


Lark's starting spot would have been up at the front with Emberar. He didn't want to leave Emberar standing by himself, so he opted to step into the attack.


When I moved Lark's token on the map I moved Emberar's as well. Did I get the positioning right?


Forces of Nature Battlemap

So now is a time to remind folks of the "first resurrect is free" rule that I have.

Your first death, you will find a way to revive but gain a battle scar, similar to the system outlined in the Skull and Shackles Player's Guide. I'll select a few appropriate scars to choose from and let Threnody's player know (whom I will in fact see tomorrow and I'm sure he'll be delighted to have the discussion).

If someone dies a second time, you'll probably have to seek out a raise dead, etc. spell as usual.


What do y'all think, grab Thren's body and go (leaving the horn) or try and tough it out?


Female Elf Bard (scholar of legends) 20

Point of logic: how're you going to open the front door to our little domicile?

RPG Superstar 2015 Top 8

If it's just about Muffin getting help, he can fly fast enough to get to the rear cave entrance, or dimension door past it (the door is heavily protected, but it isn't warded against teleportation) (in fact he'll probably fly up and look for the lighthouse or observatory hatch and then teleport inside).

If it's the party, they'll have to abandon the front door (especially since you also were the only person to figure out how to "trick" the door with playing the right tune with ghost sound), and use Lark's hat to sail to the cove entrance.


Female Elf Bard (scholar of legends) 20

It was for the party. Muffin I presumed could fly to the rear cave.


Sounds like one vote for leaving, maybe one and half since I'm waffling. Keefx - what are your thoughts?

Emberar kept attacking, and missed both times, right?


If leaving will save Thren, then I'm okay with it.
What will this kind of defeat do to our piraty reputation?
Lee will continue covering the party's retreat so his actions will be pretty much the same as fighting, for this round at least


Forces of Nature Battlemap

Threnody is saved at this point, by expenditure of hero points. I initially declared her death prematurely, forgetting she had enough hero points to save herself. It is of course possible she could take more damage and then be killed, such as if an area of effect were to strike where she was.

On the other hand, since she is NOT dead (and you can notice she is somehow by some miracle still breathing), she could also be healed, such as by Emberar's magic or Muffin's lay on hands ability, and brought back into the fight.

The question is, whether you revive her or not, do you want to finish this fight now or later?

Muffin right now is also running for reinforcements.

As for reputation--no one will know about it except the crew Muffin is running for. Whether you want to do something to impress your crew later is up to you.


Male Half-Elf Cleric of Keltheald 6/Horizon Walker 1 | HP: 79/79 | AC/T/FF: 19/12/18 | F+9 R+4 W+8 (+2 v. enchant) | CMD 19 (23 v. overrun/trip) | Channel: 4/4 | Agile Feet 5/5 | ToC 5/5

I mean...with one character already down, finishing the fight is gonna be pretty rough. I didn't have any luck hitting there, and in the zone of silence I can't cast--not to heal Thren or anything else.

So, yeah...I'm inclined toward skedaddling!


Female Elf Bard (scholar of legends) 20

Discretion is the better part of valor as they say. The main issue is how to successfully disengage while carrying about 150 lbs. of unconscious bard without anyone else getting skewered.


I think Aghra said "leave or die" - I assume that implies leaving without further fighting. Anyway, that's what Lark's going to try.


Forces of Nature Battlemap

Aghra said to leave the horn, and go or die.

The problem is only Lee and Muffin heard it, and have not communicated this in any way to the rest of the group.

But of course you can try to do what you think is sensible if you wish to retreat.


Female Elf Bard (scholar of legends) 20

I'm not sure we do 'sensible'. The odds of it may or may not have increased with an insensate bard :-)


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Forces of Nature Battlemap

You have successfully given the front door key to your stronghold to a pair of evil giants.

What's next?


Female Elf Bard (scholar of legends) 20

Depends. Now that we're out of there, does Thren wake up when Sunstruck heals her? You and I had talked about if she might have something happen while she's unconscious if but briefly.

Other than that, the evil giants can now try to take over the world? At least the Shackles?


Male Half-Elf Cleric of Keltheald 6/Horizon Walker 1 | HP: 79/79 | AC/T/FF: 19/12/18 | F+9 R+4 W+8 (+2 v. enchant) | CMD 19 (23 v. overrun/trip) | Channel: 4/4 | Agile Feet 5/5 | ToC 5/5

We can always launch a quest to get it back? ;)


Female Elf Bard (scholar of legends) 20

The quest for the front door key! LOL


Probably it's more likely that a horde of evil, one-eyed giants will show up at our front door and try to boot us out. We should be ready to fight hard or vacate quickly.


