[PF2E] Otari/Abomination Vaults Adventure Path (Inactive)

Game Master Sam C.

@Hellewen: Thanks for summarizing that. I did mostly try and educate myself from nethys, as well.

What I was unsure about was if you are somehow aware of the affliction during the onset time.
And thus could already try and make preparations for when you DO have to make a check.
Or if that is actually pure player knowledge, and they first time the character realizes that rat bite earlier may have been a bit unhealthy is when they start feeling worse.

As in, using the situation at hand, Inva wanted to quit the dungeon right after infection and deal with the illness. Where my understand was that at that point it was only player knowledge, so IC there would be no reason to withdraw at that point.
If the character KNOWS that, keeping with the example, that bite wound doesn't look good, is festering, or generally feeling unwell but not to the point of a malus on rolls, then the situation may have warranted trying to do something about it.

We kind of decided here, but for the future, I figured it would help to know what is true...is the onset time/incubation period symptomless and only the player knows what to expect? Or are we already aware during that time and could e.g. try to dispel it before any negatives kick in.

GM already answered that one:

@Pfil #2: To the point, no, the affected characters don't know that they've infected by filth fever at this point, which is currently still in the initial, no-effect stage. It's only player knowledge right now.

So I think my call was right that we push on and get as much done as we can, then the moment the filth fever kicks into next stage(if it does), we go and get our Birdbarian some magicine.

@GM: Nope, no teeth from the zombie, that one was salsaed by Eser. Pfil only collects teeth from things she "ended", there's been some lucky rolls involved that pushed her bodycount, but she's only counting her kills for the necklace.

Regarding the snake, marking them seems like a good idea, I concur. You can give them numbers. Otherwise if you mark 2 or 3 snakes with a white stripe you may get confused as to the number of repeat offenders.

Re - Painting Snakes - Just as long as it's not something toxic for the poor noodles. Also, if you number enough, you might become the "crazy counts with snakes guy", so that might be worth considering. For good or ill :p

Re - Inva - I'm sorry you feel this way and want to/have left. But it is your decision to make. Best of luck out there :)

Candygram.

Candygram for Eser.

Sorry, didn't realize you're waiting on me. Very busy here, like 14 hour work day today. Ready to move on and will follow other's leads. Please bot as needed.

Hopefully no more snakes have reared their heads!

No rush, just making sure you know that we're getting on with things.

And fortunately, no. No more snakes. That said, I'm not returning the snake handling stuff--heavy-duty gloves, gripping tongs, and control hook--that I got from Amazon. Because I suspect that, the moment I do so, I'll have need of them again. And those tools aren't exactly useless for other things either. I can use the tongs and gloves to handle any live rats that I catch with a big glue trap without risking my hands or having to shoot them right there in the house and clean up a mess. (And no, I don't do live release of caught rats. Snakes, I don't have a problem with. But the rodents are too destructive and nasty to have coming right back in after I turn them loose.)

I just now realized that neither Pfil nor Rik'tik made checks to climb back down from the ledge. Fortunately, Hellewen's presence gives me a handy out to avoid calling for it now. I'll just assume that she used her Air Cushion ability to slow their falls to nothing after they (somewhat nervously) stepped off the ledge :D.

I take it there is no "deliberate jump" or acrobatics-based distinction any more?

I don't think that there is, no. I imagine it got pruned along with a lot of other niche-use rules that were otherwise bloating things up. Now, it's basically a GM ruling on a case-by-case basis.

But keep in mind, the party's first check of that sort was for a drop of a similar distance (and where Hellewen first used Air Cushion, as it happens), and the rules definitely specified a check to traverse down there.

I'm slowly building a list of otherwise trivial tasks that the party might engage in, but shouldn't have to intentionally specify taking care of. Short drops buffered by Air Cushion is currently at the top of that list. Next is picking up thrown weapons.

On a related note, the party's use of lighting (including Pfil herself :D) is not on that list. With the split between low-light, darkvision, and standard, especially in a place where the opposition doesn't need light themselves, knowing who can see and who can't (and whether or not you're carrying something that will potentially get attention) is definitely an active sort of thing, if that makes sense.

Aye, but I believed that was because we were also not sure how the ground was, and nobody else was there.

