MUMMY'S MASK ADVENTURE PATH - GM Spazmodeus

Game Master Spazmodeus

This is a stretch for Vash—he tried to talk to them and they sneak-attacked him. Nothing they say now would normally matter to him. He is, however, trying to be a team player with the group and they aren’t actually undead that he can tell. Still, he is on a hair trigger right now...

Harmini has no issues with allowing Nima the time it takes for diplomacy (1 minute minimum), provided we're all at a cease-fire for the moment. She's also fine with either outcome, let them go peacefully or kill them all with fiery passion.

It seemed to Nimaethep from the conversations that there might be an opportunity to talk things out. She is still dedicated to getting inside to rescue the priest, and is willing to resort to violence if she must, but if that can be done without a fight she would rather pursue that avenue.

That being said, I'm fine if Vash has a different opinion on the matter. He was the one attacked after all and Nim wasn't there when the shooting started. As a group, we have also only known each other for a very short time. What better way to get to know one another than a little personality/alignment friction?

Sorry for the delays. Busy weekend and busy work. I will try to post later tonight.

Well, I was hoping to make a post before I left for Vermont tomorrow but since I am being told we may need to leave this afternoon I figured I'd post this now. Sorry for the continued delays, life has just gotten very busy. On the plus side, I may have better internet this weekend as we are staying in a motel of sorts, so cross your fingers that I am not too exhausted and can make a post later. Again, sorry.

I will be traveling/camping through Sunday, so expect my posts to be somewhat delayed (depending on signal strength and battery power).

Well,enjoy man.

Well,enjoy man.

Thanks...I ended up camping next to the Romans but at least they haven’t aimed their ballista my way.

Vash is relatively good at perception and stealth (+9 and +8 respectively), but has no trap disarming capability. And as primarily an archer, it doesn't make too much sense to put him in the front during battle. I suspect Nimaethep would be better suited to the scout role, so perhaps Nimaethep to take the scout/lead, Teos to be the front line for combat (assuming Nimaethep can be mobile to fade behind the front line as battle starts), Harmini to be protected in the center, and Vash to bring up the rear and keep alert for ambushes from the rear or flank?

Nimaethep is fine with taking point. She has trap spotting talent which gives a free trap check on top of any active searching and is reasonably good with stealth.

This is all fine with me. Harmini would be in the middle or back of the group during exploration. She would also spend time making knowledge checks as we go.

Ok, I meant for this to be posted yesterday or the day before, but life always finds a way (to get in the way).

For exploration, I've spent a while now trying to figure out the best way to do it as I have seen things ranging from GMs making hidden rolls to players trying to make roll after roll after roll in a meta sense and its never sat well with me.

Recently though I have actually played the scout role more and now know how I feel it should be handled.

If Nimaethep is playing the scout (seems fitting to me), then what I would like to see is one general stealth check and one general perception check for each "section" of the dungeon. Section will mean each continuous hall and each individual room. These will apply to a stealthy and careful exploration (keeping an eye out for traps, other hazards, secret doors) but not an out and out search. I do ask that you list with each check (though not included in the math) any situational modifiers that may apply (such as trapfinding for perception) and I will apply them as well other situational modifiers that may come up.

You do not need to make a check for every hall, every door, every room, etc. Taking the current map as an example. It is a hall with two doors (that you can see). I would ask for one stealth and one perception for this "section" and I will give you results based on those checks. I may only give results for the first door to allow you to react to that first, and depending on what you do (go through the door or continue on down this hall) I will use the same result to check the next door.

As for the results of the checks, I will apply the standard "distance" modifier to determine your position when you see the "hazard" that triggers the check. So, if you just barely make the check you will likely be right on top of it when you notice, but if you beat the DC by +10, then you will be 50 ft. away when you notice it (+1 per 5 ft.).

It is my goal to try to make this go smoothly and with as few rolls as needed, but still leave it in the players control. If there are questions, comments, or concerns... as always let me know.

Also, it sounds like Nimaethep is taking point. How far forward do you wish to be? One suggestion I use with my scouts (which is quickly becoming a favorite for me) is to go one "section" ahead then go back to the group to plan. I personally find the normal "stay 10 ft. ahead of the group" to lead to more failed stealth attempts. But that is me, its your characters and your call. Let me know and make the checks. As of right now, Nimaethep is at the top of the stairs with the rest of the group.

