Ruins of Azlant

Game Master Aldizog

Yeah, I'm expecting this weekend to be the last dry one before the rain starts. Lots of yardwork and winter prep to do out there.

Hey Everyone,

I did not want you all to think that I am ghosting this game. I really want to get back to playing. I am working on figuring out a medication regiment that is effective, but also does not make me so tired at night. Most nights I have just been feeling numb and uncreative.

On top of that, work has been nuts. We are in the process of implementing a new Revenue Cycle Management system which is leading to some long days.

I am taking a break for a few days next week. The wife and I are going up to Ithaca, NY for some waterfall chasing. Then I'll be back to clean up whatever I missed. It has already been a bit, but I would like to call a hiatus until mid-November. My hope is that I can get back to a regular and enthusiastic posting schedule.

I hope you are all still around and with me.

Cheers!

No problem at all Mioki. Take care of yourself first and foremost. I hope you have a great trip!

Good to hear from you, Mioki. And best wishes. Enjoy your trip!
I will be here when you are back.

Yup, we're here. Don't sweat it and take your time taking care of yourself!

No problem either.

I might be less active on the first week of November myself

Hello. I will be away in nature and away from computers and the ability to post this coming Saturday and Sunday (11/6-7). I will return and resume posting late Sunday (US/Pacific time).

Hello Everyone!

I hope to get back to this game very soon. I am feeling pretty good, and I had some good test results recently. I am on my way to recovery.

Work has been a bit nuts amid many procedural changes, but I am working on getting a new routine down which will hopefully get me back into hosting this game.

For everybody celebrating, Have a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving.

Cheers!

Great to hear!
Have a good holiday weekend and I hope to get back into this soon.

Good good! I'm glad things are looking up! Have a great holiday weekend!

Happy thanksgiving to all concerned

Happy Turkey day and Happy Indigenous Peoples Day tomorrow!

Posting early because I will be driving to visit family tomorrow.

Merry Christmas, Yule, Saturnalia or whatever else you may celebrate.

@GM hope you are doing well and looking forward for when we can get back to the game.

Happy Holidays everyone!

I would like to wish you all Happy Holidays and a wonderful New Year!

Sorry for the extended absence. I really want/need to get back into this game. I so want have this story told.

I have let the weeks get past me while I dealt with long work days and weeks. I am having a difficult time staffing my facilities and even found myself doing my old job due to the staff shortage.

I have a few things to catch up on today, but then I have a 2-day break where my goal will be to get into character and introduce Eliza. Is she friend or foe? Let's find out ...

If you are all still with me, thank you for your patience. You have all been very supportive and understanding while I face some personal challenges.

Have a safe and happy New Year.

Returning to Azlant in 2022 ...

Glad to hear you are okay and looking to get back to this!
Have a great New Year and hope to pick up again soon.

I'm still here :) I have no problem being patient and I don't think this game should add additional pressure/stress (which likely wouldn't help it resume quickly anyway).

Well it is 2022 here on the east coast, and a new post is finally up.

Happy New Year Everybody!

Let us ring in the New Year with a +1 Luck Bonus on your next roll.

I'm still around! Glad to hear from you, and I hope you're seeing some light at the end of the tunnel. I can't imagine how rough it must be working in any kind of healthcare in the present, and for a couple of years for that matter.

And Happy New Year everyone!

Happy new year to all!

Brannart / Fenna: I believe I have your correct HP's, but please correct me if I am mistaken.

It feels real good to be back.

HP are correct.

The last post I made on weapon situation was that Brannart had taken the skum's magic ranseur.

So he has a reach weapon and Combat Reflexes if that matters.

And It's good to have you back Mioki.

Yes, HP are correct.

Wow! This is getting real. Am I reading the spell Mind Thrust II correctly?

Just want to make sure I am doing this right. I am really starting to question the CR of this encounter. I believe that I am running the encounter as designed in the AP.

Looks like you're doing it correctly. We need a mind effect to rattle Eliza and shut down her casting. Anyone good at intimidation?

