The 5th Mendevian Crusade (Inactive)

Game Master Brian Minhinnick

You all can level up to 7 now. You beat the other group there :P Just make the changes to your sheet and post anything you gained here in discussion.

Level 7 summoner now

Picked up Great Cleave, Ant Haul, Magic Circle against Evil (no offence, Rosa) and Charm Monster.

Fly speed is now a bit faster and I traded in some skill at Bluffing for skills at Perceptifying.

Rosa gets better saves 1 more 3e level spell and skills/HP + a feat, not worked out what yet

I just proposed an idea to the DM and he seems to quite like it, and suggested I post it here.

With level 7, my strength has been bumped up slightly and I now have access to the carrying-capacity-tripling spell 'Ant Haul'. Combining both, I now have a Heavy-load capacity of 2200 pounds. A month or so ago I did some calculations, and found that all of you lot add up to a little over 1800 pounds.

Consequently, I'm proposing that after we get back to civilization I go to an engineer's shop and ask him to build a special harness/vehicle that'll allow me to fly you all through the Worlwound. DM has said that it'll cost 1000gold, take 2 weeks to make and it'll take me 2d4+2 minutes to get out of it (thank god for Dimension Door).

There'll be quite a few benefits if we decide to use this idea; firstly, we'll be able to move a lot faster; I have a heavy-load flight speed of 50ft and thanks to my ring I only need 2 hours of sleep per day. Secondly, we'll be travelling above the ground and this'll give us a great chance of noticing trouble before it notices us.

I'd like your thoughts on this idea and, possibly, your money. Aside from the cost of having the harness built, 1800 will get me a set of Muleback cords which will bring the weight of you lot down to a light load, allowing me to fly at a speed of 70ft. (It'll also mean I need to get rid of my cloak of resistance+1, so someone could take that). Also, it will take 2 weeks to make the harness, far too long to hang around the city. A Scroll of Teleport will cost 1125 and let us zap back to the city and pick up the harness after two weeks have passed while we're out smashing demons, or if we need a quick escape.

Thoughts?

That is the best idea I have seen in ages on here, you have my cut Nathaniel, makes me think of a I M Banks Wasp Troop dropship

I will give you all I can if you get the thing made up to look like a flying devil

How about this, the Hell Knights will have to send another detachment to replace the last one, I am going to recommend we head out and find for them site to set up a keep inside the scare, That should take us two weeks, time for them to come and us to have a place found, once we have it take and held you pop back and ferry the Hell Knights to our location.
Once they are fixed in place we can then move into the bad lands and clear it, they can look after the place we find wile we go a hunting.

makes for a fun game I think.

Okay, so the way I'm envisioning this is like a cross with a canoe type structure on top of it. It would need to be ten feet wide in the center where the cross arms are, (directly above Nathaniel) to accommodate Rosa's large size. The whole thing would be about forty feet long (three five foot seats both in front and behind of Rosa). Even constructed from ultralight materials such a thing is probably going to weigh as much as a truck, say 1,500 lbs. Add that to the 1800 for the party, makes it around 3,300 lbs. Meaning that the muleback cords would be necessary. I'm at work so can't double check the numbers right now, but I'll get back to you tonight.

Hmm.

I'd envisioned two different concepts; either I'd simply have a harness with chains dangling for you guys to hold onto, or else I'd drag a big basked/box/carriage below me like a balloon. But if you think this airplane/glider idea is the best way I'll go with that.

Let me run some calculations.

Weight of you all (minus me): 1763.6

Raw carrying capacity: 233/466/700
Raw + Ant Haul: 699/1398/2100
Raw + Muleback: 692/1384/2080
Raw + Ant Haul + Muleback: 2076/4152/6240

Yeah I'm going to have enough capacity.

Hmm actually, I just remembered that a Masterwork Backpack allows you to increase your strength by 1 for carrying capacity...

