Avelina of House Galfrey's page

I hate to say it, but I think the time has come to call it for me on this one.

It will feel sad to say goodbye to this particular version of Avelina, but I have just been struggling with this game. Karas leaving and Tauni being MIA are good signs to me that it’s time to pack it up. The orientation that y’all seem to be leaning towards to correct our slow and interspersed pace just does not appeal to me, either in the VTT or skipping most of the AP sense. I also just honestly need to streamline my gaming a bit more with how chaotic things have been.

It was lovely getting to meet all of you and play together for so long. I hope you have a lovely time with however you decide to continue.

One of the +2 cloaks would be an upgrade for Avelina, so she would not turn it down. That said, she just got Mythic Heroism, which is a +5 to all her saves (with her bloodline ability) so she's riding high on saves.

I made her other claims on the sheet. I'm finally starting to get physically adjusted to being back in the office part of the week, so I should have the time/energy to get a proper story post soon

I took Energy Conversion as my mythic ability and Mythic Spell Penetration as my feat. I decided on Mythic Heroism finally for my new mythic spell.

My work is shifting us to partial going into the office schedules to everything is a bit out of whack this week, but I’ll try to get a proper post up asap

Good with me, too!

Avelina charged up with more power this time, hoping that a stronger blast of force would pierce the demon’s defenses.

SR Check (spell pen and greater spell pen): 1d20 + 8 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 8 + 2 + 2 = 32
Volley of Holy Arrows Empowered Magic Missile (blood havoc): 4d4 + 4 + 4 ⇒ (1, 3, 4, 3) + 4 + 4 = 19 x1.5 for 28 total force damage

Full round action to cast a spell with a metamagic feat

I joined the server and it just says there are no text channels

Madame Knight#7397

@GM you used the unbuffed values for Avelina’s saves, which are three lower. It does not make a difference in this specific case, but please make sure you are taking the values from her stat line, which reflects buffs

Avelina tried to fire off a set of her holy arrows at the demon, but they fizzled due to its resistance to magic.

Spell Resistance Check (spell pen and greater spell pen): 1d20 + 8 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 8 + 2 + 2 = 14
Volley of Holy Arrows Magic Missile (blood havoc): 4d4 + 4 + 4 ⇒ (4, 4, 1, 1) + 4 + 4 = 18

She clicks her tongue at the lack of effect, but otherwise acts unperturbed. ”Restrain you? Heavens, no. We will obliterate you into a puddle, Huge Story Axe or whatever your nothing name is.”

Using her move action demoralize with intimidate
Intimidate (heroism): 1d20 + 20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 20 + 3 = 36

Avelina moved towards the remaining visible crystal and once again calls upon her heavenly powers to blast it to bits.

Shatter (blood havoc): 8d6 + 8 ⇒ (5, 4, 6, 6, 5, 4, 2, 1) + 8 = 41

I can still get in from my phone but not from the desktop. It’s workable, but slows me down. I’ll post later today

My hand must have slipped when moving my token. Fixed. I meant top as in north

Avelina moved closer to the northern crystal and unleashed her mythical Iomedae powers to blast it to pieces. Seeing how effective Anarya’s spell was, she tries to mimic its effects.

Using Wild Arcana for Shatter on the same target as Anarya

Shatter Damage (blood havoc): 8d6 + 8 ⇒ (4, 6, 6, 1, 1, 1, 6, 6) + 8 = 39

It has indeed been interfering. It was significantly better but then I overdid it and made it worse again. Still catching up on everything

Ty for going ahead and rolling the checks

Avelina assumed immediately that there must be some untold villainy at-work, as nothing less could get in the way of True Love as far as she is concerned. She drew her hands back in a familiar bow and arrow gesture, preparing to strike whatever monstrosity appears.

Readying to magic missile any monster that appears

I fell and hurt my dominant hand pretty bad yesterday so i might be much slower to post for the next day or so. Thankfully i dont think there is anything broken

Avelina moved up next to her Champion, breathing easy for time being, enjoying the moment’s respite.

Moved on the map

Avelina returned her wand to her belt and stretched. ”Quite a nasty creature. Yet we prevailed all the same. Truly, the Inheritor has granted us Her Blessing!

