PFS Scenario, The Refuge of time (Inactive)

Game Master lantzkev

That's fair too.

I know this is a bit after the fact, but here are some rolls for information gathering in Kaer Maga

Diplomacy 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (18) + 16 = 34

Lore Master, Take 10 on all:
Knowledge (Arcana, Planes) 27
Knowledge (Local, Nature, Religion) 26
Knowledge (Dungeoneering, Nature, Nobility) 24
Knowledge (Engineering, Geography, History) 23

it is a bit late for that.

Hugo, go to roll20, the map is there and you should see no problem, just scroll down and right.

Taking 10 does not increase skill usage time, only taking 20. It would remain a free action. There is also a take 20 usage of lore master. However, there is an exception specifing it as a standard action in the ability text. So, I do not believe myself to be using it incorrectly. This point is brought up in this discussion.

I am, however, using the semi official clarification - the "take 10" language was forgotten in the archivist ability, but is standard in the basic bard version. This is an unfixed error thus far. Here is a link here regarding the issue.

I am happy to abide by any table rulings you wish to impose, however, if you have a different conclusion then my own regarding my usage of class ability.

Ah.. did I screw up on init order? I went after Hugo instead of Ursus, in case it matters.

Is this the right order?

Gina
Daxter
Angel
Dak
Hugo
Ursus
Davo

Moot point since the angel missed, but when a creature has the grappled condition, he can't make attacks of opportunity:

From:
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/glossary.html#_appendix-2-conditions

Grappled: A grappled creature is restrained by a creature, trap, or effect. Grappled creatures cannot move and take a –4 penalty to Dexterity. A grappled creature takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls and combat maneuver checks, except those made to grapple or escape a grapple. In addition, grappled creatures can take no action that requires two hands to perform. A grappled character who attempts to cast a spell or use a spell-like ability must make a concentration check (DC 10 + grappler's CMB + spell level), or lose the spell. Grappled creatures cannot make attacks of opportunity.

A grappled creature cannot use Stealth to hide from the creature grappling it, even if a special ability, such as hide in plain sight, would normally allow it to do so. If a grappled creature becomes invisible, through a spell or other ability, it gains a +2 circumstance bonus on its CMD to avoid being grappled, but receives no other benefit.

was wierd when I looked at it last night I couldn't see that at all, but I looked it over twice, then again it was in the middle of the night when I got up due to lack of being able to sleep. I think I was mostly stunned by the auto successful grappler.

sorry about the rocky start with some rules misfires, I used to GM alot of 3.0, and my pathfinder group simply doesn't grapple, and we never had time be a factor in taking 10 before so we never got to refute this idea of mine that's a hang over.

It's cool. Better to iron out this stuff early on anyway.

Grapple: confusing everyone since 2nd edition

Not me!

yes I did, it lost it's +3 morningstar and is at -2, so rather than +22 it's at +17.

Gotcha. I'll take the last 6 damage then.

I shall wear my bruises with pride!

You are abnormal in you capacity to master rulesystems, Feral. I imagine it's on account of bothering to read them ;)

I heard you can two weapon fight in a grapple now, or some such silliness. Geesh... haven't looked it up though.

You can. They added that sometime last year.

I believe its all nonlethal Ursus. I highly doubt the angel has improved unarmed strike.

It's pretty frustrating looking at this angel and realizing there's really nothing it can do but hit the monk at this point.

I'd prefer it at this point if you guys all just wrote up your attack routines for the next say two or three rounds of combat and then rolled em out. I can't see this going much past that. He has to roll a natural 18 to get out of the grapple

you can do any full round attack sequence in a grapple, problem is when you do that, you give up maintaing the grapple, barring things that let you do it as a free action.

-edit-At any rate it's a PFS scenario and not a home made one that would actually cause things to be a challenge.

I wasn't expecting a group of PFS character to have a problem with the scenario, but I wasn't expecting someone to have something so optimized as this!

I apologize if this ended up frustrating you. That was never the intent. =(

Ursus is kind of dependent on disabling foes to do well in melee. He doesn't have the AC to stand toe to toe with enemies at this level.

but he's got a CMD and CMB where it doesn't really matter unless it's two sizes larger than him, which in PFS is a bit of a rarity.

It's not that this kind of character is inherently frustrating, it's the design of encounters featuring one BBEG. If it wasn't yours, it'd be some other class locking it down. Hell if it wasn't for the disarm, you'd be in a world of pain doing this anyhow.

