Nightflier's Midnight Game Thread

Game Master nightflier

That's cool. How nice that we have access to the resident god of Pathfinder at the type of a key and the click of a mouse.

Okay, guys. I'm gonna ask James Jacobs for ruling, so that we are clear on future cases, and then I'll post his ruling here, but for the sake of story continuity we will in this case keep my ruling. Is that fine with everyone?

Oh, yeah, no problem. GM always has final say.

Currently Ragnar, Chops, Duncan and Anang are directly in front of the librarian, in two rows, Sorok is behind them. The girls are still in the central chamber. It's Ragnar's turn to attack. Everybody else, please hold your actions until Ragnar plays.

Can Ilona charge from where she is?

In order to charge Ilona needs a clear path directly to the Librarian. Allies can let you move through the spaces they're in but they still count as blocking your way for purposes of charging.

Guys, this is the question and the verdict:

James, I need a ruling about specific situation: Can grapple be maintained with 0 hp and not result in loosing 1 hp because of strenuous activity?

Maintaining a grapple is a standard action, so no. If you maintain a grapple, you take a point of damage; if that makes you fall unconscious, the dude you're grappling can just walk away. Or more likely, can stab you in the throat.

Did I mentioned that I studied to be a lawyer? :)

Guys, this is the question and the verdict:

Nightflier asked wrote:

James, I need a ruling about specific situation: Can grapple be maintained with 0 hp and not result in loosing 1 hp because of strenuous activity?

James answered wrote:

Maintaining a grapple is a standard action, so no. If you maintain a grapple, you take a point of damage; if that makes you fall unconscious, the dude you're grappling can just walk away. Or more likely, can stab you in the throat.

Did I mentioned that I studied to be a lawyer? :)

Actually that didn't answer the question at hand since it didn't differentiate between whether the grapple needs to be dropped immediately or on the characters turn. It really didn't answer anything that we didn't already know. I asked a follow up question to try and clarify it some more.

We'll see what James has to say. I'll abide by his ruling.

By the way, librarian has taken an action and cast a spell. We wait for Ragnar's decision right about his familiars.

Guys, Anang is off this game.

Viscount, I need you to create a rogue/wildlander or pure rogue character. Available races are Caransil, dwarf and elfling with Fell template or an Outsider trapped in a summoning circle - essentially a modified Tiefling.

Here is JJ's response to my follow up question. I think the timing was what we were having an issue with. I agree with Ragnar on what he said of GM fiat, but this will be nice to know for future games. I can just see this coming up sometime at a home game.

Kratzee wrote:

James Jacobs wrote:

nightflier wrote:

James, I need a ruling about specific situation: Can grapple be maintained with 0 hp and not result in loosing 1 hp because of strenuous activity?

Maintaining a grapple is a standard action, so no. If you maintain a grapple, you take a point of damage; if that makes you fall unconscious, the dude you're grappling can just walk away. Or more likely, can stab you in the throat.

I have a follow up question. Is the grappling character considered to be maintaining the grapple as soon as the damage is taken, requiring him to let go immediately, or does the grapple still apply until the grappling character's turn in the initiative order at which point the grappler can chose to release the grapple and not take that point of damage?

My first response: Ask your GM. He'll tell you.

My second response, if you've come back and he said "whatever James says," or in the case that YOU are the GM, here's how I would rule it: maintaining a grapple is a choice. If you choose to do so and doing so results in you falling unconscious as a result because you had 0 hit points when you made the attempt to maintain the grapple, then you fall unconscious immediately, at which point the dude you're grappling isn't grappled.

If you're grappling a foe and it's not yet your turn and someone reduces you to 0 hit points, you're still conscious and you haven't yet taken an action to maintain the grapple (you already did that earlier in the round when you had more hp), and the grapple keeps going until it gets to your turn. If you get healed before you decide to maintain the grapple, you're good to go.

Put another way: it's making the attempt to continue the grapple that makes you fall unconscious and release your foe in this case, NOT being reduced to 0 hit points.

Guys, Anang is off this game

Damn. I feel kind of bad for him, but you're the boss.

I'd thought of a possible way to have him be able to pop in and out of the game at his convenience that still makes sense within the game world. All he has to do is die. ;)

Basically, anang's whole deal is that he's got a demon trapped inside him. Based on how spirits work in midnight there's nothing that days this would change if he dies. He'd just be a ghost with a demon trapped inside it, and we know what happens to PCs that die around Ragnar.

Of course, demons make all kinds of the usual rules wonkey, as does Ragnar with spirits, so the combination might have unexpected results.

