It does not include that. We were well outside of the "exploration" aspect which that bonus applies to.
And to answer the inevitable question, no you cannot be on defense for a +2 bonus to initiative on a permenant basis. It is a bonus to allow some options for exploration only.
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So I'll just say it, I think running away is a dumb idea... probably the worst idea (both tactically & RP). The opposite of "engage".
Bam if you want to delay, Harmini will attempt to open the gate for you. If not, feel free to run away as well. Harmini will not flee from this fight because there's a gate in the way...
So I'll just say it, I think running away is a dumb idea... probably the worst idea (both tactically & RP). The opposite of "engage".
Bam if you want to delay, Harmini will attempt to open the gate for you. If not, feel free to run away as well. Harmini will not flee from this fight because there's a gate in the way...
OK, I can understand the RP reasons for not pulling back around the corner, but I'm not clear on the tactical advantage to staying where we were.
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OK, I can understand the RP reasons for not pulling back around the corner, but I'm not clear on the tactical advantage to staying where we were.
The tactical reason is that the Scorched Hand aren't dumb enough to give up their advantage willingly. They're not mindless and won't follow us down the corridor. Even if they did follow us, we'd still be in no better position to deal with their ranged attacks/spells. Therefore, the best tactical option is to engage... open/smash the gate. Remove the obstacle. Delete the opposition. Harmini has plenty of healing to absorb the damage of AoOs or whatever. Unfortunately, now she is forced into the offensive since half the party retreated to no advantage other than trying to save their own skins instead of mitigating the obstacle. If you guys think every encounter in this "difficult" AP is going to be a fully-rested, straight-up fight on even terms... we may as well all give up now (run away, die etc...)
I think we'll see how smart the Scorched Hand are, and if Harmini can easily and quickly open the gate (which could very well be trapped and locked if it's like the previous gate of this sort which we encountered), that will be dandy.
I don't think that mine/Chui's concern about embracing our relative advantage in the area of melee combat is the quite the same as thinking that "every encounter in this 'difficult' AP is going to be a fully-rested, straight-up fight on even terms."
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I wouldn’t mind them losing that flaming sphere and mirror image. That flaming sphere can knock me out in a single round with an unlucky roll so I’ll be keeping my distance. If they don’t chase us even that works in our favor, we can wait out those spells pretty easy. They are stuck there and we can pick how we want to engage them. But if the plan is to just run in there that’s certainly a tactic.
Bam isnt smart and this will either be the greatest thing ever or will go horribly wrong real fast.
OK, color me impressed. I was pretty sure that the gate would be locked. I guess Chui will get some aerobics in, running back and forth.
So now that i took my turn the plan was to rush azaz and use the hero point to atk kherlu pending the result of the attack on azaz. Im now nervous as i think i couldve taken them both out of the fight but meh jeremys right running through 5ft ball of fire would not be done by bambara under any circumstance
That last round hurt a lot. Like way to much
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That last round hurt a lot. Like way to much
Indeed. This was not meant to be an "easy" encounter for 4 PCs. Hopefully, Alex & Chui decide to participate in it during round 2 to help even the odds from 2 vs 4 to 4 vs 4. As always, I have a plan...
Round 2 - The plan "Working Together for the Win":
Chui - If you would like to delay until after Harmini, she will spend a move action to open the gate again so Chui can enter the room (60' move, yes?) unimpeded. Otherwise, you'll need to do it yourself. If your character excels at melee as you claim, then that's where you need to be. Chui needs to get into the room to begin disrupting the casters (mainly popping mirror images) but start with Khelru. Continuing to cower in the corridor will only get the rest of us killed at this point.
Harmini - I plan to try and convince Idorii to switch sides. Standard Action - Bam will get some healing from a wand. I will consider using a HP for a second standard action if needed. Move action - Hair to open door. 5' step SE.
