Why Can't Fighters Have Nice Hobgoblins? Ironfang Invasion

Game Master Stalwart

I;m currently pretty sick. Not posting much as I rest this off.

Not sure I understand the spoiler - have we been following the wrong tracks?

Just that you didn't know what a "Trox" was before and now you might be fighting one.

I was under the impression that there were multiple trox that had escaped and that we had been following multiple sets of trox traps. Would it be a reasonable implication that the nagas were polymorphed as trox prior to our encounter?

@Grum, WOW! That is 152 damage, or 179 if a 20 confirms.

It certainly feels good when the dice fall right. :)

I was really hoping I didn’t squander that crit!

Knowledge (dungeoneering) is needed to ID the creature.

How much light is in the room? There was enough for William to ID the creature, so I would guess there is enough for Amakrang to attack, albeit maybe with a miss chance of some kind.

Does anybody want to bot him?

I believe with TWF, Haste, and his Twin Blades archetype ability, he is +19/+19/+19/+14/+14/+9 (1d8+9).

For those that celebrate it, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving today. And if you are preparing the meal, find time for you, not just the guests. Of course, if you don’t celebrate American Thanksgiving, may you enjoy a great day as well.

Are you waiting on anyone, GM? We have all acted.

No, just slow in getting back into things after the holiday break.

Posted. I'll try to pick up the pace.

I didn't ID the items because you have a ticking clock with your resist fire potions. William can, but know that's going to eat into the duration.

I hope you all have had an opportunity to spend time with loved ones and know you are loved. If not, know that you are still loved. Here’s to a fantastic New Year for each of you.

Wait…why are we fighting? I feel lost on this. I though we were trying to reach these guys.

These ones are some sort of conjured spirit-warriors, and they won't let non-dwarves in to Kraggodan.

They offered to let Haela and Benedict through (since they think Benedict is a dwarf) but they won't let the rest of you in. And I can't get the rest of you to pass as dwarves.

If I do go to the elders to talk some sense into these guys, that entails splitting the party and me having a solo adventure for a while. I think that's terrible for the game.

We can try to leave them alive if that's even applicable to whatever they are.

It's a frustrating situation for me, as I don't know what to do, but I did pick up that they would be 'disappointed' to not fight us. So it seems like that is really what the AP wants us to do.

I tried to talk us past a fight and I had a really good Bluff, but it didn't work. So be it.

If OOC you all would rather we discuss it IC for a while I guess I can change my action. But I tried talking and got nowhere.

Sorry for my relative silence. I had a post thought up for the fight before, but was traveling and it was too hard on the iphone.

No worries, Grum!

XP:

19,200 for the spirit warriors
19,200 for reaching Kraggodan

Sweet! Level 12!

HP: 7 (class) + 3 (Con) = +10HP
BaB: +1 (power attack now (-4 hit +12 damage)
Saves: +1 (All)
Skills: +3 with FCB
Stats: +1 Str
Feat: Greater Weapon Specialization

HP: 6 (class) + 1 (CON) = +7hp
BAB: +1 (deadly aim -4 hit/+8 damage)
Saves: +1 (Fort/Ref/Will)
Skills: +6 with FCB (Perception, Survival, Stealth, Knowledge (Religion, Geography, Dungeoneering)
Stats: +1 Dexterity
Feat: Debating, as always

Bullseye Shot (Spend move action for +4 to next shot) (Expensive action economy)
Critical Focus (+4 to critical confirmation rolls)
Elven Accuracy (one re-roll for failed concealment miss chance rolls)
Exceptional Pull (improve use of composite longbows)
Expert Sniper (reduce Stealth penalty while sniping) (Expensive action economy, but potentially better damage)
Focused Shot (With standard action, +INT bonus for close shots) (Expensive action economy, very little gained)
Greater Weapon Focus (Longbow) (Additional +1 to attack with longbow)
Improved Critical (Double threat range for critical hits)
Improved Initiative (Bonus to initiative rolls) (Already have a very good initiative bonus, so meh)
Point Blank Master (Do not provoke AoO for ranged attacks with one weapon) (I forgot I have this as a class feature)
Relentless Shot (If successful in ranged tripping an opponent, can make AoO against that opponent until next turn) (Tempting to lean into the trick shot artist)
Shadow Strike (Deal precision damage against targets with less than total concealment) (Dark is not an issue, but fog could be)
Snap Shot (Threaten AoO to targets within 5') (I'm rarely within 5')
Trick Shooter (+2 to ranged combat maneuvers) (Again, do I lean into the trick shooter? Trip at range could be useful for front liners)

