Mended Wall's PBP for beginners (Inactive)

Game Master Hoary and Wizened

Yes, I would prefer to finish/wrap up. I have been checking in daily, but nothing to react to.

Whose turn currently? Goruck I believe? Or am I wrong?

Yes, I would prefer to finish/wrap up. I have been checking in daily, but nothing to react to.

Whose turn currently? Goruck I believe? Or am I wrong?

You are right.

I concur that we should finish things off. I have been checking the thread, nothing to do.

Everybody, just so you know where my head is currently at:
First, I got into a car accident yesterday, my fault. No injuries at least. So my new (to me) 2005 Dodge Neon that I just bought about 3 months ago now has a smashed in grill and bent up hood, but still drivable. Two tickets for me, and court date 12/28(?). So I'm upset/frustrated there.

But that is nothing by comparison to the following.

Then today, Thursday 11/30, I get a call from my Sister in Argentina. My Dad (my whole family lives in Argentina) is in the hospital not doing well. Heart Failure. The docs say he could have just days left. He hass been battling this for many years now, and this is about the 4th or 5th time that the docs said days left and then my Dad pulls out of it. But this time they say most of his heart is necrotic (Dead tissue) and he hass less thn 20% of his heart left. The doc said he has never seen a heart in such bad condition. In Argentina they do not embalm the bodies or preserve them in any way. So Burial takes place within 24 hrs of death. Chances of me being able to go and be there in time? EXTREMELY LOW. Not to mention that none of us have the money for a last minute airfare at this time of the year. (Roughly $2,000). I have lived with the knowledge of this moment for many years now. So in a way, I'm ok with it. But, who is ever actually ready for this moment?

Anyways, currently I'm not going anywhere. I will do my best to keep up with things here. Just please be aware and for any prayers, please especially for my Mom. She is having to make decisions about keeping a defibrilator/pacemaker(?) going or turning it off and should they continue with his Dyalisis treatments or not. And I can't be there to offer my support to my Mom.

Ok. stopping this now.

Stormstrider --

I am very sad to hear this news. If I had the means, you'd have your plane ticket. Unfortunately, I can only offer moral support.

Communicate as much as you can -- especially to family, but to everyone.

Let us know if we can help (beyond prayer). We're here.

Peace be with you, chief.

To continue the joke:

You *did* kill a jellycube with a dagger. Now you'll singlehandedly end the Truescale tribe with one of their own javelins! :)

Stormstrider --

I am very sad to hear this news. If I had the means, you'd have your plane ticket. Unfortunately, I can only offer moral support.

Communicate as much as you can -- especially to family, but to everyone.

Let us know if we can help (beyond prayer). We're here.

Peace be with you, chief.

Thank you Syrus! I appreciate that.

Stormstrider- I just read your post with all the bad news.

Truly horrible. My father died 4 years back and... well I know what it is like. You are in our thoughts brother.

Thanks Chillel!

Gamewise, I don't want to be the mean one, and I know both Mended and I have been very busy the last few days due to Mended's 5E campaign recruitment, but I'm thinking we have been more than patient and it may time to bot Goruck?

There is a PM in to Goruck. If there is no response from him by Monday, we will be botting him, and continuing to bot him until this campaign has come to a satisfactory conclusion. Just a bit more patience lads. I appreciate all your patience thus far. Have a great weekend everybody.

I'm putting this in a spoiler because it might open you up to a rabbit-hole to the abyss of my own personal flaws in a way you don't want. So, fair warning: Enter at your own risk, you might never get back what is taken from you...

Therefore!
Syrus, if you're out there, please take over Goruck's character and post his words and actions in the Gameplay thread at your earliest convenience.

Thanks,
Mended

Roger that. Alias and statblock kicked to the top of my queue today; gameplay post no later than 3 hours from now (3:42 PM CST).

EDIT: One thing -- any particular naming conventions y'all want me to follow? 'Cause I'm seriously considering something like "Goruck's Stone-Silent Stunt Double".

Well . . . .

I'm certainly learning a new class! Two, really, though the samurai is pretty straightforward.

I'm pretty much (EDITed 'cause I *hate* making typos) "copy-pasting" everything on his profile page, but I'm finding some . . . discrepancies . . . . And omissions, too . . . .

He took 'kinetic cover' at Kineticist 2, right? But what about his level 1 infusion? Was that 'extended range'?

Getting it done, though.

Yes, extended range was his level 1 infusion.

I've run a couple of kineticists, so let me know if you have any questions.

I'm putting this in a spoiler because it might open you up to a rabbit-hole to the abyss of my own personal flaws in a way you don't want. So, fair warning: Enter at your own risk, you might never get back what is taken from you...

** spoiler omitted **
Therefore!
Syrus, if you're out there, please take over Goruck's character and post his words and actions in the Gameplay thread at your earliest convenience.

