The Crown of Oceana (Core Thread) (Inactive)

Game Master Nathanael Love

Grin and Barret continue to climb.

LOL - just got this.

ZAILOR IS LAUGHTER!

Lagrin wrote:

Grin and Barret continue to climb.

LOL - just got this.

ZAILOR IS LAUGHTER!

I was going to see how long I could keep going without being that explicit, but...then I got lazy.

Doing a great job, GM!

Nathaniel isn't picky...lol.

Are there any access points into the holds of either of the two ships below the decks?

No- there are no underwater access points without literally breaking the hull.

There is the ladder on the deck of the north ship which leads down, and the south ship you assume there are stairs/ladder in the cabin areas, but the massive grates if moved/lifted do lead down as well.

Hold on, Munir! On my way!

Well, that didn't go as planned. I thought I'd still be standing after one hit. Oh well! I'm actually enjoy being inept at this point. I just hope it gets better.

I assure you, Nathaniel, Munir clings to life like a dog to a bone!

Myrsko: Regarding plans.

ZAILOR IS SPONTANEITY!

I just thought of something; did I see something about Hero Points? If so, then may I use one on that latest attack? I feel like this may be a turning point in the battle....

No, I do not use hero points.

You may have read the part about stamina points, but I use the version where you have to take the feat to unlock those tricks.

GM, is there another unconscious/dead sailor that Oreana has not checked yet?

Just the one way off to the right and the one by Ganymeades which was just dropped; I cleaned up the map of ones that have been checked.

@Nathaniel the Bull - I love the Press Your Luck reference!

Was hoping to be able to heal you or Munir by now. But I had to use it on myself...lol.

These pirates are beefy! I agree though, probably best to pick up Munir if possible.

Understandable. And while I’d like to be up and moving, I agree that getting Munrir up will be better.

The tide of battle seems to turn every other round here, but progress is definitely being made here!

Apologies! May I retcon picking Billy up to take him with me?

yes- certainly.

I am light and easy to carry :D

Thank you for saving the little frog man. I swear I'll be better at level 3! Lol.

FYI Nathaniel has the amphibious special quality, which I believe also automatically gives him the aquatic subtype (per link.) So he should be a valid target for Oreana's healing, even if Biligup and Munir aren't.

Trying to help out the best I can while down and out :)

ZAILOR IS OOC RESEARCH!

FYI Nathaniel has the amphibious special quality, which I believe also automatically gives him the aquatic subtype (per link.) So he should be a valid target for Oreana's healing, even if Biligup and Munir aren't.

Trying to help out the best I can while down and out :)

ZAILOR IS OOC RESEARCH!

I'm not sure this works. Nathaniel only receives this ability when he chooses it with change shape, so it seems weird for him to sometimes have a subtype and sometimes not. Also the wording is different dependent on where you search... on the d20pfsrd it says "amphibious", while on the Archives of Nethys it says "Breathe water as well as air". In general, I believe AoN is a more precise source.

Perhaps those in charge of updating d20pfsrd decided to rename "Breathe water as well as air" to "Amphibious" without considering it was a keyword with its own rules.

So looking at this specific issue-

There was an errata recommended by a designer to change this from granting the amphibious subtype to the "breathes air as well as water" language.

The original/printed language is "Aquatic" and it's in a forum post that the language currently on AON is suggested.

Personally, I think that I will rule that when in his shape-changed form Nathaniel does count as amphibious/aquatic-- the reasoning for the change isn't clear, and since this is a shape-change ability I feel like it should work.

There's some dissembling about swim speed because for some stupid reason the type grants a specific swim speed, but I think its easy enough to say that doesn't apply.

So, for the purposes of this game-

When shape changed, Wereshark Kin are Amphibious and Aquatic subtypes, but still have only the 30 ft. specific swim speed not the 40 ft one mentioned in the subtype description.

So looking at this specific issue-

There was an errata recommended by a designer to change this from granting the amphibious subtype to the "breathes air as well as water" language.

The original/printed language is "Aquatic" and it's in a forum post that the language currently on AON is suggested.

Personally, I think that I will rule that when in his shape-changed form Nathaniel does count as amphibious/aquatic-- the reasoning for the change isn't clear, and since this is a shape-change ability I feel like it should work.

There's some dissembling about swim speed because for some stupid reason the type grants a specific swim speed, but I think its easy enough to say that doesn't apply.

So, for the purposes of this game-

When shape changed, Wereshark Kin are Amphibious and Aquatic subtypes, but still have only the 30 ft. specific swim speed not the 40 ft one mentioned in the subtype description.

I think the difference is because as-written, Skinwalkers choose between the listed abilities each time they change, so the amphibious keyword ability overlaps the swim speed ability.

Change Shape (Su) A skinwalker can change shape to a bestial form as a standard action. In bestial form, a skinwalker gains a +2 racial bonus to his choice of Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution. While in this form, a skinwalker also takes on an animalistic feature that provides a special effect. Each time a skinwalker assumes bestial form, he can choose to gain two claw attacks that each deal 1d4 points of damage, 60 foot darkvision, or a +1 natural armor bonus. These benefits last until the skinwalker returns to his humanoid form as a swift action. A skinwalker must first return to his humanoid form before changing to bestial form again to change benefits.

Having to choose between breathing and moving is a pretty poopy choice, but it kinda puts them at a mid-point between the landlubbers and the aquatic races, with the spells and equipment the non-aquatic races can use to adapt.

Cool. There is also the "Extra Feature" feat that allows a skinwalker to select two (or more if taken more than once) features at the same type.

