"Game's gotten too real," Logan comments as Erin walks off. He had half a mind to follow. But no. They had information to stop it now. So he had to stop it. "Yeah. Sounds good," he agrees.
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"Ugh," Logan moans and rubs his face in his hands. "I wish someone had told me I'd be making existential decisions about morality and the weight of life today. I would have had pancakes. F@@@ it. Abort the mission. I can't shoot them now."
"Well then walk out of the graveyard and let's see what happens. That technically means we 'cleared' it."
"But we wouldn't be 'Freeing' the souls from an intolerable existence," Logan says, using air-quotes. "I mean what happens when we follow the objective and not the fluff? I'll give it a shot but..." he shrugs, not confident this would work.
"Yeah. I was on the fence about leaving but...yeah." This new revelation was a lot to consider. It was one thing to read the stats of an undead on a piece of paper and quite another to see one. "S%%#. Is there a way we can bypass the requirements for this quest and not destroy you? I am kind of uncomfortable with this whole thing now."
"Logan," Logan mumbles. This situation was getting weirder by the minute. Either this was an addle-minded player or another program by ARODEN that was autonomous enough to hate the position it was put in. He grimaced as he called the trapped players 'minions' but that took a back seat to...well, whatever this was. He was confused as to where to proceed. His last comment brought a question to mind though. "Wait. Contingency program? So are you protecting something important or is it just to force you to fight back for the mission request?"[/b]
"Yeah, sure," Logan says, standing in the back. "I did not need an existential crisis today," he mumbles.
Logan looks down at the words with an escalating sense of dread. Like a tetris game getting close to the top, each do over stacked another piece in the wrong place and upped his anxiety. DIED IN GAME, DIFFERENT BODIES, PAIN, FORCED TO FIGHT. But these words, felt like long pieces and shot the game to the very top in rapid jumps. "The F!%!!?" he says in a panicked shout. "That sadistic AI has been spawning you guys as the enemies here? S#+~ what if all the monsters in the world were people?" He grabs his head as if trying to keep the revelation from exploding it. How many "monsters" had he killed not knowing they were people, dying over and over again? "This is wrong. This is so wrong," he mumbles to himself as he leans against a tombstone. He was even more terrified of kicking the bucket as a player. Especially if it meant being re-spawned as a monster the other players continuously hunted.
Logan watches but can't really tell what is going on. It seems to be going well. Really well. Almost..."4500 gold to kill skeletons that don't seem to want to fight? Forty five hundred to shoot fish in a barrel? Anyone else think this is too good to be true? Like did we hit some sort of easy-mode-lottery and get almost free money?"
In my opinion this would give your character an unfair advantage, especially given the stealth focus. You are trying to snipe without sniping which carries a -20 penalty and forces only one shot a round. You're bypassing all of that because the wording is vague. The same argument could then be used against cover. You could hit an enemy 120ft away from you behind full cover because you picked up a stone next to him. That, however, is covered by the Snake Utility Infusion. There doesn't seem to be one to cover sniping but that doesn't mean it should be allowed. But as you said: Of course, as with everything, it's up to GM interpretation.
It does says this though: "She must have at least one hand free to aim the blast (or one prehensile appendage, if she doesn’t have hands)." Which means you might not be able to do that as a bat. I wouldn't consider bat wings prehensile but maybe its feet could be used. The images I get are amusing. "You throw a nearby unattended object at a single foe as a ranged attack." So no grabbing "a small stone lying near the skeleton". Nearby is vague but I would guess it means within reach. That means it's coming from your direction.
Given the described actions and rolls I think DarkDealer stealthily flew to the north wall and shot one of the skeletons. If the stealth was good then its flat-footed. I agree that if sniping was the intent he would have to wait until next turn to snipe and make a move action to stay hidden.
"Maybe they react only defensively. Or only if someone actually enters the graveyard. I'm going to be fairly useless until the fog goes away. I'd say Rafe, Reiko and Hacker move in and take them down one at a time in the mist. Oh and avoid the bombs Hacker. Pretty sure this spell and fire don't mix well."
I find it odd too that having the high ground benefits melee but not ranged. Also if you are going to ooc an entire post in gameplay then it should probably be over here.
"So just cast a lot of magic missile?" Logan asks as they go over undead. "Got it." He wasn't good with any weapon. He could thwack a skeleton with his staff but he wasn't sure it'd be all that effective. And though he had the money, Logan decides to hunker down on a cot in the main area. Safety in numbers and all that. Plus he liked people.
"If we're smart about it maybe. Don't we need like special weapons and stuff for undead? Holy Water, salt,...a cleric?"
"These are in case you aren't around," he says pocketing the two purchased potions. After window shopping a bit more he finally heads for the tavern to get some info about the lands to the east and possibly some hints on some quests in that area.
