Redemption in the Dragon's Lair (Inactive)

Game Master Terquem

Ok, then we should never swim more than 10 rounds^^

Why couldn't Prestidigitation be used to keep it dry? Can you make a wand of Prestidigitation?

Well, let's see. Kaleelah wished she had the power/means to stop everything from going to the Abyss and back a second time, so let's work along those lines. Maybe the Powers That Be interpreted that as a desire for greater personal strength.

How about access to the Cleric spell list?

It might seem like an immediate boon, but that would probably keep her out of Wild Shaping for a very long time since now everyone expects her to have X useful spell on her. No Natural Spell = Much Less Useful Druid. We don't have a tank here, and Kaleelah does intend to eventually start helping out on the frontlines once she figures out how to Wild Shape. However, if she needs access to X spell and can't use the darn thing in her stronger form... well, why bother?

Stronger Nala (Lioness Animal Companion)?

Lion Shamans Wild Shape into Felines at an effective Level + 2 rate. Maybe Nala was boosted to Large Size much too early (5 + 2 = 7), complete with all the bells and whistles that comes with it but some terrible implications. As a draw back, maybe since Nala was forced to mature too quickly, her mind was damaged in a way that Kaleelah is still trying to heal; her Animal Companion is prone to going into a rage, and Kaleelah has to drop everything and try to keep her tame. Super!Nala might be a valuable asset in combat, and while she would never attack Kaleelah (unless really out of it) given their strength of bond, that matters little if the cat is trying to eat an ally.

Maybe by this point, Kaleelah has thrown in the towel and just keeps Nala in statue form as per Carry Companion. Nala is by far the Shaman's biggest "summon" if you will, but she is emotionally exhausting to control. Also, getting her back into storage form requires burning a spell. Kaleelah is probably going to need every last one of those. The additional drawback here is that Kaleelah also dedicated a feat (Boon Companion) to bring Nala up to strength with where she should
...

Couple of things, first I stupidly missed your wonderful reference to a Blue Dragon ( I should have worked that in to the information I sent you, dang it.)

Second, how do you feel about an uncontrolled Wild Shape related wish?

Couple of things, first I stupidly missed your wonderful reference to a Blue Dragon ( I should have worked that in to the information I sent you, dang it.)

Second, how do you feel about an uncontrolled Wild Shape related wish?

If you want to send me a revised version, by all means do so. That was to explain where she "got" her blue Dragonscale armor. The exact details are fuzzy. After all, how exactly did she manage to kill and skin a dragon with no visible injuries while a man with more height, weight, muscle, combat experience, and superior weaponry/armor than her failed?

Well, I'd have to know the exact details. It could be really cool, but the problem with a Wild Shape related wish is that Kaleelah actually can't Wild Shape to begin with. Animal Shamans don't get the ability until Level 6, where it becomes treated as: Chosen Animal = Current Level + 2; Everything Else = Current Level - 2.

That's a no brainer, we give her, as a function of her wish, an effective CL +1 bonus (she would treat all spells and Level Dependent abilities as if she were one level higher than her actual caster level) I'll work out some details and send them to you in a message.

Hey Elise... Are you set on the acrobat archetype? If so I can drop the knifemaster archetype and go straight rogue.

Hey Elise... Are you set on the acrobat archetype? If so I can drop the knifemaster archetype and go straight rogue.

I'll drop acrobat and go straight rogue, and take Disable Device. Knifemaster is probably a lot more useful for you, and she's still a good acrobat even without the official title.

**Edit** Change complete. With various revisions, Elise now is a fairly handy character, so to speak. She can both disable devices and use magic devices with some skill. She gets a bit dumber, losing knowledge skills, but such is the life of a melee character.

Ok cool. Thanks Elise! I need to check of Jacen has UMD... not sure.

Ok Jacen does have UMD trained. I haven't done his equipment yet. What wands should I pay to have our crafter make?

Unfortunately, our crafter only has Craft Wondrous Items for now - no wands, only backs of holding.

Although maybe I can drop some pennies and grab a Handy Haversack...my strength isn't great, after all.

With much gratitude to Kaleelah, Elise is now the proud owner of a Belt of Incredible Dexterity +2. She is still bearing 479 gp, which she will gladly contribute to the joint fund for useful stuff.

