If that's in a totally different direction than you wanted we can still change it fairly easily.
Making some stuff up to help.
Important stuff to Ian Black
People:
Harold Gurmen - Ian's best supporter in the church of Saranrae and the one that recognized his ability to eat sin. He has argued on behalf of the young man and Ian has done his best to live up to the man's expectations.
Madame Eileen Crowley - A stange old woman. Soothsayer and fortune teller in Ardis. Good source of info and jobs for Ian.
Places:
Hunter Training Catacombs - Under the temple to Sarenrae in Ardis there is a series of maze-like catacombs that are used as training for hunters of the church. Haven't needed them much since the Whispering Tyrant fell so much of it is off limits and unused. But it was were Ian lived for a while as the Inquisitors trained him and tried to discern the affects of his curse. A holy and safe place.
The Swaying Centaur - Tavern and Inn. Seedy place but its quiet and out of the way. One of several places where Ian and Aska usually stay or listen in to conversations for leads on new jobs.
Organizations:
Inquisitors of Sarenrae - Not many left in the group now. Trained Ian and continue to provide support. Secretly watch his condition to make sure he does not relapse or change into one of the beasts Ian and Aska told them about.
Huh.. My apologies, it had not notified me of a post in the Gameplay thread. I will respond tonight.
I suppose I'll follow suit with Ian.
Important stuff to Aska Fallon
People:
Klara Barton - A friend within the guard. While more suited to paperwork than sword work, Aska found Klara's intellect made for far better conversation than the normal guardsman. Klara throws the weirder jobs that come into the guard Aska's way.
Victor Keegan - Aska's direct superior from her time in the guard. A hard man, but an honorable one. While not close, he has her respect and if he asked for help she would give it without question. He turns a blind eye to the work Klara gives Aska.
Places:
Guard Barracks - While not exactly a home, Aska got to know a great many of the people there. It's one of the few places she 's ever felt safe after that night.
The Swaying Centaur - Tavern and Inn. Seedy place but its quiet and out of the way. One of several places where Ian and Aska usually stay or listen in to conversations for leads on new jobs.
Organizations:
The City Guard in Artis - For reasons described above.
sorry for the delay. Sick part of the weekend.
It's fine. You two are separate, so it's not impinging on the play time for the other.
I wanted to go a more self-taught route.
Which reminds me, how does Ian perceive his Detect Evil?
Since the story changed the whole self-taught thing kind of went out the door.
When I get to use the sin eater ability I was going to describe it as a black smoke being drawn out of the body and into his mouth. I had imagined that was what he saw on people when he focused, varying levels of black smoke. For good people he would see nothing but evil would have it wafting off of them. The innately evil would almost be shrouded by it and it would roll along the ground for several feet like dry ice fog. It's accompanied by a horrid taste and smell that can't be placed. It can even be seen in pure darkness as it appears to be back lighted.
So, is that a constitution check of 13, or we need a con score of 13? If it's score I'm winded if not:
Then I am apparently fine.
I am screwed either way apparently.
Ah, apologies, That's a D20+Con Mod with the Target Number in parenthesis. I don't expect I'll ever have a situation that demands a flat stat number.
They'll always be D20+Relevant Mod(Target Number)
That's what I thought, but I wanted to be sure.
I don't want to cheat, but I'm not really sure how to interpret the information I have. Are the hidden zombies right next to the one we can see(in which case my bomb would be the perfect opening volley)? Or are they more scattered in the grass? As we didn't roll for passing information secretly(and neither of us have sign language as a language) how much of this can Ian tell Aska?
Things to think about for future clarification, but I don't want to bog this down to much. As such, to move the game along, I'm just going to have Aska wait for Ian to make the first move and ready an action to throw her bomb the second the hidden undead make a move. She has precise bombs so she can exclude him from the blast anyways.
Don't worry about bogging things down, all of this is necessary communication concerns that need to be sorted out, sooner rather than later.
Here's what I see so far:
• I did give distance that Aska and Ian moved (approx 15 feet each so far, to attempt a flank), but it was couched in writing terms, since I did not want to really add OOC tags in the middle of the post. Would you prefer I added in the OOC after the post?
