In later levels of the game, this kind of communication will likely be necessary to prevent you guys from getting hammered. As Jak and Marcus can tell you all from experience, I can make somewhat challenging encounters... Or, if they feel like being evil, they can undersell my abilities and let you walk into the ass-stomping of your lives. :) I'll leave that to them.
I don't know, I think the advanced (plus otherwise enhanced) Dread Wraith with his Dread Wraith friend was a perfectly acceptable boss fight for our resource-drained 7th-level gestalt party.
Oh wait, the Dread Wraiths weren't the boss. The gargantuan (I think that's right) Umbral Dragon in the NEXT ROOM was the big bad.
Wait, that's technically not right either. The demigoddess OUTSIDE the building where the dragon was TECHNICALLY was the big bad.
;-)
(Note--the winky face does not indicate kidding in this case, as everything I just said is true, hehe)
I agree with falling back at this point. Four skeletons is kinda risky four on one at present. And withdrawing after they've engaged you may be difficult. Without a melee weapon, they could easily surround you and prevent your escaping, leaving them to beat you down while we still deal with the ooze. Just my thoughts.
I am happy to fall back, but according to the battlemat, it looks like there is no square to fall back to. Aerik is at U44, Marcus at V44, Lyrica at U45, and Ooze at V45. If Aerik does a 5 foot move to U43, then I can step back to U44.
I am happy to fall back, but according to the battlemat, it looks like there is no square to fall back to. Aerik is at U44, Marcus at V44, Lyrica at U45, and Ooze at V45. If Aerik does a 5 foot move to U43, then I can step back to U44.
you can move thru squares occupied by allies cant you?
I can if you like, but I figured you would want her out front.
Well, I'mnot sure that we can completely fall back until we see if Marcus and Zeke are going to come to. That's why i had suggested we fall back in line with Marcus (having either Lyrica or Aerik be just north of him), to force the skeletons to (hopefully) bottleneck around the little acid-spitter.
The realit is that we can't let that little ooze stay on us, though... that thing's nasty, and Zeke (who's stunned) may have teh only answer to it.
Just a note for two weeks I'm in a hotel with bad internets. Though from last night it's actually working quite a bit faster (I managed to load the map in less than 15 minutes!). I'm pretty sure I'll keep up on posts, but wanted to give out a heads up. Last night it took forever to get a post up, but now it's looking better.
Bad internet should be a crime. :) Thanks for letting us know.
Oof... this is not turning ou to be a productive round for us. If the baddies have a good round, we should consider re-evaluating our current predicament.
And yes... bad internet in public places should be punishable by flogging. :)
Yes, indeed. Clearly Sarenrae's powers are diminished in the Barrow... or she is in Boca on vacation.
If I smite evil on the skeletons, does it give me the bonus for all of them, or simply one of them?
Just one, I believe.
Yep.
As a swift action, the paladin chooses one target within sight to smite.
That is what I thought, but I thought I would just check.
Zeke can heal himself with his extracts, right?
what do yall wanna do? we have 3 clw from the witch still.
at the very least zeke and lyrica need to be healed if we are pressing on.
Hold off on that, please. I'll explain in a bit. Right now, I've got a hungry Dachshund using his Jedi mind powers on me to make his dinner.
So guys...
I'm thinking the game might be a shade too gritty - not in terms of the violence but in terms of the paucity of healing resources - particularly at the lowest levels. My goal here was a 'realistic', low magic item game where healing wasn't as readily available as tap-water - hence no clerics, no wand shops, etc.
The balance I'm trying to strike that against is forcing the party into a 15 minute day, where you are retreating to heal so often that you wear grooves in the dungeon floor. :) I guess I'm striving for you guys to feel heroic but still very mortal. I want this to be a world where you guys take well-earned and needed breaks from the struggle... to work off horror points, do some recuperating from the stresses, RP your lives, help the Drear folks in their battle to survive, etc. The fundamental 'reality breaker' for me in many campaigns is that a party can gain 9 levels in 4 months of constant action. I just don't think anyone could keep up that pace. That's a bit of an aside, I guess.
