The Shining Hosts - Way of the Wicked Gameplay (Inactive)

Game Master Dennis Harry

Makes sense for Aurex to grab that. Errisaigh would likely suggest any one except Nate carry the ahem...useful sword...but probably not in Nate’s hearing. Totally for, like...insurance. Yep. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Do you guys...mention what that sword is to Nate and/or Aurex?

Not me...I’m...new. Yep.

The Horn - The Lower Caverns

That was a bit of a modification to the adventure :-)

---

The Knot grabs what little useful gear the former leader had and follows Zikomo to his lair.

This large and high-vaulted cave drips with water so constantly it seems as if it is perpetually raining. Fetid pools and luminescent algae combine to give the chamber an ominous greenish glow and a lingering stench. The chamber is dominated by a large and impressive mud and stick hut that is surprisingly sturdy.

The temple itself is a single room almost thirty feet across. Inside, countless bones from those who have died upon Dagon’s altar decorate the place. A crude stone block is encrusted with old dried blood. Above the block, drawn in vibrant luminescent paint distilled from rare marsh plants, is the mad spiral rune of Dagon himself surrounded by countless scribbles of daemonic iconography copied from the Horn’s exterior. A fire pit burns in the center of the temple.

The Shaman casts a spell, drinks a potion and then steps into the flame cackling mad. "I sawz the future. I knowed that the slayers of Kumanda were to come to thisz plaze and that youz shall restore this Blessed place to greatness!

Now you isz here and Kumanda, the fool is food!"

He looks at Grumble and cackles, "You must searches the upper hallz for itsz secretz. I canz help you..."

---

Havelyn clears his throat, "I will stay here with Zikomo. After all, he will need a strong hand to guide him through this difficult time. I think it more prudent if the halls were searched by the Knot only".

Do you guys...mention what that sword is to Nate and/or Aurex?

Alice can Detect Magic, anyone else?

Gameplay post to get it back on my active games tab

Hmm. That didn't work. Can you un-inactive this while we talk new game stuff?

I believe that worked. Within the next few days, I'll narrate the prior groups trip through the Horn to the point where your companions fell. We can RP your parts here and then you can jump into the new thread at the appropriate moment.

As Zikomo and Havelyn argue about whether the Boggarts should search the upper halls with the Knot, Grumble and the rest of the Party search the Lower Caverns. You come upon a cave sparkling with Diamonds! Greed overtakes good sense as the rest of the Party begins to enter the area, before Brian the cleric can advise of the possible danger, the floor gives way!

It cracks open like an eggshell, Errisaigh, Nate, and Alice fall through the floor and are impaled on the stalagmites 30' below!

Aurex roars, NATE!!!! but it's too late!

Between the fall and the impaling, all are doomed. Brian sighs, "That I cannot heal with wand or spell".

The Dragon huffs, "My alliance with the Cardinal ends with the death of Nate...

Ogre, fetch my Mortal, you may have whatever effects of his you believe you may need. After a proper disposal, you and I shall speak further".

While not thrilled with the term fetch, as the Dragon seems rather upset at the death of his pet, it's probably not worth the fight. Especially considering that Nate, or at least his corpse, has that Dragonbane sword down there.

You retrieve Nate and whatever other effects you deem useful from your former companions and climb back up.

Aurex takes the body of Nate and exits the cave system. Brian raises his eyebrows, "Well, that's an... interesting development. I suppose we need to tell Lord Havelyn abut what just transpired".

"F!*@ing lovely," Jack Grumbled.

Then he turned his baleful eyes on Aurex. "If you don't work for Thorn, you don't give me orders, lizard," The monster glared at the dragon. "The whole f*%!ing Knot's dead, 'cept me, so there's nobody to make me play nice. If you're sticking around, you might want to think up a few reasons why I shouldn't turn you into a f@#$ing codpiece."

Take 10 on Intimidate for 35.

"You got a point about Havelyn though. Raaven, go tell Lord Fancypants we're gonna need some second stringers. Let me know if I need to put on the monkey suit and head into that s&+~hole town."

With an annoyed grunt, he dropped down into the pit, letting his vestigial wings halt his fall with a few awkward flaps, managing to land among the corpses of his former allies with only a few scrapes. After breaking the stone spikes off he started unceremoniously chucking the rest of the bodies up and out of the hole.

I missed playing this big dumb a&~!+&+.

Dutifully, the perpetually exasperated cacodaemon floated away to find the former Knight Commander and inform him of the sudden setback.

Raaven can communicate with Jack over any distance, so he can translate while Jack stacks bodies and gathers loot.

