GM Grecko - CotCT

Game Master Dr Grecko

A reminder of what your Harrow Points can do

Dexterity Rerolls: Spend a Harrow Point to reroll any one Initiative check, Reflex save, attack roll modified by Dexterity, or Dexterity-based skill check. You must abide by the new result (although if you have additional Harrow Points remaining, you can use them to attempt additional rerolls).

Dodge Bonus: Spend a Harrow Point to gain a +1 Dodge bonus to your Armor Class for one encounter. You can spend up to 3 Harrow Points per encounter to increase your Armor Class in this manner.

Speed Increase: Spend a Harrow Point to increase your base speed by 10 feet for one encounter—you cannot spend multiple Harrow Points to increase your speed multiple times in one encounter.

You have 3 to use during the entire first book. Ryder's already used 2 of his (still a long way to go)

How much coin did it take to fish out the info I would have nursed an ale for those 3 hours to fit in

Good question. A gold per hour seems reasonable. My post didn't make it clear, but I had given you a +2 circumstance bonus to your check for buying them beverages.

Did Ryder recognize muldar as the leader of the mob "muldark"?

And was muldar the one standing outside and went in when someone came for meat. Also if muldar is muldark from the mob did Dylan get close enough to recognize him?

First of all... Good catch, I didn't expect anyone to make that connection. No, none of the guys in the shop were the same Thug from the street brawl. And Muldar was the wheezy man behind the counter.. Baldrago was the puffed up guard outside.

You could infer that since the man on the street was not being honest with his real name, that he said the first name that came to his head.. (the mispelling was my fault).

Obviously, what these people in AtWM are doing (aka the free meat program) is resonating with the citizens. But then again... spouting hate speech towards a political body while at the same time giving away free stuff has always been a campaign winner in any election :)

In fact, for making that connection, you can all have another 100xp.

I just thought the thug was not very smart and since I had a good diplomacy check he felt the need to give a name so he lied and Anded a k to his name but now it can be said he purposely changed the name he gave so he would not get in trouble with the real muldar

So, I've determined one 2nd level spell scroll is affordable and not very difficult at all for me to use. Some ideas I had for the encounter are...

Summon Swarm of Spiders - if I can get to a position outside an upstairs window, I can put the swarm inside a room and wreak some havoc - a swarm of diminutive creatures like spiders is immune to weapon attacks.

Hypnotic Pattern - The hope would be I could use this in a way to Facsinate multiple targets, and as long as I keep concentrating on the spell, they stay fascinated. Not sure what we'd do then.

Pyrotechnics - this spell has the potential to either blind a room full of people, or with the smoke option, snub their attack & defense capabilities (Str & Dex penalties). Problem is there needs to be a fire for Ryder to target to cast the spell. Ryder can make a fire with his Spark cantrip, if there's something to ignite (J-Wo - anything in the killing floor or elsewhere Ryder saw he could easily ignite? any already burning candles or torches or anything?)

Invisibility - One of us could go in invisible. Spell ends when an attack is made, so the application is limited.

Thoughts? Ideas?

I bought 4 vials of Soothe Syrup from the party pot (25 gp/ea - loot sheet updated). We'll need to drink these before the encounter to stave off the nausea from the killing floor reek (+5 bonus to saving throw).

J-Wo, is there a mechanism by which Ryder can attempt to determine how effective Color Spray would be on a particular opponent (i.e. determine how many HD the opponent has?)

If you cast detect evil does every one need to be within sight at time of casting or can you cast it and move into and see everyone's aura

How does grapple work and can you assist a grapple? Ie... 4 to 1 and everyone restrains him.

Detect evil is a 60ft cone and lasts as long as you concentrate.. each round I would allow you to move the cone. But keep in mind that you get more info the longer you focus on one area. Check out the spell for those details.

For assisted grapple. Check out Aid Another for the mechanic on how to do that.

I just realized you asked "how" grapple works. Well, it's a bit simpler than it used to be in 3.5 but still pretty complicated.

You make a CMB check (1d20+CMB) against the targets CMD. Without the feat Improved Grapple, you provoke an attack of opportunity from the opponent. IF your grapple is successful you both gain the grappled condition, on the following round, you need to maintain the grapple.. you make another check with a bonus +5 to maintain the grapple.. if you are successful, you can perform a maneuver (pin, move, ect..)

Once you have someone pinned, you can then attempt to tie them up.

Grapple Rules

I've always found it easier to just knock someone out and then tie them up, but we had a monk once who specialized in grapple that managed to pull off the combo all by himself.

Scrolls lists prices for scrolls based on classes, which I presume is the class that made the scroll, right? As a Sorcerer, I can use a scroll that a Wizard made, since it's all arcane magic, and it's all the same spell list, right? So, I can buy scrolls for the prices listed under the Wizard column?

Can I assume that I can find a scroll of whatever in this city?

