GM Xavier Kahlvet's Passing the Torch—Low Tier (Inactive)

Game Master KingTreyIII

Yeah, the devas charge is more for Martas and Hendric’s benefit than its own. I’m assuming a 28 still misses the BBEG.

@Pete, yeah, his AC is probably better than 28, but hopefully you knocked out some of his buffs at least. I think his CL is only 12, based on the Dispel I was hit with, and he probably has some potions or scrolls in effect.

@GM - did you roll a Will save for Blindness against the Glitterdust? It does affect undead as far as I know, and he could roll a 1... or maybe 'he has a thing' where he is immune to that.

Wouldn’t be surprised if the helm prevented the blindness. Seems par for the course given that it covers his eyes already.

Are there two different enemy voices at work here? Or ist the only voice we've heard Vahlo's?

@Marta - Holy does not add +2 to hit, FYI.

Sir Hendric waits to see the result of Marta's charge before using his own immediate action charge. This guy might have some sort of immediate-action dodge/teleport like the High Priest of the Red Mantis had.

Just go ahead and resolve the charge, Hendric.

Geez. I will correct that.

Seriously, a 43 missed, even though the Decemvirate member had charged?
Arnaut, can I get a Gallant Inspiration on that please? Yes, I have +4 Competence from Inspire Courage, but might get a good roll.

If his AC is 44+ , I’d recommend Jordan follow up with another greater dispel magic, since the -6 to ranged will really make it difficult. Is Arnaut botting or are we waiting for Monday?

Bard's Escape could also be a really good option from Jordan, to let us reposition and ensure that nobody takes a full attack from this guy on his turn. But otherwise Jordan would be counting on natural 20s to hit.

I would like to point out that if y'all zoop outta there, guess who's left behind next to a very angry (very fabulously glittery) undead monstrosity?

I would like to point out that if y'all zoop outta there, guess who's left behind next to a very angry (very fabulously glittery) undead monstrosity?

Nobody in full-attack range, and that is a big deal. I don't mean flee. I mean reposition.

@GM - why are you rolling for the wind direction? I thought Air Walk meant you were blown by the wind at the end of your turn. Sir Hendric was on the roof at the end of his turn, not Air Walking. If this immediate-action charge was still part of his turn, then the +8 inherent bonus from the Blood Reservoir would still be active for another +4 to hit and +12 damage.

Arnaut wrote:

I would like to point out that if y'all zoop outta there, guess who's left behind next to a very angry (very fabulously glittery) undead monstrosity?

Nobody in full-attack range, and that is a big deal. I don't mean flee. I mean reposition.

@GM - why are you rolling for the wind direction? I thought Air Walk meant you were blown by the wind at the end of your turn. Sir Hendric was on the roof at the end of his turn, not Air Walking. If this immediate-action charge was still part of his turn, then the +8 inherent bonus from the Blood Reservoir would still be active for another +4 to hit and +12 damage.

...because I forgot that it wasn’t your turn...

Nobody in full-attack range, and that is a big deal. I don't mean flee. I mean reposition.

Oh, you're totally right. That 63 damage Bellamin took is no big deal to someone already suffering from a negative level. As is the Fortitude save against being stunned. And bleed. Yeah, this guy definitely needs a full-attack to be deadly to a non-martial character. I should have seen it sooner. Have fun wherever you end up, Mr. Knight. Hope you liked the song.

I think botting of Jordan has been done by Arnaut, so we either wait for Monday, or Arnaut decides anyways. A full attack seems likely to potentially kill a PC, so a bard’s escapy, which could be over to Arnaut, seems reasonable, but it doesn’t solve the fact that the guy is still very hard to hit, despite losing 3 buffs already. Its a tough call either way.

Sir Hendric the Vigilant wrote:

Nobody in full-attack range, and that is a big deal. I don't mean flee. I mean reposition.

Oh, you're totally right. That 63 damage Bellamin took is no big deal to someone already suffering from a negative level. As is the Fortitude save against being stunned. And bleed. Yeah, this guy definitely needs a full-attack to be deadly to a non-martial character. I should have seen it sooner. Have fun wherever you end up, Mr. Knight. Hope you liked the song.