Alex - Give yourself haste. Depending on Idorii's response to Harmini's offer, be prepared to take her out (acid ray? acid ball? Use whatever you have left). If Idorii accepts, your secondary target is Azaz. Alex needs to deal damage plain and simple. If you really feel like you can't do anything, Harmini will allow Alex to "borrow" her +1 crossbow for this encounter on subsequent rounds (point blank/precise shot, yes?). It's already loaded. Come and get it. Again, cowering in the corridor is not an option.
Bambara - You should be able to survive whatever Khelru can dish out with a little bit of healing. Your next target will depend greatly on what happens up to and including Khelru's turn. We need to put their team on the defensive and fast. Stay in melee to give Velriana's scorching rays an attack penalty. Spend an HP if you would like to get a second attack. Your crushing blows are ultimately how we will win this.
Harmini will open the gate in the square that Bam currently occupies, correct? I'll try to move Chui to location where hopefully he can use a 5-foot step next round and get a full attack.
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Harmini will open the gate in the square that Bam currently occupies, correct? I'll try to move Chui to location where hopefully he can use a 5-foot step next round and get a full attack.
I believe the "gate" was determined to be in Bam's square, yes. I think we're still waiting on the results of his reflex saves. That may change things as well.
I am kind of swamped today. I will try to post later.
Looking back at the posts where chui had to save vs sphere he had a 15 and was safe so if thats the case my 16 reflex save sould be good enough
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I already cast haste, right now it is on Bambara, Chui and Harmini since the target for my cast was Harmini. Haste doesn't really do much for me and I can't recast it anyway.
I plan on using the last 2 spells I have then switching to rays WHILE cowering in this hallway, that damage that Bambara took in this round would have killed me. I get into a safe(ish) position to cast at Idorii but I am questioning Azaz as the next target. The guy is using grease which is annoying but I'd like to stop that 4d6 scorching ray every round as soon as possible.
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I already cast haste, right now it is on Bambara, Chui and Harmini since the target for my cast was Harmini.
I plan on using the last 2 spells I have then switching to rays WHILE cowering in this hallway, that damage that Bambara took in this round would have killed me. I get into a safe(ish) position to cast at Idorii but I am questioning Azaz as the next target. The guy is using grease which is annoying but I'd like to stop that 4d6 scorching ray every round as soon as possible.
I know you cast haste off of a scroll. However, you didn't specify your targets (Harmini & Alex were more than 30' apart at the time so you had to choose). That's all I was saying. As always, you may do as you wish with your character on your turn. I merely propose suggestions/plans in an attempt to work together/communicate what I'm thinking. I don't feel that "big surprises" benefit anyone in terms of group strategy (Ex: Harmini has done exactly what I said she would do).
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As part of the trigger condition of my caste I stated that if I couldn’t get everyone I would get Bambara and Chui who are the dudes who need haste the most. I could not haste myself and Bambara. However you are correct in that I did not say who was hasted as I cast the spell which isn’t convenient for anyone.
To clarify, three of you are hasted.
We'll find out about Idorii when Chui rushes past her on his way to attack Khelru. He can't make it all the way to Velriana in one move action.
Looking at the map as it is bambara will most likely use 40 ft of movement to get between azaz and kherlu avoiding as many attacks as possible. Then smash azaz and pending that result burn my last hero point to smash kherlu.
This is my plan for my turn unless anyone has any objections or want bambara to do something else
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Looking at the map as it is bambara will most likely use 40 ft of movement to get between azaz and kherlu avoiding as many attacks as possible. Then smash azaz and pending that result burn my last hero point to smash kherlu.
This is my plan for my turn unless anyone has any objections or want bambara to do something else
Sounds like a good plan to me. I definitely think that Khelru (the healer) should be our next target for the big guns (Bam). Alex may be able to deal with Azaz at range on her turn (though she's a bit too far away at the moment, I was hoping she would have hasted herself for the extra movement to get in 30' range). Khelru is also likely to move on his next turn so Bam should chase him and lay the smack-down. You should save your last hero point for a more dire situation than simply dealing extra damage (like a re-roll on a failed save) in my opinion. Totally up to you though, it's your resource. Neutralizing the minions should be our first priority. Velriana is a bit out of reach for now and should be dealt with last (both tactically & cinematically). Idorii is much like Chui at this point, sort of a "wild card" so I guess we'll see what happens.