Thanks,
Mended

I am sorry to hear that Mended. That does seem rude. I wonder if he mis-understood and thought this game had already been cancelled? Or just lost interest because he knew it was not continuing?

I'm still not 100% sure I got everything sorted properly on my doppelganger work. One thing I *am* pretty sure of, though, is that he never finalized his 3rd-level feat selection; he said Power Attack was likely in the queue, but I don't recall him ever actually using it. Would your "ain't locked till it's rocked" rule apply here, Mended, provided I find no record of it in his posts?

And on that point, Illiam and others interested: are there any other feats that would be effective at giving our mimic a somewhat more respectable ranged combat application?

EDIT: Not used once since we cleared the baby skellies room. Fair game?

Yeah, swap away!

Well, there's deadly aim...

Also, toughness allows a kineticist to use their infusions more...

How does Toughness facilitate that? 'Cause I'm not seeing the connection, based upon what I'm reading on d20pfsrd.

Well. It makes the non-lethal damage from taking burn not hurt as much. Probably not worth it though, since you should be able to gather power if you need an infusion.

Worst part of gather power? Both hands free. :(

And being 'max HP' doesn't push toward Toughness, either -- even with that little extra.

Honestly, I would stick with power attack, or maybe deadly aim if you really want to focus on ranged attacks.

I think Deadly Aim is it, then -- between basic geokinesis and earth blast, having the potential to churn out three reasonable "attacks"' worth of damage could be a big deal.

Though that assumes more slurk tactics -- fall, AoO, blast.

Though Weapon Focus could also be on the table . . . . Damage you don't deal is no help, as you've noted.

I would go with power attack on the face of it. Goruck is the closest we have to a melee specialist. So he is likely to spend time in melee.

Point-blank shot would be another good option, especially considering that you're probably not going to get an opportunity to use that extended range infusion...

By increasing both attack and damage rather than decreasing attack to increase damage, PBS probably has a better effect on DPR, though Deadly Aim does have the "it might be just enough to drop him" advantage.

In either case, I agree with Chillel's point that Goruck is still more of a melee character, and thus Power Attack might be the better option. Goruck also has a higher STR than DEX, so he can afford a melee attack penalty more than a ranged attack penalty. If you're going for AoO tactics with him, that also means that there will be at least as many, and probably more, opportunities to use Power Attack.

While we're on the subject, is there a reason you're using the nodachi over the glintaxe?

Oh, and is there a reason you have Goruck so far out in front of everyone else? You're not planning to make him sacrifice himself just to get us back to one character per player, are you?

Choke point.
Use choke point.

. . . right?

And, no, I'm not gonna sacrifice Goruck like that. Cool character.

Besides -- meat-shields are terribly handy. In an uglier assessment of things.

Kairon is currently still taking "rearguard" seriously -- got a whole 'nother hallway to watch. Two, actually.

Power Attack it is.

EDIT: Glintaxe is just a gashing handaxe, right? +1? Much better damage output on the nodachi, even now.

EDIT: Glintaxe is just a gashing handaxe, right? +1? Much better damage output on the nodachi, even now.

Battleaxe, not handaxe. 1d10 vs 1d8+1. Same average, battleaxe is a tighter distribution for damage, plus the +1 to hit means the DPR is higher.

Ah. Another flaw in the "source material" I was drawing upon. Cool.

Goruck has a gashing handaxe also. That one came from the worg's room the first time we visited the monastery. The "glintaxe" also acts as a light source

On the other hand, how many oils of magic weapon do we have? Might be a good time to start using those (which would make the nodachi better)...

To all those who were kind enough to give me their support. I just want to let you know, I just got the call a little while ago. My dad went on to his permanent home in heaven this morning. Any support prayers, wishes for my Mother - around 55-56 years of marriage together. It is going to be the most difficult for her.

Condolences, Stormstrider. All my best to your family, and prayers on your (plural) behalf.

To all those who were kind enough to give me their support. I just want to let you know, I just got the call a little while ago. My dad went on to his permanent home in heaven this morning. Any support prayers, wishes for my Mother - around 55-56 years of marriage together. It is going to be the most difficult for her.

Hello Everyone,

First of all, please allow me to apologize. Even though school and tech problems have been overly present this semester, I should have notified you as to my situation. I know it is hardly an excuse, but so much had been done since I had last posted I felt lost and confused in trying to regain my bearings. Add in aiding my friends with their problems (ranging from counseling a friend who was raped to dealing with relationship woes) and I just had too much stress. I ended up out of class for a week due to migraines.

Yes, I was participating in another campaign. It was actually the first campaign I ever played in, and just recently ended due lack of momentum and players. I apologize for not making that clear previously. I only hopped on when one of the players messaged me informing me of the end.