"Lord Havelyn, everyone other than GrumbleJack, Aurex, and the cleric Brian are dead. I would not trust my master to plan a task as delicate as gathering new allies, so I am afraid the task must fall to you."

The Dragon narrows its eyes at you and does not respond.

As Nate's body is unceremoniously tossed back up he takes Nate into his jaws and places his body on his back. "Have a care Ogrekin. When next we meet, these slim tunnels may not protect you from my full abilities.

I shall return and then we shall speak..." Aurex exits the cavern.

Brian grimaces as you throw the bodies back up, "I think we might wish to hide the rest of the bodies Mr. Jack. With the Dragon gone and the rest of your Knot perished, we don't wish to create the illusions that we are severely weakened before the Boggards.

It is now just you, me, and Lord Havelyn present".

Raaven finds Lord Havelyn still speaking with the Boggards, it appears that he has convinced this Zikomo fellow to send one solitary fighter to the upper levels to act as the Shaman's representative.

Once he sees you he steps away to where he can speak with Raaven freely, "Well, that's not terribly good news now is it. Inform Grumble that it would be best if he returned to the Baron under the guise of Sir Jack Balin and retrieved perhaps Soren and Morana and anyone else that the Baron may have on hand to sweep this place clean. If I leave now, we present weakness to these frogmen. While we may outclass them with skills, they far exceed our number even before the know was untied.

The Dragon can carry him swiftly back to town, then return here to buttress my position. Have him leave the cleric as well".

"Anytime you wanna try your luck, pal," Jack said with a wide grin as Aurex left. As strange as it seemed, Jack didn't seem especially angry. His threats felt more like friendly banter, though it was clear that the idea of testing himself against the dragon was exciting to the hellish ogre. He gave Aurex a jaunty wave and turned back to his gristly task.

"One of 'em had a... hold on... there it is." Grumble pawed over his dead allies gear until he found a duffel bag, then started stuffing corpses into it.

Bag of holding.

Raaven sighed. "The master just threatened to turn the dragon into a codpiece."

"With Nathan dead, Aurex has little reason to cooperate. This may take some careful diplomacy. I will see what I can do."

Havelyn sighs, "Of course he did. T'would be an interesting battle. Aurex would do well to have that fight outside of a cavern though.

I am sure you can find a way to soothe the bruised ego of the Dragon. As he was bonded to that psychopath, the Dragon is likely experiencing what a Red Dragon would approximate as grief, if such creatures are capable of such feelings anyway. Let's not have the rest of the Knot slay each other, our enemies are the Mitrans, not each other".

"As you say my lord," Raaven said with a tilt and a bob that approximated a bow.

Master, you will need to travel to Farhold to meet with our allies. Lord Havelyn would like us to entreat Aurex to fly us there with as much haste as can be mustered.

"Well he just left," Grumblejack grunted as he walked back to their makeshift camp. "He said he'd be back after he buried Nate. Or ate him. Whatever weird dragons do with their dead boyfriends."

Where are we making camp anyway? I don't remember how much of the Horn we cleared. Did you want to reset or skip some stuff for the new group?

Where are we making camp anyway? I don't remember how much of the Horn we cleared. Did you want to reset or skip some stuff for the new group?

The group rested just outside of the Horn the night before. You have been here for at least 10 to 12 hours (Alice and Errisaigh spent half of that time trying to figure out how to repair that Golem you located).

A trip to Farholde may also be good to obtain the parts you need to fix that thing if you were so inclined.

The Horn of Abaddon - the Golem

The group cleared most of the first floor as there wasn't much going on there.

The second floor got interesting but with the arrival of the Boggards clan, your exploration efforts were redirected to the Lower Caverns and the power struggle between the Chief and the Shaman. You explored half of the second floor before being sidetracked.

The spiral staircase through the caverns is the best way to restart where you left off. There were a few interesting discoveries of note besides the Golem I will direct your attention to:

1 - Wands. Let's assume that 5 charges from the Cure Moderate were used leaving 35.

2 - Quadrant Plaques

3 - Stone Throne. The group was unable to activate it, small script on the base of the throne, the word is "Yah".

4 - The Secret Entrance from the Lower Caverns back UP lead to the Level 2 Temple.

Ideally, Grumble heads back to the town and Soren or Morana make contact with Tiadora who informs the Cardinal of the setback. Grumble cools his heels with Morana (I forgot she had left and isn't dead) for a month or so and the new PCs arrive in the new thread.

Aurex and Soren will head to the Horn to ensure that Havelyn and Brian aren't slain by the Boggards.