I'm letting the RP go as long as you keep it up. Just letting you all know I am here, keeping an eye on it.

Sorry everyone. I've been exceptionally busy at work these past two weeks. I will try to get a post up tonight.

OK guys, hope the holiday was a good one for those who may have celebrated. It was much busier for me than expected, didn't get in until late and with this being the beginning of the holiday shopping season I will likely be exhausted this weekend. I will try to do a full post later this evening to keep it going, but if I do not get to it, I apologize in advance. Either way I should past by Sunday night. Thanks.

So, just a heads up to everyone I will be going away for the weekend. Starting Thursday night I will be away at PAX Unplugged with my wife, so I will likely be out of communications from then until Monday. I will try to post on Thursday morning before I leave and I will check in over the weekend and post via phone if possible. Hopefully its a good weekend for us all.

I am not sure that Teos can withdraw as there are no unthreatened squares that he can initially move to. If I am wrong, please let me know...otherwise he will have to fight blue and hope to drop him quickly so he can move to help the others.

Nimaethep moved to try and get blue to attack her with his AoO. Unless he has combat reflexes you should be fine going around him.

Against the other guy, if he takes his AoO against you Nimathep is going to use her special ability to at least give you a +2 AC vs the attack.

Or

You could take the withdraw action and you should be able to get away from the other guy without an AoO and if blue does have combat reflexes, Nim will still give you +2 AC against blue's attack.

I think you are free to move through Nim's space if you need.

I am just worried about that thing behind us. It seems way more dangerous than these guys.

I think Nima's got the right idea here (withdrawing is probably preferable to avoid the possibility of any more damage). I feel as though we may have inadvertently triggered 2 encounters at the same time and should regroup back in the larger room.

Primarily, we need Vash to get a chance to fire the big guns against the undead creature. My intention was to buy him that time with a risky grapple check (I hope it works). If not, she has plenty of HP and Con to take a beating for a bit.

Secondly, Harmini can't effectively heal Teos when he's pinned around a corner getting flanked by sneak attackers. I had hoped in moving Alabaster to try and pull off a channel (Hex Channelers can channel through their familiars) that will hit everyone on her next turn (provided she's not otherwise incapacitated by the nasty bag of floating organs). Sadly, she does not have selective channeling so I'd prefer not to heal the already damaged thugs too if possible.

Lastly, once the larger threat is removed we can refocus on whatever thug/s remain. If left to her own devices, Harmini has more than a few tricks up her sleeve to deal with pesky humanoids. Swarm-like undead immune to single target spells, not so much. I did consider Burning Hands but that damage is minimal compared to the melee and/o ranged attack damage of anyone else in the group. Same goes for channeling to harm undead, I'd rather save those to heal the group when in need (like pretty much now).

P.S. Harmini does have a wand of lesser restoration w/ 9 charges to remove the constitution damage as needed after the combat.

Just my thoughts, take it or leave it :).

Sorry for the absence guys. Getting ready to take time off of work was more rough than expected and the Con took more out of me than I had hoped. It was fun, but no way was I going to be able to post during it. I am back now (though getting back into work mode is also rough going) so I expect I will post something tonight or early tomorrow. Thanks.

CON drain is always nasty.

Con drain is nasty (both in game and out).

Con drain, leads to Con funk. I think I may be getting that.

I moved everyone where I thought they would likely be. Sorry if its not perfect. Also, I adjusted the initiative. I forgot to move the Red Thug down because of his Readied action. Hopefully I can post a few times more over the next few days, but the weekends will likely be later in the evening unless its slow at the store. Nothing against you folks, I really hope its not slow. We need the business.

Well, that wraps that part up. I am happy we got through it before the holidays.

Please continue with RP, I will be watching as I can and answering questions if needed as I can. With it being the holidays I will be busy both with business and with events. I hope you all enjoy the holidays yourself. Thank you.

Hello

I'm going to be out of town for the next week.
I'll be checking in, but my posting might be a little spotty.

Have a happy holiday!

Hello

I'm going to be out of town for the next week.
I'll be checking in, but my posting might be a little spotty.

Have a happy holiday!

No worries Nima! I was slammed most of the weekend and yesterday, so I wasn't able to really log on much. I will also be pretty busy over the next few days.

So, with that said... It is likely we will be breaking for the holiday, hopefully I will be able to move us forward by next weekend more. Either way, enjoy the season and hopefully spend sometime with friends and family. Thank you very much.