Personally, I'm liking the grit here - the scarcity of healing resources, the caution you are showing because every HP counts and you've got to keep going, etc. It feels very 'real' to me and hopefully to you as well. However, as I said earlier, I don't want to lock you into a 15 minute day and force you to pull out of a dungeon when you want to explore further.
So, a little birdie suggested an alternate HP system using Injury/Strain (Ref for those interested). I think it is a clever idea but, frankly, I don't want to playtest it here for a variety of reasons. However, I still want to 'lighten' things up here and I've got an idea I'd like to try. The whole concept may need refinement as we play so this will truly be a playtest. So here's the pitch:
========================
1/Day (per 2 levels - so 2/Day at 3rd and 3/Day at 5th), every character gets a 'Second Wind' - a chance to recuperate and rally themselves to fight on despite injury, fatigue, and despair.
Second Wind is a several minute out of combat action. When you use your Second Wind, you immediately gain back (1d8 + your HD + your CON bonus) HPs.
This is sort of a new take on the Godless Healing feat.
========================
This is a discussion, so let me know what you think. If you'd rather continue as we've been playing because you like the grittiness of it, hate playtesting new things, or think my idea flatout sucks, say so. Similarly, if you think we do need something to lighten the grittiness but don't like the solution I'm proposing - I'd like to hear that as well.
I just posted my attempt to heal some wounds with a heal check before I came here and read your last post. I like the idea of a second wind, but I also wonder if we can do something more with the heal check. For the most part it has been a useless skill and now I think it has great potential to be used a lot more. What if you did something like require a DC 10 heal check to help a patient restore (1d8 + your HD + your CON bonus) hit points? This is just a brainstorm idea.
when zeke gets infusion and lyrica gets lay on hands, we will have 4 healers. im tempted to just struggle thru.
but given that it was the dm who came forward with this idea, that makes me think we are in for a world of trouble very soon, so maybe we should take him up on his offer. :)
I like this, stormraven. In-combat healing still has to come from class resources, but hopefully – assuming we can survive a fight even if we do take damage – we can spend a few minutes, take a breather, and possibly be in decent enough shape to spend a bit more time adventuring.
I would suggest that you have to be conscious and not currently bleeding (bleed effect) to take your Second Wind. And this coudl be where the Heal skill comes into play. If Jak were to drop b/c of damage, we'd need a Heal check to stabilize him and possibly bring him back up to 0 to even give him the shot at using his Second Wind.
I tried to send a post earlier before SR mentioned the Second Wind thing, talking about avoiding the whole "15 minute adventuring day" thing.
The Second Wind sounds like a good idea to me.
One other suggestion--what if we could use a hero point (or two) to use Second Wind as a full round action in combat (but still only one Second Wind per day). Thoughts?
The more I think about it, the more I think it is a really good idea. Let's try it!
...I also wonder if we can do something more with the heal check. For the most part it has been a useless skill and now I think it has great potential to be used a lot more. What if you did something like require a DC 10 heal check to help a patient restore (1d8 + your HD + your CON bonus) hit points?
I agree that Heal goes under-utilized but I think allowing it to be used to restore a serious number of HPs (Second Wind does more healing than CLW) on demand is too much. I'd rather more liberally apply the Treat Deadly Wounds function of Heal to allow additional incremental healing.
when zeke gets infusion and lyrica gets lay on hands, we will have 4 healers. im tempted to just struggle thru.
but given that it was the dm who came forward with this idea, that makes me think we are in for a world of trouble very soon, so maybe we should take him up on his offer. :)
I tend to create challenging encounters... and sometimes I over-estimate what the characters can handle and/or the Dice Gods can be fickle. Looking at rounds 4 and 5 of that last battle... yeesh. So, knowing that, I'd like to give you guys a little buffer room. :)
I also like the idea of second wind and would like to put my endorsement on it.
I like this, stormraven. In-combat healing still has to come from class resources, but hopefully – assuming we can survive a fight even if we do take damage – we can spend a few minutes, take a breather, and possibly be in decent enough shape to spend a bit more time adventuring.
I would suggest that you have to be conscious and not currently bleeding (bleed effect) to take your Second Wind. And this coudl be where the Heal skill comes into play. If Jak were to drop b/c of damage, we'd need a Heal check to stabilize him and possibly bring him back up to 0 to even give him the shot at using his Second Wind.
