Atol prepares one every day, but I thought we were having a celebratory breakfast at the bar. Was it dinner?
Atol nibbles a scone and hangs his head in shame...
Atol nibbles a scone and hangs his head in shame...
If you had any Cuthbertian decency, you'd take one of the larger scones and give yourself a stout cudgeling with it.
I'm sure Cog would clean up the crumbs.
Chris, I've realized that I've been doing Toffitt's high Dex bonus wrong. It should max out at +6 with his Mithral shirt on... So when I've used Rage to raise it to 24/+7 bonus, I was mistaken. That also means that his usual +4 Dex mutagen won't be fully effective with his +4 Dex belt.
Would you be okay if I switch his recent purchase from making his belt +4 Dex to a +2 Belt of Physical Perfection (same price)? Or even better, a +2 Con, +2 Dex belt and a +2 Int, +2 Wis headband?
@ Toffitt. Whatever you'd like to do. Just let me know the final costs.
Treasure to be divied up still:
Bracers of Armor +2
Ring of Protection +1
Amulet of Natural Armor +1
Headband of Alluring Charisma +2
Lesser Metamagic Rod of Silence - Dyrant
Potion of Cure Serious Wounds
Chain Shirt +1
Greatsword +2
Belt of Physical Might +2
Ring of Protection +1
amulet of Natural Armor +1
Ring of Counterspells
Potion of Cure Serious Wounds
Studded Leather +1
Light Shield +1
Rapier +1
Belt of Incredible Dexterity +2
Ring of Protection +1
amulet of Natural Armor +1
Lesser Metamagic Rod of Silence - Atol
Potion of Cure Serious Wounds
Treasure to be divied up still:
Lesser Metamagic Rod of Silence - Dyrant
Ring of Counterspells - (still with Dispel Magic)
Lesser Metamagic Rod of Silence - Atol
Dyrant would take following if no one else wants:
Ring of Protection +1
Amulet of Natural Armor +1
I'd love to take the headband of Charisma, but alas, my phylactery of channeling takes up that slot. :( No wisdom/charisma bumps for me!
Unless Chris allows crafting rules for adding effects to existing items, so that you could have +2 Wisdom and Cha added to the phylactery for 6,000 gp apiece...
I will go with the headband +2 Int & Wis and the belt +2 Con & Dex. Thanks, Chris.
A close friend died and we'll be on hold until at least Monday, if not a bit longer, as I assist the family.
So sorry, Chris. Wishing you and your friend's family all the best. Let me know if I can be of any support/help.
So sorry to hear. If there's anything you need, as Toffitt says, just say the word.
My condolences, take all the time you need.
Ayep. Take care of the important stuff.
Yikes! You have our sympathies.
A close friend died and we'll be on hold until at least Monday, if not a bit longer, as I assist the family.
Funeral is Tuesday, so we might be back to playing on Wednesday unless I retreat from real life to here.
I think I speak for everyone when I say take all the time you need.
No dice, Gristle! I reserve the right to b%@~@ and complain and whine like no one's business!
Might as well get started: CR +5 (or more) fight?! Uh...fudge...
Nothing a little careful planning won't take care. Okay, a LOT of careful planning...
Resist acid 30 v. 20d6. hrm...
Get on Trillian. Okay. It's not like it won't completely bust my computer. Oh wait. It did.
Damn!
5 Gray Render Zombies - CR 6
Dread wraith - CR 6
Bone Devil - CR 9
Cleric 13 - CR 13
Okay. Maybe only the mid-teens. At least the party had adequate time to buff.
v. CR 12 alchemist, CR 12 witch, CR 12 paladin, CR11 cleric (sorry) and CR ? (sorry) barbacle? no sweat.
Glimmil's possible actions vary too wildly depending on the outcome of the saves vs Dyrant's spell, Finneas and Toffitt.
He'd like to square off with the wight, if at all possible, and get a smite going, so we'll see how the renders fare.
*All this might change based upon anything that GM Chris says...but in the absence of that, looking to keep things moving forward.*
No, I think Dyrant was clear on what you were doing.
Dyrant was fine with you attacking the EEs while they destroyed the symbol, as ridiculous as it is, it's preferable to PvP. If it were necessary to play out, I can see Dyrant Hex Warding the Elementals while they pounded the symbol into dust.
It's largely immaterial whether or not Toffitt managed to stop the EEs before they finished destroying it...I'd just assume it was done. (Dyrant could wait until you left and summoned more. Or come back tomorrow with a fuller spelllist or whatever...they symbol was going to be removed.)
I'm going to assume that Dr. Toffitt and Finneas went tromping off in one direction with the Cage to pursue leads on that while Atol and maybe Glim are going to sell some equipment and pursue the paper leads that were recovered before the room spontaneously combusted.
And we go from there.
And we go from there.
