Protectors of Golarion (Wrath of the Righteous AP)

Game Master Sensen

No, I’m pretty sure you can crit undead in Pathfinder. The AoN entry doesn’t say anything about them being immune to crits.

Huh. Weird that elementals can't, but undead can. Oh well. As I said, live and learn.

Yes, undead are generally crittable unless they have another subtype that gives them immunity (like shadows and ghosts being incorporeal), but immune to all mind-affecting effects, even if they are intelligent and so clearly must have minds, like these ghouls. Go figure.

That's distinctly strange. Oh well, onwards ever onwards.

Anyone have any other preparations before we open the next door? Thesius, what say you to Verene's question?

I dont have any other preparations. If anything Elliot is eager to continue while his magical protections last.

I'll give it another few hours before letting you guys move on, shall I? Since no one seems to have posted.

Thesius may still be having an internet outage as he informed us last week, although that would be a long outage. Azira hasn't posted in almost two weeks. I hope we haven't lost her. Since we've had three people post since the end of the fight and two in favor of moving on, it seems fair to move us on.

Happy Labor Day to those in the US.

Indeed. Good points all. I'll try to get a message to Azira shortly, as well.

Hey all, I'm sorry! RL has been crazy the last couple weeks and, unfortunately, all of my recreation activities got shoved to the back burner. Things are mostly calming down now and I should have a gameplay post up either tonight or tomorrow. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Good to hear from you, Azira.

I apologize for the delay, I was trying to get my lab work done early this week since I won't have time to work on it today or tomorrow.

Welcome back, Merixia. Hope the lab work isn't too stressful.

Are we waiting on someone? Anyone heard from Thesius?

Sorry, it was a longer day. I should've moved us forwards, but will get to it tomorrow.

Could I ask something regarding army logistics? Are we expected to attack Drezen today? As that would greatly influence the rate at which Elliot expends resources today. I think he would know that as a semi member of the command staff, if it isn't common knowledge among the crusader army.

Second question, after opening the door, if we're not expected to attack Drezen today Elliot would consider Bladed Dashing into the room straught for Numiketh. Though, an issue with that is that it requires a straight line of movement. I *think* that if he 5-ft steps forward into the door opening, he has a direct diagnoal line with two squares Right, one square up, two squares right. THe issue with that is the box/seat? northwest of the teal ghoul. Is that big enough to block his path to Nimuketh?

Bladed Dash

I can answer the first question. We have Worldwound GM telling us (through Anevia) back here that we won't reach Drezen today. The very earliest we could make it would be tomorrow at noon.

Yep, Verene's correct there - plus, it'll be a multi-day affair cleaning out Drezen's streets, let alone attacking the castle.

As for the other question: It does seem he has a direct diagonal line there - the chair I'd count as difficult terrain, and the spell doesn't say "it does not function with difficult terrain," so I assume it just counts as two squares like normal, and that's still enough to get you there.

Half-fiends are indeed outsiders with the native subtype, like tieflings or aasimar. I don't know that there is an official answer for what it takes to ID a creature's type and subtype, but it feels like in many cases that should be basic information. For example, with the ghouls, probably just about anyone in Golarion should be able to look at them and think "Yep, that's an undead."

What say you, GM? Is Verene's (or Elliot's) roll enough to know Nulkineth's type and subtype? If she knows that information, Verene will tell him. Or more likely, she would already have told him when she and Thesius were telling the others what they knew/remembered about on the creatures Nurah warned us of, on the stairs up here. In-character, it would be a bit careless to say nothing until right now.

Anyone heard from Thesius, Merixia or Azira lately?

I’m sick, sorry folks. :( Pretty sure it’s not COVID, but it still hit me hard. Hopefully I’ll be up to posting in a couple days.

Yes, I'd say that you can know that he's akin to aasimar and/or tieflings, Verene.

I hope you feel better soon, Merixia!

Okay, thanks GM. Feel free to consider that known information then, Elliot.

Sorry you're under the weather, Merixia. Hope you feel better soon.

Same, hope you get better, Meri. We need our spunky cleric in good health!

Hey all, I'm really sorry for my extended lull. I'm bowing out of most of my games today because I just don't have the time/energy to keep up. I know I've been slowing things here down too, but if you're all willing I'd like to continue in this game and (hopefully) be able to get back to posting more often now that my gaming load is considerably lighter.