OK, hope everyone had a good New Years. Now let's see if we can get back into the swing of it.

Vash wants to have them lead us to the priest to make sure they are telling the truth before potentially releasing them.

Ah, sorry. I thought the suggestion was to have these guys go and get the priest for us. Having them lead us to the priest sounds like a great idea.

Sorry for my absense guys, work got tough and keeps from being able to post there and home has been busy as well. This weekend isn't looking good either, but I will try to post if I can.

May I attempt a reposition maneuver against Teos?
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/Gamemastering/Combat/#TOC-Special-Attacks

If so, can I convince him not to resist, or would I have to roll against his full CMD?

I am concerned about him being blind and surrounded by some sneak attack people that are not blind.

@Nimaethep, I think Teos made the second Will save so is currently not blind.

May I attempt a reposition maneuver against Teos?

https://www.d20pfsrd.com/Gamemastering/Combat/#TOC-Special-Attacks

If so, can I convince him not to resist, or would I have to roll against his full CMD?

I am concerned about him being blind and surrounded by some sneak attack people that are not blind.

It looks like Teos made his will save at the end of his turn for the glitterdust (DC 15). He is no longer blind (but still looks fabulous!). The only one blinded still is the catfolk, Ekram.

Since Teos is no longer blind, he would also now threaten Red (who already took 8 damage from Vash) and be able to provide a flank for Nima if she wanted to use acrobatics 10' to move into position. The downside of course, is that if Nima does not drop Red, she'll be quickly flanked by Blue. I do plan on healing Teos next. Food for thought.

Sounds good =)

I'll post my action later today, sorry for the delay.

Let me start by saying I hope everyone is staying safe.

With that said, I still plan to keep this going as an outlet for us all. I may only be able to post once a day still but I will do my best to keep that up. I do know that tomorrow and Wednesday may be rough but I will try (I have a co-worker who is on PTO so work will be full).

As I said, stay safe out there and keep your spirits up.

Lol, I have learned a long time ago that having evasion and high reflex is an open invitation for the party mages to include you in their AoE spells ;P

Hey everyone, I"m sorry I've been unexpectedly absent for a bit.

Does Ekram seem know Harmini? It sounds like she does from the posts, but I wanted to be sure before I asked anything in game.

Just a note--Vash is not attacking the creatures--as far as he is concerned, they can kill all the undead they want. He is trying to distract them so he can go and heal the unfortunate bystander.

Talalmackk,
I don't know if it will help you, but I typically highlight my post and do the CTRL-C to copy the text before I submit it. If the Paizo website flakes out, I can just try again by pasting the text right back in.

Heh, I usually compose my posts in notepad before copy/paste into the forum =)

I do the same thing Vash does. It's saved me in the past, for sure.

Talalmackk,

I don't know if it will help you, but I typically highlight my post and do the CTRL-C to copy the text before I submit it. If the Paizo website flakes out, I can just try again by pasting the text right back in.

I usually try this but I was rushing that day. Live and learn.

Do we have time to prepare ourselves for this combat (buff spells, etc), or is that not allowed?

Sorry to be a pain, but for some reason, I do not have the stats for the new khopesh I received awhile ago...can someone direct me to its info...thanks

Sorry to be a pain, but for some reason, I do not have the stats for the new khopesh I received awhile ago...can someone direct me to its info...thanks

No problem. There was a "khopesh" spoiler posted back when we found it. Here's the details below:

Carved from a single chunk of magically strengthened mineral salts, a natron fang is a + 1 khopesh forged to combat the undead, specifically mummies and incorporeal undead. A natron fang overcomes the damage reduction of mummies, mummified creatures, and other mummy-like creatures at the GM’s discretion. Once per day on a successful strike against an incorporeal undead creature, a natron fang also deals 1d6 points of Charisma damage (Will DC 13 half) in addition to the weapon’s normal damage.

Yes, you could have had a little time to prep. But short duration spells (rounds per level) wouldn't likely be done before unless you also want to give Ajin time to prep as well.

I forgot about hero points, how many did we start with?
I'm going to go have a look on how they work.

Yeah, that is a good question. I would say probably 2 each at this point. Unless you know you have used 1 at some point. Too much ground to cover going through all of it.

Nice on the leveling up. Do we have opportunity to split the loot and perhaps make some purchases?