The new PCs get their bearings on RPing their PCs looking for you or the Baron. Once you all unite, the Cardinal arrive and drafts a new contract. The new Knot then simply picks up where the old Knot left off at Level 2.

That all sounds good to me. Want to cut to the chase and assume Jack gets there without getting into a fight with Aurex? A fight for dominance might be fun. If I remember his stats from the old game decently, I think Grumble would wipe the floor with him, especially with his new dragonbane sword.

Since the golem needs a fresh brain, can we stick an old PC in it?

That all sounds good to me. Want to cut to the chase and assume Jack gets there without getting into a fight with Aurex? A fight for dominance might be fun. If I remember his stats from the old game decently, I think Grumble would wipe the floor with him, especially with his new dragonbane sword.

I'd rather RP it. More fun that way! If you guys fight it would be a non-lethal fight, a duel for Dominance if you will, let's see how good Raaven's diplomacy skills are to stave that off!

After stuffing his dead allies in his new bag, Grumble wandered over to the dead Boggard king and dragged him out of the cavern.

He hauled the bodies up to the cold room on the first floor. That dead minotaur wasn't new, but it hadn't decomposed for some reason.

"Maybe whatever's goin' on there'll keep this lot from stinkin' up the place," he muttered to himself.

He stripped the bodies of their equipment, left them with in a thoughtless pile with the dead minotaur, and hauled the pile of gear to the room they'd set up camp.

Then he walked outside, hopped off the staircase, and glided down to the clearing below to wait for Aurex.

After a few hours the Dragon returns, Nate's corpse is nowhere in sight.

He lands some distance away from you, about 60', showing he has a healthy respect for your prowess.

"So, you await me outside eh Ogrekin? We have been butting heads for some time now haven't we? With the death of the rest of the active members of the Knot, we both know Lord Havelyn wishes to keep his hands clean and Soren and Morana seem content to let the rest of us do the work.

But what am I to do with you Ogrekin? Shall I suffer your taunts as good natured ribbing as if we were equals? Shall I simply cook you brains and eat you for dinner?"

The Dragons eyes narrow to slits, and they drift to the sword you now wear at your waist, "You were formidable, with that blade you may be downright deadly. Of course, your arms are only so long, aren't they?" He looks up to the open sky and back at you and grins, smoke rising from his nostrils.

Grumblejack slowly wrapped a thick strip of leather around the blade while Aurex monologued. Trying to make the sword non-lethal.

"We gonna do this, or do you wanna keep sweet talkin' me for a while?"

Raaven floated out between them. "If the pair of you are set on this collision course, I'd like to at least set some perameters for the contest."

"I've managed to convince Grumblejack to at least attempt not to kill you, Aurex. I'd like the same consideration for him in return. It is only right to defer to the strongest among us, but we are still allies. Killing each other furthers none of our goals."

"Whoever wins, the other defers, is that acceptable?"

Jack grunted. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

Initiative: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 1 = 11

"Don't worry 'bout trying not to kill me. You won't."

The dragon chuckles and nods in agreement, "With your dangerous blade wrapped, I'll keep my breath under wraps. So be it, it was long overdue..."

Getting late, tomorrow I'll settle on Aurex's final form and we shall settle the debate by combat!

"Naw," Jack grinned. "I don't want you to wonder if the turnout might have been different if you weren't holding back. Use the sky. Use your fire. It won't matter. I want you to know you got beat."

The young Dragon snorts in response.

Initiative 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9

---

Round 1 - FIGHT!
Grumble - GO!
Aurex.

Aurex is currently on the ground 60' from your current position at the base of the Horn.

Activate Berserk. AC is 22 (24, -2 berserk, +1 buckler)

Double move 40' towards Aurex

"So what's it gonna be, lizard? Gonna fly? Or come get me?"

Round 1

The dragon does not respond verbally. Aurex leaps into the air, using his hind legs and his tail to give him a boost! He flies and begins turning away from you, seeking to gain altitude.

For his tough talk, it seems he is wisely avoiding a ground exchange with you...

He is now 30' up in the air.

---

Round 2 - FIGHT!
Grumble - GO!
Aurex.

Continue Berserk, free action.

"Yeah, I wouldn't want to fight me up close either," Jack said with a grin. He reached over his shoulder to the fancy magic quiver he'd pulled off of one of his companion's corpses, and drew a javelin.

"I don't know how to use these, but how hard can it be?" Jack mused.

Javelin, 1st increment, non-proficient: 1d20 + 7 - 4 ⇒ (8) + 7 - 4 = 11

"Eh. Harder'n they look. Good thing I got lots of 'em."