Yep. I didn't spell it out but the non-combat time for a Second Wind would be taken binding up wounds, resting up, steadying nerves, sharpening blades, psyching yourself up, etc. It would assume the character is conscious, in a stable condition (no bleed), and possibly not under any sort of morale-eroding mental effect (Shaken, Frightened, etc.)
I agree this is definitely a spot where Heal would come into play.
One other suggestion--what if we could use a hero point (or two) to use Second Wind as a full round action in combat (but still only one Second Wind per day). Thoughts?
Hero Points are designed to be used to do extraordinary things. I think an in-combat, full round, Second Wind fits the bill and would cost a single point. The only heroic action that costs 2 Hero Points is cheating death and this is definitely a step down from that.
The only caveat I'd make on that is - like Second Wind in general - you have to be conscious to trigger it.
Well, it seems like everyone is willing to give it a go, so start tracking your Second Wind.
Game on!
Time: 20 minutes
Note: You must expend one use from a healer's kit to perform this task. You take a –2 penalty on your check if you don't have a healer's kit.
When treating deadly wounds, you can restore hit points to a damaged creature. Treating deadly wounds restores 1 hit point per level of the creature. If you exceed the DC by 5 or more, add your Wisdom modifier (if positive) to this amount. A creature can only benefit from its deadly wounds being treated within 24 hours of being injured and never more than once per battle and twice per day.
DC:20 = Heal 1 HP/Level
DC:25 = Heal (1+WIS Bonus) HP/Level
I'm amending these rules a little bit - in bold. I'll post them on the Campaign Tab too.
Quick phone post. I'll be able to post in about three hours, I will second wind.
And extracts are me only until lvl 2
Thanks for taking the time to phone post. That should give the guys a chance to strategize.
Hey everyone,
I am helping my mom move out of her house this weekend and may not be able to post. Have a great weekend folks.
You too bud. We will try not to get you killed in the meantime. So everyone agree Lyrica takes point? ;)
A couple things:
1) I read quite a bit of the GSI campaign yesterday. I am now more scared than I was before.
2) Are we in agreement that we should leave the other sarcophagus undisturbed? I'm thinking best case scenario we are grave robbers and worst case scenario we release a mummy to kill us all. I guess I'm a bit old school in that mindset of DONT OPEN SARCOPHAGI!!! :P
I take that as a compliment, Aerik. I'm flattered you took the time to read it and are now, rightfully, a bit more worried given my track record.
:)
I'm in New England and we've got a storm in-bound. I might lose internet and/or power. So if I don't post, you know the cause.
1) I read quite a bit of the GSI campaign yesterday. I am now more scared than I was before.
It's been a wild ride. :D
You do not need to convince me that we do not need to open a sarcophagus. We certainly do not need to disturb the dead!
1) I read quite a bit of the GSI campaign yesterday. I am now more scared than I was before.It's been a wild ride. :D
Good times. Good times. :)
So... how are we all enjoying the adventure?
This is the first of many times where I'll encourage you to critique the game, my DMing style, the ambiance, or whatever. If you think it's too hard or too easy - let me know. If you like to see more or less of something, speak up. I'd be delighted to hear anything you really like but I'm even more interested in hearing what isn't working for you. As much as possible (within the constraints of the story/world) I will try to tailor the game to increase everyone's enjoyment.
You can PM me your thoughts, post them publicly, or just keep'em to yourself - it is entirely up to you. I may be a rat bastard but I'm not a vengeful DM... so feel free to criticize. Your character's life won't suddenly experience a turn of bad luck. :)
Stormy,
I am really enjoy myself and you have all made me feel very welcome! I enjoy your organization and your level of detail in your posting. I have adopted party hit points and effects to my latest battle posts in my own campaign.
My only complaint really isn't one, but I am finding this campaign rather scary. I do feel as if my character, who I am really enjoying, is always on the edge of dying. The lack of healing seems to be a big concern as we try to last longer in the dungeons. However, you are already thinking about that and that is what is making this campaign so suspenseful! I just hope the luck of the dice keeps holding out for me. I am also looking forward to getting to 2nd level so I can get some more hit points. This should not make me think I am any safer because I know the monsters are going to be tougher, but a few more hit points certainly wouldn't hurt.