Avelina liked the sound of Tauni’s idea and drew her own wand of Volley of Holy Arrows Magic Missile and fired it.

Magic Missile Wand CL 3: 2d4 + 2 ⇒ (4, 1) + 2 = 7

I didn’t ask you to. Just saying how I feel.

Avelina shot more of her holy arrows at the shadow demon.

Volley of Holy Arrows Empowered Magic Missile (blood havoc): 4d4 + 4 + 4 ⇒ (2, 4, 4, 2) + 4 + 4 = 20 x 1.5 is 30

I am feeling rather ignored and annoyed still. But I will try to post.

For me, rules need to be consistent and predictable for this game to not feel like a fight with the GM. It’s also what keeps the game portion of this system from overwhelming the story portion. That’s part of the contract between players and GM, that we have both agreed to the same set of rules ahead of time. That agreement can be updated as time goes on and new situations occur, but it must happen with a warning. I hate arguing rules. It is not fun for me. I only do it because it’s important to me.

I signed on to this game for a sense of cooperative storytelling. This does not feel like cooperation. Now I have to worry that every single character option I take based on a correct understanding of the rules might be overruled at a moment’s notice without a warning just because you feel like it, and this game is already complicated enough with the mythic rules. That is not fun for me.

I am happy to take suboptimal options and suboptimal combat choices. I do so regularly and often. I want to make them informed, though. Not sprung on me.

Avelina steps back from the pit, perturbed at this shadow demon and its cowardly behavior.

Dispel Magic (mythic surge) on the Deeper Darkness: 1d20 + 8 + 1d6 ⇒ (9) + 8 + (6) = 23

It’s your game. You can house rule however you like, and I am fine with that house rule going forward as we will be able to prepare around it. However, I still think it is bad form to drop a house rule without warning on the players in a way that makes their preparations worthless. It also takes me out of the story, as now I feel like I am fighting sudden rule changes, not the monster. It feels like we as players are being punished for knowing the rules and expecting they would be consistent.

In regards to your suggestions on other courses of action, most of that information about the monster’s state we have had no way of knowing. Also, we would specifically need heighten spell to increase the effective spell level of daylight. All other metamagic feats only make you cast the spell in a higher spell slot, but they do not actually make it count as a higher level spell. So, for example, if we were to try to cast a widened, extended daylight, it would still count as a 3rd level spell. It’s convoluted, but it has game balance reasons for working this way, as otherwise all metamagic spells would give the double benefit of increasing the DC, too, and heighten spell would be worthless. Also, again, only one of us even has 5th level spell slots.

That is Mark Seifter, one of the lead designers, and that is the official stance. I remember discussing it with my local pfs group when it came out.

If you are going to house rule it, I would request that you refrain from the change until after this fight, as people made preparations under a different understanding, and it feels wrong to penalize players for not preparing for a house rule they were not aware of.

The lighting rules are an absolute mess indeed and I purposefully avoid using them as much as possible because of situations like this.

That does not speak to the other issue that Anarya raised, which is that the blog post seems pretty explicit that daylight, or any spell that explicitly works like it, should cancel out deeper darkness, regardless of spell level.

As an aside, a thing I learned from running Shadow Demons myself is that they do not actually have the See in Darkness universal monster ability. So if the deeper darkness is still in effect and making it supernaturally dark, it cannot see either.

If this thing somehow is still making it work, I am struggling to figure out a best course of action right now, as blindly fumbling about doesn’t seem the best idea when there are shadows about that could instantly kill use and turn us into spawn, and I cannot even cast fifth level spells, much less heighten a light spell to fifth level. And if this thing can heighten spells to fifth level, I am dubious as to how easy it will be dispel, at which point it can just put it right back up again. I could also just try to sit outside of it and blast AoEs into it until I hopefully hit it enough times (for half damage cause incorporeal, quarter if it makes its save)

It’s particularly frustrating if this is Just How It Is, as the point of Light Wars is more to test whether you have prepared for them. We did, exceptionally so, yet it’s still not enough. Unless Tauni can pull a heightened brightest light out of nowhere, we don’t really have an option

Yeah Brightest Light absolutely would clear it. My PFS version of Avelina has it for clearing darkness. Planning on getting it for this version, too, when she gets more 4th level spells known.

