GM Badblood's The Dragon's Demand

Game Master Lance K

I'm on vacation and won't be able to post as regularly. Will be back home Sunday.

The real problem with being nice guys.... Can't just kill everyone!

I'll flip over here for more discussion:

Thanks GM. Sorry that I am struggling with the next few steps.

The guards being dead are a pretty big hurdle, and the rate-limiting step for our current exploration. We can do a lot of things, but playing as kobolds might be a bit much. We have a few hours until things catch up with us.

My initial plan was for him to head off to wherever he was going and we could keep exploring on our own (or tail him to where ever he goes).

The emissary does seem to believe you guys are leaving, so you can pretend to leave and go back to exploring the keep. You know where he will be, which is helpful. If you do something loud, like get into combat, he will get a Perception check to notice (with modifiers for distance and other factors!) You can assume that is why he came out in the first place.

As the GM, when it comes to roleplaying NPCs the primary thing I consider is what their motivations are and go from there. Diplomacy can improve their attitude towards you and get them to make some requests but there are limits to what it can do do. And visa versa; I don't like locking you out of something just because you got a bad Diplomacy roll.

Sorry that you're feeling stuck, but I do try try to drop some hints about the NPC's personality and motivations when they respond. I try to be deliberate about what they say. And if you ask them several questions and they don't answer one of them, that might be deliberate!
Because people in real life also sometimes avoid answering questions if they can get away with it But I do think that if I put out a hint and nobody picks it up, then that's at least partially on me!

All understood. I know I don't always pick up on such things, but I try. It seems obvious that he is important, and possibly someone that might be helpful if we handle things right. But, with bad rolls and not knowing the right steps, we missed our first chance. Maybe the next time?

I think we do need to exit town far enough to talk over details and decide on our next steps.

Sorry, I am a little confused by the map myself. The scenario does not mention what any windows are made out of, and some of the rooms are even described as not having windows; but after looking at the map closely, I have to say that those gray lines really do look like they are intended to be windows!

Just to be kind of consistent, lets say that those gray lines are metal gates to differentiate them from the white lines. They can be opened like a door, and are generally unlocked but since they are gates, they no longer block line of sight (but do provide improved cover).

Sounds good. I just wanted a way in that didn't have to pass by him again, or walk all around the place possibly getting caught again. We're not the stealthiest group!

Guys- sorry for a late reply. I am sans internet until Sunday. I am sorry for the long delay

Sorry, I'm a little slow. Right now I'm in the hospital waiting on the birth of our second kid.

Yay! Take all the time you need for that blessed event! Kids are the best part of life, even when they make you tear the hair out of your scalp 'cause you can't figure them out! The more frustrating the event, the more you will look back on it and smile later in life!

Absolutely! Enjoy the time with the family!

Thank you! He was born healthy but he's a lot of work right now. Newborns don't sleep for more than a few hours at a time!

Sorry for the continued confusion regarding Maffei's stats. I built her in hero lab and it seems like my math and the stat block don't line up, even after accounting for the negative levels.

Going back to your stats:

CL 2, DC 17. Two negative levels.

So healed, she should be CL 4 and DC 19?

CL 4 is correct, but the negative levels don't effect her DC, so that stays at 17. Spell like abilities have the same formula as normal spells, so it's 10+spell level+CHA. Lesser Shadow Evocation is a level 3 spell and she has a +4 CHA modifier, so thats where the 17 comes in. I am not sure where hero lab would be getting that modifier; a DC 22 sounds more like 2nd edition stats.

It is nifty that she can do it at will but tougher foes are going to resist it a lot. But if she used something like scorching ray or shocking grasp to deliver a sneak attack; I think she's still get the full sneak attack damage even if the spell itself was disbelieved as long as it still dealt damage.

Hmm, I think I missed that it was lesser Shadow Evocation in the past. I think I've had her throw out fireballs for example.

Yea, I don't know. My herolabs lapsed so I can view the character but it doesn't let me edit things to figure out what I did wrong when I built her.

My stats section has been updated and will go from there. Sorry! I play mostly 2e now, so some of these specific 1e things have left my random access memory.

She's actually a great character and I love the way she is built.

