The Dark is Rising - WotW Part I (COMPLETED) (Inactive)

Game Master Darkness Rising

As I just wrote in Gameplay: maybe we could pull off the Grease horn stunt another time or two, but I don't think that we'll be able to neuter all of the other 5 guard posts. Even if we wanted to take out the guards in the towers that have a clearest view on the road, we would still have to go trough at least 3 towers, plus the guardpost near the exit.
Any ideas? :/

EDIT: wait there's also the guardpost on top of the gatehouse <.<
We'll have to take that out for sure, but maybe we could use it to acces the other two towers...

I think dealing with each guard post in turn is the way forward.

Remember, they can't see in the dark so they won't see us coming. I'd rather deal with them now when they're split up, in the dark, than when they're chasing us in one big group (and firing longbows!) once we've escaped.

The XP wouldn't hurt, either!

Open to other ways of doing it, though.

We will have to figure out how to get to the top of the wall then as they appear to be stationed on towers. Also, there is the Warden somewhere, sounds like he holes up in the big tower to the rear from the description of the talkative guards.

I say we hit the warden's tower. He probably has good equipment/supplies. From there we can easily access the top of the wall and from there, the individual towers and gatehouse. If we don't want to try to fight all the guards, maybe we could somehow block them in.

We need to finish the other side of the prison first. Grumblejack said he smelled food I think, so there is probably a kitchen for the guards somewhere on the other side. From the map, looks like a common room and barracks as well possibly.

I agree about crossing the hall and seeing what's there. In general, I think we should get out of the prison as fast as we possibly can, rather than trying to take out all the guards - I don't think we can handle that many fights, given our level and how little healing we have left.

If we can get into the gatehouse and take out the guards on the roof there, we might be able to walk out the front gate. We'd still have to fight the guards at the end of the bridge, but I like our odds in two fights better than in six fights. If we can do this soon, it doesn't matter what view the various towers have of the road - it's dark and they won't see us.

Not related to game, but too much fun not to share: yesterday, at work, I received my very first fan art! Someone drew a picture of me as my Fright Fest persona, Nicholas Nightmare. :D

Sorry if I couldn't post today, sudden things showed up. I'll go to sleep and post in 8-9 hours from now.

As a reference, I'm okay with checking every room of the central complex and then heading to the warden's tower: Hecate's still doesn't have her spellbook if I remember correctly, and dead warden wizards have no use for theirs. :P

Hecate's still doesn't have her spellbook if I remember correctly, and dead warden wizards have no use for theirs. :P

Yeah, don't think I'm getting mine back, somehow, but I'll happily take someone else's!

Sorry for the late update today, it was a brutally busy Monday.

As a note, to speed things up, usually posting in the alternative, or posting 2-3 actions that are likely to occur in succession is beneficial. In this case, the CDGs could have probably been done in 1 post for each attacker which would have eliminated the need to have DMA respond several times.

I really like the way this party is going, but when 1 or 2 people are the focus, anything that can be done to expedite getting the party back together is usually beneficial.

Of course, this is up to DMA how he wants to run things.

I run the game at the parties pace. I work off what is given. The more that I get the more I can process at a time. I am not super fond of trying to skip ahead of everyone when everyone is posting but the CDG could have been done in one post and then I could have stopped it if something else happened or the rolls just sucked.

On the flip side I try to give everyone a descent chance to post before I move forward. On a good day I will process in the morning when I get a chance and then once late in the evening (Central Standard Time). On a really busy day then the group gets one result post late in the evening.

I have groups that move fast and groups that move slow and will spend a week or more just selling stuff to merchants. I can flow either way.

However I also find that if your character has nothing to do and you don't want to post a "I twiddle my thumbs post" just for the sake of posting that day then it is good to keep the discussion thread going so the group still has interaction between players. At least here you can tell the others to hurry the freak up.

LOL

Works fine for me, since this is the busiest time of year for me. I read everything at least once or twice a day though!

Christmas is absolutely brutal for us. Do most all of out work in 4 months of the year.

Our business:

Official North Pole Mail

I love the notion that Asmodeus is writing the official Santa letters! It all makes sense now.

On the question of posting process: I don't tend to take things for granted in my PbPs, so I tend to post a discrete action or set of actions at a time, to give an opportunity for the DM to respond and other players to weigh in, and that's what I did here. Having said that, I'm not at all opposed to posting a series of actions in situations where it makes sense, and it clearly did here - it just didn't occur to me. (I think I was too busy killing guards with my Perception check!)

It seems we are all checking this thread fairly frequently, and with DMA getting busier as the Santa season approaches, I'd say feel free to suggest things like Tkaara did to keep us all moving.

...I think I was too busy killing guards with my Perception check!...

Does guards works like Quantum Mechanics? The moment you look at them, they die? :P

And I'm on board for any suggestion to speed things up. :)

If there's anything else that we find that needs a dice check like appraisal, or knowledge check, I'm happy for you to roll it DM, if it will save waiting for me to check in and post the roll.

@Hecate: A guy that made some mini-guides on Planar Binding just posted a Guide to the Diabolist. I didn't realize that the damnation feats were so ridiculous with Channel Hellfire!