Basically, what if the demon could grant anang the ability to sometimes draw off Ragnar's strength and summon himself. The demon is sort of under anang's control, and anang's sort of under Ragnar's (and Ragnar is basically under ilona's) so it would be like one of those layered Russian dolls of potentially catastrophic evil. :)

The effect would last exactly as long as Anang's player was able to post, and then he'd disappear. When anang's player wasn't around, he becomes a weaker version, basically just another of the ghosts in Ragnar's army.

What do you think?

No. He will stay alive. Perhaps there will be a point when he can rejoin the game in some manner. Perhaps to have a cameo appearance, or something, and I don't want to limit his options in any way. As soon as this encounter ends, he will leave to do some exploring and who knows, he may return someday.

Both Anang and Duncan find hard to hit the undead spellcaster. While they to their best to put an final end to this menace, enlarged Chops falls in their midst.

Anang, Ragnar and Duncan, please roll Reflex.

This caused me to L.O.L.

Chops, timing can be problematic, especially in pbps where people post when they can, and DM has to sort out the order of actions. Sometimes that doesn't happen in a way that the players want, but methinks that most of the time you guys pull off whatever you imagined to do.

I can't imagine trying to sort through this all as a DM. I usually try and wait as long as I can to post an action, but with the pace of some of our fights, I try to get in what I envision is going to happen next if I know I won't be back to the computer for a while.

Now what just happened I think is going to be pretty funny unless someone dies.

As soon as Chops moves to attack the librarian, Thorg growls and punches the blade of Chops' axe out of the way with one hand. With the other, he does the same with Ragnar's spear.

You missed and you take full damage.

the ability doesn't work on librarian either.

While Ragnar tries to pass around Chops and Thorg and to get behind the librarian, the tall elf raises his hand and five blinding points of light leave librarian's hand and shoot at the barbarian's chest. 5d4 + 5 Stunned by the sudden pain, Ragnar fails to grab the channeler and the librarian simply steps behind the Dorn.

he can cast a spell as AoO. [/ooc]

While ravens futilely try to scratch undead channeler, Ragnar slams the Sorrow down on him, but the mighty blade bounces of his skin

Anang easily escape the falling dworg, but Ragnar gets caught up in a tangle of elbows and knees and goes down as well.

This fight...

I...

you..

but....

f*&*!

f!$%f$#!f@*#f%~*f%@%!@!!!!!

I hate everything that has ever existed.

Solvistania stores the image of Chops stumbling into the others for future reference, even as she looses additional magical energy into the Librarian.

Ohhhh, she's one of those....

Chops: "But sweetie, I wasn't looking at Illona I swear."

Solvistania: "Yeah right! Remember when you stumbled all over Ragnar and Duncan that one time in the basement with the librarian. I saw you staring at her butt!"

Chops: "But sweetie, I wasn't looking at Illona I swear."

Solvistania: "Yeah right! Remember when you stumbled all over Ragnar and Duncan that one time in the basement with the librarian. I saw you staring at her butt!"

In your defense, everyone, including Solvistania, stares at Ilona's butt.

Pffff, that's a load of crap. Have you seen MY cha score? I have male equivalent of Ilona's butt. What he was aiming for is feeling up my ass. :D Those Dworgs...

Yes, we all know you're the prettiest princess at the party. ;)

The difference is that Ilona has the Charismatic path. To put it in perspective, you've got a nice big bonfire that can keep everyone warm and happy.

Ilona has a flamethrower.

Yes, we all know you're the prettiest princess at the party. ;)

The difference is that Ilona has the Charismatic path. To put it in perspective, you've got a nice big bonfire that can keep everyone warm and happy.

Ilona has a flamethrower.

This post wins for Best Post of the Thread.

Nobody appreciates my ass around here...

Nobody appreciates my ass around here...

Don't worry. If Chops dies I'll roll up a nice big orc that'll be very interested in your ass.

Ilona has a flamethrower.

Reminds me of one of my ex-girlfriends whom I taught to light her farts. Yeah, hot blond lighting her farts.

I must admit Chops. I sometimes question your true alignment.... ;-).

Duncan Bloodforged wrote:

Nobody appreciates my ass around here...

Don't worry. If Chops dies I'll roll up a nice big orc that'll be very interested in your ass.

Awwwwwwww

Guys, Anang is off this game.

Viscount, I need you to create a rogue/wildlander or pure rogue character. Available races are Caransil, dwarf and elfling with Fell template or an Outsider trapped in a summoning circle - essentially a modified Tiefling.

Righto. Working on it.