I am very glad you see the logic.

If he can do 63 damage with a single attack, he can kill any of us with a full attack. But most of us can probably withstand a single attack.

Glad we are on the same page.

As Pete says, we could redeploy to have other allies in front of Arnaut (maybe the Deva). I can probably hit him on a charge if I turn off PA and look to use a reroll. The free CMB could be Sundering his shield or something.

I've been delegating Jordan's botting to Arnaut because a) I'm lazy, b) I've got enough to keep track of as is, and most importantly c) there is a conflict of interest for if I botted him in many previous cases. But considering that there is now a conflict of interest if Arnaut bots him as well as a significant lack of being able to really do anything worthwhile, I feel that I can safely bot him without having to make too many guesses about what he'd do.

Whatever gets the lance back into the hands of our knight the fastest is best.

I totally forgot the Hunter's Blessing bonuses. So Sir Hendric should have had another +2 (sacred) to hit and damage... will remember that from now on.

Still, even if Sir Hendric gets the lance back this round, he would be doing a non-challenge, non-charge, non-PA set of attacks for +33/+33/+28/+23 (1d8+17). In such circumstances, Marta or Fluffy become our heavy hitters and Sir Hendric is irrelevant. He lacks the HP and AC to stand in combat with this foe, and doesn't do enough damage to matter.

Now, if he can reposition and regain his swift action this round, then next round he can Challenge and Charge for +40 (3d8+129), plus a free combat maneuver. That is far more likely to accomplish something useful. So if it takes 2 rounds to get the lance back that is really not a problem.

So my inclination is to Withdraw onto the tower roof. BUT, with the wind blowing Sir Hendric and Sentry around (if they are not landed on the roof), maybe they should full attack and then count on the wind blowing them out of full-attack range; normally when you are moved by an external force you do not provoke AOOs. Thoughts?

Also, I think summoning a great number of things with reach and multiple attacks to try Disarm attempts and hope for a 20 is not a bad plan. Large Air Elementals, for example. Or they can Aid Another on our attacks.

I generally try to avoid such summoning tactics because its not really fun for me overwhelm the battle with summons. I like the aiding idea and I’ll have the bralanis do that when they run out of cure serious wounds (blue already has).

I was thinking if we keep up the dispelling eventually his AC should fall enough. With arcane sight I should be able to start targeting specifics next round. I could even dispel his armor/shield to inactivate them to further drop his AC once I know the spell protections are gone.

Without quick draw how will you full attack next round? Assuming Arnaut’s plan worked, the orange bralani is adjacent to you having used his move to get in position and a standard (or move) to pick a falling lance out of the air.

One potentially cheese suggestion. Readying takes a standard action and you can ready a swift. Could you use your move to get the lance and ready to challenge? The wind would blow you again.

Does Marta’s AC include holy aura? It is a potent ward.

You give yourself too little credit, Hendric. You’re surrounded by legions of angels to keep you healthy and you have the best AC of the party. Maybe not all of your attacks will hit, but we’ve got him surrounded and outnumbered. We can wear him down slowly. You got this!

Yes I have accounted for holy aura, but it is only giving a +2 due to overlapping bonus types. Marta's AC is her biggest weakness. I really like it when there is a druid in the group to grant barkskin.

As a note, I will get around to posting later today.

Trading full attacks, Sir Hendric would dish out about 15 damage per round with Challenge active (if the BBEG is AC 50) and would take about 108 per round.

Trading a single attack against a charge, Sir Hendric would dish out about 82 per round plus a +40 CMB maneuver, and would take about 46 per round.

That's not a tough decision at all.

The way I see to beat this guy is not trading full attacks. It is utilizing mobility to make best use of the biggest advantage I have (a single high-damage high-bonus attack) while denying him full attacks.

We keep moving, nobody ever ends a turn within 5' of him, and when he does charge and hit somebody, they withdraw and we heal them.