Here's a question - would Agile Maneuvers (Add Dexterity bonus to determine CMB rather than Strength bonus) apply to ranged combat maneuvers? I think it actually makes more sense. (And would make trick shots much more likely to succeed)

HP: 10
Stat: +1 Dex
No Feat. Learned fireball spell

Ftr9/Chv3

HP: +1d10+3 (+9, new total 112)
Skills (7): Diplomacy, Bluff, Sense Motive, Perception, Linguistics*2 (Aklo, Giant), Knowledge (Planes)
Str +1
+1 Ref, Will
+1 BAB
Gains SLAs from Deific Obedience

Gains Weapon Training! Finally. Now need to get some Gloves of Dueling. Let me think about what weapon group to take.

Ftr10
+1d10+3 HP (+9, new total 95)
+1 Fort
+4 skills (Heal, Knowledge-Planes, UMD*2)
Feat: Advanced Weapon Training (Warrior Spirit)
Signature Skill (Heal) improves: "10 Ranks: When you treat deadly wounds, the target recovers hit points as if it had rested for a full day with long-term care." - so that is a minimum 48 for any PC, and often will be around 60 HP at a time.

Gains Weapon Training! Finally. Now need to get some Gloves of Dueling. Let me think about what weapon group to take.

We should have a coming of age ceremony!

Benedict will take Weapon Training (Axes).

I had left him not focused on any one weapon in case something good were to come up in the AP that we'd want to use, but we are in Book 4 now and these +2 Dwarven Waraxes are among the best items we've found.

Axes also have a ton of options, including ranged and reach. The Waraxe has a good damage die and can be used one-handed if grappled (though at a -4 for nonproficiency, it's still something you can't do with a greatsword).

There are a few things in "Party Loot" that might be useful.
There's an Amulet of Natural Armor +2 and a set of Eyes of the Eagle.
There's a Ring of Evasion that I would take if nobody else wants it.

A bunch of potentially-useful potions, wands, and alchemical items, though I moved a lot to "To Sell".

A wand for William: Wand of Magic Missile (CL 7, 32 charges)
And scrolls of spells on his list: Fireball, Haste, Heroism, See Invisibility, and Beast Shape II

A surprising number of potent anti-petrification items (Amulet of Proof Against Petrification, Lidless Eye Charm, and Stone Salve) that I think we should hold on to.

If we need others to make social skill checks for the Synod, there's a Circlet of Persuasion and a Headband of Alluring Charisma +2.

Selling everything in "To Sell" gives us shares of 23,024 each. Amkarang owes Benedict 6,000 from before (here).

Benedict had a whopping 56 GP before (after trading with Novvi here), so his new total is 29,080.

@GM, what can we buy in Kraggodan?

Thanks for going through this! Nothing that Grum would normally wear, but I’m more than pleased to see anyone make use of what we have.

Gold: 2015 + 23024 = 25039

That’s a good chunk of gold! Waiting to see what’s available to us before making purchases. But I’d be interested in improving my measly +1 cloak of resistance. Doesn’t seem like a good idea waiting to find a better one.

I currently have no natural armor but I think the +2 should go to someone in melee first. I can take a hand me down if there is one, if not to biggie. Same with the ring of evasion. The Eyes might be best for Aerel.

I have added the wand and scrolls to my list. I wonder if I should put any of them in my spellbook.

I've got a bit of money to spend. Have to see what is available first.

Kraggodan is big enough of a city/marketplace that there isn't a pregenerated list of items available. You can generally find most kinds of standard magic items with the exception of things dwarves wouldn't be making often -- cloaks of elvenkind, etc.

If you'd like me to, I can roll up some big-ticket items so you can have a list of options.

Decision paralysis! Help me out guys. What should I do?

(1) upgrade my armor from +3 to +5. Costs 16,000.
(2) upgrade my sword from +1 shocking to +3 shocking. Costs 24,000.

