I kind of see it as my job, if no player is inclined to be treasurer...
So, with this cloak of resistance +1 being an obvious gift to Lucius, we won't count it as party treasure, like we aren't counting Fox's organetto of sounding...
Each PC now has 2,071 XP, as lighting the blue crystal and encountering an archangel earned the party 1,600 XP to divide...
Each PC now has 2,128 XP after discovering and deciphering The Antichrist’s Letter to the Mephistopheleans...
Regarding continuing on or ascending the stairs... We seem to be in pretty good shape, so I'd say we continue in the catacombs for now. I assume we don't want to spend the night, so we could quit and take the evidence a little bit later.
That's my take.
If the party decides to continue exploring the catacombs and hold onto the missive for now, which direction do they explore next?
"What is not in courage being?" Zagathoth asks without even pretending to look at the scroll.
LOL. You have a gift for breaking down words
Lol, thanks
Just curious, does anyone else besides me follow both tables?
I'd be embarrassed to say that I've read all the discussion and gameplay for table 2, if it weren't for the fact that it's been really good. The RP has been great, especially since they made it to Africa. Good characters and players. It will be fun to eventually merge
You are all great RPers, it makes for very entertaining reading lol
I threw a dot in their thread so I could follow it but my family’s been playing pass the stomach bug so I haven’t kept up at all.
Also, Zagathoth has no idea what to make of the shaking conglomeration of metal and bone, so I’m going to wait to post until someone says or does something that gives him a sense of what he should do...
As a sign of his trust in the Lord's blessing, Boga has been looking at feats for 3rd level. Are item creation feats allowed in this campaign? Boga is looking at Scribe Scroll.
Yes, you can take item creation feats if you want.
Thanks. Scribe Scroll should come in handy.
Johann, do you carry a weapon at all? It might be worth picking up a cheap 2-hander just for situations like this... if this thing has DR 5 you're attacks are functionally doing 1d6-1 or 1d4-1 right now, and if it has DR 10 you can't actually damage it at all. I know you're not proficient with any good weapons, but even if you just grabbed a spear that you almost never used that 1d8 +3 Str +3 PA might be more effective in situations like this?
edit: apparently it wasn't a big deal in this case, lol. also, I'm just trying to be helpful... if it feels like I'm too forthcoming with suggestions feel free to say so and I'll gladly back off.
Each PCs XP total is now 2,242 XP after defeating the animated Iron Maiden...
The corridor leading north from the small chamber is narrower than previous catacomb corridors, being only 5-feet-wide-by-10-feet high...
I'd say this:
Johann, Zag, Arc, Ogon Fox, Quinlan, Boga, Lucius
Sounds good to me.
Not having a reach weapon, I’d kind of like to be first... I know Johann’s goal is to be the ‘tank’ though so he can take lead.
I have no problem either way. Just concerned about perception and traps as we move forward. We don't really have a rogue type with us.
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Yup, the tank with no AC... that's me.
I do have a quarterstaff now that I could use, but I won't multiclass Johann anytime soon. The shifter is a new class for everyone and I want to learn how it functions. So far, it would function great if I could just roll decently. In any case, not too interested in tweaking him for power purposes because that isn't my goal. (At level 4 Johann is going to get considerably more....interesting.)
MJ, your most recent photo doesn't have the settings right because I can't view it.
Crap, sorry... I’m at work at the moment, without access to google doc app, so I’ll have to fix it tonight when I get home... Theater of the Mind til then, mates! Sorry...
Each PC now has 2,470 XP after not falling for the Luciferians’ diabolical trap...
Oooo that's quite a nice bump, there!
Almost 3rd level (3,000 XP)!
Zagathoth raises his arms, puffs his chest, and howls in an exaggerated expression of pain as blood drips down from the wound in his shoulder.
I had no intention of impugning Zagathoth's orcliness! Just looking for why Boga would dash forward when he can't see anything. Thought a cry of pain would indicate that things could be going better. And, hey, swords hurt!
Hey MJ, do you think a PC can fight defensively on an Aid Another attack? The interaction of the two options isn't totally clear, and people disagree over it (here's a link to a discussion on it).
If it works, it's an option I'd like to use (although with that penalty I may actually have a hard time hitting AC 10...).
Hey MJ, do you think a PC can fight defensively on an Aid Another attack? The interaction of the two options isn't totally clear, and people disagree over it (here's a link to a discussion on it).
If it works, it's an option I'd like to use (although with that penalty I may actually have a hard time hitting AC 10...).
As a martial artist, I’m open to the organic nature of combat, so I’d allow it...
I have no problem with playing that Aid Another can be done defensively. But in case you run into this in other campaigns, from a RAW perspective, it is not allowed. Fighting Defensively modifies either the Attack Action or the Full-Attack Action, as appropriate. Aid Another is its own Standard Action. Because it does not modify the Attack Action, it cannot be combined with Fighting Defensively.
I have no problem with playing that Aid Another can be done defensively. But in case you run into this in other campaigns, from a RAW perspective, it is not allowed. Fighting Defensively modifies either the Attack Action or the Full-Attack Action, as appropriate. Aid Another is its own Standard Action. Because it does not modify the Attack Action, it cannot be combined with Fighting Defensively.