Rounds:
1- 3 Move, begin Detect Magic; maintain bard song; concentrate 3 rds to resolve fields. (Wish I had arcane sight...)
4+ if combat still ongoing, ready dispel magic vs angel's spell like abilities if I see him activate anything.

Course, if he breaks a grapple, plans will change...

Yea, if Ursus is frustrating I feel bad about playing an enchanter...

I think it's that his CMB is so high, there's no point to getting out of the grapple. As doing so doesn't let the Angel actually do anything but move away and get grappled again.

Like I said though, it's not as big a issue in other encounters, but when it's a big bad guy without anything else, if it's not a grappler, a tripper, a controller, etc, it's something else. Magic at least has several counters =D

There's not even the ability to get a concentration check off =D

Like I said, Ursus looks scary but he's basically just a big teddy bear with a few tricks.

When I get home I'll show you an optimized tetori or straight grappling fighter. They make Ursus look like a chump.

Well the angel can just fly away after escaping the grapple, making her immune to Ursus completely. And solo bbegs are always said because of action economy. Unless their maguses of course.

And we did give her a chance to just let us go by without conflict.

If anyone has a good sense motive, please use it to check her answers. She might be bound magically to lie to our questions.

except in this situation it's not allowed to by what it's compelled to do =D

you can show an "optimized" one in your opinion, but one that auto succeeds against opponents it's lvl +4 cr... if not further yeah I think it's optimized. Being optimized to be able to grapple something you're not supposed to encounter as a PC is just more than necessary.

There's really not alot the angel can say by the way.

And we're compelled to do what we do. And the thing with Ursus is, anyone he doesn't shut down will just pummel him into oblivion. He certainly is very good at what he does. The same goes for Daxter of course, though in a different capacity.

Pity. I was hoping to negotiate with the angel. Learning its true name might have been nice.

Can it really plane shift in a grapple?

A tetori will have a grapple check that's 5-6 higher, be able to ignore Freedom of Movement, and have higher AC.

A grappling fighter will have a grapple check that's a couple points higher, a lot higher AC, and have a CMD that's 10+ higher (meaning pretty much anyone will need natural 20s to escape).

You're right in that Ursus's grapple check is already 'high enough to auto succeed most of the time' but there's a lot more to being a grappler than landing the grapple. Surviving the inevitable counter full attack is one of them. =P

I think he let it go.

I'm not upset with it lol... Davoliz, hugo, everyone move your icons on roll20 please...

if for some reason you can't move it yet let me know your user name there, using roll20 is part of this.

sorry for being pedantic in the IC thread, but the character is a Professor of Linguistics at the Kitharodian academy. Like most professors, he has a flair for stating the obvious.

He also figure's Prides Bane is some sort of in joke between runelords or their followers (Sloth beats Pride?), although he's probably wrong.

Yes and Daxter is known for being a jerk especially to Ursus. And your name is impossibly hard to pronounce. So calling you gnome is far easier.

Why is it hard? Davoliznakamushka? Backwards it's Akhsumakanzilovad. Upside down it's ɐʞɥsnɯɐʞɐuzıןoʌɐp. Why is that hard?

Nevermind, forgot who I was talking to...

What is the light level here? Do we need to provide our own light sources?

Gina casts darkvision on herself.

Dim lighting except within 20ft of the tunnel

Dax: didn't want to give you any false illusions of privacy regarding the dwarven tongue.

Also, just realized Dak has been going by Merisiel after rereading earlier posts.. Facepalm.

as to the whole thing finishing quickly, I could have painstakingly gone through it and wasted a day or two going it perfectly legit, but the only real option the angel faced was plane shifting the dwarf and its self to another plane then coming back, or keeping the dwarf there somehow. However, it requires a concentration check, and there was no way of that happening, and it was unlikely for it to escape a grapple with it's directives how it was and just statistically speaking.

I also picked this module up, because largely it's just several big bad guys and little else, which makes it easy and quick in a PBP format.

I know. But it limited how many people understood what i was saying.

Also, clearly I don't have my faction mission yet... so my actions may not be in line with everyone elses. I take it lots of folk are looking for prisoners

What gave you that idea? :)

Straightforward mods for good for PBP.

Davo, I forwarded your faction mission to you on FB.

My apologies, forgot to do that with the late addition.

Yes, I saw.

You might actually be better equpped for this line of work....