Round 2

Aurex flips over to face you, snapping his jaws at you while summoning fire from the back of his throat!

Dazzling Display (Intimidate - Demoralize Opponent DC 10 + Grumble Hit Dice + Grumble WIS Bonus = 15) 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (6) + 11 = 17

Despite your confidence, you realize this is still a Wyrm, not an ancient or an adult, but a dragon nonetheless. Grumble is shaken for one round, –2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks.

Aurex is still 30' above you, not directly above but close to it. Was hoping for a better roll on that check...

Round 3 - FIGHT!
Grumble - GO!
Aurex.

"Got me a little shiver there. Right scary," Jack said, enjoying the pulse of fear that rushed up his spine. "Needs work though. Lemme show you."

Heat and malice rolled off Grumblejack's body, scorching the ground.

"You're gonna figure it out in a bit. There's not a damn thing you can do to win this. You can't scare me bad enough. You can't burn me bad enough. Eventually, you'll have to fight for real. You'll have to get close. Ć̷͈̱̗̄̌͝O̶̡̲͖̊͊̈́̔M̷̖̺͔͌̓E̸͓̮̣̣̲͋̃̚ ̷̖͈͓͂͗̒̍̚Ằ̸͈͓̱̒́Ň̸̖͉̳͓̝͐̐D̶͍̥͐́͗ ̴̗̱͙̼͔̾̉Ş̵͕̌̆̕E̸̝̦͋͆Ȅ̷̯̜̯̇̈́́"

Strike Fear (Dazzling Display): 1d20 + 25 - 2 ⇒ (3) + 25 - 2 = 26

Round 3

Aurex's eyes narrow but his slits widen, you can tell he is feeling the effects of your jawing and prowess!

Aurex is shaken for 3 rounds!

In response he circles around and opens his maw, spewing forth the Dragon fire which most mortals fear!

Breath Weapon 3d8 ⇒ (2, 8, 7) = 17 Reflex Save DC 15.

2 Rounds of Shaken condition remain.

Round 4- FIGHT!
Grumble - GO!
Aurex.

Deliberately fail save.

Grumblejack is not most mortals. He doesn't bother moving. He just spreads his arms and lets the dragonfire wash him clean.

Shield Other splits the damage between Raaven (8 points) and Jack (9 points).

Fire Resist 10 reduces Raaven's damage to 0. Fire Resist 5 reduces Jack's damage to 4, which is removed from his Temp HP from Berserk. No actual damage.

"Thanks," Jack grinned. "Now I don't gotta bathe before I put on my human suit."

While he grumbled, Jack pulled another Javelin and tossed it up at the dragon.

Javelin, 2nd increment, non proficient: 1d20 + 7 - 2 - 4 ⇒ (14) + 7 - 2 - 4 = 15
Damage (don't think that hits but just in case): 1d8 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

"Damn, I'm terrible with these things. You wanna stay up there and let me practice a while, or come down here so we can wrap this up?"

Round 4

Aurex remains silent, swoops into a dive and attacks!

Flyby Attack Bite - 1d20 + 10 - 2 ⇒ (16) + 10 - 2 = 24 - Damage 1d8 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14

Aurex's powerful bite packs a stinging puncture on your left shoulder.

His dive is so fast and skillful that you are unable to swing at him.

However, as his speed is 40', that only puts him 10' away from you, so your next attack can be javelin of melee!

Round 5 - FIGHT!
Grumble - GO!
Aurex.

Sheild Other splits the damage. 7 to Raaven. DR 5 reduces it to 2. Grumble takes 7 from his Berserk Temp HP.

Gotcha," Grumble growled.

Move action, draw Snag Net. Standard Action, throw Snag Net.

Snag Net, touch attack, 10' range: 1d20 + 7 - 4 ⇒ (11) + 7 - 4 = 14

If I get him, he's Entangled and I have him on a lead rope. I yank him to the dirt and 5' adjust so he's next to me. Nor sure how being Entangled effects Flying, but I doubt it's good.

Round 5

Aurex roars in rage as he's caught in the net!

He flexes his wings and his arms to break free and for a moment, Grumble thinks he might just succeed, the netting stretches...

but try as he may, the Dragon is entrapped by the snare!

Round 6 - FIGHT!
Grumble - GO!
Aurex.

Whee, it's full attack time! Maintaining Berserk.

Laughing like a maniac, Grumblejack unleashed his fury like a savage.

