Iron Gods: Forged into Legends

Game Master polyfrequencies

Aye...one more question - you did mention it was morning, but I'm not really into sleeping much - so just making sure:
Was this the first time today I shifted into Predator-Vision?
(As in, only -1 for Level 1 and Level 2 Spell slots?)

We'll say it was the 2nd predator vision watch.

Do I need to roll perception to notice the flare? XD
I'm thinking Thawm notices the flare, casts Mount, hops on and casts See Invisibility, and finally rides out...
Maybe a few more buffs that are long lasting on the way over. She can probably afford it with the horse being able to run a half-mile within a minute when I get going xD

No perception to notice the flare. Go ahead and get Thawm out there!

Bit tricky to picture, but using Basil as the canary, I would charge forward with her. Trying to triangulate her movements.

All right, we approach our first combat all together! I'm doing the final set up of Roll20, which I will invite you to shortly!

I'm about to grab some dinner, but if you hop on Roll20/Discord, I'll be happy to help out!

But I can also provide directions here:

Got it.

And it starts!

So it begins.

Yes. Time to chew bubble gum! Oh… Im out of bubble gum. Time to kick ass then!

Been having just shy of 40° fever for the better part of last week and was nowhere near a computer, and struggled to find sleep some nights. Apologies, I'll try and jump into things as soon as I reasonably can.

Oh man. I was fighting a 103 fever for a few days last week. I thought I had kicked it, but a week later found out it was strep I caught from my kid's kintergarden class somehow.. Feels like a loss of a week.

I hope you feel better soon.

Oh no! I hope you feel better.

*(reminding myself of the °C to °F conversion and freaking out at the result)*

No brains cooking in real life. Leave that sort of stuff for fantasy worlds.

Most likely it was based on the Scarlet Fever currently going round in Kindergartens here. But maybe not, because the antibiotics took their sweet time to kick in, if they did(as in, they usually improve things pretty fast, with 48 hours on the high end.).

I am still not feeling well, but well enough to use computer or phone in short bursts.

Of course I will attempt to catch on gameplay too, once I'm able to, but don't want to make promises on timing.

Man, those kids are little carriers, I swear.

Glad its starting to look better.

They are, indeed.
Every other week, one of the little darlings brings home a new virus or transmissible bacteriological illness.
Sometimes you get to evade it.
Sometimes it makes the rounds, sometimes you are grazed.
Other times...this.

But feeling a lot better already. I hope to be able to post later today here, otherwise will at latest tomorrow - sorry for the delays and thanks for understanding.

Also, just to be clear, if we end up having to fight and kill the Xill, then so be it.
It just feels a bit like "cheating" on our deal - I mean, it DID help us fight that 2-headed thing and Hellion - not sure on the impact but it kept it's word.
And it was obvious that it would resume doing whatever it got cursed for in the first place...xill things.
It just feels a bit like this.
So i'd like to try and avoid killing it.

At the same time, probably not a smart idea to make it retreat unaware of why we attacked, then have it hide on the etereal plane and wait until we depart.

Love the meme.

And I will always enjoy complicated decisions.

Glad you felt well enough to hop on the computer!

Well, I'd enjoy it if it was a complicated decision.
It's more of a complicated situation though.

Because it's an evil outside preying on these people, and we enabled it.
But it kept it's part of the deal, and there was no indication during earlier chat(I review the discord log) that it would return here. It's talked about returning to ethereal plane and leaving us alone.

In fact, it seems a risky decision - if they had passed down the knowledge proper, the first powerful caster could instantly renew the course we just lifted.

But that's where we are now and the hands dealt.

(I should elaborate that I do enjoy it gamewise, but that specific scene sparks little joy in me because either option we have feels like cheating someone. Learning new things and altering view, or going back on deals...sure, if you can maintain a moral high ground.
If you are taking a plundge either way and pick between sour and bitter, you take the pill that will hopefully not come back to haunt you later.

This is also largely Thawm's fault.
She has no remorse over Zaagmander becoming someone else's problem before, and no compunctions against removing the xill for being an obstacle now xD

But if Thawm had shared her vision, maybe someone good aligned could've rebuked her xD

I'm loving the whole situation xD
I was kinda hoping to make a second deal, but it feels like that won't happen xD

I guess Basil also wants to make a second deal?
But I doubt Keldor would stand for it a second time xD

Unrelated:
I'm going to be away from my laptop until Friday.
Can I get a map?

...Or actually, I should go for True Strike first, huh?

...But haste! >.<

...if a flanking position with Keldor is open, within 40' of Thawm, and within 30' of Basil (and Basil is within 30' of Keldor), then Haste for everyone might make the most sense...

Or share map in a phone friendly way and I'll calculate those things? XD

Edit: somehow I forgot Harg. You get haste too!

Is this image sufficiently phone-friendly?

Yes, that's perfect xD
Oh yeah, that's the map you shared for Basil, huh?
I should've thought of that xD

I very badly need a lesser rod of quicken...
Time for haste xD

Here is an updated map, based on my understanding of Thawm's post.

Aye Thawm. My understanding was that Zaagmander would search new hunting grounds, maybe remain in Scrapwall.
I was almost certain it would not return to where it was cursed originally.

That, and it's basically how their species exist. It's not it really intends evil, it just kills lesser beings to keep it's life cycle going.

Alas, it does feel like a second deal is not within our grasp right now.

But if Thawm had shared her vision, maybe someone good aligned could've rebuked her xD

Most likely.

Here is an updated map, based on my understanding of Thawm's post.

This is perfect, thanks :D

Harg is totally coming into this without the baggage. Likely just assume "Devil bad. Time to kill" mode.

He is also kinda following other's current focus. So he can easily back off if the group changes their minds about something.

