Rappan Athuk [Pf]

Game Master Chris Manos

Loot's up...I have added it to the loot tracker, but have not added in prices. Feel free to fill them in as you like. If you want to claim something, please put the number taken in the Number Taken column under your name.

I am going to say there are sufficient arrows lying around and in quivers for Brodin to re-stock. But after you leave here, I am going to have him leave. If Gavmania returns, Brodin can make a heroic entrance and save you all from certain death.

Loot's up...I have added it to the loot tracker, but have not added in prices. Feel free to fill them in as you like. If you want to claim something, please put the number taken in the Number Taken column under your name.

Really want those smokesticks. Tony's gonna take two oils.

But after you leave here, I am going to have him leave. If Gavmania returns, Brodin can make a heroic entrance and save you all from certain death.

I doth protest!

So, have we fully explored the complex?
Removing the fog of war?

I took a look at the Loot list - items Garrosh would be interested in are:

- Cloak of Resistance +1 (will defer this to anyone with worse saves);
- Masterwork Heavy Steel Shield (defer to whomever needs it more)
- Composite Longbow (STR+4) to upgrade from my sling
- The Longspear will depend on the enchant
- The scrolls I guess whomever can use them should hold onto them. Not really much use for Garrosh I guess... Seir or Belle?

So, have we fully explored the complex?

Removing the fog of war?

You have not explored beyond the chasm, and you haven't checked what was behind the door a couple rooms back. I have dynamic lighting on which doesn't work with fog of war. I guess I can switch until you guys decide what you want to do. When you go back form bodies...you check out the door in that one room. It is open, and the trap has been tripped. Beyond is a cave that they were using as a cesspit with piles of humanoid waste indicating they have been here for quite a while.

I doth protest!

Noted, but I am not running a GMPC...

It might be best for Brodin to just vanish into the ether.

I'll have him abducted by aliens tonight while he is on watch.

And we'll spend the rest of the game looking for him :D

Plus we need a ranged character - we're weak from afar.

Do you want me to look for another player? I personally think you have enough firepower, and prefer running smaller groups.

I like 5 characters best and we have that.

When you go back form bodies...you check out the door in that one room. It is open, and the trap has been tripped.

Ha!

Where to first? Explore to the north and through the door then track down the rest of them on the other side of the chasm?

Where to first? Explore to the north and through the door

North? What door?

then track down the rest of them on the other side of the chasm?

Yupyup.

Belle PBP wrote:

Where to first? Explore to the north and through the door

North? What door?

Not a door to the north, I meant the door back the way we came. But it sounds like HoF gave that one to us. I'm ready to move on once Belle is healed up.

Belle, aren't you at 25/31?

Aaaand 5 people in the group is cool, BUT this is Rappan Athuk and we deal almost zero damage from afar... Ranged damage is an amazing way to deal with spellcasters, etc.

I fixed teh HP. I noted in a post but it seemed I missed it on the character. Belle takes the spear. I'll have to check her encumbrance, though now that I remember she does have a bag of holding so she can take all the alchemist fires and tanglefoot bags that nobody else takes.

I'll update the loot tracker with her score. Who takes the scroll? Belle will also take the potion of delay poison since she has room in her bag.

Reynaud doesn't need any of this treasure.

[ooc]I figure it will take you about 20 minutes to gather all the loot and identify what you can. How much longer do you want to rest?

I think I'm done resting - just wanted to take the time to interrogate the captured ones.

I jotted down my name next to the scroll simply because I can cast the spells - let me know if any of you would like to carry it, or if you want one of the spells cast on you.

Still waiting for you guys to pipe in regarding the Cloak of Resistance +1 and the Heavy Steel Shield.

Taking the hypothetical theological conversation offline.

"but would Ragathiel really mind if I actually threw them though?"

Ragathiel is a Lawful Good Empyrial of Chivalry, Vengeance and something else. If you killed them unjustly, without evidence of a crime, that would not be vengeance and it would not be chivalrous, it would not be lawful, or good.

What is their crime? Defending their home? As of this point, what evidence do you have that these two hobgoblins were present for the burning of the cottage?

