I'm floating on Sudafed in order to even sit at my desk at work right now. Not sure what allergens are kicking me so hard, but function seems an interesting theory right now.
Anybody have proof that function is a real thing?
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With his nostrils flaring, the young hunter carves another piece of flesh from the abomination.
"Thank you for the assist. Not the way I saw this going. Not remotely." The hunter easily slices some more flesh off of the undead creature before him, wondering if he should risk casting or not . . ..
Too late to fix saying bovine when I meant ursine. Oh, well. Did 4 visits yesterday in The Red Suit. Gave out 21 candy canes and was rewarded with 2 Christmas cards, 1 Christmas wish list (includes cookies for breakfast), and enough donations to cover my expected candy cane needs for the year, and probably my post-season cleaning bill. I go to people for the visits, and accept only donations for the upkeep of The Red Suit, I refuse to charge. I work in a medical facility, and will be going through it on the 17th. I full well expect to hand out over 1,000 candy canes that day. Why the 17th? Because that's the last day before they cut back appointments and staff for a holiday break. I'm also doing that one because _I_ want to, so I'm expecting no donations out of it. Not like I'm going to need more than I'm getting already, anyway.
As the arrow hits Barhador, ripping into his flesh, the elf grunts and his features begin shifting to be more bovine. He grabs his kukri, and slashes at the vestige standing before him.
"Big cat in the tree line! Defend yourselves!"
Moving cautiously up to the door, Barhador looks back to his companions before touching it. His first touch wil be to see if it opens freely or is secured.
"We can not bring numbers to bear without risking everyone. I would keep the majority back in the trees, have several with bows and crossbows just inside the tree line, watching the structure. We risk only a few to go to the structure and try the door. If it is open and there is no immediate attack, then we can bring the others in. If it is not open, or there is an attack, we respond as we must. I'll go. Who else?" ------ Earlier, the elf spent some time speaking with Lirosa, asking her questions about her archery, and what she's observed, what she's learned as she's used her bow. He doesn't control the conversation, but nudges her in the direction of acknowledging the things she's already learned, things she may not have consciously recognized, without ever really knowing what she's learned until she tells him.
Updated: Lirosa AC:16 (FF:13/T:13)CMD:17 Saves-FO:+2 RE:+3 WL:+1 HP:16/16 Init:+3
Waffled originally about whether to go with Weapon Focus or Rapid Shot. Then decided the Weapon Focus should come first. Did't revisit that for this change, just thought I would mention it in case anyone was curious.
Google's where I got the 15, 14, 12, 11, 10, 8. Edit: Maybe it is for a different system? Lot out there these days. Nethys is the official Paizo online source, so, let's see what his internal search says: "Ability Scores: The creature’s ability scores are listed here. Unless otherwise indicated, a creature’s ability scores represent the baseline of its racial modifiers applied to scores of 10 or 11. Creatures with NPC class levels have stats in the standard array (13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8), while creatures with character class levels have the elite array (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8); in both cases, the creature’s ability score modifiers are listed at the end of its description." No comment about adding racial modifiers to the Standard or Elite arrays, just that is is already included in the no-class blocks given in the material. Guess I need to revisit Lirosa's numbers, then.
15, 14, 12, 11, 10, 8 13 point build.
"Let go of you insecurities. Let the force flow through you, guide you." You could pick someone to mentor through awakening their own innate abilities. You could let go of the descriptive text altogether, and accept the simple task of picking one NPC to provide mechanical improvements for, potentially on a recurring basis. Intuitive classes include: Barbarian, Oracle, Rogue, Sorcerer.
Interestingly enough, that full list includes nothing from the last few books.
Brunner is the only PC with the strength for one of those bows not already carrying a strength bow. Lirosa is the only NPC that I know has the strength for one of those bows, though her brother might also. Without going back and checking, I think we just gained 5 Str longbows and 1 Str shortbow. That covers 2 or 3 of them . . ..
Lirosa was wearing standard leather. Come to think of it, I'm wearing standard leather. I gave her better armor than I'm wearing. <shrug> Oh, well. I was going to spend time sorting through the loot lists and our upgraded people once we're done upgrading them all. Took the rest of the week off from work, so, other than time baking, I have much more time than usual for that sort of task.