• Ian, you can switch feats (Standard Action), and switch weapon modes (Ready, move action). Charging is a full-round action, however, which would allow the "hidden" zombies another perception check prior to the charge. I would presume that the mode switch of the weapon is not silent, which would draw the standing zombie's attention.
The initial Detect Evil result was at the edge of range, then you moved 15' which let the cone detect the other two, which puts the hidden two about 15' from the standing zombie, relative to its position. One (non-standing)zombie is 45' away.
• Aska, how far is "moving into range" from your target? Is it to where you can throw without any range modifiers?
I'll work up a map that can probably convey some of this a little easier.
Sorry, yes that was what I meant. My goal was to move within 20 ft of the standing undead to avoid range penalties. We'll say my goal is to get the standing zombie 15ft away from Aska before preparing to deal with the hidden zombies.
I'm going to keep my actions as I said though. We still never addressed the degree of information that Ian could pass with hand signals while we are separately sneaking through the tall grass, but I feel like passing me the exact locations of the zombies is a little much. Alerting Aska to their presence and number is sufficient. Not to mention even with the exact location, since she can't actually see them she would have a 50% miss chance on a direct hit. This way when they pop out I can chuck a bomb with reasonable accuracy to get that direct hit and deal better damage.
Ah, yes. The feat functions as the spell Message, so as far as the communication, anything that can be exchanged within however long he chooses to communicate will work.
Charging can be a standard as long as you only move your speed but I have already used a standard to communicate.
I believe we agreed on a swift action for mode change of the weapon. I was keeping with how it was in the game and you could switch modes mid attack combo, thus swift action. That still means one switch per round but if you want to keep it move for balancing that is fine.
It is also not quiet. You are correct there. I assumed we were being ignored until we got too close but you mentioned perception so they haven't heard us yet I guess. Letting them know I am there is not a problem. That was the intent so I become the focus.
Charging can be a standard as long as you only move your speed but I have already used a standard to communicate.
Correct on that. I was tracking the movements from point where both of you split. Conveying the information to Aska precisely would take a Standard Action, I'd say.
I believe we agreed on a swift action for mode change of the weapon. I was keeping with how it was in the game and you could switch modes mid attack combo, thus swift action. That still means one switch per round but if you want to keep it move for balancing that is fine.
Correct again. I was making that judgement before I remembered that you had taken Weapon Focus.
It is also not quiet. You are correct there. I assumed we were being ignored until we got too close but you mentioned perception so they haven't heard us yet I guess. Letting them know I am there is not a problem. That was the intent so I become the focus.
You were not so much "being ignored" as "not being noticed", since your stealth scores passively were more than they could passively notice, so I did not bother having them look.
If I CAN know the location of the hidden zombies(which I'm assuming I can from the conversation), then ideally I would want to have at least one of them within my 20ft range then as they are the target of my attack. I will still prepare an attack and wait for then to reveal themselves though. I don't want to gamble on full concealment.
So, looking at what Ian is doing and our stealth speed. 1 more round for us to get ready and into position, and then Ian sets everything in motion?
I guess that depends on their next perception roll. If there isn't going to be one, then yes. However Ian has a very limited number of spells so no shield. Just wait a round, if Aska doesn't attack, and since Bonded Mind doesn't work both ways, Ian will charge.
Let's see if this works. If so, I've certainly found a far simpler way than how I used to do it. It took me a long time to realize that Google Draw was an add-on to the browser, rather than an option in their suite of things. Apologies for it taking so long.
That looks great. Much easier to work out what we're doing. Thanks.
Not sure when we should switch back to the gameplay forum, but I'll go ahead a post here for now to get an idea of how we want to use the map, and then move back.
From where Aska is right now, I think N4 would be where she wants to go. But that depends on whether or not Ian wants to try and rush the standing one(seems foolish), or if he want to circle around to Q5(the safest option). If Ian wants to circle around to Q5 then I think Aska will circle the opposite direction to N10. This way they will cross paths and she can try to signal that she's gonna wait for the zombies to pop up before acting. She'll also then be in better position to flank once she's tossed a bomb or two.
The tokens should be able to be moved by you. Please confirm?
They can. I just didn't want to move without conferring with Ian who has yet to post. I'm assuming when we do move them we should go one turn at a time? Or just jump to our intended positions to move this along?
