Hmm... too many bonuses, pretty sure I applied the spells to her in hero lab to be sure... let's see
21 normally
mutagen gives +2 natural armor, and +4 dex(+2 ac)
so 25
Barkskin adds +2 more natural armor and does seem to statck with the mutagen (at least in hero lab) -
so 27
shield add +4 deflection but she already had +2 so only adds +2
so 29
I can try and figure out why barkskin stacks with the mutagen but won't be able to do so until tonight.
@Hedy- No, you're right. Barkskin is an enhancement bonus to natural armor, that's why it stacks. I just forgot that mutagen grants a natural armor bonus. Sorry, carry on. (Like, literally, carry on with your plan- we've left ample time for readying attacks, you can fire whenever you're ready.)
@Saph- 20' won't be enough to get you to the guard who's doing most of the talking. Ships don't generally meet deck-to-deck because of their shape, plus you don't really want their sides grinding together while they're moving, so there's still a good 7-8' gap between the ships. they're kind of bunched up now, so I'll say you could reach probably any of the 3 closest ones, but most of them are too far from the rail. I'm sorry I didn't mention that earlier (if I'm being honest I kind of forgot about it completely until I noticed my note about the DC to jump to the other ship).
The flying kick is auto-movement in the air, which is actually a pretty awesome ability. If they are right up on the rail so that I land beside them, I provoke for moving through the threatened square over the water. Lucky for me, none are in melee mode and will have just unloaded crossbows.
I’ll crush who I can reach. Or flail limbs aimlessly, depending on my luck.
Its actually the opposite problem... they've all moved away from the rail in anticipation of being boarded. So, you won't have to worry about AoOs (and I know that you won't need the acrobatics check) but you will be limited in which of them you can reach.
Did you edit that last line in while I was typing or did I just completely miss it the first time?
I did edit that 2nd paragraph. I’m notorious for those “THAT’S what I shoulda said” moments.
And immediately editing.
I’m wondering if any crew will fail acro, and will need ropes to pull out of the drink. Really glad I leveled before pulling this stunt. A 10’ flying kick only crosses a 5’ gap, technically, though my acro slippers might help with landing on a narrow surface. I forget what they do exactly, but much of my equipment is made for this.
But anyway, at level 6, my flying kick is 20ft., so I only need the acro check if I’m not attacking. Ironically, the guards are helping me board, not that an NPC has any reason to suspect me of having highly situational mechanics. I do love Unchained Monk. The class is arguably better than Brawler, though Martial Flex and Free Trip make it kind of a close call.
Hedy drank a jump spell so will get across, but ropes and grapples would be the crew way I'd assume.
Since there's nobody defending the rail, your crew is going to drop the gangplank and most of them will board across it.
I love imagining that moment of pure chaos.
I hope the post did it some justice.
@GM, should that be 13 damage to Saph? My AC is 16. I think the 10 missed, unless there’s an unwritten bonus.
1d20 + 8 - 2 ⇒ (9) + 8 - 2 = 15, for: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10
Sorry Saph- I forgot the demoralize penalty and when I went back and added it I missed that it turned that one attack into a miss. You’re right, only 13 damage.
Sorry Saph- I forgot the demoralize penalty and when I went back and added it I missed that it turned that one attack into a miss. You’re right, only 13 damage.
Oh, cool. So that’s what the -2s are about. Alright, I just wanted to check on that before editing my HP.
@Master of the Seas and Storms: I'm embarrassed to say that I just noticed I do not have Detect Magic in my list. Would you allow me to swap out a cantrip that I haven't used yet for it. If not I'll wait until 8th lvl as per the rules.
That’s no problem Aerin.
I just re-read my post, a boarding axe doesn't have a "hammer end", it's axe at the front, spike at the back. My bad. #brainlock He still used it as a makeshift door knocker, though.
He's making a peep hole first
Lol! Here's Aerty!