If there's no call elsewhere for them, I would like to give Lirosa the MW Studded and one of the Str Longbows. Edit: Assuming she gets those 2 pieces of equipment: Lirosa AC:16 (FF:13/T:13)CMD:17 Saves-FO:+2 RE:+3 WL:+0 HP:16/16 Init:+3
I added attack bonuses for the weapons and her trained skills. Might save some time if they are all visible. Her full creation stack is being added to my profile.
Check. Most of the way through building Lirosa. Thank you for the guidance so I can finish. Edit: Dropping Handle Animal and Perform (Sing). Now, which trained skill shall I drop to keep Profession (Hunter)? <grin> Double Edit: Wow. All of the trained skills I settled on are WIs based. Hunh.
So, Raymond can use one of the Strength bows!
Not the only one who got that wrong, man.
Free feats, 3 traits? edit: 3 Background Skills? And I would have through Veld would have been excluded as well. That's a surprise, honestly. Not going to change what I'm doing, mind you. Anybody gonna train Gidget? How can we ignore the farmer's daughter?
"Let's gather our wounded over here, first, and see what healing we can do to keep our strength up."
"We are refugees with few resources and less security. Mercy is admirable from the strong, but we are not in a strong position. Practicality says we have to leave him here, but we can't allow him to report on our number, capabilities, or direction of travel. Only one way I know to do that."
So, no active opponents left? "Then drop the weapon, or we assume you are still fighting!" The hunter calls across the field. He moves towards the Raymond, casting as he approaches. Barhador completes the Stabilize cantrip, sending the effect to ensure the man stays alive until the team can finish evaluating the situation.
The elf "stands," reaching more of a squat than standing all the way up.
"Well, done. You've nearly finished this! You've shown mettle today that these invaders never expected! Finish these, and let's get back to gathering food."
Regaining awareness, Barhador feels the ground against his body and still hears the sounds of combat around him. Not out of the fight, yet, but at least I'm alive! He opens his eyes to get a quick glimpse of the situation, realizing fully his injured state. Seeing Tarrow working with the only enemy adjacent, he decides to take the risk, and casts a spell without otherwise moving form his place on the ground. If he is not interrupted by the adjacent enemy, there will be a slight glow in a golden green range, before his wounds begin closing. If he is, well, then the odds are good he slips back into unconsciousness, or worse.
We're a long way away from me being worried about character death. At least another 5 rounds before I start to get concerned. <grin>
The elf continues to lay in the grass, moaning lowly.
GM, very much appreciate the amount of work on your part to run these combat sequences. I didn't think about how many NPCs we were burdening you with! Agreed, you're doing great work here! This is a crazy combat sequence. Do you have a part-time gig planning space launches for SpaceX? They have the right of it. I think we all appreciate the extra immersion you are creating by trying to have all of the refugees interact with the situation at hand. Very nice bit of work.
Barhador calls out in Elvish, "If you need to escape, then fall back!" as he steps away from his current opponent. Then he pulls his bow as he shifts to tiger before losing an arrow at the opponent closest to Lirosa, trying to give her a better chance to retreat.
[ooc]We are NOT doing well in this fight![/dice]
"Unnngghh!" The elf doesn't try to stop himself from reacting to the injury. The adrenaline will be useful here for the next few moments. If he can last for more than one. The grunt of pain slides into a more bestial sound as his features flow to more closely resemble those of a bull. He brings his kukri to bear on the hobgoblin who just hurt him, steam blowing from his nostrils as he strikes.
But it is obvious the injury has done him more harm than he might have hoped.
AoO if I'm still standing when the hobgoblin tries to:
"Absolutely we should stop."
"If we show up as a group of refugees, the Children of the Stone will see us as weak, and find us unlikely to provide value in an alliance. If we go in as a capable party of adventurers, they are likely to see us as a threat. I don't like the odds of going there, and we would still need to find a place to secure the citizenry. It can't be a destination, just a stop, but I like the odds of finding more woodsmen and possibly information at the Hunter's Cabin. The redoubt is small enough, they shouldn't be targeted for a while. Maybe after the cabin?"
The hunter double checks on watch assignments for the night, before finding a spot to take his own rest.