Is there a mechanism by which Ryder can determine (or have an idea of) the HD of an opponent? (i.e. to get an idea how effective a spell like Color Spray will be on a particular opponent?)

Yes the scroll price is based on the class that made it.. You can assume that Arcane scrolls come from wiz/sorc while divine comes from cleric (unless otherwise specified).

Yes, you will be able to find just about any scroll in this city, or at the very least have it commissioned.

I'm unaware of a mechanic that you can determine a HD of an opponent. There are clues, such as the strength of a creature "Aura" if they have one, or the results of a spell effect on them. I'll do some research to see if I cant find a game mechanic or a good houserule for that.

It may be a good idea to loosen rope around mans neck

I should also explain how I'm running this "choking" scene. One of the loopholes in the pathfinder rules is there really is no "choking" mechanic. What I decided to do is run the "Drowning" rules, but without the holding your breath mechanic. Since choking cuts off oxygen to the brain, it would be very much like you ran out of oxygen in your lungs while drowning.

So we skip holding your breath and move ahead to the Con Checks aspect of drowning.. Fail the con check (which gets harder every round), you go unconscious, next round you go to -1 and start dying... third round, you are dead. I'm only allowing this to be done on helpless creatures.

[url=http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/environment/environmental-rules#TOC-Drowning]Drowning Rules[/dice]

Did Dylan notice anything in the area he is in since I rolled a perception ?

I'd say it depends on whether the choking just stops him from breathing (in which case I'd say he should get some benefit of having some breath to hold, though perhaps truncated because he didn't have an opportunity to prepare to do so - maybe half the rounds that would be normal for breath holding), or if the 'choking' is so extreme that it's restricted bloodflow to the brain (in which case, he'd probably loose conciousness almost immediately).

There is probably a distinction between a blocked airway vs a blocked artery choke that I'll need to make, and I'll take that as a case by case basis.

We could check to see if the back doors are locked and if they are shove mud small pebbles and straw into the mechanism to gum it up so it will not unlock

There is a shop window to break in through is there not. And yes Dylan will cast light into the long sword by saying "let there be light

You make a good point, but you also bring up a flaw in the system. it would be rather ridiculous that it could be broken into via breaking the glass (Hardness 1, HP 1). I wonder if there shouldn't be a lock on the inner door.

Either way I'll just roll with it as is.

You now have a fairly easy entry point. It will still be noisy, and you will need to push your way through the meat racks that display the cuts during the day, but nothing would stop you after that from just unlocking the door and letting the rest of the party inside.

Back in the day would shut their shutters. They were functional back then.

"Shutters!? I hate shutters! Shutters make me crazy!" ~ EWS

Sure we could say theirs shutters, I'm not going to change anything in regards to how to play this out.. Standard action to break the weak opening.. Move action climb through the meat racks.. If you want to unlock the door to let others in, it will be a move action to unlock it (possibly a move to get to the door as well depending on final positioning through the meat racks)

Probably the quickest method would be to have 1 person break the glass during the surprise round and have the others crawl in during that round. Then the surprise round is over and we go to the top of the initiative.

Just remember, during a surprise round, you are limited to a single standard action or a single move action, not both.

*For reference because its bound to come up in the future, a "charge action", which does involve moving, is considered standard action, thus usable during a surprise round.

Crazy?! I was crazy once - they put me in a room with blue shutters... Ah! Shutters! ...

I really dont get this reference.

It's been a while since we had any meaningful combat involving the whole party. So, as a reminder, I need everyone to post what they are going to do, even if it is not "Officially" your turn.

I see posts from each of you (and one who said he was going to post but didn't) Yet no actions were taken. It may be confusion as to what you can and can't do, and if that's the holdup don't hesitate to send me a message so I can clear it up. However to keep the ball rolling, we need to post actions ahead of time, "official" order be damned. Just post an alternate action if the people before you make your original action invalid.

Say for example, with the official order being. Ralof > Amend > Ryder > Dylan.

Amendithas can post, "Assuming Ralof moves up and opens the door, I move into the room and attack the first enemy I see." (and make your attack roll), with his alternate action being "If Ralof doesnt open the door, I will do so, and if I don't have enough movement to move and attack I double move up to the nearest enemy."

A post like Ralof's, which had no actions, when it was actually his turn, may result in me assuming that he is "Holding Action", and I will proceed down the initiative order.

Don't be afraid to take some liberties in an effort to speed up gameplay. My goal isn't to be restrictive in what you do, it is to keep things moving along at as quick a pace as we can make them considering the format. If you have questions don't hesitate to send me a message.

I had planned to post, but saw that I wasn't up first. Didn't want to post out of turn, but I see now that I can. Good to know.

Amendithas attack roll should be 1d20+6+1

I just noticed when he posted last he only did 1d20+2

The plus one is for bless

The plan was do knock them out, not kill them correct? The 1d20+2 represented him taking a -4 to deal non-lethal with a lethal weapon. I forgot to tell him to add the +1 for bless.