For those with spare gold, I think Amulets of Natural Armor or Cloaks of Resistance would be generally useful. Elise is tempted to get an amulet herself, but that would leave no gold for things like wand of cure light wounds.

HP: 1d8 ⇒ 3
HP: 1d8 ⇒ 2

Ouch! A lot of us have rolled quite low with those HP dice.

FYI - I'm headed on vacation tomorrow and will be gone until July 8. Out hotel has the internet though so I should be able to stay up with my posting and have the free time to finalize shopping.

Terquem - do you have a firm date on when you want us ready?

With much gratitude to Kaleelah, Elise is now the proud owner of a Belt of Incredible Dexterity +2. She is still bearing 479 gp, which she will gladly contribute to the joint fund for useful stuff.

For those with spare gold, I think Amulets of Natural Armor or Cloaks of Resistance would be generally useful. Elise is tempted to get an amulet herself, but that would leave no gold for things like wand of cure light wounds.

Glad to be of assistance!

Perhaps we could get those Bandages of Rapid Recovery? At 100 gp a pop to craft, those things are dirt cheap and could prove useful if Kaleelah is totally burned and unable to nab Lessor Restoration.

Unless Terquem's going to really be out for blood, I think we're pretty good for healing. We already have two confirmed Wands of CLW, Kaleelah can essentially spontaneously cast CLW with her Pearls of Power, and Azana has CLW, CMW, AND CSW.

Sure, Bandages of Rapid Recovery sound good. If you want, you can also add the proceeds for another Pearl of Power.

But I forgot to get masterwork thieves' tools, so now there's only 379gp in that pool.

Starting will probably be the 9th, though I am a bit nervous now, so much effort you guys put into this. I am going to try to finalize some wishes, and answer any final questions. I imagine we will all (all of us in the USA anyway) be a bit busy next week

our best bet for the submerged areas would be for our druid to cast Water Breathing but that would be Kaleelah's only 3rd level spell barring bonus spells. A wand would be way too expensive at 11,250 gp.

I think I've sorted out everyone's wishes, right? Now we can use a few days to finilize the character sheets, and prepare for the introduction to the game. Any questions?

our best bet for the submerged areas would be for our druid to cast Water Breathing but that would be Kaleelah's only 3rd level spell barring bonus spells. A wand would be way too expensive at 11,250 gp.

I have two Level 3 spells (1 + bonus), but we have a group of six or seven, so we'd be wasting several days trying to get everyone through via Water Breathing. Granted, we'll have to see what it looks like to make an accurate analysis of how to solve the puzzle. We might just have to cross the room. I know the campaign's suppose to be tough, but I doubt Terquem will throw a truly impossible challenge at us.

Speaking of group funds, how much does everyone have left? We'll pile it all up and make a wish list. I have an amazing... 4 gold pieces.

EDIT: Huh. Apparently Water Breathing covers EVERYONE Kaleelah touches.

"The transmuted creatures can breathe water freely. Divide the duration evenly among all the creatures you touch. The spell does not make creatures unable to breathe air."

And it lasts for 2 hours per caster level. That's 10 hours. If Nala gets stored via Carry Companion, everyone would have a little less than two hours to get through the submerged part. Not bad.

Well, that's probably worth the spell slot right there.

Kaleelah - did you get the message I sent to you about your wish?

Already mentioned it, but wanted to get the list going:

Spare Gold:
Kaleelah - 4gp
Elise - 379 gp

I went ahead and picked up a Wand of Cure Light Wounds as well, just to be safe... Finishing up my equipment now.

Okay... short of looking for other items to buy... Jacen is finished and character sheet in his profile. I've got 946 GP left over. Any suggestions on what to spend it on?

Okay... short of looking for other items to buy... Jacen is finished and character sheet in his profile. I've got 946 GP left over. Any suggestions on what to spend it on?

Any magic items you want? A Cloak of Resistance +1 is only 500 gp with Kaleelah crafting it.

Kaleelah, I really hope to get some feed back from you on the wish, are you okay with what I've proposed

Good call Keelah! I may do ammy of natural armor even. Need tio check the price.

