GM Silbeg's 5-00 Siege of the Diamond City (14-15) (Inactive)

Game Master Silbeg

Candi’s HP reflect the resist. I did miss Slim’s resist.

Improved Evade means Candi survives

I also did not have Candi’s rage no, so she likely survives.
Ok, she gets 56hp while raging, so she is alive!

Well my coin has saved me, but I am not able to heal myself (or others at the moment. (I need an effective 10 HP heal before being able to heal myself))

Can I pay for a Freedom of Movement casting before we move on?

Balors have constant true seeing, so illusions are no help.

Thanks, I'd forgotten that. That was a last-minute edit to my post.

Just hoping Slim was actually beyond the creature's reach initially or, being aware he wasn't based on what he'd already observed the demon do, be permitted the Cast Defensively option. Rather lose the spell than his life.

So glad we went with this encounter instead of wasting time on the Sibilant Twins. ;-)

Oh, also the cost of any raises and restos are on me.

At 1.1 minutes after the start of the encounter with the balor, it looks like Candi is at 20/161 hp, and Donna is at 30/80 hp.

Candi has 17 charges remaining on her wand of infernal healing. Five go to Donna, and after five minutes, Donna is at full hp. Twelve go to Candi, and after 12 minutes, Candi is at 140/161 hp. Candi's monstrous physique ii will wear off about now, so she returns to normal size and can get into her breastplate with 2 minutes of effort, assuming someone is willing to help her.

So, according to this timeline that I've calculated for Candi, she's now at 15 minutes after we started the encounter with the balor. She'll need a five more rounds to get to full hp with someone using her wand of cure light wounds on her.

CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Is this all OK? I'm not clear on what we can do or not do between encounters at this point in the special.

EDIT: Candi's tagline and Google Docs information all updated

I'll get you all sorted out this morning. While not this in particular, but this is why I started paying attention early. Seeker level has lots of moving pieces.

EDIT: It's going to require my computer to try to tease out the AOO, but I may not be able to answer that for Silbeg.

As near as I can tell, it only used its whip at 10ft range to pull Ayako in. I don't know that it would be obvious that it has 20ft reach, but Slim was three diagonals away. That is 20ft, but the balor was up 15ft in the air. I don't think that changes the calculation but I could be wrong.

On the issue of the AOO disrupting good hope: I have reviewed the files and agree with Silbeg's ruling. Good hope was disrupted.

Onto the issue of damage and death mitigations:

Round 1
Elric: 137 (107 damage, +20 NL) = 30/137 + 20 NL
Ayako: 53 (45 physical + 8 fire) = 48
Slimjim (AOO): 46 (34 physical + 12 unholy) = 55

Round 2
Candi: 143 - 9 (DR) -19 (False Life) = 115 (102 physical + 13 unholy) = 46 (not including rage HP)

Donna = 80
Obsidian = 271 + 165 NL + 6 negative levels (-5 hp/negative level reduces your total)

Note: I see that Slim's HP were corrected to 18 in round 2. If Slim had pre-existing damage on him, please note that, but as of the time of this review, I cannot find the source of the damage.

Balor is slain: everyone fails their saves.

Ayako: 48 - 100 + 15 (boon) + 15 (boon) = -22 (dead)
Candi: 46 - 70 = -24 + 56 (rage) = 22 rage
Donna: 80 - 50 (improved evasion) = +30
Elric: 30 (20 NL) - 50 (coin re-roll) = -20 (dead)
Obsidian: 271 (165 NL) - 100 = 171 (165 NL)
Slimjim: 55 - 40 (re-roll used) = +15

This changes things for Elric. Please advise if you had a physical damage mitigating factor other than ablative barrier in effect.

Regarding access to raise dead: I will check with the Overseer.

You are, however, in the middle of a grand battle outside the walls of the city, currently surrounded by the demon army. So... there's that to keep in mind.

I think the main question is if Elric's total is accurate and if Slim has the action economy to get Candi's scroll of breath of life into play.

Elric had a false life active before with 20 HP (casted in post 344) so he started with 157/137 HP.

This got reduced by the round 1 attack to 50 with 20 NL damage, and the explosion reduced it to 0 with 20 NL damage.

And even with your calculation he would have lived because of his rune of life which allows him to survive until -23 HP (from Waking rune)

OK. Thanks!

Elric is at 0 HP.

GM, could you provide us with a visual description of the creature(s), (in addition to the image on the map) we face at the start of future encounters? Even if we fail to identify it/them with a Knowledge check, it helps immerse the PCs in the moment and react based at least on what their senses tell them, especially about their visible gear and the likely reach of their weapons, etc. Just basic stuff, nothing the PCs wouldn't be aware of.