Female Elf Bard (scholar of legends) 20

One) Given our first encounter with the evil one-eyed giants, fight hard would likely end with 'be flat'.

Two) Party pooper! ;-)


Forces of Nature Battlemap

This is not the first time KeefX has expressed to me his imaginings of a huge horde of cyclops around the corner somewhere, and while I should as usual warn the group not to give me ideas, I'm not sure where he thinks I've put them all.

Then again, all it appears to take you down is two, who now have a chance to rest and replenish their resources, so, I'm not sure how many more I need anyway. :)


Female Elf Bard (scholar of legends) 20

Yeah, they do have us rather outnumbered at two don't they?

Good to hear that it's not me giving you ideas for a change!


Speaking of replenishing, we could just turn right around and restart that fight. We burned a bunch of magic, but so did that Shamaness.


There's obviously only two cyclopses that we know of.
Probably there's no more actually living on our largely unexplored island. I mean, where could they be on a largely unexplored island? Certainly not the unexplored parts. That's just crazy talk.


Female Elf Bard (scholar of legends) 20

Wow, and people say that I'm negative. Maybe we can deal with the two we've got before finding more? Especially since if we manage to do that, we get the front door key back? Maybe I can bury under a rock outside like people leaving the spare key under the front door mat should we go exploring to find more evil one-eyed giants.

Oh, by the way, that spoilered stuff was great GMDQ. Loved it!


Male Half-Elf Cleric of Keltheald 6/Horizon Walker 1 | HP: 79/79 | AC/T/FF: 19/12/18 | F+9 R+4 W+8 (+2 v. enchant) | CMD 19 (23 v. overrun/trip) | Channel: 4/4 | Agile Feet 5/5 | ToC 5/5

It’s true that they did spend a bunch of resources on that fight...but on the other hand, what if they’re about to go get more Cyclopes? Not sure what the right play is here, but it’s certainly dramatic! ;)


Forces of Nature Battlemap
KeefX wrote:

There's obviously only two cyclopses that we know of.

Probably there's no more actually living on our largely unexplored island. I mean, where could they be on a largely unexplored island? Certainly not the unexplored parts. That's just crazy talk.

Normally, I would love to let you suffer under the weight of your own rampant speculation. However, I worry that firstly, it is preventing you from moving forward, and secondly, that you're focusing on a lot of what-might-bes instead of on the actual details you have before you. Planning ahead is fine, but you need to plan ahead by paying attention to the actual details you have, not what just what you're anxious about. :)

So for the interests of moving forward:

If you have dutifully reviewed the information on the campaign tab, and I know you do so frequently and diligently, including the map of Brightglass Island, you'll note that the Island is at its widest point around 3 miles wide. This is not a huge place. You have sailed around it several times at this point (and no, for that matter, you've never seen an intact sailing vessel anywhere around here).

You didn't spot Arakh and Aghra because they are indeed conveniently nestled in a little corner of the cliffs with a little cave and there's only two of them. There are reasons why they are there. Unfortunately, with the way things panned out, you'll probably not get their whole backstory. Which is okay, it is not at all important to your story. This is a "I-am-winging-it" sandbox mode, so most little sidequests appearing right now are probably not going to play into your overall adventure.

A large civilization of giants present on the island would be visible from sailing around the island--cookfires, gaps in the trees from cutting them down to build, more creatures being hunted down, etc. You have seen no such signs.

Moreover, you guys were extremely loud and present and making yummy smells from cookfires during your celebration night on the island after killing Orsilir. (Something Emberar sadly was not present for but everyone else was.)

Presuming that a large group of giants live on the island and DIDN'T notice that and didn't come investigate, let alone come slaughter you while you were all drunk and unawares is in fact "crazy talk."

Also bear in mind the ultimate purpose of this downtime is to eventually visit other ports, trade, and get crew. Quite frankly I'm not putting anything on this island that is going to occupy you for too long.

Speculate, plan, but again, please take note of the details of things that have already occurred rather than worrymonger.

I apologize if this is handholding, I just would like you to focus on the situation before you and keep moving.

Thank you. As always suggestions, feedback, and other insights are welcome.


So we aren't playing the "Giants Invade The Shackles" spin off campaign?


