The Quest for Perfection Trilogy [PFS Regular] [Tier 4-5] (Inactive)

Game Master Amsheagar

Yes, you should be able to find that in a medium town, which i stated you've been through. :)

Zalanda, obviously with this current combat arising suddenly as we traveled, there was no chance to assume long-buff spells, but under normal circumstances/when we're expecting combat, Guang has a wand of mage armor that he would politely request you cast on him. He would also be more than willing to let you use charges of it on yourself, if you don't have a way of providing mage armor for yourself.

(On my very quick glances at everyone else's sheets, I didn't see anyone who would benefit from mage armor, but if I missed it, consider the offer extended to you as well.)

Right now, they haven't noticed you... until you spoke. Would you like Zalanda to cast it on you when you see these guys?

Well, Guang moved forward 40', so he's not really close enough for it. That's okay though; part of the risk of playing a monk is in not always getting the chance to have your extra buffs up. I have no objections to going into this combat without mage armor up.

I've not made any purchases on Gudrun, he remains the same old, grumpy dwarf.

Thanks Guang, I did not know that. I guess I'll be reading up about scrolls then.

No problem. Better to learn stuff like that early.

I usually buy scrolls of utility spells and defensive buffs where the effective caster level doesn't matter so much-- mage armor, comprehend languages, even shield and invisibility. They will have a shorter duration than if you had cast then yourself-- but in the case of mage armor, that's still an hour of +4 ac for a mere 25 gp. Pretty good value! Even shield, though it will only last for one minute off a scroll, is not bad, because how many fights have you been in that have gone ten rounds or more?

Conversely, though, anything offensive that the enemy will need to make a save against? You usually want to be casting that yourself, to get the full benefit of all your character-specific feats and so forth that boost DCs.

Down the road, once you get the gold for it, a good item for a spontaneous caster is the mnemonic vestment. Once per day, it lets you cast one spell firm a scroll or other written source, as if you had cast it yourself. So that's a great way to get an emergency casting of a spell you otherwise don't know, with the improved DC and all.

Also, sleep takes 1 full round to cast.

I did know that. And that is why I have not told the GM my Target yet.

Thanks thou Kasei

GM: I believe you are not correctly understanding grapple. You're also linking to rules from 3.5. Grapple rules changed substantially in Pathfinder.

You should probably read the actual grapple rules for Pathfinder, which work like this:

A grappler makes a CMB check using their grapple CMB. That is the only attack roll they need to make. If it beats the enemy's CMD, the enemy is now grappled. On their next turn, the grappler may spend a standard action to maintain the grapple, with a +5 bonus if the grappled person did not escape the grapple last turn, which the tengu did not.

When you attempt to perform a combat maneuver, make an attack roll and add your CMB in place of your normal attack bonus. Add any bonuses you currently have on attack rolls due to spells, feats, and other effects. These bonuses must be applicable to the weapon or attack used to perform the maneuver. The DC of this maneuver is your target's Combat Maneuver Defense. Combat maneuvers are attack rolls, so you must roll for concealment and take any other penalties that would normally apply to an attack roll.

You can find a full break-down of the grapple rules on the PRD, or the d20pfsrd if you find that easier to navigate. However, the site you linked contains numerous rules that will not apply to Pathfinder, because 3.5 D&D is not Pathfinder. I would not suggest using it as a rules resource.

While we're at it, Gudrun does not get a second attack of opportunity, partly because he doesn't have combat reflexes and partly because a given cause of provoking (such as movement) only provokes once from each involved party.

Yeah... didn't notice that i wasn't looking at Pathfinder.... frack. Okay.

Not to worry, we all have moments like that.

Grappling's always kind of a PITA in every system, but I do know the grappling rules pretty well, so I'm happy to try and explain exactly what I'm doing, mechanically, if that makes your job easier.

Well, with the pinned condition, it says his actions are limited in one section. (If i read the thing right) and i was reading on the forums that a breath weapon was okay. If you didn't describe the way you were holding him, i would have had him bite you and had him deal sneak attack damage. But, i am almost sure he needs to attempt to break out of it now.

Pretty much, yes. Pinned specifically outlines the actions you can take, and generally speaking, attacks aren't among them.