So hopefully Eliza at least will fall. She'll provoke AoO's from the wolf if she tries to stand, and if not the wolf will attack at a bonus. The wolf has scent, which will bypass mirror image. How many rounds do we have the wolf?

Also, looks like piercing weapons at least are not the way to go. I'm less puzzled by the power of Mind Thrust, than why she has DR, that's hard for a non-monster to get this early in the game. It's also the thing making it hard to just crush her fast and avoid more rounds of spell casting from her.

The DR is from Abomination discipline, most likely. Also grants Bleed damage and fear immunity.

Readying to interrupt is a very good tactic against casters.
Grappling can be decent if she doesn't have a weapon out - still forces Concentration checks even though psychic spells have no somatic components. Hero point before the roll for a +8 can really help.

Brannart will use one of his 2 remaining Hero Points for a +4 after the fact to his Will save, taking half damage. Will use the last Hero Point for a +8 before the roll if he is targeted again.

On my phone now, will post my turn later.

You folks really know your stuff! I am a very lucky GM.

Brannart is spot-on regarding the DR.

I will adjust Brannart's HP, also.

Thanks for responding. I feel better about this encounter now.

A 5th-level caster is just a really serious challenge. Enemy casters can use their entire loadout in a single combat, whereas PCs generally have to ration their spells.

There are many caster builds that would be even more TPK-material. This one is still quite a challenge.

Question - do the foes share the same space as their images (as is normally the case for Mirror Image) or are they 5' offset?

I would like to try to get a flank with the wolf to make a Grapple attempt on Eliza. Or maybe just a Readied regular attack.

Question - do the foes share the same space as their images (as is normally the case for Mirror Image) or are they 5' offset?

I would like to try to get a flank with the wolf to make a Grapple attempt on Eliza. Or maybe just a Readied regular attack.

I updated the map to better reflect that both image and foe share the same square. Sorry for the confusion.

Looks like you're doing it correctly. We need a mind effect to rattle Eliza and shut down her casting. Anyone good at intimidation?

Vexas has Intimidate +10.

If she provokes an AOO for moving, note that it will happen against her flat-footed AC and any hit will force another Acrobatics check at the same DC.[/ooc]

I am hoping to get some help on understanding this. I have attempted reading the rules for Grease, Acrobatics, and Flat-Footed, and cannot find where her Flat-Footed AC would apply in this situation.

I keep reading this in the Grease spell and cannot find anything that would counter this.

Quoted from the 'd20PFSRD'

"Creatures that do not move on their turn do not need to make this check and are not considered flat-footed."

I truly appreciate when you add notes regarding rules. It helps me run the game as the rules intended. And, after reminded, I typically research the rule and learn it for future use. I am having a hard time with this one, though. I appreciate any time you spend helping me understand this one.

Thanks.

Just found the rule in Acrobatics Check. Thanks for reading and bringing this to my attention.

So, the point of a readied attack to interrupt spellcasting is that you can disrupt the spell and stop it from going off. Many players just attack whenever it is their turn, but a readied attack can be far more valuable because it can disrupt casting.

Eliza needs to make a Concentration check with a DC of 10+ (spell level) +(damage dealt). Her modifier should be (caster level + casting stat). If she has a +3 casting stat modifier and CL 5, then her Concentration is +8 (Combat Casting does not help on this kind of Concentration check).

I am not sure if the two readied attacks force one check at the total damage taken or one check for each hit.

If Brannart did 7 damage after DR, that would be a DC 10+2+7 = DC 19 Concentration check to keep the spell. (or DC 24 if his magic weapon bypassed the DR, which I take to be 5 based on a 6-pt arrow hit being just a scratch.)

If you add in Fenna's damage for a single Concentration check, then it would be DC 21 or 26. If you make a second check for Fenna's damage (2 after DR?), that would be DC 14 I think.

The point, is, our readied attacks might have stopped Eliza from being able to cast Mind Thrust II.

It's a tactic I would use fairly often against spellcasters so I think it's good to clear up how it works.

But I do love your description of the Mind Thrust spell and tailoring it to the targeted PCs!

