Posting here since I removed Lyon from the scene with her throwing a fit.
I think our best move is to head back towards the spider's caves, not all the way but enough to be safe if the chokers come back to the same area. Lu did leave a trail from our old camp to the centaurs IIRC so we could set up camp on that trail and sleep until the others catch up.
If we sleep another 4 hours would we still regain health as if it was a full night sleep?
We probably want to rest now GM.
At bare minimum, Ishana needs an hour or so to replenish her spells. Might need further hours of rest to ensure we don't suffer annoying conditions like fatigue etc.
After resting / regaining spells, Ishana talks to the female survivor of the spider attack. She might not be able to tell us much, but its worth a try.
More or less after that, we then set off towards the spider caves (since that was the location the group told us they were going) and pick up the trail from there.
Kaussek wants to head back to the spider caves and rest, hoping the others will catch up to us there.
I'm still a little worried about two ogrekin who now really want revenge being out there. A spellcaster and a gunslinger could do a lot of damage.
Once Ishanna is rested I want to use Survival to track the escapees down. To me, that's the most pressing concern. Hopefully, we'll be able to confirm that they've had enough of us and decided to head for greener pastures.
Everybody needs 4 hours of rest. Spellcasters need 5 hours of rest, because you add an hour every time your sleep is interrupted. Then, Lu and Ishana will require an hour to prepare spells, so it will be early afternoon by the time adventuring starts again.
Ishana, can you post here what you intend to ask the survivor? Same questions as the Ulfen man you already questioned?
If you finish resting, you will recover hit points and resources, yes.
So, Lyon and Kaussek want to head back over to the spider cave and then rest, while Marcus and Ishana want to rest and then: check to see where the ogres went and then go out towards the ogre caves.
I'd like to hear from Aisha and Lu whether there's anything they'd like to do before we go on.
Aisha would prefer to nap here, then head back. She would also like to pilfer the dead enemies, not that I expect loot, just that she would dig through stuff to try to find it.
She won't split the party beyond looting before she follows, though, since she's much faster.
Same questions GM. I can write them all out when I get home in about 6 hours or you can just go with what was asked prior
Basic Quick Questions (feel free to handwave these if the answers are the same as the other person, I just feel its out of character not to ask to see if she knows anything herself, even if its unlikely).
"What is the last things you remember?"
"Did you see or hear a person named Aria?"
"Did you get any feelings or vibes from Aria?"
"Had anything happened recently in the village, anything discovered or changes?"
I'm assuming Lu hit everyone who could be healed, because it's free and we had time.
I would generally appreciate if you acknowledged this in-character, especially with named NPCs.
GM, I think there's a number of very different points of view regarding how secure the camp is and why the patrols went missing.
I organized volunteers to guard the camp, which some of the party thinks was inside a fortified position. Is that accurate?
If it is, why were the patrols outside the fortifications? If the camp isn't in a fortified position, why do so many party members think it is?
Something about this doesn't make sense.
We did leave the people inside the fort which was secure enough that we had to bash the door open and then repair it.
We also didn't check the area very thoroughly so it's possible there was another entrance we missed but IC we wouldn't know. Marcus also described it as a "Patrol" which, to Lyon, would mean people walking around outside since that's likely her only real experience with guard patrols in the city. Doesn't mean she's right.
I think it still ends the same way, so it’s a moot point. The members of the caravan are not fighters, and clearly failed perception checks which means fortified position or no, they still die. Firearms were a big problem.
In hindsight, it’s better we took them down before they camped the fort, because then it’s 2 ogrekin, a hobgoblin gunslinger, and an ogre that basically almost killed Kes while blinded, with limited strategy available. The group is welcome to whatever IC opinions they like of course, but it is highly likely someone dies no matter what irrespective as to how fortified the fort was.
Eh, it's just in character blame game. Had we not done what we did, we'd likely have a ton of dead potential allies who have no reason to be kind with a militant leader rather than a shaman and one less dwarf for Lyon to worry about.