Why? Because we are in a Dwarven city. Part of me wants to do the sword because as a fighter I can’t switch weapons and the chances of finding a better bastard sword are very low. But AC28 isn’t the best at lvl12. Going up to 30 would be nice.

Grum is incredibly strong on offense already, so my suggestion would be the armor. I can see that in your plan your AC will get a nice boost next level with Defensive Weapon Training. Going to 30 now, and then 33 next level puts you at AC=20+level, which is a good benchmark. Note that there is an Advanced Weapon Training option that could help you if we find a really awesome longsword, scimitar, scythe, katana, greatsword, etc.

Benedict will look to put his Ring of Sustenance in the "To Sell" pile and take out one of the Rings of Protection +1. Almost the same value and then there is no need to recalculate shares. He already has claimed the Ring of Evasion, so can only have 1 other ring.

Then... probably commissioning Gloves of Dueling (15,000).

Thanks for the advice. I'll go with that.

And from there I'll upgrade my cloak of resistance from +1 to +3 for 8,000 gold. +2 AC and +2 to all saves. Gold well spent. :D

Gold: 25039 - 16000 - 8000 = 1039

And I assume you mean weapon specialist? Yeah, that could be quite good, especially with gloves of dueling, which would allow all of his combat feats to work. But I'd need to squeeze the feat in. Perhaps if an amazing weapon drops, I'll retrain? Eugh. I love pathfinder, but I truly dislike how weapon focus and the like must be for a specific weapon, rather than weapon group.

If an amazing weapon drops, you can always use the Manual of War to trade out a fighter feat for Advanced Weapon Training (Weapon Specialist) on a day-to-day basis. Like, Furious Focus is probably no longer quite as vital as it was at low levels when he only had the one attack. I think without it Grum's primary attack is still very likely to hit.

“Fun fact.” That way of writing Dwarven accents…I picked it up many years ago when playing EverQuest. I was in a strict RP guild and that was just how people there did the Dwarven accent. As that was what I played I picked it up and I guess it just never went away. In retrospect it’s funny how it just feels wrong to not use it regardless of setting or medium.

You're allowed to read the dwarves' words in whatever accent you choose.

:)

I never understood why everybody decided that all Dwarves were Scottish, so when I first introduced Haela (who is in fact from Kraggodan), I had Benedict greet her in an exaggerated Scottish accent and had her slap him for mocking her.

I had even thought about giving her a French accent or something equally random.

I now like my idea that it's one clan's weird affectation.

Works for me!

Kraggodan is big enough of a city/marketplace that there isn't a pregenerated list of items available. You can generally find most kinds of standard magic items with the exception of things dwarves wouldn't be making often -- cloaks of elvenkind, etc.

If you'd like me to, I can roll up some big-ticket items so you can have a list of options.

I think it would be fun to see what a random generator might come up with. I haven't had time to give this much thought, unfortunately.

FYI, I put up a recruitment for Carrion Crown.
Hoping to use this to get replacement GMs for a couple of games I am in via GM trade, but whether or not you can offer to GM, you are all welcome to apply.

Carrion Crown would be interesting. Looks like you have a lot of interest and I don't have a lot of time to cook up any details. My initial reaction was that it could be fun to finally try an arcanist.

I definitely do not have the bandwidth to take on a DM role.

Sounds awesome! But as I’m currently in a Carrion Crown game, it would feel churlish to take a spot when there is already so much interest.
Thanks for the offer though

Great to see you running a game. I am in a CC game as well, though it is a bit slow moving. One of these days I might finish one. I've been lucky enough to pick up a new one around where my old ones have died. I'm on number 3 or 4 now.

Man, I don't need another game, Aldizog... And I have no interest in trying to optimize and you are seeing some characters with a lot of thought going into them... but I haven't managed to get far into that AP...

Oh, the temptation...

By the way, the AP sets this section up as a "recount the adventure up to this point," starting with Trail of the Hunted, moving into Fangs of War, then Siege of Longshadow, and finally the trip through the Darklands.

It also specifically says that the dwarves get irritated if the tale is only coming from one PC, so it's not just the party face doing all the talking. Furthermore, they also get bored if it's always using one skill check, so while Diplomacy and Perform (oratory) might be the most ideal, there is also room for things like Profession (soldier) to recount tactics, Survival to describe the wilderness, and any number of Knowledge checks to describe the various encounters and events.