(I'd rather not meta-game, if I can avoid it.)

Where is the 6 negative levels coming from?

Quick note: see Gameplay for spellcasting service option.

Re: Obsidian's negative levels

Here I see 4 negative levels applied and in your Fortitude save vs. stun, I see Silbeg listing you as carrying 6 negative levels.

I haven't read much further back, but I don't know where the other 2 came from.

Here I see that I misread your Deathless armor rolls.

So... you avoided... two negative energy attacks? I see two rolls after the quickened enervation.

So you definitely don't have at least 4 of those 6 negative levels.

EDIT: I'll take you at your word if you say all negative levels were avoided.

How much time do we have? Can we spend 15 minutes healing up, or do we need to move more quickly?

The deathless armor percentage chance is per iteration. There were two iterations, therefore two rolls (and somehow I avoided both).

According to my math the total cost for raise dead and 2 restorations will cost a total of 8010 gp. If my math is off, just let me know.

I will at least use my one restorative spell for raise dead on Ayako. If others don't need a particular use for themselves, I would ask that they get a resto for Ayako. I am willing to pay for the full rejuvenation of Ayako.

Only one restoration can be performed at this time due to the clause preventing the second negative level from being removed for one week. Ayako has a boon to reduce the cost of raising by 50%, so a full resurrection might be more effective for similar cost.

This spell cannot be used to dispel more than one permanent negative level possessed by a target in a 1-week period.

How much time do we have? Can we spend 15 minutes healing up, or do we need to move more quickly?

You are deep in enemy territory surrounded by a demon army. Eventually, and soon, a fight is going to find you (if you wish to continue).

Candi Payne wrote:

How much time do we have? Can we spend 15 minutes healing up, or do we need to move more quickly?

You are deep in enemy territory surrounded by a demon army. Eventually, and soon, a fight is going to find you (if you wish to continue).

OK, that would seem to rule out true resurrection as it has a 10 minute casting time. It would seem that one resurrection and one restoration, one minute plus three rounds, would be the best plan for Ayako.

One more time question, how much time is left from the 14 minute duration of the monstrous physique ii spell that Candi cast at the start of our fight with Gal-Horvasch? The only time we spent between the two combats was 2.5 minutes to remove the annoying mithral full plate.

Does the text, Overseer GM, or Table GM preclude the 10-minute casting time for resurrection?

*EDIT* Just saw the GM's post in the Gameplay thread. Oh, well.

Resurrection is as raise dead, so I thought they had the same casting time.

Yes, resurection has a 1 minute casting time, while true resurrection has 10 minute casting time.

Slim, out of character I know them, I even was at one of the shows once.

Please ignore my proposed course of action from this post above. I have another plan which will take much less time which I'll post over in Gameplay. This new plan will be based on my understanding of what's happened during, between, and after our last two encounters, which I lay out below.

I didn’t I fully understand how quickly all this is unfolding, particularly the very limited amount of time between our last two encounters. I went back to our Gameplay posts starting here. when Candi casts three 10 minute/level buffs from scrolls.

On the first round of our two-round fight with Gal-Horvasch, Candi casts monstrous physique II which has a duration of 14 minutes. We spent at least two and a half minutes between fighting that demon and the balor because Candi removes the mithral plate mail with the assistance of Sister Ayako. Candi is unable to get into her breastplate because she’d currently large, so she fights the balor without armor. Our discussion about who to go after next could have taken place while Candi was removing her armor. So, it now looks to me that there was probably a three-minute gap between our last two fights. Does this sound right to everyone else?

Also, the two fights were in pretty much exactly the same place. For the first fight, we travelled out to meet Gal-Horvasch and for the second fight, Teremthel came to us. Based on this recent post from GM Blake we’re further forward than I thought we were, and I’m assuming that it will only take a minute or so to reach either of our next two options.

The following is my best guess of our timeline:

1) Two rounds fighting Gal-Hovasch

2) Three minutes between fights

3) Two rounds fighting Teremthel

4) Three minutes (max) for healing, etc. after balor go BOOM!

5) One minute to close with our next target, assuming they don’t teleport to us as Teremthel did

A total of seven minutes and four rounds from the start of our first encounter to the start of our third, upcoming one. I apologize if all this was obvious to everyone else, but I wasn’t totally clear on where all this was happening and amount of time basing, so I need to carefully go throught it all for my own benefit.

