I am currently quite busy with quite a bit of studying. I even had to cut down on my number of games. Thus I do not particularly mind the break. That said, I am very much enjoying this game and will be here when it resumes.
I'll still be here, waiting to torch those books...
Did we get xp for the warden, btw? I didn't see anything
Same here! Can't wait to re-start. :)
*Goes back to build snowmen with the ripped pages of the penny dreadfuls*
And a happy one to you all as well - even if it's not your holiday, it's worthwhile giving thanks for things today.
Of the various things on my list of things to be thankful for, I'm glad everyone's eager to have this game fire up again (so to speak) after the holidays!
Happy Thanksgiving..... still here, trying to stick my head above the clutter for a sec...
lol
Merry Christmas, evil Overladies and Overlords!
Same to you all!
Nearly time for this game to roll back the stone and rise again! (Oh, wait, wrong holiday...)
Merry Christmas, all; I trust - in true Asmodean fashion - you gave everyone exactly what they asked for...
Merry Christmas and happy holidays everyone!
Okay lets see if we can wake everyone up here...
ROLL CALL!!!!
I am on a 3000-mile holiday road trip, getting home on New Year's Day, so posting will be a but limited until then. But I'm eager to dive back in!
*Picks up lamp oil and torches*
Ready to set things on fire.
Why, hello there...
*stumbles slightly in eagerness to respond* Here! I'm still here!
I hope to get back started on Monday, January 5th, 2014
We might can get underway sooner if we can get a check in from the Good Doctor.
I'll send him a PM tonight if he hasn't checked in by then.
Welcome back everyone, I will get a game thread update done this evening...
I thought we had resolved the question of fire vs fight, but it appears not. I think we will run out of spells and healing and get someone killed if we try to take out every guard in this place. And many of us are not good at stealth, so some diversion seems called for. But maybe there's a middle ground. Also, remember that each fight we get in risks bringing all the remaining guards down on us.
Can we make our way along the top of the wall to the west, moving as quietly as possible and hoping to reach the gatehouse without more fights, then fight our way out?
Or use the window from the sash and go out through the wall and go around the prison on the outside, where the guards are much less likely to see and hear us?
We could also try to find a wagon and go for firewood, using the password we got from the servants in the kitchen. I looked through the gameplay thread and didn't find one, but there must be one, as I doubt Gregor did his firewood runs on foot.
Or use the window from the sash and go out through the wall and go around the prison on the outside, where the guards are much less likely to see and hear us?
I like that idea: put the window on the West wall of the tower ground floor and make our way out along the rocks and round to the causeway at the front. Avoids the guards, the doors and any unnecessary fights.
Gets my vote. Of course, we would then NOT want to draw the guards' attention to the tower, as then they'd see the window. So, no fire :(
But first, I think there's still one more room to explore in the tower?
I agree that we won't be able to fight our way trough: we're almost out of spells, and taking out the two groups on the wall will be really difficult without setting off the alarm. If they're using bullseye lanterns, the other groups will probably notice that the other lantern is out.
I don't know about using the window to escape and circle the place (judging from the map, it seems difficult), but dressing Felrin as Gregor and hiding in a wagon sounds like a plan!
Since Hecate is the resident Wizard and has the scrolls does everyone want me just to take them off of party treasure and add them to her personal inventory since they are an expendable?
Or how do you want to handle expendables as far as party treasure goes?
Good time to discuss this.
|
Wizard scrolls are a little different than most other scrolls as wizards/witches get added value when they scribe them into their spellbooks. Same with alchemists when they add a scroll to their extract list.
My vote would be to consider any scroll scribed/added by a arcane caster/alchemist to be 1/4 its real value. (I would consider it 1/2 value for a witch, but we do not have any since the scroll is destroyed). This way they do not gain the key to their power for free, but at the same time are not being forced to pay full value for these items since they can still be sold for cash, or used for the party's benefit.
In other words, these items are considered at 1/4 value (6.25gp*CL*spell level) when determining loot split and calculating party/player wealth.