Heskavar would head to help out with the combat in the hold of the other ship, but it would take him a minimum of three rounds of just moving in order to get there and partake in the fighting.

@ Oxnard:

ZAILOR IS QUESTIONS!

Yes, and your initiative will move to right after Biligup when you wake up.

I’m excited to see Munir get back up.

Sorry for the delay over the weekend, drill weekends are rough at times.

And to those of you down- don't worry, there are still ways you can/will be brought back up before too much longer.

And to those who are running low on options because of spells- also shouldn't be (relatively speaking) that much longer till this combat ends as you clear the final several cabins.

Hey guys! Got a bit of a rough couple days at work. Sorry for the lack of posting - it'll normalize by Monday. @GM, please feel free to bot me until then. Thanks guys and I'll be back soon :)

I think maybe we grab the boarding pikes and start poking them from distance, two people standing in a line will cover each other in a hallway.

So long as the corridor's only 5 feet wide, and you retreat if they get into your ally's threat range, they should take tons of AoO.

Like so:

Spearman 1 | Spearman 2 | Spear 1's threat range | Spear 2's threat range

Hey there folks! I got a pretty bad migraine today so if needed, bot me. If Munir has any more healing, Biligup will stay around for that. If not, he will heroically and foolishly go to support the others by crawling on the side of the ship and seeing if there is an open porthole for him to sneak in through.

Couple of notes-

Munrir- if you grabbed the boarding officer's dropped weapon it is a Boarding Pike (not Longspear)- martial weapon, reach, 1d8/x3 critical.

Didn't know if you meant that or a long spear you had.

Then, Munrir and Nathaniel:

At this point you can use opposed STR checks to try to hold the door closed against those pirates, or you can line up and prepare to AOO them, up to you.

You saw that two of them backed off and drew ranged to fire out and the other two buffed with Bull's Strength to try to pry forward.

So retcon Round 21 actions? Would Ready an Attack instead? Plus AoO?

I will post after work.

Your round 21 action ended up coming after he was able to push the door open, so you have an AOO and then would (with a small move) be able to attack either the one that rushed out or the Tengu priest.

Man, this combat is looong. Oreana is one round from sitting with Cordelia and grabbing some popcorn.

Yeah, it's by far the longest/most complicated combat I've ever run- when you guys get the Magus and or Priests down there are more resources to get casters back in the fight on them (and hopefully get the two still down back up).

Hi team! I will be travelling for the upcoming days for work (yes, irk! In Covid times!) and should be back by Friday. I'll try to keep an eye here and update as possible, but don't let me hold the action if I slow down a little bit. Cheers!

Because of the awkwardness of the timing here with Nathaniel following the priest vs. the other two moving up to him to attack, I'm going to use the final positioning as shown, but deny the pirates flanks bonuses /AOOs this round-- as though the movements and attacks were all happening simultaneously.

With the pirates in the hold left there are 4 sets of pirates remaining on the ship--

On the deck there is a Tengu Priest, a smuggler, and a veteran bucaneer who just dropped Nathaniel + the magus swashbuckler fighting Munrir on the deck.

There are the four in the other hold currently running up the stairs one at a time fighting Heskavar.

And there are two unopened cabins where I am dropping the stars.

Update--

I apologize for the slowness on this game; I've been trying to balance waiting for people and keeping it moving and then my job has continued to creep up on me.

This is combined with us losing/appearing to lose at least two players-- Oreanna texted that she needed to drop, and Ganymeades has not responded to text so appears to be gone.

I've pulled both of them from the order now since they were not directly involved in the existing combat and will try to keep us rolling forward more speedily till we finish this encounter and can reconsolidate.

I'm botting everyone else who isn't posted yet for Round 28 and will PM them.

Work has been crazy and election stress has affected my posting too. Work should hopefully calm down after a week or two.

Hey guys, I'm quite lost with the whole things going on. My apologies, but I think I'll step out from the game. I don't think it's for me; I'm not "feeling" it at all - are we still on that very same combat for months? Anyway... Have fun, you all, and thanks GM for the invite, and sorry again for leaving.

@Oxnard, if you don't mind giving us a peek behind the curtain, is this type of combat intended to be representative of this campaign as a whole, or is it just a big kickoff to introduce things and hopefully kick us up to level 2 before we continue? It's been a slog so far.

I can probably count on one hand the number of fights I've had in pathfinder that have reached double-digit rounds in about a decade of playing, and I think most of those were against Runelords where we've had a ton of resources to get us through. This has been probably twice as many rounds as the next longest, and level 1 resources aren't exactly generous, although the drops have helped.

I feel that I have to echo Lagrin here, seems like every room we enter has yet more pirates, all of which are better equipped and higher level than we are. My worst fear is that we still haven't come across the pirate's leaders who were mentioned months before.

While I'm fine with fighting superior forces, I'd really prefer the time and funds to plan a proper assault. Honestly, Markus is considering cutting our losses and escaping with the merchant ship while setting the pirate vessel ablaze. They can't come after us with their upper decks on fire, that's where the sails are!

Nathaniel had that idea back in Round 17...lol.

Ye I'm a little concerned that it feels like the encounter was built without respect to the party that was going through it. Case in point - basically all our ranged characters having to sit the combat out because it was run as a full melee encounter for a level 1 party - at a point where Precise Shot isn't easily available or where casters have particularly low resources. With less enemies (or the party being at a higher level) this encounter is much less of a slog and more 'winnable'.

If this encounter serves to bounce us to Level 2 via XP straight away I'd understand, but then we probably should have just started the game at Level 2 (or even Level 3 considering the difficulty of this encounter) instead of a three month encounter that half the party cannot realistically contribute to.