Im always good with a discord etc btw

”That is a shadow demon, also known as an invidiak or an envy demon, at the end of the hall! It is incorporeal and you need cold iron or good-aligned weapons to hurt it! Bright light slows it down!”

Avelina pulled back her arm in her standard miming of a bow, pulling with even more forcw than usual, and blasts the shadowy creature in front of Ellena with a volley of her signature “holy arrows.”

Cast Defensively (DC 17): 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (20) + 16 = 36
Volley of Holy Arrows Empowered Magic Missile, CL 8, Blood Havoc: 4d4 + 4 + 4 ⇒ (3, 4, 4, 2) + 4 + 4 = 21 x1.5 for empowered = 31 force damage to 1

Avelina gasped as two of her friends are thrown into the pit. Having dealt with an unseen foe just recently, she decides to use that strategy again. Burn them out! "Villain! Come out of hiding or this will not be the last strike I make against you!"

She cupped her hands in front of her, as though taking a drink from some sacred spring. A ball of shifting fire no bigger than a chestnut blazed into existence in her palms.

”Witness, Villains and Heroes alike, the Spark of a Single Righteous Soul.”

She held it up to her mouth and blew. The tiny ball shot forward with surprising speed. As it reached the formation of tieflings, it appeared to wink out for a fraction of a moment. But then! Avelina threw open her arms and a whole field flaming flowers exploded into orange-gold bloom.

SR Check (if needed) w/spell pen and greater spell pen: 1d20 + 8 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 8 + 2 + 2 = 24
The Spark of Single Righteous SoulMythic Fireball w/blood havoc(DC 23 Reflex): 8d10 + 8 ⇒ (7, 4, 8, 9, 1, 2, 8, 4) + 8 = 51
Because it is mythic fireball, on a failed save, someone hit with it is also on fire and takes 2d6 fire damage per round. Attempts to extinguish the fire are made at DC 23, as per the spell
On Fire Damage (if needed): 2d6 ⇒ (5, 2) = 7

EDIT: I marked the area of the spell on the map

"Oh my Goddess!" Avelina rushed forward as she saw her cousin about to fall, grabbing onto her before she even realized that Raine was in no danger of falling. "Ah, I am glad you are alright, Cousin. That looked liked quite a fall."

Knowledge (local) w/heroism: 1d20 + 5 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 5 + 3 = 14

The name of the marilith was just on the tip of Avelina's tongue when Raine got to it first. "Oh, right. The general. Who does she think she is impressing with all those weapons?" She held up her longsword. "The Inheritor only needs a longsword! For Faith is the sharpest blade of all!" She patted the flat of the blade against her palm. "I told you that even if it was a trap, we would be protected. The Inheritor would not let us succumb so easily. I am certain that the demonic obscenities will be quite shaken when they hear how little power it had against us."

Avelina is exactly where she is on the map on the floor, in case that wasn't clear

Avelina laughed to herself as she crawled down the wall. ”Oh how delightful! I would have gotten up to such mischief as a little girl with magic such as this.” She hopped down to the ground, she glanced about. ”Mayhaps the demons presumed that we would presume that it is a trap and thus be frozen by indecision? Or mayhaps they are lurking in aforementioned secret passageway.”

Avelina brandished her longsword, testing the weight in her hand idly. "If it is a trap, then what better way to strip the vigor from the demons' sails than to walk right into it and soundly defeat all of them without an effort? No need to overthink or overplan; the Inheritor has chosen us! No evil can stand before us."

Rule of 2 as Raine suggested sounds good. If it's good enough for the Sith, it's good enough for us!

Avelina adjusted her gloves and made sure she was entirely clean of filth. "Let us continue. I suggest the secret door first. You never know when a villain may be planning on using it to sneak up behind us for an ambush or to scurry away!"

Avelina stood back, hanging on Ellena’s arm, trusting Karas to make short work of the remaining enemies.

Avelina saw the collection of salamanders who refused to back down and dropped a blast of holy light on them.