Raw + Ant Haul + Muleback + M. Backpack: 2400/4800/7200

So ideally to get that light load the flying device will be a maximum of 630lb.

That's thinking flat with seats I was thinking a vertical shaped webbed cage thing that has open slots in the sides for us and Rosa in the central part, webbed it would weigh less.
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so
Top down view

-A---A
>]-N-[<
>]-N-[<
>]-N-[<
-V---V

Side view.
--Nath--
-/----\
/------\
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Nath would clime up and wing down (fly) into the top part.

As webbing it would have little cover form things but it would weigh much less with just a few rods to keep it rigged on the ground.

This way Rosa why the whole thing would swing under Nath who straps into the top part.

My problem with dangling stuff below you would be it swinging all over the place wildly. I don't know how I'd represent that mechanically so I'm gonna say boat/platform idea is the way to do it. I want to look at the special materials again, but can't from work. Is there a wood version of Mithril? It could be manufactured from mithril and that wood (should such a material exist) but it might end up costing more than 1000 gold. You guys will be getting paid bank when you get back, so I wouldn't worry too much about not having enough for the cost as long as you're willing to pay it.

Edit:Ninja'd by Rosa under wrong alias :p

The webbing is kosher. That's a great idea to reduce the weight. The platform could essentially be a diamond shaped frame with a giant spider silk webbing strung between it, and some harness/backpack thing for Nate to grip it on the bottom. Basically it's going to need to have the masterwork backpack and muleback cords built into it. So they'd become part of the 'ship'.

Interesting little disjoint between you two, with Rosa envisioning me at the top and DM picturing me at the bottom.

I think with me on the top, having webbing would stop the lower section wobbling around everywhere; make all of it taut and it should be fairly stable.

But even built to be a solid 'basket', under you either it'd be swinging around like a pendulum or your body would have to absorb all that momentum. It'd need a huge support structure to absord the mechanical energy and move it to your body. It would be spinning around, dragging Nate's relatively lesser weight with it. Also, backpacks and mulecords are supposed to go on your back.

I'm thinking Nathaniel with basically a giant snow-shoe on his back, holding it up like Atlas holds up the globe. The other PCs could lie low on the netting like a motorcycle to reduce drag and it's wing-like shape would catch much less air from the sides. Finally, since I'm the DM playing the engineer and neither Rosa or Nathaniel have Knowledge (Engineering) that I'm aware of, the design is up to me in the end :P

That it is :) fair enough.

ewings at top our swing at top your still going to get swing,
thing is with the point of lift at the bottom Nath will flip over soon as he stops, I did tell you I was an engineer.

Why well all that mass v 9.5mph (70' a round is = 9.45...) all that mass will flip him, if we are below him we swing and he stays upright, that is unless you want to have magic stabilization but if you have that you we can build it any shape we like. then he can be any thing he like.

She does have a point; having the centre of gravity at the top will mean that a few wobbles and we're going over. I realize this isn't real life but it may mean that getting on will be a b~@#@ as you'll all have to basically jump on.

It'll be like a hang glider, with little props on the bottom. So when you land, it will sit on those at like a 30 degree angle to the ground. Everyone will climb on top and strap in and Nate will go under and strap in.

Landing would be like a bird, come in, slow down and then tip up to a high angle (45 degree plus) and apply a quick burst of downward "thrust" to slow the rest of the way. Then just plop down on Nate's feet and the supports. Rules wise, this basically turns Nate into a giant bird, which you then all mount.

Fly rules don't allow for stopping midair without making skillchecks anyway. To hover he'd lean way back, pointing the nose directly up and then applying a burst of thrust forward to slow his forward momentum. Then he'd lean back forward and 'balance' with thrust pointing at the ground. This would require a DC 15 Fly check, which he auto-passes.