We do more damage that way, and he does less.

I hate having to metagame the math but that is what this scenario requires if we do not want to lose in a slow grinding battle of attrition.

For this round, I will do the following if the lance was retrieved:
Standard action for total defense (+6 AC/CMD, making CMD a 45)
Move action to take the lance
Horse full attacks and 5' steps
Then we get blown away by the wind
That gives him at least a shot of not being instantly disarmed again by a BBEG charge.
Just want GM ruling on the lance retrieval before I post that.

Disarming the BBEG is a high priority. If Sir Hendric gets the chance to charge again, he will attempt that once more. Otherwise, True Strike from Marta could work there.

I'm hoping you let Marta go before Bellamin or there is no flank and you will have to subtract -5/-1d6-1 from her rolls for having no flank. Or one of the summoned creatures could kindly provide a flank from Bellamin's currently advertised position.

As a suggestion, if anyone can provide her a flank it makes about a big a difference to Marta as providing a charge to Hendric.

Bellamin has no weapon out/does not provide a flanking bonus. He's holding a Metamagic Rod in one hand and needs the other for somatic components.

Bellamin has no weapon out/does not provide a flanking bonus. He's holding a Metamagic Rod in one hand and needs the other for somatic components.

Rods count as a light mace.

Huh! Did not know that either.

Ok then, Bellamin has a weapon out and provides flanking, lol...

So I can’t find anything that tells me one way or another, so I’m getting a table consensus here: Do objects take falling damage?

They do, equal to the damage they would deal. It's under damage from falling objects.
However, how weapons correspond to object sizes is not clear.
The lance weighs 10 lbs, in the range for a Small object. A chair is Small. Is a lance comparable to a chair? If so, it takes 4d6 damage (2d6, doubled for distance).

If the lance is Medium that is 3d6, doubled for falling more than 150', so 6d6 damage.

Probably not destroyed considering its hardness and remaining HP. But maybe. I did think about that.

Also - Fluffy hit with an attack on AC 35?? And I missed on 43 after the BBEG had charged? I am really curious what was going on here. Perhaps you can fill us in afterwards. I have a hunch.

Hendric’s rules knowledge is pretty good so I’d go with that. I’d add that a cinematic approach would be for Arnaut to just touch it before its destroyed and then the Bralani grabs it out of the air.

its fall time is some like 3-4 seconds, and Arnaut can accelerate faster than it (fly speed down+gravity),

Normally Air Walk has you descend at half speed, which would be 40' move while Hasted, and 80' with a double move. However, Sentry has the Sure Footed feat which means he can move at normal speed on steep slopes. It would be my interpretation that Sentry can descend at full speed while Air Walking, but I would expect table variation.

I’m gonna say no solely because of a game balancing issue.

Sir Hendric the Vigilant wrote:

Normally Air Walk has you descend at half speed, which would be 40' move while Hasted, and 80' with a double move. However, Sentry has the Sure Footed feat which means he can move at normal speed on steep slopes. It would be my interpretation that Sentry can descend at full speed while Air Walking, but I would expect table variation.

I’m gonna say no solely because of a game balancing issue.

Hmm, okay.

Well, Sir Hendric has not much do to regarding the ritual. He does have a scroll of Antimagic Field, but I imagine we are dealing with artifact-level power here. I guess he will try to stick near Fluffy.

If Fluffy is asked to fetch something and that something is no longer present, would she bring the next best thing (the armor) or just come back empty-mouthed?

I’d say she’d probably come back with nothing.

Fluffy IV wrote:

If Fluffy is asked to fetch something and that something is no longer present, would she bring the next best thing (the armor) or just come back empty-mouthed?

I’d say she’d probably come back with nothing.

She should bring back the body of a slain zombie (from the undead hordes) proudly imo, that is totally the next best thing.

If being closer helps I’d take Arnaut’s offer. If not I’d stay clear of the floaty disk of doom.

I was thinking for next round - pop you up there so you have all your actions left to study the disk, and anyone else has theirs to react appropriately to whatever you discover.