Forces of Nature Battlemap

Well, I was talking with someone the other day about looking into "Giantslayer" next but I wasn't thinking of combining the two... yet. ;)


Female Elf Bard (scholar of legends) 20

I'll volunteer for Giantslayer next. But first, let's practice on the ones we've got!


Do we want to do some of our planning over here so we can more easily discuss spells and abilities?

For example, Bull's Strength is probably better for Emberar than Lark. Lark uses Dex for attack and damage rolls.


Female Elf Bard (scholar of legends) 20

Luckily, Thren knows cat's grace and hook up Lark. Not to mention heroism, haste, blur.


Lee still has some Haste.
Our best bet, though, is doing something other than meeting strength with strength. If we could use mind affecting magic, for example, to shut down the ranger fellow instead of fighting him we'll probably be happier.
I think handling this like a team that is diplomacy/intrigue optimized rather than combat optimized will yield better results for us.


Female Elf Bard (scholar of legends) 20

Well then...who has magic that's mind-affecting?

*crickets chirp*

Your spells known focus on blasting (not exclusive to that, however). Mine are buffing spells. Emberar's got the cleric list, not the best for playing with people's brains but it's doable. That's why I'm aiming for a solution that is also intrigue-optimized: stealth. If I wanted strength to strength, invisibility wouldn't be part of the plan.

Now let's say we rested up and Emberar pulled out some spells to shut down their hitter. You've seen how the dice roll. It's still going to be iffy. Not to mention their caster might negate them (protection from good is a thing). Spells that allow saves are always a die roll away from either failure or greatness.

Right now, both sides have used some resources. We have more spells than they do by virtue of having more casters and having used less during the battle (though Sunstruck used a lot to heal Thren). We went into the first round with a nearly full spell complement. That didn't go well. What did go pretty well was that we snuck up pretty close to start. There's luck there too, admittedly. But protective spells and buffs only last so long. Given our superior magical abilities, that shamaness/adept/cleric/oracle probably doesn't have a lot of useful magic to spare right now and her protections/buffs have likely worn off. We renew ours (or get to use them in my case), that gives us an edge.

We will always struggle against big bruisers. Us original three pirates are lightly-armored (or unarmored for Lee), 3/4 or 1/2 BAB classes. Big creatures have reach, lots of hp, lots of Strength to take Power Attack and like big weapons. Thren's outburst was an in-game way of saying we need to do more than just waltz into combat. We tried talking, it didn't go well (for in-game reasons). So now we need to play to our strengths. Spells are a strength. Stealth is a strength. But none of us are designed for save-or-suck (mind-affecting goes into this category). I must allow for the fact that more die rolls means more chances of a failure. But it's not the gamble of finding one good spell and taking out their beef in this case. It's more like redundancy.

So using magic to negate their hitter is a good thought. The sorcerer spell list has tons of battlefield control spells on it, as well as save or suck, save or die, utility too. If I've forgotten a key spell you know for this idea, let 'er rip. Otherwise...we're back to theorycrafting and speculation.


This analysis sounds right to me. Diplomacy seems right out and intrigue in combat means stealth, buffs and positioning, right? Also mind-affecting, but as stated we're very limited in that area.

KeefX - I am here for an intrigue-based plan, but can you flesh it out? I can picture the outlines of Lathiira's plan (sneak in, backstab, fireball...). Are you thinking more sneaking, maybe try and steal their weapons or lay traps?

Resting seems like it'd help them more than us. I suppose we could come back with Quinn and maybe some archers. Unless they could get here very quickly (this same day). How long do you suppose for Quinn and a few others to gear up and sail around to meet us at the beach? Also, can Muffin deliver those kind of specific instructions? Also, also are we willing to put Cog or Roise or Yamtisy in that kind of PC-level danger?

I'm still leaning toward Thren's in-character ideas. We need to preserve Lee's spells. So just Emberar invisible. Thren, Lark and Emberar sneak until Lark steps on a twig. Then Lark is bait with Emberar as backup. Right so far?


Male Half-Elf Cleric of Keltheald 6/Horizon Walker 1 | HP: 79/79 | AC/T/FF: 19/12/18 | F+9 R+4 W+8 (+2 v. enchant) | CMD 19 (23 v. overrun/trip) | Channel: 4/4 | Agile Feet 5/5 | ToC 5/5

I do think that trying to pull the big guy away and take him down fast might be a good idea. If I don't have to use spells to heal Thren, I have a lot more on tap but not all of them are helpful.

