Hmmm. I think you'd probably need "handle animal" to force the elephant to charge. I'll look up the ride and handle animal rules, and make sure it doesn't contravene anything written down in the scenario.
Amaranti: Thanks for that! I'll only post for if it's your turn and you've gone to bed already. You missed out on the surprise round, so it seems likely. Please do let us know (if you can) when that happens. Otherwise, I'll post after midnight Finnish time. There is a reason that I didn't want you to put in a contingency post that may or may not become apparent.
Cyrus: Do you even have a way to charm animals??? You're a nutter. On the other hand, a Keleshi pulling out a pipe and charming a cobra is kinda normal...
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Cyrus: Do you even have a way to charm animals??? You're a nutter. On the other hand, a Keleshi pulling out a pipe and charming a cobra is kinda normal...
This is what gave me the idea :)
My thought was (potentially) using a perform check (humming and swaying) and a handle animal check to possibly give me a circumstance bonus on a grapple check. The idea would be to entrance it as much as possible, then grab it behind the head so it can't reach me with its fangs...
In The snake charmer game people tend to think of in real life, the idea is to get the cobra to lunge at you. Not entirely sure how it works, but that's how you "win". It is a gambling thing...
Damo you can rule on what those things might do, and I am totally ok if you rule ahead of time that it isn't possible, and come up with what happens when I fail. I just think it will be fun whether I succeed or fail... :) always fun to try something different once in a while!
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Cyrus: you're nuts. In a home game, I'd rule all kinds of that was possible. In PFS, it's trickier since you need to stick to the rules and give all tables a chance at the same experience. Since you don't actually have the perform skill or the handle animal skill, and this fits better with the rules anyway:
- Humming and swaying the way the Keleshi snake charmers do in order to effectively perform a feint (bluff check). I'll give you a +2 circumstance bonus on this bluff check due to awesomeness and appropriateness.
- The snake will then be flat-footed towards you, so you may grapple next turn against it's flat-footed CMD and it won't get the usual AoO.
How's that sound?
Amaranti: assuming you get the elephant under control, the round following you may make a ride check DC 20 to Control Mount in Battle as per the ride skill, effectively fulfilling all your dreams. ;-)
That is, of course, unless there's nothing left to fight. Damn you effective players. Next stop: subtier 6-7 of a 3-7 scenario. How else am I to challenge you?
Gunari Maximoff, FYI - it did!
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Just fyi, I came up with my idea before I saw that it was a LARGE SNAKE! I'll be abandoning my plan, and going with some Ninja sneaky-Ness on my next turn...
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So, technically it happens AFTER Gunari acts? I am a little confused by when you rolled the saves, then.
Gunari: Oh, right, now I get the confusion. I guess with the grouped "up next" thing so that everyone can post rather than one at a time, odd things like that happen. Rather than put Miro in the "up next" bit, I had his spell complete (since that action was already posted). So I rolled the saves then rather than wait for Miro to post again just to say "finished!". I forgot about the move action, though.
Cyrus: I love that Cyrus tried to charm it anyway. Made for a much more memorable encounter - now hopefully everyone survives!
Actually, Cyrus and Finarin (as they are on the map right now) are currently flanking. The rule is that a line must pass through opposite "borders", and creatures are more circles than squares.
I don't want to get into any kind of rules debate, but suffice it to say that I consider the grid as just a guide. If you can turn everyone into a circle, and then rotate the squares to get a flanking bonus, then you are flanking (since the actual arrangement of squares shouldn't make a difference... and (again) you're more circles than squares.