Yes, we do.
I refreshed my memory of what lies ahead from the perspective of a split party. For the time being, the adventure can accomodate this. Eventually, the party will have to work together again, but there isn't an immediate need to forgive and forget.
Let's assume that the treasure is evenly distributed, with the end result that everyone has the money that's coming to them.
Don't forget that Glimmil and Atol may need to take some time out to have Atonement cast for them if they want their class abilities restored, depending on how Chris rules the unlawful destruction of a legal church sits with the followers of lawful deities, neither of whom have vengeance in their portfolio.
Interesting view. That would certainly change Atol's view of things - and mine.
'course I'm not sure I agree with you. I think Atol's view is somewhat accurate. The holy symbol in that church is fair game. The high priest of the church, using power from his god, did attack us willingly and without (apparent) provocation. He was not charmed or dominated (as far as we know). According to our own god, the entire (local) church was in on it.
But your mileage may vary. I'm fine with whatever Chris adjudicates. I think it'd be a lot of fun to do an atonement for Atol... hehehehe.
I too am fine with whatever Chris rules. From Finneas' point of view, this was fine for a Kordite. Some guy tried to kill us and we proved we were stronger. The fact that Dyrant is willing to declare a holy war between two deities when only the local chapter was responsible doesn't sit well with Finneas, and since he spent a goodly amount of time building Cauldron's new gate he wouldn't want anybody tearing parts of it down. Basically Finneas doesn't understand how somebody who wasn't even a true follower a year ago can suddenly go so far the other direction and doesn't think this is the real Dyrant. Since his parents died due to hatred that's basically three strikes against supporting Dyrant.
As a player I think Dyrant's actions are way out of proportion to what occurred, and if the guy holding the staff of the original city builder starts tearing down building there might be a smiting from the beyond coming his way. While I can see how somebody can go from no faith to zealous faith, especially for a god of Zeal, remember that Cuthbert also has Wisdom and Common Sense in his portfolio, and Dyrant is exhibiting neither of those traits.
That's funny to me.
As I read St. Cuthbert (and I could be wrong, the internets could be wrong), but I'd be recommending Atol for Atonement if he *didn't* participate in the 'destruction' of the Wee Jas Temple.
St. Cuthbert is a god who brought about conversions via the cudgel and don't think he'd worry about protecting his flock from the machinations of Wee Jas.
St Cuthbert Wiki says pretty much the opposite.
St Cuthbert Wiki says pretty much the opposite.
What? Was it this? "St. Cuthbert—who brought non-believers around to his point of view with whacks of his cudgel[1]" or What about the domains of Destruction, Domination, & Protection that might apply?
I guess we'll leave this discussion to interpretation as it doesn't serve us to argue it here. Would rather focus on things going forward.
Painlord is certainly entitled to his interpretation of St. Cuthbert. It's up to DM_Chris to decide whether or not he's way off base. Even harder to say whether his angel familiar would have anything to say about it.
In any case, the party contains two worshippers of Cuthbert, a worshipper of Kord, a worshipper of Garl Glittergold and a non-affiliated though not atheistic, good character who has a lot of reason to dislike zealotry.
I am certain that events will throw our PCs together again, but as it stands, I wouldn't call it selfishness on Finneas, Balodek's, Toffitt's or my part to draw a line in the sand.
On a personal note...
I am all for maintaining as players a sense of player and character separation. My characters' fights with Painlord's characters don't make me respect him less as a person, though I'm not always sure our RP styles are a great fit.
Personally speaking, I have some very strong personal triggers about religious zealotry and racism. Perhaps that shouldn't keep others from creatively exploring those themes, but you should all know that it isn't fun or easy peasy for me to deal with in PC to PC interactions. I find it grating and would rather not sit at the same physical or virtual gaming table with it.
If the group feels that it would be more mature for me to just put those feelings aside, or that I'm being unreasonable in response to these things, so be it.
You guys were busy today! Just catching up now while scarfing down a late dinner.
I've seen some fairly dark interpretations of St Cuthbert (as NPCs in modules even), so there's likely a lot of liberty in what a Cuthbertine can do.
Glimmil, not having any Knowledge (Religion) is now under the impression that Wee Jas is an evil goddess, based on what he's experienced and been told. He wouldn't allow any excess destruction, even of the temple, and my assumption is it was just a stone holy symbol that was destroyed by Dyrant's actions.
As a player, I'm aware that Wee Jas is listed as "evil tendencies", so I think we're probably in an acceptable gray area. If it was a symbol to Erythnul or Vecna, destroying it would be the right thing to do. As Wee Jas, it's a mere 5ft step into the gray.
Obviously, GM Chris has final say on what's gone down, but Glimmil's fairly trusting and fully believes that whatever spats occur, we will unite back up and advance our duties as Cauldron's guardians. He'll even facilitate such , if needed.