"With a teleporting tower disgorging soldiers, I'm not certain that behind enemy lines or easily accessible mean what they used to. There's every reason to suspect they are attacking every settlement and fortification in the area they are laying immediate claim to. The first question is, where are those borders? The second would be how small does a settlement have to be to be ignored, for now?" He looks towards the camp full of refugees. "We could find a spot like this one to leave them while we go seeking answers to those questions, or at least to check on the fort and logging camp, both of which we suspect have been razed. If we don't want to impose on Veld, there's a hunter's cabin to the East of here that might suffice. Or we could turn to the forts further East and see if they've been targeted or not. They could be outside the area being claimed. We don't know. Safety, as it actually exists, is probably South, across the river. How far away is the next crossing, again?"
"Thank you, for your hospitality and generosity. I think you'll find that you won't slow us, much, if at all. We're already moving slow in order to forage as we travel. If you simply move instead of forage, I think you will likely keep up just fine. We would be happy to have you with us."
"The Ironfang Legion is back. This time they are wiping out settlements. Taking no prisoners and burning everything they don't carry off. I'm escorting a group of refugees. We're avoiding the roads to avoid patrols. It is late enough we're going to have to camp close by. Felt you deserve to know the first and need to know the second. I also know you probably intend to stay put, but you are welcome to come with us, to not simply wait for them to find you."
As the group gets close, the elf motions for the mass to stay in the woods as he continues moving towards the house. "Veld? You home? I've got some news you need to hear!" He calls out as he approaches.
Barhador looks uncomfortable with the discussion of the fort, but manages not to discuss his thoughts on the matter. "If the goal is to avoid interaction, then the forest provides our only hope."
The "current generation" is very aggressive about it not being enough to behave properly, if you are not virtue signaling what they want to hear when they want to hear it, you are part of the problem. I like to refer back to my gay son who has effectively disowned us because we weren't publicly celebrating his sexuality. We don't publicly celebrate his brother or sister's sexuality, either. But failure to give him public adoration for a specific behavior means we are the enemy. Large part of how our modern social networking operates.
Wikipedia has attendance numbers and a discussion about last year's fiasco. I went there to try to see when GAMA took Origins over. Been a long, long time.
Origins is one of two conventions run by the Game Manufacturers' Association. The first is for publishers/manufacturers only. The second is an opportunity for publishers/manufacturers to showcase products to the consumer. This is Origins. I'm not sure saying they don't know much about gaming is on target. It is easy to say that supporting the big, successful shared campaigns and tournaments (which draw participants and push ticket sales) reduces the ability of everybody else to get their products the desired attention. Not really a good path for the organizers when the majority of ticket sales are to people looking to stay in their existing playspace. The majority of consumers appear to want another opportunity to play the same stuff they already play. That's never been GAMA's goal for the event. What do you do when half of the people paying to be there want a different event from what your members paying to be there want?
Been a few years since I've been to either of those. Always managed to have fun, though. If the nut butter shop in the little food court at Origins has got their "kitchen" back up, just go ahead and pay their price for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Really. Fresh nut butter. Local preserves. Fresh local bread. Just so amazingly better than what most of us manage to make at home ourselves.
"Panic puts speed over preparedness. It also accepts greater risk for speed instead of accepting less speed for greater safety. You express your concern over having the legion stumble upon our camp, and then you ask to travel by the route most likely to have us run directly into the legion with no chance to hide or prepare. If you want to meet them in the light of day, then we have no reason to move in the first place. My first goal is to avoid meeting them at all. My second is to get these people to some safety. Long-term, we'll be better off traveling slower and foraging as we go." He looks to Brunner. "We should be off the trail as much as we can."
"Panic will get people killed far quicker than caution. Your words and movements show panic. Yes, we need to move on. Failing to ensure the injured are cared for means we will move more slowly. Failing to take the time to coordinate our efforts and check our supplies will lead to walking away from things we want. Move with purpose, but without panic."
"Caution is reasonable, but the amount of smoke is minor, and we are several hours' walk from their last known location. Caution is a good response, panic is not. Let's be methodical and careful, not rushed." Then he moves on to check on the injured, to see how they are, and whether or not their conditions will prevent immediate travel . . ..
The hunter throws another flask before retreating away from the swarm itself.
Looking at the two bottles in his hands, and the mess before him, the hunter shifts position slightly, before attempting to toss one of the bottles between Arkhan and the building . . ..
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