I'm planning on keeping Chui in Velriana's face - doing damage, popping images, and generally keeping her busy - while we see what Idorii does and the rest of our party finishes off the minions.
Though Khelru may not be an issue after Alex's acid craziness.
Credit where credit is due - Matt, your call to aggressively go on the attack appears to have been totally correct.
Looking at the roll20 map this morning reminds me of one of those maps of France in late May 1940 after the Germans have chopped the Allied armies in two.
If Alex is Belgium, Chui would like some chocolate.
When it's my turn, I'm going to have Chui take a 5 ft steep and full attack Azaz since that opportunity has presented itself. Sound good?
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Welp. That could've gone better. Probably worse too though. Would've been nice if we didn't scare off Idorri, but hey. Looks like we all managed to survive another round despite ourselves (most of us anyway). Yay!
Round 3 Plan: "Fake it til you make it"
Harmini - I'll delay until after Chui (or possibly even Bam). I have yet to decide whether healing Alex or "handling" Velriana is Harmini's best course of action at the moment.
Chui - I know you've been aching with a deep-seeded, Sith-like desire to full-attack/murder hobo all combat long, so have at it. Now's your chance. Kill Azaz to your heart's content if you can. Harmini won't stop you (or judge you).
Alex - Nice crit. Sorry you went for Khelru instead of Azaz though. I know you were questioning: Why go for Azaz? Well, now you know. Learning group tactics the hard way is often the best teacher I think. No worries, I'm sure you won't die... yet.
Bam - Whoops! Forgot about the plan and went for the big prize prematurely, eh? Lucky for you, your saving throw dice are warmed up enough to mitigate improvisational failures. Azaz probably peed himself just a little for that HP as well. If Chui somehow fails to get rid of Azaz, maybe Bam can finish him off? Alex is Bam's bestest friend after all, right? Alex kills Khelru. Azaz kills Alex. Bam kills Azaz. Nothing wrong with a bit of revenge at this point I say.
Round 3! What zany events will unfold next? Who knows?!
Harmini - I'll delay until after Chui (or possibly even Bam). I have yet to decide whether healing Alex or "handling" Velriana is Harmini's best course of action at the moment.
I think Harmini may need to use her hair to pull Alex out of the square with the ball of fire. Azaz seeems really, really cranky, and it looks like he wants to kill Alex not just knock her out of combat.
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Sadly Azaz was just out of my spell range, which is 35 feet, and rather than just double move, I rolled the dice on the spell. It worked well(ish). The healer is down and they can’t pick him up while Harmini can easily outheal Azaz’s DPS. In a pvp sense, that’s a fantastic trade. I’m thrill how the round turned out, it was nice and cinematic.
While I won’t die, probably, I do want to talk about how Azaz has more hit points than I do. Am I doing something wrong with my calculations or am I really made of broken glass held together by plastic wrap?
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I think Harmini may need to use her hair to pull Alex out of the square with the ball of fire. Azaz seeems really, really cranky, and it looks like he wants to kill Alex not just knock her out of combat.
A possibility. Still gonna wait a bit more.
Sadly Azaz was just out of my spell range, which is 35 feet, and rather than just double move, I rolled the dice on the spell. It worked well(ish). The healer is down and they can’t pick him up while Harmini can easily outheal Azaz’s DPS. In a pvp sense, that’s a fantastic trade. I’m thrill how the round turned out, it was nice and cinematic.
While I won’t die, probably, I do want to talk about how Azaz has more hit points than I do. Am I doing something wrong with my calculations or am I really made of broken glass held together by plastic wrap?
First, the distance to close to 30' range with Azaz was the reason I suggested Alex include herself as a target for the haste instead of Harmini in my round 2 plan. Second, by my calculations Alex should have 14 hp not 12 hp at 3rd lvl (assuming PFS rules instead of rolls 6+4+4=14). I believe I mentioned this months ago and you never changed it. Oh well. Regardless, Alex is still (and will always be) a glass cannon in terms of hp. Not much you can do about it without boosting her CON and/or changing classes/multiclassing.
