Its "A" Dungeon, Too! (Inactive)

Game Master Terquem

We will be making most of the rolls to build the dungeon here.

Please use this thread to discuss strategy, or ask questions if you have them.

When all four players have posted, here, and are ready, I will describe the layout of the starting area, and then you can establish what direction you will set off in first.

The Gretch is not afraid of vampires. He tastes (and smells) like old gym socks.

I would prefer to be the 3rd or 4th being in line, but I'm not particularly squishy if it comes down to it. I just don't want to get in the way of the more melee focused characters.

Hi! okay, so we'll wait a bit longer, but it might be that the rest of the monsters chickened out.

OK, I'm here. This should be quite interesting.

Present. I'll go first to scout for traps.

Alias here. I just got home. Stats will be copied in in the morning. Falling asleep now. Night.

Alias here. I just got home. Stats will be copied in in the morning. Falling asleep now. Night.

Profile set up, and a bit more gear added.

Vision: Darkvision 60'
Hands: Empty except for claws
Back: Backpack with most gear.

I have no problems being the first one in line, unless the rogue wants to do trap-spotting.

I still need to post my complete spellbook, memorized spells and a few details not on the default statblock. Stupid website went down on me both times I tried to update my profile last night.

Are there any particular rules variations I need to be aware of for scribing scrolls? I purchased a few 1st level scrolls at 1/2 price, but have enough left over to cover the difference if necessary.

You can scribe those spells in your spell book, or keep the scrolls for later use.

We had a little discussion about trap spotting in the discussion thread of the other game, so if you are curious about how I'm going to try and work that, you can go read here

Take 20 to read this thread, HA

WM: 1d6 ⇒ 6
dir: 1d6 ⇒ 5

Two of us have low-light vision, not darkvision. Longer visual range, but we'll need a light source.

I set up a basic map and icons in google spreadsheet if anybody wants to use it.

The Gretch loves scribbling maps.

You can scribe those spells in your spell book, or keep the scrolls for later use.

We had a little discussion about trap spotting in the discussion thread of the other game, so if you are curious about how I'm going to try and work that, you can go read here

Take 20 to read this thread, HA

Regarding traps: The penalty for failing to find a trap is that nothing happens. The penalty for walking forward after you fail to find it is that the trap goes off. Contrast to actually attempting to disable it, where it goes off if you fail - you can't take 20 then.

The thing that balances taking 20 are the distance penalties. The DC goes up by +1 for each 10' away it is. There's nothing that says you have to be right next to a trap to search for it, so you can "search" everything in sight at increasing penalties. There's also low-light penalties (which are rarely applicable). Assuming a 60' vision radius, a +8 mod, and taking 20 every 5', that means you can first see something with a DC 22 as soon as your light / darkvision encompasses it, going up to 28 when you're right next to it.

On the other hand, taking 20 means 20 move actions -> 10 rounds. So each time you take 20, you're spending a minute just standing there looking. Long-term buff spells expire quickly at that rate. If you 5' step after each take-20 (which is the safest thing to do, because you could be 10' away from a trap that you are one point too low to see), you're now moving at a rate of 5'/minute. Even at 10' a minute, that still means a 30' connecting corridor takes 3 minutes to cross, instead of 6 seconds. That is slow.

Assuming an 8 hour adventuring day (16 hours in camp), it's the difference between exploring 4800' of dungeon and 144,000' of dungeon.

Encounter: 1d6 ⇒ 5
Direction: 1d6 ⇒ 3

Looks like no encounter in the starting room and we are proceeding North.

We should all remember to try and read the other player's posts. The rolls were made just two posts above

Harrienys - I would like to see a bit more information on your Alias page. I'm having a hard time seeing how you got to a +19 in stealth (+8 for being tiny, +3 class skill, +1 rank, +5 dex = 17, did I miss something?)

Ah, sorry, looks like forgot to add a link to my character sheet in my alias page. I have skill focus: stealth and a -1 armor check penalty to bring it to 19.

Looks like you're going to have to light a torch. Designate who will carry it, and we'll move on.

Door Type: 1d20 ⇒ 3

I've updated the map I linked with my understanding of the room description and moved the party. The map should be open for anybody to edit.

Visual ranges should be doubled on the dim light portion for our members with low light vision. (20' normal light, 40' dim).