I may be confused. I personally agree with Aisha. Barbarbarbarbar. :)
@The Fort - The fort is a stone structure intended to be lived in by approximately 15 people. It is quite secure, but not large enough for everybody in the caravan. Because of that, many of them are spread outside the fort in tents and their wagons. The fort is surrounded by a thin wooden wall with a single one-person watchtower so that someone can stand above the wall and see if someone wants to come in and who it is. It is fairly safe inside this wall, but still, monsters can easily break through it.
Since you said 'patrol', I interpreted that to mean doing rounds on the outside of the camp - also since the townspeople have spread out a bit, I thought they'd want to do something like that anyway. Standing at the edge of light makes it impossible to see into the darkness, after all. I apologize if that isn't what you wanted them to do, but you were non-specific.
Unfortunately for the townspeople, I wanted to give Ishana and Marcus something to do to use up their resources. It isn't a matter of Perception checks or no Perception checks - it's a matter of 'monsters are super-dangerous and the PCs should have an opportunity to save people'.
There is going to be a rare circumstance in which you have the opportunity to save everyone and prevent everything bad from happening. As the heroes of the story, your role is to prevent the worst ending, not all deaths. I mean, look at the Avengers movies. In every fight, whole cities are demolished in the middle of epic battles, many people die, yadda yadda... but when the heroes win, then the world doesn't get destroyed. To take that a step farther, the central tension of Civil War is an argument about whether or not the Avengers are responsible for the deaths of the people they couldn't save.
In my opinion, it is to the game's benefit that I force you guys to proactively seek out and destroy threats, because in general, commoners won't really be able to defend themselves against CR-appropriate encounters. If you must know, the idea of ogres being out and about and dangerous was meant to give the party a difficult choice between going out and hunting them down or chasing after Aria - hunting down the ogres ensures the caravan's safety in the short term, but delays the MAIN quest of making sure everybody doesn't get enchanted all at once again, and whatever it is that happens when you disappear that way.
This will change once you are in charge and you can build your own watchtowers and train your own soldiers! Soldiers are tough! They can fight monsters!
If it matters, I agree that this is just an in-character blame game. There is nothing that you could have done that would have prevented every possible bad outcome. And! The way it did happen led to two interesting little mini-adventures.
Ok, so I was correct that our caravan was not inside the fort. I was starting to feel a little crazy there for a bit.
It was my understanding that the caravan camp was in a fairly open, non-fortified area. Looks like I had that right. Patrol meant "move along the outside edge of camp and scan for threats," so they were doing exactly what they should have. I don't think there was anything they could have done differently that would have made them, or the caravan, any safer.
Thanks for clarifying.
Some of them are inside the fort, many of them are just outside the fort but within the walls. You are right that something would have happened even if everyone was hiding within the walls.
Ah, that makes better sense. :D
That is totally not how I understand "fort".
The fort includes the outer wall, The a fortified building inside a fort might have a separate term if it can be closed after the walls fall. But in european and american frontier settings, "fort" is a set of buildings contained within a single wall, whether that wall is a complex stone or wood wall with catwalks/ramparts, or simply a wooden pallisade.
Pretty much the same for me :P
Regardless, all in the past, and now we know!
As for the current scene, I think a hundred or so feet behind us is best. Though I'd suggest saying exactly how far behind Aisha you are, maybe? :)
I was assuming we'd just stay put while you scouted.
Yeah, I think 100-200 feet is fine. Lu is opting for more rather than less :p
Same. I clank.
Lyon would like to hold until one of three attack Aisha if possible. She'll have to be in position before Aisha so she won't get the aid another benefit.
Sorry I'm having trouble with the map right now but if Lyon moved up 30 feet would she be within 40 feet of Varn and would she have Line of sight?
Lyon is currently 85' from Varn, so if she moved up 30' she would be 55' from him.
However, everyone has light of sight to everyone EXCEPT Aisha right now.
