@Lakadee: Got it, no worries.
Apologies everyone for the slow posting over the last couple of days--I was at a conference.
@Calabaza: This GM is 100% anti-fiat. Heck, I even make people mark off rations and track expended sling bullets :)
@The Rock: We're going to see this encounter through. Thanks for your patience!
Dropping the thugs and landing the hideous laughter might just be a turning point in this battle! I'll be away travelling for the next 72 hours, but I'm guessing we'll be able to resolve things pretty quickly thereafter.
@The Rock: In game that fight took less than a minute, but out of game I suspect the others will likely decide to collect reinforcements and head back toward the Grand Lodge soon.
@The Rock: I think it's fair to say that, after the group healed up, searched all the rooms of the inn, and have interrogated a couple of different prisoners that an hour has passed. Let's assume you arrived at the tavern to an obvious scene of battle and a trail of blood (from the barman being carried) has led you to the alleyway where the others are now. Thanks for your patience, and please feel free to post in Gameplay.
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@GM Jhaeman - I think the more relevant question is if a familiar can understand any speech at all until level 5 (and then they typically gain Speak with Master only). Generally I would say no (but the GM gets to decide as it is not detailed in the rules). If you are generous and allow familiars to understand Taldane then the bird can simply mark the ship by flying around the mast. :)
I wouldn't get too bogged down on the details. I suspect finding the ship will be almost a given considering the scenario would come to an abrupt halt if we don't :)
If the bird does not find it, we probably can.
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^Every GM will need to come up with an answer to this question anyways as familiars are very common in-game and this sort of situation is likely to come up again if it has not already.
As for finding the ship I am pretty sure that my character can handle it with his high perception, survival skill and his ability to fly. :)
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@Malachi: Does your familiar have Speak with Master? (I'm not sure the details of your familiar--i.e., if it can talk back to you or only has an empathic link).
Polly does not have Speak with Master. She's a hawk emissary familiar, and Malachi only has 4 levels in classes advancing his familiar (Druid).
Whether or not she understands Common (with INT 7 and 8 ranks in Linguistics) is moot since a familiar is under its player's control. Polly could signal that she's found what she's looking for by circling the mast and conveying excitement or another positive emotion through her empathic link.
FWIW my view is that familiars can understand spoken languages, even before they gain Speak with Master. The Decoy familiar archetype gains an ability (replacing Speak with Master and Speak with Animals) to "speak any of its master's languages", there's no mention of "understanding", which would be needed were the default that familiars have no understanding.
In any event, Kit is right about the plot ;) And The Rock can fly and see stuff too.
Ok folks, we're going to take a few days off and will resume on the 27th.
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All good :)
I'll be travelling on the 27th, but it looks like it might be The Rock vs The Mook Twins first up anyway.
If the rest of the party needs to get out there quick, Malachi will use his magic ship. Unless anyone else can fly/teleport us :)
Ok folks, I'm back on duty. Hope you all had a nice few days off!
Back in 12 hours with an update. (I've got a good excuse--it's my birthday!)
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Happy New Year everyone!
Ok folks, here's a little cheatsheet I use for underwater adventures. Items # 2, and 4-7 are the most relevant for present purposes.
Aquatic Terrain Cheat Sheet
1. River Types:
a. Large, placid rivers: treat as still water (DC 10 Swim checks).
b. Swift rivers: treat as rough water (DC 15 Swim checks) and anything floating in them moves 1d4x10 feet downstream at the end of its turn.
c. Whitewater Rapids: treat as stormy water (DC 20 Swim checks) anything floating in them moves 1d10x10 feet downstream at the end of its turn.
--characters swept downstream more than 60 feet per round must make DC 20 Swim checks every round to avoid going under; if a character gets a result of DC 25 or more, they arrest their motion by catching a rock, tree limb, etc.
--escaping the rapids requires three DC 20 Swim checks in a row
2. Stealth & Detection Underwater: Creatures can see 4d8x10 feet underwater if the water is clear, or 1d8x10 feet if it’s murky (swift rivers and whitewater rapids are always treated as murky. Cover or concealment is not available underwater. Invisible creatures displace water and leave a visible body-shaped bubble, so they have concealment but not total concealment.
3. Attacks from Land: Characters at least chest-deep in water have improved cover (+8 bonus to AC, +4 bonus on Reflex saves) versus opponents on land. A completely submerged creature has total cover against opponents on land. Neither type of cover applies if the attacker has freedom of movement effects.
4. Fire: Nonmagical fire, including alchemist’s fire and supernatural fire effects, do not burn underwater. Spells or spell-like fire effects are ineffective unless the caster makes a caster level check (DC 20+spell level). The surface of a body of water blocks line of effect for any fire spell.
5. Casting Spells Underwater: A creature that cannot breathe underwater must make a Concentration check (DC 15+spell level).
6. Movement in Water: A normal Swim check allows a character to move up to ¼ of its land speed with a single move, or half its land speed with a double move (on a failure, it doesn’t make any progress, and a failure by 5 or more means it goes underwater or sinks as based on buoyancy); no run, charge, or 5’ step actions underwater.