I mean, technically someone could lift up a (unlit) torch and I hold on to it.
Or just jump down with a leap and let someone catch me.
Heck, we could do the slowball special with Riktik gently tossing rolled-up-me towards Hellewen or something.

*sigh*
Oh well, I'll try and keep it in mind.

Regarding lighting: I did try and use light of unusual visual spectrum before - lizards have a different visible range - so I figured I may possibly provide light(blacklight) in a way that benefits Riktik
(or e.g. those with low-light vision), but you didn't come back to me on that one :)
I mean, I CAN control my hue.
Most lights we designed are supposed to emit in the human visible spectrum - or in case of torches they emit across a broad range including the human visible one. But I could possibly limit myself to something that only works for me(and other low-lighters) or e.g. lizards :)

If we want to keep a closer watch on light situation, I'd like to know more on that possibility.
Also, I will usually be lit up, UNLESS I am sneaking in which case I trust the light source of someone behind me to illuminate where I'm going.

Welcome to wonderful world of tabletop gaming, where common sense and the rules occasionally get into vicious catfights over who takes precedence :D.

A pox on Amazon and all its works. I'm trying to make use of the benefits of having a Prime subscription shared via Amazon's household thing. Use Prime video to watch one of the rare shows that actually catches my limited interest, right? But nope, Amazon apparently doesn't even recognize that I'm part of a household, at least not for the purpose of using Prime video.

Two hours of frustration later, I'm not watching what I want to watch, and Amazon can go f&$#ing neck itself before I waste another damned minute on it trying to figure out what's causing the problem.

In slightly more pleasing news, however, I finally found a song that I've been looking for for some time. Cranking the volume and checking out is helping my frustration immensely.

Just because it's a bit of a pet peeve for me:

If there is Block Initiative, then "delay" past the enemy turn is just the same as "give up your turn".
Move, buff, cast light on a pebble, draw a weapon, summon something, or ready an action, even if it's something unlikely to happen.

No matter, whatever action you do - even if it's a readied that triggers during enemy turn, your NEXT turn coming up is before the little bastards get to go again.

If it's your init count and you delay past the enemy, it's a turn wasted.
True for both Editions :)

That said, you can't think of anything, you do you. As said, just a pet peeve.

Lol, for just a moment I thought that was meant for me and I'd either missed something facepalmingly obvious about the fight or forgotten something that I previously had already decided to do a certain way.

Na, nothing about you :D
And as said, not a biggie.

But 3 people beat the Kobold Init.
One moves and delays until after the Kobolds - which is when the full new turn would start anyways.
The other delayed until after our melee(who go after the Kobolds) move up - same result :)

That one seems like a runner to me, and with that Fortitude check, I suspect it manages to get away, which I am almost certain will make things more complicated in the future.

I delayed because we were still talking at that time. It obviously was headed for a fight (hence, initiative) but Eser is not going to attack them first. Which they hadn't at the time I posted. Since I am traveling, I figured best to post and delay Eser than not post and potentially delay everyone. My apologies for annoying you.

Not annoyed :)
As said, just a pet peeve.

I was also torn on wether I should even fire that arrow.
I decided that if not now, it seems that one is gone next round and so went with "shoot".

Would I have preferred if you had blocked that other exit? Sure.
Am I annoyed you did not? Nope, not at all - Please don't read too much into my short rant - I was really just trying to raise awareness that "delay" in those situations is the same as "I skip my turn" - nothing more :)

I did not consider any of the actions I could take as tactically advantageous. I could move forward and worsen our tactical organization, or I could not do that.

As said, no need to defend, I had not even meant for that to be a discussion :) Apologies all over.

All I meant was even if all you do is ready a counterattack, right from where you stand, if one of the little bastards attacks an ally, with electric arc or mace....

then no matter if you are in range and can see and it triggers - or not, or if the little bastards even have the guts to attack - or not.

You'd still get the exact same next turn after they go.

I was not trying to push anybody into doing anything they did not feel comfortable with, I totally understand not hitting them first, or pushing ahead into an exposed position. I just believed that there would be some room for readied actions that might have been preferable over passing.

But again, I really only mentioned that as a pet thing of mine, not to express dissatisfaction or blow up a issue. I am sorry I seemingly worded things poorly.