@ Faelyn - the Amulet of NA +1 will be 1000 gp thanks to Kaleelah crafting them ^_^

Kaleelah, I really hope to get some feed back from you on the wish, are you okay with what I've proposed

Right, right. Let me go look at it again.

I'm pretty much down to just needed to buy mundane gear. I'm headed home form vacation tomorrow so should be tidied up and ready by the 9th. Really looking forward to this game. Especially in seeing how all of our wishes and drawbacks come into play.

Okay, decided to spend leftover gold on assorted potions. That still leaves 92gp which I will contribute toward Jacen getting himself an Amulet of Natural Armor if he desires.

Looking forward to beginning the adventure!

I hope everyone will ready today.
I am having a little trouble with the control of the flow of water within the temple complex, but should have it resolved by the end of today. I will post an introductory piece in the game thread today describing the setting, the size of the temple compound and some details. As soon as it is up I would like to see the players post with their own introduction, addressing the rest of the party in some way, and offering opinions about how to start. There will be several possible ways to enter the temple compound and it will be assumed that the party has taken the time to circle the outer wall in its entirety.

great start Terquem!

Gear purchased (although Im sure I forgot something) and ready to rock.

Gameplay is up and active folks.

And just submitted my first post. I think we're just waiting on Faelyn/Jacen. However, we should remember that he just became a father. Otherwise, I am really looking forward to this game. :D

BTW, Terquem, what happens if somebody has to drop and/or their character dies?

*A note about time – I will be using an old first edition time notation here, called the “turn”. It is ten minutes long, and I use it to keep track of how often I check for a random wandering monster encounter. You will not need to worry about keeping track of time, unless it concerns you, and I will usually tell you how long it takes to accomplish different things you will tell me you want to do. For now there isn’t a need to keep a map, that is make one yourselves, as it is easy to see where you are in relation to very large buildings of the Temple Compound, and getting lost is unlikely. Once you move down onto the ground level, below the walkways, where your line of sight can be obstructed by the vegetation, it might become necessary for one or more characters to declare that they are “making a map” using your resources, or you can always rely on Survival Skills. Once inside of the buildings mapping may also become an important issue, but you can see that most of the buildings have an “open” construction where walls are actually only a few feet high and then become either stone or wooden columns supporting the roof and you will usually have a view of the Temple Compound buildings from within most of the buildings. Does this make sense? I hope I’m not confusing anyone. For an “idea” of how this is supposed to look, I recommend looking up Angkor Wat (though this temple is not exactly like it, there are similarities). Also, I am a big fan of direct questions about the environment, rather than players hoping to make constant Perception or Knowledge checks (and I will usually ask for them when it is important to the situation, otherwise I like to be asked questions about what the characters can see, hear, smell, or feel).

If you want to make sure I see your question, try to put it in a “spoiler tag”

I hope that no character dies, well, dies, you know, permanently, but I imagine it can happen, and we can deal with that if it comes up.

Now let me just say that I began this adventure idea with some “lofty” expectations (just call me Pip!), but I understand that we are all, after all, just strangers on the internet and things can change. What seemed fun could turn out to be a chore, and I do not want to see anyone stay in this game if it bothers you to do so. I also understand that life is what it is, and things sometimes get in the way of the fun we want to have, so, let’s try not to worry about losing players ( I hope we don’t) but if we do I will try to keep the game going down to what I consider the lowest acceptable player contribution, which will be three active players other than myself.

I sometimes drop away from the internet for a day or two without warning, but if I ever have to be away for more than three days I will try to let you know about it ahead of time, and I hope I can get the same courtesy from all the players.

I don't know what kind of access you all have to PDF viewers (most people with a computer have at least a viewer program). Today I managed to bang out a rough AutoCad 3d rendering of the major components of the temple Compound and then I generated a PDF of that model (it is not complete, but gives an idea of what you are seeing). Hopefully tonight I will begin a MapTools encounter usuable map of the temple and post that to a drop box file (where I will put the pdf if you want to look at it).

PDF Area Overview

There is now a permanent link at the top of every page (game thread, and discussion thread) that shows a current encounter map. Right now the map shows Syndir at the top of the wall (black lines) just to the north of the stairs (purple lines). The red lines represent the elevated walkway above the ground, and it is made of stone, the circles with white centers are columns. If you can see that map and want to be in a particular place, use the coordinates to tell me where you want to be.

