Morlean said: "There is an extremely dangerous band of winter wolves roaming the mountain." Although Rush and Triumph, two of my favorite bands are power trios, this band is eight with a very capable manager.
Removing the wolves breath weapons seemed indicated here, so I kept them truer to the original module with no breath weapons.
Well, sorry I totally borked my turn guys.
When my turn came up I thought I remembered Terion saying to target his will save.
I didn't even notice I had wolves flanking me and my spell would simply overlap with a stunned condition.
This is a good example of what I was saying, I'm finding I don't have time to give this game the full attention it deserves.
cringe.
Question: Does being stunned render "The King" (Is this what happened to Elvis?) vulnerable to Coup de Grace?
Nah, that's "helpless" I think.
Nah, that's "helpless" I think.
Well, I am stunned (but apparently not helpless) that stunned does not render one helpless. :D
Not really sure that stunned should be any less helpless than paralyzed IMO. But rules is rules.
Thank you for letting me switch targets tribute.
Bizz, why are the DC's for your first level spells like Color Spray 17? Shouldn't they be 15 or 16 (if Illusion school spells)?
What the heck does 'CDG' mean? I've seen Terion use that term twice and I have no idea what that is.
Whew, you had me frantically searching my sheet, Xanthar. The answer is gnomes get +1 to illusion DCs in their Gnome Magic special ability.
So 10+4(Int)+1(Gnome)+1(Spell Focus)+spell = 16+spell level for illusion spells. Everything else is 14+spell level
And with your Will saves, Bizzlemont will confidently include you in any friendly fire he needs in the future!
Coup de grace
Derp!
Particularly ironic since I asked about the possibility of performing one myself.
Whew, you had me frantically searching my sheet, Xanthar. The answer is gnomes get +1 to illusion DCs in their Gnome Magic special ability.
So 10+4(Int)+1(Gnome)+1(Spell Focus)+spell = 16+spell level for illusion spells. Everything else is 14+spell level
And with your Will saves, Bizzlemont will confidently include you in any friendly fire he needs in the future!
Yeah, I see that now. Man, that makes Gnomes a perfect fit for the Illusionist arcane school especially when coupled with Spell Focus (Illusion). Fitting giving that they were the only race besides humans who could play the Illusionist class in AD&D
I used to play multi-class Gnome Illusionist/Fighters or Illusionist/Thieves pretty regularly back in the day despite the fact that the Illusionist class kind of sucked. I haven't played a Gnome in Pathfinder yet but I may just need to try one out again.
As Bizz himself would say, "Fear the Gnome!" That cracked me up, btw. :D
They make a better Sorceror in Pathfinder with their inherent bonus to CHA. A fey-bloodline gnome sorceror is quite capable. However, since we're going old school with this game, a Gnomish Illusionist simply had to be a wizard.
Also, a mechanics question: How do you use a Pearl of Power? Is it a 1-step process, where you use the pearl to recall a spell and then cast it? Or is it a 2-step process where you have to use the pearl, get the spell back, then you can walk around like you always had it memorized. Then later you cast it?
I've always assumed the former until I played with someone who did the latter.
Not GM Tribute, obviously, but based on what is stated in the item's description:
Once per day on command, a pearl of power enables the possessor to recall any one spell that she had prepared and then cast that day. The spell is then prepared again, just as if it had not been cast.
I would say it is the second option. It says that the spell is "prepared again" which means that like any other spell you prepared but have not cast yet, you can use it at your discretion: either use it immediately or save and use later.
Meaning it would take two actions for me to recall another Color Spray and cast it, yes?
I thought slotless wondrous items were not command word activated, they just work by being on your person.
Meaning it would take two actions for me to recall another Color Spray and cast it, yes?
Okay, I missed the point of your original question. You are wanting to know if you can activate the pearl and still cast the recalled spell in the same turn, is that correct?
On that issue I would definitely have to defer to someone else. I guess it would boil down to whether it requires a standard action to activate the pearl or only a free/miscellaneous/move action.
I can't remember if slotless wondrous are command word activated or not.