Well, keep up the great work!
Thanks, Lyrica. Feel free to 'borrow' any elements of how I run/organize the campaign that will work in your own game. If you ever want any of my coding so you don't have to type a bunch of [xxx] and [/xxx] tags, let me know. I'm happy to share that stuff. The Campaign Tab is especially rife with finger-bleeding lines of code. The same holds true for icons, art, background images, etc. I probably don't need to say it but that's a general offer to all of you guys. If you see something you like and you want a copy, just ask. Some of the icons for baddies you fight are snippets of larger pictures which are pretty nice as well.
I'm glad you're having fun. That's key.
Death, particularly at 1st level, is omnipresent. But not to worry, you will be hitting 2nd level here soon which should give you a bit more 'cushion' and hopefully the TDW and Second Wind rules will (a) keep you all cruising along with enough HP to beat baddies on your own timeline while (b) staving off the worst feelings of the 'dread spectre of death'.
Of course, having a blood-thirsty DM probably doesn't help, eh? >:D
I pretty much agree with Lyrica. I feel very much that these fights are deadly, kids gloves off right off the bat. I'm liking it.
Next level the healing will be a bit better on our end as well, since I'll be getting Infusion discovery. It was a toss up between that or precise bombs, but I think letting others benefit from my extracts is better.
I'll echo the others' statements. I like the danger. Makes it more of an accomplishment if/when we survive. :)
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OK, cool. I'm glad that you guys are liking the danger level. I'll keep'on keepin' on.
Also - going behind the DM screen here a moment - I will be trying out a variety of adventure types... mysteries, suspense, puzzlers, etc. In part that is to get a feel for what you guys like, in part because my philosophy is changes of pace are necessary for game health, and in part because I personally like variety when I game. So, the entire campaign won't be exactly like the stuff you've seen so far. So if this has been a little too 'combat intense' for anyone... don't worry, things will be a'changing. My goal is to find a middle-ground 'sweet spot' that everyone really digs.
Did stormraven just say this was our last combat encounter? lame.
:D
You go right on thinking I just said that, Chief.
Quiet, don't provoke him! The campaign thread lists a "rime wyrm" as one of possible upcoming creatures. I don't wanna run into anything with wyrm in its name at level 1. lol.
He also said I was the Chief. I want my many wampum.
I hope it's clear that I'm enjoying the game. You know me, SR, I like to know my character is in danger, that I can step up and be the Big Damn Hero, and you generally cater to that style of gaming.
Ha! You know me... I aim to please, even if it kills you. >:)
That was a typo, I'm pretty sure.
Rime Wyrms... I can't wait! But console yourself with this, Aerik. You've already survived a brush with something far, far worse - the Screamer outside the Barrow. Had I put that beastie close enough that you guys could have tracked it down easily, well, anyone who chose to face off with it would be rolling up a new character right now. It was an almost guaranteed 2 round TPK.
Hey guys, I've been busy at work this week (and will be tomorrow as well), but I have been reading everything, just not getting to post much.
SR, as for feedback--I'm loving the game. I love the ever-present danger of low-level play, which is why I was (and still am) pumped to play an E7 game. Playing without the safety net raises the stakes and makes it more rewarding when (if) we DO survive. Hell, even if we die we can at least go down swinging heroically, you know?
As for specifics about Silent Gods, I like the level of danger of the encounters, and I think it's been a pretty good balance between exploration/RP/combat. For my part, I wouldn't mind a few more puzzles/traps, but it seems like that's coming up soon. I don't mind the rush of combat encounters we've had recently because we're in a place overrun by recently-raised undead and we chose to go into a Barrow, hehe.
I love the world, I love the depth you've gone into to flesh out the places and the people, the history, everything. Since the beginning of the game I cared about the fates of the characters, even the minor ones, which made for good motivation when half of them were slaughtered. I'm excited to see what else you have in store for us.
I'm also enjoying the group dynamic we have going--fun group of PCs and a great DM. Good stuff!