Mere mortals should not question why their gods grant them their power. They should merely be happy they do. ;-)
It's fun to note that Cuthbert and Wee Jas share two of the same domains.
Destruction, Domination, Law, Protection, Strength
Death, Domination, Inquisition, Law, Magic, Mind, Repose
Anyway, the adventure path does not provide me enough material to make decisions about religion. An example is the book's follow up to this battle.
"In the aftermath of the battle in the Cathedral of Wee Jas, the PCs have two obvious options open to them. They can openly claim that they were responsible for the killings inside the temple (justified, of course, because of the assassination attempt against them), or they can be discrete and cover up their involvement. Perhaps surprisingly, there are few repercussions from the events in the Cathedral."
In regards to religion, I've pretty much let the players flesh out the details in regards to their characters. There still need to be limits of course, but I think there is a lot of gray area between domains/dogma/traditions/etc and the need for atonement. The followers of Wee Jas were still receiving power from Wee Jas and were obviously not working within the law. Not having player knowledge, would it be unreasonable to think that Wee Jas has shifted to evil?
Getting down to the specific actions, good points have been made on both sides. I find that Dyrant's actions were on the edge, but not over. There was clear evidence that at least the two highest ranking members of the church were acting against Cauldron with the blessings of their god. Dyrant's rage against Wee Jas has been for actions, not because they are non-believers in Cuthbert. It has not been a holy war or crusade. It's one group against the other. The fact the groups are religions just muddies the water.
I'll give Dyrant enough rope to hang himself in the next couple days and that might be what Rand wants to do with him. Frequently players try to build perfect characters, but I know Rand and I both like playing imperfect characters both in terms of power and personality. I find the flaws and failures are frequently what gives a character his character. And with all my flaws, it definitely makes it easier to relate to them. This doesn't mean other players/characters have to put up with it. In fact, I expect them to call them on their inadequacies, flaws, and BS just like real life. I know this causes strife that some players don't want to deal with and will do my best to moderate.
It feels like I've stepped onto a soapbox, so I'm going to end it here for now so other can chime in if they'd like.
We all have our passions and tastes in RPGs, and things that seriously detract from fun. I think I've stated clearly enough that some of the latter is making me question whether this is a good use of my time.
I've asked Painlord specifically to think about ways to tone down the religious zealousness in this game.
I hope that things can change in a way that works for all, but I'm not in a place in my life where I want to spend part of every day negotiating these imaginary relationships. It feels like work, and I'm pretty sure that's not what Painlord or anyone here is going for.
Kord examines the cage, but has little to offer.
I think I've covered it before, but the party members are the most powerful known entities in Cauldron. Once you passed them, the church leaders all progress one level behind you.
I think I've covered it before, but the party members are the most powerful known entities in Cauldron. Once you passed them, the church leaders all progress one level behind you.Kord examines the cage, but has little to offer.
Neat. Actually. That's kind of fun.
So...yeah...the scroll of Legend Lore? How long? :)
Enjoy the weekend. I'll be camping and off-line until Monday night or Tuesday morning.
I, maybe like some others, will be mostly distracted by Kublacon and other stuff this weekend. I'm somewhat confuzzled where and when everyone is in Cauldron time/space continuum.
I, too, will be taking the weekend off. Have a good one, all.
Yep, attending a con down here, so no sweat for the vacation weekend!
In class today. One more day of waiting.
Does anyone have the link to Skie's shop/our old loot? I'd like to peruse Skie's inventory for tidbits of interest.
It seems to be gone from the campaign info tab.
Still there. I hope. Just another tab.
Got called into work tonight.
Busy at work all day Friday.
Black belt testing all day Saturday.
It's going to be slow until Sunday as I work by phone.
Not sure which of the myriad communication methods to use, so I'll use this one.
Very well done I'm sure. :)
I'll be flying to Florida for a work conference tomorrow, I'll be returning on the 14th. I'll be able to post in the evenings but morning and afternoons will be busy.
Gold after raising Aroon: $10,415.33
Scroll of FOM & Death Ward & Reduce Person. -712.5 gp
Scroll of: Teleport (lvl 9) & Sleet Storm = -750gp.
Scroll of Death Ward & Death Ward & Reduce Person*4.-800 gp
-----
Current Gold: 8152.83 gp or so
* * *
giant's warhammer +1
chain shirt is +3
wand of displacement (13 charges)
wand of cure serious wounds (22 chargs)
wand of dispel magic (18 charges)
We still haven't added the last major treasure acquisition to the party shares tab in the spreadsheet. Toffitt is saving up for celestial armor next... I'd be happy to help with updating if given permission to do so. :-)
Actually, cancel the Death Ward*2 scroll...it will be scroll of Gr. Dispel Magic (lvl 11). -825 gp.
Yar, let's go get the bad guys.