I think that expendables like scrolls (and potions) should be considered slightly differently: they may be scribed by the party wizard (or brewed by the alchemist), but they're for party use. I wouldn't expect a cleric to shoulder the cost of paying for the scrolls of Lesser Restoration that the party gets through, for example...
|
|
I agree about the expendables. I was thinking more about the value of the scrolls when the alchemists/wizard/witch gets a new scrolls and adds them to their spellbook/familiar/formulary. This is the true power of these classes, the value and number of their spells. If these classes are allowed to take every spell that is found and immediately scribe it for free, then they are effectively being given a bonus on loot distribution.
I am not saying that these classes should be made to pay full value for these items, but paying what is effectively 1/2 of their sale value to me seems fair since buying the same scroll to scribe into their spellbooks would cost 4 times as much. Then, the party can decide whether to keep and use the scroll, or to sell it and add the value to the party loot.
To me, if it is truly an expendable, then it is party loot. But, if it has value to the character long term, then the character should not get it for free.
I'm fine with pretty much any model for treasure allocation. I used to worry about it being equitable and kept spreadsheets to track it, and I find that it generally ends up being distributed sensibly and fairly.
Oh, I see what you're saying. Makes sense - although it's all academic without a spell book to scribe them into :(
Like Felrin, I don't really mind how consumables are distributed.
EDIT: Also, the plan for now is to move to the Gatehouse, and then decide a more specific course of actions?
Oops - did I just say "spell book?" I meant "without a spell book to scribe them into and free infinite wishes for all of us..."
Typo. Blame my phone. Or Paizo's servers. Or Cosmo.
EDIT: Wait, what - an accountant?! And I thought your character was evil :p
It looks like some of the indecision about what to do next is based on not knowing how many guards are still out there for us to sneak past or fight.
@DM Asmodeus - didn't we find a roster in Blackerley's office telling us how many guards there are? Since we know how many we've killed, we should know exactly how many are left and where they are, which might make our decision easier.
Guard points are marked on the map taken from Blackerly's office. Each guard point has between 2 - 4 guards at any given time. (Mostly 2) Depending on time of day and shift changes.
The exact number of guards was never given.
It seems I've put a few ideas out there, had a few people say yes, and then a couple of people give reasons why the approach is a bad one - without offering a different idea.
Can we make a decision about what we want to do? Some ideas out there are:
- light tower on fire and run for it
- take out guards one group at a time (this needs some more definition as to how we do that)
- climb down outside of wall and make our way along the base of it (not hanging on a ledge, walking on the ground)
- use the magic window to get outside the wall somewhere
Thoughts?
I suspect Ottakar is right - the ogre won't get through the window. That leaves fighting or stealth.
Best option for fighting IMO is to draw the guards to us in small groups and dispatch them as they arrive; setting the tower on fire would do this.
Best option for stealth is a rope over the wall and walk round the outside; the noise of the sea would likely mask any sound we make.
I'm not picky, but then I won't be the one in mêlée :)
There's also the option to hide in a wagon and disguise Felrin as Gregor: that hinges on both the fact that there is a wagon and that all of us can fit into it. It's not really reliable, thinking about it.
If we really have to fight, we should take out stealthily as much groups as possible, and then clear the rest. Note that I have only one spell left, so we can pull off the Grease trick only one other time.
In case we have to fight face to face, we should take the ranged enemies out ASAP: all of the ladies are squishy, but Tkaara in particular could be killed by a lucky crit. D:
Also, judging from the map, there should be 4 groups left: two on the walls, one in the gatehouse, and one on the outer gates. Even if most of the groups are made of 2 guards, it's possible that they have a group of dogs in the outer gate: we heard them when we were brought in Brandescar.
Didn't the Doctor pick up Blackerley's sleeping draught? I doubt we could get the guards to drink it, but we could mix it with dog food and put the mutts down...
OK. 4 groups of guards left. Ignore the ones on the walls, they can't see in the dark and they can't shoot us if they can't see us. That means the gatehouse and causeway guards are all that stands between us and sweet, sweet freedom.
If we creep round the outside of the fort, we'll only have to deal with the causeway guards. Even if there are 4 of them, that's one each for Erevan, Ottakar, Felrin and our ogre friend; and I have a Summons spell left (plus the ever-useful Daze). I fancy our chances.