Cast him off in the roatboat
He's a Fairweather friend
Taking ships is certainly an option, but might not be as lucrative as you're imagining. Retail on a sailing ship is 10,000g, so the sell price is 5,000g. Not a bad payday but you'd have to take repairs out of that, and finding a buyer without squibbing it first may be tricky... There is (potentially) some coin to be made there, but all told probably not more than 2,000g, maybe 3,000g tops if Azadi repairs the helm instead of paying someone else to do it.
If it isn't obvious from Hedy's options she is in favor of grabbing and going.
As am I.
Man that's a bummer.
Captain's quarters of the captain's quarters?
Ugh... well maybe she chopped up the captain into quarters and we are having the meeting in the quarters on the quarters?
We need someone to suddenly play a druid who's got some sort of monstrous animal companion feat
I love that part of the loot is a drugged-unconscious monster that can eat through stone and metal (and wood, for the record) and everyone's first impulse is "let's befriend it and make it our mascot!" Lol. Do any of you even have any ranks in handle animal? I hate to ruin any fun surprises but, like, if you let that thing wake up on the ship it'll eat through its restraints pretty much immediately and then start eating through walls and the hull and whatnot...
Hey all,
I’m going to bow out of the campaign.
It’s a well-run game with a great group, and that ship battle was epic!—but I’m basically the player who’d rather kill the pirate than be the pirate.
I did tell John G., prior to joining, that I’ve refused invites to pirate games in the past, but I thought I’d try this one anyway, and it’s been a blast! So I do feel bad leaving.
But I know the pirate’s life is not for me, so my thinking is Saph would try to get Ronnie to come with her next shore leave. I’m willing to RP it, as I’m not leaving in a huff, but I’ll understand if you’d rather I don’t take too long to leave a game.
I'm sorry to hear that Saph, but I appreciate what you've contributed while you've been here. If you don't mind sticking around and continuing to play until we hit port, that would definitely be my preference and then hopefully we can give Saph a satisfying send off.
For the record, any intimations of mine that we should keep it were the player's, not the chaacter's, and meant in jest. Aersten's real motivation is probably more, "There's probably someone who'll pay a friggin' fortune for this thing." (Which makes for the same net result in the short term, of "Sure, bring it aboard!")
Saph, sad to hear you're leaving, but if this isn't your bag, no point in sticking around and having it make you miserable.
I'm sorry to hear that Saph, but I appreciate what you've contributed while you've been here. If you don't mind sticking around and continuing to play until we hit port, that would definitely be my preference and then hopefully we can give Saph a satisfying send off.
If that’s the preference, sure!
@Aersten, no worries—I’m not miserable. I did enjoy the fight and appreciated the teamwork and the playfulness. I also appreciated the GM having the guards do as they did, so I at least had targets that “deserved” a beating. (If they were simply defending the ship, I’d have used nonlethal attacks because a monk can.)
I am very sorry to see you go Saph. Hedy is Hedy but I am always happy to change Hedy into another Hedy. I thought this was the direction we wanted to go based on the discussion before, and truly do not want to do it in any form of alienating anyone away from the game.
I am sorry sir.
Don’t change! I enjoyed that. It’s the whole murdering people for money thing. I don’t want to do that, but without that, it would cease to be a pirate game. I don’t want a campaign to be redefined on my account.
Will miss you Saph and what you bring to the game! Hope to see you around on the boards and have a chance to play in future games together.
Thanks, Aerin. Yeah, I’m around and would join a game with any of you if you’d have me.
I just think I’ll stick to campaigns where my role is a heroic one.
@Hedy, apologies if it turns out it was the other guy that I told I tend to refrain from pirate campaigns (and other non/anti-heroic). No one did anything wrong here, and I don’t want to burn any bridges. The GM’ing and RP’ing is awesome.