Candi you are not the only one confuesed, especially with us being able to use 10/min buffs but not minute buffs I was thinking about more time between the encounters.

But maybe this is my experinece GMing multitables projected onto this scenario as in most multitables there is at least 10 minutes between encounters, mostly more if you get to choose which one to take. (The exception here are "wave" encounters but this does not seem like one.)

Yeah, I've no sense of the time between encounters, except the guidance we got that only buffs of at least 10 min/level duration were permissible out-of-combat.

Some Specials specify the sometimes randomly-generated-by-dice-rolls time between encounters. Perhaps this one uses a different method?

Here's a little OCD effort to understand what's going on.

I put together a really crude map with the box text we got at the start of this series of encounters

The green line is the crusader army lead by Queen Galfrey. We're out closer to the red spearheads of the demon army than to the friendly lines of the crusader army.

Back in my AD&D days, we did some mass combat with high level PCs and NPCs with a heavily house ruled version of the old Battle System rules. I remember things moved very quickly and were very bloody. It was much more like modern warfare than medieval fighting or the battles described by fantasy authors such as Tolkien. So, I can see us having just a couple of minutes between encounters.

I understand and sympathize with your confusion on the timeline.

The guidance I recieved was to give you < 10 minutes before the next fight, if you did not concede, but I had discretion as to how much time. Candi's timeline up to the arrival of the crusaders is correct. My plan was to give you 1+1d10 minutes, but in order to maintain the chaotic feel of the great battle, did not want to reveal that but let you act as you felt your characters would and cut you off when necessary.

I'll catch up on the gameplay in a little bit.

Well if we are operating on this kind of scale I will use CLW and Infernal healing in tandem to patch myself up.

I understand and sympathize with your confusion on the timeline.

The guidance I recieved was to give you < 10 minutes before the next fight, if you did not concede, but I had discretion as to how much time. Candi's timeline up to the arrival of the crusaders is correct. My plan was to give you 1+1d10 minutes, but in order to maintain the chaotic feel of the great battle, did not want to reveal that but let you act as you felt your characters would and cut you off when necessary.

I'll catch up on the gameplay in a little bit.

Thanks, this is helpful. Things are starting to become more clear.

3.5 minutes from start of first fight to end of the second

2 between balor death and explosion and arrival of the paladin of Shelyn and company

5 minutes for resurrection, restoration, healing after arrival of the paladin of Shelyn and company and before the start of the next fight

EDITED to reflect most recent time information from GM Blake

OK. I tried to be diligent, but now I'm just going with what you guys said, which is lower/more costly than actual.

Resources Spent
Ayako: Magnaamar Debet Boon
Candi: Wand of Infernal Healing (6 charges), Wand of Cure Light Wounds (5 charges), Potion of Cure Serious Wounds, Ranginori's Debt Boon, 2 PP
Elric: Wand of Infernal Healing (3 charges)
Obsidian: 3935 gp (50% raise dead & 1 restoration)
Slim: Wand of Cure Light Wounds (17 charges)

Restorative Spells Available
Ayako
Elric

Restorative Spells Purchased
Candi: Heal (2 PP)
Obsidian: Raise Dead (50% cost)
Slim (tentatively one restoration for Ayako paid for by Obsidian, since he healed himself with his wand)

Let me know if Obsidian would pay for a resurrection rather than a raise dead.

Totals

Ayako: 14/101 (96 virtual total) (1 permanent negative levels)
Candi: 161/161
Donna: 78/80
Elric: 40/137
Obsidian: 301/301 (165 NL)
Slim: 107/107

It took 2 rounds for the crusaders to arrive post-balor explosion.

Your monstrous physique is definitely still up.

1d7 ⇒ 2

You have 5 minutes post-balor before a fight finds you, leaving you with 3 more minutes beyond the healing totals posted above.

Yup, I'll pass my benefit to Sister Ayako.

I'm out this afternoon seeing Aladdin on stage, but should be available afterwards. I know others are busy with conventions, but besides a couple private games I should be in the loop for starting the next fight. Statline is updated with the current negative level and will be updated as needed.

Obsidian will pay for whatever Ayako chooses.

A full Resurrection with discount is 5455, so 5gp more than a raise dead normally and saves the cost of one Restoration (1380), meaning Ayako is back at full with no spell slot loss. I think this is the best method for the party to get back in the fight.

