TOZ's Hao Jin Cataclysm [Gameday VIII] (Inactive)

Game Master TriOmegaZero

I'm not sure if Deno'Thar or Ammen can roll a second Knowledge check for the same kind of creature. I will have to look it up.

It sounds like you will be able to take care of its regen, but it cost you an extra round of actions figuring out that cold is what was needed.

Edit: I'd have to rule that this is the same topic, so it would fall afoul of the 'No' on trying the knowledge check again.

What’s the DC for the check?

Given the uniqueness of this particular phoenix, unfortunately higher than Flyn can reach.

That’s what I figured as the highest I could possibly get would be 33 and that would be with a nat 20 and a 6 on the inspiration die...

Apologies, forgot the inspiration die. You need a very good roll however.

I'm not sure if Deno'Thar or Ammen can roll a second Knowledge check for the same kind of creature. I will have to look it up.

It sounds like you will be able to take care of its regen, but it cost you an extra round of actions figuring out that cold is what was needed.

Edit: I'd have to rule that this is the same topic, so it would fall afoul of the 'No' on trying the knowledge check again.

It could not matter (since we're letting Aericus try cold first) but I'd like to think that Lore Master and Monstrous Insight do specifically allow this since they take actions (both standard actions) to perform. Otherwise these abilities would be quite limited.

Unfortunately they don't have any wording to the effect of bypassing the Try Again rules. They give the choice of a free action roll or spending an action to assure the best possible result.

I suspect TOZ is waiting on Aericus to post his arcane point usage and CDG in the gameplay thread, rather than suggestions here in the discussion thread.

Would it be better to not use haste this fight, or exclude Laara and Aericus from haste?

Off-topic question, but how do you get the double spoiler tag to work? It only recognizes the first one when I've tried it.

It took a little while to figure out, but it appears to only work with unnamed spoilers inside the main one.

Just out of curiosity, is there a reason the archers can't ready attacks on the approach of the creature?

You generally cannot reaady out of combat and given there are potentially dozens of these things flying around attacking hundreds of Pathfinders I doubtt it is clear which of them comes dive bombing us.

That is how I've been running it, yes. In theory you could all ready/delay on the 2nd round of prep but its not something your characters would know would work as the two rounds between combats is just for ease of play. If anyone had asked about preemptively attacking before the enemy arrives on the field, I would have pointed out that while you are attacking one, another might engage from a different direction.

The whole pre-init Ready is a mess inPF1. Scenarios will let NPCs do it from time to time, but Paizo would never FAQ this subject for PCs.

PF2 seems to have made it formally possible, but, like other rules, it's not clearly laid out and some GMs are refusing to allow it because of the PF1 mentality.

I'll have to look at that. I try to treat readied actions before combat as a surprise round rather than do it rigidly by initiative. So people say they ready to attack when the door opens, I treat that as their surprise round action, even if there technically shouldn't be one. (Such as the enemy hearing spellcasting through the door.)

Yeah, it's amazing to me that Paizo hasn't officially dealt with this and at least given examples/guidelines of when it works and when it doesn't.

Readying/Ambush is a very conventional tactic and no one in PF1 or PF2 is confident about how it works.

Given their proclivity towards GM calls and the backlash some of their codification has received, I find it entirely unsurprising.

I call it bad product management. The GM can always change the rules, so they lose nothing by providing a preferred outcome. Besides, they've completely changed Pathfinder with PF2, so there's no reason not to officially address in PF2 for fear of backlash. Plus, we've seen them make all kinds of unpopular calls and rule changes. This is hardly as controversial as the whole Prestige class fiasco or that Monk thing.

I can only guess that they can't agree amongst themselves. But we'll see with PF2. If you connect the dots, it's allowed.

Since the Phoenix didn't emerge from the wall and Flyn couldn't see that last encounter, debating on what I should do this round. GM, would Aericus have possibly noticed if that bastard bird was still carrying my bow?

Yes, he would have seen it was not carrying it. He might be a little concerned with falling into fire now, but I think you would also have noticed it no longer had it in its beak as it AoO'd him on the way in. (20ft reach btw)

Thanks, GM...so I'm guessing I'd need to move in that direction and do an active Perception check to look for it?

I don't think it would be hidden, especially not higher than DC20, you'd just need to get through the walls to where you could see it.

That wall is going to be a little toasty, but I've got temp hp for that. I'm more concerned with not having a way to stay close to the phoenix anymore.

Oh right, the temp HP. That'll help! For the moment at least, the phoenix is at ground level. There are, of course, two more walls between you and it...

***Ruby Feather Token***
Passing to: Grandmaster TOZ
Empowered?: No
Empower Only: Yes

Open to suggestions for Ajax's actions this round. I'd hate to waste Haste as those walls of fire will outlast my short term buffs. If the arrows could survive, my thought would be to fire my arrows through it.

Alternatively, I could casts Resist Energy on Aericus, but it seems we ant to kill this thing quickly as it will regenerate.

My suggestion is to fire arrows through the total concealment since Ammen is letting us know where it is at. I personally plan to move up, find out Flynn ran off, notice Ammen’s fighting it now and try to weird words it (since it must be at ground level or we’d see it regardless. I guess that means Ara could attack too.

Aericus has more skin in the game so I would like to hear his thoughts on resist energy, but I think he’ll just get dispelled again after he closes to melee, so it’d be short lived.