I used to know this guy named Mordenkainen who had a spell would be very useful here, but I don't think he lives around these parts...

GM Xavier Kahlvet wrote:

Fluffy IV wrote:

If Fluffy is asked to fetch something and that something is no longer present, would she bring the next best thing (the armor) or just come back empty-mouthed?

I’d say she’d probably come back with nothing.

She should bring back the body of a slain zombie (from the undead hordes) proudly imo, that is totally the next best thing.

Pathfinder lore is very inconsistent about exactly what happens to undead once they hit 0 HP—sometimes they turn to dust, sometimes they leave behind identifiable parts, etc.

Slight retcon: when Bellamin targeted the Decemvirate member with chain lightning, he actually blocked it with his sword (still took no damage).

Speaking of which, someone might want to collect the items, assuming they are probably useful. Or might not, as we are still dealing with stuff.

Sir Hendric can collect the items. As I said, he's not much use dealing with the ritual.

Sir Hendric and Sentry ride down to the ground where the Decemvirate's armor and gear are.

He drops his lance (free), picks up the Decemvirate member's sword (move), and puts the sword into his Scabbard of Many Blades (move). As the Scabbard is an extradimensional space, hopefully it will stop the sword from doing whatever it is doing.

For some reason my first thought was of diablo 1 when the hero puts the soul stone in his head.

Hopefully the knowledge checks give us something, because I’m not sure what to do right now.

Personally I vote for hitting the disk with the sword.

Not me, of course. It could be dangerous!

I am uncertain about retconning Sir Hendric's action.

I guess he could use a move to stow the lance and then a move to pick up the sword.

But if the sword is tied to the ritual, could banishing it to an extradimensional space help stop whatever is happening? Or at the very least separating it from the helmet?

Perhaps Pete's nat-20 Arcana check (for a 62!) sheds some light on this.

My instinct is that stowing the sword away is the best option, but I will defer to Pete's knowledge.

Yeah I’m hoping that check does something. Maybe Pete will be the one going all soulstone happy.

Its actually only 60, heightened awareness and Arnaut’s inspire are both competence.

Okay, from the scenario: "...any action designed to dissipate spells, form a solid barricade, manipulate elemental energy, or understand magic could suffice..."

So Peter's Knowledge (arcana) check helped, but it requires more. Duh! That was the check to look in the spoiler. "understanding magic" requires making a separate Knowledge (arcana) as a standard action.

@GM both Peter and Bellamin have inspected the disc with Kn(Arcana) and UMD and have gotten no indication of how it would be possible to take control of the spell. Is there something else we should be trying?

I've been purposefully vague because you guys were trying to deal with it too early and I don't have rules for trying to do anything before this round.

EDIT: To clarify: only the successes from when things start hitting the fan are what matter. I know I’m being frustratingly vague about a lot, but that’s kind of intentional because you guys don’t really know much other than this ritual is about to blow Skyreach skyhigh.

@GM, I know the rules do not anticipate every eventuality. If the effect on the ritual of putting the sword in an extradimensional space is something that you do not feel comfortable adjudicating, I can change my action to make things easier for you.

Though I do think it a fairly obvious course of action (probably a Haversack for most PCs) so I wouldn't be surprised if it is spelled out in the scenario.

@GM, I know the rules do not anticipate every eventuality. If the effect on the ritual of putting the sword in an extradimensional space is something that you do not feel comfortable adjudicating, I can change my action to make things easier for you.

Though I do think it a fairly obvious course of action (probably a Haversack for most PCs) so I wouldn't be surprised if it is spelled out in the scenario.

You’re good.

Just out of curiosity, when under what conditions would Hendric give Arnaut the signal that would trigger his readied action?

I think it a bad idea, but I will accede to Arnaut's wishes.
Sir Hendric will stow (not drop) his lance and then grab Vahlo's sword.

If it is in a locked gauntlet, as I suspect, he will just pick up the gauntlet and sword together and give the signal to Arnaut once he has them in hand.