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Okay to make it less than 630 lbs. we're gonna need to use Darkwood, Mithril and Spider Silk. Lets say 200 lbs of darkwood (900 GP), a chain shirt's worth of mithril nails, screws, bolts, fittings etc (1100 GP) and 200 ft. of spider's silk rope (400 GP). Add in the Masterwork Backpack (50 GP) and the Muleback Cords (1000 GP). That brings the total cost to 3,450 GP for a Nathaniel powered airship. I would give it the following statistics:

(insert cool name here)
Hardness 5
AC:5 (+ Nate's dex mod while moving)
HP:150
Space Gargantuan 25 ft. by 35 ft. (5x5 squares); Weight 228 Lbs.

Nathaniel would have -10 ACP (Except to fly), Speed would be reduced as if wearing heavy armor (10 ft./round). It's gonna take 8 minutes to 'put on' and 2d4+2 minutes to remove. Your maneuverability will stay Perfect, but you'll take a -6 from the Gargantuan size.

So your flight bonus will be +14 (7 ranks, 2 dex, 3 class, +8 perfect, -6 size) meaning you will still auto-pass Hover checks/move less than half speed checks/turn greater than 45 degrees during move by spending 5 feet checks. It would also take up his shoulder item slot.

I'll leave the final appearance up to Nathaniel, as long as it's vaguely Manta-Ray or Bird shaped. A glider-like frame, with webbing inside for the other players and gear.

I like very very much... thanks for doing all this work, DM!

I'm the poor sod who has to power it all day so I bags naming it.

It has the heavy armour speed penalty, but is a light load, so with my normal flight speed of 70ft it'll be 60ft?

Question- will I have the Spell Failure chance of heavy armour while in this?

Some thing like this perchance

Leonardo's Flying Machine 1

Leonardo's Flying Machine 2

Yes 60 ft., and yes. I'm considering it the equivalent of wearing half plate with a large shield so 45% ASF.

45*, ouchie. So am I not going to have use of my arms and hands when flying this thing?

One final question- is the manufacturing time of this going to still be 2 weeks, or will it be longer?

Yeah, no arms but you have your foot claws. I think two weeks is reasonable still. You'd need to get measured/fitted (take a day) but the rest could be done without you. If anyone wants to craft wands/scrolls/potions then would be a good time. Or you could do a couple more expeditions probably. If you want to pay for three castings of Fabricate you could have it made in three days.

Some thing like this perchance

Leonardo's Flying Machine 1

Leonardo's Flying Machine 2

Just saw this. Yeah, that's basically what I was envisioning, only much bigger because a super strong magical being is flying it and not the wind.

Essentially because of the long "take it off time" this is going to be a huge advantage with land bound enemies, but with ones that can fly it's gonna basically take Nathaniel out of the fight (except for his feet).

-I'd suggest we take the two weeks instead of Fabricate, as the latter will cost quite a bit.
-Do you people want to hang around for two weeks or do we set off back into the worldwound and take a scroll of teleport to get back after the time is up?
-Unless I fancy risking the 45% miss chance.
-Final question on this topic, would I be able to take my hands off the glider, cast a spell without the miss chance, then go back to supporting the glider? I imagine there would be some plummetting in the middle but if we've got the height it should be okay.

I'll treat it the same as failing a fly check after being attacked (lose ten feet of height). Which would also reduce your ASF by 15% to only 30% for that round.

Well worth it. Thanks for the option.

Ahh never saw this stuff propbably was the update on the boards. Was like what flying machine. And yeah sounds real nice, Viorel would pitch in gladly. Much better than the idea I was thinking of trying to find a mount that could support Rosa. BTW did you take weight of the our gear in count with the calculations? I have most of my stuff in the handy haversack but I would assume that those that wear armor it would add up pretty fast.

EDIT: Oh and I would not mind just waiting for the thing to be finished. Just better if somebody is able to use that time crafting. I would also assume that the characters would appriciate a small brake. But either way works for me. Then again finding a scroll of teleport is not garanteed.