Still, that's a lot of typing to go through each AP, so I'm not going to require that much if you're not up to it. But I'd still like to see everyone contribute something to the tale. Give me a bullet-point list of topics if that's all the time you have, but I'd appreciate something.

* * *

Regarding Carrion Crown:

I love that AP. I was part of a brilliant campaign that unfortunately sputtered out in the middle of Book 5. I still feel bad that we didn't get the game to continue to its close (it lasted for more than ten years before ultimately dying).

I'm thinking about it, and trying to decide to throw my hat in the ring. Thanks for the heads up about it.

I threw my hat in the ring, but don't expect to be selected after looking at the other offerings. A rather simple arcanist and wannabe archer.

Benedict has a number of relevant skills to do checks if needed, and as I noted the Manual of War would let others pick up some skills through Advanced Weapon Training or Advanced Armor Training. I've done War for the Crown so I know a bit about this kind of social encounter and expected that others besides Benedict would need to speak. It's a good innovation that they started using. If you want us to do checks, I can, but if you want to hand-wave it, that's fine too.

I'll get a post up with some storytelling today or tomorrow.

***

As to Carrion Crown: @Stalwart, you would be more than welcome. Especially as you are already GM'ing for me, and I think it's good to return the favor when circumstances permit.
@Aerel, "no interest in trying to optimize" is kind of what I am hoping for. Really, I had hoped that saying "I'm running a 2011 AP and will refrain from scaling up the monsters" would encourage somebody to say "Hell yeah, I bet I can play a Chained Rogue through that AP." But instead of "What is the lowest-optimization character that can succeed in this AP?" I am seeing a lot of "What is the highest-optimization character that I can get the GM to approve?" And you know, it's fine, I have a ton of quirks in this recruitment. It's too much to also hope for it to be "The Other Guys" of Unbreakable Fighter, Chained Rogue, Sleuth Investigator, Magician Bard, Disenchanter Warpriest, and Adept. Anyway, I'll take a look at what you have.

I don't know how much I can recount. I don't even remember when I came in. I'll get a post up with something.

Also I'll get a post of my purchases.

I generally find that whenever I have GM'd something I get a lot of characters I don't really care for. You were pretty clear you weren't looking for power builds but you are getting them. I hope you find a group you like.

@Aerel, "no interest in trying to optimize" is kind of what I am hoping for. Really, I had hoped that saying "I'm running a 2011 AP and will refrain from scaling up the monsters" would encourage somebody to say "Hell yeah, I bet I can play a Chained Rogue through that AP." But instead of "What is the lowest-optimization character that can succeed in this AP?" I am seeing a lot of "What is the highest-optimization character that I can get the GM to approve?" And you know, it's fine, I have a ton of quirks in this recruitment. It's too much to also hope for it to be "The Other Guys" of Unbreakable Fighter, Chained Rogue, Sleuth Investigator, Magician Bard, Disenchanter Warpriest, and Adept. Anyway, I'll take a look at what you have.

I'll post it. I'm always open to suggestions and you know you are under no obligation to give it any attention just because we share a table or two.

It's a lot of fun reading back over the campaign. Takes a while to make such a post, but fun. That battle with Scarvinious was brutal!

And there was an amusing typo. In Grum's duel with Fahrak, Grum notes "Blood pooped around him" which was probably supposed to be "pooled". I laughed. Must have missed that the first time

Also, wow, I was so micro-managing everything with who should 5' step where in some of those fights. I do enjoy the tactical chess-match aspect of the game, and we did need every advantage we could eke out, but it was a bit much. Glad you all had patience with me, and I think it is a lot better now as we are not constantly one good hit from going down. Low level with no cleric is rough.

I think I know what I want to do for my purchases.
I'd like to up my armor from +1 to +3 8k
Add Holy to my bow 32k
Pick up bracer's of falcon's aim 4k
That's 44k total and will leave me with 2k.

Any thoughts or other suggestions from anyone?

Those are all excellent purchases. Especially Holy on the bow. For 2k though? Bank it or buy special arrows (durable adamantine and the like)