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Well it appears I misunderstood! And a happy misunderstanding at that :)
I actually love rules debates and discussions, as long as it isn't an argument. :) that's why I subscribe to the rule where everyone in the party gets one vote, and the gm gets one more vote than the number of people in the party... Makes it easy to just move on in the case of being wrong, wether the error is in my favor or not :)
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Swamped at work. Can We discuss strategy before the hunt comes up and we don't have to retcon? I was thinking Guanri, Amaranti, and Miro protect the Baron, while Finarin, Ibid, and Curys sneak and ranged the tiger. I have snowball which can fatigue the tiger 1st round. Discuss - see you all at lunch time,
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It might not matter in game, but it could be good to have the Baron land the killing blow, if possible. Not sure how we would do that.
I also think that it is probably unlikely we will catch the tiger unawares, definitely time to go on high alert.
Personally, I want to be ready to use my wand of shield, and hope it goes off on the first try. Mechanically, we have to be concerned about the tigers pounce ability, and the fact that it gets a free grapple attempt if it hits you. Snowball is perfect. Do we have any other debuffs?
We definitely need to be as prepped as possible before this encounter starts. Just because we have dominated everything so far doesn't mean there isn't a party 'death' waiting to happen.
We are pretty freaking good though :)
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The next scene is not yet the hunt, and is the perfect time to discuss strategy in game. I'll move it to there early as I can.
I'm perfectly happy to take things a little slower today and not rush into the hunt encounter. You guys whacked the snakes in just 1 day, so plenty of time.
As Cyrus says, you are pretty freaking good. If I were the kind of GM that rooted for the monsters and not the PCs, I'd be pretty frustrated. ;-)
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I was going to suggest we send the baron out hunting a day early by himself, while the group hangs back and enjoys some of Gunsri's brew. Then each consecutive day, one at a time, one more our group will go looking for the Baron. But if you guys really want to stick together, I guess that's ok.
Only if I get to say "I'll be right back!"
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What I have come to learn about PbP is when you have a good group, such as this one, the limiting factor of time in a Face to Face game is removed. This allows the GM, master story teller he is, to expound on the original concepts put forth by the writer. This depth of storytelling has really excited my love for roleplaying games. I can honestly say that I have been anticipating this encounter since we met the baron. I personally have an affinity for tigers (true), hence the tattoo on the small of my back (not true) so I am super excited to see how this plays out. With the extended time to 'think' about this encounter my mind has been racing with the possibilities of this encounter. Is the tiger going to climb up after us, is it going to knock down our platforms, is it a druid wildshaped, does it have a demon element or other such evil? Ahh the possibilities. If it turns out to be just a tiger and we pincushion it as Ibid suggests, the enjoyment I have had these last weeks still is worth it.
@ Cyrus "I'll check out the basement"
Finarin, this adventure has been a joy to run thus far. I agree that I wouldn't have been able to get this depth of story in with face to face - especially not at a regular PFS table!!!! APs are a different animal, though, and I've had some very deep stories told that haven't advanced the plot very much (Kingmaker stands out there).
Something that has definitely been in our favor has been keeping the group together. It's been an absolute delight seeing all of you develop while taking part in these loosely connected missions.
Tell me about it (re: rapid reload)! He actually doesn't scale up at all for the 4-5 subtier (same in both). He's got 2 levels of aristocrat interfering in there as well. Mind you, he has the "athletic" feat, which I think is quite the waste for a trophy hunter (and doesn't make sense for an aristocrat either).
So, while he is equipped with paper cartridges, it still consumes his standard action (so he still can't fire). He needs to use the withdraw action to move back without taking an AoO, so he can't move then reload in the first round.
I guess you guys are supposed to be the stars of the show in tier 4-5 (and need help in tier 1-2). Actually, both of those things are very true.
Either way, though, this is a pretty harsh encounter for the baron!
Amaranti, if you're interested in some summoning advice, earth elementals give you much better bang for buck in combat (even without augment summoning). I know it's too slow to have been able to close in last turn, but consider it for future rounds. Also, you can use your summon monster spell-like ability after the existing summoned monster has acted to effectively get 2 monster attacks per turn. You just burn through your daily uses much more quickly that way...