I like the wagon option a lot, but as Etna says, there is one big IF in that plan - the finding of a wagon - so I think we shouldn't hold out much hope for it working. If we find a wagon, though, I say we try it.
I agree with Hecate's list of best options: light a fire or sneak over the wall, but I can certainly be convinced of the merits of other approaches.
DMA - is there an exit from the warden's tower directly onto the wall? If not, have we seen any other way to get up onto the wall?
I would like to keep Grumblejack with us if we can. He appears to be an interesting character and a useful asset to have around, so the window is probably out of the question.
I still feel the fire could be a useful distraction besides a way to destroy stuff. Still, if we do choose to fight, I agree with Hecate. If we are a bit smart and careful and do not seek out each and every group, we could get away with perhaps fighting only one of the guard groups and then taking our leave of the place.
Hhhm, didn't think of that. I like the sound of passing trough the guards on the walls, taking out the Gatehouse group after greasing the horn, and dealing face to face with the causeway one. Even if they blow the horn, it'll take some minutes for the group on the wall to reach us, and hopefully we'll be already in the marsh* when/if that happens.
Could we use the oil bottles to make some makeshift weapon or something like that? MOAR FIRE. Speaking of which, if we aren't setting fire to something, I can use my daily use of Burning Hands to fry some guards.
*Let's not forget to pick up the map. :P
|
|
I think we should try to take out the guards on the walls. We will have to looks at the walls and how to get up to them, but if the towers are raised from the parapets, then we can hide behind one of the towers and take down the guards when they cross the tower. Then, we can move to get the others. Perhaps Hecate can use Mage Hand to make the lantern to continue to be moved so that it appears the set of guards we take down are still active. Then the rest of us can move over and perform the same attack on the second set of guards and/or any guards on the main gatehouse. If one of the lanterns suddenly stops moving, or goes out, then I would think that this would cause suspicion.
Etna, could your Grease spell get the ogre through the window...?
It looks like we have 3 options:
1. Take out all the guards, with or without setting anything on fire (OK, call it 1a and 1b).
2. Take out the gatehouse guards, the dogs, and the causeway guards.
3. Avoid as many guards as possible, and only take out the causeway guards (this requires going round the outside of the castle, which may have its own problems).
Put it to a vote? I would go for option 3.
My vote is for option 2!
It looks like the safest: 1 is unfeasible, and I think that 3 would require a lot of Stealth/Acrobatics/Dex rolls. Between me, Hecate and Grumblejack, someone is bound to fail one of those, and falling onto sharp rocks/in the sea sounds really dangerous.
EDIT: To expand on why I prefer 2 to 1: the biggest problem with the "kill everything" plan is that the guards will probably be able to sound the alarm while we are on the walls. As we said before, we would need to land both Grease and Mage Hand at the same time only to take out the first group on the wall. That way, unfortunately, our only option to take out stealthily the second group is either Daze, or pray that we get first on initiative and manage to kill the horn bearer on the spot. If they sound the alarm, the guard on the gatehouse could easily ping us with arrows, and the group in the causeway would probably start moving toward us.
With 2, we skip the wall guard problem altogether, getting a better chance to kill the gatehouse guards without them setting off the alarm. Then, after we go to the causeway, even in the worst case scenario that they sound the alarm, it will take some time for the guards on the walls to get to us.
PS: As Hecate suggested, we could poison the dog's food: as we will be passing trough the kitchen anyway, should we take some fresh meat to throw at them?
|
I prefer 1 IF it can be done. 2 is probably most feasible. I would say 3 is untenable for the reasons Etna mentioned.
Area 5 on the prison map looks like some kind of garden. Useful herbs, maybe? Might just be veggies, but perhaps looking into.
If there is indeed a kennel for dogs (I recall something about us hearing them as we were brought into the prison) that is probably Area 7, since it is outdoors. If we are going to attempt any stealth plan involving bypassing the guards on the walls/towers, we'd better make certain we quiet them right away. Poison may well work IF we can find the proper bait, and IF we have enough of it to go around.