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Well now we’ve come full circle. Part of my trigger condition for casting haste was that I needed to get Chui and Bambara and I could not cast it on all 3 of us. I wanted to move out of the way of the flaming sphere that could knock me down, and in the end it did.
You are correct on my hit points being 14. When I added my hp for level 2 and 3 I forgot that it is hit die, con mod and +1. I don’t know how I missed that post, maybe I rolled poorly on my perception check. I went into that battle with that 12 hp in mind. Would 14 have changed that battle plan? Maybe. 14 on a 3d6 roll is tough to hit but it is doable. If I had known that there was a crit in the oven would I have gone in? Definitely, but that’s not possible. You are our tactics commander and I do like that there is one. It is going to be one of the most important factors that will increase our chances at winning some of these fights. If I have an objection to the battle plan, I’ll voice it in this discussion section before acting.
I measured it out before I asked you to make it clear. The spell could be cast on Bam, Chui, and either yourself or Harmini. If it was not possible to do, I would not have asked. Alex was exactly 30 ft away from Bam at the time, and Chui had moved even closer. Whether the tactics were intended to be one way or another, the fact is I asked for a reason.
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Dam, there it is at the bottom of the page. I totally missed that. That’s a huge misplay on my part. While Harmini opening the gate was the trigger of my spell so maybe she had to be among my spell’s targets, I was sure I couldn’t get the 3 damage dealers. I double checked, I wanted haste so bad.
Well guess who’s so bad?
Break ended had to math fast i think its right and its nonlethal by the way
Whose turn is it?o
Hoping everyone had a good holiday
Gentlemen,
This game will be coming to an end when we complete Book 1, I will not be continuing it with this thread.
GM JScot
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I understand why you want to take a step back from GMing Pathfinder. I can’t argue with your reasons and I hope you have fun and enjoy whatever you decide to do.
For everyone else I have a few ideas on how we can continue with this campaign if we want to. I enjoy the characters that we have made and it would be a shame if those characters ended. I’ve heard Shaun say a few time that he has just found his stride in regards to Bambara’s RP elements and how Pete enjoys Chui’s antics. They are fun to watch and great to riff off of.
Option 1. I could take over and GM Mummy’s Mask at the start of book 2. We of course need to find a player or two (or 3 if we wanted more than four players) to fill my player slot and the slots of those that want to end thier playthough if any.
Option 2. We could start a new playthough of something else and keep our characters. I am open to run anything. I already have all the Strange Aeons material but if anything peeks someone’s interest I’m up for it.
Option 3. The campaign ends. If there isn’t enough interest to keep going or not enough patience to deal with me stumbling though GMing via pbp and Roll20 I understand. No hard feelings at all. I mean it.
Whatever the decision is, I wish everyone the best. Health and happiness.
Gentlemen,
This game will be coming to an end when we complete Book 1, I will not be continuing it with this thread.
GM JScot
Sorry to hear this, but many thanks for taking us this far. As you all know, this is my first time doing sustained PBP and playing a Paizo AP. It's been a lot of fun and educational to boot.
I think its kinda funny the last fight we just incapacitated everyone no one died. And now the game is ending.
Khelru is dead.
Oh well almost no one
Option 3. The campaign ends.Seems we're careening toward option 3. Does everyone/anyone want to play out the rest of this or should we just call it here?
Thats what i see though id like to keep playing or start clean in a different ap
I'm good with calling it here. I do look forward to making good use of the PBP experience that I picked up here. However, I think my preference in the future would be for a regular scenario or, at most, one of the 32-page modules. If you folks haven't already heard about it, there is going to be a PBP con consisting of several specials that will be starting on 1/14, https://paizo.com/threads/rzs42bac?Announcing-Retrocon-starting-January-14- 2019 . Joe and I have characters signed up for tier 12-13 of Siege of the Diamond City.