Lets also take into account that you have a cleric of Sarenrae, goddess of healing, the sun and redemption, amongst you. "The Dawnflower values the redemptive powers of compassion and patience, and extends them to all who might be capable of good." Allowing you to throw them into the pit without attempts to redeem them would be against her tenets. Using a defense that hobgoblins are pure evil, and beyond redemption, without even trying to redeem them would be a very thin defense.

But that's just my perspective. Why do you feel that Ragathiel would have no problem with you killing someone without assessing their guilt?

Belle already has a cloak +1 so she is out of the running.

To me the fact that they have conducted raids out of this place and the group is responsible makes it more like a 'war' situation than a person by person trial. But there are rules in war too, and killing someone who surrenders is bad form. Even if the prisoner is holding out on info - that's what a food prisoner is supposed to do.

I'm going out for a couple of beers tonight so maybe no answer, but I will get back to you on this. For one this is something that comes up frequently in my home games - me as the GM with an opinion much similar to yours actually. I tend to do exactly the same to my players - 'Well... The demon was just sitting here in his cave, minding his own business. You attacked him first...', etc. But unless the game is about moral compasses, we usually don't go too strict (even on Paladins) unless it is a wanton act. Murdering a captured foe would be one such act.

But also because I will dig through the posts and uncover the full story. I am under the impression we were chasing the hobgoblins because of what they did to a small child and her parents. And I am also under the impression they attacked first and refused all my offers of parley.

And that will be my last point (when I have time to post) - I think Garrosh has been acting quite decently thus far.

Last but not least - there are a LOT of grey areas. What about those opponents you KNOW are too tough to be held by the sheriff, and show no signs of redemption? I've had characters of mine actually keeping those with the group, under their watch, to make sure they would not endanger others. Almost never worked out well though :D

Hoping to debut, with the Game Master's blessing, revised Tony Tanner.

Plus we need a ranged character - we're weak from afar.

I need Tony to get a shortbow.

A DESCENT ranged character. If all you are doing is 1d6 then it won't be much good. Can you pump it up a bit and get him to be decent from range? But then again it has been fun seeing Tony dodge his way through the battlefield untouched while the burly fighters get plastered. I would miss that.

A DESCENT ranged character. If all you are doing is 1d6 then it won't be much good. Can you pump it up a bit and get him to be decent from range?

I'm pretty sure he'd be able to consistently hit? With poisoned arrows, that'd be a game changer.

But I see what you mean.

But then again it has been fun seeing Tony dodge his way through the battlefield untouched while the burly fighters get plastered. I would miss that.

=P

Poison is good. That would definitely make it descent, though poison tends to more expensive than its effects warrant, at least from what I could tell by my quick look. I have an alchemist and considered using poisons but the ones that are cheap are worthless and the ones that work cost waaaay too much. What poison were you thinking of using? I'd like to look it up and consider using it myself it it is worth the gold.

Huh... Which burly fighters got plastered? :P

Ha! Think back to the gargoyles or the ghouls! Or how about those wights. Tony was the target of choice in that battle and was juking like nobodies business.

What poison were you thinking of using? I'd like to look it up and consider using it myself it it is worth the gold.

Haven't put that much thought into it yet...

Now, Tony needs a short bow.

Haven't looked into the actual poisons yet. But I agree with your assesment of the poison spectrum.

Poison is good.

As long as your LG characters don't know about it :)

OK, last call for loot. Anything that isn't claimed gets deleted from the loot list. If things go into the Bag of Holding, please mark them on whoever is carrying the bag. You never know when that character is going to fall into a lava or green smile-filled chasm.

There's not a lot there I can really use.

I'll take another look tonight.

But also because I will dig through the posts and uncover the full story. I am under the impression we were chasing the hobgoblins because of what they did to a small child and her parents. And I am also under the impression they attacked first and refused all my offers of parley.

1) You have no evidence that these are the same ones that burned the farm house to the ground. The child was gone before the house was burned. Gilda followed the tracks south, lost track of them, found hobgoblin tracks all over the place. When you spied the three scouts, Garrosh charged and Brodin shot, before they fled.