Greatsword, power attack: 1d20 + 19 - 2 ⇒ (6) + 19 - 2 = 23
Slashing Damage, dragonbane: 2d6 + 21 + 2d6 ⇒ (2, 5) + 21 + (1, 4) = 33

Demoralize (cornugon smash, expend Corruption charge): 1d20 + 31 ⇒ (3) + 31 = 34

Free attack if Demoralize is successful (Hurtful), Greatsword, power attack: 1d20 + 19 - 2 ⇒ (17) + 19 - 2 = 34
Slashing Damage, dragonbane: 2d6 + 21 + 2d6 ⇒ (1, 6) + 21 + (3, 5) = 36

2nd attack, Greatsword, power attack: 1d20 + 14 - 2 ⇒ (14) + 14 - 2 = 26
Slashing Damage, dragonbane: 2d6 + 21 + 2d6 ⇒ (5, 3) + 21 + (2, 3) = 34

Bite, power attack: 1d20 + 13 - 2 ⇒ (6) + 13 - 2 = 17
Bite damage: 1d6 + 13 ⇒ (6) + 13 = 19

FIGHT OVER!

Grumble smashes Aurex into unconsciousness.

Hours later the Dragon wakes up, his reptilian eyes blinking open. He turns to you, a look of hatred mixed with begrudging respect, and perhaps a bit of fear.

"Tell me Ogrekin, what now?"

I'm assuming that's all subdual damage else you've broken your new toy...

I'm assuming that's all subdual damage else you've broken your new toy...

The sword hits were subdual. The bite wasn't. Gotta give him something to remember the lesson.

"Now we rebuild the Ninth Knot and get back to work. Fly me to Farhold, then come back and guard the Horn. We'll figure out the rest later."

Later, in the skies over Farholde, Grumble used his new Circlet to look like Sir Jack.

"I'm good from here. Head back."

Then he tipped himself off the dragon's back and plummeted a few hundred feet into the Baron's back yard.

Featherfall for superhero landing. Then 30 seconds to fully turn into Sir Jack.

Aurex nods and states nothing further, he appears to appreciate your lack of crowing over his defeat, at least you assume that to be the case as his look is no longer one of I'd eat you if I could m*!!&~+&~+%%.

Raaven reminds you that this operation is to be conducted in the shadows and so you wait until nightfall to have Aurex fly back and drop you into Farholde, specifically the Baron's manse.

You easily pick the lock on the back door and enter. You hear voices coming from upstairs.

Do you Stealth up to listen in or just barge on in?

I originally thought I'd just knock, but I wont pass up an opportunity to eavesdrop. I'll Listen for now.

The Baron's Manse

I'll assume you take 10 on the Stealth for a 21, good enough.

As you tiptoe, or whatever Grumble does that passes for a tiptoe, up the stairs you hear the Baron's voice, "...enough to hold Hamarhall".

The voice responding sounds as if from a man slightly older than the Baron, "Unwise. Alerting the Kingdom now to a presence here will just create a call for reinforcements from the south and in greater numbers".

The Baron, "Bah, the Cardinal wishes to keep the glory of these victories for himself. Several clusters of ill tempered and ill mannered ruffians running about can accomplish some chaos, but not a solid victory.

The one remaining here is certainly effective in their cloak and dagger activities, especially when no one is looking. Then he sends the more effective group to die at the Horn! The second such group to do so I'd wager. With that Ogre and that Dragon at my side we could have already secured Hamarhall and Farholde".

The other gentleman, "Are you mad? That Dragon is a youngling, his presence could bring attention of the worst kind our way. Namely from older more powerful Dragons!"

The Baron sniffs, "Perhaps.

Regardless, the Horn is a waste of resources. Even if they could reclaim it, the evils that lie there could send plagues across the Countryside. What's the good of ruling over a land of the dead?"

That comment silences the companion. That silence lingers on for a few minutes.

Sir Balin walked upstairs on surprisingly quiet feet and pushed into the room without preamble.

"It's not up to you," Sir Jack said simply. "Good on ya for being ambitious, but we're not yours to command. The Horn is the job. We can talk about a little tit for tat, but not at the expense of the job. You get me?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (20) + 14 = 34 Vigilante Renown causes the NPC's starting attitude to be 1 level higher than it would normally be, before Diplomacy.

The Baron's Manse

The Baron is too shocked to respond, his companion though whips around, wand in hand though he does not activate it, "And who may you be Ser?"

The Baron responds for you, "That's Sir Balin, a member of the aforementioned Party whose mission is to conquer the Horn".

The wand goes back into it's sheath, "While it is certainly pleasant to see you Sir Balin, I have to wonder what you are doing here and in my Manor, unannounced". He appears to be ignoring the fact that you caught part of his conversation.