This is our 3rd 10' move action

It is a Simple Wooden Door (from the PRD, if this door is not locked, will require a DC 13 Strength check to open)

Is it Locked?: 1d20 ⇒ 18 No
Can it be Unlocked from this side?: 1d20 ⇒ 11
Is it Trapped?: 1d20 ⇒ 3 ????
????: 1d20 ⇒ 6

You probably do not need to keep track of "move actions". I will keep track of time, and try to be fair about it. Exploring this chamber will not take long. It is mostly empty.

Izabek - I believe Harrienys is in need of your assistance, right away. He may have been accidently cut into two seprate pieces, a little.

Space beyond door is (Table IIc): 1d20 ⇒ 16
a room - go to Table V

How big is the room?: 1d20 ⇒ 5

it is a 20' x 20' room

Is there something in the room?: 1d20 ⇒ 14

And there is a Monster in it (go to Table VII)

The monster is not surprised, as you hit the door more than once before it opened, but the Adventuring Monsters may be subjected to a surprise round of attacks

Are the Adventuring Monsters Surprised?: 1d6 ⇒ 1

Yes they are

Lets see what the CR of this encounter is and what kind of monster it is

CR of Encounter: 1d20 ⇒ 18
it is APL +1
what is the monster type: 1d100 ⇒ 42
And the table says it is a Character Party (2 or 3 NPC adventurers)

You can try to make Perception or Intuition checks to determine if these are the adventurers you were sent in to deal with - meanwhile I'll roll up what Class and Race they are, and begin the attacks against you

How Many NPCs are there?: 1d2 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Eckowo - that makes sense, about the "Take 10". I was reading too much into the phrase, in the prd, of "immediate danger" associated with it, and now I see that it is really talking about combat situations.

Got sidelined by sanding and staining a bench today instead of getting this battle ready, sorry

I’m putting this question out to all of the players in the ‘Its “A” Dungeon’ world. I am putting together a better NPC/Character Party Encounter table (using Table IV, which was reserved). The table should work to quickly establish the race, class, and level of any npc or adventuring character the party may encounter. What I want some feedback on is what do you think is the best option for quickly determining ability score arrays?

I was thinking a d20 table with progressively higher point buys something like this:

1-13 = 8 point buy
14-16 =10 point buy
17-18 = 12 point buy
19 = 14 point buy
20 = 16 point buy

Or would it be better to have a standard ability score array?

Also, should I draw the line at a fixed possibility of Races, and if so, what should they be?

The wider the array of possibilities the better.

The table looks good but races should not be restricted. Monstrous NPC's with class levels should be possible at higher level. (Troll Barbarian ftw)

Whatever you feel comfortable doing, sounds like a good plan to me.

I vote for stat arrays, just because they're easier to work with. You could custom-build them ahead of time for the table, but just plop them in for the character.

Something like:

1-10: Basic NPC (13/12/11/10/9/8)
11-14: Heroic NPC (15/14/13/12/10/8)
15-17: Well-rounded (16/16/14/10/10/10)
18-19: Hero (18/16/12/10/10/7)
20: Hero+ (18/16/16/14/12/10)

Did anybody bring social skills or are we a wandering group of anti-social misfits?

Normally I bring diplomacy but I wanted The Gretch to be pathetic and disgusting.

I wanted on general idea how to react. We are going to eventually need to negotiate for training.

Are there any exits from this room?
Number of exits?: 1d20 ⇒ 7

Yes, there is one other exit.
Exit is?: 1d20 ⇒ 20

It is another Door -
Where is the door?: 1d20 ⇒ 19

It is on the East wall

What kind of door is it?: 1d20 ⇒ 4

It is a Simple Wooden Door
Can you see the hinges?: 1d20 ⇒ 11
No (it pushes to open)
Is it trapped: 1d20 ⇒ 3
????
Is it locked?: 1d20 ⇒ 18
????

If the door were to be trapped, what kind of trap would it be?: 1d20 ⇒ 18

I have diplomacy and bluff, but I'm not going to come out of stealth in front of possibly hostile forces, at least not until I have Hellcat Stealth. If we meet a merchant or someone without weapons I'll be able to talk to them.