I don't want to post something in gameplay right now, just in case you'd prefer to go a different route, but I should have ample time to post tomorrow if you're all on board. Thanks, and (again) sorry I've been slowing things down.

STAAAAAYYYYY AZIRA O.O

Also I now have bronchitis. As per usual every damn time I get a cold because my lungs are weak and puny. Thank science for albuterol! As long as I don’t get any worse I’ll probably be able to sit up and type an actual post in a few days.

I would give a great deal for remove disease to exist in real life. I have so much to do and none of it is getting done.

Please stay, Azira. If you dropped out now, I'd think Radiance was cursed in that everyone wielding it dropped out of the campaign shortly after!

Ah, hope things keep improving for you, Meri. As an aside, In the past I wondered what that would do for Medicine and society as a whole. It's obviously great for everyone sick who has access to it, but if it did exist, would there be any need or driving force for scientific progress in that field, on understanding of disease and what caused it and such? To say nothing of how those able to cast it would essentially then gatekeep healthcare to only those able to afford them. It's an interesing discussion of which the answer depends on a lot of different factors, I feel.

Appreciate you checking in, Azira. Of course we want you to stay if it's at all possible! Obviously real life must come first, but I for one would be very sad if you had to go.

This has been a slow period, but sometimes it happens that there's a convergence of RL factors for different people. Hopefully Thesius's internet situation has been resolved and he'll be able to check in soon too to get us back on track.

Sorry about the bronchitis, Merixia. Rest up and get better; we'll be here.

The Golarion/standard D&D universe rules of "most illness and most injury are instantly fixable but assumed to cost more money than the average person sees in a year (or a lifetime)" has always seemed underexplored to me too, Elliot. For one thing, it seems like there should be way more class resentment than there is; for another, if the spells don't directly cost their casters anything, why should they be so expensive? Would good gods and good people who are their servants really work that way? The Doylist answer is that they do because everything must be calibrated to an adventuring-based economy, even when that doesn't make sense. The Watsonian answer is more difficult to justify, but I think can be interesting (especially if you invent things not stated by the rules text, like that good clerics would *sometimes* just use their daily spells on those who need them for free.) Verene's whole rejection of religion was partly due to me trying to grapple with that, as well as things like fate and prayer in a world with active, powerful (but not omnipotent), well-intentioned gods who are the major sources of medicine and healing.

I will echo what everyone else's said about hoping you stay, Azira, because I, too, enjoy your presence. I do understand if you've got to do other stuff, though. I hope you stick around, but if you can't, I hope things calm down and you feel better in your RL endeavors.

Yeah, the whole system of magic and medicine feels strange, not to mention the economy (I don't want to think about the economy). The whole thing runs on the "don't think too hard about it" mantra.

I'd love to stay! I just didn't want to presume everyone else would feel the same way after how poor my post rate has been the past month. I dropped out of almost every other game I was in so, hopefully, I should be able to keep up with this one now.

As for the healing conundrum... in the homebrew world that I run games in, every major city has at least one temple where people can get free healing and status removal (if it can be removed without a costly material component, and there's a caster there of sufficient level), unless of course there's an in-game explanation for why they wouldn't (like an evil city that doesn't tolerate the open worship of benevolent gods). Most of them also have scheduled castings of create food and water and things like that. It just makes sense that the servants of good gods would do that, and I've never really had anyone abuse it. If the PCs go too often I'd just have the priest(s) run out of spells for the day, or be called away on church business for a while. Of course, the vast majority of combat in my games occurs outside of town, so those healing services usually only come into play between adventures.

Side note for Azira and Merixia: Neither of you will provoke an attack of opportunity anyway. The enemies haven't acted in the combat yet and so all of them are flat-footed, meaning they can't make attacks of opportunity.

That seems like a sensible way to run things in practice, Azira. Like Worldwound GM says, the medicine and economics of a D&D world are only two of the things that should not be examined too closely, lest it all come crashing down. (How would it change the world if immortality/resurrection was simply a matter of money/access to the right magic? Uh... Don't worry about it!)