Resources Spent
Ayako: Magnaamar Debet Boon
Candi: Wand of Infernal Healing (6 charges), Wand of Cure Light Wounds (5 charges), Potion of Cure Serious Wounds, Ranginori's Debt Boon, 2 PP
Elric: Wand of Infernal Healing (3 charges), Wand of Cure Light Wounds (15 charges)
Obsidian: 6835 gp (50% ressurection & 1 restoration)
Slim: Wand of Cure Light Wounds (17 charges)

Restorative Spells Available
Ayako
Elric

Restorative Spells Purchased
Candi: Heal (2 PP)
Obsidian: Raise Dead (50% cost)
Slim (one restoration for Ayako paid for by Obsidian)

Totals

Ayako: 101/101 (no spells lost)
Candi: 161/161
Donna: 78/80
Elric: 137/137
Obsidian: 301/301 (165 NL)
Slim: 107/107

To pull the curtain back a little more to help you understand why there might be some confusion over what spells you could cast between fights: the scenario text states that no spell casting can take place before a battle starts.

My guess--and just a guess--is that this was compromised into casting 10 minutes/level buffs because they last so long at your level and not 1 minute/level buffs or 1 round/level buffs.

If any of our frontliners wishes to be teleported into battle next turn just tell it to me. The number of T-rexes (and the lack of space to get to the frontlines) has suprised myself.

Question, was Candi technically ahead of Elric in initiative order? If so, is it possible to somehow charge the hezrou before Elric's summoning? If there is no difficult terrain along the way, I believe that she would have had a charge lane (please see the line I drew on the map). I'd prefer charging the blue marilith, but I don't believe Candi had a charge lane towards her.

Question, was Candi technically ahead of Elric in initiative order? If so, is it possible to somehow charge the hezrou before Elric's summoning? If there is no difficult terrain along the way, I believe that she would have had a charge lane (please see the line I drew on the map). I'd prefer charging the blue marilith, but I don't believe Candi had a charge lane towards her.

You charge the closest legal spot, so you can charge either blue demon you desire before the glitterdust and t-rexes.

Candi Payne wrote:

Question, was Candi technically ahead of Elric in initiative order? If so, is it possible to somehow charge the hezrou before Elric's summoning? If there is no difficult terrain along the way, I believe that she would have had a charge lane (please see the line I drew on the map). I'd prefer charging the blue marilith, but I don't believe Candi had a charge lane towards her.

You charge the closest legal spot, so you can charge either blue demon you desire before the glitterdust and t-rexes.

Groovy, will post shortly in gameplay.

The T-Rex can also be summoned 5ft west and still be able to do all the stuff in my post so no redo would be necessary if I need to reposition him.

@GM Blake:
Why did the Tyrannosaurs need to save against the Unholy aura? They have the celestrial template but they are still neutral. And unholy aura only deals the STR-damage against good creatures:

If a good creature succeeds on a melee attack against a warded creature, the offending attacker takes 1d6 points of Strength damage (Fortitude negates).

Additionally has the marilith a special ability that allows him to make a full attack after taking a standart action (taking over the grapple)?

If you are grappled, you can attempt to break the grapple as a standard action by making a combat maneuver check (DC equal to your opponent’s CMD; this does not provoke an attack of opportunity) or Escape Artist check (with a DC equal to your opponent’s CMD). If you succeed, you break the grapple and can act normally. Alternatively, if you succeed, you can become the grappler, grappling the other creature (meaning that the other creature cannot freely release the grapple without making a combat maneuver check, while you can).

And shouldn´t the Hezrou roll twice against the persistant Glitterust?

Another question for GM Blake I'm afraid:

Was whatever affected Candi's strength a "mind-affecting ability?" If so, I have the Experience with Dark Dreams boon from #8-15 which gives a +4 on such saves. However, I would have to chose to use it before attempting the saving throw, and I'm not exactly sure how that works in PBP games.

@ Elric: Correct! They have no strength damage (does not affect currect situation)
@ Elric: Unclear on the interaction between her several free grapple checks. Given the disadvantage of wasting a standard action, we will call that natural 20 a critical threat on the tail slap and leave the t-rex in control (although determining who can let go, it doesn't change anything statistically).

Tail Confirm: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (12) + 19 = 31
Tail Grab: 1d20 + 32 ⇒ (4) + 32 = 36
Critical Tail Slap: 4d6 + 6 ⇒ (2, 6, 3, 2) + 6 = 19

TR2 takes an additional 9 damage.

@ Elric: I failed to notice persistent

Hezrou Will vs. Glitterdust: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15

@ Candi: Unholy Aura; not mind-affecting

Whoever decided to use 2 marilith's has never had to type out attack sequences in PbP!