Thanks for explaining this. Let me soak this in, add a Concentration Check, and retro (if needed).

I believe Fenna's Readied Attack was in initiative after Eliza's turn; therefore, I think I should just use Brannart's damage. I could be confusing myself though. Fenna please correct me if I am wrong. I think Fenna's AoO would have happened before the spell, but the Readied attack would be during her initiative which is after Eliza's.

Yes, as Brannart described. Spell interruption is the only reason to bother with a readied action in this situation. Both a regular and readied attack have the same chance to connect, and do the same damage. The real goal is to ruin spells.

And yes, You can't ready an attack against an opponent who's higher in the initiative order. (I believe there are some edge cases where you can, like a readied action pre-combat, but I'm not certain) Fenna can't stop the spell casting, only Brannart. I forgot to even look at initiative order.

Also and yes, It's a very good way of portraying the spell and how it works. Nice!

As to Rayland, he was both Prone and Disarmed. It is a move to stand and a move to pick up the sword, both of which provoke (but not from Brannart as he is too close). I don't think Rayland would have a Standard left to attack with, unless he picked up his sword earlier and I missed it.

He could just pick up his sword and try to Disarm while prone.

My thought was to have Rayland stand (without sword-would need the move action to retrieve) and make an unarmed Disarm attempt against Brannart and attempt to take the ranseur from his hands. This is why I added the -4 modifier. He just happened to roll a 20, giving him a success even with the -4, but not enough (success of +10) to steal the weapon.

Is this incorrect?

Oh, yeah, that works.

And he does get the weapon. Don't need to succeed by 10.
"If your attack is successful, your target drops one item it is carrying of your choice (even if the item is wielded with two hands)."

I want to thank all of you for your patience, guidance, and understanding.

Most games would have died long ago with my several absences, but you all stuck around to give me more chances than I probably deserve.

It is really great to have such wonderful players that really know and enjoy the game.

Thanks for offering up your knowledge while I work on developing my GM skills. All of your advice and guidance is so much appreciated.

The next 2 weeks are going to be quite busy for me. I have several staff out due to 'you know what'. I will try to post when I can, but it may be difficult after long days.

After this battle, you'll be leveling up to 4. Please use this time to make your updates. Congrats on leveling up and (for the most part) completing Book 1 of Ruins of Azlant : The Lost Outpost.

Remember to add a Hero Point!

Hmm, more wizard or more rogue. I'll think on that and level up by some time tomorrow.

NO worries on the delays It has been a strange 2 years for the whole world before adding in personal affairs.

My fiancée currently has Covid despite working from home and only going out ONCE during the holidays and being fully Vaccinated some luck of the draw.

ON to the game 4 would be a bigger level for most druids but is a bit of a stinker for malakar since Sharkshaman delays when he gains Wild Shape until 6th. Hopefully we get some water combat again soon so Razor can get some action.

How are we doing HP again is is still max?

Darn, sorry to hear. Hope it's not affecting her too badly?

No worries on a slowdown for a couple of weeks, as I've said PbP is marathon not a sprint. What counts is you're still running.

I hope your fiancee has a light case Malakar!

I also have a question about how to advance Fenna. Should I add a point to her strength to make her a better combatant now? Or should I put it into charisma as a more long term investment in more powerful casting?

Longer term, do you think I should just stand pat with a 16 charisma, which is fine for a support and utility caster, and invest in physical attributes to keep her in combat as long as possible? It's a good role for a bard, very standard.

On the other hand, Studious Librarian will give her the ability to cast wizard/sorcerer and witch spells from scrolls and books. Just once a day for a while, but it doesn't consume the written source. That's any spell on those or her bard list in her possession once a day, eventually 4 times a day. Very handy since no memorization is needed.

This ability tends to make me think I should prioritize spell DCs so she can do more with offensive and control spells. It would also make her more effective with enchantments, and there are lots of enchantments on the Bard list.

Any thoughts or opinions on this?

Now that I look, grease is not a concentration spell, so Vexas cannot dismiss it. Darn. Was vaguely hoping to be selective with it so maybe Brannart could grab the weapon without trouble.