What happened is I found myself pitying the victims. (Not the guards—enjoyed wrecking them!) And I know how this sort of thing *can* play out. I’m in a campaign now that might not make it to its fifth birthday next month because one of the original players seems to want the opposite of whatever the rest of the party wants. She threatened to quit several times, did quit in May but is dragging out her exit (as in for seven months and counting) and literally RP’d hanging out at a tavern called the Whoopie Cushion as sitting at the table with her arms crossed, ordering water, and muttering about how unfunny the comedians were. It’s toxic when a PC has an I-don’t-wanna-be-here vibe, and contagious (as in other players ghosted).
I’d like to think Saph would never become that stick in the mud, and so during the fight I came to the conclusion that staying in-game would mean I change, not any of you. I would never ask someone else to change their character or campaign because of me, nor will I ghost a game if I feel it doesn’t fit me as a player. It’s on me to adapt or leave respectfully.
You told me sir. I did fail to understand where the line to cross was. I am a BIG proponent of rpgs being a team activity, all of us working together to make a lovely story. So am almost always willing to shift thoughts and actions to make things enjoyable.
That being said, I understand completely.
No bridges burned, not even a single plank.
Good luck out there, Saph. I know there are games out there that will fit your style better. I'm sure of it
I'm sorry to see you go as well, Saph, and wish you the best of luck in future gaming!
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We need someone to suddenly play a druid who's got some sort of monstrous animal companion feat
Indeed, specifically one with the 'monstrous companion' feat, and who can cast awaken on the bulette. Once awakened, we then need to train and ordain the bulette as a cleric (evangelist) of Gozreh, so that it may then preach from a..
Also, here's a brief explanation of the creation of the bulette which I find both informative and entertaining (some swearing in video.)
That was lovely. I made a monster that can make brave men quail should be life goals for us all :)
To port to sell off our loot, find a place to sell our mascot (or an animal trainer), and let those that wish to leave off.
After that... treasure hunting or piracy?
After that... treasure hunting or piracy?
Either one of those would sounds fine to Aersten!
Port as in Port Peril?
Can I sing it a lullaby? I can also use fascinate on it, but I only get 10 rounds for it.
Piracy was pretty dull. If we choose piracy again, we should find a bigger fish. Otherwise, treasure hunting, baby!
So we have one vote for treasure hunting, and two fine with either (Hedy and Aersten). Murillo or Aerin?
Murillo had to head out of town rather unexpectedly and has limited internet access currently, but I believe he said something at one point in gameplay about preferring piracy over treasure hunting (he does worship the Pirate Queen, not the Treasure Hunting Queen, after all).
Also, I'm grateful for Paddy's feedback and curious what everyone else thought of that encounter. It felt, to me, a bit like the NPCs were too much the focus and the PCs were almost in a secondary roll until the parley (and melee started). At some point we'll most likely being doing another similar encounter even if you choose to be treasure hunters... should we streamline it even more?
I enjoyed it, but Hedy had a big part in it, and that might color my outlook. We defeated them with ease but sometimes glorious ass kicking is just what you need. :)
Just to be clear, Paddy is a treasure hunter, but I am perfectly happy with both options. I just wanted more of a challenge, and I suspect that not having a flying monk of gory death will help give us that challenge.
I completely agree with Paddy, not having an, a$$kicking monk would change the make up of that encounter. I did not mind Aerin's role in that combat as she did play a relevant role however one less melee combatant most likely would mean she would be more involved in the main focus of of the combat.
As for the significance of the role the NPC's played vs our significance I feel differently. I think what made it seem that way was expectations going in to the "fight". We were prepping for a glorious battle and when it shifted (like on the tide) it threw us for a moment or two.
As for Aerin's vote regarding what to go after she would say make it a 60/40 mix of pirates/treasure. You need both to keep the crew truly happy.
I was kind of neutral on that encounter. I didn't dislike it, it was fine, I just didn't have a ton of things to do that were, for lack of a better word, "Aersten-y". But that's just the nature of the beast sometimes, isn't it? I'll just have to keep an eye on it and adjust as appropriate going forward.