I feel like resurrection is less of an issue because the costly material component really limits its use, plus many/most religions believe death is a normal/natural step on the spiritual journey (which I think would also make them hesitant to use it very often). The resurrection spells are also limited by max age, so that helps too. Wealthy/powerful people who aren’t committed to their physical form as a fundamental aspect of self could potentially live forever through reincarnation spells, but I’m not sure that’s a large enough category to have a huge impact on a world? To me that seems like more of a plot point- like, so-and-so nation is ruled by an immortal king who changes form every 60 to 600 hundred years (depending on how long-lived his next form is).

It's been almost three weeks since we last heard from Thesius. I'm starting to get worried.

I'm sorry for the delay, folks. It's that time of year where I get all sorts of holidays that I don't post on, so I'll be a bit more sporadic than usual for the next couple weeks.

I'll also send a message to Thesius and bot him for now.

Interestingly, the reincarnation thing is actually a plot point in one of the River Kingdoms, Azira - if that wasn't the thing you were referencing in the first place, that is. xD

Hmm, since Azira is before Merixia in the initiative order, I think I'll wait to see where she wants to position herself before I post.

Something occurred to me that you probably already know, GM, but just to make sure: if Nulkineth is truly under the effects of expeditious retreat, only his land speed is affected by that, not any other modes of movement like flight. By contrast, haste adds 30 to all forms of the affected creatures' movement.

I did recall that one, Verene! To my surprise. He was only using his land speed. He's inside, after all, and can't fly away that easily.

I was unaware of that River Kingdoms connection, lol. Thanks for that. Also (if it hasn't been mentioned in gameplay yet) natural 1s do normally always miss in PF1e. There is a champion mythic path ability that changes that but I don't have it.

Ooh, I didn't even think about the fact that Verene might not make it because the ghouls might get clever and try to trip instead of a regular attack. That's a good call, Elliot. Her CMD is only 17 (10 +3 BAB -1 Str +3 Dex -1 size +2 deflection [magic circle against evil] +1 dodge [haste]). Or, I suppose, she could be stopped if more than one ghoul got very lucky on at least three rolls with a paralytic claw attack to get through AC + mirror image + that Prescience for the Fort save. She isn't trying to avoid AoOs, so she probably provokes from all four of Yellow, Black, Teal and Orange while moving.

Also, have a good holiday season, GM!

Ooh, I didn't even think about the fact that Verene might not make it because the ghouls might get clever and try to trip instead of a regular attack. That's a good call, Elliot. Her CMD is only 17 (10 +3 BAB -1 Str +3 Dex -1 size +2 deflection [magic circle against evil] +1 dodge [haste]). Or, I suppose, she could be stopped if more than one ghoul got very lucky on at least three rolls with a paralytic claw attack to get through AC + mirror image + that Prescience for the Fort save. She isn't trying to avoid AoOs, so she probably provokes from all four of Yellow, Black, Teal and Orange while moving.

Oh, good point. I'll, uh, deal with that when I next post, which should be either later today or tomorrow, in case Thesius does come back. It's looking less and less likely, though.

And it probably means that Elliot and anyone who followed Verene into the next room won't provoke from those four, unless they have Combat Reflexes... Anyway. Just thinking out loud.

I hope all is well with Thesius.

Thesius has contacted me, and mentioned that he hopes to get back into the swing of things today.

Sorry for the delay. Internet outage, depression, and suddenly finding out I'll be moving by the end of the year got the better of me. I'm needing to get caught back up on things, but I'll be getting a post up tomorrow.

I'm sorry you've been having a rough time, Thesius, and I hope the move goes as smoothly as it can. But it's always good to hear from you. Welcome back.

Welcome back, Thesius. I'm glad to have you here, but like Verene, I hope everything goes well for you.

Yeah, welcome back Thesius!

Glad to have you back, Thesius! I hope things start looking up for you soon.

Thanks everyone. Reading through Gameplay now to get caught up.

I realize fleet charge's movement may not fully mesh with full attack. So if we need to restrict him to a 5-foot movement, that is fine. If the first two attacks wind up taking out all enemies within a 5-foot range, he'll just hold off on spending a point for fleet charge.

Fleet charge is a swift action so (I believe) you can use it along with a full attack (I certainly have done exactly that in other games, and I think against one of the demons when we first became mythic in this game).