Can Ammen (or myself) use that token to repair?

Ajax should be able to get his arrows through the wall thanks to his resistance. As far as I understand, the feather has been passed after a failed attempt and needs to be empowered and passed to a new table. I don't believe it needs actions to be spent, so you can do it while still contributing to the combat.

Sorry, I made myself laugh with that comment on the map slide. >_>

As long as this is not considered rough terrain, Flyn has just enough movement (shown by the yellow arrows) to hit each quadrant...if it is rough terrain, then only to the extent of the first arrow (covering the bottom two quadrants). He'd stop at the spot (or in the quadrant) where he hopefully finds his bow...

Sadly, the bow does not appear to be within the ring.

Dang...I guess I screwed that up...I guess it dropped it before entering the circle...guess I'll have to move towards where Aericus was next round...

Logically I was expecting it to drop the bow in one of its newly conjured walls of fire :(

The wall of fire is just a thin sheet right? It has no actual place the bow could be hidden within it, correct?

That seemed gratuitous and also I don't want to figure out damage on unattended object rules right now. Too many other things to track.

I dunno...from what I inferred from the GM, it didn't have the bow when it did the AoO, so I thought was in the SW quadrant but I guess it was dropped just before entering, perhaps closer to Aericus' current position...my first instinct was to go by him but that bird is so huge that I thought it could've tossed it in any quadrant...

Just a general heads up but if needed to keep things going feel free to bot Laara if you need to. I can post fairly easily pre-and post work (EST), and am trying throughout the day, but obviously this special's moving pretty fast.

No problem Laara. If you’re not able to update tonight I will bot her to get eyes on the Phoenix at least and possibly moving in to keep pressure on it.

Can I assume then that Ajax has an area to shoot at?

Oh well, I'll give up the search for my bow as I have no idea where else to look...my bad fellas, I should've just taken the bow from Deno'thar...but since I didn't have LOS on the bird and felt pretty sure the bow was either in the circle or on the perimeter near where Aericus fought it, I wasted a couple of turns searching. Gonna have to invest in a good backup bow from here on out...

I'm fairly certain it'd provoke to get that bow right now. If you delay to Deno'thar I can run Ajax's bow to you again (In character with Laara locating it, Deno'thar would have moved that way anyways). Can I put the bow in Flynn's hands with any kind of action TOZ or would he need to take it from me with a move?

As much as I'd like it to be, there's no rule for it, so it would take a move action to grab.

Alternative question, can I use the reposition manuver on Aericus willingly (i.e. if he isn't resisting me, how does that affect his CMD for the purpose of reposition)? Hoping to get him within bladed dash spell combat range so we can end the encounter with this bird.

I usually allow the reposition maneuver to be used within reason. In a home game I allow characters to willingly be flatfooted, but I don't think PFS has allowance for that.

I'm out of bladed dash. I'm willing to stick around to kill the regeneration on this phoenix, so that it's gone, but I'm pretty much leaving the tapestry after that.

You're leaving the tapestry after this encounter? We do still have boons, I assumed this wasn't our final encounter.

Assessing the Damage - Once during the adventure, when encountering undead opponents, the group gains +4 on initiative

Interrogating the Snakes - Once during the adventure when interacting with a creature in the tapestry, one PC can gain +2 to a Cha-based skill check and roll twice, taking the better result.

Knowledge of the Weave - Once during the adventure, one PC can reroll a failed d20 roll.

Something is Watching - Once during the adventure, one PC can roll twice and choose the better result. Used by Laara.

Supply Check - Between encounters, PCs may purchase items from the CRB or Ultimate Equipment worth 1500GP or less.

Tales From the Tapestry - Once during the adventure, one PC may treat a Knowledge roll as if they had rolled a 20. Alternatively, they may gain the benefits of an Average roll for a Knowledge skill they are not trained in.

Travel Tips - Once during the adventure, every PC may reroll a failed skill check involving movement. (Acrobatics, Climb, Fly)

Muckmouth Secured - The PCs gain one free use of the Burst of Healing Aid Token option.

Round Mountain Secured - Gain +10ft land speed for the entirety of one encounter, decided when the encounter starts.

Temple Secured - Once during the adventure, the PCs can activate this benefit to instantaneously cure every PC of the following conditions: fatigued, shaken, sickened, dazed, and staggered.

Slave Mountain Secured - Gain 30 temporary hit points at the start of an encounter, lasting until the end of that encounter. We could use this next encounter

Patchwork Allies Secured - The PCs gain one free use of the Allied Offensive Aid Token option.

Eternal Lake Secured - The PCs gain one free use of the Timely Inspiration Aid Token option.

Aid Token Special Boost Options - One use each.

- Allied Offensive

- Burst of Healing

- Coordinated Maneuvers

- Provide Spellcasting

- Share Knowledge

My other option is continually take hp damage running back and forth through walls of fire, while being unable to attack something that is flying away. In and out of character, I'd rather kill Zey than another phoenix.

lol. Ajax has Resist Energy 20 that he can cast three times, if that matters.

lol. Ajax has Resist Energy 20 that he can cast three times, if that matters.

That will help against the fire, but not reaching it, since it already ate my two prepped fly spells.

You still have the faded feather waiting to be empowered and the recent Aid Token. Do you want me to pass the token on to a table in need?