The wand goes back into it's sheath, "While it is certainly pleasant to see you Sir Balin, I have to wonder what you are doing here and in my Manor, unannounced". He appears to be ignoring the fact that you caught part of his conversation.

"I couldn't wait for all the pomp and circumstance. The party at the Horn has fallen. Myself, Lord Havelyn, and Aurex are the only survivors. I need you to sent a message to Tiadora. We need reinforcements."

The Baron's Manse

"Errisaigh as well? That is unfortunate.

Interesting, I was under the impression that you had a way to communicate with her yourselves. Very well, I shall assist you, but I believe that two of your compatriots arrived yesterday and were still staying at the Wandering Friar. Have they decided to remain behind rather than face the Horn once more?"

The other gentleman speaks, "Reinforcements will take time to arrive. Much as the Baron would love to show his hospitality, it's probably unwise for you to stay here. You have a room at the Wandering Friar Inn already? If not, I can extend to you my hospitality, if you agree to counseling some young men on the finer points of Knighthood". The man grins wickedly at the notion.

"Those two had a different job. The Friar is good enough. I'll train your boys. It's not like I have anything better to do for now."

We have another way of contacting Tiadora?

Dunno about making a character aligned with the Lamashtu, but that is something to consider...

Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, a promethean alchemist sounds interesting, something based around creating monsters and the like...

Vandour, not to force anything on you or anything, but if you're considering another character for the party potentially someone skilled in melee might be a decent idea. The only really... dedicated melee combatant is Grumble Jack, even though Nathanial is decent at it along with Aurex (although by my understanding I think he's planning to also primarily fight at range, maybe with flyby attacks?). Alice has some gestalt monk levels but still suffers from being (mostly) squishy wizard, and until I have the room to pick up Weapon Finesse as a back-up Soren is kind of crap at it as well. Another person who can get up close and deadly might not be bad for us, balance-wise.

Of course, I think we can function quite well without that if something else really speaks to you; just wanted to throw that out there in case it got you thinking on anything.

Also, couldn't a new character still become a member of the Knot? Theoretically a character who doesn't worship Asmodeus can do so, considering that Shalewigg wasn't.

Also, couldn't a new character still become a member of the Knot? Theoretically a character who doesn't worship Asmodeus can do so, considering that Shalewigg wasn't.

Yes, once they agree and sign the contract but that is not possible until the Tower falls.

Not stuck on the idea of the promethean alchemist, just something that occured when GM mentioned a character worshipping Lamashtu. But if we want another dedicated melee, how does everyone feel about a raging cannibal barbarian?

Is cannibalism kosher with Asmodeus? I'm... not really sure. If you're still thinking about being someone who's worshiping Lamashtu I suppose that's less of a pressing issue, though. I don't really have a problem with it OOC; one of my home groups runs a Fallout RPG (based on Savage Worlds) and we've got a character in that who's a former member of the Family and eats people. What were you thinking about using as your gestalt level? A Mutagenic Mauler Brawler might make for an interesting choice if you're still going with a Lamashtu theme.

Alternately, you can make a very good melee character as an alchemist if that kind of thing still interests you. A couple of discoveries can make you a nice natural attack build. I'm actually doing a similar concept in a Hell's Vengeance game here on the boards.

So lucky about the Fallout game! I was on one here on the boards, using Savage Worlds, that was a lot of fun until the GM closed the game. Had a bird companion that one-shotted a giant yao-gui by ripping its eyes out. Would love to get in on one of those again.

Still thinking about what I'd choose, anyway. I want to stick with Vaundour for a bit longer, see what happens there, but the more I think about it the more a new character seems the way to go.

I may end up running a table of a Fallout game at some point in the future, I'll definitely post about it in the games I play in if that happens, so you'll hear about it.

Vaundour, have you considered retraining? A better option would be for you to keep the history with the party, and the awesome personality, and just redo his mechanics.

I can see Vaun being a great Swashbuckler, Bard, Cavalier, Gunslinger, Investigator, or Mesmerist. (I'd vote for Mesmerist or one of the non-mounted cavalier archetypes personally).

Cavaliers are freaking awesome! Sorry you are feeling disconnected from your character Vaundour.

I've already got a swashbuckler in another game, ironically another noble, though the cavalier idea seems interesting. Maybe the beast master archetype that gives it a companion instead of a mount. I can see that working. Or maybe the eldritch guardian fighter with a mauler familiar. Go my mighty battle chicken!

And it's not really a disconnect with the character, it's more like I can't really see him bringing aomething unique to the party.