Radiant Dawn of the Inheritor Burst of Radiance: 5d4 ⇒ (1, 2, 1, 3, 2) = 9
Blind/Dazzle Duration: 1d4 ⇒ 4
DC 22 reflex save to be dazzled instead of blinded

Was actually just coming to say I am taking care of my wife because we are on quarantine atm (they have one of the possible covid symptoms and haven’t gotten test results yet) so I’m at diminished posting capacity. Avelina is saving her spells atm anyways, so feel free to move forward

Avelina leaned against the wall and stretched as the battle seemed to be going along quite easily. ”I see you have not heeded my warning to stand down. Nevertheless, I remain a gracious servant of the Inheritor, and I may consider granting you mercy still, should you cry quarter.” She turns to each of the conscious salamanders in turn.

Intimidate (heroism): 1d20 + 20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 20 + 3 = 42
Intimidate (heroism): 1d20 + 20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 20 + 3 = 42

Move action intimidate on each of them

Avelina hopped down from the elevated area, gliding down with a quick Lightness of Faith Feather Fall. She lands next to her Champion, waiting before using more of her magic on the weakened salamanders. ”Stand down, pitiful creatures. You are hopelessly outmatched by The Inheritor’s Champions.”

Intimidate (heroism) to Demoralize 5: 1d20 + 20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 20 + 3 = 24

I can’t edit the map so if someone could move her next to Ellena

I am having an intensely stressful day and wont be able to post until tonight at the earliest

Avelina saw the weakened salamander and took her opportunity to test out some of her new strength, blasting it with force missiles bursting with power.

Casting an empowered spell as a full round action on Salamander 1, which it looks like I can see atm?
Volley of Holy Arrows Empowered Magic Missile (blood havoc): 4d4 + 4 + 4 ⇒ (4, 3, 1, 4) + 4 + 4 = 20 x1.5 = 30 total damage

Finally remembering my blood havoc bonus damage!

I’ll post tomorrow. My parents were here all week and I have a deadline on the 20th so been very busy!

I rolled and took my readied action before, so you can just use that info

Call it a ready then, that’s fine. She’s not going down

Avelina fired off a few more of holy arrows at the salamander that has taken up position down below. ”You all carry on, darlings. I will keep you covered up here with Raine.”

Volley of Holy Arrows Magic Missile: 4d4 + 4 ⇒ (1, 4, 4, 2) + 4 = 15

”You should best surrender, salamander. We have the high ground!”
Intimidate (heroism, bloodline arcana): 1d20 + 20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 20 + 3 + 1 = 34

Standard to cast magic missile on 1, the move action to intimidate

Avelina strode into the room and looked down at the villainous salamanders. ”Battle has been joined! If they do not wish to close, or fight from range, they shall learn their lesson.” She calls down a familir burst of light upon them.

I should be able to hit four of them if I center the ten foot burst on the top right corner of 2’s square

SR Check if needed (spell pen, greater spell pen): 1d20 + 8 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 8 + 2 + 2 = 13
Damage (only taken if evil): 5d4 ⇒ (3, 1, 3, 4, 1) = 12
Dazzle/Blind Duration: 1d4 ⇒ 4

DC 22 reflex save to reduce the blinded effect to dazzled. The damage is not reduced on a successful save, but they do not take any if they are not evil

No it’s 17-20. It doubles the threat range, which is two numbers at 19-20, so it should go up to 4 numbers when doubled (17 18 19 20).

Improved crit on an 18-20 weapon gets you to 15-20 likewise.

The GM said spellcasting will probably draw attention to ourselves so probably gonna be fighting shortly

Avelina accepted the fire resistance from Tauni graciously. She really will have to remember herself that she has such versatile stores of magic.

Avelina giggled at the simplicity of Raine’s trick. ”Absolutely delightful, Cousin! They shall not anticipate such mundane measures, knowing our extraordinary powers.”

She paused before they continued on, placing a hand on Ellena’s shoulder. ”Here, My Champion: I grant you the power of The Spirit of the Champion. As is only fitting.”

Cast heroism on Ellena using her new spell like ability. It will last 90 minutes