I assume that many of you will just want to run closer to the battle. If that's true and you're not going to do anything that might change my actions (cast spells, make attacks, etc.) please go ahead and just post outside of initiative order so that we don't have a ton of back-and-forth while you're still closing the distance.
Any chance they can Run? It requires a straight line, can't be done in difficult terrain and comes with some 'penalties' but it'd get them into the fight faster than double moves.
Yeah, if they want to, you're not in difficult terrain.
Did my dice rolls just change for anyone else or did I mess something up?
Your dicerolls appear to be 5 and 20 to me, for totals of 7 and 22.
I assume you previewed it and it looked like 14 and 16?
Could be the server did some kind of reset while you were making your post? I don't know how those things work.
Yea it was 14 and 16 in preview but they changed after I posted. Should I edit in a confirm?
Edit: Added it in at the bottom. Sorry no idea what happened to my dice.
Hey GM, I have a post I want to make, but wanted to make sure I understood the mechanics of the situation first.
First question, would the spell be the spell Calistria's Guardian Wasps be recognizable to Ishana? The spell is Calistrian in origin, but I don't know if its enough to confirm whether Lyrudrada is a fellow worshipper.
Secondly, I'm very tempted to drop a Burst of Radiance. The spell has mechanical effects in that for practical purposes it should (hopefully) blind them, but it also has other purposes. The spell has the good descriptor and only harms evil creatures. Is it feasible to assume that the spell might allow them a save or some interaction if they have had an alignment shift?
I'm making a few judgments here so I'm checking before I race off and make a post that assumes too much.
First question, would the spell be the spell Calistria's Guardian Wasps be recognizable to Ishana? The spell is Calistrian in origin, but I don't know if its enough to confirm whether Lyrudrada is a fellow worshipper.
Secondly, I'm very tempted to drop a Burst of Radiance. The spell has mechanical effects in that for practical purposes it should (hopefully) blind them, but it also has other purposes. The spell has the good descriptor and only harms evil creatures. Is it feasible to assume that the spell might allow them a save or some interaction if they have had an alignment shift?
The DC of a Knowledge (arcana) check to identify a spell effect that is already in place is 20 + spell level (DC 23 for Calistria's Guardian Wasps). Just because a spell is Calistrian doesn't give you automatic knowledge of it, but you can certainly roll if you'd like to.
I wasn't actually sure that Ishana had a strong Calistrian faith. She doesn't carry a holy symbol, is there a reason why not?
I'm not sure I understand your second question. All characters, regardless of their alignment, receive a save against burst of radiance (to avoid blindness). If the targets are evil, then it deals damage and doesn't give a save.
Do you mean to ask: "If these guys get hit by burst of radiance, take damage from it, and realize that they must have turned evil, do they get some kind of identity crisis?" I would say no. That's a bit too complex of a moral dilemna to have in the middle of combat, especially since knowledge of which spell you used isn't automatic. If you meant something else, please clarify.
In regards to holy symbol, no, she doesn't carry a holy symbol. She isn't super religious, but probably pays lip service. Sorta I guess how like some Catholics don't go to Church on Sundays (or only go on special occasions).
As to the second question, yes, I was trying to see that impact, Sorta like "Wow these demons just cast Burst of Radiance on us, and we took damage from that spell what is going on" sort of thing but you might be right, could be a bit too much of a complex thing for them to unravel. It was just an idea I had.
Most characters just wouldnt know which spell it was without Spellcraft, but it might be something you can verbally leverage if it turns out to be relevant.
I also would like to ask: In what way specifically does Ishana worship Calistria?
Does she ever pray? When?
Does she follow Calistria's dogma at all? What specifically?\
Or is it more like, "if somebody asks me if I'm religious, I'll say I'm Calistrian but it doesn't actually change my behavior at all"
Its worth remembering GM, that Calistria was going to be more closely tied to her ascension until there was a sudden change of plan as per your surprise. Therefore a lot of her character, and backstory, was written with the earlier plans in mind.