Ahh ok. I feel you there. Morana is a bit of a slow burn to get to her uniqueness so I get that.

I've never done gestalt before and the idea with the monk levels was to negate the complete squishyness that's a wizard. THat didnt work as well as I thought it would. Oh well.

Also, I will be at a LARP I co-organise this weekend. Feel free to bot me, as I probably wont have chance to post.

I mean, at the very least you have a decent amount of hit points. You only have like two less than Soren, and neither of us are really meant to be in the thick of combat unless absolutely necessary. I just can't wait until I can get Snap Shot and such later on...

The problem is the stats don't stack for a monk wizard, to get the true benefit you need a wis based caster. Something like an empyreal sorcerer would be the way to go for a monk gestalt that way you really only focus one stat.

I've never done gestalt before and the idea with the monk levels was to negate the complete squishyness that's a wizard. THat didnt work as well as I thought it would. Oh well.

Loth's right. Monk seems like a good match for arcane casters but it really isn't. There's not a lot of synergy.

Check out the Mutagenic Mauler Brawler. I think it covers a similar niche, but works a lot better. More HP, martial flexibility, and the ability to use mutagens to boost your combat stats when you run out of usable spells.

Bah! I posted and the website ate it so Lothryin has ninjaed me!

Saw Logan last night, updates likely tomorrow as I have table top dnd tonight.

I have returned!

@Teamwork feat - I don't know if you want to be in Nate's mind :P also I have an extremely feat hungry build. But if everyone else is on board I'll jump on.

@Vandour - Have you considered retraining?

Aurex can flyby attack in open fields but otherwise he will probably be up close with natural attacks and withering fire.

Saw Logan last night, updates likely tomorrow as I have table top dnd tonight.

Oh man, me and my girlfriend saw Logan last night too!

If you spoil that movie I will make you beg for Mitran mercy.

I won't spoil it. All I'll say is it's one of the best movies in the X-Men series in my opinion. In some cases that isn't too high of a bar, but still. The plot is coherent and well-done, and I love the cinematography. Hugh Jackman has such great chemistry with Patrick Stewart, too. It's just very well-done.

It's a shame both Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart have said this was the last time they'd play their respective characters.

I want to see that movie so bad!

Soon for me, currently skiing out in Utah so not much time for movies but it is first on my list when i return to normal life.

I am trying to put Lothyrin a little more out there, he has been a tad quiet and I aim to remedy that.

I am more or less alive.

Regarding gestalt, I only figured later on that Alchemist would have been the perfect pick. Dont know where my head was during character creation.

Why do you say that Alice just interested for future reference. I personally would have suggested a Kendal Bladebound magus. Get Int to ac and a decent weapon with the ability to spell strike.

She couldn't Spellstrike with anything but her Magus spells until she took one of the Magus arcana at level 3, and considering our gestalt set-up that could be a long time in the making.

Technically speaking, aren't we supposed to have taken the Wall by the time Sakkarot shows up? We're supposed to kill the commander and open the gates to let them through as opposed to making them fight their way in. At least, that has been my understanding thus far. We want to eliminate it as a threat so that when Sakkarot shows up he can breeze right through the gates and into the heartland, as opposed to being mucked down and losing warriors fighting through the Wall. That's why I'm thinking of plans to take the Wall and kill the people in it. If that's not the intention or we have other ideas, that's fine, this is just the assumption I've been operating on.

I think you are correct and your plan does make sense, we are 5th level characters we can clean up a few soldiers without too much problem if we poison most of them.

I believe the idea is to take out as many commanders as possible and open the walls so the bugbear horde can wipe out all the soldiers. I think 100 soldiers plus their leaders is simply too much for us, that's why we have an army outside. We're not here to commando kill everybody, we're here to soften them up and set them up for failure. Otherwise it's just Sakarott walking in and going "Oh you got them all, alright guess I'll head home".

Isn't he going past the wall and heading farther into the civilized areas of the country, though? That's the whole idea of us opening the gates, so that they can get in and "bring war to Talingarde". He's not just killing off the soldiers at the Wall and going home, he's pushing through and literally going to war. I guess we don't have to storm it after we poison them, but I figured taking out as many people as possible was the idea so that they could move through unopposed. If we poison them there are far less than 100 soldiers (presumably many of them would die, and the vast majority of the others would be severely weakened). If we attack during the night we have even more of an advantage, plus with the cultists of Lamashtu we have a decently sized fighting force. It seems like we have different ideas about what's expected of us at the tower, which we should probably clear up somehow.

I have an idea or two about how to get rid of the commanders if we want to go that route.