Some people have just got no manners

Initiative
Fighter: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 15
Cleric: 1d20 ⇒ 18
Rogue: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

Izabek launces an attack (we'll call it a surprise round) catching everyone unaware
then we'll move into regular initiative

Harrienys 21
Cleric 18
The Gretch 17
Fighter 15
Izabeck 10
Eckowo 10
Rogue 5

Eckowo, I like that list of arrays, I'm incorporating into Table IV

The gretch is up

I want to say a special Thank You to our guest players, taking the role of the Fighter, The Cleric, and The Rogue

Thank you
Gilthanis and
Loup Blanc

Izabeck is next

Eckowo has already declared his action for this round, so he is done

and then The Rogue

and that will be the end of round 1

Can we give loop Blanc a little more time? I am swamped this weekend. Son #2 is graduating college and Sunday is some trumped up holiday that my wife seems to think is very important :)

Okay it looks as though LoopBlanc is not going to show up here, so Gilthanis you can bring in your Rogue, or if you thinkthat is too much for you, I'll roll one up quickly.

i already had the rogue up and ready then loup popped in...so i am good to go

It is the beginning of Round 2

Back to the top of the initiative

Harrienys is up.

And,even though we don't really need to use a map, it is nice that people are taking the question of Flanking with some ease.

It should be noted. Opponents moving through a Grease spell are flat footed. (Treacherous terrain.) This does not apply to opponents falling down due to failing grease's initial save or stationary opponents within the spells area of effect, only opponents moving after the spell is cast.

I have been reworking the random monster encounter tables to be, in my opinion, more in line with Pathfinder Theory than AD&D theory. If you are familiar with the original appendices, random monster encounter tables of appendix B included 10 separate monster “type” tables, and one table to determine which of these to use (but AD&D theory was based on Monster Types being keyed to encounters, and not Challenge Ratings). The changes, to the current games will be invisible, but basically I have created a single d20 table that looks something like this:

Monster Encounter Threat (d20)
Die Result
1-2 CR = APL – 2 (minimum 1)
3-7 CR = APL – 1 (minimum 1)
8-14 CR = APL
15-18 CR = APL + 1
19 CR = APL + 2
20 CR = APL +3

If the APL > Dungeon Level apply a +2 modifier to the roll. If the APL < Dungeon level apply a -2 modifier to the roll

and streamlined the 10 old tables into 5 tables. Dragons occur on table 3, which cannot be rolled until the Character Party is on the fourth level of the dungeon (regardless of the actual APL), and the top 2 tables (table 4 and 5) begin to include Demons and Devils

I hope the players are still interested in this game, even though it looks like things are not going well for them.

Izabek - Did you want the GM to roll for your spells? If you do, just say so. For now I'll take care of the Cure Light Wounds

CLW on Eckowo: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Trust me, I'm still very interested.

First level is always rough.

Yeah, that's great. I sometimes have to post from my phone so those posts are generally short. Thanks.

We need to know if there are any exits from this room

Number of Exits: 1d20 ⇒ 15

There are two exits (exits from rooms are always doors). What kinds of doors are they, and where are they?

Exit #1 is: 1d20 ⇒ 13
Exit #1 is located: 1d20 ⇒ 20
It is a Stone Door, and it is located on the right wall (from the door where you came into the room

Exit #2 is: 1d20 ⇒ 14
Exit #2 is located: 1d20 ⇒ 1
It is also a Stone Door, and it is located on the opposite wall from the door where you came in the room

You should adjust your hit points acordingly, make a decision about what you will do with the loot you've won, and then choose to either examine one of the doors (or both) and then we will see if those doors are locked or trapped.

I believe the door across from where we came from is a good one. Other than the potions, wand, and the money I didn't see anything I could use though. I'm not sure monsters could stroll into town and sell the rest however.

Here is my first crude map for this game, showing a 20' x 20' room, three doors, and the Player Characters.

If you want to rest in this room, you might want to spike shut the door going south.

Its "A" Dungeon, the other end of the hall

We could just lock the door

Locks can be picked, but it takes a lot of strength to overcome a spiked door

The Gretch has spiked the doors using pitons from the looted climber's kit.

This is the list of equipment (not counting some loose change) your party is taking with you, am I right?

+1 Shortbow (+1 STR)
Heavy steel shield (medium)
Tanglefoot bag (x2)
Potion CLW CL 1
Silver light mace (25gp)(medium)
Wand of cure light wounds (3 charges) CL 3
Scroll Bear’s Endurance(150gp) CL 1
Potion Enlarge Person (50gp) CL 1
Alchemist Fire
+1 Light Crossbow (small)