"I say I say I say, My dog has no nose,"

"how dos he Smell"

"Well not at all it seems"

GM could I point something out, why Rosa got a wee Doggy thats not much use in a fight, but thats not what the dog is for, its for stopping what just happened from happening its way Armys and camps, trail blazers and travelers have dogs.

Scent

This extraordinary ability lets a creature detect approaching enemies, sniff out hidden foes, and track by sense of smell.

The creature detects another creature's presence but not its specific location. Noting the direction of the scent is a move action. If the creature moves within 5 feet (1 square) of the scent's source, the creature can pinpoint the area that the source occupies, even if it cannot be seen.

Now they hyenas are all around us and so not up wind or down, we should have got V doggy a "Bark Bark Grouw" waning that some thing was up.
If not then Rosa will dump Doggy as they do not work like dogs do in the other worlds.

So how dos you dog smell,

Yes, the dog would have started barking once they were within thirty feet. However, that's around the same time that I gave everyone perception checks. So it would have been redundant to the rest of your party shouting and standing up etc.

Honestly the dog would have died ages ago from heat stroke if someone hasn't been casting endure elements on it this whole time. If you want to remind me about it when combat starts in the future I'll have it bark when it appropriate. However it being aware just gives it an action in the surprise round, not anyone else.

Never seen the horror movie where the dog starts growling and barking then its owner stands up and peers into to darkness with gun in hand only to be snatched up by whatever monster's in the dark? Same thing basically. The dog can tell you something's wrong but you still have to figure out what yourself. Sorry for forgetting about it so much. I've already got a lot to keep track of in these games.

Cool GM will do next time.

Sorry guys, quite busy at the moment. I will update as soon as I get a chance. The Fort of the Nail is still about a day's journey away. I need to go back and find the exact date you all purchased your Rings of Sustenance, we're coming up on the one week mark. After that, you can travel much more without stopping.

Okay, here's an update. Your rings were purchased on 08/25 in game time, currently the party is in the afternoon of 08/29. So there's still three days until they activate.

There is another larger issue at hand though. The other group is way behind you guys chronologically. They are only on the morning of 08/24. They are also going for the Fort, and are much closer than you all. One of their party members just died as well, we've already got a replacement being worked in, but it's still slowing things down. I'm currently waiting on them to make a decision but it's going slowly (probably because of the holiday).

In the meantime to preserve chronological integrity I'm putting this group on pause until the others catch up to your time in game. Their actions will have huge consequences for what you will find at the Fort. I hate to do this, but I can't think of another solution right now. I'll keep the discussion thread here updated.

I hear ya GM and having teams in the same place this could happen but its way bad, they are going for the same fort now? (then) O man we rush like hell, brake our backs getting things done, with whole wildness to go for and WE get penalized and have to stop play wile team slow.

1: Gets to carry on playing slowly,
2: Gets the prize.
3: level before us.
4: They are getting new team members wile in the badlands so max strength.
5: One read of this and they will be ready for us should we have to fight the for the fort. :(

We are the good fast team, working well as a team and we lose out.

Did they just make the call to go for the Fort? if so I hate to suggest this but has some one been looking at what we desired to do.

If not and they where going for the same fort, a heads up would have been a good idea before we set of, I know an NPC or two may have known they where heading to the same spot etc.

Really not happy about we losing out for all our hard work, I know you said teams and players may clash but this is not a clash this is a
"Thanks for doing so well, dead stop now"

could you knot,

1: Set up another local for us.
2: get us some intell on root so we can do some thing other than stand still for team slow.

Or do you want us to fight for the fort when we get there, if they are days behind they could take it head back to town the same time we where there or even be back with a small army. As they are getting replacements out side they will be fully numbered again. seems bad when we may have to kill them all. AND they may mad level ready for us.