Y'know, I've just checked something out. With the exception of a piddling 15 fewer HP, this advanced Leuctrotta is more difficult to beat across the board than the original Jalmeri Leucrotta! It's AC in particular is 3 higher. I know it's got 1 fewer CR, but wow. Even the Lure save DC is higher with the 4-player adjustment. Sorry guys, it's gonna be a long and deadly ride. I think a young template would have been a better way to reduce the CR by 1 (not to mention you'd then get to keep the base creature type). Since it's PFS, there's no option to change that one, though!
I'd actually bet on the Advanced Leucrotta against the Jalmeri Leucrotta in a 1 on 1 fight.
Yeah, I know... The distance was too great for earth elemental ,so i was either air or fire... I don't know if any of the celestial animals would be good, I do believe the leucotta is evil. Not that Amaranti knows...
Luring people to their deaths with the voices of their friends? Yeah, Amaranti knows.
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I have no idea how I am going to hurt this thing, but if everything stands the way they are, I will move two spaces to the right (I am invisible, so won't provoke an AoO) before I make my next attack, which will give Bomande and Finarin flanking. Hopefully the baron can retreat, and if the creature tries to follow, we will all at least get a round of AoO's.... The creature wouldn't be that stubborn would it? ;)
Cyrus: Noted. No spoilers. ;-)
Some advice from the author! I'm not overly familiar with magi, so many thanks to Ben for this one.
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Finarin can make an attack as a free action after casting a touch spell.
Touch Spells in Combat: Many spells have a range of touch. To use these spells, you cast the spell and then touch the subject. In the same round that you cast the spell, you may also touch (or attempt to touch) as a free action. You may take your move before casting the spell, after touching the target, or between casting the spell and touching the target. You can automatically touch one friend or use the spell on yourself, but to touch an opponent, you must succeed on an attack roll.
(bold for emphasis)
Since he just cast shocking grasp, he can move up to the leucrotta and make a free touch attack. As a magus, he can channel that through his scimitar and make a melee attack.
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Also, I've been dealing too much damage with the leucrotta (I read things a bit wrong, so the baron heals 3 damage - not enough to making anything other than savagely brutalized, but it all counts).
Okay boys, no more posts from me until tomorrow (or unless it's a very quiet table). Everyone is up! Good luck. To help you with determining the success of your actions once you've rolled (for favor text), it has an AC of 22 (as you've probably figured out), touch AC of 12 and flat-footed AC of 19.
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Okay boys, no more posts from me until tomorrow (or unless it's a very quiet table). Everyone is up! Good luck. To help you with determining the success of your actions once you've rolled (for favor text), it has an AC of 22 (as you've probably figured out), touch AC of 12 and flat-footed AC of 19.
With an AC of 22 my 20, 19, & 18 all missed. That sucks! Seriously I was thinking how cool I was to drop 28 on it in 2 rounds (not Roudantaimi numbers) but still respectable. And now - nada. What does nada mean? Chicken with a light gravy? No it means nothing! And that is just what I got. ::sad face::
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Something tells me we're going to need to pull out all the stops. Normally, Gunari would just attack away, but if he is the only one that can really affect the creature, we'll need to get more in.
He has 3 blessings left, that he can grant Good to to a weapon for 1 minute (with an additional +1d6 damage to evil critters as well).
Thinking he'll need to boost a couple of more of our hitters, starting with Amaranti. The working on the blessing makes me think it will not work with Karshaiga. However, perhaps the snake can grapple, trip, or otherwise tie up the demon.
Holy Strike (minor): At 1st level, you can touch one weapon and bless it with the power of purity and goodness. For 1 minute, this weapon glows green, white, or yellow-gold and deals an additional 1d6 points of damage against evil creatures. During this time, it's treated as good for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction. This additional damage doesn't stack with the additional damage from the holy weapon special ability.