Okay...here is what I found in the PRD for "Activating Magic Items":
Activate Magic Item
Many magic items don't need to be activated. Certain magic items, however, do need to be activated, especially potions, scrolls, wands, rods, and staves. Unless otherwise noted, activating a magic item is a standard action.
Spell Completion Items: Activating a spell completion item is the equivalent of casting a spell. It requires concentration and provokes attacks of opportunity. You lose the spell if your concentration is broken, and you can attempt to activate the item while on the defensive, as with casting a spell.
Spell Trigger, Command Word, or Use-Activated Items: Activating any of these kinds of items does not require concentration and does not provoke attacks of opportunity.
If we go back to the pearl's description that I posted earlier, we see the phrase, "Once per day on command..." which leads me to believe that it is command word activated and would require a standard action to activate the pearl's power. Remember, though, I am not the DM, I only play one on the internet.
Also not the GM but I think you are right.
Std action to use a pearl of power. I was on the sad end of this with a magic missile once.
Honestly, we are still likely to get squashed here. I say anyone who feels that their PC was wearing the boots of spider climbing while traveling (Xanthar was not) should just freakin' run for it while the King is prone.
These boots are so awesome, it is a free action to activate them rather than a std action.
I was curious about Boots of Climbing and tried to look them up and couldn't find them in the Pathfinder Core rulebook. I figured they must have been a carryover from AD&D but I couldn't find them in the 1st Edition GM' Guide, either (which is odd because I could have sworn that Boots of Spider Climbing were in there). Where are these things described?
I was merely interested to read a description of their physical appearance. For some reason, it has become fixed in my mind that Boots of (Spider) Climbing are ankle-high, soft velvety boots like Robin used to wear on the 60's Batman TV show and completely unsuitable for extended travel. I'm getting the feeling that this is not correct.
I thought we all put the boots on when we got em. Lamriel definitely would have.
@Terion: you forgot to include your negative HP (-8) as a penalty to your stabilization roll.
Btw, everyone, I am trying to cut down on my time spent on this board, so there is no need to do anything to revive Xanthar. I was actually hoping that I would get "taken out" by the King.
Tribute, you could just say that his critical was actually confirmed and then Xanthar would be dead. That would work just fine for me.
No problem. Looks like we may be either pursuing the storyline of eating crow and bowing to the king or moving to the deserts of desolation.
I remember my first encounter with thos as a player. A friend of mine was at the other table and that scenario played out for them when they fought the king. Our group gave him a +1 buckler we had but we were not too fond of.
No problem. Looks like we may be either pursuing the storyline of eating crow and bowing to the king or moving to the deserts of desolation.
I remember my first encounter with thos as a player. A friend of mine was at the other table and that scenario played out for them when they fought the king. Our group gave him a +1 buckler we had but we were not too fond of.
I'm curious, does the module provide any rationalization for this guy's behavior other than "I'm bigger and stronger than you, so I'm gonna' take your stuff. Oh, and you better give it to me because if you don't I'll slaughter you all."?
For all we knew this guy could have been a 5th level fighter with a big ego whom we would have knocked down a peg.
This was an absolute first for me and left me completely shocked.
@Terion: you forgot to include your negative HP (-8) as a penalty to your stabilization roll.
Btw, everyone, I am trying to cut down on my time spent on this board, so there is no need to do anything to revive Xanthar. I was actually hoping that I would get "taken out" by the King.
Tribute, you could just say that his critical was actually confirmed and then Xanthar would be dead. That would work just fine for me.
True Xanthar. The stabilization roll fails.
Come on Xanthar, you know some of these old modules had little reasoning behind the appearance of enemies and the traps and stuff presented. Sometimes you ran into something completely overpowering.
Besides, TPKs are what silly stories are made of.
Come on Xanthar, you know some of these old modules had little reasoning behind the appearance of enemies and the traps and stuff presented. Sometimes you ran into something completely overpowering.
Besides, TPKs are what silly stories are made of.
Ridiculous traps: Yes. Deities in human form fighting 3rd level characters: nupe.
Maybe our DM was just a big softie and sheltered us from the more hardcore craziness but we never ran into stuff like this.