"Economics man. Gotta spread the wealth or else the 1% rise and rule the world. And you know, cause it's nice. I'll split the difference." A wild exaggeration but it was nice to help out the PC's in the game...world...whatever. He buys only two potions and will get two more from Hacker later.
Logan had to wander over the magic item shop first. It was always cool to see all the fancy, elaborate and beautiful magic items for sale. He had little money to actually get any of them but he did stock up on some healing potions for any "oh s%&%" moments that might pop up. Then he just meandered the stalls, eventually making his way to the notice board, seeing what might be on the way. After that it was off the stereotypical information hub, the tavern. A poor idea in a video game, so much better when it was real. Real people, real conversations, real information.
"Alright! Let's get some food, hit the market for a bit, chill for the day. Then go over the map and see what we need for tomorrow," Logan says excitedly. Despite being in a fantasy world, civilization had its perks.
DM's been missing for two weeks now. I hope this isn't the end of things but I am doubtful.
"Why would we not? Spread the wealth. Get some cool gear." He paused thoughtfully. "You think we should tell people about this? Get some help? There are a lot of people that want to leave. I imagine, and kind of hope, things get more difficult from here on out. We might need support and if things go wrong, like really wrong, someone could take over."
"I would but the game quantified my physical stats as abysmal," Logan shrugs. "Be stupid to base your class choice off your worst stats. But with the money from your portion of the loot, yeah, I could," he says teasingly. She still got a pretty good deal with the armor.
"Yeah. That's the only thing I hate about the accuracy here. Lot's of walking." Logan stands and stretches. Looked like he was in for sore feet and aching calves.
"I had that thought too but if we need it those will worth quite a bit. And by quite a bit I mean more than our combined pocket change at this moment. But yeah, its not right for this place to hold us here by force but, I don't know, I'd stay if it became a choice."
"Eh. It's not so bad here," Will tries to say coolly. He wasn't sure how some people would respond to the fact that he enjoyed it here. Because of his poor health, he didn't get to do a lot outside as a child and was stuck playing a lot of games. His only friends were anonymous people through the internet. Here though, they weren't really outside so they air didn't bother him. And the physical exertion was minimal thanks to the "spells". He scoffs at Hacker's boast. "Really? You could code a digital projection of a complete world at the same level as the most advanced AI that has the computing capacity as an entire city?" He shakes his head at that and looked at around at the "world" A.R.O.D.E.N. built. He wasn't sure anyone could do this again. So taking it down? He was hesitant to try let alone if they could even accomplish it.
So the armor had a lot descriptors in it but it wasn't hard to figure out what they were just by looking at the armor. Dragon scales. Full body coverage except for head and legs. Great quality. Picking Agile out of the name had been the hardest part. The daggers were another matter. He had a hard time believing the translation when it first came to mind. Water Breathing? Really? But it seemed to be right. Was this a specific item for later or just part of the RNG? "So kickass armor. Masterwork Dragonhide Agile Half-Plate. A mouth full and pretty cool. The daggers though? I keep circling to Daggers of Water Breathing but that sounds like an odd magic ability. One hour a piece. Still +1 though. That's nice. You want them Rafe?" Then he got to the scroll and Holy Crap. He stood there in the stunned silence staring at it for a good while before speaking. "Okay then. A.R.O.D.E.N. is kind of...eccentric it seems. But cool, unique quest. Beat A.R.O.D.E.N. and we beat the game. I'm guessing we go free after that. You think we can get other in on this?" There were...a lot of people who wanted out. People who didn't think appreciate being caged in a game and forced play along. People that felt they were trapped. People that hadn't seen loved ones in a long time and just wanted out. This game was deadly. The holograms could kill if you weren't careful. He got that. That's why he was helping. And if it all went away if they won, that'd be fine. But if could keep playing...honestly he wasn't sure if he'd leave.
The samurai nods at Rafe and accepts her lance back. "A true warrior makes the best use of her resources to win a battle with the least amount of collateral damage." "Yeah but still..." Logan let's the comment hang there trying to find something to add but fails and gives up. Taking it on could have meant death. Just accept the win and walk away. He huffs and puffs his way up to the cave and finds a respectable hoard. And like any good hoard, there might be something good in it. He presses a button on his options screen, one he'd found really early, and waves the activated light over the objects. Three are pinged and holographic arcane runes pop up over them. He sits down with the to take a look and decipher them. Dagger 1
Dagger 2
A red X appeared next to the scroll case which probably meant he had to open it to figure out what it was. He opens pops the top and gently slides the parchment out and unfurls out. Scroll Case
^Agreed Despite it being asleep, it could be faking or someone could fail miserably. Less chances to fail if the best do the sneaking.