For the record, that would really hold true regardless of how I had described the pin. Flavor text doesn't override the fact the condition itself doesn't let you take actions other than 'escape attempts' or the others that are specifically mentioned there.

It's like if someone's suffering the condition 'blinded' -- it doesn't matter whether it was a blindfold over their eyes or sand thrown in their face, they still suffer all the penalties thereof.

It's actually something that I am taking to the rule thread. because RAW doesn't say anywhere in the text that a pinned creature can't attack.

A pinned creature is tightly bound and can take few actions. A pinned creature cannot move and is denied its Dexterity bonus. A pinned character also takes an additional –4 penalty to his Armor Class. A pinned creature is limited in the actions that it can take. A pinned creature can always attempt to free itself, usually through a combat maneuver check or Escape Artist check. A pinned creature can take verbal and mental actions, but cannot cast any spells that require a somatic or material component. A pinned character who attempts to cast a spell or use a spell-like ability must make a concentration check (DC 10 + grappler's CMB + spell level) or lose the spell. Pinned is a more severe version of grappled, and their effects do not stack.

Casting Spells while Pinned: The only spells which can be cast while grappling or pinned are those without somatic components and whose material components (if any) you have in hand. Even so, you must make a concentration check (DC 10 + the grappler's CMB + the level of the spell you're casting) or lose the spell.

also, just noticed something from above. Gudrun isn't getting a second AoO. I didn't take into account his readied action, which was to attack once they got into range. The Tengu would enter into his area, which would make his readied action would go off. Then the Tengu would continue proceeding past him, causing him to get an AoO once the Tengu moves through his space.

Go for it, I'd be interested to see what the answers say in the thread. I've always understood the wording of pinned to be that any action not specifically stated as allowed is therefore forbidden, but I could certainly be wrong. Here's one thread on the subject.

Duly noted re: the readied/aoo.

Honestly, though: how about this-- you go ahead and have the tengu take his bite attack. He still has the penalties for being grappled (-2 to the attack for sure, and possibly another -2 if he's using Weapon Finesse). If it still hits my grappling AC of 16, fine. Roll the damage accordingly including sneak attack and we can move forward.

Because, frankly, you are not likely to get an definitive (re: non-arguing) answer to the question in a timely fashion to not hold up this game. Further answers to that thread can inform how you run it for the rest of the game, since Guang will probably grapple other things over the course of the scenario, but it's not worth halting this entire combat for.

Oh, we are waiting for Z's 3rd round action now.

Yeah, I'm just doubting you're going to get a final, satisfying response before it will matter again in our game.

Due to family matters, I will be unable to update until Monday at the earliest. After Monday, i will have to post from my work, which is 8am-4pm JST (Japanese Standard Time) only on the weekdays.

Sleep last for 20 rounds

Let's start figuring out how to optimize this.

Guang has +12 Perception. Scouting seems like his strongest suit.

Gudrun has Craft (traps) and Disable Device so he can make traps for the barricades.

Duskin can make knowledge (nature) and Knowledge (engineering) checks, even though he doesn't have them trained, because bard.

The GM is allowing me to use Profession(soldier) in place of Craft (bow/weapon), apparently, for the archery training. Of course, Craft can be used untrained too. It's more thematically appropriate for Jones to do the archery training and Kasei to do the general training, but we'll go with what works.

All characters other than Duskin have +1 BAB so can do the training parts.

Anyone see anything I'm overlooking?

The GM is allowing me to use Profession(soldier) in place of Craft (bow/weapon), apparently, for the archery training. Of course, Craft can be used untrained too. It's more thematically appropriate for Jones to do the archery training and Kasei to do the general training, but we'll go with what works.

I am allowing you to use the Profession(Soldier) in place of the Proficiency on Shortbows, not the craft(bow/Weapon) thing. It's two different things.

Understood.

How many villagers do we have to work with? How many can each of us work with at a time?

What if we got the Harvesting out of the way on Day 1. It would take 70 Villagers, then we could focus on getting the proper forces trained, fields flooded and barricades trapped and built. Probably the only thing that should be done everyday is scouting.

Sorry, missed posting that. You have 50 people who can help.