It doesn't seem so clear-cut to me, because I don't see the rules for Fighting Defensively actually calling out the Attack Action and Full-Attack Action.
We don't need to play out the full rules argument, though, if we're all agreed it's fine to use this in this game (whether some of us see it as a house rule or as proper interpretation of the RAW isn't important).
EDIT: I do like to get my nerd on arguing rules text, though, haha. I think it's for the same reason that I learned to enjoy reading insurance policies after I became a claims adjuster (I'm not one anymore; I hated most parts of the job).
I think a lot of us like digging through the fine print. I agree that this rules lawyering should not affect how we play it in this campaign. MJ66 has made the call, and personally, I'm fine with it. The nature of different campaigns can lend itself to minor rules changes, anyway.
Having said that...
Fighting Defensively as a Standard Action
You can choose to fight defensively when attacking. If you do so, you take a -4 penalty on all attacks in a round to gain a +2 to AC until the start of your next turn.
Aid Another is under "Special Attacks" in Combat, so it is reasonable to call it an attack. Since it is an attack, can Fighting Defensively be used with it? Unless something else prohibits it, I would say, "Yes".
So what prohibits it? The rules that say that an individual may have only one Standard Action per turn. If two actions are different types of Standard Action, then both may not be performed. Aid Another is its own type of Standard Action; so is Fighting Defensively; therefore, they may not be performed in the same turn.
Why is Fighting Defensively its own Standard Action? It boils down to symmetry. Look at the full-round action version.
Fighting Defensively as a Full-Round Action
You can choose to fight defensively when taking a full-attack action.
The text is not identical for the Standard Action version, but the Full-Round version states it is part of a Full-Attack Action (thus modifying the Full-Attack Action). This is a little weak, but analogously, this clarifies the Standard Action version, indicating that it, too, is a modification, in this case of the Attack Action. It feels like there should be symmetry, and it would be a little odd to have one be a modification and the other not.
Since the Attack Action is a Standard Action, both Fighting Defensively and Aid Another cannot be performed in the same turn.
For an argument that is even more restrictive, the Combat Options Overview table designates it as a Standard or Full-Round Action as appropriate (of course, tables have their own issues). To call Fighting Defensively their own set of actions instead of modifying an existing actions would mean that one could not combine Fighting Defensively with Vital Strike, for instance. I don't believe anyone would interpret it that way, but you could make an argument.
Another argument for Fighting Defensively modifying the appropriate Attack Action is when looking at spells, e.g., can you cast ray spell defensively? The first half of this thread covers it pretty well.
That is the basics. Let me know what you think.
Would you say that Fighting Defensively could be used with Aid Another if the "Fighting Defensively as a Standard Action" text had read, "You can choose to fight defensively when taking an attack action" instead of "You can choose to fight defensively when attacking"?
EDIT: Unless everyone else is interested, we should probably take this off the discussion board. Mind continuing via PM?
EDIT: Oops, yeah, that would be fine.
Odor! Odor in the court! Lol
Arc would be a bit ill-at-ease with running away and resorting to trickery, but he's pragmatic (and French). He'll always take the option that involves living.
I'm following Johann's lead in moving the ooc discussion from gameplay over to here.
It's going to be a tough sell getting Zagathoth to want to lure the skeletons into the trap, especially knowing (or finding out) that its not very deep... he was sent here to kill things for the pope, not trap them somewhere.
The fight isn't off to the best start so far, but I do think we absolutely can kill/destroy these things. Once everyone's in position and we're getting flanking bonuses and maybe a buff or two we'll be in better shape. I know Quinlin doesn't have much prepared that's going to help against undead but if our other casters want to burn through their resources we can always head up right after this fight to rest and deliver the letter?
Boga would have no issue with resorting to trickery, but his first instinct would be to provide flanking and some channeling. After another round or two, a "strategic retreat" could be done. If necessary, it would also be very believable! What would be best is if we have some kind of debuff ability. In the event that a retreat is what we want to do, Boga's instinct there would be to cast Obscuring Mist to cover our escape. It would also help (depending on casting location) to help the skeletons stumble into the pit trap.
If you get enough people flanking and attacking, and maybe some buffs that grant bonuses to hit, you should be able to defeat the skeletal champions. Just thought I’d throw that other idea out just in case lol...
I’ll check back and see what you guys decide on later this evening :)
I think the problem we are having with 2 skeletons is that there is a lot of inaction. There are seven of us. We really should be able to handle this unless the dice are against us. In the end, we may need to retreat and honestly, I think the luring into a trap is a really good idea. (I like Ogon's approach of being small and luring them directly onto it. Much better than Obscuring Mist.) Having said that, I think the reason it is being so seriously considered at this point is because we are not working together in the first place.
We do have enough people to have 3 combatants on each skeleton plus Quin behind the lines pitching in with cantrips or whatever... or if Boga wants to burn through his healing I could probably stand up to this one long enough for the other 5 of you to kill the other one?
Ahhh. The fog of war...
If you get enough people flanking and attacking, and maybe some buffs that grant bonuses to hit, you should be able to defeat the skeletal champions. Just thought I’d throw that other idea out just in case lol...
I’ll check back and see what you guys decide on later this evening :)
So everyone who acts before the skeletons has taken their Round 2 actions?
I know I acted in round 2 already... (so I don't even have the option of retreating yet)