True confession: Until now, I have never experienced a TPK before. Heck, I wasn't even familiar with the term until I read about it on this forum a few months back.
There were the two giant eagles to go after flying creatures too and attack as well as pit traps. No magic item toll = you get attacked by the module script.
The encounter is a CR + way too much to be in any Pathfinder AP. As I learned, pathfinder players never seem to run or avoid encounters because they know they are CR balanced. In my day (the old days when 0 hit points meant dead), we talked, ran, and hid more than we fought.
I added the fifty-fifty split option to the story line myself to make another option to avoid conflict as I felt the pathfinder system has convinced people to assume that wealth and magic items are an integral part of their characters. Giving up magic items is harder these days. Tamper with the pathfinder WBL or tell a pathfinder character that a magic item is not available for them to buy is blatantly unfair in the eyes of many. Some characters plan to have a certain magic item by a certain level to make a build work.
I hear you loud and crystal clear. It's a hard philosophical leap to make.
Speaking for myself, it's hard to give up what I think I've earned. Just look at how much people gripe about income taxes!
I hear that too.
Speaking for myself, it's hard to give up what I think I've earned. Just look at how much people gripe about income taxes!
Note that there's a significant gulf between "what I think I've earned" and "what I think I should be given".
I'll be traveling and very sparsely connected to the internet until about the 16th. Bizzlemont is currently bleeding out, but Strang might keep this all together.
There was an awesome way to tie the king to Golarion lore. It made the conversion and backstory write itself. If asked, he would have mentioned he was a Linnorm King. That may have allowed a reasonable Knowledge Nobility roll to reveal his awesomeness.
Hey GM Tribute remember I told you that I looked inside the module when I thought we had called this game a wrap? Is there any in game mechanic I could use to justify Lamriel using a certain tactic the module mentions without it being just pure meta?
Hope you know the tactic I mean.
Sorry I peaked I would never normally do that, I haven't looked again since I found out we were playing on.
Just remember that once you defy the king, he does not trust anything you say. So the one tactic that can defeat him without ever using a weapon is of very limited use. I am going to assume that Xanthar refuses to swear fealty to a Linnorm king.
This encounter is not my doing. I heard through the grapevine that the designers thought the young crowd that played D&D needed to learn life lessons. How to deal with a boss with a big ego or someone with power over you when force is not a viable option was a valuable life lesson. Not believing in Kobayashi Maru scenarios (no win), they built other ways to defeat this powerful king.
I think I have seen it run wear the PCs that surrendered had to wear slave collars.
The funniest line when we handed over the +1 buckler and were immediately awarded a level (as half xp for bypassing the encounter was massive) was: 'if I had known giving up the tiny magic shield would have been worth a level, I would have done it long ago'
Gotcha.
I am going to assume that Xanthar refuses to swear fealty to a Linnorm king.
Darn tootin'! :)
I apologize for jumping ship on this game (again!) but I really need to cut way back on my time on this board. This realization came after I asked you to allow me to rejoin and I'm sorry for that.
I'm also, obviously, very sorry to the rest of the group for the smack down you had to take because of my PC's rash behavior. I've always thought of myself as "Old School" but I guess my old-school experience wasn't old-school enough to teach me about these kind of situations.
I would assume that the King will want to claim Xanthar's loot as his "prize", if not let it be at least be some kind of in-game apology from me to the rest of the group for my error.
Logan
@Tribute: I still intend to play in your Keep on the Borderlands game although the beat-down we are taking in the first encounter might lead that to be a rather short lived game as well...:P
Terion is a pragmatic guy but... I don't see him swearing fealty to anyone - much less to someone because he is simply stronger - feels kinda funky ;)
Lets see how this plays out.
No problem--we can proceed to the alternate ending. No need to split the party.
The struggle of the King as a polar opposite to Morlean the wizard was an element I added when I began running this myself. Many noted it was an improvement on the original story line.
1=Party assembles the complete set of armor--decides not to use it to activate the titan--some give it to the King
2=Party assembles the complete set of armor--uses it to activate the titan
3=Morlean gains the complete set of armor--uses it
4=King gains the complete set of armor--uses it