It doesn't look like we ever made a Knowledge check to see if we could remember anything helpful about Cyclopes...can anyone besides me make it? I can try one, but my bonus isn't high.


Forces of Nature Battlemap

Your check was adequate enough.

Muffin left to go get help from the crew. He needs to fly over the cliffs, into the back cave, and find an appropriate authority figure. With his fly speed it will probably only take him a few minutes to get where he is going---5 min tops? But then you don't know how they will respond or what they will do--though since they can't open the front door, they will also either have to find an unorthodox way to depart (I don't think any of them can fly, however) or man a launch and sail out to the north side of the island. It's hard to gauge exactly how long that will take, though given how small the island is, certainly within the same day.

It's probably been 5-10 minutes or so since you've left the fight.

Invisibility denies the attacked target Dex to their Armor Class, btw.


If we are avoiding a strength vs strength conflict we probably need to reset our spells. Certainly Lee wouldn't be participating in that, though. His build philosophy has more to do with ship-to-ship warfare than subtle mind control.

I think Lee has a decent chance of stripping away some Cyclopean buffs with Dispell Magic. His next most subtle spell would then be Fireball.


Female Elf Bard (scholar of legends) 20

My main worry is that only one of us, Sunstruck, can truly reset spells. Lee and Thren as spontaneous casters reload, but we don't reset, least how I look at it. Then the cyclopes will reset their spells and abilities too. Getting stabbed, impaled, smashed, or blasted because they reset whatever abilities they've got won't be pleasant. The hunter used his big gun impaling Thren, which will reset again if we rest I bet.


Forces of Nature Battlemap

Question about dispel magic I'm suddenly unsure on -- is the enemy caster level you're countering just their actual caster level (like for Lee or Thren it would be 7) or is it the minimum caster level required to cast a given spell?

KeefX, IIRC you also have web, yes? Which always impedes movement even if the target saves against being entangled, which makes it a very effective battle control spell.

This is not a suggestion to use it, you're just saying your next spell is fireball and I'm trying to remember the other 3rd level spells you have.


Female Elf Bard (scholar of legends) 20

Dispel magic uses their actual caster level. Once in a while you run into an oddball creature that has a spell at a lower caster level than a normal character can cast it, it's rare but it happens.

Edit: One thing I can't remember for sure, might be a 3.5 holdover. If a monster (e.g. a nymph) has spellcasting abilities and you give it class levels in a matching class (in this case, druid), its caster level increases. So if you gave a nymph on level in druid, it has the class abilities of a 1st level druid, hp equal to its normal hd plus the druid hd, but casts spells as an 8th level druid.

I return you to your game in progress....


Forces of Nature Battlemap

Ah. Since cyclopes don't have natural spellcasting abilities, anything Grandma gets is from her class anyway.


KeefX - if Lee goes invisible will spells like Web break cover? Easier for Lee to spy out magical defenses if he's invisible to start, right?

Emberar - same question. Does it make any sense to hold some buffs until we're closer? Can you cast them without breaking invisibility?


Male Half-Elf Cleric of Keltheald 6/Horizon Walker 1 | HP: 79/79 | AC/T/FF: 19/12/18 | F+9 R+4 W+8 (+2 v. enchant) | CMD 19 (23 v. overrun/trip) | Channel: 4/4 | Agile Feet 5/5 | ToC 5/5

Buffs can be cast without breaking invisibility—generally, any spells that don’t directly target creatures can be cast while invisible, including things like summoning spells and web. There are some grey areas, which are obviously DQ’s call.

As for buffs, the one reason to wait until we’re RELATIVELY close is that a lot of my buffs last minutes/level—so 6 minutes, now. Need to make sure we’re close enough to the fight before casting those, but not yet in Initiative.


Female Elf Bard (scholar of legends) 20

Broad rule: if the spell or ability requires a save, invisibility counts it as an attack and breaks, so web would break invisibility if anyone's in the area when it forms. Summonings are fine, even if they then go off and attack.

My buffs are either 1 min./level or 10 min./level depending on the spell.


Forces of Nature Battlemap

What Lathiira said. But detection, buffing, healing, etc. could be cast safely.


KeefX - if you cloak Emberar and yourself are you comfortable with what that? Does it leave you enough firepower?

So, go ahead and cast any 10 min/level buffs now and then start creeping forward?


Female Elf Bard (scholar of legends) 20

Pretty much yes, I'd say that's the idea.

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