There is now a permanent link at the top of every page (game thread, and discussion thread) that shows a current encounter map. Right now the map shows Syndir at the top of the wall (black lines) just to the north of the stairs (purple lines). The red lines represent the elevated walkway above the ground, and it is made of stone, the circles with white centers are columns. If you can see that map and want to be in a particular place, use the coordinates to tell me where you want to be.

Where exactly is Syndir? Is he that little red stick near the stair case in the lower left corner?

Each of you is represented by your character portrait as a Token (Elise's token is slightly smaller as she is a Small character). Syndir is in box H,7 15 feet to the east of you. These positions are only conjectural, and I can move you to where you want to be.

Unless we are in an Encounter situation, most movement and positioning will be abstracted.

I will create a Lion token for you companion. If you have a preferred Lion image you would like me to use, just put a link to it in a post in this thread (be sure it is a public domain, common license use, image, please), otherwise I'll just grab a goggle image of an African lion

Each of you is represented by your character portrait as a Token (Elise's token is slightly smaller as she is a Small character). Syndir is in box H,7 15 feet to the east of you. These positions are only conjectural, and I can move you to where you want to be.

Unless we are in an Encounter situation, most movement and positioning will be abstracted.

I will create a Lion token for you companion. If you have a preferred Lion image you would like me to use, just put a link to it in a post in this thread (be sure it is a public domain, common license use, image, please), otherwise I'll just grab a goggle image of an African lion

Whoops! I was looking at the wrong map! My bad!

Anyway, you can look for a token for Nala. Just make sure that the lion is female. Otherwise, I have no preference.

No worries

Does anyone have any questions about the pdf map?

Not I.

Maps - neat!

Elise is at G-7, looking around next to Syndir.

Terquem, can you clarify where we are in relation to the temple? If I understand correctly, I think the party is positioned along the Western wall, just north of the steps. So really, even though we're all climbing the wall to look around, we can just take the stairs if we want to, right?

Yes, the stairs, which are long wide steps, rise from the swamp floor to only a height of 3’ above the ground, and at this height there is a wide covered promenade lined on either side with columns going east. There is also a ten foot wide walkway (it is not covered) at this same level just behind the wall.

However, from the walkway level, three feet higher than the ground outside of the temple, it is difficult to see much further than a few dozen feet in any direction, even down the promenade, because there is obviously a lower, ground level, within the compound and it has become overgrown with vegetation, vines, and bushes, even small trees, encroach onto the promenade, and obscure direct line of sight (you can see the larger buildings that rise above the tree line).

From the top of the wall you can see more. The wall is fifteen feet above the ground, making it 12 feet above the walkway on the inner side.

From here you can see across the tops of most of the trees, and can see the general layout of the compound (a better pdf map is on the way, there are buildings in the northern part of the compound that I have not finished rendering in the AutoCad model).

Also from the top of the wall, looking to the north and south, you can just barely make out a shadowy “door” like opening in the towers at this level.

Also, the walkway along the inner side of the west wall is free from plants, appears clear, and you could probably walk along it all the way to the north tower. It looks like there is a small set of stairs, about halfway to the tower at the north going down from the walkway to ground level within the compound.

Also from the top of the wall, looking to the north and south, you can just barely make out a shadowy “door” like opening in the towers at this level.

Are the shadowy "doors" at the "wall" level, or are they level with the interior walkway?

The "doorway" is on the top of the wall elevation, and is 435 feet away. You will be walking along the top of the wall, easily seen by anyone within the temple compound (except perhaps anything on the ground that would not be able to see you through the trees).

Can everyone see the encounter map and the area map? If you need to be specific about where you want your character to be, use the coordinates that are on the encounter map.

I just had a major failure with the layout map, because I use two different versions of AutoCad on the two different computers I use and tried to do something in AutoCad2011, but was using AutoCad2004, and made myself very angry. I'll try again tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I've gone ahead and linked the existing pdf to the header at the top of this page, and the the game page, so everyone can see the work in progress so far

BOOM! Nat 20 on Jacen's Perception check... nice!

Also... updated Jacen's character sheet with the Amulet of Natural Armor +1! As well as added Intuition skill to the character sheet. I further added the pertinent combat information to Jacen's profile tagline.