Welcome back!
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I ran "Many Fortunes of GM Torch" yesterday at low tier and it was chaos on the streets of Sedeq. I think the players had a good time - I know I did.
They did the centipedes last. I poisoned the paladin for 3 rounds but he was still in positives and that was the final encounter.
They had more trouble in the secure market only using improvised weapons. I knocked half the party unconscious, and it was a little tense there for a time, but no deaths.
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Lui - I ran that a few weeks ago on the fly (GM didn't show and so I volunteered to run it). I think the group had a fun time - I really played up Torch's debauchery - essentially played him like Colonel Kurtz with a sense of humor. ("You're just errand-boys sent to collect a bill, etc.")
One of the players was funny - he carried around a tower shield and pretty much just hid behind it for each encounter. It was definitely annoying the other players.
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I get why some groups might rate this scenario down but for my play-style it was at least 4 stars.
Then the player tried to use the wheelbarrow in combat. An improvised, bull-rushing melee weapon - we went with it!
Torch said to the group "I will only tell you the 4 names once. If you ask me again It will cost you 10gp per name."
You guessed it, they didn't write the names down the first time and Torch took some of their coin before they left the bath house.
The centipedes didn't last long with the group I ran for, or when we played really. I think it just seemed really long because of the poison stuff.
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So did anybody play with this rule back in the day?
If you subdue a dragon, you will become its master.
Of course subduing (by our rules) would mean to hit at a -4 (which was a big deal pre-3rd edition) and would have to do twice as many hit points the dragon had in damage. You couldn't do any lethal damage, so damaging spells were out.
I think we may have tried it once. But after one party member fell, we unloaded on the dragon.
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We played on the Isle of Dread (X1?) which came with the Expert Rules Boxed Set (IIRC), but with AD&D rules.
But then it woke up and took out one member of the party with its “chlorine gas cloud” breath weapon on the first round. Our plans instantly changed in favor of lethal damage and IIRC less than half the party survived.
Tektite, (I know you’re there!) How was Evil Con?
When is the next one – and any chance of an Evil Con Down Under?
EvilleCon was great! I went into it thinking it would not be successful as there were few to no signups on my Warhorn page. (Found out they didn't link it correctly on the Con site). In the end, we ran thirteen tables Fri through Sun, passed out ten new PFS numbers, and with running to tables a slot, had to wrangle another player to run The Confirmation a couple times for overflow.
Overall a success (not to mention it was an anime con, so all the costumes over the weekend were awesome!) and a great boost to my hopes for the region. I have had trouble getting people to show up to gamedays, but a lot of people expressed interest at the Con.
You don't get con support unless your running fifteen plus tables, so I didn't get any, but was able to give my second GM, my PbP Gameday GM Race boon as thanks and am working with my VC to get something for the guy who stepped up to run.
Finally to the bulette! Of the three, this is my favorite scenario.
Finally to the bulette! Of the three, this is my favorite scenario.
Agreed. This one is pretty fun.
Too bad you couldn't get con support! Only two more tables! Glad to hear it was a success though.
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I am pretty confused about the lethal vs. non-lethal damage thing.
Do the two totals ‘stack’ against the monster’s total hp? For example …
Jaws prowls the Cinderlands with 80 hp when he encounters Ezrek, Sure and Ernest. Ezrek throws a bomb at Jaws, doing 40 points of lethal damage. Ernest decides to take a -4 on his attack roll and his quarterstaff hits for an additional 10 points of non-lethal damage. Sure spends the round distracted by the flight of a Cinderlands day-flying moth.
How much more damage can Jaws take before he falls unconscious?
(a) 30
(b) 40
(c) 70
(d) None of the above.
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I always look at it as Max HP (80) as the Top
0 HP as the Bottom.
When you take regular dmg, you worked Top to Bottom.
When you take non-lethal damage, you work Bottom to Top.
When the two meet and surpass each other, the creature is knocked out.
To answer your question directly, if Jaws takes 31 points of lethal damage, Jaws will be knocked out.
So typically a good strategy is to lay in a few good non-lethal damage shots on the creature. Then you go ahead and unload lethal damage without fear of killing the creature outright.
Nonlethal Damage
Nonlethal damage represents harm to a character that is not life-threatening. Unlike normal damage, nonlethal damage is healed quickly with rest.
Dealing Nonlethal Damage: Certain attacks deal nonlethal damage. Other effects, such as heat or being exhausted, also deal nonlethal damage. When you take nonlethal damage, keep a running total of how much you've accumulated. Do not deduct the nonlethal damage number from your current hit points. It is not “real” damage. Instead, when your nonlethal damage equals your current hit points, you're staggered (see below), and when it exceeds your current hit points, you fall unconscious.
Nonlethal Damage with a Weapon that Deals Lethal Damage: You can use a melee weapon that deals lethal damage to deal nonlethal damage instead, but you take a –4 penalty on your attack roll.
Lethal Damage with a Weapon that Deals Nonlethal Damage: You can use a weapon that deals nonlethal damage, including an unarmed strike, to deal lethal damage instead, but you take a –4 penalty on your attack roll.
Staggered and Unconscious: When your nonlethal damage equals your current hit points, you're staggered. You can only take a standard action or a move action in each round (in addition to free, immediate, and swift actions). You cease being staggered when your current hit points once again exceed your nonlethal damage.
When your nonlethal damage exceeds your current hit points, you fall unconscious. While unconscious, you are helpless.
Spellcasters who fall unconscious retain any spellcasting ability they had before going unconscious.
If a creature's nonlethal damage is equal to his total maximum hit points (not his current hit points), all further nonlethal damage is treated as lethal damage. This does not apply to creatures with regeneration. Such creatures simply accrue additional nonlethal damage, increasing the amount of time they remain unconscious.
Healing Nonlethal Damage: You heal nonlethal damage at the rate of 1 hit point per hour per character level. When a spell or ability cures hit point damage, it also removes an equal amount of nonlethal damage.
I always just think of nonlethal as a separately tracked quantity. When your nonlethal exceeds your current HP, you fall unconscious. If your nonlethal exceeds your maximum HP, it rolls over and starts becoming lethal. So if you only have 30 hp and someone does 40 nonlethal to you, you actually take 30 nonlethal and 10 lethal and immediately fall unconscious because your nonlethal exceeds your current HP.
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You know, I am enjoying it so far. I do feel really bad about the terrible rolls for Farris and Jerrik.
The challenge I'm feeling is just how much I should 'guide' the characters. Especially for these little encounters leading to the crypt itself.
Also, just trying to feel like the pace is good. But for the first almost-week, I feel good. Except for those rolls.
You can make Day Job rolls if you have them. We'll wrap up and I'll get chronicles out in the next couple days.
Is this where I come in........
If that means you are taking over Part III, yes! I've already GM'd it and am pretty swamped with GameDay stuff anyways.
No Day Job for Luisila.
Thanks for running as always, GM Endless!
Woo Hoo! Tektite gaming! I feel very fortunate to have such high quality GMs willing to run games for us.
I am in for part 3.