Maybe I am misreading the situation, but my visualization of the scene was that I was effectively down a set of stairs from the fight, with the options to either run in front of the enemy past all our frontline, or ready an action that I would only ever have line of sight for if half the party died.

That's about right. You could have occupied the space to the right of Rik'tik at the start, mind, though that would have left you unpleasantly close to enemies intelligent enough to know a spellcaster when they see one and respond accordingly.

It's an unfortunate consequence of the tight confines down there, and of being a squishy sort ill-suited to the frontlines. Sometimes you just find yourself in the back of the group, twiddling your thumbs while stuff happens up front :D. Would you like a fidget spinner to keep occupied with :p?

Incidentally, Hellewen has about the same view of the current tactical situation that Pfil does, being lower down the steps but also taller. So she can make an attack against any of the targets still in view when her action comes up.

My interpretation was that Riktik has lit the torch, so is a light source. If things rush him on top of the stair, people who are down the stair should also see his assailants.
It's not like we are blocking each others vision, and we knew there are kobolds up there. It wasn't about reaching them where they are now.
As said, I am sorry it came across as criticism - it was not the intent - and I have no idea if my trying to explain what I meant is making things worse or better.

Just to double check - it is the kobolds turn right now correct?

Pardon me while I headdesk over here, because I somehow thought it was Rik'tik's action. Yes, kobolds are up and I'll get on that shortly. My apologies!

:p It happens. We'll just try and remember to poke eventually :D

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Hellewen doesn't do terribly high damage, so wandered into a flanking position. Time to look up what that does in 2e. And hope it's still there :p

Oh yeah, it bestows Flat-Footed! Which means it is GM that has to remember it :p

Well, here's hoping she fails THAT save. :)
Otherwise: I tried -_-

And thanks to Hellewen for testing for AoO's :D

RE - AoOs

Aye I remember. But it's hard to tell by looking at someone/thing if they have fighter levels or not :p

And just to do the poking a bit faster this time - that last Kobold did not only manage his save against the Lightning Bolt, it's also up :)
(you did post the status update after the save but not give it an action is what led me to decide on insta-poking)

I'll have you know that I didn't forget at all :D. I was merely deciding what action would be a better choice for the campaign's flow. And you can't prove otherwise :p.

Before you celebrate that you were warning them.

I am small, but I am fierce.
And I'm in the corridor.

And if that Kobold attempted to tumble through me, that Acrobatics check did not beat my Reflex DC. (16 if I'm not mistaken).
As I understood, not moving freely through enemy spaces is still a thing even if they reworked the AoO stuff
And to be clear, I understand this is a complicated case, as being Tiny, i AM explicitly allowed to enter enemy space to attack, having no reach. But AFAIK that still does not allow people to move freely through me as if I'm not there - if I want to move THROUGH enemy space(rather than just into the enemy space to attack) I also have to do a check.

I'll bite his ankle if he tries to push his way past.
With all the teeth I collected so far.

Bugger. Well, as Pfil quite correctly pointed out (and which I had completely overlooked) the kobold did indeed have to pass her successfully. It didn't do that, and thus my evil GM laugh had to go back into storage for another time.

Congratulations Pfil, you're the equivalent of a Lego brick :D.

You just HAD to have him step on me with his piss-soaked foot.

Nobody steps on me and survives.

I am giving others a chance to take him prisoner if we want to interrogate someone.
Otherwise I'll devise a means to strangle him with his own tail tomorrow.

You just HAD to have him step on me with his piss-soaked foot.

Hey, that's entirely your fault. I mean, both of the feet were wet, but you were standing on the right side of the hall and all, he failed that check to get past you, and I had to spin it some way :D.

And so goes the party's first effort at diplomacy and peaceful conflict resolution...

And for once it wasn't just the party's fault it turned sour :p

Maybe it'll go better when we meet things we could talk to. Maybe not.

I've added the exp and loot to the sheet in a crude fashion, just so it's all there :)

It's quite peaceful, now.

To be honest, it was less an effort of diplomacy and more of an effort to get them to stand down/surrender.

So I'd say we succeeded in conflict resolution, considering not one of their number still stands up against us.

A note regarding the armor you've recovered from the kobolds. 2E doesn't really distinguish between Small and Medium any longer as far as equipment is concerned. So when I say that the armor is sized for small humanoids, I mean that the various straps and laces and whatnot are taken in to the point where it's a good fit for the kobolds. They can be let out if, for some reason, anyone but Pfil decides that they must absolutely wear some rather poor armor.