They were initially placed to reflect the latest post, which would mean that I have to respond. Provided Ian is alright with it, I'll post for the NPCs, and we'll alternate initiative.
Yep, I can move it. Go ahead.
Alright, just to verify before we switch this back into the Gameplay thread:
• Aska is moving into range to hit the standing zombie with a Tanglefoot Bomb
• Ian is going to charge the standing zombie?
Do I have that in the right order?
Sure.
Yeah, that works.
Everything okay? I was looking for Ian's post before I responded.
Oh s@%@. I lost track of the order. I waiting on you guys.
I know some DM's like to do this and I hope you might too. Can we get a feat per level rather than one ever other level since there is only two of us?
If we were doing that, I think we'd have done it when building the characters.
Is cool. Unless life severely (and insistently) interferes, I can run this as long as y'all are game.
For now, I'll have to say "no" on the feat per level. I'm looking to place more emphasis on tactics than overpowering things. I just have to keep in mind that the possibility of even a weak ambush can be devastating.
• Yes Ian, your AOO should have triggered. In situations like that (I don't often use reach weapons, so missed it), put a roll up just in case- in a spoiler, if you like- It'll be more likely that I just forgot about it, rather than curious enemy shenanigans.
Additionally, in the event that something triggers a reflexive action (saves, etc), feel free to roll it, even if it's just the D20s for the enemy action(I'll apply the mods in my post). I tend to roll the reflexive stuff as it isn't a deliberate action, and waiting for single rolls to determine something is often jarring to the flow.
• Yes Ian, your AOO should have triggered. In situations like that (I don't often use reach weapons, so missed it), put a roll up just in case- in a spoiler, if you like- It'll be more likely that I just forgot about it, rather than curious enemy shenanigans.
I did put a roll in. Also, assume it is always in reach form unless I switch in combat, or before. It wasn't in a spoiler but it was there.
And to be clear, your saying we can roll a d20 for enemy saves if we know they will need it? I can see how this would help if you did it for us but not the other way around. As long as we mention they need one like Aska does for the bombs. Without the mods and abilities known to us, we won't know the effect until you describe it anyway. You can see all our stuff. I usually do combat by describing attacks, then ooc the mechanical effects including all DC's like Aska did the bomb.
Good point. I was thinking that it really sped things along for players if the GM did it, but having the players do it is kinda superfluous. Duly noted on it being reach as well.
Additionally, thank you for anticipating things. I missed it in the other post. *shakes head* I'm so rusty. Please bear with me.
Either you or Aska can take the final hit on the zombie. It isn't going to last against the both of you, and with a miss on its last attack, it really has no chance of survival.
Ian, is everything okay?
Sorry, I'll answer for him. He is in the process of moving into his new house right now(it's his first house so he's also trying to get furniture, make repairs etc). Worse, his new place doesn't have internet yet. I'll text him, but he may not be able to post for a couple more days.
Oh, alright. *has deja-vu for some reason* No worries, then. Congrats on the move!
I can at least post from work but yes, no internet for now. Being a responsible adult sucks.
Apologies, on vacation until Tuesday. Access opportunity is limited.
No problem. Have fun.
No problem
Here's a question for you two: I keep the posts spoilered just because the two of you are not near each other and not able to affect what the other does. Would you prefer that I continue to spoiler those posts, or just section them off in my posts with no spoilers?
I read them anyway because I can't contain my curiosity. It matters not to me.
*drolly* I'll count that as a vote for "not spoilered", then.
Honestly, I prefer them spoilered if for no other reason than it makes it easier to separate what my character is seeing from what Ian is seeing. I admit I generally read Ian's as well, but it's still just a good way of making it easy to find what pertains to me when I post.
That said, if it's an inconvenience at all I'd say drop it. It's nice, but not nice enough for you to trouble yourself doing.
Even votes. I'll continue doing them, since it's just a code tag. I figured I'd check, just in case. If there's other information that could be displayed as the result of a skill check or something else, I'll section off that spoiler.
--Or would the two of you rather I just make your check in that post and convey the message there? I do tend to include more information in the relevant post depending on what the passive check for either character's skills are.