Logan pulls up his command program and flicks through the macro-ed commands. He finds the holograms and finds an appropriately intimidating image to load in. Several generic archers appear 100ft back from the cave and silently draw their bows and aim up. "Ready."
I think that would make it too powerful. In that case, any enemy that engages looses an action with no save at level 1 (they loose an action to an attack or just looking either way). That's really powerful. And it will continue to be powerful until true seeing becomes ubiquitous among the enemies. Or life sense. Or tremor sense. Or Blind sense. Not as powerful as I was thinking. Nevermind.
Its important to the plan. By your direction that means it would get a save against the illusionary archers immediately. I guess that's fair.
"How so?" Logan asks. The android goes completely still for a second before continuing Certainly a sudden attack before the beast becomes aware of us would be an efficient opening gambit. "Depends on who attacks. Reiko-chan," he says being a little cheeky, "might be able to charge it fast enough but you guys are the only ones who could close enough stealthily. Also if we clog the opening, one acid blast and I think that's be the end of it." Logan thinks for a moment, trying to imagine how the creature will react. "What about Dark's first idea? Bomb it for some opening damage and piss it off. It charges to the cave opening to see what hit it. I can create some simple holograms of some archers. Might draw off its first acid blast. Rafe stealthily hits it from one side then Reiko charges from the other. Hacker and I will blast it from range. And Erin prays that that is enough and keeps us alive long enough to finish it."
Stunned for one round is nice but not great and sleep is probably useless by now. Grease actually has three uses, trip, disarm and escape. Really good versatility. Silent image might work better with the fluff I have going and yes, depending on the DM's interpretation of "if interacted with", could be very effective. DM: for silent image, does "interacted with" mean see or attack? When does the opponent get a Will save?
Anyone else think Enlarge would be a good idea? Or have a better debuff/buff spell in mind? Got magic missile for attack and ghosts and mage armor for defense.
DM? do you mind if I switch out Enlarge Person with Grease. Neither are going to be that useful in this fight I think, unless Logan can actually get close enough to cast it before it takes flight. And even then it probably has the reflex to ignore it. But Enlarge might be useless for a long while. It won't affect DarkDealer's blasts, or Hacker's bombs. Erin is support. Rafe is a rogue. It doesn't work on horses and I can't use it on Reiko if she want's to ride her mount. Which she probably does because of Spirited Charge. So yeah. No one to cast it on anyway.
"Not sure how specific this game is in this situation. I mean bases neutralize acids so if you could get the alkali flask in its mouth we could possibly neutralize its breath weapon for a short time," he says ponderously. "But that's something that only happens in video games and we aren't in one anymore. This is real. Sometimes I forget that. So I couldn't suggest it but bombing it with a goody bag of alchemical splash weapons sounds like a good opener."
Another pop. Another bright light. Another muffled curse. "I give up." He looks up and sees people looking at him. "What. Oh yeah." He rifles through his bag as he talks. "So yeah, drake. No special weaknesses or resistances," he looks up ponderously then over at Hacker. "You said spits acid. Probably pretty resistant to that right?. Odd it didn't say...oh, wait. Course it's not resistant. It's immune I bet. Why is that two different things?" He goes back to rifling. "Typical animal. Good reflexes and hardy. Though attacks to the mind might work. If that was an option." Finally he pulls out what he has been looking for. Two vials and a stone. "Pack came with some acid and a thunderstone. Lot of good that will do. Acid won't work and we don't want to wake it up. So yeah. I'm with Rafe on this one. Need more on battlefield first."
BigHatLogan (More like HatLogan. It wasn't all that big. The game was annoyingly precise about dimensions. No ridiculous outfits or items.) sat on a log messing with the Short Range Creative Tool he'd been given as part of the Beta-Test stage. A.R.O.D.E.N. had really impressed him by making it invisible to all but him. It was from this tool that he could cast "magic" in limited quantities and effect. Unfortunately it was completely unreadable, obviously written in a new language, and he'd had to mess with it for hours to make even basic effects. And since he could not describe it well to others, it was mostly up to him to figure out how to use it. He'd used Hacker as a sounding board most of the time since he'd given DarkDealer some mods before. But it was slow going. A small light appeared in front of his face. Logan flinched just before it popped into a much brighter light for the blink of an eye. Even through his eyelids it stung. "S@#@." He rubbed is eyes to remove the instant welling of water. "So yeah. Found that little bugger yesterday. Thought it would be good to blind enemies. Was thinking more like a few hundred of them and not in front of my damn face though." He recovers and blinks away the last remaining tears. "Thought it might help with the drake but I probably won't get it by the time we get there. Just going to make Reiko huge and send a few bolts its way."
I am about done. All I have is Grease for crowd control but I don't have a lot of flexibility yet. Every Favored Class bonus from here out will be the human bonus that gives an extra spell known. Should have some versatility by 6. |