2) you have no evidence that these goblins have been raiding ANYWHERE. For all you know, they are separationists who just want to live in peace in their cave. it's not like there is anything nearby for them to raid.

3) They did not attack you until you entered their home

4) They did not understand your language when you offered parlay.

My point is not that I'm going to make anyone fall. My point is, do you want this to be a murderhobo game, or do you want some morality in it?

Some morality definitely - I'm trying.

And yes, they attacked once we entered their lair. But they DID attack first. We simply fought for our lives. Kinda :D

Now, here is where I went wrong. I should have had one of them growl, "Perhaps you should leave. You are not invited." before they shot first.

Belle stuffed what looked like it would fit into the bag of holding. There are a couple of +1 armors left that are valuable but too big for the bag, and a bunch of non magical weapons and armors that I don;t think we are going to be able to take.

Garrosh, I changed your entry. The location column is for GM use. If you take an item you put the number of that item in the column under your name. I switched it so that it was represented that way.

There are still two cloaks of resistance +1s left up for grabs. Belle put them in the bag but if you want one move it on the loot tracker. And if anyone can haul a +1 half plate or hide armor that would be great. They are worth a fair bit.

Sorry for lack of posts everybody. Computer was borken. :/
Bit busy right now but hopefully will get a post up later tonight.

I'd like to point out I only killed that kneeling one because I couldn't see the map and Belle said "oh there's a hobgoblin right in front of you". I just went with it afterwords.

My fault. I had not realized that one was the one that surrendered.

Throwing my hat into the ethics ring...

...aren't hobgoblins and humans (and their fellow standard races) effectively in an ongoing state-of-war with hobgoblins and the like? Hobgoblins take slaves, raid form hordes and make travel dangerous...

...the only humans and the like who form alliances with them are usually up to no good?

Now, here is where I went wrong. I should have had one of them growl, "Perhaps you should leave. You are not invited." before they shot first.

Agreed ;)

And picking up on what Tony said, there IS a focus on good/evil, black/white in most fantasy based/similar campaigns.

I'm not sure it is meant to simplify things, and we definitely do not need to play it with only those dimensions, but I do have one of my players that makes fun of our hour long discussions at the tabletop regarding exactly these situations - he simply says 'They are EVIL!" :D

It is a joke obviously, but it does a good job in pointing out the tone of the game you want to follow through - dungeon crawl against the 'bad' guys? 'The monsters can be our friends' kind of thing? A mix of both? Something else completely different?

Curiously enough I have found that as a player here on the boards, and in RL, I tend to play characters that capture the orc/goblin/insert opponent here, and take them to the local authorities, like the sheriff or similar - but most of the times the other players I am with offer some resistance to the whole thing.

Throwing my hat into the ethics ring...

...aren't hobgoblins and humans (and their fellow standard races) effectively in an ongoing state-of-war with hobgoblins and the like? Hobgoblins take slaves, raid form hordes and make travel dangerous...

...the only humans and the like who form alliances with them are usually up to no good?

Like someone uses to say - "They are EVIL!"

I'm working on a spreadsheet to calculate the weight of the items in the bag of holding so we know what fits. Belle has a wand of floating disk (only 5 charges though) so moving the haul after we finish up to another location and hiding it should be doable.

Good idea Belle - we need to decide how to distribute stuff. Even if we do not want that half plate for example, it is worth a lot of money if we can sell it.

The bad news is that the longspear is too heavy for belle and would slow her down to medium encumbrance so into the bag it goes. The good news is that the bag has about 140 more pounds of capacity left and I'm stuffing that armor into it to fill some of that up.

... Update: Still have about 10 lbs capacity after the magical and MWK armor and shields go in if anyone has any ideas.

The spreadsheet for Belle's holdings is here:
Google Docs for Belle

Great job! I took a look at the current loot list, and it seems we can leave the rest (I don't think the MW Chainshirt would fit anyway, and it is the most valuable item, right? :D).

I'm going to update my char sheet with the new loot.

I'm also going to grab a few arrows - how many is Brodin going to take? And you Tony?