He also said that he will compile the posts he made on planar binding in a PDF sometime next week.
Thought you may be interested. :)

Thanks Etna - I'd already had some thoughts in that direction, so will take a look. (Was specifically wondering about using Hellish soul to escape the damnation feats, but now it's not a surprise :( ...)

Sorry for updating so late, had bad weather this evening and tonight. Just got power back on.

As a point of clarification, Felrin's intent was to get the cooks to drop their weapons so he could kill them more easily. His offer was "Drop your weapons and I won't have him hurt you," referring to Grumblejack

He never said he or anyone else would refrain from hurting them and, if Grumblejack attacked them, it would not be at Felrin's direction - it's all in the wording of his offer. It's just neater if we leave no one behind to talk about our escape.

Either if we want to kill them or not, I'd say we try first to get some info from them.

Sure thing. Just didn't want you all to think I'd gone soft.

Sure thing. Just didn't want you all to think I'd gone soft.

You killed a sleeping man by driving your fingers through his eye sockets and into his brain... I don't think 'soft' is the accusation!

It is sort of Tkaara's current mindset. She does not see the need to kill those who do not need to be killed. She was not in the room when the sleeping guard massacre happened. In her mind, she would have opposed it. However, what is done is done, no reason to worry about things that cannot be changed.

Her view is to leave the cooks to tell what happened, just to embarrass the regime that supposedly unarmed and secured prisoners managed to escape and take out the entire defenses in the process.

Also, for the currently Asmodean devoted, reminding the cooks that the First protects those who willingly give in and accept the rule of those greater than them would be a nice start to converting the population.

I appreciate the reassurance, Hecate.

And Felrin wants to kill them for a couple of reasons. He still has some anger to work out, and that will take a while. Plus, his learned tendency to want to go unnoticed suggests to him that killing witnesses to the escape can only be a good thing.

And that is why Tkaara is the one member of the party whose alignment isn't evil (yet). :P Though Hecate does make me wonder at times...

Ottakar is being entirely truthful: he honestly doesn't care a flying fig if the servants live or die, he simply cares about what is logically most useful to the party. Nice and cold. :D

Also, I walked right up to them on purpose; kinda think it would be funny if one of them stabbed the Doctor.

PS. @Felrin, signed up for my PFS games at Avalon!

Well, it is not like they don't know who we are. There were 6 forsaken and 1 ogre in the prison. When they find all missing, they will have a pretty good idea who is responsible. I think worrying about witnesses is the least of our problems at this point. In the future probably, but not now.

And that is why Tkaara is the one member of the party whose alignment isn't evil (yet). :P Though Hecate does make me wonder at times...

Yup - although she will be there before too long.

Well yes, they will probably figure out pretty quick who did it, hence not insisting we try to fake our own deaths. But making sure they don't figure out that anything is even amiss until we are long gone is definitely in our interest.

I was thinking of locking them in a storeroom. The cells are just as good, had completely forgotten about them.

My goal was mostly to eliminate as many loose ends as possible, so word of our escape is kept quiet as long as possible - to avoid pursuit as well as confound the regime.

AsmodeusUltima - I'm registered too, hope to see you there - sent you a PM.

And that is why Tkaara is the one member of the party whose alignment isn't evil (yet). :P Though Hecate does make me wonder at times...

Hecate has embraced the Lawful Evil philosophy, but up until now it's been purely theoretical... The way I see it, this AP offers a full 20 levels in which to plumb the depths of corruption, malice and depravity; what's the hurry? :)

(That said, I think she'll always be slightly squeamish about getting her own hands dirty, but that's what minions are for - summoned, or otherwise.)

Oh, I understand, and I look forward to seeing her indulge in her evil side. She just seems so... innocent, and, dare I say it, cute. It is very amusing to see a villain with these traits. It puts me slightly in mind of the other concept I was playing around with before I decided upon the Doctor: a cultist of the Horseman of Pestilence who used to be a school-teacher, and who was just the nicest, most wholesome-seeming person you've ever met, and who also happens to be hard at work trying to spread corruption and disease to all corners of the island. For personality I was thinking some part Fix-It Felix Jr. from Wreck-It Ralph, and some part Mayor Richard Wilkins III from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Mayor Richard Wilkins III from Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Affably Evil is the best Evil. ;)

And I'm looking forward to Hecate going to the dark side, too: if/when she gets her revenge on Sir Balin, it'll be awesome.

Ah, Sir Balin. I do hope we get to meet him again - there's a special place in Hell with his name on it...

Unfortunately he is too Mitran. I rather doubt he will end up in hell, unless you know someone, or something, that can drag him there.

Wizard, and budding Diabolist: I'll be able to do so soon enough. We'll just have to keep him alive until then, won't we? I'm sure Ottakar will be able to prevent him from dying too soon. None of us would want that.