Sorry about dropping out. I just have too much work to do pretty much anything else reliably. I'll keep reading the thread, enjoy the game.

Sorry about dropping out. I just have too much work to do pretty much anything else reliably. I'll keep reading the thread, enjoy the game.

As I've said, when you have more free time, drop in. We may find a spot for Anang yet.

Viscount, check out Pathfinder AP #25 The Bastards of Erebus. There is a nice article on tieflings there, that will help you to modify your character. Since you will not be getting your covenant item, I will give you more tiefling powers.

Now, boys, I am DM here and my butt is the prettiest. :)

Now, about this fight and all the others: You're characters are more powerful then the norm for standard DnD game. Far more. I am allowing many things that would be considered over the top and broken in most games. There is a reason for that. For one, I like colorful and unique characters, and that can rarely be achieved without bending the rules just a little bit. The other reason is - that allows me to create nonstandard monsters and NPCs and use them in devious manner. This is that kind of game.

I hope that everyone are still having fun. Tough encounters are not meant to kill fun, just PCs.

So we have a new situation. I was thinking that Solvi and Gil should retreat towards the Librarian, and of course some of the fighters should stand between them and this new thing. Now, I have a turn right after Gil, but I'm uncertain what to do, since at the moment Ragnar and Chops are a steamy pile of muscles and virility :D
Sorok should definitely go to the front lines, maybe Anang as well. I could go, but since I'm the only one who can deal dmg to the FeGElf (Fell Gay Elf), and I have cast my shield away, so I would have to spend my move action to pick it up, and use my standard action to move, I think I should stay where I am and smite away.
What do you think?

What do you think?

If you want your shield back just complain about it in game. I'll make it happen.

As for the new monster, I think I can do something about that. Lets put Sorok between the new monster and our casters. Let it try to chew through our resident Invincidwarf for a while.

Duncan, just keep hammering the Librarian. We really want that guy to die.

We need someone to get behind the Librarian to cut off his escape. I recommend Chops, being that he fills the whole hallway and has the biggest CMD of all of us right now.

Chops is still standing and will be grappling again his turn, assuming that his previous attempt missed.

No, I don't want the shield back, I cast it away to maximize the damage to the Librarian. I agree with cutting off his escape route, and I'll do my best to kill him.

Also, Chops should be able to damage the Librarian as well. He gets to ignore 3 points of DR.

Chops is still standing and will be grappling again his turn, assuming that his previous attempt missed.

Careful with the grappling. Ragnar tried that and got a face full of magic missiles, as a frickin' AoO.

Chops needs a Shield spell cast on him to negate those magic missiles. Think one of the casters can oblige?

Chops needs a Shield spell cast on him to negate those magic missiles. Think one of the casters can oblige?

Cannot do, I don't know it.

We inflicted around 70 dmg to the Librarian, if I my numbers are not wrong. Hope he can't take much more, since he already tried to run. I might maximize my dmg with fp, just to make sure he dies faster.

Chops needs a Shield spell cast on him to negate those magic missiles. Think one of the casters can oblige?

I don't believe there is anyone who can spare an action on it. Let's just hope Chops pulls this grapple off.

Chops needs a Shield spell cast on him to negate those magic missiles. Think one of the casters can oblige?

I don't believe there is anyone who can spare an action on it. Let's just hope Chops pulls this grapple off.

Ragnar, what is Anang doing?

Ragnar, what is Anang doing?

Breathing a sigh of relief?

Then she is in his arms, rewarding him for a job well done...

Isn;t he still enlarged? The image in my head is amusing.

1000 XP and 1 FP everybody. As usual, please note the FP you received and those you spent.

Does this include Anang?

nightflier wrote:

1000 XP and 1 FP everybody. As usual, please note the FP you received and those you spent.

Does this include Anang?

No. Anang will now quietly wander away to explore the dwarven city by himself.

Solvistania Elghreah wrote:

Then she is in his arms, rewarding him for a job well done...

Isn;t he still enlarged? The image in my head is amusing.

Sounds like something to take advantage of while it lasts.

Bow chicka bow-wow!

Word of advice: you may want to keep the magic items even if you can't use them for various reasons, if they are evil, for example. Warsmith PrC that I am making for Sorok will be able to drain them in order to create new ones.

Bow chicka bow-wow!

Click me...

Now listen to his music impression and picture Lawrence Taylor wearing fake halloween fangs in bed with an albino anorexic midget...

You're welcome.

** spoiler omitted **

He he...already done.

People,

I have cured/inflicted near 100 HP in this fight. We are burning healing magic like hell, but tactically I think we did really good and got lucky.