In the future, to clear up any confusion, everyone make sure to add that distinction to your rolls.. like this:

Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19 (-4 Non Lethal, +1 Bless)

That should keep things cleared up.

Also Make sure your status tags are updated.. And if you have temporary bonuses add those to them as well.

AC 16 (+2 Shield of Faith); T 12; FF 14 | F+5; R+2; W+0 | Init+2 | Per+0

The bluff was for the truth spell Dylan does not have one to mem and does not exactly what resources he has access to. They were supposed to tell the truth thinking we would find out eventually

I could see either comment being "bluff" worthy.. It was one hell of a bluff check though so nice job. Was surprised he nearly made the sense motive roll.

nice call on the good cop/bad cop thing. It did not even occur to me that is what we were doing.

Indeed.

I was thinking, it might be a good 'rule' for us to always put MAP links at the very bottom of our posts, and avoid burying the link inside the post somewhere - that way, it's easier to find the last map link that was posted... just a thought.

Yeah I agree, I don't like spending time trying to find the last map

Sounds like a good rule.

Side note on this encounter... The book says that 2 of these things is a CR 1 encounter. But the Monster Manual says that 1 of these things is a CR 2 encounter. As a result of the books mistake, I'm going to say that there is only one of these creatures in the pig pens and not two.

These are some pretty badass lil piggies.

Ryder, Ralof, and Amenithas can interrogate Verik some more while I get the wagon

Put your name by whatever you want to keep off the loot sheet. If there's something you want to purchase, put it on the "trade for" sheet and we'll negotiate a discount via trade like we did before. We'll go back to the same shop. We'll hauk the rest (including everything left from the Fishery) then split the cash.

I don't think you added the channel energys to any of the party members when I cast them after the battle.

Anemdithas should be at 15 and everyone else should be full.

Yep.. you're right.. I never updated the tracker.. I think it was updated in a post though..

Anyway, after Amendithas sleeps he will have 17/26 and your CLW in the morning for 9 will bring him to full.

Where is eal's end on the city map?

I updated the City Map link with Eel's End ~ #6.

FYI - I started using the "list" and "favorites" features of the boards... If you go into my wisepeppy profile and click on the "wishlists" tab (a bit of a misnomer, as it is not just wishlists), you'll see my lists. I made one for my own purposes to keep tabs on important posts related to Ryder's character. The other list may be of interest to the rest of you - I'm going to add any posts that are important to gameplay to that list (i.e. meetings with Cressida where she lays it out for us).

As far as my favorites, that's a little more informal, but I'll try to limit my favorites to only those posts that are still pertinent to where we're currently at in the game.

On the question of whether or not someone who makes their save knows that something is up, there are rules on that:

Succeeding on a Saving Throw

A creature that successfully saves against a spell that has no obvious physical effects feels a hostile force or a tingle, but cannot deduce the exact nature of the attack. Likewise, if a creature's saving throw succeeds against a targeted spell, you sense that the spell has failed. You do not sense when creatures succeed on saves against effect and area spells.

So it seems that, yes, someone would be aware of "something" if they make their save. I think I will give them the chance to deduce the nature of the attack with a proper "Knowledge" check or a straight "Int" roll.

One option I will allow you to do (but reserve the right to change my mind in the future if it proves too powerful) is to hold back your cone effect until you wish to actually use it. That way you can make your way to Devargo's without tripping every patrons will-saves along the way.

Sound good?

I can deduce then that when a subject fails its save, they feel nothing?

I don't think those that make the save should have an opportunity to deduce the nature of the attack - the prd excerpt straight up says they can't.

Holding the charge like you suggest is not entirely unprecedented - spells that use a touch attack to deliver the spell can be cast, and the charge can be held indefinitely until discharged. The difference with the cone is it has a duration, whereas touch attack spells are instantaneous. I think the idea is workable, but I would say the 'charge' (since there really isn't one) cannot be held indefinitely; rather, as soon as the spell is cast the duration clock starts counting down, but the cone effect can be delayed, and "turned on" any time after the initial casting, but before the duration has elapsed, and the cone is only active for whatever duration remains.

In general though, I'm not too keen on going outside the rules on something that's clearly established... There are too many opportunities for unexpected consequences.

I don't think those that make the save should have an opportunity to deduce the nature of the attack - the prd excerpt straight up says they can't.

I'm looking at it as they can deduce that they have been attacked via magic, but they would have no idea exactly from who or with what spell. The prd mentions "exact nature of the attack" which to me seems as if they may understand some of the nature of the attack.

That's why I was considering a knowledge check for the person to understand that it was a magic attack.

I look at it as those who are knowledgable in the way magic works, would better understand what that "hostile force or tingle" may represent. But they would never understand exactly what spell had targeted them.