Overall, I'm sorry. I did not live up to my promise of posting, and that was my fault. I know I messed up, but I have loved and enjoyed every post with all the amazing moments that came along the way. If you'll have me, I'd love to rejoin, and I promise I'll make every single effort I can to ensuring I post. If not, I understand, and wish you the best of rolls. It has been an honor to play with all of you.

Sincerely and Sorrowfully,
Goruck

Thank you Goruck! Very kind of you.

I am sorry you were going through such a rough patch yourself. Fry the rapist! Literally, in oil. Nuff said.

As far as you coming back, apology accepted. I certainly have no issues with it, but I do believe it is ultimately Mended's decision.

Goruck, thank you for apologizing to the group, and to myself personally. I forgive you for not posting. Real life is always more important than a game. I am very willing to allow you back, but I would like everyone else to be allowed to have their say about the matter as well.

Dolok = yea.

How say the rest of you?

1) I can in no way fault a fella for prioritizing real-life things over make-believe playtime (even if I would have done the opposite).

2) I will make the callout about keeping everyone informed, though. I may be a corner case, since I do 98% of my posting via phone, but it can't take so long to give everyone a heads-up that it's prohibitive . . . . Something comes up? Drop us a line!! I think we've done pretty well helping one another through the "hiccups of life" and keeping this game moving -- no reason not to continue.

3) Let's face it: Hawksw0rd will play a better Goruck than I will. (*I* think I've done a good job with those few posts, but I'm not the genuine article.) *conceals 'Advancement Through Assassination, for the Understudy' text behind back*

My answer? -- Yea.

Let's finish this!

1) I can in no way fault a fella for prioritizing real-life things over make-believe playtime (even if I would have done the opposite).

2) I will make the callout about keeping everyone informed, though. I may be a corner case, since I do 98% of my posting via phone, but it can't take so long to give everyone a heads-up that it's prohibitive . . . . Something comes up? Drop us a line!! I think we've done pretty well helping one another through the "hiccups of life" and keeping this game moving -- no reason not to continue.

3) Let's face it: Hawksw0rd will play a better Goruck than I will. (*I* think I've done a good job with those few posts, but I'm not the genuine article.) *conceals 'Advancement Through Assassination, for the Understudy' text behind back*

My answer? -- Yea.

Let's finish this!

I'm just going to plagiarize Syrus's response. Said everything I wanted to say on the matter.

Yeah, I should have let you guys know. My bad.

Honestly, I've never had to deal with stress like this before. I ended up losing twenty pounds in four months, roughly twelve percent of my body mass.

Thanks for the compliment. It's good to be back with you guys.

Sorry you have had such a bad run Goruck. And good to see you back.

Well, let's go for the gusto, then!

Proposal for the Fight:

1) Wis potions to Goruck and Kairon (tank and heals).
2) Second bless.
3) Resistance up.
4) Anybody want a guidance?

I don't know if enlarge person will be very useful here, or not.

Illiam's got a pit spell -- *so good*.

. . . .

I'm done gushing. For the moment. :D

Well, Illiam's plan is still to go in invisibly, but since that area has already been revealed, I can tell you now that when he gets in there and sees that, he's going to decide that there's not going to be a better time to use the bead of force. That should bring an end to things pretty quickly.

Wha... ? Huh ? Wat zis now?!?! WOW we sure moved forward suddenly! Hahahaha!

The Bead of Force may not kill them all, but it will go a good way towards doing so.

Can you toss it so it does not form around someone? I am not sure we want one of our enemies in a resilient sphere for 10 minutes. That kind of stops us killing them.

Then again you can toss it around a warrior type. If you can tell what they do. That could work well.

If we can contain them for 10 minutes, we don't actually need to kill them...

Not kill them? I don't understand. :P

Also I don't think the resilient sphere blocks effects like Sleep. When the 10 minutes are almost up, we can spam them with the wand until they all fail their saves, so that they'll be asleep when it comes down.

I also think we can summon stuff inside it that they will have to fight, without being able to attack us on the outside.

Nevermind that last. The Bead of Force description inherits from Resilient Sphere, which in turn inherits from Wall of Force, which block spells. Their caster(s) shouldn't know that though, and may cast some spells that will be wasted (or worse, reflect back on them) before they figure that out, which would make them easier to deal with once the sphere goes away.

Edit: OH! We could also summon some aether elementals to get trapped in there with them. They would be immune to the force damage and invisible, and could do some damage (or at least force them to waste more spells) while they're in there. Their telekinetic throw could also get more of them into the blast radius. Passing the wand would allow us to get 4 of them in position at once, and I can throw the bead right after they all appear and take their first action.

I'm going to be the voice of warning here. Your plan(s) Illiam, so far as I can tell, have operated on the assumption that the kobolds in the throne room DO NOT have any actions readied. That would be a very poor assumption...

The action occurs just before the action that triggers it. If the triggered action is part of another character’s activities, you interrupt the other character.