Ohhh, I thought you were saying we need to literally wipe out every soldier before calling Sakarott. Gotcha.

Yeah killing off as many as is reasonable is a good idea. As long as we don't blow our cover early.

From a meta-game perspective, our challenge is to take out the people with levels and names. We should be gunning for the leadership. Once they're gone we seize the gatehouse and let in the horde.

We don't need to over complicate things.

Yeah, my plan was to poison them the night Sakkarot comes calling, then launch a surprise attack just before he arrives. They're confused, sick/dead, and disoriented. This makes it easy for the bugbears to storm the place now that we've dealt with the biggest threats.

It may behoove us to kill the commanders early and perhaps impersonate them? We could meet with them and try to learn as much about them as we can in order to keep up the facade that they're alive. We all have disguises, it wouldn't be hard to keep people believing they're alive until it's time to drop the disguise.

Yes however they know what we look like and it would seem strange if this group of Mitran followers disappeared after just showing up.

Yes however they know what we look like and it would seem strange if this group of Mitran followers disappeared after just showing up.

That's a good point.

It might serve us well to arrange explainable deaths at first, then hit them with a final big push when they are weakened.

Sounds like it's time to start gathering info on the commanders and other important local figures.

I slept and so much has happened.

So as I understand what the plan is we need to get in a position to poison the stew and a start learning about the various people in charge so that we can impersonate them. So those with the better bluffs will be doing the impersonations. While someone else would be getting in with Mama Guissepppe? Using the a disguise as someone else someone could look for work with her.

Should someone change where they are staying and go to the other inn to find this tunnel?

Essentially yes the concern is timing, too early and their will be enough time for reinforcements to be called, too late and we may miss our chance. A few days before we plan on having the horde attack would be ideal. We want it to be a quick one two punch. Honestly if we poison them we could then respond to the tower as Sir Balin and co find our way to the commanders to "help" them before eliminating them and any remaining resistance.

I think poisoning the stew is going to happen the night before we try to take the gatehouse. The stew happens on it's own weekly timetable, so all our other plans should be made as a lead-up to that.

What day is today?

What day does the stew get made?

Monday is the day they get the stew. I have no issue with doing the poisoning right before the big fight. That is the most logical option. The time in-between we need to be gathering info and someone should be working on figuring out how to get in on the making of the stew.

True they know what we look like and that we've been around, but we haven't been traveling around town together as a group. If we were to kill the commanders and take their places, some of us could masquerade as them while the others walk around town. It's not as if they need to stick to one disguise all day, either; they could head into the inn or duck into an alleyway and re-appear as another of us. Especially if two or three of us move about on a daily basis and we swap who appears and what not. If we've met with them at the tower we could always say, if questioned, that the rest of us are speaking with those at the tower or are at the inn. Ideally, Grumble can be with one group of people while his familiar is with the other; the familiar can communicate with those nearby telepathically, and can communicate with Grumble at any distance (I think, anyway). That allows us to stay a step ahead of any suspicions.

We don't have to do this, but that's how I pictured it working if we wanted to do so.

Also, we can signal Sakkarot, correct? I know he'll show up in a month's time, but if we're ready before that we have a means of letting him know, correct?

I would hope so, it would be silly for it to be required that he come on a specific day with no choice of change.

Yes. That's what the Firework is for.

Right, that's what I thought. I just couldn't remember what it was that we had. Do we want to try taking out the commanders first, or would we rather just deal with them before we summon Sakkarot?

I've played through this scenario before, and I'm playing a character who isn't very good at planning, so I'm going to sit this part out, but I will say that gathering information on our potential targets will serve us very well.

I can imagine that, We need to know strengths that way we don't end up in way over our head. I like my idea personally of usin the poisoning then responding to the scene and dispatching the commanders. That has a lot of risks however

I'll update the thread I/C tomorrow.

It looks like:

1) Gather information on the Commanders,
2) Assassinate and impersonate them if possible,
3) If not possible, time any infiltration the day before you set off the firework.

I will have you spend ascertain amount of days gathering information and then you can ascertain from there whether to attack any of the commanders or not. Don't want to have the 30 days drag on to be sure and playing out the siege and assassination attempts will be time consuming to say the least! Once this arc is resolved it is on to book 2!

Do we want someone to work on getting in with Mama Guissepppe and are we going to pursue the tunnel at the other inn?

Things have been really hectic at work. While I am here reading along it eats into my creative energies so I dont have a lot to add at the moment.

There are some "events" that take place over the next 28 days. I will insert them depending on what the Knot does or does not do.