?? Does the shield spell block shadow evocation? It isn't a real force spell. I could see the shield giving an automatic save, but then it would still do 20% damage. Can't find an FAQ on it though.

I'm almost 100% sure it would; the shadow spells don't deal "shadow damage", they deal the same kind of damage of the spell that they are copying and they have all the same effects that the original spell has. And the most important thing is what the shield spell says. It calls out granting the caster immunity to the magic missile spell specifically.

If her *shield spell* was a shadow spell (I don't think there is a way to do this in Pathfinder; its just an example), then Maffei could get a chance to disbelieve the shield when her magic missiles connected with it.

If she specifically wanted to get hit by the magic missiles and was able to pass her Will Save to disbelieve it, then I could see an argument for the missiles being able to strike her.

Thanks. Wasn't sure since the spell is illusion. Actually I did find some discussion on evocation spells that wouldn't work because it was illusion. Bit I like your description better....

Yeah, shadow spells are unique because they are partially real and partially illusionary. Shadow evocation is useful because it gives you flexibility in damage type and the area of effect but the real hijinxs can be done with shadow conjuration. Glitterdust, aqeous orb, create pit and even mount are some of the standouts I've seen people use with it.

Interesting! I'll have to read up on it and maybe create a shadow mage sometime! Would make sense for a sorcerer too. More variety at the price of possibly less damage?

Mount? That defies any logic. Ride a shadow.... Create pit? Fall in to a shadow! LOL!!!

Tanssi's "reach" attack is their claws, while the bite is a standard 5ft range. Tanssi should be able to 5 foot step and take a full-round attack... but doesn't have a target for the bite since they are still 10 feet away.

Sir Falcon is already standing in front of the alchemist and you can't normally use a five foot step to move into a square that is already occupied. In general, you can freely move through a square occupied by a ally but you can't stay there.

Caught right after I posted....

Do I need the Fort saves before or after the AoO?

I guess I am confused as to the issue.

Tanssi was 10 feet away when the alchemist attacked and then stepped 5ft.
Flacon steps into that space and attacks the alchemist (5ft reach).

Tanssi (15 feet away) steps 5ft into the space that Falcon just left, leaving them 10 feet away and still able to full around attack.
Tanssi has two attacks with reach (claw x2) so they take both of those against the alchemist 10 feet away. They cannot use their bite because there is no enemy within 5 ft for them to attack.

This is the main reason that I kept waiting for Falcon to go first, because Tanssi can still get two attacks from "behind him", even if they do have to worry about cover.

Aha, ok I thought it was the bite that had the reach! My bad!

Not a problem at all- I was just confused. These are downsides and difficulties of pbp... not being able to communicate real time.

The bite has trip, and the claws have reach

Yeah, there is a lot to keep track of, so I'm bound to make some mistakes. Thanks for being understanding!

Good point. I think we would've noticed the bodies that are laying around behind us. Maybe drag the woman into her room. Is the Grioth still there? Wasn't sure if it was a summoned creature that might disappear once it was killed....

Of course there's the bodies in the guard house. ?? We left some alive but tied up didn't we? That's why I want to destroy the alarm bell. Worried that if they ring that they summon the dragon.

Yeah, its a shame but I think we have lost all of our players. It has been several years; I had no idea how much time such a long module would actually take running over PbP. I've never actually run or been in something this long so it has been a learning experience.

I'm not sure where to go from here. There is still a bit left. I believe there is enough for everyone to go up another level even. We have do enough where I think it would be fair to just send chronicle sheets out to everyone.

Sad to not finish it, but not alone. Maybe watch the thread for a couple weeks and see if Andwise's player responds? If not, I'd say to call it. Sorry.

Sorry companions!

Things have been really rough at work the past bit, and pbp (and unfortunately, this game specifically) has drifted pretty low down my priority list.

I will certainly try to pick back up with more frequent posting and see if I can regain some more of my engagement/interest in the plot and story. I apologize that those things have drifted a bit as the game dwindled. That said, the chronicles (and all the official type stuff) don't really matter much to me- as I don't do any real organized play at this point.

I understand. I had no idea how long this would last. And with a second kid now I don't currently do any society play anymore. I'd like to get back into it someday, but that's probably a ways off.