As per current written material, Calistria happens to be one of the more dominant Elven deities within the Pantheon. She was also brought up by priests / priestesses. She has effectively, grown up with worshipers around her. Its indirectly shaped part of her life, and how she perceives things. Its significant enough for Ishana to pay lip service to that deity, but Ishana on her own, isn't hugely religious to the degree that, say, a cleric, inquisitor, might be. She might privately ask for guidance, or support in a particularly trying situation, and she still follows some of the core tenets of the goddesses philosophy, in moderation.
I still think that it has potential to affect her behavior, but at the same time, do not consider her a particularly strong religious figure. Lu's comments for instance, still hurt, and Ishana still wants to 'get even' in a mild way for his earlier remarks. She's unlikely to forget them in a hurry. This doesn't mean taking it to extremes a particularly stronger worshiper might do, but something Ishana would consider appropriate.
Ishana will take the Archmage Mythic Path, and I foresee her mythic power coming from her bloodline. Quite where that bloodline fits in, I haven’t quite decided yet as her unknown parentage means she has a large number of possible opportunities as to how exactly her bloodline ties into her mythic power. I rather like the child of deity angle as a possible option since it would explain why Ishana has been utterly unsuccessful about learning about who her parents were, but seeing as Ishana has no idea who her mother or father is / are or what happened to them (or even why she was abandoned) there is a lot of flexibility. I’m hoping that her quest for answers (and repercussions) unfolds over the course of Ishana’s life, as it’s driven quite a lot of her decisions and personality up until now.
Oh?
During recruitment I asked whether you had an idea for mythic ascension, and I remember you saying that you did not have an idea and that I could decide. When did that change?
She might privately ask for guidance, or support in a particularly trying situation, and she still follows some of the core tenets of the goddesses philosophy, in moderation.
Please be specific. What situations? Which tenets?
@Ishana, if you want to try and talk them out of attacking us you could let Lyon know and she'll hold her attacks and try to aid.
@GM, Could you define attacking, like just don't swing/shoot or would any aggressive action count? If I held an action to attack if they didn't listen would that count or things like the warder's defense focus?
What kind of action would that be and would it be considered a suggestion, 'stop attacking us', or an attitude influence?
It is a request.
Anything you do that would dismiss an invisibility spell counts. Preparing to make an attack does not count, but it may take more than one round, or maybe someone just rolled low and you want to try again.
By "an entire turn", i do mean "the whole turn all the way around to the Diplomancer's turn again", so if you take a readied attack or take an AoO before the turn is over, the attempt is ruined.
It may take more than one round of doing this to end hostilities, but I will make clear (if there is a success or if you are facing a foe that can be talked down) that headway is being made.
Making a Diplomacy check in this way is a '1 round' action, and lasts until the beginning of your next turn.
I don't think Lyon can do anything against a swarm. Scatter is still considered weapon damage and her maneuvers target a single creature which swarms are immune to.
Not sure if Kaussek's tactic can work here, or if it should be Intimidate instead of Diplomacy. Basically he's trying to get them to realize they're acting against their natures by pointing out the contradictions between the people they seemed to be based on what we found in their homes and what they're doing now, in hopes that it helps them fight against whatever compulsion or enchantment they're under now.
Rolling 1's doesn't help with that, though. XD
Rolling Intimidate to get someone to stop fighting you is more of a "YOU THINK YOU CAN F#%+ING HANDLE US????" type move, so Diplomacy was the correct choice here.
Well... apparently the dice are not with me. XD Go people who actually have Diplomacy trained!
I don't think we can risk losing another round honestly. We might have to run considering they just did over half hp in one attack.
Say that in-character if you want to suggest something to the other characters!
Lyon won't say anything yet but Zoey is doubting. Sorry I'll try to keep tactics IC
GM, would Touch of Corruption be able to hurt the Swarm?
No worries/apologies necessary. It's okay to discuss tactics in Discussion, just remember to also say them in Gameplay if you'd like it to make sense!
EDIT: Marcus, no. Swarms are immune to anything that explicitly targets one foe.