So, is there a skill check to improve combat training? It's been a while since I read this, but I seem to recall there was some roll one could make to get better results for all of the options.

-Posted with Wayfinder

I agree with getting the harvesting done quickly. I'm best placed on trapping the barricades or scouting, which ever would be most useful.

GM, in order to trap the barricades do I need to deal with them the whole time they are being made?

I'm on the harvesting duty, as it seems there's nothing else at the moment I could help "a lot" with.

I'd say we need to get the archers too - and, once the harvesting is done, flood the fields.

If we did:

Day1: 40 Harvesting, 10 Archery
Day 2: 30 Harvesting, 10 Archery, 10 Combat
Day 3: 10 Archery, 20 Combat, 20 Flooding

Those not making checks can help scout.

We'd have 3/4 Archery (Not including Checks), 100% Harvest, 30/40 Combat Ready, If Duskin's Day 3 Check is Know Engineering instead of Nature, Fields 100% Flooded.

We could then move on to Finishing the Archery training, Combat ready the last 10 and Build Barricades.

I have lousy skills, but I can babysit the Combat or Archery (though Kasei has the Prof Soldier he can use). Otherwise I can try and assist in the scouting party.

Thanks for breaking it down, Kuwabara. I meant to post last night and then the boards were down when I tried. Let me get back into things and read what I missed.

eta: After reading, looks like scouting is definitely where I'll be most useful. I say let villagers work on the other stuff, the bonus they'd give to my scouting is minimal. I'll go roll my scout checks.

Gudrun, You will need to spend the day at the barricades to set up the traps.

As a heads-up, from Friday to Monday I'm going to be at DundraCon, so I likely won't be able to post terribly much-- I will have Internet, and I'll try and check in between games/at nights, but if at any point I'm holding things up, feel free to bot me.

People Required: 20

Time Required: 6 days (each additional 10 people knocks off a day.)
Requirements: To speed up the work by a day would require a DC 15 Profession Farming or Knowledge nature.

Does having the PCs help with the harvest make any difference at all if they don't succeed at the check? I'd like to get that out of the way entirely so we can get on with everything else.

Also, you've never answered my question about the combat training. A simple yes or no would suffice.

A PC counts as 5 civilians.

Still with us, GM?

Sorry all. Been busy all week and my interwebs was turned off. I'll update soon.

Can we have a list of what we can do with the defense points, please? I wanted to use a point to boost my attack in the previous round but you haven't given us that information.

Sorry, I thought i posted it.. Might have been in the other game.

Using Defense Points
The more direct use of Defense Points that the PCs directly benefit from. From now until the end of the adventure, each PC gains a pool of points equal to 1/2 the total Defense Points earned. At any time, a PC may choose to spend a number of these points as an immediate action. They can be added to any single attack or damage roll, ability or skill check, saving throw, or can be used to grant the PC a dodge bonus to his AC. Points used only apply to a single roll, and do not otherwise last until the PC’s next action. More than 1 point may be spent on a roll, with a maximum equal to the character level of the PC. A player must decide to use his Defense Points in this way when he announces his action and before he makes the roll the bonus will apply to. Once spent, points from this pool cannot be replenished.

I believe i calculated your defense points to a total of 21... But I've since reformatted my PC and have lost it... ::

Hey, did anyone else not get credit for part 1? (It was in the game day event, right?) If not, post your info again. I am looking into it now.

Part 1 was not part of the gameday, but part 2 was. I did get credit for both.

I'll get a post up by tomorrow. Today was super busy.

Focus fire, people!

Am I still fear'd? :) I'm being so useful in this fight that I'll request a medal later! :D

It lasts 4 rounds.

Unfortunately, Guang is more of a defensive/control build than a DPS build, alas. There's limits to how much fire I can focus...

In the middle of a move. Be back to regular posts Tuesday.

Still here...

I have to admit I'm a little concerned about this delay.

I have to admit I'm a little concerned about this delay.

This.

I am back. Sorry, had to move.

OK, just was a little worried, glad it wasn't anything serious.

Hey, any of you guys have a Core character you'd like to play? I'm starting a run of the Penumbral Accords for a group of 5 level 2 (mostly) characters, and I'd like to have another, especially one with a fair amount of skills. Anyone interested?