On Fenna's build, as always the caveat that you should play what is going to be most fun for you, but I would personally lean towards strengthening spell abilities, bard features and face skills with CHA+4 and STR+1 over the 20 levels.

I'm thinking arcane trickster for Vexas, and probably running rogue and wizard equally until then (so, he could use a good bump to his INT).

@GM, thank you for sticking around. I am loving this game and all the work you put into characters and RP. I hope I am not being too much of a rules lawyer - I just sometimes enjoy options that are more interesting and tactical than "stand toe-to-toe and trade full attacks."

@Malakar - sorry to hear that!

@Fenna - your call of course, but that +1 Str will have benefits for maybe a couple of years of real time before a +1 Cha would pay off (beyond offense, the +1 Str also helps Swim and CMD). Studious Librarian may also be good for condition-removal spells that druids (Malakar) don't get but witches do, like Remove Curse. Or utility spells like Fly, Teleport, or Arcane Eye. There are also many good offensive spells that aren't DC-dependent (a bard's better BAB will help with rays for example). And, with Bardic Knowledge, you can probably make the checks to target a foe's weak save, so having a slightly lower casting stat isn't that bad.

Brannart will probably take Unhindering Shield at level 4, so he can have his buckler bonus to AC all the time, and maybe use the free fighter feat retraining to swap out Improved Initiative for Power Attack. Nothing terribly exciting.

Edit: @Vexas - Grease is duration 1 min/level (D), which means it is dismissable as a standard action.

I do believe you're right Brannart.

I looked at things more closely and realized there was an important piece I wasn't considering. The wizard/witch casting uses a slot from the Bard's daily casting of the same level.

Looking at spell progression for bards, by 12th level (When Fenna could have ability score increases of Str +1, Cha +1, Cha +1, she would still only be able to cast 4th level spells.

Really she's never going to have the spell DCs to use any the ability very offensively. Even with a higher Charisma, the spell levels would be too low.

It's a nice ability, wonderful versatility, but Fenna will need to be picky about spell use, and probably stay away from single target spells with 'save negates' descriptors. Actually it's plays really nicely with Vexas as a partial wizard. If there's something he hasn't memorized for the day and we need it in a pinch, Fenna can cast it. It's almost like she's an extra bonded object for him.

Malakar, I hope your fiancee has a quick recovery.

4th level will be the last level to take max HP. After that, the player gets to choose between rolling or taking 1/2 +1.

@Brannart - I truly appreciate when you bring rules to my attention that I am either missing or utilizing incorrectly. This really helps me become a better player and GM. When 3rd Edition first came out back in the day, I remember reading the the books cover-to-cover. Back then, I knew the rules pretty well. Then I got away from this hobby for about a decade or so and have forgotten so many of the nuances of the game. Also, Pathfinder greatly improved on 3.5 with many subtle changes that I am still catching up on. I am still amazed out how quickly the tides turned on Eliza with the tactics this group used. Watching you folks play and strategize together adds to my appreciation of the game.

Take care of you and those you love! Beware the big bad Covid!

As for Sho, she'll stay a ranger. I plan to rise her Dex first, and maybe her Wisdom a little.

As a guide, she has new interesting abilities , Ranger focus (+2 to hit/dmg) twice per day and this:

Terrain Bond (Ex): At 4th level, the guide forms a bond with the land itself, enabling him to direct others in such terrain. When in his favored terrain, the ranger grants all allies within line of sight and that can hear him a +2 bonus on initiative checks and Perception, Stealth, and Survival skill checks. Also, as long as they travel with him, the ranger's allies leave no trail and can't be tracked. The ranger can choose for the group to leave a trail, or even specific members of the group to leave a trail if he so desires. This ability replaces hunter's bond.

One level 1 spell too, that doesnt hurt

Now that I look, grease is not a concentration spell, so Vexas cannot dismiss it. Darn. Was vaguely hoping to be selective with it so maybe Brannart could grab the weapon without trouble.

Doh, I read into the concentration piece too far. It is dismissible (so the ranseur may soon be usable again).