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I think you are right gunari, and I wonder if ibid or finarin shouldn't be next, as much add I would like it, it is going to be hard for me to truly do significant damage without being able to sneak attack.
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So we need to distract him for a few rounds? Could potentially try to grapple... That might not be the best idea, but if we can occupy him for a couple rounds you can get the spells to our other two big damage dealers... Maybe kaisarga and I could jump on him? Or if Miro has something up his sleeve to crowd control him momentarily... Would snowball work finarin? Might be a relatively easy save to pass.... Just spit-balling here...
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Things we know:
-It has SR (don't know how much)
-Kaisharga's 24 on trip didn't beat it's CMD
-Resistant to at least electricity
-vulnerable to good
-blink is really nasty and will most likely last pretty long
-the dance movement might be annoying (does it proc AoO?)
Kaisharga won't be able to do much, it could tank, but compel hostility didn't go through SR. Tripping would require natural 20 most likely
Amaranti can punch through the DR even without the blessing, but regeneration would be a problem. If the blessing works on ranged weapons, Ibid might be a good choice for it.
Any bonuses to hit would be really useful. Maybe Kaisharga could use aid another instead of attacking.
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well, I don't think we'll know if good works until GM Damo posts. We are suspecting that it does. Also, I am really hoping it is Fast Healing and not Regeneration (unless it is Regeneration: Good). It'd be really bad for us if we can't kill it.
It was exactly because Amaranti can punch through the DR that I was thinking he'd be a good choice... since we want to drop if fast, make sure EVERY hit by him counts.
If Ibid or Finarin wants to have his weapon blessed they will need to be within a 5' step of Gunari. The harsh thing is that Gunari is the best one to be wacking at the thing, since he can reroll the miss chance.
However, Blink is a double-edged sword. It'll need to roll a 20% miss chance on us (unless there is something special about its abilities).
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I will offer myself as a target for the holy weapon spell if the others aren't in range to have it cast yet, assuming my front worked and I was able to move to the square I indicated, it would put me 5' from gunari. If my feint worked I will get sneak attack damage and it theoretically would be easier to hit since I would be hitting its flat footed ac. I could also spend a ki point and get a second full attack, getting potentially two attacks with sneak attack damage on both, all in one round...
I am pretty sure damo told us good works with the knowledge roll he did for ibid...
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Things we know:
-the dance movement might be annoying (does it proc AoO?)
It would, but it looks mostly interested in attacking Gunari for now. These things really hate the gods, and divine casters seem to be the next best thing to smacking down on the gods themselves.
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Actually, if it is 20 (let's say it is, otherwise we're all in trouble)... you've got about a 40% chance of hitting, and then a 50% chance of missing after that. But, you get to try twice per round. Sounds like a pretty decent chance to me.
Add to that, you can always throw some of your uses of Inspiration into the fight, right? If things get dire, that is.
@Cyrus, if you cannot hit effectively, and it is focused on Gunari, perhaps you could Aid Another to boost Gunari's AC by 2? Or, Karshaiga could do the same (since he cannot be used for the Blessings).
If we can get Gunari's AC up, then he'll stay in the fight longer. Note: since it now seems to actually be regeneration, note that any damage that is caused on the round that a good attack (based on the description that GM Damo gave) will not regenerate.
Also, remember that Holy Water works against evil outsiders!
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Actually, if it is 20 (let's say it is, otherwise we're all in trouble)... you've got about a 40% chance of hitting, and then a 50% chance of missing after that. But, you get to try twice per round. Sounds like a pretty decent chance to me.
Add to that, you can always throw some of your uses of Inspiration into the fight, right? If things get dire, that is.
Correct, I have 4 uses of inspiration, I can burn two uses at a time, to add 1d6 to a single attack roll. So conceivably, I can add 1d6 to two separate attack rolls. Or, alternatively, as suggested above, I have wand of CLW and get onboard the heal train to help keep our tank up.
Whatever we think will work best!