And we'll just go ahead and ignore (much like Paizo did) the differences in limb length and the like...

Just a few reminders before you all wander further on.

1) Anyone entering the hallway where Pfil is needs to make a DC 20 Perception check the moment that they enter. Pfil already made hers.

2) There's a waterlogged door on a ledge, and whatever lies behind that door.

3) The kobold room has a caged-off section with containers in it.

I'll vote checking the waterlogged door out first, then try and get a look at the caged-off containers, and finally proceed with the hallway.

Sounds good to me!

I'm fine with that.

Sure :)

Sorry for the prolonged absence. I need another week or so to power through a busy and stressful time. Please bot me as needed.

Sorry for the prolonged absence. I need another week or so to power through a busy and stressful time. Please bot me as needed.

Guy, don't worry about it. Remember, relaxed pacing specifically so nobody has to be botted or anything like that.

Besides, I'm busy killing myself in the heat and humidity getting my overgrown yard under control (finally), so it's not like I'm flush with time or attention span either :p.

it's not like I'm flush with time or attention span either :p.

GM Quotes taken out of context, series #37.

That said, yeah, don't worry, Riktik. Worst case, we'll take good care of your meat shiel....ahem... character :)
(On a more serious matter, we could probably take a look at the boxes first, then head to the waterlogged door when Rikitik is back.
I mean, if GM finds some time and attention - getting the yard under control does seem plenty desirable considering the amount of unregistered pets that turned up in your home in the past months, so I understand if that is a priority-

It's not just the unregistered pets, but the actual danger to the structure itself from something deciding to grow over, under, or into the house in troublesome ways. I've already had to do extreme
cutting on two weeds-turned-bonafide-trees that got big enough to start growing over and onto the roof in their quest for maximum sunlight.

Not to mention the genuinely hazardous amount of the actual junk that the former guests managed to accumulate without my noticing, and that I'll need to excavate from their overgrown weeds tombs before I can even arrange for disposal.

Still, not all bad. Managed to figure out why my polesaw wasn't cutting well or holding the chain oil for any amount of time. F!#&ing oil transfer tube had gone bad, popped off the feed it was connected, and was dumping its oil across the innards of saw. Left the chain bone dry as a result. Naturally, because I can't get a f@$+ing break or anything, the seller no longer had any parts in stock and even Google couldn't come up with anything other than endless lists for chain replacements by way of parts. But, I managed to (barely) get it fixed on my own, which was basically cutting away the bare minimum amount of bad tubing and hoping what was left was still long enough to reach the required feed nozzle (which it was, yay me!).

So I've got the overgrown front, left, and right sides under control, and now I can get around to the back and hit the actual tree bits.

I'm glad it is getting better at least. Slowly. You'll get there. For what it's worth, have my best wishes :)

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Other shinies news - there kineticist seems to actually be released for 2e. I shall take a peek now and a more proper reading this weekend and report back.

Oh, the playtest is done then? Well, let me know which version you prefer after you're done reading.

And yeah, I've actually been chewing through the backside of the house at a respectable (for my physical condition and the heat/humidity combo) clip. Unfortunately, I've had to slow down recently because I hit a f!@%ing HUGE mess of brambles in there, and I'm having to carefully hack my way through by hand. It's still getting done though, just not as quickly.

Hi folks, my theory that things would be better in a week was too optimistic. I suspect work is going to keep me from posting for the next couple of months, with late September being the time where I can jump back in. I have a September 21 deadline I'm facing, and there may be spillover / I'll need to recover. I'm really sorry for the trouble.

I will roll with whatever solution makes sense to you. Happy to have my character botted or have my character or just step away from the action temporarily. If you prefer to move on entirely, I'm okay with that too; I don't want to sap the momentum of any of my games.

Nah, it's alright. I'll go ahead and bot you as best as I can (just don't expect me to remember the lizard accent when you speak :p) and we'll get on with it.

Do please not forget about the campaign entirely though, that would be rather bothersome :D.

Since you're checking in, I'll take this time to give everyone else a poke and once they've checked in as well, on we go!

Don't poke the Sprite. We poke back.