I think this just makes me very sad, this game was going so well,

Actually they had the idea way before you, and have been working towards that goal virtually from the beginning. In fact you had no reason to go there until after you encountered the undead Hellknights and went back to Clydwell to learn about the Fort. They encountered live Hellknights as one of their first encounters. One reason you're several days ahead of them because you just went back to town recently and fast forwarded through three days. You're not the better, faster party.

They just leveled to seven, and already had to go back to the keep once to replace a player who quit (not their fault). They got to the Fort first, it's only fair to let them take a whack at it first if they want it. I'm going to make them go back to town if they want to pick up a replacement, because that's what I did the first time and that's only fair. If they decide to go back to the Keep, then it won't be an issue.

The whole point of this game was the shared world between the two parties. I don't know what's going to happen to them, and neither do you. It has to play out, sorry.

Heh, I think Jelani's right in this, Rosa. Happy to pause for now.

As I said in my post, if they where going there 1st it then a mater of them being ready for us etc.

Yes as I said I understand the shared world, but that can be done meany ways, waiting on the one slowest player, witch we are now doing, Team 1 gos and team 1st slowest poster hold them and us team 2 back as now ALL world players are waiting in that one player. Think about that a moment Nat.

How about this

If they go back to the keep, how about we link up with them, back track a bit and they could be heading out or us 1st and hot the keep as two groups at the same time. If they hit town and talk to the hell nights then my be before us, and we would know about them heading out or they could come after OR we could both go as a duel mission. As you say its a sheared world, why not a double team hit and link both play time lines and events.
We can hot the fort from two sides, that way yes it linked time but closer than days.

Of course in the en ill go with what both groups agrees,

I think that groups should go at their own pace and posting speed shouldn't be considered. Additionally, the reason we are ahead is that we skipped forward in time three days, and they (presumably) didn't. So it is irrelevant in any case.

The problem is that if we do ANYTHING then we will just be maintaining/expanding the time gap. Before that was fine, but now that we are starting to affect eachother we need to stop and wait for them to catch up.

I'd like to pause.

It looks like they are probably going back to the Clydwell Keep to bury their fallen and find a new member, so we probably won't have to pause at all really. I should know 100% soon.

KK GM I see both points of view, just having so much fun etc, but its Xmass so things will slow up, Im finding it hard to do any thing but fast posts, I placed my GM game on hold till after Xmass so I can not talk.

Greetings fellows; just letting all my games know that I'm going on a camping thing for three days, starting tomorrow. There's a goodly chance I'll still have internet access but I may not, so I thought I should let you all know in case my posts slow down.

Happy new years, everyone!

Cinderfang/Viorel - Yeah, game is on hold for now. I'm trying to make the pause as short as possible but the holidays have slowed posting to a crawl. I will post here as soon as the game is back on. Apologies again for the the wait.

Hey guys, this should make you laugh, but until Viorel mentioned this section, I honestly hadn't even noticed it was here! I feel like such a dork!

I'm totally fine with the delay. No biggie.

I'm going to be on vacation starting tomorrow (18th) until the 28th inclusive. Not sure about web access or ability to post, so if the other group has caught up to us temporally and the game resumes during that time, feel free to DMPC me.

Alright peoples, we're back in action. Role call! If you're still with us chime in. Sorry for the long delay but I want to get this game back on the road. As soon as I hear from a majority of the party I'm going to start the game again. Everyone else will get PMed, and then have a couple days to respond. If you don't respond to PM within 48 hours you're spot's up for grabs.

I think, I'm going to take this opportunity to bow out. I'm feeling a little overextended and I think this game is one of those that I'm going to have to cut.

It's been a blast folks. Sorry to leave you in the lurch, but I'm sure you wont have any difficulty in filling my vacancy.

Definitely still in. Nice new avatar, DM.

here let get that fort

Sorry to see you go Torin, but I understand. Lets see who else we definitely still have before we continue. Need more than two to start playing.

Viorel is ready for action. :P

If one more shows we can hit the road.

TTFN Torin