-- PC in the water begins to sink at the end of the first turn they fail a Swim check by 5 or more, moving down 10 feet; the speed increases by 10 feet each round to a maximum speed of 30 feet downward per round after 3 rounds (movement provokes AoOs, and sinking creatures are considered off-balance); once per round if sinking, a creature can try to stop its sinking with a DC 20 Swim check as a move action; once stopped, a creature can swim upward treating each square as double.
7. Fighting Underwater (assuming no freedom of movement): All attacks with slashing or bludgeoning weapons are at -2 to attack rolls and deal half damage. A character without a Swim speed who fails a Swim check takes this same penalty even to piercing weapons, and are treated as off-balance: they lose their Dex bonus to AC and opponents get a +2 on attack rolls against them. Characters with firm footing on the riverbed/seabed can move at half speed, are not treated as off-balance, and do not suffer the piercing weapon penalty.
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A note about Malachi's tentacle wild-shape, GM:
The penalties to bludgeoning weapons underwater, per table 13-7 in the Core Rulebook, specifically apply to "land-based" creatures (p.432 Core Rulebook). The kraken caller wildshape doesn't change Malachi's creature type and he otherwise retains his own form, but the tentacle form is akin to that of an octopus or indeed a kraken in combat utility - it even includes the ability to eject a cloud of ink when underwater.
It's my belief that the kraken caller tentacles do not suffer underwater fighting penalties for being bludgeoning attacks, just as a kraken or other aquatic creature doesn't suffer those penalties, and that's how other GMs have run things to date.
@Malachi: Yep, that makes sense to me.
@Everyone: Just an early heads-up that I'll be away camping next week (circa the 15th to the 20th)
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GM, I think Malachi has a boon that may help, if you would confirm please:
I believe this would protect from energy drain which is a negative energy effect that does not harm undead.
Mal also gets an AoO against one of the incoming undead since he has a reach weapon ready. I'll roll that in gameplay later.
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Imagine facing this encounter when the scenario came out in season one (essentially a Core game). I think it would be an instant TPK.
It is an example of really terrible game design (either you have the solution to the problem (Death Ward) or you lose).
Hopefully your character's ability will work. :)
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@Malachi: Yes, I think that would work. Please check the box on the Chronicle and feel free to reference the backstory in Gameplay.
As mentioned a while back, I'm off camping this week. Back around the 20th. You folks are making steady progress, and are probably into the final 25% of the scenario.
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@Malachi - The ioun stone works exactly like a ring of spell storing. You have to use a spell or a scroll of a spell to fill it. The details can be found in the Ring of Spell Storing, Minor. My Seeker level Druid has one as well. :)]
I, and other players I have shared a table with, have been using this combination of items for years. I've done so at a great many tables, with some very experienced GMs, including seeker level play. I think only once has there been a discussion about whether or not wands can be used to recharge the cracked purple prism ioun stone.
The conclusion of the discussion was yes, a wand works fine for this purpose. And you'll find many examples of this interaction on the Paizo boards.
If a spellcaster can recharge the ioun stone with a scroll, they can also do so with a wand. Spell trigger item, spell completion item: both "cast a spell". UMD emulates the spellcasting ability where needed.
I will defer to GM Jhaeman's judgement at this table.
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I'm with Malachi. There is room for disagreement, and my seeker level character has only ever encountered one GM that said that wands could not be used. So now she carries 5 scrolls of shield in case I run into another one.
I agree that it is a GM judgment. Just because the spell specifically says scrolls may be used does not mean that wands may not. And in my mind they both function pretty much the same. Personal spells work. The DC is based on the creator, not the PC. Enough so that my ruling would be to allow it were I GMing. But I could see an argument against it. Why specify scrolls but not include wands? No official ruling has been handed down and the arguments on the forums seem pretty split so no real consensus. Meh.
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As always it is up to the table GM to decide how he wants to play it but the rules are pretty clear by RAW. You can recharge the ioun stone by scroll or spell (and not by wand). Without an errata or official FAQ you have to play in PFS with the rules as written and not as how you would like them. This is as clear a case as you can possibly have in this game.
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A careful reading of the rules will show that casting a spell from a scroll is like spell casting while activating a wand is not at all like spell casting. This might help to explain why scrolls are listed as a suitable medium for recharging magical items while wands are not.
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This is as clear a case as you can possibly have in this game.
I don't wish to draw out the argument - it's for our GM to decide - but will say that mine and Kit's play experience being at odds with yours demonstrates that it really isn't as clear a case as you can possibly have.
And I offer a rules citation:
"Activation: Wands use the spell trigger activation method, so casting a spell from a wand is usually a standard action that doesn't provoke attacks of opportunity. (If the spell being cast has a longer casting time than 1 action, however, it takes that long to cast the spell from a wand.)"
Bolding mine.
Lastly for now, The Rock, please do not insinuate that other players at this table do not respect the rules of PFS.