Speaking of Diabolist...
As I'm taking the Contract Devil chain, by level 7 I'll be an outsider, with the Evil and Law subtype and all: does that mean you'll be able to summon me with Planar Binding? :/

*Eating Breakfast in the secret base of evil*
*Sudden wooshing sound, fails will save*
Etna:"What the-?"
*Finds herself in the summoning circle in the next room*
Etna:"Asmodeus Almighty, AGAIN? You do this one more time Hecate, and I swear..."
Hecate:*Snickers*

"Just empirically verifying the continued superiority of wizards over sorcerers, Dear Flame; you may leave now. I believe you're familiar with the way out."

Conclusion: I can do this! This is a Thing!

EDIT: not that I'd actually bind you, of course; your Charisma is higher than mine, for one thing (being imprisoned between Etna and Tkaara was very much to be the thorn between two roses) so you'd win the opposed Charisma check.

There is nothing about this exchange that fails to make me smile.

"Just empirically verifying the continued superiority of wizards over sorcerers, Dear Flame; you may leave now. I believe you're familiar with the way out."

*Narrows eyes*

:P

And with my penchant for rolling low, it isn't out of the question that I would fail the opposed check. <.<
I played a depressed paladin in a WotR game here on this boards: the game imploded in 3 weeks, but out of 15 or so attack rolls I landed 3 hits.
The first of them was for minimum damage.
Let's just say that the Paladin's self-esteem problems didn't get better by the time the campaign ended. <.<

Etna - I had forgotten we were in that short-lived WotR game together. I played the outcast aasimar ranger with a hate on for demons. That game definitely flamed out fast.

By the way, how do we proceed with sneaking around? Half an hour is a lot, but I doubt that all of us would be able to do a successful sneak roll one after the other: mostly me, Hecate and Grumblejack (even if he says he's very stealthy). We could probably give Hecate the green cloak, so even if she's spotted the guards will exchange her for the guy we locked up. I think that doing as Tkaara said, running to the first tower and killing the guards on the wall first would be a good idea.
Remember tough that the guards said that the wizard is up all night 'petting his owl' (I hope in the literal term), so if we aren't stealthy enough he could be alarmed.

Etna - I had forgotten we were in that short-lived WotR game together. I played the outcast aasimar ranger with a hate on for demons. That game definitely flamed out fast.

I hadn't even realized that we where in that game together! It seemed so neat at first (By your powers combined...Captain Outsider!), but things went down fast in no time. :/ Spooky reopened the recruitment recently, but considering that with us it wasn't the first time that he disappeared I don't feel getting in a second time and ending up the same way: I'll wait for another chance to play Menedemus...

EDIT: considering it again, maybe you're right that trying to clear the walls would be a problem...

I feel the possibility of an angry wizard is likely the most dangerous thing facing us right now, so I vote we do our best to take him out first. Sneak past guards, deal with warden, then try our best to pick off the remaining guard groups one by one. If we tried for the guards first and they managed to sound their horn (we can't be lucky forever), then we would likely face a forewarned and forebuffed wizardly foe, which is a LOT more dangerous.

One option is that I could cast Obscuring Mist. It is my last spell, but would create a cloud of mist that would obscure our movements. Not perfect, and perhaps slightly suspicious, but would pretty much conceal use to get us around the corner.

Also, I have terrible stealth, like -5 with my chainmail.

DMA - some questions:

First, do you want us to scope out the pattern of the guards and make a plan that takes advantage of that, or do you plan to just give us a bonus to stealth checks and we'll assume we worked out the details? If the former, I have a few questions:

Do the guards go into the base of each of the towers as they make their rounds of the walls? For example, would the southern pair go through the bottom of tower 6a when they pass it? That would give us a moment to duck around the corner if they do.

Based on the timing of the guards and what we can observe of them, does each pair seem to circle in opposite directions and meet periodically? It seems that would take a while and leave our little corner unobserved for a pretty long time, so it should create a window for us to duck around the corner without being spotted or heard. In other words, is there a period of time when there appear to be no guards in our part of the prison? If so, how long is that period of time?

p.s. - Tkaara - I think obscuring mist is a bit suspicious, as you say. We might be hidden by it, but the mist will be a noticeably strange thing appearing in the prison yard, which the guards would likely investigate.

From the few minutes you have watched them one pair moved to the north and the other pair to the south. They do not go in to the bottom of the towers, they go across the top. Judging by what you have seen they should pass each other again on the opposite (West) wall around the middle section.

That gives a opportunity to have no view of you on this side and part of the back of the prison. Unfortunately the wardens tower would be in sight of them when they are on the western walls so there is no way to make a complete move from your current location to the wardens door without one stealth check.

With that being said however if one could find a point to go to and then hide there until the guards make their way back around then it possibly could work. You would have to come up with the point to hide and when to move again.

Also might could come up with some way of distracting their attention for a few moments. Or get them to come to a certain area that was beneficial to your plan.

If the plan will involve stealth checks then you would want it to happen when the guards were the farthest away from the point of stealth.

Regarding a distraction: do you think that we could work something with Ghost Sound?

Like a dog barking? That should cover any noise we make. Unless they have darkvision, I doubt that they can see much. Our main risk is noise.

EDIT: Oh, and I agree with AU: "geek the mage first" is advice to live by - and not just in Shadowrun.