Haha, well, I wanted to give Zaag another round to contemplate before starting to blast her, but between the lot of you, I may not even get to that point :D

“Stop or I’ll…**BOOM!**…shoot again!!”

I will have a chance to update us and move us along tomorrow! Great round for you all!

Who’s up next?

Sorry for the delay.

No problem! I just wasn’t sure.

Harg: Are you accounting for the -2 two-weapon fighting penalty in your attack calculation? It looks to me like it should be static BaB +7, Str +5, Black Blade Enhancement +2, Weapon Focus +1 for a base +15 to hit. Circumstantial bonuses are then: Haste +1, Flank +2, Studied Target +2, stacking Enhancement +1, & TWF -2. So 7 + 5 + 2 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 1 - 2 = 18. So yes, a 37 to hit and threat and a 26 to confirm, which does confirm against her aura of menaced AC.

So I can spell combat, and do something like mirror image, and attack. That has the -2. With this I could attack all my normal attacks, AND get a spell in all with the -2.

But if I do a Spellstrike and am delivering it via the sword there is no -2. In this case I would not have any multi BaB attacks, just the one single spell/attack combo. Good for a Move and Attack

Spellstrike:

Instead of the free melee touch attack normally allowed to deliver thee spell, a magus can make one free melee attack with his weapon (at his highest base attack bonus) as part of casting the spell.

If I do Spellstrike and want multiple attacks too I would take the -2.

BaB +7
Str +5
Black Blade Enhancement +2
Weapon Focus +1
Arcane Pool +1
Studied Target +2
Haste +1
Flank +2
=21

Its been years since I looked this all up. So let me know if any of it does not make sense. Pf1 Magus is complicated.

hm, I x-clicked the notifications here, didn't realise I was up.
If I am up, at all...considering Zaag was at -120 and seems to have just gotten another beating.

I mean, I can write up a post about shooting her a couple times when I get home from work, but I am quite unsure that'll be necessary after Hargs turn.

Yes, we're just waiting on you. Feel free to take your turn.

Will post something as soon as I have time. (am home now, but gettings kids to bed, dinner etc...)

But if 26 confirmed, that's about another 100 damage from Harg, so I'll do little except add a full attack.
If I'm holding things up and you see me posting elsewhere, definitely give me a poke, or feel free to resolve the combat without my input(if it's redundant anyway - then Basil simply failed to act, with Harg cutting the Xill down before she could pull the trigger).

Sorry if I jumped the gun. Wasn't trying to mix max at all. I know Studied target kinda is beefy at times.

I can switch weapons to be less critable, etc.

Don't want my addition to be less fun for others.

Haha, no worries, you made a very strong single-target beast. Slayer and Magus have the potential for that - in combination even more so.

I went with the Scatter-Shot, which with Bane gets really nasty.
To be clear, it was absolutely not a complaint about you cutting down the Xill, more of a "no need to wait on me, feel free to resolve if my turn wouldn't make a difference".

I mean, I get that it happens concurrently, and theoretically there is the chance I would spend limited resources (which I did just for the sake of it) - but if the chance of me wasting a turn of Bane is holding up the group...I mean, seeing the current situation I could say "no, not spending any resources" - if the expectation is that I pretend I don't know what you did due to same-turn-timeline, then may as well just bot me and demand a round of bane since that would be her usual modus operandi if she doesn't expect much more trouble today/has no reason to conserve resources.
(Well, normally I would not have spent the Determination Charge for an attack re-roll, but so be it).

(oh, and also all the shots are at -4 because I'm firing into melee...sorry for forgetting to list that - I don't think that will make much of a difference in terms of hitting but still.)

Just want to jump in. I did not have furious focus turned on. So my numbers are correct.

The attacks are normally +18 with all the current status changes
(Grappeld, Arcane Accuracy, Arcane Pool, Power Attack, Studied, haste). I added +2 for the Flank.

So I still think my math is right... Lots of modifiers in there, for sure. Should I avoid adding +2 for flanking, and let you do it? or should I add it in there to make life easier?

I generally like having most modifiers (outside of base) broken down in at least the first attack per round.

Flanking is an attack bonus rather than an AC penalty so it's fine to include.

I will be better about including all of them. Detailing them out a bit.

I have been using an iPad with Hero Lab, so much of it is already calculated for me. Its good habit to deconstruct it for the post though.

By all means, go back and face judgement with the tribe.

Basil is basically just saying that she will not stand by if things go bad, not trying to stop you from doing your thing(she does sound like that, but really, you want some spotlight there, it's all yours.)

You are going somewhere with this and I am not really trying to "convince" you. Just stating Basils reasoning for not going to accept any outcome other than "yeah, it sucked what you did but we are happy things are ok now".

But if you go there, and they say ok, you are guilty, bad person, you are sentenced to 3 years in the mines, then yeah, there'll be a prison break.
(And, I suspect, more guilt for Keldor assuming the blood to be on his hands as well) :)

Oh, also, she is not good at expressing it, but with no known family or friends, and her surrogate "father" dead, you are the people closest to her. You had her back, you were reliable, and she is fiercely loyal to both of you(and in time, to Harg). That may manifest in undesirable ways(such as her willigness to kill 2 dozen people to prevent you from being imprisoned) but is grounded in her caring about you guys. While she usually attempts to do the "right thing" in terms of alignment("NG"), for the purpose of "her friends are in danger" she ventures all the way to "CN" to resolve things.

You’re cool! I just know I can’t walk away from this fight unscathed. One way or another judgment is coming for Keldor. All he can do is own up to it and see what happens, or wait and see if his god does the unthinkable…

If the Xill left any equipment or weapons behind after his death I would like to gather those and offer them as basic gifts to those families who lost members to the Xill.

I hope no one minds Thawm's "ew, such a goody two-shoes" moment xD